Chapter Text
The day shouldve been normal, as with any other day. The wolf cubs were training with Choi Han, Vicross in the kitchen, you get it...
Cale was in Raons labratory with Eruhaben and Rosalyn, and the baby dragon himself... Apparently the kid had a new potion he wanted to get evaluated. He excitedly recalled what he used in it.
Orcs blood
Magic stones of the highest grade
Awquarine Mushrooms
Silverroot tree branches
and apparently, a creature he forgot the name of...
Raon wasnt trying to make any potion in particular, he was just 'playing'.. Scary kid.
Cale held the small vial up to the magic light, the liquid inside shimmered with a deep red, probably from the blood. It gave the fox shivers, his fur standing on end. Just as he was about to pass the potion over to the ancient dragon, small crackles and small 'tings' could be heard. Before any of them could react, the glass shattered, its contents drenching Cale. All three others present began panicking, casting spells to wash or dry Cale... but nothing happened. No effects occurred.
"Must not have met the conditions to actually be a potion. Thats lucky, considering we never got to appraise what it couldve been." Eruhaben sighed. "You're really a lucky unlucky bastard. that couldve ended way differently"
Rosalyn just sighed in relief while Raon panicked and fussed over Cale's wellbeing, promising to never use such fragile glass again.. atleast it was a failed potion... it js left Cale sticky and kind of stinky... that was the orcs blood for sure.....
The rest of the day went by without any issues.
The nect morning arrived... and Cale was no where to be found. His prescence could be felt, but thats where the issue was. He wasnt in the bedroom, but his heart beat could be felt in multiple places at once. Raon thought he had lost his senses, the fox couldnt be in more than one place at once, yet he was??? Even Eruhaben was puzzled... They all decided to search each place cale supposedly was, what else could they do? They couldnt pin point his exact coordinates... So they split up into 10 teams to search the 10 places Cale could be felt
The first place was the library. It was easy to spot that vivid hair among the natural brown bookshelves. Not to mention that tail that was far too big... But why did Cale look so small? No it wasnt that he looked small... he was... The fox.. was a child. Raons eyes nearly popped out his head.
"Cale?" Eruhaben called out, and the redhead responded, tilting his head. Chubby cheeks and stubby fox ears.. he was honestly fucking adorable.
"Eruhaben-nim?"
Even his voice was cute- How could that unlucky bastard be so cute. No no, how the fuck is young Cale here??
"Goldie gramps- the human?? hes- Hes so small!!"
Little Cale seemed utterly offended, jumping to his feet in an offensive stance, ears pinned back. "Im not small! Youre still smaller than me!"
"No! Youre tiny human! So little! How old are you??!"
"10!"
"hah! Im 4 and almsot as big as you! You're little!"
Why.. Why are they bickering like actual children??!! Also, how was a boy that small 10...? Cale truly mustve had one massive growth spurt, he looks like a baked bean. Eruhaben had pretty much figured out what had happened, Raons potion, it somehow reverted Cale back to a child, probably the silverroot branch, its said the tree reverts back to a young sapling after it reaches 100 years old. If his mindset has been reverted back to his age, this is not gonna be fun to deal with. As the two problem children bickered, the ancient dragon got a message from Rosalyn.
Eruhaben-nim, we've found Cale... but hes... 3 years old..
What?
But he had found Cale?
He sent a message to everyone individually
You found cale, meet at the lounge'
And as he suspected... everyone returned with a Cale.. each one a different age, the youngest being 3, the eldest being 16, their current Cale, nowhere to be found.. There were 10 cales, 9 of them had tails, either red or black, a few were mixed. Only one had no tail or ears, the youngest.
The children were losing their shit, all of them felt and looked and smelled of their papa, but none of them were the adult they knew.
"What the fuck is going on" Hannah was the first to speak. Everyone shared the sentiment. Overnight, one fox became 10 child foxes.
"I suppose we have to make them whole again?" Ron smiled, his usual benign smile and it looked as if all 10 redheads shivered under that gaze.
"But how do we do that?" It was Choi han, who honestly, looked infatuated with the children, he did have a soft spot for kids.
"Maybe we smoosh them together-nya!" Hong chirped up
No one really knew but it was really the only plausible way they could think of to join them all... They were all too interested in their theories and solutions that everyone missed the mini-foxes glancing at each other, all of them having a knowing smile. It was too late to react before 9 of them scattered in all different directions, only the 3 year old left, because 1, he was too small and 2, he was being held by vicross... not that the toddler showed any sign of wanting to escape..
Locks voice broke the chatter. "Uhm... You do realise they all just scattered.. right...?"
.....
"Oh for fuck sake."
Now it became hide and seek. With Cale. Who always won. this time. x9.
No one really knew what Cale was like as a child, only Ron and Vicross did. But what made this more difficult, was the fact they didnt know if KIm Rok Soo's consciousness was also within them all. Everyone was aware of Rok Soo's original elusiveness, multiplied by Cale's original wit and then the foxes natural ability to hide, it was easy to know.
They stood no chance.
"Ill keep hold of this one, he doesnt seem to want to play either to be honest." Vicross held the red haired toddler tight. "My father will be a great help with catching them... He always found Cale in the past.."
That was the best course of action. However it soon became evident this wasnt hide and seek, atleast not the regular kind. Childrens giggles would echo around the villa, every foxes presence was gone, as if they vanished. The only thing confirming the clones were still in this place were the soft patters of thudding feet on the floor and the occasional glimpse of a tail that would lead to a dead end. Little sing-songs would be heard in the search#
stay quiet! Got to stay still!
Lets play! Count to ten, come and find us again!
Chase and catch! Where could you be hiding!
One of us is true the others are false! Its hide and seek, he wont let out even a squeak!
Search with all your might! Hes hidden in plain sight!
Choi Han paused. "This isnt regular hide and seek" A game commonly played back on earth to add flair to the traditional game. "We're playing Tag and Hide and seek.. We're 'It' "
That was it. the nursery rhyme was the hint. 10 Cale's to catch...
They already caught one, 9 more to go..
The wild fox chase began. Who knew children could be so fast? The kids used polymorphing to their advantage, slipping out of the grasp of even dragons and assassins, the first to be caught was the eldest, by Choi Han
"I found you." The korean panted, grabbing the shoulder of the smirking teen
"Uh oh! Youre wrong!" The teen fox giggled. "Its not me!" before he disappeared, his presence completely shattering. 8 more children were running wild.
Ron caught one, but he didnt say anything as the grasped the kid, allowing them to escape with manic giggles. "You didnt say you found me! So it doesnt count! Hehehe!" A tiny fox pranced away quickly disappearing from sight. The key was spread to everyone, even if you grab a clone, unless you state you 'found them' it doesnt count.
They were playing this god forsaken game since the early morning and now the sun was setting. Even swordsmasters and wolves with excellent stamina were gasping for air. They had caught only 4 of them. When night fell, the game would only get harder. Foxes were mainly nocturnal creatures. Raon just about had it, he liked games, but it wasnt fun when they lasted this long.. he just wanted his daddy back.
"serriously.. not one of the ones were caught were the real deal?" Rosalyn gasped for breath, sat down with sweat running down her forehead.
"The one best at hiding is probably the main body..." Eruhaben added.
"Its gonna be night soon... should we call the prince..?" Cage asked. Alberu would be a great addition at searching in the dark. they were all adept at night searching, but extra help would certainly be better than none, plus the children had their bedtime soon.
Raon didnt even hesitate at teleporting Alberu to the villa. The prince was shocked to suddenly be in Cale's villa, but after being briefed, he was more than happy to help. He took off hsi disguise, and the adults began searching again. Surprisingly...
"Oh-.. Hello" Alberu crouched down to match levels with the redhaired child that was grabbing tightly to his dress shirt. The others fell silent. Not a single clone had ever approached them like this.. maybe,,. was this the main body??
Rosalyn urged through gritted teeth "Alberu! Catch him!"
The prince ruffled red hair between fluffy ears, grinning, "Found you."
The child giggled with a bright smile on his face, grabbing the large hand. "Its not me!"
"You gotta be fucking kidding-" Eruhaben swore. that wasnt the main body either?? Though with Alberu, the search became so much easier.. because the children would get intrigued quickly and approach him... A fox was a curious creature, the clones had seen everyone before, but Alberu was a new sight to them, especially as a dark elf. It still took another 5 hours though.
"Hah.. Found you." Ron placed his hand on the final childs head. It really was the last child who was the best at hiding to be the main body..... but,...
"hehe! Not me!"
It.. wasnt him either????
Were they wrong??
Vicross approached the group, his face twisted, they hadnt figured anything out, none of the children playing were the main body, the main body shouldve been among them, the song said so. Alberu began muttering the lyrics he was told, to himself. What were they missing. Finally, Eruhaben let out a small 'ah'
The gold dragon approached the chef, reaching out his hand to touch the toddlers hair.
"And.. number 10.. I found you."
The baby stirred, eyes fluttering open from his sleep. A bright smile on his face through sleepy eyes. "hehe, you found me"
...The youngest,... was the main body.
Thinking now, it made sense in their heads. First of all the song clearly stated all 10 clones were part of the game, and this one, never once made a sound because he was sleeping. And really, that was the biggest hint that they all missed. Would their redhead really play and run around for over 10 hours? No. No way in hell. He was lazy, the main body was right there. In front of them all, already caught, but because no one told him he was found, he was never counted. He was literally, hidden in plain sight. Now in Vicross' arms, was the adult fox they all knew. His ear twitching slightly as he slept without a care. They were kind of glad they met Cale as an adult... Little Cale was a little shit... and the ones that resembled Kim Rok Soo? Even worse. they were the hardest to find.
The next morning, Cale was not at all surprised to find everyone looking absolutely exhausted, he had all his clones memories. Yet he sipped his tea with elegance.
"Why would i even try to play when i could catch up on sleep while you all burnt your endless energy."
Thats all he had to say. After all that fuss.... atleast someone was well rested.. bastard.
Cale was thus banned from the labratory, and Awquarine mushrooms were banned from potions. It was found later by Eruhaben that the mushrooms have a tendency to split identical clones in order to increase survival chance... and it lasted so long because of the magic stones and orc blood and Raon was thoroughly scolded....
Hide and seek was never played again in the villa, especially not with Cale who now knew new ways to win thanks to his children counterparts.