Author: Rez, Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 9:01 PM, Post Subject: Ignition: Rebirth [P]

Daddy…was Lewis really his dad. The child brought his own hands to his face and explored his own features for a bit.  Maybe it was true, they had the same vacant look. Upon this discovery Rez finally looked at Lewis with his golden eyes. " OK Daddy." The boy said with a  somewhat sullen tone.  The trip to the dining hall was uneven, with the limp Simone displayed, but he endured much like his mother.

When they got to the table, his eyes instantly gravitated to the one thing he never got the night before. A tall glass of milk, which he reached for greedily. His mind flashed with a single memory of the night before, as he took rather large gulps of the rich and sweet liquid.  Once the glass was finished, he turned his head upwards toward his mother. " Where is the Dark Lady? " He spoke of the failed wet-nurse. Though his attention was drawn away from that thought and back to his mother's limp. 

Having been refreshed by his glass of milk, Rez closed his eyes. Somehow he could feel the source of the pain, and for the first time he gave a gentle smile. The boy did not know how he did it, but seconds later a warmth surrounded both him and Simone. In no time at all the simple sprain on her leg was healed. " All better, now I want more of this! And the Dark Lady!"  He held the vessel up for more milk, as he spoke almost cheerfully. 

His mind simply ignoring what he did, in front of his siblings.

Author: Simone, Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:50 PM, Post Subject: Ignition: Rebirth [P]

“Thank you, love,” Simone appeared grateful for her robe as she held Rez close to her. She had only responded and not thought about what she did. “I’m sorry I scared you Rez. I didn’t know if you were in danger or not so I panicked.” She kissed the top of his head and continued to hold him close.

Simone’s eyes looked up at the twins, “No.” She said it with Lewis. The twins looked disappointed but they went downstairs at the suggestion of Ezili who noticed they were missing. Mama Simone was in mama mode and they knew that their newest sibling needed it.

“You don’t have to be scared. He’s your daddy and he’s going to protect you too.” Still, she didn’t make Rez look at Lewis nor did she make him acknowledge him. Simone simply stood up and held Rez close to her. Her arms were tightly around him as she walked. Her leg had a limp to it thanks to kicking in the door as hard as she did.

Still, she didn’t complain nor did she wince. It was just visibly noticeable that she was in pain as she moved through the castle. “Let’s get you something good to eat. Silva is very good at cooking. We can try lots of things if you don’t know what you like.” She spoke calmly to the boy as she moved down the stairs carefully. Lewis was lingering near her to make sure she made it. She could feel the worry coming off of her husband about her leg. He was scared she was going to fall.

“I’m fine,” she calmly said as she made it to the base of the long stairs and held onto Rez just a tad tighter in her loving embrace. “You can stay with me.” She whispered to Rez as Lewis pulled out her seat at the table and she sat down.

The spread on the table was extensive since all the Terrowin kids liked something different. “All your siblings are here Rez. When you are ready we can introduce them.” Even Janus had decided to sit in his own chair instead of fighting over his mother’s lap.

Feeling Lewis’s gaze on her she turned her head just a bit, “You can call Xeik if you want to. It’s not like it's broken. It’s just a limp Lewis…”

Author: Rez, Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:40 PM, Post Subject: Ignition: Rebirth [P]

The child was startled for a brief moment, as the heavy door flew off of its hinges and into the wall.  Then he was swiftly picked up and coddled, it took a moment for Rez to respond.  Again his eyes dulled, as if in a deep thought., and his mind was brought to a different place. A grey room filled with clocks, and in the middle a woman hanging upside down from a rope. When the hanging woman moved, Rez's thoughts jumped back to reality. 

It had been a short moment of lapsed time for the Terrowin family, but the child still hung in Simone's arms limply.  The sensation was both nostalgic and unfamiliar at the same time. Eventually emotion and motion overtook the mythic, and he held on to his mother's black silk nightgown. His tan cheeks flushed with color, as he hid from Lewis by pushing his face into Simone's neck. The sweet, floral, almost warm scent calmed him down immediately. 

" I'm hungry." He said, muffled into his mother's neck. Still trying to hide from Lewis. 

Author: Dusk, Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:10 PM, Post Subject: Ignition: Rebirth [P]

Lewis woke up with Simone’s panic, and wasn’t far behind her when she dashed out the door. Unlike Simone, though, he thought ahead and grabbed her robe. He wasn’t worried about Simone in the slightest. He knew she could take care of anything that threatened any of their children. And if she couldn’t, Lewis sure as hell could the moment he arrived.

Rez was fine, though. Simone hadn’t noticed yet, but he had grown overnight. The ex-assassin stared at Simone and Rez, and cocked his head to the side curiously.

“Hmm.”

A question for later. He walked up behind Simone, and carefully wrapped the robe around her exposed shoulders. He glanced back at the rest of the kids, and made a shooing motion. Lucas and Ezili nodded, and rallied the rest of the kids to go get ready for breakfast.

“Well, well…looks like we’ll be needing Xeik again. I’ll let him know to come by when he can,” Lewis said as he knelt down to look at Rez. “You sure grow quick…don’t you.” Was this normal for phoenixes? Simone was a night phoenix, and when she became one she was a fully grown adult. Of course, there were the twins as well, but nothing about those two were normal.

“Speaking of,” Lewis said as he glanced back at the doorway. The twins had come back, and were each peering into the room on either side.

“Can we-” Janus started.

“Try that?” Lila finished.

“No…” Lewis gave them a look. “Don’t you even dare try…”

Author: Simone, Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 6:53 PM, Post Subject: Ignition: Rebirth [P]

Simone had settled the child down into his nursery. They had just been talking about a new baby with Glynn which excited the up-and-coming toddler. In the morning, Simone’s ring made her freak out. Her ring was special. Anyone she deemed a Terrowin child could be reflected in the ring. It told her if they were okay. It was a special gift from Lewis for their second wedding. He knew how important their children were to her.

Once it woke her up she was already throwing the door open and running out. There was a panic in her eyes as she tore down the hallways to where she had put Rez. Then he screamed for her and Simone kicked the door in so hard it came off the hinges and flew into the wall. “REZ!”

The mother was panting and she had to stop for a moment before rushing to him and picking him up. She held him close to her and snuggled his face to hers. She didn’t question that he was older. She didn’t question what was going on. Her ring didn’t lie. This was Rez.

“It’s alright I’m here,” she spoke as she got up and held him close to her. “Mommy is right here.” Her long black hair was disheveled from her sleep and she hadn’t had time for a robe so she stood with goosebumps going down her skin from the cool castle. “It’s alright… I’m here.” She looked at where the cradle had been and imagined he had done it… Possibly when he had aged.

“I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you Rez. I’m right here.” She was sure that she had startled everyone considering when she looked up… All of the Terrowin children were looking in the room with concern.

Author: Rez, Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2021 10:57 PM, Post Subject: Ignition: Rebirth [P]

The infant once found was passed around from person to person, and once he had calmed down his eyes went to a blank stare.  It seemed that once the chill of the air was off of his body, his emotions turned to a neutral state. Though he was an infant, there was something behind his golden eyes, a wisdom that preceded  his infantile appearance. It was as if he was absorbing the words and emotions of the beings passing him around.

Hungry…yes..yes you are. 

The infant winced as words forced their way into his mind. It was a jumbled mess of tones and voices. Though he soon returned to his normal apathetic gaze, as they entered the portal to Elysia. The air became warmer, the chill of the mountains was now gone. They had taken him to a safe place, one where he would feel instantly relaxed. Still the infant showed no emotion. The hunger had finally set in as well, and the child was soon giving disgruntled looks. Xeik was quick to find a wet nurse to alleviate the situation, though it seemed young Rez did not like any of them.  Not for a lack of hunger, but an excess of it. The infant latched on quickly to the breasts of the wet nurses, but none of the could handle the extreme heat coming from his hands and lips. They quickly handed the child back to Xeik.

It was then the woman in dark clothes appeared, she was shapely and….appetizing to the infant. His distant gaze became focused on the woman, and then he winced in pain, as the voices returned.

You will hurt her like the others….like you hurt us.

The voices cleared as he was passed off to the woman. It was not the bottle Rez wanted. As she tried to feed him, his tiny hands grasped towards her ample bosom. He was attempting to feed through her clothes, but no matter how hard he tried to suckle no milk came. This seemed to frustrate the infant, causing an intense heat to radiate from his hands and mouth, burning the woman's clothing. Though there was an intense pain, the woman only let out an audible gasp, weather it was shock or pleasure was something only she knew. She only held the infant closer, her face turning red.

" Poor thing, no matter how much you try, nothing will come out."

Her voice cooed at Rez, her hands running through his crimson hair. The infant only responded by increasing the heat from his body to such an intensity, that the tropical air of Elysian began to steam. The heat only increased in intensity with every second that the infant was denied his food, even if the woman could not give it to him. Then as soon as the heat began it was stopped by the removal of the child from her arms by Xeik. The baby was set aside, and the woman healed of her burns, but she did not seem to be afraid of Rez, but rather excited by the pain. Exhausted from expending such a vast amount of energy the infant closed his eyes and fell asleep, unsatisfied. The last words in his ears, were that of Simone's motherly tone.


The next morning, was chaos.  The cradle that his new parents had set up for him was in ashes, an in its place was no longer an infant, but a  six year old child looking embarrassed. Rez had grown rapidly overnight and because of the heat released, set his bedding on fire. His emotions were in flux, though he still had an uncaring look in his eyes, his cheeks showed his embarrassment. Much like a child who had wet their bed. Something welled up inside of him, a primal need for that certain someone, though he did not know her.

" MOMMY!"  He cried out, he had no memories of the night before, or memories of the unfamiliar place he was in. The new sensations pelted at his fragile mind. It was not only the memories of the night before, he could not recall his name, or anything at all. He could only cry out for the one thing a child needed. 

Would she even come…did she even exist?

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:59 PM, Post Subject: Ignition: Rebirth [P]

About an hour later, Xeik found out that Rez was too hot for any of the wet nurses on hand to handle. Whether it was intentional or not was up for debate, but knowing how Janus and Lila worked, he wouldn’t be surprised if it was a preference. It was either that, or something more beneath it all, but Xeik was far from a phoenix expert. Lewis and Simone had gone back home to check up on the other children, and would return the moment Xeik was done figuring out how to feed poor Rez.

“I guess we can go the alternate route,” the healer said with a sigh. There was a knock at the door to his office. “Come in.”

A woman who was slightly shorter than Xeik popped in wearing a darker set of clothes. Her eyes locked with Xeik as if she wanted to ask a favor, but she was hesitant. A new girl. While Xeik barely cared at all, the baby boy, Rez, seemed to perk up as she walked in. Perhaps a memory from his past? Or a reminder of a motherly figure. She was shapely, so it was possible.

“How can I help you?”

“Oh, I just needed some herbs. Lady Raine was asking for…what was it… Gelsemium?”

Xeik narrowed his gaze at the woman. “Why…would Raine need…” He sighed. “Tell her that she knows she’s not allowed those herbs.”

Once the woman left, Xeik went about to make a substitute for Rez to eat. It didn’t take long before the healer had a bottle to Rez’s lips, but the boy still seemed not to want to take a sip. “Maybe it’s less about how you’re being fed, and more than…” He furrowed his brow. With the gifted sight he was given by Angela, he started to read the life energy of the baby, and sighed. “So…it’s painful…” Xeik snapped his fingers. It was worth a shot…

It didn’t take long for Xeik to track down the new girl, “Hey. I have a request…can you…uh…feed this baby?” He handed her a bottle. “I have a hunch…”


—–

It took some time, but Lewis and Simone were happy as they stepped into the castle. “And here we are, Rez… your new home.” The two had spent most of their time setting up a new nursery room on the second floor, and immediately took him up to put him to bed.

“Good night, Rez,” Simone said as she smiled towards the new baby.

Of course, this was only the beginning…

Author: Dusk, Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2021 7:50 PM, Post Subject: Ignition: Rebirth [P]

With an agreement from Simone, Lewis opened a gate to Elyisa and the two passed into the warm realm of the Goddess Angela. They were outside of Xeik’s room, where surprisingly the door was wide open. Mia was laying in a pure white hammock, her eyes struggling to stay open as a sleeping Myrri lay on her chest. The moment she saw Lewis and Simone, though, she smiled warmly and beckoned them to come in.

Mia did a quick sign and said that Xeik would be right back, and her eyes were immediately drawn to the baby that Lewis was still holding. Immediately her eyes lit up, and she had a wide smile across her face. It wasn’t long before Xeik came back, and before Lewis or Simone could explain anything, Mia was already signing her unique language to Xeik.

“So…another one, then?” the Divine Mender said with a smirk. There were bags under his eyes, but he looked happy. Still, when he saw the state Lewis was in, he recoiled slightly in surprise. “You look like shit…”

“You’re one to talk,” Lewis replied with a dead stare. “Here. We think he’s a phoenix.” He carefully handled Rez over to the healer, and crossed his arms.

Xeik did a quick once over, and handed him back to Lewis. “Well, at first glance, I’d say he’s freshly reborn. Phoenix is right. Can’t be more than a day old. Maybe two, but I doubt it. He’ll probably get hungry soon.” The Divine Mender frowned. “Phoenix babies can be tricky, but we can try a wet nurse we have on hand.”

“If that doesn’t work?” Lewis asked.

“We’ll have to try other means…”

“I could just go kidnap a mother phoenix and-”

Xeik gave Lewis a look, “No. We have other options.”

Lewis frowned. “Fine..”

Author: Simone, Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2021 7:34 PM, Post Subject: Ignition: Rebirth [P]

The wife was worried about Lewis since he was tired and she could feel it in their link. He hadn’t been sleeping well lately and that was odd. Usually, their four or five rounds before bed were enough to give him peaceful sleep but lately… It was just weird how it changed all of a sudden. So Simone paid attention to Lewis more than normal.


They were both looking him over, “His eyes remind me of yours~” It was that dead look that Lewis normally carried with him when he wasn’t looking at her or the kids. The one most people associated with him. “He seems to be warmer now that I have warmed him up. He runs hot like I do so he probably feels chilly at the very least.”

After discussing the pros and cons of getting Xeik Simone nodded her head, “Can you please? Tell Xeik I’ll make him those lavender cookies he loves as an apology.” Simone had taken up baking with Everett recently since the child found his love of baking and cooking. It was a fun mother and son activity. One that she never got to experience as a princess in a castle.

Simone put her head on his shoulder looking over the red-haired baby, “No kidding. Xeik is going to love this but I think Glynn will love this more. He’s been cooing over Myrri a lot lately as it is.” Simone took her shawl off and helped Lewis swaddle Rex so he was warmer. “There. That will have to do for now. We’re going to Elysia so he will be much warmer than he is here.”

They could probably get him food there too, “Someone in Angela’s realm has to be nursing… So we can get him fed too. It’s a good thing we keep a wet nurse around for Glynn.” God forbid they had to go through that hiring process again… Simone was unkindly thorough about what she allowed the nursing women to drink and do. Strict would be the word for it but only because she didn’t want her children to suffer.

They had avoided it with the twins thanks to Angela but… She was sure Lewis shivered thinking about the time they hired Everett and Alshaya’s wet nurse.

Author: Dusk, Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2021 7:21 PM, Post Subject: Ignition: Rebirth [P]

It was still hard for Lewis to grasp the concept of his wife’s book series, but it kept her entertained and it was an extra source of income. As long as all of the very thirsty fans stayed far, far away from him and Xeik. After all, it was the ex-assassin and the ex-thief that the books were based around. Still, her ‘research’ was a great excuse to get out of the house, and it was more than welcome for Lewis who had been feeling quite stir crazy of late for whatever reason.

The sleepless ex-assassin yawned as he trailed far behind, exploring the region at his own lackadaisical pace. The peace that they had finally achieved was paying off, and for once Lewis felt like he could slack off and not have to worry. There were no kidnappings, no dragons scouring the skies, no mystical fae…just a fun little romp into the wilds. Though there was one thing…the strange, sleepless nights he had been getting recently..

“Hmm?” Lewis cocked his head to the side. “A child?” It didn’t take him long to catch up to Simone’s location, and when he arrived he was staring at Simone holding a small baby boy. “Rez.” He had already heard her say his name. “Is he cold? Hungry?” Sure, Simone had already asked all of these questions, but he was re-iterating.

Despite the neutral look in his eyes, Simone could tell that he was worried. His face and voice, though, never betrayed his true feelings. It was really only Simone and Xeik that could tell what he was thinking at any given time. “Should I call him?” He was referring to the Divine Mender, of course.

“I can open a gate right now…” He was ready for it. With just a thought, he would take them all to Elysia without question. Simone had already taken care of the other children. Dala was one of the few they could trust to watch over everyone. That, and Lucas was probably still back at the library if she really needed help.

“Rez, huh?” Lewis held the baby boy, cradling him. “They really do just fall into our laps…”

Author: Simone, Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2021 7:02 PM, Post Subject: Ignition: Rebirth [P]

Simone was scouting out new scenery for her Blades of Lust series. It wasn’t that she was running dry on material, no never. Lewis always gave her new material for her books so she wasn’t worried on that front. However, she needed new scenery ideas and Onnen was the perfect place to look for places to describe. She had taken to the skies in her phoenix form while Dala was below.

After a few minutes of her scouting east her eyes laid on the firework that had shot up. It was their signal so she made her way back around and Simone landed next to Dala transforming in a burst of blue flames. “What do you have here?” Simone’s eyes were a vivid azure as Lewis joined her sight. They both were staring at the child in Dala’s arms.

A baby.

Someone to love.

Glynn did like babies.

“Rez?” Simone thought about the next words. Bring him up to be kind. They were both twisted individuals but when it came to their children they guided them down a road they could never reach. The one that was taken from Simone and the one never offered to Lewis.

“We can manage without a carriage~ Lewis has become a pro of baby carrying.” She waited for Lewis now as she gave them their exact coordinates. Taking Rez into her arms she looked him over. She didn’t know how long he had been out here crying. Was he hungry? Was he cold? No, he was warm like she was. Rez. It was an odd name but she tilted her head feeling a sort of kinship with the child that couldn’t be described in any parental terms.

Then Simone noticed the ash and laid her eyes on the child, “Rez. Resurrection.” She was a creature of rebirth and it made sense to her. “He’s a phoenix like me but not like me.” Night phoenixes were basically extinct and Lewis had made sure that their numbers were extremely low after they had captured Simone for ‘breeding’.

“Here dear,” she offered the boy to Lewis as soon as he showed up. “Look at him~” Simone had gotten the boy to calm down just a bit. Her warmth was familiar after all. “Little Rez~” Looking at Dala she gave a smile, “Do you think you can head home to the kids? We might be a little bit getting him taken care of and you know how the twins are with Glynn these days.” Protective was one word for it. Murderous over his safety was another phrase for it.

…What would the twins think of Rez? Would they feel a kinship with him too?

Author: Dala, Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:55 PM, Post Subject: Ignition: Rebirth [P]

Today was scouting day. Dala had promised to go with Simone and help her scout. Last time Simone agreed to go with her to watch a dragon migration so this time she had to go along with what her best friend was doing. It was the fairest way to split up the time. Besides, she didn't mind helping Simone. She just wasn't any good at it. But a promise was a promise. There had been a book fair in a village in the Welayta Mountains and so, they were scouting. It wasn't until she had gone a little too far from the village that she realized she was far away from where she needed to be.

The village was behind her and she had just gotten distracted by the pretty scenery. Suddenly, she noticed something on the ground. A little pile of robes. The teenager moved to investigate it this strange robe pile only to find a little baby. He had tan skin and blood-red hair poking out of his head. Dala took the baby and lifted it up to get a proper look at it. Yep, the baby was a boy. Then she spotted the note and read it. The kid's name was Rez and the writer asked to teach him to be kind.

"Ah. Another abandoned baby. Geez, you'd think the parents would learn to use protection by now." She muttered.

The teenager put the baby in the robes and did her best to wrap the kid. Then she took a couple of steps back from the baby on the ground and reached into her bag for a firework. It was a small one, just meant to alert Simone and Lewis in case she ran into some trouble. Using a match she lit the firework and walked back to the baby, seemingly not caring as it ran into the sky and exploded. She just picked up the baby and turned to face Simone and Lewis approached.

"Got another one." She explained as she handed the baby off to Simone, "This time the note says the baby's name is Rez. The writer also requests to bring him up to be kind or something."

Dala gave the note to them and looked at the baby.

"So we should probably pick up a baby stroller or something since you're keeping him." She commented, "And probably some clothes too. I think I saw a tailor back in the village."

Dala didn't even have to watch them cuddle the baby to know they were going to keep him. If they were collecters then their collection would be a bunch of kids. But it did mean that Dala always had somebody to talk to whenever she came over.

Author: Rez, Posted: Mon Jul 5, 2021 10:09 PM, Post Subject: Ignition: Rebirth [P]

" How many cycles has it been for you….Mother?" A tired voice spoke out, ragged with age and exhaustion. A  silver haired elderly man stood atop one of the tallest peaks of the rainbow hued Welayta mountains. His body old, wrinkled, scarred, and weathered. A phoenix hovered in front of him, cocking its head curiously as he continued to speak. " Of course, I doubt you would remember me at this rate. It has been quite a few for me. I do not…no I can't remember. " His aged voice cracked with sorrow, and tears began to flow down his golden eyes. " I did horrible things, to people I loved, that I hated, that I was envious of. Tortured, killed, scarred, consumed by my rage."  The phoenix stared curiously as the old man sobbed his words.  Then with what looked to be a sorrowful gaze the phoenix flew into the cold night sky, and began to circle the old man.

Suddenly an orange light began to glow underneath his  tanned skin, tracing through his veins all over his body. The glow grew more intense, as heat waves began to emanate from his body, causing the air to shimmer.  The old man looked to the skies, the tears in his eyes disintegrating  from the heat radiating off his body. " Maybe this time it will be different. He won't remember what I did, he will be free from my past ."  The look of regret and sorrow lifted from his face, as his own body began to turn to white ash. Slowly starting at the tip of his extremities. Then as if a powder keg ignited his body burst with an intense amount of energy.  Sending a loud explosion of heat energy outwards, that lasted for several minutes. 

All that was left of the elderly being was a pile of ashes, a robe, and within the robe a small baby no more than three months old. The infant shivered in the cold night air, his tan skin covered in goosebumps, and his blood red hair speckled with the same white ash he  was "born" in.  Within the robes was a letter written in shaky hand.

His name is Rez, teach him to be kind.