Otanur buttoned his shirt in front of the mirror. It was early in the morning and Tuktirey's whole family had invited him to join them for breakfast the night before.
He had been joining them for all meals the past few days. He enjoyed their company. It was nice to hear the children laugh and run around while the table was full of lighthearted conversation. There was never a moment of dullness with a family in which even the silent moments were comforting. It was one of Otanur's favorite things.
It was fun to see Tuktirey getting pampered by her brothers. To watch a woman who always presented herself so dignified and even-tempered before the world, scowling and blushing, a victim of her family's love was a sight he held dear to his heart.
He found himself smiling, but the idea didn't last long, interrupted by someone opening his bedroom door abruptly. His mother went inside without uttering a single word to him, looking around the room uninterested as if he wasn't present.
"You are up early." She kept her voice and expression neutral, not allowing her son to guess what was she looking for.
"I'm always up at this hour." He mumbled doing his best to redo the messy knot his tie was made into. "I try my best to stay out of your hair. I thought you would be at least grateful for my efforts."
"You do a good job, I can acknowledge as much." She went closer to him, working on the tie herself. "But sometimes your efforts are not enough...Or do you simply enjoy to spite me?"
"I would never, ma'am. I have important things to occupy my time with." His voice didn't waver, but he felt particularly suffocated by the way she was still holding the tie around his neck.
"That girl being one of them, I suppose." She said mockingly.
"She has a name. You can say it, it will not kill you." Otanur gritted out, but his mother was unfazed.
"...You are particularly fond of her, aren't you, Otanur?" She remained stoic. "I do not care. Whatever you do or stop doing, is far from my worries. Whether you are dead or alive would be irrelevant to me if you were not the rightful heir to your father's business and assets."
"That man was not my father." He turned his head to the side which only angered her more. His mother pulled the tie harder to gain his attention like he was a misbehaving dog.
"We all carry the burden that is his last name, and you will do so as well until the day you die." Her beautiful face turned into a bitter frown. "If you are not willing to take after his business, the least right you can do is not let that girl fool you."
"She is my friend." He mumbled, unable to sustain her gaze.
"That girl is using you, and you are stupidly too blinded to stop her. The Sully's are particularly known for crawling their way up, and if you think any different of them, then you are more of an idiot and we already believed you to be."
Missus Vorek frowned. There was a mix of anger and desperation in her eyes that Otanur knew too well.
"That house, Otanur, is ours. My daughters and I will not be thrown away by whatever gold-digging, sly little-"
"Do not." His voice didn't come out as firm as he would have wanted, but it succeded by making his mother quiet.
"Even after death, he keeps punishing me. Haven't I suffered enough? Why do you do this to me, Otanur?" She begged and the little courage he had mustered vanished in an instant.
"I don't know, I'm sorry..." He shook his head. His shoulders went slightly inwards in hopes to make himself as small as possible.
"...This is the only thing I expect from you. The least you can do is keep our lives free from a woman as greedy as her. If you wish to entertain yourself, very well, that does not concern me...But if you wish to marry, at least have mercy on us and marry someone stupid."
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To our little ones || Aonung x Neteyam
Fanfiction"My dearest, Give all my children a kiss, tell them I think about them by day, pray for them by night, and find my best comfort in their affection. I know it seems like a very long time before I see them but remind them, we may all work, so these ha...
