[ P ] Father is an Angel now

"Sethos," Nassar said softly, a warm yet somber note to her voice as she stepped out from underneath a low hanging branch. Although she rarely wore a smile by Kohl's grave, it was getting easier to look away from the mound of churned dirt and take in the sights around her. Red leaves and nettles still clung to the tree limbs despite it being the dead of winter. Snow clung to the ground and the branches were laden with it. Distant were the sounds of maple limbs breaking.

Snowflakes dusted the wolf's brow, crowning her as a daughter of winter despite her autumnal colors.

"Did you come to visit his grave today as well?" Since Kohl's funeral, the family had rarely gathered in aggregate. Often, Nassar was here alone. Occasionally she saw Cairo, but her eldest was busy attempting to carve a place for herself in the army. Sethos and Xandria had softer hearts, but that was not such a bad thing. They were like her—capable of burning yet all too easily exhausted by the stresses of the world. As bright as they could blaze, the truly just wanted to relax, to curl up next to the fire and lull themselves to sleep with family around them.

art: snow-body + code: claerie

@Sethos

His nose brushed delicately against the earth, disrupting the pattern of soil that had settled over his dead father. Eyes, ones that favored the autumn rather than winter, fell gradually to the pawprints left slightly indented around the mound. A tagline from his immediate family — Nassar, Xandria, Cairo — a small reminder of their mourning. Although the ground was layered in snow and ice, it wasn't difficult to catch the scent of a Tiamat. They tended to snuff out the cold. "Sethos," his mother murmured in greeting, the syllables softer than that of her usual role in the army. The warmth in her tone was almost more startling than her ability to sneak up on her children. Blinking, he realized how long he had been staring at the ground. He couldn't help it. Beneath them, some couple of feet or so under, was someone who he had looked up to. Leaned on. Believed in. Even as a child, he had stitched together a picturesque vision of the future despite the realities of their station. It was easy to forget how war could be waged when no one had yet died. Easy to sink into the mundanity of it all when Nassar had come home without Kohl. It was not that easy to let go. "Mother," he responds quietly, a slight ripple in his tone as he attempts to steady his voice. His chin lifts gently, eyes flickering over to where she stood, a blip of tawny auburn against the ivory atmosphere. He felt his lips tighten for a moment. When did he grow taller than her? "Did you come to visit his grave as well?" He nods, looking back towards the hallowed site. He came often. Much more than he should, he supposed. Was there a timeline to grief? "I like to talk to him here. I feel like he should know what he's missed," he speaks idly, as if his mind is elsewhere. It is. Questioning whether Kohl's death was a noble sacrifice or a pitiful result of the state of the crown would do him no good here, not when it was easier to blend. He wanted to ask if she thought it had been worth it. "Time seems to pass much slower without him," was what came out. A sentiment he assumed Nassar would understand.

STOCK➤ Dawnthieves ART ➤AMPHI

@Nassar

Her head canted gently to the side, her gaze soft as she searched her son's face for traces of sorrow and pain. Admittedly, they were not hard to find—but to heal? That she did not know how to do. Not for her children and most certainly not for herself. She felt the urge to tell Sethos that Kohl could not hear him, to explain that Kohl's soul had already been judged and that he had no connection to this land. If Kohl lived on, it was through the blood that he shared with Cairo, Xandria, and Sethos. Nothing else was left.

But how could she bring those words to her lips?

Her heart ached and she glanced down at the ground. He should know what he has missed. Was news of the living of any kindness to the dead? She was now betrothed to another man, the marriage akin to a betrayal given Kvothe's role as Kohl's closest companion in life. Ahkoris was still missing, Xandria had risked her life to exact petty revenge. If there was any silver lining, it was solely in the rebellion's conclusion. And perhaps their health if they were reaching for low hanging fruits.

Nonetheless, it was not her place to challenge her son's grief or how he expressed it. If speaking to Kohl, or the grave rather, gave him peace then so be it.

"It goes faster for me," she murmured as she closed the space between them.

Easing onto her haunches, she leaned her shoulder into his—and made note of how he seemed to tower above her now. It was odd to think that he had ever been so small... "Winter will be over soon, spring will start... and I still feel like I'm stuck on the battlefield." Nassar closed her eyes and sucked in a steadying breath. "You and Xandria will be adults soon..." And her heart ached a little. When Cairo and Ahkoris had entered adulthood, Nassar had still had little ones to keep her busy. Now, her nest truly was empty.

No partner. No young pups. Just... her.

art: snow-body + code: claerie

@Sethos