*Put Kellan down to walk, Mom. He could do it.* Avery gently grabbed onto Kellan's leg and gave it a light shake. Kellan peered down at Avery and gave a cheerful grin accompanied by laughing noises.

Storm shifted Kellan up higher on her hip and looked around. The afternoon brought many people out into the Marketplace to handle their purchases and necessities. "Not now, Avery. There are too many people around that probably do not wish to be slowed down, yes?" It was not the first reason for her thinking, but a good one nonetheless. "How about we wait until we are closer to home? Then you can walk with him."

Storm glanced into the large canvas bag on her free shoulder, mentally ticking off the things they had from the list they needed. "What else do we need, beloved?" Some of the words were said partially into the bag as she looked up to Ewan.

Having a canvas bag on his own shoulder, he remarked with a half smile. "A cart?" With the growing family and living further from the Marketplace than they had before, they planned ahead for their purchases. That also meant more to carry. "Did we get the potatoes?"

The moment was granted to Storm, but even as he listened for her answer he watched the crowd. There were always reasons to be aware, but something also felt just a little off. It could have been the weather, or perhaps his latest reasons for trolling the Tunnels. Fortunately, he was a habitual observer of things around him, whether obvious or not, and when he looked back to Storm that did not mean he had stopped watching.

With another quick glance into her bag, she sighed gently and shook her head, "No, I believe I forgot them. Perfect time for your excellent memory." She paused to lean over and give a light kiss to his cheek before turning around and heading for the grocer cart that she preferred.

"Avery," the warning was crisp and clear through the name as Storm watched his hands touch almost every available potato within a beat, "How about you hold out your hands so that I can pick them out?" He held his hands diligently as she carefully picked the potatoes. It provided to be useful and kept him out of trouble at the same time.

Ewan moved to claim Kellan so that Storm could select more easily. He smiled to the little boy, seeing his mother in the shape of his eyes and nose. Part of him railed at having his hands occupied while in a crowd. It was a hard fight against the bitterness that here, in this land, Storm was better able to defend them. He did not dwell on it, but turned Kellan about to look out among the moving throng.

And he stilled. Icy cold shivered down his spine and across his shoulders. He had seen Her. There among the crowd had been his Mistress Death just as he had seen her as he lay on the battlefield; just as he had seen her in the dream. She had looked so disappointed, but what had chilled him most as her gaze seemed to move to Kellan.

Then she was gone among the others, and still he turned his back as if to protect Kellan from a mirage.

Storm was grateful for Ewan to take Kellan, but her hands were still full with purchasing the potatoes and trying to keep the rather bouncy Avery from disturbing anything or anyone. Once the potatoes were purchased and securely placed in her canvas bag, she caught his arm just as he reached for another item on the vendor's table, and gently pulled him away as if it was originally her plan. "Avery, if you cannot keep your hands to yourself, we will go home." He knew very well that she would keep to her word if he misbehaved, and so he deliberately placed his hands in his pockets.

Satisfied with his behavior for now, Storm turned and caught Ewan putting his back to the crowd. "Dancing with Kellan, beloved?"

Dancing. The term had a double meaning, and the chill gave one last push and then dissipated. "Not by intention, no." If not by intention, then by necessity, though he was not sure just what or how he could protect his children from someone like Her. "I think we should finish our shopping as soon as we can." He paused and looked to Storm. His voice was soft in answer to a question she had not asked, but likely would with his odd behavior. "I saw Her."

It took a moment, to understand the severity of his words and just exactly who he was talking about. "Her. You saw.. Her." Her tone was slightly confused, though not doubtful. While she still wasn't convinced that this Mistress Death was real, the fact that it shook him so was enough to support his desire to leave. "Of course. I think we're finished."

Avery was giving them an odd look as he didn't understand the context of their conversation, and she steered them away from the Marketplace and to their home in the shortest route available. "I think there's plenty of sunlight in the day to use the new ball with Whisper, don't you?" While she was trying to change the subject on Avery's mind, she was still glancing over to Ewan with apparent concern.

A nod, and no more, was given to her statement. He could hear her confusion, and he shared it. He was not dying, that he was rather certain. As his mind whipped around possibilities and explanations as easily as he and his family slipped around people and out onto the road home, he came to two possibilities: he was going mad or Rhydin had given life to something that was far from it.

Storm nodded vigorously, and held her palms out, "I believe you Ewan, but you cannot blame me for my questions. You would do the same if I had said that someone that I saw when on the verge of death had materialized in such a setting. But if you say she was there, then I believe you." She took another deep breath, "Do you know where she went?"

He was restless inside as he had no answer to that question. A shake of his head, "No. She was just not there after I turned away from the crowd. She looked at Kellan, and it troubled me. I had to get him out of her sight....out of all sight."

"Kellan?" Concern anew came up in her eyes, "Ewan... I do not think I understand. What does looking at Kellan mean?

A brusque shake of his head. "I do not know. I just...did not like it. I did not like her attention on him."

"Okay." She was not sure just what that meant, but at the moment, it didn't seem quite as pressing. The moment was already over, "So.. what do we do? She has not..." she frowned and licked her lips, "I know she haunts you, but she has not.. she has not harmed you, right?"

"No, no harm." Not that he could conceivably answer and make sense. What harm was there in being gifted in handing out death? What harm was there in knowing she would call him to her someday. Everyone died someday. Was there harm in being dispassionate about the death of someone? That what was a body full of life and hopes and dreams, was just a rotting vessel of flesh and bone when slain? To not feel the depth of remorse or vengeance when it happened to someone? That such loss was delayed, circumspect, analyzed? Were any of those harm? He could not say, and shook his head again. "No, no harm."

A sigh he smiled to her. "Perhaps it just means there is something I am to do for her. Sometime soon. Maybe here she is able to take shape where in Yransea she could not. I do not know. I have no understanding. She and I have rarely held deep conversations." A wry smile, he tried to get his wife to grin.

There was a wisp of a lift to the corners of her lips, but instead of smiling, she sighed and pushed hair away from her face as she looked away. She could hear the sound of her son's steps, and the more upbeat sound of Whisper's running, but nothing else. "Perhaps an extended stay in Yransea after the harvest festival would be good." His mood seemed lifted enough, now with the information exposed, that she risked crossing the short distance between them to give him a hug, "It pains me, to see you so."

Wrapping his arms about her, he held her close and breathed in the scent of her. "Perhaps an extended stay indeed. Do not trouble yourself so, beloved. It was unexpected is all."

She rested her cheek against his chest, "Then let us make plans to stay longer, and spend some time with our family. I am sure that Avery would enjoy it, and so would I. We could.. perhaps plan a party of sorts for Kellan's birthday."

That reminded him. "Did you hear that Lord Cian has no interest in a birthday celebration this year?" He frowned a little. "He has become so pensive for such a young child." With a kiss to her the top of her head, he returned to the subject. "I think a small celebration at Gaerwyn's" it took little effort to remember his childhood home now belonged to his cousin, "would be in order."

"Of course he has, beloved. So much responsibility on his small shoulders." A gentle squeeze, before she eased back so that she could look at his face, "I think that would be a grand idea. And then perhaps, we could see another part of Yransea that is not Seansloe? I have seen so little of your homeworld." Even though she was trying to change the subject, his Mistress was now haunting her thoughts, "We will figure it out, beloved." Her statement was purposefully cryptic as she smiled.
"So we will. We, fortunately, always do." He grinned and gave a brief kiss. "Shall we find our children then and see what the rest of the day has for us?"

She returned the brief kiss, and gave a mock frown, "We could, though I am pretty sure that I told Avery that a nap was definitely in my future." She covered her mouth as if she was yawning.

"We should see you do that then." And without notice, he swept her up into his arms.

"Ewan!" Surprised, she giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, "I was only teasing. How boring shall it be to nap all alone?"

"Shall we put Kellan to nap as well?" He grinned and began to carry her up the stairs, careful of both her head and her feet. "As much as I would love to join you, beloved, in more than just napping. Someone has to be awake with the children." His voice had been just above a hush.

She groaned lightly and rested the side of her forehead against his chest, "How can you tease me so? That is unfair."

"You were the one who said we did not need a nanny today. Should I run the children up to Yearling Brook for awhile?" He chuckled. "Likely I would find you asleep when I returned."

"Oh, you would not." She laughed warmly and rolled her eyes, "I am not even tired. But you do not have to take the children anywhere. I will just have to be patient, I suppose." He couldn't see her grin, but she was smiling just the same.

Turning into their room and he bent to rest her on the bed, then bent his head to give her a kiss. Once broken, he smiled, "Let me see to the children. I know it is time for Kellan's nap. Do you want to take on the elder or the younger of our boys?"

The way that the question was phrased reminded Storm of the constant tease of being the only female in the house. "I suppose I will take Kellan, before like Avery, he becomes too old to think his mother as one of his favorite people." She gave a cheeky smile.

A low, brief laugh. "You are one of Avery's favorite people. His very favorite I would guess. I will see to keep Avery outside and occupied then while you get Kellan settled in." He caressed her cheek and then turned for the door and to find just where they two had toddled off.

Another rainy night, but that had not spoiled the evening for them. The play had been, perhaps not the most illuminating one, but it was more the company and being out together that made it special. Ewan had even gone as far as to wear only concealable weapons with his best dress doublet and brigga. He did not care that he was not the mainstream fashion of Rhydin. It suited him. And though worry over the weather was not required because of Storm's particular talents, his clothing also would have survived getting wet better than other men's clothing he observed. The city slipped behind them as they walked, he held Storm's hand in his and smiled to her. "I think I have to agree that the second act was better on seeing the third than standing on its own."

Storm squeezed his hand gently, and adjusted the ties of her cloak, the red bird brooch flickering under the dim lights on the streets, "I suppose that is why it is the middle of the story, instead of the story itself, yes?" Her grin was cheeky as she watched the rain fall over them but not touch them.

A quirk of a brow, "You know what I mean." And because he knew she did, felt no need to point out those meanings.

She laughed warmly at his expression, "Yes, I only tease you. I suppose I should cease, considering how long I you have stuck around to hear nothing but my teasing." Even still, she pulled on their joined hands to try and bump his leg with them.

A low, brief laugh and squeeze to her hand. "Very generous of you." The smile slid from his face as he turned from her. It was simple habit to be aware of his surroundings. The road was quiet, but that was not entirely unexpected considering the hour and the weather. Only urgent messengers with no recourse to magic, people who lived nearby, or those who were lost would be traveling at this hour. He had no concerns for the first two, the third could always pose a difficulty.

Her laughter died down, but a smile remained firmly in place, though it froze as his expression changed and he looked away. She stretched out her senses, hearing a few footsteps here and there, but nothing alarming. Still, Ewan usually caught things she didn't despite her gift, "All is well?"

A slow nod. "As far as I can tell, yes. But," a sidelong glance, "you would know better than I, would you not?" It was not far from their home, which was a double edged sword. They were near a place of protection if it was needed, and on the other side they were near their home and revealing its place to others. It was never hidden per se, but that did not mean he wanted to spread the news to all who might be wandering by.

She gave a light shrug, "I do not have the skills that you do." And she left it at that, before she brought the back of his hand to her lips, "I hear footsteps approaching, but the pace is normal; neither quick or slow. Probably someone heading home as well." She offered a reassuring smile.

A tilt of his head, he could not yet hear it, and he questioned. "Approaching?" If the pace was slow and the person behind, well, then they could not be approaching, at least not gaining. That meant the person was coming from the north, and no one would be heading home going into town at this hour, at least none that would not cause him concern. A slight frown, he squeezed Storm's hand once more and then reluctantly let go. It was just a precaution, but that was who he was.

"Hmm." It was a lazy affirmative, and she made no sound of displeasure as he released her hand. While his precautions didn't bother her, she didn't quite understand his discomfort. So she waited a few more beats before looking across and slightly to the right where she knew she could at least see the approaching person. When she saw the pale skin, pale hair, and black dress, it put a small hiccup in her stride, "It is the same woman I saw with Kellan." She lowered her voice and wasn't quite sure why her muscles were tensing with anticipation.

When the figure came in view, he was surprised to hear Storm say it was the woman she had seen with their son. He knew the person well indeed, but she looked not at all like Storm had described. As ever, her hair changed hue, dark to light, it seemed to move with a breeze but did not look at all touched by the rain. Her eyes like mirrors of the world around her. If he allowed her to draw closer, he felt certain he would see himself in her eyes. They were sad, disappointed, as always.

More alarming was Storm saw the figure, but did not see her. At least, not the same. "She looks as she did before?" Just to be certain.

"Yes." Her voice was confident as the woman came closer, "It is even the same dress."

"That," he breathed out, "is her." The smile was on his Mistress Death's lips only a moment, when she glanced to Storm. His teeth grit, and to his mind he heard her speak, though her lips did not move. "You have strayed." The words held regret and sadness. It was as though he heard his mother's voice and her disappointment there.

Her instant reply was to deny it, but her senses told her he was right. She has having a hard time accepting the fact that she had already seen his Mistress, but then she heard words also, but the woman's lips did not move, "You leave him be, and I will leave you and your children be." The unmistakable warning in the tone brought a deep shiver in response.

As a conversation toned in his mind, words as images, things thought instead of spoken, he asked, "Is that why you have come?" The Mistress heard more than words evidently. She heard questions only have formed, and answered. "I am here out of will and you have abandoned mine. Such a choice. I will still call you to me...." Dulcet voice left much unsaid even in its firm resolve that there were things that could not be undone. She seemed to dismiss him. It felt as if there was a disconnect of a buoying tether. The anger he battled driven then silent, so eerily silent. He felt half undone and sucked in a breath as if to fill that space with air.

Storm didn't think of trying to communicate back, only continued to chant, "I will not.. I will not.." over and over again in her mind. She wanted to tear her eyes away, but found that she couldn't. Like a force greater than herself was drawing her in. It took thought to keep walking beside Ewan than to walk to the woman as her voice filled her head again, "Then perhaps you should join me as well if you wish for your children to be left alone." Dread filled her, making her feel more cold than being wet in the rain would have. After what seemed like hours rather than simple moments, she breathed once through her teeth and looked away.

"And disrupt Avery's schooling as you say? Why do what is best for him only to do what is wrong for him at the same time?" He sat back on the floor, legs crossing, arms resting on his knees.

"You being gone and away is already going to affect not only him, but Kellan and myself as well. I just do not see how splitting up is the best option, beloved." She was drawing at straws, trying to think of anything to try and change his mind.

"Because some time it is necessary. I do not know what will be asked of me. I do not know many things. There are too many uncertainties, and until I resolve a few, dragging you along with me is ... impractical." It was not the best word choice, but he could think of nothing else.

She shook her head slightly again, but didn't bring up an argument, not yet. It didn't seem like she was going to be able to change his mind. She stared down at the floor again, "How long?" Her voice sounded quiet, defeated.

"As much as I can, I will match Sylvia's travel back and forth. I am, afterall, supposed to be her bodyguard. I will start there, resume that, and hope something changes."

"And what if it does change? Will you just go back to life there, and leave us here?" Her voice was bitter as she stood and started to pace the short distance of the couch. "I do not like this."

"If it does change, then we will be faced with a decision. We will weave those vines when they are grown, and not before."

"But there is no decision to make." She paused, and stood in front of him, "I do not know how else to tell you that I will not leave you, and I am not going to allow you to leave me for this."

"I said nothing of the sort." Looking up at her towering over him, towering by perspective. "I did not even hint at it." Scowling.

"But that is what you are doing." She started pacing again, "It is the first step in just that direction."

"It most assuredly is not." Quick to his feet. "Was I to assume that every time my father went out on campaigns for weeks and months without visits at all? Is every family to assume that when soldiers go to battle or merchant husbands or wives go out with their ships?"

"No, but this is different." She stopped so that she could face him, "You are leaving, in hopes as finding that to be a solution. Please," she closed her eyes for a moment, before looking up at him, "can you at least understand how I see it, this way?"

"I can see it, Storm, but I am telling you that is not the way it is. I am going to fight a war. I need to draw our enemy's gaze from you and the children, and I have to see if this will do it."

She sighed again, her last wave of the need to argue gone. She tried to scold herself, thinking she had been spoiled with the extended time he hadn't been called away, but wasn't convinced. "How long?" She repeated her previous question.

"Days at a time. I will return often at each week's ending if at all possible."

It was better than she had anticipated, but it did little to lighten her mood. So instead she just leaned forward slightly so that her forehead could rest against his chest, "Okay."

His arms wrapped around her. A kiss to the top of her head, he breathed in the scent of her, imagined a gardenia in her hair. A whisper, "I will never leave you of my own choice, beloved. Never." And when he meant leave...he meant sever their bond, what he held as sacred as anything he knew.

She wrapped her arms around him as well, and tried to relax, "I feel just as helpless and confused about this as I did in the tunnels." Only this way he wasn't going to be guiding her.

It was an interesting comparison. He had not thought about it, but he could see it now that she said the words. It could be disorienting, the stepping into the unknown without knowing where the turns or traps might be. This, however, was what he was trained to do. It was who he was - risk his life to protect others. It was what made him feel complete, and he had to admit, in Rhydin, he had been missing that part of himself, fought against its lack for the hope of adjusting that did not come.

She sighed deeply, still keeping her face hidden his Ewan's chest, "When will you go?"

"A week." He hoped his Mistress Death would not trouble them during that time, or if She did, he would have some more things to say, start the bargain.

She turned her head slightly so that her cheek was resting comfortably against his chest, where she could hear his heartbeat more clearly, "What would you like us to tell Avery?"

"The truth, or as much of it as we can. I have to serve a vow made, and that will take me away for days at a time. He will likely hate me for it. I hated my father for it. It will pass." He spoke from experience, and realizing that guilt over the way he had behaved towards his father was gone. Being a father himself, he now knew that his father never once doubted how much Ewan loved him, even during those years.

She gave him a gentle squeeze, "We will get through it, beloved. You, me, and the children. Together."

As Storm walked away from Stardreamer Manor, she pulled her cloak a little closer around her shoulders. The air was cool, but the slight breeze was crisp and caused enough discomfort. While that discomfort was completely voluntary, she choose to not warm herself with her gift. Leaves crunched under her boots as she headed not towards home, or town either. A portal existed a fair distance away from Avery's school, and a trip to the Air Realm was necessary for her day.

She enjoyed the sensation of cold against her skin. The feel of leaves and earth beneath her feet. It had been too long since she had taken form. Too long since the Twelve kept her kind cast to the side of the spirits between the world and the Meadowlands. She walked other souls across, but never herself.

Now she walked in this realm of Rhydin that had called one of her warriors away....but he had returned to her.

It was a heady feeling, having won and still able to visit this land because of his blood in that halfling child. The tie was not so strong. The boy had never neared death. But his father had. She walked the paths near the home and breathed in the decay of Autumn.

A trigger of the unfamiliar crossed one of Storm's many shields around her new home, and it swiftly cut her movement completely. With no children at the house, it did little to discourage her concern. It was enough to have her change to path and head back to her house, her movements more hurried without running. It wasn't fast enough. With no one around, she blended into her natural form, without a shell, and became one with the air.

It was easier to travel this way, and use the breeze to carry her. While this form could not understand the sense of urgency, her traveling cut her time to the house while the stranger was still there. She rematerialized several yards down the path before the house, and started towards the home, as if she was arriving on her own accord.

The strange wards around the house always intrigued her. A palpable discomfort, and yet she could not help but walk near them until the discomfort was too great and walk away again. Even the sensation of irritation was thrilling.

Her toes curled and dug beneath the leaf fall to try and dig into the earth as she stood at the distance looking towards the structure. "Pity."

As soon as Storm could get a glance at who was near her home, her anger came abruptly. There was fear in the unknown of Ewan's Mistress Death, but now this woman, this spirit, was invading the privacy of her home. Glancing up to the sky, she noticed blotched formations of dark clouds beginning to appear, and she tried to keep her temper in check. "Looking for someone?" She called out softly when she was close enough to the beautiful woman. She could feel each attempt at her shields like the ticking of her patience.

"Ah, the siren singer, there you are." She stepped from the area of the shields once more, but flicked a finger out towards it. Just another tickle to give. "Impressive wards you have. They scintillate the skin. I can see why you decide to remain."

There was a twitch in the corner of her eye when she felt the flick through her shield. "It is my home." It was a simple statement, and Storm felt no need to let Mistress Death know that her gifts were not restricted to just RhyDin. "What do you want?" She wasn't in the mood to play games with this woman, and just seeing her there, when Ewan was off in Yransea, made her uneasy.

She pouted. The woman was certainly surly. "You might want to take a few lessons in civility, dear. I simply came to keep an eye on my favorite's family while he is away." The triumph filled her with a glow and made it impossible to not smile. It felt delicious; the glistening black of a star filled sky inside her. "His son feels distant. Did you leave him with the good folk north of here?" Her tongue slipped minutely between her teeth as if she might taste where he is upon the wind.

Storm tried to reason wit herself, knowing that the Mistress was trying to make her feel uncomfortable, and was succeeding. She had to keep her mouth carefully in check. "Which son?" She produced a slight frown, "I tend to leave them in different places."

"His son," she emphasized. "The other does not carry his blood. I know its feel. I have heard the way it moves through a slow beating heart. It cannot fully disguise itself from me, but your blood has changed it. Harder to find particularly here where I must use so much to be...well, here." And yet it felt good to have the body, to indulge in its sensations. "Hmmm...you must be lonely with all your men away."

"It seems that I have plenty of visitors to keep my mind from pining." A gentle smile, she promptly ignored the further questioning of Kellan, but was very keen of remembering the description of how Mistress Death was able to track him.

"I shall be certain to pass on your words to Ewan. He will be so pleased to know he is not missed." She ran her hand down the dress along her hip, she liked the feel of it even if it was only formed from her thoughts. "Let me not keep you from what surely is an enjoyable time to yourself." She began to pass, tempted by the tingling sensation that seemed to make itself a shadow around the woman, she passed near.

Storm didn't show any response to the covert assumptions. Still, her anger was visible as more dark clouds were beginning to form and block parts of the sunshine. A fleeting thought of Ewan's darkness being caged, and if this was a similar feeling. When the woman made a step near her, she instinctually threw up a shield around her. Unfamiliar and unwanted, it would keep the woman away, just as the shields around her house did. Still, she mentally found the motion an error, but it was already too late. "Please, tell Ewan a very detailed description of your visit."

The shields were strong, the slither of what must be pain ran over her body. "Oh, I will." A glance to the sky and then back. "Might want to do something about that blemish. It changes your aspect very dark." Dark as me, she wanted to say. Dark and light, truth, hope, despair, she was so much and it was becoming hard to encase it in the body. She walked on ready to release the form from where it came.