"She's growing up fast," Auron said. Braska smiled in agreement, watching his young daughter walk through the grass clumsily – having just learned to do so less than a week before – picking small, bright flowers along the way. Her pudgy fingers crushed the delicate spring blossoms, but when she ran back to her father and pushed them happily into his hands, he took them gratefully and placed them inside of his robes with a proud smile. She continued to stumble through the field a little ways ahead of them, pausing every now and then to examine a new flower, bug or other curious item. She suddenly giggled and bent over, losing her balance in the process but regaining quickly with an impish grin. Braska laughed and Auron gazed at him in a benign mixture of happiness and amusement.
"She's getting better," he told his friend. "You must be proud."
"Very," he said.
Yuna toddled back to them, and Braska bent to receive her gift at eye-level, but she merely passed him, gesturing instead to Auron. He looked down to where she stood, barely at the level of his knees, and simply stared, confused. Braska straightened and gestured for him to bend down. Auron bent just enough to hold out a hand to Yuna, where she promptly slapped something into his hand and ran away once more. Auron inspected it… It was a rock. A plain, ordinary rock. He made a face, inspecting it as though it held some hidden power, but Braska laughed at him heartily. He looked up at his friend, who shook his head as he snickered.
"She likes you," he said.
"It's just a rock," he sneered. Braska shook his head again.
"No it's not. See?"
Auron examined it once more, but could not find anything extraordinary about it. It wasn't even a pretty color; just small, gray and dull. It didn't glitter or glisten – just sat there like… well, like a rock. He snorted impatiently and held it out to his friend.
"It's still just a rock."
Braska stepped over calmly, something shining in his eyes.
"It's not just a rock," he said with a knowing look. "You'll figure it out."
He walked away, and Auron scowled at him, but placed the small stone inside of his dark robes as Yuna continued to tumble through the grass, Braska following close behind her.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry to the... 2 people?... that read this story, but I'm going to have a delay (again) since I'm almost ready to move into my new home. I've been preparing for a while now, getting everything settled, that's why there's been such a huge hiatus. But don't worry, I'm not giving up, hahaha! Just be patient and I'll be back on track in no time!
:)