[Whether it was recent, whether it was months old, it hardly matters to Eridanus—not when the look he shoots her over his shoulder is very much the stern insistence of a parent. He suddenly stops in his cleaning, and straightens. His body is rigid, that familiar stern expression of a scolding plainly worn on his face but when he returns to Riley, there is no reprimand on his tongue. He looks down at her, rather, with understanding.]

We are not Soelbergs, [his tone is firm, dispelling the fantasy of their previous lives,] we are not tied by blood, dearest Riley, but by destiny.

[Eridanus then holds one of her bloodied, fiery feathers before her aquiline gaze and twists it between his glittering talons.]

My house — the Sungazer house — is a proud family. We have faced many challenges, both within and without. Yet time and again, we rise... and do you know why? It is because we are like the phoenix in which we bare the sigil of. She rises from her ashes, time and again, screaming her birth cry towards the everlasting sun in oath to keep going.

[He places the feather back into the crook of his arm, before walking the small, collected pile towards the garbage can. There, he drops them in, as if it were the very symbolism of shedding the old and embracing the new.]

We are not blood, but you are a Sungazer, Riley. You are a phoenix and you will overcome any adversity that comes your way, I promise you this, [Eridanus glances at her, again over his shoulder, as his tone goes soft,] but if ever it is hard, and you need someone to be the wind beneath your wings, you must call me. I will fly to your side, no matter what.