BiE 81: Mousdad


                                            =BiE 81=


                                            >Year 1157 in Equestria.

                                            >The sun was beating down on your face as you slept.

                                            >Or at least, it was trying to.

                                            >Hard to get through the window when there's a corkboard covering it.

                                            >Hah. Screw you Celestia.

                                            >You threw your feet off the edge of the bed and stretched, releasing several pops throughout the room.

                                            >You stood and started your walk to the kitchen.

                                            >The rest of your apartment was dressed in similar lighting to your room, with thick sheets covering the windows and only allowing slits of light in.

                                            >What can you say? You were not a morning person.

                                            >You poured yourself some cereal and threw your coffee into the contraption Anon had rigged up for you on your last birthday.

                                            >Your eyes scanned the living room.

                                            >He should be out by now...

                                            >"BOY! BREAKFAST!"

                                            >You heard a body hit the floor from some height.

                                            >The door adjacent yours opens. "Dad?"

                                            >"Food."

                                            >A small hybrid of bird and lion walked out of the shadows closer to you. "Dad, it's too early."

                                            >"School is in an hour, Eitri."

                                            >Eitri groans. "Dad, it's summer!"


                                            >What?

                                            >"Huh?"

                                            >You walk over to the window and throw the sheet back.

                                            >Sure enough. Your neighbors all had their windows open, many had laundry drying outside.

                                            >"How the fuck long has it been summer!?"

                                            >"About a month..." Eitri said.

                                            >Fucking old age.

                                            >You heard a yawn over your shoulder. "I'm going back to bed..."

                                            >Oh hell naw.

                                            >"Hold up there, poozer. When I was a kid we didn't get to sleep till noon until the last week of June."

                                            Liar.

                                            >Shut it.

                                            >You point to his room.

                                            >"Wash up, come out, and eat. We'll figure out something to do."

                                            >Eitri groans again. "Daaaaad..."

                                            >"Now."

                                            >Eitri grunts and heads back into his room.

                                            >You don't know what your mom was so on about, parenting is easy.


                                            >You and Eitri sat at the table eating your breakfast.

                                            >He was munching down on some bacon you had grilled up for him.

                                            >It was nice to hear him calling you dad on instinct now.

                                            >It had been...five years since you took him in?

                                            >You still remember when you met him.

                                            >He had stolen some fruit or something and hidden behind you when the guards chased him.

                                            >Shit, but had he looked scared.

                                            >Luckily, you were you. A simple "He's with me." was enough to scare the guards off.

                                            >After taking him away and getting a meal in him, he had relented and stayed with you for the night, saying that he would be gone in the morning.

                                            >A day turned to a week turned to a month turned to you sending him to school.

                                            >Fucked if your Griffin kid was gonna be a moron.

                                            >Eitri sat silently stabbing his bacon with a fork.

                                            >"Eat it. I don't want you passing out when you do stuff today."

                                            >Eitri glanced up at you. "Dad, do I have a mom?"

                                            >Damn.


                                            >"Every living thing has a mom, Eitri."

                                            >He puts down his fork and glares at you. "You know what I mean."

                                            >You sigh and lean back.

                                            >"You mean a mare who lives with me."

                                            >Eitri crosses his arms and nods.

                                            >...Fuck.

                                            >"I guess you had one a long time ago...but she died."

                                            >Eitri swallows some bacon. "How long ago?"

                                            >Your eyes meet his. "Very long."

                                            >He seems to understand that he won't be getting an answer and goes back to his meal.

                                            >"What was she like?" He asked.

                                            >Shit, you weren't planning on a trip down memory lane.

                                            >"She was...the best."

                                            >"She was fiery, and smart, and kind...you'd have liked her."

                                            >You look up and see Eitri smiling. "And she'd have liked you too."

                                            >Eitri smiles as he eats his breakfast.

                                            >"You wanna go see her?"

                                            >Eitri's eyes snap up to you. "We can do that?"

                                            >"Yeah, had her buried in the royal gardens. We can see her any time.

                                            >Eitri twiddles his talons a bit. "That could be cool."

                                            >Atta boy.


                                            >The two of you headed out after breakfast.

                                            >Eitri complained about your ladder, why you installed it.

                                            >Screw off, kid. We don't get robbed because of that ladder.

                                            >You made your way to the castle and walked in a beeline to the gardens.

                                            >There in the back was a small headstone with the words "Lived: 978-1084" carved on it.

                                            >At the foot of the headstone rested a small pool of water, inside of which was a single lotus flower.

                                            >Eitri walked up to the headstone and looked around it. "There's no name."

                                            >You chuckle as you sit down.

                                            Hey pretty pony...

                                            >"Her name was Lotus."

                                            >He dips his talon in the water. "Has that been here the whole time?"

                                            >"I change it once a week."

                                            >Eitri walked back over to you. "How long did you know her?"

                                            >"Eighty-three years."

                                            >Eitri's eyes widen at the number. "Was she your wife?"

                                            >"For a little while... she died right after we were married."

                                            >You hold up your bracelet arm.

                                            >"I got her a matching one of these for her neck."

                                            >"What happened to it?"

                                            >You point at the grave.

                                            >"She still has it."

                                            >Eitri is quiet for a little while.

                                            >"Dad, how old are you?"

                                            >...FUCK.

                                            >"Old, kid."

                                            >"Eitri walks in front of you. "No Dad. I want to know. How old exactly are you?"

                                            >You can see from the look in his eye that Eitri isn't going to back down from this.

                                            >"Dammit..." You sigh out.

                                            >You lean back a bit and start counting.

                                            >"I am...One thousand one hundred and eighty three years old."


                                            >Eitri is left speechless. You had told him that you were one of the oldest things he'd ever see and why, but no specifics.

                                            >Eitri just looks at the grave. "Must be nice..."

                                            >"It has its ups and downs..."

                                            >"And Uncle Anon has been with you the entire time?"

                                            >"That and more, poozer."

                                            >"What's it like, dad?"

                                            >Oh here we go...

                                            >"It's...life."

                                            >"It's rough sometimes. It's great sometimes. I have my good days and my bad."

                                            >You reach out and ruffle the feathers on his head.

                                            >"But I'm dealing."

                                            >"And you don't get sad because mom isn't around?"

                                            >Mom?

                                            >Heh. This kid.

                                            >"Can't be sad. Gotta look out for you, poozer."

                                            >Eitri swings his talons at you as you continue to ruffle his head. "So all you do is look out for p0nies?"

                                            >"Gotta do something to keep from going crazy."

                                            >"Who?"

                                            >"Oh you know. You, Uncle Anon, the entire city if I'm feeling like it.

                                            >"Everyone?" Eitri asks.

                                            >"Every last one."

                                            >Eitri and you sit there for a while.

                                            >"Thanks for bringing me out here, dad." He says.

                                            >"No problem, kid. I always like to come here."

                                            >Eitri has a smile on his beak.

                                            >"Wanna go have some fun?"

                                            >Now that smile is twice its size." "Yeah!"

                                            >"Wanna go mess with Celestia?"

                                            >"YEAH!"

                                            >You ruffle his feathers.

                                            >"Atta boy."

                                            >Eitri shoots off into the sky as you prepare to give chase.

                                            >You pause for a moment and brush your hand along the face of the headstone.

                                            >"See you in a week, babe."

                                            >With that, you run out of the garden.

                                            >She would have loved him...