YW - Seven Short Stories: VI, Two Swords

Your Warmth

Seven Short Stories: VI, Two Swords

By Black Waltz 0

†††

Cyrus thought the room felt empty already even though he'd only filled half a bag and had yet to leave.

He wasn't entirely sure how long he would end up on his journey or how footsore he was going to be, so he tried to pack light. Even so, it was sort of difficult to leave everything behind; even just looking around the room he could see objects with history and a pleading excuse to go along with him, whispering their reasons.

His favorite book. The old stuffed goblin his mother had made for him when he was small and still reminded him of good things in its threadbare, worn fluff. The drawing of himself and Alice that Sam had spun out for his birthday not long ago, on her face the whole time a knowing smirk. All things he wanted to take, but didn't need.

Still, Cyrus glanced around his empty room for a moment in search of prying eyes (like from his sister who had the habit of popping out of nowhere with a derisive comment at the ready) and then cracked the back of the picture frame open from where it had been sitting on the dresser, slipping the black and white drawing between the pages of the empty journal he had bought for the occasion. There, absolutely no increase of weight at all. It would be fine.

He had grabbed just about everything he would need as per the advice of the Adventurer's Guild. Tonight he would sleep in his own bed for the last time, and the next day? Who knew?

He turned slightly as his finely-tuned elven hearing picked up hushed voices from beyond his bedroom door. It sounded like a muffled argument, or a persistent nattering deflected by patient ‘ok, ok, sure, I will's that couldn't help but make Cyrus roll his eyes a bit, but he was careful to stow his journal away again before he would have something embarrassing to explain.

Moments after the argument had ceased and he heard the click of his mother's shoes down the hall he anticipated the knock on the door. "Come on in." He said readily as it came, pulling the string tight on his bag and then tossing it into a corner beside his wardrobe.

"Hey son." Reiyu smiled as he poked his head into Cyrus' room, acting as though he hadn't been cajoled into making this visit by his loving wife, though he supposed he would have needed to at some point before dawn tomorrow. He let himself in the rest of the way. "All packed and ready to go?"

"I guess so." Cyrus replied, scratching the back of his neck as he looked about the room again for anything he might have missed. "JD says he's going to be bringing most of the important stuff anyway. He's got a bag that's way bigger on the inside than on the outside somehow; we tested it out a few days ago using sand from the beach." The real difficulty had been trying to shake it all out again.

His father nodded away at that without much incredulity, knowing where the other boy's talents lay. Cyrus could remember a time long ago when his dad had been a lot leaner and more athletic; one of the most prized members of the Adventurer's Guild that his town had to offer; to say nothing about the cataclysm that had happened nearly seventeen years hence. He had been the very best and more, but now he was merely a slightly husky shopkeeper with a friendly smile.

That smile widened a bit. "I can't believe it. You're finally all grown up. It only feels like yesterday I wandered into town and met your mom again with you already on the way."

He'd had his birthday a week or two ago but it still didn't feel like it; he couldn't quite think of himself as an adult just yet even though the path to the dungeon and late evenings in the Guildhouse were open to him now. Alice's dad had bought him a drink in celebration, which was kind of him, but that wasn't what he had been yearning for. What he wanted was the open road.

"And I can't believe tomorrow is really the day. It feels way longer to me." Cyrus joked, sitting down at his desk where he'd fought his way through homework for all those years. "I haven't been able to sleep for the past two nights. It's just too cool."

"Well, you're free to do whatever you want now." Reiyu commented. "Do you have any plans yet? Like about where you and JD will go? I think it'd put some of Sera's and my own worries to rest if we had an idea where you'll be headed."

That was probably the entire reason his dad had been pushed into his room and the topic of the argument Cyrus had heard outside. He chuckled in amusement; it was just so like his mother to use him as a smokescreen so he wouldn't have to see just how worried she really was. The boy shook his head. "Plans? I don't have any. I think I've saved up enough money working the store to keep Jay'd and I going for a while, so we'll probably just travel around and wait to see where the road takes us. If we had a planned, set series of destinations then it wouldn't be a real adventure; it would just be a sightseeing trip, right?" He asked.

Reiyu understood his reasoning. Cyrus had always been a big help in the shop even when he was a little tyke laying produce out in baskets on the shelves, and now that the brown-haired ex adventurer was getting a bit older it was nice knowing he could leave things to him sometimes. He was certainly going to miss him, and of course not just when it came to the store. "That's one way of looking at it, yeah." He said.

"I guess JD said he wants to go see Levanter where Uncle Darren grew up. There's supposed to be some really great food up there and we can get a boat and try our hand at riding it down the river." Cyrus mused, thinking back to all the midnight conversations he and his friend had collected over a childhood of sleepovers, waiting and planning for this day. The journey he was so close to starting was years in the making, maybe more.

The young half-elf smiled as he continued. "Reina also says I should go back to the forest where Mom came from and ‘learn more about my heritage', but I think she just wants me to bring her back souvenirs because she's too young to go there herself. I guess I could do that too though; I could always stay with grandma and grandpa, or Uncle Lye."

When it came to the elves JD might not find the same kind of hospitality that his son might enjoy, and even half elves were only entitled to a frown half the time, but Reiyu didn't point that out. It was best that they learn their limitations on their own journey. Instead he tried to change the subject. "Sera is still totally against you going." He said.

That admission was obvious. "I know, but I gotta do it anyway. I can't just stay in this town forever, even though Adratea's always been good to me. I got to see what the outside world is like, beyond the mountains, and maybe if I do that I might be able to figure myself out a little better too. I might find my place in the world, just like you and Mom found yours." Cyrus smiled a bit in growing certainty. "After all people who stay at home never find their fortunes."

If Reiyu had stayed at home in his serfdom all those many years ago, so many years, eclipsed by that long cold darkness he still preferred to not think about, then there never would have been a world left to see. Not one free and open enough for human beings to explore, anyhow. He folded his arms and looked thoughtful for a moment, cocking his head to one side. "No, I'm pretty sure you'll be just fine out there, Cyrus. You have your real dad's blood in your veins and Sera will understand eventually; she just sees so much of herself in you that she worries you won't bother coming back."

"Hey, you're my real dad, Dad." Cyrus told him somewhat sternly after hearing those words, setting the record straight. "No offense to my namesake or anything, but you're the dad who raised me so you're the dad who matters." He had never really felt like the name Cydonia fit him anyway, even after his parents had deemed him old enough to learn the truth of the human half of his heritage some years ago. He supposed that meant he should visit the kingdom of Cydonia at some point too, but not for any revolution purposes. Just to see.

Even so, Reiyu had never forgotten Cyrus Senior though he now slept peacefully in the past. He hadn't quite gotten close enough to call him ‘brother' in the time that he had known him, but he liked to believe that it would have only been a matter of time were things different. All he could do was hope that he had made the old specter proud by honoring his last request and keeping an eye out for his wife and child. It hadn't been out of duty, it had been a joy, and he hoped that Cyrus Cydonia would forgive him for picking up where he left off someday in the hereafter.

In the present Cyrus Onin, son of Reiyu cleared his throat as he looked away, embarrassed by what he was planning to say next. "Besides, I have to come back. I promised I would, and JD swore that he'd drag me back here if I ever changed my mind for some reason."

"I'm glad he's going with you." Reiyu told him. "He's young and a little overconfident, like BW, but he's got a good head on his shoulders, like Darren, and he's smart like the both of them."

"Plus… uh, I told Alice that I'd come back for her." The young elf admitted as he began to turn red, starting from the tips of his pointed ears. She had wanted to come along too and turn their adventure into a party of three, but she wasn't eighteen yet and she sometimes went through intermittent bouts of illness due to her frailty. On top of that she was studying to become a nurse. She couldn't quit now.

Reiyu came over and patted his son on the shoulder, perhaps in understanding. "S'ok, I get it. You don't have to say anymore." He said. If he passed that info over to Sera it would calm her down, surely. It might also make her start to excitedly plan a wedding in the future, but he figured he'd cross that bridge when he got to it later.

There was one other thing he needed to discuss. "Did you pack a weapon, just in case?" He asked.

Cyrus nodded. "Yeah. I have a short sword from the forge." He explained. It would be useful if he ran into bandits or thugs on the road, or just people that felt they needed to pick a fight with him. They could only rely on JD's magic and talent for persuasion so much.

However, instead of seeming satisfied with that Reiyu moved away and did a peculiar thing, rapping the heel of his shoe against the wooden floorboards, his expression somewhat pensive. His son watched him do that for a short while with growing curiosity. "Uh… what are you doing?" He inquired, trying not to smile.

"Did you know this used to be Sera's and my room when you were just a baby?" Reiyu responded as he continued his tapping, moving from spot to spot when he didn't seem to find whatever he was seeking.

"Okay." The youth said simply, waiting to see where he would go with this.

Reiyu stopped when he picked up a hollow sound. He smiled as he dropped down to one knee, running his fingers along a slight gap where the floorboard was loose. "I didn't want you to find this while you were still small and have you cut yourself open one day, so I put it away, out of sight and mind and memory." He said.

There was a cavity beneath the floorboard that had all of its insulation scooped out, just deep enough for him to fit a hand in and feel around. Reiyu did so under the watch of his child, his fingertips making contact with smooth, familiar wood.

He pulled out a sheath covered in a very fine layer of dust. "Hello, old friend." He said.

Cyrus felt an almost prickly, excited feeling creep over him. "Is that your…?" He started to ask, but stopped. If that was what he thought it was he had never seen it before, but he had heard about it on enough occasions from the older adventurers left in town; the ones that still talked about his dad. Well… not his dad – the legend; the hero. The one Reiyu had voluntarily faded into obscurity to put to rest.

The shopkeeper gently wiped the dust away using a palm and drew the sword out of its sheath just enough to inspect the blade beneath the pommel. The sound it made as it slid out of its constraints again was liquid; silken. Even after all those years. "Yuh-huh. My old sword and the only one I've ever used, I'm kind of embarrassed to say." He laughed.

The elven boy was over there in a few quick steps, crouching down slightly to get a better look at it. He glanced up at his father. "It's the one that people talk about, right? The ‘God-slayer'? The sword that managed to defeat a deity not once, but twice?" He guessed.

Reiyu smiled cynically and tried not to scoff. "Well yeah, but that doesn't mean its special or anything. It's not magical or blessed or unique – it's just a good quality sword from my homeland. The only claim to fame it has is that it was on hand when push came to shove and the aberrant horror needed to be defeated. Again." He added after a moment of brief reflection.

He didn't resist when Cyrus tentatively took the weapon from his hands and drew it from its sheath in one smooth motion, the blade long, slightly curved and gleaming silver. Despite all that it was deceptively light. "Nice." He said with a little smirk, admiring it while he still could.

"You like it?" Reiyu asked proudly.

"Yeah." Cyrus agreed. Letting it stay hidden for so long in what eventually had become his bedroom might not have been that wise, but no harm had come of it.

The older man seemed satisfied and clapped a hand on Cyrus' back. "Good then. It's yours. Take it with you." He advised.

Cyrus stared at him in surprise. "Whoa, wait. I can't do that. This belongs to you." He stammered, lowering the blade. He was fine with admiring it but it was far too precious of an object to just give away on a whim, even if it was on the wishes of its original owner.

Reiyu just laughed and shook his head slowly, folding his arms. "That's alright; you know I don't use it anymore. I'm happy to let the young twenty or thirty somethings do all the fighting these days and if you don't want to give it a good home I'll probably just put it away for another six or seven years ‘til your sister is old enough to use it." He explained.

As expected he watched Cyrus pull a sour face. "Not Reina! She doesn't care about stuff like that! She'll probably lose it, or break it, or trade it to one of her friends for a crummy necklace or something!" He moaned.

Deep down Reiyu was pretty sure that his daughter would never do any of those things, she was far too sensible for that, but Cyrus was looking at her through the clouded lens of an older brother. He decided to use it to his advantage, taking the scabbard from Cyrus' hand and guiding him to sheath the blade again. "I want you to have it. Let it protect you, just like it protected me a long time ago." He advised.

Cyrus was quiet for some time, debating with himself internally while he held the sword in both his hands. Eventually he came to a conclusion and nodded, his mouth drawn into a grimace rather than a smile. "If you insist, I'll give it a try." He said.

But the other man already knew. Cyrus would never have rebuffed him if the offer hadn't meant anything at all. Reiyu snuck an arm around his son's wiry shoulders and gave them a hearty squeeze. "I'm happy to hear it." He announced, grinning broadly. "Just remember to take it to the Sylvas forge tonight for an inspection and maybe a sharpening. It's been sitting under the floor for so long that I can't remember if it needs work done or not."

"I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning, though." Cyrus protested. "Will there be time?"

"If you show Trina that sword and tell her you're going to leave tomorrow I'm sure she'll bump you up to the top of her queue." Reiyu suggested. They were old comrades from back in the day and owed each other favors still.

There was at least time for that amidst all the other stuff he had to do before the day was though, and then go spend a final evening out walking under the stars with Alice before their relationship became a long distance one. He guessed he also needed to have a last dinner with his family, too.

Cyrus broke the stiff, father-son convention and pulled Reiyu into a firm hug. He hadn't been given one of those since the boy had been very little indeed. "Okay, I will. Thanks Dad, this means a lot to me." He told him in earnest, grateful for all he had done.

Not just now, but for always.

†††

The very next morning not long after dawn Cyrus squirmed uncomfortably and tried not to complain as his mother fussed over him, from the way his hair was parted and his selection of clothes, to say nothing about whether he had slept or eaten enough and if he had enough of everything for the journey. She meant well so he grinned and bore it, hoping beyond hope that JD would hurry up and get there soon.

"And you have fresh underwear?"

"Yes mom."

"Fresh socks?"

"Yes."

"And you've memorized our postal address? You didn't forget to pack the sheet of stamps I gave you in case human mail is the only option?" Sera demanded as she licked her thumb and rubbed it close to Cyrus' ear where he had missed a small blob of shaving foam.

Cyrus cringed at the over familiar, wet contact. He also heard various chuckles from Reiyu standing close by and from Alice at his side. "No mom, they're in my bag and I won't forget. I'll write, I promise." He mumbled. She had shown him how to send and receive elven mail so many times that it was probably imprinted in his brain forever now.

His mother smiled at his very obvious exasperation yet seemed tearful at the same time; a noted rarity for her. "You had better, and you'd better come back too because if you don't I'm going to come out there and find you." She warned him.

The young half-elf risked a glance at his girlfriend and the rest of his family. His little sister Reina cleared her throat and looked away. They didn't seem to doubt her but of course neither did he. "It's okay, mom. Relax. I think growing up in this busy adventurer town has prepared me well for the outside world. You ought to worry more about Reina, she probably wants to grow up and marry the prince of Daranere instead." He chided.

His sister made a dismissive noise, like a huff crossed with a raspberry that all burgeoning teenage girls knew. "Don't be ridiculous. As if." She retorted, rolling her eyes. "Now go get kidnapped by bandits or whatever so I can have your room."

This time it was Cyrus' turn to laugh, and genuinely too. "I will as soon as JD decides to show up." He told her. Dismissive words or not he'd miss his sister, and somewhere behind the stoic expression and dark green eyes he knew she'd miss him too. Plus, his parents had promised him they'd keep his room exactly as he had left it so she was completely out of luck there anyway.

"Did someone say my name? Hullo folks." JD said.

It was good timing. Just as Cyrus had made that admission his friend had come gliding his way up the main road, dressed just as he was for a long day of travel and adventure, though Alice would have said he always managed it with a lot more colour and flair. Those were the two words that seemed to describe JD best of all, along with his charming smile and fluid grace as he powered himself through the air.

He alighted onto the ground again and closed his great blue wings, kicking up a bit of dust before he settled again. Unlike his mother BW who had always been grounded he had taught himself how to fly years prior, after his superfluous limbs had grown in strong enough. It wasn't free flight in the traditional sense, not really, but with the right wing and feather control paired with an energetic float spell he could maintain the illusion just fine. Cyrus had always been a little jealous, honestly.

He had a large satchel nestled between his shoulder blades but it looked almost empty. Alice strolled over to the new addition to the ground and plucked out a loose feather from one of his wings, jolting him just enough to get his attention. "Where's your mom and dad, Jay'd? Aren't they coming?" She asked as she stuck the stray quill in his hair like a fashionable accessory.

"Ah, well, you know." JD grinned, a tad embarrassed. "They're not really early birds. They went right back to bed after I wished them farewell."

That did sound a lot like BW, and Darren too now that they had been living together for so long. The thought appeared to cheer Sera up somewhat and she smiled, waxing sentimental after all those years. She had barely aged physically in that time but everyone else around her had instead, as though she were a sturdy redwood tree surrounded by a forest of young saplings. Had that been an elven metaphor? It felt so long ago now she barely knew.

"Look at you two, so handsome and all grown up." She sighed, half in pride and half in bittersweet dismay. "It's going to be so quiet in the store without you, my lil' Cy-guy."

Cyrus turned bright red in the presence of Alice and JD. "Moooooom…" He moaned lowly, in more of a clenched-teeth whisper. "You're embarrassing me…"

Reiyu smiled and slipped an arm around his wife, mostly for moral support but also to give his son a bit of a break. "Don't worry Sera, I'll try my darndest to pick up the slack and make enough noise for the both of us." He declared.

"Ugh, why don't you go take a vacation too?" She replied in annoyance, but the way she discreetly snuggled against his side spoke more about how she felt than her words really did.

"Are we ready to go then?" JD asked, shifting around impatiently on his feet.

"Yeah, I think so." Cyrus replied as he looked over his family and Alice too, who had cried so much the night before during their last walk together, but she seemed composed now. Maybe she'd gotten it all out of her system, or maybe she understood he was going to have an amazing time with his best friend and would be back someday soon enough.

Sera seemed to rouse suddenly. "Oh, wait! Stay right there, don't move!" She cried, twisting out of Reiyu's embrace and turning on her heel to zip back into their house again.

The rest of her family and the two extras were left to stand perplexed on the front lawn, an odd sight for an early-morning fisherman to see as they brought their day's catch by the bushel along the main road to the Guildhouse in the east. Reina groaned a bit, just wanting this to be over with so she could go back to sleep. Trust Cyrus to leave town on a weekend when there was no school to worry about.

"Is mom going to bring you the kitchen sink too?" She asked snidely.

"You can go back to bed now if you want, Reina." Reiyu offered, sensing her discomfort.

Reina shook her head. "No, I want to see where she's going with this." She replied.

JD draped an arm around Cyrus and Alice's shoulders, leaning against them as he wedged himself in-between. "Well I'm worried the longer we lounge around waiting the more likely Cy will just succumb to Alice's radiant beauty and stay as her slave. I'll be forced to leave on my own. Alone. Forever. Thanks Ally." He said, squeezing them both.

Alice didn't waste time in elbowing him away. "Get out of here, you overgrown chicken." She snapped, trying not to laugh.

Before JD could defend himself Sera returned, carrying under one arm a long object wrapped in an old, fine swath of cloth. It smelled very musty, like it hadn't seen the light of day in some time. "Here it is." She breathed, brushing her hand down along the dark blue fabric as if it were alive.

Five curious faces were poised to look at it, but Reiyu could have sworn he'd seen those wrappings somewhere before. A long blue cloak… but then it hit him like a sack of bricks. "Oh dear." The ex-swordsman said, not really in distress, just surprise.

Cyrus stepped forward unwittingly, wondering what his mother had brought him. "Aw mom, I already told you I didn't need any more clothes." He said, reminding her. Blue wasn't really that flattering of a colour on him anyway.

Sera resisted the urge to whack him with it. It felt like she needed to be all solemn and whatnot for the occasion, but she had overheard her family talking about her from the window and didn't want to anymore. "It's not the cloak; it's what's inside that's important." She replied, exasperated. She would never give that away, even though she had been remarried for many years now. When Cyrus had only been a very little boy she'd used to take it out of its storage chest; wrapping the dark folds about herself and breathing in deeply the familiar scent of the man she had loved completely, until time had taken that away from her as well.

The elven woman wasted no more words and unfolded the fabric with reverence. It gave way to the golden hilt of a Cydonian bastard sword, built strong and sturdy by the men of the north for battle. It wasn't just some common, run of the mill blade either; it bore the crest of the dragon wrapped around the full, silver moon. It managed to surprise everyone but Reiyu, who had had an inkling of it since recognizing its owner's cloak. He chose to say nothing for now.

Reina, Alice, JD and Cyrus crowded around. "Cool sword." JD said brightly.

"It looks very expensive." Reina commented off to the side.

"And sharp." Alice added a touch nervously.

Cyrus looked up at his mother waiting for him to toss in some input too, but he already knew a lot about his family's history and like Reiyu he had a fair idea of how this was going to go. The blade felt like it had some sort of power about it, a resonance, as though if he took that sword by the handle and hefted it he would gain all the strength and confidence that its original wielder had once shown. He had to admit that offer seemed tempting.

"It's dad's sword. Not Dad dad, I mean the one who died before I was even born. The one whose blood makes me half human. Is that right?"

"Yeah, it is." Sera confirmed.

"Cyrus Senior. My namesake."

Despite the old, still painful memories Sera managed a warm smile. "I've been waiting for an opportunity to give this to you for a long time. Right now seemed like the best time for it and I'm sure your father would have wanted it this way." She told him, then, drawing the sword from its shroud she offered it to him almost ceremoniously, hilt first.

The youth felt the burning gazes of his friends affix themselves onto him from either side and it didn't feel too good; he had always hated being the center of attention. It felt like they were watching his every move and he looked silently to Reiyu and Reina for advice, but they were just looking back at him as if he had all the answers instead.

The problem was that if he went with his heart or his gut over this there was invariably going to be someone who would end up hurt. Reiyu probably already knew this too and that was why he smiled at Cyrus encouragingly from the sidelines, letting him know that it was okay. He might have felt a little foolish now for offering up his sword to his son, not knowing that his wife had the very same plans, but he had only raised Cyrus. He wasn't responsible for his lineage, or his blood.

Cyrus closed his eyes and allowed himself a few moments to think things through. When he opened them again he sighed, smiling sheepishly. "I'm really sorry, Mom. I can't do it. I can't take dad's sword." He said.

Sera seemed surprised, pulling the sword back against her breast again. "You can't? Why not?" She asked.

"I don't want you to think I'm disrespectful of my birth father, because I'm not and I'm grateful for everything he's ever done for us, but I think I want to go with the sword that was given to me last night." Cyrus explained and then looked to his friend standing close by. "JD, did you pick it up from the forge on the way over here?"

JD smirked proudly and nodded, but then he immediately looked annoyed afterwards, leaning over and scratching his nose with a nail. "Yeah, sure I did. But you really ought to run your own errands, you know!"

"Well, I was busy. And you were going to be passing by there anyway." Cyrus reasoned. "So, where is it?"

The dark-haired boy jerked a thumb proudly at himself. "In the ‘ol sandbag." He announced, then made a squeaking noise as Cyrus reached over and grabbed him by one half-folded wing, tilting him just enough so he could shove a hand into the satchel on his friend's back. The bag seemed big enough to accommodate a few schoolbooks and a lunchbox, but it didn't resist in the slightest when Cyrus jammed his arm in there all the way up to the shoulder.

He made a face. "Damn, it's still sandy as hell in here, Jay'd." He complained.

"Hey, you try cleaning out an inverted pocket space! It's not as easy as you think." JD protested as Cyrus successfully pulled out a familiar, if a little sand-encrusted sword.

The wooden scabbard had been polished until the dark wood almost shone and when he drew the blade out it was almost as good as new, restored to its former glory and as sharp as the very first time it had plunged into the heart of a foe. Last night Cyrus had worried that the repairs would take too big of a chunk out of his savings and cripple his travel fund, but Trina had taken the sword without complaint and worked through the night completely for free, no matter how hard he'd tried to push money onto her.

"Put that silver away." She had barked at him as she worked to get the furnace lit again after already putting it to sleep earlier. The muscles in her arms had bulged like knotted ropes, set in tanned bronze. "Your father once stopped this town from gettin' wiped off the face of the earth, so this is the least I could do for him. It really takes me back seeing that old sword of his again."

He was grateful to everyone for helping him out, but holding Reiyu's revitalized sword in his hands now reminded him of exactly what he should do. Cyrus sheathed it again with care and buckled the strap of the scabbard around his waist; pulling it tight. Having it hang there for easy drawing felt better than slinging it over his back.

He then took his mother by the wrist, enclosing his hand over hers that was holding the pommel of Cyrus Senior's sword, muttering to her a soft apology. "Sorry, but this sword I have here feels more ‘right' to me now. The one that Dad- that Reiyu gave to me last night, it's the sword of a wanderer and I think it'll serve me better than the sword of a king. For now." Cyrus paused for another moment, dwelling on that. "That's not to say I won't need Cyrus Cydonia's blade one day, but that's in the future I guess. Is that okay?"

Honestly he expected his mother to frown at him, or scold him, or think of a snarky comment that might embarrass him in front of his family and his friends. It threw him through a loop then when her eyes shimmered with tears and she yanked him into a proper, full hug, squeezing the living tar out of him for the last time while he was still just her baby boy, on the cusp of becoming a man. "Oh Cy, you should have said. I just wanted to make sure you're okay out there in the world, but Cyrus' spirit will look out for you whether you're carrying his weapon or not." She said.

"You're right, Mom. Thanks." Cyrus replied and hugged her back.

Reiyu's voice was hoarse with emotion as he stepped over to his wife and his child and he hugged them both, wrapping his arms around them as well as he was able. "I'm so proud of the both of you." He admitted in a cracked whisper, like he was about to cry like a little girl.

"Ugh, good grief." Reina said flatly then turned to walk away. "That's it; I'm going back to bed. See you, Cyrus. Don't do anything stupid out there." And then she was gone.

Not wanting to be left out JD snuck under Alice's arm and tried to encircle his own around her midsection, like a child trying to get their arms around the trunk of a tree. He only got a second or two of sweet, sweet contact before she groaned and tried to pry him away.

Cyrus let both his parents squeeze him from either side for just a little bit longer and then he disengaged from them, his hand moving to the strap of his backpack as he pulled away. He gave them both a bright, wide, downright handsome grin. "Alright, I'd better go now if we wanna make enough distance away from town today. Bye Mom. Bye Dad. Bye Ally." He called.

His parents returned the farewell but Alice stubbornly shook her head. "Let me walk with you to the outskirts of town." She pleaded. "Just that far and no further."

"If you do that you're gonna cramp our totally memorable farewell…" JD started to whine, arms folded, but then Alice fixed him with a stern, pointed look that spoke pages about what she had resigned to leave unspoken; unfinished. The dark-haired magician wilted under the intensity of it and sighed, spreading his wings to take to the air again. "Oooooor I could go on ahead and leave you two alone. That I could do." He added.

Cyrus just seemed perplexed. "Hey Jay'd, where are you going-" But he was only ignored as JD grumbled and sailed away.

Alice took his arm instead somewhat tighter than needed. She didn't want to let go ever again, but she needed to. Soon, but not now.

As a last ditch plea for answers he looked once more to Reiyu for advice, but all the old shopkeeper did was smirk conspiratorially at him and wink. No help there.

"Well… alright. Goodbye!"

Sera waved. Reiyu held her by the shoulders for support but he ended up waving too. They stood outside the front of their home for a long while until Cyrus, Alice, and the tinier spot that was JD disappeared into the distance, and then just for the hell of it they waited a few minutes more. Sera continued to hold the half-wrapped sword to her chest like a security blanket, but when she realized Cyrus wasn't coming back because he had forgotten something she slowly wrapped her treasure back up again.

"I think I know how my family felt when I left them now." Sera said, maybe to Reiyu, maybe to nobody.

"Are you gonna be okay, Ser'?" Reiyu asked her, planting a kiss on the tip of her ear.

"Yeah… yeah. I just… I got to write mom a letter now. I need to apologize for everything." She admitted, wiping at the corners of her eyes. It hurt so much to let her baby go at last, but now that he was gone it was almost a relief – one final relief. They had brought him up fine, and healthy, and whole.

Reiyu smiled in understanding and took her by the hand. Then, without saying another word, he led her back into the house again.