“You would not believe the day I've had,” Basil muttered, stifling another yawn.
“Tell me about it,” Vie started. “Lilith has been-”
“MAMAAAAAAA!” A voice cried out, echoing out into the woods.
“That. Lilith has been that all day,” Vie muttered.
“Mama!”
Basil looked at the high walls of the sanctum. The cracked facade of Marble bricks and wrought iron that towered over the southern vale. The five walls still stand tall, despite decades of service. A monolith to a dead era.
The beacon lit and whirring from the northmost tower. A sign of home in the wilderness, and a bitter reminder for the Fey. The structure was made long before Basil’s tenure, and most of its origins lost in the deluge. It was made to house and bed a Battalion, but it would suffice just as well for a half dozen.
17 years since I broke the laws of my people.
And I don’t regret a single second of our time together.
Because in the end, home is what you make of it.
And no one is taking my home from me.
Lilith swung the front door open and bound towards Basil with a loving embrace. Lilith was a spritely waif of a girl, with her hair tied back into a pair of pony tails. Her eyes showed the familiar golden gleam seen among the aristocracy of the Lamie.
Her jet black hair was tinged with scarlet roots, and ghostly white skin masked the sanguine nature of her character. Her head failed to clear Basil’s shoulder, so the pint-sized vampire wrapped herself around Basil’s waist and squeezed with a force that Basil herself was sure could kill someone without platemail.
“Mama, I’m boreddddddd!” Lili wailed.
Basil sighed as she wrestled her daughter upwards and into her own embrace. “Lillybelle, you’re a grown woman with an infinite amount of knowledge and resources at your disposal, how are you bored?”
“Ughhh MOM you know how much I hate it when you call me that! I’m not a kid anymore!!!” Lili groaned, still hanging onto Basil. The pouting Vampire swung off of Basil, allowing her legs to drag, as Basil trudged towards the front doors.
“And you know you’ll always be my little crybaby? So what’s the matter today?” Basil mused.
Basil spun Lili off of her and patted her on the head.
“Ugh, there’s so much to do and none of it matters, every day here is just the same! It’s so boring. What’s the point of learning everything if we’re just cooped up?” Lilith released Basil and crossed her arms pouting.
Basil fought an eye roll as she leaned forward to pat her daughter on the head. “...Is Asmo hogging the terminal again?”
“Yeahhhhhhh,” Lili wailed.
“Alright, next time maybe start with that.” Basil smirked. She waved goodbye to Vie and sighed. Basil dragged herself into the keep, up the stairs and into the west wing. She peeked her head into the entrance of the archive, to see Asmodeus deeply entranced by a bank of computer monitors.
Never a dull moment, huh? She mused to herself.
Asmodeus was a princely young man, with unkempt hair and inexcusably poor posture. Barely into his 20s, his slouch and pile of unclean dishes that littered his desk were damning. His eyes were tired but alert, darting across a bank of screens. Each of his hands were occupied by a keyboard, as his eyes darted across different text tables. Despite his youth, his jet black hair was showing signs of greying.
“Based on my calculations the ideal time in which I should initiate the operation should occur in 42 minutes. Which means I need to prioritize fuel gathering in case the enemy-” He spoke barely over a whisper as his eyes darted. Numerous text prompts appeared across the different monitors. There was the quiet din of mechanical keys clacking away in sequence.
“Asmo. You’re supposed to be in charge of dinner tonight,” Basil called.
Asmodeus answered without looking up from the bay of monitors. “It’s in the crock pot. Liver and cheese loaf with bone marrow and truffle gravy. And a side of fermented cabbage and cucumbers with chili oil. For the vegetarians I made a fermented soybean and cheese spread with sprouts on flatbread.”
Basil felt her stomach turn at the thought of having to eat another liver loaf. “I’m sure that’s gonna taste fine, but you really need to learn to sell your ideas in a way that people-”
There was the audible thud of Asmo flinging a computer mouse across the desk and replacing it with a trackpad.
“Dinner will be on time. I don’t dare interrupt you when you’re working, do I?” Asmo spat between tactical lines.
Basil stood silently, unsure of how to attempt to argue with him. “I mean, I’ve lived with you for 17 years, what the heck are you going on about?”
“I mean, don’t you find it annoying when people can’t just wait until dinner to talk about their problems?” He hissed back at her.
“So with 41 minutes remaining, I also should begin systematically cutting off the other side’s rail transportation system, and shelling their water reservoirs,” Asmodeus muttered to himself. “After about two in-game weeks, they should begin to suffer morale penalties from starvation. An army does run on its stomach after all.”
“You know, if you put as much work into making food as you do these wargames-” Basil started.
“Oh, I really do, mother. It’s not my fault that you have an unrefined palate,” Asmo retorted flatly. “If there’s something you want us to make for you, how about you just learn to ask for it like a normal person instead of wasting my time by forcing me to take notes of your body language and false platitudes.”
He looked up just long enough to roll his eyes at her. “Don’t say 'Make whatever you want sweetie’ If you don’t really mean it.” He said in a disquietingly good impression of her.
“Good talk,” Basil retorted with a roll of her eyes. “Enjoy the war crimes I guess.”
“I learned it from you!” He called back as she turned to leave.
Basil stopped in her tracks and considered his words. “Excuse me?” Basil spat back, startled.
Asmo looked up from his terminal for a moment. “Hmmm. Struck a nerve there huh? Sorry, mum. I meant that you-” He gestured matter of factly. “taught me to roll my eyes instead of talking things out like an adult. Aaaaand that we’re supposed to argue all the time. But as far as war crimes go…” he paused thoughtfully.
“You know, I won’t really enjoy it. But, overwhelming sacrifices must be made in order to achieve overwhelming success…” Asmo mused.
He looked up from the monitor again for just a moment, locking eyes with Basil. “You know that from personal experience, right Basil?” He asked, coldly.
He winked at her, and she felt her skin crawl.
After waiting just long enough for the words to kick in, Asmodeus returned to his game. “Love you mom,” He said without looking up from his monitors.
He was smiling but Basil felt the contempt in his voice. She sighed.
“Love you too,” She muttered, exhausted. As Basil contemplated a final retort for her most unruly child, she couldn’t help but feel like maybe he was taking the wrong lessons from his studies. As she contemplated how to deal with adolescence, she felt a tug on her cloak.
“Mama?” The small figure asked.
Basil looked down to see a small humanoid figure staring up at her. Nyx was the smallest of her children, but likely the most ancient. She appeared soon after the others, with nothing more than her name and the clothes on her back.
Whilst Nyx herself had never quite been able to convey her actual age, her appearance was that of an adolescent with translucent skin that seemed to reflect starlight back into the Aether. Her eyes seemed to hold unfathomable galaxies and aeons within them. Nyx’s clothes were hand stitched from burlap and wool. Despite the rudimentary materials, the outfit fit her perfectly, and helped to insulate her from the drafty mornings of the keep. She’d made it herself after years of practice. Nyx held up a sheet of parchment.
“Yes, my darling?” Basil replied, taking a knee.
“I’ve been trying to show you since this morning but you rushed out of the house!‘ Nyx said cheerily. She offered a sheet of parchment to Basil. “I painted this today! First thing in the morning,” Nyx blurted, beaming proudly at her work.
The small Dæmon handed Basil a painting of shadowy hands, rending and devouring a Joy Bunny.
The Words “Basil. It. Feeds.” Splattered across it in red paint.
“Did I do good?” Nyx asked, still beaming about her detailed illustration. Basil felt her stomach turn.
“...yes, my darling Nyx, I’m very proud.” Her mind raced–she forced her spiking adrenaline downwards with all of her being. “Nyx…Did you follow me to work today?”
“No, of course not!” Nyx said, surprised by the allegation. “That would be dangerous! This was the first one I painted, but I was painting all day! I dreamed this up last night!”
“Do you have other paintings you’ve done recently that you can share with mommy?” Basil asked carefully.
“No, the other paintings were wrong so I burned them!” Nyx shouted excitedly. “Sometimes you get it right the first time!”
“I see... well, I’d like to see the next painting you do, okay?” Basil desperately tried to mask her concern as she changed the subject. “Even if it's the first thing in the morning.”
“Yep!” Nyx gave Basil a thumbs up before running off. As she turned a corner, she bounced off of Liszt, who had danced into the room unnoticed.
Unlike the more mythological appearance of her siblings, Liszt was a Terran girl not much taller than Basil, with tidy shoulder length chestnut hair, and a love of music and dance. She was preoccupied in listening to an old tape deck that would have been seen as obsolete long before the world fell. Her dress was meticulously hand stitched, as were her shoes.
Nyx hit the ground and teared up.
“Liszt, stop running around with headphones,” Basil scolded her.
“Oops. Soz, mum…” She replied, embarrassed. Nyx pulled her headset down to her neck and reached a hand towards Nyx.
“I’m not the one you should be saying sorry to,” Basil said, placing her right hand on her face and massaging her temples. She brushed her hair back with a sigh.
Liszt reached down and scooped up her sister in her arms. “Hey, sorry Nyx. Are you okay?”
“Yeahhhhhhh!” Nyx replied, balling her hands to wipe away the tears.
“It’s not your fault that Liszt has a huge butt, Nyx,” Lilith said cheekily.
While Nyx giggled, Liszt rolled her eyes. “Sorry you’re so jealous, with your ironing board figure. No wonder you’re still single.”
“WHY I OUGHTA-” Lilith started. Leaning in to strangle her.
“Why don’t the three of you figure out something productive to do together until dinner?” Basil cut in, sputtering in exacerbation.
They looked at each other and shrugged. “S’all right?” they both replied.
As the tidal wave of continuous questioning reached a lull, Basil stepped out through the back gate. She stopped to catch her breath, plum tuckered.
“Ugh, I came home early for some peace and quiet and this is what I get?” She whined.
“Oh you poor dear. Back for ten minutes and you’re already out of breath… What can I say, no one said being a single mother would be easy,” Vie said with a soft smile.
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