Sun Mote Copse I'll be resting my eyes

For as level-headed as he normally was, Elwood was having a hard time facing the cold, hard facts of his goddaughter's impending death. It took every ounce of strength for him not to dig his heels in and refuse to go see her, in hopes that if he didn't witness it, it couldn't actually happen. But while this inner turmoil was raging within him, he kept his expression carefully measured, his body language calm and comforting, as he and Finley left their children with their trusted babysitter of choice and made the long walk to Wildfire and Eljay's densite.

While Finley's tears were flowing, his eyes were dry; however, his stomach was in knots. The devastation in Eljay's voice when he sent up the call was almost too much to bear, but he knew that Eljay needed his parents -- that Wildfire needed them, too, and so would Elfie and Weejay. As they approached the Sovereign's homestead, he swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

Settling his gaze on Wildfire's emaciated figure was hard, and he bit his lip at the sight of Eljay and Weejay curled protectively against her. Elfie was distancing himself -- physically and emotionally, he suspected -- and Fin gently encouraged Eljay to go to him. Then, with more composure than he could muster himself, she addressed their goddaughter. She assured Wildfire that they would look after Elfie and Weejay (and Eljay, he added mentally), and all he could do was nod firmly.

"We love you," he said softly, yellow eyes shimmering.