James felt cold fear lace through his veins, eyes widening, "... Blood? Are they okay? Did something happen?"

Were they attacked?

"How long ago was this?", he asked, breathless.

He turned forward and looked for a place to land. This was no conversation to have while flying. And especially not a conversation that had to do with Ari. Worry filled his chest despite his best efforts, for Aristotle of all people. Curse that stupid lion... he still loved him after all.

@Comet

James dipped downwards, looking for a place to land, and Comet leaned backwards to keep her balance. Perhaps it was the thin air that had made her light headed, she had never been that high before.

"One or two weeks ago." she whispered. That long? She had been keeping this secret from him for that long? Comet hadn't wanted him to bear the burden of grief, but this needed to happen. She needed to tell him this, he had the right to know. "Sun is okay, thankfully. But Aristotle is..." this was it, all she had to do was say it. One word. That could break everything. "Dead."

She would explain what had happened later. For now, she needed to see how James felt about all of this, and know which parts she needed to withhold or tell him.

@James

James felt his heart turn to ice and water fill his lungs and throat, and he spread a wing and ever so gently lowered Comet to the ground once he landed, before walking a few feet away and wheezing, his heart constricting and anguish making his throat tight.

"H-he's dead?", he asked, tears filling his eyes, sounding so broken despite the hatred he had for the lion, for how he'd torn their family apart and doomed those gemstones.

Tears rolled down his nose and he hung his head, feeling all the word like he'd failed. Because in a way... he had. He'd confronted Ari, taken Comet, leaving him and Sun alone.

"... Is Sun okay?", he said, sniffling, heart hurting for his baby boy.

The gibbon had to hate him now, but he didn't care. He loved the child, loved him with all his heart, and he'd felt nothing but agony when he'd left him behind.

@Comet

Comet laid on the ground, and watched James. His voice stuttered, a bad sign. He looked so sad, so broken. She cursed herself for having told him about Aristotle's death, although she knew it had been the right thing to do. Was it? Having to see her renny like this was hard to bear, but there was no regret in telling him. It had to be done sooner or later.

Comet walked to James's side and leaned against him. A way to let him know that she was there, a source of comfort. "Yes, Sun's okay, he's..." Oh right, she hadn't told him the complicated part of this yet. "taking care of the chrysalises. Aristotle died giving his life to four stones, sort of a way to make up for taking the life of three, you know? Sun will be their guardian when they hatch, and we can visit!" She wondered if any of them would look like the lion himself. It would be painful seeing them, she knew that, but she had to. "Sun-- he said he knew whose fault it was. But he didn't tell me." her lips curved into a frown, wondering who that would be. "We laid Aristotle to rest next to his tree house. He is at peace now." Comet hoped those last words would be of comfort to James.

@James

James sniffled and looked down. You could die by giving life? It... made sense now, but Aristotle had no idea. It was an accident.

"... Oh my God," he sniffled, lip wobbling as he shook his head, "I was wrong- I was so wrong! H-he wasn't evil... I-I was mislead."

Anger welled up and his feathers fluffed, crests rising, "The Collector is such a manipulative snake!"

Tears welled up and he cried harder, turning to press his face into Comet's fur, seeking comfort from his daughter, and to comfort her as well. He was her father, after all.

"... I'm so sorry," he said, "I'm so sorry princess..."

He needed to talk to Sun. He needed to rejoin their families back together.

@Comet

Comet knew that James felt the same way about Aristotle as she did now. He had killed three stones, but died by giving life to four. She hadn't known it was possible to die by giving too much life, but it made sense now. Then came the thought: James could've died trying to give life to Peggy. They were lucky that hadn't happened, but the headache that he had felt... Comet felt worse than ever, it was at her own urging that he had even tried to revive a stone to be her sibling. It was all her fault. They were lucky that it hadn't happened, but the fact that it could've was enough. Just another stone added to her... plan.

James was looking very fluffed up and agitated. Especially about the Collector. She held her own doubts about his items too, it seemed they all did more harm than good.

The tears soaked into her fur, but she didn't care. Comet turned her head to press it against James's. "I'm sorry too." Sorry for so many things, for holding back this secret for so long, sorry for being the cause of his possible death from reviving the stone, sorry for everything. But they were words of comfort too, Aristotle was a loss that she wasn't sure they would ever be able to recover from. Comet would not tell James of her guilt though, because that would only make things worse. As if that were possible.

@James