2019-02-08: To Little Firelight Once Again
- Log: To Little Firelight Once Again
- Cast: Lan Lilac, Loren Voss, Leah Sadalbari
- Where: Baskar Colony
- Date: February 8, 2019
- Summary: Lan makes good on her wish to return home. Come what may, she isn't alone.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
There are things that Lan really took for granted before she left Little Firelight on her journey. Things like her mother's voice, her grandmother's cooking, the smell of her house. It was the hardest during the first few months, truly... the weight of the stolen medium underneath her shirt or tucked safely into her bag had been a poor substitute for 'home', no matter how righteous she'd thought her cause.
But as time goes on, wounds heal. Voices in memories grow fainter, flavors in memories grow duller. Smell, it seems, is the one thing that still manages to surprise her - red soil with a high clay content, dried hay put up for the winter, fresh peppers strung up to dry, a fleece shaken out in the sunlight.
And having spent a month in someone else's home, with their family, eating their food...
Now she misses Little Firelight more than she ever has.
After Wehaca, she'd turned to Loren and said, "Hey, since we're out this way and everything... I want to go back to my village for a day or two. Will you come with me?"
I'm scared to go alone, Lan didn't add.
From outside, it's nothing special. Just a few miles from the edge of the Badlands, a thick assortment of non-native trees arranged in a huge, rough crescent shape... and tucked snugly in the center, maybe two dozen homes built of whatever had been available when someone needed a place to live. The style is clearly Baskar (with some outside influences in the decoration or trim) but... Somehow, it seems very hodge-podge.
Lan's been dragging her feet a little bit all day, but the moment she'd spotted the lights of the village across the evening plains she'd shut her mouth and started running. Out of breath and merely a hundred yards from the 'gate' made of the gap in the treeline, she's stopped to catch her breath and wait for the others. Huff, huff... "Sorry," she pants when they catch up. "I couldn't--"
Whatever she couldn't, Lan doesn't say. There's someone coming towards them. Her hair is a bright gold, her skin a little paler than Lan's. But her eyes are a deep brown that's almost black, and she wears more jewelry than Lan even owns.
Lan takes a single step back before standing up straight.
If her mother attacks, she figures she can hide behind Leah for a few seconds before grabbing Loren and making a run for it--!!
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
He could have said no, when she'd asked.
But he hadn't. Maybe because, even if they're completely different kinds of people, he can sort of understand it. She wanted to go back home.
So he'd say, "As long as it's not too far out of the way."
Even though, it wouldn't matter if it was. He's out here to dive in deep into the mysteries of the Mediums, and how he can use the one he possesses more effectively. Leah's orders, even if she hadn't couched them in such terms. She never needed to state what was implicit, anyway.
Crossing the desert on foot -- even if they don't travel when the sun or the moon are up -- is far from pleasant, even if the trek is only a little ways further as the crow flies. It's either baking or freezing. How people live here -- why people live here -- is beyond him.
But there are eventually signs of settled life. Trees that don't belong here. Buildings, after a sort.
"Is that your home?" he asks.
And gets his response as Lan bolts towards the village.
He doesn't so much as glance back at Leah, who has joined them on this leg of their investigation (his investigation). He just runs after her. "Hey, wait--"
He might not be in full combat kit, but he's still carrying supplies. Soldier or not he can't quite catch up to her until she stops to catch her breath.
"What was that all about?," he says, pausing a moment to catch his breath himself. He may be somewhat less winded than she. "Hoping to be in time for dinner--"
His gaze casts off, towards the woman who stands there.
Notes the features of her face, her hair. Her expression.
And remembers something Lan mentioned to him once, about how she came by her Medium.
"Huh," he says, at a loss. "You're her mother?"
Guess she's in more trouble than I thought.
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
Leah Sadalbari is still theoretically away from most active duty; her confrontation with the Demon of Elru left her somewhat more worse for wear than even the one before that... And of course, is adding to the whispers about her in certain circles given the fact that she remains alive. Well, for certain values. The point is: Leah also could have said no, and indeed, would usually be expected to.
But she didn't, and indeed came along rather pleasantly.
The heat doesn't seem to bother her. Not much seems to bother her, frankly. She is the one who arranged certain family arrangements in the first place... And she shows no trepidation about crossing the desert. She wears draping, loose clothes against the heat, in indigo largely, using her spear as a walking stick when she feels like it, looking to all accounts like a travelling scholar which is not entirely inaccurate. And mostly, she's been content to watch Lan and Loren interact for the moment. There the trees...
"Hmhm," Leah muses as she watches lan bolt, watches Loren cahse after... and gets to walking. She doesn't even try to move as quickly as the others; her uneven gait takes her steadily forward. She gets there just in time to see the woman there in her jewelry, to whom Lan shows obvious... respect?
"Don't be rude," Leah says as she steps up behind Lan and Loren both, shaking her head slightly. "Please, forgive him--you know how boys his age can be. He is Loren, and I am Leah." She dips her head, half-bowing in introduction. ...She cuts a strange figure herself, with blue hair and an eyepatch, even without taking into account her more unusual features. But she is calm.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
Loren's attempt at sarcasm falls on deaf(?) ears. As if any dinner could make Lan run that far! Judging by the similarities between the two Baskar women, his question's already been answered anyway. Lan's mother glances at Loren and doesn't even bother disguising her look of utter indifference. Leah, on the other hand...
Maybe it's the unusual hair color, or the eyepatch, or something harder to see. There's some measure of respect, however faint, from the older woman. "Mana. I'm the village leader. I see you've met my idiot daughter," she sighs.
Lan's head lowers fractionally; she closes her eyes as if waiting to be judged or struck--
--and is dragged into a tired embrace, her mother's arms winding tight around her shoulders. "Oof-?!" Her arms pinwheel for a half-second-- before Lan sniffles, and hugs back. "m-mom..."
The muscles cord underneath Mana's leathery skin. Lan gets the hint and shuts up, but seems disinterested in being anywhere but right here, her face smooshed into her mother's shoulder.
"Leah and Loren, then. We've been waiting for you all day," Mana informs them. "The wind said she was on her way back, but not that she'd brought two people with her." Mana... doesn't seem unhappy about the extra company, though...? "Welcome to Little Firelight, you two. Welcome home."
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Maybe they're both scholars, to look at them together...
"I'm not being rude," Loren grouses, with far too much familiarity for one who is allegedly only following her orders. Even all the training he's been through, even everything he's endured, some things just don't change.
Particularly given the face he makes when Leah apologies for him... or when the strange woman just regards him as if he was insignificant shortly thereafter. What, a part of him thinks indignantly, you're already just writing me off?
His irritation is, perhaps, in this moment reigning supreme.
Before he blinks as Mana reveals something Lan hadn't mentioned to him.
"You're... the leader?" He looks to Lan, then glances back at Leah, then over at Mana again, as if this is all a shocker. He'd... assumed she was just some girl who had gotten in over her head by taking the Medium, or something, not... the leader's daughter. Even for a tribe like this that means something.
He can only stand there awkwardly as Mana and Lan hug it out, though.
Leah will probably have to prod him to do it, but ultimately:
"...Thanks."
Though that rare (if provoked) expression of civility may be mitigated by the fact that he's currently gazing off at the village as if trying to work out something about it. Judging by his pinched expression he's probably focusing on something that fails to meet his lofty standards.
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
Leah remains politely out of the matter of Lan and her mother, idiocy and hugs. She smiles faintly, and while they are otherwise engaged answers Loren, "She isn't only Lan's mother, and you haven't earned the right yet to be so informal."
She smiles instead and inclines her head again to Mana. "Thank you for your gracious welcome," she says instead. "And for accomodating our unexpected presence." She is not deferential so much as--well, respectful, clearly aware that they are in someone else's territory instead of their own. So, essentially heretical for a Solarian.
Also she totally nudges Loren in the back until he says thanks. There is prodding all right.
"It seems a vibrant place--very practical." A beat, "Is there a place you'd prefer us leave our weapons?"
She does not appear to intend to make them keep waiting longer than necessary, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
Once Lan has been properly hugged into submission by her mother, Mana seems quite content to deal with her daughter's friends at her leisure. She starts by actually speaking to Loren instead of just dismissing him outright. Progress?! "For the moment, yes. I'm sure you've all heard of the strange things going on across the continent. The fall of the Metal Demons, the tales of people just vanishing from the face of the world. We won't be caught without some kind of structure in place, should anything similar come to our doorstep."
She releases Lan, who's frankly starting to look like she needs air. "She wasn't the leader when I left," the younger of the two tries to explain, despite her mother having already done just that. She didn't lie on purpose!!
"Don't waste too many pretty words here," Mana shrugs, as if she doesn't care either way. But as for the subject of their weapons, "We don't requre you to go around defenseless, though the sentiment's appreciated. You're home now; I'll let Lan take care of getting you settled in." Mana steps forward between the two outsiders, clapping a hand each on their shoulders before turning to lead them into the trees.
"And you, young lady," she stares her daughter in the eye, "Had better come and see me before you turn in for the night. The elders and I are going to have some words prepared for you."
Lan would like it very, very much if the earth opened up and swallowed her now, please.
"Sssssoooo," she manages, falling into step a few paces behind her mother, "...Do you want dinner first or to clean up or a nap, or..." help
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Loren's response to Leah is to begin to turn his gaze skywards, as if put upon.
It's strange. It's almost as if the intervening seven years had been obliterated -- like things have returned to the way they were.
Like they're both not bearing scars.
But perhaps he's taken some of her warning to heart, since he nods when Mana explains why she's the chief, now... and doesn't say anything.
He remains silent as Leah continues to put on the charm, explaining matters to Lan's mother.
It's... weird, thinking about Lan's mother, when he stops and considers that. Her mother, like and unlike his own.
Maybe it's different with a mother and a daughter. It's not the same with a mother and a son. Or with a father and a son. Or...
He wrinkles his brow, as if something has occurred to him.
His hand lingers next on his swordbelt, as Leah speaks to something he never would have even considered. It doesn't matter that they could potentially lay waste to this village with their will alone -- what the people living here care about are the weapons at their side.
...Maybe.
He still jolts when she claps a hand to his shoulder, though it's likely he would have done that if anyone touched him.
...Lan, it seems, has found herself a small bit of immenent doom. Loren just looks at her when she seems to silently plead for help and, well, shrugs helplessly. What does she want him to do here? Beg for mercy? He doesn't even know what's going on!
"I wouldn't mind sitting down," he says.
His stomach growls.
"...Or food," he adds, appending the comment with a sigh. He hasn't eaten more than some dried fruit in hours.
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
"Yes," Leah agrees simply about the strange events mentioned, speaking for the both of them easily. "I suspect they'll be on all of our doorsteps before it's all said and done," is her admission after that. She does not even pretend to offer Lan a reprieve from her mother because Leah is still kind of a troll.
"Moving up," Leah says brightly to Lan, and then nods along to Mana's response. "All right then," is her answer; she seems willing enough not to stand too hard on formality, and the weapons...
...It's true that she and Loren could do terrible things to any small village, weapons or not--but Leah's background has trained her well in considering appearances, not to mention learning how to be polite to surfacers.
Mana will find that Leah's shoulder is colder and harder than one might expect; it's easy to assume that there's armor beneath her flowing attire, and just as easy not. Leah makes eye contact when she does, nods once more, and doesn't make a big deal of it.
...As she settles into walking by Loren she murmurs, "Bit jumpy, hm? People out here are more used to physical contact in greetings than you're used to."
Help? Help. of course help. That's exactly what Leah doesn't do, naturally. She walks along, uneven steps as always, and chimes in, "If we have the option, I think that's at least one vote for dinner. I'd be fine with that myself."
They're home, Mana had said. Leah seems already to have relaxed accordingly. Somehow, it's much easier for her, apparently.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
Food, and a place to sit. Even with impending doom lurking just over her shoulder, Lan can't think of anything better to offer. "I'm hungry too," she admits, hitching her pack up a little higher on her back. As if that weren't enough, a smell wafts through the trees as they approach the village. Stewed meat, spiced fruit, and corn perhaps? Up ahead, Mana looks back to make sure they aren't going to turn tail and disappear... then leaves them, disappearing into the early-evening business of keeping a small village up and running. In a cleared space at the 'center' (more or less) of the village, it seems like Lan's relatives are nearly finished preparing a modest feast.
"Let's drop off our things at the house then," Lan suggests, and leads them past a horde of running, laughing children to a three-room building. Bits of colored glass and painted stones are set into parts of the baked-clay exterior, giving it a jeweled appearance. The door is made of wooden slats nailed to a swinging frame, and doesn't lock - Lan just pulls it open and gestures for the two of them to go in first.
Inside the house is cozy, a warm breeze filtering in through a high window. Pegs set into the wall lead up to a loft, and there's a fire pit dug into the ground with a ring of flagstones around it for a hearth. The few pieces of furniture - a bench, a chest, a table and four stools - all look well-made, if plain. "Come on in! Have a seat." Lan follows them in and promptly dumps her bag into a corner with a quiet thump before patting the stones. The fire is banked low, merely coals at the moment. "Dinner should be ready any minute so I'll... I'll find you a snack and some water, and you can take your shoes off if you want, we're not formal, and let me know if you see a lizard! They're good pest control so don't hurt them, okay?"
She's not looking at either of them, but it's not clear if she's looking at anything else, instead. She grabs up a pitcher from the table and brings it over, along with three cups. "I don't know if you like frybread but I think you will, it's really good--"
Her hands shake as she pours water into the cups for them.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
It's telling of their tentatively reforged relationship that he just gives Leah a look that reads something along the lines of 'really?' when she comments on his twitch when Mana claps him on the shoulder.
Six months ago, even, and he would have been on edge around even her. But bit by bit, Leah has wrung a bit of trust from him.
No, more than just a 'bit'. For all that he might act like the put-upon younger sibling around her, she just might be the one person in the hierarchy he's caught within that he trusts. It's not naivete -- he knows enough of how these 'games' are meant to work. Even with what she said to Riesenlied. He's another piece on the board.
But he's fine with that, just as long as he's put into play properly.
It is after all why -- another reason why -- he's here in the village now.
He follows after Lan, similarly making no offer to help.
It may be for the best. Lan has seen what happens when he cooks, and no one wants to eat charcoal. Sidestepping the horde of children, he follows Lan into her home.
It's the exact opposite of his own home, he thinks, scouting out a seat.
He moves to brush a lizard off it; it scatters before he can even touch it, skittering off for gap in a stone by the hearth. Unbuckling his swordbelt as an afterthought, he leans the blade against the wall and drops down onto the seat, slouching. "You don't lock your doors," he comments, gazing at the low embers. "Is it always like that?"
She seems to be going on autopilot, he thinks, after a moment's consideration of her.
He picks up his cup.
Another person might tell her to sit down, or take a breath, or reassure her, or do something.
Unfortunately, these are things where Loren is absolutely, positively useless -- arguably as a result of his semi-hermit friendless lifestyle for all these years, but this still doesn't help Lan at all.
"I... guess?" he offers after a moment, a touch lamely.
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
The 'really?' look gets an amused smile in return, just like it might have back then. ...Sure, there are things beneath the surface. But she hasn't pretended much that that isn't true. And now, here in the village...
In the face of impending doom, food and a place to sit are even more important. The executed usually get a final meal, after all.
...And it's a good set of smells. Leah agrees easily enough to set her things down, looks over the jeweled-like exterior, the cozy interior after she steps inside. Step-step, step-step. It's a warm sort of place, and the advice...
"Sure," Leah says, though this of course means that as she stops by the door the fact that one of her feet is metal-and-fiber becomes that much more obvious.
Lizards. Noted.
For her part, she has taken a seat on one of the stools, more than sturdy enough even for her weight. Her weapon has been left by the door, resting right where cloaks or coats might be hung. And for locks, "Is there much need to, in a small settlement?" she asks Loren, and yes, it's rhetorical. But even as she says this, she watches Lan, notices her nerves, her attempt to make things normal...
"I haven't had frybread in a while," Leah answers amiably, and reaches out to accept her cup--or so it seems, because instead one of her heavy hands rests gently on Lan's forearm for a moment. There's the slightest unnatural jerk to the motion, as if she can't control it so finely as the flesh and blood hands others take for granted, but it doesn't force Lan's to move or hurt at all.
"I'm sure we'll like it quite a lot. Thank you for taking care of us."
And then more softly, "Things will be fine."
She nudges Loren under the table with her metal foot. "Though I think that's his line, hm?"
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
The lizard is small, its body blackish-grey and lined with dull brown stripes, but its tail is a shimmering blue. Despite the earthiness of Lan's home, there aren't any insects hanging around inside. The stones of the hearth are warm, but not so much as to be uncomfortable. The heat of the day hasn't entirely faded yet, but once the moon rises they'll probably be glad for the extra warmth of the hearth and stones.
For what it's worth, Lan doesn't spill more than a drop or two. Water is precious here. But Leah's hand on her arm seems to ground her a bit; her hands stop shaking. "I..." Lan takes a long breath and breathes out through her nose, then meets Leah's gentle(-ish) gaze. "You're right. It's going to be fine. We'll eat dinner, and maybe they'll punish me and maybe they won't, but afterwards I'll be forgiven." Probably. They wouldn't excommunicate her, not after she brought two highly skilled, exotic-looking people back to the village--
Briefly, she realizes she ought to feel bad about not telling Leah and Loren. But she'd never intended to stay here, and surely they won't either - so it doesn't matter!"Thanks again," she blurts out anyway, "For coming all this way with me."
"No, we don't," she shakes her head at Loren. "There's only family here - I'm related to just about everybody. We rarely get surprise visits from outsiders, and it's not like there's really anything to steal anymore." Not since Lan took it.
She dithers for a moment, but finally settles down on one of the flagstones, crossing her legs and gazing up at the loft for a moment. "...My blankets and clothes and everything are still here," she realizes, spotting a colorful, familiar fold of fabric peeking over the edge. "I guess... there was always a place for me here, after all...?"
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
So it's really just family here? Strange.
Yes, technically it's true that much of the First Class citizenry is some level of related -- of course Civic Oversight takes care to make base-level adjustments as needed, and of course there is also watchful planning put into matchmaking to avoid issues -- but it's a different story down on the surface, isn't it.
He's silent a moment, then cranes his head away, as if in an attempt to also so avoid the subject. "...I guess," is his response to Leah, on the matter of a need for locks.
If they had locks, perhaps Lan wouldn't have stolen the Medium.
Perhaps.
Leah nudges him with her foot, prompting him to glance back at her, staring in confusion. "...Huh?" he utters. "What's my..." he trails out.
He's not dumb. Just inept.
And then his attention is back to Lan again.
"I'm... sure... it's fine," he says. Grudgingly.
Which is of course the determination Lan has come to on her own, anyway. Loren's shoulders slouch, his sacrifice for naught.
Everything was just as she left it, huh.
Everything was just as he'd left it, too. But it hadn't felt like 'home' anymore. He cradles his cup, glancing down into its depths.
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
Leah, of course, could talk about the way it works for the First Classers. She could mention the paperwork, elaborate on the testing... Describe at least one variant of the process.
Instead, her hand is reasonably steady, as Leah watches Lan calm. Lan asserts it for herself, and Leah inclines her head. "When you think out the worst case... Sometimes it's not as bad as what you can imagine."
It would appaer that Leah sees nothing that needs apology for her part. Just family...
Leah glances Loren's way, after she nudges him. And then of course he starts to get it. She waits. And--There he goes. His shoulders slouch...
"That's a start," she allows, before turning her head to look to Lan again. '...Family," Leah says, "Can surprise you. It means more than one incident; it means more than one act... or one running away."
She doesn't look at Loren as she says this. She smiles, instead.
"No locks--because their real treasures could open the door regardless, hm?"
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
Even if Loren's a bit late in saying it (and practically had to be forced to do so in the first place) Lan seems to take his encouragement at face value. It seems to cheer her up, in fact - because Lan second-guesses herself just like anybody else. Sometimes it's just nice to be told you aren't wrong. To be reassured.
-----
They get a short while to rest and relax, though once a curious eye (at about navel height) peeks in through the slatted door -- and is quickly chased away by an adult before the village kids can learn too much about what their cousinsisterwhatever is getting up to with the strangers in the privacy of her own home. It's not too long before the call goes out, and Mana reappears to bring them outside, to the center of the village. She makes Lan help carry the table, but if Loren and Leah want to help they're more than welcome to bring seating with them. Apparently everybody's eating together! ...Outside!?
Twilight in Little Firelight is warm, almost balmy. The trees surrounding the village help regulate the ambient temperature as much as they can, and the fire pit at the center of everything has a modest blaze burning merrily away. Everybody in the village has brought out a place to sit and something to eat, and when Leah and Loren are noticed they're greeted with the same fervor one would expect at an old friend's house.
And of course, they get some curious looks - perhaps a few more than one would expect. In particular, some of the young men keep looking between the three of them with a bit of an extra curiosity about Leah. Maybe they've just never seen blue hair before...?
Wait, no, there's a middle-aged woman with a long blue braid standing in line for chili.
"Just grab a plate and line up for whatever," Lan advises them - before she's dragged off by her mother. "Uh-- hey, don't I even get to eat--?!"
And then they were alone in a crowd...!
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
More than one incident.
More than one act.
More than one running away.
His gaze fixes on the depths of his cup. He doesn't dare look back up.
Is that why...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There's a short time to rest before, apparently, preparations are underway for dinner.
Apparently quite the dinner, considering the tables and the chairs are to be brought on out.
This is how Loren comes to be bringing up the rear of their merry little party of three, carrying a single stool.
He'd attempted to carry a few of the chairs, only for his offer to be made in vain.
Leah has the chairs.
Somehow, this all feels like a bit of a slight. Or at least, that he's twelve years old again and being patronized by the adults in the room.
Such ruminations do not, however, prevent him from noticing they're being followed.
He's always -- or at least, within the last seven years -- been aware of people's attention on him.
...Though, he thinks, after considering the situation a moment, actually, he doesn't think it's him they're looking at. Is it...
A horrifying realization strikes him. He picks up the pace, falling in alongside Lan.
"Hey," he hisses, his voice low. "They're not... looking at her, are they?"
He sounds aghast at the very idea.
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
Leah, of course, does not answer Loren's unspoken questions. ...Does Leah second-guess herself?
-----
She doesn't pay much attention to the curious eye through the door; if not for the fact that they've seen how much she spots despite her lowered field of vision, it might be easy to assume she didn't see at all. The idea of eating outside, similarly, is met with a pleasant acceptance. As they head out, Leah casually picks up more seating than a woman her age ought to be able to carry easily, and looks not at all encumbered.
Leah has an amused look if Loren looks at the right moment, and then it's gone.
Warm greetings see some warmth in return; Leah smiles back, appearing entirely comfortable. Despite Loren's concerns, she doesn't appear to notice the scrutiny she receives, either.
Or, wait--did she just smile back at one glancing at her? Nah. Obviously not.
"Chili seems good," she comments, and moves into line. Sorry Loren. You're stuck with the grandmother who may or may not know you.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
Loren turns to Lan for reassurance that nobody's checking out Leah's cyborg goodies--
--and nearly bumps into a tiny, wizened old woman whose white hair is piled in a thick bun on top of her head. Bun and all, she barely reaches up to his shoulder... and much like Lan had mentioned once, she's more or less made of wrinkles. "Hmm? Are you my grandson?" she asks, squinting up at him through thick spectacles that have really seen better days. "Jake? I haven't seen you in forever! Have you still got that fluffy little dog?"
Loren may require extraction...
Possibly to his continuing horror, one or two of the young men are glancing over at Leah now and then, clearly interested in something about her. What kind of dastardly schemes could they have planned--?!
The one Leah smiles at seems equal parts emboldened and bashful, turning away to hide the beginnings of a flush (and to punch his companion in the arm for laughing at him). But nobody seems overly interested in them - at least, nobody is crowding around them with questions or hugs or really enthusiastic exhortations to enjoy their meals!
...Wait, scratch that. Three children are not-so-subtly following Loren, staring out at him from behind someone's big burly uncle. Two girls and a boy, probably eight years old or so.
The chili is, by the way, delicious.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Lan was there a moment ago.
She's not there now. Instead, he's presented with the smallest little old woman he's ever seen. She stares up at him. He stares back.
"..."
Silence ensues. Somewhere, perhaps, there is a crow's caw.
"Sure?" Loren hazards, taking a step backwards, away from the inquisitive granny. Much to his dismay, as he glances back, he can see that the young men over there are...
oh emperor they really are checking her out
And for the first time in a long time he thinks furiously:
That's my sister-in-law, you-- animals!
But, alas, progress in their direction is cut off by a furious string of people bearing foodstuffs. As he disengages from the littlest granny, he soon realizes that he, too, is being watched.
...By children.
Slowly, like a deer that has sensed the wolf, he turns his head in their direction. As if to ask in silence, '...yes?'
If in a manner that suggests some slight degree of 'currently strung out a bit'.
Leah just can't take him anywhere, can she.
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
There's absolutely a crow cawing somewhere. Leah, for her part, cuts a bit of mystery in draping indigo, failing to take off her gloves even now that they're settling down to eat. ...And, of course, with the whole strength matter. Whatever terrible schemes they have planned--
She shakes her head, laughing under her breath at the reaction the one guy has with his friends. And she...
She doesn'te ven pretend to help Loren actually. Having to socialize with unfamiliar people will be good for him. It's fine.
In short order however she takes a seat, and is having chili; there's just a little clumsiness in the way she holds a utensil, barely noticeable... As she glances to Loren, and beckons him over.
"I'm sure you can make friends from a seated position, Ren."
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
In the long run it may well help.
In the now, he knows only the pain of learning.
Which may be another reason why, when she beckons him over, it's with some relief that he breaks away from the stares of over-curious small children and heads on over to grab a plate and take a seat at her side.
He considers for a moment asking what's in the food.
Then decides he'd rather not know.
"'Friends', huh..." he murmurs, sitting down near to her.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
The children seem to have picked one of their number to be the spokesperson: a redhead with a flower painted on her cheek. "How come Lan brought home two people?" she demands of Loren, as if he'd even know! Granny is Loren's unlikeliest savior, however, as she immediately notices the child's presence and descends into cheek-pinching range. "Why, if it isn't little Tansy! My how you've grown--"
There's chili, and the fabeled frybread as well, and even a few kinds of side dish. The air is one of good cheer - it's clearly a low-key celebration, but even if they're the guests of honor they're not being poked and prodded at too badly.
It's a few long minutes before Lan returns, holding a plate of her own, and takes a seat with them. "You guys are okay, right?" she asks them, staring across the table as if she expects they'd been set upon by wild beasts (or more children). "Everybody gave you your space, right? We had to make a rule about not overwhelming people after June's new husband was scared off, we don't know he was so nervous, the poor guy--" She's rambling again.
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
"Yes," Leah murmurs, setting aside the performative amusement for a moment--just a moment. "You'll find your time among others is smoother when you get along, instead of keeping to yourself."
Leah doesn't even pretend to ask what's in the food; it is food, and that is fine. "Mm--this has a good kick to it, what's that spice in the aftertaste?" is one of her questions, and she asks after people smiling at one another, and seemingly joins entirely in the good cheer.
It's easier to get by as a weird cyborg when you give people a reason to like having you around. ...More fun, too.
"We're fine," Leah says, and then waits a beat, "Though he's proved popular." With the children, anyway. She considers--their space... Overwhelming people.... Hmmmm.
There is something of a twinkle in her eye. She answers, "Poor June--did he ever come back?" She waves a hand vaguely, "In point of fact, everyone's been quite welcoming. It's a much warmer reception than I might expect where I used to travel, back in Elru."
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
"Two people?"
His echoed question tragically goes unanswered. Instead, he has received a most unanticipated savior--
And possessing the instinctual knowledge of when to fold 'em, opts to make this the moment he vacates the area for a sort of safety at Leah's side.
Also, there's the matter of the food. He might grumble and wonder, but at the end of the day, he doesn't let much stop him from putting food in his mouth.
...Mysterious giant cakes in ancient ruins aside.
(Lan probably remembers the time he helped himself to some guard's sandwich.)
"...If you say so," he says to Leah, the skepticism weighty in his tone.
Lan reappears, apparently having extricated herself from whatever hell she had been ferryed off towards. He blinks, swallowing a mouthful of frybread. "No. Why?"
She rambles on.
A few puzzle pieces have been set down on the metaphorical table.
People here are mostly related, and he knows even Lambs aren't given to incest.
The looks that the young men had been giving Leah.
'How come Lan brought home two people?'
Lan's comments just now.
Loren is awkward, not stupid.
"...That's because they think you're eligable." He pauses, looking over at Lan. "Isn't that right? Your people bring in the ones they marry from outside."
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
An 'auntie'-looking older woman speaks up, her voice warm. "It's cinnamon! I learned the trick to it when I was working in the kitchens at Adelhyde. Ah, but that was a long time ago... I wonder if they do it differently there now? Are you a bit of a cook as well? We could trade recipes~"
"Aaah, that's great," Lan sighs, and tucks in to her dinner with the grace of the incredibly hungry. "Mmmf. Weww she hadda--" The shaman chews, swallows, and tries again. "She had to go find him but they came back together! So it was okay in the end. June is Tansy's mother." She points at the ensnared redhead with her spoon. "But you're getting along well? I'm so glad!" she beams.
The fire crackles in the background, casting warm light over the village. Above them, lanterns mounted on tall poles cast a weaker, but purer glow. They must be lit by magic, because the light doesn't flicker - and there is no electricity here. Lan, at least, has the grace to look a little sheepish once Loren calls her out. "Yeah. Well - technically I haven't said which of you is supposed to be my partner, so you could be eligible too!" THAT'S NOT THE POINT
<Pose Tracker> Leah Sadalbari has posed.
"I do." Ironic choice of words maybe, given what's to come moments later, but she says them to Loren regardless, before moving along to the matter of recipes. "Cinnamon--Ahh, of course cinnamon. --I haven't been to Adelhyde in a while, but I do dabble in cooking--long enough on the road and you learn or you start getting very hungry, hm? I'd be happy to trade a few."
Leah's patient; she can wait for a bit of chewing. "Ahh, so it did work out. That's a better ending, I think." Leah smiles to Tansy briefly, a sort of auntie look itself, truth be told. The fire, the lantern light...
"Do you think so?" Leah asks Loren, glancing first to him, then about to the others. When Lan chimes in Leah actually laughs, good-naturedly. "You haven't, have you?"
"Well, that's certainly a reason for a welcome. Does it change anything that I'm already married?" Leah asks, reaching up to her neck and pulling the two golden rings on a chain there--one slightly larger than the other.
The implication may be obvious, naturally.
"Hmm," Leah remarks, setting down her utensils and moving to remove her gloves--to reveal what some might try to assume are gloves beneath, if they don't look too closely. "That's fair, isn't it?" she asks. "It could be either of us. Very magnanimous. If I'd brought home a girl my mother would've laughed."
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
It's testament, probably, to Leah's presence -- and the presence of a whole lot of people here that he doesn't know, honestly -- that Loren does not immediately detonate upon hearing this one.
The way he sort of goes stiff, the way he takes a long slow breath, though?
Possibly clues to his current inner state.
"Great," he mutters instead. "So this is what it's come to." He trades an accusing glance towards Leah's apparent admirers--
he's not even taking into account the fact that she did just say he could be eligible too (even if two of that trio aren't that bad looking, for surfacers)
--only for Leah to make a more direct move to nip this situation in the bud.
Hunching his shoulders, his response is simply to shove some more of the food into his mouth, seething in silence.