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"Can I go put them back now?" Oron asked.
The word 'no' echoed throughout the room.
Meryn was giggling uncontrollably. "Even thousands of years ago you guys did bathtub pictures," she said, pointing to the picture of the toothless Darian grinning up at his soaked mother. "Look Felix, baby Darian."
Izzy watched as Felix appeared from Meryn's lap. He looked down at the picture and smiled. "Baby," he repeated.
Izzy noticed that, unlike the previous day, Meryn now sported a graphic tee and jeans. She wondered if she'd have to wait until they left to get more jeans.
"I wish I had something like this from when I was a cub," Pierce said, looking over Meryn's shoulder. As usual, Pierce hadn't strayed too far from Ryuu.
"Oron, I have no right to ask, but may I please have this one?" Cord asked, holding the picture of Darian covered in flour as if it were the most valuable thing on earth.
"Of course, Cord, you're like a father to Darian and me, there's nothing I'd deny you."
Cord dashed away his tears. "It was one of my most cherished memories even before I saw the picture."
Darian turned to them, looking surprised. "Really? Because all I remember from that day is that it took me forever to sweep up all that damn flour."
Cord smiled. "You were trying to help me make dinner since I had accidentally slipped and bruised both my ego and my tailbone. When you tried to explain yourself, you started crying because you didn't want me to be hurt."
Kendrick chuckled. "The crybaby ended up with a crybaby," he teased.
Anne whacked him. "Hush."
Cord placed a hand on Oron's arm. "Are you certain?"
"Yes, I'm certain, I have a ton more pictures under my bed, I'll just frame one of those for my wall to replace it," Oron explained.
"More?" Aleksandra gasped.
"Wall?" Darian asked at the same time.
Oron groaned and let his head fall back as his queen mother and heir apparent brother tore from the room, heading down the hall unceremoniously. "Dammit!" he exclaimed.
Thane
gently traced the edge of one of the pictures then stood. He walked over to Oron. "Oron, if I were to put an image in your mind, could you draw something for me, something like those?" he asked, pointing to the table.
Oron's mouth dropped. "You want me to draw you something?"
Thane just nodded quietly. "You can name your price."
Oron shook his head.
Thane frowned. "I guess it was too much to ask."
"No, what I meant was I could never charge you money for doodles," Oron explained.
Thane studied Oron's face. "I want you to look at me and really listen." Thane pointed to Oron's hands. "I am not an overwhelmed mother or brother. I tell you this with objectivity and with no sense of bias. What you have is an extremely rare and gods-given gift, Oron Vi'Eirson. I would happily pay any sum you would name to have even one picture done to this quality. In fact, I will be personally petitioning Aiden to remove you from service immediately to protect these irreplaceable hands."
Aiden grunted but didn't argue.
Oron turned to her and she could see that he was getting overwhelmed. She stood quickly and went to him. She wrapped an arm around his waist and winked at Thane. "I think those hands are magical too."
He blinked, then laughed at her double entendre. "I imagine that to be true."
She just rubbed Oron's back. "No decisions have to be made right away. Personally, I'm looking forward to living in Lycaonia. I hear that Meryn needs my skills as she works on databases."
