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Rinwell had long established everyone’s role in their pseudo family.
Alphen, of course, was the father. Always caring for everyone. Always putting them above himself. Always watchful, but never afraid to step in to stop an argument or push someone forward. Everyone could talk to him about anything, and he was always a great listener and truthful, yet polite with his advice.
Which made Shionne, by default, the mother. Alphen and Shionne were cute together (not the main reason Rinwell nominated her for the spot, but it seemed fitting in the end). Shionne had the mother’s touch without being able to touch. Her healing artes and the way she could leave Alphen stumbling over words is why Rinwell gave her the role. Shionne was a decent cook, would constantly harp on Alphen (all of them, really) to clean up after themselves, and always give the stern look when needed. A textbook mother in her opinion.
Kisara was her older sister, because Rinwell always imagined having an older sister. Someone she could talk to about anything without feeling judgment from her parents. Kisara did that perfectly. Sometimes, Kisara would brush her hair, show her how to sew up some cuts to the boys’ clothes, and how to pick the ripest and freshest ingredients from the shops or the wild. They didn’t argue like she thought sisters would, but Kisara was strict at times when Rinwell would rather her not be. She counted that good enough.
Dohalim was the weird, but cool uncle. She liked talking to him about history, but other than that, he could push her buttons. He was nice, and incredibly knowledgeable about a variety of topics. It was just his quirks that would annoy her and make her leave him to Kisara while she found something else to entertain her time. When she wanted to learn, he never hesitated to help. When she wanted to walk away from the conversation, she would, and he never appeared offended by it.
Which left Law to be the brother, but Rinwell cringed at that. She never really thought about having a brother. Boys were weird sometimes, so she was content with having Kisara as her “sister” and her only sibling. Law had too much energy, was oftentimes loud and excited, and would always charge on ahead before knowing the first thing about what he was charging into.
Hence, the family dog title.
Rinwell never told anyone about their family roles, except Alphen, but a small part of her knew that the others all felt the same. Maybe not Law, but he couldn’t deny the obvious similarities. Shionne might disagree with her, while secretly content with being the mom.
Kisara, she later found out, did not agree with her paradigm at all.
All because Rinwell had helped people out.
If she were to guess, it all started in Pelegion. Law had spotted a child by the railings, holding his arm and kicking at the ground. Naturally, Rinwell followed after him with a slight roll to her eyes. They needed to be leaving Ganath Haros, not finding new ways to keep them there. But without a lead from Alphen, she figured helping the citizens would at least pass the time.
Law walked up the young child and lowered himself to the boy’s height. “You okay?”
The child looked defeated. He didn’t appear to have any injuries, at least, none that Rinwell could see. But Law continued to crouch in front of the boy, waiting patiently for him to talk to them. After a few more prying attempts, they finally learned the child had encountered some kind of zeugle that scared him. It was nothing they hadn’t done before, just never for someone so young.
However, Rinwell did note how Law seemed to be more calm, more attentive, more patient than he had ever been with an adult. It hadn’t been that big of a shock, seeing how the minute they walked away from the boy Law was slamming his fist into his palm and determined to defeat this new enemy. Rinwell honestly thought nothing of it.
A few days later, Law approached another child. Rinwell stood by his side (out of boredom, not interest) as the child told him he had lost a precious stuffed animal somewhere in Pelegion. The boy cried and cried, to the point Rinwell almost walked away, but Law put his hand on the boy’s head.
“We’ll find it! Don’t worry! You can count on us!”
When they were far enough away, Rinwell tugged on his shirt. “Um. What are you doing?”
Law gave her a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”
“Do we really have time to search this entire city for a stuffed animal?” She dropped her hand to her hip, narrowing her eyes at him. “Just…buy him a new one, if you’re so eager to help.”
But Law shook his head with a sigh. “It won’t mean the same to him. C’mon. I’m sure it’s around here somewhere.”
It took Law three days to finally end his search. Rinwell had watched him search almost every possible place in the city. He was so determined over a stupid teddy bear that she even tried to help him find it, just so it was over. However, Law went to a nearby shop and purchased a new teddy bear for the boy. Rinwell tried not to be upset over it, since he had never bought her anything, but at least they wouldn’t be combing over Pelegion a second time.
The child was so overjoyed at the present that Rinwell felt a tug at her heart strings. The boy jumped happily, then threw himself at Law, thanking him at least a hundred times. Law pat him on the head, told him to hold onto the bear tightly, then the boy took off with a smile so big people actually turned to them.
There was always a sense of joy that came over her when they helped someone out, but something about the boy’s smile, the sparkle in his eyes, reminded Rinwell of her parents giving her a new book or a new toy. In a world where a majority of Dahna had known nothing but misery and death, one child now had something to be happy about. He had something to hold on to and cherish. Maybe that was enough to give him some hope about the future, and maybe he would help to keep it peaceful.
It became a routine of sorts. At least once a week, Law was finding some child in need of something and he was offering his help. Rinwell tagged along, to make sure Law didn’t do anything stupid, or get hurt. Every time they returned to the children who reached out to him, Rinwell always saw a different side to Law. He would pat the kids on the head, speak to them at eye level, and leave them with words of advice she never thought would come out of his mouth.
It didn’t hit her until one specific request why Law was doing all of this work for children.
It was a little boy. Law caught him trying to head out into the marshlands, and Rinwell was quick to follow behind him. “W-Where are you going?”
The boy straightened his spine, turning slowly to face them. “Um…”
“It’s dangerous out there, you know that right?”
The boy nodded his head. It was getting late, but there was enough light from the city behind them that Rinwell was able to see a tear or two in the boy’s eyes. He didn’t answer them aside from his nonverbal reply, so Law did what he did best and approached the child like he had all the others.
Once the boy felt comfortable, his plea struck Rinwell square in the chest. “Daddy is sick. I need money for medicine. The gems out there are shiny, so that will help. Please. I don’t want Daddy to die.”
Their group had never been one for extra money, regardless of Dohalim’s status. Rinwell felt bad for the boy, she really did, but they didn’t have money to give. And the gems at the bottom of the lake would be worth nothing. She knew that. All the boy was going to do was get himself killed or eaten by zeugles.
However, she knew Law well enough to know that he was going to help the child long before he put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. What took her by surprise was that Law escorted the boy back into the city, smiling at him and telling him that everything would be fine.
As soon as the boy was safe, Law gave him a strict warning to stay where he was, and he would be back soon. When Law turned around, Rinwell saw the change in his eyes. He wasn’t angry, but determined and ready to solve another crisis. But she knew this one hit close to home for him. And Rinwell knew better than to try and stop him.
She followed behind him silently to the inn, then up to the counter of the shop. Law was quick to ask the young woman how much medicine would cost him, and Rinwell felt her heart drop into her stomach when she listed off the price.
“Well, is there anything I can sell you that’s worth that much?”
The woman’s eyes roamed over him, as if she could see a price tag attached to all of his possessions. Rinwell doubted anything Law had on his person was worth much, let alone the price of the medicine. If they talked to Kisara, and the rest of them, she was sure they could manage something.
“That stone on that ring. Is that a ruby?”
Law’s hand shot up to his neck. Rinwell had no idea he even had a ring. By the surprise on his face, she was positive he didn’t want anyone to know he had one. She noticed it wasn’t on his fingers, and he wouldn’t be stupid enough to fight with his hands while wearing something so valuable. She then caught the string around his neck, and his hand wrapped around what she assumed was said ring.
“I’ll trade ya.”
She fully expected Law to take off his necklace and hand it over without a word. But he didn’t. Which made Rinwell extremely curious to know where he got it.
Until she remembered that Zephyr had worn a ring with a red stone on a necklace. One that had belonged to his wife. Law must have inherited it once he had passed. And there was no way in hell Rinwell would let him part with something so precious just for money. They could make something work.
She lifted her hand to stop Law from detaching his necklace, even if her heart clenched in her chest at the fact he was seriously about to part ways with his mother’s ring. Law was willing to lose a piece of his family to help a child save his father. This wasn’t just something he did to pass the time. He helped these children because he wanted them to have the happiness he couldn’t have in his. Even something as asinine as a stuffed animal brought more joy to a child’s life than Law probably ever had.
“It’s okay, Rinwell,” he said to her, a sad smile on his face as his hands reached back up to the back of his neck. “It doesn’t really mean that much to me. My dad bought it for my mom, so it had nothing to do with me.”
She nudged him away from the counter so she could stand directly in front of the saleswoman. “I’ll give you this.”
Rinwell reached into her bag and pulled out the only artifact she carried with her. The shop lady looked at her, then to the small statue, then back to her. “Is that really gold?”
She handed the statue to the woman, who excitedly took it from her hands. Rinwell waited a few minutes before asking, “Can we have that medicine?”
“Wait, Rinwell…”
“Yes or no?”
The shop woman nodded her head. When she walked back into the small room behind her, Law spoke up again. “Didn’t you say that was your first find? You really should keep that. It’s something you should be proud of, Rinwell.”
“I’m not letting you sell your mom’s ring just to help someone.” She rounded on him with a glare. “I know how much that means to you. And I know you want to help this boy. But there are other ways to make money. I’m sure Dohalim will come by in a few days and see it on sale here and buy it without us knowing like he’s done before.”
Law broke out into a weak smile. The tension left her shoulders at the sight of it. “I’m sorry. I know you two take your artifacts seriously. But…I really do appreciate it. I’ll buy it back for you.”
She shook her head, clasping her hands in front of her chest. “I don’t need it, Law. It was nice to have as part of collection, but I can always buy it back later. That boy’s dad will die if we don’t help him now.”
“Here you go!”
Rinwell held her hand out for the woman to place the small bag of medicine in her palm. She started to feel like they had been played, that the medicine was either a placebo of some kind, or not worth what the woman had asked. Regardless, when Law clapped his hands together, Rinwell suddenly didn’t care.
“Let’s go give this to the boy!”
Rinwell found out a few days after giving the medicine to the child that yes, it was what the father had needed, and yes it did cost a fortune. Dohalim had gone into great detail after hearing about their honorable purchase that the medicine had been rare, made up of ingredients that were growing extinct, and was only necessary for a very rare illness. The fact the shop in Pelegion even sold it was a miracle.
But none of that mattered to her. The boy’s father had found them a week later. He looked pale, and used a cane to support his weight, but the second Rinwell saw the man put his hand on Law’s shoulder and thank him, a warmth spread through her body she had never felt before.
There was no award or exchange of words that could top how she felt that day. The look on Law’s face once the man walked away with his son nearly had her in tears. When he looked over at her, a small smile on his face that widened when his eyes met hers, she may have felt her eyes water a little.
That was when the children of Pelegion began to flock to them.
They weren’t always asking for help. Most of the children just wanted to play with them. Rinwell figured it was a good time to try and refocus their attention to their future, what Rena was doing while they waited for something, but Law did not. Every child that approached him, for help or to play or to show him something, he always played along.
She thought that if she wasn’t with Law, the children would leave her alone. But they knew her well enough to know that she knew where he would be. And she would never admit it to anyone, but playing with the children reminded her that she was a child. One who never got to play with other kids, or do anything in fear of being noticed by the wrong people. It was actually a lot of fun.
It was also great to see how much the people of Pelegion were changing. The children were always so full of life. Their parents had initially been wary, and Rinwell couldn’t blame them after all they had to endure. Slowly, they all started to grow comfortable with them, even thanking both her and Law for spending so much time entertaining their kids. In a way, Rinwell thought they were helping everyone, not just the children, and that was something to be proud of.
Until one child got separated from his parents and Law quickly turned his attention to the crying boy instead of the masses of children he had been running around town with.
He dropped to a knee in front of the child, acting as calm and collected as he would any other time. Rinwell was close enough to him to hear the boy tell Law that his family wasn’t from the area, and he couldn’t find his parents. He continued to cry and cry, long after Law promised him they would find them. It got obnoxious enough that Rinwell was tempted to walk away and start looking for a pair of adults freaking out about a missing son.
“Let’s ask around.” Rinwell began scanning the crowds for the parents. They couldn’t have gotten too far before realizing they were without their child, right? “I doubt they got far.”
“We need to stay here, in case they come here to look for him.”
Law had a point, but she really didn’t want to stand with a crying child. “So you stay here and I’ll go ask around.”
A loud screech nearly shattered her eardrums. “I want Mom and Dad! They’ll never find me! They’ll never find me!”
Before she could clear the ringing from her ears, she saw Law pick the wailing boy up and place him on his shoulders. “They’ll find you now! After all, you’re really high up! You’re the tallest kid here! They’ll be able to see you easily!”
The boy stopped his shouting, shifting around on Law’s shoulders to get more comfortable. He then nodded his head and wiped his eyes. It was then that Rinwell noticed that Law had taken off that wolf head from his shoulders, and was surprised to see he just left it on the ground. She sighed loudly, then swiped it off the ground before some other kid came and ran off with it.
The boy lifted a hand in the air with a smile, and Law lifted his hand into the air like they were sealing some kind of promise. Right then and there, Rinwell felt herself fall into a daze, and she had to tighten her grip on his wolf. Law wore his stupid grin, and the boy wore something eerily similar, both ready to take on their new challenge. A man and a child. A father and son…
Law really would make a wonderful dad. Or big brother. She saw a lot of Zephyr in him right now…
The only time she was able to snap herself out of it had been when Law stood in front of her and poked her in the arm. “Well? Isn’t he really tall now?”
Rinwell looked up at the child, who beamed and kept waving his hand in the air. For a kid who was so distraught mere seconds ago, Law really worked his magic to make him happy. Then again, Law always had a talent for making her feel better when she was miserable, too. Not that she was a child, like this little boy was, it was still an admirable trait.
She shook her head to clear the thought. “R-Right. I’m sure your parents will spot you real easily.”
And as it so happened, not even ten minutes later, that frantic pair of adults ran up to them and heaved a sigh of relief. The father took the child from Law’s shoulders, hugging the boy as soon as he was able. The mother thanked both of them for finding her son, then the boy added, “I was really tall, Mom! He said you would find me! You did! He’s so smart, Mom!”
Rinwell wanted to tell the boy Law wasn’t the smart guy he was picturing, but she chuckled instead. They both waved goodbye to the family, then let the silence fall back over them. She had a million things to say to him, from “great job” to “we need to get moving,” but she bit her tongue when she almost told him that he would make a great dad. She’d rather leave that thought unspoken for now.
That had been how Kisara found them, standing a little too close with relaxed postures and content smiles…
“You are both wonderful with the children here.”
Law rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. Rinwell waved her hand, annoyed. “Law’s good at attracting attention. The children only come running because they don’t know any better.”
Kisara laughed softly. “You would both make wonderful parents one day.”
A strange numbness took hold of her body the second Rinwell registered her words. Parents? Was she referring to her and Law? Having children? Granted she could admit Law would be a wonderful father, and she would like to think it would be fun having kids one day, but…with him? The thought was horrifying, yet all her mind could picture was him with a little boy on his shoulders, their laughter filling the air, with Law’s arm wrapped around her and holding her and…
Her eyes instinctively searched for his, and she was quite surprised that he had been looking at her. He quickly tore his eyes away from her, a familiar blush painting his cheeks. It was pretty obvious he was thinking along the same lines she was, which made her extremely nervous, but oddly happy. It was not going to happen for several years, if it happened at all, but at that moment, Rinwell could only picture herself with him and his children.
She was pretty sure she was just as red as Law was, and she knew Kisara noticed when she heard the older woman snicker. “Let’s just pray that Dad becomes a less picky eater. Children need more than meat to grow up healthy, you know?”
Rinwell threw her hands to her face, an image of a baby version of Law throwing his vegetables on the floor because he didn’t want to eat them made her burn.
“Try not to keep the children here up too late, you two.”
Rinwell was so upset she let Kisara walk away with the last word, but as soon as she was able to lower her hands and calm down enough to think, she was long gone. She heaved a sigh, ready to head back to the castle for a break, when she caught Law staring up at the sky.
The blush was gone, so she felt comfortable asking him, “What’s wrong?”
He quickly turned his attention to her, a smile working its way to his face. The warmth in his eyes made her heart skip a beat. “I guess this means we have to do all we can to pave a peaceful future for our kids, right?”
He said it so boldly that she couldn’t tell if she should be mortified by his words or excited. Their kids? There was no way he was thinking about her when they were still so young and…
“You know? I think you’d make a great mother.”
She so desperately wanted to ask him if he was envisioning a future with her or if he was just telling her as a general statement. However, it was too soon, and he had been right earlier. They had so much work to do before anything became serious, with or without him. She would never want her children to have to suffer like she had, like he had, like any of them had. Once the future was what she hoped it was soon to be, then maybe…
“We have a long ways to go to get that peaceful future, but I know we can do it.” She looked at him again, that warm feeling deepening, but she welcomed it. It made her that much more confident everything would work out in the end. “And we’ll do it together.”
He smiled in return. “Yeah, we will.”
She would have to settle for a dogless family after all. She was sure Hootle was all the pet their family would need.