Enter the Uncle

[mitochondriaaya]

It was a day like most others; sunny and bright with the sound of children screaming on the school playground. Recess always had screaming, usually it was the playful kind. Today the only anomaly was the principal standing outside next to a strange man whose gaze was weighing each of the running children in turn. The principal was trying to be helpful of course, pointing in the direct of one of the mobs.

Said mob was currently devolving into a medieval war on the monkey bars. The self-proclaimed King Braig was holding the top of the span with his loyal Knights holding either side for the moment. The barbarians were numerous though...and seemingly impervious to pain given the scraped knees and elbows they were gaining.

The man nodded gratefully to the principal so that the man could head back indoors...and waited. He wanted to see how this little war played out. And how the kid interacted with the two friends he'd been told about.

Comments

[mitochondriaaya]

"Dried fruit then, and jerky, when we finish the exercise trail." Because kids required feeding in his experience. "Only a handful for Dilan. Anything else you guys want to bring up before tonight? Your house is coming up."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Don't be offended if one of my parents jumps up and runs out. They're scientists and sometimes are hit by inspiration."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Thank you for the warning." The sudden jumping up and running thing tended to make him...worry. A lot. Time to park and help kids out of the back of the jeep. "Get your homework done, Aya, before I'm back for the barbeque tonight."

Aya blinked, like it had never occurred to her not to do it, then laughed. "Okay!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Homework comes after school." Dilan said blankly, and Braig added, "It's part of the routine. Dilan is big on schedules and we pretty much live by 'em too. It's no fun without him, after all."

[mitochondriaaya]

"And they work!" Aya chirped, taking Dilan's hand and swinging it.

"Well...I approve then." Nevada admitted after a moment of thought. "I'll be back in a few hours."

[sliceitwithwind]

"See you later, Uncle Nevada." the boys said, Braig picking Aya's other hand up and the two of them lifting Aya off the ground as they headed in to the house.

[mitochondriaaya]

...

...

...

Uncle?

He winced and watched them safely into the house before climbing back into his jeep. Time to find a nice wine shop and a place to get sparkling juices too.Then bum around town for a bit, memorizing more of the area...and back for a barbeque.

Gah. Uncle.

[sliceitwithwind]

When he got back Dilan was playing with Aya in the back yard...where "playing" was a stand in for "building a trebuchet and having a physics lesson".

Braig and his father, a man who looked like a grey-streaked, tall version of Braig himself, were over by the grill chatting and waving their hands. Elcy was in the kitchen, visible through the window but pretty obviously concentrating on paperwork.

[mitochondriaaya]

Nevada came around the back with the bottles in hand like a peace offering, then scanned the situation. The two talking, mother inside, check.

Dilan and Aya playing, check.

Catapult...well, he'd keep an eye on that.

"Gentlemen? Where should I put these?" He called toward Braig and the father. He'd introduce himself formally in a moment.

[sliceitwithwind]

"On the table." Yinsi patted Braig's shoulder and then headed over to Nevada, offering one hand, "Yinsi. My wife is distracted by paperwork right now, she'll join us for supper. You'd be Nevada, yes? Only name, or is there something else that I should call you?"

[mitochondriaaya]

Ah, table. There was...plenty of wine and juice. Yep. Enough for some more guests! "A pleasure, Yinsi. I go by Nevada mostly, and I'll be happy to meet your wife when she is not busy." And when she was outside with others around.

He offered the better bottles of wine to the man himself, as the actual host gifts. "I have things I'd like to discuss with both of you, and I hope to set your mind at ease a bit about Aya."

[sliceitwithwind]

Yinsi took the bottle with a nod that meant he knew exactly how good it was and was mildly impressed by Nevada's taste.

"That's what the boys told us." he agreed, "I hope that we can set you at ease some, as well. Aya will always have a home here."

[mitochondriaaya]

*"Something I am hoping to make official, at least for a time." Nevada sighed and looked down at the bottles on the table, not really seeing them. "I do not care for what I found at Jerrig's house, and will be working to improve that, but grief can only be allowed to damage so much." He could probably thank the wine shop owners? Nevada had a general idea of good but had needed help narrowing to 'good with barbeque foods'.**

[sliceitwithwind]

"Of course. She's got her own room here, we'll do whatever we can to help you out. Aya, of course, is our primary focus. We'll leave Jerrig to you, he doesn't seem to have room in him to make friends right now."

[mitochondriaaya]

"No, he doesn't." Luckily he had Nevada, who didn't just go away because he went weird. "I'll help move the rest of her things." He was...angry. The girls stuff had been in the livingroom. She slept on the couch. Not acceptable.

"I'd like to start taking the children out, as a trio at first then perhaps individually. Tomorrow I hope to take them off campus for recess since they seem to have more energy than the staff should be asked to deal with. I have papers that need to be signed if that's alright."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Thank you." Yinsi said, nodding and tilting his head, "I'll sign for Braig and get Lenna to sign for Dilan tonight. Just let us know where you plan on having them...and try to stick with Dilan's schedules. I can get you a copy of that as well. He doesn't do well with change, so if you want to do something out of the ordinary it's best to let him know a couple of days before it's supposed to happen."

[mitochondriaaya]

"I would appreciate copies, yes." Because then he could plan. "I'll be taking them to the exercise trail at the nearby park, back in time for recess to be over." Nevada glanced back at the pair building the scale weapon and nodded. "Other activities to be planned as we figure out what people enjoy."

[sliceitwithwind]

"The boys like anything related to the sciences, Braig enjoys history, and Dilan is fond of athletics. Aya really enjoys athletic things and is really fond of the beaches and anything to do with them. All three of them are perfectly happy to do whatever one of them wants to do."

The trebuchet launches a water balloon at the nearest tree and Dilan yips in pleasure, "Braig is usually the one at the forefront, or Aya. Dilan is happy to go along with their picks."

[mitochondriaaya]

"That gives me some place to start with activity planning, thank you." He nodded to Yinsi and pulled a small notebook out of his back pocket so he could note the things that had been mentioned. "They'll need some solo activities as well. Everyone needs to get out alone sometimes. I'll think on those."

Ah, water balloon catapult. Because yard warfare needed to be stepped up a notch? "Is that a project they're playing with?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"If you hunt, Dilan could use a teacher for that. I don't." Yinsi offered, he glanced over at Dilan and Aya, "...No, I think it's an attempt to get Aya interested in physics."

[mitochondriaaya]

"I do hunt." That had him thinking about ways to schedule proper hunting lessons. "And she's...six. Physics is less an area of research at that age and more something to blame when she falls." He chuckled, because, well, really?

"She may come around in time, but the boys may want to be informed they should expect it to be at least a few years."

[sliceitwithwind]

"The boys," Yinsi said in a matter of fact tone, "are two of the smartest people in the world right now. They adore Aya, but the fact of the matter is that they expect her to keep up with them as best she can. Dilan doesn't understand that people aren't as smart as he is, and my son is egotistical and somewhat selfish at times. They don't mock her when she can't understand the things that they did at her age, but they try to teach her anyway."

[mitochondriaaya]

"That...must be hard." And it might be something he'd have to move to temper. Challenges were good for kids as they grew up. Impossible tasks were less so. "I've no objection to teaching at all! I may warn them anyway just so they don't get frustrated down the road."

[sliceitwithwind]

"It is." Yinsi agrees, "And we try to keep the boys from being too hard on her, and we certainly tell her that she doesn't have to keep up with them all the time. She's a perfect Aya, she doesn't need to be a Dilan or a Braig."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Yes, she's had her fill of trying to be someone else I believe." Nevada agreed quietly. "And I will watch them all when we're together." Just in case learning got out of hand. That said he nodded to the grill. "How can I help tonight though?"