"Papa!" Jayke squealed in joy as his father lifted him higher in the air.
Rythian grinned behind his mask at the laughing child, emitting a few laughs of his own. Zoeya smiled at the two of them having fun while Cynthia handed her flowers. The yellow petals practically glowed in the sunlight. Zoeya took the flowers from her daughter.
"They're beautiful, sweetie" she said, hugging the young girl. Cynthia giggled happily as Zoeya broke the embrace.
"Where are some more?" The three-year-old asked her mother.
"I don't think there are anymore…" the redhead trailed off. The child sighed in disappointment as Zoeya grinned slightly, stroking the child's light brown hair.
"I'm sure there will be more if we come back" she reassured her daughter.
"Really?" She asked, kicking a pebble into the lake. Zoeya hugged her again.
"I'm sure of it" she said and kissed her cheek. Cynthia squealed slightly in happiness when Zoeya smiled at her. The redhead sat down and pulled her daughter to her lap, setting the flowers down beside her. Cynthia put her arms around her mothers neck, putting her head in the crook of her neck.
"Hi momma!" She heard Jayke running to her with Rythian behind him.
"Hey hun!" She said, looking at the light red haired boy as he ran to her. Rythian sat beside her, looking at Cynthia.
"Hi papa" she said, looking up. Rythian smiled under his mask.
"Hey sweetie" he said, taking his mask down and kissing her cheek. Cynthia giggled slightly.
"This is fun!" Jayke said as he dipped his hand into the lake. Rythian smiled at the boy.
"Wanna play another game?" The mage asked, half crawling half walking to his son.
"Yeah! Another game!" He excitedly said, taking his hand out of the water.
"Let's play tag. I'm it" he said, getting up. Jayke squealed, jumping up and running away from the lake. Rythian chased after him, even laughing himself at times. Zoeya smiled as she heard Cynthia's soft breathing.
"Cynth, are you asleep?" She asked, patting her daughters back.
"Hmm? No…" the girl said, dozing off once more.
"You wanna go home?" The redhead asked.
"No! I like it here… I'm not sleepy…" Cynthia protested. Zoeya let out a breathy laugh as she pulled her child back to look at her.
"You sure?" She asked, looking into Cynthia's bronze eyes with a purple ring around them.
"Yeah. I wanna go play with Jayke and papa" she said, letting go of her mothers neck.
"Okay" Zoey said as she let her daughter go. She watched the girl as she ran to her father. Rythian looked at his daughter as she almost fell to the ground. He hurriedly crouched down and caught her as she was about to hit the ground.
"Be careful, Cynth" he said as he lifted her up. That's when Jayke, who was now it, ran to them and tagged Rythian.
"Your it!" He called, then ran away. Rythian looked at the boy and put Cynthia down.
"C'mon, help me catch him" he said as he jogged to him so the younger child could keep up. He grabbed her hand and raced with her. Cynthia giggled happily. When they finally caught up to Jayke, the mage tagged him.
"Your it!" He said, lifting up Cynthia and running with her as Jayke tried to catch his breath. Rythian looked back at him, realizing he needed a break. He walked back to his son, putting his daughter down when they reached him.
"You okay, Jayke?" He asked as Zoeya made her way to them.
"Yeah… I'm… fine… papa…" Jayke said between pants. Rythian lifted him up.
"I think it's time to go home" he said and Zoeya nodded.
She lifted up Cynthia, walking beside Rythian as the sun dipped behind the horizon, bringing an end to the average day. Without any current threats, there would be more times like this to come.