The aftermath of Likais leaving had left Sascha pretty torn up. Waking up to an empty bed, an empty house, with no sign that he'd ever had a lover at all, hurt. It hurt like hell, honestly. It brought him to his knees more than once when the kids weren't around. It made his hands shake, his voice crack, and his legs weak. The note, though detailed and obviously well thought over, sent razors through him every time he read it. He'd had plenty of people leave him before, even the people who were responsible for his creation, and each leaving had taken it's own time to break him, heal over, and be, somewhat, forgotten. However, being so reinforced and used to it only served to hurt him more and make him less trusting. He wasn't sure when he'd open himself up again, or if he'd open himself up again at all.
What was far worse for him to see was the effect that it had on the kids. Laviticus seemed to be taking it alright, but Dahlia... She'd straight up thrown a fit. He'd never seen her quite so angry, and the demands she was making... Well, they weren't fair to anyone. She wanted him, the shaking, broken hearted mess that he was, to go out and drag Likais home. To her, Likais belonged here and was just confused. Her father didn't really want to leave them, that was impossible, Likais has only gotten lost on the way home and Sascha had to go out and get them. No amount of time seemed to help her understand, and her fits only got worse as the days went on. This took a huge toll on not only him, but the other children too. While he wasn't too sure about how Crystallize felt, Valerian had taken to clinging to him when Dahlia started to scream and all he could do was pick the little boy up and gently rock him until she stopped.
He'd thought about reaching out to Candy and asking her to take their boys for a while until he could sort things out with Dahlia, but reconsidered when Valerian started clinging to him. It was more than clear that his youngest wanted to stay with him and he didn't want to uproot him either. He knew what it felt like to be shoved around during times of conflict, and even used as a ploy during arguments. He didn't want any of his children to experience that. Instead, he decided to ride out Dahlia's tantrums for as long as possible and set her up with a school counselor to help her sort things out. Eventually, this turned into him going to the academy twice a week for sessions with her, and then all the kids... But sooner than he'd thought, Dahlia started to make progress. She started to understand that Likais couldn't just be dragged home and that Sascha couldn't do anything to make him come back. Then, as the sessions went on, she started to grasp how her negative behavior was effecting her siblings. To Sascha's surprise, his little girl ended up apologizing for a lot more than just her tantrums and promised not to be so hard on her little brothers. Sure, she had trouble making good on her promises at first, but it was a start that he had a lot of faith in.
After things were sorted, Sascha found himself blindsided by another letter, one from a friend he was sure had forgotten all about him. Owen, an imp he'd known well through his days in the academy, had fallen out with his girlfriend, another mutual friend called Lila. Though they'd been distant for a few years after Owen and Lila graduated, Sascha couldn't bring himself to decline meeting up with Owen after work for a drink. This, however, ended up with Sascha waking up the next morning with Owen sleeping next to him and no recollection of what had happened the night before. Though Owen tried to convince Sascha to stay and, ultimately, begged him to... Sascha wasn't ready to trust someone with his heart again. Once that was explained, Owen settled for phone calls and the occasional meet up when the kids were away at school. However, when Lila and Owen patched things up again, Sascha was convinced that Owen would stop calling and he'd never hear from the imp again.
Needless to say, that didn't happen. Despite being back with Lila, Owen's phone calls and invites to dinner didn't relent, and soon... Sascha was settling into nights out with both of his childhood friends. It was a bit of a blur for the Geist, who'd only just started getting over Likais and settling into life as a single father, but the more he went out, the more he wanted them around. Then, things between Owen and Lila became tense and Lila ended up leaving again. Owen, marking this as the last time that they break up, moved closer to Sascha. However, despite how close they'd become, Sascha still wanted to have time to heal and asked Owen to stay for support. Disheartened, but more than willing to help Sascha with the kids, Owen agreed.
In recent months, the pull to add more children to his family has brought Sascha's mind back to the soul bank. His heart, though not ready for another relationship, yearned for a child that's his own. One that would mark his decision to move on and heal as a single father, even if he had Owen next door to help him out. A living testament to his strength and resolve. Of course, this child would never be loved more than the four babies he'd already raised and would go on to the academy when they were old enough, but... He couldn't help but be curious about what a child imbued solely by him would be like. Would they grow up to be just like him? His opposite? There was only one way to find out.
What was far worse for him to see was the effect that it had on the kids. Laviticus seemed to be taking it alright, but Dahlia... She'd straight up thrown a fit. He'd never seen her quite so angry, and the demands she was making... Well, they weren't fair to anyone. She wanted him, the shaking, broken hearted mess that he was, to go out and drag Likais home. To her, Likais belonged here and was just confused. Her father didn't really want to leave them, that was impossible, Likais has only gotten lost on the way home and Sascha had to go out and get them. No amount of time seemed to help her understand, and her fits only got worse as the days went on. This took a huge toll on not only him, but the other children too. While he wasn't too sure about how Crystallize felt, Valerian had taken to clinging to him when Dahlia started to scream and all he could do was pick the little boy up and gently rock him until she stopped.
He'd thought about reaching out to Candy and asking her to take their boys for a while until he could sort things out with Dahlia, but reconsidered when Valerian started clinging to him. It was more than clear that his youngest wanted to stay with him and he didn't want to uproot him either. He knew what it felt like to be shoved around during times of conflict, and even used as a ploy during arguments. He didn't want any of his children to experience that. Instead, he decided to ride out Dahlia's tantrums for as long as possible and set her up with a school counselor to help her sort things out. Eventually, this turned into him going to the academy twice a week for sessions with her, and then all the kids... But sooner than he'd thought, Dahlia started to make progress. She started to understand that Likais couldn't just be dragged home and that Sascha couldn't do anything to make him come back. Then, as the sessions went on, she started to grasp how her negative behavior was effecting her siblings. To Sascha's surprise, his little girl ended up apologizing for a lot more than just her tantrums and promised not to be so hard on her little brothers. Sure, she had trouble making good on her promises at first, but it was a start that he had a lot of faith in.
After things were sorted, Sascha found himself blindsided by another letter, one from a friend he was sure had forgotten all about him. Owen, an imp he'd known well through his days in the academy, had fallen out with his girlfriend, another mutual friend called Lila. Though they'd been distant for a few years after Owen and Lila graduated, Sascha couldn't bring himself to decline meeting up with Owen after work for a drink. This, however, ended up with Sascha waking up the next morning with Owen sleeping next to him and no recollection of what had happened the night before. Though Owen tried to convince Sascha to stay and, ultimately, begged him to... Sascha wasn't ready to trust someone with his heart again. Once that was explained, Owen settled for phone calls and the occasional meet up when the kids were away at school. However, when Lila and Owen patched things up again, Sascha was convinced that Owen would stop calling and he'd never hear from the imp again.
Needless to say, that didn't happen. Despite being back with Lila, Owen's phone calls and invites to dinner didn't relent, and soon... Sascha was settling into nights out with both of his childhood friends. It was a bit of a blur for the Geist, who'd only just started getting over Likais and settling into life as a single father, but the more he went out, the more he wanted them around. Then, things between Owen and Lila became tense and Lila ended up leaving again. Owen, marking this as the last time that they break up, moved closer to Sascha. However, despite how close they'd become, Sascha still wanted to have time to heal and asked Owen to stay for support. Disheartened, but more than willing to help Sascha with the kids, Owen agreed.
In recent months, the pull to add more children to his family has brought Sascha's mind back to the soul bank. His heart, though not ready for another relationship, yearned for a child that's his own. One that would mark his decision to move on and heal as a single father, even if he had Owen next door to help him out. A living testament to his strength and resolve. Of course, this child would never be loved more than the four babies he'd already raised and would go on to the academy when they were old enough, but... He couldn't help but be curious about what a child imbued solely by him would be like. Would they grow up to be just like him? His opposite? There was only one way to find out.
