Both Fendros and Janius' faces darkened slightly at the mention of the warband's losses.
"Yes, we should find a time to all share a meal together." Fendros somehow hid the awkwardness he felt. Letting someone go to find out that their packmate -- or in this case specifically, their sister -- was dead felt awful. Fendros didn't want to be the one to tell them, but he didn't want to pretend like nothing was wrong. He reached out and took Jo'rashaad's shoulder. "Look, before you go...know that we achieved a victory, but it was not the victory we were hoping for. We will talk later." Fendros gave a pursed, forlorn smile and squeezed Jo'rashaad's shoulder.
"Dada? What happened?" Rhazii, as usual, picked up on the unsaid situation with as much naivety as bad timing.
Fendros let Jo'rashaad go and looked down at Rhazii with a smile. "We'll tell you all sorts of stories about our journey, little one. But first, how about we take you children to see the others?" Fendros began to turn around, jovial as he was before. "Meesei and Sabine want to see you. Lorag...him too, he just might not say it."
"See you later, you two," Janius gave a wave to S'ajira and Jo'rashaad. "Give Ciinriel, La'khay, and Colours our greetings."
That night was made up of a number of tasks. There was much grieving in the halls for all that did not return, but just as much work to be done in packing away the caravan and catching up with those that lived. Ahnasha and Fendros spent most of their time taking turns watching the children, repairing their equipment, or otherwise making themselves useful.
Rhazii, being barely four years of age, did not likely have the most accurate description of events while their were taken care of by Jo'rashaad and S'ajira. However, the tales of them becoming popular with the other young children for having a wamasu pet to play with raised a few nervous chuckles. There were thankfully no horror stories stemming from that. The only real emotional concern was one that Fendros and Janius, at least, did not consider; Newt and Rhazii had made friends among the clan. They were not life long bonds forged over trials and years, but they suspected that there would be some upset when the pack would leave for home.
Before long, the sons were tucked away to bed. Janius and Kaleeth had no immediate concerns that took them out of reach of the sleeping children, but Fendros and Ahnasha had something from the back of their minds for a while. This was probably the best time they would get to interact with Marcaille.
After asking around, Fendros and Ahnasha had worked out where Marcaille generally was at this time of the evening and proceeded to her laboratory. Fendros walked with a serious expression while they walked, but he looked to Ahnasha with a hint of uncertainty. "I would like to be with you so I can try to understand whatever Marcaille does myself, but...if you need me to go, if you want to go on your own, it's fine by me."
Peiter and Sabine had been somewhat busy since they arrived at the clanhome. They, or rather Sabine with Peiter dragged along, offered to help with unpacking. Sabine thought she could help Peiter's confidence by carrying supplies between them and proving that he was not completely useless with only one arm. What ended up happening was Peiter only being further reminded of his disability, ending in shares of disappointment between them both. That meant that dinner ended up being somewhat quiet when they shared it in the dining hall, but Sabine perked up with inspiration once they had finished.
"I think I know who might cheer you up, Peiter." Sabine smiled broadly at Peiter from where she was seated opposite him. "We have not visited La'khay yet."
StarfrostedFox,
Scrawl Banditta,
Lord Zee,
SkyeOfStars,
Vec,
corneredbliss,
abc,
LaserGunPewPew,
EliteCommander
