TRP: Az, Gavi and Raef (Adoption)

[Setting: Day 268, on the ship to the Sanctuary.]

Tikva was precious. So tiny, so full of life and potential.
And, Gavi didn't want to think about it, but the nagging voice in the back of
her mind wouldn't stop reminding her, she wouldn't be able to see most of it.
Tikva needed someone to love her, care for her. Gavi could do that-- was doing
that. And yet...

There was someone else though, someone else who'd love Tikva and care for her. Someone who didn't have a rot in the bones slowly eating away
their life. Raef.

She found 'em in the ships eating area, whatever the fuck
that was called. He was with an orc, not one Gavi recognized. Must be the fella
they'd just resurrected. "Hey," Gavi called, Tikva cradled in her
arms. "Mind if I join ya?"

**MINK**

Azrael had told him to stop staring, but he couldn't help
it.  Raef still couldn't believe that he
had him back.  He kept expecting him to
disappear again,  to vanish in a cloud of
smoke.

But he didn't.  He was
still there when he woke up and he was still there as he cooked breakfast.

"Yer starin'," Azrael commented as he shoveled a
spoonful of eggs into his mouth.

"Whatcha gonna do --" Raef cut himself off when
Gavi came in, carrying Tikva.

"Nope." Azrael answered, kicking out a chair on
the other side of the table.

"What do you want to eat?" Raef asked, deciding
not to argue with Az over inviting Gavi to sit for breakfast.  He glanced over Tikva with a soft smile.  She looked well, happy and content.  He wanted to hold her.

**ABBY**

"Not--" hungry Gavi started her say. But she
needed to take better care of herself. (Mishka had a point about that at
least.) "What he's having looks good," she said, nodding at Azrael
and settling down in the offered chair. "Thanks."

"Don't think we met," she said to Az.
"Gavriella," she hesitated. More'n likely this other orc would
recognize her clan name. (Bloodgrut killed my husband Raef had said.) But Gavi
wasn't gonna hide who she was, or what she'd done. "Of the Sarachet
clan," she finished, meeting Az's eyes. Not challenging, not submissive,
just calm and matter of fact.

**MINK**

"Yep," Azrael agreed with a chuckle as Raef turned
around to make Gavi her breakfast.  Good
fuckin' guy for doin' that. He polished off his plate, returning Gavi's
gaze.  She looked the type.
"Huh.  What do ya want me to do
about it?"

**ABBY**

Gavi cracked a slight grin and shrugged. "Fuck if I
know. Just wondering what you were gonna do about it."

**MINK**

"Dunno.  You kill
me?"

**ABBY**

"Mm, pretty sure I was somewhere else," Gavi said.
She glanced at Raef, and then back down at Tikva. Brushed a thumb over the
baby's cheek. "Would have though," she admitted lowly. Looked back up
to meet Az's eyes again. "Been rethinking shit lately. Wouldn't do it
now."

**MINK**

Azrael laughed.
"Fair enough."  He liked
her; she didn't beat around the bush. "Guess we're gonna be fine
then."

Raef  tensed when Gavi
admitted she'd have killed Az, but Azrael laughed instead so he bit back any
comment he had.  He plated the food and carried
it, with a fork, to Gavi.  "I
can...uh...hold her while you eat," he suggested, glancing towards
Tikva.   She was snug and warm, and made
his heart ache.

**ABBY**

Even though that had entirely been the plan-- now that it
was said out loud, Gavi tensed for a second. Fucking coping mechanisms. Got her
all on fucking edge. Looked like Raef was on the same page though. Looking at
her-- their-- niece with longing.

So she pasted a grin on her face instead. "Yeah
sure," she said. "Thanks. You do know how to hold 'em at this age
right?" she asked. "Support the head and shit?"

**MINK**

The air damn near felt like he could cut it when Gavi tensed
up and the frustration - anger - that still ran beneath the surface flared
hotly.  He swallowed it down; Tikva was
her niece and he sure as hell didn't want a damn fight at the moment.

"Yeah." Even had a kid once. He didn't say it and
he waited until Gavi was ready before he gently reached in, sliding a hand
carefully under head and the other beneath her.   Soon he had Tikva cradled against him and he
smiled down at her.  She was light and
small in his arms.

"How'd she do?" he asked as he walked around to
sit beside Az, gently stroking her cheek.
She was beautiful.

**ABBY**

"She's doing good," Gavi said. Raef did know what
he was doing, looked like. It helped, a little, when she tried to make herself
relax. "Been good and healthy so far. Eatin' plenty." More than Gavi
had. She started picking at the eggs, forcing herself to eat.

**MINK**

"Good." Raef didn't look up as he answered,
hooking a thumb through her hand and massaging on the back with his fingers.

"She's cute," Az commented, reaching over to
stroke the top of her head.  He glanced
towards Gavi. "Where're ya gonna take her?"

**ABBY**

Gavi looked at her plate, poking at the eggs. Yeah. Now she
had to start saying stuff now didn't she. "Y'know I been thinking about
that actually. I dunno if you heard but, I got the rot in my bones." She
looked back up, glancing between Az, Raef, and Tikva. "I ain't gonna live
long enough to raise her. On top of that? She's the newest Scion. And I saw how
my people did the last one. We need help, and I can't do my best for them and
Tikva."

Gavi looked at Raef this time. "So," she said
softly. "Figured it was better for Tikva if... I wasn't the one raising
her."

**MINK**

"That's fucked." Azrael winced at the mention of
bone rot. "Guess yo-

"Are you sure?" Raef asked, cutting Azrael
off.  He sounded tense and skeptical that
Gavi would want someone else to raise Tikva.
When they first found her it had been a fight.

**ABBY**

Gavi snorted darkly. She was trying to be objective and
shit. She'd been turning this over for a couple days now, thinking out every
angle she could. And still. "Fuck no," she said bluntly. "That's
my niece. You got any idea how bad I just wanna bundle her up and keep her
close where I can protect her and know she's safe? Real bad! And every time I
put her down it's harder to..." Gavi's voice cracked with pain, "to
not think about Griffin. He was more my son than my nephew." She shook her
head, roughly wiping away tears.

"But when I think about it, remember what I'm facing, I
can't... I can't fucking do that to Tikva. I can't mess her life up because I'm
a big fucking baby who can't deal. She deserves better. So fucking-- yeah. Yeah
I'm sure."

**MINK**

"Yeah, I have a
fucking idea." He had a big fucking idea.  Handing her off to Gavi had been hard.  He had also fuckin' known he couldn't take
care of a baby that night - fuck, he probably couldn't take care of one now.

But he had Az now and Az...

And Gavi was going to die soon, a lot sooner than him and a
lot sooner than Tikva.  Tikva, Griffin's
sister.   Gavi was giving her up for
those reasons, and, even if he didn't know what he felt about this new Gavi, he
knew it was hard.

He glanced down at the baby and back to Gavi. "Do
you...uh...want to..." visit? Help? He couldn't find the
word."...come over?"  She was
doing something that was more than fuckin' difficult and...she was doing
something he didn't think he could say.

**ABBY**

Gavi gave a small smile. Full of regret, and hope.
"Yeah. Yeah, I would," she said quietly. "And... y'know if you
ever need any help, babysitting or something-- y'can hit me up. While I'm,
y'know, still alive and all."

**MINK**

"Yeah...yeah...that'd be fine." Raef nodded.  She could do that.  That was fine.

"Perfect for a dads' night." Azrael grinned and
winked at Raef, who rolled his eyes.  He
chuckled with amusement, but the smile died a little when he looked back to
Gavi. "Thanks.  Sorry yer
dyin'."

**ABBY**

"Yeah me too," Gavi said dryly. This Az guy, he
seemed all right. Still didn't have a read on how good he'd be at the parenting
part-- but all right. And Gavi still had some time, she'd be around long enough
to see. She still had doubts and questions, but just looking at Raef helped
settle a lot of 'em. He loved Tikva. Hell if Gavi was a perfect parent herself,
but she loved her kids. That'd be enough. It had to be.

"Hey now, I ain't gonna keel over tomorrow. Probably,"
Gavi said, trying to lighten the mood. "Got a fucking Sanctuary to save
again and shit. God, cannot them people save themselves for once?"

**MINK**

"Shit, yeah.
Orcs can't come runnin' all the time." Azrael snorted with
amusement, smiling. "People gotta learn to save 'emselves."

Raef rolled his eyes. "A half-elf saved your ass
yesterday."

**ABBY**

Gavi's expression went somber. "Orcs is who their in
danger from anyways," she muttered softly.

**MINK**

Azrael shifted his seat, sitting up a little more from his
slouch. "Guess we're gonna fix that then." A grim smile pulled at his
lips.

**ABBY**

"Yeah." Gavi folded her arms across her stomach.
When she thought about how they might do that... it made her sick. Bloodgrut,
even if he hadn't been behind the golems, was still too misguided to stay in
charge. Immanuel... Gavi didn't have a fuckin' clue what was up with him. Any
way it shook out-- looked like there'd be people Gavi loved due for a killin'.

"Was fuckin' easier when elves were the enemy and not
my own fuckin' family."

**MINK**

"The truth sucks," Raef muttered.  He couldn't feel much sympathy - the
situation was bullshit, and Bloodgrut and Immanuel were the cause of it.   Immanuel was fuckin' unexpected.  At least Bloodgrut had been easy to pin, killing
Az, terrifying his husband and chasing him down to drag him out to a cave and
force him to let Gruumsh take hold.

His jaw tensed as Azrael reached under the table to squeeze
his leg.

"Yep," Azrael answered, trying to soothe any
building tension. "It's pretty fuckin' shitty when yer family's bad."

**ABBY**

"Yeah. Real fuckin' shitty," Gavi agreed. Ran a
hand through her hair and let out a long sigh. "Gonna fix it though.
Somehow." She had to. All this time, all this effort being put into
supporting a system that was bullshit. Had to do something to make up for it.

**MINK**

"There're plenty of ways to fix it." Raef said,
looking up from Tikva.   He was going to
do what ever he fuckin' could to keep the same shit that happened to Griffin
from happening to her.  He met Gavi's
gaze, steady. "If we don't, shit'll happen to her." and that wasn't
going to happen.  Not if he could help
it.

**ABBY**

Gavi met Raef's eyes back. Fix it huh? Bet they had pretty
different definitions on what 'fixing it' was. "If we can keep it secret
that she's the newest Scion, while I work on turnin' em away from Gruumsh--
wouldn't take a lot of bloodshed to keep her safe."

**MINK**

Raef quirked an eyebrow. "And what if they don't
turn?"

**ABBY**

Gavi closed her eyes and let out a long breath. "I
ain't been thinking about that too much."

**MINK**

"We've time," Azrael cut in as soon as Raef looked
like he was going to talk.
"Tikva'll be right as rain.
We've got her."

Raef shot him a look before he sighed, frustrated. "If
anyone comes after her, I'm gonna kill them," he said flatly, looking back
to Gavi.  It didn't matter who it was.

**ABBY**

Gavi glanced at the baby. So tiny and defenseless. And even
if Gavi'd given her up, Tikva was still hers. She felt it with a bone (hah)
deep conviction. "I can live with that," she said, meeting Raef's
eyes with a burn in her gaze.

**MINK**

Raef held Gavi's gaze for a moment before he looked back to
Tikva.  There was less tension, less
worry; Gavi understood it and wouldn't fight it.  All for this little bundle fighting sleep in
his arms.

"Like a fuckin' pair of cats." Azrael rolled his
eyes before pointing at Gavi's food. "You gonna eat that?"

**ABBY**

Gavi blinked. Right. Eating and shit. "Yeah yeah. You
try to take it away and I'll scratch ya," she grumbled good naturedly.
Fucking cat huh. All fluffed up and hissing. God she could see it. She set back
to digging in-- felt like her appetite was coming back a bit. Stomach a little
more settled. A little. Still a whole lot coming, and no idea how to handle it.

**MINK**

"Oh.  I'm
scared." Azrael grinned even as he covered his lips and fangs with his
fingers in dramatic fright.

"Careful.   She
can do more than scratch," Raef mumbled under his breath with a flicker of
a smile.   He felt better, less
tense.   Azrael was getting along with
Gavi, Gavi was getting along with Azrael.
Tikva was resting in his arms, finally asleep.   Here, for now, the ship was a little less
bleak.

**ABBY**

"Yeah! I can bite too." Gavi snapped her teeth at
Az, grinning. She liked this fucker. And who know that Raef had a sense of
humor under all that... whatever too?

**MINK**

"Frightenin'.
I'm quakin' in my boots." Azrael snickered, stretching out under
the table to drop his feet onto the chair beside Gavi.  His feet were bare. "Those orcs'll be
runnin' for their lives." He stretched his arms over his head, still
smiling a little.  She had to be pretty
damn frightnin' to turn the orcs against Gruumsh. "What do ya like to do
other than frightenin' poor, undead orcs?"

**ABBY**

Gavi's grin dimmed. It was a joke, but it was hitting too
close to home. Orcs running from her. Yeah. It'd happened. It'd likely happen
again. And it'd tear her to bits when it did.

"Oh you know. Obsess over my baby niece. Worry 'bout my
son. Hit on a guy whose threatened to murder me." Fucking... god they'd
already been all gloomy and shit. And here Gavi went bringing it down again.
She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Sorry. I'm just... on
edge. Shit's going down and all."

**MINK**

Azrael waved off the apology. "It's fine." He
smiled a little, looking over at Raef and Tikva briefly. For a moment his smile
widened. "We've fuckin' got it.
Nothin'll happen to her and we'll get yer kid."

"Mmhmm." Raef could understand that.  Gavi was fucking hard to get along with, but
kids he understood. "Mm...do you have her clothes?" Gavi probably had
her formula, too.

**ABBY**

"Clothes, diapers, formula, yeah I got all her shit in
my room. Haven't really packed it up to give away yet." It'd felt like
giving her away, before Gavi had actually done it. "I'd need a minute for
that."

**MINK**

"Sure." She could take her time.  He didn't need anything right then.  He had everything in that moment.  Raef freed one hand to take one of Azrael's
hands in his, twining their fingers together.
Giving away Tikva had to be one of the most difficult, if not the most
difficult, thing and he appreciated that.

He appreciated for this.

Azrael squeezed Raef's hand back, smiling over at him before
he looked back to Gavi. "Thank you."

**ABBY**

Gavi took a second to really look at Raef. She'd told
herself she'd give him a chance, for Griffin. Fuckin' hadn't though, not
really. To comfortable on her Gruuman high horse for that. Nothing like getting
knocked down in the muck for re-evaluating your shit.

She was doing better now. And she'd keep working on it. Give
Raef a chance for real. He was her nephew now too, and shit. "Yeah well,
pay me back by making sure she grows up happy and loved, y'here me?"

[END]

Title: Adoption

Summary: Gavi goes to Raef and Az and gives them Tikva to
raise. They talk about several things, including what the future holds for the
orcs.