He woke to a familiar voice, and for a moment he sat up, puzzled and shaking his head. The fog of sleep left his head, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the sound had not come from the dreams, but this very real realm. Gvihita groaned from her usual place just outside the window, and he sensed annoyance from her. Taking a moment to double check, he smelled the air - and certainly, there was something familiar! "Hang on!" he said loudly as he scrambled to find his support cane, and got up, shook his head once more to rid himself of the air of sleep, and strode in as large steps as he could towards the Town Hall entrance. Opening it, there was a sight for sore eyes.

She was clearly weary, and as he was not entirely certain what to say, he mumbled in surprise and ushered her inside to sit on his bed - the softest of the seats in the one big room that made up the Town Hall interior. What on Earth had convinced her to walk all this way? Unless Liliana had already take her mount - yes, that must be it. Finally as they were inside and he realized he was forgetting formalia,he opened his arms somewhat as he exclaimed her name. "Chitsa, why..?" he said, reaching towards her for a hug, and perhaps the completion of his own sentence.

Urgh. Grief and moments of disbelief =

She came in and sat, and he finally realized that she was really there as they embraced each other and her scent flooded his nostrils. It was a good scent: it held not just Chitsa, but Amara and Great Tribe too. Though it was faint, there was a remnant of his old life in her, and he relished the flash back in time that she gave him by being here. Even more so, he knew how her scent had changed as she grew from a child, alongside his daughters. She was a comfort, and as they released the hasty hug his ears were perked in anticipation. They only drooped once he studied the details of her being. Though he hadn't seen her in a long time, he still did know her mannerisms.

She always had done that, combing her hair with her fingers when nervous. Nervous, or tired? Chitsa was a fiery soul, and he had always taunted her for it, but there were few flames right then; barely sparks. As she spoke, his suspicion bloomed into full worry and he leaned towards her from where he sat. "What's happened?" he said quietly, worrying for the Tribe as a whole now. Had the sickness returned? What of his daughters? What kind of problems would bring his little sister to travel all the way over here to tell him? Gvihita made no sound now, but he knew she was watching. Finally, her gaze moved to anywhere but his face and she told him - not what had happened, but the result of it. Still, he sat there, puzzled. "What do you mean, gone?" he said at first, even though he had very clearly understood what she had said, as was obvious in is voice. Had he asked her, or himself? An owl screamed from outside somewhere, and Dawali doubted it was coincidence. His voice dabbed off at the end of the sentence and he stared at his hands for a moment before he stood up and moved over to sit next to his sister in silence instead.

Post is made of suck. So's my posting tempo

He sat in silence as she elaborated, although he already knew what she was going to say. He knew, but that didn't mean he wouldn't ask her. Sure, there were details that he did not know, but he wasn't going to deny that he had understood her the first time around. Perhaps if he asked again, at some point there would be another answer, a different answer? There wouldn't be one. He stared at his own hands for a moment before he simply reached over and laid his one arm over the shoulders of his baby sister, still with disbelief clearly painted on his face. Softly, he simply mumbled something in response to her comment about their mother, a deep, soft murmur from his throat dying not long after its creation.

It was strange how he was not angry. Not yet, at least. It was unfair, but his immediate thoughts were selfish and self-pitying. One of these days, he had been telling himself, he would return and show them what had become of their youngest son, the one which had strayed from their patterns and been slow with everything. And of course he wanted to show his mother, still, but there was something missing from the equation now that he could never see his father again, or make him as proud as he had hoped to make him. It was difficult to make a dead person feel something, and it was no easier to know that Dawali had left and never returned, and that his father's spirit would even be far away. He was here, and safe, while his elderly father had succumbed to something which Dawali had fled here to avoid, in a sense. He knew it wasn't like that, but it did feel that way regardless. At least there was Chitsa and Songan.

Brushing wetness from the fine hairs on his face, he sighed. The little moment which had passed had felt like it lasted for a long time, but likely it hadn't. Awkward with his grief, Dawali was not prepared to handle anything like this. Certainly, there had been grief in his life; he had lost siblings, he had lost Noir, he had lost himself at times. But parents lasted forever, did they not? "Were there others? I mean.. are there more bad news?" He didn't know if he could handle any more, and perhaps there was pleading in his eyes. The news had simply crippled his mind, and it could not think straight.

He shook his head as he listened. Many others... but obviously no more of their family? She mentioned a Kotori, and Dawali knew that there were so many things he did not know. He had been gone for a long time; his daughters had drifted from him, his siblings had drifted from him, and his father had died from him. There were many missing in his life, but it would appear that this Kotori was missing in hers, whoever they were. Dawali tightened his grip around her shoulder, wordlessly, and decided not to comment any further. He had faith in his sister: she would tell him the things she wanted to tell him, and he did not have energy to pry now. He did not think she had any energy to share more with him anyways, and he fell silent for a long moment, looking at his feet as his cheeks grew damp and his fingers twitched to brush the humidity away. Finally, he spoke in a low voice. "I am glad you came to tell me, Ayashe." There was no telling why he used her first name, but it felt right. Their parents had chosen it, and one of them were gone. He stayed in the embrace for awhile longer. "You should rest," he said, finally. Pulling away from her. She was clearly weary, and he needed rest himself, after these news.

Okies, this can be my last post, then Close/post - whichever you prefer! #310

The silence they shared was somehow comforting. Doubly so for Dawali: he couldn't find the words, and if his sister had been one of those who needed verbal support, he would certainly have failed. Still, it was strange to have waited for so long to see her face again, and then facing such news when she finally came. Songan - did he know? Surely, he would have told him if he had known before leaving for AniWaya. Dawali squezed his sister's shoulder another time and rose, chuckling darkly at her comment. It was very inappropriate, yet at the same time so fitting. "I pray it is a long time from now, however." he said solemnly. "Let's do our part to make it so; we should both sleep." Still, he knew his sister; it was a fight already lost, and he would not argue. He mostly said it for the point of saying it - and at a later point, he could say he told her so.

She asked if he was hungry, and though he might have been, he now simply felt weary. If he would not sleep now, he would go for a walk. He would either rest, or go be alone - as alone he could be with Gvihita at his side. The eagle had sat in the window slit for some time, probably, though he had only noticed her now. Still, despite himself, he nodded at his sister's question. "Perhaps I should eat - there is plenty of food in the food shelves—" he pointed to a shelf along the wall. "Help yourself to anything, Ulv". He walked over to his table and sat, watching his sister and what she might do. Despite her grave news, it was so good to have another Amara near his new home, and the scent and sight of her warmed him.