rising above your neck

With your big heart, you praise God above, but how's it working out for you, honey?

Bastien forced himself to look in Azrael's eyes and smile, even as the colours reflected in them both tore and mended his heart at once. "...I know. I just would like to talk to her sometimes." Still, he was glad for the remnants he did have; his child, the portraits, the trinkets she'd left behind. None could compare to the years he could have had at her side, but wishing for another life only meant missing the one you had.

With a smile playing on his lips at the sigh so like his own, he slid back into the role of advice-giving father. "Well. If you are with the right person when it happens, they will guide you through it, I imagine going through much the same thing themselves." While it wasn't quite the same, he remembered his first sexual experience in a dusty backstage in Venice, the laughs and thrill of getting it right.  "...Just...be sure you are ready. Truly ready, because it's not something you can take back."

As for a more practical side of things... "Also, you will gain the powers of whoever you bite from. That can be a useful tool, in hard times, but...still, only if you are desperate."

Do you feel loved?

Bastien

Base Code by Sky!

// we stood, steady as the stars in the woods, so happy-hearted
and the warmth rang true inside these bones, as the old pine fell we sang //

They nod in their understanding, giving their father a tight squeeze, pressing their cheek into his shoulder. “Maybe the Voice will let you talk to her?” They suggest, a thought that might help relieve whatever it is Bastien’s worry is. Perhaps the Voice might be able to soothe it just as the thought of their goddess soothes Azrael.

The smile that graces their father’s face shortly after has them offering a small smile in return, remaining in their father’s embrace as the topic shifts. “I will, Papa.” They assure Bastien with a slightly wider smile, their head tilting up to peer at their father before they drop their gaze to look around the house once more, pausing to chew on their bottom lip as the information is offered.

Their brows raise and they wonder just how that worked too – how beneficial it might become for them if war is approaching as swiftly as Bastien has made it out to be. “Only if I’m desperate. Okay, got it.” They assure Bastien again, their head lifting to meet his face again before they give him a tight squeeze and nuzzles their head into his shoulder again.

Azrael

With your big heart, you praise God above, but how's it working out for you, honey?

"Maybe." Bastien agreed with a tight smile, not saying to Azrael that he wasn't sure if he'd actually want to do that. A moment with her might be all the more painful because it had to end again; in a way, he only wanted to see Rexanna when it was final and settled, when he knew he wouldn't be ripped away from happiness again.

Azrael had always been a good child, even now as they had the body of a full grown adult Bastien felt himself beaming with pride as if he was holding an obedient toddler. Giving them a tight embrace, he eventually pulled away, all lessons given that he had to give. "Alright. That's enough lecturing from your father. Why don't we paint or sculpt for the rest of the day before you get back on with your adventures? I'd love to see you translate some of the things you've seen into beauty for the Sanctuary."

Standing up he went to sort out paint pots and clay, blinking away the couple of tears that pricked the back of his eyes just briefly. Azrael was growing up, the world with them; he had no idea what to expect. Putting it aside for the time being, he busied himself with his Sanctuary.

{FIN}

Do you feel loved?

Bastien

Base Code by Sky!