"Because she's all you have left" Raven replied earning a smile from Theodore.
"I know you more than you can ever fathom I do. Tell me, what is it, that you want? " Theodore smirked
"I wasn't expecting to meet you here" Raven said, which both knew was a lie.
"I doubt you didn't know. A calculative man like yourself is often not taken by surprise. Anyway, I don't have much time to waste. Make haste or I leave" Theodore said, blankly without any trace of emotion.
"Missing her already?" Raven asked jokingly.
Theodore pulled himself from the wall and began to walk away when Raven said almost in a whisper;
"I need a favour"
Thanks to the hearing ability of elves, he heard Raven clearly and halted in his tracks. 'Raven isn't joking, is he?' Theodore thought.
ñ by
"Favour?" Theodore asked, sounding more sarcastic than surprised.
"Yes, favour" Raven replied, wearing a serious expression which told Theodore, he wasn't joking.
"What favour do you need?" Theodore asked
"I saved your mate, I'd want you to do the same for me when I am away" Raven replied seriously, without a hint of joke.
"When you say 'away'...." Theodore pried curiously.
"I'd be gone for a while. I'd want you to mask my markings on her, just like you have done to your wife, making it hard to trace her. I won't want her to get in danger because of me. I can't take her with me either, and I presume you already know why" Raven sighed
"Why do you want to go 'away'?" Theodore pried. For unknown reason(s), he felt uneasy about his nephew's decision.
"If i am going to bring her to my world, at least it should be peaceful, not as chaotic as it is now" Raven replied
"You don't plan to..."
"That's exactly what I plan to do. I'm not changing or bending my decision" Raven interrupted.
"It's dangerous, Raven!"
"I know" Raven chuckled.
If anything, Raven knew Theodore cared about him more than, even his actual father did.
"I'd be at peace, if you're the one in charge of her safety when I am away"
Theodore knew accepting to take care of Aida, also makes him Raven's ally. Theodore looked wearily at Raven, before he voiced out his deliberated decision.
"I'll have Abel go with you. That way I'll be at peace too" Theodore replied, deliberately omitting what Raven really wanted to hear. Raven knew Theodore was only trying to get on his nerves, so he stayed put, refusing to portray any neediness or frustration.
"I'd return your favour, but don't expect anything more from me" Theodore said as he walked away and Raven sighed heavily, releasing the breath he didn't know he was holding. Theodore who heard Raven sigh, only smiled broadly. After all, he was able to irk Raven a little.
Theodore knew Raven wasn't going to answer any of his prior questions no matter what he did, because Raven came there with his own hidden agenda, and that was to get him to promise him, he would keep Aida safe and he got just that.
Raven knew Theodore was as calculative and cunning as himself and knew Theodore had definitely considered all the limes and honies attached to accepting to take care of Aida in his absence. He knew Theodore won't settle for any loss, yet so long as he kept Aida safe, he won't mind what Theodore would take from him.
One thing Raven didn't know was that, Theodore, this time was doing it because he felt responsible for everything that happened and saw it as a way to placate his guilty conscience despite all the risks attached to taking care of Aida in Raven's absence.