#morty.exe

"Mom?"

Conquest shifted her attention to her son, smiling tiredly, "Yes, Sweetheart?" Mortem stepped closer to her, holding out a box, "I got you something." The rider tilted her head, carefully accepting the box from him, "Oh, thank you, Morty. What's this for?" Her son raised a brow bone at her and gave her a clear look of confusion, "...Did you forget what day it is, Mom? It's Mother's Day." Her cheekbones flushed a soft shade of orange in vague embarrassment and her tired smile became sheepish, "Ah, yeah. I guess I did forget what day it is, whoopsy daisy." Mortem sat beside her on their sofa, lightly laying his head on her shoulder and fidgeting, "Uh huh. Hurry up and open your gift, though! It's really special!"

Able to sense his growing excitement, Connie smiled to herself again and began to carefully unwrap the gift. Once the wrapping paper was removed and placed on the floor by her feet, she popped off the lid of the decorative box and paused, her breath hitching and her sockets momentarily widening; In the box before her was a beautiful necklace, its pendant comprised of blue gemstones that were shaped to resemble an echo flower. Mortem fidgeted again, pointing at the middle of the flower, "There's a button here for you to push, too." Conquest nodded, gingerly pressing the button he'd gestured to, and a recording switched on, playing a single line in the voice of her son: "I love you, mom!"

For a moment, Conquest was at a loss for words; She really hadn't been expecting such a nice gift from anyone today. By the looks of it, this wasn't a cheap one, either. Wrapping an arm around the child, she offered him a warm smile, "Oh my goodness, it's beautiful! Thank you, Morty, I love it a lot." Mortem beamed at her, puffing up with pride, "You're welcome!" She couldn't help but laugh softly at how proud he looked, shaking her head; He was such a good kid... She really couldn't have asked for a better child.

Lightly nudging him with her shoulder, she hummed, "How in the world were you able to get this for me? It looks like it'd cost quite a bit of money." Her son mimicked her, humming and nudging her back with his own shoulder, "I saved up the money Glo gave me for doing my chores, and then I had Uncle Ret take me shopping. He even let me pick it out all by myself." Conquest's expression softened and she sighed, still smiling, "Well color me shocked. Usually you get antsy and spend your allowance pretty fast, Mister. I'm surprised you saved it up for this long." He grinned at her, "I know. I had Glo help me, though! She helped me save my money."

Connie's smile widened slightly, "Awe, well that was really nice of her! Did you tell her thank you for all the help?" Mortem nodded his head, "Uh huh!" The rider leaned closer to press a kiss to her child's forehead, lifting a hand to gently caress his skull as she pulled away, "Good, I'm really glad. You always do such a good job remembering to use your manners, you know that?" Mortem smiled again, almost looking bashful all of a sudden, "Thank you, Mom." Conquest continued to gently caress Mortem's skull for a few more seconds before she tapped his forehead, causing him to draw back a bit and giggle.

The gesture, although small and likely somewhat strange to others that'd seen it, was a habit she'd adopted, and whenever she'd done it, it was always meant to convey affection. It was light-hearted and oftentimes made Mortem laugh, but thankfully, he understood what it meant.

Setting the box down on her lap, she lifted a hand to delicately touch her scarf. Her thumb trailed over a name on the underside that'd been stitched into the fabric and she smiled again to herself. Very gingerly removing her scarf and setting it on her lap beside the box, she adjusted the collar of her dress and then proceeded to scoop up her new necklace. Mortem watched as she undid the clasp and slid both ends of the chain around her neck, and sensing his gaze on her, she offered him a sideways glance, accompanied by a tiny smile, "Do you think you could help me, Sweetheart?... I can't see where the clasp is, so that makes things a little tricky."

The child eagerly nodded, more than happy to help his mother. Turning slightly, she paid no mind as he scooted closer, his hands darting up to carefully take the ends of the chain from her, "Now Morty, just make sure not to make it too tight, ok?" He nodded again, "Ok, Mom... Should I just put the clasp thing in the first hole then?" Connie hummed softly in confirmation, "Mmhm. If that's what you wanna do, then go for it." After a moment of fumbling with the clasp, he managed to get it clipped into the first link, idly toying with the chain, "Is that ok?" Conquest made a sound in consideration, testing the tightness of the necklace before glancing back at him and offering him another warm smile, "Yep, it's perfect. Thank you for your help!"

Again, Mortem beamed, his chest puffed out with pride. Conquest sighed, feeling completely content as she pressed the button on her echo flower pendant again, listening to the recorded message from her son. Suddenly perking up, Mortem made a sound, as if remembering something, and before Connie could question him, he'd already dashed out of the room.

Entering his bedroom and carefully closing the door behind himself, he glanced around, and then crossed the room and began to rifle through one of his desk drawers. He withdrew two things; The first being a simple white envelope that contained a letter he'd written for his mom, and the second being an orange envelope that had some surprisingly elegant writing on one side. He wasn't sure what it contained, but despite his curiosity, he resisted the urge to peek. The lady that had delivered it that morning had been very polite when she asked him to be patient and wait for his mom to open it herself, so he told himself he'd listen to her and respect her wishes.

As he gathered up the envelopes, a voice softly called to him from within the shadows of the room, "Psst, Morty! Over here!" Attention immediately snapping to the patch of shadows the voice had come from, Mortem nearly dropped the envelopes, a grin stretching across his face. He trotted over to the shadows, excitedly screeching, and the upper half of Retribution's body emerged from the darkness. Pressing a finger over his teeth, he softly shushed his nephew, and the younger of the two mimicked him, repeating the motion and freezing in place. Once the easily excitable skeleton child settled down, the former prince murmured lowly, "So what'd she think of the necklace? Did she like it?"

Mortem immediately nodded, also lowering his voice, "Uh huh! It made her really happy, and she already put it on!" Ret offered Mortem a slight smile, "That's great, Buddy! I'm glad to hear it. Did she say anything about how pricey it was, or ask how you were able to get it for her?" The child nodded again, "Uh huh." "And what did you tell her?" Mortem hugged the envelopes close to his chest, "I said that I saved up my money from chores, and that you took me shopping." Retribution arched a brow bone, "You didn't say anything about how I paid for most of it?" The child shook his head, "Nope." The former prince let out a soft breath in relief, reaching out to pat his nephew's shoulder, "Good, good. Just like we discussed. Well done, Mortem."

In response to the praise, Morty smiled brightly, his cheekbones flushing a faint shade of orange. Without warning, he put the envelopes down and approached Retribution, wrapping his arms around him and hugging him tightly. Ret's body twitched in surprise at the unexpected contact, and after he'd calmed himself, he returned the hug. Although his voice was muffled by the fabric of Ret's cloak, the former prince heard his nephew murmur, "I love you, Uncle Ret... You're the best." Retribution's expression softened and his smile became genuine as he lowly murmured back, "I love you too, Morty. You should probably get going now though, before your mom gets curious about what's taking you so long."

The child made a sound in agreement, "Ok, I will... Are you sure you can't stay longer?" Ret sighed, "I'm sure. I wish I could, but I have work to do today. If you'd like to visit me sometime though, I'm sure your mom would be more than happy to bring you." His nephew reluctantly pulled away from the hug and smiled at him again, "Ok, I'll ask her then if I can come see you soon." Ret lightly poked at Mortem's side, grinning to himself as the child squirmed and attempted to refrain from giggling, "Cool, that sounds like a plan, then. Seeya later, Kid." Mortem offered him a tiny wave, "Seeya, Uncle Ret." Retribution offered him a softer smile in return, before he sank back into the shadows and vanished completely from sight. Quickly gathering up the pair of envelopes, Mortem slipped out of his room, making his way back to the living room where his mom was waiting.

Warping out of the shadows in the hallway of his home, the former prince let out a soft breath as a realization dawned on him; For giving him her assistance, there was someone that he owed his thanks. Admitting that perhaps she'd managed to do something right for a change was doable, albeit a bit awkward for him. It was that awkwardness that he really wasn't looking forward to, but oh well.

Some things just have to be done.

Retribution began his journey toward the ex-pirate's room, trying to figure out how he would even word his appreciation in the first place. He and Abrael weren't exactly on the best of terms, and ever since she'd first arrived and been introduced as a member of the group, there'd been something about her that didn't sit well with him. He wasn't sure yet what it was, but the longer he went without knowing, the more it grew to bother him.

Arriving at his destination, he gave her closed bedroom door a few knocks, and then he stepped back, folding his arms behind his back. He could do this. He just needed to focus, and even though it'd probably make things a bit bothersome later on down the road, he would have to put his pride on the back burner. He drew in a deep breath, making an attempt to mentally and emotionally prepare for what he was about to do. The door opened, and Abrael immediately donned a look of confusion, clearly dumbfounded, "Uh... Ahoy, Ret. What are you doing here?" Retribution glanced around, looking anywhere other than directly at her, "Can I come in? Please? I would like to speak to you in private."

Abrael nodded, stepping aside to gesture into the room, "Be my guest." The former prince slipped into the room, still not looking at her, and once she was sure he was far enough away from the door that it wouldn't get caught on his cloak, she shut it behind him. Turning to face him and doing her best to ignore the impending sense of doom that'd begun to creep up on her. When he finally looked at her, it was with such intensity that she nearly flinched backward, and he furrowed his brow bones, "...Apologies for the awkward silence. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how exactly I'd like to word everything I have to say to you." The former pirate made a face, beginning to shrink under his stare, "...It's fine. Am I in trouble for something, or?..." She paused, lifting both hands in a gesture of surrender, "If this is about that missing bottle of wine, I can replace it. Just give me a little time."

All awkwardness Retribution felt melted away and he stared at her, his sockets narrowing in a mix of confusion and suspicion, "Wait, wait, wait. Missing bottle of wine? You broke into my stash? How did you even find it?" Abrael offered him an only mildly guilty grin, her shoulders tensing up, "...I'm very dedicated to things I'm really truly interested in, is all I can say. Because truth be told, I wasn't even purposely searching for it at the time." Ret groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, "It doesn't matter. I'm not sure that I really want an honest answer to any of that, anyway." Abrael seemed to perk up, "So that bottle was a freebie then?" The former prince rolled his eye lights, "Yeah, sure, whatever. That's not why I’m here, though. I had other things to talk to you about."

The ex-pirate cocked her head to the side, staring at him in confusion, "...That wasn't it? What else was there?" Doing his best to swallow his pride, he glanced away from her, "Those gemstones you gave me. Topaz and Zircon, I believe. I... Wanted to thank you for allowing me to take them. The different shades of blue complimented each other very well, and the necklace turned out beautifully." Abrael blinked, silent for a moment as she processed his words; He was actually... He was thanking her for something, and there wasn't a single insult anywhere in sight. Huh.

She smiled awkwardly, giving a half shrug and absentmindedly picking at part of her sleeve, "Oh, that. Don't mention it. 'M a pirate, remember?" She allowed her accent to slip through and thicken, still grinning awkwardly, "It's in me nature t' keep loot. Thar's more where that came from too, if ye ever needs it." Hearing her speaking in the way that he found really suited her best, Retribution snorted in amusement, "Oh come on, Abrael. You were never the modest type before, so why the sudden change in attitude?" The former pirate shrugged again, her accent vanishing as quickly as it'd first arrived, "I dunno. I wasn't expecting this meeting to go down this particular path, so I think my usual eccentric persona is still in sleep mode right now."

Retribution shook his head and sighed, attempting to hide the smallest of smiles, "You know... You confuse me sometimes. As someone who typically comes across as being greedy, I didn't think you'd be so willing to trade in some of those gems. I figured I'd have to steal them from you or something." Abrael hummed, "Yeah, well... I had a good reason to cooperate this time, I guess." The former prince arched a brow bone curiously, "You mean a reason other than thinking I'd go and beat you senseless for saying no?" Her cheekbones flushed a soft shade of lemon yellow and she lowered her head, "I, uh... There was another reason too, if I'm being honest."

Ret tilted his head and hummed, "And might I ask what that reason is? I can feel your nervousness and uncertainty, so I'm unsure if I should be concerned or not right now." Abrael hesitated, and Ret's stare seemed to gain intensity again as he felt a small pulse of embarrassment come from her, "...Abrael, I have a feeling your answer isn't going to sit well with me. Now that I know you have another reason for cooperating that has nothing to do with being afraid of me, I would like you to tell me what it is. I won't promise not to get upset, but I'll try my best to stay rational and calm." The former pirate snuck a glance at him and hesitated for another moment, "...Your sister. Connie."

Retribution's stare hardened as he heard his sister's name leave Abrael's mouth, "What about Connie?" The ex-pirate nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other, "She's a good teacher, with all this magic stuff. I know I'm not always the easiest person to work with, but despite that, she's been good to me. Not once has she shown me anything that could be interpreted as rude or uncaring." Beginning to understand, Retribution made a soft sound in acknowledgment, "I've noticed. Because of that, your other reason for cooperating involves her somehow. If you want your head to stay attached to your body, I'd suggest you hurry up and spit it out already."

Abrael drew in a breath and ran her hands over her head, "I wanted to help do something nice for her. She's always good to me, she's patient with me when I start my shenanigans, and I... She's... She's quite pretty, too." The former prince continued to stare at her as he spoke, "Your other reason for cooperating was because you think my sister is pretty, and because you wanted to do something nice for her in return for how nice she is to you?" Abrael made a sound in confirmation, her yellow blush becoming just a smidge brighter, and Retribution took a deep breath, "...You've taken an interest in her. I see. I don't care what you do, as far as your relationship with her goes, but let me be perfectly clear," he paused, the atmosphere suddenly becoming tense and nearly suffocating.

The former pirate watched him with wide eyes as his cyan eye lights flickered, very briefly becoming a brilliant shade of violet, "If any harm should come to her, whether it be mental, emotional, or physical, I'll pay you a visit in the dreamscape while you sleep and make you relive your final moments as a vile, audacious, no-good pirate again and again, and again. You'll feel the pain of a broken neck and cracked skull as many times as it takes to teach you how to be a halfway decent person, and you can even quote me on that. I genuinely don't care." Abrael shrunk under his stare again and began to tremble, but before she could speak, another voice interrupted the rather tense moment, "Scarin' the new girl again, are ya?"

Ret's attention immediately refocused on his partner, who was currently loitering in the doorway, and he narrowed his eyes, "What are you doing here, Famine? I thought you were too busy to socialize today." Famine shrugged, leaning against the door frame, "Nah. 'M busy, yeah, but I know how ta make time for my teammates. I'm only here because my gut told me ya were runnin' around gettin' into trouble again." The taller of the two glanced at Abrael, registering the terrified look she wore, "And by the looks a' things, my gut was right." Retribution let out a deep sigh, the atmosphere gradually beginning to return to normal again, "Hey, I didn't physically do anything to her. She's fine, Fam. I'm still in control of myself, ok? I don't want you doubting that."

Famine arched a single brow bone, crossing his arms over his chest, "Ya sure about that, Firefly? You've been pretty tense as a' lately... How about ya go and start runnin' a bath or somethin'? I can join ya in just a minute." Ret's eye lights remained their normal shade of cyan, and at his partner's words, his cheekbones flushed a shade of cyan that matched them. When Retribution didn't move from his spot, Famine hummed again, "Hey, Small, Dark, and Lovecraftian, ya still with me?" Ret made a sound in confirmation and Famine donned a lazy smirk, "Good ta know. Now, about that bath. I want ya soakin' in the tub, five minutes from now. I got a few words for the lady, then I'll come and join ya." Deciding not to reply, Ret nodded, sheepishly glancing away from Famine and using a shortcut, teleporting out of the room.