[FIN] Room for Improvement [Kari]

[Lucca]

Seena swallowed, looking a bit ill. She couldn't help but notice that Heike had come back just as he'd left--with only his sister. No sign of either of her children, and...and he wasn't reassuring her that he was okay. In fact, what he said wasn't very reassuring at all. She nodded, though. "Of course, Heike," she whispered, and got onto her hind legs to give him a nuzzle before turning and hopping towards the sitting room.

The Warren, Heike would find, had been seen to in his absence and was still as clean and well-run as it had been before. Taking a seat on one of the couches, Seena closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath, then another, trying to calm down. She could handle this. She just had to think about it logically, like she did anything else. She had to think of a book...

But somehow, it was hard. Just as it had been hard to use logic to comfort herself while waiting. In the end, logic and love didn't mix, and it was something that -bothered- Seena on some level. But she did manage to compose herself by the time Heike would come back in the room.

As soon as his Mother turned her back, Shelby crept back out of the shadows, ears and tail drooping. He felt oh so guilty for hiding...but he still had no idea how his Mother-Doe would react to seeing him...like this. He turned to look hesitantly at his Father-Jack. "Should I come or...or wait outside?" It was the cowards way out, to let Heike tell Seena the news and ease her into what her son had become. But Shelby had never claimed to be brave. Even with all that had happened, he was still fearful at heart.

[Kari Muffin]

He briefly brushed a a hand through the Doe's' mane before she went to the sitting room. He could feel the color draining from his face. This was real. He was going to have to tell her the truth. Shelby's voice made him jump.

The rabbit frowned. "I want you to stand outside the sitting room, with this," he offered the box to the young leveret. He made sure he had a good grip on it before letting go. "I'll call for you when I need you."

With that said and orders issued he went straight to the sitting room, smoothing out his jacket as he went. This was a difficult problem to tackle, and he needed to do it carefully. When he entered the room he tried to look as calm and collected as he could manage. He took a seat next to the Doe, offering a hand for her to hold.

"Seena, I'm afraid that Fleur wasn't kidnapped by her brother." He gave a light squeeze of her paw. Heike was doing his hardest to to sound reassuring. "She was kidnapped by a monster, and I'm afraid she didn't make it. Shelby is alive, but he didn't make it out of the situation unscathed."

[Lucca]

Shelby nodded shakily to Heike's orders, and took the box in shaky claws. The fact that he was holding the remains of his sister in this box made him want to throw up, but he managed to get a good grip on it eventually. It was probably his imagination, but he thought he could still smell the blood. Her blood. Shaking his head to try and dispel the thought, Shelby followed as quietly as he could. It was a bit hard to do when his feet were so awkward and one was a hoof, but at least the floor of the Warren was dirt and muffled the sound a bit.

He eventually found a place to stand slightly out of the room and aside of the door leading in. His heart thumped in his chest so loud that part of him thought his Mother-Doe should be able to hear it from the sitting room, but he stayed perfectly silent and still as he waited for what he expected would be a very difficult reunion.

Though Seena looked far more herself than she had a few moments before, she took Heike's offered paw quickly, squeezing back. It was an effort of will not to tremble as she listened to what her Jack had to say. The first sentence, and she merely nodded, expression neutral. Despite Heike's worries on the matter, Seena hadn't actually thought her son capable of something like that in the first place.

And then...she paled and gave a small gasp, and while she might have been ashamed at such a reaction at any other time...her daughter was...dead. "The monster...killed her?" she whispered, repeating the horrible news. Next to the news of poor Fleur, whatever had become of Shelby would have to wait. She had a sneaking suspicion it was worse than Heike's gentle words would indicate, or else the Leveret would have been standing beside him to greet her. A few tears escaped her eyes and trailed down her white-furred cheeks.

How...how could she reconcile with the fact that her baby was dead?

[Kari Muffin]

The Jack watched the Doe carefully. As she whispered the news he could feel a small part of him realizing the gravity of the situation. The little girl they had both raised was dead and gone. He brushed a few of Seena's tears away before pulling her into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't save her."

But hopefully he could fix Shelby. He could at least try to fix that even if it was too late for Fleur. She did always have the habit of getting in trouble, this time wasn't all that different, except it had finally gotten the better of her.

Heike gave his Doe a light kiss on the forehead as he loosened his grip. If she wanted to pull away, she was welcome to, and if she wanted to stay close to him she was just as welcome to stay where she was.

[Lucca]

Shelby could hear his Mother-Doe's voice, soft as it was, and the pain in it made him feel somehow ashamed to hear, like he was listening in on something private. Tears sprung to his own eyes, the ones he'd been trying to hold back, and he wept a bit, missing his sister and clutching the box close. He leaned over it, letting his ears fall in front of his face and hide it from the world. At least, he thought, his sister had never had to see him...like this. Though, knowing her, she might have found it...interesting instead of horrifying. She'd never cared for societal norms, really...

Seena accepted the hug, needing it desperately, and buried her head in Heike's chest. Her shoulders shook as she cried silently, wanting to tell him that it was okay, that it wasn't his fault. But she just couldn't bear to move her head enough to say anything. When he loosened his grip...oh how part of her just wanted to keep her head there, to keep smelling his masculine, earthy scent, feeling the warmth of his fur, the gentle touch of his hands. But...that wouldn't be helpful. It would be weak, and Seena was not weak. Could not be weak, if she wanted to get through this grief.

With a deep breath to steady her, she gathered her will around herself and slowly pulled back, bringing up a paw to brush her mane out of her eyes and meeting Heike's gaze steadily. "I...do not blame you for this," she managed, and then...the fire rose up in her eyes. She still had one child. She wouldn't let anything happen to him, difficult and male as he may be. "Where is Shelby?" She was a proud creature, and made sure her voice didn't shake.

[Kari Muffin]

The Jack would always be amazed by Seena. He gave her a rather weak smile when she said it wasn't his fault. He knew he couldn't have done anything to help Fleur, but he could have at least put down more strict rules so she wouldn't run off. To little too late, and Fleur probably would have figured out a way around things.

His ears pulled back a bit when she asked for Shelby. Was she really ready for this? Though she was strong willed this would probably be a bit of a shock for her. He pulled her into another hug and a kiss before walking over to the door.

He opened it slightly first, peering out so he could take a look at his son. He did his best not to frown, and spoke in a soft tone. "Shelby, please come in slowly. Leave the box outside, please."

The rabbit returned to sit besides Seena. He really hoped this would all go well.

[Lucca]

Shelby heard his name, in his mother's voice, and froze. This was it, then? He felt his heart pounding hard, and it was suddenly an effort to breathe as he waited for his Farther-Jack's heavy pawsteps.

Seena accepted the affection, letting herself be weak for just one last moment in Heike's arms. She closed her eyes and wished the world away, one or two more tears slipping out to get lost in his fur. But only for a moment. Her eyes were dry and her expression could have rivaled stone as he pulled away and walked for the door. She knew that something bad had happened to her son. It was just a matter of what, exactly, it was. Had he lost an ear? Both of them? His eyes? A leg? She couldn't quite think of anything drastic enough for the expression on Heike's face.

Shelby nodded, breathing shallow, as he laid the box down with trembling hands. It took longer than it should have for him to manage to set it down, and he finally stood up, took a deep breath, and walked into the room. His Mother looked smaller, now, he thought. Older, somehow, too, though it had been less than three days since he'd seen her. He met her eyes and spoke in a broken voice. "Hi, Mother."

Seena could only stare in shock at the...creature that came into the room. It didn't look like a Rabbit. It didn't look like anything she'd ever read about before. And yet...it was clearly her son. Still the same plain fur with Selkie markings, the same worried expression, the same voice...her expression changed, then, becoming sorrowful.

"Shelby," she said, softly, and as if that word were the release of some spell, the Leveret felt that he could breathe again. He took a hesitant step towards the Doe, and Seena tried to hide a flinch.

[Kari Muffin]

It was quite clear from the Doe's expression that she was not prepared to see what Shelby had become. And really Heike felt a little bad for not preparing her--but what could he have said? That their son looked like he was made out of spare card bits but was still a rabbit somehow? He shifted a bit closer too her before she spoke.

At least she was taking this well. He gave her paw a light squeeze after Shelby spoke. She was never a Doe to be overly emotional, but at a time like this he needed to give her as much support as possible. This was her only remaining child, and the Warren, as small as it was, had been a close nit group. She had helped raise him.

"Shelby, would you mind taking a seat across from your mother?" He asked quietly. This situation couldn't be rushed, and he could practically feel the tension in the air. The fur on the back of his neck was staring to stand on end.

[Lucca]

Shelby cut the step off in an awkward, stumbling motion that almost tripped him up. He should have known...it would take time for her to accept him like this. At least, he told himself, she hadn't screamed. She was trying, he could tell. Trying to rationalize this, as she did everything else in her life. To fit this into her view of the world, layered between all the things she'd learned from all the books she'd read on magic and Cards and White Rabbit only knew what else.

He nodded to his Father-Jack, a jerky sort of motion, and then sat, tail twitching. "I'm sorry," he whispered into the silence, hardly daring to meet Seena's eyes.

The Doe, meanwhile, watched her son with a sense of grief and loss. Yes, of course she would accept Shelby as he was...but what Jack would ever do so? What other Doe? She couldn't help but think of the future, and the fact that Shelby's had just become...difficult and uncertain. Everything she'd read about Leverets that became somehow special said that their life expectancy and their chances of being traded both dwindled. And he'd have to relearn everything, EVERYTHING with those new limbs and...

She felt a gentle squeeze on her paw, and she took a deep, steadying breath. Right. She had to say something. But for once in her life, she could think of nothing -to- say. Until her son spoke, and then she finally found the words she needed. "No need to apologize," she said, conviction strong in her voice. "I'm sure you did what you must." True, she had no idea what had happened to Shelby, but considering what had become of her daughter, she couldn't imagine her son had met with anything less terrifying.

[Kari Muffin]

Heike watched the pair carefully and quietly. He could feel his own stomach trying to tie itself in knots as he struggled to remain calm. Everything was going surprisingly well. There was no screaming, no crying, no terror, just a good deal of awkwardness.

He was just waiting for something horrible to happen. This was going all too well. Then again the future was something else entirely. He doubted the other Does would be as open minded as Seena. And what about the other leverets? Nadja was taking things well, but that was simply her nature. And there was no way anyone would take him.

His ears twitched at Shelby's whispered reply. Seena's response made him relax slightly. Though really the boy shouldn't have been poking into magical things he didn't understand.

There was a slight clink of china and knock on the door. The Jack quietly excused himself as he got up and went to the door. Taking the tray off the cart he re-entered the room with fresh tea and a few crumpets. He set the tray down on the coffee table in the center of the sitting room. For a moment he paused, looking at Shelby curiously before he decided to pour the cups. He wasn't going to deal with any messes right now because of the leverets odd proportions.

"Will you both be having a cup?"