nothing really matters

[Filter: Private]

Ugh, shit.

[Filter: Mom]

Oh, Dragons, Mom, I am really, really sorry. He didn't mean anything by it, he didn't know, I mean, it's been years since I've seen him last and I'd always talked about Corrina and it just hadn't come up in the last few days and --

Are you okay? I'm so sorry. He feels awful.

[Filter: Private]

It's always hardest on these days.

Hard not to see her smiling and clapping her hands in every corner. Cori loved the festival like most people can only dream of, and ... it's just hard to have it without her.

But if I show it, how much I miss her, Mom's going to fall into it, too. So I've got to keep smiling.

Hey, that's what Corrina would want, too.

... Dragons, I miss her so bad, somedays.

[Filter: Public]

I am about to sit down a truly awesome smelling Festival dinner, and let me tell you, I can't wait to put it in my mouth.

Also I got a bunch of awesome presents and basically this is the best day of the entire year.

Hey, what's everybody's favourite part of Festival dinner? I think I'm all about the potatoes. Smothered in crazy and butter. Frig, I want to eat right now.

[Filter: Lila and Allison]

Dragons, you two. Just how long are you going to be down there?

Sorry. I just -- I thought it would be a pretty quick thing, but all the talk in Lireth today is about how Lady Felicia's going to have another baby in a month and how everyone is hoping it'll be a boy and I'm thinking ... she got pregnant at Lady Isanae wedding, right? And then Lord Hasten took Allison and went South. That was so long ago that she's going to give birth?

We miss you at home. Mom won't say it, Lila, but it's really killing her, how long it's been since she's seen you. After Corrina ... And Allison, your mother is having a hard time of it, too. You know how your brothers and sisters are, they never write, never visit. They always were distant, and you were the only one Aunt Juniper could count on.

... I'm not trying to make you guys feel awful, but come on. You're killing us, here. I know it's not your call and it's all in Lord Hasten's hands, but can't you do antyhing?

Alright, so I told Lila that I would tell this awesome story!

So everybody here knows about the kitten by now, right? Refresher for those who didn't read! We have mice. And our barn cats are jerks. So I sort of stole a kitten from one of them and then didn't know what to do with it cause I thought my Mom was going to flip out. And I hid it in my room for a while. That's the part everybody knows.

Okay, so here's the part that's new!

So Mom comes back from Lireth from getting food and some building supplies to at least patch holes in the pantry. And she's like hey Robin! Come help me unload this stuff, your Dad's leg is bugging him again! (Cause he took that bad fall last ... uh, year. Sometime. I think.) So I go out to do that, and she has ...

Another kitten!

What??

Yeah, how about that! She had the exact same idea and went about bought a city kitten in town. Isn't that crazy? Who pays money for a cat when you have cats in your barn! She says that she didn't want her cat to have anything to do with the barn cats ... but it sort of backfired thanks to me. And now we have two kittens.

The end.

Okay, that story was better in real life but I still think it's pretty great.

Anyways, they're both girls and Mom and I are fighting over what to name them.

So, like, we put out some traps to see if there were any mice in the house, and like, I'm torn here.

On the one hand, mice are pretty cute. They have those little ears and whiskers, and they make cute noises, and Cori used to flip out whenever we tried to kill them. So there's that.

But on the other hand, there are apparently so many mice in our house that it's actually totally gross. Like, they're everywhere. And there are so many.

I really don't know what to think.

[Filter: Mom]

Is Dad feeling any better, today? He seemed it when he was out here earlier, but you know better than me ...

I didn't say anything to Lila about how sick he got, by the way. Or to Allison, actually. I know they'd just be worried and I'm tired of telling them stuff they should be worried about and can't do anything about.

It's hard enough to be worried when you can help ...

[Filter: Mom]

Dammit, Mom, what did I tell you?! What are you doing up in the kitchen again? I told you, you need to stay in bed!

You're the worst patient ever!

Soooo Moooom!

It's another great day for fort making! We might have had to stop before we were done, last time, but that doesn't mean that our masterpiece should just lay there, fallow and unfinished! That's a tragic end for such an epic fort!

You know I'm right!

[Filter: Mom]

Hey, Mom ... uhhhh do you have time to talk, for a bit? I've got something on my mind and you're sort of the only person I can really talk about it with! Stuff. Yeah. I can't go to Lila and I really can't go to Allison and Dad doesn't really get it and that sort of narrows it down, doesn't it?

Okay, Mom, I'll admit it. As much as I whined about having to keep working when Dad started again ... it is nice to have it all mostly done.

You can hardly tell what a disaster it was when we got back, anymore!

I was in town today, and man, everyone is talking about that wedding over in Emeron. I've sort of missed all the hype, I guess, from being back out in the country, but people are really excited about it all. Some merchants were selling these little flags with Lireth and Emeron colours together and stuff.

It's sort of cool that something that people care so much about it happening right here, right now! I mean, it's sure not a missing Princess getting found or anything, but it's something ...