In situations like this, certain expectations tend to form, whether you like it or not. For example, in the short time that passed between knocking on the door and it being answered, I had already created a mental image of the future.
The image I drew up involved a quiet house, steeped in solemnity, with a heavy atmosphere crushing down on the occupants. The door would be answered by a downcast couple, a man and woman who suffered a great loss, the pain of which lingered permanently over their heads.
Instead, a jovial female voice called out from inside.
“It’s open! Come on in!”
Rose strolled in, and Felicia followed right after. She was certainly comfortable walking into other people’s homes without any trepidation or sense of propriety. She didn’t even wipe her paws.
I remained awkwardly by the entrance.
“Mum! I’m home!”
Rose yelled out, and shortly after, a red-headed woman in an apron stepped out from the kitchen area.
“Oh! We weren’t expecting you for another three days. What a nice surprise. Dad’s eating out next door with the pillarball team. Want me to fetch him?”
She noticed Felicia looking around the place curiously.
“You brought a friend, how nice! What’s your name, dear?”
“Felicia. Thanks for letting me hide here.”
Felicia shook her hand excitedly.
“Hide? Rose, what does she me—”
She stopped as her eyes drifted to the doorway and caught sight of me.
I had grown a lot in the past seven years, but the look on her face said it all. A mother would always recognise their son after all.
She didn’t say anything, and she seemed to forget that the others were there as she slowly approached me. I remained motionless until she was right in front of me. She was visibly stunned, and her trembling hand reached out to my cheek, stopping just before contact could be made.
There was a fear in her that I could empathise with. All I had to do was imagine myself in her shoes to understand her thoughts and to know how to approach her.
Before she could withdraw, I gently took her hand in my own and brought it to my face. I offered a relaxed smile and spoke softly.
“I’m back.”
She gasped, and she had to take a step back to fully take in the truth of my presence. A moment later, she had her arms wrapped around my neck while she bawled her eyes out into my chest.
I reciprocated by resting one hand on her back and staying in place, allowing her to sort out her feelings internally.
Felicia awkwardly looked away, pretending to be busy inspecting the ceiling. Rose watched quietly from her spot next to the dining table, her own eyes beginning to water as well.
We stayed like that for a long time before Maria finally pulled away and spoke to me directly for the first time in years.
“My boy… You’ve grown into such a handsome man.”
She smiled weakly and touched my face again, as if confirming yet again that I was not just a product of her grieving mind.
“I know.”
I responded with a smirk, eliciting a laugh from her that broke through the awkwardness.
“Cheeky bugger! Come in, come in!”
She practically pulled me from the doorway and pushed me down by the shoulders to sit at the table.
“Oh, there’s so much to do! Would you like some milk? No, you’re a man now. Tea? Coffee? I have some leftover chocolate scones if you like.”
“Coffee and a scone sounds good.”
Her frantic doting was amusing and reminded me of my real mother. Not that I was comparing them or willing to let Maria take her place, I just enjoyed the feeling of nostalgia that washed over me.
Rose quietly dried her tears and sat next to me. We were in the same seats that we always chose as children. Meanwhile, Felicia was still fixated on the ceiling, clearly uncomfortable being caught in all this.
“Oh, I'm so sorry, dear!”
Maria came back from the kitchen.
“Felicia, dear, would you like something as well?”
“Uh… water.”
“How about a biscuit? Sandwich? Chocolate?”
“That’s ok, I'm fine, really.”
“I’ll just get you a little chocolate, make yourself at home.”
Felicia didn’t know how to deal with Maria’s hospitality and found herself joining us at the table, waiting patiently.
“It’s easier just to take what she offers.”
Rose chuckled, seeing Felicia’s discomfort.
Before long, we had our drinks and food placed out in front of us. My offers to help were all immediately shot down with a “No, no, sweetie. You just sit right there and let me handle it.”
“I have to go get your father. Don’t go anywhere!”
Maria hurried out the door, stopping just before she stepped out to look back at me one last time.
Once she was gone, silence took over the house, interrupted only by the occasional sip we would take from our drinks.
“So… I guess you haven’t been back in a while?”
Felica, who sat opposite us, asked me.
“Seven years.”
“What!? How could you not talk to your own family for seven years?”
She stood and leaned over the table, her chair nearly tumbling over behind her.
“It’s a long story… One, I guess you’ll be hearing soon enough anyway.”
I remained calm in the face of her accusatory glare. I was mentally prepared to receive this reaction and worse from the whole family.
The door suddenly crashed open, and before I had time to stand and greet Roland, he had already pulled me up and embraced me.
“My boy! It’s really true! Where have you been!?”
His tight embrace was suffocating, and I could smell the stench of alcohol on his breath.
“It’s true? Is Rex alive?”
Another man ran into the house. I vaguely recognised him as one of Roland’s old friends, though he had lost most of his hair.
“What? Let me see!”
Yet another man came in.
“What’s going on in here?”
“I heard Rex is alive.”
“Rex? Where?”
“Who's Rex?”
“Dunno, let's go find out.”
More and more people flooded into the house until there was barely room to stand. I couldn’t even remember who most of these people were, yet they greeted me with the warmth and familiarity of long-time friends who had been apart too long.
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“Hey! Make way, you lot, that’s my son, you’re swarming!”
Roland’s arm broke through the crowd, and his hand gripped my collar, yanking me back into another bear hug.
This was not the welcome I was expecting…
***
It took Roland an hour to get everyone out of the house and for the chaos to die down. In all that time, I was barely able to say a thing, despite the onslaught of questions.
Roland and I fell back into the living room sofa in unison, letting out a deep sigh as the last of the villagers departed.
“Haha… sorry about all that, but you know how it is in these small communities.”
Roland put his hand on my head with a grin.
“It’s fine. So, about where I’ve be—”
“Oh! Hold that thought. Clara’s going to kill me if she’s the last to know!”
He suddenly sprang up and ran upstairs.
“Clara’s here?”
I asked, looking at Maria and Rose.
Neither responded immediately. They instead shared a weak smile.
“She’s… uh…”
Maria began, but couldn’t find the words to express what she needed to. Rose stepped in to the rescue.
“Clara’s at age. And she hasn’t exactly been easy to deal with since you left. That, combined with her Gift…”
Roland came running downstairs, shielding his head with a book as various small objects came flying at him.
“She’s pissed. Be brave, my son.”
He hid behind me as a young girl came stomping down the stairs.
“I told you to leave me alone, Dad! I need my damn sleep!”
A hovering wooden spoon trailed after her, then suddenly shot forward of its own accord right towards me. I caught it and looked at it with interest.
It didn’t seem like a spell was cast. And the spoon didn’t appear enchanted. How did she do that?
“Nice catch, son!”
Roland cheered me on, but continued to use me as a human shield.
I turned back to my youngest sister, she would be 14 now… age indeed.
Damn. I hadn’t considered how to deal with an angsty pubescent teenage girl. Neither logic nor emotion would work against such a beast.
She approached me, her pink hair a mess and her face twisted in rage. Roland must have pulled her out of bed, judging by the state of her.
“Hello.”
I gave her a neutral greeting.
“...”
She squinted up at me.
“Rex?”
Her expression remained severe, but her voice no longer carried the hint of fury.
“Yea—”
“Shh!”
She shushed me and stepped closer, standing on the tips of her toes to stare into my eyes.
“...It’s quiet.”
She muttered, her brow furrowing even further.
I silently looked over at Rose for assistance. She mouthed the words, “I don't know.” In response to my implied question.
A small, delicate hand suddenly darted out from the sleeve of Clara's oversized shirt and slapped my forehead repeatedly.
“...why is it so quiet? Why now?”
“Do that again and I'll swing you by the ankles like I used to.”
Her eyes continued to study me, but only after hearing my words did they seem to see me.
“Rex? B-brother?”
Her lower lip began to tremble, and the scowl suddenly morphed into a teary-eyed smile.
“You're back! I knew it! I told them so many times, but nobody would believe me!”
She leapt onto me and her skinny arms latched on with surprising strength, cutting off my ability to breathe.
“See! He's alive! Hahahaha! Weeeeeee!”
I desperately dug my fingers in between her arm and my throat, pushing her back just enough to inhale.
“Y-yeah, we're surprised too, haha…”
Roland emerged cautiously, testing the clearly unsteady waters of Clara's emotional state.
Clara's gleeful wet face, which was uncomfortably close to my own, suddenly froze as her head snapped to the dining table.
She then plucked a tiny crumb from my jacket and glared at Roland.
“What took you so long to wake me?! How long has he been here?”
She shouted at her father in a way that would earn her a belting if Roland were a less patient—and terrified—father.
Then, as sweet as sugar, she turned back to me.
“When did you arrive, bro?”
A soft, delightful tone.
“...about an hour ago.”
I responded honestly, not wanting to upset her again if I was later caught in a lie.
“Oh? So much time wasted… well, we can just make up for lost time now. Are you staying? Where have you been? Do you have another house? I could move in. I'll clean and cook for you if you want. Did you bring me a gift? Haha, just kidding! I still have all the toys you used to make, want to see? I tried to keep your room the same as it was, but the said it wasn’t healthy to linger on the dead. I knew, though, I want to know how? Oh my god, there's much I need to catch you up on. You remember Mary, the mayor—he's the new elder now—anyway, Mary's his daughter. She about Lloyd. I know they grew up together, but So, like, she's been blabbing on and on about him coming back this week—made me think of you, I remember how much he annoyed you—and now we don’t have to hear her babble on about his so called heroics, because you're here, and the village will be all focused on its real greatest treasure! But tell me everything first, I should be the first to know. Do you want to sleep in my room tonight? No! Let's make a pillow fort, like we used—”
“Clara, let the boy breathe.”
Roland tried to save us all from the endless word vomit spewing forth.
“It's fine, I'm happy to see her too.”
I laughed and turned back to face the whole family, Clara still hanging from my neck.
She giggled and blushed. Was she always like this? I recalled her being a rather quiet and withdrawn child.
Whatever, probably just puberty at work.
“I'm sure you all have a lot of questions you want to ask me.”
The light-hearted atmosphere finally turned serious. The smiles faltered as uncomfortable glances were tossed between all parties.
Except for Felicia, who was feeling out of place again and decided her plate was the most fascinating object in the world.
“We… don't to talk about it… We're all just glad to have you back.”
Roland began, his speech slow and careful, as if a slight misstep might offend me and send me away for another seven years.
“It's fine. I owe you all an explanation.”
I looked at Rose, who nodded, but also mouthed “no god talk” with a stern expression.
“I guess I should start from the night I disappeared…”
***
It took a while to get through everything, and the questions just kept piling up at my feet. I did as Rose suggested and kept any mention of overthrowing gods out of my tale.
I couldn’t tell them that I stayed away because I believed in the mission that the primordials were trying to accomplish, so instead, I lied and claimed I never had a choice in returning from the Feral Abyss.
Rose was clever to advise me to keep that part quiet, it at least made me sound more sympathetic. The distraught expression on Maria’s face when I got to that part certainly suggested I wasn't likely to be yelled at for abandoning the family.
Although she still looked rather mad when I explained how I obtained a surname.
“Ada… that witch…”
She mumbled. Roland only laughed nervously and waved off our curious looks upon hearing her words. It certainly sounded like there was a history there.
…there's no way she… with Roland… right?
No, he was a loyal family man, and he was clearly head over heels for Maria, so there's no way.
I think. I'm like, 80% sure.
I unwillingly recalled seeing Ada in her “manhunt attire” one time a couple of years ago.
…maybe 50-50…
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Roland cocked his head at me.
“...no reason… anyway, that's about everything that's happened since I got whisked away. Sorry that I didn't immediately come to see you.”
“It's ok… it must have been difficult for you to go through all that alone.”
Maria came in for another hug, her face streaming with seemingly endless tears.
“Well, I wasn't exactly alone.”
Tiara’s little paws emerged and pushed into Maria’s stomach.
“Pfft! Of he had another cat with him! No matter where the boy goes, he'll find a cat to adopt.”
Roland laughed and tickled Tiara under the chin.
“She's not the only one I brought over.”
Levity returned to the household as everyone took turns spoiling Tiara, who basked in the attention her perfect self so rightly deserved.
In the meantime, I stepped outside to call Soot over. He emerged from the opposite direction we arrived from, his cheeks bulging and mouth dripping with saliva.
“What did you get into?”
I asked, reaching into his mouth and pulling out a half-eaten cabbage.
“Fair enough.”
I put it back, ignoring the angry shouting farmer a distance away who was just discovering the raid on his field. He would never locate the offender.
“Whoa! Bro's got a pig!”
Clara ran out and excitedly pressed up against his side.
“He's so warm!”
Soot didn't acknowledge anybody who came to look at his mighty frame, he simply continued chewing his food.
“What's his name? Can you do the fusion thing with him?”
Clara began her questioning yet again. This time, it was Rose who brought an end to it.
“ give it a rest, Clara. What's gotten into you all of a sudden? You already know the answer to all these questions anyway!”
“No, I don't. That's why I feel so good!”
She latched onto me again. Even with the heavy bags under her eyes, they seemed to sparkle while she looked up at me.
“What are you two talking about?”
I chuckled slightly, unaware of the revelation I was about to receive.
Clara's smile vanished, and she avoided my gaze with a complicated expression.
“...It’s her Gift.”
Rose sighed.
“. She's a psychic, and a crazy potent one at that.”
Everybody grew quiet. Clara gritted her teeth and balled her tiny hands into fists.
“I don't understand. Why is that a bad thing? It sounds amazing.”
Clara gave me a sideways glance and a weak smile, but it soon faded as she began to explain.
“That's what we all thought when we found out… it happened a week after you disappeared…”
She wrapped her arms around herself and seemed to physically shrink under the weight of the memories.
“It doesn't turn off. Ever. I hear everything from everyone all the time. Even the intrusive thoughts. Do you know how often people think about violence, murder, sex, and worse? Even if it's only for a moment and quickly suppressed, I hear it… even the nice people do it. There are no exceptions… ”
She approached me, mumbling into my chest through tears.
“Do you know how hard it is to trust anyone when you know everything? Do you know how hard it is to sleep when you can hear the neighbour’s nightmares? Can you imagine knowing all the dirty secrets of your neighbours? Everybody has a mask, brother… everybody."
She went quiet, but then sighed in relief.
“But not you!”
She beamed at me.
“It's silent. No, it's better than that. It's muting everything. I can't hear Mum worrying about the same thing over and over. I can’t hear Dad thinking about having kid. I can’t hear Rose scheming to marry me off to some rich fatass.”
All three of the named individuals awkwardly avoided eye contact.
“Is that so? And why would that be?”
I asked, unable to think of a reason for this effect I was apparently creating. If anything, shouldn't she be hearing three voices from my head?
The axe, the Stag Lord, and I all had egos centred around one body after all.
“Who cares? All I know is I'm finally free!”
She laughed joyously, holding both my hands as she spun around me.
…a psychic, huh?
That wasn't a power she should just give up so easily. I wasn't even aware this kind of thing existed without magic.
Sure, Arach did something similar, but she was an ancient being of unknown origin and power. And she still had to wait until I was fused with one of her servants to read my mind.
Clara was a teenager with issues regulating her emotions. This was an amazing opportunity for her to grow. She could become a serious asset to the Empire, and to me personally.
But seeing her happy face prevented me from voicing my thoughts. This was a day for celebrations and catching up, I shouldn't crush her hopes.
But there were still two more days before we had to depart…
I had two days to convince this girl to make peace with her demons. She may very well hate me for it, but passing on an opportunity like this would be wasteful.
Maria, Roland, and Rose stood together as they admired the touching display between siblings. One thought to be dead, the other a recluse who lashed out at everyone.
And Felicia sat inside the house, wondering if it would have been better to stay behind and put up with Klaus’ judgment.
Maria of Redwater
Roland of Redwater
Clara of Redwater
As always, images are AI-generated.