<10> Both of them nodded with some hesitation. “And… with our mom, too.” Rather than appear at ease, however, Summer’s blush intensified, and a goofy grin appeared on her face. “Holy shit… HOLY SHIT… d’you think Mom and Dad might…?” The three looked back out the window to find Rainier and Vivine laughing far more casually with each other. “They could,” Athilis reasoned. “I wouldn’t say no. I mean, Mom could probably use being with someone her own age, right?” “Relatively,” Gianna agreed and nodded. “You think she’d stop stuff with us?” “I kinda doubt it. We’ll have to talk about it I guess,” figured Athilis. “Then I have one last question,” Summer interjected and looked back out the window, bouncing up and down on her knees subtly. “... can I watch?” While Athilis and Gianna couldn’t help but admire their little sister’s… boldness, they dared not answer in an effort to temper their running wild minds. All three of them ducked, however, when they saw Rainier stand, then offer a hand to Vivine to help her up. From the other room, Rowan quizzically watched the three crawl on their hands and knees back to where they’d been recovering before, but said nothing as Rainier and Vivine entered once again. The two of them split, with Vivine returning to her children, while Rainier, surprisingly, approached his brother. Seated in his recliner with a book in his hands, Rowan peered up at him for a quiet moment. “... Yes?” Rainier inhaled deeply through his nose. “I’m… sorry we don’t visit more.” Rowan cocked an eyebrow. “Summer visits me plenty. [i]You[/i] don’t ever visit unless you need more fireweed.” “Yeah. I’m sorry about that.” “You should be,” Rowan uttered and got up from his chair, but a strange flicker appeared in his eyes as his rigid demeanor softened a bit. “Is it… because of…?” He gestured toward his partner in the room behind him. Rainier was visibly taken aback? “What? Fuck no. It’s… uh….” Rowan looked visibly relieved, then saddened. “It’s the Mom thing, huh?” The hulking warrior deflated. “Yeah. The Mom thing.” “Well, would it make you feel better if I told you I didn’t like it any more than you did? Frankly she was [i]stifling[/i] after Dad died. The only reason she treated me like she did was because I naturally [i]wanted[/i] to study druidism.” “She liked everything you did. Always did,” Rainier corrected gently. “You couldn’t do jack shit wrong. And honestly, I didn’t think you saw it.” Rowan suddenly felt more intimidated than he’d expected and took a seat in his recliner again. “I… I’m so-” “Apologizing is pointless,” Rainier returned stiffly. “You didn’t actually do anything wrong. Mom’s the fuck-up, but I figured you’d turn feral on me if I ever said that to your face. Could blame it on Dad dying I guess, but that’s too easy for me. She was like that when he was alive, too. I just figured you were probably too young to notice.” Rowan’s mouth fell open silently. “I… I don’t know what to say.” Rainier sighed again. “You don’t have to say anything. Saying it out loud… I’m sorry for holding any of Mom’s shit against you. When I’m not busy… I’ll make more effort to come say hello,” he added and extended a hand toward the seated Rowan. Rowan stood once more and fiercely grabbed his brother’s hand, but pulled him into a hug instead. “I… could visit you more too….” “You could,” Rainier agreed and returned his hug, drawing back with a slight smirk on his face. “But I know how you get around crowds.” Rowan chuckled sheepishly. * * * * * While Rainier had been chatting with Rowan, Summer was chomping at the bit to hear what her mother had said to Rainier, but her siblings quieted her when she was about to spill her own secret yet again. “Well, uh… I know this may sound odd to you Athilis, Gianna, but… we won’t be returning home just yet. Rainier and I talked, and it didn’t seem fair for us to all get to know each other in a place that would likely leave [i]someone[/i] uneasy. You two are adults, so you may decline if you like, but we were thinking that, in the morning, we’d all take a little trip down to Pandaria for a vacation.” Summer was more than enthusiastic, of course. Gianna was the first to speak up. “Well… yeah, I’m in. I have a weird feeling that I can’t go back to Silvermoon for my studies anymore, sooooo… why not?” Athilis seemed a bit more hesitant. “This is pretty sudden, Mom. You sure about this?” Vivine placed a gentle hand on her son’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. “I am. There’s a spot that Rainier and I are both familiar with down there where we can stay in our own, [i]private[/i] rooms, so there’s no need for worry.” Athilis looked visibly relieved, though Gianna spoke up again. “So… where does that leave all of us? Are you saying we can still…?” Color flooded Vivine’s cheeks, and she glanced over at Summer who was watching her like a hawk. “She knows,” Gianna added sheepishly. “And she doesn’t care.” “Correction: I care immensely,” Summer added. “But in a good way, so… carry on.” Vivine cleared her throat. “Yes, well… nothing has changed between us, Loves. We’ll just have to… find time.” “And what about Dad?” Summer added. Vivine let out a flustered giggle. “O-oh! Um, that’s… not something we really talked about. I-I don’t really know him, and- we should get some rest,” she redirected not-so-subtly. Summer glanced over at her siblings, neither of whom appeared to quite understand her just yet. All the same, the three agreed with her sentiment as Rainier came walking over. “So what’s the verdict?” “We could use a vacation,” Athilis answered for them all and stood. “But we need to do some preparation first, and get some rest.” Rainier stared at him for a moment, then glanced at Vivine. “Smart kid you got.” He looked back at Athilis. “Rowan’s agreed to let us use his home tonight. He kinda prefers the garden anyway, but we gotta be out after sunrise tomorrow. Maybe by then, things will have cooled off in Stormwind and we can slip back in long enough to get our stuff.” “Agreed,” Vivine answered. “My hearthstone is still set to home, so tomorrow Gianna and I can gather our things and portal back here, right honey?” “Yeah I think I can do that,” Gianna answered, waving her hands to conjure a tiny, void-like portal in one palm, startling everyone but Athilis briefly. “Alright then,” Rainier added. “Find a spot and get cozy. Vivine, you got Rowan’s bed. Everyone else… pick a chair or a spot on the floor.” At this, Summer shuffled over to her adoptive father’s side, watching as the other elves graciously separated to find their respective sleeping spots.