Downplaying their progress would be easy for the people here. At this point, Molly was 14 years old. Brawler, Boxer, Battler and Bruiser were 13 years old. Ren and Len were now 12. Johna was finishing her last year at the mage academy. When she returned, she would be a grown woman in the eyes of society. I had no heard of her falling in love with any boys over there. Maybe she was hiding it from me. Either way, it would be on her to tell me if she had someone that she wanted to marry. I would put him at the top of the list. It was way too late to change course now. Especially when I had already done so for Molly. Ren and Len were not so far along. I could go ask if it was what they really wanted. Sighing, I said "I can see your point though Betan. Ren and Len are young enough to transition to something else. Molly transitioned from witch training to knight training." Chuckling, I added "Who knows what could happen? Maybe they would be happier studying the arts like you said." He put a hand on my shoulder. "Ask them. It isn't too late for them." he said. I called Ren and Len.
Eventually, they appeared in front of us. I looked at them seriously. "Boys. I want you to totally honest with me. Are you happy with being trained to be knights?" I asked them. They looked at each other in confusion. I snapped my fingers to get their attention. "Don't look at each other, boys! I'm the one asking you as individuals. I need you to tell me what you actually feel. It's totally fine to have different answers." I said sternly. Their tails had stopped wagging. "I like training, Father. We're fast and strong and we are going to be warriors just like Mother said we would." Len said. Ren simply nodded his head. I was not going to accept that. "Ren, are you happy?" He said "I don't know. I'm happy like this, Father. I'm good at it and we have fun together as a family." "If something happened and you could not be knights, what would you like to do instead?" I asked. "I'd try to be a knight anyway!" Len said firmly. Ren was thinking. I was quiet. After a minute, he meekly said "I like the weapons. Maybe I could be a smith and make some?" I turned to Betan. "Would you buy his weapons?" I asked.
Feeling called out, he blustered. "What kind of question is that!? I would buy them if they were actually good weapons." I hummed in approval, but I wanted to press him a bit further. "And does Ren look like he could be a decent smith? I think some people might not want to give him a chance as a smith because he is a hybrid. Weapon smithing is a form of art, but it is also a service and business. You need money to buy supplies to make the weapons. I know that you also need to be able to purchase a good furnace and all the tools. If no one buys what he is selling, he would go hungry on the streets before long." Betan rubbed his chin as he thought. "I never thought of it that way. I guess, being a knight-errant, you can just move and fight your way into coin from a tournament or good deeds if no one wants you." he said. I just nodded my head. Sometimes, it was better to make them think it out on their own. Alane said "I know that they are pretty fast with a blade. Bows too. I think that they would do a decent job at a tournament." I called Brawler, Boxer, Battler and Bruiser over to us.
