As soon as my eyes met grandmother's deep gentle gaze, a strange sense of relief washed over me, It seemed like she was not as unreasonable as my grandfather. A small smile made Its way to my face as I slowly felt myself relax, perhaps It was due to my grandmother's relatively small stature that I did not feel as intimidated as when I met my grandfather for the first time.
It was then that my father's voice reverberated in my ear, he spoke with a sense of urgency. "That's your grandmother, hurry up and greet her, I still have to go," Saying that, he abruptly turned his palm downwards causing me to plummet to the ground.
I was perplexed at my father's sudden change in attitude as he swiftly turned around and was about to leave. Just before I reached the ground, I opened my wings and slowed my descent as my bottoms gently touched the bank of the gentle stream.
Raising my head, I was ready to extend my greeting towards my grandmother when I suddenly realized that she was gone. Confused, I looked around in curiosity, my eyes soon widened as I spotted her small figure in the air blocking my father from leaving.
She had the same gentle expression on her face, one which subconsciously made me think It suited a sweet grandmother figure. To my surprise, however, my father's face was strange. His eyes darted about nervously as he avoided looking straight into her deep purple eyes.
'What the?' I inwardly muttered in confusion. His reaction was one that caused me to momentarily pause in surprise, for my father actually seemed nervous. It was to be noted that even when he had met grandfather, he still seemed to retain his composure and simply showed the respect he must to an elder.
Yet the father before me at the moment was nothing like his usual domineering self. His abnormally large head avoided looking at grandmother who could be considered as an ant In size compared to him as his eyes darted around nervously.
It was then that grandmother spoke for the first time, her voice was as equally warm and accommodating as her purple eyes. "Boy, where are you going in such haste when It's been so long since you saw your mother?" She asked with a smile, addressing my mountain of a father as a boy which caused me to involuntarily gulp.
"U-Uh, I still have some matters to attend to dearest mother, and so I will be excusing myself," Answered father in a respectful tone. My eyes widen and my jaw dropped in shock as father stuttered to speak. My entire worldview suddenly shattered as I carefully looked back at the tiny figure of my grandmother, a shiver running down my scales.
"Oh, some matters you say, well I'm sure those matters can wait for a little bit can they not?" Asked grandmother with a gentle smile, father was about to speak before she leisurely added, "Unless, you did something that you don't want me to find out about and now you are trying to run away," She said, her smile never quite leaving her face as her eyes slightly squinted in a probing manner.
Hearing that, father's mountain-like body visibly shuddered as If he had been caught red-handed, I could actually sense the nervous emotions oozing out of his body. Seeing his reaction, and then gazing at grandmother's relaxed posture, a single thought came to my mind.
'Oh, he's fucked...'
I didn't know what 'thing' father did that he was so afraid grandmother would find out about, but whatever It was, It seemed like she already did. I watched nervously as grandmother who seemed to have been standing in the air as If it was solid ground slowly walk towards father's large face.
Each step she took carried an inexpressible weight, almost as If she was stepping on my heart, If I was feeling this way and her attention wasn't even directed at me, I could only wonder what sort of pressure father was facing. Grandmother's purple eyes seemed to glow as she spoke.
"Now then, are you going to come down, or am I going to have to make you come down?" She asked in a calm matter almost as if she was talking about the weather, the smile on her face looked devilish to me at that moment.
Father's body unintentionally trembled once again as he lowered his head and quickly rushed down to the ground, just before he landed, however, grandmother's voice carried over. "Careful with my stream, I don't want you to destroy everything with your stupidly large body," She said, to which father surprisingly landed gently for the first time ever.
Seeing all of this unfold before my eyes, my body was rooted in place as my heart that was initially relaxed started thumping loudly in my chest. 'Of course, she's scary you idiot, what did you accept when she married a monster like grandfather?! Hell, she's more terrifying than him even!' I inwardly cursed and quickly lowered my head not daring to raise my eyes and look at her.
'I can't be fooled by appearances, she's so small but father seems so hopeless in front of her. Just how strong is she?!' I wondered as another shiver ran down my spine. Just then, grandmother's figure appeared in front of me like a sudden gust of wind, she then spoke in a calm and gentle tone.
"So you are little Aether. Raise your head and let grandma have a good look at you," She said causing me to subconsciously move my head and stare back at her gentle deep purple eyes. Grandmother's smile widened as she studied me with a happy expression before she glanced back at father and spoke with a click of her tongue.
"How could you keep my adorable grandchild away from me all this time," She said while shaking her head in disapproval before she moved circled me, almost as if studying me with a strange glint in her eyes.
"The mana seems to love you a bit more," She let out a slight chuckle as she came to stand by my side and gently threw her wing over me, almost as If she was hugging me. "Water and Cosmic mana, as expected of my adorable grandchild," She nodded approvingly before she turned her gaze towards my father, her smile instantly vanished causing him to hastily lower his head in a fearful matter.
"So boy, tell me, do you know what you did wrong?" She questioned causing my body to unintentionally stiffen, 'Are you seriously going to do this now? With me standing here? Shouldn't I at least go or pretend not to listen?' I inwardly protested feeling awkward as I glanced at my father's submissive stance.
Father seemed to gather his courage before he raised his head and glanced at grandmother with his usual proud gaze. "I-" Before he could finish what he was about to say, a sudden gust of wind suddenly descended downing him to the ground causing countless cracks to open.
"Remember who you are talking to boy, and show some respect, If you are going to look at me with those eyes then you better have the power to back It," Said grandmother, her smile had completely disappeared from her face as she clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Now look at what you made me do, I didn't want to destroy the land,"