There was, within this world, very few certainties. Yet- if any such person could be counted on to respond in near the same fashion over and over it was surely Aiden with his bluntness. The boy had always held a distinct ability to cut right to the very heart of the matter and lay it bare. He was not a man to mince words, at least, not in the fashion Matteo himself had so developed an infallible talent for. Rather, Aiden so tended to see the direct cause, the direct solution and, on occasion, so had a habit of making up his mind directly then and there. It was, Matteo had decided, both a great strength off his character and yet one inclined to present itself as a flaw every now and then. Truly the Frenchman preferred to think of it as conviction of character. Aiden was the sort of man to make up his mind and make it soundly. To try and change it was distinctly difficult and yet so given the boys childhood such a trait was hardly surprising. Aiden did not like indecision. Indecision, perhaps, prompted some level of anxiety within him if only for the memories of Risque so taunting with what she might do it tended to reflect. Such thoughts for now hardly permitted to find hold in his mind. Matteo unable to help that faint flicker of a simper that found his lips in response to his companions staunch assurance that if all women were this difficult he was even less inclined to them. Matteo rather assured the man meant it and yet that amusement lingered all the same.

"Do not tell me, Mon Amie, that you too have decided to share you bed with men, hmm? My best friend, my son- all these men seem to enjoy other men. Perhaps it is I who have been wrong all these years."

Those accented words were laced with good humor all the same. Matteo as assured as the sky was blue that Aiden had not found himself afflicted with any great desire to lay with a man and yet he could so hardly help the fashion in which he teased at the boy all the same if only for that eye roll and insistence to 'shut up' he was sure to receive. Matteo too, perhaps, seeking to draw Aiden's thoughts away from whatever it was that prompted that frown to the younger mans features. That conversation shifted instead to Frost. The Panther's disgruntled snort so affording the Frenchman all he truly needed to know of the Were Kings opinion on Alexander's Mount and yet Matteo remained insistant upon that conversation for at least a few moments longer. He was, in this, determined to assure his companion of the sound choice he had made in that alliance. With Frost came Alexander and with Alexander came the Council. Regardless of the organisations difficulties it could hardly be forgotten as a considerable force and one that could easily play onto Aiden's side of the field in that metaphorical game of life.

Aiden was, for all his stubbornness, hardly a foolish man in any sense. The Panther so commenting upon his own agreement in the stuteness of that choice before making every effort to shift that conversation- that silent battle of wills lasted for but a few seconds before Matteo so offered that silent yield and allowed that conversation to shift instead to that affinity they shared and he was yet to see his young charge wield. This conversation was one far better received and one that readily prompted that more amiable nature from Aiden in turn. Matteo finding himself near unceremoniously shoved before he rose from that seat only to appear upon the other side of the room with that rubber ball in hand. In this he so intended to offer Aiden little chance to anticipate that movement, the ball tossed suddenly and with that clear intent to have Aiden catch it as best he could.

He was hardly disappointed in the boys effort in any sense. Aiden managing to summon those shadows to surround him and teleport across the room just in time to catch that ball before it struck the ground- his back thrown against the far wall as he did. He was hardly oblivious to the manner in which the young Were nibbled at his lower lip as if near anxious for those words of assessment upon his skills even if he knew Aiden would never dare to admit to any such desire for praise. Yet, had he himself not once been much the same with Alexander? Matteo nodding his approval then as that warm simper so adorned his features. The Frenchman praising that technique and accuracy and yet too he so offered mention of those very areas to be improved. What sort of a teacher would he be if he did not? The Fae commenting then upon that very method of teleportation it seemed Aiden had adopted. A method he himself had not seen in several centuries. That very word imploring Aiden's own curiosity as Matteo merely nodded once more.

"Oui, yes, there are a great deal many stories of such beings. Myths, perhaps, is a better word. Such a method of teleportation was, once, a jealously guarded secret, one that saw truth and lie combine I am sure."

Yet, was not such a thing how all myths were made? Some combination of truth and fantasy? Matteo so prompted to further query his companion then on just what he was capable off. To move a car was no small feat, indeed it spoke of untapped potential. The Frenchman perhaps inclined to admit some level of pride in his unofficial son so having inherited that very trait before Aiden admitted he had hardly tried to travel with that gift. The ancient Fae's hands thrown upwards in a manner distinctly French as that exclamation so feel from him. Aiden, in the least, so having the decency to appear sheepish. Such gifts he possessed and he hardly dared use them! Ah, but such things needed fixing, of this he was sure. Matteo hardly given much chance to consider it further before that ball was thrown and he himself moved to retrieve it. The Fae, in this, content to show off that talent as the ball rested so neatly upon his foot. Matteo himself balanced upon the edge of that desk as if such a feat had hardly required effort. Such grandstanding receiving little more then the roll of Aiden's eyes and a good-natured chuckle from his own lips before he took that moment to appear before the feline once more. His hand rested upon Aiden's shoulder with that singular assurance that, in time, he would be better than Matteo himself had ever been.

He had so hardly anticipated Aiden might believe him in any sense. It was not within the boys nature to incline himself to any beliefs of grandeur and yet he could already do what Matteo could not. With time, with practice, there was much he could surely be taught if only he would allow himself. In this, it seemed, Aiden more then willing to be taught. That ball was tossed again- this time aimed toward Aiden's bed. The young man faster then he had been before and- though he surely lacked some measure of.....grace in that retrieval, he had achieved it all the same as he tumbled back upon the bed. Matteo nodded once more in a clear approval before querying whether or not Aiden might be capable of teleporting him. His own hand reached out, affording the Panther that touch he required. That sudden rush of shadows was more....intimidating then Matteo had truly anticipated. His silvered eyes momentarily widening before that unique sensation of someone else's teleportation suddenly saw him lifted. Matteo and Aiden both so appearing a few seconds later. The Frenchman glancing near curiously downward from his new position atop the lounge.

"I...oh! This is unanticipated, Mon Amie. Still, one cannot deny we are upon the couch. Did you intend this?"

He had not, Matteo expected, and yet that good nature remained all the same. The Frenchman chuckling softly at his newfound position before that near thoughtful look seemed to find him once more. Matteo content to consider several facets of that very teleportation and those ways in which he might better help the boy explore it.

"I have not been teleported by another in many years and certainly not with shadows before. It is an impressive talent, Aidun. One I will help you improve until you are nearly as good as me. I have some ideas but I shall not tell you of them just yet. I must think on them a little more until I am sure."

That smile found his lips easily again, the Frenchman stepping down from the couch cushion only to seat himself upon that chair once more, his hand so gesturing for his companion to do the same before he reached for his drink. Aiden handed his own in turn.

"Many years ago, in the early sixteen hundreds I travelled to Spain. It was here I met the first Shadow Jumper. His teleportation, like yours, was specific. Limited to shadows, but powerful. He was one of a small collection of Shadow Jumpers whom worked as assassins. It was what Shadow Jumpers became most famous for you see. I said to him once that he must find disdain in those whom would hide from him in palace drenched in sun like deserts. Shadows can be summoned in those places but, as you will find, it is truly difficult and do you know, Mon Amie, that he laughed at me?"

Matteo paused then, allowing Aiden to further consider those words with that ready grin upon his own lips, another sip of that drink taken, the Frenchman so prolonging that story just a little as any fine storyteller surely did before those accented words continued.

"He said to me, Matteo, no man can hide from me. In the night the shadows are everywhere and in the day they exist all the same even if they are harder to see. Each man on this earth, he said, carries a weakness to me. For every man carries a shadow- even in the desert. He could teleport into peoples shadows, Aidun. The one part of us we cannot shield ourselves from. This is why they were so feared as assassins- because you cannot hide from your own shadow."

He paused once more, allowing those very considerations to turn within Aiden's mind and too, perhaps, consider the sheer enormity of the talent he possessed, of what he might one day learn to do with it.

"There is talk too, of Shades, Shadow Jumpers whom could travel between worlds but they are myths of ancient Greece and little more than fairy stories. Ones I will not bore you with tonight. It is growing late, I should leave you to sleep but I will return tomorrow with some papers for you to sign in regards to your passport. Shall I tuck you in?"

One eye lifted upward in clear tease. Matteo readily teleporting out of the way of the shove he surely knew was coming once more. Aiden was far too old to be tucked in any longer, that he surely knew and yet some teases so never changed. Affection lacing those words all the same as Matteo so reappeared upon Aiden's bed himself, the Fae laying back upon those forest green sheets. The colour somehow...suiting his companion. How he disliked those goodbyes, even if it would be for no more than a day or so. Someway, somehow, they seemed to tug at him all the same, just as they had done when the man before him was no more than a boy. Perhaps just a little longer would not hurt, hmm?

"I think I have time for one video game before the sun rises, do you still have that one with the cars? I foresee my victory in that... bring that drink over here too, I am sure I drive better when at least slightly inebriated."


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