@childindomitus ft. Vespera
Gabriel never had kids of his own. He was always busy with the CPD or with Journey and her weak heart. He was always chasing after his siblings and then he had that drinking problem. Nine months. Nine months he had been sober and still every day was a challenge. Still, he found comfort and strength in the oddest of places. Take the little one trailing behind him at a snail’s pace, for instance. She had come out of the dark of the city like some kind of Heavenly sign and in the span of a week, completely overtaken him. She didn’t talk, which he learned, and she had some peculiar signs that took some figuring out and deciphering, like her name but upon consulting his sister and some books he did figure it out, and now he was hoping she would- essentially- move in.
She had met Journey a few times and at that very moment his sister was cooking up a feast for Vespera’s first night with them. It had been rocky and rough at first, but Gabriel was patient and persistent and he was starting to think the young girl was figuring him out, too. She was smart in a lot of ways. Gabriel unlocked the door and pushed it open, standing aside to let the girl go through ahead of him but she just remained where she was in the hall. “Go on,” he urged lifting a hand to gesture her onward, but she didn’t move. Gabriel looked at the door and slowly moved to Vespera. “You scared?” he asked squatting in front of her and looking up with kind green eyes. “It’s Jo ain’t it? Yeah she’s pretty scary, her cookin’s scarier,” he teased, hands working flawlessly as he had learned how all those years ago. “You don’t have to go in there, you don’t have to do anything. You can go back into the cold, into the dark, or- or you can be a warrior,” he smiled kindly and arched his brows emphatically, “Save your own damn self, be your own hero,” he added before dropping his hands to his knees. Gabriel watched Vespera closely and slowly reached up to brush her hair back. “Have I let you down, yet?” he asked her, hands moving slowly to show his emotion.
