Wayfinding | Aaravos x Reader |

⚜ SUPERGIANT ⚜

CHAPTER 30: THE ACME OF ORLION

Honestly, he tried.

He tried not to say anything.

And to help his temptations, he chewed right through the inside of his cheek.

But the two of you had only made it to the shire's dreary outskirts, and you were practically making a meal out of nails. Having traveled for over four suns with only one bath, he thought you were revoltingly brave to even think about raising your dirt-covered limbs to your face. Alas, when you decided to switch fingers, tolerance flitted away and, before you knew it, the lad seized your wrist like a chameleon snatching its prey.

When your eyes deterred from the patchy thoroughfare, the wagon began to teeter, but Uzner was reluctant to abandon his train of thought. "I see that you're nervous but let's not get ill, shall we?"

"Oh, I'm . . . I'm sorry . . ."

Twisting his lips into a frown, the male released you and leaned back against the vessel. He studied the twitching of your cheek, the chapped state of your lips, and the clammy hand-prints you left on the leather reins. It troubled him to see you like that. You sounded so eager when you initially left Katolis. Now - with every passing mile - it seemed as if you liked crawling back into your skin. "You're going to cry when you see him, aren't you?"

You made an insulted grunt, but your eyes and the words that followed came off meek. "Pff, no - you're delusional."

". . . Are you sure?"

Your steadfast expression began to wilt under his scrutinizing gaze. Unable to bear it much longer, you turned your chin away from him, wearing a troubled moue. "You know I'm a bum when it comes to crying." The male's laughter eased you back to your senses, but in contrast, the weightiness of your chest was reluctant to retire. "How is that I feel excited to meet someone I didn't know was alive till a few years ago? And how can I miss him if I can't even remember his face?"

"Because . . . regardless of who he is and what he's done - he's your father. And even in the most minute degree, you'll always feel connected to him."

"Do you think . . . he'll like me?"

Uzner's features softened while yours were etched with timidness. "He is going to adore you, (Y/n)." If he had left it at that, perhaps you would have stowed the moment as a treacly memory. But, as all brothers do, he sought to muddy it. "And if anything goes awry, you can always annoy him or hocus-pocus your way into his heart like you did with Harrow." In a trice, as you snapped him a fixing glare, the male sank into his spine. "S-Still a touchy subject . . . got it. S-Sorry."

Luckily for him, not too long after, the sight of civilians soothed the sting of the exchange. "A tavern - finally," you sighed with a toothy-grin.

"What? Why are we going to a tavern?"

You quirked a brow at the male, but continued to steer the horses towards the quaint, weather-beaten structure. "Do you not want a bed to sleep in tonight?"

"But aren't we going to the estate?"

"Aye, but we're not going to sleep there!"

"But why not?"

"Because I don't want my father to think I'm leeching off of him-"

Uzner tore the reins from your fingers and held it defensively, like an unruly child, to his chest.  "But he's your father, (Y/n). That makes it okay to take advantage of his hospitality." It may have been a trick of the ear, but you definitely thought the male also added 'and wealth' under his breath. "And besides! I doubt any of these places have ramps."