"Sword? My Little Bun likes swords?" While Eli was surprised at Little Han's unexpected request, she opted to gently ask her son.
After all, she wanted to understand Little Han more. What did he like apart from music? What makes him happy during playtime? What puts him in a bad mood?
All of those things, Leon and Eli were not able to see because they were always away from him during the daytime. As such, Eli took this time to get to know her son deeper.
"Yesh! Johann likes swords! Like Daddi!" Little Han replied excitedly.
"Look Mommi, umcles made me wittle sword~~~" As if to convince Eli that he indeed liked playing swords, Little Han grabbed his bear space pouch and took his little wooden sword made by the Crimson Blades.
Eli observed Little Han's enthusiasm and finally chuckled at how adorable her son is. "Alright, Mommi play with you. Let's go outside!"
The mother and son immediately went outside to the training area where Eli, Leon, and sometimes the Blades do their morning training.
Eli made sure that Little Han was dressed comfortably before allowing Little Han to wield his wooden sword. "Alright, my baby. Can you show mommy how you hold the sword?" She asked.
"Mommi~Like this!" Little Han took his two chubby hands and held his mini sword properly.
What he was doing was the basic stance with his feet apart, each maintaining the center of gravity of his little body.
"Huff!" After maintaining the first stance, Little Han moved his hands and slowly lifted the mini wooden sword above his waist while tilting his little body sideways. Then as if following a certain pulse, he extended his hands forward, making the most basic attack stance.
Swosh!
"Hiya~"
Without Eli's cue, Little Han had already completed the basic sword routine taught to him by the Blades in the barracks.
Eli was actually impressed by Little Han's posture. Although Little Han is about to turn two, Eli knows that Little Han is different from other kids.
From his posture, she can see that Little Han had a sense of how he should maintain his balance even when his body was still young. By the way he held the sword, she also knew that he was guided properly by the Blades, not even thinking that he was doing it for playtime.
Clap clap clap!
Eli proudly clapped her hands as she expressed how impressed she was at Little Han's progress, "My baby is so amazing! You gave me a nice surprise!"
"Jiheehee~~" Little Han flashed a shy smile as he giggled in reply. He was happy to see his mommy like his sword playing, he practiced a lot when he was in the barracks!
"Mommi, I pwatice many many times~" Little Han happily talked about how he was able to convince the blades to make a wooden sword for him, then how he was taught by all the uncles how to use the sword.
"Yes! You did very great! But my baby, you should be careful. Just practice a little for now, when you grow up and your body is already developed for real sword practice, then you can do more advanced moves!" Eli smiled.
She patted Little Han's head and realized that her son might have also inherited his father's talent in sword fighting. But as a mother, she wanted Little Han to still have a safer childhood.
In the Imperial Family, a child can already start having sword lessons at the age of seven when they were already assessed. But in Little Han's case, he was starting way too early. Somehow, Eli wanted Little Han to officially start learning about it just like all other kids.
Little Han did not fully understand his mother's words. He blinked at her confusedly and only took the words, 'careful' and 'grow-up'. So he thought that his mommy somehow wanted him to be careful and wait for him to grow up to play sword.
"Can Johann play more?" Little Han anxiously asked, believing that his mommy wanted to limit his practicing of the sword.
Seeing how Little Han seemed to misunderstand the meaning of her words, Eli could only smile and rub his red fluffy head.
Also, how could Eli resist his pleading looks?
"Yes, my dear, mommy will even practice with you… but promise me but you have to promise me many things!" Eli slowly told Little Han how to safely handle the sword for himself and those around him.
After that, she also took the old wooden sword she used back then when the Blades first taught her basic self-defense.
The image of the mother and son swinging the sword with the most basic stances made the area in front of the cottage peaceful and lovely.
The mother attentively looked at her son, patiently teaching him how the moves were done…
The little bun cutely mimics her mother's stance and poses, like an adorable little puppy following his mom.
After that, the mother and son duo joined Baobao as they made their lunch together. Just like Leon, Eli gave Little Han small and easy tasks to get him engaged with the activity.
When lunch was done, they took a nap inside the plushie playground with Baobao as their giant pillow and blanket.
Eli realized that it has been a long time since she slept on Baobao's furry tummy. Back then, Little Han was still in her womb, and it was only she, Baobao, and Wisey who were spending the afternoon naps.
Now Little Han was about to become two years old. It makes her happy that she got to share this rare moment with him before he grew into a great kid. She sighed, too bad, Wisey is still in her dormant sleep.
She actually didn't know when her buddy would wake up, and even the guardians kept silent about it. They only said that because she was a cherubim, the heavenly powers were not abundant in Prasinos, which was needed for her recovery.
Only time will tell when she will wake up. They could only let her absorb what little heavenly energy there was in the Guardian realm.
When the evening came, Leon finally joined the two. Spending more quality time with Eli and his son, Leon actively participated in the evening activities.
He even played the cello to duet with Eli, making both Little Han and the music-loving panda, Baobao have sparkles in their eyes!
This was the daily routine Eli, Leon, Little Han, and Baobao did for the next three days they have as a family.
The fourth day is the promised day for Eli, Little Han, and Baobao to catch up with the Forgeworns to head to the Green Wave institute.
Leon's heart was heavy, for the last three days of his life has been the most comforting day he had in a while.
However, their parting had to be done, for everyone's sake. They had to swallow the pain of their parting and only let the heavens allow them to finish their task before reuniting again.
"It's time…" Leon looked at Eli and Little Han, his eyes reddening as the more they were closer to the designated time, the more his heart rebelled. He did not want to separate from the two!
Eli was also wearing a pained and anxious expression. Their parting this time was indefinite. The two of them did not know when the war would end. It could last for days, months, or even years!
"Daddi…." Little Han, as well, for the first time showed reluctance to part ways with his dad, and eventually her mom.
Back then, he was still too innocent to understand the meaning of Eli and Leon leaving him with the guardians.
But now, he knows that he will not see his family for a long time again. His lips trembled as he stretched out his arms to Leon.
When Leon carried Little Han, that was when Little Han burst into a heartbreaking wail.
"Wuwuwuwu… Daddi!!! Wuwuwuwu!" He cried as he clung on Leon's neck hard, unwilling to part with him.
"Shush… it's okay son… It's going to be okay…" Leon's eyes heated up as he comforted Little Han with his hoarse quivering voice.
But the more he comforted him, the more the little one cried.
Eli could not also take it anymore, Little Han mirrored both hers and Leon's worries and pain in this parting.
All that she could do is hug the father and son duo. She hugged them so hard that she could control the trembling of her body from the tears she previously committed not to shed at the moment.
It took Leon and Eli a while to make Little Han calm down. When it finally ended, the three of them had red noses and puffy eyes.
"The gateway to the other side is ready… We can no longer delay it." Leon said regretfully.
He kissed Eli's lips, sealed her moist eyelids with his lips, and took her hand before saying, "I will lead the two of you there."
"Alright… let's go." Eli could only hold Leon's hand tightly, as tightly as she could.
