вlood & peтalѕ [ ĸoтlc - тιana ]

ch. xxiv

I LOVE Y'ALL SOOO SOO SOOOOOOOO  MUCH.

Just saying.

Juline's words were still unpleasantly echoing in his ears. 

"Once someone coughs up a whole flower.....there is no going back."

The mere thought of it made him feel sick. Especially since Linh had said that Tam had coughed up the whole flower roughly five days ago.

Meaning that Tam Song had only five days left to live, and that nothing, nothing at all could shake it. Not even if Biana suddenly confessed undying love to him, which was itself pretty unlikely, Tiergan found himself thinking wryly.

Blur coughed, trying to ease the tension in the room. "Uh...so...what are we going to do now? Tell the twins?"

"I....don't know if Miss Linh especially is strong enough for that...." Leto was saying dazedly. "I wouldn't be surprised if she couldn't."

Juline shook her head. "You're being ridiculous. Linh is stronger than ever, after what went down in Atlantis and Nightfall. It will shake her, yes, but definitely not break her. She's too strong for that."

"How can you be so sure?" Leto challenged. "Not to underestimate her, but....I honestly don't agree with you. In my opinion, age and experience are the only things that can temper down the backlash of a loss like that."

Blur sighed. "You're forgetting that the twins have been through waaaay more than they should have had to go through. Especially at their age. What are they, fifteen? Sixteen? I'd still say that Sophie's the only one in their whole gang who's gone through more. And that itself is pretty debatable,  considering the fact that this is meant to be a perfect society, and that they were actually born into it. Unlike Sophie."

Leto sighed, looking defeated. "As you wish. Looks like I've been outvoted anyway, regardless of what Wraith thinks."

"For the record, I would have been against hiding it," Wraith told him. "So, that settles it. Tiergan, I suppose you want to be the one to tell them?"

Tiergan nodded, the back of his throat going dry. "Yes. I feel...like it'll be best for all of us."

"Let me just give you some advice I wish I had when I first became a mother," Juline said. "If there's bad news, give it all at once. Don't hold any back, even if you think you're doing them a kindness. It's better to have the whole picture rather than just the brighter bits of the puzzle. And be gentle about it. As gentle as you can be, anyway."

He nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

I know it's short, but necessary, I promise. There may or may not be another chapter later....depends on some stuff.

Cheerio!

-miyu