He did not imagine that he'd need to wait long before seeing who remained of his children. After all, Cersei had done a brilliant job at exaggerating his own concern. At least, the concern he had been outwardly showing. Internally, he felt as if he had swallowed a storm. His gut felt twisted and not only from pain; his bones aches and his mind seemed to still rattle, unusual thoughts bouncing from one side to the other like rocks. He had failed, that was undeniable. However, how terribly had he failed? Had it truly been a fail for Caligula when she had not even paid her farewells the last time she left? Would she have even cared if he had failed? Was it a fail for his children if, by his leaving, he had spared them pain? Failure had always been such a clean cut issue and yet, now he was not so sure.

The first to rise in the distance had been Vesper, her pale form like a ghost almost in the sunlight. He shifted then, begrudgingly aided by Cersei, so that he might look to be merely resting (rather than gracelessly flopped on his side.) Still, even now he could feel the swelling in his leg pushing uncomfortably against his skin. Even as he was able to breathe evenly now, he felt so very hot. His skin prickled with an uncomfortable warmth. He had felt pain and had suffered injuries before but this seemed like something else. Quietly, he was unsure as to what to expect. Would his leg ever feel quite right again?

He had barely the time to register Vesper's questions before Praetor seemed to saunter into view. Tesseract immediately turned to him then, giving him a silent nod of greeting as Cersei took the opportunity to untangle the blood from his fur over his scruff. He listened closely to his son's words, his eyes narrowed silently in thought for several moments. Iromar? It had been a long time since he had willingly set foot there. It still seemed to reek of his own mother. Still, the territory was closer than Spirane and if Praetor was so sure... should he not show his son some trust?

"If you are sure of it, Praetor, then I must be inclined to trust that she will welcome us all."

"We can't just... all leave, can we? What if mother comes back? What about Judas? They'll come back... and there'll be nobody!"

Cersei had been quick to interject, her brows furrowed into a deep ridge of concern as she shot glances between her siblings and he. Tesseract grimaced, forcing it into a smile in an effort to be strong. She was right, but he could not expect them to stay here.

"I care for you all but I don't want to see the others come back to an empty home. I... just don't."

She seemed to retreat then, stepping back with her ears flattened nervously. Tesseract took the opportunity to slowly begin to rise, a stifled and awkward gesture as he kept his leg tucked up. Even injured, he remained the head of the family (at least for now.) He stood as proudly as possible, trying to retain the aura of strength he had always possessed as he turned between his children.

"Then stay, Cersei. We shall go to Iromar and I will ask that you, too, may come to us when you please. There, we will begin to make sense of this mess." He turned to Vesper then, offering her a small smile and a brief, stiff wave of his tail. "And you, Vesper? Will you stay or will you come to Iromar for the time being? There is much we all need to discuss."