Lila looked at her brother with a death stare, “God damn traitor.”

“Language,” Mone crossed her arms.

“Hi, Daddy!” Myrri came running after he slid off the slide by himself laughing. “Lila and Janus showed me the best playground! It’s even better than the one Grandma built me in her temple!” Oh, Angela wasn’t going to like that but that was a child’s mind for you.

Lila had a pout going on as Mone chased Lila around the playground. “COME HERE LILA!”

“DADDY DON’T LET HER KILL ME PLEASE! DADDY THINK ABOUT IT!!!! I’M YOUR ONLY BLOOD DAUGHTER. I’M ADORABLE. THINK OF ALL THE TROUBLE YOU WENT THROUGH FOR ME!”

Meanwhile, Janus went over to Lewis and put his hands up like he was ready to be locked up, “I give up.”

Lewis crossed his arms as Janus gave himself up. The boy was either smart enough to know he was defeated, or too lazy to even try to get out of his punishment. It didn’t matter which to Lewis as he picked Janus up and held him. “I know it was your sister’s idea,” he said with a smirk. “I also know you’re smart enough not to argue with her. She’s just as stubborn as your mother.”

Janus grinned, “I know.” He nestled into Lewis’ arms and closed his eyes. “Nap now.”

Xeik and Mia swooped in and looked over Myrri in a panic. The boy was laughing the entire time, unsure of why his parents were so worried. It was just a bit of fun, right? When he was assessed to be in perfect health, everyone turned their attention to Simone and Lila.

The furious mother phoenix had caught Lila, holding her upside down by one leg. Lila was frantically trying to escape, but her magic was being restricted by Lewis and Simone together.

“N-now Momma,” Lila said as she put her hands together. “This isn’t good. Tell her Uncle Xeik! Stress can lead to, to complications, right?”

Xeik stared at Lila, “Like the stress of looking for a missing child?”

“Aunt Mia, look! Myrri had so much fun!” she said, changing topics immediately.

Mone had a very pissed-off look in her eyes as she held her daughter upside down. “You are going to be grounded…”

“NOT GROUNDED NO!” Lila protested.

“FOR LIKE A THOUSAND YEARS,” Mone yelled as the child struggled in her arms. Mone took her hand and smacked the bottom of Lila as the child wailed.

“DADDY MY BUTT IS PRECIOUS PLEASE!” Lila yelled and then she stopped and looked up at her mother. “Don’t ground me that’s the worst.”

“It’s worse than spanking you, worse than taking away dessert, worse than making you miss out on playtime with Myrri. You are going to sit your ass in the great room until I say you can get up.”

“NO NO NO! Don’t leave me to be bored like that,” Lila was flailing.

“Oh yes, and you know what? Your father and I are going to take turns WATCHING YOU. So now your father is going to be in a pissy mood because now we can’t spend as much time together BECAUSE you were bad! AND YOU KNOW YOU WERE BAD!”

“Yeah, she knew she was bad,” Janus said as he rolled in Lewis’s arms. “Said so.”

“TRAITOR!” Lila yelled as she struggled more in Simone’s arms. “I don’t want to sit on the timeout stool again!”

“The time out stool it is,” Lewis said with a sigh as he closed his eyes. Why did it have to be the time out stool. He knew it was what she needed, but gods be damned if it wasn’t one of the most boring things in the world. It was one of the few things that he was in absolute agreeance with Lila on.

And so, when it came time for Lewis to sit and watch Lila, he waited. He even picked up a book, and started to read. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the best option. The moment he looked up from the first page, Lila was trying to tip toe away.

“You’re kidding, right?” Lewis said with a sigh as he pointed. “I can’t even read?”

“You know, Daddy,” Lila said innocently. “You don’t have to watch me.”

“Yeah, actually, I do,” Lewis replied as he begrudgingly set the book down. “Now sit your ass down.”

Lila huffed and marched back to the stool, sitting on it with a furrowed brow and crossed arms.

“I used to do this for hours,” Lewis replied as his eyes locked on to his only blood daughter. “Sit. Watch. Wait. It was boring as hell. But I did it.”

“Oooh…assassin stories. How about you-”

“Assassin stories are for good girls who aren’t grounded,” Lewis replied.

“Oh boo…”