Topic: Laying The Foundation

Natalya Bristol

Date: 2013-11-16 17:00 EST
((Follows the events of To Save a Life.))

Rhys heaved an audible sigh as he plunked himself down at the table, clearly exhausted, but not as exhausted as the pair they'd just tucked into bed. It was almost like babysitting, not that Rhys knew what babysitting was like. He'd never babysat even once in all his life. "You better talk to Rachel about birth control. It's like The Blue Lagoon. At the rate they're going, she's gonna end up pregnant. If he ever learns what to do with that thing." He picked up the tankard of ale the Handmaidens had seen fit to deliver, along with a few other supplies as soon as Rhys and Natalya had arrived in Avalon.

Nat laughed at him, shaking her head. She was not quite as tired as he was, but then, she had not gone head to head with witches only a few hours ago. Between them, they had helped the newly arrived Rachel and Zachariel to wash and tucked them into bed, and finally Rhys now had a chance to sit down while his wife went about making dinner from the various bits and pieces that had been brought to them. She wasn't the best cook in the world, but it was difficult to make any food on Avalon taste bad. "Do you really think the Lady would allow her to become pregnant on Avalon?" she asked her husband, glancing up from where she was adding a pinch of spice to the pot on the stove.

He shrugged as he took a long swallow from the tankard, which helped to soothe his nerves a little after a long day at the office, so to speak. "I don't know. Would she allow you to?" Though it was kind of a moot point, considering Natalya was already pregnant and that the Lady had predicted it would happen. "I'm not even sure if he's shooting live bullets," Rhys remarked regarding Zach's ability or inability to sire a child.

"We conceived outside Avalon," his wife reminded him. The Lady had been very clear on that point. "And for a man who was very unhappy about teaching Zach to wash himself, you seem very concerned that he is in full working order, milaya." She grinned over at him cheekily, reaching for a wooden spoon to stir the pot before setting it to simmer. She didn't know how to make much, but soup was a given when Nat had done a few interesting things with vegetables. Rhys had watched her wrapping thick slices of beef to bake in the oven, too, so he couldn't complain that she was going to make him eat rabbit food.

"I'm just not sure how I feel about him sleeping with my sister." Rhys took another thoughtful swig of his ale. "I mean, I hardly know her either. It's kind of weird." That was something of an understatement. His stomach grumbled loudly, reminding him he hadn't eaten since breakfast. At this point, he would have eaten just about anything. "There's no question he's in love with her."

"You both have a lot to learn about one another, Rhys," Nat told him, her voice gentle as she moved to stand at his side, smoothing her fingers through his hair. "But I do not think you will make a good start, if you try to tell her that she cannot be with the man she loves. Despite her childlike tendencies, she is a full grown woman, and ....though it may seem unnatural, unpleasant to you, I think that it is best this way. He won't hurt her, milaya. Not at all."

"That's just it, Nat," he said, lowering the tankard to the table and pulling her into his lap as she came to stand by his side. "It doesn't seem unnatural. Not at all. And I want her to be happy." He frowned a little bit sadly. "You should have seen it, Nat. They were going to kill him, and she stepped in the way. They were both willing to give their lives for the other. Sound familiar" If that's not love, I don't know what is."

"Then what is truly bothering you, dusha moya?" she asked him softly, curling her arms about his shoulders as he drew her down into his lap, her fingertips trailing against his throat affectionately. "They cannot stay innocent forever, and it would be better for them both if they lost that innocence together. But the fact of her loving him does not mean she will love you any less. You are her brother. No one can take your place."

"It's not that," he said, his arms going around her waist, as he rested his chin against her shoulder. He was perfectly happy to share his sister's love; that was as it should be. "It's just....They're both so innocent. They're like children. What are we gonna do with them' I mean, it's been twenty-five years, Nat. Can you imagine" Twenty-five years all alone." He turned quiet, saddened by the thought, though she never had to be alone again. In fact, Rhys would make sure of it.

She pressed her lips to his forehead as he quietened. For once, Nat did not have all the answers he wanted, regretting her lack of vision in not having considered all this days ago. "If the Lady allows, perhaps they should stay here a while," she said again, revisiting the first thought that had entered her mind concerning the sleeping pair above them. "They could be taught the basics of our world, how to pass unnoticed. I do not think I have the patience to teach such simple things, but I could build upon a foundation. We have months ahead of us, Rhys, where nothing is looming but the birth of our child. We could include them in those preparations, in finding a house, in settling. But I would not take them to New York without first knowing that neither one of them will freak out on the street."

"I promised Joey pancakes," Rhys remarked, unsure why he was reminding himself of such a thing, except that he perceived it as another in a long string of broken promises. All at once, he realized what was niggling at him, or at least, part of it. "I don't want to leave her behind again, but....I don't think they're ready for New York." And he knew they couldn't stay here forever. He had left Adam behind to clean up the mess in Iowa, and he'd promised to meet him in New York in a few days. Whether he had a sister or not, life went on. What was he supposed to do now" He felt torn.

"And you will be able to follow through on that promise," she assured him. "A little late, perhaps, but it will not be broken. And ....well, I do not think that a visit to Gina's house would break your sister, do you? She will get to see where you will be, and who you will be with, and you will both know that the mists are only a thought. You can visit her every day, make sure she knows that her time here is only temporary. That she will be coming home, soon."

"A thought I can't control," he added. "You know, when it was all over, and I realized he wasn't gonna make it, the first thing I thought of was bringing him here, but I couldn't do it alone, and if Lailah hadn't been there to fetch you, it would have been too late. He wasn't gonna make it, Nat. Not without help. I did the only thing I could think of, and that was to bring him here."

Natalya Bristol

Date: 2013-11-16 17:02 EST
She frowned, looking into his eyes with concern. "I do not think I understand what you are saying, Rhys," she admitted uncomfortably. "You would rather have control over everything, than to share your life with others who can help you? How is such a thing better" You could ask your sister, and she will tell you that being alone is the worst punishment for anyone to suffer."

"No, baby, it's not that," he said, lifting his head to meet her gaze, not wanting her to misunderstand. "I was scared, Nat. For the first time in a long time, I was scared and not for myself or for you, but for someone I didn't even know. And I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing. If bringing him here was the right thing, but I couldn't just let him die." He sighed, unsure if he was explaining himself right. "I didn't even think about it. I just did what I thought was right."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she began to understand. "That is a part of being human," she told him, never afraid to remind him that he had not always been as she was, that he did not have to understand why he felt the way he did at times. "But there is nothing in that fear that held you back. You took action, the only action you could, and your quick thinking saved a life. Do not look back and second-guess. It never serves any good purpose." She twisted a little on his lap, her hands rising to cup his cheeks. "You are a good man. Your instincts are those of a good man. Not one of us disobeyed you. Because we knew you were right."

He smiled finally, comforted by his wife's reassurance. "What made you so wise, Mrs. Bristol?" he asked, reaching up to playfully tweak her nose, even as she cupped his face in her hands. "Not to mention adorable," he added fondly.

She stuck her tongue out at him, the tip flicking against the tip of his nose in retribution for his abuse of her own button. "Marriage to you, Mr Bristol," she informed him laughingly. "Your sperm must have magical qualities."

He chuckled as she teased him back, his arms going tighter around her waist to draw her close against him. "Magical enough to make a baby," he teased back with a smile. For all his worries, he was happy. Worried about his sister, but happy. "We're part of a real family now, Nat. It's all I've ever wanted."

"I know." She smiled, looping her arms around his neck once again as he hugged her to him. "It is a little hard to believe that we only found out yesterday. I'm not even pregnant enough for a doctor to be able to confirm it." She giggled, nuzzling a tender kiss to his lips. "And you are not backing out of making decisions about where we are going to live or how the house is decorated," she warned him fondly. "Our house, joint effort."

"Yes, dear," he replied with a smirk, teasing a second kiss from her lips. He never seemed to tire of kissing her, even if it stopped there. "I love you, Natalya," he told her softly, sliding his fingers through her hair, lips seeking hers to return that kiss a third time. There was a lot they needed to discuss, but it didn't all have to be decided tonight. What was important was that his sister was safe and was part of their family now. Everything else would work itself out in time.

"Ya tebya lyublyu, milaya," she whispered back to him, always happy to kiss and be kissed by her husband. Kisses were all they could share right then and there, with food cooking on the stove soon to be served up, but kisses could be enough, for now. She smiled against his lips, nipping affectionately as her fingers dragged through his hair. "I will show you how much later."

"Damn straight you will," he replied with a grin, just as happy to kiss and be kissed as she was. The home fires were softly burning, but he could wait until later to let them blaze. He laid a hand against the flat of her belly, his heart soaring at the thought of a child growing inside her. "I guess the secret is out," he said with a soft smile, green eyes shining with pride and happiness. They had agreed not to share the news until she had seen a doctor, but it was hard to keep a secret where angels were concerned. "Is it too soon to hear a heartbeat?" he asked, curiously, knowing very little of how babies were made, beyond the obvious.

She laughed as he queried her, wondering why he seemed to think she would know the answer to that question. This was as new to her as it was to him, after all. "I ....I do not know," she admitted, her smile bright with delight at the mere fact that they were discussing their child. "I do not know if it even has a heart yet. It could still just be a fertilized egg at this moment. But whatever it is, she will be our firstborn. Our little girl. And we will be able to expect her brother in two or three years, and another child a few years after that. Our family has started to grow."

"It's more than I could have ever hoped for, Nat," he told her quietly, clearly growing emotional at the thought of a child, of raising a family with her. There had been a time when he had thought he was fated to remain alone, cursed even, but meeting Natalya had changed all that. She was the heart of his heart, the love of his life, and though he was not good with words or with sharing his feelings, he hoped she understood just how much she meant to him. "I hate to quote Tom Cruise, but you complete me. You make me happy," he said, with a gentle caress of her cheek and a soft smile.

Her brow rose with gentle teasing at his quoting, but there was a softness about her expression that promised him she knew what he was feeling. He meant as much to her as she did to him, both of them bound together in ways neither could begin to contemplate. "Quote from a poorly written rom com aside," she murmured, amusement flickering in and out of the love in her eyes, "you make me happy, too. I was lost before you found me, Rhys. I never want to be lost again."

Rhys chuckled at her criticism of Jerry Maguire, the second reference in one evening to some corny movie Rhys had discovered on late night TV during his occasional bouts with insomnia. "There are worse movies!" he said, kissing the tip of her nose and slipping carefully out from under her and setting her upon the chair. "Now, you relax, and let me finish making dinner." Because they both knew who the better cook was, and in this family, it wasn't the female half of the equation.

Natalya Bristol

Date: 2013-11-16 17:02 EST
Giggling as he took control of the kitchen from her, Nat let herself be settled into the chair, putting her feet up on another as she watched him. "You will have to teach me how to cook some time," she suggested through her smile. "Otherwise you will become Mr Mom very quickly when there are more mouths to feed."

"And what?s the matter with that?" he asked as he picked up the wooden spoon to stir the soup. "Am I wounding your female ego?" he teased as he scooped up a little broth to take a taste and see if it needed salt or anything else, for that matter. "I worked as a cook in New York for a year or so after the accident," he remarked, unsure if he'd ever told her that before or not. He rarely mentioned the accident, what had led to it, or what had come after. There were times when it seemed all that had happened to someone else, not him, but it was part of his past, part of his history, part of what made him who he was. He slurped a bit of the soup, deciding it needed just a little salt.

"And what am I supposed to be doing while you feed the children?" she asked laughingly. "Sit around, looking pretty?" It was glaringly obvious that she did not have the first clue how much work went into raising children, but that was something that would come with time. They'd learn it together. As for his past, she never pried. It had happened before they had met, and she did not like to think of her life before that day. Natalya did Rhys the courtesy of never asking him for anything he was not prepared to give.

"Well, no....I mean, I don't have....the, uh....proper equipment to breast feed, unless you were planning on bottle feeding." He furrowed his brows at the thought of something he'd never really had to consider before. This whole baby thing might be a little more complicated than he thought. "Just so you know, I won't be jealous if, you know, you decide to..." He gestured toward her, moving the wooden spoon in a circular motion, to somehow silently indicate her breasts. "Anyway, according to a certain kid in Brooklyn, I make the best damned pancakes ever," he boasted with a grin, emphasizing the word ever, just as Joey had done.

Her smile deepened as he utterly failed to use a word - any word - for what had to be one his favorite parts of her anatomy. "Interesting, that you have so many ways to refer to them when they are naked and in your hands, and yet the thought of a baby feeding from one makes you stutter," she teased laughingly, enjoying that fact a little too much. "However will you cope if I have to feed our daughter in public?"

"Stutter?" he echoed, looking a little indignant. "I didn't stutter!" Okay, maybe he had a little, but he wasn't going to admit it. "I like Mary and Jane equally well. I don't really have a favorite, so can't you just pick one for the baby and one for..." He trailed off, his jaw dropping open at the thought of her exposing herself in public, even for that. He wasn't too crazy about the prospect of anyone outside the family - hell, outside the bedroom - catching a glimpse of Mary or Jane, with the possible exception of their child or a doctor. "You're not flashing those babies in public. Nuh uh."

"Ah, then you can explain it to the screaming baby when she's hungry and we're out and about," Nat informed him cheerfully. She didn't know much about babies, but she had a feeling that they ran to their own schedule. "This is all months from now, of course. I believe ....Mary and Jane ....will put a little weight on in the next few months themselves."

He wasn't sure he was right, but he thought that might have been what bottles were invented for. He didn't say so though, as he was not too sure himself. He furrowed his brows as she continued, trying to sort all this out in his head. "Wait, they're going to get bigger?" He chuckled to himself. "That's awesome! You don't even need to get implants, just get pregnant! Not that, you know, there's anything wrong with the way they are now," he quickly added.

"Excuse me?" Nat stared at him, her eyes wide with startled surprise at that little outburst of his. The hurried addendum didn't help him, no matter how quickly he tagged it on there. "You have actually considered my getting breast implants?" She genuinely had no idea how to react to that - amusement seemed to be letting him off too lightly, and anger might be an overreaction.

"No, of course not! But you can't help me for having a few fantasies, can you? I mean, you gotta admit, your head on Pamela Anderson's body is pretty enticing. I'm talking Baywatch Pam, not Dancing with the Stars Pam." Oh, he knew he was digging himself a deeper grave, but he just couldn't help himself, partly teasing her and partly serious. He picked up the salt shaker and sprinkled a little into the broth she thought passed for soup.

"My head," she repeated, unimpressed. "Someone else's body." There was a long, infinitely uncomfortable pause as she seemed to spend far too long actually thinking this one over. "Rhys ....were you ever planning on having sex, ever again?"

He couldn't help but tease her when she left herself so wide open to it, and despite the fact that he knew he was getting himself in deeper, he was having a little fun getting her goat for once. She got his often enough, after all. He set the salt shaker and wooden spoon down, knowing he might have to flee any minute now or defend himself against an enraged and hormonally pregnant and jealous female. "What do we need to have sex for" You're already pregnant!" He smirked playfully at her as he waited for her reaction, which could just as easily be rage as amusement.

"I see." Maybe teasing her after she'd spent most of the afternoon pacing around, terrified that he might be dead, was a bad idea. Certainly it was a bad idea to seem to inform her that she was no longer attractive to him, even before she started to round out with pregnancy. "Should I schedule you in for the next time you want me to conceive, then?"

"Oh, come on, Nat. I'm only kidding! You know I don't want anyone but you," he said, moving back to where he'd left her in the chair and crouching down in front of her. He reached to take hold of her hands. "I love you," he told her, gentling his voice and smiling softly. He knew he'd gotten a little carried away, but he thought she should know him better than that.

Natalya Bristol

Date: 2013-11-16 17:03 EST
As he took her hands, she held his gaze for a long moment, that solemn expression there on her face. A solemn expression that very slowly morphed into a wicked grin. "Oh, milaya," she chuckled, leaning down to kiss him. "You are so easy to tease!"

He arched his brows, realizing he'd played himself right into her hands, literally, but it didn't really matter. She loved him, and that was all he really cared about. "So, which of you girls wants attention tonight' Nat, or Mary, or Jane?" he asked with a smirk and a mischievous waggle of eyebrows.

Still giggling, she slid closer to him, teasing a kiss against his lips. "How about a little four play?" she suggested, wondering if he'd even notice the pun as she kissed him once again. But she didn't let the kiss linger, drawing back with a wicked little smirk. "After you feed me. And your sister. And the ....not angel."

Without knowing how she had intended the word, the pun went completed over his head, but he leaned into the kiss, feeling certain parts of his body react - mostly that part Zachariel had dubbed his "phallus". "Foreplay?" he echoed, leaning closer for yet another kiss, obviously putty in her very skilled hands. He leaned even closer, puckering his lips up as he anticipated another kiss, frowning when she drew back. "Oh, come on," he said, smirking a little as he slid a hand up her leg. "We have time for a little hanky panky before dinner."

Before Natalya could answer, another voice broke the quiet ....sleepy and feminine, and emanating from the door that led into the spiral staircase. "What's hanky panky' Is that like toast?" Rachel paused, rubbing her eyes clear as she tugged her robe tighter about herself, bare toes wriggling on the floor beneath her.

Nat smirked, looking into Rhys' eyes with deep amusement. "I will let you answer that one, milaya," she chuckled wickedly. "You are eminently qualified to do so."

Rhys practically jumped out of his skin at his sister's unexpected and untimely interruption. "Uh..." he turned to Nat for help, scowling in annoyance when she passed him the buck. "Oh, I wouldn't dare rob you two of an opportunity for girl talk, dear," he replied, emphasizing the dear and giving his wife a pointed look before moving to his feet.

Nat snorted with laughter at his slightly grumpy attempt to pass the buck back to her. "How graphic would you like me to be with your little sister, darling?" she countered cheerfully, twisting to hold her hand out to Rachel. "Come and sit, sestrenka. Your brother is making something to eat."

Confused by the by-play between the couple, as well as the lack of actual answer, Rachel shuffled toward them, letting her hand fall into Nat's as she rubbed her other hand through her hair. "Where is Zachariel?"

"Don't you want to explain how babies are made, sweetheart, since we're going to have one?" he countered, flashing her a cheesy grin as he gently bumped her hip with his own on his way back to tend the soup. He snatched his tankard of ale and took a swallow before setting it on the counter beside him. He whistled innocently to himself as he stirred the soup, waiting to see what Nat's next move would be.

Sweetly oblivious to the teasing that was going back and forth, Rachel frowned in confusion as she sat down at the table, uncertain whether they were making no sense because she was still half-asleep or just not making sense. "You're going to have a baby?" she repeated. Seeing that Rhys was obviously not going to answer her questions, she turned to Nat hopefully.

Nat eyed Rhys' back with a look that promised retribution as she found a cup and filled it with water for his sister. Turning to sit with the younger woman, she smiled gently. "Yes, we are - I am going to have a baby," she confirmed, although she doubted that really helped Rachel's confusion. "And Zachariel is asleep in one of the rooms upstairs."

Rhys kept right on whistling right through Nat's explanation, as if they weren't even there. It was a little tit for tat, but the truth was he had no idea how to explain the birds and the bees to anyone, let alone a sister he hadn't known for more than twenty-four hours, and he really believed Nat would do a much better job at it than he would. He wasn't really trying to be irresponsible; he was just downright embarrassed. "It's okay, Rach," he interjected at the mention of the man-angel. "I tucked him in myself. He's sleeping like a baby." Oh, shoot, there was that word again!

"Oh, good." There was a pause as Rachel drank a little of the water Nat gave her, obviously still working through most of what she had heard. "So ....what?s a baby?"

Nat choked on her own water, spluttering wildly as she groped for a towel to dry off her chin and chest. Whatever she'd thought Rachel was going to say, it wasn't that.

Rhys had turned back to the soup, but kept one ear open to the conversation going on between the two women - or one woman and one woman-child. He furrowed his brows at the question, realizing he had pegged the situation pretty well. Rachel was as innocent and inexperienced as a child, even at the age of twenty-five. He glanced at Nat, taking pity on her at last and wondering if he should just volunteer to take his sister under his wing.

Gasping for breath, Nat leaned against the counter beside Rhys as she wiped herself dry. "I think you should take this," she told him through a last little splutter. "At least until I get a few books about it I can read to her."

At the table, Rachel was waiting patiently for an answer, completely unaware that she had said anything wrong at all. She truly had no idea how little she knew of the world and the people in it, which was just another reason for her to stay in Avalon a little while longer. Someone here must surely be able to give her a crash course in "Human" and "Earth".

Natalya Bristol

Date: 2013-11-16 17:04 EST
"You know more about the....process than I do," Rhys muttered beneath his breath back to his wife before flashing his sister a cheesy half-baked smile. "What am I supposed to say?" he whispered back as he handed her the wooden spoon.

"You really think that?" Nat asked him, panic barely concealed in her gaze. "Rhys, you've been around a pregnant woman before. I have never been so close, and now I am pregnant. Like it or not, milaya, you're the expert here."

"Around a pregnant..." He trailed off, his mind going in one direction that he didn't really want it to go before veering off in another. She meant Gina. Gina, not Riley. He paused for a moment before redirecting his thoughts back to the present. "Right, well....It's not like I had a baby," he remarked, but he really didn't want to argue the point. He sighed, frowning, and picked up his tankard. "Come on, little sister. Time to learn about the birds and the bees."

"I would be very worried if you had given birth," Nat murmured to him, but the look in her eyes was grateful as he turned toward his sister. All he had to do was put enough information there that would hold Rachel for a few days, until Nat had a chance to get a few baby books.

At the table, Rachel lifted her head once again, meeting Rhys' gaze with a soft smile. "You said that before, when you were with Zachariel," she said, hoping to be helpful in what he obviously considered an awkward conversation. "Is that the same as hanky panky?"

He grumbled a reply to Nat, that was more acknowledgement than anything else. He didn't think he'd have to give anyone the birds and the bees speech for at least another, oh, sixteen years or so, give or take. He wondered if he was going to have to repeat it to Zach or if the angel had picked up anything useful about humans during his time spent as an angel. "Yes and no, and we're not doing this here. Not with Nosy Nancy watching," he told his sister as he started toward the sitting area near the hearth, waving her toward a chair. "Take a seat."

Leaving Nat in the kitchen, keeping an eye on the food, Rachel rose to her feet and shuffled after Rhys, her water cup in one hand. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked him uncertainly, sitting down in the chair he indicated with blind obedience. "I didn't mean to. I don't mean to be any trouble at all, I just don't understand."

"No, you didn't say anything wrong," he replied, turning and taking a lean against the hearth, trying hard not to look awkward and nervous and failing miserably. He finally gave up, sighing heavily and taking a seat beside her. "Look, I'll be honest. I'm just not very good at this big brother stuff. I mean, I've never been one until now, and it's gonna take some getting used to, you know?" he rambled off rather quickly, but of course, she didn't know, and he continued before she got the wrong idea. "It's not that I don't want to be a big brother. I do. I mean..." He sighed again.

"Well ....if it helps, I'm not very good at the little sister stuff," she offered shyly. "I didn't even really know what a brother was until I met you yesterday. Mom told me about you, after you left and before Zachariel got there. I haven't seen her since. I think maybe she thinks now I've got you, I don't need her anymore." She offered him another hopeful smile, shrugging lightly.

He had been talking about himself, trying to explain why he felt awkward, especially now that the danger was over and they had to go about their normal lives again. He really wanted to forge a relationship with his little sister; he just wasn't sure how to start, and then she went and mentioned their mother and knocked him completely off track again. All the color drained from his face, and his lips moved nervously, but no words were coming out. "Mom?" he echoed, after a startled moment. "You saw Mom?"

His reaction was obviously not what she had expected. "Is that bad?" she asked him, worry blooming in her expression. "I mean ....isn't it normal" She's been around my whole life. Real sad, and she doesn't talk much, and I know she's not really there. But without her ....I'd have gone nuts years ago."

"Wait, you....you've been seeing Mom for years?" he echoed, tossing a troubled glance at Nat in the kitchen, despite his teasing that he didn't want her to poke her nose into their conversation. He glanced back at his sister, with that troubled expression still on his face, unsure whether their deceased mother's visits were a good thing or a bad thing and whether they were even real or imagined. Could the house he'd grown up in be haunted....by his mother" Or had she only been there to comfort the daughter that had been taken from her" And why hadn't she ever shown herself to him'

Nat met his glance with a gentle warning in her eyes not to make too big a deal of this. Rachel didn't know her mother's appearances to her were out of the norm; making her self-conscious of them would not help anyone.

The young woman in question glanced between husband and wife in confusion, her green eyes wide with disingenuous concern. "Did I say something wrong again?" she asked worriedly. "Was I supposed to not say anything about Mom?"

Rhys snapped out of his thoughts, wondering how the hell he was supposed to react to this or even begin to explain it. "No," he started, needing to repeat himself if only to make himself clear. "No, you didn't say anything wrong. It's just..." He licked his lips nervously before looking back at his sister. He needed to tell her the truth, but he didn't want to hurt her. She had already been through enough. He set his tankard on a table and reached for her hand, a thought coming to mind. "Rach, Mom is....She died a long time ago. If you've been seeing her all these years....If she's been visiting you, it's because she loved you and she didn't want you to be alone, but now....You're not alone anymore....and I'm....I'm not sure she can enter Avalon."

As though calling out his uncertainty, something in the air changed. Despite the warmth from the hearth and the stove, the room grew cold, frost rising on the inside of the windows. Nat advanced suddenly from the kitchen, recognizing the signs in a place where she had been absolutely certain she would never see them. "Rhys?"

Natalya Bristol

Date: 2013-11-16 17:05 EST
Rhys had been raised a hunter by a hunter. He'd been on more than one ghost hunt. He'd experienced his share of ghosts, but he'd never encountered the ghost of someone he'd known or loved before. He'd never even so much as considered trying to contact any of them, on purpose or otherwise. The dead were dead, and he thought they should remain that way, especially the long dead. He felt a strange chill run up his spine, his breath turning to vapor as the room's temperature quickly dropped. "Oh, sh*t..." he muttered, wondering if it really was his mother's ghost that was about to drop in on them or someone or something else, forgetting for a moment that this was Avalon, and no harm could come to them here. "Nat?" he called, wishing she'd get her *ss in there.

Of the three of them, only Rachel seemed entirely unperturbed by the obvious signs of a manifestation in progress. She simply waited, patient and quiet, her face turned toward the hearth where a figure was beginning to ease into view. This figure did not flicker, as other ghosts did, but simply seemed to form into being - no doubt some part of Avalon's magic keeping her appearance from being too startling. And there could be no doubt who it was.

A pale, beautiful face framed with golden hair, green eyes that were shared by the siblings for whom she had come gentle and weary; a body that bore the last signs of a pregnancy, her shirt bloodied, though no wound was present to be seen. There was no vengeance in her, it seemed, merely a determination not to go until she was no longer needed. She smiled at Rachel as the girl smiled back, and turned her eyes to Rhys. "My poor little boy," she said softly, and the voice was one he remembered from the happier days of his childhood. "You've seen so much."

Rhys stared dumbfounded as his mother's ghost, for lack of a better word, manifested right before his eyes. It wasn't fear he was feeling really - he had no reason to fear the woman who had born and raised him until he was nine. It was mostly shock and grief, memories of his childhood sweeping over him, as well as the horror of her death. "Nat!" he called again, unaware where his wife had disappeared to or if she was seeing this. "You better get in here!" He noticed the blood on her shirt, proof of what the demons had done - what Abaddon had done - which the boy he had once been had thankfully been spared from witnessing. "Mom?" he said tentatively, hardly believing his own eyes, his voice sounding small and weak as his gaze trailed upwards to the face he remembered so well.

His wife flinched from the yell of her name, having already come out of the kitchen. She pressed her hand on his shoulder, knowing that no harm could come to them in Avalon. But this little visit, whether it had been planned or not, had the potential for great upheaval in its wake.

Clair Bristol's smile didn't waver, nor did her eyes leave those of her son. She had not seen him since the night she had died, and yet there he was. "You've grown up handsome," she told him, pride in her voice for the man before her. "Just like your daddy."

Rhys was gratefully aware of Nat's hand on his shoulder, her presence bolstering his courage to face a past he'd sooner forget. He wanted to ask where she'd been all these years, but he didn't have to; he already knew the answer to that question. She'd been with Rachel, watching over her, keeping her as safe as she could. And all the while he'd grown up alone, presuming his sister dead, along with his parents. "Mom, I'm so sorry about Dad..." he started, his voice getting stuck in his throat.

She shook her head, wanting to stem the tears that he was so close to crying. "It was not your fault, Rhys," she told him, her voice warm but stern in the face of unnecessary guilt. "Death makes a lot of things very clear. You are not to blame for your father's death, or mine, or your sister's fate. You were put on the Earth for a purpose, and to that fate you held true. I knew you would come for her eventually. Despite your short time with him, you are your father's son."

Rhys wasn't sure if being like his father was a good or bad thing, but his memories of the man were mostly good ones, except for that last night. He had never understood how a demon could possess a good man such as his father and force him to perform such horrific acts, but he had seen it time and again in his dealings with demons over the years and had come to realize that his father had been just as much a victim as his mother and sister. It took him a moment to find his voice, his words thick with emotion. "But....If I'd never been born, then none of this would have happened. You and Dad would still be alive, and Rachel..." His voice broke again at the mention of his sister's name.

"And the Gates of Hell would still be open," Clair said, her confidence that the right thing had happened overwhelming. "The Dark Triad would still walk. And I would not have a granddaughter." Her gaze flickered to Nat, the smile on her ghostly face almost lifelike in its sweet impishness. "You are everything I could have wished for my son. Look after him for me."

Swallowing hard, Nat found herself nodding without even needing to consider what her reply should be. What else could she do' You couldn't argue with a dead woman - she knew things you would never know.

Tears trickled down Rhys' face, but he hardly knew they were there. He reached for Nat's hand, needing to know she was right there beside him and wasn't going anywhere. She was an integral part of his life now, and he couldn't imagine living without her. He gave Nat's hand a small squeeze as his mother's ghost chose to address her, accepting and welcoming her, even from beyond the grave. "I couldn't have done it without Nat," he said quietly, knowing in his heart it was true. As much as he hadn't wanted to get them involved, he knew he couldn't have finished his quest without their help, without Heaven's Triad to thwart that of Hell's. "I love her, Mom, more than I've ever loved anyone."

"I know, my sweetheart," the ghost of Clair Bristol assured him tenderly. "There is no guilt or blame attached to you for the fates we all suffered. It was our choice, Rhys. They came to us; they asked us for our permission. We knew the dangers. It was our choice."

Natalya Bristol

Date: 2013-11-16 17:06 EST
"Your choice?" Rhys echoed, not quite understanding. Who were they" The angels" Michael and company' "I don't understand," he said, though he sort of did. It had to be angels. There was no other explanation. "What about Rachel" She didn't have anything to do with this. She was innocent." And still was apparently.

"We were not supposed to have another child," his mother's specter tried to explain, hurrying to add to Rachel, "Not that we loved you any less, pumpkin. But we made ourselves vulnerable." She looked to Rhys once again. "Your sister has been safe all these years. Despite the outward appearance, the witches never harmed her. Perhaps it was for the best, perhaps not. What's done is done. Rachel is your responsibility now." She smiled, the expression warm on her cold face. "You will find that she is very easy to love."

His responsibility' He wondered just how much his mother knew about what had taken place over the last day or so. Did she know there was a fallen angel resting in a room not far away who had loved his sister for an eternity' And yet, that angel was nearly as innocent as his sister, incapable of caring for themselves until they learned more about the world around them. Rhys momentarily tore his gaze away from his mother's specter to glance at the sister beside him. He reached for her hand, forming a connection between himself, his sister, and his wife, with him in the center. "Don't worry, Mom. We'll take good care of her." I already love her, he thought to himself. I've never stopped loving her.

Rachel raised her eyes to his, soft trust in a gaze that had always been affectionate toward him as he took her hand, inching closer as her gaze returned to their mother. On Rhys' other side, Nat lowered herself to sit on the arm of the seat he shared with his sister, switching her hands in his to wrap her arm over his shoulder, touching Rachel's shoulder with outstretched fingertips. The message was clear - Natalya was fully prepared to look after both of them, however long it might take get them both back on their feet.

Clair Bristol seemed to relax, her cold, weary face holding that warm, loving expression as long as she could. "I've done what I could," she told them all. "I love you, Rhys. And I love you, Rachel. I am so proud of you both."

Rhys felt Nat's arm slide around his shoulder, both his sister and his wife close at hand. There was no question that Nat and Rhys would take care of his sister, but it wasn't just about that. They were a family now, and as such, they would not only take care of Rachel, but each other. Rhys sensed that his mother's visit was reaching an end, and he felt a sense of panic and urgency rise up inside him, emotions bubbling to the surface. "Will I - will we ever see you again?" he asked, green eyes that matched hers swimming in a sea of tears.

His mother's ghost let her smile fade, love still in her eyes, but an understanding of his pain at their parting clear in her gaze. "It's my time, Rhys," she said softly. "I promised myself I would see Rachel safely into your hands before I went with my Reaper. Your father is waiting for me. I'm ready to go."

"Mom..." he said, needing her to wait just a moment longer. There were so many things he wanted to say, needed to say, but there was no time, and he thought she probably knew all of it already. His heart ached at the thought of never seeing her again, at least in this lifetime, and yet, he was grateful for the opportunity to see her again and to say goodbye. He wasn't sure how to tell her everything he was feeling and thinking. In the end, it could all be summed up in just a very few words. He wished he could hug her, feel her arms around him again, like he had when he was a boy, and yet, this was more than he could have ever hoped for. "I love you, Mom," he told her, like he had so many times before when he was still young and innocent, before their lives had been shattered.

"I'll miss you, my little sweetheart." She bent forward, leaving the ghost of a kiss on his cheek as warm, white light spread through her ghostly form, dissipating it until nothing remained but the memory of the woman who had given him life. But there were arms around him in that moment, the arms of his wife and his sister, the arms of people who loved him and wanted to somehow make everything all right. He wasn't alone.

For just a moment, Rhys felt like that nine year old boy again, warm and secure in the embrace of his mother's unconditional love. "I miss you, too," he whispered, the words thick with emotion again. Seeing her again gave him comfort, but it also pricked at the grief that lay hidden safely deep inside his heart. He felt a little of that warmth emanate from her as she somehow left a kiss against his cheek, watching as she faded from view to become an angel herself, at least in his eyes, freed at last from the bonds of her Earthly life to join his father in whatever new life awaited them. As soon as she was gone, he turned toward Natalya and pressed his face to her shoulder, his own shoulders shaking gently with quiet sobs.

Nat wrapped her arms around him, her own eyes watery as she held him against his grief, against the shock of seeing his mother again only to lose her for the last time. There were no words that could alleviate that pain, no comfort she could really give except to be there for him as he pushed through the worst to come out cleansed. Her fingers smoothed through his hair as he cried on her shoulder, murmuring meaningless nothings to soothe him against his ear. Neither thought, in those first moments, to look to the third member of their little group.

Rachel sat quietly in the wake of her mother's leave-taking, unable to misunderstand what had happened. The figure who had guided her, kept her from succumbing to loneliness and hurt through the long years of her life ....was gone. She would never return. Rachel dissolved into quiet, grief-stricken tears of her own, pressing her mouth into the sleeves of her robe to muffle the sound, as the first, terrifying thought rippled through her mind. She was alone again.

Rhys hadn't forgotten that his sister sat beside him, but overcome with a renewed sense of loss and grief, he'd needed a moment to come to grips with those feelings before he could push past them and do what his mother had asked of him and what he himself wanted to do. After a long moment, he lifted his head from Nat's shoulder and wiped the wetness from his face with a hand, looking from Nat to Rachel, his heart sinking to see his sister looking so alone and forlorn. He wordlessly glanced at Nat, as if for permission to comfort his sister in her grief.

Natalya Bristol

Date: 2013-11-16 17:07 EST
What he got for that glance was a wry roll of his wife's eyes and a gentle shove to his shoulder. He should know better than to think he needed permission to look after his little sister when she needed him. Smiling, Nat wiped her own eyes dry and rose to her feet, moving to return to the kitchen in the hope of rescuing what was left of dinner.

He smiled through his tears to his wife at the gentle shove to his shoulder, knowing they'd talk more about this later, when they were alone and he could let down his guard without worrying about his sister feeling left out or lonely. "Rach," he called her gently, touching his fingers to her shoulder. "Sweetheart, it's okay. You're not alone anymore."

Wet green eyes opened at the sound of her name, at the touch of her brother's hand against her shoulder. Rachel sniffled loudly, unashamed of her tears, not knowing any other way to release the pain of loss. Looking into Rhys' eyes, feeling and seeing the familial affection he felt for her, it was enough to banish the feeling of being all alone. She may have lost her mother, but she had gained a brother. With a quiet sob, she lurched toward Rhys, throwing her arms around his waist as she cried on his shoulder, trusting him not to let her fall into the darkness of isolation ever again.

More than a little surprised at the open trust and love she displayed for her long-lost brother, Rhys could not help but feel a tug at his heart for this sweet innocent creature, pushing his own grief aside and opening his own heart and arms to comfort the only one left who was his own flesh and blood. "It's okay, Rach. Mom's at peace now. You're safe. No one's ever gonna hurt you again," he promised her gently as he wrapped his arms around her to hold her close, fingers stroking her hair, like one might a child. He had no idea how to be a big brother, but it seemed he was doing just fine, so far.

Some things, it seemed, were instinct, born into him, just waiting to be needed. It seemed to take a long time for Rachel to cry herself out, ridding herself not just of the grief for a mother who had lingered long past her time, but of the pain and shock of the day that had just passed, the loneliness of the lifetime that had gone before. This was a new beginning, for all of them, united finally in a way no spell could break. She hiccuped softly as she drew back a little way, wiping at her face with one hand as she looked up at her big brother. "I missed you," she said quietly. "I didn't know what I was missing, but I knew you weren't there. I'm so glad you're here again."

He held her in his arms and let her cry for as long as she needed, tears of his own spilling over onto his cheeks. Not tears of grief or sadness. No more regrets for what had passed and could not be changed. He was happy to have her as part of his life again, happy to be able to comfort and console and take care of her, like he hadn't been able to do before. "I missed you, too," he admitted, smiling affectionately down at her as she drew back from him and wiping the tears from her face with a gentle touch. "I've loved you from the moment Mom told me I was gonna have a sister, you know. I've loved you and missed you. No matter what happens, I'm always gonna be here for you, Rachel. I'm always gonna be part of your life now."

Her face lit up like a sunrise with a smile that beamed delight at his promise to always be there. Only one person had made that promise to her before, and he was currently passed out above them somewhere. "Even though I don't know anything?" she asked in her soft voice, sniffing to clear her nose after her storm of weeping. "I'm very stupid. They always told me that. That I'm stupid and I won't last five minutes in the world."

Her words tugged at his heart again, but he pushed aside the hatred he felt for those who had wronged her - wronged them both - to focus on rebuilding her confidence and trust. "You're not stupid, sweetheart. You're innocent. There's a difference. Besides, learning new things is going to be fun! There's so much you don't know about the world, Rach. It's..." He paused, a smile forming on his face as a thought sprang to mind. "I wanna show you something," he said, grabbing hold of her hand and pulling her to her feet. "Be right back, Nat! Just taking Rachel outside a minute!" he called to his wife, so she wouldn't worry.

"Don't be long," was called back to him from the kitchen as Rachel surged to her feet, infected by his sudden excitement. He was right; there was so much she had to learn, so much to experience for the very first time. She had never really been outside one room in her entire life. Hand in hand with her brother, she shuffled over the rug that protected her bare feet from the stone floor, blowing her hair out of her face, wondering just what it was he wanted to show her that could be so important.

In his excitement, he forgot she was barefoot as he led her by the hand out the front door of the little stone house that was their home away from home in Avalon. The autumn breeze was cool and crisp with the promise of winter not far off, but not cold enough to warrant winter clothing just yet. The grass was cool and damp, the breeze sighing through the trees, which were nearly bare in expectation of winter. The landscape, though barren and waiting for snow, was breathtaking to behold. There was no place quite like Avalon on Earth, Rhy'Din, or anywhere else Rhys had ever been. "Nat and I have two homes, Rach, one on Earth and one here in Avalon." He breathed in, filling his lungs with the fresh, clean autumn air, invigorating as it was cleansing.

She gasped softly at the strange sensation of cold, wet grass beneath her feet, at the sheer openness that stretched out all around her. Her hand tightened in Rhys' grasp as she shivered unexpectedly in the cold, startled by the brush of the wind against her. "What's that pushing me?" she asked, surprised and intrigued by the invisible force that nudged her gently.

He wasn't sure what she was referring to for a moment, before realizing it was only the wind. He laughed, both amused by her question and his own misunderstanding of what she meant. "It's the wind," he explained, realizing she knew absolutely nothing about anything outside the four walls of her former prison cell. He turned toward her, reaching to touch her hair as it stirred in the breeze. "It's starting to get cold. In a few weeks, it will snow." He noticed she was shivering and shrugged out of his jacket to settle it over her shoulders, not yet noticing her feet were still bare. "I love it here. It's peaceful," he said, turning back to take in the view, which made his heart swell with contentment.

"Wind," Rachel repeated, whatever fear she might have had at that first encounter with the natural phenomenon whisked away by the laughing confidence of her brother. She barely noticed him tucked his jacket over her shoulders, lifting her gaze to look up into the sky, squinting painfully at the sun. "Does the light come from that all the time?" she asked him, her gaze falling away to look across the open valley, with its Temple and Abbey, the many libraries and places of study. There was nothing in her experience that could possibly account for anything she saw. "Is that the world" It's so big. And cold. What is Avalon' Who was that woman who helped Zachariel?"

Natalya Bristol

Date: 2013-11-16 17:07 EST
He laughed light-heartedly at the sudden barrage of questions. "It's the sun," he replied. "Don't stare at it too long, or it'll hurt your eyes." He found himself at a loss to explain the passage of days and nights, pausing a moment to gather his words, but before he could answer, she was asking more questions. "No, it's not the world. It's Avalon. It's a....magic place. A secret place. A special place. Not many are allowed to come here." His gaze moved over the landscape, turning his eyes toward her at the mention of the Lady. "She is the Lady of Avalon. She's sort of the ruler here, I guess. It's a little hard to explain," he said, frowning and wishing he was better at this sort of thing.

"She was so sad." Rachel's voice seemed to ache with sympathy for the Lady who had given her so much, her smaller frame sagging against Rhys' side as she wriggled her fingers into his hand. "And so powerful. Like Mom." In her mind, it was not so strange a comparison to make, her attention already caught by the shapes of the Handmaidens in their blue and purple robes, going about their business in the Temple proper. "Who are they' Are they witches?"

He tangled his fingers with hers as she leaned against him, her gaze traveling to the view before them, the Lady's Handmaidens going about their usual tasks. He remembered when all of this had been foreign and strange to him, but he'd had some point of reference and experience with which to come to an understanding of it all. "No, they're not witches. There are no witches here." He paused another moment as if to consider his words. He led her toward a wooden bench that had been set nearby so that he and Nat could enjoy the view.

Shuffling along with him, she paused at a sudden sharp pain in the sole of her foot, lifting it up to inspect the tiny piece of broken branch that she had trodden on. There was no injury, just the sharp pain of impact that faded the moment she lifted her foot, holding onto Rhys to stay balanced as she pulled the little piece of debris free. "That hurt."

He paused as she did, noticing with a frown that she was still barefoot. "Oh, crap. I'm sorry. Are you okay?" He wasted no time in scooping her up and carrying her over to the bench to settle her against it, crouching down in front of her to take a closer look at her foot, thankful it hadn't been injured. "I forgot you weren't wearing shoes. Sorry."

Rachel squeaked in surprise as he brother scooped her off her feet, giggling at the overly-macho display of belated consideration. "It was just a little hurt," she tried to tell him, but the moment he started to inspect her foot, she started laughing. And she couldn't stop, wriggling and trying to pull her foot out of his grip. "That tickles, stop!"

He echoed her laughter, relieved she wasn't hurt and amused by her wriggling and giggling. Though a grown woman, he had to remind himself that she was still very much like a child. "Sorry!" he apologized again, reaching around her to tuck his coat over her to keep her warm, like a blanket, before settling himself on the bench at her side. It was a little awkward at first, but he expected that. It would take time before they felt comfortable in the other's presence. "Nat can help you with clothes and things. I don't know much about girly things."

"She said she wants to take me shopping," his little sister offered as she nestled in beneath his arm. He might be feeling a little uncomfortable, but Rachel seemed absolutely at home, resting in the crook of Rhys' arm without a second thought. "To get clothes and pretty things to make me feel like a proper person." She paused, looking up at Rhys. "What does "stacked" mean' Only Natalya said I'm stacked and she's not, and that's why her clothes don't fit me."

"She would," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and making a mental note to thank Nat later for that, at a complete loss as to how to explain that bit of slang. "Uh..." He glanced her way, trying to keep his eyes on a level with her face and not stray downward to see if Nat was right. "It's got to do with size, I think." He was hoping that would be sufficient explanation enough, wondering suddenly how the hell she got through puberty without a mother to explain things.

"Oh. I'm bigger than her?" This seemed to confuse Rachel a fair bit. "Because she's taller than me. That doesn't make any sense." She shrugged, dismissing it as probably not that important for now, tilting her head back to meet Rhys' gaze once again. "Why won't either of you tell me what a baby is?"

"Uh," he muttered again, lifting his hands and cupping them in the air over his chest to try to indicate his meaning. "No, I mean..." He broke off as she changed the subject, an uncharacteristically rare blush flushing his face, relieved that she'd changed the subject to something only slightly less embarrassing but even more difficult to explain. "Um, a baby' A baby is....Do you know what a child is?"

Her sharp eyes followed the movement of his hands in confusion before he blushed and jumped on the change of subject. "I think I do," she offered helpfully. "I was a child, when I was littler, before I started bleeding and stopped growing. A child is what an adult is before they are an adult. I think."

"Right, good..." Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as he thought. "A baby is what a child is before they're a child." He once again gestured with his hands, roughly indicating the size of a baby, though he wasn't too sure himself. Bigger than a loaf of bread, smaller than a breadbox" Did anyone even use a breadbox anymore" There was a lot more to it than that, but it was a start.

She accepted this at face value, knowing that he wouldn't lie to her. For a moment, her hands mirrored his, setting in her mind's eye the rough size of a baby, whatever it really was, before she tucked herself warm inside his jacket and leaned into him again. "When will you and Nat go and get your baby?"

"Um..." There was the voice of surety again. "We don't go get a baby, Rach. A baby....uh....is kind of like a tree." If only she knew what a tree was and how it grew, his analogy might actually work. "A seed is planted in a woman's womb....In this case, Natalya's....And it grows into a baby," he explained, talking partly with his hands again to indicate the growth from a tiny embryo to a full-grown fetus.

Again, Rachel took all this in at face value, nodding as she absorbed what he told her. Once again, her hands mirrored the movement of his to try and make a little sense of what she was learning here. And once again, she had a question at the end of it. "That makes sense, I suppose. Two things, though ....what?s a womb, and what?s a seed?"

Natalya Bristol

Date: 2013-11-16 17:08 EST
Rhys chewed at the corner of his mouth as her questions got harder to answer and more specific. He really thought Nat should be explaining. She was a woman, after all, coward that she was. "A womb is, um, inside a woman's body, right about here..." he said, reaching over to lay his hand against her abdomen, feeling his face flush hotly again. Okay, relax, she's your sister, for God's sake! "And uh, when two people love each other and want to share their love with a child, they, um, plant a seed inside the woman's womb together." Okay, it was a lot more complicated than that, and love didn't even need to be involved, but it was a start.

She watched his hand lower to her abdomen, the sweet look on her face never wavering, not seeing anything to blush about. Though of course she wouldn't. She had no idea how awkward this conversation really was, after all. "So Nat is growing your baby seed?" she asked to clarify what she had been told. "When will she have to let it out?"

He breathed a sigh of relief. Oh, thank God, she hadn't asked how the seed got in there! He furrowed his brows in thought at her next question. They hadn't even seen a doctor yet, and he wasn't quite sure when the baby was due. "Nine months or so, I guess. July maybe? I'm not sure. We only found out a few days ago."

Which would have been a perfectly good explanation, were it not for one tiny problem. "What's a July?" His little sister had no concept of time, how it passed, how humanity had broken up time into years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. All she knew was that when the light was bright, it was time to be awake; when it was dim, she should be asleep. Twenty-five years of never knowing the day or the time, and never noticing that lack of knowledge.

"July is a month. It's a measure of time. It's a little complicated, but you'll get it eventually. You should start slow or you're going to get confused. When it's light out, it's daytime. When it's dark, it's night. Night passes into day and day into night, and that's one full cycle. That's called one day. Seven days make a week, and four weeks make a month. The baby will be born in about nine months." He wasn't about to do the math in his head and sort out how many days that was.

As he explained the concept of time in its varying structures, Rachel's eyes glazed over slightly. This was more knowledge than she ever been exposed to, offered up in a very simple explanation that still managed to go straight over her head. "Oh," was all she managed to offer up when he stopped speaking, nodding as if to say she understood. "Um ....why is it so cold?"

He had hardly noticed the cold, though now that she mentioned it, it was a little chilly beneath the layers of flannel and cotton. "Sorry, we can go back inside if you're cold," he said, turning to her and frowning apologetically. He wound an arm around her to draw her close, rubbing her arm to keep her warm.

"I didn't know it was so open," she murmured as he drew her in against him, looking around in quiet awe. "How does the ceiling get so high and not fall down when there are no walls?"

He chuckled at her question, lifting his gaze to the sky. "It's not a ceiling, Rach. It's the sky." He sighed, leaning close to press a fond and brotherly kiss to her forehead. "Tell me about Zach," he said, wanting her to do some of the talking for a change.

"He's an angel," she said simply, smiling at the kiss he pressed to her forehead. "Or he was an angel. My angel. He said he was my guardian right from the beginning of Creation, whatever that means. He said he loves me." Her smile softened, turning shy as she offered this up to her big brother. "And he was so badly hurt, but he kept trying to look after me. I didn't know what to do."

"You did good, sweetheart. You took care of him. You probably saved his life." He paused a moment as he needed to know something more, his hand still idly rubbing her shoulder and arm to keep her warm. "Do you love him back?" he asked, in that big brotherly tone he wasn't even aware he possessed.

"Yes." The answer came without a moment's hesitation, without even the barest shadow of a doubt. "I don't know why, but I do love him. It's like I've always known him, all my life, but I know that's not true. I'd never even seen him before yesterday. But I love him. I thought when he was dying that I was going to die with him. It hurt so much."

He didn't condemn her for it or even discourage her from loving the fallen angel, a small smile on his face, understanding the feeling more than she could possibly know. "He loves you. I know that much." Though he had hardly spoken to their house guest, he instinctively knew the angel loved his sister to the very core of his being. Why else would he have spent the last twenty-five years searching for her and been so willing to sacrifice his life for her" "Just do me a favor and go slow, okay' I don't want you to get hurt again."

"How would I get hurt?" she asked him, curious as to what he thought she was in danger of now. "You said nothing would ever hurt me again, and I trust you. I believe you. Nothing is going to hurt me again, because my big brother says so." Her smile was open and without even the slightest hint of sarcasm or teasing. She believed in him so strongly, it was doubtful anything he said was going to change her mind.

"No, I don't mean that. I mean..." He trailed off with a sigh. He sincerely doubted Zach would ever do his sister any harm. He had loved her forever, or so it seemed. Rhys turned thoughtful, unsure how to guide her in her relationship with Zachariel, but maybe she didn't need any guidance. Maybe he should just let things take their natural course and unfold as they would.

He decided to change the subject. "Rach," he started, turning to face her again, with a very solemn expression on his face. "Nat and I....We have to go away for a little while. There are some things we need to take care of someplace else, but we'll be back. I promise. You and Zach can stay here as long as you want. You'll be safe here. No one will hurt either of you here. Nat and I will be back in a few days. The Lady's Handmaidens will take care of all your needs. Food, clothing, shelter. Anything you need or want, all you have to do is ask for it."

Natalya Bristol

Date: 2013-11-16 17:10 EST
Rachel held his gaze, vague alarm rising in her expression as he told her what his plans were. "But you will come back," she said urgently. "You're not just going to leave us here, you will come back and take us with you next time you go." Green eyes searched green, twin gazes that were so similar as to be almost indistinguishable. "Please don't leave me again. You only just found me."

He reached over to brush his fingers against her cheek, pushing the blond strands of hair away from her face that stirred in the cool breeze, a reassuring smile on his face. "I'm not leaving you. There are just some things we have to take care of that we can't do from here. It's okay. We'll be back. I promise. I'm not gonna leave you behind, but right now, this is the safest place for you both. There's a lot you don't know about the world, Rachel, and before I take you with me, you need to learn some things. Zach will be here, and the Lady. You won't be alone, I promise." He wasn't sure how much his promises were worth, but he hoped she believed him. He had no way of proving what he said was true; she would just have to trust him.

"I can learn fast," she promised him in return, her reluctance to be away from the only family she had left palpable as she held his gaze with fierce eyes. "I can do that. I want to go with you, but I know I'm ....I'm stupid. There's a lot I don't know, so I'll learn it, as fast as I can."

"You're not stupid. You just don't know a lot about the world yet. Zach can help teach you. And me and Nat. We won't be gone long. We'll be back before you know it." He brushed her hair back from her face, fingers grazing her cheek. "Do you trust me?" he asked, meeting her gaze.

Once again, there was no hint of hesitation in her reply. "Of course I do. You're my brother." And for Rachel, it really was that cut and dry. Rhys was her brother; the one promise he had made to her was that he would rescue her from her strange prison that was not a prison, and he had kept that promise. She had no reason to think he would break any promise he made to her, and no wish to suspect that he might.

He had no intention on breaking any of his promises, though he knew sometimes things happened that no one had any control over. Still, he needed to at least check in with Adam and Gina and let them know they were okay. "It'll just be for a few days. We have some friends in New....Some friends who live somewhere else, and if we don't go see them soon, they'll worry that something bad happened to us. Do you understand?" he asked her as gently as he could.

"Friends," she echoed thoughtfully. "Like Lailah. And that other man, the one who didn't come with us here." She nodded, understanding perhaps better than he could have hoped for. "I understand," she assured him. "You have to make sure they're okay, like we're okay. And do grown up things in the real world." Her lips curved in a quick smile. "I do understand, Rhys. I promise." She surged forward suddenly, curling her arms around his neck in a sisterly hug, something he had not experienced before in his lifetime. "I love you, big brother."

Once again, he was taken aback by the innocent and trusting show of love and affection his sister showered him with, and he awkwardly returned her hug, unused to such open displays of affection from anyone but his wife and Gina. "I love you too, sis," he replied, his arms snuggling her tightly. It felt so natural, so right that he could hardly believe they had only found each other a short day before. "Just relax and have fun and enjoy yourself while we're gone, okay?" he asked, pulling slightly back to offer another big brotherly smile. So far, so good, he thought. Maybe he could actually do this.

"I'll try," she agreed, her smile returned as she sat back.

Behind them, a window opened in the towerhouse, releasing a gust of steam and Nat's voice along with it. "I could be wrong, but I think the food is burning," she called out to them, unafraid to declare her complete lack of house-wifey skills to the entire Isle, if necessary.

Rhys' attention to his sister was momentarily distracted by his wife's admission of her lack of cooking skills, and he chuckled to himself. "We'd better go rescue Natalya from the kitchen before dinner is inedible." He unwrapped his arms around her and moved to his feet, sweeping her up in his arms again so that she didn't injure her feet or catch a chill. "Remind me to ask the Handmaidens to fetch you some proper clothing and shoes," he said, as he carried her back to the house and safely inside.

"Ask the Handmaidens to fetch me some proper clothing and shoes." Rachel's grin declared to a surprised world that, for all her innocence and ignorance, Rhys' little sister had a sense of humor, however undeveloped it might be. She giggled at her own joke as he carried her back into the house, hugging him once again even as a yawn caught her breath.

He smirked at the very first joke to ever come from his sister's lips. "Very funny. A sense of humor must run in the family." She was very much like a child, and he felt a wave of almost paternal love swell up inside him, feeling a strong desire to not only love but protect her, to keep her safe and happy and well. She wasn't alone in the world anymore; she had a family to love her and help ease her way into the world - a family that consisted not only of Rhys and Natalya, but of Zachariel and the Lady and eventually Adam and Gina and Joey. They might not be the family that had been originally conceived in the minds of the angels who had engineered the birth of the Bristol siblings, but they were family. Now all that remained was to make a place for their ever-increasing family in the city that never sleeps, and there would be no need for any of them to feel alone, ever again.

((Huge thanks to Rhys' player, who humbled me so dramatically with that gushing praise on the OOC thread. Right back atcha, kiddo!))