The Old World

They wont always be kids

Raising children in itself is a challenge. Raising twins at sixty-four would have been a daunting task for anybody that is anyone except Rin the dauntless. The old man was definitely up for the challenge, and it most definitely was a challenge. At seven, both twins were chaotic at best. Minerva-Min was restless and everywhere at the same time while Tristin-Tin calmed quiet and produced chaos of a much grander scale. The house at the top of the hill where the Dunsts lived was big enough for an adult and two kids. it wasn't paricularly large, just large enough. The house itself wasn't particularly furnished, just a bear skinned rug on the floor that the old man had caught and killed earlier and a little fireplace, the old mans room, and a room for the twins. We both had our own beds, and that was it. Being that they lived alone, the old man had to take us with him wherever he went. During one of our first winters in Lonnar, Lester came by for a visit. i remember him dismounting his horse as he came into our house all covered up in warm clothes due to the snow. "Lester, you old bastard hows it going?" 'you know, cold enough that when i take a piss in this weather i can swear that i cant feel one of mi nuts" 'what re you talking about sunnyboy aint you called onenut lester''? laughed the old man. 'You know, that's really not funny'' Lester says ''not from where I am sitting, from over here i guarantee you its a bloody hoot''

''Min bring some of that brandy and cups'' the old man said ''give me some of that good stuff you brought with you from the capital and not that piss pour shite you got out of Tape you hear me''. Min returned with a bottle of brandy and three cups. ''Look at that Rin, this one brought an extra mug she has, aren't you nine years old?'' she replied ''That's a no on the brandy then? the old man looked down at her, plucked her from the floor and planted her on his lap, picked up his cup, and gave her a sip. little Min took a whole swing, made a face, jumped out of the old mans lap, and went a way screaming, looking for her brother presumeably. The old men looked at each other and laughed fully. ''That was cruel Rin'' 'O she's a little rascal she will be fine''. ''How are they, though? have they started showing... ''NO'' the old man cut him off before he finished asking the question. 'No, they haven't started showing not yet'' He took another sip, looked at his friend, and asked ' why are you here, Les?' 'o silly me boy o am here on town business. some of the fishermen have been complaining bout their fishes, being eaten, and whatnot.'' "Whats that got to do with me?' Lester took a quick sip and rubbed his hands together to warm himself up. ''with you? nothing but then again i would need you to perform a public service, you see some of the town folks believe that a bear has been coming out of the mountain pass and making off with them fishes'' Rin looked at him still waiting ''come on just go up there and takecare of the bear already'' Lester said looking rather pleased with himself after his delivery. ''You want me to fight a bear? you know I am an old man, dont you?'' 'dont gimme dat old man talk you pebble, are you going to hunt this thing down before the townspeople run me out of office or what?'' Rin smiled and said 'sure why not'' 'jolly good i will watch the little rascals while you go handle bizness yh?'' Rin looked at Lester as if the request didnt make sense ''the kids are coming with me Les'' 'Are you mad boy o dey are nine years old dey have no bizness spending days out there in the freezing snow hunting a bloody bear'' Rin picked up his cup and emptied its contents down his throat slamming the cup on the table and said ''they wont always be kids'' We left a couple of hours later. The old man, myself, and shadow. We spent three days tracking hunting and killing the bear. That was our childhood, no friends no parties just activities spent outdoors if we werent hunting we were tracking if we werent tracking we were setting traps or learning how to identify traps if we werent learning any of those we were learning how to avoid detection or how to avoid being followed or how to throw someone of our trail, to put it plainly we were learning how to survive.

By the time Shadow and i were eleven years old, we could track hunt catch any predator on four or two legs. we could tell which fruit was poisonous or which fruit was edible just by looking at it. we could tie a not hook it up to a hook hoist the hook to a mountain and scale that mountain and back in record time. we could do things most adults couldn't at age eleven, but the one thing we didn't know how to do was to be kids. As much as the old man thought us every trick in the book to survive, he also made sure we were knoledgeable. He educated us on everything he could, the kingdom, the surrounding nations, and most importantly ''The Capital''. we absorbed as much information as we could about the capital. we learnt how to speak, eat, drink, live, walk, and act like those from the capital. when we were eleven, he moved us along and introduced us to sword play. The old man didnt start us slowly no he gave shadow and i real swords and thus began years of training, battle tactics, core building exercises hand to hand combat and survival techniques that was quite frankly ingrained in us. At sixteen after a particularly nasty training session where i had accidentally dislocated Shadow's finger and he had given me a black eye, i lost it and screamed, "What are we doing all this for? do you want me to kill Tristin? or do you want him to kill me Grandfather please what is this all for?'' The old man sighed and looked at Shadow, who was still clutching his dislocated finger walked towards him popped his finger back in, looked at me, and then walked back slowly into the house. That night, i cried myself to sleep while shadow comforted me till i was asleep. The old man had always been there an ever present rock to lean on for both of us or a face to be mad at when we needed someone to be mad at and on our seventeenth birthday the oldman took us into town of course he waited till it was dark before we left. but during the day the old man called me to his side sat me down gave me a lookover and said something i never thought i would ever hear him say "you look so much like your mother when she was your age'' i didnt want to interrupt for fear he would stop talking about her. He never spoke about our parents, let alone our mother. i had no memories of her, and the old man rarely ever spoke about her, so moments like these were a rarerity. ''she was just as strong willed as you. bull headed, sturborn, arrogant, brilliant, just as beautiful as you, although i do think you are a little bit more beautiful'' i could feel myself tearing up and willed myself to remain stoic. i had figured i was beautiful, especially when boys would tell me certain things during shadows and i ''excursions'' into town. blonde hair with piercing blue eyes toned build, and over the years, i had filled out just right in the feminine parts of my body. so i knew i was beautiful its just over the years i never had any occassion to showcase my beauty and here i was with the old man singing praises about my beauty and the tears wouldnt coperate with me i burst out sobbing and hugging the old man he whispered ''she would have been so so proud of the woman you have become'' i sobbed and responded ' i love you grandfather'' his response? ''she would have been so proud of the woman you have become when you are not out causing chaos'' i sighed still sobbing looking into his tired blue eyes and said ''you are mean old man but you are my mean old man and i love you all the same. come on, it's dark out. Let's go get me my first taste of alcohol'' ''dont be a shite you think i don't know about you and Tin sneaking out over the years? you think i dont know what you both do in town when you think I am asleep? he said, laughing. i looked at him wondering ''why didnt you say anything? why did you let us think we were getting away with it? He held my gaze and said ''you needed to be kids, and also you won't always be kids"