Chapter 561 - Homecoming

A/N - A slightly shorter chapter, today. Normally, I like to give my readers at least 3000 words to enjoy per chapter, and often quite a bit more. The next chapter will be another fat one at 5000+ words. - Please enjoy!

It was those looks that he feared above all others, Eric firmly decided, pinned as he was by his foster mother’s worried, hurt gaze and John’s hard, disapproving stare, after slipping through the front entrance and taking off his shoes before padding up to the dining room. The cute quip on the tip of his tongue that he had thought so clever as he raced from the city back home at a glorious and unapologetic Mach 5 has slipped utterly free of his mind, absurd Scholarship or no.

“Um… hi.” He said with a sheepish smile, nervously rubbing the back of his neck, feeling a sting of guilt that was completely unexpected.

“Eric! Where were you? We were worried about you!” Hanna’s anxious gaze pinned him where he stood.

“Responsibility means letting us know if you’re going to be late,” John said mildly enough, though the weight of disapproval in his voice was unmistakable.

Eric winced, though he didn’t fight it at all when Hanna wrapped him up in a motherly hug. Her eyes widened with something when she caught a whiff of him that quickly became a mother’s exasperated huff. “Now go wash up. We can wait five minutes. I know you’re fast, and you stink!”

Eric couldn’t help flushing at that, especially when he trilled a greeting to his two fellow foster sisters who chirped disapprovingly, pointing at the darkness outside the window and at the clock, then back to him.

“Yeah, sorry. Life definitely caught up with me, today.”

Then he darted up to his own room, took as quick a shower as he dared, and was back at the table in less than five minutes. Spotless and dressed in casual t-shirt and shorts and smelling quite spiffy, no trace of eldritch seas or inky alien squid guts on him at all.

And Louise was still glaring at him, in between bites of a perfectly poached fish claimed from perfectly natural water, along with garlicky fried rice.

“Where were you, Eric? You were supposed to be home hours ago.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, everyone. The photoshoot took way longer than expected. Rachel and I were actually touching up photos until right before I came home.” All of which was, technically, true.

He tried not to wince when Hanna and John traded a glance.

“And is there a reason why you couldn’t call us and let us know you’d be coming home late?” John asked, mildly enough.

Now Eric really did flush. “That’s because I didn’t think about it, to be honest.” He flashed a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Stupid excuse, I know. But after the apocalypse back home, I really did fall out of the habit of even thinking about phones… and I actually... well, I still don’t know how phones work, here.”

Hanna snorted. “We told you about them yesterday.”

“Yeah… just that they existed. Not how to actually use them?”

Hanna gazed at Eric for long moments before filling the air with her warm laughter, and suddenly everything was right with the world again. “He does have a point. How can we expect our Eric to give us a call, when we never showed him how to properly use a phone?” She sighed, giving a rueful shake of her head. “And we never even gave him our number, so no friend could call on his behalf.”

John’s look of mild disappointment became a rueful smile of his own. “You’re right, darling. We just took it for granted. Eric’s only been here for a handful of days, after all.”

Louise scowled. “He was a jerk who was canoodling with his girlfriend and totally forgot about us.”

Eric laughed. “Hardly, little sis. If I disappeared, who would serve as your awesome role model in all things sleek and cool?”

“Certainly not you,” she snorted.

Eric flashed his sister a cheeky grin. “You might find that not everyone agrees with that in a few days, sis.”

Louise glared at him before returning to devouring her meal. “Real family sticks together.”

“Agreed.”

“You should have called.”

“True.”

Louise sighed, put down her fork, and grabbed his hand. “Come on, clueless bro. Let big sister show you how phones work. See this? This is a rotary dial. See these numbers 0 through 9? You spin it… gently! It’s an eight digit number. You might hear clicking for half a minute as the system works your call through… and sometimes a nice lady will connect you directly. Though that’s rare, nowadays. Then someone will pick up and you talk to them normally. Then you hang up the phone on the receiver here, when you’re finished. Understand?”

Eric dutifully nodded as he gazed upon what looked exactly like a steampunk version of an 80s rotary phone, made of steel, bronze, and chrome, with no plastic parts. And hadn’t he seen telephone poles, just outside? Seeming to blend in so naturally… why hadn’t it clicked until now?

She then pointed to the metal strip of braille on the bottom of the phone. “The top number is ours. The one underneath it is to dad’s office. If there’s any sort of family emergency, we call it and they send help.”

Eric blinked at this, that one statement making it clear that John held a job of some importance, but it didn’t feel like the proper time to ask. He spent a second memorizing the numbers with a moment’s concentration, smiling a bit on the inside that a clever memory seemed to be the extent of what the System or his own personal evolution could do to enhance his own questionable intellect. Clever like a hunting cat, perhaps, but he was certainly no Einstein. And that was fine. As long as he was clever enough to stay one step ahead of everyone who wanted to kill him… he was okay with just being himself.

Though he really loved being a really, really strong, fast, and deadly version of himself, and he couldn’t quite hold back the tiny smile of content happiness he felt, when the last of the tension had evaporated, he had finally eaten his fill, and he, Hanna and Ella were taking on Maja, Louise, and John in an odd version of jenga and charades that the girls, at least, found a lot of fun.

“Sorry, I have absolutely no idea what that is, Ella,” Eric wryly said as Louise hooted with victory, sliding the last loose block on top of the wooden pile while Ella chirped angrily.

Hanna gave Eric a bemused grin. “It seems your sister isn’t very happy with your performance.”

“Yes, but I’ve never even heard of a gold-finned tree jumper before, so…”

Even Maja, on the opposing team, gave Eric a disappointed look. “It was so obvious, Eric. You saw the way she twirled her fingers. Perfectly mimicking the flight feathers. How could you not see it?”

Eric gave an apologetic chuckle, rubbing her light green locks. “You got me there, Maja. I guess I’ll turn in early and get a good night’s sleep. Maybe I’ll be sharper in the morning.”

“You’d better be,” Ella scolded. “We’re sharing class again, tomorrow, and I don’t want to disappoint Mrs. Ming!”

“Noted,” Eric declared with solemn gravity, before grinning at Hanna and heading upstairs, heart light with the warmth of family, misunderstandings smoothed over, the delight of being a big brother again… even if all his limbs still shivered and tingled with the wonder of his own ascension, having finally, for better or worse, evolved to Bronze.

And it showed. He could feel it in the added grace to his fingertips, the way distant objects would pop with effortless clarity when he zoomed in his focus. He felt it tingling in his muscles, a coiled up power so eager to launch itself forth… and he didn’t dare. Not now. As much as he wanted to seize the moment and consolidate his gains, he valued and counted as precious the moments he could spend with those who had welcomed him as family. People that genuinely seemed to care.

Not motivated by fear or twisted avarice, but by gentle compassion that profoundly touched his heart.

So even though he knew he risked being late a second time that night… he still waited with warmth in his heart for Hanna to gently knock on his door and enter his room, perhaps a bit surprised to see him fully clothed and not in bed at all.

She favored him with a motherly smile, though she looked tired more than anything else, the laughter lines fully present once more. “How are you, Eric? John and I wanted to talk to you and make sure that everything was alright.”

Eric gave a rueful chuckle. “I’m glad we prioritized game night. It was nice to see Maja and Louise bonding, despite the language barrier as they secured their victory.”

“And you translating for them still.”

“Of course.”

Hanna smiled. “So, how was your first photoshoot?”

“Exhausting,” Eric freely admitted. “Went on way too long, and the way they kept poking at me… nudging me to basically make love to the camera with my posture and eyes…” He shuddered. “So very cringe.”

Hanna snorted. “Poor dear. Now you know how most models feel.”

“We’re you ever a model?”

Hanna blinked, then chuckled. “No, dear. But thank you for the compliment. Every girl wants to imagine herself beautiful enough to be one, even if only a few of us are actually brave enough to go through the ordeal of a photoshoot.”

Eric nodded. “I don’t blame them. It’s fun in the right frame of mind, but you really, really have to work hard to get in that right frame of mind.”

Hanna nodded, smiling in sympathy. “I can imagine. So, how was working with Rachel?”

“Interesting,” Eric freely admitted. “She certainly enjoyed bossing me around.”

Hanna snorted. “Nothing wrong with that, Eric,” she said, eyes twinkling. “Some guys like being bossed by a strong woman… if the mood is right.”

Eric forced a chuckle. “Sure. If the mood is right.”

Hanna tilted her head. “But it wasn’t for you two?”

Eric sighed. “Rachel’s a sweetheart. But I think maybe it’s best that we just be friends.”

Hanna gazed at him for long moments, her playful smile turning serious. “That’s very wise of you, for any number of reasons.”

“Like being a tiny bit too strong.”

Hanna nodded solemnly. “It can be a problem. You have to be very, very careful before daring to fall in love with a mortal when your power reaches a certain threshold.”

“But she’s not… I mean, not entirely.”

Hanna gave him a curious look.

“I mean, I see the potential for cultivation there.”

“Then you are very perceptive.”

“But she hasn’t done anything with it. At least, not that I can tell.”

For some reason, Hanna gave him a sympathetic smile, saying only, “Life can be complicated, here in NanDushi. No doubt she will move forward in the direction that suits her best, when it’s time.”

Eric was wise enough to nod and keep his lips tightly shut, knowing better than to lecture an experienced cultivator about the advantages of pushing as hard as one could while still young. Because no doubt there were all sorts of currents flowing beneath the obvious, and ultimately, it really wasn’t any of his business.

Hanna gave Eric a fond smile. “Have a good night, Eric.”

“Thanks, Aunt Hanna. If I get restless and feel the need for a stroll… I promise I’ll leave a note.”

Hanna frowned for just a heartbeat before slowly nodding. “Thank you, Eric. John and I would appreciate that.”

Eric kept his expression bland as his foster mother left, before sighing with relief, having done everything he could to hide his blossoming potency all night, even if he was still bubbling with energy after his breakthrough. It had been the perfect moment, and he couldn’t let the opportunity to have a pretext for a late night absence thought to be the most innocent of strolls—and at least one parent in his corner—slide. Because it was already 8:59 and he had a nine o’clock appointment to a martial dance and every intention of keeping it.