Pyra woke up early that morning, she was the first one awake, in fact, and she felt in desperate need of a clean up. Making sure everyone in her living quarters were still asleep, the blade quickly headed out over to the nearby waterfall for a relaxing bathe. The fresh cool deluge of natural spring water was a nice feeling on her person, it washed away so many concerns and weights crawling up her back and just allowed her to just… exist for a short while, not even the clouds that fogged up her brain could get her down as the roaring torrent of water blasted them away with great force.

Feeling refreshed and clean, Pyra cricked her neck and immediately set for home, fully expecting the kids to be waiting around hungrily for breakfast. Sure enough…

"Auntie Pyra!" The small horde of children all crowded around her at once, jumping up and down excitedly to see their favorite aunt home once again.

"Good morning kids! Is your father home?" She asked sweetly.

"No! Daddy went to work already! But he said to tell you and auntie Mythra good morning!" One of the little girls said.

"Oh… right… good morning to him as well…" Pyra sighed heavily, ashamed she had missed her driver once again.

"Auntie Pyra, will you play with us? Uncle Tora is still fixing up his game machine…" One of the boys whined.

"And he was the one who broke it!" Another boy pointed towards the first's direction.

"No I didn't! It was you! Tattletale!"

"You're tattling too!"

"I'm telling daddy when he gets back!"

"Boys! That's enough!" Pyra yelled, garnering all of the kids' attention at once. "It doesn't matter who's fault it is, we already apologized to Uncle Tora, and we're gonna make it up to him one day, okay?"

"Yes, auntie Pyra…" the kids all harmoniously replied.

"Good. And I would love to play with you all, but I assume you're hungry, and, well… auntie Mythra certainly doesn't know how to cook…" Pyra sighed.

"She burnt my milk!" A little girl called out.

"My eggs crawled away from me once…" the first little boy said sheepishly.

"Well you kids hold on tightly, I'll get the potatoes and sausages on the griddle." Pyra said.

"Awwww but we had that last week!" The kids cried.

"I know, I know, but they'll be the perfect little treat for your tummies so the lot of you can go and keep playing until bedtime, okay?" Pyra asked with a smile. All the kids had little conversations with themselves as they considered Pyra's proposition before turning back to her simultaneously and nodding their heads slowly.

"Okay, Auntie!" They all cried together as Pyra nodded politely going off into the kitchen.

Chop, fry, serve. That's all there was to it to a simple breakfast like that. Such a starchy and savory feast was also good to help the kids slow down too, so that way, when she did put in the effort to watch them, they'd be much more agreeable. The day went by as usual; breakfast, playtime, lunch, naptime, dinner, bedtime. It was an easy enough routine to be sure, one that Pyra had locked and loaded at this point, she had plenty of help when she wasn't outside with the kids too, so that was always appreciated… but no matter what, her driver was never part of the equation.

The next day, Pyra woke up and took a shower; saw the kids playing, made breakfast, took them on a walk outside, made lunch, put them to sleep, prepared dinner, put them to sleep again. breakfast, playtime, lunch, naptime, dinner, bedtime. breakfast, playtime, lunch, naptime, dinner, bedtime. breakfast, playtime, lunch, naptime, dinner, bedtime. Each day moved on about as quick as the other with the rhythm that Pyra had danced herself into, she was in her own little tempo and things felt good, though again, lacking her driver was sorely missed.

breakfast, playtime, lunch, naptime, dinner, bedtime. breakfast, playtime, lunch, naptime, dinner, bedtime. breakfast, playtime, lunch, naptime, dinner, bedtime. breakfast, playtime, lunch, naptime, dinner, bedtime. breakfast, playtime, lunch, naptime, dinner, bedtime. breakfast, playtime, lunch, naptime, dinner, bedtime.

…now Pyra's rhythm slowly began to deteriorate. A peaceful weekday was hardly different from a lazy weekend, and at the end of it all, she had the most pressure on her shoulders, Mythra seldom came out, not unless it directly involved Pyra or their driver, who Pyra would always miss no matter what happened, though she did have to admit that was more her factor than Mythra's, she wanted her to enjoy her retirement more than she did her own, Tora and Poppi were at work on their fancy little knickknacks, Morág and Brighid, though present, weren't as skilled as Pyra was in taking care of the kids, at least Brighid wasn't, and Morág's cold, serious glaze didn't make her the highest rated babysitter of the bunch, even if she did come up with fun games- or rather, chores and orders- for them to come up with, Azurda and Dromach were too old and tired to help much at all and preferred to stay close to each other in their twilight years, Zeke and Pandoria were just much too aggressive and hyper to really handle them all even if they did love the kids and the kids loved them back, and Nia was busy coming to her own as a ruler. That left only four, but really only two or three to help her out with all this work. The third being Mythra, who Pyra would be too scared to burden.

Everything just felt so… that was it. Everything felt just "so". The day started and then it ended. Stuff happened in it and that was it. That's certainly how Pyra was feeling at least. As there were less and less people actually able to help her, she was stuck with all the hard stuff. There were nights she was so tired, she couldn't even sleep. She would spend hours and hours on the hilltop overlooking the beautiful world they had all fought so hard to build, and here she was… unsatisfied… Pyra would turn away at those times and desperately try to think of something else… something nicer… something more… ideal… and sometimes… she'd pass out right in the middle of the field.

—————————————————————————

Frankie was hard at work and starving, he hadn't eaten since breakfast and was holding off from the delicious food outside the buffet, who he, as a dishwasher, had unlimited access to during lunch break. The weekend was coming soon and his brother, Kaito would be turning 19, that's what he was making room for, an amazing birthday dinner with his little brother… if that new girlfriend of his didn't tag along, that is, he just wanted it to be the two of them, nothing more, nothing less.

His co-workers from the previous shift would have been all for hearing what he had to say about his weekend's plans, and he remembered vividly the last time they had brought it into conversation.

"So, you gonna be cooking up anything for the fam tonight or tomorrow?"

"Hmmm… ribs"

"Haha! I like the sound of that, drown 'em in barbecue sauce I always say!"

Frankie shook his head. "It's… it's okay… dry rub on prepackaged is better, I think…"

"Whaaaaaat?! How dare you!" Frankie let out a small and polite chuckle, he could tell his co-worker was joking. "Tell me you've got some plans for the weekend! Going out to the club, drinking, getting some women around you?"

"Mm-mm." Frankie shook his head again.

"Oh come on, dude, there's gotta be something! You've got a brother don't you? You're gonna do something with him, right?"

"Yeah… go out to his favorite restaurant."

"Haha, Frank, you're such a foodie, don't keep us in the dark about the menu choice, 'kay?"

"I won't."

Now his new ones hardly ever talked to him, which was mostly fine, as he just got to mainly focus on his work and think about things in the near and distant future… he wasn't about to let that business card his cousin gave him go to waste the moment he was done with school… just a few more months. At the same time, because they didn't offer up much chance to talk to him, it made it super hard to get a read on their personalities, and work was often more awkward than it really needed to be, it made him wish for the end of the day more often than he should. It wasn't like he was much better in offering a reason to talk to him, his responses to any and all orders were just simple one nods and yeses. A situation day in and day out that can only be described as 'permissible study', which just made him low on energy at the end of the day.

When that end of day finally came, Frankie headed out the door to be greeted by an energetic.

"HONK HONK!" He looked up and smiled widely. Kaito was there to pick him up.

"Big Brobro!" Kaito cried as he waved excitedly to grab his attention. With that big smile still plastered on his face, Frankie rushed over into the car and hopped in the passenger's seat, both eagerly greeting each other with a huge, tight hug. "How are you feeling big brobro?"

"Eh… it was work… I guess it's nice doing it at your own pace and still being appreciated for it; you?" The older brother responded.

"Well one of those kids hit me in the face with a soccer ball, but I'm a tough guy! I can handle it! And… when I told Iino about it, she went out and got me some face cream and hung out with me until it was time to pick you up…" Kaito admitted with a blush on his face.

"…Iino, huh?" Frankie shifted in his seat jealously, an action that Kaito didn't ignore.

"Oh, come on, big bro, you don't have to be like that, Iino and I have only been together for a week now, and we've already had my birthday lunch together… oh man, I'm so glad I didn't have to pay THAT bill, do you know how much that girl can eat? She's like… a vacuum or something!"

"Well, dinner's on me tonight, you know. So don't be afraid to get back at her with something even more tasty, and you can tell her all about it the next time you see her."

"If I did, she'd chop my head off!" Kaito laughed. It was plain as day to see that he was super in love with this new girl. Frankie wouldn't let it be known, but he was happy for him, he just always loved seeing his baby brother happy.

And his brother was the same towards him.

Obviously the main reason Kaito wanted to have his birthday dinner with his older brother was because he simply wanted to spend time with him. They'd helped take care of each other for a long time and there was nothing he liked more than the two of them hanging out.

But another reason was out of a subtle but present concern Kaito had for his brother. He'd heard from his coworkers about how quiet, distant and unhappy he seemed every day at work. That mood of his would brighten a good deal whenever Kaito came over to pick him up, which Kaito was more than happy about, but as the days went by it seemed as though even that cheer was becoming…repetitive for Frankie.

Even now in the car, it seemed he was more content with silently looking out the window and it would be on Kaito to start the conversation, and while he didn't mind that at all, he'd become rather adept at keeping a chat going ever since he started this journalism career, it nonetheless concerned Kaito to see his brother in this state.

"Iino cares about you too, ya know."

"Hm?" Frankie was only half listening but what he heard caught his attention.

"Heh, yep. That girl's a lot more caring and aware than people give her credit for. Honestly, a part of her wanted to hang out with you too, but because she knew you wanted some one-on-one bro time, she decided to just go home for the day."

"O-oh…alright…"

Frankie simply looked back out the window in thought.

While that certainly made him happy, a part of his brain couldn't help but berate himself for being jealous of his little brother being in a relationship just now, and all of a sudden his mood was even more of a mess than it was before.

Kaito noticed this and continued his thought.

"And don't you worry. Me and her are here to support you with anything you need help with. It's the least we can do. You're our big brother after all."

That finally got a small smile out of Frankie, then a slight chuckle.

"Miko Iino as my little sister, huh? I guess I can accept that."

"Awww, good."

"And don't you lose hope."

Frankie turned to his now smirking brother in confusion.

"Heh, well knowing you, it won't be that much longer till I get a big sister, or another big brother for myself, you don't mind, so I don't mind-"

"W-what?!" Frankie's face was a bright red, his sullen, low energy mood suddenly spiking at the mere thought of what Kaito mentioned.

"Hah! Gotcha-" Kaito chuckled as he made sure to keep the car steady.

"But, seriously big bro. Whoever they are, make sure they're…good for you. You deserve someone special like that."

Frankie was still red as a peach but softened his expression at his brother's kind words.

"O…okay little bro…thank you…"

"Don't mention it. And if there's anything I can do to help you find this special someone, you know I'll be right there!"

"Heh…thanks Kaito."

—————————————————————————

Pyra suddenly woke up in a jolt, it was still dark out, but early morning wasn't too far away. She took a moment to reflect on what it was she just saw. None of it felt very familiar in the least, not the people, not the way they spoke, not their means of transportation, and most certainly not the world they lived in. It was so… alien… so bizarre… so… different. It made her heart race a fair bit, the first it had in quite a while, and what of that young man? The chubby one without facial hair, she could hardly remember exactly what her dream called him, but she did remember all too well the emotions he showed… all too similar to hers, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Was this another part of the world entirely? A sign from her father? She didn't know… but she didn't mind. This mystery gave her something to think about day after day, all the possibilities flooded her brain and brought a spring in her step and chest, one that everyone took notice of. Even though she would still miss her driver day in and day out, she'd still be able to relay messages to him about all of this, courtesy of Azurda, and she'd hear back from him about his feelings about the whole thing an it sounded like an adventure was under way not too long from now.

Yes! Just what she wanted! A brand new lease on life! No fighting, no conflict, just a simple, if a bit long winded, vacation. Perfect to break up all the monotony that had stained her life at this point. She would even tell Mythra about all these dreams she had. It gave the older blade a good chuckle because it didn't sound very different at all from the visions she had about their current driver before Pyra was even created, the apple didn't fall too far from the tree at all. It also just… made Mythra happy, to see her baby sister so full of love and life again, having something to look forward to, having fun with the kids again, THAT was what they all strived for. The only thing missing was their driver, but work for such a large family only made that schedule seem fair, even if it was a bit of a shame it had to be that way in the first place.

Because of all this, night was Pyra's favorite time of the day, where she could unwind, relax, reflect on the day these dreams brought her, and dream some more. Usually adding on to that first dream she had, but there were times completely different dreams would happen. Watching this young man, this, 'Frankie' grow up in his young adult life was nothing short of satisfying, at least for the moment, as she couldn't ever remember all the nitty gritty of these dreams of hers the next morning, but the idea that somewhere… out there, all of this was a reality… it lifted a weight off her heart and gave her hope for the future.

Then… there was one dream that really spoke to her. She was surrounded by a small but significant crowd of people, all gathered around on a raised floor, standing close and dancing sweetly while a slow, melancholy but uplifting song played around the room. But Pyra wasn't paired with anyone, all she could do was watch everyone twirl and step in and out of their own little circles while she just watched on sadly, still just… alone. That's when she heard a very familiar voice.

"Pardon me, May I offer you this dance… Pyra?" She turned and saw none other than that young man she's seen in so many dreams before now and she felt her heart skip a beat.

She was woken up abruptly by the real sudden beating of her heart and looked around her room frantically; all alone as to be expected. Now, she was getting curious and couldn't sleep so easily with these dreams becoming more and more frequent. Making sure nobody was woken up by her stirring, she headed out the village to nowhere in particular, just, somewhere she was able to think on her own.

Pyra had settled on the tall cliff that fed the waterfall she took her showers on. The crashing of running rapids and the fresh cool night air mixed with the smell of the clear water just below her were relaxing, the perfect set piece to really think about what all of this even meant. She couldn't do it alone, though, she needed a person to vent to.

"You called?" Mythra asked, suddenly appearing in a bright flash of light.

"I didn't wake you, did I?" Pyra asked worriedly. Mythra chuckled reassuringly and patted her younger sister's head affectionately.

"That's not important, Pyra, I care more about you then some dumb old beauty sleep that isn't getting put to use any time soon." The older blade said with a kind smile.

"Hah… Mythra, cut it out…" Pyra chuckled lightly as Mythra held her close, both blades resting on each other and looking up at the night sky.

"I can't remember the last time I actually got to just… look at the stars quite like this." Mythra intoned.

"Yeah… they are nice to have in times like these, aren't they?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Pyra picked herself up and walked a small distance forward to get a better look at what was below her as well as the horizon. Mythra stayed sitting down and just watched as the younger blade stared off into the beyond, it was only a few seconds, that felt like hours, later when Pyra actually spoke, turning to face her as she did.

"Do you think… do you think he's looking at them too? Maybe… maybe even thanking us for giving him that opportunity?" She asked.

"He? Who's he?" Mythra asked, already having a pretty good idea of who Pyra was talking about.

"You-you know, the gentleman that's been… that's been showing up in my dreams."

"Ah. I see." Mythra relaxed her muscles a bit, she was completely wrong in her assumption.

"Before I just used to see him living his life with people he… cared about I supposed, but this time was different, he… actually came up to me this time… and I don't know what that's supposed to mean."

"He came up to you?" Mythra repeated with a sharp chuckle. "Pyra, you sly little puppy…" Pyra hid an embarrassed blush from the older Blade by turning away suddenly, or at least tried to, her obvious nervousness gave Mythra a good little chuckle.

"M-mythra…?" Pyra began again, both Blades giving each other their full undivided attention despite being a fair distance from each other. "Did you ever… have similar experiences with your foresight?"

Mythra sighed heavily and leaned back a bit to look up towards the sky thoughtfully. She pondered for a bit before smiling sweetly with her eyes closed, getting up and turning towards Pyra once again.

"I don't remember much from so much time ago… but I do remember seeing that goofy little dino boy more times than I would've ever hoped to. But that was it, really, I just SAW him. Never really interacted with him or anything. All I could think was 'Who the heck is this kid? I don't know this kid. Is this my kid? I bloody well hope not'." Pyra chuckled sympathetically at Mythra's comment.

"And you still had Addam on the brain at the time, I remember vividly."

"Hey, that guy was a badass! That was someone who KNEW how to eat, drink and be merry in between punching out a cheeky bastard!"

"My, Mythra, what language, there are children present, you know…" Pyra teased, used to her sister's swearing, just not as casually as this.

"Ahhh, they're gonna need to learn at some point, it's all a part of life…" Both ladies had a fair chuckle with each other before shifting back to a serious mood as Pyra turned away again, wringing her hands in thought.

"So… you don't really know what any of this means, either…" She said.

"Pyra, these are your dreams, honey, if you want confirmation on something, then yes, I can indeed see them, but there's only so much I CAN see, furthermore, is this situation similar to foresight? Well, I suppose that's a fair assumption, but as for specifics, that's something we have yet to find out, and it's mostly up to you at this point. Present? Future? Another reality entirely? I'm afraid we're just gonna have to play the waiting game… I'm sorry, Pyra." Mythra answered

"Oh… n-no, it's okay… I just… wish I had answers… I don't exactly have the luxury of being comatose this time…"

"I know, Pyra… I really wanna help you too, but… that's easier said than done, isn't it?"

"Well… at least I can live vicariously through the moment, right?"

"Through the moment? Is THAT what yer gonna settle on?" Pyra and Mythra turned around to find Nia joining them, a bit bemused by the whole situation.

"Nia, can this wait until later? It's kind of important." Mythra explained.

"I've caught wind of that sister o' yers chasin' dreams."

"W-well, what do you think…?" Pyra asked nervously, with Mythra keeping an icy cold glare at the Gormotti Blade.

"I'm sorry if this isn't what yer daydreaming selves want to hear, but we don't exactly have the luxury to live in a life that isn't ours, now do we?"

"W-what? What do you-" Pyra was cut off by Mythra's vehement protest.

"Nia, cut it out, if you haven't noticed, Pyra hasn't exactly been at the top of her game lately. So, can you just let us, and more importantly HER…" She rolled her eyes toward Pyra, "…Enjoy ourselves even a little bit? You haven't been around us enough to make judgements on what our lives are like."

"Oh I've been 'round my share of years, I'll have you know. So excuse me if I take a wee bit of an issue with you lot treating the life we fought for as something to be whisked away from like a fairy tale!"

She crossed her arms and looked to the ground and mumbled under her breath so that the Aegis Blades couldn't hear it.

"...and it's not like we have much choice, anyways…"

"Nia… that's- that's not…" Pyra was struggling to find the words to explain herself. She knew what she WANTED to say, but exactly how to put it into words to provide a solid argument was a whole other story.

"Yes, Nia, this IS the life we fought for, both of us are aware of that, but, if you wanna talk fairy tales, then let me point out to you that happy endings don't start at the beginning, you dolt! You've lived a life outside of all of this! We were born into this world serving and fighting and protesting and other bloody blood punchy punch crap! What we've got here is the start of our lives! So excuse US for being unsatisfied with the idea that everyone else thinks it's the end for us!"

"Oh buzz off ya sleepy halfwits! You were dozin' off in yer little sea of dreams for years, decades, centuries even! The moment you lost people even once, you lost yer cool and ran to bed crying! Well I didn't have that luxury! I lost people over and over and over again, having to live through every waking moment of it!"

Nia was now shouting, tears starting to form in her eyes. She didn't want to say these things, not fully, but at this point she was too far deep and needed to let herself be heard. With that said, she recoiled slightly.

"I…I'm not losing it all again…not again. I don't care if this life isn't…everything I wanted. I'm not giving it up after finally finding some level of peace…"

"Nia…" Pyra sighed sadly while Mythra just loomed over the smaller woman judgmentally, deciding how exactly to handle this outburst of hers. "Nia, I'm sorry… I… I didn't mean to make your endeavors so invalidated…"

"But you agree with us." Mythra said pointedly.

"Mythra, please don't-"

"No, no. She wants to talk, so we'll let her. Answer us, Nia, do you agree with us?"

"But Mythra she-"

"No…she's right."

Nia let her arms droop in a bit of defeat and resignation.

"This isn't the life you wanted, and it isn't the life I wanted either. None of us are fully happy with this, it hurts to say but it's true…"

She clenched her fists.

"But it's the life we have. It's calm, it's peaceful, it's something people in our position would have given everything to achieve, even if not in this form. If that really isn't enough for you…if you'd rather spend your time wishing for another new chance at life…"

She turned away.

"...then it might be better for you to just leave. Leave and find that new life of yours you want so much."

"L-leave…?" Pyra pondered as she looked down thoughtfully.

"A simple yes or no would have sufficed. Thanks a lot, Nia. You can go now." Mythra huffed as she stood diligently with her arms crossed.

"Oh, you misunderstand me, Mythra. Seems that even 'all the years of wisdom' still haven't taught you to be a people person."

Nia turned her head to look back at her dear friends one more time before leaving.

"I care about you lot…more than words can describe. I know it hurts to think about, bugger me it's why I didn't like it when I heard of Pyra's dreams, but…you're clearly not happy here. Not at all. I can't very well ask you to keep living a life that makes you miserable, so you should simply leave and find a place where you'll be happier."

She looked up towards the stars this time.

"If…I've learned one thing from this crazy, long life, it's that you can't do anything to change what's already happened…"

She looked back towards Pyra and Mythra.

"But you can change what comes next."

Pyra and Mythra said nothing as the Gormotti walked away, Mythra was as stone faced as ever while Pyra just looked down sadly.

"Mythra…" she began, "You think there's a version of me out there who just… settled for this life…? Maybe even settled for just… having a family at all? Even if the person it was with wasn't ideal?"

"If you're talking about that Driver of ours, all I have to say is that for all of dino boy's strengths, he sure as hell isn't an ideal interest. I almost hate to say it, but there's to really relate to there… keeping it all bottled up until we all just fizzle out like a sorry old candle. I wouldn't say I feel sorry for that version of you, but…" Mythra sighed heavily. "That was never what it was about… we're so much more than that… and he is too…"

"But… this is supposed to be our path to a great future, isn't it…? Why is it so… upsetting? At least that version of me gets to… have what she wanted…"

"Does she really, Pyra? She has a Driver who completely ignored the kind of family she wanted and only did what was best for HIM. And for what, Pyra? To drag her reputation through the dirt like nobody's business? Let the man of the house get all the glory and we just sink into the background with those hundreds of babies?"

"I love those babies we have here… right now… but…" Pyra began to break into tears, Mythra's cold gaze morphed into a sorrowful one as she joined her sister on the ground, hugging her so very warmly.

"Shhhhhh… Pyra, it's okay… this little night of ours was a bit… rough. I hate to say it but… I don't understand much of it myself… so let's sleep on it for now and talk more in the morning, okay?"

"Morág's words… Nia's words… Azurda's words… they're all so different I just… I just don't know what to believe anymore…" Pyra broke down sobbing now while Mythra kept hugging her tightly as she looked over to their little house on the village they built. With a determined grimace on her face, she stood up and walked her way forward.

"Stay here. I'm bringing him up here with us." She said.

"Mythra…"

"He's gonna want to find out what's eating you, Pyra. When was the last time we got to really see him anyway, huh? It's all just been a game of passenger pigeons with Azurda ever since we took in those little buggers. You stay right here, and I'm not coming back empty handed."

Mythra walked off pointedly, leaving Pyra to stew in her own thoughts and emotions for a bit. She stopped crying for a bit to gaze out over the horizon to the wild green yonder. Her own face shifted to a determined grimace as Mythra's did, standing up and facing the wilds.

"You do that, Mythra. Nia wants me to leave? Fine. I'll leave… but I'm coming back, and I'm not returning empty handed either…"

Pyra darted off into the distance all by herself, disappearing into the darkness of night, literally following her dreams into worlds unknown.

—————————————————————————

Frankie and Kaito pulled up to the former's driveway at long last, bellied full and minds emptied of whatever negative emotions they felt earlier that afternoon. Hopping out the passenger's seat, Frankie headed towards the gate before Kaito called out to him.

"Big bro?" He asked, getting the older man's attention. "Take care of yourself… okay…?" Frankie nodded in response with a small but honest smile as he unlocked the gates and headed inside, which is when Kaito drove off at last. Now Frankie really was alone. In his empty house. No one to share it with but himself. It might have been a tad too early, but he went into the backrooms and pulled out a display of some kind with pictures placed in a box, heading to the den to set it all up neat and perfect.

It was an ofrenda. He had pictures of his maternal grandparents, his paternal grandparents, his paternal aunt, his mother, and his father all placed right in the middle, candles illuminating their presence. Dia De Los Meurtos came early this year. Now that he was alone, really alone, Frankie could just… cry. And that's exactly what he did. He got down on his knees and bawled his eyes out… it sounded like he had been holding it in for well over a year, and only now was it sinking in that there was no one immediate he could turn to that could just… comfort him, none that he wouldn't feel like a nuisance doing so, anyway, or any that he knew the boundaries of at least, par for the course for someone who only gave long winded answers to his brother, after all.

Though tears still filled his eyes, Frankie reached for a rosary in the kitchen and just sat down in front of the ofrenda, and prayed.

"Our father… who art in heaven…"

He went through the whole thing all on his own, unable to truly remember the mysteries of the day, but still holding it in his heart that he just needed to be in a state of enlightenment, no matter what.

"…Forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell… lead all souls to heaven… especially those who are in most need of your mercy… amen…"

And those words were all Pyra needed to keep going forward.