Forgiven

[Caira Ayryn]

"Must be nice," Daniels basked, 'Not to have ta have been a father to 'im'... "Not knowing the monster your son has become."

Merik at first was outraged, he didn't know by which more, the thoughts or what Daniels had chosen to speak about his blood. Then the Prime looked into the old secondary's eyes, and saw the fear. Daniels had lost a son too, in the worst way. Tom hadn't died. He'd destroyed himself. Somehow.

"What happened, where is he?" Merik couldn't read the man's mind, there was too clear an image of morose memories to get a clear-cut summary.

"Your son has joined the Rebellion against the Empire. Guess you should be proud of that. He's gone to Camelot with a group of other strays, but I fear since he's so young they'll send him somewhere... There's this one prime that has opened a school for gifted youngsters. They might misinterpret Tom's power and..."

"So even you don't know where he's gone? Why didn't you stop him? He isn't even an adult yet!" Merik was outraged, perhaps this was the first care he was showing for his son since he had opted to give him up for adoption. Families were important.

"He's sixteen, he saved up some money and had been plannin' to sneak out one night. I caught him in the act." Merik saw the memory unfold in the man's mind.

[spoiler] Flashback:

The lights flipped on.

The electricity didn't always run at this hour, so there was a slow flicker after the initial flick. Even so, Tom froze, while his oversized backpack stiffened on his back.

"And jus' where do you think you're going, son?" Daniels had a gruff voice, full of allegation and committed to his cause. "You think you'd run out on the Missus and I while we was sleepin'? That how you reward us for putting food on the table for you all these years?"

"Sir, I... Didn't mean to..." In his shaking hand was a note, which was extended out to the elder. He took it in his wrinkled hands and read it, sitting in silence after and simply looking up at the tall youth that looked too much like his blasted father, "I'm old enough to be going out on my own. I don't belong here, for more than one-"

"Don't you start that again son, you're welcome in our house just like you was one of our own."

"But I'm not," the sixteen year old blond spoke firmly, "I'm not your blood. I need to know... I need to stop this. Staying here, without training, without control, I could kill you. And you won't tell me who my dad is so I can ask him about this, so here we are."

"Yer dad is dead." Daniels repeated as though it was a story he had told so much, he had believed it.

"So you say, but Primes never really die," Tom's smile was bittersweet, he knew when he was being lied to and the pain showed in his all too caring eyes.

"This one did." Daniels said coldly. "And that's the end of it."

"Alright, if that's the story you're sticking to, here's mine. I can't stay here with no one who understands me. I'm too much of a danger. I could kill you right now and not even blink. Then your blood would be on my hands, and I don't want to kill the only father I've ever known." Tom's truth stabbed Mr. Daniels in the heart, who couldn't deny it.

"Alright boy, but I don't need you leaving here in the middle of the night like some bandit. It'd be good to wake up the Missus and have her cook ye' breakfast before ya leave. That way, there's closure for all of us, and we don't regret nothin' we never had. That alright with you boy?"

"Food would be nice, I didn't take any of yours, figured I'd... Find some along the way." Find sounded an awful lot like steal. You could lose a hand for that 'round these parts.

"Yeah I bet." He spoke gruffly, "Go get her, I'll explain everything when she gets down stairs. My legs aren't what they used to be." Daniels would've gone up to wake her himself, but he secretly held the fear in his heart that if he turned his back for even one second, he'd never see his adopted son again. Having one last breakfast as a family made it all seem worth it. And it was, until he was gone.

[/spoiler]

"You let him go? And you didn't tell me?" Though that was no surprise, considering the promise they'd made, Merik still expressed his dissatisfaction. "Anyway, fine! I'll go find him and bring him-"

"No. He ain't to return here." Daniels was right. "The locals will kill 'im if they think he's a danger. You know how people are. If you got business with him, go see him yourself. Maybe you can even get his abilities to stop, but bringing him back here would be a mistake. Sure people got their guns and a little armor, but he's out there training with the best. He don't have ta worry about killing someone if he lets his mind slip, Primes'll come back, and the stronger secondaries if they're lucky will only get nicked. So you see, I had to let him go. But you, you don't."