<P> Growing Pains (Ankou / Isidore)

[midnight_medea]

Isidore poked his head around the door to his room and peered down the hallway, it was silent. He waited a moment, listening and waiting to see if anyone would stir. Nope, still quiet. Slowly he stepped out of his room, he had wrapped his bedcovers around his waist and was holding them in place at his hip. he still half hoped that there was the chance he was in the middle of a bad dream. He felt large and clumsy as he walked down the hallway and paused at the door to the main common room of their apartments. He looked around, no one again.

He walked quickly across the tiled floor, his new long legs making it a short distance to the colonnade where his father's office was situated. He hoped his dad would recognise him, what if he thought he was some kind of burglar or something. He walked up to the doorway and knocked.
"Dad." He put his free hand over his mouth as an unfamiliar deeper voice came from his mouth. That was odd. It all was odd. "Dad I need your help."  

[A Wandering Esper]

Ankou had a lot to think about, and he did not have the faintest idea that he was about to have a lot more to worry about in a few moments. He had seen the children and his love to bed and then withdrew to his office after lingering at Cosine's side for a few hours before leaving and going to his office as he often did.

Right now he was trying to puzzle out the best path to Valyrmora's part of the realm when a foreign voice stopped him dead in his tracks. Oh.

Oh dear.

Of course, if he had known was his poor worried son was thinking, he might have been a great deal more amused. He had been the one who had been greeted with a candlestick, after all. He took a moment to steel himself - he'd only just now gotten used to Kyrie ! - and then turned.

His poor boy looked like a mess, and his lips had quirked before he could truly stop the motion. At least it was not Caelia, he figured. This scene would have been a great deal more awkward if it had been her. "I can see why." His poor dear. His long hair was in knots. This was the reason he tended to prefer things shorter.

"Did you wake up like this ?" Probably a stupid question. But he really didn't have the faintest idea what to say. "Your hair needs to be combed out first, i think. Then we will find something to fit you until we can go to the market in the morning."  

[midnight_medea]

Isidore eased further into the room as his father recognised him. How could he not recognise him really, even a god who had never met him would notice the uncanny family resemblance with both his father and his Uncle. He was certainly an Underworld deity.

"Yeah, I thought I was dreaming and then I woke up and I was like ... this." He frowned a little. It would have been nice to have a bit of warning but that was clearly not how things worked. He remembered his sisters telling him about when their mother changed and Kyrie too, she had just sprouted.  

[A Wandering Esper]

"That tends to be how it goes." Sometimes there were some sort of warning signs to be perceived, but weither one realized them for what they were or not was up in the air.

He had turned fully and gotten up, leading Isidore toward the bathroom first. It would be easy to find a brush there.  

[midnight_medea]

It was a strange feeling being almost as tall as his father, very strange indeed. He had spent so long thinking of him as a giant and he knew that he could be if he really wanted to due to his being a full deity and all but being more than leg height was an interesting accomplishment.

He allowed himself to be led to the bathroom and peered into the mirror again. He ran a hand over his face and blinked, yep, this was definitely happening.  

[A Wandering Esper]

Isidore was captivated by his reflection, and Ankou simply waited for the moment to pass without interrupting his son. He knew as well how that was like, though their changes had not been as drastic as his own had been. Though there were those wings... Hn. He was uncertain if Isidore could fly with these. They seemed to move with him, but perhaps they were for looks more than anything else.

It was always a little startling to see something other than what one was used to see as themselves unless they were well used to it.

He found a comb quickly enough after some rummaging though the drawers. "Did you want to go sit at my desk ? It might be more comfortable than standing."  

[midnight_medea]

He hadn't even noticed the wings, yet there they were, he turned a little and admired them, curious that they did not seem to be connected to his body like the rest of his family. At his father's words he turned back to the room and looked to the desk.
"Uh, yeah." He walked over and took a seat. Still trying to get his head round what had happened to him. "Won't be able to hide on top of mama's bookshelves any more." He added with a smirk.  

[A Wandering Esper]

"I figure not..." Ankou's lips had twitched upward a bit. "Or well, it would be at your risk and peril if you try, I suppose."

Cosine would not appreciate a knocked over bookshelf, that was for sure. "I figure that means no more rides on Scim, either." At least until the grim got a lot bigger. Which... well, was certainly possible. He was well cared for, after all.

He started working on his son's hair carefully. It was a great deal longer than his own, but it was about as fine, which meant that it tangled easily. He was well used to dealing with that by now.  

[midnight_medea]

"Heh, yeah, I don't think Scim would appreciate that." He smirked and held his head still as it jerked when his father hit a knot. He supposed he would have to start taking more care of his hair, learn how to put it up like his mother did sometimes.
"So, this makes me grown up now?" It was strange to be an adult without a long transition. He grinned, a big, almost childish grin. "That means we can go on a real adventure."  

[A Wandering Esper]

Ankou was as careful as he could be, but snagging was indeed inevitable.

And... dear twin crown, that question. "Physically, perhaps. But you still have much to learn. We never stop learning, after all."

Nice save ? Hopefully.

Ankou's lips quirked in amusement. "The other ones were not real ? I was not aware." Not every adventure needed to be a grand thing.

Though... Hn. The Spirit Guide turned thoughtful for a moment. Perhaps it was time. He would need to see the realm for himself, to know where those his boy cared for went and what happened to them firsthand. He would have to ask Cosine what she thought of it, if she felt it would be a good idea. The both of them would be with him, so it seemed like a good one to him.  

[midnight_medea]

"Well, yes, they were." Isidore smiled, they were certainly memories he would hold on to and tell his children about, if he had them. But they were childish adventures, he wanted to do something that mattered. "I mean, something important, to help. Like Kios and Uncle Xun and Tajne, they always seem to be doing all these exciting things to help make things better. I need to do something like that, to help you and to help all the souls and the people who have lost others." Now he was grown he really could, rather than just wandering aimlessly and watching funerals.  

[A Wandering Esper]

"You might get the opportunity to do something like that sooner than later." He would say no more, however, not until he decided with Cosine weither this was a good idea or not. This was not a decision he would take without her. Even if the Underworld was decided to be off limits for the time being, then he could easily think up something else for his son to do.

Of course, if he had known that Isidore was thinking about his own potential children, then that might have been where Ankou would have freaked out a little.  

[midnight_medea]

"I suppose I have a lot of time for adventures." He mused out loud, he was immortal after all, there were many lifetimes to explore the infinite worlds that existed around them. He hoped some would be with his sisters, others with his parents. The possibilities really were endless.
"Can I still live here?" He asked, wondering if now that he was an adult he would have to find his own rooms.  

[A Wandering Esper]

The question had him chuckle, in spite of himself. As if he was about to kick them all out. Honestly... "You can stay here as long as you like." He knew that his children would only grow to be more independent from this point on - it was inevitable, and would probably be deprimental to them if they all stayed hidden behind him and Cosine forever. "And you'll always be welcome here, no matter what. Never forget that."

This would always be their homes, even if they decided to find other ones. There would be temples, of course. At least, one could think so.

"Looks pretty good to me right now." He had pinned Isidore's hair back for the time being to keep it from getting tangled up again. "Now to find you something to wear until the morning..." That should be easy enough.  

[midnight_medea]

That was a comforting thought. He knew mortals often stayed close to their families, but gods? They were different. Kios had been very independent, though perhaps that was more due to the nature of his parent's issues than anything else. He did not know any other children.
"That's good, I like it here." He said before standing once his father had finished. He would have to learn how to pin his hair up. He imagined it would annoy him.
"Do you have things that would fit me?" He asked, he knew his father's height could vary, at that moment Isidore was not too far off him.