For all that time they were alone, Niles remained at Enoki's feet, continuing to take what comfort she offered him. Sooner than expected, however, those footsteps came, hurried and frantic. There was Mother. The boy silently and shakily got to his feet, but Elettra did not have eyes for him. She strode past them, directly to where Angier laid, nestled up against the roots of the old willow tree, cold and still.

Niles felt as if he was starting to sink or fade away. In the fog it was much too easy to believe it so. Fresh, hot tears rolled from his eyes and his ears kept folded back. "Mother," he whispered, taking one step towards her. The longer he watched, studying them, the sooner it became apparent what had happened. It had been all too much. She, too, had stopped breathing. Niles' jaw quivered but he couldn't walk any further, to close that distance between them. This was not the Elettra he had wanted to come home to. He had wanted his mother but who he perceived was the Queen of Willow Ridge, his father's mate, she who only cared for the well-being of her life partner. It had become apparent to Niles now that the Old Gods much too pained by their passing to keep them from one another any longer.

Then, Renier came, a stranger for the most part (even if he smelled strangely familiar). His presence on the scene forced Niles to take a step backward and cower. He must have been the Leader in Angier's stead. The Leader's eyes came to regard all who had come; the younger Lyall cast his gaze away. All he could do was listen as that tragic song was lifted to the air for the whole of Southern Eden to hear. If he had been welcomed home, he might have joined in, but something else had caught his attention.

His heart skipped. His sister Ravenna had arrived... but, just like their mother, she also had not even noticed him there. Niles was not like his father at all, not as beloved, not as winsome or as endearing... If Angier had been the sun, then Niles was nothing more than a distant star, burning bright but much too small for anyone to notice. It was clear that he could not compare - perhaps never compare.

More tears damped his cheeks, the cold biting at his wet, black-lined lids. Behind the veil of haze, Sven had left and all Enoki could do was plead for her beloved Leader to return to her. Niles shivered as he fought to keep his head level. They didn't care for him. They weren't the only ones to have lost their loved ones. It tore at his insides like a frantic mouse, little teeth and little claws scratching up all the places where he had once kept Willow Ridge in high esteem. It was time to leave.

As slowly and as quietly as he could, he took one last good look at all them. This is what he would take with him. Whether or not he ever would make it to Torbine had yet to be revealed, but until then, he was going to remove himself from them all. They didn't care. Perhaps, have never cared... Niles had just been a misshapen silhouette, forgotten in the shadow of his five older brothers; and, because he didn't fit, didn't rise up to their expectations, he had been left behind. While Angier had tried, he had ultimately failed his youngest son. He had prepared him for multiple scenarios but not for this; and what small talk he had made about a life without him, Niles had not listened. Niles knew better now; his father had died when he believe that he would live forever.

Grief renewed from the sound of his sister's cries, Niles turned and fled. Opposite of the spot Sven had returned from, Niles fled away from the scene. He didn't care if it had occurred to them to stop him. All that mattered now was that he stayed away. Willow Ridge did not need him - had not even noticed him! - so now he had no means to believe he was of value to them. He would go to the place where he was needed, felt useful and, most importantly, felt loved...