Explaining Her Actions (Finished!)

[carcinoGeneticist]

The next morning came far too soon, pulling her away from Apocalypse. Sleep now that he was real was not nearly as restful as it had been once, but she was thankful for his presence. Oddly he hadn't been with her the whole night, leaving her to her own dreams. Rhiannon stirred only to find two small bodies cradled against her. She cracked her eyes open, looking over the sleeping forms of her children. Kieran was pressed up against Treasa's side, wings extended almost protectively over his sister's body. Treasa had moved into the comfort that her brother provided, her silky white fur still matted from tears. Rhiannon could feel that her own fur was similarly matted, and began to try and tidy herself up.

She had cried over this so many times already, and she needed to be strong to help her only children recover from the death of their siblings. She had repeated the lie to herself so many times that it almost rung true to her own ears now.

Once she had finished washing herself, she set about grooming the children despite their weak protests. Treasa's golden eyes flickered open, squinting against the sun. "M-morning already, mama?" she murmured, snuggling up against the woman's chest. She wasn't sure if the previous night's conversation was just a bad dream, or if it had really happened.

Kieran took a little longer to wake, turning his masked face up to his mother as she groomed him, taking care to work the tangles in his swirled mane out. "Morning, mama... Did you sleep okay?"

The moment was broken by a knock at the door. Who could that be? Rhiannon slowly made her way to the door, both children watching after her curiously.

[Kari Muffin]

Xiven's tail twitched as she made her way down the hallway. She had been dealing with Othello crying and begging for the past two hours. Once again he had seen something that wasn't there. She knew it was because of that weird eye fog he had but... she couldn't quite take his crying any longer. He was currently hugging Fluffy and crying into her fur so Mommy could try to find Daddy for advice.

Xander decided to tag along. He wanted to see Daddy, and he didn't want to here Othello crying anymore. He had honestly tried to help but failed just as bad as Mommy had. The little yellow feline came skittering to a when his mother came to the proper door.

She knocked on the door softly, hoping that her King was awake. It was pretty early in the morning.... but still. The feline sighed, half tempted to slam her head against the door out of frustration. Please be there.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Rhiannon slowly opened the door, yellow eyes wide as her face appeared in the crack. When she saw exactly who was waiting outside for her, she felt both relieved and disappointed - in a way, she'd hoped that Lior would be there, but seeing her Queen was never a bad thing and a small smile flitted across her face. And - was that her boy Xander, as well? Though the morning hadn't started well, it was quickly improving in the woman's eyes.

"Mama? Mama, who's that?" Kieran's voice rang out innocent in her mind, and Xiven and Xander would both hear it clearly as well. Treasa sat up a little taller as well, straining to get a glimpse of whoever was outside of the door. Who was there that had made her mother's tail start to wag? Her own tail began to thump against the bed in anticipation.

It seemed as good a time as any for Xiven to meet her children, and Rhiannon threw the door open the rest of the way, bowing low and respectfully to Xiven. "Good morning, my Queen,[/b]" she said softly, a hint of affection in her voice. "And good morning to you, too, Xander. Have you been wrestling again?[/b]" she grinned at the boy. His hair had that out-of-place look it did whenever he tried to cheer the others up.

"I brought... I brought the ones that made it through,[/b]" she said softly, a little sadness in her eyes when she looked back to Xiven but a hint of excitement in her voice. She'd wanted her Queen to meet the pair since they were born, and now she finally could. She'd already told the woman about the... death of the others. "C-can you... would you like to meet them?[/b]"

[Kari Muffin]

Xiven's ears flicked as she heard the voice ring out clearly. It sounded young enough to belong to a child...perhaps this was the fabled children that Rhi had disappeared to give birth to?

"Good morning," She said with a warm note of a purr in her voice. Really, a day seeing her king normally turned out brighter than other days. Before she could say anything else, Xander bounced forward.

"Daddy! I was wrestling because Othello is crying again! He says she saw something really awful this time!" Xander exclaimed with a small flail of the arms on his back. The he stopped when Daddy continued to talk to Mama. Ones that survived? What were they talking about. He instantly shut his mouth and sat down to look between his parents. What?

So she had brought them. "Of course I do. They're part of the family after all." She nudged Xander with her foot. Hopefully he wouldn't big up on the negative undertones of death being discussed. "And I'm sure he'd be more than happy to meet more children his age." Othello could calm down with the help of Fluffy and Peaches. Hopefully.... hopefully he would at least get a bit more sleep than he had been getting.

Xander's eyes widened. Children! He bounced up and down on his hind legs looking at his Daddy with wide eyes. There were more people! Othello was briefly forgotten.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Hearing the purr in Xiven's voice helped to soothe Rhiannon's raw and aching nerves, and she leaned in to lick the woman's hand, a soft and affectionate "kiss". With Xander so close by she didn't want to do much more than that and risk being teased for being "gross". Her tail started to wag even harder as she stepped aside, letting the pair into the room where her other children continued to stare openly.

A cat! A cat that looked just like their papa except a girl and black-and-purple stepped in, followed by another child. Treasa moved to the end of the bed, her tail held submissively low but wagging furiously. "H-hello!" she barked as she got a better view of the pair. "M-my name's T-Tr.. Treasa." as she grew more excited, her stutter became even worse, and Kieran quickly stepped in to speak for her.

"You can call her Sa if you like, too. That's what we all call her anyway. I'm Kieran," the boy said, face completely hidden by his mask. His ears were perked forward in interest, however. Was this pretty lady his mama's Queen? He couldn't see much of her, only that she was a lean and elegant cat. "Are you Majesty Xiven? You're very pretty..." He looked back at his sister, who had leapt off the bed and was staring wide-eyed at the yellow Torque.

"A-are you m-my mama's other baby?" she said inqusitively, eyes wide with curiosity. He was yellow like Rhiannon was, and he had funny wing-arms, like her mama's but without all the extra skin. "T-that would mean y-you're like my b-brother too, right?"

Rhiannon stood by her Queen's side, pressed protectively against the woman as she watched the children interact, smiling to herself. Good. Treasa and Kieran wouldn't have a chance to miss the other children with the addition of four new ones to play with. She glanced back up at Xiven, tail wagging hopefully.

[Kari Muffin]

Xiven couldn't help but grin at the children. He seemed to be vaguely Highlander, but with all those mutations and the mask he could have been part bog part anything else. The girl looked to be part Hisstor but... well they were strange children. Adorable but strange at first sight.

She blushed a bit under her fur when Kieran spoke. "Yes, I am Xiven. Thank you very much for the compliment. It's a pleasure to meet both of you Treasa, Kieran." She said as she brushed a hand through Rhi's mane. Really, she would have loved to give her King a kiss, but there were children present and no doubt at least one of them would find it "gross."

Xander's eyes widened when he looked at the pair of children. From the way Mommy was talking it meant that they were part of the family now too. Which meant he had another sister! "Yep! Your Mama is my Daddy! That means your my sister Sa!"

He moved forward ready to give Sa a proper family hello. However his bindings got in the way and he lost his balance. Flopping unceremoniously onto his face he whimpered. Ow. He hated doing that. Using his back arms he pushed himself up and shook his head. He blushed looking at Sa. "It wasn't supposed to work like that." Slowly this time he walked forward to sit in front of the canine child. He looked over at the other one with the mask. "And you're my brother! Nice to meet you!"

[carcinoGeneticist]

The feeling of fingers brushing through her short mane was a soothing one, and Rhiannon sighed softly as she moved into the touch. It would do for now. She would spend some time with Xiven after all of the children had gotten a chance to play and wear themselves down a bit. They were still young, they'd sleep hard when they did, especially after being woken up so early. "I'm back for good now, Xiven.[/b]" she said softly, leaning a little more heavily against the woman. It felt good to say the words.

It would feel even better once Lior returned and was here with her. That would make this place home again. As it was, she was greatly enjoying the interactions that were going on between Xander and his slightly-older siblings.

"You do, Miss Xiven," Kieran replied, turning his attention back to the strange yellow feline. What was that coming off the boy's back? The hybrid leapt down off the bed and meandered over, craning his neck to get a better look at them. They were like arms where wings went! His own wings twitched slightly. That was funny and kinda cool. "What's your name?" he said bluntly, head tilted to the side.

Treasa, on the other hand, was wagging her tail so hard that her entire body started to quiver. When Xander tripped in front of her she yelped and jumped back slightly, nosing at her half-sibling's collapsed form. "O-Oh! A-are you okay?" she squeaked, golden eyes wide with worry. "D-do you want t-those shackle-things off?"

[The Jenn]

Lior walked slowly and painfully through the halls of the palace of Hearts, avoiding the gaze of anyone who might give him a second or third glance. Some of them probably knew him from many years ago, nearly a decade, but he didn't want to deal with any of them. He just wanted to get to her. She was all he wanted, all he needed just then. Everything else would come in time, he was sure of it, but for now...

"Rhi," he said to a passing attendant, startling the man out of whatever he was thinking about. "Rhiannon. One of Xiven's Kings. Where is she right now?" It was early and she would probably be in her room barring any early morning meetings, but he didn't even know where that was. After obtaining vague directions from the man, he continued on his way. He knew the palace extremely well even after all this time, having grown up roaming its halls. He could guess where the room would be if he knew the general area, based on the current composition of the Court.

He wore his biped form, a new acquisition after the unbelievable stress of abandoning his children, and also wore a set of bruises beneath his pale fur after he'd fallen out of the sky following the sudden transformation. He hadn't realized to accommodate for a change in form until too late. He ached all over, his wings screamed at him from the abuse, his head felt foggy from lack of sleep, and he carried a small pack under his cloak with a new possession he really didn't want to think about nestled safely inside a glass jar. He looked, pun intended, like death warmed over. He just hoped that he could find her before he passed out somewhere. It would be a dangerously close thing, he was sure.

Finally he climbed to the correct wing, having to drag himself up the staircase, and began walking down the hallway until he noticed that a door was open in about the place he needed to knock. He tilted his head in tired incomprehension and walked closer, eventually catching sight of his half-sister Xiven, grown and with her biped form. There were also the voices of children, two of which he recognized and which acted like a balm on some of his raw nerves. They were still here, his wonderful children... the two who didn't scare him, make him want to break down and run away. Which he had.

And with them was their mother...

"Rhi," he whispered, just standing a short ways out of the door frame, watching her in the arms of her Queen. It hurt. He knew he would have to get used to it. She was Xiven's here. He would just be lucky if he wasn't removed from the Court at her behest. He really didn't know as much about her as he should, he realized belatedly. Damn it. He wanted to cry, he really did. He was just too tired.

[carcinoGeneticist]

((ooc: ...I'M SO SORRY I COULDN'T NOT BREAK POSTING ORDER.))

Rhiannon barely heard the whisper, but the sound was unmistakable.

Lior was here. Her Lior had made it. Yellow eyes widened and the woman turned where she stood, letting out a soft cry when she looked at him. Kieran looked up from where he sat, glancing from his mama to his mama's Queen, ears flicked back in confusion.

And then Rhiannon was running, running to the gaunt feline, sobbing as she did. He looked terrible, only skin on his bones, eyes staring out haunted from his face, and wearing a biped form... but he was Lior, unmistakably, and it broke her heart to see him standing there. She had wanted to be composed when he finally arrived, but he had been gone for so long, she had honestly begun to fear she would never see him again. "Lior! LIOR![/b]" she cried his name before realizing she had, throwing herself forward and leaping up, her tail wagging urgently as she kissed his face.

A moment later, she turned back to look at Xiven, her expression marred by her tears. "R-remember when I told you that... the father would be coming to the court with me?[/b]" she said faintly, suddenly feeling terrified of what the woman would think. She had told Lior about Xiven, but because of her promise to Lior she couldn't tell Xiven anything about the man she'd run off with for so long... She could only hope that Xiven would understand. "He's finally here,[/b]" her tail gave a small, hopeful wag.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Treasa's eyes grew wide and the girl leapt at Xiven's legs, her tail going a mile a minute. "I-It's my PAPA!" she cried out excitedly. "Mama Xiven! M-mama Xiven, he came b-back! Come meet him!!" she dashed out the door, her little paws slipping on the ground. Kieran's ears perked slightly as his sister gave her delighted cry and a second later he was following her, not caring that his feet would be terribly sore afterwards.

"Papa! PAPA!" his cry would sound in the heads of everyone even remotely close. The man was standing on two legs.. but he was undenyably Papa.

[Kari Muffin]

"Xander," said the feline brightly before the chaos broke out. He watched as Sa bolted under his Mother's legs. He watched as his mother carefully kept her balance. His ears pulled back in confusion. Who was Lior? What was going on?

Xiven's heart stopped for an instant. Her one hand clutched tightly into a fist so she wouldn't say anything. Lior. She knew that name entirely too well. Her half brother who had left and caused so much grief. The ungrateful bastard had met her Rhi and had children with her. The tip of her tail puffed up at the thought as she turned around to look at him.

There was something weird about him besides his appearance. A cold feeling of dread. She brushed it off as her eyes narrowed. God how she wanted to curse him out for making everyone feel like shit. Thank god there were children present.

"So you're finally back Lior." She said quietly, eyes still narrowed. "You've been through a lot, but I still want to ask what took you so long when you know full well everyone's been hoping for your safe return."

She had been, until this very moment. Now she wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Why had it been him of all people. If it had been anyone else this would have been fine. She wanted to hurt him. Make him suffer, but she couldn't. She was better than that.

Xander pressed up against his mother. The man was scary. He could feel it. A shiver went down his spine as he kept his distance. He could feel that Mommy was upset, and it scared him.