User blog comment:Doctor Ibrahim/Ask the Doc and his Family!/@comment-28530195-20160818044334/@comment-28358106-20160818175516

I smirk. "Huh. Finally, I get to justify my all-too-frequent fatherly ire."

Aegis looks at me. "Dad, really?"

"Oh, yes, really.  I'm going to take a nice, leisurely pace in describing my reasons, too."

The kids all slump down in their seats, Aurum somewhat less than the others.

"Well," I start, "They've all been high maintenance, for different reasons.  But honestly, the one who has cost me the most in material, maintenance, and emotional investment has been Asja."

The kids all start and look at me as I continue. Evidently they weren't expecting that answer. "You know about Asja's condition.  She's caused far more damages than all of them combined, and through no fault of her own.  But even still, she's my creation, so she gets as much claim as anyone.  Now the rest of you..."

Again, the children pout as I continue. "Aegis hasn't really caused too much property damage, except when she was very young.  She was practically a wild animal.  One with a cute face and an appetite for candy, but just the same.  She got over it fairly quickly, though, once she learned to hunt.  Now, Lucida didn't cause much in the way of damage, but she required a lot of maintenance in the beginning.  As she grew, her rune capacity grew, and inscribing them required some exotic and extremely expensive materials.  She'll probably need more here before long."

I rub Ferra's back with my hand. "Ferra had a lot of accidents when she was young, some of which were expensive, in more ways than one.  She's learned a lot since then, and she's still learning.  But it was pretty hard at first, because she didn't understand.  As far as I know, she's physically the strongest Mamono there is, so she has to be careful."

"Now, unless we count the wagon incident, Aurum hasn't caused any damage at all.  Her maintenance has been pretty expensive; black gold doesn't come cheap by the Dwarves.  Counting that, in addition to her clothes, she's the most expensive of all."

Aurum gets a look of disbelief as she turns and looks at me. I smile. "Yes, you heard right, sweetie.  Your taste in clothes and the sheer volume of them is by far the most expensive."

"But...I make so many of them myself!" She protests.

"Out of some expensive materials, hon.  And those boots you're wearing?  Those cost your mother and I four hundred marks."

Aurum turns red as Aegis points. "Ha!  See, I told you that you had more outfits than all of us combined!"