What Just Happened?

So the day came, ugh, "playing" with the local children. More like babysitting. I was not looking forward to this at all. I had managed to push it off for another week by insisting that I was in the middle of a breakthrough in my experiments, she seemed like she was gonna cave and not make me socialize but instead it got worse. She accepted my request for more time before socializing and used that time to personally arrange for a play group.... Dammit. If I had just agreed maybe I could have endured for a bit and then slipped away from the other children to work alone but something told me that would no longer be an option. My mother had an amused gleam in her eyes for the last 4 days of my final experiment week and it made me very uneasy. She deffinitely arranged for some trouble to keep me occupied, or some weirdos, or both. I immediately regret my decision but whats done is done, time to suffer I guess.

We walked outside and down the path towards the town, our house was more like a small mansion and it sat just outside the town on a hill. It provided privacy for my mother which she valued and was very convenient for me but it also made me realize something. This being the first time I actually looked at it from the outside and it gave me a brief moment of pause. Are we perhaps rich? Huh. Come to think of it, mother doesn't leave for work but always has funds for food stuffs, nice clothes and jewelry. Apparently I have a rich mother, more things to discover about her past then. I feel her tug on my arm a bit as I have stopped on the path looking back at the house.

"It's a much bigger house than I thought it would be mother." She chuckled and looked at the house as well. A small sad smile creeping onto her face.

"It's a nice place. I thought a small and private home would be best for you to grow up in but I must say I do miss my closet space sometimes....." she trailed off and a pained look crossed her face, it seems that thoughts of her old home were a sore subject so I decided to shift the focus and get her mind away from them. I stored the new info that my mother was more than a little wealthy and smiled up at her as bright as I could, trying my hardest to keep the sour reluctance out of my face.

"Don't worry mother. One day I'll buy us a nice big house and have a HUGE closet for you, but that's for the future. Aren't we supposed to be on the way to meet up with these "playmates" of mine." I failed miserably and a grimace made its way onto my face and coloured my voice when I spoke of the "playmates" but I forced a smile back on and started to tug her down the lane. She smiled a bit brighter and walked beside me.

"I look forward to it. But on the subject of your new friends, me and their parents are all going to be getting together as well. So we can keep in contact and make sure that none of you are causing too much trouble. So behave and no funny business." She gave me a semi stern look and i avoided her gaze. So scaring the kids off with a small nightmare was off the table too. I sighed and resigned myself to his fate, whatever, might as well try and enjoy time as a kid again..... Nope, still dreading this.

We walked for another 10 minutes talking casually about various flowers and plants that we passed by until we entered town and started to come up to what looked like some sort of food establishment. Tables with canopies were arranged in front and beside the place and people would occasionally bring out trays of food and drink. It seemed like a nice place and it was situated on the edge of town so there was a sizable area that children could run around in. In fact there was currently 3 small children my age running around and laughing and squealing in intense high pitches as they played with seemingly endless energy. A feeling of foreboding came over me as I watched them, so this was my new group of friends. As if to confirm my feelings mother smiled at the children before approaching a table with several adults who were watching over the boisterous little demons.

When they saw us approaching almost all of them stood to wave us over, just one bent over and started talking to an anomaly at the table before also standing with a smile to welcome us. My attention was diverted from the adults that I was about to assess and instead focused on the anomaly that I had been to far to see earlier. A cute little girl, a DEMON hiding behind an innocent smile, TROUBLE ITSELF GIVEN SOME FLESH..... not that I knew any of that yet. She stood up like her mother but on the bench that she had been sitting on, and showed a smug look as she looked down towards me, gloating that she was higher than me..... SO CHILDISH!!!!! To think yourself superior just cause you stand higher. On a bench! Irritation flared up in me and I looked at the bench about to get up onto it only to realize that I would only match her in height if I stood on it. I heard a cute giggle and my eyes snapped back to her. OH MY GOD SHE WAS SO ANNOYING ALREADY!! HMPH, I'll show you! I smirked and climbed up on the bench, discreetly using tendrils under my feet to lift myself a fraction of an inch taller than her and smirked at her. HAHA. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she suddenly sat down before speaking in the cutest voice that would haunt me for years with a smug look.

"Its not polite to stand on your seat you know. Its also dangerous, you might fall and get hurt and that would be sad." She started smug and then she had a genuine look of worry on her face when she ended. IM SO CONFUSED?!?!?!?! One moment she was competing and smug in her taunts and the next she is sincere in her concern. The speed of the switch was a bit to fast for me to track and I was dazed for a moment only brought out of my confusion by my mother bursting into full blown laughter. I sat down a bit embarrassed, how in the world did I let this little girl rile me up so fast, I fell for the tricks of a tiny child. I looked back at the girl to see her smug look again. SO SHAMELESS!!!!! YOU WERE STANDING ON THE BENCH TOO!!!!! She immediately got under my skin again. Her mother tried to apologize but my own waved it away.

"It's alright Serra, all girls are a bit mischievous. Weren't we the same a few years ago? At least I know she'll keep Vic on his toes." My mother giggle to herself as she spoke and seemed to aggravate the other mother even more as she blushed furiously and flapped a hand as if trying to shoo away memories. Me and the little girl looked at our respective mothers and discovered that there was some history between them. Interesting.

"Those were dark times, so embarasing. Please we can reminisce another time... preferably when I can drink it away." Serra was beet red as she spoke and avoided the awkward or inquisitive looks from the other parents as the two had there own short little conversation. Trying to suppress any gossip material that my mother might leak out. My mother giggled again and changed the subject, bringing a small mercy to everyone.

"Vi'Cothol, this is Serra. She is an old friend of mine who I managed to reconnect with recently out here. This is her daughter, Anna. She 2 months younger than you so make sure you look after her wont you? Anna, Vic can be a little... well just make sure he gets along with the others."

"Don't worry Big Sis. I'll make sure he stays out of trouble and plays nice. Just leave it to me." She puffed up self importantly before cutely scampering over and pulling me off the bench and immediately leading me towards where the other kids were playing. I looked back at my mother as I was dragged away, a bewildered look on my face. What in the world just happened? My mother was covering her smile with a hand as she laughed at my predicament and Serra rubbed her forehead in embarrassment and started to engage the other adults present in a conversation in an attempt to gloss over the previous whirlwind of events that had essentially ignored them completely.

I tried to pull my arm out of Anna's grasp in vain, her grip was so strong I was baffled. Is she part gorilla? Why is she so strong? I am already far stronger than any child, almost at the strength of an average teen here but i could not even budge gorilla grip Anna.

"Stop trying to run away, I waited for you instead of playing with the others so you have to spend time with me now to make up for it ok! We can play tag later and you can run all you want, I'll just have to catch you again." A chill ran down my spine. What is this little monster? How did she reason that out? I didnt make you wait for me, I didnt even know you... I DONT KNOW YOU NOW. Everything happened so fast and so smoothly. Did they rehearse that? In fact how would they know I'd rise to the bait, also, WHY DID I RISE TO THE BAIT? Am I really so childish? My brain spun and I let myself get dragged over to the others. Maybe my body was affecting the way I think? That would explain things but it would also mean I needed to keep some things in check, its good I figured out now instead of later.

We made it to the other children and Anna let go of me before pointing out to the three other children. Eris, the only other girl. Brel and Ross, two boys that gave me the stink eye when we approached, apparently they were vying for group leader currently. After introductions Brel and Ross argued over what to play while Eris sat there muttering "Um" over and over, too shy to give her own opinion. Anna asked me what we should play and I blurted out the first thing to come to mind before wincing in realization.

"Why don't we just play tag?" I saw Anna in a wide smile as she nodded and voiced her approval of tag which prompted Eris to vote tag as well, the peer pressure and Anna's stare overwhelming her. Brel and Ross glared at me but outnumbered and also not unwilling to play tag agreed. They all stared at me for a second before I realized I had to pick who was it..... sigh. It was Anna's idea, she was the one to put it in my head just before, and she was the one to ask me rather than say what she wanted. Very smooth, I didnt care what we played or did and she knew it so asking me right after bringing up a game was nearly surefire to get the game you wanted. I shrugged with slight defeat.

"I'll be it first I guess" They took off almost before I had finished speaking, only Eris was a couple seconds late, a slight flash in her eyes and her grin right before she ran off startled me and sent tingle down my spine. Weird. I chased after them but tried to avoid chasing Anna, we played tag for close to an hour before the 3 other children started to become tired. I hate to admit it but it was kind of fun.. a waste of time... but fun. I had spaced out for a second while catching my breath and thinking things over and was rudely shaken from my thoughts by a tackle and a body landing on top of me. The boys had headed back earlier and only Anna and Eris had stayed to play at Anna's insistence. I pushed back the hair that had fallen into my face and looked up into the face of my tackler.

My words interrupted and shock multiplied immensely when she spoke. A look in her eyes of maturity and intelligence that didn't belong to a child. She leaned forward nearly lying on top of me to whisper in my ear. The feeling incredibly incongruous with how children should act.

"What is an Eldritch Scion?" She patted my chest twice with both hands like she was trying to brush off dirt before adding with her head cocked to the side and a peace sign held up with one hand

"Tell me next time M'kay?!" then she jumped off and ran back to the adults and other children.

Eris?!

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WHAT

THE

FUCK

JUST

HAPPENED