"Ah.. Julian..?" Caleb's eyes trailed the Lord Cedric, as the snake looped in and out of the water and swam directly for him. If he wasn't killed, he was certainly about to be captured, and Caleb found his heart racing and his head screaming for him to get it done quickly; he was sure Irma had once said something about a bandaid, and he'd experienced several of the little buggers, so he expected that it was going to hurt no matter how long you left it.. Either that or you should dip it in water to ease it up, and he figured that now would definitly be the best time.. He was already in water.. And he was probably about to hurt.. A lot. "I meant to tell you.."
Caleb jumped back, as Lord Cedric came from the water; towering above him within seconds, before a sing 'plop' sounded, and Caleb sighed with relief at the giant bubbly dome surrounding the snake - turning to Julian's paralyzed features and grinning.
"I'd very much like a father.. And you were a very good one to me.." Julian seemed to be in shock, as Hay Lin flew between them and Cedric; blowing the watery balloon into ice, and then pushing the air to skim the icy ball over the water and roll it onto the guards' catapault. Hay Lin beamed at him, and Caleb looked from her to Julian, who'd never exactly answered his question. "..Because.. Hay Lin is like a sister now, and Aldarn, and.. Will.."
Julian's eyes moved up to meet his then, and Caleb couldn't remember if he'd told Julian who any of the girls were, but he found himself pointing - hopefully at least in their general direction - and not entirely sure what to do when Julian pulled him into a hug and planted a kiss on his head.. He was sure he'd been here before.. Hugging.. With Will.. And he was sure that Aketon kissed Aldarn many times on the head, so Caleb smiled over Julian's shoulder, at the girls landing beside the lost villagers from the mines. "Mi gínesai anóitos."
Caleb beamed at that, and beamed at Will, who squinted at the ball encasing Lord Cedric, as Hay Lin did a 'power lap' around her and grinned to Taranee. "How long before you think it melts?"
Taranee grinned then, and Caleb felt his own smile growing, as Irma rested and arm on the dark girl's shoulder, before Hay Lin tackled them both in an excited hug. "These rebels will be back in the Infinite City, loong before that happens!"
And Caleb even beamed at little Hay Lin, because he could understand, for once, exactly how she felt.. He felt like he could do a lap himself.. Like he could take on Phobos now and win, and have everything done before the night ended.. Because right at that moment Caleb felt like he could do anything. He could have anything. And it only took Caleb one glance at Cornelia before he remembered. 'You don't get coffee with a girl unless you mean it.' He supposed it was just a generalization though.. Matt had invited Will to a party..
...
"You wanna come with us, and help us celebrate?" Will felt her cheeks scorch momentarily, as Caleb placed a hand on her shoulder, to turn her around to face him. But then she remembered his cutting words, and she frowned at his beaming smile. That she couldn't save everyone. She didn't mean for her words to come out as harshly though, and there hadn't been sarcasm intended in the 'love'.. But even Will could hear it.
"Love to, but we have a delivery to make." It had stung, Will saw, and for a split second, Will wondered what he'd meant by 'you', but she shook it off, and alllowed herself a smile as father and son took off.. She hadn't meant to hurt him, and Will bit her lip before she tried to form a loud enough voice, but he didn't hear her. "I'll see you later though..?"
Mi gínesai anóitos - Don't be silly. (spoken implying a 'yes of course')