"She's right," Magnus suddenly spoke from behind.
"You agree with her, Grandpa?"
"Yes," Magnus said. "This is how n communicate with each other."
"They could just hug," Atticus said.
Magnus shook his head. "Too womanly."
"Ahem."
They both turned toward Anorah, whose arms were on her waist. "Too womanly?"
Magnus blinked, while Atticus took a step back on sheer instinct. 'Just in case.'
"…sorry," Magnus said, but Anorah shook her head. "It's fine, Grandpa Magnus. It's my man I bla." She glared at Atticus. "Can't even defend your woman."
"He wasn't even talking about you…"
"What did you say?" She took a step closer.
Atticus instinctively leaned toward Magnus.
"Nothing…"
"I thought so."
Anorah's eyes suddenly snapped to Noctis perched on his head, and they lit up.
"Noctis! Hey, cutie. I wanted to greet you earlier, but it wasn't the right ti. Co here, sweetheart."
She stretched out her hands, but Noctis quickly backed away, clutching Atticus' hair like his life depended on it.
"Huh? Are you scared of , cutie? I won't bite, I promise."
But Noctis' grip only tightened. Atticus couldn't bla him.
'She scares too.'
The little guy had seen everything. Atticus couldn't bla him for being cautious.
Atticus abruptly felt a burning stare drilling into the side of his face. He turned to find Anorah silently glaring at him.
He sighed.
"Noctis… go to her," he said.
"Kuu!" Noctis shook his head furiously.
Atticus gently picked him up. The little guy stared at him with pleading eyes.
'Listen… I'll be the one who suffers if you don't. Do it for dada, okay? I'll give you lots of treats later. Promise.'
Noctis shook his head again, but Atticus just smiled awkwardly at Anorah.
"He's just shy, that's all. Here."
"Kuu!" Noctis shot him a look of pure betrayal as Atticus handed him over, but Atticus pretended not to see it.
"Oh wow, your fur is so soft. You're adorable," Anorah said warmly.
Even as she played with him, Noctis kept casting Atticus wounded, betrayed looks.
But Atticus wisely chose not to intervene.
As he watched the scene before him, Anorah gently playing with the droopy Noctis, and Whisker and Ozeroth practically nose to nose, jabbing fingers and hurling insults, Atticus found himself smiling.
They were his family.
"What now?" Magnus asked quietly beside him.
Atticus was silent for a mont, taking in the chaotic, comforting sight.
"We do everything we can to survive," he finally said, "while aiming for the top."
…
After their brief reunion, Atticus realized it was ti to move when the surviving resistance mbers finally found them. Though he wasn't particularly close to them, he was genuinely relieved to see that Lazio had sohow survived the battle.
Atticus, along with Anorah, Whisker, Ozeroth, and many others, spent the next monts roaming the region, hunting down every fleeing Redfla viscount and champion they could track.
Every single one of them was killed without rcy, adding to the mountain Atticus already had.
Afterwards, they retreated to one of the territories under Atticus' control, where a blazing bonfire burned at the center of the city. The surviving mbers gathered around it in heavy silence.
Heavy drinks were passed around, and as the night deepened, the once brooding atmosphere shifted into a full blown party.
Resistance mbers roared at the top of their lungs. The groups split naturally, so listening to dramatic retellings of their bravery, others cracking jokes about the dying Redflas, and many simply staring into the fire or the dark sky with lost, empty gazes.
Atticus found himself standing at the top of a building, overlooking everything. Yet his eyes were fixed on a particular scene unfolding below.
Ozeroth stood in the middle of the field, silently staring at the petite princess who stared back at him with an even fiercer gaze.
It looked like the two were seconds away from tearing into each other.
A short distance away, Whisker had plopped himself onto a chair, lazily popping balls of popcorn into his mouth while watching the pair with sparkling eyes. Beside him sat the quiet Magnus, and Kiara, whose expression was twisted in worry as she clenched her fists.
"You feel… familiar," Ozeroth finally said, breaking the silence. "Who the hell are you?"
The princess raised her chin. "That is not how you greet your superior."
"Oh?" Ozeroth grinned. "This peanut is delusional. No one is superior to the great Ozeroth!"
"You're the delusional one!" she snapped. "The great Ozerra is superior to all!"
Atticus narrowed his eyes.
'Her na is Ozerra?'
He was stunned. And judging from the frozen expressions on Whisker and Magnus, no one had expected that twist. His gaze drifted to Kiara, who had covered her face with her palm and sighed deeply.
'They're hiding sothing.'
He rembered their odd reactions when Whisker first ntioned Ozeroth earlier. He hadn't bothered asking the princess' na because of how chaotic everything had been… but to think…
Ozeroth also appeared taken aback for a mont, but he quickly scoffed. "Ha! Ozerra! Who the hell gave you such a terrible na?"
"Look who's talking! The na Ozeroth is even more terrible!"
"Oh? So you admit Ozerra is terrible?"
"Ozeroth is lesser!"
"I never accepted such nonsense! But you did, which makes Ozerra lesser!"
"I never accepted it either!" she fired back.
They turned away dramatically, then instantly spun back around, screaming over each other again and trying to outdo one another in sheer stubbornness.
'How is he not surprised?'
Atticus couldn't help but wonder if Ozeroth was truly alright in the head. A small princess with the sa will, sa personality, and even a near identical na had appeared out of nowhere… and his first instinct was to prove superiority?
He sighed.
'On the bright side, it shows Ozeroth is Ozeroth.'
He felt a figure appear behind him.
"Hey, Grandpa."
"Hey."
Magnus stepped up beside him, quietly taking in the city below.
"You've done a great job," he abruptly said.
Atticus fired him a sidelong glance, blinking before a small smile appeared on his lips.
"I'm glad you think that."
"I'm proud of you."
Atticus narrowed his eyes. They were great words, too great. They reminded him of a scene he desperately wanted to forget.
"Please tell you're not trying to sacrifice yourself or sothing."
Magnus coughed. Then coughed again.
"I only did that once."
"Twice." Atticus gave him a flat stare. "I was counting."
Magnus looked away, suddenly embarrassed.
"…no."
Atticus smiled and nodded. "Good."
A quiet mont settled between them.
"She's a good one," Magnus said at last.
"Who? Anorah?"
"Your woman, yes. She has a good heart."
"I know." He smiled, then shuddered slightly as mories of her painful affection flashed through him. "Well, most of the ti."
"You an the bullying?"
As Atticus nodded silently, Magnus laughed.
"Reminds of Freya."
"Grandma?" Atticus blinked, startled, but Magnus shook his head with a wistful smile.
"Oh, don't let her gentle nature fool you. I was married to her for more than a century, and sohow… I've never said no to her."
Atticus' eyes widened.
"Not once?"
"Not once."
"Em… she's very persuasive?"
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