Ephemeral Affairs [MXM]

Poop

A few months have gone by and the snow no longer falls yet the cold winds never seem to cease in Osay.

In the room where Alosrin sleeps with the children, there's a lit candle flickering by the doors to the balcony this evening.

A young man with bouncy brown hair and golden skin holds that candle, looking at the seat under a tree, "Where are you?"

"Who are you?" Niowei rises from beside her sleeping mother. She walks to the young man, "How did you get in here?"

Frightened, the young man blows out the candle and rushes away into the darkness of the room.

Unfortunately for him, Niowei holds onto his sleeves tightly until the young man shrinks to her size.

"Arabret?" Niowei gasps and lets go of Arabret's sleeves.

The little boy pouts softly, "Why are you awake?"

"I don't know," she shrugs her shoulders. "But why were you big and now small again?"

"I'm cursed by someone. I was big because I was sad, but now I'm only 'slightly' scared."

Niowei runs back to the bed and brings back a lit candle, "You look very scared, not just slightly."

"No. I'm not very scared," Arabret crosses his arms and averts his eyes elsewhere. "Go back to sleep already."

"Who were you waiting for?" Niowei smiles teasingly. "Maybe it's your mommy?"

Arabret turns away from Niowei, "No. Why would I wait for my mom there? I know he's not going to come by himself."

Niowei walks around to see Arabret's annoyed face and places a finger on her lips, "Why do you call Jaufasi's mommy yours? Don't you have your own mommy?"

"I don't have to explain anything to you. You're just a guest," Arabret raises a hand and flicks Niowei on the forehead.

"Ouch. That hurts you know. Are you always mean to baby Jaufasi?" Niowei rubs the spot where Arabret flicked.

Feeling a little guilty, Arabret answers one of Niowei's many questions, "I was waiting for the Regent in my grown up body."

"Why? Don't you hate him?"

Arabret reaches to flick Niowei's forehead again but he stops himself as soon as she flinches away.

"Why do you have so many questions?" Arabret clicks his tongue, but answers, "When I'm near him in my grown up body, he makes my heart beats very fast and I like it, okay?"

The little girl chuckles to herself, annoying him even more so.

Arabret walks around her and toward the bed, "Let's go to sleep. And don't you dare tell anyone."

"Okay," she follows him, smiling that she now has a secret to keep.

Later, but before the sunrises in the East, the long awaited Regent enters the room through the balcony but Arabret is asleep and in his child body.

Da'an Ryul walks around the room, chanting away a magic spell. He returns to the bed where Alosrin sleeps with the children and smiles.

His hands hover above Alosrin's abdominal region, "You need to grow quickly, my son. If you don't grow like a mortal, your mother may become suspicious of both you and I."

Then when the sunrise, Da'an Ryul is gone and the children slowly wake each other up.

"I need to poop," Jaufasi blows air into his cheeks and keeps them there.

Arabret and Niowei turns to Alosrin but he is still heavily asleep. Arabret gets off the bed, "We can take care of ourselves. Yllathanise, watch Jaufasi and I'll go call some maids for assistance."

"Okay."

And while Arabret quickly rushes to the doors and calls out to the hustling maids early in the morning, Niowei encourages Jaufasi to hold in his bowel until help comes.

"No. I can't do it. Poop is coming now," Jaufasi shakes his little fists together and sticks his bottom out in front of Alosrin's face.

The quietest sound leaks from Jaufasi's bottom and wakes Alosrin up to the hellish reality.

The maids rushed to present themselves but they were already too late. The stench of an early morning poop has already filled the room.

Niowei tries to keep a smile and comforts the flustered little dragon boy, "It's okay. Let's be more careful next time."

"Where's your mom?" Arabret eyes around curiously.

"My mommy is having a situation," Niowei tries her best to pronounce the last bit.

Arabret nods and waves at the maids, "Go on. Help my brother."

"Yes, Your Highness," they answer quickly but their reluctant movements reveal their inner agony.

It is in fact the first time these particular maids have encountered this kind of situation since they were hired under the Regent's rule.

Alosrin comes from the bathroom, looking as if life has been sucked out of him, and takes Jaufasi, "Help the other two. I'll take care of this one."

"Thank you," the maids reply unconsciously. It is only after Alosrin takes Jaufasi away that they realized what they said.

While washing Jaufasi, Alosrin asks the little dragon boy, "What happened this morning? Is your tummy upset?"

Jaufasi nods with tears in his eyes and pleads, "Sorry. I didn't mean to. The poop had to come and I—I couldn't help it."

"No. No. It's okay. I know you did your best," Alosrin leans in to comfort his best friend's son.

When Jaufasi has calmed down, Alosrin finishes up washing him and dresses him for the day.

"Mommy, I'm all ready for breakfast now," Niowei rushes to Alosra with her arms raised and spins to show off.

"My darling is very sweet indeed," Alosrin pinches and kisses Niowei's cheek.

Arabret who is standing behind Niowei, looking a little jealous, clears his throat, "I'm also ready for breakfast."

"You look very charming, Arabret," Alosrin kisses his forehead.

In the beginning, Niowei was jealous when Alosrin's affection began to leak from Jaufasi and toward Arabret too, but after a few months, Niowei has grown tolerable.

"Here's your fishy." Niowei hands Jaufasi's fish to him, and he hugs it with a warm little grin, "Mommy."

"Breakfast is already served," Arabret smiles and drags Niowei away with a hint of shyness.

Alosrin chuckles at the way they act, and when he picks Jaufasi up, he touches Alosrin's stomach, "Baby."

"Yes. You're a baby," Alosrin answers him.

"No," Jaufasi shakes his head and rubs Alosrin's stomach, "Baby in here."

The elf is reminded of Ajax's conversation with Niowei before he returned to Huca, and concludes that perhaps Ajax isn't infertile after all.