wc: 362
It hadn’t even occurred to Ehno to consider how long their son had been dead when Naniko shared the news. Part of him was so resigned to thinking that it would be the inevitable conclusion, that he wasn’t wholly surprised by the news. If there was no escaping that fate, what difference did it make if the monstrous boy had been struck down months ago or days ago? The D’Angelo woman confessed that she should have come to him sooner, and Ehno simply shook his head. “I should have come sooner myself. Maybe we could have done something, if I had.” Only after admitting that did Ehno consider the possibility that, had either of them moved faster, maybe Harlowe could have been salvaged. That was when the first pangs of grief struck the Dreamer. There was the simple fact that their misguided boy was gone, and no matter how terrible he had become, he was still their son. Some small part of him still wanted to mourn, and forget about the tense and hostile feelings that had led him here in the first place.
But Harlowe wasn’t the only child of theirs that needed discussing. Nani continued on to speak more of Harlowe’s actions, briefly mentioning the other pups before questioning what happened to Rio. There was that name, Scorpius, again. Her son. He didn’t know what to think of that, but there were too many swirling thoughts within his head for him to dwell on it for long. “Caprica disappeared shortly after you left. We assumed she had run off to find you, but I take it that wasn’t true.” Amber gaze sought out any indication of confirmation or denial from her. “I haven’t seen Lucia for many months. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was gone too. And Rio…” He paused, taking a deep breath. He was putting this off. Why was this so difficult for him to say? Because saying it out loud might as well be admitting that they had failed their children. “He raped her. Haven found her, took her in. But she ran off not long after,” he said, fists clenching and unclenching as he spoke.