Naturally, Abaddon needed about a second to decide what to do with Yog-Sothoth's to.
He could have kept it for himself, but to the victor must go the spoils.
"Catch, little miss."
"Ehh..?"
Mira held out her hand and caught the book just as her father tossed it to her.
"What's this for?" She tilted her head.
"It was your catch, honey bunches." Audrina smiled. "You've earned what's inside."
Mira's eyes sparkled with gratitude.
"Congratulations, Sis." Apophis ruffled her hair. "Looks like you're going to accomplish your dream of being even scarier."
Mira brushed her hair aside confidently "As if I needed any more help with that."
From the perspective of her parents, Mira was as cute as a newborn baby.
They knew she had nearly as frightening a reputation as her aunt, but if they were honest… they just didn't see it.
Wasn't she just the cutiest patootie of all?
"You've all got so catching up to do if you wanna take my position as head of the pack." Mira gloated.
Apophis stared at her blankly. "All we have to do is rember to make our beds in the morning and we'll be that much farther ahead of you."
"You shut your mouth! Have so respect for the future heir!"
"I have lots of respect for myself, thank you very much."
"I'll kill you!"
Mira wrestled her brother into a headlock and bit down on his horns. Apophis protested loudly and tried to fight her off using his tail.
Seras separated the two while wearing a small smirk. "Alright, you two, that's enough of this 'heir' talk. You know that conversation is a long way off from now."
"Y-Yea, but surely it's not that far off anymore, right? You guys have been saying this for like a couple thousand years now." Mira reminded.
"It would probably be shorter if they would stop having kids…" Apophis whispered.
"Truth." Mira whispered back.
The two discreetly exchanged a small fist bump.
Seras glanced at Abaddon and he sighed; wishing this conversation wasn't happening right now.
"No, it's… not that far off anymore." He admitted.
Abaddon has ruled over Tehom for billions of years now.
It's rewarding, but burdenso.
He has spent so much more ti down here taking care of his people while silently wanting nothing more than to take a long vacation with the won he exchanged his vows with.
And everything he has done, everything he has tried to protect has been for the goal of passing this down to their children one day. To see them care for it and bring a fresh new wave of ingenuity to the abyss that he could not bring about on his own.
And then when they were ready, he would like to see his grandchildren do the sa thing.
Was that not how things were supposed to be?
"So it's more important for to be the strongest than ever…!" Mira said with reverence.
"Mira…" Abaddon rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"We said you were the scariest, not the strongest. And that's only because we've all seen what you look like in the morning." Apophis poked.
Abaddon finally couldn't take it and shook both of his kids by their horns.
"Could the two of you please drop this conversation? How strong any of you are is not a factor in my decision of heir."
""It's not??""
"No, it is not." Abaddon rolled his eyes.
Both children seed genuinely surprised by this. They didn't think strength would be a WHOLE criteria for his decision but they did think that it would at least be a factor.
Hearing that it wasn't really did widen the race a bit.
"O-Okay, just one more question and we'll drop it, I promise." Apophis held up his hand.
"Son, no. Why can't you go back to the days when you were just adorable and didn't know how to talk?"
Apophis started to open his mouth but then closed it at the last second.
Instead he created a pen and paper from magic and began scribbling so things down.
Abaddon wasn't sure whether he should laugh or cry.
Apophis held out the sheet of paper with one question on it.
As of right now, do you have an idea of who you'd like it to be?
Abaddon smiled uncharacteristically.
He then proceeded to send his son's note up in flas while still wearing that sa smile.
"Whoops. Didn't get to read that before it spontaneously combusted." Abaddon smiled.
Apophis' mouth hung open. Mira suppressed a snicker.
Abaddon put them both down and held out his hand for Seras instead with the two of them intending to leave as quickly as possible.
"Now if you kids will excuse us…"
As Apophis watched his parents leave, he couldn't help but feel like they were behaving a bit differently from normal.
It'd been a couple of decades since he and his siblings joked about who would be heir, and usually their father's reaction was always the sa.
He tended to make a joke where he said the youngest at the ti was looking the best. Both because they were too cute to say no to, and because it was a clear and obvious fallacy.
Half the ti, the youngest wouldn't even be out of diapers yet- making it even more inconceivable.
But the way their father had reacted today was entirely different.
And it wasn't as if he didn't have a baby to place his attention on, Odessa was just born.
Rather, he seed to be intentionally avoiding the discussion. As if he had put more thought into it than he was letting on.
Maybe he didn't know who he wanted to make heir just yet, but.. there was also a chance that-
"It's not either of us… is it?"
Abaddon froze in his tracks.
He remained there with his back towards his children, and conflict burning in all of his eyes.
Mira looked understandably concerned. "Wait, what? What'd we do wrong??"
"…Nothing. You two have been the perfect children. Better than I or your mothers ever could have reasonably dread of. There isn't a day that we don't wake up imnsely proud of you both." Abaddon said honestly.
"Then.. why?" Mira asked.
Abaddon turned around to face them both. He temporarily released Seras, who looked even more on edge now than she did before going into battle.
The other wives mirrored her sentint.
Abaddon went to Mira first and cupped her small face in his hands.
He smiled at her softly, and tried to ease the pain he could feel her harboring inside.
"My thoughts are not final, they are only observations. But I have seen your love for your Unongendi. How you care for them as if they are your own family.
Can you tell honestly that you do not feel your calling is with them? With the family that you have made through your own determination…?"
"I.." Mira was smart, but she was bad at complex thinking when it ca to herself.
She liked working with the Unongendi. As a matter of fact she loved it.
She had never once stopped to consider just how she would feel if one day her ti was pulled away from them towards other areas.
If she couldn't see her disciples grow up, if she couldn't see them learning and teaching each other day by day then… wouldn't she miss too much?
Abaddon reached out for Apophis and grabbed him by the base of the neck; pulling him in to a non-negotiable embrace.
He smiled at him proudly, as if he were one of the most precious things in his life.
"And you… my firstborn son. From the minute you were born, people were telling you that you looked like . That you were my spitting image in more ways than one.
I know what that ant to you. I know that has been a source of pride for you for so very long because it was the sa for . But I should have put a stop to all of that much sooner.
I let other people fill you with this idea that your role in our family was predetermined. That you had to follow in my footsteps because you were my firstborn son. It was wrong to your siblings, and especially to you.
You've beco a good man. A good brother. A good husband. And you have always been a wonderful son. You've never shied away from any sort of responsibility whether it was yours or not.
But you are flesh of my flesh and blood of my blood. I know you better than anyone. Do you want to be nad my heir because it's what you actually want, or because you think it's your responsibility as my firstborn son?"
Apophis faltered.
He bit his lip and looked away as his eyes started to water.
Abaddon gently turned his head back and rested his forehead against his son's.
"As your father… I am so honored that you look up to even when I do not deserve your reverence.
But just the sa, it is my duty as a parent to make things easier for you and the generations to co.
That is the only reason why… I cannot in good conscience hand you a burden that I know will only bring you tension. I have never been cruel to you before, so please… don't believe that I will start now."
Abaddon held both of his children so tightly that he could have crushed them.
He felt Mira shake in his grasp while Apophis just stood there; hugging him back while simultaneously questioning everything that he had ever known.
Ayaana soon joined in the embrace too, and together the group of them shared a mont that while painful, may have been all too necessary.
This wasn't how Abaddon wanted to tell his children about his thinking, because as he said- nothing was final.
But this was a conversation that he should have had with Apophis long ago, yet he never did make the ti for it.
This was very long overdue.
All he could do now was pray that he hadn't damaged his relationship with his son over one silly little seat.
Because if he had… there would be no one for him to bla but himself.
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