Chapter Text
Another lovely morning on Terra.
The first hours of the day usually began with the good smell of freshly made coffee from the finest coffee machine, followed by the slow and peaceful stroll along the magnificent maze corridor of the very, wasteful, ridiculously huge house most people called ‘the Royal Palace’ (Why? He had no idea. He preferred calling it ‘home’).
Yes, the day should start like this…
It has not started like this for far too long… about eight hours, twenty minutes, and fifteen seconds now.
“My Lord!?”
A rush of calling broke his smallest peace, the man almost slammed the door open when he slid in with a post of the action movie star.
“Good morning, Constantin. What bro - !?”
No answer was needed when the loud cries pierced through the last slightest silence they had got.
“Again?”
Valdor sighed heavily and nodded exhaustedly.
“Horus demands your presence. Leman keeps biting him for almost an hour, he cannot keep running anymore.”
He listened to his butler, sighed heavily—heavier than Valdor—and downed his three espresso shots before heading off to meet his two sons.
The babies were kept together in the same room equaling the whole apartment to most people. It was filled with small fluffy animal dolls, pillows, furs, and blankets with a massive soft bed and curtain under the ceiling painted with the Milky Way galaxy illustration. This was too large for two babies, but now it seemed too narrow when one ran with both hands and feet, chasing another one around the room in every possible direction that a normal baby could not travel. The chasing one had little sharp fangs and teeth of a canine and shoulder-longed dark blonde hair while the chased one had a little tan skin and brunette, short, trimmed hair, the dry teary stains visibly on his cheeks.
“Shush Leman! Stop chasing your brother!” he called out the chasing one, both hands on his waist.
The fanged one stopped immediately, almost letting a tire squawk sound out with that.
When the feral one stopped, the cried one also seized his whining. Only a little hiccup remained.
“What I told you an hour ago, young man? Don’t – bite – your – brother.”
The long-haired baby glanced up, blinking slowly and nip-biting his lips for a few seconds, and lowered his head. Emperor and Valdor glanced at each other, a silent word exchanging for the mirage of an invisible tail dropped behind those little bouncy peaches.
The room fell into silence, creating more unease between the four.
Now not only did the feral pup in baby form look sad, but the one being chased bore the same look. Next, when no one moved, he moved. His little round segmented arm patted his brother on the cheek. Both adults almost melted at the sight before screaming in fright when the ‘seemed-to-be-sad’ one snatches his brother’s palm again.
“LEMAN!!” Emperor shouted as Horus screamed at the top of his lungs.
This time Leman only bit and let go immediately when the red lines leaked from his brother’s palm. He fled to the corner of the room behind the pile of ragged pillows, shattered cotton and feathers, and torn-pieced blankets, hiding.
Valdor stepped forward, scooping the crying Horus in his arm and soothing his little lord.
“You are grounded, young man. Today Horus stays with me.”
Emperor said, leading Valdor and his eldest son out of the room. The door was solidly locked afterward.
***********
Resigned back to the man chamber, the Emperor took Horus from Valdor as they sat together on his small couch near the big wall-height window.
“Now, tell me what’s happened, young man?”
“We just played, Father,” Horus murmured. His fresh wounds were healed and vanished.
“What kind of play?”
“Biting and Chasing.”
Considering the setting of the bed chamber the two babies shared, which was not ‘just biting and chasing’, it seemed like a fighting ground. Devasted and broken pieces of furniture and decorations within a few hours. It is not an act of a few days-old babies, not to mention both already understood language and one like Horus could engage in communication.
These boys were the gift, the divine, yet they were not ordinary, even inhuman.
But both were his sons. The other unawaken ones were also.
“He hurt you?”
Horus shook his head, cubbing along his healed palm.
“Horus, if you are hurt, you say you hurt, alright?” Emperor sighed quietly, speaking with him in a softer tone. “You can say what you think. You can tell what you feel. You don’t have to endure anything that causes you unease. Don’t keep it because you want everyone to be happy.”
“But I don’t like you shout at Leman. I don’t like Leman to look sad when he can’t bite me. When he bites and runs after me, he smiles.”
Emperor smiled and almost chuckled. Valdor reacted the same from afar.
“He has small teeth and small fangs. They are…cute. I like them. It feels tinkle when he bites. I like it.” Horus confessed; a little blush was on his cheeks.
“But he bit too hard. You are his brother. You must teach him to stop sometimes.”
Valdor observed his master talking with his first son amusingly and with concern. The Emperor had no kids before, never raised one and he had been lonely for too long after Lady Erda started her ‘searching for the meaning of eternal life’ journey and left. He believed the pair parted with good understanding and best wishes after they tried many times to have kids through the natural process. After many centuries that he could not remember, there was yesterday when the blueish giant Strok-liked bird with colorful wings flew across the Palace roof, causing a whirlwind that crushed many roof tiles and cracked the external ceiling wall away. People were terrified but luckily no one got injured. After it disappeared, twenty containers, the size of a full-grown adult were left cramped on the west balcony wing. Each container had a number imprinted on the frontal metal lid, counting from one to twenty. The Emperor gathered him and his ‘banana protein shake’ lovers to secure the area, exploring the packages and retrieving undamaged eighteen out of twenty boxes. Boxes two and eleven had dark, burning smoke leaking and exploding into blackish dusk. Whatever was already inside burned with it. They later learned the packages had small male babies, all sleeping. Thus, the eighteen babies were saved and secured inside the biggest room changed into the nurturing chamber. Each was placed into a separate cart and the Emperor spent several days and nights finding the most suitable names for everyone.
A week went by, and Horus was the first to wake up. A few hours later, Leman Russ woke up. These two only woke up last evening. They knew because the awakening came with the loudest cry Valdor had ever heard from any other baby on Terra. Since that moment, he knew Horus had already been his Master’s favorite because of his genuine smile while the other would surely be the one his lord adored: like a man found a stray pup.
That was the shortest summary he could give now, something he could describe about the relationship between the Emperor and his fateful granting children.
Back to the moment, the conversation between his Master and his eldest son seemed to finish. Horus nodded firmly to his father’s last word before climbing down from his lap.
“Mr. Valdor,” the baby tip-tap walked to him, his childish face and glittering eyes locked with him.
“Yes, Little Lord?” Valdor responded.
“Father said I cannot sleep with Leman. Can you take me to the nearest room to our room?”
The leader of the ‘banana protein lover’ group smiled and nodded. The master keys were in his hand when he offered another to baby Horus. “Come. I will take you to the room. But promise me you will not climb back to your room through the balcony. Your Father wants you to help teach your brother discipline. Can you do that, Little Lord?”
Horus nodded.
Valdor led his little eldest lord to the room next to the place he shared with his feral brother. They could hear the soft whimper from another side of the wall. The scratching on the solid surface interfered with switching with the strolling sound. All told them how annoying and frustrated Leman Russ was. He saw the elder was worrying about his brother but reminded him about their promise. Horus silently gave him a firm confirmation that he would not climb to check on his brother. With that Valdor left the room and the baby stayed quiet by himself.
The day progressed slowly as morning turned to dusk. Horus changed from inside to the balcony watching the day sky transform to nightshade and the moon rise. Tonight was a full moon.
Then came the long howling sound. A long and mourning sound.
Horus rushed to the balcony and climbed to look over. His brother was sitting on the balcony of their room, howling, and sobbing too.
“…” He did not know what to say. Leman had never been like this before.
“…Leman,” the baby called his brother after a while.
Leman Russ turned to the calling voice, pursing his lips tight. The steam of tears flooded down his cheeks. Horus felt a pain inside his chest. Father and Valdor told him to stay here. They told him not to go back to his brother. But now his brother was crying and he wanted to help him.
The baby stared at his younger for another while and the latter stared back. Then, the crying one leaped to the balcony and climbed over to him. Leman threw himself at his elder brother, not biting but hugging him tight.
Horus wrapped around his trembling brother and the howling sound silenced for the rest of the night.
***********
When morning came, Valdor led the Emperor to the new room. He unlocked the door as they entered and soon found Horus lying on the floor, curling into a ball with another clinging onto him like the extra limbs.
Now the two adults looked at each other with an ‘Oh’ on their mouths. Valdor knew his master was trying his best not to scream at the lovely sight or take a record of the babies with his recorder.
“We should let them sleep some more. Get out quickly.” Hissed the Emperor, pushing Valdor back through the door and closing it gently.
Several hours later, the new howling sounds pierced through the tranquility of the Palace, only this time there were two different howls from two different throats at the same source. The Emperor and Valdor, the butler, focused on the sounds and smiled, knowing those came from the two babies. They later re-visited the new room, opening in to see Horus and Leman Russ rolling on the floor. Each curled onto the other and bit the arms, legs, or other parts in a friendly demeanor. There were no more painful cries nor bloodshed, only a playful action between brothers. Horus quietly chuckled every time Leman climbed upon him and bit him with his small teeth and fangs with a content and happy smile on his naughty face.
Then both howled in sync and resumed the playful pace over.
Seeing the two wolf pups get along was a good and wholesome sight.
“I bet Little Wolf pup has learned his lesson, my lord?” Valdor made a soft comment.
“The record of vet I found from our Library truly helped.” The Emperor grinned. “Biting and nipping is one form of social play between the pups. But sometimes some pups might get carried away and accidentally aggressive. Grounded and isolated treatment could help shape its behavior. I think it worked, right?”
“They seem to be closer, my lord.” Valdor agreed.
“Good. That’s all I want. These two must be closer, bonding, to help the others.” Emperor said quietly. “I wonder who will wake up next. And when.”