Matteo

It's tough to be a god

There is something amusing in the tales of a child, in the way they so tell that story with its own set of ambiguities and uniqueness. A child inclined to tell a story in an entirely different way to an adult and perhaps, for that reason alone, he so requested that very tale from the girl. Maeve, it seemed, was hardly unwilling to oblige. The girl a good-nature one in every sense of the word and yet her very demeanor was a testament to that all in itself. The young girls mind is quick to dart, flitting about like butterfly wings as she instead trails off to speak off Tobias and his insistence she was a 'kitten'. Matteo so hardly having to consider why or how the man had taken to referring to the child as just that very thing. To the mind of Tobias those children were kittens. Regardless of their species. A soft hint of a simper so tugged at his lips once more as the young Fae hurried to return herself to the story, Matteo's gaze resting upon her to afford her the entirety of his attention as she replayed the events of the day Aiden and Tobias had saved her. An opportune attack then. Rather than a planned one. That in the least was promising. Those Hunters hardly having hunted the girl so much as they had merely taken the opportunity to capture a Fae. Their species, so very unfortunately, perhaps the rarest among those of supernatural breed and by that very token in turn- the one most hunted. How long a life Maeve s had to live! How very displeasing it would be for it to be cut short. Matteo, for now, hardly choosing to comment upon the danger of that situation. The girl likely having been told endless times before. Later, perhaps, he might yet show her how better to avoid those Hunter games.

"Ah, Mon Petit, it seems you were most lucky this day. I am pleased Tetradore and Tobias were there. They are good boys, mostly."

That simper of amusement so touched his lips again. Those accented words laced with a ready playfulness that begat his teasing tone. There was no harm to be done in the girl befriending them. Tobias and his son, for all they might be, were certainly capable of watching over the girl. The very delight Maeve seemed to find in their presence equally as clear. That sudden question of just how old he was so readily prompted that lift off his eyes. That genuine later so falling readily from him then. Matteo the very kind of being, despite his terribly long life, to find amusement in the boldness of children and even the expanse off his own age. Ah, but it had been so long since he had kept the company of a child! The young so lacking the veritable tact of an adult in the fashion in which they so simply asked for exactly what they desired to know. How very refreshing it surely was. Matteo seeing little need not to afford the girl that answer.

"I fear I am too old to be your Grandfather. I am not quite sure exactly how old I am, I have not counted in a very long time but I am about two thousand."

The Frenchman paused then, affording his young companion that chance to consider that number, though whether or not her young mind could truly put into perspective that sheer number of years he hardly knew. Time was a concept wholly difficult for one who had lived so little of it and yet, perhaps, one day, she too might see the turning of so many centuries. How very much he so found he hoped she would be among those fortunate few. With those very gifts that existed at her fingertips there was every possibility she would learn to predict those dangers before that came for her. The feather-light touch of her hand agianst his own in those precarious moments only further served to soften that expression upon his features. Her words holding a surprising maturity for her age and yet he had known quote from the moment he had met her that this child was hardly of the foolish kind.

"I was glad to find you."

How much he meant those words. Meeting the young Maeve had been...unexpected and yet in some fashion she presented a hope of sorts for their own species. Fae were rare. Fae children rarer still. One gifted such as she was with gifts that were perhaps both splendid and burdensome all at once a rather unique find altogether. Matteo unable to recall the last time he had met one whom was at all.....like himself. Such a burden to carry so very young. Yet, youth or otherwise, she need understand, as best she could, the implications of this new world at her fingertips. Of all she might shift and change with her power and too the ways in which the checks and balances of the world worked. To play with past, present and future was....a dangerous game. One she would learn, in time, so many of those lessons could not be taught after all and yet, surely, he might.....help her in some way. As Alexander had once helped him. The use of that child's doll so aimed to act as a near....playful introduction to a topic that would, in time, so consume much of her life. To have her understand without fear his very goal for this afternoon if nothing else. Maeve readily seeming to grasp the importance of keeping those things she saw to herself unless she so believed, somehow, that someone might be within grave danger. The secrets of childhood, after all, were a precious thing to many. Maeve insisting it was fun to see her friends as children and that she too- had her own secrets. The Frenchman nodding in understanding.

"I imagine it would be. Adults were often more fun when they were children. As for your secrets, I think sometimes it is important to have secrets, even for a child."

The very importance of the decisions that lingered before her, that came hand in hand with that power for viewing the past so seemed to dawn upon her all at once. The young girl showing that veritable maturity then with the strength of that realization. In the very least that power had been bestowed upon a sensible child. Maeve so peering towards him then as if near hopeful he might, somehow, hold all those answers she sought. Hmmm. How many had looked at him just like that over the years, only to be sorely disappointed? A soft, gentle sigh so leaving him then. Those gentle words never faltering.

"I know, Mon Petit. The world often gives to us things we are not always ready for, but, you are still very young, younger than even I was. You have time to learn how and when to use your gifts."

Time, in this case, could be nothing but friend to the child. Maeve appeared near nervous then, her words stuttered with indecision as she asked whether or not she would see him again or if indeed he would provide any sort of help. A soft chuckle rising from within his throat as his head nodded.

"You can always ask me for help and yes, I will see you again. My children live in this city and this Cafe is owned by my very best friend. I am here often. If you ever desire to find me, this is the best place for you to search."

The Inner sanctum, in turn, was a decidedly....safe place for the child to linger. Alexander had little time or patience for the supernatural and yet, in the very least, his companion would hardly bring harm to a child or allow anything of nefarious designs to go on within the walls of that veritable sanctuary. His further efforts to explain the nature of past and future seemed to prompt that deep thought within the girl once more. Some concepts so unlikely to be understood until she grew, until she experienced them herself and so came to make her own decisions about what was right or wrong and indeed just what should be shared or not. Past and future, after all, so put a rather terrible strain upon one's very conscience. Maeve, for perhaps a few years at least, likely to be spared such a thing.

"Do you know? I find secrets quite tiresome myself some days? I think the future would be better off not known as well- most of the time."

Ah, but he could surely not lament his true thoughts upon the topic to one so very young and burdan her young mind with such things when she had but a lifetime ahead of her to worry on them. That very concern so prompting the Frenchman to assist in teaching her to 'wall' those visions as it were, to keep at bay those flashes of past or future that might seek to intrude upon her thoughts when they were otherwise unwelcome and too- to teach her to remove herself from anything.....unpleasant she might yet see.

"You must decide for yourself whether to allow the vision to persist or to close it down. If you choose to allow it then you must be careful to try and understand it. Not all visions are as they appear. You will learn, in time."

Practice, in all things, was decidedly critical. Her bright grin and ready thanks was met with that easy grin of his own once more. Matteo moving to finish what remained off his drink before resting it neatly back upon that saucer and leaning smoothly back within his chair.

"I think a person can never have to many friends, Mon Cher. I will gladly be your friend. Come now, where is it that you live? Perhaps you might let me walk you home, hmm? When was the last time a gentleman walked you home?"