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“Ronin…”
Nod dragged his name out into a long whine, and Ronin caught himself before he could roll his eyes. He was trying to get Nod to stop rolling his eyes at people, and since Nod had learned it from him in the first place, he needed to stop doing it as well.
Nod was sprawled on the living room floor, feet propped up on the couch and the book he was suppose to be reading for school resting open on his face.
“Yes Nod?” Ronin didn’t look up from the reports he was reading; not only did the fall harvests demand a lot of time in the field, it generated a lot of paperwork he had to go through to make sure everything was being managed properly, and they were getting enough food in for the winter.
He wasn’t the only one keeping track of it, but he had learned from experience that everything went smoother when he was up to date on how it was going.
“When are you taking a day off?” Nod asked.
He had also learned from experience that Nod got whinny this time of year because Ronin wasn’t home as often. Every year he got a little better at coping with it, but he was still usually disgruntled by the end of the season.
“It’s fall harvest chickadee,” Ronin reminded him.
“So?” Nod lifted the book from his face to give him a sour look, “other people can do that.”
“It’s my job Nod, not other people’s,” Ronin shook his head, “I’ll try to take a day off soon.”
Nod pushed himself off the floor and came to slump dramatically across Ronin’s shoulders, bony chin digging into him.
“I want to go to the bird races,” Nod informed him.
Ronin almost regretted ever taking Nod to the races. The races themselves were fine, but the behind the scenes racketeering that went on made it too dangerous for Nod to be there alone. Nod really liked seeing the birds though.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Ronin replied drolly and flipped to the next page.
“Can I go by myself?” Nod dug his chin a little harder into Ronin’s shoulder.
“No,” Ronin answered the same way he had every time Nod had asked that question.
He was usually glad when Nod wanted to do something on his own. The boy had a tendency to cling to what he knew and wasn’t usually very inclined to go do things independently. Unfortunately, many of the things he had decided he wanted to do on his own where things Ronin didn’t want him doing.
His captains, at least the ones who had children, had informed him that that was normal, and then both commiserated with him and laughed at him. At least he entertained them with his random questions about child rearing.
“Why not?” Nod pouted.
“You’re not old enough,” Ronin said.
“When will I be old enough?” Nod demanded.
Ronin caught himself before he could say never. He really didn’t want Nod anywhere near Bufo and his thugs. He had dealt with them too often to want his son associating with them at all, never mind how old he was. That answer though didn’t work, as he had learned the hard way.
“When I say so,” Ronin informed him.
“When will you say so?” Nod demanded grumpily.
“Chickadee, don’t you have a book to finish reading for school?” Ronin asked, hoping to redirect him.
“It’s boring,” Nod grumbled, “Mrs. Marne always gave me better books to read.”
“What’s it about?” Ronin turned another page.
“It’s really boring,” Nod repeated, “it’s about this girl who is in love with this guy, but he has to go on this long quest, but it’s not even an interesting quest. He has to collect mushrooms or moss or something, and the girl is stuck defending their village while he’s gone, which is kind of cool, but she just goes on and on about how much she misses him, and he keeps falling down holes and then talking for pages about how he misses her, and it’s kind of gross.”
Ronin snorted, “you’re reading The Lily Vale?”
“Yeah, I think that’s what it’s called,” Nod sounded thoroughly unimpressed.
Ronin snickered. Leave it to his twelve year old to reduce one of the Jinn’s greatest epic poems to a guy and a girl being boring and falling down holes.
“There’s a battle in the next chapter,” Ronin offered, having a good idea of where Nod must be in the book if Fearghal was falling down holes.
“Really?” Nod perked up.
“The village is attacked by the Cinn Dorcha,” Ronin flipped another page of his report.
“Cinn Dorcha?” Nod pushed himself off Ronin’s shoulders to stand up straight.
“Mercenaries,” Ronin supplied, “they ride voles and weasels.”
“But why do they attack?” Nod asked, “who sent them?”
“You could go read the chapter and find out,” Ronin suggested.
Nod hesitated, suspicious that Ronin was somehow tricking him, but in the end, his curiosity won out. He snatched a few slices of dried fruit off the table and returned to his spot on the floor.
Everything was quiet for a while, and Ronin thought he might actually get through all his reports tonight.
“Ronin…” it wasn’t quite the drawn out whine it had been the first time at least.
“Yes?” Ronin glanced up at him.
Nod was sprawled on his back again, this time actually reading.
“Can I have a mouse?”
Ronin let his head fall to rest on his hand, “no.”
“How about a vole?”
“No.”
“Okay, but Calendre has a mouse now, and she’s way cooler than Fearghal,” Nod informed him, “he’s still at the bottom of a hole talking about how much he misses her.”
Ronin almost started to explain to him why they didn’t use mice or voles, or any sort of rodent for that matter, but he managed to stop himself. It wouldn’t matter to Nod. He would want one anyway. In any case, he would come back around to birds again soon. He always did.
“She get’s cooler,” Ronin said instead.
“Really?” Nod went back to reading.
It went quiet for a while again. Ronin finished the last report and started pulling together his notes for his morning briefing with the queen.
“Ronin?”
“Yes?”
“When are you taking a day off?” Nod gave him an upside down pleading look from his place on the floor.
“Soon, chickadee,” Ronin snorted softly, “I’ll take a day off soon.”
He was already mentally going through the tasks that needed to be completed and rearranging things. He probably should take a day off soon. It had been a couple weeks.
“Good,” Nod mumbled, turning a page, “’cause Finn says you’re setting a bad example for the other Leafmen.”
“What?” Ronin’s head snapped up.
“That’s what’s he said,” Nod shrugged.
“Next time he says that, tell him he’s cheating,” Ronin said, not particularly amused with Finn using his twelve year old to manipulate him into taking days off.
“What?” Nod gave him a confused look.
“Just tell him,” Ronin rolled his eyes.
“Grown-ups are so weird,” Nod went back to his book.
Everything went quiet again, and Ronin finished his notes and moved onto the agenda for the morning meeting with his captains.
“You are taking a day off though, right?” Nod appeared so suddenly at Ronin’s side he jumped slightly.
“Yes,” Ronin snorted and looped an arm around Nod’s waist, pulling him against his side, “I will take a day off.”
“Good,” Nod wrapped his arms around his shoulders, “you haven’t in forever.”
Three weeks was not forever, but that wouldn’t matter to Nod, “go finish the chapter you’re on, then it’s time to get ready for bed.”
He gave Nod a squeeze then let him go, sending him back to his book.
“Ronin?” Nod asked after a few minutes of silence.
“No.”
“But a weasel would be so cool!”