Family Matters

[Flamebird]

Felicity's clenched her cards, wrinkling them, as hot anger bubbled in her chest. Gwenael had said that before, when they first met, but he had opened up to her since then. As his otherworldly eyes gazed back at his cards, she could tell he was avoiding eye contact. She was used to the shyness of shame he showed, she felt it herself. She realized that for all the assertive confidence he developed back in the chase of Arius, he was now diminished to what he had been prior again - the Great Thayne's pathetic dog. Felicity hissed, leaning closer to the huddled Thayne. "Tell me."

Gwenael closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Not this time, Lassie."

The somber tone of his voice caused Felicity to pull back. He was just about begging her to let this go. Felicity was the kind of person who need pursued, as she needed to open up. Gwenael, however, was a different case. He had spent his entire life alone, and he needed time alone to process and come to terms in.

The cards slipped from Felicity's hand, landing all over the chest and floor below.

Gwenael set down his cards, face down, with a sigh. He brought a hand up to his forehead, "Game over, huh?"

Felicity looked downwards, towards the cup of water she had not touched. "Yeah..."

The air was now filled with the sound of night's creatures and the fireplace's crackling.

After a long moment of silence, Felicity's magic sense flared again. She looked up to Gwenael, knowing it was coming from him. To her alarm, Gwenael looked surprised, looking down at his hand. Felicity recognized the symbol, it was the mark on her own back, barely visible. Gwenael's Mark was given to individuals of his choosing, so he could teleport to or near them at will. As the mark on his hand glowed, he raised an eyebrow. "I'm not..."

He started to glow. The magical energy grew still as sparks of Tap energy floated around him in sparkles. He was bathed in golden white. Felicity knew this well, he was about to teleport. She never knew of an instance where he was forced to teleport against his will, and that protective nature caused her to act without thinking. As his body was engulfed, she reached out. The glass fell, the water spilling, as she touched his arm - then - the room was empty.