Chapter 1

Filius est pars patris.

(A son is part of the father)

"DADDY!"

Victus let out a sigh before he replied, "I am in the office, Tiberius." What followed was the pounding of little feet along the hall as Tiberius made his usual noisy entrance. His five-year old son bounced into the room. His bright yellow eyes immediately locked on to his father and he ran the short distance to him.

Victus sat back in his chair, amused as his son clambered up unaided onto his lap. "You are such a little pyjak," he said to the boy who was making himself comfortable. Once Tiberius had settled himself, Victus's focus went back to his terminal.

"So... what is the matter?" he said as he idly went though some files.

"Nothing... "

"You were screaming at me for something, Tiberius."

The little boy scrunched up his face as he looked up at his father.

"When is Gaius and his mommy getting here?"

"Late tomorrow but you know that already."

Victus shut down the terminal and took a good look at his son. Tiberius was nervously playing with his five-fingered hands, the talons clicking off each other. Victus grabbed them both with one of his own larger paws.

"What is wrong, Scout?"

Big sorrowful eyes looked up into his own. "I just... I just... it would be nice to have someone to play with."

"You are right. But Gaius will be here soon."

"I know. Maybe... maybe he could stay?"

Victus chuckled.

"They are staying for the week, Scout."

"I know that. "

"Oh. I see what you mean. You want them to live here."

The little face beamed up at him.

"Gaius's mommy has a job far away which means she can't live on Palaven. You get to see Gaius anyway when we go to the Citadel or when they visit here. I know it is hard for you, my son. You should really try to make friends at school."

Tiberius's face stopped smiling and drooped into a frown.

"Scout?"

The little boy burst out, "I try! They don't like me! I try and try and they don't... "

He started to sniffle.

"They say I'm a freak."

Victus wrapped his arms around the tiny figure and held him tight.

"Who calls you were a freak?"

"Everyone... "

"Oh, I am sure not everyone says that... "

"They do!"

"Does your teacher, Livia, say that? I don't think... "

The little figure stiffened in his arms at the mention of his teacher. Victus's heart stopped for a moment as he pulled back to look at his son's small face.

"Tiberius... Does your teacher treat you differently from the others in your class?"

"..."

"I am asking you a question, Scout. Could you please answer me?"

The little boy fidgeted. His father carefully placed his hand on the boy's cheek.

"You can tell me. You know you can tell me anything."

Tiberius started to hiccup and began taking shallow breaths as he panicked.

"Oh now. Calm down. It is all okay."

Wrapped up in his father's arms, Tiberius's hiccups slowed and his breathing calmed as his father held him close. When he finally had settled again, his father murmured against his fringe, "I need you to tell me everything that your teacher has said and done... "

Livia was clearing up from the day's class. It had been a good day over all. Almost all of her charges had been picked up by their parents except for Tiberius Victus. She gritted her teeth. That little... monster. It was the only word she could think of to describe that abomination. Spirits knows she tried to get along with the boy, if only because of her admiration and respect for his father. But every time she saw those hands and feet.. it made her feel physically sick.

The boy sat, hidden as much as he possibly could, at the back of the class where he was playing with some modelling putty before his father arrived to collect him. She glanced back at the putty before something sparked inside her and she charged up to him.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

His wide eyes looked up at her in fear.

"I... I was just..."

"You were supposed to have all this put away! Can't you understand simple instructions? Is being stupid part of your condition?!"

The small boy shrank further back. "I'm sorry! I'll fix it!"

"You will otherwise you will be waiting for your father in the closet again!"

"No! I promise I'll fix it!"

"Tiberius... "

Livia froze. Tiberius glanced over at his father who had just arrived.

"I...gotta fix this... then... "

Victus slowly walked over.

"Leave it, Scout. Your teacher is more than capable of sorting that out. Go into the hallway and wait for me."

"But... "

"Tiberius, I am not going to tell you twice. I'll be with you in a minute."

The little boy walked out, glancing up at the fear on his teacher's face and the deep anger on his father's. He only remembered his father this angry once before and that was when he had gotten onto the roof of their house. His dad had given out to him for what seemed like ages before almost crushing Tiberius in a hug. Tiberius never went on the roof again.

He sat quietly on a bench in the hallway. At the end of the corridor, he could see the big glass doors of the school and the blinding light of a Palaven day. From inside the classroom, he could hear loud voices, his dad's loudest and angriest of them all.

It seemed to go on forever but eventually his dad opened the classroom door and went straight to where Tiberius sat patiently. The boy glanced up to see if his dad was still angry. His father picked him up and held him in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Daddy." he mumbled.

Victus looked at him confused.

"Why are you sorry, Scout?"

"Cause I didn't do what teacher told me and then you got into a fight."

His father grabbed the small school bag and headed out with Tiberius, still carrying the little boy high up in his arms.

"The fight was not your fault, Tiberius. I was not mad at you."

"Oh... so why were you fighting? You were really angry... "

"I was upset with your teacher but it is all okay now. You will have a new teacher when you go back after your holiday."

"Really? Where is Livia going?"

Victus reached the car, settled Tiberius into his seat and put the school bag into the back. He slid into the driver's side and started the car.

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"You didn't answer. Where is Livia going?"

"I am afraid Livia has decided to try a new profession. Teaching is not for her, I feel. She is handing in her notice as we speak. Don't you fret, Scout. I will be picking your next teacher personally."

Tiberius looked up at his dad who was focused on the road.

"Oh... "

He sat quietly during the drive home with his hands fiddling with the buttons on his shirt. He was so quiet in fact that eventually Victus pulled over. He landed the car and turned in his seat to face his boy.

"Are you okay, Tiberius?"

"Yeah... "

"So why are you not talking? Normally you are telling me all about your day."

Big yellow orbs looked up at him.

"What happens when you die?"

Victus pulled back a little. His son continued gazing up at him. He gently placed his hand on the side of the boy's head.

"I don't know, baby."

"Oh. Okay."

Tiberius watched the sky out the window.

Victus interrupted the silence that had fallen.

"Why do you want to know that, Tiberius?"

"It's just I think it's better to be alive that's all. I mean some of the kids say that I'm not really alive. They think I'm a robot."

Tiberius held up his little five taloned hand. "But I can feel things. That's being alive right?"

His father pulled Tiberius onto his lap and held him close.

"You are alive, so very much alive. You are just a little different that's all. People always get scared of things that are different."

Tiberius looked at his small strange hand in comparison to his father's.

"I'm not really like you am I, Dad?"

His father held in a breath.

"No. You are not the same as me. You are better in most ways."

The little boy looked up at his father with his brow furrowed.

"But I don't want to be better! I wanna be normal like you."

The little boy stared at his hands. "And the other people don't think I am better. Maybe they are right and I'm not supposed to be alive. Sometimes... sometimes I think that maybe I'm not. All those people can't be wrong, can they?"

"Yes they can. Fear does strange things to people."

A thoughtful look crossed Tiberius's face.

"I don't want to make people afraid. I don't like being scared."

Victus clutched him close.

"People get afraid of a lot of things. You have never given them any reason to be afraid of you and I know you never will."

He held on tight to his son as traffic continued to fly past.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah, Scout?"

"You are squishing me a little."

His father burst out laughing before he squeezed his boy a little bit harder and then let him go.

They reached their home soon enough. Tiberius clambered fast up the steps with his school bag dangling off his back while Victus meandered slowly behind him, soaking up the Palaven heat before entering the house. He viewed, with a slight smile, the flotsam and jetsam of boyhood scattered around what had been once his orderly home. Even Tarquin had not been this messy but then, he had had his mother to raise him too. All Tiberius had was him and he was going to make damn sure that his son was never wanting for anything.

He found the small "Blasto" school bag discarded in the hallway and he followed a trail of noise to discover Tiberius in the kitchen on tip-toes, trying to reach a glass that was far too high for him.

"Down, Tiberius."

His son turned to him and smiled. Victus patted his head as his other hand reached the glass.

"None of that. If you want something that is too high up, what are you supposed to do?"

"Ask an adult."

"Exactly. So some juice?"

A big smile spread across Tiberius's face.

"Yep, yep!"

As the sun set on the horizon, Victus sat on the porch with Tiberius curled up in a blanket as he slept on his father's lap. The sky was ablaze with colour which reflected off the silver grass and the silvery leaves. The only noises to be heard were the faint voices of kids playing in the distance, insects flitting around in the last of the sunlit hours and a light breeze shaking the trees. Victus took a sip of his water and curled his arm around the wrapped up and sleeping little boy.

His attention was drawn to a car that landed and parked next to his. He smiled as he recognised the occupant. Shepard got out and waved before she went to the other side of the car. She carried out a sleeping Gaius who started drooling on his mother's shoulder. Victus lifted up his son and put him carefully into the hammock he had just that day hung in the porch-way. He went and took the sleeping Gaius off his mother and put him in there too. He settled the blanket over them both before helping Shepard with the bags.

They talked in hushed tones, exchanging greetings and pleasantries as they worked. Finally he went to get Shepard something to drink while she fussed over the two children who in their sleep had intertwined their bodies together. When he got back, she had taken a seat at the small table and he joined her.

"So... "he spoke softly. "Long day?"

She grinned. "You have no idea."

He smiled back. "You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."

Shepard gave a small laugh as they both gazed out at the setting sun.

"You are on..."