TRP: Gavi, Griffin, and Raef (Favorite Aunt)

January 29, 2019

**Izzy:** at 3:08 PM

[SETTING: Morningstar Keep, Day 176, after Melancholia live
session.]

Raef had gone out on some Graverunner business, leaving
Griffin and the others who lived in the castle to stay behind. He recognized
Mishka, and his ... husband, boyfriend, partner? Hansel, and the fox lady,
Ombre, but he didn't really know any of these people. And it made Griffin
antsy, still, Raef going off and doing dangerous shit without him. But they
couldn't be together every moment of every day, he guessed.

It helped having the puppies around. Well, Uthax wasn't
really a puppy anymore -- he wasn't full grown, but he came up past Griffin's
knee now. And he still ate like a puppy. The both of them crowded around
Griffin's legs in the kitchen, staring up at him making himself a sandwich,
begging silently and wagging their tails ferociously. That made him smile, at
least.

He heard footsteps echoing through the castle, and the heavy
front door banging closed. Thank god. He was still going to eat this sandwich,
but Raef'd be home to make real food later on. Griffin had gotten really
spoiled to eating real food.

**Muse:** at 3:21 PM

Now how about this, huh? This bunch had a castle. Gavi
grinned, trailing her hand along the wall as she clanked down to the kitchen.
Getting set on fire worked up an appetite, and they were kind enough to point
her in the direction of the kitchen.

Idle thoughts about what kind of food she'd find was
abruptly interrupted when she opened the door. "Imesh?" she said, a
slow grin spreading across her face. She stepped forwards, throwing her arms
around him in a tight hug. "Of all the places to find you, it's in a
castle. Shoulda figured ya little scamp."

**Izzy:** at 3:27 PM

Judging from the clattering armor sounds, Griffin expected
Hansel to come in, and wasn't paying that much attention. Then he felt himself
go cold at the sound of his name -- the other name, the one he'd run away from
-- and he barely had time to react to it before someone was hugging him.

Oh, shit. Fuckin' Gavi. He hugged her back automatically,
torn between excitement and extreme fucking concern. "Gav? Why the hell
are you here? I mean --." He pulled away to give her a look, lowering his
voice. "Dad didn't send you, did he?"

**Muse:** at 3:37 PM

"Your dad doesn't know where you are or where I am for
that matter," Gavi said, slapping Imesh on the shoulder. "By Gruumsh
it's good to see you. You look well. Been taking care of yourself then? And a
couple little ones too by the look of it," she said, grinning down at the
dogs crowding around Imesh's feet.

**Izzy:** at 3:43 PM

Oh, thank god. Any of them but Gruumsh, honestly. "Uh,
hey. Maybe keep the Gruumsh thing quiet. He's not real popular around these
parts." He hesitated. "And -- I go by Griffin, now."

**Muse:** at 3:52 PM

"Griffin, huh?" Gavi said, sounding it out.
"Y'know that sounds like a human name," she said mildly, crossing her
arms.

**Izzy:** at 4:00 PM

"Yeah, well, y'know," he said slowly. "It ...
is." He glanced down at the puppies, who were going between eagerly
sniffing at Gavi and looking back to him in case they still might get food.
Griffin sniffed the air, too, and tried to change the subject. "Did
someone set you on fire?"

**Muse:** at 4:03 PM

"Oh- yeah. Some human guy, I think," Gavi said,
waving her hand dismissively. "We killed him." Then, more to the
dogs, "He had friends too, but I think I like you better," offering
Uthax her hand to sniff.

**Izzy:** at 4:08 PM

Griffin nodded. Yeah, fair enough. He patted Uthax's head
idly. "Yeah, well, uh -- you look all right, now. I guess Goro must've
healed you already." He paused, just looking at her for a moment.
"Shit, Gavi, I've got so many questions. How're you doing, anyway?"

**Muse:** at 4:13 PM

Seeing as the dog didn't take a chunk of flesh out of her
hand, Gavi started scratching him on the back. "Oh you know, dying,
mostly," she said, her tone light and flippant. "Got the bone rot, y'know?
Probably not gonna last a year." She couldn't bring herself to look Imesh
in the eye. Kept looking down at the dog instead.

**Izzy:** at 4:14 PM

He froze. "What?" Bone rot. What? Not gonna last
the year? What?

**Muse:** at 4:19 PM

"Yeah," Gavi said, finally looking up. Didn't seem
to be taking it well. "Hey," she said, pulling him into another hug.
"Imesh- it's okay. I've made my peace with it. It's not like I'd have
lived to a ripe old age anyway. Just gonna die a little earlier than expected
is all."

**Izzy:** at 4:21 PM

"Griffin," he reminded her quietly, and squeezed
her tight. He guessed she had a point, there. Still, though. Wasn't right.
"Well ... maybe you can still die in battle, and all." That was what
she'd want, he didn't doubt.

**Muse:** at 4:24 PM

"Planning on it," she said. "It'll be great.
They'll tell stories for generations to come. You're gonna need to brush up
your storytelling skills, counting on you to get the legend going." She
squeezed tight, letting Imesh be the one to break the hug. He needed it, she'd
had time to get used to the idea. He hadn't.

**Izzy:** at 4:30 PM

After a moment, Griffin realized he was clinging to her, and
got embarrassed and let go. He'd really missed her. Just kinda tried to not
think about things like that, because he knew he couldn't go home -- not until
he went with Raef, and --

Ooh. That might ... complicate things. Shit. Well, he wasn't
gonna think about it right now. He grinned at her instead, a little bit weakly.
"Yeah, totally. I'll make you sound like a badass. I dunno if I can do you
justice, though, but I'll try."

**Muse:** at 4:32 PM

"That's my favorite nephew," Gavi said, grinning,
and then pulled him down enough she could kiss his forehead.

**Izzy:** at 4:34 PM

"Pffft." The grin turned a little more genuine. He
wasn't her favorite nephew. "Hey, if you weren't looking for me, how'd you
end up out here, anyway?"

**Muse:** at 4:38 PM

"Oh you know," she waved her hand. "Felt like
I had something to do out here, wandered around, met some folks, helped 'em
kill some mermaids, then came back to the castle with 'em. Your friends loaded
or something?"

**Izzy:** at 4:40 PM

He shrugged. "Man, I just moved out here too. Place me
and Raef were living got burned down. They're his friends, I guess." Well,
he liked Sugar. And Raef seemed to like Mishka and Hansel, so he guessed they
were fine. "I don't think they're rich? I'm pretty sure the castle was
empty so they just took it."

**Muse:** at 4:44 PM

Gavi arched an eyebrow at Imesh. "An empty castle, really?"
she said skeptically. "Ain't too likely from what I've seen. Maybe they
cleaned out the folks that were living here before." Gavi made a mental
note to see if she could spot any old bloodstains. That'd be neat.

**Izzy:** at 4:45 PM

"Oh, yeah, I mean. There were bandits, I think."
Bandits didn't count. He should know -- he was one.

**Muse:** at 4:49 PM

Better chance of bloodstains then. Awesome.
"Cool," she said, grinning. "Think I'm gonna like it here."

**Izzy:** at 4:51 PM

He laughed. God, same old Gavi. (For a while, at least. He
wasn't gonna think about that, either.) "Yeah. Just, uh, like I said --
don't let on about the Gruumsh stuff and I bet you'll get along with the
Graverunners, no problem."

**Muse:** at 4:53 PM

Gavi nodded. Not many folks outside of the orc lands liked
her gods, didn't surprise her that this bunch was the same. "My lips are
sealed," she promised, thumping her hand over her heart. "So c'mon,
your turn now, tell me what's been up with you since we saw each other
last?" she egged. She was getting tired, didn't used to get tired so
easily. She pulled a chair out and sat down, gesturing for Imesh to do the
same.

**Izzy:** at 4:59 PM

"Uhh." He wasn't really hungry anymore. He doled
out what he'd been planning to eat to the dogs instead. "Well ... I started
working with these bandits, thieves in the forest. That was fun. I was real
good at it." Once the dogs were fed, he sat down on the floor cross-legged
to pet them, Uthax demanding to be a lapdog even though he wasn't at all
lapdog-sized anymore.

"Then I met Raef. I guess you probably met him
earlier?" He wasn't sure if he ought to go into the details, there. Gavi
might find it hilarious that he and Raef had almost killed each other, or she
might think it made Raef a threat and get all protective. "He's the short
elf with the long black hair?" The really gorgeous one? he managed to
avoid blurting.

**Muse:** at 5:03 PM

"Oh yeah, I remember him," Gavi said, kicking her
feet up on a spare chair. She whistled a little to get the other puppy's
attention, leaning over to scratch it's head. "He helped with the lock
pickin' and stuff in the cave." This was the second, third? time he'd
mentioned this 'Raef'- Gavi was wondering about that. "You two- friends
then?" she asked.

**Izzy:** at 5:07 PM

"Well, uh. Listen, don't be weird about it," he
warned, 'cause he expected her to be. The elf thing and all. He blushed.
"But we're kinda engaged, actually."

**Muse:** at 5:07 PM

Gavi stared at him, unblinking, for a good span of time.
Engaged. To an elf.

**Izzy:** at 5:10 PM

"See, you're being weird about it," he protested,
giving her a sad-eyed look. That worked, sometimes, when she used to babysit
him.

**Muse:** at 5:11 PM

Not this time. Gavi put her feet on the floor, resting her
elbow on the table and pinching the bridge of her nose. "An elf, Imesh.
Really. Your getting married to an elf."

**Izzy:** at 5:12 PM

"Griffin," he insisted again. "And yeah.
Listen, he's great. I love him."

**Muse:** at 5:14 PM

"Y'know your dad had several nice orc girls lined up
for you. Could have had some guys too, if you'd have asked! Who wouldn't want
to be a consort to the Scion of Gruumsh," she said, gesturing to him.
"But you go and hook up with an elf."

**Izzy:** at 5:22 PM

"Shhh!" He waved his hands at her. "The Scion
of Gruumsh thing! God, Gavi. Don't talk about that, either." He hugged
Uthax. "Anyway -- Raef liked me without the Scion thing, okay? I don't
wanna be with someone who just likes the idea of, y'know." He shrugged.
"The whole 'avatar of a god' thing. Raef loves me."

**Muse:** at 5:41 PM

"It's just us two, don't freak out," Gavi said,
waving her hand dismissively. "So your- elf friend knows about it
then," she said slowly. Apparently was keeping him around anyway. Was it
because he was hoping to use that somehow? Or, like Imesh said, was it really
because they were in love?

Gavi sure didn't know and it made her so tired to think
about trying to find out. She was here for a reason, and maybe the reason would
be protective Imesh from this 'Raef'. She sighed heavily, slumping back in her
chair. Why couldn't this be a problem she could solve by punching?

**Izzy:** at 5:45 PM

"He's my fiance," Griffin said firmly. "And
yeah, he knows now." He hugged Uthax tighter, making the pup wiggle around
excitedly. Raef knew stuff about him that should by all rights make Raef want
him dead, but it hadn't worked out that way. He was still a little baffled at
the how. He kinda wanted to tell Gavi that, but she already looked put out, and
that might just make things worse.

January 30, 2019

**Mink:** at 9:15 AM

He had forgotten what it was like to go out with the
Graverunner's: laugh, tease, steal some shit, kill some people, all-in-all just
work well together. He had missed them. He just wished he had been able to come
back without being because his home had burned down.

Again. At least his family had been fine this time.

After they returned to the castle Raef took a moment to out
his things away and clean up before he wandered towards the kitchen, partly
looking for Griffin and partly looking for something to eat. Killing people was
a hungry business.

He stretched as he entered the kitchen, pausing when he saw Gavi
and Griffin together. They seemed to be getting along, but Griffin got along
with everyone it seemed.

"Guess I don't have to introduce Gavi," he said
with a smile as he walked towards the pantry to find something to make a
sandwich out of. On his way he gently brushed a hand across Griffin's lower
back in greeting. "Good job with the cave, by the way," he added to
Gavi.

**Muse:** at 9:24 AM

Gavi gave a short nod to acknowledge the elf. Raef. He
wasn't what Gavi would have liked to see her nephew with, but she could see the
looks on their faces. They looked genuinely in love.

Well. Her soft heart got the better of her. Gavi grinned
back and lunched forwards to wrap Imesh- Griffin?- in a headlock. "Y'know
me and my nephew were just talking about you," she said, a glint of
mischief in her eye. "Was thinking, I could talk about my nephew to you now.
I got some good stories."

**Izzy:** at 11:18 AM

Griffin gave her a horrified look. He tried to wriggle out
of the headlock, but she was still stronger than him, somehow.
"Gavi."

**Mink:** at 11:35 AM

Raef nearly dropped the bread in surprise. Nephew? That was
new and worrying, but that was for another day. He grinned at Gavi's
suggestion. "What kind of stories?"

**Muse:** at 12:39 PM

"Oh you know," Gavi drawled, refusing to let
Griffin go. "About how when he was little, and all. There was this one
time, he wandered off, got all lost and everything. Had us all looking
everywhere and couldn't find him. Well turned out he was right back at his
dad's place, taking a nap under some blankets. What was it you said when you
got found again?" she teased, rubbing his head with her knuckles.
"'If I'da known sleeping was this big of a deal I'd have stayed
awake!'"

**Izzy:** at 12:42 PM

"Gavi," Griffin complained, trying to get away
again. He managed, this time, and automatically gave her an indignant shove
before remembering the bone rot thing. She wouldn't want him to treat her
different, though, and be all gentle. He just muttered, "God," in
exasperation, instead, and stood there blushing.

**Mink:** at 12:48 PM

Raef grinned widely at the story that Gavi told. "That's
adorable." He chuckled as he split the bread, tossing a piece to Uthax and
the new dog - he really needed a name. "What was his favorite thing to do
as a kid?" He was grateful they couldn't find anyone to tell stories about
him, but he wasn't going to stop asking Gavi about her nephew.

**Muse:** at 1:13 PM

"Hm, y'know he went fishing a lot. I thought he was
just bad at it for a while but turns out he'd just let everything go
instead," she chuckled. "Remember that Imesh- Griffin," she
corrected herself this time. "I came along cause the water was higher than
normal that day, Bloodgrut didn't want him to go but he was all
insistent."

She softened, reaching up to rest her hand on Griffin's
shoulder. She had fond memories of that little trip. She was usually too busy
to sit around for hours like that- but it'd been nice. "Turned out to be a
good thing- he fell in and if it weren't for me mighta drowned," she
teased, reaching up to ruffle his hair.

**Izzy:** at 1:15 PM

Griffin scuffed his boot against the floor, scowling a
little. "I woulda figured out how to swim on my own." He cut his eyes
up at Raef. At least he seemed to find this cute.

**Mink:** at 1:19 PM

Raef had given up on his sandwich, instead switching between
eating pieces of bread and sharing with the dogs. He smiled softly; letting the
fish go was another thing he could see Griffin doing. Fuck. He loved the
half-orc. "Damn good thing," he agreed with a wider smile that
lightened when Griffin glanced his way. He just managed to keep himself from
moving there and doing something more embarrassing than Gavi's stories.
"Okay. Tell me another. This is too good."

**Muse:** at 1:32 PM

"Yeah I'm sure you could have. Question was would it be
before or after you drowned?" Gavi said affectionately. "Lessee now.
There was that time I took him out hunting. Didn't want to kill the deer- cried
about it even." Gavi'd gotten frustrated with him that time. Yelled a bit.
They'd ended up trudging back to camp with nothing but a bitter silence.

**Izzy:** at 1:34 PM

"Gaviii." Griffin dragged a hand down his face,
then hid behind it. It wasn't like Raef didn't already know he was a crier, but
still. Gavi didn't know that.

**Mink:** at 1:40 PM

"That's..." He couldn't think of something to say
that wouldn't sound condescending because it was fucking adorable and it was
entirely Griffin. How he was ever convinced to find him and Az...he didn't
know. He gave the remnants of the bread to the dogs. "...great." He
laughed gently. "Did you look after him often?"

**Muse:** at 1:43 PM

"Eh, more than some, not as much as others," Gavi
said, shrugging. "I'm a warrior, was out on the front lines a fair amount.
Never did get Griffin up there with us," she said. "But when we were
in camp, I tried to come see him much as I could. Was my favorite nephew, after
all."

**Izzy:** at 1:46 PM

"Psshh." Griffin couldn't help grinning again.
That was embarrassing, too, but in a different way. "Well, you're my
favorite aunt." She was his only aunt, but still.

**Mink:** at 1:48 PM

Being up front explained why she was able to work with the
others and why she fought like she did. "How many of you are there?"
he asked, still smiling over the sweet exchange. He was glad Griffin had some
family left, outside of Bloodgrut.

**Muse:** at 1:49 PM

"Aunts? I'm the only one left. S'why I'm his
favorite," she said, jerking her thumb at Griffin and grinning.

**Izzy:** at 1:49 PM

"Hey," he objected. "I mean, it's also 'cause
you're the best."

**Mink:** at 1:51 PM

Raef chuckled. He could relate - his entire family was gone
except for Gwydion and, well, fucking Gwydion. "Any uncles? Cousins? Brothers?"
Probably. Orcs were damn near the opposite of elves when it came to families.

**Muse:** at 1:53 PM

"Oh yeah bunches of those," Gavi said. "Too
many to count- whole tribe is prolly related in some way or another. You know
orcs and all. We breed like rabbits."

**Izzy:** at 1:59 PM

"They're all pretty much like my dad, though,"
Griffin said quietly. "Gavi's the best." He hugged her. Wasn't
fucking fair. She was the only member of his family that he liked, and ...

**Muse:** at 2:08 PM

Gavi hugged back, squeezing tight. She knew he hadn't
exactly been happy with the rest of them. Still been kinda surprised when he'd
ran off but, on some level, she'd been expecting it.

"Y'know your dad loves you, Imesh," she said
quietly.

**Mink:** at 2:16 PM

At least Griffin had one family member; that was better than
none and Griffin deserved it. He smiled softly as they hugged before he waded
his way through the puppies. It looked like they needed some alone time.
"Keep taking care of him," he said with a smile at Gavi. He gave
Grififn's arm a gentle squeeze before he left the kitchen.

**Izzy:** at 2:19 PM

Griffin gave Raef a weak smile and waited for him to go
before dropping it.

Flatly, he said, "Dad loves that I'm the Scion."

**Muse:** at 2:22 PM

Gavi took a step back and pinched the bridge of her nose,
letting out a long sigh. "And you're the Scion," she said. Even
though she knew if Griffin hadn't been the Scion- hadn't had that protection...
well, there was no use contemplating these what-ifs.

**Izzy:** at 2:25 PM

"Well, I don't ..." He scuffed his boot against
the floor again. "I don't fuckin' wanna be. And --." He didn't know
if she knew Bloodgrut had threatened to 'try again' if Griffin wouldn't do as
he was told. Not too hard to figure out what that meant -- get rid of the
defective Scion, make a new one.

Maybe she did know. Maybe he'd rather just assume she
didn't.

"Whatever," he muttered.

**Muse:** at 2:38 PM

Gavi sighed softly. She knew that things were complicated,
with Imesh-Griffin-whatever his name was. "Griffin," she said,
reaching out and clasping his hands. "Let's not fight about this. I love
you, and y'know- it's not worth it. I'm not gonna see your dad again, lets
just- leave that at the camp. Aright?"

**Izzy:** at 2:43 PM

He nodded, still frowning. He didn't want to think about
that stuff -- that was why he'd run off in the first place. Well, part of it.
Gavi being here just kind of brought it back up.

But she was here, not at home. And she was going to be here
for the rest of her life. It made his gut twist. He pulled her in to hug her
again, tightly, tears pricking at his eyes. Hopefully she wouldn't notice.
"Yeah. I love you too. All right."

**Muse:** at 3:01 PM

Gavi didn't need to see it to suspect that her nephew was
crying again. He'd always been so soft. "Oh by Gruumsh's one eye, don't be
so dramatic," she scolded lightly, stroking his back. "You've got a
good life ahead of you. Enjoy it."

**Izzy:** at 3:03 PM

"Psshh." He drew back and swiped at his eyes. How
did she always know? "Well, you were just supposed to be around for more
of it, all right?" He scowled and poked at her arm. "Had to go and
get bone rot. Typical Gavi."

**Muse:** at 3:10 PM

"Hey now, I've always been the healthy type and you
know it," she sassed back, thumping him on the shoulder. "It's a
fluke and you know it you little scamp."

**Izzy:** at 3:14 PM

That only made it worse, somehow, but he wasn't going to give
her an excuse to make fun of him for crying, so he just scoffed. "Typical
Gavi sorta fluke, then."

**Muse:** at 3:26 PM

"Y'know I think you're right. I ain't happy about
that." She planted her hands on her hips and mock glowered at Griffin.
"You know what I'm gonna do about it?"

**Izzy:** at 3:27 PM

He narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"

**Muse:** at 3:28 PM

Gavi grinned and reached up, tickling his neck.

**Izzy:** at 3:29 PM

"Gavi." His shoulders came up and he backed away,
swatting at her hands. "God." He tried to sound annoyed, but he
couldn't help laughing. "I take it all back, you're actually the
worst."

**Muse:** at 3:49 PM

"Yeah well too bad, you're stuck with me for a
while," she said, grinning.

It was so good to see him. He looked well- not just well,
but happy. Wasn't till now she realized that was a sight too often missing
before. It hurt a little. But that was all in the past now, they had a chance
to talk again.

**Izzy:** at 9:11 PM

[END]

Title: Favorite Aunt. Summary: Gavi reconnects with Griffin
aka Imesh, her long-lost nephew, and they catch each other up on life
developments like bone rot and marriage.