The Frost Baby

Kacper and Irenka took a new baby, Brimir, into the house from a Mr. and Mrs. Frost. Like Sorina and Nicolae's parents, they were detained in Europe by pressing matters.
"She's enormous." Alba said.
Irenka explained to her that the baby's family was from a northern country, Niflheim, which sounded like maybe it was somewhere in Germany. Anyway it was very cold there. They needed to be big-boned for the winters.
"She's enormous..." Alba said.
The New Boy warned Alba not to get too close.

Kacper, the Coast & Friends

Kacper and Irenka took baby Nicolae out to the creek to gather rocks and watch insects. Alba noted how fast he was growing and Kacper explained that it was common in the boy's family. They grew so fast that they'd often be left to feed themselves when very young. He was hoping the parents would be back from the old world soon... Their business turned out to be more complicated than they hoped.
Irenka brought sandwiches and some delicious pierogi for everyone to eat. She'd selected the creek bank just in case Nicolae turned out to be as prone to allergies as his sister was.

Sorina was back at the Milesian house, playing with the New Boy. The boy would set up some complicated structure in the basement, and the other person was supposed to navigate it with the lights out. Alba wasn't sure what the game was called... She just knew that unlike Sorina she hadn't been any good at it and her shin still hurt.

The Aegean in the Garden

Frau Holda had decided that morning to cut a fresh stalk of everlastings, perhaps for a dinner table bouquet. She stood in her garden holding a cutting and remembered how much her mother used to like them. They would have been sprinkled at her feet before a hunt, or occasionally (though less successfully) if Holda had just broken something.
Holda hadn't thought of her in a while.

She thought of Alba, and how she would coo at the Oneiroi in the elms as Artemis cradled her.
Holda thought of the New Boy - the Cedar tree. Artemis was always fond of that tree. She had helped plant it when the seed was brought. Holda saw her mother in her mind's eye, cold and stretched out on that bed... so small and dry. They had found her in '26.

Holda noticed she was standing among anenome with petals crimson red. She looked down into her hand and found a stalk not of everlasting, but of aconite... the poison wolfsbane she would watch her mother apply to the solstice arrows when she was very little, so very long ago.

...War and death were coming.