Ferzen let them enjoy the display for a moment longer before clapping his hands together and dispersing the gathered mana.
He ignored the disappointed looks from his sons' faces and after checking his pocket watch, decided to end the lesson.
cleared his through slight to ger their attention.
"Ehem." He let out a small cough to get their attention and said, "We can end it here for today, but before that, do you have any questions?"
"Hmm..." Leon let out a thoughtful hum, before ultimately shaking his head and standing up.
Ferzen nodded once, then turned to the still-seated Thorsten, raising a questioning brow when he noticed his raised hand.
"..."
"That flashy thing elder brother did earlier," Thorsten asked, tilting his head slightly, "was that a battle art?"
"Oh, no. That—"
"Ack!" Before ferzen could finish answering, Leon cut him off with a startled yelp at the unexpected voice.
He stiffened, realising far too late just how close that voice had been.
Exhausted from their sparring and wholly absorbed in his father's explanations, Leon had failed to notice Thorsten's presence until he was already this closer.
Leon turned stiffly to look over his shoulder, only to jump back in surprise when he found Thorsten standing right behind him.
"Elder brother, is everything alright?"
Thorsten, the cause of his fright, asked in an innocent tone.
Leon exhaled slowly through his nose, irritation flickering across his face before he caught himself. With their father watching, any 'extreme' actions were not an option.
So instead, he did what any reasonable, and mature elder brother would do.
He straightened up, plastered on a broad, warm smile, and stepped towards him.
He stepped within range of his victim and raised his right hand.
"Oh... hey~ youngest." Leon's voice dropped to a loud whisper as he reached out and ruffled Thorsten's hair, fingers pressing just a little too firmly. "When did you get here, huh~?"
Thorsten caved in under the uncomfortable force pressed on his head and endured it with a polite smile.
When Leon finally eased his grip, he looked up just enough to meet his brother's eyes.
"Not that long ago…" He started.
Unaware of that pause, Leon couldn't help but release a relieved breath—until Thorsten said the words he wanted to hear the least.
"... right about when you fell face-first into the floor." he finished, a triumphant smile blooming on his face.
Thorsten's words caused him to freeze mid motion, which was all Thorsten needed to slip neatly out of reach and retreat to Ferzen's side.
"Was that part of your training, too?" He added, rubbing salt in his wounds.
Leon stared at him.
Then, very slowly, his shoulders slumped.
His knees hit the ground with exaggerated despair as he felt the image of a strong older brother he had created fracture in real time.
Leon whipped his head around to look at his father with betrayal wrought tears brimming in his eyes.
"Why... why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his voice cracking in the middle.
Ferzen let out a quiet chuckle.
"Because a warrior should always be aware of his surroundings."
Leon grimaced, then pushed himself back to his feet, brushing dust from his clothes as if reclaiming what remained of his dignity.
"… Tch."
He picked up his practice sword and slid it under his arm.
"I have a lesson after this," he said, casting Thorsten a sideways glance. "So consider yourself spared, youngest."
As he turned to leave, Leon shot him a sharp, confident grin over his shoulder.
"Enjoy it while you can."
Ferzen acknowledged him with a nod.
Beside him, Thorsten lifted a hand and waved, smiling far too sweetly for Leon's liking.
"Shouldn't you also be in class right about now, Thorsten?" Ferzen asked, crouching down to pick up his practice sword.
He paused there, his weight resting on his knee to have their eyes on the same level.
"Errm..." Thorsten couldn't help being intimidated by Ferzen's piercing gaze.
"I–I was taking a walk, but then I got lost trying to find my way back inside." He said, trying not to break eye contact.
"..."
Ferzen said nothing in response to this, which only served to increase his nerves.
And just when he was about to speak out again, Ferzen stood up straight and began looking around.
Thorsten let out a small sigh of relief at this; he wasn't lying, but he couldn't understand why being subject to Ferzen's gaze made him feel so nervous.
He tried to calm himself down by shifting his attention towards anything that wasn't his father, only to have his eyes drift towards the sword now in his hand.
When he was done surveying the area, Ferzen turned his sights back to Thorsten, whose
When he was done surveying the area, Ferzen turned his attention back to Thorsten, whose eyes were now glued to the practice sword in his hand.
He flipped his grip on the blade's hilt with practiced ease, then added,
"You're still too young to handle one of these, youngest.
"So, until then, you'll have to stick to being an observer. Alright?"
Thorsten could only nod in agreement, cautious that anything he said might make him seem unlike the Thorsten his father knew.
He then bid his father farewell and turned towards the path that his brother had taken to get back inside, only to pause at the edge of the path.
'Where did he go?'
He tried to peer over the hedges to catch a glimpse of him, but at this point, Leon was already too far gone for him to be able to follow in his steps.
'Well than, isn't this just the best.'
He let out a deep sigh then began weighing his options, 'I can either get lost again, or just say f•ck it and just go through the fancy bushes?'
"..."
He was seriously considering the second option, but when he remembered that he was now in the body of a ten-year old, the idea immediately became less appealing.
And option one was what got him into this situation in the first place, so that one was automatically at the bottom of his list.
"Hmm… Yeah, I've got nothing.'
Seeing no clear way forward, he decided to receive help from someone who could.
But that decision still came with the added pressure of spending more time with someone who knew him still made him feel unsafe.
And just as he was about to turn around, Ferzen called out to him from behind.
"Were you planning on getting lost, again?"
"Umm... no?"
Thorsten turned around to face him but couldn't bring himself to meet his eyes, knowing full well that what he was prepared to do was much worse than that.
"Then why did you sound so unsure of that?"
"… Because I was waiting for you, father." He squeaked out.
"Oh?"
Ferzen stopped beside him, placing a gentle hand on his head and slightly straightening his ruffled hair.
"Then let's not keep your teacher waiting any longer, shall we?" He said, then started walking.
Thorsten trailed half a step behind him, taking this time to remember the path they were taking.
On their path, they passed by a stone bird bath, then briefly stopped at a shed which Ferzen entered to store his sword.
As they continued on their way, Thorsten found himself able to recognise the path that they had turned onto from his memories.
But from the brief glimpses he had seen, this path was not one that led to where he wanted to go, so he tried to peek at Ferzen's expression to read what he was thinking.
Only to be met with his father's usual neutral expression.
Thorsten leaned in slightly to get a better look, but after tripping over himself, he gave up on that endeavour and focused back on the path they were taking.
They continued, passing increasingly familiar spots, like a tree that had grown at an odd angel and a stone sculpture of a bird he couldn't recognise.
After a few more turns, they arrived at an open area that stood out against the nearly trimmed hedges and expertly arranged palace gardens, due to its simplicity.
In a small, quiet corner of the labyrinth-like gardens of the Baylith Palace bloomed an arrangement of flowers with petals as clear as glass, catching the sunlight and scattering it into an ever-changing dance of colour.
'It's beautiful.'