Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With most of his duties taken care of, at least for a short while, Vahn was watching over his two sons, Kamiya and Daiki, as they glared at each other with 'fierce' expressions. In his lap, Penelo and Ulla were watching their two brothers with visible interest while, at the side, Mordred, Naavi, and Isanna each looked like they were ready to step in the moment something went wrong.

At this point, Kamiya and Daiki were both around two years old and, while neither spoke all that often, they were strangely prideful boys. From the moment they began playing together, they had started to compete for various things, be it the attention of the caretakers or the toys they were playing with. This was something that worried Vahn a little bit but, with Nobunaga and Rin stating that they were just playing around, he could only watch on in silence as the two attempted to see who could stack blocks higher than the other...

As if it was an intense historical moment, Mordred was urging on Kamiya to do his best while, on the opposite side of the room, Naavi had to keep Isanna from intervening as she had a bad habit of favoring Daiki during the competitions. Fortunately, Daiki was surprisingly mature and, despite his young age, he was a little 'too good' at dealing with his two elder sisters. Vahn had even seen him lecturing both of them after they got into an argument, a peculiar sight to behold considering Isanna and Naavi had the physical appearance of girls around fourteen years of age...

The only time Daiki really acted his age was whenever he was being pampered by the caretakers, his various mothers, and when he was competing with Kamiya. This was the same for Kamiya who, as a result of having Nobunaga as a mother and Mordred as his 'Aneue', was a bit of a rebellious child. He was usually very quiet but, when riled up, was quick to anger and prone to spontaneous emotional outbursts. Though this rarely ended in violence, it meant it was often butting heads with Daiki as the two competed against each other for a variety of arbitrary reasons.

This time around, it was looking as if Kamiya was going to win as his Guardian, the Four-Armed Adamantine Ape, gave him a distinct advantage when it came to stacking blocks. Daiki's King of Twilight had a slow growth rate and, as a wolf-type Guardian, it didn't provide many advantages when it came to matters requiring greater dexterity. At best, it could serve as a footstool for the young Daiki but, as he treated his Guardian very well, he would never do such a thing.

Unfortunately, just as Kamiya was about to obtain victory, Isanna began to gesture behind her back and, unbeknownst to the children, the space around Kamiya's tower began to warp. Vahn dutifully stepped in to prevent Isanna from misbehaving but, undoubtedly due to the latter's mischief, Kamiya's Guardian failed to place a block and, in his attempt to catch the falling cube, the entire tower came tumbling down.

Kamiya stared at his fallen tower with a blank expression while Daiki, understanding there was foul play involved, gave a pointed look toward the lackadaisically whistling Isanna before saying, "We will have another match later. I will help you clean up." Then, without waiting for Kamiya's response, Daiki began to pick up each of the fallen blocks, stacking each of them neatly where they were supposed to go. Kamiya joined him shortly thereafter while Vahn, after turning over Ulla and Penelo to their caretakers, had Isanna follow after him despite her initial protests.

Despite being a bit of a troublemaker, especially when it came to supporting her brother, Isanna was a relatively obedient young Vanir. The moment she realized her father was serious, she gave up on making a scene as, near the table where the mothers generally lounged, Ishtar had given her a pointed stare of her own. This was enough to turn the usually rambunctious girl completely silent, understanding full well that she was the root cause of the situation she was in.

After exiting the daycare room, Vahn extended his hand to Isanna and, without questioning his intentions, she unhesitantly reached out with her own before squeezing it tightly. Immediately after that, the two of them teleported to one of the highest points within Avalon, a place Vahn often took Isanna when he wanted to talk with her. They had a lot of memories here and, while most of these related to her getting in some kind of trouble, Isanna actually liked high places quite a bit. She even played with Daiki and Naavi within the connecting tower on occasion and, as a result, the interior was decorated with various 'treasures' they had accumulated over the last two years.

Finding his usual spot, Vahn took a seat before allowing Isanna to sit on his left knee, her body half-facing his own. She really was a carbon-cop of her mother, albeit with a far more youthful appearance, so Vahn couldn't be too hard on her unless she had seriously erred. Instead, he adopted his usual before lightly pinching her nose with his right hand and asking, "Do you know what you did wrong...?"

As this was the usual sequence of events, Isanna adopted a slight pout but, instead of blaming others, she honestly admitted, "I didn't want Daiki to lose so I cheated to invalidate the match...he will be able to win the next one, I'm certain of it..."

Hearing Isanna's words, Vahn lightly shook his head as he pulled his hand away and stated, "If you were certain of anything, you wouldn't have intervened...Isanna, there is no shame in suffering a few losses here and there. Rather, I'm certain Daiki is more troubled by the fact you don't trust him enough to allow him to make his own decisions. Being protective of your brother is fine but, while you may have different mothers, Kamiya is also your brother..."

Isanna released a sad sigh in response to her father's words before burying her face into his chest and complaining, "Kamiya wins too much though...if they were the same age, Daiki wouldn't be at a disadvantage..."

Adopting a slightly more stern tone, Vahn had Isanna sit properly before he admonished her by saying, "In life, it is impossible to ensure things are perfectly balanced. People have various banes and boons, some providing what others may consider unfair advantages. However, as one of the few with greater blessings than nearly all others, you must be more tolerant and empathetic. You are a very smart girl, Isanna...I'm certain you understand that your actions, rather than helping, are a cause of concern for Daiki. He already has two amazing sisters so, if he can't express himself and experience a friendly rivalry with his own brother, he will eventually begin to shun others..."

Hearing her father's words, Isanna hung her head in shame but, after a few seconds of struggle, she seemed to find some kind of resolve as she looked up at him and exclaimed, "But Mordred is cheating also! She helps Kamiya train all the time while Fenrir has been busy lately! I don't know how to help Daiki become stronger so I want to-"

Before Isanna could finish her train of thought, Vahn began to lightly pat her head, interrupting her outburst by saying, "Let Daiki choose his own path, Isanna. If you truly want to support him, walk alongside him. When he struggles, push him forward...when he stumbles, pick him back up. However, no matter what you do, you can't live for him. The more you try to make decisions on his behalf, the more struggles he will face in the future. As for the matter of Mordred training Kamiya, we both know she isn't really doing much other than teaching him...discipline..."

Remembering Kamiya following Mordred around like an obedient puppy, Vahn's momentum was arrested a bit. Fortunately, Isanna didn't seem to notice this as she was thinking about his words, not watching his face.

In actuality, restrictions had been put into place regarding the education and training of every child born within the castle. Physical training had to wait until they were four years old and, while the Vanir were an exception to this rule, even they had various restrictions placed on them. This was primarily due to their immense power which, if used wantonly, may very well lead to serious injury or death. This was something Isanna was very aware of but, after challenging Mordred in the past, only to be refused on the premise that she was too young, they had been at odds with each other.

Vahn didn't mind if there was a bit of competition amongst his children but, no matter what, he didn't want to see them genuinely fighting amongst themselves. He would have a talk with both Mordred and the children's respective mothers once he was done speaking with Isanna. For now, however, he didn't want the latter to feel as if she was completely at fault for what had happened. After all, parents 'always' had some amount of responsibility in the behavior of their children, no matter the circumstances.

With this in mind, Vahn planned how he would make it up to them, gently stroking Isanna's hair as he asked, "How about we all go out to play in the near future? I'll take everyone to visit the Undine and we can all go explore the bottom of the ocean together. I know I've been busy lately but I will always try to make time for my beloved children..."

Toward the end of his words, Vahn gave Isanna a kiss on her forehead and, as if affected by a magic spell, her mood seemed to improve considerably. She was very sensitive to a person's intentions so, even without him directly apologizing, Isanna knew what he was thinking. In truth, she and the others had been a little sad regarding the fact he wasn't around as often so, while she felt guilty due to his earlier words, Isanna was happy with how things turned out.

Understanding she needed to make a concession of her own, Isanna tightly hugged her father's neck, nuzzling her cheek against his as she said, "I'll apologize to everyone and try to get along better with Mordred in the future..." Then, deciding now was a good time to start, Isanna pulled away so that they were only a few centimeters away from each other as she smiled and said, "I'm sorry for worrying you, Father...thank you for always doing your best..."

With her own words finished, Isanna gave her father a kiss on his cheek before hugging him tightly once again. As for Vahn, he tightly embraced the mischievous girl while, elsewhere in the castle, he was already taking Mordred to meet with her mother and Nobunaga so they could all talk about her involvement in Kamiya's upbringing. He was, admittedly, a little worried that the influence of Mordred would have some negative consequences on his eldest son and, while he would obviously not prevent them from having a sibling relationship, Mordred seemed to be on the fast track to becoming the boy's mentor.

Rather than solely focusing on the education of the children at the Clock Tower, Vahn realized he needed to properly consider the intrapersonal relationships between his actual children. The last thing he needed was Isanna losing her cool and suddenly fighting all-out against Mordred so, in order to avoid any potentially disastrous situations, he would take proactive measures to try and bridge their relationships. After all, he was a father before he was an Emperor so, before anything else, he needed to ensure that his own family was happy. They were his reason for being so, if he shunned them in lieu of his other duties, he had already failed as both an Emperor and a father...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Serious stacking competition...','The birth of various rivalries...!','Never lose sight of what is most important')