Work Text:
Allona was the first to come.
By then, Esha had largely grown out of her feral tendencies, all except for the biting when she felt threatened.
She was busy in combat training for the day, at the ripe age of nine, when Viago came in.
The instructor paused. “Master Viago.” She glared at Esha, who stood up straighter. “Did Master Lorenzo permit you to interrupt Lady Esha's training?”
“You mean the lady I'm in charge of scheduling said training? No, he didn't.” Viago turned to Esha and beckoned her over. She didn't even glance at the trainer, knowing that Viago was the authority figure here.
“What?” Esha said, a little petulantly. She was just getting the hang of this dagger throwing technique. She had to master it if she was gonna stay on track to get her first contract at fifteen. She wanted nothing more.
Viago sized her up, as if daring her to do something with her attitude. When she didn't, he rolled his eyes and walked out the room, leaving Esha to follow him. “I want you to meet someone.” He finally explained as Esha caught up to him.
Esha scratched her cheek. She was dirty from training all day, and she was exhausted. “Can I get a bath?” She requested.
Viago glared at her, and she stared back until he sighed. He was also so exasperated with her existence, even though she knew he cared enough to get the healers after their personal one-on-one training. “Fine. Just hurry, please? And don't embarrass us.”
Esha nodded, and rushed off towards her room, ringing the bell to call her maid, Rosa.
Rosa was the only maid that had stuck with her throughout her rehabilitation, despite how many bite marks Esha left on her arms. She was a retired crow as well, even though she was only thirty-something. She had injured her shoulder, rendering her a bit clumsy. Yes, she sometimes dropped the expensive sheets, or Esha's nice perfume bottles, but Esha trusted no one else more to both protect her and guide her.
I mean…Viago was nice enough, but Esha assumed it was mostly because he had to. Lorenzo was too distant, only watching her from afar or reprimanding her when she got things wrong. And the other De Rivas saw her special treatment as a threat to their status in the house, so she had no friends. Besides Rosa, that is.
Rosa came in quickly, probably coming from the laundry room downstairs, since she was carrying fresh sheets. She helped Esha into the massive tub in the on-suite, since Esha was still far too small for the adult-sized amenities in her bedroom.
Her hair took a while to dry, and even longer to brush, but finally she was able to put on a dress. Viago had ordered these for her as a reward for her progress, and she liked the dresses. The fabric was soft, and laid against her skin nicely.
“All done!” Rosa placed a ribbon in her hair. Esha always felt like a little doll when she got all dressed up, and it made her happy. She always saw the dolls in the shop windows and thought they were the prettiest little things she'd seen.
But Lorenzo hadn't permitted her to buy one. She was a fledgling, not a pampered little noble girl, so she didn't need one. Lorenzo was tough on her, he wanted her to be as good as Viago, but Esha wasn't sure that was possible.
Esha rushed out of her room as soon as she was ready, darting with pinpoint accuracy down stairs and around corners, making her way to the drawing room. She assumed that's where Viago, and the mystery guest, was waiting for her. Some of the servants called after her not to run, but they didn't know better. Esha was already late.
She finally reached the room and saw the door was partially open, and she could see, sitting across from Viago, a little girl. No older than she had been when she arrived.
Dread gripped Esha's heart. Was she being replaced? How dare he? She was doing her best!
She carefully opened the door, her fists clenched already. She stared at the girl with a touch of malice. She was petite, very small. She had red hair just like Esha, but much darker, and her skin was more tanned. She looked properly Antivan, something Esha was not. Her lip was wobbling, and she looked like she wanted the chaise to swallow her up. When Esha entered the room, her eyes darted to her, looking terrified.
“I'm here!” She declared, aggravated. Viago glanced at her from where he was sitting, across from the girl. He looked actually a little concerned for her, though with Viago it was hard to tell.
“Sit.”
She was used to that command from him. She looked around, debating where to sit. Next to the crying girl, or next to him? He must have seen her confused face because he motioned next to her. Oh great. She walked over and climbed atop the couch.
The girl looked even more frightened as Esha approached, and Esha watched her carefully as she approached. She looked like she was having the same thoughts Esha had when she first came here. Where to hide, where to escape, where to just cover up.
When she was sure Viago wasn't looking as he flipped through paperwork across from them, she bared her teeth in warning.
“Eshari. Stop that.” Damnit, he saw. Viago glared at her as he sat the papers down. Esha was still not the best at reading, but she could see it was an information pull. “This is Allona. My cousin.” He introduced.
Esha glanced at the girl. Cousin meant…related, right? So she was his family? She deflated a little. Were they gonna kick her out like the fake princess in those storybooks? Had the real princess arrived?
The girl, Allona, kooked more like a princess than Esha did. She wasn't as covered in cuts, and her eyes were big and docile. Her hair looked softer and nicer. She looked sweet. She sat there, looking at Viago pitifully.
“Allona, this is Eshari.” Viago prompted the girl to look at Esha.
“Esha.” She corrected. She hated her full name so much. Viago was the only one who called her by it.
Viago looked at her with a ‘really?’ expression. He swept right over her statement and started talking to Allona, and Esha stared at her feet. She wondered, if they made her leave, where she would go. She had gotten used to the life here, but it made sense because she wasn't meeting Lorenzo's goals. Viago himself had called them impossible to reach at her age, but Lorenzo just refused to elaborate and increased her training.
“So when am I leaving?” She asked softly once Viago had stopped talking.
Viago scoffed. “You're not going anywhere.” He said brusquely.
Esha's eyes shot up to meet his. “I'm not?”
“No, why would you think that?” He actually looked a bit bewildered. That was a surprise.
Esha felt her cheeks heat up. “Well you brought someone else in…”
“Eshari, maker…she's my cousin .” He said, facepalming. “I swear, your head. I'm going to train her alongside you.”
Allona shrunk further away when Esha looked at her. She felt a little bad that she assumed Allona was going to threaten her position. Though dividing Viago's attention didn't sound very fun to her.
Esha drew her knees up to her chest and stared at Viago. “Why is she here?”
“You don't need to know that.”
“But I want to.”
Viago groaned. “You are such el pedacito de mierda …if you must know. Her mother was a De Riva. And her father…” He shuffled through the information pull papers. Ah, it was information on Allona. “Was a cousin of mine. That makes her my cousin.”
Esha tilted her head as Allona hiccuped and whined something about ‘Zia nonna’ and further shied away. “So? Why's she here?”
“I'm getting to that.” Viago chided. “Something…” He looked at Allona and frowned. “... happened. She is family. I wasn't going to leave her with those strangers.”
That seemed to make Allona cry harder. Esha shimmied away and covered her ears. “She's loud.”
As he went to speak, one of Lorenzo's men slid into the room and called for Viago. Viago stood up and walked over to the man and they exchanged hushed whispers.
Viago glanced at them and snapped his fingers. “Eshari. Allona. I must take care of something. Stay here .”
Esha went to object, but Viago was already out the door and it clicked closed. Great. The first thing she attempted was to leave the room. She would much rather take the punishment later than stay with someone who was hurting her ears, but the door was locked.
Allona's crying only got louder when Viago left. She seemed to have curled herself up into a ball on the couch. Esha glared at her. She was so loud .
Esha, at this point, had mostly outgrown the need for the ring, but whenever she got anxious she had a tendency to gnaw on things still. So she started to chew on her knuckle, but that meant she had to uncover her ears, which stressed her out even more .
She stomped over to Allona. “Be quiet!” She commanded, trying to sound like Viago.
Allona paused in her tears, looking up at Esha with confusion. “W-what?” She whimpered.
The room was quiet, finally. Esha hopped up to sit next to her again. She stared at Allona, trying to think of what to do next. “Why are you crying?”
“I w-wanna go h-home!” Allona hiccup-sniffled. She was a mess now from all the crying, and her dress was wrinkled from all the motion.
“You are home, dingus.” Esha said begrudgingly. “Viago brought you, you live here now.”
“I don't want to!” She whined. “I want Zia Nonna!”
Shaking her head, Esha grabbed her arm. “Stop.” She was really trying to sound commanding, but it wasn't really working to calm Allona like it did for her.
“Let go!” Allona suddenly kicked, and Esha's instincts kicked in before she could react, and before Allona's kick could connect. She jerked out of the way and attacked, chomping right down on Allona's arm.
Allona shrieked, and to Esha’s utter surprise, bit her right back . Right on her hand. Esha yelped as well and released her, jumping away to nurse the bite mark. It didn't hurt much, she was used to worse, it was more the surprise that got her.
Allona looked like an angry cat, her hackles raised as Esha stared at her in shock. “You!” She started, but words died in her throat. She had grabbed Allona's arm, and bit her. She kinda asked for it. “Viago says we shouldn't bite-”
“You started it!”
“You were gonna kick me!”
They just sat there, eyes locked on the other in case they moved. Esha eventually got tired of that, and looked around the drawing room. They were on the first floor.
“I'm going. Don't follow me!” Esha said, slightly snappish. She walked over to the window and jiggled the latch until it opened, then slipped out the window and slammed it shut as Allona started to cry again.
________________________________________________________________
So yea…Esha and Allona's first meeting didn't exactly end on a positive note, and it wasn't really easily fixed. They mostly tolerated each other, with a side helping of ‘Viago said we should be nice'. They did share dresses and jewelry occasionally, and when Esha started to learn sewing, she delighted in making Allona any kind of dress she could ask for. But they weren't close.
At least, until Kal came along.
________________________________________________________________
Esha had been waiting for Viago for weeks. What was delaying him? He was due to be home a few days before. She was supposed to have one-on-one sparring with him. Now that she was thirteen, only two years away from (hopefully) obtaining her status as a full-fledged Crow, she was really trying to be as good as possible.
She heard a commotion downstairs and rushed over to the bannister to look down there. Viago! And…
Why did he have a kid with him? It looked like a little boy. He had white hair, and as he looked around, Esha noticed his striking eyes. They were heterochromic, like hers! But more than that, his sclera's were pure black, looking like an endless night. That was a little alarming. But they were also…so familiar…
She rushed down the stairs to meet up with Viago. “Viago, you're back!” She called out. Viago looked up at her from the little boy, who Esha was just now noticing was…nude. She quickly averted her eyes. “Who's this, and why is he naked?” He wasn't naked when she was up on the second floor, how did he even do that so fast? His clothes weren't even anywhere to be seen. Huh?
Viago glanced at the kid and immediately was dismayed, he pinched the bridge of his nose and heaved a broken sigh. “I'm going to drown myself in Up and Adder…” He mumbled almost inaudibly. He was clearly not just exhausted, but defeated. Even Esha couldn't recall a time he'd been that done with her. And he probably had a couple bite marks still left over that could denote she wasn't easy to handle.
She laughed awkwardly, but there was a little genuine mirth mixed in. She enjoyed seeing Viago so irritated when it wasn't at her. “No you won't! You love us!” She patted his back from where she stood, then finally addressed the kid. “Who're you?”
The kid seems to process her question slowly, but shows little to no emotion at it. Then he tilts his head and speaks in a curious tone. “Kal?”
Kal? That's an odd name. She wondered if it was short for something, but it didn't really matter. She didn't go by her full name either.
“Since you're with Viago.” She jerked her head towards him, who looked like he wanted to heave. “I assume you're going to join me and Allona?”
By this point, Esha was used to the revolving door of Fledglings that came through the front doors. But for Viago to bring someone home specifically meant that he was going to train them himself. She knew it was going to happen eventually. She had prepared herself so she didn't react as badly as she had with Allona. That still brought a red hot shame to her cheeks.
“Yes…if I haven't strangled him by then.” Viago mimicked the motion with his hands, squeezing tight. He turned to Esha and folded his arms, motioning to Kal. A test, to see how she'd react to a new person again.
Esha turned to look at Kal. He was so funny looking. “Cool! I'm Esha, by the way. “ she grabbed his hand, giving him a moment to resist or retaliate, before she dragged him off. “So where'd Viago find you?” She asked as she peeked inside any open doors. Where was she? Viago followed behind.
“I tried to kill him.”
Hm. Wouldn't be the first time a De Riva attempted it, nor did Esha believe it would be the last. “Well, you'll fit right in here.”
He didn't respond to that, so she allowed an awkward silence to fall over them as she navigated the halls, looking for Allona. She had to be.. oh! She knew where she was! Esha sped up, making her way towards the library. She slammed open the door, startling Allona and nearly making her fall off the couch. “Allona! We have a new ‘sibling'!” Esha said, letting go of his hand to make the quotations. Viago didn't call Allona her sibling, but Esha really thought of them as sisters by this point. Begrudging sisters.
Allona sat up straight and fixed her dress before putting her book down and hopping off the couch to walk over to him. “Why are you naked?” She asked, looking confused.
“Why does everyone keep asking that?”
Because people don't usually walk around naked? Esha wanted to say, but kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to start a fight with anyone in front of Viago. She was going to play the perfect De Riva.
Allona, on the other hand, had no problem smirking at him and gesturing. “Do you know how many knives we have flying around here? It could get chopped off at any given moment”
Esha stifled a giggle. It was true. Even the servants here were trained in combat.
Viago approached them from behind slowly, and Kal looked at Allona with questions in his eyes. “What are you talking about?” His ears perked up as Viago got closer, but he didn't turn around.
Allona made a face. It was somewhere between a ‘really?’ And a ‘umm…ok’. “How old are you that you don't know basic anatomy? ”
“Kal is nine.” Viago finally spoke up. “He's also got amnesia and doesn't understand basic emotions. The two of you ,” He pointed at Allona and Esha. “, need to keep him out of trouble until dinner.”
What? Esha wasn't a babysitter! Allona seemed to be having the same feeling, because she went to speak up, but Viago just turned and walked away. Gods, Lorenzo did that too. It was so infuriating.
Esha looked over at Kal, who was staring up at her with an emotionless look. Creepy. She pulled Allona aside.
“What are we supposed to do with him?” She said quietly. “No emotions? How do you even…”
Allona looked him up and down then turned back to Esha. “You’re asking me? Aren't you supposed to be the ‘big sister’ here, Esha?”
Oh good, she was in a fighting mood. “Allona, it's not my fault Viago dragged him home, so why is it my job to look after him? You're closer in age.”
Puffing up her chest, Allona straight up scowled at her. “Yea, well-”
“Wait.” Esha threw up her hand.
“What?” Allona asked angrily.
“Where is Kal?”
He was gone. The place where he'd been standing was empty. Nothing left behind, not that there was much to leave in the first place. Esha's eyes darted around. Shit shit shit.
Esha ran over to the windows. They were still on the first floor, maybe he…
Yep, she could see him running after a flash of white. Damnit, Hal.
Hal was Esha's lovely, lively, and fussy Halla. Don't let an eight year old name things! She'd gotten him while shadowing Viago, and they'd stumbled upon a poacher's auction. The Halla was there, among other things, but Esha was mesmerised by the sheer white of the creatures fur and the curls of it’s horns. She begged Viago to let her keep it after they cleaned up, and he reluctantly agreed as long as she didn't let it inside. Nowadays It mostly roamed the De Riva gardens, eating flowers it wasn't supposed to and making itself a nuisance to the gardeners.
And here Kal was, chasing after a Halla that should have learned by now not to come so close to the house !
“Kal!” Esha nimbly leapt from the window ledge, falling around five or six feet to the ground with a hard *thud*. “Kal, come back here!”
Allona was quick to follow, also calling after him. “Get back here, you're gonna get us in trouble!” They shared a look before beelining after him, fumbling over one another in the process.
They were fast, but damn, Kal was faster. They almost lost sight of him several times, given the way he dodged corners and leapt over hedges. Esha thought she knew these gardens like the back of her hand, but Kal was bringing them to plants and areas she had never seen.
He finally stopped when Hal did, at a pond to take a drink.
Esha wheezed as she finally came to a halt. She was trained to be able to run for a long time, but not at these speeds ! Her lungs were screaming. Esha may have been the prodigy in skill, but Allona had the higher stamina.
“Stop, Kal!” Allona said while Esha gathered her breath. “Why would you run off like that?” She stormed over to him, with Esha following slowly behind.
Kal just pointed at Hal. “What's that?”
Esha took a deep breath. He was younger, he was special, don't get mad . She came over and leaned down. “That's my Halla!” She said in a false-cheery voice. Kal apparently could tell she wasn't being genuine, because he backed away towards the Halla. “Hey! No, leave Hal alone!” She called after him, rushing past him to her companion.
She gently patted the Halla's neck, who was looking at Kal like he was a psychopath. He dropped his neck for Esha to pat, though. He was fussy, and he never did what she asked (which, to her research, was par for the course for Halla), but he was a good source of companionship when she was lonely, so she wouldn't let Kal hurt him.
As if Kal had read her mind, he reached for the Halla. “Not gonna hurt.” He said.
Esha eyed him suspiciously, but he really seemed to mean no ill will, at least for the moment. “Halla are proud.” She explained. “This one only likes me because I saved it from poachers. So don't be surprised if he doesn't take to you.”
Kal approached the Halla slowly and curiously. Surprising Esha, Hal appeared to allow him to approach. He nervously cocked his head as Kal reached up towards him, but didn't make any moves to attack him like he had some of the gardeners.
“Gentle.” Esha guided, then patted Hal's neck and he lowered further, allowing Kal to mimic Esha's patting. Hal shifted from the force, making a sound that alerted Esha. “Okay, okay. That's enough, Kal. Can we leave the Halla alone now?”
Kal seemed to obey, dropping his hand to his side and looking around. Esha turned her attention to her Halla, picking a few spots of dirt and leaves from their rush away from Kal. At least it was some exercise, Hal didn't get much considering the layout of the gardens.
She finished up and turned around, only to find dead silence. Neither Allona nor Kal were there. Damnit.
“Allona!” She cupped her hands around her mouth to yell, glancing around frantically. Why couldn't they just stay still?
“Esha! Over here!” Allona called back.
Esha darted in the direction of her voice. Allona was standing, now also out of breath, at the base of the wall of the villa. Looking around, she didn't see Kal anywhere.
Then Allona pointed up, so she looked.
Kal was currently climbing the wall of the villa, using the brickwork as footholds. Esha’s heart dropped.
“Kal! Get down this instant!” Allona yelled at him. “You're seriously gonna get us in trouble!” Of course that was all she cared about.
Esha tested the foothold with her own hands. While her hands were still small enough to get a grip, her feet were too large to properly balance on the stones. She glanced up at Kal, who was climbing higher despite Allona's protests.
“Where are you going?” Esha called up to him. She figured he had no reason, considering the previous decisions displayed, but figured that talking would get him to stop climbing.
“I wanna touch the sky.” Kal responded, and used a window as leverage to push himself higher.
Oh. Esha looked at Allona. “Hey, you're small.”
“Thanks for reminding me.”
“No I meant, you can climb after him!” She motioned up towards their apparent spider boy.
Allona gasped. “Excuse me? I am not going to climb this wall! Are you insane ?!”
Frowning, Esha pointed at Kal. “If we don't get him down, Viago will roast us alive.”
“Speak for yourself.” Allona flipped her hair. “He wouldn't hurt me.”
Suddenly, Kal called from above them. “I'm tired. I Wanna come down.”
Good! Maybe they wouldn't get in trouble after all. “Well hurry up and come down then!”
“I can't.”
“What do you mean you can't?”
“I can't get down.”
Oh damnit. Damnit damnit damnit. He had been able to get a grip going up, but coming down was a whole other matter, she supposed. And Kal hadn't had any climbing training yet, so descending was not a skill he probably had yet.
“It's gonna be okay, Kal!” She said, though Kal didn't exactly look that worried. “Just…” she thought about it. There was only one way down at this point.
“Surely you aren't going to-” Allona began.
“Jump down!” Esha finished, stretching out her arms. “We will catch you!”
“ We? ” Allona punched her square in the arm. “Don't drag me into this!”
Esha glared at her, but Allona glared right back. “Just get ready, Allona. If he dies, I'm blaming you for not even attempting. Then we will see how much Viago protects you.”
She heaved a frustrated groan, grabbing her hair, but complied, stretching out her arms to catch Kal just in case.
Kal jumped without hesitation, without even checking if Esha and Allona were ready. He fell straight down, and Esha tipped forward when she caught him, sending them tumbling into the bushes. They smelled like mint.
The sky was beginning to darken, she noticed, as she pulled herself and Kal out of their not-so-soft landing pad.
“You…need to stop inconveniencing me.” She narrowed her eyes at Kal. It was funny. Viago had once said those exact words to her, not even eight years ago. She dusted herself off, groaning from her bruised elbow from where she'd hit the ground.
Allona smirked. “Better you than me.” She helped Kal to his feet. “We better get going to dinner.” She gripped Kal's hand.
“No, no way are you taking credit for taking care of him!” Esha grabbed his other hand. “I'm the one who caught him!”
“Well if you hadn't been bugging me, we wouldn't have lost him in the first place.” Allona shot back.
They stared at each other, but Esha eventually let go of Kal's hand. “Fine, but if he asks, I caught him.”
“Fine by me.”
________________________________________________________________
So Kal was a bit of a firecracker waiting to go off. But he and Esha got along well enough, and his antics, over time, bonded Esha and Allona as tired sisters stuck babysitting. By the time their final sibling came around, they were no longer reluctant siblings, but had started referring to each other as sisters. They also no longer corrected people who assumed they were related, not that there were too many of those.
And if it weren't for Kal, that wouldn't have happened. Viago just seemed pleased any time he didn't directly have to deal with Kal, who Esha later learned indeed had a full name, Kalias.
Esha swore that name was familiar to her, but her life before the De Riva House was so blurry now.
Either way, the three of them were unstoppable when they put their minds to it. But a little unbalanced.
________________________________________________________________
Esha hadn’t expected anyone else to come along. So color her surprised what happened that night.
The moon was full, and the stars glittered as they cast their rays down on the pair sitting with their eyes closed in the garden.
Esha was resting there with Hal, as he permitted her to. He had even taken to letting Esha ride him occasionally. He didn't seem to be like other Halla, from what Esha had read. He was still a proud bastard, but he seemed to like the comforts afforded to him by the Estate.
Not to mention Viago had allowed Esha To build him his own little area where he could stay when he wasn't wandering the gardens. Fresh food, fresh water, and some enrichment. Kept the flowers from getting trampled as often.
She had just returned from a contract and was exhausted. Some merchant guy who stiffed some other merchant guy, it was nothing.
She watched the moon with vague interest. She was a well-read girl at this point, but what she liked to read most, at the ripe age of seventeen, was cheesy (but tame) romance novels. The kind of stuff that would embarrass you, but not get you deemed a pervert. She had read about a myth called a ‘werewolf’ that liked the full moon. She was glad there were none of those in Treviso. She didn't like werewolf novels.
Suddenly, she was bored. She glanced at Hal, who's eyes were closed as he basked in the ethereal bathing light of the moon. “Hal.” She poked him.
Hal, barely moving, opened an eye with a sound only a halla could make. Frustration.
Esha stood up swiftly, her knees aching from sitting so huddled up. She turned on her heel to face Hal, and bowed respectfully.
If Hal could have rolled his eyes, he would have. However, he indulged Esha, and slowly rose to his feet, kicking the dirt off of his hooves. He bowed slightly, and Esha grinned.
She climbed atop Hal, gently and carefully so as not to spook him. He was very fussy, so if she did even one thing wrong, she was in danger of being gored by those horns.
Her lavender-Colored dress bunched up around her knees as she climbed, but finally settled around her as she sat atop him. “Thank you Hal.” She pressed a kiss to the back of his head and he bristled before starting to walk. He walked through the gardens, allowing Esha to lean against his neck and close her eyes once more.
Esha could hear a commotion from the main house. Viago was probably back, she assumed. He had been on a contract for the better part of a week and a half by this point. He must have been in a contract outside of Antiva because to take that long was ridiculous.
In the grass nearby, there was a shuffling. Esha hoped it wasn't a rabbit again. Those never lasted long when Viago was around, she had come to realize. She peered at the grass, nearly falling off of Hal.
To her surprise, a young boy popped out. He had white hair and was covered in dirt. His eyes were heterochromic, like hers. Oh dear.
The boy stared up at her in utter awe, and Esha pressed her face to see if she had something on it. Nope. She seemed to be clean, and nothing was off about her. Was it her scars? She was about open her mouth, when-
“Are you a fairy?” The boy asked.
Esha made a face, she couldn't help it. It was somewhere between confusion and mild amusement. “Excuse me?”
The boy walked over to her, and Hal made a warning sound. Esha quickly hopped down, and Hal immediately bolted, leaving her and the boy behind.
the boy continued to stare at her. Esha awkwardly brushed her fingers through her hair. “What's your name kid?”
“Viago says it's Monello, Miss Fairy.” The boy sounded awestruck as he stood in front of her.
Of course, Viago. He had a habit for collecting these kids at this point. Heterochromic with either red or white hair.
“Why are you calling me Miss Fairy?” Esha crouched to be on his level.
Monello looked into her eyes. “Because you look like one?” He said, as if it were obvious.
“Ok…” Esha lifted him into her arms. “Let's go find Viago, hm?”
The boy seemed like he wanted to scramble from her arms, but he didn't, allowing her to carry him back inside the Estate. Viago was nowhere to be seen in the immediate area, but Esha knew exactly where he was.
“He really shouldn't let you wander around, little guy. You might run into Kal unsupervised.” Esha reprimanded Viago mentally as she spoke.
“I already did.. and the other one.” Monello spoke quietly.
That's nice, looks like Esha was the last to know about something yet again . Oh, she was gonna give Viago a lashing.
Monello went silent, and Esha took that silence as an opportunity to speed towards her destination, Viago's new office. He was the head of their house now, Lorenzo having died just a year ago.
Once they reached the office, she barged right in without knocking. “Viago!” She practically growled. He was indeed in there, and didn't look surprised by the state of her, or the fact she was carrying Monello.
“Esha, you know better than to-”
“How dare you just dump another child into the villa without even making sure he knew where he was or anything?” Esha ranted. “What if he had gotten hurt?”
“Are you done?”
“Not by a long shot, but do go ahead.”
Viago pinched the bridge of his nose. “I didn't ‘dump him in the villa’. I put him in a room. It's not my fault if he decided to wander. If you had asked me, instead of just rushing in here, I could have introduced the two of you.”
Esha flushed, and sat Monello down on the floor, who still was looking at her with big eyes. “Well still, you shouldn't have just brought another kid home without warning anyone. Especially me, since I'm most likely gonna be the one looking after them and making sure they won't get into trouble.”
“Monello won't cause trouble. Unlike some people, he's very well behaved.” Viago scribbled something down on his paperwork.
Esha glared at him, then looked softly at Monello. He was about as small as Kal was when he came along, and was a little bruised.
“Monello.” She said gently. “What all did Viago tell you?”
“Not much. That's your job.” Viago interrupted. “I've already started his training.”
Oh great. Her job. Esha sighed and stood straight up. “Fine. But he's going to stay here while I'm training.” Viago called after her, but she was already gone, rushing down the hallway towards the training grounds.
She had a tough day when it came to training. She got cut on the arm during combat training, and poison training, so she didn't get to see Monello until near dinner.
She was at the healer, drinking an antidote and nursing her wounded arm, when Monello wandered in. His knee was bleeding and he looked like he'd been crying.
“Monello?” Esha stood up from her chair. “Where's Viago?”
“At his office still…”
Of course, not that Esha trusted Viago to keep an eye on anyone , let alone a child, but she had hoped he wouldn't just shoo the child out of his office to fend for himself. She should have known better.
“What happened?” She gestured to his knee.
“Looking for the Deer. Fell down.”
“Halla.” She corrected gently. “Come here.” She looked around. The healer had stepped out to grab some herbs to mix up more antidote, and Gods knew how long that would take, so Esha would have to treat Monello's wound herself. At least he wasn't still calling her Miss Fairy.
Monello came over, sniffling. Esha swiped some cotton swabs and some disinfectant from the cabinet as she lifted Monello onto the chair.
“It hurts…” Monello said, whining as he flexed his knee.
Esha sighed, though it wasn't aggravation. It was more a mix of pity and annoyance. Viago could take care of his myriad of poisonous plants in the death garden no problem, but a child he brought home was too much to handle? He wasn't even like Kal. Monello was docile, and innocent.
She knelt down and poured some of the disinfectant onto the cotton swabs. “This is gonna sting a little bit, okay?” She said softly.
Monello's eyes shot up to hers. “You're gonna hurt me?!” He leaned away from her.
“Not on purpose. You need to clean that wound so it doesn't get infected, little guy. Tell you what, I'll give you a nice piece of candy from Lucas if you be good.” Esha knew the promise of sweets would probably work on him. It worked on her when she was a kid.
“Candy?”
Esha enthusiastically grinned. Got him. “Yea! It's like a sweet treat that melts in your mouth. They call it butterscotch. It's my favorite , but I'll share some if you can deal with the pain for just a moment to let me clean it.”
Monello thought about it, then nodded at her. So Esha dabbed at the wound while Monello hissed in pain, but remained still besides some squirming.
“Hurts!”
Esha started to hum, something she'd read in books was supposed to be soothing. She often used her hums on targets, as a way of disarming them before the kill. But she wasn't going to hurt Monello any more than the disinfectant already would.
It seemed to work, and Monello calmed down. She finished up quickly and grabbed some gauze and covered it. “There you go, that wasn't so bad, was it?”
He shook his head. “No…thank you Miss Fairy. “ Oh. He was still on that.
“Not a fairy, Monello. I'm a Crow.” She lifted him into her arms. “How about we go get that butterscotch, hm?”
He kept quiet, so Esha once again took that as affirmation. She carried him down the hall from the infirmary to the kitchen, which was busy this time of day, since it was so close to dinner.
“Aye, Lass, what'r ya doing in tha kitchen so close ta dinner?” Lucas practically popped up behind her.
Esha yelped. “Lucas! I just…have you met Monello yet?” She bounced Monello in her arms, gesturing to him.
“I was informed we'd have an extra mouth ta feed.” The dwarf stated, snapping his fingers in warning at one of his cooks who was, assumedly, about to make a mistake. Lucas was always harsh but fair. Kal was pretty close to him, and Esha knew him well enough as one would get to know their chef.
“Right, well…I'm just here to get something sweet for him. He got an injury because someone wasn't looking after him.” She explained. “Do you have any butterscotch left?”
“For ya, Esha? Anytime.” He pointed out a fresh sheet of the candy about to be poured into a container. Esha quickly swiped a few, waving goodbye to Lucas as she quickly dipped out.
She walked a little further down the hall. “It's very close to dinner and I shouldn't be giving you candy.” She lamented to Monello. “But here, try this.” She pressed the candy into his palm..He stared at it, as if inspecting it. “It's ok. Viago isn't allowed in the kitchen.” Esha chuckled.
That seemed to reassure Monello, who popped the candy into his mouth and lit up at the flavor.
Esha smiled at him. She could get used to this.
________________________________________________________________
Her and Allona continued to have a friendly rivalry throughout the years, and she enjoyed making things for her younger sister, even when she filled out and stopped being so ‘little’.
Kal only got more and more chaotic as years passed, and Esha spent a lot of time cleaning up after him, at Viago's request. But she didn't resent him, he filled her life with so many interesting things, and when he started going on contracts, she was very proud of him.
And Monello never stopped being her baby brother despite him aging. He luckily grew out of calling her Miss Fairy. He also helped her take care of Hal up until the end.
And that's how Esha came to have three siblings.