Chapter Text
The sun shines bright through the windows of the River House, an intense glare reflecting off of the floor boards and into the little blue eyes of the young child who runs down the halls towards me and he unknowingly projects the image to me in his mind, out of pure excitement.
His little feet, adorned with socks covered with a pattern of tiny yellow stars, hit the floor softly as he runs down the hall to the door he knew very well, the door of our room. It is his third night in a row sleeping through the night without bursting into our room before the sun rose and so I am sure he has made it his mission to tell us of this now that the sun has fully risen.
He bursts into our room, running to the bed, and flaring his small wings out a little as he jumps up onto the bed and finds his way to the space between Feyre and I. Feyre woke up just as he did so and rolled to face him at the same time I do.
“Hey, Nyx.” I say, my voice gruff with sleep, while his mother smiles at him. “Why are you up so early, bud?”
The child lays down on his belly and wiggles until he is under the covers too, his cheek squished against the pillow as he looks at me and Feyre’s hand comes to rest on his back, between his tiny wings.
“I slept all night!” He says, his chubby cheeks puffing out with his big smile as he drags out the word ‘all’ with a childlike enthusiasm that always gets me smiling.
“That you did.” I say, ruffling his hair, the same color as mine. “Why does that involve waking me and your mother up just as the sun rises?”
Feyre gives me a glare that I know is meant to remind me that our son is indeed only three and this is a big achievement for him, before speaking.
“We’re very proud of you, sweetheart,” she says. Her eyes, the same as Nyx’s, are as bright as they always are as she gazes at our child.
“Can I have breakfast?” He says, his little mind already moving onto the next thought in the way that always makes his little conversations with Cassian very enjoyable to watch.
Feyre smiles again and brushes some on Nyx’s unruly hair back from his eyes. “Of course you can. What would you like?”
I watch as he scrunches up his little face, thinking hard on the matter, as he did with everything. By the mother he is perfect and I know Feyre thinks so too.
“Pancakes!” He exclaims, throwing his little hands in the air and I can’t help the laugh that escapes me.
We get out of bed, Nyx not letting us take our time now that he has decided it is time to wake up. Feyre takes his hand and the two of them walk back to his room, the chattering of his young voice floating down the hallway behind them. I smile to myself and pull on a shirt over my wings which have been out more than usual lately as Nyx learns to fly and work with his wings rather than against them.
Feyre sends an image of Nyx going through his shirts and making a mess of his newly cleaned room down the bond and I send back an apology, knowing she’ll be there a while.
I make my way down the stairs to the dining room and kitchen of our home, to help prepare for the whirlwind that is our son in the morning. Upon getting to the dining room, there is already a large figure sitting there, his wings tucked in against the chair as he waits.
“Cassian, how is it that you’re in my house before I have even made it downstairs?” I say, walking over to my brother and standing across the table from him.
“Elain let me in,” the cheeky bastard said, his mouth already full of whatever he snagged from the kitchen.
“To my house?” I reply, leaning my hands on the back of the chair in front of me.
Before he gets the chance to respond, Nyx comes running in in a little dark blue tunic and pants, sees Cassian and practically charges at him.
“Uncle Cassian!” He exclaims, as Cassian scoops him up with one arm and sets him down sitting on the table.
“Ehem, please no sitting on my table.” Feyre says, coming in now behind Nyx.
Cassian makes a face at Nyx that they always make to each other when they’re doing something one or both of them knows they most likely shouldn’t be doing and then moves him to his lap, Nyx giggling all the while.
From the kitchen, I can smell the fresh food Elain is already cooking with Nuala and Cerridwen. Feyre walks through the door to the kitchen to let them know how eager Nyx is for pancakes, a request I know Elain will be happy to oblige.
“Uncle Cassian! Uncle Cassian!” Nyx says excitedly. “Guess what?”
Cassian leans down to be closer to the child as he sits in his lap. “What, Nyx?”
“I slept in my bed all night!” Nyx responded and I realize that today is going to be full of Nyx informing everyone of this one fact.
Cassian shares his excitement in a way that only he, despite being a giant Illyrian warrior, has learned, in order to match Nyx’s energy. And of course, the chatter box that he is, Nyx begins animatedly discussing his previous day with Cassian. I cannot help but watch my son and my brother, trying to hide the awe on my face that I am allowed such joys.
After a few minutes, Feyre and Elain come in with the stack of pancakes for Nyx and various other breakfast foods for the rest of us. Feyre’s hand grabs and lightly squeezes my shoulder as she sits next to me. I offer her a kiss on the cheek in return. Nyx continues talking excitedly with his mouthful and Cassian eagerly listens to every word.
“Why is Cassian here?” Feyre asks down the bond, still watching the pair before us.
“I was going to ask him, but it seems our son has taken precedence.” I say, letting a hint of humor into my mental voice.
She smiles and pats my hand, before speaking aloud. “Why are you here so early, Cassian?”
“I need to have a word with you two about something in Windhaven, but it isn’t that urgent, it can wait a bit.” He replies and I furrow my brow.
Windhaven has been one of the more progressive camps on the front of training young females, but that isn’t saying much for a camp that is still in the heart of Illyria. Needing to speak with us about it, no matter how ‘not that urgent’ it may be, likely isn’t a good sign. I would prefer not to speak about it in front of Nyx, but it will likely eat at me, and Feyre until we can speak with Cassian.
Mor, Mother bless her, picks the perfect time to walk through the front door and into the kitchen. Nyx runs to her and hugs her legs.
“Good morning, little star.” She says, her eyes shining, before she looks at us and scoops up Nyx to let the three of us talk. “How about we go for a walk?”