Beyond Chaos – A DiceRPG

“Look who it is, it’s kaka and papa,” Adam said, pointing to Jirot and Jarot as they returned, scampering up towards their mother and father.

Xarot blinked, as Jirot wrapped her arms around him, planting a kiss on his cheek, brushing his hair, causing little Xarot to smile brightly. Jarot also hugged him close, fixing his hair, smiling down at the boy, who clutched at his brother’s sleeve, not wishing to see his brother leave.

“Mummy, did Xarot trouble you?” Jirot asked.

“No, he did not,” Vonda replied, raising her brow towards the girl.

“Of coas, since he takes after Jarot,” the girl said, letting out a huff, as if to say how could the two grow up so quickly?

Adam’s face twisted, doing his absolute best not to burst into laughter. He smiled, as the girl caught his eyes, with a knowing look within her eyes, a gentle smirk on her lips. Though he tried to resist, he couldn’t help but pick up his daughter, kissing her cheeks, causing her to cackle. He brought his son to his chest too, the half elf brimming with joy, for the children were so well behaved.

“Xarot, did you miss us too much?” Jirot asked, escaping her father’s clutches, brushing the boy’s hair. The boy giggled in response, causing a trouble expression to bloom upon his sister’s face, for certainly, the boy was so cute, how could she leave him when she had been gone for so long? However, she needed to study, so she could assist well in the future, for she was an Iyrman, like her greatfather before her.

“What’s wrong?” Adam asked.

Jirot pouted slightly, shuffling away to one side as Jarot tickled Xarot’s cheek gently, though shuffled away to his sister too.

“Daddy, I missed Xarot’s birthday…”

“Are you worried?”

“Even if I miss his birthday, will he still love me, this foolish elder sister?”

Adam blinked, not realising she had inherited his foolishness in this regard too. The half elf smiled wide, leaning in to nuzzle her nose, ruffling the girl’s hair. “Of course he will still love you, since he is his mother’s son.”

“Of coas,” the girl confirmed. “He will forgive you too, dahddy, since you are mummy’s husband.”

“Not because I’m his father?”

“As dahddy, you are troublesome, but as mummy’s husband, you are acceptable,” Jirot informed, reassuring her father.

Adam tensed up once more, trying his best not to laugh once more, while Jirot raised her brow towards him, checking to see if she was in trouble, but she smirked. The half elf almost bit into his arm to stop, instead laughing wildly, to the point even Monarot, who had been staring at the beautiful colours of the blanket nearby, glanced towards him.

“You silly girl, how can you be this funny?”

“What can I do?” Jirot asked, shrugging once more.

Adam smiled even wider, his smile faltering for a moment, until he finally let out a breath to calm himself. “Little Xarot is really young, just a year old, so he won’t remember his first birthday. Perhaps he won’t even remember any of the days, or the feeling of love you give to him, but as he grows, when he’s two, three, four, as long as you remain so sweet and kind to him, as you are, he will remember. We missed his birthday for an important reason, and he will forgive us, and we will take good care of him, so even though we missed his birthday, he knows that we love him so.”

“I understand, dahddy…” Jirot held her father’s hand, for her father, a fool he was.

Vonda said nothing while the twins held their father’s hands. Jirot had joked about missing his birthday, but she hadn’t realised the girl had been so nervous about it. Perhaps she was just pretending now, but it felt more serious, more real, and of course, of coas, she would ask her father, for she was her father’s daughter. Even though Jirot and Jarot knew their father was a fool, they also knew he was a father among fathers, and most importantly, he was their father.

Jarot clenched his fist tight, seeing as how his greatchildren had worried so. The fury rose within his heart and he-

“Jirot, Jarot, you must tell your babo off,” a figure said.

It was not just any figure, as Jarot’s eyes slowly trailed to the side, to the see the sight of his first son through his blurry eyes full of rage, only for the calm to reveal the sight of his grandson, who had betrayed him immediately.

“Babo, what did you do?” Jirot asked, raising her brow questioningly, for though she would, of coas, tell her greatfather off, he was allowed to defend himself, since she was so magnanimous, and because babo was babo.

“What did I do?” Jarot asked his grandson.

“Your grandfather is pretending to be weak when he is so strong,” Jurot said, and then, as a moment passed, he dared to speak the words. “How unIyrmanly.”

Pam, who had been sitting off to one side, beside her daughter who had been looking at the colours, near her husband’s mother, who had been knitting the blanket for Amal, sat upright. Her eyes grew wide, though her husband was her husband, the Mad Dog was the Mad Dog, and she had seen the look within his eyes once before, the eyes that sought blood.

Vonda’s brows raised too, the woman’s eyes darting to the Mad Dog, then to her husband, who held his daughter and son within his arms, while making the same expression as his children, a trio of small circles.

‘I cannot laugh,’ the Ray of Hope, in her great wisdom, thought.

Jurot held his grandfather’s gaze. Yes. This was the gaze. This was the gaze the Mad Dog should hold. Now, all he needed to do, was to raise the axe at his side. No, even if he didn’t, this gaze was enough, for it meant even now, the Mad Dog was only dying, he was not dead.

An inhale broke the tension.

“How can he do this?” the fool asked.

Jirot and Jarot turned to look up towards their father, a fool of a man indeed.

“How can he beat your father so viciously and then pretend he’s weak?” Adam asked, for though he was a fool, perhaps in this regard, he was the wisest of all. “Jirot! You must bring justice for your father, whose heart is so broken!”

“Babo!” Jirot said, holding up a finger like a blade, and though she was uncertain of how much trouble she could cause in a time with such a grave aura, what could she do, for her father requested justice. “What! You think because you are so big and strong you can bully my dahddy? Why, you, you think, I will not? You think I will not?”

Jarot saw how the girl flushed crimson, riling herself up, both in anger and nervousness, the old man raging, slipping into his rage so easily in order to stop himself from breaking into laughter. His laughter melted away the girl’s nerves, though her heart beat so swiftly. She clutched at her father’s collar for a while before she finally relaxed completely, holding up a hand to her greatfather. Jarot plucked her from her father’s arms.

“I must forgive you since you are your greatdaughter’s greatfather,” the girl said, kissing his cheek, while little Jarot cuddled up to his neck.

“My greatdaughter is so merciful.”

“Of coas.”

“Of course.”

“Of coas.” The girl nuzzled into his hair, smelling the floral scent of the shampoo her father had brought for him.

‘Has it gotten that bad?’ Adam thought, the guilt seeping into his heart. ‘I should take him out next time to cause a bit of…’

Vonda raised her brow towards her husband, who instantly understood his thoughts were far too terrible. Thankfully for Adam, little Virot climbed onto her mother’s lap, claiming the free space beside Damrot, the girl reaching up to her mother’s shoulder, brushing her own hair behind her ear.

“Mummy! Babo laughing!” the girl said, pointing to her greatfather, as though her mother had no idea what she was talking about.

“Your babo loves to laugh.”

“Love,” the girl confirmed, nodding her head, her hair bouncing gently.

Damrot blinked up towards his mother, understanding he couldn’t sit on her lap, though he then turned to look at Monarot, who stomped up to her mother and tried to climb onto her lap, the boy walking over to hug her from behind and pick her up and away from their mother.

“Mona,” Damrot called, instantly stopping her whimpering as the girl looked up to see her brother. Monarot blinked and smiled and Damrot leaned in to kiss her forehead. ‘Love.’

Jarot noted the way his greatchildren behaved. He was certain he wasn’t like this with his own siblings when they were that young. He, who caused as much trouble as Jirot as a boy, and went on to cause even greater trouble.

Jarot thought of his younger brother, Sarot, who had once claimed a position greater than his own with his strength.

‘He must have known…’ Jarot thought.

He must have.

PATREON LINK

The next chapter will be far less depressing.