*Discontinued* Beast~prinxiety

63

"Yes, Roman. There is a way for you to still have that family." Roman's eyes completely blanked out as Janus just gave a small smile. "I said yes." Roman sat there staring off at nothing making Janus tense up a bit over it all. 

"How? And don't say adopting because I know that's a thing. I mean like..." Roman went quiet seeing the look the other witch was giving him. "Janus?"

"There's a way for a witch to claim another as their kin. Typically it's done by an adult claiming a child." Roman's eyes widened as Janus looked away clearly anxious about the topic at hand. 

"What is it?"

"Well... It's uh..." Janus took a deep breath before giving Roman a small smile. "It's the same you would claim your mate." 

The way the hair went cold was clear to anyone, even Patton who finally walked in with a tray of tea only to pause at the tense atmosphere. The sound of clinking cups was the only sound for several minutes as Patton set Roman's and Janus's cups down on the table before sitting beside Roman with a good bit of room between them. 

"How?" Janus's eyes darted up in surprise as Roman finally choked out a word. "How?" He repeated before shakingly grabbing his cup, eyes firmly staring at the swirling dark liquid.

"Roman..." Janus hesitated unsure of how he wanted to go about this before just sighing and grabbing his own teacup, before leaning back against the chair. " The witch forces their magic into the other typically by spell turning them into a witch. Since it's with their own magic they would end up having a direct link to that magical line. I guess you can say it's the Witch way of adoption." Roman could only nod at this point, finding it difficult to form thoughts let alone words. "Roman-..." Again Janus couldn't help but hesitate, making Roman frown in confusion finally meeting the snake's eyes. "It's what my mother did to you."

"Wait, what?" Janus cringed hearing how Roman's voice shook. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to tell you because I knew how you felt about her and with everything she had done to you... It just didn't feel right putting that on your shoulders as well but... It's the best way to explain it. Her spell was horrible. She didn't care at all but... The way she made you a witch was..." Roman completely crashed at the serious yet reassuring look Janus was trying to give him. "...by claiming you as her son."

"She..." Roman felt sick. He couldn't stop the tears forming in his eyes as he clutched his cup with a vice grip. "She killed my father. She killed my mother... IN FRONT OF ME... and then proceeded to make me her son?" Roman's voice broke as Patton shifted closer to him, placing a hand to his leg. "I-... I don't understand. Why? Why would something do that? Why would they think-..." Roman choked as Patton took the cup from him, setting it down on the table. "So... So she made me son. She... She made me a witch by claiming me as her son." Janus didn't bother to respond, just letting Roman work through it. "I-... Wait." Roman shook himself out of his thoughts before shooting Janus this confused look. "If she adopted me or whatever... doesn't that mean you're my brother?"

"Uh..." Janus tensed up, freezing up a bit before just crashing with a nod. "Yes. Yes, you are technically my brother. But like I said, I knew how you felt about my mother and that already caused distrust between us. I didn't want to make it worse by piling all of this on you. She's not your mother. That's clear as day and no one will fight you on that. After what she did, she doesn't deserve that title. So I am not going to fault you if you refuse to see me as kin either. None of that matters, just as long as you take this new life you were unfortunately forced with and make it something you're proud of."

"I-..." Roman really didn't know what to make from it. He didn't even know how he felt, to be honest. He hated that woman so much. The pain and trauma she had put him through. The lonely and self-hate Roman dealt with on a regular basis that came from her spell. The grief and loss that both he AND his twin faced... Now to find out that he was a member of the Dragon Witch's line. He came for questions about his son and found out he had a brother he didn't even know about. "I don't know how to feel about it at the moment."

"That's ok, Kiddo. It's a lot to process." Roman nodded before crashing a bit more with a chuckle.

"That means your my brother-in-law." Patton flushed softly as Roman shot him a small look. "That means you and Virgil are brother-in-laws."

"OH, YOU'RE RIGHT!" The way Patton's eyes lit up honestly made things better. At least someone had something to look forward to. Something they could be genuinely happy about. Roman sighed as he tried to work his thoughts around. He was in a bit of a tizzy but there were still questions he needed answers to.

"So..." Janus perked up a bit giving Roman his attention as the prince took his cup back just so he could have something in his hands. "So... A witch chooses a child as their own by casting a spell that forces their magic into them... and that turns the human into a witch like them. That witch then gets an animal affinity and from based off the magic they builds within them." Janus nodded though confused at where it was going as Roman tapped his cup to keep his thoughts in line. "What would happen if a witch were to do that adopting thing... with an animal?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well... I mean... The human gets magic and an animal form right. But what if the child they choose as their own was already an animal. Say... Say a wolf." Janus's eyes shot wide as Roman quickly avoided his gaze. "Say a witch claimed a wolf as their son and accidentally did the adopting thing without meaning to because they didn't have control at the time. What would happen to them?"

"I don't know, Roman. It's never been done before." Roman's shoulders visibly dropped making Janus push to the edge of his seat with a very worried look. "Roman, what happened?"

"Nothing. Nothing happened. I'm just curious." As much as Roman was sticking to the whole not telling them anything, he couldn't make himself sound believable. His voice was monotoned and strained as he just sighed with a sad look in his eyes. "I just wanted to ask is all." Janus and Patton both shared a look before the snake finally set his cup down drawing Roman's attention to him.

"Well, I have no idea. It's never been done as far as I know. However, I'd probably assume that nothing would happen. They wouldn't get another animal form as they would already have one and the likely hood that the animal would have enough conscious thought to be aware that they have magic and use it is... small at best. I doubt the magic would even stick. If by some chance they did end up with magic and could use it... I'd say they would be more suited towards guardian than witch due to a lack of a second form."

"So... Nothing would happen?" Janus shrugged as he leaned back against the chair.

"It just wouldn't make sense if something did. I personally don't think animals have the capabilities to become witches. But as I said... it's never been done before so it's all a guess." Roman shook his head as he smiled, slowly getting to his feet.

"No, that's fine. I was just curious anyway. Thank you." Roman gave Patton a small hug, hearing the man giggle softly before pulling away and giving Janus a nod. "I should be heading home. I left Virgil with a lot on his plate. I don't want to keep him waiting."

"Are you sur-..."

"Thank you, Janus." Janus sighed as Roman started for the door only to pause before leaving the living room. "Oh... Janus?" Roman frowned a bit as he turned to see the worried look the snake was giving him. "If you're serious about the whole... me being your brother thing... I wouldn't mind giving it a shot. I will never call that woman my mother... but you aren't her." Janus blinked, his eyes starting to water as Roman gave him a soft look. "You've done plenty enough to prove that to me. So... I am willing to try." Roman smiled as he nodded to the two. "Goodbye... and really... thank you."