Dysfunctional Family

Grandfather-Grandson Bonding Time

~Still Flashback~

Astor's POV:

I stood staring down at the tired child with drooping eyes, magic still pulsating in my hands. The child tiredly looked up at me, quite clearly struggling to stay awake when it was past his bedtime. The little boy was obviously of impure blood and was definitely related to that human girl and Blumiere.

The small boy didn't have any arms like Blumiere, myself, or anyone else of my lineage, but still had legs as a human does. The child's skin had a faint blue tint to it, making it look like a light blue, almost a grey. His hair was a very dark blue in contrast to his light skin, no doubt inherited from Blumiere. But the thing that caught me most off guard was the boy's mismatched eye colors; he had a very dark eye color for his right, an almost complete black, and a glowing yellow on the left, the glowing giving away the boy's magic capabilities.

"Where did mommy go? Who are you?" The little boy asked me.

I remained frozen in place, staring at the boy. I wasn't prepared to encounter the child awake and was a little frightened of making him upset.

This child is impure, his magic is without limits; if you upset this boy he could accidentally lash out his wild magic at you! I thought to myself.

"Your mother is gone." I simply stated, waving the magic out of my hands.

"Gone?" The little boy questioned curiously, tilting his head, "Gone where?"

This child is quite intelligent for his age to be able to comprehend what I am saying... I thought to myself.

"Gone AWAY," I told him.

"When will she come back from away?" The boy asked.

Or perhaps not fully able to comprehend... I mused.

"When will she come back from away?!" The boy asked again, this time more urgently.

The small child sniffled as tears began to well up in his eyes, and his yellow eye was beginning to glow dangerously. I paled as I saw this; I knew that a pureblood child was dangerous enough when upset, but an upset impure blood child was just unpredictable.

Just say it! Say that she's gone! You just have to get rid of the boy too! Get on with it! My conscience screamed.

"She..." I trailed off.

As I looked down at the small boy, who was now starting to shake a little, I felt a sense of empathy and remorse wash over me. The horrible memory of trying to explain to Blumiere that HIS mother was gone still remained a fresh wound in my mind, and trying to tell this child the same thing was like gouging open the scar, pouring salt on it, and rubbing it with pure lemon juice.

"She's not here, but you'll see her soon," I replied.

The little boy perked up a little.

"Really? When will I see mommy?" He wondered out loud.

I bit down on my lip and shook my head.

"Sh-shouldn't you be in BED?" I spat, my nerves getting the better of me.

The child flinched at my apparent harsh tone and held his hands close to his chest, tilting his head a little down in submission with tears in his eyes as he looked up at me.

"I-I had a bad dream..." The little boy squeaked out.

"Well, what do you expect ME to do about it?" I questioned, my eyes flaring red in annoyance.

The small child sniffled and his lips began to quiver. I winced as he looked down at the boy, recognizing the signs of a pre-tantrum instantly.

Oh no. Oh no. OH NO. I panicked, Do something before the child loses control!!!