The First Year

"She's finally calmed down…"

Wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, the nervousness on Albert's face finally slowly subsided. Although his wife had repeatedly assured him that there was nothing for him to worry about, because childbirth wouldn't place too much of a burden on her, he had still been on tenterhooks during the entire process. After all, even if his wife would most certainly be fine, couldn't something potentially happen to his daughter?

Fortunately, nothing dangerous had occurred. He had even gotten very surprised due to how quickly and easily the entire birth had proceeded.

'Sure enough, Spirits really can't be compared to regular humans at all.'

Placing his hand on his wife's shoulder, he chuckled to himself. Common sense didn't apply to this situation at all - which was no wonder, because this was the first time a human and a Spirit had successfully produced offspring. Or at least, neither of them had ever heard of another instance like this one. They had been both shocked speechless and over the moon when they had found out that Aria was pregnant!

Hints of exhaustion on her slightly pale face, the mother looked up at her husband and smiled brightly, a gentle breeze playing around the two of them as well as their newborn daughter, as if celebrating the occasion.

"Now that I can look a bit closer because she's staying still, doesn't she resemble you far more than she does me?"

His voice barely louder than a whisper, Albert curiously sized up his daughter, jokingly making an observation.

Ais - that was what they had decided to call their child if it turned out to be female. Even though she had only been born less than an hour ago, the fragile baby did already appear a little different from normal newborns. While other infants mostly evoked the image of a lumpy flesh potato in any unbiased observer's eyes, Ais seemed as if she was already a few weeks, maybe even a month old. The general features of her face could very easily be made out.

The positions of her cheekbones as well as her nose were identical to those of her mother. Later in life, taking her golden eyes and hair into consideration as well, at a cursory glance, she might almost appear like a replica of her mother.

Rolling her eyes, Aria smiled at her husband playfully.

"Are you jealous?"

Exaggeratedly raising his hands in defeat, Albert shook his head in overplayed panic.

"I wouldn't dare! On the contrary, I'm very happy that our Ais will grow up to be as devastatingly beautiful as you, my dear. If she had taken after me, instead… Well, I'm not exactly a stunner."

Giggling amusedly at his act, Aria rolled her eyes some more before gazing at the new life cradled in her arms again. All of a sudden, her eyebrows rose, her smile turning more motherly and sweet.

"It appears that we woke her up. I hope she won't make a ruckus like before…"

Ais' eyelids had already opened, but she had been busy blinking for a while, trying to adjust to the unfamiliar, unpleasant radiance of the world around her. Wrapped inside a warm cloth, her field of view turned progressively clearer until the two people close to her could properly be made out.

The woman holding her in her arms looked to be in her mid twenties. She had long, golden hair that flowed all the way to her waist, as well as eyes of a similar golden colour that stared at her with love overflowing from them. All things considered, the shape of her white nightdress-clad physical body was as close to perfect as mere mortals could ever imagine, even though she was only slightly above averagely endowed in the milk dispenser department. Her face was absolutely breathtaking, to the extent that even the newborn Ais felt mesmerized and calm when she looked at it.

As for the man sitting at the edge of the bed, right next to the woman, he was maybe half a head or so taller than Aria and appeared to be in his early to mid twenties. He had slightly long, a bit unkempt black hair that barely reached his shoulders in some places, as well as grey-blue eyes with very tiny yellowish patterns within them, reminiscent of a lightning storm.

Although his general looks couldn't compare to his wife's, he was definitely still considered extremely handsome, with a touch of elegance to it. Most of his lean body was covered by a simple green shirt and comfortable black pants, but the bits of it that were exposed - chiefly, his forearms - were extremely muscular. Apparently, there was almost no superfluous gram of fat on his body, but he also hadn't put on a ridiculous volume of muscles. Rather, it felt as if they had all been compressed into the form most optimal for him.

"Hey there, little Ais. Now that I've got the chance, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm your father, Albert Wallenstein! And that's your mother, Aria Wallenstein. You're safe with us. We'll take care of you!"

The newborn Ais had no clue whatsoever what the noises that her father was making were supposed to convey, but she could somewhat discern that he exuded a comforting, loving aura. Looking back and forth between the two adults, she uttered an indiscernible sound that had no meaning at all and closed her eyes again, falling into a deep slumber. Of course, she didn't yet know what 'feeling safe' was, but it was what she currently experienced.

"I'd like to introduce myself? Seriously?"

After she was certain that her daughter's mind had drifted off into the realm of dreams, Aria whispered into her husband's ear, caught somewhere between exasperation and a suppressed laughing fit.

Scratching the back of his head shyly, Albert shrunk back and looked away from her, focusing on Ais' legitimately adorable sleeping face instead.

"... it was the first thing that came to mind. I couldn't help it, I was nervous! That's the first time I ever had a conversation with my daughter, after all!!"

The corners of Aria's mouth twitched a little as she listened to his excuse.

"You can charge into hordes of monsters without blinking an eye, but in front of an infant, you instantly lose your cool?"

After pausing for the intended dramatic effect to settle in, she continued speaking before her husband could come up with a response.

"That part of you is why I fell in love with you."

Blushing up to his ears at the sudden lovey-dovey words, Albert gazed deep into Aria's eyes and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

-----

From within her bassinet, the barely a month old Ais could hear her parents talking in the living room, because they hadn't closed the door. Of course, she couldn't understand anything that they were saying at all, but her young mind was eagerly picking up all the information that she could come across during her waking hours.

"Do you really have to go already?"

Aria's voice was practically dripping with worry as she held her husband's hands, clutching them a bit tightly.

"I don't want to at all. But they need me at the frontlines. A monster wave is about to arrive at the Abyss' entrance again…"

Despite her pleading gaze, Albert shook his head sternly. They had agreed that he would spend all of his time with them during their daughter's first year of life, that he would put his monster slaying and exploration-related work on hold until then. But sometimes, the world just didn't play along.

"You know that I hate it when I can't support you in battle."

Knowing very well that she would bring up this topic, Albert responded resolutely, staying as calm as possible while he spoke.

"Fiore will be with me, so I'm not without a Spirit's powers. I know you two aren't on the best of terms, but you have to admit that she's very competent. She wouldn't allow me to put myself in excessive danger either."

Despite hearing the name of the woman who she had viewed as her rival for the longest time, Aria didn't react with any hostility.

"I know. Both she and I would never forgive ourselves if you died."

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, before staring straight at Albert with an unwavering gaze.

"Promise me that you'll be careful and come back in one piece, alright?"

Wrapping her into a strong hug, Albert nodded and held her slightly trembling body close.

"I promise."

When he finally left about an hour later, Aria held the very young Ais in her arms and bade farewell to him outside of their front door.

She couldn't just leave their daughter alone and follow her husband into the heat of battle. Even if she could find some trustworthy people that could look after Ais, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she didn't stay at her side for as long as possible during this formative period. As the child of a Spirit, the first of her kind that Aria had ever heard of, Ais could theoretically encounter troubles that would be unresolvable by anyone but her. Of course, such a scenario was extremely unlikely, but she didn't want to risk anything when it came to her daughter.

Sensing that her mother was a bit distraught, the very young Ais reached out with her tiny hand and touched her parent's arm, uttering something akin to an encouraging chuckle.

Instantly, Aria's heart got overwhelmed by her daughter's cuteness, causing a loving smile to blossom on her lips as usual. With Ais to occupy her every moment, she wouldn't have much opportunity to get caught up in her worries.

As if she had realized that her mother was now feeling better, Ais' gaze wandered to Aria's chest, an excited but demanding sound escaping her mouth, her eyes practically sparkling.

"So that's what you were really after. You were hungry!"

Laughing joyfully, Aria walked back into the homely cabin next to a small grove halfway up the easternmost peak of the Alv Mountains, letting her eager daughter suckle to her heart's content.

-----

Only a little over a month and a half later, before Albert could return back home, the very young Ais already began to crawl around the house under her mother's careful supervision. Even though her body didn't outwardly appear to age at an accelerated rate, she most certainly developed faster than regular babies.

Another half a month passed by before she tried to pull herself up and walk, but she constantly failed, no matter how hard she tried to emulate her mother's effortless gait. A few times when she fell down, despite having been caught by a tender gust of wind, Ais cried, but she didn't let her failures get the better of her. A fire had been lit somewhere within her - she wanted to walk!

It took two weeks until she finally managed to march for a few meters without her parents' support. Her father had returned nine days ago, completely unharmed, and had now become teary-eyed at her accomplishment, just like her mother. He felt very guilty about having left for so long, but promised himself to make it up to his daughter as best as he could.

"Mamma! Mama!!"

Overcome with joy at her monumental feat, the very young Ais made her way over to Aria while speaking her first word, astonishing the married couple.

"Yes, Mama is here! I'm so proud of you, Ais."

Picking her daughter up from the ground just as she had requested, Aria nuzzled against Ais' cheek, about to break into tears of happiness. Wasn't her daughter amazing?!

Filled with just as much pride as his wife was, Albert gently hugged the both of them, adoration plastered all over his face. He wasn't surprised that Aria had the honour of having been the one whose 'title' had been spoken first - after all, he had been missing from his daughter's life for a considerable time.

Right as he was starting to feel a little down in the dumps, but had yet to let it show, the not even three and a half months old Ais stopped giggling and looked over at him with a bright grin.

"Dada!"

Moments after she had expertly shown off the fruits of her painstaking efforts to her parents, she was being cuddled and showered with kisses from all sides, causing her to frown. Even though she instinctively and from experience knew that these were gestures of affection as well as care, too much was too much.

Noticing her growing pout, Albert and Aria toned it down a notch, clearly embarrassed.

-----

A quarter of a year later, in the middle of November, the about half a year old Ais was steadily walking alongside her parents, exploring the grove that was located very close to their home.

Her golden hair had grown all the way down to her shoulders and she was about twenty centimeters taller than at the time of her birth. Currently, she was clad in a small, warm red dress that her mother had made herself. It wasn't the most exquisite work of art out there, but it did the job and looked sufficiently cute to make Ais appear like a small, delicate doll.

"Wots dis?"

Her words still not perfectly pronounced, she pointed at a small green lizard, maybe ten centimeters in length, that was hiding amongst the bushes. Her eyesight could be considered to be exceptional, because this reptile had blended in quite well with its similarly-coloured surroundings, to the point that it didn't bother to move even though three towering humanoid creatures were only a meter or so away.

"That's a 'lizard'. Li - zard."

Holding her hand whilst walking next to her, bent down quite extensively to properly accompany her, Albert patiently answered all of her questions, having already grown accustomed to doing so. Seeing her behave in a manner so curious about everything filled him with extreme delight.

"Lizadd."

Muttering this new word to herself with an earnest expression on her face, Ais wanted to reach out to poke the odd being with her finger, but the moment that she got too close, it ran away in a panic.

"Bad lizadd!"

Pouting annoyedly, she had to give up on playing with the small reptile. Of course, she had been cautioned by her parents about dangerous animals and plants before, so she would only try to come into contact with them if her parents didn't attach any warnings to their words when they explained what she was seeing. She had learned a painful lesson before when she had ignored their words of caution and touched a thorny vine. Her little hand still throbbed with pain whenever she recalled that incident.

"Now, now. It's not a bad lizard, it's simply afraid of you! You're so much bigger than it is, so of course it will run away. How would you feel if a being that's five or more times bigger than you are was to approach you?"

Deep in thought after hearing her father's explanation, Ais eventually nodded, her expression more serious than ever, almost to the point of eliciting chuckles from her parents.

"Undastand. Verri scarri."

Just like that, for the entire afternoon, the family of three explored the grove, only returning back home once Ais' admittedly outstanding stamina was finally depleted.

-----

During the past two weeks or so, it had gotten progressively colder, to the point that now, at the beginning of December, the average temperatures were already hovering around the freezing point.

Wrapped in the most comfortable blanket that she had on hand, Ais was eating spoonful after spoonful of warm soup. Initially, she had been highly displeased about not getting any more milk from her mother, but it had only taken a single light but proper meal for her to never look back on those teat-suckling days ever again!

For a while now, she had been working her hardest to get better at using cutlery, and two days ago, she had finally managed to eat her entire meal without making a mess! Today wasn't any different.

Later that evening, before falling asleep, she asked her mother the question that had been on her mind all day long.

"Mama, why is it so cold?"

Holding her hand gently, allowing her daughter to play with her fingers to her liking, Aria gave a simple explanation - anything more than that would have been a bit too tough for Ais to comprehend.

"Because winter is coming. In winter, it is cold. But winter will end, and spring will arrive. Then, it'll grow warmer again."

Nodding to show that she understood, Ais muttered to herself, in an effort to properly engrave the two new words into her memory.

"Winta. Spring. Winter. Spring. Winter. Spring!"

Before she knew it, sometime during her season-flavoured monologue, she had already dozed off. A goodnight kiss was planted on her forehead, causing her to giggle a little, then Aria carefully moved away from Ais' crib, manipulating the wind around her in an effort to make her steps even more stealthy so as to not disturb her daughter's rest.

-----

Sniffling and wiping away her tears as well as snot, the almost eleven months old Ais looked at her father who was now clad in a grey light metal armour and had a maroon-coloured scarf wrapped around his neck. A longsword had been fastened to his belt and he was carrying a huge backpack with him that had been stuffed to the brim with various items that would support him in his efforts.

"And you promise to be back for my birthday, no matter what?"

Not wanting to let her father go at all, but aware that she couldn't keep him here because he was needed 'at work' no matter what, she clenched her fists and wanted to hear him reassure her one more time, even though he had already been doing that for more than a week.

"Yes. I will be back as soon as possible, and no matter what situation I encounter, I'll rush back for your birthday, so that we can celebrate it together!"

Kneeling in front of her and having gently grasped her shoulders with his hands, Albert gave a firm nod, his facial expression free of any doubt or uncertainty. Planting another kiss on his daughter's cheek, he finally disappeared into the distance, leaving behind a sobbing Ais who had to be comforted by her mother for hours on end. Because she was so caught up in caring for her, Aria, just like last time, didn't even have the spare time to grow all too worried herself.

This first real farewell from her father was a difficult one for young Ais. But it was only the first of many. As she grew older, her father would have to leave more and more often. Eventually, she would grow to understand why and to accept it, but at this point in time, she was still very far from that level of mental maturity.

As luck would have it, her first birthday wasn't fated to be a sorrowful one - her father managed to return more than a week early! Just like last time, he was completely unscathed, causing Aria to heave more than just a single sigh of relief.

Surrounded by her loving parents, young Ais' second year of life kicked off smoothly.