[1771] – Y07.271 – Nightval is Overbearing I

It was late in the night when the girl awoke. As her silver eyes opened, she took in the sight of the grey world, the ceiling tall above her. She rolled to the side, towards her father’s arm, and there, upon her father’s chest, she saw her elder sister, and beyond her, she could sense her younger brother. The girl’s eyes peeked up, towards her father, his sharp cut jaw, his long, thin nose, and then along his closed eyes to his leaf shaped ears. She reached up to her own ears, feeling their curves, as though checking to see if she was still his daughter. The girl turned, shuffling to her father’s side, and claimed his arm once more, her tail drooping on top of her elder sister lightly, as though to tell the girl that her younger sister was there, and she need not to worry. As the girl’s eyes stared at her father’s bicep, half covered by the sleeve of his shirt, she leaned in against him, rubbing her cheek against his bicep, and used it as a pillow to fall asleep once more.

She was six years old, and this would be one of the very many memories she would forget when she was older, scattered to the winds of Time, but within her heart, she would remember it always. The chilly nightval air, which soothed her. Her brother’s scent, which was beyond her sister and brother. Her sister’s body under her tail. Her father’s bicep under her cheek. Although she would not remember, she would always recall it, the gentleness of this day.

“Oh my, oh my,” a voice called, causing the girl to stir, and she rolled to the side, towards her father, turning her head to face him. “You must have slept so well if you were drooling.”

“Daddy?” Kirot yawned, rubbing her eye with the back of her hand gently, and she half climbed on top of her father’s shoulder, staring down at his face, not quite understanding what he was saying, but seeing her father’s face, her tail swayed lightly from side to side.

“We are going to train, daddy?” Konarot asked.

“Why are you in such a rush to escape my arms?” Adam asked, hoisting his triplets into each other, squeezing them against his chest, clasping his wrists together as the children squirmed against him, squealing and cackling. “You punks! You think just because you’re so big now, you can dare to escape your father’s arms? Courting… trouble!”

“Trouble!” Konarot exclaimed, and as she squirmed, she was finally free, of her own strength, and she rolled off her father’s stomach, over her sister, who followed her a moment later, as Karot crawled over his father’s chest to follow his elder sisters, with their own strength, and not because their father had set them free.

Adam sat up, flexing his muscles. He spied the trio. The trio stared at him in return. They leapt onto their feet, and scrambled away, but he was upon them a moment later.

The triplets rinsed their faces and readied themselves for their morning training, and Adam, greeting the new month, began his preparations to Awaken another Iyrman.

This morning, the nightval wind was biting with its chill, and as Adam threw a punch towards the tree, he stared at it with an intensity. The intensity even caused his children to pause their training and watch, to watch him punching, but it was their father’s back they stared towards, for it was so wide, so expansive, greater than even the sky above them.

‘I’m still too weak,’ Adam thought. This was the morning after defeating a Grandmaster, unarmoured and biarmed. ‘I have to grow so strong, my children should have the audacity of the Princes and Princesses who have sucked dry the people beneath them, with the thoughts they deserved such fame, such power, such wealth. No. They should possess greater audacity than even the King and the Shen. That’s how strong I should become.’

As Adam threw a fist towards the three, his fist ended up a hair’s width from the bark. He glared at the tree. The half elf let out a soft sigh, and raised his arms around himself, like a bird unfurling its wings, and brought his palms to the earth.

‘Just you wait, you damn Reavers…’ Adam thought, staring at the tree ahead of him, but as he heard the steps behind him, he spun on his heel, clearing the snow under his feet, almost threatening to drown his third eldest daughter, who held a snowball within her hand, but was now covered in snow. “You seem to have forgotten. This father of yours, is your father.”

Jirot tossed the snowball onto her father’s leg, and glared up towards him. Adam glared down towards her in return. The fool held out his hands, and the girl noted the way he was holding out his hands. She turned, and fled away from her father.

“Kaka! Kaka! Save me!”

“Hyat!” Konarot leapt in front of her father, and Kirot followed behind her, each of them taking a position their greatmother had taught them, and as the trio squared off, Jirot panted for air, a shadow engulfing her. She stared up at the shadow. She blinked.

“Training hard?” Gangak asked.

“Hardly training,” Jirot replied.

The two exchanged their signature smirks.

“Nano, nano, nano,” called Konarot, rushing up to her greatmother. “Nano, thank you for my horns.”

Gangak blinked, furrowing her brows lightly, but she smiled. “What did your father say?”

“Daddy said we must thank you for our horns,” Konarot said, having not realised her father had easily defeated her by distracting her in such a way.

“I see…” Gangak reached down to pinch the triplets’ cheeks. “You are most welcome, my little Konagak, my little Kigak, my little Kagak.”

The triplets’ tails swayed adoringly as they stared up at their greatmother, who let out a soothing sigh, and she reached down to pick them up, Konarot claiming her neck, Kirot and Karot each claiming an arm.

“Nano…” Jirot pouted for there was no space for her, until a shadow engulfed her, and the twins were scooped up by their other greatmother.

“I have two arms, but no children to hold,” Adam grumbled, pouting.

“Do you wish to be held by your father or I?” Gangak asked.

“Nano…” Konarot buried her head into her greatmother’s bosom.

“Do you wish-,” Mulrot began, but Adam turned, sniffling, and he stormed off.

“I don’t need to hear it! I know the answer! I know it! This father of yours, do you think he is a fool?”

“Daddy, you did not hear my answer!” Jirot called out, letting out a huff.

“Jirot, you… I knew it! You are the one I trust most!”

“I pick nano, of course!”

“Of course!” came the echo.

Adam clutched at his heart, for though he had expected it, wasn’t his daughter still so cute? ‘Jirot! You! I knew I could trust you to bully me like this!’

As they returned, Vonda understood the children bullied their father well by the satisfaction upon his face. As the two exchanged kisses, Adam dropped down beside her, having finished quite a warm bath that morning.

“Darling, you need to eat more,” Adam accused. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but if you continue to slim down, everyone will think Pam is stealing all your food.”

“I will continue to train hard, so that my breath isn’t so laboured during my prayers,” Vonda replied, reaching to poke her husband’s nose.

“If that’s why…” Adam reached over and trailed a finger along the back of her hand. ‘Regardless of whether you’re a little thick, or a little thin, or a little muscular…’

Vonda flicked her husband’s forehead, since they were in public, causing him to pull back away from his thoughts.

The half elf cleared his throat lightly, turning towards his son, who climbed up beside him, the green skinned boy revealing to his father a plate of fruit, much of which he would feed to his mother and father, but he would accept a few bites from them too. Adam smiled, leaning down to kiss his son’s cheek.

‘You should be chubby though, little Jababy…’ Adam wrapped an arm around his son, claiming the boy for himself, as Jirot held a blade like finger towards her father, but since he was kissing her brother so well, she showed him mercy.

Just this once.

Meanwhile, as the gentle snow fell, Korin grasped his sword tightly in hand, and as he swung it violently through the air, his sweat poured through his heavy clothes.

“You are still praying?” Dunes called, having finished his morning bath, having not seen Korin follow.

“I was beaten black and white by the Manager, and since I, too, am a Manager, shouldn’t I possess at least much strength as he?”

“I always forget Jonn is a Manager,” Dunes said. “All those years ago, he and I met Adam at roughly the same time, he shortly after I. I recall their fight, and back then, Jonn was quite talented, and under Adam’s rays, he has grown quite well.”

“I will have to train twice as hard to chase after him then,” Korin replied, inhaling sharply, and his sword cleaved through the world.

Dunes stared at Korin’s silhouette, of a man he had known his entire life, and yet with the sword that was so desperate in his hand, he was almost a stranger.

‘I always thought you wished to become a Master to try and aim for Sara, but now that I see you, will you stop at merely a Master?’ Dunes thought, and yet, seeing his friend’s sword moving so desperately. Dunes basked in the cool wind for a moment. He turned, wondering if perhaps he should have taken the path of an Oathsworn.

“Ahm!” called a little girl, rushing up to him with annoyance glistening upon her eyes. “Daddy is working too hard.”

“Indeed.”

“Ahm, my heart is wounded, and if you do not ease it, who knows what trouble I will cause…”

“You do not need to threaten me, my sweet niece,” Dunes said, reaching down to tickle Jarot’s cheek gently. “This ahm of yours, he will always ease your heart. Come, I will request permission to cast my magics for you.”

“I give you permission, ahm.”

“This ahm of yours does not wish to die.”

“You will not die, you are my ahm.”

“Indeed, but I am still no Iyrman.”

“Mm…”

“You must speak with the Elder on my behalf.”

“Elder Jaygak?” Jirot asked, her eyes glistening.

“Of course.”

“Of course!”

Dunes chuckled, taking the children away to visit their favourite kako, who was now an Elder, so she was their favourite Elder, of course.

PATREON FOR 30+ CHAPTERS!

Of course!