sus.
cont. from here // @zephyntus
he doesn't have any memories of his mother, least not ones where he remembers what she looks like. he knows of hair the same color his and has an inkling of knowledge of her sunny disposition— one which he recognizes now has a mask she put on to keep her kids from despairing over their situation.
tailtiu. that's what she says her name is. her hair is the same color as his and she smiles up at him but he can tell there is something more behind the look she gives him. he wanted to believe it her badly, but what are the odds his mother would come back from the dead?
thinking logistically. none.
so he doesn't believe her. "arthur," he finally speaks after a moment of silence on his end, shoulders stiffening. someone claiming to be his dead mother— this is not something he can strategize his way out of. with a deep breath his voice turns accusatory. "what reason do you have to lie about your name like that?" he asks, being only as polite as he can manage in a situation like this. really he'd like to shout at her for using his dead mother's name, but what good will that do here? no good at all.
As soon as he speaks his name, Tailtiu feels emotions rush over her like the tide. Arthur. Arthur. If she could savor that sound, hear it in his voice a thousand more times. Her son, her Arthur. The boy she couldn’t save-
And then he practically spits his next words at her feet, saved only by the thinnest veil of politeness she has perhaps ever seen.
“To... lie about my name? You’re kidding.” He isn’t. Tailtiu’s throat feels dry. “It’s the only name I’ve ever had. Tailtiu, House Friege, daughter of Reptor and all that. Velthomer, I guess, if you’re angling for specifics, but...”
Every word feels a breath closer to crying. She wonders if he hears the desperation behind them. “...you know all of that, I think.”
