(Note: This is a bit off, but I'm still trying to get a feel for the characters. ^^ Sorry it took so long for me to write it all out! Umm..... I used different symbols to show thought and telepathic contact, so I hope I don't confuse anyone. ^_^;)

**Have I neglected my duty?**

Shitan leaned back against the railing, gazing over the telescope into the landscape beyond -- Aveh.

**Fei is as normal as any of the villagers in Lahan...... he has not changed since that day so long ago......** The cool, prevailing wind of the mountain range washed over him, pulling strands of his hair loose to whip about his face. **Nothing has changed. That is why I am still here.**

That was part of the problem. He could not very well determine how dangerous his charge was if there were no tests of will, or threats to the peace. Yet he balked at the thought of administering those tests himself, despite the Emperor's orders. He had allowed himself to grow attached to his responsibility, so closely that Fei was no longer a liability, but a......

A friend? One was not supposed to befriend one's burdens.

"A friend......" Shitan whispered the word, brows contracting.

Yui had started out as such. Another order of Cain's -- a connection to the enemy that was too valuable to release, once he had her in his grasp. One of the famed nobility of Shevat, with talents Solaris only dreamed of, and most definitely envied.

And that order had turned into something far more important than mere duty. He could admit it silently, this one time...... but he was not thrilled about the compromising position it had placed him in. Duty to family and duty to his ruler were so completely different it was amazing they had not clashed -- yet.

But Fei...... what excuse did he have for Fei?

"Shitan!"

He blinked, his contemlplation shattered, and twisted around to look upon the upturned face of his wife, Yui.

"Lunch is almost ready!" she called up in her soft voice. The wind blew her pale hair into a spiral of gold, glittering in the sun like silk. "Weren't you going to take your equipment down to the village before-time?"

"Apparently not," he replied almost to himself, shaking his head in silent amusement. Was she laughing at him again? "I will be down shortly."

Shitan watched her turn about with that sparkling smile of hers, and disappear around the bend in the stairs. Sometimes he wondered how she ever managed to put up with him.

---------------------

=='He's worried again.'==

Yui's gaze flickered to her daughter before riveting on the stove again. "I don't see why. He seemed to be enjoying the peace." She continued to stir her most recent creation, trying to keep it from burning while they waited for Shitan to return from his contemplation.

=='I think he's confused. It's hard to tell, and I feel kind of bad for looking.== Midori slid down the wall to sit, stretching her legs out in front of her. She didn't seem agitated, but her thoughts were sharper than usual. =='He doesn't want to go down to Lahan today.'==

Nodding, Yui set her spoon down and turned the stove off. It wasn't difficult to see that Shitan was reluctant to leave their home today...... the problem was, she didn't understand why. And she couldn't very well ask her daughter to look; it was bad form for a child to invade the privacy of their parents in such a way.

But if Shitan was worried...... Yui was worried. He was not one to make his decisions lightly, especially where emotions were concerned -- if he allowed himself to feel at all. She loved him, but he could be so cold sometimes...... she wondered if Solaris's training would win out in the end......

Or if he would be able to break away, and win over that part of himself. She would support him in all she could...... but some battles had to be won within.

**But can't we be free of it...... just for once? Just this once?** =='Dad is still up there. I don't think he'll be coming down anytime soon. He's away again.'==

Yui sighed.

So much for wishes.

---------------------

=='You have made no progress?'==

A dizzying swirl of color spiraled about the two beings, enclosing -- or trapping -- them in their conversation. Scenes manifested themselves while others faded into the kaleidiscope of color that was the environment, all depicting moments from Shitan's earthly life that had taken place since their last meeting.

Shitan himself stood on a small, floating platform before the one he called 'Emperor', staring stoically at the nightmare visage of Cain.

His own namesake, as Guardian Angel, though he still did not completely understand the import of that priviledge. =='The Contact has been quiet, much like the environment around him. Any move of mine will seem suspicious at best, without the proper preperations.'== It was the truth, in part; he did not have the resources on his own to orchestrate any sort of test for Fei's stability.

But he wished fervently that he did not feel as if he were lying through his teeth.

The Emperor seemed to accept his explanation. =='The problem will be remedied sooner than you might hope, Hyuuga Rikudou. Prepare yourself. If he awakens......'==

=='If he awakens......'==

There was no need to finish the thought. He knew the dangers of the Contact's awakening.

Cain's dreamscape slowly dissolved before his eyes, returning to the brightness of the afternoon he had been trying to enjoy only moments before. The wind had died down, but rather than taking the chill away, it only made it more pronounced.

Or was it simply a thing of the imagination?

"I will do as you have commanded," Shitan whispered, knowing beyond a doubt that Cain would hear him. Though his misgivings did not disappear, he was granted enough reprieve that he thought he might be able to carry his mission out without distracting himself.

A gift of the Emperor's? If so, he would make full use of it.

With another sigh, this one from the depths of his soul, Shitan pushed away from the railing and jumped down into the room below, not even bothering with the ladder.

Would his family survive this? He was tempted to send Yui and Midori away, but he knew she would refuse to go. Even if...... He stopped, as an idea drifted into his consciousness.

**She wanted to go back to Shevat.** It was a simple thought, a memory of the month before last, when they had been hosting the Spring Festival. **She misses the rest of her family. She might......** Perhaps she would agree to go...... if he offered it as a vacation,, of sorts?

It was worth thought. He did not know when this 'test' Cain had mentioned would come about, but he knew he did not want his family in range of the disaster that was sure to follow.

Shitan hurried down the stairs wrapped in his thoughts, idly twisting his hair out of the ribbon so he could tie it back again.

Yui was waiting for him......