The near ancient Fae could so hardly prevent the lift of that singular eye that came with his companions near clear discord over that very gift. Aiden, just as he had suspected, missing the veritable point of that gift entirely. Matteo's insistence of that very thing so prompting that near dismissive agreement from the younger man. Ah, but after so many years one would think the boy held more faith in him! The Frenchman's own head merely shook good-naturedly. The Panther a lost cause within the early hours of the morning he was assured. The very mention of that cheese-based dinner, however, seemed to prompt the return of that near roguish grin from his adoptive son. How it was so that Mac and Cheese so eternally delighted the boy he would never know and yet if such a simply thing brought about such a simple pleasure then whom was he to deny it? That grin however, was decidedly short lived in the wake of those other plans the Frenchman offered then. Matteo long since having given up attempting to ask after just what Aiden wanted when he was sure t be afforded little more then a grunt and to- he had long since ceased to pay any heed to the boys near constantly frowning demeanor. Aiden, he was sure, inclined to frown even when he enjoyed something. Matteo more often than not content to present the world with delight enough for the both of them and indeed so subject his companion to those worldly experiences he knew, deep down, Aiden valued all the same even if that complex maze of emotional turmoil that so made up the younger man prevented him from expressing it as such. That very mention of an 'inquiry' upon his part and too the care with which he had chosen that word was hardly lost upon his companion and yet Matteo was hardly inclined to linger upon that singular facet of their day and indeed.....the only part of it in which he was distinctly unsure just how the boy might react. The man moving on instead to the Arc De Triomphe his visions had already assured him Aiden would, bizarrely, take a great liking off. His own eyes rolling at the sarcasm with which he was met.

"I will have you know that Arc was dedicated to the soldiers of the French Revolution and the Empire for which I fought in- ah, sacrebleu! You are not even listening. I have raised an uncultured heathen!"

His arm so reached out to shove playfully at Aiden then, those words, for all their flamboyance, so hardly holding any true disdain. Aiden never truly holding any terribly great interest in history unless it was for those battles Matteo had detailed to him as a child. Stories of war, it seemed, had a way of enchanting any boy of any age. Some things did not change even with that passage of time. That comfortable, companionable silence that fell across them then was nothing short of...pleasant in itself. Matteo wholly content to simply enjoy his companions presence within that very room he had, for so long, had waiting for him. Neither man in any true hurry to fill that moment with words. Matteo nothing short of comfortable upon that bed and with that well stoked fire so filling the room with warmth- at least until the risk of Aiden falling back asleep became so decidedly real. Such progress he would lose if the boy fell asleep again! That insistence that breakfast would surely be ready by now fell softly from his lips right along with that request Aiden try not to get lost again. The Panther content to complain off his 'goddamn giant house' in the same moments Matteo teleported from that room. An interesting comment from a man who owned a cargo ship with more rooms than a hotel. That soft chuckle finding his lips all the same as he saw to that breakfast table.

It hardly took long for Aiden to make his way, successfully, downstairs and into that dining room. That look of utter bafflement upon the WereKing's features at the sight of that decorated table and balloon adorned chairs wholly satisfying. Even if that moment was all but ruined by the appearance of Herbet. Aiden's very existence, as if the dog had forgotten the boy was staying with them, seeming to prompt an outpouring of excitement from the small creature. The Corgi utterly unable to contain his balance in that moment as he leapt at Aiden's legs, tumbling backward to flail upon the floor. Matteo's own sigh echoed across that room then. The Frenchman bending to right the creature before Herbert proceeded to tear about the room with renewed energy.

"Frankly, I think he was born broken."

Matteo's own head shook slightly one more. The Fae commenting upon how traitiours that dog was inclined to be whenever Alexander showed up before the pair took their seats at that table. Maria, in her delight at so having a guest, quick to rush toward Aiden with those birthday wishes and even more food for that already laden table. Matteo inclined to reach for that tray of bacon. Both men, for a few moments at least, entirely taken with filling their plates. The Frenchman reaching for those pancakes in turn before inquiring after just how far his adoptive son had ever managed to teleport. That answer so prompting a look of surprise and indeed a momentary...pride of sorts to the Frenchmans features.

"Japan? A curious choice. I am not surprised it was exhausting though. Teleporting is like.....running. The further you run, the fitter you must be to make it. The more you train, the fitter you get. You have tried to run a marathon before you ran a mile."

The fact that he had made that journey was surprising in itself and yet he had long since held his suspicions of Aiden's strength in both the physical and mental sense. Even if he knew the other man would so unlikely believe him were he told. Aiden, for as long as he had known him, entirely inclined to believe he was....special in any sense. Oh, but how little he knew! That very comment upon his Shadow Jumping in the least so seeming to pique the mans intrigue. Matteo taking a bite off his own breakfast then before so continuing in those accented tones.

"I suspect that your abilities may not be limited to merely one plain of existence. I also believe that, during the night, your powers are far more significant then either of us truly realised. The night, after all, is nothing but darkness and shadow. I will explain more after breakfast though."

His very fear that Maria had, perhaps, made to much food so proved to be unfounded. Aiden so evidently....rather hungry after a good night's rest. Matteo near inclined to believe that eating may well have been another of the boys apparent affinities and yet....he enjoyed simply having Aiden with him. The younger mans company so eternally pleasing to him even if only for something so simple as a meal to be shared. It was only once that breakfast was completed that Matteo rose from the table then, gesturing once more for Aiden to follow before heading back up those stairs and significantly deeper into the veritable maze that was his home. Herbert hurrying at the pairs heels in clear delight for this adventure. The Frenchman headed along near the length of that second floor before taking another set of stairs that led to the third. Several more turns down several more corridors at last seeing the Fae pause outside a decidedly non-descript white door that appeared just as the other seventy they had passed. Matteo so turned to Aiden once more.

"You cannot, Mon Amie, speak to any other about what exists here. I already know you will not and yet it is so you should understand its importance all at once. A small handful of my staff, Alexander and you are the only beings who know of this room."

He waited only so long as it took the Panther to offer some nod of agreement that such a secret would remain between them. The Frenchman's hand lifted then to rest against a singular panel of that white door. The faintest of sounds echoing from within before that door so unlatched and swung upon. That palm reader embedded and hidden within the heart of the door itself. The door considerably thicker then it so appeared from the outside. The pair's entrance into that deceptively large room so prompting the sudden flare of those lights from a vast collection of ornate chandelier above. The room near akin to a carpeted ballroom in size, if not larger. Multiple walls so running the length of the room itself. Each one of them, like small corridors, utterly covered within photographs. The pictures so broken up into continent and country. Two thousand years worth of photographs neatly arranged in that room. A near impish grin so finding its way to the Frenchmans lips, Matteo's arms but briefly outstretching in that near flamboyant gesture that so epitomised the Fae himself as he turned back towards his companion.

"These, Aidun, are my teleporting sites. Nearly each and every one of them. I cannot, after two thousand years, remember each place I have been so clearly enough to teleport to it safely each time. Especially those I do not visit often. So I keep them here. It has occured to me that if i can use photographs to teleport then- so can you, Mon Amie. That is what why I gave you that album, so you can start your own collection and borrow from mine. You should, now, be able to teleport to your room here any time you might desire it, that picture I gave you is merely an assistance for you until you have mastered it. I will show you too, how to take a photo in such a way as to prevent any other knowing its true location and to make sure you do not so accidentally end up inside a wall. Such an unfortunate way to die...."


m a t t e o
it's tough to be a god