"Aphmau?" Tommy blurted out. His mother had a sister? He had had no idea about that. Should he trust the stranger?
"Yes, or rather Jessica Aphmau Odison-Stark. She's my younger sister. I'm pretty sure she's somewhere around here," Claire explained.
"I know where she is," Tommy answered hesitatedly. Claire noticed the hesitation and tilted her head, "You hesitated."
"I don't know if I should trust you," Tommy admitted immediately. He wasn't going to lie to them.
"You can trust me. I know her well. She would trust me," Claire said and smiled slightly. Suddenly Tommy felt like he could trust her.
"Alright, but I can't take you two to her yet. She has just lost someone important and isn't listening even her own children," Tommy frowned and crossed his arms. He was really worried about his mother.
"She has children?" Claire tilted her head and shared a look with Andy. "I didn't know that," She admitted.
"All of them are adopted. She has three adopted sons and one baby girl. Plus, she has two grandchildren," Tommy explained.
"She has four children and two grandchildren?" Andy blurted out.
"Yes, she has currently four children. Her first one here was Levin, he's the Lord of Phoenix Drop. Aphmau used to be the Lord before him. Then there's Malachi, he's over 900 years old and used to be a ghost. He's technically the oldest, but pretends to be the 2nd oldest because he was in child's body for so long. Her youngest is Lilith-Garnet, she's just a baby still. And then there's me. I'm her oldest and also the only teenager she has adopted," Tommy explained. "Her grandchildren are my two adopted children," He added.
"You're her son? Well, it's nice to meet you! That makes me your aunt and Andy your cousin!" Claire smiled.
"I actually had no idea that mum had siblings," Tommy admitted. He had heard about his father, Sly Stark, and two brothers, Leo and Flippy, who had sadly passed, but had never heard her mention that she had siblings.
"We haven't really seen each other in years, not after her wedding," Claire explained. Her voice was a bit distant and sad. Tommy could easily read from her expression that she missed her sister.
"I can let you stay in her house. Let me show you where it is," Tommy said. Claire and Andy nodded before following him to Aphmau's house.
"This is her house. I live there with my children and a raccoon. Sometimes you might see a ginger haired pirate here. You can just let her be, she's my biological brother's wife," Tommy explained as he let the duo to the house.
"Alright. Thank you very much," Claire nodded politically. "Sorry for holding you for that long, you can go now to continue whatever you were doing," She continued with an apologizing smile.
"Don't worry, it doesn't matter! It's my job to help everyone here," Tommy smiled before backing out of the door. There he saw Isabella with a-very-wet-and-not-so-happy Biscuit on her arms.
"Who were they?" She asked and pet the wet raccoon she had just washed.
"Mum's sister and nephew. I let them stay in her house while she's still in Phoenix Drop," Tommy explained and Isabella nodded. "Alright. Well, I left Clementine and Shroud with some lady name Sally. They seemed to really trust her, I hope you don't mind," She said.
"I don't mind at all. Sally is my biological brother's wife and she used to take care of me for a few years when I was still a child. She even has a son herself, but he doesn't live here," Tommy explained and they both turned to look at the beach where Sally was playing with the children. The ocean wind played with her ginger curls so naturally that it looked unnatural.
"She looks so unnaturally beautiful. The sea seems to adore her," Isabella whispered. She watched as Sally backed into the ocean to hide in hide-and-seek. The ocean didn't make a sound to give her hiding spot away.
"The sea is her home. She belongs there," Tommy hummed. They watched in silence as Clementine continued to look for the hiding shapeshifter.
"Do you think she would speak with me? I would love to get a change to speak with her," Isabella turned to look at the blonde next to her. "She's really nice. I think she definitely would talk to you," He answered.
"Well, I think I'm going to try, but I can't do that yet. I have to finish washing Biscuit first!" Isabella chuckled and pet the wet raccoon, who still didn't seem really happy.
"Thank you for washing her! She was smelling like shit last night!" Tommy huffed and looked at his raccoon.
"No problem. I'm going to go now. Oh! You should go feed the cows if you have time! They hadn't been fed yet and I have to lot to do," Isabella said and glanced at the cows behind them. "Don't worry, I got you!" Tommy smiled and looked at the cows.
Isabella gave him a quick smile before hurrying off with Biscuit. Tommy waved after her before walking to the cows. He hadn't taken care of cows in a while. He hadn't let another get close to him after Henry had died.
Henry had originally been just a cow-plush Grian had given him, but on the Dream Smp he had name his cow Henry. Probably to remind him of Grian since Grian ha been the one to name and give him the plush a his first ever toy.
"Look! Look! This is Henry! He's a cow!" 11-years old Grian exclaimed and offered the cow-plush towards the newborn baby as his other younger brother was hugging his leg and trying to see into the crib.
"Why is he so loud?" Techno muttered as little Tommy cried. Grian chuckled a bit and placed the cow next to Tommy. Then he picked up Techno and lifted him to see into the crib.
"Sometimes babies cry a lot! You cried too as a baby!" Grian hummed and held Techno close. He had no idea where Wilbur had gone, but maybe he was safe.
(Little Wilbur had actually gone to explore the basement since the door had been left open. Phil had found him napping under some old blankets that were full of bugs and such.)
"Does he like the cow?" Techno asked curiously as he noticed how the baby had shut up once Grian had given him the plush. "I think he does," Grian hummed.
"Why is it a cow?" Techno groaned. "Well, I have a chicken, you have a pig and Wilbur has a sheep. I thought it would fit the theme if I gave Tommy a cow," Grian explained proudly.
"And you had to name it Henry? It's pretty boring," Techno continued. "Well, it's a name. Not as unique as Poultry Man, The Blade or Friend, but it's a name," Grian shrugged. He just had thought the name fit the cow.
"Bruh," Techno muttered.
Grian chuckled and ran his hand through the younger's brunette hair. Techno and Wilbur looked pretty similar, but they just had different eye colors and a bit different features. But they both had the same hair color, which was the exact same as Clara's own hair color. Grian had dirty blonde hair that looked like a mixture between Clara's and Phil's. Tommy's few curls seemed to be the same blond shade as Phil's.
"At least he likes Henry," Grian pointed out. Tommy was now cuddling against his new plush. Grian had to admit that it looked really adorable.
They both watched in comfortable silence as their baby brother quietly snore in his sleep.
Tommy glanced at the cows again and offered them hay. They took it an began happily eating. It made Tommy smile to take care cows again. They smelt a bit, but he was already used to the smell since he had to pass by it everyday.
He raised his eyes to see Travis and Dmitri practicing together since Katelyn was still in Phoenix Drop with Aphmau. When he turned a bit, he saw Leona and Yip fighting over something stupid and a bit away from them were Kiki and Brendan joking around.
At least everyone on the Phoenix Alliance's island was happy. He really hoped his mother would be happy too, but he understood that she had just lost someone important. He knew how it felt. He had lost so many people in his life, including Grian and Wilbur. At least he was still standing strong.
He turned around to watch as his children played with Sally. They all looked so happy. Tommy kinda wished Wilbur would be there to see it too. He remembered how Wilbur had always watched Sally with children and once mentioned how good mother she would make since she really loved children and was good with them. Tommy really wished she could have stayed, maybe that could have changed how he turned out to be. But well, there wasn't really anything to do about it anymore.
Maybe Wilbur and Sally hadn't ever been meant to be together. Tommy had wanted to believe it, but after seeing the way Wilbur had looked at Dream during the war, he had known that Sally hadn't been enough for Wilbur. He had one-sidedly fallen for something worse. Even if Wilbur was his brother, Tommy had to admit that maybe Sally deserved something better than him. But it wasn't really Tommy's choice to make. He knew Sally would love Wilbur until the end, even if he couldn't love her back anymore.
"You know what cow? I'm really glad that isn't really my business," He grinned and per the cow next to him.
Words: 1646
(I'm back with a short chapter!)
(Also! If someone wants to draw fanart. I have an Instagram: @aphmau_the_little_potato)
(I don't know how active I can be in the near future. School starts on 10.8. and I have school from 8 to 4 everyday- :') But I try to post at least once a week!)