Jamie didn't like this. Any of this.
He didn't like that he was being recalled by the council. He didn't like that Marl had passed. He didn't like that his enemies might attack his son. He didn't like that he had to LEAVE his son. But the thing he didn't like the most was the fact that he was powerless to change any of it.
The time had finally come for him to repay the debts of his recklessness. He wasn't sure that he would be able to pay it back. Surely he wouldn't be able to come back to Arc for a very long time. He knew he was going to miss seeing his only son grow up.
As such he was spending as much time as possible playing with the now somewhat agreeable Arc, trying to ingrain him into his mind. Without Marlev he needed something to hold on to and fight for, he knew he had lost far too much far too quickly.
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Arc still had no idea what was going on. He didn't have any knowledge about his parents or their friends. He had gathered a little from their conversations but it didn't really tell him anything.
What he did know is that he probably wouldn't see his father for a very long time. He didn't really have a deep personal connection with him yet, and he still kind of resented him for subjecting him to that torture, but he recognized how much he meant to him. He was starting to get pretty good at playing the baby, much to his chagrin.
At the same time he was also aware that he would be made unconscious for a week. He was starting to enjoy being conscious. Why did literally everyone he had met so far want to take that away from him? Why wasn't he allowed to look outside? There was nothing about that he could do either, so he just enjoyed it while he could, not thinking too much about what the lime-green eyed uncle would do to him.
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Jamie didn't get too much sleep that night. It was less to do about his upcoming journey and more about trying to be mindful not to crush the delicate little miracle that slept beside him. He may not have gotten much in this time, but he still felt it was some of the greatest sleep he had ever experienced. He ranked those few hours just below his nights with Marlev and the nights he had spent as a child with his mother.
He wondered how his mother was faring nowadays. Thanks to the distance between them, even letters were a difficult form of communication. He should be able to get in contact with her when he got back to the Monastery. She would definitely rush here in order to take care of him.
"Do you think my mother would be able to get permission to stay on the peninsula and help look after Arc?" He whispered to Zerrin, being careful not to wake Arc.
Zerrin wanted to respond immediately with a yes, but he thought on it before taking a more diplomatic approach. "I will try to get permission from the Master Kelvin. It shouldn't be too big an issue given the situation and their relationship. But..." He scratched the back of his head. There would definitely be some sort of local diplomatic issue with two powerful individuals protecting the peninsula without some sort of explanation. "A Child" would definitely not cut it. "It might take a while to get permission."
Jamie wasn't concerned. What was a year or two to a figure like her? She might be a little mad she wouldn't be able to spend as much time with her grandson during his developmental years, but she had done it before with his older sister's daughter. She would figure something out of it.
He nodded his head in confirmation, he wasn't too proficient at the whole 'quiet' thing.
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Arc wasn't awake to hear any of this, not that he would have had any strong feelings or expectations. He had no experience. While he clearly remembered the 'basics' to being human from whatever past he had, those meddlers in Anima Operantium erased pretty much everything else.
His waking was uneventful. That may as well have been a party for all he cared. No busy-body doting on him, no waking in a strange room, and (thank the Heavens) none of that pain inducing soul formula. In fact, there was no breastfeeding either. Instead, Breda finally deemed him developed enough to consume a sort of fruity puree. It tasted delicious compared to what he had eaten up to this point, and it had a smooth texture. If he ate nothing but this the rest of his life he would be alright. He knew there was something far worse.
He still had some issues with his inability to clean himself properly though.
However, his bright and sunshiny day had come to a halt about two hours after his waking. Zerrin moved up to the now swaddled Arc in Jamie's arms, poking him between the eyes with his index finger.
Just like that, without warning, Arc fell asleep.
At least that's what he thought would happen.
Instead he found himself in the same room he disappeared from, looking straight into the purple eyes of a somewhat disgruntled Sirius.