Em'brel awoke to Jack speaking with Angela and S'haar. She wasn't sure when she'd fallen asleep, but Grim and Sare'en were tangled up in the blankets with her. Lon'thul had apparently excused himself, leaving the females to Grim's care as they rested.

Jack looked concerned. "So just how bad has it gotten? How many hours a night is she sleeping, and for that matter, how strongly do argu'n react to sleep deprivation?"

Angela sighed. "Honestly, I thought she'd been getting better, but last night's incident makes me reconsider. She's been mostly sleeping with Grim, Sare'en, and myself keeping her company, and while she occasionally wakes up in the middle of the night, she's been sleeping closer to sixish hours a night. As you probably noticed, argu'n need more sleep than humans, so that's closer to a human sleeping five and a half hours. Of course, that's not optimal, but it's enough for most people in most situations to function. In her case, it's probably adding to the stress, which she's obviously bearing way too much of. As far as the effect of sleep deprivation, I don't really have enough samples to give you a good answer, but at the very least, it's not helping with her recovery."

As Em'brel shifted the blankets off herself, everyone's attention turned to her. She couldn't tell if she was more annoyed that they'd been talking about her while she'd slept, ashamed of her behavior last night, or grateful that her family was concerned about her.

Jack merely smiled. "Feeling better?"

Em'brel groaned as she stretched. "I don't know if better is the word. Though my mind seems clearer after some sleep, and what happened last night feels more...childish?"

Jack nodded as if expecting something along those lines. "Yeah, the clarity that comes after a panic attack often brings out those feelings. Without all those fight or flight chemicals wreaking havoc on your mind, it's easy to see what you did wrong or could have done better. The thing to remember is that, at the time, you weren't capable of reason, not really, anyway. No matter how badly you might have wanted to, your body was flooding itself with chemicals designed to push you to deal with what it perceived to be a mortal threat. With awareness, time, and practice, it's possible to somewhat mitigate the effect, but it never completely disappears. Millions of years of evolution have hardwired your body to react quicker than you can think in an emergency. The problem is the body doesn't always correctly assess which emergencies require that response and which would be better to deal with logically."

Em'brel hung her head. "Yeah, but To'brel didn't deserve what I said and did, either..."

At that, Jack grinned. "You're right, and it's impressive that you already realize that. Unfortunately, the problem with trauma is that rarely does anyone who's left dealing with the fallout deserve what happened. You might not be at fault, but neither was he. It's important that you remember that and do what you can to make amends." After Jack finished his speech, S'haar placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled in a way that told Em'brel he wasn't simply speaking academically.

Em'brel nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, Angela said something similar last night... As much as I want to pretend nothing happened, I probably should pay him a visit later..."

Jack hobbled over and patted Em'brel on the shoulder. "Angela has some experience living with someone who's dealing with trauma. She's a smart lady. You should listen to what she has to say."

Angela floated over on her back as though riding some invisible current through the air. "I'm a smart lady, and you should listen to what I say? Maybe I'll have to play that recording back the next time you ignore my advice!"

Jack looked at his sister indignantly. "I never ignore your advice. It's just that sometimes, after considering it, I decide to take a different course of action."

The AI came to a halt in front of her brother and stood up nose to nose. Her intimidating glare was somewhat offset by her diminutive nature. "Same thing! If it's good for the goose, it's good for the gander!"

Em'brel looked back and forth between the two, amazed at how strange the two could still be after all this time. These days, watching Jack embrace his wise wizard persona and Angela walk around like a living statue, it was easy to forget how odd and silly they really were. But here, in the comfort of their home, their masks fell away, leaving the Jack and Angela she was more familiar with. She couldn't help but grin, seeing their old antics back in play.

To'brel was sitting in his room, still trying to puzzle out what had happened. His cousin had gone from radiating a little nervousness but speaking amicably enough to wild-eyed and panicked. When she'd begun to attack him, he'd been sure the rest of the camp would leap to her defense and tear him to pieces.

Even when Lon'thul pulled her back and Em'brel ran off, he'd been confident that he'd be blamed and, at the very least, treated with hostility from then on. But while some workers directed hardened glares in his direction, many others simply acted as if the whole thing had been an unfortunate accident. After Jack's intervention, even S'haar decided he'd done nothing wrong and appeared to think the entire thing was merely a misunderstanding. After struggling to understand what had happened, he was no closer to understanding anything than he'd been the night before.

Now, Jack and S'haar were here again, and apparently Em'brel was just outside with Lon'thul. The wizard tilted his head and spoke as Lady S'haar translated again. "So if you're up to it, Em'brel would like to apologize and explain what happened. You're not obligated to listen, but I think it would go a long way toward helping you both, if you did."

To'brel didn't know what to say. Did they think he was really in a position to refuse? What would they do if he did? Did he want to refuse? What if Em'brel freaked out again? Was this all some sort of weird power play? What did they stand to gain from it if it was? How long had he been sitting here while everyone awkwardly waited for his response?

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Finally, the young noble decided his curiosity was stronger than his trepidation, and he nodded. "That would be fine. But we seem to be a little short on chairs..."

Lady S'haar looked back and spoke quickly to someone out of sight. Soon, the large guard, Orth'kun, brought in a few chairs, followed quietly by Em'brel. Bringing up the rear was a much less quiet Lon'thul. "Heya, kid? How's it going?"

To'brel blinked in confusion a few times while S'haar gave Lon'thul an appraising look. "You know, you're not that much older than the 'kid' here." Then, after another moment of appraisal, she added, "Not much more mature, either..."

Lon'thul acted as if he'd been stabbed through the heart. "Your words wound me! I will forever bear the scars!" The hunter then looked over at To'brel and winked. "Don't worry, so long as you don't actually pick a fight with her, S'haar's howl is worse than her teeth."

S'haar looked like she was debating disproving Lon'thul's claim when Em'brel bowed in front of To'brel, attracting everyone's attention and shifting the mood in the room to a more serious tone. "I'm sorry for my behavior last night! You reminded me of some rather painful memories, and I wasn't thinking clearly, but that doesn't excuse what I said or did."

Having been caught off guard, To'brel didn't know what to say or do. Was this a trap of some kind? Or did she really mean it? Thinking back on the Em'brel he'd known growing up, she'd never been the type to play power games. If anything, she'd always been a little too apathetic when it came to her power. While she'd been away for a while, and apparently a lot had happened, he didn't think she'd suddenly gone and become power-hungry. He just couldn't picture her that way.

With a shake of his head, To'brel responded. "I'm just glad I didn't actually do anything wrong. I was worried I'd unintentionally offended or insulted you."

Lon'thul spoke up from over in his corner. "Well, I wouldn't say you did nothing wrong. You really have to do a better job of taking people's thoughts and feelings into account before speaking. If you don't, something like this is bound to happen again, regardless of your intentions!"

Both Jack and S'haar turned their heads to stare at the hunter incredulously. Finally, Jack laughed, and S'haar shook her head. "Coming from you? That's rich!"

Lon'thul grinned and winked at To'brel. "You're not the only one that had to learn a thing or two the hard way!"

To'brel was just starting to grin when everyone's expression changed as they all reached up to those odd headdresses they all wore. Jack and S'haar looked like they were listening to a distant voice, their expressions grim. Em'brel looked suddenly frightened as though she wanted to run and hide. Even Lon'thul looked uncharacteristically sober.

Finally, Lady S'haar started speaking in sharp rapid tones. "Are we sure they're not raiders? How many are there? How far out?"

After a few moments, she turned to Orth'kun. "Run and get Ger'ron to the main gate. Tell him I need all the guards at their stations and the workers armed with as many gastraphetes as are ready.

As the guard took off running, S'haar looked over at Jack and hesitated. "I need to get to the gate and start getting ready, and no offense, but you're a bit too slow right now. Come when you can."

Jack said something in that odd language, and S'haar turned to Lon'thul. "Don't let him out of your sight until this is all said and done. I expect you to keep him from diving into trouble like usual!"

S'haar leaned down and held the smaller Jack tightly with surprising intimacy as they pressed their mouths together. To'brel was just starting to get uncomfortable when they broke it off. On her way out, S'haar turned to To'brel and then Lon'thul. "Oh, and bring the kid. His father might want to see him to ensure he's alive and well." With that, S'haar was gone, and To'brel's mind was a maelstrom of confusion and possibilities.

Lon'thul looked over at To'brel with a grin. "Well, I hope you enjoyed your stay with us, but it sounds like your time here might be at an end!"

Em'brel watched as S'haar walked out of the room. Her mind was whirling, and she started thinking of running back to the billet to hide, but S'haar was right. Even if they weren't coming to start a fight, there was always the possibility things could go that way. You don't bring an army like that if you weren’t ready for things to get rough. They really needed every able body if the numbers Angela had quoted were accurate, and they obviously were. So either she could hide and possibly lose people important to her, or she could stand and fight to protect those she cared about. People like Sare'en...

Em'brel's vision blurred, and her throat almost closed in sudden panic. Her eyes wild, she turned to Lon'thul, who was already making calming motions. However, she wouldn't be shushed and shouted over his calming voice. "Sare'en is outside the wall! She took the arlack out to graze!"

Jack and Lon'thul looked at each other and, much to Em'brel's frustration, seemed to have a whole silent conversation conveyed in the slightest of head tilts and eye motions. It only took the briefest of moments, but eventually, Lon'thul broke the silence. "S'haar will kill me!"

Jack shrugged. "Maybe, but there's no way in hell I'm letting Em'brel go out alone, you have to stick with me, and the kid has to stick with us! No one else is capable enough or not needed elsewhere. It's literally the only solution, and the longer we wait, the less likely we'll get to her and back before anyone arrives!"

Lon'thul shook his head again, but his voice was filled with resignation rather than resistance. "S'haar is going to kill me..."

Angela's voice came out over the headsets, making Em'brel jump. "I might kill you and my brother first, but he's right. Go and go now! It's your only window. I'll be there soon with supplies, but get our girl moving as quickly as possible!"

To'brel, the only person without a headset or the ability to understand Jack, was looking around, confused. Lon'thul grinned at him. "Alright, sounds like your dad's here to get you, and he brought an army with him, but one of our friends is outside the wall, and we're going to go get her. Your oath is still in effect, so you're coming with us to get her. If you want to run while we're out there, the only thing preventing you will be your word of honor. I guess we'll see just what kind of man you are!"

Jack checked his handgun before securing it snuggly in its holster, then looked at the hunter with a raised eyebrow. "Not sure if I would have spelled it out that clearly, but what's done is done."

Lon'thul shrugged while stringing his bow, in case it was needed. "Eh, he's a good kid. I trust him." The hunter winked at To'brel and grinned.

Em'brel was looking back and forth between them all. "Alright, enough wasting time! Let's go!"

Lon'thul looked over at Jack, who sighed in resignation and looked back at the hunter. "You heard her. Let's do it."

Lon'thul nodded and grinned before hefting Jack up over his shoulder and carrying him like a grain sack. That done, the hunter led the way, following Angela's directions, with Em'brel hot on his heels. To'brel hesitated only a second before giving up on understanding anything that was happening and following instead.