Work Text:
Tomorrow is Ezran's birthday, and King Harrow hasn't bought him a gift.
That isn't, however, because of a lack of trying. Being the ruler of the entire kingdom of Katolis hasn't stopped him from practically scouring the streets for the perfect present: a pet. It's been a while since Sarai died -- the mere thought brings a sharp pain to his chest, even now -- but Ezran, with nobody else his age to distract him or keep him company, seems to be lost sometimes, and Harrow hates to see his son that way. Yes, Callum does spend a fair amount of time with his younger brother, but the boy is growing up and therefore starting to spend more time focusing on swordsmanship, and horseriding, and other things that Harrow is relatively certain Callum has less than zero interest in but does anyway because he pretty much has no choice in the matter.
Which leaves Ezran on his own, which is why the king thinks his having an animal companion would be a great boost to morale.
The only problem is, Harrow just can't find the right one. He has looked for one himself, his advisors have given him, well, advice on the matter, even gone so far as to bring potential pets, from common animals to the most exotic ones, into the lodge (that was put to a stop after the disaster that was a hungry cat tipping over a whole tank of fish onto the floor, sending glass shards everywhere and making the aforementioned cat flee the scene in haste), but none of them felt inherently Ezran-like the way Pip had felt Harrow-like, the first time he met the bird. He knows his advisors and everyone around him (that isn't Ezran, because Ez of course knows about none of this) are getting tired of him saying no to every single potential pet he sees, but they don't understand those animals the way he does.
To be fair, nobody understands animals the way Harrow does, so he can't really blame them.
This year's winter was a longer one than the previous year's, and so the royal family has ended up spending a couple extra weeks in the winter lodge, leading to them only returning to the capital now, in the middle of March. They are only a little over half a day away from their destination, but it is already dark, and so the party stops for the night, ready to reach home in the morning. The king's day has been hectic, to say the least; he decides to take a break before bed by visiting the sea, only twenty minutes from camp.
Harrow goes alone. Or as alone as a king gets -- five of his personal guards are with him, but they stay silent, trailing a few steps behind their leader.
The sea hasn't even come into sight when he hears the commotion.
Before Harrow can even think of saying anything, his guards have flanked him. "Your Majesty, I'll scout ahead, see if there's any danger," one of them says.
Harrow lets out a quiet laugh. "Are you hearing what I'm hearing?" he asks drily. "That's the sound of one man, two at most, probably arguing. We go ahead as planned, and find out what they're arguing about, shall we?"
"But, sir--" another begins, but Harrow is already walking forward, and so his guards have no choice but to follow him, swords out, ears pricked.
They clear a set of trees and undergrowth, and then the sea greets them, a vast expanse of darkness blending into an even darker sky, a beach of mixed pebbles and sand between them and it. The only thing that mars the view is a man -- yes, there was only one man, as Harrow had first predicted -- swearing a blue streak, running along the bank of the sea after something that apparently only he can see. Then the thing he's running after glows so blindingly that everyone in the vicinity is surprised and forced to avert their eyes, and Harrow figures out what it is.
It's a glow toad.
And it's a glow toad that certainly doesn't want to be caught. It has hidden itself away, and the man who was after it is now writhing on the ground, covering his eyes and, unsurprisingly, still cursing. "You vile, vile creature!" he shouts. "Insolent beast! When I catch you, I won't even use you as bait, I'll just fling you into the water and watch you get eaten, blasted thing!"
The toad doesn't seem to like the sound of those words, but the mention of water pulls it out of its hiding place and sends it rushing towards the sea, somewhere it clearly wants to be. The man on the ground opens his eyes just in time to see the animal splash into the water, and lets out a cry of despair.
Harrow knows that glow toads are used by deep sea fishermen as bait to catch giant fish (and a tiny thought at the back of his head informs him that by that logic, the man who wanted the glow toad was most likely a fisherman, too). Harrow also knows that there are many, many fish around, and they will all be coming for the toad's life very, very soon.
"I am a fool," Harrow mutters to himself, and wades into the sea.
He hears exclamations behind him but ignores them all, focusing on the happily swimming creature, unaware of the peril surrounding it, not too far away from him. It starts to glow gently, a pulsating light, and Harrow senses the fish nearby turn their attention towards it, eager.
Harrow has to act fast, or the idiot toad is dead.
"Hey, toadie, toadie," Harrow calls out softly, and the glow toad looks sharply towards him, paddling in place. So far, the only fish Harrow can feel aren't that large -- they're still right next to the shore, after all -- but a few of them may be unpredictable and, therefore, dangerous. To the toad, that is. "Here, boy. I'm not here to hurt you."
The creature looks suspicious, uncertain of Harrow's motives. Harrow surpresses a weary sigh: the toad is wary of him, when he means no harm, rather than of everything in the water, which, well, is typical glow toad behaviour. Harrow calls out again, moving slowly but steadily closer all the while. "Come here, buddy. Let's keep you safe, eh?"
He is distantly aware of the fact that both his guards and the fisherman are watching him openmouthed, wondering what on earth could possibly have gotten into him to make him want to save a glow toad, of all things, but he keeps his attention on the would-be bait, trying not to spook him into swimming away. So far, the glow toad is surprisingly still, moving only as much as is required to stay afloat. The fish aren't far away anymore, so when Harrow finally gets within arm distance, he grabs hold of the glow toad, letting its grunt of shock go in one ear and right out the other, and after stamping on the bed of the sea below him in order to make ripples in the water and scare the fish away, he pulls the blasted thing to safety.
The moment Harrow is out of the water, his guards move into motion. They surround him again, as if there is any threat, as if they can protect him from the cold and wet just by standing near him. One of them offers, hesitantly, to carry the glow toad for Harrow, but the toad, who is now comfortable in his arms and has somehow let go of all suspicions, grumbles, and so he waves the guard's hand away.
King Harrow sees the fisherman watching them, eyes wide in shock. The people in the area knew he and his family would be passing by once their trip to the winter lodge was over, just like any other year, so with that information, plus the guards and the better-than-average clothes Harrow is wearing, the man must have realized who stands in front of him.
The man notices his king looking at him, and immediately hastens to bow. "My -- my lord," he stutters out. "I mean, Your Majesty. I cannot possibly--"
"Is this one yours?" Harrow interrupts, tilting his head towards the animal he's holding.
"What? Oh, uh, no, Your Majesty, I just found him on the beach, and--" The fisherman seems to remember just how exactly he was trying to catch the glow toad, and his cheeks go so red they show even through the darkness of night. "Well. Is there anything, anything at all, that I can do for you?"
"I think that's enough adventure today for the both of us," Harrow replies, and the glow toad agrees. "I'll be keeping it, by the way. You don't mind, of course, do you?"
The tone Harrow speaks in is light, but the words themselves carry much weight: he didn't like the way the fisherman was acting with the animal, so he makes sure the man cannot refuse -- and he doesn't. Harrow is a king, and who could refuse a king?
He is turning to go, his guards with him, when the fisherman pipes up once more. "Your, uh, Your Majesty," he starts. "Might I ask why this specific toad caught your attention? It is, after all, just meant to be used as lure..."
Harrow thinks of all the animals he's looked at and found wanting, and then he thinks of this one, and the look on its face when it jumped into the sea, and all of the trouble it gave him tonight, and the spark Harrow saw inside it. "My son needs a birthday present," he says at last.
The glow toad of the hour looks questioningly up at him, wondering who this son may be, and Harrow knows, with certainty, that Ezran is going to be delighted.
"I think I know exactly what I'm going to call you," the king says.