It tasted sweet and warm. Just like her smile.

Clayton looked at the medicine she held in her palm. It came out of thin air! 

It was as white and smooth as a pearl. Very round too. He had never seen anything like it.

"My father said that my mother left this for us. This can make you feel better. There are nine more left in my purse so don’t feel bad."

 

[The Little Lady Does A Magic Trick]

 

---

 

Ayan busied herself as soon as Clayton fell unconscious. She took plenty of things out of the fairy ring, a soft mat, duvet, cotton blanket and pillows. Ayan wiped him first before coaxing the groggy person to move to the makeshift bed. She would very much like to put him on a bed, a real bed but she guessed making such a big move is not practical.

Revealing the fairy ring has to be done slowly but smoothly especially in this world which has an extreme aversion to demons. She wanted to help but also did not want to end up burning in a stake.

Next, she rummaged through the warehouse stuff to find a comfortable men's shirt. 

Thankfully, the warehouse is full of different items. It was meant for a big business in the first place so there are plenty of dry goods. She took his heavy coat and undershirt wiped him to cool down before slipping a cotton shirt on. The dirty clothes were tossed in the laundry basket to be washed and dried later.

Ayan already decided to tell them about the fairy ring. There is a long way to go, he and the children wouldn't be able to stand this kind of environment no matter how good his hunting and fighting skills are. 

Against the forces of nature, humans are extremely vulnerable.  

In her opinion, revealing the importance of the fairy ring sooner is much better than keeping the suspense and eventually creating unnecessary misunderstandings. They are in a critical situation right now and she couldn't afford to be unreasonably careful. 

"Mommy." Carmine woke up first then Raven just in time to see her feeding their father hydrogenated water. 

Ayan finished making him swallow fever medicine and is diligently helping to keep his temperature down with a wet towel lest it burns his brain. 

"It's alright, daddy is not feeling well."

Raven crawled out from the hay bed to see his father who was sleeping soundly. It was seven in the morning now and the rain stopped, Ayan had been looking after him for three hours and his condition had slowly stabilized.  

She checked his body a while ago and found no wound. It must have been the fatigue catching up on him.

"Are you hungry?" She asked the two.

The twins are very sensible, although they are hungry they did not demand food right away knowing their situation. It made her heart bleed.

"I made something. Come and eat." 

"Father is ill?" Raven asked. His tiny face twisted, about to cry. 

In Ayan's memory, she had never seen Raven cry. Ayan pulled him close and hugged him on one hand and took Carmine on the other to comfort them. 

"Father will get better." She said fluffing their hair gently. "I already gave him medicine so after resting, he will be fine again."

The assuring words were like warm springs to their frightened hearts. They may be small and cannot thoroughly articulate their exact emotions but the fear and insecurity of seeing their pillar fall, they can vividly feel it.

"Really? Daddy will be okay?" 

Ayan nodded, wiping their tears with her hands. "Yes, let's let him rest for now."

To coax the boys, she took out two flavored milk and poked it with straw.

"Ah~ it's a bit warm!" Raven exclaimed looking at the pink carton with beautiful drawings.

Ayan smiled gently, "You put it on your lips and suck."

The boys blinked their big eyes. Stared at the package full of curiosity then began to sip little by little. Ayan looked at them sitting obediently like little hamsters cherishing their food.

Carmine grinned, "Delicious..."

"Sweet!"       

"By the way, mommy is hungry." She said pouting and pretending to rub her stomach. The twins immediately stopped and offered her their milk.

"Mother drink."

"From mine too."

Their childish clamor made her laugh. "Sigh~ my babies are so cute. It's alright, finish your milk first then we will eat."

Her playful tone made the two shy completely ignoring the fact that their mother has changed a lot recently. 

Rice was already cooked in a clay pot, a scrambled egg and tomato is on the pan with six pieces of caramelized sweet sausages then a steaming corn soup in a white tureen. Ayan took out the plates she prepared on the side and started serving the twins. 

Raven looked at the pudgy sausage shining with oil and caramel, it was cooked nicely and gave out an aromatic smell. When Ayan opened the rice pot, the scent of freshly cooked rice wafted out with the steam. 

Carmine first bit on the springy rice and gushed out. It was soft yet chewy with a hint of sweetness, he forked a scrambled egg next. The combination of flavours made him not want to stop. 

The same with Raven, he cut a piece of sausage and put it in his mouth. He must say, it was love at first bite! The sausage was as delicious as it looks, juicy, sweet and bouncy. 

The twins looked at her with shining eyes. Where did their mother get such delicious food!? Oh my goodness, they can't stop eating. Ayan ate at her usual pace and ladled a soup for Clayton next. He is weak but he subconsciously swallows the warm thick soup alleviating the dull hunger ache in his stomach.

Who is it? Who was feeding him? 

Unfortunately, he couldn't see clearly. It was just a pair of beautiful ivory smooth hands wearing an exquisite ring. He seems to hear the boys laugh in the background as well.

The children leaned on each other touching their round bellies after the meal. They feel sleepy after eating, but Ayan wouldn't let them sleep so easily without cleaning up. The dishes used were put back in the fairy ring.

"The sun is up now, it's not too cold outside so let's take this time to take a good bath, alright?"

Leaving the sick person in the cave, the three of them went to the stream trickling from the falls to take a bath. Ayan took the dirty children's clothes inside the space to be washed later while she took out toiletries and change of clothes for the two. 

"Mother, what is that?" Raven couldn't help asking when he saw her take several things out of thin air.

"This is a toothpaste and a toothbrush," Ayan explained. "These are used to clean the mouth like how we use clove and salt to brush our teeth."

"Oh." Raven is a smart baby, he easily understood. 

"Where did they come from?" Carmine, the child with a hundred of Where What Why asked. 

"They come from here." She pointed the ring. 

Once she disclosed the fairy ring to someone, there would be a binding spell preventing them to tell the secret to a third party.

It's a powerful restraint that assures the safety of the ring owner. Once the owner feels threatened, the fairy ring's knowledge will be erased and forgotten by those people she told about it so Ayan doesn't worry about informing her new family.

"Then the food also came from there? How nice it is to make food!"

Ayan laughed, "Silly boy, the food came from here but I cooked it myself." 

Carmine was even more amazed. "Mommy can cook!"

Well, it's a basic life skill. She felt a little embarrassed facing those eyes full of praise. 

"Alright, alright, enough chit chat and let us begin." 

Ayan rolled up her skirt to her knees then her sleeves to her elbows. She supervised the two on how they clean their teeth, making sure they brush every crevice to avoid tooth decay and bad breath. Carmine was slobbering all over. 

"Wowwy…" he looked at her tearfully.

Ayan bit back her laughter, poor baby. "It's okay. Spit it out then gargle with water."

After a while, they both sang, "Done!" 

"Good. Quick, bath time now."

A soft yellow sea sponge appeared on her hand. It was squeezed with vanilla scented shower gel suited for children use, in a short while bubbles floated above the stream as she two little boys squirmed around covered in white fluff.

"It's flying, it's flying!" Carmine shook the bubbles off his hair and body with delight. 

Raven modestly blew bubbles by making a ring with his thumb and forefinger. "This thing called shower gel is good. Father will surely like it."

Ayan let them scrub themselves to train them for personal grooming. Things like this have to be learned early especially for boys.  

When the two finished, all the sweat and grime on their bodies had been scraped off. It's a pity they have several bug bites. Ayan wiped an ointment on their bites after towelling them dry then put them in fresh clothes. 

The trio sat on the grassy patch on the bank to enjoy the breeze and brief tranquillity.

Ayan combed their hair neatly, then under the mild morning sun, she carefully clipped their nails. Carmine was a little afraid at first because he thought they would be using scissors again, but after seeing the cute tiger pattern nail clippers he couldn't put it down so Ayan helplessly took out another with a wolf design to cut Raven's fingernails. 

When everything was done, she attacked their ears next. Using a soft pack of cotton swabs, she let Raven lie on her lap sideways to clean his ears. The little boy closed his eyes feeling the comfortable itchy sensation. 

Yawn~ 

"Me next!" 

He wanted to sleep but then it was over soon and the rascal Carmine came. He pouted seeing his twin brother rolling on mother's lap like a fish.

Seeing him pout made Ayan smile. She was also a little sleepy herself so they cleaned up their belongings back to the fairy ring along with the rubbish and got ready to return. The twins are comfortable in their new clothes, mother was holding them. 

They were still laughing happily until they reached the periphery of the cave.