Azura's Pov
By the time the mother-son duo arrived home, the sun was setting, and was time for dinner. As they made their way through the door of their manor, they could already smell the aroma of food being cooked and transferred to the dining room. Azura turned to her beloved son, telling him, "Let's go get cleaned up before heading o dinner." As she gently nudged him towards the direction of the washrooms.
Azura stood still as she watched her son disappear before heading towards her husbands' study. She moved at a somewhat slow speed, compared to how fast she was capable of moving, as she renumerated the events that had taken place today. Although she wasn't walking at a rapid pace, or even one that could be considered brisk, she still arrived outside Rexars' study in a matter of seconds due to her movement techniques. Once she had arrived, Azura took a deep breath to calm herself before pushing open the door to the study and walking in.
Rexar looked up from his work to see who had entered, and seeing that it was his wife, smiled at her saying, "I know it's dinner time, and I'll be there in a moment. But shouldn't you be getting cleaned up also?"
Azuras' eye twitched as she looked at Rexar slightly annoyed at his comment before saying, "I've come straight here after returning from the outing spent with my son to with you some good news and the first thing you do is criticize me?"
She was giving Rexar a look of contempt by the end of her words, and seeing his expression turn slightly apologetic continued, "Do you even want to know what good news I've discovered?"
"Was it the reason why you say he's 'our' son when concerned about him, 'your son' when he makes a mistake or does something foolish, and 'my son' when he does something good or makes a marked improvement in his training?" Rexar asked with a raised eyebrow.
Azura moved, with a speed that most Quintessence stage warriors wouldn't be able to see, towards Rexar and smacked him on the back of his head. Although he could trace her movements and easily dodge, he didn't do so. Instead, he allowed her to hit him for the sake of maintaining peaceful days. After all, just because she couldn't best him in combat doesn't mean she's unable to make his life a living hell.
Rubbing the back of his head, Rexar looked at his glowering wife, asking, "What good news have you found out about your son, dearest?" As politely, he could muster, in hopes of appeasing her before she did anything drastic.
Azura gave a smile so broad that it caused her eyes to squint, asking, "You know how our son has shown little interest in things that have little relation to training? Or how he seems too mature for his age and appears to observe others' on the outside as if he is a casual observer, having no invested interest in even socializing with children his age?"
Rexar furrowed his brows in thought as these were his most significant concerns for Tiberius. He was worried that Tiberius would grow into an emotionless person that would slowly become detached from what makes him 'mortal.' Releasing a sigh, Rexar answered, "Yes, I'm aware of these problems. But what does this have to do with anything?" Choosing to ignore how Tiberius suddenly became 'our' son again.
"My Tiberius has finally taken an interest in something." Once her words fell, Rexar could feel a smile spread across his face as he excitedly grabbed Azura and lifted her, practically yelling, "Tell me everything that transpired today!"
Azura glared at Rexar for several moments without saying anything, and when Rexar was starting to grow impatient as to why she wasn't saying anything, he realized his mistake. After setting her down and moving to sit down at his desk in a slightly embarrassed manner before asking, "Would you mind sharing what happened?"
Azura looked at him with cold eyes saying in a tone sharp enough to cut through stone, "As it turns out when you spend time with him instead of working, you'll learn all sorts of things about him." Seeing him flinch at her words caused her expression to soften before continuing in a much gentler tone, "At least you know you're wrongdoings. But enough about that, we can go over those details later," Hearing the last part of her statement, Rexars' heart sank, know just how 'constructive' her criticism is. Azura watched Rexars' reaction for a couple of seconds before recounting the events of the day spent with Tiberius in town.
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Tiberius Pov
Tiberius had a broad smile plastered on his face as he allowed his mother to nudge him towards the direction of the baths gently. As he was walking down the corridors, making his way to the onsen, Tiberius fell into deep thought.
"Although I somewhat already knew I wanted to walk the path of a blacksmith, I didn't want to cut out other possibilities immediately. Especially since I already walked that path in my previous life."
Tiberius was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't realize that he had come to a complete stop from his already slow walking speed. He gazed up to the sky, from the open courtyard he had been walking through with a confused expression, continued thinking, "I wonder why my mother was so excited that I wanted to become a blacksmith. Although, as a parent, I'm sure it's exciting news that your child found a goal to work towards. But it shouldn't be so extreme, right?"
After several minutes of silent contemplation, Tiberius shrugged his shoulders and went on his way to the onsen. Releasing a sigh, he just mumbled, "Whatever, I guess it's normal for her seeing as she's always had extreme reactions with anything that concerns me. While I found it slightly inconvenient that I had to get her to go with me to town since I couldn't go straight to a blacksmith without raising too many suspicions, it turned out to be fun to spend time with her. I also would've missed out on witnessing all the other professions. If I went by myself, then I probably would've only looked at a handful that I heard about beforehand then went home."
Once he arrived at the onsen, Tiberius stripped down and cleaned himself before sitting into the hot water, releasing a contented sigh, "I never did get to try one of these back on Earth."
Tiberius spent close to ten minutes just relaxing in the water before turning his thoughts to the new information that he had received earlier that day. As he reviewed the knowledge, he came to realize that, although the information was in his head, he didn't understand what any of it meant. It was like giving a child a book about advanced magic. Thie child may understand each word on its' own, but he wouldn't be able to grasp the complicated context.
Tiberius thought with a bitter smile, "Looks like I need to spend time learning the craft of this world and building a foundation before I can learn this forging technique."
As Tiberius got up, he gave a slight chuckle, "No matter, things be much more interesting this way. So I might as well put it in the back of my mind for the time being."
Tiberius dried off and got dressed, he headed to the dining room., Leaving the onsen. Over an hour had passed since his return home, and his parents must be waiting for him. A look of resolve appeared in his eyes as he thought, "Once I become skilled enough, I'll immediately begin studying this strange forging technique. I don't know the reason behind it, but I feel that I must learn not only this forging style but the whole technique. I was originally going to study the forging style only, but something inside me is screaming for me to learn the 'Carnage of Life and Death' in its' entirety."
Tiberius arrived in the dining room, where he saw both parents sitting at the table, giving him a loving smile. He moved forward and took his seat, saying, "I apologize for keeping you waiting."
Rexar gave a hearty laugh, "No worries, I heard you had a long and exciting day." Even though he had already heard it from his wife, he still asked, "Did you find anything you may be interested in?"
Tiberius looked up from his food and at his father before stating, "Yes, I want to become a blacksmith."
Rexar looked at his son and, in a gentle tone, "Don't be in a rush to find something. Take your time and learn it in earnest. As long as you do your best and it's something you enjoy, I'll support you. That said, if it turns out to be something that isn't for you and you don't like or enjoy it, don't feel like you need to force the matter foon my behalf. We can always look for something else. So there is no need for you to push yourself to find a hobby you don't enjoy to appease me. Do you understand?"
Felling warmth spreading from his heart, Tiberius nodded, replying, "Yes, father."
He had a grateful smile on his face as he thought, "I wish the father I had in my previous life were like this one. That one never seemed to care about what I wanted or how I felt about things. He would keep pushing me in the direction that wanted, whether I wanted to follow that path or not. Unlike my father in this life, who seems to take a genuine interest in what I want. He even shows that he wants to help guide me in the direction iI choose."
Seeing that Tiberius seemed to be in deep thought about something, as his smile slowly faded into a more thoughtful expression, Azura asked in a concerned tone, "Is everything alright, darling?"
Snapping out of his reverie, he saw both his parents looking at him with slight concern, replying, "I'm fine, mother. I was thinking about how lucky I am to have such great parents and how it makes me want to work harder to make you two proud."
Azura just grinned, saying, "We'll always be proud of you."
"Mnh," Tiberius nodded his head in affirmation, thinking to himself, "It's also nice having a mother."
Once dinner was over, Tiberius was sent to bed as his parents made their way to their bedroom. Instead of going straight to sleep, Tiberius spent the next two hours meditating according to the '7 Virtues, 5 Keys, 3 States' Qi method before turning in for the night.