“Mommy!” Deimos’ childish voice cheered, the four year old always happy to see his mother.
“Hey bud.” Lilis chuckled softly, still exhausted from the recent surgery. It wasn’t perfect, but it would make her remaining time far more comfortable, meaning she finally got to go home. “How’s my little guy doing?”
“I learned math!” Deimos beamed, proud of his achievement.
“That’s great! Soon you’ll be going to school, and you’ll become my little professor, won’t you?” Lilis leaned on her cane, glad Deimos wasn’t aware yet of how bad things were going. Sure, the surgery reduced the unpleasantries of her situation, but she still had a strict time limit, during which she could not use magic like anyone else could. She knew very well just how difficult this adjustment would be, but she’d happily put on a smile for him.
“Of course! I’m gonna be a doctor! Then I can help you!” Deimos’ toothy grin warmed Lilis’ heart, but she didn’t doubt he would become a magnificent doctor. Despite his age, he’d shown remarkable intelligence already, from what she’d seen during the hospital visits.
“Honey, you should’ve waited for me.” Achlys called out from behind her. He shut the door behind him, glancing at his wife and child with a smile. The bags under his eyes told Lilis just how difficult his life was now, too.
“I can walk on my own.” Lilis huffed, but smiled. The gesture helped ease her worries, at least. She did not want to become a burden. Achlys’ deal with the military was bad enough, but making him actively take care of her? That would be too much.
“The doc said you should take it easy.” Achlys wagged his finger at her, but he was clearly more amused than anything else. “Now, Deimos, why don’t you show mom what we’ve done with her room?”
Deimos beamed again, taking Lilis by the hand and leading her through the house. It was the same house Lilis had grown up in, but the age had become even more apparent. They never had the money for the improvements she’d dreamed of as a child, but it was still home. Two bedrooms, a decent sized kitchen, and one bathroom. Not the best place in the city, either, but it wasn’t Dyrlton. A small, poor family would get eaten up down there.
Lilis allowed Deimos to take the lead, sensing how tired Achlys was. While his situation with the military wasn’t awful, it was still exhausting. She’d listened to him rant about how it was worse than the factory job he used to have. Even so, it seemed he had redecorated their little home. “Oh wow, did you help daddy paint?”
“Yep! I did the bottom, cause I couldn’t reach the top!” Deimos puffed his chest out proudly, eliciting a giggle from his mother.
“Did daddy tell you the good news?” Lilis bent down to pat Deimos’ head.
Deimos shook his head, a curious look in his eyes.
“Mommy can have another child.” Lilis smiled softly. “You’ll have a little brother or sister.” Of course, that was simplifying it. In truth, she had to recover from the surgery first, as well as deal with the medication they wanted her on. Achlys had been hesitant about the idea, of course, but she’d talked him into it. They’d both wanted at least two children when they married. Besides, with his deal with the military, they’d be set for now. At least until Deimos graduated and found his own job.
“I’m gonna have a little sister?!” Deimos bounced on his feet in joy.
Lilis shook her head at his actions, smiling softly. “Or brother. You never know.” Not like they had the money for those selection programs. They always turned out wrong, anyway. “But when you do, you’ll have to be a role model for them, okay?”
Deimos nodded eagerly, looking adorably serious. “Of course! I’ll do my best!” He gave an exaggerated salute, pretending to be a soldier for a moment.
Lilis merely giggled, patting him on the head again. She might not have the best life, but if it meant having Deimos and Achlys with her, she wouldn’t trade it for anything.
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Achlys groaned, flopping onto the bed in the med-tent.
The doctor, a young man named Theodore, slid next to the bed, sitting on a rolling chair. “Alright, symptoms?”
Achlys took a few deep breaths, feeling the pressure on his chest slowly lessen. “Heart pain. Pressure, too. Sharp, tingly. Like a stab wound and electricity together.”
“I see…” Theodore nodded, scribbling that down in his typical indecipherable handwriting. “Any issues with your magical capacity, or headaches?”
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Achlys nodded. “Magic’s a bit… too thick? Usually it feels like water, but now it feels like sludge. Ya know, slow to move. Definitely more powerful, though.”
“Alright, any other physical or mental symptoms?” Theodore raised a brow, idly tapping his pen against the paper.
“Other than exhaustion? Not that I can tell.” Achlys shook his head. “Am I good to go?”
“For today, yes.” Theodore nodded, sliding back so Achlys could stand up. “Be sure to write down any symptoms as soon as they appear. You’ll receive the usual income, plus a bonus for the success.”
Achlys sat up, sighing. “That’s nice, doc. What long term effects?”
“Hm… Nothing long term. The tiny amount of HT7 we gave you should fade within the next day or so. With your usual metabolic rate… I’d say fifteen hours.” Theodore stood and opened the door for Achlys. “Keep me informed if anything changes. We don’t expect any side effects, but it is always better to be safe.”
“As a father, I can definitely agree.” Achlys let out a chuckle, walking out the door.
“Ah, that’s right. Deimos, right? How is the little one?” Theodore followed behind him. “You haven’t mentioned him recently.”
“Ain’t been home long enough.” Achlys scratched his arm nervously. “He’s apparently taking well to his little sister, at least. He’s gonna spoil her rotten, I can tell.”
“Heh. That’s good. What was her name? Dawn, right?” Theodore hummed. “Why doesn’t her name fit with yours, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Oh, we named her after my grandmother.” Achlys muttered, not sure where the doctor was going with this. “She’s not up for sale, either.” He warned. The last thing he wanted was Deimos or Dawn to end up in this same state as him. He’d been lucky so far, but Deimos and Dawn were both children.
“Easy, easy. I’ve got kids of my own. I was actually curious if either of them wanted to become doctors yet.” Theodore held his hands up in surrender. “I know they’re still kids, but it’s never too early to think about it.”
Achlys stopped, turning to him. He wasn’t quite sure what Theodore was playing at, but he’d play ball for now. “Deimos has mentioned it. He’s six, so he’s about to start school.”
“Well, if it keeps up, let me know. I can get him into a training school. That’ll help him get a doctorate.” Theodore shrugged. “It’d be a few years, of course, but it’s something.”
“...Why are you offering?” Achlys crossed his arms, glaring at Theodore.
“You’ve been testing my experiments. If I get this approved fully, you’ll be the reason.” Theodore pointed out. “You might’ve been kinda coerced into this, but you’re also the only one who tried. Most people hear ‘magic enhancing drug’ and think it’s some diabolical thing. I had to fight just to get approval from the military on this. Thankfully, Kordan himself was interested in this.”
“Kordan?!” Achlys’ eyes widened. “What does the fucking President of Prome want this for? He’s already galactic in strength.”
Theodore rolled his eyes. “He’s planetary, maybe. But either way, it’s probably for his daughter. Word has it she’s got relatively little magic. Less than my own kids.”
“I guess that makes sense. She’s adopted, right?” Achlys hadn’t looked into it too much, but it was hard to avoid the news about Kordan adopting a daughter, especially since Lilis loved to keep up with the news.
“Yep. She’s still just a kid, but from what I hear, Kordan dotes on her. She’s gonna either be his replacement, or his perfect little general.” Theodore paused, a thought coming to mind. “Course, there’s also rumors that he’s planning on her becoming an Elemental, but I doubt it… Anyway, enjoy your week off, and be sure to let me know if anything changes.”
“Fine.” Achlys huffed, their conversation lingering on his mind. If Kordan thought this drug would help his daughter… maybe it could help Dawn, too.
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Deimos didn’t understand a lot of things just yet, but he understood that he was supposed to take care of Dawn. She looked like the their parents, just in the opposite way as Deimos. Where he had black hair and a thin face, Dawn had brown hair with a chubby face, as well as her green eyes. While their appearances might have been different, the two had become inseparable once Dawn had started talking.
Deimos went out of his way to teach her as much as he could, even to the point of doting on her. He adored his younger sister, but he didn’t understand her. She didn’t seem to like learning the way he did. “It’s just numbers!” Deimos groaned.
“It’s hard!” Dawn huffed, crossing her arms.
“It’s easy!” Deimos rolled his eyes petulantly. “Just add five to five, five times.”
“It’s still hard!” Dawn turned to Lilis with a huff. “Mommy, tell him!”
Lilis chuckled. “You two should calm down. It’s easy for you, Deimos, but it isn’t easy for everyone.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Deimos tilted his head, pointedly ignoring Dawn sticking her tongue out at him. “How could it not be easy?”
Lilis pursed her lips, trying to think of how to explain it to Deimos and Dawn. “Everyone has different abilities, Deimos. For example, I’m a lot better with words than your father is, but he’s stronger than I am.” That had been true even before she lost access to her magic. Achlys had always been a physical laborer, whereas she had been a manager at a grocery store prior to her hospitalization. “Some people have harder times with certain skills than others. You took a bit longer to learn to read than Dawn did, you know.”
Deimos turned away with a huff. “It’s still easy.”
Dawn grinned smugly. “I told you!”
“Now, now. You two should take a break and play, how about that?” Lilis stood up, gesturing towards the backyard. “Come on, some playtime will help you relax.” It’d also get them to do more than just sit and learn. Deimos enjoyed it, but Dawn clearly wanted to do more physical things. It was difficult keeping up with either of them, but she’d do her best. After all, she had to take care of them while Achlys was busy with the military experiments.