Nightly Lessons Book I: The Book of Beginnings

[Peeker]

While they were slow, and Janus had taken far worse, Mikeal's hand was taking its toll on the poor boy.

Now, when asked a question, Janus answered.

"....was..... bad...... I was bad.... I.... hurt.. you... d-don't... deserve..... shouldn't...." He quaked, trailing off. "....you... Love.... me....I....... R-rr-azziel... woulda... beat.... I.... I... deserve it..... I... was....." His voice was rising in pitch. He cried out again. 'I was bad! I'm bad! I'm sorry! I'm bad, Mikeal!"

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

"No... you weren't bad Janus," Mikeal smiled and stopped for a moment to gather the boy in his arms. "You never hurt me, far from it."

He gathered the boy in his arms, rocking him gently as a small sad smiled crossed his face. Oh the damage Razziel could reek upon an innocent soul. He rocked the boy gently and forced him softly to look at him.

"Janus, things happen. Whether you wish for them to or not they will happen," He sighed as he brushed the tears away from his face. "You're not bad, Janus. You're a fledgling. A child. I know Razziel doesn't believe it, ut you are allowed to make mistakes. You don't deserve to be beaten Janus, no one does."

He hugged the boy gently.

"What you need is time to grow and heal around people whom love you, like Aleks, Alice, and myself," He then smiled teasingly. "And some clothes."

[Peeker]

Janus hung limply against Mikeal's warm body. His tears were drying, and his heart was slowing, and he thought he could breathe again...

He nodded obediently to what Mikeal was saying, but then, went still.... and then shook his head no against the man's body.

His voice didn't have the same anger... the same strain... that it had had when trying to manipulate Mikeal... but the word was the same. "No." The boy pulled back, and looked at the vampire, sadly - not crying, but... grim.

His eyes. He'd realized it when he'd been hugging Mikeal - his eyes were that same piercing, cold set of eyes he wore to withstand Razziel.

"I... I don't..." The boy dipped his head, ashamed. "I don't believe it... I believe you... but... I..." He sank back into Mikeal, wrapping his arms around his neck. "I 'serve to stay like this... I... I mean, just listen to me, Mikeal! I'm a mess... I'm... I'm no good... I don't want to hurt you.... or Alice an' Aleksandr... I... I b'long with Master Razziel... I was bad. I lost my temper with the man... I... I acted so stupid! ....and the worst part is that I'm so angry at myself for it! I can't fix it, Mikeal! I'm sorry!"

The boy's arms were tense, painfully tight against the older vampire's neck, as he buried his head into the man's shoulder again, wishing the tears would start again, so he could just stop thinking....

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

"My dear sweet Janus," Mikeal picked the boy up much to Lucy;s annoyance. Just how many times was her master going to steal her job? Mikeal calmly waked over to the dresser, pulling out a set of underpants, a baby blue turtle neck shirt, and a pair of green overalls to dress the boy in. "The only way you could ever hurt any of us, would be to go back to Razziel's care."

He rocked the boy untilt the tears stopped. The child was still sad, but at lest he was no longer crying. He slowly dress him, feeling more like a human father with a Sire, not that he minded it. The feeling was... warm. Now he knew why Aleks loved his daughters as much as he did.

"There? Isn't that better?"

He smiled at the boy and hugged Janus close and returned to sitting on the bed. He wasn't sure what he should say to comfort the emotionally scarred boy in his arms. He wanted to ask Aleks how he had saved Gabby, but that would mean setting the boy down, something he did not wish to do.

"Janus? How would you like it, if Alice came over and stayed a bit. Like a sleep over, after you return to normal?" He offered. The boy needed his friend."Then you can show her London or the two of you can watch movies until dawn. Sound like something you'd like?"

He was still holding the boy close in a fatherly embrace, Lucy leaning in to lick the boy in a comforting manner.

[Peeker]

Janus swallowed the lump in his throat, and slid his face upward, damp cheek rubbing against Mikeal's shirt.

"....you're just so nice to me..." Janus admitted. "It.... its scary... I..." He blinked, and sighed. It looked as though the boy was deciding something... and then his eyes lightened. "I'd like that alot... maybe I can tell her in a letter... I did wanna write to her..." His face hurt from the crying, so a smile was hard to make... but Mikeal could certainly feel that the boy was more relaxed right now.

"Can you promise me somethin', Mikeal?" He had lowered his arms, and was now hugging the man's waist, instead. "I... I know you're gonna' do it anyway... but... when I'm bad... you'll do something, right? I... I acted like that 'cause I didn' want... I didn't just want you to be nice... I... I felt like I didn' 'serve it..." Now the smile came, painfully, slowly, but it was real. "If... If I do something bad... I... I wanna know that I... that I deserve what I get.... an' that means the punishments too... not just..." He leaned his head into Mikeal's chest, calm, and relaxed this close to him. "...not just this..."

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

"As long as you truely desever it, Janus. Only then," Mikeal released the child from his hold and set him on his feet. "As for 'this', it will always be here for you, even when you thin you don't deserve it. Now how about you write Alice that letter and I'll try and clean everything up, maybe get a new sofa and we can play some games... or would you like to play some instruments instead? I don't have a piano, but I do own a few violines."

[Peeker]

Janus hugged Mikeal, nodding. "That's what I forgot! I... I can play guitar again!" He smiled, his childish face lighting up. "I mean, um... if you'd let me..." The boy shrugged. "I think I'm too small to play the violin, though... I might not be able to reach all the strings..."

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

Mikeal felt his heart leap at the boy's smile.

"That would be wonderful. I'm sure I have a guitar around here somewhere I can shrink for you. We'll get you one of your very own. But for now, lets hear you play a bit, no?"

He gently took Janus' hand, leading the boy calmly towards his study.

~~~*

"DONE!" Alice cheered as she shut the book. Finally after two years of reading and rereading tha same damnable book, she finally knew all of the basic history. "I finally know all of it!"

The three hours of laying on the floor, listening and talking to Aleks as he played the piano, along with a few snack and puppy breaks, had been pleasant for her. She rose to her leg and hopped about humming happily to herself, dancing a little ballet along the way. Nothing fancy, just the simple thing ones that all girls new.

[Peeker]

Smirking, Aleksandr interrupted his playing to throw in a kitchy little fanfare for Alice. He'd expected her to finish that book months ago... and of course, he had nearly a dozen more of them he wanted her to know about. They got more relevant to Alice as they went along, of course - sooner or later, she'd be reading about the High Unification, the Council of Magi, the disaster known as the Rift, and even start seeing Alek's name in the books ahead.

"Very pretty, Alice. I'm sure Lucy would be proud of -" He stopped, eyes clearing at the thought. "Say, why don't we go visit her as a reward? We can get that little dress snafu out of the way, and maybe she'll join us for dinner." He smiled. "I'll bet she can teach you some dance moves that'll surprise Janus next time you see him..."

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

"Wha!" Alice felt her face blush as she turned to look at Aleks, her foot suddnely snagging as she went crashing to the ground. "AWE! Damn it that hurt!"

She rubbed her hip, having clipped the piano in her fall. She gingerly rose and looked at Aleks with bright eyes, clearly happy to heard him sugguest it.

"You mean it? We can?!" She gave a squeel of delight and hugged him close. "Yes! Thank you! It's been ages since I last saw her. I could show her Klonoa and ..."

She winced at the mention of the dress, her cold had made her forget about it. She still hadn't written the letter explaining what had happened.

"You... don't think she'll be mad at me do you?"