[Al's voice is quiet, a touch sad, like he's holding out hope he knows he shouldn't have.]

... has anyone seen Ion...?

She's...

[Al's voice is soft, but thick. Not with tears, but with pain that somehow is beyond that. A numbness, a helplessness. He normally sounds so together, like he has everything under control, but right now he's small again. Small and utterly lost.]

Mom's gone.

[Click.]

[Al's up, though it's late for him. He's usually up around dawn and everywhere in the city, gathering supplies, making deliveries, checking up on his many projects, everything from the bridges on the river to making the rounds and checking the City's walls ( Read more... )