AN: Personal formatting heads up. The first you’ve likely noticed.
In Chapter Ti Skip ---
Flashback Start
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Yatrel er Goltbred had made good on her random thoughts. A second daughter was born just a couple months before the first would be going off to join a Guild as an adult. She had decided on the na Onya, which ant ’river bend’ in the old tongue.
It was also the first syllable of both of their nas. Hearing the choice also made Elua realize that *her* na was *also* just a combination of the *last* two syllables in her parent’s nas!
’What ’auspicious’, wasn’t it just a coincidental word? They probably only looked up its aning after she picked it. And why did the first child get nad with the last letters and the second with the initial? I don’t understand my mother’s *aesthetics* or the father that lets her do whatever she wants.’
The infant ended up with her father’s eyes and her mother’s hair. As for which she’d look more like in the face, it was hard to tell. The heiress had *known* it, but newborns were rather... ugly. It made her consider that she had also looked pudgy and ’not cute’ at one point (two points). It kind of made her glad Qatrand didn’t start visiting until they were both a little older!
Even a couple weeks later when the swordswoman returned from an extended mission, that view of her little sister hadn’t changed.
"Would you like to hold her?"
"Is that alright?"
The Goltbred woman gave the young Yecine a look that was a little too close to ’questioning her intelligence’ for one smaller girl’s liking. She just noted it and held her tongue.
"Well, I wouldn’t have offered it if it wasn’t. You’re going to be her brother-in-law, so it’s better that you get along. With the age difference, she probably won’t understand the difference between you being her actual sibling or not for a number of years... I don’t think anyone else would mind you thinking the sa."
The dark haired ’boy’ carefully reached and took the bundled baby and cradled it the way the mother had been doing. Onya opened her eyes for just a mont and closed them again. Qatrand felt a little moved by the experience, though she didn’t show it much.
"You’re doing well. Although, your fiance has been a lot more stubborn. She hasn’t held her once."
"Really? Why?"
Her gem asked aloud to the person they were talking about. Elua sat in a chair a distance away just watching the interaction. Especially every little fluctuation in her fiance’s spirit. It was engaging and calming like watching a candle fla or a campfire.
She cleared her throat imperiously before gesturing with a sky facing palm in the teenager’s direction.
"I refrained so that you would be the first non-caregiver to hold my precious sister."
"Oh, I see. What’s the real reason?"
’Ah, she can even call out for fibbing without bothering to look~ I really do love her!’
"I’m terrified of getting emotional and losing control of my Physique. You’ve seen it happen with my Elent already. It’s just... better that I don’t."
The brunette answered with trailing ’sadness’. She’d never had a sibling in her last life. She also never knew anyone well that would have *let* her hold their child. Trust was not sothing people familiar with the scher had.
As for just randomly going up to soone unknown or sneaking in sowhere just to pick a baby up? The woman back then would have just wondered what rit there was in it. Therefore, the reborn cultivator wouldn’t have called it a dream or desire, but she did now recognize it as sothing of a humanizing elent she unfortunately missed out on before.
"It’s not like I haven’t touched her at all. I poked her cheeks and let her grab my finger. I call her na and smile. I even made sure she knew not to harbor any inappropriate feelings for you or else we’d be enemies in the future."
Elua had enjoyed being a ’good’ and ’caring’ sister. Qat turned her face finally and tilted her head, not sure whether she was joking on the last part. anwhile, her parent clapped once and nodded.
"Did you? That’s great. I did sothing similar to you regarding your father. Actually, were you old enough for that to sink in when I did it, or did I just get lucky?"
’Yes, I rember. Every ti you took back from him you would whisper not to get any funny ideas about your husband when I grew up. I honestly thought you were joking with your baby at the ti, since I hadn’t learned everyone’s personality.’
As soone who all the ti was told they weren’t funny even when they *clearly* were, she had a tendency to suspect that others might be joking when she didn’t understand the reason for sothing being said. It was also just that *most* of the ti she didn’t care what anyone was saying.
"You should probably wait until she’s older if you want to be sure. I don’t rember anything like that. I was also just kidding - I didn’t tell her those words."
Elua lied fluently with the final two sentences. Neither of the won believed the last after encountering her ’real’ persona - and the fiance sohow doubted the first. Ever since their contact in the street that day, the Yecine would get impressions about the ’truth’ as it related to the mint-eyed girl.
At least when she was saying sothing next to her.
She couldn’t think of a reason why that was the case, but it did seem that she was right each ti. At least the Goltbred would admit and change her responses when confronted.
Elua would know exactly why if she was asked, but hadn’t been! She knew it was only a matter of ti before the husband-wife beca suspicious enough of the newfound ability to question her in private and was sowhat looking forward to the conversation.
’I wonder how upset she will be to learn that I severed that tendril that poked too deep... and then enshrined the fragnt safely in my ’heart’ with all the other important mories? A percent of spirit loss here and there for is nothing, but for her it was probably a few weeks of ditating.’
Even if the Goltbred desired to give it back, which she didn’t, it had been too long and been too affected by the illusionist’s energy to just be able to rge together with its original owner. That was even if she could guide the young woman on how exactly to successfully do sothing more advanced like that.
’I’ll add it to the list of things I need to teach her how to do after we marry.’
In her ideals, she would already be locked in a room doing exactly that. The swordswoman’s progress had certainly slowed down. There was a gift that she had been considering bestowing before she left that might help alleviate that a little, but she was worried that it might be stolen. There were a few things she had been considering as a security asure, but-
"By the way, you told him of your Physique? I didn’t know it was sothing you had to... control."
’Ah... I told them I couldn’t figure out what it was.’
"W-well, the thing is..."
The mint-eyed girl started, but already saw in the matching eyes that it was too late. Nothing would be believed!
"It’s weird and I don’t want other people to know about it so I didn’t tell anyone what I knew."
"You did tell *soone*."
"Yeah. I’ve known for a few weeks."
All it took was Qat phrasing the question when they were alone one ti!
"If it makes you feel better, mother, I regret telling ’him’."
Qat winced but then chuckled. She could tell it wasn’t *entirely* the truth.
"Are you still mad about the joke I made? I did apologize."
The taller girl had also freely given the requested ’hug to make feel better’ that very night. Her debt should have been paid. The Goltbred crossed her arms and puffed her cheek.
"I’m not mad."
Once again, two of them didn’t quite believe her. It seed to be becoming a habit for the pair.
"You do look upset, dear."
"I can be upset without being mad!"
Elua stomped once and stepped over to poke the nose of the little infant girl still in her beloved’s arms. The sleeping baby didn’t even stir.
"Ugh, Onya... they are ganging up on . Hurry and grow up so that you can always take my side, our tiny ’river bend’~"
Once again, the young heiress had never had a sibling - so she had no idea how wrong her estimation of their future relationship could be! ’Always’ is a very long ti, after all... and even ancient cultivators who thought they were immutable could be changed by their experiences.
Just such a ’person’ secretly carved one more miniscule line of ritual into her current biological sister before smiling ’sweetly’.
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