"So...We have to talk, mom," Lucas said, sitting at one end of the table while his mother sat across from him. He had a pack of frozen peas on one of his eyes and a bandage around his nose. His fingers began to tap on the table as he waited for her to explain.
Elizabeth didn't say anything as she took a sip of her lemon-infused tea to help with her throat. She looked up to see her son and the damage he had sustained from not listening to her. With another sip, she shrugged her arms and sharply sucked in air. "I told you to dodge." She said before taking another sip.
"Mom. You punched me in the eye." Lucas calmly stated as he was absolutely shocked at how carefree she was about the situation.
"But I told you to dodge. " Elizabeth repeated, looking her son in his eye while taking another sip.
"You punched your 20-year-old son in the eye, and you don't see anything wrong with it?" Lucas repeated out loud, so she could fully take in how bad it was.
"Sweetheart, this is a part of training. You are going to get hurt." Elizabeth stated as she took another sip of her tea. She then placed the glass down and looked at her son for a second. "Besides, it's not that bad, dear."
"Momma, I barely can see. It's like you threw a brick instead of your fist. " Lucas said, removing the peas to show her how bad it was. His eye was fully swollen and was all shades of purple and red. "Jesus. I feel like I'm in one of those fucked up relationships, except your not in a white beater and not drinking beer."
"It's not that bad. Besides, we all have had one before, hell maybe even two. " Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes and ignoring her son's comment. "Do you want me to heal it or not?"
"I mean, that would be nice. But you're not supposed to go all out on me. I'll remember to take out the trash next time." Lucas answered, overly exaggerating his voice. He saw Elizebeth shake her head at him as a smile came across her face.
"Aww. You thought I was going all out on you." Elizabeth said in a sweet mocking voice as she looked at her son with a smile. "Maybe, I should give you a little stronger love tap just to show you how much I love you. Would that make you feel better?"
"Why are you like this!?" Lucas asked as he wasn't sure how to feel about her sarcasm.
Elizabeth didn't say anything but giggled at her son's confusion. She scooted back from her chair, calmly walked over to her son, and took a seat next to him. She lifted her right hand and gently placed it on her son's blackened eye. Her hand began to glow white as she started the process of healing his eye.
Lucas's body tensed up a little as he could feel his eye began to tingle from the warm touch. He couldn't help but think back to every moment he had fallen and scraped his knee and how his mom would over worry before placing a band-aid on it, then kissed it better. His body slightly shifted from her touch as he breathes in and out. He started to avoid her gaze as a feeling of embarrassment crept over him. It was like she was babying him all over again.
"Hey, mom?" Lucas finally spoke up as his embarrassment was becoming too much.
"Yes, my little cyclops," Elizabeth said softly, giggling and turning her attention to him.
"Okay. That was rude, but a very good one." Lucas admitted to her as a low chuckle escaped him. He bit his tongue for a moment before allowing his words to flow. "But would you mind teaching me this?"
"You think your too old for me to heal you," Elizabeth said, making another little joke between them. She got the feeling he was going to ask at some point from how much he shifted and avoid looking at her.
"N-no. I just...I think that if I'm in a situation where you're not around, and I'm badly hurt, it would be good to have." Lucas fumbled to explain to his mom. He then watched as his mom sighed.
"I know, sweetheart," Elizabeth confessed, knowing she can't protect him forever. "You're not a baby anymore, and I can't be there for everything. So teaching you this spell would be beneficial for everyone. Just not yet, okay? I promise I will do so before you're ready for your first solo mission."
Lucas could feel the worry in his mom's voice as she spoke to him. He was glad she did understand his reason for wanting to learn but did feel guilty. "Thank you, mom."
"Anytime, sweetheart." Elizabeth softly smiled at her son as she was done healing his eye. Elizabeth then kissed her son's eye and then pulled his cheek playfully. "My little man is growing up. It feels like it was only yesterday I was changing your diapers."
"Mom," Lucas whined while trying to hold back his chuckling as his mom messed with him.
They both shared a good laugh as a tired Amay dragged herself into the kitchen. Her hair was a mess, and she had on one of Lucas's shirts and a pair of girl boxer shorts. She had visible bags under her eyes as if she had not slept or been stressed.
"Good Afternoon, sleeping beauty," Elizabeth told Amay as she watched as the short oni made herself a cup of orange juice.
"By the Serpents, it's noontime already? That's the last time you keep me up at night, Lucas." Amay grudgingly said in a tired voice.
"Oh? Did something happened?" Elizabeth said in a weird tone as she wanted to know what Amay was talking about. Her eyes then met her son's as she could see the worry in them.
Before Lucas could speak, Amay continued.
"Yes. Let me tell you. Your son gave me a pounding last night. He had me pinned in the corner, and I couldn't do anything. The way he used his fingers gave me the best finisher I have ever seen. I didn't know what to do afterward." Amay said, holding her own arms as she moved her hips behind the island. She stopped as she held her face and let out a long satisfied sigh.
Elizabeth's left eye began to twitch as a smile slowly came across her face. Lucas and Amay could see a visible vein appear on her forehead. Her eyes then turned to Lucas and made him immediately fall back out of his chair in fear.
"It was a game. She's talking about the game. She's talking about the game." Lucas said, panicking as he backed up tightly into the wall, trying to create some distance from himself and her.
Amay burst into laughter at the situation she had caused with her lie. She always got a kick out of seeing the fear come to Lucas's face or seeing how mad Elizabeth got over something like this.
"That never gets old. But he's right, Lizzy. He and I played his game last night. He showed me this really neat game where I can punch people without actually punching them. I forgot the name, but it was so much fun." Amay explained while taking a sip of her orange juice. "I've been glued to it until my body crashed. I didn't realize how much energy I could burn focusing and trying to get better."
"I see," Elizabeth said, calming down a little. She could see that she had scared her son so badly from that small bit.
"So? What's the plan for today?" Amay said, walking and taking a seat in Lucas's chair. "Just more training and such?"
"Sadly no," Elizabeth said, taking a deep breath. "Edward is coming to pick up Lucas so that they could spend time together."
"Really? Dad's in town?" Lucas said, nearly jumping back up.
"Sadly, yes. He had picked up Martha along the way and is bringing her home to me." Elizabeth explained, mildly annoyed as she wanted to be the one to pick up her daughter.
"Looks like I better go get dress then," Amay said as a big smile came across her face. "I actually want to meet the man that picked you off your feet." A childish giggle left Amay's mouth as she was excited to see what he finally looked like.
An annoyed sigh left Elizabeth's mouth as she wondered if she should get dressed to greet him. A small smirk came across her face as she thought about him more. Her mind snapped back to the real world as she heard the floor creak and the table shift from her son trying to sneak away without being noted. They both locked eyes for a moment as he was still unsure if she was mad at him.
"Are you mad about her lie?" Lucas nervously asked.
A small snort left Elizabeth's mouth as she shook her head at him.
"Go get dressed, sweetheart." Elizabeth sweetly told her son as she got up to grab her cup of tea. "He will be excited to see you. And I need to find my spare bow."
"Oh? Okay?" Lucas asked, a little confused.