Leo was getting scary good.
He'd parry Caden's strikes before the man even finished the wind-up. Five years old, wooden sword, and he moved like he'd been drilling for a decade. Caden kept upping the speed, half-joking, half-panicking.
"You holding out on me, kid? Secret coach in the woods?"
Leo just grinned, sweat flicking off his silver bangs. "Nah. You're slowing down, old man."
Selene watched from the porch, arms folded, pride and worry doing a weird dance in her eyes. *Too fast,* she kept thinking. *Way too fast.*
---
One afternoon Caden decided to stop pretending.
"Alright, Leo. Real swing. Dodge or eat dirt."
Leo tightened his grip. *Finally.*
Caden blurred. Not practice-speed—this was hunter-speed, the kind that carved goblins in half. The blade came down like a falling tree.
Leo's brain short-circuited. *Too quick—*
He tripped over his own feet, butt hitting grass. The sword arced straight at his face.
Caden twisted at the last second—*thunk*—blade buried in the dirt an inch from Leo's ear.
Selene was already sprinting, scooping him up like he weighed nothing. "Caden, what the hell?!"
"Relax," Caden panted, yanking the sword free. "I pulled it. Kid needed to know the difference between sparring and *real*."
Leo sat there, heart jackhammering, staring at the divot in the ground. "So… I'm normal now?"
Caden barked a laugh. "Normal kids don't dodge half my strikes. You're fine. Just remember—real fights don't wait for you to blink."
Leo whispered to Selene, "Dad's insane."
She hugged him tighter. "Welcome to the family."
---
A shadow fell over the garden gate.
Fancy boots, silk cloak, sword that probably cost more than the house. The guy strolled in like he owned the breeze.
Caden's face split into a grin. "No way."
They clasped forearms like they were trying to break each other's wrists.
Leo tugged Caden's sleeve. "Who's the shiny guy?"
"Kael. Capital hero. Saved my ass once upon a Demon Lord."
Kael crouched, eye-level with Leo. "Heard you're a little monster with a stick. Keep it up, you'll give me a run for my gold."
Leo's brain blue-screened. *A real hero. Here. Talking to me.*
---
Inside, over stew and too much bread, Kael told the story.
"Demon Lord torched half a province. I'm trading blows with the bastard, but civilians are screaming, buildings collapsing. I can't be everywhere."
He jabbed a thumb at Caden. "This idiot runs *into* the fire. Drags kids out of cellars, hauls grandmas over his shoulder, keeps the whole damn town from turning to ash while I play pin-the-sword-on-the-demon."
Caden shrugged, cheeks red. "Somebody had to."
Kael snorted. "Yeah, *somebody*. You saved more lives than my fancy goddess blessing that day."
Leo stared at his dad like he'd grown a second head. "You… ran *into* the fire?"
"Somebody had to," Caden repeated, quieter.
---
Later, Selene cornered Leo by the door.
"Go play in the village. *Inside* the flower fence. No river. No slimes. No poking Old Garon's goats."
Leo's chest puffed. *Freedom!* He took one heroic step—
"AND IF ANYTHING HAS MORE THAN TWO LEGS AND NO FACE, YOU RUN!" Selene yelled after him.
He froze mid-strut. Turned back with the driest smile a five-year-old could muster.
"Yes, * Warden*."
She flicked an ice pebble at his butt as he scurried off.
Under his breath: "Dad's a lunatic. Mom's a fortress. And I'm the one who's gotta adult."
He hopped the flower fence anyway.
Adventure awaited. Probably. As long as it stayed on *this* side of the petunias.