"I love you too, Tanny," he replied, a slight teasing in his voice. He rarely used the nickname he had given her when they were kids, since she was a grown woman with a husband and child, but it felt good to do it occasionally. "Mother sends me sachets of herbs and spices to keep in my closet and drawers. My little piece of the circus smells like a spice market on a warm day, but minus the sweaty men. Usually." He stepped inside, leaning his staff against the wall. He figured he was unlikely to need it in his cousin's house, and anyway he had his wand in his interior vest pocket.
The voice caused Amanj to look down, 'seeing' Étaín's little boy for the first time since he was an infant. "Good Geb, is that Nick? He's huge! Do children normally grow this fast?" The Iranian man couldn't help but smile as the boy threw open his arms, clearly wanting a hug. He laughed, moving in and wrapping his arms around his little cousin, supporting him carefully in his arms if his mother would let her cousin hold him. "Hello, Nick! Well you're a right big boy now, aren't you? Have you been keeping your mum company?" Amanj was relatively inexperienced with kids, but he found speaking to them like tiny adults usually got good results.
"I've got something for you," he told his tiny cousin. Amanj turned to look in Étaín's general direction, saying, "And a present for you and Tony as well. Although I admit it's mostly for you," he added cheekily. He liked the man; he was a good man and a good husband, clearly devoted. That didn't mean Amanj didn't tease him a little occasionally. He reached into an enchanted pocket on hi jacket, pulling out two boxes. One was smaller and wrapped in bright orange paper with an outrageous bow while the other box was larger with tasteful white and gold paper tied with plain brown string. The orange box went to Nick, and the other to Étaín. "I hope you like them."
Nick's box contained a
set of circus-themed stuffed animals in bright colors that twitched their tails, giving little squeaky roars, or trumpeted in short bursts of noise. "Don't worry," he told his cousin with a smile. "They're spelled to sleep at night so they won't wake him, or you, up." Étaín's box contained a
turkish coffee set in deep browns and copper. "In case you were wondering how I picked such an exquisite set, I dragged a friend from the circus out with me." Amanj's sight was detailed enough to let him walk around and maintain his independence but he couldn't see colors or patterns in cloth which usually meant his clothing was a rather interesting mix of colors.
