CH773 Thera’s Perspective

It felt like only a moment had passed by the time Thera awoke but once she began to stir she shot up, memories of the day before flooding her thoughts in a way that took a second to be sure wasn’t just a lingering dream, leaving her putting her head in her hands by the time she was certain.

It hadn’t even been a day since she’d in essence adopted her cousin after he’d been dropped on her doorstep and she was feeling just as out of her depth then as she was the day before, maybe even more so now that her anger at her aunt had faded, leaving only what she would do from there.

Thera had never expected to have children, the idea dismissed far back in her youth in the same way she’d expected to avoid romance as well because of the difference in lifespan there was sure to be in the end but now, even though it looked like she’d been given a child who could outlive her, she didn’t know what to do about it. How did anyone raise a kid in the first place, let alone one that was in essence the closest thing to a god that existed in the mortal realm without having true divinity?

“…Okay, first things first, I need to talk to aunty,” She muttered as she forced herself up, getting dressed and out of her room, gaining just a bit of peace from hearing Ben talking in Mora’s room, going on about sculpting from the sounds of it and helping to keep the young spirit occupied as she went to see Sonya, gently knocking on her door.

She got no answer but as bad as she felt about it she didn’t let up until her aunt awoke, letting out a groggy voice for her efforts.

“Mmh, what is it?”

“Aunty, it’s me, can I come in?”

“Mmh, sure dear, come on.”

It sounded like she was ready to go back to sleep at any second so Thera wasted no time, letting herself in and sitting at the edge of her aunt’s bed while she in turn looked like she was doing her best to stay awake, right up until Thera spoke up.

“I took in a child.”

That brought some energy to Sonya’s eyes, forcing her up as she rubbed away the last bit of sleep she was under

“Um, I think I misheard you, say that again love?”

“You didn’t. It’s complicated but Vividus had a child and decided he wasn’t as good as she hoped he would be so she dropped him at our doorstep and I couldn’t just abandon him but I know this is your home and I know I should have at least asked you first and I’m sorry but if you’re against it if you’d just give me a couple days to figure things out-”

“Thera, relax, I’m not going to kick you out. This is obviously surprising but… If Vividus just had him, did she really abandon an infant on our doorstep?”

Anger came to her aunt’s voice as she put together the implication but Thera shook her head as she explained a bit more calmly.

“He’s technically only a couple months old from the sounds of it but mentally I think he’s around ten and Ben agrees. He’s not like me, not a half-spirit, at least in a normal way. His father is Nox. He was born a soul spirit. A great soul spirit.”

“…Alright, well I suppose I should meet him sooner than later then. Is he up?”

“He isn’t going to need to sleep in general. Ben’s entertaining him for now.”

“Alright, give me a moment to get myself sorted.”

She only needed a minute to get dressed for the day before going out and hearing the voice coming from Ben’s old room, heading over with Thera before letting themselves in, giving Sonya her first look at her home’s newest resident.

Too late, Thera realized she hadn’t warned her aunt about Mora’s appearance but to Sonya’s credit she didn’t blink, instead just making her way over before bringing herself to eye level where the child sat with Ben, a few small sculptures resting on the bed between them.

“Hello there sweetie, I’m Thera’s aunt Sonya. You can call me Sonya or aunty or whatever you’re comfortable with while you’re here.”

“Hello,” The child said, just as reserved as he had been the night before while her aunt continued to just give him a bright smile.

“And what’s your name?”

He hesitated for a second at the question, still needing time to get used to just having a name but eventually answered.

“I’m Mora.”

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet your Mora, I hope we can get along. How was your first night with us?”

“It was fine.”

“Well, that’s good but if there’s anything we can do to make you a bit more comfortable then just let us know, okay?”

“Alright.”

“Wonderful. And since we have a little time still, why don’t we chat over breakfast? We can tell you a bit more about ourselves.”

Getting him to open up more would be a process but they could at least begin to pave the way by letting him get to know them and with the same hesitance that came with any of his answers, Mora nodded, joining the others while they ate and began the day.

…What am I supposed to do here?

When they’d finished eating, Thera, Sonya, and Mora had followed Ben to his work, all of them needing to make use of his mini gates to get to their own destinations for the day but as she stood there with the young spirit by her side, she couldn’t help but think about just what she might run into on the other side.

She didn’t think her father or aunts would say anything bad exactly if she passed through the one connected to her family home but she was sure that it would be a complicated surprise for them, even if they had known that Vividus was pregnant, one that was sure to get some strong reactions she didn’t want to expose Mora to if she could help it, at least not immediately. It was only the second day of having him but she could already see everything she’d done wrong on the first, she didn’t want the list to grow by exposing him to what family drama his existence might create. Better to try and find time to talk to them all herself in the future to sort things out a bit when he wasn’t around and then do a real introduction after.

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She wasn’t sure if that was really the right move either but it was the best idea she had at the moment and chose to pass through the magic towers instead, gently taking the boy’s hand to lead him through the guild.

A move that got a different sort of regret. The place had enough adventurers in it, either looking for quests or just socializing, and while coming out of the guildmaster’s office was enough to draw a couple eyes, Mora’s appearance drew far more. Seeing ghosts may have been rare but if anyone was going to encounter them it would be those who traveled the untamed lands, with sightings only being more common after the gate to hell had been opened. She could only imagine that the people who saw her were assuming they were seeing a death mage that had bound a child to them but there were no other good options she could take instead. If she used either of Ben’s other two gates in Anailia, she’d still have to walk through the streets to get to the main network and people would still see Mora, left to make any assumptions they would.