The sounds that the birds were making were quite loud; due to the living room windows being open, they could hear every note that was given by the strange, avian life that called the planet home. On occasion, they'd see one or two of the music-playing birds—due to the reporters, that seemed to be the front fence and gate's constant companions, and due to a portion of their family being in the room, they weren't able to go to the windows or look out them or even take in what the mid-day looked like. Getting use to the new arrivals—both Shaam and their uncle and aunt, and their three kids—had taken up most of what they had done for the last few days. Introductions with their uncle had been a little hairy while introductions with their aunt had been very uncomfortable—the man had simply looked at them, smiled, then stuck out his hand for them to shake; the woman, on the other hand, had grabbed and then "squeezed" them in a sort of hug that they had done their best to return in the best of polite, and delicate, ways. Introductions with the two's kids had gone a little smoother than the introductions that occurred after Gaajah, Uevaa, and Selik arrived with their parents—no bullying happened between them and the three kids of their aunt and uncle's... on the first day, that was. On the day that followed Uncle Kuruk, and his wife and children's, arrival, Baruk had "banded" together with Gaajah while Selik had "banded" together with Sudir; Baruk and Gaajah seemed to be more focused on Bile and he while Selik and Sudir seemed to be more focused on Hazaar and Lazeer.
Other than the usual of fighting the new bullies on the block off, nothing really interesting occurred on the twenty-second and twenty-third of December; things had "mellowed" out for them on the twenty-first—they had been both relieved and unnerved by the "mellow" way of that day, but they hadn't voiced this. In a way, they had known that the storm was brewing and that the "good times" of being left alone would end and soon—which they had on the morning of December 22.
"Lunch was quite appeasing, Angel." KurukVile said, shattering the quiet air that was present in the room. "Enjoyed them burnt sandwiches that you made."
"Made with you in mind, Granddad." Angel said. She hadn't had to put all that much effort in on burning the assortment of grilled cheese sandwiches, that her grandfather had done more than feast on, but she had still tried her best to "cater" to his peculiar taste buds. She was glad that he liked all that she had made for lunch.
"The tomato-onion soup, that was in that one dish, was rather well-done." Irka said. "You make that?"
"No, that was made by Mr. Volvio."
"Who?"
"The chef who works the house's bigger kitchen." TazirVile said before his wife could.
"Really liked that red drink, that was in that one pitcher, ma." Bile said.
"Yeah, but think the girls preferred the chocolate drink that was in the other pitcher." Lhaklar said.
"Thought I'd make something for everyone—the Italian Cherry Cream Soda was the more difficult of the two to make while the Chocolate Ice Cream Soda was much easier to make." Angel said.
"Honestly, I wasn't very favoring towards them two beverages—they were too sweet, Girl." DuruVile said.
Lunch was twenty minutes past—with the way his great-grandfather was, he wasn't surprised over his finding something "wrong" with the meal that they had eaten. His, and his brothers', mother had done a lot to ensure that everyone was happy; she had been doing this for the last two days and, so far, she was always getting negative or near-negative feedback on what was made and then placed on the table.
The tomato-onion soup, while having been made by Mr. Volvio, had been specifically requested to be made for Shaam—the man seemed rather fond of that type of disgust. The three pizzas—one that had anchovies on it while the other two had been cheese and sausage and cheese and pepperoni—had been made by his ma; she had wanted something on the table that all of the kids would enjoy and she had figured that a few pizzas would suffice that. The Ma-Po tofu had also been made by their mother—apparently, his and his mother's grandparents liked the taste of that crap and, apparently, so does Baruk. Baruk had eaten nearly two bowls of that Ma-Po tofu before deciding to "give that item" a rest. The three trays of grilled cheese sandwiches, each having a different degree of cooked sandwiches on them, had been for everyone—er, or maybe the "normal" cooked grilled cheese sandwiches had been; he and his brothers, and Eshal, had mostly concerned themselves with the regular grilled cheese sandwiches while his grandfather and great-grandfather had concerned themselves with either the burned to a crisp sandwiches or with the barely cooked sandwiches.
While his, and his ma's, grandfather had made himself a glass that consisted of all of the table's beverages—the Italian cherry cream soda, the chocolate ice cream soda, and the plain lemonade—Duru had made a single glass of the Italian cherry cream soda; the man mustn't be all that favoring towards sweet-tasting drinks, or like anything that was sweet, because he had taken a real long time in emptying that glass of its contents. In comparison to him, most everyone had taken two to three glassfuls of their preferred beverage down before vacating the table.
"By the time me and mine leave here, my kid's will have a laundry list of things for my wife to make for them come time for meal-hour." Cheshire, who was seated on the sectional, and who, despite "restricting" himself to a few, normal-made grilled cheese sandwiches, and a single bowl of tomato-onion soup, had said nothing adverse about the recent meal that they had eaten, said.
"It was a very good meal, Angel. You and Mr. Volvio did wonders with all that you made." TazirVile said.
Either it was an on-cue thing or Cyla was just waiting like a coiled snake; once the word was said on how good the meal was, and once their mother, and Mr. Volvio, were praised for their skills in the kitchen, "Granmma Cyla" spoke.
"She usually keeps the quantity of what she makes for lunch down," the woman said. "From what me and my husband have seen, she goes overboard during breakfast and supper hour."
"Makes enough for an army." DuruVile added.
"Probably because there is an army here." KurukVile said. "For the last few days, a total of twenty-seven people have taken up residence at the table. That, in my mind, is an army."
"Thank you for saying the obvious to Mr. and Mrs. I-Think-I-Know-It-All." Cheshire said. "Your parents, Kuruk, are under the assumption that they can come in here and start molding Angel into their version of what a parent is."
"For the record, Mr. Ubalki, we're trying to help her in getting them in line." Cyla, who sounded rather aggravated with Cheshire, said after hearing what she had just heard.
"From my personal opinion, Angel seems to of done a very exceptional job in raising her sons." Cheshire said. "I see four well-behaved boys."
"I take it that you've forgotten what Lhaklar said to both my father-in-law and husband on the morning of the twenty-first?" Cyla was fast in craning her neck to its full length; she glared at Lhaklar, then she glared at Cheshire, then she dropped her neck to its appropriate length.
"No, and, from what I've heard, he apologized for what he said to the two of them." Cheshire replied. He let that sink in before saying, "Honestly, who wouldn't say something like what he said? His and his brothers' dress-sense was being insulted, and they were being insulted. He was simply speaking his mind and defending himself and his brothers."
"It was highly disrespectable." Cyla pointed out.
"And, since I've said it twice before I will say it once again, Madame, he apologized for what he said, and, for the record, what your husband and father-in-law were saying in accord to him and his brothers was of equal disrespect." Cheshire responded.
As the mild silence commenced in the room, he thought about the happenings of the morning of December 21. It had taken a short while before his, and his mother's, grandparents, and their three kids, were done in unpacking their things; Kuruk had, apparently, not been able to fathom the idea of "forgetting" that they were in the house. Instead of following Mr. Khrelan to the fifth level, and then getting started on the task of unpacking, he had broken his neck in going to the house's dining room—only after giving ma a hug, then a kiss, then saying how much he had "missed" her, had he gone to the room that he and his wife had been given to stay in. He and Hazaar had, for the most part, stayed on the house's first level after the man, and his family, were known as being in the house—it had taken a lot of courage to venture to the house's third level; by the time that they had reached the rooms that were theirs, their brothers had been allowed to move about the house more freely.
Lhaklar and Lazeer had been given a morning-long grounding for what they had said while being at the table; while Lazeer had been required to apologize for his one outburst to the ones that had already been present in the house—the Ubalki's, Duru and his family, Qeeta, and Shaam—Lhaklar had been required to search out and then do a personal apology to Duru and Shaam for what he had said in regards to the way they clothed themselves. Lhaklar had also been required to apologize to the old man for being so rude at the table. After all of the apologizing was done, Lhaklar had found himself as having a sort of "guest" waiting for him by his bedroom—Granddad Cheshire, who had been half-so leaning against the room's door-frame, had spoken to him, and had offered him some words of "advice", before asking if they could spend some time together.
Lhaklar, who hadn't known how to react to the question, much less put an answer on what they could do after saying yes, had suggested that they play the Playstation 3 for a while; Granddad Cheshire, while taking a while to get use to the game console's controller, had played Rapala Tournament Fishing with him for around thirty minutes before suggesting that they play Capela's Big Game Hunter. According to Lhaklar, he hadn't acted in any way, shape, or form annoyed in playing the games nor had rushed the time in playing the two games that they had played. In all, it had taken two hours before the man was seen as leaving his brother's room—he had looked pretty happy upon that exit, so he thought that he was pleased with the time that he had spent with his brother.
Lazeer, after giving his apologies to the folk that he had disrespected that morning, had spent some time in the house's gym before moving on to one of the house's game rooms; he had only just reached the third level, and then started down its hallway, when he happened upon Kuruk and Irka. Kuruk had done the hand-shake thing while Irka had "hugged" him—according to Lazeer, he had felt very weird while receiving that hug, which had been both bone-crunching, yet a little reserved, at the same time. After meeting the two, and then being hassled into meeting their kids, he had gone to his bedroom—up to 3 p.m., that was where he remained.
"Is it me or does Lhaklar look non-changed since we saw him last? It doesn't look like he's filled out any, which concerns me." it was now Irka's turn to break the room's silence.
The woman, who had just spoken, looked very feminine and fragile; unlike everyone else, who had flesh covering their bodies, she looked to be completely skeletal in appearance. The bones in her bone-like body were either dark purple or black in color. She was very petite—her hips were very nicely rounded, her waist was nice and trim, and her breasts were quite "showy" under the top of her outfit. The face that she possessed had no eyes, lips, or ears on it; her hair was about waist-long, light blue in color, and crystallized. The fingernails that she possessed were manicured—with the exception of theirs tops, which were opaque, they were a medium-purple color.
Irka Surfeit, who had been born under the name of Shaiden, and who was of the Sketon people, was wearing a slightly odd outfit—the purple dress, which looked normal in all attributes, was quite tight around her breasts, which were pyramid-like in shape; the belt that was around its waist was white and had stud-like spikes on its center. The pair of purple boots, that had black heels on them and that were on her feet, also had stud-like spikes on them. The only piece of jewelry that she wore was on the second to last finger of her left hand; the ring had a purple diamond on it, which was surrounded by a row of normal diamonds—he, and his brothers, had been fast in thinking that this was her wedding ring. Of the items that she was wearing, it was the spiked belt and boots that gave her outfit a bit of a weird feeling—why was the belt white and why did it and the boots have spikes on them? If it had been them wearing the outfit, and if they had been girls instead of boys, they would of worn a black belt that had no spikes on it. That went double on the boots, too.
Irka, who had been mildly interested in joining with Cyla in "picking" on them and their mother, was giving his mother a look that he didn't much like—after entering the room, ma had taken to sit on the arm of the chair that the old man, aka her husband, was sitting on. Irka had been fast in saying that she shouldn't sit on the chair in that way and she had also been fast in chiding both his mother and adoptive father after they said that they didn't mind sitting in the way that they were.
"It doesn't take much for me to notice that you two've done nothing about Bile, or Hazaar, either. Bile's still too big for his age and Hazaar is still the same height that he was when we last saw him." Irka said to his parents after no one replied to her question.
"Have you noticed how many times Bile, and his brothers, use the gym? For me and my husband, and Shaam, I'm sure, they use the gym too much for our liking." Cyla was fast in saying. Before getting an answer to her question, she said, "Bile's seen as being in the gym two to three times a day while Lhaklar's seen as being in the gym twice a day. Neither have an ounce of fat on them and, no, Hazaar hasn't grown any since being returned here."
"I'm only going to say this once," Angel said after sighing. "All of my children are healthy, and are happy with the way they look."
"Lhaklar looks much like a pencil, Lass." ShaamVile commented. After hearing a sound from behind him, he turned then gave Lhaklar, who was sitting almost directly behind him, a look. "I apologize, Lad, but it's the truth. You've got a thin body that's—"
"He's athletically built." QeetaVile, who was sitting on the couch opposite the one that her father, brother, and grandfather were sitting on, remarked. "He looks very much like his father."
"At his age, the way that his body is formed in isn't good, or healthy." DuruVile said. "Tazir didn't gain the height that Lhaklar has until he reached twenty-four hundred years of age, and he didn't gain any sort of noticeable muscle on his body until reaching the age of twenty-eight hundred years either."
"Everybody matures differently, Granpappy." Angel said. "No one child matures the same as the other."
"Very well said, Angel." Ashaklar said. "I said the same to Duru when he started ranting about how little Tazir was maturing when he was a child." after saying this, she started imitating all that was said between her and her then-husband in regards to his comparing Kuruk and Tazir during Tazir's growing-up years. " 'Kuruk was much bigger and stronger when he was three hundred and twenty years old', 'Kuruk was faster, and much stronger and wiser, at seven hundred and fifty-four years of age', 'Kuruk was—"
"Woman, are you going to trudge up fights that we had when you was a Surfeit wife?" DuruVile was rubbing his brow. "Regardless of how "different" each child matures, Surfeit children go by a schedule. Angel's sons are way over schedule—they're either too tall, and have too much muscle on them, or they're too short."
"I do tend to agree with my father on what he just said, Angel." KurukVile said.
KurukVile Shonsinu Surfeit was the man's actual, full name; in regards to his family, and to the ones that knew him, he was known as plain Kuruk, though. The man was more than just plain big and burly—his body was very heavily stacked with more than enough muscle; the veins, that crossed over the muscle that was on his arms, stuck out quite prominently. With his being six foot, four inches tall, the man practically dwarfed his wife, who stood a petite, five foot, four inches. Like with his father and grandfather, he was bi-colored—the left side of his head and body was red while the right side of his head and body was white; the stress wrinkles, that were present on both sides of his head, were darker than their counterparts. The man's elongated ears went only half the length of his shoulders; with the exception of the red, Tiger-like stripes, that were on them, they were a gold color. His long, and sharp, fingernails were a strange purple color, which, to them, didn't seem to match with the colors of his body. The eyes, that were in the man's face, were a fiery red color; the pupils that were in their centers were black and beady.
In a way, Lazeer, who was currently upstairs, playing a video game with Hazaar and Phaggo, was terrified of the man—with the man being as big as he was, and with his eyes looking to have a sense of danger in them, and with this being Lazeer's first time in actually seeing him, this notion, for him, was correct in being felt. Lazeer, after meeting the man, had been fast in thinking that he weighed over three hundred pounds—with the man having as much muscle as he did, they wouldn't be surprised if he did weigh over that.
Kuruk was wearing a gold and red tunic; the belt, that was around his waist, was a dark gold color. His pants were a very dark gold color while the boots, that were on his feet, were black. He had no jewelry, not even a wedding band, on his person.
Unlike his wife, who was mildly interested in making the daytime hours, for them, be miserable with her "colorful" rhetoric, he seemed to have a more reserved attitude to himself. They had yet to "cross paths" with him so they really had no opinion on him—but they, and their mother, they presumed, were keeping a good eye on him just in case he did turn into being like Cyla and Irka. With the man being as big as he was, it was quite easy for them to think that, when he did go off, he caused either harm to a building or to the people that were around him.
"Just for confirmation purposes, Hazaar is going through that phase, right?" Irka asked after another round of silence commenced in the room. While the family had been at lunch, Hazaar had been a little mouthy towards her, Cyla, and Selik and Sudir.
"Yes. Both he and Lazeer are experiencing it." Angel replied.
"Thought so." Irka said while nodding her head. "You need to work on both of them, Angel. It's during this period that a child starts thinking that they can walk all over their parents. And other family-orientated elders."
"My sons are a right well-behaved bunch." Angel, once again, emphasized. "While they've had them moments where they talk back to me, and where I've gotten on them for it, I've not once found myself as being taken advantage of."
"Went through that part of the phase with Sudir a few hundred years ago." KurukVile said. "A few paddlings, and snap-ats, did the trick in his stopping that."
"I'm very surprised that both you and Tazir let Hazaar curse as much as he does." Irka said. "Seems that whenever I come across him he's cursing."
"Neither Sudir nor Baruk curse or cursed during their time in going through the phase and that goes double with your father and Triskull." KurukVile said.
"Tazir seems the more reserved parent while I'm the one that lets the boys vent out their frustrations." Angel commented. Her husband gave his head a nod after hearing these words.
"Angel—" judging by what he was able to see of his grandmother's face, she was about to run out a lecture on what a parent should and shouldn't do and on how parents should "act as a force" in regards to their children. Before she could speak, or run out the lecture that he thought she was about to say, he spoke.
"We love and respect our mother, and we appreciate her allowing us to vent out, and use words that the grown-ups use. While Hazaar's more prone to cussing, we don't cuss all the time." Bile said.
"And you mention nothing of your adoptive father." Irka said to him. "How, please tell, do you, and your brothers, treat him? Are you four giving him the respect that he deserves to have, or are you disregarding him as your parent?" the split second that he took before answering her given questions seemed to be "answer enough" for her; his grandmother didn't give him a chance to answer her questions. She shook her head, tsked, then said, "I see. In a way, I'm not surprised that you refused to answer my question. After hearing no answer from you, I wonder how you're going to treat your real father when he gets here." after saying this, she turned to address TazirVile. "Tazzy, since Bile refused to answer my question on how he, and his brothers, treat you, can you answer my question?"
"I've had a few issues with Lhaklar and Hazaar over the past few weeks—nothing that I can't handle, or take care of." TazirVile replied. "Other than the issues that I just referenced, I have been shown respect."
"Issues? What kind?" Irka asked.
A few days ago, after overseeing the third garden chamber in his mansion be squared away for the produce that was desired to be grown in it, he had spoken to his brother about the issues that he had encountered with the boys; Kuruk, though giving him an astonished look, and though giving him some "advice" on how to handle the issues that he had encountered, hadn't spoken in a negative fashion about how he was going by the boys' sometimes rowdy antics. If it had been his brother who had asked him to re-tell the events that he confided in him about on the twenty-second of December he would of grown suspicious of his intent in wanting to re-hear what he had previously told him; since it was his sister-in-law who had asked him about the issues that he had encountered, and since she didn't know what he had experienced with the boys, he didn't mind repeating what he had said to Kuruk.
He spoke of the challenges that he had gotten from Lhaklar, and of how Hazaar had gotten a little physical with him during the first week that he, and his brothers, had been in the mansion, before speaking of how the boys had either been very apprehensive or nervous of him and of their wanting to keep him at a distance from them. The latter telling, plus what he said in regards to how he handled the issues that he had, so far, encountered, mustn't of gotten through to his sister-in-law because she was fast in standing and in addressing both Bile and Lhaklar about what they had done after being returned to the mansion.
"You two should be ashamed of yourselves!" she said to them. "Both you and your brothers should know better than to strike at an elder, and in challenging the authority that they hold over you."
"So, there haven't been any other violent actions beside those?" DuruVile, who was having a time in keeping the smile that he wanted to express from creeping across his face, asked. He had figured that the boys were walking all over Tazir, and that they were being disrespectful of him; for him, his son's words just confirmed what he had figured. "A single punch from Hazaar, which should of gotten a good belting in return, and a few challenges from Lhaklar, which should of gotten more than just a plain lecture? Tazir, I am not in the least bit surprised that you've not taken charge from Angel on the disciplining of the boys."
"Angel's still producing milk." Cyla blurted. Irka was slow in returning to the couch that she had previously been sitting on; both she, and her husband, shook their heads after hearing this piece of news. By way blurting out the issue on Angel's continued milk production, the issues that Tazir had just spoken about were "forgotten". "She's still letting her sons nurse from her."
"Angel, we've spoken to you about your doing that before you disappeared with the boys." KurukVile said after issuing a long sigh. "They don't need your milk anymore. They're big enough, and strong enough, to be well enough without it."
"You've done nothing more than make them be dependent on you." Irka said after sighing. "You need to wean them and now, Angel—it's better for you and for them."
"Now wait a second here," Ashaklar spoke up. "I let my children nurse until they were twenty-five hundred years old... Angel's doing no wrong in—"
"Your children are common children," Cyla sassed. "Angel's children are Surfeit children. Good-blooded children... practically royal children for crying out loud."
"According to Angel, she's gotten herself tested for Mastitis for years now, and she's gotten her milk tested as well. Them tests, she says, come back as saying that her milk is full of everything that a child needs. If them tests are correct then she is f—"
"She is not fine in letting them boys nurse at their age." KurukVile said, he had an aggravated tone to his voice that was very evident to everyone. "She needs to wean them, and take the pill that'll start the process of drying her milk up."
Hazaar and Lazeer entered the room at the precise moment that the third silent spell occurred; though noticing the room's quiet, and the disappointment that was present on their aunt and uncle'e faces, they continued in going towards the sectional couch. They had just taken a seat when their aunt asked a question pertaining to their educations.
"So, did Lhaklar and Hazaar speak truth of their, and their brothers', educations during the meal that they attended with us when we were on Earth?" she asked.
"Yep. All true, sadly." DuruVile replied.
"Have just Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic under my belt, and I have no interest in going further in school." Bile said after the room went into yet another quiet spell.
"Pronghorn, and the University of Telepathy, for me, Hazaar, and Lazeer. Like Bile, we decided to not go further in our educations." Lhaklar said.
"Angel!" Irka exclaimed. "I shouldn't be but so surprised that you abandoned their need in going to school! Bile's father wouldn't approve at all—he'd demand that Bile be sent to—"
"We have no interest in this evil or conquering game that you play." Hazaar said.
"She didn't neglect our educations." Bile said. "She actually threw a bunch of pamphlets on the table after we returned from Pronghorn. She said that she'd do all that she could to send us to any of the schools that were on them pamphlets. For us, it was a mutual decision to not continue in going to anymore schools."
"You let them pick their own educations?" Irka shook her head. Instead of speaking on the issue, she got up then left the room; she, at the moment, was disgusted by what she had just heard.
"You shouldn't of done that, Angel. I didn't let your father, Dara Dara, Triskull, Baruk, Kaasa, or Sudir pick where they were going to go for their educations—I was a correct parent in sending them to an educational facility that would give them the education that they needed to receive."
"Like my brother said, we have no interest in being evil. Ma gave us our choice in where we wanted to go; we decided that, since all them other schools taught evil-based stuff, we didn't want to go anywhere else."
"You shouldn't of been given that choice." KurukVile responded.
In the fifth consecutive silent spell that fell over the room, he and his brothers began to wonder what was wrong with their family and why they didn't seem to understand how difficult it was for them to be away from their mother, or from one another, for that matter. While they loved their mother to death, and while their love for her had no logical explanation, or name, to it, they weren't all that dependent on her—if that was the case then they wouldn't know how to cook, and wouldn't cook for themselves whenever the opportunity arose itself, or do any sort of cleaning in the space that they lived in. The trips to the town that they lived in, or to the towns that surrounded the one that they lived in, wouldn't be done; they wouldn't meet and then hang out with people their age; they wouldn't go out to hunt, or do any fishing in the local water sources that were around them; they wouldn't spend a nickel of the allowance that they were given each month; and he and Lhaklar wouldn't ogle the ladies or "follow" a lady that they had gained the eye of for a few hour loving spree if they were completely dependent on her.
Shit, Lhaklar had had a job before they were removed from Earth; if anything needed to be used as an example on how non-dependent they were of their mother they could well use that as it. If Lhaklar was so mother-dependent, he'd not have a job, or be helping out when it came time for the monthly bills to be paid and for the pantry to be re-stocked. Their mother having a job, and being out of the house for eight-plus hours, was another example that could be given on how "dependent" they were of her—either she'd have a job that employed her for a short duration of time or she'd find them as following her to her place of work if they were dependent on her for everything.
Unless some shit started up, and they wished to have her near them, they didn't follow her like a shadow or hug up against her backside—up to Duru and his family, Shaam, and Kuruk and his family's arrival, they had been moving about the mansion freely, and they hadn't been jumping at any old sound or after she was noted as not being near them either.
They gave her the space and respect that she deserved and she, in turn, did the same with them; only when it was absolutely necessary did she get ultra-super parental with them—a prime example of this occurred about two years ago. After finding Lazeer as having a book that was about drugs, and on how to manufacture drugs, she had confronted him about it before taking and then getting rid of it. Lazeer, at the time, had based his purchase of that book from what its spine said—the spine had mostly been torn from the book, and the front flap, and first four pages, had been missing; the word Jokes had been seen as being on the intact spine, which was why he had purchased and then brought it home. After explaining his reason in purchasing the book, and in having it in his possession, Lazeer had apologized for having it—she, instead of yelling and getting all over Lazeer's case, had smiled before taking the book and then saying for him to be careful in what he purchased in book-material from now on. They had known the reason to why she had taken that book and they accepted her concern and the spot of temper that was expressed after the book was seen.
If they had no education under their belts, they'd understand the reason to why everyone was so disappointed; with his having Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic under his belt, and with his brothers having both Pronghorn Academy of Sorcery and Magic and the University of Telepathy under theirs, there shouldn't be any disappointment being disclosed—their mother had slaved for them to go to school, and she had readied them for the day that they'd leave her company to go to school, and they had gone to school, so there wasn't a cause for anyone to be disappointed in them for their "lack" of going to school. They were grateful for her sending them to school and they were also grateful for her allowing them the privilege in what school they wanted to go to after they graduated from the first one—er, in his case; after Lhaklar, Hazaar, and Lazeer started showing that they could do Telepathy and Telekinesis, they hadn't had a choice in not going to the University of Telepathy. After graduating from the University of Telepathy, ma had re-shown them the pamphlets and then asked where they wanted to go next—the mutual decision to forgo any further schooling occurred after that was done.
"So, who all were sent an invite "early"?" DuruVile asked after the quiet spell lapsed for five minutes.
"Except for my mother, and her family, and Qeeta, who received theirs in a normal sense, everyone who's here received their invites early." TazirVile replied.
"When are you planning on sending the other invites out?" DuruVile asked.
"In a couple of weeks." TazirVile replied.
"You should send them out now," DuruVile said. "The boys need to get to know their family, and Angel needs to get acquainted with her family."
"Momentarily, granpappy. I don't want my sons to get but so stressed out." Angel said.
"Lass, I understand why you're worried about that but..." ShaamVile trailed off; he looked at the ceiling for a while before dropping his gaze. It was quite evident that he was searching for the right words to say on what he wanted to disclose to their mother. "Well, what can I say, Lass? My son is right—they do need to see and get to know their family and you need to get reacquainted with everyone. The only way that that can be done is that everyone comes over. They might get a little stressed out—that is natural, and very expected; it won't last long so you shouldn't worry much on it." he let that sink in for a few seconds before continuing. "Also, Lass, the sending of everyone's invites is better than having everyone waiting in anticipation—all of us want to see you and the boys, Angel; along with getting reacquainted with you, we want to get to know who your sons are."
"I'd really like for this process to go slowly," Angel said. Like Shaam, she was choosing her words carefully. "Less stress on them and less stress on me."
"Lass, I'm going to switch from being nice and polite to plain logical, okay." ShaamVile stood up; he reached into the left pocket of his pants, then he rummaged around for a bit, before withdrawing what-looked-to-be two white envelopes. After these were in his possession, he re-took his seat then started speaking again. "One of these—" he held the two envelopes up. "—is addressed to me; both are from my uncle. I do believe that you, and everyone present in the room, remembers what happened a few months ago between you and your sons and my uncle and his wife and their son."
"I do, yes."
"You and your sons ambushed him..." ShaamVile said distantly.
"We didn't ambush—" Angel started to say; Shaam's response of holding his hand up caused her to not finish what she had been meaning to say.
"I opened this the day before I got my invitation to come here; I think you should read it and I also think that you should read the unopened one." ShaamVile said while putting the two envelopes on the room's stationed coffee table. "The one that's unopened was written specifically for you—Trobrencus wanted your eyes and your eyes alone to see it."
"I'll read them... but, before I do, I'm going to make note right here and now that neither I nor my sons ambushed him, or his wife and son, on the day that they showed up at my former workplace." Angel said while getting up from the chair's arm. She went to the two envelopes, then she picked them up, then she returned to the chair that she had previously been sitting on. After sitting down, she said, "What happened on that day isn't fully on—"
"Tell whatever you want to say to us on the situation that occurred on Earth to my uncle first, Lass." ShaamVile said before standing then excusing himself from the room.
Most everyone followed Shaam in leaving the room. Grandma Ashaklar and Granddad Cheshire said something about wanting to check-in on Defe and Qhuakiz, who, they claimed, were much too quiet; Duru and Cyla said nothing while their oldest son, Kuruk, said something about wanting to see where his wife went to. Qeeta and his adoptive father went off together—what for they didn't know and, really, they didn't much care about what they were planning on doing right now. The two envelopes, that their mother had in her hand, were what he and his brothers were concentrating their concerns on. What could be in the two envelopes and what kind of trouble was about to be caused by them?
While watching their mother as she took the piece of paper from the opened envelope, they thought that they didn't know who the one who was addressed on the one envelope was; it took a total of twenty seconds before it came to them on who the Trobrencus-guy was. At the time of their remembering who Trobrencus was, they also remembered what happened on October 25.
Like their mother had said, no ambush happened on the day that they found her as being surrounded by people who shouldn't of been inside the shield; Lazeer, after perceiving the guy as a zombie, and after seeing him as grabbing their mother by the arm, had shot an icicle at him. The events that unfolded after that icicle struck home in the guy's shoulder had been both terrifying and exhilarating—Bile had been the primary one to fight Trobrencus while he and Lhaklar had been squaring off with Eldass and Homsi; Lazeer had been the only one of them to stay focused on Trivit, who he had really been putting his all on. At around the time that Trobrencus, and his wife, were removed from the shield, a bunch of Goblins wearing military uniforms joined the battle—Bile, they remembered, had taken a ride to the hospital in an ambulance after the fighting was done.
If not for the phone lines going down, and if not for their inability to reach their mother after the lines went down, they wouldn't of left the apartment or taken the drive to their mother's workplace. The event in the parking lot of Green River, Wyoming's Food Lion never would of happened if not for them two things happening.
"Boys, surely you have other interests than looking over your old mom's shoulder." their mother said after the piece of folded paper was removed from the opened envelope.
"For one so "old" you look very beautiful and young, ma." Bile commented.
"I take it that you four want to know what's been put in these two letters?" their mother said. "Grampy said for my eyes only, boys. I'd be breaking that if I allowed for you to see what's written on the envelopes' contents."
"Our secret, mom." Lazeer said. "He won't know that it was really twelve pairs of eyes—ours and Grampy's—that read what he wrote."
"Yeah, ma. It'll be a family secret—it'll just be us five that'll know how many eyes peered at what was written." Bile said.
"Pleeeeeease, momma, can we read what's in them envelopes with you?" Hazaar pled. He got down on his knees then he placed his hand on his mother's arm. "We won't spill a thing of what we read, momma. We'll be mute... on one will know a thing about our reading what was written."
"Oooooh..." Angel gave it a good pondering about not letting them read what the envelopes had in them. After ten seconds passed, she figured that it was in their right in being allowed to see what had been put in the two envelopes—she'd not only be skipping the tell-all on what all she read in the two envelopes but they'd also know what was going on; she saw no wrong in their being allowed to read what had been written and then put in the two envelopes. "Alright, but not fighting, though."
"Ah man! I was so looking forward to us pushing and shoving one another as we read." Lazeer pouted before putting on a smile.
Even though it was a joke, they did spend a minute to two minutes of playful fighting before the first letter's contents were read. Hazaar pushed Lazeer twice before turning to do the same to Lhaklar. Lhaklar, after being pushed, grabbed both he and Hazaar by their shirts; he "threw" them around once or twice before returning to where he had previously been standing. When it came to his turn, he just ran his mouth at his brothers. Their mother, in regards to their "shenanigans", waited until they were done before holding the letter up for them to read.
When they had been younger, and had wanted to do a group-read of something, they hadn't done the play-fighting thing—back when they were kids, the fighting had been for real, and it usually always started after Lazeer started "elbowing" Hazaar for reading room. Their mother, after the fighting started, would always put what was wanted to be group-read down before turning and then saying for them to either stop it or leave the room.
Back then, the gang-up routine had been seen as a way to be "cute" and "funny" by them; their mother had seen it this way as well when they had been very little—after reaching their mid-hundreds, and then early thousands, the seeing it that way had stopped. Ma had been fast in making out a rule after the "cute" and "funny" antics stopped being so "cute" and "funny—whenever she had something that they were all wanting to read, they were to either shut up and read or wait until it was their turn to read whatever it was that they were all interested in reading. This rule was in-place for a reason—she didn't want them to fight and she didn't want what was desired to be group-read to be torn up or destroyed before being read.
After they were all in position—he looking over their mother's head, with Lhaklar and Hazaar being on either side of him, and with Lazeer looking over their mother's right arm—, the reading of what was on the first piece of paper commenced.
Dear Nephew,
Hope all is well with you; I apologize for not being able to get back to you sooner—me and mine have experienced problem after problem after getting back, which is why we've missed all of your calls and haven't been answering the letters that you've sent us.
Bahne's been trooping through things, and she's been cooking up a storm—we've been well-fed despite the issues that we've encountered—and the kids are trying to put on a happy face and be normal. With the way the castle was when we returned to it, I'm more than pleased with how my family's handled things—and that I've not had any heart or anxiety attacks.
I gave the order for the dogs to be let out one to two times a day and that someone always be around to watch them as they moved about the property—when me and mine returned, we found that this order hadn't been adhered to. Upon our return, several of my staff were looking for the dogs, which they had simply let out and then forgotten all about. Of the eight dogs that we own, all but two ran off—and, of the six that ran off, only five have either been found or have returned to the castle. I also gave the order for the male dogs to be kept away from the bitches—upon our return, we found that two of our female dogs caught pregnant and gave birth during our absence. Two of my staff allowed old Zamin and Iruhlezer in with the girls, Nephew, which has caused more than enough heartbreak for us. It was Jhopa and P'poa that caught pregnant, Shaam—Jhopa had a total of ten puppies while P'poa died after giving birth to pup #4; of the fourteen puppies born, only nine survived to the present.
The ones that didn't adhere to my order in keeping an eye on the dogs, and in keeping the male dogs from the female ones, were fired right after we learned that P'poa passed away after not being able to pass the bigger of the puppies that she was giving birth to, and that, of P'poa's four puppies, only one survived to being what it is now—if they're not going to do as I've told them to do then there's no point in having them being employed by me. As you know, I do breed my dogs on occasion—but only when I see fit, and when the animal's fit to hold up to the demands of the ones that she'll be both carrying and then caring for. Jhopa and P'poa were not ready to be bred, Shaam—they were just a year old, and had only gone through two heat cycles. I've made the decision to not keep any of the surviving puppies—the current number of dogs that we have is enough, thank you.
Celobra's cats also got out from their room; the staff appointed with their care claim that they don't know how they did so, which I don't believe. Three litters were born during our absence—two were found under the living room couch; I think the third is in the laundry room. I keep hearing kitten sounds coming from the laundry room walls, Nephew, so I'll probably have to tear the walls in that room apart to see what all dwells in them. Benoci's pet Racobi also got loose—according to the man who was appointed her care, he didn't properly close the door to the room that she was in after feeding her. How the hell do you not close a door properly? That man, along with the ones that were given the order to keep after Celobra's cats, was fired as well.
Three horses gave birth; one of the colts had to be put down almost immediately after being born while the filly had to be separated from her mother—the claim on that one says that the dam turned on her baby. I've not disputed my foaling man; since I've had no issues with him in the past, and since he sounds frank in what he told me, I see no reason in firing him for them two issues. The surviving colt will probably be raised, then weaned, then sold after he reaches a year to two years old—there's something in how he moves that I'm not very favoring towards, Shaam.
All of what happened in our absence shouldn't of been allowed to happen. I've done more screaming in the last few weeks to last a lifetime, and I think my family agrees with me on that notion. If you're wondering, Shaam, about who the still-missing dog is, it's old Cocbok. My daddy's dog, Shaam... the one that was willed over to me after pop kicked the bucket—may that old warrior rest in peace, he surely deserves it. If that dog isn't found and soon I will not be a happy man at all.
The problems, on my end, don't end with what's been written above. The gardener was suppose to keep up with the produce and keep the Seebs away—most of what was in the outdoor garden had to be trashed thanks to the man not doing as he was told to do. Like with the other staff that were nixed of their jobs, I fired him right after hearing that the garden had to be destroyed and then re-planted. See what happens when the employer isn't around to keep his eye on his staff? They slouch; they slack; they sit around and be lazy, letting all of your stuff go to shit and make your return to your abode be a living hell!
Had to open all of the castle's hallway windows after getting the scoop on what happened with the dogs and after hearing about what happened with the garden—the central AC, which was only two years old, went out while we were gone; though it was a hassle in getting a technician out here, it was replaced after we returned home. According to the technician that put in the new unit, the old AC blew—with it being in the mid to upper sixties in my area, I find this very hard to understand and accept. Bahne's chocolate sculptures were very nearly destroyed by the central AC going out on us; luckily, some of the staff worked fast enough to put them in one of the walk-in freezers, so they were able to be saved. The glass sculpture, that's in my and Bahne's bedroom, had a crack in it due to the conditions in the castle; that was swiftly repaired via a spell. One of the glass chandeliers had to be taken down and replaced—heat cracks were noticed on it; the spell that I used on it, to make it go from being damaged to repaired, didn't work so it had to be taken down.
The meat locker also went down during our absence; everything that was in it had to be thrown out, and the door had to be left open—a small fan was put in the box just before our return occurred. The meat locker was fixed eight hours after we returned; a near-similar assortment of meat was purchased and then put in it after it was installed.
Bahne and I have gotten into it on more than three occasions since our return occurred; we did make up after each fight, so all is well between us—I breathe a sigh of relief on that one, Shaam! As you know, I'm quite taken with My Bahne. I'd not know what to do if she up and left me or removed her company from me. Took the family out on several shopping sprees, or to just plain dine at restaurants, after we returned—with all the stress that we were going through, we needed, and deserved, to be spoiled a little.
While I've enjoyed hearing from you—getting and reading your letters, and hearing your messages on the old automated attendant—I must caution you in not speaking of Angel, or her sons. I know that you're excited about her being found as being alive, and in knowing that all of her sons are alive, but I'm not all that happy or excited about their discovery—we have yet to forget what happened on the 25th of October, Shaam. Thanks to one of them brats of hers, Trivit vomited worms, clots of blood, and slugs for eight long hours—I do believe that he had another ailment, which he plain refuses to expose to me, or speak about. My wife still has the marks on her arm, and I still have the marks on my back, from where Lhaklar used his finger-knives on us and I was forced to lay up in bed for a while after me and Bile fought. Whoever it was that shot that icicle at my backside is also on my shit list, Nephew.
Angel brings up her kids to fight and injure members of the family? I can't believe what happened and, honestly, I don't want any of my family near her or them brats of hers until we hear word and apology from her on what she and her brats did to us. I'll be honest in saying that I doubt if we hear of an apology from her—if we do hear something from her, it'll probably be a half-assed one, or one that's not fully meant. With what happened between her, her brats, and me and mine, you can bet that I'll be shredding the invite that's to expected to be sent to my address—I'll do to her in tearing that invite up like she did to me in tearing the respect and trust that we had in one another, Shaam.
I've included an attachment envelope, that has a letter in it, within this one; if you'll please see to it in giving it to the woman who sicked her sons on me, my wife, and our firstborn son when you see her next. For her eyes only, Shaam, not yours. In advance for doing this, I and mine thank you.
Much love, respect, and wisdom to you, My Nephew. ~ Trobrencus
He and his brothers looked up and then around after reading the first letter; they gave their eyes a small break in reading, and they gave their mother a chance to open the unopened envelope, before turning their eyes down then starting the process of taking in what had been written in the letter that seemed to be written for and only for their mother. It didn't take them long to do the silent sighing or gasping thing after the second letter's contents were read.
To Whom It May Concern,
Due to your little ambush on me, my wife, and our son, I want no contact with you or with them boys of yours until I get an apology and a full one—I want no half-assed, or non-meaning apologies and I want no attempts on your part to "explain" yourself out of what you've done to my family. What have I done to you to deserve what you and your sons did in attacking me and my family, Angel? With the exception of how one goes by controlling his/her staff we've gotten along well; the ambush that you and yours did to me and mine was a surprise, and a hurtful one at that!
I and my family have put hours into looking for you and your sons. Two hundred years of work on our part was done to find where you and your sons went and this is what we get in return for our efforts? A very uncalled for ambush?! When did the idea come up in your head and when did you find the time to call in the "recruits" for what you had planned on the 25th of October? According to my wife, you spent a small amount of time in the workers slouching room before leaving and then following her to the parking lot, where our very uncalled for dance occurred in—I highly doubt if you had any time to call up "arms" when you were in that room, since Bahne also claims that you had two Goblins with you at the time and since the bag that you had in your cubby space wasn't given to you until you were out of the room.
Along with all the shit that I've had to deal with since my return home I'm also trying to figure out what happened between you and yours and me, my wife, and my oldest son. I've played it back so many damn times that it's no longer a simple memory—it's now a dream that dances before my eyes when they're both open and shut! You know how much you put on me thanks to your little ambush? A LOT, that's what! You know if my father was alive, and knew of this ambush of yours on my family, he'd have your whole on a pike? Luckily, for your and your brats' sake, he's not alive or walking in the flesh because, if he was, he'd not hesitate in dishing double back to you for what you caused to me and mine.
You can call, write, or show up at my place for the apology giving; if you have no intention of giving me and mine an apology then have a nice life without me and my family in it. We can do this nice and decently or we can do this the way that a common person's family does—by turning our backs on one another and forgetting that we both exist.
For it's worth, hear from you or not, have a nice day. ~ TrobrencusVile Bolym Surfeit
" 'Your whole on a pike'," Bile repeated that one line that was in the letter. "Ma, you don't need this cockamamie in your life. You know what happened... we all do."
"I do, yes." Angel said. She placed both letters in their envelopes before sitting on the cushion of the chair. "I could write the guy, and tell him what happened, but I doubt if he'll accept it."
"Just forget him." Bile said. "Forget what happened—in my eyes, the fool got what he deserved."
"That woman acted like she was going to join the fight. I gave her a warning, then I turned to give Hazaar some help with the Goblins that he was fighting. What was I suppose to do after she attacked me?" Lhaklar asked. "I didn't fight her out of meanness, mom. She attacked me while my back was turned, then she leaped onto my back. What was I suppose to do? Go yippee ki yay, let's have tea and cookies?"
"Were we in the wrong for fighting them and defending you? For taking a stand in protecting you?" Lazeer asked.
"A lot happened during that fight... I suppose I could write, and say what happened, and why you four were there, and why you—" Angel looked at Bile before turning her gaze to Lhaklar and Lazeer. "—three fought them. Probably won't do any bit of good but it'd get us past what happened. Whatever happens afterwards is in the hands that guide us."
"You'll stay here, right?" Bile asked. "I mean, you'll just write then send the letter in the mail, right?"
"Honey, I'm two hundred and thirty-eight years older then you—I know far better than to show up at the place of one who has ill-feelings towards me." Angel replied. "Not to mention, I'm not leaving this house without you four."
"You stick by us, right?" Hazaar asked. He was scared and he was trying his best to not show it. "You won't—"
"Honey, I'm your mother—I'll stick by your, and your brothers', sides for the rest of your lives." Angel said. After saying this, she stood up then went to give Hazaar a hug; he was fast in returning it.
"When will you write?" Bile asked.
"Do you want a copy of our memories to—"
"No, you boys keep your memories in your heads. If nothing stops me from doing so, I'll head up now to write what I want him to receive. I'll send it in the mail tomorrow morning; Trob should get what I mail him either tomorrow evening or the morning of the following day." Angel was fast in saying.
"How's he going to get it by tomorrow when he's more than a few planets away from us?" Bile asked.
"Express mail, Biley. Costs a few bucks but it's well worth every penny." Angel said. "You four go on and find something to do. Don't get into any trouble now. Behave yourselves."
"We will." Bile and his brothers said in unison.