Heirot

Soran walked with Rai back to the house, glancing at Mizuki in his peripheral vision. He decided to check Siren's room in case she'd flown back at some point while he wasn't looking. He had a strange, bad feeling about her disappearance that morning. Carrying Rai along for the ride, he walked up the stairs and into the empty room. The window was ajar, as before. Soran walked up to it and looked out, and then something white on a dusty round table in the corner drew his attention. A sheet of paper lay there on the wood. He turned toward it with a curious frown and picked it up. It read:

Dear Soran, Rai, and Mizuki,

I'm sorry to explain this way, but parting with you in person would be too difficult. The time I spent with you was the most exciting time of my life, but I feel more and more that my true place is with my people. I need the sky, and the excitement of my former lifestyle as a sentinel and information gatherer for my kingdom. I suppose staying in one place never suited me well; it must be all the angelfood cake.

Rai, even though I'm leaving, I will always remember you! Be a good girl (unless being bad is more fun)!

Mizuki, you're like a sister to me. I don't mind losing Soran to a rival like you. But if you ever do want to share him, you know who to call ^_~. Kidding! I love you, woman!

Soran, I was proud to serve you, and glad for your acceptance. I realize it is not something you extend lightly. Goodbye! And seduce Mizuki, already! The next time I fly over your house, I expect to see grumpy little rogue babies littering the lawn.

Seriously, though, I will miss you all. Be strong, and always keep your heads up. And while they're up, maybe you'll spot me!

~~Siren

Soran stared at the letter numbly. He went back to the top and read it again, as if he'd maybe imagined it. Every word was there. A few drops of moisture had fallen to the page while it was being written, blurring the ink. Soran clenched the edge of the page where he'd been holding it, involuntarily wrinkling it. His expression had gone somewhat pale and emotionless, but presently it began to grow into one of restrained anger. Clenching the page in his hand, he suddenly spun back toward the door and ran down the stairs, back out the front door into the yard, holding Rai the whole time. He looked up at the sky, searching for a sign of the angel. "Siren! If you can hear me, you'd better come down, you damned bird woman!" he shouted loud enough to be heard for acress in all directions.

"What's it say? I can't read!" Rai giggled. She didn't see what could possibly be wrong.

Mizuki snapped her head in the direction Soran was yelling. What was he yelling about? She jogged over to Soran and Rai, a worried expression on her face.

"Soran, was wrong?" she asked him, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Siren!" Soran shouted again, still looking up as if the angel would appear. When she didn't, he looked over his shoulder at Mizuki,l withstraining his anger a bit for her sake. "She left," he snarled half to himself and half to her.

Mizuki looked at him, her expression saying why and feeling hurt at his snarl.

"Sh-she left? Why?" she asked, both nervous that maybe something had happened to Siren and wanting to know the truth. Rai was in his arms and Mizuki casted her a worried look.

Soran frowned coldly. "Siren went back to her people. She's not coming back." Though he was very angry and attempting to sound indifferent, resentment and hurt showed in his eyes. He couldn't believe she would leave so suddenly, and didn't want to admit that it upset him.

Mizuki nodded, accepting this information and not wanting to press upon the issue. She patted his shoulders comfortingly.

"Obviously she has her reasons." she tried to make it not so hard for them to part with their compainion. "She's like a bird, we can't keep her caged." She tried on a smile in vain and gave Soran shoulders a small, assuring squeeze. She breifly wondered if this was how Blade would be when he comes back to them. Would he too, leave them again because of his urge to take flight in the skies?

Mizuki smoothed Rai's hair, knowing the child must be upset. Her motherly instincts kicked in and she tried to usher them into the house with the warm and welcoming promise of tea inside. She was vaugly aware that her seer powers had drifted and she now knew exactly what Siren's letter to them said. ' "The next time I fly over your house, I expect to see grumpy little rogue babies littering the lawn. " ' the line went over in her head. Mizuki's ears reddened at the thought of Soran and she... having...

Rai grinned, still not totally accepting the fact her winged friend was gone.

"Its okay, she'll be back with angel food cake!!!"

Soran clenched the letter tighter in his hand and turned, making himself follow Mizuki into the house. People came and went so easily; he didn't want to admit how attached he'd become to Siren, and he didn't want to acknowledge how simple it had been for her to just disappear. Would Mizuk and Rai be able to do the same thing? It was too late for him to pretend to himself that he wouldn't care. He walked back into the house, feeling betrayed and unwillingly vulnerable.

Mizuki felt that she had to be strong for Soran. He seemed to be taking it roughly so she felt she could spare no feelings of loss that Siren had left them. She focused on making tea for them all, it was a soothing tea, one her mother often used when Mizuki felt like Soran was.

She began heating the water and grinding the specific herbs and portioning them into three cups.

Soran didn't realize he was pacing, but he was. He'd let Rai down, and now he walked slowly down the side of the sitting room, turned and walked back, looking out the windows solemnly as he passed them. His anger was receding, and he was justifying Siren's actions in the context of reasoning that no relationship was ever permanent, trying to calm himself with that certainty. It did calm him, but on some level it also made him feel worse.

Mizuki walked back into the room only to find Soran pacing and Rai sitting on the couch.

"Soran..." Mizuki tried to reach out to him but stopped. She felt gulity for some reason, she didn't understand why. Maybe it was because she didn't know how to ease him? "I'm...." she sighed heavily and averted her eyes to the window. The day was still bright. "Im sorry..." her voice was small, and defeated.

Soran turned, the tone in Mizuki's voice drawing his attention away from Siren's letter for the first time. He looked at her cautiously, sensing that his mood was affecting her negatively. Taking a self-commanding breath, he walked away from the window and toward her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Just..." he decided not to finish his thought. It would be too difficult to ask her "Just don't you ever pull something like this, too."

"What's that smell?" He asked to try and rebuild her spirit, smelling a pleasant herby aroma he didn't recognize from her tea in the kitchen.

"I've readied tea," she said softly, but she was a little happier. "If you wanted any..." She picked up habits from her mother. For her mother, tea solved anything with the right herbs. Mizuki brushed back a strand of her curling brown hair. It was drying in the braid and she undid it, her hair came out all wavy. She brought her eyes back to Soran and looked at him carefully.

Soran nodded to her appreciatively, following into the kitchen. His eyes drifted to the kettle for a moment. When they returned to her face, she had undone her hair, and it fell in wavy locks around her shoulders. He paused as her eyes trapped his, and found himself staring at her oddly, forgetting to blink.