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The evening meal had long since concluded, driving everyone back to the sanctuary of their rooms--save Inle, of course, who had both pallid hands full with the younger members of the household. It was bedtime for them, a trying time for all involved between fussing, and getting up for trivial things, and fussing some more before the babies fell asleep, just short of driving Inle to her wit's end. Tonight proved to be an especially bad night, with Ciaran and Medea double-teaming Inle, one claiming to need a glass of water while the other complained of monsters at the window.

"SOMEONE GET THE DOOR!" she shouted, the sound bouncing through the walls of the House. They heard her, of course, but they didn't care, each able member of the household figuring another would do it. When no one came, the House decided to take matters into its own figurative hands. The front door unlocked and slowly swung open, seemingly of its own volition. The wood creaked on its hinges, a slowly rising noise as if it meant to say "come in." The light in the dark foyer turned on, causing the nearly-bare hardwood floors to gleam warmly.

"Thanks for nothing, guys," Inle muttered as thirst was slaked and fears assuaged, beginning to pad down the stairs in sock-clad feet. The door opened wider at her approach, and she frowned at the figure standing there. She recognized Vidya, of course, but the sad-seeming air she had about her was totally foreign and recognizable even to the emotionally-oblivious Inle. "Vidya? What's up, kid?"

The ears of Inle's green parasite drooped, as if it felt all the sympathetic emotions Inle herself wasn't quite capable of. She cleared her throat, a wholly unneccessary gesture, and stood back, silently bidding the Tale entry. Inle closed the door quietly behind her, locking it firmly; she wasn't exactly positive what was going on--Enoh had sounded rushed and stressed on the phone--but she owed her friend this. Vidya would be safe here.

"You know you're welcome here, and you can stay as long as you need to." Tybalt, once he found out, would likely insist that she stay as long as possible--not in so many words, but Inle was well-used to reading the intent beneath his often-flippant words by now. Inle certainly didn't mind; Vidya's mere presence made Tybalt much easier to deal with. The blue-skinned girl before her could certainly control him much better than Inle ever could. "Things'll work out," she said after a long, uncomfortable moment. "They always seem to."

An out! One that Inle was only too happy to take. "Sure. Tybalt's upstairs, if you want to go see him. Third door on the left. I'll bring your water up." With that, she shuffled off into the kitchen, her awkward amble making her seem more of a zombie than ever. She almost felt bad, foisting off a guest on Tybalt even if she was Tybalt's best friend. But only almost. In any case, he'd be able to comfort her a lot better than she could, not that that was saying much at all.

It really was the latter. That and no one ever came to see her, not that she minded--she had little use for people anyway, and these days they couldn't seem to stop staring at the green rabbit attached to her skull. What, hadn't anyone ever seen an exceptionally cute leech before? It would have bothered her a little had it not been so amusing to watch people stare and stammer and eventually flee in fear that she was going to eat their brains.

Tybalt, meanwhile, was sprawled on his stomach on his bed, wings spread out and dangling over the sides as he read a book on naval history. He had heard Inle's initial yell but ignored it, something he made a bad habit of doing. He also heard the knock on the door, and he blinked at it in surprise and suspicion--he wasn't expecting anyone, and the voice on the other side was muffled to the point of unrecognizability by the thick wood.

He turned his book upside-down to hold his place, sliding off the bed and resettling his wings as he moved towards the door. Tybalt hesitated a moment before cracking it open, peeking out with one sea-blue eye. It landed on brighter-blue skin, and it really wasn't hard to put two and two together. "Vidya?" he asked, pulling the door open wider to stare at her quizzically. "What're ye doin' here?"

Not right? Things must be downright bad to have put that tired, defeated tone in Vidya's voice. Curiosity drove him to all sorts of factless conclusions, but she looked too weary to deal with questions--for her he could try out that "tact" thing people kept yammering on at him about. "Course ye can stay," he said as if that should have been obvious, unconsciously echoing Inle's previous words as he stepped back to open the door further.

He turned from her back to the bed, scooping up the book and dogearing the page before placing it on a shelf. It was an idle task, really. Vidya was obviously distraught and he didn't know what to do with it. He was hardly a person to go to for comfort or sympathy, so he had no idea why she had come here; it didn't strike him to hide his discomfiture for her sake.

"You uh...ya need anythin'? Glass o' water, somethin' t' eat?" I know where Mum hides th' liqour if ye just wanna get drunk an' ferget about yer problems fer awhile, was the offer left unsaid. Vidya didn't seem like the drinking kind. Maybe he'd save that for if she got desperate.

Tybalt eyed this new Vidya warily, nodding. He had never seen her anything less than annoyingly happy, and he wasn't quite sure what to do with her now that she wasn't. He didn't like seeing her this way, dammit, it threw off the natural order of things. It threw HIM off. He sighed.

"I've been alright. Catchin' up on me readin' while everythin's frozen outside." More like holing up in his room because it was warm and cozy and he just couldn't take the cold. He rarely ventured out of it anymore, except for meals and bathroom breaks. This time was not spent idly, however; he had acquired several books relating to history, weaponry, and boats and was devouring them as a starving man might a feast.

He sighed again as she hugged his arm. Though he didn't move to return the gesture, his wings spread and came around to enfold them both, tips almost touching. It was as close to comfort as she was going to get, with those terms--he could stay curious a little longer. "Ye'll tell me when ye're ready," he murmured, resting his cheek atop her head. It was only a convenient place to rest his head, he told himself.

Tybalt smiled against her hair at the description of the book. "Mum's got th' movie. Never cared enough t' see it...might have to pick up th' book if it's that good, though. Do th' pirates win?" It may not be worth checking out if they didn't, especially if they lost to the knights.

He mentally berated himself at the laugh that was so much less than what he'd come to expect from Vidya. He was supposed to be comforting her, he reminded himself, awkwardly patting her shoulder. There, that was better. Though it probably wasn't, it was certainly more comfort than he was used to giving; people just didn't use his shoulder to cry on, for some reason.

He stilled as she began recounting the events of the past few days, slowly growing angry on her behalf. The eventual tensing of his muscles expressed it even as he stroked her arm with his free hand. "'S alright, Vid, g'head 'n let it out. Things'll...work themselves out." Probably. Hopefully. He didn't like seeing Vidya like this, and made a mental note to rip Nio's heart out through his nostrils for causing this crisis.

Tybalt certainly wasn't the only one. Inle, glass of water in hand, had been listening at the door. Vidya unwittingly told her what Enoh hadn't, and where Tybalt was mad for Vidya, Inle was mad for Enoh. The depth of anger surprised her--normally she didn't really care what sort of messes people made of their lives--but this was Enoh, one of the few people she could honestly call a friend. Tybalt could have Nio's heart, as long as she got the rest of his vital organs.

After a gentle knock, she opened the door and stepped through. "I, uh...got your water." The look Tybalt shot her was somewhere between grateful and hateful, and his wings closed further around himself and Vidya. "I'll...just leave it here, then," she said, putting the glass on the dresser and walking out, shutting the door quietly behind herself.