Chapter 1

(Rising Star of Hope)

However much Vathion enjoyed acting he would have gladly chosen a different character – had he been given the choice. Tonight, he was Ha’Natan, the charming daredevil Hero of Gilonnia. It was a role any of the rest of the students in his high school drama class would have killed for. Vathion’s getting the role had been type-casting if he had ever seen it, but at least he was a good actor; in his opinion anyway.

The outfit he and the rest of the cast were currently wearing was the Natan Fleet uniform, consisting of a black shirt with long sleeves, the bottom hem hanging down to mid thighs and split on the sides up to the lowest rib but belted around the waist. Over that was a black jacket, the bottom hem ending at hip length. The folded back cuffs of the sleeves were a brilliant scarlet and pinned with shining silver stars. The leggings were black as well, tucked into a pair of ankle boots that folded down over with matching scarlet fabric lining.

Since the play had been about Natan, Vathion had promised the cast that he would get the uniforms, and had asked his absentee father for them with the measurements of his crew in the play. That had been a tricky thing, too, considering that the teacher usually handled getting costumes, and Vathion had yet to reveal to anyone that his father was the Ha’Natan. That would have only invited trouble.

Vathion’s outfit varied from the others’ in that there were the paired stars of an admiral on either side of the tall collar of his jacket. Draped around his shoulders with the loose ends hanging down in front to his knees was a black panel of cloth with scarlet Tassels - a symbol of Natan’s nobility and title as Earl of Teviot, given to him by Emperor Armalan, the current emperor’s father, for services to the Empire. At his hip was a command baton with a hilt covered by a fancy silver bell that protected the wielder’s hand, in all it was about as long as the distance between his waistline and the floor and hung from a loop in his belt, the blade a quarter inch round length that was painted white. The real command batons were made of conductive metal and electrified, mostly symbolic, but sometimes used for dueling. That, however, was a rather dated practice of usurping command of a ship.

At least the play was coming to a close and the curtains were about to drop, for which Vathion was glad, he’d had more than enough of pretending to be the eccentric and egotistical jerk Ha’Natan. Taking the female lead in hand, Vathion waggled his brows at the audience then dramatically dipped Lisha to plant a sloppy kiss on her lips. The girls in the audience squealed with delight.

Breaking the kiss, Vathion released Lisha, letting her drop to the floor at his feet as he whipped out his baton, dramatically shouting, “Onward mates,” Natan’s infamous catch phrase, “For God and the Empire!” He gave a charming grin and wink, holding the dramatic pose for a long moment, desperately willing the curtains to close so he could drop the act.

He hated Natan.

Then again, that wasn’t exactly true. He hated playing Natan.

The audience was laughing and applauding as the curtains closed and giving that irresistible Natan grin, Vathion offered his hand down to Lisha. Scowling at him, she accepted his hand up as the curtain opened for the bows. Lifting their joined hands as he and Lisha stepped forward, Vathion bowed in unison with his co-star, retreated as the other actors came forward to bow, and finally all of them took a final bow and the curtain closed again. His pinned on grin fell from his lips and he hoped to God that he had not completely screwed up the play with some of the lines he had abruptly forgotten and made up on the spot. It was not that hard for him to make up lines that Natan might have said, after all, Vathion knew the man far more intimately than anyone else in the cast did. That did not make him feel any better, though.

“What was with that?” Lisha demanded, jerking her hand loose as soon as the curtain was closed for the final time. She was a slender thing, with fairly large breasts for a Gilon girl - which she took great pride in - her dark blue hair currently tied into a tail at the back of her head. She was one of the few people in the cast not wearing the Natan Fleet uniform. Instead, she wore a skimpy little dress that displayed her assets to the fullest degree.

Shrugging, Vathion replied, “Hey, you got the kiss like you wanted, and that drop was in character. Which hurts more: your butt or your pride?” he teased, sheathing his baton at his hip in a practiced move as he turned away from her. Giving a nonchalant wave of his hand, Vathion strode off the stage and out into the hall that ran beside the school’s auditorium. Lifting his hands, he began to pull his blue contacts out. Natan had blue eyes, not green, and they had forced him to paint his Bondstone too, since Natan’s bond, Paymeh, had blue eyes too. All of this had been just so that he would look like the real Ha’Natan. Jathas, Vathion’s Bond, had silver eyes, which reflected as a silver color in the Bondstone in the center of Vathion’s forehead.

#That was pretty funny though,# Jathas, Vathion’s Bond, murmured in his mind, sniggering, #You didn’t do bad with the ad-libs either, they were a lot funnier and more natural than the lines you forgot. Sorry I wasn’t quick enough with them for you though.#

Giving a slight shake of his head, Vathion thought back at his hyphokos friend, #Not your fault, I can’t rely on you to remember everything for me. Otherwise tests would be a measure of how much you retained rather than how much I did.# Jathas laughed softly within his mind, reassured.

The audience was filing out as he exited, and still wearing his costume otherwise, Vathion pondered how he was going to find his mother and get out before Lisha caught up to him; or worse – Paire, her boyfriend.

“Vathion,” a voice called out, and the young man looked back to see Paire, the teacher’s pet and the one who had been stuck with the unfortunate role of Ma’Gatas. No one liked Gatas, Ha’Natan’s second in command. Paire was a nice enough young man though - when not provoked - and Vathion was glad that in another week Paire would be graduated and gone. Paire’s number was eight, his color gold, his food was meat, and drink smoothie; which was to say that he was highly talkative, ornamental, inconsiderate and selfish, but outgoing and willing to take risks. Vathion, having studied other cultures and languages over the course of his life, was aware that this system of stats was a rather odd one. The only thing comparable he had been able to find thus far was the Terran Zodiac signs, but it still was not a truly one-to-one comparison.

The senior grinned, dropping an arm around Vathion’s shoulders, which only he could do, since they were of comparable height, somewhere around five feet and seven inches – very tall for a Gilon. People had also commented that Vath and Paire were rather similar in looks. However, Paire would have died before admitting that they were indeed cousins on Vathion’s mother’s side. “You did a great job!” Paire said with a glint in his eyes.

Vathion pulled the contacts case out of the inside pocket of his jacket and put his slimy contacts away, blinking his eyes a few times to get some moisture back into them. He shook his head slightly, “I think you would have done better,” he said, and honestly did think so. He slipped his contacts case back into his pocket.

Paire was a tall, slender, and handsome young man with light cyan hair. Currently, though, he was wearing an amber wig, and stage makeup painted across his face to simulate Ma’Gatas’s scars. Everyone just overlooked the pale blue color of his Bondstone - which showed that he was Bonded to a Hyphokos but that his lizard friend was not currently merged with him. The real Gatas did not have a Bond, and for obvious reasons - he was far too obnoxious to be able to court one. Paire’s eyes were sleepy and ocean blue beneath his dark lashes, “Nah, I just don’t fit the part of Ha’Natan.” He prodded Vathion’s ribs, making the younger man squirm, uncommonly ticklish, “Besides, you look just like him - and do that line so well. You sure you’re not his son?”

Vathion rolled his eyes and lied, “You know that’s impossible.” The question was simply silly, considering Gilon biology. Vathion’s father was assumed to be dead, since he wasn’t there and it wasn’t possible for mates to be apart for so long. Everyone assumed his mother was simply waiting for Vathion to reach puberty before her body gave up and died. This would have been true, and was to a certain extent, but Vathion’s family was... odd.

However, the question was one worth asking, considering his looks. His hair was the same dark violet as Natan’s and for the play he had gotten it cut into something that resembled a mop, locks of hair floating every which way around his face and two flopping forward across his forehead to point in little curls at the Bondstone that resided there.

Giving a slight shrug in return, Paire grinned and ruthlessly poked again as he turned and guided Vathion off towards the crowd gathering at the end of the hall. Smiling slightly, Vathion replied, “I think you did a really good job as Gatas. I think everyone was actually sorry to see him go.”

While Ma’Gatas was alive still, the editors of this particular play had decided that someone needed to die and they had, of course, picked Gatas. Vathion figured he had even done a fairly good job of mourning the ‘loss’ of his second in command before bouncing back up to hit on Lisha briefly before getting distracted by the plotline of the play. He was glad that Paire was at least making an effort to appear as if he was not mad about Vathion getting to play the highly coveted lead role.

A laugh, and Paire let Vathion go, “Of course they were!” he replied, lifting his hands in a flippant wave that was, admittedly, one of Natan’s gestures - though generally done with a lot more energy than Paire did it, “I believe every character has a good and bad side, even if they are griping cowards. And it helped that you played along so well!” He lowered his arm again, pushing lightly on Vathion’s shoulder, keeping him aimed towards the crowd that was steadily growing larger at the end of the hall. “Come now, you should go talk to your fans! They loved your performance!” Leaning close, he whispered sharply, “You really pissed Lisha off, you know.”

Shuffling to a stop, Vathion shook his head, “She ticked me off, pushing for that kiss. Ha’Natan hasn’t played around like that in years. Besides, she’s your girlfriend. I don’t poach.”

Before Paire could comment, they were rushed by the audience. “Wow! You really look just like him!” said one mother, Mrs. Karf, the mate of the drama teacher, looming into Vathion’s face, “You ever thought of becoming an actor for real?” She was just as rabid about acting as her mate.

Flushing, Vathion shook his head, “I’ve got other plans,” he replied enigmatically, cursing how much he sounded like his father, even just speaking normally, especially in these last few years since his latest growth spurt.

A strange man dressed in flamboyant lime and pink pushed forward then, inflicting himself on Vathion’s vision. If he had not known better, Vathion would have thought it was a Wilsaer, what with how badly the man clashed. Wilsaer had a tendency to think that plaid and stripes went perfectly fine together, especially if the colors were as clashing as possible. The man extended a gold-ring encrusted hand and grasped Vathion’s firmly before the young Gilon could get away, and pumped a few times - and did not let go afterwards. He was a few inches shorter than Vathion, but he grinned like he was a giant, and his overpowering personality seemed to make him loom over the poor high school kid. His short hair was bleached, and may once have been red but was now definitely pink and frizzy. Above his wide grin were calculating ruby eyes that swept over Vathion and collected more information than the young man could guess. His Bondstone was clear where it was set between his deep red eyebrows. Vathion was not surprised since Hyphokos took time and patience to court and this man apparently did not seem to have much of either.

“Hello! Hello! Hell-OH Young man! Vathion Mayles, correct? Yes, yes! You’re sure you’ve got other plans? Like... what? Perhaps service in the Navy?” he leered closer, pulling Vathion off balance and down to eye-level. “Or maybe a privateer? Own your own ships and kite about the Empire for God and Justice?” His tone seemed to imply that he knew something... a little too much something.

Vathion fought to free his hand from the man’s, refusing to be baited into giving away information, “Sorry, but I don’t know you.” He said and just as he got free, his wrist was grabbed again and turned over to expose the calluses he had acquired over the years from his fencing classes, training in the use of the baton that hung at his hip.

“The name’s Hiba,” the man stated and flicked a card out of his sleeve, slapping it into Vathion’s hand, then grinned again, “Call me if you’re ever interested in getting an acting job.”

Shaking his head, Vathion turned and reached across with his left hand, grabbing Paire’s sleeve, “Here, Mister Hiba - this is Paire Danton, he’s looking to be an actor and is graduating in a week. Didn’t he do such a wonderful job playing Ma’Gatas? Absolutely tragic, wasn’t it?” He shoved the startled Paire between himself and Hiba and the card was stuck into the older boy’s hand. Vathion grimaced frantically over Paire’s shoulder - though the expression ended up looking just like one of Natan’s silly grins.

Turning, Paire grinned, “Mister Hiba you say?” and from there, they began talking, for which Vathion was glad.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Vathion turned - only to encounter Lisha. Lifting a hand, she swept it out to slap him, but he ducked back and caught her hand in his with a loud clap. Grinning, Vathion pulled her in and turned, tucking her under his arm. “You were so great! Wonderful acting, Lisha! Really!” He tugged her closer and turned towards the audience members who immediately pulled out their cameras. Lisha was forced to smile for the pictures and Vathion leaned close and purred in her ear, “Really, quite amazing work with the writing too.” Her expression changed and a light blush touched her cheeks as she looked up at him; he gave that seductive little smirk Natan always did, eyes half lidded. As he had expected, she lost her claws in the face of the inherited charm. He turned back towards the cameras with a grin and raised his other hand behind Lisha’s head, two fingers poking out from behind her hair. There was even someone from the local paper taking pictures, and Vathion grinned all the broader when the flash went off. Lisha was sure to see that one.

Releasing Lisha, he propelled her towards her groupies. They probably wanted to ask the obnoxious girl about how good of a kisser Vathion was.

Somehow, his mother found him - though the mystery was more like how Hasabi had fought her way through the crowd to him. She was a slender little woman with large emerald green eyes and long matching hair. Currently, her hair was braided back on either side of her face and from there it turned into one long twist down to her hips. She had a Bond, but her Hyphokos friend, Eika, was not merged with her at the time, leaving the Bondstone in the center of her forehead a pastel green. Her number was four, color was violet, fruit was her food, and her drink was tea, and typical to her personality zodiac, she was hard to get to know but quite warm hearted once you did, and also slightly melancholy but extremely loyal, and with violet as her color, she was also a keeper of secrets.

Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. She was only five feet tall, and looked tiny next to his over-average height of five foot seven. His father was even taller at five nine, but Vathion was not done growing yet.

Drawing back, Hasabi grinned, “Oh, you look just like him! I recorded it all so we can send it to your father. He’ll be so proud!” she told him and kissed his cheek again, much to his embarrassment, but he hugged her back anyway.

“You think he’ll really like it?” Vathion asked, unsure.

Hasabi nodded, “He’ll love the end - that was funny!” She kissed his cheek again, “come on, let’s get home and get some dinner.”

Grinning, Vathion nodded, “Okay!”

Standing back slightly, Hasabi dusted off his shoulders and straightened the jacket and panel of cloth with red tassels that rested on his shoulders. “You look so good in that uniform.” Leaning up on her toes, Hasabi whispered, “I think he’ll be getting you into one when you graduate.” She winked, eyes flicking towards Hiba - who was still talking to Paire but looking at Vathion.

Vathion shook his head, “Only if you come too.” He fiddled with one of the hanging ends of his Tassels.

A sly smile crossed his mother’s lips and she whispered, “Edict from the Emperor couldn’t stop me! Come on, we’re having your favorite tonight!”

In an inadvertent mimic of his father, Vathion pumped his fist, “Yeah!” Silence fell, and Vathion glanced around, flushing at the eyes on him.

Paire, still standing close by leaned over and stated in a stage whisper, “You sure you’re not related to him?” Hiba was grinning from ear to ear as well.

“No!” Vathion snapped, cheeks pink with embarrassment, “Like I’d want to be? He’s a manipulative nutcase!” Flailing his fist, he turned and forged his way through the crowd, “Come on, mom. Let’s get dinner!” he crowed like a call to arms.

“For God and the Empire!” Hasabi chimed.

Coming to a stop, Vathion eyed her over his shoulder, took a breath, and sighed. It wasn’t a fight worth starting - especially not in public. Catching up to him, Hasabi latched onto his arm and pulled him along out the doors, ditching the after-play cast party. Parties just did not interest him - all he did during them was sit silently brooding in a corner. There was just too little he had in common with his classmates and too much he could not say for fear of having his life completely ruined by Ha’Natan’s fans and followers.

Besides, Natan was probably going to talk to him about the play tonight, and he was... sort of looking forward to bragging to his father about upstaging Paire and Lisha. They were not his favorite people in school.

Outside, the night air was cool and Vathion ran his other hand through his hair, fluffing the violet locks before picking at the paint on his Bondstone. Coming to a stop as a car drove around to the entrance, Hasabi’s Bond, Eika, opened the doors and they climbed in, escaping the busy parking lot.

Eika was not that old for a Hyphokos, but a majority of her skin had turned crimson already, leaving most of her back pale yellow. She was smaller than average, standing at only two thirds the height of Hasabi’s knee, but she had a delicate build and she excelled in the twirling group dances Hyphokos put on occasionally. Her shiny black hair started at just past where her long flexible ears protruded down to her hips when she stood upright. It was braided into a single coil much like Hasabi’s. She had painted designs on the backs of her four-digit hands and feet of swirling green that twined up her arms and calves and had a matching pattern on the broad flat surface of her diamond-shaped head, between her large multifaceted green eyes. Truly a delicate Hyphokos and Vathion could only wonder why she did not have a mate.

The trip home was uneventful, and thankfully short. Stepping out of the car, Vathion’s Tassels fell back into place and he reached in to help his mother from the car and Eika scurried out afterwards; the car doors locked automatically. Hasabi hurried inside, “I’ll get dinner started,” she said.

Stepping in through the front door after her, Vathion peered down the front hall, which ended at the kitchen door. To the left, past a short wall with hooks for coats, was the living room, a vidphone and desk in the far corner, a link already opened on it and sending a file, likely to Vathion’s father as well as his grandparents on his mother’s side and perhaps the old Gannatet couple next door with whom Vathion had an odd but close relationship. He could not say why he liked them, but he did, and thought of them as grandparents - using other people to replace the missing paternal side of his family.

His ankle-high boots clacked on the hardwood of the floor as he headed around the end of the gray couch that faced the wall with the wallscreen on it. On the wall that faced the front yard there were two large windows with white lace curtains. In front of those windows was an overstuffed chair with a matching footstool that was usually his mother’s place to sit and read.

Vathion headed straight towards the wallscreen and took a seat - just in time. The vid blinked with a call. Vathion answered it.

Natan appeared on the screen, “Heyla!” he shouted in surprise, “Kiti! I said call Hasabi, not gimme a mirror!” Ha’Natan was a handsome man, even if he was in his fifties. He looked incredibly young for his age, having resisted wrinkles and graying hair for the most part. There were a few hairs here and there that were turning white, but nothing collected in noticeable patches. His face was triangular with a firm jaw line and smile crinkles next to his eyes and mouth, which were usually visible, since he was always smiling, no matter what was going on around him. It was trademark with him - along with something witty and optimistic to say whenever catastrophe struck, or his one-line jokes. He was five foot nine - tall for a Gilon; four inches taller than average and he was aware that he looked exceptionally good in black. At the moment, though, he was devoid of his coat and Tassels, Paymeh sat on the desk beside his Gilon and slurped something from a teacup. Cocking his long tapering ears, Paymeh blinked his dark blue multifaceted eyes - being an older Hyphokos, he was mostly red with only a two-inch wide stripe of yellow down his back.

Sighing, Vathion shook his head, “It’s just my costume,” he stated sourly as the icon in the bottom of the screen flashed and popped out of existence, announcing that the files were sent. Odd how just a comment like that from his father could put him in a bad mood, “I think mom just sent you the play.” Lifting a hand, he picked at the paint on his Bondstone some more, but it wasn’t coming off and he begun to wonder what they had used.

Grinning, Natan nodded, “Yep, can’t wait to see it! I bet you blew their socks off.” He flailed his arms above his head, then looked down at Paymeh and sniffed, “Hey, gimme some of that.” He took the cup from the Hyphokos and gulped a swallow before handing it back.

Putting his elbows on the desk, Vathion rested his chin on the heels of his hands, “Yeah, Dad, they thought it was you on stage,” he stated sullenly, eyes half lidded.

Shifting, the violet haired man on the other side of the wallscreen dropped his smile briefly, “Oh come on,” he kicked his feet under the desk with a loud klong of the metal toes of his boots against the already dented wall, audible over the vid, “You’re not looking at it the right way. Just think of all the girls you could hook up with!”

Scowling at his father, Vathion replied sourly, “Did it ever occur to you that I’d like to make my own way instead of hanging off your coat tails for everything?”

This made Natan pause, and he sat back, folding his arms on his chest, not having an immediate answer to that.

“Is that your father?” Hasabi called from the kitchen, then leaned out the door briefly, “Oh! Vath - watch the oven for a minute?”

Getting up, Vathion gladly surrendered the chair to his mother and stalked off to do what he was told, staying quiet so he could listen in even as he entered the kitchen. “Oh, what’d he say this time?” Hasabi asked once Vathion was out of sight.

Sighing, Natan replied, “Nothing he’s not entitled to think. Am I pushing him too hard? I just want him to lighten up some. He always looks like someone kicked his pet!”

Vathion pursed his lips as he walked over to the oven, #I don’t... do I?# he asked Jathas.

#Eh... you do. You should lighten up some, Vath. And you really should quit comparing yourself to Natan too,# the Hyphokos replied in his mind. They had been Bonded since Vathion was seven, a very young age for them both to have done so, but Vathion would not trade it for the world, no matter how the other Hyphokos shook their heads. Jathas was the only one who knew all Vathion’s secrets and desires, and the only one who understood them. #You’re just fine as yourself,# Jathas concluded.

Crouching, Vathion rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the casserole that sat behind the tinted glass of the oven door, or more at his reflection in it as Hasabi answered, “Natan, he’s alright, he’s just busy all the time.” Her voice lowered and Vathion stood again and snuck closer to the kitchen door to hide against the pantry and eavesdrop on his parents, “I think he’s just mad about never getting to meet you.”

“I’m working on it, Hasabi!” Natan replied immediately, “I don’t like it either, but things just keep happening and... maybe next year.” He sounded defeated, “Things out here on the border are heating up again and though it doesn’t sound like we’re doing much, there is something I’m working on that I can’t just-”

“I know,” Hasabi interrupted. “You don’t have to tell me.”

Silence fell for a moment. Then softly, Natan replied weakly, “It’s not excuses...”

Closing his eyes against the sting of tears, Vathion folded his arms across his ribs, fingers tucked under. He did not want them to fight, but this had been a reoccurring thing over the years. ‘Maybe next year’ was such a familiar phrase that Vathion had considered shouting that instead of “Onward Mates” when asked to do the pose. He hated those three words “Maybe Next Year” with a passion. Usually Hasabi’s answer had been “okay” but lately... it had just gotten harder, what with all the reports of defections, like Kimidas Station, and the destroyed fleets, Vathion feared every time he turned on Interstellar News that the next story up would be the destruction of the Natan Fleet. Then, as if that were not enough stress, Vathion was nearly an adult, and while their family had all managed to stay alive this long, Vathion was terrified of the change in his scent that would trigger his mother’s decline into death.

It was this stupid war. It had been going on for far too long, but there really was not much anyone could do about it, other than continue to fight. It had all started back a generation ago when Gelran – the current emperor’s uncle – had assassinated a noble for some minor infraction. Besides it being a minor disagreement, assassination just was not done in Gilon society. As a result, Gelran had been publically dressed down, stripped of his title, and disowned, his little brother Armalan put in his place. Gelran had then enlisted the ex-head of the Navy, Ha’Likka, to assist him in taking over. She had been recently discharged for medical reasons, and it was whispered that she was scent-deaf. It was also said that she had killed her own mate – stabbed him to death - and had bathed in his blood, something that should have killed her if she had been sensitive to scents like a healthy person.

Vathion did not know whether that was true or not, but either way, it was disturbing. Regardless, due to the associations Gilons naturally made, when Gelran left and Ha’Likka went with him, the empire was ripped in two. Whether anyone really wanted to defect or not was not really up to them, fear and loyalty kept the war going on both sides.

Hasabi shifted, making the slightly wobbly chair thump on the floor as Vathion skittered back across the room to check the oven and make sure dinner wasn’t burning. He got back to the door just in time to hear his mother’s answer, “I know. It’s just getting hard to believe you even exist anymore. Natan... I love you, Vathion loves you, but ...we’re lonely. Can’t you come for a day? I need you!”

“A day and I wouldn’t be able to go again,” Natan pointed out, though he sounded defeated. Biology was an incredibly powerful thing, and even the Great Ha’Natan would not be able to resist it though he had found a way around it so far. Gilon biology would have prevented him from being able to leave his mate and son once he caught their scent. In fact, he honestly should not be alive now, after mating. Somehow, though, he had managed to get away fast enough and trick his biology into not driving him into a depression that would result in his death – as was what usually happened when mates her separated for long periods of time.

The slap on the desk made Vathion jump and Hasabi lifted her voice, “Then why not take us? Vathion’s out of school in a week, and I talked to the Dean just the other day - Vathion really doesn’t need to stay for two more years. He’s got all his credits to graduate, he’s wasting time there, and I’m tired of being alone!”

Risking getting spotted, Vathion peered around the corner, spying his father sitting with his shoulders slumped, head bowed. “Hasabi - it’s dangerous out here...” Natan objected, though his tone of voice gave hint that he was caving. That was something Vathion had never thought he would hear.

Surging to her feet and blocking his view, Hasabi shouted, “I don’t care! I want to be with you, Natan! That’s all I ever wanted! You think I’d really want to live knowing you’re dead? You think I could live on if you were dead? Even if we’ve survived for this long...”

Silence fell again as Hasabi sank back down into her seat and Natan looked up past her to spot Vathion. He winced at his son’s expression even as the boy ducked back out of sight. Lips pulled in a long line - not quite a frown, Natan remained silent, thinking, and finally sighed, “A week? And he’s out?” he asked, “get it settled, Hasabi... I’ll send a transport.”

Hasabi lifted her head, a smile coming to her lips beneath her tears. Vathion peeked out from the kitchen once more, expression open and a spark of excitement coming to his eyes, and Natan sighed, lips unable to stay in anything resembling a frown for long. “You two really know how to manipulate me,” he stated, “I love you so much.” He looked first at Hasabi, then his son, who had not ducked back again.

“I love you too,” Hasabi replied, wiping her tears with the corner of her sleeve.

Shifting out of the kitchen door completely, his Tassels slightly askew, Vathion played with one of the ends as he offered faint smile, then looked down when Hasabi turned to eye him, “...I love you too, Dad,” he admitted and retreated back into the kitchen to check the stove.

For a moment longer, Natan was silent, staring at the kitchen door, then closed his eyes, as if imprinting that moment into his mind. Vathion rarely said those words, and every time he did, Natan treasured them. “One week, then. I’ll see you in a week.”