#housetummelt

he had had to tug on a lot of frayed strings to pull this one off - legend and knife were still deep within their cover here in lucis. not even caligo ulldor was aware that there were two turks within his ranks, though the time to pull them out was fast approaching.

he was sure his departure from the turks would soon be common knowledge to the generals placed in lucis. which meant that they were running out of time to extricate baldur.

glancing to the shut door of the hangar, veld let out a deep breath - he had minutes here, at best. knife and legend were keeping watch out side and ulldor was in lestallum. it had taken weeks of following whispers and rumours, but he'd finally managed to track down his old friend.

stopping a few metres away from the man he had once considered a brother - veld felt the leaden heat of guilt settle in his chest as he noted the hollow stare baldur squared him with; he was a man who had nothing left, or who believed he had nothing left - no wife, no sons. no past and no future ... even the one person he had managed to forge a friendship with had disappeared.

' sarah knight is alive, though she has returned to using her married name - ulric. '

It was irony o' ironies that he was so good at readin' folks, but forgot he was such an open book for others t'read too. Keepin' secrets had never been somethin' that suited him. Course he knew of the menaces in the dungeons deep below Lucis, but that was a secret a small portion o' the hunters knew of, an' it was for the better of all people they were ignorant t'the slumberin' atrocities.

But this? How he'd kept this to himself for the past few weeks was beyond even Dave as he let out a heavy sigh. Of course Ida could tell there was somethin' goin' on; she was one o' the most intelligent people he'd ever met. Reno was a master at hidin' his emotions and she could even read him.

"I wouldn't do that to ya," he wouldn't disrespect her an' walk away from this conversation lyin' an' telling her it was all fine. It wasn't fine; word from Veld had it he was puttin' his plan into force tonight an' they'd soon know whether a former Imperial general was alive or not.

"- but yain't gonna like any o' this darlin'." Biting his lower lip, Dave slowly sat on the chair across from Ida and his shoulders felt like they'd cave in with the weight of it all. "I couldn't tell ya all along in case it all came t'nothing."

he had done a lot of stupid things in his life. he had caused scenes and tried to shuck the yoke of expectation back in gralea. he had done some pretty stupid shit when he'd first joined the turks, but he'd been a teenager, testing boundaries in a world no teenager should have been in.

settling in meldacio hadn't exactly cured his penchant for digging holes ... he'd treated dave like shit, despite the man opening his doors to them. he'd treated both his mother and dave like shit when he'd figured out that their relationship had developed into something more than cohabitation.

and then there he'd told selena the truth - not a stupid thing in the long run, but in hindsight he could have picked a better way to break the news or broach the subject.

but this? this sucked big time because it wasn't anger or exasperation painted across his mother's face - it was disappointment and reno couldn't see how he could have been handled it any better - it was shit all around and there as no easy way to have handled it because either way, it would have ended up here at this proverbial crossroads.

closing his eyes when she kissed his cheek, reno tried to ignore the twist his stomach gave. reaching out when she stepped around him and tried to pass, reno closed his fingers around his mother's wrist.

Smiling widely, Selena wrapped her arms around the woman, returning the hug and feeling a small pang of guilt for what she was going to say. She was an adult, so was Reno, and they should be able to hash things out between them, but this was different.

"I'm fine," Selena stated, nodding her head a beat later to help put Ida's concern to rest, "And so is Jake." And Reno was too - for the most part. Picking at a loose thread on the cuff of her sweater, Selena pulled a face, not feeling wholly confident in her wording, but knowing she had to say something. And maybe this would turn out to be something - maybe it was his father's birthday? Or it was coming close to a date that meant something back before he came to Meldacio? Something he didn't want to tell her about, but something Ida would know about and she could put her mind at ease?

Ji-eun exhaled a slow breath. The tension was still there, but it wasn't quite as explosive as it had been before... she didn't want to shout, and she didn't want to assault him with questions after all. She simply needed a moment to gather herself back together.

Following his guidance, she pulled back from the hug, and it was then that she realised his was the first familiar face that she had seen in the aftermath. Of all the people she had ever known, Baldur Tummelt was the first she could confidently say 'he survived'.

"It is good to see you Mr. Tummelt." Ji-eun meant to apologise to him. To dismiss her reaction in some way, but really, she wasn't sorry about it at all.

"I... am alive." It almost sounded like she questioned that, whether she truly was alive, whether this could truly be called living. It felt more like surviving. Her parents had both been listed as dead, according to a security database they were both swiped into their non-military work, and both placed at the epicenter of disaster. Even if it were a lie, even if they somehow survived the initial assault from within Gralea, they would not survive the cold and the dark that was to come.

When asked whether she needed anything, she gave a small pause. Yes. Yes, but a secret need. "Perhaps..." she couldn't get out the words. "That is, I do have a favour to seek, but I wouldn't ask for it until I see for myself the state of this Nifen base. There has been so much that has gone wrong. So many people in greater need. I can wait."

Then she managed a very weak smile. Barely a tug of her lips, and it was gone just as quick. "Mrs. Tummelt. I would very much like to see her as well. People have been slowly arriving, and I haven't seen any faces that I recognised until now. I'm... I think I'm in need of familiar company. The Lord Hi- former- Ravus." It felt strange to use his name in a setting that wasn't private. "We arrived together, but we were made aware of intel concerning a Tenebraean escort that needed assistance. He left to receive them but I... well, I'm here, unfit to deploy." That was her favour, but Baldur was a smart enough man to put two and two together.

Those words had barely left the woman’s lips, when her hand fell down to the ground again. Limp and weak. She was dying… it was evident from how she looked. She had that hollow gaunt expression. There was nothing that could safe her yet. But the little girl beside her… her green eyes were full of resilient bright green.

The woman her mother had grabbed by the wrist looked at the child for a brief moment, before she knelt down and quickly searched for the healing potion in her bag… but as soon as she blinked again, she knew that the mother of the child was gone.

It was one of these very rare moments in her life, where Ida felt completely helpless. She had no control over any of this… and this child?

Little mite was still so young, right between her two son's ages, if she had to guess – and her sobs broke Ida’s heart. Carefully placing her hands on the girl’s arm and back, Ida tried to give her a little comfort, while still not tearing her away from her mother. She looked around… but there was no one close by. No father. No other family. No friends. No one cared for this little girl’s fate.

No one but Ida.

Glancing down at her – Aerith – again, Ida noticed the II on her arm. A tattoo. And in that moment her worry turned into dread. She had seen that before. That and another symbol… the child’s name, too. Aerith…

Quickly Ida undid the buttons of her coat, draping it around the girl. She could only allow her one more moment of grief for her mother, before he scooped her up. As cruel as it was, they had to hurry.

“My darling, we have to go.” @housetummelt - Ida

@housetummelt

Aerith had tried to find a doctor to make her mother all better again, which was how she had grabbed the sleeve of this woman in her white coat and tugged for her to follow, begging for help. "Please, please help my mummy, she's sick!"

Ifalna knew this was her only chance to make things right for her daughter. Aerith, stubborn as a cat, thought all she needed to do was to find someone in a white coat to help. It was a horrible feeling, to fully realise that the only world her baby knew was one where adults wore white coats.

She reached for the woman, to hold onto the same wrist that Aerith had guided closer. She could see it in her eyes, that she wanted to help in some way. "Take Aerith somewhere safe." There was so much to explain. So much left unsaid. But it was all she had left to give. It was like in knowing that her daughter wasn't going to be alone, her body finally dared to relax...

Aerith was beside herself. Bawling and clinging to her mother, she knew that her soul was slipping away. That her mother was returning to the Planet and there was nothing to hold her back — try as she might, little hands clinging as though she could hold her mother there and make her stay. They were free now! They could live in a house together! They could grow gardens and never have to see a wheelchair again!

As the weeks rolled into months and begrudgingly turned into years, she found a new routine in this life ... if it could be called that. It was living, but in a different way; it was autopilot. Her family were gone, what neighbours she had left had long since disappeared and she seemed to be the only prisoner from Galahd kept around.

Because she was useful to the imperials.

Day-in and day-out Sarah went about her business and slowly got used to the new routine. That was why she recognised this man now; he had been brought to the base a handful of times before today and there was a sad familiarity to his expression. It was a hollowness she knew.

Walking slowly over to the table where he was sitting in the mess hall, Sarah silently sat down. She saw Caligo watching her and she thought the sharpness in his eyes was something new to her. But then she sat down and there was a quiet and silent acceptance when the man began eating. For what felt like an age, she sat there and ate too.

House Tummelt

Baldur | Ida @housetummelt