TRP: Gavi and Timur (Paladin, Again)

[Setting: Day 269, reunion beach]

Timur was still upset with her, which Gavi got. She was pissed at herself too about her reaction to Levi. Wasn't fair to be pissed at anyone else though. It was an ugly situation. And Gavi was gonna get Timur to understand that.

He was on his own, which meant nobody to chase off when she went up and sat down next to him. Reached out and combed her fingers through his hair, soft and gentle. There was no hint of that in her tone. "All right, Timur, here's how it's gonna be. You already had your say on this whole situation. Now you're going to sit there and listen while I finish explaining, you got me?"

COYOTE

Timur averted his eyes. His head still ached, and some of his claws had torn off or cracked in the dirt, and that hurt too. "Kay, Mama."

ABBY

Gavi felt herself softening some. It was a rough time for all of them. She rubbed his back, making a mental note to ask Luci to come help with his hands once she was done. "Look. Levi was... family. Bloodgrut is family too. But our family's got some fucked thing in their head and it hurts everybody. You remember Griffin? He was like a son to me. I loved him more than anything, till you came along. And you know what your Uncle Bloodgrut did? He killed him."

COYOTE

Timur felt his eyes water, and rubbed his face, but only succeeded in rubbing dirt on his face. "But... I mean..." He kept looking away. "Maybe Uncle Gruts doesn't realize what he did is wrong. Maybe he thinks he had good reason."

ABBY

Gavi pulled Timur into a gentle hug. "You're exactly right. He does think he's got a good reason. Cause Griffin was the Scion, and he wanted his host body. And that's why I say fuck Gruumsh." She pulled back tilting Timur's chin so he looked her in the eyes. "Y'see why I was harping on Gruumsh so much? Our family... they're good people. They're good people with a fucked up god telling them fucked up things. And it's killing us."

COYOTE

"Okay." Timur nodded, still not meeting her eyes. "Okay, Mama. I'll to... I'll try."

ABBY

Gavi held his chin for a second before letting him go. Her gaze dropped to his hands. Made her heart ache for the days she could take them, and heal them herself. "Trying's all I ask," she said, looping her hands around his wrists. Remembering how it'd felt to reach in for the healing energy. "Is there something else you wanna-- what the fuck!?"

A silver glow was surrounding her hands, and Timur's where back to normal. Gavi jerked her hands back and stared at them, and then at Timur's. "The fuck?"

COYOTE

Timur stared stupidly at his hands as the cracks healed and closed and the pain went away. "Ma," he said dumbly. "I thought... I thought Gruumsh ain't like you anymore."

ABBY

Gavi flexed her hands. "He don't," she said. "It-- it wasn't red. Remember that it was red, with Gruumsh? This wasn't red. This wasn't Guumsh." For a second Gavi's mind flashed back to the cave, to the searing pain when she touched Luthic's bone-- but no. She didn't worship Luthic, she worshipped another god. "Iomedae. Has to be her. She's my new god, Joan's god too? Must have decided to give me my paladin powers back."

Gavi found herself grinning. That was good shit. "I got my paladin powers back, Timur!" she crowed, throwing her arms around him and hugging him close. Burned arm didn't like that too much, but Gavi didn't fucking care. She could heal again!

COYOTE

Iomedae? Huh. Timur had... been listening and watching Miss Joan and Miss Jasper pray to their god and talk about her, and Iomedae didn't seem like a... safe, happy god. Timur didn't want his mama to die in battle-- not for Gruumsh, not for anybody else.

She was already dying, though, he guessed.

He hugged her back while he had the chance.

ABBY

Gavi let herself relax like this for a moment. She had her powers, she had her son. Concentrate on the good things, cause the bad was enough to overwhelm her if she let 'em.

Maybe she should ask Timur, if he wanted to come pray to Io with her. Or she could give him some time before trying to pull him off to finding a new god. Maybe he'd do it on his own. He had time, and Gavi... had some. Enough to set things in motion, at least. Which reminded her. "Hey, Timur," she said, pulling back so she could look him in the eye-- wondering if he would this time. "I was thinking, when we got a chance maybe you'n me could go back to Little Creek for a visit. See your dad. That'd be fun, right?"

COYOTE

Timur nodded uncertainly. "I think he'd like that. He, um. Misses... us."

He felt awkward and unhappy saying it. He knew his dad liked Gavi a lot, but also his dad liked a new woman, too, and... he didn't think his mama liked Dad much.

ABBY

Yeah. Gavi didn't really miss Josiah all that much. She'd... done him really dirty, back when Timur was born, all through his life, and even up to last time they were in fucking Little Creek. Probably wouldn't change either, except now she was kinda sorry about it. "Soon as we get a chance, we'll do that," she promised.

COYOTE

"Okay, Mama." He really hoped Little Creek wasn't destroyed by then. Or his dad was still there.

ABBY

Good. Gavi ruffled Timur's hair, and got up to give him some time to think. Sides, she wanted to show off what she had back. Fuck yeah, she was a paladin again!

[END]