Following the events from last week’s meeting between the two families both agreed that after hearing from their children about their cheery declaration of friendship, it was settled upon that they continue their meetings on a weekly basis.
It was made clear in the beginning concerning Leonard’s inability to leave the house, to which Liarra gave no complaints on her part, only the look of intrigue she showed gave rise to Ailene’s continued suspicion. To Liarra’s surprise however, was the excitement she witnessed from her daughter after hearing everything would be okay for them to continue visiting on the weekends so as not to intrude upon Leonards lessons.
As if invigorated when she heard about Leonard having already begun his schooling, she requested that she too start her own proper education in the hopes of getting to share in the experience of learning together with her newly made friend. It had been a torrent of events for both Liarra and Nicholas from there. Making efforts in the search for someone who they deemed suitable and could trust with their daughter’s education – until it just ended up with Liarra taking the responsibility herself stating she’d teach her personally.
Nicholas didn’t disagree with the decision knowing she was more than qualified to take on the role given the education she received back in her previous family.
Then without realising, a week had passed and it was once again the weekend already. Giving way for both mother and daughter to be welcomed back once more into the Haydsworth household. Upon their entrance into the furnished homes entryway both families were more comfortably dressed compared to their initial meeting. Setting the tone that this was a much friendlier visit as opposed to the strict adhesion to constraining forms of social etiquette prior.
Before any proper greetings could be made however, Felicia took the initiative throwing everyone off guard by breaking away from her mother’s side and running up to Leonard – innocent smile on her face with excitement in her voice.
“Can we go back to the herb beds again? It smelled really nice there and I want to see more of the flowers we missed from last time too!”
Realising that Felicia might’ve unknowingly let her eagerness get the better of herself by skipping through layers of etiquette that most people would consider rude. Leonard couldn’t help but let the feline fairy’s eagerness infect him as well – part way resolving himself inwardly that should she be reprimanded he’d rather it be together with him.
So grabbing her hand he shot his mother a playful smile and ran off out back before either mother could voice their objections. Leaving the two with only Felicia’s innocent laughter echoing in the air to highlight their children's’ eagerness to abandon all forms of propriety.
Ailene was the first to break their momentary shock with a small chuckle, “it would seem that in our eagerness for those two to gain some social experience, we might have just given rise to a pair of troublemakers.”
Liarra took a second longer to let the scene settle within her mind having never seen Felicia take the lead such as she had. Slow realization came about as a small trickle of worry was no doubt beginning to fester within only to be overly squashed by the immense sense of pride and relief she felt in her daughters new found sense of confidence.
Nicholas had made his concerns worryingly clear on how he felt with her restricting Felicia too much in the past; beginning a somewhat heated discussion where she lamentably agreed with him. Knowing all too well that there was the possibility she was imprinting her own fears onto her daughter. Yet, upon witnessing her daughter’s actions just now did the relief wash over her fear, cleansing her mind in knowing that such concerns wouldn’t trouble her daughters future. Ending at that, she too let out her own chuckle.
“Indeed. Though to tell the truth, I can’t say I’m entirely against seeing them both so happy together like that.”
Although innocent in it’s statement, Ailene was still somewhat suspicious of Liarra’s fast acceptance of Leonard associating with Felicia. Her husbands words a whispered reminder at the chance she may drastically change her attitude if not comfortable with the arrangement. She didn’t hate Liarra by any means, rather, she enjoyed the congenial discussions they would share together, often getting lost for time due to their conversations.
So she decided she’d give it some more time and wait and see if Liarra truly accepted how fast her daughter was moving forward.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Having managed to escape from their parents, Leonard couldn’t help but release his own laughter once they reached the outside, en-heightening Felicia’s own delight in their childish antics. Internally, he hoped that his mother wouldn’t be too upset in how he decided to act with Felicia upon their arrival.
Putting such thoughts away, he decided to go towards the gazebo first, thinking it’d let them calm down a little and then decide on where Felicia wanted to visit. Given that she mentioned the herb beds, he figured that working from the end of the garden and back would be more efficient. Personally, he couldn’t deny her attraction to the place since he too thought the refreshing smell of the multitude of herbs helped to cleanse the mind some.
As they closed in on the wooden structure he turned back to Felicia, “Are you wanting to go to the herb beds first or did the flowers seem more interesting?”
Realising she was being spoken to, the young girl broke out of her merriment and responded confidently, “The herbs! That way I can smell the flowers better afterwards!”
Thinking that she had this entire thing planned out already, Leonard couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as he proceeded to head in the direction of the herb beds at the far end of the garden.
The Haydsworth garden wasn’t of immense size compared to some of the grand gardens belonging to the nobility. It’s width matched that of their house whereas the length extended outwards, appearing as an elongated rectangle. Along the edges of the garden were hedgerows planted so as to keep out prying eyes should someone be interested in peeking in. Providing direction for the stone pathway’s to follow that Leonard frequently ran along creating a very long rectangular loop which in his mind resembled a right-angled running track. Following outside of the pathways edges were multiple flowerbeds planted, a mosaic of colours and smells were their purpose as it was a beloved feature of his mother who frequently liked to take walks outside – resting in the gazebo to do her reading; purposefully constructed in the centre of the garden. Emilia often lazed within it’s shade as she cited out loud it allowed her to maintain full coverage of his training whenever he had to run laps.
As to the reasoning for why the herb beds were located at the back however, was due to Wesley often needing to fertilize the grounds there, which he and his parents agreed was of sound judgement. Sparing the household from the smell of natures blessing.
As they approached their first objective of the day, Leonard could see that Wesley was currently present – tending to his most recently planted herbs.
Eager to introduce Felicia, Leonard freely declared his presence loud enough so that the middle aged man who was crouching down wouldn’t be caught unawares as they got closer.
“Wesley!”
His unexpected outburst caused a slight squeal of fright to eke out of Felicia’s mouth, not having expected him to suddenly shout like that. Rallying herself best she could, she directed her attention along his line of sight taking note of the individual who stood to respond to his name. Grabbing onto her friends shirt tightly by reflex, she closed the distance between themselves from behind, unknowingly recreating the same scene from last week resembling her first encounter with Leonard.
“Ah! If it isn’t the young master! A pleasant surprise seeing you out here, I heard there were guests coming so I figured I’d have time tending to the gardens before needing to prepare tonight's dinner.”
Looking up at Wesley who had fully turned to face him and Felicia gave the strong impression of a friendly long lost uncle; overly familiar in his attitude with others and unconcerned about certain societal boundaries most of the time.
Standing at six ft. straight. His body was much leaner compared to Jenson’s yet still bore a well toned frame. He wore dark green pants with long brown boots designed for mud-work and a rolled up long sleeved faded cream shirt with an apron layered overtop to prevent mud from spreading on his clothing. Despite appearing much older compared to the rest of the staff, he showed no signs of greying within his short caramel coloured blonde hair. As his bushy thick eyebrows were angled so that they rested in a somewhat angered level held a degree of charming mess to them which only made his dark brown eyes mesh better with his overall countenance. Ending with his short trimmed beard giving a sense of organization to his scruffy appearance and his naturally strong jaw.
As he saw Leonard close in he realized there was another person, whose attempts at hiding herself could do with a little more practice.
“It would seem you’ve also made a new friend recently young master.”
The grip on his shirt hadn’t gone unnoticed and he knew Felicia was certainly intimidated whenever it came to new people. His reasoning for not being cautious with Wesley however, was that he was one of the friendliest people that he knew – often wearing his heart on his sleeve.
“Yeah, this is Felicia, we met for the first time last week and became friends.”
“Ohhh, in that case, allow me to introduce myself little miss. I am Wesley – Head chef to the Haydsworth household, part time gardener and herbologist extraordinaire.” He did a rather exaggerated bow to play up his employment a little.
“And it goes without saying, that any friend of Leonard’s is a friend of mine.” He offered her a smile and a wink with that finishing statement.
Feeling movement from behind, Leonard knew that Felicia had witnessed everything from the easing grip on his shirt. Wesley’s flamboyant introduction – contrasting to his muddy attire seemed to ease her anxiety a little. Thinking more upon it, his immediate declaration of friendship might also have helped.
“It’s… nice to meet you…”
Hearing her voice from behind Leonard turned around and could see she was poking more of herself out from the side. Thinking this was a good sign of growth he decided to build upon her confidence.
“I know I’ve mentioned it before, but Wesley here is the person behind all the herb beds that are planted back here.”
“That’s right, though it’s more of a personal hobby of mine. I feel like my cooking tastes better when you include ingredients that are home grown, it adds that extra something to the meal, you know?”
“D-do you like to cook?”
“Of course!” A jubilant smile overtook his face, “there’s always a fulfilling feeling whenever someone compliments you for a satisfying meal along with the visual reward of their blissful expression. On top that, there’s the near infinite number of ways to change or enhance a dish depending on your preference.”
Having become intrigued by the discussion, she had already re-emerged from Leonard’s shadow and took in Wesley’s words on his experiences.
“Is it easy to learn?”
“Absolutely! But, you’d be surprised at the level of depth cooking has once you’ve made your fair share dishes. Sometimes the simplest of changes can make the biggest of differences in how a meal tastes.” He then looked towards Leonard and a glimmer of inspiration hit his eyes.
“Why, even our young master here has some experience at trying their hand at cooking. Believe it or not but this kid made his own style of sweet biscuit using nothing but a bunch of oats, butter and honey as the base. What did you call it again?”
“Flapjack.” Leonard responded, feeling pressured by Felicia’s swift fixation being placed upon him after Wesley’s revelation.
“Aye flapjack! Honestly, kids and their names these days.” Shaking his head a little as he chuckled, at his young masters poor naming sense.
Turning her head away from Leonard, Felicia focused back in on Wesley, “What did it taste like?”
Crossing his arms in thought, “Hmm… the taste…well, it was baked so it was crunchy, with a hint of sweetness to it as it softly broke apart in your mouth. But that’s the fun thing about cooking. If you wanted, you could just enhance the flavour of that flapjack by adding to it. Sweetening it perhaps by adding sugar or maybe adding cut fruits if you wanted a more natural taste.”
Seemingly getting more comfortable, Felicia was enthused by their discussion on food and cooking, whereas Wesley was just happy he might’ve inspired an aspiring cook into a new hobby.
“Do you think we can make some of Leonard’s flapjack today?” Innocent anticipation carried her question, causing Wesley to look troubled as he answered with regret.
“Sorry little miss, I’m pretty much finished here and need to clean myself up before I start prepping for today's dinner.”
She visibly deflated upon Wesley’s unfortunate denial. As Leonard watched this, the image of Felicia’s sadness from last week appeared – his own heart crying in response. Unable to hold himself back, he rushed out a suggestion in the hopes it’ll cheer her up.
“Although we can’t make anything today, how about next week instead? When you visit again, we can cook together. We’ll even make a show of it and present what we bake to your mother so she can enjoy what you made…”
She stopped. Ears perking up as her tail started swaying from side to side at a faster pace, visually confirming her excitement. Spinning around, she grabbed hold of Leonards hands as she started shaking them around; unawares that her beastkin strength was going unchecked – forcing Leonard to apply his mana to strengthen himself enough so she wouldn’t hurt him.
“Leonard! That’s a great idea! Should I bring anything? What about ingredients? Do I need an apron?”
“I don’t think we need to overthink this too much…”
Watching the two children plan out their own activities for next week, Wesley at this point decided it best to intervene.
“Let’s do it like this. You’ll need supervision if you’re planning to cook something, so I’ll volunteer myself for that. As for the ingredients, they will be provided by the Haydsworth family, given that it was our suggestion.” Leonard didn’t miss the intentional look he received from Wesley as he stated that.
“Whereas for the little miss…” He stopped to think a moment before continuing, “Remember what I mentioned about depth? If you could tell me about one ingredient you would like to include, I’ll be sure to get my hands on some and we’ll add it to what we make next week. Sound good?” His question aimed at both children as he saw them nodding in response; both at differing speeds.
Surprisingly Felicia spoke up immediately, “I already know what I want!”
“Ha! I knew this little missy had a spark of inspiration in her. Go on. Tell me what it is.” He crouched down for her to tell him.
As she was about to voice her answer, she looked back towards Leonard, silently voicing her complaint as he continued watching her.
Thinking he knew what she meant he asked her just to be sure, “I can’t hear it?”
She shook her head in response.
Smiling at her antics he decided to play along and proceeded to turn around whilst also covering his ears with his hands. “Tell me when you’re done okay?”
It took a minute but when she was finished, Leonard felt a tapping on his shoulder, turning around he asked for confirmation, “All done?”
This time she nodded with a smile on her face.
Watching the children and their interaction, Wesley couldn’t help but smile only to realize it was time for him to move on. “Sorry kids, best I get going. Last time I ended up arriving late for my duties I had Marie hounding me out for a week.” He gave a wink towards Leonard upon stating that, who in response only looked to the side in knowing sympathy in earning her ire.
Gathering up whatever equipment he brought with him, he went on his way to store everything away and get clean, leaving the two children behind to their own matters.
“So, looking forward to next week now?” Leonard couldn’t help in asking.
“Mhmm, Wesley seems really smart when it comes to cooking. I can’t wait!”
As he saw the happy expression on Felicia’s face and the excitement she garnered from a single interaction, the idea of simply introducing her to his entire family didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Thinking about a certain hurricane in his life, the thought of letting Felicia get swept up in her tempest was somewhat tempting if it helped in her interactions with people. He knew full well that no ill intention’s would be present in their meeting.
So with a sudden bout of inspiration, he asked wondering if she’d be okay with it, “Felicia, would you like to meet some more of my family?”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Watching on as she looked down upon hearing his question, Felicia began wringing her hands showing her uncertainty.
“I-I don’t know… Do you trust them…?”
“I do.” His response instant. Full of confidence.
Looking up again into Leonard’s eyes, she felt comfortable with trusting him after her interaction with Wesley. Only the slight discomfort of meeting someone new was throwing her off. Thinking back to when she held onto Leonards hand back when they first became friends, she felt that was a comforting action that helped her.
Not speaking any further, her hand reached out towards Leonard, her meaning made clear.
In response Leonard simply smiled lightly, reaching out in turn and took the lead, heading back towards the house wondering about where this hurricane of his could be hiding.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, back within the Haydsworth household both mothers were currently sat within the family living room at opposite ends whilst talking animatedly to one another. Each taking their time drinking a cup of tea which had been poured whilst discussions on various topics went back and forth.
Stood off to Ailene’s side was Marie who diligently awaited being called upon should she be needed.
They had heard Leonard and Felicia making their way back into the house earlier, making inroads to get into who knows what sort of trouble. The mothers decided between one another that leaving the two children alone would be fine; displaying the trust each one held in the pair – something which Ailene made sure to take note of.
Taking a sip of her tea and reaching forward to place her cup back on top of the coaster in front of her, Ailene decided it was time to start making progress on deciphering Liarra’s thoughts about recent events.
“So tell me Liarra, you must be happy with Felicia’s new found confidence, I’m sure?” Choosing to be upfront on the matter – figuring tiptoeing around the issue would only invite suspicion.
Eye’s widening a little Liarra couldn’t help but ruminate before answering, “I think it’s wonderful. Throughout this past week both me and Nicholas were at our wits end on finding a tutor for her after she made a fuss about her schooling.”
Piqued, Ailene carried on the discussion, “How did that go?”
“Unfruitful; in the end we both decided that we were okay with me taking on the roll of educating her for now.”
“I’m happy to hear you’re both decided on the matter. I…” Unsure on how to bring up Nicholas’ worries prior to these meetings, she figured honesty was the best sign to forging a friendship with Liarra.
“I heard from Brenton about Nicholas’ concerns. I just want to make sure you’re okay with the way things are going…” Voice fading softly with care.
Her eyes narrowed upon hearing Ailenes question, “Why wouldn’t I be? For what it’s worth Ailene, Nicholas and I have had this discussion already and the answer to that should be clear in the fact we’re currently here. With both our children happily enjoying their time together.” Her words held a slight sharpness to them.
“Yes and I’m happy that they are too, but I want to know if you’re happy with all this.”
“And why wouldn’t I be?” Her voice near pleadingly sad as she let the question linger a moment, “Are you afraid I might end up doing something? That I’m going to freak out and drag Felicia home? That I’ll just lock her away safe at home where no one can interfere with her life?” For the first time since meeting, Ailene witnessed Liarra’s animalistic features take point; her ears rising on end as her irises began tightening slightly, displaying her bristling agitation as the loss in her voice deepened.
Soothingly Ailene responded, “I’m not trying to interfere, I truly just want to make sure you’re okay with things. Our positions in letting our children discover their own sense of freedom aren’t so far apart after all…” Gently setting the tone of the conversation before continuing on.
“My eldest will be leaving next month. He turned twelve back in Marchen, meaning he’ll be leaving when it comes Junas…” A saddened lilt ending on words. “He was accepted into the Arocsdeen royal academy you know… Just like Brenton and I had been.” Pride swelled as she spoke only for it to fade away once she carried on, “And despite knowing he’ll only go onto thrive whilst he’s there, a small piece of me wants him to stay. Stay as that same boy who needed me to tuck him in at night, the same boy who wrote me letters because he struggled to voice his words, the same boy whose smile was a rare blessing… So, don’t think you’re alone in what it is you’re experiencing, all parents have to deal with this at some point with their children. In letting them grow.”
Ailene’s admittance caused Liarra’s rising agitation to settle; followed by a deep breath, easing her tensing muscles to relax. “I am happy about how she is growing…” Saddened admittance rising in her voice.
“The way she looked after her first interaction with Leonard had me worried more than I displayed, the sadness she bore on her face made me think that that meeting wasn’t such a good idea. That is until I realized she wasn’t upset with what she heard, but in how she reacted, causing me to follow her line of sight.” Her words had lost all edge at this point, lost in the memory she softly recounted.
“When I did, I saw Leonard’s face looking just as sad if not scared at possibly ruining his first interaction. With that, I could already tell he was an incredibly responsible child. I think his open display of worry, helped with Felicia getting to grips in stepping forward with her own courage.” She smiled faintly at the memory.
“Then, when the two of them went off on their own, only to return together later hand in hand with Felicia smiling in having made her first friend, I realized then he wasn’t just responsible. Strong in character and in heart; he got my approval when I saw he was just as happy as she was with their friendship… Only I noticed something a bit more…”
Now it was Ailene’s turn to tense up. A sense of dread at what Liarra was going to go onto say.
Letting out a sigh, Liarra figured it best to be upfront just as Ailene had before. “When they returned together last weekend, I had my suspicions… You see, whenever Felicia gets excited, she tends to forget her heritage and the strength that comes with it. So when she and Leonard were holding hands and she was overcome with emotion; I knew something was amiss.”
Ailene could only inwardly groan, having figured Leonard likely channelled his mana to help endure Felicia’s strength and, knowing her son, he would’ve kept quiet about it because he didn’t want to worry her. Finding herself unable to blame him for his actions, thoughts on how she was going to cover for him arose next. However, after the two mothers had just spoken so openly to one another, she felt it difficult about following through on that.
“The fact you’re telling me about this means you’re confident… about something…” Deciding she could only prolong the inevitable.
In response, Liarra had a mysterious smile show across her face, “I pretty much confirmed it with Felicia when we returned home; asking if she was being careful with her strength when with Leonard. The look of shock on her face spoke for itself. Though, thankfully given that Leonard had no issues she believes him to be a lot stronger than he looks… It might be another reason why she’s taken to him so fast…”
Realizing it was no longer possible to keep things hidden any longer. Ailene decided it best she came clean regarding her sons awakening, Liarra was clearly giving her the opportunity without forcing the matter.
Releasing her own sigh, Ailene massaged her temples in defeat whilst groaning a response, “I stand by my comment earlier about the two of them becoming a pair of troublemakers. I only wish it hadn’t proven true so soon.”
Liarra laughed at that. Grateful that Ailene wasn’t trying to convince her otherwise of her suspicions in Leonards awakening. Feeling that the crux of the matter had been addressed, Liarra took the initiative in figuring out the final piece of the puzzle.
“I take it this is why you had decided to agree to Nicholas’ plan in having our meeting originally?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean you perhaps thought to use us as a means of cover, to protect Leonard so as to prove he hadn’t experienced his awakening and was hiding away to keep it a secret.”
Shaking her head, Ailene responded, “I never considered these meetings of ours to simply be used as a means of camouflage for Leonards awakening. While it’s true they could be used for that purpose, we were genuine in our concern about Leonard’s lacking social experience. I think that point was driven home during Leonard and Felicia’s first introduction.”
Smiling again at the memory, Liarra couldn’t stop herself from laughing at how things had played out since then. Yet as she calmed down she broached the question that now hung over everyone’s lips.
“So how do you propose we proceed from here? Not sharing this information with anyone goes without saying, but what should we do if Felicia starts to question things or Nicholas suspects something too? I don’t think I like the idea of lying to him…”
“It’s fine Liarra. Letting Nicholas know isn’t a problem, him having Brenton’s approval speaks volumes for his character. As for Felicia, I’ll let you decide. She doesn’t seem none the wiser and who knows, maybe letting her in on this secret might just reinforce her friendship with Leonard.” Now Ailene’s voice was showing signs of amusement about how things were turning out. Thankful that it hadn’t turned for the worst.
“Well, I can honestly say I’m relieved; having cleared the air out now that we’re trusting one another like this. I have to ask though, just how young wa-”
Liarra’s words stopped, the tiniest of tremors rippled through the room. Looking around with rising awareness, her pupils tightened and ears stood at attention. In search of whatever threw her senses off.
She was just about to suggest they search for the children when the sudden sound of racing footsteps could be heard from the entry hall stairwell, frantic in both their pace and strength.
Ailene looked to Liarra’s rising vigilance, only to feel something distressingly familiar about this entire situation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“And that’s when he stood tall! Back straight, blade in the ground, hands resting on the pommel of his sword and all focus directed to his younger opponent…”
Within the study room was Illiana, regaling the tale of last weekends events with her father and brother to her newly acquired audience. Sweeping their attention with her natural charismatic acting, confirming Leonard’s prediction which had near instantly caught the two of them within her tempest. Despite already having heard this story from her last week, he kept it to himself so as not to ruin the moment for both Felicia and his sister’s fun.
Surprisingly, it didn’t take long for the two to find Illiana when they agreed to go off in search for more of his family members. The sound of her complaining could be heard from the hallways they were walking down when they began their search.
Seated at another table and decidedly switching to reading their own book whilst this scene played out was Ashton, who prior to the duo entering, had been unsuccessful in his attempts in educating his younger sister while assisting her with her homework. What followed after entering however, was a chaotic catastrophe of activity; starting with Illiana rushing to hug Leonard, to Felicia releasing another frightful squeak, only for Ashton to give up on any attempt at corralling his younger siblings whilst Leonard frantically calmed his sister down, ending with her dropping him the moment she became aware of Felicia’s existence, beset with rapt fascination.
As hectic as the initial encounter had been, his older sister did a wonderful job of dropping Felicia’s guard with her charming personality, focussing all of the beast-kin’s attention on her.
“-You are strong! Just like how your sister is super strong! and your brother too!”
Leonard could only roll his eyes as she took to going off script with her own imagination, struggling to prevent the amusing expression rise on his face as she did. As the climax came around, she took to wielding a ruler in each hand, sword fighting against herself as she stepped from left to right, interchanging between persona’s. Unable to contain himself any longer did Leonard burst out laughing at just how ridiculous it looked, shared equally by Felicia who were both berated by the star cast member.
“Don’t laugh! It was just getting to the good part!”
“I’m sorry Illi, I couldn’t hold it in any longer.” His laughter catching in between his words.
“Then maybe you should get up here and act as a stand in for one of the fighters if you think you can do better!” Directing one of her arms towards Leonard whilst holding a ruler. The other on her hip as she teasingly smiled doing her utmost to entice his participation.
He pretended to think on the matter only to think of something more fun, suggesting, “I could or we could have a live re-enactment from the original participant themselves…” His voice trailing off suggestively as both brother and sister turned to look towards their elder sibling.
They didn’t miss the side eye glance from their target before it returned back to his book as they both looked at Ashton with anticipation.
“I could try…” holding his response a few seconds until standing up from his chair, looking to Leonard briefly before focusing on Illiana; catching the others by surprise.
“Really?” Shocked excitement arose from Leonard as he spoke, only to be interrupted by Illiana soon after.
“Stop! I know that look brother! You plan to use the performance as a chance to turn it into a lesson for me instead!” She pointed at him accusingly.
“You need to work on your form…” Only to confirm it near instantly, triggering Leonard into a laughing fit and his sister responding by sticking her tongue out in defiance.
Laughing once more, Leonard couldn’t stop his ribs hurting from the way things were playing out. In addition, Illiana watching all of these interactions unfold had unknowingly gotten absorbed in the sibling atmosphere, joining in on Leonard’s laughter with Illiana soon after. As for Ashton, he decidedly sat back down and continued his reading, but Leonard could see the soft smile on his face which was more prominent than any he’d seen before.
As their excitement died down, the silence was unexpectedly broken again by Ashton, who this time focused his attention on Felicia, “Felicia. Your family name is Hyo?” His curt phrasing made his question appear more as a statement.
“I-it is…” Although stuttering initially, she didn’t hesitate in her response nor look for Leonard’s shadow to hide behind. Causing the other siblings to watch how this conversation would play out – both ready to help her if needed.
“Then your fathers name is Nicholas?” Again, question spoken in similar fashion to a statement.
As for Felicia, her eyes widened a little and spoke with a growing curiosity, “You know my father? He’s a knight frame pilot but my parents don’t tell me much else.” Slightly pouting.
Nodding in response Ashton went on, “Yes. Our fathers are in the same squadron.”
Ashton’s revelation triggered an excited response stemming from the feline fairy, “Really?! The squadron with the silver bird and stars?! Did you meet more people too? Did you see his knight frame? What colour was it?”
Her mass bombardment of questions turned the tables on Ashton who now took to looking somewhat uncomfortable with needing to respond. Thankfully his sister intervened at this point albeit not in the way he thought.
“Why are you allowed to visit fathers knight hangar? I’ve asked him hundreds of times but he always says no!” Sounding childishly wronged.
“To help with my future academy lessons to become a knight frame pilot.”
Hearing Ashton make reference to the academy, lead to the dousing of the sibling’s prior energy; reminded that their days with their brother were limited. Felicia looked at the two confused, wondering why their moods suddenly turned dour.
“What’s wrong?” She turned to Leonard, “You look sad all of a sudden.”
Trying not to spread the sadness he was feeling, he tried to be as stoic as possible, failing to hide it within his voice, “Ashton leaves for the royal academy in two months. So we won’t get to see him again for a long time…”
“Oh…” Sounding sad in turn, her ears flattened against her head upon hearing his response.
“Don’t let it get you down!” Illiana cheerily voiced, “It’s not like we’ll never see him again!” Taking the lead in swiping away the murky atmosphere, “After Ashton goes, it’ll be my turn next and I’ll be aiming for the royal academy too!” She turned to look at Ashton.
“So you better take care of me the second I walk in on academy grounds, okay?!”
A small smile accompanied his nod, confirming his affirmation on his future responsibility.
Pleased with his response, Illiana continued, “But, we have a bigger issue that needs addressing.” Pointing at her elder brother, she made it clear, “You need to help me get into the knight frame hangars as well! I want to learn about them as much as you do! You’re not the only one who wants to become a knight pilot!”
“W-wait!” Everyone turned to Felicia who sporadically jumped in, gathering their attention. “I- I want to go to!” Voicing her intent with growing confidence, “I want to see my fathers knight frame! And his uniform! And- and…” Remembering she wasn’t alone, she looked to Leonard, unsure on his own thoughts. “Do you want to go too?”
He smiled sympathetically to her thoughtful intentions, knowing it wouldn’t be possible for him. “I would love to go, however, I can’t. I’m not allowed out of the house until I’m 7 years old at least.” His troubled face breaking her hopeful outing, returning her saddened expression in realizing she’d forgotten his inability to travel much.
The room went silent for a short moment until the sound of a book being snapped shut drew everybody’s attention as Ashton stood up.
“Let’s go.” Was all he said, his sight set on Leonard as he did so.
“Where to?”
“Mother. We get her permission for you to leave.”
Leonard widened his eyes in response, never contemplating going against what his parents had intended. As time passed, he understood the necessity of keeping his awakening secret as his knowledge grew. Refusing to be the precursor for any hostile attention to be directed in his and his family’s way. And yet, witnessing his brother whose persona defined discipline, decide to go against that and defy his parents’ wishes, for his sake… Left his heart feeling an all new deep familial warmth.
“Ashton… I…” His voice was stuck as a slight lump built up, not in sadness but gratefulness.
“Yeah, let’s try!” Illiana followed up, caught in Ashton’s proposal after seeing him change more over this past month than ever before.
Then came the tugging of his shirt from the side, Felicia not voicing anything but looking eagerly optimistic in their attempt.
Overwhelmed by all three of them, he could only relinquish his reservations. Deciding to go along with their suggestion and see how things would play out. Personally, he was just as eager to witness these knight frames in person as the others. Yet, the inner conflict with his mental age restrained him a lot at times, commonly winning the battle of wills. However, within this moment would he willingly choose to go against that restraining voice within. No longer just wanting to fulfil the wishes of his parents but also those of his siblings and friend.
“Okay… Lets try.” Unable to prevent the eagerness from sounding in his voice.
Spurred on by his response, everyone gathered with Ashton as the lead to go downstairs and discuss this matter with their parents.
Suddenly, Leonard felt a slight tugging on his shirt again from behind. Knowing it was Felicia, he looked back to see her expression had a sudden change of unease. Taken aback, Leonard’s voice grew worried, “Felicia? Is everything okay?”
Hearing the concern in Leonard’s voice, the others turned back and just as they did. An all too familiar vibration in the air pulsed out from Felicia’s body. Memories of a similar event echoed through Ashton’s and Illiana’s mind as it happened.
Shocked by what just happened, the grip of Leonard’s shirt loosened and the once excited girl turned near limp as he eyes rolled up in the back of her head. By sheer reaction, Leonard channelled his mana through his body, rushing to catch her before she hit the floor.
As he did, in near moments his brother and sister were by his side, making sure she was okay.
“Illiana, go downstairs, inform mother. Quickly.” Curt, precise and clear. Whatever emotion’s their brother had started to show openly had all but vanished; to be replaced by a steely focus.
Not hesitating, she followed through with her brothers orders. Understanding all too well from Leonard’s awakening how vital time was when dealing with someone’s core awakening early.
Meanwhile, Leonard held Felicia in his arms in stilled silence. Fraught with fear at her going through a similar experience to his own when he awakened. It was the voice of his brother that snapped him back to his surroundings, ensuring he wasn’t lost in moment.
“Leonard, focus. Mother will arrive soon. No doubt Emilia will too soon after.”
Like a beacon his words granted him the focus to rally his composure. Felicia was counting on him, and the idea of failing his friend haunted him more. For the first time in this life was the true weight of responsibility held against his shoulders, only to be utterly helpless in actually dealing with it. He felt frustrated, useless in that he had no clue as to how he should help her, relegated to waiting for their parents to arrive and deal with the matter themselves.
All he could do was bare with it. Endure the painful seconds as they pass by all the whilst promising himself. Promising that he’d do his utmost to ensure her recovery at least would go as smoothly as possible.