Neverwinter Forest latenight

he went looking for @Jack Snipe now. when his eyes no longer seemed so puffy and his breathing had steadied.

perhaps his son found some company in @Killdeer or even @Towhee. perhaps they might find comfort in each other in equal turns as a family should. yet he could only think of the vale they had left behind as he wandered the forest.

the beauty of it lost on him.

jack? he called out hoarsely.

Jack didn’t know what to do with himself. He was eager to explore something other than the familiar paths of the vale. At the same time, he did not feel it was complete without his sister.

Guilt nestled inside him. He thought it would be fun to spend the night in the forest with his mom and dad. He wanted to talk to Killdeer and ask if Mereo’s Imperator had pulled the stick out of his butt. He wanted to sniff the forest until he’d discovered every smell it had. But when he thought about Leona, he mostly wanted to go home. He wanted to sit by where she was buried and tell her about their trip to the woods. If he thought about it hard enough, he could imagine here right there-

Dad? the boy chimed in response to his father’s sad tones.

it hurt to hear in a way he could not describe. grappling with the fresh grief that pockmarked all of their hearts.

hey you, he motioned his son closer. wondering if he might hold him for a moment in a hug. seen anything cool here? it felt so...blasé to ask. as if the elephant in the room did not seek to crush them under the weight of the world!

The boy didn’t hesitate to oblige. He drew close to his father and found comfort in Maxim’s warmth.

The man asked if Jack had seen anything cool while they had visited the forest. The boy wanted to say that he had – duh – but he couldn’t think of anything that stood out. The question was strange, sitting on the air while it waited for a proper response. Any usual spunk had been deflated from the boy. He didn’t feel right. He didn’t feel like they were having fun.

Dad? he asked quietly. I thought… I thought it’d be cool to be out here cause I’ve never been to this place. And I thought mom would like it. As a thought, staying in the forest was a brilliant idea. Jack might have taken credit for it, if it didn’t feel so sour after some time had passed.

But I think I wanna go home. I miss my sister.

heartbreak. fresh and wounding.

he understood deeply, though. so he held jack closer for a while longer still, nosing over the fur at the top of his head. seeing the way his son had grown so much so quickly.

thinking that leo would never grow any bigger than this now.

have you told your mother?

but he did not say this to shift the decision of when or who said to go home. only that everybody seemingly needed each other. choices must be made together.

No…

This was a talk for just boys!

She’s so sad, dad. She’s so sad and I hate it.

Jack pressed his snout into his father’s chest. He wished he could go back to the vale and explore with Leo. He wished that she was just pranking them – some elaborate ruse that had tricked them all into thinking she had died. That body that they put in the ground was a really big beaver or something.

Imagination didn’t restore what had been lost, though.

I just don’t wanna be away from Leo. Do you think she can see when we visit? Do you think-

Jack thought of her, alone in Epoch. His features scrunched as tears pricked his eyes.

he squeezed his son. did jack think he was not sad too? surely not. surely jack was also sad. they all were. yet grief had come in many different shapes and sizes the last few days.

arsenio is making a place to be alongside her. for when we return to visit and see. did this comfort his son? to know that someone tended to the place and cared as much as they did? maxim found he had no answers for if the ghost of leo knew when they sat alongside her earthbound body.

it is important, now more than ever, that we talk about our feelings. he pulled away some. only so that he might look his son in the face better. everybody is sad but — we talk about the sadness. the things we need to feel better and continue living.

even if it felt so impossible in this silent forest.

maybe we go talk to her together, hm?

even if maxim was not certain he was ready to return to the vale, now that he had stepped outside it.

After spending some time with Killdeer, Towhee returned to the spot where she’d last seen Maxim. But he wasn’t there. Swallowing thickly, she dropped her nose to the forest floor and began following his trail.

She spotted him through the trees ahead, speaking with their son. Towhee approached slowly. She couldn’t imagine they wouldn’t want her there, though perhaps they were having a private moment. She didn’t want to interrupt.

Between the darkness of the woods, the angle of her approach and Towhee’s own unwillingness to eavesdrop, she didn’t know how she possibly caught it. But she did. “I just don’t wanna be away from Leo.”

Maxim was quick to comfort the boy, though Towhee’s eyes blurred with tears. She didn’t catch most of what he said, though she knew her young husband would share only words of love, support and understanding. And she did blink in time to catch the final comment.

I’m here.

It was relieving to know that Leo wouldn’t be alone while their family was finding a sense of peace. It still felt strange to be out of their home and without her. It was even stranger to imagine that she would not be there when they returned. There would only be memories of a girl who had been but no longer was. Jack did not like the feeling that settled in his stomach.

Yeah, let’s talk to mom…

Not that he was looking forward to that kind of conversation. The boy thought that his dad would make for a decent buffer, if things got too… cry-ey. Jack didn’t think he’d be very good with tears. He thought back to the day when he had found his sister with embarrassment, but he was not certain why.

Towhee appeared before them. Had she caught their words?

The boy’s ears fell to his head.

Mom… his orangewash eyes were wide and worried, fearful.

Mom can we go home? his voice cracked and he was grateful that she would not hear it.

towhee practically materialized. yet maxim felt grateful for it. that they could sort these things together now instead of letting emotions fester or bubble into anxiety.

jack's voice cracked and although his mother may not hear it, his father did. so he reached softly to press a nose to the top of his son's head.

he would stand here as support until he was required to speak.

“Mom… mom, can we go home?”

Yeah, Towhee said without having to think about it, of course.

Jack’s needs superseded her own, Maxim’s as well. If he needed to go back to the vale to be closer to his sister, Towhee would take him there without complaint or hesitation. She would suffer Leona’s ghost if it meant providing care and comfort to Jack.

She saw the touch exchanged between father and son and let it linger a moment before moving in to join a familial embrace. It felt so strange for it to split three ways rather than four. For a moment, Towhee felt like she couldn’t breathe around the hole in her chest and the lump in her throat.

Not trusting her voice, Towhee vowed in meaningful silence, -It’s been a very difficult few days. We all need some rest. Let’s stay here just a little longer, then we’ll go home.-

Last from me. <3

Jack would have normally said all that hugging was sissy stuff. He didn’t mind so much, in that precise moment. The support of his dad and mom was needed. He would never admit it. The boy liked to be independent, and he didn’t need anyone thinking that he was soft. That was a benefit of having the support system of Maxim and Towhee. No matter how wild he got, Jack could always return to his parents, and he knew he would find love.

Towhee suggested that they take some time before going back. The boy nodded his head. They could chill for a few days.

I’m gonna find some things for Leo, he claimed with a puffed-out chest. The boy would make sure she had a bunch of gifts. It would be like she had gone with them. Jack realized that if his sister couldn’t go with him on these great adventures, he would make sure he brought a piece of them back with him.

He figured he could start right away. The boy reared back onto his hind legs and planted a sloppy kiss on his mom's cheek before he darted off.

last from me i think! <3

jack found a light in it all and it was the only thing he could ask for in these dark hours. that his son held hope and promise. if he wished to decorate all of epoch in leo's honor, so be it, he thought.

yet maxim lingered in the space that was towhee. silent and thoughtful. knowing that she might understand his lack of words here.

he felt the pulling of an emotional nap and wondered if towhee would join him in one.

Neither one argued with her suggestion to stay here a little while longer. Jack said he would go find some souvenirs for his sister, his wet kiss lingering on Towhee’s cheek long after her vanished into the forest.

Eventually, she caught Maxim’s eye. She nodded as if he’d asked a question, then nudged him toward the same spot they’d been using. Towhee still didn’t want to sleep, though she needed to get off her feet and try to get some rest. She needed to steel herself for their return to the vale in the days to come.