The Whispers of Shadows - A&A One Shots

parents can be cool

Orion was a man. Aurora couldn't fathom how such a tiny boy has grown in a short time. She felt like she has known him since he was an infant, like she herself had cradled him in her arms, fresh from a womb. It wasn't true, no matter how much she prayed to the stars that it was. He came to her as a scrawny child with the soul of a warrior, and now, in too little time, he was as tall as his father and wished to find his own home.

Aurora guessed, from how often he stayed in the far larger estate, he was no longer comfortable living in a small townhouse with her and Azriel. Like herself, they never knew Orion's birthday or exact age, but they all believed he had recently hit the age of twenty-two. Nyx was nearing his fourth decade, yet the two were inseparable.

"Are you sure you and Nyx will be okay on your own?" Aurora asked, looking over her shoulder as she packed another box of Orion's things. He was leaning against the doorframe, fingers impatiently tapping on his bicep.

"Mother, Nyx is the one who suggested we find a place on our own. His friends up at the camps are too busy to settle in town and he doesn't want to have to leave Velaris," Orion retorted, rolling his eyes. Aurora sighed as she closed the final box and stacked it on top of the others.

"I'm just worried about you two. I know Nyx has been trying to get on his own for years now, but don't you think he and his friends are a bit too old for you to live with? I mean, what about those kids you met at the town square? Why don't you see them anymore?"

Orion dropped his hands to his thighs with a groan as he pushed off the doorframe. "That was seven years ago, mother. I don't even remember their names. Isn't it good for me to spend time with people more mature? I mean, they aren't as rowdy as those kids in the square," Orion argued, stepping forward with a tilt to his head. Aurora met his eyes with a deadpan stare, a brow lifting.

"Last month, Nyx and his friends were arrested, by your father, for flying children above the Sidra and threatening to drop them. He may be over forty, but that doesn't mean he's more mature. Cauldron, if your father wasn't ordered by Rhys, he would've probably joined Nyx. Age is not a contender for maturity, my love. I just want you to be safe," Aurora sighed. Orion gave her a small smile and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

He used to be too small for his age, but he had sprouted in his late teens and now towered over his mother. Her face dug into his chest, Aurora squeezed around her son's waist.

"I'm going to be fine, I promise. You've set me up pretty well in life, but I'll always come back," Orion murmured into her hair. "And it's not like I'm going to the camps or something, I'll be across town."

"It's all the same," Aurora mumbled, stepping back from Orion. He kissed the top of her head with another grin and turned to grab a few boxes.

"I'll walk these over, Nyx will be over tonight to grab the rest if father doesn't do it first," he called over his shoulder as he kicked the front door open. Aurora couldn't help the childish pout on her lips as she watched the door swing shut behind him.

She felt like the Mother didn't give her enough time with him as a child. She only had just over a decade of being a mother, and now that he is moving out with his friend, it felt like she wouldn't be needed anymore. In a rush of childish temperament, Aurora plopped down on the floor and stared at the door as if her entire life walked out of it.

A decade was hardly a minute in their lifetimes, and her decade with Orion was gone. A tear slipped down her cheek and with a huff, she wiped it away with the back of her hand. She hardly had enough time to wallow, because the door swung open with Nesta and Cassian holding bottles of wine.

"Get off the floor, you're free!" Cassian announced, kicking the door behind him. Nesta laughed shaking the two bottles she held.

"How'd you know he left?" Aurora asked, wiping her cheek again.