are we having fun yet?

if through some miracle, you are granted the chance to see him again

whether in this life or the next

Somehow she hadn’t made it to the electric land that they’d decided would be the space to snag lightning in a bottle – so in an effort to pretend as if she’s doing her duties (because she doesn’t need to pretend with the amount of work that Danta leaves for her), the Harpy finds herself at an Inn just on the outskirts of the ravaged land. The Sparkbird’s Nest, as Danta had suggested to stop in at.

It's here that she waits downstairs, wearing a warm cream sweater, hair braided back and out of her face as she sketches out little designs on a parchment paper with a hot cocoa and a meat plate she’d ordered, waiting for her fatherly figure to arrive. She’d sent a letter previously, a request for him and Erebos to come and visit her so that she didn’t need to worry about the Leafchange cold and what it did to Halo.

And so, she waits, little sketches drawn out as her dark horns flare out from her skull, glinting in the light as she glances toward the door each time it opens, excitement lingering under her skin.

you are, and always shall be, his

KIADA

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

In between healing bombardments and other cataclysms, Deimos greatly appreciated opportunities to simply visit those he cherished. A break in the endless barrages and sieges, away from gallows and machinations; and perhaps permission for himself to have a pause in the wake of endless work.

The Levinsward had altered from the initial time he and others had sauntered through (especially below the ground), and he took a moment to gaze out across the plains and fields, staring at the massive clouds and the resounding lightning, pointing out the jagged element for Erebos to enjoy. Before long though, the appointed meeting hour arrived, and so he altered course with the youth, finding the Sparkbird’s Nest not long after (though the name earned a snort – surprised to hear some still didn’t mind that ancient and primordial being; gone, but certainly not forgotten).

The door dinged above them, and the Sword set Erebos down so his wobbling legs and practicing aims could be well versed even in a terrain without snow, taking hold of the infant’s hand as he teetered, and granted Kiada a juvenile smile as they slowly sauntered their way over. The child was keen though, waving at anyone nearby, and they eventually met up with the Ancient, with a coo and several select gurgles from Erebos, and a rumble from Deimos. “Hey.” Sliding into a chair, and snagging his son into his lap. “How are you?”

if through some miracle, you are granted the chance to see him again

whether in this life or the next

The door opens and closes, and with it a gentle but cold breeze of the Grounds in Leafchange - but it was better than the cold stark winds of Halo for her now. And as she tears her attention away from the page she continues to doodle on, she lands on Deimos and Erebos as the child is set to the ground and his hand is collected so that the two of them can walk toward her once they've spotted her. A wave is offered before she sips from her cocoa as they approach and she sets the mug down with a bright fanged smile.

Taking the seat opposite of her, Kiada can’t help but to lean forward to greet Erebos first – she’s sure Deimos would understand – by reaching out with warm hands to offer for the child’s hands to snag onto before she bounces them in a playful little greeting. “Hey! Look at how big you are!” Comes the bright and warm chime, one unintentionally reflecting her mother before she turns her iceberg gaze up toward Deimos with the very same smile. “I’m good! How are you? How was the trip?” A dually loaded question, she’s sure, but she can’t contain the fact she’s happy to have them there.

you are, and always shall be, his

KIADA

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

Erebos was utterly delighted; a bundle of excitement and glee, with infant cheers and gurgles alongside, clearly trying to say something amidst the baby babble. Deimos couldn’t help but laugh as the child energetically flung his hands around with Kiada, not stopping even when he was released; the Sword ensured he leaned back so as not to catch a flailing fist at his chin. “Growing like a weed,” he measured with amusement; perhaps to no surprise, given his own stature and height. Once the babe had ceased those gestures, he ended up waving towards the Ancient, which had been one of his favorite pastimes this season – and perhaps seeing how many he could get in return.

Snorting, he obliged Kiada with answers to her own inquiries. “I am all right. Busy,” but he shrugged, figuring that was beyond normal now. “Danta keeping you occupied?” Politics aside, because he didn’t want to mention any of the nonsense going on, his head tilted vaguely. “Trip was fine – he enjoys the skyboats.” As one could imagine – eyes wide with wonder – though his intentions leaned more into a juvenile smile. “How are the wedding plans?”

The crackle of lightning is commonplace here, but today the clouds seem particularly hostile. Bolts of lightning strike the battle-scarred ground relentlessly. Unless you have control over storms or lightning, I would consider leaving this place if I were you.

if through some miracle, you are granted the chance to see him again

whether in this life or the next

“Oh?!” Kiada chimes to Erebos’ baby babble, as if she was totally hanging onto each and every word the child had to say, before her grin twists up toward Deimos equally as amused. She has to agree that he has been growing like a weed – that the next time she saw him he might be twice as tall, walking all on his own. (That just means she’ll have to visit more often, huh?) Lightning cracks through the air outside, landing amongst multiple lightning rods the Inn is equipped with, and aside from the brief shaking of the windows in their panes, all is right.

Smiling to hear that he was alright and busy, the Harpy snorts and nods a touch exasperated. “Yeah. Someone taught him origami though so half the time he leaves me notes in little origami frogs and crows. Which has been… actually kind of funny.” She was going to say it was annoying, but honestly? He’d gotten creative with it lately and the harpy had found herself laughing to open his office door each time.

Flashing her gaze back down toward Erebos to hear that he liked the skyboats, she isn’t surprised. “I bet he did.” She murmurs before she laughs lightly and sits back in her seat a bit. “Wedding plans are coming along great, actually. We’ve settled on a date at the beginning of Flowerbirth.” She flashes a brighter smile toward him, before her head tilts a little playfully. “It’s actually also partially why I wanted to meet up with you. I was wondering if you’d maybe want to help me make a ring for him?” Why is it something she finds herself suddenly shy about asking, she doesn’t know – but the Harpy asks nonetheless, looking up to her adoptive father with a softer smile.

you are, and always shall be, his

KIADA

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

At Kiada’s interaction, Erebos continued, granting portions and pieces of conversation, before becoming distracted by his father’s hands, placing his smaller fingers against the calloused digits. Deimos snorted, thoroughly amused and besotted again, opting to gently lean his chin on top of the baby’s head. Both ignored the strikes of lightning outside; unbothered entirely.

The mental image of Danta sitting there, constructing origami frogs and crows instead of doing anything politically, caused a low round of laughter too. Admittedly, he wished he could get away with such things – but given how he frequently he opted to escape out his office window – he wisely said nothing on those particulars. “As long as he uses his time wisely,” his nose wrinkled, and he winked.

Wedding plans took hold of his attention however, and his brow arched, mind settling upon aspects of Flowerbirth. “We will be there. Do you need anything before, or help setting up…,” though portions of his inquiry were answered in another form. It seemed he should’ve become a professional ring maker, given how often he was doing so, a warm laugh hovering through, intending a light tease. “Ah, I see, only summoning me for my abilities.” Given that she’d be one of the few who could get away with it, and how willingly he would’ve done so without being brought to the Grounds, his gaze flicked away from Erebos and back to her. “Do you have a design already in mind?”

if through some miracle, you are granted the chance to see him again

whether in this life or the next

“He’s gotten pretty quick at it, actually.” Kiada admits, as if surprised by such a thing, before she settles and crosses a leg over the other and leans against the bar top to collect her hot cocoa once she’s announced the date and some thoughts. She sips from the cocoa in spite of it steaming, having no need to worry about heat burning her mouth from it (one little perk about being Ancient, at least).

Swallowing down the sip, a chimed laugh is on its heels as she pins Deimos with a playfully sharp look. “Only in Leafchange.” She teases him back, wrinkling her nose – not that she was keeping track of when she’d asked him for things. She has no idea if it’s a running joke, but, she makes it one with a saccharine smile on her face like an innocent daughter.

She nods, though, and twists the parchment toward him to show the ring sketches she’d been doing – nothing fancy appearance wise. “I thought maybe we could make it obsidian with little ruby veins through it.. or the inlay ruby? What do you think?” She pauses before she looks up from the sketch. “It’s to look like my horns.. I thought it might be a nice little touch of me he can keep with him.” That and it was reminiscent of fire in ashes, the ruby glimmering through the cracked veins of ashen earth, like the phoenix that she was – having risen again and again from the ashes of her former self (and even death).

you are, and always shall be, his

KIADA

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

The hot cocoa smelled enticing, and so as Kiada snagged hers, he gave orders for his own, not trusting Erebos to be able to handle one yet. Danta and his quick endeavors with origami made him snort – though that left him wondering if the Harpy had heard the more recent news. “Did you get the letter from Ronin?” He’d wait for follow-up inquiries on those notes; not wanting anything specifically pinpointed in case there were other listening ears.

Rolling his eyes at her teasing response, he bounced Erebos around for a moment, listening to the details upon the ornamental designations and designs. It wouldn’t be difficult, and could likely be concocted in his mind well enough. “That could work,” glancing over at her sketch and stilling the boy as he squealed in delight. “Did you want anything additional into it?” Some form of amplification – notched and noted by his own creation abilities. “Evie’s engagement ring can render her invisible, and I put enhanced fortune into our wedding bands.” By way of ideas; though maybe she had other notions, or none at all.

if through some miracle, you are granted the chance to see him again

whether in this life or the next

Swirling her cocoa with a stick of peppermint bark to infuse it to be more minty, Kiada’s nose wrinkles before she puffs out a sigh that sounds relieved. “I did, yeah. Poor Flora.” She supposes the two of them have that in common, at least. Dying and coming back to life. Though that probably isn’t the ice breaker Kiada was imagining it would be when they met.

Anyway, she carefully doesn’t add more aside from Flora’s name, just in case they’re in a position where whatever they said wasn’t private. So she focuses instead on the ring and the sketches, letting her iceberg gaze flick up toward him at the offer of something additional.

Surprise flickers across her face, because she really hadn’t anticipated that offering (though maybe she should have known better coming from a father). “You don’t have to, obviously.” She snorts a little before she tilts her head to rest it on her fist, the pencil still in her hand. “But if you want to… maybe he could use a little extra luck fighting all those monsters..?” She says a little sheepishly.

you are, and always shall be, his

KIADA

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

Rather than diving headfirst into politics, as he might have done with so many others, he nodded a little, quieting a fraction. “Have you heard from Ru?” He hadn’t – though the Sword was never certain about how to go about these things; reach out wholeheartedly to the Valkyrie, or let her be, trying to muddle through the wakes of sudden grief, then likely overwhelming relief. When she’d lost Enzo, it had taken substantial, and understandable, time, and to have her going through the cycles year after year – he held Erebos a little tighter, listened to the baby giggle with glee.

But then there were other multitudes, and as he tucked the youth further into his lap, to free his hands, he swallowed down the traces of that bile and kept moving forward. “Extra luck never hurt anyone,” he winked, before concocting the piece she’d requested. The infant gave a pleasant squeal as his father’s incantations unfolded and unfurled before him – a small ring emerging amidst the gilded glow. Just as she’d requested, the obsidian and blackened state conformed, inlaid with crimson veins and lines, blood and ichor, flesh and bone, horns of Kiada – a constant state of reminders and recollections. Phoenix flame and ash and revival might’ve been a hint too; but the fortune ran deeper, as he poured more enchantments into its throng.

Thereafter, content with the outcome, he passed it over to Kiada. “What do you think?”

--

Deimos has created:

For Fox Sake: An obsidian ring inlaid with ruby, this ring has been enhanced with +2 luck.

if through some miracle, you are granted the chance to see him again

whether in this life or the next

“Not recently, no.” Kiada admits, though she hadn’t sent a message out to her lately. Not with so many things coming to mind when it came to the wedding – she’d nearly forgotten about the whole dress portion (unaware of the current state her aunt likely is in, given Flora and a potential infection). So she frowns a little before it vanishes in the favor of hearing Erebos’ babbling laughter, finding it able to knock the frown loose from overtaking her face.

Content to watch as Deimos crafts – awed as always – she sips from her mug of hot cocoa and sees the swirling material begin to grow into precisely what she was looking for. Better than she imagined, even. The light catching on the ruby infused stripes, mirroring her horns that she does keep proudly on display, the Harpy can’t help the content and excited curl of her tail as its handed over to her and she sets her mug down to inspect it excitedly. “Oh, it’s perfect!” She chimes, hushing herself a second after for the outburst, cradling it in her palm as she leans forward off her chair slightly to pull Deimos into a hug, leaving one arm lower to snag Erebos too so that he isn’t squished with the movement. “I love it, thank you!”

you are, and always shall be, his

KIADA

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

A grimace caught his face momentarily; enough to register a tight clenching of his jaw, then nothing else. “All right. I will try later.” He never knew what to do in the face of someone else’s grief, especially Ru, who’d experienced it so many times – then to have it all gone in an instant must’ve been its own brand of bizarre juxtapositions and heart-wrenching, jarring hells. And if the presumptions about her infected status were true…they could be dealing with so many other disturbing parallels.

Snagging at the delivered hot cocoa, uttering a quiet and polite thank you to the waiter, and keeping it out of arm’s reach from Erebos’ usual grabbing hands, he waited for Kiada’s reaction to the ring. When it was excitement, rather than any disappointment, he released a relieved smile, tucked initially into her embrace with a light laugh. “Good. And you are sure you do not need anything else?” Flowerbirth might’ve felt a long way off – until suddenly it wasn’t.

if through some miracle, you are granted the chance to see him again

whether in this life or the next

Kiada nods, wondering if she should try and send a letter out just in case as well. It probably couldn’t hurt to try – just to check in with her aunt and see how she was holding up. She’d been so focused on her own engagement that she’d not even asked her about her own or whether or not they’d planned a date yet. (And so unaware of everything going on in terms of her infected status, she doesn’t know if that has any effect on anything either).

So as it stands, she focuses on the ring and lets her adoration bloom on her face in the bright smile as she inspects the ring with the half hug to not squish Erebos before she withdraws and continues to peer at it in pure adoration. “Yeah, I’m sure, dad.” She says a little snarkily – purely fun and games, of course – before she’s listing everything off in her mind. “It’s going to be at the Temple here. Charlie, she’s our priestess, she’s going to officiate it. But I’d really like for you to walk me down.” Perhaps she should have asked earlier, but she’d always just assumed he’d be there for her.

After all, he’d always been more of a father to her than her own.

you are, and always shall be, his

KIADA