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"Complicate this world you wrapped for me
I’m acquainted with your suffering

And all your weight, it falls on me
It brings me down
And all your weight, it falls on me
It falls on me~"

Osha looked up, frowning. Zack was singing again. Not to say Zack was a particularly bad singer, Osha just didn't appreciate his random outbursts. They were usually quite loud and probably didn't sound as good as they should, being sans music and all. The redhead wasn't sure if Zack even realized he was belting out lyrics.

"Zack." He didn't respond, of course. Osha sighed, shaking his head. It was hardly worth the try. It was like Zack was deaf these days. More disturbingly, Zack's songs were getting increasingly...depressing. Even Devakanya had noticed, and it was quite rare for his sister to actually mention something, figuratively speaking.

"Zack," Osha said, firmer. Zack continued to be oblivious, singing loudly and drinking beer. Beer. Osha snorted. It didn't make sense to him, why Zack would pick that over food. (He always made sure he and Devi ate.) He sighed and got up. Zack wasn't going to close the windows. "Devi, windows in your room?" he said quietly, climbing onto the counter to close the kitchen window. It was raining. Everything was getting wet, and Zack didn't care.

Zack didn't care about much these days.

Osha settled back at the table, reaching across the table to select a shade of green. He was currently working on a study of leaves. It was a good thing he had Prismas, or the young artist may have gone crazy trying to match every color he saw. And then voices caught his attention. The boy frowned, glancing up. Zack had flopped bonelessly on the couch, channel surfing. Osha wasn't sure why he bothered, it wasn't like he could actually hear what they were saying. And then he heard the voice again. Zack's mouth wasn't moving, and it certainly wasn't Devakanya. Osha glanced across the table, staring at his sister.

Devi simply flicked her ears, glancing at the television. She shook her head, shrugging at Osha. It wasn't anyone on the tv, they were all singing. Her ears pinned back and the girl whipped around. There was someone at their door. She turned, giving her brother a frighted look. Magenta eyes wide, she nodded towards the door and made a talking motion with one blue hand.

Osha froze. "Are you sure?" he mouthed, setting his pencil down. It couldn't have been one of Zack's friends, they were much louder and yelly. It wasn't one of his or his sister's friends, they would knock and announced themselves. It was a stranger. Osha looked to Zack for help, but it was in vain. Zack was like a lifeless lump.

"I'll go see," Osha whined, wishing like nothing else that Gavin was here. Gavin was brave, Gavin would have protected him. Sliding off his chair, the redhead padded over, swallowing nervously. Meanwhile, Devi got up and trotted over to their father, nudging him until he looked over. Zack stood up. What was Osha up to?

Osha opened the door. He frowned, that man and that girl were in the rain? "Come in?" he offered warily. He looked back at Zack. It was okay, right?

Zack stood frozen, face pale. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

Osha whimpered. "Zack?

Devakanya hid behind her guardian.

Zack continued to stare, not trusting his eyes. "...why are...you are...I thought..." Zack stopped himself, closing his eyes and shaking his head. When he opened green eyes again, Bran was still standing there.

This couldn't be happening.

The only sound was Zack's beer bottle shattering on the floor.

"No!" Zack yelled, springing forward. The bottle shards lay forgotten and Devakanya left to fend for herself. This was surreal. It was like looking through a window into an alternate dimension. He didn't recognize himself or his kids, he couldn't recognize Bran or the little girl either. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening. "No," he said softly, coming to a stop right inside the door. This wasn't fair, it hurt too much to be right, why did these things keep happening to him?

The black-haired man latched on to Bran, stepping out into the rain. It quickly plastered ratty bangs to his face and soaked through a tired band t-shirt. Zack couldn't be bothered to care. "No, he croaked, as though it was the only word he could muster. He didn't want Bran to go, not again. It had been a hell of a long time without him. "Please stay."

Osha hung back, watching the scene unfold before him. What on earth was going on? Osha remembered Bran, but why was he so tired? And why was he making Zack so upset? The boy trembled once before turning away, suddenly feeling invasive. He should clean up the glass. Devi had retreated back into the sanctum of her room, so he'd just have to clean it up himself.

Zack tugged on Bran's arm, oblivious to the children. "...it's raining," he said, as though it was a recent revelation. "Come inside. My house is a little messy, but..." Zack stopped, green eyes shimmering with the first emotion he had really felt in quite some time. That was all he had to offer.

...that was all he really had left.

Zack shifted, trying to stay attached to Bran and step in from the rain all at once. He wasn't quite successful and nearly fell backwards as he tried to kick the door shut. He had to balance himself against Bran (the alcohol in his system really wasn't doing him any favors), but he pushed himself upright quickly enough. He didn't know what to say. They tried to take her away? Zack eyed 'her'. That must be Bran's child. Daughter. Right. He settled on saying nothing, simply remaining attached to Bran's arm like a child who lost his mother.

Osha looked up, dipping his head. "Hello," he mumbled, studying Bran carefully. There was something wrong with his colors...and there was someone else in his arms. The boy paused in brushing up the shattered glass, tipping his head to one side. She didn't look like Bran at all. (Well, Devakanya didn't look anything like Zack, so he couldn't really make any assumptions based on that.) "Who's that?" he asked, nodding towards the small girl.

Zack finally tore his eyes away from Bran, looking down at the Ames. He frowned. "Don' do that," he grumbled. Little children shouldn't be touching broken glass. He slowly removed himself from Bran to take over the job, quickly disposing the glass in the garbage. He looked around. Crap. His house really was a mess. He looked back at Bran, shame draining away whatever joy had wormed its way onto his face. "...sorry m' house is such a mess. I hav'nt....yeah."

He hadn't been caring about much, recently. Just Osha and Devi. But Zack? Zack wasn't looking so hot. Much skinnier than he should be, paler than he should be, far more tired than was normal. It hadn't been all fun and games while Bran was gone.

Zack was sick. Seriously sick.

Ah, yes. This was why Osha liked Bran so much. He listened intently, nodding when he felt it appropriate. "Yes," he said, giving Bran an eager nod. "I'd like to play with her. She can play with my sister too." He nodded, shifting his gaze to Hlao and offered her a friendly wave. "We can play with my paints n' stuff." He paused when Bran mentioned the last bit, eyes flicking to Zack before nodding.

Zack needed some taking care of.

Oh my. Hlao was a little bit heavy. Well, probably not, but Osha was used to carrying around papers and paints and paint brushes, not small children. He wobbled and weaved, struggling to make sure he didn't hurt the girl. When he finally toddled to Devakanya's room, he stumbled in and placed Hlao on to the futon. "Hlao, this is my sister, Devakanya. You can call her Devi." He pointed to the unicorn sitting on the other side of the bed. "...wanna play, Hlao?" Osha liked saying her name.

Zack closed his eyes, nuzzling Bran's hand. "No more sorries," Zack muttered, tired of apologies. He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Bran's neck. Finally, the various bandages caught Zack's attention. He paused, deciding better of picking at one. "...they hurt you?" he asked, incredulous. "...are you okay?" A bit of a silly question, but now Zack was terribly worried. "Maybe you should stay here. So I can keep an eye on ye, n' stuff."

Devakanya eyed Hlao nervously, always rather frightened of strangers. As a child, she was terrified the other children would try to hurt her. She'd got over that, but she still wasn't fond of having to meet new people. She offered Hlao a shy wave, not entirely sure why the girl was crawling ever so closer. She looked up at Osha and back to the new child. He had an answer, didn't he?

Osha shrugged. Who knew. "Devi can't talk," the boy informed the other Ames, in case she cared to try and have a chat with his sister. People usually got very frustrated or insulting, thinking she was ignoring them, stupid or just terribly arrogant. He wasn't sure what else to say, so he just stood and watched the little girl attempt to pet his sister's hair.

Zack cleared his throat, trying to suppress a cough as he nodded. "However long you want. But...ah...there's only two bedrooms in my house. Ye n' Hlao could share Osha's room 'er Hlao and Devi could share and you could sleep out here on the couch." Zack shrugged sheepishly, feeling incredibly stupid. "I'll sleep on the floor. 'r find a chair." He shrugged again, deciding the best choice was shutting his jaw. He stepped next to the couch and flopped over next to Bran.

"...do your wounds need redressing?"

Devi spooked a bit as Hlao pulled on her hair, but she didn't jump away. The girl didn't seem malicious in her actions at all...just...curious. And it might hurt, the play with her pretty pink locks (oh, Devi would have to brush her hair tonight) was harmless. A game. A game the unicorn didn't quite understand, but a game no less. And then, Hlao wanted to play with her horn. Devakanya wasn't sure that was safe. Slowly, she shifted away and offered Hlao a small, stuffed black horse instead.

Osha blinked. That was Blackie, Devi's prized possession. "Be nice to him, Hlao," the boy warned gently.

Zack frowned, puzzling. "If I didn't sleep on the floor, where would you sleep? My couch certainly isn't big enough for two." He yawned, blinking as Bran stood up. He snorted. "Eh, forget about it. This old thing isn't worth fretting over. It's a hand-me-down. Ancient.