Father and Son ( Ivory!)

[alex_xr]

Tristan smiled as he opened the door to Claudas's room. He was pretty sure that  he was still sleeping as it was in the morning.  He was going to surprise him with a day with his dad.  He had kept it a secret for fear of him not being able to keep his promise.   He smiled as he looked in on his son. He was pretty sure he was sleeping, but he approached  the bed quietly and  spoke softly " Claudas, are you awake?  If not its time to wake up! " He smiled at the sight of the teddy bear.

[Ivory]

Claudas didn't even stir as the door to his room opened, in spite of his father's footsteps and the sunlight coming in through his window.  He was off in the Land of Dreams, where he was a brave knight sailing the seas and fighting pirates, like in the stories his nanny sometimes told him.  Brown the Bear was tucked in his arms; it was a large stuffed animal, and, at one time, it had been even been the same size of Claudas!  Now, however, it looked much smaller beside him.

The sound of his father's voice roused Claudas from his dreams.  His small nose wrinkled in protest, and he made a soft noise, but his eyes were soon blinking up at Tristan from beneath his long, dark lashes.  "Papa?" he asked, voice still filled with sleep.  He yawned widely -- though his face lit with joy a moment later as it dawned on him that it was, indeed, his father towering over him.  A wide grin split his face, and he abandoned Brown the Bear altogether to throw his arms around his father's neck.  "Good morning, Papa!  Where's Nan?"

[alex_xr]

Tristan smiled and spun around with Claudas in his arms.  He laughed as the boy said good morning.  " Hmm I believe she is with her family, I gave her the day off, as I thought you would rather go out with me.  "  He said knowing the answer already.  He set him down and couldn't help but grin. 

" now get dressed and ready we are going out on a adventure!"  He said cheerfully, knowing that Claudas would love hearing the word adventure.  " and of course Brown is invited if you want to bring him"  Tristan waited to see if he needed to help with anything figuring it couldn't be hard to find where the clothes were.

[Ivory]

Claudas laughed in delight as he clung to his father.  "Really?!" he asked, eyes widening in surprised glee.  He nodded sharply, then, scurrying off across as the room as fast as his legs could take him.

Nan usually helped him with his clothes, but, today, he was determined to be an Adult and to get dressed all by himself!  He set about pulling open the drawers of his dresser in search of pants (brown) and a shirt (blue.)  They didn't match in the slightest, but he truly didn't notice.  He also found his socks.

"What kind of a 'venture?" he asked brightly as he hurried about.

[alex_xr]

Tristan  laughed and grabbed a more appropriate shirt, for Claudas and held it out for him " Almost,   my son"   He kneeled down and was prepared to help him but guessed that he would want to be more adult than that.   

" Well I was thinking about that, and I thought we could go out in the country and explore.  Unless you wanted to explore the city.  Or we could go to meetings "  He laughed knowing the last one was there as a joke. He was glad to see Claudas so happy.  It warmed his heart to see his son so alight.

[Ivory]

It was a fortunate thing Tristan was prepared to help; in a moment, he would have to help with the buttons!  "I like the country!" Claudas agreed readily, though he quickly made a face at the mention of going to meetings.  He had been to a scarce few -- usually the more formal ones -- and he knew two things: one, they were really, really, really, really, really boring!  And two, the clothes he had to wear made him itch, and if he had so much as a thread out of place or dirty, he would be in for it!  His nimble fingers swiftly skipped over an entire button, causing the entire front of his outfit to become mis-aligned.

"No, no!  I wanna go see the country!  Do we get to ride the horses?  Is Mama coming too?"

[alex_xr]

Tristan laughed and quickly unbuttoned his shirt, and then putting them back on.   " The country it is,  and of course we get to ride the horses, Why else would you have your own horse?" He had thought about inviting Madaline but he wanted this to be a boys day out.    "No, Mama isn't coming she is doing boring things"  He then wondered if perhaps Claudas wanted to be picked up or not.   " Well are you ready to go to the stables? " He had the servants already preparing their other needs and his guards were already  out and scouting their destination. He hated that it was necessary but he was bringing out his chile into the woods.   

He wondered how Claudas would like his present.   He thought of the wooden sword, that he had made just for Claudas, and he couldn't wait to give it to him. 

[Ivory]

Claudas waited patiently for his father to fix his buttons for him, apparently quite accustomed to this routine!  Once freed, he flung himself down onto his mattress to pull on his socks.

A flicker of disappointment passed over his expression upon hearing Mama wouldn't be joining them, but it vanished soon enough.  "Girls don't like the country anyway," he announced sagely, although who knew where his thoughts had come from?  "It's too dirty, and they don't like dirt!"

Socks on and he was all set!  "Uh-huh!"  He held a hand up to his father for him to take.  He didn't want to ask to be carried (because he was a big kid!) but holding hands was still okay!

[alex_xr]

Tristan shook his head and grabbed Claudas's shoes.  "forgot something?"  He laughed as he put them on and tied them.    He then  held his hand and walked to the stables.   The horses were already saddled, and the guard was already waiting and mounted.  " Now Claudas, the most important thing I can say is to stay with me or the guards at all times ok?"  He smiled as  Claudas's pony was brought to them.   

Tristan stayed by to see if he wanted his help, as he tried to encourage  his independence.   " Are you ready to go riding?"  Tristan asked, still wondering where Claudas got the idea that girls didn't like the country.. but then thought of Madaline and wondered if that was true. 

[Ivory]

Claudas was impatient to be off!  Even so, the sight of his horse (well, pony) filled him with a sense of shyness.  It was such a big creature!  He pressed against Tristan's leg, silently gazing in awe at the chestnut-colored animal.  He was always like this with large animals -- but, once he overcame that initial shyness, he was fine.

The pony stretched out its long neck to snuffle directly in the boy's face.  Claudas laughed and reached forward to pet that questing nose, suddenly, once again, enamored with his pony.  "Hi, Copper.  We're goin' to the country!"

Although it was a pony rather than a horse, there was still no way for Claudas to reach the saddle without some sort of help.  Still, true to his nature, Claudas wanted to spoil his pony a bit before getting down to the business of riding.  "Can I give him an apple, Papa?"  He tilted his head to look up -- all the way up! -- at his father, then grinned cheekily.  "Please?  And then you can help me up to the saddle!"

[alex_xr]

Tristan laughed  as he took an apple from his saddle bag and handed it to Claudas.  " Here you go, make sure you watch your fingers"  He said ready to help him up on his saddle when he was ready.  Tristan was glad that Claudas was happy, and thus was happy himself. He  couldn't wait to see the look on Claudas's face when he got his present in the woods.   

Tristan pet and fed his own horse an apple, before patting it on the back.  He then proceeded to help Claudas up once he had fed copper the apple.   and got up  on his own horse, with a smile, and a wink he led the way,  a guide rope tied from copper to kald's horse ensured that claudas didn't end up on the other side of the province.

[Ivory]

Claudas had watched the apple disappear in Copper's much larger mouth with a delighted laugh, his laughter renewed when the pony snuffled at the boy's hands for another bite.  "Good boy," he praised the pony with a broad smile, simply enjoying his affections.

Then it was time to go!  Claudas settled into the saddle, sure to hold on just as he had been taught.  Most of his time in the saddle had been around the Courtyard, although, steadily, he was being allowed to go longer and longer distances.  (Of course, to him, Town was pretty far away, so even that was a sort of adventure for him!)

It was still a little alarming when the pony suddenly moved forward, but, as the stables fell away behind them, he began to relax.  He turned to give his father, the biggest, broadest grin, looking adorable and proud upon his pony, as though it were a gallant war steed!

"Are we going somewhere fun?"  That, obviously, was the most important thing!

[alex_xr]

Tristan smiled and ensured he was now next to Claudas, riding side by side.  " Would I take you somewhere that wasn't? "   He laughed as they went out of the town, Riding towards the forest  that wasn't too far.  He looked to his son, and couldn't help but feel proud. " You know one day you will have to keep these lands safe, Can you promise to do that Claudas?"  He asked as he  breathed in the wonderful scents of the outdoors. "  I thought we could explore the forest a bit,  and of course you will get to use your present. "   He said with a smile hoping that the word present excited Claudas like he hoped.

[Ivory]

"Of course!" the boy answered enthusiastically.  "I'm gonna be a brave knight like you!"  He was still at his age where such concepts were abstract enough that it seemed perfectly plausible!  "Not even the dead Cap'ain Black will win against us!"  He meant Dread Captain Blagg, an infamous (and strictly mythological) pirate captain rumored to sail the seas and steal naughty children.  "And then we'll take his treasure and build a whole house for the kids he stole.  No!  A treefort!  With slides!"

Perfectly reasonable!

His great plans, however, stopped abruptly when he heard the one word every kid longs to hear...  "I have a present?"  He grinned so widely his face looked about to split, momentarily revealing one dimple in his cheek.  "How come?  It isn't my birthday!"

[alex_xr]

Tristan laughed at the concocted story of Claudas. he was listening to his plans  glad that he had such an active imagination.  It was then that Tristan knew he had him. " Can't a father give his son a present? and not have a reason? "  he said with a smile as he reached into his saddle bag pulling out a wooden sword, that was made perfectly to suit Claudas. It looked just like  Tristans real sword except fit for a 5 year old.   He then handed it to him, hoping it wasn't too early as they hadn't quite reached their destination yet.  " Do you like it?"

[Ivory]

Claudas's eyes practically boggled out of his head as the sword appeared!  It didn't matter much to the boy that the sword was made of wood rather than steel; it was a sword, and it was his!

"Uh-huh!  It's just like you'rs, isn't it?" he confirmed brightly as he gave the sword an experimental swing.  The wild swing narrowly missed a tree to the boy's left, and his pony stopped dead for a second, looking behind him to discover what had flickered through his vision.  After a moment, he dismissed the antics of the anxious boy on his back and continued forward at his usual, plodding pace.

Claudas didn't notice; he was too busy imagining himself fighting pirates!  Had he been on the ground rather than on horseback, he likely would have already run off to slay an enemy of the realm (aka, a bush).  It was only after a moment that he remembered his manners, and he turned to his father with a grin.  "Thank you, Papa!"

[alex_xr]

They arrived shortly, it was a small clearing with a fake wood fort, with wood dummies set up. Tristan lauged at Clauda's antics. " Its no problem, I tried to get you a real one but mama would let me. "   He smiled and got off his horse.  " You see this castle belongs to the villan known as General BarBar, He is an aweful man and has done horrible things such as put good children to work.  "  He smiled as he pulled out a wood sword of his one. He figured it only fair.  The family's favorite guard captain dressed to the part appeared behind the fort. 

" Ah another Child  for the mines, please do come in sir knight,  We have just the place fore you"

Tristan hoped Claudas liked it.

[Ivory]

"Mama says real swords are dangerous," Claudas answered sagely, ever a bit of a Mama's Boy.  Not that he wouldn't play with one if it were sitting in front of him...but, then again, any boy would.  Still, for the time being, he was more than happy with the wooden sword!

His eyes were alight at the sight of the fort.  He lifted a hand to wave to the Captain, then thought better of it when the man delivered his line.  He blinked owlishly for a minute, then looked up at his father, grin doubling when he saw his father, too, had a wooden sword to match his!

Squirming down off his pony, he landed nimbly on his feet.  "We're not here for the mines!" he announced grandly with, what he thought, was a grand swing of his sword.  "We're here to rescue the children you took!"

[alex_xr]

Tristan laughed and then looked at Claudas, " sir what would you like me to do?"  He asked putting Claudas in "command"  He  wondered what he would think of this. Tristan hoped that Claudas liked it as it had been a bit of work to get this together but it was every kids dream right? Tristan then acted like he was being attacked and began to engage the closest dummy. " sir? "

[Ivory]

Claudas pointed his sword at the entrance to the small fort.  "Charge!  But I wanna kill General Barbar!"  Because wasn't that what heroes did while their trusted sidekicks handled the bad guy's evil minions?

Of course, he would kill a few minions himself...

Running up to the nearest dummy with a yell that was meant to be a battle cry, he attempted to stab the dummy with his wood sword.  If it had been a real sword and a real man, there would have been a pretty good cut through the man's middle.