ORIGIN

There was a lot on Attikias's mind as he stepped over a grown-over trail, his arms close to his side in worry. Vivilene and gone out. She had been quiet (in the activity sense) lately, and that had set a stone of worry in the elf's gut, one that only grew with time. Now, she left, and Anne was the one to tell him.

Did she need to go? Had he been stifling her here? No, he wanted her to get out of Eridanus- she needed something other than this oppressive green and clogging trees. But, he couldn't pick up the clan and make them all move somewhere else- he'd been established here for nearly two years. Imagine what other people would think. Would they get lost? How could he even tell them where they'd gone?

Attikias shook his head, gripping his satchel harder. He didn't need to bring it, but something about having a strap over his chest gave him ease, like he was grounded here for just a moment. What if he found something, anyways?

Oh, who was he kidding. He wasn't here to find anything- his nerves didn't let him sleep all night and he was walking in the morning mist as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. It wasn't something he wanted other people to see, but he needed to alleviate worries, one that drew from places far beyond his reach.

Who was he? Who were his children? Did he do something wrong, by making them as an elf? Should he not have made other elves? What about the language, why did Vivilene know it? She was plagued by anxiety over everything, and he didn't want something like this to stress her either, and he needed to know for himself.

Taking in a deep breath, Attikias came to the place where he first met Astraea. The stag- no, the elf, had eluded him for a long while, especially since Attikias was never given a place that he normally was. He wouldn't be the kind of person to just shout out a half-stranger's name, either, but he was at his wit's end.

He let out the breath as he stopped in the middle. This is where he stood, right here, as Astraea spoke to him. This is where he heard the first words of that hidden language, locked far away and deep within his being. "Astraea," he spoke softly, reverently, as if the name would summon something far greater than he in a moment's notice.

Attikias steeled himself, standing straighter and cupping his hands around his mouth. "Astraea! It's Attikias!" He cried into the surrounding jungle, hesitating for a moment as he turned. Was Astraea even in here? Venari worked for him before-- perhaps he'd find the centipede-like being instead, and maybe she could lead him to the Master he sought.

Or maybe, he'd just find nothing.

Attikias's hands slowly drifted back to his satchel's strap when Astraea responded, turning to face the approach. There was a sense of relief washing over him in a wave- it had been so long, and he hadn't sought out the Master for any number of reasons. Had he dreaded talking to him again? Oh, and there came a sting of worry, one that stemmed from wanting to not be some sort of bother, probably the entire root of why he hadn't looked for Astraea. His expression was thick with concern when he saw the stag for the first time in a long time, and Attikias's expression softened, although he tightened his fingers around the leather across his chest.

"Imeára nur." Such simple words were enough to quell his worries, and Attikias found it within him to smile- a genuine, real smile- as he bowed his head back. He paused for a moment- when he brought his head back up- as he looked over Astraea. He seemed the same- tired, perhaps, but the elf half-expected that. Of course a Master would be tired. He'd been through a lot, it seemed, anyways.

But, did he need something? Attikias let out a slow sigh, his hands sliding down the strap and resting over his abdomen. How could he ask about elves? Astraea seemed just as surprised to find that he existed compared to Attikias learning that elves were a thing, after all. So, after a brief second of deliberation, Attikias gently shook his head. "I-- some part of me wanted to know you were okay." That was stupid. Of course a Master would be okay. "I thought you'd want to talk, if you weren't busy-- not any important talk, just wanted to, I don't know, talk?" He shook his head again, laughing softly.

"Sorry, I'm uhh-" he fluttered his hand in front of his face, glancing away. "I don't mean to be so flustered. It feels silly, to just want to chat with someone, doesn't it? But uhh- I mean, it's just been a while, and I thought it'd be good to-- see you again, to talk."

He swallowed hard, and despite his awkward words and lashing tail, he was rather calm overall. Maybe there was some level of childish excitement under it all- no, there definitely was some, when Attikias pried at his inner machinations. Excited, just to talk to someone. Well, an important someone, and a person integral to his character, but it was enough to maintain that smile he'd had on the whole time.

He shook his head again, minutely. "I'm sorry I don't have any drinks or food with me or anything- I've been awake all night 'cause of my daughter." He let out a rumble of a chuckle- ever the host, he was, and to him it really was unfortunate that he hadn't brought anything for a veritable picnic outing. "Besides, I don't think I have any sort of vegetarian only snacks-- I usually just offer people jerky." He rubbed at his jaw, shrugging.

"But, still- how've you been doing?"

I eat meat. "Oh," was the soft response of Attikias, one of faint surprise. Typically deer didn't eat meat, but Astraea wasn't typical, was he? He wasn't even really a deer. Not truly. One hand slid down further to rest over his satchel, half-a-mind to check if he'd brought jerky. Of course he had- he almost always had some on him when he went out of the camp, always ready to offer it for a new friend.

Or, an old friend, in this case.

"I have some jerky, if you'd like it," he offered as he followed Astraea to the patch, sitting down across from him and tucking in his legs. As Astraea settled, Attikias retrieved a rather large piece of dried meat- it had been smoked, though it was a little bland with not much in terms of seasoning. Letting out a comfortable breath, Attikias let his muscles loosen as he held the jerky out for Astraea to take, as if he'd hand the meat to any one of his daughters.

"It's good to take some time for yourself, I think. Y'know, time to sit and just... let things settle in," he hummed out, closing his eyes briefly as his smile widened. "Even if it... Hurts, it's good to go through it, I've found." His mind flickered back to the various beings he'd almost hurt, to the pigeon in her chrysalis, and his expression dampened for just a moment.

His hair bobbed as he shook his head just slightly, his smile returning- though lessened, now. Vivilene... "No-- she's gone out on her own, a few days back," he spoke, quiet voice breaking through the noises of the jungle. His face warped into one of vague concern- concern for Vivilene, concern for what he should say, concern of over-sharing. "She's old enough, but I still worry about her. She, ahh-" He flexed a hand as he struggled to find out what he wanted to say next, the gears working in his mind.

"She deals with a lot of... Stress, I suppose. Of speaking, like you or me, and other people." He rumbled out, bringing his hands together in his lap and rubbing his thumbs over one another. "She's taken to our language like a fish to water, though. Ours-" and he waved a hand between the two of them in indication- "I mean." His tail thumped behind him before he curled it close, eyes locked onto his worrying hands. "She's my only child who can do that. Who knew what imeára nur meant, before I had to explain it like the others. She's so-- fragile, to me, I suppose, that I can't help but worry about her." He chuckled again before looking up to Astraea, his hands stilling. He spoke as though he'd had a child of his own, once- or still did. Slowly, Attikias's worried expression turned to one of gentle understanding, his hands letting go of one another.

"Do you have a child?" Perhaps the wording was blunt, but it was an offer for Astraea to talk about his own child- if he had one- a question of gentle curiosity and soft-spoken words.

Attikias drew his legs in closer, holding one knee casually as he returned soft nods to Astraea when he began to talk of Dawa. There was a moment, a voice break- and Attikias could feel his heart tense, his face growing concerned once more. 'He'd... lost her.'

He frowned, mostly to himself, at that, wishing he could comfort Astraea in some way. He didn't know the situation, but it seemed, perhaps, the Master hadn't had time to mourn. Attikias wasn't sure how to even approach that. How would he feel, if one of his children died while he wasn't watching them? Astraea had Tenzin, but how would he ever tell the other parent that their child died in his care? Who could he even mourn with?

But, perhaps he didn't have to worry as much as Astraea. This... Lord, it felt like a powerful word, and he'd never met Dhracia. He couldn't even imagine any of his daughters in that situation, and it's one that flourished with empathy for Attikias. That... That was a veritable hell.

He understood, fully, why Astraea had been so busy, now.

When he saw the weak smile given to him, Attikias hesitated. His expression emptied, and he looked to the grass, before a look of pained sympathy took over him. There would be no way to know what Dhracia was doing, no way to give comfort to Astraea's worries. Perhaps all he could do was listen, and Attikias's heart felt for Astraea, aching for the scenario his family had shattered into. As he continued on, Attikias listened intently, nodding back and clearly interested with how he just barely cocked his head.

He could see, clearly, the love for Dawa. How the two of them raised her, cared for her, just as much- if not more- than Attikias did for his children. What would he do, if one of his daughters fell for someone firey, someone so protective? And here, he understood Raheerah, too- the destruction out of love, out of pain for Dawa, and the grief they'd all gone through. He'd thought of the caves powered by such death and hatred, but, perhaps, some aspects were strengthened by the bonds they'd made with each other. The desperation of love.

Attikias's knee drew up so he could perch his head on it halfway through, watching Astraea raptly as he sorted out his own emotions deep within himself. "I know of some spells to keep contact, but I don't want my own worries bleeding into her's too much." He shook his head slightly, looking up to the leaves as he thought. "I try to help her. But Vivilene, she has her own garden patch, and she's taken strides in practicing telepathy. She's so much smarter than I could ever dream to be- all of my children are." He let out a soft sigh, before letting out half a laugh.

"Well. Half of them. The other half remind me nearly too much back when I thought I wanted to be a hunter rather than a father." His head dropped back down, and he idly rubbed along his jaw- a standard comfort motion of his, but one he did out of thinking, this time. "Erebos is nearly feral, but I'm going to blame that on whoever the diamond belonged to before them." He chuckled, grinning and shaking his head. It was a moment before his voice dipped back down again- somber, perhaps, but his tone bittersweet. "But, I love them all so much. I can't imagine what it'd be like to lose any of them. I'm... So sorry, you lost Dawa. How long ago was it?" His head came back up to look to Astraea, his expression once again filled with bleeding empathy, his hands curled around his knee.

At the addition of Astraea's words, Attikias brightened and let out another chuckle as he'd spoken his words. It was... Good, to find someone so similar to him, more beings who understood and brought more good into the caves. Even if Astraea was some all-powerful Master, he felt so down to earth and homely, that Attikias couldn't help but feel so comfortable in his presence.

He sighed out, when Astraea told him when Dawa had died. A year felt so long away, and yet not at all- though, perhaps he was just young. Astraea was old- much older than he- old enough to use the word imeára when they talked. Perhaps he was older than the caves themselves- though, that was mystifying enough to imagine that Attikias shoved it deep into some easily forgotten recess of his mind. What mattered was the present, and Astraea seemed discomforted by something.

Attikias only pinned it as recalling memories, and his eyebrows furrowed softly as he leaned in, supportive. It would hurt, he wanted to say, but nothing came-- he shouldn't be lecturing Astraea or anything, after all. He'd never been good in the therapy department of things, and that brought a twinge of memory to him; he'd meant to let Vivilene meet Astraea. But, she wasn't here, and he wanted to talk, and he put his head back on his knee as he run that thought through again. He could have just waited, but if he did, he'd be playing favorites- he could tell he was- and he hid a pondering look by putting one hand over his mouth.

"Well, if you're still around and kicking, you're doing a bit better than some people," he offered as a small chuckle. "I barely get out of Eridanus unless I'm looking for something anymore. I took a trip to Gemini recently, though, and I am planning a bit of a trip for one of my daughters and her friend to Cepheus. I still need to get the campground and stuff set up for them, if they want to go." He thought for a moment, drumming his fingers on the leg that still lay on the ground, humming softly.

"Oh!" His head shot up, tail thumping once on the ground. "It's a silly thought, but, do you know why you're a deer? Vivilene's part deer- a fourth, I think?- with the bottom half of one-- as if you took off my waist and put me where a deer's neck should be." He tilted his head, looking down to himself as he thought. "I thought there was some correlation, with Vivilene able to speak the language, but Thalia- sort of the same, just straight half deer and only two legs- she didn't get that." He tilted his head the other way, giving off a soft 'hm'. "I always found it... Odd? I don't know- like something hit just right for her to know it, too. But maybe it's just strokes of luck, huh?" He shrugged and rumbled out a soft chuckle.

"It's an odd question, but something that's been in my head for a while, now. I thought, maybe, I could introduce her to you someday, too, when she's settled down a bit more. I think she'd enjoy it." He paused for a moment before nodding to himself, smiling softly. There were so many other things he could ask, too, but all of those things would be too close to prying, and the others were simple not feasible for the two of them. They both had their own lives, and there didn't seem to be some magical trick to learning (or remembering) an entire language. Was there?

Still, he wasn't going to be rude and ask about that right now.