Eversong had undergone quite the changes over the years. What was once a divided landscape had become an autumnal jewel of its former glory. And while the threat of the void loomed over the farthest north in Quel’thalas, one could not deny that the Woods themselves held a renewed beauty in the mysteries that occurred.
On the edges of a brook that flowed to the western coast just above Windrunner Village, there sat the raven-haired Aiden Daevara, holding a fishing pole. Golden fire eyes possessed a look of awkward confusion and he caressed his beard. Those eyes cut towards his left and he sighed. “ I’m.. not really sure why we have to fish in order to talk, father? You’ve never taken me before… “ The tone solidified the skewered mysteries itself.
Barely much higher in figure, sat the man he referred to as father. But it was in the visage of the Batlord or even the Duraxxor he had learned over the last decade or so. No, he wore the olden leathers of a soldier of war. And his eyes now possessed a unique blue in the epicenter of darkness within them. “ All the more reason to be fishing. It’s good for a father and his son to fish together. “
Aiden scoffed, lightly smirking at how queer it was for him. “... Father, you don’t have to do this. We can just talk. We’ve had a little time to settle down and not worry as much about everything before. Mom’s back and everything can at least simmer down. “ Aiden’s gaze settled on the end of his line, noting that the fish were not quick to bite from the chosen hole. “ Besides, isn’t it a little strange to be fishing when a war could be around every tree in these woods? “
Alphus continued to stare at the water, but he heard his son loud in clear. But it didn’t stop him from doing what he wished all the same. “ War never stopped me from fishing, and so much has changed about these places I figured it would be a great way for me to also take my mind off this fact. As for simmering down well… you know that’s not quite in the cards for us. Having our family whole doesn’t mean something still doesn’t want to sever it again. “
Aiden blinked at that stated fact, looking shocked. “ … But didn’t you take care of your mother's kidnapper? He’s dead, isn’t he? “
The jewels in the eyes of his father dulled, hinting the loss of light at the fact of the matter. “ Quite. A fact I really do not care to relive. But that was merely the first domino that toppled us. You forget that it was your grandparents on your mother’s side that struck the deal that forced your mother’s hand when I was thought to be deceased. “
“ Mister and Misses Bloodsinger? Are they really connected? “ His son questioned.
“ Quite. When your mother and I were as young as you, it was her parents that wished to strike a deal with Ostindal Tindervale. In trade for your mother’s hand, they would be given a dowry which included riches in a few mine chasms. When I returned to Silvermoon all those years ago and laid down the mantle of the White Lynx, I eloped with your mother and stole your mother’s hand under them. For five hundred or so years, they harassed us on and off to try to make us cave. There is a reason I chose to live outside these lands. It was to protect all of you. I only wish I had been able to remember this back when I returned from my death. “ There was a sorrowful glance offered, his fishing pole lowering somewhat at the guilt he burdened himself with.
Aiden glowered and placed his free hand on his head. “ I remember when my sister sought them for help and they lied and pretended like they had no idea where their mother was. I never gave up hope. But what could I do back then? I wasn’t even at your hip yet. “ Aiden’s eyes looked directly at his fathers. Something about them seemed different even when his expression possessed the look of daggers. “ Father… Why did you leave us both again like you did? “
His father’s pupils fixated on his son’s now, noting that his son no longer hesitated. He had grown and there was no longer a fear within them. He confronted his own father like a man rather than a boyish child. “ … Well, that last M.I.A. wasn’t exactly all my choice. You see, when the veil of the Shadowlands was torn wide, I was pilfered by the Maw. “
“ Wait, the Maw? As in the literal hell in the Shadowlands?! “ Aiden suddenly was flustered by the notion his father went to hell and back.
“ Heh. Yeah, I have a way of finding myself being flogged straight to the most hazardous places, don’t I? “ There was a faint chuckle that escaped this man. “ Got myself split into pieces, put myself back together, and I even had the honor of speaking with my own mother. A reunion, while unexpected, was timed perfectly. “
Aiden couldn’t help but stare at his father. He remembered how his father acted before his second disappearance. There were times he was a crazed lunatic that was obsessed with violence and the chaos itself. This man before him though, despite the fact he knew behind that flesh was still the vampiric Duraxxor, was also the father he had thought forgotten. He was Alphus Daevara.
“ And you saved my sister? “
“ Partially. I saved her soul from the Maw. I’m still not quite sure how she was brought back to her body but… I will worry about that detail later. “ His father slumped a bit, a reminder that the art of fishing was sometimes a patient one at that.
“ So… what made you come back? “ Aiden asked this, the details still muddled. “ You’re telling me that you suddenly just had a change of heart? Because last I checked, you wanted us to have our own lives. “
Alphus lifted his head, the fact his son presented stung a little. A reminder that he had made some choices with a lapse of judgement over the course of many years upon his return as an undead creature. A tendril of shadows reached from his shoulder and clutched the fishing pole now as he crossed his arms over his chest and sighed heavily. “... You read my journal, yes? “
Aiden’s stare widened. While he had done so, he had forgotten about the old tome that he had finished several times over. “ Your ramblings about evolution with magic and trying to perfect the understanding of everything, which included our family curse. Yeah. I read it. But what does that have to do with you returning and making things right? “
“ Your grandmother, my mother, assured me that your mother had never passed through the veil. At least, not yet. And even as the creature I referred to myself as Duraxxor, my curiosity began to get the better of me. I may be the current wielder of the curse and responsible for tethering it down, but if you recall, my memories had always been scrambled. “ He reached up with his right hand, darkened talons pulled the bangs in his eyes out from his face, revealing his scars that had increased over the years. “ You read about the beginning where I had bit your sister. And how I was able to regain some of my consciousness through her blood. Well, as it turned out, your mother was the final key to understanding myself. And besides, even though I didn’t recall her, I couldn’t see myself as merely leaving her at that point. I wanted to be the person I wished to be. “
Aiden grew silent for the moment, looking to his fishing pole and slowly, he began to reel the line in and wrap it around the metal pole. He was finished fishing as it was hard for him to focus on doing such a thing and process the information he was being presented about his father and his mother. “ You wanted answers you couldn’t give us before. And you had no idea what you would come across, did you? “
“ No. “ Alphus shuddered, still filled with some bitter rage and sorrow for what he would find later. “ It was a chance that I found four drunken men having a conversation of guilt about the mother they had pilfered, leaving behind two children to fend for themselves. And I didn’t kill them because I understood where they were. When you are desperate, you will do whatever it takes to survive, even if it means covering your hand in blood. “ The blackened talons of his left hand dug a little into his scalp, clenching his teeth as his body began to quiver with his own rage.
“ Father? “ Aiden looked concerned, worried that perhaps he would go into a fit of rage and become the creature that was his father’s skin alone.
“... I’m sorry. “ Alphus clawed his own face with both his hands, but he was unable to shed tears. Because in the reality of it all, he was still a creature of blood and death. “ I did more than kill that man, son. I went off. I saw everything. Felt every tinge of pain your mother went through. The anguish she endured again and again. I’ve made absolutely sure that the pisspot of a man will be locked in his own hell for eternity. But at the cost that… I truly know now that I am a monster amongst monsters. And it wasn’t until after I had harvested that last blood imprint from your mother that I saw everything. Not just herself, but the things I had done wrong. To you. To your sister. To everyone and everything. I’m so sorry. I am truly an asshole. “
And then, Alphus would feel it. A strike to his left shoulder. A fist that held force behind it. A heat that was different from before. And when he looked behind his fingers in surprise, there he saw his son, staring at him. “ You are an asshole… Well, Duraxxor is an asshole. But you’re more than just the remaking from the Scourge machine. I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to say to you. What I wanted to -do- to you. My sister saw so much within you, even when you left us again. She still believed in you. And what’s more baffling is that so does my mother after all this time. “ Aiden’s eyes seemed to glimmer with the threat of tears, keeping his fist pressed against that large shoulder of his father’s. “ You always told me that you were more than just some… darkfallen. And yeah, you treated us like shit at times, but damn it, you’re still our father. And I still may not understand what all has happened, but I know right now, I can see it in you. Dad, I get it now. You’re not alone anymore. It’s okay, because despite what happened, you were still a victim too. You’ve been fighting your whole life to live, to protect mom, to raise my sister and I. You’re not a monster. You’re my dad. “ And then, Aiden hit his shoulder a few more times for good measure. “ And I don’t need to fish to bond with my dad! “
Alphus stared at him, looking absolutely miserable in the moment. The towering soldier that could break most men in half with his bare hands looked absolutely pitiful and worn down. “ Aiden I… “ His voice cracked in its depth, unable to conjure a full sentence with how shook he felt.
“ Father, we love you. Please. Don’t shut us out to protect us. This family is growing. We have a sister in Emmalie. She needs you too. We all need you. And you need us. You have always needed us. So please, don’t handle it all yourself. “ And in that moment, Aiden clutched his father’s shoulder and embraced his father for the first time in what felt like ages.
The blueish tones to his gaze grew wide as he felt an emotion in his son that he didn’t recall ever fully manifesting in the recent years. It was warm like a fire, but passionate in its sincerity. Aiden wasn’t mad at him. In fact, he seemed relieved that his father had finally returned to some semblance of his former self. And as he hugged his son back, the fishing pole that he once held was jerked out of his shadowy tether and went straight down the stream. It seemed the fish would be stealing this pole this evening.
“ Fish stole your pole, dad… “
“ I don’t give a damn, I never cared all that much for stream fishing anyways. The deep sea is the way to go. “ Alphus managed to titter at the fact, smirking over his son’s shoulder. “ And yes, this family is growing… A little bat told me that my son has a girl sleeping in his apartment. “
Aiden immediately retracted with a grunt, shoving his dad lightly before he blushed. “ … Have you been spying on me??? “
“ I have eyes everywhere, son. “ Alphus had a fit of laughter, feeling himself renewed if only momentarily. “ A bit of kindness from my boy and now he has a little lady in his steed. Are you making your own stories of being a hero too for a damsel, Aiden-my-boy? “
Aiden’s features glowed crimson and he grumbled. “ I couldn’t just let Aramethya sleep on the street with a busted knee. She’s not a horrible person! And she’s actually really sweet. “ He crossed his arms over his chest and continued to look embarrassed. “ By the way… I’ve never understood this. Why did you choose bats to be the Lord of? “
Alphus slowly came to stand up and as if perfectly timed, a few bats flitted in and landed on his shoulders, nesting into his red scarf in their comfort. “ Bats were never in the equation until I returned from the north. Where I met my first companion, Nightbane. Over time, I felt this sense of kindredness amongst them as Duraxxor. It was almost like a growing family. An innate memory that was hovering in the cracked psyche of my mind. And over time, I just referred to myself as the Father of Bats because nurturing and taking care of them felt like one of the few kinds of peace I could experience as the asshole you knew me as. “
Aiden looked to those tiny bats, likely locals of the region that were seeing them as pests with the spreading of the woods themselves. “ A familial connection, perhaps? “
“ That, and when I see a bat, I don’t think of them as vermin or merely predators in the food chain. I see freedom and imagination within them. Just think about it. There are hundreds of different kinds. Hell, the trolls revered one as a god. The ability to adapt to some of the worst environments I have ever seen. I see… “
“ Yourself? “ Aiden finished his sentence.
“ … Yes. That’s right. They really are a lot like who I am. Aren’t they? “
[[ mentions: @aiden-daevara @ravlynn and @arrydhalia ]]
