Aiden had always been a decidedly stubborn individual, even within his earliest years. If the boy so desired not to do something, then attempting to coerce him was all but futile. Aiden the very sort of man encouraged to act if and when it suited him to do so. That action upon his terms alone or not at all. Yet, such a veritable personality trait was so hardly difficult to understand when his life as a whole was considered. Aiden had, since the tender age of ten, had his very will violated and the whims of another pushed upon him again and again until he existed as little more than a puppet upon he threads of a master. It was, by that notion, so hardly surprising that when left to his own devices the boy was near fiercely protective off his right to think with his own mind, to feel with his own emotions and to do as he pleased when it pleased him. Yet too, that very stubborn-ness so brought with it an entirely different trait. One Matteo had long since suspected Aiden was not always fully aware of. The Panther a decidedly determined individual in every sense. A curious trait perhaps, for one capable of near maddening laziness and yet when so provided the right sort of challenge or indeed it was so suggested off him that he could not complete something- there was little that would stop the boy in so proving his doubters wrong. How curious it was that in all his life Matteo should know two men that shared such a trait, in varying degrees. Both of them leaders even if within vastly different capacities. Aiden's pack not truly comparable to Alexander's vast armies and yet it was upon that very determination Alexander had brought the world to its knees. If only Aiden so knew just what he was capable of in turn.....

Matteo's gaze continued to linger upon the younger man as that frustration of sorts played upon his features. That very action of so nibbling upon his lower lip, boyish thought it seemed, surely giving away at those thoughts that tugged at him. Aiden, he knew, would not allow himself to be defeated by a task such as this. Matteo offering no single word as he merely continued to watch with a clear expectation from his son. Yet- even he had not anticipated that very shift in the room itself. That shadowy darkness ensnaring that space in reflection of but one of Aiden's own powers. The Frenchman hardly taking long to recognise that very space if only for the countless time he had seen it within his visions and to- the sheer amount of times he had visited it himself in some effort to slow Risque down, to waylay her or hamper any effort she might make in so further harming his adoptive son in turn. Aiden's name was uttered as a near warning then. Tugging such memories to the forefront of the boys mind was perhaps not....ideal and yet those shadows rushed far more quickly now. That darkness affording the WreeKing a greater command. Matteo content to watch that series of teleportations so smoothly carried out before that darkness quickly faded to return them both to that ballroom. Aiden's very complaint of the light so momentarily ignored in that simple praise. After all, he had done well and with practice- he would succeed only further. Matteo wholly content to continue to press the boy to do just that. The near ancient Fae addressing those very lights and the fashion in which they functioned before his shoulder bumped playfully against his companions own- prompting that grin- before that new photo was handed to the emerald-eyed man.

Matteo so willingly allowed Aiden to take his hand in that moment. That rush of shadows as disconcerting as it had been the first time. A part of the near ancient being decidedly fascinated in so experiencing the teleportation of another and yet, for now, he commented little upon it. Not when other tasks were at hand. That inky blackness swallowed them entirely only to peel away but moments later. The pair left within that darkened forest so made up of shade and light and rich greenery. The very earth smelt damp within such a place, little save the sound of that stream permeating those branches, spears of sunlight breaking that canopy to filter down around them. That forest, despite its appearance, all but teeming with life. Aiden, he knew, would very likely enjoy exploring it. Matteo wholly content to remind him that such exploration was surely welcomed and that a future dinner might surely be achieved from it if Aiden had a mind to bring back a deer. The younger man musing upon how long it had been since he had enjoyed that venison as the Frenchman stepped hurriedly away from the stream he had near been dropped within. Whether or not Aiden had done it on purpose remaining to be seen, that shrug he was afforded so earning the boy a near pointed look before Matteo allowed that warm simper to find his lips once more.

"I cook it rather well too. Perhaps you might see what you can do about bringing dinner home tomorrow evening. I wonder though, even now, when it is your human skin you wear- how far can you hear? How far can you smell? Could you tell me in what direction the nearest deer was? I am merely curious of the extent of your senses in your human form."

How intriguing it was to consider what reach those feline senses might have even through his companions human body. Matteo readily curious of but several notions even if it was so hardly the animalistic side of Aiden they had so come to expand upon today. That vibrant red scarf appearing within his hand a moment later- only to be looped through his own jeans. Matteo so at least offering his companion knowledge of that very game he intended to indulge them both within. The ancient Fae quick to begin that very game well before Aiden might be given the chance to protest it. Matteo disappearing from sight the moment he had spoken those rules only to reappear upon the other side of that stream- one eye lifted in that clearly unspoken challenge. That soft sigh upon the Panther's lips prompted only that good-natured chuckle from himself, his eyes rolling lightly at that begrudging demeanor he had come to anticipate from his son. The shadows that begun to swirl at Aiden's feet gave way to the boys intentions. Matteo quick to teleport once more. The Frenchman taking up that new position within the trees as Aiden landed upon the bank in clear bafflement as to where he had gone. Matteo, once more, content to watch the boy with a silent curiosity from above.
He had hardly anticipated that his companion might choose to take up that game within his feline form and yet- within that very forest itself there was little need not to indulge that cat. After all, the Panther could teleport just as well as the man. Matteo watching as the boy peeled that shirt from his figure before reaching for his jeans and undergarments in turn to drop them to the earth. This so hardly the first time he had seen Aiden free of any clothing. The Frenchman so allowing that wolf-whistle to echo across the forest then in a clear tease.

"Nice ass!"

Boys, it seemed, even after two thousand years of life- will be boys. That soft chuckle so parted his lips once more. Matteo shifting several trees over if only to prevent Aiden finding him to readily as he finished that shift. The man replaced with that ebony panther only to yawn and yet those ears turned neatly upon his head all the same. The Frenchman well aware of those efforts to listen- before those vibrant emerald eyes turned upward to himself. Hmm. How keenly accurate that animal form. Matteo well aware he had been spotted in that moment, that all-too pleased chauff so parting his sons lips before the Panther begun to circle about that tree. Hmmm. Perhaps he had passed on by some of his showmanship to his youngest son after all. That very amusement so tugging at him in turn. His own silver gaze continued to linger then. Matteo watching as Aiden's claws sank within that wood before the rush of blackness all but catapulted (ha, CATapulted) him up that tree. How terribly intriguing it was to see the boy hunt in this fashion. Matteo backing further out onto that branch and away from that prowling panther, his gaze so briefly glancing at the ground below before meeting those bright emerald eyes once more.

"You are very good at this game as a cat, Mon Amie. Better than I thought."

That feline form, after all, so expanded the boys senses dramatically. Aiden having found him within mere seconds in that tree. Matteo so continuing to back further away and out along that branch until he reached its very end. The Fae decidedly careful to maintain his balance now- ah, but another area in which Aiden so surely had him beat! Those accented lyrics so suddenly leaving his lips.

"Do you know, I have wondered something else about panthers. Do they land on their feet?"

The Frenchman's own figure so readily vaulted upward then. That branch so used as a veritable springboard as Matteo all but leapt from it. The branch shaking wildly in every direction from that leap. Aiden so surely forced to either teleport near immediately else cling to that branch and so slow his pursuit in waiting for it to stop. Matteo teleporting mid-air to return himself to the ground below and yet- this lesson was so hardly done. The Frenchman, this time, waiting only so long as it took his companion to teleport again before appearing abruptly behind him. One hand reached suddenly outward to gently grasp that scruff of of Aiden's neck. Matteo, for the first time, summoning his own teleportation. After all, Aiden's body was surely designed to survive it, was it not? Matteo content to teleport them both.....several hundred feet into the air and above that canopy. The Frenchman rather distinctly relieved to find his son in one piece- though here and now was perhaps not the best of times to inform the boy there had been any doubts. Matteo abruptly releasing his hold upon Aiden then to let him fall. Those clouds so covering the sun afforded the panther every chance to summon those shadows again. The Frenchman allowing himself to fall several feet beside his companion then. The fae near forced to shout above that rushing air. Matteo lingering close just in case he should need to rescue the younger man from that fall.

"This is a very effective way to eliminate your enemies whom cannot teleport. You take them up and you drop them. See, it is very effective!"

In the very least, Aiden would not likely forget a lesson given several hundred feet within the air, even if he had not yet managed to grab that scarf.....


m a t t e o
it's tough to be a god