Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

"Wow, Gramps… I thought that you were smarter than that," Rain said while blinking in disbelief. "I understand why you would underestimate me since you know my strength, but I didn't think that you would underestimate the enemies that you don't know."

"... What do you mean by that?" Seadrei asked after he raised his left eyebrow.

"What I mean is the fact that your sense of danger is severely lacking for not having to fight seriously in who knows how long," Rain said. "Didn't you forget the fact that a mere human controlled you years ago? Maybe I picked the wrong time to bring this conversation since you are too elated about the feeling of power that you are feeling right now.

Perhaps Rejuvenation also brought back some of the carelessness of your youth."

"I admit that I feel like I am a hundred years younger, but that doesn't mean that I forgot my experience of five hundred years," Seadrei said.

"But it seems that you forgot that a human controlled you in the previous war and that I was the one who helped you free yourself," Rain said. "Are you going to keep minimizing those events and forget that it could have caused the end of a war and our loss?"

"You were captured too and I was the one who gave you the chance to escape," Seadrei raised his voice slightly.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"And that is why I freed you and that is why I am not underestimating my enemies like you are," Rain said and then rubbed his eyes. "Forget about it, I will find another way."

"... Wait, don't turn your back on me," Seadrei said when Rain turned and began to walk away.

Rain stopped and he felt like sighing. He assumed now that he wasn't that close enough to Seadrei to understand what kind of person he was, but he could now… they worked together in the war because they shared the same enemy and the sea folk was fighting for their honor. This new enemy had connections to the previous ones, but nothing confirmed yet that they had done anything against the sea folk.

Even their current alliance was based on the fact that their sole goal was to create a safe enviroment for Seara and her child… Rain thought that it was because they were true friends, but he couldn't help but ponder about that.

In the end, Rain turned around and looked at Seadrei with a completely calm expression… he was his father-in-law and the leader of a group that was allied to them, so he had to respect him at least that much.

"Rain… look at him properly," Seara said.

"I am trying, but I don't know what to do or think now," Rain said. "Are we friends ? Are we just allies? Are we just trying to use each other? I don't know, if you can't see things from my point of view, then we never have been friends, Seadrei. Still, I assure you that I won't do anything that will put Seara or our child in danger or worry her too much."

"... You may leave," Seadrei said and then looked away uninterested.

"Yes, sir," Rain said. "Do you want to stay here for a while, Seara?"

"I have to help Terra too… and look after the kids," Seara hesitated and then left the castle with Rain.

For a while, Rain and Seara left in silence, and they only began to talk when they were out of the ocean. The mood was quite dark, and Rain felt guilty for making his wife experience that. Still, trying to ignore Seadrei's words and behavior wouldn't have done it any good.

"Sorry about that, I didn't think that I was that naive," Rain said and then rubbed his eyes.

"Don't mind that, of course Dad respects and see you as a friend," Seara said. "He is just worried about his grandchild. Our kid is his first grandchild."

"Forget about being worried, actually… let's not talk about this, it wouldn't do us any good," Rain said.

"Now I think that we really need to talk about this instead of letting things snowball and we start thinking too much about it," Seara shook her head.

Rain sighed again… why are his wives using logic against him? That was ridiculous… or maybe that was the influence that he exerted on them.

"Seadrei is happy about us and about the child, but because of his position, his age and his level of power, human problems are too insignificant to him," Rain explained. "The idea that our enemy could be a nuisance to the whole world is laughable to him. I can easily say that he didn't face any real threats in his realm during the time that he sat in that throne."

Rain also believed that the enemies could even destroy the whole human kingdom and he wouldn't think too much about it if Rain left Seara with him… now that Rain thought about it, Seadrei probably saw or heard of many humans like him over the years, their fame wouldn't last for even fifty years, so he didn't think much of Rain, that was why he said that if things get dangerous and Rain couldn't protect her, he would step in.

That was a critical attack on Rain's pride.

"I will put my pride aside for now and ignore that he said that, but in the end, our problems are only our problems," Rain said. "I guess I should apologize to you since this problem started way before we met, and you got involved in it."

"Don't say that, I want to solve this situation as much as you and I know that you don't sleep much at night thinking of what we have to do to defeat the enemies," Seara said. "Just give me some time for Dad to clear his head… he was a bit strange today. I am sure he will calm down eventually and think things through."