Iridescent Lagoon Maybe it's the Karma that's keeping me down

For members of the Vuesain family only please. @Ally @Kateri

Archer Valle

When Sephrina died, Archer missed her. He still missed her. She had not fallen on the far side of the line he drew between himself and the family he'd been born into. It wasn't her fault... even if she had been the catalyst of all this. He'd grieved for her, and in his grief he'd sought comfort and he'd made this mistake. He'd led Kateri into this exile because he'd been so lost in his grief he had only been thinking about himself, how he would feel better - if only for a little while. He didn't think about how their actions might affect those around them.

He hadn't thought about Viorel, missing his wife already when he'd lost his daughter and, unlike the others who'd walked away, knew he would never see her again.

Archer had been so blind that he'd thought Viorel would forgive him his betrayal, just this once. And when he'd been punished the way he'd been told he would be, he lashed out instead of accepting his fate like an adult. He'd burned bridges. He'd made mistake after mistake after mistake and he couldn't take them back.

He didn't regret his children. Of course he didn't. He loved them more than he ever thought he could love another. He finally understood.

This was agony.

Archer looked down at the lifeless little body curled between his paws. So small. So small and fragile...

He'd gone in to check on him and the boy had barely been breathing. It was rasping and ragged and Archer knew. He'd lifted Andy and brought him outside, so he might breathe the fresh air just once, and the child had shivered and inhaled deeply - and then the air went out of him and took his life with it.

Archer looked at his son. He looked at him, kissed his tiny little head, and then threw his head back and screamed.

(This post was last modified: Jun 28, 2023, 03:16 AM by Archer.)

[size=x-small]Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Something was not right, her brother had grown cold and no longer responded to her prodding, nor even seemed distressed at their shared predicament, something which she was growing acutely more aware of. But not him. It was like he just lay there, fading.

Ally followed her father outside when he lifted the small quiet form, shadowing after the pair in hopeful confusion. Her father would know what to do, somehow. He'd fix everything.

Only when Archer flung his head back did she go reeling, tail between her legs, and let out a small yelp. The pup was not sure where to flee from the sound, back toward the den? But that would mean being alone, for the first time. Here were the only other two things in the world she knew, and so even though it terrified her to see her father cry out and her twin laying so still, she crawled toward them instead. She tried to quiet the sounds around her, pressing her head into Archer's dark fur, and found she could not shut them out.

Archer Valle

Archer was vaguely aware of his daughter shadowing behind, but he was so focused on his son's last breaths he didn't think of her until she was pressing against his side with her ears pinned back. He forced himself to take a deep breath and choke back the wave threatening to drown him. He turned and tugged Ally closer to him, holding her in a tight embrace. He sat like this for a long moment, allowing the grief to fill him while he remained silent. Then he tamped it down. He had a child to look after now, and he would not allow the grief to consume him.

He would not become Viorel.

"He's gone," he murmured. He didn't know what else to say. His first loss had been an old man he'd barely known, and his second had been his grandma. He couldn't really remember how Viorel and his ma had taught him about death. He didn't think he'd have to do this so soon - and not with her twin brother.

And not without Kateri.

[size=x-small]Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Drawing back, Ally dared a peek up at Archer's face. He looked upset, an expression that sent a disquiet through her despite never having seen it before. She didn't have to, this was instinctively and obviously wrong enough for even a child to know at once.

It felt a little less scary to sit with him. He was warm, solid, and present, which was for this very moment all she needed.
With her mother absent, her world had constricted painfully, and she clung to what was left. Instinct informed her, too, of her brother's departure. Whether or not it made any sense to her, it was the reality before her eyes. That stillness was in no living thing, no matter how asleep, or weakened.

She lifted her head and ears when her father spoke, mismatched gaze searching for answers. "Where go?" her small voice shook uncertainly.

Archer Valle

She was still so small - not as small as her brother, no. She had been stronger from the beginning, and only continued to grow so as she explored her world. Archer looked down at her, meeting a mix-matched gaze that looked so like her mother's - if only she had her same dark fur. It had surprised both of them that neither of their children had inherited their parents dark fur... but perhaps that was for the best.

His chest ached. It ached with a pain he hadn't known he could feel and he didn't know if he could bear it. Her question stung. It could have referred to anything. Her brother, beyond their experience forever. Her ma, who had vanished without a word, who Archer was trying to believe had had good intentions. Perhaps even them. He'd wanted to go further from his birthplace but been forced to settle down for the birth of their pups - now pup, who could travel. Could they stay here in this place of sorrow? If they left, would Kateri be able to find them when she came back?

Archer's mind strayed to his own ma. If she comes back.

He shook off that thought, choking back the anger and blame he wanted to cast. It would do him no good.

"Away," he said simply. "Andy isn't hurting anymore. He can run and play all day now." He was free from whatever ailment he'd been born with. He looked back down at her. "Do you want to leave here?" he asked gently.

[size=x-small]Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

She felt funny as looked at Andy, lying there, chewing on what Archer had said. She wasn't sure she understood, but she self it, and a lump grew in her throat trying to choke her. She tried to put on a brave face. Her Da said Andy was able to run and play without pain. She shouldn't be sad, but she couldn't help but feel that a part of her, half of her was missing. Even more than hurting, it was a lack of feeling, a phantom sensation of the connection that had been, suddenly cut off. Did he miss her, too?

Her gaze cast back to the den, the dark mouth of earth where she'd been quite happy and warm so recently. It seemed so very different now, too. Mama wasn't there, Andy wasn't there. If she went back now she'd have to bear it alone whenever she couldn't follow her dad. She'd rather try, to stick to him like a bur in his coat.

"Ya, go wit you," She'd nod up at her father eventually. She was afraid, certainly not knowing what it was he was asking or she was agreeing to, but ready to follow anywhere, too.

She could do that, right?

Archer Valle

Archer watched his daughter process things, glancing from her so-still brother to the den and back up at him. He couldn't help but feel that she still didn't understand. How could she? Death was so foreign a thing. No child should experience it so young. She'd barely been out of the den and now her twin was gone. He could see in her eyes that she knew she wouldn't see him again, but did that mean true understanding?

Archer offered her a small, reassuring smile and kissed her head, grooming behind her ears for a moment. "Of course," he said. "I won't ever leave you behind." It was just them, now. She was all he had left; everyone else was gone. And he was all she had. It wasn't fair for someone so small to lose so much. It wasn't fair! But he managed to choke the scream back for his daughter's sake. "We'll bury Andy by the lake, and then in a few days we can go." he wanted to give Kateri a chance to come back before they left the area she'd expect them.

He wanted Kateri to come back.

[size=x-small]Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.