R U [ I ] N E D

Bring Out the UNwelcoming Committee

Callan shivered at all the eyes trained suspiciously on them, averting his eyes to the ground as he walked. Sachi clung tighter to the shifter's side, so tightly that it was almost as if Callan had grown another limb. Brady and Phoena didn't seem to be anywhere near as affected by the stares, the telepath bouncing his head every which way to take in all that he could while the blonde still retained her sullen scowl as she marched on.

"They aren't used to unexpected visitors from outside the city," Sol whispered quietly, giving quick greetings to the occasional person here and there. They were kind to her, of course, but to the others? They eyed them like wild animals that had wandered into their home, hellbent on destruction. One man in particular caught Callan's attention. Once he'd lifted his gaze from the ground, Cal's eyes met his— if only for a moment. But the Grand Commander's son wasn't the one his was interest in, his seething stare held Sachi in its grasps. The young boy didn't appear to notice the eyes trained solely on him, but Callan's expression hardened and he pulled the child closer to him protectively. When they passed the man, who now whispered to his companions and gestures silently over at the group of five, Callan shot him the dirtiest look he could muster. The man just glared back, eyes flickering over to Sachi again as he shook his head and frowned.

"What are you doing?"

Callan jolted suddenly at the sound of Braedyn's voice. "Nothing..." he mumbled, a final glance over his shoulder at the man.

Brady followed the shifter's eyes and hummed thoughtfully. "That guy has some pretty unsavory things to say about you right now."

"He should say them to my face then," Cal muttered, giving Brady's cloak a tug as they had fallen behind the others due to the distraction. "Come on..."

Brady yelped in surprise, eyes rounding as he stumbled after Cal. "It's not like they'd leave us behind..." he started but the other didn't give him a chance to finish.

"Phoena would. She's not particularly pleased with either of us right now."

"Well..." Brady drew out the word before shrugging softly. "You're not entirely wrong on that one."

Callan huffed out a breath, which fogged up in front of his face. "Out of her head. Just... out," he demanded, "Let it be. For once." He paced off towards the others with Sachi. Brady, though, lingered for a moment, still watching the group of men curiously, then scampered off after Callantine.

Sol wore a slight pout as the boys caught up and offered a wave. "Everything okay?" she asked.

Brady was the one to reply, bobbing his head from side to side as he spoke. "As of now, yeah," he told the sorceress. "Cal has an axe to grind with some dude in town, apparently, but other than that, we're golden!"

Sachi tilted his head up at the telepath's words. "What guy?" he said softly, concern etching itself onto his innocent face.

"Don't worry about it, Sachi," Callan insisted. "It's done now."

That seemed enough to satisfy Sachi, who simply nodded. "Okay."

Leaving that matter be, Soleil added, "We're not far now. I'm sure you all need some rest after the day you've had."

"You have no idea..." Phoena muttered as she rubbed her face wearily.

Sol kept silent after that, biting her lip as she acted as guide once more. The sorceress slowed as they neared a quaint little home on the far side of town. She opened the door just wide enough to peek her head inside. "Auntie Oma!" she called, peering from side to side as she stepped in.

"Soleil? That you?" a voice answered, but the speaker sounded far too young to be anyone's aunt— not to mention the fact that the voice was distinctly male.

As a boy probably a year or two younger that Soleil stepped out into the entryway, Sol provided the others with an introduction. "This is my cousin, Reighn." Then facing Reighn, she gestured back at the rest. "Friends of mine from the capital," she explained, avoiding going into any detail on the fact that three of them were Runeholders like Sol herself. "They needed somewhere to spend the night, so I was going to ask Auntie if they could use the spare room. Is she home?"

Reighn leaned against the wall as he listened to him cousin, shaking his head 'no' at her question. "She ran into town to get some medicine for Ismerina..." he said and sighed, his lips puckering like he'd bit into a lemon. "She started running a high fever this afternoon while you were off training with the coven."

"Oh..." Sol trailed off, her expression darkening until it hit her that she wasn't alone. Looking back at the others, she smiled weakly. "Sorry, guys. Come in, please." She beckoned them inside, moving deeper into the home so that they would all have room. The others, following her instructions, watched Soleil and Reighn exchange worried whispers, but they didn't interrupt. Not until another girl wandered over from another part of the house, looking flushed and exhausted.

"Soleil..." Brady said gently as the girl blinked at them, her head tipped to the side in confusion. "I think—"

"Ismerina!" The sorceress gasped and rushed over to the sickly girl. "What are you doing out of bed?" She caught the girl's arm as Rina wobbled a bit. "Let's get you back to bed, okay?" Rina just nodded, leaning against Soleil for support. Sol dipped her head over at her guests, speaking to Reighn. "The guest room, please. I'm sure Auntie won't mind... and I'll take care of Rina."

Reighn looked between the two girls uncertainly, but finally relented and looked to Sol's companions as Soleil led Ismerina from the room. "Follow me this way," he told them simply, heading down the hallway without another word.

"Your cousin doesn't speak, does she?" Brady asked as he, Callan, Phoena, and Sachi followed Reighn.

Glancing back at the telepath with narrowed eyes, Reighn was rather evasive in his reply. "What would make you say that?"

Brady tapped his temple with a finger and offered a meek smile. "Sorry for intruding... It's much harder to ignore when your thoughts are all over the place like that."

"And he doesn't really ignore what other people are thinking regardless," Phoena countered, her arms crossed firmly over her chest as she looked over at Brady, frowning.

The telepath bobbed his shoulders, ignoring her pointed words as he watched Reighn. "What happened?" he asked, choosing to let Sol's cousin reveal the details by choice.

"She saw our father slaughtered... You wouldn't be too chatty after witnessing something like that either, I'd imagine," Reighn said gruffly.

"Ferndale..." The word was but a whisper on Callan's lips, but it had Reighn's shoulders set rigidly and his eyes darken as he nodded.

Pausing outside the room at the end of the hallway, Reighn, inclined his head toward the door. "Settle in, make yourselves at home. Sol will be by once she's finished with Ismerina." With that, he bowed his head slightly as a goodbye and took his leave, likely to go and check on his twin sister himself.