“So I think it’s time you go visit your brother Wallace and see how’s doing in the big cities up north.” said Jarek.

Breaking the usual, comfortable silence that held sway whenever father and son happened to be in the same place at the same time, with no particular purpose behind it.

“Um...I guess.” said Edwin.

“Me and your mother were figuring you can go do it in a week or so…”

“Um...Wait...What?”

*****

Biologically speaking Childhood for the Jotnar lasted between the ages of one and twelve. Adolescence for the Jotnar lasted from the ages of thirteen and thirty, ending when they reached their full heights at around their thirty-fifth year. With full adulthood being a period marked either by cultivation-based evolution or simple senescence.

Culturally and legally speaking, a Jotun was considered a full adult from their sixteenth year onwards.

Which was why Edwin wasn’t too surprised when his old rascal of a father, slung his arm over the boy’s shoulders and said, it was time for the boy to be his own man.

All things considered, Edwin had also been thinking that it was time that he set off on his own. He liked his family quite a lot, actually depending on whether or not machine could love and whether he still counted as a machine, he probably loved them.

They weren’t abusive, they weren’t cold, they weren’t distant. They were just a normal loving, Jotnar household. Brusque but warm.

Surprisingly accepting of their odd youngest child, surprisingly soft-hearted folk considering the kind of hard society that they were living in.

It was almost inevitable that he’d get attached. Even then, he’d always figured that eventually he’d have to move on. From the very beginning, from the first moments when he’d gained an understanding of his new world and his place in it, he’d found himself aching to get a better look at the bigger picture. A first hand look.

Perhaps it was just some instinct left over from his old AI imperatives, from when he’d sat at the helm of an exploratory fleet of starships. But he’d always known that he’d need to leave Rus at least once to see what was out there.

What’s more, while his direct family had certainly been accepting of his quirks, the extended clan and the town beyond seemed to be quite wary of him. As if intuiting the fundamental differences that lay between him and them.

In the seventeen plus years that he’d lived in the Otmar county while he’d made no enemies and gained no animosity worth noting, he’d also made few friends.

And in a small community like theirs, having no friends, having no gratitude and grudges could be just as bad having someone out there gunning for you.

Thus he’d figured eventually he’d go out and see if there were green pastures out there to plant roots for himself in.

“Eventually” here meaning…”in a few years or so”, since his coming of age ceremony had only been a few months ago. And he’d figured he’d do a few tours with the protectorate first to see how things panned out there first, before giving in to his building wanderlust.

He didn’t think they’d try and rush him out of the home so soon. Yet here it was..

“You know I...You know I love you son…And for what it’s worth, you’ve made me proud.” said Jarek.

Edwin looked at his father, staring at the older man, and appraising him deeply, with his luminous blue-silver eyes.

“You and mom aren’t like….dying are you? Cause I...uh...I’m pretty sure I can fix that if you are.”

Now it was Jarek's turn to stare and blink. Momentarily knocked off tempo, by yet another cryptic, non-sequitur from his youngest son.

“...Er...No...Nope. I’m as healthy as a horse...well as healthy as a horse with a lame leg and a shattered core can be, anyway... And your mother will probably outlive us all...So, no need to worry about that.”

Edwin nodded, watching his father, watching all his expressions and micro-expressions. Looking for whatever it was he was missing in this picture.

“Oh….Good then.”

*****

The biggest surprise would be when they revealed that he wasn’t going alone. Meeting him with one of the town’s priests in tow and his sister behind them, bearing a pack on her back. And driving a carriage with two horses.

“Good luck you two...may the winds at your back blow sweetly, kindly and fiercely.”