Fantasy The Illustrious Estate of Lord Solberg v3 - In Character

[Midnight Paragon]

Julius reflected mentally on the state of all his siblings at that point. Darling, the the brother closest to him in age who hated being called that, was nowhere to be found; more than likely causing chaos since Julius was not around to reign him in. Isaac, the money hungry business junkie, was currently at breakfast with his third eldest sibling, Cecilia, who, as he recalled, was shouting some nonsense at him as he left; truth be told, he wasnt really listening. The fourth sibling....well, he didnt actually have a clue as to where she'd be right now. The garden? Most likely, if Damien hadn't shooed her out already. And then Genevieve, who Julius would have expected to have just been off reading somewhere, was here with him, asking him to allay her fears. He started to wonder if any of them would really even notice if he was gone; if he had just gone through with the plan without telling anyone, would they even notice his absence? Would they bother checking?

His mind was searching for an answer when he felt a weight latch itself upon his arm, causing him to snap out of it. But to his great surprise, it was...Genevieve grasping onto his arm. She questioned who, if he was gone, would watch over his other siblings, gripping tightly to his arm. Now this was a rare occurrence; even as a smaller girl, Genevieve never really did much in terms of expressing her emotion. And yet, here she was, her face a bright red as she stared down at the ground. Julius smiled; a real smile, not a forced one. He chuckled as he gently used his other arm to lift her up and set her upon his knee. "You know," he began, "I remember, back when you were even younger than now, when you used to watch us do stupid things, and after we did them, unsurprisingly hurting ourselves in the process, you told us that was a stupid thing to do. Could barely talk, and yet you still had the gall to point that out to us." He recalled, tapping her on the nose as if to reenact her pointing at them. "But after that, when you saw us doing more stupid things, you would always tell us before that 'That's a bad idea.' And you know what? You still do that to this day, usually to me or Cecilia, but you still do. I'd say, with you around to watch them, your siblings couldnt be in better hands." He said with a smile, the wind picking up some and blowing bits of their hair around.

"And that's what being part of a family is about, love. You watch their back, they watch yours. Give and take. You're the only person I trust enough to keep those goofballs in line, just as I trust they'll keep you safe as can be from any kind of harm. Understand? When I'm with Robert, I'm counting on you to make sure they dont get any more 'bad ideas'. Alright?" He asked her with a quiet laugh, one of his hands absentmindedly running itself through her hair, just like Mother and Father would do whenever they had a moment like this with the siblings. Julius gave her a soft smile as he looked down to the girl on his lap, the biting wind still blowing around them.

Mentions: Jinx of Chaos

 

[Jinx of Chaos]

Genevieve​

~ ~ ~​

The girl had already thought about hundreds of ways to end the hug but none of them sounded like a good idea. Thankfully she didn't need to do anything herself as she felt a hand scoop her up and place her on a knee. Slowly, as Julius spoke, she lifted her head up to look at him. Occassionally she nodded at him while he talked, to signal him that she was listening. As Genevieve thought about it, she felt that nothing could be done about her brothers plan. Besides, usually when Julius set his mind on something, it wasn't easy to change it. The least she could do was to not be a downer before he was to leave.
- Alright. She muttered, nodding slowly. His words made her feel much better, although him leaving still made her sad. She of course knew she could get by without him, because she wasn't alone and she had other siblings, but every member of the family was important to Genevieve, and if any of them were to be gone for a long period of time, she would start to wish they were back already no matter how used she was to the situation. The girl shook her head a little, leaving the thoughts behind as she did not want to "burden" Julius any more - it definitely wasn't going to help the situation if she was to blabber about her feelings or even worse, hug him again.
- Julius. She started, looking deep in her brother eyes. And while doing so, she suddenly felt very calm - whenever he wasn't experimenting or being crazy, he was very relaxing to be around. She would miss him, but maybe he could emerge from the goo hundred years from now and wonder where all his servants went. This thought was rather amusing to Genevieve, as she imagined her brother being all confused and slimy.
- Your idea is bad. In fact, it is also horrible, stupid, idiotic and insane. She frowned as she often would do when telling her siblings her opinion on their stupid idea. The frown, however, quickly turned into a little smile and Genevieve even let out a giggle as she slid down from his knee. Deep inside she also knew, and hoped, that others - brothers, sisters and staff - wouldn't let Julius off the hook as easily.

~ ~ ~

Midnight Paragon ​

 

[LadyLuckTakeTheWheel]

Klarion appeared seemingly out of nowhere, he rested his hands ontop of one another behind his back. No matter how composed his posture seemed, his face said otherwise. His red eyes slashed into Julius, nostrils flaring. His mouth was twisted into a scowl and his left eye was twitching. He seemed to be out of breath despite not running anywhere. "Dearest brother," He spat, his teeth gritted so tightly he could barely speak, "If your antics continue I may lose it completely." His shock red hair was unkempt and messy. He seemingly had just rolled out of bed, "One would think that running down the halls screaming is a symptom of madness. Are you mad, brother?" He clenched his hands into fists, "Because I certainly am!" He shouted this next part into his brother's face. He was so worked up, his hands started to crackle with tiny explosions. He had put up with his siblings for so long and could not see why Julius had been left in charge. Sure, he was the eldest but Klarion saw himself as more mature and collected than him. He always saw himself as the superior sibling and could never understand why Julius got the praise he did. He had to physically hold himself back from throwing Julius off the balcony. He had worked himself up into such a fit of rage, he had trouble standing still. He twitched and tapped his foot so hard and fast that it hurt. It was almost comical. His eyes looked as if they were on fire. Those ruby eyes looked as though they were the gates of hell, ready to unleash satan's power onto the man standing before him.

His ruby eyes landed on Genevieve and his face softened. He instantly cooled off. He hated scaring his younger sibling. "Tell me dear sister that I am not alone in my thinking!"

Talking to: Jinx of Chaos Midnight Paragon

 

[Midnight Paragon]

The silver haired dramatic was glad that he seemed to be getting through to her, and she seemed to be slightly less sad than before. That was good; Julius always had trouble being a "big brother" to them in situations like these. Mother and Father were always the ones to spout wisdom and teach them lessons about life and whatnot. Julius...well he wasnt exactly a fountain of knowledge for this kind of thing. But seeing that smile as she looked into his eyes made him feel...content. He had done his job; and Genny was a strong girl. She would be fine. It warmed his heart just thinking of it.

Unfortunately, his heart went from warm to being pierced by an arrow as she told him, completely deadpan, that his idea was stupid, hopping off of his knee. He didnt move his head; he simply stared at the space where she had been as he felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. "Yeah, okay." He whispered, a hand going over to his heart as if he was trying to hide the mess inside. But before he could really do anything about it, Darling, the ghost that he was, seemingly popped out of nowhere and began to yell at Julius. Pretty normal behavior on his part, and Julius didnt flinch as Darling put his face right in front of his. "Good morning to you too, Darling. Now where have you been the last two days, hm? Terrorizing the poor maidens of London, I bet." He huffed, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair as Darling backed off. Julius clicked his tongue as he brought up their youngest sibling next to them and shook his head, quickly looking over to the girl. "Dont answer that, love." He said to her, and turned back to Darling. "Why arent you at breakfast, brother? I'm sure everyone else in the family would love to see you out and about." He said with a smile, crossing his legs as he did so.

Mentions: Jinx of Chaos L LadyLuckTakeTheWheel

 

[LadyLuckTakeTheWheel]

Klarion just stared at his brother, mouth hanging open slightly. He could never understand how Julius could bat away every one of his insults. He briskly went back inside and the sounds of crashing and screaming could be heard. He promptly went back outside, a massive grin on his face, "Oh you know me too well dearest brother." He ran a hand through his hair, which did little to tame his unruly curls, "I just wanted to check up on you before heading down to breakfast. All that ranting and raving gave me quite a shock!" He laughed, tightly. His voice was sickly sweet, "Speaking of which I'm actually off to breakfast now so I shall see you there!" He turned away from him and wrapped his arms around Genevieve. He sighed. "I'm sorry." He whispered in her ear, "I just can't handle your brother sometimes but I'm trying" He held her shoulders and looked at her, "Look after him okay? He doesn't trust me enough." He stood and straightened his waistcoat.

He climbed upon the edge of the balcony and somersaulted off. The icy wind whipped his crimson hair as he fell. He enjoyed the sensation of falling before he landed on a mattress that the servants were carrying into the manor. He hopped up, smirked at the bewildered servants and made his way inside. He had grown quite used to this practice since he never got hurt while doing so and he despised stairs.

Talking to: Jinx of Chaos Midnight Paragon

 

[Jinx of Chaos]

Genevieve​

~ ~ ~
​

As Klarion stepped in, Genevieve froze as she could just feel that he was angry - well, it wasn't a surprise but sometimes he was less aggressive. She looked as the two exchanged some words, wondering simultaneously if Julius was so crazy after all for wanting to leave. Because they, including herself, could sometimes be very unappreciative towards him. The girl found herself wishing that the ooze would just die away, so Julius wouldn't leave and there wouldn't be such a . Suddenly she had an idea, it would perhaps require some assistance from the others, and it would require Julius to stay a while. But then she also realized that nothing was stopping Julius from creating Robert II, and then he would no doubt be way faster to seal himself away.

Her train of thought stopped, as she saw Klarion looking at her. Her first reaction was to take a little step back, but once she saw him calming down a notch, it was safe to assume he wouldn't be yelling at her. The girl let out a little sigh as she heard the question, preparing to answer it, but before she was able to, Julius told her no. It caused a whole ordeal in her brain, as Genevieve tried to figure out which brother to listen to, and what truly was her opinion about this. However, she failed to sort her mind before Klarion already was heading off, telling her to look after Julius. The little girl was left confused why he said "your brother" - had he suddenly decided that Julius wasn't his brother anymore? It bugged her but she did not ask - it wasn't like she had any time to, anyway, seeing as Klarion jumped off the balcony like some kind of assassin or ninja.

Klarion's words made Genevieve truly consider her plan to get rid of Robert, but it would probably anger Julius. Besides, she would have to buy enough time to get the plan running. With a sigh, she sat down next to Julius again.
- When do you plan becoming goo-food, then? She asked, kicking her legs in the air slowly. If she got him to stay just a day or two, she could maybe pitch her idea to the others, and maybe even carry it out.

~ ~ ~

Midnight Paragon L LadyLuckTakeTheWheel ​

 

[LadyLuckTakeTheWheel]

Klarion made his way through the manor, opening doors and not bothering to close them. His steel heeled boots made a harsh clacking noise as he weaved through the rooms. He sighed. His anger had been getting worse recently. Maybe it was because mother and father had left. No matter what he did they always forgave him, that he would never understand. He had been trying to be nicer but the need to mess with peoples minds had become too overwhelming. He needed to break something. Hurt someone. But he knew Genevieve would never forgive him for that. For now he would have to resort to smashing vases. He opened the door to the dining room and waltzed inside, "Morning, rats." He slidled up to his chair and jumped into it. He was sitting sideways, his legs thrown over the armrest as he lazily grabbed an apple, "No-one's dead I presume." He mused, taking a bite of the apple, the juice dripping down his chin. The second eldest brother radiated rage but he was stifling it with all his might and acting as his usual, sarcastic, spiteful self.

 

[Benthelame]

Cecilia stared down at her plate. It was difficult to tell exactly how many helpings she'd had at this point. All she knew was that there was plenty of room in her stomach for more. It was somewhere between the next bite and a huge gulp of cider that she noticed the air had changed. It was as If every form of favor was collecting and swirling about a single entity for better or worse. An unnaturally wide grin appeared slowly but surely across Cecilia's face. " Are you here? Darling brother?" she muttered, clutching her sword once again. She watched as Klarion entered and proceed to ask if anyone was dead. "Just you if your luck has changed, " She declared, hurling her sword point first at his head.

 

[LadyLuckTakeTheWheel]

Klarion ducked and the sword slammed into a wine barrel, causing red wine to spray all over Cecilia, "My luck has not failed but your judgement sure has." A sly grin krept across his face, "Not even a drop of sweat from my brow and I have already bested you." He bit into his apple again and chuckled, "I think I felt one of my hairs severed though, you're getting better!" His face was that of amusement at his younger sister. He clicked his fingers and sent a ball of flame hurtling towards her.

 

[rivers and oceans]

Jasmine Asta - Housecook ​

Jasmine made sure everyone got the dish they asked for, including the specially requested cinnamon tea for Genevieve and cider for Cecilia. While the siblings began to quiral over Julius' new project he's created, something about Robert the slime consuming him, she pondered over the thought, I wonder what Robert would like to eat, I hope he isn't allergic to anything. It didn't take long before the argument only got more heated, Julius leaving the hall followed by Genevieve right after. Although the breakfast didn't turn out to be the happy little reunion she had hoped for, at last Genevieve was making sure her brother would be ok.

As Klarion made his way into the dining hall, the edgelord more rebellious one amongst his siblings, she was glad to see his face since he wasn't known to be much more eating together with family, "Hello Sir Klarion, I'm glad you've decided to join us. Was there anything you'd like to drink in particular? Today's meals are French, English, and Dutch." Just as she finished, Cecilia did not hesitate to throw her sword(yet again) towards another member of her family. Klarion ducked just in time before his untimely decapitation, unwisely mocking Cecilia in the moment after. Unluckily for Jasmine, she'd have to clean it up later but that was for later. As red wine sprayed over Cecilia, she could only imagine the hell that would soon breakloose. Making her way to Cecilia, she poured the young girl another glass of cider, making sure to add a calming effect over it.

 

[Benthelame]

Cecilia's eye widened briefly. She'd barely had time to react to Klarion's attack. The smell of fire flooded her nostrils as the fireball raced towards her. She managed to sidestep It just barely, though it singed her shirt as she did. It was settled. She would take a long drink from the glass of cider Jasmine poured and make Klarion bleed for every drop of wine soaked up by her shirt. She raised The glass to her lips and drank. "I'm going to...to....go change." She decided abruptly. It was a good thing she hadn't gotten dressed before breakfast. "Don't think you're off the hook though, brother."

 

[LadyLuckTakeTheWheel]

Klarion winked at her and smiled devilishly, "Oh I know dearest sister and I'll be waiting for my untimely demise!" He laughed and threw a glance at Jasmine, "Vodka please Jaz dearest." His lips curled into a smirk, "Oh and another apple please, this one tastes odd." He lit the fruit on fire and threw it after Cecilia, "Don't forget your sword, my dear!" He threw back his head and laughed. He was thoroughly enjoying himself more than usual.

Talking to: rivers and oceans
Thrown flaming apple at: Benthelame

 

[Midnight Paragon]

Julius watched Darling leave the balcony to go back inside for a total of ten seconds before stepping back out. He didnt miss the screaming and the temper tantrum he gave off while doing so, though; a signature of sorts for the redhead. Darling gave his brother a forced conversation, to which Julius held back laughter at, and watched nonchalantly as he took a dive off the railing. Sure enough, he was just fine; that was the thing about Darling. His power was odd, and he seemed to get extraordinary lucky whenever he did things like that. It scared the pants off of Julius when they were younger, but now, it was almost like second nature to him.

But he didnt miss the few seconds where he whispered something to Genevieve right before he leaped off. Now that was suspicious; either he was slandering Julius, or telling their sister some obscene thing. Either way, he was poisoning her mind, he was sure of it! His eyes narrowed as he watched his younger brother march away from the confused group of servants carrying an old mattress along; more than likely bringing the replacement up shortly after. Genevieve approached him again, taking a seat on the free chair next to him. She asked when he planned to feed himself to Robert. "Well, he needs to grow first. I can accelerate the process some, but...itll still take some time to get him to the size that I need. I'd say...in about four days." He said with a shrug, doing a bit of math in his head. He stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowing as he turned to look at Genevieve again, a hand going to his chin. "But you just said it was a bad idea. Why would you want to know that?" He asked, obviously suspicious of her intentions.

Mentions: Jinx of Chaos L LadyLuckTakeTheWheel

 

[Jinx of Chaos]

Genevieve

~ ~ ~
​

The answer was not what she expected in the slightest. Usually he either didnt notice her plans or care, but clearly she had raised suspicion. She didnt want to risk getting caught before her plan even got anywhere.
- I asked so I would know how long I could spend time with you. She crossed her arms and hopped down from the chair, before walking to the balcony doors. If she was to continue this conversation, she would surely get caught If Julius was to ask more questions.
- Please put your coat the right way and comb your hair, its a mess. Although I suppose it has its charm. She said before leaving through the balcony doors, and continued her way to the stables.

~ ~ ~

Midnight Paragon ​

 

[Benthelame]

Cecilia's eye narrowed and filled with anger but the effects of the cider were potent enough that she didn't attack. The apple was easy enough to dodge anyway; besides, he'd summed things up perfectly. Whether she liked it or not, Klarion had bested her. She pulled her sword from the wine barrel and retreated to her room. The past few days had been filled with truths and happenings that were more than difficult to digest.

This defeat was just another of them; one that was added to the preexisting issues of their absent parents, Lord Julius The Ball and worst of all, Robert. Something definitely needed to be done about that. But what? She stepped into her room and instinctively opened one of many drawers. It took no time at all to get dressed but sponging the red liquid from the empty socket in her head, was another matter entirely. Of all the things that the sword could have hit instead it had chosen something like that. The thought sent a chill down her spine-- a lasting and powerful one that faded only when her talisman took the place of the empty void.

 

[User]

Alannah - Benthelame
Alannah bolted upright. She clasped a hand over her mouth, stifling her panic. She wanted to run, but her body wouldn't move. Blood pounded in her ears and her vision disfigured, as if she was looking under water. It felt like she couldn't breath. No, she wasn't breathing. She couldn't think. She couldn't even process that she laid safely in her own garden, not inside her nightmares.

Her vision cleared. Alannah's eyes darted around the sanctuary of her garden. Her hands felt around - grasping the large, decorative stones, then brushed against the grass - as if making sure her surroundings were indeed real. After a moment, she stood up. She must've passed out in the garden after trying to water the rose bushes all at once. 'Stupid.' Alannah scolded herself. 'Such a foolish thing to try and do.'

With a small huff, the Solberg sibling brushed down her dress and hurried inside. She chose to ignore the nightmare. After all, she's had the very same one every night for the past week. It was pointless to worry about it. Still, despite her thoughts, Alannah found herself hurrying to enter the household, escaping the invisible shadows that followed her.

Alannah scurried up the stairs and headed towards her room. She needed a change of clothes. The left side of her dress was caked with dirt. While passing by, she noticed her eldest sister's door was open. She peered inside. "Cecilia? Do you know if Julius left his room ye-" Her eyes trailed down to the blood. She was filled with conflicting emotions and didn't know whether to ask 'Are you okay?' or 'Did you really get into a fight?' Alannah decided to ask a question that fit in the middle. "What happened?"

She approached the other and gently pressed a finger against the wound, checking to see if it was still bleeding. "You should call a maid to help tend to that."

 

[rivers and oceans]

Jasmine Asta - Housecook ​

Jasmine was happy to see that the cider was taking instant effect, allowing her to take some of the collateral damage that may have ensued if this back and fourth were to continue. Despite being almost 30, Klarion still had the sense of humor of a 10 year old boy, perhaps even worse than Julius too. However, she kept these thoughts to herself and bowed slightly as Cecilia left the dining hall before returning her attention onto Klarion. Upon hearing him address her as "Jaz," she simply looked at him for a few seconds with an expressionless face before nodding slightly and turning away to get what he wanted. As she poured him some vodka and an apple for him, she laced the vodka with the feeling of extremely guilt and the apple with slight embarrassment. While she was never fond of doing such tasks, seeing him treat his siblings the way he did for simply the fun of it really grinded her gears.

Returning from the kitchen, Jasmine placed his vodka and shinny red apple in front of him, "As you request Sir. Klarion."

L LadyLuckTakeTheWheel

 

[LadyLuckTakeTheWheel]

Klarion was about to take a sip when a ball from outside knocked the glass out of hand. A bird swooped down and snatched the apple. The red head rested his head on his hand, frowning at jasmine playfully, "What a coincidence." He chuckled. His power was not always used. It protected him from situations even Klarion didn't know about. This instantly set off alarm bells in the second eldests head, "Why it wouldn't happen that you laced my meal with feelings for the purpose of spite dearest Jaz?" He pretended to look shocked.

 

[Benthelame]

"It's just wine," Cecilia assured.,looking at Alannah ."Got in a fight with Klarion and barrel of the stuff ended up all over me," she explained. She laughed a little "Poor Jasmine is going to have quite a hard time getting it all out of the carpet. Anyhow, Julius has emerged from hiding. He even came to breakfast today with his latest invention." She paused a moment, noticing the large amounts of dirt that were clinging to Alannah's dress. There was only one explanation for the presence of dirt on one of the few siblings of the household that tried to demonstrate the utmost responsibility. "Did you fall asleep in the garden again?"

 

[rivers and oceans]

[IMG='width:200px;']https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ae/31/77/ae317713b522384af2e9daf668c045f4.png[/IMG] Jasmine Asta - Housecook ​

It was almost a shock when the ball came hurdling in and a random bird swooped the apple, except for the fact that it wasn't a shock at all. Jasmine had never been able to successfully attempt one of her feeling persusations on him, only ones that made him feel positive like happy or confident or of the sort but never any negative feelings. Jasmine let out of fake gasp, "Oh no," covering her mouth as if she hadn't expected a thing. "I would never such a thing, must've just been.. an unlucky coincidence." Speaking with a rather dramatic tone of voice, the other members of the house had started cleaning the plates as well as the wine on the floor, Jasmine giving Klarion a cheeky little smile, "Darn."

L LadyLuckTakeTheWheel

 

[User]

"It's just wine. Got in a fight with Klarion and barrel of the stuff ended up all over me."

Alannah bit her tongue, holding herself from cursing out her older brother's name in front of Cecilia. The edges of her mouth turned down in thought, "I see." She kept a mental note to scold Klarion next time she encountered him. "Poor Jasmine," Alannah agreed as she shook her head. It wasn't her job to, but somehow Alannah felt like Jasmine did a whole lot of putting up with her older brother.

"Julius has emerged from hiding. He even came to breakfast today with his latest invention."

"Julius came out?" Her eyes widened some. She expected him to throw a tantrum for at least another day or so. "I should go greet him then. Wait -Invention? Should I be worried?" Alannah could only imagine what sort of concoction her brother stirred up. Knowing him, it wouldn't be anything meant for wrongdoing - she hoped-, but she still wouldn't trust it.

"Did you fall asleep in the garden again?"

Alannah's ears grew hot. "Yes, by mistake." She admitted sheepishly and folded the dirtied side of her dress behind her back.

 

[LadyLuckTakeTheWheel]

Klarion leaned over the table looking her right in the eyes, "You'll never succeed,jaz my pretty," He whispered, voice smooth as silk, "You know why?" He grinned, "I'm untouchable." He got up from the table, his steel heeled boots clacking after him, "Goodbye, Jaz my sweet." He waved before slipping through the door.

 

[rivers and oceans]

[IMG='width:300px;']https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ae/31/77/ae317713b522384af2e9daf668c045f4.png[/IMG] Jasmine Asta - Housecook ​

Jasmine was slightly fluttered over the fact that he kept calling her "Jaz" as well as his cocky attitude, however it was not her place to speak out him. Instead of responding, she simply gave a slight bow as he exited the room, rolling her eye once he was a few paces away. The staff were beginning to clean up the plates in the dining hall, Jasmine doing her part by taking down the menu sign and closing the doors for until lunch later on. Lunch was more of an optional sit down sort of thing, people tended to come in for a to-go type of lunch and leaving to do their own activities. It was only dinner and breakfast that were usually meant to be for "family bonding" or at least try to. This morning was hectic, much more hectic than he had been in the while. Jasmine let out a sign before composing herself again and getting on with the rest of her day, she had a job to do after all.

 

[Benthelame]

"I thought so." Cecilia replied, She wondered why Damien hadn't said anything, but given how hectic the morning had been , she wasn't surprised. "As far as stupid ideas go, Julius has come up with the worst one yet. He calls it 'Robert' it's some sort of man-eating ooze he plans to be swallowed by. to trick Mother and Father into coming back," she explained. There weren't a whole lot of ways to make it sound any less ridiculous because that was precisely the word to describe such a hairbrained scheme. "It's going to slowly digest him for hundreds of years and keep him from aging."

 

[User]

"As far as stupid ideas go, Julius has come up with the worst one yet. He calls it 'Robert'. It's some sort of man-eating ooze he plans to be swallowed by to trick Mother and Father into coming back. It's going to slowly digest him for hundreds of years and keep him from aging."

Alannah is gone for one morning and this happens. "What?! Is he crazy?!" She exclaimed. "By god, he is a thirty year old man! He is the head of this household. How can even think about pulling such a childish stunt like that?" She pinched the bridge of her nose and took in a deep breath. She had hope that Julius would be able to man up after their parents disappeared and actually take things seriously, but it is clear to Alannah now that he wasn't fit to lead the house. "What if they don't come back? Is he just going to let himself slowly be digested?" She knew her sister didn't agree with her brother's idea, but she still couldn't help but rant to her.

A nervous laugh bubbled from Alannah, "Please tell me you guys are talking him out of this. Actually - where is he? I'll talk to him. I'll tell him how foolish of an idea this is."