The next morning, rain poured down in thick sheets. It was loud enough to drown out the distant chatter of broom-people swapping into their daytime forms. Vastarael walked through the downpour like it wasn't even touching him which… it wasn't.
The rain bent around him, curving away at the last second as if the droplets remembered some universal law that forbade them from falling on an Aeterium. They slid around an invisible boundary and continued their fall to the forest floor.
Shimmer on the other hand was absolutely soaked.
Her hair stuck to her cheeks, her clothes clung to her skin and she kept making that scrunched-up annoyed face she always made when something irritated her but she didn't want to complain because she thought it would make her look childish.
"You're seriously dry. That's so unfair."
They walked deeper into the forest, as their boots sunk slightly into the wet moss. The scent of petrichor was so thick it almost felt tangible. Mist curled between the trees, clinging to the undergrowth. After a moment, Vastarael spoke, staring forward with his hands behind his back like he always walked when he was deep in thought.
"So, how are you adjusting to life in Spheraphase?"
"Dad, why me and not Runner?"
"Your sister can adapt to literally any environment. Sentient Krepsuna instincts. Well, dragon instincts now. After her mother changed of course. You, on the other hand, don't adapt quite as easily."
Shimmer rolled her eyes. "Dad, I'm not made of glass."
"Did I say you were?"
"No…"
He turned his head just slightly, enough to catch her expression.
"When we went to the Fallen Bridge, you almost died from extreme hypothermia for three days straight. You would have died if I hadn't used my Essence to keep you warm long enough for your body to adjust."
She didn't like thinking about that part.
"And when we came to Spheraphase, the heavy gravity crushed you for a week. Thankfully, you adapted fast because you're Aeterium. Still, that was hard on you."
"Okay… fair point."
.
"Now I'll ask again. How are you adjusting?"
"I'm doing fine."
"Shimmer, that wasn't the question I asked."
She sighed dramatically in the exact same way she used to as a child whenever he asked too many follow-up questions during lessons.
"Daaaad… fine, okay. I'll be serious. I'm adjusting. Really. My Divine power is stable. My Speech Manipulation is… distorted sometimes, but that's because of the Divinity issue."
"Good analysis."
"Thanks. So yeah, I'm fine."
He didn't press further. Vastarael never pushed when someone set a boundary honestly. It was one of the reasons both daughters trusted him as much as they did.
They continued walking through the rain-soaked forest and after a few minutes, Shimmer glanced around.
"Why exactly are we in a forest this early in the morning in the middle of a downpour?"
"We're doing something called hunting," Vastarael answered dryly.
She stopped walking.
"We're WHAT?"
"Hunting."
"For what?"
He tilted his head up slightly, listening to something she couldn't hear yet.
"The Golden Fawn."
"That's a myth," she said flatly.
"Nope," he replied, stepping over a fallen log. "It's real."
"And it lives here?"
"It migrates through Broomshaven's forest once every twenty years. Perfect timing."
"And why are we hunting it?"
He glanced over his shoulder at her.
"It's our ticket into the Hidden Citadel."
Her expression twisted into pure outrage.
"You told Mother Asenane we needed vegetables!"
"Well," Vastarael said, shrugging as if this was perfectly reasonable, "that was partially true. We do need vegetables. And a Golden Fawn."
She stared at him, drenched, confused, annoyed, and somehow still amused. Shimmer shivered from the cold but she didn't complain. She never did when it came to being with him like this like old times in the Fallen Bridge before the world got bigger and adulthood got closer.
Vastarael slowed down.
"You feel that?"
Shimmer paused, closed her eyes and reached out with her senses. Her eyes flew open.
"Dad… that's—"
"Yes. The Golden Fawn."
The rain hammered down harder around them, but not a single drop touched him.
"Alright, I'm going to teach you a little about hunting."
"Me? Hunting?"
"Yes. You."
"But why? We can literally buy food. Or conjure food. Or—"
"Because back in the Fallen Bridge, you ate what my soldiers hunted for you. Every single meal."
Shimmer's face went red.
"Dad I was ten!"
"And now you're seventeen. Which means you can learn."
She folded her arms.
"I liked it better when everything was pre-cooked."
Vastarael ignored her in the way only a parent with years of experience could. He leapt and landed on a high branch. Shimmer, after a very dramatic sigh, followed. The branch shook under her weight and she grabbed the trunk for balance.
"Why are these trees so slippery?!"
"Because it's raining, Shimmer."
"Wow, thanks for the insight, dear father."
He fought a smile.
They crouched low, gazing down through the leaves, watching the forest floor below. A faint, golden light shimmered between the ferns. The Golden Fawn grazed in total peace, its small hooves glowing like molten sunlight. Its fur rippled in luminous waves and its eyes were almost too bright to look at.
"Okay… that's definitely not a normal animal."
"Correct."
"And we're hunting that?"
"Correct."
"And you're insane."
He didn't disagree. Vastarael tapped her shoulder lightly.
"The Golden Fawn is extremely hard to catch for two reasons. One," he said, raising a finger, "it can reach incredible speeds. Faster than most beasts. And two, it can turn invisible if it feels like it's in mortal danger."
Shimmer stared at him.
"So our plan is what? Hope it doesn't see us?"
"No. Our plan is simple."
He summoned a sapphire spike from thin air.
"Dad—"
He threw it. It sliced through the air and struck the ground next to the fawn with a violent thud. The Golden Fawn screamed, flashed, and burst into motion, leaving a streak of gold so fast it looked like a living beam of light.
Shimmer almost fell off the branch.
"DAD! What the hell was that?! We could have gone in with stealth!"
"No," he said calmly, already sprinting along the branches above her. "It sensed us the moment we entered the forest. Stealth was not an option."
"You could have warned me!"
"Consider this part of the lesson."
She groaned dramatically before launching after him. Both of them were blurs as they raced through the trees.
Shimmer shouted through the rain,
"You go after it then! You're the one who wants it!"
"No. You're going to hunt it."
"ME?!"
"Yes. Otherwise, I won't give you the present I've been working on for five years."
Shimmer's soul left her body.
"WHAT PRESENT?!"
"It's a surprise."
"DAD. NO. NO NO NO. YOU CAN'T—"
"Catch the Golden Fawn and the present is yours."
Shimmer shot ahead of him so fast she left a shockwave behind her.
"I'M GETTING IT! I'M GETTING THAT FAWN. MOVE OUT OF MY WAY OLD MAN!"
"You're calling me old while running slower than me?"
"SAY THAT AGAIN!"
Leaves whipped past her face as she barreled forward. She had heard about a secret project he's been working on and if that was the present...
She could feel the fawn's trail of heat ahead. Vastarael kept pace behind her, his hands behind his back like they were just out for a stroll.
"Focus, Shimmer! It's fast! Predict its route!"
"I AM LISTENING TO YOU INSULTING ME!"
He chuckled.
She hated that she liked that laugh.
Branches cracked behind them as Shimmer accelerated again, channeling just a hint of her Divinity, enough to amplify her senses but not enough to blow the forest apart. Rain smashed across her face but she felt nothing except her heart pounding in her chest.