Family Matters

“Mama! Got the mail you wanted!”

“Thank you, my love! You can set it next to the workbench!”

With a huff and an almighty heave, Dwi deposited the - large proportionate to him but relatively tiny - box next to the bench, taking a second to catch his breath. His mother, Mesi (a spry vespire with a gentle disposition, fur patterned in striped, luminous rainbow hues), stationed at the front of the smithy and currently perforating a strip of worked leather with a delicate-looking tool, looked up from her task to chuckle at her son; she told Dwi she could run out and grab the delivery herself, but he insisted he was big enough to get the mail now, so she let him perform the errand himself. He was at that age of wanting to prove himself, it seemed.

“Well well, look at my big, strong vespire! Collecting the mail with no trouble!” Mesi cooed, not able to resist teasing him. Dwi puffed out his tiny chest with pride.

“I told you I could handle it, Mother; didn’t even need ta use magic to help lift it!” he boasted, head cocked high. Dwi did need the help of his developing horn to shove it down the slope leading to the smithy, but she didn’t need to know that. “What’s even in the box, anyway? It was super heav – uh, felt like it had a lot of stuff in it!”

“New chisels,” called his mama, Adene (a stocky imposing vespire, fur black as night but for the burning red spot on her forehead, a perfect match to the red of her eyes), from the back of the shop, rearing her hammer back before bringing it down on the heated metal with a resounding CLANG! The process was repeated before Adene lifted the shaped metal with her tongs, and after a quick lookover, dunked it into the quench tank with a hisssss, steam quickly filling the space.

Dwi wasted no time approaching, eyes sparkling with awe as he watched his mama work. It was always a treat to watch her make swords; swords weren’t the only thing she crafted, but it was definitely his favorite, seeing the useless metal smushed into a sick weapon. It was even cooler when his mother got a hold of it; her eye for detail and skill with leather and working a chisel made beautiful blades with ornamental hilts, as pretty as they were deadly.

The tiny vespire barely made it past the desk when he felt a tugging on his tail abruptly stop him. Dwi sighed before turning around, a pout already on his face. Curling around the stinger on his tail was a bright green stalk, freshly sprouted from the earth covering the smithy floor. Innocuous if not for the death grip it exerted, halting his movement.

“Mother – “

“Darling, you know not to get too close when your mama is working. It’s not safe,” Mesi tutted, and with a flick of her claw, the stalk yanked backwards, tugging Dwi along with the motion. He huffed loudly.

“I wasn’t even that close, gosh!! I just wanted to see!!”

“You can see just fine next to your mother,” Adene spoke up, bringing the metal back to the anvil once Dwi was deposited next to Mesi. She took a deep breath, and as she held it, a slit within her fur sparked open and fire could be seen within, churning and coiling with terrible strength. With a flash of her eyes, Adene released her pneumir, the smoke reaching such an intense heat, the metal almost immediately glowed an eerie brightness. Satisfied, Adene brought down her hammer to draw the metal out further.

Dwi fidgeted, wanting to get closer, though his attempts to sneak closer were aborted when several more stalks popped out of the earth and surrounded him, not making a grab at him, but swaying slowly, poised. He looked up at his mother, who only smiled at him, though her eyes had a particular glint to them. One that said ‘don’t even try it’.

Ugh. Fiiiiiiine. 

Mesi, sensing he’ll behave, went back to decorating.

Well, now he’s bored. Dwi stretched out on the ground, propping his head up with his claws, eyes following the almost hypnotic movements of his mama hammering the soon-to-be sword. “Hey Mama,” said Dwi, after Adene paused again to cool the metal. A grunt signified he had her attention. “Could I have a sword?”

A pregnant pause.

“...why would you want a sword, dear?”

“They’re so COOL!” Dwi darn near exploded from his seat, jumping onto his feet. “Especially those pretty ones with the jewels and stuff! There’s this one geode at school that’s always such a meanie and acts like she’s better than everyone, but you know  what she doesn’t have? A COOL SWORD! I could show it off and have all kinds of new friends, too!”

A snort from Mesi as she tried to smother laughter. Adene looked at her wife in exasperation, who only grinned at her. Well, guess she’s not going to get help in this situation.

“...Dwi, you don’t need a sword to accomplish that.”

(“Someone is giving you trouble…?” chimed in Mesi, a dangerous flavor to her tone; Adene placated her with a hushed ‘we’ll discuss that later’)

“MAYBE, but the kids would think I’m cool! It would be great for Show and Tell!”

“...Dwi, a sword is not a toy. They can be dangerous to have, especially at your age.”

“AW, but I’m, like…seven summers now! I’m grown up!” he argued, standing up tall and extending his wings to look as big as possible. “I know the dangers, and I’ll be real careful, I promise!! I can even hold it; I’ve been practicin’ my magic, and I can lift my toy easy now!”

Sorta. It has to wobble a bit before it gets airborne, but hey! Progress!

“I don’t doubt it,” said Adene, who set aside the metal on the anvil with a thunk. Something told her she’s going to need all of her attention for this. Her claw twitched, and the forge died down to a harmless smolder. Once she set aside her tools, she beckoned to her son, who all but flew - figuratively, his wings weren’t strong enough for that yet - across the space to join his mama. A sweep of her tail, and Dwi was scooped up and lifted into the air and into her arms, the geode giggling the whole time.

“Even so, it’s not about being strong, Dwi,” began Adene. “It’s not about reputation either, or looking ‘cool’. Swords are made to protect, to keep your loved ones safe, and should only be used for that purpose. You can enjoy the aesthetics, my heart, but it’s very important to have discipline. Responsibility.”

Adene paused, eyes going distant. An old memory surfaced, lingering. Dwi let out a confused trill, and she shook her head, snapping back to the present.

“Too many people want the power of a sword without discipline,” she continued. “The discipline to know when it’s necessary to use… and when it’s not. Power without discipline and responsibility leads to hurt, either to you, or to those you love, and it’s not something to take lightly, no matter how ‘cool’ it may seem. You cannot use a sword without understanding these things.”

Dwi was quiet. You could almost hear the gears whirring in his head with how hard he was pondering his mama’s words. Some of the words were a little bit hard for his still-developing mind to fully comprehend, but he got the gist of it well enough. He thinks.

“So… I could have a sword if I wanna keep you and mother safe?”

…close enough. “Yes dear, though a proper swordspire wants to protect everyone around him; your mothers, your neighbors, the elderly pouflon down the street that sells pastries, those from other villages… even those who might not like you.”

Dwi wrinkled his nose. “But why should I care if they don’t like me??”

Adene’s response was sharp, chastising. “Then you should not wield a blade.”

Dwi shrunk back slightly, startled. Mesi, who’s been quiet as Adene explained, who also put aside her own work, spoke up. “Not so harshly, darling,” she told her wife, soothing. “He is young, and still learning.”

Adene sighed, wrangling her tone into a gentler one. “Dwi… a mistake a lot of swordspires have made in the past was considering only the safety of select others, letting hate and anger cloud their judgment. Many were hurt because of it.” She tucked a tuft of fur behind Dwi’s ear. “A proper wielder must be better, must want protection for all. That is part of the responsibility; otherwise, a sword does not belong in your claws.”

The geode considered this. He… supposed his mama was right; it would be mean to let people get hurt, especially if he had the ability to prevent it. Even the stinky vespire that was mean to others didn’t deserve to get seriously hurt. Gnuts in her lunch, maybe, but hurt? He doesn’t like getting ouchies, so he knows others wouldn’t, either!

“I guess…” Dwi agreed. “So, uh… basically, I gotta show I can have responsib… responsili… reponsi –”

“Responsibility.”

“That! If I show that and keep everyone safe, I can get a sword?”

Seems he wasn’t deterred in the slightest. Adene shared a look with Mesi, who shook her head fondly. “My heart, if you acquire the proper discipline and understand fully what it means to use a sword, I will personally make one for you.”

Oh, that did it. Dwi’s eyes became the size of dinner plates, tiny puffs of pneumir expelling from his nose as he gasped. He wriggled excitedly in his mama’s arms, a clawed fist pumping the air. “AWESOME!!! I’m gonna learn lots and read lots, and then I’ll get a cool sword!!!”

Mesi chuckled, while Adene looked at her son in bemusement. Well… geodes like to shoot for the stars in their formative years. No harm in letting him entertain these thoughts, or even take the studies once he’s grown. Best case scenario, he understands the dangers; worst case scenario, he finds another interest and forgets his fascination with dangerous weaponry.

It’s a win-win.