Sanria stared at Velentham's grave once more as the stream running by the cottage stumbled over rocks with grumbles. A single blade of grass was sticking out of the mounded dirt, earning Sanria's ire. Whatever grew out of that ground was feeding off of his rotting corpse. Whatever grew out of that ground was part him. Sanria lifted a finger and zapped the grass out of existence. It withered away, curling up into a blackened mass, the smoke rising into the air. If she could have destroyed the smoke, she would have done that, too. He'd destroyed a child, he'd created another, and then tried to kill her because of his sick mind goading him on. Loathing was the least of her thoughts.
A small tug at her robes caused Sanria to look down. A rabbit sat on its haunches, a small scroll attached with a string around its fat belly. She freed the message, though the rabbit sat for a long moment before leaving:
Sanria,
I know you aren't exactly happy with what happened last time. I understand, but I need to see you. Not just me, but the kids too. I'm calling a family meeting - Me, you, Orn, and Leandra. We need to sit down and talk. Leandra is moving out but she's doing it out of anger, and Orn is still hurt by everything. I just want to try to clear the air for them. Please, come tomorrow at 6. Oliver, the rabbit, will bring back a message if you want him to, or just show up.
Colin
Oliver was gone when Sanria looked back up. She had made it into the house when the doorbell rang. Thasmudyan had come by to apologize. She let him see Nioma and lamented how Maya would not let the girl come to see her sister. She looked out over the forest, feeling a hole in her chest. Thasmudyan didn't love Maya. She didn't love Thasmudyan... there was nothing to be jealous over anymore. Velentham had ripped something out of her, stomped it, and made the small things in her life trivial. Only the sight of Nioma in Thasmudyan's arms warmed her a bit.
Gilean came out and she noted the jealousy as it flashed over his face on seeing Thasmudyan. It was getting to be too much, standing here with a past on one side, a future on the other, a request to join a family for a meeting... she went into the house with Gilean, told him she would be joining Colin and the kids, then found her way back outside to stare harder at Velentham's barren hill of dirt.
