Sword and Snow

Emery

If Avuri and I learned anything as we adjusted to taking care of six kids, it was that it was one of the most paradoxical tasks we could think of. It was simultaneously exhausting and energizing, difficult and easy, time-consuming and quick. We had already learned most of that with just two girls running around, but with four more kids added on top, the dichotomies were just exaggerated further.

One day, everything would go perfectly. Everyone was happy all day, all the chores got done, meals were great, and there were smiles all around. The next day could go the exact opposite; someone would get hurt and we'd need to treat a small injury or cut, but there would be a cascade effect that put everyone on an emotional edge, and suddenly all the kids would be upset by something, which would snowball into getting very little done.

Even so, I couldn't help but feel like life as a whole was pretty amazing. Generally, the good days far outnumbered the bad, and even when we were buried up to our ears in things to do, it was usually the rewarding work of parenting.

The second thing Avuri and I learned was that, if we didn't work at it, we'd barely have any time for ourselves as a couple.

We didn't really notice it too much at first, because we still saw each other all day long. We were still regularly setting time aside to talk to one another about our feelings and emotions, of course, and having that time set aside for just us while the kids napped blinded us to the effect for a while.

But the truth was, we hadn't been setting time aside to actually be a couple. Our talks were great, and we were both being supportive of the other, but that emotional connection was very different from the connection that came from just spending quality time together. And while it took a little bit of time to start showing cracks, the lack of time to just be together was definitely leaving its mark.

The worst part was, it wasn't anyone's fault, it was simply borne of the situation we were in. Two parents for six kids left us both constantly doing one thing or another, especially when we essentially lived on a farm. Then at night, our entire family slept in one room together. Even on the nights when Avuri and I didn't really spend much time sleeping, it was devoted to Cultivation instead.

And while we were still Cultivating together, it was still similar to our daily talks. We had a purpose in what we were doing, so while we were together - even deeply connected emotionally and spiritually throughout the process - it wasn't the same as just spending time with one another.

By the time a few weeks had gone by, I was feeling restless and even somewhat lonely, but couldn't exactly figure out why. I was with my beloved family literally all day long, and Avuri was never far away. I just couldn't figure out what, exactly, was missing.

Avuri was the one that finally managed to put it together. During one of our daily talks, she mentioned that she was feeling lonely lately, and we ended up having a longer conversation about why. Eventually, it brought us to what we believed to be the culprit: we were too focused on getting things done and didn't make time for us.

So we decided to remedy that. The next day I set up an Array in our bedroom that would send out a pulse of Qi and explained how to use it to Cierra. I set it up with an unaspected crystal of Qi, but left the crystal's setting disconnected from the Array. All Cierra would have to do is connect the two parts, which we knew she could do, and the Array would be easily noticeable just about anywhere within the Basin.

With that set up, we told the children that Avuri and I would be around if they needed us, but we had something to do while they were sleeping at night. Almost everyone was regularly sleeping through, so it didn't seem likely that they would need us, but if they did, they'd just need to wake up Cierra and she could call us back with the Array.

It took a little convincing of Briar and Karn, who probably only half understood, but they accepted it. That night, the entire family went to bed as normal, but once the kids were asleep, Avuri and I slipped out of the room quietly.

For the first attempt at taking back some of our time, we didn't want to go too far, just in case, so we simply settled on the second floor. I retrieved two cups from the kitchen while Avuri hunted down the bottle of spiritual wine that we had gotten as a wedding gift but never drank. It was supposed to be both tasty and quite heady, but neither of us thought a single cup would affect us too badly.

I was waiting at the table by the time Avuri found the long forgotten bottle. She held it up as she emerged from the darkness of the pantry with a silly grin. "Apparently, we put it on the top shelf in the corner behind the old bread crates. To keep it out of grabby hands?"

I snickered. "I would guess so? Or someone else did. It could've been Vale or Talya."

"True…" Avuri said as she popped the seal on the bottle with her Qi. As I watched her break the seal on it before pulling the cork out with her fingers, something clicked and I laughed. Avuri's head snapped over to me, confused, and she stopped moving as if she had done something wrong.

"Sorry, sorry." I said, then pointed to the bottle. "Why did we bother hiding that if there was a Qi seal on it? The kids were never gonna get in there."

Avuri blinked at the bottle as she resumed what she was doing, pouring out two cups of the wine. The smell immediately suffused the room. It was absolutely a plum wine. "That's a good point."

"I suppose we'll need to keep it up in that back corner now, though."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Or…" Avuri said and vanished the bottle to her storage ring. "I can hold onto it for tomorrow night."

"That you could." I said, as I picked up the cup. "Now then, as much as I appreciate sitting at the table to drink, I'm definitely feeling the couch."

Avuri swept up her cup to follow my lead. "No complaints here."

I wedged myself into the corner of our couch. Like much of the other furniture in the house, we had modified the couch to be a bit larger to accommodate more of us at once. The seat cushions were deep, making it easy to put your feet up, or have the whole family cuddled onto the cushions when playing simple games.

It also meant that when I shoved myself into the corner of the couch, there was more than enough space for Avuri to basically lay down, splayed out across the couch and me. Despite being the taller of the two of us, she still fit comfortably up against me, slouched down just enough that our heads were about equal in height.

I slid an arm around her waist, my hand resting easily on her stomach. If it wasn't for both of us holding cups of wine, I probably would have pulled her more fully into my lap, but as it was I needed to let her remain mostly upright to drink. Instead, she wiggled a bit against me to settle in and I leaned my cheek against her head.

We both took a sip of the wine at the same time, and it burned in a way I didn't expect. It had been a while since I had anything fortified enough to really affect a Cultivator, and wasn't prepared for the heat that I felt in the back of my throat. The burn receded to a pleasant warmth as it traveled down though. And I could see a similar journey taking place on Avuri's face.

Neither of us took a second sip, just content for the time being to sit together quietly, without anything else driving the interaction like had been the case for almost every moment over the last few months.

While the wine was really quite delicious, I barely even sipped at it. All I wanted to do was squeeze Avuri against me and bury my head in her shoulder. The feeling seemed pretty mutual, too, when Avuri spent the first several minutes just periodically trying to burrow deeper into me.

I thought it was amazing how quickly the odd feeling of loneliness that had slowly been permeating me over the last two months just evaporated away. Just sitting there together made it feel like a huge invisible weight had been lifted from my entire body.

Avuri took a second sip of her wine, then set the cup down on the small side table. I followed suit, in no rush to finish the drink. We had all night if we wanted it.

"How is it that we've been together so much over the last few days, but spending a half hour just snuggled up like this feels so entirely different?" Avuri asked as she turned to lay on my chest.

I smiled, running fingers through her loose hair. "I don't know. But I'm beginning to think we'll need to take more time like this."

Avuri nodded against me, her eyes closed in comfort. "We should. Even if it's just for a bit."

We lapsed back into a comfortable silence, just enjoying the contact. There were several moments where I was sure Avuri had fallen asleep, though only on the surface. When I eventually leaned over to grab the wine again, Avuri sat up to grab her own cup.

"Now I'm cold…" I whined, hoping Avuri would return to her spot.

She just chuckled instead. "We can cuddle again in a bit. I wanted a bit more wine, and don't want to spill it on your lovely white gown."

"Eh. It could probably do with a little more color." I joked.

Avuri rolled her eyes. "I'll return, don't you worry. Laying on you is far too comfortable to pass up when you offer."

"As if you need to wait for me to offer."

"Apparently, not only do I need to wait for you to offer, I need to go out of my way to schedule it these days." Avuri joked back. It fell flat, though, and we both sighed.

"Who would've thought we'd need to work so hard to just be…us." I said, taking a longer swig of the wine. It really did taste good.

"We've been warned over and over again that parenting would be hard, but I guess Cierra and Stena spoiled us?"

"Or being Cultivators made up the difference when there were only two girls running around."

"Could be."

"Either way, it looks like we're going to need to be very conscious about making time for ourselves."

Avuri nodded in agreement while sipping her wine. "Surely that won't be too hard." Her voice came out teasing, light, and playful. "Six kids to take care of? A farm to work? Occasional day trips to the city for supplies?" She paused for another sip of wine while I chuckled at her listing 'problems'. "Seems easy for the two of us, don't you think?"

I rolled my eyes, sipped at my wine, then very deliberately placed the half empty cup back on the table. "When you put it that way, it sounds impossible, doesn't it?"

Something in my tone must have tipped Avuri off to my plans, because she took one more sip then placed her cup down as well, watching me carefully.

"But, my love, you're forgetting a couple very key details." I shifted in my corner, once again making space for Avuri to lay with me. "First, we're Cultivators." I flashed her a quick smile, "That makes everything easier."

Avuri took her turn to roll her eyes at me as she moved to lay on top of me again. Instead of allowing it like I had previously, I used a little Qi for a quick burst of energy, flipping her around so I could pin her underneath me on the cushions. "Second," I said, my face hovering just above hers, "we're Cultivators. We don't need to sleep like the kids do."

I had expected some kind of inviting expression to overtake Avuri's face as she got my entirely obvious meaning. Instead, she met my sudden attack with her own, as she knocked my arms wide, causing me to fall on top of her. Instead of the thump of sudden impact, I was met with a warm embrace and kiss.

It was a short one, but Avuri held me in place even when we parted so I could see the wolfish grin on her face. "Well, then, we had better find something to do for the next…six hours."

"I can imagine a few options."

"Just a few?"

"Shut up."

"Come here, you."