(Thank you to all players: Terminal Grace, Celestial Gloom, Jack Scott, & Taneth Mercer. This story started back last summer so the beginning posts are from that time.)

The stars were sleeping, as far as this side of the world was concerned. By the light of this system's central one, however, Kabe traveled the streams and found his way here. One single ray of light cut through the overcast and widened its beam across the steps of the establishment's porch.

The atmosphere grew heavy and then dark as a swirl of black, speckled feathers suddenly rose up from the earth like a cyclone. The star-eyed man rose up within the hurricane and gathered the feathers close to his skin. He had been practicing new tricks, old and forgotten glamours. From his own wings he formed and folded himself a suit of charcoal gray, and a white linen shirt. When the tornado of feathers subsided, there he stood, straightening his collar and regarding this place with a self-satisfied smirk.

Old, forgotten bloodstains and the broken promises littering the place opened its doors to Kasdeja. From what was once red, black, green, blue or golden blood soaked into the boards and reduced to nothing but brown through the machinations of Time, motes and sparks and gold dust coalesced. They gathered, slow and sure and dazzling enough until they swirled and lit and the room was lit as if by its own miniature sun. When it subsided, the great golden wings spread and folded over their bearer, vanishing into the battered, fitted denim and half-bothered to button shirt in black. The hair flowing straight down past his hips seemed to match the seriousness written across his face rather well, and his arms folded. "This is the place." Always questions without questioning.

While the other winged being was forming himself in the common room, the man in the suit with the voids filled with stars for eyes walked up the steps with a sedate surety and shoved open the double doors to make his grand entrance.

He stepped over the threshold, looking left and right, and continued on without pause to allow the doors to swing shut in his wake. He breathed deep those old but not forgotten scents, and sighed out. "Aaaaah." Then he said, "This is the place." His words, though an echo, were a confirmation and not a question at all.

Only the turn of his head suggested his eyes moved to look at anything at all. There were no pupils nor sclera, only a never-ending vastness of dark, and the whole of the universe contained within. Little specks of a miniaturized infinity that twinkled as stars and planetary bodies do. He nodded to Kas and then regarded a woman with a never-ending sort of amusement stuck to his mouth.

"Filthy," he remarked, to which of them we could not say. But he stepped around a table, dragging his fingers across the grime before rubbing them together when he lifted his hand. "Just as I remember it."

A stark enough contrast, the man whose eyes shone like gold, and the glamour enough to keep them looking nearly normal. Nearly. The faint trace of gold dust followed every move of those eyes, and the distinct lack of anything resembling a smile. "Something about this place charms you, of course." Long steps carry him closer to the bar. "Gloriam Dei, et devoret te, respice ad Grigory."

The amusement most assuredly had stuck, and echoed louder in his chuckle that had an almost devious quality of sound. His head tipped as he moved, as if to regard the woman who was muttering to herself in Latin. "Veteris linguae. Verba veteris. Vetera." One star, that one right there, Megrez, twinkled with the mirth in his left eye, but only that one. An equally long stride took him following the other man with his long, long hair, but he took his pause at the end to run his fingers, almost lovingly, along the edge of the battle-scarred countertop.

"This place is one of fond memories for me," he said to his fellow. Even the memories involving getting punched, or was it high-heel kicked, in the nose. Which had earned him a delightful nickname from a certain sadistic someone he knew.

His head turned to land the focus of the universe on the pair coming down the stairs. His eyelids came together, narrowing infinity into slits. His lips curved slowly, stretching wide into more a smirk than a smile. A hundred thousand thousand little pinpoints of light sparkled when he looked at her, and only her. "Dilectus." He was ever so pleased to see you, Gem. Then he blinked and turned his head as if to take in the sight of her escort.

The twinkling net landing on the one who stared with the long, dark-haired Kasdeja. A ....Celestial. He frowned. His life was riddled with these guys and not for the good, mostly. There were some good. He had Gem and bent to whisper in her ear.

Star gaze meet star gaze...her own are wide and unblinking. She couldn't remember to breathe, somehow. Dilectus. How long" Oh, how long since he had called her that"

Aside to his companion, Kakabel finally thought to remark. "I could not have picked a better time to embark on this holiday, wouldn't you agree?" No one Watching indeed. Then he turned his head to seem to look again upon the other star-eyed gent. "Interesting." That she would pick another with eyes like that. Maybe not entirely the same, though. "Remind her to breathe," he suggested to the Crow.

She heard that whisper from the Lord of Fae. How was it she had settled on two men who both had stars in their eyes" Quite literally. The poor other fellow with Kabe she didn't even see, not yet. Kabe took up the whole of her focus visually. Dilectus. What she would have given to hear that voice saying that to her even a year ago.

A heavy word that echoed in her head for certain. Dilectus. She was still that.

The tones of Kakabel's voice stung and hurt. It made her breathe all on her own. "Kabe."

"Inconsulti." He tilted eyes of purest gold towards his compatriot. "Always so quick to shock." He leaned back against the bar, arms folded and eyes narrowed. It was only a matter of time.

"She's a plucky lass," Jack spoke to the fellow. Dilectus indeed. See? Gem breathed. Have faith. Oh...ha.

Gem pushed free of Jack, though not without a hard, grateful squeeze to the arms around her, and she walked slowly. Slowly. Right up to Kabe.

He let her go. Gem was tough. Gem was not alone. He drifted nearby...but not hovering. Watchful, yes.

She could not take it in. Could not believe it. (vs) "All those nights. All those years of nights...talking to you, to your stars. And you never answered. Not once." She was in front of him now.

"I do so like to make entrance." A jest for his comrade. A tiny firework display rolled through the corner of his right eye. It took a long moment to him to seem to look away from the Crow and tip his chin down to set the focus of all those stars on the little Elf standing before him. The smirk dwindled. "I heard you." This probably only dug his grave deeper, though. "I could not answer. Not in ways that might have been clear to you." The Lord, and His servants, and how they work in mysterious ways. Surely maddening.

Perhaps it was the jest he shared with the other. Perhaps it was the way he said "I like to make an entrance". His casual reappearance here as if he were merely on holiday and out for a lark, nevermind the years of missing him and longing for him. Perhaps it was his overweening arrogance that convinced him she was too dense to have figured out whatever he might have said to her clearly enough to understand. Whatever it was, her world suddenly snapped into sharp focus, and she herself snapped.

With a dextrous and surely unexpected leap to add strength to the swing of her arm, she aimed as hard a slap of which all her weight was capable of bringing to that amused, smirking, and terribly handsome face above her. She had to jump to reach it, but it also added impetus to her flying hand. And whether it landed or no, the motion made the jaunty little tophat wobble and fly off, to roll and roll and roll to a halt right at Jack's feet.

When Jack got his he might discover differently. Perhaps. She pressed close to Jack while she looked back at Kabe. How could he be here" Now" Why' The why was patent, of course. It certainly was not for her.

Eyes of purest gold shined for the Elf, promises of truth and mercy and all that's right, should she ask it. His frown conflicted with it, before all three swept over to Kakabel.

No, Jack's revenge would simply be the opening salvo.

She did not trust what she saw in the gold eyes, for he was allied with Kabe and she thought they had both laughed when they noted her. ?If you are fortunate *he* will find *you*, Kabe. Do not try to enter Quellarin. You are not welcome there."

Kasdeja had laughed once in the last thousand years, and it was at the precise moment Kakabel fell dumbstruck to his stool.

"Jack, take me out of here. Please." She looked at him with piteous eyes.

"Matadero," he repeated sullenly. Stars twinkled and gleamed in the depths of his eye sockets. Having decided he was distressing Gem with his presence enough, he rose from his stool and tugged on his suit jacket, then the shirt beneath. She might have begged her Crow, but he was already striding toward the door with whatever pride he might have left straightening his spine.

He did not hesitate. He turned her widdershins on purpose and stepped them through the veil... They left the jaunty little hat behind.

(This was about a month later, Rei and Kabe's first encounter. Again, thanks to the players, Celestial Gloom, Terminal Grace, Jack Scott, and Mesteno)

The sound of a door closing above stairs was heard, and then the ringing sounds of bootsteps as they approached the stairs followed. One mongrel, dressed in jeans, boots, a black tee topped by a gray Aran sweater, appeared coming down the stairs. His face bore a rather grim look and the silver brows above a set of particularly fine purple eyes were drawn to a near frown.

Rei paused at the bottom of the steps to note the various souls in the tavern, then nodded to those he knew. Nods, but a smile was beyond him. The nephilim headed for the break in the bar. He slunk behind the bar and reached in the cooler for a cold beer. The top was pulled off and tossed in the trash and then he took a long drink of it, paying no mind to anyone at the moment. The lines of his face were harsh and drawn.

Ping. Did you hear that, Rei"

He went very still. His entire body went into listening mode. Tracker on the alert. Beer was upraised to drink from it.

Such a quiet little chime. Seemed to come from the mongrel's chest. Probably felt a little warm under the collar too.

The mongrel swung his head around to see if anyone else heard that, and a nod was given in the meantime to new arrivals. Then he put his free hand under sweater and black tee to find the pendant. He yanked it out and up, holding it, to stare down at it.

The runes around the edging of the pendant were faintly glowing, a soothing, warm bluish white. So faint. Sounding again. Ping.

There was a rather harsh intake of air, the nostrils of the mongrel flaring in aristocratic form. His hand closed over the pendant. "Where the fuck are you, then?" This was muttered in a low voice. The pendant answered him with another pin-drop of chime. Ping.

Rei's gaze moved to the front doors. With a muffled curse he was stalking that way, a hurried nod to each person there as he moved off and outside.

Des's shadow was probably going to squirm even more urgently in zero-point-two seconds. Did anyone else hear a rustling of feathers? Lots and lots of feathers.

The young tracker burst outside of the inn and beyond the porch, out to the commons and stood there, pendant in hand and spinning around in a slow circle, looking up.

Ping, ping. Then suddenly the pendant went quiet and cold, the lights winked out. Rei was looking in the wrong direction. A shadow on the lawn smoothed its collar and remarked, "This does not look like a slaughterhouse." Last he'd heard, his son had been staying elsewhere, and he'd picked up on rumors during his increasingly frequent holidays.

He, too, looked about. Was that his Godfather approaching from another direction' Long-eyed scion of the stars, he perceived it. "I certainly have no reason to go by Kaleb, do I?"

A turn of his head brought the attention of entire galaxies bearing down on the boy again, and he chuckled. "Oooh, I would not be so sure of that, my boy." Instead of son. Maybe he meant to try to rile him. Had to call him something. "Biblically, it means 'aggressive' and 'tenacious.' I could argue, particularly in this precise circumstance, that I had you christened appropriately." He edged sideways, a step apart from the almost growling Sadist that came into view. Further apart, not just one step. Putting the extra space there.

"Oh, I don't think you can claim credit for my naming. You left long before I graced the living with my presence. she named me." He looked over at Mesteno as if wanting him to verify this. Poor Sadist. Kabe's brows inclined high. "Is that what she told you?"

Usually it took little more than the place being too crowded to deter him from a visit. Family tangles should have been more than sufficient. But this time, he strode onwards, if wearily, his shoulders in a bestial semi-hunch, a snarl threatening to curl his upper lip. He'd never been a fan of Kakabel after all. Watching him back away....well that was one way to ensure a predator itched to give chase. "The **** are you even doing here? He's got enough **** goin' on without Dad issues. Don't you have duties to attend to elsewhere you? the insults ought not be stated, beyond the fact they were crude and entirely unnecessary.

For a moment there was a look of uncertainty on Rei's face. He could not actually remember her saying that. Perhaps he had assumed it. Then his lips firmed and he just shrugged. He looked at his Godfather and realized he had seldom...no,never seen Mesteno so riled looking. He frowned at the mention of "issues".

There was a smugness to his expression when he turned his head to let the gaze of galaxies land on Mesteno. Man should not be so quick to assume that had been a retreating step. Actually, he had only been readjusting his stance, just in case this came to blows. Never mind he did not appear armed. "Not that this concerns you in the least, my dear old loathsome acquaintance—" Snide and sarcastic. He still had that. "—but that is precisely why I have not been around until..." He trailed off,tilting his head back to look up at the still blissfully overcast sky. "...recently." There were crows, being ever so unobtrusive.

"Of anyone in this blighted town, it is his business. He was named my Godfather, and it is he who has done more to father me than you ever have done." Deny or dance around that!

The nephilim looked at all the other males, one at a time, and his gaze settled lastly upon his father. He took in and weighed the words given. His head tipped rather like his mother's.

"She is a fragile, vibrant, vital creature who needs to be loved for who and what she is. She's tough as nails and she happens to still hold you dear in her heart. You didn't want her. Not enough, anyway. You don't deserve her now." He paused for several ticks of a silent clock.

A long sigh left him. "But I have long wanted to know my father. Even if he is an arrogant prick who thinks he's above common courtesies. So I leave it up to you. Kabe." Oh, but he said that harshly. "If you want to learn about me then you show up and we'll talk. Right now, I'm done. I've got your pendant." He put his hand cockily up to his face in the "Call me" position while his silver brows rose up. Then he turned on his heel and went back to the front doors of the inn.

Kakabel blinked, and that alone was the barest perceptible hint that perhaps his son's words landed on their intended mark. He even sighed when the boy turned his back on him, after that rather intrepid little speech of his. He turned his attention Kasdeja and shrugged. Teenagers. What can you do, eh' He did not move to storm after the boy and rage at him. Instead, he calmly turned to face and put his focus on Mesteno. He smiled tightly, though it was still more of a smirk. "Would it be too much to ask you to perhaps pass along to him a vital bit of information that I would have told him had he not decided to turn about and stomp off to his room?" Y'know. Like teenagers do.

Rei'd been trying to take control of the "interview" actually, by ending it. But it probably did look more like a flounce off. Kasdeja shrugged. His children had died long ago, and he'd never gotten the chance to meet any of them.

All the wolf calls and noises within had roused the spirit of him as if he were under a bright moon. Once inside he tilted his head back and gave vent to as loud a howl as he had the other night, when his wings had been healed. It let out a hella lot of grief and rage and pain and disappointment...and an excitement he didn't want to admit to.

Mesteno's eyes might be a bright, warm shade, but just then they held all the warmth of a shark's, intent on seizing something between its jaws. There wasn't a twitch of a smile to be seen, instead only a look that verged on revulsion. "He's already been more lenient with you than you deserve," he told Kakabel bluntly. "Let's see how quickly you **** up again!" But he wasn't moving. He was doing him the unnecessary courtesy of remaining to hand over this"vital message.

He took pause, looking up, because it seemed then that a light drizzle had begun to fall. Mesteno's blunt hostility did not seem to strike him quite as strongly as his son's defense of his mother. Again, he smiled tightly. "You both presume that I had any choice in this matter at all." He shook his head and sighed. "Forget I asked. Doubtlessly he will twist my meaning to suit his own deluded concept of me. Much like you." He dipped his head in something of a polite nod, then turned an about face, soldier style, and walked away. "Come. Let us search while the weather permits," he said to Kasdeja.

"Very well." Golden eyes sat upon the necromancer for a moment longer before he turned to fall into step off to Kakabel's side. Gold dust trailed the twist those eyes made as they turned towards his compatriot. "He won't be easy to find. We need to move underground." Kakabel's personal problems were for him to deal with.

"Assumptions and excuses," he stated plainly, and that was all he was willing to give to Kakabel, whose departure at last gave him opportunity to turn and make his way inside, mental exhaustion at war with the itch of vitality which wouldn't let him rest. He looked miserably weary as the door swung shut behind him.

He did not look back. Instead, as they moved along, he said to his companion, "Where even the stars cannot see. Perhaps my holiday will last a little longer then. Let us find access...." And the Watchers, with their conversation, trailed away into the rainy night.

Silver brows rose up as Kabe started to speak, and then lowered in confusion as he continued. Oh yes, that thing about reading the star charts and such. Rei took in the rest of said speech, considering it, before he nodded in understanding, of the last part, anyway. "Right. Cloudy. It's a very personal use of my name, one I did not give you leave for. By leaving me alone all these years you lose the right to use it without permission."

He was not the same son he had seen a month before. He was different. Grimness defined the line of his lips, and there was an ache and an emptiness in his eyes that was not there before. "I don't know what you mean by roadblock. I don't know what you mean by someone not wanting me to discover whatever. I thought that was all mumbo jumbo, anyway, that astrology stuff." There was a fine how do you do for a father!

The woman's arrival turned his head for only long enough to fix his completely starry gaze on her. Mark her. Note her. He even gave her a pleasant enough quarter of a smile, simply polite acknowledgement before his head turned to regard the other creature that had arrived.

His eyes showed no way of turning; they were completely black, even where the sclera should be, and riddled with billions upon billions of ever-shifting points of light. However, when he turned his head back the other way, it was still perfectly clear that his attention was on Rei. There again was the smirk. He brushed off the seat of a stool with his hand before settling on it, elbow to counter and sitting sideways, fingers of both hands touching together like a therapist or something. He skipped over the dissing of astrology. "What shall I call you then?" Let's start there.

Smart father, for once at least. Skip the dismissal and find a starting point. There was a faint little smirk of amusement at one corner of his mouth, just barely to be glimpsed before he turned and poured himself a mug of the freshly brewed joe. He did his coffee black and hot as hell. Rei turned back to his father and leaned on the bar between them, taking a sip before answering. "Rei will do. Let's see where that takes us, eh"

"As you wish." He was perfectly amenable in this moment, which might perhaps go against every bit of his character that his son had imagined him to be. He maintained his own smirk for some time, even when he briefly took note of the next two bodies to enter the room. A turn of his head one way, then swivel back to center his focus on Rei. There was a tightness in his jaw. He had not come to open up old wounds and satisfy the boy's obsession with trying to rile him with the constant mention of assumed abandonment. Instead, he asked, "What can I do for you, Rei?" That is to say, also, why had the mongrel summoned his father"

Rei also took in the new arrivals, the one getting a cool look as she was the one who had listened in on his last meeting with his father uninvited, and then a softer look given to Sabine before he let his gaze rest on his father again. There was a moment of clear hesitation, which he sought to shield by taking a drink of his coffee. Finally, though, he spoke. "I want to hear your side of things."

By all appearances Kakabel continued to seem amused. The smirk was relatively stuck on. An entire microscopic galaxy swirled in his left eye. He turned one hand over to indicate the female loitering about at the break. Though even he could see that there was plenty of room behind the bar, he stood up and turned to indicate all of the space out in the common room.

"Shall we sit at a table, or would you prefer to walk with me?" he asked his son. He did not seem the least bit perturbed about there being an audience that seemed incapable of minding its own business. People were generally rude, in his experience, and would stare no matter what.

Good manners indicated good breeding, and that maxim held true no matter where a soul found itself. The mongrel gave a near matching smirk to the father he didn't know, and with exaggerated care he slipped out from behind the bar, where he had apparently been taking up all the space. "Let's go to a booth." So saying, he lead the way, with an upnod to Thorn and another to Sabine who had finally approached the bar.

The man's smirk curled a little more into something resembling a smile. Several points of light in his eye sockets sparkled and dimmed. The universe was ever shifting, and his gaze reflected that. "Yes, Rei. I did take a wife, and that was my crime. By staying too long upon the earth and mimicking man by raising a family, I had become corrupted and was expelled from the Heavens. Even so, I retain command over many spirits, and so the Morningstar found a use for me."

During this telling, his amused expression faded into something more dour. That life was long past, however, and he did not care to share much more about it than what he had. "My allegiance came into question during the rescue of your uncle. Much changed."

Rei was surprised when Kabe said as much as he did about that past. He studied the face and features of his parent with a bit more warmth. Alright. Fair enough. You and my mother then ...what?"

"That is between me and your mother, Rei." Again he smirked, and this time the view of the universe narrowed some with his eyes. "From what I can remember, however, I lost my wings during the escape. For a time I was lost, to myself and everyone. I was mortal. What little I recall of this is only vaguely referenced in a journal I kept at the time. I remember dreaming of your birth and not knowing who you were. I remember being introduced to you as you slept as a babe in your crib. I remember..."

Sorrow reflected even on his usually well-schooled countenance. Though it was difficult to tell without discernable pupils or sclera, his chin dipped to indicate he was focusing on a point in the center of the table between them. "You were stolen."

He listened, and if what he heard was not quite the same as what had already been related to him, it was close enough not to make him clarify things. A little frown grew between his brows and remained. "Did you forget that she gave you her own" That they were ripped from her so that you could go and do what you wanted?" Or something like that. "No, Rei. I do not forget that she gave me her wings to restore my own." Kakabel frowned, lifted his chin to fix the boy with a severe gaze. "But you are mistaken in assuming that in doing so I was given the liberty to do whatever I pleased. Giving me back my wings was the key to my reascension. The return of my power bound me back to my Maker. Had I the will to do what I wanted..." He trailed off, reorganized his thoughts.

He gave a tight smile that was edged with restrained malice. "I would have shattered the heavens and the earth to be with my family, boy." Many of the stars deep in his eyes flared with the fury of all that he wished he could do. "Even though by then your mother had replaced me with another, and does again and again."

(This is from their next encounter, 7 months later in the Southern Glen.)

Settled on a rock of all places, near a smallish pond, the forest came right up to the edges of the small clearing, and even curved overhead, almost touching in the middle over the water. It was a greeny- gloom that added to the overcast grays overhead. It felt like an underwater tunnel, the wavelets of the water making the greens blend and dance. A little trickle of water fell from the rock wall at the back of the pond, a tiny waterfall. It made a pleasant, soothing sound that eased over water and rock.

Rei was on a big boulder that was long and low to the ground, with nice smooth space for the buttocks. He was looking at the amulet he wore, one hand holding it up before him, eyes closed and his mind concentrating on calling his father. There was no dramatic display to note his arrival. Hardly even a tingle at the back of the neck to make the hairs stand on end as one might expect.

The universe consisted of as much dark as it did light, and the general had centuries of practice slipping between the cracks. This particular crack happened to exist between a pair of young trees to Rei's left.

The creature that had sired him stepped into the clearing on bare feet. His clothes were a tattered ensemble of half-shredded business casual. Instead of initiating this meeting with a greeting, he arrived with a bit of advice. "One should be careful how loudly one thinks around these parts. You never know who, or what, might be listening in." And then, as he stepped a respectable distance closer, giving the mongrel at least five feet of space, he said, "Good afternoon, Rei." The grigori smiled just a little without a thought. Despite their previous encounter, he was pleased to see the boy.

He felt the presence, the sudden thereness that came with his father. Rei was rather startled by the shock of relief that he felt shoot through him. He hadn't thought the Angel would come. His eyes opened and he looked up and around, finding the other with unerring tracking.

Purples rested on the image of his da and then an expression of concern slid over the mongrel's features. The tattered appearance was wholly unlike his father, as far as he had heard, at least. It was very unlike Kabe. The words the other spoke drew a wry half-smile from the sculpted lips that were so like his father's.

"If it was loud enough to reach you, then the purpose was served, I think?" He slid easily from the boulder and studied Kabe. "Are you - well?" Gesturing to the clothing. He himself was in the usual blue jeans, white tee, and boots, with his hair all anyhow down his back.

"Your words need not be loud to reach my ears..." There was an extra word left hanging there. Mouth hung open for a hesitant moment, but closed to form a smile. A single distant start twinkled in the exterior corner of his right eye.

He accepted the change of subject graciously, looking down at himself with arms spread and a raise of brows that suggested he was only just now aware of his apparent state. "Oh. This?" He chuckled, looking up with dismissive sweep of his right hand. "Wild goose chase gone awry. I assure you I am perfectly well. You needn't be concerned."

Turning aside, he looked out over the little pond, then tipped up his head to observe the overcast sky with a slightly vexed smirk. "A change in attire will have to wait, I'm afraid." Lowering his chin, he turned again to look at Rei. "So. What can I do for you today?"

For the first time, Rei saw something of what his mother must have found beguiling and even charming in the patrician figure (nevermind the lack of decent garb) in front of him. He felt a pull on his heartstrings, as they say. A firm tug towards the man who was his father.

At the latter words he gave a slightly frustrated snort, for he didn't feel he was terribly grown, but something in him was very intrigued about what might be there to be passed on.

He smiled at his father, that shark's grin that sliced like a knife that yet hurt so sweetly. "I think I've managed to run around like an infant for far too long as it is. I don't feel like I've reached a level that doesn't need at least a little parenting, really." Wait. What was he saying" His eyes widened a little and there went the hand rub on his neck again. "I mean..I dun want you poking your nose into-like-where I spent the night or shite like that." Faded charcoal skin flushed on his cheeks. Actually flushed! "But yeah, I would like to ...to have a da. A da that cares 'bout me." Almost shy, that line.

Kakabel laughed, rich sound that only expressed his amusement. There was nothing mocking at all in the sound. "Oh, Rei." He stepped close enough to extend an arm and set a hand on the mongrel's shoulder. The grigori was warm and real and solid. "You've always had that, my son."

His hand gave a squeeze and his expression softened, twisting down into something more sorrowful. "My deepest regret is having failed to guide you more directly." His chin tipped up to turn that galactic gaze upon the overcast sky. After a thoughtful pause he tipped his chin back down to regard Rei's face. "I am working to remedy that, and I'm sorry it's taking so much time."

The laugh startled him, his eyes opening wide as he heard it, but the tone of it was clearly not offensive. Hearing his name said like that, and then the feeling of that big hand landing on his shoulder did strange things to his throat, making it feel thickened, made his eyes feel suddenly rather full. How ridiculous. Man up, Rei!

He sucked in a long, slow breath and gave a nod to the words spoken. "I believe you. And yeah, crap happens. Can't get round that, try as we might." He knew that pretty well. He frowned then, again looking over those ripped and torn clothes. "Ilharn, I know you are trying to do that, you said somethin' like that before. But - " His hand lifted to gesture to the clothing. "You sure you—is there anything I can—I mean, I know I can't go up there, but—" He wanted his father to not get hurt! "You sure you can stay safe" "

With another resonant laugh, he lifted his hand from Rei's shoulder and turned it to touch a light shove to the side of the mongrel's neck before he withdrew his arm entirely from his space. "My Father is Love. Even centuries ago I was not made undone for my transgressions. I've survived Hell and mortality. This...?" He made a sweeping gesture to indicate his filthy present state. "I say again, you needn't worry. This is nothing. A minor hiccup." Looking back at Rei, he smiled, just a little. "Though I do appreciate your concern."

The mongrel nodded to what Kabe said. The grigori knew his own business best, after all. Purples fixed on that little smile, and then he spoke. "I've always been concerned for you. And even during the times I was most bitter and antagonistic towards you...part of me hoped, always hoped, that somehow we'd rise above all that and ...and get to be father and son." Okay, he'd overdone his raw emotions and confiding trust levels, today. His voice roughened a bit. "I gots ta go. You know how 'tis, got some folks waiting." A pause. "Thanks for coming." Oh, understatement.

"Of course." A minor constellation sparkled in the depths of his eyes. "Circumstances are not always favorable, but I do try to come when I can. Rest assured that even if I do not, I always hear you." Taking a step back, he tipped his chin up to regard the gloomy sky.

"If you ever feel lost—" There was pause and a smirk when he turned his attention back down on his son. "—read the horoscopes. You might think it corny, as so many people do, but don't forget who taught men how to read the stars." The expression lingered, something bordering on mischief with a mixture of fondness. "Farewell for now, my son."

On that note, the grigori turned to walk back between the two trees whose shadows he had used as a doorway too arrive in the first place, and took his leave.

Rei smiled, he couldn't help it, at what his father said. That he always heard him. That and the horoscope bit. He'd been one to think them rather silly, but from this day he would look into them. Oh, yes he would. He lifted a hand and then turned to go himself.