stay frosty royal milk tea

My spores been growing by the day; my days been shining bright

Cold Ever might seem, but at the same time, it's almost exactly what Mateo needs to hear. He feels helpless, but knowing that he'd feel that way inside or outside the safe haven is... well. He doesn't know what it is, but it helps. A bit. The pat on the arm helps a lot more, and if he wasn't already aware of his friend's proclivities (and not yet old enough to casually disregard them), he'd have thrown his arms around him.

"I hope so too," he mumbles, rubbing at his eyes with the arm not cradling the jar with the Devil's Klaw inside. "I... well, I'll go and put this in my lab," he says, gesturing to the specimen. "And we can shower, and I'll meet you at the Archive in about an hour?"

mateo!

Everest

Glancing warily at the jar and looking almost exactly like his father in that moment, Ever stiffens and nods. "Oh-kay." He agrees, spacing out the word as if needing time to decide something in between the first and last syllable. Desperately Ever wished that he had a waterproof book and pencil so that he could write down arguments to further convince his friend about the merits of remaining in the haven. Alas, he'd just have to remember them between bouts of furiously scrubbing the marsh of his body.

The entire walk, the entire shower, the entire time getting re-dressed, Ever mumbled things to himself. It was only during the walk back toward the Archive that he began scribbling them into his notebook with far less care than he normally took, if only because he didn't want to be late.

Oh if time is a river lets be stones underwater

That his son had wanted to keep his plants all under one roof (instead of having a proper workspace), was in reality a very good decision. It meant that there was only one place Remi ever really needed to look for him, which was quite convenient. Freshly showered himself and in a fairly good mood from his earlier afternoon delight with Ronin, the Lullaby saunters down the stairs from the apartment into what Remi affectionately thought of as Mateo's Jungle below.

Twisting through the room with the utmost care so as not to disturb the various things his son was working on, Remi went to the thick door at the back of the room. There was music playing (likely because of what he and Ronin had been up to upstairs) and so when he called out his son's name, he did so quite loudly as he rapped his knuckles against the door.

My spores been growing by the day; my days been shining bright

The shower was not running when Mateo got home, but the other things going on up in the apartment meant that he didn't bother to go up there himself. He has just (painstakingly and doing his best not to let it attach itself to his face) transferred his Devil's Klaw into its own - locked and secured - terrarium when there's a rap at the door and the musical cadence of his name sung through his father's lips.

Mateo tries not to wince, but only because his insides are still writhing from the thought of never having Remi call his name like that again. Instead, he swallows down his discomfort and shuffles to unlock the door to his laboratory, opening it up to peer up at his father. "Hi papà," he chimes, stepping aside to let him in. "Was the music too loud? I'm sorry."

mateo!

Oh if time is a river lets be stones underwater

Gods but letting a school raise your child does funny things to them. Shaking his head, Remi grins. "No, no. Not too loud at all, no need to apologize." Especially since the music was likely to drown out what he and Ronin had been doing upstairs, if anyone was going to apologize, it really should be him. Instead of doing that, instead Remi's gaze was taken by the terrarium now holding a devil's klaw. Tilting his head, he watched the delicate fingers begin to feel out the walls of its enclosure. Not to try and escape, but merely to know, and perhaps later, to plan.

"A new addition?" Remi surmises, his eyebrows raised. "But so close to the war? Have you thought about how you are going to keep them all healthy and watered or fed while you are gone?" It wouldn't be like Mateo to overlook something like this, and very likely his son has some complex watering and food-dispersement system all worked out.

My spores been growing by the day; my days been shining bright

Clicking the door shut once his father has stepped into the lab, Mateo follows his gaze to the terrarium and the beginnings of a dimpled smile pucker his cheeks. Normally he'd rush over and rattle off everything he's learned about the Devil's Klaw, but he's feeling quite subdued at the moment. "Mmhm," is what he says instead, shuffling over to adjust the terrarium ever so slightly, as if to discourage any plans.

"Gone where?" he asks, turning to peer up at Remi and raise his eyebrows. "Am I going somewhere now?" Surprisingly it hasn't at all occurred to the boy that Remi might be talking about that safe haven he's so recently been discussing with Everest. No, this is some moving to Halo bullshit, he can smell it.

mateo!

Oh if time is a river lets be stones underwater

Narrowing his eyes with confusion, Remi tilts his head slightly to the side as if he might hear in the following silence where the clear miscommunication was. 'Well...not right now, no. But when the war starts you will...?" Remi's eyebrows go from knotted together to raised, as he nods slightly in his son's direction. A silent way of encouraging Mateo to, you know, understand what it was he was putting down.

Raising a finger and trailing it alongside the terrarium holding the Devil's Klaw, Remi watched as the creature tracked the movement with a single one of its fingers. "I suppose you could bring this with you. I wonder if it would lose its abilities in the Haven or not." hmming to himself, Remi glances back to Mateo. "It might be an interesting experiment so long as there was someone nearby to take it off of you just in case it kept them."

My spores been growing by the day; my days been shining bright

"I... I what?" Mateo is frowning now, looking like a mix between both of his parents at their most befuddled, and he's left staring up at Remi even as he pays more attention to the Devil's Klaw. "Wh... the safe haven?" he repeats, huffing out a sigh with enough force to puff his cheeks. "I did not think I was... I thought I would be staying here."

Perhaps at this moment in time both father and son might realise that they've never had a proper conversation about it, which... you know, that might be an idea. "What if I do not want to go?" he blurts suddenly, his cheeks reddening as he straightens up to his full (not particularly tall) height.

mateo!

Oh if time is a river lets be stones underwater

'What? No of course not.' Remi replies, perhaps a bit too breezily given his son's adamant rejection of this idea.

Straightening as well, the alchemist begins to fold his arms over his chest before realizing how defensive that might look, and instead awkwardly shoves one into his pocket and taps the other on the edge of the table. 'Well, I suppose if you do not want to go, you are going to be fairly unhappy while you are there.' Remi says, sounding just as bewildered as Mateo looked.

"Mateo." Trying on a new tone of voice that leans more towards understanding than parental exasperation, Remi shakes his head slightly. "The Haven will keep you safe while the war is happening. There is nothing you can do here that is more important than your safety. Besides-" This, Remi wrongly believes will be in the final word on the subject. "-Everest is going to be in the Haven too."

My spores been growing by the day; my days been shining bright

Mateo will look back on this moment in years to come and realise that it was a mixture of hormones and feeling scared and helpless, but for now it all he can feel is the heat in his cheeks and the way his nails are cutting into the palms of his hands. Quite why mention of Everest is what tips him over the edge is beyond him - maybe it's that new tone of voice his father is trying.

"I don't care," he barks out, his dark curls falling around his face as he shakes his head. "Non mi interessa, papà! I genitori di Ever andranno con lui. Anche loro saranno al sicuro, ma tu..." Angry at the prickling at the corners of his eyes, Mateo hunches his shoulders. "Tu e papà potreste morire."

mateo!

Oh if time is a river lets be stones underwater

Puzzled, it's with a strange and sad realization that Remi feels as though he can't quite reach out for his son the way he wants too. That dropping down to one knee will likely come across as condescending, and that taking Mateo into his arms will be read as a gesture of silencing instead of one of affection. Closing his eyes and tilting his head towards the ceiling, the Lullaby sighs, thankful that his son isn't an attuned so that the mental groan of frustration isn't one that he'll feel.

"E se moriamo, significa che sei l'unico Taliesin rimasto. E sarà così sia che tu sia qui o al Rifugio. Almeno nel Rifugio sopravvivrai alla guerra per portare avanti il nome della nostra famiglia." Pressing his teeth together, Remi looks down at Mateo, opting to try reaching out for his son regardless of the consequences. "Se muori, Mateo, sarà tutto inutile. Se io vivo e tu muori, quella non sarebbe affatto vita. That is why you have to go. Not for you, but for me."

My spores been growing by the day; my days been shining bright

It's all so brutal and logical that Mateo feels like he might actually throw a punch at his father, despite the fact that he can't punch for shit, and Remi is practically made of stone these days anyway. Trying to swallow down the sob that builds up in the back of his throat, he can't help but see Remi's body language as annoyed or exasperated, like he's being very unreasonable by having all these feelings about being the last of his name left alive.

So of course, in true Taliesin fashion, when Remi does reach for him the boy all but folds into the embrace, a sigh shuddering through him as he finally releases the breath he's been holding. "Ma non voglio che tu muoia," he cries, clutching at his father's shirt. "Come posso aiutare se non sono fuori?" He can't anyway, but at least there's the whisper of an option.

mateo!

Oh if time is a river lets be stones underwater

The rush of Mateo's emotions is, as always, a force. Made of stone though Remi might be, it nearly knocks him off his feet and were it not for the table behind him, he might well have taken a tumble (and knocked the Devil's Klaw onto the ground, which would have been a fun development). Instead, he steadies himself, corraling Mateo into his arms and tucking his chin atop his son's head.

"Non ho intenzione di morire." He whispers softly. "E posso sognare me stesso e Ronin lontano se le cose si mettono troppo male." Running his hands across Mateo's back it was hard not to think of just how fragile his son actually was. Se non lo facciamo, questo mondo non sarà al sicuro, e tu ti preoccuperai sempre per me, e io mi preoccuperò sempre per te."

My spores been growing by the day; my days been shining bright

Quite how they've found themselves here is something that will forever confound Mateo, but he's unashamedly glad for his father's solid presence and steady voice. "Me lo prometti?" he whispers back, sounding much younger than he'd like, but not able to necessarily control it right now. Sniffling and wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand (thus smudging his eyeliner, of course), Mateo peers up at Remi.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles. "I'm sorry, Dad. I'll go to the Haven. It's just... a lot. War is a lot." Blinking quickly, he tucks his head right back beneath Remi's chin, huffing out a long, exhausted breath. "I wish you didn't have to go."

mateo!