driftfleet | System Mingle!!

[Adra mumbles as he follows Belth out of the cave, concern lingering in his voice.]

The mana issue, huh ...

[Bel can say he's fine all he likes, and maybe that's even true, but Adra's going to need more evidence before he starts to even halfway believe it. But he doesn't interrupt Bel as the young man talks, instead going along quietly after him and the bobbing ball of flame.]

I see our kidnappers are whimsical, at least. I guess that's something.

Mm. You'll start to feel it soon. There's no Sunwell, and very little magic to be found outside of certain worlds, which I still haven't figured out yet. But a surprising amount of people are able to help out even so. I've yet to-- to lash out like I used to.

[He used to trash his room in Exsilium on occasion, but that feels like a lifetime ago.]

The wrong kind of whimsical if you ask me. Actually, now that I think about it, the people who represent our kidnappers have changed. It used to be Diamond and Beau, but now it's... a ginger woman and some other person with purple hair. They're the same sort of smug and smarmy, though, like they want to rub in their secrets.

[He can see the entrance of the cave now, but it's still dark enough that they can't see where their feet are, so.]

Part of me wonders if there's even a 'show' they are 'hosting' in the first place. [He uses the air quotes liberally.] Aside from the very occasional letter I was told was from fans, I've yet to see any real proof. I think it's a manufactured incentive to keep us complacent, much like the prospect of winning.

[Though Adra's history with Belthazar doesn't directly match the memories Bel's referring to, Adra still knows what he means. Belthazar had been an anxious, fractious child, easily given to upset and offense. Adra suspects that his son will always be a little prickly, but it's a defense mechanism more than anything else; a spiked shell to protect the soft heart beneath.]

That's--troubling.

[Both about the magic and their enigmatic captors. He won't ask stupid questions; if there was a way to get to them, to get home, he's sure the others would have figured it out by now. Instead, he reaches to touch the top of Bel's hair.]

I'm glad you've survived. Made friends.

[To him, that's the real salient point. Bel was--is?--the shy type.]

In a word, yes.

[Adra isn't wrong about that. Belthazar is still much the shy but spiky little critter he took in years ago. He's done his best here.

To be called out on it is something else entirely though. He ducks his head to hide that awful blush but his ears give him away.]

I... um--

[He clears his throat.]

I learned a lot about... humans. Because I'm living with them, and... they're not terrible.

[Adra has never considered humans more or less terrible than any other race, though he's sure Belthazar knows that. He remembers, too, Belthazar's reticence; his fear of them. His general distaste for anyone not of Silvermoon, really. The Bel he knows has done a lot to work past those prejudices, so he's heartened that it's the case here, too.

He's wondering about that blush, though.]

Oh?

[A little smile.]

What changed your mind, specifically?

[Or who.]

[Belthazar tries to play it cool for like, ten seconds before he feels that sly smile burning into the side of his head.]

It-- it wasn't-- all at once? It was... it started-- they were just nice. And stubbornly nice. I didn't know how to deal with it, and eventually I stopped arguing.

[adjklajsdladf]

In Exsilium, I don't know if you remember, but Prince Anduin and I had a sort of... book trade going on, since Lady Proudmoore left all her books behind. And it was... good? I think we got along, but I was kind of-- embarrassing and nasty to him, he didn't really do anything to deserve that. He was always smiling. I've wanted to apologize for about five years now but I haven't found him since, and when I was sent home I didn't remember anything at all so it didn't even matter.

[Thank the Light, there's a fresh breeze now, and he can't hear any large critters out to get them yet. They reach the entrance of the cave without incident and Belth turns to face him.]

I had other friends, too, that I made while I was here. Ino, and Hiro... Sorey... Eithan. Eithan's-- he's, um...

[He fidgets with his sleeves. The boy's as scarlet as his robes.]

We've... been seeing each other for a while!

[WELP]

[It pains him that he doesn't remember these things Belthazar has gone through. The growth and the pain. But he had been there, right? Some version of him, some other variant in the timelines. The thought comforts him, even as he's disquieted that he missed so much.

He can't lose himself to melancholy about it, though, because Belthazar keeps talking.

And--]

I'm sorry. I don't remember -- but ... seeing each other?

[His eyes widen slightly. Does that mean what he think it means?]

[Belthazar hardly needs to clarify because as soon as Adra asks that question, his ears pin against his hair and he turns red allllll the way to the tips.

And so he rambles.]

That is-- we've gone on a few dates and I'm very fond of him so please don't incinerate him on the spot, not that it would do much to him anyway, but he's very kind if not a bit rough around the edges and he knows how to play music very well and he's good with magic and a quick learner--

[If he turns any redder he might actually, literally, combust.]

Whoa, whoa. Slow down.

[He takes Belthazar by the shoulders; squeezes him gently.]

First of all, no one's getting incinerated--

[Though he wonders what 'not that it would do much to him' means.]

--second of all, I'm happy for you. As long as he's treating you well.

[Belthazar seems to respond positively to that, shutting his mouth and falling silent as Adra tries to piece out what was just rambled in his general direction. He looks a little like he's expecting to be in trouble even if Adra logically wouldn't find anything really wrong with this? It's just... how he is. This one was adopted just a little too late.]

He-- [a breath] -- he is.

[He glances down at his hands. He's worrying his sleeves again.]

... A long time ago, or at least it feels like a long time ago, I was on the brink. I didn't have anyone I could ask for mana and he volunteered despite my warnings that it would hurt. But... I taught him how to conjure mana gems, because he's a mage on his world, and that's how we got to know each other. Through magic, and talking, and... [uh] ... vandalizing the corrupted bourgeoisie...

He can be awfully persistent.

[Adra has noticed Bel's unusual anxiety. He remembers that from when they first met, long ago, but the Belthazar he left in Silvermoon is a touch more confident than this, a bit more comfortable in his own skin.

Adra takes Bel's hands, covering them so that the young man can't pull at his sleeves. He leans up (because one thing's the same: the kid is taller than him) and kisses him on the forehead.]

Nothing brings people together like righteous crime. I'm glad, Belthazar.

[Belth's fidgeting stops immediately. He doesn't flinch-- thank goodness-- but Adra's warm touch has a very calming effect on him, even outside of their familial relation. He's a good man, a holy man, and he has a certain presence.

He closes his eyes as he's kissed on the forehead. It's been so long since he felt something like that, long enough that he feels his throat tighten in an uncomfortable way. He missed his an'da so much. As Adra pulls away, Belth blinks in a way that suggests he's trying to keep tears from forming again.]

I've been trying to live in a way that you could be proud of. I know I've caused you so much trouble over the years, but... I'm a big brother now. I need to be prepared to assume whatever responsibilities are placed upon me.

[... surprise children!]

[As Bel blinks back tears, it's Adra's instinct to reach for him again, to hug him even more tightly. He remembers a time when Belthazar wept much more often, and over the smallest things--the aftershocks of what he had been through prior to Adrasteius finding him and taking him in. He was younger then, too, and initially unsure of how to handle the depth and intensity of Belthazar's pain. But he had recognized that the boy was suffering, that he needed more guidance than any of the other hedonists or relics in the Magisterium could offer.

He sighs, brushing Bel's hair back, about to offer more words of comfort, but Bel responds before he can say anything--and then he stops, hand on Bel's head, his eyes wide.]

What--what did you say? A big brother?

[Did he get more siblings while he was here, somehow?

Adra's flabbergasted--and a little uneasy.]

[He doesn't mind the soft weight of the hand atop his head, though a catlike part of him wants to push into it so he doesn't stop. It's his words, however, that get Belth to pay attention. Something cold shoots through him to his toes.]

T-that's not funny, [he stammers out. He knows Adra isn't kidding but that's a little too much to process in this moment.] Please tell me you haven't forgotten Alrune, at least. The weirdness with-- with timelines, that I can understand, but how can you know me and not Alrune?

[His expression's blank. His mind, too. What is Belthazar saying right now? What is he implying?

Adra feels weak, like his legs are about to give out.]

Who--who's Alrune?

[He can't believe this. Not once did he think he'd stare into the face of a father he remembers that doesn't know all his children.]

Alrune is your daughter. One of three children by blood, between you and Lady Avali. You took me in just as Orgrimmar fell, and while you've been on the front lines, I've tried my best to guide them as I should-- as the eldest.

[As his blood brother did not do for him.]

I've heard of this, of worlds that match yet don't quite line up. I... I'm afraid I may not be the Belthazar you know.

[Belthazar's voice turns to static in Adra's ears. Children with--Avali?]

No, no ...

[He mutters, feeling himself grow hot, feeling sweat bead at his throat.]

No, I had to let her go. I didn't ... We never--

[He covers his mouth with his hand, shaking his head. A future where he didn't walk away? Where they somehow survived Aurelius, together? He can scarcely imagine it.

So much so that he just stands there, trembling, overwhelmed by the possibility.]

[He's never seen his father this broken before. Despite the cold realization that this isn't quite the Adra he knows, he's still the an'da he loves, and so he doesn't hesitate to throw his arms around the magepriest and hold him close.]

... It's all right. As weird as this is, it isn't surprising-- especially without the Bronze Flight protecting our timelines here.

I might be a little more broken than the boy you adopted, but I can do this. I will take care of them, so... leave it to me.

System Mingle!!

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