In Our Time of Sorrow (Bas, Pas and Luminous)

[Northen Light36]

Bas and Pas wandered through the Sanctuary, careful to avoid the area the healers had set up. There were things they simply didn't want to see. But their younger siblings, Dami and Dami's friend Alyssa, were all tucked away in a quiet area. The twins knew Robin and Letha would keep Lillian in line and it was painfully hard to be near their cousins while knowing that Talon was never coming home. So by mutual agreement, they'd set out to find Luminous and see if she wanted their company and support.

Finally spotting the young woman, Pas called out softly, "Want some company, Lumi?"

[Kender Bard]

Luminous looked up with a start. She'd been sitting, a creased and hastily folded letter on her lap, staring off into the distance. She scrubbed at her red and puffy eyes. "Y-" she cleared her throat, tried again and managed a hoarse murmur, "Yes please."

[Northen Light36]

Pas and Bas sat on either side of Luminous, providing a comforting presence but staying quiet for a long moment. Finally Bas sighed and reached out to place a hand gently on top of Luminous' hand. "You looked deep in thought. Want to talk?"

Pas gave her a sad smile and murmured, "We know a little of how you're feeling, after all. It hurts to lose a parent and yet..."

"It's hard not to be angry when there's an element of choice behind it," Bas finished softly.

[Kender Bard]

Luminous swallowed hard and nodded, rapidly. "And it goes beyond that. I've been mad at him, I guess, for longer than I anticipated. And now he's gone. A part of me wants to go running out to where all the Chosen went so I can see him, but I know that's stupid and such. Of course I won't do it. But I feel like that if I'm watching, it won't happen. He'll come back."

She took a shuddering breath. "Do you two feel similar??

[Northen Light36]

"No," Bas said softly. "Maybe once I would have, but... I watched Echo, my birth mother, die. She died, by her own request, at my father's hand. For the longest time I couldn't deal with what I'd seen and I pushed it away. I held to anger and hate until, when I finally had a chance to speak to her again, I lashed out in rage and hurt her." She glanced at Pas and smiled sadly. "And my twin in the process." She sighed and patted Luminous' hand gently. "So no, I don't feel like you do because I know watching only adds to the pain. No matter what, it is a dagger blow to the heart and somehow we have to live with it."

Pas reached out to take Luminous' other hand and murmured, "The pain never stops, not entirely, but... it fades, eventually. In time you don't feel it so constantly or so rawly, and you move on with living. Having people who love you around you helps a little." He looked at the folded parchment in Luminous' lap and didn't ask about it, only reached out to draw her into a hug. "We'll be there for you, Lumi. Always."

Bas nodded, reaching out to join the hug. "No matter what, we'll be by your side."

[Kender Bard]

Luminous huddled between her two friends, sniffling. She didn't cry, though her eyes burned. Briefly, she wondered if perhaps she'd cried all the tears she could possibly hold in the past two days. "I still don't know how we're going to cope. The family. Let alone the country..." But the two were inextricably bound. "How long did it take you to forgive your mother, Bas?"

[Northen Light36]

Bas was silent for a long moment, considering her answer thoughtfully. Without noticing, she reached out to stroke Smudge as her companion nuzzled against her. Finally she spoke, her voice soft and sad. "It's hard to say. If I had to pick a moment, I think..." She paused again, considering. "Probably just after Lilly was born. When our 'grandmother' was trying to take us from Muma and Father. Robin and Letha were so upset and scared and I was just so angry that my family was being hurt like this. I'd have done anything to stop them being hurt. I think that was when I really understood what happened with Echo. She didn't want to leave us, to die, but her brother and sister were hurting. I was hurting. And she was prepared to do anything to stop that."

She sighed and smiled a little. "I can't call her my mother, not really. I was too angry to love her for too long. But I understand now that she loved me, and Muma and Father, so much that she gave her life to protect us. And I understand now how powerful that feeling is. I'd have done the same thing if I was in her position, so how can I hate her for it?"

"Losing Uncle Talon is going to hurt Muma as badly as losing Uncle Vortai did but..." Pas smiled a little. "There's comfort in knowing he stepped forward because he loves us and is protecting us. In some ways that's better then when Muma and Uncle Amaro are on a job. At least..." He swallowed hard as tears stung his eyes. "At least we know what's happened. With Muma and uncle Amaro... There's always a chance they just won't come home and we'll never know for sure how or why we lost them."

[Kender Bard]

Luminous pressed her lips into a thin line as she stood up, putting her letter into her pocket. "I wish I wasn't here," she said. "Especially when there's nothing coming back to me. I'm not even sure if there'll be a bo... A body. I almost want to take mother and Dami and go home."

[Northen Light36]

Bas and Pas exchanged a long look before coming to a decision. "If that's what you decide to do, one of us will come with you," Pas offered.

"One of us should stay to help Aries with the little twins," Bas added. "But we don't both need to be here. Do you want to talk to your mother about leaving? We can come with you."

[Kender Bard]

Luminous gave it some serious thought. "I'm not sure," she finally admitted. "Do you think there's any reason I should stay here...? Father is, effectively, dead. Though the battle isn't won yet... Or maybe it is. I'm not sure. How would we know? Surely someone would tell us."

She was fretting and she knew it, but what else to do? "It's got to be better than just worrying here."

[Northen Light36]

"I think we'd know if the battle was over," Bas murmured. One way or another, she thought grimly. She had a feeling that if the Forces lost, the demons would be on them before they had a chance to blink.

The twins exchanged another look before Pas spoke up. "You can only do what you think is best for your family, Lumi. If you think you can do more at home, then that's what you should do. It's a fair hike to Maelstrom, but we might be able to find faster transport in Ilyamen."

Bas smiled slightly to herself at the 'we'. She knew that, if Luminous left, it would be Pas who accompanied her.

[Kender Bard]

"Let's talk to mother," Luminous agreed, making her way back to where she last saw her mother.

Lya looked strikingly similar to how Luminous had, having also been crying. She was sitting with Dami on her lap, holding him close as she stroked his head and gazed off into the distance. She blinked as Luminous approached. "Yes dear?" she asked, her voice soft and hoarse.

"We should go," Luminous told her mother.

Lya shook her head.

[Northen Light36]

Dami looked up at his sister and shook his head before twisting to bury his face into his mother and sniffle.

Bas and Pas exchanged an uncomfortable look, not sure what to say or if they should say anything. Finally Pas said quietly, "Lumi would really prefer to be at home."

[Kender Bard]

"There's no point in staying here," Luminous added.

Lya stroked Dami's head gently as she spoke in a soft voice, "Your father is dying. It's the least we can do to stay."

"But why?" Luminous asked with frustration. "We've said our goodbye. We aren't going to watch him... watch him go. I don't want to see his body." If there even will be one.

"That's not the point," Lya said. "It's... Closure. The waiting is a part of that. And, in a way, by staying we're with him in spirit. Furthermore, what if there's demons prowling just outside the Sanctuary?"

[Northen Light36]

"Then we could come back," Pas murmured. It really felt uncomfortable to be arguing with Lya, but this was what Luminous wanted.