The Demons of Solaris Moore (Pt3)

“So you’re Ashvon’s issue?” was the first thing the demoness she’d been imprisoned with said to Sol. She bristled.

“I’m nobody’s problem, and certainly not his!” Solaris hissed, “He’s the one being a bother to me!” The demoness stared at her, and then laughed.

“No, no- I just mean- he’s your sire. You’re his offspring. Spawn. Whatever humans call it.”

“Daughter?” Sol asked scathingly. The demoness gave her a strange look.

“I thought you weren’t claiming a relationship with him?” The demoness ventured, “He’s always whining about how you want nothing to do with him. Has that changed?”

“No!” Sol refuted, “I’d be thrilled if he just left me alone.” The demoness nodded.

“Right, so not his daughter. His issue.”

“He doesn’t need to solve me,” Sol told her scathingly, “He just needs to leave me alone.”

“No- that’s not-” The demoness scowled, “Damn I don’t know enough about humans to make sense of this tangle. He is your sire. He biologically contributed to you.”

“Yes,” Sol agreed suspiciously, “That’s correct.”

“But he’s NOT your dad- you don’t want anything to do with him.”

“Also correct,” Sol agreed, waiting for the punchline.

“So you are not father-daughter, you are sire-issue.” The light dawned.

“Oh- I hadn’t heard issue used that way. You mean he’s my sperm donor.” The demoness choked.

“Humans are rather crude about it!” She snickered, “What on earth do they use for the child end of it?”

“I don’t think humans have a term like that for child, other than maybe offspring. But nothing used regularly.” Sol was feeling much more affable now that she knew she wasn’t being insulted or presumed upon.

“Well then- what do you use as the legal term?” The demoness asked curiously, “To differentiate?”

“The law doesn’t differentiate?” Sol told her with a wrinkled brow, “Does- does demon law?”

“Well, yes.” The demoness blinked at Sol wide-eyed, “We have different terms for a biological contributor, a nurturer, or a legacy. All are different.”

“I don’t even know what that last one is,” Sol put forth, baffled.

“Oh- it’s when someone adopts a young adult, or perhaps just shy of adulthood, in order to pass down knowledge or a title or some such. The rearing is done, so they are not a parent properly, but it is a closer bond than a sire or dam. Mentor might be the best translation.” The demoness shrugged, leaning back, “Everyone thought Ashvon would do that, probably in the next century or so. Now… things are less clear.”

“I don’t want his titles,” Sol told her, glaring.

“He cannot give them to you without your permission.” the demoness agreed, “It’s why things are unclear. He doesn’t have claim as your father, and so he claws at the door of your good opinion, promising treasure.”

“What’s the difference, legally, between a sire and a father?” Sol asked slowly. The demoness barked a laugh.

“The whole world!” She told Sol cheerfully, “A biological donor is-is almost a non-entity. They’re first in line to become a proper parent if the child is in need, but that’s pretty much it. They don’t have any rights to the kid, and the kid only has a right to their medical history.”

“Great, exactly where I want Ashvon.” Sol agreed.

“To his despair! He wants to be your father- your proper parent. To have rights to your time, to defend and provide for you, to name you his heir, to have you live with him- all the things a parent can do. But you’re old enough that your opinion matters, and so he cannot simply declare himself your father.”

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