“Calm down.” Xavier sighs as his son bounces from wall to wall. Clearly, Elior did not inherit Xavier’s sleepiness. He rubs his eyes with one hand and yawns. “Lio, don’t you wanna take a nap with me instead?” He doesn’t even understand what they’re playing.

Elior waves his little wooden sword around and shakes his head. “Not tired!” he shouts mid-swing, cardboard crown sliding down over one eye.

Xavier watches as Elior lets out a high-pitched battle cry and charges forward. He misses whatever invisible enemy he was targeting and topples face-first into a mountain of pillows.

“Are you okay?” Xavier asks, already reaching to pick him up.

Elior pops his head up, eyes bright and smiling wide. “Yeah! I beat the monster!!”

“You mean the wanderer,” Xavier corrects with a smile.

“Yeah, him!” Elior nods so fast his crown falls off. “The spooky one under the bed! He tried to steal my crown and I was like RAAH! and he was like AAAH! and then I went POW POW KSSHH! and now he’s dead.”

Xavier squints. “Right. Of course.”

He furrows his brow as Elior starts spinning in circles again. He’ll never understand how his son’s imagination works. One minute he’s an imperial knight, the next he’s a UNICORN hunter like his parents… and now, apparently, he’s the new King of Philos.

How can a four-year-old be all three at once?

And why does Xavier always get the worst roles? Elior made him a “guard”, a boring old guard. At least he also gets a colored cardboard helmet. Xavier’s whole job is to hold Elior’s bunny plush.

Xavier picks up the bunny plush from the floor. “Chomp,” he says flatly, moving the bunny to “bite”Elior’s cheek.

Elior gasps in delight, he loves it when his dad plays along. “AHHH!! Did Bun-Bun go EVIL!?”

Xavier nods, eyes narrowing seriously. “Yup. He ate… uh…” He glances at a candy wrapper on the table. “Shadow candy. It made him evil.”

Elior squeals at the newfound information. He knows just the medic. He takes the bunny plushie from his dad with care. “OH NO!! I know who can fix him!!!”

He takes the bunny gently from Xavier’s hands and cradles it with care. “Don’t worry, Bun-Bun,” he whispers. “You’re gonna be okay.”

Then he bolts out of the room at full speed, yelling, “MOMMYYYY!! You have to help Bun-Bun!” The boy shoves the bunny plush to your face.

“Please help him.” Xavier nodded as well, now equally invested in this make-believe game. He also looks at you with the same puppy dog eyes as Elior.