Rion lifted his head and stared at his father's back. His steps were unsteady, yet he didn't stop. He was ready to hear whatever words Haden had waiting.
Haden heard him approach, sat down on the rock and patted the empty spot beside him.
"Sit," he said in a deep voice.
Rion obeyed, his heartbeat quickening with each passing moment.
"Rion..." Haden spoke slowly, "I know that you want to see more of the world... and for that you'd need strength."
Rion lifted his head and looked at him with confused eyes.
A bitter look appeared on Haden's face. "Your mother has lost a lot... that is why she is paranoid about losing you."
Haden turned his head to him and continued.
"That is why she doesn't want you to become a hunter... because no one knows when a hunter may become prey. Even then, I want you to live a life of a wolf instead of a lamb."
Rion didn't know how to react. He hadn't expected Haden's agreement to his wishes... instead, he had expected Haden to stop him just like his mother.
"It's easy to choose a path, but it's hard to walk upon it. You have chosen your path and now you have to walk on it." Haden stated and stood up.
"I'll be teaching you the spear once you become a squad leader," he stated while gripping his spear.
Throughout the conversation, Rion was silent... He didn't know what to say. He was close to his father, yes. But not as close as he was with Lara.
'What should I say?' He questioned himself, but nothing came to his mind.
He could guess Lara's thoughts while talking to her, but he couldn't do the same with Haden.
Haden turned his head towards Rion and spoke in his usual heavy voice, "You should return, now."
Rion stood up, clenched his fists and looked at Haden with determined eyes. "Let's go together," he requested.
Haden raised an eyebrow at his request, which sounded more like a demand, and spoke, "I'll return after some time; you go ahead."
Rion shook his head in refusal and said in a stubborn tone, "Mama's waiting for both of us."
Haden stared at Rion and heaved a sigh before agreeing to his childish demands. "Let's go," he said softly.
However, Rion didn't move.
Haden frowned, lowered his head to match Rion's eyes and asked in a slightly irritated tone, "What's wrong now?"
Rion raised both of his hands and muttered with a stubborn look, "Pick me up."
Haden, baffled at Rion's childish act, slightly shook his head before he picked him up in his arms and asked, "Why are you acting so childish?"
Rion smiled foolishly and replied in a hearty voice, "I am a child."
A short chuckle escaped Haden as he added in a sarcastic tone, "A child who sneaks out of the house to learn how to kill."
Rion's smile faltered slightly. He placed his head on Haden's shoulder and mumbled in a pitiful voice, "I am sorry..."
Haden patted his back and replied flatly, "You should be."
Rion dug his head deeper into his shoulder and thought, 'You could've said something sweet...'
A smile creased Haden's face, and he began to walk towards the hut.
He didn't instant step like always; instead, he walked slowly, each step met the hard ground, while his arm was wrapped around the very child he had once feared to birth.
Rion also bathed in the warmth of his father's embrace after so long, and both of them descended the mountain with the sun set behind them.
He stared at Haden's face with gleaming eyes and thought, 'Is this the charm of the strongest?'
He didn't really know or care; for him, all that mattered was that he would no longer have to sneak out to do something he wished... not until it was something others shouldn't know of.
The sun set completely, and the moon came out as they finally reached the hut.
Haden pushed the wooden door and stepped inside, and Rion jumped out of his arms.
Lara still sat near the pot as she filled three wooden bowls with the meal.
Rion strode over to her and called out in a cheerful voice, "Mama!"
She looked at him with a smile and spoke, "Rion, go sit on the carpet."
He nodded, walked over to a carpet placed beside the bed and took a seat beside Haden.
A few minutes later, Lara came with the bowls and the three began to eat.
Rion ate slowly while glancing at both his father and mother, who seemed a bit off today. He raised an eyebrow and thought, 'What's wrong? Why are they so silent?'
He didn't know why they were acting strange, but he was the one who had done a lot of things today so he didn't want to worsen the mood by asking even further.
All of them soon finished eating, and Rion decided to sleep even though he felt no tiredness due to his immortal body.
He looked at Haden and Lara, who were still sitting on the carpet, and spoke with a smile, "Good night, Mama, Papa."
"Good night, my baby," Lara replied with similar cheerfulness, while Haden only gave him a nod.
Finally, Rion climbed the bed and closed his eyes to act like sleeping... he wanted to hear what they were going to talk about.
But... just as he lay in the bed and closed his eyes. All of the fatigue that had been pushed away by the immortal body came back.
He was only able to have a single thought before falling asleep, 'Blasted hell...'
A few minutes passed after Rion fell asleep, Lara stood up and checked on him, she turned her head towards Haden and muttered in a low voice, "He is asleep."
He nodded, hugged her from behind and mumbled in her ear, "I thought you wouldn't bend to his wishes... but you did, is it because he has awakened his bloodlines?"
She gripped his hands and spoke with a smile, "Bloodlines only awaken once a person finds their true path... He has already found his. What good mother stops her children from achieving what they want?"
"Hmm? Good mother? I thought you wanted to be a bad mother who wants to cage his child," he responded sarcastically.
She pinched him on the arms and replied in an irritated tone, "Still better than a father who fears to show any of his emotions, hmph!"
"What? Me? I, Haden, fear no one," he snorted.
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow and leaned back on him as she replied sarcastically, "Who was the one to hid at the mountains during my childbirth?"
He turned silent, but his pride didn't let him take this blow without fighting back; he tightened his hug around her and bit her right ear.
"Eek?!"