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She had recently been near the mansion after talking to Talitha, but she hadn’t ventured there much anytime before or after that. Valkyrie had pleaded to explore more of their territory, and Ryan had obliged. It was only natural that the mansion be one of the attractions, as it was a dark, looming piece of Inferni’s lands. Months ago Ryan had often found herself in the gardens, picking roses from the thorned bushes. The weather wasn’t right for them now, so instead the mansion looked rather ugly. The malevolence it produced had never faded.
Valkyrie bounded further ahead, muzzle turned up into the air to study the outside walls of the mansion that towered to her right. The bare rose bushes grew to the girl’s left, where Ryan stood daydreaming. The roses made her think of the steel colored boy from Phoenix Valley; the boy who’s heart Ryan had managed to break.
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Everything, as peculiar as it seemed, was falling into place. Faolin had found her way home, his children were growing up with a regular family again and (hopefully) getting past the horrors of the war. Not that Ezekiel had seen the same sort of horrors as Talitha, but Gabriel did not doubt the darker shade he occasionally saw in his son’s eyes. Even though he and Faolin had made a point to raise their children right, their genetic coding was predetermined and perhaps destined. After all, their father had been chosen by God.
With the morning patrol complete, the Aquila had opted to cross by the mansion his sister and daughter had taken residency up in. There were idling thoughts in his mind, passing ideas that were whisked away with each new sound and scent. It was the combination of these two which drew his attention down, to a peculiar looking child that looked remarkably familiar. Apparently the mansion was too interesting, and the girl managed to run right into the hybrid’s tall, wolfish legs.
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There was this internal conflict that she faced now. Her head told her that she should push thoughts of the Phoenix Valley hybrid out and focus on what was at hand, her daughter. But her heart told her that there was hope, and that DaVinci really did still love Ryan, despite her mistakes. She couldn’t decide what she needed to do. She wanted what was best for Valkyrie, but shouldn’t that include having a legitimate father? Ryan wanted nothing more than to secure her daughter a childhood that included nothing of what Ryan had faced.
"Owww," the little girl chimed, looking up with a scowl at whatever she had just bonked her head on. "Where’d you come from?" Valkyrie titled her head to the side, studying the unusual appearance of this stranger. Instantly, she snapped her mouth shut and shot a glance towards her mother. She had been warned not to talk to strangers.
Ryan looked up at the sound of her daughter’s voice, relieved to see the clan’s Aquila. She hadn’t spoken much to Gabriel, but she had always felt an inner sense of respect for the man. Perhaps, it was because he was her leader, but she thought there was something more to that – he carried a certain air about him. "Good morning, Gabriel," a slight smile.
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The Aquila smiled at the girl, though his eyes remained slightly troubled. In part it was due to the familiarity he saw in the child’s face—though Ryan’s voice, and presence, soon tore him from these thoughts. Gabriel’s face softened slightly, out of the slight fondness he had for his cousin’s daughter. While he had not spent much time with the girl, she was family and under his protection.
“Hello Ryan,” he greeted her, advancing. “I take it this is your daughter?”
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Ryan smiled back, sheepishly, "She is." Her daughter had bounded over towards her legs, curling behind one as if for protection. She peered up back at Gabriel, studying his shining golden eyes. "This is Valkyrie." She nudged the girl slightly, and Valkyrie piped up with a small "Hello".
Because she had withdrawn herself from much of Inferni during her pregnancy, she felt almost out of the loop on the recent happenings. It had been quite some time since she had actually seen the Aquila, let alone spoke to him. "How have you been?" She asked him, feeling sorry that she couldn’t think of something more interesting to say.
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The Aquila found the name fitting, given their bloodline, and smiled down at the child with a softness that was hard to find in his face. Scarred and terrible as he was, Gabriel believed in the family. Even though his had been broken and scattered to the four winds, he would make what he had work. He would make it mighty again.
“I’ve been busy,” he answered honestly. “Between my children and the children they’ve dragged in…” A shrug, a wordless commentary on how such things went. She would know, though only in a small part, what he meant, being a mother herself. For a moment more he studied her face, then his eyes darkened slightly. “Can I talk to you alone, Ryan?” He had questions for her, and questions he would not ask in front of her daughter.
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She could understand that, having a child of her own. Though heartbreaking that the other little girl had not survived, Ryan wasn’t sure if she would have been able to handle two puppies. Valkyrie, at times, was a handful enough. "I could imagine," Ryan responded with a light laugh, glancing to her own daughter. At his request, she felt her stomach tumble. Of course she wasn’t sure what he had to speak with her about, but she had a sudden sense of guilt. It was as if she had been caught red handed with something she had thought she had gotten away with.
"Of course," she responded, as she gave Valkyrie a small nudge. "Go run and play for a few minutes while I talk to Gabriel." Valkyrie let one black ear tilt downwards as she turned her head to the side for a moment before obliging. "What’s on your mind?"
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Gabriel waited until the small girl was just out of earshot, eyes following her while his body remained still. He then sat, body language suggesting that she was not at fault—rather, then he was approaching her as her as family, not by superior rank. “First of all, I’d like to let you know that DaVinci is not welcome on our lands. He’s crossed our borders several times without permission. I don’t trust him.” For more then one reason, at that.
His tone, which had reverted to something nearly militaristic, softened to a more fatherly concern. “I don’t know what he is to you, but don’t forget that he is bound elsewhere. As are you,” he added, eyes shifting behind her to where Valkyrie was playing. Quite suddenly, he realized why she looked so familiar—and his eyes snapped back to the girl, nearly perturbed. “Is Hybrid the father?”
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His body language put her slightly at ease, but her mind still ached to know what her leader had on his mind. Somehow, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been caught red handed. She leaned towards one of the rose bushes, absentmindedly picking at the bare thorned branches. She raised her eyes to look at Gabriel when he mentioned DaVinci. "Oh, I see," she responded at first, letting her gaze drop back towards the flowerless plants. She supposed it would be for the better. Maybe now this gave her a legitimate reason to keep her distance from the steel colored hybrid. "As far as we’re concerned, he shouldn’t be a problem anymore." Anything the two young lovers had shared in the past had been shattered with Valkyrie’s birth.
She felt her stomach drop. If she hadn’t forced herself to blink, she swore her eyes may have rolled right out of her head. She had to make a conscious effort to look at Gabriel, and even then, she wasn’t sure her mind could focus upon him. "W-what?" She stumbled for words. Had she heard what she had just thought? "How did you…" she started, turning her gaze towards the little girl. There was definitely some similarities between the girl and her father. Ryan had tried to trick herself into believing that they weren’t noticeable. Yet, the black stripe the trailed down Valkyrie’s spine was enough to send shivers down Ryan’s own.
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What exactly occurred between Ryan and the boy Gabriel did not desire to know. He supposed it was for the best. There would never be a chance for DaVinci to join her in Inferni, and Gabriel did not intend to let his cousin’s daughter run off—especially when she was raising a child. Especially, as his suspicions were confirmed, when that child was Hybrid’s spawn.
Gold-yellow eyes sharpened slightly, and he smiled in a thin, peculiar way. “The man is my brother-in-law. He and I grew up together.” They had not bonded, and they had not been friends, but they recognized each other in the aspects of comrades and fellow soldiers. “Have you told him yet?”
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Brother-in-law? Jesus, what had she done… She let out an audible sigh of disgust, and raised a hand to her muzzle. It wasn’t exactly incest, but it was still sick enough to turn Ryan’s stomach. "No, I haven’t," she spoke through the barrier of her palm, before letting it fall limply to her side. While her eyes had been upon her daughter, they now returned to Gabriel. It was her chance to talk with him and extract some advice. Since, now, that was what she needed most.
"I’m afraid to tell him," she divulged honestly. "I know he hasn’t exactly lead such an innocent life, and I just want to do what’s best for Val. I was advised against telling him. To keep her safe." She searched Gabriel’s eyes as if they would somehow reveal all the answers to her problems. "What should I do?"
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Though it was slight, his eyes softened at her reaction. She was young, and she clearly had not known what she was doing. He did not understand the circumstances, and he did not seek to further his information. Whatever happened had happened. Playing ignorant was something he did knowingly—it made things easier. “Whatever else he is, Hybrid would not harm his own daughter.” At least, Gabriel believed that; if only because of how he acted around Gabriel’s own children when they were young.
“You’ll need to tell him, and her, before too long. Don’t wait until she finds out on her own.” Or he did. Such things could warp a person completely. He held her gaze, found it remarkable how his family’s eyes were all so alike, and continued. “I’ll go with you if you’d rather not talk to him alone.”
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She wanted to believe what Gabriel had told her whole heartedly. Hybrid wasn’t that bad that he would ever lay a finger on Valkyrie, was he? But still, she had seen the scars adorning Savina’s body, and even though that situation was entirely different, it still made Ryan’s stomach turn. She nodded, though, having to accept this situation. Hybrid was the father, and Valkyrie would eventually ask questions. Maybe it would be the right thing to tell him after all.
Ignoring his offer for the moment, Ryan wanted a different piece of advice from the Aquila. No, she wanted foretelling. "How do you think he’ll react?" She supposed he didn’t have any better of an idea than she had, but she needed some reassurance beforehand if she were to go through with it.
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It would be impossible to say. Gabriel knew how terrible his brother-in-law was, and he knew this because he had been there for several of these instances. They were all wicked, and this was perhaps because they had to be. Without the fear, there would be nothing. All he had worked for would be destroyed. “Surprise,” the Aquila answered truthfully. “But not with violence, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”
Hybrid had tried that once with Gabriel. Once was enough.
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She nodded, needing to hear just that from the Aquila. She looked towards him then, studying his features for any clue that his words weren’t sincere. Of course, she wouldn’t be able to find any of that, since she already knew what Gabriel said was what he meant. "I think I’ll be able to do it alone, then." Not that she wanted to, but she somehow felt that it would be right. "Thank you, though. For the offer."
She turned her gaze to find Valkyrie, and smiled as she watched the girl play. It saddened her to know that the other hadn’t survived, but she was blessed to have been given such a wonderful child. "I don’t know how you managed more than one," she said with a soft chuckle, trying to lighten her own mood. "I don’t think I’d be able to keep up with more than just her."
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She was brave; this was the courage he expected her to have, being of his father’s house. Though Ahren had been mad, the man had never shown fear. Gabriel understood these things as policy and politics, but also as the flame and insanity the sought to destroy the de le Poer house fully.
The Aquila smiled thoughtfully at her comment. “Having Faolin helped immensely. Their godmother and aunt helped as well.” It saddened him that those two were gone, and he missed them sorely. Still, he understood that they would not be able to coexist in the same world ever again; Fatin belonged to her family and he had broken his sister’s trust long ago.
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Ryan nodded thoughtfully, smiling on the outside, but frowning underneath. She wished that Valkyrie had that – someone other than just Ryan to look out for her. She didn’t even have siblings for playmates, and although Ryan had grown up fine as an only child, she worried that Valkyrie would be unhappy. "It’s a lot of work," Ryan commented, "but definitely rewarding." She looked back to Gabriel then. "It will just be strange when she really starts to grow up." She wondered if DaVinci was the only thing he had come to talk to her about. She felt as if there were so many things she wanted or needed to say to him, but nothing came. Instead, she turned her gaze on Valkyrie again and watched as the little girl giggled to herself.
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“They grow like weeds,” the Aquia offered, and laughed. It was a remarkably honest sound; one he had not heard himself make in months. Something about his niece (for he considered Anselm his brother, even now), something about her inexperience, maybe even something about his eyes, they reminded him of the way Faolin had been. They were young, and they had no idea what they were getting into. Gabriel wasn’t sure he would ever truly be prepared to take on the responsibility of children again.
With a wag of the tail, he let his gaze trail to the child. She would look like her father. That alone was reason to worry. “It gets easier. You never stop being a parent, but when they grow up you can become friends with them.” Talitha would always be his little girl, but he had let her go as soon as she shown him she needed to. Ezekiel had left a boy and come back a soldier—he was still inexperienced, and still growing into his feet, but he was going to be remarkable.
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Ryan only smiled in response to Gabriel’s words, watching as her daughter played and picturing her as a young woman. Valkyrie was only a little bit older than a month now, but Ryan could see what he meant about growing like a weed. She was already out playing and exploring, though it seemed like just yesterday when she was a small bundle of fur with closed eyes. "I can’t wait." The little girl turned her blue eyes on the pair, before turning back to play. It made Ryan wonder if Val would inherit the crimson Anselm had given her. "Well, I guess we better get going, unless there’s anything else?" Were concerns of DaVinci all he had on his mind?
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The child, whom Gabriel even now considered something along the lines of a niece, as he did with Ryan, continued to play in the tall grass. For one brief moment, a lingering doubt rushed through his blood. He saw the girl as the child Haku had slaughtered, and had no doubt that were the opportunity ever to arise that he, or another, would come again. He did not doubt that DaVinci and Ryan cared for each other, but he did not put it past that man to strike in order to avenge his mother. “No, that’s all. If you need anything let me know.” With a nod, the Aquila rose, turned, and headed off.
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