{For Niko Leandros} Before the fire to pass peaceful, Contented days

[blackjewelmale]

It's a cold winter night, a wind whistling outside the windows and moaning in the chimney, not hard enough to blow the smoke back down, thankfully

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[ninja_niko]

It's one of those quiet nights, for those who keep watch, like Niko does, faithfully, ever since he said he would.

He performs his rounds dutifully, wandering the halls quietly, looking out every window, making sure nothing creeps in, no red eyes glint in the darkness.

Too calm, too calm.

It bothers him.

And so he might come across Saetan, and will say a quiet greeting, announcing his presence.

“My lord.”

[blackjewelmale]

Likely Saetan has seen the poster for the Shadow Angels: he's amused by the name, but the notion sounds laudable. He looks up, smiling to the young landen. "Niko: how goes it with you this winter night?" he asks, wishing he had brought along a bottle of common wine for any folk who might approach.

[ninja_niko]

Niko would not drink wine, and so there is no regret to be had. He remains standing, because he is, after all, on duty, and says, “As well as it goes on watch duty.”

He rolls his shoulder, sighs.

“The hours are slow-going.”

To say the least. He's bored out of his mind.

[blackjewelmale]

"Perhaps, from time to time, I could walk with you, help you to pass the time? My old legs might not be what they were, but I still have the fire within me," he says. "Keeping watch can be the most soul-gutting task, unless one has company to pass the hours."

Also, it would help him to get a read on the house itself, the better to calculate anchor points for the Web he will be crafting, as he promised Galadriel.

[ninja_niko]

Niko nods, wordlessly accepting the offer. A moment passes in which he hesitates, and then...

“My brother came back.”

He figures Saetan might have known, but...

[blackjewelmale]

He tilts his head, curious, listening, one eyebrow lifted. "And how is he adjusting to the return?" he asks, though there's a part of him that suspects this may not have been the smooth passage he hopes for. His own return was... somewhat confusing, even a bit irritating, but he has adapted.

[ninja_niko]

“Terribly. He doesn't remember anyone he met here,” Niko says without much visible emotion.

Pause.

“He used to have a family.”

[blackjewelmale]

"And now the house has taken those memories of those faces and those links that drew you together," he says, gravely, though a hint of a lazy smirk might cross his face, as he contemplates the notion of having a word with the powers in this house: too many families have been torn apart and thrown back together willynilly. But that might be more than the house could bear, and so his face relaxes.

[ninja_niko]

"He remembers me," Niko replies, "and Robin, a friend from home. It's everyone else he forgot."

He sighs.

"There's a kid involved."

This would be after Saetan's chat with Sugar, so feel free to let him connect the dots! <3

[blackjewelmale]

"The child of his young ladyfriend?" he asks, thinking of Sugar, and the concern in his golden eyes grows grave. He knows how difficult it can be, when a child is involved in a delicate situation: all too often, they suffer the most and often the adults might miss how it affects them.

[ninja_niko]

"Yeah. Kid's smart, too smart for her own good. We've tried to keep things hushed until Cal was going to be civilized about it, but who knows how long it'll last?"

[blackjewelmale]

"Children tend to be smarter than the bigger folk around them," he notes, sagely. "She'll put two and two together in due time. I hope, for your sakes, that your brother settles in to the house before that."

[ninja_niko]

Niko nods, he's quiet for a bit.

"Any advice?"

[blackjewelmale]

"If she asks questions, give her the truth: children are often far more resilient than we think they are," he says. "Give it gently, and if it troubles her, let her know she's not to blame, that it's nothing she's done. A child with a loving heart will wonder if something she did set the wheels in motion to cause the event: let her know there are strange things at work, things beyond our control. The same can be said for most any world, really.

"But let her know, whatever happens, she has her mother's love and your love, and the love of her friends to help her. I wouldn't mind meeting her myself, if her mother would allow," he says, gently, a slightly distant look passing through his golden eyes. He misses Gabrielle and Chaosti's little boy...

[ninja_niko]

Niko nods, both accepting the advice and the request, though he'll have to speak to Sugar, of course.

Understated as always, he speaks only a few words, and they are quiet, measured.

"And Cal?"

[blackjewelmale]

"The best that I can offer is to give him the time and the space he needs to settle," he says. "Even if he doesn't show it, he's likely confused by all that's happened to him." With a bit of a fatherly smile, he adds, "If he's like any young man, the tougher he acts, the more unsettled he is, in his heart."