Chapter Text
"I don't like smoking." Andrew told the night sky as he released a cloud of smoke from his nose. It was lie he told himself every time he lit up his pipe, the only habit he'd yet to kick. Cigarettes were the first to go, followed by vapes and cigars, but good ol' fashioned pipes still had him by the throat. Hershey enjoyed the scent but had always complained it made his mouth taste like tobacco and ash, something he'd smile through whenever they had their 'ex-lover sessions', as she liked to call them. Such as the one he was currently recovering from after being gently shooed from her apartment. Not before her customary thank-you shower massage, of course. In her very weird shower… more of a stable stall with a high powered rain head, but he'd laid down under the deluge and allowed her paws to pop his back and massage his legs after helping with an urge she couldn't banish herself.
Very much worth the drive over.
"Pwaaahhh… ah…" His eyes darted over to Yelz Acura, the poor thing begging him to put it out of its misery, though the new fuel pump had performed admirably. It wasn't until after he'd already gotten started with Pringles that he'd remembered he'd told the little kobold he was going to show her how to work on the old clunker herself. By that time, Pringles was already stumbling over his words in excitement, downloading the user manual and chittering at how fun it was going to be to crawl underneath something to close to vintage. Each breath brought more heat than smoke into the tired man's lungs, a glance revealing that his tobacco had burned down to nothing more than an ember.
Time to go
Andrew had nearly tipped the old wood and corn cob pipe over before the sound of a window struggling to open reached his ears, his head turning towards Tolly's apartment of all places. Slowly, as if trying to make as little sound as possible, the window that looked out from the kitchen eased up just enough for a small, wriggling rear covered in fur to tumble free. Kolky glanced about in obvious fear, his glistening eyes glowing in the moonlight from more than just his predatory genetics. Andrew narrowed his own, easing back into the shadow of Hershey's small suite porch as the tiny gryphon padded his way quickly across the parking lot for the pool.
"And where are you goin', lil' man?" A whisper, not nearly loud enough for the child to hear. Instead of barking and marching, Andrew simply watched. Watched as Kolky easily squeezed through the bars and sat sniffling and whimpering at the waters edge, his taloned paw rubbing at his beak. Now, none could say Andrew was a touchy-feely guy, but no grown man worth his salt wouldn't be spurned to some kind of action at the sight of a hurt child. Now was not the time to be hiding in the dark to let the kid work his problems out. With a sigh, Andrew pushed away from Hershey's wall and strode over to the pool, leaning on the fence with a grin as he tongued his pipe from one side of his mouth to the other. "Your Momma would-"
"SKREEE! Agh! Haagh! Hiiissss Hiiissss!" Andrew couldn't stop his laugh as Kolky leapt out of his fur, claws slashing at the air as the little baby gryphon tumbled over his own paws onto his back, legs flailing.
"Unc- Uncle Andrew scare Kolky! Yes!"
"Sorry lil' guy! Hah." Kolky's glare didn't fade as the human hurdled the fence to join him, popping a squat on one of the pool loungers.
"Kolky wanna be alone…"
"Do you now? Well, Uncle Andrew likes staying alive, and if Tolly finds out I left you out here by yourself she'll claw my face off."
"Not Kolky's problem. No." Petulance dripped from the grumpy bird, his front legs cross as he plopped onto his haunches. Tears still brimmed the bottom of his eyes and snot still seemed determined to dribble from his beak, a fact that seemed to just upset him more. Not to mention, Andrew could see it, which just upset him more. Heat worse than before, the kind that clenched his throat and drove him to leave the apartment before he woke his siblings, threatened to crawl up and out of him in the form of a sob. Good grief, he was about to cry in front of Uncle Andrew! That was so not cool! That just made him even more upset! It was a sound every grown up knew, those who had been around children for any given amount of time, at least. That struggle not to cry, the held back sobs, the angry grunts as tears were roughly wiped away as if getting fed up with themselves would magically make their emotions go away. Kolky was trapped in that same such cycle, choking back his cries as he turned away towards the pool. "Hnk- L-Leave Kolky a-alone. Kolky fine! Yes."
"Mmmm… hmmmm" Andrew almost- almost, reached into his pockets for another pinch of tobacco… but exposing the poor kid to second hand smoke along with whatever else was eating at him seemed a bit much. "What's eating you, champ?"
"Nuthin'. No."
"Man. I hope I never have to deal with nuthin'."
"Stop being mean to Kolky. Aunty Hershey already mean to Kolky today."
"Then tell Uncle Andrew why you're sneaking away from home in the middle of the night to cry by the pool." Andrew pierced the gryphon with a snapping look, his eyebrow raised. As much as he liked the kid, he wasn't about to broker nonsense. Kolky flinched, his bravado fading as his claws grabbed his tail. Eyes darted for an escape that didn't exist- not that he wanted to run. Uncle Andrew was probably the only person he could talk to right now. Momma wasn't someone to bother with this stuff, she worked too hard to also worry about a crybaby son.
"Kolky don't know."
"Hmmm…" Overstimulated, confused, sad. Andrew knew what that was like. Poor kid took on a lot, taking care of his siblings and the apartment when there wasn't a babysitter. It was a lot, too much, for a nine year old.
"You look sad to me."
"Kolky is sad. Yes." Another sniffle, better this time. Paws shuffled as the gryphon chick sidled closer to his chosen uncle. "Kolky so tired!" A stamping paw, a flap of undeveloped wings. He seemed more angry than exhausted.
"Oh? What's wiping you out?"
"Kolky don't know! No…" Like a deflating balloon, the little gryphon went limp against Andrew's leg, snuggling up to the only source of warmth out by the pool so late at night. "Kolky tired of… of lots of things!"
"Hm. You don't mind watching your brother and sisters, do you?"
"No no… Kolky love them. Tiring but… ngh…" Kolkakik flinched as he felt a rough hand land on his head, ruffling his ears.
"Kolky, it's okay. You can tell me what you really feel." There they were… those big wet eyes looking up at him, begging him that it was true.
"Andrew promise not to tell Momma?"
"I promise."
Another sniffle, tail in his claws, beak rubbing on Andrew's jeans to clean it of snot.
"…yes. Why Kolky gotta watch Weny and twins? Why Kolky gotta help keep house clean? Why Kolky gotta make sure homework is done? Why…" A sniffle, wetter this time. Those eyes were locked back onto Andrew's as if he had the answers. All Kolky had to do was ask the questions. "Ngh… Kolky not really care… Kolky doesn't mind doing those things."
"What do you care about? Tough lil' fella like you wouldn't run away from home like this unless it was super serious." Andrew rubbed the gryphon's head again, digging his nails into the kid's scalp. A pleased purr rumbled from his little chest, but it did nothing to dry his wet eyes. The exhaustion in them went deeper than helping his mom care for their family. More than helping keep the apartment he lived in clean. A string in the man's sandpaper heart tugged at how small Kolkakik was… nobody so young should be out by themselves in the middle of the night crying, much less a nine year old kid. "Come on, champ."
"Champ…" Kolky looked down… away… at the pool- back to Andrew. "Kolky saw another gryphon get picked up from school. Yes." Claws clenched at Andrew's jeans, the tips punching through the material. "A… Tekandal… his papa picked him up. Yes."
Ah. Shit.
"His papa picked him up?"
"Mhm. Kolky had to wait for Weny and Elky and Holky… took bus." More moisture, a welling as Kolky got to the heart of it. "Not fair. Not fair. Tekandal plays skyball with papa and-and goes swoop fishing with papa annn-" A sob broke the little gryphon's grievances. "And- and they play Verwer! Gryphon racing through trees! And- Annhhnnnuh!"
Kolky broke…
His little claws stretched out, reaching for Andrew, and he broke.
All the responsibility of caring for his siblings.
Keeping the house cleaned.
Watching them when Mom was away.
Homework was done.
Dishes.
Bedtime.
Getting home from school.
Tolly did her best, she did. So, often, he didn't have to worry about anything.
Those days were the worst.
Because he could watch and see what so many others had.
Playing.
Learning.
Hugging their Dads…
Andrew wasn't a touchy-feely guy. His right ear was bulbous with cauliflower, his knuckles gnarled with scars, and his lips wrinkled from years of smoking. Yet, when Kolky let those first, chest heaving sobs loose and reached for him with shaking paws?
He didn't hesitate a moment.
The pipe fell from his mouth as Andrew scooped the crying gryphon into his arms, forcing that feathery head under his chin as broad arms sheltered him from the nights air. Kolky shivered into the embrace, wrapping his tail and still growing wing arms, and paws and claws and legs around the human who he trusted so much.
"Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?"
Over and over he begged for an answer to a question he'd never asked. Not of himself. Not of Tolly.
No one.
"Why what, champ?"
"Did Dad leave because of us?"
…
…
…
A press on his chest, a wrench of feathers… Kolky's eyes boring into him, demanding answers.
"That's… something you should ask Toll-" His words died as a little balled fist smacked into his chest. Kolky was shaking.
"Kolky asking you!"
…
…
…
"Your Dad… was too scared to be a Dad."
…
…
…
The anger didn't leave. It didn't stay at the helm though, replaced by a tired, empty, sadness as Kolky pressed his head to Andrew's chest…
And cried.