Epilogue

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A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Face snuggled into a pillow; (f/n) wrapped her arms around the soft, delightful object as she continued to enjoy her sleep. Her fingers and arms twitched a little at the odd sensation, though. Something was off with her cushiony item. Eyes closed tighter while her body tried to comprehend this. She brought it closer to her only to receive an alarming, "Squawk!"


Jumping up in bed, she threw the thing away from her since she hadn't processed what she had been holding onto. The chicken flapped its wings before it collided with Tarhuinn, who had awoken at the sound. Instantly, he grabbed the bird and held onto it tightly until it calmed down. He blew a few feathers from his face before he looked around the area.


(F/n) knew exactly who he was looking for. The little three-year-old was hiding somewhere in the vicinity. Another squawk, quieter than the last, came from the chicken. A groan sounded from her husband before he stood to his feet. He glanced over to her, and she nodded. "I'll find her," (f/n) answered before he left to place the traumatized chicken back in its pen.


Despite kelremm children maturing mentally at a rather quick rate, her child never grew out of pranks. Her daughter would spend hours reading, or she would ask for another story from either Tarhuinn or her, and she would act like a young adult at those times. Ten minutes later, she would be running around the house and plotting her next scheme.


Pushing back some strands of (h/c) hair, (f/n) climbed out of bed and onto the dry area of the room before she headed into the small, water room that they had made for their daughter. It had taken a year and quite a bit of trading, but the end result gave their daughter her own space and privacy for Tarhuinn and her. She crossed her arms over her chest and examined the places that she could be hiding in, behind or under. Mentally, she smiled upon seeing locks of ink-black hair in the water behind the child's bed.


As silently as she could, she advanced through the water. She heard slight movement behind the bed. (F/n) shook her head a little when she noted her daughter trying to sneak around the object and back out the door. "And, where do you think you're going?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. The girl froze and glanced up at her mother before her dark blue eyes darted to the door.


Knowing exactly what her daughter intended to do, (f/n) sprinted into action before the girl could take off. She grabbed the back of her daughter's blue dress and lifted her up. "Set me down, mother! The chicken got out of the pen on its own. I swear!"


Skeptically, she looked to her child. "Do you swear on your silver headband?" No answer came from the young girl as she looked to her left and mumbled something under her breath. The headband didn't look like too important of an object, but, to her daughter, it was her favorite possession. The young girl hated having her hair fall over her face while reading or doing anything really. So, she kept her hair just below her ears and wore the headband as extra precaution. "I'm sorry; I couldn't quite hear that, Delphi."


She pouted and somewhat glared at her mother. "No." Keeping her child's stare, (f/n) gave her the look to continue. "... But, it was just a prank!" Her serious expression faded, and worry set in. "Besides, you liked cuddling with the chicken!"


"I'm waiting, Delphi."


"But, you didn't deny it!"


"I don't have to. You're just saying things to try and get me off topic. Now, what do you say? I'll keep holding you until you answer properly."


A childish groan left her lips before she reluctantly replied, "I'm sorry for putting a chicken in father's and your room, mother."


"Thank you. Now, go apologize to your father. I'm not the only the one who might take that headband away." Instantly, she pressed against (f/n)'s arms, and (f/n) released her so that she could go run to Tarhuinn. Shaking her head in amusement, (f/n) watched the child scurry off and out of the room. It sounded like she didn't have to run far as a loud splash sounded in the next room.


Walking back out into her bedroom, (f/n) noted Delphi quickly apologizing to her father while her small hands held onto her headband like it was her lifeline. Tarhuinn glanced over to her, and (f/n) shook her head as if to say that they could let it go this time. A sigh left him before he signaled her off. "Meet us in the kitchen, Delphi. We'll be eating some breakfast before heading out to the market."


Wasting no time in standing around, she ran off, and the sound of tiny splashes of water grew faint soon after. Tarhuinn closed the door after she had left before he closed the distance between the two of them. His right fingers glided smoothly over her left cheek, and she moved her face more into the palm of his hand. "How are you feeling today?" A light laugh left her before she met his gaze.


"You don't need to ask me that question every day, Tarhuinn. It's been a year and a half since her second birthday. I'm doing marvelous. Everyone else is experiencing the same results with their human partners. The tree is only growing more with each year, and we should be able to plant second and third ones in the other complexes soon. So, stop worrying about me. You need to be more concerned about Delphi and what prank she intends to pull next."


It was his turn to laugh. He removed his hand and placed a light kiss on top of her head. "I think that the blame falls on you for that one. You're the one who keeps insisting that you killed a powerful mage completely on your own. She has your sense of adventure, (f/n). And, these pranks are her way of trying to get that out."


Rolling her eyes, it was her turn to pout before she turned on her heel and headed over to her dresser to change for the day. "You're not going to want to take a morning bath?" she heard him ask. Heat filled her cheeks, and she shook her head. After that one day, it was hard for her to think of a bath as simply a bath. He chuckled before he commented, "Suit yourself ... my chosen."


Falling forward some, she supported herself on the dresser before she glared to him. "Let me guess; you're going to carry me on your back through the market again." She received a simple shrug from him. Delphi thought that it was comical, and she could only imagine what her partner would have to endure.


"I do intend to wear that cloak that you really like, though: the incredibly soft one," he mentioned, a small smirk on his lips.


Hearing this, she couldn't help but smile. "Or, I could just steal your cloak and cuddle in it. You're going to have a hard time carrying me that way."


"That's if you can get to the cloak first, (f/n). In your condition, do you really think that's possible?"


"Try me." Silence took over and thickened before she pushed herself off of the dresser and forced her legs to somewhat run. In reality, her sprint was more like a poor representation of a bunny hop. Unfortunately, Tarhuinn reached the cloak first and held it high. This didn't mean that she had given up, though.


When she finally reached him, she grabbed onto his shoulders and lifted herself onto her tippy-toes to attempt to grab the article of clothing. He watched amused as he merely raised it more into the air. "You might as well fall into me and accept the situation."


"Like I'm going to do that." She did stop using him as a support and fell to her knees, but, in the process, she grabbed his ankles and tugged him down swiftly. Caught off guard, he fell into the water with a loud splash as the cloak flew down. It never touched the water, however, due to small, blue hands grabbing it and running off with it.


Both parents were shocked when they saw their daughter dash off with the object. She was giggling the entire time, and she called back, "You two were taking too long! Come to breakfast if you want it back!" While they had been fighting if it could be called that over the cloak, she must've slipped in and waited for the right moment. Delphi was taking after her in the fact that she observed Tarhuinn's fighting closely. At times if she focused enough, she could move almost as quietly as one of them, but it probably had helped that they were both too preoccupied with the cloak.


"It looks like we're being summoned," Tarhuinn joked, glancing over to her. He stood to his feet and held out his left hand. She took it, and he helped her up before he lifted her into his arms. The action didn't surprise her, and it was more convenient since her legs were wobbly.


"Yes, but I think that you're just happy because you get to carry me sooner." She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him an accusatory glance but in a playful manner.


"Maybe, but you're enjoying this. That I know."


Looking away for a moment, she laughed softly. "Well, I can't necessarily disagree. Besides when I'm like this, it means that you're on breakfast duty." A smirk tugged at her lips, and she looked to him victoriously. "I think that I won this fight in the end, Tarhuinn."


"We still have the rest of the day, (f/n)." Challenging stares were shared between the two of them before each broke into their own laughter, and they headed off to the kitchen. It helped as well that Delphi was now threatening to give the cloak to the chickens. That made both parents curse loudly before Tarhuinn hurried the rest of the way. Children of the water did tend to be quite persuasive.

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