"I just remembered I left something- someone outside, I'll be right back," Drake said shakily turning around for the door.
"Where are you going Drake?" a man just as tall as him said, blocking the front door.
"T-Travis! You little rat let me get out, you know what mom will do to me!" Drake shouted.
"Oh, I know, that's why I brought the hanger," Travis smiled raising a crooked and bent metal clothes hanger.
"Really?! She hasn't even asked for it yet, you dick!"
"Drake Wallen is that you?!" a voice from behind asked.
Drake's head turned like it had rusted over instantly, creaking as it made to look at the person.
"M-mom. Hi… I didn't mean to yell," Drake said nervously, "I was just so surprised…"
His mother held out a hand, Drake's brother, Travis, placing a metal hanger into its palm.
"Mom, please I'm 27 and I'm level-"
"The fuck you say to me?! Sige, you could be one foot in the grave, but you are still my son!" she yelled, sending the hanger into his left thigh, "I raised you!" she yelled again, hitting him in the other side, "Sige! You don't call! You don't write! I learn that you are still alive from a system message! Sige!"
Drake began running around the house, trying his best to guard his rear to no avail, his mother's chancla-fu too strong.
"Mom! I tried to get here! There are things I had to do!" Drake pleaded as he ran circles around the couch, the people and children on the couches watching with interest, "I'm a town Lord, I can't just go where I want, there's an order to things!"
"I'll show you order!" she yelled back, leaping over the couch, "Too busy for your mother?! Talaga!"
Drake scrambled for the door again, but Travis stood there smiling back at him.
"Travis I swear to god, just you wait!" Drake growled, then took off for the kitchen in a hurry.
"Mom, I just wanted to make sure the town was appropriate for you to live in! It's safe now," he said ducking behind the small kitchen island.
"Safe? What do I care about being safe dito. There are monsters everywhere la loco!"
"Come on," Drake pleaded once more, then an idea popped into his head, the one thing his mother always wanted, "Can't you cut me a break I've been busy with my kids."
Drake's mother froze, one hand with slipper stopping mid-throw, "I have grandbabies?! Why didn't you say so?"
"Yeah…" he said nervously, then whispered, "Kind of…"
"Then, where are they? I want to make sure they are eating well. Just look at you, so skinny now! Ah!" she fumed, throwing her hands up.
"I-i have to go get them, I left them with m-my wife…" Drake said trailing off as he gave a look to Bjorn.
"Oh, you and Claire tied the knot? Congrats bro," Bjorn whistled.
"Not exactly… It's a long story man."
"Well go get my grandbabies! And you had a wife without even introducing her to your mother? You should be ashamed! Is she a nice Filipino girl?" his mother asked expectantly.
"No, she's not human," Drake said matter of fact, "I think you will like her though," he added.
"Talaga! First, a wife, then babies, and you tell me she isn't even Filipino? You should have gotten together with that nice girl, what was her name, Travis?"
"Oh, Stacy from down the road?" Travis said.
"Stacy yes! Very nice girl, she could cook, she could clean, and she was so nice to me. She brought me sweets every day. Every day Drake," she smiled.
"Mom, Stacy was never my type…" Drake frowned.
"And why not?"
"Stacy Irving was 50 years old! That's why!"
"But Drake, she was my friend," his mother said as if it made it alright, "it would have been very nice."
"She's twice my age!" Drake shouted.
"Punyeta! Why are you shouting at your mother!?" she shouted back, raising her slipper.
"Because you're shouting at me!"
"I am not shouting! This is my normal voice!"
Drake raised his hands in defeat, "Fine! I'm going to get them… Where is Dillon anyway?" he asked.
Travis thumbed to the back room down the hall, "He's in your old room, it's like the tutorials never happened, he's just mixing music still."
"Good," Drake smiled, "At least he doesn't have to deal with everything for a little longer. And we should talk about what happened," he sighed, "All of us."
[Travis Wallen Level 16]
[Maria Wallen Level 15]
"Should I come with?" Bjorn asked.
"Naw, you're fine here. Keep cookin', we all know you could use the practice," Drake smiled.
"Hey, I've improved a lot since your mom started teaching me."
Drake winced, "M-mom is teaching you…?" he asked, shuddering.
"Yeah, why?"
Drake glanced at his mom then back to Bjorn, "No reason. I'm gonna go now."
And with that, Drake slipped past his brother and out the door.
—-----
Backtracking for a few minutes, Drake quickly found arguing teens and a very confused-looking Sah Ul'.
"Yo," he said, raising a hand.
"Don't 'yo' us, where the hell did you go?" Landin asked, "We've been trying to figure out which street you took when you blasted off at the speed of light but we couldn't agree on anything!"
"It was very sudden, Lord Drake. Was something the matter?" Atropos added.
"I-I just wanted to see that my family was safe. Not everyone here can keep up with my speed," Drake said with a chuckle.
"You mean no one can keep up with you. Right now," Landin smiled.
"Right, let's not start talking smack just yet. Still have a long way to go," Drake smiled back.
"Patriarch, will we be going now..?" Sah Ul' asked, looking far more nervous than Drake had ever seen her.
"Yeah? Are you alright Sarah?" he asked.
"I-I am fine…" she answered, pulling her fur coat over her shoulders a little tighter.
Drake smiled, "There's no need to be nervous. My mom is only mean to me. I already know you and she are going to get along great, there's nothing to worry about, trust me Sah Ul'" he gave her one more beaming grin, taking her hand, "Let's get going before I get cold feet myself."
Charlotte, Quetz, Kalik Tu', and Atropos grumbled slightly behind them but didn't say anything as they followed along.
Sah Ul' remained silent as well, her face a lighter shade of green as the blushing red bleeding through made her try to hide her face as best she could.
After a bit of a stroll through the city, the streets surprisingly empty outside of the occasional person walking in the direction of the main street, they made it back to Drake's family home.
"You got some decent digs here man," Landin said.
"It's not much but it's home," Drake smirked.
"Pretty tree!" Quetz chirped from the side, pointing.
"It's an apple tree, not a lot of them on this street. But it looks a lot better in the spring when the flowers are blooming, maybe we can come back and see it then," he explained, "Well, shall we?" Drake said, motioning to the door.
Sah Ul' nodded the rest of the group following suit.
Stepping up to the door, Drake placed his hand just above the knob before the door swung backward and opened, a furrow-browed Filipino lady staring back at them.
"Where are my grandbabies?!"
Drake laughed nervously, thumbing behind him.
His mother arched her head over his shoulder, her frown deepening, "How are those my grandbabies they are far too old!"
"I might have… embellished the word kid a bit, Mom…" Drake laughed wryly.
"Grandbabies…? Does your mom think we're your kids?" Charlotte asked incredulously.
"She may or may not have been given that impression…" Drake muttered, "But I do think of you all as my kids in a sense, you're all family," he said evenly, not a hint of joking in his voice for once.
Charlotte blushed.
"I didn't want to become a family like that…" Charlotte muttered under her breath.
"Grandma!" Landin shouted, spreading his arms.
"Who is your grandma!" Drake's mother shouted, throwing a chancla at Landin, hitting him squarely in between his eyes.
She turned to Drake, pointing a wagging admonishing finger at him, "You and I are going to talk about this Drake Wallen! Clean your feet before you come into my house, I won't have you dirtying up my floor! Susmaryosep!"
"Mom," Drake said, stopping his mother, "Before we talk…" he said almost pausing but pushed on, "This is Sah Ul' Rahk. She is my wife."
Mrs. Wallen turned around, giving Sah Ul' the briefest of looks and taking in the nervous wreck of the great Rahk warrior.
And then a second later, put her arms around her.
"You must be cold dear, come in. My you are so skinny! Let's get some food in you! You can't have my wonderful grandbabies on an empty stomach!"
Drake smiled, giving the confused Sah Ul' a wink, "Told you, I might be her son but she barely likes me," he said, ducking another slipper.
"Punyeta! Don't badmouth your mother to her new daughter! What would you do if she took you seriously!?"
"I don't know, be better prepared to dodge random household items…" Drake grumbled with a smile.
"And when did your hair get so long? Are you still doing that 'cosplayer' thing?" his mother jabbed.
"You wanted to be a cosplayer?" Landin scoffed.
"Yeah? What about it?" Drake smiled.
"Oh, nothing… Just seeing you in a new light is all," Landin shrugged, a yip coming from his arms, "By the way how does your mom feel about pets?"
"Don't let it dirty my floor and call me Nanai," she said over her shoulder pulling Sah Ul' into the house, making Sah Ul' bend down slightly from their difference in height.
The teens looked at Drake but he only shrugged, waving them into the rowdy house, "You heard her, in ya get."
Drake was the last one into the house, taking a moment to review a notification that kept flashing in his peripheral since they entered the city.
[Would you like to contest for Authority of Yundertown?]
[Yes/No]
He of course selected no, walking inside, closing the door behind him.
Once inside he saw his brother, Travis. His jaw dropped, and following Sah Ul'.
Drake walked over with a smug expression, "What's wrong kid, see something you like?"
Travis lifted his chin off the ground giving a scoff, "As if, you weren't the only one who found someone," he said pointing with his chin to a woman on the couch.
The woman was wearing a plain white t-shirt, had blond hair, and milky white pointed ears poking out of it.
"Oh, got yourself an elf huh?" Drake said, putting his brother into a headlock, "I want to hear all about how my little brother did in his tutorial. Getting to level 16! You must have worked hard, huh?"
Travis smiled wryly, feeling proud of himself as he rubbed his nose, "Yeah, we cleared it before the time limit ended. Wait- H-how are you so strong?!" Travis said suddenly trying to break from Drake's grip.
"Older brother strength," he smirked.
"As if! You're level 11 I checked!"
"Oh, dear brother! You didn't talk to Bjorn, did you? And tsk tsk, you haven't been paying attention to the world notifications? Your big brother took down a Cardinal Beast you little shit!"
"Yeah okay," Travis laughed sarcastically.
Drake pulled up his status, turning it around for his brother to see, "Read it and weep loser."
Travis's jaw dropped open again.
"Mooooooooommmmmmmm!" Travis yelled trying to struggle free again.
Drake let Travis go, his body shooting straight into the kitchen where their mother was, only to get kicked out, the imprint of a slipper on his face, as he rubbed his behind.
"Your family is pretty funny bro. Now I know where you got it from," Bjorn guffawed from his spot on the wall.
His apron had been replaced by a green shirt and jeans as he extended a hand out to Drake.
Drake smiled and bypassed the hand hugging the ginormous man, "Come on man, we're way past handshakes! I'm so happy to see you again!" he laughed lifting the giant.
"Whoa there bro, put me down. I get it but I have an image to keep up," Bjorn said, but didn't hide his smirk.
Drake put him back down but could tell Bjorn wanted to say something else, "What's up? Is something wrong?" Drake asked.
Bjorn looked over to the kitchen opening, "It might take a bit, are you sure you don't want to talk to your family?" he asked.
Drake craned his head, hearing his mom laughing and Sah Ul' struggling to keep conversation. Turning his head, he saw Landin showing Atropos, Clotho, and Quetz the TV putting game controllers in their hands.
"I think I have time, I know my family is here and safe now. I feel like I can finally take a breath. So yeah, I have a bit of time to kill for once," Drake sighed.
Bjorn gave a wry smile, rubbing the back of his neck, "Good, then I have a few favors I have to ask you for bro…"
Drake held up a hand, shaking his head, "No favors between us anymore. This isn't the tutorial, just ask."
Bjorn straightened as if a weight had been slightly lifted from his shoulders, "Alright. Don't get too worked up about how she talks though."
"The way who talks?"
Bjorn gave a wave to someone down the hall that disappeared too quickly for Drake to make out a description, "They'll meet us outside."
Drake gave a slight frown, not sure what the cloak-and-dagger atmosphere was about but nodded, opening the door for them to exit.
"Okay so?" Drake asked finally after waiting outside for a few seconds.
But the answer showed up behind them, a man and girl turning the corner.
"Bjorn… That isn't a real fallen angel is it…?"
"Yup. I picked her up on the way to you, then I heard about your mom being here so we stopped and camped it out till you came. She is exactly what you think too."
Drake's mouth opened and closed for a moment, unable to believe what he was seeing. A girl in a wheelchair pushed by a man in a clean suit.
The girl had long waist waist-length hair that draped over her shoulders and sat in her lap. She wore a gothic-type dress that gave her a feeling of upper-class royalty. Her hair parted down the middle one side a bright blond, the other a dark black. Even more striking, her right eye was a pale white, and her left a dark midnight black, both containing a golden outline around the irises.
But what made Drake take pause was what was extending out from her back.
A single raven black wing the size that could easily cover her entire body.
[Mordred Pendragon Level 10]