Chapter Text
“Aslaug, stop giving my child knives.”
“It wasn’t me .”
Finnegan frowned, his eyes narrowing. “Really? Because Kuria wouldn’t give him any weapons, Fionn and the others would sooner trip and fall on a knife themselves than give him one, and Aysel doesn’t like knives.”
She shrugged. “Maybe it was a knife goblin. It snuck in to duel with the monster under the bed and accidentally left one behind. We should thank him for keeping Hrókr safe from the monster under the bed. What if it was trying to switch him with a changeling?!”
Finnegan sighed. “ Right . Well then, return the knife goblin’s knife back to him before he curses us because he thinks we stole it.”
He shoved the small blade back at Aslaug’s chest. “Geeze, Finn, you can’t baby him forever. He’s nearly into the double digits! He should’ve been wielding knives at age three.”
Finnegan scoffed. “I’m not dealing with this right now. Go rule your kingdoms, Aslaug.”
Aslaug sighed. “I come here to get a break from all the politics, Finnegan. Organizing three kingdoms into the AEGIS Covenant is exhausting—even with Guðrún and Jónakr helping. I fear I’ve worked them both to the bone. Niflung took over in the wake of Gjúki’s retirement and Guðrún’s helping with her father's kingdom to unite its people with Jónakr’s. And I have to deal with the turbulence of taking over Jörmunrek’s kingdom after that whole incident with Randver and we still haven’t hunted down Bikki.”
“Yes, and somehow, through all of that, you’re going to kill my son.”
“I’m going to raise him into a proper warrior.”
“And get him killed!”
Aslaug sighed. “Look, he’s with Aysel now. You know she won’t let him get into any trouble.”
“So that’s why salt water is superior to fresh water,” Aysel explained.
“So I should drink salt water more often than fresh water?”
“Um…I mean it’s good for me .”
“Cool.”
“And Kuria’s watching over both of them .”
“Mom, can you get us some glasses of salt water?”
“Yes Miss Aysel.” Kuria departed.
“Right. So, wanna go swimming, Hrókr?”
Finnegan sighed. “I can’t trust you children to do anything , can I?”
“We try our best. Besides, Hrókr has supernatural blood within him. He’s tougher than he looks.”
“He’s part faerie . Other than looking androgyenous, what does that get him?”
“He’s also a demigod. Child of Phoenix too. And Kuria, technically, but I think he’s a unique soul.”
“Regardless, he’s also part human! At least he didn’t inherit the pointy ears or the glowing hair. You know how badly he’d get treated if he couldn’t pass for a human.”
Aslaug sighed. “Unfortunately, you’re right, I know you are. But he’s doing fine . In the future, though, he will need to learn to defend himself. He’s related to you, and you’re related to me .”
Finnegan sighed. “Fine. But nothing extreme. And no actual fights.”
“You’re too motherly.”
“I have to be! It’s me, Fionn, and Renna against the rest of you. Lorcán threw him in Aysel’s pool and shouted ‘ sink or swim! ’ when we were talking about how to teach Hrókr to swim with Aysel! If it weren’t for Aysel being there, he might’ve drowned!”
“Not with your overprotective parenting,” Aslaug muttered. “You’d sooner dive in and drown yourself holding your son over your head to keep him breathing and then chuck him to the edge of the pool before anything happened. And Aysel kept him safe without even needing to try . She’s more than strong enough to handle teaching a toddler how to swim.”
Finnegan rolled his eyes. “You’d think anything Aysel did was great. Another reason to not trust my son with anyone except Fionn and Renna!”
“Ah, but it’s a roulette as to whether Lorcán or Phoenix takes control from them.”
“I’m so alone…”
Aslaug made a face. “Finn, we’re all looking after Hrókr. Trust me, we’d all tear down the skies if it meant keeping that kiddo safe. You’re a good dad, Finnegan. But sometimes we worry you’re hurting yourself more than anyone else with your constant anxiety. Caution is important—believe me, I’ll be the first to preach it to Hrókr—but if you stress yourself out with every little thing, you’re going to give yourself a heart attack!”
Finnegan swept his hand through his curly orange hair. “I know, you’re right, I know. But…”
“But it’s hard not to be a parent at all times. I get it. I’m not a good parent, Finn, meanwhile you are amazing. But to balance everything out, I have to take risks and teach Hrókr to suffer the consequences of his actions. Those who grow up in a world without fear will be broken by it when it inevitably emerges. We want him to know both love and hate and teach him how to react and defend against the negative side of being frivolous.”
Finnegan sighed. “So it’s all to teach him a lesson, huh?”
“Everyone’s gotta learn that life’s hard, Finnegan. I learned it from the moment I was born—so did you, Fionn, Aysel, and Vaan learned…Vaan learned it too. You did an amazing job raising Aysel, but Vaan’s death was…”
Finnegan nodded just lightly. “We kept her sheltered, I know. But I had Phoenix and Lorcán. You stoke the fire in them that I had managed to contain.”
She snickered. “Well I’m not in love with you and weak to a kiss.”
“But you are weak to the sad, disappointed eyes.” Finnegan demonstrated promptly.
“It’s not as strong when you aren’t really disappointed.”
“You still love me.”
“I never denied it.”
“So stop trying to kill my son.”
“ Training him to protect himself,” she stressed.
“No more knives.”
“No knives without supervision .”
Finnegan sighed. “Fine,” he conceded. “ My supervision.”
“Deal.”