The Twofold Houses 5: Rebuilding

[Morty]

[Frescot House]

"Hi Lucy!" Tuskfang squeaks as they approach. Lucy is very loud, but nice. Besides, his cousins are loud too, though two of them are also smaller. "Are all of those yours? I didn't know you had this much flowers!" Then he remembers that someone new is here too. "Um, hi missus. I'm Tuskfang."

"Hello, Lucy. Please try to be quieter," Reelshka says, as she comes up behind her son with the stroller. "I've got babies with me." She then turns to the woman. "My name's Reelshka and I brought my children along for a visit. Tuskfang is quite good friends with the young Frescots. Those two are his younger siblings, Balthuk and Maltrika."

[Murkus]

[Frescot House]

"Hello Tuskfang. And Ms. Reelshka," says Viviana, folding her hands. A smile creases her face and narrows the twinkling lights of her eyes. "I'm Viviana. Lucy's grandma."

"I've heard a little about him, though clearly not enough," she says, stooping in front of the woblin boy. "They failed to mention he was so handsome! And such beautiful babies, too."

[Gullara]

[Frescot House]

"Oops." Lucy covers her mouth. She ought to know better. Mommy and daddy tell her the same thing. And waking up babies is the worst. Their crying is so loud. "Sorry..."

She edges closer to Tuskfang, so she can talk more quietly. "Mmhm. My flowers grow lots. Mommy's busy so gramma trimmed me."

[Morty]

[Frescot House]

"Wow. Why do you have so much flowers? Cern and Gwydion don't have this much." Tuskfang seems in awe. But then he's called handsome! He's not used to being called that. He blushes and puts his hands behind his back. "Um, thanks missus."

Reelshka chuckles as she pushes the stroller forwards.

"Why, thank you. They turned out a lot more like their father. Where is your mom, Lucy?"

[Murkus]

[Frescot House]

"You're quite welcome, child," says Vivi to Tuskfang, glancing over those gathered before deciding on Reelshka. "I really could stand to come out here more. I don't know any of the family friends. And I'm only just meeting Adir and Sakura's youngest today!"

"Shall I go fetch the young mother for you? I'm sure she's only gardening or tending to the babies."

[Gullara]

[Frescot House]

"My flowers're different. Daddy says they're magic." Lucy explains with a big grin. It's a good thing she's gotten used to sitting for trims since she was very young. "Mommy's with the babies." Lucy pipes up helpfully.

[Morty]

[Frescot House]

"That would be appreciated, thank you." Reelshka nods. "It's certainly a pleasure to meet more of Adir and Sakura's family."

"Oooh. Magic flower hair? There's a goblin who says she has magic hair but Brinika says she just dyed it blue. And mom says that my hair is hard to keep in line. And..." It's safe to say he'll be prattling on like this for a while.

[Murkus]

[Frescot House]

Flashing the children an adoring smile, Viviana inclines her head and strides off to find Sakura.

[Gullara]

[Frescot House]

Viviana can be pretty sure Sakura was last inside, so she likely heads inside. As she's walking along the hall, the twin boys rush out from the living room, and Cern runs right into his grandma's leg! "Oof." He'll rebound and land on his butt if that's the case.

Gwydion is a bit more on his toes. He stops abruptly, nearly tumbling forward, but there's a sudden shift in the air and he regains his balance.

[Murkus]

[Frescot House]

"Oh, no!" Viviana looks down at the poor lad and squats down in front of him. "Someone took a little spill. My fault, poor boy. I was in your hurrying space, I see that now." She gives Cernunnos her hand so she can pull him upright, and passes her gaze between the boys. "Go on then. But do tell me where your mother's gotten to."

[Gullara]

[Frescot House]

"Ow..." Despite Cern's complaint, he doesn't look too bad off. The advantages of being close to the ground. The boy is helped up and rubs his backside.

"Mommy's in the kitchen." Gwydion offers with a big grin before running off toward the door. "Hey wait!" Cern protests and runs after him.

The boys burst through the door, one after the other, and run over to their friend. "Hi Tuskfang!" "Hi!"

[Murkus]

[Frescot House]

Viviana smiles after them, as happy as could be, and goes off to find Sakura in the kitchen. Meanwhile, someone is in hot pursuit of the twin boys... a pudgy little creature with an almost comical, gopher-like gait, his whole body wobbling with the motion. He skitters after them like a loyal puppy, and arrives with a tumble in the grass, turning over once before sitting upright as though he meant to do that.

[Morty]

[Frescot House]

"Hi Cern! Hi Gwydion!" Tuskfang's babbling to Lucy is interrupted by the twins' appearance... and then the critter that followed them. The little woblin gasps and scurries over to the molerat immediately. "Woooow. Is this your new molreat? What's his name? He looks just like the ones down in Underside!"

[Gullara]

[Frescot House]

"Yeah! Lookit him. He's super fat!" Cern laughs and plops down next to David, putting an arm over him.

"We called 'im David Chewie-Chompers." Gwydion says as he moves up next to Tuskfang. "Cuz he can bite through anythin'." Or so they guess. Daddy scolded them last time they were testing...


Viviana will find Sakura in the dining room, sitting in a chair and bouncing a little baby boy. With his eyes and big deer ears he certainly fits in around here, though there's not a flower to be seen. He looks to be somewhere between a year and two old, though Viviana surely knows this already. "Mama." The boy boy blows little spit bubbles and then giggles.

"Hey. Sabuel didn't want to stay down very long, so he might get sleepy pretty early later." Sakura explains. "Did Reelshka and the kids show up? I'm guessing that's what all the commotion is."

[Murkus]

[Frescot House]

David squeaks loudly and nuzzles the top of his head up against Cern's arm. A moment later he's off in a flurry again, waddling rapid circles around the boy as his belly brushes on the grass.


Viviana's face lights up like nothing else as she sees her little Sabuel. "Oh, I can't seem to get him to sleep for longer than a few minutes at a time during the day. Rambunctious. I dread him as a boy," says the elder mother, laughing. "Yes, that's them. Reelshka wanted to see you, my dear. If you want to keep after my precious one there, I can watch the older children. Maybe even play some games with them. I don't have any their age at home at the moment."

[Morty]

[Frescot House]

"Yeah! Molerats have crazy teeth. Bunduk said that they can even bite through metal but Brinika says he's making it up." Bunduk isn't a name of any of Tuskfang's cousins that the boys have met; seems he's one of Tuskfang's or Brinika's friends. "And grandpa said he used to have to keep an eye out on wild molerats when he was a boy on his dad's bug farm." He moves up to Cern and David Chewie-Chompers, trying to reach out and pet the critter as he runs around the boy.

[Gullara]

[Frescot House]

"Hey, slow down!" Cern laughs. He shifts onto his knees and tries to keep turning his head to watch his pet. "We can get a spoon and see if he chews."

"Wild ones? Why'd he have to watch out?" Gwydion asks curiously. "Mommy says we gotta teach 'im to only chew certain things."


"Oh of course; I could entertain him all day." He's just too precious! "Can you ask Reelshka to come in, though? I need to keep an eye on Laurana and Cassie too." The dryad nods toward the sitting area. The girls can't be seen, but Viviana can hear them quietly chattering somewhere behind the couch.

[Murkus]

[Frescot House]

David slows down, if only so he can sniff at Tuskfang's hand. A few preemptive sniffs seem to qualify him to have David's head shoved into his hand. The molerat chitters and scrabbles his feet.


"I'll let her know. Mommy will be back before too long, sweetie," she says, leaning in to stroke one of Sabuel's large ears as though adjusting it.

She'll make her way back outside to Reelshka, saying when she appears, "Miss Reelshka! The lady of the house says you can come on in. I'll watch these ones."Vivi making a show of squinting her eyes at the older children.

[Morty]

[Frescot House]

Reelshka nods.

"Of course. I'll be right there. Be nice, Tuskfang. Listen to Mrs. Viviana."

Tuskfang nods as well in response to his mother, but his attention is focused squarely on the molerat in front of him. He giggles when David Chewie-Chompers rubs against his hand.

"Because wild molerats get everywhere and they really like eatin' bugs," he says. "He had to keep them away. They had a spark-cat to do it. They're like slinks but they're bigger and they don't make good pets."

[Gullara]

[Frescot House]

Gwydion sits down next to Tuskfang, his eyes alight with curiosity. "Spark-cat? Are they electric? I want a electric pet." Cern nods emphatically. "Yeah cool! Pzew pzew!"

[Murkus]

[Frescot House - Molerat Wranglin'

"Oh, dear, no you don't," Viviana scoffs good naturedly, folding herself down onto her knees next to the boys. "I had a boy bring a frog home that could shoot lightning, once. That did not end terribly well. Your parents would go into conniptions."

She reaches over to pet David as well, who seems contented to hunker down under all these pettin' hands for the moment. Free pets are just the best.

[Morty]

[Frescot House - Molerat Wranglin']

"Yeah! They've got mustache-things and tails that zap you if they touch you!" Tuskfang declares excitedly. "Grandpa says they don't make good pets because they're not friendly but they guard stuff well." He then looks up at Viviana. "A frog that shot lightning? How far did it shoot?"

Reelshka, meanwhile, makes her way to where Viviana said Sakura would be.

"Hello, Sakura... oh, goodness. Who is this little gentleman?"

He's not one of Sakura's children, so she supposes he must be someone from Adir's family, judging by the ears.

[Gullara]

[Frescot House - Molerat Wranglin']

"Wow, what? A frog? How big?" Cern asks, his eyes wide with wonder.

"Isit like the ones Russell catches?" Gwydion cups his hands to show. Russell is really good at catching frogs.


Sakura grins when Reelshka walks in. "This is Sabuel. He's The kids' uncle." Sakura giggles, her eyes alight. "You think Adir was this cute?" The little boy is staring at Reelshka, his big ears flicking with interest.

[Murkus]

[Frescot House - Molerat Wranglin']

"Why, I bet it could shoot..." Viviana eyes the clearing around them. She indicates a spot at the yard's edge. "From here to there at least. Further if he was upset!" Vivi turns to Gwydion and spreads her hands rather absurdly wide. "He was enormous! And so round! Why he got so big, we had to let him go. He nearly shot off one of your grandfather's antlers before that though!"

"That boy tells me the frog still visits him sometimes - and that he's even bigger now - but I'm not sure I believe him."

[Morty]

[Frescot House - Molerat Wranglin']

Tuskfang listens with wide eyes, clearly enthralled by the idea of a lighting-shooting frog.

"That's a really large frog! There's frogs at the lake at home, but they're small. I hope that frog found a froggy home somewhere."

Elsewhere, Reelshka is perplexed. This little one is Viviana's son? She's still having children? Well, she is fey. It'd be rude to bring it up, besides. Though she does wonder how many siblings Adir must have.

"Well, I wouldn't know. But the family resemblance is plain." She flicks her own long ears in the boy's direction. "Hello, Sabuel. I'm Reelshka. Say hi to Balthuk and Maltrika."

She pushes the stroller closer to the baby and Sakura, showing them the two little woblins.

[Gullara]

[Frescot House - Molerat Wranglin']

"Wow! That's the biggest frog ever!" So cool.

"We should go look for frogs." Gwydion declares and pushes himself to his feet. "Behind the house."

"Yeah, let's go!" Cern gets up too and looks at their pet. "Come on, David. Up!"

Lucy tugs on the edge of Viviana's dress. All the attention shifted away from her! "Pick me up." She says, using a time tested tactic to get noticed.


"Say hi, Sabuel." Sakura encourages.

"Hi." Sabuel's eyes shift from Reelshka and down to the two babies as Sakura leans him over to look in the stroller. "Baby." He points down at them."

"Yes, that's right. They're Reelshka's babies."

[Murkus]

[Frescot House - Molerat Wranglin]

David clacks his teeth and leaps to his feet, careening after Cern with heartwarming devotion. Vivi is a little slower, but thankfully that means she notices Lucy tugging. "Why of course, my moppet-princess! Why, pardon me for not thinking of it sooner." Lucy is plucked from the ground and cuddled against Vivi's chest. "My you're a lot lighter without all that extra fluff."

Off they'll go to follow the boys. Oh dear, what has she started?

[Morty]

[Frescot House - Molerat Wranglin']

"Good idea!" Tuskfang doesn't waste any time following his friends and their molerat in search of frogs. "Do you get a lot of frogs in your garden? How do you catch 'em? My dad hunts but he doesn't catch frogs."

"Look at you! Quite chatty already," Reelshka baby-talks at Sabuel. "Those two are a bit too small to talk just yet." Balthuk starts squirming a little in this stroller, so Reelshka picks him up and rocks him a little bit. "Adir's family must be sizeable," she remarks.

[Gullara]

[Frescot House - Molerat Wranglin']

Lucy latches onto Viviana and grins widely. "Uh huh. It's lighter for me too."

"You gotta be quiet and quick!" Cern explains as he leads the way. They head past the open back yard. Sarget is on the far side and the two boys wave to him as they walk through. No time to stop, though, they're on a mission.

The landscape gives way to forest almost immediately behind the Frescot home, but it starts out with a light scattering of trees. The boys leads the way through them, following a well worn trail. After just a couple minutes they arrive at a small pond. The path stops here and so do they. "There's lots of frog in there." Gwydion explains as they look over the pond. One side of it is dense with reeds, and sure enough the sound of frogs croaking is in the air. Cern is already edging toward the reeds.


Back at the house, Sabuel gives Reelshka a big smile and bounces in on Sakura's knee. "Oh, I don't even know how many brother he has." Sakura says. "It's actually really hard to try to keep track the the times we've visited. He's got brothers way older than him, and then there's little Sabuel here. Only brothers, though. The only girls I saw were our nieces I think."

[Murkus]

[Molerat Wranglin']

"I bet. That's a really incredible thing that happens to your flowers. I think you might be very good at helping things grow," Vivi tells little Lucy. She takes the time to call out a hullo to her fellow grandparent as they pass him, but wants to try to keep pace with the boys. "Do you like frogs too, Lucy? Or are they icky?"

Once they arrive at the pond, David Chewie Chompers seems to almost mimic Cern's movements. He looks almost eager to go chasing the frogs out of the reeds, but he is withheld only by a tenuous attachment to the boys.