“Look, mummy,” Jirot called, revealing her missing front teeth, then holding Jarot’s cheeks as he opened his mouth to reveal his own missing teeth. “We are math’ing!”

“Don’t let your father hear that,” Vonda joked, reaching down to their hair, brushing it back gently, brushing her thumbs along their cheeks as the pair giggled. The pair had no idea the storm of anxiety their mother forced away, praying this would not affect their eating habits.

As the pair ate, she noted neither were having trouble with eating their food, her heart slowly calming. Little Jarot especially continued to enjoy the porridge, as well as the mashed fruit he spooned, Jirot also fed him the first and last bites of her own food, while Vonda made sure to add a spoonful or two so the girl was not without.

Virot stared down at her vegetables, grabbing a slice of cucumber, biting into it and chewing, the vegetable crunching. She remained focused upon her meal that was slowly disappearing, and once it would disappear, she would be able to eat the small cakes that her nana had made. This was the motion of life as she knew it.

Damrot sipped his juice, having finished most of his food, having left the skin of his potato, which he nibbled slowly. At first, Pam wondered what he was up to, but seeing that the boy eagerly nibbled on the skins, she left him be. She wondered where he learnt such a thing, her eyes falling to Jirot without realising.

Konarot snoozed near her mother, the smell of food coaxing her to a deeper slumber. Kirot also snoozed nearby, Karot sandwiched between his sisters, their tails still, though sometimes twitching and saying within their dreams. Noonval still bore upon them harshly, causing them to grow weary quickly, requiring a light nap around dinner.

There was another child who enjoyed her food. Amal pinned the half elf down with her great weight, biting into the flatbread, chewing it slowly. As she leaned in to bite the flatbread from her hand, she paused, leaning in to eat the fruit from Taygak’s fingers.

‘Should I steal her from Adam?’ Laygak thought, his eyes falling to Taygak, who was still feeding the little girl. ‘He will be unable to defend himself against Taygak.’

‘Cute,’ Taygak thought, feeding the girl from her fingers. She thought of her own sisters, and how chonky they were. Since Amal was so chonky, shouldn’t she be her sister? The teen felt a pang of guilt, thinking about how difficult life was for a Gak. ‘No…’

“How are you enjoying your time here, within the Order, within our business?” Nirot asked.

John raised a brow towards the young woman, swallowing his pink tea. “I am enjoying it. I never thought I would be able to see such a sight, enter such a grand place. I am still surprised by the business.”

Nirot narrowed her eyes slightly, noting how the father’s eyes dropped, realising she held a vicious visage, and she let out a light laugh. “I am surprised too.”

John smiled awkwardly, his eyes falling upon the young woman once more, as she closed her eyes and fell into thought. From what he knew, she was also the Mad Dog’s granddaughter. She seemed intense, though didn’t hold quite the same wildness within her grandfather, nor did Jurot, he thought. In fact, the only one who seemed to…

‘How can I seduce him?’ Nirot thought, since he was so unIike an Iyrman. Plus, she hadn’t had the chance to reveal her own strength to him, outside of sparring with the Order. ‘If there is a fight, I should step forward.’

While the widowed father remained oblivious to the woman’s thoughts, Bael remained oblivious to a woman’s thoughts.

‘Am I not meant to be his squire?’ the giant woman thought, finding it awkward enough she was the squire of a dragon, although since he was azure scaled, it was more acceptable. However, he hadn’t asked her to do anything yet. ‘I can just enjoy sparring for now…’

‘Where is that old lady?’ Bael thought, relaxing with his eyes closed, while Kizwolima napped beside him. He assumed she was deep underground, within the mountains, but even so, he should have been able to see the evidence of her presence. ‘Is she further within the mountains?’

Adam made various noises as he lifted Amal up, the half elf peeking up at her, the girl blinking at him, before shyly hiding her face against his chest. ‘Too cute!’

“Adam,” Dunes whispered, calling for the half elf. “When will you hand over…”

“I’ll never hand her over, to anyone,” the half elf replied, gently patting the girl’s back, while she sucked her thumb and cuddled against his chest.

“The sword.”

“The…” Adam followed Dunes’ gaze. “On the day we leave, we’ll hand it over and then leave immediately afterwards so we don’t have to deal with whatever consequences it will bring. Remind me on the day, if you can, but I should be able to remember something that important.”

Dunes wondered why Adam was leaving the gifting of such a fine blade so late, but he nodded. He leaned back within his chair, closing his eyes as he fell into thought. He hoped he could join the business as it’s Manager, but he hoped it would be a member of Black Mountain. If they asked him to give up his Oaths and…

“Stop thinking so much,” Adam teased the Mo. “Are you regretting it already?”

“It would be best for the Order if I held a voice within the business,” Dunes replied, smiling at the half elf in return.

“I suppose that’s true,” the half elf said, reaching out to rub his elbow against the Aswadian’s side, before he leaned back with Amal, coaxing her to slumber. She was still so young so needed to sleep often, no matter how much she looked like a four year old. ‘Only I can handle how chonky you are, Amal, so you should accept me as your father!’

Dunes thought about how much he could assist Lani too. If the previous Malawi had gone so far to bet on him, he would need to put in the effort to make sure she face little issue to bloom into one of the greatest warriors. ‘If Lani rises in our generation, I can remain at peace. Then, in twenty years time, perhaps one of his children will join the Order? Around that time, Ranya and Enisa may join, and Adam will still spoil them then. Lani, then Ranya and Enisa, and then…’

The young Mo felt at ease at the thought of the Black Mountain’s future.

Later that evening, the group began to retire, the half elf surrendering Amal to Taygak, who changed the girl and helped her bathe. Jurot continued to workout as dusk fell, allowing the various Order members to watch him, the group inspired to join him. John, too, worked upon his spearplay, Yasha watching over him, until the Lion King stepped up to watch over the pair, guiding them within their exercises.

‘I am receiving training from the Lion King,’ John thought, not for the first time, and not for the last, his heart almost skipping a beat. ‘They will never believe me.’

Yasha’s entire body grew weary, the sweat pouring down her body. She glanced aside towards John, who was equally as dishevelled, but he had started his training slightly before her. ‘How is he…’

Zabir let out a soft sigh, noting the stubbornness in his granddaughter’s eyes. He was glad she finally found someone to push her forward, and even though she could easily defeat John, it seemed as though he would be nipping at her heels from now until the future. ‘Be careful, betti.’

As night fell upon the Order, a figure made his way towards one of the inner courtyards of the Order. He clasped a hand around the handle of the blade, gently drawing it out from the scabbard, noting the way the steel’s colours danced under the starlight. He raised the blade, pointing it towards the sky, before swinging it down once. It was a practised swing, one he had practised over the course of decades, but it was so different. He let out a sigh and turned, prepared to speak with the other figure which had stepped forward, but it was not who he expected.

“It is cold tonight,” Taher said, his eyes falling upon the stars, noting their familiar twinkle.

“It is,” Hassan replied.

“It’s difficult, isn’t it?”

“How can it be difficult when the Lady blesses us so?”

“Shut up,” Taher dared to say, a wide smile upon his face, for no longer was the old man the Malawi, but a crippled old man whose glory days were long behind him. “It’s difficult to balance, isn’t it?”

“I had a habit of guiding my blade with my left hand, but now…” Hassan swung the blade downward once more, but it was just a touch off, slightly to the right, where once his left hand would draw the blade a touch closer.

“Shukhur, what can we do now?” Taher said, shrugging his shoulders. “What has passed, has passed.”

Hassan bowed his head lightly, glad that Taher had come to speak with him, to ease his heart, but he couldn’t help but think it should have been the other way around, for Taher’s rise had ended quickly, and because of another’s blade, while he had decided to retire at his peak, because of his own heart.

What could Black Mountain have been like if Taher had been able to continue rising, certainly he would have reached the rank of Paragon, and with some effort, the Peak.

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I still owe two more chapters this month. Shout out to the new Patrons!