A man stood before a mirror, their glossy black ears were full and fluffy while their face was aged. A kind smile was playing across their face as they watched two children quarrel in the background. the man was wearing military regalia and was highly decorated with many medals that clinked as he moved to break up the two children. The man’s voice was soft and melodious as he spoke.

“Now, now kids, what did I say?”

The two children had similar ears to the man, one was a taller girl while the other a younger boy. The girl nudged her brother with a smile on her face, the two answered at the same time

“No fighting inside.”

The boy’s face looked quite downtrodden at his inevitable loss of the argument. Seeing this, the man reached down and hugged the two, his embrace warm and fulfilling. The man thought for a second in that position before speaking.

“How about we get some fresh air to start the day.”

The man then picked up the boy and put him on his shoulders before grabbing the hand of the girl and leading them outside. the three lived in a quant little hut by a large river in an open meadow. the meadow was sandwiched between a forest on one side and a long cliff on the other, with views that could snatch one’s breath.

The man took them to a flower patch by the river and let down the boy, however the boy instead of playing stared at the grand walls that protected their kingdom. they were as high as a mountain and the only entrance to their paradise; the walls were a shimmering white with many blue or gold decorations that could be seen from even this far away.

The man soon caught on to what had caught the boy’s attention and pointed to it

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“Daddy used to work there, and he’s going to go back for a quick while, you be good with Uncle Joe, while I’m gone, okay?”

the boy nodded not wanting to disappoint his father. The girl began picking flowers and she would place the best ones in her father’s tail. The other ones that were still pretty enough, she put into her brother’s hair, her cute giggles mixed well with the calm sounds of the flowing river.

Margeret came over around lunch, she was one of the few who lived close enough to the quant little hut to know the children well. Her ears were a deep blue and she had brought the three-lunch knowing how atrocious the man’s cooking skills were. As the children enjoyed the snacks the man took Margeret inside, his demeanour no longer so happy as before and when the two left the house.

Afterwards she thanked him profusely fear etched into her eyes. the two adults then watched the kids eat and found peace in their ignorance. Soon the entered the fold and played with them, hoping their smiles would never fade.

When the sun began to dim a second guest arrived, they were a burly man with grey ears and a long beard. Despite the man’s domineering appearance, the two children swarmed him shouting.

“Uncle Joe!”

Joe lifted the two onto his shoulders and ran around the soft grass that surrounded the hut, eliciting a sigh of amusement from their father as they screamed in joy.

When it was finally time to go inside joe revealed that he also brought food. It seemed that no one who knew the children’s dad trusted his cooking skills.

“Hey kids why don’t you head inside, Margeret will serve you up some chicken and blackfin soup.”

(Blackfins were an edible plant that were hearty and thick with their shape often being confused for the black fin of a fish.)

As the children headed inside Joe gave the man’s face turned serious.

“You be careful up there now”

“It is something that we both expected, no matter how careful I am you know what the result will be.”

the two headed inside having known the man long enough Joe wasn’t going to try and stop him.

The man ate with his kids before saying his goodbyes. As he tucked them in for the final time his voice filled with a tender softness that seemed to caress their soul’s. his face filled with longing for his children was etched into the night as he set off for the great walls, the bastion of hope and the only line of defence their ancient kingdom had.