"I'm going to find you" Torx bellowed, creeping across the forest floor. He peeked around trees and bushes, and he still couldn't find his daughter. She was good at this game, at hiding when she didn't want to be found. He could hear her giggling which only spurred him on. As her giggling grew louder, he held out his hands ready to catch her before she ran. He came to a stop in front of a large tree, and her laughter was so loud he knew she had to be on the other side of the trunk.
Torx leapt around the side of the tree, reaching out with hands to grab thin air. He frowned slightly, and the giggles started again, but this time they were above him. He lifted his face and he saw a cheeky grin.
"How did you get up there then?" he asked, and Scout giggled again, clapping her hands. She smiled at her father, perched on a low branch of the tree, hidden by the leaves. He laughed with her and reached his arms up to her. She scooted off the branch and he caught her, holding her close. Scout snuggled her head under her father's chin, and for a moment they stayed like that. Then Scout began squirming and he set her down, smiling still. She wandered over to a nearby pool and sat down, splashing in the clear water. He joined her, and began to point at objects to get her to name them.
"Tree" she said, as he picked up a branch.
"Branch" he said, and she frowned.
"It's part of a tree. A branch falls off a tree" he explained, and still she frowned.
"No, tree" she said, pointing at the branch, and he shook his head.
"A branch makes a tree, but a branch isn't a tree" he said, and she looked at the branch. She reached for it and he let her take it. She looked at it, then looked at her father.
"Branch?" she said, and he smiled.
"Yes, branch" he answered, and her face lit up. She set the branch down next to her and played with the water again. They stayed there for a while longer, Torx watching his daughter play, her blue eyes fixed on the ripples in the water, the breeze lifting her short blonde hair. She was a beautiful child, and she was intelligent. She would be a good leader, a good chief. Torx knew it in his heart.
When Scout's head started to dip, Torx knew it was time to head back to the village. He scooped her up, and as he turned she cried out. He looked down at her in alarm, and saw she was pointing.
"Branch" she said, and he turned and picked it up, handing it to her. She smiled and leaned close into her father's broad chest. He smiled and they walked back to the village.
When they arrived at the village, the villagers smiled and waved at them, but Scout was paying too much attention to the branch, ignoring everyone else. As they got close to their hut, Torx saw the silhouette of his wife in the window, and his heart thumped. He loved his wife as much now as he had when they married, and to him his life was complete. He opened the door and set Scout down, who ran to her mother. Belna turned at the sound of the footsteps, and she smiled, catching her daughter as she ran to her. She raised her in the hair, and Torx watched them both as they span and laughed. Scout held the branch out to her mother.
"Branch" she said proudly, and Belna nodded.
"That is a fine branch darling" she said, and Scout nodded.
"Daddy picked it" she said, using it to point at her father, who smiled.
Belna nodded, and set her daughter down in her chair, turning back to get their dinner from the counter. She set the bowls around the table and while they ate they shared stories about their day. Scout told her mother how Torx had fought a massive dragon off that had chased her up a tree, and how he'd used a branch to fight it off. Belna gasped at the right parts, and this encouraged Scout, who kept adding new characters into the story to impress her mother. Concluding her story, she sat back, and fixed her eyes on her father.
"Daddy is a hero" she said smiling, her little feet kicking in the air.
Torx's heart lifted, and he smiled at her.
"He is" Belna added, smiling at her husband.
Torx reached for his wife's hand and kissed her cheek, much to Scout's displeasure. She made a disgusted noise and yawned.
"Ah, time for the little lady to go to bed" Belna said, rising from her chair.
Scout shook her head, but yawned again. Belna laughed and picked up her daughter, who still clutched the branch in her chubby hands. She waved at Torx to say goodnight, and he waved back.
When his wife and daughter had disappeared from sight, he collected the bowls and set them aside. He looked out the window, the same one he had looked out of the day Scout arrived, and took in the sight of his village. Hearing his people laughing and talking with each other made it easier for him to get out of bed each day. He did every day for his village, his people and his family. For them, he would rise.