24th moon [It is a 4th, and it is a wall]

[vibrafinal]

[Today, on the roof of house 9, there is a Cecil. A Cecil that is quite possibly staring at you, wondering where you came from, and pondering whether to invite you in for lunch. Bother?]

Comments

We missed you too♥

[paladinlost]

Ceo... dore?

[Finally, confirmation! He doesn't stay on that roof very long.]

...You've grown so tall...

[First parental observation, of course.]

*blows kissies*

[lastoftheredwings]

You say that that every time you see me. Pretty sure I've not grown any more since my birthday.

[Well, maybe. He might actually quit somewhere in the next year, now that he's of a height with Cecil. And that would also be an admission he's seen you at least in the last month.]

So do you recognize this place? Close to Troia?

[Will deal with how he got here later. First things first, directions.]

*huggles forever*

[paladinlost]

Since which birthday, I wonder...

[It's an important concern, but still much less important than Ceodore's very presence and his own obvious confusion.]

I do, but it's not anywhere close. This is Luceti. A whole other world.

[lastoftheredwings]

[Forget the birthday. That is NOT the news that Ceodore wants to hear, if the sudden onset of locked and angry jaw is any good hint.]

That shouldn't be possible. We stopped Garland. No one's left Gaia for over a year now.

Why didn't Mother say anything?

[For that matter, why didn't he feel you go missing in the first place?]

[paladinlost]

[He understood absolutely none of that. That's not a very good sign, as far as he's concerned.]

...I believe we might be having two very different conversations. Who is Garland, and why did he or she need to be stopped?

[lastoftheredwings]

[Poor Dad. This is just as confusing for Ceodore, poor comfort as that is.]

He...

[Bother. It's been so long since they've had to give the Sky Person explanation to anyone and Ceodore's been rather spoiled by having his parents close at hand after those first departures. It's a bitter disappointment, but something to tackle head-on.]

I never understood how, but he was the one responsible for pulling Sky People into Gaia. Not just people. Places too. And it was destroying that world and all the others too. We stopped the magic, but... had to give up seeing home again.

[paladinlost]

[Yep, this whole thing just keeps sounding worse and worse.]

What sort of spell... What sort of man could possibly have that power? Was there no other way for you to stop him?

[lastoftheredwings]

If there was, we would have done it. But it wasn't worth risking home to force our way back. I just hate it for Ursula. She misses her parents.

[And now he's gone on her too? SO not happy right now.]

I need to get back to her.

[Fuming. So very fuming. And now Ceodore's pacing trying to think of a way to make that happen.]

Garland is- was a monster. He found a way to manipulate time and was trying to kill everyone in Gaia so he could replace its crystal with the souls of his own people.

...you don't remember?

[paladinlost]

Yang and Sheila must be terribly worried too, if they receive no news from her.

[At least it doesn't sound like their own family is in the same situation, but still.]

Not at all. I was about to battle that being responsible for the True Moon's appearance with everyone, and suddenly I found myself here. That was almost two years ago.

[lastoftheredwings]

Two years ago? But how...

You and Mother have been there with the rest of us for more than that long.

[Ceodore slaps a hand over his face and runs it down. This is all kinds of brainbreak.]

So I guess... you don't know about the baby either.

[At least not everything is bad news? :D]

[paladinlost]

...I don't know about the what.

[Maybe not bad news, but the brainbreaking quotient was just upped by a few levels here. It might be difficult to get a coherent response out of him for a while.]

[lastoftheredwings]

The baby. Ursula's due this summer.

[Congrats, Dad. You're gonna be a grandpa.]

[paladinlost]

...Baby. Yours and Ursula's baby.

[Slowly but surely rebooting, but it might still take a while.]

[lastoftheredwings]

Yes, that's right.

[Sweet holy Crystals, please let's not be back at the heated arguing about duty and responsibility and 'ruling monarchs of separate kingdoms cannot marry' because Ceodore reeeeeeeally does not want to have that fight again.

...but he will if he has to.]

[paladinlost]

[Well yes, there is that small issue that might cause trouble for both lines of successions, unless there are sufficient heirs to cover them all and some very strict rules to define who can inherit what, and then- Oh, who cares. Grandkids!

...Grandkids and fatherly hugs, as a matter of fact.]

[lastoftheredwings]

[Miracle of miracles, Ceodore not only does not squirm away from the hug, but even returns it. He's frightfully proud of his wife, after all, not to mention relieved that there wasn't explosive anger at the news... considering he's starting to realize that his father's known nothing of what they've been through.]

Mother's driving her batty with her fluttering and fussing.

[Ceodore is too, though he won't admit it. There is not a damned thing wrong with him protecting the both of them, no matter how much Ursula gripes at him to quit.]

[paladinlost]

Of course she has. Future grandmothers have their traditions and duties.

[While grandfathers get to go 'grandkidsgrandkidsgrandkids' both inwardly and outwardly. He's quite happy with his lot, really.]

[lastoftheredwings]

I suppose so.

I miss Grandmother so much.

[And not just because she was a dispenser of snuggles and cookies when he was a bitty. Although yes maybe that's some of it. It just feels wrong to grow the family and have her left out of the loop.]

I still don't understand how you're there and here.

[Not really fair to deprive Dad of grandpa time either.]

[paladinlost]

[And that's probably the one subject that could make him let go before the hour mark.]

...I do not quite understand it either, but it's not so surprising. I was told that I am the fourth 'me' to live in this world, yet I remember no previous stays.

[He still doesn't quite get how that works.]