The waves crashed high and loud nearby, but neither so high nor so loud as to interrupt them. It was a concern for the daylight hours, when the crown was firmly back upon his brow. Tonight, however, his attention was on one wounded young man, alone in the night despite the mermanta's presence at his side.
His question was both simple and not, and Jude's answer was one that called forth echoes of lost childhood and the pain of learning that one's parents were neither infallible nor immortal. Hadama listened as argument turned to explanation and finally to pure emotion that transcended any differences between their species. He inclined his head deeply, almost a bow for the love and loss that comingled in the young man's voice.
Not for the loss of his father, but for the loss of innocence that came with realizing a father was only a man, imperfect and fallible.
"Yes." The mermanta returned his green gaze to the face of the young human, half-hidden though it was behind hands and ice and bruising. "And he always will be." However else the world changed, Hadama was as certain as the tide that Harper would always love his son.
"But he does not need to be perfect to be your dad. And I do not think that you need to be perfect to be his son."
The 'river' continued to flow, wending its slow way down the beach towards the ocean, and the bridge shone faintly blue in the moonlight, casting an occasional sparkle on the sand to dance with the mica flakes already therein. Hadama maintained its shape against the comparative warmth of Torchline's night, holding it firm and unmelting.
His question was both simple and not, and Jude's answer was one that called forth echoes of lost childhood and the pain of learning that one's parents were neither infallible nor immortal. Hadama listened as argument turned to explanation and finally to pure emotion that transcended any differences between their species. He inclined his head deeply, almost a bow for the love and loss that comingled in the young man's voice.
Not for the loss of his father, but for the loss of innocence that came with realizing a father was only a man, imperfect and fallible.
"Yes." The mermanta returned his green gaze to the face of the young human, half-hidden though it was behind hands and ice and bruising. "And he always will be." However else the world changed, Hadama was as certain as the tide that Harper would always love his son.
"But he does not need to be perfect to be your dad. And I do not think that you need to be perfect to be his son."
The 'river' continued to flow, wending its slow way down the beach towards the ocean, and the bridge shone faintly blue in the moonlight, casting an occasional sparkle on the sand to dance with the mica flakes already therein. Hadama maintained its shape against the comparative warmth of Torchline's night, holding it firm and unmelting.
