Work Text:
“Father! Father! Look!” a cheery voice rang out from across the warm sunlit room, accompanied by a series of shuffles and the pitter patter of feet against the tiled floors.
Grisha raised ‘His’ head from where ‘He’ had been perusing the written reports from ‘His’ various angels, ‘His’ eyes catching on the forms of ‘His’ two wayward spawn, one dashing towards ‘Him’ with chaotic intent and a mischievous grin, the other following at a more sedate pace. The two children clutched odd objects to their chests, evidence of their recent visit to the Fool’s realm.
Grisha smiled lightly as ‘He’ examined the objects the two little angels held securely, as if afraid to let them out of their sights.
Amon reached the Creator’s desk, thrusting his newest acquisition onto the paper covered surface, scattering some of the loose sheets before quickly clamouring into his Father’s lap.
Grisha’s eyebrows raised minutely at ‘His’ son’s antics. Amon rarely sought physical contact with ‘Him’ regardless of their parent-child relationship to the dismay of Zhou Mingrui. In fact, the Fool had often berated ‘Him’ once ‘He’ had observed how the children kept their distance from their father.
Little Mingrui probably had something to do with this, Grisha thought to ‘Himself,’ mentally shaking ‘His’ head in amusement.
Amon wriggled slightly in ‘His’ lap, making himself comfortable, before reaching out for what he had thrown onto the desk haphazardly. The angel thrust the surprisingly soft and real plush doll into the god’s face, urging ‘Him’ to examine it.
“Look! Look!” Amon exclaimed.
Grisha pulled ‘His’ face away from where it had been buried in the plush fabric of the doll, halting Amon’s excited movements with a gentle hand on his shoulder. ‘He’ made eye contact with ‘His’ other son who had finally arrived beside the two, smiling gently at him.
Grisha examined the doll Amon had thrust in front of ‘His’ face, observing its cartoonishly round body and pointed hat that resembled his son’s favourite one. ‘He’ gave a gentle pat to the top of the round head, the motion causing Amon’s face to bloom into a delighted grin.
Upon seeing his Father’s reaction and presumed approval of his now most treasured item, Amon pulled the doll back into the safety of his chest, hugging the crow tightly and burying his face into the fabric.
Grisha looked over to Adam who had been waiting next to ‘His’ chair patiently, silently observing the two. ‘He’ reached out a hand towards his doll, to which Adam gingerly offered to ‘Him.’
Adam’s doll was longer, much longer than ‘His’ other son’s ridiculously round one, with soft tufts of fur lining the back. Grisha also gave the dragon a gentle stroke down its back before handing it back to Adam. A small smile graced Adam’s face as he wrapped the serpentine body back around himself, nuzzling his face against the plush dragon’s.
“I see your Mr. Fool has given you two gifts this time,” Grisha said, breaking the silence.
Adam nodded silently, Amon too preoccupied with burying his head into his crow doll to answer.
“Do you want to tell me about them?” Grisha asked, used to ‘His’ first son’s taciturn nature.
Adam’s eyes lit up at the question as he began to explain the gifts from Mr. Fool, Amon interjecting occasionally but otherwise letting his brother do the talking for once.
By the end of Adam’s soft explanation, he too had started leaning against Grisha, seeking his Father’s everpresent warmth.
Grisha could imagine Zhou Mingrui’s voice crowing in triumph at the scene - I told you the kids want physical contact from their father, even from a father like you!!
Grisha had definitely brushed off Mingrui’s comments on ‘His’ fairly sterile relationship with ‘His’ two children, stating that they weren’t human in the first place and therefore required less considerations granted to human children.
I guess that’s a point in Mingrui’s favour, ‘He’ thought to ‘Himself,’ silently vowing to never broach the subject with the Fool, lest ‘He’ once again be subject to another two hour long lecture on proper childrearing practices.
“Father,” Adam’s quiet voice cut through Grisha’s musings, “can we make one for Mr. Fool too?”
Grisha quirked ‘His’ brow in mild surprise. “Didn’t your Mr. Fool state that these were gifts, implying that there was no need for equivalent exchange?”
Adam looked down at his feet, shuffling them slightly as he considered his words.
“Mr. Fool said there was no need for a reason to give gifts. So Amon and I can give ‘Him’ a gift if we wanted to too.”
“I want to give Mr. Fool a gift!” chimed in Amon, finally pulling his face away from his plush.
Grisha was mildly shocked at the oddly human response from ‘His’ two children. Never in ‘His’ wildest dreams had ‘He’ imagined that the two angels who were the source of never-ending terror in ‘His’ divine kingdom would one day ask to give a “gift” with no strings attached.
At his Father’s silence, Amon widened his eyes and puffed out his cheeks slightly before rubbing them against Grisha’s chest. “Father, Father, please?”
Has this little rascal always been this adorable? Grisha froze in shock before glancing over at ‘His’ other son.
Adam’s expression mimicked Amon’s, really selling the twin angel assumptions the Fool and the rest of the kingdom’s angels had.
Mingrui, what have you taught my children? Grisha bemoaned, oddly weak to the children’s pleading eyes.
The Creator really didn’t have a solid excuse for not helping ‘His’ children on their quest, other than it would be troublesome and may be potentially misunderstood by ‘His’ court of angels. Though then again, the rest of the angels were well aware of how enamoured the children were with the Fool, and probably silently praised ‘Him’ for keeping them occupied and away from the Creator’s divine kingdom, saving them from their mischief.
Grisha conjured up two chairs, depositing Amon into one of them, before gesturing at Adam to sit in the other. ‘He’ laughed at Amon’s deepening pout, the angel had clearly gotten comfortable in ‘His’ lap and did not appreciate being downgraded to a chair.
The pout quickly disappeared at his Father’s next words as a blank sheet of paper and quill appeared before Grisha. “Let’s brainstorm what little Mingrui would like as ‘His’ gift.”
Amon squirmed happily in his seat as he exclaimed, “A doll! A giant one!!”
Grisha chuckled before glancing over at Adam, silently inquiring his opinion on the matter. Adam nodded in agreement, a twinkle dancing in his eyes.
“Okay a big doll for Mingrui-”
“A giant one!” Amon interrupted.
“A giant doll for Mingrui,” Grisha corrected. “Do we have any ideas for what the doll should be?”
Amon fell silent, his brow furrowing slightly as he considered the question. The little angel was unsure what Mr. Fool’s favourite creature was.
Adam was also at a loss as he racked his brain, coming up with multiple ideas before discarding them immediately.
Grisha smiled at the two angels who were clearly overthinking the matter. ‘He’ knew Mingrui would appreciate whatever the two cooked up, even though ‘He’ would most likely obscure ‘His’ delight in favour of ‘His’ slightly aloof divine persona.
With that thought, Grisha decided to poke some fun at the other god, after all ‘He’ was the one putting in the work for this gift.
“What about a cat?” Grisha offered.
Amon wrinkled his nose slightly as he considered the suggestion.
Adam’s eyes lit up, intrigued.
“Why a cat?” asked Amon, “Doesn’t Mr. Fool like dogs?”
Grisha laughed lightly before explaining. “Your Mr. Fool does like dogs, after all the hounds protect ‘Him’ and keep ‘Him’ company.”
“However, ‘He’ acts like a cat most of the time.”
Amon turned over his Father’s words in his mind, still mildly confused but accepting the explanation. After all his Father was one of the only gods who spent extended amounts of time with the Fool.
Little Mingrui gets all huffy and hissy like a disgruntled kitten when ‘He’ doesn’t get ‘His’ way. ‘He’ just expresses ‘His’ discontent on a more … divine level. ‘He’ also never states exactly what ‘He’ wants. Grisha added in ‘His’ mind, silently laughing at ‘His’ comparison. Mingrui would definitely have words to say if ‘He’ finds this out.
“Can the cat have tentacles?” Amon added, thinking back to the illusory tentacles the children occasionally caught sight of. Adam nodded in agreement.
“It’s your gift, you can add whatever you want,” smiled Grisha.
Amon cheered.
A rough sketch emerged from beneath Grisha’s pen, a vaguely cat-like shape with long wriggly tentacles replacing its lower body.
Adam requested a hat for the creature, which Grisha quickly added to the sketch.
The trio descended upon the human settlement, fate leading them to the exact same seamstress that had made the children’s dolls.
The seamstress, bewildered by the odd request from the strange trio, flashed back to the gentleman from a few months prior, who also left her with a similar commission. She silently accepted the payment that was way more than the task required, still in shock by the alarmingly concerning sketch before her.
A cat octopus? A catopus? With a hat??
“Mr. Fooooool!” a bright voice cut through the ever-silent solemnity of the grey fog.
Amon burst through the large door leading to where they often met the Fool for their playdates. In his arms was an incredibly large and fluffy monstrosity of a cat/octopus hybrid plush. The long tentacles trailed after the little angel, a few of them held securely by his brother Adam who followed close behind. The doll’s hat was firmly placed on Adam’s head, seeing as Amon’s was already occupied by his own pointed one.
Amon peaked his head around the doll that dwarfed his body, deflating slightly when his eyes caught on the empty throne at the end of the long mottled table.
An illusory mirror appeared before the two brothers, pale letters spilling across the surface. “The Great Master is asleep again.”
“Arrodes, can you take us to Mr. Fool?” Adam asked quietly.
Adam could sense the mirror’s unwillingness to cooperate, as it deemed the chaotic presence of the two children to be detrimental to Mr. Fool’s rest. Unfortunately for the mirror, the Fool had a soft spot for both of them, allowing them almost free reign of Sefirah Castle even when ‘He’ was forced to rest.
“Very well, I will take you to the Great Master’s room. What is it you’re holding?”
Amon beamed, waving one of the tentacles at the mirror. “It’s a gift for Mr. Fool!”
Arrodes, accepting the answer, turned and floated off into the grey fog, silently indicating the children should follow its lead.
As the angels trailed after Arrodes, they watched as their surroundings changed from the meeting room to endless grey fog. Not long after, countless doors began to appear out of the fog, some highly decorated and tall like trees, others regular height and mundane in appearance.
The rest of the Fool’s divine kingdom was built like a labyrinth, or as ‘He’ liked to call it, a “fun house.” Behind each door lay either something exceptionally normal, while others contained nasty surprises. One wrong step and the young angels might get sucked into a completely different realm, trapped until their Father or the Fool noticed and came to their aid.
It was because of this that the Fool established the rule against wandering past the meeting room unaccompanied by ‘Him’ or Arrodes.
The mirror came to a halt in front of an unassuming wooden door. “We have arrived.”
As Amon went to push open the door, more text spilled across Arrodes’ surface, oddly hesitant.
“Please grant the Great Master ‘His’ much needed rest,” the words quickly disappeared before being replaced with more. “‘He’ will not be awakening during your visit this time.”
With that final message, Arrodes faded into the grey fog, still hovering nearby to take the children back to the meeting room once their visit was over.
Amon locked eyes with Adam, a small frown crossing his face upon reading Arrodes’ message. Adam merely smiled gently at his brother, before tilting his head towards the door, encouraging Amon to push it open.
Amon nudged open the door, struggling slightly due to the large doll in his hands occupying most of his sight. The door opened silently, the grey fog from the hallway spilling gently into the room. A faint scent of night vanilla wafted from the dark room, bringing with it a feeling of tranquility and peace.
The room was blanketed by a serene darkness, the only source of light coming from the opened door. The gentle light from the hall illuminated the sparsity of the room, empty save for the large bed in the centre of the room. A dark figure lay on the bed, unmoving, illusory tentacles spilling from the cloak that blanketed them.
As the two angels moved closer to the sleeping Fool, their eyes caught on the numerous pillows surrounding ‘Him,’ adding a sort of hominess and softness to the otherwise barren bed.
The ever inquisitive Amon deposited the catopus plush at the end of the bed, before gingerly climbing onto the bed after it. The large bed barely dipped under his weight as he crawled closer to where the Fool lay.
“Amon!” hissed Adam.
“Mr. Fool won’t mind!” whispered Amon back, “‘He’ didn’t mind when ‘He’ woke up last time! Anyways, Arrodes said ‘He’ won’t wake up.”
A few meetings ago.
“What is Mr. Fool doing?” asked Amon as he approached the unmoving figure on the throne.
He peered up at the god, who sat on ‘His’ throne at the end of the meeting table, unresponsive. ‘His’ head rested upon ‘His’ fist, almost as if in deep contemplation, save for the fact that ‘His’ eyes were both closed, and ‘He’ did not greet the children upon their arrival.
“Mr. Fool! Mr. Foooool!” called Amon, eager to get ‘His’ attention.
“Amon,” Adam said, finally arriving at the throne, “it seems that Mr. Fool is asleep.”
“Asleep?” Amon was slightly surprised, mythical creatures like him and his brother didn’t need sleep, let alone a god like Mr. Fool.
“Then who do we play with?” Amon whined, swinging his arms around his body pouting slightly.
“Ah!” a mischievous twinkle sparkled in the little Angel of Time’s eyes.
“Amon,” sighed Adam, knowing he was about to be pulled into his brother’s shenanigans once more.
And that was how Zhou Mingrui awoke to Adam silently seated at ‘His’ feet, playing with one of the hounds and Amon … squishing and pulling ‘His’ cheeks, attempting to make the Fool’s expressionless face smile and frown.
Upon making eye contact with the now very much awake Fool, Amon’s eyes widened slightly in shock before they closed in delight as Amon grinned. The angel abandoned his poking and prodding, wrapping his arms around the Fool’s neck in a tight hug instead.
“Mr. Fool, you’re awake!” he cried, wiggling happily.
“Amon…” said the bewildered Fool, completely at a loss for words.
When recounting the experience during one of ‘His’ visits to the Creator’s divine kingdom, Grisha merely laughed at Zhou Mingrui.
“I’ve reminded you numerous times,” ‘He’ chuckled, “that you should be resting in a bed, not on that ridiculously uncomfortable throne of yours in a meeting room.”
Zhou Mingrui sputtered indignantly, slapping the beaming Creator’s shoulder.
‘He’ still conjured up a bed and bedroom for ‘His’ future rests. The pillows were a gift from Amanises, who thought the idea of a completely barren bed was absolutely pitiful.
Back to the present.
Adam sighed, pushing the plush tentacle that he had been holding onto the bed, before firmly affixing the additional hat on top of the plush’s head.
By the time Adam had finished rearranging the plush to his liking, Amon had already cuddled up to the Fool, nuzzling into ‘His’ side.
A small yawn escaped from Amon’s mouth as his eyes began to droop. Something about the room made him terribly serene and sleepy. An illusory tentacle gently patted the little angel’s back, before laying over his torso like a mock blanket.
Adam observed his brother’s shameless actions, torn between following his heart and joining the two, or heading back into the hall.
… what your heart desires. A memory of Mr. Fool’s past words ran through Adam’s mind.
With that reminder, Adam silently crept towards his sleepy brother and the slumbering god. He gingerly lowered himself onto the Fool’s vacant side. Another illusory tentacle blanketed him. A small smile bloomed across his face as he too drifted off into sleep.
The room fell silent once more, once again blanketed by a layer of serenity.
The children awoke from their unplanned nap a few hours later, the room still peacefully still.
Amon rubbed his eyes with a small fist, rubbing away the final remnants of sleep from his face as he sat up slowly. His dark hair was sleep-mussed, a few strands sticking up haphazardly at odd angles.
Adam had already reawakened a while ago, sitting against the headboard waiting for his brother, petting the tentacle that had blanketed him during his impromptu nap.
He silently handed over Amon’s pointed hat that had fallen off his head during his sleep. Amon beamed at his brother, firmly affixing it back onto his head, covering his messy bedhead.
The two children wiggled out from underneath the tentacles blanketing them. Adam helped Amon straighten his crooked clothing before the two said their goodbyes to the still slumbering god.
As Zhou Mingrui slowly cracked open ‘His’ eyes, ‘He’ fully expected to be greeted by the serene darkness that ‘He’ had fallen asleep to.
Instead, as the half-awakened god stretched ‘His’ body on the bed, working out the stiffness from laying prone for an extended period of time, ‘His’ metaphorical heart stuttered to a halt as ‘His’ eyes caught on a large dark … mass observing ‘Him.’
“What in the world-?!”
Zhou Mingrui quickly sat up, all traces of sleep dissipating as panic ran through ‘His’ body. ‘He’ snapped ‘His’ fingers, the dormant candles quickly flickering to life around the room, illuminating the figure and Zhou Mingrui. Under the gentle candlelight, ‘His’ anxiety-ridden mind finally realized what exactly the figure was.
Zhou Mingrui sighed in mild relief, tension leaving ‘His’ body. For a moment, ‘He’ truly had thought some unknown entity had managed to enter ‘His’ domain and somehow bypass all the security measures ‘He’ and Arrodes had built into Sefirah Castle.
‘He’ reached out for the doll, for that was what was watching ‘Him’ sleep.
Why is it so large?? ‘He’ thought to ‘Himself,’ absolutely bewildered by the sheer size of the thing.
As Zhou Mingrui pulled the monstrosity into ‘His’ arms for a closer inspection, ‘He’ noted the cat-like features, the large round eyes, the additional top hat and oddly enough, the long trailing tentacles that made up the lower half of the doll.
‘He’ recognized the craftsmanship, the same seamstress ‘He’ initially commissioned must have been responsible for this monstrosity as well.
The tentacles I understand, but why a cat? ‘He’ mused to ‘Himself,’ before recalling how Amanises and Grisha occasionally referred to ‘Him’ as a “little kitten” and “hissing cat” respectively in their conversations, to the chagrin of Zhou Mingrui.
“Grisha…” Zhou Mingrui hissed into the silence of the room, hoping that ‘His’ fellow god hadn’t ruined ‘His’ divine persona in front of the children just to tease ‘Him.’
Regardless of ‘His’ first horror-filled impression and the implied teasing from ‘His’ fellow god, Zhou Mingrui still appreciated the work and craft that had gone into this gift. For surely, it was a gift from the two half-grown angels who had received similar items a few months prior.
‘He’ smiled down at the large plush in ‘His’ arms, giving the soft head a few gentle pats, before swinging ‘His’ feet off the bed. ‘He’ rearranged the large plush to sit amongst ‘His’ copious amount of pillows, shifting the tentacles to clutch some of them as ‘He’ chuckled to ‘Himself.’
Zhou Mingrui turned towards the door, leaving the silent room to greet the cheerful Arrodes who had been patiently awaiting the god’s awakening.
Behind ‘Him,’ the giant catopus plush rested serenely on the bed, ready to accompany the Fool during ‘His’ next slumber.