Private Finished These Darn Kids With Their Rock Music and Atom Bombs!

"We gave it some thought, but the Renaissance was starting and we decided to take our child to Italy to learn the arts and sciences." Replied Vindivir. "By the time he would have been old enough to make the flight across the ocean, Machu Picchu had been abandoned..." Vindivir trailed off, no longer looking at Noel. Instead, the old lizard seemed to be starring at a point miles behind the winter god, the mention of his son seeming to be the catalyst.

But as soon as it had begun, his momentary shift in mood was gone.

"We did manage to visit the ruins after we immigrated to North America." Vindivir noted, sipping his tea.

"What about you, Noel? Are you mated- er, married- to anyone?"

Vindivir nearly spat out his tea. His kind didn't really have a concept of "marriage", but he knew that it was similar to mating, but with much more ceremony. It was the act of tying your soul to another, loving one another. When your mate was hungry, you hunted for them. When they were sad, you laid with them. When they were in danger, you fought until your last breaths to make them safe again.

To repeatedly join one's soul to a mortal mate, and repeatedly have it torn apart?

"Goodness, yes!" He agreed simply. "That you haven't gone mad is a testament to the strength of your character."

"No." Vindivir replied quietly. Though the wound still stung whenever he'd go home to his too-large den and find it empty of all but himself, he had managed to come to a point where he could talk about his pain.

"My mate was killed, just over three centuries ago. Monster hunters. One of the splinter groups that broke away from the Knights Templar after they were disbanded, if I recall. They had hunted us for nearly three centuries before that. They shot her full of lead as she defended our home, then took our hatchling as a prize. I haven't seen him since." the dragon explained, closing his eyes and taking a sip of his tea.

"Thank you, they were. No need to apologize." Vindivir sighed with a small smile born of fond memories. Karavir dutifully polishing her horde of weapons and telling Glasawyr about each one. Glasawyr bringing home a "pet" werewolf, who was just a tad bit infuriated.

"It is impossible to live an eternity without pain, after all." Vindivir observed.