The Hungry, Hungry Trundle Bug

Writers: Aaron, Halyonix
Date Posted: 24th June 2026

Characters: K'far, Vaile, Miravaile, Moraile
Description: The kiddos won't go to bed without a story from K'far
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 4, day 4 of Turn 13

Mentioned:
Notes:
~*~

"NO!"

Vaile exhaled wearily. "Mira, sweetie, please, we have to--"

"No! I said no! I said NO!"

Her daughter was not listening. And the volume and vehemence in her tone was obviously upsetting her brother Moraile, who was curled up on the couch, clutching a blanket like a shield. "I want K'far!" he yelled in a wavering voice, adding to his sister's defiance.

Vaile exhaled wearily again. **Liranth, love, if you could explain the situation to Torth please?** she asked of her dragon.

}: Of course. Torth, the children will not go to sleep because they want your rider to come over and put them to bed. :{

K'far could not help but smile, despite understanding how frustrating it must be for Vaile.

}:We come,:{ said Torth. For his part, he was more than happy for the opportunity to snuggle with Liranth. Moreover, he loved the way this made K'far happy.

Soon enough, K'far poked his head in.

"Did I hear someone say it's story time?"

"K'far!" both kids cried gleefully as the brownrider came into view. Each grabbed one of his hands and started tugging him towards their shared bedroom. "You promised us a story!" Miravaile reminded him stoutly.

K'far chuckled happily and followed them. It was more than a little special for them to be so delighted to see him, even though he suspected it might be a little wearisome for Vaile to have to call in backup.

"I did say that, didn't I?" he asked. "What story do we want to read tonight?"

"The hungry, hungry trundlebug!"

"Ohh, I love that one," said K'far. He plucked out the book from the little shelf and held it up so they could see the pictures as he read. He mostly had the story itself memorized at this point. "With each thing the trundlebug devoured," K'far said dramatically,

"BUT... he was... still hungry!" until the little bug had eaten half of the Gather.

The kids squealed in absolute delight. Moraile covered his eyes in childish fright but was smiling. "He couldn't _really_ eat half of the Gather!" Miravaile pointed out in that tone that said she would still halfway believe it just for the whimsy.

From the doorway to their bedroom, Vaile watched, a thoughtful, contented smile on her face. **He really is good with them,** she remarked to Liranth, who was already entwined with Torth on the ledge.

"Well, not with that attitude, he couldn't!" K'far countered with a grin. With the story finished, he doled out hugs. "All right, give Mama a hug, and we'll say goodnight."

The kids happily rushed over to give their mother a hug and then dutifully began climbing into their respective beds, wiggling in anticipation of K'far tucking them in.

K'far happily finished tucking them into their bunks and left them with hugs from him as well.

"Good night, sleep well, and sweet dreams."

"G'night!" came the childish chorus as the glows were dimmed.

Vaile was waiting for him in the next room, her arm crossed loosely against her chest, her stance broadcasting that she was obviously thinking about something and couldn't figure out how to say it. "Thank you," she started with.

"Hey, of course." K'far pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. "Are you all right?" He imagined it must be difficult for a mother when her kids demanded story time for someone else.

She leaned into the hug but her body language was still not relaxed. "I hate leaving them overnight in the creche so much," she admitted. "I know their fostermother doesn't mind, she loves them too, but I...feel like..." She paused for a long moment. "I don't want them to grow up without their remaining parent."

Yet the moment she said that, she winced. She shifted out of the hug, standing awkwardly some feet away as she tried to process conflicting feelings. "They like you, K'far. A lot. Here I thought they would be the ones more resistant to having a new male figure around. At least, with Miravaile. But they both ask me all of the time when you're coming over. Moraile even asked me the other day when he was going to get a brown dragon like Torth."

Her eyes sought his now. "I...don't know how to navigate this, K'far. This next step that I think is coming." It had taken her Turns to finally let M'vel in. Turns to even consider being romantic with someone again after him. And now she had her kids to think about. It felt like she was standing at the edge of a precipice, ready to cliffdive like some riders did for fun, except that she was scared for some reason even though she wanted to jump.

K'far met Vaile's eyes with a tender expression.

"I don't have to go back to my weyr," he said softly. "Being here with the three of you feels right. It's where I want to be. And... well, before just now, I had been thinking about asking you about that next step. But I know it's hard for all of you, having lost their father. Your weyrmate. I'm not out to replace him; I know I never could. And I don't want to push you to do anything you're not ready for, especially not just because it's what the kids might want. It matters what you want, too. There's no deadline." None except death, he supposed. The original deadline.

"Whatever happens, I'll be here to navigate it with you. Together."

She liked that word: together. Together with Liranth. Together with him. Together with the kids. K'far would never replace M'vel because he wasn't supposed to be a replacement -- he was supposed to be his own chapter in her life. She stepped forward back into his arms. "I think...I can do together," she murmured.

K'far kissed her sweetly and wrapped her in his hug.

"One step at a time, together. For now... can I stay the night?"

Her chuckle was muffled but sincere. "It would be incredibly rude of me to ask you to come over just to read a bedtime story." She kissed him sweetly and then again, with a little heat. "Besides, what if I want you to tuck me in?" she said in a light tease.

"Oho, I'd love to." K'far grinned and pressed himself against her.

Last updated on the July 1st 2026

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The Hungry, Hungry Trundle Bug