The half-child makes his way back to the island, floating in the sky on a cloud that takes him upward, upward, upward. He is not eager to return here. The last trip he took here was wrought with meetings with Pegasi that wanted to teach him life lessons he did not want or who wanted to coddle him like the child he no longer is. In fact, he has almost grown into his gangly legs, his body slowly growing to look more like a small adult and less like the child his mother had given birth to. Oh… his sweet mother.

Whickering out softly, the half-child begins to search around the Falls tent for his mother. For the first time in a long time he longs to fall against her, to feel her loving teeth grazing over the short mane that falls across his neck. He has wandered the land, learning some of the infinite secrets that Helovia holds, but now he needs to let his mother know what happened. Does she even know father is dead? Certainly she can’t know that he and Zunden have gone to the Basin, but she needs to. He wishes he could have told her before they left, it was just…

He shares his sadness with Tobias, who is there to shoulder his pain. Between the two of them, they search left and right, high and low, trying to find Kiara. They doubt they are welcome in the tent any longer, so they dare not try to enter it. At least the air here is warmer than the snow he has come from, so he does not mind the search. Still, the longer it takes to find his mother the more his resolve wavers. What will she say to learn that her children have gone astray? He hopes it does not ruin her… he loves her so much.

@[Kiara]

Adelric

We only have what we give.

The half-child’s heart wavers as he waits, lingering, swaying, sighing, trying to figure out a solution to this mystery who’s solution evades him; however, his indecision is broken and his desire to leave destroyed when his beautiful mother exits the tent. He all but bounds to her, gangly legs flying beneath the half-child in a magnanimous display of emotion, beyond any that he has provided in many, many months. His nose reaches out and his neck curves to the side, trying to entangle his mother in his grasp, pull her close, press his body against her, and be the child that he really is instead of the adult he tries to be.

Surprised by the suddenly display, Tobias balks, stepping back slightly as he tries to make sense of what has just occurred. But Adelric is in no mind to calm the cervid as he presses against his mother still, breathing in her scent, feeling the soft touch of her hairs against his own. “Mother,” he says, the word breathy and quiet as his eyes close. To be close to her again is to be safe, to be home. He lingers for a moment longer, daring to steal her time, daring to be close to her, not questioning if she wants this or not, before he steps back at last. “We looked everywhere for you,” he says with a frown, his voice deeper than she has known before, but still childish in many ways.

“We met dad…” he whispers then, hoping she is not upset, for he thinks she tried to protect him and his sister from the evil man that was his father. She just couldn’t protect them forever. “He’s dead,” he says then, voice confused rather than sad. Is mother happy he is gone, or sad? Does she know? How will she take this news? But there is more, so he shifts and wobbles, looking to the ground and pawing at the dirt. It is Tobias who finally gives him strength, stepping forth and pressing his muzzle against Adelric’s side. He nods, understanding. He has to tell her, even though he doesn’t want to.

“Zunden wanted to go to the Basin, mother, to live like father…” He looks from left to right, trying to ensure that nobody else is near, that the lie he told at the Basin border will remain safe for now. “I had to go, to protect her and keep her safe. I couldn’t… I couldn’t just let her leave on her own,” he finishes, looking to this beautiful woman with sorrow in his eyes. He needs her, but he needs Zunden two, and his heart is torn in two that he cannot be in both places at once. Will she understand? He steps forward again, trying to reach out his nose to touch her, hoping she will not rebuke his advances. She will not forsake him, will she?

@[Kiara]

Adelric

We only have what we give.

As his mother and the panther accept him back into their lives, the half-child is warmed to the heart and overflows with love for them. It had not hurt his heart at all when his father had died, but he is nearly moved to tears as he stands here and knows that he is breaking his sweet mother’s heart. She is everything to him; he has always tried to make her happy because she has always given him her heart and soul. He would not lay down his life for his father, but for his mother he would happily die if it ensured her safety.

“I wasn’t there,” he responded to her question, closing his eyes to imagine the scene that Zunden had described to him… just a body, their father’s, laying in the snow, horn missing and body bloodied nearly beyond recognition. Turning backwards just slightly, he looked at the strand of hair that was wound through Tobias’ growing antlers. It was the only momento he had of his father… it was enough.

He turns back just in time to see her reaction to his next words, watching her with furrowed brow, trying to understand what she is thinking. He doesn’t want her to hide herself from him. She has hid so much from him before, but he can forgive her that, if only she is truthful with him now. If she can be, that is. But he doesn’t bother her yet to tell her this, for she has words of her own to speak. He listens carefully, nodding to show that he understands what she is asking of him. Still, there is something within him that dares to defy the angel that stands before him.

“We’re pretending our mother is a unicorn,” he murmurs softly, “But if they ever find out I won’t say that I hate you.” It is perhaps the first time he has ever been defiant to the beautiful woman before him, but he knows it is not in his heart to tell such a lie. Other untruths slip from his lips with ease but he doesn’t think he can manage this one. It is outside of his reach. “I’m so sorry, mother,” he says then, lowering his head in shame. He has left her when all she has ever done is love him. He has defied her when all he has ever tried to be is obedient. “Are you upset? Don’t lie to me… please?”

@[Kiara]

Adelric

We only have what we give.

He watches her, tilting his head gently to the side, wondering what sort of mysteries swirled in her beautiful mind. How brave she was, to have endured the evils that he had heard father had put her through. How strong she was, to raise the children after that evil. How generous she was, to have taken on a third child when that child did not have a family of her own. And so he watches her now, wondering what other secrets she hides in her mind, and how her soul can carry such weight with her each and every day. And he hates himself for adding to those troubles, because he is nothing but a nuisance to her, he is certain. But she promises him truth so he listens, eager for more knowledge and understanding of the life he has been born into.

Her story unfolds, her half of the evils that he has been told about, and he offers little in the way of encouragement or otherwise. He only listens, trying to be gentle in his demeanor, but also categorizing and trying to understand what it is he is hearing. He tries to understand how she feels about his father, what emotions she regards him with, but he can take nothing from beneath the mask she wears. He is given only what she offers- words and stories. “You and Keiran weren’t wrong,” he says at last, instead of immediately answering her about the horn. But finally he nods to Tobias, who is cautious but eventually approaches the panther to retrieve the horn.

“He was a bad man. He told us that when he met him. You are my family,” he adds then, trying to console her or somehow make her feel like she is the special woman that he is. Stepping forward, he tries to press back up against her again, reveling in the warmth of her coat and desiring it to be close to him. “You’re strong and beautiful, mother, and you’ve taught me so much. I don’t know what I would do without you.” And as he says the words, he feels more sorrow infiltrate his heart than he ever did at the mention of his father’s death. This is the family that matters to him, right here. Only she and Zunden. Not Krieger. The dead stallion means nothing to him.

@[Kiara]

Adelric

We only have what we give.