He stood between the overgrown gardens, and the cottage that Io had once called her own. The chicken hutches she had owned had been taken by time, but the cottage itself still stood out. Looking almost as if it was just waiting for an occupant to come home… the Warlord hadn’t been able to bring himself to let time erode it. He had come once every week or so to clear out any weeds and repair and damage.

Now, he would have to bring himself to tear it down. Perhaps with it the thought that his sister might ever return home one day. She had shown no inclination to do so yet, though she had returned to the plains to give her consent in taking down the home they had built. He surveyed it for another few moments, and sighed. “I’m thinking if I climb onto the roof and start there.”


"Speech"

"You're a little old to be climbing on rooftops, you know." The crotchety little woman spoke, looking over towards her adopted brother with an arched brow. Green and gold eyes sparkled with amusement, however. She shrugged and looked back to the cottage. "Good thing I'm here to fix you up if you hurt yourself though," she chuckled and gave her shoulders a little wiggle. "Still the best healer on the continent," the woman tooted her own horn. When asked for permission to knock down the cottage, Iolaire was quick to give it. She never wanted to set paw in the place again, herself. If the Armada was picking up and moving though... Well, she didn't want any strangers in there sullying the memories that had been created within the stone home that she'd created. Her days spent there with Roan... Ugh. Iolaire gave her head a shake as though ridding it of the old memories. Since her strange encounter with her deceased husband during the plague of eternal night, she'd regained some of her faculties. Yes, she admitted that she wasn't dead and that she'd temporarily lost her sanity, but who wouldn't do the same after going through what she'd gone through? "Speech"

The Warlord grunted. A sound neither agreement nor disagreement. He was getting on in his years, but he wasn’t ready to let it slow him down yet. If his bones ached a little first thing in the morning, then he just needed to warm them up with a hearty exercise.

“I don’t doubt it” the Warlord agreed, knowing the truth in Io’s words. She had looked after the Armada - and him - for long enough for him to appreciate her skill. He didn’t move immediately however. He looked at the cottage, and felt the presence of the woman beside him. He thought of younger days in the Armada, and knew the melancholy wanted to eat him from the inside out. He huffed. “Well. Best get to it then” he said, and went around the cottage. Luckily he was tall. He found the stump of an old tree and used it to leap onto the lowest point of the roof. The place was well built, but even then it felt rather unsteady beneath his colossal body. He waited a moment to ensure it wasn’t about to fall down around him, and then moved higher.

He took out a flat piece of metal he had been using for dismantling so far, and had been tucked into his braces. He used it to start levering pieces free, putting his weight into it.

"Speech"

Sirius grunted, then moved to jump up onto the structure. Iolaire grimaced, flashing teeth as one eye squeezed shut. Had anyone even been taking care of the roof? She doubted it. Dual-toned eyes watched as the massive dire man picked his way across the roof. From the angle that she was sitting, she couldn't see him extract the piece from his bracer, but she listened as he struck something while up top. The small woman's head gave a little tilt and she folded her haunches, seating herself in the tamped down grass a few yards from the cottage. She was slightly eager to see the place collapsed. Once it was, she'd never have to think of it again. No point in thinking about something that didn't exist. As Iolaire slid down to lay in the grass, she plucked a fat, roasted mouse from the satchel that she always kept with her and popped it into her mouth. Best healer in the land and the greatest rodent catcher as well. Crunching bones between small, sharp teeth, the woman continued to watch. "Speech"

As he started to pry pieces of the roof loose, he leaned forward, tossing them lightly on the ground. Once he’d gone enough of them loose, he could fit his paws in the gaps and really start hammering away with his body. Pulling out piece after piece. Like a house of cards, the place started to come away as he damaged the integrity of the roof.

Caught up in his work as he was, he didn’t notice the existing damage to one section until his back paw was already on it. It gave way beneath him as he rocked his weight back to give him leverage. Sending his right back paw and rump through the gap. His left held for another moment, until another piece of roof crumbled, and he slipped. Sliding until half his body dangled down into the home. His upper paws straining with the effort of holding himself at such an awkward position. “A little. Help.” He huffed.

"Speech"

A commotion from up above brought the little mouse munchers attention upwards. Iolaire slurped the crunchy tail into her mouth and got to her paws. She could hear Sirius talking, but couldn't make out his muffled words. Moving towards the door, the small woman could see her brother's big hind end hanging down through the roof. She cackled and shook her head. "I told you so," she spoke cheerily. Iolaire didn't want to go into the cottage ever again, but she couldn't just leave him hanging. (See what I did there?) With a sigh, the little fae pulled her ears back and trudged into the cottage. She pushed one of the thickly built shelves just under the hind paws of Sirius. "That's about the best I can do," she informed him. He'd have to drop down just a bit, but his paws would be able to touch, then he could jump to the ground. "Speech"

The Warlord could just catch her words, drifting up through the hole his butt hung freely from. He huffed, but managed to bite back any stinging words. Containing himself to an eye roll as he struggled to pull himself back up - which mostly just resulted in him slipping a little further down.

He heard scrapping and movement beneath him, and then something solid under his paw. Once he could get a good angle and leverage on the shelf, he was able to balance himself and drop a little further down. Now, head through the crack of the wolf, he contemplated what to do next. If only they had a decent sized mule that could try to kick the place over… he guessed he was just stuck with the ass in the cottage instead. He poked his tongue out at his sister. “You and your told you so’s. Alright then, how would you dismantle this place?”

"Speech"

With the shelf in place, Iolaire watched as Sirius balanced upon it. She felt like she should be charging money for a show like this and giggled a little as the man settled down. He questioned her and Iolaire flashed him a sweet little grin. "I thought you'd never ask. You should probably come outside though." Tittering to herself a bit, the fae's thick tail flashed in the doorway as she made her way back outside. Waiting until Sirius was out of the partially roofless cottage, the tiny woman began walking around the perimeter. The fae's dexterous paw reached out here and there, claws tapping what looked like random stones. Eventually, one of them shifted a bit. "That one," she pointed at a large stone at the base of one wall. "How do you dismantle a structure? From the bottom up, dear brother." Without a strong foundation, things fell apart. She knew from experience. "Speech"

Despite his brush with danger, the Warlord was more than a little pleased to hear his sister laugh. It reminded him of different times, and younger versions of themselves. He eased himself fully down from the roof, so he was crouching on the shelf in the space between it and the ceiling.

He’d made some effort in taking it apart, but what he had done so far was slow going. Iolaire however seemed to have other ideas. He hopped down from the bookshelf, landing carefully beside it as it rocked from the impact of his weight.

He trotted out the door, and watched as Iolare found a loose stone. She intended their demolition to start from the ground. He’d trust her and try out her method. He went to the one she had pointed at and began to heave it out. He’d move to any stones that Iolaire indicated.


"Speech"

Sirius exited the cottage after his balancing act ended and followed the small woman as she tapped the stones. Once she indicated the stone that needed to be removed, the dire brute put all of his big muscles to work. "You might want to step back," she warned him once the stone had been removed. Already Iolaire could see the wall begin to buckle without one of the main pieces of its structure in place. Moving forward, Io extended one paw, giving her dexterous toes a little wiggle, and pushed the wall quickly before skittering back. One wall of the stone structure went crashing to the ground, taking a large portion of the roof with it. Dust flew up in a large cloud and Io coughed a few times, turning her face away from the cottage. "Only three more walls to go," she told the big man as one paw waved the dust cloud out of her face. Io then padded around to the next wall and began tapping gently at stones, locating the next one that needed to be removed from the foundation. She pointed to that one as well. "This one here." "Speech"