Chapter Text
Wrangling three kids over the course of a long walk to and from Oakvale was enough to sap the energy out of any good dad. Now if those three kids were Lark, Sparrow, and Paeden? It took the energy of four mostly okay dads.
Luckily, they had to sleep at some point. So with Darryl carrying Lark, Henry cradling Sparrow, and Paeden on Ron’s back (they were brothers, after all), they trekked back into Walter’s waterfall camp. The one with nothing behind the waterfall, much to Glenn’s disappointment.
Once the twins were down for the night with the others, curled up like a pair of bloodthirsty kittens, it felt like, for just a second, they could breathe.
So Glenn sat down and felt the ache of his back start to fade. Darryl, sure enough, groaned loudly as he was finally horizontal for the first time in hours. Ron just… somehow melted into the ground as he plopped down on his stomach next to Terry Jr. Paeden still laid across his back, out cold like any good homunculi.
“Hold up guys, I’m just gonna wake Walter up here,” murmured Henry softly as he stepped over Grant, narrowly missing his fingers. “Walter, hey, Walter.”
The bullywug woke up with a start and a “Whuh whuh whuh” and a wild flail of an axe that narrowly missed Henry’s nose.
“Woah, Walter, careful there! You coulda taken my head off!”
“Oh, s’just you.” He put the axe down and scrunched up his face to try to peer at Henry through the darkness. “Wa’nt sure when you daddies were gon’ get back.”
“Dad?” came the sleepy voice of Grant followed closely by Terry Jr. with, “Ron, you’re way too close.”
Glenn sighed, knowing that next would come-
“Friends!” in perfect synchronization.
Sleep felt like a distant memory. From about two days ago. Maybe even a whole other realm ago. And now it seemed even further away.
Glenn tilted his head back against the rock and let his eyes slide shut. He didn’t have to worry about wrangling these kids, these were Henry’s boys. Not his problem. He could kick back and catch some z’s.
“Hey there, kids,” exhaled Darryl slowly while propping himself up on his elbows. “We were, uh, hoping to let you guys sleep ‘til morning. We’re all back, no one’s hurt, just don’t worry about it, kids, we’ll talk in the morning, yeah?”
There was a pause. “We might wan’ to talk now though,” said Walter with his usual warble, now sitting upright. He stroked his beard, showing time had passed. “There was a bit of an incident…”
“But it wasn’t Walter’s fault,” emphasized Terry Jr. quickly. “It was late, and he was already asleep, but there was someone who’d found us-“
“They must’ve followed us back from the Glenn Bowl stadium,” interjected Grant.
Darryl, against any human being’s better judgment, clarified with the utmost confidence: “In Balls Deep.”
Grant made a sound like both a groan and a whine but with twice as much embarrassment.
It was only here, as Glenn found that sweet spot between consciousness and his dreams that he felt… a sort of void. One he wasn’t unfamiliar with, but the kind that felt very, very wrong.
Terry Jr. put a hand on Grant’s shoulder. “Based on what I learned at… well, my fake dad’s tower, there was some kind of enchantment, I think. I was able to ward myself, and it didn’t seem to affect Grant.“ To which Grant shrugged apathetically. “Walter didn’t hear it over his own snoring, apparently...”
“Oh jeez, boys, what happened?” asked Henry, getting into a huff.
Glenn sat up and started a headcount. Five sons, five dads. Ten.
The three testimonies were as follows:
“It was a voice that was calling out.”
“It sounded like it was coming from everywhere.”
“I dunno, I wa’ asleep real good.”
Why did the count feel bad? He paired them all off instead. Darryl and Darryl’s kid. Henry and Henry’s kids. Ron and Ron’s kid. Walter and Paeden. Himself and…
“Hey, guys? Where’s Nick?”