18

Chowing down on the Challanger I had to take a few moments between bites to infuse it with magic; otherwise, it would drop right through me.

Komainu, on the other hand, was chowing down, and I had to give her a sharp look a few times to ensure she ate at a humanish level instead of the black hole that could act as her mouth.

The Challanger was good, and there was no denying it. While it was the decent greasy mess of food that I hated back when I was mortal, now I could eat the entire thing and not feel sick.

By the time twenty minutes were up, we had a small crowd and empty trays. Komainu had finished a few minutes before me and was currently doing a little sitting-down dance to celebrate.

A white man with a slight paunch and a mostly bald head with what remained stringy and collected out of the way approached us broad grin on his face and camera in hand.

"Wonderful! Wonderful!" He cried before reaching out to shake our hands in rapid succession.

"May I take your picture, and what are your names?" He asked, holding up the camera.

Hosting Komainu on my back, both of us grinned as the camera flashed twice. As he retrieved the pictures, I responded to his question.

"My name is Aidan, and the little one is Komainu" At the response, he gave a full belly chuckle before pinning up the pictures on a wall that contained around a dozen other pictures.

With a wave, we took our leave, and over-dramatic bowing on my part, we left Fugly Bob's. It was nice being able to act as I would typically for a while.

Facing Komainu as he clasped hands again, I asked her. "What do you want to do next?"

Charging off, she had a broad smile on her face as I was pulled along, tripping over my feet before I could catch myself.

"The wards are doing a tour in a bit!" She shouted as I slowed her down.

Titling my head to the side, I asked. "Which wards?" This could be nasty if it was Gallant, I didn't know if his power could work on me, but if it could, this would get bad fast.

"Vista and Aegis!" She replied while speeding up towards the actual boardwalk portion of the Boardwalk.

That was fine, and the autographs would be nice to have for insurance reasons. They could act as a link to them in case.

Shaking my head, I pushed 'work' thoughts away. Today was a rest day. I was going to be hanging out with Komainu, not thinking about magic projects.

The walk was calm, if slightly faster than a normal stroll. It became less calm as we approached the end of the boardwalk.

I could see a large mass of people surrounding two figures who I assumed were Vista and Aegis. Nearby was a van with the easy-to-see PRT logo and a few armored people hanging around it.

Looking down at Komainu, I started to speak as we entered the crowd. "Now, you will be polite and respectful. No pushing"

Nodding with a grin on her face, we eventually moved through the crowd. Arriving at the two mini-heroes, we waited for them to finish talking with a couple holding onto a small child.

Aegis faced us with a broad grin that was brittle if you looked at it close enough; not being blinded by the fact I was meeting a ward also helped.

Producing two small sheets of cardstock and a pen, Komainu flourished them at the wards and asked. "Can you sign these, please?" in her most childish voice.

Aegis' grin softened, and the brittleness faded as he signed the paper adding a flourish to the s. Vista was much less happy; however she still put in the effort to appear that she was happy to be here.

Standing there, arms clasped behind my back, I felt the Grimories' power grow. It settled in my chest as Vista relaxed slightly. She was no longer as high-strung.

My smile grew slightly brittle as I saw this play out; however, I promised Komainu that today would be a work-free day and I would do what she wanted within reason.

As she finished up with the autographs, Komainu gave them a hearty wave before pulling me away from the crowd and any nearby listeners.

She spoke, looking up at me with a severe gleam in her eye. "What happened? You tensed up all of a sudden, and Vista relaxed."

Holding up a finger, I held my hand to the side and called the Grimoire. Flippling to the most recent page, it was labeled Mother Knows Best.

Grabbing the book from my limp fingers, she graced a look at the page and burst out laughing. I slowly placed my face in the palms of my hand as a few people on the crowd's edges started to look at us.

Grabbing the book, I pulled her still laughing form further away from the crowd of people. Her cackles finally stopped a few minutes later.

"I'm sorry," she gasped. "It's too funny" Waving her hands about; more laughter burst out of her.

"I'm Aidan, the spooky skeleton who kidnaps people. Want to be my daughter?" She bent over again as more laughter spilled out.

At this point, the exasperation had long since faded, and I joined in with small hyena-Esque chuckles. A grin on my face, I replied to her my arms waving about as well.

"I know you are a 3000-year-old dragon that just looks like a 12-year-old girl, but I promise I'll be a great mother."

I was getting my laughter under control, as was Komainu before another thought struck me.

I could now deal with people such as Glaistig Uaine, Ophis or Abigail by threatening to send them to time out or bribery via sweets.

This caused me to burst into laughter again, leaning down to Komainu. I struggled to repeat what I had just thought.

"I can stop child-looking beings by threatening to send them to time out. Or-or tell them if they do something, they will get dessert."

She burst out laughing again, and it took almost ten minutes for us to stop this time. Waving my hand, I stood up, still chuckling as I pulled Komainu along.

"So, what do you want to do next?" I asked as we strolled down the streets of Brockton Bay. I was a smidge antsy, but I could handle not having a plan for Komainu's sake.

"I dunno, that was my big plan for the day." She shrugged as we walked.

I gave her a dumbfounded look; she had acted as if she had planned the day from sunrise to sunset. It was irritating; however not the end of the world.

I suppose we could go and meet with Taylor. She probably is holed up doing hero work or something else less social.

"I was thinking we could grab Taylor and head around town, maybe grab some tea or something?" I asked. She nodded before pulling me away from the Boardwalk and towards the docks.

As we strode through the streets, I asked her. "How do you know where Taylor lives?"

Giving me a dry look, she responded, "I'm a guardian statue; it's my job to keep you safe. You think I wouldn't keep tabs on the people who talk to."

Thinking that for a minute, I couldn't see the flaw in that argument, so I let it go. I decided to spend the time spent walking thumbing through my knew knowledge,

Mother Knows Best was truly powerful. I had focused on the motherly acting part. However, even the other portions were good. While not as strong, they were nice to have.

Skills such as cooking and cleaning were valuable simply for me and Komainu, the glutton she was, and my sloppiness.

The second part of enhancing other motherly skills was nice, if not as applicable as the other parts.

As we entered the docks, Komainu directed me towards a smaller house that appeared slightly rundown. Stepping up to the door, Komainu skipped over a stair that creaked as I walked on it.

Reaching forward, I rapped my knuckles on the door in a quick staccato before taking a few steps back and clasping my arms behind my back.

I heard a faint rushing around as a figure slightly shorter than me with brown eyes peered out the peephole.

Giving her a wave and smile, I spoke, raising my voice so it could be heard through the door.

"Hello, it's Aidan and my sister Komainu. Can we come in?"

It was a long moment before the door clicked open, and we were ushered in; and Taylor closed the door behind us and locked it.

As she faced us, a faint brittle smile broke out on her face. Sweeping to the side, I gave an overdramatic bow as I introduced Komainu and Taylor.

"Taylor, this is Komainu, my little sister. Komainu, this is Taylor, my..." at that, I paused for a moment before continuing. "friendly acquaintance."

At that, Komainu reached out, eager as ever, and shook Taylor's hand, rapidly giggling at the dumbfounded look on her face as she glanced back and forth between the two of us.

"N-Nice to meet you." Taylor stammered out as she recovered from the shock. "I-I don't mean to be rude, but why are you here."

"Welllll," I said, dragging out the l. "It's a lovely Saturday, and I would hate for you to spend it all cooped up in your house brooding over hero stuff."

Her face flushed as she attempted to deny it, while both of us gave her a look of disappointment at her flailing attempts to deny it.

"So I thought maybe we could head out, get some tea, have a bit to eat. That sort of thing."

As Taylor attempted to think of a method to get out of it, the Grimore's power bubbled up again before settling in my chest with no additional abilities.

Breathing out, I smiled at her while rubbing the back of my neck before speaking. "Listen, Taylor. I don't want to impose, but I think fresh air could do you some good."

Gesturing around the messy house, I continued, voice soft as if talking to a spooked animal. "This is not good for you; come with us and relax for a bit."

She looked hesitant so peering into her eyes, I pushed hypnotism at her. A few seconds later, she nodded her head to Komainu's cheers.

I let my smile grow before, with quick, nimble fingers opening the locked door and gesturing for Taylor and Komainu to exit the house with another overdramatic bow.

Walking towards the small tea shop me and Taylor had graced before Taylor let Komainu rush ahead before speaking to me in a low hush voice.

"How are you related? I don't mean to be rude, but you, well, a skeleton, and she is an uh girl."

Flashing her an impish grin, I darted off but not before whispering back. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

The befuddled look on her face caused me to break out into laughter as she chased after me, a grin growing on her face as well.

Powers Gained

Mother Knows Best

Mothers are highly treasured on the island, and you bring with you the talent of a (childish) mother. You are skilled in multitasking, and can cook, clean, darn socks, sew pockets onto clothes (even ones that weren't made for pockets to begin with), and in general look after a large number of children, even rowdy ones, effortlessly. Plus, you give these different things a "mother's touch": beds you make will feel cozier, clothes you make/sew will feel more comfortable, rooms you clean up will make people feel more at home, etc.; this may therefore enhance other domestic-oriented perks you have. You also become a skilled storyteller – at least one for children's tales – and can easily recall classic tales or invent your own; you can even take existing stories and give your own unique flair to them, such that Cinderella fights off pirates with a revolver, while retaining the wonder of the original. Moreover, it gives you an aura of respectful motherhood that makes anyone with the form of a child (even beings that are actually much older) much more likely to behave like a child and follow your instructions when you are present, with your control increasing the more you act like their mother. You can even have an effect on people with an older physical form if they long for a mother (it helps that the perk makes people more likely to want you to be their mother).