CHAPTER 180: CHAPTER 179: GETTING SETTLED PART 8

Leanna continued on her way, she had made progress in her relationship with Lillim, but she still harboured a lot of resentment towards her and she was already in a bad mood after being being found lacking compared to her own granddaughter.

She was on the shuttle heading towards the towers, sitting in the silence and solitude she had hardly known since Carl came into her life, it was normally nice to occasionally enjoy it but in that moment it felt particularly heavy.

As the shuttle lurched slightly as it came to a stop, Leanna stood and walked through the door without looking, apologising as she bumped into someone.

"What troubles you Leanna?" The question came from one of the two that had been about to enter.

"Oh sorry Gaia, it’s nothing, we just have much to do and no idea how to do it properly." Leanna tried to continue on her way, but she found herself stopped.

"You may not be related by blood, but you certainly instilled some traits in Carl and apparently not all for the better. I can feel the hearts of all who touch the earth, so before you rush in with a clouded mind, talk to us." Leanna was shocked, not entirely sure what she meant by traits instilled in Carl, but it certainly grabbed her attention.

Gaia was about to open a portal back to Haven, but it simply wasn’t there.

"Gaia, what’s wrong, you’re looking around as dumbly as Carl does yourself." Bahamut said from the side, where Leanna hadn’t even acknowledged him and quickly apologised.

"Haven, it’s not there anymore."

"What do you mean not there?..." Bahamut looked around himself, then also got that same look on his face. "...Tiamutael, do you have any clue what’s happening on Haven... Tiamutael!"

"...What!? I’m watch kid-vids..." Bahamut was a bit surprised by Tiamutael’s uncharacteristic snapping. "...What is going on on Haven, Boy? Gaia and I can’t see it."

"Oh, right bare with me..." Tiamutael extended himself, looking at Haven from every angle, unlike the others he could see the planet and the divinity that Raziel was producing. "...Yeah sis has covered all of Haven now. You’ll have to learn to open portals by sound."

"I see, "Open portals by sound" he says. Like it is easy to judge distance by sound in a vacuum.

"What? There is no sound in a vacuum though." Leanna interjected.

"I thought so as well, but if Tiamutael is saying there is, it must simply be imperceptible to most."

’Equinox, as shameful as this is, Gaia and I can no longer see Haven, could you please come and open a portal for us?’

Equinox seemed to appear out of thin air, simply dropping out of the sky in human form. "Where is it you wish to go, I can still see it fine, I can only imagine Raziel’s ability is progressing."

"Yes your young lord just told us, has he always been so snippy when watching those obnoxious shows he enjoys?"

"No and it is a habit that will be dealt with. His duties must come first, so if he can’t balance them and the shows, the shows will have to go. The fact he didn’t think to take you where you needed to go is proof." Equinox wasn’t making idle threats, that became clear when he appeared a split second later and apologised, then took them all to Haven.

"Sorry for making you wait Grandma, Auntie, Uncle. I’ll see you later."

"Good boy, now be on your way and be ready to help ferry other people over until your sister’s ability stabalises."

"Yes, Uncle Bahamut." With that Tiamutael disappeared.

"Don’t you think it is a little much using him as a mode of transportation though?" Leanna grumbled as she stared at the space where he had been.

"You’re a daughter of Lillim and you don’t understand? I must say I’m surprised Le-" He was silenced suddenly by Gaia squeezing his shoulder hard enough for him to understand, then she gestured for Leanna to take them inside.

As Leanna made some refreshments for them, they listened to her explain what had her so bothered, exchanging glances at certain points.

"Leanna, don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t really understand the situation, do you?" Gaia finally said.

"How can I? Those that do, don’t bother to explain." Leanna grumbled, caught in the moment and forgetting herself a bit.

"Fine, then allow us to. First of all, your mother raises her children as she has to, can you imagine how much carnage they could wrought if they ran amok?

Your sisters are not exactly the most tame bunch.

I will concede that she failed as a mother with you, but it all stems from the fact that amongst the tens of thousands, you are unique and she was too stuck in her ways and worried what would happen if she adjusted her methods."

"Trust me, I know that my siblings are unruly, I did spend my formative years with them. I don’t understand how that justifies raising them as killing machines and rewarding that behaviour."

"Rewarding? Can I ask if you have ever seen her spend half as much time with them, as she does with you?"

Leanna thought about it for a moment. "No, I haven’t, but if you’re trying to suggest that is because I-"

"Leanna, you are her pride and joy, the daughter that rose above their nature. You reached heights that none of the others ever did and did so through hard work and peaceful measures.

If I’m not mistaken, you have mostly eight and nine digit stats in your human form. Have you ever taken your true form to see what they are when you don’t hold back?"

"No, I have no desire t-"

"Oh good grief woman, cast aside that damnable ego..." Gaia ranted with a sigh of exasperation. "...You are an example to your child and his, do you think they don’t know? They have met some of your siblings, they aren’t stupid and every day you hide who you are is a day you tell them they need to hide their inhumanity."

Leanna nearly replied, but bit her tongue, thinking about it made her realise how little she sees her grandchildren show theirs.

"You’re right Gaia, I’m not under committee control anymore and if we want to make this a faction of true equality, we can’t have members too afraid to hide who they are."

"Exactly, Bahamut and Tiamat are one thing as their forms are so colossal, but they still aren’t shy about showing them when they have to. Likewise your mother isn’t afraid to show he arms, horns and tail, she just produces a natural aura of despair when she transforms completely.

As for why we push the children, it is the same, they are far more powerful than they should be and if they lack discipline, they will undoubtedly bring about disaster. We always make sure to congratulate success though.

The exception is Kitsunoko, her nurture over nature ability would react poorly to interference from outside parties, so we merely provide situations for her to overcome as Tiamat did earlier with their wager and Bahamut supposedly stepping out to deal with the issue."

"Impressive if true..." Leanna grumbled again. "...How did you know she would arrive though?"

Gaia and Bahamut looked at each other and laughed. "When doesn’t she show up unannounced at meetings? She is drawn to trouble like a moth to flame, we need to make sure that she only ever wants to help when she arrives."

"I hope Carl is aware of this." Leanna tried to sound as warm as possible, but she failed miserably and it was clear that she meant it as a warning.

"Well, Kyubi definitely does, so I would assume so. Truthfully I never thought to ask whether or not he did."

Leanna bit her lip, she had questions but found herself in a difficult situation she hadn’t expected. She had no gripes about Kyubi becoming a part of their family, but she also knew the immortals had the shared trait of acting on their own steam and that autonomy wasn’t particularly good in the bounds of shared child raising.

"I’ll ask about it, I trust Kyubi, but I know you immortals tend to do what you consider necessary without discussing it and I’d hate for her to upset the others without knowing why, she’s still getting used to being in a relationship so she may have forgotten to ask."

"I suppose that is a fair point, we should have also asked."

"Well, anyway, I guess I have some thinking to do. Thank you Gaia, you have a way of straightening out people’s thoughts. You’ve now helped me and my son with a major life choice and I hope you know we both appreciate it."

"Hush woman, did you forget your son gave me my child? Though, I wish he hadn’t made him more useful than I... It’s rather humbling watching little Rhea sow fields and mature them in minutes."