Chapter 880 880 - Honesty
Thump thump thump
A small foot tapped impatiently on the carpet-covered stone floor in Erik's dimension's living room. "Can't those perverts hurry up a little…?" a voice grumbled to itself.
Impatience continued to rise. Fortunately, just as she was about to rush into the 'forbidden zone' and face her punishment for it, the door to Erik's bedroom opened.
Erik stepped out first, wearing a wide, proud grin. As was typical nowadays, he was dressed in nothing but a pair of loose pants. Elora was sitting on his shoulder, while Astrid and Emma stepped out behind him. All his wives either grinned or smiled proudly as well.
"Dad!" Alice cried out excitedly, completely forgetting about her previous impatience and annoyance. Jumping off the couch she was sitting on, she rushed in his direction. "I did it! I broke through!"
"Hahaha, I see that!" Erik laughed boisterously, genuinely overjoyed and proud at her achievement. He spread his arms wide, and Alice jumped into them for a hug. "I'm so proud of you!" he smiled warmly as he hugged his adopted daughter. "You must be one of the youngest second rankers ever!"
"Right…?" Erik asked, glancing at the fairy on his shoulder.
Elora smiled with him and nodded. "Absolutely." She said no more on it, however. Though Alice's breakthrough at this age was certainly rare and proof of her talent, it wasn't unheard of on Söl, or the universe at large. But though that information might not technically reduce her impressive achievement, it would still dampen the mood. So, she said nothing.
Alice grinned widely at Elora's acknowledgement, and then wormed her way out of Erik's embrace. Landing on the floor, she hopped up and down. Her bright blue eyes flashed with joy as her chestnut hair bounced around.
"I want to fight you again!" she demanded. As she said so, her body shifted to wereverine form, claw-filled fists balled from excitement. "I want to show you how strong I am now! I-I want to come with you more!"
Erik chuckled and crouched down to put his face at Alice's height. "One thing at a time, little furball. First, let me see your foundation," he demanded, and extended a hand, palm up.
Alice pouted a little… but still obediently put her hand in Erik's. Closing his hand around hers, Erik then closed his eyes and started sending pulses of energy through her body to test the stability of her energy and runes.
While he was busy, Alice sneaked a careful glance at Elora. She'd not noticed anything about Erik that would suggest he knew she'd actually left her training too early, but she wanted confirmation.
Fortunately, Elora returned a wink. And, indeed, Erik had no idea how Alice had nearly interrupted his plans with Emma and Zahra to show him a sloppy, unstable foundation, and probably never would. Feeling relieved, Alice waited for Erik to finish, confident in the foundation she'd created since breaking through.
Astrid and Emma noticed their interaction, but didn't pay it any mind. Rather, they felt nothing but joy at Alice's breakthrough, certain it was nothing important.
A few moments later, Erik was done and released her hand. His grin widened, eyes shimmering with pride. "I cannot express how proud I am of you right now!" he exclaimed, nearly hopping up and down himself. "Not only did you have the patience to finish properly, but you did it amazingly well!"
Young Alice saw the joy in her adoptive father's eyes, and her excitement actually tempered a little. Tears nearly welled up in her eyes. Erik was the third father figure in her life, and right now, memories of the other two jumped to mind. The other two had looked at her in similar ways, but… something felt a little different now.
Turning her gaze to the floor, she pouted a little unwillingly and nervously poked her fingers together. At some point in the last nearly two years, she'd come to love Erik the same as she did the other two and after he asked her to become a part of his family, she'd truly come to see him as her third father… and she didn't like lying to her parents.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Erik asked, a concerned frown on his brow. He gently lifted her face with one hand so that she was looking at him again.
She continued pouting unwillingly. She felt the desire to talk, but tried to push it back down. Unfortunately, his worried gaze only made it harder for her. Erik waited patiently, knowing a lingering silence was far more likely to get her to try and fill it.
"I-" Alice began hesitantly, then finally admitted the truth. "I may not… exactly have had the patience…"
"Hmm?" Erik hummed, cocking a curious eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Slumping her body a little, Alice sighed and told him what happened a little over a week ago when she rushed out of her breakthrough with sparks coming off her body.
When she was done, Erik was smirking and chuckling. "Hehe, well, that's certainly more in line with your character."
Alice's pout worsened a little. "D-Don't make fun of me! I-"
"Hey, it's alright," Erik smiled, interrupting her. He could see what she was most worried about. "I'm not mad or disappointed. I appreciate you telling me." He cocked an eyebrow. "What I would have been disappointed by is if you didn't listen to Elora at that time. If you'd stubbornly gone to tell me without listening to reason."
He playfully punched her shoulder, smiling warmly. "Being excitable and impatient isn't anything I'd be disappointed by, Alice. They're not bad traits… so long as you know when to heed the advice of someone a little calmer."
His words calmed Alice. With relief, she nodded cutely.
"Good!" Erik grinned, straightening his legs to stand back up to full height. "Now, if you want that battle, we'd better make our way to the training ring."
"Yes!" Alice cried, jumping up as her excitement immediately returned. Without waiting, she charged out of the living room.
Erik followed her with a chuckle, but also glanced at the fairy on his shoulder with a mischievous smirk. "Sounds like I might have I need to punish you again, my love…" he whispered playfully.
Elora blushed and grumbled a little… even as she squeezed her thighs together. Behind them, Astrid and Emma giggled.
Suddenly, Elora quickly recovered and grinned at him. "Will you really punish the woman who'll soon carry your baby?"
Erik halted in his steps. "You—" he muttered, unable to finish as he looked at her in surprise.
"Hehe, did you forget I can hear everything going on in these walls?" she chuckled softly, then smirked. "I was already watching you and Astrid when you brought it up… I guess this is the second thing you wanted to discuss with me?"
Sighing, Erik smiled gently and nodded. "Yes… I think it's time. We may not be entirely stable yet, but… I don't think we'll be truly settled and without immediate enemies any time soon. It might not get any better than it is now for a long time, and my dimension is one of the safest places to be."
Elora's small, fairy lips kissed his cheek and nodded. "I… think so too, my love. I would love to carry our child, although… there are some things we'd have to discuss first. There's another choice to make."