2920 Not Normal (Part 4)

When the babies were lonely, Shargein would bring them to the subject of their desire. Solus had added him to the apprentice list in the tower's mainframe so that the Wyrmling knew where everyone was at all times and could Warp straight to them.

"Bad Shargein. Bad! Keep sneaking behind me and I'm going to put a bell around your neck." Lith rushed to cover the blueprints of the DoLoreans when the Wyrmling brought Valeron to him.

The baby boy often felt the need to check on Lith and make sure he was alright.

'Dragon Eyes are supposed to be useless here since Shargein lacks the basics of Forgemastering, Light Mastery, and dimensional magic, but being the son of two Guardians, better safe than sorry.' Lith thought.

The Wyrmling snorted at Lith, sending two big puffs of smoke in his face. Lith was about to return the favor when he remembered that despite his size, Shargein was younger than Valeron.

"You are lucky to be so cute, or I would not teach you a lesson." Lith poked the Wyrmling's snout before taking the baby boy and handing Shargein "The Basics of Magic" book by Lochra Silverwing.

Valeron cooed happily as Lith rocked the baby in his arms while the Wyrmling opened the book at a random page and then started to turn it around, trying to make sense of it.

"What are… you can't read!" Lith snapped his fingers as Shargein glared at him in annoyance for stating the obvious. "Grandma, can I teach him or is it too dangerous?"

"Excellent question." Salaark took a break from her paperwork to ponder the dilemma. "On the one hand, sooner or later he's going to learn anyway. On the other, I'm afraid of what he could do."

She looked at Shargein as he turned the pages, rotated the book, and raked his brain in the attempt to crack its mystery. Then, he noticed her gaze and chirped at Salaark with what Lith assumed was a begging tone.

"You are right, I can't teach you responsibility without giving you something to be responsible for. Yet remember your promise. No magic and no Accumulation without my permission. Are we clear?" She asked and Shargein nodded, wagging his tail in excitement.magic

She handed him an alphabet book with illustrations depicting several objects of common use for each letter. The Wyrmling flipped through the pages like it was a restaurant's menu, finishing it in seconds.He took the Basics of Magic, holding it the right way, but chirped again at the foreword.

"That's the author's name. It's not supposed to make sense, just like my name or yours." Salaark explained.

Shargein nodded and resumed reading chirping again just a few seconds later.

"Here." She handed him a vocabulary that he flipped until he found the unknown word.

Shargein went back and forth between books until he got sick of it. He focused on the dictionary, flipping through its pages in a few minutes before starting again.

"What is he doing?" Lith pointed at the Wyrmling who was turning the pages faster and faster until he reached the end and opened it back on the first page.

"Memorizing the dictionary. Repetition is the mother of learning." The Guardian replied.

"Are you serious?" Lith was flabbergasted.

In less than five minutes Shargein had read the thick book ten times and was now moving on to the Basics of Magic. This time he read it from top to bottom without breaks and it took him less than a minute

Once he was done, the Wyrmling stood up and chirped proudly to his mother. Lith stared at them in shock, remembering how long it had taken him to do the same despite being much older.

"I'm happy too that you liked it, but remember your promise." Salaark caressed his snout as he nodded vigorously. "Now be a good child and say thank you to Uncle Lith."

"Thank you." Shargein handed back the Basics of Magic with a small bow and a hint of sadness.

"You are welcome. Also, you can keep it. I have more than one copy." The Wyrmling jumped at Lith's neck, licking his face with joy while being careful to not hurt Valeron.

Shargein held the book like it was a treasure before storing it inside the dimensional amulet where he kept his snacks. As Salaark went back to her work, the Wyrmling Warped Lith to the nursery where Elysia was waiting for them.

Then Shargein read the titles of the children's books on the shelf and handed Lith his favorite story, The Three Little Wyrmlings and the Big Bad Snake.

Finding a creature for the role of the bad guy while adapting Earth's fairy tales had been a real hassle since Protector was a wolf and Lith didn't want to make the kids scared of him.

He had also considered Wyverns, but that would have been embarrassing during family reunions and Leegaain might have resented Lith for that. In the end, everyone had agreed on snakes because Fenagar looked like one, no one liked him, and there was no snake among Lith's friends.

"Do you want me to read it?" Lith asked.

"Please. I'm tired" Shargein rubbed his Eyes. Learning so much and so fast had taken a toll on him.

"Dya! Dya!" Elysia and Valeron chanted, seconding the motion.

Lith conjured a chair and started reading the book that was animated. Literally.

Every time a new page was flipped, it would project a hologram of the current scene. Lith used air magic to increase or lower the pitch of his voice for each character he played.

He was at the scene where the big bad snake hissed and puffed to blow away the wooden cave when his communication amulet drew his attention.

"It's Faluel. Solus, read on while I take this call."

She nodded and took the book from his hands. Now the three little Wyrmlings had a less deep and more feminine voice, but the waving hair mimicking the storm and a tress acting as the hissing snake more than made up for it.

Kamila was upset with Lith's choice. She had been watching as well the whole time. She loved it when her husband gave life to stories and she admired the effort he put in doing even the most simple thing for the kids.

Valeron and Elysia were much smarter than the average kid and it was harder keeping them engaged when they failed to understand much of the story.

The use of holograms allowed them to associate an object with every word, making the story more captivating and increasing their vocabulary for when they would be capable of talking.

Kamila would have liked to be the one continuing the story, but she had to admit that Solus was doing a better job than she ever could. With her weak core and limited mastery of magic, Kamila was unable to change her voice much, let alone conjure holograms.

'It's fine. I can read them a second story once Solus is done. This is no competition.' She thought yet failed to convince herself.

Lith walked out of the room and conjured a small Hush Zone on himself to not disturb the story while he answered.