Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lewis buried himself in Al's arms, but couldn't help but wonder how much longer this warmth would sooth him. how many days, months, years would it be until his world turned cold? "maybe we should kill an elder and have you eat it's heart." he offered, "not like it could kill me anyways. and if it did, well, then i wouldn't be alone." he stepped back and kissed Al before turning towards the royal graves, "got to see her. tell her we're doing alright and Ellie is a big boy with two little ones of his own. she'd be so happy-" he tried to imagine her face when she learned she was a grandmother, "no she'd flip and go off on not being old enough to be a grandma." he chuckled and stopped at the entrance of the graveyard, suddenly scared to go inside. he had a vision, an old memory mixed with an old fear. once more he saw the men carrying a coffin encrusted with the royal seal. the top was open, granting the people one last look at their beloved ruler before they were lowered into the ground. but it wasn't Reinette inside, with her face pale and cold, facing up into the bright sunshine. it was Alvaro. he was older, his face wrinkled with age and laughter. and Lewis stood, unchanged, watching them bury the man he loved, never to see him again. his shaking hands tightened around the flowers, tears in his eyes. "so ******** lonely-"

Pasa smiled and nodded, "oh, anytime." a thought and they were back in the castle, "would you like me to take your bags to your rooms? it's a lot easier for me than for you to carry them."

Leo watched them go before lifting an eyebrow, "Hasta, i know you came hear me. come here."

Hasta hesitated before stepped out of Leo's shadow and taking Yuki. "yes?"

Leo smirked, "you and i have much to talk about, my friend." and he wasn't letting Hasta go until he heard the entire thing.

Nix's head lifted from where she was laying next to the girls and smiled, "Elliot's back."

Lewis nodded, "ok. ok, we have time." he made himself walk into the graveyard and followed the familiar path to where Reinette was buried. he'd refused to leave her side after the funeral. it had been almost a month before they could drag him away. his not eating or drinking anything during that time made it a bit easier. he sat down near the stone marking her grave and put the flowers down, "hey. been a while, huh?" he smiled and lay his head on the stone, "miss you..."

Pasa shrugged, "that's alright. i want to get back to help Leo with the boys. just call if you need me." he put his hands on the bags and took Elliot's to his room and Chelsea's to hers. after that he went home. he took Rin from Leo and snuggled the sleepy baby. letting the man question his brother relentlessly for information with a smile.

Nix stood, "come on! let's go attack him!" Leo and the twins weren't there, but that didn't mean they couldn't platy with Elliot.

"He found himself a wife...kinda. he's like me, was like me. a bentian, but he was the nephew of the Retan king. guess what, though? his dad was the heir to the throne and the guy who set me free! he was thrown into the Falian forest to be killed, but then their leader found him and fell in love or something and they had leo! then Retan king went ape-s**t, attacked them and made his own nephew a betien." he shook his head, "and we thought Al's mom was bad. anyways, Leo was given to Elliot who acted just like Al when he lost his virginity, and now they are all snuggly and happy with twins!" he smiled, "i wish you were here, you would love them. they're so cute!"

Nix shrugged and ran with the Anna and Martha, leading the way since she could sense where Elliot was. with a flying leap, she tackled him, yelling "Welcome home!" with a laugh.

"Didn't you lose it to me?" Lewis asked, confused, thinking back. he couldn't remember what was real or what was just in his head so he just shrugged. "when you found me i was trying to break free of selling my a**. Leo was given as a gift. makes sense he would try and take as much control as he could. would hurt less that way." he looked at the flowers, "anyways. you'd love it-" he paused, tears filling his eyes, "we miss you. i miss you. you were so good. so kind. you didn't deserve to die like that." he kissed the tips of his fingers and pressed it to the cold ground, "i wish i could take your place." things would have been so much easier for everyone had he been the one to die. "i'm sorry."

Nix laughed, "so they get the day off. how was Falia? did Leo kick you out?" she climbed down, "oh, your dads aren't in the castle. they left a little bit before you arrived. i've been practising keeping track of the minds i know within the castle. it's hard, but i'm getting better! i can find just about anyone!"

Lewis nodded a little, "i know. i know, but it doesn't make it any less true." he sighed and pulled himself away from the stone, standing up and glancing around, "we should head back in. i can't freeze to death, but you can." he'd learned the hard way, wandering off naked in a blizzard. no one even knew he was gone until a few days later, they'd thought he was hiding again. "can't die, but frostbite hurts worse than being whipped." he offered his hand to Al and started towards the castle. "ellie should be home soon, right?"

Nix closed her eyes and focused, "um, that way-" she pointed in the direction she felt their touch from. "they are getting closer, coming back? makes sense, blizzard out there. cold." she frowned, "and sad. so very, very sad. what's over there, Elliot?"

Nix picked up where they had gone from Elliot. "oh, ok. let's go." she smiled at Elliot before taking the other's hands and walking back to their room with them. "wonder if we can get Emily up."

Lewis curled his fingers around Al's and head inside. it was moments like this that he really knew he was loved. despite the cold, Al had taken him out to visit Reinette because he thought it would help. Lewis had been having a hard time lately, his grip on what was real and what wasn't was slowly slipping, the control he'd gained in Falia slipping away. they stepped into the main hallway where it was so warm, it hurt, and he shivered. "breakfast. have i eaten?" he couldn't remember the last meal he'd had. Al had been busy with something yesterday and Lewis had left him alone, did he eat then? probably not. "am i hungry? Ellie probably is, we need to feed him. to small. babies will outgrow him."

Nix laughed a little, "well, maybe you can go back to bed. you do have a day off, after all. i'm sure elliot wouldn't mind."

Lewis broke out into a grin when he saw Elliot, "Ellie!" he hugged the boy and snuggled close, pressing his entire body against him, "missed you!" he snorted when Elliot said it was the Falian sun, "Falia's covered in trees, silly. shade everywhere, it's 'cuz you went to the desert. turned you all tanned." he sighed and started to stroke Elliot's hair, "how's the wife and kids? get into a fight, so they made you come here?"

"pffft," Lewis stepped away and shook his head, "oh we've been having fun without you! those fat idiots," a look from Al made him amend his statement, "oh, excuse me, the ancient lords left over from your grandmother's time were throwing a fit over you being gone, but i made them shut up." it had been a bit unethical, but it had worked. "i didn't know that threatening to have sex with them would work so well!" he pouted a little, "don't know if i should be insulted or relieved they refused and decided to be good boys."