Beginning Commentary: DRAT, I know what I want to write for the next chapters of my main Awakening fic, but I can't put it into a cohesive narrative! It's like I've hit a writer's block for it despite me knowing what will happen next! GAH! Hm, maybe writing something else will help me out… Although drawing might also be a possibility if I've got enough energy for it.
ANYWAY, here's something to get my mind off things! HOORAY!
The Deeprealms are hidden within the astral planes so that the children of Corrin's army could stay away from harm that the war might bring. However, that doesn't mean that few visits weren't planned, of course. Despite time flowing quicker within the Deeprealms and the struggles of war, the loving parents did their best to reunite with their always growing children.
Such as today, for example. Kaze planned a nice little family picnic that he and his family would partake in. It would help ease his mind, and it would be a nice way to bond with his now seven-year-old daughter, Midori, and his now one-year-old son, Kana. To think she had been put in the Deeprealms only two years ago and Kana three weeks.
However, that picnic would have to wait. When they entered the Deeprealm Midori resided in, Corrin began to feel dizzy. Her grip on little Kana began to loosen.
"My love, are you all right?" Kaze asked.
"Y-yeah," Corrin breathed. "Just a little…lightheaded…is all…"
Her face looked flushed, and her eyes seemed to lose color as well. Kaze gently placed his hand on her forehead.
"Oh dear, you're burning up…"
"I'll be fine, really. This is…s'pposed to be our day with Midori 'n Kana…"
Corrin couldn't take another step without nearly tripping over herself. Fortunately, she latched onto Kaze's shoulder and he managed to catch her before she completely fell. Kana was transferred into Kaze's arms, now to be carried within his father's scarf as a sort of carrier.
"That will have to wait for another day, my love. For now, you need rest."
Kaze slowly escorted his wife to where Midori's caretaker resided.
"Oh, I can't wait for Mommy and Daddy to show up!" Young Midori cheered as she drew a cute little family portrait. "This picnic's gonna be so fun! And I get to meet my baby brother!"
"Don't get too excited, missy," the lovely middle-aged woman sweeping in the den snickered. "You don't want to waste too much of your energy. You'll need that for walking."
"Aw, but I can ask Daddy to carry me. He's pretty strong."
"Silly Midori, I thought you were a big girl!"
"I am! Big girls can get tired, too."
A soft knock was heard on the door.
"IT'S MOMMY AND DADDY!" Midori exclaimed.
"Okay, calm your britches," the woman said as she patted Midori's head. She opened the door. "Your Majest-oh!"
"Forgive us for greeting you like this," Kaze spoke in his very calm demeanor, despite having a slouching wife across his shoulder and a baby right on his chest. "It appears Corrin has gotten sick. Would you please help me settle her down so that she may rest?"
"Oh, of course! Poor dear."
Unfortunately, young Midori did not get the loving greeting she had expected from her parents, so she pouted slightly until she heard that her mother was sick. She sped through the small cottage to where Corrin was, right in a comfy bed. Kaze, being the loving and devoted husband he was, offered to stay by his wife's side so that he can replace towels over her head with new ones while Kana was placed on a blanket within the den.
"Daddy, is Mommy gonna be okay?" Midori asked, slowly walking into the room.
"Oh, Midori," Kaze tried to keep his voice as low as possible so that he wouldn't disturb Corrin. He picked his young daughter up by the hips and placed her on his lap. "Yes, your mother's going to be fine. All she has now is a fever."
"And scratchy throat," Corrin weakly added, her point being proven by how groggy she sounded.
"You must have a cold then, dear."
"No, I think it's because I overworked myself again… Geez, when will I learn?"
"But what about our picnic?" Midori pouted.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. We'll have it when your mother feels well enough again."
"Aww, but I was really looking forward to it!"
"I know, we all were. Sometimes these sorts of things can happen, though. But it won't do you any good if you whine over it."
"Silly Daddy, I've stopped whining when I was four."
"Yes, that means you've become a big girl," Kaze smiled as he poked his daughter's button nose and pressed a kiss into her hair.
"And like your father said, we'll have the picnic when I feel better," Corrin coughed.
"But you won't start feeling better if you keep pushing yourself."
Corrin rolled her eyes with a smile, and slowly closed them. With this, Kaze squeezed Corrin's hand briefly and then gestured to Midori that the two of them should stay quiet, soon escorting the seven-year-old out of the room.
"It's no fun to be sick, so we'll have to make sure your mother feels comfortable and happy," Kaze told his daughter. "I'm going to see if there are any herbs that will help her feel better. If you want, you can help your caretaker make warm soup for her to eat or watch over Kana."
"No, I wanna go with you," Midori said as if the decision was already made.
"Midori… Who else is going to keep an eye on your mother?"
"The caretaker, of course! Or Kana, maybe. I'm gonna help no matter what!"
Well, she seems to have inherited her mother's stubbornness to help others. Kaze couldn't help but give a light chuckle.
"All right, you can come with me."
"YAAAAAAAY!"
"But you have to promise that you'll help me find the best herbs to use."
Midori frantically nodded.
Kaze had quite the apothecary's knowledge despite being a ninja. Perhaps he enjoyed learning about medicines as a sort of hobby, or it was required knowledge that ninjas needed in order to brew poisons and antidotes. Either way, Kaze knew the ingredients needed to curse his ailing wife. But alas, both he and the caretaker were out of ginger!
"Midori, do you know what ginger looks like? Before it becomes grounded and turned into a spice?" Kaze asked.
"Uh…I think..." Midori began. "They look a lot like wheat, I think! But they're more colorful since they've got green stems. Just like your hair, Daddy!"
With that, Kaze gently patted her head.
"Yes, very good. You can also find the roots of them if you try hard enough. They look like puffy tree roots or puffy branches."
"Like they got full with air?"
"Exactly."
"Oh, oh! Can I look for it myself?"
"That confident, are you?"
Midori nodded and posed much like Lady Elise's retainer, Arthur, would.
"I'm a big girl, Daddy! I can handle it ALL by myself!"
"All right, I believe you," Kaze chuckled. "In that case, I'm going to find sea kelp to help cure your mother's exhaustion. Let me or the caretaker know if you need any help, okay?"
"Okay! But it won't be a problem that I can't handle."
How delightfully silly she is, Kaze thought to himself.
And so, Midori found herself on one of the greatest scavenger hunts any seven-year-old could dare challenge.
But before she could do that, she had to say hi to her new baby brother.
"So your name's Kana, huh?" She said quietly while holding a nearby rattle in front of him. "I'm your big sister, Midori."
The baby cooed and giggled, attempting to reach and chew on the rattle. He had his father's hair color judging by the small fluff sprouting on the top of his head.
"Don't worry, Kana. I'm gonna save the day so we can have our picnic!"
Kana gurgled, probably saying encouraging words ala baby speak.
She wanted to hold him, but she felt like he would be too slippery and plop right back on the floor. Babies do drool a lot, so it might get all over her, too. So, she just gave her baby brother a kiss on the cheek.
NOW, Midori set off on her epic quest, leaping out of the cottage door and sprinting her way toward the fields.
Boy, there were a bunch of flowers and crops growing this time of year. Well, it was spring, so it makes sense, but this wasn't going to help Midori one bit!
This is the mighty Midori we're talking about, though. She was far too determined to let something like this ruin her chance to prove how much she had grown. Her mother's life depended on her finding ginger, after all! She couldn't let her down! She couldn't let her baby brother down! And certainly, she couldn't let her father down!
As if she were part dog, she pointed her nose high in the air to begin tracking down ginger. Along with this, she pounced like a predator hunting prey to every new set of fauna she came toward. This frightened a few creepy crawlies away, but Midori made sure that she wouldn't hurt them.
Huh, these are really pretty flowers… Midori began thinking. But I've gotta find that ginger for Mommy! Her life depends on it!
Scurry, scurry, scurry. Sniff, sniff, sniff.
Hmm…
HOLD ON! Waves of ginger's scent began to enter Midori's nose. BINGO!
A-HA! There it was, hidden in plain sight! Or at least, hidden near the grain fields. How dare the ginger hide from the mighty Midori when her mother needed it most! She'd have to give it a good scolding one of these days. Not now, obviously, but one of these days!
She picked a handful from the stems, piling it under her armpit so she can carry even more.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Now Midori's mission was to hand these vital plants to her father.
But, for some reason, she wasn't as determined to do that all of a sudden. Now, she wasn't fully undetermined, but she felt like something was missing…
Daddy said that we'd have to help cheer her up… Midori thought. Maybe some other plants will make her feel MUCH better!
That's it! She'll get her a nice bunch of flowers, too! Oh, and finish the family portrait she had so she could add Kana! Yeah, her mother will definitely like that!
"Okay, Midori, new mission! Find pretty flowers for Mommy!" The seven-year-old exclaimed.
She continued her pouncing, but it became harder to do so with the ginger she had to carry. Aw, now she's gonna have to be a boring regular adventurer!
"Pardon me, have you seen Midori anywhere?" Kaze asked the caretaker as he placed kelp on the kitchen counter.
"Why, no, I haven't," the caretaker gasped. "I thought she was with you!"
Before the two of them could begin to panic, Midori opened the door and held her rewards in her small hands.
"I got the ginger, Daddy!" She exclaimed. "Along with some pretty flowers for Mommy!"
"Well, that's very thoughtful of you," Kaze sighed, taking the plants from his daughter's hands. "I'll give these to her now, in fact!"
"NO! You gotta wait!"
"Oh? Why's that?"
"I need to finish something!"
She scrambled toward the table where her drawing still resided on and scribbled away.
"In that case, I'll start grounding the ginger," Kaze shrugged with a smile.
Midori took small glances at her baby brother to make sure she got his hair right. Baby hair was weird to draw, according to her.
At last, the picture had reached its perfection peak! Now all of Midori's family could be seen with happy faces in a nice flower field quite similar to the one Midori rolled in every now and then.
She nodded confidently at her artwork, and hurried to where her mother rested with flowers in one hand and her drawing in the other.
The caretaker attempted to force feed Corrin the odd-tasting kelp, and Kaze slightly bounced baby Kana in his arms. Perfect timing for Midori!
"Mommy! I made stuff to help you feel better!" She said excitedly.
Kaze gestured to her that she should be quiet, though, so she walked over to hand over her presents and sat beside the very sick Corrin.
"Oh, Midori. This is wonderful!" Corrin gasped. "These flowers are very pretty!"
"Yeah, I thought so, too. That's why I thought you'd like them."
"We should put them in a vase, then. They'll last longer that way. Aw, and you even drew a family portrait. Kaze, look."
He sat down by his wife to get a glimpse.
"So that's why you wanted to wait," Kaze said with a sly grin.
"Yeah, I had to draw Kana, too," Midori replied.
Corrin weakly wrapped her arms around Midori.
"How very thoughtful of you. I feel better already," Corrin smiled.
"Really?" Midori gasped.
Corrin nodded.
EVEN MORE OF A SUCCESS! Pride burst through the young girl's bloodstream and if she weren't told to be quiet, she'd be running all over the room screaming on the top of her lungs of how helpful she was!
"You should probably still get rest, dear," Kaze sighed, giving his wife a kiss on her forehead.
"Oh, all right. Thank you for your help, nurse Midori," Corrin yawned.
NURSE Midori? Now that sounded nice. No wait, DOCTOR Midori would sound nicer! Ooh, that's what she should be when she grows up! Helping people feel better made her feel really good, and her father could teach her the tricks she needed to help them physically, too!
"Come along, Midori. How about you play with Kana before he has to take a nap, too?"
Midori nodded, and gave her mother one final hug before she leapt off the bed.
Fortunately, within three or so days, Corrin had fully recovered! And, to keep up on promises, she asked Midori to help find key ingredients for delicious foods they could eat for their family picnic.
Needless to say, Midori was far more than happy to help out.