’Tis The Season Of Giving

For Liun, this entire event was his first time spending time with his entire family. Well, most of them. Having been away from his family all this time, it meant that he couldn’t spend that time with them. But here he was, once more able to. He would be going back home for the first time since he had left soon, he felt excited.
Also terrified since he knew he would get multiple beatings from multiple people.

For now, Liun pushed that thought out. He had been taking part in the snow related games his family were playing. Rukt’In snowball fights could get particularly intense. So he had been on high alert mode, prepared for any attack from any of his relatives. He particularly kept his eye out for Hwuun, his arch nemesis in this war of ice and snow. He heard the snow crunch behind him, and he sniffed the air to identify who the new attacker was.

Liun could recognise it was Hal instantly. He’d spent a lot of time around Hal, be it for watching movies or to do training. He grinned, as he knew that his younger cousin was attempting to ruffle his hair. Unfortunately, Hal was not ready. First, Liun’s helmet appeared. Liun was confident, but was not sure if Hal has a trick up his sleeve. Then Liun’s feet got iced over. But, it wouldn’t be quite strong enough to immobilise Liun. Liun just pulled his feet out of it, and side stepped Hal’s attack. Right in front of where Liun once stood was a snow pile, one that Hal was on a crash course towards.

His helmet disappeared as he laughed. “Good try little cousin, but you made no attempt to hide yourself before your attack.” He grinned as he ruffled Hal’s hair. Hal had been the first of the cousins that Liun met who was born after Liun left the community. A thought that still felt surreal to him. Plus he was Thiul’s son, Thiul being a cousin he had always been pretty close to. Liun would also be lying if he said he couldn’t see part of himself in Hal. Liun wasn’t exactly born with the best traits of either of his parents, he had to spend years to be equal with others his own age

He had been meaning to find Hal anyway. It did make it easier that Hal had found him first. “Hey Hal, could you come over here for a second?” Liun tilted his head a bit. His grin had dropped and he had a bit more of a serious look on his face. He motioned to a bit off to the side, so they were out of the way of the party but not too far.

Liun knew he took a bit of a sudden turn from a decently humourous tone. Although he wanted to be all light and happy, he couldn’t treat this matter entirely like that. It concerned something that had been in his family for years, something that he himself had owned since he was around Hal’s age.

The object in question was a light green spear that hung on his back. Countless notches from years of use along it. He carried it just as usual, like nothing had changed. He used to feel almost a tie to it, something that allowed him to use the powers of the spear. Although he knew he never quite got all the powers that it had. He had acquired a few, but nothing more.

He released a breath. “Hal, how old are you? Around 15 or so?” He spoke calmly, kind of in a similar way to when he worked. He removed the spear from his back. He held it in his right hand, with care and expertise. The spear tip pointed to the ground. “I must have been 15, 16, that kind of age, when I received this spear. It was before your uncle Sifa was even born actually. My father owned it before me. He didn’t really know how to use it, since he could create weapons he specialised in using his magic. But it belonged to a relative before him. And a relative before them.” Liun made sure he spoke slow enough for Hal to listen carefully, to understand what he said.

Ever since Liun confirmed he would be returning to the community, he came to a decision. He would get himself a new spear. One specifically made for his strengths and powers in mind, so it would be stronger than his current spear. That wasn’t to say his current spear wasn’t strong, it just had to be used by the correct wielder. As a child, he saw the spear collect dust. A part of him always felt sad. Having owned it for years, fought with it for years, he couldn’t bring himself to just let it gather dust. So this was the best option. “This spear has been passed down in the Rukt’In family for generations. It’s not strictly passed from parent to child, but rather relative to relative. I don’t think the spear belonged to my grandparents, after all. It’s a weapon that almost chooses its wielder, and grants them powers accordingly.” Liun spun the spear around in his hand, so now the tip pointed upwards to the sky.

“I’m no longer the owner of this spear. I severed the bond I had with it.” He spoke with a bittersweet voice. “I never gained all its powers, and never will. So I’m going to get a spear that is more suited to me.” He looked at the spear that he held. Not for the last time, but perhaps for the last time as the wielder of it.

Liun finally smiled, more easygoing. “But I don’t want it gathering dust, waiting for me to one day get old and throw it at whoever is convenient.” He looked away from the spear, and looked right at Hal. He lifted the spear so he held it in both hands, then held it in offering to Hal. “Hal, I want you to take this spear. I want you to take it because I believe you could use it to a better capacity than I could. I want you to take it, to use it proudly. I want you to take it, and know that you are a Rukt’In. No matter what anyone says to you, you are a Rukt’In because only a Rukt’In can be the owner of this spear.” Liun spoke with conviction. He had a small, casual smile on his face, but his eyes had a calm, serious look to them. He would allow Hal to take the spear from him in his own time.

Liun smiled as Hal took the spear from his hands. A part of him felt a bit sad because he was parting with a weapon he had for many years, but he couldn’t be happier that he was passing it on. Especially that he was passing it onto a relative he considered quite close.

He couldn’t help but remember when he himself acquired the spear. For a while, he felt undeserving, that perhaps it should go to Fweiu who was both older and stronger. Or maybe his father should’ve waited for Hwuun to get a bit older. Liun wasn’t born with remarkable magic or strength, and his dragon form was small and weak. He often described it as pretty inconvenient, which it was. Although he was a Rukt’In, he didn’t feel deserving of being one. It was a struggle that took him years to overcome, where he trained so much to be on the equal footing he stands today.
It was why he saw a part of himself in Hal. The half-dragon had come from different circumstances as Liun, but they were similar in some ways. It was what made Liun believe Hal could be so much stronger than he believed himself to be.

Liun had punched Fweiu for what she even suggested with half-breeds. He even knew that she cared about Hal, but Liun got a bit overwhelmed because he also remembered his daughter. But he realised something after that whole incident. Fweiu did care about Hal, and she seemed to have some slight opinions. If even Hal’s own family had that, then Liun couldn’t imagine how others may have treated Hal at times. Perhaps never completely aggressively, but harshly and coldly... Liun had issues with feeling like he was part of the family during his teenage years, he couldn’t imagine what it would have been like for Hal.

When Hal hugged Liun, he felt surprised for a moment. He was kind of rigged in the hug as he was caught off guard, but also because he was very cautious with the spear right there. He laughed a bit as he adjusted Hal’s hand that held the spear to ensure the tip pointed down at the ground. After that, he’d return the hug with a pat on Hal’s back.

When Hal let go, Liun looked down at him and his face shifted to concern when he saw Hal crying. But then he softened when he realised Hal wasn’t upset. He pat Hal on the head, not his usual ruffle but just a simple show of comfort. “Don’t you ever doubt it, Hal. And don’t you worry about not knowing how to use it.” He grinned, returning more to his usual demeanour. “I’ll teach you how to use and fight with a spear. I’ll make sure I’ll take some time during the trip back home to teach you the basics, then we can continue here.” Liun felt dedicated to this. He cared about Hal, and wanted to train him how to use a spear. He didn’t want Hal to feel like he didn’t belong.

Liun grinned as he looked down at Hal. “Oh yeah absolutely. I would never hear the end of it if I gave my cousin a spear bigger than himself and didn’t even teach him how to use it.” He laughed. It wasn’t exactly false, since the spear was even bigger than Liun, let alone Hal. Plus he was almost certain that he would get in trouble with multiple people if he did just that, especially Thiul. He knew how she was a bit overprotective of Hal. Besides, Liun liked excuses to spend time with his family. After having spent so much time away from his family, he didn’t want to miss anymore time.

When Hal made his claim, Liun raised an eyebrow and an amused smirk appeared on his face. “Oh yeah? As good as me, huh? Bold of you to assume I haven’t spent the better part of a century perfecting my technique.” A mischievous grin appeared on Liun’s face. It wasn’t exactly true, Liun had spent a lot of time learning martial arts and generally travelling the world, plus his work took up time as well. But it wasn’t exactly not true, since he had spent a long time training with the spear. Seeing how he acquired it during his teens and is now 161... “Don’t you worry baby cousin, I’ll teach you as much as I can. I’m a fantastic teacher after all.” He chuckled. It would definitely take Hal less time to learn a lot of what Liun knew since Liun developed a lot of it himself, Hal wouldn’t have to go through that process. But Liun won’t teach everything, he can’t have Hal knowing all his secrets. Plus it would mean Hal could develop his own techniques.

Liun looked to where Hal looked, and saw Thiul. He internally cringed. He had meant to talk to Thiul before he gave Hal the spear to just give her a heads up that it was happening. But Hal managed to find Liun before Liun focused down. “How about you go tell your mom real quick about getting the spear? Tell her to come over to speak to me as well, alright?” Liun maintained an easygoing grin, and sounded casual, but a part of him was concerned. Thiul was protective of Hal, and he wasn’t exactly sure how she would react to Liun deciding to give her son a weapon, let alone a magical one.

Since a moment ago Thiul had been with Titus, enjoying their time together before she had to go back to the community for about a week. Thiul and Titus both kept busy at work so whenever they could the two were together. But after giving the man his gift Thiul had excused herself to go get some food, and was now doing just that. The house the Rukt'Ins owned on the island was large, though not nearly as much so as the Drakenhardt mansion. But it was large enough for Thiul to be considerably slow at getting from the second floor to the first, greeting their acquaintances and partners slowed her down. And when Thiul finally arrived to the kitchen she was using her cane. These damn legs, sometimes Thiul got irritated enough at them to want to chop them off.

Thiul grabbed a chicken leg from a tray and wandered outside, looking around. There were people on the yard as well, many of the members of this party weren't bothered by the cold. Her included. Thiul was outside in her tank top and jeans like it was summer.
Thiul took a bite from her food and spotted Liun with Hal on the side. And narrowed her eyes at the spear Hal was holding. Thiul prepared to head over there and demand to know why her son was in possession on Liun's spear, but Hal spotted her first and started walking over to her. Trying to hide the spear behind his back, or at least Thiul thought he was trying to do that. He was just doing such a bad job at it she couldn't tell.

Eventually Hal got to her, visibly excited though Thiul could tell he was trying to hide it, and told her Liun had given him his spear. Thiul raised a brow at that, did Liun think he could just like that gift dangerous weapons to her son? But Thiul didn't say anything, and let Hal finish his words. And, as expected, he asked Thiul if he could keep the spear, seeming very happy about the occasion. But Thiul lifted a hand to her hip, a sign Hal would recognize, telling that there was going to be an argument.
"I cannot say that I have the confidence to entrust you with dangerous, magical weapons, Halcyon Rukt'In. And how can I be certain Liun will teach you all the way to the end? My answer is no, young man."

@WuffyWuff