Chapter 10 – Homeward Bound
Kain crossed his chamber, silently and swung open the balcony curtains. The light filtered through and shone on the occupants of the bed. Azrael was the first to rise, reluctantly opening his eyes but then finding himself unable to move under the weight of the child who had fallen asleep on his arm.
Kain sat in the chair opposite the bed, waiting for Azrael and Mioko to wake. Mioko eventually opened her eyes and for a moment looked as though she didn't know who or where she was. Upon seeing Azrael, however the memories of the previous day and her father's return flooded back to her and she flung her arms around Azrael, happily.
"Azzy!" she whispered, happily. Azrael frowned and tried to move, but she refused to let him. The firstborn Razielim jumped when he heard the Lord of Nosgoth chuckle quietly from his seat as he viewed the discomfort of the babysitting vampire.
"Uncie Kain!" Mioko cried, her father's return obviously putting her in a cheerful mood. She leaped from the bed and made her way to sit up on her uncle's knee. Azrael tried to flex his arm now that the weight of the girl had been lifted.
"Where's daddy?" Mioko asked, curiously as Kain lifted her up onto his lap. Kain gestured to the next door, where Raziel was recovering from the night before. Mioko smiled and sliding off Kain's lap, she made her way to the next room. Azrael and Kain watched her go, before Azrael succumbed to his tiredness and tried to snuggle down beneath the covers. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep when Kain's voice interrupted the silence.
"Azrael, would you mind getting out of my bed now?"
"Daddy!" Mioko shouted, hugging her father's legs.
"Hello my love," Raziel murmured, turning his attention from the bag he had been packing to his daughter. He sat down and pulled her into his arms, where she sat, comfortably. Mioko's eyes fell on the vampire's bed. Raziel's sword was lying beside the bed, half wiped and stained with blood. Mioko's eyes widened,
"Daddy!" she breathed, her voice filling with excitement, "Did you kill Vorador?" Raziel laughed and shook his head,
"No, my love, uncie Kain wouldn't let me." Mioko looked unmistakably disappointed as she hung her head.
"Oh," she muttered, almost bitterly.
"I made Vorador know what it feels like to lose a daughter," he told her, then added in almost a whisper, "or two…or three…or four…"
"Did you kill his bitches?!" Mioko asked, shrilly. Raziel snapped his head down,
"Mioko!" he snapped, "Who told you that?"
Mioko hung her head, "Dumah calls them bitches."
"I've told you before," Raziel groaned, wearily, "Never repeat anything Dumah says." Mioko looked up at her father confused,
"Then why does he say it?" she murmured, just before her eyes fell back onto her father's bed. Clothes were strewn across the bed, waiting to be packed up into his bag. Mioko looked from the bed, up inot her father's golden eyes, "Are you going somewhere?" she asked softly. Raziel nodded,
"Yes, we're..."
"You can't!" Mioko shouted, jumping from her father's lap to stare up at him, defiantly, "You can't leave me again!"
From outside Kain, who had been speaking with Megara and Azrael, heard the shout and the three went to Raziel's door, concerned for the screaming child.
By the time they got there Mioko was shouting at her father while he tried to speak over her, to no avail. "It's not fair!" she shrieked, "Why do you keep going away?!"
"Mioko!" Raziel roared, immediately shutting the child up. She looked up at him, scared and frightened of the shout, "We are going home. I am going home and you are coming with me, that's all!" he said, loudly.
Mioko stared up at him, silent for a moment, before her little face winced and she started crying loudly, "You don't have to shout," she wailed, running from the room. Raziel watched her go in disbelief, before he gave a frustrated shout into his claws. Kain was clearly annoyed at his son for shouting at the child, Azrael looked indifferent as he normally did with matters involving Mioko, Megara however, found the situation hilarious.
"I'll go then," Kain muttered, seeing his son was too annoyed to be of any comfort to the child, that and he was getting slightly irritated with his own daughter's amused attitude.
He found the child, sitting on her balcony, huddled in the corner with Chibi Kain. Kain dropped down, lightly beside her and put a comforting arm around her,
"Why did he shout at me?" Mioko sobbed, leaning against the vampire.
"Well, you were screaming at him," Kain attempted to explain.
"You're on his side!" Mioko shrieked. Kain sighed as the child started screaming at him,
"Alright!" Kain gave in, "He was wrong to shout at you, naughty Raziel," he muttered, pleased that the child had calmed down. She hugged Kain around the waist.
"I'm sorry I have to go home," she sighed ,"I'm sorry you'll be all alone, won't you?"
Kain shook his head, "I'll be alright, I've got my own daughter to look after now." Mioko looked up at her uncle, "Meg was hurt in the battle against the humans, so she'll need me to look after her." Mioko and Kain looked down into the courtyard where Megara and Azrael were readying horses for the Razielim's journey home.
"Do you shout at Megara?" Mioko asked, watching the two vampires. Kain chuckled,
"All the time. Sometimes daddy's have to shout at their little girls to make them listen." Mioko opened her mouth to speak, before deciding to say something different.
"Megara's not a little girl!"
"She's my little girl," Kain protested, "Just like you're Raziel's little girl."
Mioko saw Raziel enter the courtyard and start giving his bags to his firstborn. "Is daddy your little boy?" Mioko asked, innocently.
"I think it's time you went down there," Kain said, changing the subject. Mioko hugged Kain again,
"I'll miss you Uncie Kain…will you come and visit me?"
"Of course I will."
"Will you bring Megara?" Mioko asked hopefully. Kain shook his head,
" If I did that there'd be no one to look after Nosgoth while I'm gone." Mioko laughed,
"Get daddy to do it!"
"Mioko!" Kain said, shocked, "He's only just got back and you're already making plans for him to go away again."
"No!" Mioko shrieked, the scream piercing the vampire's ears, "Don't want daddy to go away ever! Don't want daddy ever to leave me!"
"I'm sure he won't," Kain murmured, affectionately as he picked the child up and carried her down to where she would be leaving him.
TBC