System Mingle!!

[appletart]

Who: EVERYONE!!
Broadcast: If you want?
Action: In the current system!
When: ALL MONTH!!!

It's a system mingle! What are you up to? Exploring the surface? Living the best nightlife ever? Fighting off your own allergies? Doing your best to ignore Fred.....?


System Info Here!

Comments

[hymnals]

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.

[spellsteal]

[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.

[hymnals]

[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.

[spellsteal]

[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!]

[hymnals]

[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.]

[spellsteal]

[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?

[hymnals]

[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?

[spellsteal]

[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.

[hymnals]

[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.]

[spellsteal]

[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.