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English
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Published:
2024-11-29
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2025-11-04
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4,637
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4/4
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Observations of a Daughter

Summary:

Vignettes of Mayjack getting to know her father and his previous work partners post cannon

Notes:

I wanted to write up to where senshi and chilchuck get together but IM SO DOGSHIT AT WRITING SORRY THIS IS ALL I GOT IN ME😭😭

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Mayjack received a letter in the mail from her father. That’s nothing out of the ordinary but what is odd is the hastily added blurb at the end on how he’d like to reconcile with her mom. Better late than never she supposed.

It’s only after she sends her father a reply that she heard about the new kingdom that had resurfaced from the depths of the sea. 

 

＊

 

It’s about a year later after her parents have reconciled and properly divorced that she gets another lengthy letter from her father asking to come work for him at his shop in the Golden Kingdom. In his words, work was plentiful and pay was good. So she packed her bags and went. She was never one to turn down a good job.

 

Her father’s locksmith shop was on prime real estate in the capital city. Just a little out of the way from the hustle and bustle of downtown but a comfortable stroll to the Kingdom’s castle. She could only wonder what favors he pulled to get such a piece of land. 

Her father’s shop was a two story building; His shop on the ground floor, and an apartment on the second. 

“All custom built” he’d say, puffing his chest. But for how much he boasted about the hardwood floors and custom door locks per his design, something felt off about his abode. The main point of note was the kitchen counter being just a bit too tall, even for her lanky father. And an extra guest room? She never took her father to be a host but perhaps the years have softened him and opened him up to having close friends. Wouldn’t hurt him no doubt. 

Asking her father about his odd choices always resulted in a dismissive wave followed by a lazy comment of “makes the house more inclusive to other races” or a “raises the property value whenever we need to resell the house.” Utter bullshit if you ask her. Mayjack saw how particular and uncompromising her father can be to get what he wants, especially on a custom order. Better to not face the prickly ire of her old man’s sore subject though. She bet she’ll see the reason for all this soon enough. 

 

＊

 

Working with her father was pretty nice actually. The shop was reputable and had a surprisingly robust clientele. Pay was also good as promised, the half foot union was sure helping in that regard. 

He cooked dinner too. Never in her life did she think her father would pick up such a skill. She had always assumed cooking reminded him too much of her mother but something must of changed as he spent every night making a quick stir fry or a simple soup for the two of them. 

“It was about time I learned, saves a lot of money you know. Speaking of which, when are you going to learn how to sew or cook? I know you don’t have any plans on being a housewife but I’m getting old and your mother and I can’t keep sewing the buttons b-”

She always tuned him out about 3 sentences in. 

 

＊

 

Despite how her father says that Izutsumi is a person and not a cat, that is clearly just a cat if you asked Mayjack. 

Letting herself in the store and up the stairs to their abode, Mayjack has to chase the cat down and drag them to her father to make sure they were not being robbed in broad daylight. 

Turns out they were just her father’s favorite freeloader. 

 

Disregarding Mayjack staring daggers at the cat at the dinner table, Izutsumi scarfed down their bowl of stew with not a hint manners nor shame. At the end of their meal, Izutsumi sat on the couch licking their paws instead of helping with the dishes much to Mayjack’s dismay.  

“Oh yeah Chilchuck- I have souvenirs.” The cat said inbetween licks. 

Chilchuck looked to them appalled and puts down a dried bowl. 

“Wha- why didn’t you mention sooner? I could’ve cooked whatever you brought for us. Here, show us what you brought back.”

The cat complied begrudgingly and Mayjack sees the strangest assortment of… could you even call this food? Izutsumi’s pack is filled to the brim with salted meats, carefully packed sheets of a thick gel like substance, a colorful jam of inedible colors, and soft reptile eggs of which Mayjack has never seen so large. 

“I told him this the last time I’m bringing back cockatrice eggs- those things are way too soft.” Izutsumi complains, unpacking their strange gifts. 

Mayjack looks to her father to gauge what reaction she should take but all she sees is Chilchuck holding the jar of colorful jam, a soft smile on his face. 

 

When Mayjack gets ready to retire for the night, she notices Izutsumi curled up on the couch. She gives the cat the gentle jab to the side,

“We have a guest bedroom you know?”

Izutsumi bats her hand away and curls deeper into the cushions,

“What? Now way, that’s not my bed. Besides, I’ve got couch covers to ruin…”

 

＊

 

It was a rainy day when Mayjack first met Senshi. As with days with bad weather, business was slow and she sat at the front desk idly cleaning her lock picks listening to the pitter patter of rain. 

The sound of the door chime snapped her out of her trance as she looked up to see a stout dwarf, absolutely drenched and making a comically large puddle on her father’s prized hardwood floors.

Mayjack rushes up to the dwarf, running to warn the man not to take another step into the shop lest he meet her father’s ire for ruining his new floors. But before she get a single word out, the dwarf looks her up and down and announced to the room,

“Well aren’t ye just the spitting image of yer father!”

Before she can react, Mayjack heard the hurried steps of her father tripping over himself as he pops his head in from the back room,

“Senshi! Well aren’t you a sight for so- you’re sopping wet! Go up and grab a towel, you’re going catch a cold!” He snaps. 

The dwarf just grunts in response, trudging up the stairs to their abode, tracking all the rainwater on the way. 

To her surprise, her father closed up shop early to join the dwarf (and to mop up the rainwater). By the time she joins to two upstairs, the dwarf was already unpacking a familiarly strange assortment of food. Pickled blossoms of which she’s never seen the flower of, smoked shellfish that the dwarf assures “was not from the helmet”, jarred crustacean that her father simply grimaced at, and a bag of golden coins her father picks up with a smile. 

“You know, you don’t have to go finding me coin bugs to bring back every time,” Chilchuck says, popping one of the coins into his mouth, making a satisfying crunch. 

The dwarf waves his had dismissively, “We just happened upon them, nothin’ out of the way really. I can start cookin up something fer us to eat fer dinner while we talk-”

Her father gets up and dusts his hands off, “Oh come on Senshi, you’re a guest here tonight. I can’t promise anything as good as you can make but I could make a mean one pot pasta with the moving armor you brought-“

The moving whatnow-

“And you’d deny a cook his kitchen? I’m sure we could make somethin together for the lot of us. I gotta make a good first impression fer yer daughter.” Senshi nudges a shoulder over to Mayjack’s direction and suddenly she’s included into the conversation. 

“Oh, May. This is Senshi, he was one of the party members in the group I was in right before I retired from adventuring. Senshi, this is my daughter Mayjack. Like I mentioned before, if you ever need a lock pick for hire, I can always recommend her. She’s always at my shop anyway.” He says like he doesn’t pay her to be there. 

Mayjack can only roll her eyes and watch them at the kitchen counter, the rhythmic sound of cutting vegetables and the searing of meat on a grill an appetizer to the full course meal her father and his friend have in store. 

 

＊

 

Mayjack goes back to the mainland to visit her mother for her birthday. It’s a peaceful cart ride back knowing her father has paid for all of her travel expenses. Probably an apology for hogging their eldest daughter. 

She’s the last to arrive home as her sisters have already started to set the table with a traditional half-foot meal. Stuffed rabbit and oven roasted mushrooms all laden with herbs with a side of a salad of forest greens and her favorite pine nuts. 

Mayjack sets down her offering of honey mead and starts to pour her mother and her sisters each a cup. 

As they all settle down into their seats, they congratulate their mother to another year and dig in. 

The nostalgic cooking of her mother brings a smile to her face, “Man, I really missed your cooking, mom. All dad cooks is meat and potatoes, stew if I’m lucky.”

Her sisters go quiet. 

“DAD COOKS??”

“ISN’T THAT DWARVEN FOOD? IS THIS SOMEONE DAD CAN INTRODUCE ME TO??”

As they go ballistic at her asking questions like- “have you ever gotten any food poisoning” or “does he know to wash the rice,” her mother calmly wipes her mouth with a napkin and smiles. 

“It’s good to hear your father has taken Senshi’s lessons to heart. Send him my warm regards.”

Now all three of the girls go silent. 

“Mom. You know Senshi?”

“Why yes of course, I met him even. When your father told me that he was going to try and hire you, I had to make sure you were well taken care of. Cleaning and mending, that I know he can do but I couldn’t stand the thought of you both going to taverns every night for a meal. Prepared meals are quite expensive after a while you know!”

The girls sit back down, listening to their mother in a trance. 

“Your father had to promise me he’d learn how to cook before you arrived. He said he would but you know him,” she shook her head and closed her eyes dramatically, “always full of empty promises…”

That got a chuckle out of Patty. 

“I dragged over your father out here with his ‘friend who taught him to cook’ to actually see if he was going to go through with this fib only to realize he actually did learn how to cook.”

“And this friend he brought over, this ‘Senshi,’ is a dwarf?” Fuller piped up. 

Their mother nodded, “A dwarf yes, but before that a caring and kind man.”

Fuller huffed, “I knew it! I knew that dad was hiding something from me! May! You have to help me corner him and get him to introduce him to me! Do you have any blackmail material?”

Her mother laughed and shook her head. “Fuller dear, I’m sorry to say Senshi already has his heart stolen by another.”

Fuller rolls up her sleeves, “Well, tell her she’s got competition!”

Their mother can only smile, saying to herself, if only they knew. 

 

Chapter 2: Thank you for the Kudos!

Chapter Text

Thank you for all the kudos yall! If I have time later I'll try continuing this in small snippets but let's see how it goes

ty

Chapter 3: Chapter 2

Notes:

Hello! A new chapter who could have guessed! I’d like to continue this series as a little personal project even though I’m not the best or fastest writer;;
Hope yall enjoy!

Chapter Text

It was a beautiful night.

Her father had taken her up the hill to lookout just under the roots of a massive tree. The stars glittered through the leaves, the navy night sky backing the silhouette of the winding branches.

They sat there together, a bottle of half foot ale between the two of them. What prompted her father to show her this place? She’s too drunk to remember. She can only remember the glittering city lights acting as a mirror to the night sky above, the refreshing night air, and the feeling of soft grass beckoning her to sleep.

That and the lonely words of her father spoken so wistfully that night,
“I wonder if Senshi likes looking at the stars.”

＊

It’s not Mayjack’s first time going into a dungeon but it’s the first time she’s going down with a party as eccentric as one.
Mayjack looks to the motley crew- she knows Senshi and Izutsumi. They’ve both become regulars to her father’s shop. She gets introduced to Marcille, the elven mage who seems much to excited to see “One of Chilchuck’s fabled daughters.”
“Ooh, you look just like him! But… younger and less cranky? And with braids!” Marcille rambles on.
Honestly she can just tune out the elf, what’s currently on her mind is her father’s lengthy list of things to be wary about. Sure there’s the usual “Remember to always listen to the walls!” Or “Don’t forget to take off your shoes when checking tiles for traps” but then there’s the “Senshi has a habit of over looking the details so keep an eye out on him in trapped rooms!” Or “Keep an ear out for hippogriffs and griffins- Senshi freezes up around those guys”- Senshi this Senshi that. Sheesh, he’s a grown man, what’s he so worried about?

Mayjack refocuses as Marcille actually starts to talk about the objectives of the dungeon expedition.
“Well, as you all may know, Falin and I have been… going out for sometime.”
Mayjack didn’t know who this Falin person was but she wasn’t particularly interested, she preferred her work life separate from her personal life.
“So… I thought, maybe it was a good time to propose to her?
She watches as Marcille’s face turns beet red as Izutsumi lamely whoops and hollers for her. Senshi seems like the only one genuinely showing her support with a smile and a big hearty slap on the back.
“Anyways!! With her dragon side liking hoarding treasures from dungeons, I thought we could try finding something for her down there! Maybe a fancy keepsake or ooh, jewelry or a gemstone I can commission into a ring maybe?” She begins rambling again but the objective is clear: treasure for her soon to be fiancé.

＊

All things considered they make a good team.
Mayjack listens in for incoming monster, Senshi holds up the front line while Izutsumi swoops in to take the kill. Marcille provides support and fire power from the back line and Mayjack keeps a lookout on their situation. She wonders if she’s just filling father’s role in this well oiled machine but that’s a question for later.
And well, she should have guessed but they’re all eating monsters for food. Everyday. Every meal.
She’s glad she’s had a few monster meals at home to open her up to the of eating these exotic meals. And well, it also helps that Senshi is just good at cooking too.

Eventually they come upon a suspicious looking chest.
“Ooh! Do you think there’s any jewels in this one May?” Marcille asks.
Mayjack shrugs, “Well, there’s only one way to find out.”
She rolls up her sleeves and gets to work.
A cursory walk around, checking for a mimic heart beat- none, jiggling the lid- it’s locked.
She lays out her tools as the part leans in to watch. Being watched makes her a bit nervous but if they all get blasted in the face with a triggered trap, that’s on them.
The lock isn’t actually too hard which means whatever’s inside is probably not too valuable. She doesn’t say that though, it’s never smart to count your chickens before they hatch.
She sticks in her trusty angled mirror to check for traps and surely enough she sees a trigger and a loaded crossbow with a tipped bolt. The trigger can be easily unlatched but there’s nothing bad about being too cautious. Sticking some longer tools in, she carefully un notches the bolt and snips the crossbow string for good measure. And finally, slowly, she opens the chest.
Seeing as the coast is clear, the rest of the party crowds Mayjack to see the contents of the chest. She carefully removes the elements of the disarmed trap as well as a false bottom to reveal treasure. Real treasure. She lets Marcille lift up an ornate box. It sits on four golden talons and has has a mosaic inlay of a red dragon in jewels and gold.
She carefully tilts open the lid to see a velvet interior and the soft plucking of a music box. The velvet lies empty waiting for a single ring. Marcille lets out a small gasp as she can only say,
“It’s perfect”

＊

While the trek back is not uneventful, it’s filled with an air of anticipation. Marcille alternates between sudden skips in her steps and gut wrenching pangs of anxiety.
“Hey Marcille! You’re thinking too loud- cut it out already!” Izutsumi groans.
“Now now, no need to be like that,” Senshi says, holding out a piece of kraken parasite jerky to placate the cat. “I’m sure she’s just a bit nervous about the proposal, give ‘er some space mayhaps?” Marcille head whips to look around at the mention of a proposal, redness filling her cheeks as she clasps her hands over her face in embarrassment.
Izutsumi just takes the jerky and rolls her eyes.
Marcille sighs, “Oh no, was I being that obvious?”
The entire party grunts a unanimously in agreement earning Marcille an even more scarlet hue.
Marcille goes back into her loud thinking mode before perking up with a loud, “Aha!”
Thus earns her a shushing from Mayjack and a groan from Izutsumi but she continues undeterred.
“This whole… proposal thing is pretty daunting to do alone but-“
She rushes over to Senshi and clasps his hand over hers.
“What if, what if we proposed together!”
Senshi tilts his head in confusion as Izutsumi almost spits out their jerky.
“OLD MAN HAVE YOU BEEN FUCKING THE ELF AND HER DRAGON GF?”
“Language!”
“NO!! I’m monogamous!!”
“Why are we talking about Marcille’s sex life in front of her face…”

Marcille clears her throat loudly, “what I was trying to suggest was that we do a double proposal! I propose to Falin and Senshi proposes to… you know.”

The three look to Senshi.
“I…I don’t know what yer talkin about.”

Izutsumi gives Senshi the most evil grin.
“Oh come on old man, that shortie isn’t getting any younger! If you wait any longer he’ll just about kneel over waiting! Don’t you think so, May?”

Mayjack stood there processing all this new information. Senshi had a crush. This man is short, at least by the cat’s standards, and has a shorter lifespan in comparison to the dwarf’s.

And like the clicking of a lock’s cylinders being unlocked, one by one all the pieces start to fall in place.

The extra bedroom. The dwarven height kitchen. The adoration of colorful jam. Her father’s new found love of cooking.

But the most damning:
Her mother’s knowing smile.

Her throat dry, Mayjack could only regurgitate the magical words of wisdom from her father that have brought her to this point in her career-

“I keep my work and personal life separate.”

Chapter 4: Chapter 3

Notes:

Hi yall! It’s almost been a year since chapter one huh, time sure flies! Thank you for all the comments and kudos- I never thought this fic would get the attention it’s got😵‍💫😵‍💫
Don’t know how long it’ll take me to write the next chapter but I hope I’ll keep chugging along, enjoy!!

Chapter Text

Senshi was the spitting image of the dictionary’s definition of dejected and it was all Mayjack’s fault.

She didn’t mean to deny him of his romantic feelings for her father. She just… froze up. The thought of her crusty old man of a father dating anyone was jarring enough. And a young strapping dwarf? Color her surprised, this was not the blonde petite half foot ladies she’d seen her father ogle at on their bar hopping nights.

As it stood right now, Senshi was having a long hard look at the dungeon floor and Marcille was chewing through her nails at an alarming rate. Mayjack had to do something to remedy this.

Mayjack looked to the only person in the party not currently going through a mental break down.

The cat looked back at her.

“You fucked up real bad Shortie.”

＊

They’ve made it back up to the second floor without the party saying more than three word phrases to each other.

“Don’t step there.”

“Time to rest.”

“Back in five.”

The vibes were truly rancid.

The awkward silence was only broken when Senshi stopped in the middle of the hallway, looking into a closed corridor.

Looking through the small window on the door, they could see that the room was a sort of treasury. A desk stacked with shining gold coins and jeweled necklaces. Crowns of gold sat atop piles of rubies and emeralds, an ornate wooden closet surely full of riches in the back. This would be an adventurer’s dream if not for the dead adventurer sitting in front of the shut door and writing in blood scrawled upon the walls reading “treasure bug infestation.”

Izutsumi sniffs the man, “Hey Marcille, should you revive the guy or what?”

“I don’t know… How would you feel if the country’s head mage known to study dark magic revived you on a whim in a dungeon?”

Mayjack shrugs, “it’s the second floor, the corpse retrievers will find him soon. Blood smells fresh anyway.”

As the lot of them nod turn to leave Senshi clears his throat.

“Hey, er. You think we should help out with the treasure bug infestation? Would be mighty unfortunate if some more young ‘ventures got all caught up in ‘em bugs.”

Mayjack could see Izutzumi’s eyes roll as Senshi continues, “And the sign says ‘infestation,’ might be under the responsibility of us adventurers to make sure nothings going upside down, don’t ya think?”

Marcille taps her chin, “Well I suppose it’s within my position as this country’s mage to monitor the well being and balance of this dungeon! And if there is an infestation-“
Majack’s focus shifts over to the cat tapping her side with the end of their tail.
“I swear Senshi does this every trip. ‘Look out for treasure bugs Izutsumi!’”
The two young adventurers look to each other and speak in unison;
“They’re Chilchuck’s favorite!”

＊

All four of them cover their eyes as Marcille readies her spell.
“Alright everyone! Once Senshi opens the door, I’ll release my blinding spell! Wait five seconds and then take off your blindfolds just in case anything else is lurking in the room!”
Everyone gives Marcille their affirmative grunts as she holds her staff in front of her. Senshi grips the handle on the door,
“Alright on the count of three… one… two…”
He turns the handle,
“Three!”

Through Mayjack’s blindfold a bright light seeps in threatening to put her into a daze if not for it’s protection. She focuses on her senses to hear the hissing and skittering of treasure bugs writhing in the sudden light.
Five…
Four…
Mayjack hears something amidst the skittering, something that’s not treasure bugs…
Three…
Two…
Some that sounds heavy and man made… a heavy clanging heading towards them…
“We have company!”
Mayjack pulls back her bow and aims it toward the incoming creature.
The arrow finds purchase with a loud THUNK- it sounds like it hit something solid but soft, something wooden- but it’s followed a loud shrill of a mimic-
One..!
They all rip off their blind folds, Mayjack retreating backwards.
Before them stands an enormous mimic, an ornate wooden closet with two larger pinchers emerging out of it, snapping at them aggressively.
Marcille begins a new incantation while Senshi runs up to the mimic, swinging his axe to pry open the closet doors, the pinchers go straight for the dwarf. Izutsumi comes in at it’s flank, piercing their kunai into the soft joints in between the pieces of it’s hard carapace- it’s pincher goes limp and Senshi uses the opportunity to swing the doors wide open. They all turn to the mage,

“NOW MARCILLE!”

Another flash of light, a bright burst of fire rips through the room as a fire ball is hurled at the mimic.
Senshi jumps off just in time to get out of the way of the impact. The mimic and its wooden shell goes up into flames, shrieking as it thrashes around the room, the party all keeping a wide birth from their flaming prey.
The mimic throws itself against the dungeon walls, trying to break free from its flaming prison but to no avail. Slowly, the rooms fills with the aroma of grilled crab and Mayjack is slightly disturbed at the saliva forming at her mouth.
A moment passes as they all watch the flames like a campfire before Marcille yelps,
“We gotta cook the treasure bugs while they’re still stunned!”

＊

With a fire rune drawn in the ground to get the oil heated, the group gets to work sorting out and preparing the treasure bugs. The ring bugs are straightened out into short flat noodles while their gems are kept aside for jam. The sweet tiara combs are mashed gems and all while the savory crowns are grilled velvet side down. The coins are lightly salted and then fried one side before the next, the other flat bugs like medallions and lockets getting a similar treatment. All the while, the mimic steams in its corner, Izutsumi stoking the fire with a crowbar.

Mayjack and Senshi sit shoulder to shoulder popping out gems from brooches and bracelets in silence, the soft clinks of the buggish gems plopping into the cooking pot heard between them. Mayjack watches Senshi’s usually clumsy hands deftly pop out tiny jewels. Plop, plop, clink!
Mayjack’s ears twitch as she hears something distinctly hard hit the side of the pot. She goes to fish it out to find a glittering gem of maroon and purple hues.
“Looks like that one was real!” Senshi exclaims, putting the ear cuff he popped it out of into Mayjack’s palm. Mayjack put down the treasure bugs in her hands to hold up the gem and ear cuff. The cuff was a subdued brushed metal in a braided design, the space where the gem was set made to look like a decorative knot. It was of half-foot make too. Mayjack closed her eyes tightly, steeling herself.
With a deep breath she fixed the gem back into its place. She turned to him, mouth open but the words died on her tongue. She looked back towards the dungeon floor and tried to rearrange the scrambled words in her head. It was Senshi who spoke up first.
“You two are more alike than you probably think. Always full of lots to say but never enough words.”
Mayjack’s tense expression relaxes, “Yeah, sounds like Dad.” Rolling the earcuff between her fingers she is finally able to find her words,
“You and Dad clearly care for each other. It was obvious enough that even mom caught on for gods sake. I think I noticed a little late and a lot too suddenly so I freaked out and blurted out stuff I didn’t really mean.” She takes Senshi’s hand and gently places the piece of jewelry into his palm. “I- sorry for making it awkward or whatever. I won’t get in the way of you two. And uh, here. Take this as a sorry gift? From me to you to dad or something I don’t know-“ Mayjack bites her tongue to stop her rambling and looked up to the dwarf for any sort of response to smooth over her awkwardness. All she found was a wide eyed beet red dwarf, frozen in place.
“Uh, Senshi?”
He blinked once, and then twice. As if cast out of a trance he looked up to Mayjack with an indescribable expression on his face,
“You mean, yer father has feelings for me?”

Oh brother.