‘The thunder left te this year,’ Sonarot thought, rog with Larot within her arms. The rain fell lightly across the Iyr, a gerickle of background noise which soothed those within the Iyr.

  “You are w today?” Jurot asked as Adam made to leave.

  “Yeah, I’ve got a lot of work to do this season,” Adam said, gng aside. “I’ve got to make sure everyos paid.”

  “Okay.” Jurot watched as Adam left for the day. Jurot had the day off to do as he pleased.

  “Papo!” Jirot called, pointing at him with a threatening finger. “You must puhy with me.”

  “Okay.”

  Jirot let out a snort of approval before she led the py for her uncle and her siblings. “I am Jiroh, Demon Load, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “You are papo.”

  “Okay.”

  “I am babo,” little Jarot said.

  “Kaka, wot you ah?” Jirot asked.

  “I am kaka.”

  “Okay,” Jirot said.

  “I am kaka too,” Kirot said, and Jirot nodded.

  “I am daddy,” Karot said.

  “You ot,” Jirot said. “You are papa.”

  “Okay,” Karot replied, his tail flopping down beside him.

  Jurot pced a hand on Karot’s head, brushing it gently. “You are Karot, son of Adam.”

  Karot flushed slightly at his uncle’s attention. “Yes.”

  Jurot pyed with the children, allowing Jirot to set the pace. She shouted often, her imagination running wild as she ducked uhe dragon, and called forth lightning from her fingers. Jurot preteo be struck by her magics often.

  “You ah stuhrong, you ot die,” Jirot said, her words full of a fidence gifted to her by her greatfather.

  “Okay,” Jurot replied.

  Eventually Konarot and the triplets slipped away to rex in the cool wind of duskval, while Jirot and Jarot tio py with their uncle, expl the shared estate together, while the other children joined in to py with them. Minool rushed all about alongside them, while Jitool remained beside Jirot and Jarot. Inakan and Minakan both remained elsewhere, pying by themselves.

  “It is time for water!” Lanarot said, calling all the children to drink. Sonarot and Jurot poured the drinks for the children as they sipped away. Lanarot joihe children in their py, taking the role of the leader.

  “Papo,” little Jarot called, tugging on Jurot’s trouser. “Will you puhy with me?”

  “Okay.” Jurot lifted the boy up and allowed him to set the p their py. The boy excitedly fought alongside his uncle, fighting all manner of imaginary creatures. They eventually fell down together, ying to one side as the children tio py all around them. ‘It is not so bad.’

  “Papo?”

  “Yes?”

  “I like you, papo.”

  Jurot go the side as the little boy clutched his shirt, his tiny hand gripping at his top, while he sucked his thumb. Their eyes met and the boy smiled, before hiding his fato his uncle’s side. Jirot fell beside her uncle, aed her head against his chest, panting for breath. Jurot’s heart beat quicker as he reached out for their heads, brushing their hair gently.

  “I like you too, Jarot, Jirot.”

  “I love you, papo,” Jirot said.

  “I love you too, Jirot, Jarot.”

  “No!” Jirot cackled before she rolled over to the side and sucked her thumb, grabbing her uncle’s arm aing her head against his bicep.

  Adam returo Jurot reading a book to the children, with Jirot and Jarot at his side, and Lanarot on his p. Adam decided against making much of a se, except for embrag his triplets, and then hearing his children call out for him.

  “Daddy! Is daddy!” Jirot called out, pointing out to her father before squirming away from her uncle.

  “Sssh,” Adam hushed, pg a finger on his lip. He dropped down beside the children, allowing his children to swarm him, before he listened ily to the tale Jurot spoke. Adam remained sensible that day, somehow not spoiling his children too much. He allowed Jurot to spoil his children, all the while Adam prepared himself.

  When the m came, it was suhan previous days, though the sky was beset by a familiar, homely greyness.

  Adam returned from his bath to find his triplets rushing up to him, the half elf embrag them close. He gnced around to see all the children, greeting them by name, before ing across a pair of adorable little green skinned babies.

  “Hmmm…” Adam narrowed his eyes.

  “No!” Katool said, pointing towards Adam.

  “What?”

  “You ot!”

  “I ot?”

  “How you do this, cousin Adam?” Katool asked, while Turot and Asnced between one another with a cheeky smile.

  Adam felt the sharp look of an Iyrman behind him. ‘Should I dare to provoke Taygak?’ “If not this day, then when?” Adam asked.

  “Cousin Adam!” Katool raised her brows towards the half elf, as though daring him to tinue.

  “Daddy, stop it,” Jirot said, the girl adorned in deep blue, along with her twin brother. Jirot wore a ribbon within her hair, slightly towards the left, while her brother wore a simir ribbon, slightly to the right. Her forehead had been dabbed with blue paint, denoting the family’s symbols. She wasn’t sure what she was trying to stop, but she wanted him to stop it.

  Adam’s lower lip quivered. “How you do this to me, Jirot?”

  Jirot smirked, tilting her head slightly. “No.”

  Adam dropped to his knees and embraced his twins, pulling them close to his chest. “Do you know what today is?”

  “Mmmnnn…” Jirot remained in thought for a long moment. “Is my birthday?”

  “That’s right,” Adam choked out, pulling them closer in, as though to hide them from the rest of the world. Adam recalled how he first met his children, born in the mud, their family dead, ravenous from hunger. “Do you know how old you are?”

  “Two!” Jirot said, fidently.

  “That’s right! Two years old! You’re both two! So big, oh my gosh, how you do this to me?” Adam kissed them repeatedly, uo let them go. “How you do this? You should stay small and cute forever!”

  “No!” Jirot cackled.

  Adam’s heart felt so close to bursting as he tio pepper his children with kisses. He pulled them closer to his chest, ruffling through their curly hair, his lips assaulting their faces and necks. “You smelly girl! You smelly boy! You ot bully your father like this!”

  Jirot and Jarot giggled wildly as their father adored them, all the while the rest of their family watched.

  Adam eventually sat down, pulling his children onto his p, the tiny little twins clutg at their father’s shirt while cuddling up to him.

  “Daddy!” the pair cried aloud.

  “You two… even if you bully me, I love you so much.”

  “I love you too, daddy,” Jirot said, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

  “I love daddy too,” Jarot said, climbing up to kiss his father’s .

  A vortex shook within Adam as he closed his eyes shut, feel his children’s faces against his own, their hair tig his skiness dripped out of his eyes even through how tight he had shut them, the half elf swaying with his children within his arms.

  “I won’t five you for being this cute! Never!” Adam reached up to hold the back of their heads, pinning them to his neck, sniffling as he rubbed his cheeks against theirs. Jirot tio cackle lightly while Jarot’s giggles tickled his ear.

  ‘Why are y?’ Jurot thought, though he remained silent.

  “Have you received yifts yet?” Adam asked, reag into his shirt. He clutched the cool silver, but waited a long moment.

  “No,” the girl replied, gng around. “I want reebun, daddy.”

  “Well first…” Adam held out the silver tokens, eagraved with their names. “I’m going to give you this. I gave all your papos and kakos this for their birthdays, but you get them too.”

  “Oooh!” Jirot’s eyes beamed towards the silver token, which shone all manner of colours where it caught the light.

  “We’re going to put this in your vault, but if you need something big from daddy, you give it to daddy and daddy will do something for you, okay?”

  “Okay!” Jirot held up the token towards her father. “Daddy, you must puhy with me today.”

  “You don’t have to use it today,” Adam said, his lower lip trembling as his daughter tio damage his heart. “I’ll py with you today!”

  Konarot rushed up with her siblings, holding out a ribbon she had received, and she tied it around her sister’s arm, with some help from her father. Kirot and Karot also revealed their gifts, more ribbons for their siblings.

  “Larot is also giving you ribbons, isn’t that right, Larot?” Adam asked, holding the boy up, who gnced aside while holding the ribbons.

  Jirot and Jarot accepted all their gifts, including those from their papos and kakos, the younger children g about losing their toys, though they were distracted once more.

  Adam watched as Jirot and Jarot were showered in gifts, even from their elder papos and kakos. His eyes gnced across Turot and Asorot, who revealed the hydra scales they had for the children, and Taygak, who had created bowls for them.

  ‘I won’t five any of you for being this cute!’

  This was actually a titled chapter but I realised it makes more sense for it to be an interlude so expeother chapter ter.