by SunnyJustice » Wed Dec 28, 2016 7:01 pm
[Timpani was in the living room with Silas, this entire time. XD]
Timpani nodded. She was pretty content to answer questions from a reasonable person. If Erin had been an intruder, she would have snapped his neck and thrown him out, with the same calm attitude she was showing now. Timpani was getting sick of the soldiers trying to wreck her home, and she wouldn't even care about killing some more.
"Just go upstairs. The bathroom's just on the right. You should take a shower, unless there's already a lineup."
She had to think about why people would attack Windwoods.
"Alastair hates us. I did terrible in history class. You might want to ask Tacet that instead."
Cyprian frowned at the couch. He was 6'2" and definitely weighed the most compared to anyone else in the group. If he slept on the couch, he would probably break a spring or two. He would toss and turn in his sleep often.
Of course, Cyprian just took Jaai's words at face value so he wasn't embarrassed or anything. "We were supposed to sleep outside, but scratch that. They did mention guest rooms," he said. "Ari, Laurel, and Rose are already upstairs. Bet they've got the girls' room set up. You gonna go join them?"
Rowan was overcome by a feeling of almost motherly protectiveness, as Silas looked up at him. His instinct was to continue cradling the boy for the rest of his life. He never wanted to let people go, even though he knew he eventually needed to. Rowan couldn't hug somebody forever. He just wished he could.
"I'm sorry for everything that has happened here. I hope you can breathe more easily now," Rowan said as he rubbed Silas' back gently. He really did not want to let go. Rowan was exhausted and he wanted to fall asleep hugging someone.
Cilan came from a ridiculously honest family. He couldn't tell the difference, so he assumed Mallory was actually laughing at his joke. "Oh, right. I forgot. I thought you were half cat," he teased. "Nah I'm just kidding. I'm not really a cat person, to be completely honest with you."
His memory was blurrier than usual. Maybe a side effect from being shot in the head, but it would probably wear off soon. "I just remember we were little kids," he said when Mallory brought up the day they met. "I would probably remember more, but getting an arrow in the head isn't the best memory enhancer!"
To be honest, he did have to admire how well she could shoot a bow. Cilan didn't even remember the exact moment he found himself making eye contact with Clotilda and not Mallory. Come to think of it... Clotilda was probably jealous of his death. Her own demise was unnecessarily gruesome and agonizing. Of course she would envy him!
"Speaking of that. You're really good. Just saying," he chuckled. "It wasn't a blink-and-you'll-miss-it sort of thing. I swear on Solara's light I didn't blink, but I still missed it."
Upon seeing the death and destruction Alastair's soldiers left in their wake, Tacet felt a sinking feeling in his heart. These were women and men he grew up alongside. This beautiful village had taken countless generations to build into such a glorious paradise. In the matter of a few hours, it had all come undone, everything Tacet had ever known.
"I'm sorry, Guinevere," he whispered and turned in the other direction. He couldn't make out anyone in the mess. The remains didn't look remotely recognizable. It made Tacet's already weak stomach do a flip.
He held Gwen tighter, almost trying to shield her from the gruesome sight as he walked towards the mansion. Just the sight of this ruin was worsening Tacet's decline. His limbs felt heavy and cold, but he knew he couldn't sleep. If he didn't get sunlight soon then he would never wake up. Tacet needed to be here for the village. He couldn't let them down.