At long last, we get to meet Cain's babu

November 2027, Atlantis, Atlantis

Cain sat, relaxed, in front of a window, legs crossed. His foot gently tapped out a beat in the air but it wasn't impatient. He was happy to wait. He had the time. He had plenty of time. Outside it was nice to watch the people from above. They milled about like ants, moving to and fro. Or maybe like minnows. He could always tell which ones were human and which ones were proeathans. Any groups of humans gave a berth around a proeathan, giving them space. To not be seen. Not be touched. To not draw attention. It had been over a decade you'd think they'd get over it by now. Cain knew better than to expect that. Humans held grudges for generations. Not that they didn't have a very good reason to but you'd think they'd want to move on with their lives and not dwell in the past.

He looked up when the door opened. Technically he was in a waiting room but he wasn't going anywhere. It was the front chamber for the Order of Faceless. There was a faceless in their featureless mask standing in the doorway. Cain stood up and they walked over to them. They wore the mark of a vow of silence on their forehead. Probably sent this one so they couldn't be asked questions, give him a hard time or otherwise be rude. Of course, Cain was in with their god. Paid to be nice to those Desmond kept in his circle or you might just get visited by a god. A faceless with a vow of silence ensured no mistakes.

"I'll take that," and he took the swaddling from the faceless. He didn't look down at them, he just kept eye contact with the faceless. "You may go," he said. The faceless left quickly like they didn't want to breathe the same air as Cain. Stupid, speciest, assholes.

Only once they were gone did Cain look down. A smile tugged at his lips. "Good job, Hera," he said. A perfect human baby was wrapped in the pink and yellow swaddling. They had some of Cain's features but they weren't identical. Almond shaped eyes and a Drell-like nose and black eyebrows in a shape that reminded him of his father and himself.

Cain hadn't held a child that was his since the rise of Christianity. That boy had been a wonder. He'd only been told of the impossible things human psychics could do by his father before Yeshua. Half the stories about him weren't true but that was beside the point. Half the stories about Desmond weren't true either. The talk of an 'immaculate' birth had drawn him to see for himself. Seeing the good Yeshua had done for everyone, the wonder and strength he offered others, the love he fostered between humans was infectious. Cain hadn't been immune to it either. He'd been living as a hermit for a few decades before that. Tired of humans and how hateful they were, how petty. Yeshua had reminded him humans could also be kind, generous, and caring humans could be.

He didn't like to think he'd let himself be seduced but that would have been a lie. A pretty girl was still a pretty girl and though Cain's tastes had changed over the millennia it was hard to say no to a pretty girl who wanted so badly to be with you.

That was the last time he'd held a baby of any importance. Other than Desmond's little one and that was only because Cain had tricked Altair into handing him over. He loved how small and fragile infants were. How utterly perfect they were.

"I've been waiting a long time to meet you, my son," Cain cooed and lifted their head up to press a kiss against their forehead. He sniffed and opened his eyes. They were brown. Cain smiled. Hera had been good on her word. No proeathan or half breed children for Cain. There would be plenty of them in the future now and the last thing the world needed right now was more proeathans. But the world could use some more humans. A real one with no mixed blood, like Lucy was. "Hello there," he said softly. The infant just stared at him. "You're very cute, you know that?" Their tongue slowly appeared on the bottom of their open mouth. "I wonder if my brother will like you as much as his grandson hmm?"

That made Cain smirk. Oh, the look on Altair's face was going to be priceless. "Let's go find him and see, what do you say Rinchen?" he asked and bounced him a little. Rinchen blinked his eyes at Cain and made a little noise. "Yes yes, and then go see the room I prepared for you. I hope those stupid faceless knew to feed you."

He was halfway to the door as he said that and Hera appeared in front of him. Cain didn't even flinch in surprise. "They did," she said and put her arms inside her sleeves.

"I bet that grated them. Bunch of snooty proeathan clergy feeding a human infant," Cain smirked again.

"Oh, they hated it. But it was a good lesson in humility," Hera said. "And they wouldn't disobey their High Priestess."

Cain nodded. "He's as I asked for him I take it?"

"He's like my daughter," Hera said, meaning Lucy. "But with a natural life. You took a sense for him and so he is without."

"What else should I know?" Cain asked.

Hera's eyes squinted a bit in a smile, "That is something you will figure out as he grows," she said.

"Nothing bad?"

"No. I gave him… an interesting disposition."

"I swear Hera if you made my son a pyromancer-

"Tempting but I think one hyper-powerful human pyromancer is all the world needs at the moment. No. You may find it ironic in the future."

Cain didn't like the sound of that. "Very well. Good day, I guess, if that means anything to you."

"The days have been better since the world passed through the hotai," she nodded a bit. Cain just sort of rolled his eyes and left the hall of the Faceless and went to find Altair and rub his cute new son in his stupid face.

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