Still So Brave?

Writers: Jane, Kaysea
Date Posted: 3rd February 2008

Characters: Causton, Teene, Geni, Ednes, Brylee, Bryton, Sousie
Description: Causton's family, together again, settle in to the Hall
Location: Vintner Hall
Date: month 8, day 18 of Turn 4

Teene knocked on the open door of the office, peeking in at the Hallmaster. "All safe and well," she said, nodding at the four children crowded around her. "We braved what's left of the snow and explored and now it's time for baths before bed." Sometimes Causton was too busy to get involved in those routines and so Teene always tried to give him the opportunity to spend a little time with the children in the evening.
Good fathers made time for their children and Causton was certainly one of those.

"If you could take them up and start, I'll be along in a few moments."
he smiled from one bright, shiny and no doubt cold face, to the other.
"Geni's just gone upstairs with your namesake. She dozed off while I was playing with her, looks like I'm just too much for her at the moment." he chuckled.

"She's a very small baby," Teene protested, putting a hand on young Sousie's bare head and wondering where the girl had abandoned the woolly hat she had been wearing when they had come inside. "Like this one was not so long ago."

"She's definitely grown, even in the past few months," Causton nodded, "I'm just glad she remembered who I am," he smiled, opening his arms for the toddler to run to. She clambered quickly up his leg and sat herself in his lap, her small hands reaching up and clasping his cheeks - hands that were like icicles, since she had removed the mittens she was forced to wear while outside. "Bath time Dada." her small voice whispered to him, as she leaned in confidentially.

"I'll have to thaw them out before I bath them," the young woman commented. "Do you want to keep her?"

"Yes, she can stay here with me, I'll bring her up shortly." It was good to have them all here at last, he hadn't realised how much he really missed them until he'd just had the boys here on their own. "Did you all enjoy yourselves?" he asked, looking from one to the other. Even Ednes was too young to remember the last time he had seen snow, he would have only been around Sousie's age, back then.

They all nodded eagerly, Brylee taking a tentative step towards her father, still shy around him, since they had been apart for so long. "We made snowballs Daddy, and we had a fight, girls against boys - Teene helped us."

"Well I should think so," Causton nodded in amusement, "after all she is a girl."

"Yeah, but we still won, Dar!" Bryton took a step forward, proclaiming proudly.

"No you didn't!" Brylee countered, "they didn't, did they Teene?" she turned, almost demanding the woman agree with her.

"They certainly scored a lot of hits," Teene admitted, ruefully having to acknowledge that the boys' aim had been better than her own had been.
"But we did all right, didn't we? Didn't you get Bryton right on the nose?" Bryton's ducking had helped, for sure, but the distance had been about right.

"Yes Daddy, I got him right on his nose, it was so funny!" she fell into peels of laughter at the memory.

"It wasn't that funny." Bryton said, crossing his arms and frowning.

"Yeah - it was." Ednes nodded with a grin, and nudged his younger brother in the arm. "Next time, we'll do even better." he encouraged.
"I'm gonna make a pile of them tomorrow, ready to get anyone who comes near the hou-"

"Excuse me?" Causton asked, his face a mask, "No throwing snowballs at none family members," he declared.

"Does that mean we can throw them at you, dar?" Ednes asked, a calculating look on his face.

"If you can hit me, but -" he wagged an admonishing finger at his elder son, "be prepared, I was known for my aim when I was younger!"

The boys looked first at their father, to make sure he was serious about them being able to use him as a target, and then sidelong, conspiratorial glances to each other. "Okay dar, we'll not throw at anyone who isn't in our family."

"Am I in the family?" Teene asked, knowing that it had probably never occurred to the children that to some she might not be considered part of Causton and Geni's family.

Ednes and Bryton looked up at Teene with confused looks on their faces, "Yes.." they both replied, "'course you are!" they said in unison, then looked from her to their father, as if to say 'what a stupid question'.

"Who am I to argue with that?" Causton laughed at the looks on his children's faces. None of them would remember a time when Teene _hadn't_ been with them. Though he doubted they had ever stopped to think exactly where she fitted in to their family, they had no doubts she belonged there.

"You do realise that gives you _no_ protection whatsoever, don't you?"
Causton asked, his eyes sparkling with mischief, as he looked to his children's foster mother.

"I _am_ the one who can send the children in to visit you and Geni early any morning of the sevenday," Teene reminded him. "Still so brave?"

Causton's head rocked back as a burst of laughter exploded from him.
Sousie looked up at her father in shock. "Dada?" she asked, her small, pudgy hand reached up for his face, and patting him.

"What's so amusing?" Geni asked, walking in to the room and staring from one of them to the other. "Care to explain?" she asked, her eyes finally landing on Teene, whose smile had split her face.

"Just sorting out the results of the next snowball fight," Teene explained.

"The results?" Geni's face creased in confusion. "Okay, don't even try to explain. You know I've missed this." she said, walking over and kissing Causton lightly on the forehead. "You don't really know what you're missing, until its gone."

Teene smiled and started rounding up the children. "Come on, Let's leave your parents to bring Sousie along when they're ready."

The three older children turned and began trouping up the staircase ahead of Teene. "You _are_ part of our family, aren't you Teene?"
Brylee asked, stopping and taking hold of their foster mother's hand.

"Of course I am. I'm a special kind of family. Lots of children have older sisters who help to look after them ... It's just that your family didn't have one so your parents had to get me instead."

With a bright smile Brylee hugged Teene tightly around her legs. "I'm glad they chose you." she said conspiratorially.

Teene bent down and hugged the girl. "You know," she confided in the seven Turn old, "I'm very glad they did too."

Last updated on the February 9th 2008

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Still So Brave?