Draith
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Chapter 154 - A Path Twice Tread
🕑 Added 2025-07-07 14:00:17 +0000 UTCDespite my immense relief at Bevel being alright, I might've been having a bit of a panic attack as what she'd called me soaked in.
Only later would I even think about how Tamrie might react.
In that moment, I was instead very much focused on how she couldn't have chosen a worse person to be her father.
Okay, even in my panic, I realized I wasn't actually the worst she could've chosen. Between Balthum and either Perth's or my own father, there were a lot of instant examples of worse that sprang to mind.
Problem was, the only good example I had was just on the other side of the doorway. And instead of considering Calbern her papa she'd…
I had a moment, a sort of revelation, my panic imploding like the safe we'd been working on the day before. She'd chosen me to be her…
A sort of resolve filled my chest, one I’d never felt before.
"I'm so glad you're safe," I finally said, my voice cracking again as I squeezed her. "When you didn't come out before me…"
"I'm sorry," Bevel said, her own voice squeaking a bit as she pulled out of the hug. "I didn't… this happened halfway through." At the word 'this,' Bevel used a hand to wave at herself, clearly indicating her unexpected growth spurt. "It was a lot harder to complete the challenges after. I kept… I kept falling. It hurt… it hurt so much. And I couldn’t make it up... I thought I was going to…"
"It's fine, you're okay," I said, pulling her tight and kissing the top of her head. "You're okay."
She nodded and started sobbing softly against my chest. After a few minutes, she wiped at her face then stared at her hand. "If we were outside, I could just whisk this mess away. I'd use my wind and be on top of the fraying cliff in a second." She turned her glare on the cliff as she said this before letting out a long sigh. "If the changes had just… waited, it would've been so easy."
"Hey, a sudden growth spurt like that would challenge anyone, even if they weren't trying to get up a cliff," I said, squeezing her much higher shoulder. “Needing time to adjust happens even with regular growth spurts.”
"Sorry I worried you, Pa-Perry," Bevel corrected herself, leaning against my side again.
I didn't point it out, instead focusing on the cliff ahead of us. It hadn't been too challenging to complete when I'd done it on my own. But with Bevel still getting used to her new limbs, I could see why it'd become enough of an obstacle she'd gotten stuck.
"Tackle it together?" I asked, waving in the direction of the cliff challenge.
"Together? How are we supposed to do that…" she waved her hand at the wall. "Together?"
"It's not too different from enchanting, if you think about it. We figure out the flow, where we need to do what, and how we can do it," I said, waving my hand as if my explanation made any sort of sense and wasn’t just vague feelings. I didn't think she actually needed my help so much as to not be focused on her frustration.
Clearly seeing right through me, she chuckled. Then she wiped her cheeks again. "Okay. Together then."
The next few minutes were spent making plans. Examining the cliff and discussing the obstacles. I explained how I'd made my way up, and Bevel shared what she'd learned during her many failures.
It wasn't just her awkward new limbs that were holding her back, I realized as she explained. She was also used to using her magic to augment just about everything.
Instead of pushing her up the wall, I suggested we make our way around, back to the start.
Which turned out to be incredibly easy. Despite the looping path up and down through the trees, there was always a simple path beneath it that had led back. It just hadn’t been well advertised. Unlike the way in, there weren’t any flowers marking the return path.
“Oh, look, it’s uncle Calbern,” Bevel said, waving excitedly when we reached the doorway. “Hi uncle Calbern!”
He gave a stiff nod back, though he was smiling. He tried responding, but sound didn’t pass through the barrier. I had no doubt he’d been able to read her lips though.
“We’re alright,” I told him, squeezing Bevel’s shoulder. “But we’re not coming out quite yet.”
“Sorry uncle Calbern,” Bevel said, letting out a long sigh. “But I can’t give up. Not yet.”
Calbern nodded as Bevel turned back towards the path, with me just a step behind.
Bevel needed to get used to the changes in her body, and on our walk, she’d worked herself up to trying the course again, from the beginning. I was going to be right there beside her as she did. So, for the second time that day, we went through the obstacle course, winding our way through the trees.
Only this time, we did it together.
"This is too easy," she said, shaking her head as we made our way from branch to branch, barely needing to watch our steps.
"Course it is. We've tread the path twice and we’re just getting started," I said, waving her forward. I could practically feel her roll her eyes at me as she started moving forward faster. “Still not as easy as taking the ground.”
She rolled her eyes, moving ahead as the course slowly stepped up its difficulty.
"Okay, this is kinda fun," Bevel called a couple minutes later as we moved across the vines, where she was leaping well before I would’ve. "It's a lot easier to reach."
I nodded instead of responding. I’d given her a boost at the start, and was attempting to stop the spin I'd picked up. Note to self, anchor before pushing someone else on a vine.
When we reached the gravel slopes and I charged over it was like a lightbulb went off, her eyes lighting up. She was screaming in excitement as she came down the far side, waving at me to follow her up the next. "That was so much faster. Come on!"
From that point onward, I struggled to keep up with her. Every time we finished a section, she'd be standing there waiting, a giant grin on her face.
By the time we approached the cliff, it was clear Bevel was feeling more confident, and her awkward movements were… well, still kinda awkward, but she was clearly more comfortable than she’d been half an hour earlier.
"I… I know you said you’d help me. That we needed to do it together…" Bevel said, stopping and turning to look at me, pushing her the mop of messy brown curls back and out of her face so she could meet my gaze.
"But you need to do it alone," I said, smiling in understanding.
She shook her head, all her hair falling right back into place. "No. I know I can do it now. We don’t need to do it together, but… I do want to. I just… I was getting so frustrated that everything was different. Nothing felt right. I was being stupid. Thank you…" her voice trailed off as she balled both of her hands into fists. "Thank you, Papa."
"Of course," I said, pulling her into a hug. I wasn't just acknowledging her gratitude, I realized. It was her calling me Papa. "Of course," I repeated, my voice cracking slightly.
"You… you don't mind?" she asked, her voice breaking again. “That’s not just… me being stupid again?”
"No, you’re not being stupid… Bevel, I don't… I'm not… look, you deserve the best," I said, not letting go. There wasn’t any way to express how inadequate I felt without also calling her own judgment into question. And that was something I didn’t want to do. "And I'm not… well, I'll give you the best I can. The best I've got, but I don't exactly have any experience at being a dad."
She nodded into my chest, squeezing tighter for a second. Then she pushed away. "Well, I've got experience being a daughter. And… and you're doing good."
I couldn't help but let out a chuckle at that. "Okay. Well, you… you let me know when I mess up, cause I'm sure I will. I can be stupid too, remember."
At that, Bevel's eyes took on a mischievous glint, and she turned to the side, her arms held out in front of her. "So stiff…" she let out in a low groan. Her zombie impression was much better with her gangly limbs.
"Hey now, I'm a lot better than I used to be," I said, pushing her shoulder. Then I nodded my chin towards the cliff. "Ready to get out of here?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready," Bevel said, reaching over and taking my hand. "Let's do it. Together."
“Together,” I said, honoring the commitment.
The cliff was harder than it had to be. It really wasn’t meant to be scaled as a team. Yet we didn’t care. We were laughing as we climbed back down, helping each other along. It took three times as long to do it together than it had taken me on my own.
Sometimes its like that though. Where things would’ve been simpler by yourself, but they’re so much better with your chosen family, at the end of the day.
Least, that’s what I’d learned on Ro’an.
Even with our convoluted climb, it wasn't too much later that we made it to the top and stumbled to the entrance then out the doorway.
The second our feet hit the root-covered stone floor, a sort of fluttering sound drew our attention. When we turned, we discovered the tunnel was open once more, pushing its way upward along the bottom of the lake. It seemed we were allowed to leave. Hopefully that meant Tender wasn’t upset with me.
Considering it hadn’t come out to scold me, I was cautiously optimistic. Looking around, I attempted to spot if there was any way to get Tender’s attention. Which was when I noticed a Waygate worked into the wall right next to the tunnel. It was so overgrown with vines, I hadn't even realized what it was.
"Hey, look," I said, giving my newly gangly apprentice a side squeeze. "Waygate."
She chuckled, then turned towards Calbern, who was standing nearby with a relieved smile painted clearly on his face. "Sorry for worrying you, uncle Calbern."
"It is quite alright, lady Bevel. I am delighted to see that no harm has come to you," Calbern said, stepping forward and patting her on the shoulder. Only to let out a soft sigh as she stepped forward and hugged him. "And it appears you've finally had that growth spurt you were hoping for."
"Uh… yeah," Bevel said, letting go of him to look down at her feet as her cheeks lit up. "That was kinda the problem. Everything got all different and weird."
"Well, you are safe and with us, that is the important thing," Calbern said, returning to his usual perfect posture. "Shall we make our way home. I don't know about the pair of you, but I find myself positively famished."
"Yeah, food sounds good," I agreed, walking beside them as we headed towards the stairs. "Could eat a whole mist-rex."
"Ew," Bevel said, sticking out her tongue. "I'm sick of mist-rex."
"Well, what does the growing girl want?"
"Uh… do we have any of that blue fruit? The ones from the Frost Riven? I could really go for one of those blended fruit smoothie things Esbee's been making lately."
"Sure. We can do fruit juice smoothies," I said as we made our way to the surface. It wasn't what I wanted. What I wanted was a nice thick steak, preferably mist-rex or something else with a similar rich profile, grilled and sizzling.
But hey… sometimes you had to make sacrifices for your family.
Comments
Druid
New thought, I wonder if it was a test within a test for Perry?
Druid
That was... very satisfying. Still curious as to what Tender will say but I'm cautiously optimistic about that.
