In Which Severin Makes the Threat of Vegetables

August 8, 1181

"Now, you behave yourselves for your grandparents, all right?" Isidro warned as he and Riona swapped their older girls for their parting hugs.

"Yes, Papa."

Alina had chimed in on her sisters' chorused phrase from Severin's arms; Nato, of course, just gurgled into Nora's shoulder. For his daughter and son-in-law's sakes, Severin hoped the boy would save his first words until after they returned. Probably thinking the same thing, Nora turned the little tyke around to face his parents. "I'm sure Nato will be good too. Won't you, Nato?"

"Gah!"

Riona smirked. "I'm taking that as a promise, buddy."

"Don't think we won't hold you to it." Isidro planted a last kiss to Alya's forehead and ruffled her hair; as was typical of a kid that age, she made a point to be annoyed. "Well, I'm sure you're thoroughly bored of us now. Why don't you girls run along and find Lyssa and CeeCee?"

Neither waited long to take that suggestion to heart--no doubt expecting the typical long-winded goodbyes adults bade each other after parties. Severin wondered if they fully registered that their parents would be gone at least a month. Or maybe they did, and the brief farewell was a just a means of coping, maintaining some degree of normalcy or at least the idea of such. At least they got the farewell at all; some parents had no qualms about walking out in the middle of night, not to return for years if they returned at all, not so much as the word 'Bye' scrawled on a scrap of parchment.

It figured that Viridis's letter would have arrived this morning, and Xeta would be visiting with Tivie in the afternoon. It was a horrible thought given her longing, but maybe it was lucky that Viridis didn't have a baby of her own. If Searle ever returned to his flighty, wandering ways, that was one less person to abandon.

But he didn't want to think that of one of his sons-in-law. Not today. "I believe they're in Lyssa's room."

"All right."

"We love you!" Riona called after them.

"Love you!"

And with that, Alya and Shahira scampered off. Hopefully Lyssa and CeeCee would be able to hold their realizations at bay for a while yet.

"They sure tire of their old grandfather quickly these days, don't they?" A small fist formed around a lock of Severin's hair and tugged; he retaliated by tapping little Alina on the nose. "Oh well. At least you still like me."

"Severin, please. They're kids. Let them run along and play." Nora shifted Nato downward to keep him from clinging to her neck. "And speaking of kids, I take it Roddie is still--?"

"Taking his sweet time in the stables, moping about how he's old enough to stay on his own and we're treating him like a baby by sending him here?" Riona snorted. "Pretty much. So much for thinking we'd make his life so miserable he'd be begging to run back to Mommy and Daddy."

Nora shrugged. "Never mind, we know how to handle him. Extra desserts the first few nights to make him start to think this is a nice vacation, then before he knows it, the vegetables return to his plate."

"Tell the cook to make them extra bland."

"Done and done." Severin shot the pair of them a wink. Really, Riona had almost never looked more older than Roddie to him, even with both eyes open. His grown children rarely did. "Just don't be surprised when you come back here and find them on your plate as well. I don't think I trust you two not to live off sweets yourselves."

"Not even with Lonriad watching us?" Isidro teased with a dry sniff.

"Especially not with Lonriad watching you! Perhaps I ought to ride over there and tell Ashe to keep an eye on all three of your plates." If he even trusted Ashe with that! Frankly, they were all still kids to him, everyone born in those couple decades, even if he'd never known them as children; to know that they were of age with his own was close enough. "But in all seriousness, take care of yourselves. And try not to do anything stupid."

"Try." Riona rolled her eyes. "Hear that, Izzy? He thinks we're a lost cause."

"Oh, I know you're a lost cause." His granddaughter prodded his shoulder and his wife snickered, and yet all he could see was his daughter--impulsive, reckless, and magnificently wild as the day she'd come screaming out of the womb. "Try anyway."

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