"Here's the plan... We send the girls out into the woods tell them to just have a picnic, then go home telling tales of fluffy adorable creatures that other ladies will want as pets. If they can produce one of those even better."
"Then men overhear the adorable beasties their crushes want and go out looking for them with an image in their heads... That is brilliant, my love."
"Dad that is clever, but we better write it down before you forget." Cosmael added sarcastically.
"Okay girls, that's enough, what have I done? You have both been angry lately. My memory is bad yes, but you are being a bit mean about it, I can take a joke and a beating but this is getting practically constant."
"You forgot something important."
"What did I forget?"
"You forgot to write Auntie Celesael back."
"What are you talking about? I wrote her back, she never replied, I assumed she was busy in the divine realm."
"But she told Astrael she did reply and you never replied to her."
"I definitely did. I told her she was doing a great job with all the divine beasts, she scolded me for training Babylon but not the other newcomer, then I told her Astrael was starting to get a bit too laid back with Quatal's education in place of training."
"...And Astrael didn't want to get scolded by Celesael for the same thing..." Cosmael deduced, the realisation hitting them hard as they realised I was being blamed for her cover-up.
"Dad, I'm super sorry." "Papa, I'm really sorry." Their voices overlapped with their apologies.
"Do me a favour when you go home... Tell Astrael, she is getting punished for this one. No one is to cook for her for one week. Oh and tell Leeson if he sneaks her food I will rip out his soul, food punishments are serious."
The girls nodded and came in for a hug, that became a wing-hug as an apology. We then the rain started so we moved indoors and had lunch whilst we figured out what the new addition ate.
Luckily it was an omnivore. "I wanted it to be a friend I could snack with" was Quatal's explanation and since she eats anything that will fit in her mouth, so does the little guy.
"On the bright-side, since you created Flookuro, you know everything it needs to grow and be happy, but it is your responsibility now. Care for Flookuro like Mama and I care for you okay?"
"Yes Papa, oh and I wanted a friend that could speak to us like Cali when it grows up, but I thought that would take a long time, but I didn't really have an idea for it so I don't know."
"Well that's good actually, spirit beasts understand their own natures, that is actually how I learned about them originally, so now it is even more important you help this one grow so we can understand it."
"Yes Papa." Suddenly the creature began to glow dimly. "Oh! That means he's hungry."
Eve and I both chuckled and shook our heads at the truly obscure imagination our already enigmatic daughter possessed, deep down we were just happy that she wasn't revealing more snake trauma soliloquies.
"Flookuro, can I ask you a favour?" To my suprise the small furry dragon creature turned its saucer-like eyes toward me. "look after your Mama okay? Grandpa will do what he can for both of you."
"Oooo, That's right, that means Mama is now G-"
"Quatal, do not finish that words for twenty years." Eve said, decisively ending the talk of grandparentry.
The rain ended up turning into a storm so we just watched some movies then sent the girls home with the ladys' mission and Astrael's punishment. As expected, the latter appeared to plead her case, but Eve was unmoved by her plea of temporary insanity.
"Astrael, a few days ago, I would have laughed and sent you home to handle your punishment, but after my own foray into temporary insanity, I find it a little offensive so the week just became ten days." Astrael was defeated, completely and left feeling guilty enough to meet her punishment with dignity.
I then unfurled my wings and embraced her as completely as I could to comfort her renewed sorrow at the event.
The next day, the weather had cleared and we made good progress thanks to our full recovery to get back on schedule. We were approaching the dwarven mountains and my growing excitement was contagious for her.
"You haven't been this happy to meet anyone in a while."
"The stout folk and I have a long history of friendship, it is a bond I have always cherished. They are honest to a fault, long lived, and as far from fair-weather friends as can be. If they like you, they would fight an Origin Wyrm without hesitation if you need help."
"Why don't they like humans?"
"The same reasons humans don't like them. Ignorance of the other's ways. Truth be told I don't think you will like them much."
"If I don't I will stay quiet."
"That's the problem, they won't. They will tell you what they think, they want to understand and that offends people, if you don't like them tell them, upfront and no sugar-coating. Tell them why, even if they don't like you by the time you're done, they'll respect you."
"That sounds harsh."
"They are people of the stone. If they could be broken by words people would have no need for pickaxes and hammers."
"You get very poetic about them."
"It isn't known, but they love art and culture, rhyme and song, the seek beauty by nature and grieve when it's gone" Eve looked at me with a slight smirk.
"You didn't come up with that did you?"
"No, that was the first words a dwarf ever told me. I killed his slaver and asked him to explain the injustice."
"That doesn-"
"It does. Humans think of them as brutish drunkards, void of nobility, they don't speak of those things openly because it is sacred and humans perceive the absence of discussion as ignorance on the subject. A reason to treat them as less-than."
"You killed that world, didn't you? Along with all your dwarf friends."
"I did, they met me in battle one at a time, they laughed and drank and mourned for an entire year as I fought them. Then that first dwarf stepped up as the last. "You are a damn fine man." he said with his last breath."
"They knew you were doing something that pained you deeply, because you thought it was the right thing to do. They respected you for it in the face of death."
"Anyone who steals gems from a dwarf mountain is simply an ignorant fool. They are the greatest treasure a mountain can hold, also the whole capital punishment thing, but mainly that they're treasures."
"Let's go get you some treasure then my love."
The next beast on our hit-list was a demented dancer-bug, the picture made it look like an eldritch horror of some kind. A cross between a massive armoured centipede and a dozen squid.
They earned the name because the centipede body writhes around and undulates whilst the tentacles reach into the sky and move in hypnotic patterns. We still had a day before we reached the are on the card, but I withdrew Caliburn and handed it over to Quatal.
"Err, Adam, what is the thing attached to her? It looks like a mutant dragon."
"That is what hatched from her egg, please don't ask, it's name is... Its name is Flookuro."
"I am not touching that one, I certainly don't want to tell her what the creature named after her looks like."
"I'm trying to figure that one out, but so far all I can do is hope she loves Quatal enough she isn't offended. I have this strange feeling though that the blame will be mine in the end regardless."
Turning to hand Caliburn over to Quatal, I asked him if he could be softer for the next bit, but he reminded me that he was a weapon and that softness wasn't really a feature he should need.
"Right so since we are nearly there, we will spend the rest of the day practising in pairs. Me and Quatal vs. Eve and Cosmael."
"Dad... I don't want to be rude but your strongest move, that transformation thingy, couldn't hurt me. I don't need to compete, don't worry."
"Little One. A being managed to mentally affect a god. She may be more powerful than any of us alone, I would rather be safe than sorry in any case, so from now on we train as singles, doubles, triples and all five of us as a team. She will not touch our family, but please don't hurt us too badly."
"Good point I guess, I suppose it sounds better than sitting out anyway."