The home I made with my family was large, but still cozy. While waiting for the conversation between Tabitha, Ferrisdae, and the adventurers to wind down, I spent my time on the top floor. It was almost all set up for us except for a couple of rooms that belonged to the Bottom’s Up for those who wanted a bigger room for a heftier price. There was a thick wall separating the two spaces, however, and it was quiet.
I sat in our common space and worked on questions for the next trivia night. Since I was going to be in town for the event, I planned on running it myself instead of letting the local priests of Chuelda, Goddess of Knowledge, handle it in my absence. They did a fine job, but I always liked to do it myself when able.
Sitting back in my chair, I looked around my home. The common space was where the family stayed together, and it was large, nearly as big as the tavern on the first floor. Our dining room table took up a good portion of space next to the open kitchen, our sitting area was surrounded by full bookshelves, and there were plenty of places to write or get work done.
Reading and writing were things we always encouraged in our household. The girls were too old to be read to these days, but it had been a joy to do back when they were still young enough for it. A smile spread across my face as I thought about those days. I had been able to stay home more often back then, which really helped when our girls were young.
As I was reminiscing, the door leading downstairs opened and I was met with the screaming of children.
“Father!” my oldest loudly greeted.
“Daddy!” my youngest called after.
Spinning in my chair, I rose to my feet to see my daughters running towards me. Tabitha and Ferrisdae emerged from the doorway behind them, and I gave my wife a smile before falling to one knee with my arms spread wide.
“Calico! Willow! I’m so happy to see you,” I said as they slammed into me, pulling me into a tight hug.
Both wore the white and blue uniforms of the Tippertille Academy of Art, Science, and the Arcane, their school in the Middle. It was one of the best educations money could buy in New Frausta that wasn’t a snobby institution on the Top. While both of our girls had proven themselves to their classmates and had already been accepted despite coming from the Bottom, they would have been outcasts any higher up. Their education was important, but we wanted them to have a rich social life, too.
Calico, or Emilia Rhodes in private, was the first to peel away. She ran her hand through her short brown hair and stood up straight as she prepared to address me. It was clear that she took after my mother, though she had Tabitha’s nose, and she had inherited my studiousness and diligence.
My teenage daughter beamed at me. “I’m happy to announce that I’ve beaten Darren Lars in our quarterly exams for the second time in a row, father,” she said enthusiastically. “If this trend continues, then I’m sure to be at the top of the class this year.”
“That’s my girl,” I praised, smiling proudly at her. Emilia’s rivalry with Darren Lars, a human teenager her age, had been ongoing for years now. It drove her, and Tabs and I did everything we could to help her out. That included pulling her back when necessary; competition was good, but it wasn’t healthy to become too obsessed with something like that.
I let go of Willow and she immediately reached into her backpack. My smile faltered when she pulled out a small amphibious creature, but I managed to keep it in place despite my displeasure. She looked immensely proud of herself at having brought it to me, and I could see her mother’s influence in her. Once she grew up, she would look just like Tabs, I knew.
“Dad!” she said excitedly. “I caught you a frog!”
“Thank you, Willow,” I forced out as I took the slimy green creature from her. It looked me in the eyes before giving me a lazy ribbit.
A year or so back, she had been taking beginner classes in Arcane Studies. It was required for every student to see if they had any magical aptitude emerging while they grew, and those who decided they wanted to try their hands at becoming learned spellcasters could continue even if they had no innate abilities.
After a lengthy course all about familiars, Willow had spent ages asking us what we would pick if we had become wizards instead of what we were. Emilia told her that she would have wanted a cat, Tabitha said a bird, and I said it wasn’t something I had really bothered thinking about before. That kind of answer never satisfied either of my children, so when she asked again while we were near a pond on the outskirts of the city, I didn't give it much more thought.
I looked around and saw a frog. At the time, it was a harmless answer, but hindsight told me that I had been spoiled too much by the diligent and mature Emilia.
It wasn't all bad. Willow had become enthralled when watching the elven druids do their work in the tavern. She had expressed interest in learning their kind of magic, and I was nothing if not supportive of my little girl.
I walked towards the sitting area where we had a glass tank made just for this event, and set the frog inside of it. There was water, though no food, and plenty of places for it to hide. The creature jumped right into the small dish and became still. I was going to have to get rid of it sometime soon.
Making sure to clean my hands, I joined Tabitha and Ferrisdae in the sitting area while Emilia and Willow went to their rooms to change out of their uniforms. Sitting down across from the women, I nodded towards the doors they had disappeared into. “I’m happy to see they’re doing well.”
“Well, they miss their father, but they know what you do for our family,” Tabitha said with a smile.
“Your daughters are adorable,” Ferrisdae stated. “And I think you’d be especially proud of Calico.”
“I always am, but did you have a particular anecdote in mind?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.
The elf grinned. “I tried to call her Cali,” she admitted. “And tried to get her to call me Ferry. She looked me right in the eye with that trademark Badger stare and told me, and I quote, ‘my name is Calico, Ms. Ferrisdae, and I would thank you to use it.’ It shouldn’t have, but it completely caught me off guard.”
“You should have seen the look on this poor girl’s face,” Tabitha said with a laugh, nudging my apprentice with her elbow.
“She said it so politely, too!” Ferrisdae responded. “Even if we hadn’t been introduced, I think I would have pegged her as your daughter immediately, Badger. Like, it wasn’t even a question. She obviously learned that look from the best.”
“Yeah, that’s my girl,” I said with a smirk before my eyes scanned the now closed door to the stairs. “Not that I would usually ask this, but were Moose and Cojisto planning on staying for dinner?”
“No, they came to say hello and to have Moose meet Calico and Willow, but they were feeling pent up from being stuck in quarantine,” Tabitha explained. “So, they’re off doing adventurer things. Cojisto said not to wait for them.”
“They’ll come and go as they please,” Ferrisdae added. “We already knew they were very free with their schedule, but it’s almost concerning how little they plan ahead.”
“That’s just how most adventurers are,” I said dismissively. “I was just wondering how many mouths we would have to feed tonight. Ferry, are you staying here or heading back up to the Inn Royale?”
I watched as the elf’s face lit up when I called her by her nickname, and had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. It was such a little thing, she didn’t have to be so happy about it.
“I’m planning on staying here,” she answered. “The Inn Royale is nice, but I’m not sure I want to stay on the Top alone after what happened last time. Plus, I’m having a lot of fun with your family. Even if I sleep in the Bottom’s Up rooms, I like it here.”
“We wouldn’t make you pay for a room, Ferry,” Tabitha insisted before looking at me. “Would we, Badger?”
“Not when you’re asking me like that, Tabs,” I said honestly.
“Badger!” she exclaimed, though it was easy to see that she was amused.
“I’m just calling it how I see it.”
“Well, this is your rookie, and you need to treat her better than that,” Tabitha said firmly.
“I’ve treated her just fine,” I said, crossing my arms. “Not only have I mentored her, but I’ve even offered her a hair tie and, when we didn’t have one because we were sucked into an alternate dimension, braided her hair for her.”
“That’s true, he did,” Ferrisdae said. “It was after he asked me if I was willing to cut my hair, but he did end up braiding it.”
“Cutting it? But your hair is so long and beautiful!” Tabitha loudly praised.
“I didn’t want her to go through the same incident that she-fox had with her tail,” I scoffed.
“Oh, yes. See, now that’s a fair concern,” my wife said with a nod.
“Sophia?” Ferrisdae questioned. “What happened to her tail?”
Before we could answer, Emilia emerged from her room wearing a plain green dress and carrying a large textbook. “Nothing I can say in front of the kids,” I whispered before leaning back.
My daughter paused as she noticed the concerned look on Ferrisdae’s face, and her eyes flicked between Tabitha and I. “Is now a bad time?” she asked.
“Of course not, Calico,” I said, waving her to the chair next to mine. “But I do have a job for you, if you think you’re up for it.”
“What do you need done?” Instead of agreeing right away, she made sure to know what I wanted first.
I smiled as she sat down; that was just as I taught her. “How would you feel if I asked you to help Ms. Ferrisdae learn how to braid her own hair?”
“Well, I don’t think that’s necessary,” the elf said quickly. “I know how to braid hair, it’s just tedious.”
“It’s probably because you have too much hair,” Emilia said, tapping her chin with a finger. “It’s long and pretty, sure, but if you cut it short like mine then it’ll be much more manageable.”
Ferrisdae looked horrified, and I gave her a smug smirk. “My daughter is wise beyond her years.”
“It’s just common sense,” Emilia started with a shrug before turning to me and holding up the textbook she brought out. I saw that it was one for Arcane Studies. “What’s not nearly as easy are these classes on magical circles. I was hoping I could get your insight.”
“Magic circles, sure. Those are pretty fun,” I answered. “But let’s take care of it after dinner. Since it’s my first night back, it’s your turn to pick what we eat tonight.”
Emilia tried to school her expression since there was an outsider in the house, but I knew my daughter well and I could tell that she was happy to answer. “Can we have more of that steak you grilled after coming back from the Coroda Wildlands?” she asked immediately, nearly jumping out of her seat.
“That was Giganbull steak,” I responded, arching an eyebrow. “And it was fresh. I’m not sure we can get it with such short notice, but there might be some on the Top if we started asking around.”
“If you don’t want to do it, then I’ll go,” Ferrisdae offered. “I’ve had Giganbull before, and if there’s a possibility that we can have it tonight, I’ll jump on it.”
I looked between my daughter and my apprentice before making a show of sighing. “Okay, if that’s what you want, then I’ll cook it,” I said, gaining me a cheer from both of them. “But you two have to go up and get enough for the family, okay?”
“Of course, father,” Emilia agreed.
“Calico and I are on the job,” Ferrisdae stated, giving me a mock salute.
“I’ll get the coin purse,” Tabitha said, and the three of them stood up and began getting ready.
Just as I was about to settle into the chair, I noticed that Willow’s door was open. She had dressed herself in a pair of pink overalls and a black shirt, and she had been staring at me without speaking. I stood up and approached her, getting down on one knee.
“What’s wrong, honey?” I asked gently.
“Daddy, I have a really important question for you,” she said. Putting on my serious face, I nodded, and she hesitated before continuing. “If I was a toad instead of a frog, would you still love me?”
I blinked at her before laughing and pulling her into a hug. “Of course, Willow,” I said, kissing the top of her head. “I’d love you no matter what manner of slimy creature you might become.”
“Okay, good,” she said, sounding reassured by my simple proclamation.
Willow grinned at me, and everything was back to being good in the Rhodes household.
