"Has he gone?"

Shitan turned, abandoning his meditation of the destruction below to turn his attention to his wife. His pristine, calm, beautiful wife... Not a mark was on her, despite the recent happenings of the night before - even the blood of the Solarian pilots was long since washed from her blade.

If only he could say the same for their home... he would be forced to go to Aveh now, regardless of where he had pointed Fei - what few pieces of communications equipment he had managed to bring had been destroyed in the blast, and the resulting earthquake. And in all honesty... he did not think these people would be left alone, if he could not send a missive to Gebler. They would pour into the town like ants once they could muster the forces for an investigation... and any surviving Lambs would be exterminated.

He wouldn't have particularly cared three years ago, and yet... yet these people deserved something a bit better than that, for aiding in his cover at the very least.

A pale, slender hand rested itself against his shoulder, conveying a warmth the coolness of the mountains definitely couldn't provide. "Shitan, are you paying attention...?"

"... Yes." He blinked, adjusting his glasses with a deft little gesture. "Yes, he has gone. Rather reluctantly, I might add... but I suppose that is for the best." Breathing deeply of the burning, soot-tainted air, he winced and clasped her hand gently. "What of you, and Midori? And the survivors of the village?"

Yui shook her head, navy eyes glittering with the brightness of the morning sunshine and the fires in the town alike. "Midori is sleeping in the house, as she was before... and I suppose the villagers are as best as they can be, considering their circumstances. Those that can be cared for, have been cared for - and I should add that we're running out of gauze..."

Nodding silently, Shitan drew her hand from his shoulder and and cradled it in his own, eyes moving out again to the vista of the burning plains. Burning, like a beacon. No, Solaris would not be long in coming...

==There has been an incident.==

Shitan closed his eyes aburptly, his center of focus suddenly shifting beneath his 'feet', much as the earth had the night before in reaction to Fei's blast. ==Yes.== It might have been nice - as he had always idly thought, when away from these meetings - if Cain could perhaps exercise a little more descretion when intruding into his conscious thoughts like this.

"Shitan..."

He clasped his wife's hands more tightly; a warning. She subsided quickly, though he could feel the strength of her gaze too clearly for comfort. She likely felt the same way...

==Tell me of it. What has happened, from your perspective?==

=='He' awakened, at the behest of the Seeker of Power... and this village is no more.== More. There was always more - it was difficult hiding things from Cain, and he had stopped trying long ago. ==It is impossible to judge by mere instinct alone, but I do not believe this was a full awakening.==

==A test, then.== The words were musing, soft. Perhaps a tad disapproving, in their own way. ==And the boy?==

==I may be forced to abandon my place here in favor of following him - the boy has left the town, as I thought would be best. Gebler will likely attempt a search of this place, and he must not be found quite yet.== Shitan's eyes flickered open for a brief moment, and he released his wife's hands. "Bring Midori..." was all he could spare, before blocking the rest of his senses in favor of Cain's voice.

==It was, of course, expected...== There was a pause, as if he were thinking, or perhaps consulting someone. Unusual, that... ==Live up to your namesake, Guardian Angel... that is all that we ask of you at this time. You will be contacted with any additional orders.==

==And my place here? My family?== Shitan tried to soften his tone, to show the proper deference... But what he could conceal in life could not be hidden here, within his thoughts. His expectant, almost insolent question rang through the mental bond, strengthened by his concern.

A long pause followed; he wasn't sure, at first, if Cain had heard, or if perhaps the Emperor had decided to ignore the question in favor of something he deemed more important. But eventually... ==They may remain under your care if necessary, but I can do nothing to help them at this time. Remain true to your orders, Hyuuga Rikudou - remember that all else is secondary to their importance.==

==As you command.==

The brightness of morning pierced his eyes in a pale blur as he opened them. Trees and slopes of rock surrounded him, and the small group of Lahan survivors crowded a bit to his left - more forms, blurred just past distinction... Shitan turned his back on them, moving to sit at the ledge before the gear.

So Cain would do nothing to aid him in caring for his family, while he was chasing after Fei? It was typical... one could not expect the Emperor of Solaris to show concern for any one person - certainly not one born of their supposed enemy.

Yet it irritated him, just the same. He had already devoted his life to serving Cain's cause... and there was not even a gesture of thanks. Not one inch of allowance, so he might see his family to safety before embarking on a quest that might very well end his life. He most certainly could not take them along - that could very well be mroe dangerous than leaving them here to Gebler's forces.

Caught between a rock and a hard place. Just as the day Sigurd had gone, all those years ago... And yet then, just as now, he had followed his directives. He might as well have been a puppet, dancing on strings held by the Ministry, or Cain...

Again, Yui's warm, slender hand rested upon his shoulder, and he turned. She was crouched behind him, skirt pooled around her like a deep green pond, and Midori stood clinging to her other hand, as stoic and silent as she had always been. But like Yui, she seemed to be unscathed by the disaster that had destroyed the town... and he was grateful for it - relieved beyond words.

But he knew what he had to do... he had known the moment Fei left the remains of the village. There were no alternatives - no one else could take his place at the boy's side, and he had his orders...

Shitan opened his mouth to speak, but Yui's fingers stilled his lips. "We understand, Shitan. I know your work is important to you - just be sure you stay safe, and return." Any other woman would have fallen to pieces at that, but not her... The calm acceptance with which she had taken recent events was one of her crowning glories, and one of the many reasons he had grown to love her so...

He turned his eyes away, for a moment, the air seeming to thicken in his lungs. He couldn't look at Yui without feeling as if he were abandoning her, and Midori... And worse... The feeling that it was his /duty/ to leave them to serve his country clashed, fought against his duty to his family... slowly but surely overwhelming his desire to stay with them.

It was Cain's doing, of course. The Sacred Empire never completely loosed the strings of its puppets, though it presented such an illusion to its victims. The Emperor took his vows - and those of his agents - quite seriously, to the point that he would take a hand in events himself when necessary to keep them in line. And he, 'Hyuga', was no different than the others. His mission was far more dangerous, yet that only meant that he would be watched more closely.

When necessary, his strings would be pulled. And he would dance to the Emperor's will...

"Shitan...?" Once again, his wife's voice broke through his thoughts. It was an old habit of theirs - she always knew just when he needed to be shaken from his contemplation; her voice was the only he'd ever learned to truly respond to.

Quickly, his eyes flickered over the gathering of Lahan's villagers; in the next instant, his gaze moved to the still-smouldering village. No answers, there - only more responsibility. He could only imagine what was going through Fei's mind, at this moment...

He turned his eyes back to her, capturing her hand and wrapping his fingers around it tightly. "Will you be able to help them? I dislike the idea of leaving them to Gebler, if there is an alternative."

There was a moment of stillness as her eyes searched his, shadowed with hesitation. "Possibly..." She twisted around to look toward the villagers, staring with her lips pressed into a thin line. "I can try. But I'm not sure what she'll say..."

He tightened his fingers around hers, a hint of a nod shifting his ebon hair. It slid back from his shoulder by her hand; she had turned to face him once again. "Save yourselves..." He faltered at her sharp look, but pushed on. "If you cannot save them from Solaris, save yourself, and Midori. I will not have you suffer at their hands... Krelian does not care who his subjects are, and I will not be allowed to..."

But no, she knew.... she knew he would not he allowed to help her, in the event that she and Midori were captured. They were a liability, in Cain's eyes, a needless risk in Krelian's... And she was aware of the danger that presented to their family, though by her actions, he could not quite tell at times. That fire that she harbored, deep beneath her gentle facade, would flare at the slightest hint of Solarian interference...

"Stay safe..." he murmured, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her close. Though part of him protested at such a public display, he forced it down; he refused to leave his wife without first demonstrating /some/ sort of affection... she deserved that, and far better. Far better than he could give her... "Please..."

(OOC Note: I knew this leaves off far before the events in the forest, but... I'll put everything in the next post /after/ Elly's. ^.^ Really.)