Dante peered over to see Mya trying to hand feed Xavien, as he persisted he didn't need help. She pouted with a face of disappointment from his rejection of her offer as Xavien looked at the two, showing a face that screamed "Help Me". The two shared a laugh as Terra went to go help him, waving to Dante before his conversation with Rita continued.
"Well…now that the cat's out of the bag, no reason to hide anymore. I'm sorry Dove."
Dante's eyes widened hearing such words from Rita, who he believed would never say as much of an apology if she believed she was right. He shook his head after, as he grabbed a roll of bread and took a bite out of it. He took some time to think about not only the happenings from the day before, but the thing that stuck with him was finally understanding what he actually was. A human, and dragon kin, rather…
"A dragonborn. That's what I am, I just want to know…why keep me in the dark for so long…?"
Rita's eyes tensed as she let out an exasperated sigh, she looked upon Dante once more. Looking him up and down, realizing just how much he has grown since she first began to take care of him. She suddenly clasped his face with both hands, holding each side tenderly.
"I didn't think you'd ever be ready to go out there…to a world where you most likely wouldn't be protected and loved…like you are here."
"I can get that-"
"No…let me finish."
"Mmm…"
She traced her thumb across his scale like features, developing under his eyes. Feeling the rigid foundation beginning to build, his emerald green eyes shone just as his mother's did. In her eyes, he was the perfect mix of his mother and father. Her eyes softly lowered as she looked deep into his eyes, this wasn't the young and immature boy she'd train to night's end. This was a different person, one she wasn't ready to see just yet.
"You were put under my care by someone very important to me Dove. She wanted you to be able to do thing's freely when you were ready to go out into the world…but truth is, I wasn't ready to let you go out there alone…"
The thought of the image that sat in the box along with the wand flashed in his head, he remembered the woman's face who sat alongside Rita vividly. He knew the person seemed important to her as she was being held closely by the woman, but he wouldn't have considered there being a connection.
"You must mean, the lady with the orange hair right…? She looked really pretty…"
Rita's eyes opened at the words and she let out a laugh as she tugged on his cheeks, messing with the boy.
"H-hey!"
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help messin' with you a bit. But seeing as you've gotten her wand, it's only natural it stuck like a glove. How did it feel…connecting with it?"
He then pulled out the wand from his back pocket, he hasn't let go of it since the fight against the adventurers, but the warm feeling he felt from it when he held it firmly was one he couldn't quite describe. Looking at it, the wand seemed ordinary at first, though he knew when he activated it, the form changed to one of a sword. Assuming that the person in the photo had some connection with it, it seemed oddly natural that it was able to connect with him so easily.
Rita pointed to the markings on the wand, it was a script that he couldn't seem to decipher. She smiled at him before he could explain his thoughts.
"It felt natural. Like it fits into my hands seamlessly."
"Well, it was your mother's sword beforehand."
"My…wait…mother?"
She placed Dante's hand over the script of the wand, tracing over the small ridges of the markings. He didn't understand what it said or was supposed to mean, but he felt a sense of understanding as the wand gave off a small aura of heat.
"This was originally supposed to be your birthday gift, but it seems it fell into your hands before I got the chance to give it to you." she said as scratching the back of her head, her face shifted slightly from one that was awkward to a somewhat relieved one. Seeing the sword seemingly fit his hands felt good, especially after raising him and forcing him to go through so much training over the years to be able to wield it securely as his mother did before.
"Sorry, that your special 16th was ruined, Dove. If only we could've done more without the interrupt-"
"No! It was great!"
"H-huh?"
"I got to see the efforts of my training under you with a real fight against a mage, I got this amazing wand that shifts into a sword, I even got to meet some amazing people from the kingdom…that actually accepted me for me as it seems…" his eyes lowered as a small smile planted on his face as he said the last line. Realizing that being accepted by the first people around his age from outside of the village must have been a big deal for him in the long run. She smiled as she took a glance over to see Xavien and Terra playing with the children, joyfully enjoying their time here in such a village when they truly belong in the kingdom. A small sense of happiness filled Rita's heart, especially after glancing over to see Dante looking as if he wanted to join them in their fun.
She then gave Dante a small nod, proceeding to let him go. He smiled brightly as he ran off to join the group. The children began to laugh as they yelled and ran away from him as he chased.
"Here comes the mighty Dragon of Riverant! Coming to take your good snacks and goods! Rawr!!!"
"No! Don't let him take your stuff!" The kids laughingly yelled as they played together. Rita's eyes slowly began to fill with tears as she watched him play. Reminiscing about the times of his youth and just how much he's grown to this point. He slowly became a great deal of her life at this point, probably the most important part as well. She continued to watch as a tear began to roll down her face, until two voices interrupted her moment.