He had left in a hurry, escorting Venus back to the borders of Loess with another apology and a promise to visit soon. Then the wind had called him, and he was glad to answer. The soft leather of his wings cupped the air and bowed it to his will. He willed that it carry him higher and higher, until the air grew too thin to hold him. He fell like an errant feather, drifting in and out of cloud cover as Beqanna grew like a summer patchwork.
He watched as his shadow grew larger over the rolling landscape. The shape of his wings, the outline of his body from this angle... the shadow he cast bore more than a passing resemblance to the monster inside him. That realization stole the peace he'd borrowed from the sky, leaving clarity in its place. With an ache, his father's reality began to make more sense. And he'd... been an absolute ass to him. And to mom. There was a writhing in his chest. It had been there since the beach, a wriggling, clawing sensation that threatened to rise up his throat and engulf him. Destroy him. Is this what his father felt every day?
Is that why he left?
His teeth clenched against each other. For all his aimless drifting, a destination revealed itself to him. He couldn't face his mother, not yet. Castile, on the other hand... perhaps he could give guidance. Advice. Something.
With this mission in mind, the shimmering boy soared. Mother had mentioned that their father's home had been Nerine once. It wasn't far between Loess and Nerine, the craggy landscape already visible to the north. It was worth a try, anyway.
His mismatched eyes scanned the landscape as he went, looking for a break of black and white to appear in the rugged landscape. He was about to give up and move on when the form he was looking for appeared. Black, white, winged... yup, that was Castile. His own wings brought him down in a hasty spiral, landing in an ungainly canter amid broken stones and bushy grasses. Wind puffed through his lips as he came to a halt a few yards from his sire. He could only look at him while he caught his breath, unsure of where to start. Might as well cut to the chase.
"I could have killed them, couldn't I."
It wasn't a question as much as confirmation of what he already knew. It would have been incredibly easy, to let the rage take over, and leave mom and Venus laying broken on the sand. He looked for truth in his father's eyes, as he had wanted to do for as long as he could remember.
@[Castile]