#daragh peredur

[sustraiii]

TEAM KWTZ CHAPTER 12 - THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

The end.

KIERAN

A few days after the Grimm attack, Silbern slowly began to recover. This was not the first time the town had had to pick itself up and dust itself off. Past experiences had taught them the benefit of preparation and additional security measures, to be ready should anything like the Glatisant happen again. Kieran doubted that any of them suspected such an attack ever would happen again, but their vigilance and experiences dealing with smaller Grimm incursions leading up to the night had readied them for what was to come.

Although the recovery process had begun, it would take a while until Silbern was back to how it was. The worst damage had been done to the buildings in the town square, which Kieran later learnt from his sister had been badly damaged by the Strix that had attacked her. One of the outer walls and several residential buildings had been damaged as well, most of which had been caused by the hybrid Grimm. As those structures were essential to safety and shelter, the mayor had instructed those to be repaired first, before they turned their attention to the rest of the town.

One small relief to Kieran was that the number of deaths had remained low following the attack. After a week had passed, the number of deaths stayed at five, four people on the night - including Victor - and another man passed a day later from the wounds he sustained. As for those who had simply been injured, the number was much higher, and many of those injured were still sequestered inside Silbern's medical centre.

It was the medical centre that Kieran, his teammates, and Ruka, were heading to today, sent to collect his uncle Colin who was finally being released.

Kieran's father was supposed to have been the one collecting his uncle, but had decided to throw a small party in secret for his younger brother, so had managed to rope Ruka into helping instead. KWTZ, on the other hand, had not planned to tag along with Ruka to collect Colin but for some reason, the man had insisted on them coming.

Upon arriving, the five of them waited patiently at the front desk, until a frazzled nurse came to see them. Kieran noted that her uniform seemed to look like an Atlas military uniform.

"Can I help you?" She asked, looking at the group expectantly. Despite her obvious fatigue, her tone was cheerful.

"Yes, we're here to collect my uncle," Kieran explained. The nurse nodded and began to look over some files behind the desk, to which Kieran added, "His name is Colin Peredur."

"Ah, here he is," The nurse said, pulling out a file and opening up the file behind the desk. "I'll go let him know you're here and we can get him discharged."

With a smile, she set off down a corridor, nearly bumping into another doctor who was walking between rooms. They were not kept waiting long until the doctor reappeared, with Colin close behind. Although he was walking on his own, he had an obvious limp, thanks to the cast he had on his left foot.

Colin seemed surprised to see Ruka standing with KWTZ. "What are you doing here?" He would ask her once he and the nurse had reached the front desk.

"Nice to see you too," Ruka quipped sarcastically. She chuckled before answering him properly. "I'm here covering for your brother. He wanted to be here but got called to the Fleece. Some sort of emergency I believe."

It was a rehearsed answer but hearing it out loud, Kieran had to admit it wasn't the most convincing lie. Colin certainly didn't seem entirely convinced based on the expression on his face but he was kind enough not to pry any further. The nurse got through his paperwork efficiently and had just finished signing him out when he asked if he could borrow the nurse for a second.

She raised a brow before shrugging and following him back down the corridor from which he had come.

"Do you know what that's about?" Ruka asked.

Wyn shrugged. "Your guess is as good as ours."

They would get their answer soon enough when Colin and the nurse returned, with Colin pushing Meredith in a wheelchair. Kieran had to admit he was surprised to see the Chartreuse woman. After the night of the attack, he had heard little of her condition, though he could at least figure out she had not died as her name had not been added to the list of those who had passed in the days that followed. 

When the three of them stopped in front of the group, Kieran could clearly see that Meredith looked exhausted, and understandably so given what had happened to her. Her skin was notably pale, she had prominent dark shadows under her eyes, and her hair framed her face in limp waves. She also had an IV drip in her hand. But despite everything, her green eyes were bright and full of life, and she mustered up a weak smile for KWTZ.

“It is good to see you looking so well,” Lin commented, becoming the first of the team to return the woman’s greeting.

“I have a long way to recover yet, but thank you for your kind words,” Meredith responded with a strained voice. 

After a moment passed, Colin spoke up. “She should still be resting but was insistent on speaking with you today when she learnt I was being discharged,” He explained.

Kieran raised a brow and looked back at Meredith, who looked to one side at the increase in attention on her.

“I wanted to apologise to all of you,” Meredith explained, twirling her fingers anxiously in her lap.

“Apologise for what?” Tilia asked.

“For Victor…and for what happened with the Grimm,” Meredith responded, her voice faltering as she spoke.

“Don’t be silly! You don’t have to apologise for that!” Tilia responded bluntly, a sentiment which was clearly shared by the rest of KWTZ by how quickly they nodded their heads in agreement. “You’re not the one who made that Grimm and intended on releasing it on innocent civilians.”

“Whilst that is true, I cannot help but feel as though I had a small part in things that transpired,” Meredith sighed. “If I had not been so blind to the machinations within my own house then perhaps Victor could have been stopped sooner. Perhaps five people would not have died.”

Kieran shifted uncomfortably on the spot. The situation with Victor was a difficult one for him to process still; knowing that Victor, and by extension Sylvester, had caused his mother’s death still weighed heavily on him. Whilst he personally felt no great loss from the passing and the sudden disfavour of their family, he did feel a great deal of empathy for Meredith, who had not known of their schemes and now found herself shouldering the guilt of their actions.

"It will do you no good to carry that guilt with you forever," Kieran said after a long moment. He had emitted a long sigh before speaking, and had clenched his fists, almost as though psyching himself up to talk. "What your father and cousin did was awful, truly awful. But they and they alone are responsible for the pain and losses our town has felt. I am sorry the way people now look at you, as the surviving member of your family, with hate and blame in their eyes. My only hope is that your past actions and how you will carry yourself moving forward will go a long way to prove you are a far better person than they ever were."

He was aware of Meredith watching him intently the entire time he spoke and once he finished, she smiled at him and appeared on the verge of tears.

"Thank you, Kieran. That means a lot."

Kieran gave her a small smile of reassurance. "Think nothing of it, Meredith. Just focus on getting better now, alright?"

Meredith chuckled faintly. "I'll try."

"You better," Colin said. Meredith turned her head to look up at him, and he rested a hand on her shoulder. "You still owe a dance."

**

After speaking with Meredith, Colin, Ruka, and KWTZ made their way back to the Peredur home. Although they had a party to get back to, they kept a leisurely pace so as not to push Colin too hard with his limp.

"So, Philippa really turned up?" Colin asked Ruka as they walked, referencing his last teammate who had turned up in the days following the Grimm attack.

"Oh yeah she was on her way here from Kryal," Ruka began to explain. "She didn't really know anything about how things had gotten here due to the CCT being down, so you can imagine her surprise when she arrived."

Colin chuckled. "Oh, I can imagine it alright. I bet there were a couple of swear words involved, yes?"

Ruka smirked back at him. "You know us too well, Colin."

"That tends to happen when I get stuck with you lot for ten years," Colin teased, bumping her arm. When they had finished joking with each other, he looked over his shoulder at KWTZ. "Have you all met Philippa yet?"

"Yeah, she nearly put Wyn through a table, it was great!" Tilia guffawed.

If Wyn was hurt by that comment he didn't show it. "I gave her a good run for her money though you have to admit."

Kieran smirked. "Wyn she didn't even use her semblance. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you had no chance."

A round of laughter erupted from his teammates and uncle and whilst Wyn initially pouted, he too was quick to join in the laughter. When the moment had passed, the group continued on their way until they made it back to the Peredur home. 

As per they had hoped, Colin knew little of the little get together which awaited him, and was genuinely taken aback when he discovered so many people waiting inside to welcome him home.

The first to greet him was Daragh, who came away from a group of people he was speaking with to welcome his brother home. He embraced him tenderly before pulling away and holding him at arm's length. "It is good to see you well, brother," Daragh smiled.

"As it is you, Daragh," Colin echoed, returning the smile.

Daragh waved a hand and pulled away. "My injuries were hardly anything of note compared to yours. But I appreciate the sentiment regardless." The Peredur patriarch patted his brother on the shoulder and then made a gesture somewhere behind him. "Come, enjoy your party! There are many who came to see you."

And Kieran's father was not wrong. As Colin went off to meet several of the party guests, Kieran made note of who had come to celebrate. It wasn't as large as the celebration at the Golden Fleece a few days back, but given recent events, it was a surprisingly good turnout. He could see Esmerelda Aveleira enjoying drinks with her father and a few friends in a corner, her mother, Lavendin, was standing not far from the rest of her family involved in a lengthy conversation with Ruka's husband, who hung onto the mayor's every word. Ruka eventually came over to join her husband, taking her son from him, and then taking him with her as she met up with Colin and Philippa.

Philippa made a cooing sound when she saw the young boy, quickly scooping him up in her arms and bouncing him on her hip. From where Kieran was standing he could hear Philippa making some teasing remarks about Colin to the toddler, who seemed more interested in trying to chew one of her plaits rather than listen to her joke. Afterwards, she said a few warm words to Colin in a quieter voice, clearly relieved to see her teammate doing better.

A more surprising guest - or rather guests - were three members of the Rutland family. Cheren's wife, his son, Ascelin, and one of his elder children, a daughter who linked arms with her mother in quiet conversation. Whilst Ascelin was currently speaking with a group of people, it seemed that most people kept away from the Rutlands, either that or they were the ones keeping from the other guests. By now it was well known that Cheren Rutland had been involved with Victor and so it seemed many had taken to avoiding the rest of his family.

Kieran felt a little bad for the pair of them and decided to come over and say something to them.

Pulling away from the rest of his teammates, Kieran stepped toward the two women. "Hello, Amalthea. Cassia." He bowed his head in greeting. "I'm glad you could make it."

Cassia Rutland returned the greeting with a gentle smile, and after a moment so did Amalthea. "I'm not sure everyone else appreciates us being here," Amalthea commented, pursing her lips afterwards. Well, that confirmed Kieran's suspicions about the other guests avoiding them.

"Cheren made an honest mistake," Kieran said. "Victor Chartreuse never told him the truth of what his plans were, nor what he was working on the entire time. Truthfully, I don't know Cheren very well, but from little I do know about his character he seems like a good man at heart. I doubt he would have worked for him if he knew the truth."

"My husband was a veteran huntsman of nearly forty years. He should have known better instead of blindly trusting Victor's word," Amalthea said with a heavy sigh. Her expression softened ever so slightly. "He struggled after his accident, you know. He had to be mindful of what jobs he could do and he could no longer keep up with the younger huntsmen and huntresses. Cheren would never have admitted it, he was too prideful in that regard, but he believed he had fallen out of favour with everyone after his accident. Why choose someone like him to do a mission when there was someone more fit and healthy waiting to take over? Whilst I'm not making excuses, I can see why Victor's job offer enticed him so easily."

Kieran gave her a sympathetic look. "Cheren fought well when the Grimm attacked the town. He was willing to pull his weight and help out. If not for him, who knows, maybe more would have been injured or worse."

"It is kind of you to say that, Kieran," Amalthea said. "So many others have looked coldly on us tonight and the days that followed the Grimm attack. There is still a long way to go in order for him to make up for his involvement, but I appreciate that there's someone who recognises and appreciates his contribution on that night."

With a final look between them, Kieran took his leave from Amalthea and her daughter. It hadn’t been necessary for him to go and speak with the two women but he felt good for having said his piece. Whatever complicated feelings he held towards Cheren and his involvement with Victor did not deserve to extend to the rest of the Rutland family.

After mingling with the rest of the party guests for a while, Kieran decided he needed some air. He left Tilia and Wyn regaling a group of people with a story from their time at the academy. Kieran lingered long enough to hear Wyn about to launch into an animated joke, quietly taking his leave through a back door. He stepped out onto a smooth patio, with a garden table and chairs in one corner and a covered up barbeque in the other. There were steps that led down to the rest of the garden and Kieran decided to sit down on one of them for now, looking out at the neatly tended garden.

He hadn't been out there long when he heard the back door slide open.

"Kieran?"

"I'm just here, Lin," Kieran said, waving her over without looking back. He heard the click of her heels against the patio surface as she came over to join him.

"Are you alright?" She asked. Kieran didn't miss the concern in her voice.

He looked up and gave her a warm smile. "I'm fine," He assured her.

Lin pulled a face, looking unconvinced. "Are you sure? You stepped out rather suddenly. One minute you were listening to Wyn and Tilia's jokes and then when I next looked you had slipped away."

"I just needed some air," Kieran explained. He reached up and gripped one of Lin's hands, giving it a comforting squeeze. "But I'm fine honestly. Thank you for checking up on me."

Still holding his hand, Lin stepped down and took a seat next him. She was still holding his hand as she leaned into his shoulder.

“It was kind of you to speak with Cheren’s wife and daughter,” She told him.

He smiled softly to himself. “It felt right to say something to them, especially considering how everyone else has started treating them as of late.”

“I think given your involvement with what happened, your words will mean a lot to them.”

Kieran sighed softly. “I hope it does,” He said, before gently resting his head against Lin’s. They sat there quietly for a few moments before he spoke again. “This feels nice.”

Lin let out a contented sigh. “I can think of a few nicer places, but I agree.”

Kieran felt the heat rise in his cheeks before he chuckled at his girlfriend’s words. “At least now that matters here have been resolved, we’ll all be able to get some much needed rest.”

“Mhm, it would be good to have a few days to ourselves at least,” Lin said.

“Only a few?” Kieran pressed, a faint smirk on his lips.

Lin pulled away from him a moment to give him a knowing glance. “Kieran, if the time we’ve spent here has taught me anything, it’s that you Peredurs simply can’t help yourselves when it comes to helping others or getting involved in potentially life-threatening missions.”

Kieran inclined his head to one side. “And does that bother you?” He teased lightly.

“It makes me worry about you a lot more,” Lin answered. She paused briefly to cup his face in her hands, steadily moving it closer to her own. “But I love you all the more for it.”

Lin pulled him closer to her and the two enjoyed a passionate kiss. When they pulled away at last, the two continued to sit, hand in hand, looking out over the garden. Kieran was not long how long they stayed out there for, lost in each other, and lost in the quiet but the two of them eventually found their way back inside. Reunited with their teammates, their friends, and the rest of Kieran’s family the two of them enjoyed the celebrations long into the night. And when the party finally came to a close, KWTZ could look forward to the rest they had had initially come looking for.

[sustraiii]

TEAM KWTZ CHAPTER 5: HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS

After dealing with the Prowlers and making it safely through the woods Team KWTZ finally arrives at their destination of Silbern. A long-awaited family reunion occurs.

WYN

Following the surprise attack from the Prowlers, the group continued forward on their journey to Silbern. It seemed unlikely another Grimm would attack them but regardless Wyn was glad for the presence of Colin Peredur who had offered to accompany them back to the town. It was good to have him as a sort of reassurance of safe passage into the town.

As they continued to walk and draw closer to Silbern the ground started to incline upwards and the trees began to thin out. Wyn could spot cliffs in the distance, just beginning to peek out from behind the trees. It didn’t take much longer after that for Silbern to appear as well, the stone walls that shielded it, standing out rather notably from the lush greenery in the surrounding area. The walls appeared sturdy enough though Wyn noted they weren’t particularly tall. They would have repelled most Grimm at the very least though would struggle if anything close to the size of a Bayard approached.  The tallest part of the wall was actually the gate that housed three turrets and was currently watched over by a lone human sentinel. When they saw the group approach, Colin waved up at them and the gesture was quickly returned.

“Hi, Colin, who are your friends?” The sentinel -  a young woman who couldn’t have been much older than KWTZ - shouted down.

“Hello, Esmerelda,” Colin returned her greeting. “This is my niece and nephew and their teammates. We had a bit of a nasty run-in with some Prowlers back there. Do you mind letting us in?”

“Not at all! Just give me a moment or two and I’ll have the gate open for you!”

Sure enough, moments later a mechanical whir kicked in and the gates opened wide enough for the seven of them to get inside, closing once they had stepped through. A moment later footsteps could be heard echoing from a staircase off to the side before Esmerelda appeared, panting slightly from having most likely run down a whole flight of stairs with some speed. Colin left the group momentarily to speak with Esmerelda. They were too far away for any of the group to make out what was said between them, but when they concluded their conversation, Esmerelda returned upstairs with a smile on her face. Turning back to the group Colin gestured for them to follow.

"What was that all about?" Kieran asked as the group followed after Colin.

"I asked about how long she was on wall duty for," Colin explained as the group continued to walk forward. "Mayor Lavendin is wary about letting her take up certain missions right now so she's kept her on wall duty the past few days. Once we've cleared up things here, I offered to take her off the wall for the rest of the day."

"Why is the mayor so protective over her in particular?" Wyn asked the older huntsman. To him, it seemed a little odd for her to be so protected.

"Mayor Lavendin is Esmerelda's mother," Colin explained. “She has always been quite protective of her after she lost her son a few years ago. The increase in Grimm has only served to worsen her paranoia. On one hand, I understand where the fear comes from but I also know Esmerelda will never get the experience she needs to progress as a huntress if her mother is always holding her back."

Wyn nodded his head in understanding. He could see where the mayor was coming from with her protectiveness but he could also agree with Colin's point of Esmerelda not getting any experience if she kept getting held back. It made him think about how he could have so easily gone through a similar situation in his youth after he lost his parents. It made him thankful that the Allaways had not shielded him in such a manner after his parents had disappeared; not that life in Benibara would have allowed them such a luxury.

The more Wyn saw of Silbern, the more it reminded him of his home. Silbern was more modernised than Benibara was but the sense of community and the incorporation of the natural landscape into the town felt very reminiscent of his own home. 

Colin led the group to a large building in the centre of town. Surrounded by other commercial buildings and a colourful outdoor market, this was clearly a hub of activity. It was hard for Wyn to make out what kind of place it was that Colin had taken them to. The outside of the building made it appear more stately and official, but a sign above proudly declared it as “The Golden Fleece” with a wide variety of food and beverages available five days a week.

“I hope they don’t try and fleece us,” Wyn started to chuckle upon seeing the sign.

“What are you on about?” Tilia asked, raising a brow.

“Get it - because the place is called ‘The Golden Fleece’.” Wyn made an exaggerated sigh. “Oh, my humour is wasted on all of you.”

"I got the joke, it just wasn't funny," Tilia told him.

Wyn started to pout and she leaned over to pat him sympathetically on the arm. "Don't worry Winifred, I'm sure there's someone out there who will appreciate your lame jokes."

"You didn't think they were lame when I told you that joke about Professor Port," Wyn pointed out, nudging her in a playful manner with his elbow. In fact, if he remembered correctly, she had creased over laughing from that joke, earning some disapproving looks from the man in question whose lesson they'd been in at the time.

Wyn pulled another face before going silent. It was Lin who spoke next, directing a question towards Colin. "So what is this place exactly?"

"As you can see by the sign above it was a restaurant first. After a few years, they redesigned the interior to include a small hotel and then they eventually moved the local mission boards for the area here too. Oh, and you can find Mayor Lavendin's office here too."

"Bit of a hodgepodge then," Tilia said.

Colin's lips twitched into a smile. "Pretty much," He conceded. "When you've lived here all your life you get used to it though."

"Don't worry, not all of the buildings are like that," Kieran assured them.

"Since I need to update my mission, do you two want to go ahead and lead everyone home?" Colin prompted, looking at his niece and nephew.

"Are you sure? We don't mind waiting," Roisin responded in a quiet tone.

Colin nodded. "No, go on ahead. I've got to take Esmerelda off duty anyway so I doubt you'll want to wait around for me for the entire day." Colin touched his niece on her shoulder. "Just let your dad know I'll be home late, okay?"

With one final nod from Roisin, the group and Colin went their separate ways for now. Kieran took the lead now, heading west from the town centre, as opposed to the southerly direction from which they had approached. Wyn noted it did not take long for the buildings to gradually become more residential. Despite the looming threat of Grimm, the residents of Silbern seemed in high spirits. As they walked Wyn watched couples enjoying a leisurely walk through the streets, neighbours chatting together outside their homes, and children playing happily in the streets. One group of children kicked a ball in their direction and shouted for it to be returned, hooting and hollering when Wyn responded to their request by kicking it back.

It didn't take much longer for them to arrive at the Peredur's home, Kieran pointing it out once they were within sight of it. It was a large detached house encircled by a wooden veranda. There was a neat well maintained garden out front, with pretty seasonal flowers in bloom in flowerbeds on either side of the path leading up to the front of the house.

As they walked up to the front door, Kieran and Roisin stepped up to the front and knocked the door together. There appeared to be an unspoken agreement amongst the rest of the group as they lingered behind the two of them.

It took a few moments but a voice behind the door called out to say they were on their way before it promptly opened.

"Hello?" 

The man who answered the door was certainly not who Wyn had expected. Surely this can’t be Kieran and Roisin’s dad?

Colin Peredur had been of a similar height to his niece and nephew, but Daragh Peredur was taller, much taller. In fact, the man was a veritable giant. He had the same dark hair and eyes as his brother and a neatly groomed beard speckled with grey. He was so tall had to duck to fit through the door. Once outside he spread his arms wide, easily enveloping both of his children in a warm hug.

"I'm so glad that the two of you are alright," He said, breathing a sigh of relief. 

All three seemed reluctant to part from each other and even when they did so Daragh looked as though he might rush back to their side if given the chance. His attention turned to the rest of the group who had held back whilst Kieran and Roisin reunited with their father, and a wide smile formed on his face. "You must be their teammates?" Daragh waited for a nod of confirmation from the group before coming forward to shake their hands and say a proper hello. "Please come inside," He said, gesturing to the front door behind him. "Our home is always open to friends of the family."

The group didn't need telling twice for Kieran and Roisin to lead them inside, Daragh following behind them so he could close the door. The man ushered them into a living room and insisted they made themselves comfortable, before whisking away the things they had brought with them upstairs. For much of the afternoon and evening, Daragh flitted between rooms as he kept them entertained. He was quick to provide them with refreshments once they had settled and sat down with them for a little while to discuss the journey they had undertaken to get to Silbern. After a while he excused himself to make a start on dinner, asking if any of the group had any preferences, to which Wyn answered that he adhered to a pescatarian diet.

It took around two hours for Daragh to finish cooking, during which he permitted the group to have a look around the house if they wished to do so. Wyn considered taking up his offer, but was content with enjoying a rest like the rest of the group after the journey here. Shortly before Daragh dished up, Colin returned from covering Esmerelda's shift on the wall. He briefly poked his head into the living room to say hello to the group before disappearing into the kitchen where he could be heard speaking with his brother, though it was difficult to make out what was being discussed from within the living room. Not long after, the two brothers summoned them into the dining room, where they were laying out quite the spread of food for the group.

"Sorry, it's not much," Daragh quickly apologised when the group stepped into the room. Wyn noted that he seemed almost embarrassed by this supposed lack of food. "This was the best I could do on such short notice."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say this is more than enough," Lin said, giving the Peredur patriarch a grateful smile.

Compared to recent meals they had enjoyed in recent weeks, this was a veritable feast. In the middle of the table were two plates of meat, one that had the meat cooked rare and the other cooked medium to well done. Both plates of meat were surrounded by bowls of steamed mixed vegetables, and a larger bowl of creamy mashed potatoes. For Wyn, Daragh had already put some food on a plate for him, explaining that he had made a fish pie for him as per his dietary requirements, but he was welcome to help himself to extra vegetables or more of the potatoes if he wanted to.

Wyn helped himself to some peas and carrots before settling down to enjoy his meal, the rest of the group picking at the food around him. Once most of them had sat down and were beginning to eat, Daragh excused himself briefly to grab more drinks for them, and brought in a can of cider for his brother.

The dinner was delicious and Wyn ate it so voraciously that found himself going in for a second plate once he had given some time for the first plate to go down.

"Easy there, son," Daragh advised, giving a little chuckle. "Keep eating like that and you won't leave yourself any room for the pie I have warming in the oven for dessert."

Tilia snorted with laughter from the opposite side of the table. “Oh there’s nothing to worry about Mr Peredur,” Tilia assured him once her laughter had subsided. “I once saw Wyn eat enough food it could have fed at least five people.”

Wyn rolled his eyes. “Stop making me sound like such a pig, Tilly.”

“Well if the shoe fits.” She countered with a wink.

After poking fun at Wyn's eating habits, Tilia went back to her meal, and Wyn finished up his own. Although he had been quick to get himself a second plate, he found himself unable to finish it entirely, suddenly hit by a bloated sensation that prevented him from eating any further lest he wanted to cause himself more discomfort.

With a lull in conversation all around, Wyn found his attention drawn to Lin, who having finished her own meal, was looking at the wall behind Kieran and Roisin. It was covered in numerous family photographs, several of which had a much younger Kieran and Roisin in. There was only one subject that featured more often than the twins did, a pretty blue haired woman with more than a passing resemblance to the twins. The largest of all of these photographs was an image of the woman, holding a much younger Kieran and Roisin on her lap. Whilst the twins focus seemed elsewhere in the picture, she was staring directly at the camera, smiling happily.

“Is that Kieran’s mother?” Lin asked, gesturing to a picture in question.

“That’s Lucerne, yeah,” Colin answered with a smile, turning his head to look at the picture of her on the wall. Wyn also turned his head to admire the picture. She had been a beautiful woman, that much was plain to see. The same blue hair she shared with her children fell in loose waves over her shoulder, and she had the same pale eyes as Kieran.

“Still don’t know how Daragh ever managed to marry her,” Colin said in a teasing tone. “She was beautiful, smart, and a damn fine huntress too. And then there’s my brother…”

“You better watch what you’re about to say, Col,” Daragh warned teasingly, pointing a fork in the direction of his younger brother.

“I meant no offense, Daragh,” Colin put his hands up in surrender. “But you have to admit-”

Wyn jumped slightly when a chunk of meat was flung from Daragh’s direction towards Colin. Although Colin was quick to feign surprise, judging by the reaction of the Peredur family as a whole, this little spat was clearly nothing to be concerned about. In fact, after the initial surprise had faded, Colin and Daragh started to laugh. When the laughter faded, Daragh leaned back contentedly into his chair. The Peredur patriarch placed a hand on the table, and a wistful smile took hold as he looked at the wedding band still present on his ring finger. “My brother wasn’t exaggerating when he said she was the best of us. She truly was,” Daragh began, addressing the group as a whole. “She was an outstanding huntress, wife, and mother. She was a woman of many talents and despite what some people in Silbern might say, she earned those achievements all on her own, not from the backing of her family. I do not doubt that she would have liked every single one of you - even Midge and Tara.”

Although Wyn didn’t doubt Daragh had any bad intentions with his words, he was quickly aware of the shift in the mood of the room as soon as Daragh spoke those two names. It wasn’t his fault of course - when asked where the remaining members of PEWT were Roisin and Perry hadn’t exactly been keen to discuss the topic. And with Daragh also preoccupied with cooking their dinner he hadn’t been able to press them for any further details.

Kieran was quick to pick up on his twin’s expression and made a valiant attempt to steer the conversation back to a lighter topic. “Um, dad, maybe we should-”

But he never got to finish his words, before Roisin dropped the bombshell.

“They’re dead.”

There it was - the big reveal. Perry looked down as she said that and Wyn noted that other than Kieran who was watching his sister, his own teammates seemed uncertain where to look. Daragh seemed to have been stunned into silence, his expression neutral and unreadable. It was Colin who, at first, seemed to be the only one of the brothers to have any visible reaction to the news. He seemed surprised and then immediately after genuinely moved by this revelation.

“I had my suspicions when I saw they weren’t with you in the woods but I had no idea that - that- Oh god, Ros, Perry, I’m so sorry.”

“How did this happen?” Daragh asked, once his brother had said his piece.

“They died when Beacon fell,” Roisin answered, before elaborating even further. “Tara succumbed to injuries she sustained in the initial wave of Grimm, and Midge died right next to me, crushed by falling debris.” She had been holding it together quite well until she mentioned their deaths again, after which her composure fractured, and Roisin struggled to hold back her tears. “I was their leader, I should have been able to do something more to save them,” Roisin would cry out, before covering her face with her hands. “I’m the reason they’re dead!”

“No!” Daragh’s voice was sharp and sudden, quickly cutting off his daughter before she could spiral any further. “You are not to blame for this.”

Daragh stood up from his chair and walked over to where Roisin was sitting and knelt by the side of her. “Rosey, look at me,” He said, urging her to look at him. It took a moment but she quickly relented, lowering her hands and looking at her father with teary eyes. Daragh gave his daughter a gentle smile and took one of her hands, rubbing a thumb in a comforting manner over her knuckles. “You remind me so much of your mother. So caring and willing to give up parts of yourself for others; a true huntress to the bone. It’s your greatest strength, and I think perhaps, your greatest weakness too,” Daragh would say in a soft voice. “It isn’t healthy for you to carry your pain like this. What happened at Beacon was a tragedy, but you were not the cause of it. I’ve known you for twenty years, Rosey, I know you well enough to know you would have done everything you could have done in that moment to try and save them. The vile people who chose to attack Beacon and desecrate the Vytal festival and what it stands for are the ones you should hold accountable. Please do not blame yourself for this.” Daragh would briefly turn his attention away from his daughter to look at Perry. “The same goes for you too, son.”

Perry nodded and gave the man a grateful smile. When Daragh turned back to his daughter she practically threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him, and sobbing into his shoulder. He was surprised at her sudden gesture but it didn’t take him long to quickly wrap his arms around her in return and hold her close whilst she let out her grief.

As the day drew to a close, it seemed many more tears were to be shed, as the group started to reflect on memories around the dinner table. Despite an earlier mention of a pie being brought out for dessert, it was quickly put aside for another day, in favour of quiet reflection. Daragh and Colin offered to clean up by themselves, giving the six of them the chance to retire upstairs for the night. Wyn and Perry were among those who offered to stay and help, but they were promptly shooed away by the older Peredur men. When Wyn and Perry followed their teammates upstairs, they found most of their things waiting for them, set out between two camp beds that had likely been hastily put together during Daragh’s earlier preparations when they had first arrived. After quickly getting changed into some pyjamas, Wyn took a moment to glance around the room. When they had been walking in the woods he had overheard Tilia and Kieran talking about the Peredur’s home being cluttered, but Wyn didn’t think it was anything too excessive. Sure there were certainly a lot of items around the house and in Kieran’s room, but it didn’t feel cluttered at all. If anything Kieran’s bedroom surprised Wyn the most, it was far more colourful than he expected, especially based on the minimal decor Kieran had in their dorms. Perhaps most interesting was the slightly faded poster of Asta Carbonado, a winner of a previous Vytal tournament, a fact Wyn only remembered because the Allaways had taken him and Corrin to watch the event.

Settling down to sleep on one of the camp beds, Wyn said his goodnights to Kieran and Perry before turning over and closing his eyes. It wasn’t exactly the largest nor the most comfortable of beds but it was far more comfortable on his back compared to the beds they had to use in their temporary accommodation the past few weeks. Within a few moments, Wyn was drifting off to deep sleep, his belly full with good food, and his heart full with hope that from now on things would be easier for them all.

[sustraiii]

TEAM KWTZ CHAPTER 11 - THE HORROR (PART 1)

The Horror is loose.

ROISIN

After a valiant attempt at trying to distract Meredith, Roisin and Perry had found themselves waiting down the hill from the Chartreuse family home. It seemed as though Meredith had believed her apologies, albeit somewhat confused about why she felt the need to apologise for her uncle. The struggle had been keeping Meredith engaged in the conversation, as she was keen to get back to some chores within her house. Roisin hadn't wanted to leave but she knew there was only so much she could do without the conversation seeming forced or strange. The last thing she wanted was Meredith to suspect something was wrong.

"Do you think they're done yet?" Roisin asked, pacing back and forth where she stood with Perry.

Her Vacuan teammate leaned idly against a wall, his arms folded over his chest. "Hard to say," He admitted, looking at the house and then back at Roisin. "Depends what they find I s'pose."

Roisin nodded in agreement. Even though they were looking for something more concrete to tie Victor to Pyre there was no guarantee that they would even find anything. From what Roisin could tell, it seemed like Victor had done an excellent job at concealing the truth for ten years.

Roisin was continuing to pace when Perry suddenly gestured behind her with a tilt of his head. She swivelled on the spot to see KWTZ and Colin rushing back towards them. Colin was carrying a bleeding and unconscious Meredith in his arms. They had scarcely made it down the hill towards them when a horrific sound akin to an explosion, arose from the Chartreuse house where they had just fled from. A hideous Grimm stood outside, a gaping hole in the front of the house where it had broken through. Roisin gawked at it, unsure of how to comprehend what she was looking at.

"What is that thing?" Perry asked, voice quivering slightly.

A huge roar came from the Grimm mere seconds after her teammate had asked that. It was so loud it felt as though the ground was shaking beneath her very feet. When the roar subsided, the screams of panicked citizens drew it away, the initial target of KWTZ and Colin forgotten about at that moment.

Roisin stared at the spot where the Grimm had been for a moment, before turning to look back at the group. "What kind of Grimm was that?"

"A hybrid," Colin said simply. "A horror that should never have been made."

Perry swore out loud and shook his head. Roisin was still struggling to process everything.

"Well, I guess we need to deal with that then," Roisin said, clapping her hands together awkwardly. "Any idea how we take something like that down?"

"Hit it with everything we've got," Kieran replied confidently. "We have to put an end to it before we have a repeat of the Glatisant attack."

KWTZ seemed raring to go, and although Roisin still didn't know what to think, it was hard not to feel a bit inspired by their confidence.

"I need to get Meredith somewhere safe," Colin said, indicating to the woman in his arms. "I'll try and help out when I can. Just...stay safe, alright?"

"We will," Kieran promised.

With a reluctant nod, the group parted ways, Colin hurrying off to find somewhere safe for Meredith, and KWTZ, Roisin, and Perry chasing after the hybrid. As they ran, Roisin was already thinking of potential strategies they could utilise to bring it down. It was a big Grimm so it wasn't going to go down easy; they would need to be smart and conserve their energy if they really wanted to do some damage to it.

The plan was to take on the hybrid directly, but as they chased after it, a sudden problem arose to disrupt them. They were still running when the shrill wails of alarms began to activate all over Silbern. Roisin flinched slightly hearing them. Perimeter alarms.

Kieran slowed the group upon hearing them, looking back at his sister with a wary glance. He knew as well as she did what those alarms meant Grimm were close to the walls. Which meant it wasn't just the hybrid they would have to deal with.

"We need to do something about that," Kieran said.

"But we can't just leave the hybrid!" Wyn pointed out.

"He's right," Roisin said, looking over her brother knowingly. She considered what to do for a moment, looking between her teammate and then at KWTZ. "You guys should go after the hybrid. Me and Perry will check out the alarms." She said, offering her assistance.

Perry shot her a curious look, clearly surprised by the sudden offer. Kieran also raised his brows but did not say no to her suggestion. He looked back at his own teammates, checking for their opinions on the matter. None of them seemed to have an issue with it so he gave a nod of confirmation to his sister.

"Stay safe, Ros," Kieran said, briefly giving her a small hug before they parted ways.

"You too, Kee."

With the group split again, Roisin led Perry and herself in the direction of the nearest alarm. As the walls came into view, they could hear the sound of gunfire as the turrets on the wall shot at Grimm that lay beyond it. The ground was littered with holes, the culprit being a colony of Myrmidons, which had burrowed underneath the walls, and emerged onto this side. She assumed some must have scurried off, as only two remained now, trapping a small group of three civilians that had managed to scramble up onto a canopy over the door to a house. It had kept them safe for now, but the Myrmidons were using their pincers to try and gnaw through the supporting beams.

"You take the left, I take the right?" Perry suggested. He held out a fist for her to bump.

"Deal," Roisin confirmed, bumping his fist.

Roisin was first to act, drawing her sword from her hip, and racing to deal with the Myrmidon at the right. It didn’t even have time to react before she sliced it clean in half. The second Myrmidon turned its head and made a squealing noise, but was quickly defeated by a blast from Perry’s shotgun.

Roisin gave him a nod of appreciation, before looking up at the frightened civilians. “It’s safe for the moment. You can come down now.”

One of the civilians, a young woman with ginger hair, nodded quickly. She had just lowered herself to get down more easily when she made a yelp and retreated further up again. Roisin quirked a brow, curious what had made her so nervous again, and then she heard it - the laughter. 

“Uh, Ros, we’ve got a problem.”

She turned on the spot to face the direction of the noise, finding herself looking directly at three Prowlers, and seven Myrmidons. Whilst the Prowlers sized them up cautiously, there was no hesitation from the Myrmidons to attack. Two quickly rushed Perry, which he fended off with the butt of his weapon. He wasn’t able to shoot at either of them until Roisin stabbed one. With two of the ant-like Grimm down, they could focus on the remaining Myrmidons and the Prowlers. Roisin decided that the Prowlers should be the first of the Grimm they dealt with being the larger of the two and the harder to avoid should they have lunged at them.

Or at least that was the plan until a blue blur collided with one of the Prowlers, sending it careening off to the side. It took a moment to realise what she was seeing, only recognising it as Ruka Aoki using her semblance when the older woman slowed down.

With one Prowler down, she gracefully jumped over to another, slamming the blade of her tonfa into its neck. It made a pained sound and attempted to wriggle away, but Ruka held firm, using the weapon lodged in its neck to steer the Grimm so she was more in line with the remaining Prowler. She shot at it with her weapon, quickly defeating the Prowler before it could become a problem. Ruka then proceeded to dislodge her weapon from the Prowler's neck, and then gave two quick slashes and sliced its head off.

She jumped backwards from the fading Grimm, landing in a crouch, before lifting her head and giving Perry and Roisin a small salute in greeting. "Hey, kids."

Roisin stared at her before giving her an awkward wave in return. "H-Hey."

Ruka smiled and then looked over her shoulder, where a younger woman appeared from the street behind her. "Should I leave the Myrmidons to you, Em?"

Esmerelda Aveleira came to stand beside Ruka. Her dark brown hair was messy and slicked back from fighting, and beads of sweat lined her brow. She had hiked up her skirt on one side to allow for easier movement, clearly not having been dressed for a fight. At some point, she had clearly gotten hit by debris or a Grimm, as she had a nasty cut above her knee.

"Move," Esmerelda told Roisin and Perry calmly.

The two backed away slowly, ducking under the canopy, and allowing Esmerelda to do her thing. The woman stepped forward and whistled, attempting to draw the Myrmidons attention. A few scuttled towards her but three of them were distracted by both the continued wailing of the perimeter alarms and the presence of Roisin and Perry.  In the end, it didn’t really matter that Esmerelda’s attempt at distraction had failed, as the use of her semblance quickly dealt with them. 

With a flick of her wrist, Esmerelda created a dark green glyph, which spread across the floor and quickly trapped the Grimm in place. They weren’t completely stopped, merely slowed, as the Myrmidon’s pincers twitched and some of them squirmed around in an effort to break free. Esmerelda gave them no chance to escape, quickly slamming down the tip of her staff on the edge of the glyph, causing rocky dust formations to sprout forth and quickly spear or squash the Myrmidons.

"Nice job," Roisin commended, once the Myrmidons were fully defeated.

Esmerelda gave her a strained smile and bobbed her head appreciatively. "You're welcome."

"Are you two okay?" Ruka asked, speaking to Roisin and Perry as she approached the trio. 

"We're alright," Roisin answered, looking at Perry quickly before looking at Ruka again. "Thanks for the assist. How bad is it elsewhere?"

"Not too bad, all things considered," Ruka began, casting a glance over her shoulder. "Mostly the Myrmidons causing issues I'd say. But a few Prowlers are using the holes they left behind to get underneath the walls."

"At least the turrets have kicked in now. That should stop or at very least slow the number of  Prowlers getting in," Esmerelda commented. She winced slightly and leaned against her staff for support.

"I'm surprised they even got in," Perry mused. "I never saw them digging holes when we encountered them in the woods."

"They're highly opportunistic. They'll find a way," Ruka told him. "So what lured them here?"

"Something that Victor Chartreuse was cooking up. A hybrid Grimm," Roisin explained simply, not wanting to fully elaborate at that moment given the continued Grimm threat. 

"That would explain why the perimeter alarms didn't go off," Esmerelda mused, more to herself than in response to what Roisin had said.

"So Colin's theories were correct," Ruka shook her head. "What sort of Grimm are we dealing with here? I haven't seen it but I definitely heard it."

"I've never seen anything like it," Perry said chillingly.

Ruka and Esmerelda shared a wary glance. Even though neither woman had seen the beast, from what they had heard, and what they could now see with all the Grimm flooding the area, Roisin knew it wouldn't have been hard for them to put an image together in their minds.

"I need to find my da and make sure he's okay," Roisin said. "Is that alright?" She looked towards her teammate in particular.

"Of course it is, Ros," Perry smiled reassuringly.

"Go ahead but I wouldn't overly worry if I were you, Daragh was actually the one who mobilised us to attack," Ruka explained, before giving her consent for Roisin to go, not that her answer would have stopped Roisin from leaving. "I think we've got things handled here?" She looked back at Esmerelda as she said that.

Esmerelda made a weak chuckle. "Well, my leg feels like it might be about to fall off, but I've still got some fight left in me."

Ruka smirked and then looked back at Roisin. "Go find your dad and make sure he's safe."

Leaving Esmerelda and Ruka, Roisin and Perry quickly took off, Roisin leading the way through to the centre of town where they could cut through on their way back to the Peredur home. However, given how the rest of the night had gone thus far, Roisin should have known that things wouldn't be so simple.

As they reached the town square, they came across more of the Myrmidons that Roisin had assumed had scurried away earlier. They had done a number to the town square, breaking through the tables and chairs that had been left outside of the Golden Fleece, as well as the thankfully empty market stalls. It was a slight relief to see that the area was free of panicked civilians, but that meant that as soon as the Grimm were aware of Roisin and Perry's presence they were quick to launch their attack.

Roisin and Perry quickly engaged them, cutting through them with relative ease. Myrmidons were neither large in size nor particularly powerful, it was only the sheer number of them that would work against them.

Roisin just pulled her sword back from a defeated Grimm, when a loud cry echoed from somewhere above her, and a looming shadow passed over the area.

Roisin huffed loudly. "Oh, what now?" She snapped, looking skyward for the source of the sound.

Looking up she could see two large avian Grimm circling above them, before one dove down and landed mere inches in front of the duo, not caring about the Myrmidons which scuttled around it. When it had been flying above them, Roisin had thought it to be a Nevermore, but now that it had landed and she could see it clearly, she knew what it was.

A Strix, she realised with a chill. As she thought that, the beast turned its head around eerily, and squawked at her, the feather-like quills on its crested head quivering as it did so.

She was familiar with the attacks from this kind of Grimm, and made a gesture for Perry to quickly shoot at it whilst it was distracted by her. Perry cocked his gun and fired off one round, hitting the Grimm in the chest, which forced it back briefly. Roisin moved to strike it, but a flap of its wings created a gust strong enough to push her back, despite Roisin digging her heels in. 

By now, the Myrmidons were starting to circle the duo again, having grown used to the Strix's presence. They dared to try attacking the two of them but were easy to push back. The Strix was another matter entirely. Although it was smaller than a Nevermore, it was thicker-bodied and more nimble, and its wings were proving to be quite an issue, using them to summon strong gusts or just to fly upwards a few feet. It was a small mercy it hadn’t yet utilised the quill attack it was known for.

Roisin stabbed at the Strix once it landed, jabbing the tip of her blade into its chest. It screeched and began to pull away again and to her horror, it was taking her sword with her, as she could not dislodge it.

“Roisin, your sword!” She heard Perry call out.

“I can see that!” Roisin called back. She looked around frantically for something she could use to slow the Strix, her pink eyes eventually landing on a metal rod among some of the debris of the ruined outdoor furniture. Using her semblance, Roisin held out her hand, summoning the rod into her hand telekinetically, and then swung it in a smooth arc, smashing it against the head of the Strix. As the Grimm pulled back, she yanked out her sword.

"Stupid overgrown bird," She grumbled under her breath, before smacking the Strix with the rod once more. "Perry, now!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her teammate whip round on the spot, followed by the click of his gun. An explosive blast ripped through its neck and tore its head clean off.

The Strix slumped forward as it faded away. Roisin tossed aside the rod and proceeded to cut through some of the Myrmidons that were drawn near. By now, the second Strix was circling closer, so low that the gusts of wind from its diving motions were beginning to ruffle her hair.

"Hey, Ros, think you could distract that thing for me?" Perry asked. "I want to see if I can get a good hit on it."

Roisin looked upwards and squinted as she weighed up her options. "I'll see what I can do."

At Perry's request, Roisin did her best to distract the Strix, shouting and throwing bits of debris at it to try and get it to focus on her. To give her more room to work with, Perry distracted and destroyed more of the Myrmidons. Thankfully, the number of them had dropped since they had first arrived.

Eventually, the Strix dived low, talons outstretched as it tried to gore Roisin. A quick duck and roll, and she managed to avoid the Grimm and its razor-like talons. After missing Roisin, it flew back up, and circled around to face her once again. It seemed to study her for a moment, before pulling its wings back unleashing a spray of quills in her direction. Most of the quills avoided Perry, though he had to step back to avoid the brunt of them. Roisin, however, wasn't as lucky catching one or two on the arms and another scraped by her cheek, her bun coming undone as she ducked out of the way.

A second dive from the Strix provided Roisin with the opportunity to land a good hit on the Grimm. As it drew closer, she held her ground until the very last second, slashing at and damaging a wing. With a screech, the Strix pulled upward sharply, but with a damaged wing Roisin knew it wasn’t getting far.

Unable to support itself on one wing, the second Strix started to fall from the sky, crashing into the roof of a nearby steepled building. Roisin felt satisfied that it was defeated. What she had not accounted for was the large crack forming on the steeple tower, which spread further and further, until it cracked in the middle and began to topple to the ground, where Perry was still fighting with the Myrmidons below.

She felt as though she were frozen in place, unable to do anything but watch in mute horror. For a moment she was not in Silbern but back in Vale instead, celebrating with Midge before rubble and dust collapsed around them and blotted out the light.

No. Not again.

Roisin would not bury another teammate.

“Perry!” She practically screamed his name, already running towards him as the words began to fall out of her mouth.

Never again.

Her teammate seemed to turn to her in slow motion, looking at her with a perplexed expression, almost oblivious to the tower about to collapse on his head. Perry only seemed to notice something was wrong at the last moment, looking upwards just as Roisin hooked her arms around his waist and tackled him to the ground. The two of them landed on the floor with a heavy thud, Perry groaning beneath her as he collided with the concrete surface first. Roisin had just moments to further shield him with her arm, as the tower finally landed where he had been standing moments before, and sent a cloud of dust over the two of them.

Roisin waited for the dust to clear before she finally moved her arm away. She looked down at Perry beneath her, giving him a once over to ensure he was unharmed. Again she was not in Silbern but in Vale and it was Midge’s still and broken body she was inspecting. The horror of believing she was seeing Midge dead in front of her again hither suddenly and forcing her to retreat in on herself.

“Roisin.” 

She flinched as a hand touched her cheek, drawing her back to reality, and she looked down to see Perry looking back at her, concern creasing his brows.

“Are you alright?” He asked her.

“Are you alright?” Roisin countered.

Perry nodded stiffly, a weak smile gracing his lips. “You saved me.”

The words hit her harder than she was expecting. A nervous bubble of laughter escaped her lips and she smiled back at her teammate, tears threatening to form in her eyes again. “I saved you.” 

She couldn’t save Midge nor Tara, but she had saved him.

If she had hoped to savour the moment with her teammate, her hopes were quickly dashed, when she heard movement behind her. The muffled but unmistakable sound of the Strix echoed from within the rubble. There was a sound like something falling over or being knocked aside, and then through the clearing dust, she could see the shape of the Strix emerging from the now ruined building. The Grimm shook its head out and then looked around, perhaps sensing they were still nearby but not knowing quite where to look. And then its head swivelled eerily in their direction, the rest of its body facing another direction, until the beast started to move towards them.

Instinctively, Roisin reached for her sword, but at the same moment she did so, remembered she had discarded it in order to reach Perry quicker.

She could see it now, lying not far from the rubble. Once again, Roisin held out her hand, reaching out for her weapon with her semblance. The sword flew towards her, and she caught the pommel in her hand, before pointing the tip at the encroaching beast. In the time it had taken her to retrieve her weapon she didn’t have time to move away and get herself into a better position - not without leaving Perry exposed. Roisin had already vowed to herself that would not lose another teammate and she was not about to go back on that promise now. She would make her final stand here and now.

The Strix walked towards her and Perry slowly; its wings might have been damaged and it might have taken a significant knock when it hit the building, but it was still a threatening presence.

The Grimm began to pull back its wings again preparing to release yet more quills on the two of them. Roisin took a breath and braced herself. If she couldn’t get out of the way, she hoped her aura would hold out long enough.

Fortunately, Roisin never got to find out if her aura would hold. Just as the Strix was about to launch its attack, it seemed to jolt forward suddenly, emitting a weak cry of anguish before it slumped forward and began to disappear. 

As it faded, Roisin could quickly see what was the cause of its defeat. Standing behind the beast, with his blade pointed right where its back would have been, stood none other than her father, Daragh. He waited until the Grimm had gone, before swishing his giant sword to one side and sheathing it on his back so he could greet his daughter.

Roisin did not miss the limp in his walk, nor the blood dripping from his forehead as he stepped toward her. Daragh cupped her face in his giant hands and gave her a small kiss on her forehead. “Thank goodness, you’re alright.”

“Likewise for you,” Roisin said, pulling away from him slightly and giving him a warm smile.

The two remained in this position for a moment before Daragh let his hands slack, and moved to help Perry, who was still huddled on the floor. He extended a hand and quickly pulled him to his feet. “How are you faring, Perry? You look a bit worse for wear,” Daragh gave Perry an appraising look.

“I’ve felt better,” Perry admitted, smiling awkwardly. “But if it wasn’t for Roisin I might not have been standing here.”

Perry and Daragh looked at her, and Roisin could once again feel tears forming in her eyes. Daragh nodded at his daughter approvingly. “That’s my girl,” He said, chest puffing out with pride.

“So, uh, what do we do now?” Perry asked, looking between Roisin and Daragh.

Daragh stared out towards the town. They had cleared the Myrmidons from the area, and the tower had crushed what they hadn’t been to defeat themselves. Despite the lack of nearby Grimm, the perimeter alarms were still wailing, and the hybrid was still out there as far as she knew.

“Kieran is still out there somewhere, and there are still Grimm attacking the town,” Daragh began, turning back to his daughter and Perry. “Ready your weapons, our fight is not over yet.”

[sustraiii]

TEAM KWTZ CHAPTER 9: BITTER TRUTHS

KWTZ returns from Pyre Academy and confront Victor about what he knows.

KIERAN

Returning from Pyre Academy, Colin and KWTZ made their way back to Silbern. Cheren walked beside them, hands bound, and head lowered in shame. Datura on the other hand had to be more or less dragged back between Kieran and his uncle. 

The two men were unceremoniously dropped off at the wall, as opposed to being dragged back to the Fleece where Colin was worried their presence might have made a scene. As it was when they had first arrived, Esmerelda was manning the walls, and she looked at the group with a perplexed expression when she came to see just who they had dropped off.

"I'll be back for these two later." That was all that Colin said before marching through the gates and back into town. He didn't wait to answer any of the questions Esmerelda likely had, so Kieran and the others were quick to make some hasty apologies before heading on their way.

Now that they were back inside the walls, Colin insisted on taking them to the Chartreuse's house. 

Jogging ahead of his team, Kieran caught up with his uncle, whose rapid pace was making him pull away from the others.

"Is this really a wise idea to confront Victor now?" Kieran questioned as he fell in line with his uncle.

Colin gave him a quick glance, his expression not angry but not exactly happy either. "Would you rather I didn't? If we leave it too long, word would no doubt reach him about what happened with Cheren and Datura and he'll be working to get his story straight."

"I'm not saying we should leave it for long, but give it till tomorrow morning at least?" Kieran suggested, in a weak effort to get his uncle to back down.

"No. It has to be now," Colin insisted. He looked at his nephew out of the corner of his eye and then straight ahead at the home of the Chartreuse family which was beginning to come into view. "I'm surprised that you of all people are against me on this."

Kieran pulled back a little in surprise, not expecting such a remark from his uncle. "I'm not against you, uncle," Kieran corrected in a sharp, authoritative tone. "Believe me, if he is involved as those papers imply I want Victor brought to justice just as much as you do, if not more. But for starters, you scarcely have enough evidence to pin the blame on him, and secondly, you do not appear to be in the right headspace to be confronting him right now."

"I'm fine," Colin insisted. 

"Your ear is still bleeding," Kieran pointed out.

"It's just a scratch, I'll be fine."

And then almost as if to remove himself from the conversation entirely, Colin quickened his pace once more and hurried up the stairs to the Chartreuse's house. Kieran had to practically sprint after him to catch his wrist before his uncle could knock on the door.

"Think this through, uncle," Kieran implored, loosening his grip on his uncle's wrist as he did so.

For what it was worth, Colin did hesitate for a moment, before knocking the door with such force Kieran thought he might have almost put his fist through it instead.

As they waited, Kieran took a step back and stood next to his teammates. Tilia had a worried expression as she looked between him and uncle. She raised a brow in questioning and he merely shrugged in response.

The door was soon opened by Meredith. She was wearing a pretty v-necked dress with a peridot necklace and her hair had been curled and was partly held down by a hair clip with a similar peridot-coloured gem. When she saw Colin she smiled brightly.

"What are you doing here? You haven't finished with the party have you?" She asked with a giggle. "I thought you promised me a dance."

It seemed Meredith hadn't noticed his lack of formal clothes.

"Um…" For a moment, Colin finally seemed lost for words, and in that brief lapse in conversation, Meredith finally picked up that something was wrong.

"Oh, Colin, your ear is bleeding!" Meredith said, taking a step towards him. She gently brushed aside some of his hair to get a better look at his injury. "What did you do to yourself? Who - Wait. What are you wearing? Why aren't you wearing your suit?" She took a step backwards and seemed to take him all in as well as the rest of KWTZ behind him. "What's going on?"

"I need to speak with Victor," Colin explained simply.

Meredith frowned slightly. "He's busy with some of his work at the moment, but should be free in a few hours."

"I'd prefer to speak with him now," Colin responded, before stepping inside brushing past Meredith icily.

Kieran grimaced as his uncle disappeared inside, leaving him to deal with a very confused Meredith.

"What's going on?" She asked as KWTZ walked up the steps to stand beside her. "This isn't like your uncle."

"I think it would be best explained when Victor appears," Kieran answered, trying his best to provide something in the way of a polite response. "I do apologise for my uncle just barging in though."

KWTZ stepped inside followed by Meredith. Whilst they caught up with Colin - who had disappeared into the sitting room - Meredith broke off to go and find her cousin. Kieran and the rest of his team found Colin waiting in the sitting room, standing with his back turned away from them and staring out the window.

“Barging in? Really?” Kieran chided.

Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait long for the two Chartreuse’s to return. Meredith still seemed as confused as before, and Victor was just as unreadable and neutral as he had been when they first came to see them.

“Colin, what’s going on?” Meredith asked. “This isn’t like you to just barge in. Has something happened?”

Ignoring Meredith’s question, Colin turned around and marched towards Victor, pointing a finger at him. “I know what you did!”

“Colin!” Meredith yelled, taken aback by his outburst.

Victor merely inclined a head to one side, otherwise unfazed by the accusation. “You’ll have to be more specific about what it is that I have done. I do a lot of things you see.”

“We found this,” Colin was quick to respond, pulling out the crucial piece of paper he had secured from Pyre. It was Meredith who took it from him, but the two cousins huddled together to read it. “We found what you were hiding at Pyre Academy, Victor. We know you were behind the Glatisant attack all those years ago.”

Once again, Victor remained largely unfazed by all of this, only lifting his head to raise a brow. “That’s a rather bold statement to make.”

“Indeed,” Meredith agreed. To Kieran’s surprise, it was she rather than her cousin who seemed angry at this new information. The look she gave Colin was one of hurt and betrayal and she appeared on the verge of tears. “Is this some kind of twisted joke?”

“This is no joke, I assure you,” Colin answered, the slight hesitancy to respond did not go unnoticed by Kieran. “There are few more pages like this back at Pyre and I’m sure Cheren and Datura could attest to Victor's involvement.”

“I am not the only one to call Sylvester ‘uncle’,” Victor pointed out calmly. “Meredith has cousins on the maternal side too.”

“And just how many of them are current Grimm behaviour experts?” Colin countered.

Victor shrugged. “I wouldn’t know, I can’t claim to know them that well.”

Colin made an annoyed sound before turning back to Meredith. “Surely you must know something Merry?”

“Know what?” Meredith snapped. “What is it that you think I should know Colin? If you’re implying I knew something about what is supposedly described here you really should know better given we were both still in school at the time!”

“I wasn’t going to say that,” Colin answered, quick to backtrack. “I meant to ask if you knew something of your father and Victor’s activities in general. Surely you must have at least heard something over the years?”

“No!” Meredith snapped. “Again, you know full well about my relationship with my father and how he would keep his work to himself. The fact that you would even think I might know something and not tell you is incredibly hurtful.”

“Merry, I didn’t mean-”

“I think you should leave,” Meredith said with an air of finality.

“Merry, please let me explain,” Colin begged.

“Just go!” Meredith cried out, not giving him a chance to defend himself further. Hiding her tears by shielding her eyes with her hand, Meredith quickly hurried out of the room. A slamming door which echoed from somewhere in the else indicated that she had sequestered herself away for the time being.

Victor, who had been looking through the doorway where his cousin had just departed, turned his head back to the group and made a ‘hmph’ noise. “Well, that didn’t go so well did it?” He remarked casually.

“You arrogant little-” Colin had taken another step forward, but before he could rattle off a list of expletives or threats, he clenched his fist and seemed to quite literally swallow his words before stepping back to stand with Kieran and the others. After he took a moment to settle himself, Colin spoke again. “You’ll get the justice you deserve, Victor.”

And for the first time, Victor’s expression finally changed. But it wasn’t one of fear or concern as Kieran might have thought. No, it was far happier than that, positively delighted even. 

“I trust you have some more evidence than just a piece of paper with my uncle’s name on it?” Victor queried.

“We have Cheren and Datura in custody currently. I’m sure their testimonies will go a long way,” Colin answered.

“Ah yes, the testimonies of a disgraced former huntsman who drank away his reputation and a man well known for lying and cheating,” Victor mused, taking up a mocking thoughtful stance. “I’m sure that will go down well.”

Kieran found himself tensing slightly. He did not like where this was going.

“There’s also the fact you have been making notes of the rise in Grimm activity.”

“Which I do out of the goodness of my own heart,” Victor countered.

“Sylvester was a professor at Pyre before it burned, and you were a student there,” Colin pressed on, though he seemed slightly less confident than before.

“This is all useless conjecture and you know it,” Victor said, waving him off dismissively. “If this is all you have in terms of evidence - and I use that word very lightly - I think we both know that Lavendin would not press charges against me. At most, you have only heaped further blame on a man four years dead now and caused  further emotional distress to my cousin.”

Kieran could see his uncle shift uncomfortably at that last remark. He knew that Colin would not have intended to cause Meredith distress, but Victor was correct in pointing that out, given how she had responded to reading the paper and to Colin’s following questions.

“If we are done here, I would suggest you all leave,” Victor told the group with an icy tone. 

Colin grunted in way of acceptance, he was about to turn and lead them all away when he paused to speak to Victor one last time. “I know there’s more proof somewhere, Victor.”

“You’re just chasing a deluded fantasy at this point Colin and you know it,” Victor taunted in response, winking as he spoke.

And with that KWTZ and Colin were escorted out of the house.

***

“I can’t believe he did that!” Roisin Peredur exclaimed.

After their shameful encounter at the Chartreuse house, Colin and Team KWTZ had returned to the Peredur home. Colin had made a quick call to Esmerelda to inform her he would be a little late in coming back to retrieve Cheren and Datura, and admitted to the team afterwards he felt too tired to deal with that situation currently.

By the time they had returned home, Roisin, Perry, and Daragh were awaiting them inside having returned from the party. After seeing Colin’s bloodied appearance, and the overall sullen mood that KWTZ were in when they returned, it didn’t take long for the trio to press for information. With a little bit of reluctance, Colin and KWTZ told a condensed version of events, starting with what happened at Pyre, and concluding with the confrontation with Victor.

To Kieran’s surprise, Roisin had been the most vocal in her surprise and annoyance at what had happened to the group. His father and Perry had remained mostly silent as they explained the situation, though would occasionally make a few noises in response to certain moments from the tale.

“What will you do now?” Perry asked.

“Well the idea is to hopefully find more evidence to use against Victor,” Colin responded. “But I admit that might be difficult given the lack of it we found at Pyre.”

“And what little we did have Victor seems confident wouldn’t be able to be used against him,” Kieran added.

“He’s right of course,” Daragh chimed in. “Lavendin wouldn't push for a case with him based on a paper that doesn't even mention him by name and his supposed suspicious behaviour."

Kieran saw his uncle frown slightly when his father referred to it as 'supposed' suspicious behaviour but Colin kept quiet, most likely not wanting to trigger an argument between the two.

"I still can't believe Victor might have been involved with the Glatisant," Roisin said, shaking her head as she spoke.

“I mean is it really that much of a surprise that the man who has been nothing but rude to us, your uncle, and Meredith the entire time we’ve been here turned out to be way worse than we expected?” Wyn said nonchalantly.

Tilia shot him a look. “Read the room, Wyn.”

“No, no, he has a point,” Colin said, backing him up.

"Do we think Meredith was telling the truth?" Perry suddenly asked. A sharp glare from Colin silenced him for a moment, but he pressed on once Colin looked away. "Now I'm not saying she is involved - when you introduced me to her after the Gashadokuro attack she was lovely and polite - but regardless I don't think she should be ruled out."

Kieran was inclined to believe Meredith was telling the truth, but he did agree with Perry that it was a possibility that they shouldn't rule out. His uncle, however, seemed less receptive to the idea and was quick to dismiss it.

"Meredith isn't like that," He responded sharply.

"Colin." Daragh's gruff voice put a swift end to anything Colin had to say. Colin glared at his brother, and Daragh held his gaze until Colin looked away in defeat. "You shouldn't be so quick to dismiss what they're saying, brother."

"I just don't believe Meredith would be involved in what happened," Colin said, persistent in his defence of his former teammate.

"You might believe that Colin, but it doesn't make it true," Daragh pointed out in a stern but not unkind tone of voice. "I know you care for her a great deal and I can't help but wonder if those feelings are making you blind to what could potentially be the truth staring you in the face."

Colin opened his mouth as if to argue but quickly shut it again and looked away. He knew his brother had got him there. Silence filled the room for a long while after this, before Lin broke it with a question.

“So if we’re lacking evidence against Victor is there any way we can find some more to build our case against him?”

“I’d need to scour through the rest of the papers and books back at Pyre to say for certain, but I doubt there’d be anything of further use there given how destroyed everything was,” Colin answered.

“What about at the Chartreuse’s house?” Kieran asked, cutting in. “Victor clearly conducts most of - if not all - of his work from there so it stands to reason there could be something there surely.”

“I hate to break it to you, Kee, but I think based on our last conversation the chances of either of them letting us in is slim to none,” Tilia pointed out.

“Who said they had to let us in?” Colin said.

It took Kieran a moment to understand what his uncle had meant by that, only getting it when his father shot his uncle a wary glance.

“Please don’t tell me you’re thinking about breaking in?” Daragh asked.

Colin chuckled nervously. “Well if it makes you feel any better we wouldn’t technically be breaking in. I know where Meredith keeps a hidden key to the backdoor.”

“Still might technically be breaking in though,” Wyn quipped which earned a small chuckle from Tilia in response.

"I'm not sure us poking around their house or sneaking inside would go unnoticed," Kieran pointed out.

"That is true, but I feel like that would be a risk we'd have to take," Colin agreed. "Unless we found a way to distract them?"

"Distract them how?" Wyn pondered. 

"Maybe one of us could get them to come out to the front door whilst the rest of us sneak around back?" Tilia suggested.

Roisin chuckled a little at that, which earned a look of surprise from Kieran. "You don't think they'd be a little suspicious of one of you coming back given how your last interaction went?"

"That is a good point," Lin admitted.

"I could do it, if you'd like?" Roisin offered.

Kieran was not the only one who looked surprised at his sister now, as several others in the group had turned to look at her, evidently surprised by her offer. 

"Only if you want to help," Colin said, giving his niece a reassuring smile. Roisin hesitated a moment before nodding in agreement, which was met by a wider smile from Colin. The warmth faded from his features as he began to address the group in a serious manner again. "However, even if Ros does help us and provide a distraction, that would likely only work to draw Merry out and not Victor. So we would need to keep our guard up for when we enter the home. The last thing we need is an open confrontation with him."

"But you could probably handle him right?" Wyn prompted.

"In theory, yes," Colin began. "But given how he showed us his true colours today there is a certain unpredictability about him I can't account for. He usually tends to stick to a few rooms in the house at least, but we should still be mindful of how we go about it."

"Just be careful," Daragh pleaded, first looking at his brother, then his children, and then the rest of the group. "I know you've all dealt with worse situations in the past but don't put yourselves in any unnecessary danger."

"Don't worry brother, I'll keep them safe," Colin assured his brother. "We'll rest up tonight but tomorrow we will find what we need so that Silbern can have the answers and justice it deserves."

[sustraiii]

TEAM KWTZ CHAPTER 8: I HEARD A RUMOUR (PART 1)

Silbern celebrates a victory. 

TILIA

Three days after their defeat of the Gashadokuro, Tilia and the rest of her team found themselves drawn into a celebration at the Golden Fleece. 

When they had returned to Silbern, it hadn't taken long for a story about the fight that had occurred to travel around the town. Most Grimm attacks wouldn't have drawn such attention, but a Grimm such as a Gashadokuro was bound to draw some attention.

Many of the citizens of Silbern believed that with the Gashadokuro gone their Grimm problems were solved. A Grimm of such size would have certainly accounted for the spike in activity. For a little while, Tilia was almost inclined to share those beliefs. However, by how busy Colin continued to be, it seemed as though the defeat of the Gashadokuro did little to alter the number of Grimm, if at all. Despite the lack of change, it didn't stop the people of Silbern from wanting to celebrate.

As part of the group who defeated the Grimm, KWTZ and Colin had been invited to the celebrations as guests of honour at the Golden Fleece. Daragh, Roisin, and Perry were all invited along as well and gladly accepted the invitation. Only Colin was less eager to attend, though after some prompting from his brother he finally agreed to join them.

Although they had been invited as guests of honour, it was near impossible for them to get a seat inside the Golden Fleece on the day of the party. To Tilia, it seemed as though the whole town had turned out to celebrate. When they finally got inside, they found the restaurant was almost fit to bursting, though much of the room had been given over to serve as a makeshift dancefloor. The lack of room inside meant that many people were crowding outside of the restaurant and spilling out onto the square.

Tilia enjoyed some of the buffet food with the others before spending most of her time on the dancefloor. Other than Daragh and Colin, all of the group enjoyed their time dancing. Even Roisin joined in, albeit for the slower songs, before retiring and sitting with her father and uncle.

After two hours, only Tilia and Wyn were still dancing, briefly pausing to rest when a romantic song came on. Kieran and Lin had gone to sit with Kieran's family. Perry had been with them too but had since been dragged into several couples dances and group dances by the young people of Silbern.

Tilia could see him now, laughing with three people, before joining back in the dance. It was a lively positive number, with several enthusiastic whoops coming from the dancers and rhythmic clapping from those watching them. Tilia had never heard the music before, but it was hard not to get caught up with the enthusiasm of the people of Silbern. She and Wyn joined in with the dance, trying their best to keep up with the jumps and spins it seemed to entail. They definitely misstepped in places but no one held it against them, only laughing or shaking their heads in amusement when Wyn or Tilia bumped into them or linked arms with the wrong partner.

When they finally left the dancefloor, arms hooked together, hunched over in a fit of giggles, Wyn leaned over to ask her a question. "Where did you learn to dance like that?"

"Do you not think Neela dragged me to every ball or formal party she could?" Tilia responded with a smirk. She could remember those dances fondly, with the two of them getting lost in the music or just having fun by themselves. Tilia had never been very good at the more formal dances such as the waltz, despite her girlfriend's many attempts to teach her the steps, but she had always enjoyed the quickstep and the jive.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" She asked Wyn, echoing his own question.

"Oh, these sorts of celebrations are fairly common in Benibara," Wyn explained. "We always hold big gatherings like this on the summer and winter equinoxes."

As the two of them reached the table where Kieran, Lin, and the rest of the Peredur family were sitting their teammates gave them a nod of acknowledgement.

Tilia took a seat between Lin and Roisin, whilst Wyn sat next to Colin Peredur.

"Did you two have a fun time?" Kieran asked politely.

Tilia and Wyn both nodded their heads. It was then that Tilia noted that Daragh Peredur was no longer sitting with them.

"Where'd Daragh go?" She inquired.

"Da got called away by some of his friends," Roisin answered. She gestured to where Daragh was laughing with a group of people. "Is Perry still getting pulled into dances by everyone?"

"Oh yeah that redheaded woman pulled him into a dance again," Tilia responded, pointing out where Perry was still dancing. Next to him was the woman in question and two boys a little younger, who were closer to Perry's own age.

Roisin followed Tilia's gesture and nodded her head when she spotted him. "Ah, I see Ruby Atley has dragged him into a dance. Don't think we'll see him again for a while now, not unless Ascelin Rutland comes over and steals her away."

"Who's that?"

"Her fiancé," Roisin responded. "But he's not one for dancing so he probably won't. Then again his younger brothers are the ones dancing with the two of them so who knows maybe he might get encouraged to join.”

The musicians switched to a different uptempo song, and the group watched as Perry and the other dancers got into the swing of things. It was a catchy song, Tilia had to admit, and found herself swaying along to the rhythm. Even Colin - who had been sitting quietly in his chair for most of the party - started tapping his foot in time with the beat of the music.

“Any room for me at this table?”

They were so lost in the music, that none of them heard or saw anyone approach. At the sound of the voice, Tilia turned her head to see a young woman with shockingly blue hair standing next to them. Although they had never met in person, Tilia knew her as Ruka Aoki, who Colin had informed them was one of his other teammates a few days priorly after they had arrived.

She was holding a young toddler in her arms too, though the young boy seemed more interested in dribbling on her shoulder and staring at the dancers behind them at that moment. When Colin saw the woman, he stood up quickly and moved to give her a hug.

“I didn’t think you were coming, Ruka,” He said, as he stepped away.

“I could do with the change of scenery,” Ruka answered. “Especially with this one running rampant at home.” She shifted the young boy in her arms ever so slightly, making it so he was facing the group. 

Colin crouched slightly so he was closer to the young boy’s line of sight, and waggled a finger in front of him. “Oh, I don’t believe someone this cute could be that much trouble,” He cooed in a high-pitched voice.

Ruka made a ‘hrmph’ sound. “You don’t have to live with him.”

Colin straightened up and then held out his arms. “May I?” He asked, indicating he wanted to hold him. With a nod, Ruka gave away her son to Colin, who quite literally welcomed the boy with open arms, whilst she proceeded to sit down in Daragh’s unoccupied seat. As he sat back down Tilia noted how he lit up in the presence of the child, appearing the happiest he had been for days. 

Lin and Wyn were quick to start fussing over the boy, making silly noises and speaking to him in an effort to get him to smile. “What’s his name?” Lin asked, without looking over at Ruka.

“Kaijin,” Ruka answered. “But we all call him Kai for short.”

“He’s gotten so big since I last saw him,” Kieran remarked, watching Lin and Wyn for a moment, before speaking to Ruka.

Ruka chuckled. “To be fair the last time you saw him he was only a few days old. They grow fast when they’re that age.”

"He'll be a regular little huntsman soon then," Tilia joked.

"Maybe," Ruka said, considering the words for a moment. "His father would prefer him not to follow in my footsteps, but we're keeping an open mind to whatever path he decides to take when the time comes."

"Well, if he's anything like his mother, he'll have a fine example to live up to," Colin smiled at Ruka. "And of course, he has his godparents too." There was a teasing tone to his voice as he said that, and Tilia couldn't help but note he winked at Ruka as he spoke, who in turn rolled her eyes playfully in response.

"You sound just like Philippa, you know," Ruka told him. This in turn earned a hearty laugh from Colin, which caused Kaijin to join in as well, even though he didn't understand what the laughter was for. "I've missed this," Ruka said after a moment. "It feels like ages since we've just sat down like this and caught up."

Colin mustered a half-smile. "Yeah, it's nice," He agreed with a nod. "Feels good to take my mind off of things for a little while at least."

"How are you holding up with it all?"

Colin's features dropped a little, though he tried his best not to let the toddler in his lap pick up on his change in mood. "To be quite frank, I'm tired, Roo. I'm running myself ragged trying to keep up with things. Even with the Gashadokuro gone, it feels as though nothing has changed."

Ruka touched her teammate's arm comfortingly. "I'm sorry, Colin. I wish there was more that I could do."

Colin brushed her off gently, but gave her a grateful smile regardless. "No, no, don't think like that Roo. I know you have your reasons for why you can't pick up as many jobs. Likewise for Esmerelda too." He paused for a moment and Tilia watched as his expression shifted into a frown. "The same can't be said for Cheren and Datura. Neither have any excuse for why they're not picking up any jobs right now."

Ruka shifted in her seat. "Well, that might not be strictly true."

Colin arched a brow. "How so?"

Tilia looked at the other woman, watching as she looked around quickly before encouraging the group to huddle closer so she could speak with them. "Now before I tell you, you might want to take this in with a grain of salt. This all comes from Esmerelda and not me so I can't hundred percent vouch for how accurate this all is, though she wouldn't have any reason to lie to me," Ruka began. "Around five weeks ago, Esmerelda was approached by a drunken Cheren, who wanted to know if she'd be interested in a job he and Datura were working on. Security work or something along those lines. I don't think Cheren was able to explain the job fully without stumbling over his words. Naturally, she was a bit suspicious about the offer and came to me asking if I'd heard anything about it. I told her that as far as I was aware neither of them were listed as being on any active jobs, nor had they been for some time. Do you want to know what the real kicker was? Apparently, the job was at Pyre."

Only the members of the Peredur family seemed to understand the relevance of the word 'Pyre', so Tilia and the rest of her teammates wound up just looking around at each other with confused expressions. 

"What's Pyre?" Tilia asked.

"Pyre Academy," Kieran answered simply. "It used to be a preparatory academy in the town but it was destroyed many years ago."

"I thought it was strange myself," Ruka admitted. "I pressed Esmerelda for more information but she seemed none the wiser. Apparently, she did ask her mother about it but Mayor Lavendin was very insistent that no such mission had been authorised. Thanks to my husband I was able to dig through some of the old mission records - thank goodness we keep paper copies of everything - but I couldn't find anything regarding a mission in or around Pyre, at least not in the last decade."

Colin seemed to ponder this information for a moment before speaking again. “Well given Lavendin’s protectiveness over her daughter, I could possibly see her wanting to protect her from the truth. But I do not believe Lavendin would not inform anyone else of some off the books mission around Pyre. She of all people knows how important that place is to people in Silbern given what happened to Vesa.”

“Do you think there’s something else going on?”

“Oh, I know there’s something else going on,” Colin said with a more determined tone. 

Ruka pulled a face. “I don’t like that look you have in your eyes, Col. You look like you’re up to something,” She said.

"I think I should go and check out the academy," He said, quickly revealing his intentions.

"Couldn't you wait until after?" Ruka asked. "Seems a shame to cut the celebrations short to run off on a job."

"True but the sooner we find out what's going on there the better. Plus, I'd rather scope out the area whilst Cheren nor Datura are there," Colin explained. "At least I know they're unlikely to trouble me then."

"Sounds like a wise choice to me," Tilia said, an opinion which didn't seem to be shared by her teammates."I'm assuming they're here enjoying the celebration?"

"Well, Cheren is at least," Ruka told her, gesturing to a group of people watching the dancers. Tilia was quick to note the older man in the group, and the striking similarity he shared with the Rutland twins that Roisin had pointed out earlier.

"Datura not one for dancing?" Tilia asked, struggling to conceal the joking tone of her voice.

"I don't think I've ever seen him at any celebration like this. He tends to just keep to himself," Colin responded. "I haven't seen him here so I'm assuming - no, hoping - he isn't around Pyre."

"What will you do if he is?" Kieran asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

"I'll handle him, don't worry," Colin assured his nephew. "Datura and I have never gotten along so if he does show his face I'm expecting a fight."

"Can you handle him alone? And what if Cheren appeared too?" Kieran pressed.

"Why are you asking me this, Kieran?" Colin asked, raising a brow.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt your skill uncle. But you said yourself not so long ago that you're tired and we can all see that you are exhausted at home," Kieran began. “Both men have their faults but they are both still huntsmen. I worry if they caught you out, that they’d defeat you.”

“So what are you saying - you want to come with me?”

“No! I don’t know…maybe. Just as a precaution.” Kieran stammered.

“You know they might not even turn up, Kee,” Colin pointed out. “Your concerns are appreciated but I think you’re worrying too much.”

"Perhaps I am," Kieran conceded, bowing his head in defeat.

Tilia could see Colin studying his nephew carefully, the man himself looking as though he were deep in thought. After a moment he looked towards Ruka, and though they spoke no words, it seemed to Tilia that they were having a conversation of sorts, their changing expressions serving as questions and answers. The conversation appeared to come to a conclusion when Ruka gave a shrug.

"If it would make you feel better, you can come with me," Colin told his nephew gently. "But don't feel as though you have to put yourself out for me."

"Thank you, uncle," Kieran smiled.

"And what about us?" Wyn asked. "What are we supposed to do whilst you two run off?"

"Stay here," Kieran responded. "You don't need to come with us if you don't want to."

"Hey, we're a team!" Wyn protested. "Your problems are our problems. Where you go, we follow. I mean what's the worst that could happen if the five of us show up anyway? You never know Cheren and Datura might get scared off or surrender straight away. And I don't know about you but I'd consider that a victory."

“Aren’t you both tired out from all the dancing you did?” Kieran asked, earning a chuckle from Lin.

“Oh I’m raring to go,” Wyn smirked. “We’ll leave all the detective work to you and your uncle and we’ll just be there if you need us. And if Cheren or Datura show up we’ll scare them off.”

Ruka grinned and shook her head in amusement. “Kids these days…you’re all so very gung ho about things.”

“Fine. If you want to come, you can come,” Colin said. He proceeded to shoot Ruka a look, which only made her smile even more. When he proceeded to hand back Kaijin to her she pouted a little but did not fully lose the grin that had been on her face. 

"We should leave now," Colin addressed the group. "If we leave now it'll give us time to get changed and reduce the risk of Cheren or Datura potentially showing up."

Tilia and her teammates looked around each other and exchanged a few nods. Along with Colin, they stood up from their seats and began to step away from the table.

"I'll stay here and let da know where you're going when he comes back," Roisin said as they stepped aside. "I can't say he'll be very impressed, but he still deserves to know."

"Thanks, Ros," Colin smiled, giving an appreciative nod to his niece.

"Think nothing of it," Roisin said, returning the smile. "Good luck!" She would call after them as the group made their departure from the Golden Fleece.

***

Datura Oleander rarely attended public events such as these. Under normal circumstances, he would have stayed home, but given the nature of this celebration, it seemed like a bad form not to attend. He made some attempts at polite small talk and mingling with the people of Silbern, but ultimately kept to himself, nursing a glass of tequila in the corner.

After he had finished his drink, Datura made an effort to walk around again, making it appear as though he was interested in the festivities. As he walked, he passed by a table where Colin Peredur, Ruka Aoki, and Colin's family and friends were sitting around. He didn't intend to listen in on the conversation, but couldn't help but linger to hear some more of the conversation after hearing them mention his name. When he heard the mention of Pyre Academy he tensed and backed away, scurrying into a corner to hide, before pulling out his scroll and making a call.

If Colin Peredur knew about things at Pyre Academy then that wasn't good at all.

His call was answered after the first ring.

"You were told not to call me at work," the voice at the other end of the line scolded.

"We have a problem." Datura saw no point in beating around the bush about his reasoning for calling, especially given the potential urgency of the situation.

"You mean to say you have a problem," The voice corrected. "Best get out with it then. I still have work to finish."

"Colin Peredur knows."

There was a long beat of silence before Datura heard a long sigh from the other end. "How?"

Datura pursed his lips together, suddenly grateful not to be speaking to his employer in person so that they couldn't see his sudden awkwardness. "Well, Cheren got drunk a few weeks back and suggested to Esmerelda that if she was looking for work she could maybe help us. When I found out he had said that to her, I did my best to do some damage control I assure you. However, it seems I was not quick enough and she told Ruka, who just told Colin."

"Why did the two of you feel the need to ask for help?" The voice snapped, clearly more angry at this fact rather than what Colin knew.

"Well, I wasn't the one who-"

"Do not try to lie to me, Datura Oleander," The voice warned. "You might not have asked the question yourself, but I recall it was only recently that the two of you came to me asking for additional help, which I firmly declined." A long exhale followed this scolding. "You should have been watching Cheren more carefully. You are well aware of his tendency to talk once he's more than a little inebriated."

"I cannot be expected to watch him all the time," Datura protested.

"Perhaps I ought to tweak the terms of your contract so you should then, hm?" The voice countered. "Regardless, you two now have a new job on your hands. Go find Cheren and put a stop to Colin sniffing around. I pay you for security after all, so do your job."

Datura was about to give a snide response to the first remark but a 'click' from the other end of the line told him that the call was already over.

Terrific.

With a sigh, Datura slid his scroll away and then began to look around for Cheren Rutland. Whilst he hadn't seen the man in question, the majority of the Rutland clan were in attendance at the celebration, so no doubt Cheren and his wife would be too. 

Sure enough, he spotted Cheren watching the dancing. His wife, Amalthea, was standing next to him and he had an arm around her shoulder.

It was Amalthea who spotted him first, turning and looking at him with such a fierce gaze that Datura had half a mind to back away from her. Cheren might have been the more well known of the two, but Amalthea could be more terrifying than her husband on occasion.

"Sorry to intrude, but could I borrow your husband for a moment?" He asked, mustering up his most polite tone.

Amalthea raised a brow at him. Next to her, Cheren was aware of his presence, and looked at him with a similar expression, though he looked less suspicious than his wife did.

"Why?" She asked sharply.

"Private matter," Datura responded hastily, casting a glance at Cheren, silently asking for help. "I promise I won't keep him long."

"It's okay, love, I won't be long," Cheren assured her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Why don't you go and join in with the dances? I'll be back before you know it."

Before his wife could say anything else, Cheren was already moving away from her, gesturing for Datura to follow him before they got caught up any longer. As they walked, Cheren turned back to give his wife a reassuring wave. Datura on the other hand saw no point looking back, knowing full well she'd still be looking at him with that same suspicious glare.

Cheren guided them outside, and quickly pulled Datura out of earshot so they could speak.

"What's the meaning of this, Datura?" He asked, looking at him with a mix of curiosity and confusion. "I thought you didn't want to speak outside of work."

He was right of course. When the two men had started working together, Datura had been insistent they hardly speak to each other outside of work. Datura hadn't wanted anyone to mistake the two for friends.

"Colin knows about Pyre." Datura told him simply.

The colour seemed to drain from Cheren's face as he heard that. "How?"

"Well, we have you and your drunken ramblings to thank for that," Datura said sarcastically. "Seems the information finally made its way down to Colin. Honestly, you should consider yourself lucky he didn't find out sooner."

"Did you tell the boss?"

"Of course I did." What kind of fool did he take him for? "And you should know they're not happy. We've been told to deal with this promptly."

"As in now?" Cheren asked. "Couldn't we wait until after the celebration or even tomorrow? Tea won't like it if I leave right now."

"You don't understand, Cheren," Datura said coldly.  "You know what the ‘Wraith’  is like. Do you think he’s just going to just wait around? No. Colin is likely on his way there right now, along with his nephew's little team. They might not find anything right away but with five of them snooping around the place...well I doubt it'll take them long to find out what's really hiding there would it?"

Cheren shook his head. "No I suppose it would not," He conceded, sighing a little as he did so. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Make sure they don't find what they're looking for. Clearly." Datura rolled his eyes. "I'll leave the children to you and I'll take Colin for myself."

"As you wish." Cheren said slowly, almost a little reluctantly even. He proceeded to  bow his head "Do I have time to tell my wife I'll be a bit longer?"

"No," Datura rebuked him sharply. "Let's grab our weapons and deal with the problem. The sooner this is resolved the better. For us and the boss."

[sustraiii]

TEAM KWTZ CHAPTER 6: UNUSUAL BEHAVIOUR

Team KWTZ learns more about the Grimm problem plaguing Silbern, and Kieran makes plans to see his mother.

KIERAN

The morning after KWTZ had returned had started out well enough. Perpetual early risers, the whole Peredur family were up and awake by eight in the morning. Whilst the others slept, the family used a combined effort to prepare and make breakfast for their guests. Colin left midway through cooking to check for any new postings on the mission board but was back home when they began to set the table and invite the others to eat.

As they tucked into breakfast, Colin bought up an idea for KWTZ to speak with a man known as Victor Chartreuse. He explained that Victor was an expert in Grimm behaviour and might have been able to give them some much-needed insight as to why they were attacked by such a large pack of Prowlers.  Colin also revealed that since the increased Grimm attacks, he and the rest of the Silbern huntsmen had been providing Victor with information on the attacks so that they could keep track of any notable reoccurrences or patterns of behaviour. Kieran had to admit he was surprised to hear this, knowing that his uncle and Victor Chartreuse did not exactly see eye to eye.

After some deliberation, KWTZ agreed to go with Colin to speak with Victor. Colin also extended the invitation to Roisin and Perry, but the offer was declined. Roisin did not feel up to speaking with him, and Perry decided to stay with Roisin, despite insistence from his leader that she was fine and he should have really gone with the group. It was Daragh who was surprisingly vocal against the group going with Colin. He expressed some displeasure in them jumping back to work despite them having come to Silbern to rest, but as Colin pointed out, they were not technically picking up a mission they were just having a little discussion. Daragh did seem to ease off after that, but it was clear that he still wasn't entirely thrilled by the idea.

Once breakfast was, the group set about getting ready to speak with Victor. Kieran got ready with Wyn, who pressed him for some further information about the man they were going to see. Kieran would have liked to answer Wyn’s questions but as he quickly told his teammate he didn’t actually know him that well, only possessing a passing familiarity with him, and openly admitting that his opinions of him might have been distorted by those of his father and uncle.

When they were ready, Kieran and Wyn began to head downstairs, ready to meet up with Colin and the rest of their team who were waiting for them. As they exited Kieran’s room, they bumped into Roisin who was coming out of her room. Kieran had yet to speak with his twin properly that morning and wanted to see how she was doing after the night before. He told Wyn to go on ahead and that he would only be a minute.

“Aren’t you supposed to be meeting Victor Chartreuse?” Roisin asked her brother, as the pair of them watched Wyn go. “You shouldn’t keep everyone waiting just because of me.”

Kieran could have sworn there was the slightest hint of a teasing tone there as she spoke but it was gone almost as soon as it appeared. “I just wanted to see how you were.”

“I’m - “ Roisin paused almost as soon as she started to speak. Her lips pursed together briefly and she had an expression on her face that seemed to imply she was giving some thought to this answer. “I’m fine,” She said after a few moments, before quickly amending it. “I’m feeling better at least. It feels good to be home.”

“Good. I’m glad,” Kieran smiled. Truth be told she did seem a little brighter than she had in recent weeks. Signs of fatigue still haunted her features, and though the time spent at their home seemed to be doing wonders already, he recognised it wouldn’t be some miracle cure and that she would not be better in a matter of days.

“So I know what I’m doing today, but what about you, do you have any plans?” He would ask.

“Oh, nothing exciting,” Roisin responded coolly. “I was planning on just helping dad around the house and then maybe going to say hello to mum.”

At the mention of their mother, Kieran couldn’t help but perk up a bit. “I don’t want to impose or anything but could I possibly come with you when you go? To see mum that is.”

“You wouldn’t be imposing, Kee. She was your mother too,” Roisin told him, giving him a light nudge. “Of course, you can come later. I’ll wait here until you’re done and then we can go together. Maybe I can ask dad if any of his camellias are in bloom so we can take some with us. They were her favourite flowers after all.”

“That sounds nice,” Kieran nodded in approval. 

With plans set in motion for later, Kieran said farewell to his twin for now and hurried to meet the others who had since gone outside since he started talking with his sister. The group continued on their way to the Chartreuse's home.

Compared to the rest of the buildings in Silbern, the Chartreuse's home stood out like a sore thumb. Not only was it the tallest building, but it had also been built in a completely different style to the other buildings, save perhaps for the Golden Fleece. It was a very austere building, with a grey and moody exterior, that was so prominent it seemed to leech onto its neighbours. Approaching the front door, Colin pressed the doorbell, and beyond the thick wooden doors, a loud chime could be heard echoing through the interior beyond. Colin took a step back and smoothed down his hair. A moment or two passed until there was the sound of a key being slid into the lock and the door opened. But it was not Victor that answered.

They were greeted by a woman - one who Kieran had not seen in some time but still knew quite well. Her name was Meredith Chartreuse, and she was Victor's cousin as well as a former teammate to Colin. She was a cheerful and pleasant young woman, with light brown curls, yellow-green eyes, and a wide smile on her face as she opened the door. 

"Good morning, Colin," She gave a nod in greeting, before sweeping her gaze over KWTZ who stood a little behind him. Her eyes seemed to widen a little when she spotted Kieran. "Oh my, is that little Kieran?"

Colin returned her initial greeting with a smile but did not answer her following question for some time, simply staring at her for a moment, before realising she had asked a further question. Kieran couldn't help but smirk a little to himself regarding his uncle's lapse in concentration around Meredith. Although Colin had always protested otherwise, it was a shared opinion among the rest of the family that he clearly had feelings for her.

"It's nice to see you, Meredith," Kieran wound up answering for his uncle.

"My, my, look how big you are now!" Meredith said, making a gesture towards him. "The last time I saw you, you barely came up to my shoulder, and now you're taller than I am!" She laughed a little as she said that, and Kieran couldn't help but smile along with her, so infectious was her laughter. 

“Meredith, these are my teammates Wyn, Tilia, and Lin,” Kieran said, once the laughter had subsided. “Everyone, this is Meredith Chartreuse.”

Meredith walked out of the door to greet each of the remaining members of KWTZ in turn, shaking each of their hands and asking all of them how they were doing. When introductions were out of the way, she made her way back up to the front door and turned back to the group.

“What is the meaning of your little visit today?”

“As much as I wish this was a personal visit, I regret to say this is because of the Grimm again,” Colin answered for them, a slight sag in his shoulders as he spoke, something which was mirrored by Meredith.

“I suppose you’ll be wanting to speak with Victor then?” She asked, looking for confirmation from the group. When Colin nodded in the way of an answer, she gestured to them to follow her inside. Compared to the exterior, the interior was much more colourful, though no less ornate in places. The group walked down a long corridor which opened out onto a large, open space with two more adjoining corridors connected to it. The space was dominated by an L-shaped staircase and a striking, albeit somewhat dusty, chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

"Colin, would you be so kind as to lead everyone to the sitting room?" Meredith asked, politely. "I will make you all some refreshments and fetch my cousin."

Colin nodded his head, gesturing for the group to follow, whilst Meredith split off and headed down the adjoining corridor to the left. The sitting room was a large room connected by a small archway to an equally large dining room, which housed a large dining table that could comfortably sit upwards of twelve people.

As the group made themselves comfortable in the sitting room, Kieran couldn't help but feel as though they were being watched. It was hard not to feel that way with the faces of three members of the Chartreuse family staring down at them from detailed portraits hung above the fireplace. A younger image of Meredith was hung in the middle, unmistakable with her light brown curls, yellow-green eyes, and wide smile. To the right of Meredith was a picture of her mother Glynis, a pretty woman with the same light brown hair as her daughter and darker eyes. And to the left was her father Sylvester, whose stern gaze still put Kieran at unease after all these years. He was never outright rude to anyone, but he had a very entitled opinion of himself, and Kieran always got the feeling that he was always silently judging those around him. Besides the three obvious portraits on the wall, there was actually a fourth in the sitting room. Tucked away on a side table in the corner of the room sat a small picture of a younger Victor Chartreuse. Where the portraits of his family members were hung in large, ornate, golden frames, Victor's was framed in a much smaller silver frame, with the metal beginning to look faded from where it clearly had not been tended to.

Meredith soon returned, carrying a tray of refreshments with her, and Victor was close behind her. Victor shared the same eyes as his cousin and had the same prominent brow as his uncle, which might have given him the same stern aura if not for the large bags under his eyes which made him look exhausted. He was slightly taller than Meredith, though his hunched posture made him appear shorter than his true height. When he saw they had guests he raised an eyebrow but his face remained otherwise impassive.

“Let me guess you’re here to put in another report about the Grimm?" Victor asked with a sarcastic tone. Kieran noted that the man seemed to ignore KWTZ’s very presence in the room, and spoke directly to Colin.

"Of course," Colin responded in a flat tone. "Why else would I be here talking to you?"

Victor glanced at his cousin briefly before making a scoffing sound. Like most other people who knew both Colin and Meredith it seemed he was also well aware of the unspoken feelings between them. "Well, what is it this time?"

"It was a pack of Prowlers," Colin answered.

"That's hardly worth making a fuss of," Victor said, letting out a huff after his words. "Prowlers were common around Silbern before the Grimm attacks picked up."

"A pack of twenty though?"

Kieran noted that Victor's eyes did briefly widen with interest before quickly returning to the neutral expression he had before. "Unusual but not unheard of," Victor said. "Again, I'm not sure it warrants such concern."

"So you're not going to make a note of this?" Colin asked, sounding increasingly irate as he went on. "How can you be so dismissive about this? You were the one who suggested weeks ago that we tell you about 'any and all' Grimm attacks so you could monitor for any unusual behaviour."

"True but that doesn't give you and the rest of your ilk the right to turn up here at all hours of the day demanding I make note of everything you've seen," Victor told him. His tone remained as neutral as his expression as he spoke though Kieran couldn't help but feel there was something of a dig aimed at his uncle embedded in Victor's words. And judging by how Colin's features twisted into a deep set frown, he had clearly thought the same thing.

"Victor," Meredith cut in, giving her cousin a look. "There's no need to be like that, Colin is only doing his job."

Victor sniffed. "As am I, cousin, as am I."

"Well you could have fooled me!" Colin threw his hands up in exasperation.

Kieran thought his uncle had more to say but before Colin could speak again, Victor cut him off. “Don’t fret, Colin. I shall make a note of your little encounter,” Victor gave a dismissive wave. He turned to Meredith and plucked a cup and saucer from the tray she was carrying. “Thank you for the tea cousin.”

And with that, he turned and walked back out of the room. It was Wyn who ultimately broke the silence, forcibly coughing to break the tension that had arisen from the two men's argument. “Well Victor seems nice,” He said in a sarcastic tone.

Meredith gave an awkward smile before stepping forward to finally set her tray down. “My cousin can be a little blunt sometimes but he is a good man deep down,” Meredith assured them which was met by a snort from Colin. “He usually isn’t so bad, I promise."

"I don't think either of us have had a civil conversation for some time now," Colin remarked, more to himself than to Meredith. He was still scowling but his expression softened when he looked at Meredith. "I'm sorry, Merry," He said, giving her an apologetic look. "It seems like nearly every time I visit you as of late, any conversation between the two of us devolves into a heated argument."

Meredith had been taking a sip of her tea as Colin was speaking, so took the time to set it down, before extending a hand to tap his knee reassuringly. "Don't worry, Colin. I know well enough that my cousin isn't the easiest man to get on with, though I appreciate that you always try to make an effort at the very least."

The woman turned her attention away from Colin and gave KWTZ an apologetic look. "I will say that I'm sorry for Victor's behaviour to the four of you, however," She told them. "Usually he's more polite with visitors, especially those he hasn't met before."

"It's fine," Lin smiled. Next to her Wyn and Tilia also nodded their heads to show they were understanding of the situation. However, Kieran knew his teammates well enough to know they were acting polite for Meredith's sake.

"Sounds like he's had his hands full with the Grimm problem," Kieran noted.

"Hmm, oh yes, very busy," Meredith nodded. "I'm surprised you knew of the situation, did your uncle tell you?"

"Yes, and we were also attacked by the group of Prowlers he mentioned earlier," Kieran explained. "We were fortunate uncle Colin turned up when we did, we were quickly getting overwhelmed by the number of them."

Meredith raised her brows in surprise. "Very fortunate, indeed," Meredith said in agreement. "Our walls have protected us from the worst of it and of course, our brave huntsmen have helped keep the Grimm from straying too close. I only hope the cause for this increase in attacks is discovered soon."

"Is Victor any closer to finding an answer?" Wyn asked. "Sorry, Colin mentioned to us earlier that Victor was monitoring the attacks for any signs of recurrent behaviour that might explain the increase in Grimm activity."

To Kieran's surprise, Meredith seemed rather taken aback and uncomfortable with the question, shifting in her seat. "Oh, I wouldn't know," She admitted, running a finger along the rim of her cup. "Like my father, Victor is very private about his work. He says I wouldn't understand the intricacies of what he does."

"I feel like there's something more you're not telling us," Colin said, giving his former teammate a look. She shied away from his stare, looking down at her cup.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Colin."

"Merry. I know you," Colin pointed out. "I know when you're holding things back."

Meredith pursed her lips together before they broke apart in a sigh. "It's hardly holding anything back as you implied, it's more like certain observations I've made in recent weeks," Meredith admitted. She paused for a minute before continuing when Colin gestured for her to carry on speaking. "Victor has been getting rather lax with his duties."

"Lax in what way?" Colin asked.

“He's been taking fewer notes and being more dismissive about supposed Grimm attacks," Meredith began to explain. "A recent example being Kaltrina and her son. They visited Visitor three days ago to discuss a Grimm sighting that they saw in the north of town. Victor barely let them finish what they were saying before rushing them out the door, insisting it was nothing to worry about and they were worrying over nothing."

"Whilst I'm loath to agree with Victor, Kaltrina and her family are known to overexaggerate," Colin observed, which Meredith nodded in agreement. "Still, to turn them away without making a note of what they saw seems wrong. Has anything else happened like this recently? And do you know what Kaltrina and her son saw?"

"There have been a few instances with Esmerelda, with Victor dismissing her words on the basis that Lavendin hasn't even let her go out that far for some weeks now," Meredith answered. She took a longer moment to answer his second question. "They didn't mention a Grimm by name, only saying that it was exceptionally large and slow moving."

"There have been a few rumours of something large in the woods floating around recently," Colin told the group after a moment. "I'm not sure how true these rumours are as there has never been any solid evidence provided about something actually being out there. However, I'm beginning to think it could be worth a more thorough investigation now."

"We could help too," Kieran offered, not even bothering to check with his teammates before offering their assistance. He knew his team well enough to be certain that none of them would have had any problems with helping out.

Colin gave his nephew a weary look. "You're supposed to be resting."

"I understand that, but we want to help any way we can!" Kieran insisted. "If you're worried about da I can explain the situation to him."

"Ah yes, because that went so well this morning trying to convince him to let you speak with Victor," Colin shook his head in amusement.

"We're here aren't we?" Kieran quipped, which got a genuine laugh from his uncle.

"Please let us come," Wyn begged, giving Colin an over exaggerated pleading look. "We might, uh, go stir crazy otherwise."

"Is that a legitimate cause for concern?"

"Well not for us," Tilia cut in, gesturing to herself, Lin, and Kieran. "But with Winifred, who knows. He needs active stimulation."

Colin considered Kieran's offer for help for some time before relenting and allowing them to come. "Fine, you can help," He said. "But you will do what I say, do you understand?"

"Of course, of course," Kieran said, nodding his head along with his words. "We'll be perfectly well behaved."

He gave his teammates a small look as he said that, lingering on Wyn, in particular, to ensure they were all in agreement and understood the rules of them tagging along.

After settling matters about the future investigation, KWTZ and Colin enjoyed a pleasant afternoon in the company of Meredith. She was a gracious and humble host, asking politely after Roisin, and answering the slew of questions that came out of Wyn and Tilia's mouths. When she found out that Kieran and Lin were seeing each other, she couldn't help but coo over them, commenting on what a nice couple they made, which only made Kieran flush a shade of pink in embarrassment.

Once they had finished speaking with Meredith, KWTZ returned to the Peredur family home, whereas Colin split off to speak with some more friends. By the time they had returned home, Roisin was ready to go and see their mother. Thankfully, Kieran's teammates and Perry were all understanding of the two of them needing this private time together.

Kieran and his sister walked arm in arm as they made their way to the memorial park in the east of Silbern. Roisin had one arm hooked around one of Kierans, and under the other arm, she had a tight grip on a bunch of camellias that Kieran was pleased to see their father had given them.

They talked little as they walked, with Roisin only instigating a conversation to ask how things had gone at the Chartreuse's. She seemed pleased to hear Meredith was doing well and told Kieran she would like to see her herself at one point, as she always enjoyed her company. When she heard of Victor's behaviour she only rolled her eyes and made a comment about how he never had any respect for the good work huntsmen and huntresses did.

When they reached the memorial park, they were not the only ones enjoying the scenery. Two families and a young couple were sitting on the benches enjoying the cool air. None of them stopped the twins to speak but every one of them gave them a look of acknowledgement as they passed. There was a singular gravel path that cut through the park, with the benches closer to the entrance, and fourteen lanterns to honour those who died in the Glatisant attack on either side of the path closer to the rear of the park. At the end of the pathway, a curved staircase led up to a raised platform where a statue of a metallic tree had been commissioned to also commemorate the fallen. Spaced out around the tree were fourteen small stone plinths, each one engraved with a name, birthdate, and a shared date of death.

Kieran and Roisin had been here often in their youth, and as they walked around to their mother's name, they both spared a small glance at the names they passed, of men, women, and children they once knew.

The plinth bearing Lucerne Peredur's name already had a bouquet of drying flowers resting upon it; most likely left by their father on a recent visit. Kieran gently picked it up and set it aside so that his sister could place the new bunch on top of the plinth.

"Your favourites," Roisin said, carefully setting down her new bouquet. With the flowers set down, Roisin knelt down on the floor in front of the stone, and Kieran followed suit.

Neither twin said anything at first, merely sitting in silence and looking at their mother's name. Although Kieran was glad to be near to his mother again, he wanted his sister to be the one to eventually break the silence, knowing that she needed this moment more than he did. 

Kieran knew his sister was close to breaking the silence when he was aware of hearing faint sniffling coming from her and turned to see his twin crying softly. With one hand, she tried to wipe away her tears, and Kieran gripped her free hand with his own, giving it a gentle squeeze to show Roisin he was there to support her.

Roisin turned to him and gave him a grateful smile before the two of them turned back to look at the stone. "Hey, mum," Roisin said, finally breaking the silence. "It's been a while hasn't it? There's a lot we need to catch up on."