Chapter 12: Getting into the routine
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Chapter 12: Getting into the routine

 Mornings in the swimming pool, afternoons in the archery ring, evenings reading. Darius's days were full. Before he knew it, winter gave way to spring, and the patients who came and went became even more. That seemed strange to the little demon boy. It was finally becoming warmer. Why were people getting sick more often?

He went to his father's office, and knocked on the door. It was a slightly chilly evening, but the heating in the house was on, and Darius could feel the warmth seeping inside his skin. To think, just a couple of months ago, he had been homeless. Such a chilly night would have meant that he would need to bury himself in trash, to keep warm. Maybe even burn some in a barrel. 

"Ah, Darius. Came to see your old man?" Andiel said, from his spot on the floor, where he was making Adosinde extract. 

"Dad, how come more people are getting sick now, than during the winter?" Darius asked. For him, the spring had always meant easier times. 

"Not everyone can be as sturdy as a demon," Andiel said, as he patted the spot next to himself. "Your skin is more resilient to germs, and you have a naturally higher temperature than most people, which is how you probably..." 

Guilt began to eat at Andiel's face. The demon boy cuddled up to his father's side, and tried to get the bad thoughts to go away. 

"It is ok, dad. I am no longer on the streets," Darius said, and heard his father sigh. 

"You shouldn't have been in the first place. There are orphanages in this town. If the one here was full, then the one in the next town should have taken you in, but you are a..." Andiel let his words trail off. Darius finished for him. 

"A demon? I know, dad," Darius murmured. To think, that all his life who he was, was the reason for his sufferings. Andiel enveloped his son in a one-armed hug, and kissed his brow. 

"But now you are a Loreth. That is an old elven name. Has anyone mistrusted you, or done something to you, these past days?" Andiel asked, ready to defend his son. 

"No, my good clothes and my cleanliness save me from it all," Darius said. "Dad, when I grow up, I will adopt a pack of kids!" 

Andiel chuckled. Yes, that sounded like Darius. 

"With that prince, that you talk to every night?" Andiel teased, but his son didn't get it. 

"Why not? Anastasios is nice, and he smells like home," Darius said, and then scrunched up his nose. "You didn't answer my question, why do people get sick during the spring?"

"Well, that is when the thicks wake up," Andiel told him. "Little bloodsuckers, who spread illnesses. Then there are the viruses in the air, that the cold held at bay." 

"Wait, bloodsuckers spread illnesses?" Darius asked, eyebrow raised. 

"Anastasios does not. I am certain that he is a healthy young boy," Andiel assured his son, and then frowned. "You better not call him a bloodsucker to his face. That will hurt his feelings." 

"He calls me demon to my face, and giggles when I call him bloodsucker," Darius explained, and his father shook his head. 

"Be that as it may, you better refrain from doing so, ok?" Andiel asked, and Darius nodded. 

"If it will make you happy," the boy mumbled, and then perked up. "Can I help?"

Darius nodded at the pure white blossoms that were being torn and then placed in oil. 

"Sure, get some gloves. Do you remember what Adosinde was good for?" The elf asked, and Darius nodded. 

"Yes, it is for stomach ache," then, Darius tilted his head. "Why do you need so much? You are not feeling bad, are you?"

"No, it is just that one of my clients has guests from the Red Coast, and has the worst stomach cramps there are," Andiel told him, and Darius became crimson. Beth had been too old to have such guests, but some of the patients came and complained from such things. It never ceased to amaze Darius how women could bleed, and still remain alive. 

"We have to help her," Darius insisted. He began to gently tear out the blossoms of the plant. As he worked, he looked to the leaves. 

"Dad, what are the Adosinde leaves used for?" Darius asked, and Andiel grew silent. 

After a minute, he sighed. 

"I suppose that, seeing as you will be a bounty hunter, you should know. The leaves and stem of the Adosinda plant, when boiled, make a deadly poison. It is called the Reaper. Once ingested, no one can survive it," Andiel then looked to his son. "Just, promise me one thing?"

"Anything," Darius said, giving his father a reassuring smile. 

"If the bounty says Dead or Alive, do your best to bring in the person alive. No matter what they have done, ok?" Andiel asked, and Darius tilted his head to the side. 

 "Because all life is precious?" The demon child quoted something he had read from a book. When he had first read that line, he had been confused. His life hadn't been precious from the time that Beth died, to the time that Andiel took him in. 

"I know what you think. No one took care of me, so why should I show remorse? Only animals don't show remorse, son. You might be a demon, but you are no beast. Not unless you let others make you into one," Andiel said, and placed a hand on Darius's shoulder. "Promise me you will always be this good soul, that you are now."

 "I promise," Darius murmured, and reached out for his father. "And you have to promise that you will always be there for me." 

"Didn't I promise that already?" Andiel asked with a chuckle. "But here is another promise, seeing as my first one was not enough." 

Andiel held out his pinky, and Darius grinned as they did the pinky swear. Something that Andiel had taught him how to do. Their very own way of making vows that lasted. 

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