by Pistol Annie #1 NPC » Wed Dec 28, 2016 9:07 pm
[It's the Tenuto family's mansion. The owner is Cadence Tenuto, and her husband Tacet. Their kids are Casedy, Gavotte, and Guinevere. Gwen is adopted.]
Cyprian thought about that. "Bet they wouldn't fall for it. Too loud downstairs," he laughed. It had been especially loud because he was 'fighting' Rowan. To be honest, now he was ashamed of himself. Hitting a healer. A healer who was too weak to do anything but probably cry for his mommy. Cyprian had probably passed out not because of Rowan, but because he hit his head on some invisible barrier from Cadence or something. Yeah. That was it. Rowan was too weak to fight.
Cyprian followed Jaai down the hall at a slower pace. When he saw the door, he squinted at it and tugged on the doorknob. He could feel years of rust crumbling in his hands. "How old is this place?"
"Thank you." Rowan said in his soft voice, as the boy fell asleep in his arms. Silas thought he was 'really cool', which meant 'not an evil person', right? Rowan wanted so desperately to be a good person.
"I was born a healer, but with the fire element, because of my bloodline. Naturally a healer could be any element except fire, the most destructive. I was an exception," Rowan explained. He was aware that Silas had already fallen asleep at this point. He heard a commotion at the front door though, so he had to set Silas down on the couch. There was probably something he needed to address over there.
"I will be alright for now," Tacet said softly. They were approaching the house. He just needed to hold out until he could get there. He quickened his pace, and surprisingly his knees didn't buckle yet. Soon he reached the porch and he staggered through the threshold of the broken door.
Cadence looked furious upon seeing him. She had been holding a sleeping Gavotte in her arms, but she put him down on the carpet and took Guinevere from her husband. Cadence put her down on the stairs. Tacet couldn't endure anymore and collapsed onto the floor.
"Stay awake," Cadence ordered sharply. "Rowan! Get over here immediately!"
Rowan entered the front foyer surprisingly quickly. "Ms. Tenuto?"
"Help Tacet," Cadence told him. "Right now."
Rowan nodded obediently. Tacet's vision was growing blurry, and he could tell Rowan's gaze wouldn't be enough to sustain him. It was only Solara's eyes he could photosynthesize from. The artificial light indoors, the fireplace, the healer boy's eyes... none of them were adequate to keep him alive. He needed the light of the sun.
Rowan came over, and placed a hand on Tacet's shoulder. It was so warm and comforting. Almost like his supper last night, which consisted of sunbathing on the back lawn. Although the boy's healing ability blocked out the pain, it wasn't doing anything to genuinely heal Tacet.
"I can't heal starvation," Rowan murmured. "I'm sorry. If there's anything else I can do..."
"... The Ice Summoner..." Tacet whispered.
Cadence immediately raised her voice to ridiculous proportions. "JAAI PELLION! We need you down here AT ONCE! And you better be ready to use your power NOW!"
Tacet smiled gratefully at his wife. Rowan was the only one stopping him from keeling over right now. He was so tired and desperately wanted to sleep, but he just needed to hang on.
This was worse than his experiment. Five years ago, Tacet had skipped his evening meal and stayed inside, just to see what effect it would bring. He had almost died. Queen Solara had to come from Parliament to save his life. Only by looking into her eyes did he survive the night. The time he skipped his meal for an experiment, there was at least light coming in through the windows. Now there was no sunlight at all.
This was it for him. He just needed to ensure his body was preserved, so his daughter could bring him back eventually. Tacet would wake up when the sun rose again.
Whenever that was.
"The Phantomstriker is coming. You will all die, surrender to the crown or you will all die."
Cadence got so angry when she heard this. Especially when the screams of agony started sounding from far away. What the disgrace was going on? Her husband was going to die, she was not in the mood for this ridiculous behavior.
She ripped the door off its remaining hinge with telekinesis and slammed it aside. There was a man running around near the central fountain, panicking and repeating his nonsensical message.
"TEENAGERS these days!" Cadence shouted in a rage. "Pipe down or you will feel your elder's wrath!"
She turned back to Rowan, who was holding Tacet. The healer boy looked petrified with horror. "What is your problem?" Cadence snapped at him. She shoved Rowan aside and picked up her husband like she would hold a child.
"I can feel their fear," Rowan whispered with a shiver. "The man outside is telling the truth. More soldiers are coming, and I don't know how quickly."
Without even hesitating, the boy ran outside in the cold.
"Foolish teenager," muttered Cadence.
Rowan ran across the ruined ground with quick, elegant strides. He didn't look back, nor did he pause once. He could sense a crippling feeling of hysterical fear from the man at the fountain. Without a doubt, the soldier was forced to do this. Something far darker and deadlier than any soldier was behind this.
When he reached the fountain, Rowan realized he was unarmed. That was okay. The soldier didn't have a weapon either. He looked completely out of his mind, like he was tormented by something beyond his control.
"We have heard you," Rowan said gently. "Please. You can stop now. What I'm about to do isn't anything personal, I promise. I have no quarrel with you or anybody."
He approached the guard slowly, with deliberate steps.
"I am going to give you a hug. Is that alright?" Rowan's voice was barely a whisper.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
[Good night guys. I'm going to bed, so the guard will become a night-light tomorrow. XD]