even a god-king can bleed

Cador had largely found Olympus' lands to be pleasant. He had kept closer to his mother than Vaishya had, though he had listened to what stories she was willing to share with him about the extremes of the territory that they had come to inhabit. Still, as curious as these new territories were, Cador felt more loyalty to his mother than any desire to wander could hope to compete with. It was unlikely that wanderlust would ever draw this boy from his family; abandoning Ashtoreth and Vaishya was a repulsive idea to the boy.

In the absence of their father, he had done his best to step up and offer support to the only two members of his family that remained. Still, Cador found himself hoping desperately that one day they would wake up and their father would be back. He couldn't be gone forever, right? There was no way that his father could have left them. His father was family; he would be back.

In that manner, Cador had far more faith in Leon than his mother or sister seemed to have. And so he was less worried about the meeting than they were; in Cador's mind, this place would soon be useless. As soon as his father was back, they would be able to leave. There was no room for doubt in the boy's mind; he would be back, of course. No Adravendi would truly abandon their family.

Settling down easily beside his sister, Cador nudged her lightly with his shoulder. "Don't be nervous, Vai. It'll be all right," He murmured, voice soft as he cast a glance at the girl. It was a promise he felt confident making. If they didn't stay here, well, there was an entire world out there! There had to be a place that they would be welcome in.

"Speech"
'thoughts'