TRALALALA

Rarely did not he think of her anymore. At least during the waking hours. A month and a half was hardly time to forget the death of one's beloved. When the scar across his eye had seemed too well healed he once more shut his eye tight and laid a searing stick across his face, burning again the already charred flesh. The sting served as a beautiful distraction for hardly could he blink or change the direction of his gaze without sharp pain. Finding his reflection in a pool of water revealed that slowly he was coming to look just a little more like Jefferson, though if anyone else saw the resembled they said not a word. Jace and Temo grew busy with their expanding family and Rendall and Noah seemed to be laying low lately. Ookami too seemed to be keeping to himself after Adonia's disappearance. This he could not fault the man for, but part of Pripyat yearned for the faces of his childhood. The eyes that had looked upon his father and would look upon him and say: "Yes, there is a likeliness there."

Yet Jefferson too Pripyat chased from his thoughts. The man too might sneak into dreams, though Arye had a strong hold in his subconscious that she was unwilling to give up. Nightly she came to him and he woke always with a cry that resounded in the echoing walls of Gampo Abbey. If he disturbed any of the other Herald class that resided there they never chided him. He built the morning fire in which he cooked a small breakfast, for himself and the others if they wished, and then went about his business. By the time he left the Abbey in the morning to make rounds of the border and gather and cure more wood for his fires Arye, his father and whatever lingering ghosts haunted him were forgotten until that night when he laid himself to rest again.

Nearly it was time to lay himself to rest once more, but Pripyat did not head directly to the Abbey. Tonight he moved among the other dwellings, as he often had in the earliest days of Ichika. Seeing the warmth from the windows of the claimed homes, the small fires outside of the dens of others, or simply knowing that Ichikans dwelt within certain walls was a comfort to the man. Yet as he passed Cerne Rise a heavy stone seemed to drop in his stomach. The apartment that had once been the most populated home in Ichika was now mostly desolate.

They had been of Dahlia, those that had swarmed to Cerne Rise. Yet when the mateship of Gideon and Nayru failed that had been the first link to break their strong family chain. Then the ebony cripple had left and slowly, one by one after him, the others. Siku came and went and came again, but the last time she went she had taken Saul with her it seemed. The Dawnrunner woman was gone, for as short a time as she had been there, and only the three youngest remained. Melee and Range seemed to spend more time away from the empty home than ever, and so Pripyat was surprised to come across the last of the trio.

"Wretch?" The name seemed foreign on his lips, for although he knew them all, brothers and sisters of Ichika, the man had scarcely made friends with many of them. Still on two legs the brutish fellow moved forward and clasped his hands together, giving the girl the customary bow without the words. "Evening, Wretch. Going home for the night?" Yet the words faltered, for Pripyat was unsure if anyone could call Cerne home anymore.