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Description
It's been a fairly uneventful travel to Tula's hometown, with nothing but forest scenery and the occasional carriage stop halting their path. To Prym and Aevri, they couldn't help but feel a bit bored to not at least gotten to experience some action... but to Tula, she was more excited about finally getting to meet her father again.

"Ooh, you girls think he'll like this? You really sure?" Tula asked her friends as they rode on the empty stretch of road, pulling out the wooden bear carving she's been working on. Having finally gotten enough detail to make it look like an intimidating bear, Tula couldn't resist bringing it out now and then to admire her own craftsmanship.

"Trust me, Tula. I'm sure your father will love it." Prym replied to her, though mostly focused on the leading their group ahead of the road, "Shouldn't be too long now before we reach the front gates."

"Thank the gods then, 'cause I am so done with horseback..." Aevri groaned from the sidelines, drooping a bit on her horse's mane in boredom, "Your place has enough room for us to stay there, right Tula?"

Glancing back at her friend, Tula just gave a little giggle, "Well of course, silly! My Papa's a General, so he's made a good living to get a spacey-enough home. We've got everything we need there, including a farm, livestock, some fields to play in, a pond-"

While Tula was in the middle of listing things, Prym continued to look ahead before she noticed something coming up the road. Tall wooden gates that were about as high as the pine trees on the sidelines... it was definitely signs that they have reached their destination.

"-and last but not least, we've got the cutest lil' guard dog named Bear! You'd love him~" Tula capped off her listing in excitement, before she took notice of Prym's staring ahead and looked back at her, "-OH MY GOSH, WE'RE HERE~!!"

A few more moments of riding their horses up to the gates, and it was confirmed to be Tula's hometown indeed. With Tula recognizing the insignia and gesturing to the guardsmen above of her arrival, they were able to recognize her enough to hurry on to open things up for her. One look inside the opened gates did the trio see just how strong and rustic the town was... with a mixture of stone and wood cabins lining up the streets, large work animals being drafted around, and the townsfolk looking as hardworking and dutiful as ever.

Yet once said townsfolk caught sight of Tula and her friends, some of them dropped what they were doing to go and greet them.

"Good day, Tula! Welcome home!" some woodsmen exclaimed to her.

"There she is! Glad to have you back, Tula~!" an elderly lady proclaimed next with a peaceful smile.

"Tula! Tula! Wanna play??" some younger kids crowded about, reaching their little hands out to wave.

With all this attention, Tula just took it with a polite smile as she waved around, her friends intrigued by the sudden attention, "Wow, looks like you're kind of a celebrity here, huh?" Aevri wondered, feeling a little uncomfortable to have most of these eyes focused on their group like this.

"Well, it kinda comes with being a General's daughter." Tula admitted, shyly giggling as they maneuvered around the crowds, "My Papa's contributed so much to helping this community, that we're all practically like one big family unit!"

"Sounds kind of overwhelming, I'm sure." Prym curiously commented, though Tula surprisingly gave a shrug, "I guess so, if you're new around here... but I don't mind it, really! It just makes me feel more at home, if anything~"

Deciding to let this slide, Prym and Aevri went back to following Tula as she now took the lead... effortlessly moving past the crowded streets to a road that started to wind up a hill. Above they could see that it lead down to a rather space-y looking farm area... with a field of grain that some cattle were grazing in, and a large strong cabin standing in the center of it.

A closer look at the front of the house, and Tulsa’s smile started to grow bigger. There, sitting on the porch with a thoughtful look on his face, was her father Ivor. With a piece of wood and carving knife in his hands, he seemed like he was pretty lost in thought waiting there… until his eyes caught Tula’s gaze, and the previously stoic look on his face melted into a surprised warmth.

“-PAPA!!” Tula called out as she halted her horse, hopping off to race on ahead of her friends. Just as expected, Ivor dropped what he was doing and raced just as quickly over to his daughter, embracing her in a big tight hug.

“Tula! My little Tula!” Ivor happily exclaimed, laughing as he and his daughter spun around in their hug, “It’s been so long, thank the Saints you’re home safely!”

Giggling, Tula managed to pull away enough to smile back at him, “Oh of course, papa! I couldn’t have done it without my friends~ you remember them, right?”

Taking a step aside, both Prym and Aevri hopped off their horses to go and greet Ivor up closer. The warm smile on his face didn’t leave as he looked back at them.

“Prym… my, it seems like only yesterday you were toddling up to your mother’s knee.” Ivor recalled with a laugh, “But look at you now… a mage like your old man.”

“Oh, yes of course!” Prym nodded with a proud gleam on her face, “It was in my blood, it was only natural~”

“Indeed, and you, Aevri..” Ivor turned his attention to the healer mage, who didn’t seem to recognize him much herself, “My… you’re about as near of a spitting image as Liu Ren!”

Heading that last bit of his sentence, it made Aevri step back a bit in surprise, “-Hold up, that’s my dad’s name… did, did you know him??”

“Ahh, that I did. We went to the same school, St. Ravilda’s… as did your father, Prym.” Ivor mentioned to the dark mage next to him, sparking some curious looks between the three girls. Of all things, they surely didn’t expect such a coincidence as their own dads being school buddies.

“Ooh, what were you all like in school, Papa? You gotta tell us!” Tula excitedly beamed, earning a little chuckle from Ivor, “I will, sweetheart. We’ll just have to step inside first, it’s getting late.” he said while gesturing to the darkening sky above, “I’ll have dinner prepared in no time, just as you like it.”

This got another cheerful squeal from Tula, which made her friends wonder what kind of dinner they were going to have. But they decided to wait on asking, as they all started to follow Ivor and Tula inside the house.

Just like the exterior, the inside of the house was about as comfortably rustic as one would expect. Old trophies and weaponry hung along the walls, family pictures displayed neatly among the fireplace mantle, and the furniture all seeming to have some thick fur rugs laid over the cushions to appear extra inviting. Inviting enough to where Tula hurriedly rushed over to faceplant into one of the arm chairs.

“Ahhh, home sweet home~ oh I missed you!” She mumbled happily into the fluffy fabric, almost liking embracing an old friend. Prym and Aevri just gave eachother some weirded looks, but tried to remain polite as they looked around.

“Cool place you got here, Tula.” Aevri commented, her eyes being focused on some portrait of a pretty, serene-looking lady, “Um, who’s this?”

“-Hm?” Tula poked her head up, turning her eyes to where Aevri was pointing, “...Oh. That’s my mom. I think that was her wedding day.”

“-Oh, it is? Sorry.” Aevri thought she might’ve offended her, but Tula shook it off, “No no, it’s okay! I uh, never really knew her… so, no harm done.” adding to this with an awkward smile.

While those two were busy, Prym couldn’t help but focus her attention on the wall weapons… her eyes gazing over the intricate details and noticeable “scars” of past use. Her curiousity almost brought her to reach out and touch one… but then her thoughts got interrupted when she felt something sniffing at her feet.

“-AGH! W-What in the heavens’ names is-“ Prym stumbled back enough to fall on her behind, looking behind her to see that a very, very big dog was staring back at her with its beady green eyes. Before she can yelp out again, the dog suddenly barked a friendly hello and started to hop around excitedly.

“-Eeeeee!! Bear~!” Tula called to the canine, bringing its attention away from Prym. Inspite of its imposing size, Tula wasn’t phased at all when the dog jumped up at her chest to give her some big, slobbery dog kisses.

“Dawww! Quit it, boy~” Tula giggled at the attention, rubbing the pup’s neck to nudge him off a bit, “Sorry about that Prym, Bear tends to get in a playful mood whenever we have company over. Or, at least the company that he trusts, anyway.” giggling at that last part.

Standing there for a moment to blink off her shock, Prym just shook her head calmly, “Err, it’s… quite alright, Tula. I’m just not really used to dogs much… let along big ones.” her eyes glancing back at Bear who was now panting at Tula’s feet.

“I dunno, he seems like a friendly fella to me!” Aevri chuckled as she knelt down, patting the dog on the neck who definitely appreciated it as he licked her hand.

“Yay! You made two new friends, Bearie boo~” Tula squealed again in delight, before gasping in realization, “-Oh wait! Don’t forget Prym, she didn’t get a kiss yet!”

Naturally this made Prym gawk back at Tula in annoyance, bringing some more laughter from Aevri as Bear got up to go back to her, “Err, n-no no boy… um, I don’t need a kiss. Thank you.”

Falling on deaf ears, Bear just tilted his head and whined a little… before rushing back to her side to leap up and lick her cheek. Of course, this made Prym groan in disgust to the amusement of her friends, seeing the usually prim and proper dark mage covered in slobber.

“Tula! Dinner will be ready soon!” Igor’s voice called out to the girls, from the kitchen down the hall.

“Okay Papa! We’ll be right there!” Tula chimed back… though Prym simply gave a shudder as she gingerly pried the dog spit off her cheek.

“-Oh! You girls wanna go check out the place before we eat? It won’t take long!” Tula offered to her friends to spice things up. Not really sure of what else to do, Prym and Aevri just shrugged and nodded, deciding to take up their friend’s word and explore the rest of the house… with Bear tagging along in tow, of course.

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[link] <- Previous Part

Next Part -> [link]

-----------

-WOO! Finally yes, I’m getting back to this Three Mages main storyline~ This time, we’ll be focusing a bit on Tula’s family as she takes her and her friends back to her home… from passing through the local townsfolk to reuniting with her father, Ivor, as he dutifully waited for her back at their farm residence.

To the surprise of Aevri and the others, Ivor turns out to be more familiar with her than anticipated… as he reveals that he once knew Aevri’s father, Liu Ren, along with Prym’s father Luka as they all attended St. Ravilda’s Mage Academy together in their youth. Before he could explain more though, he invites the girls inside to make themselves at home before dinner’s started.

In the meantime, the girls do a quick look around the place so far… from getting a quick glimpse at a picture of Tula’s late mother, Milana, to meeting Tula’s very own pet dog, Bear (who takes an ironic liking to Prym, much to the girl’s bemusement). How they’ll handle seeing the rest of the place is anyone’s guess… but that’ll be for next time to find out~

Description
It's been a fairly uneventful travel to Tula's hometown, with nothing but forest scenery and the occasional carriage stop halting their path. To Prym and Aevri, they couldn't help but feel a bit bored to not at least gotten to experience some action... but to Tula, she was more excited about finally getting to meet her father again.

"Ooh, you girls think he'll like this? You really sure?" Tula asked her friends as they rode on the empty stretch of road, pulling out the wooden bear carving she's been working on. Having finally gotten enough detail to make it look like an intimidating bear, Tula couldn't resist bringing it out now and then to admire her own craftsmanship.

"Trust me, Tula. I'm sure your father will love it." Prym replied to her, though mostly focused on the leading their group ahead of the road, "Shouldn't be too long now before we reach the front gates."

"Thank the gods then, 'cause I am so done with horseback..." Aevri groaned from the sidelines, drooping a bit on her horse's mane in boredom, "Your place has enough room for us to stay there, right Tula?"

Glancing back at her friend, Tula just gave a little giggle, "Well of course, silly! My Papa's a General, so he's made a good living to get a spacey-enough home. We've got everything we need there, including a farm, livestock, some fields to play in, a pond-"

While Tula was in the middle of listing things, Prym continued to look ahead before she noticed something coming up the road. Tall wooden gates that were about as high as the pine trees on the sidelines... it was definitely signs that they have reached their destination.

"-and last but not least, we've got the cutest lil' guard dog named Bear! You'd love him~" Tula capped off her listing in excitement, before she took notice of Prym's staring ahead and looked back at her, "-OH MY GOSH, WE'RE HERE~!!"

A few more moments of riding their horses up to the gates, and it was confirmed to be Tula's hometown indeed. With Tula recognizing the insignia and gesturing to the guardsmen above of her arrival, they were able to recognize her enough to hurry on to open things up for her. One look inside the opened gates did the trio see just how strong and rustic the town was... with a mixture of stone and wood cabins lining up the streets, large work animals being drafted around, and the townsfolk looking as hardworking and dutiful as ever.

Yet once said townsfolk caught sight of Tula and her friends, some of them dropped what they were doing to go and greet them.

"Good day, Tula! Welcome home!" some woodsmen exclaimed to her.

"There she is! Glad to have you back, Tula~!" an elderly lady proclaimed next with a peaceful smile.

"Tula! Tula! Wanna play??" some younger kids crowded about, reaching their little hands out to wave.

With all this attention, Tula just took it with a polite smile as she waved around, her friends intrigued by the sudden attention, "Wow, looks like you're kind of a celebrity here, huh?" Aevri wondered, feeling a little uncomfortable to have most of these eyes focused on their group like this.

"Well, it kinda comes with being a General's daughter." Tula admitted, shyly giggling as they maneuvered around the crowds, "My Papa's contributed so much to helping this community, that we're all practically like one big family unit!"

"Sounds kind of overwhelming, I'm sure." Prym curiously commented, though Tula surprisingly gave a shrug, "I guess so, if you're new around here... but I don't mind it, really! It just makes me feel more at home, if anything~"

Deciding to let this slide, Prym and Aevri went back to following Tula as she now took the lead... effortlessly moving past the crowded streets to a road that started to wind up a hill. Above they could see that it lead down to a rather space-y looking farm area... with a field of grain that some cattle were grazing in, and a large strong cabin standing in the center of it.

A closer look at the front of the house, and Tulsa’s smile started to grow bigger. There, sitting on the porch with a thoughtful look on his face, was her father Ivor. With a piece of wood and carving knife in his hands, he seemed like he was pretty lost in thought waiting there… until his eyes caught Tula’s gaze, and the previously stoic look on his face melted into a surprised warmth.

“-PAPA!!” Tula called out as she halted her horse, hopping off to race on ahead of her friends. Just as expected, Ivor dropped what he was doing and raced just as quickly over to his daughter, embracing her in a big tight hug.

“Tula! My little Tula!” Ivor happily exclaimed, laughing as he and his daughter spun around in their hug, “It’s been so long, thank the Saints you’re home safely!”

Giggling, Tula managed to pull away enough to smile back at him, “Oh of course, papa! I couldn’t have done it without my friends~ you remember them, right?”

Taking a step aside, both Prym and Aevri hopped off their horses to go and greet Ivor up closer. The warm smile on his face didn’t leave as he looked back at them.

“Prym… my, it seems like only yesterday you were toddling up to your mother’s knee.” Ivor recalled with a laugh, “But look at you now… a mage like your old man.”

“Oh, yes of course!” Prym nodded with a proud gleam on her face, “It was in my blood, it was only natural~”

“Indeed, and you, Aevri..” Ivor turned his attention to the healer mage, who didn’t seem to recognize him much herself, “My… you’re about as near of a spitting image as Liu Ren!”

Heading that last bit of his sentence, it made Aevri step back a bit in surprise, “-Hold up, that’s my dad’s name… did, did you know him??”

“Ahh, that I did. We went to the same school, St. Ravilda’s… as did your father, Prym.” Ivor mentioned to the dark mage next to him, sparking some curious looks between the three girls. Of all things, they surely didn’t expect such a coincidence as their own dads being school buddies.

“Ooh, what were you all like in school, Papa? You gotta tell us!” Tula excitedly beamed, earning a little chuckle from Ivor, “I will, sweetheart. We’ll just have to step inside first, it’s getting late.” he said while gesturing to the darkening sky above, “I’ll have dinner prepared in no time, just as you like it.”

This got another cheerful squeal from Tula, which made her friends wonder what kind of dinner they were going to have. But they decided to wait on asking, as they all started to follow Ivor and Tula inside the house.

Just like the exterior, the inside of the house was about as comfortably rustic as one would expect. Old trophies and weaponry hung along the walls, family pictures displayed neatly among the fireplace mantle, and the furniture all seeming to have some thick fur rugs laid over the cushions to appear extra inviting. Inviting enough to where Tula hurriedly rushed over to faceplant into one of the arm chairs.

“Ahhh, home sweet home~ oh I missed you!” She mumbled happily into the fluffy fabric, almost liking embracing an old friend. Prym and Aevri just gave eachother some weirded looks, but tried to remain polite as they looked around.

“Cool place you got here, Tula.” Aevri commented, her eyes being focused on some portrait of a pretty, serene-looking lady, “Um, who’s this?”

“-Hm?” Tula poked her head up, turning her eyes to where Aevri was pointing, “...Oh. That’s my mom. I think that was her wedding day.”

“-Oh, it is? Sorry.” Aevri thought she might’ve offended her, but Tula shook it off, “No no, it’s okay! I uh, never really knew her… so, no harm done.” adding to this with an awkward smile.

While those two were busy, Prym couldn’t help but focus her attention on the wall weapons… her eyes gazing over the intricate details and noticeable “scars” of past use. Her curiousity almost brought her to reach out and touch one… but then her thoughts got interrupted when she felt something sniffing at her feet.

“-AGH! W-What in the heavens’ names is-“ Prym stumbled back enough to fall on her behind, looking behind her to see that a very, very big dog was staring back at her with its beady green eyes. Before she can yelp out again, the dog suddenly barked a friendly hello and started to hop around excitedly.

“-Eeeeee!! Bear~!” Tula called to the canine, bringing its attention away from Prym. Inspite of its imposing size, Tula wasn’t phased at all when the dog jumped up at her chest to give her some big, slobbery dog kisses.

“Dawww! Quit it, boy~” Tula giggled at the attention, rubbing the pup’s neck to nudge him off a bit, “Sorry about that Prym, Bear tends to get in a playful mood whenever we have company over. Or, at least the company that he trusts, anyway.” giggling at that last part.

Standing there for a moment to blink off her shock, Prym just shook her head calmly, “Err, it’s… quite alright, Tula. I’m just not really used to dogs much… let along big ones.” her eyes glancing back at Bear who was now panting at Tula’s feet.

“I dunno, he seems like a friendly fella to me!” Aevri chuckled as she knelt down, patting the dog on the neck who definitely appreciated it as he licked her hand.

“Yay! You made two new friends, Bearie boo~” Tula squealed again in delight, before gasping in realization, “-Oh wait! Don’t forget Prym, she didn’t get a kiss yet!”

Naturally this made Prym gawk back at Tula in annoyance, bringing some more laughter from Aevri as Bear got up to go back to her, “Err, n-no no boy… um, I don’t need a kiss. Thank you.”

Falling on deaf ears, Bear just tilted his head and whined a little… before rushing back to her side to leap up and lick her cheek. Of course, this made Prym groan in disgust to the amusement of her friends, seeing the usually prim and proper dark mage covered in slobber.

“Tula! Dinner will be ready soon!” Igor’s voice called out to the girls, from the kitchen down the hall.

“Okay Papa! We’ll be right there!” Tula chimed back… though Prym simply gave a shudder as she gingerly pried the dog spit off her cheek.

“-Oh! You girls wanna go check out the place before we eat? It won’t take long!” Tula offered to her friends to spice things up. Not really sure of what else to do, Prym and Aevri just shrugged and nodded, deciding to take up their friend’s word and explore the rest of the house… with Bear tagging along in tow, of course.

-----------

[link] <- Previous Part

Next Part -> [link]

-----------

-WOO! Finally yes, I’m getting back to this Three Mages main storyline~ This time, we’ll be focusing a bit on Tula’s family as she takes her and her friends back to her home… from passing through the local townsfolk to reuniting with her father, Ivor, as he dutifully waited for her back at their farm residence.

To the surprise of Aevri and the others, Ivor turns out to be more familiar with her than anticipated… as he reveals that he once knew Aevri’s father, Liu Ren, along with Prym’s father Luka as they all attended St. Ravilda’s Mage Academy together in their youth. Before he could explain more though, he invites the girls inside to make themselves at home before dinner’s started.

In the meantime, the girls do a quick look around the place so far… from getting a quick glimpse at a picture of Tula’s late mother, Milana, to meeting Tula’s very own pet dog, Bear (who takes an ironic liking to Prym, much to the girl’s bemusement). How they’ll handle seeing the rest of the place is anyone’s guess… but that’ll be for next time to find out~