Lyric was in the kitchen, which wasn't necessarily a good thing depending on what she was doing. She happened to be attempting to make a stew. She'd managed to get through cutting up all the ingredients with only one small nick she was able to bandage herself, not wanting to bother the others. She continued and as she went about putting all the ingredients into the stew pot, including water, singing while she worked.
I got that sunshine in my pocket Got that good soul in my feet I feel that hot blood in my body when it drops I can't take my eyes up off it Moving so phenomenally Room on lock the way we rock it So don't stop
She quickly realised that the wood fire under the pot wasn't going to be enough, so she went to gather a couple more logs to put on the fire, she was fine until the last log at which point she promptly pulled her hand away and held on to her hand with her other hand, not wanting to even look at the offending hand. She was SURE she'd gotten a splinter and that absolutely positively freaked her the fuck out. She could handle a lot of injuries, but splinters wasn't one of them.
Ronan?! Aki?! Someone?! She called out, more fear in her voice than was probably actually called for, but it was a splinter!!!!!
Akibrus heard Lyric shout for him, and he darted towards the door. Before pausing, and turning to stare at the baby, playing innocently with her blocks in the living room. He decided that if someone was out there after the child's mother, Aria was probably better off indoors.
A knife slipped from his pocket, he made his way through the house, until he found Lyric. Alone? Upset, but alone. He'd been poised to cut his hand open—
Lyric. A splinter, really? He grumbled at her, moving to pull her hand towards himself. That same knife that had almost cut his flesh was brought up, and settled against the palm of her hand as he carefully worked the splinter free.
You need to tamp your fear, woman. I thought someone was attacking you. He sounded angry, at the moment.
Lyric winced, a defeated look on her face. She hated how badly splinters freaked her out, but it was like an intense fear that she couldn't ignore. Lyric wasn't even sure why, perhaps as a little kid, she'd had some terrible experience with a splinter that affected her for the rest of her life, some repressed memory she just couldn't recall. She could literally gash her thumb open with a knife and not flinch, but with a splinter. It felt like her entire world was crumbling down around her. Even though she knew it wasn't, she couldn't help how she handled the situation.
Oh, I know, I'm so sorry. I don't know why splinters get to me like this. It feels like an elephant is crushing down on my chest and squeezing all the air out of my lungs! Anxiety was frustrating. On one hand, she knew it was absurd, but she couldn't get her brain to cooperate.
Akibrus sighed, shaking his head at her. He raised one hand to cup her face, chuckling quietly. Well, you've got me and Ro. And we'll never let anything happen to you. So don't be so anxious, huh? Gods, he was shit at helping with anxiety.
He finished cleaning her hand up, and reached to pull her to himself for a tight hug. Deep breath, Lyr. He'd squeeze her again before releasing her.
Do you wanna stay out here? Baby's indoors. Can't leave her alone too long, Ro'll have my ass. Ronan loved that little girl like she was from his seed and not Aki's, and Akibrus fucking loved that. That was the most protected toddler in all of Thedas, as far as he was concerned.
Lyric relaxed into his hug, it felt better when she was in his arms, or Ronan's, she basically felt like the luckiest girl in the world with the family she had. It definitely made having a splinter feel like less of an overwhelming thing, though she still felt silly for being so worked up over them. She wasn't even sure why, she could only guess some blocked out incident as a child perhaps had stuck with her, but what that was, was anyone's guess.
You'd think with the way I sing to spiders and give them names that splinters wouldn't bother me so, but yea let's go back to Aria. I still need to finish making the stew. I should have just asked you to put the wood on the fire to begin with but I din't want to bother you. She knew she could bother Aki, but she also really thought she could handle putting wood on the fire, she'd completely forgotten about her proclivity for getting splinters.
Akibrus chuckled softly, as he pressed another kiss to Lyric's fingers, before leading her inside. I'll finish with the fire, and maybe next time, remember the gloves I made you. He'd tried to solve this problem with a pair of enchanted leather gloves, that seemed to bond to the hand like a second skin. But Lyric tended to do before thinking.
Annoying, but he loved that about her at the same time.
THE GLOVES, I swear if my head weren’t attached to my body I would lose it, or forget it, or lose it and forget it. They’re just in the drawer by the shelf where the kettles and dishes were kept. Such a simple thing, but so easily forgotten. How have things been at the Circle? I feel like I haven’t been by in day, or maybe it’s been a week now, not sure. Time can be so wibbly wobbly. One minute it’s Tuesday and then suddenly it’s Sunday and you’re all like, where the fuck did Wednesday through Saturday go. She said with a chuckle as they went inside.
You're silly, he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She asked about work and he shrugged. I've not blown anything up lately. But I am trying to learn more about the orb we've got, the Foci, though he didn't know it was a Foci.
I'm wondering if it could maybe repair the damage done to Nevarra. Or to the minds of some of the ex-Tranquil.
Well, not exploding anything is always a bonus, but if you can find a way that it can be helpful, that would be absolutely tremendous! She paused and suddenly remembered a conversation she’d had with Bethany a day or two earlier and smiled.
I talked to Bethany the other day. She had some lovely ideas in how we could do more to help the community, but she also mentioned something I haven’t stopped thinking about, the idea of having a sort of child care at the circle. Now that things aren’t what they were, it would be a great way for mage’s to be able to get the training they need without having to choose between that or their family. She said, practically all in one breath.
Akibrus studied Lyric, And who would run a childcare center, Lyric? You? His lips curled into a slight grin. Or do you think we could get Ronan to take care of everyone's kids? He teased.
He knew from the way she'd sputtered this all in one breath, she must have some interest in pitching in. And he could see how the idea had merit. If you plan to head this project, you'll have to get the funding from the Prince. He wouldn't do it for her; he tried not to coddle her.
Lyric giggled at the mental image of Ronan taking care of everyone’s children. Then she nodded, she wasn’t sure if she’d run it entirely by herself, she imagined it would be easier if she shared the duties with someone, she just wasn’t sure who that someone might be.
I definitely want to help with it, because I definitely want to help more with the Circle. I was thinking I could find someone else to help me. To make sure it runs smoothly even if I can’t always be there. Do you think it’s something that would interest the Prince, I wouldn’t want to waste his time, but I do think it’s really important that the circle be family friendly. She was excited at the thought that there was something she could help with that she was really passionate about.
