Chapter 29: The Trouble with Being a Wyvern
I’m a very proud mama. Watching Luna with her little brother always brings tears to my eyes. Whenever he gets up in the morning, he’s greeted by his big sister who lifts him up out of his crib and cuddles him close.
She also has been insisting upon teaching him how to talk by herself as well. “C’mon, mom, I’ve been communicating with him since before he was born. Think I can handle teaching him how to actually talk,” she told me when I expressed a bit of surprise. I could only laugh. I peek in on them every now and again. I’m not quite sure what she’s teaching him, though…
“No, no, buddy! Roses! Ya give a girl roses!”
“Why, ‘Una? Why give girls roses?”
“Because they like that, of course! It makes them feel special.”
“I give you roses, ‘Una?” he asked her, tilting his head to the side.
I didn’t hear her reply; I had to leave before I cried myself silly. My little boy sure is a sweetheart and he and his sister are so close, despite the age gap. I can’t help but feel so proud of both of them. Instead of sleeping in like so many other teenagers do (as I did, come to think of it), she gets up early before school to spend time with her brother. Then once he’s settled back down, she grabs a cup of coffee and then out the door she does.
Once Luna leaves, I get my time with my little guy. I often find that he’s crawled to Luna’s room, as if looking for her.
Hm… and gotta hand it to her, Luna’s a smart one. She’ll help him talk and walk… but she somehow always manages to avoid potty training time. Can’t say as I blame her, really, but at least Alduin is such a good natured little boy. He makes it pretty easy.
Of course, now that Luna is old enough, we’ve begun the self-defense training. She gets her small frame from me and mom, but that doesn’t stop her from using her natural speed. She’s already very good. She tends to pick up on things pretty easily.
Aside from the physical training, she also came to me and wanted to know more about her power and how to use them. I thought this was a great idea. I wish she could have met her great-grandmother. She had much better control than I do. I have my strengths, but it is also a bit unpredictable for me.
Still, working with her, is strengthening my own power.
I can’t help but feel that these measures will be necessary. I was painting a couple days ago and I seemed to fall into a trance. It happens sometimes, though it hadn’t happened since before what happened with Dad all those years ago in Bridgeport. When I finished, my heart clutched in my chest.
I know in my heart that the female ninja represents Luna and that there is someone behind her who wants to harm her or will want to… I wish we knew more. I gave it to her, as a reminder to be careful and because I believe in her.
She had come to me earlier to talk about things. Like me, she tended to get her own feelings at random moments. This time, instead of talking about Bridgeport and her handsome prince (she still dreamed of him), she wanted to discuss Alduin. “I can’t help but be a little worried about him,” she told me, looking troubled.
“Why’s that, sweetheart?”
She shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “I don’t know… just a feeling I’ve been having lately. I know Pop is the one with the feelings and clairvoyance, but seems like lately, that’s all I’ve been having.”
I frowned. “Well, we know there are dangers out there, things we don’t fully understand. Your great-grandmother was always fairly tightlipped about things. I don’t think she could tell us much, other than what we needed to know. There was a lot she kept back, I think. But it’s ok. We look after our own, you know that.” I ran a hand through her hair and gave her a hug. She smiled at me, and nodded, then went to go find her brother for some play time.
From the teenage journal of Luna WyvernAfter my talk with mom, I went and scooped Alduin up. He’d heard us come in from outside and immediately, he’d motored to me. Can’t believe how big he’s getting! Could barely hoist him up. After the conversation I just had, I couldn’t help but squeeze him tightly.
“Wuv you, ‘Una,” he murmured. I may have been the telepathic one and mom the empathic one, but my little brother always seemed to know just what to say to make ya feel better.
“Love you too, munchkin,” I sniffled, clearing my throat. Then I grinned. “Guess what? The Claw’s comin’ to get ya!” His shrieks and pleas only made it harder not to laugh hysterically as the dreaded Claw began to tickle him mercilessly.
After the laughter subsided, my little brother looked up at me, the Wyvern eyes looking a bit serious. “’Una, Great-gamma ‘Estia told me a secret.”
I froze. I would have chalked it up to a child’s imagination, but in this family, the imagination often wasn’t as strange as the reality of it all. I mean, we’ve all heard the family lore. My great-grandmother was Queen of the Dragons. She was tricked by her sister into coming to the Sim Realm, though none of us really know why. She found happiness here, though and that’s how Pop and Great-uncle Falkor came to be. We all have powers, though so far, Alduin hasn’t shown any. But maybe… just maybe, this is the start of it.
I tried to be nonchalant. “A secret huh? Can you tell me?”
He shook his little head, looking sad. “No, she made me pwomise. Is it ok that I talk to her, ‘Una?”
“Of course it is, buddy! Of course.” I realized something. “Do you see or talk to anyone else?”
“I saw Diego!” he replied happily. “He fluffy doggy, like Ars.” ‘Ars’ was his name for Ares. That confirmed it. My little brother could look into the Spirit Realm, or the Netherworld as it was often called.
“Does mom or dad know about this?”
“No…” He looked abashed. That look on a two year old will break your heart.
“It’s ok, little brother. It can be just our secret for a bit longer, ok?” He nodded, grinning again. Oh my… my little brother will break hearts with that smile.
Hm… Luna surprised us a bit today. She’d been thinking about it for a little while and decided that she wanted to enter the new program that the police department enacted. It’s a junior patrol division. I can’t say as if I’m overly happy about this. After what happened with Dad, I’m afraid my view on them is less than stellar. My dad’s reaction was even more volatile, but Luna just looked at him, her head tilted and said it was what she wanted. She wanted to help people, like he did. Dad has never been able to deny her anything, so he sighed and nodded. That was as far as he went in giving his blessing. Jeff and I just shared a concerned look. But what could we do? Denying her would only cause problems. But we can’t keep her from what she wants. So she went and applied today.
Due to her high scores and I’m sure due to who her grandfather is (Dad’s a bit of a legend in the department, after all), she was accepted immediately.
Jeff and Dad discussed it at length one night while waiting for her to come home. And yes… they wait up for her, outside, in the snow.
“I would stop her if I could,” Jeff told him seriously. “But ‘Rora and I talked about it. We can’t. Restricting her would do no good and would be punishing her for something that she sees as right. I know none of us like it, but…”
“We have to let her make her own decisions,” Dad finished for him. “I don’t like it either. I believe in what we do, in what the department stands for, but the thought of her there, in the thick of things… I’m hoping this experience makes her decide on doing something else. There are plenty of other jobs out there where she can help others.”
Jeff nodded. “Education. I think she’d love working with kids and I know your brother said he’d be delighted to have her.”
“Yeah, Luna would make a wonderful teacher. Look at how good she is with Alduin. But we’ll see…”
“That we will.” Then the two waited out there in the snow, watching for her to come home.
I can’t believe it’s that time already! My little boy is growing up so fast! Luna was ecstatic that his birthday fell on a Saturday so she wouldn’t have to go all the way through school before we could have his party. Mom baked his cake and Jeff got to hold to blow out the candles.
“Candles, dad, candles!” he called out. “I wanna blow on the candles!”
Jeff laughed and leaned over to give his boy a shot at the candles. Scrunching his face as he pulled in a deep breath, Alduin blew out his candles.
Jeff set him down and gave him a quick peck on the forehead. “There ya are big man.”
He stood up as the sparkles hit.
And now my little boy is a child. He has a bit of nearsightedness, though the doctor said he might actually grow out of it, or at least be able to have some basic contacts when he gets older.
My… how time flies! My children are growing so fast!
*****
