Chapter 10: Many things to do, so little time

 Andiel had taken Darius to the swimming pool, and told him to have fun. The demon child had on shorts, but it was pleasantly warm in the building. The water was a bit cool, but more lukewarm, than anything else. There were other children there already, and they all played in the water. 

Darius pocked a toe in the liquid. He never learned how to swim. A man came to him, and then proceeded to place a round thing around Darius's middle. 

"I get it you don't know how to swim?" The man asked, and Darius nodded. 

"It is simple, you just need to do what I do," then, the man jumped in the water, and began kicking his feet, and waving his arms around. "Come inside, the water is pleasant. I will hold you, so you won't sink. Not that you can, with the belt around your torso." 

Darius got inside the water, and began to kick his feet much the same way as the man was kicking his. The man indeed took a hold of him, and they began to swim to the other end of the pool. When Darius got the hang of it, the man let him go, and swam back to the end of the pool that they had begun from. 

The demonic child didn't do the same. He needed strength. He knew that, in the water, he was putting pressure on his entire body. This was how he was going to build muscle. Darius swam the rest of the way, and then got the belt off himself. Immediately, he sunk somewhat in the water. That didn't deter him. Kicking his legs, he managed to get back to the surface. 

The demon swam from one edge of the pool to the next, never tiring. When he finally heard the sound of his father's voice, he looked up. 

"Darius, have you been doing laps the entire day?" Andiel asked, hands folded over his chest. 

"I have, and I feel great," Darius climbed out of the pool, and smiled at the elf. 

"I sent you here, so you could get to know the children around here better," Andiel said, and Darius's smile faltered. 

"I am sorry. I just wanted to be strong because I want to be able to protect those around me," Darius murmured, and Andiel's face softened. 

"Well, we need to go. You will read the entire day. I got you some books on battle tactics. How To guide, that will teach you different ways of fighting," Andiel took a hold of the boy's hand, and led him out of the pool.

 At the thought that his father was not really mad at him, Darius's tail began to wag. He heard a snicker, and turned around where a boy was mimicking the wagging of his tail.

"Don't pay them any mind," Andiel said, as he patted Darius with his free hand. "I rather like your tail, and your horns. The girls will like them too, once you grow up." 

"Really?" Darius blushed, as his father chuckled. 

"Yes, really. I will need to fight the lady folk of this town off you with a stick, to make sure you meet the one who is for you," Andiel told him, and then turned a corner. 

They were home before the grandfather clock in the entryway managed to chime for seven in the evening. Andiel got a bundle of books from his bag, and handed them to Darius. 

"Get some reading in, while I make us dinner. How do you feel about going to the archery range tomorrow?" The elf asked, and Darius nodded. 

"It would have been easier to deal with the slimes, if I could shoot with a bow," the demon child agreed, and then rushed to his room. Closing the door behind him, he deposited his treasures on the bed. There were books about hand-to-hand. Weapon wielding. Even archery. Andiel must have picked whatever struck his fancy in the book store. 

Deciding that, seeing as he was going to the archery range tomorrow, it would be best to start off with the archery book, he began to read. He regretted soon after that he didn't have a bow to practice with. Still, there were illustrations, and Darius imagined that he was holding a bow in his hands. That he was pulling the strings, and aiming at a dragon's eye. 

Whoosh, the arrow went, and the dragon roared in the boy's imagination. Oh, the situation was dire now. If he could only get the other eye, the only thing he would have to do was avoid the swing of the claws of the blinded dragon, and... Darius spun, when he heard a chuckle. 

"What are you slaying?" Andiel asked, and Darius blushed a deep crimson. 

"Dragon," the child mumbled, and then sniffed the air. "What is for dinner? Smells nice." 

"My special meatballs in tomato sauce," Andiel told him, and then looked into the open book. "Archery, eh? So, you are going to the range tomorrow?"

"If you'd let me," the boy said, and then looked into his father's eyes with great determination. "It would be nice, if you come with me." 

"Will it, now?" Andiel said, and then looked at the many open books. "Look, Darius, this is a life that I can't follow you into. You will get my support, but you have to know that I am busy with my clinic." 

"Then, the day after tomorrow, will you teach me healing?" Darius wanted to spend time with his new father. Wanted it more than to learn how to shoot with a bow, even. 

"Yes, you will need to learn how to patch yourself up after a job," Andiel said, and then knelt before the demon boy. "As much as I don't want you to get hurt in the first place, this is the path you have chosen. Unless, you will reconsider, and become a healer instead?"

"No way! How am I going to slay dragons and rescue people, if I become a healer?" Darius asked, and Andiel sighed. 

"I don't know much about slaying dragons; it is the truth. But you might still be able to save people, as a healer. You don't have to be an official one. A hedge healer would do for your travels," a bing was heard from the kitchen, and Andiel left his son to see to the dinner. 

Darius stared after his father. Yes, he would learn to heal. If only so he won't leave the rescuing of people only half-done.