Chapter 67: Returning Home and Being Watched
Five heads leaned in at the same time.
Kalendil squeezed to the front, staring at the sleeping infant with a complex expression.
"Another one..."
Valerion squatted beside him, his eyes sparkling: "He's so small!"
Aetheriel poked his head out from behind, electric arcs still flickering on his claws: "Can he discharge electricity?"
Mihariel held her small notebook and had already begun recording:
[New Younger Brother's Name: Grimhild Noventu Skalen. Race: Red Dragon x Fire Giant Hybrid. Characteristics: Spits sparks while sleeping.]
Valensius transformed back from a rock, silently moved next to the infant, stared at him for three seconds, and then—
Disguised himself as the infant's shadow.
He remained motionless.
Livia glanced at him but said nothing.
Grimhild was still sleeping.
He was sleeping very deeply.
But the commotion of five heads leaning in was too much; his brow furrowed slightly.
It furrowed again.
Then he opened his eyes.
Five heads made eye contact with him simultaneously.
Silence.
Three seconds later, Grimhild's brow twisted into a knot, his eyes bulged wide, and a large burst of sparks erupted from his mouth, spraying all over Kalendil's face.
Kalendil froze, reaching out to wipe the ash from his face.
"He glared at me."
Mihariel quickly recorded in her notebook:
[First thing the new brother did upon waking: Glare. Note: Inherited from mother. Mother glared at the giant for five months during pregnancy; the brother inherited this habit.]
Aetheriel leaned closer, the electric arcs on his claws crackling: "His eyes are so bright! Like two little suns! Can I touch them?"
Livia's tail twitched.
Aetheriel was swatted away by the tail, rolling three times before lying flat in a corner.
He climbed up, rubbing the spot where he was hit, looking aggrieved: "I was just asking..."
Grimhild continued to glare.
After glaring at Kalendil, he glared at Valerion.
Valerion felt unnerved by the glare and pulled a gemstone from his chest, carefully placing it beside him.
"H-here, for you."
Grimhild looked down at the gemstone, then up at Valerion, and continued to glare.
Valerion shrank his neck and took a step back.
Grimhild turned toward Mihariel.
Mihariel was writing furiously in her notebook. Feeling the gaze, she looked up and met his eyes.
Glare.
Being glared at.
The eye contact lasted for five seconds.
Mihariel blinked and continued writing:
[Experience of being glared at: It indeed creates the illusion of 'what did I do wrong.' The brother's glaring skill has already shown initial results.]
Grimhild turned toward Valensius.
Valensius was disguised as his shadow, motionless.
Grimhild stared at the shadow for three seconds.
Then he reached out a small hand and slapped the shadow with a 'thwack.'
Valensius was hit, his disguise failed, and he revealed his true form.
The two made eye contact.
Grimhild continued to glare.
Valensius shrank under the glare, silently moved to the side, and re-disguised himself as a rock.
Grimhild withdrew his gaze, swept his eyes over the five heads, and then—
He yawned.
Closed his eyes.
And went back to sleep.
Sparks emerged from the corners of his mouth, falling drop by drop onto the animal hide beneath him, burning new little black holes.
The five heads looked at each other.
Kalendil whispered, "He... doesn't seem to like us much."
Mihariel shook her head: "It's not that he doesn't like us; he's evaluating us. He glared at everyone just now to remember what we look like. This is a giant's habit—newborn giants remember the faces of their kin by glaring."
Kalendil was stunned: "How do you know?"
Mihariel shook her notebook: "I looked up the information. A Fire Giant Parenting Manual. The Kobold Chieftain helped me trade for it from a giant settlement to the north."
Kalendil went silent.
Aetheriel crawled back from the corner, rubbing the spot where he was hit, and asked softly: "So will he keep glaring at us like this forever?"
Mihariel thought for a moment and wrote in her notebook:
[According to the Fire Giant Parenting Manual, the glaring period usually lasts for three months. After three months, the cub will begin to express emotions in other ways. But since Grimhild is a hybrid, there might be variations.]
She finished writing, looked up, and turned to Livia.
"Mother, how long will the brother's glaring period last?"
Livia lay there with her eyes closed, her tail resting loosely on the ground.
Silence for three seconds.
"I don't know."
Mihariel nodded and continued writing:
[Mother doesn't know either. Note: Mother's parenting style: taking it one step at a time.]
————
Two hours later.
The five heads were still gathered around Grimhild.
Grimhild woke up, opened his eyes, and began a new round of staring.
From left to right: Kalendil, Valerion, Aetheriel, Mihariel, and Valensius (who was disguised as a rock but had been seen through).
He glared at each person for three seconds.
After finishing one round, he rested for ten seconds, then began a second round.
Kalendil couldn't take being glared at anymore and stood up: "I'm going on patrol."
He ran off.
Valerion felt creeped out by the glare, so he pulled out a gemstone and started gnawing on it, using food to relieve the pressure.
Aetheriel was glared at until electricity sparked all over his body, but he didn't dare discharge it, leaving his face flushed red from holding it in.
Mihariel was writing furiously while being glared at, completely unaffected.
After being glared at for three rounds, Valensius finally gave up his disguise, returned to his original form, and squatted in the corner silently watching this new younger brother.
Livia lay there with her eyes closed.
But her ears twitched slightly, listening to the activity behind her.
The tip of her tail flicked gently.
————
Evening.
The five heads gathered on the other side of the main hall, whispering.
Kalendil lowered his voice: "He's been glaring all day, isn't he tired?"
Valerion swallowed some gemstone powder: "Aren't his eyes dry?"
Aetheriel raised his hand: "I've observed him; he blinks once every ten rounds of glaring. His frequency is much lower than mine."
Mihariel flipped through her notebook: "Fire Giant cubs need to glare for more than twelve hours a day; it's how they perceive the world. Grimhild is a hybrid, so he might need a bit less."
Valensius whispered: "When he glared at me just now, I almost wanted to actually turn myself into a rock."
Silence.
Five heads simultaneously looked toward the center of the main hall.
Grimhild lay on the animal hide, eyes open, glaring at the ceiling.
The ceiling was glared at for three seconds and showed no reaction.
He blinked and turned toward the nearby Lava Lake.
The Lava Lake was glared at for three seconds and continued to boil.
He turned toward the Fire Elementals.
The Fire Elementals were busy moving stones (moving stones into the kitchen again) and didn't notice they were being glared at at all.
Grimhild was silent for three seconds, then yawned and closed his eyes.
He fell asleep.
Five heads breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously.
Kalendil whispered: "He's asleep."
Valerion whispered: "Finally."
Aetheriel whispered: "I counted; he glared for three hundred and seventy-two rounds today."
Mihariel recorded in her notebook:
[Grimhild's Day One: Glared for three hundred and seventy-two rounds, averaging three seconds per round, totaling one thousand one hundred and sixteen seconds. Note: Brother has great stamina.]
Valensius said nothing, only silently moving a bit further away from Grimhild.
————
Late at night.
The light from the Lava Lake flickered, illuminating the main hall.
The five heads each found a spot to lie down.
Kalendil lay on his exclusive rock slab, his eyes still open, staring in Grimhild's direction.
Valerion lay beside him, clutching several gemstones, gnawing while he slept.
Aetheriel lay in a corner, an occasional electric arc flashing across his body, but he didn't shock himself—he had improved.
Mihariel lay beside her notebook, already asleep, with the notebook still open to the latest page:
[New member joined the Dragon Court. Current member count: 6 (including mother). Note: It's getting a bit crowded.]
Valensius was disguised as a rock, squatting at Mihariel's feet, with a small section of his tail tip peeking out from under the rock, swaying gently.
Livia lay there with her eyes closed.
Grimhild lay next to her tail, occasionally spitting out a small burst of sparks that singed the tail.
She didn't move.
In the distance, the Fire Hawk King perched at the cave entrance, tilting its head as it watched the scene.
"Caw."
A soft cry vanished into the night wind.
Livia's tail tip flicked.
She continued to lie still.
The Dragon Court was indeed a bit crowded.
But being a bit crowded was also quite nice.