"It's...no, you don't need to." Rimeera hesitated, then explained. "My mother is...broken. She thinks I'm twelve and that my dead father is going to be home a bit later today. I'm just going to go...see her. I'll be back later if you need me."<br/><br/>Rimeera smiled at the others, then headed down the street to one of the small shops there. Looking at the middle-aged elf standing there, she smiled thinly as she asked, her voice pained. "Hello, Mrs. Fallbrook. Two bags of candied almonds, please."<br/><br/>The older elven woman smiled at Rimeera, but her smile slowly dimmed as she heard what Rimeera said. Her matronly tone was gentle as she asked, pulling out two small bags of the maple-glazed snacks. "Going to visit your mother, Rimeera?"<br/><br/>"Yes." Rimeera's voice was short, and she hesitated as she pulled out a gold piece, paying for the snacks as she asked. "Has there been any change?"<br/><br/>"I'm afraid not, dear. Same as before you left." Mrs. Fallbrook replied softly with a shake of her head. "She insists that your father will be back at any time, and when you aren't here, that you're just down at the river, fishing and avoiding your lessons. She does her weaving, keeps the house clean, and everything else, but..."<br/><br/>"Of course. Thank you, Mrs. Fallbrook. Her weaving's maintaining its quality, then?" Rimeera asked, a bit worried that her mother's only source of income might be fading.<br/><br/>"If anything it's grown better." The woman replied with a slight snort, shaking her head in obvious chagrine, but smiling a bit more. "Don't worry. We're selling it and making certain that the funds are set aside to take care of her."<br/><br/>"Thank you. That's a comfort to me. I..." Rimeera hesitated, then shook her head. "No. I'm delaying. I'll see you later, Mrs. Fallbrook. I'd best go see her. Thank you again."<br/><br/>"Good luck, Rimeera. And I'm sorry." The elven woman replied sympathetically, watching her leave.<br/><br/>Leaving the primary settlement, Rimeera headed down to a small house on the edge of Crying Leaf, a small river flowing a few dozen yards away from it. She could hear the sound of a loom from outside the house, and the elf stopped to steady herself. Then she opened the door and called out. "Mother, I'm home!"<br/><br/>The house was small and well-kept, everything in order. Bolts of cloth were stored along a wall, next to the large spindles of spun thread yet to be woven into fine cloth. Clothing for a girl of about twelve hung in an open closet through one of the two doors out of the living space, and Rimeera mentally winced as she recognized her own room, unchanged since her father had died decades earlier. And at a loom next to the cloth was her mother.<br/><br/>Antonia Sylaris looked up from her loom and smiled broadly, yet her eyes...there was something missing from them. The spark of life had simply gone out of them, leaving them almost glassy. She resembled Rimeera, yet her features were more angular and severe. Her voice was happy as she spoke. "Rimeera! Where've you been! You weren't back for lunch, you little rascal! Are you bothering Shalelu again?"<br/><br/>"I was just out fishing, Mother. I traded my catch to Mrs. Fallbrook for some candied almonds." Rimeera replied with a slightly sad smile, pulling out the two bags of sweets. Her mother didn't even notice the sword at her side or how much older she'd grown. Antonia took the two bags, clicking her tongue chidingly.<br/><br/>"Now, now! I know you earned these, but no having them before dinner!" She scolded, taking them over to a ceramic jar and pouring them into it. "I'm not going to have you ruining your appetite! But it must have been an impressive catch to get this many almonds in exchange!"<br/><br/>"Actually, they're for you, Mother. I was planning to go out tonight, and hoped you'd give me permission." Rimeera told her, a smile fixed on her face. "I hoped to go watch the moon with some friends."<br/><br/>"For me? You shouldn't have, you little scamp!" Antonia replied witha  grin, obviously happy at the thought. "And of course you can go out! Now, tell me all about your morning. Your father should be back in a few hours, and then we can have dinner."<br/><br/>"Alright. Well, I went down to the river, and I saw a few birds that I think you could identify for me..." Rimeera began, and simply started talking with her mother, anguished internally how her mother simply 'saw' her as a 12 year-old. For several hours they chatted, and then she began to help her mother weave some cloth. And her father never appeared, as expected since Rimeera well knew that he was long dead. But at last she spoke up. "I need to go meet with my friends, mother. I'll see you later."<br/><br/>"Be good, little scamp. I don't want to have to come pull you out of a tree again!" Antonia told her cheerfully, laughing as she pinched Rimeera's cheek. And then, as Rimeera left, she started preparing dinner, humming to herself.<br/><br/>"Of course, Mother. I promise." Rimeera called out as left the house with her smile fixed in place. For several minutes it stayed there, not daring to let it change until she was out of sight. Only when she was halfway back to the caravan did her smile fade entirely. But she didn't let herself betray how...horrible she felt. Tears prickled at her eyes and she swallowed hard, heading back in among the caravan...and then she circled around behind a house where she didn't think anyone would notice her.<br/><br/>There she broke down. She cried her eyes out silently, shuddering as she quivered in place, grieving for her lost family. Her father may be dead, but her mother...would never be proud of what she achieved. She'd never talk about how much Rimeera had grown. Her mother was alive in body, but just as gone as her father was. And there was nothing she could do about it.<br/><br/>Only later would Rimeera appear again. She was unfailingly polite, and her eyes were swollen and red with grief. Rimeera didn't explain much, simply skipping dinner and heading back to her wagon to rest, and to let her grief be a more private matter than before. She never considered the fact she was simply hiding from others herself.