“Those who still have their families with them should cherish those moments while they last.” - Old mercenary saying.

“Oh, my… Look at how big you’ve grown… Both of you…” muttered Varsha when Erycea and Alycea joined their parents later that evening. While Alycea was about the normal size for a child her age, Erycea was tall for a fifteen year old. She already matched her mother in height even a year ago, and was still growing to boot. As it was, she stood nearly half a head taller than the impressed Varsha.

“Hello, Great Grandma!” greeted Alycea cheerfully, a wide smile on the ten year old girl’s face.

“Great Grandma,” said Erycea more calmly as she accepted the embrace of her great grandmother. Varsha had to reach up quite a bit to properly hug her due to their height difference, and that was with Erycea already bending her legs somewhat. Her legs were far more alike to her father’s than her mother’s, so she rarely stood fully upright on them, generally adopting a half-bent pose instead. Even that way she was already taller than her mother by a bit. “Been a while.”

“Here, for you, sweetie,” said Varsha as she gave a handful of candies to Alycea. Sweets like those were not exactly luxury for the mercenaries, but they were in the Holy Kingdom since the area had a lack of local sugar-producing crops. The little girl accepted the gift with a big smile and went over to the side to play with other kids, as she knew that when the adults gave candies, they usually wanted to be left alone for a while.

“She’s such a sweet little girl,” said Varsha as she watched Alycea go over to her friends. Of course, those friends were primarily other children around her age that were part of the dependents of the Company. Most of them were children of other mercenaries in the company, and the way they played was more akin to brawling and sparring rather than what most would associate with what playing children did. “She’s been training up too, I see.”

“She has, yes. Aly wanted to join us as well once she’s come of age,” replied Erycea as she watched Alycea throw an older boy half again her size over her shoulder with a practiced move. Of course, the kid just got up and brushed himself off before they squared off again with eagerness. “She’s been training hard for it.”

“I guess our family just isn’t intended for peaceful professions,” said Varsha with a bit of a wistful sigh. “But then again, you all chose this path on your own will, and walked it proudly. That’s better than most could say, I guess.”

“I mean, if there’s a job that’d allow us to just lay down, relax, and be pampered all day without having to do a thing, I think most would have preferred that,” replied Erycea with a chuckle. “Most jobs of that sort involve being under the whims of someone else, though, and no guarantee that someone wasn’t an asshole. So yeah, I’d rather take this sort of lifestyle. At least we’re getting paid for doing something we’re good at and mostly enjoy.”

“Good that you’ve found your way in life so early,” admitted Varsha. As someone who had tread many avenues of living herself, she knew what it was like to feel lost and undecided. Fortunately her descendants did not face the same issue as she did. “Also good to see that the Company had grown so well. It made me feel better to know that all of you are fighting alongside many compatriots.”

“We’ve been lucky, and dad’s taking care not to bite off more than we could chew,” replied Erycea nonchalantly. “Last we talked, he was trying to look for some relatively low-risk jobs in the former Empire, so we shouldn’t be rushing headlong to battle anytime soon.”

“It’s a good thing to know one’s limitations.”

“Indeed, Great Grandma,” said Erycea as she waved to Niko and Yuri, who happened to be passing by with several of their younger children on their shoulders. The couple was naturally childless, so they instead adopted the orphaned children of their compatriots should the children prove willing. To date, the two had adopted at least a dozen such children into their household. “It is for peaceful and relaxing times like these that we fight and bleed out there. Well, that and money, of course.”

“Money ain’t everything, but most everything needs money,” chimed Varsha with an old saying.

“Damn straight, Great Grandma,” followed Erycea with a smirk.

In the distance Erycea noticed her friends Rhiannon and Llewelyn, being shown around the new city by their parents Karenina and Zyd. The twins were born and raised in Zephirous, but they had also been away from the city for longer than then had lived there. Their parents on the other hand still knew most of the routes around the city by heart, despite the changes.

From the other side of the city square she could also hear one of Lars’ old compatriots giving a speech about the benefits offered by the Company. The recruitment process was going pretty well, and the Company would likely have as many soldiers in training as they had in active duty soon, if it kept up at the same pace as before.

She even saw Lars – part of her automatically thought of him as “Uncle Lars” as Ery was used to calling the various unit leaders her aunts and uncles – and Meryl strolling through the city. The tactician was on a rare day off, as Reinhardt had basically forced him to take his new wife on a vacation and honeymoon in the city once they arrived.

More than anything, Erycea kept an eye on the playing – or brawling, rather – children nearby, where her own adopted little sister was deep in a tussle with many other children, both locals and from the Company. When she looked at them, she thought of the future, a future that might one day be her responsibility.

As such, she knew to cherish the rare moments of peace and relaxation they had, before the call to arms would once again be sounded, like it always was.