The Up and Downs of Parenthood [Inv only.]

------------

It wasn’t until the next morning that the Songstress rolled out of bed, stretching her still groggy body before standing from the bed. Inserting her toes into a pair of slippers, Tsumiko made her way out of the room. There was no need to check on her guests. They had already departed, and were on their way to wherever it was their adventures brought them. But as the mother of two of those children, she had to play her part in all of this.

It wasn't an easy decision to just let them go like that, but one that she felt was the right choice. With maybe the exception of Alyssa's mother, Jessica, the others were very distraught about they children, and with no means of communicating with them, there was no way to check in or receive progress reports on their well-being. This meeting was to not only ensure that they were in good health before taking off once again, but to inform the parents of their most recent encounter, one that one of those parents will surely want to hear of. But for Tsumiko, she had to act the part of a concerned mother that wasn't able to stop them in time, and had the unfortunate task of telling the others that she hadn't been paying close enough attention to them to ensure they stay put.

Getting herself ready and presentable, Tsumiko left her home after stirring her husband who had come home at a most peculiar hour the previous night, and messaged various parents to gather at Veara’s residence. Nibbling on her small snack, it wasn’t very far of a walk to the home which was just down the road. Upon arrival, the Songstress knocked on the front door and awaited an answer.

It wasn’t often that her phone went off nowadays, so when it had, Karahito assumed that it was merely a notification from one of her favorite mobile games telling her that her AP had refilled. Lo and behold, that wasn’t the case. Quirking a brow at the message icon, she opened and read the words that were displayed to her. The first thing to catch her attention was the fact that the message was from Tsumiko. Every once in a while, the songstress invited her out to interact with the “rest of society”. It was embarrassing, but generous all the same. This wasn’t one of those occasions, however. The more she read, the more concerned she became. For what reason did she have for sending a mass text to… Looking over the recipients of the text, her mind started clicking.

Jolting up from her laying position on the bed, where she had been previously admiring a family photo that sat on her bedside table, Karahito flipped over and gently shook her husband’s shoulder. “Garth. Hey Garth, wake up. We need to go over to Veara’s. Something’s up.” She said to him, running her hand through his hair and lightly rubbing his head. When he was waking was just about the only time that she could be so loving with the man without him making it awkward or embarrassing.

Once she got a response out of him, Kara then got up and began to get herself ready. While she was at it, she prepared some clothes for Garth to put on, from shirt to socks, and even set aside things like deodorant and a brush next to them as to not be forgotten.

Getting them all ready, Kara said a few words to the last member of the household before departing, a groggy Garth hand in her own as she pulled him along. It wasn’t far down the road to where Veara lived, but it was just a matter of getting there without having to drag a certain someone that was the issue.

It was a short while until someone had answered the door. Smiling to Veara, Tsumiko returned the hug and the friendly kiss to the cheek. Inviting herself in, she looked around to see if she was the first to arrive as she had hoped and found it to be so. Excellent. Trailing the blond into the kitchen where he was preparing snacks for those to arrive, she bit back the need to tell him that it wasn’t necessary. The way she saw it, no one was going to have the appetite. Well, maybe some, but others would be too upset to have hunger on their mind.

Letting that thought sit to the side, she addressed him. She wanted to get this out of the way before the other parents arrived. There was no need to cause excess concern if it could be avoided. “Veara, I was hoping to talk to you before the others arrived.” Once again looking around to see if anyone was nearby, Tsumiko continued as she leaned against the doorframe. “I do believe that you remember Sa’roth? Well, it seems as though he’s extended his… scope to others besides yourself. Mainly your-”

She stopped when there was a knock at the door, and turned her eyes towards it. Turning back towards Veara with a soft smile, Tsumiko pushed off the doorframe. “I’ll get it.” She said before turning for the door. Upon opening it, she came face-to-face with an ebony haired ex-assassin and her hubby. “Welcome, welcome. Come in and make yourselves at home.” She said to them, stepping aside and gesturing for them to come inside.

Once the door was opened Karahito came face-to-face with the unexpected Tsumiko. She didn’t know why seeing her face startled her in that manner, but it had when she was expecting to see that blond’s dumb smile. Sighing out, she looked to the woman. “Tsumi. Morning.” Greetings out of the way, the archeon took her husband to sit on the couch. He really did have such a hard time waking up. He was dragged halfway across the island and he was still mostly asleep.

“Hey Schwartz.” She said in greeting to the other drowsy figure in the room. Looking around and waiting as patiently as possible to hear what was so damn important that everyone had to wake up and go out so early in the morning was proving tedious. When Garth spoke up, Karahito nodded in agreement. “I swear, if this is some sort of adult bonding meeting, I’ll…” She muttered under her breath but trailed off when a tense Veara walked in and sat down next to his wife.

His whole demeanor set her off in a bad way, and she knew then and there that this wasn’t some bonding event. Whatever that singer told him had him seemingly traumatized.

One of the last ones to arrive was Gwain. He seemed… off as well. Though putting her finger on it proved difficult as she didn’t know the king as well as some of the others. Her eyes observed him skeptically as he spoke. His train of thought was so bizarre that the archeon was completely lost as to what the hell he was getting at. Gwain was ultimately cut off by an equally confused Skye. "The hell..?"

“Morning Kara~” Tsumiko chirped in greeting, stepping aside so husband and wife could come in. Her eyes followed them for a moment before shifting over to Veara as he walked into the living room. Seemed as though he was taking the information a bit heavier than she anticipated. But it was better this way. He had time to acclimate to the news before the others could sway his emotions in a less favorable way. Skye and Harley were the next to arrive, taking their seats in the living room where there were seats left. Good almost everyone was here. Now if only she knew where her darling hus- Oh, there he was!

Though there was something off. He was pensive and tense while he thought no one was looking, but upon entering the room, it was as if his mood flipped completely. Linking her arm with his, she raised a curious brow as he spoke. At first, it seemed as though he was on to something, but then strayed from the thought. A pitying smile crept to her lips, and Tsumiko placed a hand her Gwain’s chest. “Gwain, dear, I’m not… all to sure what you’re talking about, but there was another matter I wanted to discuss with everyone. If you wouldn’t mind letting it wait for a short while, I’m sure everyone would love to hear.” She could tell that whatever it was that was weighing on his mind troubled the king greatly. The songstress didn’t like dismissing him in such a matter, but she was determined to figure out what had her husband acting in such a manner. Was he nervous? That was unusual for the typically confident man. She continued to mull it over as she turned to the rest of the gathered people, as comforting a smile on her lips as possible.

“I requested all of you here so that I could tell you that I’ve recently seen your children, and that they are now in better health than when they came to me. But I am afraid to inform all of you that they are no longer in my custody and have once again left the islands, this time with two of my children with them.” She paused to calm whatever unrest there was. “I can say in confidence that they are fine and are using the utmost care in their travels. With Fayt with them, I’m sure he can persuade them from making any rash decisions and keep them safer.”