without recourse

[luminous_regnant]

Bella doesn't even know that Elspeth had plans to visit Downside until after she finds that Jane is offline, that wishing doesn't fix it. Elspeth is a grownup; Edward does not monitor her every minute of every day, does not report all her comings and goings to her mother.

It's Addy who tells her, uncharacteristically grave, after Bella makes the announcement that Aurum will be isolated until Elspeth finds a door. Elspeth rescheduled an appointment with Addy to go offworld.

And now Elspeth is not going to find them a door, because Elspeth is gone, might well stay gone till Jane is fixed, because time is only synced up due to Jane. And Bella cannot fix Jane. Elspeth might find a door after fifty years have gone by in Aurum.

Bella makes the revised announcement by brainphone to everyone except Jake.

Jake she tells in person. Jake she clutches by the shoulders while he sobs and shakes. Jake she offers to put to sleep so Elspeth will not come home to find him having done something regrettable. Because she will, eventually, come home. Jake she tucks into bed like she's his mother and sends into dreamless nothing so he doesn't have to suffer however long his imprint will be vanished where he cannot follow.

And then she goes to Edward and, because she is a vampire, she does not cry, but she does sob.

Comments

[pina_colada]

She comes by her dishonesty honestly!

Safesun also has the important amenity of a beach. It amuses Kerron to pick his sister up and fling her some thirty feet into the water from the sand.

[pythbox]

It amuses Aedyt too. Sometimes she demands that he do it many times in a row. It is like flying!

[pina_colada]

It is like that! Kerron will toss her all afternoon if that suits her. It's Brandon's idea to play catch with her in the role of the ball.

[pythbox]

Aedyt finds this hilarious.

[pina_colada]

She's not particularly aerodynamic, but everybody involved is adept enough to get her to the next recipient without her landing on the sand once.

[pythbox]

Best game!

[temporal_affairs]

Nathan, ever opportune, shows up to fetch his daughter while she is midair over the point at which he lands his teleporting. He catches her by the ankle and holds her upside-down. "Learning to fly, pumpkin?"

[pythbox]

She giggles and gives him an upside-down hug.

"We're playing catch!" she says brightly.

[temporal_affairs]

"Are we," chuckles Nathan, and he twirls her once around his head and flings her neatly to Kerron, who catches her neatly.

[pythbox]

"Wheeeeeeeeee," says Aedyt.

[temporal_affairs]

"You ready to go home, pumpkin?" Nathan asks.

[pythbox]

"Yeah," she giggles, hugging her brother. "Bye, Kerron!"

[pina_colada]

"Seeya later, Aedyt," says Kerron, and he flings her back in Daddy's direction.

[temporal_affairs]

And home they go. Home is currently Lisel, Norway.

[pumpkin_pie]

Home can be lots of places! Aedyt wouldn't have it any other way, really. She likes following the capital around, and she likes the occasional day or two spent in Mummy and Daddy's place in New York, and she likes it when Mummy decides that the solution to her millions of hobbies crowding up all their homes is to build her a house on a cute little asteroid and put all of her stuff there, then give her a teleportation power so she can visit whenever she wants. Mummy's good like that. He fixes things.