driftfleet | huntress mingle

[ It's not a great scene and Zaveid is aware of it; it's messy, disgusting from where his hands were on the wall, a little blown apart by the sheer force of his wind, but he's calmer now. With Eizen coming and settling him, drawing his pain out like poison from a wound and leaving it to heal, to scab all over again... It's easier, he thinks. Eizen made it easier, and that's good enough for him, for now. He's learning to adjust.

He's not playing it off as much as he might have done in the past, with his emotions threadbare and broken. There's no way to ignore how much something hurts, no matter how long its been, and it hasn't been that long since the strange rooms with film-style memories. Zaveid knows he's shouldered too much sadness lately, but he's working forward, trying to stop it from weighing him down so much that he feels undone. He's better than this; stronger than it, too, especially with the others at his side.

Theodora hadn't been huge like Eizen, but she had still been terrifying in her beauty, in the way that Zaveid wanted to reach out and touch her even as she broke him down into pieces. He was burned alive, battered, bruised, and yet all he wanted was to touch her, to feel the scratch of her against his skin... He wanted to know she was alive. He wanted to know that she was still with him, even if she was a monster, even if she was far, far from her.

Humming, he tilts his head. ]

Sure. Eizen's already taken a bit.

[ Gonna enshrine it, he said, and Zaveid hopes it's gonna look okay. Hopes that Edna doesn't mind. Hopes that... It all works out. ]

[There's another moment of hesitation before Mikleo steels himself and reaches down to pull out one of the ivory scales. He turns it slowly between his fingers, taking in the weight, the feel of them, the way the artificial light reflects off of them. They look delicate but as expected of a dragon they're tough, sturdy, unbending to pressure. It'll be difficult to work with, but it's not like he usually shies away from a challenge.

It's... well, it's still dragon parts. He's wary of that aspect of the request. But with Zaveid like this... yeah, there's no way he's going to say no.]

I can give it a shot, yeah. Do you have a preference?

[Judging by the material and Zaveid's wardrobe, he has a few ideas, but better to check first.]

[ There's a part of him that feels weighed down with his guilt, asking Mikleo to help him with this - but he knows if he didn't ask and it came up later, somehow, that Mikleo would be just as frustrated at him for holding his tongue. Better to be honest and get it over and done with than to drag it out and ruffle more feathers, especially when they're already trying to mend their sadness after the loss of Dezel.

It's strange, seeing the scales flashing in the light, seeing someone else hold them and touch them, but it's a bit of a relief, too. It makes it more real - and it shares some of the burden. He's not the only one that has to deal with this, not the only one that has to try and figure out how to manage something as painful as scales and horns, and it makes Zaveid relax, some of his tension slipping away. ]

Just something I can feel, I guess. Something against my skin.

[ He frowns, crossing his arms. ]

I was thinking or a bracelet, or a ring, but I wasn't sure how it was gonna work.

[A bracelet or a ring... hmm. A ring might be unwieldy considering the size of the scales, but a bracelet could work. They have at least a few options, and there's just enough scales to piece some ideas together.

After a quiet moment, he nods to himself.]

Yeah... yeah, that'd work. [He lifts the single scale.] Can I hold on to this one? Keep the rest for now, until I know for sure that I'm able to work with it. I can only imagine that... she'd be happier if they were with you.

[ It's a lot to ask and Zaveid appreciates the fact that he can see how seriously Mikleo is taking it. It's not as though he expected anything else, all things considered, but it soothes some of the ruffled feathers, so to speak. It makes this easier, and he's surprised at how the weight has been lifted from his chest, something like relief settling over him. Even staring at the scales doesn't unbalance him the way it had done before, and he's not sure if that's because he doesn't want Mikleo to see it or if it's because he genuinely feels better. ]

Sure, take as long as you need.

[ Carefully, his eyes dart back to the box and he swallows. He wants to reach out and touch the scales again, for himself, to let his fingers press over the soft edges, but at the same time he's afraid that if he does he'll break them, somehow, and lose Theodora all over again. ]

I'm sure she'd wanna be close, yeah. [ But he continues, his voice softer and definitely fond now. ] She'd like you, though.

[Mikleo smiles faintly, his gaze dropping down to the scale, teasing it between his fingers for a moment longer before he quietly pockets it. He doesn't want to end up dwelling on what it is- nevermind how the Atroma got it, or why they would be so cruel as to give anyone a gift like that. At this point it's just par for the course.]

I'm sure I'd have liked her, too. From what I've heard she must have been incredibly kind. [There's a moment's pause, and then, more quietly,] Want to talk about her?

[ It's easier, he supposes, to think about it as a material, as something as simple as wood or metal, but it's never going to be like that. Zaveid wants something that reminds him of her, and there's no way to possibly ignore the nature of the materials they're using. It is Theodora, real and solid, and the Atroma are breathing down his neck. ]

Yeah. [ He sighs, flopping back so he can lie, staring at the ceiling above him. ] She was real sweet. Loved kids and would've done anything for anyone if they asked. She had a real good heart.

[Mikleo steps further in to sit down beside him, gliding his hand over the grassy area, knees tucked up to his chest, his expression going quietly nostalgic.]

Sounds like Medea... she was always fussing and taking care of us in ways that made Sorey and me think, "is this what having a mother is like?" Even if seraphim can't physically have children, I guess there are some who are just naturally attuned to acting maternal.

[ Humming, Zaveid nods his head, a little lost in memories. ]

Yeah, Sorey mentioned you guys didn't really have parents. Guess it's kinda a seraph thing. [ He sighs, running a hand through his hair awkwardly. ] We, uh. Kinda had a talk about all of that.

We kind of did and didn't. Everyone did their part to raise us, but it was only ever Gramps who got the title for it. The others called him that, so it was just natural...

[He leans back, tilting his head to watch Zaveid curiously.]

A talk with Sorey, you mean?

I guess I never knew what it was like to have parents either. It's not really our kinda thing, but it's good that you guys had people taking care of you. It's pretty lonely when you've got no one else hanging around nagging you all the time.

[ But, hey, he says it fondly, even if he looks nervously embarrassed, tilting his head away. ]

Yeah. We... Talked about family and stuff, I guess. Being family.

[Zaveid, embarrassed? That's rare, and it only fuels Mikleo's curiosity. It's not really prying if Zaveid is offering the information up freely, so...]

Makes sense. It did take us longer to accept you properly, but we're definitely family, and you should know it.

[ He knew it took them a while - mostly because he kept picking fights with them, but, you know, sometimes it's like that - and he finally smiles properly, deliberately not looking at the box. ]

Yeah. I kinda embarrassed the hell outta Sorey, though. He said you guys had never really had a dad before.

[...dad, huh... so that's how it is now. And it's interesting to him that Zaveid doesn't balk from the idea the way Lailah did about being called motherly. Is it just that he's being his usual, casual self, or did he want this? Before arriving here, he might have said the former, but after learning his history? It's less of a certainty, and worth thinking about for sure. But... perhaps not overthinking. Sometimes it's okay to just accept at face value.

For now- he scoffs, arms crossing over his chest.]

Well, naturally. As children if we were to ever imagine having a dad, he'd be far more responsible and mature...

[ Maybe, if he hadn't been fatherly before, if he had never had the experience, he would've fled from it, run and hid from the idea of it. Instead, it's something a little nostalgic, something welcome, a feeling that he knows and recognises from his past, and he relishes it instead. He welcomes the idea because family has been foreign to him for a long time, his self-inflicted exile coming from the loss of Eizen and his own promise.

He snorts in return, shaking his head and gazing over at Mikleo with a small smile. ]

That's rude! You need a fun guy when you've got some strict moms, y'know!

That's far too unbalanced. Gramps let us have plenty of fun when the time was right, but with someone like Sorey, you have to know when to put your foot down, or he'll get himself pitched off a cliff or something. And he won't clean his room.

[wait are they supposed to call him Dad or something

.......

NOPE, NOPE THAT'S TOO WEIRD]

Yeah, we've already been there.

[ Wait, um.

Did Mikleo know about that?

Maybe not. Oh well. ]

It's fine, since I'm not really your dad. I don't have to play by the rules.

Mm... I suppose. What's important is how we feel, more than titles or behaviour or anything like that.

[the implication being: he feels the same way, and he's okay with this.]

[and then, after a beat of silence-]

But if you ever get him to jump off a cliff again, you're both disowned.

[YEAH ABOUT THAT]

Yeah, exactly.

[ But, urk, uh, he looks awkward. ]

I didn't make him jump off anything!

[LEANS IN]

So there was cliff-jumping!

Uh... [ Eheh... ] Wall climbing.

Which led to falling, based on your own admittance just now.

[you're not gonna talk your way out of this one, dad.]

But nothing happened! I caught him.

Of course you caught him. That isn't the point.

[it's hard enough keeping Sorey alive sometimes, he doesn't need to be encouraging more reckless behaviour.]

huntress mingle

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