TOTCF content because my brain go brr

Praise

"Didn't we do good Noona?" Hong said excitedly, holding his bag of treasures in his arms. Cale had told them to collect trinkets and other shiny materials from the aftermath of a battle. Ohn, holding a bag of similar weight, smiled in return. 

"We did." She said, trying to act mature, but the look in her eyes mimicked Hong's. Raon flew around with his own collection, over their heads. "You did good too, Youngest." 

"Yes, Youngest did amazing." Hong nodded with vigour. Raon smiled at the compliments, his sharp white teeth poking through. "You're really great and mighty!"

"Noona and Hyung did good too! We're very great and mighty!" Raon flew down to fly next to his older siblings. "Human is going to praise us a lot."

All three children felt their faces warm at the idea of Cale praising them. They preferred praise, more than when he bought them devices or food. Praise felt more sincere, Human rarely said it without meaning it. 

It was clear that in the Henituse family, praise was an expensive and much sought after currency — with Cale's being the most valuable. It was a clear motivator to do better than ever, to pay back your meal with 110% effort, and hearing it made you feel warm and happy inside. It was known to be treasured even by dragons like Eruhaben or Mila.  

Hong's face then turned pensive.

"Do we ever praise Cale?" He turned his head to the side as he wondered out loud. Ohn and Raon turned towards him before revisiting their own memories. Had they? No matter how hard they thought, they couldn't think of a single time they praised Cale. At least not the way he praises them. The children cringed slightly as they thought of all the times they had insulted him instead. 

"We should praise Human too! He works hard even though he is so weak." Raon said resolutely. 

"Yeah!" Hong echoed. 

Ohn looked on at her younger siblings, and let out a sigh. There's nothing wrong about playing along right? She put on a small smile and joined in on their excited rambling.

—-

"You worked hard. Good job." Cale praised looking over their piles of treasures. Picking out pieces of metal. His sparkling eyes shone brighter with every piece he picked up. "You went above and beyond my expectations. My plan will be easier thanks to you three." He patted their head before standing up.

"All of you did well  today. You should be proud of yourselves." Cale said, a pleased expression on his face. The group lit up at the praise. Cale dismissed them quickly before sorting through the treasures. 

'I should organise them for-'

"You did good too."

Cale blinked in surprise before turning to Ohn. It was clearly her unwavering voice who spoke. Choi Han turned around to look at her too, and so did the rest of the group. Beacrox looked up and Ron's smile grew.

"Hm?" Cale lifted an eyebrow.

"You should also be proud of yourself." Hong piped in. Cale's gaze turned towards Hong, who's face was serious. His fists were clenched in sincerity.

"You worked hard." Raon nodded. "Good job human."

Cale gave a blank expression as he tried to figure out what caused the sudden praise. Eventually, he just let out a noise of amusement. 

"I guess I did do a bit of a good job, didn't I?" Cale agreed. The children smiled, knowing their intentions were conveyed. 

'Weirdos.' Cale thought to himself as they went away, jumping into the carriage, an extra bounce in their step.

"You did excellent Young Master. You should rest." Cale jumped as Ron spoke from behind. Cale could've sworn he was in front of him a minute ago. 

 "This Ron will get you some lemon tea, to help with your rest." Cale made a face at the idea of lemon tea, but he nodded along anyways. 

"Sure Ron." Cale allowed, before putting the collected metal scraps into a holding bag. He would just sort the metals later. 

As he finished putting the metals away, he was scared once again. 

"Cale-nim." Cale froze before relaxing. Why were all the vicious people sneaking up on him today? It was like a reminder that all of these people could easily kill him if he wasn't on their good side. Cale tried to calm his racing heart before turning to face Choi Han. 

"Good work today. You deserve to take a nap in the carriage. I will wake you up when we have to leave" Choi Han looked at Cale with an intense look in his eye. Cale felt goosebumps just looking at him, although the offer was enticing. 

"Thanks." Cale said simply before putting the bag in his hand and getting into the carriage. Cale had a conflicted look on his face when he got in, but shook the thoughts away. He just laid down on the carriage seats and waited. Like clockwork, the children jumped onto his chest and made themselves comfortable. Cale soon fell asleep, and the children followed.