It starts with a single step... (Jayne/Daphne)

[DAPHNE SASHA ASTOR]

‘Truly, nothing at all exciting,’ she says. Her voice crackles around the room, grating on Daphne’s ears. Plug it up! Plug up the receptacle that would accept such a thing as that. The voices shouted, arguing to not hear what the sister had to say, to drown out the screams of the others. Drown out the screaming! SHOUT. Shout? Literal shout. Real shout? Scream and shout. Shake it up baby, now. Twist and shout. Twist and- focus. Shouts for help. ‘Help me, help me, there’s something wrong with him,’ she cries. Far away, down the hall, down the stairs. Lee Ann. Lee Ann? Why? Her siblings hadn’t noticed yet. They wouldn’t. But then they would.

’Lee Ann, lady and gent, is screaming. And I think the excitement quotient is about to go up…’ She hadn’t told him, she hadn’t told him. Jayney would be oh so surprised. Daphne giggled. Perhaps he hadn’t anticipated his comeuppance quite so soon. But she was never one to keep things dull. She’d spring random acts of oddness just to make life… funny. Funny honey. Sweet and syrupy, sticky and complicated. Looked like their lives were about to have a few more stories to tell. Daphne grinned. Was she happy with the method she’d been forced to use? No. But she would be happy that the fallout would mess with all of them. Including Jayne, who had ‘convinced’ her to do it in the first place. A grumble took her and she spun again, as Jayne and Karson dashed out of the room, to help their mother, if she was at all rational. Which she sometimes was. Not now. No no. Not rational now. Why be rational now? To be rational now was just silly. Silly silly. Still screaming. ‘Help me help me.’ Shut the hell up. Daphne stormed, irritated. A simple blade toss would not quiet her mother this time though. Malcolm was dying in front of her. Daphne doubted that very much at all would quiet her mother at this point, but Daph could be… awfully convincing, when she wanted to be.

Her steps followed the path her siblings had undoubtedly taken, and she came in to see their mother scrambling and crying, unable to help- as per usual-and making a great fool of herself to compensate. Karson was on the phone, Jayne was trying to ‘save’ their father by performing CPR, and Lee Ann was floundering. Daphne was quickly growing tired of it. A nimble leap over the couch, and she tackled her mother, causing another scream to emerge from her lovely throat. It was quickly ended by the ivory fae’s giggle and the hand she clapped over Lee Ann’s mouth.

’Hush little baby, don’t say a word. Daddy’s gonna buy you a mockingbird.’ Another giggle erupted from between her pretty lips, earning her scared and curious looks as the others in the room continued what they were doing. Karson ran to their father and their brother, cushioning Malcolm’s head, trying to be helpful. But there was nothing to be done. Nothing nothing nothing. Giggle. ’Actually, no more mockingbirds from Daddy. Daddy’s all out of birds and breaths. So hush little baby. No more words. Be quiet. And stop annoying me.’ The words ended on a whisper, harsh and somehow sweet. Daphne was a conundrum. The panic was dying along with the father, and nobody knew what was going to happen. Lee Ann was finally silent, Karson was crying, the ambulance was shrieking on its way to their house, and Jayne had stopped his life-saving attempts. They were all just… waiting. In stasis. Frozen, like droplets of dew on leaves, in suspended animation. People rushed into their house, and the play button was pushed, springing them back into motion. Jayne took over, directing people to where they belonged, making the tough calls, while everyone else did what he said, save Daphne. She did get up and off of their mother, and sat in the corner, watching like a hawk, as everything played out, just as it should. It made Daphne’s stomach and lip curl with disgust. This was not how things should’ve been done at all. Nosirree bob.

[JAYNE LANCEL ASTOR]

Is this... is this really happening now? Jayne's thoughts were rampant as his eyes went wide. Daphne told them that their mother was screaming; although she'd used the woman's first name and not the term “mother” as the rest of them did. Jayne knew his sister had little respect for most in their family, but he didn't fault her for that, as he knew the reasons why she felt the way she did. The eldest turned to his sister Karson, who looked panicked, and Daphne, who looked smug. Karson wouldn't read that for the expression on her face, and Jayne tried to think of what he'd have to do to be the strong, dutiful son in the time of their father's passing. He'd usually spend more time planning this sort of thing: how he'd react, what he'd say to console his mother, how he'd direct the flow of traffic when people undoubtedly would come to attempt to save his life. Given the potion he knew his sister used, it would be a fruitless attempt, but they'd try regardless. Jayne adopted a calm, yet tremulous gaze, and looked from twin to twin. ”Mother needs us, so we'd not do her wrong by standing around. Let's go.” Jayne said, then blazed a quick trail all the way downstairs to his father's study. Before they'd left Karson's room, however, he'd given Daphne a brief, lingering bit of eye contact that thanked her. He just hoped she got the message.

When they arrived in their father's study, their mother was floundering helplessly over their father's limp, nearly lifeless body. ”Mother, you have to move so I can help him,” Jayne said, giving his mother a quiet, careful look so she'd know and trust his intentions were true, even though they weren't. It was an Astor family trait to be able to lie with efficiency, but he'd never had to use it in this fashion against his own family before. This was why they'd never expect ill intent or foul play from someone within the family. His father had been at a summit meeting earlier that day; Daphne had made her plans practically perfect. Any number of the faeries could have done it there, and sent him home to die with his family so near, so fragile, and so utterly helpless. That's what Jayne would say when asked. One of them must have done it. Since they were faeries, there wasn't even a necessary need for motivation: his father rubbed many people the wrong way with his actions, words, and general existence. Perhaps one of them had simply... had enough.

His mother got out of the way, and Jayne ordered Karson to step back, and saw Daphne talk over handling their mother as he crouched down next to his father, noting the blue-ish tinge around the man's lips and lack of breath. But, wanted to do his part in this whole charade, Jayne began performing CPR anyway, as if that would help. This kind of poison was fairly fast-acting, and once the victim got to this state, they were already dead. The body would just pantomime small things like a heartbeat, or a muscle spasm, but they'd already be long gone. It was a poison of tricksters, and Jayne was almost proud that his plan had gone through so perfectly. There was a hint of guilt as he looked down on his father, continuing CPR, that he had done this. Perhaps if he'd just spoken to the man... voiced his concerns, voiced his desires and his plans... but Jayne knew his father better than perhaps even his mother did. Malcolm would have shut his requests down in an instant. “All in good time, son,” were the words Jayne had heard over and over; promises that he'd learned now were empty. At least he could follow through with something, unlike his father.

The EMTs arrived, probably from Karson's phone call, and police. Jayne stepped back, and before the EMT's could perform extra efforts, Jayne spoke up. ”Please, there's no point in extending this pain longer than it has to for our family,” Jayne stood and looked at Daphne, then Karson, and finally his mother. He tried so hard to look apologetic for his mother. ”My father, Malcolm Astor, is dead. Of course, I'm no doctor, and if you'd like to issue further tests to verify, feel free. But... I'd prefer we get a chance to mourn in peace,” Jayne finished strong, and he was pleased that even without a plan, he was able to come through. ”A great man has died today. And tomorrow, we'll inform the other faeries about an investigation as to who committed this heinous crime. But tonight, we'll mourn.” Jayne looked at the men who were standing around, and addressed an officer. ”Sir, whatever you need from us, or whatever money is necessary to conduct this investigation to the most thorough of your abilities, you have my word that you'll get it from us. Spare no expense.”

The men escorted Malcolm out on a stretcher, and said that they'd be able to work on funeral arrangements in the morning, and Jayne thanked them for their time. He then moved toward Karson, and took her into his arms, attempting to soothe her, because he knew that she didn't understand what she going on. She could never understand what had happened. She'd hate them forever if she knew, and if anyone ever knew, Jayne and Daphne would have a world of trouble on their hands. Jayne looked at Daphne and nodded, making an attempt to look as though he was checking to see if she was all right. Of course she was, but she'd understand the hidden meaning in the gesture, too. The plan was over. The deed was done. And now, he had control.

[/justify]

[KARSON TATHRA ASTOR]

Eyes flicked around after she spoke,did she truly kill the mood by telling them about her day. She couldn't help but curl into herself slightly,she always felt slightly out of place and this with the silence seemed too add to it. About to speak again she couldn't help but tilt her head at what Daphne said. What did that mean,why was there mother screaming,what had they missed. Why did Daphne say that,tilting her head she suddenly heard it. The screams of their mother in a panic,she felt a tremor run done her spine,she never heard their mother scream like that. She had just spoken to them a little bit ago,everything was fine. They left with high tempers but nothing out of the ordinary. Their mother seemed to be working on calming him after she left so she hoped that it did not go from bad to worse. Her thoughts her frozen,nothing was running thought her mind. The only thing echoing was the screams of her mother and that caused tears to slightly fill her eyes. Why did she have to be emotional right now,her siblings were calm and collected. She felt her own tears in her eyes just listening to the screams of her mother.

Hearing Jayne speak,she slowly slipped from her chair and followed quickly after them. Her heart thumping loudly in her chest,it felt like the crashing of waves and it was a feeling she never wanted to remember. A soft gasp escaped her lips at the sight before her eyes. This was nothing that she had expected too see,their father was dead on the ground. She had just seen him and all of her thoughts were full of anger,nothing of love was in their conversation just anger and that he should let them live their life. That they did not need to be perfect,the thoughts of their conversation rushed into her mind. This was not how she wanted their last moments to be,not this never this. Her body was trembling their mother in near hysterics,she couldn't move it would be hard to know that she was even breathing expect that she could feel her own heart thumping in her chest.

She weakly looked to Jayne listening to him speak about him being dead,it was all so final. So real and all Karson could do was shake her head and slowly step away,she had just talked to him. This could not be happening,his words of what needed to be done,what they should do never rang into her ears. It was all to unreal and Karson wanted it to stop. Wanted herself to wake up from the nightmare she seemed to be living at the this very moment. Her whole body trembling,her eyes slipping to her fae form as slowly her body did the same. She could not stop her emotions from pouring out,she wanted to scare people to have them all leave. Their father was dead and nothing was bringing him back.

Her skin as pale as snow,her hair slowly gathering feathers in them as talons appeared on her nails. Her face getting a owl like feathers,it was all she could do to try and escape this horror of what was happening to hopefully scare or anger everyone enough to just leave them be. Then she felt herself being pulled into an embrace. Her head falling against Jayne's chest. Her glamor gone no longer hiding what she was. " I don't. I was just talking to him....I we were all just talking to both them. he's dead why is our dad dead. I don't understand .." Her fingers clenching anger slowly forming. Someone killed their father and Karson did not understand why or how. But he was no longer around and that made no sense to her. Purple eyes rising up slightly and looking at the medical and people still around the house. " Get out of our fucking house and leave us in peace.. Get out now you have no place or purpose here." She knew that the people that Jayne wanted to stay and get work done were not affected by this. Her anger was to those who just wanted to share the story that the great Malcolm Astor died, and that had no place in their time of pain. Her body shaking as she felt her head fall back against her brother's chest sighing softly as the anger slowly edged away but still flaring and strong. This was a side Karson was never good at controlling the darkness the anger she had it,they were all seeing it,but she never knew how to let it out and show it. And now it seemed like it was coming out all on it's own. " I don't understand Jayne why did this happen how did this happen. What happens now." All of her questions rapid and shaky but nothing could stop it,their life was changed as they know it.

[NEELY CHASTITY ASTOR]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px] I REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE DRIVING we gotta make a decision: leave tonight or live and die this way? [/style][style=background-color: 1b1b1b; width: 200px; height: 300px; float: right; border: 0px solid #0e0e0e; padding: 8px; color: 454545; overflow: auto; text-align: justify; font-family: arial] neely was tired. she hadn't been home at all the night before, but had crawled back in through her window at around six in the morning. naturally, the first thing she did was strip down, put on some cozy pajamas, and slip into bed. surprisingly, she dreamed, and it was a nice dream. it wasn't a cruel flashback of her time at the "hospital," but a bit of a glorified happier memory. she and all her siblings were playing, having fun. together. this was before daphne and neely had been sent away, before daphne completely cracked, before neely cut herself off . . . and before jayne made it obvious that he cared more for daphne than anyone else. she had no idea how long she was out for. she awoke groggily, not too pleased at the shouting that was going on downstairs. even though her room was seemingly so far away from the rest of the place, neely could still hear her parents shouting. well, it was mostly her father. even at her distance, neely could feel his rage. he got like this often, and it made neely happy nowadays. she knew jayne and daphne were planning for his death; as soon as she managed to get to jayne alone, she would ask to be included in the plan. there was no way she was going to let them get rid of that man and not be a part of it! she wanted him to pay . . . oh, how she wanted him to suffer and know how much she despised him before he took his last breath. the faerie laid there for what seemed like eternity, listening to her parents shouting. even though she was still tired, it was hard to fall asleep with him going at it like that . . . especially since she was getting excited about what was to happen in the near future. how near it was, she had no idea. neely had only heard two of her siblings talk about how they were going to kill their father, not when. she wished she knew when it was; then she could make sure she was there to watch the life drain out of him. neely smiled, rolling over onto her side and curling up in a little ball. well, as little of a ball as she could get. she closed her eyes, trying to focus on the three faint voices coming from karson's room . . . of course they would all be there. of course they would all be so close and yet none of them were even thinking of seeing her. that was to be expected, now, wasn't it? she had been avoiding them for so long, she doubted any of them would go to her room just to chat. she wished someone would, though . . . lost in her musings, neely jumped into a sitting position when she heard her mother's scream. there were footsteps going down the stairs soon after. neely's heart was racing. did they already do it? i missed my chance? is he dying already? though she still could feel the weights on her eyelids, neely couldn't help herself. she stepped into her slippers and walked as silently as she could down the stairs, not bothering to change out of her pajamas. besides, she wasn't planning on letting any of them see her. she just wanted to see her father's face as he died . . . assuming that was why she heard the scream. she supposed maybe her mother had just dropped something, but that was unlikely. she was guessing today was the last day she had to deal with that damned malcolm astor. neely followed her siblings' footsteps into their father's study. she peeked into the doorway, her messy hair falling well past her waist as she tilted her head to one side. she was only partially visible to everyone in the room, but she hoped everyone would be too preoccupied to notice her standing there. karson was calling for help, daphne on top of their mother, and jayne was trying to bring their father back. neely figured jayne's actions were faked; he had planned this, had he not? now that she thought about it, this was the perfect way to do it . . . all the children had been upstairs. sleeping or talking, they weren't near their father. plenty of people had access to him in the morning . . . no one would immediately guess it was the perfect son that masterminded this entire thing. daphne they might suspect - perhaps neely since she was so emotionally apart from the family - but jayne and karson would be safe. she knew jayne had to know that; as much as she hated to admit it, he was pretty damn smart. eventually, paramedics arrived. neely stepped to the side to get out of their way, letting them into the room. she was tempted to leave right then, but she listened to jayne speak. he was already talking like the head of the family. neely bit her lip to keep herself from laughing out loud. she'd have to listen to him now, in theory. neely had no plans of suddenly submitting to jayne just because their father was dead now. as the men left with her father's body, neely couldn't help but look back into the room to see how everyone was. their mother was still a blubbering mess, daphne was . . . well, what did neely care what daphne was doing? her chest tightened when she saw karson out of her glamour, being hugged by jayne. of course he'd comfort her . . . even if he saw me, i doubt he'd want to touch me. her hands tightened into fists. did she even want to have him embrace her like that? she honestly couldn't remember the last time jayne and her had hugged like that. hesitantly, neely stepped fully into the doorway and spoke. " well, guess i'm missing the party again . . . can't be helped, i guess. " there was a mix of pain and anger in her voice that neely just couldn't hide. she was angry she didn't have a hand in his death - she didn't poison him, didn't get to curse at him as he died in front of her - and was watching as her brother grew closer to another sister. neely had no idea why she was staying, why she was torturing herself by watching her entire family get along with just her as the outsider, but she did. she couldn't bring herself to leave the scene. she thought of her next words carefully, not wanting to give away that she knew exactly how their father had met his end. " know if he suffered at all? " she asked, staring at the floor where her father had been, hoping it would seem as if she at least cared a little about how he died. hopefully one of the siblings - hopefully not daphne - would answer the question, seeing as it hadn't been directed at anybody. neely ran a hand through her hair, refusing to look at any of her family. [style=letter-spacing: 2px; border-bottom: 2px solid; padding: 2px] 1205 | ASTORS | OUTFIT insert random neely here? :3 also this made me sad and idk why the post is so long o.o [/style]

table made by MADAME MARIANNA of CAUTION 2.0

[DAPHNE SASHA ASTOR]

Words words words. Chirpy words, solemn words, grating words. Jayne had lots of words. He spoke with the medical team who was going to escort their father’s dead body elsewhere. The idea almost made Daph pine. They were taking away another of her babies. Granted, this wasn’t one she was proud of, but he was hers, regardless. One should always take care of their own. Now, he wouldn't receive her special care. Now, she wouldn’t get to pose him, or leave him where he could do the most damage. How sad. Her ivory hair fell over her shoulders as she cocked her head to look at her brother. Lee Ann’s gasps reached her ears- because she was pressing down on the infernal woman’s chest, hee!- and she grinned, but otherwise paid no heed. Investi-? Oh, what a pretense. He wanted no investigating, duh. He just wanted them free of besmirched reputations. Besmirch. Fun word. Not often used, not even in her head. Besmirch. She besmirched a lot of things. Their mother’s ribcage, at the moment. It would bear the marks of Daphne for a pretty while. Too bad she wouldn’t get to revel in those purple and bluish-black ecchymoses. She’d never even get to see them, closed-off prude that their mother was. She should dress more like Neely, let Daph see her own handiwork. Speaking of… Their sister’s presence echoed on the edges of the ivory fae’s senses. Well, lookit the twiglet, come out to play.

Finally, shifting off of the mom, she perched on the back of the loveseat, watching proceedings. Karson was upset. Karson was upset. La la la lalala, Karson was upset. Bawling and blubbering- hehe, blubber like a whale! Jiggle so fetchingling- all over the place. Sad sad sad that he was dead. Daphne couldn’t have cared less. ‘Cept for the little- well, little by Daphne’s standards- waves of anger and pain that were rolling off the now-naked faerie sister. The eldest lady just rolled her eyes and shoulders, giggling at Karson’s antics. What was the point in getting upset with the people? And running to Jayne? What would that accomplish? Bunch of nothing. Still, she perched quietly on her new seat, curiously examining her daddy’s dead flesh. They were all so quick with their proceedings. Filing and printing and talking and working. She usually watched the murder investigations from afar, for her other kills. But this one was close. Close enough to touch, or taste or smell. She declined to do any of those things, disinterested already. There was no art to this death. No special touches that screamed her name and made her smile. Nope. Just things to irk the Karson, like his lack of breath. Dumb Karson. That was pretty, not irksome, such silence. And Jayne, why humor her? Her twin brows arched up her forehead a little as she looked at the two of them, mildly annoyed.

’You’d think you were invertebrate yourself Karson, picking on the spineless. Like fishing worms. Ooh, what’re you sending away such bait for? Worms are perfect for big fish, tasty treats for later. Pull ‘em in half, you get some more.’ She giggled and grinned, clearly not bothered by what was happening in the slightest. Which only seemed to pique her sister further, and made her brother look just a touch paranoid. Please. If Daph started playing sympathetic or emotional now, that would be more suspicious than anything else. Even more suspicious than Karson’s big reveal- which Daphne was certain was more for attention than she pretended- Jayne’s overcompensating ‘head of house’- what did that even mean, anyways? Houses didn’t have heads. They had roofs. Ceilings, maybe. But no heads. Would that make Jayney ‘roof of house?’ Ha- speech, or Neely’s little chirping in now that he was carted away. She wanted to know if he suffered. That was genuine curiosity there, tinged with hope. Daphne giggled. Subtlety is lacking! Her care for the answer was not because she cared for the man, oh nonono. It was her care for the death. Wispy little thing probably wanted to kill him herself. She imagined wrongs and rights as well as Daphne did, moral compass all a-skewed. ‘Ceeept, Daph’s compass was gone completely, whereas Neely’s was still there somewheres. A new wave of sobs erupted from their mother at the inquiry, and Daphne shot her a look that clearly broadcasted ‘death’ as her intention if she kept on. Lee Anne quieted more quickly than any crying person had, ever, and Daphne grinned.

’Would that he could Twiglet. But he can’t. Dead to the world, all numbed up beforehand. Feeling no pain. No joy. No pleasure either. Downside of being a-drugged.’ The looks she received- shock from her mother was the most worth it- were worth quite a bit the craziest sibling. ’They didn’t know. The truth escaped them. The anger of his a cover for lots of lacking. Or maybe it was all he could feel once the stuff entered his system.’ She tapped her lip gently, feigning deeper thought than she was having. In prep for killing the daddy, she’d watched him. She had to, to get it right like Jayney wanted. And didn’t want. Daphne was going to inconvenience him back, out of spite. But it’d been easier than she thought. Even if the poison hadn’t been invisible, she wouldn’t have had to work hard to hide it. Malcolm had some very special medicinals in his collection. Daphne had abducted some for her own purposes, and replaced one of those pills with the one of her own. She hadn’t been certain of what the timeline would be, but it panned out beautifully. Well, as beautifully as poison could. She wrinkled her nose, still annoyed. Would she ever get over the sadness that was Malcolm’s death? And not that he’d died, of course not!, but that he’d just died wrong. Maybe. Yet to be revealed. ’No suffering, nope nope. Just dead, died, deathified.’ Her sing-song felt perfectly right to her, but was quite inappropriate at such a horribly solemn moment. Hence, another chuckle and a twirl off the couch. Whatever would her family do with her?

[JAYNE LANCEL ASTOR]

As a child, Jayne had never much cared for the circus. However, since there was a local circus not far from where they lived, his parents had actually bothered to take them when they were children. It was an opportunity for them to all have family 'outings,' which had always been code for they needed to keep up appearances and look like they were one big, happy family. At least, when they were young. As the Astor children got older, things changed: Daphne was institutionalized, and that was a giant scandal, but not as much as it had been with Neely followed suit, in an attempt to get attention, most likely. Jayne never stood the jealousy that Neely had toward Daphne: his second sister had been wrongly imprisoned, or at least that was how it had always been in his mind. Karson, as they aged, became more curious about the world and seemed to stray away from the Astor family ideals and inner strength, along with the superiority complex that all of them (other than Karson) seemed to carry. Each one of them manifested this trait differently, but it was always there. Jayne had grown, too, and changed from an inquisitive little boy who had a striking, burning need to know how everything worked to a man who was nearly void of emotion except when it came to his family. The eldest Astor could feel, and felt a lot, but had learned to stifle any and all feeling that would lead to him being eventually perceived as weak, especially by his own father, who was like a shark with blood in the water when it came to weaknesses.

Now, Jayne had taken on a new role, and while it was what he'd always wanted since he knew what his destiny was meant to be, the spoils of this long-fought war seemed a bit bittersweet. Instead of feeling strong, like a confident and powerful leader, he felt like the ringleader in a circus Big Top, with everything spiraling into a ghastly downfall around him. And, unlike the ringleaders, who usually only seemed to have one responsibility, Jayne was juggling his family members like a clown would, trying to keep them all in a steady rhythm that he could maintain while the audience watched in rapt fascination. Would he drop one? Would he crack? His mother was being watched by Daphne, and her cries were falling on deaf ears. Jayne truly did care that Karson seemed to be falling apart, and embraced her when she decided to cling to him like he was a life preserver and she was about to go under and drown. And then... to add another thing for him to juggle, Neely stepped out of the shadows wearing, well... close to nothing, and Jayne's eyes widened. Can nothing go right?

[/color]

Jayne's eyes fell on his sister, then looked back toward the EMTs and police officers that were still shuffling around their father's study. ”Neely, you're indecent. Shouldn't you go get changed, since we're in mixed company?” Jayne's description of her attire, if you could call it that, was practically hissed through clenched teeth, because he hated to think that she was so... free and reckless, especially with her body. This was his baby sister, damn it.

But, she seemed to be completely disinterested in his comment, not even paying much attention to really respond. Instead, he watched her eyes fall on the scene and she seemed... disappointed. The room was such a mix of emotions that even with his abilities, he couldn't pick it out in the mess. Karson's confusion and sorrow. His mother's shock and agony. Daphne's mixture of joy and disgust, and Neely... Jayne had to regulate it by keeping a cool head and feeling nothing, he supposed. Jayne gave his speech, and rubbed Karson's back a little, trying to be the support she needed even though he wasn't feeling it at all. He could at least play the role. Over the next few weeks, with the investigation that was bound to happen, he was going to have to play a lot of roles. Hopefully, this chameleon's work wouldn't turn him into an unrecognizable monster like his father. Or... was that his true destiny? As the emergency personnel carted Malcolm's body off, Karson was sharp with them, and Jayne looked at her. ”Don't take your anger out on them. It's unbecoming,” his words were meant to be just as sharp, because he knew that these men would talk outside their doors about how... dysfunctional they all were, and Jayne could only think of how people would talk. So much talk, and he'd be playing damage control on this entire circus performance for months. Jayne shushed his sister, who was now completely out of her glamored form and attempted to soothe her. Daphne's words were harsh toward Karson, and dropped a few hints that Jayne caught, and he looked at her to attempt to make her stop with any veiled references that would make anyone in that room suspicious of one of them. There would be many theories flying around, that was for sure. He'd have to acknowledge and debunk any of the dangerous ones. But, he wouldn't call Daphne out verbally and risk taking sides. No, he couldn't drop one of the balls in his performance... they all had to be balanced.

Neely was very much acting the outsider still, putting herself in a martyr role that she so commonly took that irritated Jayne to no end. For years, he had tried to embrace her, to pull her back, to help her heal, but she never took an interest in his attempts and attention, and pushed him away time and again. Finally, he got tired of feeling like a kicked puppy and stopped. And then, her attempts for attention fell on deaf ears. At least where he was concerned. ”I think we'll have to wait for the coroner's report before we know anything concrete,” Jayne said to Neely, and shrugged his shoulders. Lying was another of his specialties, and this was a situation where it was absolutely warranted. Jayne was supposed to be just as much in the dark as any of them, so he had to make them believe that he was lost, too, and putting on a brave face to keep them together.

Daphne, however, had never been much with the subtleties. She knew a lot about death, and they all knew of her little hobbies and how dangerous she really was, but none of them ever commented on it. None of them were above being on the wrong end of one of her knives, no matter what place they held. Even he wasn't completely safe, although he knew she favored him best. Jayne was the lesser of five evils, but he was okay with that because the bond they had was more than the white-haired fae had with anyone else. ”Our father had problems,” Jayne said, addressing Daphne's mention of his special pills. Best to just be honest when she was making her own conclusions that would likely make the rest of the women in the room wonder. He and Daphne knew for sure, but while she was off being herself, Jayne had to remain complete composure. While Daphne had to continue being her cruel, impolite self when it came to serious matters (if she showed compassion, their mission would have failed, because all eyes would be on her), Jayne had to continue his new post as ringleader, to save their family. To have any hope of doing what he had always wanted and be the leader that they needed, with war still looming so close.

”I wish I had more answers to give all of you,” Jayne said quietly, looking down and pretending to be hit by a sudden wave of sadness. Sometimes, even the strongest leaders crumbled. And even though Daphne would likely mock him later, when they were in a quiet area away from all the others, the eldest Astor child had to bring them back to memories of him as a lost little boy, who just wanted to understand how the world worked. ”But I don't. I don't have any answers, but as soon as I do... you'll know when I do. But now, we all need to try to sleep. Staying up and drowning in our sorrows won't bring Father back.” Jayne released Karson and took a step toward Neely. His brown eyes hit hers, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. ”I wish you would have stayed in bed... none of you should have had to see this. And, if you need anything, I'll leave my door cracked open, okay?”

When they were kids, that was a sign that they'd be available to talk after their parents had sent them off to their rooms. If there was trouble, or they just needed to vent, one sibling would leave their door open. Jayne smiled at Neely kindly, hoping that maybe now she'd let him in. Tragedy was one way to bring a family closer, right? Maybe even his own, but he knew better than to get his hopes up.[/blockquote][/justify]

[KARSON TATHRA ASTOR]

Feeling anger spike at what Daphne said all she wanted to do was pull from her brother and go after her twin. She was no longer in her soft human form if Daphne truly wanted to pick a fight with her sister Karson would be all for it. No she had no thoughts of winning but her anger needed to go somewhere and Daphne seemed like a better choice then any. But this was already a trying time so her fighting with her sister would do no good but more harm. Taking a shaky breathe she took in the strength from being with her brother. It seemed to be the only thing that was keeping her together , then she raised her head her other sister had shown. Neely was had come which was a surprise but a happy one. Neely and her had somewhat closer bond then her and their other siblings. Yet that did not mean they still did not have some issues all of the siblings seemed to being strained with one another in one way or another. Yet Jayne seemed to be the one who tired to keep all the craziness contained which seemed like a harder goal then most.

Hearing her words she just perked a brow how was this a party this was sadness and chaos. Their father was dead and like usual Karson was being the emotional one and it did not seem to be getting any better. Her fingers clenched into fists as she glanced at everyone and tried to gather herself enough to make a move or at least be able to contain her anger enough to make herself presentable. Hearing Jayne's tone about her outburst caused her too look down in shame. So what if it was unbecoming why was no one more upset like Karson was , how could they all being the picture of calm the like Astor's that they were trained to be. Yet she knew she had the same training but she was showing emotions and being a wreck. " I'm sorry Jayne ." Then her sister kept talking as she felt herself biting her lower lip as her fingers clench again her talons digging into her palms.

Glancing around at the all she kept quite allowing the men to finish their work and get their father away so they could take in the shock of all that had happened. Closing her eyes she allowed her glamor to slip back into place,her skin getting darker her hair losing the feathers and falling back into place. Eyes slipping back into the color like her brothers. Their mother had seemed to go silent maybe the shock of everything was becoming too much for her so being numb was the next best option that seemed like it was a wise decision because her role now in the family was going to change and Karson wanted to do anything to help their mother .

When she was released and listened to him speak her body felt cold hollow in a sense , how was she suppose to sleep how were any of them it seemed like this was a crazy dream that all she wanted to do was wake up from. Glancing to her other siblings she glanced outside their windows and moved to open them stepping out onto the balcony she let out a soft whistle. Her owl coming and resting on the railing,allowing her fingers to gently run though her owls soft feathers she glanced back to the others. " Everything has changed now Jayne , I know you want us to sleep but how are we suppose too. " Then she paused at that and remembered who she was talking too this wouldn't effect them like it did her. They probably would sleep soundly yet she would be plagued with dreams and unrest. " I think I will go out for awhile too clear my head.. I just need time away from this. Is that okay with you brother ? "

[JURATE]

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