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The little one keeps crying his heart out. It hurts to hear. Dhurke's only been a father for a year or so, but the sound of a child crying is already a sound that his ear is attuned to, and hearing it naturally makes him soft and comforting. Dhurke is not a cold man, just one unnaturally focused on his goals.
Hearing a child cry like this is like a punch to the gut. It's as if the baby knows he has lost something of immeasurable value.
The accusations started soon after the remains of the fire had been dealt with. Everyone had pointed the finger at Dhurke, everyone, that is, except for Datz. They had had no choice but to flee into the mountains; Dhurke, Datz, Nahyuta, and little Apollo Justice. Dhurke can't think of, can't grieve for, Amara and Jove now. He must now deal with saving the living.
Dhurke hushes the boy as Datz calms Nahyuta, who finally begins to fuss at the sound of Apollo's cries. Calm as Nahyuta always is, there are limits to patience - and Nahyuta's still so young, too.
The weight of the boy feels natural in the crook of his arm. Despite his loud volume, Apollo is easy to hold. But metaphorically, carrying him is impossibly heavy.
He must find Apollo's mother, before she goes back to America.
-
They'd found sanctuary in the home of one Tahrust Inmee, a monk who lived deep in the mountains. He seemed to be one of the only ones who believed in Dhurke's innocence. Over the next few years, the rebel movement would grow. A small, secret rebel village would be constructed high in the mountains, with shacks built by Dhurke and Datz' own two hands. Yaks provided milk and a means of tilling small plots of land. Weapons were banned from the commune, and all was provided by nature. They didn't have much space for agriculture, and foraging became the subsistence method of choice.
As the years passed, the children grew quickly, mostly on a diet of fish and mountain plants. Dhurke's revolution would be bloodless. He taught his children in the art of defense - physical, spiritual, psychological. Should something ever happen to him - and one day, it surely would - the children would be able to defend themselves. Of this, Dhurke would make sure.
Apollo becomes a bright child, happy and mischievous and crackling with the energy of youth. Nothing Dhurke and Datz had tried had lead them any closer to finding his mother. Since she had been a tourist, and the fire had left things in such disarray, they could only assume she'd given up searching for her husband and son and returned to America.
"Daddy, daddy, look what I found!" Apollo holds out a tiny frog.
Dhurke can't tell Apollo not to call him that, even when it makes a lump form in his throat at hearing it.
"Yes, I see, they like to come out when it rains, don't they? Let's let him get back to his home, eh?"
"Okay!" When the boy grins, anyone can plainly see the three baby teeth that have already fallen out. Apollo placed the frog back into the thicket, always so respectful of all nature as Dhurke had taught the kids to be.
Apollo startles, looking down at his wrist. "...Oh! My bracelet! I think it's gone!"
"Ah, uh, no it's not." Nahyuta said. "You left it back at home, I just saw it."
"...Oh. Thanks, Yuta."
Later, Apollo happily fiddles with the golden bangle. "Daddy, where did my bracelet come from?"
The bracelet had always been there, wrapped into the swaddling with the child from the first. Most likely a token of farewell from a mother as she departed from her husband and baby. It had gone from a teething toy to a bit of a comfort object.
"It belonged to your mother."
Or so Dhurke assumed. The bangle could've easily been Jove's, but Dhurke has to give Apollo something of his mother's. Inventing a backstory for the kid has been difficult enough.
-
The river had come this close to taking all three of them. Dhurke refused to let on just how close a call it had been.
"It's all right, son. As long as you and Nahyuta are safe, that's all I care about."
"You saved us. I love you, Daddy."
"And I love you, my son."
-
Several years later, a woman is working the night shift in an American airport. Passengers begin filing into the terminal from a flight originating in Khurain. One of them catches her eye, a young boy with a shabby-looking backpack. His eyes are wide, and it seems like he's never been to a large airport before in his life. Beyond that, he appears to be all alone, no one to accompany him.
After several minutes of wandering around the terminal, the boy finally approaches her desk.
The boy's eyes are a bit off-putting, intense in their stare. Regardless, she puts on a customer service voice as best she can. "Hello, w-welcome to the United States. Is this your first time visiting?"
The boy wordlessly hands her a piece of paper, folded eight times. She carefully unfolds it, and reads the words printed on it in neat capital letters. There isn't much text, but what there is is impossibly heavy.
She reads it a few times before looking back at the boy. Couldn't be more than ten years old, wide-eyed and looking surprisingly calm for someone who's just traveled as many miles as he has by himself. And to think of his uncertain future... how could anybody do a thing like this?
"I... I didn't read it." he says, earnestly. "He told me not to, and I promised. But... but no matter what it says, don't worry. He is coming back, some day. He can't right now. I can't tell you why. But, he is coming for me." the kid says seriously, nodding his head, brow set in a hard line of certainty.
The receptionist struggles - what can she possibly say?
Finally, she sighs. "Do you... how do you like pizza, kid?"
"What's pi-zza?"
"It's what's for dinner. C'mon, it's on me. You'll like it."
-
After Paul Atishon and Mr. Wright leave, Trucy says she's going to head back to the office. "I'll leave you two some time to bond and get re-acquainted!" she says with a smile. Apollo thinks about going with her, but she is right. Apollo needs to discuss a few things with his client here and iron out a strategy for their case.
"It seems that these American politicians are more or less the same as television says they are, eh?"
"Well, don't worry. We're going to get it back, I'll make sure of that."
"Son, listen. I know things have been a bit... tense, to say the least, between us, since I showed up here. I know it's been a while, but I did keep my promise, didn't I? I mean-"
"Dhurke, stop it." Apollo says softly, cutting him off. "Whatever. What's done is done. Yes, you kept your promise, you're here. It's great."
"It... it doesn't sound so great. I mean, how long has it been, fifteen years or so since I last saw you; that's no small thing. We've got a lot to catch up on, I know, but beyond that, I need to say - I should say - son, I'm sor-"
"Stop!" Apollo says suddenly. "I... I don't want to hear it!"
"Son, what's the matter? I just need to apologize to you for the-"
"No!" Apollo says more forcefully. "Listen to me, for once! Dhurke, the- it- you just- you just do whatever you want, don't you? Look, the- th-the kid you're apologizing to, he's gone. He's gone! He grew up! Okay? So don't even bother! There's no need... to say anything..."
"Oh, son. You may have grown, but you're still my little boy, you always will be. Just because you're bigger now doesn't mean I don't have to apologize!"
"Y-you can't." Apollo said, darkly. "You can't fix it. You can't just... go back in time and... y-you don't even look the same as I remember you. Everything is different now. I'm not the same person anymore, I'm just not."
"Apollo..."
Apollo choked, suddenly, unable to hold back the tears that had been building in him for a very long time as the wound to his soul was finally ripped open. "I tried to forget! I tried to forget you! You can't do this... you can't do this to me now... why now, now that I'm..."
The years fell away as Apollo fell into his father's arms. Dhurke sighed deeply, putting his arms around his child. "Daddy's here. Daddy's right here. That's right, I'm here, son."
"P-promise me... promise me you'll always be here... promise me you won't leave me again!"
"Well, son, the thing is... well, you know we all depart from this world to the Twilight Realm, right?"
"Then... then promise me you'll stay with me for as long as you can!"
"...Yes, for as long as I can. I promise. I'll be here."
"I believe you... I b-believe in you, Dhurke! A-always have..." Apollo kept sobbing. Old wounds were beginning to heal with the new promise that Dhurke would be here, for the foreseeable future at least. They would have plenty of time to discuss everything.
They'd be together for a long time to come. Dhurke promised.