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 Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:53 pm
“No, me!” Ataya insisted, jerking away from his father’s hold.
Detraeus raised his eyebrows, but obliged. Releasing the clothes in his hands, he watched as his son pulled his own way into them. Or, at least attempted to. At two and a half, Ataya had begun making firm efforts to assert his independence in a number of ways — some breeding more success than others — and when he got stuck, tunic caught on a horn and refusing to budge, like a bag over his head, Det reminded himself not to laugh. He settled for a cough and a smile instead. When Ata fussed, Detraeus tilted his head.
“Something wrong?”
Ataya made an indignant sound, squirming. “No!”
“Oh, I see. My apologies.”
Ata whined.
“Hm?” Detraeus responded.
“Nnnnh—” As Ataya’s sounds of frustration progressed from irritated to closer to genuine tears, Detraeus caved and reached out, removing the caught cloth from his toddler’s growing horns and helping him pull into the garment properly. Ataya ‘thanked’ him with a stiff, exaggerated pout and folded arms. “I can do it…”
“I’ll keep that in mind next time,” Detraeus said, leaning forward to kiss his son’s forehead — despite the huff it earned — and then reaching over to grab up a small, hand-made set of leather booties before placing them in front of Ata. “Now, shoes.”
They worked on those together. When finished, Detraeus stood, and Ataya reached up to hold his fingers as they made their way out of the bedroom and towards the front door.
“Where—wherrrre are we going?” Ata asked, eyes on the saddled hastars waiting for them in front of their residence as they made it out. Mama and Daddy had been busy all morning, he knew, though he wasn’t quite sure yet what all the fuss was about. It seemed new though, and thus, fairly exciting by default.
“Mm.” Detraeus glanced down to him, considering for a moment before explaining. “We’re taking you and your sister down to see your uncles, Casseth and Lithian,” he said. “We’re going to ride the hastars down, out of the mountains, to the desert where it’s very dangerous…but you will get to see their home.”
Though the trip had been discussed in depth, and Ara, Cas, and Lith all seemed to think that at least one venture out of their mountain home would do the twins some good at this age, Detraeus still wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea. But then, were it up to him entirely, he might well have kept them in the shelter of the mountains until they were thirty. At least. Still, younger than three…
Ata’s voice drew him out of his thoughts.
“Going…going…” Ata hummed, bouncing in his boots and hopping with the aid of his grip on Detraeus’ hand for balance. “Are they…coming to see us?”
“No,” Detraeus said. “We’re going to go to their home. We have to travel to get there. It will be like an adventure.”
“Ohhh-ohhh…” Ataya bounced more. Uncle Casseth had told him and his sister stories of adventures before. “Is it scary?”
“Very,” Detraeus said. “So you must be very careful, and stay close to Mama and I, do you understand?”
Ataya nodded rapidly. “I like scary stories. Will there be…candy?”
Detraeus snorted, but smiled in spite of himself. “Maybe, if you’re very, very good.”
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Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 5:45 am
Araceli was quickly finishing up some last minute details on the sweets she had made for Casseth and Lithian as Detra helped to get Ataya dressed and ready to go. Akara sat, blissfully still for once, on a stool that Ara had pulled up next to her and watched as her mother worked. “Help?” The small voice inquired as Ara began to wrap up each individual pastry, to better keep them fresh.
Ara raised an eyebrow, smiling at Kara. “Yes, you can help. Here...” She held out one of the freshly wrapped treats. “Lay them in that basket very gently.” Each time she finished wrapping one, she’d had it off to Kara and she’d place it in the basket ever so carefully. It seemed to satisfy the toddler and soon the task was complete.
Ara scooped Kara up off the stool, sitting her gently on her feet and then ruffling her hair. “Nooo.” Kara batted at Ara’s hands and smoothed her hands over her wild curls as she pouted. Ara shook her head and laughed, holding her hand out for her daughter. Kara gave an indignant huff but took the offered hand just the same.
“Come then. Time to go visit uncle Lith and Cas.” Kara bounced on her heels, excited for the adventure they seemed to be going on. Ara snatched up the basket just as Kara proceeded to tug and pull, eager to leave the house and leave the mountainside. It seemed that the toddlers already, at such a young age, had an adventuring spirit. “Slow down, Kara. No need to rush.”
Ara smiled as they exited the house and her eyes fell to her mate and son. She knew Detraeus was wary about this trip. Thought the twins were way too young to be venturing out of the mountains but Ara had been persistent. Not only did she want to show them a bit more of their world but it would be nice to venture out of the mountains for herself.
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Tangled Puppet Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 7:32 am
“Adventure!” Ataya announced on sight of his sister. And candy. Candy was critical.
After finishing loading the last of the excess goods they intended to take onto a spare hastar and checking over the house one last time to see that it was closed up and defended with active protective wards, they were off: one child paired with each parent in the saddle. With two toddlers in tow, they did not make the rate of progress they made on their own, even with Araceli pregnant. Frequent bathroom breaks, adjustments for comfort in the saddle, naps, and snack times all slowed their going. After just over two full days on the move, they arrived at the edge of the Terra Expanse.
Nested with his back to his father’s chest, Ataya stirred out of a restless sleep as the hastar leveled out and immediately after, blinked, staring wide-eyed at the seemingly endless stretch of yellow nothingness before him.
“Where is this?” He squirmed, forcing Detraeus to stiffen his grip so as not to let him fall out of the saddle.
“The Malro Desert,” Detraeus answered, glancing over to his mate and daughter. “Your uncles live very near to here. We will arrive soon.”
“Hotttttt,” Ataya fussed. Not the first time he had complained of this — every hour they had moved down the mountain range and closer to the open desert, the climate had heated — but this was an all new high. “Hot, hot, hot…” He wrinkled his nose. “I don’t…like the, the…Mal-row. It should make it…not hot. Why do they make it hot?”
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Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 7:49 am
Kara yawned sleepily as she heard Ata’s voice. She had just about been ready to fall asleep but suddenly her eyes were blinking open and instantly widening. There were vasts amount of nothing filling up her view and though she couldn’t see colors like her brother, Kara could tell there was something very different about this land from where they lived. “Mar...low?” She blinked up at her mother, head tilting to the side. “Ugly,” she said, wrinkling her nose up at her mom.
“Shh, the desert has it’s own kind of beauty. Besides, you’ll love where your uncles live, promise.” Ara glanced over towards Ata and Detra. “And it won’t be as hot there. We can go swimming.”
The mere mention of water made Akara perk up, wriggling in her mother’s arms. “Waaaater. Yaaay.” She bounced more, excited at the very idea of getting into the water.
Ara shook her head and laughed. “Patience, little one. We’ll be there soon enough but you must sit still. We don’t want you falling off, do we?” She leaned down and kissed the top of Kara’s curly head, causing all movement to stop.
“Swiimminnngg swiming...Aty swim?”
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Tangled Puppet Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 5:40 pm
Ataya hummed, wriggling in his spot. He enjoyed the water, sometimes. Mother had introduced them to it very young, getting them accustomed to the idea of playing at the bank of their lake, sitting in the shallow areas and splashing. But Ataya was leery of other sources, unfamiliar territory, and this strange ‘Mal row.’ It was far too hot to be trusted. Though, given that, the water might feel nice…
He reserved the right to voice a decision until later.
As they continued on, Ataya’s attention moved everywhere, drinking in the strange sights and details. He babbled questions hither and there all the while:
“What’s that?”
“A stack.”
“What’s a ‘stack?’”
“A pillar of compact earth…clay, or sand, that spikes up out of the desert’s ground…like a rocky tooth.”
“Monster rock! What’s that?”
“Sand.”
“Can I touch?”
“Later.”
“What’s that?”
“Buildings, we’re coming up on the town soon…”
“It’s hot…hot, hot, hot…”
When they came in upon Taliuma, they purposefully strayed to the furthest outskirts they could manage. Some contact, though, was unavoidable in their pass through to get to the coast and Lithian and Casseth’s property. Detraeus felt like a strung bow as they did: eyes and whispers following them like shadows, people stopping just to stare, some making faces and others louder, more obvious gestures. Ataya stirred in his grip, and Detraeus’ wings stretched on instinct, subtly protective and on high alert.
“Dada…” Ataya murmured, brow furrowing uncertainly as he looked out at the people. “They don’t like us…?”
Detraeus winced and grunted, stretching his wings further and shaking his head. “Ignore them, and hush now. We are almost there.”
Ataya quieted obediently, but despite his father’s words, his attention remained locked on the people of the town. So many. He had never known the world could have so many different sorts of people, and so many buildings, too! It would have been fascinating, if not for the certain sinking feeling that all of them were angry with him, or his family as a whole.
At a louder-than-the-rest call of, “Did you ******** a dragon or a sheron to get calves like that? Mooo-oooo!” Detraeus stiffened and sneered, encouraging his hastar into a faster trot.
Only after they made it out of the town and along the cliffside did he growl, spitting to the side of his mount. “Broken-minded cowards.”
Ataya blinked, his mind half on his father’s actions and half hung up on the scene they had left, deeply troubled. Even when they arrived on sand and his father dismounted, helping him down, Ata’s brow was still pinched in a confused frown. He glanced up to his mother as she arrived with Akara beside them.
“Mamaa…they didn’t…like us?”
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Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 6:11 pm
Araceli’s grip tightened on Kara as she swiveled and wriggled, trying to look back at the people who had stopped and sneered. “Tsk...Pay them no mind.” Ara stretched her wings out, effectively blocking the view of her daughter and forcing her to turn back around on the hastar. Ara’s lips thinned and anger bubbled up inside of her. Part of her was embarrassed, though. At one point in her life she wouldn’t have been too kind to hybrids or oblivionites either. Admittedly, though, she had been a stupid child and would have never dared say anything such as that man had said. It still made her angry, though, and when she folded her wings back she gave a flap, pushing her magic out and down into the sand to spray it up into the man’s face.
By the time the dust settled behind them, Detra and Ara were well away from the town and those who might do them harm. Kara slumped against Ara’s stomach, arms crossed and a small pout to her lips. “Come on, cheer up. We’re almost there.” Ara leaned down and kissed Kara’s temple, lingering and making exaggerated kissing noises when she pulled back, eliciting a small giggle from the girl.
“Swimming?”
“Yes, swimming but first we have to see your uncles.” Araceli’s smile faded when she dismounted, helping Kara from the hastar and setting her down next to her brother. She crouched at Ata’s question, smoothing her hand over his hair and tugging him in close for a hug. “Some people just don’t know any better my little bug.” She kissed his forehead before pulling back and standing. “Look,” Ara said, pointing in the direction of Cas and Lith’s house. “We’re here.”
Kara squealed happily, the incident back in town temporarily forgotten. They were here and uncle Cas and Lith were here and they were going to go swimming. She grabbed hold of Ata’s hand and tugged lightly. “Come oooon Aty.”
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Tangled Puppet Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 6:43 pm
Ataya frowned, not entirely satisfied by the answers either of his parents were giving him. At his sister’s tug, however, he followed without resistance and tucked his thoughts and questions away for another time. At his age, his mind preferred not to linger on one topic too terribly long anyway, and there was after all a wealth of other things to turn his attention to — most obviously, the ground.
As Akara pulled him along, Ataya wobbled, half-walking half hop-stomping over the strange new turf beneath his feet. It moved, shifting strangely to accommodate his weight with each step. Hop. Hop. Hop—
“Would you look at you two go,” said a laughing voice, warm and familiar, and Ataya’s head snapped up to look just Lithian crouched to greet them. “So fast — and so big! Gods protect, I feel every time I look at you, you’ve both grown…”
“We…went on and — adventure,” Ataya explained.
Behind him, his father’s voice sounded. “Casseth?”
“Coming,” Lithian said. “He was around back, but I’m sure he’ll be here in only a moment with all the activity. We expected you sooner, actually, and were a bit worried…but told ourselves that it was hopefully only a delay thanks to your first time…” Lithian smiled a bit as he eyed the children, “…adventurers, as they purport to be.”
“Ad—ven—chur!” Ataya hopped to emphasize his point.
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Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 7:05 pm
As Lithian crouched, Kara let go of Ataya’s hand and flung herself at Lithian. Her small arms wrapped around his neck and she clung. “Uncle Lithyyy.” She gave him a big, wet kiss on the cheek before pulling back. “We went cross the Mar-low and and and saw buildings. The were thiiiiis big.” Kara held her arms out, stretching them as far apart as she could. “And there was people but dey weren’t very nice.” Kara frowned, brows pinching together. “One even asked if…”
“Enough, Kara.” Araceli stepped up, placing a hand on top of Kara’s head, ruffling her curls and giving Lith a small, not quite there, smile. “Just a little trouble. You know how people are.”
Kara bounced in place, as much as her mother’s hand would allow her, and her gaze darted around. When she spotted Casseth coming around from the back of the house she slipped out from under Ara’s hand and took off running for him. “Uncle Cascassss!” Being unused to how the sand shifted under her, however, Kara misjudged and stumbled, flying forward.
Casseth’s arms shot out, catching hold of her before she face planted into the sand. “Hello there,” he said, scooping her up and rubbing noses with her. “Gotta be careful in that sand, yeah?” He propped her up on his hip and made his way over to where Lithian and their guests were. “Lively little bunch you have, hmm?” He grinned first at Ara and then at Detra. Lastly, he crouched down in front of Ataya, hand reaching out to ruffle his hair. “Hey there big guy.”
The whole time Cas had hold of Kara, her gaze was transfixed on Casseth’s feather wing. Just as she was about to reach out to grab hold of one of the feathers, her position was shifted and she was being set back down on the ground. She pouted, digging the toes of her shoes down into the sand and kicking lightly.
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Tangled Puppet Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 5:17 pm
Detraeus watched the string of interactions like a protective father cat, half beaming proudly over his litter and half on edge still. Much of the latter, though, was the result of lingering tensions from the reception they received on passing through town. For the most part, it pleased him immensely to see his children interact with Casseth, and Lithian — a second set of pseudo-guardians who, at this point, he trusted with their well-being. At Ataya’s blink and quick movement to straighten his hair, Detraeus smiled. Seriousness, though, lingered on his mind, and as Casseth put Akara down, he glanced to Araceli, then Lithian.
“Swimming, perhaps? I would like to speak with Casseth a moment.” ‘Without the presence of young ears,’ went unspoken.
Lithian split his attention between the children, smiling. “What do you think, hm? Would you like to see the house? You must be looking for a break after coming all this way, hungry, too…”
“Candyyy?” Ataya piped up hopefully, and Lithian chuckled.
“We probably have some tucked away somewhere,” he said, glancing to Ara as he stood and then starting towards the house as the children trailed along after. “Though it would have to be with your mother’s approval…”
“Yes, yes—yes! Mama says yes,” Ataya said, hopping after him without regard to any word from Ara herself. As soon as he made it into the house, though, he was temporarily distracted — even from candy — and his mouth made a small ‘o’ as his attention darted every which way. Shortly after, the stream of questions began.
Outside, as Lithian and his mate disappeared into the house, Detraeus turned his attention to Casseth. “We were not welcomed on arrival,” he said as soon as he was sure his toddlers were out of earshot. “We may be putting you at additional risk by staying here…”
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 7:16 pm
Araceli grabbed the basket and its goodies, that Kara had helped with, and followed after her toddlers and Lithian. “I actually brought some pastries along. Plenty for us to have some now and still have some left over for you and Cas later.” Ara smiled as she made her way to their kitchen, sitting the sweets off to the side for the time being. By the time Araceli turned back around, Kara had made it to the door leading out onto the large porch. “Woaaaahhh…” Kara’s mouth opened, eyes wide as she stared out across the sea. “That’s big. Attyyy, looook!” She moved, running over to her brother and tugging at him and pulling him over to the door. “Look look.” Kara grinned at him and then looked back to Ara. “Swimming?” She couldn’t help but laugh. The kid had a one track mind when it came to swimming. “In a bit,” she said as she made her way over to the door as well and took a moment to glance out over the water. “You have such a lovely place Lithian.” ••• Cas raised an eyebrow at Detra’s comment and shook his head. “You’re always welcome here.” He crossed his arms and frowned. “It’s not like I don’t get my fair share of hate anyway.” He shrugged. “There’s no reason for you to leave any earlier or find another place to stay. You’re safer here than anywhere else. Between two dovaas, a hybrid and an oblivionite...you’d have to be pretty stupid to attack here.” Cas grinned and moved to Detra, expression turning serious for a moment. “I am sorry you guys had to deal with that. People are idiots sometimes.” He patted him on the shoulder.
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Tangled Puppet Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 3:37 pm
“Yes, yes, yesssss,” Ataya insisted upon hearing Mother speak of goodies. Mother’s candies were always the best.
Beside him, Lithian chuckled, his eyes on Akara. “A future peisio in our midst, mm?” he asked, only half-teasing. “And thank you…it still amazes me to look at sometimes, as though I cannot believe my good fortune, still.”
With the children in company, they shared some of the pre-prepared pastries — keeping the portions small for the children so as not to overdose them before a swim — and spent much of the afternoon on the back porch overhang that shadowed the ocean’s edge. Lithian and Araceli talked, and Akara in particular took immense pleasure in the access to the ocean, as well as fascination with Lithian’s water tricks. Ataya enjoyed the ocean for a time, but was soon distracted by other fascinations, namely: miniature beach critters, sand, and seashells.
Come sundown, Lithian was busily treating minor sunburn ‘wounds’ — particularly on Akara and her extra swaths of paler skin — both of the toddlers thoroughly exhausted. After his were tended to, Ataya sat back, attention locked intently on Lithian’s hands as he worked magic over his sister’s skin.
“Yours is…not like Mama’s,” he said.
“You’re right,” Lithian agreed. “I am a peisio…do you know what that means?”
“Mmm…water,” Ata said, and Lithian smiled.
“Yes. My magic stems from water, it is like the ocean, and lakes, and rivers…even the rain.”
“Where does it…commme from?” Ataya asked.
“The gods,” Lithian answered. “Abronaxus, the dragon god of my people — your mother’s people — gifts his sons and daughters with the power of the elements, and from there, it is fed through natural energies…”
“Why?”
“All of our earth is alive with its own individual energy. Everything that lives and breathes — even in cases where it is less obvious, like the wind and trees, earth and fire — all these things make up an infinitely complex and growing web…a balance of nature which any dovaa, or mage, for that matter, would be ill-advised to disrespect. It’s what we depend on for our own life force, after all.”
“Why?”
“Because that is how the gods designed us, and this earth.”
“Why?”
Lithian glanced over to Ataya, and then up to Araceli, a smile edging at the corner of his lips as his eyebrows raised. “Because that was their will.”
“Why?”
Lithian chuckled. “I am not sure your mother wants me giving you a sermon just yet. Perhaps when you’re older. For now, I highly suspect it is nearing your bed times…”
Ataya pouted. “Why?” Then, he spotted uncle Casseth, and as a two-year-old’s mind was prone to do, his leapt topics entirely. “Uncle Cas! Tell us—a story! Story, story, story.” He hopped. Surely, it was not bed time yet.
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 5:52 pm
Araceli sat back, listening and smiling as Lithian talked to Ataya. Her son was a curious sort but it seemed the only questions in his arsenal were ‘why’. In this moment, at this house, everything was perfect. She held back a laugh as she noticed Kara pouting each time the word why exited Ata’s mouth. A silent want of an answer that Lithian didn’t seem to be giving either of them. At the mention of bedtime, though, Ara stood. “Your uncle’s right. It’s bed time.” She glanced over to Casseth, a small tilt to her head. “Perhaps once you’re settled into bed, then Cas can tell you a story, hm?”
After much pouting and fussing, from both her children, Araceli finally managed to get them both into their pajamas and into the bed in the spare room. Casseth smiled as he settled down on the edge of the bed, seeming to have been dubbed storyteller for the night. “Hmm, now what story should I tell…”
Before Ataya even had a chance to chime in, Ara was speaking. “Something a bit calm. It is bedtime after all.” She eyed Ata and Kara, smiling when Kara yawned. Despite their insistence on not being tired and it not being bedtime. Ara knew that both of her children had to be worn out. They had traveled a lot earlier in the day and play time had been long and very active.
Cas smiled and nodded. “Well, I could tell you two about the time I met your uncle Lith. I lived on Aisko at the time. Loooots of snow and ice. My father and I were out hunting when a bad snowstorm hit and we soon found ourselves pitted against some dragons.” At Ara’s raised eyebrow, Cas shrugged. “Most of my stories involve dragons in some way?” he said with a sheepish smile. “We dealt with them quickly enough but soon found a passed out Lithian. All dark, long hair and dark skin.” He looked to Lithian for a moment and winked before continuing. “I thought he was a girl.
“A girl?” Kara chimed in, eyes widening and gaze locking on Lithian.
“Mhmm. He had a lot of hair and I wasn’t used to seeing boys with such long hair. I just assumed he was a little girl, lost in the storm.” Casseth chuckled and continued. “My dad carried him to a cave we had used before. We were safe and out of the storm but my father was wary. He didn’t trust others around us. Eventually Lithian woke up and I soon found out she was really a he. I was surprised but soon forgot about it. We clicked instantly, despite our differences. It amazed me, truthfully.” Cas’ smile was warm as he remembered their combined time on Aisko. It had been some of the best moments of his life and ones he was forever grateful for. They had brought him Lithian.
“We eventually had to help him find his way back to the dovaa camp.” Cas looked up, eyeing Araceli briefly. “I also, sort of met your mother that day. We didn’t get introduced but I did see her. For the next few days your uncle and I met up and explored and fished. Oh boy did we fish. Lithian’s very good at catching fish. My father was very surprised and very suspicious when I brought home a satchel overflowing with freshly caught fish.”
Cas chuckled as Kara yawned and leaned back against the pillow. “Seems like my story’s boring the little lady.” Cas winked and leaned in, kissing Kara’s forehead and ruffling Ata’s hair. “Maybe we should let your mom and dad get you tucked in then, hmm?”
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Tangled Puppet Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 7:27 am
At his mother’s insistence that they receive a ‘calm’ story, Ataya immediately pouted. He didn’t want a calm story. Then what was the point in a story to begin with? Uncle Cas had the best exciting stories, and calm defeated the purpose. Befor he got a chance to speak up, though, his uncle was talking, and Ata kept his frustrations to a murmur as he settled against the pillows. All but immediately — that is, at the mention of a great snowy continent — his interest perked back up in spite of himself.
“Dragons!” he piped up when it came to that, but hushed at the look his mother gave Casseth, pouting to himself and murmuring quieter, “Dagonnnnnsss…” Disappointing, how quickly the subject moved on. He wanted more detail about the fight. Was there magic? Blood? Excitement?
Despite his best efforts, as the story went on, Ataya felt his body succumbing to the call of the mattress below. Generally, he was quite the night bird, energy and attention at their highest during the night, but the day’s exertions had worn his young body thin, and he rubbed his eyes, fighting the need to yawn as his sister did.
“But…noooo…” he murmured softly as Casseth’s hand ruffled his hair. “I want…dragonsss…”
“One day,” Detraeus said, stepping into the room and beginning the process of unfastening his various ‘permanent’ weapons and boots before moving to the edge of the bed. There, he leaned over to kiss his mate. “For now, sleep.”
Ataya wrinkled his nose. “Buuuuuut—”
“Sleep.”
Ataya huffed, murmuring irritably as his father leaned over, pressing a kiss to Akara’s forehead before settling into bed. Soon, though, Ataya’s young body got the best of him, and he was drifting off to sleep as ordered.
They spent the better part of a week with Lithian and Casseth, the children exhausting themselves on the beach and shoreline each day, reveling in the new territory, and Detraeus and Araceli stocking up on harder-to-attain goods privy to civilization. In the months that followed, too, travelling down became a more common thing, though they remained painstakingly careful each time, particularly on their way back, so as to avoid inadvertently leading any unwanted guests to their doorstep.
Despite their caution, unfortunately, it was just after the children’s third birthday that such a set of guests made an appearance.
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