"Melli, darling? It's time to get ready," Amarantha called. The tiny toddler waddled cautiously towards his mother, who was sitting comfortably by the fire with a cup of tea in her hand. Her silcoon and cascoon rested on a seat beside her. "Goodness, me. Where are your pants?" The boy looked down at the floor quietly at his un-dressed lower half. "Let's put on your pants, okay?" Amarantha rose from her position and took her son by the hand, guiding him to the bed to sit down while she rummaged through a small wooden chest for a tiny pair of plain grey pants pefrectly-sized for the little one. "Give me your foot, please?" The toddler kept looking down at his lap, avoiding eye contact. "Melli?" Amarantha paused for a moment, thinking of a way to get her son to respond. She began to tickle the bottom of his foot.
"Ehehehe!" The boy squealed.
"Silly Melli," Amarantha smiled back at the giggling boy. She carefully guided the foot through one of the pant legs. "Now your other!" She tickled the bottom of the other foot.
"Ehehehe! Mommy!"
"Thank you, darling," his other foot was pulled through. "Now, stand up for me, please?" Amarantha lifted the small bean up from the bed allowing him to stand. She pulled the pair of pants up and fastened the miniature waistband around his tummy. "There!" Melli rocked forward spreading his arms. "You want a hug, Melli?" Amarantha let her son squeeze her torso; she wrapped her hands around him in kind. "You're such a great boy!"
"Tea!" The boy pointed at his mother's cup sitting on the table. He slid out from his mother's embrace and ran towards the cup.
"Yes, Melli. Tea!" Amarantha followed him back to the table. "Oh, be careful." Melli noticed the two coccoon pokémon sitting next to the table.
"Buggy!"
"Yes, Melli. Buggies. Let's leave them alone, okay? They're quite comfortable where they are." Melli grabbed the warm cup of tea sitting on the table with both of his hands and brought the rim to his mouth to take a swig. He extended the cup towards his mother next. "Oh, thank you, darling, hehe." The door swished open as Amarantha gulped the remaining tea down.
"Aaaaa! Daddy!!" Melli hopped up and sped for his father.
"Good morning, Melli!" Aeon bent down to pick up his son. He swang him around playfully and carried him back in with him. "And a good morning to my Oriental Sweetlips," Aeon brushed his wife's soft cheek with his Melli-free hand. "How is my Sweetlips today?"
"Fairly good, hehe," Amarantha blushed.
"How is Melli today?" Aeon looked down at his son, who was suckling a finger in his mouth. "Are you doing well today?"
"Ummm... Yes, Melli is great," he managed. Melli popped his finger back into his mouth and buried his face into his father's chest.
"Good." Aeon sat next to his wife and the pokémon around the table; Melli sat in his lap. Moments later, a knocking sound could be heard from the door.
"You have him, so I'll get it," Amarantha rose and made her way to the front of the home to answer.
"Hello!"
"Oh, hello there. I wasn't expecting you today," Amarantha stepped out onto the stone doorstep.
"Sorry about the surprise visit; I was wondering if everything was ready by any chance? I had some extra time, so I thought I'd stop by today." Amarantha pivoted around and entered the home again as the surprise visitor waited patiently outside.
"Yes, I've got everything here, actually. It's all good to go," she smiled. Amarantha picked up a folded Clan uniform with unique custom hand embroidery. She leaned out of the doorway, handing it to the client.
"Wow, thank you so much!" It looks better than I imagined!" The person unfolded it to examine it closer. "That's perfect!"
Melli peaked out from his father. "Mmm... Mommy?" He stepped out of his father's lap and wobbled over to his mother at the door, grabbing the bottom of her pant leg to get her attention. "Mommy!"
"Melli! Mommy is busy." Aeon whispered, trying to get his son to come back inside. "Mommy's working. Come sit down," he motioned towards himself in a come-hither way.
"Mommy!" Melli pulled on Amarantha's pants. His face became red and he started to cry.
"Oh, dear. Please excuse me..." Amarantha knelt down to Melli's level. "What's wrong, darling?" The toddler cried and tugged at his pants. "Did you poop?" The stinky bab kept sobbing. "Aeon?" She whispered under her breath after checking Melli's nappy. "Aw, Melli did a poopy."
Aeon swooped in and picked up the crying boy. "Come Melli, mommy is busy right now. I can clean you up."
"I'm sorry about that," Amarantha stood back up and redirected her attention to her client.
"That's okay. I don't mind." The client exchanged payment for the commission and bowed. "Thank you again for putting it together so quickly. It's nice to see you're taking commissions again!"
"You're very welcome-yes, I am starting up again now that my son is getting older," Amarantha smiled, bowing in return.
"That's good! He really looks a lot like you."
"Th-thank you," Amarantha bashfully hid her face behind her over-sized sleeves.
"Well, I'd better be off. Have a wonderful rest of the day, Miss Amarantha."
"The same to you!" Amarantha shut the door and returned to her husband, who was keeping Melli under a watchful eye.
"Who was it?" Aeon wondered.
"That was a client of mine-a Warden who came by to pick up a commission." Melli wiggled out from his father's arms and ran towards his mother.
"Mommy sit," he tried to get her to sit down with them. Amarantha sat next to her husband, resting her head against his shoulder while Melli played with strands of her hair.
"I don't know if you heard me at the door, but I was thinking of starting up my shop again soon now that this one doesn't need me as much," Amarantha looked down at the boy.
"Are you sure? He fusses a lot if you aren't around."
"I thought about it. I've been taking commissions here and there to work back up to it," Amarantha trailed off, hesitantly. She kept looking at her son. "I don't want him to be sad, though; it would break my heart to be the reason he cries so much..."
"You hear that, Melli? You cry so much!" Aeon teased. Melli let go of his mother's hair and got comfortable in his father's lap.
"Oh, it's nap time, isn't it?" Amarantha cooed, carefully rubbing the child's back as he winded down.
"Nap time" Melli pulled his hood over his eyes. Aeon put him to bed for his afternoon nap, and returned to his wife, who began cleaning around the home as queitly as she could so as not to disturb the stinky baby's slumber. Aeon wrapped his arms around his wife as she washed a stack of wooden bowls.
"My Oriental Sweetlips," he whispered in her ear lovingly. Amarantha didn't look up, she seemed focused on the task at hand. Aeon rested his head on top of hers as she worked. "What's wrong, sweetie?" Amarantha washed the final bowl from the stack and turned around to reciprocate her husband's embrace. In a low voice she answered,
"I... don't want to make him cry anymore than he already does..."
"He cries a lot!" Aeon laughed a little, keeping his own voice down.
"If I start working again, I won't be able to spend as much time with him. These commissions take hours to complete, and I won't be able to play with him as much." Amarantha frowned at the thought of having to shoo away her son to complete projects.
"I'll still be here to watch him, you know. He won't be all alone," Aeon attempted to reassure her. Amarantha closed her husband's hand between hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"I don't think I'm ready to just yet. I think I'll give him more time. He needs his mommy, after all."
"He does, but you won't always be available. He's going to have to learn that you won't always be around eventually."
"He's still a baby... I don't know if he should be learning that so early, you know?"
"If he doesn't learn it now, when should he learn it? When you're gone?" A warm tear drop stained Amarantha's sleeve.
"N-no... it's just too soon to..." She hid her face in her sleeves.
"All I'm saying is that it's better for him to learn that you won't always be avai-sweetie?" Amarantha sat down, facing the wall. Aeon gathered the clean bowls and stored them away. "What's wrong?" He pulled up a seat next to his wife who pulled her hood over her eyes as if to hide them. "That only works for Melli. I can still see you," he tried to lighten the mood.
"..."
"..."
"...no it doesn't. It works for me, too," Amarantha sniffled quietly.
"What's wrong, sweetie?"
"..."
"Would you like me to leave you alone?" Amarantha didn't respond. "I'll take that as a yes, then." Aeon rose from his seat. "I'll be back later," he added before bowing out. Amarantha rinsed her face and curled up in bed with her son, who was fast asleep.
* * *
"Mommy!" Amarantha's shot back to consciousness with a weight on her stomach. She looked up to see her son sprawled out on top of her like a happy starmie.
"Oh, hello, darling. You're awake." Melli tugged at her hair. "Oh my! No, darling. That's not nice. That hurts!" Melli pulled away and started to cry. "No, no, no, no... please don't..." Amarantha propped herself up with a pillow and pulled her son into her arms. "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm so sorry..." She bounced him a bit to calm him down. "Please don't cry..." Amarantha couldn't bring herself to smile despite her best efforts.
"Daddy?" Melli looked around the room. "Where's Daddy?"
"I... don't know, darling. Where is daddy?" She wondered herself. The little boy rolled out of bed and searched around the house, peering into small nooks and crannies as if he might somehow find him. "Oh, Melli... I don't think he's hiding," A small smile appeared across Amarantha's face as she watched her son look around as if he thought this was all just a game of hide and seek.
"Daddy?" He looked under the bed.
"I don't think he's there," Amarantha giggled. Melli checked behind the shelves.
"Daddy??"
"Daddy isn't there either," she pretended to act shocked to play along with her son and keep him entertained while she wondered where he actually went. "Where's daddy?" Melli ran to the door, but couldn't reach the handles to push it open; he turned around to look at his mum who was still sitting in bed, watching him and his antics.
"Mommy, I..." he tried jumping to reach the handle, but failed each time.
"Oh, darling. You're too small." Amarantha got out of bed to pick up her son. She lifted him up so that he could reach the handle. "Would you like to open it?" She held him snug in her arms, so there was no chance of him wiggling out of her grasp to run anywhere. Melli grabbed the door handle. "Pull!" Amarantha encouraged him as she pulled the handle to show him what she meant. "Try it, darling." Melli wrapped his tiny fingers around the handle and gave it a pull.
"Pull!" He repeated as she pulled the handle himself.
"Yes, darling! That's it," Amarantha cheered.
Amarantha walked outside and shut the door tightly behind her; Melli clung to her uniform as she walked towards the sun dial structure at the centre of the Settlement to see what time it was. She looked at the position of the sun and where it lined up with the stone markings on the ground. Melli put his thumb into his mouth. "Where could he be...?" Amarantha thought to herself. "Pardon me?" She walked up to a neighbour sitting by the communal fire. "Have you seen Aeon by any chance?"
"He went that way last I saw him," the neighbour pointed towards the main gate.
"Oh, I see. Thank you," Amarantha bowed, heading for the gate.
"Mommy, um."
"Not now, darling, mommy is looking for daddy." Amarantha walked towards the lake. A couple Clan members were bathing and fishing around the parimeter of the lake. The area was peaceful this time of day and it was perfect for a refreshing swim.
"Mommy-I" Amarantha walked up to a fisherman.
"Pardon me, sir." She described her husband to him, asking if he'd seen anyone like that.
"I'm sorry, miss. I haven't seen him around here today," the fisherman shook his head. Amarantha deflated and began to worry.
"He usually tells me where he's going..." Amarantha sighed and turned back towards the Settlement. She wasn't about to head into the forest, especially since it was getting darker and she had Melli with her. Melli fussed,
"Mommy, I...um," he pulled on his pants.
"Oh, no. Melli!" Amarantha set him down on a stone path leading towards the main gate to the Settlement. She looked into his pants, then recoiled at the smell. "Goodness-give me your pants, darling." She held her nose with one hand and took the tiny pair of pants with the other. "I don't have a clean nappy with me, so let's get home first, okay?" Amarantha removed the dirty nappy and ducked into the forestry to dispose of its contents. A butt-naked Melli waddled around closely behind her.
"Amarantha?" A clan member recognised the mother and child at the main gate.
"Y-yes?"
"I've been looking for you."
"Y-you have?" The man nodded.
"Someone said you were looking for Aeon," he motioned towards the neighbour sitting by the fire from earlier who was still getting nice and toasty. "He's back."
"That's great! Thank you!" Amarantha leaped, scooped up her stinky child, and ran inside the gate.
"He's being treated now."
"Treated? For what!?" Amarantha froze in her tracks.
"He's in critical condition."
