Savages of the Sacred Salvage
It seems the most reasonable solution to you. Send him somewhere full of new faces, with honest work to be done and no reminders of Akema, nor easy access to the Pavilion or the locusts of Hell, and he'll surely come to his senses in time. Your husband expresses some doubts, but agrees without argument because really, what other options are there?
You all make the pilgrimage to see Bainto's cousins and uncles, in an out of the way herding village far from the Bright Gods or the war with Hell. Chameek is moody the entire time and makes a scene when he learns you plan to leave him there, but Bainto made sure to prepare the others in advance for how emotional he could be and his kin are remarkably patient. One of Bainto's cousins has a comely daughter who even seems to find your over dramatic son's tales of tragic lost love to be endearing and romantic, and you leave hoping she might take pity on him in more ways than one. Chameek himself is reserved and seemingly resigned by the time you leave.
"I'm glad we did this," Bainto remarks on the way home. "It was good to see the family again, and soon these old bones will put up too much of a fuss to make anymore long journeys like that. And Chameek seems to have settled down by the end."
You agree that the visit was lovely, and that your son seems likely to regain his senses before long. "Everything will be fine."
Paita makes a hearty stew of bloodfruit and starchy roots when you return, and for awhile everything is fine.
And then you get the news: Chameek slipped off in the night, three days after you left. No one knows where he was heading, but you can take a guess...
You all make the pilgrimage to see Bainto's cousins and uncles, in an out of the way herding village far from the Bright Gods or the war with Hell. Chameek is moody the entire time and makes a scene when he learns you plan to leave him there, but Bainto made sure to prepare the others in advance for how emotional he could be and his kin are remarkably patient. One of Bainto's cousins has a comely daughter who even seems to find your over dramatic son's tales of tragic lost love to be endearing and romantic, and you leave hoping she might take pity on him in more ways than one. Chameek himself is reserved and seemingly resigned by the time you leave.
"I'm glad we did this," Bainto remarks on the way home. "It was good to see the family again, and soon these old bones will put up too much of a fuss to make anymore long journeys like that. And Chameek seems to have settled down by the end."
You agree that the visit was lovely, and that your son seems likely to regain his senses before long. "Everything will be fine."
Paita makes a hearty stew of bloodfruit and starchy roots when you return, and for awhile everything is fine.
And then you get the news: Chameek slipped off in the night, three days after you left. No one knows where he was heading, but you can take a guess...