Since the whole, hand massage, incident with Able, Emre found herself once again avoiding the SCP. Able was far too invested in keeping Emre within his eye sight or at least earshot to not notice. He ground his fangs when she would leave the room in a hurry as he entered. Not even bothering to spare him a glance. Forks bent in his hand when she would leave the dinner table before anyone else. Holes finally began appearing in random trees when she wouldn't even do chores with him anymore.
It was getting old now. And it was pissing him off.
The only problem was that Able still had no idea how to remedy the whole situation. He knew that when Emre began avoiding people, it was because she was hurting or bothered. As much as he hated to admit it, the thought of Emre hurting bothered him. And not having the stubborn little mortal around filled him with an impossible amount of loneliness and misery.
Now that he had a taste of companionship he was not going back.
So when Professor. Dreyfus invited him to another session of Fireside Chat with a new bottle of whisky and a roaring fire during a snowstorm, Able took it. He sat in the large leather chair. A small round table separated him from the professor who sat in an identical leather chair. Hyper aware of the fact that Emre was just in the other room, making a sandwich and humming to herself before quickly trotting up the stairs,
Able listened for a moment, fiddling with his explosive collar with a claw until he heard the shutting of her bedroom door.
"So, anything you want to talk about?" Dreyfus began, holding a notepad and pen to record whatever the SCP says.
"Many things." Able downed some alcohol with ease. Quickly disappointed that he didn't even feel a buzz. "I've had dreams ever since I came here. My...memories are coming back."
"Interesting." Dreyfus began scribbling in the notepad, "what are these dreams about?"
"None is your business!" Able snarled quickly. Balling his hands into tight fists.
Dreyfus stared at him wide eyed, body tense.
"Uhh...still prone to angry outbursts..." Dreyfus wrote down. He cleared his throat, "instead...are you concerned about these dreams?"
Able pauses, "no." He looks into the fire, "the night I saved Emre..." her name felt bitter on his tongue with what was going on between them, "there were things that happened. Things that I couldn't do before. As if some power was awoken within me."
Dreyfus leaned in a bit, clearly interested now that Able was talking.
"What did you do?" He asked.
Able thought back to that night. When the demon stabbed him in the neck with a dagger and the wound began to immediately heal. Then when he discovered that he could redirect rage into body heat. Explaining this to Dreyfus made the scientist furiously scratch out notes.
"Fascinating." The man spoke under his breath, crouched over his notes like someone protecting a precious jewel, "Now. To more serious matters." Dreyfus sat up and removed his glasses. Abel felt the change in his demeanor. "What I have been concerned about is your sneaking around the farm lately." Dreyfus said as Able down another glass of whiskey.
Able paused, sneaking? He was not sneaking. Walking really, really quietly to find Emre without her practically running away from him?
That was more accurate.
"I do not sneak." Able stated with indignation.
"Well...you are stalking her. Are you stalking her to...hurt her...or something else perhaps?"
Able cut him off with a firm voice, "I have no interest in hurting your daughter."
"Son." Dreyfus dryly chuckled. Able frowned at the affectionate term. He was far older than Dreyfus, thousands of years older, although he didn't look it. "I may seem busy and aloof to my daughter's life. But I can recognize when something is bothering my daughter from a mile away. She's been pretty out of sorts as of late."
"And you think I am the source of your petulant daughter's angst?" Able's face twisted as he spat out the word 'petulant'. His irritation with Emre was coming back to the surface. He fisted his hands and leaned over. The flickering light from the fire illuminating his face in the darkened study.
"I don't think, I know." The professor chuckled again, "and I've been very aware of the way you look at my Emmy as of late."
Able scowled deeper. Were his affections that obvious? They shouldn't have been. Then again, Dreyfus over analyzed everything. The scientist, pleased with his assessment of the situation at hand.
Able smirked cruelly, intent on wiping the man's smirk off his face.
"I understand that I need your approval first. before courting your daughter." Able said matter-of-factly. Dreyfus began choking on his whiskey. Which burned his throat, making him tear up.
"Ummm," he coughed again, "Able...uh...look. It's not that I don't believe you would be a great protector for my daughter. But I've seen your psychological profile. You aren't exactly 'boyfriend, husband...father...' material."
Able took offense to that. Growling deeply, claws burying into the leather chair, "You doubt my ability to protect a woman?"
Dreyfus cleared his throat.
"Able. It's 2018. Emre is not a woman from your time. She's pretty independent. She's used to being alone...and that's partly my fault. But back in your time, women were t exactly the most liberated people out there. They were expected to be barefoot and pregnant."
Able sneered to himself. He was well aware of all of this. Though the welcomed thought of Emre being pregnant with his child excited him immensely, it was far too early to even conceive of it. The threat of the Fifth Church was still looming over them and aside from that, Emre wouldn't even look at him right now!
Dreyfus was also ignorant of the gender relations in his time. Sure, there were very clear gender roles. But no woman could get away with being lazy in his homeland. Many of them even participated in farming and hunting right alongside the men. Able couldn't imagine Emre without her riding a horse or cleaning out an elk carcass. The idea of her sitting around was foreign. Able valued Emre because she was who she was, and he had no interest in changing her into something she wasn't.
"If it eases your modern sensibilities, I have no interest in changing Emre into something she is not." Able tried to sound reassuring. Almost empathetic to the concerns of the father whom he were asking permissions from.
Dreyfus blew a long breath from his nose.
"My daughter is all I have left. You know that, don't you?"
Able felt a pang of jealousy. The feeling of having a family was something he couldn't even remember anymore.
But now he was curious.
"What happened to Emre's mother?" Able asked quietly. Dreyfus raised a brow at him. Quickly writing something into his notepad before setting the objects down and leaning back into his chair and linking his fingers together.
"Do you remember your last rampage?" Dreyfus asked, "before we started locking you up and terminating you upon awakening?"
Able had some memory of those years. Even he would say that he was completely out of control. The sight of a human would drive him to an indecent amount of uncontrollable rage. The facility put him down in every way imaginable when he would awaken.
But the specific incident Dreyfus mentioned, Able remembered vividly. All because someone had insulted his mother. From there, it was just a blood bath. They couldn't contain him. He was too fast, too impenetrable. He was reaching the surface quickly and no one seemed able to stop him.
That's when he heard the boom and the bright light. He was evaporated where he stood. He still couldn't comprehend what had happened.
"I remember." Able responded.
"My wife was at the facility you were being held the day you rampaged." Dreyfus explained, "she set off the nuclear warhead that destroyed you...and everyone else who couldn't get out on time. She gave her life and saved the world by keeping you away from the surface."
