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In hindsight, the huntress had been correct in her caution. Her elder brother knew her well enough to spot the false pretenses. Terrwyn wasn't one to complain of nearly anything. Luckily, his loyalty was not in question, and he was the one reading most of the letters before they arrived anywhere. He'd promptly taken it to Merle and let her know of his absence for a few days. The note was innocuous enough that Viltre hadn't needed to whip up a new letter to present their matriarch. Their Mother dearest hadn't seen any reason otherwise; Terrwyn was safely married off and causing no trouble. More importantly, it got another of Vulir's bastards out of sight for a bit.

There were preparations underway on both sides of this fresh issue, but there wasn't much else to be done. The tall scribe had laid his groundworks and hidden his tracks as best he could. Without fresh informaion, he could refine them no more. He was to be an uncle, and his job therefore was keeping his family safe. So here he was, bearing a snack wrapped in cloth to a new mother. "I see that pregnant glow's yet to set in. Glad you haven't lost a taste for the finer things, little sister."

He scoffed at the thanks, a sound between huff and laugh, and folded himself onto the bench beside her. Hip to hip, but no more. Terr liked her space, and her brother knew when to wait for invitation. The elder's habitual smile remained, gentling as she put words down. Patience, here. "All y'needed do was ask, an' here I am. Did'ja forget you're my cute lil' sister?"

The snack, in this case, was skewers of meat and vegetable, roasted fresh by a nearby vendor. Viltre had stopped for a couple himself, and hadn't been sure if his hosting sibling had eaten. By the look of her now, he was glad of the whim. "Lay it on me. What's got you shook up?"

So that's where the gap was. There had been some gap, some smidge of information he hadn't scooped up. The blank spot in his picture had been nagging at Viltre for the whole trip out here. Now it clicked into place, and the whole thing began to fit together. "...I will say I thought Acyn would've been the one to follow in Papa's footsteps. Who's this Finle- Oh! Nevermind, carry on. Been thinking of your husband as Carlos, for some odd reason."The taller redhead wore surprise, letting it fall naturally into seriousness and concern. The jokes had long been something for his mouth to do when he was thinking. Gave a moment to step back mentally and process.

There wasn't time to waste on blaming anyone, in her brother's view. Better to spend it making sure everyone important was safe and happy. "I was already planning a long string of jokes on your Ca-Finley, that's his name. Something to remind him of his manners." Slim, stained fingers brushed at her uncharacteristically covered elbow. "Slapstick isn't for him, I think. Or you. But this changes things." A long pause, green eyes gliding up one of the local trees. "It's a bit harder to move new mothers around than numbers, y'know."

Another huff of borderline mirth, the slender man leanign back to look at the canopy above. What could be seen of it between wood and bridge, anyhow. "No, I don't imagine you were. That's what keeps getting Papa into trouble, to hear him tell it. Get the feeling you had better reasons, mind." Viltre couldn't honestly say his father had ever been ashamed of anything he'd done. Her own motives were something to be compared later, though. Now was for plotting, feeling out what she might be willing to go along with. There were... options available. One of which he didn't relish. A go-between would be necessary for that. "So this Thallassa of yours is a better partner, then? What if I were to say 'do it'?

It's still a bit complicated if my nephews are gonna be F-Finley's, but how would it be if you just vanished? You and Thalassa's child?" He knew Merle, and Kise had filled him in some on how his sister's married life was going. It was why he had such a string of 'japes' to pull. Not all jokes were funny, but they taught you things. And if Finley's poor arms or legs got broken in the slapstick, why, that was just a prankster gone too far in his brotherly wrath, wasn't it. An unfortunate accident. As thr secondboy spoke, he let a sly quirk slip in about the mouth. "I've made a few friends, and one or two might be willing to see you off to... wherever it is you want to go. Guessing southish?"

"I'm not magic, sis. ...I won't say it'd be pleasant at home for a while, but you could come back once things settle down. An' that's a scheme, not a hope." The fingers tracing concealed bruises on her elbow reached up, knuckles beushing hair away from her cheek. "You say that like it was all working fine to begin with. Starting to see how far from fine it is an' was. I wouldn't be happy if things stayed as they were. Neither would you."

Still close, Viltre leaned into the mask, leaned into the role. The person he was supposed to be, the one she needed right now. Very slowly, he slipped a long arm about her shoulder and pulled Terrqyn close. "I'm your big brother. Making sure you have the chance to be happy is a big part of what I'm fo- about." A little too far in. Mind that tongue and cover the slip. "An' if you can be happy with this Thallassa guy, I can deal with some distance. Can speak for a lot of our lil' pack there, I think. Y'already moved outta the house, what's a few more miles?"

The arm gripped tighter, not by strength, but shame. "I know. Wish I could've done something about that. We're supposed to grow up an' move on; ain't the same if we ain't got a choice." Leaning into the role meant honesty. He'd done some, narrowing the list of potential bodyguards until Kise was the standout choice. But as her current circumstance showed, Viltre's reach was small yet. The whole point of influence, of soft power, was to protect.

The weight on his light frame said it was helping. Even a little was acceptable. "Either way, sounds like a better partner than you've got now. Think I'll like him, even if he is tryin' to steal my lil' sis from me." He let the smile fall away, and spoke softly instead. "It's not a great setup. You went an' stirred things up, an' now its gotta be different. It's your choice now, an' I'll respect it. ...Please don't ask me to watch you suffer again."

The low voice regained its smile a encouragement began to take and hold. "I dunno, he was carryin' on with a married woman not too long ago... who knows when he'll go back to her? Oh wait, that was you. Yeah, you're alright then." The tighter grip gave way to a firm one, less shamed and more supportive.

Terr's fears of judgement, in her elder's view, were unfounded. But then, Viltre could still see that they needed addressing. "Don't be. Even if they don't understand, they'll come around. We got good kids for siblings an' you had cause. If they knew about Finley, I'd probably need to start drubbin' shins with a stick to keep 'em orderly about the outrage. Can't have 'em trippin' over each other for revenge, y'know."