¬ꭲꮋꭼ Ꮯꭺꮲꭲꭺꮖŋ

° 「 Varka 」 °
𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘱?

° ───────↬❦↫─────── °
↠ Indie Canon/AU Portrayal
↠ Further Info in Thread
↠ One of the many #GhostsOfJohn

// I shall try to do more replies for Cap tomorrow perhaps... have like one or two obligations I believe.

~"Well... my momentary concern about the timing of their relationship aside, I find myself content with the answers we've been given." He says, gesturing to younger two, then back to Neuvillette.

"I think we can let this rest... unless you have any other pressing concerns, Iudex Neuvillette."

Thrain has to take a moment, or several moments, to compose himself while both Wriothesley and Ajax dig themselves into a hole that quite frankly they didn't need to be in.

After he's managed to dismiss the initial embarrassment, he clears his throat and turns his attention back to Neuvillette.~

His "my sons are causing a disturbance" senses are tingling..... and for once it's not related to Ajax.

// Meanwhile Cap: ....I may have forgotten to mention my other, unofficially adopted son, my apologies.

Poor man has a habit of collecting the damaged redheads as his sons 😂

° 「 M a t t h i a s 」 °

𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘦?

° ───────↬❦↫─────── °
↠ Genshin Impact OC
↠ Further Info in Thread
↠ One of the many #GhostsOfJohn

~verifying what he was seeing here.

"....is he not the warden of the Fortress?" He vocalizes the thought, slowly looking back to the Duke. "The same prison Ajax was incarcerated in?"

By the time the younger Harbinger and, he realized quickly enough, the Duke of the Fortress were standing in front of them, Thrain had to take a moment to really grasp just WHO Ajax had brought back with him in the capacity he did, staring for a time before he looked to Neuvillette as though~

~explain where they came from on his own."

as if on cue, a very loud and barked string of Snezhnayan curses erupted in the hallway, followed by another voice that drew Thrain's attention to Neuvillette's office doors.

~gives that a moment, glances off like he's looking for strength or simply cannot believe he has to be the one to explain this to a dragon.

"...what I mean is that it's... likely Ajax requested the actions that caused the marks during intimacy, hence why he was reluctant to show the marks or~

~a moment to compose himself before he can bring himself to make eye contact with the conversation he's clearly about to have on his son's behalf.

"What you and your girls saw was not evidence of abuse, it's... evidence that Ajax's partner is being a little too rough with him in the bedroom." He~

Thrain can only watch as Ajax darts off like the Abyss itself were at his heels, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose as he slowly turns to regard Neuvillette with a calm expression that just barely masks a mild embarrassment.

"The injury is of no consequence I assure you." He says, taking~

~these without further embarrassing Ajax?

...or himself for that matter?

~rest one on his hip, leaning on the other as he placed it against Neuvillette's desk.

"...there is no cause for true alarm..." He starts carefully, sighing as Ajax seemingly breaks into a mini meltdown. "These marks are... intentional but not done with intent to cause harm."

How does he explain~

~was the one on Ajax's neck that Thrain could only just see beyond the collar of Ajax's shirt, careful as he pulled it back enough to see it and--

Ah.
Now the hand placement made sense.

As did Ajax's reluctance and embarrassment.

Thrain quickly pulled his hands away, clearing his throat as he~

~That was definitely from someone having their hands around his neck... or rather, a hand, but the placement seemed strange to him.

Based on the bruising pattern, if he understood what he saw correctly, the hand placement puts the person behind Ajax, not in front of him.

Strange.

The last mark~

~lingering burn from the struggle... something metal like shackles perhaps?

Sighing in barely restrained annoyance, Thrain moved on from the younger's wrists and carefully looked over the marks on Ajax's neck, brow pinching in confusion as he coaxed the ginger to angle his head here and there.~

Thrain was patient while he waited for Ajax to remove the requested articles, taking a breath as he prepared to examine the marks as they were revealed to him, starting with the youngers wrists.

He couldn't quite make out what had been binding them, but he easily ruled out rope as there was no~

"Ajax-- calm down, you're not in trouble but we are concerned."

He holds a hand up when the younger tries to protest again, motioning gently to him with an expectant look on his face.

"Please... remove the scarf, your jacket and the gloves so we can see the marks."

"Ajax." Thrain immediately cuts in, levelling the younger Harbinger with a look to brooks no argument.

"Now is not the time to lie about this. Answer the question honestly, please."

Thrain waved a hand to dismiss the concern.

"Neuvillette and I have had many meetings like this in the past. It's alright." He answers the silent question, gesturing to the chair as the Iudex had.

"But we do need to talk."

~aside so he can angle his body in such a way so that he can see who it was and allow Neuvillette unrestricted view as well.

It's when Ajax pokes his head in that Thrain sighs, hand flexing slightly at his sides in renewed stress and concern.

~in this matter. There is only so much I can do as his father, but to have another express to him his worth and value as a person would aid in his recovery from this immensely."

Before Thrain can continue along that train of thought, a knock at the door draws his attention towards it stepping~

~experiences in his adult life that have only given him more reason to believe his fears are true, despite my best efforts to help him understand otherwise." He says, staring at Neuvillette's desk as he thinks for a moment, looking up to meet his gaze.

"...that is why I must rely on you to aid me~

~he deserves, and by extension, believes it's the only way he can keep people around." He shakes his head, setting the paper back down.

"...it is a habit I have yet to find a means to break, simply because it is born from his fear of abandonment... and, regrettably there have been a multitude of~

~father figure worked to their benefit.

He does take the notes Neuvillette sets out for him to read over, again sighing like he's at a loss for what to do, brow knitting in growing concern as he read through everything.

"...Ajax has a very bad habit of enduring abuse because he believes it's what~

~him for any reason, he will stop... what comes after is merely trying to assuage whatever guilt he may feel in the aftermath."

It's not something Thrain actively seeks to take advantage of where Ajax was concerned, but he could not deny there were times Ajax's need to have that approval from a~

"...I fear you underestimate Ajax's desperation for my approval, much as I detest the thought." Thrain sighs, glancing to the seat being offered to him and shaking his head. He's far too tense to sit in the moment, but he relaxes his posture at the least. "If he suspects I may be disappointed in~

~long have they been noticing things? Changes in his behaviour or the marks left behind?" May as well make a little more idle talk while they wait for Ajax.