Life's Painful Moments (Shadow and family)

[Northen Light36]

Shadow frowned slightly. "Be wary of power grabs from some of the nobility," he warned thoughtfully. "I don't think anyone's stupid enough to try anything violent, but be careful of those trying to be the power behind the scenes. Some of them will try and manipulate their way into Flash's position, then from there manipulate you and Lumi into making mistakes."

Concern crossed his face and he added, "Be very careful of Luminous too. She's a headstrong young woman these days and some of our more troublesome nobles have attractive young sons who aren't above getting Luminous into trouble. I've already spoken to Amaro Melissan-Ronoh and he's agreed to give you and Lumi his support, which will help you. His bloodline is as old as the Brightmore line, that lends weight to his words." Shadow frowned a little more. "Some will try to play our families against each other in order to weaken your support. Watch out for trickery along those lines in particular. For now at least you'll need the Melissan-Ronoh's support, but you're better then dealing with them then I am. Talk to them. Lord Melissan-Ronoh has some good ideas for protecting both our families."

[Kender Bard]

At least she wouldn't be left completely to swim in the dangerous waters alone. That was a relief. "I will, later." She smiled suddenly at something he said. "If you're concerned that Luminous will be tricked into an affair, I wouldn't be too worried. She seems to be quite enamored with young Lucid, Cascata's son, and good friends with the young Lord Tristan as well." Her smile dimmed a touch. "I'm more worried about her tendency to use a smart mouth when unamused."

Oh well. Lya recalled that she had better manners than that at Luminous's age, but she remembered Laura being quite as sassy. At least she had experience there.

"It's going to be hard to raise Damien without you." Her expression fell to a sorrowful look. "He loves you so much. If there's any concern of the nobility trying to corrupt someone, it's through him as he grows older without you to guide and protect him."

[Northen Light36]

Shadow winced at the mention of his son, then forced a slight smile. "He seems pretty attached to Aly and little Lillian Sanderson these days, and they both seem to be sensible girls. I'd encourage those friendships - particularly with Lillian, since she lives in Maelstrom. At the very least, he's likely to tell them anything that happens to him and they're likely to talk to an adult or their older siblings."

He sighed. "It's not a perfect solution, since Dami is likely to be difficult as he grows up, but it's something. If you're ever worried about his attitude or the company he's keeping, I'm sure Ann or Artica would be willing to take him in for awhile and give him some time to think and get his priorities in order." He chuckled softly and added, "Aly certainly won't tolerate any nonsense from him."

[Kender Bard]

"No she won't," Lya agreed quietly. She'd have to ponder that problem later. She held Shadow tightly again. "I'll miss you," she admitted. She felt the bitter sadness well up within her again and had to bite down on a sudden whimpering sob. "We might have needed our space but I never wanted to say goodbye forever."

[Northen Light36]

"I'll miss you too," Shadow murmured softly, sorrow creaping into his tone. "I don't want to say goodbye either but... It would have been harder to face tomorrow without having even had the chance to see you again."

[Kender Bard]

A very faint blush touched Lya's cheeks. It was strangely comforting to know he still cared for her, at least that much. Judging by her reaction to the whole thing, she still cared too. "What's it like to have a Force inside you?" she asked lightly, curiously.

[Northen Light36]

"A little strange," Shadow admitted with a smile. "Particularly with Efil needs to take control. But it's not unpleasant, at all. Strange, but comforting really."

[Kender Bard]

"Can she hear me?" Lya asked.

Efil gave off waves of amusement.

"I'm getting distracted," Lya added hastily. "I guess I don't want to think about things too closely."

[Northen Light36]

"She can," Shadow replied with an amused smile, though it dimmed quickly. "You're not alone in that, Lya," he sighed. "I don't think anyone is going to want to think about things too closely tonight."

He thought of Ann and felt even more troubled. He needed to be with his family tonight and would be, but she was family too in his mind. The little Fire girl who'd won his heart the first time he'd seen her. But his actual daughter came first. He'd just have to hope she'd gone to Kara.

[Kender Bard]

"What did you want to do?" Lya asked him softly. "You should be entitled to whatever you like on the last-- on tonight."

[Northen Light36]

Shadow sighed. "I wanted to spend time with my family. You, Dami, Lumi, Ann, Aly and Shade. But given things are a bit... tense between the girls right now, I think it's best if we just go get Dami and Lumi. We can find somewhere quiet, maybe arrange a nice family picnic together." He smiled a little. "I don't think we've done anything like that since Lumi was a little girl."

[Kender Bard]

"We haven't," Lya agreed with a small smile. "I think I'd really like that as well."