“How you can worry nana like this?” Jirot asked, her hands upon her hips, her head tilted downwards while she glared up at her father. “I hear you are worrying nana one more time, and I will tell nana…” Jirot blinked, furrowing her brow slightly. “I will tell mummy.”

“Dear, but, I’m the one that’s being bullied,” Adam said, pouting slightly.

“You think I do not know you deserve it?”

The howling of laughter filled the air, as the old Mad Dog slapped his knee, catching the stub with his finger tips. “She knows! She knows! Bahahaha!”

“You think this is funny, babo?” Jirot’s eyes darted to her greatfather, who continued to laugh. She reached up to slap her forehead, rubbing down her face. “What am I to do with you? You always make my head hurt.”

“Does your head hurt?” Adam asked, hoisting his daughter up quickly, planting kisses all over her forehead. “Does it feel better now?”

“It feels better,” Jirot replied, wrapping her arms around her father’s neck.

Adam squatted down and lifted up little Jarot, peppering his forehead with kisses too. “How can daddy make your heads hurt? I’m sorry. I’ll be good now, okay? Will you forgive me?”

“I forgive you, just this once, okay?” Jirot planted a firm kiss on her father’s cheek, brushing his hair gently, as her father would for her. “You silly, silly boy.”

“Thank you for forgiving me, my magnanimous little girl,” Adam brought the pair close to his chest, constantly kissing the tops of their heads, as the pair held onto their father tightly.

The gates of the fort opened, allowing in the wolves and the Managers riding them, who spotted the group immediately.

“Jirot! Jarot!” Lucy exclaimed, the Manager hopping off her wolf, before charging the green skinned Iyrmen.

“Kako!” Jirot reached out her arms for the woman, her father letting her go, the pair embracing tight.

“Kako…” Little Jarot called out, while Mara picked him up. The boy beamed, his eyes almost shut tight from his joy.

“Jarot.” Mara brushed his cheek, leaning in to nuzzle his nose, before holding him close to her chest.

“What are you two doing here?” Lucy asked, rubbing Jirot’s ear gently with a thumb. “Did you cause trouble for your father to come?”

“No! I did not!” Jirot huffed, glancing towards her father for support. “I am not trouble! I do not trouble daddy!”

Adam smiled, but hearing the distress in the girl’s voice, he reached out his arms and lifted her out of Lucy’s, pulling her close. “It’s okay, it’s okay. You don’t trouble me, everyone knows that.”

“Daddy!” Jirot sniffled, clutching at her father’s shirt. She stopped as little Jarot embraced her, the pair hugging within their father’s arms.

“Sorry,” Lucy whispered, flushing red.

“It’s okay,” Adam replied, swaying with his twins within his arms, while his triplets hurried over to say hello to the Demons, while Lanarot charged at the wolves.

“Cloud! You are back!” Lanarot exclaimed. “You had fun hunting?”

“I did,” Cloud half growled out, letting the girl rub the top of his head, the wolf allowing sweet whimpers to escape his throat.

“I will ride you, okay?”

“Not today,” Cloud said, noting Jurot’s eyes, the wolf rubbing his head against the girl’s leg gently.

“Aw!” Lanarot groaned but was quickly distracted as Jurot lifted her up, the Iyrman holding the girl close to his chest.

“Cloud has worked hard,” Jurot said, carrying his younger sister away, while she wrapped her arms around his neck and nestled her head against his shoulder. “Let us bring him food.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Yes!”

While the brother and sister pair went to find the wolves food, the businessfolk continued to cook long into the evening. Nobby brought his son, who walked with a dummy in his mouth, the boy peering up at all the people within the fort, before he grabbed his father’s trousers and began to whimper.

“He wants you to pick him up,” Adam said, and as Nobby lifted the boy up, the half elf smiled. “Turn him around. He’s too shy.”

Merry quietened down as he hid within his father’s chest, though his attention quickly shifted to the babbling girl.

“Oyoyoyo,” Virot babbled away, staring down at her cup of milk. She tired her head back up. “Biss?”

“You want to work in the business?”

Virot raised her cup before babbling towards her father about this thing and that thing.

“Of course you can learn enchanting, my dear. I’ll ask the Enchanter for you.” Adam planted a kiss on her forehead, causing the girl to squeal and cackle up at her father. “If you cackle like that, it feels like you’re going to cause a mess.”

Virot continued to cackle, before she stopped, staring at the sky. It was turning grey in the distance. She pointed up at it and babbled.

“Oh? Yeah, I see it.”

Bael yawned, feeling the cool sense within his gut the rains would soon come. He opened an eye to see Konarot staring at him, the girl jolting as they met eyes, before she ran away to her baba, climbing up beside him. He smiled slightly. ‘You have no need to fear me, little one.’

It was later in the evening when the shouts began. The gates opened, revealing five figures, four heavily armoured, and one adorned in thick clothing, that of the north.

Malfev almost glided towards the open gates, while Sonarot stepped forward to greet the figures, as the President of the business, and also as family, due to the arrival of one figure who had returned.

“You have returned,” Sonarot said, while her brother limped towards them.

“I have,” the young Iyrman replied, his eyes darting towards Tonagek. The pair held the same tattoos upon their forehead, both wore heavy armour, with a blade at their sides, and a shield upon their backs.

‘He really does look like his mother,’ Adam thought.

“What happened to your leg?” Tanagek asked, clasping his father’s forearm, before the pair embraced one another tight, their armour clanging together as they almost shoulder barged one another’s breast plates.

“It was lost when…”

Noting his father’s tone, Tanagek slowly bowed his head, before his eyes darted down towards the two chonky boys who had followed their father. “You both look like father.”

Danagek, the eldest of the boys, blinked, while Dagek shuffled towards his father and clutched at his leg.

“Do not be shy. This is your eldest brother, Tanagek.”

“Papa?” Danagek asked.

“Yes,” the young Iyrman confirmed, dropping to a knee, reaching up to tickle his brother’s nose. “I have brought many gifts, and many tales for you.”

Danagek remained frozen still in shock, though retreated to his father once Tanagek began to greet the other Iyrmen.

“I pray I am not intruding,” the Aldishwoman said. She was pale of skin, with short grey hair which was once black, and dark eyes full of apprehension. She wore full plate, and dark furs which fell down to her ankles, along with her two companions, and each wore a helmet fashioned in the style of an angry bear.

“It is our honour to host the Bear Mother,” Sonarot said, greeting the Grand Commander of the Order of the Steel Bears. “We were not expecting your company.”

“I met the young Iyrman coincidentally, and seeing that I had some light business with the Iyr, I thought to visit before I continued back to the Order,” the old Bear Mother said, before her eyes darted to the Iyrman beside her, then fell back to Sonarot. “Are you by any chance the daughter of the Mad Dog?”

“I am his daughter by marriage,” Sonarot confirmed.

The old woman nodded her head. “I came with my condolences.”

“You may give them to the children if you wish.”

“The… children?” Bear Mother asked.

“Bear Mother,” Malfev called, approaching the woman.

“Malfev,” she replied, the pair shaking forearms, before Malfev did the same for the other Order members beside her, each Masters, no doubt. He was surprised she had brought such few figures, though he figured she may have left the rest within the nearby village.

While others greeted the Bear Mother, Mosen wrestled his son to the ground, all the while Tonagek and Tanagek completely ignored them. “How dare you come back so late! Chisen has been wishing to meet you for years!”

“Gah!” Chosen replied, trying to wrestle with his father, but thankfully, Shasen reached down to grab Mosen’s shoulder. “Let me greet him.”

Mosen, knowing better than to refuse his uncle, letting his son go so the pair could greet one another.

“Jurot!” Tanagek called out as he clasped Jurot’s forearm.

“Tanagek,” Jurot greeted, the pair, patting one another’s shoulders gently. “You have returned?”

“I wished to return in nightval, but I was caught within Red Oak during the Twilight Month,” the Iyrman admitted. “I was far north, in Drakkenlan, when I heard of the news. I tried to return as quickly as I could.”

“It is good that you have returned.”

“Where are the children?” Tanagek asked, his eyes darting around, spotting the girl who stared up at him while she ate her piece of bread. ‘Those who were killed were boys?’

“Let me introduce you to my brother. It was his children who were killed.”

‘Brother?’ Tanagek thought, before the pair met face to face.

The pair were almost identical in height and build, while Adam had dark copper hair and hazel eyes which were nearly emerald in the right light, Tonagek had darker hair and darker eyes.

‘Why’s he looking at me like that?’ Adam thought, as Tanagek glared into his eyes.