"Maybe everyone has finally gone to rest after such a long day?" Terra said as she looked around confusedly. They hadn't been gone for too long, but everyone disappearing so suddenly felt odd. Suddenly, he tugged on her cloak and she turned to see light coming from the Tavern. The two slowly approached it before stepping onto the deck and cautiously opening the door.
"Happy Birthday Dante!" the crowd yelled as everyone began to clap and cheer for him. Seemingly shocked at the sudden surprise, Dante nearly fell backwards from the shock, and Terra began to snicker to herself. Mya and Baxter grabbed each of his hands and began to drag him to the center where there was a table which held a cake with candles on it. It wrote the words "Happy Birthday Dante" in what seemed to be red frosting. He looked at it with wide eyes as the words continued from everyone.
"We know you didn't get to hear it yesterday when it actually was your birthday."
"But we made a few preparations to make sure you enjoy it today at least." Reginald said as he wore his usual big grin, obviously proud of what was being presented.
Reginald held his wife closely as she was known for her goods, he never would have expected her to go out of her way to make a cake for him. She smiled as she went on.
"You did everyone a favor by showing up in our time of need. You were truly like a hero coming to save us all! I know you've always been the type to do things selflessly though, we want to thank you for your hard work and dedication to making sure everyone here is okay all of the time Dante."
Baxter stood by his parents and crossed his arms, as if he wanted to be seen as a tough guy. He held his head up high before speaking.
"I still have…a long way to go before I'm able to be like you…but that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop tryin". I'll keep working hard to make sure I can take care of this village, just like you did!" he shouted these words loudly as a showing of his dedication to the task, Dante couldn't help but smile at the notion as he rubbed his head. Baxter didn't push him off as he usually would and accepted the pat as a sense of "passing the torch" in his mind. Though the other two came along and waited for theirs as well. He then rubbed both of Mya and Dillons' heads as the crowd began to laugh together.
Another person came along and gave Dante a pat on the back, he looked down to see it was Bernard who he smiled and hugged before suddenly lifting up and spinning around wildly. Bernard laughed as he was spun which surprised the lot surrounding them. He then sat him down and Bernard cleared his throat.
"You've always been like the son I never had. You've worked really hard to get where you're at, so I wanted to give you something you could use everyday." he said as he was handed a leather satchel. Dante graciously took the bag from his hands and opened it to see there was something inside. He pulled the items out to see that they were arm wraps, similar to what Rita wore. Though they were slightly different as they seem to have been custom made for him. He let off a big smile before bowing his head graciously to Bernard as he returned the favor.
He felt a tug on his shirt before looking over to see Dillon standing behind him. He tilted his head in question of what we needed before he handed over a small pouch. Dante inspected the pouch before opening it to see a small necklace, made from some string and seemed homemade. A small gem-like stone was embedded on it. It was small, but its red glow shone in the light when he lifted it up to inspect some more.
"It's…a gift from all of us kids. We wanted to thank you-"
Suddenly his face tensed up, seemingly feeling embarrassment in the moment and hiding behind Mya. Everyone began to laugh during the moment and Mya sighed heavily as the burden was placed on her. She smiled as she continued.
"We wanted to thank you for everything you've done for us. Not only protecting the village when we needed it most, but also playing with us and making sure everything was fine. You didn't have to, but you always have. So thank you." she looked to the side, slightly embarrassed from the words leaving her mouth. A collective cheer erupted from all of the village's children as Dante then put on the necklace and they ran to hug him tightly. Terra nudged Xavien in the moment and he could do nothing but let off a smile. The two slowly began to realize just how important Dante was to this village and its people. It made sense why someone like Rita would want to keep him there for his safety. It was a safe haven of sorts for someone like him, with people who wanted the best for him, and showed true care even with the knowledge of what he is.
Seeing the children all smile and laugh as Dante hugged them all back made Terra press her hand on her heart, reassuring her that this was someone she knew could possibly become someone of importance in the kingdom. She felt as if she was meant to come to the village to find him and help him in his endeavors, even if she didn't fully understand why or how she would. Though the feeling in the moment felt natural as she'd had her own reservations about what she was truly meant to do in her life. Though seeing such a sight of love and care, regardless of what he was really struck a chord within her.