Demon King's Gardener

Life fell into a routine for the next week - Forvi easily took over Feyl’s morning duties, and Malson settled into court after winning one duel and losing another by a close margin. Jurao continued his usual routine, and Braelin agreed that working in tandem made him feel more focused as well, so even as his full strength returned, he intended to do his own research and paperwork in the afternoons.

Soon enough, it was time for the trip into the city - Jurao, Forvi, Braelin, Malson, and Petal could easily fit into a coach designed for four demons. Malson and Braelin’s guards were temporarily replaced with cavalry who could ride alongside.

“Why’s the city so far away from the castle!?” Malson asked, watching the road around them as they traveled.

“Back during the Fractured Realm Ages,” Forvi replied, “Prospective rulers would attack the stronghold of the king they wanted to take power from. Demons see a king as the person most able to protect everyone - attacking civilians one intends to rule doesn’t exactly project that image.”

“During the Reunification Campaign,” Jurao added, “The same principle holds - I only sieged the castles, not the cities attached to them.”

“Well, if you ever face humans here in your realm,” Malson said, “You should know most don’t hold that standard!”

“It’s odd to see farmland inside the walls,” Braelin remarked, also looking around outside.

“You haven’t seen this before!?” his brother asked.

Braelin shook his head, “This is my first time outside the castle.”

“Right, since you only even entered the castle proper within the last few months,” Forvi said, then added, “Our farms aren’t safe enough without their own walls for protection - it’s one of the reasons it took so long for agriculture and animal husbandry to catch on in a major way. It was Lavven’s granddaughter and successor as King, Emerri, that started the Field Walls, but it was the King after her that finished them - ah…”

“Voune, her nephew,” Jurao supplied, “The first King to face a Champion.”

“No wonder you remember,” Forvi chuckled, “But there you have it. The Field Walls cover a range around the city and castle, while both have walls of their own. A sieging King on a Reunification Campaign also bypasses the Field Walls, since damage to them has much longer-term consequences than the castle walls.”

“What about bandits!?” Malson asked.

“We don’t have many,” Jurao replied, “The only warrior nomadic people we have are Beast Hunters - and they supply whatever meat, fur, and leather they can spare to the smaller towns. They used to supply the cities as well, but in the past several millennia, most of us can sustain ourselves between fishing and animal husbandry.”

“Anyone else would have a real struggle on their hands,” Forvi agreed, “No one is barred entry from the Field Walls since they’re meant to keep out beasts and more mobile wild plants-”

“More mobile?” Braelin asked, a gleam in his eye, “Like burrowing spider trees? Do they come this close?”

Jurao laughed, “Sometimes. Perhaps we will be able to catch one.”

“What the fuck is a burrowing spider tree!?” Malson demanded.

“They grow in a twenty or so foot diameter,” his brother replied, eyes wistful, “And they can pull up their roots to crawl across the ground in a spider-like motion, then bury themselves so only their fruit-bearing branches show above ground,” he put his hands together, wrist against wrist, fingers splayed out but curled upward, “And when an animal comes to eat the fruit…”

Jurao smiled as he obliging used one of his own hands to play the part of ‘prey’.

Braelin smiled as well as he snapped his hands closed around his partner’s, “It closes around it and pulls it underground to decay so it can feed on the nutrients through the soil. The process is usually sped up by blue shelf mushrooms that grow on the branches and accelerate the decomposition.”

“You look far too happy describing that!” Malson said.

“The woolly moss would probably like a spider tree friend,” Braelin replied, not releasing Jurao’s hand as he let all three drop to his lap.

Petal - previously settled beneath Braelin’s feet - scuttled and pushed up enough to tap at the gardener’s arm.

“And Petal, too,” the man chuckled.

“I think you’d still need to expand the gardens a bit to fit something that large,” Forvi chuckled uneasily.

“Could be a good idea to do so in any case,” Jurao said, “With a Beloved of Iescula as our gardener, there may be several plants we’ve previously considered untamable that could be added. And it’s said the fruit of the spider tree-” he leaned down to kiss his partner’s temple, “Not that you could have it yet - is incredibly delicious.”

“Why couldn’t you eat it!?” Malson demanded.

“Ah,” Braelin sighed, “Since I ate so much demon fruit over the past decade, I have to abstain to clear out demonic poisoning.”

“Our plant food is heavily metallic compared to other realms - even in our own triad,” Forvi nodded, “We have a natural tolerance, and direct contact with bodily fluids can transfer it to a degree, but it’s not healthy for other species to consume in such large amounts for such a long time.”

Malson’s brow furrowed, and he started to ask, “But then how did-!?”

“The plants helped,” Braelin interrupted, “Ah… you won’t want to know the details.”

“The plants…?” Forvi also frowned, “What, were they able to lower their own metal content…?”

“Sure,” Braelin said, looking askance.

Malson considered for a few moments before closing his eyes and saying, “Braelin… did you fuck a plant!?”

Forvi looked very alarmed by this question.

“... more the other way around…” Braelin mumbled.

“What…?” Forvi asked.

I guess Feyl never mentioned it, Jurao surmised. Since neither he nor Braelin had treated it as a secret previously.

“... I don’t know why I asked!” Malson sighed, “You tried not to tell me!”

“I did,” Braelin replied.

“... Jurao, you don’t look surprised,” Forvi observed.

“I was aware,” the King said and decided not to add that he’d witnessed it for himself.

“Huh,” the demon prince nodded - then nodded again, “Huh.”

“... a canal would be nice,” Braelin said, “For more aquatic plants - or maybe… are there ornamental demon fish…?”

“There are pretty demon fish,” Forvi blinked, then shook his head, “But they tend to be the more dangerous varieties.”

“Ah, of course,” Braelin nodded.

“Erei has a tradition of ornamental fish!” Malson declared, pulling up his bracer, “I’ll ask Ahua about it!”

“You would need to crossbreed them with demon fish,” Forvi cleared his throat, “Due to the poisoning.”

“I’ll ask about hardy breeds!” Malson nodded, then said, “Oh! Abbay replied to my message!”

“Oh?” Braelin asked.

“Jaevve and my kids are gonna come here!” his brother replied, “And she’s happy you and the twins and your uncle were actually here!”

“I can’t wait to meet my sister-in-law, niece, and… ah,” Braelin paused.

“Zasus!” Malson supplied.

“Zasus,” his brother nodded.

“Hasn’t figured it out yet?” Forvi asked.

“Nope!” Malson nodded, “We let Amancia tell us, too; she was just faster about it!”

“Some kids figure it out sooner than others,” Forvi nodded, “And human children age faster than demon ones. I was a late bloomer, myself - didn’t realize I was a man until I was nearly a century old.”

“I realized earlier,” Jurao said, “A little before my first decade.”

“I knew I was a boy when I was five!” Malson nodded, “Even though everyone else thought otherwise!”

“We weren’t exactly given time to figure it out ourselves,” Braelin snorted, “But I never felt that man was wrong.”

“It still seems a bit odd to gender children,” Forvi said, “How could you know before they do?”

“Eh, it’s not the gendering that really matters!” Malson snorted, “It’s whether or not people listen when you tell them it was the wrong one!”

“Fair enough, I suppose,” Forvi chuckled, “Especially when you consider folk like Gaele.”

“Hm?” Braelin titled his head.

“You probably don’t hear it because of Mutual Understanding!” Malson nodded, “But the Demonae version of the ‘they’ Gaele uses as a personal pronoun is usually used when you don’t know someone’s gender!”

“Those who use fos as a personal pronoun, like Gaele, usually discover fos do not have any gender,” Jurao nodded.

Braelin flinched, putting a hand to his ear, “That was odd…”

“You’ll hear it now that it’s been explained!” Malson said, “Mutual Understanding is funny like that! Real weird when what sounded like Jostian suddenly drops into Demonae!”

“I heard it before with the words with no Jostian equivalent,” Braelin said, “The shift just felt… different.”

“Probably because you gained an understanding of a word with a Jostian equivalent rather than learning a word without one,” Forvi said, “Are you hearing fos, or are you still hearing…”

“” Malson supplied.

“That, but with an impression of the new meaning?” Forvi asked, since he and Jurao had only heard the Demonae equivalent.

“The latter, I think,” Braelin replied, “It’s… like I’m hearing two words at the same time, but only in my head?”

Forvi nodded and turned to Malson, “Would you say it?”

“Huh!?” Malson asked, then said, “Oh! Right, it won’t translate when I say it! The Demonae word is fos!”

“How about it?” Forvi asked, “How does fos sound now?”

“Ah,” Braelin nodded, “Thank you, yes, now it’s just coming across as just fos.”

“So, it’s all explained now!” Malson said, then sighed, “I should probably learn Demonae proper with Meir’ril now that I’m here! I only know bits and pieces from Jaevve!”

“It certainly wouldn’t hurt to do so,” Forvi chuckled.

They slowed as they approached the gate of the city wall - there wasn’t much external traffic this time of day, and they were waved through without stopping. Not often were any coaches stopped, save those entering the city at night.

The coach slowed as it joined the traffic in the city proper - mostly those on foot, though there were a few other noble coaches, merchant carts, and a stray rider or two.

Malson leaned out of the coach to look around, declaring, “You all really like your domes!”

“It is traditional,” Forvi chuckled.

Braelin also sat up to look outside, but remained in the coach as he took a slightly shaky breath, “That’s a lot of people.”

Jurao squeezed his partner’s hand, “Do you want me to visit the temple after.”

They had originally planned to stop in the market district before splitting up - Jurao to the temple while the other three began their shopping.

Braelin shook his head, “No, thank you, but… it should be fine. Malson is good at drawing attention to himself.”

“I sure am!” his brother replied, still leaning partway out of the coach.

Forvi snorted, glancing out the window on the other side, “It certainly seems like it…”

“If you’re sure,” Jurao said.

“I am, really,” Braelin offered him a wane smile, “It can’t be worse than the ceremony.”

Petal climbed up from the coach floor to the seat next to the gardener, reaching out to pat his face with tendrils as more wrapped around the human’s free arm.

“And Petal will look out for me,” Braelin chuckled, patting the crushfern.

“Alright,” Jurao sighed, “I’ll see you after I speak with Maenscul, then.”