storm, son

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cassxwilson‌:

“Fair enough,” she replied. It wasn’t like she hadn’t ever changed in the car before so she couldn’t fault someone else for doing it, even if it was in colder weather. His words sobered her, her face falling a bit as she nodded in agreement. “I wouldn’t put it past them.” With the way things were up in the air, she wouldn’t put it past them to want anyone other than strictly humans around. 

Cass rolled her eyes though she smiled at the man, gently pushing his hand back toward him. “And I’m insisting there’s no need. Honestly, I have plenty of my own money and I didn’t do it for a reward. You can rest easy knowing that you’re not slighting me by putting that money back in your wallet. I promise.”

“I mean, you’re a hero. How about this? My family owns The Grove and if you are ever around and want a free meal, swing by and tell them that you’re Conrad’s friend. Having heroes over is good for business and well you get a free meal out of it.” He laughed and thought about all the people that he pointed over to his family’s restaurant. His mother and father really liked having good people around. 

He pocketed the hundred and smiled at her. “You weren’t in the need for a check up or something... Since we’re so close to the hospital and all... If you need me to find someone to do it, I can... I didn’t mean to make you late to anything.” Conrad did a quick look over. She didn’t seem like she was sick, but of course, he couldn’t just depend on his eyes. 

[avgmcnt]

aprfctionist‌:

What was with mortals screaming so much? She understood that people did it to get help and to make things more bearable, but in hopeless situations like this, she knew that he was just wasting time. Her grin only seemed to widen as he tried to destroy the cells in her arms, but Famine was a being of withering and deterioration. The ring around her finger seem to hum in pleasure as she continue to twist his arm. “So, you’re the life saving Triage.” She let out a low chuckle as she traced the muscles that kept his arm attached to his torso, using her abilities to degenerate the life in it. “God DAMN am I lucky.”

“You know, if you just kept your mouth shut-” She let go and then pushed him to the ground while laughing. “I wouldn’t be so annoyed! Mortals are just so irritating. Doctors. Healers piss me off.” As she spoke, her arms repaired themselves from the rotting damage that Conrad at inflicted. She brought her hands close to her body and tucked them away. The pain was bearable, but she hated the tingling she felt while she healed. “Why can’t you mortals understand that it takes more than your broken mutations to kill a god?” Ava started to stomp repeatedly and violently on his legs. “Prometheus was punished for you all and you repay him by being a fucking idiot!”

He knew that she told exactly what she was, but everything about her was just wrong. Conrad couldn’t believe just how much evil was sitting inside of this woman. He screamed louder when she traced around his shoulder and soon he heard an audible pop. His arm was pulled out and as his flesh deteriorated, his arm was barely holding onto the rest of his body. If he had switched into his Dark Biology Mode, he would have been able to heal himself. It was like she knew, or maybe, he was just trying to make sense of this awful situation. 

Conrad collapsed to the ground as she stepped on him. He knew now that he was no match for a god, but still, he couldn’t give up. “I’m going to make sure-” He yelled in anguish as she started to work on his legs. “I’m going to stop you! I’ll make sure that you won’t hurt anyone!” He didn’t need to be a doctor to know just how easily it was for her to break his bones and cripple him. Right before he passed out, he wondered if humans were just like ants to the gods. 

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aerokinetical‌:

“Yeah, maybe I am,” Graham didn’t confirm the question.  He shrugged as he looked toward the exit.  His gaze quickly shifted from the man in front of him over to where the cameras pointed.  It was lucky for him that he had been blessed with a gift that couldn’t be caught on camera - the wind was too difficult to see on video.  He looked over to the doctor, “Lots of interesting coincidences happen in Ceres.  Lady Luck’s been leaving her trail around.”  

Graham wasn’t sure if the agents would have figured it out but for right now, he seemed to be in the clear.  He looked over to the doctor and curiously asked, “Don’t they have locker rooms for you to change in at the hospital?  Changing by your car is just inviting trouble to come right at you, you know?”

The cameras could be recording their words, but Conrad was more interested in the idea of meeting a potential superhero. It wasn’t like he hadn’t met them before, but they were usually too busy to talk to him when danger was so near. “Well, thanks whoever was being awesome today.” He chuckled and nodded. He wasn’t sure if it was Graham who was responsible, but he had a feeling that it was. 

“They do, but I’m shy.” Conrad let out a nervous little chuckle, which he hoped was convincing enough. “I don’t want people to stare at me... And I really don’t want to get in anyone’s way.” He explained. Some of the doctors and nurses had special abilities that required more room than his did so he tried not to frequent the places that they needed in order to do their work better. 

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cassxwilson‌:

An arched brow met his thanks, her lips curling up in amusement. “Maybe you shouldn’t run around with no shirt on in the middle of winter then?” She couldn’t fathom why anyone would think that was a good idea, hero, villain, or otherwise. Cass watched the SHOT agent chasing after the poor soul she had sent him after before shrugging and letting out a chuckle as the man mentioned a reward. “No, no. I’m good. I’m no fan of them on a good day, let alone with things going to shit around town. They need to stop interrogating every single person they think looks out of place.” Her lips pulled into a frown at that thought. She kept her own abilities fairly under wraps, but lately it felt like it was only a matter of time before she was found out as well. “Really though, no reward or anything necessary. I’m just glad I could help.”

“I was changing in my car and then I got an importantcall so I rushed out before getting stopped by one of the SHOT guys... It’s been a hectic day for me.” The only real change to his Triage ‘costume’ during winter was that he had a scarf now. With his abilities, he was able to regulate his temperature and get warmer if he needed to, so the cold really didn’t bother him, but not everyone had that gift. “Ceres Centropolis as a whole seems out of place, so maybe they’re trying to turn our home into a ghost town.” He sighed before shaking his head. 

“But I insist. Here.” He pulled out a one hundred dollar bill and pushed it forward. Conrad would have grabbed her hand, but he didn’t want to come off too aggressively. “This is honestly the least I can do.” If he didn’t try to show his gratitude for her good deed, his parents would have probably scolded him for being rude. 

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aprfctionist‌:

Ava calmly reached up to wrap her fingers around his wrists. She could feel his power dripping off of him as darkened veins seemed to blow up underneath his skin. “Normally…” She started as her skin became more inflamed and then started to separate itself to form boils. “This would hurt mortals, but unfortunately for you, I’m not human.” Using her divine gifts, she pulled his hands away from her and absorbed the effects of his abilities until she was pristine once more. The poor doctor couldn’t compete with her; her power was much stronger than his. She was born of a Titan and a Goddess. “I’ll give you points for being bold.” She said as she tried to twist his arm to get him to kneel before her. “So to reward you, I’ll introduce myself. Mortals call me Ava… I’ve been called Famine as well, but the most important part of anything you’ll learn today is the importance of nothing. Absence makes the heart grow fonder…” She paused. “I already miss the energy you made me spend… so maybe…” She gave her self three seconds of silence. “I should make you late for work.” 

He felt like she was crushing his wrist with a vice and it wasn’t long until she had pried his hands from her collar. Conrad believed now that she was more than human and that her pretty face was probably just a mask. Then she did something he didn’t think was possible, the boils that he had created seem to diminish until nothing was left. He wasn’t sure if she was healing herself or if it was something else. Conrad fell to his knees when she gave his arm an unnatural twist; it wasn’t supposed to bend the way that it did. At first, he swallowed his pain and kept it deep in his stomach, but as she twisted, he let out a cry. 

He could hear her speaking, but it was hard to listen to it all with the way she held him in place. “I don’t care.” If he wasn’t in his dark mode, he would have healed himself and augmented his strength to break free, but he wasn’t sure if he could handle the pain of switching modes and whatever she was doing. Conrad couldn’t pass out. The other man may have been a SHOT agent, but if he gave up now, he wasn’t sure if either of them would survive. Then he heard a snap. “NO! Stop, stop, stop, please.” His abilities lashed out and he activated necrosis and sped up apoptosis in an attempt to destroy her cells.

[avgmcnt]

aprfctionist‌:

Everything wasn’t underneath control because in her mind, control meant the absence of trouble in this situation and trouble was still here. Ava squatted down, across from Conrad, with her hands still in her coat pockets. She looked down at the man who was now clutching his stomach in pain. “He’s not okay. He’s dying from starvation and thirst. Look at how desiccated he’s becoming.” She pulled her hands out of her pocket and adjusted her ring, which sent the agent into louder screams. “I’m killing him. Can’t you tell?” Ava wasn’t like her father, who believed in humanity. He had a good relationship with them, giving them access to knowledge, but she learned to be more like her mother, only helping them when it fit her own schedule. Today, she didn’t care and she was going to drain him of everything he had. “I thought he was bothering you, Doctor. Isn’t it better for him to be gone?”  

“No, it’s not. He doesn’t deserve this.” Conrad wanted to heal him and he tried to with his abilities, but it was hard to tell what to heal first with so much being done to the agent. Genetic abnormalities in the SHOT officer seemed to spike up because of this woman’s presence. Unsure of what helse to do, he decided that the best way to deal with this situation was to stop the cause. His power rippled underneath his skin and darkened his veins as he switched from pure biological manipulation to dark biological manipulation. He grunted and swallowed the pain from switching modes. Conrad reached over and grabbed Ava by the collar and pushed her back. He tried to grow pus filled boils on her skin. 

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arabcllax‌:

Conrad’s revelation didn’t affect Arabella in anyway. Since the beginning of civilization and on wards, she’d been wronged and lied to by human beings. This was not any different. “Please, don’t feel bad.” she replied softly as she lessened the blow for the doctor. “You did what you had to do. I understand, you didn’t have to explain yourself you know.” It was a no brainer as to why he did such a thing. In a circumstance such as this, a double life is needed. “Uh, what are you capable of doing if you don’t mind me asking Doc? Aside from being shirtless of course. Also, why haven’t you created a costume for yourself to disguise your true identity?” Without any hesitation, the supermodel reached out and placed a hand on his arm before giving it a gentle reassuring squeeze. “I’m impressed, you’re constantly helping others no matter what kind of condition you’re in…However, if I do recall we had this mentality when we were in the military.” The diwata then dropped her hand and shook her head to deny his claims. “Anytime and please, I’m far from uncomfortable. I’m quite amazed actually, it’s not everyday that I meet a hero and when I do it’s mostly for photos…That’s all that anyone cares about.” Extending her hand, she decided to come clean, as well as reintroducing myself. What does she have to lose? She’s practically a goddess who could bend at will. “Maria Makiling. That’s my real name, I’m a diwata from the Islands fo the Philippines. But please continue to call me Arabella.” 

Conrad tried not to lie, but some secrets were easier to keep because of how much simpler life became. Keeping the truth from Sky about who he really was one of them. He furrowed his brows. “It was still a lie.” He said. He felt like he was practicing for a conversation that he’d have in the near future. Sky wasn’t an idiot and he knew that Arabella wasn’t either. “I call it biological manipulation...” It was actually the name that his friend Indigo gave his powers. The scientist was the one who had made sense of what he could do. Indigo’s wife also made it possible for him to use his powers more efficiently. “I can alter life on a cellular level... I can show you, but we’re still out here and I don’t want to get you in trouble.” He relaxed his gaze. “It’s because I didn’t have time to and I guess it turned into a habit. The first time I decided to help someone with my gift... I jumped into action without thinking too hard on it... It was like going back into what I was used to before I came back here.” Saving lives was a part of his normal before he settled down into civilian life. He sighed before he reached over to shake her hand again. He didn’t know what a diwata was, but respect was important in any case. “My real name is Conrad Garrison Reid, and I’m Triage. It’s nice to meet you... I’ll keep calling you Arabella, if you stick to Conrad.” He smiled at her. 

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caerulece‌:

When the agents finally shuffled out, Cerulean sighed with relief. The teacher couldn’t even hide his anxiousness around those agents. Ever since his brother’s bar got raided, he felt paranoia grow every time they rushed by. It didn’t help that he heard the constant buzz of the angels radio waves rushing through his mind. It seemed that something was brewing beyond just the SHOT agents and the mutations that have been rampaging the city. He stayed quiet as he watched them finally exit before he turned to face Conrad. “I can’t believe they’re actually trying to frame you,” Cerulean said, “You’re a doctor. How far will those guys go? It’s ridiculous.” He frowned. Parents started to get so scared of this agents that they even started to take their kids out of school. He looked over at Conrad and started to laugh, “No. I’ll tell him right away.” He shook his head, “I still don’t understand how you two are as close as you are.”

“Indigo’s going to make fun of me.” He sighed before letting out a soft chuckle. “But I guess that’s just the way he is. He always finds things to tease me about... tying the wrong knot when we go fishing or my lunch.” Conrad shook his head. “Yeah, SHOT seems to be looking for any sort of trouble... and I’m worried about what might happen if they go through the hospital... But how are things at your school. I know you have some power gifted kids over there.” He paused. “It’s because Indigo is my brother in arms. He’s a good guy if given the chance to be... that and he likes horses. A guy who likes horses and takes care of them has to say something good about his character, right?” Conrad bounced back a few topics. “But... Things are okay with you, right? I heard that things have been hectic with the family.” 

[avgmcnt]

cassxwilson‌:

Cass sat back and watched quietly for a few moments before deciding to intervene on the man’s behalf. “Really, sir,” she started, letting a hint of persuasion inch into her voice with the term of respect (though she didn’t really hold that much for him). “Do you honestly think he would be drawing attention to himself by running around shirtless if he was? Really, to me he just looks like a doctor in a hurry. One that you’re holding up, pretty pointlessly,” she added with a half shrug. “Now, that man over there though…” This time she added more oomph to the persuasiveness in her voice as she pointed to a somewhat shady looking man across the street, sending the SHOT officer scuttling off in that direction.

Conrad let out a relieved sigh when the agent ran off. She felt bad for the innocent man since the agent wasn’t wrong, but if he could evade the law for another day it meant that Triage could help people another day too. “Ah, thank you, thank you. It was getting cold.” He said as he went around to the back to riffle through his things to find a proper shirt and jacket. When he found something appropriate to put on, he turned to Cass once he was presentable. “Every time they find someone who isn’t ‘appropriately’ cold outside, they stop them. It’s becoming a hassle... “ He sighed. “But thank you!” He patted himself down until he found his wallet. “I’ve got to give you a reward or something!”

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fadingsparx‌:

“That’s the current working theory most people have,” Hawthorne said, a frown had grown on him as he nodded.  He sighed and shook his head, shrugging as he did, “Honestly, it’s just a title and a rumor that people so happily believed.  The truth is Heaven and Hell are as gray-scaled as the heroes and villains in Ceres Centropolis.”  That was how the world worked, even before the humans gained their knowledge and strengths.  Perspective was important in the cases across the world.  He frowned as he tried to recall, but his memory shuffled into a haze that he couldn’t sift through.  

“The Ancient City?” Hawthorne asked, surprised at the words.  He blinked a few times, trying to run through the information that he did know but he couldn’t recall anything.  His eyes widened, surprised and slightly unnerved that something that big came about without his knowledge.  He frowned, “I think regardless of their connection to the Arsenal Artifacts, we’re going to have a problem if an ancient city rose from out of nowhere.”  Why couldn’t he remember?  That frown was followed by the furrowing of his brows.  It seemed that things in Ceres Centropolis never knew how to stay quiet, even when they were already in a state of chaos.

“You seem to know a lot about Heaven and Hell... are you one of those secret society people?” Conrad normally wasn’t this nosy, but ancient societies and secret clubs were fun to read about. Sometimes, he liked to read articles about them on wikipedia. “You seem to know a lot actually. Maybe I’ll get there.” He chuckled. The doctor knew plenty of things, but there was always something more interesting to learn on the horizon. He had so many questions left unanswered. 

“Yeah, the ancient city. There are blurry photos circulating about them on the internet, but I don’t know if it’s really... I was just wondering if all of this is connected since Ceres has been going crazy as of late.” He nodded his head, agreeing with the journalist. “If it came out of nowhere, who knows what can happen. I mean I’ve heard of ancient diseases coming through melted permafrost, so it could be dangerous...” 

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aerokinetical‌:

It was important to get regular check-ups.  Though, Graham had never been a fan of hospitals - he could never shake off that haunting feeling of the past - but he always made sure to go.  Fears were only as strong as he let them be.  Unfortunately, as he was exiting to the parking garage, he saw the tensions rise between a familiar doctor and SHOT agents.  Graham had never been in the business of being the hero, but he decided to do his good deed for the day.  

“Whoosh,” he whispered to himself as a gust of strong wind sped to the agents, pushing them out of the way.  “Whoosh,” he whispered again as the wind’s speed increased, pushing the agents completely out of the way.  Once the agents were shoved out of the way, Graham looked over to Conrad and said, “Crazy weather we’re having, huh?”

The weather was crazy and he expected it to be in Ceres Centropolis. With so many people who could affect the weather and the elements all in one place, it wasn’t a surprise to him that things changed so quickly in Ceres. When the agents were quite literally blown away, Conrad looked over at Graham, his eyes were wide with awe. If his assumptions were right then this man was controlling the wind. 

“Y-yeah.” He spoke before quickly putting on his shirt. He was going to pretend that he was just changing, as he normally did right before his shift and after. He looked over at the agents who seemed to have retreated. “Did you... You’re the whooshing guy, right?” He gestured and swept the air in front of him. Some people had amazing powers so sometimes it took him some time to comprehend them. 

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caerulece‌:

Normally, Cerulean would have just been on his merry way out of the parking lot, to his car and on the way home. However, he knew the shirtless man who was being harassed by the SHOT agents. He never quite understood how Indigo became friends with someone who was so opposite on the moral scale. “You should leave the doctor alone,” Cerulean chimed in, “He’s too important to the hospital.” He looked over at the agents. A feeling of unrest claimed his mind, echoing into the back of it before he pointed out, “If the doctor doesn’t get back to his post, you guys are never going to hear the end of it from the hospital.”

Conrad didn’t want to make any sudden movements even though he wanted to get his shirt back on. “Please, I’m a surgeon and if I don’t go in, my patient can die.” It felt like forever, but finally the agents lowered their weapons and got ready to leave. After seeing Cerulean, they explained that it was all a misunderstanding. Maybe Conrad just needed someone to vouch for him. When they were finally gone, he let out a sigh of relief. “Oh my god... Thank goodness. Thanks for being here, Cerulean. I don’t know how that would have turned out.” He hugged himself and shivered. “I’m going to go put on the rest of my clothes now.” And he did just that. “Is there anything I can do to thank you and also keep you from telling Indigo?” 

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arabcllax‌:

Arabella shook her head as she didn’t mind Conrad’s current state. She’d seen and worked with plenty of shirtless people all the time, nothing new to her. “No need to apologize, you have every right to be upset over such accusations…Especially at a time like this.” They had to be careful with every move. If it was the wrong one, they’d face dire consequences. “Fair enough, it would have been interesting though..The whole double life thing. A lot of citizens here tend to do that and I’m always so fascinated by it.” Lying through her teeth was natural for Arabella as she was one to live a double life too. The supermodel shrugged while running a hand through her hair, “But isn’t that half naked idiot a hero? It’s the same thing with what they do for our country, it’s just at a larger scale you know?” At his question, Arabella simply stared at Conrad without an unfazed expression. It should be easy to lie to him, but Maria had seen first hand that he was one of the few different men in this world that weren’t that bad. So she sighed in defeat and explained, “It’s complicated. I’m a supermodel, nothing more, nothing less. I could have made things worse, but I didn’t.” 

Now he felt bad since she was coming clean to him. Conrad didn’t believe that you could be good friends with others if lies were what kept them together. “Ok, because I think you’re a really great person, I feel awful...” He sighed and adjusted his shirt. “I should have just been truthful, I’m sorry.” He apologized again. “I’m the half naked idiot because I don’t know too much about being a hero and so far my abilities have been able to keep me from freezing to death...” Conrad lowered his eyes and then found a jacket to put on from his car. “I don’t want to hurt people if I don’t have to and ever since I found out that I could do things, I thought that it made sense that I help people. I need to.” He still felt bad about not being there the way he should for his son and he didn’t want anyone to think less of him for his stupid mistakes. Conrad wanted to make up for all the wrong he had done; he was embarrassed of himself. “Thanks again for what you did. I understand if my lies makes you feel uncomfortable.” 

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aprfctionist‌:

 Ava had everything and nothing. Thanks to both, she was able to use her experience and knowledge to sense that this man was lying. To her, he seemed to be doing it rather poorly, but she couldn’t speak for the SHOT agent. With her hands still in her coat pockets, she strolled over for some mischief. “Excuse me.” She got in between the handsome man and the agent. “Is there something wrong? Why are you bothering him? He’s done nothing wrong, but I, on the other hand, am much more interesting to deal with.” Before the agent could get a word in, he crumpled in on himself and collapsed to the ground, suddenly overwhelmed with a hunger that they had never felt before. Pained groans and cries came from him as she stared at him. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Bothering good people.” 

“No, ma’am, everything is fine. I’ve got everything under control.” He stepped toward her and waved his hand. “It wasn’t too much of a bother, I swear. Wait, hold on, how do you mean?” Conrad gasped and after the man coupled over, he went down to the ground. “Are you okay? What’s going on? How can I help you? Tell me where it hurts.” He quickly fired before he looked behind him. “What did you do?!” Conrad wasn’t sure if he was supposed to roll the man over. He fished for his phone and tried to dial for one of his coworkers. They were so close to the hospital that all they would need to do was to move him. “Stop! He doesn’t deserve this! Stop hurting him!”

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arabcllax‌:

Noticing a familiar face from afar, Arabella shooed her security personnel and made her way over to the commotion. They knew what she was capable of that for the most part her body guards were just for show. “You should leave him alone.” she declared while glaring at the agents. Supermodel or not, Arabella was sick and tired of their shit that it didn’t matter how she’d react. The diwata walked up to the SHOT agent and placed a hand on their cheek as she focused their attention on her. Arabella’s eyes did the talking as she pushed some thoughts into their minds that made them leave the premise once and for all. Turning around, she faced Conrad and eyed him from head to toe. “Don’t hate me, but I don’t blame them for questioning you. It’s the middle of winter and you are shirtless.” Arching a brow, she then narrowed her eyes suspiciously and asked, “Unless Doc, you are this so called Triage? A double life of saving lives hmm? Now that’s interesting.” 

Conrad hurriedly put on a shirt when he realized that it was Arabella, feeling all of the sudden shy. He had no problem when he did it as Triage, but right now he was Conrad, and no one was supposed to see his boobs. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I was in the middle of changing when they approached me and I was so filled with rage, I felt warm enough to brave the cold.” He blinked his eyes a few times and looked back at her. “I don’t know about double life of saving lives. That would be ridiculous because then I would never sleep and would need to eat more than humanly possible.” Thankfully, his mother liked to give him a bunch of left overs. “If I was Triage, I’m pretty sure my military friends would laugh at my face and that would be embarrassing. How did Conrad go from saving lives to twirling around like a half naked idiot, am I right? But uhm, thanks for helping me out.. You’re really good at whatever it is you did... But why didn’t you use it that one time when we first met?” 

[avgmcnt]

“Have you been stopping every shirtless man and accusing them of being Triage?!” He yelled out at the SHOT agent that had stopped him. While it was true that he was Triage and was working tonight, he wasn’t going to let them catch him. “I know it’s cold!” He grabbed his shirt from his car. “But changing my clothes in a parking garage while it’s cold does not mean that I am that masked...” He searched for the word while he shook his head, “Miscreant! I’m a Doctor for Pete’s sake and now you’re questioning me?! I have to get to my patients!” 

[avgmcnt]

queuedgodd‌:

“prepar–no.  hell no,” godrick laughed.  loudly, but nervously.  he looked over at conrad, “i’m not–i just got engaged, man,  i’m not ready to be a dad yet.  i don’t think she’s ready to talk children yet either.”  children were a world of responsibility that godrick couldn’t even begin to imagine exploring.  he’d save that adventure for later.

Some people got engaged because of children, but he knew that it would be impolite to say that. This guy could take it personally. "Truth is, I don't think people will ever be ready to have kids. When they show up, you just learn to go with the flow and figure out things along the way." He smiled softly; he had someone he was looking out for. "If you want kids, I hope that you have them. I think they're blessings even if people say otherwise."