[FIN] Room for Improvement [Kari]

[Lucca]

Shelby blinked back one or two tears. His Mother-Doe was truly an amazing woman to be taking this all so well. He sniffled a bit, mismatched hands again twitching together on his lap. Where would he even sleep tonight? His old cubby hole would barely fit him anymore, let alone his bed. He tried to think about a response...something else to say, but the words just refused to come. His long ears twitched at the sound of china clinking, and he turned toward the door, mind for some reason going to Maeve again. He remembered the tea they'd had to serve together.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he realized with a start that Heike was serving them. His eyes widened and he made a small sound of protest. But...did he really trust himself not to break anything with his new limbs? He hadn't tried handling china with them.

Seena watched her son as he sat there looking awkward and out of place until the tea service arrived. "Yes, we will," she said, smiling slightly at the Jack. "But I'll serve it," she offered, seeing the same problem with Shelby making the attempt, but Heike was a Jack and shouldn't have to deal with such things. Seena had served herself tea in the past and it didn't bother her. Should Heike permit her to, she would have three cups poured in short order.

[Kari Muffin]

Heike smiled slightly. He was a tiny bit relieved that he wouldn't have to actually serve the tea. "Thank you, Seena." He said as he slipped back to his seat. Quietly he accepted the tea that Seena had poured.

This was all going too well wasn't it? He eyed his son and the Doe. What exactly were they going to do with him? He could just sit silently and mediate, but would that actually accomplish anything? He fiddle with the ring in his pocket while he went through the various scenarios of what they could do in his head.

Ultimately he would have to research Card magic for a little while. That was going to be a pain to do. But he was positive that Cards were responsible for this nonsense, and even if he couldn't fix the whole problem there a least had to be a way to make it a tiny bit better.

[Lucca]

Shelby whimpered slightly, but accepted the tea from his Mother-Doe with slightly trembling hands. He held the cup firmly, claws wrapped around it, sort of staring down into the hot liquid and trying to think of something else to say. His ears twitched, still feeling rather sorry for himself anytime he thought of the future. Maybe he could sleep in here...sneak in after everyone else had gone to bed and just...stretch out on the couch.

Seena nodded to Heike briskly. "Of course," she said. It was easy to focus on the mundane tasks. But of course, all that would really do was prolong the inevitable. At some point, they'd have to actually decide what to do with Shelby. If she knew what Heike was thinking about, Seena would have gladly offered to help him research. It would have been a relief to have something tangible to do, to focus on, instead of just the nebulous uncertainty they currently had.

"Perhaps tomorrow, when you've had a chance to rest, you can tell me the full story of what happened," the Doe said gently, mainly because the silence was getting awkward. "I am glad to see you are unwounded, though, my son. I am sure that this...change...well. It might take some getting used to." She calmly sipped her tea, half glancing at Heike out of the corner of her eye. At some point, they'd need to talk about this. Discuss and plan what to do. But speaking of such things with Shelby right there would only upset the boy.

Shelby nodded jerkily, relieved that she wasn't going to press for details yet. It was still all so clear in his mind. The demonic Jack, the Cards everywhere, the blood and the...he felt abruptly ill and took a few sips of his tea to rid himself of the feeling.

[Kari Muffin]

Heike sipped his tea quietly and listened to Seena speak. Shelby obviously wasn't going to speak, he was too nervous and he honestly looked like he was going to fall apart any moment.

Wonderful.

"You can sleep in the spare room, Shelby, until we can get things sorted out. You won't be handling choirs for a little while, either." He said as he idly stirred his tea as he tried to formulate how exactly to say what he needed without having Shelby break down or something worse. He took a long drink.

He couldn't go wandering around the warren like that. The few occupants would probably throw a fit of terror. Not everyone was as calm as Seena. He eyed the Doe with a surprisingly blank expression as he continued to struggle with what to say. He turned back to Shelby, "When you're finished with your tea, your mother and I have a few things to discuss. Until then if you have anything you would like to say..."

[Lucca]

Seena was at a bit of a loss, watching her son as he twitched and fidgeted and remained mostly silent. She wished she could tell him it would all work out, but that would be a lie, and she didn't wish to lie to him. She was quite grateful that Heike intervened to keep the conversation from dying, and also to tell Shelby that she and Heike would have to discuss things. She felt a surge of affection for the Jack, even at this strange time. He really did consider her to be more than just a pretty face, which she'd always appreciated.

Shelby shot a helpless look to the other two Rabbits, still sipping his tea and looking frazzled. He had to say something, didn't he? He cleared his throat, the sound seeming too loud in the otherwise quiet room. "Uh," he said, floundering. "Thank you for...for being so understanding. I...I know it was stupid of me and...I just hope there's some way I can still help you." He tried a slight smile, trying not to worry about what they'd discuss without him there.

Seena's eyes softened, finally understanding. Shelby was just as scared as they were, if not moreso. He'd never been through anything like that before. Slowly, she reached out a paw and ran it over his hand, feeling the strange scales there. The Doe looked at her son, and tried to get him to understand that they would try to do as he'd said. She just couldn't make any promises.

[Kari Muffin]

It was heart breaking.

Heike's ear twitched as he the young leveret finished speaking. He was such a good boy. He had always been the one to stay within the lines, and now he was a freak of nature. This hardly seemed fair for anyone.

"I think hoping is a good first step," he said quietly after a moment giving a heavy sigh. He continued to drink his tea, and he hoped that Seena would say anything she wanted to before Shelby left to stay in the spare room. Then again she could always chat with him later.

Things just needed to be discussed. Fleur's remains needed to be properly taken care of. Life kept on going despite everything. He stared at the dregs in his cup as if they would give him an answer that he needed to solve the problem.

But tea leaves couldn't actually tell the future.

[Lucca]

Shelby sighed a little, and seemed to calm at his Mother-Doe's touch. The small display of affection would have been frowned upon in many Warrens, where children and their Mother-Does had little to no familiarity with each other. But here, things were smaller, and Seena would always insist on doing things her own way anyway. Her displays of affection would be more overt still, except that she wasn't generally prone to such things. The Leveret glanced from one adult to the other, a very small smile on his mouth.

"Thank you," he said softly, again, and gently took his hand from his Mother's paw, sipping the last of his tea and setting the cup down with a gentle -clink- on the tray. "I...I suppose I will...go to bed now." Because it had been a long day, and now that he was thinking about it...Shelby was exhausted. He stumbled a bit awkwardly to his feet.

Seena nodded, still giving her son that soft look. "I do hope you sleep well, Shelby. In the morning we shall have much to discuss." She gave him a tired, rather worn, smile, which Shelby could only half return. Perhaps in time...well. Life had to go on, despite everything. Despite the loss of her daughter and her son's mutation.

[Kari Muffin]

"Good night," The Jack said quietly as he watched the boy and Doe. Things had gone amazingly well all things considered. It was unbelievable. Tomorrow was probably going to be a complete and utter nightmare. Especially if any of the leverets or Does caught sight of him.

It wasn't until he was sure that Shelby was out of the room and gone before he spoke to Seena. He sounded exhausted with each word. "I'm sorry about all of this... Seena. Thank you for being so well put together."

He slipped out of his chair to put his empty teacup on the tray. He needed to take care of Fleur's remains tonight. What had he even planned for that? He couldn't even remember what they were. "Are you going to be all right?" the rabbit said as he took a seat again, looking at the Doe with an expression laced with nothing but worry.

[Lucca]

Shelby left, finding the spare room his Father-Jack had offered and collapsing onto the bed in it. He was asleep within moments, though nightmares troubled his rest, and he awoke several times to find himself clutching the dagger in both hands.

Seena let out a shaky sigh as soon as her son was out of earshot. She nodded vaguely to Heike, trying to feel something other than worn out. All the worrying of the day combined with the past hour made her feel...older, somehow. She didn't like it. The Doe wordlessly turned to Heike when he sat back down, and had to fight the urge to just bury her head in his chest and cry again.

That wouldn't help anything, and there was work to be done. So, though she was trembling with barely-suppressed emotion, she lifted her head. "What are we going to do?" she asked, and was satisfied that her voice was a solemn, steady tone and didn't waver. She had never let her emotions overwhelm her too much in the past, and she certainly wouldn't start now. Not when so much was needed of her. Not when Heike obviously needed her help.

[Kari Muffin]

"I don't know," he said with a very heavy sigh. The Jack seemed to droop. "I know full well that even with the books I have on Card magic, that I wouldn't be capable of fixing what has happened to him. I don't even think a Card could fix him..."

He shifted to give Seena a light kiss on the forehead. It made him feel better that she was here. "I don't know if the others are going to be as accepting as you are, Seena. I need to have a talk with everyone individually or... something." The rabbit gave her a rather pathetic look before he decided to change the subject slightly. He needed a tiny bit of a break from all the depression. Fleur. He still had to take care of her remains before he had a chance to rest.

"Did everything run smoothly while I was away... you don't look like you got much rest."