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"Manfred!"
Rook's voice carried out through the library, reaching Emmrich where he was working in the laboratory. He could hear an answering hiss but was unable to make out anything further.
Standing, he stretched away the stiffness that had settled in his joints from an extended period of sitting while replying to correspondence from the Mourn Watch. He may have joined this expedition, but there were still important matters at home to keep apprised of.
It would do him some good to stretch his legs, though, as he'd been sitting at his desk for long enough today. Leaving his quarters, he walked down the hallways the Caretaker had so thoughtfully bedecked with Nevarran motifs, out to the main room of the Lighthouse. Pausing at the banister by the stairs, he peered curiously over the edge.
Rook was sitting on the couch below, smiling as Manfred sat down next to her. On the table in front of her was a package, and as Manfred settled in, she reached for it.
"I saw this while I was in Minrathous, and I thought of you," she said as she unwrapped the bundle. "I hope you like it."
Emmrich felt a warmth bloom in his chest. Rook had bought a present for his ward? The willingness she had shown even at their earliest meeting to accept Manfred had already far outpaced any expectations he'd had for somebody who wasn't a native of Nevarran. But to think on the spirit so fondly as to purchase him a gift… That was wholly unexpected.
As Emmrich watched on, Rook pulled out a small statue from the wrappings, something with wings.
Manfred hissed inquisitively, nearly vibrating with excitement.
"It's a griffon, like Assan! And look, this here–" she pulled something on the statue and then held up a rod, the skeleton staring at it raptly, "–comes out of his mouth and if you rub it down his back, it makes a noise!"
She demonstrated a few times, the warm, wooden sound echoing up to reach the distant ceiling. Manfred clapped in excitement, hissing ecstatically. Gently, he took hold of the Griffin when Rook offered it to him, carefully showing the spirit how to hold the rod and manipulate it to produce a noise.
It took a few tries, but soon the library was full of the statue's refrain and Rook's low, throaty laughter. "You did it! Is it a good gift?"
Manfred nodded his skull with enough force that Emmrich was worried he'd dislodge his mandibular joints. Then he did something Emmrich wasn't expecting; he opened his arms to Rook and hissed, high and delighted.
"I'm so glad, buddy," Rook said as she enveloped the skeleton in a hug, warm but not too tight against his joints. "Just be careful with it, we wouldn't want it to break or get lost."
Emmrich barely caught the last words, overcome with emotion as he was. That warmth in his chest spread; emotions he had tried to keep at bay for decades filled his chest, feelings almost lost to time. Blinking back the first prickles of tears and swaying slightly, he braced himself against the banister. The soft tinkle of his bangles as his hand made contact was like thunder in the sudden quiet.
Both Rook and Manfred looked up to see him watching. Rook waved at him, smiling beatifically while Manfred waved his new possession.
"Emmrich! Come join us, Manfred has something to show you, don't you buddy?"
He hissed in agreement.
"Just a moment, my dears, I'll be right there," Emmrich said, taking a moment to collect himself before heading for the stairs. It wouldn't do to worry either of them with this sudden surge of emotion he was feeling.
But…
After his parents died, he'd spent his whole life yearning, searching for a family. Perhaps he had almost found it once or twice, but his most desperate desires had long eluded his grasp. So long that he had nigh given up years ago.
But now, looking at the woman he was growing to care for a great deal and his wonderful, curious ward, a small flicker of hope began to burn within. Maybe, at long last, he had found his family.