“What is wrong?” Jaygak asked, catg Jarot staring at her, the boy flushing slightly as he hid his head against her shoulder. “Is there something on my horn?”

  “No…” The boy sucked on his thumb while she held him so dearly, while Jirot ate from Lucy’s fingers, the girl reag out to tug on her brother’s shirt to offer him food, but Jarot shook his head, and tio hold onto his aunt.

  Lucy wiped Jirot’s mouth, the girl leaning forward to allow her Demon General to do so easier. Lucy fixed a strand of the girl’s hair, sweeping it behind her ear. Lucy smiled a sad smile, for although the pair were enjoying themselves, the scars remained, like mirrors pieced back together.

  “Does it still hurt?” Gangak asked, her eyes glued to the twins, who eheir time with their aunts.

  “It does,” Mulrot admitted.

  “You gave up your position and fought.”

  Mulrot inhaled deeply, and though Gangak’s words made sense, her heart still ached. How had she refused such sweet childrehey first came to her? She should have accepted them more deeply after her refusal, then this could have been avoided. It was her failure not just as the Family Elder, but as their greatmother.

  “Babo…” Karot called, the boy reag up to his greatfather’s hand.

  “My Karot! What is it that you need?” Jarot asked eagerly, rubbing the boy’s knuckles gently with his thumb.

  The boy looked down at his greatfather’s hands, feeling hh they were, noting the scars which painted his hands with his tales. The boy felt a gentle ess in his tummy from holding his greatfather’s hand. “I want to sit with babo…”

  “You wish to sit with me?”

  The boy nodded his head shyly, and within the blink of an eye, Jarot hoisted the boy up with a hand, and sat the boy upon his p. The boy squirmed slightly as his greatfather pnted a firm kiss upoip of his ear.

  “If my greatson wishes to sit with me, who stop him?” Jarot asked, as though daring the world to refuse.

  “Babo,” Konarot called, yawning, before the girl climbed up to cuddle against the old Iyrman’s arm.

  Kirot stared up at her greatfather questioningly, climbing up to cuddle her greatfather, using his muscur thigh like a pillow, her tail curling up behind her.

  ‘How you cuddle with yreatfather? How merciful you be?’ Jarot leaned back, allowing his greatchildren to cuddle with him, because not even he could refuse his greatchildren.

  Konarot led against his arm, holding it tight. Her hently pressed against his tricep, the girl nuzzling against his bicep. “Babo.”

  “Yes?”

  “I love you, babo.”

  “I love you too, my Konarot.” Jarot leaned down to pnt a kiss atop her head, feeling the softness of her silky hair against his cheek. His heart throbbed, swelling with sheer delight from the girl’s words. Once, she had bared her teeth so eagerly towards him, but now she was such a getle girl.

  Otkan and Rajin remaio the side, allowing the triplets to cuddle with their greatfather. They surrehe children sihey had pyed with them for so long already, while Jarot had waited patiently.

  “So you’re a funny guy, huh?” Adam teased, the Iyrman chug before him.

  “Funny?” Marmak asked, gng aside to his wife, who sipped away at the alcohol lightly, befrinning wide. “It is a little funny.”

  “Do people get you fused?”

  “No. I am Marmak and my wife is Marmak. There is nothing to fuse.”

  “My husband’s stories are too wild,” Marmak stated simply.

  Adam had half expected this Marmak to be like his grandmother, but she was definitely someone wilder. Even though it was duskval, she wore only a scarf ed around her chest, and a piece of cloth ed arouhighs, revealing most of her body, and the near limitless scars, to the world.

  “She is too old for you, boy,” Marmak warned.

  “It’s nothing like that, you old geezer!” Adam snapped back, his cheeks turning a deep red. “I’m just w about your stories, grandaunt.”

  “Why are you calling her grandaunt when you will not call me granduncle?” Marmak asked.

  “You’re an old geezer, and she’s my grandaunt.”

  “Am I yrandaunt?” Marmak asked.

  “Siaygak likes you, I’ll allow it,” Adam replied babsp;

  ‘Taygak?’ Marmak thought, w what the young woman had to do with this.

  “Xarot?” Adam called, reag down to the basket, noting his son squirm slightly. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

  “Hoo…”

  Adam pulled the boy up from his basket, holding him close, the boy squinting towards his father, before he felt his father’s chest against his cheek. He sucked his thumb as his father held him, the boy closing his eyes lightly.

  “You are so close with your children,” Butcher Marmak said. “Our children struggled to adore their children as deeply as you.”

  “How I not love my children? Every time I see them, I want to quer the world. Isn’t that right, little Xarot? You don’t want daddy to do it though, do you? That’s right. If I quer the world, I won’t be able to see you because I’ll be too busy. How daddy do that? Daddy is so silly, how he do it? No, daddy won’t, daddy won’t. Daddy’s going to stay here and spoil you.” Adam rubbed his cheek against his you son’s, feeling the gentle breath caress his neck. “Oh, my little Xarot.”

  “I will send my grandchildren to you to learn,” Marmak said, the woman smiling slightly.

  “Of course! I’ll teach them all how to adore my children!” Adam pnted a kiss on the side of his son’s head, feeling his thin hair tickle against his nose.

  The Marmaks exged a look, befng back at Adam. He truly was so Iyrmanlike, with the rage he could hold so deeply, and then the pure love he had for his children.

  Jurot sat to one side, Monarot within his arms, the girl sug away at her dummy. She tilted her head to meet her father’s gaze, smiling towards him, before returning back to sug at her dummy. Jurot leaned in to press his nose against hers for a moment, causing the girl to smile even wider, almost giggling at her father.

  “ you see me clearly?” Jurot asked, causing the girl to smile again. “Do you uand what I’m saying?” As the girl smiled wider, Jurot thought of his sister. It was only a few years ago now that she had been born. She had been this small too, but now, she was so much bigger. She ate so well, and ran so fidently. She could speak to him, she could uand him, and she could even spell words to him.

  ‘Duh. Oh. Guh. Dog. Is like a puppy, but not my puppy, my puppy is Sun. Sun like to py with me, and we py in the fields. You will py with me, brother?’

  “Monarot,” Jurot called, causing the girl to stare into his eyes. “That is your name. Do you uand?”

  The girl sucked on her dummy, squirming shyly.

  “Your mother named you. I wished to name you Pamarot. She wished to name you Monarot. Monarot is a good name. Your aor, Monarot, is one of the greatest in our family. She fought and slew many dragons. She did it so that our family could be safe. Her greatfather, Jarot, was the one whht so many to the Iyr. The dragons did not fet, and they attacked our families, but Monarot, she slew so many dragons so we could live in peace.”

  The girl smiled up at her father, revealioothless smile to him, her dummy almost falling out of her mouth, but her father’s reflexes were too fast.

  “You do not o sy so many dragons. You may stay in the Iyr. Grow well. Groy. You must eat your mother’s bread, though.”

  The girl’s fists raised up towards her father, before she squirmed within his p, and began to groan.

  “Are you hungry?” Jurot asked, after cheg her clothy with a hand. “Since you drink your mother’s milk so well, I know you will eat her bread well. Just like your kako.”

  “Ababababa!” Virot poio the wall, gng towards her mother, as though it had the sheer audacity to block her path.

  “Wall,” Vonda firmed.

  “Bah!”

  “Yes.”

  Virot huffed. She charged back towards her mother upon her feet, grabbing her mother’s dress to steady herself. “Kekeke.”

  Damrot y peacefully on his mother’s p, staring up at the sky above, which darkened. He closed his eyes, sug his dummy lightly, only to be rudely awoken as his father held him, though in an instant he was asleep once more.

  “How are you able to do that?” Pam asked, brushing her daughter’s face, before bringing the girl up to feed her.

  “Father held me this way,” Jurot replied.

  “Your father really was so impressive,” Pam said, before her brows shot up in arm, staring at her husband.

  “Yes,” Jurot replied, ning attention to the word. “Wheurns, you will see how impressive he is. Father is strohan mother. If he does not return, I will go search for the shield, and to return his body to the Iyr.”

  Pam flushed slightly, gng down to her daughter, who drank her milk so peacefully.

  Kiara remaio the side, the other Rot family children eyeing her up. Sometimes they would bully her by telling her all their family’s tales, which terrified the young woman to her heart. She had lost t to the number ons, serpents, hydras, demons, and all manner of wicked creatures the Rot family alone had sin in the Iyr, putting it among some of the greatest families within the Iyr. For although there were at least a hundred families, the Rot family was ted among the top ten, along that of the Gek, Kan, and Jin families, which were some of the only families which cked a true dark age. Then there was the Gak family, which had yet to truly rise i thousand years, but she had heard plenty of tales from them too, many which were already too much.

  ‘What a terrifying pce!’

  Thus the festival tinued, with a mood of merriment, soured by a darkness no one could swallow.

  This has nothing to do with the story, but thick slices of soft white bread is delicious.