Sword and Snow

Emery and Avuri walked up to the Celestial Dragon Pavilion with their children in tow. The whole group was well dressed, even little Astra, who Emery had taken extra care to dress up for her first trip to the restaurant.

The little girl’s robes were a deep purple with swirls of equally deep blues, that contrasted lovely against her silver hair, and made her blue eyes stand out. They even did well to hide her still overly thin frame.

Emery had worn her old, but still immaculately well kept, forest green robes. They were the same ones that Avuri had talked her into buying on that first date. These days, she only broke them out for special occasions like this because of the sentimental value - but she really did take fantastic care of the robes. She had even pulled some of her shoulder length hair up in a half updo.

Avuri had poked fun at Emery for wearing such sentimental clothing, but had also worn robes that they had bought together, but on their first anniversary rather than a date. They were a cherry blossom pink that, combined with Avuri’s striking white hair, gave her the look of a beautiful fairytale princess.

Cierra and Stena had both opted for slightly newer styles that were less flowy and more tight fit. They were still very clearly high quality, and the similar black dresses looked devilish on each of them.

Arek also opted not to wear martial robes, but instead a separate martial arts uniform top and bottom. The primarily black uniform with red accents made for the perfect match with his black hair and deep red eyes, which shone with excitement. The boy looked like a little spitfire, and Emery and Avuri both had enjoyed taking turns working on the dragon embroidery on the back - the shape based on Vale’s dragon form, of course.

They approached the front double doors to the large building, which was now seven stories tall after adding two floors, as well as twice as wide. In the years since their first visit, the restaurant had done incredibly well for itself, becoming a main attraction for the city visitors and upper class.

As usual, once the group got close to the doors, they were opened by two men, one on each side, both impeccably well dressed and groomed. They both bowed respectfully, and before they could straighten up to greet the family further, a voice called from a bit further inside.

“Is that the Wiria family?”

“Oh! It is them! I hope you’re all hungry!”

Walking down the first flight of stairs was an elderly couple, though they would argue against being called such. They both looked to be in their late fifties, maybe sixties. Emery didn’t know how old they were in actuality, given who they actually were, but they were absolutely well over a few hundred by this point. And they certainly bickered like a long suffering elderly couple.

The woman was in the lead. She took the stairs two at a time despite her apparent age, with a huge grin on her face.

“Lyn, and Cyril.” Emery said, a smile on her face as well. “It’s good to see you both.” As Lyn approached, she gave the woman a hug. And from there, Lyn swiftly moved down the line for more hugs and greetings as Cyril stepped up to Emery.

“It’s good to see you girls back again. It’s been a few months since you visited.” Cyril offered his hand, which Emery took with pleasure.

“It has been a while, but we can’t stay away from your food for that long.” Emery said.

As Avuri was about to say something to Cyril, Lyn’s voice loudly asked from the end of the line, “And who is this?”

The family rearranged itself so Emery and Avuri could stand closer to Astra as Lyn and Cyril watched her with a smile.

“This is Astra, our newest daughter.” Avuri said happily as she crouched down to level with Astra. “Astra, this is Lyn and Cyril Solei. You can call them Uncle and Auntie if you want.” Astra looked back up to the adult, her eyes wide, but not afraid.

“Hi, Uncle. Auntie.” She said cutely, then half hid behind Avuri.

Cyril said a mild hello, but Lyn also crouched down to be level with the girl. “Hello Astra, it’s lovely to meet you. You have two lovely mothers, and I’m sure they’ll take great care of you. Just like they did for these three.” She said, motioning to Cierra, Stena, and Arek.

Astra nodded. “I love them.” She said, looking between Avuri and Emery.

Lyn smiled and let out a small snort. “Good to hear.” She said, then stood. “Now! You six need to have a good meal! Come.” She said with a flourish, and waved them group further inside toward the stairs. Cyril broke off to head toward the kitchen to gather the meal.

“The suite on the top floor is open tonight, so you can eat there. Astra isn’t afraid of heights, is she?” Lyn said, glancing at the little one.

“No, she should be fine.” Avuri said, as the whole group followed. “Thank you for always taking such good care of us, Lyn.”

The older woman just waved her off. “No thanks necessary. After what you’ve both done, the least you deserve is some damn good food.” She put an arm around Avuri’s shoulders and squeezed affectionately.

“Still, we appreciate it.” Emery said from Lyn’s other side. “You don’t exactly have a good reason to treat us like family the way you do.”

“Sure we do!” Lyn returned, eyeing the collection of children trailing behind them. “Not only are we long time friends of your father, Emery, but we are truly glad to see someone doing what you do. Feeding you is, quite literally, the least we can do.”

Not wanting to start an argument, Emery just smiled and nodded thankfully. “If you say so.” Then she put on a wry smile. “Mind you, we’re going to eat your food either way. But we’ve always been willing to pay.”

“I know.” Lyn said, patting Emery’s shoulder. Then she leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, “But we overcharge everyone else enough to make up for the loss of your meals.” She laughed, and backed away with a ‘Shh.’ gesture as they continued up to the seventh floor.

Once they reached their destination, Lyn led them to a room in the back much like the one they were in during their first date - but larger. The table in the center could easily accommodate ten people, perhaps more. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all equally well decorated, making good use of the bright red interiors with the gold and jade inlays.

Of course, the centerpiece was the large open balcony that could oversee much of the city. As the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, the city was beginning to light various sources of light which would make for a stunning sight an hour later. Even without the dancing lights of the city, however, the view was still awe inspiring, and Astra and Arek both walked straight to the balcony to look at the city.

Once Lyn had lit some of the candles, as well as various light producing Arrays around the room, she bowed. “Enjoy your meal, kids. And I hope you brought empty storage rings.” She chuckled as she left, closing the double doors to the suite quietly.

Avuri sighed. “Not again. Why does Cyril keep sending us home with so much extra food?”

Emery smiled, watching Astra and Arek point out a number of city sights. “I know. It’d be one thing if he gave us portions for all the other kids back home. But all that plus practically a week further of meals is overkill.”

Cierra and Stena sat at the table beside their mothers, keeping a quiet eye on their younger siblings, but also watching the door to the space hungrily. Stena decided to speak up first. “Are you two ever going to tell us what happened between you and the Solei’s?”

“Nope, we were sworn to secrecy.” Avuri said, her voice distinctly shipper. “Never shall we betray their trust!” She declared loudly.

Emery nodded beside her. “We are, indeed, not allowed to tell you. But you should have more than enough clues by now to figure it all out.”

“I’m pretty sure I have it.” Cierra said, looking at Stena with an impish smile. “I’m actually shocked you don’t have any idea, Stena. It feels so obvious.” She then counted off on her fingers, “Friends with our moms, old friends of Uncle Vale’s, they own this place, are powerful, they’re crazy rich-”

“Of course I know all that!” Stena shouted. “I just wanted them to tell me so I can be sure.” Cierra laughed at her, continuing to tease, when the doors were flung wide by Cyril, along with several staff members, all pushing variously sized carts.

“Food’s here!” He called, as the carts began to surround the table. The younger kids ran back to their seats, their eyes wide and hungry. Arek had been here a few times, but was still unable to contain himself at the sight of all the food.

Plates and serving dishes were spread around the table. There was a huge assortment of meats, vegetables, rice dishes - even pastries. And Arek and Astra eyed everything hungrily as more was added to the table. It didn’t even take long to fill the ten person table with dishes, maybe two minutes of passing things around.

Cyril nodded to the kids. “Dig in, you four. Enjoy.”

Arek and Stena needed no further permission. They began filling their plates with assorted food from all over the table, opting for a little of a wide array of options. Cierra, sat next to Astra, helped the younger girl pick what she may like and add it to a plate before she considered serving herself.

Cyril got Emery and Avuri’s attention then. “As for you two,” he said, motioning to the carts that remained, still full of dishes. There were even some in the hallway. “Start loading up. You know the drill.”

“Cyril…” Avuri said, “You know this is way too much.”

He just shook his head. “You have, what, forty-odd mouths to feed up there? This should hold for a few days. And they’re growing children. If all of this even lasts a week, I’d be surprised.” He looked back toward the carts and his staff pushing them around. “You two deserve a break from cooking for forty now and then. It’s not your job. It is, however, mine.”

Emery snorted at that. “We’re moms, Cyril. It is our job.”

He laughed aloud at that. “Fair, but we both know that’s not what I meant! You two are always doing more than you need to. Take a break now and then, and accept our damn help.” He said sternly, then waved toward the food again. “Now, like I said. Load up.”

Emery and Avuri shared a look, sighed, then stood to begin putting all of the food into their storage rings.

“Oh, and say hello to Vale for me, will you?” Cyril said, watching as the kids demolished the food on the table. “That jerk hasn’t come by in a while, it’d be nice to see his scaly rump around here some time.”

Emery grinned and nodded. “I will tell him that. He did just get back from a journey to the South, so he hasn’t been around all that long.”

“If he went south, that means he passed right by us when he returned. Don’t think I wouldn’t catch that.” Cyril said amicably. “Now make sure all those other kids get to eat just as well as these four gluttons.”

Three heads popped up from the food to look at Cyril, mouths still full. Stena, however, had already been looking at him curiously.

“They’ll all be fed, I promise.” Emery said.

“Some probably will even be itching for their share tonight when we return.” Avuri added with a laugh. “They all know where we went. And the older ones all know you always send us back with food.”

“Good.” Cyril said. “Now you enjoy it too.” He waved to his employees and they all filed out of the room, the carts now empty. “Oh, and I left you two a nice bottle of plum wine on the table. It’s real expensive.” He grinned widely and slipped out, closing the doors behind him.

As Emery and Avuri took their seats, Cierra, Arek, and Astra returned to their eating happily. Emery was impressed as she looked at each of them - despite their mouths being quite full, they all retained at least some semblance of manners while eating.

As her eyes landed on Stena, she raised an eyebrow at her daughter, who was staring after Cyril thoughtfully. Then Stena’s eyebrows shot up her forehead as she evidently put something together.

“Holy shit, they’re dragons, aren’t they?!” She yelled.

There was a moment of silence as Avuri and Emery both stared daggers at their daughter, pointing toward the open air balcony that led to the city. Then, as Stena shrunk into her seat looking rightfully chastised, a loud, booming laughter came from a floor or two below them.