449. Duskval Festival X

449. Duskval Festival X

Katool snoozed over her mother’s shoulder, brought to the gentle fire in the centre of the shared family estate. She stirred awake as her mother placed her down, rubbing her eyes before yawning. The other children were all in similar states of exhaustion, having had too much fun during the festival, though when they saw the trio of elders, their tiredness gave way to boundless energy.

Gangak picked up Taygak first, kissing her forehead, before brushing her hair. “Did you enjoy the festival my little Taygak?”

“Yes,” the girl replied, allowing her grandaunt to greet the other Gak children, before she went on to greet the other children.

Otkan picked up both Damokan and Kalokan together, the children resting up against her shoulders, while she greeted the other children.

Turot hugged his grandfather, before Jarot held out his arm. Turot grabbed it and pulled himself off the ground, giggling with glee.

Katool walked up to Gangak, sitting down beside her. “I ate lots of bread and pizza.”

“Did you enjoy it?” Gangak asked.

“Yes,” the girl replied. “It was nice. I watched the fighting. My sister picked me up and cleaned my mouth.”

“How wonderful,” Gangak said, listening to the various tales from the children.

“Taygak, eat,” Taygak said, nodding her head with satisfaction, saying no more about her day.

“What about you, smelly girl?” Adam asked, picking his sister up as she rubbed her eyes. “Did you eat lots of bread?”

“Bwead,” Lanarot replied, smirking at Adam, before she lay against his front.

The triplets lay on blankets to one side, away from the fire, enjoying the coolness away from it. They looked up to their aunt, but dropped their heads to the blankets once more. They, too, were tired from their outing.

“Did you watch the fights?”

Lanarot hollered and threw up her hands, before squealing. She continued to laugh for a long while, causing Adam to smile. He brushed her hair and kissed her forehead.

“Did you all enjoy yourself?” Adam eventually asked once the children lay on the blankets, relaxing a short way away from the fire. They were tired, but did not want to sleep yet, so lazed around to expend no energy.

“Yes,” the children replied.

“Do you want me to read you a story?” Adam asked.

“Okay,” Taygak said, getting up. She stopped, trying to remember who the last person to choose the story was, looking to Katool. After Katool, it was herself, so she quickly scampered away to find a story she wanted him to read.

The group moved away to one side, leaving the adults be. They didn’t keep an eye on Adam as he began to read to them, the time for suspecting Adam had long passed. Of course, sometimes a few of them would glance over their way to check on their own children, but they left Adam to his business.

“He is good with the children,” Jarot said. “He takes that from me.”

“So you did find an Elvish lover,” Gangak joked.

The group looked to Adam, who had stopped reading to gasp at the children when it was a particularly tense moment within his story, and after a pause for dramatic effect, he continued. The Iyr had chosen to help him, but there were so many ways that Adam had assisted the Iyr. If they could chain him to the Iyr, it would have been for the best. He would have already been killed if it hadn’t been for his connection to the Rot family, for he was a being too dangerous to be left alive.

“Konarot, Kirot, and Karot will also be raised well,” Jarot said. “They can learn our ways.”

“Can they learn our ways and still use their own strengths?” Sonarot asked. She knew that Half Dragons still possessed the latent magics of their Dragon blood, being able to use the breath, though at a smaller scale.

“If they could, would they not be the strongest Rot to date?” Jarot asked, his lips forming a small smile.

“They would be too dangerous with our abilities,” Mirot said. “They also possess the ability to resist the cold, but with our rage, they could do so much more.”

“We are able to learn such abilities because we have always held the greatest responsibility,” Jarot said. “Even now, our family may be at the lowest it has ever been, but it is not difficult, and it has never been difficult, for the Rot family to soar.”

Mirot sighed once more. Why she had decided to speak against her father, she didn’t know. She leaned back in her chair, placing a hand against her stomach, a habit she had developed when she was pregnant with Gurot. “Are you to remain here still, father?”

“Do you wish to kick me out already?”

“I just worry for mother.”

“I worry too,” Jarot said, looking to the Goblins again.

Mirot leaned her head back again. Her father had been entrapped by the Goblin children, who were not even a month old. They, like their father, were already so terrifying.

Jurot lifted up his sister, whose eyes were half open as she struggled to stay awake. He carried her away while Adam went to check on his twins, seeing them sleeping peacefully. Otkan was nearby, taking watch with a Gak for the night.

“Are you staying the night?” Adam asked.

“Yes.”

“Thank you,” he said, awkwardly, and Otkan bowed her head in response.

Adam returned back to the Rot family estate, seeing Lanarot half dozing off as her mother brushed her teeth. He brushed his own teeth, and returned to find Lanarot holding Jurot’s finger with her hand, sucking on her thumb as she slept. His own children waited for him to sleep so they could trap him.

Konarot rested her head against her father’s chest, using it as a pillow. Her tail remained flopped to one side, though the other children had placed their own over his arms as they slept beside him.

“Isn’t it unfair, Jurot?”

Jurot could sense it, the same sensation he received whenever Adam was about to say something like that.

“How is it allowed that they can be this cute?” Adam asked, with great seriousness.

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