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  • Beqanna

    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura


    kharon
    #1
    Father?

    Oh. Oh holy shit. Right, yeah. So I didn't just cart my sexy ass across the water and into this bitchin’ island to make good with Lacey. I mean, I did. But I also had a question to ask her. One that, I’m gonna go out on a limb here, was just answered by a quiet little voice in my head.

    Not being one to struggle with a case of the crazy, I’m assuming I didn't just get hit with a fun new voice in my head all my own, particularly not a curious little boy voice calling me daddy. Well, father. Which is somehow...bigger.

    Right.

    Hey there, I think back at him, going for casual and nonchalant and loud enough to be heard. You here on the island? You want to maybe meet me somewhere? Near the water, maybe that sweet little cove on the east side? I could be there in a few minutes, if you're interested. You’ll know me when you see me. Shiny, metal, covered in purple and whatnot. I’d mention the sexy as hell bit, but it seems a touch inappropriate talking to my kid and all. So shiny and purple will have to do.
    Bite my shiny metal ass.
    Reply
    #2

    He was maybe not a nice brother today. He'd heard things in his head that needed investigation without Kylin around so he'd distracted her with a game of hide-and-seek and just.. well. Left when she wasn't looking. But there were just some things little girls shouldn't be privy to. He'd make it up to her though. Maybe she'd just think he had the best hiding spot. He was sometimes good at finding them, so it was believable. Probably.

    But anyway, he wandered off, crept in closer as Mother finally stalked off, so stiff and heart-achy. Her thoughts were so loud, but he had to admit some of them were so beautiful. All wrong, but still lovely, sweet things. It didn't mean Father didn't like her. He wished he could speak into her mind and tell her that, tell her just how attractive and desirable daddy thought her. But he'd learned that was a bad thing. Mother's thoughts hurt her, sharing more would only hurt worse maybe. So he never talked to her that way. Only when she was deep asleep when he could sing to her and ease her nightmares. She had so many of those still.

    She was gone now, though. Probably walking off to find Reilly.
    Father? he whispered from his mind, as if afraid Mother might still hear somehow. His father didn't look so happy anymore, and it worried him.

    Hey there, he heard in response, the very same magically wonderful voice he'd heard in Mother's head so long ago. His eyes lit up instantly. It was really him! Oh gosh, this was so great! He'd obviously have to stay, wouldn't he? He would love them when he saw them, Kharon was sure of it. They were so very beautiful, just like him! Father described himself, shiny and metal and purple, and he tippy-toed out of his hiding spot with his head ducked, a little embarrassed for spying on him.

    "I know," he whispered with another glance in the direction momma had left, then brought a carefully winning smile to this glorious man that was his father. "I can see you in her head sometimes." A lot, maybe, but he didn't think he should say that part with how Mother had left things so sad here.

    "There's two of us, you know. Just like you, but not so shiny. Twins. Mother says that twins run in her family, she used to have one too. Well, she didn't say it but, you know, I heard her. Kylin can't do it though, only me. I think maybe it's a bad thing though, because it always seems to hurt Mother." He winced, afraid he'd said too much. Ugh, he shouldn't have said so much, but he was just so excited to see him! So he tried to hold himself quiet a moment, settling little purple-marbled wings at his side. Oh!

    "Kylin doesn't have wings either, but she sure loves to run on the water. Right on top of it! Can you do any of those too?" He obviously didn't have wings, unless he could hide them. He sort of spoke to Kharon's mind though? Except maybe that was just Kharon listening so hard. He hoped Father could do it on his own too --oh. Maybe not. It wouldn't be very good to see Mother's thoughts, he supposed. Sometimes they were quite dark, like the name she'd given him. The Ferryman. Plus the heart-achy things.




    image © brenda del rio photography
    Quotes are speech. Italics are telepathy
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    #3
    Okay. Meeting my kid, not really the time to be dwelling on his mom, or whether I’d fucked up hardcore with that last move, or how I’d hurt her trying to fix the way I’d already hurt her. Fuck. Yep, definitely need to put that out of my head and focus on a really big moment. So I take a deep breath, and I do something I do really damn well. I put it in a little box in my head labeled Kirby, you’re a dumbass, and I lock it up tight so I can give my full attention to meeting my son.

    My very first, my only.

    Oh hell unless--well my only for the moment. I did just bang his mom at a time when a baby sibling could be pretty likely. Hey, son, nice to meet you. How do you feel about the prospect of being a big brother? Real fuckin’ smooth, Kirb. Before I can kick myself too hard for my astonishing lack of ability to think ahead, he’s sneaking out of the thick jungley foliage and grinning up at me with a face that’s so much like mine it hurts in this amazing, chest-expanding, breath-stealing way I can’t even begin to explain.

    “Well shit, you’re gorgeous.” I almost miss the bit where he can see me in his mom’s head sometimes, caught up in the sight of this glorious little miniature version of me, minus the weight of iron binding him to the earth, and with the addition of a couple of magnificent wings to lift him up into the sky. Almost, I almost miss it. Then the implication sets in, because sometimes I’m not an idiot. Only sometimes. “You...you can, huh?” Shit. Shit, that can’t be good. His mom can’t possibly have good memories of me, I know what I put her through. “If...well fuck. If you want to talk about what you see there, you ask me, okay? I’ll answer you honestly. Even if I don’t like it, I’ll always tell you the truth.”

    Oh well holy damn. Kid’s full of surprises. Twins. “Kylin, huh? That’s a pretty name. She looks like you? Like me?” And just like that, my cringe at the thought of him seeing what I did to his mom is turning into something disturbingly resembling a dopey grin. “I can’t wait to meet her. And hey. No. Hold on a minute there, kiddo. That superpower brain of yours isn’t a bad thing. It’s a gift. Just like your awesome wings. And yeah, I love running on the water. Your sis must’ve gotten that from me. Which is pretty damn cool. I can also make things out of the same metal I’m made of. Reach into the earth and call it out to play, or pull it from myself if I need to. That and the water, those’re my gifts.

    I tilt my head, looking at him with a serious expression my face isn’t much accustomed to. “Your mind’s just like that. It’s not good or bad by itself. It’s what you do with it that makes it good or bad. If you steal things out of people’s heads and use those things to hurt them on purpose? That’d be bad. Using it to say hey to your old man? Sounds pretty damn good to me, kid. Oh. Hey. You didn’t tell me your name.”
    Bite my shiny metal ass.
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    #4

    "Well shit, you're gorgeous."

    Kharon's smile grew wider, a little brighter, and he nodded. Yeah, he knew. He looked like his dad, and his dad was gorgeous. So, of course he was too.

    Father seemed to get a little less comfortable when he'd said he could see him in Mother's thoughts sometimes. Maybe it was understandable. He was clearer in her nightmares that Kharon would try to silently sing away for her. But nightmares aren't truth, really. They aren't memories, they're stories. He knew, because she'd had nightmares of him too, her little boy, things that never happened and would never happen.

    So he shook his little head in dismissal, trying to brush away Father's worry. It was still okay if some of those bad things were true, because he'd seen Mother before she left just a moment ago. He'd heard how badly she wanted to stay with Father, how badly she wanted more with him. So it couldn't be hurting her too much anymore, right? He was sorry she couldn't have it though, if that's what would make her finally happy. But he heard her thoughts a great many times, and maybe she was right, and nobody but he and his sister would really love her. And Reilly. She didn't know that one.

    He sighed and glanced away in thought. It was the perfect timing for Father to bring up his mind-gift thing. To tell him he could do good or bad with it, depending how he used it. He'd have to think about it more, because it only ever seemed to hurt Mother. Even the good things, or what he thought would be a good thing. She fought the good things a lot, didn't want to believe them.

    "I think I don't know the difference. So I keep it to myself, like a secret. And I pretend I can't do it at all."

    It was better if nobody knew he could do this thing. Then they would still want to be around him, and not avoid him to try and hide their thoughts. Yes, that was better. A secret. "Will you keep my secret? Even from Mother and Reilly? From everyone?"

    He wanted to ask if dad's metal was good or bad. But also, maybe he didn't want to know. This concept of good and bad was hard to understand. What made things good? And what made them bad? The iron holding her in place was bad, wasn't it? It frightened her. To be afraid is bad, isn't it? But she'd also liked it, it had felt good. She still thought about it, though she tried not to. No, it seemed to bother Dad too, so maybe he shouldn't want to know more.

    "We don't have to talk about it. I only see quick flashes of your face sometimes," he lied through a soft smile. Sometimes flashes of other things too. Sometimes more than flashes. There was so much that goes through someone's mind at a time.

    "I'm Kharon." The Ferryman to death. Mother had been in such a dark place. But he'd mentioned Reilly. "And Reilly is... I'm not sure. He's been here since I can remember. Stays with us, takes care of us, watches over us. So, maybe he's a dad too. But he and Mother don't-" do all the things that Father does to her. He's not supposed to know that though, not supposed to see those things. "They aren't.. They don't.. He shook his head uncertainly with a grimace. "It's not the same." Maybe Father would leave it at that.



    image © brenda del rio photography
    Quotes are speech. Italics are telepathy
    Reply
    #5
    “I think I don’t know the difference. So I keep it to myself, like a secret. And I pretend I can’t do it at all.”

    Oh. Ah hell, yeah, I know what he means, too. That whole good versus bad thing, it’s a tricky one. Takes time to learn, and you don’t always figure shit out as fast as you like. “Yeah. I guess I don’t worry a whole lot about it, to be honest. What’s good, what’s not. More now than I did when I was your age, that’s for sure. You figure it out as you go, mostly, or at least that’s how it was for me. If you’ve ever got questions about that, and your gut can’t answer ‘em for you, you can ask me, ‘kay, son? Or I mean you can ask your mom. Maybe she’d be better at that sort of thing, have a better answer. Either way, we’re here for you, yeah?

    “And of course, son. Of course I’ll keep your secret. It’s yours to tell, not mine.” And it makes me all squishy and melty on the inside, that he trusts me with it, that we have a secret. Kind of makes me want to share a secret too, except I don’t really have any. Kind of a blurt it all out guy, saying whatever comes to mind without thinking if it was a good idea or not. So instead, I pull iron out of the earth, shape it into...hmm. I look the kid over, tilting my head a bit just so to consider him. The way he smiled when I called him gorgeous. The way he called the three of us beautiful, him and me and Kylin.

    Okay, yeah. I can work with that, can make him something shiny and fabulous to draw the eye and celebrate his magnificence. Something graceful and strong, to drape around his neck, across his chest. Maybe even to rest between those gorgeous wings of his. For now, while I’m imagining it into life, I just pull a little extra iron into myself, subtly bulking out just enough to absorb the extra metal.

    Kharon, his name is Kharon. “Good, strong name, that. Well, it’s damn nice to meet you, Kharon. I’m Kerberos, did I say that already? I think maybe I did, but who even knows? Kind of a moot point, I guess, since it’s not often you’ll need to use it. Also Kirby, people call me that, but I like Kerberos better.”

    I pause, tilting my head and thinking for a moment. “You said Reilly? I might know him. Big guy, built, redhead, mostly white everywhere else? Got a gift for - well, you’re a kid, probably his party skills are a little age inappropriate or whatever, huh? Anyhow, thanks for telling me. But you know, it’d be okay if it was like that. If they were together. He’s a good guy, and smokin’ hot, and - right, damn, things I shouldn’t say to a kid. Balls. Look, my point is it’s all good, either way. Unrelated, d’you want a present?”

    And then I pulled that extra iron out of myself, shaped it into some kickass jewelry for my kiddo, and grinned, waiting to see how he’d react to his new bling. Which just sorta took shape already on him, flowed off of me and drew on that mental blueprint I’d been working on and put itself together around Kharon’s neck.
    Bite my shiny metal ass.
    Reply
    #6
    kharon
    Father seemed so wise, even when he was admitting that even he wasn't sure what was right and wrong sometimes. It sounded like a tricky thing, really. Kharon certainly hadn't been very good at it so far, but maybe he would learn as he goes like Daddy did. And he'd said he would keep Kharon's secret too, this mind-speak thing he can do! That was relieving because he decided he really didn't want anyone to know about it, not when it hurts others so deeply as it had hurt Mother. He didn't like to hurt people, be the cause of their pain.

    Dad liked his name, and he beamed up at him proudly. Maybe Mother wasn't so bad with names like she thought, if Father liked it so much. Even if it was just a little dark, if anyone else knew where it had come from. He only knew because she'd thought it, and he has this mind-speak and all.

    Kharon gasped and fluttered excitedly as Father described Reilly. "You know Reilly!? He's the greatest. I think he's sort of my Dad too, but also I'm not really sure how that works. He loves us though. I think he loves Mom too, but..." But she was maybe not very receptive to it lately. Yet? He didn't know. She thought of Father a lot more than they realized, perhaps, but he shouldn't say so. It always seemed to hurt people to know things that he hears. "But. Um." He gave a feeble, apologetic smile and shook his head, unable to think up some other way to finish his sentence just then. "I lose my train of thought a lot, sorry."

    His distress was quickly replaced with excitement once again, though. Father was so good at that, making him instantly happy. "A present!? Yes, yes! Please! Oh, anything, I love it already!" He bounced in place with glee, smiling brightly at this man that was clearly the best person in the whole world. Anything at all from him would be the greatest, most treasured gift he would ever have, he just knew it.

    And then there it was, a link of iron flowing from Father and around his neck. It shined and shimmered just as much as his dad did and he loved that! Now he could be metallic and beautiful too, even in this small way. It gleamed so wonderfully, catching little dapples of sunlight through the trees in the most captivating way. Curled so elegantly around his neck, it was like an intricate work of art by a master. Oh, but of course it was. He'd seen Mother's lace and this was just as eye-catching and glorious, and even had a fine medallion at the end, resting against his little chest so proudly.

    "Wooooow," he exclaimed with such deep reverence. "This is so amazing, Daddy." He was just in absolute awe of it, so incredibly happy to have received such a wondrous thing. Kharon's eyes met his for just a moment before he buried himself into Father's chest. "Thank you! I love it so much." He pulled back to look down at it again, loving that he could be shiny like his father in this way, this little piece of him that would always belong to him, before he melted to his chest again and nuzzled his cheek into a strong shoulder.

    "You'll stay here, won't you? And never leave? I don't ever want to lose you."
    Quotes are speech. Italics are telepathy
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    #7
    Heyyyy, he does mean my Reilly! Awesome! It’ll be good to catch up with him, and if he loves Lacey he’s got just as good of taste as I thought, so good on him. I’d expect no less. Kid trailed off when he was getting close to saying too much, maybe, or when things were a bit too complicated to explain. “‘Sokay, son. You don’t have to apologize to me for getting distracted. Or for keeping someone else’s secrets. It’s all good, kid.”

    And he fucking loves the present, which of course puts a huge damn smile on my face. Lights up before he even sees it, and then the awe on his face when I give him the sorta necklace. “You’re welcome, Kharon. I’m glad you like it.” I wrap him up in a hug, and if maybe I’m marveling at how good it feels to hold my kid in my arms, well, he’s the only one who’s gotta know, yeah? I can’t help the grin, and I fuss a little with his mane, still baby scruffy and adorable, and nuzzle his withers and between his wings. “You’re pretty amazing yourself there, buddy.”

    “You’ll stay here, won’t you? And never leave? I don’t ever want to lose you.”

    Ah, kiddo. I smile and pull back a little to look him in the eye. “Hey, now. Nothing to worry about, you’re not losing me anytime soon, okay? I can’t promise I’ll stay put and never leave. Change, that’s part of life. You’ll grow up, and you’ll change too, and that’s okay. But even if I leave, I’ll always come back for you, as long as I’m alive and you want me around, got it?”
    Bite my shiny metal ass.
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