Drayden let himself be convinced to stay for the night. It was still early enough that he could have returned to Opelucid without issue, but in light of what was going on, he didn’t feel right in leaving so soon.

For all intents and purposes, the twins were his sons. He’d never wanted children or thought he’d be any good with them, but when his sister’s circumstance changed and she found herself unable to wrangle the two five year olds by herself, Drayden had stepped up. It was a decision he’d never had reason to regret.

The days where he’d needed to watch out for and protect them had long since passed, but a dragon’s care wasn’t lost to a fledgling just because it learned to fly. They’d come to him for help, and just as with Lane before them, there was no room for a refusal in his heart.

He just had no idea what to do with the specifics. Drayden could do exactly what he’d been asked-- had every intention of getting in contact with old Carolina as soon as it was socially acceptable-- but didn’t know what else he could do to ease the distress that had been caused.

That was why he hadn’t fought against the suggestion he stay for dinner as repayment for his time. Though the Pokemon he’d released to socialize had scales tougher than he, there was little doubt that Drayden himself was the one playing guard dragon tonight.

He hadn’t missed the way Ingo had had to excuse himself when the offer for a drink had finally met acceptance and the scent of heavily spiced figy berry tea had settled over the kitchen, nor the strategic exclusion of several common ingredients from the process of assembling dinner. One of his boys was hurting, and it wasn’t something he could help mend or talk out.

Drayden sat back against the guest bed, and while it still didn’t show on his face, finally gave into the disquiet he’d felt since the circumstance hit home.

There were plenty of reasons to be apprehensive of what had happened, but knowing that there was potentially a legendary Pokemon involved cast the events in a particularly sinister light. The Heroes’ family tree split irreversibly centuries prior; their wing, descended from the younger of the pair, had no inkling what may have become of its elder branch, if one had extended this far at all.

While a proponent of historical conservation, Drayden understood that sometimes a bloodline ended; theirs may have featured a notable ancestor, but that wasn’t more important than what history taught about the conflict that the man had helped start. There was nothing a member of their family could recite about the Unovan War that was inherently more valuable coming from them than any other individual.

And beyond that, ensuring the continuation of a family line was an archaic practice, unfair to anyone whose ideals differed from the norm.

Pokemon-- particularly long lived Pokemon-- didn’t necessarily understand that nuance. Possessiveness and resistance to change were traits often ascribed to dragons, but that was only because they’d been taught the behaviors by their mythical predecessors. If a legendary Pokemon was attached to their family’s existence, it might see fit to lay a claw on the scale.

As glad Drayden was that there had been no physical altercation, this alternative was just as great a violation.

There was a lethargic honk in the living room, followed a moment later by a door shutting on either side of the hallway. It was quiet for a moment; he took the time to rise, briefly, to his feet and shut the overhead light off.

Then the leftmost door opened and shut again. Drayden was inclined to pass it off as another bout of nausea, but instead there was a muffled knock on the right side. He sighed as that door, too, opened just long enough to admit a person. He couldn’t criticize, though-- not when he knew where the behavior stemmed from. It was an upsetting situation, and the best way to calm either of the twins down had always been to put the both of them together.

If the truth was out of one’s grasp, why reject a comfort-- a very real ideal-- that was well within reach?

He just wished there was more he could do.

-

Drayden’s reputation had preceded him, and friendships with the likes of Lenora and Professor Carolina meant a great deal when delving into myths and legends.

He had an answer within three days.

“It’s called Arceus.”