Forty-One years had passed.
Forty years of pain and torment, and forty years without hope or dreams. Forty years with no reprise, and forty years without peace. They were more years than Jack had lived before he had fallen into the future.
More years in darkness than in light. More time lost than found.
They were years that he had loathed, and continued to loathe upon thought and remembrance.
But nearest year to pass was not the same as the forty before it.
"Daddy!" His eyes opened at the familiar voice, seeing a familiar figure run towards him. "Daddy! Daddy!" The young girl continued to call, waving her arms as she approached.
"Avi, what's wrong?" Jack spoke to the little one, looking her over as she spoke. He could see no wounds.
"It's Aki and Aphi! They're fighting again!" He sighed at the names. The action was predictable now.
His eyes gazed upon the rolling hills, seeing where the children had wandered to. He was guarding the short path they had taken. They had followed a trail against the river to a pond to wash in. A river's path hidden by rolling green.
He stood in front of Avi, the young long-haired girl folding her hands as she looked up at him. He smiled down upon her, placing his head on her head. She looked up at him, up the length of his darkly garbed arm. He smiled back down up her, the loving child.
"Thank you," he complimented her. "I will take care of it." He always did, and he always would.
Avi nodded in agreement, following behind him as Jack took to the trail.
Jack's boots rustled the loosely crushed grass, his hands pushing away the few tree branches in his way. They were far from a forest, yet farther from being called alone. They were much in kind with the sisters that way.
It was a short path, made longer only by the hills that hid it. Tall bumps in an already mountainous region, kept from being spires only by the soft grass that grew on them. Vegetation that mountains would not abide.
It had been only days since they had traveled her, and nearly a week since they had found a watering hole large enough to bathe in. The children were bathing as a group, as Jack had instructed and taught them to.
But when he and Avi arrived at the pond, he found only two of the children in the water, and the other four watching in pairs, the silent onlookers to the brawl within the dipping hole.
The two in the stream were wrestling with one another, throwing punches and kicks that were worthy of praise, but now only scorn. The circumstances mattered, and sisters fighting was never something to be encouraged.
With a slow sigh, he prepared himself for what was to come.
"Aphi!" Jack spoke in a raise voice.
One of the girl's stopped, her shapely hair weighed down with water still showed two protrusions from the sides of her head. Her eyes were wide with sudden fear at being seen.
"Aki!" Jack spoke again, catching the attention of the other girl.
A girl with messed short hair, unabashed by the water that settled in it. Her eyes did not widen at seeing Jack. They narrowed.
Jack's own eyes did the same.
Silence was about the pond for a moment, a moment before both girls drudged themselves from the shallow water. It sank from their hips to their knees, before finally dripping away. And when they did, Jack looked away.
He heard Avi rush away from him, collecting the towels they had procured months earlier. Just as swiftly, she gave them to the pair of sisters. Not a word was spoken as they covered themselves.
And when Jack opened his eyes again, he looked down upon two of the little ones, Aphi and Aki. One with a look of regret for her actions. And the other of rebellion. He knew both well, from experience and witness.
"Why are you two fighting?" Jack asked. The reason varied often and was always important to know.
But neither spoke in return. Aphi lowered her gaze, pursing her lips. Aki kept her glare leveled at Jack. He did not shy his own away. This was how the child often looked at him.
"Aki started it." Jack looked over to Ashi, the eldest of the little ones, and by now the tallest. Her tall hair helped. Her eyes were on the her messed hair sister. "Aphi was protecting Ami." The child was behind her elder sister.
No dismissal was given by Aki, no argument towards the circumstances. She only glared at her sister, eyes narrowing to a blade's fine point. Jack watched with arms crossed, never shying his own gaze away.
"Is this true?" He asked the pair of sisters, never leaving the other alone in his gaze.
Aphi was quick to shake her head in confirmation, eyes looking up at Jack with the trepidation he loathed to see, but understood. Aki did not shake nor move her own. Only pursed lips and drawn eyes were her response.
Jack sighed again. If that was the truth, he could see how the fight began then.
"Aki," he spoke to the glaring little one, kneeling to get closer to her. She did not shy away from the approach. "Why did you attack Ami?"
Silence was her reply. A glare was his own.
"Ami was making something from rope and bells, and Aki called it useless." Jack turned to see the bob-cut little one speaking, Adi, hiding near Ashi. "Ami called Aki stupid." Ah, name calling.
"Is that true?" Jack asked Ami now, the quiet child looking back up at him. Her head nodded slowly.
Jack took in a slow breath of air, calming his mind. The silence of nature helped, as well as the patience of the little ones. They always were patient when it came to his words.
"Ami," Jack began. "Do not label your sister falsely, no matter how deserving you think it may be." Ami nodded the same as before, just as silent.
"Aphi," Jack spoke next. "It is good to defend your sister, but do well to fight last and little as possible." Her nodding was just as rushed, eyes still wide.
"Aki," he spoke lastly to the glaring little one. "Violence for words is not just, because the consequences are far more severe."
Aki only glared deeply at him. Her fists were balled at her side, head unmoving. Jack did not shift his gaze either.
This was common between them, between Aki and the many disputes they had. They would glare, and Jack would win. The little ones would wait, and finish their task. Aki would be annoyed, but she would calm.
It was expected, and of that, Jack was thankful, even if patience was needed now.
Ring-Ring
But the need was thrown away at the noise.
In a second or less, Jack was standing and spun around, arms wide to put Aphi and Aki at his back. The little ones hurried towards him, huddling into a circle with eyes about them, in all directions. No noise came from them, no more than the slowness of their breadth.
Ring-Ring-Ring
"Ami," Jack whispered quickly. "Is that your trap?"
The little one tugged twice on his armored legging, the closest to yes she would speak when afraid. He did not ask again. Whatever her trap was, it had worked to alert them.
Ring-Ring-Ring
"Damn blasted strung-up bellops!" Jack raised a brow.
That voice was… familiar.
Ring-Ring-Ring-Ring
"Who'd be puttin' up tassles, bells, an' whistles in me homeland's forest?!" The voice was growing closer, and louder by consequence. It was clear the direction it was coming from. "I'd be shootin' the deer till night's blanket wraps the castle, but the'e strings been makin' it impossible!"
Jack definitely knew that voice.
Ring-Ring-Snap
"Gaph blasted rope!" The voice yelled gain, moments before its own stumbled into the small clearing.
Stumbled in on a muscled and gun mounted pair of legs, wrapped about with a kilt of plaid colors. A kilt that rose into a muscled form in a torn white shirt, hidden just beneath an equally long white beard.
A beard that sat beneath a single-eyed face, larger than Jack's own and staring back at him. And, old as it was, Jack knew that figure.
It made it no surprise when the kilted man recognized him.
"I'll be a goose-stepped bokoblin skewered turkey…" the old man spoke with a hole-riddled grin. "If I ain't seein' it with me good eye in." The man marched towards Jack quickly.
Jack felt the little ones grab at his robe, but he only noticed it passively. He knew they were safe. He knew there was nothing to fear from this man.
Jack trusted his friends.
"My old friend," Jack spoke with his arms wide.
His torso was quickly crushed in powerful embrace. Forty one years since they had met, and he was still familiar with the feeling.
"Jack! Samurai Jack!" The Scotsman yelled with gusto, voice barking like the dogs his clan once showed him. "GAHAHA! Boyo Ah'd never thought ta see you here! Hell, Ah'd never thought ta even say ya 'gain 'fore I rode them celtic deer ta the netherworld to wrestle up yer spirit!"
And as usual, Jack understood so little, but just enough of his old friend's words.
"And it is… grand to see… you as well," Jack spoke as best he could with his chest being crushed. And what the Scotsman did no crumble in his embrace, the little ones behind him gripped with fear and trepidation.
"Grand?! HA! This ain't nothin' but divine's spittin' out a good piece of karma after the past few decades, eh?" The Scotsman released Jack, keeping hands on the samurai's shoulders as he offered a brought and tooth-missing grin. "Comin' out here ta find me some mutton fer the feast and 'stead Ah found me a guest of honor with a new beard ta boot! Bet ya were jealous of me own, huh?!"
Jack watched as the Scotsman's face, large as it was, morphed from a bright a cheerful grin to an open mouthed and wide-eyed gaze at the samurai's legs. There was little reason to wonder why.
"AHA! And here ya are still fightin' ta save them children from the big bereft baby!" Jack was sure who that was, only by a choice word.
The grips, many as they were, upon Jack's legs, tightened when the Scotsman gazed down at them. Jack kept his grin simple as he stood between the two.
"Daddy, who's that?" Ashi asked from the front of her sisters, eyes looking at Jack's old friend through a squinted gaze. The Scotsman, above an alabaster beard, had his one eye open wide.
"DAD?!" he yelled out the term. Jack ignored him, for now.
"He is… an old friend of mine," he answered truthfully, hand falling upon the tall spike that was Ashi's hair. "One who has saved me… and I have saved as well."
"Uh… A-Aye! Yeah, tha' be true!" The Scotsman let out after a moment of hesitation. He was easily shocked by simple things. "Yer ah… dad and I took on many of them fiercest creatures ta scorn the land, from the bounty huntin' pigs ta the pitch-deaf sirens of hollowed rocks."
His still imposing arm flexed at his side, showing the strength with which his mystic blade was once wielded with. His grin was one to match. The grips of the children did not slack.
"So… how many of 'em are there, huh?" The Scotsman asked Jack, eye looking down at the little ones still huddled behind the samurai. "Cause I'd be willin' ta wager a leg of the honey-glazed and lavender ta pig stuffed turkey that my kin are gonna outnumber 'em!" Jack understood what was important.
"Seven," Jack answered as his eyes turned to the little ones behind him, all watching with careful eyes. He smiled gently upon them, the peace without words. "Seven little ones."
"WHA! Seven of 'em! And they're all yers!?" His old friend yelled looking down at the little ones that still hug to Jack's legs. "An' they're all lookin' ta be the same age!? HA! I knew ya woldn't of been slackin' off all these years!"
SMACK
Jack lurched at the handed slap the Scotsman gave to his side. The little ones each grabbed at his loose leggings, seven pairs of thin hands holding him possessively.
"Hey, and Ah'm bettin it was one of them little peekers that set up tha' string trap back there, eh?" Jack felt a singular pair of hands tighten. It was admission to him. "Mighty fine fer an alarm, but ya need logs and spikes ta really give it a trap feelin'! GAHAHA!" And the hands relaxed.
"Well we ain't gonna be keepin' this conversation up 'round these parts!" The Scotsman rose to his tallest, adjusting the belt of his kilt as he puffed out his chest. Even aged far further than Jack, his figure was still far more impressive. "Aye told ya I was gettin' food, but now Ah'm gonna bring ya back to the clan!"
Jack blinked at the memories he had of the Scotsman clan.
The castle upon the lake, by the rolling hills with sparse trees, with warriors trained through strength over skill, and women fit to endure it all. It was something it was fond to remember…
… And now he had the chance to see it again.
His eyes turned to the little ones, all still looking at him patiently, expectantly. They were cleaned, most dressed, and waiting to hear of what to do. They were not ready to be alone, but perhaps they were ready to meet the allies of his past.
Jack could not have them grow if they only ever had him to look to.
He looked to Aki, with narrowed gaze and messed hair. He looked to Avi, with a bow to her long mane. He looked to Ashi, standing to her tallest with a point in her hair. He looked to Aphi, holding Ami possessively. He looked to Ami, with a purse lip and patience gaze. He looked to Adi, who had a twinkle to her eye. And he looked to Ahi, who appeared hungry at the mention of food.
"Yes…" Jack spoke, turning once more to his old and trusted friend, bowing with his words.. "Please, show us the way, my friend."
SLAP
"GAHA! Ya never change, Jack." The Scotsman let out as his meaty hand slapped Jack's back. The force still rocked him. "Well? C'mon! Gonna have ta reintroduce ya to the clan an' castle!"
The Scotsman waddled off, the obvious cheer in his step. Jack looked behind him, to the waiting eyes of the little ones, still so fearful and curious of those other than themselves.
"It is alright," Jack spoke honestly to the girls. "He is an old friend. As he said, I owe him my life, and the same in kind." The girls did not respond immediately, not before their gaze shifted amongst one another.
But when one spoke, it was Ashi who spoke honestly.
"He's loud." And Jack only smiled.
"Yes, but he is also kind."
"Can't wait for ya ta pick me up on where ya've been, Jack," the Scotsman spoke as he walked forward, brushing past the little foliage that got in their way. "been thinkin' tha' maybe ya were workin' somethin' strange ta take down the big babby, and Aye was right! GAHA!"
Jack sighed at the comment, but his smile did not fall. Only his eyes fell to the children that continued to march behind him, single file and with eyes forward, silent as ever. It was how they always traveled.
"Me wife is gonna wanna give them lassies warmer clothes, I betcha tha'!" He proclaimed loudly again, pointing to the air and braking a branch. "After all me gals outgrew their first set, tha' spare parts have been jus' layin' 'round like a pack of over-grown lazy mules."
It was found to hear his friend speak again, speak in a way that he could hardly imagine another to. Only the Scotsman was al curious as that. And the little ones would begin to understand, he was sure. In the very least, Adi would.
"Flora 'ill wanna show ya her roasted duck. New family recipe! AHA!" The Scotsman bellow let loose a stream of saliva, landing on some tree's bark. "And that's not to mention Barda's coat! Assie 'ill try and get yer little lassies to dress in her old night, sweet thing tha' she is." His family sounded… diverse.
It was a reminder to Jack of his own family. A family that was now burning in the ruins of his home, forgotten to all but his most tortured past. Leading the little ones behind him into the same ruin that would doubtlessly-
"And here's tha' pride of the clan!" The Scotsman proudly bellowed as he pushed aside a branch.
And Jack, with the little ones, bared witness to the castle by the lake.
A lake that was reflecting the mid-day sun, haloeing the stone structure by the way side. It led to an endless horizon, but it began on green shores. Green shores that held many people at its bank, crowding in and out of the impressive structure.
The same structure that stood forty years prior, and had the same damage as before. Even from the distance they were at, upon one of the many rolling hills, the cacophony of cheer was audible. It was as clear as the sun in the sky.
Just as clear was the proud grin on the Scotsman face.
"It's… old…" Jack heard Adi speak. She would be the one to speak of things by age.
"Aye, tha' she is lassie," The Scotsman returned. Pride was evident in his voice. "Far older than Aye, and far older than many others dare ta think. Pride and joy of me clan." He took in a deep breath of air, one that Jack could tell was scented with the ocean at the castle's back.
It was a peaceful sight, in a land so rotten and corrupted.
"Welp, ceremonies fer later!" Jack's old friend announced. "Best be getting' down there ta welcome the Samurai back ta the clan! GAHA!" Slap
And Jack lurched again, even as he felt Ashi grab at his legs. She was always the first.
The Scotsman walked ahead of them, arms pumping with his gait and grin evident even from his back. Jack waited for a moment, looking back at the seven little ones, dressed as best he could manage after the year they had endured.
He only had to speak a few reminders to them.
"Girls," Jack started, earning the few eyes that were not already upon him. "My friend has… loud companions. They can be very intimidating."
He saw Aki's eyes glare, and Aphi grip her hands into fists. They were the most prepared.
"But they are just as kind, and will do all they can to impress you. So do not be discouraged by them, nor afraid, alright?" Heads nodded towards him, understanding his words.
He saw Ashi look beyond him, sizing the castle from a distance. Adi did the same, but for far different reasons.
"Now, what are the rules around others?" They were well known to the little ones by now.
"No shouting, no stealing, no running away." The girls parroted in a choir back to him. Through his beard, Jack smiled.
"Very good," he returned. "Now, let us enjoy what my friend has to offer." Taking Ashi's hand, he followed after his friend, unsurprised to see the Scotsman waiting with hands to his hips and half-toothed grin looking back at him.
The closer they approached the castle, the louder the noises became. But in turn, so to did the figures become clearer. And it was then that Jack remembered why his friend was in the forest.
They were preparing a feast.
A feast that had a table longer than jack had seen many buildings as tall stretch across the green landscape, covered with a quilted pattern that so evenly matched the kilt of his friend. A kilt that was now matched by the many others around the table.
Men that were tall and muscular as the Scotsman, lithe women with muscles to show the fruits of their work, great gray hounds long as the men were tall and standing half as high. Braided hair fell from every head, even the animals that barked and followed their masters.
And their numbers were far larger than Jack remembered. Far more than the few dozen warriors he had met last he was here, and with far more women than before as well. Then again, last he was here, it was to help his friend against demons.
Demons of the flesh… not demons of the mind.
"AHOY!" The Scotsman yelled. Jack felt the little ones freeze at the sudden noise. "Ya'll best be makin' yerself nice! We gots the greatest guest of honor yer all ever gonna see! GAHA~!"
"Wha'?! What are ya yellin' 'bout?!" One of the men yelled back, a crate of potatoes in his hand. A crate greater than the man's own size.
"Yay! And where's the feisty feasty deer ya promised ta butcher an' skin?!" A woman yelled back, a defeathered bird in her hand. A bird that still fought fruitlessly in her grasp.
"I ain't got meal fer ya battle starved toothless mugs!" The Scotsman yelled in return. Jack was wondering if it would not be better to approach. But even decades later, he still knew better than to directly ask a question to his old friend. "I brought a guest that'll not yer kilts off an' make ya thank thee Gods!"
Jack sighed deeply at the words.
But he grunted when he felt his friend wrap a meaty hand around his shoulders, pulling him closer.
"Aye brought ya Samurai Jack!"
And the cheer made his ears ache.
"WHA?! The Samurai!?"
"OH AYE! IT DOES LOOK TO BE HIM!"
"And with a mane of good length!?"
"It's him! It' really be him!?"
"Leave it ta the clan chief!"
"GAHAHAHAHA!"
The cheers and cries fell into a pool of noise Jack couldn't decipher. He only watched as the crowd of celtic warriors jumped and cheered, their checkered and plaid clothing whipping with them. Then the horns and bag-pipes came out, turning the shouts into muted noise. Jack only sighed once more.
It was everything he expected of his old friend, and not a bit less.
"GAHAHAHA! Told ya you'd be getting' tha' grand welcome!" The Scotsman yelled into Jack's ear, enough to make the samurai's jaw clench. "Now c'mon ya sack of bones and hair, we've gotta get ya intradoced ta the new clan members! And tha's includin' yer own Lil' lassies, GAHAHA!"
Jack turned to see the little ones huddled into a tight group, arms interlocked and wide eyes shifting from the crowd below and the Scotsman at Jack's side, then to himself. They were afraid of such noises, of such a crowd.
And Jack could understand. He could understand how these little ones would not be able to endure such noise and activity.
But he also knew that his friend never led with bad intentions, and all journeys with him ended with fruitful gains. He was brash, a bit violent, but he was not cruel or unkind. He simply followed a motto that Jack knew well.
Friend's carried no debts.
"It is alright!" Jack yelled above the still screeching horns. The girls were just able to look at him with the words. "I promise you will… have fun!"
He wasn't sure himself. But he knew there would be much to entertain them. His friend was nothing if not accommodating to those thirsty for adventure. But perhaps not all the little ones wanted that…
"Well c'mon ya lazy troll-boiled goblin-maggots!" The Scotsman yelled, his lungs easily overpowering the storm of noise that was his clan. "Get ta settin' up the feast! Else we're gonna have a lazy an' useless night with a hero! GAHA!"
And the crowd dispersed again, back to activities about the plain that Jack followed with all the speed his eyes could muster. Truly they were a dedicated family, to be so devoted to their work.
"Oy, not the lassies!" Jack looked at his friend confused. "Aye didn't tell ya stories inta tha wee hours of the night just ta have ya ignore the man when he comes trapsin inta the clan!" Jack understood enough.
"Oh! Sorry Da'!" Dad? Jack heard a young girl say. A girl well into her teen years, wearing a plaid color tunic with fiery red hair.
"Ya! Our bad!" And another with more red hair, and plaid colors. But her hair was curly.
"Comin' up! Be' there!" And another, the same but different.
"C'mon sis's!" "We're here!" And even more.
More and more teenage girls with fiery red hair, with plaid dresses, with bright smiles, and with devoted eyes. All of them standing up and looking at Jack from differing areas of the plain, grinning with the fondness Jack had not seen in decades.
Some were standing in pairs, in triplets, above work stations, holding dogs, holding turkey, pushing carts, so much more. They could be a village in themselves.
"Aye! That's more like it!" Slap. Jack kept his balance, barely, at the blow. "Jack, I wantcha ta meet me daughters!" Daughters?
It wasn't hard to see the resemblance. The size, the speech, the muscles, the clothing. But… the number of them was astounding. A glance to his back told Jack the little ones thought much the same.
"We got Flora, Maeve, Isla, Bradana, Murdina, Alana, Oban, Ardbey, Fiona, Assie." The girls waved as their names were called. Jack could hardly keep track there.
"Bonnie, Lorna, Mawina, Shona, Nora, Piesil." And more hands waved in return, a few giggles and proud flexes following.
"Shanath, Euspeth, Edme, Freya, Gilbartha." Jack could feel the little ones behind him gripping his loose robes in confusion. There were simply so many of them.
"Gesha, Grizela, Innes, Dawntha, Cora, Davina, and Kina." The last of the girls waved and jumped with their names, prideful to hear them spoken.
Jack could not say how many he had missed. It felt like all of them.
"Aren't they a grand bunch?" His old friend asked, hand still around the samurai's shoulders. "Does me old and aged spirit good ta see my beautiful lassies taken after thee mother."
Now Jack saw the similarities.
"But hey! Now ya gotta show us yer own kin!" His friend released him, twisting him around until they were face to face, though whole heads different in height.
And Jack realized what he meant after thinking about the state of the littles ones.
"Oh! Yes, um…" Jack began turning to face the little ones, still crowded into a small group. He smiled at them, through the thick of his beard. They stared back. "These little ones are in my care."
Jack moved aside what little he could for the girls to look up at the Scotsman, the tiny children staring up at the behemoth of a man. The difference in height and strength was obvious. Moving his hand over their heads, Jack began to name them.
"They are called Ahi." The girl with tall horns for her. "Ashi." The child with long bangs and a long point. "Aki." The girl with messed hair. "Aphi." The twin-horned girl with low bangs. "Adi." The girl with bob-cut hair. "Avi." The little one with the longest locks. "and Ami." The fellow twin-horned hair, bangles and well kept.
His friend let out a low whistle as the names were finished.
"Well look at ya and bein' all consistent with their names," his friend began, oddly, grin wide and showing the gaps between the yellow teeth. "And good on ya for keepin' their names straight. Got me own girls mixed up more than twice, GAHA!" Jack spoke nothing of the moments he mistook Ami for Aphi.
"Who is that?" Jack turned to see Adi pointing beyond his friend, towards a small crowd in the plain. The figure she was indicating was obvious.
Wearing a dried deer head, hunched over at his tallest, Jack was surprised he was still alive.
"Oh! Ya mean tha elder?" His friend spoke up. "He's da clan wiseman, keeps us straight with lessons and the like. Ya got an itch ta talk ta him?" Adi shook her head quickly. Jack was impressed. But he remembered the young one quickly.
Very little could stand in the way of Adi when knowledge was to be gained.
"Gotcha. Oi! Isla!" The Scotsman yelled to his daughter, one with long flaming-red braids. "Can ya help the lassie with the shaman? Ya got his tongue untied and all, right?" Jack recalled, from history, what he meant.
"Sure Da'!" The daughter quickly returned, skipping over to them. Muscular as she was, she was still feminine. Though she did stand just hairs length under Jack. Given her heritage, it likely would not be long before she towered over him as well. "So which lassie is lookin' ta talk ta the old man?"
Adi raised her hand, walking forward in the same breadth of action.
"Heh, ya got the eyes of the scribes that roll through here," the girl spoke in a breath Jack nearly missed. Her smile never lost its shine, however. "Well c'mon, can't talk ta the bag of bones from here, ya?"
Adi nodded in response, following quickly behind the girl as they departed. Jack watched them, knowing that she was safe among the kin of his old friend. This was a safe place to explore.
But it still felt… odd. It had been sometime since they explored a town freely.
"Oi! I got's a question." Jack looked up at another one of the Scotsman children. She had meaty arms, comparable, easily to his old friend. "Which one of the girls is the burliest?" Jack tilted his head at the question.
"I beg your pardon?" It was not a question he typically heard.
"Oh sorry, jus' wonderin' which of yer girls is the strongest." Her hand pointy at the group of the little ones again. If not for her kind grin, and her relation to the Scotsman, Jack would have been far more wary. "Cause growin' up, tha' title was mine. Wonderin' which of the samurai's girls is in my leage."
"Me." Jack looked down in time to see Aphi stepping forward. Of course it was Aphi. "I'm the strongest!"
"Ya sure?" The daughter asked again, leaning over to show the difference in height. "Ya think you can show me the strength of yer guts and arms? Promise not ta crack them over a dragon's tooth?" Jack had little idea of the meaning of the words.
"Yes!" So he was certain Aphi was being led into a contest she was not aware of.
"Oi! Nora, she's half yer height and age, don't go throwin' her around, ya?" His friend quickly interjected. It did some good to Jack's senses, knowing that his friend was aware of the size difference. Usually he was immune to such logic.
"Promise Da'! Now we've gotta contest, ya?" Aphi nodded her head at the flaming haired girl's words. It left Jack watching her retreat, and only five of his daughters behind him.
Actually four. Just four. Ami was missing.
Jack started to twist around the girl's, looking for the quietest sister of the seven of them. The others did the same, this situation far from the first time this had happened.
"Lookin' fer the other horned gal?" His friend asked with a wide grin. "Venture yer eyes over yonder. She's just fine." His hand extended towards a group of men, unrelated, presumably, to the girls Jack had just been introduced to.
Ami was beside them, looking up at the musket one of the taller men held. By the direction of his head, and movement of his lips, there was a conversation going on.
And by the way the musket drifted from the man's shoulders to the hand's reach of Ami, it was not hard to deduce what the conversation was about.
"She a hunter?" The Scotsman asked aside him. "Got the tongue of one, and the footsteps ta match." Of that she was not.
She was merely interested in tools, no matter how odd or foreign. And a musket, an odd weapon in these hopeless and odd lands, was something she would be curious for figuring out. He only hoped she would not gain the parts to make one, much like the laser before.
But his mind was taken away from Ami when he felt a tug at his robes. A glance down showed him Ahi, pointing aways from the group.
"What's that?" She asked, pointing to a roasting a fire. A fire that held a large bid over it, defeathered and slightly brown. Of course it was food. Ahi was always curious of those things.
"What's what, lassie?" A daughter asked, nearby the fire.
"What's that?" Ahi asked again, pointing at the large bird once more as well.
"This?" The daughter returned. Jack could not recall her name. "This is a turkey caught in that misty woods just passed tha' hills. Good catch, even if it is a wee bit small."
Jack reminded himself the turkey was larger than Ahi herself.
"This is small?" Ahi asked, mimicking Jack's thoughts. "It's so big! Does… How does it taste?" And there were the questions that Jack knew she was keen to ask.
"Oh! It tastes like the spring wood forest after a mighty fine dew!" The red-headed girl cheerfully returned, a toothy grin framed by red hair. "The kind a thing tha reminds ya of the comin' winter and the big bellies ya need ta live through it."
"That… tastes good?" Ahi asked back. She stood just far enough away from the fire, but still close enough for Jack to see the rotating bird reflected in her eyes.
"Finer than aged wine and drum from the depths of the brewery." Her grin matched her fathers, teeth and all. She was perhaps the only one of the girls to do so. "Wanna know how ta cook it?"
Jack did not have time to raise a hand before Ahi pushed towards the girl, short legs pushing her towards the meal. The laughter of his friend got his attention.
"GAHA! It's like they all got all yer blood and the bodies from their mum!" Jack spoke nothing of the words, nor the laughter. "Is there 'ven a gal among tha' lot that likes the kilts and pauldrons? Or are they all tooth-bitten blood-licken warriors."
Actually, Jack knew one of the girls who fit the question his friend asked. And said girl tugged on his robes once more.
"What's a kilt?" Jack looked down to see Avi looking up at him, bow in her hair and body close to his own.
"What's a kilt?!" The Scotsman asked. Avi leaned closer to Jack at the cry. "Why it's only tha' greatest piece of clothin' ta grace the clan fer generations on end! Sign and truth of the warrior's blood and spirit, fashioned from tha colors of the land and made from the pelt of the woodland beasties!"
Avi leaned closer to his friend as he spoke on.
"It be the woman's work ta fashion up and stitch them tagether, but a good design is worth as much as the greatest game in tha woods! Ya wouldn't see a Scotsman like meself trapsin about in anything but the most plaid colors in the land, GAHA!" And he pulled on his clothing as a sign.
"How's it made?" The question was something he knew she would ask.
Like the robes he wore, the armor he designed, the habits the nuns wore, and the shirts the many other travelers wore. Her questions were near always the same.
"Ha! Didn't ya hear me lassie, Ah said woman's work, and that's one thing I'm proud ta say I ain't." Jack sighed at his friends words. Those were predictable as well, even decades later. "But A'm sure that the gals over yonder would help ya out, ya?"
His meaty hand pointed towards a group of women, different enough from the daughters Jack had been introduced to. They were sitting in a circle, with threads and needles in hand, collections of clothes in the other. Likely mending holes and seems.
And Jack felt Avi already learning towards them, but hesitating the same way she normally did. But it was as his old friend said. This was normal.
"It is alright," Jack told Avi, who looked up at him, worryingly. "I will not be far, and you are safe. They are friends." And his smile was enough to portray what his words could not.
With far slower steps than her sister, and with glances over her shoulders, Avi made her way over to the women, hands folded in front of her.
It took that time for Jack to notice that Ashi was behind her. The Scotsman noticed in time.
"Kind of a big sis, ain't she?" He noticed of the eldest and tallest of the sisters. "Jus' like me Fiora, always lookin' out fer her sisters." Of that, Jack could understand. "Now's how 'bout ya tell me what's goin' on with this last lassie."
Aki, the last of the little ones, stood beside Jack. She did not clutch his robe, or look up to him for questions. She only glared at his friend.
"Ya got a mean look in yer eye," his friend spoke, narrowing his only good one in kind. Jack watched, silently. His friend was far more experienced with raising little ones that he was. The proof was all around him. "Ya thinkin' 'bout punchin me lights out? Or are ya just admiren the mug?"
And a moment later, his friend caught a small fist about his face.
"Aki!" Jack raised his voice at the young girl, kneeling down to grasp at her shoulders. She did not fight him, but she didn't look at him. She kept glaring at the Scotsman.
The Scotsman who, Jack know heard, was laughing merrily.
"A fighter is she? GAHAHAH!" The Scotsman grin showed the gaps in his teeth, with fists to his hips and chest puffed out. "Well she'll be in good company with a couple o' me daughters, AHA!"
And before Jack could ask of the words meaning, the Scotsman raised a pair of fingers to his lips, blowing into them. A whistle sounded across the yard, attracting the attention of the many clansmen around him, including the dogs that barked in kind.
"Oy! Maeve! Murdina! Get yer lazy bony butts over here!" And two girls from the small plain made their way over, as tall as their siblings and with the same red hair, fashioned in differing ways. Jack could not tell the two apart by name alone. "How's 'bout ya show a spunky lassie tha Celtic way ta work off some steam, heh?"
Jack was unfamiliar with the method he said, and a glance at Aki told him that she was just as foreign to it. Though her eyes were still slit and narrowed.
"She's got a good hook fer a lassie of leg's length. Might wanna show her what the beast of the Celts can pull of!" And the daughters grinned at the words.
Grinned as they stood in front of Jack and Aki. For a moment, Jack was ready to put his hand in front of Aki, to hold her back and protect as he had done for the year prior, for the time he swore to do so forever more.
But Aki, herself, jumped forward and latched onto one of the girl's legs.
And the girl laughed in response.
"Oh yeah, she's got the spirit!" the fiery red head responded. "But she's gonna have ta show off them muscles if she's gonna impress!" Jack recalled a similar contest before. It involved throwing stones.
"No time fer tha'." The other girl responded. "Ah'm lookin' fer what she can do with a field at her feet and fire in her gut!" The two grinned at each other, even as Aki continued to grasp at the girl's leg.
"Ya got a real group of girls here, Jack," The Scotsman returned. "Not even ten minutes enjoyin' thee scenery and the've gone and scampered off! GAHA!" It was not normal for them.
But in comparison, it also was not normal for Jack to be friendly with others. But old friends had special privileges, and the Scotsman was one of the oldest.
"Now don't be worryin' yer skinny arse over them girls," the Scotsman spoke as he patted Jack's back. It was noticeably lighter than usual, in that it didn't knock Jack off of his balance. "Me clan ain't gonna do nothin' but teach 'em what's for." Jack wasn't sure enough of those words.
"Are you sure?" He asked, already unsure of what answer he would prefer. But the half-toothed grin of his friend, behind a white beard and pale skin, was good to see.
"Aye, me kin ain't gonna do nothin' ta hurt them. Ah promised me beautiful wife I'd never let a lassie feel like they're anythin' bu' amazin'!" The Scotsman laughed heartily at his words, good eye shut as he let his head fall back.
Jack remembered his wife well. A fearsome warrior motivated by the scorn of pride. Able to handle the demons in a vast number, all with a warrior's call. A woman that… Jack hadn't seen.
As his friend laughed, Jack looked about the decorated plain, still preparing for the feast. He saw many of the clansmen of the Scotsman cleaning game, chopping wood, carving seats, hammering out utensils, and so many other activities.
He saw Ahi with one of the daughters, cooking a turkey that could feed her and her sisters for a week. Jack could see drool from where he stood.
He saw Adi talking to the elder of the clan, wearing a bony mask and wavy bony hands. Her mouth moved as the elder chanted.
He saw Aphi arm wrestling one of the Scotsman daughters, another name he couldn't remember. Despite being half the size, they nearly matched in strength.
He saw Ashi speaking Fiora, marveling at her sword. She watched with captivated eyes as the elder girl talked on.
He saw Ami talking to a couple of burly men, showing the musket that was longer than their own meaty arms.
He saw Avi watching one of the women stitch together a kilt. Her hands were working on a pair herself.
He saw Aki wrestling with Maeve and Murdina, yelling as the elder girls laughed. They were all still smiling.
He saw much… but he couldn't see the mother of the girls.
"Where… is your wife?" Jack asked, looking at his old friend. The question alone brought down the Scotsman charm and cheer as quickly a night in the woods. No warning and little shelter.
"Aw Jack, she's gone." The words came from his old friend with clear grief. Jack felt his own eyes widen. The idea of such a warrior passing was something he still had trouble imagining. "Too many cold winters in a castle tha' was takin' in me kin."
"I am… deeply sorry," Jack responded honestly. He eyes looked about the crowded plain, spotting a pair of tables and chairs. They were likely to be used, but for now, they could be used. "Come, please tell me about it."
"Jack, tha' ain't the kinda thing Ah'd wanna chat up with ya," his old friend returned, even as they both walked to the pair of seats. Jack settled into his with little effort. The Scotsman nearly broke his with the way he fell into it. "Me beautiful wife… taken 'fore she could see the grand lassies she helped ta raise."
The samurai had no difficulty imagining the strong woman carrying and raising so many daughters. He would not be surprised if the men were her sons as well.
"But whatta fighter she was, most beautiful maiden ever ta come up and help raise thee clan." His old friend lifted his munitions leg, letting it rest towards the sea, head back to stare at the colorful sky. "Times like these are when I'm wonderin' if she's thankin' me for livin' or cursin' me dampened spirits."
He grabbed at a mug from the table, large enough for Jack to require both hands to hold it. The Scotsman needed only one, and he drained its contents in a few gulps, leaving foam at his white beard. A melancholy sigh left son after.
"Now she's up in the gard', holdin' a family crest and probably waitin' ta roll on back and kick the monstrosities outta an' back ta whatever holes they came from!" The mug slammed itself back on the table. The table shook, and Jack could see a split in it now.
His eyes turned back to the Scotsman, seeing his old friend looking at the sky forlornly again. It was a look he knew well, one he had himself often. One the little ones often shook him from.
"Lookin' fer another drink Da'?" And it appeared here it was little different.
"Ah! Bonnie!" Jack's friend let out as he leaned forward, reaching a hand out to his red-haired daughter. He grabbed at a mug from his child's plate. "Yer a sweet lass, watchin' yer old man like this!" The grin, holed as it was, held much warmth in it.
"Thanks Da'. Have ta help when all the other jobs are beein' routed." Her grin, far more pristine, was no less brilliant. And her eyes were also warm to look at when she gazed back at Jack. "Would ya like a mug? Have ta be thirsty walkin' through them woods."
"Oh no, I could not-" Jack began, but his words were quickly deafened.
"Course he'd like a mug!" The Scotsman yelled heartily as ever. "Warrior like him's gonna need the barrel by the time the night's down and the seas get restless! GAHA!" Of that, Jack knew it was not true. The consumption of alcohol was the one contest his friend could best him at.
Nevertheless, he accepted the wooden mug as it was held to him, offering the foamed and fragrant drink within. It had a strong smell to it, and one Jack had come to know.
"Drink up now laddie!" The Scotsman yelled just across from him, raising his mug into the air. "Can't except a straight story from ya without a pint of the finest brew sloshing in yer gut!" That was not true. However, it was likely another tradition of the clan.
Taking a slow breath, Jack sipped on the liquid, feeling the familiar burn of the drink down his throat. Even decades behind him, it was not a drink he was accustomed to consuming, but he did so nonetheless.
"GAHA! Now that's the stuff, ain't it Jack?" The Scotsman asked, sloshing his own cup as he spoke. "Ah, reminds me of the days when I had more muscle in me arms than a boar chargin' through trees. Just as many guts though, Gehehe."
Jack remembered those days well. They still haunted him.
"Oi, that reminds me," his friend began. "Where'd those snappy lassies of yers come from? Ain't seein' yer own missies around here." Jack felt the drink turn sour. "You leave her fer an adventure? Teachin' the gals 'bout the world, eh?"
He smiled with is words, ignorant of the truth. Jack did not fault his friend, as his own frown was hidden through the bushel that was his beard. The memory still stuck in his mind.
Their mother lying atop red rocks. Her red blood spilling to the floor. The demons of the shadows crawling about her body, commanding her soul, possessing her mind. Taking even a corrupted parent from their children.
Leading their children into a dark world.
"She… is gone," Jack spoke simply, bitterly watching his reflection in his now foamless drink. "No longer of this world."
"Oh… ah… sorry ta hear that…" his friend's voice fell considerably at the mention. Jack could tell he did not understand.
"She died on the day that I met her," he continued, continuing to stare into the mug that held his drink. "Met her within the Red Rock Mountains, between the light of fires and shadows of stone." And the haunting images came to life before him.
The dust from rock billowing in his drink, the heat of their blood against the palm of his hands.
"The girls were hers, tortured to fight, made into evil things." Much like the monster he fought beside the women, other humans made into dark creatures. The irredeemable, and so close to what the little ones had become.
So close to what he was.
"I killed her." The words were poison to his own lips. "Before her own children, I slew her." And the memories would be with the little ones forever, just as they were with him.
Just the same as his inescapable past. A past that looked at him from the dark corners of his mug, crawling through his hand and laughing upon his shoulder. Reminders of his failures, his mistakes, the lives lost by his misdeeds.
A family that was burning in a barren town, left to nothing but ash and dust. Mangled corpses that screamed his name, cursed his actions, bemoaned his deeds.
Demons laughing at his failures, rage crying for more. All his failings, all his mistakes.
All of his unjust actions shown in the face of his mother, smiling down upon him. A mother thanking him for the tea. And a father thanking him for his astuteness and care.
Jack opened his eyes, confused.
He opened his eyes to see his friend's blade, mystic and enchanted with foreign arts, touching at his shoulder.
"Nearly lost ya there, Jackie," The Scotsman spoke on. "Ah've seen that face 'fore. When me beautiful wife passed." Jack listened, intently, as his old and wise friend sheathed his mystic sword.
The terrors, for now, were gone.
"Too many bad dreams kept we 'wake at night. Too many mistakes of what Ah could'da done ta kept her 'live, even for a few moments." His eye was not watching Jack. Jack watched him. "Any idea's Ah got, they yelled at me, screamin' at me."
His head rolled on his shoulders, moaning even as the breaking of waves continued from the ocean. Jack listened only to his friend.
"Ya wouldn't believe the sorrow I had then Jack. Wouldn't 'ave recognized me sorry mug then, like a wimp scampy tryin' ta break a boulder." Odd as the metaphor was, the samurai was sure he did know. "But, I did manage ta come back."
"How?" Jack asked, before he even thought of the word.
He was sure the smile the Scotsman gave him was just the same.
"Ah got a fam'ly, Jack." The Scotsman good eye turned towards his children, playing and working through the yards and upon the ancient castle. "Ah family that held me through the dark times, and kept me movin' in the hard ones. Somethin' the clan can't even hold a stick to."
And his smile was warm as the sun's first light.
"Aye told ya before 'bout us friends and debts, ya?" Jack nodded at the question, enthralled by the small pockets of wisdom his aged friend held. "Well, there's another fer yer family."
In a chair too small for his girth, with a leg made to be a weapon over a stand, the Scotsman leaned closer to Jack, grinning with missing teeth and sparkle to his eye.
"Friends carry not debts. Families have no regrets."
Jack could see it in his old friend's eyes, the hope of tomorrow. The praise for the day.
A sweet song that played through the rolling hills of his land, whistling as his children worked. The evidence of his past, the light above the dark of his misdeeds, few that they were. They were what gave him that look.
And Jack… he looked to the little ones who called him such the same.
Slap
And he nearly fell out of his chair at the sudden force.
"Now there's tha' look Ah've wanted ta see!" The Scotsman cheered, even at Jack's twisted features. "Doesn't matter how thick yer beard be, laddie. Ya got a smile that can cut better than even the Celtic runes of me sword! Aye saw it." His meaty hand pointed towards his good eye.
And Jack rand a hand across his face. It was difficult for him to even imagine, having the same peace as his old friend. Yet, it wasn't unbelievable.
For as he saw the littles ones playing, fighting, and building, he felt that same odd light billow in his chest. The once unthought of embrace he thought lost to the darkness of his past. The thing he thought was gone.
Hope. Hope for a brighter day.
And the next day brought the inevitable departure.
A departure the girls knew was coming, but only a few were eager to take. Ami had no objections, Adi and Ashi were indifferent. The others clung to the children of the Scotsman.
"Again!" Aki yelled as Jack looked down at her, clung to the thigh of Murdina. "Fight me again! I'll win! I'm not weak!" And he watched as the older and far more faired girl laughed.
"Aye, that ya ain't. Yer bruisin' me thigh with the grip ya got there!" She pointed down at Aki's hair tossed head, grinning even as the younger child growled up at her. "But yer gonna have ta put muscle on the bones and feet in the height if ya want 'nother go at me, lassie."
"I'm not lassie! I'm Aki! Now fight me!" And the laughter continued.
Jack grinned himself at the display, even as the Scotsman bellowed with laughter beside him. Jack caught his old friend wiping away tears from his remaining eye.
"Aw Jack, ya got a feisty one here. Gonna make a warrior worth a trail later on. I'll bet me good leg on it!" It was a bet he didn't need to take. Jack was just as sure of the outcome.
Just as sure was he that they had to leave.
"Thank you, my friend, for your hospitality and… kind words." He had not forgotten their talk. It was one he swore to his memory. Like many others on top of it.
Slap
And the hit on his back was actually expected.
"HA! No thanks necessary, Jackie!" The Scotsman bellowed as Jack recovered his balance. "We'll call it even fer provin' to me lassies that their old man ain't a washed-up warrior just yet, GAHAHA!" Jack had no idea how he had done such a thing, but he was thankful for the exchange nonetheless.
"Do we have to leave now?" Jack looked down at Avi, the bow in her long hair a giveaway. That, and the large pack of clothes tucked along her shoulders. "I… want to learn more about the stitching."
"Yes… we must," Jack answered honestly. "We have already taken much of their hospitality."
"And yer gettin' even more!" The samurai had little time to think before he was lifted by the Scotsman, weightless even in his aged friend's meaty arms. "The lassies and ladies made up a grand gift fer ya! Somethin' we were puttin' together for a time."
Jack words, if he spoke any, were drowned by the cheers and hollers of agreement from the surrounding clan members, all following the Scotsman. Following as he carried Jack out of the castle and to the fields.
He saw the girls following him in appropriate ways. Either carrying the gifts of clothing and food, clinging to the more seasoned warriors among the Scotsman kin, or running with confused glances. He only watched.
Fighting the Scotsman actions was like challenging the waves, as he had learned many decades ago.
"An' here it is!" His friend announced, dropping Jack down.
He landed on his feet, righting his balance and looking around. Outside of the aged castle, in the green fields before the rolling hills, Jack had a short time to appreciate the scent and sound of the sea.
Before his eyes fell on the Motorcycle before him.
A bike with carriages at its side.
With horns upon its mast.
With wheels larger than his crouched body.
And with metal sleek as a blade.
And a color as dark as the night.
Jack watched, stared, and marveled at the creation that seemed so unfit for his brash friend. A friend that grinned madly as ever, teeth missing and eye glaring. Jack had no words, not until some were offered to him.
"A beauty, ain't she?" He spoke on. "Stole the parts from some bounty hunter's thinkin' of taken our land fer sport!" He didn't laugh, but instead spat to the side.
Jack heard the clan entire behind him do the same.
"But after we took them down like the weak limbed and brushy boned babies that they were, we decided ta put their tools ta use, and we put together this baby! With Celtic magic and SPIRIT! GAHAHA!"
The cheer was followed with laughter and applause from the clan behind Jack. A quick glance showed the raised swords and fists. Even the staff of the bone-clothed elder, watching through his skinned deer skull.
But this was… so much more than Jack expected.
"This is… amazing," Jack admitted honestly. "But it must be too much for us." And the laughter from his friend was the first response.
"HAHA! No it ain't!" The Scotsman replied. "See? Even yer lassies are all about it!" And a glance back at the bike, a glance that was barren from the bike for all of seconds, confirmed his friend was right.
The little ones were crawling about and on top of the bike, marveling at it the same as him. So often their rides were either the feet beneath them or carriages of wood. This was… far more than that. But still.
"We could not-"
"Jack yer takin' the bike an yer gonna go make somethin' of the world with the lassies!" The Scotsman yelled at him, overly large grin and imposing figure betraying any malice in his voice. "Our clans' still gotta finish raisin' the deer and sharpenin' the swords, so ya better take tha' time and make somethin' great outta these girls!"
His hand pointed behind Jack, to the little ones already crowding around the motorized bike.
Eager eyes above heavy clothing, clothing and wrapping far more fit for the coming cold than the rags they were left with before. Girls that, though all so similar in appearance, were all so different.
Avi's love. Ashi's leadership. Aki's aggressiveness. Ahi's cooking. Adi's knowledge. Ami's building. Aphi's justice. All of that, in seven sisters that now stared wondrously at the gift from the Celts.
"I… do not know if I-" And once more Jack was stopped.
"Jack, I get yer nervous," The Scotsman spoke as he leaned down to Jack's level. "Raisen' lassies ain't a walk in the misty woods in spring's growth. Hell, It'd be like fighten the mob of demons twelve times over with a missing leg and both eyes gone than havin' ta do it all again."
That was quite a metaphor he was given.
"But Jack, I'd do it all a dozen times over just to see me kids as they are now." And the Scotsman's good eye looked away from Jack, to the many daughters he had sired.
Daughters, already in the morning, taking to tasks about the plain and castle, cleaning and cooking and preparing for activities Jack could not name. Each one was their own person as well. So similar, and yet so different.
Some cheerfully stewed pots. A few graciously tore through trees. Others grinned as they beat stones over swords and steel. And the rest were gathering supplies, all grinning the same kind.
"They be me pride and joy, Jack. More than any fight an' battle I've endured. Nah offense." Jack took none. "And seein' as they are now, I'm sure ya can do the same with yours."
And his eyes returned to the black bike he was gifted. And the girls climbing about it. With Ami taking the most interest in the large motor at the head, Adi studying the wheels and links. Avi and Ahi taking comfort in the seats. Ashi finding a place at the helm to stand. Then Aphi and Aki fighting over the spot he'd doubtlessly have to sit.
It was… warming to see.
"Now, get yer bony arse in the bike," he pointed at the seat Aphi and Aki fought over. "Put yer feet on the gas, an' go out there and show tha' world there's still somethin' worth livin' for, ya?" It was a heavy request.
A request that made Jack shut his eyes, thinking of the implications as he felt the wind through his beard and across his face. To inspire the lives of others while he was burdened with those who were lost. To raise a family of children, after having taken from them their first.
To fight to live. To fight against death. To keep on fighting. To fight for hope. To fight… and not to give up.
His demons were oddly silent…
"I… will…" Jack responded. It was not enough. "I shall. I shall for you and for your clan." And those were the right words.
"GAHAH! That's the Jack I know!" Slap. Jack kept his balance as the Scotsman delivered the usual blow to his back. "Talkin' up a big game with straight words! GAHA!" And the clan laughed with them.
Jack smiled in kind, before facing the clan as a whole.
"Thank you all once more, for your hospitality and gifts." He bowed lightly in respect. "And I promise… I am not done."
And the cheers were deafening again.
Deafening to him, and the demons that lurked behind him.
No man in green, horse beneath, did he see.
And that was how Jack left the clan.
The demons still chased his shadow, hiding beneath the bike and behind the bark of the trees. But that was were they stayed. That was were Jack aimed to keep them.
It had been a year since he had met the girls, and now it has been only minutes since he had met his friend. Perhaps the more he met, the farther the demons would stay away.
Roaring, the bike continued on. The little ones, most of them, cheered in their carriages.
Author's Note:
You may have noticed the time skip. I did the time skip because following the children through their entire lives would take forever. And Jack doesn't really do that, the show that is.
So I'm doing my best to skip at reasonable places, while illustrating the norms for this "family"
Thanks again!