threaded in an outfit of comfort, while still maintaining decorum, gabriel lounges in his study with a book. he'd dismissed the staff to their own devices hours ago, so when a knock comes unexpectedly, he's momentarily taken aback. it lasts a brief second, gabriel down his book and on his best expression.
[break][break]
when he swings the door open this time revealing not just his child, but a third, much younger one, his brow furrows.
[break][break]
"jessica." clipped, plain, and to the point. "what brings you here?"

[attr="class","notes"]Jessica Manner[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

It took her by surprise that he answered the door himself. Perhaps he had already sent everyone away for the evening. She hoped that he was alone, because she didn't want anyone to see her break down.

Hell, she didn't even want Gabriel to see her break down.

She held her child closer, though not tight enough to waken him or cause his distress. Swallowing down her pride and everything that she had fought for to dissociate herself from GABRIEL BLACK, she spoke.

"I need help. I need... I need my dad..." she said, her voice wavering as tears threatened to spill over her cheeks as she looked at the ground.

"Please, help me."

GABRIEL BLACK

☉

for a moment he stares at the trembling form of his daughter and the kid in her hands. something had obviously happened - something large enough to bring her here, especially.
[Break][break]
after a moment he decides, turning in invitation, the halls of Black manor awaiting her return once more.

[attr="class","notes"]Jessica Manner[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

A few tears trickled down her cheeks as her father allowed her to enter the house. It was a strange feeling, being back there.

She knew where everything was. Or mostly everything. But it felt foreign at the same time.

Jessie led the way to the common room, sitting down on a plush couch and adjusting Kai so he could sleep soundly. Raising a hand, she wiped the tears from her face, sniffing before speaking.

"This is Kai. He's your grandson. We adopted him... he was abandoned behind a bar in Verdanturf."

She didn't look up from her baby as she finally revealed why she was here.

"Niko's dead. He was... he was murdered right in front of me," she said, her voice broken and hoarse.

"W-we think it was another gang... but..."

She couldn't finish, crushed by grief as she broke in front of her father.

GABRIEL BLACK

☉

gabe followed wordlessly, the wooden floor beneath creaking from their combined weight. when she settles on the couch, he moves to the lazyboy. he listens as she speaks, silent and unwavering, expression unreadable.
[break][break]
he tables the story about the baby for later — precedence of events, after all. while he didn't know NIKO MANNER, nor really care for him, his death seemed to affect his daughter greatly.
[break][break]
gabriel is silent for a moment that seems to stretch, though no more than a few seconds could have passed. when he finally does speak, it's softer than his usual, commanding baritone.
[break][break]
"i'm sorry, jessica."

[attr="class","notes"]Jessica Manner[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

She wasn't sure what she expected her father to say. She blinked, a couple of tears dripping down before she lifted a hand to wipe them away.

But hearing him say that... it was probably more than she deserved.

Jessie looked at Gabriel, sniffing as she finished smearing her face with tears.

"What do I do? I don't know what to do anymore..."

GABRIEL BLACK

☉

an important lesson he'd worked hard to impart, whether by action, or inaction, was the ability for his children to think ahead. they had been adults, before they had any right to be, admittedly. but that wasn't something that could change now.
[break][break]
"you do." he could fall into the roll of a doting father; to offer a shoulder to cry on. but he hadn't been that man in a long, long time. even if she needed that part of him, something more logical rises to the surface. "you've waded your way through the world, ready or not, since you were a girl. now is no different. you need to find the path forward and keep walking."

[attr="class","notes"]Jessica Manner[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

Something akin to frustration flashed in Jessica's eyes as she gazed back at her father. She threw her arms up for a moment, running them through dyed pink hair, as she spoke back in a rather aggressive tone.

"How do I know what to do? I've never raised a child before. Kai was supposed to have a happy life with a father and a mother. Now, he will never meet his father again. His father is dead. I will have to tell him one day about Niko's death and watching him die in front of me. How can you say I know what to do, Gabriel?"

After a moment of frustration and pure grief, Jessie calmed herself, slouching back against the couch as she rested her hand against her forehead. It ached, probably from dehydration and constant tears. With a sigh and glance at her adoptive son, she spoke again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to raise my voice. I just feel lost. I never felt so... in love with someone before. And now he's gone. And I want the best of Kai. I don't know how you think, Dad, but... I feel like you push us too hard sometimes."

GABRIEL BLACK

☉

gabriels expression is a mask as she raises her voice, each word laced with an anger and grief unparreled to any feeling she's had before.
[Break][break]
he watches her go through the stages, one by one, before slumping into her seat. this would likely continue for several more weeks, maybe months, and was the first in a long line of emotional outbursts yet to come.
[Break][break]
finally, he speaks.
[Break][break]
"i am too hard on you all." gabriel admits, his face unchanging. "i push you all to be your best, at the expense of all else, because i am confident you can take it."
[Break][break]
he takes a deep breath, one that has his chest shaking like a mountain in an earthquake.
[Break][break]
"it has grown you children into strong, and capable men and women, ready to face a world that - as you are now finding - is far, far from ideal."
[Break][break]
he pushes himself to his feet, walking calmly over to his daughter. with both hands, he reaches down and takes the child.
[Break][break]
"you're tired, distraught and look like you haven't eaten in days." his hands looked massive holding such a small child, but the grace and ease to which he does so, is perhaps surprising to Jessica Manner.
[Break][break]
"go eat, then head to bed. we will discuss this further in the morning."

[attr="class","notes"]Jessica Manner[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

Jessie looked at her father, something in her chest tightening. Like it was threatening to strangle her from the inside out. She could see it, all the effort he went through to try and make them strong.

But...

"Sometimes we just want a dad that holds us and tells us it'll be okay. That is what we need too," she said weakly, wiping away her tears.

Begging for her father to hold her tightly in the embrace he would give her as a child. Run his hands through her hair and tell her that it was all going to be okay, just like when she had a nightmare.

Jessie watched as Gabriel took her son from where he lay, still asleep and only twitching as he settled in his grandfather's arms. He was so small, so innocent. She wanted to protect him from the dangers of the world.

She just wished Niko was there to help her.

"Okay..."

GABRIEL BLACK

☉