Dragoncrest Cliffs Procellous

Sobo listened, though he did not like what he heard.

He thought he was over this. He had put Njord on a pedestal in his youth and that had been a terrible mistake. He had cast the memory of Njord as da into the sea, but the scars ran deep, and Njord's attempt at an apology only slashed them open anew.

I do not believe dat you did not know how, said Sobo at last, resisting the childish urge to sneer. He was the Jade of Sapphique now. He had to be more mature than that, but he could speak his mind now that Njord apparently had time for him, when Sobo thought he ought to be spending it with the children he had more recently returned to. Sobo had already resigned himself to Njord's absence from his life, both emotionally and physically, but Stingray, Swordfish, and Mercy might yet forgive their father for his absence.

I do not t'ink dat you t'ought of me at all. You did not include me in your life. You left me out of your wedding day. You left only me out of it. I do not believe dat was not intentional. It was simply not possible that Loko and Mireille had been invited to participate while he had been left to be a mere spectator by chance. He was certain Coraline would have been involved, too, had she been able at the time. The alternative to being left out intentionally was that he was so insignificant, he had been completely overlooked. For Sobo, that was no better than being left out on purpose.

He made no mention of the broken promise of a coastal trip, either; this was not time for him to rake Njord over the coals, but to reaffirm his own boundaries. His father was attempting to apologize, but for Sobo, there was nothing left to reconcile. I was yours. You showed me dat meant not'ing to you. An apology cannot change dat. He did not mean it to come out so cold or so utterly dismissive, but it did, and his next suggestion did nothing to help, nor the way he looked pointedly away. You should spend your time wit' your wife and children now.