Blessed by Night

Not only because it was 100% not his business, but also... he just really didn\'t want to get involved.

His mother could be a bit... much.

And he liked keeping his life as stress free as possible.

That said, he honestly could imagine what Nyx would do to him if she found out that he refused to bring Aubrey to her.

So with all things considered, Thanatos decided to help Aubrey get to her realm.

Though the way that he sent her wasn\'t exactly what one might call \'gentle\'.

"SHITTT!!!!!"

*Crash!*

Aubrey and Celeste were tossed through a swirling hole in the air. Both landed on their face atop some exquisitely done mahogany hardwood flooring.

The young sister Saint\'s body rolled to a stop in front of a pair of women\'s feet whom she would have recognized instantly.

"A-Aubrey..?"

Holding her bloody nose, Aubrey looked up at a surprising sight.

A pretty mature woman comprised of infinite darkness and stars, who looked like she\'d been crying into a bowl of ice cream. Though why she had chosen this particular coping mechanism, Aubrey wasn\'t sure.

"Hey, mom... I\'m home."

-

How much can a primordial goddess cry? A lot.

...Like a lot.

Have you ever seen one of those cartoons where a broken-hearted character shoots water out of their eyes and floods a small room?

That hadn\'t entirely happened yet, but if Celeste\'s wet jeans were any sort of indicator, then this room was shortly going to need a very large mop.

Nyx was a mess.

From the moment that Aubrey had let that \'M\' word slip past her lips, the goddess was practically inconsolable.

And hard to understand too.

But it\'s easy for lapses in interpretation to occur when one has sobbed so loudly that they\'ve actually lost their voice repeatedly.

And all this started twenty-five minutes ago.

Now, Nyx had finally given up on speaking as she held onto Aubrey for dear life and sobbed into her shirt.

Had Aubrey gotten the full gist of what her mother said? No.

But she understood the premise she was trying to convey. Even if she never actually said a word.

"I missed you too, mom..."She said warmly.

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"

- 1 Hour Later...

"I apologize..." Nyx sniffled. "I seem to have shown you all something unsightly."

"No problem, Ms. Nyx. We understand completely." Celeste smiled as she wrung out her shirt.

Aubrey casted a spell to dry herself off and did the same for the room full of water that was up to her knees.

She was glad her mother had finally pulled it together, or else she was probably going to need floaties soon.

Now that she was more put together, Nyx let her hands hover over the face of her youngest daughter.

It was almost like she was afraid she might be an illusion. And if she touched her, she might fade away into nothingness.

Nyx wanted to enjoy the vision staring her back in the face for as long as she could. If she got too greedy, then she might mess up and make things worse again.

Aubrey though, missed her mother\'s touch more than anything, and rested her cheek in the palm of her hand.

Nyx might\'ve been emotional, but she didn\'t break down this time… due to some monumental effort on her part.

"...You look so beautiful. You\'re all grown up..." Nyx muttered.

"It\'s only been about three months, Ma... And I just don\'t think you\'ve ever seen me in a period where I was really trying to take care of myself before."

"O-Oh, I guess you are right..."

Previously, Aubrey had a huge sore spot for making herself look super glamorous.

She didn\'t really want to stand out a whole lot or make herself seem... desirable.

But things were different over the past two months.

Perhaps it was reentering society, or a few lingering feelings for Thea, but Aubrey no longer had her same issues as before.

Perhaps it was indicative of some real healing taking place within her the she was long overdue for.

Nyx lowered her head as she hugged her daughter tightly again.

"...Aubrey, I can never tell you just how sorry I am formal of the-"

"I know, mom. I said some things too that I really regret..."

"You didn\'t say anything out of line and were totally in the right. I was being selfish, and manipulative, and unfair, and I-"

"You were trying to be a parent to me the only way you knew how.... You made some mistakes, but I don\'t want to hold them against you forever." Aubrey said; misty-eyed.

Despite her daughter\'s words, Nyx\'s guilt had all but consumed her over these past few months.

Even if Aubrey could let it go, she couldn\'t just yet.

"D-Don\'t let me off easy, I don\'t deserve it! I am going to do whatever I can to win back your trust no matter how long it takes me, or what you may need from me!"

"I-I don\'t need anything super extravagant, Ma, just... please don\'t lie to me. Family is supposed to be about caring for each other and being honest."

While the two women had a much needed reconcile, Celeste was leaning against the wall; trying not to add to the tear-count in the room.

Seeing a sight like this made her miss her own daughter quite bit, and even though she had just seen her last weekend, somehow still felt like it had been far too long.

\'I should give my baby a call when I get back... Though I have no idea how she\'s getting reception at the bottom of... everything. I should\'ve paid more attention to Thea\'s explanation..\'

*Sniff, sniff.*

"KYAAA!!!"

Celeste nearly jumped out of her skin when the most frightening woman she had ever seen appeared at her back.

She was a woman over six feet tall with sharp teeth, red eyes, and an appearance that reminded one of a bat.

Keres sniffed Celeste like a bloodhound; boldly invading her personal space and pretending not to notice the smell of fear pooling off her body in waves.

In a couple of seconds, Aubrey was probably going to have to use that spell again when Celeste inevitably pissed herself.

"...You... smell like my brother." Keres lowered her head until she was eye level with Celeste\'s crotch. "Especially in this particular area right here..."

Celeste was so unbelievably mortified that she would have rather heard Keres say that she was musty.

"I-I.."

In a turn of events that she wasn\'t expecting, Keres suddenly raised her head and revealed a much more embarrassed and anxious look.

"Is he... well..?"

Celeste\'s face turned red. "W-What makes you think that I would know if.."

For a goddess of vengeful death, Keres wielded surprisingly big puppy dog eyes when she put her mind to it.

So even though Celeste wanted to deny any involvement with the handsome young man as much as possible, she couldn\'t in good conscience go through with it.

"Well… I-I haven\'t talked to him recently, but I think he\'s…"