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Halfway up the stairs to the fourth floor, Euri realizes her spending time in Robin's room is becoming more and more commonplace. While she isn't exactly wild about that thought (his room still creeps her out), it's actually necessary today. He had told her something about needing to keep his power contained, which she didn't quite get, but if he really is that powerful then she'd prefer being cautious.

Euri stops in front of his door. She isn't all that scared of what Robin's true form is, as long as he doesn't look undead, but what if he decides to back out? What if he put more precautions in place and his room looks like some horrifying necromancer dungeon? Ugh, what if Michael is in there?

She twitches and shakes her head at that last one. Okay, now she's just being ridiculous. (Still, she can't help shooting at glare in the direction of Michael's room.) Whatever happens, she will suck it up and be brave like the awesomely tough bounty hunter that she is and deal with it. Especially if he looks undead! Robin definitely isn't the same as undead monsters, so she's got nothing to worry about. Plus, he has a heartbeat, so any changes would be purely cosmetic.

Who knows, maybe his actual form is incredibly attractive and she can't help but jump him and they have amazing sex right there on the floor....

Euri spends longer than necessary entertaining that thought before she finally comes back to reality and knocks on his door.

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His hearing is better in this form. Well, everything is better in this form--but he can pick up on sounds especially well. He repeats the word back to her, almost perfectly, trying to think of how it feels to attach to himself.

"I think I like it. Does it mean anything?"

Names are a big thing to him. That's why he still calls himself Robin even though anyone who would have thought it important was dead and gone.

Euri pats him on the head when he gets it right on the first try, then resumes stroking his hair.

"Mm, kind of. It's a combination of 'family' and 'volary'." She isn't sure if he'll like that, but it seemed appropriate to her. Only nine of them, two of them named after birds... it seemed reasonable to her.

"I don't know if that's okay with you," she adds, curling bits of his hair around her fingers. "If you've got something more appropriate in mind I can try again."

Family and... it works beautifully.

"There's Robin and Finch," he recites, reaching up to lightly brush his fingers against the underside of her jaw, "Blackbird and Woodpecker, Sparrow and Linnet, Nightingale and Falcon... and Crow." He swallows back the ill feeling his name stirs up and tries to focus on the good parts, the parts he likes to remember. "All of my brothers and sisters. It's a perfect name."

He closes his eyes, "The young ones would have loved it if you can put it in a rhyme. Sparrow would say it all wrong, though."

Oh, good. She relaxes when he expresses his happiness. Her biggest worry was that he would be offended, and the only small blip she's catching is that hesitation before that last name is mentioned. She isn't sure what it means, but she isn't sure she wants to ask. A small smile curls on Euri's lips, and she leans down to press a light kiss against the side of his head.

"This is the extent of my creativity, I'm afraid." Well, that and singing. "I wouldn't even know where to start." But she still sounds cheerful, as she adds, "I'm glad you like it, though."

"I really do." He smiles as she kisses the side of head, very much enjoying the attention. She reminds him so much of Finch during moments like these that he can't help but feel more comforted, even though his room puts them out of place.

Suddenly, he asks, "Can I tell you about us? Our family...?" It's a quiet request, but he doesn't think she'd say no.

She's a little startled to hear that question. Usually, when it comes to his past, she's the one poking and prodding him until he agrees. Either that or it comes in drunken ramblings. So this is good, right? Him taking the first step.

"Of course," she replies, without hesitation. Curiosity is getting the better of her, especially when it comes to Finch. "I want to hear all about them."

He asks it with everyone. He asked it with Michael, too. He's not sure why he feels he needs to ask permission; perhaps he doesn't think anyone would want to hear his stories. They're mostly sad anyway.

"I've got to start at the beginning, though. It won't make much sense otherwise." He rolls over a little so that he's looking up at her, but still resting comfortably on her lap. If he closes his eyes (which he does, for a moment), he thinks it feels almost exactly like it did back then...

How to start?

"A really long time ago, long before I was even born, the Gods were trying to figure out what to do with my world, Gratia. I guess they couldn't be bothered to watch it themselves, so they gave nine mortal humans a lot of power, nearly turning them into Gods themselves. They were each given an aspect of humanity to look over and were told to keep the peace and all that. They ruled kingdoms in the name of their Gods, which is why everyone called them the Nine Kings."

Euri doesn't stop petting him, even brushing some hair out of his eyes. "That's okay," she replies, wondering just how much he's going to tell her if he's starting from the beginning. Last time he was a lot more reluctant to talk, even if he did tell her some things.

Her first thought is that this sounds less like a person's past, and more like one of the stories her mother told her as a child before bed. The big difference is that, so far, there are no horrible monsters mutilating people - which means it's already a step up.

She decides to avoid mentioning the darker parts of those stories, but she figures Robin might find it interesting to hear about the rest. "This sounds like... I don't know, a myth or a legend - or even a fairy tale - from my world."

Robin nods when she makes that connection, opening one of his eyes again (the one furthest away from where she's touching his hair).

"I've only heard it told as a myth. It's... probably true, but it's never actually been proven. And it was too long ago for me to have ever met someone who would have been there. People say this was soon after the world began." He drifts into thought for a moment. Yes, he feels connected to Hoden, but who's to say that isn't just a very succinct madness?

He looks for the next part to explain. The fall of the Kings, right.

"The story goes that they ruled wonderfully and kindly and their kingdoms flourished... until one guy started getting greedy. He started sneaking land from the others, stirred up wars, made a bunch of alliances and enemies... And then all the others got dragged into it too, until they pretty much tore their own kingdoms apart. They were so caught up in their own fighting that they forgot about their subjects, who were pretty pissed off by that point... and they ended up revolting against the Kings and eventually killing them."

He frowns a little. This mindset is a little closer to home. "It really freaked people out afterwords--the idea of having kings and queens with that much power. People say that a third of the world died fighting for or against them. I don't know if that part is true either, though."

"Mm...." She nods slightly, contemplating this carefully.

"I think there must be some truth to it. Even if the story's been warped over time, it had to have started with a real event. Most fairy tales begin that way, right?"

She can't speak for Robin's world, but that's how it is with lots of human myths in Minoa. At least, that's how Witches view human stories. Her mother always said that since Witches have existed for longer than humans, they've always known better.

"Yeah, that's probably true." He churns the idea over in his head, throwing some logic at it. It's possible that it could have all been an elaborate hoax or a strange case of monsters with overgrown senses of entitlement, but...

"I think some of it definitely happened; people wouldn't have held on so closely to the idea if they didn't have a reason to fear it."

Euri nods, though she's still left wondering. She trails her fingertips down Robin's cheek with a hum.

"How do these Kings relate to your family?" She can make all kinds of guesses on her own. Nine Kings, nine members of Robin's family.... But she wants to refrain from any assumptions, and let him explain things.

Her touching his face is pretty distracting. Not in a bad way, but it takes him a moment to remember where things tie in.

"I remember telling you that when I was born, everyone was terrified of people who were different. The reason was because there was a... prophecy, I guess, that said that the Nine Kings were going to be born again. Because their souls were too powerful to move on, or something."

He's a little fuzzy about what exactly he told her that night around this part, but he trusts her to ask questions if she's confused.

"But everyone freaked out. They thought that maybe the Kings would come back for revenge, or enslave everyone, or just end up causing a lot of trouble like the did the first time. So that's why they started gathering up anyone suspicious or weird--mostly kids and stuff--and testing them to see if they had any kind of magic. That's why I got taken away from my mother. I was still--human back then, but you know. Having white hair when you're ten years old really makes you stick out."

He reaches up to consciously mess with his own hair for a moment, putting his bangs back in front of his face, even if Euri had brushed them away earlier.

"A lot of kids got pretty messed up because of it. Some of them even died, since no one knew anything about medicine back then. It wasn't fair at all." He pauses, closing his eyes again. "But they found all nine of us eventually and locked us up in a castle far, far away and called it good enough."

She remembers their conversation on the roof very well, and how frustrated she was with his mother and his lack of friends and that priesthood taking him away for reasons he wouldn't explain.

And now he has.

Her first reaction is the desire to hunt down those priests and beat them senseless. Her second is to hug Robin, but it's a little awkward to try with him in her lap, so her hands twitch as she remains still.

"Does this mean you're one of the Kings? Is that... why you're like this?" She murmurs quietly. It's the most obvious connection she can see, and it makes her hesitant to even ask. Is it better for him to be related to that whole story, or for it to just be an unfortunate coincidence?

"It sure sounds like it, doesn't it?" He can't help his wistful smile. He's never been entirely happy with his fate, even though it gives him purpose. He knows it's a great honor, but it's taken so much...

"None of us really started changing until we were finally together, and some changed slower than others." He laughs a little, "I was one of the last ones. They all made fun of me for being so slow..." But he doesn't sound hurt about it. On the contrary, it sounds like it's a fond memory.

"But when it started, we got this sense of... purpose, and a connection to something... beyond us, I guess. So if we weren't the reincarnations they were talking about, I don't know what we were."

He glances over, reaching to move one of her hands, holding it in his own.

"I'll tell you a good thing, though."

None of that sounds good to her. She knows what it's like having to grow up different - albino - but to have to go through that, then get dragged away from home and tortured and then possibly end up as the reincarnation of someone who is feared by the entire world....

It's awful. She doesn't know how he survived it all. What good could come of any of that?

"Yeah...?" She's quiet, not sounding very convinced. She looks down at his hand, and rubs her thumb against his skin.

"He saved us. Crow, he--" Killed them. Just thinking about it stirs up an anxiousness that he has to force back down. "He got us out. He and a couple of the others killed all the priests who were keeping us locked up."

His mood seems to lighten with every word. He's never spoken about this before, but now he does so with the utmost freedom. "And we couldn't just leave, since no one knew where to go, and some of us were barely old enough to travel, so... we stayed there." He laughs a little, remembering, "We took care of each other. We taught each other how to read or cook or hunt things or sew up our old clothes... And after a while, we were building forts out in the forest together or seeing who could jump the furthest into the river, or making up stories to get the little ones to fall asleep..."

"Finch was the one who first said that we were like a family. We started calling each other brothers and sisters because it was better than being alone out there, and most of us never really had family of their own. We renamed ourselves after birds to show that we were finally free of all of that. We were new people. That was Finch's idea too."

He looks up at Euri, smiling. "They were the best family I could have asked for. I loved them more than I can say."

She's actually happy to hear the priests were killed, even going as far as to wonder whether it was fast or if they suffered. The witch part of her is hoping they suffered.

Despite Robin's improving mood, Euri is finding herself still sullen, worse even. How can he be smiling when he had to go through god knows what kind of torture just to get a family? That isn't how it's supposed to work; family isn't a privilege, it's a right. It isn't fair at all.

It's then that she realizes she's started tearing up. On top of all that it's all passive tense. Were. His family isn't even around anymore, and she just knows whatever happened to them wasn't good. With a tiny huff of annoyance she rubs at her eyes with her free hand.

"I'm really happy you had them, Robin," she says quietly, holding back what she really wants to tell him. He shouldn't be happy, he should be angry. Angry at those priests and his mother and whoever took his family away and his whole stupid world for being afraid. "I really, really am."

He looks up at her for a moment, that same strange smile of his on his face even after she's rubbing at her eyes with her hand. He's strangely... made happy to know that she's feeling anything for him at all, whether that's happiness or sadness or frustration. It's more than he deserves.

He suddenly sits up, turning around so that he can face her. This time, it's his turn to grab her head and pull her down towards his chest, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and using the other hand to pet her hair in what he hopes is a comforting motion. Again, it's what Finch always did.

"But you're hurt, too." He isn't really apologetic; she asked for this, and she got exactly what she wanted to know. But at the same time, he sounds softer and more allowing than usual, despite his sharper frame. "Don't cry because of me, all right? I'll feel bad..."

He's warm and his claws are a little sharp but she doesn't care. Euri closes her eyes and sniffles, and buries her face against him. Part of her absently notes that he still smells good.

"I'm not crying," she mumbles ineffectually, then takes a deep breath to help herself settle down. She refuses to start bawling like some weak, emotional little girl; she's tougher than that. "Don't be dumb. I'm fine."

Euri doesn't push herself away, though. To be honest, she likes the closeness, it's what's keeping her from breaking down. It isn't fair is still ringing in her mind, threatening to make her start sniffling again.

If she's upset over that, she couldn't possibly take the rest. Not now, anyway. He can't tell her about the nature of his existence as a demigod (how he literally embodies and lords over pain in everything around him) or the story of how they died. Then again, that's a relief--part of it isn't so much telling her as it is telling anyone.

They've done a lot, today.

"My story isn't a very nice one. But it has its place." He hums quietly to humor her, resting his chin on her head. "Finch always used to tell me something. They said that people shouldn't be sad for the living, because the living have a while yet to live. And they'd say it over and over... It took me a while to understand what they meant, but I get it now."

Edited 2011-09-14 19:53 (UTC)

Euri, unfortunately, doesn't. Not really. She can't very well stop feeling bad for Robin simply because he's still alive. That doesn't change what he went through.

She sighs again, moving to curl up against him. "I don't." But, at the same time, it's reminiscent of the things her mother would say (which were inevitably followed by 'you'll understand when you're older').

"It sounds like they were really smart, though..." she's adding softly. "I think I would have liked to meet them."

He leaves the saying alone for now. Not to give himself any further resemblance to her mother, but he doesn't think it's something he can just explain to her.

"Absolutely. They would have loved you." He agrees about Finch without hesitation, though. Part of it is because Finch loved everyone, and that was part of her beauty... but they even loved him, the little ghost boy that nobody liked at first.

He shifts to hold Euri a little better now that she's moved, continuing to brush through her hair as gently as he can with his claws. In-between his words there is a very quiet purr, creeping up from his throat.

"They were pretty strange, too. Ah, they were the girl with two heads," he explains, since she's probably seen his carving before, "But they agreed on almost everything, so half of the time it was like they were the same person. They said they came from a gypsy camp, which is why they were so good with stories and saying clever things."

Euri slides her eyes open slightly when she catches that purring noise. It's lovely to hear, and she presses closer so it's easier to hear, though she still listens to him describe Finch.

"Mm...." Two heads would explain referring to them as 'they'. There are a few creatures back home with more than one head, but she's never heard of it happening with a human.

That isn't the only thing hard for Euri to picture. With a blink she looks up at Robin, confusion clearly written across her features. "What's a 'gypsy'?" It's an unusual word, and definitely not something she's head of in Minoa.

"They don't have gypsies where you're from?"

He guesses that makes sense, since their worlds don't have that great a track record with overlap so far anyway. He glances back down at her with those all-red eyes of his, thinking of how to describe them.

"They're groups of people who travel from place to place with the changing seasons. They have their own culture and language, but are most famous for things like fortune telling, tarot readings, selling herbs, making strange potions... But they've kind of got a reputation for thievery, pick-pocketing, that sort of thing. People have always been kind of suspicious of them because of old stories where gypsies would run off with monsters or make deals with false gods. Very scandalous to the average human."