đź’¬ Content Warning: Family humor, playful innuendo, and reflections on healing after trauma.
Davina
Seeing Mal's growing grin, I already knew he was scheming to make a bet with me. He wants funding for his next weapon creation since he blew his funds on having to fix our damaged training rooms. Unbeknownst to my calculating mate, I'm already well aware of his financial situation. This is a quarterly occurrence, so I am on guard against anything that involves money with him until his personal account is full again. One mate is a money pit, and the other is a bit psychotic. Fate really outdid itself with these two, for better or worse. I take another exasperated but loving look at my mates, then turn my attention to my daughter.Â
Ah, my daughter. My baby girl, the fourth and last of my offspring. She has been through so much, but I can't help thanking the Creators that she has been given this unconventional chance to start over and become the woman I always knew she could be. Everything about her is stronger now. She's gone from being as weak as a newborn at the start of her rehab to reaching junior high level strength in just two weeks
Drawing shapes on the table, I reflect on her remarkable recovery. If she keeps progressing at her current pace, she will be ready to ascend to Veil tier before or shortly after her to return to the academy. Death is a mystical changer of souls, but I've never heard of it making changes like this outside of a ritual…What if she was enacting a ritual?
The sudden insight had me pulling out my phone to quickly dispatch a team to analyze the place where Nyx's death and rebirth happened again, but in the context that she was performing a ritual and not just committing suicide. If she was performing a ritual… what was she attempting to do, and did it succeed?Â
"Nimra, is everything okay? You look deep in thought. Is Azrail blushing that unusual like Korran is teasing?" The warm touch and concerned tone from my baby girl brought me back to the present. I smiled, resting my hand over hers and pushing away the distracting thoughts. "All is well, my child. Just embracing this wonderful breakfast together.Â
As weird as it sounds, this is actually the first time we have had a meal together just the four of us since you came to the capital." I pushed back a lock of her hair that is so similar to mine. Where hers has a blue sheen, mine has a red sheen. A face so similar to mine, she looks the most straightforwardly like me, but her eyes are silver moon-like Mal's, and the quirk of her mouth is all Ya's.Â
Just like Ya always said, the boys were created in excellence, but our daughter is perfection. Even the boys agreed from her birth that there is something extra special about her. Nyx's expression of shock at this fact reminded me so much of the curious child who chased waves and wanted stories about the constellations.Â
I simply couldn't resist kissing her cheek, enjoying getting to be so affectionate with her. "Well, your Azrail blushing for any reason outside of our bedroom is a rare occasion, so I think your Korran's teasing is appropriate. The food should be out soon, so I'm going to go ahead and give you mine and Azrail's gifts."
"Hey, why do you have my gifts to her? How did you get it out of my storage space, Davi? I specifically warded it against you. You should have been a master thief instead of a CEO." Ya's exaggerated pouting was downright adorable.
I pulsed a thread of essence along our mental link, —We grew up together, Ya. You know I'm one of the best at what I do. It's one of the reasons you are so attracted to me. I'll make it up to you later. Your new ward was a lovely challenge, and you know how much I do love a challenge.—
He glared at me, but I could sense through our bond that he was interested in how I planned to make it up to him. With a playful wink, I sent one last message.
 —Mrs. S's lingerie line came out with a new set that I know you will love. We can play later.—That got his attention.Â
For some reason, he loves seeing me in cosplay lingerie. He is such a geek, but he is my sexy psychotic geek. With a snap of my fingers, a satchel appeared in front of Nyx. Her fingers traced the detailed stitching along the flap, curiosity sparking in her eyes as she flipped open the zipper experimentally. "Both sets of gifts are inside." I explained, shifting my chair closer to point out the features.Â
"You can also put your Korran's gifts in there. This space satchel is a gift from all of us. It has a good capacity to hold a lot of items. It'll serve you well until you can create your own personalized storage device. You will learn about creating one in your Essencecraft lessons." Nyx examined the satchel with wonder and awe. Testing the enchantment, she put her whole arm into the bag. She was eye-balling her chair for her next test.Â
To distract her from putting the chair into the bag, I directed her attention back to the bag itself. "In this front zippered part, you will find my gifts. In this large open part, you will find Azrail's gifts." Nyx looked contemplative before deciding to take out my gifts first. Ya grumbled again but stopped when Nyx told him she was saving the best for last. I think the man is glowing; he is peacocking so hard while sending smug looks at Mal and me.
Nyx first pulled out a small box holding a memory globe containing memories I've been storing over the years of her growth. I instructed her on how to activate and control the device. She got it after a few tries. She watched herself play at the beach, learn to read, play with her siblings, and having birthday parties with friends, and while more memories lingered within the globe she paused on an image of our enclave during a New Year celebration. We all looked so happy and joyful. She stared at the image, expression tightening, like she was longing for something just out of grasp. After a few quiet moments, she returned the globe to the box and reached for the next item.
Next were a few handwritten journals and a letter. Nyx opened the journals lightly touching the aged textured pages. "You don't have to look at those now. Since we are starting over in a sense, I wanted to share a few of my journals with you so you can get to know me in a way my own mother once bonded with me. I take comfort and joy in passing down this tradition. The letter is from my mother. She shared valuable wisdom with me that I cherish especially after I and Cor left our birth region. It feels appropriate to share it with you now."Â
I continued speaking as my voice took on a wistful tone. I drew glowing sigils in the air to help keep my composure. "I was leaving my home to figure out who I was meant to be. In your own way, you have been granted a chance to really figure out who you want to be not who you were told to be. The wisdom she shared with me will guide you in learning to stay grounded but open to all the possibilities that will present themselves to you." Reminiscing about my mother and my birth region always brings back the longing for my family circle but I keep my cool regardless. I'm an old hat at acting like I don't miss my birth home. Only Ya and Cor really understand the deep longing since they too are away from our family circles and birth region.Â
Ya has to go back once a year, but Cor and I are essentially exiled until our mission sees fruition. The time of the awakening will soon be upon us. We must find her before the Order knows of her existence.