The Best came from your Mother (Bran)

[Deleted]

Despite his fight with Idris several days earlier, Keir had still not been home, although he'd had a good conversation with his wife at this point. She understood how important this was to him and had briefly stopped by to drop him off a very hearty and heavy meat stew. It seemed she was starting to understand that the years of pent up emotions had caught up and vegan meals were definitly not going to improve anything. It had meant the world to him and the two had shared those brief but meaningful moments that had defined them as an unbreakable couple through all previous hardships. No matter what happened, they shared a deep love for each other and would work through anything together. Their wedding vows had taken on so much more depth over the years.

Rather than heal his face and various scrapes, Keir had kept his body rather beat up and sore intentionally. It served as a reminder to him that not everybody could take the same amount of violence. Or well, that is what he'd tell people. The truth was that the pain helped calm his mind a lot and helped him keep his temper somewhat under control. It was a way to go still but at least he was doing better.

So as his assistant told him that one of his children was there for him he felt intense dread at first. If it was his daughter he was going to need a lot of self restraint to keep his calm around her. He'd taken her verbal abuse after his sickness mostly because he knew she struggled a lot. With a bit of luck she was off to her training as curse breaker soon. Maybe it would help clear her mood. If it was Bran? Well maybe he'd actually do better than even he expected. So he told his assistant to let them in as he sat behind his desk. He looked as the door opened and his son walked in, relief secretly flushing his system as he put the ice pack he'd been using to cool his black eye away. "Bran, to what do I owe this visit?" He asked as he motioned for his son to sit down. He hoped it was nothing serious. He wasn't sure if he could take it at this point.

Bran Fionn O'Dalaigh

[Bran Fionn O'Dalaigh]

a little closer to grace.

THE MINISTRY WAS STILL A FOREIGN PLACE FOR Bran to be in, even with a recognised and registered profession. Since graduation, Bran had not been in one place for longer than a couple of weeks. Any documentation that had been required for him had been owl'ed back to the Ministry without him. He hadn't even seen it when he was a child, even with his father holding a fairly respected role. The corporate, stone façade of it did not comfort him. And yet, there he was, delivering his first scroll of paperwork in person as he began his work at the Rehabilitation Centre.

It seemed only fair, that while Bran was in the vicinity, he pop in to see his father. Though it meant traversing one too many narrow corridors, and dodging far too many flying notes. He was too tall, and apparently in the way, as more than one disgruntled delivery smacked him hard behind the head. He was rubbing at the nape of his neck when he encountered his dad's assistant. It was all unsettlingly official, Bran feeling out of place in his patched blazer and rumpled shirt. His dad had always just been... well, his dad.

He was ushered in after a brief stint alone, holding his coat over one arm and shifting awkwardly from one foot to the next. When he was led towards the door, he did an awkward two step, ducking to get under the door as he thanked the assistant shyly. Bran flinched slightly as the door was pulled shut behind him resolutely. His dad's bruised face big and brash across the desk from him. "I-" Bran's voice caught in his throat, he shifted his coat to the opposite arm and cleared his throat. "What happened to your face?" He asked with a frown, forgetting the awkward greeting entirely. Bran had not figured out how not to worry about his father yet.

@keir

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Bran looked rather ill at ease, although that made sense to Keir. The boy had never been that much of a desk job type, in stead far more keen on finding his adventures elsewhere. Keir remembered the days before he'd been turned keenly, as he'd been similar in his search for adventures. He just hoped that his son had a far better future ahead of him than he'd personally had. His job with magical creatures had turned him into a werewolf and almost destroyed everything he cared about. He was lucky his wife had taken a chance on him and stuck by his side.

He smiled, feeling some of the bruising in his face object slightly as he did so. "Please sit. Don't worry about my face. Idris stopped by. Seems he wasn't quite pleased with my behaviour of late." Keir said with an amused chuckle. He'd told his wife and children about his mate and that they often went to gym together to blow off some steam. He hadn't specifically mentioned the parts where they usually simply got into fist fights but it hadn't seemed all that relevant at the time. Now it was a good thing that Idris had quite the temper to his name, as it meant that he pushed Keir to a place where he could express his anger in a somewhat productive way.

"How've you been of late?" He asked, concern washing over his face for a moment. He realised he'd been so caught up in his work that he'd barely had time to spend with his family. It had probably been a good thing considering how extremely high strung he'd been until Idris stopped by but that didn't change the fact he still cared a lot about his family. Their happiness was as important to him as his own. "How's the new job?" He asked, hoping that it was treating him well. It seemed like such a perfect fit to his son, and Keir would be lying if he claimed he didn't appreciate having him closer to home. He looked at him calmly, clearly intending to take all the time Bran wanted. It was the least he could do after the rather chaotic time that was behind them, hopefully.

Bran Fionn O'Dalaigh

[Bran Fionn O'Dalaigh]

a little closer to grace.

STUTTERING HIS STEPS AWKWARDLY, BRAN snorted at his own clumsy gait as he lurched towards the proffered seat. "Right- obviously," He shook his head at himself, coat slipping halfway off his arm as he pulled the back of the chair out and dropped into it gracelessly. It was the Ministry that was the problem, Bran told himself. Not the lingering discomfort from the new status quo. Though Brigh was openly hostile about the things she disapproved of, Bran had always tried to maintain a more neutral position during family feuds.

Though, as he settled on the cushion, Bran's head lifted up sharply as the blasé explanation registered. He looked at his dad's face anew. "Idris...?" He asked in cutting surprise, his face screwed up in confusion. This soon led to an uneasy disapproval. It was a nasty bruise, he could have broken something if he wasn't careful. "W-" Bran drew in a breath, shaking off the immediate urge to react as he initially wanted. What right did Idris have to hit his father? None, was the right answer. He had half a mind to find the man and tell him as much, wringing his coat between his hands as his thoughts turned red.

"I'm alright." Bran replied lowly, his eyes still clinging to the bruises after a minute of terse silence, his mouth tight at the corners. "Just registering my papers now that I'm back on the mainland." He shrugged his shoulders, disinterested in his own bright future all of a sudden. He drew in a slow breath, unable to help himself as he spoke again. "I just, I don't think he should be hittin' you." Bran said with a wrinkled nose. "I mean, I get this is- obviously we don't get it like you two fellas do, but hittin' you?" He narrowed his eyes, leaning forward in his seat, trying to figure out in what world this was an appropriate response to anything. "Who even is this guy...?" And by 'who' Bran meant 'who gave him the right'. 

@keir

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

Of course his children or wife didn't quite understand what it meant. They were not werewolves and there wasn't a day that went by that Keir wasn't grateful that they'd been spared his curse. Yet it also mean they'd never really understand what it meant to have a mate in that sense. He loved his wife more than anything and while she was apprehensive, she had accepted that certain parts of the magical world were just... strange. Since his children were part of the same world, they judged it all differently. It wasn't like it was all that easy to explain regardless.

Keir shrugged rather indifferently as Bran said he felt his mate shouldn't be hitting him. "Trust me that he looks at least as bad as I do. When I get rather stubborn he has a way of knocking some sense back in." He said with a content little smile. It was the counter to his worse habits, something he'd been missing for years. Despite his best efforts to control himself he found he was always very destructive during the full moons. That had gotten much less since he'd met Idris. He no longer felt unhinged or destructive in his daily life and the constant strain of keeping his temper and mood under control at all times had finally faded. He was without a doubt considered one of the most calm and level headed people in the ministry, but that was hardly without immense effort. Keir had a terrible hidden temper that he'd always kept under lock and key as his condition meant any display of passionate emotion made people worry he'd sprout fur all of a sudden. It was a relief to not have to hide it permanently.

"Bran..." He said as he pinched his brow for a moment. "There are things about being a werewolf that I'm beyond grateful that you don't know about or understand. It's better now than when you were younger. After I was bitten I lost my job at the ministry. I'm not sure if you remember the tiny house we lived in when you were young? When I still worked at the coal mines? Nobody there knew who I was, or what I was. They didn't flinch the moment I raised my voice or balled my fists in frustration. I fought a lot back then and it felt like a relief to not have people be afraid of me for showing emotions. I just wanted better for you and your sister and mother. So naturally I jumped on the opportunity to get a better job and rejoin the wizarding world. It did mean that I no longer had the liberties of showing anger or frustration. I found my place constantly challenged because of what I was and only making sure they had nothing at all to critique in terms of my mood seemed to prevent me losing my job. It's hard to always have to hide a huge part of who you are, only because people fear and misunderstand it. Or worse yet, use it against you. Idris allows me somebody that understands and brings that balance I've been craving for over a decade. I know it's hard to understand or explain, but I feel more balanced and complete with him in my life." He didn't really expect Bran to accept that explanation, but it was the best he could do.

Bran Fionn O'Dalaigh