“M-Nix?” Daemonascus called as he returned to the edge of the Pridelands, he was not quite done, he still had to go a few more places, but he felt as if he needed to tell her, tell her who he had found and how he hated him so much and how he wished it wasn't true. Though he truly didn't know if it was right or wrong, perhaps Nix wanted it to be this way, wanted to be on her own to raise her cubs with no father as Rage had her own children. It was hard, but it needed to be done. She was sitting before him, and he felt strange, like he actually was the son of his friend before him, what a twist of fate it was. “I found something when I was gone, I wanted to tell you alone, there is no reason to worry Rage now,” he spoke.
He shuddered for a moment, trying to gain his composure, “I found him, -your-my father,” he stopped, saw the concern in her eyes, but she didn't speak, and somehow she knew he was not done. “He is such a strange creature Nix, how could you have found any connection from him? How could you? He has so much pride and I now see why it was appropriate for me to be reborn of his blood but-”
“Daemonascus, stop,” she had a tone like a mother would, but the eyes and composure of a friend only wishing to make him feel better. “what happened then, was my choice, it was a strange time in my life, as it is now, then there was another I longed for, but it was not meant to be yet, just as it is not meant to be now,” she spoke and sighed. Mrost, but times had changed, but she still longed for his eyes, was it fitting that lightning wait for war?
“What he was then, is the same as now, he gave me what I wanted, a family, and the family I have I love, and it was worth it, worth it now to still be longing for another's heart.” He swayed her body to stand, and looked around herself. “Times now have changed, and we will move on just as you need to move on from the thought of him Daemonascus, don't dwell on the past.”
“Though it might come back,” Katana'k stepped forward it was a wonder that neither of them had noticed his approaching, and also a wonder that this boy did not realize he had been following him all the way home. He noticed the look on the boy's face and shook his head, “I am not here for fights boy, just for answers, thats all,” as he looked to the Goddess, Nix, he offered a smile and surprisingly she offered one back, and was that a smirk? Had nothing changed?
“Your-our boy here came and found me by mistake, but would not tell me what I wished so I've come here, to find the answers,” and to see her, see what had not changed and see if what happened once, could happen again. Could he build an army to make his father proud? The prospects so far seemed promising. “How many other siblings does he have? Domains, locations-?”
“I won't tell you! And neither will she!” Daemonascus growled, would Rage hear his voice, wake and find them like this? Did she know of this male, had he tried to be with her first over Nix? He felt aflame, and he snarled again.”Leave now, I swear it, I will keep to my promise that I told you,” he would not hold back. He was rip and tear until nothing was left, he would kill and be happy for doing it and he would not care how this wretched creature was reborn or where, as long as he was far away from all of them.
He clawed into the soil beneath him, and Nix stepped in between them both, “What are you doing? Why are you trying to defend him? From what I know, he is nothing, don't do it,” he didn't want to say Mom, not her name, nothing, he didn't want this Katana'k to know anything about their family, anything about anyone here. He knew enough.
“Regardless of what happened in the past he is still your father but you don't have to treat him as such, but you don't have to treat him like a murderer either, you know better, you -know- better.” She watched Dae as he turned away, and looked the Katana'k, “I know you left afterwards, and that is what I wanted, but that does not mean you come back here demanding I tell you everything you want to know. It doesn't happen that way, and it won't you, like him, need to show respect to one another and anyone here, you need to be the lion you never were when all you cared for was chasing your brother you couldn't get a hold of.”
She didn't move for a moment, worried that if she stepped away from in between the two gods they would attack one another and not hold back, and though she probably could stop it, she didn't want it to come to that when they were almost ready to start a new life somewhere else. “You do have more than one, you have sons and daughters, though I don't think any others would want to meet you, lack thereof being here, but I could be wrong.”
Katana'k looked to the youth and wanted to speak but let Nix do it all. She was forceful, strong, playful as well, just as he remembered, perhaps there was a chance of repeating the past afterall. “respect, then it has to be mutual, or none at all,” he glanced at the smaller image of himself behind Nix and smirked, though he took a step back, and let his wings settle onto his back. Respect, ha! Like he knew or would show true respect to anyone unless he got something in return.
Sons, more than one son? More than one daughter? What were they of, domains! He needed to know their powers, where they were, and although it seemed unlikely any would join him, he wanted to try. The power power under his authority, the stronger he was, and then truly -his- father would be proud, yes, truly. “Domains, what deity are they of?”
“All you want is to know them, and you don't care who they are, you just want to find them to use them just like,” but he was hit by a paw to his cheek and he snarled though Nix had stopped him in time. He was letting his fury, his wrath his rage boil and begin to consume him, and he needed to stop. Respect, there needed to be respect here. He sighed and looked at the god, his father? Daemoanscus would never truly embrace him like a father, never, not after everything when they could have used him, but no, nothing.
“You don't care to know their names, why? Why did you really come here, why not tell us the truth and respect us by revealing what you are truly doing here?” he questioned, looking and Nix seemed to stay quiet, but she seemed deep in thought, they couldn't communicate other ways could they? “Tell us.”
”He is right, you have come here for something else,” though the ideas she had, some were good, others bad, some, not so hopeless. He smirked at her and she shook her head, now was not the time for such discussions let alone in front of Daemonascus, let alone here, perhaps later though, if he wanted, and she wanted, he might be opt to chase her again? This next time, if history repeated itself, she would want it to be different.
“They have strong domains, but I won't tell you who has what, just know they are happy, and have grown well, we need not bother them now with these such things, no need to bring up the past when it has not been influential these many moons, so that ends, this ends.” She watched them both, and Daemonascus seemed mad she even hinted at the domains of his siblings, he children, but it did not matter, she was to make the choices now. “Is there anything else you want?”
”You won't tell me?” he frowned, shook his mane and sighed, narrowing his lifeless white eyes and he felt a sting on his eye where his brother has scarred him. “Not even what powers they possess, though you may not agree what I think of, what I want, I am their father, I have a right to know about them,” though he bit his tongue. Truth was, he had no right at all and he doubted that either of them would tell anymore. Though as he looked at her, and she at him, he wondered, and flicked his tail, and wanted the boy to leave.
He looked to the darker side to his brother's appearance and sighed, would they all hate him like this, would they all turn away from him, flesh and blood and not offer some type of reprieve? At least a token then, that he could add with his brother's feather, one feather for every child, but pulling one from the son before him now seemed like a bad idea. “What I want was just time, information, knowing.”
“You had your time, now just go,” Daemoanscus spat, he just wanted this to be over, but he did not feel right leaving Nix here with this God, he seemed strange, and he seemed to be plotting something. “You know you have other sons and some daughters, now please, just go from this place,” he hoped that wherever they left to, this Katana'k would not find them. He tried to step around Nix but she kept in his way, and he frowned at her.
“Why not just tell him to leave, what does he have to offer you? Anything? No! Just tell him to go,” he wanted to go back on his hunt and not have Rage know he stopped without seeing her, but she needed her rest, and he needed to find them all a new home. But as Nix didn't move, Daemoanscus stared at her blankly, silence, but a message, “What do you want me to do?”
Nix watched them both, and knew this would go to no where in particular and thus was pointless. The family that Katana'k wanted to now meet and know was gone from his heart even before he knew of their existence, he had a hidden motive, and now, so did she. She looked to Daemonascus and would not let him move forward, and she nudged his shoulder, “I want you to go, go back and search and then only come back when you are ready, and then we will go, so much time wasted is not good. So go,” she spoke.
But as she turned to Katana'k, she winked slightly so that Daemonascus would not see, “Do not worry, he can do nothing to me that is ill, I could kill him with a lightning bolt if I please, so go, find our new home and come home soon,” she pushed Daemonascus again, and then walked to stand before Katana'k “We have some unfinished business.”
”Yes boy, go, what I wanted will not reach my ears, but it is true you have nothing to worry about, I wish to keep my wings another day, so do not worry,” he was trying to act noble, though he probably failed at the expression of honest pride than the pride that tore him between what was right to do and what was wrong. Though as he looked at Nix, he had his own ideas, and it seemed what she thought of, was what he wished as well.
“Go now,” and he took a step towards Nix but did not move and would not move towards her until the youth was far from sight. Such things a son should not know and not see, and he smirked, the past and present were such beautiful overlapping things.
Daemonascus wanted to say something again, but as Nix pushed him, and Katana'k seemed to want him to leave, he hoped that Nix would know his silent message of no. This shouldn't happen, not again, and he beig immortal did not mean he did not know the ways of the world, he knew, and knew this, right here, would be a mistake if done.
“I'll return soon,” he hoped, and he jumped into the air, his wings sending a rush of wind towards Katana'k until he plunged up into the darkness of the night, as he peered down, he saw nothing, not that he wanted to. He merely wished he could stop some things from happening, but who knew, perhaps a new beginning had to do with more than one aspect of life.
As Daemonascus left into the night, Nix looked back to the white eyes she knew and had not forgotten from those moons ago. She smiled, stepped close to him and purred, her tali curcled around one of his back legs and she tugged, and whispered, “Chase me?” it was a question, but it was baiting. She laughed and pushed him, hard, in that simple moment she wanted to know she was not truly happy with how things had been left before.
She ran, and did not look behind her, if he chased, then so be it, though she hoped she would not run into the night alone.
Katana'k watched him go, and he was glad, but as Nix moved, he felt apprehensive. Would he change what happened and make his past worthy, make himself worthy now and make up for his lack of responsibility that had happened before/ He was unsure, and the questions got clouded as she pushed on him and ran, whispering and he smirked, standing and let his wings curl close to himself.
He ran after he, a soundless snarl of a smirk on his maw, time would only tell if he improved his past mistakes, time would tell if history would completely repeat itself this time.
Word Count: 2432
