She had expected him to be there, to see Castile’s very first breath and to caress her sweaty cheek while under the stars. It played again and again in her mind as she tried to hold off the birth for days, or had it been weeks? The pains wracked her as the child kicked and squirmed. Lior wasn’t here, but she wouldn’t hold it against him.
A storm had swept through Nerine that night. The night sky cracked open with flashes of lightning and rolling thunder. She took refuge in a cave – the cave she last saw Lior – and she crumbled to the ground. When she breathed, she could smell him. It was like he was there with her, embracing her as Castile slipped from her womb and gasped for air.
He hadn’t been there, not physically, but the lingering scent of him had been enough.
When she stares into his silver eyes, she can see how much he hates for it to be this way, how their son is almost a year old and they are only just now meeting. Nayl reaches for him reassuringly and grazes her lips across his neck, but then she pulls away to watch him interact with her – their – son. Her heart patters against her chest and she smiles while a warm wave rolls across her.
Castile doesn’t turn away his father’s invite to touch. He reaches in turn, brushing his muzzle against the broad plane of his cheek. ”Hello,” his voice is a low murmur as he inhales the musky odor for the first time – the first time that he knows whose scent this is – and registers it. ”Father,” he adds as a second thought, ”Dad,” he corrects with a shuffle of his wings. While he has a myriad of questions, he also cannot bring them to fruition. His lips purse shut and he’s quiet, at a loss for words. Nayl interjects then, her voice hinting at curiosity and admiration. ”Castile seems to have inherited something from you, but he isn’t quite sure of it.” And she airily chuckles at this. ”So far, only his wings have shifted into something resembling those of a dragon,” a brow lifts and a lopsided grin plays along her mouth, hinting at Lior that their son is capable of much more than he knows.
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