156. The Barn

Jax

Cora was on her game when she woke up. I knew she was sore she was moving a little stiff this morning. I was always amazed she handled whatever I did to her, and she liked it. I know the thought had gone through my mind so many times over the years, but I thought it now again as I watched her getting Max ready for his magic lessons. The fates really knew what they were doing when they paired the two of us together. “Hey, I have a plate for you Max and I are going to do some magic.” Cora said with a smile.

She sat down a mug full of black coffee in front of me and leaned in to give me a quick kiss. Max was finishing up his eggs when he turned to me and said, “Mom and I are building this morning dad.” I looked at Cora who gave me a wink. Gods, above she was incredible, I didn’t think she would start on that so soon. How the hell was so just so dedicated to everything we did in this life. She was the most perfect person there was on this planet. She was going to have Max help build his own legacies. If everything went the way we hoped history would record that he helped build his own empire.

“Oh yeah little man? What building are you going to start with?” I asked. “I don’t know? Mom gave me a book to absorb before we do anything” I nodded. I wondered just what he could do, he wouldn't know all the information he absorbed. “Before Breakfast Mom asked if I could do the book thing with a dictionary, why are there so many words people use.” I looked at Cora who smiled.

She had just made our son the smartest 5-year-old on the planet, thanks to her having him do that book absorption with the dictionary of the English language he knew every word there was in English, well I assumed he did, considering the dictionary Cora had bought herself a while ago was the unabridged oxford English dictionary. “Oh yeah so you know every word now huh?” I asked my white-haired little boy. “Yeah, it is crazy right so many words to choose from.” He was speaking so clearly, I had to admit it was unnerving seeing a kid so young speak that clearly.

“What is your favorite word?” I asked Max. He smiled. “Fartlek” Max tried not to laugh. I raised an eyebrow “It is the activity runners do when they change from sprinting to jogging, but it sounds funny like fart.” He started laughing then asked, “I wonder if they say that at the Olympics that would be riotous.” He then started laughing and I looked at Cora who just shrugged. I watched as my wife laid a book in front of Max. “Here Max absorb this book and then we can go ahead and start.” He nodded taking the book which I glanced at. It was a book on building a barn.

I went over to where Cora was and gave her a kiss which she leaned into. Then I said “It is like we have an Ender Wiggins in our house, he is five and he knows every word every recorded.” Cora looked at me seriously. “Ender Wiggins didn’t have magic, Max will know everything about everything when this town is built, he will learn philosophy, war strategies, more history than anyone on this planet. The books I plan to give him will be so in depth, I want him to know everything he possibly can, the question then is what will he do with it?”

I always thought when I read “Enders Game” as a kid there was no way for little kids to be as smart as they were even in a futuristic world, but here was Max. Five and he talked like he was an adult who had been to college, knowing words I had no idea the meaning of who had ever heard of a fartlek. I looked at Cora then “Do you know every word in the English language?” She smiled and said “Forsooth” I raised my eyebrow, and she smiled a bit bigger. “It means indeed, so yes.” I nodded slowly, I should have assumed she had absorbed that knowledge when she got that book, it had been while she was pregnant and asked me to get it for her. I had of course, but it was strange to know both my wife and son knew so much.

I had bought her so many books that I had no clue just how much she had learned these past five years. Cora smiled. “Your head reeling?” I nodded. She knew that I was just now realizing how much she knew, and just how much Max would learn in the upcoming years, she was not kidding when she told me when he grew up, he would be able to do anything, and if she was having him learn psychology and philosophy and such, he could figure out how to weaponize it. He would have the tools to become the best person for the world, or the most evil.

It would be important to raise him right, with the access to all that knowledge it could make him have some kind of complex. I don’t know seemed unnerving, but Cora put her hand on my shoulder. “Jax, you don’t need to worry, I can see you are, not to mention I can feel your anxiety leaching out of you. You need to relax this will all work out.” She gave me a softer smile and a quick peck on the lips. “Mom, why a barn? We don’t have any animals, and this is not a farm?” Max asked looking at the two of us. Had he already finished the book?

Cora is the one who answered “Yes, I know that Max, we are building a big barn so we can have meetings there. Your Dad and I are making a new pack and that means we need a place when we have pack meetings.” Max face got all confused. So, I guess we were doing this now. I knew I was going to tell him, but didn’t think it would be so soon, then again considering that we were no longer in the other pack thanks to me telling Tanner this probably couldn’t wait.

“Your mom is right Max, we as a family are starting a new pack. I told Tanner yesterday we are no longer Grey Crest, but we are part of White Paw.” He looked so bewildered. “What?” He yelled. This was not going well. “What about my friends?” He asked. “I am meeting with Tanner some of his pack will probably be coming here, not everyone will stay with him, maybe some of your friends will come to us.” This was the simplest way to explain this. He may know every word in the English language, but he was still five and the way he processed things was in the manner of a child. Cora added “Max John is still your beta, and some witches are coming to visit, they may join this new pack also.” She smiled and Max looked surprised but kind of excited by that.

Cora had been the only witch he knew besides himself. I could tell that at least made the whole thing a little better in his mind. “So, what does this mean?” Max asked me. “I am the alpha, your mother the luna, John the beta and you are the next alpha.” His mouth hung open, probably not on account that I told him about him being alpha or about me or john, no this was because Cora was going to be his Luna. “Mom you are being the Luna again?” She nodded to Max.

“Come on kid, let's do the barn, well you will do the barn, I have other stuff I have to do.” He looked up at her as she moved, and I watched the two of them go outside. I knew I should eat, Cora had made breakfast, but I wanted to at least see them start. I used My heightened hearing to listen to the two of them. “Where do you want it to go?” Cora asked Max and he looked around and pointed. She nodded and I watched as she ripped trees up stripped the wood cut them made them look like really lumber the only thing, she hadn’t done was treat the wood. This would go much faster than I thought. I then saw something floating, and it sat beside the two of them. Cora had summoned a lot of the nails and bolts from my workshop. “Have Fun Max.” She said looking at our son. She then walked away to another area she started to just clear land.