~Chapter 2~
The next day Wilvur made sure to buy extra supplies for barn house, just in case. The kids seemed to have more than enough money and didn't mind. Usually he'd need a couple transports to carry all of the supplies from town to the farm, but the kids did it themselves. The black haired boy Aero took two wooden beams over both of his shoulders and jogged all the way from town back to the farm.
When they finally returned to the site of the destroyed barn, Wilvur handed the kids shovels. He needed them to dig out holes where the support beams would lie in.
Aero began digging up dirt and... SNAP! The shovel split in half almost immediately. The boy apologized immediately, promising to get him a new shovel. Wilvur hesitantly handed him a new one but he pushed it away.
"That'll only make it more difficult." Aero said.
Aero and the others began digging up the dirt with their bare hands at alarming speeds, before Wilvur knew they had dug holes more than deep enough.
Wilvur directed the kids, telling them what needed to go where on the structure and in what order. The Densius child Ruben went to set one of the wooden beams into a hole and accidentally bent it at a terrible angle. Good thing they bought extras. The kids took far more care going forward and there were fewer accidents as a result.
The kids worked fast! Much of the foundation had been set up. Even if there were 20 men on the job, Wilvur doubted they would be going as swiftly as these kids. It was like they had unlimited energy.
"Lunch time!" Cecil called out.
Wilvur stopped what he was doing, "Alright kids. Come on. Can't have you working on an empty stomach."
The children all sat around the family table, except for Ruben. The red eyed Densius knew its weight would probably break the wooden chairs at the table so it opted to stand. Besides, it didn't need to eat anyways.
Cecil prepared an extra large meal so there would be enough for everyone. The Phantine Nout's abstained from meat, fortunately there was corn shucked from their fields to satisfy his herbivorous ways.
Aero crinkled his rounded nose and tore into his meat like an animal, and Wilvur looked at him with a grimace.
Corri threw a quick jab into her brother's side, "Watch your manners Aero."
Wilvur rolled his eyes at Aero, he reminded him of the good for nothing guy Bonnie ran off with all those years ago. But the kid seemed to have a good-heart.
"This is delicious. Thank you so much." Jirro said politely, trying to offset his cousin Aero's manners.
"You're very welcome." Cecil said with a smile.
Meg stared at Corri throughout the meal. The two weren't far off in age. With both of them sharing red hair they could be mistaken for sisters.
Cecil spoke, "So, I heard you boys were in a tournament."
Corri answered first, "Technically all of us entered. But Aero and Jirro got the furthest out of us."
Joe leaned over the table, "How far did you get?"
Jirro took a moment from eating to answer, "The semi-finals."
Joe, Cecil and Wilvur's eyes widened, "The Semi-finals?! As in the top 4?"
"Mhmm," Aero said nonchalantly, still chewing a piece of meat.
Wilvur sat back in his seat, "How didja get so strong? Did you learn from that Fighting Academy down south?"
Aero and Jirro were busy getting down their food so Corri answered for them, "No, not the Fighting Academy, but we were on our way there. The three of us learned from our dads. Nout and Ruben learned from their tribes."
Cecil and Wilvur glanced at each other, "Where are your dads?"
Aero swallowed hard before answering, "They're back home. We're traveling separate from them right now."
"How old are you kids?"
Jirro swallowed before answering, "Aero and I are 13. Nout is 12. Corri is 11. And Ruben... is technically 51, but that's really young for a Densius."
Wilvur placed a hand against his forehead. What sort of father leaves their kids unattended like this?
The kids finished their meals, and prepared themselves for more work on the barn. Meg walked up to Corri and tugged on her sleeve, "Do you want to play?"
Corri smiled at her, "I'm sorry, I have to help your grandpa with the barn. Maybe later."
Cecil looked at the two red-haired girls, "You can play with her if you want."
Corri looked up to Cecil, "Are you sure?"
Cecil flicked her wrist, "Of course! Play with her for a little while and you can get back to the barn right after."
Corri nodded and headed outside with Meg.
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Meg was eager to show off the tiny bow her dad made for her. She fired off some of the makeshift arrows she had, all blunted at the end so it couldn't seriously hurt anything. Rojo perched atop the house and watched the two.
Meg aimed for an apple on a tree and knocked it down on her first try. "You're really good!" Corri praised.
"Do you want to try?" Meg said with a smile, a gap in her teeth visible.
"I'll try..." Corri said as she took the delicate bow and arrows in her hands. She took aim at another apple, pulled back the drawstring and... SNAP! The drawstring of the bow split in half.
Corri looked to Meg, tears had already started to form in her eyes and she was on the verge of bawling. Corri rushed to the little girl, "No-no. Don't cry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Meg sniffled hard, her emotions building. "Please don't cry Meg. I'll get you another better bow I promise!"
Meg continued to sniffle hard, exhaling an inhaling dramatically. Corri looked up to Rojo, "Meg if you stop crying, I’ll let you take a ride on my bird!"
Meg's dramatic motions suddenly ceased and she wiped her eyes, "Really?"
Meg composed herself pretty quickly, and Corri called Rojo down to them. The sparrow circled overhead and landed near the two red-haired girls. She lifted Meg up onto the bird's saddle and jumped up behind her. She attached the saddle tether to Meg, Corri could handle a fall much better then she could.
Meg was giddy with anticipation. Corri gently urged Rojo to fly, he kicked off the ground and begin gliding across the ground. Meg squealed with excitement. They gently turned in the air, circling around the home.
"Higher! Higher!" Meg commanded.
Corri smiled, and took them a little higher into the air, above the apple tree. Meg clapped her hands as they whizzed past her home. Corri could see Meg's mother Cecil watching from the window. But she didn't look scared for her daughter's safety, if anything she looked happy at the sight.
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