With all these eyes upon us

You have so much of everything but still you wanted more

In the biting cold morning, hardly any light managed to penetrate through the thick cloud cover. The snowflakes that fell in a continuous stream were large and ragged, dropping with a purposeful weight to them; straight down without detours. Even the closest of houses nearly disappeared in the flurry, and a great stillness lay over the earth, as if the haze was swallowing up even the sound of shovels being weilded like swords on a battlefield. Forever waged, a battle that would never truly be won.  

Seren roamed aimlessly along the meandering streets, her gloved hands tucked deep into pockets and nose buried in a scarf wrapped many times around her face. There was a decent pace to her strides, a pretend purposefullness that prevented locals from putting a shovel in her hands. Unfortunately, she was quickly running out of streets to haunt, and after passing by a particularly hard-eyed woman for a second time only to receive a suspicious glare, the girl veered off onto a street she had never been - and found herself in front of the newly fractured rubble of a tower.

Even with such poor visibility, the damage made looked fairly extensive. Forking patterns of lightning had been chiseled and seared into many of the chunks, now about to be covered in fresh snow. Inexplicably drawn, the girl picked her way closer, and leaned down to brush away the accumulating powder, so she could have a closer look at the meandering path destruction had forged.

Seren

and on to the glory at my right hand

Seren isn't the only one inspecting the tower this morning. Indeed, father and daughter look very alike indeed in their Snowcloak meanderings; thick coat, gloved hands shoved into deep pockets, a long scarf obscuring nose and mouth. Ronin finds himself in the Citadel quite by coincidence, drawn to the people after the stillness and desolation of Whitebrim. His work there is done, and work here there is aplenty.

The Huntsman will take up a shovel eventually, he is sure, but for now he wishes to see the damage done to the tower firsthand. Only as he straightens up does he notice a familiar figure not twenty feet away, his eyebrows raising to see her there. "Seren?" His feet take him towards her without the rest of his permission, Ronin already aiming to sweep his daughter up in a tight hug.

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

You have so much of everything but still you wanted more

She did not see him. Too intent on her scrutiny, Seren didn't even realize she had company until a voice, achingly familiar, spoke her name. Startled she looked up, and squawked with surprise as she found herself all but hoisted from the ground.

"Dad? What are you doing in Halo?" Incredulous but overjoyed, the girl wrapped her arms about Ronin's neck and hugged him back, tight as she could. Really, she could squeeze until her own arms popped off without ever causing him discomfort - it was the benefit of having a rock for a father.
"It's so good to see you," she murmured, muffled against scarfs and coat-clad shoulders.

Seren

and on to the glory at my right hand

It's feels almost too good to see Seren, Ronin smiling beneath his scarf as he hugs his daughter off the ground, holding her close for a moment or so before setting her on her feet again. "I was in the area to help Sunjata with something," he explains, smoothing her dark hair back from her face and tugging his scarf down to press a stubbled kiss to her forehead. "I thought I'd stop by Snowcloak on the way back. I heard the Citadel has been through some turbulence."

Straightening back up, he gives her shoulders a squeeze and draws her close again, as if he might keep her tucked under his arm forever. "It's good to see you too," he says. "What brings you here? More camping trips in the Fangs?"

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

You have so much of everything but still you wanted more

Grinning softly as stubble scratched against her forehead, Seren leaned up on tiptoes to return the gesture. She only reached far enough to press a kiss to his cheek, but deemed it good enough.
"I see. Is he well? I haven't seen him for a while." Not since Ludo's feast, and only at a distance.

Quite content to linger beneath his wing, Seren slung an arm around her father's back and leaned into him as she glanced down at the sundered pieces of tower. "Not quite," she replied, sobering slightly. "I heard what happened too, and wanted to see for myself how bad it was. Thought to check on Sah's place... Apparently this tower really is the only thing that was damaged. Unless... Was Whitebrim really destroyed? Do you know?" Seren looked up at her father, unaware of exactly which area he and Sunjata had been visiting.

Seren

and on to the glory at my right hand

He smiles at the returned kiss, giving her a gentle squeeze as she settles in against him, turning his attention back to the destroyed tower. "He's doing well," he says - and it sounds true, rather than just something one says. "He has stepped down from being Governor. He and Nate are taking some time before things turn sour." Before the war, he means, but he doesn't want to really think about that right now.

"This was it, huh? Looks like it was on its way out already, if some of this rubble is anything to go by." It seemed old and in disrepair, even without the evidence of lightning blasts. But then Seren mentions Whitebrim, and he wrinkles his nose. "It's where I was with Jata. He said it was abandoned anyway, but there are only a couple of buildings left, I think."

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

You have so much of everything but still you wanted more

"That's good," she murmured, and meant it; her uncle had seemed so tense lately, with trouble heaping up in droves around him. "I hope they find what they need, away from the eyes of, well... everyone." Citizens and rulers, gods and spirits alike had opinions on that marriage; Seren couldn't begin to fathom the kind of pressure that placed on someone. Not to mention the choices to come - for all of them.

War was a nasty subject all around, and gazing at the rubbles of the tower and speaking of Whitebrim smelled too strongly of skirmishes - pieces moving on a chessboard - for her liking. "Seems senseless, to attack a place without people," she muttered. "I'm still glad this is the extent of it." Relieved, even as guilt kept eating away at her. For being away, when she could have been of use.

"How about you, how've you been?" she asked, refocusing on her father. The falling snow covered both their heads, dusting black with white and eating any trace of color until Ronin's face began to look washed out and pale. "I haven't seen you much since our disaster trip. And the meeting. You moved away." She tried very hard to not sound accusatory. Merely... surprised. Yes. That was the word.

Seren

and on to the glory at my right hand

"So do I," Ronin murmurs, his voice almost lost in the quiet of the falling snow. Sunjata and Nate aren't the only ones he wishes it for, but that goes unsaid. Instead he tilts his head up at the tower ruins, shaking his head as if to say he can only guess at the motives behind any attack, let alone one on a place with no people. "A warning, perhaps. This is what could have been." Wrinkling his nose, he happily dismisses that subject for another one.

Unfortunately, the one his daughter chooses is him, and Ronin wishes he still had his scarf covering his nose and mouth to hide the darkness in his expression. "I have been better," he murmurs, giving her another squeeze and turning to walk them away from the tower if Seren allows; he doesn't really want to look on rubble any longer. "And you are always on the move," he says. There's nothing in Ronin's tone - no accusation, no anger, just the truth of it.

"I didn't know where you were, to send a raven. I'm sorry I couldn't let you know before it happened, though."

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

You have so much of everything but still you wanted more

A grim thought, and one Seren would stew over later in those quiet, restless moments between going to bed and falling asleep. But she didn't want to cloud the unexpeted moment with her father to talk about other people's idiocy, so she only hummed thoughtfully and allowed him to steer them away, uncaring about which path they took.

Unfortunately... there were clouds aplenty to rumble over their heads anyway. Seren frowned in quiet concern at the expression on his face and unconsciously squeezed her arm little tighter. Supportive or reassuring. "What's wrong?" she wondered; that kind of look was not one she was used to seeing on him. "I know. I'm sorry too, for going off so much. Remember when I said I liked Stormbreak? I'm... not sure that's really the case anymore. I've been taking every excuse I can find to be elsewhere. I do have most of my friends in other places too, so... that doesn't exactly help."

Snow creaked and chirped under her feet as they turned a corner. The scent of woodsmoke was still faint in the air, but growing stronger; people were waking up. The day was beginning anew, and life went on around them. Strange, to think that some lived their entire lives in one place, never knowing anything else.

Seren

and on to the glory at my right hand

The squeeze to his arm is appreciated, Ronin leaning in to kiss the crown of Seren's head, even as the snow continues to tumble down around them. He relishes this sleepy little morning, the smell of woodsmoke and cooking meat, the crunch of the ice underfoot, and he finds himself not caring where they go either. "It's complicated," he tells his daughter, not wanting to burden her with the reality of his situation, but equally not wanting to outright lie.

"Remi has a son and a daughter - twins - from a shrine visit with Frey. The... not nature Frey," he mutters. "They are in the Greatwood now, and it's not the easiest thing to deal with. I also found myself blessed with a new shift from Safrin, but it's not like anything I have ever dealt with before. There have been some teething problems." And then some.

Smiling across to her, he gives a gentle shrug. "Then spread your wings. I am still leading the dragoons in Stormbreak, but that doesn't mean you have to be a part of it. And your little brother is still there, so if you want to visit, you'll have something to go there for."

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

You have so much of everything but still you wanted more

The thought was appreciated of course, but as he went on to explain, Seren realized that she understood the complexity of the situation perhaps a little better than he knew. Breathing in slowly, tasting the acrid aftertaste of soot on her tongue, the girl nodded slowly.
"I... see," she replied. Tentative, not sure how much to say. Joy over Hotaru's children being born safely was carefully swallowed out of respect for her father's situation. "I... I knew about that. Have known, for a while now. I'm sorry; I didn't know if I should say anything or not." Whether it would be better to know or not - hoping desperately for someone else to deliver that kind of news. It seemed someone had - and it did not make her feel one bit better about it.
"The shift... what is it? Is there - can I help you, somehow?" Teething problems sounded like a predator of some kind. Fitting, yet not at the same time.

Snowflakes melted reluctantly on her cheeks, and the moisture added another kind of bite to her cheeks in the intense cold. Shaking snow from the hair, Seren reached up with her free hand and pulled the hood up. Conveniently, it hid her face from view as well.
"Mhm, I might, if I find somewhere else to be. It's not that I hate the place either. Just... Dad, are you aware of how they treat children born with magic in Stormbreak?"

Seren

and on to the glory at my right hand

"It isn't really the sort of thing that comes up in polite conversation," Ronin says with a small smile, as if to assure her that it didn't matter. "I knew as soon as it had happened. As soon as Remi knew." It wasn't like they tiptoed around each other, like they kept secrets. "I just wasn't expecting it to land on my doorstep when the time came." Which is why Halo is a balm on wounds that have only just begun to heal. A little distance, a little time.

As for the shift, Ronin's smile turns sharper and he shakes his head to his daughter. "It's dangerous," he murmurs. "A dragon. I can't control it yet - I don't intend to use it, or give it the chance to get its claws in someone." Watching as she draws up her hood, Ronin gestures down a street that has been cleared of snow, the cobbles shining in the morning light. "Shall we get some hot cocoa?" he suggests. "There's a greenhouse here now, so more and more has been able to grow."

But the conversation turns, then, and Ronin furrows his brow. "I can't say I ever... no. I don't know."

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

You have so much of everything but still you wanted more

One small relief. Being quiet had not caused him pain. Still, Seren felt better now that she was no longer keeping secrets from her father.
"You're not very happy about it, are you," she guessed quietly, squeezing his arm again. As if to assure that she wasn't going anywhere, even if it was true.

She did snap her head around to look at him properly when the word dragon passed his lips. Surprised and delighted, Seren grinned widely at him. "That's amazing," she assured, skipping a few enthusiastic steps when the bubbling excitement became too much to contain. "But you can't just keep it bottled up, then you'll never control it. Let me know when you have it figured out, yeah? I want to go flying. You'd let me ride on your back, wouldn't you?" She could already imagine it. The wind whipping her hair, the thunder of beating wings and the vast continent sprawled out beneath them as they conquered the sky. "It would be wonderful."

Nodding her assent to cocoa - the food options increasing in this place was a good thing, indeed - Seren followed down the road, lifting her nose to the wind as delightful scents announced the presence of a shop. Her cheerfullness was short lived, but even though the topic she had broked made her stomach churn, the starchild refused to let it bow her shoulders.
"They detect the presence of magic in the fetus before it is born. Then they allow the babies to be delivered within the city walls, so that they die. And then they discard them outside the city walls, like garbage. Gideon told me." The calm of her tone had an stony quality to it, cold and hard as the cobbles beneath their feet. Stars, she was relieved that he hadn't known.

Seren

and on to the glory at my right hand

Ronin almost chokes around the next breath he takes - of all the things he expected Seren to say, this is probably at the very bottom of the list. "The man I love fucked someone else without thinking and had another family. Is there any imaginable circumstance where you think I would be happy?" he whispers - and just for a shimmer of a second, scales as black as pitch can be seen creeping up his neck beneath the scarf, before a long and shuddering breath has them subsiding once more.

"I'm sorry," Ronin murmurs. "That - no. No, I suppose you could say I'm not thrilled about it."

He can barely conjure a smile for her regarding the creature that nearly made an encore appearance after turning much of Hak Etme to glass, magical as the picture she paints might be. "Maybe," he manages softly, ducking into a little cafe and gesturing for Seren to take a seat at whichever table she likes.

Still on the subject of babies, with snow melting in his hair and tension writ upon his face as he unwinds his scarf, if possible Ronin blanches further to hear about Stormbreak. "Gideon told you?" he says, incredulous. "I had no idea. I assumed they would be free to leave the city, to go elsewhere..." Pinching the bridge of his nose, another weight of the world adds itself to his shoulders for later contemplating. "That's awful."

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)