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The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
The Dirkwood Forest
Restday, the Fifth Day of Yrick

Keiko, Lyric, Bekkah, and an unexpected Tomomi

Three things were proven true upon entering the Mill’s attic space. First, that the majority of the space was taken up by large, well-crafted interlocking gears made of wood, iron, and steel, all moving in their interdependent manner. They were hidden, however, behind a wall, glimpsed only as one came up the ladder. The creaking provided a low and steady background rhythm. The remainder of the space, perhaps a quarter of the attic as a whole, was a small comfy cubby with a bed and a dormer window that looked to the west. There was a comfy-looking bench seat at the window’s sill.

Second, the view towards the sea was spectacular. Soft hills rolled beyond the Black River, the right-hand side framed by the Forest, which sprawled to the north as far as one could see. To the south, also as far as one could see, the fields stretched in a pastoral landscape, accented here and there by little groups of trees, the hint of tiny creeks and the traditional scattering of rocks and stone. Looking straight out was the western horizon, and if one closed their eyes and took a careful breath one could almost imagine a hint of salt on the air, of a sea somewhere out there beyond sight.

With all the small hills and little vales, it would be very easy to hide almost anything just out of sight.

Last, they weren’t alone. A small figure sat on the window bench, very hurriedly tugging a patchwork cloth and leather cloak about herself and tugging up its hood. They were almost as tall as Keiko and the Korie Dama, perhaps the same height if this stranger stood as straight as possible. This person's features were hidden in the shadow of their cowl and, while mysterious, there was something that ensured the sense of mystery was in no way nefarious.

That something was probably how brightly they bounced up from the bench seat and skipped over to Keiko, their feet hidden in the fall of cloak and tunic skirts that dragged the floor. One hand rustled beneath the cloak, coming out with a small pouch, the top stained in white. The stranger’s other’s arm wrapped around Keiko’s, both hugging and using the Rhoni lass to shelter themselves from the other two.

No, not nefarious at all; just shy.

“Oh!”

The voice was soft, high pitched and definitely feminine. The stranger’s hood nodded as she was identified, and once identified Tomomi happily answered Keiko’s question.

“Well, first I went to the lakeside cliffs, which is always scary because you can see the entrance to the mines and forges from there and if you can see them, they can see you. But it’s the only place where you can get the whitest chalk, and I don’t know... is there such a thing as white paint? I mean, white on parchment is kind of odd, isn’t it?

“And then I went to the edge of the forest, and then to the group of trees way out there...”

Tomomi pointed out the open window, to a distant collection of trees.

“And then I came here! I rested on the bench because it reminded me of Home, except being able to see past the woods.”

Keiko then remembered something the wise elder had told her. Having befriended a Tomomi, she was going to have to get used to such unexpected arrivals.


[[ edited for proper room size ]]

Lyric

Entering the upper room of this Mill House was an adventure in and of itself. A door in the ceiling and a ladder to reach it, and then the door in the ceiling becomes a door in the floor. But here she stood, inside the room, on the other side of a wall from where she glimpsed the large interlocking gears as she climbed up the ladder. Those gears, hidden from her view now, were still there, behind that wall. All in motion and unrelenting in their designed purposes and functions. Lyric felt a little unsure of herself. Uncomfortable too. This could be dangerous. But there was the wall. So there was safety. She just had to keep a check on her curiosity about how things worked or why they existed.

All the same, it gave her pause as she stood just clear of the door in the floor while Bekkah entered the room as well. While the Rhoni girl, Keiko, reacquainted herself with the cloaked and cowled visitor Lyric took a moment to reflect upon the adventure over to this place from where she met Dama Kadri... or Korie. Possibly this was an effort to divert her attention from trying to find a vantage point to see the gears again, just to make sure they weren't going to come apart, or maybe just to watch them endlessly turning against one another. Did they always turn? That big water wheel had to be the thing that drove them and started the whole thing. No, back to less dangerous thoughts. Lyric resolved to find out how the Dama preferred to be addressed. She had said she preferred just Kadri, but it couldn't hurt to ask again to be sure and respectful.

Yes, the reflection of the journey to get to this room... Stopping at each landing to enjoy a new perspective and to see as far as one's eyes could manage, and then at all the things close as well. Higher up, she would repeat it, trying to see if there was anything new to see. Maybe she might see all the way to the ocean. Now that would be something wondrous. But, sooner maybe she might see out over the tops of the trees of the strange and dark forest she had walked alongside since leaving home. Another landing and then another as the steps wrapped around the large rock that had a guardsman tower at it's top. She wasn't going that far up this time, but maybe later. She could imagine the sights from the top of the tower itself.

Inside the mill house, she had to be ushered along for the smells of the foods was intoxicating and Lyric demonstrated that penchant for distractedness and hyper focusing at the same time.

And now she stood in the attic space looking at the wall that hid the monstrous gears. Among many worries, not the least of which was getting her tunics caught if she got too close, was just the sheer size of them. She understood that as long as she kept herself on this side of the wall, then nothing was going to get touched by those gears. Still she wondered... somebody must have to go back there from time to time.

Her village had nothing like this...

Bekkah

She followed the others into the Mill. She was silent mostly studying Lyric. It was a look of curiosity more than concern. She thought the girl was sweet and terribly innocent. It was that innocence that made her wonder how she'd made the journey here. Her musings were interrupted by the bounding energy she knew to be Tomomi.

She stepped beside Lyric and smiled, nodding in Keiko and Tomomi's direction.

"She's a special friend we met yesterday. She must have run all the way here to beat us back." she said still smiling.

She was mostly watching the pair, but she also snuck glances at Lyric, especially if the less 'normal' aspects of Tomomi became apparent.

Lyric

The Atteran's words broke Lyric's fascination with the unseen gears. She focused on the Rhoni and cloaked 'friend' who had described a great and epic adventure in searching many places before arriving here. Lyric couldn't help but wonder what Tomomi thought of the gears.

Lyric stood silently at the side of Bekkah and observed. She smiled at the expressions of friendship between the two. Without trying to be 'too' obvious, Lyric wanted to see Tomomi's eyes. Eyes were the most expressive parts of a person. Eyes and the face, that is. Well eyes were part of the face. Whatever.

Tomomi went to great lengths to remain concealed though, so Lyric waited. The What Will Be always had to pass through the What May Yet Come and so Lyric waited for Keiko to make her greeting with her unexpected friend and then see how that changed the reasoning for why Lyric was brought along with Bekkah.

Keiko

Keiko just smiled and nodded at Tomomi’s description of her travels from her Home to the Rhoni’s small room. “Oh, sometimes, white is a good pigment to have. A layer of white can be painted on the pasteboard so the other colors look brighter, more vivid. Thank you!” She accepted the pouch and set it carefully in the corner with her other belongings, nestling it among the other pigments and small covered pots of mixed paints. “But please don’t put yourself in harm’s way,” she said as she turned to hug her friend again. “I would be very said if you...” Keiko swallowed hard. “Well, just be careful, okay?”

As she had climbed up the ladder, she had noted a piece of the mill wall had come loose, revealing the gears that were behind one of the two long walls that enclosed her room. Keiko would have to remember to mention it to the Miller. Even though she knew the big gears were there, they were a bit intimidating; they always seemed much less imposing from the mill floor.

She couldn’t help noticing Lyric’s inquisitive nature being applied to her friend, the sounds coming from beyond the wall, and the attic door itself. It was refreshing to be able to watch the World being seen anew.

“Tomomi, this is Lyric. I met her this morning on the Path. Broke can tell you about it. She is far from home, too... making her own Journey and discovering the World. Oh, she sings, too! Not like Broke and the tone-deaf Lord Dominic, I’m sure! Her name means ‘Voice’. Isn’t that lovely?”

The Rhoni’s smile was bright when she looked back at Lyric.

“Tomomi is one of the Small Kin from the Forest. She is, as Lady Bekkah said, one of my most special of friends. Tomomi means ‘beautiful friend’, in fact. She is very shy, though. And it is the custom of the Forest’s Children to not show themselves to outsiders. Perhaps if enough time passes that Tomomi will feel comfortable with you, she might show you her genuine beauty.” Keiko shrugged. “But their customs are their customs, and I learned how to be their friend by observing their customs and respecting them.”

Keiko paused and looked fondly at Tomomi.

“It was a great honor to be invited to their Home and see each person being just who they are, living and working together with all the others.”

She looked at Lady Bekkah then. “Which brings us to the reason we are here, yes?”

With brows furrowed, Keiko studied the other three people in the room. Tomomi’s presence shifted the balance of this wave, but not in a bad way. In fact, it felt more secure now. Reaching inside her cloak and tunics, she brought forth a bundle of black silk. It was a precious packet indeed, for silk came from the East and the blackest of silk was a rare treasure.

“Lady Bekkah, I think it most advantageous for you to sit on the window bench. Tomomi, Lyric...” She closed her eyes and felt the movements of the current in which they traveled. The sounds of the gears added a sense of both moving water and a heartbeat. She nodded. “Tomomi, sit beside me as I lay out the cards and Lyric may sit on the bed.”

Yes. That felt right. Although Lyric would still be facing the wall behind which those gears turned and held their rhythm, it didn’t matter — or Keiko thought it wouldn’t matter, anyway — where the other girl’s focus led her.

“All important things come in threes. I am not of the Kin, only a friend to the Kin. So Tomomi is here to represent herself and those in the Home. Lady Bekkah seeks wisdom to know how to pray for strength to help the Kin. And Lyric...”

Keiko opened her eyes and looked at the newcomer who might one day also be called a friend.

“Lyric sees the wonder in the World in ways that even a Rhoni might forget.

“The Healer... the one who represents Those To Be Healed... and the One who balances the Seemingly Impossible with What Is.”

Gesturing for the others to sit — Lady Bekkah on the window seat Tomomi had vacated and Lyric on her small, neatly made bed — Keiko sank gracefully to the floor and patted the floor beside her. Tomomi would sit to her left between the Rhoni and the Rhoni’s belongings, while the Card Reader herself sat almost at the edge of the doorway in the floor with enough space in front of her to lay out the silk and the Cards. However, for the moment, she merely sat and held the silk-wrapped Deck — patient, waiting for the appropriate swell of the wave to begin.

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
Keiko’s Loft
Restday, the Fifth Day of Yrick

Lyric, Keiko, Bekkah, and a very shy Tomomi

It was a bit disconcerting for Lyric, coming up here into the high attic room, though from the open window came a cool afternoon breeze; perhaps even cooled by the invisible sea. That and the view was made even more dramatic as the sun slowly started its fall from zenith.

But what was more disconcerting was the little one named Tomomi. It was like a reflex, an instinctive action, involuntary, that when the dark haired Tarn lass shifted to catch a glimpse of her features, Tomomi would choose that time to turn to the side... or, more often, a polite nod that looked to the floor.

There was no malice in the motion; it was as if she truly was very, very shy.

“Oh my... then I am very glad I went to the chalk...”

The hood then shook, as if inside the cloak, her head was making small no-no-no motions.

“I know. I am not very brave. I am not fierce like Broke and Wrath. And I know... I know... that it is not the getting of the chalk that is important. More important is the getting back. Giving, giving is what gives me worth.”

A little later Tomomi hugged Keiko’s arm tight, as she duly took her place next to the Card Reader. She offered a soft clarification.

“Keiko-friend, she gave me my name. I have Tomomi for a whole day now!”

The hood ducked again as she watched her Rhoni friend.

A Reading of the Cards.

This was another new thing for her.

Bekkah

She wondered if Tomomi would show herself and even wondered what kind of reaction she'd receive. At least for now, she agreed with Tomomi's decision to keep herself hidden. No good would come of it, at least not yet. It would be far more of a distraction.

She nodded silently to Keiko when told where to sit. Gracefully, she moved to the bench at the window and sat. She'd wondered about this ability of Keiko's. She truly had no idea what to expect, but she'd always been one to keep an open mind. And in truth, she'd been struggling with the exact wording of the prayer, she'd make to her Goddess. She quite well understood the magnitude of what she was asking. She believed it was possible and she also believed that she needed to make it clear that she believed in the goodness of the forest folk.

*And if this girl's cards can help me, then it will surely be a good sign.* she thought to herself.

After sitting, she watched Lyric to see if the young girl would do as she was bid or ask questions or continue to attempt to see under Tomomi's hood.

Lyric

It didn't take a Rhoni card reader to sense that Tomomi preferred to keep herself hidden. It was curiosity to Lyric, in the sense that she wanted to know everything and see everything and experience everything. It was a curiosity not just to see Tomomi but also the mystery itself of not seeing her as well. And where one curiosity competed with another, Lyric opted for the choice Tomomi was making. It seemed respectful and proper.

Keiko's explanation of the forestkin's shyness was a gratuity to Lyric. It made it all the easier to accept the girl of the Forest as she wanted to be seen.

When directed to the bed, Lyric obliged. This too was a curiosity worth exploring. Keiko wanted them in specific places and she extolled the virtues of each of them in a way that sounded like the person and the place would come together to aid her in whatever was to come. The silk covered box or whatever it was in her hands appeared to be the focus now and it intrigued Lyric as well.

She took her seat and waited as patiently as one such as herself could. The wondrous and the mysterious, and maybe even the exciting was about to be revealed from beneath that silk covering.

Keiko

Keiko leaned her head against Tomomi’s for a moment, eyes closed, and smiled. When she opened them again and straightened up, she was looking at Lyric and her blue eyes.

“More than any, I think, the Rhoni understand the differences and commonalities of the World’s people. Family is the most important thing to us, but friendship is — at least for most of us — almost as important.” What the Rhoni didn’t say aloud, what her expression conveyed, was hope that Lyric, too, would one day be counted among this Rhoni’s friends.

Her gaze moved to the serene healer, doing so well to hide her worries and fears.

“I know the reputation we have, Lady Bekkah... that we, the Card Readers, see the future and the future we see is the true one.” She had mentioned this to the Atteran on their journey out of the Forest, but she wanted to be sure Tomomi and Lyric understood the Truth. “What the Cards tell me would more accurately be called possibilities, although when a question is properly phrased possibilities can become probabilities.” She shrugged and smiled somewhat ruefully. “I do not often explain so much, for those of the Rhoni already know this Truth... and those of the not-Rhoni do not care. But for this Questioning, it is important that there is an understanding of the Truth.”

To Tomomi, she said in a soft undertone, “You may see a bit of what I do with the pigments you have brought me.” Her chuckle was soft... barely more than a sigh. “Only a handful of the Cards have been repainted since I arrived.”

Carefully and with some unknown but apparent ritual, Keiko began unwrapping her Cards. She set the deck in her lap — the black backs evident as they fanned slightly — and spread the silk on the floor in front of her. She took a deep breath, gathered the Cards up, and began to absently shuffle them, her gaze capturing everything in the room but focusing on nothing in particular.

After a few moments, she sat perfectly still as she held the Cards together on one palm and rested her other hand lightly on the Deck as she focused on her hands, on the Cards... and took one more deep breath.

Slowly, she drew each Card from her hand and laid it respectfully, almost reverently on the silk...

...laying each Card beside the previous one...

...until there were three.



“That the need for compassion is being reiterated,” she murmured, “is not surprising. You have already grasped that, Lady Bekkah, but it does bear repeating. There is a start of a new pattern here — beginnings and growth. At the same time, matters are coming to a completion. The currents bearing fruit, as we might say.”

Gathering up the Cards and focusing on them again, Keiko shuffled them as she considered another point of inquiry. Just as carefully, just as humbly, she laid out three more Cards.



A look of puzzlement crossed her features for a moment before it cleared and she nodded.

“There are forces already at play, sinister and hateful.”

She looked up at Bekkah and then to Tomomi at her side.

“Someone... or a group of someones, I among them, must take a stand to stop them. I don’t think this is a surprise either.”

She swallowed to regain her composure. Giving out less than beneficial and cheery messages was never easy... which would be why Readers so rarely did so. After gathering up the Cards, for the third time, the Rhoni shuffled them and laid them out.



A smile quirked at her lips as she laid out the last Card. She had seen quite a lot of the Unicorn over the past half year.

She looked up at the healer. “Without a Pattern Reader to say which Path to take, I cannot speak to the nature of the new pattern or how matters will come to their completion. That, I think, may be up to you.

“At least... at the beginning. But your companions and I must also work to... to counter the malevolence.”

Keiko then looked at Lyric again.

“But your companionship on this journey as we ride this wave will be very welcome... by me, anyway, for I have no right to speak for anyone else. I suspect Lady Bekkah’s friends might appreciate Squire Pietro’s assistance, as well.”

Her gaze traveled back to the Atteran. “That is... if you believe they will help.”

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
Keiko’s Loft
Restday, the Fifth Day of Yrick

Lyric, Keiko, Bekkah, and a still shy Tomomi

Sitting next to Keiko, the small Forest Kin watched the cards being laid out, accompanied by a soft gasp and an occasional squeak.

“Oh, my...”

She watched intently, her hood still casting its shadow over her features.

“It’s not good when the cards are upside down are they?”

That was easy to tell – with the broken wheel of chaos off center on each it was easy to tell which way was up and which was reversed.

“...and you made these with the colors I brought you?”

The little one hugged herself tightly when she spoke. She continued and, while her words were very strange, very odd to hear, they were not sad or melancholy at all; they were spoken as lightly as sunshine, with real joy and as if it was something so very important to the Forest Kin.

“...thank you Keiko-friend. There is worth in me.”

When the reading ended, she sat back. She was quiet, her head tilting.

“Malevolence.

“The Cards wouldn’t say anything if it were just the Way Things Were, would they? Then it’d be nothing new. So this must be something new, ja?”

Her hood rose, only a little bit, as she waited to hear what the other, the real people, thought of the readings.

Keiko

She smiled and nodded to Tomomi. “Well, all of them had been painted before I left the Caravan, but with your help and the pigments you brought, I have repainted much of the green and some of the yellow already. These colors are much closer to what I pictured in my mind as I was painting each one. And the reversed Cards...”

Keiko paused for a moment, running her lower lip across her teeth as she considered the question.

“It really depends, Tomomi,” she finally said. “It depends on the Card and the question and the Cards around it. When they’re all reversed, that’s a way for the Cards to say I have to pay particular attention to their message. But sometimes it will mean something not really very good and other times it will just mean the message of the Card is more powerful. And sometimes... yes, it will mean something bad.”

She hugged her friend before gathering the last three Cards and settling them back with the Deck.

“You have great worth, my Tomomi. I just saw it before you did, ja?

“And it takes a long time to learn how to Read the Cards, and I’m still not the very best. Grandmother says I might be someday. But I’m still young and I’m still learning. The Cards help me learn, though, because they’ll give me nonsense answers when I’m asking all the wrong questions.”

At the Small Kin’s last question, Keiko sighed. She didn’t say anything as she carefully rewrapped the Deck in its black silk. She just held the silk package in her lap for a moment.

“Sometimes they do say something about the Way Things Are... if no one is paying attention to it, and someone should be paying attention to it.” She shrugged. “A simple example is telling a young man on Festival Day that a particular girl fancies him, but he never noticed her before. But in this case?”

The Rhoni looked at the Atteran for a moment and then let her gaze fall once more on the minstrel.

“In this case, I think am nearly convinced that there is something new. Me. Dama Kadri and Mikal D’Allyne and their Lost Rhoni friend. Minstrel Lyric and Squire Pietro.” She turned back to the Small Kin. “Even you, Tomomi... and all your friends who welcomed Lady Bekkah and me to your Home. All of that is new. Yes.”

Lyric

Lyric watched but had nothing to say. She really didn't understand what was happening. Keiko brought her here but didn't explain what was going to happen. What words she did offer didn't prepare the minstrel to be a contributing part of the adventure. She mentioned how her people carried on this tradition before her. What she wasn't clear about was why it was important that Lyric come along.

Lyric wasn't upset, and probably not even confused. She was just... there. Everyone believed in something and believing in something was better than believing in nothing. No one could truly say, with real authority, that one person's something was better or more right than another person's something. Oh sure they could say it and people did all the time... it just didn't mean much of anything to say it, and even less to hear it.

Believing something involved faith and faith was believing in the existence of Things Unseen. To say one person's Unseen Thing was better than someone else's Unseen Thing was rather silly and pointless. Those kinds of talks were best left to be sorted out by the Unseen Things themselves.

So the Rhoni had cards that gave her a connection to bridge the gap to Unseen Things and read probabilities and possibilities. It didn't shock her or scare her. It appeared as if she were using cards, her connection to them, and their placement in threes, as well as the way they came off the deck, in direction or facing, as an answer to a question that had already been asked some time before... or asked by Keiko in her own thoughts. Their was plenty of ritual and reverence in the effort and that seemed only fair as such things that did such things should require such things in order to achieve such things.

The reading revealed a concept that Keiko called Malevolent. It was undefined and thus a concept that loomed. Good and evil were concepts and malevolent was an intent often associated with evil, but like belief in Unseen Things, these concepts could be very subjective. An Imperial might see Lyric as something evil from a narrow closed-minded perspective. And there were things that Lyric considered evil with malevolent intent from her perspective... but did evil consider itself evil? Probably a question to ponder at length in the Yet To Come and the What Might Be.

So Lyric watched and waited. If for nothing else, she was learning many new things on the Journey.

Bekkah

She was both curious and apprehensive about the card reading. If it indicated, she should not do what she intended the next day, she would probably still do it but would it add doubt in her mind and would her plea not feel heartfelt?

She agreed to listen, so she would. What she really hoped was that Keiko's reading might give her some insight into exactly what she should ask her Lady for.



The first set of cards, revealed what she already knew, what she was in fact.



Again, nothing knew, at least if one believed the tale she'd heard in the forest. And she did believe it.



She of course would be taking the first step towards such a goal. But then others would be involved and she suspected it was to be her friends. And she would count the forest folk among that group.

The final set of cards seemed to simply confirm what she was thinking. The last card of course made her think of her sister. A part of her wished her sister were going along if they were to confront evil. Some might think that she'd want her sister safe and far away, but if she was successful and they were to rid the world of this evil, then there was nobody she'd want more at her side to share the adventure. And she knew they would be successful. She could not believe in anything else.

She snuck glances at the young girl with them to see her reaction, but she seemed deep in thought. She wondered if she'd be accompanying them as well. She suspected that fate had brought her here at this time for that very reason. She still wasn't sure about the girl's heritage, but she sensed a good soul within the girl and if her other suspicion's were confirmed, then she might be more than a little useful.

She smiled at Keiko.

"Well it seems the cards approve of our plan. Well approval and taking things a step further. Perhaps after tomorrow, we shall have more guidance in this endeavour."

Lyric

Indeed, the question had been asked previously. Keiko, the Atteran, and the cloaked and concealed Tomomi all knew the question for which the cards were laid out. They sought guidance in some endeavor that lie ahead of them, and the Cards bridged the gap to Things Unseen and the answers that were returned had to be interpreted. It wasn't expressly a divination, but rather a way to peak under the covers of Fate and Destiny to glimpse into the Beyond of Things Yet to Come and the realm of What will Come.

As each of them spoke,Lyric turned her attention to that person. Her own attention was unyielding even when Keiko was looking directly at her but addressing everyone, before shifting to Tomomi.

When Bekkah smiled at her, Lyric returned the smile, but, again, her pale blue eyes were unflinching under the Imperial's discerning gaze. She felt like the Atteran was trying to learn something by stretching her mind beyond her own ken.

Should it make the Tarnan girl nervous that the Imperial was still trying to figure something out? Why wouldn't it? Imperials, she had been told, saw the world from a very particular perspective and that which deviated from that was worthy of suspicion. But then again, Why would it? After all, Lyric knew her own heart, knew her own self, and knew the Atteran had questions to which she had not yet found the right words to ask. Knowing these things, Lyric could be both worried and relaxed. It was all a matter of perspective and perspective was a choice. In the Now, there was no reason to worry about the What Will Be. No amount of worrying would ever change the Things Yet to Come.

"Why tomorrow? What will happen differently then that might not happen now," she asked innocently, and full of curiosity.

Bekkah

She regarded Lyric understanding that the girl and probably Keiko as well knew little of her Goddess.

"I know little about what any of you know of my Goddess, or even if you believe she is real. Although, I'd find it hard to imagine someone not believing after they've felt her healing grace. After all, I have no power of my own. Only what she allows to flow through me."

"She is not solely a Goddess of healing. In fact, she is known more as a sign of mercy, healing being simply a form of mercy. For those of us, who have represented her favorably for years, we may petition her for lack of a better word for special aid. It is something that requires a sacrifice on my part."

"One I am quite happy to make." she added with a fond smile in Tomomi's direction.

"Tomorrow at sunrise, I intend to petition my Goddess for her favor on behalf of the Forest Folk. If me and my request are found to be worthy, it could change things forever for the good folk of the forest."

"Keiko and I had spoken and she offered a reading of her cards. I gratefully accepted because I wanted to know if there might be dire consequences of the action or perhaps more to consider. Unless I'm mistaken, it appears that I should proceed [with my plan tomorrow?" she asked looking at Keiko.

Lyric

"I do not understand..."

Lyric looked from Bekkah to Keiko, and then to Tomomi

"To what ends are you seeking your Goddess' mercy?"

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
Keiko’s Loft
Restday, the Fifth Day of Yrick

Lyric, Keiko, Bekkah, and a quiet Tomomi

“Oh. Tomorrow.”

The strange little person sitting next to the Card Reader ducked her hood. The hood turned, pausing between Bekkah and Lyric and then Lyric and Keiko. She did not seem to mind Lyric’s presence; if Keiko trusted this person, she did too.

Trusted her at least enough to stay and not flee. The Forest Kin whispered as she leaned against Keiko.

“Mebbee tomorrow we will become real people.”

Keiko

The Rhoni people did not disbelieve in the existence of the Gods and Goddesses and the many Spirits of the Heartwood. They simply... did not choose to follow them. Oh, some did — the famed Madoka kha'Ayanna kha'Kame kha'Chikato khal'Homura Akemi, the one Rhoni who married a Gaija for the Cards had all said that such a thing was acceptable, even good, possibly necessary. She followed one of the Goddesses; Keiko hoped that her Goddess was helping her now... for being a “guest” of an Eastern Prince was no great honor. Nor would it surprise the young Card Reader if her friend Fate were to choose a course that allowed her to serve the Goddess of Lady Bekkah’s sister. It was not something that was forbidden... it was simply a thing most Rhoni did not feel the need to do.

But Keiko had learned her stories well, so she understood what Lady Bekkah was saying about her Goddess.

At Lyric’s question, Keiko glanced at her friend, hesitating. It was Tomomi’s story, it was the story of all the Kin. But Tomomi was a little shy; her Kin generally were, however, weren’t they? She wished very much to tell Lyric everything about Lady Bekkah’s petition, but it was not her place to tell the deepest secrets of the Forest’s Children.

Still, her friend managed an explanation that was possibly just as easy for Lyric to understand as everything else.

“To me, you are a real person already,” she told her friend.

Then Keiko looked at the minstrel with a smile that was just a little sad.

“To explain more — just a bit more — a terrible thing has been done to Tomomi’s Kin, both Large and Small. It is so terrible a thing that many would paint the whole of them with broad strokes of a brush called ‘abomination’. That is wrong.” She shook her head and her smile faded. “It is so very wrong to say all of any group are one way. But...” She looked again at her friend beside her. “So few Imperials have cared about such distinctions. And as for others... they often fear what they do not understand. It is our hope that Lady Bekkah seeks the mercy of Attera to say that the Kin may be allowed to be people I see that they are... and not abominations as too many see them.”

It was not quite the full measure of Truth, but it was as much as Keiko could share. Perhaps someday Lyric would be invited to learn more of the Forest’s Children, too.

The Rhoni looked at Lady Bekkah. “I have seen how you have given your own small kindnesses and mercies that come from your heart. That you listened to each Kin’s words last night was not something your Goddess gave you. It is who you are. So how could a Goddess who embodies those traits not find you worthy?

“And how could a Goddess of mercy not grant your request? She can see your heart, ja? So she knows. Perhaps it is not the precise words that matter as much as that goodness of your heart.”

Keiko shrugged philosophically. “I will see each of the Forest’s Children as people, even if Imperials who are not the embodiment of kindness and Nobles who are a not tone-deaf Lord do not see them as I do.”

Her gaze finally moved back to Lyric and lingered there.

“Too many stories are told and too many songs are sung that hold lies both great and small. It is understandable that this is the way of things. It might be one of the reasons my Elders sent me forth to walk the World and ride its currents. Many things are not as I was taught they were. Many things are not as they first seem. But one Truth I continue to hold is that each person should be judged as they themselves are... and not as stories and songs say they all must be.”

The paused a moment, considering that Truth.

“Well... maybe not short, stout persons who are reputed to have immense beards and might have lost their sanity.”

Lyric

It was not to either Keiko or Tomomi that she had asked her question, but perhaps the fact that she had been looking between them all when she inquired of the Atteran about mercy gave them leave to answer in their own way and fashion. It was not unwelcome though, for every response came from a different and unique perspective gave her more insight about the people she had met on the Journey of hers.

Truth be told, Keiko wasn't just speaking to Lyric either... and maybe Tomomi wasn't as well.

It was, at the last, when Keiko spoke of stories and songs that were less than truthful and perhaps even hurtful, that Lyric realized her intent was to impart some lesson in preparation for the sole person uninitiated in the mystery that gathered them all together in the room above the mill near the mostly hidden, grinding gears.

Still she waited to hear from the Atteran.

Bekkah

"The exact nature of my prayer to my Goddess is personal and not something I intend to discuss with anyone. I'm also not completely certain at this point what I'll be thinking. That will take concentration and prayer and for me, that's best at the break of dawn."

"So forgive me, if I will not go into it in detail at this point. I hope you are not offended. I do not intend to even discuss it with my friends. It is just something that I need to do on my own."

Lyric

"I mean no disrespect," replied Lyric. Her smile was unwavering. "I am simply curious and want to learn everything I can..."

Bekkah

"You showed no disrespect my dear. I apologize if I gave you that idea. I just have much to think about and I have much on my mind. I am not myself at the moment. I am not used to having many others depending on me. I'm much more comfortable doing my work simply with those few I try to comfort, completely out of the eye of others."

"The spotlight is not for the likes of me."

"I think what we need is a good meal, then some excellent music and singing." she said giving both Keiko and Lyric bright smiles.

Lyric

...completely out of the eye of others.

Lyric cocked her head, pale blue eyes drawing in all the available light. She offered her hands to the Imperial woman, palms up.

"If I am understanding the things I have heard, then I must offer comfort to you now. I think you are putting too much pressure on yourself Lady Bekkah of Attera. The people of the Forest have agreed to allow you to seek help and mercy of their behalf... This I believe I am to understand is so. As such, and if correct, they aren't 'depending' on you. Their hope for Mercy from whatever circumstances and tribulations affect their lives and fates is placed upon your Goddess. I think they would know you are her hands in this world, and not the Goddess herself. This blessing you seek will not come directly from you, perhaps not even channeled through you."

This would be Bekkah's and even Keiko's first glimpse of the strange wisdom that came from innocence that was Lyric. Pietro could attest to this girl's unique perspective and words that were surely passed down from experiences gathered over generations or ages.

"Your Goddess knows you and she knows your heart. The very fact that you are blessed to serve her and lend help and aid in her name, tells me that much. She is the Thing Unseen and you are a follower whose heart and deeds speak kindness and mercy in her name. You are a messenger in your travels to spread her presence to those who might not otherwise know her kindness in their lives. You speak to her and she listens to you, and as Things Unseen are wont to do, in their own way, they speak to those who know how to listen. Let go of the pressure Bekkah... Your Goddess knows your heart already, you do not need to impress her, or craft the right words... speak to her and more importantly... listen to her..."

"There is no pressure... only Love and Kindness and Mercy... The choice to grant this Help is not yours, but it is Hers, and if it is Her will to share Her Mercy and Her Kindness such that Her Love would find a vastness of new believers in the granting of a miracle such as the one you seek... then Please know this, She is already aware of the Plight and the Need... and maybe she has been waiting for a messenger with the courage to make a bridge between two peoples who would otherwise distrust each other... a messenger to make them believe in hope and kindness and mercy... when otherwise they would see none. Faith is the belief in Things Unseen... You have that... A Miracle is the evidence that Faith is justified and that Things Unseen are real. They work together for Her greater Good and Mercy."

"Talk to her... She knows your heart... And Listen to her..."

Bekkah

She listened quietly, letting the girl speak.

She was humbled by the girls words and she nodded her head. She stepped forward and took both of Lyric's hands in her own if she'd let her.

"Well said Lyric. I know in my heart that you are correct and I have been most likely worrying for no reason. As you said, my Goddess knows me well so I have the faith to believe that she will listen to my thoughts."

"Thank you my dear. I will simply relax and open my mind to her. And may our plea be worthy."

"Sometimes, even someone of my years can lose sight of things. Thank you."

HOLD STILL!!!

If I have to rewrite this post one more time, I'm going to kick you both down the ladder and the old lady is going to break her hip. Which is fine, because she's a healer and can heal herself.

<grumble>

[happily Tomomi is shy!]

Keiko

The Rhoni watched, and the Rhoni listened.

Several times, she blinked quickly — as though her sight might be occluded by something. Yet there was no sign that there might be tears in those violet eyes.

When Lyric finished speaking, Keiko picked up her Deck and held it briefly against her heart. It was part of her usual ritual, true. But Lyric’s words seemed to bring even greater import to the wisdom of the Ancestors and the accumulated knowledge of the Cards. Then she tucked them back inside her tunics and studied this new girl for a few breaths more.

She watched the healer interacting with Lyric then. Listened again with her heart. And then looked at Tomomi.

“You are worthy,” she whispered. Then she paused for one breath and then a second. “You must go back to Home for dinner, ja?” she asked Tomomi. She didn’t want her friend to go hungry but wasn’t sure Missus Miller was ready — not quite yet — to have one of the Forest Kin at the dinner table. And she had already noted how difficult it was for most of them to eat while wearing their full cloaks.

She glanced at the healer and the minstrel again before calling down the ladder.

“Missus Miller, ma’am? Will thou have room at thine table for Lady Bekkah of Attera and my friend Lyric the minstrel? We’ll make do with Jerris’ stew if a burden so many would be.” She smiled as she imagined the conversation Husband and Wife would have regarding her question. “Lady Bekkah already requested songs from Miss Lyric. If she’ll be agreeable and there be songs we know in common, mayhap we can sing thee one or two.”

While waiting on Missus Miller’s reply, Keiko looked directly at Lyric... almost as if she was trying to memorize the other girl’s features.

“You have much wisdom in you, Miss Lyric, that even some elders do not possess. I hope the currents of the World and the journeys we are making allow us to walk for a time in friendship.” She nodded, almost to herself. “I would like having two friends. I’ve never had two friends before. At least, not at one time.”

Lyric

Lyric had extended her hands to Bekkah in the hopes that the intimate gesture would serve to reinforce the intention in her words. So when Bekkah did so and responded positively, Lyric felt that a sense of purpose had been met without intruding upon the healer's dignity.

"We all have gifts... Mine are words. If you find solace in them, and they ease your mind and heart, then I am gratified to have been heard."


Keiko spoke quietly to the Child of the Forest while Lyric gathered herself to allow Bekkah room to move more freely in the space should she choose. And then the Rhoni girl shouted down below, to the Good Woman of the Mill.Her own name was mentioned and Lyric bowed her head a little and nodded despite the question of her willingness to play was not directed directly to her.

"It would hardly be a passing kindness to any in our company were we to travel together and not be ... friends ... so, Friends it shall be. I now have two myself... Two who have declared themselves such. I hope to be friendly to all I meet, and hope they do same in return. But I would not presume to claim any relationship with anyone were it not spoken of their own lips and breath in the offering first. I know I am a curiosity. Even among my own peoples this has been said to me."

Keiko

“Are we all not curiosities to those who have never met us? And is it not the nature of Wisdom to remain curious about all that is around us, even those we might know well? To be a curiosity is a passing thing... to be curious is a thing that lingers a lifetime.”

The Rhoni girl shrugged just a little.

“Or so I would hope it is for me. And it would please me greatly, friend Lyric, to share my songs with you. And if you wish to share your songs with me, I would accept such a gift with humble gratitude. But please know it is not a thing I would expect or demand.”

Colors and music... these were two things that, for Keiko, made the journey of walking the World even more joyful than the genuine wonder of the journey itself. How delightful were these currents that brought her path to intersect with both Tomomi’s and Lyric’s paths?

And so different were they, too! So far away from her Family, her Caravan... were the Ancestors watching over her more closely because she was among the Gaija and reminding her to always see the wonder and beauty of the World? Perhaps.

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
Keiko’s Loft
Restday, the Fifth Day of Yrick

Lyric, Keiko, Bekkah, and a quiet Tomomi

“It’s not... it’s not whether you can do it or not, Miss Bekkah. That... that doesn’t really matter, well it does, but it doesn’t, but it does...”

The little person kept her head down, sitting close to Keiko, looking at a spot on the floor just a little bit in front of her pooled tunics and travel cloak. The hints of her clothing could now be seen — a worn but sturdy patchwork carefully stitched together. Every so often, when she shifted, her cuffs peeked out, and they were trimmed in the finest lace.

Lace finer than any seen in the mainland courts and other places.

“...just that you would be doing the asking, that is something more than anyone had ever done for us ever before.

“...mebbee tomorrow we will be real people.

“...mebbee we won’t. But we’ll still be alive. I’ll still have a name and someone who makes real pretty colors from my bits of stone and chalk and flowers.

“But someone tried for us.

“Miss Lady and Miss Soft won’t let anyone forget that. It will help lots when we get lost and can’t figure out what we are anymore.”

Tomomi’s soft, light-toned words were a tumble. They were not as fancy or as articulated as those of the minstrel and the card reader. She was at heart a very simple... whatever she was.

However, as the conversation turned to dinner, the little one literally squeaked.

And then hugged herself.

“Oh.”

She spoke just one syllable and then was silent for a moment.

“I... I... I... wouldn’t mind staying up here. I don’t make any noise and won’t bother anybody. I just... I just... well there are some things worth being a lil’ hungry for. Not that I eat much being what I am. I’m not inviting myself, that’s more than anyone could expect, but I would be happy waiting.

“It’s not like they don’t know what we are.”

She swallowed and started to stand up.

“If... if... if you don’t want me here anymore, I understand...

From below a different sort of discussion was going on. A typical one between a husband and a wife.

“...cor, now she askin’ for her friends to be eatin’ with us. That’s more plates and more food and it’ll be loud, and it will be just like we got the relations over...”

“...dear.”

“Fine, fine, fine... don’t be expecting me to talk and carry the conversation. And I will be takin’ no brook that the stew is spicy or not spicy, not care what the weather is like in Talantal or who plays horses an’ castle better.”

“...dear.”

“Mebbee we can add a few pennies to the lassie’s rent.”

“...DEAR!”

“Fine... fine... fine...”

In the end, there was a call up from the main room below, from the family matriarch.

“...so, how many places should we be setting?”

Keiko

She reached out to her small and beautiful friend.

“My dear little one, you have great worth, and I was thinking of your shy ways. I’m happy to have you stay as long as you’d like to stay.”

And when Missus Miller called up again, she didn’t even hesitate to ride this wave.

“Just the three setting, ma’am, but if thee might set thine extra stool beside mine and if thee will not mind the goodness of having a Small Kin at thine table, Miss Tomomi is not a hungry sort, and I’m happy to share my meal with her.

“And Miss Lyric looked deliriously happy at the smell of thine stew when we came in, ma’am, so I’ll guess thine offerings will be met with no complaints.”

The Rhoni looked at her companions and grinned before adding, “And if thee be wanting an extra penny, it’s a fair trade for thine hospitality and delicious meal.”

She hadn’t heard the entirety of the conversation between the miller and his wife, but she had heard enough of their banter over the past two months to guess at what she hadn’t heard.

“Are you used to climbing down ladders with your cloak on, Tomomi? Oh, no matter! You just follow Miss Lyric and Lady Bekkah, and if you get snagged up... I’ll catch you! You’re not so heavy, you know.”

Lyric

Lyric waited for leave to exit the room again. She was newly arrived and a guest in the mill, so it wasn't her place to lead the way down the ladder, nor to the miller's eating table. Some place in the middle of the four of them would be good. Bekkah or Keiko would have to go first. Last wouldn't be bad either, but perhaps that was reserved for Tomomi at this point.

"If it is an inconvenience then I need not trouble anyone. I still have to retrieve my belongings. Pietro was watching them and he may have left them at the stable or maybe he has them... wherever he is now. No matter though, since I haven't earned my way or paid my keep, it wouldn't be proper to impose upon people. I have some hard tack and jerkey and a few coins as well."

Keiko

“Mister Miller has decided that you may join us for dinner. Missus Miller has agreed. Done is done,” she said brightly.

Keiko stood and smoothed out her tunics.

“After dinner, I would be happy to help you locate your belongings and your friend Pietro, Lyric. He could be up at the tower, he could be down with the horses. One of us can go up, the other down, and we will find him! Then your belongings will be returned to you and you will know the location of your friend.”

The Rhoni started down the ladder, but paused for a moment to respond to Lyric’s last statement.

“All the small kindnesses we do for one another always come back to a balance. Today, the Millers will feed you and tomorrow you will find a way to give a kindness to them or to one of the other folks here at Waverider’s Watch. You may not know what that might be in this moment, but you will know in the proper moment.”

She smiled at Lyric and Bekkah and Tomomi. “Missus Miller does not care to discuss the weather, but she is interested in tales from the world beyond this small place. Even if she pretends she isn’t interested.” She winked and then chuckled as she headed down the ladder. She trusted the others to sort themselves out and get themselves downstairs with minimal fuss.

Well, Tomomi wouldn’t bother with fussing, that was probably a safe bet.

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
The Mill
Restday, the Fifth Day of Yrick

Lyric, Keiko, Bekkah, Tomomi, and the Miller family

Down below, in the Miller’s one main room, there was a long table that had a simple dinner prepared. However, where some families might have a plethora of chairs, here there were only two — for the Master and Missus, of course.

But there was a bench that had been drawn up — enough for three if they were close — and a half barrel flipped bottom side up that could serve as a proper stool for the fourth.

“I’m not interested.”

Those were the gruff words heard as they climbed down; Missus Miller of course.

“...dear.”

His answer; to which she just replied in her terse manner.

“Fine. Stories I will... tolerate...”

The three had made it down to the base of the ladder. Then it was Tomomi’s turn, coming down in her own quick manner, her patchwork skirts flaring a bit when she came to rest next to Keiko. The Forest Kin interrupted Missus Miller’s words, the goodwife then turning to her husband.

“...what! Do you see what that is! And they think I’m supposed to feed...”

Mister Miller's answer was unexpected.

“...dear.”

Or perhaps it wasn’t.

“...but!”

The husband just looked back to his wife.

“...fine... fine... fine... I swear by Her Light, you have the softest heart on the mainland. You’d let a bloody Easterner in here if she was a she and it was rainin’, and she was all soaked and looking like a drowned rat...”

Missus crossed her arms and gave both Keiko and Tomomi a stern, very stern look.

“Ye should be thankin’ thine stars I ain’t gonna let anythin’ or anyone say I ain’t hospitable. So sit thine selves down and enjoy thine dinner. Ye got no choice now, ja?”

And with that she grumped her way back to the hearth and started to dole out dinner. Tonight it was more than just stew; there was a beast of some kind that had been roasted and surrounded by potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables. Master Miller silently sliced up the meat into family-sized servings, while Missus Miller made sure there were bread and cheeses for all.

Of course, Bekkah got the half barrel, being a lady and all... meaning Lyric would then have to share the bench with Keiko and the Forest Kin. This was a very different meal for Lyric; it felt unique. Something that would only happen... once.

Tomomi sat quietly next to Keiko, selecting a piece of bread and a half a potato for her dinner, making sure she did nothing to gain the goodwife’s ire.

It didn’t work.

Missus Miller crossed her arms and glared.

And then sighed. She walked over and made sure Tomomi had a nice slab of meat, carrots, onions, and a whole potato, too. All covered with gravy.

“Cor. You are a small little thing and only skin and bones.

“Eat up. Donnae be shy. Thou art this contrary lass’ guest, which means ye are now my guest too...

“...and no one goes hungry at my table.”

Keiko

She settled herself on the bench, at the end nearest Missus Heatherson — she took some getting used to; often her kindness was overshadowed by her gruff nature. She patted the seat beside her as she smiled at Tomomi, leaving the end of the bench closest to Mister Miller for Lyric. As his wife had rightly pointed out, he was quite likely the most kindhearted man on all of the Heartwood. While he might be mostly silent throughout the meal, he truly was a good man and would do nothing but accept Lyric’s mannerisms and unique outlook on life.

“Yes, ma’am,” she said to Missus Miller. “Although the Ancestors say that while the stars look down on us all, none of them are truly ours. It is said that many are the children of the Sun, and thus more suited to be keepers of those who follow Her teachings, such as Lady Bekkah’s sister.

“And I’m sure I would only be able to speak honestly of your hospitality — I have been more welcomed by you and your kind husband than anyone outside the Caravans.”

Bekkah

"I know you all make perfect sense. My Goddess knows my heart and the cause is good. Certainly one I believe with all my heart. But still, I want to make sure that I leave no doubt in my prayers. This is a first for me. I take great care in all that I do, so I certainly want to give this my best."

They then proceeded to dinner. She heard the 'discussion' between husband and wife. It was an odd thing for her to hear. She'd been invited to sup with countless families in her time and their invitation had been far friendlier. She knew the reason for it, but still it wasn't something she was used to.

To the husband and wife she spoke in her soft tones, the same tone she used to calm the sick and injured.

"Your hospitality is much appreciated. I'd offer my help with anything you might need now or in the future, but I know most folk would prefer to never need my help." she said with a smile.

After tasting the food, she smiled again.

"This is marvelous Missus Miller."

Throughout the meal, she'd talk to the others at the table, but as far as Tomomi was concerned, she acted as if the poor girl was as normal as anybody else at the table."

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
The Mill
Restday, the Fifth Day of Yrick

Lyric, Keiko, Bekkah, Tomomi, and the Miller family

The Miller’s wife made sure they all had a proper dinner before she sat down with her own helpings. For Lyric there was a curious gaze.

“I bet ye ain’t from around here either, ja? What is it now? We never get visitors for years – well except for the Young Master and his lassie. But in a few handful of days, we get a lone Rhoni girl — fine, ja, Keiko’s been here a while — a passel of imperious types from up the southern trail, and then two more who dinnae leave when the Market ended.

“Must be some sort of stormwind kicking up.”

She then blinked, holding up her hands.

“Oh, I dinnae mean thee, Lady Bekkah, you’ve been right nice and not a bit imperious!”

But then she caught a hint of the conversation between Bekkah and Keiko.

“Cor...”

Missus Miller looked between her four guests, her attention returning to the Atteran.

“Are you going to be doing something for those... those Forest Folks?”

She tilted her head and crossed her arms.

“Well, don’t that take everything. Look, Husband... there’s a lass both softer in the head and in her touch than ye.”

To which, from Mister Miller, came the expected reply.

“...dear.”

Again Missus Miller sighed.

“I guess ye really be a Kind One, to be helpin’ those forest shadows. Fine... fine... fine... eat up too. I guess, despite all, if’n I had a choice between cursed neighbors and those blessed, I’d be a stupid woman to not hope for the latter.”

Tomomi whispered a very quiet reply at that.

“Me too.”

Lyric

Sitting at the table, with Master Miller to her right and Tomomi to her left, she looked down the row to Keiko, who also sat on the same bench on their side, and she watched her as she spoke with the Missus... Missus Miller. Then she looked across the table as Bekkah spoke, but stealing glances at both the Missus and the Master and even Tomomi. This was all a wonderment to her. The very idea that she would get to enjoy her meal with so many others was certainly a new experience for her. Oh she had been to feasts and such... big events and things like that, but this was different. This was sitting with friends, as though they were a family. She paused at that notion because it gave her a feeling of contentment and she wanted that to last.

But the Missus directed a question to her and she blinked once, twice and looked at the matronly woman at the one end of the table for a moment before responding. Her bright eyes and smile didn't fade as she tipped her head slightly to the side to look away from the woman shyly.

"I would suppose I am not. I have been walking for many days along the trail that keeps close to the forest. But before that, I came from my home... Kethy's Woods. I have never been away from there before, so I really don't know how far I have walked to get here... But I promise you I did not see any storms or storm winds along the way."

Keiko

She knew the Caravans came through each year, so it was likely Missus Miller only referred to folks who stayed beyond the coming and going of any particular Family. Her own... well, they traveled the Road East and the passes in the Black Mountains suitable for their wagons. Most Families traded with the East and Kh’Lhy’Ra was a popular destination. It was, after all, one of the prettiest places Keiko had seen — assuming one paid little attention to the thousand princes of the Thousand Towers. But some Families remained primarily on High Tarn.

Sitting here with the Millers and her two friends and Lady Bekkah was...

Keiko blinked. This was so very different from sitting around a fire when the Caravan stopped for the night. No aspect of it could be considered the same, and yet it had the comfortable feel of two Caravans meeting on the road. For all her bluster, Missus Miller had made her feel welcome from her first day here. And now, in her own gruff and sharp manner, she was doing the same for Tomomi and Lyric.

It was a new thing she was learning here at Waverider’s Watch while staying with the Millers — that the Gaija, the not-Rhoni, could be every bit as welcoming and kind as Rhoni meeting on the road for the first time. She ducked her head and looked at Tomomi beside her and Lyric on her other side.

This was a rare wave she road and Keiko recognized that. One could never command the currents, but one could choose the waves that approached. This was a propitious wave that she had chosen.

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
The Mill
Restday, the Fifth Day of Yrick

Lyric, Keiko, Bekkah, Tomomi and the Miller family of two

Dinner with the Millers was definitely a homespun affair. The conversation was not as heavy, but it was definitely, like the bread and cheeses and the rest, very filling. For lyric, however, there was a very curious answer,

“Lassie, the worst storms come on the brightest of days …

“ … and the deadliest are not born from Nature.”

That actually got a small nod from their other guest, the small Tomomi.

“ … that’s how we came to be.”

It was the littlest of whispers. Followed by another one, however.

“That’s why Renyard and Lady say we have to be kind you know. To make up for that. Otherwise we are just what everyone says we are.”

Tomomi then paused.

“Fine. So Broke’s idea of kindness is a little rough around the edges.”

Rameday, the Sixth Day of Yrick

Sunset came quickly to the Mill, like the rest of Waverider’s Watch. Bekkah had no worries for where to sleep; a place before the hearth was made and blankets shared. She was a Lady of Attera; the followers of Lady Attera and those who took up Lord Rames’ path always could find welcome. Kindness and protection – qualities enforced by a God and Goddess - carried more weight than any proclaimed words of man, no matter how loudly.

For Lyric, there was a bit of floor offered; be it in the main room or up in Keiko’s attic apartment. Upstairs would be more private, but in the main hall, the noise and presence of the mill’s big wooden gears were less apparent.

But even so, it was a dull rhythm in the background; like wind through trees, like surf against beach, calming in its own way.

And Kieko, cute but chaste, had a companion. One accustomed to window benches and a closeness of family.

Morning came, with Her light coming through the open dormer window. From here there was an excellent vantage over the fog covered village. The rock was like an island in the gray, at least until the wind swirled and the sun started to burn away the morning mist. Downstairs breakfast was waiting, Bekkah’s rest disturbed by Missus Miller’s baking; bread and morning pastries. Pastries stuffed with blueberries bought at yesterday’s market. Thus Bekkah awoke to delicious scents and a bounty of what her apprentice would call muffles.

For Lyric, it was a new day in a new place, and for the first time in her travels it was one that started with company, with the bustling about of folks waking and preparing for the day. There was a strange franticness – perhaps frantic was a bad word – but it was certainly a lot of activity in a relatively small amount of morning.

For Keiko it was comfortably like yesterday morning. It was interesting, that she awoke with friends. These were strange but warm currents that had brought her here. However, between Missus Miller’s words and the cards it felt like fair weather preceding worse.

For Bekkah, once breakfast was complete, she had a promise to fulfill.

Lyric

Lyric sat upon a rock outcropping near the mill house. She angled her feet over the edge and kicked them freely as she hummed a few tunes to herself. The running stream that turned the big wheel, that turned those gears inside, provided her a comforting backdrop as she looked out across the open land. The sky was only now just beginning to grow light in the east, or lighter, since there was so much misty haze and fog. She had been up fora little while now and since she slept on the floor of the mill's lower level she was able to draw up the cover that the Missus had offered her when it was revealed she had nothing but the clothes she was wearing, not even her cloak, to cover herself for the night.

This quiet time of peace and solace when the Heartwood was just awakening to Her arrival was perfect for meditations and contemplations.

Somewhere in the midst of that, she heard then saw a single figure walking up the switchback stairs but he passed by the Mill House and continued up to the tower at the top. Given she was sitting out of the way it was no surprise the man either didn't notice her or didn't recognize her what with the blanket pulled about her and over her head. She wasn't sitting near the stairs path either. As memory served, he had called himself Mikal, but she didn't really know him and it seemed improper to greet him as a friend might when their introduction had been so brief.

Lyric returned to her own thoughts and the enjoyment of the sounds of birds and running water. She would have to find Ser Pietro to collect her pack. She needed a change of clothing and a few things to freshen up. But that would come in the moments allotted to it.

Maybe today would be a good day to pick some new flowers for to make a new circlet wreath...

{{OOC: Sidekick No. 2 is passing this round.}}

Bekkah

She rose with a purpose that morning. She knew what she had to do and she knew exactly what she wanted to say. The young girl, Lyric had the right of it and she knew it. All her life, she'd spoken and acted from her heart. She did not overly concern herself with politics and classes. She did what she thought was right.

After breakfast, but still early in the day, she headed out to a spot on a slight rise. She sat down cross legged, her robes spreading out around her facing the rising sun. Anyone about in the town this early would see her there, a solitary figure with yellow hair over white robes.

She held her hands before her in her lap. Not that anyone was close to enough to hear her words, but she spoke in her soft, gentle voice as if speaking to a friend. She spoke for a minute, slow and careful in the words she used.

She finished speaking and simply closed her eyes, letting her warmth spread over her face then suddenly her eyes opened in wonder. Not fear, not surprise, but more like she was being given a rare and wondrous gift. Her blue eyes were bright and glistened with tears. Happy tears. Anyone seeing her face at that moment would know that the was a person experiencing joy like few have ever felt.

She spoke reverently, her eyes open, looking upward. This time her voice was a bit louder.

"Thank you my lady. I am honored by your belief in me. I believe I know what must be done. I have friends who will not stand for such suffering. Good people, some of whom have already felt your warmth. I shall not let this gift be wasted. I promise you, although I suspect you already knew that." she finished with a bright smile.

She stood gracefully, despite feeling an intense weariness. Requests to ones Goddess such as this, took something out of the requestor. She knew this and she accepted it willingly, but it was draining. She straightened her robes, and turned towards the inn. Anyone seeing her might see the glow of joy that she felt surround her. She made her way to town, searching for Keiko and Tomomi, whom she expected to see at her side.

[ooc: If someone was close enough to hear her, let me know and I'll add what she actually said.]

Keiko

She woke early, before dawn or even false dawn, and wondered why. It was usually the breaking of the day as She rose above the eastern edge of the world that woke Keiko. She saw through the window that the morning would be foggy as she raised a hand to brush at whatever was tickling her face.

And brushed her hand over Tomomi’s short hair instead.

Keiko giggled softly and whispered close to her friend’s ear.

“It’s nearly morning. I would love to show you something almost as incredible as color! It’s so marvelous in the fog!”

Amid soft giggles and whispers and even quieter steps across the loft floor, both Rhoni and Forest girl were dressed and appropriately cloaked and ready to face the gray predawn.

Bekkah and Lyric still slept, and Missus Miller was just putting her muffins in her oven when Keiko and Tomomi came down from the loft. The Miller’s wife pretended to be gruff, and Keiko pretended it was true when she wrapped some bread and cheese in a cloth and whispered to the woman. The words caused the goodwife to shake her head and roll her eyes, but in the end, she would not disturb the sleep of those who still slumbered. She would have said it was because no one who be able to say she didn’t provide hospitality; Keiko knew that she was kinder than she pretended to be.

Two small figures slipped out the door of the mill’s living quarters to start down the rock. Keiko held Tomomi’s hand, for she had not ever walked up these steps on a gray morning such as this... with a thick blanket of fog surrounding them. She found the spot she was looking for — she would be able to see the shelter for the cows and horses if not for the fog, but once they settled on the rock, they could not be viewed from the mill... or even from the steps until one was very nearly upon them.

Keiko grinned at Tomomi and pulled out her ocarina and blew her warm breath over it before playing a short and simple tune.

“Do you hear how the fog catches the sound and turns it all warm and soft? It reminds all the places I’ve been, and it reminds me of home. Here! This is a tune that sounds like a lullaby in the fog.”

The Rhoni played a longer and more complicated air. It was a familiar enough one among the Caravans, and often played much faster, with more instruments, for dancing.

“I’ll play it again after She rises and clears the fog so you can see the difference.”

She had already risen, though the fog was still wispy and light as they talked, as they ate their bread and cheese, as Keiko spoke softly about music and color and how they were so very much alike for all their differences.

Of course, they noted — in the quiet of a few peaceful moments of silence — that someone was coming down the steps. And because no one passed them by, Keiko thought it was either Lyric or Lady Bekkah also enjoying the vantage of the various outcroppings to appreciate the view of fields and Forest.

And when she realized it was the Healer’s soft words that flowed through the air like a delicate perfume — indistinct but holding goodness and kindness nonetheless — Keiko sighed and put an arm around her friend’s shoulders.

“She’s so very generous, isn’t she, Tomomi? I like her.”

Tomomi

Outside, Tomomi wrapped herself in her travel cloak, all hooded and in shadow. On the one hand, it made her a small wraith slipping through the fog, just as mysterious as the wisps of gray. On the other hand, the cloak was warm and comfy. Well-used, made for walking through the Forest, it was proof against the cool, damp morning.

Small footsteps hidden in the cloak’s long fall made her seem to sweep next to Keiko as she settled herself down in a pool of skirts.

She was silent, but it was that nice kind of quiet as she listened to her companion speak and then summon a soft morning melody. Perhaps even Lyric could hear something new on the crisp air, faint notes harmonizing with the morning.

“It’s colors...”

Tomomi’s words were bright and warm and completely not wraith-like.

“It’s like hearing colors.”

The Forest Kin nodded her head.

“We sometimes sing at night. But it’s strange. I don’t think any of us sing very well and then Broke and the guardians join and it completely falls to pieces. It always ends with someone being tossed into the swamp.”

She too overheard the gentle prayer being spoken, leaning into a friend’s embrace. She was small, making it a natural fit.

“She is very nice. Lady will be happy.”

And then it happened.

Keiko

She enjoyed peaceful mornings, and this was turning into a delightful one. Sharing music with Tomomi and sitting quietly... Well, it was almost like being home again, with the Caravan, surrounded by family.

The first hint of something different was the brightest light Keiko had ever seen stabbing down from the sky into the Forest. She had heard stories of Her followers being able to call down Her light — but this was not that. There could not be any Dayalans in the Forest! Could there? And even if there were, would one call Her light into the Forest, so close to Home? And then the light breeze turned into a wind, but one made of light.

Keiko gasped as it flowed out from the Forest and she held Tomomi close. When the blast of bright white wind-light hit them, the girl who never cried... wept. She understood what the Lady Bekkah had just done, and her heart was so full of gratitude and joy that she could barely see Tomomi when she looked at her. The Rhoni girl’s smile was so joyful as she blinked and tried to stop the tears of joy... but why bother?

Reaching out, she smoothed Tomomi hair and giggled. The hood of her cloak had been knocked away in the wind. Maybe it would take more than just a moment for the lovely yellow hair to settle back into place. She ran light fingers over her friend’s ears, and face and finally took Tomomi’s small hands into her own.

And then, for a few heartbeats or forever, she looked into those shining eyes set in less than regular features and just smiled. Everything had changed and yet... some things remained exactly the same.

“You are my friend, Tomomi ‘al’khaharenah’lokhee’sheeshalee’ al’khevreenah’tahkash’rahkavash. And now can you feel what I have always known? That you are a person, too? I am your friend, and so now I say you are Tomomi ‘al’dhashyah’lahknash’khaharenah’lokhee’sheeshalee’ al’khevreenah’tahkash’rahkavash — Beautiful Friend who is a worthy person... in addition to everything else I have named you.”

With a gentle sigh, she said, “How I wish I could have been with all of the Kin at Home to see this wonder among all of you. But to have you, my friend, here... that is good enough, yes?” Then Keiko stop, blinked, and giggled again.

“Oooh, wouldn’t it be wonderful to see Miss Emmi, too? Even if that means a tone-deaf Lord comes along. I’d like to meet him anyway. If he promises not to sing.”

Keiko realized she was babbling and just kissed Tomomi’s forehead before rearranging her cowl.

“Music can wait just a little while longer.”

Right now, there was simply peace.

Lyric

Lyric had remained sitting on the rock, where her feet could dangle over the edge, for a while. She had not eaten yet, nor had she bathed and changed clothing. She did not have her belongings at the Mill House and so there were no clothes for her to change into yet. All things in their proper time. Each thing given its due moment for the world and heavens to behold.

At some point, the Thing Happening Now was Lady Bekkah leaving the Mill House and walking down the steps to where there were other buildings. As it had been with Mikal walking up the steps in the early wisps of her light, so too was it for Bekkah in that she didn't see the Minstrel who had found a small ledge with a view. If one didn't know she was there, it would be all too easy to miss her if you didn't look right at her.

Lyric watched after Bekkah until she could no longer see her on the steps. This was an important moment for the Lady and Lyric didn't disturb the Atteran's thoughts with a greeting. All that Lyric had felt necessary to say to the Atteran had been said the day before this one. Now, the shape, and sound, and feel of What May Yet Come might well change when she communes with her Goddess. And if the will of Things Unseen sees purpose and benefit and alignment with their own understanding of the What Will Be... Then the hoped for What May Yet Come will become the joyous What Will Be.

This made Lyric smile and she returned her attention to her view for a time longer, but truth be told, Lyric wasn't very good at keeping track of time in the first place. So, she had no idea how long she had already been sitting there as it was. Time was a construct, and from a musical perspective, time was the thing that kept all notes from happening at once. But beyond that she had little use for it.

This day would be a different day than the day before. Lyric pondered this and considered that, were the Lady successful in her plea, then nothing would ever be the same again. This would be the moment when a whole new Song began on the Heartwood.

Andt hat realization brought a new smile, a stronger smile, to Lyric's face. Her eyes widened at the realization and she immoderately rose from her perch and ran down the steps.

If there was to be a whole new song this day, then she wanted to be there at the moment the very first Note sounded. She ran as fast as her feet could carry her, down the stairs, taking the unevenly measured steps, cut and hewn as the Rock had allowed, with the light grace of a dancer whose ancestry might have a little mountain goat in their background.

Lyric would have passed the quiet spot Keiko and Tomomi had chosen to wait and witness... Lyric was oblivious to them. She wanted only to greet the new experience.

Bekkah had just finished and was standing as Lyric, still at a run that would make an excited farm girl proud, finally slowed herself some four handfuls of long steps away from her. She stopped because that was when the Burst of Light connected the Heavens with the Heartwood. A shiver passed through Lyric despite being wrapped in her blanket for the shiver didn't originate in a sense of chill... but rather from excitement and anticipation. This was going to be a most unique experience. As First Notes went, this might be the most unique experience of all...and ever. And in that wonderment Lyric wondered if this might be the First Note in the Song she had set out to find.

And then the Wind hit her, like a breath from the Imperial Heavens and she spread her arms wide and leaned into it. She didn't dare close her eyes for fear of missing even a moment of what was happening and that was a good thing too. For the wave of light came next and washed over the bundled and hooded minstrel where she stood.

Lyric wanted to HEAR what Lady Attera's voice sounded like in her declaration of her divinity upon the Heartwood...

Bekkah

She'd started back when the effects of her plea manifested itself in something others would notice. She showed no surprise, but the effect lit up her face. Her Goddess' power always had that effect on her, even when it was nothing more than curing a simple wound.

Her smile was bright and full upon her face as she strode, still very tired, but the effect seemed to have helped her walk straighter.

She noticed Lyric before her, surprised that she was here, but on the other hand, she might have even guessed it.

"A good morning to you my dear." she began with a smile for the young girl.

"It is done." she began, stating the obvious. "As you suggested yesterday, my Goddess saw into my heart and found my plea worthy. This leads to more to be done, but for now, I would like to first see Tomomi. Have you seen her this morning?"

Despite the smile what Bekkah was feeling, it would be pretty obvious that the Atteran was really tired.

Tomomi

At first, there was an eek! It was so high pitched it was almost a squeak. And then there was a meep, a panicked bustle as the stiff breeze drew back her cowl. Finally, there was a gasp and blush, all the way to her ears, at a gentle kiss and the safety of her shadows. Tomomi was then silent for a heartbeat and then two and then three.

When she spoke, Keiko didn’t need to see her. She knew she was smiling.

“So this is what being a real person feels like.”

She leaned against her best friend and snuggled close, wrapping both her arms around Keiko’s one.

“I don’t feel different... kinda. And yet I feel like everything’s changed.

“It is very nice.”

She then blinked, once and then twice.

“I think things are very confusing back at Home. But they got Soft and Lady, Renyard, and Left and Right.

“I don’t think anyone will hold it against me while I sit here...

“...and smile for a bit.”

Lyric

"Oh no, Lady Bekkah... It is not done. It is just beginning."

To the question of Tomomi's location, Lyric shook her head. "No in the now, no. But I know she and Keiko left very early this morning when they thought no one was awake. But I sleep very lightly. They did not invite me so I did not let them know I was awake while you still slept. I have not seen them since... But I am sure they are near... Maybe even coming this way."

Keiko

“Uh huh. Different but not. Changed but not.”

Keiko patted Tomomi’s arm and settled back against the rock to let Her light shine on them now. Keiko knew that she thought too much about things that were... well, different. She felt it was probably the influence of the Cards that she wondered about things no one else seemed to think about. For instance, did the Goddess Attera stand in the sky far from the Goddess Dayala so that the healing light of Mercy and Compassion could be most effective? Did Lady Dayala mind that for a few moments, here in this part of the world, She was eclipsed by the goodness of Lady Attera? It was a question she might ask Bekkah, for she and her sister served those two Goddesses. But Keiko thought that perhaps, given how beautifully She shone down on the World at this moment, that Lady Dayala had probably not minded.

If not for the presence of her beautiful friend, Keiko might have wished she could be with Grandmother to ask her about these things. But no... she had been sent to walk the World, and experience its wonders. This wonder that happened today? It was a thing to remember for all time.

“And you just smile all you want,” she whispered to Tomomi. “I know I will smile every time I think of this day and time.” She let a wistful sigh escape. “Oh, how interesting Marketday will be next week!”

And then, Keiko just watched the Forest, already settled back to its usual dark beauty. She watched and waited for her friends to go about their daily tasks in the fields below, for the music she might share now would be ever so much more joyous than it would have been before Lady Attera smiled on the world. After a little while, she heard Lady Bekkah’s kind, soft voice and smiled again at Tomomi. Lyric answered her... oh, and how might she have seen — or even heard — today’s miracle?

“Come, my friend.” Keiko rose gracefully and held out both hands to Tomomi. “Let us reassure the Lady Healer that her prayers have been well received.”

Once Keiko stood, the top of her head could be seen behind an outcropping a few steps away.

Bekkah

[To Lyric]

"Yes, I agree. There is much to be done still but that task will fall to us all I believe."

She noticed Keiko and Tomomi as they stood.

"Ahh, there they are. Forgive me, but I must speak to Tomomi." she said as she continued forward.

[With Keiko, Tomomi and Lyric if she follows]

She couldn't help but smile towards Tomomi as she rounded the outcropping to stop before the pair.

"As I'm sure everyone saw and felt, my Goddess deemed my plea was a worthy one. Tomomi, I can sense the difference in you. I suspect everyone will. How does it feel?" she asked curiously.

Anyone reading body language could easily tell that the Atteran was tired. Very tired. They might not understand exactly what had happened, but it was pretty obvious that Bekkah had paid a price.

Lyric

Oh, it was more than that, or it would be. Lyric didn't know exactly what Bekkah had sought from her Goddess, nor what was delivered. She believed the need was to right a wrong among the forestkin, to ease their situation, maybe even suffering (if such was the best word). What she did know was that every action had a reaction. And that there were always consequences for the things we say and do. Some can be known and expected, sought after, predicted even. But others were the unseen kind, the unintended consequences. Lyric had no idea what those were yet, but all would reveal itself soon in the What Will Be.

Now was not the time to mention these thoughts. The Atteranw as tired and needed food and rest. So Lyric followed her as she spoke with Tomomi.

Tomomi

Tomomi stood, aided by her friend. The hood of the travel cloak nodded once, soft and easy.

But when Bekkah arrived her hood fell, she looked at the ground and shuffle her feet. She took a breath and whispered.

“It feels the same... it feels completely different.

“I think, I think it will help lots... a whole lot, when one of us gets lost, and we need to find the way back to being someone again...

“But...

“But...”

The little Forest Folk hesitated.

“I don’t know...

“I don’t know how to say thank you. I mean, thank you. But somehow, somehow words don’t seem to be able to say enough, for what you have gifted us.

“I’m just a little Forest Kin...

“I’m sorry I don’t have enough right words to say thank you proper and right.”

She swallowed.

“But I can smile.

“For all of us.

“And that’s real nice.”

She blinked.

“You know, I never thought of it before. No matter who you are, no matter what you are... Smiles... they don’t need words. Everyone knows what you mean... always.”

Bekkah

She continued to smile, the small person's response giving her strength.

"No thanks are needed my dear. Just keep my Lady in your thoughts at times of need."

"And smiles are a wonderful way to express yourself. Smiles and hugs." she said stepping forward, holding her arms out to hug Tomomi if she was willing to accept it.

Tomomi

The little Forest Kin nodded, stepping forward to let herself be hugged. Very, very shyly she hugged back, still getting used to being close to people.

Keiko

She smiled, too, at Lady Bekkah and Tomomi.

“Thank you for helping, Lady Bekkah. I know there are still wrongs that must be righted, but for now...” She nodded. “For today and for this bright morning, smiles and thanks are enough. And you should rest, my Lady. It was a powerful thing you did, and you look exhausted. Do you need help reaching your destination? I’m sure any one of the goodwives would be happy to let you rest in their home if joining your companions at the tower would be too great an effort.”

Keiko looked out over the fields. “They’re healthy and hearty folks and perhaps would not need your blessings during your entire stay here.” She looked back at the healer before continuing. “And because they respect your station, they respect you, and would help you merely because you serve Lady Attera.”

The young Rhoni tilted her head to one side. “And I think sometimes this is a vexation to you, isn’t it?” She waved her hand to indicate that Bekkah need not answer. “Your Lady loves you dearly, that much is plain to see. Perhaps She has shown you the Path you have traveled so that you might do all the things that have led you to this place at this time. The currents are more capricious than the Deities, I think, but we who travel the currents of the World do choose which waves to ride.”

She chuckled. “You are exhausted, and I am babbling again. Please, Lady Bekkah, allow the people here to help you. I would be happy to talk your ears off when you are rested.”

Keiko glanced at Lyric then. “I was going to share some music with Tomomi when the Lady Attera smiled on the world. If Lady Bekkah needs no assistance or if she would like to stay for a while with one of the goodwives, we would venture down to the base of the Rock. I would be pleased to have you join us... if you would like to hear my little ocarina.”

Then she looked at Tomomi with a knowing smile. “And perhaps I might sing, for I know my voice is more pleasing to most ears than that of the Guardians and our Young Master, the tone-deaf Lord.”

Our Young Master... Yes, Keiko really did feel enough at home here at Waverider’s Watch to experience at least gratitude — though perhaps not fealty — to Lord Dominic Dominie Korie.

Lyric

The minstrel was content now to trail in the 'wake' of the Atteran and listen as the gregarious Rhoni girl and the diffident Forestkin held Bekkah's attention.

As a truth, Lyric knew she wasn't part of this village nor part of the group that had taken up residence here either. She had only met Ser Pietro two passings of She before and hadn't seen him since the midday previous. She was not uncomfortable being alone or realizing that she was still a lone traveller on the Heartwood searching for a Song.

To keep with the 'water and currents' metaphor that Keiko used so often that it became a bit contagious, Lyric was adrift. Maybe that was how it was meant to be. Maybe not. She would simply have to ride the waves and see where it took her. For now though, this was the right place because this is the place where her steps had brought her.

Bekkah

She gave Keiko a fond smile, like that of an older sister to a younger one.

"I am not so weary as that, but I shall rest later. First, I need speak to my friends and I think Sir Pietro as well. I know they will have questions, and I am fairly certain that they will be looking for me. I believe my Lady's touch was quite hard to miss and mistake for something else."

Unless they had more to say, she headed down towards where the other would probably be found.

Keiko

Keiko nodded. “I think they may all be up at the tower. I believe I saw your Jvrillian go up earlier. Though how your Lady’s smile could be seen as something other than what it was...” She chuckled. “If one were overly interested in intrigue, perhaps another explanation could be found.”

Holding out her hand to Tomomi, the Rhoni managed a bit of a curtsy to the healer. “May your day be a bright and happy one, Lady Bekkah.”

She looked at Lyric and then up toward the tower. Squire Pietro was likely to be there... hadn’t he gone up last night? She certainly hadn’t seen him come back down.

“You’re more than welcome to join us, Lyric. But if you feel you ought to seek out your friend Pietro, we will certainly understand that. Now or later... there is time for music.” She sighed softly as she smiled. “There is always time for music.”

As Lady Bekkah sought out her companions in the Tower, Keiko and Tomomi went in the opposite direction... to the base of the Rock. In addition to her famous and delicious meat pies, Missus Heatherson made splendid breakfast sweetbreads. They might not be quite as excellent as Missus Miller’s muffins, but the bits of cinnamon crumble on the top of Missus Heatherson’s sweetbread was something Keiko had never seen before... not quite like this.

If Lyric joined them, that would be delightful. And if Lyric went with Lady Bekkah to find her friend Pietro? Well, that would be magnificent for Lyric! Neither current was better or worse; both simply were. Either way, Keiko headed for the Heathersons’ home when they reached the base of the Rock. She would ask for a bit of bread before treating the small community — and especially her beautiful friend — with music.

[OOC: If my understanding of the situation is correct, Bekkah is going back to the To Waverider’s Watch thread, Keiko and Tomomi are staying here, and our Lyrical Leaf in the Wind is going wherever she wants to go.]

Lyric

"I asked Ser Pietro to find me when time availed him of an opportunity. It would put us at cross-purposes were I to seek him out while he was seeking me out, especially if we went looking in two different directions."

Lyric looked to lady Bekkah and smiled. "I would be content to follow along and listen to you recount this story, as surely you will when you rejoin your friends. I would because I love stories and maybe I might be inspired to think of a few words myself and perhaps a melody to fit them... But, Keiko has offered me an invitation and it would be rude to turn that down in favor of following you without invitation. I hope you will not be offended should I take leave to allow you to find your companions without me while I listen to some music and await Ser Pietro and my pack?"

Bekkah

She listened to Lyric. The girl was so formal, yet so sweet. At least that was the impression she got.

"Please go where you please. You never need an invitation to join me, although most days, that's not a very interesting option. I'm sure you'll hear the tale at some point. I suspect, I'll be explaining myself more than a few times."

She continued moving, not in the least surprised to see her friends coming towards her.

Keiko

Like cats scattering after a loud noise, partnerings of the morning broke apart and were reformed. Lady Yurisdotter ascended to meet Kadri, Mikal, and Cesare on the stairs. Keiko, Lyric, and the Forest Kin walked the base of the rock, looping along the Rhoni Path as it headed east. Pietro could see the two women and their small companion as they walked past the Blackhair farmhouse, Keiko waving to Mister Blackhair as they went by. He was already at work cutting blocks of peat to feed his small kiln, but he paused to nod an acknowledgment. If Pietro wished, it would be easy to continue on, follow in their wake, and catch up to the three just about the time they got to the Heathersons’ farmhouse.

The little one’s step was light... it almost had a skip in it.

The goodwife saw the three approach, crossing her arms after she swept the dust out from the front door.

She eyed the Forest Kin with a touch of suspicion — as though she might suspect that if anyone were at fault for anything, it would be her. Lyric she didn't know, so for that lass, she’d be giving the benefit of the doubt. Keiko she did know so the Rhoni lass would get a chance to present herself.

“Cor... it’s been a good morning...

“Ye ain’t come changing me good mood, are ye?”

Keiko shook her head and smiled brightly. “Such a thought could never enter my mind, Missus Heatherson! You have been too gracious and kind since I arrived, and I only have the desire to return the same favors to you.”

Gesturing to Lyric, she said, “I have made a new friend in Miss Lyric, who is a minstrel and from a tiny place even I have never seen. Like me, she is experiencing the great wonders that our World holds.” Then she nodded to Tomomi. “This is Tomomi. I do know the Small Ones are hard to tell apart, but she is the one who has brought me the beautiful pigments I mentioned several weeks past and, with her Kin, helps convey the fruits and herbs and medicines to the market.”

First, she gave Tomomi a smile and then Lyric. “Missus Heatherson makes the very best meat pies you will ever find in all your travels, Friend Lyric. Everyone at Waverider’s Watch and all the Forest Folk who fancy such things will surely tell you this very same thing if you ask them. Even Renyard, who is more well-traveled than all of us, would say the same.”

Then she turned back to the goodwife.

“Today, I have such joy in my heart that I wanted to greet you on this day of wonders and introduce you to my friends. I had thought to sit a ways up on the rock and share my music with you...” She spread her arms to include the three farmhouses and fields. “...all of you. The cows certainly seem to like it. Perhaps I imagine it, but they do step more lively when I place dance tunes. And you cannot deny — nor could Missus Barley nor Missus Blackhair — that some of my tunes bring a smile to your face.”

Keiko looked around from the front of the Heatherson home and across the fields.

“Cor, but it be a beautiful place for all that you be snugged against a Forest that be hurtin’ and turned mean.” She sighed. “Well, I’m just a silly girl and can’t help feel sorry for the Forest being turned to what it is from what it was.”

She shrugged, and her bright smile returned. “I had thought to ask, if you’d not be minding and have such to spare, if I might exchange a tune of your choosing for a bit of your sweetbread with the cinnamon crumbles on top. For I like it ever so much, and Lyric has not likely ever had such a fabulous treat, being from a place so small and off the Caravans’ path. Oh, if you haven’t any or are saving it for a special treat, I’ll accept your word on that, of course, I will! And I’ll gift you a tune anyway, for it be an excellent and beautiful day!”


[OOC: The beginning part of this post was written with a little help from my friends... In this case, the GM and his NPCs.]

Pietro


The squire lengthened his stride and headed out following Keiko, Lyric and the small person. After a few strides, he started to trot and managed to catch up with them as Keiko was talking with Missus Heatherson.

Lyric

The girl from Kethy's Woods trailed along, happy to be included and content to have a path to follow so she could focus on more of the things around her. A bird. Some flowers. A few weathered and worn rocks that poked up through the hard pack dirt that served as a thoroughfare. Everything was relevant and everything told a story. The bees and the bunnies.... all of it was a wonderment to her. No matter how many times she might see things she never saw any of them exactly as she saw them right then. That could be said for any individual moment in any place she found herself. This day she was here and she enjoyed it for the moment it was. Maybe later she would pass by to enjoy everything again in a different light as She passed overhead... and then maybe again in the evening.

She knew she could simply sit and spend endless moments, one after another, just enjoying this moment as it became the next. But Keiko had a purpose and a plan and that meant being somewhere else.

So Lyric followed and enjoyed that too.

She listened quietly and nodded when she was introduced.

"I sing a fair bit too, and hope I won't change your good mood neither."

Pietro joined them and he had her pack with him.

"Oh Squire Pietro.... You are so kind," she said with a sudden rush of joy that matched the color in her cheeks. Her laughter was light and honest. She reached out to cup her right palm against his cheek.

"You are a good friend... More than I deserve, but I am grateful all the same." Her hand was warm and soft.

Pietro


Pietro smiled and felt a warmth on his face at the effusiveness of her words. Reaching up, he gave her hand on his cheek a brief squeeze.

"It is a pleasure to share friendship with you, Miss Lyric, and I am hardly... more than you deserve."

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
The Heatherson Farm
Rameday, the Sixth Day of Yrick

Keiko, Lyric, Pietro, Tomomi, and two others

“...to which the Merchant asked, ‘Why not?’ The Jvrillian put his fists on his hips, ‘Because I’ll get halfway across and you’ll put out the light!’”

Their work at the barn was finished at about the time Lyric, Keiko, and Tomomi returned from their walk. Pietro was in conversation with a dark-haired man and another of the lill’un Forest Kin. Tomomi skipped up to the other Forest Kin, at which point, both strangers raised their hands to cover their faces.

But there was little time for idle chatter. Mister Heatherson was coming in from the fields, and it was time to fill his open barn with his cows. Seeing the condition of the barn brought a tilt of his head and then a smile.

Mikal - first with Cesare, Bekkah, and Kadri, then adding everyone else and subtracting Bekkah

Having agreed with Kadri, Bekkah, and Cesare that the next step in any plan is gathering information, and standing on the stairs talking to each other is not going to get them anywhere, Mikal bids Bekkah a restful nap and heads down the stairs with Kadri and Cesare.

Reaching the bottom he doesn't see the others anywhere, however he recalls that Pietro turned right after he left them earlier in the day and he hasn't seen him reappear so he leads the others that way, stopping by the Blackhair's home first, and not finding them there continuing on to the Heatherson's.

Reaching the home, he can see a gathering of people out by the barn so he moves there.

"I hope everyone had a restful sleep and is still as refreshed by what our humble Atteran managed to achieve as I am?" He says to the group at large.

The Heartwood
Waverider’s Watch
The Heatherson Farm
Rameday, the Sixth Day of Yrick

Cesare, Kadri, Keiko, Lyric, Mikal, Pietro, Tomomi and others

In truth, it actually was not hard to find the other village visitors. Pietro, Keiko, and Lyric were gathered in a loose knot by the open barn, sheltered between that simple structure and the farmhouse. They were in conversation; while the two women were both close and serious, something must have been said to set the Squire in good humor. Certain things had changed, however. There was a Forest Folk there or one that certainly matched the proper description. This one fit the description of a lill’un, with a patchwork leather travel cloak, hood up and face cast in shadow. Fine white lace with scalloped edges peeked out from the cloak’s long sleeves, and this odd person never wandered far from the Rhoni lass.

Standing quietly in the shadow of the barn was a second lill’un, though this one’s cloak was much better crafted.

Behind all of them, on the other side of the barn, Ruri Heatherson was putting his herd to bed. He seemed to have acquired a helper — a small man with dark hair. They were hard to discern, for not only was it getting dark, but they were also in the barn’s sunset shadows. One cow, one stall. In fact, the western side of the barn was already full, and it was amply apparent that the remainder of the space would soon have an entirely bovine population.

And that was the last thing that had changed.

From the barn to the rock’s lower ramparts a rope had been strung. Along the rope, in a rough even spacing, were most of the horses. They had been halter tied, far enough apart that they couldn’t reach each other. A few paces off, a tarp had been thrown over several large items, the corners and sides held down with rocks. The large objects looked suspiciously like saddles.

Most of the horses had been moved to the line. Two had not. Pietro’s and an unfamiliar bay just stood unbound. They appeared to be satisfied with where they were and didn’t seem like they were planning on going anywhere anytime soon.

Kadri:

"Hoi, and greetings, goodfolk. However, if you were planning on deeds of gallantry and freedom, then I would dearly wish to be in on the conversation, because if there is one thing I can't stand, its bullies. Including any who would put a yoke on another people for their convenience."

A pause.

"To be less poetic, if you are up to something, I would dearly wish to be in on it - and I am sure I speak for my friends too."

Cesare

He brings up the rear of the group, staying in the background. There are forest folk there and he is not sure how they feel about strangers. There is also a girl he hasn't met but assumes must be the Lyric that Pietro has mentioned. And there is Keiko.

He nods to Pietro.

Pietro


The squire nodded in greeting to Kadri, Cesare and Mikal, murmuring something appropriately greeting-like. He seemed in a more or less good mood, but his mind appeared to be occupied with something.

After a moment, he turned to Kadri.

"It is quite probable that we - at least some of us - will soon be up to something with which you..." he made an all-encompassing gesture, "would be welcome to join in with."

Lyric

Having been finally reunited with her rucksack, the minstrel girl now carried it on her back. She was still wearing the same clothes from the day before. She held a mandolin in her hands and might have been playing a bit for the group about her near the barn when the new arrivals came around the corner and caught sight of them. It seemed possible this group might have been preparing to seek out the other group as well, but now they were met.

The soldier or warrior was the first to extend a greeting, followed soon by Dama Korie... or Kadri, as Lyric has heard her name mentioned. Pietro returned the greeting. Music or no, Lyric could tell that the Squire's mind was still weighted with the thoughts of What Will Be.

As Pietro speaks, Lyric takes note of the third in their group. She had briefly sighted him before this day, when first she arrived. He was also Rhoni or of Rhoni blood, given the manner of his clothing and the features of his face, and Lyric felt an attraction for him that made her blush a little. She couldn't remember his name, for she had only heard it in passing... Chay-something. He was quite fetching, as the saying goes. She tried to look away, to hide her flush, but couldn't quite manage it completely.

Mikal

He nods to the others, but addresses Pietro since the man replied to him. "I wonder if it is the same errand we just spoke with Bekkah about?"

He glances around, seeing the farmer and noting the new arrival, and the new horse.

"Perhaps it would be better to discuss details inside?"

Keiko

When the others arrived, she looked for and did not see Lady Bekkah.

The was no reason for her to think of the Cards she had read — was it just last night? — and yet, the arrival of Dama Kadri, her Jvrillian, and the Lost Rhoni brought their message to mind once more. And that was most peculiar. It was not the speaking of the thing that must be done but the arrival of...

Her brows furrowed. Was it one of them or another of them? Or perhaps it was the group of them that sent a shiver through her. She wrapped an arm almost protectively around Tomomi’s shoulders.

Hidden forces that were not kind at all, planning something... interference. Why think of that now with the arrival of Lady Bekkah’s friends?

When the Jvrillian spoke, however, Keiko said quite simply, “The cows would be less interested in your discussions than the stars.”

She blinked as though surprised she had spoken up. But the words led to another wave and this one demanded the sharing of other words.

“We have all committed to the task of helping the Forest Kin, Mikal D’Allyne. Speak your mind freely, for even women and the very Kin we hope to help would be interested in the details.”

Lyric

"...and it is too very near the evening meal," added Lyric, drawing her attention from the Rhoni boy to Keiko then Mikal. She had spoke in the rhythm and cadence that Keiko used. A different accent, but very similar in tone.

"There is no public house in this small village, so we would be making ourselves a terrible burden to go 'inside'... for 'inside' means someone's home, and that means we 'ask' of them their hospitality even if we don't use the words. You see? Terrible burden uninvited and unplanned..."

She cut herself off and smiled as she canted her head to the right.

"Forgive me," she started again, "You may call me Lyric. And I have just remembered we are all not formally met. I apologize for that."

Mikal

"Certainly, however Master Heatherson and his helper", he nods his head to the nearby pair, "are not likely to be involved."

He refrains from adding that the less people who know what they discuss the better, so as to not insult the farmer.

Glancing at Lyric, he shakes his head no. "The Tower is private, or can be made so, and imposes on no one."

He pauses. "We met yesterday. You offered to sing." He smiles at her.

Keiko

“Perhaps Master Heatherson is not directly involved, but the matter of the Forest Kin concerns all in this tiny hamlet. And his companion?”

Keiko looked toward the barn and the Forest Kin standing in the shadows there.

Then she laughed.

“Oh, how wrong you are! ‘Involved’ I think might be too mild a word.”

Kadri:

"If we are wrong I would dearly like to learn what is, in fact, right. For only then can we truly work from changing what is still wrong into yet more right. So wherever we might talk, and whatever we might try to claim for repast. If that means I reclaim some of my travel jerky and cheese from my pack, so be it. Either way - both the mischevious side of me which aims to misbehave, and the curious side of me which just wishes to know - have a desire to move into what is known and what perhaps might be done. If a tile is to fall, so to speak - I would wish to know what other tiles it may knock down. Because as someone very wise once said to me ... 'Pretty things need to be free. And I think it seems the pretty things of the forest have been waiting a long time for that."

Keiko

She blinked again and stared at Dama Kadri.

That must be what I sound like when I’m speaking Eastern.

However, Keiko did understand the Dama’s last remark, the words themselves at least. But the deeper meaning of them? No, she definitely didn’t understand. The direct and obvious meaning couldn’t possibly be what the Dama meant, for she had not met the Forest Kin. So there had to be some deeper, hidden meaning that the young Rhoni did not understand.

She sighed. No matter. The words were just words and had little effect on the currents beyond some small amount of obfuscation. Keiko had already determined that there were many potential currents to follow, all of which would introduce their own waves to ride. Looking closer rather than farther was the key here.

Keiko nodded to herself and knelt beside the small Forest Kin who was doing her best to keep from view.

“I would not be distressed, my friend, if you are hungry and wish to fetch some food for yourself.” Keiko nodded toward the Forest. “I will wait here for as long as it takes you to return, should you wish to go.”

Then she smiled as she sat on the ground, arranging her tunics modestly around her. “I know Master Heatherson’s cows enjoy my whistling potato,” she said with a giggle. “Perhaps the string of horses will enjoy it as much as they enjoyed friend Lyric’s mandolin!”

The Guy Who Owns This Place

The words from those gathered did catch sharp ears, at least a pair of them. The dairyman’s helper stood a little straighter, looked at Ruri and saw the farmer’s shoulders droop. The work hand shook his head, then nodded, then lightly punched the farmer in the forearm before taking leave of his tasks. With a bright step, he slipped around the barn — short enough to not have to duck under the horse tether line — and entered the fray. He had a handsome face, dark eyes and wore the strangest cloak himself. It was no travel cloak, for sure, but it was blacker than night and had neither texture nor weave.

He had a destination... that was to be sure, as well. He circled the Jvrillian, much like one would inspect a critter being sold. With a hand on his chin, he looked the swordsman up and down, peering at his feet, examining armor and visage, noting blades and stance and, of course, the man’s garb.

He then retreated. He withdrew to the side of one of the newcomers — the pretty one, all in fancy country clothes, the one with the mandolin. Still rubbing his chin he leaned toward her, at her side, almost conspiratorial. Or, perhaps, more like a confidant sharing opinions about whether or not a Dawnview gown was suitable for the formal courts.

“First, he’s too tall, isn’t he, Miss Lyric? Too tall, with much broader shoulders. That and look at all that armor! It must weigh fifty or sixty or a hundred fullhand stone! How can a body do that anyway? Maybe he’s part shaggie! You know, that would explain a lot. And swords! All fancy Darksteel like he bought it at the Market. Much, much, much too long. That and he lacks a certain dash, and he most certainly isn’t as handsome, elegant, swashbuckling and filled with a roguish charm that would sweep any lassie off her feet!”

He smiled brightly up to Lyric.

“Do you need me to catch you? Look at him, and do you swoon?”

He looked between the mercenary and the minstrel.

“Nin...

“No... nin, nya, khal’nya... non... nihil...

“I really don’t think he’s Dominic Dominie Korie.”

He stood straighter then, his gaze upon the mercenary a considering and measuring one.

“I know! We can test this...”

He leaned in and whispered to Lyric.

“I learned this from Broke.”

Straightening, he crossed his arms and spoke a single word.

“MOUSE!”

For a moment there was silence. And then, in a blink, in a suddenness, the two Forest Kin were at his side, and they both immediately glomped him in a tight hug. The man could not help but laugh, wrapping his black cloak about each of the lill’uns.

“He has no mouse. He is most DEFINITELY not Dominic Dominie Korie.

“Which is a huge load off of my mind! If he were, I wouldn’t know who I was! And that would be passingly strange. I’d have to go back to my very small village and wait around until someone died so I could borrow their name. I could end up being a Gertrude, Brunhilde or a Fred. Fred would be bad. I’d get mistaken for Dandy’s horse. Don’t tell Dandy I called her Dandy, please? Even out here, she’d find a rafter to hang me from.

“And it’s also good for him to not be Dominic Dominie Korie. Because then he would know better than to invite himself into someone else’s house without a by your leave, especially at dinner time when they’ve got a family to take care of, and the cows have just come in, and they are tired and deserve their rest. So he has an excuse, but I’m not going to say what it is because that would be unpleasant and he’d get all disgruntled.

“And I’ve spent all day gruntling the Heathersons after the previous disaster and now they like me again, which is all that matters. They only think I lack common sense, and that’s fair because there’s a lot of evidence to that.

“You know, that’s the odd thing about being me. I could invite myself in. But I don’t. I make a really horrible Noble.

“Say, Miss Lyric, maybe I can travel with you? I have been told I have a truly distinctive singing voice.

“OW!”

He looked at one of the Forest Kin sheltered beneath his cloak.

“Did you just kick me?”

The dark haired rapscallion then looked back up.

“No. No going inside. I just promised Ruri that there’d be no more demands on him and his. And I hate it when someone breaks my word for me. Right now it’s a grand summer night. Cows keep secrets well — Miss Keiko, you can vouch for the cows, right? So talk! Talking is always good.

“I know!

“I do it a lot.”

Keiko

She knew exactly what would happen when the Young Master called out “Mouse.” It wasn’t quite as dramatic as when Broke had done it at Home, what with there being only Tomomi and Miss Emerald here. But seeing them latch onto him with fierce hugs made her giggle again. It was sweet.

Keiko did manage to not giggle when one of them, Miss Emerald most likely, kicked him when he described his singing voice.

And the Rhoni nodded when he asked about the cow. “Of course, m’Lord Tone-Deaf. Cows don’t talk.”

Lastly, she wondered how sturdy the strings on Lyric’s mandolin were. Between Broke and the Young Master, should any singing happen it was certain to be painful for their ears. She would endure, of course, because Broke was Broke and Dommi was Dommi. She hoped mandolin strings were made of sturdier stuff than ears.

Lyric

Lyric bowed her head in obeisance, though she knew he didn't demand that or expect it. This might have been 'because' he didn't demand nor expect such servile behavior. But he was demonstrating his authority by virtue of birthright and that required her co-operation. The fact that he took time to needle her in the process was fair because she did tell the story about the little lord who had a big horse and he took it in very good humor. Fair was fair.

"Your Lairdship," she responded in a subdued voice. "I should think it my place to defer to your wife, Dama Korie," she said with a open hand to indicate Kadri's presence, "before I consider the merits of her travelling companion aloud or any specific travelling arrangements."

And from that place, with her head down, she glanced upwards to catch a glimpse of the Rhoni boy again. A secretive and furtive-like glance was all she dare spare though.

Kadri looks at Dominic for a second before looking back at Lyric, and raises one eyebrow.

"Your place is to say whatever you think to me. You don't owe me even a little bit of deference. The only thing I will ask you to defer to me on here is in my preference for you to call me Kadri."

She turns back to Dominie, and grins widely.

"Dom, you don't just 'talk' - you prattle, elucidate, orate, carry on, tell tales or joke.. But one thing you most decidedly do not do is just talk. You also most definitely do not sing."