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Since Darius and Eber had taken the young boy into their house, there had been numerous ups and downs. Adopting Hunter on such short notice meant that a lot of changes had to be made. Outlets were covered. Breakable objects that weren’t already put out of Eber’s reach had to be moved even higher. Anything that could have caused any harm to the lad was immediately baby-proofed. Schedules had to be adjusted to account for feedings, playtime, coven work, and everything in between. It was an adjustment for sure, but for the most part, he and Eber were doing well. There was one area, however, that the two continued to struggle in when it came to caring for the infant. A stable sleep schedule.
An exhausted Darius glared at the clock on the nursery wall. The midnight hour had long since passed, leaving only disappointment. It was approaching two in the morning and he was still no closer to the goal. He had relieved Eber at ten o’clock after he’d seen the smaller witch beginning to nod, which left Darius and Hunter alone in the nursery. Hunter, who by all accounts, should be exhausted after the busy day of visiting Eda and Raine, going out and seeing the town, and playing his little heart out for hours, should have been fast asleep hours ago.
And yet there the boy was, sitting in Darius’s lap, listening intently to the sixth storybook he’d read to the lad in an attempt to lull him to sleep. “And so,” the elder witch stopped his narration to let out a loud yawn, “the spell was broken by true love’s kiss and the two witches lived happily ever after. The end.” Careful not to catch the boy’s hands, he closed the book and set it to the side. With the utmost care, he picked the boy up in his arms, cradling him close. “How about now, Sunshine? Feeling sleepy yet?”
And for a fleeting moment, when he saw the chubby little face staring up at him with those big red eyes, wrinkled in some sort of determination, he thought that his story-time efforts were going to be rewarded with a yawn. Unfortunately, all he was greeted with was a small raspberry in his face before the boy started giggling, with no sign of tiredness anywhere in him. He couldn’t help the sigh that escaped him, “Of course not. I’m going to kill Eda for giving you that pudding.” He offered up his fingers for the boy to play with, who was all too happy for the chance to examine the digits like the curious little bird he was.
Titan dammit, there had to be a way to get the kid to sleep. Storytime clearly wasn’t working. Any attempt to tire the kid out with extra play time just ended with him somehow having more energy than he’d had before. There was no way in Hades that he’d use any sort of sleep magic on the kid. Even an extra bottle of warm spider milk hadn’t made the kid so much as a yawn! What else could he do?!
And that was when it hit him. Well, more like nostalgia hit him. Back when he was a kid, sleep wasn’t very high up on his to-do list. Like the little bundle of joy in his arms, he just wanted to have fun and explore the world, much to his moms’ chagrin. And so, not eager to deal with an energetic witchlet, they took on the challenge with a tried and true method of child-rearing.
But..could he do it? After all, there were more than a few reasons he’d chosen the abomination track instead of the bard track like his mother. Not to mention that he hadn’t tried to sing since that disastrous attempt in the school play during his time at Hexside. He couldn’t walk to class for weeks without his peers copying his voice crack. But anything was better than letting Hunter stay up all night and risk the both of them being cranky the following day.
“Alright Sunshine,” he hummed, trying not to gush as the little pout of disappointment that crossed Hunter’s face as he took his fingers back, “Since you’ve decided to become a night owl, while I blame solely on Eda and the disturbing tube demon of hers, you’ve earned a special treat.” It was so tempting not to start gushing when he saw the adorable spark in the boy’s eyes as he heard the mention of the word ‘treat’. Holding tight to the boy, he let out a grunt as he got to his feet. “So you know that word, but not ‘sleep’ apparently.” With a chuckle, he crossed the nursery and parked the two of them in the dark purple rocking chair that had been all but forced upon him and Eber by his mothers the second they’d caught wind that he’d welcome a child into his home.
Hunter was looking up at him, his eyes wide with curiosity. He could almost hear the little voice behind that gaze saying ‘There was mention of a treat. Where is my treat?’ It was enough to get another laugh out of him as he gently reached out and boop the child’s nose before offering his hand up for entertainment again. “Hold your snores kid, I’m a bit rusty.” It took him a few moments to drudge the lyrics up in his memory. After all, it had been about thirty-odd years since he’d last heard it, and he’d only been a witchlet himself in those days. After drafting a few lyrical changes, a quick clear of the throat, and a deep breath later, he began, starting off by getting the chair in motion for the full lulling effect.
“ Hush little witchlet, don’t say a word.
Papa’s going to catch you a squawking bird.
And if that squawking bird don’t sing,
Papa’s going to buy you a griffon’s wing.
And if that griffon wing don’t flap,
Papa’s going to buy you a demon trap.
And if that demon trap don’t work.”
Sure enough, he saw the beginnings of drowsiness begin to appear on the boy’s face. As much as his little body tried to fight it, a yawn slipped out of his tiny mouth. Darius couldn’t help but smile, running a gentle finger along the infant’s cheek. He felt his heart melt a little as the boy snuggled closer to his chest. He picked the song up a moment later, not wanting to lose what little progress he’d made.
“Papa’s going to look at them with a smirk.
And if that smirk fails to scare,
Papa’s going to toss them in the air.
And if those demons should be able to fly,
Then Papa’s going to stare them in the eye.
And when Papa glares them in the eye,
Then those mean demons will start to cry.
And then the demons will fly away,
And Papa’s little boy will be safe to play.”
The child’s eyes were just about closed. Taking this as his cue, he began to slow the rocking and quieted his voice a bit before continuing.
“Papa’s going to keep you safe and warm,
He’ll protect you from any harm or storm.
Because Papa loves you with all his heart,
And he swears that you’ll never be apart.”
Much to his happiness, the boy’s eyes had closed and his chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm. The boy had finally fallen asleep. And not a moment too soon, given how heavy his own eyelids were growing. After waiting for the chair to come to a gentle stop, he rose from it as quietly as he could so as not to disturb the sleeping baby. Slowly but surely, he crossed the nursery, stopping in front of the crib. Leaning his head down, he placed a tender kiss on the boy’s forehead, whispering a quick good night before placing him in the crib, tucking him in with one of his favorite plushies as he did. Once he made sure the child was truly asleep, he slipped out of the nursery as quietly as he could. A baby was a challenge, sure, but Titan damn if it wasn’t worth every moment.