"Ah, you're back." Mom smiled as she put her knitting needles in the sweater she was making, "Did you have fun today?"
"I mean..." We awkwardly fiddled around in place.
"Course they did." Dad grumbled over us, "They left during break and never came back. I'll bet anyone would have the time of their lives if they could afford such irresponsible behavior..."
Right, we didn't get to tell him about Beth because he was so mad at the time. Now he thinks we were just doing whatever when in reality we spent the day joyriding and covering our tracks, so to speak. Well, it was out of our control that the lamb would show up in front of the wagon, so I'm not holding anyone accountable, but that doesn't mean I'll feel bad for skipping work either. Besides, we weren't gonna get paid anyways.
"How's the sweater coming along, mother?" Cecily sat down next to her to take a breather.
"Oh, it's nearly finished, dear." Mom smiled back, "Just a few more rows should do it."
"It looks awesome." I sat down as well to exchange a few words with mom too, "Though, a sweater in the middle of spring? Isn't it kinda late for that?"
"Never underestimate the change of seasons, Lune." Mom giggled lightly, "That's when people tend to most often get sick, when they let their guard down."
"Hm, I guess that's true..." I couldn't argue on that, so I instead switched to compliments, "Either way, it looks really sick! Kinda feels a bit tiny, but I'm digging the patterns and colors, especially."
"I noticed those too." Cecily inspected the knitwork with a gleam in her Eyes, "That color there's really vibrant! It's definitely not something produced from here."
"Good Eye, Cily." Mom nodded, "Actually, I lucked out on the sale a traveling merchant had offered me. It's a lovely shade of pink I've been looking for for years. Worth every coin, I'd say!"
"Pink is pretty scarce to acquire, isn't it?" Cecily figured, "Unlike Red, Yellow and Blue, which are all primary colors, getting pink or Purple requires you to mix them perfectly to get the desired tones."
Is that so? So pink and Purple are rare to acquire? Well, maybe in Trivis Numerica, but I'm sure other countries around the world have plenty in stock. Right, I'm sure mother would be happy if she received some as a gift, so let me just Materialize some pink and Purple balls of yarn while everyone's focused on the sweater. There we go, but how to hand it to her without it being suspicious? Eh, I'll just toss it under the armchair, I'm sure they'll stumble across it eventually.
"And that knitting pattern is different, too." Cecily continued to badger mom about the details, "How did you get it to look like that?"
"You really sound interested in knitting." I put my chin on my palm, "It's cute."
"A-Ah, that's...!" She blushed, "I'm just curious, y'know? Not like I'd wanna try it ever!"
"Why not?" I raised an Eyebrow, "You're talking like it's something bad, and I can assure you that if my mother does it, it's anything but."
Hearing this, Cecily was actually too stunned to speak for a moment before resignedly sighing as my mother giggled next to her. Mom always was kinder and more open towards us than dad and Latham, and I'm not ignorant enough to realize that we haven't been spending enough time with her as we probably should. Well, more like I didn't, but Cecily really is getting along splendidly with her. They're like best friends now, which makes me incomparably happy both as a husband and as a son. Sorry mom, I kinda put you behind Latham and dad because of this, but no more!
"Right you are, sweetheart." Mom praised me with a proud smile on her face, "Mother knows best, and I say that knitting is the perfect hobby!"
"Well, I can talk big all I want, but it's not like I know anything about knitting myself..." I scratched my beard with a chuckle, "But hey, I think it'd be fun to learn!"
"Hmm..." Mom thought about it before decidedly answering, "No."
"Ehh? Why not!?"
"I have my reasons for not letting you join the knitting club." Mom smugly retorted, "Maybe when you're ready, but right now I have a way more important pupil to teach."
Aww, what? She's already teaching someone else, so she doesn't have time for us? Dammit, and I really wanted to spend some time with her. Learn to read the room, mom! I'm doing my best to be a good son here! But wait, who even is this mysterious knitting student? I feel like I would've heard about them sooner if it was dad or Latham, so it can't be them. Well, maybe some of her housewife friends then. Who knows, I'm not gonna pry into it if she didn't tell me outright. It's probably none of my business, but then how do I find some way to spend quality time with her if not by learning her hobby?
"Bam!" Latham shouted as he pulled the armchair I was seated in back, leading to me completely flipping over my head, "Haha, pranked!"
"You're gonna need to do more than that..." I continued to lay on my back as I made a face that could only be described as disappointed, "I downright traumatized you with my scary stories, and the best you can do is flip me over? What's next, gonna pull out my chair from under me next time I take a seat?"
"Who said this was the end?" He cackled as he held a rather angry raccoon above my head, "Now, Flip! Get 'im!"
"Bah! Where the hell did you get a raccoon!?" I barely wrestled the damned critter off me, "Augh, Flip was it? Surely we can talk this out-OW!"
"Latham, get that damned thing off Lune right now!" Dad demanded, "What did I tell you about taking it into the house? I'll have it put down!"
"Oh shut it! It's still cold in the evenings, so he can't stay outside." Latham said as he lifted the suddenly docile raccoon off my face, "Unless you find another way to keep Flip warm, he'll be sleeping in my room!"
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"I thought this'd happen..." Mother sighed before taking the sweater she was just knitting and putting it on Flip, "Hence why I made this to solve everyone's problem. Look at you, Flip! So adorable, it fits you like a glove!"
The sweater was for... the raccoon? Hold on, why didn't they tell me Latham had a pet raccoon, and how the hell is he so well-trained? The damned thing was so violent when Latham sicced it on me, but the moment Latham pulled him off, he suddenly became friendly. Oh great, and now he's looking at me with those beady Eyes too...
"You're lucky I like raccoons, dammit..." I grunted as mother made him do a little dance on her lap.
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"Owowow..." I whined as Cecily applied some alcohol to my scratched up face.
"Hold still, you've had worse things happen to you." She recalled, "Remember that time with your nose in Sulfury?"
"I had adrenaline shield me from the pain that time." I yet again jolted, "Ow!"
"Seriously Latham, you went too far again." Dad folded his arms in disapproval, "I told you that pranks are only okay if no one gets hurt. Using Flip for this is just too much."
"Don't worry about it. He'll be fine." Latham turned to me, "Go on, Heal yourself up."
"...I don't know what you're talking about." I hid the Iro Ability from my parents.
"I already saw you do it, jackass! You can't fool me!" He shot back, "Your Eyes glow weirdly and your wounds heal up like that!"
"I freakin' wish." I grunted, "I'd really appreciate such an unbelievable power."
"Seriously, what's gotten into you lately, Latham?" Mom worriedly asked her son, "Hurting Lune like this, making bold claims like some weird powers... Where's all this coming from?"
"Is it those comic books you had me buy from our trip to Haggles the other day?" Dad surmised, "What the hell are books teaching kids these days?"
"Huh?! No, MoonBoy has nothing like that in it!" Latham got defensive all of a sudden, "I'm telling the truth, though! I saw it with my own Eyes, Lune has some weird superpowers, definitely!"
"Hey, what's this MoonBoy?" I whispered to mom.
"Oh, just some comic book he's been obsessed with lately." She sighed, "That kid, he's uncannily similar to you. I just fear that one day I'll wake up to find him gone too..."
"That's..." I bit my tongue before sullenly replying, "I'm sorry."
"It's good to wanna chase your dreams, son." She elaborated, "I knew from the moment I saw your enamored face when you opened up that Handbook I gave you that you were gonna dream of going off into the world. I just wish you could have waited a bit more until you were of age, or Prylos forgive you had at least told us. We could have helped make your journey that bit easier."
But I didn't need your help... I did things fine as is, even without anything you guys could have given me. Besides, the main reason why I left was because I didn't wanna be a burden to you. I just wish you could have understood that and stopped looking for me. Tch, I left them a letter in Wheats, didn't I? I told them not to come looking for us, so why the hell...?
"Ah." It finally clicked in my head after all this time.
They loved me, that's why. Of course I knew this before, but only now, after spending some time with everyone can I truly say I understand it. Putting myself in their shoes, would I have ever given up on searching for Cene or Nelly if they had just one day up and disappeared? No amount of letters would suffice for me, I'd go to the ends of the world if I needed to. Heh, no amount of letters would suffice, and yet I still only thought one was enough...
"Yeah, I'm a terrible son." I said out loud, surprising everyone.
"Huh?" They all glanced at me.
"A horrible brother too." I shrugged, "I ran over a lamb and the entire time I kept hiding from it."
"Lamb? Huh?" Latham tilted his head, "You alright, dude? Look, sorry for siccing Flip on you, I didn't think it'd get to you so much."
"Lune..." Cecily understood my analogy at least.
"Nah, it's not that." I reassured her, "I guess I just realized I should be looking at things differently from now on."
This entire trip, I've just been trying to "repay what I owed" my family, when in reality I should have just moved on. Instead of trying desperately to be by their side now to make up for all the lost years I wasn't, I should have just accepted my mistakes, owned up to them and continued to treat my family the way I did before I departed on this journey all those years ago.
"Right, it's about time for me to start properly acting like myself, isn't it?" I smiled back at them, my face still a mess from Flip's rampage.
Jumping out of the armchair, I had insisted on my parents and brother to do the same, which they confusedly obliged to do. With all three of them standing in front of me, I put my hands out as I demanded a hug from each of them.
"Let's start from the beginning!" I said proudly, my mouth grinning from ear to ear, "I'm Lune Grimheart! I traveled the world and learned so many things during my journey, and I'm happy to share them all with you."
"Uhh, okay?" Latham awkwardly put his hand out for a handshake, but I instead insisted on the hug as I latched onto him, "Whoa!?"
"I never did get to tell you this, but I always wanted a younger brother, y'know?"
"What the hell!? Okay, I get it, just stop acting weird!"
"What's gotten into him?" Dad befuddledly asked Cecily.
"He gets like this sometimes." She replied with a warm smile, "It's the reason I fell in love with him. That seemingly random moment when he realizes just how blessed he actually is."
"Mom, dad...!" I raised my hands for them as well, "I'm back!"