She'd been to town to do her voting. She'd been down the road a ways to see life resuming arond the old Brotherhood of LIght Fortress where her father's Tower of Mysteries was once again attached. And Lyndra... she'd seen this hybrid of the Head of House with the spirit of her mother entwined within lurking around the fortress. It had been disturbing to say the least.

Sha'uri had also been to some press conference that this Bob had given. Cadence had been there and spoke out against Admiral Wolvinator... which was what the press conference was all about. She'd come back to a mess. She'd been so upset by the whole thing, she didn't even realize how different Cadence had looked on the outside. Inside, it was still the same sweet innocent girl. It didn't register in her head until she walked up to the Academy and paused at the gates.

"Bloody Hell... what's happened around here?"

She went inside and moved straight for Briarius' location... a soul searching sight had her focused to where he was. When she got in earshot, her voice was strangely playful, sinister in its sarcasm... more like someone who needed some answers.

"Briarius!!! Honey!! I'm Home!"

Blink. She stopped right where she was in the hallway. He sounded so... normal, which wasn't so normal. He sounded like he was processing yet another usual office visit of another student or whoever. It didn't sound like the hello she had been expecting. Maybe she expected too much? After all, she'd been gone for ... months. She moved up by the doorframe of the opened office door and peered in as if peeking around a corner. She wasn't really trying to hide, just being a little wary.

Azure hues locked with her Sapphire gaze and she held it there as she came slowly into the room. She didn't go for the chair in front of the desk, but came around to stand beside him, leaning backwards up against the desk. There was a lot on his mind... a lot of concerns, confusions.. she saw some of those. She had hers too. Her long walk from the old BoL fortress had helped, but somehow the tears welled in her eyes anyway. She was thinking of her mother again. She sensed he had some answers about that one.

"Can you tell me why I met my mother inside of Lyndra? What's been going on? I saw Cadence in town and.. she looks different... and why do I sense an almost lockdown on the wards? Has someone been threatening you? What's been going on...."

Her thoughts processed quickly, absorbing unspoken information as he relayed the brief summary of events. She began to relax as things began to make more sense. The tilt of her head matched his.

"Gee, is that all?"

She grinned and rolled her eyes, trying to make light of it and ease the mood. AT least for a moment before her visage sobered.

"So...Mom's got an Avatar, which she is using Lyndra as one. I wonder what's up that would have her risk this. Curious though... this happened around the time of my father's return and the fact that he's breathing life back into the old BoL fortress. Wolf's back... Vargus... Thara... I sensed them there too when I went by there. And I wonder if Travanix has anything to do with that.. If so... that can't be a good thing because it means he's up to something...."

She pondered this as her gaze shifted slightly from his eyes to other features of his face.

"I saw Cadence when I went in to check on the election status. She seemed to be supporting this Bob, who was having a press conference. Did you catch that one? Anyway, sounds like she's really trying to be a big girl now. Glad you got an interview, though. I hope it went well. You'll probably be gettting more women hitting on you. I'm not surprised. You're very attractive. But if it's an annoyance, I can fix that for you."

She grinned, a bit too devilish while she lifted a finger and delicately traced spots on his face.

"A little scar here.. a chunk missing there. They'll run and scream in terror when I'm through. Don't worry, I'll only take one eye."

She was, of course, teasing. She let the back of her fingers caress his cheek, as if that was going to make up for teasing him. It was really that she'd missed him.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in a year. And... You do look tired, Briarius. Can I help?"

A sad frown stole her visage.

"You sound like my mother...except nicer."

She sighed.

"Bri, I came back to start work agian. Do you want me to go away?"

Another sigh. It only occured to her then what her reaction might be to bE around all these children again. Looking at them from a distance was one thing, but to interact with them was another.

"Maybe you're both right. I think I'll hang around a few days .. maybe see how that goes. I would like my portals set up again, though. That'll give me something to do. Can I put them back up again?"

"The reports are inconclusive at this point, other then it seemed to be a magical interferrence. I think.. it's possible.. I think my mother...."

She paused, not being able to finish the thought that her mother interferred their transport that day. She seemed a little more then preturbed.

"I'd like to get it working again."

Her visage softened. She hadn't meant to sound so harsh. She knew that he was worried it would happen again. She held out her hand, long fingers beckoning for his hand to hold. Her voice softened and tried to reassure.

"It'll be okay, Bri... I don't believe it'll happen again."

A smile spread slowly. There was something he wasn't saying. She noticed how he ignored her hand and therefore gently took hold of his anyway. She didn't say anything, just layed her other hand atop his and squeezed his hand gently, looking at him steadily. She wasn't making a pass, just needing to hold her best friend's hand and needing hers held in return. She simply had missed him terribly.

And then she sensed it even stronger.

"Okay, now I know you've got something on your mind. Wanna talk about it? Maybe I can help you sort it out... Whatever it is, I'm here for you."

Sigh.

"Why do you do that.. "

She squeezed his hand gently again.

Blink. An impish smile spread.

"Well, that too."

"Me too."

She held that smile a moment longer before it slowly faded. He wasn't the only one with things on their mind they were bothered by. She had something weighing heavy on hers, too.

"I think I've just figured something out."

Nods.

"We're both pretty stubborn sometimes."

A sad grin eased into her features, yet there was a certain fondess in the depth of her sapphire hues towards Briarius.

Still, it didn't mask the loss she felt from something else, and it wasn't just from losing her child.

The Headmaster returned to his reading.

He was fond of her, she knew it... yet he made no display, no acknowledgement of it openly, not even really within his own surface thoughts. Instead it seemed he did what he always did, shy away. That's how she viewed it.

She wondered if that was it, if their conversation was over when he returned to his reading. Perhaps she was taking too much of his time. She had been on leave, He wasn't. Just when she was going to turn away, he spoke up. His timing never failed in that respect.

"I like being in control of my life. I always have. The recent display of the fact that I am not really in control of my life all the time upset me."

She pondered this a moment before she gently spoke.

"I don't know how many times it's been proven to me that ultimate control on anything is but an illusion. You're lying to yourself if you think you can control every aspect about your life. Corellon has taught me that countless times. And it never fails, I keep learning that lesson over and over again. The only thing we can truly control, if you can call it control .... is how we react. Don't let it get to you, Briarius. Sometimes it's a good thing to not have control... even about ourselves."

She took a deep breath and let out some tension in a gentle sigh. She couldn't remember the last time she had had any fun, and she figured it was not as long as it had been for Briarius.

"When was the last time, if ever, that you got yourself stone drunk? I don't mean sick drunk just stoned drunk with a friend?.. or even without, although with is better. When's the last time you relaxed and did something fun or just sat around to shoot the whatever with a friend?"

She knew the answer to that one... Never. An Idea formed...

"Tell you what.. I'm going to bring you some of the finest Elven Blossom wine and you and I are going to sit down, have a relaxing evening and get stoned drunk. About five cases should do it."

She nodded firmly. It was the one thing that never made her feel like getting sick, it didn't give her a hangover, but what a buzz. she knew he was going to try and say no, but she could be very stubborn and she would head off his no's every time he tried to say his excuses. She knew him well.

"Don't worry, this isn't a pass... I can't do that. Just think it would be an experience for you, and I could use to tie a good one on and just relax... which I can't do at the Citadel. So it's just two friends coming together to relax. And I won't let you get sick. Elven Blossom wine is a gentle buzz. So you should drink that.... Not a request either.. and no, you're not doing research.. or anything like it. You're not going to worry about what you have to do the next day either because I'm making sure it's not a day when you have classes to teach. Whatever letters, or applications, you need to read over or answer... they can wait. And don't try to hide because I... will... find.... you."

Nod.

"And if you think about some spell or potion that'll counter the effect, well then that's just ultimate betrayal. You don't let a friend get stoned drunk all by themselves.... you drink with them."

There, she'd pretty much covered them all.

"Come on, It'll be fun. Trust me. We both could use a night to just unwind...You get to cook, though. I'll bring dessert."

Grin. Nope, she wasn't going to let him get away and wiggle out of it. In fact, she noted the calendar with his appointments and classes scheduled and saw her first opportunity. A wednesday... how odd but it was the first day in which it would work. The pen on the desk lifted seemingly by itself while she directed it to write her in for that one open night. There was nothing on the schedule for the next day until the afternoon. Perfect enough so she wrote him in for sleeping on that morning.

"Wow, you've got something going every day for the next couple of weeks? Yeesh Bri.....okay, here's one... it's a wednesday night, 5:30 pm sharp I will be at your door. By the way, I like steak, marinated and grilled."

She plopped a tightlipped kiss atop his forehead and darted out of the office just so he wouldn't have time to say no. Talk about giving him no room for control.....