“What have you done?” Jurot asked.
Jirot smirked at her uncle, bringing her cup of milk to her lips. “Papo, what I did? What can I do? I am so well behaved, so what I did?”
Jurot held the girl’s gaze, noting how her father’s eyes were full of exhaustion, and with his keen Iyrman eyes, he noted the lightest of bags under the half elf’s half fae eye. “Okay.”
Jirot continued to sip her milk, glancing aside to check if her brother was drinking his, the boy picking up bits and pieces of the rice, chewing lightly on the goat. The boy side eyed his father, for he was not quite so innocent in this matter, but as his father beamed down towards him, the boy flushed, and as the half elf reached over to brush his hair tenderly, the boy leaned in to his father’s large hand.
‘I might need to take a nap in the middle of the day,’ the half elf thought.
However, once they had finished their breakfast, the children cooled off within the bathtub, before the Mother and Father assisted their children into their clothes, the children wearing a matching shalwar, black, in the boyish style similar to their father, and as the children placed on their turbans, the two made sure to fix them, shifting the turbans slightly so they did not rest on the children’s leaf shaped ears.
Jirot clasped her hands behind her back, and peeked to the side, showing off the sheathed dagger her kako had bought her from the auction, tied to her side by the sword belt which wrapped snugly around her waist. As she caught her father’s gaze, the two exchanged smirks, and the half elf held up a thumbs up, and the girl sauntered off to her mother, standing tall and proud.
Little Jarot beamed up at his mother, also wearing a similar dagger around his waist, forged by Master Ali of Arisa, and bought by his aunt, paid for by his father, and worn beside his sister, and admired by his mother.
Vonda reached down to fix their sword belts, much to Jirot’s grumbling, but she did not dare to grumble much, until finally her mother’s hand swallowed her face, causing the girl to squeal, and the twins clasped their arms around their mother’s forearms, trapping her to them.
Little Karot beamed expectantly towards his father. The boy stood tall and proud in his black attire, his red face and eyes so meek and gentle, and as his father peeked down at the boy, the two reached out their fists, bumping them lightly.
Konarot and Kirot stood, each with their arms crossed, waiting for their father to compliment them. As they met their father’s eyes, the two smirked, for they were their sister’s sisters, and with that, the group stepped out, surrounded by their various babos and kakos, and several figures one within the capital could not ignore.
However, there was one they should never ignore.
‘Aren’t my kids the cutest?’
The complex was large, the sandy gold walls dressed in a sea of purples and pinks, the colourful cloths fluttering in the gentle heat, providing coloured shade below. The complex was easily tens of gahdun by tens of gahdun, perhaps larger, a behemoth of a complex. As the large group made their way through, they spotted dozens of groups making their way around, each approaching the various small dome buildings, each with long gaps like a visors which allowed air to slip through, cooling the merchants who revealed their wares.
“It smells so nice,” Jirot said, though her elder siblings each reached out to their noses, their tails shooting right up, the floral scents within the air permeating through the complex, though for those whose senses were so great, the disguised half dragons covered their noses to dampen the powerful smells.
“It doesn’t smell as powerful in the inner complex,” Adam assured, scratching the backs of their heads gently, their tails swaying from side to side excitedly.
As they stepped towards the end, a confident figure stepped forward, a young handsome Aswadian man. He was, adorned in the finer clothing than most within Aswadasad, with braided cuffs, his skin almost bronze, eyes a sparkling brown, almost golden, his smile bright as the sun. The metal bracers, the shin guards, and the blade at his side revealed that he was no simple attendant.
“Mo, welcome back to the Fountain of Fragrance,” the young man called. “I am-,”
“Jalal, wasn’t it?” Adam called, but a hand grabbed his, and his daughter shook his head, whispering his name. “Oh, Jamal? Then whose Jalal?”
“Bright Star,” Jirot whispered loudly, and seeing the way her father was trying to recall who it was, the girl leaned in. “Bright Star was Yellow Turban’s companion, who died with Yellow Turban.”
Adam blinked. He was no longer looking at Jamal, but beyond him, and after squeezing his daughter’s hand, he pulled out the journal from his inner pocket, and wrote within it. The air around them became awkward for a moment, but after a soft sigh, the half elf smile. “My apologies, Jamal! It’s just that you are as handsome as Bright Star, and you hold such an impressive aura that I could not help but think you were named Jalal.”
“It is the first time someone has confused me for Bright Star, and I can only say I am honoured,” Jamal admitted, smiling wide.
“It’s a good thing you’re here, Jamal, because with your a thousand years of joy, you will make quite the emirly sum,” Adam joked.
“I am honoured you are to allow me to assist you,” Jamal said, and after Adam introduced his family to the fellow, they continued along their way. Jamal stood tall and proud, because life was good when someone like Adam appeared, and considering how much gold he made the last time, his heart was at ease if the half elf had also brought his family.
The guard stared out towards the entire group, from the familiar faces, to the others, one who was a Ray of Life’s Rose, the others who were Iyrmen, and finally, the Black Lion. The guard blinked. She wore all white, from the over her armour, her scarf covering her helmet, pinned so it did not flutter in front of her face, her loose clothing covered her breastplate, even hiding her boots. Her gloved fingers clasped around her spear tightly, the tip gleaming with dangerous stillness, for she could not allow the spear to move even a centimetre.
“Good afternoon, Mo.”
“Good afternoon,” the familiar face replied, flashing a dangerous smile. “May we step within?”
“I ask for your understanding, for there are esteemed guests within,” the guard dared to say.
“Every time I come here, there’s always an esteemed guest,” Adam joked, flashing a wider smile. “Alright, we’ll peruse the wares here for now, and then we’ll go and speak with Alladi Farah.”
“Daddy, are we going to meet Kal Tawid?” the green skinned girl with the amber eyes spoke, causing the guard to glance down at her awkwardly.
“Oh? Did you want to meet Kal Tawid?”
Jirot blinked. “Of coas!”
“Of course!” declared the children together.
“I’ll inform one of the workers, and if he’s here, he’ll meet with us, but if he isn’t, I’ll invite him for dinner and then you can all meet him, okay?”
“Okay!”
“Let’s spend some gold with the merchants here,” Adam said, undoing his scarf, reaching to his dagger, cutting the cloth apart, not noticing the guard suddenly tensing up, and the half elf tied the cloth around his son’s mouth and nose, while Vonda did so for Konarot, while Mulrot did so for Kirot, the old woman offering the girl a sweet before doing the same to her siblings.
The half elf’s eyes scanned the area quickly, narrowing his eyes, before finding a man whose skin was clear and soft, his eyes a deep green, his white smile radiant. The man was adorned in two different scarves, which hid the loose clothing beneath, his turban hiding his dark hair, while his beard was aflame with orange.
“Oh? Mo, it is good to see you again,” the man called, noting the large number of Iyrmen all around him, then the Ray of Life’s Rose, clasping his hands towards her, ignoring the tiny green skinned children who were certainly bavwa. “Sozashukhur, Ray.”
“Sozashukhur,” Vonda replied, smiling warmly, feeling her children’s gaze upon her.
“I am so blessed this day to reunite with you Mo and to meet a Ray too.”
“I am even more blessed to be married to a Ray?” Adam replied, causing Vonda to smile in a wifely way, causing the merchant to smile even brighter.
“Sozashukhur, what a blessing!” The man reached into his home, to the various cabinets hidden away under the window, and with a swiftness, brought out several small vials, noting the colour of the tiny cloths tied around the head of each, a purple. “A gift for the Mo and the Ray, and I see you are surrounded by many Iyrmen, oh, and a Black Lion too? Noorshukhur, have you been causing trouble, Mo?”
Adam blinked hard as the snickering children beside him glanced towards him. “I mean, you know, I’m a young man, so I…”
The merchant’s brows suddenly shot up in surprise, but he smiled all the same. “What can we say, Mo? What can we say?”
“It was… Rain, wasn’t it? Ghayth?”
“Aah! You remember my name, Mo? I am blessed, so blessed. I am Ghayth, and this is your wife, and are these your nieces and nephews?” Ghayth looked towards the man of Black Mountain nearby, as well as the purple skinned woman, assuming the red skinned children, as well as the bavwa, might have been theirs.
“This is my wife, Ray Vonda of Life’s Rose, and considering the trouble they cause, they are certainly my children,” Adam replied, and though he made to let out a tired sigh, he couldn’t help but smile brightly towards the merchant. “This are my eldest five, Konarot, Kirot, and Karot, and then there’s Jirot and Jarot.”
“Hello!” Jirot called. “I am Jirot, and I am an Iyrman, and this is my brother, he is my twin brother, and he was named after great grandfather, who is so strong, and this is Konarot, my eldest sister, and Kirot is my older sister too, and Karot, he is my older brother but he is like Jarot, but not great grandfather Jarot, but my brother, because great grandfather has a vicious heart, but my brothers are so sweet.”
“Aha, I see, you are the children of the Ray and the Mo!” Ghayth smiled, an awkward smiled.
“We’ve come to spend even more coin here before we go inside to buy some more, and, uh, is there a worker I can speak to in order to send word to Kal Tawid?”
“Ah? You wish to send word to Kal Tawid?”
“My children wish to meet him, and if they don’t, one of them will have my head, and I’m sure you know which one.”
Ghayth looked down towards Jirot, who blinked hard in return, her lips forming a tiny circle. The girl looking to her mother for support, but her mother gazes down at her with a look that suggested the girl shouldn’t lie.
“I-,” the girl began, until a hand covered her eyes, and as he withdrew his hand, her father’s eyes remained staring into hers.
“Kaka…” Jarot placed a hand upon her shoulder.
“Et tu, Jarot?”
Adam and the older Jarot both closed their eyes and did their best not to laugh.