-Break-

Φ Still covered in mucus, I walk with Ferdiad who is carrying a large bucket of water to a little shack behind his giant home, and as we enter inside it, Ferdiad says, “I knew she kept the cloth in here. We have so much room, yet she insists on still using these places.”

Standing in the shack, I see that this place has clothes and beds inside of it, it also has a section set out to prepare food. As I stare around it, Ferdiad says, “Does this place interest you?”

“Not really, I was a bit surprised by why there are things here despite looking like a storage area.”

Walking past me, Ferdiad says, “Because it is our former house. Now come outside where I can get you clean.”

“What?” I say as I follow him.

Reaching outside the room Ferdiad grabs me and places me on the floor and starts to clean the mucus off of me, and as he does I say, “You used to live there?”

“That is what I said, don’t tell me you have some parrot blood in your veins.”

“No, but it is shocking that you’ve been able to move from there to such a large house. As a fellow Fir bolg that is amazing.”

“Well, it is to be expected, working for the king of Gorias pays well especially when you are essentially the caretaker of his son.”

Sighing, I say, “Now that I think about it, I think you're house might be too small.”

“I could have made it bigger, but I reinvested a lot of the money we had into the land around here. I was able to get a bunch of the land from the local lord, and now most of the families here work for me, essentially all you see within eye view is mine.”

His house is elevated quite a bit, so the view is incredibly vast, and the idea that all of this is owned by him shakes me to my core. But suddenly a question pops into my head and I ask, “Most of the land around Tir na n-iontas goes for far more than all of the land within the rest of the empire of Louernia, due to it being part of our original land.

So how much did you have to pay to even get this much land? Because it would cost anyone a fortune.”

“Good to see you have been paying attention in class, but even with an amazing position like the one I had I would never be able to afford this place with just three years of working with Setanta.”

“Then how?”

“War.”

His words bring me to silence, and then Ferdiad says, “Lugh brings Setanta to many battlefields for training, though he is either in the base camp and or the rear. And during those battles, we fought beside many houses and made many friends, and I just happened to have saved the lord of this land son, so I got a rather good deal for this land.”

I grip my fist tight, and say, “War huh?”

After looking into the distance, I am reminded of my own home, and think about the faces of them in great houses like these, so I say, “Ferdiad I need you to train me in the spear.”

“Why?”

Getting up I turn to him and say, “I need to expand my skills, so I can do as much as possible rack up accomplishments.”

As I talk I push into Ferdiad which causes him to walk back and say, “Don’t you think you’re a bit too eager?”

“Not in the slightest!”

“You and you’re sister are working towards the same goal so you shouldn’t be in much of a rush.”

“I can’t rely on my sister, she is far too soft.”

Ferdiad says, “I knew she looked soft.”

I punch him in the stomach and say, “Watch how you speak about my sister.”

“What an annoying duo.” Ferdiad then kicks me in the knee and says, “Calm down, and enough with that the only thing we are going to do today is relax so come on.”

Frustrated, I say, “I cannot just relax. We have been getting anywhere recently, and people have started to look at us as average. If I don’t start being exceptional I will get left behind”

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Ferdiad looks me in the face, and says, “I don’t give a shit, I told you today is picnic day so no talking about work. And besides instead of focusing on your problems think about how much you have been through.”

“No one cares for what I have gone through, they will only care for achievements.”

“That isn’t true,” Ferdiad says while pointing at a window at the back of his giant house.

Looking there I see his younger sister Minagrain, staring at us with sparkling eyes. She quickly runs up to Ferdiad and then makes some of her strange gestures, and then Ferdiad says, “My sister here likes to listen to adventures I have been on and wants to hear about all the things that Setanta put you through.”

I say, “It really isn’t all that interesting.”

She makes a face so sad that it makes the sunlight around her vanish, so I quickly reply, “But if you want to hear I can make an exception.”

She jumps for joy then Ferdiad says, “Go wait in your room we will go there.”

She runs away at full speed, and we slowly walk to follow her and as we do I look out into the view again, and say, “You could quit as Setanta caretaker and just rule this land instead, it is far less stressful and just as fruitful. So why don’t you?”

In a playful tone, he says, “Well I would just say that I am so greedy that I can put up with Setanta for money.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Nice to see you have such a high opinion of me, but what I said wasn’t a lie. But something that also isn’t a lie is the fact I don’t think I could ever abandon him as long as I live. Now let us go meet my sister.”

Smiling, I say, “Ok, ok.”

Location: Minabród’s house

Φ Sitting on a stool in the middle of the chicken, Minabród gently combs my hair and removes all of the things that were stuck inside of it due to Setanta's annoying journey.

She has a very calming aura around her, so I feel myself relax and all the stress in my body starts to leave, and as it does I look around her kitchen and notice how nice it is.

“You notice something you like? Is it my son?” She says with an inciting expression.”

Shaken by this, I say, “NO IT IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK!”

“I know, I was just messing with you.”

Calming myself down, I say with red cheeks, “That wasn’t funny. I was just admiring how wonderful this place looks.”

“My son made sure to get the best of the best to make this house. It keeps in heat while being well-ventilated, and he even got me these little balls that can heat or cool down water.”

Looking at the balls, I notice that they look very similar to the ones the maids use to heat up my bath water.

“Recently he said that the beastkin have found plants that allow one to flow water throughout entire houses or castles, they can even reuse waste. Ferdiad said he wanted to get some for us, but I think that is a bit much for my mind to handle right now. So many little things I thought I had to simply put up with are vanishing little by little, I really am getting old.”

“I never really noticed before, but since I have been studying at the house of Faoláin, I have realized that there are many different members of the Tuatha Dé Dannan who are constantly looking for ways to improve the lives of our people, it really is beautiful.”

“Well if you say so it must be true because judging just from your hair you know a thing or two about beauty.”

“Thank you,” I say staring at her with a smile.

She makes an incredibly happy expression and says, “It is such a shame you’re a warrior, I am sure that many would have loved to make you their wife.”

“Don’t fret, since I plan on racking up countless achievements and becoming the untouchable beauty that no man can attain. Which will spur a man to devote his life to win my favour and join countless battlefields. Then after a tragic battle, we will kiss, and be married, it will be a romantic tale of blood and love.”

With an innocent kindness, she says, “I believe in you!”

Full of despair, I say, “Though with how everything has been going for me, I doubt I will be able to even step on a battlefield, at this rate I might end up becoming one of Setanta's wives. What will my mother think.”

“Don’t be upset, Setanta is actually really food with mothers, so I am sure he will convince her it is ok for you guys to marry,” she says trying to cheer me up.

“That was kind of you but unnecessary since my mother is dead already.”

Panicking she says, “I am sorry I didn’t know.”

“No need to be sorry, it was a death due to pregnancy incongruency. Nothing could be done so it hurts a bit less.”

Minabród says, “Pregnancy incongruency is when a beastkin births a child with animal traits that conflict with the mother's own animals traits making for a difficult birth, I thought it was all but impossible nowadays.”

“Most people watch what they eat so their kids won’t be born with animal traits of an animal the mother can’t handle, but when my mother was young her people moved around quite a bit and ate a wide selection of things, so it was just unfortunate.”

“I am really sorry for that?”

“Don’t be, my mother had the same issue during my pregnancy and the same during my brother, yet she chose to have us so I shouldn’t be sad otherwise her life would be in vain.”

Finishing up my hair, she says, “I was right, you really are beautiful. If your mother was even a bit like you she would be one of the most amazing people I have ever met.”

“Thank you, but I also think by the same logic you're also amazing.”

Walking away from me she starts to take things out, that look like they are for the picnic and says, “I wouldn’t say that.”

Moving over to help her, I say, “Ferdiad is the only reason, and many others are able to put up with Setanta, and being the kind of mother who can raise such a man is an accomplishment.”

“So you really do like my little man?”

“NO! I was just giving him a compliment,” I say flustered.

“You really are fun to play jokes on,” she says with a bright smile. “But still don’t misunderstand, I am not the kind of person you think I am. I happen to be a coward who is too afraid to either fight or run, someone whose children have saved more than she has saved them. I am useless.”

“Don’t say tha-.”

“THOUGH I DON’T CARE!!!” Walking over to a door, she peeks inside and sees Ferdiad, Minagrain, and my brother, then she says, “The only thing I can do is simply just not dwell on my pathetic side, and smile for those two. It is the only thing I can do for them anymore.”

Kicking her in the shin, I say, “Caring for your kids that much makes you good in my books idiot.”

Rubbing my head, she says, “Thank you for that.”

Suddenly from outside we start to hear many loud screams, so we look at each other and say, “Setanta!”