"I admit, I was rather struck by it myself." Thaddeus scratches the back of his neck as Xenia stares at him from across the table. "I can only assume it was some manner of coincidence, as I don't see how we would have a...a skeletal relative in this realm. That said, I may have left out that particular portion when I reported the incident to the Association."

He gets no immediate response, as Xenia is currently busy burying her face in her hands. "Dave. Dave, Dave...how!? How the fuck does that make any sense!? ...And why is he calling himself Dave Worthy, we were just coworkers!"

"This...skeleton was a coworker of yours? In life, I assume."

"No, he was like that when we met. Long story." The dungeon master leans back with a sigh. "Not...really relevant at the moment, I suppose. Probably. Not something we can figure out right now at least, thanks for letting me know, though."

"Not an issue." Taking a breath, Thaddeus changes the topic. "Moving on from past events however, should we discuss the future? Any further...training, or tasks you may have in mind?"

Xenia shakes her head. "Not right now. Soon enough, yeah, but I've only got an hour or so left of avatar time for the week, and I want to use it on the important stuff, the stuff we don't need Em listening in on. So with that in mind...could you head on out and let Hylii know to come in here? We've got...things to discuss."

"Of course. I'm sure we'll speak again soon."

Only a few minutes later, the surviving dark elf of Thaddeus's expedition is sitting before Xenia. He'd briefly seen her once before, when she had appeared in the dungeon's core chamber months earlier, but at the time her focus had been elsewhere. Although he attempts to act casually, it's easy to tell that the man is a little awkward sitting directly in front of the reincarnator. Whether it's because of her power, their relationship, or simply the fact that she doesn't register to the Body Mage's arcane senses, it's hard to say.

"I must admit, I'm surprised we're speaking privately. I had assumed you would spend all of your time with Thaddeus."

"I'll be spending more time with him later, but there's some other business we need to take care of first." Xenia stares at the man, and then sighs. "There's no real beating around the bush with this one, but just to confirm - I've been told by Ruckus and some of the others that you're my son. Or at least, a son I had when I was Xenon Darkstar, Prince of the Fallen Tower. Is...that correct?"

The man gives a polite nod. "It is. In case there were any questions about it, we did actually recently perform a magical ritual that nearly confirms it."

"I'm not questioning the accuracy of the claim, or nothin'. I just...wanted to make sure, cause the rest of this would've been really awkward if it wasn't the case."

Hylii licks his lips. "And...what is the 'rest of this', if I might ask?"

"This...is a question that establishes my failure as a father just by asking it. But...would you mind telling me who your mother is? Or...was."

The question makes Hylii smile, if only slightly. "She is still alive, or at least, was when I left my home realm. But to answer the question, my mother's name is Nyxia. She was one of the Tower healers who served you during your reign. Not a combat healer, or part of the military, but a part of your household staff."

"Nyxia..." Xenia tastes the name for a moment before nodding. "That must've been when...I was in my forties or fifties? I wasn't much for annual checkups before that. There were a few healers, but...a dark elf? Did she like to wear earrings shaped like stars?"

Hylii chuckles. "Many dark elves do, but yes, she does. You don't have to, ah, prove any sort of personal connection with her to me, Lady Worthy. My mother never hid from me the fact that you had a great many, ah...lovers, in your time, and that she was but one of them. Honestly, the fact that you recall her at all is more than I suspect some of my half-siblings could have expected."

"That's...probably accurate. I don't suppose we've ever met? How old were you when I checked out of there? Like, ten?"

The mage considers that and nods. "A little less, perhaps. I'm told I did see you in person once, as Prince Darkstar. That my mother took me to one of your public appearances. But even half-elves develop more slowly than humans, so to be honest, I can't say that I recall you either."

Xenia snorts. "That's fair. Still..." She pauses, looking for the right words. "Look, I'm not gonna try and make up for lost years as a shitty father, or your lost childhood. That's not possible. I do want to do a few things though, and the first of those is to apologize."

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The man raises an eyebrow at that. "For what? Not personally raising a semi-royal bastard you had with the household staff? Lady Worthy, I don't blame you whatsoever for that. Not only was I in particularly good company on that front, but I was a son of the national legend! My mother was very well paid, we had absolutely nothing to complain about."

"I appreciate that, but first, you can stop calling me Lady Worthy. If you...want, you can call me...mom, or dad, whichever you like. Or Xenia, if that's too personal for right now. But my days as a distant sperm donor are over, I don't need there to be that distance between us."

Now it's Hylii's turn to test out titles in his mind. "...Father. I suppose despite your current form, that would feel more comfortable to me. I already have a mother, after all. But what's next?" The man chuckles to himself. "Shall you teach me to hunt? How to put on a suit?"

Xenia chuckles in return. "I was never great at the latter myself. But like I said, I'm not going to try and pretend the last half-century-plus for you didn't happen. I can try help you out now though, as a dungeon would. You know of course about the deal I made with Tad?"

He nods. "You wish to teach him to become a better leader, yes? For when he eventually returns to his home realm?"

"Right. I could do something similar for you, but first, before I can prepare you for something I need to know what I'm preparing you for. For one thing...whenever it is that Tad eventually ends up going home, do you still plan to go with him? I get the impression that Tizzy's pretty tied down now, but I don't know about you or the others."

"Ah..." Hylii trails off for a moment. "To be honest, I'm not quite sure. I won't be returning home, that's for certain. While I know my mother was well taken-care of, I'm sure what power and position I personally held is quite lost to me by now. On the other hand, Thaddeus has maintained his offer to reward us generously if we do return with him. I doubt he'll be in a position to offer us quite as good a payment as he initially promised, but it would still be enough to maintain a life of relative luxury, I'm sure. Even now, we've amassed a small fortune from our adventures thus far."

"It doesn't sound like you're sold on that, though?"

"To be honest, I have my doubts. It sounds as if there would be little for us to do, there. The land is at peace, the fighting is merely political, and not the sort of politics that back home leads to assassinations and warlords popping up every other month. And by dark elf standards I am still quite young, you know." Hylii grins. "I don't think I feel ready to retire quite yet."

"Heh, I get that. So...staying here, then?"

He slowly nods. "It's not just the dungeons, you know. I don't feel the same...thrill, I suppose, of testing myself in the way that others do. I suspect Nalain rather enjoys it. But it feels very alive. People are convinced there will be another war, you know, between the Rainlands and the Domain. Or the Valleylands. Or both. Eventually, at least, and eventually would be good enough for me. I think I wouldn't mind taking part in that conflict. I don't care for the gods, but proving myself to the others of the realm? A chance to earn a name for myself with my own two hands? Now that I think would be satisfying for me."

"Well, I'm not one to hope for war to happen myself, but yeah, over a long enough timeframe I'm sure it'll happen. War always does, sooner or later." Xenia taps her chin. "So...you want to be a gloryhound soldier, then? I'm not passing judgment, but that's normally a little hard for a healer."

Hylii scoffs. "I only fell into that role so often because we had no better. Few chose the healing arts back home, you know. My abilities are as proactive as they are reactive, if not more so. Though I admit they'd have little direct effect on you, seeing as you have no 'body' for me to affect even in this avatar form. Few have that advantage over me, however."

Xenia leans forward, steepling her fingers. "I see. Well, if you're looking to help fight against the Domain, you might have some issues there I could help you out with. You had issues dealing with my slimes, if I'm not mistaken? I suppose I could put aside a little space for a...customized obstacle course, or something like that. Could throw all sorts of 'bodies' at you for you to learn to deal with."

"Heh, well, I suppose I wouldn't mind a brief dungeon run or two, if this time my life wasn't at risk." He pauses, and blinks at his father. "My...life wouldn't be at risk, correct?"

"Well, we don't want to take all the fun out of it..."

The pair spend a bit more time talking on other matters, building as much of a family relationship as two people can in half an hour, but in the end Xenia reserves her final fifteen minutes of avatar time for one final guest. Tizzy makes her way over to the table and climbs into a seat, with a rather nervous smile on her face as she meets Xenia's eyes.

"Ah, hey, hello there. Hylii said you wanted to speak to me, too?"

"Just a bit. For starters, welcome to the family, apparently. I'd give you a hug, but given that the last time we met we almost killed you, I dunno if that'd make you uncomfortable."

Tizzy waves that off. "Ah, water under the bridge, right? I mean, I sure ain't gonna hold a grudge if you're not. We were the aggressors and all that, after all."

"Just a little." Xenia smiles. "So...Tizzy Worthy. Seems like Worthys just keep popping up around here these days, huh?"

"Aha, yeah, Thaddeus told you about that undead? Dunno what was going on there, really. Anyhow, uh, I hope you don't, like...object?" Tizzy attempts to smile, but it almost comes off as more of a grimace.

"Pfft, on what grounds? I mean...I don't know if you know this, if Tad told you, but if you ask me...if it hadn't been for you I probably would've had to kill the kid last year. And I would've done it, but I would've felt a little bad about it. So I'm glad that you were there, and that the man apparently cares about you even more than he does his 'noble quest' and all that."

Tizzy swallows before answering. "We, ah...did talk about that, actually. He said that moment was one of the main things on his mind when he proposed to me. Which was, uh, a bit of a shocker, if I'm being honest. I mean, me and a prince? Who would've thought, right?"

"Hey, love comes in all kinds. But if you're gonna be a Worthy, I am gonna have to ask one thing of you, yeah?"

"Oh? I mean, of course! Whatever you need!"

"Good." Xenia's grin grows wider.

"Because I'd like your help in making your husband miserable."

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