145 Initiation, Adoption

Al and Ed were chewing the chunks of their meal at a bothersome and erratic pace. Their faces were stern, too stern for soup. Trisha would lose confidence in her cooking if they weren't eating so fast. Hohen and Trisha gave each other a confused look before shrugging as Hohen took the first jab.

Or at least he intended to. Really, it was Ed.

"You saw him too, right Dad? Back then... What do you think of Truth?" He didn't look up from his meal.

"Hmm... Truth, huh?" Hohen let the flashbacks flow through him. An eye the size of the moon opened beneath his nation, and he was in its pupil. Within that eye, he was swallowed and thrown through his own past till the present, squeezed inside out and wrung through all his understandings of Alchemy as he exited his own Gate to meet the white figure: Truth. Truth said nothing to him, only smiled and allowed him to pass as if he had paid a toll. He was brought through Truth's own gate as people he never knew paid the toll for him. He woke up with hundreds, thousands of screaming voices infused into him and transforming him into something less and more than human.

He researched for a long time about how to remove all these souls without dying, but could only find one that would destroy himself as well. The same one Yuri used on Envy. And much of him was willing to do it. Over time, he discovered the Dwarf's next ploy and cast aside thoughts of suicide to rectify what was done. Only very recently in his history did the possibility of family enter his life. He wanted to keep it. He wanted to stay.

"I wish Truth wouldn't have let Xerxes die. When I met it, it didn't seem to care. But it isn't human, and it never will be. We don't know what metric it uses to judge us or acts of transmutation, in fact, we aren't in the right league to act upon it. Only question. Maybe Truth wants to leave the responsibility of man's sins to man and only needs to step in when we try to be god. Who knows."

Trisha was entirely out of her range for this conversation, so she silently sat it out while Al silently sat in and listened.

"He seems so entirely selfish. Somebody who watches unempathetically at a world he can change for the better, but only makes sure nobody dares take his place."

"Take his place, huh..." Hohen mused. That was entirely was the Dwarf was trying to do. In fact, they were quite similar. Probably because the Dwarf was reportedly made from a piece of Truth himself. But would the Dwarf succeed in doing so even without his interference? Or is everything in his hands? "At any rate, it's no use analyzing things we can't control or understand."

Ed didn't like that kind of dismissal of the topic, but he knew Hohen just wanted to look out for them and not let them fall into trouble.

'Sure would like to show him what the real Truth should look like. Life isn't sacred, but tampering with another's life is sacrilege. At least, it should be. Any leader should understand that power is a privilege and their duty should be above their interests.'

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Nina woke up in the most comfortable and softest bed she had ever experienced, not an ounce of tension in her body despite her previous night. She jolted up with a start, her pigtails undone and her hair unkempt was tossed in a flurry. For a split second, she wanted it all to have been a dream, no, a horrible nightmare. A quick scan of the room cast aside most of those hopes.

It was a large room, with a vaulted ceiling and a giant window letting in soft yellow light from a great big view to match. Her bed was sitting horizontally, taking up only the width of the California king. Beside the bed, two nightstands of beautiful dark wood stood, one scattered with metal trinkets and the other with books, both donned with unique and hand-sculpted lamps of a man and two women.

Nina laid back down and sighed. Alexander was on her legs, he got up and nuzzled close to her and licked her face as she regained the energy to cry again. For over an hour and a half, Nina gave out weak cries and drifted in and out of sleep while Alexander kept her company. Yuri reminded Toni and Ally to give her space and let her come out on her own, they kept the meal warm.

Nina finally got out of bed but teetered from exiting the room and making everything real. It felt like everything was fine here; nothing would move forward and she wouldn't have to either. She went to the nightstand with the male lamp and the books, investigating the titles on their bindings and covers.

"'Stepdad: How to Step Up', 'First Guide to Fatherhood', 'How to Raise a Confident Kid', 'Dealing with Daughters: What Every Father Must Know'..? They must be expecting," Nina assumed. She had only barely remembered the details of the people who saved her and picked her up, but they looked a lot like the lamps.

*GRRRRRRRRNNNNNGGGNGNGNGNGNGNGN* Nina's stomach growled, inevitably forcing her to leave the room. She opened the door, much lighter than it looked, and an appetizing smell drew her to the left down a hallway. A long hallway.

The air seemed fresh here. The air in her old house smelled and felt stale everywhere after her mom died. She had gotten so used to it that she forgot, and mostly enjoyed the outdoors whenever possible. But the air here drew a stark contrast and reminded her.

It wasn't long before she found the dining table and a chair set perfectly between the two women who held her yesterday while the man sat across. She stood in the doorway and hesitated to enter the dining room. Toni and Ally looked back at her with enough love to burst open the average heart fatally.

Ally's blonde hair weaved in a french braid that tressed around the nape of her neck caught the sunlight and seemed to reflect it vividly. Toni's loose waterfall that brushed the sides of her face captured it and wouldn't let it go, the individual hairs barely visible. "We won't bite, sweetie! Come and eat, we know you're hungry," From any other but the impossibly silky and tempting voice of Ally, this would've seemed like a temptation to battle.

One foot in front of the other, she walked at half-pace and made her way over. Smooth hands took hers from either side and she was brought up to the chair. "Theeeere we go!" Toni cooed and she was met with a warm and steaming plate of ham and seasoned eggs with cheese, a bowl of strawberries and blueberries, and a cup of OJ.

Across from her, Yuri smiled lightly before reaching for his utensils and starting on his own meal and the ladies did the same.

"How was your rest? I'm sure you're hungry," Yuri started.

"Mmm... good," A few bites had started to warm up her stomach and chest and flood her with energy. Her eyes were popping with wonder with every lift of her fork. Yuri smiled in success.

There are certain ways to enrich food for people like the Nightingales, but they can only do so much for them at their level. So Yuri has also gone out of his way to purchase new pups, eggs, and seeds for his world to increase the variety of wild and plant life that makes it onto his table. The ham isn't typical boar, the creature that would've hatched from those eggs could cull entire cities. The strawberries... are regular strawberries.

One serious benefit of Toni snooping around in Nina's head. She found her favorite breakfast, her favorite colors, her personality index, and the new fact that she was uncomfortable with Alchemy.

'Speaking of which, how is our new resident of Avalon?'

'Did you call those things Varsic Ants? They are treating him well in the pit. Glad our Daedric Realm acts as an afterlife conduit as well or we would've lost him 18 times over already. His innards are now their incubators and first brood meals, I have him attached to a regeneration tube and his pain receptors are being suspended to not fall off.'

'You didn't need to give me all the details, I'm eating you know?'

'Haha, sooooorryyyy'

'Did Ally take her piece?'

'She poured melted bronze down his throat and into his eyes, then pried it off with his face. She didn't have the stomach for much more, only a few hours of tool work. But she was professional if I do say so myself.'

'Well, when you're done put him in the Stone Memorial Curse and leave him in that opening on the Southwest Balcony.'

The Stone Memorial Curse. Yuri made this one himself, technically, but was inspired by multiple other mentions of it being used as an alternative to burying a society's most heinous criminals. Victims of this curse will turn to stone in every facet of their existence, appearing as a statue yet fully capable of seeing and hearing everything they usually could and being completely unable to move, breathe, or die. Casters or governments usually put placards of their misdeeds as examples to let the victim hear their name cursed for the rest of their days.

'Gonna let her do the final honors?'

'When she's ready.'

'And you're not gonna have a piece?'

'I think our methods have extended from justice to enjoyment and sadism at this point. I won't say he should be pardoned or stop you or anything, but for the torture and death of two people and a few dozen animals he has already paid enough and I won't take joy in beating him in excess any further. If he abused his daughter, it would be a different story though. Besides, I trust you'll handle my part for me too.'

'Suit yourself.'

Nina patted her belly after polishing off her heavenly kid's meal. A cute little burp escaped her and she covered her mouth before saying excuse me.

"So uh... where am I?" Nina finally asked.

Yuri snapped and the dishes vanished, arriving in the kitchen with a small clank. Yuri used ESP to transport them and would approach Alchemy softly around her till she recovers. "You're at our home. My name is Yuri Nightingale, and these are my partners, Toni and Ally," Yuri introduced softly. "We're in Resembool which is quite a ways from Central near the southern outskirts."

"Oh, I've heard of Resembool! The Earth and Sky Alchemist brothers are from here!" Nina's response was reflexive but she lost focus and joy at the word 'Alchemist'.

"Well, those brothers actually came with us that night. You met them, Ed and Al."

Nina gasped. "That was them?! Which one... which one almost hit my da- father?"

"Haha, that was Ed. He was very mad for your sake."

"I..." Nina was conflicted, feeling vindictive and hurt, and extremely sad but not wanting to see her father for just that one mistake. Or two... 'But I wanted him to hit him...' She thought guiltily. To the side, Toni smiled.

"Your father won't be seen again unless you want to. We can't let him roam free after the crimes he committed with Alchemy."

Nina put her head down. "Mmm..." She acknowledged, and sniffled before putting her head down to hide her tears again.

"You were out for two days, and during that time we verified that you have no extended relatives to take you in," Yuri started off.

Nina raised her head again. She was in a stranger's house for two days? Moreover, they seem like such nice people. What was going to happen to her? She didn't want to get adopted by somebody she didn't know, she didn't want to move anywhere or not know what was going to happen.

"Nina, we want to propose something to you, and I hope you'll consider it," Toni reached out and held her right hand, Ally did the same and clasped her left. Yuri reached forward with both hands, forming a triangle between them. "Nina, will you let us take care of you? For as long as you want or need to?" Yuri looked at her straight and Nina held his gaze for a moment before her mouth quivered and she started bawling. She leaned her head down and buried it in the table.

"Nina, what's wrong?" Ally pet her hair back and Toni rubbed her back.

"*Sniff*, I don't want to be a burden to yooouuuu...."

"Don't be sillyyyy!" Ally soothed. "You aren't a burden!"

"But... you're pregnant!"

Toni and Ally's faces got awkward before they shot accusatory glances at Yuri.

"What? I'm not the pregnant one."

"Those books in your nightstand gave her the wrong idea, dumba- dummy!"

Yuri laughed to himself. "Nina, we aren't expecting. I got those books in case you said yes."

Nina frowned and raised her head. She was the kid they were expecting? He was preparing for her? She had never seen her da- father reading one of those books for her or mommy... Did they really-?

"Do you rea- really... want me...?"

Toni and Ally couldn't hold back, they were clasping her tightly and forming a cocoon to let the message sink in. "We want you forever and ever, Nina! We don't want you to go!"

"Haha, as you can see, Nina, we really think it would be best for all of us if you would choose to stay."

For once, Yuri was not as calm as his face was letting on. He didn't think his first kid would be an adoption, and he didn't think it would be Nina fucking Tucker of all people, but the cards life hands you should be taken in stride. He liked what character he saw from her, she was very considerate of her surroundings and didn't have an evil or selfish bone in her body. She definitely deserved the world, and even if she turned out extremely normal he would at least make sure she lived as long and as happy as she wanted and deserved.

'First kid in the family, Yuri... *phew*, make it count. You can do this.'

Nina didn't leap into anyone's arms or cry out with joy, angels didn't single and bells didn't chime. She just nodded slightly and kept sobbing as she was surrounded loosely by her new parental figures.

It would only be days of relaxation and slow-paced bonding time before Yuri brought up something he wanted to get done with her as soon as possible.

"Hey, Nina?" Yuri called out to her as she sat on the couch in front of their television. It ran on Yuri's perfect recall since their radio waves weren't that complex yet. Ghibli movies and some old Cartoon Network were what he was letting her watch, for now, One Piece would be her graduation into more mature topics.

"Yeah?" Nina responded with a bit more oomph than she exhibited a few days ago. Alexander raised his head regally as if acting as her proxy. Toni and Ally heard Yuri's call for them mentally and made their way over.

"We as a family share a certain mark that I want to give you. It won't hurt, and it isn't permanent." Yuri said before raising the back of his hand. The Gold Nightingale flapped its wings and esoteric script wrapped it in a fluid set of motions. The ladies joined him with red and blue before they held hands and made a royal purple.

"That's so cool! I want pink!" Indeed, pink was her favorite color.

"Haha, you'll be able to change the color whenever you want."

Before long, Nina Nightingale had her own Sigil and would slowly get used to how it works. Most importantly, the emergency functions. She would be playing hide and seek while whispering into the communication function for the next few days.

"Can Alexander have one too?"