She couldn't afford to lose her temper and startle her Featherling. The presence of a child was enough to turn the usually fiery Guardian into a paragon of composure.
When Aran stirred and opened his eyes, he found his entire family standing in front of him, staring. His parents showed a perfect blend of worry and anger. His siblings looked proudly at him while Onyx was brimming with joy.
As for Leria, it was hard to determine whether her expression was more relieved from the scare or green with unyielding envy.
"Mom? Big Bros? Sis? What are you doing here?" Aran asked with a mumbling voice from tiredness. "You were supposed to return tomorrow."
"What about , you Rascal?" Raaz's tone was upset but he couldn't decide whether to be relieved or upset.
"How could I stay away from my baby in such a mont?" Elina's voice was cracked and her eyes watery but she didn't dare approach him until Salaark gave the all-clear.
"What the farm were you thinking?" Lith asked. "You scared us to death!"
"Why didn't you tell about your intention to Awaken? We could have worked together." Leria had none of Raaz's doubts and was fully aggrieved.
"You almost gave a heart attack, you dummy!" Onyx sniffled amid tears.
"Congratulations, Hatchling!" Leegaain was the only one festive and sour note in the
group.
Everyone turned to look at him as if he had proposed to cut Aran's arm off.
"One at a ti!" Salaark raised her hand, asking them for silence. "Even I don't. understand a word you say and your bickering is giving a headache. As I said the first ti, Aran is fine. He's just tired from his feat."
"Dad, I expected you to be here. Where else were you supposed to be?" Aran replied to them. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't want to ruin your vacation. This was supposed to be a surprise for your return.
"I had to Awaken, Big Bro. The process was plenty painful at the bright yellow. If I did it at the deep green or later, it would have been much worse." Aran didn't consider death as a possible outco but just the idea of a more intense pain made him shudder.
"I didn't tell you because I wanted to test my abilities, Leria. Not everything can be done with teamwork. Also, Lith always says that Awakening is like achieving the violet: no two thods are alike. What works for you wouldn't have worked for .
"Even worse, we might have ended up creating a hybrid technique that worked for neither of us."
"It makes sense." Leria ruefully conceded.
"I'm sorry, Onyx. I didn't an to make you worry. I an, you Awakened too and everything is alright, isn't it?" Onyx gave him sothing between a hug and a tackle, nuzzling her face while making sure he was alright.
"Thank you, Grandpa. Thank you, Shargein." The Wyrmling didn't talk, he just walked up to Aran and gave him congratulatory licks. "Also, guys, I promise I'll hear everything you have to say and endure any punishnt you want, but please, let eat first."
His stomach roared like an angry lion.
"I'm starving." Another growl confird his words.
A snap of Salaark's fingers brought everyone to the dining room and Aran started eating the mont food was placed in front of him. He would have been hungry just for training as much as he did but after a breakthrough, he was ravenous.
It took him several plates and nurous seconds to feel sated. His newly Awakened body digested the food as soon as it was ingested, using the nutrients to fill the void left by the expelled impurities with thicker muscles and denser bones.
The mont Aran was done eating and ready to talk, Elina rushed to his side and held him in her arms, crying.
"I'm sorry, Mom. Please, don't cry!" He felt so guilty that soon Aran started to cry as well. "I'm sorry."
It took the two of them several minutes to calm down and when they did, Raaz didn't feel like scolding his son anymore.
'Later. When Aran has cald down and away from Elina. He thought.
"Are you alright, son?" He asked while placing a hand on Aran's shoulder.
"Yes, Dad. I'm fine. I swear. I'm just tired." He yawned, wishing he could sleep until the next day.
After his parents, it was the turn of his siblings, his nephews and niece, and the rest of the extended family. Aran had to endure many scoldings and received very few congratulations.
Even Onyx mostly pouted at him.
"How strong am I now, Big Bro?" He asked once everyone was done giving him a piece of their mind.
"You an compared to a boy your age? About the sa." Lith replied.
"Seriously?" Aran whined in disappointnt.
"Your body is now healthier, sturdier, and has a better mana conductivity, but the rest is the sa." Lith shrugged. "Today you lost solely superficial impurities or it would have been much worse.
"You need to wait until the cyan for the first physical changes to manifest. What you can do now, however, is use both Fusion and Spirit Magic."
"You're right! I had almost forgotten about that. How do I do it?" Aran tried to circulate the fire elent and almost fainted from it. "Never mind. It can wait."
"He can?" Leria sounded offended, as if Lith had insulted her.
"Yes, Leria. I'm sorry." Lith knew that now Aran had stepped into a territory where she couldn't follow, creating a gap between them that would only grow wider until she
Awakened as well.
Assuming she did, of course.
"Since we are already here and Aran can use a break from scolding, tell us about your trip." Raaz handed his son honeyed milk to improve his strength.
"With pleasure, dear." Elina moved her eyes from Aran to her husband. "Lith was a wonderful host, like always."
They had communicated daily but there was only so much that could be expressed by words. Elina showed them the pictures and videos from her amulet, describing to
everyone the most impressive monts of her vacation.
'Gods! I'm so glad I didn't go with them.' Aran and Leria thought in unison, feeling bored just by looking at the pictures.
"I heard there have been a few... accidents." Raaz said. "I hope they didn't ruin the mood
of the trip."
"Not at all, Dad," Lith shook his head. "They were only isolated accidents with no
repercussions. I made sure of it."
After a bit of chit-chat, Aran felt the pressure easing on him and dozed off.
"Wake up, dummy!" Much to his surprise, it was Onyx talking. "It's Lith's turn to talk."
She was still pouting but now held his hand.
"As I was saying, no matter how we feel about Aran's Awakening. It's what he wanted and
his own achievent so he deserves a little celebration. Is tonight okay for you or would you rather postpone it to tomorrow?" Lith asked.
"I don't know." Aran sighed. "I'd like to do it today but I'm tired. Also, the mood isn't really
festive."
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