*Should go without saying that all characters belong to Anne Bishop, NOT ME!*

Saetan winced as he heard the loud crash reverberate through the Hall. Although a part of him was secretly pleased to have his home filled with laughter and chatter again, at times it seemed like a little too much excitement. As a second, louder crash followed the first, he hesitated between investigating further and fleeing into the sanctuary of his study.

"KHARY YOU IDIOT!"

As Karla's enraged screech echoed through the Hall, he decided that he could certainly justify leaving the problem to Helene and the rest of the staff. Hurrying as much as dignity would allow, he reached his study with a grateful sigh and went to pour himself a much needed glass of Yarbarah. Only his study wasn't empty. Two warlords, two warlord princes, a centaur, and a wolf stared back at him woefully. He blinked slowly, watching as the worried stares of the young men turned uneasy and embarrassed. Well, most of them.

"She will not speak to us; will not even look at us." Chaosti whispered coldly, glaring at Saetan as if Jaenelle's new injuries and sense of shyness were his fault. It was a poke to a still raw wound, as Saetan still blamed himself for so much that had happened to Daemon. He exhaled harshly, barely managing to contain his temper.

"Maybe you could talk to her, High Lord, maybe we've done something wrong." Khardeen jumped in, pleadingly. Aaron simply stared at the floor, looking troubled.

"Lads," Saetan began quietly, his reaction to Chaosti's words fading in the face of their distress, "this is not something that we can push. If she believes that she needs a bit more space to heal, then that is the situation."

"But, High Lord, you don't understand…She wouldn't even see us! We had to break down the door to make sure she was alright!"

"Karla wasn't pleased…" Aaron added unnecessarily. Karla's tempers were many things; subtle wasn't one of them.

"I'm surprised she let you leave with all of your limbs still attached" Saetan murmured, remembering her displeased reaction to the no longer mysterious crashes.

"Lucivar distracted her while we ran away." Khary explained.

"We did not run away," Chaosti glared at Khary "we simply exited the situation, allowing the more prepared male to diffuse the tension."

"So, in other words, we ran."

"Wait, you counted on Lucivar to diffuse…" Saetan stuttered, his words interrupted by a third explosion that shook the entire Hall. After a blessed second of silence, female shrieks joined with the snarls of an enraged Eyerian. Saetan closed his eyes, reminding himself that he loved his son, he loved his son.

His patience waning, Saetan began to hurry upstairs to Jaenelle's room. Looking thoughtful, he stopped for a moment, shielded heavily, and then continued. The group of young men followed warily, exchanging unhappy glances.

"But we just barely got away last time!" Morton whispered terrified.

As the number of bangs began increasing in both frequency and volume, Saetan decided that the time for delicacy had passed.

"For now, at least, Jaenelle needs peace, or at least as much as she can get with this delightful group hovering about." he snapped. "As much as we all pretend that my daughter is forever grateful for our attentive fussing, she would probably welcome a bit of time to process everything that has happened. No doubt the coven is also panicked and distressed at her injuries. If you want something useful to do, here is my suggestion: look after the rest of the coven, Jaenelle will heal sooner with a bit of privacy."

"Mother night!" he hissed, as a chunk of wall flew past him. He started running in earnest then, desperate to save what remained of the Hall.

The boyos exchanged surprised glances, and in the case of Prince Smoke, one incredulous woof, before Saetan's words sunk in.

"I thought Gabrielle was looking rather thin" said Chaosti, his face tight with disapproval. "The darkness knows when she last ate something…"

"…Morghann hasn't slept all week…"

"…Thought I heard Kalush crying in her room…"

No longer wary, the boyos broke into a run towards Jaenelle's room, overtaking Saetan right as they reached the, now non-existent, door.