unknownseas | WEEK 5

That's three murders now - and this last trial got more than slightly out of hand. It looks like you might be in for another tough week... or at least, maybe that's just the refusal of this place to change too much. You lose Saturday again, but maybe six-day weeks are starting to feel normal by now. Who knows? The cycle of day and night continues apace, changing so little.

Speaking of change, though, there's a new area to look through, the biggest and most complex yet. And the end of one wing of the facility, from the looks of it - though you can probably guess where more areas might start to open up.

And speaking of opening up (segues!), this week if you're out particularly late, you might sometimes see Angel out and about! So hey, maybe change is on the horizon.

Just gotta hope it's a change for the better, don't you?

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to Week 5! Remember to turn in AC here, threads for regain coins here, and if you feel so inclined you can visit Angel's office hours over here! Or, if you want Angel to come to you, that's now an option! Simply put a prompt after lights-out into your toplevel and indicate you want Angel in the subject line, same as investigations! ]

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Huh? Oh. ...That thing had your whole wallet...? Professor, you twisted son of a...

[ Well, this is highly preferable to a confusing watermelon conversation! ]

Sure. Let me at 'em.

[Nira grins happily and flips it open, pointing at one photo showing the whole family gathered. There's Nira, with Aria by her side, and a tall redheaded man standing next to her who's likely her husband. Though...only the twins really resemble them, having Jake's hair and Nira's eyes. The rest definitely look quite distinctive as Nira points them out.]

So that's Cinder, my oldest-[A young man with dark blue-black hair and orange-red eyes]-Adam, I told you about him before-[A teen, his skin is light, and while not as pale as Nira's does look more naturally light than hers, and he also has light blue hair and eyes]-Helen and Pompeii, my twins-[As mentioned before, they're standing next to each other with similar grins]-Glow, my youngest-[A little girl with dark skin and fluffy white hair, and is grinning and waving at the camera]-Thor, my little spark-[A blond preteen who's grinning and waving at the camera, there looks to be a bit of electricity sparking between his fingers]-and Etna in the back. He's still a bit camera-shy. [His skin tone also looks somewhat darker than Nira and Jake's, and he also has blond hair that has a strange feathery texture to it, which actually rises into curls at the end. It's hard to see, but he also looks to have wings instead of arms and talons instead of legs. There's a strange creature curled up at his feet as well.]

[ The kids fascinate her, particularly the abnormalities (the electricity, the wings) but really, if Nira wants to explain about that, she will. What most captivates her is the happy family photo. So many... ]

They're beautiful... And such a range. It must be so different, raising kids of all different ages.

[Well, if Della just accepts it, Nira won't explain specifically, though she will allude to it more.] It's certainly an experience. Cinder was actually older than the twins when he first came to stay with us-but he's managed to maintain that oldest position after that. And he's been a really good big brother to the younger kids.

How old was he? When you first...became his mom?

[ She's no stranger to nontraditional families. ]

Well...he was fourteen when he came to live with us, but at the time that was more of a foster family situation. Jake and I had been fostering other, younger, Fire elementalist kids for a while by then, but with him...something just clicked. It took a longer time for the adoption to be finalized, but I like to think I became his mom the day he referred to me as that.

That's older than any of my boys... Uh. Okay, I'll come back to something, but- what's it like, raising teenagers? Before too long, mine are gonna be hitting that age.

[She sighs, but it's a fond sigh.] Every day's going to be different. They're...well, growing into adulthood, but not all the way there yet, and trying to deal with all the emotions that implies. Some days they want to show off their independence, some days they'll cling to you to be reassured that you're still their mom. You have to give them space when they want it and affection when they need it, and it can be hard to tell the difference sometimes.

Oh, and a lot of mine got way more into trying to prank us parents and older kids, but I think that was just Jake's influence in particular.

...Pranking is probably likely, yeah.

[ There's a sort of...sad smile on Della's face. It's- okay, not super sad, but it's soft and it's wistful and she's deep in her thoughts about something. ]

I guess I'll just have to take things one day at a time. With those boys... I'm sure I'll have my work cut out for me.

[Nira smiles back, similarly soft.] Sounds like it. But it sounds like you love them a lot too, and I'm sure they'll be able to tell you're trying hard.

I... I do. I love them more than anything.

Yeah. Don't ever forget that. And don't forget that whatever they might say, they love you too.

I know. ...I very much know.

[Nira smile warmly for a while, before brightening up.] So, tell me more about your kids? What kind of things do they get up to together?

Well... We're all sort of a family of adventurers. Anything weird or wild, you can bet the kids are interested in it.

Your brother and uncle too?

Yeah! Well... Donald's a bit more cautious nowadays. Okay, he was always more cautious. But it's how our family works.

Well, it's probably good to have the occasional cautious perspective on things. Long as he doesn't get too obsessed with keeping everyone completely safe.

...He's... [ Della realizes very staunchly that she knows more about what her brother's gotten up to from stories of the last ten years than talking to him herself. It gives her pause. ] ...He has his reasons.

I suppose he does. Especially now that he's got three nephews to look out for too.

Yeah... Yeah, he's always real great with the boys.

[Well, Nira notices the awkwardness in that response.]

...are you alright, Della?

Yeah. I- [ She shakes her head, not to contradict herself but to clear it. ] I've just got a lot on my mind right now, Nira. It's fine.

Alright. [Nira won't press if she doesn't want to talk, but she does extend an arm slightly, offering a potential hug.]

[ Della manages a small smile. A hug is a little weird, a little awkward, for sure. But, she takes a step closer and accepts it. She's...tired. That much is clear. ]

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