[Potironette]

Kellan shrugged, keeping his face nonchalant. He was slightly miffed he couldn't get the servant to tick, but it didn't matter in any case. He walked past the open doors and into the foyer, making his way to the dining room.


((Uhh, let's make it uncle Marius since he got mentioned?))

[Kitarun]

Jei followed his brother, face lighting up when he saw his uncle and cousins. "Uncle Marius!" He called, running over and hugging the man tightly. "You're not supposed to be back til next month... Did something happen?"

[Potironette]

Kellan walked over to Uncle Marius and the rest. "Good evening." He said to them, watching Jei hug the uncle with a smile on his face. He was curious as well why the uncle had come so early.

[Kitarun]

Marius chuckled, and returned Jeisyn's hug, ruffling his hair playfully, earning him a swat and a whine. He looked up to greet Kellan, pulling away from one nephew to hug the other. He really did hdte the formalities that most noble families took seriously.

"No, no... Nothing bsd, anyhow." He replied, returning to his seat, and motioning for the two young lords to join them at the table. Jei did so, greeting his two cousins and aunt warmly eith hugs as well. Once the two were seated, Marius told them why he'd returned. It turned out they were to be expecting another child, a little lord this time- Marius and sophia already had two daughters, one a year below Jei, and the other near Mirai's age., and had been trying since shortly after the birth of their second for another.

[Potironette]

Kellan returned Uncle Marius' hug. He had almost forgotten how his uncle was. Free like the wind. This was the uncle everyone aspired to be.

Kellan sat and listened attentively, happy for his uncle. He wondered where Mother was, since she wasn't in the room to nag them about how to behave properly.


((Who's Mirai? Should I know?))

[Kitarun]

((Kellan and Jei's younger sister. She's about 6, at this point, only being a year old when the fire happened. She was also rescued from the flames by Theroen and their father, but a burn across her face caused her to lose use of her left eye. She's got white hair Like Jei... Im not sure if I told you about Serra yet, either- she's Jei's twin.))


Rellana (their mum) walked in as Marius revealed the good news, Serra and Mirai trailing along behind her. Mirai ran forward to hug her uncle, though Serra hung back, far too proper to act like a child anymore.

[Potironette]

A smile lit up Kellan's face as he saw Mirai go up to hug the uncle of theirs. He dipped his head towards Serra and Mother in acknowledgement of their presence. He wanted to go up to Serra and tell her it was alright for the uncle was kindly, but he supposed that Serra probably liked being prim and proper.

The table stretched out long him and it seemed almost confining for the briefest moment as he saw his mother enter. He wondered again why it was so pressing that the uncle returned.

"Uncle," said Kellan, "It's great to see you, but why aren't you home if your wife is going to give birth?"

[Kitarun]

"Oh, don't worry. There are still a couple montths before she is due." He replied, as they all took their seats and dinner was served. "Besides, the girls wanted to come for a visit, and I couldn't send them alone, could I?" He said, keeping the conversation light as they ate.

As they finished the meal, and servants came to take their plates, Marius' expression turned more formal. "Now, this impromtu visit wasn't merely for the sake of announcing the expected lordling, or letting the girls visit... I've a proposal..." Marius stated. "With the baby on the way, Sophia and I will be rather busy, and could use some help running our estate... And with us being so busy, we won't have as much time for our girls... They need a strong woman to raise them, one who has the time to train them into 'proper' ladies."

Jei frowned, somewhat confused, until it suddenly dawned upon him. His uncle was proposing to foster him and Kellan, while their mother, Rellana, fostered their cousins.

[Potironette]

Kellan smiled at his cousins kindly, "Nice of you to visit," he said.
The clinking of knives and forks came and went. Dinner passed as quickly as it came.

Kellan nearly gaped when Uncle Marius announcd his proposal, though his ingrained knowledge of propriety saved him from the embarrassment. Instead, he raised an eyebrow at his uncle. "You want to turn your wonderfully amicable daughters into 'proper' ladies?" He stole a glance at Mother and Serra, "Not that 'proper' ladies aren't, lovely and amicable too." He added, half sarcastic.

[Kitarun]

Marius smiled knowingly, catching that hint of sarcasm, while Rellana scowled at her son. "It will be only for a couple of months, likely, until everything calms down a bit." He replied, sending his sister a look. Surely you can do without the boys for that long, Rellana?" He asked, not bringing up that she and her late husband had done essentially the same thing to him and Sophia with Theroen and Kellan when the twins were born.

Rellana gave a forced smile, looking kindly upon her nieces. "Of course, if you need the boys' help so badly, Marius, you need only ask." She said, knowing she owed her brother. She looked to Jei and Kellan. "You'll go and pack immediately after dinner. I'm sure your uncle will be anxious to get back home first thing in the morning."

[Potironette]

Kellan let loose a goofy grin. He liked provoking everyone at home too much, he realized. It gave him some fun in a normally boring day. Speaking of fun though, traveling to Uncle Marius' home had got to be more fun than staying stuck in the big mansion all day. He cheered considerably further at the thought, and gave Jei a bright smile.

Turning to one of his cousins he said in jovial secrecy, "Don't let yourself turn into a 'proper' lady. Uncle Marius would be disappointed."

With the clinking of trays and as the servants picked away the utensils, Kellan pushed back his chair, the wooden stools grating a woody sound on the marble floor.
"It seems that it's time for me to pack now." Kellan announced to no one in particular, and made his way away from the table.

[Kitarun]

The cousin giggled and nodded, knowing all too well that Kellan was right. MArius smiled, and Rellana... Well, she was not impressed, to say the least.

Jei watched his brother go, and, though he knew he should go and pack as well, stayed at the table, chatting with his uncle and the elder of his two cousins a bit longer. By the time they finished their conversation, it was quite late, and his mother had already sent the girls off to bed.

Yawning slightly, Jei smiled and gave his uncle a hug as they both got up from the table. "I'll see you in the morning, then." He said, his uncle replying in kind, and Jei headed for his room to begin packing what he thought he might need for the next two months. Limiting the amount of clothing in his bags- for who needed a million and one outfits for just two months?- he made sure to pack a few formal outfits along with his everyday clothing. Then, bag in hand, he snuck off to the library, pleased to find their pile of books still on the table he and Kellan had been working at earlier. He slipped several of the more important tomes into his bag, glancing around nervously. It would do him no good to get caught. Making sure he had the notes he'd written down earlier as well, he headed back to his room, and changed for bed, laying down even though he knew it wouldn't be an easy night. While excited, his stomach was in knots over the idea of being away from home so long.

[Potironette]

Kellan ignored his mother as he made his way to his room. It made him smile inside, if anything, to get under her skin. It made him smile to get under anyone's skin in the mansion. Everyone was altogether too put together, he thought.

From his room he took out a small wooden suitcase. Pants went in first, rolled up and carefully wrapped with tissue paper. Shirts went in next, a thin film of tissue between each one. Socks and underwear went on top. A suit went in just in case, and he packed a stack of paper and pens. With a click, the suitcase closed.

Kellan changed into a nightshirt, noting the servants had replaced his previous one. He briefly wondered if he should visit Jei again, but upon opening his bedroom door to the happy voices from the dining room, Kellan decided against it. He climbed into bed, his last thoughts being anticipation for the morning.

[Kitarun]

He'd laid awake for a few hours before finally succumbing to sleep, though that itself was restless and uneasy. Jei woke in the middle of the night. He had no idea what woke him, if it was a nightmare he didn't remember it, nor was he covered with sweat like usual after one. He tried going back to sleep, but merely tossed and turned for an hour or so, until he got up, sighing softly. He lit a lamp, and pulled out a couple of the books that he'd snuck into his bags before bed, and started lookig through them, hoping for some scrap of information. Maybe he and Kellan would have time to search the archives at his uncle's home as well?

[Potironette]

He did not dream that night, for what was there to dream when it seemed that dream had come to life?

When the sun was just rising, he rose along with it. He changed into a soft blue shirt and tied his hair in a neat pony with a short string dyed navy blue. He didn't intend to dress in his stuffy white and black. Not today at least.

Picking up his suitcase, Kellan left his room, leaving the door open for no reason other than to bring some odd change into the mansion before he left it. He stole into the library and was surprised to see that Jei's notes and some books were gone. He sat down at the table and flipped open a book, wondering if anything would come of further research at all.

[Kitarun]

Jei woke to sunlight starting to trickle through his window, and a crick in his neck. Seems he's passed out at his desk while reading. He stretched, groaning when he felt his neck and back pop, then we t to bathe a d get ready for the day.

Dressed in a pale grey-purple shirt and dark grey trousers, wih a dark coloroed jacket over it all, Jei brushed his damp hair out of his face, content to just let it dry however. He grabbed his luggage, one small suitcase for his clothing and a rather large -in comparison- bag for the books and notes and othe little odds and ends he felt it necessary to bring with him, and headed off in search of either his brother or uncle.