Room 509, Sunday night

[trigons_child]

Raven was still reeling from learning about Rook and how she had been born and her life with her Raven and Karla and Warren and then finding Elizabeth with "Uncle Max," trying to learn how to fight. Parenthood was already giving her anxiety attacks and headaches.

She also wanted to know more about Elizabeth's parents -- BLUE WTF? -- and she suspected Jono would, too, so she left a message for him to come up to her room when he was free.

"Elizabeth," she scolded gently. "The people here on the island are not the same as the ones you know. You may trust your Aunts Karla and Sookie -- and Warren and Bobby -- but not everyone is the same."

Elizabeth just sighed. "Yes, Mommy," she said.


[For the non-blue boyfriend!]

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[trigons_child]

That meant a whole lot of nothing to Raven (except not being there to heal Jono if he had gotten hurt, which wasn't going to help her at all in the clinginess department, so help her Azar), so she just looked at Jono to see if he understood any of that.

[furnaceface]

Jono was going do to that wide-eyed staring thing for a few more moments, now.

//... It would be... a good idea to not talk about Akkaba around other people, luv. They're not... All that liked, really.//

She was saying a good many things that even he didn't grasp. M-Day? But Akkaba and Apocalypse were names that he'd grown up hearing, and really rather preferred not to hear again, if he could help it.

//We're theirs by blood, but that's all. And blood never was worth all that much.//

Welcome to a wonderful world of discovery, Raven!

[trigons_child]

That got an eyebrow from Raven. And she thought her family was bad?

"What happened on M-Day, Elizabeth?" she asked.

[empathic-fire.livejournal.com]

"Ummm, lots of people lost their powers," Elizabeth said, scrunching up her face in thought. Most of her knowledge came from overhearing the adults talking.

"Including Daddy," she said. "But Mommy and me were in Glacia visiting visiting Auntie Karla and Uncle Warren and Kayla but she was a baby like me. So we didn't know Daddy was hurt until we got back but somebody told Mommy that someone took Daddy away from the hospital and Mommy got really upset but we found you and you said Akkabadabra had healed you. But you were kinda mad about it I think. 'Cause Mommy would have healed you better."

Yes. That was totally the reason, really.

[furnaceface]

//Mmm... yes, I suppose that... would be a reason to be upset,// Jono replied, slowly.

Lost their powers? And what business did Akkaba have with him? His family hadn't had anything to do with them and their mad god since his great-granddad...

Well. With the possible exception of hideous tattoos, anyhow.

He'd fallen silent, again. Really, without his powers, it was a wonder that he'd survived long enough for Akkaba to get their hands on him at all.

[trigons_child]

Raven had quite a few questions she suspected would have to wait until Elizabeth was asleep or otherwise occupied. The sick feeling she'd had in her stomach while finding out about Rook had returned. She knew if Jono's powers were suddenly neutralized, he'd die. She'd be able to heal him if she was there, but she hadn't, and these other people had, but at some sort of cost. Blue?

[empathic-fire.livejournal.com]

"The stupid boy called me spawn of Ensabbanur," Elizabeth sulked. "What's that mean? He's soooo lucky his daddy stopped me from beating him up."

[furnaceface]

Jonothon closed his eyes, pressed the heels of his hands against them for a moment while he worked on figuring out words.

Words were tough, here.

//It means we're descended from somebody who did a lot of bad things, Sunshine. And people might not like us much because of that.//

Understatement of the year.

//That's why we don't talk about it. Not about Akkaba, and not about Apocalypse. Okay, luv?//

[empathic-fire.livejournal.com]

"Are you mad at me, Daddy?" Elizabeth said. There went the lower lip again. "I didn't know they were bad."

If she had, she wouldn't have thrown the name in Brooker's face.

Actually, she probably still would have because he was annoying.

[furnaceface]

//I can't be angry if you didn't know,// Jono replied, shrugging a tiny bit. //You know now, Sunshine. I trust you won't go throwing those names about.//

For her sake, and for the sake of whatever freak-lipped parent he apparently turned into someday, in some timeline somewhere.

//Just about bedtime now, don't you think?//

[empathic-fire.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth almost protested, but she actually was tired. It had been a busy day.

She held up her arms to him. "Can I have a hug first?" she asked.

[furnaceface]

Oh, small child. There was no way at all that Jono could even consider making an excuse to wriggle out of that, was there?

That didn't keep him from fidgeting for a moment before nodding a little, squaring his shoulders as he crouched down to pull her into a hug. The worry and the fear that he was feeling was being pushed very far down there, with a bit of a psionic firewall being build up around it.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, he didn't accidentally light their daughter on fire.

[empathic-fire.livejournal.com]

"I love you, Daddy," Elizabeth said, hugging him before planting a kiss on his cheek.

[trigons_child]

"Bedtime now," Raven said, crouching down to give Elizabeth a hug of her own once she'd pulled away from Jono. Then she handed Elizabeth the nightgown she'd scrounged up for her so she could change into it and climb into bed.

Raven gave Jono a questioning look. She didn't know if he wanted to discuss this more now or at some later point.

[furnaceface]

Jono managed a tiny shrug as he caught Raven's look, lifting a hand to toy awkwardly with the bandages along the back of his neck.

//It's... sort of a long story,// he said, to Raven alone. //Probably one best shared after Elizabeth is sleeping, luv.//

[trigons_child]

"Whenever you are ready," Raven said softly. She wasn't going to push -- much as she was sorely tempted to because Azar, she was curious. But she wasn't upset that there had been something she hadn't known before about Jono because she had hidden the fact she was a demon for so long, after all.

She tucked Elizabeth into bed and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Good night, dear one," she said, feeling a pang as she did so. She wasn't remotely capable of caring for a child, not at this point in her life at least, but she'd already become attached to her and knew that very likely she'd have to go home soon.

[furnaceface]

Jono wasn't really looking forward to sending Elizabeth home, either, for that matter. He was ill-prepared to take care of a child for any prolonged amount of time, not when he was such a mess, himself. But Elizabeth had a funny way of working herself into whatever he had left that passed as a heart, these days.

He'd miss her.

//Sweet dreams, Sunshine,// he added. Possibly because that was one of those things that he'd never really heard, himself, and... Elizabeth deserved them. If nightmares ran in the family, he'd be pissed.

[empathic-fire.livejournal.com]

"Good night," Elizabeth yawned, snuggling down under the blankets. It wouldn't take long for her to fall fast asleep.

[trigons_child]

Raven straightened and glanced over to Jono. "You look as if you could use some rest as well," she said. "It has been an interesting day." To put it lightly.

[furnaceface]

//Mmm, t'say th'least.// He hadn't even gone in to the library, today. Children everywhere, and he really didn't feel up to cleaning up after a small horde of them, or something of the like.

Maybe he'd just been distracted by being a father, and had forgotten. The world might never know.

//Or we could... talk. I think I might have a bit of explaining t'do, myself.//

[trigons_child]

"I am curious," Raven said. And she wanted to tell him about Rook as well.

"We could sit out in the hall," she suggested, "so we do not disturb Elizabeth, yet be close enough to hear her if she wakes. Though that is not very private."

She wrinkled her nose. Jono could talk to her silently, but she couldn't talk back to him the same way, not with words at least.

[furnaceface]

Jono hesitated for a moment, and then he lifted his shoulders and shook his head a little.

//It... could be. I don't do it often. I mean, I generally try not to... but if you think clearly enough about what it is you want me to hear, I can open up to it, hear it clearly enough to understand you. Th'hallway would be fine.//

He tended to avoid communicating with people that way, partly because it tended to give them the mistaken impression that he was prone to poking around in their heads whenever he felt like it, and partly because... Well, they just weren't generally worth the effort.

[trigons_child]

Raven had plenty of friends who could read her thoughts when she was unshielded, so that didn't phase her at all. She nodded, looked once more to Elizabeth to make certain she was settling into sleep, and stepped toward the door.

Like this? Can you hear me?

[furnaceface]

//Just like that, luv,// he agreed, following Raven to the door. //I would... rather people generally not know that I can do this, if you don't mind. Th'less they think I can do, th'easier it is, all around.//

And also, the less prone to headaches he would be.

He stepped through the door, waiting for Raven to follow him through before gently pulling it closed behind them.

//... I don't even know where we should start,// he admitted.

[trigons_child]

I will not tell anyone, Raven promised.

She settled cross-legged on the floor beside the door, folding her hands in her lap. Nor do I. But whatever we have learned of these possible futures today, at least we also know that Elizabeth is healthy and happy.

Unlike poor Rook.