Fantasy Inescapable Shadows

[IdyllicDreamer]

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[div class=PostieBox][div class=PostieBall][div class=PostieAvie][/div][/div][div class=PostieName]Evette Rulivae[/div][div class=Credit]Created by @IdyllicDreamer[/div]
A few questions would end up answered at that, stiffening slightly the moment he mentioned Caleb. She knew something was wrong, she just knew it. Her inability to actually do anything to help her son stung slightly, but at the very least Gracen would have been able to inform him about the situation. Inform him about... what. The woman's mind coming to a near halt at that, eyes wide at the fact that he had decided to simply tell Caleb. Of course it upset him, considering she had let Caleb believe Gracen was dead for his entire life.

She needed to get to him, needed to see him and have the chance to explain everything to him. He had to be hurt, angry, upset. As far as he was concerned she had done nothing but lie about something so important for so long... And she wouldn't even have been able to blame Caleb for those feelings. Hell, she couldn't even properly muster up the energy to be angry with Gracen, it wasn't his fault. It was hers, ever choice here had been on her, everything leading up to this moment caused by her actions.

And that wouldn't even be the worst of the bombshells dropped on her at that time. Fully prepared to make Gracen lay back down once he got up again, until he spoke. Everything felt like it slowed as the words dark magic slipped out, in relation to Caleb. As they continued to come out, as he implied that their son had not only a knack for dark magic but already held great power in it. Time crawled, before it utterly stopped in her mind as she just stared at him.

Everything she had done over those past eleven years had been for Caleb. It had all been for him, to protect him from the darker side of the arcane, from the more questionable aspects of it all. To give him a safe environment where he could grow, and decide for himself where he was going in it all. All the pain she had inflicted upon herself, upon Gracen, the lies, the hiding, the secrets. Everything had been for one simply goal. To keep Caleb safe.

None of it meant anything anymore. She had failed, in every sense of the word. Evette had failed to protect Caleb from anything. The darkness still found him, an apparently inevitable fate that tormented the futility of her actions. Of every choice, of every mistake.

The thoughts and feelings welled inside of her, crashing upon one another in a tidal wave of guilt, suppressed things welling up and collapsing in on each other to create something that she simply couldn't hold in. Time continued, an eternity in her perspective was nearly a blink of the eye in reality. Wrapping her arms around her body the woman practically folded in on herself. Falling to her knees, head lowering down to them, before the first choked out sob would escape.

[div class=FancyText]It was all for nothing.[/div]​

[/div]

 

[CeriseFern]

Gracen just sat there. Stunned. Absolutely nothing he could do but just sit there, and watch. He tried so hard to formulate some words. Something that he could say to her. Anything. Or if he could just stand up and try to comfort her...

What part of him didn't ache were numb, and honestly, it was a wonder why he hadn't immediately passed out again after waking up. It was a wonder how the tree didn't just kill him on impact. He'd been running on empty for years now. An insidious thought crossed his mind. She needed to get home at any cost and he was going to her home.

Gracen forced himself out of the cot. His two feet firmly planted on the ground for just a moment, he stepped forward and then-

-promptly collapsed on the ground. Once again, passing out.

 

[IdyllicDreamer]

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[div class=PostieBox][div class=PostieBall][div class=PostieAvie][/div][/div][div class=PostieName]Evette Rulivae[/div][div class=Credit]Created by @IdyllicDreamer[/div]
The sound of a body hitting the floor would be what really grabbed her attention, pulling her from the pit of self loathing she had let herself sink into. Raising her head to see what it was she would be startled to find him on the ground once more. For a brief moment that could be the only thing that mattered, worry, a distraction. Forcing herself to move to help him, legs protesting for a moment as if she had left the parking break on... Yet soon enough Evette would once more be assessing him for damage, getting him into the damned cot. Where he should have remained all along, not trying to... go, do something, whatever it might have been probably could have waited.

Stubborn fool, what had he been trying to do? Wiping her face for a moment, the excessive moisture from that moment before. The thought hitting her before anything else, forcing a small frown. Had it been because of her? Breaking down like that... Had that been the trigger for his behavior? A deep, almost broken, sigh slipped out there before she sunk back down to the ground. Simply sitting this time, starting to feel the exhaustion from just the day creeping in. There was still so much to do though, so many things that couldn't just wait. He likely needed more care, supplies, things that simply weren't here... Caleb, she needed to find some way to communicate with him, to just... reach him...

Yet she had nothing for it, nothing that could help and both body and mind were protesting the thought of anything further at this time. She wouldn't be able to keep her eyes open much long either, even if she didn't need to cover from the same extensive damage... It had still been a long day for her as well.
[/div]

 

[CeriseFern]

The air cooled and a quiet night swept over the two of them. Exhaustion too much to bare and no amount of worry could keep Evette up so she too eventually fell asleep. Gracen finally fell into a dreamless sleep, where he might find genuine rest...

He hangs on by a thread as if all of the life inside of him was ready to dissipate. Just letting go. That would be so easy.
Yet a small piece of him,,,
Taking is easy, knowing when to stop is the hard part.

Slowly the energy he needed seaped into him, as if it was nothing. No decay or rot, just dust in the wind. First the grass and the weeds, then bushes and trees. Every insect, every animal. From the smallest microb to the tallest tree, and without even realize it... He just, consumed. With each breath he let out a puff of black smoke. The colour returned to his skin and he almost looked healthy. Almost.

​

He'd never done this before. It wasn't an ability he thought he could do in his sleep. There wasn't any abilities he could do in his sleep as far as he was away. Yet... It just came so, natural. Without it he might have died that night.
It didn't stop when he had enough. The energy just kept coming, and he slept peacible without a single clue about the absolute distruction.

​

 

[IdyllicDreamer]

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[div class=PostieBox][div class=PostieBall][div class=PostieAvie][/div][/div][div class=PostieName]Evette Rulivae[/div][div class=Credit]Created by @IdyllicDreamer[/div]
Come morning, or whatever might have been akin to 'morning' within this place, Evette would start to stir. Body protesting the movements, discomfort evident as she let out a slight groan. Was she feeling like this simply because of how she had ended up sleeping? A terrible position to be sure, but she couldn't remember it being this bad the time she had fallen asleep half on a chair and half on Caleb's bed once, while he had been terribly sick. It had been an uncomfortable feeling, that carried with her through the day... Yet, this felt 'more' somehow.

In spite of the feeling her nerves felt alive, when she awoke, the feeling on the back of her neck tingling as she looked around. It wasn't a good feeling, a sense of wrongness in the air, trying to assess the source... Only to end up gasping when she saw the little smoke poofs coming from Gracen. Just as came out with a few of his spells, as when he drained the tree. Grabbing him by the shoulders Evette would start lightly shaking him, trying to wake him up obviously.

"Gracen, Gracen, wake up something's happening." She didn't immediately say something was happening to him, or with him, instead leaving it obviously vague. The note of worry in her voice would be obvious though, and she couldn't stop worrying about what he might have been doing right now. Especially after the events last night, the last few things she could remember anyways.
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[CeriseFern]

The shaking rather abruptly woke Gracen, immediately he doubled over coughing up fistfuls of soot all over himself the cot and Evette. He couldn't breathe as it all came up at once. It didn't seem to want to end. A mountain of dust building quick. It did slow down after a minute or more, it was hard to keep track and it felt far longer.

His eyes watery and the dense soot settled to the ground quickly. He wanted to say something but nothing could come out through his laboured breathing. He felt... Surprisingly well rested. Dizzy from the lack of breathing, though that would soon be fixed. He didn't look well of course. Aside from the cuts and bruises that all healed overnight, he appeared to be his old tried self. Perhaps made worse by being nearly in tears.

No more dreams that night, no struggles. Just an aggressive wakeup call and far too much soot now coving the room.

 

[IdyllicDreamer]

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[div class=PostieBox][div class=PostieBall][div class=PostieAvie][/div][/div][div class=PostieName]Evette Rulivae[/div][div class=Credit]Created by @IdyllicDreamer[/div]
Immediately she would release Gracen when the coughing began, not getting in the way of his movements as the... soot came out of him. What in the nine hell's were his insides like to caught that to be in the depths of his lungs? Shock for a moment before she would start patting at his back, trying to help him gently, like one might burp a baby. It was about all she could do here for him at the moment, without any clue of where to get him any water, or anything else to help right now. The only other thing would be to hold his hair back, which would probably do little more than keep it from flying into his mouth... Which was probably better than nothing.

When he seemed to 'calm down', or at the very least get out all he needed to get out, Evette would release him and his hair. Just stunned for the moment by all of... well, the soot, if it was soot. A dusty substance that was light enough to fly around, getting on everything, she couldn't help but cringe when she noticed how much was on her now... At least it wasn't actual bile though, that would have been so much worse as far as she was concerned. Unless there were unknown properties to this substance. Thoughts for another day, maybe. Or it might have been best to just block this out of her mind forever.

"Feeling better...?" He looked it, remarkably so compared to last night, eyebrows furrowing slightly as she realized that. Wondering what exactly that might have meant... Though there really were only a few ways to find out. "You were puffing that stuff out before I woke you up, what was happening...?" Did he even know?
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[CeriseFern]

"Y-You probably know more than me," he huffed out, quickly forcing himself to stand up before she could protest. Though he let himself lean on the wall.
"That's never happened," he just mumbled, looking down at the dust. He knew what it was, but he was asleep. It didn't make any sense. He looked back up her, she definitely didn't sleep well. Plus she hasn't been able to eat in about a day, the exhaust was pretty visible.

"Are you okay?" he seemed to brush off his own problems pretty quick. Not that he wasn't worried, he just didn't want to think about it. They just... Wouldn't go outside. He probably had enough energy to open up a portal home. Maybe. Well hopefully. He didn't want to keep her waiting any longer than needed.

 

[IdyllicDreamer]

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[div class=PostieBox][div class=PostieBall][div class=PostieAvie][/div][/div][div class=PostieName]Evette Rulivae[/div][div class=Credit]Created by @IdyllicDreamer[/div]
Honestly, Evette was kind of skeptical of that, that she might know more than he would about this situation. About the soot, his condition, what had even been happening to him. Hands moving for a moment when he started to stand, as if she were about to stop him, but they would just drop with a quiet huff when he was leaning against the wall. After his collapse yesterday, and how painful moving had been, she was rather displeased with this... but aside from shoving him back down on the cot there was little she could actually do. That might have been a bit counterproductive, as well.

"Eh, I've been better... I've been worse." The tone in her voice was clear that she didn't particularly want to talk about herself, one hand just awkwardly rubbing at the other arm for a moment before she glanced towards the door. It wasn't a lie of course, she had in fact been worse off at certain points over the years. Right now was just one of the more unusual ones where she had far less options. There was only so long she could run on fumes for, and right now she was far more concerned about water than the gnawing feeling in her stomach.

"There's got to be some water around here right? You could probably use some more... than... I..." As she started talking Evette would have made her way quickly to the door, to open it and start heading outside. Only to freeze up, words slowing to a crawl, as she noticed what had transpired overnight.
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[CeriseFern]

"There isn't really anything safe to consume here, go figure a place without humans isn't habitable for humans,,," he trailed off once she opened the front door, seeing just beyond her what had happened. It wasn't pretty, but it did explain why he felt better. He pulled his hands through his hair surpressing a sigh and then without much thought walked over to the front door and just closed it while she stood awestruck.

"I probably have enough energy to get us home," he mumbled, "I think Caleb needs you right now."
He already knew he was going to get an earful from her, and just didn't know how to address it. Instead he just turned around and started going through the books she'd 'organized'. Bracing himself for the yelling, or whatever she had, while looking for their ticket back home.
This was bad, it was real bad. What did it mean? Perhaps it would just be a one time thing, given how close to death he was... Or would it become a regular habbit? He tried to push all those thoughts out of his head. He could feel Evette about to freak out, at least one of them should be calm.

 

[IdyllicDreamer]

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[div class=PostieBox][div class=PostieBall][div class=PostieAvie][/div][/div][div class=PostieName]Evette Rulivae[/div][div class=Credit]Created by @IdyllicDreamer[/div]
For a moment there it had slipped her mind really, that he wouldn't really have been eating or drinking anything while here. Not when he could simply drain the vitality out of the trees to sustain himself. It would have been easy for her to argue that there had to be something here safe, with that simple thought forgotten. Yet it was slammed back into her full force when she saw just how thoroughly destroyed everything here was. Decayed, and not just because of those 'insects' that they had come across yesterday, it was him. Gracen had consumed it all... in his sleep.

"Okay..." Her voice was just a murmur more than anything, finally turning away from the door as the mention of their son brought her back to reality. Caleb did need her right now, he needed answers and the truth before things got much worse. It would almost sound as if she really didn't know what to do about it, the situation or how to process the scene she had seen there. Where anger had been yesterday there was simply confusion, understanding from more facts of the situation. How did you blame someone for something out of their control...?

"... You said... that's never happened before right..? Do you have any idea what that may mean?" He had to be thinking about it too, and until he found the book he was looking for, the book to take them home, she wasn't ready to just ignore this. More than anything else she was concerned about how bad it could get, if it happened again. Especially if it was around other people, within a city. For a moment there a small, insignificant, thought sprang up in the back of her mind. A thought that left her unsure of how to feel, considering the sight outside.

Because even unintentionally his powers had completely glossed over her it seemed, and she had always known he never would have harmed her.
[/div]

 

[CeriseFern]

"I-I," his voice shuttered, he knew she would want to talk about it yet still hearing her hurt him a little. No part of him wanted to think about this a moment longer. Yet,,, Gracen sighed and sat down in the chair at the desk. Her moving the books revealed something he made a while back and hadn't revisited. By the photos and branches pasted onto the desk directly, it was clear it was some sort of family tree. A lot of the photos were framed in different colours. Mostly black, red, or white, though a few of them had nothing at all. He pulled a few pens from his desk and seemed to be updating it.
"A lot of the people you used to know are dead now," he mumbled. He set down the markers now tracing the photo of his mother with his hand. Her photo was already framed with white. Next to that was an angry black X scratched over where his father should have been, no photo.
"And those of us still alive don't talk much anymore, you know it's like Rulivae bloodline has just vanished off the face of the Earth," he almost laughed at that, "my sister won't admit it, but I think she's been using her magic to erase us from the community's collective memory. To save face. I love them to death, but why does everyone seem to care about their image so much? Would've saved me a lot of trouble if we could just admit we have problems..." He wasn't exactly excluded from the sentiment, still. If it weren't for the stupid secrecy spell...

"I'm not avoiding your question," he added bluntly, looking back up at her, "I'm... Scared," he admitted, "and I, I have to fucking watch what I say around you and it's... Messing with my head. It's so much easier when I don't have anyone to talk to. So much easier to bottle it all in when there's nowhere else to put it..."

Gracen groaned, slumping forward onto the desk. Head in his hands. About ready to rip out his own hair at this point.
"I don't know anything anymore," he could barely be heard as he was basically talking into the desk.

 

[IdyllicDreamer]

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[div class=PostieBox][div class=PostieBall][div class=PostieAvie][/div][/div][div class=PostieName]Evette Rulivae[/div][div class=Credit]Created by @IdyllicDreamer[/div]
Instead of getting after him, pushing more while he tried to collect his thoughts to speak, Evette would be quiet. Giving him time, to process, to continue... to form the words that he could say. Rather, at that moment she would simply be listening. Eyes dropping to the desk, the... family tree? Skimming pictures she might have recognized from the past, before they were married, before they angered certain people by running off to get married instead of following through with the overly planned ceremony. A little frown forming on her face at certain things he said about his family, because it really did define just how alone he had kept himself. Isolated after she had left, the guilt gnawed once more.

"I would have accepted 'I don't know' as an answer, you know." She responded, a note of humor in her voice as she... tried to lighten the situation a little. If for no other purpose than to try and help him. If that was even possible like this. Caleb did the same thing, sharing far more than someone asked for at times, able to just go on till he got out what he needed to get out. She had noticed it a long time ago, though he never really mentioned that to him. Shaking the thought off she would just set one of her hands lightly on Gracen's back, around his shoulders, to lightly rub in small circles. Something to try and help, still. To try and help calm his thoughts, though she had a feeling it was futile.

"I can't say you don't have to be afraid, because maybe you do... I can't say it's going to be alright because I don't know that. What I can say, and be completely honest about... Is that I'm not going to abandon you again, Gracen. I'll be here for you too." Evette would always hate a part of herself now, she would hate the part of herself that left. The part that had been too afraid to simply... make him tell her what was going on. To refuse to accept half-assed explanations. She would hate the part that gave up, and slunk away quietly in the night.

"You don't have to take the world on by yourself in this, anymore."
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[CeriseFern]

He sighed before sitting back up. Looking at Evette's 'organized' stack of books still left on the table and not shoved into the bookcases, it was mostly by size so they didn't fall. He skimmed through them and suddenly pushed off about half of the stack onto the ground grabbing the book left on top.

"Caleb's only going to get more upset the longer you're gone," he mumbled, beginning to flip through the pages. Quickly coming upon the page which they were familiar.
The familiar warning, "cover your ears," and before she could get another word in he initiated the spell.


Gracen found himself face down with a mouth full of grass. Too tired force himself to look up. The landing felt rougher, though at least it was more accurate. He got the two of them into Evette's fenced off yard. Good thing too, no one saw them essentially appear from thin air.
He rolled over and looked up into the sky, the sun quickly blinding him. Not trying to sit up at all. This almost felt nice in a way. Evette would probably force him back to his feet soon as she was up, so for now, he just waited.

 

[IdyllicDreamer]

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[div class=PostieBox][div class=PostieBall][div class=PostieAvie][/div][/div][div class=PostieName]Evette Rulivae[/div][div class=Credit]Created by @IdyllicDreamer[/div]
She really wasn't sure how to process him seemingly ignoring any of her comments, then again she wasn't really sure what he should have said to them either. Quiet instead as she just awkwardly watched as he went back to his previous task of getting the two of them back to their world, this wouldn't be an issue she intended on pressing. Not right now anyways, because he was right. Caleb would be getting more upset, and a part of her could already feel it gnawing away.

This time wouldn't be much better than the first as they passed between dimensions, that feeling of nausea being the first thing that hit her once more when sense returned to her form. Trembling slightly on the ground for a moment the woman would collect her bearings, before starting to pick herself up. A familiar space, her backyard... the small greenhouse tucked in the back corner being one of the first things she spotted. Right now it was hardly important.

"If you want to come in you're welcome to, if not... you can just wait out here." She said quietly, not pressing the lingering sense of 'offness' she felt, ignoring it for the moment as she went into the house. Evette actually wasn't expecting Caleb to have been here, more she was expecting him to have been at school right now... Except she was wrong, and had she been paying attention the number of snapped wards around the property might have told her just that.

Instead of going to school like he would have been directed to do, Caleb would have simply gone home, made a mess of the house as he looked around for... something. Some fragment of truth that could have been there, overlooked.
[/div]

 

[CeriseFern]

Gracen mumbled nonsense at Evette as she walked passed him, just enjoying the sun on his face. This felt almost more comfortable than the cot. Didn't matter how much raw magic he absorbed he still felt tired. Though, the moment he felt himself drifting he immediately forced himself to sit up. Stretching out his arms before he forced himself to his feet and followed Evette inside.

"So you going to meet with him at school, or-" Gracen made the same assumption Evette did, though he noticed something felt off with her as she looked around her own house.
"Something wrong?"

 

[IdyllicDreamer]

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[div class=PostieBox][div class=PostieBall][div class=PostieAvie][/div][/div][div class=PostieName]Evette Rulivae[/div][div class=Credit]Created by @IdyllicDreamer[/div]
The very first sign, aside from the disorder of the house, probably would have been the way Evette flinched when Gracen spoke. As if she hadn't been expecting anyone to, as if he had actually caught her off guard and surprised her. So wrapped up in her thoughts as she was, trying to figure out just what exactly had happened here. As it stood now it took a great deal of willpower to keep from looking over at him, instead looking over the mess Caleb had left behind.

"I didn't leave the house like this..." Not speaking her concern that Caleb could have been the one to do it, since she of course wouldn't have known. She didn't want to believe that was the case, but it wasn't as though she had been perfect as a child either. Especially with her temper so much worse than his had ever been... Then again her parents had never pulled something like what she had pulled on Caleb... at least as far as he would have known.

"Caleb...?" She would call out then, looking towards the stairs of the smaller second floor, where the two bedrooms were. It would only be a few seconds after she did so that something would come sailing over the railing, aimed straight for her. Evette barely managed to deflect it before it would have smacked right into her, the hard-plastic toy might have done some damage from that distance!

"Caleb! I don't care how upset you are you do not throw things like that!" Evette snapped at that moment, voice stern, no matter how much she felt for whatever he must have been going through here... She was still his mother, and certain things were still unacceptable.

"Like we don't lie to each other?!?" His voice snapped back from upstairs, before he came out of his room. Hands on the railing before the stairs as he looked down on her. It was clear that the boy hadn't slept well, if he had really even slept after that dream. Looking visibly upset, and extremely tired. Those blasts in his dream had taken a lot out of him, anyone else his age likely would have still been asleep trying to recover from that... Yet Caleb hadn't exactly been alone that whole time.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about the situation Caleb, would you please just come down here so we can talk about it..?" She tried, her voice a bit softer there, starting for the stairs to go meet him. Yet before she could make it there his eyes would narrow on Gracen, glaring at him. As if it were all his fault, in spite of the fact that he had actually been the one to tell him the truth.

"This is all your fault, why are you even here??" While Caleb might not have had the energy for another burst, two toys would come sailing out of his room. A temper tantrum quite like ones he might have had as a toddler, not that Caleb would really remember those.
[/div]

 

[CeriseFern]

"I-I," Gracen hesitated, not anticipating any of this happening. Part of him wanted to just back out of the situation. For a moment he felt he shouldn't be here and he even took a slight step back as Caleb threw down his toys. He forced out a deep breath and took a solid step towards the stairs. Though of course would make no attempt to go up them. He just looked Caleb dead in the eyes and stated calm but firm.

"I'm here so that we can talk this out, all three of us."

 

[IdyllicDreamer]

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She couldn't help but wince a little as Caleb misplaced the blame, thrusting it upon Gracen as if he really had some say in all of this. He didn't, not anymore than the amount of control Caleb had in it, everything was on her. Evette was the cause of their suffering in this matter, but she couldn't simply beat herself up about it while it was still progressing, potentially worsening.

"It's my fault actually, Caleb, not his. I made... a huge mistake a long time ago, that I'll never be able to undo." She started as she cleared more stairs. The boys eyes torn away from his father as he would look over to her, still feeling some sting of betrayal. He would actually back away to his room a bit, as if unsure of how to even handle this situation. It hurt, he was angry, he wanted to lash out... Everything inside of him was screaming to lash out, make sure they were feeling what he was, yet seeing his mother looking at him like that. Nothing was happening.

"I made a mistake, it's part of being human... And when you're older I'm sure you're going to make your fair share of them too. The important part is how we handle them, and this is how I'm handling this one... By trying to explain it to you, trying to make it better for you... Then working hard to earn your trust back, Caleb." When she had been younger Evette had no idea how her mother always seemed to know the right thing to say when she was upset, and even now she still had no idea where that talent came from. It was stressful, she was scared... But she needed Caleb to be okay, more than she even needed to breath.

"Just please, come downstairs and talk to us." Finally at the top of the stairs, since she had been taking them very slowly, Evette would offer Caleb one of her hands. For a few moments longer he would just stand there and stare at her, hurt and uncertain... Before he would slowly move away from his bedroom door. Towards her... but he didn't take her hand. For a moment it almost felt like her heart was breaking as he moved passed her instead, hurrying down the stairs. Brushing right passed Gracen as well to go sit in the living room.

"I'll listen then." His tone had a mild huff to it, though at this point he may have simply been holding onto his anger because it was easier than letting it go.
[/div]

 

[CeriseFern]

Once Caleb walked passed Gracen turned around and followed suit out to the living room. Though he stood in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen rather than sitting down anywhere. There was... Nothing for him to say right? At least at the moment. He searched through his mind finding words, but there were none.

This had to do with all of them, yet... Gracen looked over to Evette expecting her to start. This was all because of her. Right? Ultimately, in the end, a lot of what lead them up to here today was her decisions. He didn't blame her exactly, but it was true. Was it not?
He could let her say her peace, and then... What talk to Caleb alone? About his family, their secrets. He didn't think Caleb would appreciate that this moment.

 

[IdyllicDreamer]

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After a moment she would follow Caleb down the stairs, giving Gracen an almost apologetic look for Caleb's previous words, actions... Caleb wasn't normally like that, then again Caleb's entire world wasn't typically shattered by a long kept secret. Anyone would be a little crazy after something like that right? She could only hope that it could be fixed, it had to be fixed, somehow. With that determination in mind she would take a seat in the living room across from Caleb, hands clasped together as she looked at him.

"You may not believe me right now Caleb, but before everything I tell you I need you to know... I always planned on telling you what really happened. When I thought it was safe, not just... safe for you, and not safe in the sense that there was danger in you knowing... I wanted us both to be ready." Evette started in a too quiet voice, knuckles clenching slightly on each other. She may never have been ready for this conversation honestly, but that wasn't the important part of sharing that...

"This man here, Gracen, is your father as he said... and every story I told you about him was true... Including the story I told you about things I didn't understand taking him. It just didn't happen in the way I let you believe." He had almost looked like he was about ready to object at that, questioning how that could have been true when he was clearly right there. Yet she managed to finish before he could interrupt, Caleb's eyes skirting over to him for a moment before he shifted a little anxiously in his seat. Evette doubted any of them were comfortable right now.

"I've told you how important honesty is before, well... Gracen and I had some problems with that, there were things we didn't talk about that we should have. That was where we made mistakes, I didn't understand what was happening, and so instead of talking about it... I left, because I thought its what would be best for you." Her knuckles were practically white by this point, from how tightly she was squeezing her own fists together.

"I thought it would be easier to tell you that he was gone, because I never wanted you to feel that you had an absentee father. I didn't want you to deal with the potential teasing or bullying that may have come about from a missing but alive father." How effective that plan was, though, is another story. By this point Caleb was hardly looking at her, looking down at his own feet now instead as he tried to figure out how to even process all of that, tried to hang onto something better than the raw feelings crawling around inside, tried to avoid looking at Gracen.

"There will never come a time where I won't do everything in my power to make sure you're safe, and happy, Caleb. That's all I've ever wanted for you." Caleb still didn't say anything, lips tightening a bit as if he might have wanted to but wasn't sure what it should have been.
[/div]

 

[CeriseFern]

Silence filled the air and no one seemed to know what to do or say at this point. There was a lot for Caleb to take in and Gracen couldn't really blame him for his attitude. He'd gone through this himself, but he was an adult when it happened so he had to control his anger.

They waited too long it felt and nothing happened, "ah, Evie. Why don't you give Caleb and me a minute alone? If, that's okay with Caleb," he finally suggested. Breaking the uncomfortable silence.

 

[IdyllicDreamer]

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More than anything she had been hoping that Caleb would have said something, anything, even that he was upset with her still no matter what she said. Yet the silence, and way he was hardly looking at her, burned far more than anything he likely could have said. She was almost ready to protest when Gracen suggested giving them a moment alone, until it quickly dawned on her why he might have made that specific request. A soft sigh slipping out, before she started to stand up, and made her way towards the kitchen.

"Don't hold anything back, I think he should know everything about that situation..." Of course Evette couldn't ensure that he would, or make him do it... She could only hope that he would have reached the same conclusion she had. Anything less than the truth could have been so very dangerous for Caleb right now.

Caleb, himself, would have just watched her go, the familiar path from the kitchen to her back garden easy to discern by the sound of the back door closing. It hurt, terribly so, all the truths he had learned today coupled with watching her in pain too. He still loved her, of course he did! It wasn't like she had stopped loving him when he stole some cookies from the jar, he still wasn't sure how she found out. This was bigger than that though, wasn't it...?

"What are you suppose to be telling me...?" He finally spoke, only just barely looking at the man. His... father. It was still a hard thought to swallow.
[/div]

 

[CeriseFern]

Gracen walked over to the coffee table in from of the couch Caleb sat at and took a seat on the ground. Using a simple trick to pull one of his books into this dimension. Though he frowned when he saw the cover. Of course, he'd be pulling wrong books for a while now, wouldn't he?
"You don't have to talk if you're not ready," Gracen waved the book away and it dematerialized back into the air, "I just suggested that so you didn't have to sit there as your mother awkwardly stared at you. Plus, I think she needed some fresh air after spilling her guts."

Gracen pulled another book and as quickly pushed it away, "let's see... I was 25 when I finally learned about my father. He came up to me in a public place and confessed he'd been watching me for some time and wanted to share his 'legacy' with me. I didn't believe it of course. Didn't help that he was disguised, didn't want me to know who he was and that seemed extra odd."
Gracen tried another book to no success, all the while rambling and not looking directly at Caleb. Not specifically to ignore him, but in hopes that not having any eyes on him might ease him a bit.
"Talked to my mother about it and she nearly passed out. Denying it at first, but at that point, it was obvious she'd been lying. At first, I felt like maybe I could never talk to her again... And I did for a few months. Of course, it's easier to ignore someone you don't live with. I still think about it a lot," he admitted, "and I don't think the anger ever completely went away, but now I understand why she did it. Mothers like her, and your mom... They mean well, but meaning well doesn't always mean you do well."

 

[IdyllicDreamer]

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[div class=PostieBox][div class=PostieBall][div class=PostieAvie][/div][/div][div class=PostieName]Caleb Rulivae[/div][div class=Credit]Created by @IdyllicDreamer[/div]
Really, Caleb wasn't sure what to do with this man. Once upon a time he had fantasized about what it might have been like having a father, if something happened and he suddenly turned up. That somehow he had survived whatever happened, and that his mother didn't know. She would have been surprised too in those cases, none of those thoughts ever went like this. They didn't leave that angry, hollow, achy feeling as this situation was. Hardly looking at the man as he spoke, just as Caleb had hardly been looking at his mother when she spoke. It was all too raw, all too weird for him right now.

"So you're just saying the same stuff, that she made a mistake like your mom did." He would finally speak, a little quieter than he had been before. All of it was just too weird for him, and he certainly didn't know how to deal with his mom after all of that. Would he end up spending some time ignoring her too? It was a strange though, he didn't like that idea but he also didn't know how else to handle this. Would he hurt her too?

"Why did mom leave you...? What happened and what... what does it all have to do with those dreams?" It was connected, he could feel that much. Knew that somehow all of it was going to tie together even if he couldn't see the connecting strings, or what it might have had to do with him. Now was his chance to get those answers, and he wasn't going to just let it pass up.
[/div]