[OOM] Kazic III - Cä-Iudän.

[stuck_mynock]

Kazic III doesn't have a day or a night - the sky constantly glows with shifting patterns of warm, pleasant colours. It does have a generally accepted time when most people are asleep, though, and now is it.

There are still guards, though. They keep around the edge of the settlement, and occasionally give slightly wary glances towards the green flashes off in the distance. They're probably nothing: Some quirk in the atmosphere or something similar, but they could be the signs of a distant battle.

Their attention isn't really caught until shapes start shifting in the trees, mostly silent and not quite visible. One guard murmurs something to another and heads off into the forest, gun hefted high to shoot anything suspicious looking.

He returns a moment later, with spots of red around his mouth, but looking chirpy enough.
"Just an animal," brightly, to his companion, setting a hand on his back and steering him towards the forest. "Come check if there are any more."

As they walk, he reaches up to wipe at something warm leaking down from his eyes. His hand comes away red, and he wipes it on his furs as the two vanish off into the forest.

There's a sharp, strangled scream, and then they return, both smiling merrily, dabbing rapidly reddening pieces of cloth at their eyes.

-----

In the Tae household, things are a lot less bloody, but very loud for this time of the not-evening. The old, heavily armed woman who Guppy, Teja and Kate met earlier is milling about, trying to keep control of four unruly children. One of them, a young boy, is rushing around making starfighter noises, while Lyman has hopped up on a stool to laboriously stir a vat of some kind of stew, and a young girl holds two makeshift dolls of cloth and wood in each hand.

She's keeping close to Guppy, Teja and Kate. The show is clearly for their benefit.

"'I shall defeat you, Anabellizzastein!'" She squeaks in the voice of one doll, a greying, one-eyed cloth thing with bright pink hair. The other doll, hairless and extravagantly dressed in scraps of fur, replies (in a much deeper voice): "'It's too late, Chieftain Ranalin! I have already unleashed my monster!'"

Jaq is staring out the window, brow furrowed. He is hit in the head by a large, reddish cloth doll tossed at him by his sister.

"Jaq!" The young girl calls. "I need you to come and play the monster!"

"In a minute."


The old woman settles down near Teja, Kate and Guppy, propping a gun up against her chair.
"It's crowded here, but we manage to get by."

Comments

[guppy_sandhu]

"Looks like you do a good job." Guppy says, smiling slightly at her. One kid is hard enough work, let alone four live wires like these.

[ostro_goth]

"Oh yes, indeed so," Teja says. He is somewhat overwhelmed with the noise, and the fact he may not simply bark a sharp 'silence!' and get it.

He truly knows why he would never wish for children of his own, now!

[nothawkingbird.livejournal.com]

Kate watched them play with a small smile. Kids are ok, but she was definitely NOT ready for kids yet. And seeing all them playing was further proof.

"It's fine, and thank you again for your hospitality."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"Usually my daughter - their mother - and husband are here to help. But my daughter is currently away dealing with business - a trade agreement, like I mentioned earlier - and my husband is travelling to Ashina Tuwu."

When Jaq seems ill-inclined towards playing the monster (he seems more concerned with rubbing his eyes and looking mildly troubled), the little girl wanders over and plucks up the large red doll, before peering at Guppy, Kate and Teja speculatively.

After a moment, she holds out the doll towards Teja.

"You shall play the monster! He has seventy-two teeth and can breathe fire."

The old woman rolls her eyes.
"Kanna, don't bother the guests. Take your brother and start finding bowls."

Kanna looks rather put-out by this. Reasonably: "But Ranalin hasn't defeated Anabellizzastein, and she has to if she wants to become High Queen." A stern look makes her put down the dolls, though, and wander over to the window to drag Jaq away.

The old woman sighs, turning back to face the three.
"Jaq is ... easily distracted. Still - I trust you're all hungry? It's mostly just nerf and synthesised vegetables, but it's filling enough."

[guppy_sandhu]

"Yes, thank you." Guppy says. The valium has long since kicked in, and he feels tired now.

He tries not to stare at Jaq. This childhood doesn't seem to quite match up with what he remembers Atton telling him. Wasn't there some sort of orphanage? And there are two siblings he's never mentioned. Is this an alternate universe, or are they here just before a family disaster? Will they have to fight not to break the butterfly effect and watch these kids meet some horrible fate? Or would they already have done anything needed to protect Atton's future?

[ostro_goth]

"Seventy-two teeth?" Teja says, amused. "And breathes fire? THat is far too dangerous for me!"

[nothawkingbird.livejournal.com]

Kate nodded her assent, and found a seat on the floor to watch the children playing. She hadn't heard much of Atton's childhood so it was interesting to see him like this.

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

As Jaq holds out bowls for Lyman, Lyman - very shakily - starts pouring stew into them.

"Ladle," mumbled, as he pours one. Then, after another: "Ladle."

Eventually, there are eight bowls set along a rather large wooden table.

Jaq doesn't sit yet. He goes back to staring out the window, so his seat is taken up by Kanna's dolls, as a very the two younger boys start to dig in.

"Tell me," the old woman says, starting to usher everyone in the general direction of the table. "What is it that you all do with your lives?"

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy glances at Jaq, concerned. Does he know his life is going to get turned upside down, or is he just moody?

"Thank you. I'm a doctor." he says to the old woman.

[ostro_goth]

Teja sits.

"Thank you," he says, again. "I am a smith. I make blades and jewellery."

[nothawkingbird.livejournal.com]

Kate remarked, "I'm still training. Studying music."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"We're hoping to apprentice Fedotik to a physician, when he's older. Currently, there are remarkably few people who want to take up medicine, which makes life more than a little bit difficult - most families aren't keen on having more than one child, and by tradition, almost all first-born sons and a fair few of the first-born daughters become warriors," the old woman says. "You do have the look of a blacksmith about you, young man. They do tend towards the dark and grave types of people." Pause. To Kate: "What instrument do you play?"

At the window, Jaq very reluctantly makes his way towards a seat and starts to pick at his stew.

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy makes a mental note to make sure to get a picture on his phone of the family before they leave.

Otherwise, he struggles to concentrate on his thoughts, to try and remember any reference to Fedotik or Kanna. He's tired from the meds, and struggling to process, so he nods and lets Teja and Kate answer their comments, hoping they won't be concerned about his quietness.

[ostro_goth]

Teja gives him a deep look; something is off about Guppy. But that might be the drug he took?

[nothawkingbird.livejournal.com]

"It's a stringed instrument. We call it a cello where I'm from."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"Never heard of it, I'm afraid," the old woman says.

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy avoids Teja's gaze and eats his dinner.

He watches Jaq out of the corner of his eye; there's definitely something here. Most kids don't look this depressed at this age.

[ostro_goth]

Something is amiss with Guppy; Teja very much notices, but does not ask in front of all these people.

He will ask later, and now eats the food he has been given.

[nothawkingbird.livejournal.com]

Kate glanced toward Guppy briefly, figuring the medicine was probably taking effect. He was quiet, but probably more tired now. They all were as she ate her food.

"I could show you sometime on something similiar."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

Jaq seems to pick up on Guppy watching him after a while, and turns to peer at him between bites of food.

"We have some instruments buried around here somewhere," the old woman says, agreeably. "If there's time, I'll dig some out for you to take a look at. See if anything is similar enough."

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy stops looking at Jaq when he picks up on it, staring instead at his dinner.

He can't think of a plan, his brain is too fuzzy right now. He doesn't know how much he should tell Teja and Kate - how much would be necessary preparation without violating Atton's privacy?

He tries to finish off his dinner; if he doesn't get enough to eat he'll definitely not be able to focus on this.

[ostro_goth]

"I wonder if they have coffee or tea here," Teja says, quietly, to Guppy. "Or can you just sleep it off?"

[nothawkingbird.livejournal.com]

She whispered to Guppy and Teja, "Just finish your food. We could all use a rest."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

The old woman gives them all a long look. She somehow manages to look directly at all three simultaneously.

"Is something wrong?"

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy manages a small smile.

"Sorry, we're just tired after our journey."