star light, star bright

the baffled king composing hallelujah

"When we first arrived in Caido, I was still in a relationship with Aoife's mother, Vanya," Ronin says softly as they ride through the caves and tunnels that will eventually bring them up to the Climb. He has settled on his nimbus and invited Seren to sit beside him, so they might chat more on their way.

"In fact, Aoife was only just a tiny little spark growing in Vanya's belly at the time. And I came across this huge, empty building, and I got this idea. You see, the Hollowed Grounds were full of strange, monstrous sort of creatures, so I thought I'd start a guild so we could band together to take care of anything dangerous that came too close to town. And that's how I became a monster hunter." Smiling broadly, he gives her a nudge and peers forward.

"Looks like we're close - it's the middle of the night by now, so it shouldn't be so hot. Though it's the Climb, so I wouldn't count on it..."

Glitter in the sky, glitter in my eye, shining just the way I like

Rapt attention Seren listened to the story. Her eyes might be focused the dimly lit cavern walls rush by, but the fingers squeezing his hand showed that she was paying attention.
"Were there others joining you?" She was sure there had to be, since it was a guild and not Ronin's Monster Hunter Enterprise.

Nudging him back, she turned her gaze to the tunnel opening ahead, and leaned forward in excitement. This would be her very first glimpse of the Climb. She had tried to picture it many times, but as the tunnel fell away and they emerged out into the open, all her expectations were dashed. Glowing crimson lava streams and craters spouting magma from the bellows of the earth dotted the landscape as far as her eyes could see. Smoke hung thick in the air, stinging her eyes with resudial sulfur and ash - but it was the sound that caused Seren to hold her breath. Rumbling, churning, sputtering and distant roars; it brought memories of Apopo back into sharp detail, and she couldn't help but to shudder in awe.

"It's massive," she breathed, twisting quickly to look at Ronin. Wide eyes reflected the red glow from below; she looked a little pale in the wan light. "Are... we going somewhere in particular? What did Mother tell you to do?"

Seren

the baffled king composing hallelujah

"Mm, there were. Some are still close by, like Melita. Others moved on, or..." He shrugs a little sadly, squeezing her hand back. "Or their stories ended in the Hollowed Grounds. The guildhouse burned down on my second LongNight here," he says softly. And that was the end of that, until Aisha and the guild in Halo.

The topic bleeds away to the wonder and horror of the Climb, and Ronin raises a sleeve to cover his nose and mouth as they sail out and into the hot, smoky air. "It is," he agrees, peering out at the rivulets of lava, running like a bleeding wound across the crust of rock.

"Lucky for us, we're going up," Ronin murmurs, and already the nimbus begins to rise, as if to get above the smog. "I need to view a certain constellation from all four corners of Caido. Your mother calls it her Warrior's Constellation. So we need to find it, when the air clears."

Glitter in the sky, glitter in my eye, shining just the way I like

"That's... I'm sorry to hear that." Her nudge was more of a squeeze this time, shoulder pressing against his in quiet sympathy for the lives and dreams lost. "Maybe you should visit the new guild, sometime? I'm sure they would be happy to bring you along if something big comes up." Big as in Frost Giants, dragons or digging up the Sea of Glass. Seren wouldn't mind joining them herself - she would really have to talk to Aisha about it.

Going up was a great idea. Coughing slightly, and blinking her stinging eyes, Seren gazed up and tried to spot the star formation in question.
"I thought you were her Warrior," she mused. At least Safrin had said as much - that she had Ronin to fight her battles. "What will happen when you see all the constellations?" She swiped the butt of her palm across the eyes, to get rid of the irritation.

Seren

the baffled king composing hallelujah

"Mm, maybe I will." Ronin says, and he does sound as though he's giving it some serious consideration, in fact. Smiling down at his daughter, he slips his hand out of hers so he might wrap his arm around her instead, and his nimbus continues upward to guide them towards the clearer skies above.

And when they do emerge into the night, Ronin takes a long, deep breath, his shoulders relaxing. The blanket of stars seems to sprawl endlessly overhead, but as though he's drawn to it somehow, he reaches up to point at the constellation in question. "I am," he says softly, of being Safrin's warrior. "But I wasn't the first one. This one is a warrior from the past," he explains

"And when I see this from all four corners of Caido, I should receive something to help protect me in battle. Like armour. At the very least it'll stop my clothes from burning off when I shift into a phoenix." Which is a very good thing for everyone.

Glitter in the sky, glitter in my eye, shining just the way I like

Snuggling in against his side, dark curls came to rest against Ronin's shoulder. Seren savored moments like these. Reveled in the closeness until she felt spoiled rotten, and could gaze at the world through eyes bright and hazy with content. Every lost moment of growing up under his watching eyes had to be reclaimed, but there would always be a thorn of longing in her throat, for all the things they could never return to. Pancake breakfasts and games in the garden, treasure hunts along the coast and afternoons spent hunched over sketches and drawings, learning letters and other lessons while rain hammered against the windowsill.

They should've had more of it. All of it.

But stargazing on a cloud while the world was on fire below was not bad either. Seren's smile was wide, exalted at the tickling height and the vast canvas of stars that gleamed softly above their heads. Following the pointing figer, she made out the constellation and hummed in appreciation - even if she couldn't quite make out what stars made up which part.

"Clothes are good," she nodded sagely. "Or you would be so crowded by ogling people that you never got anything done." She had seen the looks many of the Dragoons sent after her father. Trainees and veterans alike; it was impossible to miss, and no one seemed to really care if subjects over dinner or at the common rooms made the Dragon's daughter retreat to her room with ears burning from embarrassment.

Falling silent for a moment, as she gazed up at the Warrior and contemplated the weight of Safrin's years, the immesurable time expanding within those star-filled eyes, Seren turned to gaze thoughtfully up at her father.
"Dad... do you love Mother?" she asked, very softly.

Seren

the baffled king composing hallelujah

They should have had more of it, and if Seren had voiced that much, Ronin would have vehemently agreed. To feel her snug against his side, though, is enough for right now, and he already feels himself daydreaming about other things they might do in order to build that bond, to create new memories.

Unlike Seren, Ronin is more than used to viewing the stars from down here, and his eyes track the Warrior's Constellation in full, able to visualise the man who had once filled those shoes, fighting with Safrin on his tongue and in his heart. Smiling to himself, it's as though the stars sink into his bones, and he nods in a job well done (simple as it might seem).

"Oooof, that isn't something any daughter needs to imagine about her father." He barks out a laugh, giving her an apologetic squeeze. "Sooner I get this done the better, eh?"

But then she throws him a curve ball, and Seren will feel him tense up somewhat. Gazing down at her, he inhales a deep breath and lets it out again. "I don't know," he says quietly. "I used to, certainly, but I'm not sure love is the right word now. I adore your mother, Seren. It fills me with pride whenever I'm able to do something for her, or to use the blessings she's given me. I suppose that is a form of love."

Glitter in the sky, glitter in my eye, shining just the way I like

"Quite," she agreed, and grinned as she squished him back with an arm slung about his back. If only the other recruits felt the same... but that was how things went. Somethings you simply had to weather and ignore, for the sake of your own sanity.

Sobering up as the subject shifted, Seren looked from the old Warrior to the new, sensing the growing tension in her father. She was grateful for the honesty, that he chose to believe that she was old enough to hear the answer to questions asked. Protecting her from painful truths was one thing... but sometimes knowing was better than being kept in the dark. Especially if it was something that might come back to haunt her one day.

"What changed?" she asked carefully. Prepared to be told it was none of her concern, that it was an adult matter... ready to accept anything he chose to tell her.

Seren

the baffled king composing hallelujah

The stars overhead seem colder now, somehow, and despite the heat rolling off the crags and rivulets below them, Ronin shivers a little. Having seen all that he needs to when it comes to the Climb and the Warrior Constellation, the Star directs his nimbus so it can gently swoop around and away. He'd promised Seren he would take her to the Greatwood before going back home, and that is going to take time and then some. Plenty of opportunity to discuss whatever she wanted to; but that didn't make it any easier.

"I can't say it was any one thing," he says slowly, softly. "It isn't like a switch was flipped and that was it. I suppose I started to notice things I hadn't before. But I dont think that's the sort of thing I ought to be telling you about your mother." His smile turns a little more boyish, and he shrugs. "Whatever I feel about Safrin, though, I hope you know that it doesn't mean I love you any less."

Glitter in the sky, glitter in my eye, shining just the way I like

Seren did not understand, not really. She had never been in love, not the kind of love this conversation was about. Unaware of the slow fading of passion, of little needles and big blows that might slowly kill something beautiful, she only saw that her father was a little troubled by the topic.
"I know," she said, and hoped that she truly did. It was difficult to swear on when she couldn't see the whole picture - but it felt true, and that was good enough for her. "I love you too, dad. I love you both, just as much." No favourites for her, even if being her mother's daughter would put demands on her in a different way than being Ronin's ever would.

"I guess I just wondered, because you never talk much about her. And you have Remi, too, so I just..." Seren shrugged. "I keep having this dream, some nights. That it's just you and me and mother, having dinner by a table like normal people. But that's never going to happen, is it?" It was a very selfish dream, after all. It excluded people - Remi, Mateo, Kamaria - and that did not feel good. Even if it was a pretty picture.

Seren

the baffled king composing hallelujah

"I hope you do." Ronin murmurs as Seren says she knows, and he leans in to press a gentle kiss to the crown of her head. The nimbus picks up speed, though it will be a long time before they are anywhere near the Greatwood, and so he settles in for the ride.

"Whatever is between Safrin and I, you are the one thing we will always agree on. And we'll always work together, when it comes to you." He feels it as strongly as he feels the love for his other children, which is why, when Seren speaks about her dream, Ronin can't help but smile.

"Why not?" he asks. "There's no reason we can't all have that, for one night. Maybe not a table, though - perhaps a picnic, or something similar. Something open and under the stars." They would all enjoy that, he thinks.

Glitter in the sky, glitter in my eye, shining just the way I like

Gazing up at her father, Seren wasn't sure he fully grasped what she had meant. One night was not what she wanted. The three of them together, tucked away where no one else could reach. Being a proper family where no one had to be away from the others... surrounded by starlight and sweet twilight in a place where time no longer mattered. That was the selfish part. The slightly ugly, jealous possessiveness that wanted him and Safrin all to herself, forever and ever.

But that was not a side of her she wanted her father to see, so Seren only smiled. One night... might not be everythinig she wanted, but it was certainly close enough.
"I would love that," she told him and settled more comfortably on the nimbus. Happy to watch the landscape zoom past beneath; though Ronin had the vast majority of her attention.

"What would you like to do? If you got to decide all on your own, what would we be up to?" More roadtrips like these? Whatever it was, Seren would happily oblige him. For a parent, he was oddly shy about putting in demands on her time.

Seren

the baffled king composing hallelujah

"Then I'll see what I can do." Oblivious, of course, to the possessiveness and jealousy that lurked in his daughter's bones (and how alike her parents she is, for that vice), Ronin is content to make his plans and let the world stream away below them. Seren is a gentle, warm weight against his side, and without the pressures of Stormbreak or gods or war on the immediate horizon for the next couple of days, it's easy to relax.

"Mm?" He considers her question for a moment before flashing her a grin. "I would be taking us to all of Stormbreak's best restaurants and bars. Torchline, too. We'd take a trip there on a skyboat and you could try a bunch of cocktails. I'd have to make sure to tuck you into bed back at the barracks when we got home, make sure you got home safe."

Glitter in the sky, glitter in my eye, shining just the way I like

His wish was a surprisingly humble one. Peering up at his face from where she nestled against him, Seren had to smile at the simplicity of it all. Restaurant visits, drinks, skyboat rides, and tucking in at night. The last part jarred slightly against the drinks, but also not - because she would honestly never grow too old for that kind of thing.

"It's a deal," she promised him. "Once I'm done with these errands and back in Stormbreak, I'm all yours." Whether they would do it all in one night, or spend the rest of the year with little adventures sprinkled in between every day chores was up to him.

"How fast can this cloud really go? Suddenly I really feel like being done and going back home." Laughing, she threaded fingers through the wispy nimbus and leaned forward, eager to zoom across Caido like a pseudo-comet.

- FIN

Seren