Kye began to breathe heavily, trying to calm down. He had to listen to Blake. They were trying to help him. "Physically," was the only word he responded for a moment. "He was typing in chat all this stuff about wanting to die … and that… that he wanted dad to kill him…?" he recalled, already starting to cry.
Blake gently held Kye’s hand as the other cried. “But Marcos is giving him time and space to recover. He’s going to be okay. It just all got to be too much for him at the time.” They spoke soothingly, just trying to calm their friend down.
"But what if he's not? He got Claimed by one of the supposedly 'better gods' and still ended up completely messed up…!" he argued. Even though he was upset about the truth, he couldn't dare say Derlik wasn't a good god. What he did sometimes to people… well, it wasn't always good, but it wasn't ever all that bad. Sure, he used to be pretty bad, but… he was trying. Kye wasn't mad somehow, and Derlik would be able to tell. He was just confused and very upset.
Blake sighed softly, not really having an explanation for that one. “I don’t know Kye…” they admitted. “We just have to hope.”
It didn't help. Derlik still felt like all the work he had done meant nothing now. Kye's tie was almost as old as Wren's, after all, how did they know he was only not mad because of that?
Derlik still felt like a failure, thinking Kye would never forgive him for this. He'd hurt his son's friend, and now he'd lost his son, too.
Kye sat there, still crying softly to himself, thinking about what Blake had said. They could only hope. He had to cheer up. Marcos did say he could come over to help or simply visit Wren. So… that could help, right?
"I know… dad told me it wouldn't happen again, but… I don't want to lose the people I care about. Not again," he whispered, only somewhat to himself.
“You won’t. Everyone’s going to be okay.” Blake reassured, despite not knowing if any of it was true.
Kye then let his legs go a bit to look down at Blake. "Thank you," he said, sounding a bit congested from crying. He gave a soft smile before looking down at his phone again. He was surprised at how dead the chat was. Well, he might as well apologise for Derlik. Again.
Kye is typing…
Kye: hey, um… derlik told me what he did to wren. the actual truth. i'm sorry also to anyone he's messed with recently.
“You’re welcome.” Blake just hoped that they were actually able to help. They stayed close to Kye as he typed.
Marcos is typing…
Marcos: Oh. Are… do you want to come over for a bit?
Kye raised his eyebrows a moment. Oh, he so badly wanted to visit Wren. Even in soul form. Just so he could comfort himself, knowing he would be able to finally calm down about it.
Kye is typing…
But then he looked up, noticing how depressed Derlik really looked. He looked back down to his phone and then to Blake as well. Wren wouldn't be too pleased to know that Blake still wasn't allowed to be full size. He knew about his friend, but only in the way Derlik had told him. Which probably wasn't good.
Kye is typing…
Kye: i really want to but…
Kye: i don't think he'd respond well if i brought blake with me. and with how upset derlik is right now… it wouldn't be safe to leave him.
Kye: as soon as he wakes up though, ping me and i'm there.
Kye glanced at Derlik's form and realized he was shaking. Was he… crying too…? Kye closed his eyes to focus on the tie again. He could practically hear the thoughts running through the god's head. Well, not really, but the deep sorrow he felt was enough. The boy pursed his lips before offering Blake a hand. "I think I'm gonna go talk to him. You know how he is," he said, partly talking to himself into doing it. They were both upset. He didn't want to make the same mistake Marcos had.
“That would probably be best.” Blake agreed, stepping into Kye’s outstretched hand.
Marcos is typing…
Marcos: Alright, then. It'll probably be a couple days, but I'll let you know the moment he wakes up.
Marcos: Be careful, Kye
Derlik didn't notice anything, not Kye's investigating or how things seemed to change some. He curled in tighter on himself, doing his best to stop crying. It was hard, though. He felt like a failure of a father, that no matter how much he cared for his son he'd always let him down, hurt him. It made him wish he'd left Kye alone, let him live his life, and never bothered that village again.
Kye gently placed Blake into his pocket, checking to make sure he was secure before standing. He walked over as quietly as the grass would allow him to, making a light brushing noise as he walked. Now standing by the boulder again, he rested his hand gently on the small of Derlik's back as he cried. He began rubbing small circles there to comfort him. "Dad… please don't cry…"
Derlik rubbed at his eyes when he felt Kye come over, looking up and trying to give a weak smile.
"H-Hey, Kye… I'm sorry for worrying you." The god knew he couldn't hide his true feelings from Kye, but he was trying too. He shifted to look at Kye, still trying to dry his tears off. Parents weren't supposed to get comforted by their children, after all, especially after they were the ones hurting the child.
Kye smiled softly at the god as he moved to look at him. "It's okay. I… it's really hard for me not to, really," he said with a small shrug. He had to stand on his toes a bit to use his hands to wipe away the last few tears. "I needed to think about it for a few minutes. I didn't mean to make you cry," he added, still trying to wipe at Derlik's cheeks.
(Me, struggling to write a healthy family relationship because I don't have one: Is this Normal?)
Derlik leaned a bit into Kye's hand as the tears were brushed away, finally able to keep them from falling.
"Right, right… I was just worried about you too, Kye. I know… I know what I did was so, so out of line." Derlik moved to put his legs down from his chest, sitting on the edge of the boulder with his hands in his lap.
(honey do you need to talk-)
"Yeah, but you can't be perfect at everything," he argued, taking Derlik's hands in his own a moment. "Mmm… my momma told me this once: forgiving isn't forgetting. It's choosing to not let it hurt you. And… I forgive you," he finished, doing his best not to tear up again. He never liked crying despite the fact he was more of the emotional type. It made him embarrassed.
(It's, it's fineeeeeeee I think)
Derlik held Kye's hands in turn, nodding some.
"Thank you, Kye… It means so much to me." The god raised one of his hands, gently cupping Kye's cheek when he noticed his son trying to fight back tears. Moving to stand, he carefully offered a hug. He wanted to help his little boy feel better, after all.
(swimmy dear I need you to be honest or i'm going to start worrying like Serna would-)
Kye quickly accepted, already clambering into Derlik's lap for the hug. He made sure to set Blake down to the side of Derlik because he felt they both needed the hug. And that meant the poor human would have been squished in the hug. "And you mean so much to me, dad," he replied, a tired smile on his face. But it was genuine.
(I have Trauma but I'm going to be moving out in August when I turn 18, I'll be okay I promise)
It felt good to see Kye smile again. He wrapped his arms around his son, holding him close without fear of hurting the small human. He smiled himself, bending his head down to lightly kiss Kye's head, hand moving to gently rub his back.
"You mean the world to me, Kye," the god said in turn, a small chuckle coming out.
(aaa okay but please remember to get help if things get bad)
Kye wrapped his arms around Derlik, hugging him as hard as he could. Which, the god could handle due to the fact that Kye was smaller and his arms didn't even completely reach around his middle. "Right back at you," he hummed, still deciding not to make false complaints about the kisses Derlik gave him. Now wasn't the time.
(Ehh I'll try, but it's mostly Emotional/Psychological stuff and in Conservative Indiana it's… so hard to prove it's happening enough to get taken from the situation, especially the older you get ;-;)
Glad that Kye didn't say anything against the kisses, the god pressed one last on to his forehead. He knew if Kye did at this moment, he'd actually stop and think Kye didn't want them.
"Mm…" The god was slowly relaxing, glad that Kye was doing better. They'd get through this.
"Dad…? Can… can we let Blake become actual size for a while? Maybe… longer than a few minutes…? I want to give them a proper hug. They helped me calm down through this," Kye asked, knowing full well the human was listening. He had always pestered Derlik for it to happen, and on the rare occasion it did, it wasn't for much time. But Kye would work on that. Eventually he wanted Blake to be able to choose what size they were and for how long.
Derlik listened as Kye voiced his request, nodding.
"Yeah, of course, kiddo." Derlik offered a soft smile, kissing Kye's head as he turned to Blake. He hummed softly, finger going to lightly touch Blake's cheek. In a moment, they were up to a normal human height. He let Kye out of their hug, gently patting his shoulder.