Den doesn't know how long it's been by the time they return to Kracia and the cabin. Days, probably. Months, maybe.

He feels... calmer. He's calm again, in control again. But there's new scar in that place inside him, where there are already far too many. It's going to take time.

Everything takes time. He supposes it's a good thing he's Immortal. Maybe someday he'll be able to look at those scars and not feel so empty.

Maybe by the time he's Yveira's age.

He and Eilon stand outside the cabin, just inside the treeline. It's late in the evening, the world quiet around them.

"Do you think," Den asks, his voice as quiet as the world, "that if we'd met back then, we'd have become friends?"

"We became friends after you were hired to kill me. You think we wouldn't have if we met under friendlier circumstances?"

Den has to chuckle.

"I mean, I'm a father... was a father. I would have been wary about you and probably would have made your life miserable until I deemed you worthy. But I think we would've been friends. If only for her sake at first."

Den's smile is small and sad. He stares at the cabin, at the lights coming from the windows, at the wood he knows Eilon put together himself. He says, "I think you and I... we can survive anything."

Because they have to. Life has given them no other choice.

"Life sure likes to test that theory," Eilon responds, a little wryly. Den can tell he's trying to cover the sadness, trying to move forward. These moments, when his friend is actually real, they remind Den of the reason he stays. Someone has to know. Eilon needs someone who can look at him and know the difference.

So does Den.

"We don't get to pick who we're born as, or to whom," Den says, his voice quiet still. He looks at Eilon and smiles a little, another sad estimation of something that should be filled with happiness but hasn't been in a very long time. "We don't get to pick what happens in our lives, or who we meet, or how. But if we could, I'd pick you."

"I'd pick you too, but please stop sleeping with the women I love."

Den barks out a halfway hollow laugh. "No promises."

Eilon shakes his head. "I'm so glad you never met my wife."

Den snorts. "I do have some sense of morality, Eilon. I wouldn't sleep with another man's wife."

Not by choice or knowledge, anyway.

"I'm glad you never met her even before we were married," Eilon says dryly.

Den chuckles a little. "The day I met Yesmine was the first time I'd ever been to Kracia. So no chance of that."

"You're telling me when you met my daughter you weren't a womanizer?" Eilon sounds doubtful. Den sighs a little.

"I was raised a courtesan," he says dryly, waving a hand. "I don't have a very strong sense of morality."

Eilon arches a brow at him. "That's neither a yes or a no."

Den shrugs one shoulder. "Before her, yes. And a few centuries after her, yes. I needed some sort of distraction that wasn't a bottle. But with her? No."

Eilon nods, accepting that. "Good. Otherwise I would've had to kill you."

Den snorts. "I think we've both had enough of killing our brothers. Let's not."

"Be grateful you didn't womanize my daughter, then," Eilon says, patting Den's back. Den just shakes his head, eyes back on the cabin.

"How long have we been gone, do you think?"

"Around five weeks. They're very worried."

"Right then." Den shrugs his shoulders, trying to release the tension. "Shall we?"

Eilon nods, and they walk up the steps. The moment they reach the door, Eilon's mask falls into place again, ending their real conversation.

Den doesn't mind. He knows it's what his friend needs--or rather, what Katrine needs. As for himself, Den wears an impassive expression, which is nothing unusual.

Katrine and Ri are in the kitchen--Katrine making food while Ri leans against the counter unhelpfully. Den will have to teach the boy to cook, it seems.

Both are cautious as they look at Eilon and Den.

"Good evening," Eilon says cheerfully, moving to the stove to snatch a pastry from her pile of finished food. Den moves to the table and pulls out a chair, sitting down. He instantly props his boots on the table. His legs are far too long to be cramped under the tiny thing.

Katrine and Ri both look confused.

"Am I missing something?" Ri asks, looking between Den and Eilon.

"We left. We have returned. What's to miss?" Den arches a brow.

"Yeah... but you didn't exactly leave under the most normal circumstances..." Ri says, pursing his lips. Den glances at Eilon, silently asking if it's alright to tell Ri and Katrine the situation he knows Katrine is unaware of.

Eilon eats another pastry and makes a hand motion, telling Den to talk. The look in his eyes suggest that he can't--not because he doesn't want them to know, but because he simply... can't.

Den doesn't know if he wants to talk about it. Doesn't know if he wants to drag the scars out again so soon. But if there's one thing Yesmine drummed into his head over the years, it's that being silent never helped anyone.

And Den hates the silence, anyway.

"What would you like to know?" Den asks, arching a brow at his son. Someday, he tells himself, he'll get used to that fact. And the warm feeling it gives him.

"What happened...?" Ri asks, cautiously.

"We realized something we'd missed before," Den says, and he looks at the table because he knows there's too much grief in his eyes for this comfortable little room. "My Yesmine," his eyes go to Eilon of their own accord. His friend is still eating pastries, and he's going to make himself sick if he doesn't stop. At his words, Katrine stops cooking and looks over her shoulder at Den. Blast, forming the words.

Words. He needs words.

"She was Eilon's daughter," he says finally, his voice too quiet in the room.

Katrine drops her spatula. It hits the counter with a wet sort of thud, then falls onto the floor. Ri looks between Den and Eilon, while Katrine appears to be in shock.

"She's the one that left you?" Ri asks.

"Wait," Katrine interrupts before Den can respond--and tell him she didn't leave him. "How did you even know Yesmine?"

Eilon sighs, finally putting down the platter. "He's the guy she was seeing."

Katrine blinks at Den. For the first time, he realizes exactly how awkward this situation actually is.

He might have married Yesmine, had things gone differently. And then he slept with two of her aunts. And Ri... is Yesmine's cousin. Den rubs his face tiredly.

No wonder Eilon keeps telling him he has a problem.

"I'm still confused... she was seeing you... and she left you?" Ri asks.

"That's what I thought," Den says, his eyes narrowed. "We had a disagreement before she went home that morning. When we talked later, she told me she didn't want to see me again. I thought she was more upset than I'd realized, but she didn't give me a chance to talk her out of it. So I thought she'd just left me. Apparently," his fists clench, and the anger in his voice knows no bounds. "Jaerren forced her to tell me that so I wouldn't come after her." And he is going to kill that bastard one of these days. Once he's strong enough.

Ri goes silent. Of course, growing up at court, he's probably heard all the rumors about what happened to Eilon's wife and daughter.

Katrine's food begins to burn, the acrid scent filling the room instantly. She snaps out of her daze, removing the pan from its burner before turning her gaze on Eilon.

"You never told me what happened to them," she says, and she seems to be trying to get Eilon to look at her. He isn't. "She was my sister, and Yesmine my niece, and you never told me."

"I can't," Eilon says. "Do not ask that of me."

"I deserve to know what happened to them, don't I?" Katrine asks, close to tears herself.

"He can't, Katrine," Den says, his voice soft. "There are some things that cannot be spoken aloud. That cannot be made more real than they already are. Do not break him further."

Katrine's eyes snap to Den, and he meets them unflinchingly. "Am I never supposed to know?" Her voice breaks.

Den says, "You don't want to know, Katrine. They are gone. Be content."

She leaves the room without a word, and Den feels slightly bad, knowing the way she must have taken his words.

Eilon sighs and lets his head fall into his hands.

Ri looks between them again, his amber and violet eyes filled with sadness. It's very obvious that he doesn't know what to say. Den taps the table with his boot to get the boy's attention. When Ri glances his way, Den smiles a little.

"Sometimes silence is the best answer you can give," he tells the boy, softly.

Ri smiles softly in return, nodding. Den pats the chair beside him, silently telling Ri to come sit. He does, leaning his head against Den's shoulder.

Den pats his head.

After a while, Ri looks up at Den. "So, you... and my cousin?" He asks warily.

Den pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Imagine how I feel," Eilon mutters, still not lifting his head. Den shoots him a wry glance that he knows his friend can't see.

"Suffice it to say that this situation is very complicated," Den tells Ri, shaking his head.

"Because Den has made it his life's goal to sleep with every woman he meets," Eilon says wryly, finally looking up.

Den sighs. "I have never made any excuses or apologies for what I am," he says quietly.

"No, you haven't," Eilon agrees.

Ri looks between them again, like he's not sure how to judge their conversation. Den pats the boy's head absently.

The quiet in the room isn't uncomfortable. It's more... sad. It's a sad sort of silence, which Den is very used to. He simply sits, all of them do, because sometimes that's all that can be done.

The silence is broken by Yveira's voice coming from the disc in Den's pocket.

"Uhm Den... Den?"

He blinks, looking at his pocket. Ri and Eilon both stare at him in confusion as Den removes the disc and sets it on the table. Its usually pale amber lines are glowing.

"Yes?" He arches a brow at the disc as if Yveira can see him, trying not to think about the last time he spoke into one of these things--and all the things he didn't hear.

"Oh good, you're there. So... uhm... there's no easy way to explain or say this... but I need a name. For a girl..."

Den blinks at the disc as Eilon's head falls onto the table.

"Stars, Den," he says.

Ri looks confused.

"...why?" Den asks carefully. He really hopes it isn't for the reason Eilon obviously thinks.

"I thought I'd let you name this one...?" She asks.

Den sighs heavily. A name. For a child.

A girl.

Den has a daughter. A daughter.

The timing could not possibly be worse. He has no idea what to think or feel about this--aside from an instant sort of anger in the pit of his stomach. He does not want that child to remain at court.

But he doubts there's anything he'll be able to do.

"I have a sister?" Ri asks, blinking as well.

"You and Yveira are officially banned from being in the same room alone ever again," Eilon comments wryly.

"Eilon? Is that you?" Yveira asks, sounding surprised, but excited as well. "You're.. You're with Den? What's going on? I mean, I know Den didn't kill you... but you're.. Together...?"

"Yes, we plan on getting married soon," Eilon says.

Den snorts and waves at his friend. "Shut up Eilon."

"Aww, he decided to go for you because I rejected him?" Yveira asks. Eilon starts laughing, and Den blows out a sigh through his nose.

"Oh this couldn't get any more awkward and complicated," Eilon says, shaking his head.

"Don't say that, please," Den says, his tone pained. "You'll tempt fate."

"What am I missing?" Yveira asks curiously.

Den waves a hand. "Name. All of you need to shut up so I can think of a name."

Names are important. Names have meaning. Stars, he's supposed to name someone. The only person he ever named was himself, and that didn't turn out so well.

"Aww, is wittle Den finally realizing how complicated he's made everything?" Eilon teases. Den kicks him under the table.

"What has he made complicated? I'm confused now," Yveira says through the disc, and Den can hear the pout in her voice. She doesn't like being left out.

He says, "Kaeyen. Her name is Kaeyen."

"Just Kaeyen? It's so short..." Yveira complains.

Den tsks. "You did it wrong with Ri, I told you that. She doesn't get two more names until she turns one hundred."

Yveira sighs heavily. "Fine. Have it your way."

"Thank you," Den says, crossing his arms.

"But please tell me it means something relevant at least. And that Eilon hasn't had any influence, because he's terrible at choosing names that really mean something."

Den snorts. "It means 'huntress'." His tone is far darker than he intends. His daughter will not be hunted the way Yesmine was. She will be strong.

"I am not bad at choosing names," Eilon protests, before Yveira can respond to Den.

"Yesmine did not suit her," Yveira says simply. "I like Kaeyen. It works. Thanks, love."

Den frowns. "Yesmine is a beautiful name," he says. "And I thought it suited her very well."

There was silence for several moments. "You knew Yesmine?"

"Yes," Den says quietly.

"Oh dear. You were him weren't you... crap... this is... bad..."

"And complicated, yes," Den says, rubbing his temples.

"Yveira, why is that bad...?" Eilon asks slowly. A good question. Den's brows furrow.

Yveira is silent.

"Yveira?" Den questions, frowning at the disc.

"I shouldn't... I can't..." she groans and sounds very... angry. Angry and frustrated and everything in between. Den looks at Eilon, confused and wary.

Eilon looks back at Den, the same emotions displayed in his black eyes.

"Mom?" Ri asks, also frowning.

"I need to go. Ri, you should come home... so you can take Kaeyen to meet her father..."

Den is still frowning, but thoughts intrude. Thoughts and planning are necessary. He looks at Ri. "Both of you come back in ten years," he says, thoughtfully. "That way you can visit at the same time, together."

Ri nods. "That works for me."

"And you get to see her grow up! Yes! Perfect," Yveira says, cheerfully--but her tone is tinged in something darker, something Den very much wants explained.

"Yes," he agrees--not yet ready to think about everything that entails, stars--and frowns again. "Yveira, what's going on?"

"I can't..." she sounds incredibly frustrated again. "If I could explain, I would."

Before Den can say anything, the connection is silenced, the amber lines going pale again. He rubs his temples.

"That did not make sense," Eilon says. "At all." His eyes are narrowed, and Den simply nods once in agreement.

"No. It did not." He looks at Ri. "Try to find out what's wrong with your mother, will you?"

Ri sighs. "I'm sure the list is very long, but I'll try."

Den pats his head.

And then it occurs to him.

He has a daughter.

And a son sitting right beside him.

And he's not going to see either of them for ten years.

Maybe that isn't a massive length of time, but... he's gotten used to having Ri around in the last several months.

And he doesn't want either of them exposed to the Lescaean court. If he could, he'd get them both as far away as possible.

But he can't.

They aren't free. And Den isn't strong enough.

So he says, "Be careful, Ri."

Ri takes a deep breath. "I always am."

Den reaches out and wraps his arms around Ri's shoulders. It's the first time he's ever hugged the boy--which is probably not a good thing, he realizes--and he dislikes how awkward he feels. But Ri hugs him back after a moment of stunned stillness.

When Den finally pulls away, he looks into Ri's eyes, knows his own are probably darker and harder than they should be.

He says, "Stay safe. Keep her safe, and keep yourself safe, Ri."

"I promise I won't let anything happen to either of us." Ri says easily, determination in his voice and eyes. He sounds sure of himself, but Den knows how quickly that can change. All the same, he simply nods once in response and sits back in his chair again.

"I guess I'll be back in ten years," Ri says.

Den nods.

"You'd better be," Eilon says. It's what Den was thinking, and he shoots his friend a wry glance. Eilon just grins in response.

"I'll see you soon," Den says, a promise in his own words. He knows the ten years will go by quickly, but at the moment, they're yawning like a pit of never ending worry and wonder.

He won't meet his daughter until she's ten years old.

It's better than ten thousand, though.

Ri salutes them, and then he's gone.

Den stares at the space he occupied for a very long time.

"He'll be back, don't worry," Eilon says.

Den can't help the worry. He can't help the anxiety curling around inside him. He can't help but feel like he's letting Ri go--the same way he let Yesmine go.

He swallows and tries to shake off the trepidation.

"Yes," he agrees.

Eilon moves over to Ri's seat and clasps Den's shoulder. "Yveira didn't know to look out for Helena and Yesmine. She's not making that mistake again. Ri and Kaeyen will be fine."

Den nods, taking and releasing a deep breath.

"Ten years," he says. In Fae years, ten years isn't even a toddler's age. In Lescaean, it's even less. But a lot can happen in ten years.

By the time Den was ten years old... when he was ten. Flira died. And the world went silent.

He doesn't want to think about this, stars.

Eilon offers a small, reassuring smile. "They have a demented pixie looking after them. Trust me, people will be too afraid to cross her."

Den takes another deep breath, remembering the first time he saw Yveira--the way the entire court scampered out of her way in terror.

He grins a little. "Right," he agrees, more firmly this time.

Eilon manifests two bottles of Deri, handing one to Den. Wordlessly, they clink the bottles together, and when the liquor goes down, it's smooth and bright as a bell.

Ten years... he can handle ten years.

And it's not as if he's alone.

Den looks at Eilon and decides that he'll never be alone again. He can handle anything else--he can shatter, he can break, he can be ripped apart. He can handle it, as long as he isn't alone.

As long as Eilon is there to pick up the pieces.  

End of Story