The older Jarot carved into his baked potato, biting into it, tasting the bhat was the soft, pillowy potato as it melted in his mouth. He reached for his ilk, sipping it lightly, his eyes peeking to one side.

  Little Jarot licked his lips, gng up towards his greatfather, notig he had moved on to his ilk, so the boy did the same. As the older Jarot poked his potato once more, little Jarot did the same, chewing the meat of the potato slowly, swallowing it quickly, in tiny amounts.

  “Would you like some butter too, my boy?” the crippled Iyrman asked, spreading a tiny sliver of butter within his potato. When little Jarot shook his head, the older Jarot sprihe ti pinch of salt upon his own potato. “Salt?”

  “Soht?” Jarot asked.

  “I want soht!” Jirot called, her brows arg upwards expetly, the girl puckering her lips.

  “Of course, my Jirot.” The old one armed Iyrman sprinkled a healthy dose of salt for his greatdaughter. “Would you like just a little bit?”

  “Little bit…”

  Adam kept an eye on them from the er, swallowing his nerves, allowing the old man to test his son’s limits.

  Jarot picked up the ti amount of granules, less than ten individual granules, before sprinkling them across a half of the baked potato. “There. Just a little bit.”

  The boy tio poke at his potato, eating tiny slivers, about a finger nail’s worth with every bite. Adam reached out now and again to warm the potato using his magic, making sure it didn’t grow too cold, as the boy tio nibble away at the potato before almost a quarter of it was gone.

  Once dinner was done, Adam held his twins within his arms, while his eldest trio all curled up around him.

  “Gosh. Who eats as well as my Jirot and Jarot?” Adam rocked from side to side gently, against Kirot and Karot, whose tails swayed to the beat of their father’s joy.

  “How you be so lucky, daddy?” Jirot joked, cuddling up to her father’s chest.

  “You’re right,” Adam whispered, smiling wider, before rubbing his cheeks against their foreheads, his heart threatening to burst. ‘I’m defihe luckiest man in the whole world!’

  Little Jarot smiled, sug his thumb lightly, while his free hand gripped at his father’s shirt, gripping it tight. He did not wish to let his father go in this moment, and deep within his heart, the boy hoped they could stay together forever.

  As the snow engulfed the Iyr in white, the triplets charged towards their baba, who reached down to tickle their ears with his coarse hand. “This time is is your mother who has brought you?”

  “Daddy still w,” Konarot replied, before pig up the small wooden tainer from her waist, opening it up. “I bring snacks.”

  “What lovely snacks,” Tonagek replied, before noting the expectation in her eyes. “May I have one?”

  “Baba, you must eat one,” Konarot firmed.

  “If I must then I must,” Tonagek replied simply, before reag down to plue of the small nutballs, chewing it slowly, feeling the way the ball stuck to his teeth. “It is good. I will pour the tea, you set the board.”

  “Okay!”

  Vonda smiled, watg her eldest daughter py with her baba, meanwhile Danagek and Dagek gnced her way, smiling up at her. She sometimes pyed with the pair, but they were always so excited to see her since she was their kaza’s wife.

  “Eeeeeeehuk!” Xarot cried, his tears flowing down his face, before his mouth was suddenly occupied, and he slowly sucked the milk out of his aunt’s teet. He stared up at the woman, reising her, before he rexed, his eyes half closing.

  “If your father finds out you cried while I was watg over you, he’ll tease me,” Pam said, brushing the boy’s thin hair, before noting his leaf shaped ears. She tickled them gently with her fiip, and the boy shuddered awake. “Sorry!“

  “Oobooboo!” Virot excimed, motioning her hand to the snow, as though it had the audacity!

  “It is too cold?” Jurot asked.

  “Ha!” Virot tio point at the snow with her entire hand, the same way her elder sister would.

  “It is often cold in nightval,” Jurot said.

  “Hu?” Virot’s brows raised in arm, the girl staring up at her uncle, frozen in shock. Her hazel eyes took in the sight of the her uncle, who would sometimes feed her berries, and she turo face Damrot, who gnced up at his father, smiling slightly. The girl looked down at the snow, and squatted to pie up, before holding it up to her uncle.

  “…” Jurot accepted the snow, and the pair stared into one another’s eyes expetly, and Virot’s lips turned into the most wicked smirk, the tiny girl sauntering off, satisfied with her mischief.

  Damrot bli Virot, before cag lightly, rushing after her, tripping over into the snow, hoisting himself up, following after his cousin with his front and side coated in white.

  Jurot stared at the snow within his hand, following after the pair. He caught Nirot’s eyes, the young woman’s eyes darting down to the snow within Jurot’s hand, which he had carried for the st ten minutes.

  “Virot! Damrot!” Jirot called out, darting away from Laygak, the girl hugging her younger sibling and cousin. “You are causing trouble for papo?”

  “Oboo.”

  “Good,” Jirot said, brushing the girl’s cheek. “Only a little bit?”

  Virot squealed with delight in response, causing Jirot to hug her tighter, and to kiss her forehead once more, doing the same for Damrot.

  “e! Papo Laygak is reading story!”

  Virot gasped, before her eyes darted to the Iyrman, who smiled at her adly, and she cpped with delight, st over to him.

  Little Jarot hugged and kissed them too, before sitting down beside them as Laygak spoke the tale to the children.

  “Have you heard the tale of Fme Brand?” Laygak joked, causing Jirot and Jarot to giggle, which caused Virot and Xarot to cackle.

  As Laygak spoke the tale, a tale the twins did not tire of, their younger brother, tired of the world around him, yawned as he fell asleep within his greatmother’s arms. Mulrot held the boy close, allowing him to use her as a pillow, the old nting a gentle kiss upon his cheek. The boy stirred lightly, but fell asleep once more at the geouch of her wrihumb against his forehead.

  Malfev smiled, sipping away at his tea. “He is still w?”

  “He wishes to spoil them during the Twilight Month.”

  Malfev slowly nodded his head. He had spoken to Adam about the matter earlier, where Adam had said the same thing. He could see it upon the half elf’s shoulders, the weight that was the business. Though he could have spent the st three months doing nothing, for the business had so much mohere was something that it still cked, especially with the uping Reavers.

  “I will spoil them on his behalf,” Malfev joked.

  “I will spoil them, sihey are my greatchildren,” Mulrot stated firmly.

  Malfev inhaled sharply, before letting out his breath. He couldn’t win against his sister since she was their greatmother, but also because he was still the Family Elder. ‘I will tell Jirot that you are bullying me.’

  Thus the months of nightval passed, with Adam spending much of his waking time enting or with his family, while the business lost thousands of gold, partly because of how much he ending on the various items he ented. He also prepared various other items for the business, having already gifted Jonn and Duhe beginnings of such preparations months ago.

  “Why?” Jirot asked, her lips trembling.

  “Your papo says we have to go, so we have to go,” Adam replied, pig up his daughter.

  “You said! Daddy! You said!” The girl’s face torted to make to cry.

  “I didn’t know, but…” Adam gnced over his shoulder, before pulling his daughter to one side, hugging her close. “Daddy is going to get you such a lovely gift.”

  “I do not want gift, I want daddy…”

  Adam smothered the girl in his affe, kissing her face over. “Okay. Daddy will return early year. Then, when he’s back, daddy is going to py with you so much! You know what! I’m going to make papo Dunes py with you too!”

  “Daddy…”

  Adam embraced each of his children one by one, pnting firm kisses all over their faces, before he hugged his wife, the pair kissing one another for a long moment. “I’ll be back soon, darling.”

  “I know.” Vonda brushed his cheek. “I will deal with Jirot.”

  “It’s all my fault, so don’t bme her.”

  “I won’t,” Vonda promised. “It’s always your fault.”

  Adam smiled slightly, his smile growing sad, and the pair shared a knowing look.

  “I did not mean that.”

  “I know,” Adam replied, a small smirk upon his lips.

  “Jirot, Jarot,” Jurot called, the pair rushing up to him. “We must go, because we must go. We will return soon. I will task you to watch over Virot and Damrot, and Xarot and Monarot. you do it?”

  “I do it!” Jirot said, her tears streaming down her cheeks, glistening as the nearby fmes illumihe resolute look within her eyes.

  Jurot hugged both of them, swelling with great energy, before he let them go. Jurot embraced his wife, kissing her, before lifting up his sister, the pair cuddling for a long moment. He let Lanarot go and embrace their brother, before Jurot ruffled Damrot’s hair, the boy yawning, wanting to sleep. Jurot wasn’t sure what to say, so hugged his son, putting him to sleep, doing the same for Virot once Adam was done greeting her.

  “Brother…”

  “Will you watch over my Jirot and Jarot?” Adam whispered.

  “I will!”

  “You still o go to school.”

  “Aaw.”

  “There is no school iwilight Month,” Sonarot remihe girl, causing Lanarot to smile.

  Adam greeted each of the other children, gng around for Jaygak and Kitool, then Raygak and Saygak. ‘Seriously! How could they work this much?’

  Adam allowed the Iyr to blind and deafen him as the chariot pulled him away to one side, to a ke he had never seen, before he he pair who had been waiting for them. “Who are these strangers?”

  “Still not funny,” Jaygak said, shaking his forearm, doing the same for Jurot. “O time?”

  “O time,” Jurot firmed, the pair sharing a knowing look.

  “We just keep doing this,” Adam offered.

  Jaygak ughed. “You didn’t bring anything magical did you?”

  “The only thing magical is this bracelet,” Adam said, revealing the bead bracelet Elsie and her siblings had made for him. “I didn’t even bring my amulet.”

  “Okay.” Jaygak gnced aside to Jurot, Kitool, and then Adam. “Let’s go.”

  Adam wasn’t sure why they couldn’t bring anything magical, but he decided against asking, following Jurot into the ke, alongside Jaygak. They waited knee deep within the ke for a moment, before it began to glow, and Jurot submerged, followed quickly by the other three, and the trio left.

  As the stars in the night sky twihe brothers csped forearms.

  “I should leave soon,” Tarot said, the Iyrman smiling sadly.

  “You should greet them before you go.”

  “I am too weak.”

  “They are yreatchildren too,” the old one armed Iyrman grumbled.

  “I am too weak,” Tarot repeated, smiling sadly. “I am gd they are… Iyrmen now.”

  “They have always been Iyrmen,” Jarot stated firmly.

  Tarot slowly nodded his head, but he could feel the chill within his heart. “They will be raised without me.”

  “You asked for a child to be named after you, so return quickly, you brat!” Jarot growled.

  Tarot chuckled, sipping the rest of his tea. He waited, for there was still some time left for him to speak with his brother. “Diamond?”

  “Diamond! With a brother who wishes to cim Diamond within the Guild, how could he not reach such a height?” Jarot howled with ughter.

  “Is our family growing to?”

  “We must. Our family has those many wish to kill.”

  “The Iyr may not allow it.”

  “They must.”

  “Let us hope.”

  “Hope?” Jarot inhaled deeply, narrowing his eyes. “There is no doubt.”

  Tarot nodded affirmatively. He swallowed, feeling his eyes well. “I was gifted the ce to bee a Grandmaster, but I could not help my greatchildren.”

  “Let us hope you will never have to.” Jarot poured his brother o cup of wihe pair raising their cups, before sipping their wine. “You should see them.”

  Tarot smiled slightly, seeing as how his brother ressing the matter. “I will not see them before I am strong enough to take them from you.”

  “ you do it?”

  “I must?” Tarot replied, his voice light, and their ughter fell into the darkness of the st night of nightval.

  Then it came.

  The Twilight Month.

  It was not just any Twilight, however.

  He's always w!