The Soul of a Bird Never Flies {boyxboy}

Chapter Thirty-Four

~Saturday 29th September 2018~

"I don't know how you can deal with that thing yapping twenty-four seven," Vivek murmured, scowling at the puppy growling playfully in Dove's lap, chewing on his fingers and his shirt.

"Her name is Nyx, Viv, don't talk bad about my baby," Dove pouted, looking up at Eryll sat to the right of him, who only flashed a brief smile.

"He's just being a sour puss, ignore him," Eryll tugged Dove's shirt out of Nyx's mouth, replacing it with a little chew toy that had appeared in his hand.

"I'm a cat person," Vivek grumbled, shifting as far to the left as he possibly could in the car, trying to avoid all contact with the wriggling dog on Dove's lap, "dogs are just irritating."

"She likes you, y'know?" Dove leant into Eryll's side when the man draped an arm over his shoulders, looking over at Vivek, who still had that sullen expression on his face, "why don't you just hold her? Are you afraid you might actually learn to like her too?" Vivek looked repulsed by the idea, which only made Dove laugh, "I'll get you to like her, Viv."

"Doubt it," Dove smiled when he heard a low chuckle rumble from Eryll. He loved that noise, loved it so much he wished he could record it and play it on loop forever. Eryll didn't laugh enough, it was something Dove was trying to work on with the man.

"Haven't you realised by now, Viv? Dove gets his way far too much for his own good," Dove giggled when Eryll buried his face in the boy's neck, showering his skin with kisses so light it was like they were only flutterings of a butterflies wings. However, the cheerful atmosphere seemed to bleed away in the car when their journey ended on the long driveway, looking up a beautiful red brick house.

Eryll suddenly seemed subdued, not tense, just... quiet. Lost in thought, almost, as he stared up at the brickwork. His expression seemed void, guarded, as those pretty eyes of his lost that glint that they usually held, leaving only the two dulled colours there, still and stagnant. Dove didn't speak, didn't want to either. He wasn't sure what was running through Eryll's head but he was sure it wasn't pleasant. He hoped it was just frivolous worries and anxieties about Dove meeting his father, and not something else entirely.

"He's fine, it's just hard for him, coming back here," Vivek assured Dove once Eryll had left the car and strolled into the house, "last time he saw his father, last time he was here, he was with Noah. It's difficult for him to compartmentalise things like that. He distanced himself from his family after Noah, he..." Vivek paused for a second, his lips twitching as though he was still talking, looking conflicted, "he really thought Noah was the one, y'know, their relationship had flourished quickly, they were engaged two months after meeting. Noah was killed on their wedding night, he was sixteen," Dove eyes widened, his trembling hand drifting up to cover his partially open mouth, "it was Abyzou, and it was an almost exact recreation of the night Ollie was killed. It really fucked him up for a while, more than the deaths of half the other reincarnations. He came back here, he brought us all back here, for you."

"For me?" tears welled in Dove's eyes, "w-why? What has this got to do with me?"

"I know you made him promise that you were the last one, but did you ever wonder why he was so quick to comply? Why, after all these years, he would just be so willing to give up the soul, the man, who he loves so much?" Dove shook his head slowly, the lump in his throat preventing him from formulating any words, "he didn't need that promise to know you were the last, he'd already made that decision himself. If..." Vivek took a deep breath, looking like he too might be on the verge of tears, "if you don't make it, Dove, he isn't gonna break the deal he made, not that he could even if he wanted to. He's not gonna live on and forget about Ollie, he's not gonna move on. He's-"