In Which Isidro Gets a Language Lesson

September 28, 1179

With the exceptions of their own children, neither Isidro nor Riona had much claim to being a 'baby person', so it was almost amusing to see Riona making the effort with her newest little nephew. Then again, it stood to reason that she was obliged to at least try. "Huh. One of my siblings finally has the good sense to name a kid after me and the little scamp comes out with the wrong parts."

"What, you think the plan was to actually go with 'Riona'?" Knowing Riona, she probably did. The fact was oddly endearing. "Yes, you won the sibling draw, but we weren't going to use anyone's actual name; that was just for a basis for a derivative. We wouldn't have given a girl your exact name either."

"Then it's a good thing he's not a girl, because I might have been angry about that." She made a clumsy attempt at a baby-sized wave, but her stiff hands turned the minute motions to twitches. Isidro couldn't blame little Rio for shying away. "Already afraid of Auntie Riona, I see. Well, you're smart to be so--isn't that right, girls?"

Alina showed no sign of having heard while Shahira just glanced at her mother and shrugged before returning to their game. Isidro smirked. They were fearless, his girls. When they were old enough to argue, it would be the three of them and Riona shouting every which way while he sought refuge under the table. He just hoped he wouldn't have to emerge at some point to keep them all from killing each other. "They think you're all talk."

"No, but they plan to resist. Girls fight to the end. Boys give too much too soon and they're under your thumb before you know it. Maybe we should have one for an example." She shot him a wink, plus a rather obvious two-handed gesture that prompted a snicker from Raia. Not immune to the giggles herself, Riona turned back to the baby. "How would you like that, Rio? A little cousin to kneel beside you when you bow to Auntie's wrath?"

The baby just gurgled. Another glance back at his younger two, Isidro fell to a slouch. He supposed he didn't not want a son, but from all he'd heard they were an unprecedented responsibility. The best way to raise a daughter was simply to love her, let her be herself, show her that you wouldn't trade her for the world. A stricter hand was needed with boys because whether or not they were actually more capable, men did run the world. Maybe that would change one day. For now, though, a boy had to be taught that possession of a cock wasn't a license to be a self-entitled ass. A boy had to learn that historical favoritism was not a basis for one's value as a human being. And no matter how hard you hammered those lessons in, there would always be outside forces at work trying to pry those nails back out.

That was how men like his father came to be.

Thank God for Raia. "Thought you wanted to space them out a bit more, Ri."

"Eh. I don't need to actively try for one." Riona swayed from side to side, skirts swishing as they brushed across the floor. "Just saying that if it happened, I wouldn't be opposed. Besides, the girls could use a little brother to beat on."

Raia chuckled. Isidro opened his mouth to say--well, he wasn't sure, exactly--but he was spared the agony of a reply by a knock at the front door. "I'll get it."

"You don't have to."

"It's really no problem." He got up and brushed past his wife and her sister, stopping only to tickle the baby's toes. The little mouth released a contented sort of squeal. "Probably more well-wishers for little Rio."

"Oh, probably." Raia sighed as the baby took to swatting at a lock of her hair. "Tell you what: if they're new, they're allowed in."

"Right."

Whoever it was, they were still hammering at the door when Isidro left the bedroom, when he reached the stairs, when he'd stepped off the last of them. Of all the qualities Raia looked for in a friend, patience must not have been one of them. "All right, I'm here. You can stop knocking now."

They didn't. Lip clenched between his teeth, Isidro grabbed the handle and yanked open the door. "You know, anything over four knocks is really pushing--" He had to stop and stare. He knew that blue tunic and grey leather surcoat, but it was a shock to the system seeing it with dark hair. "Umm... aren't those Jadin's clothes?"

"That's Raia's red-haired brother, right?" He nodded. The newcomer's grin only widened as he shrugged. "He won't mind."

Hmm. No doubt Jadin spent more time out of his clothes than in them. Still... "It's kind of rude to steal people's clothing."

"Borrow," the other corrected. "You're the brother-in-law?"

"And you're... the strange naked friend with a minimal command of the language?"

The creature laughed. "Oh, I speak the language with the utmost mastery. Don't go around telling everyone that, though; there are certain things one can't get away with if others are certain of his understanding."

"All right?" Somehow, he doubted he'd received sufficient warning about this man.

"Good. Your compliance is appreciated. Perhaps there's something I can do for you." The stranger gave him a pat on the shoulder. He was too stunned to shrug it off. "I take it that they didn't tell you, but did you know that a couple of your knights ran into my grandfather a while back?"

He took it right. "The homicidal maniac?"

"Yes, him." He confirmed it with the casual, almost bored tone he might have used had Isidro said 'cooper' or 'wheelwright'. "He probably threatened them out of telling anyone, but he won't make do on anything he promised. The ancestors are no longer amused with his antics and told him he'd meet a fiery end if he didn't stop with the killings and the other serious redirections of any mortal lives. You have nothing to fear from him but the odd practical joke."

"Uh... good to know?" He supposed he trusted Raia enough to believe her if she vouched for her friend's character. But if this information was true, wasn't it a little too great a reward for simply keeping someone's lingual capabilities a secret? What could the forest dwellers possibly stand to gain if everyone knew they were now all bark and no bite? "Seriously, why are you telling me this?"

"Why not? Grandfather's not the only one who likes to mess with people's heads." Of course he wasn't. "Anyway, I'm just here to see the baby. Is that all right?"

"It should be. Everyone's upstairs in Raia's room right now. Go right in."

It seemed a simple enough instruction. The stranger, however, had to raise a brow. "Don't you have anything to add? A 'there', maybe? Or 'if you will', or 'unless told otherwise'?"

So much for thinking that this odd, odd conversation was over. "Why would I need to add anything?"

"If that's all you have to say, then someone could use a language lesson." Raia's friend smiled, his eyes glinting with primal amusement. "In this language, it's grammatically incorrect to end a sentence with a preposition."

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