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The breeze off the ocean was cool, battling with the heat from the sun shining down between the few clouds that dared to try and cover it. Elias was already starting to sweat underneath his shirt, despite how light and airy it was. Which, of course, might have something to do with the fact he was standing still directly underneath the sun. But he had to. His mother had given him an important task. Watch her the water in the rain collector, she had said. And he was doing that, holding his wooden training sword in one clammy hand slippery with sweat. She had left not too long ago with his sister, destined for the clothing shops they both so loved to look through. Not him. What self-respecting knight-in-training looked at pretty clothes all day? Not this one!

Than again, something might happen to them in town and he wouldn't be there to protect them. He must be the protector of his family. No one else knew the art of the blade like he did, not even his father, who wasn't a weak man by far. Not the strongest Elias had seen, but he was sure Kayde could win a fight with anyone who picked one with him. That was the nature of father's, to suddenly gain the strength to fight who needed to for the safety of family. But what if the other man was also a father? He would also have this ability. Oh, he hadn't thought about that.

The child pursed his lips as he continued to think about it. No, Kayde would win always. He was the best.

Elias heard his father's approach long before the man appeared around the corner of the house. The crunch of his boots was loud on the ground, the small rocks that made up the path to and around the house making it impossible for anyone to be quiet. He turned his head, shifting the toy sword to his other hand.

"Hey, dad," he greeted seriously, earning him a nod of acknowledgement from the older man. He said nothing more, figuring there was a reason Kayde had come out to find him and waiting to see what it might be. He didn't think he was about to be told off for something. He hadn't made any messes in the house for the last few days, nor had he gone anywhere far when he'd went outside. He'd been as well behaved as he could be.

When he heard the reason, the boy tilted his head to one side, confused. "But this is how one watches water, isn't it?" She didn't say to get any water or empty it or anything. Just watch it. Why did his father look so amused with him when he was doing exactly as he was told to do?

"Oh..." Elias hung his head, his toy sword drooping down so that the tip of it now touched the ground at his feet. He felt like an idiot. Of course that wasn't what his mother had meant. Watch the water. Who literally watched still water, standing guard over it as if it were some treasure that was about to be lost to all of time. It was just water. Precious in itself, because of all the salt water all around them in Matori. But not precious enough to stand guard as he was. The fact Kayde had laughed at him only made him feel even dumber. Why was he like this? Elenora wouldn't have made this mistake. She would have instantly known what their mother had wanted. She knew everything, his sister did. She would be a real somebody when she was older, he just knew it. What would he be? Nothing but the town idiot.

Despite his mood, the youngling couldn't help being curious when Kayde walked away towards one of the few trees in their yard. If ever one of the family wasn't feeling quite like themselves or was having a bad day, his father was always the first to try and make them feel better. With the kids, he leaned towards trying to make them laugh or suggesting they play their favorite game. So when he walked away, almost like Elias' mood didn't matter at all to him, it peaked the kid's attention. He was doing something. But what? His young brain couldn't wrap itself around any possibility that made sense. If Elenora was here, she could puzzle it out.

Not that he needed her. It soon became clear what his father was doing, when he returned with a branch and started stripping it so it looked like a makeshift sword. Elias couldn't help giving a little giggle at how silly the man looked, brandishing it as he was. And saying what he was!

"Mom's not a fair maiden," he argued, holding his own toy sword up a little higher as his mood started to lift.

Elias wrinkled his nose, not too keen on hearing anything about how his mother used to look when she was younger. That was a little too close to hearing about how his parents met and got together. He didn't like sappy, romantic stories. He liked stories with knights and heroes, rescuing princesses from fearsome beasts. He pictured that now as he looked back at his father, imagining him as some ruffian dressed in dark clothing. Since he was already twice or more as tall as he was, it wasn't hard to pretend Kayde was up to no good. The villains always were super tall and muscular, to make it even better when the hero bested them.

Raising his toy sword, the young boy spread his own feet, trying to copy the man's stance. With a smile, he jumped forwards, thrusting at Kayde's legs with the tip of his weapon, shouting "You will never have her, fiend!"

Though the tap on his toy might have been light, Elias still barely managed to hold onto his sword. His hands were still slippering with sweat from standing underneath the hot sun for two hours and now he was moving around, working himself up into a fresh new sweat. He was not annoyed, though. He was having too much fun to be annoyed. Even when Kayde's branch hit him in the side, he just giggled.

"You got me, Papi," the kid said through his laughter, trying on the name for size. He made a small jump to the side, aiming for a spot on the back of the man's thighs.

Uh oh. Did he do something bad? He hadn't meant to swing the sword as hard as he did. He had expected his father to get out of the way and was trying to make up for it by swinging a little harder than he had before. Only the man hadn't moved and the toy had made contact with his leg, giving off a little thump sound and a pained reaction from the Leaf. Had this been his mother, Elias would have been terrified. She would have surely yelled at him and sent him to his room for a few hours. But Kayde wouldn't get that mad. It had been an accident. He would know that. Still, in his kid's brain, Elias had done something wrong and when you did something wrong, you got punished.

"That's...What Elenora calls you," he said weakly, backing away and holding the sword behind his back, as if he thought to hide the evidence of what he had done. "I thought I'd try it."

Frowning, Elias pursed his lips, not able to look Kayde in the eyes. He still felt bad for hitting his father so hard with his toy. The compliment made him feel only a little bit better for it.

"What good is a strong arm, though?" he whined back, his shoulders slumping in his depression. "When Elenora is so much smarter than me." He looked at Kayde, the question clear in his pale eyes. "Dad, am I stupid?"