Better to burn out then fade|Clan Fira-Rccus

[Kender Bard]

~She won't~ Thelon 'mumbled,' his inner thoughts slipping into his projection. ~Tres... is... Come home Artica. Tres and Zap are... They... died.~

[Northen Light36]

Wh-what? Artica's mind voice was shaken, then furious suddenly. No. No they're not. That's not... How could you say something like that, Thelon?!

[Kender Bard]

~Yes, they are~ Thelon answered, keeping his mind voice level. ~If you don't believe me, then I will have Aideen tell you as well. But if you love her, you won't make her do that.~

[Northen Light36]

As quickly as it had flared, the shild of anger fell apart against the blow of Thelon's flat statement of fact. No... No... No... The thought echoed over and over again in Artica's mind, as though denial could bring her siblings back to life. How? Why? The second, desperate and broken sounding, word wasn't really intended for Thelon, but it was there.

She'd stopped dead when Thelon had told her that her brother and sister were dead, making the servant who'd been escorting her look concerned. Now, as Artica sank to her knees and started to sob, the servant decided it'd be best to fetch Ann and ran to do so.

[Kender Bard]

~I'm sorry~ he whispered to Arctica and then withdrew his mental presence and glanced at Secret again. ~Where's Gemma?~

[Northen Light36]

~The other half of the clan,~ Secret replied. ~Looking after Artica's daughter.~

Flame squirmed out of Thelon's arms and bent down to pick up Secret so she could bury her face in her cat's fur, though she remained utterly silent. Secret purred soothingly and nuzzled the unhappy little girl. Flame nodded, apparently in responce to something the cat had said and stepped back close to her father, still holding Secret tightly.

[Kender Bard]

Thelon's fingertips stroked over the top of Flame's head. He felt just a little silly for asking advice from a cat but he needed someone who wasn't drowning in grief to help him think more clearly through his own. ~Should we all go there?~ It seemed like a good idea. The children could remain relatively close to their mother and he'd be able to speak with Gemma himself.

[Northen Light36]

~I think that would be wise. The little ones shouldn't be here in any case and they'll want to stay close to you,~ Secret told Thelon.

As though to show her agreement with that, Flame shifted to hold Secret with one hand and grip her father's arm tightly in the other.

[Kender Bard]

Right... Thelon shifted his hold on Libre to free his arm enough to touch two fingers to his forehead and quickly teleported the pair to the second half of Fira. ~Gemma~ he called out. ~I'm here with Flame and Libre. We need you. Now.~

[Northen Light36]

Coming, Gemma replied. Soon enough she joined the rest of her family, but the warm smile she had faded as soon as she took in everyone's expressions. "What is it? What's happened?" Noticing who wasn't there, she added, "Is Mum hurt or something?"

[Kender Bard]

Thelon let go of the two children for the moment to step closer to Gemma. "She's gone, Gemma." ~I told Artica.~ Though he wasn't actually saying much, the tense tone of his physical voice and the trembling mindvoice from a man who otherwise always gave a sense of control and purpose revealed just how distressed Thelon was.

[Northen Light36]

Gemma closed her eyes for a moment, silently pushing her own grief at the news aside for a moment and ignoring the memories those words stirred up. She could scream, cry and throw up later, right now her father needed her. "Oh... Dad..." She took a deep breath and hugged Thelon tightly. "It's okay, dad. We'll be okay. It will be all right." How? What happened? she asked silently. Uncle Zap was coming to visit. Do you want me to tell him? What do you need me to do? I can look after Libre and the girls until Artica gets home if you need some time alone.

Under the cool logic of her mental voice, there was a twisting, sickening note of suppressed grief. Doing things, keeping useful, that was Gemma's shield against the pain of losing her mother a second time.

[Kender Bard]

Oh Thuoth. Thelon though. He should have mentioned Zap at the same time he mentioned Tres; however, it was easy to lose track of a man he'd never been on easy terms with in lieu of the loss of his wife.

~I just want you to be with us. The family needs to be together now. It wasn't just Tres we lost, Gemma. It was Zap too. We're not sure how yet. Aideen is going to contact Tavia in order to determine that.~ Even as he spoke, he stepped closer to try to pull Gemma into his arms.

[Northen Light36]

Gemma swayed slightly in her father's arms, shaken by the second agonising emotional blow in as many minutes. Gemma had always been close to her uncle, in some ways even closer then she was to her parents. Losing both her mother AND her favourite uncle was too much. "I..." She trailed off and started to sob.

[Kender Bard]

Thelon tightened his grip around her, gently, and held her tight. He'd come in too late in her life to be a truly pivotal parental figure in her life, but he still considered her as much his daughter as his other two children, even if they didn't see one another as much, and it twisted his pained heart even more to see her breaking down like that. He lowered his head until his mouth was against her hair. "I'm so sorry," he murmured. "Shh... I know."

Libre felt it was a good time to draw close to his father again and took Flame by the hand as he did so, coming to give Gemma a hug as well.