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 Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 6:08 am
 Ayako had been very busy.
Saix had forbidden her to step out of the house ever since she had gotten hurt, although she had told him countless times that Hemi's and her own healing had done the job pretty well and that she was fine. Plus, Kitsumi and Edgeworth also advised her to do so, and she had complied. Besides, it was the first time he had ever shown concern for her...in his own funny way.
She couldn't exactly blame him; he was a Nobody.
Besides this, she had been helping to clean up the house whenever Kitsumi made a mess and trying to stop the kitsusagi from getting into trouble as well. It was until Xanul had informed her that Verix was grown and he had told her to roam about on her own that she realized.
She realized she hadn't had that talk with Zweix, after she had heard of Xelon hurting his daughter. Guilt had seeped in, and Ayako decided to sneak out when Saix was in his room. Besides, it wasn't as if he would really notice she was gone.
Having got a description of where Zweix would be from Axis (Bless her daughter's uncanny empath skills), she Apparated, appearing behind her granddaughter with a slight pop.
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 1:25 pm
Living on your own could teach you to be paranoid about a lot of things, especially ones that made little popping noises behind one's back.
So, it was little surprise that, upon her grandmother's apparition, Zweix spun around and into a crouched stance, tense and ready to pounce if necessary. After all, it had been too long since she'd heard the sound of apparation, and with the kitsu she'd seen roaming around, it could literally be anything that made a noise like that. However, upon recognition, her posture straightened and her eye widened as her tails swirled behind her in apprehension.
"Grandma?" Zweix hadn't really put into perspective how much she'd grown until she'd seen just how much shorter the elder kitsu seemed, and almost to make up for the height change, she sat down, her folded back legs covering half of the scratchmark scars. "What are you doing here?"
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 7:09 pm
Certainly, her granddaughter was much bigger.
Ayako was used to it; she was of a smaller size than her sons, Kitsumi, Edgeworth and Saix, just to name a few. She was rather proud to see that one of her grandchildren was already an adult. Especially since it was the quieter one.
"I came to see how you're doing, dear." She gave Zweix a small smile, one that held some pride and worry. "You're all so...big now." It made her feel old...well, not as old as Saix felt. He was still being oblivious to it...and the task of smacking some sense into him was left to her.
"I'm sorry I didn't come earlier. " She sighed, then paused, turquoise eyes narrowing. The scars hadn't escaped her scrutiny and she couldn't help but sigh again. It was her fault, mainly. Being busy was no excuse. "I wanted to, after hearing what Xelon did. I'm sorry, sweetheart."
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 7:50 pm
Zweix hesitated after hearing her grandmother's final motive, and it seemed that she held her breath for a moment, unsure of whether or not she wanted to bring up such memories to anyone, even Ayako. She hadn't talked to anyone about it, except for Kyo right after it had happened, and it had been so long since she'd seen Kyo...it wasn't fair, really.
The younger kit's brow furrowed, and she finally opened her mouth to speak. "It happened, Grandma. I can't change it. No one can." She sighed, her face turning towards the ground so her hair could hide her pained expression. "The break was clean, so it healed fine...there's not much else to be said about it, really." Her broken heart, however, betrayed her true feelings, and her ears and tails drooped in sync. Even without empathy, it was clear that it left more than physical scars.
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Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 3:55 am
"I know it can't be changed." Ayako said simply, padding over to her granddaughter to give her a gentle nuzzle. "I know, believe me." Consoling Zweix meant she would have to open previous wounds that had already healed, but she was ready.
"The break?" She whispered, narrowing her eyes. She knew of course. Ayako was a much experienced empath, and she could sense the hurt radiating from Zweix. She understood as well. Too well.
"Darling..." Her voice broke slightly, then strengthened again. "Your father never meant to hurt you. If you have to blame someone, you'll have to blame me."
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 7:49 pm
"Yeah. The break." Zweix motioned to her back leg, but something in Ayako's eyes caught the hidden meaning, and Zweix turned away out of instinct, wanting to shield herself away from someone who already knew her so well.
"You're not the one who hurt me, Grandma. You're not the one who lost control without any warning, who couldn't even be brave enough to warn his--" In the time she'd been speaking, Zweix's voice progressively grew, until by the time she had cut herself short, she was nearly yelling. She hesitated, startled by her own reaction, then weakly returned the nuzzle given to her earlier, letting out a whimper.
"I--I'm sorry, Grandma. I just...I don't know what to do. I...I can't see him anymore. I just can't." She hoped that her father wasn't the only reason her grandmother had come: she'd rather think that Ayako chose to see her simply in and of itself.
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 1:58 am
Turquoise eyes narrowed. "You should have come for healing." Of course, it was her fault as well, for not dashing to her granddaughter's side immediately after she heard the news. Kitsumi had good timings for wrecking havoc...and she couldn't just leave Edgeworth and Saix to clean up the mess.
She smiled sadly. "But I'm his mother, sweetheart. I bear the responsibility." She was by no means shocked by the growing tension as Zweix spoke, and stroked her back in softly with a paw. "We all never told you, or your siblings...though Xanul did say something about telling Verix. Nor your aunts or uncles, when they were young. The moon...is a very painful and complicated matter to bring up. One we never wanted to say unless necessary."
"I know it hurts." Ayako said gently. "But it's something you have to get through and be strong. You need to understand how he felt as well...just like how I understood how Xanul felt." It was time to tell Zweix the story of what happened to herself. It was her hope that she could understand this way. The witch wanted both her son, and her granddaughter to be happy. They were family, after all.
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 11:50 am
"I know exactly how he felt, Grandma. I felt how he felt when he did what he did. He was happy. He was practically having the time of his life! And I felt it when his heart was bursting with joy at the thought of ending my life!" Zweix had never told anyone about her intuitions before, but just the wording of her grandmother's soothing words had been enough to set her off.
Another thing caused her to pause as well, and she looked up at her grandmother, confused. "Uncle Xanul? But--he isn't like Father...is he?"
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 9:12 pm
"Ah." She murmured softly. It seemed that Zweix had inherited her empath powers. And she understood the pain too well. "The emotions he had was not his. The Nobody side of Xelon and Xanul often causes much confusion, though Xanul doesn't have any emotions when he is Lune."
"In a way, he isn't. In a way, he is as well." Ayako said. "The full moon brings out the worse in us. At least that is what happens to our family." She paused, pain reflecting in her eyes. "Xanul...hurt me once. When he lost control of his newfound powers." To dig up those old memories, it hurt her. Though she knew that her son hadn't meant to. She wasn't sure if she should mention that she could have died. Being so close to Death...had taught her to treasure her family more.
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 9:22 pm
Zweix stood, utterly dumbfounded. Uncle Xanul had hurt Grandma? But...that wasn't like him in the slightest! From what she'd seen of him, he'd been getting beat up by Verix since she'd been a kit, and never, not once, had he hurt anyone.
She'd thought that about Xelon, once, too.
Confused and hurt, Zweix stepped closer to her grandmother, feeling the same pain from her as what she felt herself. Ayako understood what it felt like. She knew what it felt like. And somehow, that brought a lot more credit to the elder kitsu's words.
"Grandma..." Zweix blinked, entirely still, then moved to nuzzle Ayako again, suddenly needing to be near her grandmother. "...How could you forgive him? How did you do it?"
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 9:37 pm
"He is my son." Ayako replied, returning her granddaughter's nuzzle, pressing herself against Zweix's fur. "I understand him more than anyone else."
She turned to look at Zweix in the eye, smiling gently, a hint of sadness in her eyes. "The Xanul that hurt me was not Xanul. The Xelon that hurt you wasn't Xelon as well. It's to do with your great grandfather's and your grandfather's genes. I'm sure you know about Nobodies?" The Nobody thing was a factor in three of Zweix's siblings, yet they knew nothing about the moon's effect on their family. Except Verix, of course.
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Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 2:54 pm
This was all too much to take in.
Zweix plopped down, her tails curling around her as she listened to her grandmother's words. When asked about the Nobodies, she meekly nodded, and lifted a paw to show the sleeves she inherited from that part of the family. "I know Grandpa's a Nobody, but I don't really know what a Nobody is..." She'd tried looking them up in the library, but there wasn't much to go by, and even less to understand.
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 6:41 am
"A Nobody is a heartless being. Because they do not have hearts, they do not have emotions as well. Only those who have strong wills that have lost their heart retain their form, like your grandfather. Thirteen of these Nobodies formed the Organization Thirteen, with Lesser Nobodies as their servants, of sorts, but that's another story." Her children, especially Xanul knew about the Organization, because they needed to know what their father once was. What he still sort of was, actually.
"Your father and uncle Xanul are half Nobodies. They seem to have retained their emotions, but the full moon brings out their emotionless side." She shrugged. "Of course, not all half Nobodies are like that. You and your siblings are part Nobodies, yet Verix seems to have a strange lack of emotion. Derix and Nexis too."
"So you see, without emotions, attacking the ones you love brings sorrow when you revert back to normal." She paused, and looked at Zweix in the eye with a hint of a sad smile on her face. "Yes, Xanul hurt me. But then he left to control that side of him because he was so upset. And it upset all of us as well, that he was hiding from us."
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