Saige visiting family...

Saige doesn't answer and leads him to an empty room, closing the door behind them. She then goes over to one of the beds and sits down on it, arms crossed.

"I have a lot to tell you. A lot of stuff that I can only trust you with. And you have to promise me that you won't freak out. About any of it."

Basil goes from casual to serious in an instant, almost like a soldier reporting for duty. He gives a sharp nod as he remains standing across from Saige. "Okay. I won't freak out. What's going on?"

Saige takes a deep breath.

"Okay okay. Well first, I know you probably already are, but I really need you to keep an eye on Cassia. He was in that cell a long time. I was in one for a few days and I couldn't handle it. I'm worried about him. I know he's always been quiet and reserved, but don't let him get too much in his head and separated from everyone else."

She begins tapping on her arms as she tries to put together what she's going to say.

"I know that I was waiting to get everyone back before moving you all to Seshtau. But I think we need to go ahead and move. You've been here too long already, and I know it's miserable to be trapped in here. Especially with the twins. So. Moving. The house in Seshtau is going to be different from what everybody's used to. The woods aren't going to be safe like back home. So just keep an eye out. I'm sure that Jade is going to have people there looking out for you, but I don't know. It's not going to be forever, just until the world calms down and we can rebuild back home.I just don't know how long that will take."

She moves a hand to rub at her forehead, looking tired.

"Our missing siblings... it's not looking good. The longer it takes for me to find them, the more danger that they're in. I'm trying, and I'm going to get them back, it's just... taking a while. But Storm's been teaching me how to track, so I think I have a better chance now. Ginger is in Tuatha. Tuatha is currently shut down because of a group called the Shifting Scales. Or I'm assuming, anyway. It's a very bad group. I hope Ginger is lying low, but it's not a good situation. Anise was close to Volaire, but I think something happened with the giant lava shark that came out of a portal. It was too strong for us to beat, but I'm working on finding a way. Laurel..." Now, Saige takes both hands and runs them down her face in exasperation. "Somehow Laurel got himself to the Underdark! Of all places..."

She trails off into a few curses before continuing.

"Some of my friends plan to go with me to get him. We're all strong, so it's going to be fine. You don't need to worry about it. I'll get them to Seshtau when I find them. Everything's going to be fine."

She sighs and shakes her head.

"I'm going to say this as a 'just in case', so don't go worrying about it, but I want everybody to be ready to run from the Seshtau house at a moment's notice. I have another place you can go if needed. I don't think it's going to be necessary, but just in case. And if it happens, please stick together. Paste of stickiness your hands together if you have to, I don't know." She throws up her hands at the last statement. "I have... plans. That I can't talk about. If something goes wrong, I might not be able to come back for a while. Or maybe I will, and we'll all just have to disappear. But it'll be fine, no matter what."

Saige stands up, a serious expression on her face, and looks to Basil.

"I almost died. I was going to be a ritual sacrifice for someone who was trying to end the world. It didn't happen, and I'm okay, but it made me think. A lot. I know I've always been a brat, and stupid, and a pain in the ass, but I had the luxury of acting that way because you always protected me. If I fell, you picked me back up. If I got into trouble, you got me out of it. I never had to think about the end of the world, or dying, or what the consequences of my actions would be. My world was our little forest, and our family, and I didn't know about any of the evil outside. I'm sorry that you had to shoulder all of that, and also deal with my ignorance."

She launches herself at Basil and hugs him as hard as she can without hurting him.

"Thank you for being the best big brother anyone could ask for, Basil. I love you."

Basil stands still at first before he wraps his arms around Saige in a tight hug. "Well, if we're apologizing... I should apologize as well." He pulls Saige away from him so he can look her in the eyes. "I've been trying to protect you from the world but when you ran away... Well... I have also been doing some thinking since we arrived here and... I'm sorry. For always babying you. You aren't a baby anymore. You've been through... A lot. And I need to step back and let you do what you're going to do. You know this place and these people better than I do and I should be taking the lead from you so I'm sorry for trying to keep you from taking the lead." He smiles. "You're still my baby sister but you don't need a big brother constantly watching over your shoulder and handling things for you. I'll try to do better as a big brother."

He steps back and puts his hands on his hips. "So move to Seshtau and be ready to run at a moment's notice. Got it. I can do that. The twins won't be a problem. I can just stick them to me if I have to. Is there anything else I need to do to prepare for... whatever you've got planned?"

Saige smiles lovingly at her brother as he speaks, and nods when he's done.

"I'll work on setting up an easy way for you all to get to the backup spot, if you have to run. And a signal, probably. When we get to Seshtau, I'll show you." She shrugs. "Worst case scenario... if somebody questions you, you don't know anything about my plans."

She thinks for a minute.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you, but please don't tell anybody anything that I've told you. I don't want them to be worried. I just want them to be happy like we were before. And there's a good chance that all of my precautions won't be needed, anyway. I hope."

Basil nods and puts a hand over his heart. "I swear to keep all you've said to myself. I'll just have to plan how to get everyone out on a moment's notice without them questioning me. Which shouldn't be too much of a problem. The twins are hard to wrangle and Valerian might need a distraction but I can and will get our family to safety if we need to run. You can count on me." He smiles. "Never thought I'd be saying this to my baby sister. It's usually me that the family relies on. This is kind of strange."