Completed

Lemerion was glad to be getting out of the house. Spring had decided to go out with all the force of a typhoon. The roaring winds were just as endless as the rain. Flood warnings came almost every day. The farmers were beginning to worry that all of their crops would be absolutely ruined. Thankfully, nature's wrath ended when summer began. The black stormy days gave way to bright blue skies with white, wispy clouds. The heat remained at just the right temperature as well. For someone who loved the heat like Lemerion, the change was a most welcome one.

Busy

The period of where I didn't want to get up to do anything lasted about a week. I had to thank nana in a away for forcing me to think about how little time Maldor had left. The constant thoughts had prompted me to call him as much as I could before the inevitable happened. That inevitable was bad enough, but what really brought me down was how quickly Naldir had followed. I hadn't even been aware that he had been sick. Apparently, his wife and children hadn't wanted to worry me. None of them expected his illness to take his life so suddenly. But it had. I had lost two sons within a span of several days, and there was little anyone could do to cheer me up. It wasn't as if cheering me up was possible anyway. I wondered if I had ever been truly cheerful since Elrunamir's passing. I might have thought I was happy, but there was that pain always underneath. It was endless and deep, and it only grew more so with each day that sped by. The number of children left to grant me temporary joy was rapidly dwindling while the number of deaths that caused my heartache mounted ever higher.

Reconsidered

There was a constant hum of activity coming from the nursery. Thankfully, Isebrilia had taken to Abrien quickly and had warmed up to her brother sharing her space. She didn't cry when either were in the room anymore, which was a blessing. It was crazy enough in there without her adding to the stress. Nana and I were constantly running in and out trying to take care of the three toddlers while also keeping the house in order. It was a good day indeed when I only had to focus on teaching Cugu as Isebrilia had completed that phase. She was content to sit next to Abrien as they played with the xylophone and peg box.

Moving Forward

I thought it was a rather strange thing for me to do. One would think that after watching my home be consumed by flames that I would shun away from fire. I found myself attracted to the warmth of the one Andethon had made in his fireplace though. I wasn't upset or scared at seeing it, but was simply comforted by it warmth.

The past several weeks had not been kind to me. As if I hadn't already been on edge and hesitant enough, I had lost my place of respite. Then I had had no choice but to scatter the family. None of my older children had the space to take in myself and their younger siblings, and I wasn't about to have us living in hotel for Goddess knows how long. Gellrin had gone to stay with Ranna and Marty, Thoronton was watching over Erumaren, Celendel and Celenia were with Aewen, and Isebrilia and I were at Andethon's. It was certainly a massive change to not be in charge of the house. What was strange still was how quiet things were. Andethon and his wife only had one child, and Lyle was a soft-spoken boy. The calm pace my son's family was used to operating at was unnerving to me as I was accustomed to a much more hectic schedule. I was actually glad when Isebrilia would began crying for it shook things up.

Inferno

In a way, Celendel and Celenia began to remind me of Elrandra and Emethien. My youngest set of twins were getting older, but Celenia insisted on attaching herself to her brother. Their more refined walking and dexterity skills allowed her to climb on him in all sorts of new ways. It was highly amusing to watch. I was certain Celendel would finally tire of his sister's antics, but it seemed he continued to pay them no mind. In fact, I daresay he rather enjoyed being Celenia's climbing toy.

The Introduction

Winter transitioned smoothly into spring. The days steadily got warmer as the snow melted away to reveal the green grass underneath. Then the snowfall disappeared entirely as it was replaced by cold rain. I liked to stay inside when such rain was falling, but Gellrin and Erumaren enjoyed the change. They were outside playing in puddles more often than not. I would have been more annoyed at all the water and mud they would then track inside had it not been for the fact that they were indeed spending so much time outside. I would rather them get a little dirty than waste away their days in front of the television or something.