Aella (manxman) - ON HOLD

Perfect dreams

Ithel

"You are not needed here. The only ones allowed to stay are the fathers."

"Yes, Leader."

"......... You're still here."

"I'm still here"

"You don't have a child, so you should leave."

"I'm not here for the children, I'm waiting for Ceri"

He rolled his eyes. "I already sent Alev away. Aello Ceri is not a child. Stop treating him like one"

I didn't answer him. I'm not treating Ceri like a child. Yes, he is adorable, and yes, he's so innocent and inexperienced. But I don't consider him a child. If I did, I wouldn't 've let him leave alone to the Aellas territory. I'm aware he needs his own space to get used to the forest and to learn how to rely on himself. So I let him go. And now I'm waiting for him to come back. What else could I do? I miss him so much.

The Leader went to dismiss me again, but another Aello stole his attention.

It has been a week since Ceri succeeded in making the Aellas change their mind. Three days ago, their clan sent word that a few children will visit us today. They also delivered a set of rules and Cailyn agreed to all of them, no questions asked. The rules were simple, yet very restricting. For instance, only a small number of children will be selected, but they didn't tell us who exactly we were going to receive. Cailyn informed most of the Aellos, and many are here waiting eagerly for their little ones.

Also, the Aellas insisted that all children will be sent back to their territory before sunset. No child was allowed to spend the night on our side of the island. Therefore, many will spend the day somewhere in the forest around here, since it would be useless to go all the way to their far dens.

Despite the few protests, the Aellos were excited to know that the Aellas are finally giving in, even a little bit. Upon hearing the news, the fathers hunted and prepared the best they could to receive the children.

So here were the fathers, waiting and hoping their child was one of those allowed to descend their mountain. Some of them were extremely eager, others were debating if a hunt was more important and more entertaining.

"Ithel, surprised to see you here"

"Alesky. Waiting for your boy?"

"I'm so excited about this! I spent the last week hunting and gathering food and skins for my big boy. I hope his mother sends him. If she does, I have a beautiful fur for her. It's so soft and reddish, if she touches it, she'll send me the boy everyday"

I chuckled. "Your son is lucky to have such a caring father"

"Right? But I won't spoil him. I don't think he'll like that when he grows up. I'll raise him to be a man, a confident hunter"

"Like his father?" Essylt scoffed and approached Alesky, making him take a cautious step back.

"I thought only fathers were allowed here", Alesky commented with a frown.

"And here I am"

"You have another child??"

"Two" Essylt answered proudly. "I get a perfect Aella every year. I have a three-year-old son and a one-year-old girl."

Alesky looked taken back. "I... I didn't know. You never told me about-"

"And why would he tell you" Lug interrupted and I sighed. I don't hate anyone, there are just some people I don't like being around, and Lug is one of them. He takes after his father's rudeness. And while I tolerate his fathers' because he can actually match me in a fight, his son acts way more cocky than he can handle.