(2024-11-06) Building Family

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Author:	Alli
Summary:	Old friends Jo and Elohad meet up in Ironforge HQ, taking some time to share more of their pasts and happier presents, as well as a few benevolent strategies for family bonding that maybe even a guileless gnome can pull off. ~4100 words
Rating:	T for Teen

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There's the faint sound of footsteps as a small figure, Jo Sparkwire, makes her way down the familiar staircase into the Cobalt Company HQ.

[Elohad]: "Hey Jo," Elo says, without looking up from his paperwork.

[Jocoza]: There you are, *Jo says with a smile. She walks over and hops up onto the chair nearby, swinging her legs gently.* What are you looking through? Personnel? Reports?

[Elohad]: Yep, just catching up. Been here since about half past five, soonest I could get here from work. Uh, other work.
Elohad rakes a hand back through his thinning hair and grins wryly.

[Jocoza]: House of Nobles work, huh? That does seem like a lot. *Jo winces sympathetically.*

[Elohad]: It is. Working here is like a vacation from it.

Jocoza reaches up to adjust one of her hair buns. "I can only imagine. Both of us are run in so many directions, it feels like I haven't had a chance to sit down and talk with you for a while."

Elohad is looking leaner these days, his cheekbones more prominent, his clothes hanging a bit more loosely. Not quite gaunt, but heading in that direction.
[Elohad]: Yeah, same.
Elohad studies her. "Things have been pretty good for you lately though, hm? I mean, all things considered?"

Jocoza looks much the same, though maybe there's a few more gray hairs in her brown, and a few more worry lines on her face. "Oh, yes. Things have turned around for me in ways I never expected. After Rix and Tula I wouldn't have thought, you know, that I could fall in love again, but here we are."

Elohad grins, eyes twinkling even as he looks a little embarrassed. "Well, I'm happy for you. You deserve good things, and Q seems like a real good thing."

[Jocoza]: He is. I wouldn’t have imagined, back when you started this company, that both of us would end up getting married again.

[Elohad]: I remember them, you know. Rix and Tula. The baby things Tula sent. Little pieces of them live in me, too. It's okay to carry them, but to move forward.

Jocoza's breath catches a little, and her eyes shine. "You remember? She was so proud, sizing them for human babies. Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one carrying the memories. It's good, to know that you do, too, in some way."

[Elohad]: I could never forget. It was so thoughtful. Made me feel like we were all family.
[Elohad]: It was… a weird time for me. Gestures like that meant a lot.

[Jocoza]: I wish we could have come up to visit you, back then. Before everything… *Jo gestures helplessly.* But you and I did find one another, eventually.

[Elohad]: And I'm glad of it.
Elohad smiles, but then pauses, shifting and looking thoughtful.
[Elohad]: Sometimes I wish I could have… uncomplicated memories of the ones I lost. Wish it were… cleaner. I know it must have hurt losing Rix and Tula, like having your guts ripped out… but the knife was clean at least.

[Jocoza]: Uncomplicated? *Jo asks, looking over at him* Yes, for me it hurt but it wasn't complicated. For you, though…?

Elohad shifts in his chair again.
[Elohad]: The last time I saw my son, he was begging me not to leave. Last time I saw Annie I fought with her. I'm not as wrecked about it all as I was even four years ago… Nir has helped me so much, talking it through. But you can't ever really…
[Elohad]: …sew a wound like that fully shut.
Elohad takes a deep breath. "Cris," he says. "I can say his name now. I couldn't for years. I just fell back on that old habit, saying'my son,' because I'd never called him that when he was alive."
[Elohad]: Not using his name kept me from opening up that… box I'd stuffed him in to keep breathing.

[Jocoza]: Oh. *Jo reaches out one four-fingered hand on the table between them, a gesture of comfort that might turn into a hug later.* They must have known you loved them. It was obvious, even to me, in your letters.

[Elohad]: Yeah. That's what helps me through it. Nir pointed out a lot of stuff like that. About how the last moment isn't really that important, it's about the whole life.
[Elohad]: For Cris, that really helps. We had so many good moments. But Annie… it was rocky all the way through, honestly. I didn't even realize until I married Nir how… incredibly wrong it all was.
[Elohad]: We had to get to this place where - she could tease me and I wouldn't flinch, waiting for it to turn ugly… mean.
[Elohad]: Nir, I mean.

[Jocoza]: Sometimes we can love people, but it still doesn't quite work. That doesn't mean the love wasn't there, too.
[Jocoza]: I didn't realize that it was like that with Annie.

[Elohad]: Yeah. I had to go through… a whole series of thoughts about it.
[Elohad]: First I thought, that was just what love was. Then I saw Nir's face when I told her stories, and I wondered… maybe it wasn't love at all, not on her end. But Nir helped me see… that was just the best she could do.
[Elohad]: She loved me and it scared her. She hated loving me, hated feeling weak. So she punished me for it.
[Elohad]: And I think what I finally arrived at was… I'm glad I was there for her and gave her at least a few minutes of joy. Joy was hard for her. Glad I could help. But I'm also… glad it's over. I don't mean I wanted her to die like that, but… yeah.

Jocoza looks at Elo with sympathy. "I only ever knew Annie from a distance. If I'd realized… I don't know that I could have done anything to help, at the time."

[Elohad]: You couldn't have. I realize now, people were trying. My friend Sebastien, Light rest his soul.
[Elohad]: Fionette's dad.

[Jocoza]: At least, it sounds like she did love you, though imperfectly. Now that it's over, maybe that's something to hold onto?

[Elohad]: Yeah. I just tell myself, I was so irresistible, even someone who'd rather eat glass than fall in love couldn't help herself. Heh.

Jocoza kind of wince-smiles. "You are pretty charming, for a human. "

[Elohad]: And in a weird way I'm thankful I had Annie so that I could better appreciate Nir. Some people would consider her prickly and difficult - I know this because I have heard them say that about her. But to me she's like… a vacation day.

Jocoza tilts her head. "I don't think I would have called Niris prickly. But then, maybe people are less prickly to me, sometimes."

[Elohad]: Everything feels so easy with her by comparison. And I'm glad I don't see her the way some people seem to. She's just such a pure delight to me. So kind and warm. It's subtle, I guess, but to me it might as well be a bonfire.
[Elohad]: Oh boy, you should hear her with other alchemists. It gets… sharp.

Jocoza giggles. "Maybe that's why. I've never argued with her about herbs or potions."

[Elohad]: But they deserve everything she dishes out, I'm tellin ya.
[Elohad]: Everyone's an idiot compared to her. Or so I infer. I don't know the first thing about it all, but she's never steered me wrong, and I've watched her save a lot of lives.

[Jocoza]: Sometimes a woman has to stand up for herself, when people won't listen. *Jo nods, imagining those idiot alchemists.*
[Jocoza]: Mayellen, for one, didn't she?

[Elohad]: Yep.
[Elohad]: BY THE WAY.

[Jocoza]: By the way?

[Elohad]: MY NEPHEW'S A WORGEN??

[Jocoza]: Wait, what?

[Elohad]: Yeah I guess we should PUT THAT IN THE DAMN FILE?

[Jocoza]: But he's… he's been in Cobalt for ages. Gilneas only recently… I mean, he's not Gilnean?

[Elohad]: It happened in Silverpine, when he was a kid, apparently. He was in one of Arugal's… experiments. He didn't give details but again, I am good at inferring things.
[Elohad]: And I infer that it was… horrible.

Jocoza shivers. "I'm glad we killed that jerk twice."

[Elohad]: Do you think it'd be possible to kill him a third time?
[Elohad]: I mean, I was happy to kill him twice but I didn't know then that he'd been !@#$ing with my familyl. Pardon my Dwarvish.

[Jocoza]: I suppose we could see if we could reanimate him again, just to do it. Might be possible.

[Elohad]: Nice, get back to me on that. I'm sure you have necromancer friends.
Elohad winks.

Jocoza giggles and winks back.
[Jocoza]: But then, that was before the whole druid ritual, wasn't it? How is he… him?

[Elohad]: He learned. Somehow. Self-taught. Again, he's not real chatty about personal stuff. But evidence shows he's never caused trouble, anywhere he's been.
[Elohad]: After he told me… I'll confess I went looking. There was some weird, mean part of me that wanted to find something, wanted to go AHA! and feel justified in being scared and suspicious. But… there was nothing. I'm just an ass.

[Jocoza]: No, the Eye's been very successful. Solving all sorts of cases.

[Elohad]: His record with us was definitely exemplary, for sure.

[Jocoza]: Yes, well, that's all of us sometime or another. Being an ass, I mean. I did go over to the Howling Oak to try and get a feel for those worgen. That might be something I'd recommend, if you want to shake that suspicious feeling about what they are.

[Elohad]: I… I'm not ready to face a whole tree full of'em yet. I'll get there.

[Jocoza]: When you are, I bet that tree will still be there. The kaldorei are really good at trees.

[Elohad]: But as for Jonas, I say we don't make a big thing of it, just quietly update his file and carry on like he's the same man he's always been. Because I guess… he was always… that.
[Elohad]: And Mayellen knew. This whole time.

[Jocoza]: Really? I guess he would need to tell her, before they got married. But then again, I suppose you're right. It's not like us knowing makes him a different person. We just know more about him.

[Elohad]: I could not figure that one out. And then I asked myself, what if it was Nir? What if she was a worgen? And then finally I understood. *A pause.* It's Hazan magic. *He nods. He has clearly reached the correct conclusion.*

Jocoza blinks. "Hazan magic?" She seems ready to accept this as a new school of magic.

[Elohad]: Once you love a Hazan, you're just done. They could exsanguinate your mom right in front of you and you'd find a way to be okay with it, because they wrap themselves that tight around your heart.

Jocoza laughs. "I can't imagine Ben or Nir or Jonas doing anything like that. So maybe that's part of the Hazan magic, too."

Elohad grins lopsidedly.
[Elohad]: I know that no matter what Nir told me, or did, I'd forgive her and protect her and even lie for her if I had to.
[Elohad]: Now I kind of wish she'd do something terrible so I can prove how loyal I am. It's so frustrating that she's so competent and ethical.

Jocoza giggles. "How dare she be wonderful. I think I feel something very similar for Q. I'm really not a very good liar, though, so I hope that part might never be tested."

Elohad laughs.
[Elohad]: Man, I gotta give you lessons or something. That is really gonna bite you in the %^& one day.

[Jocoza]: I'd try, but it'd be obvious, you know?
Jocoza grins sheepishly.

[Elohad]: Maybe we can find you a workaround.
[Elohad]: How are you at half truths? Lies of omission?
[Elohad]: Those are my specialty.

[Jocoza]: Hm. I usually feel the need to explain myself thoroughly.
[Jocoza]: So I'd have to tamp that impulse down.

[Elohad]: Oh, yeah. Right, that's a cultural thing, huh?

[Jocoza]: Yes, being very precise about things. Especially tinkering, but it leaks into other things as well.

[Elohad]: So it might come off weird if you weren't like that.
[Elohad]: Hm, this is challenging.

[Jocoza]: I might seem like I was being oddly non-explanatory, yes.

[Elohad]: I'll mull it over. It'd be an interesting side project. Teaching Jo subterfuge.

Jocoza giggles. "I've learned invisibility, so this is the next step!"

[Elohad]: But you and Q are so well matched that way. You're both so honest. And luckily deadly enough that no one dares take too much advantage of it.

[Jocoza]: Surely people wouldn't anyway. *Jo says blithely. Then her face lights up.* Speaking of Q, have I mentioned that I might be adopting someone?

[Elohad]: What?? Congratulations!!
[Elohad]: Wait, is it Fizzthingle's kid??

[Jocoza]: I… oh, I had considered that, but I haven't brought it up with Q yet.
[Jocoza]: I just meant… um… I suppose I'm jumping several steps ahead of myself, but I'm pretty sure that Natlee is Q's daughter.

[Elohad]: What??
Elohad seems extremely convincingly surprised.
Why is this surprising? He used to do this for a living.

Jocoza is completely convinced that Elohad is genuinely surprised.
[Jocoza]: She's an adult, like Ben was when you met him, but you adopted Ben, right?

[Elohad]: Yeah. I mean in my case there were considerations of… I needed a solid heir, and he was the perfect one. But… I suppose adults can be adopted for other reasons, just… an acknowledgement, kind of thing.
[Elohad]: Ben didn't need a father, but I needed a son.

[Jocoza]: That's what I thought, an acknowledgment sort of thing. I can't imagine she won't adore Q, really, and then if we're married, maybe she'd want it all done formally? I like things being official.

[Elohad]: It would make things a little more cohesive, yeah. A nice neat little family.

[Jocoza]: If Q and I have children, I wouldn't want her to feel like she was set apart or anything. She'd be as much a part of the family as any of us.

[Elohad]: Well that I can give advice on.

Jocoza looks over, eyes wide. "Is everything okay with Ben and little Dane?"

[Elohad]: It's perfect! That's why I'm the perfect person to give advice!
Elohad laughs.

Jocoza smiles. "Then what's your advice, to make sure she feels like she belongs?"

[Elohad]: I suggest two things. First of all, you always treat her like she was there first, she's the big sister, she's in charge. And second of all, when the baby is in the best, cutest mood, you leave them alone together for a bit.

[Jocoza]: So that they bond well?

[Elohad]: It's important that she and the little brother or sister develop their own relationship separate from any parental stuff, yeah.
[Elohad]: And if possible… no, you aren't the type. But there is a bit of manipulating you can do, heh heh.

Jocoza nods, biting her lip in thought. "I can make sure any future baby is in a good mood when they spend time together… and what manipulating? Is it something I might have the capacity for?"

[Elohad]: Probably not, Light bless you.
Elohad laughs.
[Elohad]: It's all very benevolent, I assure you, but it's… strategy, of a sort.

[Jocoza]: Well, I could try. What's the strategy?

[Elohad]: First you figure out what sort of childcare the bigger sibling is good at and doesn't mind too much. Then you do it just slightly wrong where they can see it. As one example. So they have to step in, for the baby's sake.

[Jocoza]: How do you find out what they're good at? Let them babysit and set a camera?
Jocoza is getting into the cloak-and-dagger aspect of this benevolent strategy.

[Elohad]: Yeah, or just observe when everyone's together, like if they volunteer to do anything. Rock them to sleep, or change them, or feed them.

[Jocoza]: Okay, and then make it so that's their special thing, that they do for the baby.

[Elohad]: Say she likes feeding the baby sometimes. Well, make sure you do it just a little bit wrong in front of her, and she'll come over and say, "No, no, like this…." And suddenly she's the expert on the baby. Yeah.
[Elohad]: It forms a sense of protectiveness, like she and the baby are a team and you're the obstacle.

[Jocoza]: I don't know if I can pull that off. But if it'll help… I can practice in front of a mirror. I've got time. I'm not even pregnant.

Elohad laughs.

[Jocoza]: Yet. *Jo grins*

[Elohad]: In general, any opportunity you have to make her and the new baby feel like a team, jump at the chance.

[Elohad]: And also, spoil her rotten any chance you get. I bet Natlee's easy to spoil.

[Jocoza]: Alright, that's a good idea. I'll tuck that away as a strategem to apply when the time comes. As for spoiling, I can start with that right away. Or well, at least, right after I confirm she is, in fact, Q's daughter, and that she'll be part of our family.
[Jocoza]: But she does have her father's hair, her mother's eyes, and her mother's surname, so the evidence is mounting.

[Elohad]: Oh, oh, another good one. Say to Q sometime, "Honey, would you mind watching the baby so Natlee and I can go— uh, do whatever she likes doing. I would say grab a beer if it was Ben, but, it's not Ben."
[Elohad]: Oh wait, you're not sure?

[Jocoza]: I try to keep an open mind until I have confirmation. But I would say I'm at something like a 92% confidence level.

[Elohad]: You're not gonna do some crazy blood magic to find out or anything are ya?
Elohad raises a brow. He's trying for the Eyebrow, but it's weak.

[Jocoza]: Oh, gosh, no. That's not a mage thing. *Or not a Jo Sparkwire thing, more likely.* I'm going to wait till Q talks to her. He seemed more like 100% certain, to be honest.

[Elohad]: Ah, okay. So he can confirm. Makes sense.
[Elohad]: But anyway, like I was saying, when Natlee can hear, you ask Q to watch "the baby" so you can do something with her.
[Elohad]: It's important to not use the baby's name in this stratagem.

Jocoza nods eagerly. "So it's like she's the important one in the situation, right?"

[Elohad]: Exactly. Natlee gets a name, the baby is now just "the baby."
[Elohad]: The baby will be too young to feel slighted.

Jocoza grins. "Yes, they have to grow into that. I wonder what Natlee and I could do together? Fly gliders?"

[Elohad]: That's the fun part. Finding out.
[Elohad]: Getting to know Ben has been some of the greatest part of being his dad.
[Elohad]: And don't think you won't have to do that with the babies you give birth to, either. Every couple of years they become a complete stranger all over again, heh.

Jocoza boggles at Elohad. "Every few years? It sounds like we'll both have our hands full for some time yet, getting to know people we already love."

[Elohad]: Lot of folks think parenting is about … molding kids, like they're clay. It's not, it's more like planting a seed you're not sure what kind it is and then figuring it out as it grows and making sure it gets what it needs so it becomes the best possible one of those.
[Elohad]: So your care makes a difference, but you don't create the person, you discover and then help them.

Jocoza frowns slightly, nodding. "It sounds a bit like being a mentor. Like I tried to be for Gwen, for instance. She was her own person, I was just trying to help her on the path she wanted to take."

[Elohad]: But as for the "stranger every two years" thing… I'm not gonna lie, it's heartbreaking. I am kind of glad I skipped that bit with Ben.
[Elohad]: Having small kids is like… losing someone you love every year or two. They're just… gone forever. And you loved that goofy baby. So much.
Elohad gets a little teary.

Jocoza is starting to look a little worried. "But at least the new person is also someone you get to love? So you lose, and you gain, right?"
[Jocoza]: In any case, I'll get to skip that part with Natlee as well. But if I adopt Joanie, then it'll be the same for her as any child Q and I have. A new person every two years…

[Elohad]: Sorry, it's the third time I've done this and it's still… I used to be able to lay Dane along my forearm, swing him back and forth until he'd sleep. His ears were too big for his head. And… of course I love who he his now. He talks now.
[Elohad]: But that little baby that would go to sleep on my forearm… he's just… gone, somehow. It's so maudlin, but… it's a very real kind of grief.

Jocoza perks up. "Do you think he's ready for physics?"

Elohad laughs.
[Elohad]: Human babies are not ready for physics until… okay, I'll be frank, most of them are never ready.

[Jocoza]: I suppose they'd have to move out of the baby classification before physics, yes. *Jo nods seriously* But I can see what you mean. He'll never be that little baby again, but he's still Dane.

[Elohad]: Yeah, and that's the other really neat part.
[Elohad]: Seeing the thread that continues.
[Elohad]: Like, from the womb until now, Dane just does not want to be still. He wants to go go go, push boundaries.

[Jocoza]: So that's one of the dominant threads of Daneness?

[Elohad]: It was why he was so fussy as an infant. He couldn't go.
[Elohad]: And once he learned how to move he just didn't want to stop. Thank the Light we have so many people willing to take him on walks.

[Jocoza]: Ah yes, their arms and legs lack the strength and coordination at first, that would be frustrating.

[Elohad]: He sure tried to do stuff, before he was ready. It was kind of funny. Not for him, obviously. Infuriating for him.

Jocoza giggles.

[Elohad]: He'd just wriggle around and flop and we'd ask, "What are you trying to do, kiddo?"
[Elohad]: Because we could see he was trying something but what was happening could not possibly be it.

[Jocoza]: I wonder if he built up his little muscles faster, for all the trying?

[Elohad]: I think so. He has really good movement skills.
[Elohad]: He's also a good talker. Because Nir and I talk to him a lot.

[Jocoza]: I could… probably take him on walks too, at this age. Once his legs are a little longer, I might struggle to keep up.

Elohad laughs.
[Elohad]: Look, so do I.
[Elohad]: Kids have some kind of arcane power generators built in.

Jocoza giggles. "Then maybe it's not just my leg length holding me back."

Elohad laughs.
[Elohad]: Definitely not. You can cheat with magic, anyway.
[Elohad]: Ohhh I wanna see his face when you blink ahead of him.
[Elohad]: *Jocoza voice* You stop right there young man!

Jocoza nods. "Ooh, now I absolutely have to. Tell me you'll let me take him for a walk! And also… maybe I could figure out how to make an arcane power generator for adults."

Elohad laughs.
[Elohad]: Yes to both of those.
[Elohad]: Middle aged parents everywhere will thank you.

Jocoza grins. "If and when I figure it out, I'll bring the invention to you first."

[Elohad]: Outstanding!
Elohad cheers!

Jocoza smiles. "My children will be a little younger than Dane, but maybe one day they can play together."

[Elohad]: Absolutely.
[Elohad]: He'll need someone to boss around, after all.

[Jocoza]: Naturally, and my little one will be very small.

[Elohad]: When your only sibling is twenty-odd years older than you, small children are a godsend!

Jocoza giggles. "Yes, they might just be friends by age proximity!"
Jocoza pushes to her feet. "Well, I guess it's probably back to work time. But I'll come by your place tomorrow afternoon, maybe?"

Elohad nods.
[Elohad]: Sounds fine.

Jocoza smiles. "I'll see you then."