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Leaving her family had been a difficult thing for Kelina to do, yet, she had to do it for their safety. Sauron had been left with the kids a safe distance away from the town that had been their home. They had no idea what the status of Ast was since they had left. It had been heartbreaking having to tell them that their home had been going up in flames when Kelina had left it and she wasn't completely certain that they understood what had happened, the kids anyway. Would they blame her for not saving more of their things? She didn't think so, not her two angels.

In any case, Kelina had to go back and make sure everything was safe, and to also prepare herself before she had to face the facts with her family. She had, after all, lived there her whole life. Kelina felt the soft moss under her feet as she was just hitting the edge of the town when her breath caught. She could still smell the slight scent of smoke. Her feet took her home as she stared at the homes that had been destroyed. Not all of them were, just small patches where it seemed one house had been burning and where it may have jumped to the next tree. Her eyes were wide as her gaze fell upon her own home. Tears began welling in her eyes as memories started rushing back. The few memories with both her parents were nice, the ones with just her father not so much. She remembered her mother's death, and then the happiness of Lasarra moving in with her.

The forest was quiet, almost like it was holding it's breath for her, as if it were letting her have a moment of despair, but it also allowed her to hear the soft breathing and footsteps that sounded like they were coming from behind her. In a fluid motion, she pulled an arrow from her quiver and it was soon lined up and sighted on the source of the noises. Kelina lowered her aim, though, as she recognized the source and she found herself not knowing what to say. "I was surprised to see you in the Oban camp, but I'm glad I was able to cover your escape." She said simply. Kel had only met her sister's boyfriend once or twice but he seemed nice enough.

Kelina's brow furrowed as Rayolun started asking his questions. So he was caught at Neued, she remembered he was injured and that must have been the reason he was caught. She frowned but upon inspection she didn't notice any other wounds. His questions caught her off guard and she felt her head tilt to the side. "Lasarra? She's not with you? I thought she was with you! I was concerned when I saw you captured but I didn't see her anywhere." Our of sisterly concern, she felt anger well up inside her not only at Rayolun for "loosing her" so to speak, but at the whole dang war. If there hadn't been a war surely none of this would be happening.

As she began to pace, she tried to think of all the places her sister would go. "She wouldn't go find our father, I know that. But she may go back to her mother. Have you met her mother? I've only met her once but I may be able to find her again. Where did you last see Lasarra? When were you last with her?" She asked him rather frantically. If this was how she was feeling, she couldn't imagine how Rayolun was feeling. It was for this reason that she forced herself to calm down. "We just need to consolidate our info so we know what all we can rule out. I very seriously doubt Lasa would have been taken by the Obans. She knows the forest too well for that..."

All Kelina could do to keep calm was to nod her head as he spoke and continue her pacing. She had worn a small rut in the ground by the time she finally stopped. It was when Ray had said he had killed the people who had burned some of the houses. Her head whipped around. "You killed the people who did this?" She asked for confirmation. Running a hand through her hair with a sigh, she relaxed a little bit. "Lasarra would have been gone long before then. I had barely gotten my husband and kids out of here when they lit our house on fire. I hadn't had enough time to free her animals. She's going to kill me when she finds out..."

She continued her pacing once more as she tried to force her brain to think. "Predators maybe. But she had trained her animals well, and the ones she would have taken with her would have been trained to follow commands so that she could command them from the trees. That can't be it...why...why would she leave and not tell anyone where she was going?" Kelina's voice cracked a tad with her last sentence, the fear for her sister building up inside of her and threatened tears. But she would not cry, no, she would find her sister.

"I'm glad you killed those bandits. They burned our home and they deserved what they got." There was anger in Kelina's voice at the bandits that had tried to harm her family. She was like a momma bear, ready to protect her cubs. But she hadn't protected Lasarra. That whole dark time when she let her sister get hurt started flooding back to her except it was so much worse, Lasarra was missing. She wasn't just injured or sick, she was missing.

So Rayolun had checked most of the area surrounding which didn't bode well for them. Had she somehow found her way to Oba or that new land of the Matori? It just didn't seem plausible to her. "I haven't seen or heard from our father Gituku since before Lasarra came to live with me. I've only met her mother once, and it might be kind of rough to find her again. But I've met one of Lasa's alkidike friends, Bhima, who is very unique looking. Maybe if I found her she could help me find Lasarra's mother and maybe have any other ideas where she would go." Kelina sighed and stopped her pacing. It wasn't good for anything really, and she would have to try and figure this out and the only real way to do that was with a level head.

Kelina sighed as she ran a hand through the loose hair that was too short to fit into her braid. Something had to be done. She nodded at his questions. "I will go check with anyone I can think of. I'll check to the north of here, and to where her mother lives and the last known place our father was." At the suggestion that Kelina stay with her family, she shook her head back and forth vigorously. "Lasarra is my family, Sauron knows what I want and the kids are old enough to stay and help. This isn't something I'm going to let you do alone, nothing you say or do will stop me." Her gaze bore through him as if daring him to object. Had Sauron been there he would have been able to tell Ray just how serious Kelina was.

"We could go together, if you'd like. We wouldn't get as far as quick but we would probably be much more efficient." It was an option, probably not one that any of them would really opt for. The sooner they found her sister the better.

Telling her children and husband that she was leaving with Rayolun to search for her sister went easier than she had imagined. They were all understanding and Kelina was glad for it. She did feel bad leaving them to begin building the home on their own but such was life. She had something she needed to do and she was blessed enough to have a family that would allow her to do such things.

Rayolun and Kelina traveled the little ways it was to the Alkidike settlement that Lasarra's mother lived in, at least the last she had heard. But, just as Bhima had been so very long ago, they would not let them in to try and find Lasarra's mother. It angered and upset Kelina and it took every fiber of her being to not just go blaring through on their own mission. Alkidikes were formidable warriors, though, so she didn't think that the best idea.

Next came looking for her father, which was a task in itself. Kelina hadn't seen her father since, well really, since she had talked to him with Lasarra when they were first meeting. The outrage she had felt at him hadn't subsided for a long time, heck it was still there and only growing now that she couldn't find him when she needed him. Of course, that was the story of their relationship: a crappy father who shows up unexpectedly and is never around when he's actually needed. It just fueled her fire and anger against him. What made it even worse is that there were no signs of her sister.

They were traveling back to Ast, they had taken to traveling during the day and stopping at night, one couldn't do too much if they were exhausted. Plus, traveling all day and night was dangerous. They had a fire made up and some food was over it when Kelina finally allowed herself to voice her thoughts. "I don't know where she could be. To find her mother we would have to find an Alkidike willing to help us get into the village. And only Serin knows where my Father could be hiding. I'm at a loss, Ray." Her head rested in the palms of her hands in a rather defeated look.

Kelina sighed. Oh what a world they lived in. Where there was finally peace but until she found her sister her heart and mind would never be at peace. Surprisingly, Rayolun's touch was a small comfort and she willed herself to relax a little but to no success. At his words, she knew he was right but she didn't want to leave that burden on him. That wasn't right, not at all.

"I know you're right, but I don't know if I can do that...I don't know how serious you two had gotten, but I know she cared for you. A lot. So there would be no earthly reason why she would stay away. Which just makes me all the more worried." She sighed again but this time in frustration.

Kelina knew it wasn't fair for her to be able to go home to her family when he was searching for his. Heck, if Sauron or her children were missing, she'd storm all of Tendaji and Oba looking for them. So there was no way she would ever try and convince Ray otherwise. "I suppose I will go home. But I won't stop looking. And...and if you ever need a place to stay, you know where to go. Las cared a lot about you so in my book, you might as well be family." Kel said kindly.