In the Arms Of Rain (Dmitri)

[Rei]

Erilena slipped back into the house feeling irrationally guilty. Not only for leaving her children home with just the dog and Grim but because of the phantom feeling of that kiss. No she hadn't participated, but it had still happened. It wasn't just the kiss though. It was the look on the brownrider's face when she had shoved him away that bothered her. The icy cold tone to his words when he had told her that she was dead to him. That they both were dead to him. Even though for all purposes it wasn't really Dmitri's fault. If R'ven had wanted to blame anyone it should just be her. For it was true that Dmitri held her heart, but he didn't control it. Erilena's hazel eyes immediately flicked to the hallway and it's doors, beyond which their children lie napping.

It had started out as such a good day too. She had taken the twins down to see the dolphins at Blossom and then come home to go shopping. It was on the way back that it had happened. Feyrainth's joy had been short shared with Erilena. She should have thought to keep R'ven's meeting with the children brief. Saw the expression on the brownrider's face as he looked at them. He had excused himself and left before too long. It had been a mistake to go back to try and talk to him. She knew that now but she had to try. She always had to try. It was stupid perhaps but she liked to keep her friends and R'ven had been a good one. Especially to Dmitri. Or so she had thought. Now she wasn't sure what to think. Or how she would tell him.

Thankfully the twins were still asleep when she finally cracked open their door to check on them both. They were sprawled out on their respective beds with Harper laying between them on the floor. Their golden blonde hair tousled and clothes ruffled with sleep. They resembled their father a lot. Especially Emitre. It was almost tempting to wake them just so she could hold them close. But she didn't. The black and white canine wagged his tail once when she smiled down at him and then settled back down when she stepped back from the door. They would sleep for another few candlemarks or so she was sure.

Emitre in particular had been so excited to tell his father about their day and she had promised him he could be the first to tell Dmitri. Now she wasn't all that sure that telling her husband right off the bat would be the best idea. He was bound to be upset about what had happened with R'ven and she didn't want her happy news to be marred by that. Was that terrible? Running her hand through her messed and tangled hair she turned and headed back into the kitchen to prepare their lunch for them all. Dmitri should be back soon. Whatever Gyrion had wanted probably wouldn't take the rest of the evening and night.

The greenrider settled into the familiar motions of chopping the vegetables for the salad she was sure her kids would only pick at. Dimly she was aware of Feyrainth grumbling something about it starting to rain and she had wanted to see the stars tonight. The sudden taping of rain on the window further soothed Erilena into something like a trance for a moment. Her mind would not go completely quiet though. It re-visited her meeting with R'ven over and over and in response her chopping of the vegetables grew more violent as her frustration and anger with the whole thing grew. She was so involved in her own thoughts that she didn't hear the opening of the porch door or the sound of footfalls. Finally the woman's hand slipped and the tip of the knife sliced open her finger. Yelping in surprise Erilena glanced down at the bleeding digit. She cursed softly before sticking it in her mouth to suck the blood off so she could examine it and make sure she hadn't really hurt herself.

[Requiem]

It should have been no surprise to anyone that no matter what sort of official harper business around the Hold that brought Gyrion and Dmitri together (something not that unusual since Gyrion was the one who had the flit and actually could communicate with Harper Hall at any given time) it would end with the two harpers and Erilena's brother Nick palling around and cutting up over something. What should have perhaps taken only a candlemark or so turned into several in Lenora's kitchen. Granted, Dmitri might have been in more of a hurry to cut it short if his wife hadn't gone out with the kids on a little day trip today. He usually liked to accompany them, but that didn't always work out when he had business to attend to.

The harper did however excuse himself when the rain started. Rain always reminded him of Erilena and he set out to walk the short distance between her parents' home and their own. It wasn't terribly windy and not raining so hard as to drown him, so Dmitri found it rather nice. A little cool perhaps. Now the summer rains...those were perhaps his favorites. Walking past, he made a point to stop and greet Feyrianth, scratching behind her eyeridges as Dmisk ventured forth from the relative darkness of the barn simply to accompany him to the door. Dmisk had no trouble with daylight but still didn't feel the need to spend too much time in it unless necessary.

The sound of frenzied chopping greeted him as he opened the door, which was perhaps why his wife didn't as she normally would; the noise she was making must have masked his. Dmitri didn't mind. It was nice to surprise her on occasion, something that rarely happened with all the mindmates about. He noticed the knife slip and the falter in the dicing, and certainly heard her curse, slipping up behind her and wrapping an arm around her waist as the other hand tugged loosely at her wrist.

"Let me see?" She might have been the healer, but that didn't mean he couldn't bandage a finger or show some concern. The harper knew something was probably upsetting her. She just about never cut herself and the chopping had sounded almost...angry? But bleeding first, emotions later. Emotions could be a lot harder to deal with anyway. His arm tightened around her waist as he kissed the top of her head. "Sorry I took so long. You know how it is when Gyr and Nick get together."

[Rei]

Well shard it all it really hurt. Honestly she should have been paying better attention. The coppery taste of her blood was a bit unpleasant, though not unpleasant enough to have her gagging. As a healer Erilena should really know better though. Saliva wasn’t exactly completely sanitary but it was an immediate reaction and it wasn’t like other people didn’t do it all the time. Still had anyone else done it she would be lightly scolding them. A glance was given the sink and the greenrider had just about made a decision to go rinse the wound properly when she felt a large presence behind her and suddenly was captured around the waist and by the wrist.

She jumped. Not a lot though. The first contact surprised her was all. The familiarity of his touch and voice quickly had Erilena relaxing into his embrace and she let Dmitri manipulate her wrist. Removing the finger from her mouth as requested she allowed him his examination without a word of protest. Glancing up at him after the kiss to her head was complete she offered a genuine smile. “Honestly I thought you hooligans would be making mischief for a bit longer. Anytime all three of you are involved the hold should be on alert.” The teasing lit to her tone was impossible to miss and she wrinkled her nose before adding. “So did you have fun?” Reaching up to flick a strand of the harper’s damp hair with her other hand she almost commented that he was wet. But really that was pointless, he knew that.

It still amazed Erilena sometimes just how much her husband had changed over the turns. When she had first met him Dmitri had been stick thin and tall yes but not near as tall as he was now. He’d filled out a lot too, over the turns. His eyes were just as gorgeous as always though. Her eyes half lidded as she regarded him, his own scent and that of the rain making her mind travel in interesting directions. A small pulse of pain from her finger brought her mind back from its quick side trip and she flushed slightly. Yeah…it was clear the hormones were present. Maybe. Really he did this to her all the time. Better to concentrate on something else currently.

Glancing down at her mountain of vegetables she frowned slightly, the sight of them brought back her thoughts from moments ago. How was she supposed to bring it up? If he asked how the day went she guessed. The woman was in no huge hurry to ruin the current moment, though she would have to bring it up very soon. That she knew. Preferably before the kids woke from their nap. He’d be upset. Didn’t take a genius to know that and Erilena was still trying to think of the best way to tell him.

There really was no way to make it better or sugar coat it. Not that she tended to do that with her husband anyway. They knew each other too well by this point. She had long ago stopped hiding anything from Dmitri. Which had its good and bad points sometimes.

[Requiem]

An examination of the finger made it clear the cut was negligible at best, his loose grip on her wrist slipping upward almost playfully, perhaps in response to the mood conveyed in her words and smile. His own half-smile (though as always it was hard to tell if that would have been a full smile or not, given this was the extent of the range of motion his damaged facial nerves allowed) certainly had an edge of amusement to it, even if he pinched her lightly on the thigh in his own particular brand of protest. "Not so bad as all that. If anything, Nick and I are doing the Hold a service, getting Gyrion off the prowl. If only for a few candlemarks." There wasn't a single holder in the entire Hold unaware of the womanizing harper's proclivities.

"Of course we had fun. And did work. Lots of work." He winked down at her, as if the teasing tone wasn't enough to convey that he well-knew she was aware of his friendship with the two men about his own age. It didn't seem that she noticed the wink though, not with her attention on the vegetables. The ever-interesting vegetables. Tempting as it was to throw a mini-harper fit about being ignored for chopped cabbage (which was to say an exaggerated expression of outrage to get the attention back on him so that he could enjoy his wife) Dmitri knew that it was most likely whatever had her attacking those vegetables so vigorously that had stolen her attention yet again, not the vegetables themselves.

Which led right back to emotions. Meh. Tears were not really his thing. Or any guy's.

Drawing her over toward the sink, he rinsed her hand off in silence, fishing around in the cupboard for redwort that he applied after drying her hand gently. That done, he turned to her cutting board and cleaned off the knife, then set to finishing the chopping she'd started. Not difficult considering she'd been all but done to begin with. Scraping it into a bowl that seemed to have been set aside earlier for that purpose, he glanced down at the woman.

"So...what is it?" The knife found its way into the sink as he turned to regard her more directly.

[Rei]

She allowed him to doctor her in silence, both hating and welcoming the quiet in equal measure. When Dmitri released her hand Erilena brought it back in front of her face to examine the cut on her own for a moment and then dropped it back to her side her hazel eyes flicking to the cutting board as he washed the knife and finished her preparations on his own. “Thank you.” She uttered softly before wrinkling her nose and straightening her skirt almost self-consciously when he spoke. Straight to business it seemed. There was no running from it or pushing it aside. Not when he turned his whole body to regard her.

With obvious reluctance she spoke. “I met an old friend of ours today, when the kids and I were coming back from shopping. At first I didn’t completely recognize the dragon and then when I did I didn’t believe it was actually him till I met him on the road.” Running a hand through her hair she managed something of a sad smile. “It was R’ven.”

There the first part was out. It was the rest that sucked. Erilena pushed on before Dmitri could respond verbally. Simply because she didn’t want to be interrupted, mostly for fear of forgetting exactly what she wanted to say. “He seemed like he was in quite the hurry at first. I tried to engage him in conversation but he was reluctant. At first I didn’t get exactly why and then I saw how he looked at the kids, almost like they had upset him somehow. Of course they were curious about him because it was obvious I knew him. He was pleasant to them at least. Well…Dileina anyway. Emitre was a bit bratty but I think that was partially my fault. He was so short and to the point that I got a bit upset and I think Emitre sensed it the little snot. Either that or it was R’ven’s attitude. I invited him here for a small snack but he politely refused and went on his way. Delivering something to the blacksmith here I think.”

It was here that she fell silent for a moment and met Dmitri’s eyes on purpose. “There was something about the way he was acting that bothered me so when the kids and I got home and they went down for their nap I took some muffins as an excuse and went back. Fey was still with Tril so I just waited there for a few minutes because I knew he would have to come back to Tril to leave…”

It was a mistake. Erilena knew that now but she had to try at the time. Running a hand through her hair she glanced up at her husband. “Would you like some tea or something?” She needed something. Wanted something stronger then tea but couldn’t. Not now anyway. Oh yes that was right she still had to tell him that too. Though she had promised Emitre...

[Requiem]

At first he listened with something resembling patience. It wasn't unusual for his wife to be long-winded and take awhile to get to the point, after all. But his expression visibly changed at the mention of R'ven's name. There was a sudden flash of eagerness behind his eyes, the man straightening, and the only thing that prevented him from immediately leaving to go find the man who had been his closest friend those many turns ago was the fact that Erilena was still talking.

It would have been unbelievably rude to just walk out like that, even for him.

As she continued, he found it difficult to concentrate much on what she was saying, instead wishing she'd get it over with soon enough to catch R'ven before he left. Blacksmith. In the back of his mind Dmitri did realize that she was upset, of course, but that didn't seem altogether strange. She'd never really gotten over R'ven completely, or at least Dmitri wouldn't be surprised if she hadn't, since she'd still been upset about him when he disappeared with the other dragonriders.

She'd gone back? He was getting more anxious now. Looking down at her, he shifted his weight restlessly from one foot to the other. "Can't we have tea later?" The handler was already moving toward the door now that she'd stopped, even though there was clearly more to the story. "Is he coming here, then? They haven't left?"

[Rei]

Had he been paying attention at all then? Clearly it didn’t seem that way because he was in such a rush to leave. Maybe she should have omitted some of it but it wasn’t like she could just come out and say. ‘oh and by the way he called you a snake and me willfully blind and stupid. Furthermore it appears we are now part of the afterlife to him’ Yeah Erilena could see that going over so well.

A hand went to her temple and she rubbed it against the growing headache. “Dmitri stop.” It wasn’t quite a command but nor was it a request either more something in-between her voice borderline firm. It was an attempt to snag his attention. The woman wasn’t completely out to lunch she had seen his reaction with the first utterance of R’ven’s name but she had hoped he would continue to listen. If not to the words then the tone she had used when speaking about the smith.

“He left.” She finally offered when she was at least half sure she had gained the majority of his attention. Turning back to the cabinet to hide her expression she swallowed at the sudden tightness in her throat. Honestly Erilena was pissed at R’ven. She didn’t care at that point if he came back ever again at all. Or at least she told herself that. But she didn’t want to hurt Dmitri. He was rarely childlike eager about anything. Taking down the tea kettle she filled it with water and set it on the wood stove to heat, trying to fight the urge to tear up or vomit or hell who knows what. Taking a breath she glanced at the dark sky outside through the rain speckled window. “We fought. He’s angry that I’m with you. He called you a snake and me willfully blind. I slapped him. He kissed me. I rejected him, we fought some more and he took off on Tril. He’s not here anymore.” Perhaps that was too short of a version of events but obviously her first attempt had gone wrong.

Erilena bit down on her lip and then forced herself to turn from the window to face Dmitri her voice weary and apologetic. “I’m sorry.” What more could she add to it? If the harper had questions she was sure he would ask. A small sleepy questioning nudge to her mind alerted her to the fact that she had accidently awoken Feyrianth. A quiet mental reassurance was passed along to the green before she spoke again to her husband. “Want to rethink that offer of tea?”

Hell at this point she was ready to say shard it and just break out the alcohol but that would be a bad idea. Maybe not for her husband though. Half glancing back at the cabinet that held the wine glasses she kept the majority of her attention on her husband, trying to for his sake to at least keep herself from showing all her frustration and upset with the shardblasted situation.

[Requiem]

The tone was more than enough to stop Dmitri. It wasn't often that Erilena used it with him, for one, but there was something else about it in this context that made certain he'd obey even if he might otherwise have just continued with whatever he wanted to do. So he stopped, hand on the doorknob, partially turning to fix her with a questioning look. His hand fell away when she said R'ven was gone, disappointment briefly showing in his face even as the confusion deepened. He knew it couldn't be easy to see Dmitri and Erilena together, of course, even though he had cast Erilena aside, but Dmitri didn't understand the turns of avoidance. Something he hadn't really been acknowledging to himself was worming it's way up toward the surface now as she turned her back to him.

Erilena's words were absorbed in complete silence. It seemed like every sentence was designed to cut deeper than the one before it. The harper didn't move. His expression remained neutral, but that was less schooling his face and more simply not knowing how to react. Not fully believing what was being said to him. It was that expression which greeted her when she turned back toward him. Tea. It took him a long moment to respond, the handler simply shaking his head.

"I'm sorry. That must have been hard for you." He hesitated, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything else. Dmitri had managed to convince himself somewhere down the line that R'ven must have a reason for staying away...and that reason didn't involve a dissolved friendship or jealousy. The pleasant illusion was now quite thoroughly squelched. Part of him still didn't want to believe it. Wanted to go to the blacksmith, certain he'd find the large smith still there. He knew that part was clinging to something unsubstantial.

Then he gave in to the impulse. "I'll...be back." Dmitri slipped out the door, then, striding for the orchard. Only the steps became a jog, stretching into a run until he'd gone a fair distance in, the man hardly noticing the rain or the wher that shadowed him. He climbed the tree in a matter of moments.

[Rei]

The look on Dmitri’s face pained her. Erilena wanted to move and take him in her arms and tell him that it would be okay but something stayed her feet. Perhaps it was the fact that she knew even if she did it wouldn’t help right now. He had to process this on his own and she couldn’t fix it for him. As much as she wanted to she knew she couldn’t. And really somewhere deep down there was also this nagging voice, this feeling, that maybe he blamed her a bit for this too. It seemed stupid and unreasonable. The blonde knew that but feelings didn’t always fit neat and tidy in pretty wrapped up boxes. Erilena had opened her mouth to speak again but Dmitri had already slipped out the door. Swallowing the blonde turned to the window and watched him take off across the orchard. She blinked the gathering tears out of her eyes. “And by the way I’m pregnant.” She intoned quietly to the empty kitchen before simply taking the kettle off the stove and dumping its contents into the sink almost angrily.

Erilena wanted to throw something. Kick something. Do anything but sit in the kitchen alone with her thoughts. Rubbing her temple she sank down into one of the kitchen chairs and briefly gave into the impulse to cry. She waited half a candlemark but he had not returned. The twins awoke and she busied herself setting them up with a snack and something to drink her eyes flicking over and over again toward the rain speckled window. Still no sign of her husband. The dark gnawing worry in the pit of her stomach got worse and worse and finally she sent Grim to fetch her brother. The rider knew she had to go looking for him.

The twins in turn were uncharacteristically quiet, perhaps because they sensed the prevailing mood. Even Emitre was silent, simply helping his sister fix numerous ribbons into Harper’s fur. The canine huffed quietly but patiently allowed the twosome their annoying pastime.

Lenick showed up wet and ruffled looking about fifteen minutes later, glancing at her with an obvious questioning look when she met him on the porch. “Thanks for watching them on such short notice.” Nodding at his sister the man frowned. “Is everything okay?” Not meeting his eyes Erilena shook her head. “Not sure. I’ll be back.” With that she quickly slipped out into the rain, avoiding the quick grab her older brother made for her arm. “Tiny?” The question and nickname was drowned out in the noise of the rain as the downpour got worse and she quickly headed across the yard and into the orchard. At least she had thought to wear a coat and had another one bundled up underneath this one should she find her missing husband. The spring rain wasn’t exactly freezing but it was cool and it had gotten heavier than the light drizzle it had been when it first started.

The trees sagged with the heavy wetness of their leaves and the spring blossoms that weighed their branches. Hesitating amongst them she started calling out, not sure how else she would find him. If he was here at all that was. “Dmitri! Dmitri! Where are you?” Erilena tried to keep her voice from sounding panicked but it certainly was insistent. That part she couldn’t help.

[Requiem]

Her calling drew him up out of the slow swirl of thoughts, that and Dmisk's prodding before he loped off toward the greenrider and attempted to get her to turn back. This of course had less to do with the emotional state of His and more with her value to the man; none of them wanted her getting sick coming after him in this heavy rain. Besides, it wasn't entirely true that Dmitri was terribly upset. At least not in the traditional sense. He just needed time to run all of that through his head, organize it, without having to try to keep it together when Erilena was certainly upset about it. Of course, there was a touch of guilt to running off on her like that, but it wasn't like his staying would have done much good. Not this time.

It was hard to take someone who had been central to your life at one point and reevaluate everything around that center. Hard to admit that he'd been so blind, cause he wasn't stupid and he had seen the signs, at least the most obvious one of not seeing a R'ven for turns despite the fact that the man had been very much alive when everyone left behind finally moved into what was now Selenitas Weyr.

Dmitri slipped from the tree, walking toward where he could feel Dmisk was still having problems getting his wife to return to their home. He walked toward her, hardly noticing his own soaking clothes as he took her arm and urged her back the way she'd come. "I told you I'd be back," he chided her gently. Quietly. Dmisk fell in beside them, a silent reminder and addition to the handler's words. He wasn't alone and the wher was more than capable of looking after His. It wasn't as if they let rain keep them from going out on their patrols at night. This was hardly any different.

He didn't speak until they'd returned to the house, merely shaking his head whenever she tried to start up a conversation or ask a question. They'd have to shout to be heard over the rain as it was and he didn't know how to explain his disappearance anyway. That and he wasn't sure now was the time to address something this ambiguous when she was probably more than upset herself. Erilena had told him once (more than once, actually) that she didn't regret it at all. Was glad it hadn't gone well with R'ven, because she loved Dmitri more. He believed her for the most part.

Nevertheless, he didn't believe for a moment that had R'ven not pushed her away, cast her aside, she wouldn't still be with him and just as happy if not more. This must upset her. Really, he wasn't sure that he even had a right to a reaction, given he'd certainly never dated the guy. Or tried to kill himself over him.

He started shedding clothes on the porch with the typical weyrbred's complete lack of anything resembling shame. They didn't go around their kids nude much, but neither of the twins would be seeing anything new if they happened to be up and there was no sense in soaking the house. Dmitri actually kept a soft blanket by the door on the inside because he often returned home dirty and didn't care to make a mess of the home that his wife worked so hard to keep immaculate. He was in the door and wrapping himself in the blanket before Erilena had a chance to warn him, turning back to hold the door open for her.

[Rei]

Erilena was normally not very argumentative. Normally. Nevertheless when Dmisk appeared and began trying to convince her to turn back she couldn’t help it. What she was just supposed to leave Dmitri out here in the pouring rain feeling who knows what? Yeah no. No arguing with the large blue wher wasn’t likely to get her anywhere. At all. And she knew that but still she couldn’t help but try at least. The blonde shook her wet head and had just started to open her mouth to continue her fruitless argument when she caught sight of her husband walking towards them. Erilena closed her mouth relief and questioning clear in her expression when she looked at her husband. “Are you…” She began only for him to cut her off with his soft chiding words and take her arm to start leading her back to their house.

Blinking Erilena fell into step beside her husband. A few minutes passed before she tried again to speak only to get a shake of his head in response. The woman tried just a couple more times before she gave up and lapsed into silence simply walking through the rain beside Dmitri. She has glad that the rain hid her quiet tears of frustration. No it wasn’t going to help anything to cry. It did her absolutely no good but her emotions weren’t exactly playing nice right now either. Heightened emotional sensitivity was one of the things she disliked most about being pregnant. When it worked against her anyway. Erilena spent the remainder of the trip back with her eyes fixed firmly ahead of them as she struggled to rein her emotions into something more serene. Really she was more upset for him then herself, but upset wasn’t going to help either of them was it? No.

When they gained the porch Erilena thought to speak again. Certainly warn him that her brother was here and the kids were up but he was already shedding clothes and she hadn’t found her voice again yet. Not like it mattered anyway because in the time it took her mind to process words he was already inside the door and staring to wrap himself in a blanket. “Nick…” Before she got further then that her brother turned the corner and froze muttering an apology and going red before looking away. “Uh….sorry. I see you’re back.” A questioning look was shot his sister. Erilena simply nodded before tacking on. “Is here…Thanks again for watching them Nick. I appreciate it.” Lenick nodded before glancing questioningly at Dmitri. Hearing his sister clear her throat he frowned mildly before he simply clapped the other man on the back. “The kids are bathed and I fed them. If you guys need anything else let me know?” With that he squeezed Dmitri’s shoulder and leaned down to murmur something to his sister who shook her head. Frowning Lenick glanced back towards the living room. “I’ll keep them occupied till you’re ready to take back over.” With that he slipped around the corner leaving the two alone again.

Removing her soaked jacket to hang it up to dry Erilena glanced back at Dmitri. “Bath or just dry clothes?” She didn’t know what else to say right then. Or even where to begin. Or what she could even say. Asking him if he was upset with her would be a good start but honestly she wasn’t sure now was the time. Instead she waited for his answer while systematically hanging all the wet things up to dry. It occupied her hands at least.

[Requiem]

"Nick?" Movement caught his eye, and suddenly what she was trying to tell him was clear. "Oh, hi." Somewhere in the back of his mind it registered that Nick was embarrassed by catching him coming in naked, but Dmitri really couldn't be bothered to muster up any empathetic embarrassment of his own. Wasn't like they were made any different. Granted, Dmitri was grotesque on one side, but he was pretty sure his in-laws all knew that. If they didn't he couldn't be bothered to apologize for his disfigurement.

He tried to relax a little for Nick, if only to forestall any questions, but his mind was being ridiculously rebellious right now. The suspicions weren't fair and he attempted to squelch them, finally managing the barest twitch of a partial smile that might kind of pass for socially acceptable. "Thanks for the help." It was a genuine enough thank-you, even if part of him wished that Nick would go now. The kids were an excellent excuse not to have the inevitable discussion before he was ready to. Which was why he'd left to begin with.

Erilena wasn't good at leaving him be, though. He knew that. She took it personally, got emotional...not that she thought that he was doing it to spite her, per se, but she usually found a way to make it her fault and the whole thing tended to upset her. Dmitri couldn't really get her to see that trying to push something before he'd worked it through his head himself was almost bound to be more upsetting, though. His wife was emotionally dependent on him. Most of the time that was fine. Except times like this. The harper checked himself. No, that wasn't entirely true. It wasn't complete dependence. A lot of it was just her caring when he was upset and wanting to help.

Okay, yes, he was upset. He'd admit it now.

Her question was...awkward. Dmitri just kind of stood there indecisively. The honest truth was he really didn't give a damn right now. "I'll get it," he finally responded. Retreated to their bedroom, taking his time about finding something while accepting that he wasn't going to be able to get the space he needed without upsetting her unduly. Something he really didn't want to do. Sighing, he sat on the edge of the bed, trying to find a calm in himself that wasn't numbness.

In the end he probably took too long trying to find something that maybe didn't even exist...

[Rei]

Erilena frowned at the shirt she was holding as Dmitri spoke and then retreated. She finished hanging the clothes up and turned to glance down the hallway he’d disappeared into. Part of her really wanted to follow him but he was being so short and unforthcoming that she was reluctant to. In the end she turned and headed into the living room instead. As she opened the door a blur of black and white rushed past her and down the hall towards their bedroom shedding a few ribbons as he went. Poor Harper. “Momma, Momma! Doesn’t Harper look so pretty?” Dileina asked from her spot on her uncle’s lap, her bright blue eyes fixed on her mother. Smiling Erilena wrinkled her nose. “I think he would rather you call him handsome love.” Moving over toward the couch she managed something of a smile for Lenick. “You can go home now if you like.” Questioningly he looked at his sister but she simply shook her head and he sighed and rose. Glancing back at the twins she smiled at them. “I’ll be back in a minute kiddos. Daddy’s home he so he should be around soon.” With that she exited the room and walked her brother to the porch.

When they stepped outside he turned to her. “This isn’t because you’re pregnant is it? I would have thought he’d…” Erilena cut him off before he could continue. “Of course not. He doesn’t know yet. Look Nick if he wants to tell you he will.” He watched her face for a long moment before reluctantly nodding. “Alright. Have a good night Tiny. You’ll send if you need anything?” “Of course.” Giving her brother a brief hug she waited till he disappeared into the rain before heading back inside. Two pairs of curious blue eyes were watching her from around the corner. Wrinkling her nose at them she raised a brow. “Ready for bed?” Really she wasn’t surprised when they both shook their heads vigorously and retreated back into the living room to industrially start rebuilding their hold out of blocks. Another glance was given the empty hallway. He’d been gone a good while now. Maybe he’d decided to take that bath after all. Maybe it was best not to think too much about it.

Slipping back into the living room she seated herself on the couch and watched the kids play for a moment before long she found her mind idly wandering. Erilena didn’t realize she had zoned out until Emit spoke up suddenly. “Can I still tell Daddy about the dolphins?” Erilena turned her gaze back towards her son and his excited and earnest gaze, for once not knowing how to respond. Finally she spoke in a soft tone. “We’ll see Emit.” The little blonde boy’s expression visibly dimmed and he turned to his sister who quietly shrugged before placing another block on top their tower. The woman didn’t like disappointing her kids but she also didn’t want to add yet another thing to Dmitri’s plate right now either. He obviously had enough to process. Rubbing her temples she closed her eyes and sighed.

It wasn’t too hard for the canine to wedge open the cracked door with his snout. Tail wagging like a fan Harper trotted across the room to lay his head in Dmitri’s lap and whined plaintively. Mostly it was because of the ribbons pulling uncomfortably at his fur, but also he sensed something was wrong in the house. Though he couldn’t exactly process just what the unrest was it was clear he didn’t like it. Someone should fix it yes?

[Requiem]

Not his wife after all. He watched Harper cross the room with mixed feelings, partially relieved but also...well, he wasn't sure he was really ready to talk yet, if only because he'd have to be careful what he said and that was something particularly difficult when you weren't even sure what you were feeling, but such a discussion likely would be better than this stewing. Maybe. Scratching behind the dog's ears, he wrinkled his nose at the ribbons tied all throughout his fur.

"The twins torturing you again?" he asked the dog, even as he began carefully removing the ribbons so as not to pull any further on the animal's fur. "Such a patient one, Harper." Dmitri had been quite reluctant to get a puppy while Erilena was pregnant, despite her desire for one. She had enough on her plate without a puppy and he was a bit anxious as to how well a young dog would be with a baby. He couldn't say he regretted it now, though. They'd lucked out.

Once he'd removed the last of the ribbons, he tossed them on the nightstand and moved to stretch out on the bed. Seemed Erilena was avoiding him. Or trying to leave him alone for a bit. Patting the bed beside him, he cajoled the dog up to join him. His wife might not like that too much, but the bed was still made, so it wasn't like they'd be sleeping in dog fur later. "It would be nice if you could explain this craziness to me," he murmured to the canine.

He just...didn't understand. And the only conclusions he was coming to were pissing him off more as time went on. That wasn't really conducive to leaving the room; Dmitri didn't want to subject his family to his darkening mood.

[Rei]

He gratefully nosed along Dmitri’s arm as the man started to remove the ribbons tangled in his fur. Much better. Harper stayed completely still as his master worked, apart from his tail which swept the floor faster and faster. Finally when they all were removed he gently caressed the handler’s hand in thanks. The black and white canine watched curiously as Dmitri patted the bed beside him. His legs bunched and he hesitated only briefly before leaping up on the bed. Immediately Harper’s head snapped towards the door as if he expected Erilena to come through it any moment and shoo him away. When that didn’t happen he sprawled out next to Dmitri and laid his head on the harper’s chest giving a happy sigh. His brown eyes regarded the man quietly as he spoke and his tail wagged slowly before he nudged the man’s hand with his snout and gave it another soft lick. Upset master was upset. Obviously he had to try and fix this.

Time seemed to pass quickly and slowly all at once. Erilena couldn’t explain it better than that really. She bit her lip and frowned at the open living room door, willing Dmitri to step through the entryway at any moment. Only that didn’t happen. It had been more than enough time for him to bathe and change. She had even allowed extra for her husband to try and work through whatever was going on in his head. Only that didn’t seem to be happening. It worried her. Not because she didn’t think he would or could but because she didn’t like the thought of him dealing with this all by himself. At least not without knowing that he had all the support he needed. Though the woman hoped he knew that maybe reminding him wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Glancing over at the twins Erilena stood. “Hey kiddos Daddy’s having a rough day. Think we should go cheer him up?” Immediately both Emitre and Dileina nodded and clambered to their feet. “Should we bring him flowers?” “That’s for mommas Leina not Daddies.” Her brother immediately retorted with a wrinkle of his nose. “What about cupcakes?” Dileina plowed on mostly ignoring her brother’s expression. Erilena couldn’t help looking amused as she crouched down next to them and ruffled their hair. “Maybe. How about we try hugs and hot cocoa first?” Glancing at each other in silent communication they turned back to her. “Can we have some too?” “Of course. We all can.” Almost in unison they both broke out into smiles and raced past her to head to the kitchen. Following them at a more sedate pace the blonde couldn’t help but glance down the empty hallway as they passed it. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind the intrusion. It would give him something else to think about anyway she reasoned.

It wasn’t long before Erilena was heading back down the hallway balancing a tray with both twins dancing around her feet. It was probably a miracle that she didn’t trip on the way to the bedroom her and Dmitri shared, a miracle or sure feet. Probably both. The twins got to the room first and both peeked their heads around the partially closed door. “Daddy?” “Daddy we brought you something.” Both chorused one after the other in greeting before slipping into the room and heading right for the bed. Harper turned to look at the sudden intrusion and wagged his tail a bit glancing uncertainly at Dmitri. However his glance was probably overshadowed by the two bodies suddenly flinging themselves at the handler.

Erilena slipped through the door after them still balancing the tray. A slightly apologetic smile was offered her husband before she set the tray on the table. “We thought maybe you’d like some cocoa?” “And hugs.” Dileina added in a tone that made clear that even if her mother had forgot she sure hadn’t. Emitre simply nodded and grinned up at his father. “Momma made your cocoa special so we can’t have any. She said it’s only for grownups.” Erilena wrinkled her nose at her son. “Emit you little tattletale.” Turning towards Dmitri she made a face. “It’s just a splash of peppermint liquor. That’s it.” She had no desire to get her husband drunk but a little bit of something to relax him wouldn’t hurt. Besides Dmitri usually wasn’t much of a drinker and she knew that. A bit of wine every now and again sure but in all the turns she had known him she’d never once seen him drunk. Nor did she really have a desire to.

Leaning over Erilena kissed Dmitri’s temple, since the twins and Harper had him more or less surrounded. “Take your time. I’ll be here when you’re ready but that doesn’t mean you have to be alone right now.” She murmured quietly into his ear before kissing the top of that too and drawing back from him. "Ewwww Momma don't give him cooties!"