Skylar's Parents

Ivy sits in the front with Skylar, while I sit in the back with Mia. It takes about half an hour to drive to her parents place, and I spend most of the drive staring out the window and thinking about what I might say to them. I want to make a good impression, given that they're my girlfriend's parents. I'm pretty sure Ivy and Mia both feel the same.

These are the only two people that Skylar was able to rely on for a solid 8 years of her life. They were traumatised by losing one of their children, and they went into overdrive in doing their best to protect their only other child. It's an understandable reaction to become incredibly cautious after something like this happening, one that up until about two weeks ago, Skylar shared.

While Skylar is still pretty cautious around new people, she's less isolationist now than her parents are. **** seems to be a common thing in the abyss, but I don't think people can ever really get used to losing people they love. I just hope that Skylar's parents won't hate us. It's too much to ask that they like us just yet, it took some convincing from Skylar for them to even let us meet them at their home.

The maiden of shadow already informed us that her parents' names are Julia and Brandon Whitley, but that they'll probably prefer to be called Mr and Mrs Whitley. As we enter a barrier that's seemingly randomly placed, and exit the car, I rehearse my greeting to them in my head. “We got this.” Skylar says in a low voice, smiling at us. I'm not sure if it's to reassure herself or the three of us.

I nod, smiling back. “We love you.” I tell her. As we walk to the entrance, Skylar starts to whisper to us, in a slightly frantic low voice. “Oh just so you know, my parents know that we’re all in a relationship, but they don’t know that I joined your guild. They think I haven’t joined.” She lets us know, knocking on the front door. Mia looks at her, a somewhat annoyed expression on her face.

“What, why?” The aeromancer whispers. “Just go along with it!” Skylar hisses, as we hear footsteps coming from the other side of the door. “But that’s not-” The door starts to open and Mia immediately masks her earlier annoyance and puts on a friendly face. I feel a twinge of guilt about having to lie to her parents, but I shove it down. If this is how our girlfriend wants to handle this, then I’ll go with it, even if I don’t fully agree.

The door swings fully open to reveal Mr and Mrs Whitley. The resemblance to Skylar is immediately obvious, although they both bear the marks of a lifetime of stress, worry and age. Mr Whitley stands to the front, having opened the door, while Skylar’s mother stands behind him. He nods at the three of us. “Hi Mr and Mrs Whitley, it’s lovely to meet you.” I say, smiling at them.

“Mom, dad, this is Gemma, Mia and Ivy.” Skylar says, introducing each of us in turn. “Good to meet you. I s’pose you better come in.” Mr Whitley says in a gruff voice. They both stand aside to let us in. Skylar leads the way into the house as we file inside. I look around curiously, noting that everything looks absolutely pristine. Given how disciplined they all seem, it’s to be expected.

As we walk past her, Mrs Whitley speaks to us. “It’s nice to meet you all. Skylar seems to be a lot happier these days, and I guess we have you three to thank for that.” She says, smiling at us. I can tell that it’s a **** smile. She’s trying to be friendly to us, even if that’s not how she would act normally towards us. I appreciate it, and from the small nod Skylar gives her mother, the umbramancer does too.

The door shuts behind us and Skylar leads us into the kitchen and dining room area. 6 chairs are set up, ready and waiting for us. “Lunch should be ready in a few moments. Have a seat, I’ll bring it out shortly.” Mrs Whitley says, walking into the kitchen. Skylar’s father sits at one end of the table, and Skylar sits opposite him.

Mia sits next to her, and I sit at the other end, with Ivy sitting opposite me, leaving a seat free for Skylar’s mother next to her husband. “This is a lovely home you have.” I compliment, looking around at the pictures of their family on the walls, the paintings and the simple but beautiful decorative flowers and ornaments.

Mr Whitley nods in appreciation, his expression seeming to soften slightly. “Thank you. We worked hard for it.” He says. “I can imagine. I’ve had to work hard for my home too. I’m lucky that it’s a safe place. We all are.” I say, looking around at my girlfriends. The implication of the gesture isn’t lost on Skylar’s father. “Really? How safe is your home?” He asks, clearly both curious and worried about Skylar.

“We’ve been reassured by a Fateweaver that nobody but us can even find the barrier, let alone actually get in without us letting them in.” Mia proudly proclaims, looking at me with pride. “Gemma’s powers are pretty special, and she’s the reason that we can all live in peace.” The aeromancer continues. Mr Whitley relaxes slightly. “That makes me feel better. Thank you.” He says, nodding at me.

“Of course. Our safety is important to us all. This is a dangerous place and to be safe is a valuable and rare thing, one that we all cherish.” I reply smoothly, giving him a smile. At that moment, Mrs Whitley brings out our food, carrying the plates two at a time. She’s made a simple but delicious looking roast lunch.

“This looks delicious, thank you Mrs Whitley!” Ivy says. She smiles at the healer. “You’re welcome dear.” She replies. “I’ve been learning how to cook myself. I prepare all of our meals. Maybe one day you could teach me what you know?” Ivy asks, doing her best to make a connection with Skylar’s mother.

Mrs Whitley smiles kindly. “Maybe one day. I’m sure you’re a lovely cook already though.” She says, vanishing back into the kitchen to get the rest of the plates of our food. “So how do you spend your days Ivy?” Mr Whitley asks her. “We do a lot of training. We want to make sure we’re as strong as possible to keep each other safe.” The nature spirit says.

Skylar’s father nods approvingly. “I’m glad to hear that. I was a little worried that Skylar having a relationship like this, with so many people involved, would make her lazy.” He says openly, looking at his daughter. “Daad!” Skylar says, putting her head in her hands. He gives her a small smile. “You make me proud every day, you know.” He says fondly.

She sighs and her face reddens, but I can see the smile from behind her hands. It makes me smile to see how much they clearly care for each other. Mrs Whitley comes back with the rest of our plates and sets them down in front of us, taking a seat herself. She raises her glass of water, and Mr Whitley joins her. My girlfriends and I follow suit.

“To safety and peace.” Skylar’s mother says simply. We all clink our glasses together, and I take a sip from the water before digging into the food. The roast chicken is absolutely delicious, especially with the gravy she put on top. “This is delicious!” Mia exclaims, happily shovelling food into her mouth with the bare minimum of table manners.

Skylar nudges her and Mia looks at the umbramancer. “What?” She asks, her mouth still full. I have to stifle a giggle as Skylar hisses at her. “Manners.” “Oh, sorry.” She says, closing her mouth and chewing. Mrs Whitley chuckles at the scene, and speaks. “So Mia, what are your goals in life?” She asks. Mia swallows the food in her mouth before answering.

“Happiness for me, and safety for my chosen family.” She says simply, looking around at the three of us. I smile happily at her. Mr and Mrs Whitley nod approvingly. “Good things in life to strive for.” Skylar’s father says. There are a couple of seconds of silence and Ivy breaks it with an observation. “Those paintings on the wall are really pretty!” She says.

“Thank you dear, I painted them.” Mrs Whitley says. “You’re a very talented artist!” The nature spirit compliments. “I’ve been painting ever since I was little. My mum sent me to as many different art programs as she could find, because she saw that I loved it so much. Art is both a very easy thing to do, and a very difficult thing to do.”

“It’s easy to just start and put your feelings onto a blank canvas. Feeling confident in your own work is a little harder.” Mrs Whitley chuckles. We all share a chuckle at that. “My husband sculpts as well. The ornaments around the house are things he’s made.” She continues. “Oh they’re really cool!” Mia says. Skylar’s father smiles at her.

“Like my wife, I’ve been doing it since I was little. It started as a way to cope with stress from school, and I sort of just kept doing it. I have a pottery wheel and all my tools in the shed outside.” He says. “Can you show me after lunch? That sounds like fun to learn!” Mia asks. Mr Whitley looks a little surprised, but nods after a moment.

“Sure, we can do that. I can give you a demonstration and show you where to find the best tools.” He says. Mrs Whitley has a sly smile on her face at the interaction. The meal progresses and conversation continues with the four of us exchanging pleasantries with Skylar’s parents, and getting to know each other a bit better.