A Mother's Love|Sensatiamens, Sensatia

[Northen Light36]

Flame was restless tonight, unsure of whether she should look forward to possibly seeing her parents or dread it. What if they hate me now? She shivered and slid out of bed, abandoning any pretense of resting. It wasn't only Spirit Night that bothered her. Flame had an appointment with Mikasi tomorrow morning.

Gemma was home in Fira, but Libre was here and she wanted her brother's reassurance. Barefoot, she barely made any sound at all as she crept through the house to find Libre, reaching out with her empathy to tell him she was unsettled and nervous.

[Kender Bard]

Libre was awake and restless as well. His feelings were much the same as Flame in regards to potentially seeing his parents. Did he disappoint them because he didn't find their killers? He hoped that wasn't the case. On top of it all, he was fairly exhausted, though sleep refused to come.

He sat up in his bed at the sense of Flame in his mind and rubbed the palms of his hands into his eyes to chase the grit and fatigue out of them. ~I'm in my bedroom~ he told her. And it was his bedroom; he didn't use Thelon's old room. That was relatively untouched. Libre didn't like to be in there and he wasn't sure what to do with it, so he ignored it. ~You can come in. I can't sleep.~

[Northen Light36]

Flame hurried to Libre's room and scrambled up on the bed next to him. She was just starting to reach out for a hug when Tres simply appeared in the doorway.

"Hello loves," she greeted her children. "May I come in?" She smiled warmly at the pair of them and waited for permission, just as had been her habit in life. Death did seem to have changed her, but only a little. Tres looked a bit younger then she'd been, but even that could simply be that she appeared less tired and strained then she'd been in life.

[Kender Bard]

Libre had clutched at Flame tightly in surprise, but relaxed his grip. He grew flush and his eyes stung. "Mother!" he called out, tossing aside the bed covers and rising out of the bed hastily. He got halfway to her until he remembered something he'd heard; ghosts cannot be touched.

[Northen Light36]

"I'll take that as a yes," Tres laughed and walked over to let her hand hover just above her son's left cheek. "Ah, I've missed you, Libre." She smiled as Flame walked over and added, "And you too, of course, Flame. I'm so proud of you both for how strong you've been."

[Kender Bard]

Libre struggled not to cry. "You are?" He felt some of the anxiety from his shoulders lift. "I'm doing all I can mother..." He glanced at Flame and held his tongue on more that he would have said.

It's hard... Being strong for her and for everyone else. "Are you happy?"

[Northen Light36]

Tres smiled at Libre. "I know, love, and you've done a fine job so far. Thelon and I are very pleased and proud, particularly with how well you've looked after your sister. And yes, I'm happy. I would have preferred far more time with you both, but we can't have anything. And I know you two will always look like for each other."

She knelt to Flame's level and added softly, "Flame, love, I know how scared you are about tomorrow. But trust Libre to look after you, sweetheart, and try and remember that nothing that happened has been your fault." She looked up at Libre. "And you've done nothing wrong either, little love. Thelon and I both made mistakes in life and they caught up to us. There was nothing you could have done."

[Kender Bard]

Libre nodded, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "Is Father going to be here?" he asked softly. "Why didn't he come with you?"

It was odd. He would have thought he'd have been close to her, even in the afterlife, after all he sacrificed for her revenge.

[Northen Light36]

"Thelon... He still has some adjusting and emotional healing to do," Tres said gently. "He has a lot of regrets about his actions and... He doesn't feel ready to face you two just yet, nor myself either. When he feels better, he'll visit on Spirit Night, I'm sure." She smiled softly and said, "I'm sure we'll both see you next spirit night. Thelon's in the very best hands for healing."

[Kender Bard]

Libre swallowed hard, nodding. He wasn't sure what Tres meant about the best hands for healing.... But at least his father would get the rest he never got in life. "That's fine," he said quietly. "If Father needs time to heal, then I won't begrudge him that." It just would have been nice.

[Northen Light36]

"It's all right to be disappointed, Libre," Tres murmured. "I know you wanted to see us both. It's not fair that you two have both had such a hard time of things, lately."

Flame reached out for her mother's hand, forgetting the situation for a minute, then sighing when her hand just passed through her mother's.

"I miss you too, love," Tres said, seeming to understand Flame's thoughts. "But you're a strong, brave girl. You'll be fine, I promise. You have people here who love you and I'll always be watching over you."

A flicker of doubt crossed Flame's face at that.

Tres frowned and shook her head. "Sweetheart, you're as stubborn as Thelon and I combined. Listen to me. You're just a little girl, despite your gift. None of this was your fault. I don't blame you, your father doesn't blame you and neither will anyone else." She gave Libre a small, slightly sad smile. "Hug your sister for me, Libre love."

[Kender Bard]

Libre was beginning to look confused now, though he bent dutifully and hugged Flame tight. "Why on Naruta would you blame yourself or think that mother or father blame you?" he asked her.

[Northen Light36]

Flame shook her head, not wanting to try and talk about it now. For a second though, her hand lingered over her mind sign.

"Don't push her," Tres murmured. "You'll understand in time. For now, just keep remembering that I love you both with all my heart and soul. And also remember, if you ever need any help, Ann and Shadow will always be willing to give you any support you need. Libre, I know you'll be a wonderful leader for Sensatia. Just don't try and over do things the way Thelon did." She paused, as if listening to something only she could hear, then sighed. "Come on you two, into bed. It's late and you'll have a long day tomorrow. I'll stay until you've fallen asleep."

[Kender Bard]

There was more Libre wanted to talk about with his mother but he couldn't around Flame. "Take Flame to bed," he said. "I'm a bit old for being tucked in and I'm not tired yet. There's still more we have to talk about.... Unless you have to go?"

[Northen Light36]

"I can stay a bit longer," Tres replied, amused. "Come on sweetheart, bedtime."

Flame pouted, but she let Tres lead her to her room and climbed back into bed to snuggle with Secret and listen to a story.

Once Flame was asleep, Tres returned to her son. "Now love, what did you want to talk about?"