User blog:Psychomantis108/The Aubeanic Reign: The Other (A Psychomantis108 and Apollo42 Coop series.)

Ohai peeps!

So me and Sunny had an idea for a follow up story to Aubeanic Reign, which began as a daydream and bloomed into the first cooperative blog series. The two of us have been working on it in the private message realm in the chat over the past week or so.

The story is set around five years after the Aubeanic Reign RP, Jaryl and Isis are sustaining their family, out in Agatha's groto, looking forward to a brighter, less troubled future.

However, trouble doesn't seem to intend to leave their lives that easily...

The Other: The Terrible twos
 During a breezy, Sun's Height evening, Jaryl found himself staring into the Mirror, trying not to get too distracted by his signs of aging as he trimmed his beard. The Bosmer aging process was a slow one, much slower than non Mer Races but it was still noticeable, to him at least. Jaryl snipped away with his tweezers, carefully evening out his beard, so that the kids wouldn't have anything to grab onto. He liked it just right, so that it hugged his face but didn't give the kids anything to tug at.

 He found himself interrupted as he heard the thundering footsteps of Diana as she toddled by the washroom, running around the hallway, aimlessly. Jaryl figured that it was dangerous for her to be running around, near a staircase, unsupervised and so, he stepped out and scooped the three year old Half-Breed up, off of her feet, placing his hands under her arms as he lifted her.

 "Woah, damn Di, you're gettin' heavy!" He wheezed as the toddler almost pulled him over, though come to think of it, maybe he was getting weak.

 "Language, Jaryl!" Came a voice as Isis moved past, moving after one of the twins as they ran down the halls, tracking mud in. Isis looked about the same as she had 5 years ago, though the stress of a few kids appeared to be getting to her, giving her small bags under her heterochromatic eyes.

 "Pfft..." Jaryl smirked, getting Diana into a more comfortable position as he carried her to her room.

 "I'm still better than Grandpa..." He uttered, glancing down at the infant who giggled in recognition before resting her head on his chest as he carried her through.

 Isis followed Rin into the sitting room and swiftly conjured one of her mother's solid wards in front of the child, causing the kid to trip. "Oh, damn it!" Isis sighed, rushing over to help the now-crying Half-Breed up.

 "Language!" Called Jaryl, his smirk broadening as he gently sat Diana down on her bed, pulling the covers up to her feet.

 Isis rolled her eyes, healing Rin's ailments. "Go find Mona and have her get into bed." She sighed, standing up and running a hand through her hair.

 "Heh, ain't no rest for the wicked, right hon?" Jaryl asked, giving Diana a quick kiss on the forehead before pulling her covers over her, Diana wasn't as much trouble as she used to be and seemed ready to sleep anyway. The Bosmer quickly rose to his feet and turned around, looking for his other Half-Breed daughter.

Isis rubbed her eyes, heading over to her husband. "Ugh, I'm not good with kids..." She grumbled, wrapping her arms around him and sighing.

 "Hey, you rounded 'em up didn't you? If you can do that, you're doin' somethin' right." Jaryl replied, with a smile, gently pulling her closer as he accepted her embrace.

"I tripped our kid..." Isis muttered, resting her head on his chest. "How are you so good at this?"

"I just think of what my parents did... and then I don't do it." Jaryl chuckled, resting his cheek against her forehead. "Trust me, my folks used to hurt me all the time, most of the time it wasn't an accident. Don't worry about it, yeah?"

"I don't know what if that's his only memory of me when I die? Me casting a ward and tripping him?" Isis sighed, squeezing her husband tighter to herself.

Jaryl couldn't help but laugh in response of that, gently running his hand over her hair as he let her rest on him.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Well, if that is his only memory of you, he has a friggin' amazin' memory, considerin' that he's five. Seriously, I can't remember any of the shit that happened to me, when I was five."

<p class="MsoNormal">"I wish we could just leave those kids with Maria or Telim and take a vacation..." Isis replied, acknowledging her husband's words to make her feel better. But, she really did need a break from childrearing.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Jaryl sighed; he knew that Isis found this stuff difficult as her childhood was apparently incredibly brief. She probably remembers every moment of it, unlike most people, who have years distancing themselves from their childhoods. That and Isis always did find it difficult to relate to others, making her seem a little more distant to some.

<p class="MsoNormal"> "I know hon but your mom's busy with that… Underland Holiday and Telim's away... Besides, we need to collect the apples when they grow or else the entire year would've been wasted."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Fine... After the apples, then?" Her eyes turned to look out the nearest window, staring at all the trees they had spent a while cultivating.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Yeah... We can go to Anvil, it's a few day's walk away, the coast is amazin,' I think you'd love it." Jaryl replied, giving the Imperial a gentle smile as he carefully pried her off.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Do you think you can get the kids to bed?" Isis asked, running a hand through her hair.

<p class="MsoNormal">   "And then, I'll, uh, have a surprise waiting for you!"

<p class="MsoNormal">"Just gotta get Mona and then I'll be right there." Jaryl replied, giving her a quick peck on the cheek as he walked away, heading into the next room to track down his firstborn daughter, hoping that she wasn't in one of her rebellious moods as Isis headed off to their room, to go prepare her 'surprise' for her very loving and amazing husband who was an all-around amazing guy.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl wandered over to the kitchen door, peering inside for Mona, who he hadn't seen hide nor hair of for at least half an hour, he quickly noticed her outside, jumping up and down, just beneath a tree.

<p class="MsoNormal">Normally it would be dangerous to let a child play outside, unsupervised but Agatha's grotto was so well hidden that no human could accidentally stumble across it, it'd never happened during their time there and he doubted that it would have happened during Agatha's time.

<p class="MsoNormal">Animals seemed to be afraid of it, well, animals that weren't birds or insects, the Witch was long gone but her presence still remained, scaring the everloving crap out of anything that came into contact with her former abode and it even scared some of the children, who seemed to occasionally suffer from strange dreams.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl stepped out and approached Mona from behind, she was sat on the floor, holding a clump of dirt in her hand, with a worm inside it, slowly wriggling around in the palm of her hand as she watched in awe. She was seemingly mesmerized by it all, unlike Diana or even Rin, she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, much to the dismay of her mother and father or whoever else did the washing that week.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Bosmer rolled his eyes and approached his little girl, gently lifting her up, via her under arms and pulling her closer.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Look daddy, I caught one!" She exclaimed, shoving the lump of dirt in his face as the worm wriggled at the palm of her hand, Jaryl sighed again, realizing that they'd have to put it in the jar with the others but hey, it was better than having a dog or something else that shits.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Good find hon, we'll put him in the jar with the others."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Isn't it getting a bit crowded?" She asked, she had asked this the last three times but it was the biggest jar that they had and Jaryl was pretty sure that worms didn't give two shits about the size of their accommodations.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I'll... Look out for a bigger one, next time I go to market. Maybe get 'em a champagne bottle, so they can live in style."

<p class="MsoNormal">Isis watched through the window, wanting to make sure that neither her husband nor her daughter saw her doing anything... Upon seeing that everything was fine, she turned away from the window, laughing. She loved her kids, she loved her husband. Put them together and they were perfect. Too bad they were so stressful... She got to work, setting everything up.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl dumped the vile invertebrate into Mona's jar, which was now standing room only for worms. The Bosmer didn't understand his daughter's fascination with small creatures. He could get behind the idea of hunting animals but collecting them? It seemed like a pretty alien concept to him.

<p class="MsoNormal">Still, at least worms were harmless, she was banned from keeping anything bigger after she brought home a bunch of field mice, that ate everything and bred like... well, Jaryl and Isis.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Bosmer took his daughter up to bed and gently sat her down on her mattress, pulling her quilt up to her waist as he turned back, checking on Rin.

<p class="MsoNormal">"You okay Rin? Feelin' better?"

<p class="MsoNormal">"No." Rin said, stubbornly, pouting his lips and looking up at his dad.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I fell." He extended his arm and showed Jaryl the miniscule cut he had procured on his arm, the only injury Isis had overlooked.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">   "Well, that'll close up and be even tougher." Jaryl assured him, giving him a smile as he stood up, gently pulling his covers back.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">"I'll get you somethin' to put on it; I don't think it'll even be there tomorrow, which is a shame really, 'cause scars are pretty cool."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Okay..." Rin sighed, folding his arms over his chest and closing his eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Scars are pretty cool..."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Heh, shame you couldn't've seen your Uncle Set, he had more Scars on his face than he had face." Jaryl chuckled, slowly rising to his feet and heading out of the door, he went straight to the wash room and got a damp rag to bring back to his sun, so that he could wrap it around the cut.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Cool..." Rin giggled.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Where is he now, daddy?" He asked, opening one eye.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl returned with the cloth, which he immediately proceeded to place on Rin’s arm, soaking up the blood, reducing the swelling and most of all, cooling it down.

<p class="MsoNormal">He remained silent for a moment or two, unsure as to how he should answer his question, he wasn’t as harsh as his father but he wasn’t into that ‘living on a farm bullshit’ either. Set was dead, that was the reality, there was no point in sugar coating it…

<p class="MsoNormal">Well, maybe sugar coat it a little…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Your Uncle Set died, not long before you were born. Y’know when we go and see Aunt Julie and Lianne? Well… Julie’s still pretty sad about it.”

<p class="MsoNormal">"Aw... She should go talk to him..." Rin sighed, giving him a sad face.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Well, she can't... That's why she's sad, Set's... Dead." Jaryl explained, baffled at the fact that Rin didn't seem to understand the concept.

<p class="MsoNormal">"But, daddy..." Rin sighed, as if he was talking to his younger sister.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Where is Uncle Set? He has to be somewhere, so she can go find him!"

<p class="MsoNormal">"He's dead Rin." Mona repeated before Jaryl could get a word in.

<p class="MsoNormal">"He's asleep forever, his soul's gone somewhere else now and it's not coming back."

<p class="MsoNormal">"I know." Rin frowned, staring at his twin sister.

<p class="MsoNormal">"But, he is somewhere! So why can't she go find him?"

<p class="MsoNormal">"'Cause he ain't anywhere anymore, that's it, he's dead.

<p class="MsoNormal">Death is... The end, there's no way to reach 'im, not until we die as well, which'll be a long time off yet." Jaryl explained as best he could, he wasn't all that into this religious stuff in fact if he hadn't seen it himself; he'd dismiss it all as bullshit.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Trust me, if we could've found a way to find the dead, we would've by now."

<p class="MsoNormal">"I don't believe that." Rin said, stubbornly, as he drifted off to sleep.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I think there's still a chance..."

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl rolled his eyes with a smile, admiring his Son’s determination, even if it was misguided, he slowly turned back to Mona and gave her a knowing smirk as he tucked Rin in, making his way across the room as he did like-wise with Mona.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Maybe you’ll find it someday…” The Bosmer replied, gently kissing his Son’s temple as he proceeded to do the same to his daughter.

<p class="MsoNormal">“G’night…” He whispered, giving his daughter a kiss on the forehead.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Jaryl!" Came his wife's voice, from down the hall.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl heard his Imperial Wife's voice as he left their rooms, he quickly turned back to his bedroom as he originally intended to. When he was younger, he would've been a little more excited but recently, he preferred sleeping in his bed over... its other uses.

<p class="MsoNormal">Still, he composed himself and stepped inside, quickly shutting the door behind him, so that he wouldn't make too much noise as he entered.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I... I, uh, didn't know what you wanted, so I, uh..." Isis gestured to their bed, and Jaryl could see that it was ready to sleep in.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I figured we'd both be tired..."

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl glanced over to the crisply made bed and turned back to his wife, with a blank expression, he then grinned and gave the Imperial a deep kiss, embracing her as he did so before pulling away, releasing a 'smacking' sound as their lips were pried apart.

<p class="MsoNormal">   "Hon, you read me like a book."

<p class="MsoNormal">Isis grinned, climbing into the bed. "Well, let's get on with it, then! Before the kids wake up and wonder what is going on." She teased, placing her head on the fluffed pillow.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Alrigh.'" The Bosmer replied, taking a seat on his own side of the bed and quickly rolling in, taking off his shirt and throwing it across the room before kicking his boots off in a similar fashion before doing so and wrapping himself head to chest in blanket. <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .75pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">As he rolled over to face Isis, he immediately saw that she was quickly breathing deeply, signifying that she had gone right to sleep… The Bosmer gave her a smile and rested his head on the pillow, watching her for a few moments to calm himself before gently drifting off to sleep himself. <p class="MsoNormal">Isis woke up after a long night of restful sleep, grateful that she wasn't hearing any yelling or screaming or crying just yet.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl slowly woke up beside her, a few moments after, starting the day with a rather contented sigh as his eyes slowly opened, he didn't sleep this well for years after the companionship disbanded but lately he'd been finding it much easier to focus on the here and now, his daily tribute to Set was long forgotten, along with most of his troubles. Set would most likely want him to move on with his life anyway, to dedicate that time to his wife or kids, rather than to a dead man.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Mornin'..." He whispered, with a smile, slowly lifting his arm up and placing it on Isis' hip.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Morning." Isis grinned, moving forward and pressing her lips to his, gently.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Do we really have to get up?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl's hand slowly slipped around Isis' back, pulling her forward as she kissed him. He pulled her away and gave her a sultry smile, doing his best to keep eye contact.

<p class="MsoNormal">"We don't have to, not for a bit yet..."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Good." Isis sighed, moving forward and embracing her husband as she got comfortable once more.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl breathed out heavily as he welcomed her into his arms, gently holding her against his chest as he lay half asleep, thinking on several things about the day ahead. As much as he tried to think about today, he couldn’t help but cast his mind back to last night, back to what he said to Rin. Unsure as to whether or not he should bring it up, he decided that it was worth mentioning at the very least as it seemed incredibly strange to him.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I talked to Rin, last night." He began, gently rubbing her back, glad that he wasn't able to feel the scars beneath them as they brought back some painful memories.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I... Don't think he gets death, like he should. He thinks that dead people are just sorta... 'missin.'”

<p class="MsoNormal">"Hmmm..." Isis frowned.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Well, he's not wrong. I mean... They are missing... And it's hard to get them back, but not impossible."

<p class="MsoNormal">"I guess... But I'm not sure if it's good for him to be thinkin' that, it might... end badly." The Bosmer explained, figuring that he might sound a little closed minded but he also figured that children should be, until they fully understand.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I suppose so." Isis agreed, before smiling. "Do you want me to talk to him about it?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl paused to think on it a little but it seemed like a no brainer to him, he eventually gave her a nod.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Yeah, you're... usually better at explainin' shit than I am." The Bosmer finally replied, with a smirk, suppressing a slight giggle at the fact that his request pretty much demonstrated that.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Well, I'm better at everything, aren't I?" Isis teased, happily, as she felt his hand pause on her back.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Yeah, which is why you're gonna make breakfast this mornin'." Jaryl grinned, suppressing another giggling fit.

<p class="MsoNormal">Isis burst out laughing. "I don't want to poison our kids!"

<p class="MsoNormal">"And maybe you can climb into the trees and pick the apples later... Without fallin' out of 'em of course." The Bosmer added, losing all restraint and giggling softly under his breath.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Okay, okay, okay." Isis giggled.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I get it; you can cook and grab things better than I can."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Oh that's definitely true." Jaryl added, giving Isis' right buttock quick squeeze to demonstrate his grabbing skills.

<p class="MsoNormal">Isis laughed, slapping his hand away as she grinned and sat up.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I'm hungry. Let's go make breakfast."

<p class="MsoNormal">“Alrigh,’ you get the job of wakin’ the kids up though.” Jaryl informed her as he quickly threw his clothes on and rose to his feet, marching off towards the door.

<p class="MsoNormal">Isis groaned, changing back into her robes. "Fine." She sighed, before heading into Mona and Rin's room, figuring they'd be easier to wake up than Diana. She headed to Mona first, and began to shake her arm, carefully.

<p class="MsoNormal">Mona pulled her covers over her head, using her duvet as a shield to protect herself from her Mother's bony fingers, pretending that she was a bad dream that would go away if she ignored her.

<p class="MsoNormal">"C'mon, Mona!" Isis sighed, before tugging at the covers, dragging them off of her daughter's bed.

<p class="MsoNormal">Mona groaned as she was exposed to the sunlight, burying her face into her pillow as she tried to pull the covers back up, with her feet.

<p class="MsoNormal">   Isis sighed, before attempting one of Jaryl's moves and moving in on the young girl, beginning to tickle her.

<p class="MsoNormal">"C'mon, Mona, wakey-wakey!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Mona began to kick and writhe in Isis' hands as her fingers worked their magic, causing the half-breed to accidentally kick her mother several times before prying her hands off.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Okay, okay, just... st-" She stopped to burst into a laughing fit as her face went beat red.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Stop!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Isis grinned. "Get up." Then, as an afterthought, she added, "I won't do it again for at least a week if you'll get your brother up."

<p class="MsoNormal">Mona's face lit up as a dark grin formed on her lips, she quickly sat up and glanced over to her brother as a plan formed in her head. She then turned back to her mother, doing her best to smother her grin.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Deal!" She beamed before jumping out of bed and running off to find one of her father's socks.

<p class="MsoNormal">Isis frowned, slightly worried, as she watched her daughter run off to do something...

<p class="MsoNormal">   Jaryl immediately went downstairs and began to raid the larder, getting everything necessary to make a good breakfast for the family. He was quite well stocked, making this simply being a case of picking what seemed to be the best ingredients, he quickly snatched it all up and took it over to the chopping board, where he proceeded to get to work.

<p class="MsoNormal">Mona returned a few minutes later, with one of Jaryl's socks, she quickly rushed over to Rin's bed before gently placing it over his face and leaving her Brother to enjoy its toxic fumes.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Ah!" Rin shrieked, scrambling away and falling off his bed in the process of trying to get away from the awful smell. He glared at Mona, coldly, as he sat on the floor.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I'm gonna get you!" He exclaimed, jumping up and running towards her.

<p class="MsoNormal">Mona shrieked and burst out into a giggling fit as she fled the room, quickly rushing towards the staircase before thundering down it.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Could've been worse, could've been his underwear!" She cackled as she ran into the hallway.

<p class="MsoNormal">Isis shook her head and laughed, before heading over to Diana's nursery. She didn't bother waking up the little girl, she simply picked her up, making sure that Diana was still asleep, before Isis went downstairs to her husband.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl moved closer to the wood burning oven as the kids ran past him before he went back to prepping the bread, doing his best not to laugh at the kids as they shrieked bloody murder outside, running around in circles as Mona tried to avoid her enraged twin’s murderous grasp. Jaryl pulled the oven shovel out and put the bread on the table as he took a seat, smiling at Isis as she entered.

<p class="MsoNormal">   "I see that you got 'em up easily." He smirked, getting started on his bread.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I think you need to wash your socks." Isis grinned, rocking Diana from side to side as she watched her husband cook.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Pfft... Why? They're great for gettin' the kids up." The Bosmer smirked, spreading jam across one of the toasts.

<p class="MsoNormal">Isis chuckled, as Diana woke up and said something unintelligible, as Isis rocked her.

<p class="MsoNormal">"We have great kids, don't we?"

<p class="MsoNormal">"Yeah..." Jaryl agreed, smiling contently as he turned to the window and watched Mona pounce on Rin as the rolled around on the grass, giggling and screaming.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I didn't think I'd ever get here..."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Well, I'm sure that was before you met me." Isis grinned, looking down at their daughter.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I changed everything, I hope."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Heh... You have no idea." Jaryl sighed, turning his attention back to the breakfasts as he began to hand them around.

<p class="MsoNormal">"If someone had told me I'd be here, five years ago, I'd probably be too high to know what they were sayin'."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Well, I'm sure being high was a lot more fun than having screaming kids." Isis snickered, turning her attention back to watching her husband's ass as he walked around.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I dunno, you wake up with a headache the next mornin,' either way." The Bosmer replied, with a smirk as he glanced up to his fighting children. "Hey kids, get your damn breakfasts before Diana eats it!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Rin shoved Mona back into the dirt before untangling himself and hurrying inside.

<p class="MsoNormal">"No! She eats everything!" He complained, dashing into the kitchen.

<p class="MsoNormal">Mona quickly shuffled in after her Brother, seemingly not as excited for it as he was; she took a seat and began to stuff her face, not bothering to make eye contact with anyone else.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, Dad!" The Half-Breed perked, with a mouth full of bread.

<p class="MsoNormal">"That... vine shtuphs is back." "The Bind Weed?" Jaryl asked, sounding somewhat baffled by its return, he only ripped it out of the ground a week ago.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Crap..." He sighed, getting back to work on eating his meal as he'd have to hurry it up now.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Guess that's today cut out for me..."

<p class="MsoNormal">"I'm sorry, honey." Isis sighed, patting his hand.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I can give you another of those 'surprises' when you're all done." She grinned.

<p class="MsoNormal">"And, I can try to collect some apples or something for you while you do that, if you want."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Hey Rin, did you hear that? Mom's gonna try climbing the tree again!" The Half-Breed snickered, remembering what happened the last time she attempted it.

<p class="MsoNormal">Rin burst out laughing, finally looking up from his food.

<p class="MsoNormal">"If she falls out again, I call that Mona has to drag her back to the house!"

<p class="MsoNormal">"Hey, knock it off; you're ruining her 'surprise.'" Jaryl grinned, resisting the urge to start giggling.

<p class="MsoNormal">Isis folded her arms and gave Rin a disapproving look, though it was ruined by the fact that the edges of her mouth were twitching, as if they were trying to become a smile.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Yeah, if I fall out of the tree, I don't think anyone's getting any surprises!"

<p class="MsoNormal">"Yeah, I don't think that anyone would be surprised that you fell out of the tree again." Mona snickered, returning to stuffing her face.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Hey, that's-Oh, Diana!" Isis sighed, looking back at the daughter in her lap. The young girl had literally shoved her face into Isis's plate, ending up with jam in her eyebrows.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Oh, darn it."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Huh... Looks like Rin was right." Mona muttered in amazement as Jaryl quickly jumped to his feet, dipping a rag in a bucket of water before rushing around and immediately dabbing his daughter's face.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Hey, she still ain't as bad as you were." He smirked; giving Isis a wink as he repeatedly dragged the cloth over the baby's face.

<p class="MsoNormal">Diana giggled, looking up at her father as Isis nodded.

<p class="MsoNormal">"It's true. I once caught you trying to eat some of the bark off of the apple trees, Mona."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Was it after you cooked?" The Half-Breed asked, with a smirk, seeming rather proud of her retort.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Why do even five year olds come up with better comments than I do?" Isis sighed, laying her head, in her arms, on the table.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Well, she definitely got it from you." Jaryl smirked as he finished dabbing off Diana's face, pulling his cloth away as he had finally cleared the toddler's face of her 'battle paint.' He returned to the kitchen table and picked up a corner of bread, stuffing it into his mouth and taking a bite as he marched his way across the room, towards his gardening gloves.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I think I'll get started on them weeds." He said, with his mouth full as he realised that if he sat down again, he wouldn't want to get up for at least another hour.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Okay, bye Jaryl." Isis sighed, before turning to look at her kids.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Alright. Which one of you wants to help me with dishes?"

<p class="MsoNormal">"Rin!" Mona chirped before jumping up and running out of the room, cackling to herself.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Uh... Diana!" Rin exclaimed, jumping up to follow Diana. However, his mother caught him by the back of his collar and held him in place.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Damn it..." Rin sighed.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Rin!"

<p class="MsoNormal">   "Well, dad uses it all the time!" <p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .75pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">"I'm going to have to have a talk with your father..." Isis sighed, dragging her son over to help with the chores. <p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl stepped out into the orchard, stuffing the last corner of toasted bread into his mouth as he pulled his gloves down to ensure that they were on properly. The Bosmer hoped to get this job out of the day as it was gruelling to say the least, still, it was better than having the Bind Weed literally strangle the life out of their plants.

<p class="MsoNormal">He approached the Orchard and began to look it over, kneeling down as he examined its roots, hoping that it was at least long enough to wrap it around his hands before pulling it out, otherwise he’d have to dig it out.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Son of a bitch…” He grumbled, seeing that he could barely grasp onto it, prompting him to reach for his trowel and shove it into the soil, peeling the earth back as he began to make his way through to the root, uttering and grumbling a number of choice words as he did so…

<p class="MsoNormal">As Jaryl got to work, he remained oblivious to the fact that he was being observed from afar. Emerging from the clearing stood a Redguard woman, in red Hammerfell silks. Her skin was quite dark but not the darkest shade that a Redguard can be. Her black hair was tied back, appearing practical but also quite appealing. Her hand rested against the clearing’s surface as a dark smile slowly crept across her lips. She observed the Bosmer as she proceeded to slowly wander over towards him, walking with a confident stride.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl was oblivious to her intrusion and just continued to jab away at the soil, pulling the weeds out of the ground and dumping them into a nearby pot, the woman approached him from behind. She stood there in silence as he continued to work as the Redguard kept her eyes fixed on him, folding her arms and rocking from side to side as she observed him.

<p class="MsoNormal">After a few minutes of unknowingly being watched, Jaryl rose to his feet and turned around, immediately finding himself coming face to face with his guest, taking him by surprise and causing him to jump out of his skin, his guest, however, didn’t seem remotely fazed by them suddenly coming face to face and just stood, perfectly still.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Woah… The hell did you come from!?” Jaryl panted, stumbling back a bit as he truly had no idea that she was there. He wondered if he needed to get ready for a fight or not as she didn’t exactly look threatening.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’ve been here for a while now.” She explained, slowly pacing around him, with a rather dark smile.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’ve been watching you and Isis for some time, making sure that I had the right address…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Who are you!?” The Bosmer snapped, immediately feeling threatened by her, given their history with Telemachus, Cray, Irvine, those cave people, Underland… she could be anyone, though it was unlikely that she was anyone friendly.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I am an old friend of Isis, don’t you remember?” The Redguard ‘reminded’ him, coming to a stop and turning so that they were dangerously close.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Isis ain’t got no friends…” Jaryl hissed, knowing almost everything there was to know about her. It sounded somewhat harsh in his head but it was true, she didn’t have any friends, none that he knew of at least.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh, she has...

<p class="MsoNormal">You just need something to… Jog your memory.” She spoke in a seductive whisper as her hands quickly rose up beside Jaryl’s temples pressing down on them and applying a great amount of pressure. The Bosmer quickly found himself unable to resist as he lost the ability to move as his brain began to pulse and vibrate as her influence began to invade it.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jaryl gasped in trepidation as he could feel his thoughts and memories being… altered. His old life, meeting Isis, falling in love with her, marrying, the pain and the joy of the last five years came and went within the blink of an eye as it blurred, creating new memories of another life.

<p class="MsoNormal">His memories of Aasi began to pulse inside his head as they all began to clear inside his mind, like his old memories were once hidden behind tinted glass as he let go of any attempt to resist his wife and stood obediently before her, letting her ‘cleanse’ the last of his memories.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You look so tired my love…” She uttered, letting go of Jaryl’s temples and letting him fall backwards, stumbling a little as he gently rubbed his eyes and furiously shook his head. Aasi just watched, making sure that he didn’t faint or anything as a result of his mental transformation.

<p class="MsoNormal">“C’mon, let us get you home.” She instructed, taking him by the hand and slowly leading him away, ignoring the fact that his head was currently scrambled. The Redguard quickly turned around to add on her instruction, giving Jaryl a sultry smile.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I have a surprise for you…”