House of Amarin

It was Aurora and Sion who found Reyra only two days after Swimmy was killed. All those who partook in the battle decided to follow Lia's plan as it was her Mother, and if anyone had a chance to succeed in helping Reyra through it, it was her family. It was because of that that nobody else knew about her condition, which was kept secret by them. 

"How's she?" Lia asked the moment she arrived back home, looking worried and exhausted as she was being greeted by Lauron.

"For now, she is unconscious. Her injuries have been mended, but she is yet to wake up. From what we gathered, she had gone into some kind of hibernation to protect her soul. The space she was found was half-destroyed... And with how No-Space is nowadays, she was slowly being torn apart."

"So we don't know... if..."

"We will know more if she wakes up!" Arrived Razael, looking at her youngest sibling, and his grin grew wider and wider. "When did you advance, spicy pumpkin?"

"Wait a minute... True! You do feel stronger!" Lauron gawked, checking Lia out once again, patting her shoulders.

"Who advanced?" Solren's voice came from a stairway, and he quickly noticed his sister after coming down. "Oh. It was time for you to catch up!"

"Ehehe... it isn't a big deal..." She giggled sheepishly after being surrounded by her brothers, "Let's go, I want to see Mother!" She shook her head, pulling on their sleeves just like when she was a little girl, barely able to speak or walk. 

After meeting with Aurora, Sion, and her Father, she finally entered a room where Reyra was seemingly sleeping, lying on a bed between comfortable, big pillows tucked in nicely.

"So far, she didn't react to any stimuli," Kawu explained, watching his daughter sit down at the edge of the bed, looking at her mom affectionately. "But we hope she will start to recover! The only thing we are unsure of is the damage to her soul."

"We tried contacting Erias as he is the most knowledgeable about it, but we can't reach him." Aurora wrote, hoping Lia would be able to do so.

"He is following up on an important clue, so he and Arcus left to a sub-realm." She answered with a shake of her head, "I don't know when he will be back." 

"I see..."

"Well, we have the second-best expert right here~!" Razael chuckled, making Lia roll her eyes.

"Why couldn't I be the finest?" She chortled, making the rest laugh, finally feeling relaxed and relieved. It seemed everything was in order once again. "I will try and see, but no promises! For now, I will stay here and take care of her!"

"What about school?" Kawu asked as a worried parent would.

"Foxy-Moxy is stepping in; I will return when it's time for my classes, but that's all!"

"Why are you calling him differently every time?" Solren asked, honestly curious.

"Because it is fun that way! I should try calling him by names... he got so used to it he no longer reacts!"

"You want him to hit you?" Lauron laughed, yet Lia put a finger to her lips, thinking.

"It's fun when we go back and forth... I like it!"

"Just like her Mother..." Kawu whispered with warmth radiating from his whole being, watching the pair of most important women in his life.

...

....

......

"How's it?" Lucian asked, his voice coming from Lia's bracelet, who was now alone in the castle's bath, submerged to the top of her chin in hot water. 

"I wouldn't have picked up on it. I am still a bit unsure if I should trust that wolf..."

"She could be lying; Hajna is constantly on about not trusting them."

"I am. They are more untrustworthy than a Soulbound member." She added, sounding like she was pouting.

"What about the rest of their spies?"

"That information was entirely correct," Lucian explained promptly, "They were taken out and eliminated quietly. The public thinks they violated the rules and have been expelled. Hajna is constantly monitoring the duo, though. We are not trusting them just yet."

"Mhm... I agree." Lia nodded, sinking a little, blowing air bubbles into the water.

"What are you doing?" Lucian asked, not knowing what to make of the noise.

"Imagining that I am between Rinzen's boobs."

"Ha. Ha."

"You could try it too. It's funny!"

"I am not Rinzen's girlfriend."

"You could try it with mine, Oldie-Foxy!" 

"Stop age-shaming me, thank you very much!"

"Booo, but you are ancient!"

"You will be one day, too, and then you realize that you still feel like you were 25 only a year ago. Aaaand then it hits you, nope, that was 250 years ago instead." He sighed dejectedly, "I am happy that you take me as a friend to joke around with, but please... now you have a girlfriend."

"But I want a boyfriend too!" Lia grumbled, sounding hurt.

"Does she know about your plans?" He asked scoldingly.

"Yep!"

"Oh."

"Didn't expect that, huh?" She grinned triumphantly, splashing around a little with her feet. 

"No... not really." He acknowledged it honestly. 

"Awwww, come on, Lucy!" 

"What?"

"Tehee~ Lucy The Foxy!"

"Stop it. Please..."

The way he asked her to do it surprised Lia as she could feel a kind of pain in his voice that she had never done before.

"I... I didn't mean to..." With a sudden move, she sat up in her bath, feeling panic rising within, but the old fox's voice came through her bracelet, sounding reminiscent. 

"No, not your fault. I had a girlfriend once, back in my adventuring days. She was also coming up with idiotic names for me, and one of them was Lucy. I hated listening to it... Until the point when I could no longer hear it anymore because she was turned into an Undead, and I had to kill her with my own hands."

"I'm..."

"You didn't know. It's fine. It happened long ago, and I had ample time to deal with it. You said it... I am old. Well, yeah, this old fox learned to process things and look past them."

"What... What if I become your girlfriend? Then could I call you Lucy?"

"Why would you want to become my girlfriend?" Lucian asked, honestly floored by her words.

"Duh! I have been giving you signals since coming back! Rinzen got it immidietly! Why are you so silly?! You know, after dying, you rethink a lot of things! I don't want to miss out on anything anymore! I like Rinzen, so I became her girlfriend! I also like you and want to become your girlfriend, too! She said it's okay, I think it is okay, so I am waiting for your answer! Hmph! Silly Fox! Stupid Fox! Grandpa Fox!"

"..."

"Hey... you there?" She asked after there was no answer for minutes, raising her hand and shaking the bracelet.

"The connection is still up," Hajna answered her promptly, finally making Lucian exhale on the other end.

"Let's take it slowly. This was... a bit much to take in at once."

"That doesn't sound like a no!" She smiled happily.

"It isn't. I just feel rusty..." Lucian joked a little, his voice incredibly soft.

"Okie-dokie! Rusty Foxy!"

"I will let that slide. Focus on Reyra for now; I will take care of the school in the meantime."

"Thanks... Lucy."

"Silly." 

...

....

......

It took almost a whole month for Reyra to reawaken. It was evident from the start that there were some issues, as she could hardly speak and didn't realize anyone at first. She began recalling names and events only after another week had gone by, and right at the moment, she could finally speak in coherent sentences. With her brothers present, Lia tried questioning her about what happened, but she could not remember anything and often mixed up his sons' names. Still, she was showing remarkable improvements day by day, making the family beam with joy, including Lia, who had never shown her worries before.

"I will need a new approach." She called up Lucian once again, standing on the balcony of her old room, watching the mountains that she used to climb and ski down from. 

"Is it that hard?"

"Yes. I can feel nothing, not even when I probed her. She is my Mom! All the little ticks and movements she used to have are still there. The tone, the way she speaks, it is all hers! Even if her memories are looking like they are jumbled up, I wouldn't have doubted her. Not for a minute!"

"Tell me what to do."

"Send Cael over."

"Wait... you think this is a good idea?"

"I think it is the best idea! Camyu said it, no? To put her under stress, so that is what I will do. Of course, I will be subtle about it! I will introduce him as my first official direct disciple! Then I will make sure they will be a chance to be left alone... then we will see."

"You are showing way too much trust in him, Lia!"

"We can't shake hands with closed fists, you know... And Cael, unlike the others, was open about it. I can understand why he didn't come forward by himself, but when he did, he held nothing back. The other two? Were compelled to do so. That fish demon? He lied to me without batting an eye! Cael alone established a basic trust within me that I will now put to the test!"

"What if...?" Lucian began asking, but in the end, he went silent.

"We will see what happens. It is futile to go into theories... You see, I met an interesting soul when I was in the Soulbound Sect. His name was Korvall, and it made me realize that they, too, had members who were people I could respect. Or at least see their position. So, I am willing to accept that the Claws have the same type of disciples."

"I won't argue as you know it better than me or any of us. I will relay the information to the others; they are standing by if worse comes to pass."

"That won't happen! I trust my Mother. She will pull through; you will see!"

...

....

......

"You think you can fool them?" The real Reyra's voice asked within her mind, watching as Paman used her body to sit in bed, observing the purple skies at the other side of her windows.

"I already did."

"For now, yes. They are more worried than to pay attention to your bullshittings. You will slip up, and I will make sure of it!"

"Just shut up."

"Not even if you ask nicely! I will scream into your ear until it falls off or starts bleeding! You can't play the injured forever; sooner or later, you will have to start showing strength and power if you want to return and take over! Then your little spacing outs will shine through your facade when I get on your nerves! Ahahaha, you can't hide me forever, bitch!"

"Not if I absorb you first."

"Good luck with that! If you could, you would have done it already! As my husband said once... Get. Fucked!"

"Good idea..." Paman whispered, and a somewhat sadistic smile crept up her face. Reyra could feel her thoughts manifest. "I will make sure to start with him. He looked mediocre... I don't know how you could sleep with such a fat, hairy, and ugly beast, but I can deal with it!"

"Shut your mouth, you whore! Don't you dare belittle my papa bear!"

"Oh, I will do more than that. I will sleep with him and, in the meantime, extract pieces of his soul, slowly gaining influence over his thoughts. Then, he will be a good little puppet that will dance as I whistle. I will control him more than you could have ever managed!"

"Lay a finger on him, and I will murder you! Do you think he wouldn't notice it?! You have the gall to suggest you could mimic me in the bed?! Fat chance, you frigid slut! You couldn't suck a dick if your life depended on it! Your best position is the 'dead corpse' one, lying there, unmoving like a wet sponge! Fuck off!"

"The more you rage, the easier it is for me to know what to do. Accept your fate, and you will be done with it sooner. Do not prolong your suffering..."

It was then the door to her room opened, and Paman looked at the figure of Lia, coming in with a big silver tray.

"Hey-ho~ I brought you some snacks and tea, Mom! Let's talk a little!"

"Thank you..." Paman smiled, looking at Lia with glowing, slightly tearful eyes. "Sorry that I became such a useless thing..."

"Nah!" She giggled, placing it down and helping her to a cup, "You took care of us all for so long; now it is my turn!" With a beaming, radiant smile she couldn't help but look into her Mother's eyes before continuing, "I will get you back, you will see!"