Yay next chapter more fluffy coming at you, beware :P
Disclaimer; I own nothing still
"Come along, Kratos."
He slipped his hand up into hers, looking up at her with those big wine eyes. She smiled softly, tucking the basket into her free arm to make sure it was secure. They started off down the path, Kratos waddling after her, holding tightly onto her hand. She couldn't help but chuckle at the way he walked, like a little duckling, rushing about. Granted he didn't look as if he'd fall, like he did when he first started walking, yet there was still an awkwardness to her three-year-old she found adorable.
They walked along the path beside the brook, the trees swaying gently in the breeze. It was a beautiful day, peaceful, serene. They got the typical second glances, no doubt the neighbors in awe of how fast the human child grew. He did grow very fast, it was shocking, but…
"Mommy!" Kratos cried, waving his free arm rapidly. "Mommy look!"
"Hm?"
Elma turned her gaze to the brook, where a turtle had just crawled onto the bank, flopping its feet around in the grass.
"Oh, it's a turtle," she said with a smile, stopping to let her son look. "See his feet? They look like that so it can swim."
"Like fins, Mommy?" he asked, looking up at her.
"More like flippers, but they are kind of like fins."
Kratos looked at her, then at the turtle a long moment before looking back up at her, pouting.
"Mommy lying is bad!"
The elf blinked once or twice, staring at her child. Lie? What-?
"Fish have fins, that's not a fish, it's out of water!" he exclaimed, hunching up his shoulders in a sulk. "Fish don't come on land!"
Elma laughed, which succeeded only in making her son pout further.
"What funny?"
"Nothing, sweetie, not everything that swims is a fish." She smiled, kneeling down to pat his head. "Now come along, Auntie Ariya is waiting."
"Is Auntie makin' cookies again?" he asked, his eyes wide.
"Maybe, we'll see." Elma nodded, leading Kratos off again.
The house her sister lived in was small, but that was partially because they had very little help in building it. It was off the main path, a make-shift dirt road of their own that lead into a hidden sylvan of trees. Still, the smell of food wafted out, indicating they had begun to cook the next meal.
"Oh I think we're late," Elma said with a frown. "Let's hurry so Mommy can help Auntie Ariya make lunch."
"'Kay, Mommy." Kratos smiled, quickening along in his little trot.
Elma lead him to the door and slipped her hand out of his for a moment so she could knock, instantly slipping it back around Kratos' little one.
"Who is it?"
"It's Elma," she replied. "I've brought Kratos to visit."
After a moment the door opened and Elma smiled at the sight of her sister.
"Why, hello Kratos!" Ariya smiled, kneeling down to look at the boy. "My, such a big boy, you're getting tall."
"Uh-huh, Mommy says that," he stated proudly, puffing up his little chest.
Ariya chuckled, ruffling his hair before straightening again. The resemblance was very clear between her and Elma, though while Elma's hair was more a pale teal, Ariya has a rich green color that matched their family's eyes.
"Thanks for coming, Elma, I'll get that for you."
Elma smiled and shifted the basket so her sister could take it, then walked inside once she lead them in.
"Please, sit down-"
"Ariya," Elma frowned. "I told you I'd help cook-"
"Oh nonsense, Martel has been dying to see you." Ariya smiled as she set the basket on the table. "You should hear her, jabbering on. I told her you were coming and she keeps going 'Auntie? Kwatos?' it's the most adorable thing ever, I swear."
Before Elma could answer, the little half-elven girl came tottering around the corner. She stared up at them, thumb in her mouth, fiddling with the little green skirt of the dress she wore.
"Martel!" Kratos exclaimed.
The boy released his mother's hand, rushing over to the two-year-old girl, who giggled and pried her thumb from her mouth so she could hug him back.
"Now Kratos," Elma said. "Don't be too rough with your cousin, she's little you know."
"Oh Elma, please, they're toddlers," her sister said with a small smile. "Martel, come say hi to Auntie Elma."
The little toddler nodded, her hair bobbing as she tottered over to Elma, hugging her legs.
"Walking so good already?" Elma giggled, scooping the child up in her arms. "You're such a faster learner, aren't you? Mommy and Daddy have been teaching you, huh?"
"Mm-hm," Martel nodded, her thumb still in her mouth. "Fawst learnuer."
She smiled, cuddling the girl before carefully placing her back on the floor.
"Ariya-"
"Look, Elma, I've got it," her sister said with a roll of her eyes. "If you want to help, watch the two of them while I cook, please? Marcus won't be in for a while, he's tending the animals."
Elma hesitated, glancing at her sister and the toddlers before nodding with a resigned sigh. She ushered the toddlers toward the door that lead to the front yard. It was a lovely day, no sense in keeping them inside. She ended up picking up Martel as Kratos trotted after her until they got to the wooden bench in the side yard.
"Okay you two, play nice and stay where I can see you, okay?" she smiled, setting Martel down by Kratos.
"Okay!"
"'kay," Martel mumbled, thumb still in her mouth.
Elma settled onto the bench, watching the toddlers play with the little toys she had brought out for them. They weren't that much of a hassle to watch, really- at least Martel wasn't. Martel was content to sit quietly and play with whatever happened to be nearby, her eyes inquisitive and big. Kratos, usually, was a horrid handful to let play outside. He'd run around, crawl under things, grab things, he was incapable of sitting in one place for more than a few seconds it seemed.
Luckily, that wasn't the case when Martel was involved. Kratos seemed set on sitting with her, jabbering on about something or another as he picked at whatever happened to be around. After all, Kratos didn't get to play with many children other than his little cousin, so Elma supposed that this was to be expected. Kratos was very friendly with her; currently he was telling her about the turtle he had seen a few minutes ago and how it was 'not a fish', as if he knew everything about the little creatures when in reality he had just seen one for the first time a few minutes ago.
"It moved like this!" he said, flopping on his belly and doing his best to imitate the turtle's four-legged motion. "And it was reeaaalllyyy slow and-"
"Kratos, get up before you get dirty."
"But Mommy!" he pouted. "I'm showin' Martel!"
"Yes, Kratos, I know, but you can show her inside later, where you won't get all dirty, okay?"
Kratos pouted but sat up, shuffling his feet in the grass.
"Okay…" he mumbled, looking aside.
"Wisten to Mommies," Martel said poking Kratos in the side. "Wisten, Kwatos, be good."
Kratos pouted but nodded, agreeing with his little cousin before he continued to jabber her ears off. He certainly was talkative, she wondered if anything'd ever be able to curb that tongue of his, at times.
Their visit went well. Kratos and Martel played for a while before they went in for lunch, when Ariya's husband had joined them. Marcus was a genial man, and he was very kind to Kratos. Elma wondered if that's because they were both human at times, but he was just as friendly to her. It was nice, she thought, that Ariya had such a sweet man. He was good to her and he simply adored their little Martel, who it seemed he could never stop finding things to comment on about how cute she was.
Elma visited with her sister, talking well into the afternoon while Marcus played with Martel and Kratos in the sitting room, from the sounds of it playing 'duck duck goose' and the like. They were human games she wasn't quite familiar with, but from the giggles she heard the children seemed to love it.
"He's so good with children," Ariya said with a smile as she sipped her tea. "I don't care what anyone says…humans are most certainly not barbarians."
"I never thought so, Ariya," Elma said. "You know I love Kratos, he's my son."
"Yes, yes I know…" her sister's face fell. "It's just-…it is hard sometimes, Elma, you know that, don't you? I know it's hard for you and the boy to deal with the villagers…"
"…Yes." She answered, staring down into her drink. "I- I keep trying to tell mother and the others, that- that Marcus and Martel are great, but no one wants to-"
"I know, Elma, I know…I don't blame you." The elder elf smiled weakly, looking up at her. "It helps a lot just that you…that you do see. Thank you."
Elma went to speak when Kratos rushed in, tugging on her skirt.
"Mommmyyy…I'm tired," he pouted. "We going home?"
"Kratos, that's rude," Elma frowned. "Auntie Ariya and everyone were very nice to let us come over. Say you're sorry-"
Ariya laughed, shaking her head.
"No no, it's fine Elma, it's getting late anyway. He's just tired, children need to rest a lot after all," she said as she got to her feet. "You should head home."
"Well…." Elma hesitated, looking at the window. "Oh dear…it is late already, isn't it?"
She frowned and then nodded, giving her sister a hug before turning to her son.
"Say goodbye to Auntie, Uncle and Martel, Kratos," she patted his head. "We'll go home so you can go to sleep."
Mother would play for him, on her ocarina. He remembered sitting there, on her lap, legs swinging gently. The sun would peek through the trees, causing her pale green hair to glow in the golden light, the gentle breeze making her hair sway to and fro. It was a beautiful sound, every note she played was carried into the wind, as if the breeze itself had taken it upon itself to lull it, cradle it, tend to it the second it left the instrument.
He would sit there, looking up at her, watching her long ears twitch, her eyes closed, and think to himself how beautiful she was, how pretty mommy was… Larger than life, to him, like some otherworldly goddess that had descended to care for him, to cuddle him, to play such beautiful music for him. He would lay his head against her as she played, as his neck grew tired from being craned up. His russet eyes would flutter, a yawn would escape him, and he'd snuggle up to his mother, slowly closing his eyes.
Before long he would be asleep in her lap, curled up, his little face blissfully at peace. Elma pulled the instrument from her mouth, smiling gently down at the boy. She placed the ocarina beside her, pulling the toddler into her arms. Her delicate fingers threaded through his hair and she hummed softly to him, continuing the tune.
He was so big already…he was only four, how could he have grown so fast? It was ridiculous. How did humans deal with their children growing so quickly? Every time she turned around her baby boy was already growing more… Then, it appeared Halflings grew just as quickly…her niece was talking a lot now. She was developing fast, just as Kratos had been…
Oh well…it was time to get him to bed. She gathered him in her arms, lifting him up. He breathed softly, snuggling his face into her shoulder. Elma smiled gently, pocketing her ocarina before continuing home.
Yup, hope that wasn't too choppy but it is kinda skipping around a bit, wuld take forever to do him at every age lol. Probably one or more chaps of him being uber cute before he becomes an actual kid, in which case be very afraid, looool.
Review?