By request of AngetianPrincess18. Again. :)
Sunbeam
Rayla, I need help.
Well of course it needs to be you. I mean, who else would I ask? Callum?
...Janai scares me.
I don't even know what an ethari is!
...is Runaan the stabby assassin who killed King Harrow?
Well I'm definitely not asking him, then.
Why would I talk to your parents?
...I'm not sure that's a good thing.
Hey! Ow! Okay, I'm going!
Callum, your wife hit me again.
I was only asking her advice!
Okay, I may have said she wasn't the best example of how to bring up a child… but she killed a man at fifteen!
No, I only thought I killed Viren. Also, I was eighteen.
Yes, it is a big difference!
You're not helpful.
Hey, Ibis, right?
Got any advice?
On kids.
Oh. Right. Should probably stick to asking parents. Hey, do you think Queen Zubeia–
Okay, bad idea. I get it!
General Amaya! Can I talk to you for a minute.
Yeah, but it feels weird to call you Princess Amaya, and even weirder to call you just Amaya.
No. Aunt Amaya feels even weirder. Can I just keep calling you General?
...fine, Aunt Amaya it is. Do you and Janai have any suggestions?
What? Talk to him? Him who?
WHAT?!
NO, Gren and I are not a couple! Why would you even–
We are training partners. That's it!
Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Hilarious.
Fine. Fine. Don't answer my question. I'll ask… I'll ask ETHARI!
….Rayla, who is Ethari and where would I find him. Her? Them?
Okay. Thanks!
Ethari, right? Okay, good. My name is Soren. Rayla sent me.
She's an elf–
Ew, no, she's six. Her parents… they were Sunfire. Apparently it hurt all the Sunfire elves when my dad took their magic wand thing, but these two were both priests, so they were really badly affected. Anyway, they never recovered, and they died recently. Janai sent her to the Storm Spire asking Zubeia–
–yes, Queen Zubeia, sorry– to take care of her. But she's not really comfortable with the dragons, so… I was thinking of adopting her? But I don't know if I'm even the good dad type, so I wanted–
Because I had a really bad role model?
Yes, but it's not like Harrow was my dad. Callum and Ezran both have a huge advantage there.
Are you sure?
Really?
Okay. Thank you so much, Ethari. I will.
You're the best.
Oh, hi, Runaan, is it? I was just leaving.
Hi there.
Aditi? That's a pretty name.
Queen Janai's grandmother? I think I've heard of her. You're lucky to share her name.
Mine's Soren. You've met King Ezran, right? I'm his Crownguard. Part of it, anyway.
The captain.
You always wanted to see the human world? Well, I could take you to Katolis someday, if you want. I can't promise about the other kingdoms, but I could try.
Yes, there's five.
No, I don't know why humans need five kingdoms when they're all the same kind. I never thought of it that way before!
...I understand. That mage didn't kill my parents, but he tore my family apart too.
….yes. I think I do.
C'mere. You'll be okay. It'll be okay.
There, there. It's okay to cry.
Don't tell anyone, but I cried too when the mage took my family.
Yeah. I did. But you can't tell anyone. It would ruin my image.
Hello again, Aditi. Fancy running into you here!
...Yes. I know you live here. It's a human joke.
...okay yes. It is silly.
Hey, I'm not silly!
Dangit.
Okay, maybe I am a little.
Yeah, I think I can do that. Let's start with sticks.
Absolutely not. Sticks or nothing.
I know a Moon mage.
Here you go!
Put this on.
See?
Ready position!
...it looks like this.
Great job! You're a natural.
This is a thrust. This is a parry. This is a strike. Can you remember all that?
Good. Now, ready! Thrust! Parry! Thrust!
Good job, Aditi!
Aw, yes it was. You should've seen my first lesson. I was about nine, and I didn't do half as well as you just did.
I did better once I started listening to the instructions.
...I'm glad.
How are you today?
Oof! Ahh! I am slain!
You're pretty fun yourself, sunbeam.
Sunbeam? Ah. Um. It's just a nickname. My mom used to call me her 'small bean,' so I wanted to call you something similar. Since you're a Sunfire elf, I picked sunbeam.
I won't call you that if you don't want me to. I know I'm not your dad.
Aww, really? You're not so bad yourself, sunbeam.
It means I'd love for you to be my daughter. But only if you really wanted it.
We need to tell Queen Zubeia first. You're her ward.
It means she's taking care of you.
No, not the same. You can be a ward of someone powerful, like a queen or king. They can adopt you too, but that's different.
I don't actually know how. I'm not a king. I could ask Ezran, but he's only fifteen, so I don't think he'd know either.
The point is, adoption is different. If you're someone's ward, you're not their daughter. If they adopt you, you are.
Yes, only if you're a girl, but you know what I meant.
Shall we talk to Queen Zubeia now?
Happy birthday, Aditi!
Welcome to Katolis, my sunbeam.
Any thoughts?