Lian enjoyed spending time with his children. He made silly sounds at them, and listened as they babbled happily back at him. He hid his face, and "peeked" out at them from behind his hands. This seemed to amuse Lukar and Lira to no end. They like it when he mimicked the sounds they made, too. It made them shriek and giggle in delight.
After a while, Lukar began to cry. Lian didn't know the difference between the twins' cries as well as Seirei did, but he knew that this wasn't a hungry cry. Nor was it a cry of pain or fear. Using the process of elimination, Lian realized what the problem was. It made perfect sense when he thought about it. What went in one end was going to come out the other sooner or later.
Lian made sure that Lira was safe, and occupied. Then he removed Lukar's swaddling cloths. Thankfully, he hadn't been wet long enough for the urine to soak through his diaper, and into the swaddling cloths. Lian set the dirty diaper aside. It would have to be cleaned at the first possible opportunity; a task that he would happily leave for Seirei. Burying the soiled diaper near the tent would prevent the scent of the urine from spreading throughout the tent before she returned. Lian found a clean cloth diaper, and carefully folded it so it would do its job. Then he tied the ends so it would stay on. Lukar squirmed, and fussed as Lian changed him, but he got the job done without too much difficulty.
He was about to wrap his son in his swaddling cloths once more, when he got an idea. Why not let the twins play for a bit? They were in the safety of the tent, so there was little danger. After checking to make sure that all of his arrows, and Seirei's tools were well out of reach, he set Lukar on the ground gently. Then he removed Lira's swaddling cloths, and set her beside him. When not restrained by their swaddling cloths, the twins were able to sit by themselves.
With some effort, Lian searched through his captives' belongings until he found the cakes he'd seen her using in the past. He crumbled a small corner off each one, and placed each into one of the bowls his captive had. Using some of the water they had stored, Lian mixed the paints. He used more water than he thought truly necessary to dilute the paint. He didn't think there was anything harmful in them. When he was a child, he'd been told that paints and dyes were made from flowers, and plants, and such. So as long as he was careful to make sure the twins didn't eat them, he was fairly sure they were safe enough. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry where his children were concerned. Hence the extra water to dilute the paints just in case their was something harmful in them.
When he was satisfied that the paints were diluted enough, he set the bowls down in front of the twins. They'd probably get the paint all over themselves, but it would be easy enough to get them cleaned up afterwards. Hopefully. He watched them for a while. It amused him greatly to see Lukar and Lira patting the paint with their hands, seeming to like the way it felt. Perhaps it was because the paint was cooler than the air around them.
But after a while, Lian remembered what Trail had told him about arrows that had been used too many times. He had promised himself that he would sort them out as soon as he'd gone home. But the twins had been fussy, and Seirei needed help to calm them down. One thing happened after another, and before Lian knew it, he had forgotten to sort through his arrows. Until now. Lian glanced at Lukar and Lira. They were happy enough, babbling at each other contentedly as they dipped their hands in the different colors.
Lian convinced himself that it would be okay to sort through his arrows now. He'd be in the next "room" of the tent, a small section separated from the rest in case he or Seirei needed a bit of privacy. He would be able to hear everything that went on in the main area, and he'd check on the twins frequently. If something sounded off in any way, he'd come immediately to check on them, even if he had checked on them just ticks before.
So Lian gathered all of his arrows, and retreated behind the divider. The first arrows he examined were the ones currently in his quiver. Those were the ones he used most often. One by one, he examined the arrows. Those that were slightly bowed, or that had frayed feathers were placed in one pile. Arrows whose tips had become dull joined them. That accounted for half of the arrows in his quiver, ten total. The remaining ten were put back into his quiver. The ones that were removed would be kept, but from now on, they would only be used for target practice.
It was time to check on the twins, so Lian poked his head around the divider. They seemed happy enough. Both were giggling as Lukar patted his legs with paint covered hands, and Lira patted his cheek, leaving a blue mark. Lian grinned, amused by their antics. He watched them for a few chimes more, then went back to his task.
Lian began examining the arrows in one of his spare bundles. Most of the arrows in this set of twenty were fine. The five that were not joined the group of arrows set aside for practice only. Ten of the arrows from this bundle were put into his quiver so Lian would have twenty with him when he went hunting. Then he moved onto the second bundle of arrows. All twenty proved to be in good shape. They were packed back up into their bundle.
Lian got up to check on the twins once more. They were fine, and Lira giggled happily when she saw him. Lian grinned, and made a funny face at her. This was rewarded by a shriek of delight and a string of happy babbling. This got Lukar's attention. When Lian made a funny face at him, Lukar stuck his tongue out at him, and blew a raspberry. Lian chuckled. By now, both kids had a good amount of paint on them, and some paint had been spilled onto the ground around the bowls.
There was one more bundle of arrows to examine, so Lian retreated behind the divider once more. The final fourteen arrows were carefully examined one by one. All of them were fine. Lian added the five arrows left over from his first bundle to this one, leaving him with a quiver full of good arrows as well as two bundles of spare arrows that were good. He needed a way to know which bundle of arrows could only be used for practice at a glance. So he gave it some thought, and came up with the idea of dying the ends of the rope he used to secure the bundle of practice arrows. Paint would work just as well for the job, and he already had some ready made that he could use. So he grabbed his length of rope, and headed back out into the main area once more.
There were no words to describe the sight that greeted him when he emerged. Lukar and Lira were both covered in paint. You had to search long and hard to find a bit of skin on either child that was paint free. That much, Lian had almost expected. Though seeing it now, it was much worse than he had imagined it to be. And that was only the beginning.
The tent wall nearest them was also drenched in paint. As Lian stared at the mess, he saw splashes of paint much higher than he ever would have thought the twins could reach. They must have shaken their paint covered hands above their heads for drops of paint to reach up that far. They were sitting in a pool of paint. A pool that was spreading slowly. Lian rushed over, and grabbed their swaddling cloths before the growing pool of paint could reach them. Splatters of paint were...everywhere. Anything that wasn't inside something else, or safely behind the divided area had at least a few splotches of paint on it.
Lian stared in shock. What...how...? Was he dreaming? Lian pinched himself, and flinched at the sharp pain. No. No, he definitely wasn't dreaming. Lian crouched down so he was close to eye level with the kids.
"How did you do this?" he asked in stunned dismay.
"Da! Da, da, da!" Lukar shrieked.
"Ba!" Lira added.
"Your mother is going to kill me, isn't she? There's no way we can clean all of this up. Do paints stain? Why did I ever think this was a good idea?" he asked, nearly babbling himself.
Lukar chose that moment to slam his hand into one of the bowls of paint hard. Lian felt liquid hit his face and arms as the paint splashed him. Both of the twins shrieked with laughter at the stunned expression on his face. Lian only whimpered..
.
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