'Later' had apparently come to mean 'tomorrow', because she didn't come slinking out of her home until the very next day.
Dressed as Aethisia, she was skulking about at the edges of Old Town. Her long, wavy hair had been carefully braided, her face was half hidden by a mask that turned every word that passed her lips into a dull, robotic mimicry, and her heavy, dark leathers were covered in a roiling mat of insects.
Her swarm consisted primarily of wasps, hornets, bees today, while brown recluses and black widows made up a sizable portion after that. Only a small handful of flies and mosquitoes filled out the swarm the rest of the way.
But gods, the noise she made as she strode down the street. A thick, droning buzz announced her presence long before she arrive anywhere. Every single one of her flying insects was shuddering its wings to pull off the heat and keep the swarm cool.
Aethisia had long since grown used to the noise, and she paid it no mind as she picked along the canals and studied the old, shuttered up shops that lined the water. Dingy signs hung overhead, and more than once she'd been surprised to find that a pawnshop or tattoo parlor she thought was abandoned was still in operation.
The nagging notion in the back of his head. Repeating. Again and again.
Divoon shot up from his seated position and not only began looking around but... looking around. Walking about, trying to find the source of the buzzing. Which, you know, isn't terribly easy without directional sound.
The trail of people slowly fleeing, though? That was a good indicator. He'd follow that back to its source; Aethisia.
Didn't take long, I imagine, before the big idiot was waving wildly at the swarm-woman. "Hey. I... hey."
Clearly the bugs meant no-contact. She was still mad, or upset, hurt. Something was wrong, surely.
The endless, insect-fueled buzz droned on even as Aethisia turned an ear towards Divoon's shout. It persisted even as she turned to fully face him, her expression unreadable and half-hidden by her mask. It continued, growing louder as she strode confidently and quickly towards him without so much as a wave or a nod.
There was an intensity to the way she moved; purposeful, controlled, and fluid. She didn't stop until she was nearly two feet away from Divoon, either.
Then, finally, the droning of a thousand wings cut in half and Aethisia tilted her head back to stare up at Divoon. "Hey," was all she said back.
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ
Divoon stood tall until she made it as close as she'd come. Then, rather than stooping, he just settled the hell down on his knees so she wouldn't have to crane her neck. By now she might have gathered that he pads them. His knees, I mean.
"Hey," he whispered, just over the buzz. Hopefully. "I don't know what I did yesterday, but I... I fucked up. I... must have done something... wrong, in your culture. I... tell me... please tell me how, so I don't again, yes? I hurt you, and that... I don't ever want to do that. You..." He peered around, brow furrowed. Huh. The bugs had chased most of the people away, it seemed. He seemed to feel that this was private enough. Probably. "You... deserve better than that. So tell me. Please. I'll learn."
It made sense that he'd fuck up; not only was he not used to any sort of relationship like this, no, but they're from completely different cultures. Planets. Everything. He was still new as shit and didn't get all of the intricacies of... well, Azeroth.
Aethisia blinked slowly, her dark eyes staring flatly at Divoon as he sank to his knees. She canted her head to the side, her expression still fixed, and the droning abruptly fell silent. Not a bug or a wing stirred.
Of course it made sense that he would fuck up. He was a person. People naturally hurt those around him.
A few particularly brave souls lingered on the canals. The odd scene of a giant lowering himself before such a tiny, unsettling woman was rapidly turning into the night's entertainment; a tale to tell their friends and family over dinner or a pint of ale at the bar.
Aethisia tore her gaze from Divoon's and turned to study the thin crowd. People were trickling back in, now that the hum of warning had cut off.
A crackle of static hissed through Aethisia's mask, nearly shrouding her words. She had to be whispering. "Go. Defend," she murmured.
And then all at once her swarm exploded with activity. A seething mass of wasps, hornets, and bees leaped into the air and dove for the crowd. Flies and mosquitoes thrummed around her and Divoon, and the air was alive with insects.
There was definitely screaming. And yelling. And flailing as the curious onlookers were driven away by Aethisia's unprovoked onslaught.
It wasn't until the street was deserted that she finally turned back to Divoon and quietly said, "I don't like when people speak ill of their father. He tried to be a good man, and at one point I thought he was my soulmate. Do you you understand what that term means? I don't know if your people have that concept in their culture and beliefs."
Divoon widened his eyes and let loose a mighty guffaw, then cackled at the terrified onlookers before swiftly settling down again as she spoke once more.
He nodded. "Ah, Light. I understand the term. I do. And I understand how... hard it is to try, yes."
"I... know you don't want me apologizing," he sighed. "But it's necessary here. Not only to you, but to him and to... them. I'm sorry. I made... a mistake, an error. I didn't mean to imply... that he is bad, that you are bad, that they are bad. Clearly this is not the case, as you felt strongly for him. Still do."
In spite of the insects, or perhaps even because of them, he offered his hand to Aethisia. A sign of trust, perhaps? "I'll pay more attention to the words I speak. They were more harsh than my thoughts on the subject. I'm sorry."
Aethisia reached for Divoon's hand as he spoke. And then he said the words, 'Still do.'
She snatched her hand away from him and folded her arms across her chest. Her swarm of insects pressed close, and agitation rippled through the mass of tiny creatures. They became a whirlwind of bodies, and the spiders and beetles skittered over her leathers and amassed at places Divoon might grab; her hands, cheeks, and shoulders.
"I don't want to talk about my issues with him," she hissed, her words a monotone burst of static that diffused into the noise of her swarm.
"Light help me, that is not what I meant," Divoon rumbled, pulling his hand back, letting it drop to his side. "It's not an iss- ...mmh. As you wish."
Another mistake. Good job.
He tilted his head down, eyeing the street as he nodded, solemn. "Understood," he murmured. "Then... would you care to speak of... something else?"
For a long moment, Aethisia said nothing. She shifted her weight, seemingly oblivious to the raging cloud if insects whirling around her and Divoon. Then she sighed in another hiss of static and shook her head. "It... sounds like you're saying I love him instead of you," she explained grudgingly. "That's not how it is. I don't... I care about him. I can't not care about him. He's their father, and it infuriates me."
She swore under her breath and glared off at nothing. It was better than glaring at Divoon, at least. "I don't want to talk about it, but I need to. If only so you stop... thinking I'm upset with you."
Divoon was silent for some time, too, head still tipped downward. Eventually he nodded once more, and once he'd collected his thoughts he spoke again.
"That's... not what I'm trying to say at all, no. You care about him, yes. Not instead of me. You shared life with him. He meant, and means something... even though you two are not together now. And of course he would. I would worry if you... didn't care anymore, yes."
"As you say," he continued. "He is their father. He will always have been there in your life, the past will not change, and he will always be present in your life in some way, through them if in no other way."
"And I thank him for this. For knowing you. For the experiences you had together. You would not be the same person today without having known Kelly. You would not be the woman I care for, that I am... so happy to have met. So happy to learn about, to discover... That I hope to never stop learning about, discovering more and more... Light, you know what I mean, yes?"
"And them. And though I've only met them once, yes? Though I've met them once, I'm thankful to him for their existence. They are joys. They're yours. And that you have them is... a wonderful thing. Though... surely in more ways than this, through them, he has added so much to your life. Opened new paths for you to travel."
"So I... I thank him. Forgive my rambling."
Aethisia kept her chin held high and her gaze steely as she listened to Divoon. Gradually, slowly, her posture relaxed. The hostility and frustration drained out of her a bit at a time, and her swarm quieted and spread out.
Then she nodded, and her eyes softened.
"I thank him, too. I... you're right. About all of it," she said slowly, her voice hushed. "I'm... thank you, Divoon. Thank you for being understanding. It's... I'm relieved."
A quiet, hollow chuckle escaped her, twisted and warped by her mask, and she reached out for him. The spiders coating her skittered away and on to her back.
"You didn't deserve to have me lashing out at you like that. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry we hurt each other," she added as she went to hug him around the neck. "Especially over something so stupid. It was nothing more than a misunderstanding.â
"So... yes. I thank him. I thank him for them. I thank him for being a stepping stone that helped pave the way for us. I'm lucky to have a man like you in my life, and I hope you'll always be in my life. I hope you'll be in their lives, too. You can be... you can be Dadvoon."
Divoon's gaze remained on the ground, and by the time Aethisia approached he was smiling softly. As there was entire swarm of spidery horror coating her back, he didn't put his arms around her to properly return the hug. No, he simply rested his hands against her forearms and bent to gently place his crest against the top of her head; he'd have gone for forehead-to-forehead contact, but, you know, best to not jab her in the eye.
His smile grew as he listened further, and then she said it.
'DADVOON,' he mouthed. The wordplay. And the implication! The look of pure joy that fell across his face. Absurd. Goofy. Ridiculous. And the almost unbecoming giggle fit as he nuzzle-nodded against her hair. "I can't think of anything better... Oh, Light. I... you think you're lucky. I think I am. Dadvoon. S'perfect."
And then, the kiss he tried to steal, only to find that mask in the way. This only served to make him giggle further and bury his face against her arm in embarrassment. "Light help me," he snickered between awkward, beaming forearm-smooches. This big, blue-faced dumbass.
Aethisia's eyes lit up with amusement as Divoon's kiss turned into hapless arm-smooches. "What are you doing? Don't kiss those! I can't feel anything," she laughed. Her mask turned it into an ugly, metallic sound, and she immediately cut herself off with huge eyes.
"Fuck... this modulator, Div. Be glad you're deaf," she murmured with a shake of her head. "You should have been there for the time I tried to whistle through it. I almost screamed because it startled me so badly."
She laughed again at the memory and, instead of kissing him back, she reached up to grab a hold of one of the fat, hairless tentacles hanging from his jaw. She slowly slid her fingers down the wriggly thing. "Suitable substitution for the time being?"
Divoon quirked a brow at the sound of Aethisia's 'laugh,' lifting his head, only to grin at the look on her face and snicker once more.
He opened his mouth as if to speak again, but this fell through when she caressed his tendril.
Smiling and nodding lightly, he removed his left hand from her arm, instead moving to palm the side of her head - and likely neck, given its size - and place his thumb against her temple. "Suitable," he murmured in agreement. "It's very... suitable, yes."
Aethisia grinned under her mask and leaned her head against Divoon's palm. Her eyes drifted shut, for what little good it did her, and she murmured a tiny, "This is nice. Shame we should probably get going. I have a feeling there's guards headed our way to investigate this sudden and controlled swarm."
Grudgingly, she opened her eyes and glanced around, as if guards might materialize out of thin air. It wouldn't have surprised her; this was Stormwind, after all.
"Let's go to the tower, then. You can show me what else is suitable once we get there," she suggested.
Without warning, Aethisia ducked under Divoon's arm. She swept behind him and grabbed a hold of the back of his shirt, then hauled herself up on to his tail without asking. She stood atop the the thick armor plating that coated the base, leaned against his broad back to steady herself, and hugged him around the neck.
At the same time, the roiling mass of insects dispersed like smoke. The tiny winged animals flew away, some of them turning on one another as Aethisia's influence faded, and spiders tumbled from her back and skittered away.
If Divoon still needed a sign to bolt, then the cascade of black widows and brown recluses that surged around his hooves was surely good enough.
Hooves and knees and everything in between. Thank the fucking Light for thick-ass work pants that look like dress pants. This was, indeed, a good sign to bolt.
She climbed onto Divoon's back, which was thankfully easier in his kneeling position, and he saw fit to laugh something about 'the Tower' so as not to shriek or whimper in horror at the dispersing swarm of arachnidian terror around his legs. He also placed his hands around and beneath her upper thighs to keep her in place, because he did, indeed, bolt. Ran. Galloped, even. To hell with that newly-made pool of spindly legs and venom in the street.
"You know," he snickered along the way. "You might think I'd find this embarrassing, yes? But no, I like it when you, ah... heh. Rrride me, yes."
DAMN IT, DIV.
