Simon nodded, the fake smile staying on his face. He turned to leave the room, hoping the leopard would follow him. As soon as he was out of Astral’s sight, he let the smile drop. “That was gross..” he grumbled to himself. He looked down at his trembling hands, frowning slightly. Trying to ignore the shakiness, he brought one up to his face to wipe off the spot on his forehead where Astral had kissed him.
The leopard did, of course. He was still confused, rubbing his head against Simon's leg again. Why could he still think? He wanted it all to go away, he didn't like having to… know, all these things. He nodded some at Simon's words, head dipped down some.
It would take Simon a bit to figure out that the leopard still had a lot more thoughts going on than he was supposed to. He was too focused on his own thoughts right now. He guided them both back to his room, cautiously opening the door. “Hey, we’re back.” He announced, hoping he hadn’t worried Mia too much.
Mia looked up, getting out of the bed to go to Simon's side.
"What did he do?" She asked softly. There's was always something. The leopard shook his head some, staying close to Simon's side for now. The man was the only one he really trusted, at the moment.
“Eh nothing much really. I just had to be a bit of a suck up to make sure I was actually able to leave and stuff. And he was just being a little bit grabby but then again when is he not.” He explained, not going into the details yet. He reached one hand down to pet the leopard’s head. “But everything’s back to normal so it was worth it.”
"I'm glad you're not hurt, then," Mia said, moving to hug Simon for a moment before pulling away. The leopard leaned into Simon's hand, tilting his head up to lightly take Simon's hand in his mouth to get his attention before letting go and shaking his own head. No, no things weren't. At least he had his body though, right?
Simon nodded in agreement before looking down at the leopard, looking a bit confused. “Everything is back to normal, isn’t it?” Simon asked him.
The leopard shook his head again, vigorously. He lifted one paw, rubbing it over his head. He could still think clearly, like before, it was horrible. His tail and ears were low as he rubbed his head lightly against Simon's leg. He hated it.
Simon sighed softly. “So that’s a no then.” There wasn’t anything he could really do about it, at least not right now. He..he couldn’t handle seeing Astral any more today. “I’m sorry, you’re just gonna have to deal with it for a bit.”
The leopard nodded slightly, laying down. He folded his paws, placing his head there. He understood, despite him not wanting to, and he wouldn't push Simon.
Mia still didn't quite like the leopard, but she felt bad for the poor thing… He'd gone through a lot for him just today, hadn't he?
It was barely even mid-afternoon and already so much had happened. Simon was just…exhausted. He went to go lay down on the bed, trying not to think about how much it bothered him. He knew it’d be better for him to nap up here than on the floor. He let out a heavy sigh, covering up his face with his hands.
Mia moved with Simon over to the bed, the leopard staying laid down where he was. She moved to lay with him, gently putting her hand on top of his. She wanted to assure him, tell him they'd think of something, but… it felt too wrong, now.
“I’m so tired…” he said softly. He definitely sounded that way, just weak, and sad. It really had been a long day already.
That wasn't a good thing, seeing as Simon had slept most of the day away.
"I… I know…" Mia moved to gently hug Simon, rubbing his back.
“I just….” he looked up at Mia. “Why does he have to hurt us? What did we do to deserve all of this?”
"We didn't do anything," Mia said quickly. "He just… He doesn't care. We're not…" Alive, to him. Nothing but toys for him to enjoy, things to be forgotten.
He nodded in acknowledgment. The answer helped some but he still felt upset by this whole thing. How Astral had just started acting like this all of a sudden…he couldn’t understand how someone as cruel as he was being would want a child.
It could be for many reasons. He could want to have someone to carry his name, or perhaps someone to inherit his powers. A weapon. Or, perhaps, it was just because he wasn't allowed to.
Mia stayed quiet, resting her head on Simon's.
"I'm so sorry…"
Simon shook his head slightly, trying to shake away all the bad feelings and memories and the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. He’d cried enough today. “I-it’s fine.” He still remembered from their visit at the temple, how longingly Astral had looked at that mother and her children. How sad he’d sounded when he’d told Simon about being unable to have one of his own. He’d felt bad for the god back then. But of course he hadn’t known that he’d be the one making that dream into a reality.
Mia gently pulled Simon closer to her, one hand starting to rub his back.
"I've got you…" She tucked Simon close, closing her own eyes. She couldn't make this better, she knew, but… she could try.
Simon buried his face into Mia’s side, trying to forget about all of it. All of the good times he’d had with Astral were probably fake. And he hated that. It meant he really wasn’t anything special, just something for the god to use and throw away once he was done with it.
The worst part had to be that not all of it had been. Astral had genuinely enjoyed much of their time together as just that- time together. That was over, though. He really would through Simon away when he was done. Though, sometimes, he might come back. Like a child cleaning out the closet and finding a favorite toy from long ago to love for a few more days.
Mia was quiet, hugging Simon a bit closer. She'd be there with him, of course, for as much as she could.
Simon mostly felt like shit for believing any of it. He’d really started believing that things would be different. It hurt to watch it all go down the drain so quickly like this. Simon hugged Mia a little bit tighter. At least he had her. At least right now.
"I'm not going anywhere…" The bed shifted some as the leopard came up to join them, laying by Simon's back and gently nudging him to try to support him too. The big cat tucked himself close, warm.
“Thank you…” he said softly, he really did appreciate all of her help. At feeling the leopard on his other side, he reached a hand over to pet them carefully.