R U [ I ] N E D

Hearts Like Shattered Glass

Once Soleil came into the room, she looked rather rattled, disheveled. She pressed her palms against the door as she closed it behind her and heaved out a rough sigh. Her forehead rested softly against the wood for a few silent moments until she chose to pull away. Flashing a weak smile at the others when she turned around, Sol flicked a stray curl off her glistening skin and wiped at the beads of sweat. The sorceress' lips faintly quivered, but all in all, she was managing to hold herself together. "So, this is where you all will be spending the night," she said finally, "I'm sorry that we don't have more room to spare..."

Sol trailed off wistfully, but Callan interrupted with a quick shake of his head, brushing off her apology. "Don't worry about it. We appreciate it, and it's more than enough," he insisted.

Another small smile at that, Soleil nodded. "Thank you."

At those simple words, Brady cleared his throat, drawing the sorceress' attention to him. "Might I ask you a question?" The telepath took a few steps forward, tilting his head expectantly at Sol. "If it isn't too much, of course."

Sol's expression was unusually weary as she gazed across the room at Brady but she still considered the request. "What is it?"

"Ismerina..." he started, taking a much gentler manner than any of the others had come to expect from Braedyn. "Reighn mentioned their father, and—"

Sol tensed, her fists clenching as she looked away. "My cousins shouldn't concern you." Her words were sharp, much unlike the bright carefree manner that she'd held until then. "They've had a difficult life for children their age, but it's not something we go around talking about." The sorceress wrung her hands together, talking about her cousins' woes clearly setting her on edge. "Whatever Reighn said— or didn't say— I don't want to talk about it. Not about that and not about Ferndale. So please, don't pry."

Brady frowned at that. This was a delicate matter for Soleil and he knew as much, so he was trying to handle it appropriately. And failing, so it would seem. But with the young girl so unwell, he wondered how she'd come to be in such a state.

"He's done. Isn't that right, Brady?" The steely quality of Phoena's voice had Braedyn peering back at her, a chill running up his spine. Perhaps it was his rain-soaked clothing, but he suspected the threatening glare that the blonde has directed at him was at least partly culpable.

Without argument, the telepath nodded, offering Sol a mumbled apology. "Ahh, yeah. I'm sorry."

"It's nothing." Sol dipped her head as to accept before her eyes flickered over the group. They had yet to settle in, still holding to their gear as they hovered around. "Make yourselves comfortable." Easing back into a warmer disposition, she laughed lightly. "I wouldn't want anyone complaining that I'd been anything less than a gracious hostess." At her urging, the group slowly started to unpack their things, and Sol continued, "That door over there connects to the guest bath, which you're more than welcome to use to clean up. I'll make sure that once—"

Whatever the promise she intended to make, it was interrupted by a knock at the door, Reighn's voice following soon after. "Sol? Mom's home, I thought you'd like to know," he told his cousin. "Sounds like she wants you to help her out with Rina's medicine... maybe you could talk to her about your friends while your at it?"

Soleil looked over at the door then back at the group. "You'll have to excuse me again. I really do need to talk with my aunt," she apologized, already making her way out once more. "I'll be back before you know it."

Laying out his cloak to dry, Callan examined the room more throughly. For the four of them, it was too small to be comfortable, but comfort was a luxury that the Runeholders would have to do without in this quest. As the others began to place their own things about the space, Cal's gaze trained on Phoena as she slid her own cloak from her shoulders. The shifter cleared his throat lightly as he took a few steps in her direction. "Hey, Phoena. Could we talk about the whole—"