With Saichu growing up quickly, and Saijitsu acting kind of strange, and... The Twins... Life at the castle was getting a bit hectic. Sapadt had to deal with an uprising in the north lands, a neighboring country that had sustained a considerable loss during a flood was now attempting to steal what it could not barter for.
"Sweetie, I think... You're better at this than I am," Sean said. Sapadt drew his fingers through his hair and nodded.
"I think you are right, but I wish that there were easier ways to put down things like this, than imprisoning poor people who haven't the means to help themselves."
"If they came to work, wouldn't it be better for everyone? The flooding wasn't nearly as bad here in Gelgela, but there is still work to be done fixing things, right?" Sean asked, and rubbed her husband's shoulders. He continued to nod, thinking on her wisdom.
"That's what I have to propose then," he said. "But that will take a while to arrange. I don't know if the farmers and villagers they've already hurt in the process will be completely amenable to it."
"You'll convince them," Sean said softly. "... There is something I've been meaning to talk about, though."
"Well since my matters of state are going to have to wait," he pushed the paperwork and maps out of his way, "what is it, my lovely wife?"
"I met a dragon rider, not so long ago," she started. "And he told me that I should teach magic, at the school where he does."
Sapadt tilted his head, "that's a good idea," he paused, "where is this school?"
"It's in another dimension," she muttered.
"That's never been a problem for you, Sean," Sapadt chided her. She breathed out, relieved.
"So I will be able to come and go as always, but I'll be working at this school. He called it House Domina, I guess it's a smaller magic institute. It sounded fun."
"Wish I could go," Sapadt grumbled, flicking the map's ragged corner. "Perhaps I will vacation there, with Birth."
"Speaking of birth," Sean said, and watched her husband's eyes broaden.
"Not again!" He laughed.
"Not this time, sweet," Sean giggled and kissed him before leaving the office. She knew he loved their children, but four was probably enough, right? At least, for the time being. If it turned out they were both of the legendary-long-lived types, perhaps they would have more later on, when the others were grown?
Was that all she ever thought about? Of course not! Sean packed away her things and watched as her two older children stared at her. With three years separating them, and another two between them and the twins, she knew that they would all probably have to come along. Sapadt didn't have time to take care of the children, especially if he was to be taking care of rebels and uprisings and rebuilding.
"Why are you packing, mother?" Saichu asked.
"She's going away," Saijitsu said.
"She's coming back," Saichu shot. Sean intervened.
"I'm going to investigate something, a place that might have a good job for me. If I get the job, I'm going to come back and help you pack - your father will be very busy with the warring people north of here, so we will be out of his hair for a while."
Instead of crying or being obstinate, both children nodded, and went off to tend to their younger siblings. Saichu was nine, by this time, and his dragons were grown. Saijitsu was asking about finding her own, but the twins were still too young to really know. They were old enough to be terrors, however.
***
Zora was a pleasant, if odd woman, to have an interview with. She was the mistress of House Domina, her own magic school. The climate was a little colder, but the area a little less craggy than Gelgela. The little keep where the school resided would be just great for the family - and their dragons - to live.
"We've needed a more consistant Necromancy and Dark Arts instructor for a while. I keep losing the Dark Arts people to the Aurors, and Trudy isn't sure if she wants to do more than the Haunting and Spooking classes she's working with."
"So I would just be doing the same thing as I did before," Sean laughed, "only without raising my husband."
"That's it!" Zora laughed with her. They arranged to transport the young children in, and it seemed that every time someone turned around in House Domina, the place was a bit bigger. From the outside of course it was still just a slightly run down castle with a courtyard and some buildings in the back. From the inside...
"Mommy, there are ghosts everywhere here." Saichu said. "Lisz'Ha and Sha'Liz are going to be fat!"
"They are not going to eat our ghosts," Zora said, sternly. "We have other ways of getting spiritual sustanance for them."
"I'll tell them, then," Saichu said, and ran off to make sure that the pair of dragons hadn't yet gobbled anyone important.
The twins ran around Zora and grasped at her dress's many snapping ends. She had it animated so that it would interact with them. She was remarkable with children, even though it didn't much seem she wanted them herself.
Sean decided that she could learn a lot here too - she would trade secrets of ritual magic for charms and quick spells. This would be a greatly beneficial job indeed!
"Where is Lucas, anyway? I wanted to thank him for showing me this place," Sean said.
"He's off finding something," Zora said, a bit guarded. Sean knew that tone so she just didn't ask. A little later, when they'd had dinner and were unpacking in their quarters, Saijitsu pulled her mother aside.
"He is off finding a lost part of his soul, mother. He will be all right. It will take him a while. But he has friends to help him do it. I would like to meet them when they come back."
"You've never even met Lucas," Sean said, a bit mystefied. "How would you even know who I'm talking about?"
Saijitsu only grinned widely.
Saijitsu - Meaning "Festival"
Nickname - Iji, meaning obstinate, stubborn
Both names tell greatly of this girl's personality. She is currently 6 - the same age that her brother was when he paired with his dragons! She is growing a bit jealous of them, so she will probably sneak away to find one herself.
She is a gifted prophet, a seer that can detect truth and sense lies, as well as seemingly pull information out of the aether without even knowing details beyond a name. She will be a valuable aide to her father, when she grows up.
Saijitsu has a quiet, musical laugh. She is so much the opposite of her brother Saichu, as she is usually happy, smiling, and genial. She maintains a bit of mystery, though, especially since she can also apparently teleport herself in and out of places effortlessly...
Saijitsu would prowl around House Domina with her big blue eyes catching everything. Her long floppy pink-tipped ears also caught a lot. Including some interesting bits about those who lived here, and why they'd left their original schools. She ran into a very interesting necromancer in training, Bhaktar, and assisted him packing when he went off to find a dragon.
By the time Saijitsu was able to claim being "six and a half" it was clear that not only did she really want a dragon friend of her own, but she was going to be set as the local divination instructor if she wasn't careful.
"One thing at a time," she said to Zora, who was about to ask her to join the staff in a cup of tea and discussing things about the school. "I've a dragon to find." She turned to her mother, and simply said, "there are bunnies. I will come back with one. Don't worry about me."
And then she vanished.
She went of course, to Lantessama, where Sundai and the other bunny-dragons had run to mate not long before. Time would be doing some strange things, once she bonded one of those creatures. Saijitsu introduced herself, though everyone at Lantessama knew who she was. Every time her mother came to the place, she apparently became pregnant again.
"I will not do that, just yet," the little girl promised. "Someday maybe, when I am older. I already know who I will be marrying, and we will have strong children." Wisely, no one asked about Bhaktar...
Saijitsu hemmed and hawed, picking her way through the woods at Lantessama. The Bunny Run eggs had been laid quite a while back, and were all getting ready to hatch, or so she'd heard. It appeared to be true, since many others were heading back and forth from their starting place - often with another young hatchling bunny dragon in their arms.
But Saijitsu felt so lonely as she walked along. She peered under leaves, in bushes, under fallen logs. She went along the shore of the lake, didn't find anything to her liking. She even climbed several trees and tried to use her strong vision to spot a bunnydragon for her. But nothing appeared to be on the way.
The day was all but over. A small rainstorm had dampened some spirits, and matted her hair down. She slogged through the muddy trail for a long time, heading finally back toward the starting place. It just wasn't going to work out, was it. She was just not looking in the right place. Or this place just wasn't right. How could she be wrong? Usually her instincts were quite strong in this department. She knew where to look for just about anything! But not this time...
"I suggest you look to your right." a silver sounding voice, feminine with just a hint of secrecy, said.
"No! No!" A white feminine voice, playful and childish, called, "Look left!"
Not seeing anything Saijitsu wondered if hearing voices was a sign of insanity.
"Just turn around." a male gold voice said, "Mystik and Onschuld won't stop until you do. My name is Hanon."
Saijitsu turned and saw a three-headed bunny dragon. One head was white, the other silver and the middle one was gold. The male gold who had spoken to her, nodded and gently nudged the white to stop trying to go forward in a dash when the other two wanted to walk.
Elated, Saijitsu could hardly contain herself. She hugged each head - they were so distinct, they'd surely be competing for her attention anyway and she didn't want to play favorites. "I'm so glad you found me. I was just about to give up!"
"You can't do that!" Mystik said.
"Never give up!" Onschuld added. Hanon remained silent, proud that he'd been the one to get her to turn around and find them.
Onschuld butted her head against Mystik's and woker her up. The golden male between them still slumbered, but they'd have to wake him up before moving around. Whenever they tried to run or hop without him, he always complained they got him trampled. And he had horns, so they were polite enough to him.
Saijitsu woke with them, and knew that today was the day they'd be going back to House Domina.
"Do you think we'll get lost?" Asked Mystik, with Hanon adding, "she knows the way, we can follow her."
"That's right, I do know the way. I know almost every way." She was just past seven years old, now, and while she remained a small bunny-child on the outside, her mind had grown swiftly. The hybunny with her snuggled up to her, it was just the right size for her to ride. She would be able to do that, while many others couldn't because they outgrew their bunny-dragons.
With her two bags packed, Saijitsu went out to greet the laeders - bid them farewell and told one of them, "don't worry, it's just a boil, it won't spread."
Her power to move through universes was innate, and strong. Strong enough certainly to take Onschuld/Hanon/Mystik to House Domina and greet her family. With a kind of 'poof' noise, they went from one world to the next. It was easy - she did it instantaneously, not even spending time in the Nexus. Whenever she did that, she was annoyed by all the other travelers. She thought it was much easier to just be there than be going there.
"I like it!" "Of course you do, we all like it." "I think it needs some color," Hanon glanced around. His 'companions' ears bounced in his way, and he shook his head a little to warn them. Mystik grumbled, but Onschuld nipped at him.
Their eyes all came onto the pure white and blood red of Saijitsu's mother, Sean, and they bowed in unison.
"Mother, this is Mystik," Saijitsu said and the silver head bobbed. "Onschuld," the white gave a floppy-eared salute. "And Hanon." The gold trumpeted a little. "They are my bunny dragon."
Sean just stood there. "And.... how do you address ... them as a whole?"
"You don't," Saijitsu said with a smile. "They don't answer as one unless they all want to say something at once. It's always something different. They never agree completely. It's okay. And they're just about done growing, too."
"That's a relief," Sean said, glancing down the hall at the students who all had gathered wide-eyed by the class room door. "Have ... them ... chase away some of the mice from the larder, will you?"
"I do not like mice!" Mystik complained. "They're too small!"
"They're okay, they crunch." Hanon announced. Onschuld said nothing, she'd already caught one.
