"Waba!" Jaune puffed his cheeks and tucked the straw doll closer to his chest.
"Come on, don't you want this big fluffy teddy bear instead of that bundle of hay?" Sam sighed as he forced a smile.
It had only been a day since Hawkins had departed from the agricultural district, but Jaune was already showing signs of resentment. The boy waved his hands and tried to crawl away, but with Sam's size, it was easy for him to rally the defiant tyke.
"Waba!" Jaune thrashed in his grandpa's hands, clinging to the doll as if it were his last leg on life.
"Please, Jaune, I know it's hard but Hawkins isn't coming back. The sooner you get rid of your old habits the better." The deer Faunus ruffled the boy's hair with a calloused palm.
"Hawb... Hawbins!" Jaune clapped. His cerulean eyes gleaming in anticipation for his supposed father to appear.
"Sam!" With a curt shout from the kitchen, Carla appeared at the living room doorway with a bowl of mashed peas and a spoon.
"I thought we agreed to stop using his name, if we're going to adopt Jaune we can't afford to have him spouting that dangerous hoodlum!"
"Dangerous hoodlum?" Sam curled a brow as his wife hissed.
"Don't make me remind you of what he did. The nerves of the other farmers are already tensed, and we're partly responsible since we literally gave the magician a home."
"That's true," Sam rubbed his neck and fiddled with the toothpick in his mouth. "But we have to remember that Hawk- I mean the magician, acted out of self-defense."
"You call what he did self-defense? Even if those nasty hunters attacked first, that man was willing to kill them all! We can't condone or defend his past actions." Carla huffed.
"Of course he crossed the line in that fight, but we knew that was going to be the outcome given the way he does things. He treats everyone he dislikes the same, whether its a hungry Beowolf or a greedy and racist hunter."
"That doesn't excuse what he did!" Carla's voice increased a few pitches.
"But he saved my life as well-"
Carla dropped the bowl of mashed peas, the green mush smudging the floor as she stomped over to meet her husband at eye level. Sam stood up with his hands on his hips, ready to meet whatever storm that was brewing in his wife's mind.
"He might have saved you, but our gratitude can only go so far. To be fair, I did hear that Larry and the other boys did try to rile the stoic man, but what he did in turn... Larry didn't deserve that."
"I know, Carliana, but what are we supposed to do about all of this now? We have a new baby to take care of, but when he gets older he's going to ask about who his parents were. Heck, Hawkins might be the only man who actually knows who Jaune's true parents really are." Sam said.
"Hawbins!" Jaune blurted.
"That's enough, Jaune!" Carla snapped.
The blonde child flinched. Tears welling in his eyes, he started wailing and threw his straw doll across the room.
"Now look at what you've done." Sam sighed. He picked up the infant and retrieved his toy.
Carla glanced away with a deep frown etched on her saddened expression. With the pittering of footsteps trailing down the hallway, Carla called, asking if it was Trifa, and the little spider made herself known.
"It's not nice to eavesdrop." The cow Faunus growled.
"I-I'm sorry..." Trifa lowered her head and bit her lower lip.
"It's fine. Here, take Jaune and play in the backyard for a bit. Remember to keep an eye on him at all times, remember we don't have him to depend on if either of you get lost." Sam patted Jaune on the head then handed him to his blue-haired friend.
Giving a forced smile, Trifa hurried away with the blonde tyke and exited through the back door.
"I thought you said that Hawkins didn't know anything about Jaune's true parents." Carla snapped the moment the children were out of earshot.
"All because he said that doesn't make it true. After all, Hawkins is a good liar..."
/-/
"You're going on a vacation to Mistral?" Tukson crossed his arms with a set of furrowed brows.
"Not a vacation, I'm leaving for good." Hawkins withdrew a stack of papers from his cloak and dropped them on the front counter.
"These are the final pages for book one. Should you find another capable author, I've added the information for the sequel on the last page."
Tukson scratched his bearded chin. "Well, this is all good and dandy, but wouldn't you want to complete this book by yourself? I'm not against external assistance, but at the end of the day this story belongs to you."
"I want to be forgotten, Tukson, but I don't want to leave on any loose ends either. You can take full credit for my story, so don't put my name on the cover."
"Whoa, slow down a second." The book-lover raised his hands and stepped away from the papers. "Does this mean you're leaving for good? What about your kid, or Sam and Carla, or that new Trifa girl? Are you not taking them with you?"
"I am not," Hawkins said glumly.
"Are you going to visit on occasion at least?"
"No."
"Then take this." Tukson opened a drawer beneath the counter and presented his friend with a leather book.
Hawkins shook his head. "I don't need a parting gift."
"No, you don't, but it's something I want to give to my friend before I never see him again. Believe me, you'll like this story, it's pretty famous across the continent of Anima."
A still silence, the magician offered one subtle nod of appreciation and headed for the exit. Tukson glanced to the ink-slathered pages, then to the one who wrote them. He raised the book, opened his mouth, but his throat remained dry for words.
"Goodbye, Tukson. Your store has a 75% chance of staying in business if it prints that novel. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors." The stoic man passed through the doors, the glass panes reflecting his golden locks, a deep frown marred his stone features as he left the establishment.
/-/
"Ababa~" Jaune crawled across the plush grass. His blue bunny onesie covered in dirt and green stains, the boy smiled as he plucked a dandelion from the earth.
He scrambled over to Trifa, who rolled her eyes and took the weed. She knew better than to leave the plant with Jaune, for he'd nibble on it when he thought she wasn't looking, but the once small pile of dandelions beside her had become a large stack.
"Hawbins?" Jaune said with a tilted head.
"No, he's not coming back." The spider Faunus groaned. It was a shame that was his first word. If it'd been something simple like 'dad' then the whole matter would've been easy to forget.
However, Sam did have a point that when Jaune grew up he'd ask about the name he repeated as an infant. So what would Trifa and the others do when he did? Sure, Carla and Sam could keep a secret, but Trifa doubted her ability to follow their example.
"Hawbins?" Jaune tugged on the hem of Trifa's shirt. His cerulean eyes full and round, they blinked at the saddened pair of cobalt that stared back at him.
"You're lucky you know." The young Faunus sighed. "To have someone you can call father. The only thing I can remember about my parents is that they're dead."
Tears trickled down her cheeks. Her hands clasped together, she shivered as a cold breeze wiggled up her spine. The only man to show her kindness without pity, was gone like the wind, never to return for a second passing.
"Waba." Jaune puffed his cheeks and frowned. He crawled away but returned quickly with something colorful.
"Ababa." The blonde returned with a goofy smile and pink flower in hand. He figured Trifa didn't like the green or yellow weeds, so maybe this color would suit her better?
Trifa blinked. Rubbing the tears with her sleeve, she accepted the gift with a slight grin.
"You're really nice, aren't you?" She giggled.
"Abmph!~" Jaune nodded dumbly while shoving a fistful of weeds down his gullet.
Trifa put down her flower and grabbed the mischievous baby's hands. "Hey, I told you not to do that already!"
"Waba!" Jaune spat a mouthful of greens in retaliation.
Wrestling with the defiant tyke, the spider Faunus couldn't help but laugh as Jaune continued to grin like a happy-go-lucky doofus.