bewrightback | IC Inbox [Empatheias]

[He blinks, feeling exhausted already.]

W-well, how about we stick to just humans for this one...?

Hah hah, fair enough. Let's get to it then! [He may have forgotten Wright was still wearing PJs as he starts to take a few steps away.]

Right now? Like this?! [He calls out after Dhurke in an attempt to halt him.] Can... I just get a few minutes to change??

[He stops and gives Wright a once over before laughing.] You could get away with those as workout clothes. [No.] But sure, I'll wait.

Thank you, Dhurke. [He says with a relieved sigh, and then he runs upstairs. A few minutes later, he comes down wearing sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt.]

Okay, now this is better!

[He smiles. Once they're set, he'll keep things at a walking pace for now.]

Thank you for joining me this morning, Wright. [His voice was no longer at boisterous levels. It was now surprisingly calm and formal.] It's been...well, an interesting start this month.

[Phoenix's exasperation faded as Dhurke spoke. It's not hard to guess what he's referring to.]

Interesting... that's one way of putting it. [He says a little dryly, but then he continues with genuine sympathy.]

I'm... sorry you had to be separated so soon, Dhurke. [It's not easy on any of us. But at least for the rest of us... We'll be able to see him again at home one day.]

...Well, nothing stays forever in this world, right? Just like our own. [It's been a day or two, just enough time for Dhurke to try and reassure himself that in the end, Apollo should be back home. It wouldn't have been possible for them to meet and spend time like this to begin with.]

He's back where he's needed, and I don't have to worry for his safety at least. [Just a feeling that he never gave the closure Apollo needed. That still weighs heavily in his heart, even the air around them felt drier.] How did he manage in the states anyway? I never got around to asking about his life there.

W-well, I guess you're right... [That doesn't mean the time has to be short...

He then looks a bit nostalgic as he tries to focus on Dhurke's question.]

So you didn't know about that, huh? Well... He did phenomenally. He had a bit of a shaky start, but he never actually lost a case. And he was an invaluable part of solving some long-unresolved cases.

[Phoenix grins as he taps at his badge, which shines brightly in reflection of his pride.]

If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have gotten my badge back. And America's dark age of the law may not have come to an end. ...It wasn't an easy road for him, though. He lost a close friend of his, and for a while he questioned his path as a lawyer. But, well... You know Apollo. In the face of all that...

[He flashes a smile at Dhurke.]

He never once yielded.

[Apollo did mention a few things, but never really went into detail about his time in the States. One thing he knew for sure, as Wright confirms it once more, Apollo had one hell of a career. And so he listens as Wright paints him a bigger picture of his life, even when it really should have been Apollo to tell him this. Although he is learning some surprising things about Wright through this.]

I didn't know you ran into some trouble with the law. Did you have to deal with a crazy power hungry in-law too? [Cause surely Wright must have been falsely accused for something if he could get his badge back. Still he smiles appreciatively, as Wright finishes with the familiar creed]

Heh, of course he wouldn't, he's my kid afterall. [He says proudly. No matter what Apollo thought of him, to Dhurke he would always be one of his.] And he has you guys looking out for him when I couldn't.

[Phoenix wasn't sure how much of Apollo's story was his to tell. But with Apollo gone and the possibility that Dhurke may never see him again, it felt like he should tell Dhurke at least that much. He gives a sad chuckle at Dhurke's joke.]

No, thankfully not. It was the work of a very unpleasant stranger. ...I did have to deal with an evil fake ex girlfriend once, but that's a whole different story entirely... [He waves it off. And smiles at Dhurke's last comment.]

Well... We try our best. But Apollo's really grown up and learned to stand on his own. When I left him at Khu'rain, it was with nothing but pride in how far he's come.

Hah hah hah! It sounds like you've seen some things yourself. We should share stories sometime.

[There was something bittersweet to hear Wright talk so fondly about how far Apollo has come, having that history he didn't have. They never manage to fully mend their relationship while Apollo was here, and a part him still felt guilty it had taken him as long as it did to come take him back, missing so much of his life.] He made that decision himself, right? I always dreamed he take over my old office one day, just didn't think he'd do it. [Not that he really pushed it with all the other stuff he failed to do for him.]

Heh... I have enough stories to fill a library! [of video games.] But I be it's nothing compared to what you've probably been through.

[Phoenix smiles warmly and nods. There's a shining, prideful light emanating from the pocket of Phoenix's sweatpants, where his badge currently is.]

Of course it was his decision. It looked like Nahyuta talked with him beforehand, but... Apollo's not the kind of person to make a decision like that unless he's a hundred and ten percent behind it.

Kids... They're full of surprises!

[The whole area may as well be brightening up with sparkles at how Dhurke felt after hearing Apollo really had made that decision for himself.]

Boy had I known though, I would have tidy up the place a little more for him. I could have told him all about the secret compartments I've built. Datz doesn't even know them all. [That could be true or not.]

But surprises are what makes everyday an adventure with them. I'm sure you already know that, having a magician in your family.

[Phoenix rubs his eyes to ward off those sparkles. And he gives a nervous laugh at the bit about the secret compartments, not wanting to know whether it's true or not.]

Heh... That's right. Bringing up Trucy has been its own adventure. One that has its fair of hardships... but it's rewarding at the same time. She's been my light during some of the darkest days of my life. [Now it's the locket in his pocket that glows, as he pulls it out and opens it up to look at the photo within.]

[What's with dads and lockets? He gives the locket a curious glance, a knowing smile appearing on his face.]

I believe it. She's a strong kid, with a lot of happiness to give. Maybe that's why she and Apollo get along so well, him being such a downer sometimes. Heh.

[It's part of the dad club's start kit.]

Exactly. They balance each other out perfectly... The two of them, they really make quite the team.

[He thinks back to the talk with Lamiroir he had before coming here.]

I look forward... to them becoming even more of a team someday.

Oh you think so too? Apollo doesn't see it, but I think they would make a great couple if he wasn't married to his work. [He seems pleased that someone else seem to share his opinions about Apollo and Trucy.]

She's already embracing it and calling me dad, hah hah hah! Oh, hope that's all right with you that she does. [She can totally have two dads right?]

[A look of horror spreads over Phoenix's face as Dhurke goes on, until finally he points at Dhurke intensely.]

OBJECTION!!! [His feelings even make a strong gust of wind blow from his fingertip.] He can't marry his own sister!!

[A beat. ...As Phoenix realizes what he said, he turns pale.]

[The gust of wind does nothing more than blow the dragon's hair.]

O-Oh. Is that so? [Well ok, that makes sense. Wait. He stops walking to properly process what Wright just said actually meant. Quite suddenly there was a flash of lightning, despite it being clear skies right now.]

Pohlkunka! Apollo has a sister?! [Trucy really is his kid??] But he told me Apollo was an only child!

[In lighter circumstances, Phoenix would have snarked about how his emotional effect ended up acting as a glorified hair dryer.

As it is, Phoenix is panicking now that he's let slip the truth after keeping it the secret for so long. Maybe it was the specific idea of the two of them getting married that broke his usual poker face. He blinks and ducks back as he sees the flash of lighting, but then he tries to face Dhurke sternly.

There's no backing out of this now. Dhurke won't settle for anything less than the whole truth...]

Who did - Jove? Well... Apollo was an only child at the time. And as far as he knows, he is. But after what happened at Khu'rain... his mother remarried and had a daughter named Trucy. [He pauses before he adds.] Apollo's mother, Thalassa Gramarye.

Apollo's mother....so she's still alive. She is, right? [Dhurke had spent so long trying to find information about his mother, hoping to one day be able to bring Apollo back to her, but as the years continued he wasn't sure if she was alive. Now here was Wright, when it was already too late with the information he had been seeking. Such cruel irony, along with something else he noticed was strange in Wright's explaination.]

Hold on, does Trucy not know either? [Because Trucy certainly hadn't made any indications to him the she knew.]

She's alive alright. There was an incident about a decade ago, though, where she was believed to have died. She secretly survived... But she was without her memories until just a few years ago.

[He shakes his head.]

Trucy doesn't seem to know anything about the previous marriage. Or the truth about her mother's fate.

I see...and she never came forward with them after she remembered? [Not even Wright? He frowns.]

I'm guessing things were a little more complicated then what you've already told me.

It's... pretty complicated, yeah. [He looks away with a frown.]

I talked with her just before I came here, actually. I showed her that photo of Jove, and she sounded like she was finally ready to come to them with the truth. ...But now we're stuck here instead.

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