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#888794 Sun 03/09/17 23:33 UTC
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Wolf Offline OP
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The Heartwood
The Dirkwood Forest
Home
Marketday, the Ninth Day of Yrick


Bekkah, Lyric, Cesare, Keiko … and Most Everyone Else …

Morning came all too soon to Home.

For most the night was one of oblivion, exhaustion giving way to deep sleep. For others it was the inability to get to sleep, in a strange new place, until they simply could not stay awake any longer. For others it was sheer determination. Like Broke, who would not let her eyes close until everyone else had let their dreams claim them. Next to Broke, Dominic had finally calmed Emmi enough for her to rest.

Outside, only then, did the rain start to fall.

Inside, as the drops of water brought a relaxing tap-tap-tap upon the shingles or rustled upon the thatched roofs, for one against many sleep was a competition. The Cat leaned back and rested. A count of three breaths after closed eyes and poof! A Mouse found his bare soft tummy! One eye opened, the Mouse’s eyes went wide and luckily for the way Mice moved the Mouse didn’t hit the wall when the Mouse was unceremoniously tossed off.

So Hinata Cat narrowed his eyes, let them close. Took three sleepy breaths. And pomf! Another Mouse too their chance!

Only to be tossed to the ceiling.

Three breaths later - three breaths later - three breaths later and somewhere deep into the night Hinata narrowed his eyes and just looked. He let out a long exasperated sigh and didn’t give up per se, but just accepted the inevitable. There simply was no end to Mice.

Then came the green-gray dawn.

Most of the new arrivals were still asleep. There was no banging upon metal bars to awaken them and the long, forever long night had temporarily disturbed their inner timekeeping. Those that woke, because it was time to wake – a few Rats, one Mouse and a Deer – looked around blurrily as if they were still dreaming.

One of the Rats, a rare girl rat, reached up and pinched her own cheek, real hard and then winced when it hurt. Not that she had time to deal with the pain and realization that she really was awake, for a friendly Lady bent down and handed her a warm muffin.

“This really is Home …”

She whispered simply.

“And that …”

The Vixen nodded to the muffin.

“That really is breakfast. It is kind of like hardtack. But it’s not hard, it’s soft. And it has blueberries instead of last week’s crackers mixed in. What is a blueberry? Remember the small round fruit you had last night that turned your tongue purples – ja - those were blueberries.”

There was other activity too. Despite the night’s heroics Home was still Home and one of the things that had to be done was breakfast. One might think that – for one day – such a simple thing could be set aside. But that, by itself, was so important to this place, that it was not just safe and but also dependable. That when dawn came, no matter what, there would be breakfast.

One could count on Home.

So for those who had stayed it was their turn to step up to their tasks. And today there would be so very, very many more to be taken care of. So they bustled. Somewhere, upstairs, Girl had been tucked into blankets, her final blessing of the night the luxury of sleeping in.

For the rest, a light breakfast of bread and pastries, was chosen for it stood the best chance of being warm and fresh no matter how late one woke. For those who wanted more, or rather, something hearty, there was a thick stew simmering in the main hearth, to be kept nicely hot throughout the day.

That, in the end, was what woke Hinata up; the scent of that stew. But indeed he was trapped. The big cat, however, had a solution for that. He simply tugged hard on Keiko’s ankle, three times to make sure the Rhoni was awake and with his free hand pointed to his tummy.

“Wake up that Mouse.”

He was indeed smart, that mercenary Cat.

Tomomi just giggled, wondering how Keiko would waken a happily sleeping and looking very comfortable Mouse.

Cesare would be woken by a rustling sort of disturbance, as the two Forest Folk keeping him company sat up, stretched and after rubbing their eyes with their fists pushed themselves up – using each other to brace themselves - until they were standing. They looked about, hands at their brow to shield away the hints of morning light.

“Good …”

One spoke and the other finished the sentence.

“… morning.”

“What day …”

“… is it?”

The two lasses blinked, their eyes suddenly going wide. The suddenly changed their patter, as both of them looked each other in the eyes and spoke as one.

“MARKETDAY!”

With a frantic tumbling they rushed to the stairs. When they got to the first step they, as one, skidded, stopped turned around and looked back to the still groggy Rhoni.

“We have to look good …”

“… for going to trade and all!”

The Mouse spoke next.

“Race you to the baths!”

To which the Raccoon-lass replied, suddenly running down and away at her fastest speed.

“No fairs!”

Which left Cesare on his own for waking up and making it down to the commons by his lonesome.

Also on her lonesome was Bekkah. The household commotions of breakfast woke her; though this morning it was in a wide window seat, as Girl had been given Lady’s private quarters for this night. She was offered breakfast in the odd little bed by two of Home’s older inhabitants – a pair of Rats and one of new, a deer. The rats did the careful jostling and waking, while the deer, being a bigg’un, looked a bit awkward as he held a basket of bread and pastries in one strong hand and what would have been a wine skin anywhere else, but here it was probably filled with water.

“He’s not going to be angry at us is he?”

Those were the deer’s words, which got him a blink and a serious shake of his head from the left side Rat.

“Nin nin nin. She’s not a he. She’s a she. Just like the girls you worked with, except, except she’s a not Forest Folk people.”

The deer just blinked and looked closer at Bekkah’s chaste sleeping tunic and blanket covered figure.

“So I see. I didn’t know that the Masters, that they could be girls too.”

That made a tremendous amount of sense in its odd and peculiar way. When the expedition into the Dirkwood Forest left Talesan’s Village, they probably didn’t take any women with them. Which also explained the Imperial Prince’s determination to make the Priestess his own, as he probably hadn’t seen a woman in generations. The basket contained cinnamon flavored loafs and a selection of muffins, both plain and fruit filled.

As Lyric stirred and caught a glimpse of a Rhoni smile, she was protected from the morning bustle by the guardian beside her.

While Wrath, Left and Right, Soft and Flower rested in a pile on the other side of the hearth, it seemed Broke and Wuff-Wuff had woken much earlier. They were cleaned up and once again putting on their armor and travel cloaks. It took a moment to realize why.

It was Marketday. And while Home was close to self sufficient, in truth – like all the other villages and towns and Keeps of the mainland – close was never enough when it came to a place’s survival. It needed the trade, finished goods taken in return for the raw materials of the Forest. Especially now, with Home’s sudden growth, they would be needing things like cloth, blankets, bowls and plates and all the other necessities of everyday life.

There was also a knowledge gap. Before yesterday one would take a soulless one as an apprentice.

Perhaps now, after time, that might change and they could learn new things.

It was not if they had a choice; they had to. For the source of their security, the darksteel that supported almost every single church of the mainland, was now at the bottom of a lake. Eventually their stores of the metal would run out.

“Rrrrrfffff …”

One Fang nodded as he listened to the Minstrel explain. As he did he rubbed his chin, then his mouth and then his teeth. His eye narrowed when he discovered the missing ones. Of course he gave Broke a fierce look, which only got a grin back from his pack leader.

“Corrrrr …”

He gave Lyric a sideways look.

“Brrroke rrrrruns the wrrrong way because she gots no brrrains.”

To which the other black wolf smiled even wide, showing off the fact that she still had all her canines. Broke just pointed at Lyric’s companion, adding a single sharp nod. One Fang knew what that meant.

“Me and my big snout. Hh’ooks ‘ike I am now going to market now too.”

Straightening himself up, he snared a big piece of bread and a bowl from one of his kin. Handing the half a loaf to Lyric he got them some stew to share.

“Aye they did. Every one of them did. From the smallest Mouse to the strongest deer to those who came into the Forest because they saw a modicum of worth in critters that had been shattered, not let die and then put back together. So I shall hold you to your words – and not gainsay a Minstrel when it comes to Heroes.

“On one condition.”

The big black wuff nodded.

“That she does not forget that the Minstrel was one of those people. Who will be remembered each morning, because without her there might not have ever been another morning.”

Last edited by Wolf; Sun 03/09/17 23:33 UTC.
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Cesare

Waking is a gradual process this morning, a few aches but nothing serious. A sadness deep within though as by now he realised that Kadri had gone. She had given her life as, to be honest, any of them had been prepared to do but it is still sharp for him that it was she who had taken that fate. But she had given her life for a great purpose, for something important and that is all any of them could hope for.

And he is reminded of that as the two bundles of fur started to move around him and get excited.. Marketday indeed. He smiles. He remembers the last one. But so much has happened from then to now.. and again he feels a sense of fulfilment for the small part he had played in it.

He stretches. Time to rise. His companions had already darted off and he should follow their example. Wash. Make himself presentable and go in search of food. He is surprised to find he is really hungry.

So not too long later, he finds himself in the commons, saying 'God morning' to everyone he meets. It is indeed a good day today. And he will enjoy it. He can feel the waves at his back and knows that he will move on from here before too long but live in the day.. and this day will be good.

So he helps himself to a bowl of stew, some cinnamon bread and a fruit muffin. And he is reminded of Romana by the scent of the cinnamon. Another smile. She found happiness and a path for herself, a good outcome.

He takes his food to a table near to Lyric and sits down to eat.

"Good morning Lyric. And it is a good morning isn't it?"

He grins around the spoon as another mouthful of stew enters his mouth.

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Lyric, a new day, a new journey

Lyric opened her mouth to do the very thing that had been made a condition of the acceptance of her wisdom with regards to heroes. And she paused and shrugged as her smile grew wider.

"You are a clever Wuff, my friend..."

She reached up to caress his snout and cheek. "...to play words with me and trap me in my own. Fair enough. I'll not dispute you, but I will let others decide where I fit in a song not yet sung that tells a tell not yet told."

Cesare spoke to her from not too far away and she nodded. "It is indeed," she replied with an extended hand that could not reach him, but yet still represented a greeting wherein hands would touch. "And it will be a beautiful day as well... I can feel it."

One Fang offered her a portion of the loaf of bread, but it was the smell in the air, all around her, that suddenly caught her attention. She held the loaf and sighed as she drew in a deep breath through her nose. Her eyes closed and it was as if she had been taken back to the feelings of that first moment with the bread. She shuddered and her skin prickled all over again. The moment, an experience itself, was quite like that of sexual satisfaction to her. So deeply connected with her senses and the desire to experience things, she cared not what her reactions might mean to others.

Pietro. He had been the first to offer this peculiar, delectable, enthralling smell, spice, experience to her. It seemed fitting too. That day started her on a path with purpose, a new adventure, a new experience. And now, today, it seemed they would be heading back to the place called Waverider's Reach. It marked the beginning of a new journey.

She did not know of Pietro's departure, nor the circumstances surrounding it yet. But that would be a moment that was not this one, nor probably the next few.

She took a bite into the bread, but stopped and paused. She opened her mouth again, then tentatively put her tongue on the bread to 'taste' the 'sinnoman' flavor. Her eyes smiled for her mouth and the joy warmed her heart. She then took her first bite of breakfast.

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Keiko
[pronounced KAY-ko]

She looked at Hinata when he tugged her ankle, both eyebrows raised in question.

“Hmm. Well, I suppose it’s not truly your fault for being so warm and soft and comfortable, Anzen-sei Cat. That is how you were made.”

Keiko looked at Tomomi when she giggled and then grinned as she rubbed the yellow fuzz of the Mouse’s hair. The fuzz was already growing out to fluff. Then she stood and regarded the trapped Cat and sleeping Mouse.

Plucking one of the silver ribbons from Hinata’s mane — it had all but fallen out anyway — she crouched next to the Cat.

“Ee, ee, ee,” she said, holding up a finger to forestall any complaint. Then she lightly dragged the ribbon across the Mouse’s nose, causing her whiskers to twitch, and then over her ears, causing them to twitch as well.

Then she whispered, “Red Patch, it’s Marketday.”

Two little eyes opened wide. “Marketday? Already?”

Keiko nodded. Red Patch smiled and whumphed away. The Rhoni handed the ribbon back to Hinata and grinned.

“Those who’ve been to the market are very happy to return. It’s quite festive and a great responsibility. Now sit, rest...” She stood and glanced around the room. “I’ll bring you a bowl of stew. You might like the muffins, too.”

As she walked across the common room, a mischievous glint could be seen in her eyes as she angled toward Cesare. As she passed behind him, Keiko stopped and flicked the back of his head, then leaned over his shoulder.

“You have a younger kinswoman now,” she whispered. “Don’t ignore your kinswoman. Your kinswoman is sneaky and has had many years of practice dealing with an older brother.”

Then she patted the top of his head. In a normal tone of voice, she added, “Good morning, kinsman.”

There was a bounce in her step and a smile on her face as she caught sight of Lyric’s enjoyment of the cinnamon bread.

“Oh, Lady!” Keiko said as she made her way into the cooking area. “You and Broke may wish to speak with Hinata Cat to determine if he suited to the important task of visiting the people of Waverider’s Watch and the Market. He is a bargainer as good as any merchant I’ve ever seen.” She paused and chuckled. “Of course, his love of sunbeams might cause him to fall asleep the moment he steps out of the Forest.” She shrugged. “You will know best. I merely wish for the greatest good of all here at Home.”

A smile spread across her face as she imagined all the possible bargaining Hinata could engage in just to convince him to go to the Market. Gathering bowls of stew, slabs of bread and a muffin, she made her way back to the window seat, winking at Cesare on the way. Keiko set the tray down on the little table and looked at the handful of berries Tomomi had fetched in far less time.

“You might be one of my silliest and most fun friends, Tomomi,” she said, handing a bowl of stew to Hinata and setting the muffin aside for him. “I didn’t find any broccoli in the stew — which is probably a good thing because it isn’t the sort of vegetable that takes well to being cooked for so long — but the potato bits look good.”

Keiko sat down on the floor across from Hinata and gestured for Tomomi to join them.


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Bekkah

She awoke as the creatures discussed her gender and she rolled over to face them, stretching as the blanket fell off her. While her hair was a blond mess, she gave them a radiant smile.

"A good morning to you all." she said looking at them then out the window.

"It appears I've overslept this beautiful morning." It wasn't a big surprise that she'd overslept, since she'd spent most of the night healing hurts. She didn't even remember coming to bed, which means she'd probably fallen asleep while trying to simply 'rest her eyes' and that she'd been carried to this place and covered up.

"Thank you for breakfast, it smells wonderful." she said accepting the food from them.

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Cesare

He waves back to Lyric, a grin on his face which broadens as he watches her delight in the cinnamon bread. In face she and Romana may have more in common than just that particular delicacy.

Then something flicks the back of his head.

He swivels his head around just as words are whispered ion his ear.

"Then I am doomed.. because I have had any experience of a sneaky younger kinswoman.. but I think I will be happy to gain that experience."

He watches her move animatedly across to the cooking area.. and before long, just enough time to finish the stew.. he sees her walk back again.. and grins.

"Good morning kinswoman."

He inclines his head as if to say 'see, I can learn'. Then he turns his attention to his portion of cinnamon bread. It is really good.

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The Heartwood
The Dirkwood Forest
Home
Marketday, the Ninth Day of Yrick


Bekkah, Lyric, Cesare, Keiko … and Most Everyone Else …

“Well it all depends. Can al’Cat be trustable …”

Lady followed Keiko out of her kitchen, to the place where Hinata waited. Tomomi also answered her beckoning, slipping across the commons to join her friend. The stew had been gladly taken then poked at with an extended claw. He looked suspiciously at the Mouse when she held out spoon. Whiskers twitching he cast a narrow eyed look across the commons. Thus when Lady asked her question he had managed, albeit a bit clumsily, learned that a spoon wasn’t a mediocre weapon but a much better way to eat a bowl of anything without sticking one’s snout into it.

In answer, however, he just gave the Vixen a look. A cat, trustable?

“… responsible …”

Whiskers twitched again.

“… and you must behave yourself.”

That got a sure and a gutteral reply.

“Too many rules. Thought only One. I am Cat. Cannot expect Cat to not be Cat.”

Lady just quirked a brow, crossed her arms and began to speak.

“Then you cannot …”

Lady was immediately interrupted by Tomomi.

“ … I unnerstand. You are just a Cat. Not a Mouse. I can do all that.”

To which Hinata turned.

“You can?”

“Ja.”

“Ha. Anything Mouse can do Cat can do better.”

“No Cat can’t.”

“Yes Cat can.”

“No Cat can’t.”

“Anything Mouse can do Cat can do greater. Sooner or later Cat is greater than Mouse.”

“No Cat not.”

“Yes Cat is.”

“I can cut an Old Master with a single swipe”

“I can live on bread and cheese.”

“And only on that?

“Ja.

“Mouse!”

And that was his undoing. As news of the call rippled through home he was suddenly covered in Home’s smallest residents. Very pragmatically his hand shot straight up into the air to ensure his first hot breakfast was not tumbled.

“Anything! Anything! Anything but too many Mice! Cat promise!”

Lady smiled.

“Good. You may go to Market.”

Tomomi just leaned against Keiko and smiled, taking up a Cat abandoned muffin. Lady slowly started picking Mice off of Hinata to send off to breakfast. Tomomi had a small, honest grin upon her face.

“And you say I am silly.”

Then the little one became still and quiet as she rested against the Rhoni lass. She nibbled her muffin in many tiny bites. It was odd. She had the face of a little girl – the mice were closest to human kind in looks, save for ears, whiskers and tails. Yet the manner in which she nibbled at her muffin was not like people would. Indeed, inside, while blessed by Lady Attera she was still a child of Mother Nature.

“This is an important Marketday, isn’t it?”

Tomomi spoke a very quietly.

“It might be last? Forever Friend may not come back, may you? Is it time for Forever Friend to go to places farther away than a Mouse has seen? Only one like the Executioner, that can always find folks wherever they are.

“Tomomi wants Forever Friend to be happy … but has no idea what Tomomi will do next? What does Keiko-Friend want?”

It was, indeed, a question that reached into the heart of things.

“I am not as smart as Brrroke or The Lockpick, but I have my moments …”

One Fang leaned forward, to trade a caress with a nose bump and a brush of a velvet muzzle against a soft cheek. Then he set down next to Lyric as she enjoyed the hint of spices in her morning bread. As he gnawed on his own torn portion of his own light breakfast the wuff gave the Minstrel a long, long quiet look.

It was very hard to imagine One Fang not standing amidst the rest of their pack. Smart mouthing Broke and getting cuffed for it and yet she knew Broke would never worry for what might come up behind her because she had One Fang watching her back.

“You know …”

Shoulders shrugged.

“Broke is always down after Black-cloak leaves. For a day, maybe two. Then she wakes up, smiles and we have a tussle that wakes all of Home. She laughs. She cuffs each and every one of us then rubs each one of us between the ears.

“I once asked her why.

“She said, quite simply, each day was one more close to the day her best friend would come visiting gain.”

For Cesare it was indeed a time for decision. Indeed it was odd and sad in a way. He was the last of all of them who had walked up the hard-packed road to Cragside. It was also odd as he actually remembered something – mayhaps it was because he had answered that strong tempered lass the same way she had addressed him.

As kin.

… he was just a child, very small, perhaps the height of a grown man’s knee. He was at the very edge of a small brook, his hand in the water, feeling it push and move around him and he could remember a very kind voice speaking … we are that stream … we pass by so many wonderful things as we flow to the Opal Sea … they come into our lives and then they leave … and yet they are always a part of us just as the stream always is as it travels from its spring to the ends of the world…

He had done many things, between then and now. Now he had a chance to walk with a kinswoman, who knew all the things that an Eastern Princess had took from him. It was something that could not be denied – while her sapphire eyes were soft and kind, her rescue had denied him his childhood.

If it was a truth that you could never step into the same river twice, then it was also true that each day was completely new. Where would it take him.

And the Lady Attera, who was the mentor of said Princess?

It was a beautiful day. She was in Home. It was not a quiet place, it was always bustling with all manners of life. She watched, as Lady and the elders moved through their new companions and it struck her.

Home was a House of Healing.

Her tasks here were finished. There was something missing, however. It couldn’t be her Apprentice. For some reason the poorest ring of Talantal seemed to suite the white-haired lass. But for Home?

Maybe it could use a set of twins.

“We do not know how to thank you…”

Lady had the last of the Mouse brigade tucked under one arm, sheltered beneath her travel cloak, as she stood in the center of her home’s largest room.

“You will always be welcome here. For as many times and as long as you wish until the very end of days.

“We do not have much, save ourselves. Our gifts cannot be taught.

“If you have need, we have our stores and if you wish you may take choose a reminder of Home and our gratitude.”

It took a moment to realize exactly what she had said. It was the true reason that the Merchants dealt with them; beyond the good they could make themselves. They did have the resources of the Forest at their beck and call after all. For Bekkah that meant rare herbs and flowers for her healing. But for the others?

Darksteel. It was the foundation of their trade. If there was an armory hidden in the deepest roots of the Home tree, what would be found there would be made from the prince of metals.

If there were treasures other than Darksteel, they would have been scavenged from the remains of a Second Age army.

“Or you may ask a boon. If it is within our means, we would gladly accept.

“Otherwise …”

Lady smiled and clapped her hands together once.

“It is time to go to Market.”


Typo fixed. Apologies!

Last edited by Wolf; Sun 10/09/17 15:59 UTC.
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Cesare

As he eats the pastries, his mind wanders. A memory comes to remind him of the need to continue forward into his future. His mother. He is sure it had been her talking and he takes part of her along with him on his journey.. as he will Kadri. And he does not regret the loss of childhood. Romana is Romana and he is glad of her. But he knows his heart is preparing to say goodbye. He will continue his life's journey, maybe in this next phase learning more of the Rhoni and their way of life. That would be nice, a kind of belonging. And hopefully he will be able to help more folk on the way. His part may only be a tiny fraction of the journey of life but he wants it to count. They did good here. Maybe they can do good elsewhere?

He brushes the crumbs from his jerkin and stands.

"To Market!"

His words and his grin echo those of many around him but they don't add the other words in his head."

**..and beyond.**

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Bekkah

For many years now, she'd never stayed anywhere long. Always leaving well before she could grow roots of any kind. It wasn't that she ever wanted to leave any place she'd been, but she always felt a call to duty. That others needed to fell her Lady's touch through her. So even a place as special as this could not hold her.

She smiled at all those around her.

"I take a place of Home with me in my heart. I will return someday whenever my travels take me near here. And if I can, I know a couple of Apprentices that would be perfect to help with all hurts. So if a pair of talkative twins shows up one day, please welcome them as you would me."

She had no idea what Cesare would be doing next, but it seemed all of the group she'd joined when she'd been reunited with Dazi was being disbanded. Each going their own way as groups such as theirs always did. Such partings were normal for her.

She wasn't even sure she knew where she would be heading next. *Perhaps to check on Romana and a certain dancing blacksmith.* She thought, her cheeks flushing a bit at the thought.

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Keiko
[pronounced KAY-ko]

It was a good thing Keiko had placed her own bowl of stew on the table because the exchange between Tomomi and Hinata made her laugh — and to keep from disrupting their conversation, she had to keep both hands over her mouth.

When all was said and done and Hinata was deemed trustable and responsible and well-behaved enough to go to Market, she picked up her bow again and sat with Tomomi as they ate breakfast.

“You are silly. But so is a Cat, it would seem.”

She picked at the last of her breakfast as her Forever Friend quietly spoke. She stared into the nearly empty bowl while pondering the question.

“I want what you want, Tomomi — for my Forever Friend to be happy. Is it time for this Rhoni person to wander again? Perhaps. I think so. It’s what we do, just like a Mouse can move from one place to another in your special way.”

She set the bowl aside and reached into the folds of her tunics, drawing out her Cards. The Card Reader unwrapped them carefully but only partially. There was one Card that looked exactly like the rest of them in style and color choices, but Keiko always seemed to find it by touch if she concentrated. It was different than the others; perhaps that was why. She turned it over so Tomomi could see it reversed.

“The Dragon. It’s very rare for it to appear in a reading. When it looks like this? I think this is how I would describe what the Old Masters were doing in their keep. Things that never should be disturbed — the Dragons — had been disturbed.”

She shifted the Card to the upright position.

“Things that are meant to be are meant to be.”

She had ventured to a place of visceral horror, stood among the sinews of a great Dragon, despaired and grieved for the treatment they received, and helped heal that most heinous atrocity. Was all of that done with the guiding hands of the Ancestors? Had it been her Fate to carry this Dragon Card of all Dragon Cards into the one place that exemplified the Card itself?

Beyond wanting her friend to be happy, what did Keiko — daughter of Chiyo, descendant of Hoshiko who founded the Family Nakano — want? The easy answer was the one that would chafe and burn her Rhoni soul or break a solemn vow made to her elders. She wanted to stay here, at Home or at Waverider’s Watch. She wanted to go back to her Family’s Caravan.

She could do neither.

“Tomomi-Friend, if I knew how to ask a Divine Being to teach you the way to find your Forever Friend — like Emmi can find anyone — that’s what I would do. I don’t know how to ask. I don’t know who to ask. Perhaps it is a thing that you must ask.”

Keiko rewrapped her Cards and tucked them away again before wrapping her friend in a hug.

“It’s a foolish and childish thing, Tomomi, to wish for that. But I wonder how Forever Friends can be truly happy when they know they might never see one another again. A Rhoni cannot stay in one place forever. A Mouse cannot stay away from Home forever.

“Arriving and leaving are the way of things. The Waves move us; Caravans come and go and never stay in the same place even when traveling the same route year after year. A town’s name will be the same generation after generation, but the people who are the heart of the town are always different.

“But what will Tomomi do next? Oh, my friend! You are the maker of the most beautiful lace I have ever seen. You will make your lace and trade it at the Market... and with Missus Miller, too. Perhaps one day, your lace will adorn the tunics of Nobles as far away as Dawnview Vale, Trundle-on-the-Hill and the Duchy of Talantal. And perhaps you will teach others the fine art of making such delicate lace.”

She paused for a moment and then whispered, “You and Hinata Cat must make sure you both remain silly so that you retain your joy.”

The Rhoni lass fell silent then, observing the ebb and flow of activity around the common room. Watching Lady rescue Hinata from the mountain of Mice brought back her smile. The Cat really was a silly person. Yes, he was clever and mercenary and pretended to be so very, very fierce. But he was, at heart, a very silly Cat.

And having only just met Hinata Cat, before they had a chance to become friends and laugh together, Keiko would be off to ride another wave and walk another path.

She thought about Lady’s offer to choose a reminder of Home and their gratitude. What physical thing could compare to the reality she had experienced here at Home? Already Tomomi had given her so many beautiful pigments that it was hard to imagine there could be more. Darksteel — even a tiny sliver that might fit in her pouch with the treasures from her family — would be more a reminder of the rescue and hubris of men than of Home itself. What use did she have for weapons anyway when her daggers were so perfectly balanced for her small hands? While not of the Rhoni design, they were still Rhoni made, and their quality was superb.

It wasn’t that Keiko didn’t understand the value of trade items. Of course she did... all Rhoni did. But a Card Reader also knew the value of knowledge. The daughter of Chiyo understood the importance of friendships and connections.

She smiled at Lady, knowing she would be sad at the inevitable parting with the kind and compassionate Vixen. At the same time, she understood that the sadness was a transient reminder of the fleeting nature of friendships and paths that crossed, merged, and diverged. It was the Rhoni way. And yet, just as often, relationships thrived and families stayed connected when a Rhoni walked alone. She couldn’t seek out other Caravans and Families on this journey, but the Forest Folk were a different sort of family. There was no decree from the elders to remain isolated from these people.

“The only boon I would ask is of Miss Emerald — that she might come find me every now and again to bring news from Home while I walk the World. I will miss all of you every bit as much as I miss my family.”


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Lyric, understanding a metaphor when she hears it.

Lyric rested the partially consumed bread in her lap and twisted enough to face One Fang. Her smile grew until it was toothy. Her eyes were bright and happy.

"I could cuff you if you want," she teased as she shrugged. She raised a hand as if waiting for his signal. "But I think you really just want the tussle... hmmm?"

She scooted closer as she shifted herself around him so that she was facing him in a cross-legged position with her knees touching him.

"I left my people in search of something I'm not sure I can find, because I'm not sure for what it is that I am looking. But every step I journey and every day I search, I learn something more about what it means to be alive. I know that probably makes no sense, but I was given a task to save my people, even if they don't want to be saved. I would love to remain here with you, with everyone here, and that you and I have become so close fills me with a joy that I am not sure I can fully describe."

"My time with you, here at Home and in that Darkest of Places, taught me something I never could have hoped to understand. Life and Death. As painful as the latter may be, It must exist in order to appreciate the former, to grasp hold of it, and cling tightly to it, even in it's waning moments."

"I learned that Life might be fleeting, but it is so precious and so valuable, that even the moments that bring sadness and sorrow are beyond compare to feeling nothing at all. And I have felt things so powerful that it overwhelmed me at times. These feelings have made me laugh and cry. They have made me happy and sad. I have truth where once I had only words. Even Love has meaning, though I can't understand the things it makes me feel..."

While his face bore a strong lupine structure, and not quite a close fit for hers, she still leaned forward, holding his cheeks and kissed him.

And she whispered a word to him, a word of several syllables. A word that seemed to be blended of two given there was an emphasis given between both parts that rolled together.

"That is my full name," she said as she sat back a little to look him in the eyes. "Among my people names are powerful, like Magic. We are connected now, you and I. I have poured my magic into you and have drawn from you as well. Call my name out, from your heart, and I will hear it. I will know you are calling me, and I will know you need me, and I will come."

She took one of his paw-like hands in both of hers and placed it between her breasts. "Feel my heart beating. That is the rhythm of my soul. Remember it when you think about me. I will return One Fang... I must see other places and learn other things, but we are connected now. I am never so far away that I can not hear you call."

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The Heartwood
The Dirkwood Forest
Home
Marketday, the Ninth Day of Yrick


Bekkah, Lyric, Cesare, Keiko … and Most Everyone Else …

“Then, Lady Yurisdotter, while Marketday is ours, well will look for two dressed in white and welcome them if they might come this way and that they can find us at the Watch that day. You may tell them that travel cloaks are our mark and if they see a person wearing one that you have already made that one their friend.”

The beautiful vixen just smiled at that, for a very particular reason.

She was finally able to use the word ‘person’ to refer to one of her extended family.

Next to the hearth a wuff listened. The big black archer sat in front of Lyric, his dark eyes both strong and soft at the same time. It was an odd quality of the Pack. They were predators, fierce, strong, and were as proud as any warrior from her small village and yet they could be so calm and gentle and then, like the wind chasing, child like and playful.

The people in her little village never changed. At all.

And their ears certainly didn’t spring up and forward when they were kissed. Maybe blush but you couldn’t tell beneath black fur. And they certainly didn’t have long tails that slowly wagged.

“Our names are earned or they given to us, sometimes by others, sometimes by our kin and sometimes by a big grouchy wuff that’s just knocked your teeth out. But that’s us wuffs. We play very hard.”

“I’ve grown very accustomed to mine. No power.

“The only magic in it is when I hear you speak it.

That was when he leaned in, and offered Lyric, in return, a playful lap across her cheek.

“Take you time.

“You see, things are different now. I should have died in the Keep. But I didn’t. We aren’t given a second chance very often. So no matter how long it takes before you come back to Home, I’ll be waiting.

“It’s what what packmates do.”

Cesare was the one who had it easy. Of all the ones in the group of heroes - aye, that could not be denied, at least in this place - he had a course well defined. To Marketday and beyond! For a second, there was the thought of flying through infinity itself, like some sort of, well, magical ranger or something. But that must have been a strange fancy of some other far off place. Perhaps that thought was from a dream brought on by too many potatoes.

"Is there anything we can do for you?"

Lady smiled to the Rhoni lad, bringing him back to this world once more.

Keiko was nicely caught between a Cat and mouse. That was supposed to be a game, in all cultures, but here at Home it was just comfortable. Tomomi was quiet, so very quiet, as she listened to her Forever Friend speak.

“What does Tomomi want?”

The little Mouse whispered back Keiko’s original question.

“That’s the place where everything is said to be beautiful, ja? With real castles and mountains and snow? Lady, she has some silk from Dawnview. It’s called snowsilk and it supposedly comes from snowworms. Isn’t that strange? I’ve never seen snow. And they would like my lace, my silly scalloped cuffs?”

That was an echo, an echo of a Mouse who was named even before she had a name. Now, not only did she have a name, she also had a friend.

“What does Tomomi want?”

She took a small mouse sized breath.

“Would it be wrong to want to see this place called Dawnview? Is it something a Mouse can do?”


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Cesare

He lifts his head and looks at Lady, a small smile on his face, then he shakes his head.

"No, nothing that hasn't already been done. All of y"ou have reminded me of what family is, how important it is to be part of something larger. I still have to find my place in the world. I hope I do. But I go from here richer for having known all of you and I will carry a piece of Home with me wherever I go."

Simple words but said with genuine feeling.

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Keiko
[pronounced KAY-ko]

Keiko smiled. “Lady Bekkah could say what the truth of Dawnview Vale is. But she does speak of it as a beautiful place. I’ve never seen snowsilk or even heard of it! It must be amazing. And the whole world knows that Dawnview fashions are the most interesting — even though they won’t admit it in Kh’Lhy’Ra. So, of course, they would like your beautiful not-silly lace, Tomomi!”

She sighed at happy memories. “Snow is cold and white, and sometimes it sparkles in Her light like the tiniest of jewels. I didn’t know there were worms that lived in the snow. Maybe they only live in Dawnview Vale.”

She blinked at Tomomi’s last questions.

“Wrong? How could it be wrong to want to see such beauty? I would like to see the Dawnview Vale, too. It is not wrong for me to want that. It is not wrong for you to want that.

“And is it something a Mouse can do?”

Keiko laughed and hugged her friend. “If a Mouse wants to do it, a Mouse can do it. Especially if she’s a Forever Friend of a Rhoni who would like very much to also do it. Oh, we must ask Lady Bekkah if she will come with us! I know how much I would like to go home to my Family. Surely, she would like to go home for a visit, too.”

She looked around the common room, watching the bustle of those going to Market.

“It would be a very long journey, Tomomi. I know that you can come back to Home whenever you’d like, but maybe you could not stay for very long. You could certainly find the place I was when you go Home, but I have not been accustomed to staying more than a single night in any one place while traveling.”

Keiko smiled again as she watched Hinata eat his breakfast, his gaze darting warily around the room — no doubt guarding against another attack of Mice.

“It will be very different from what you know, Tomomi-Friend. But I think your soul might be like mine and like Lyric’s — experiencing new things is an important part of our journey as we walk the World. A Rhoni and a Minstrel and a Mouse...”

She looked away from the Cat to look at Tomomi once more.

“Despite how very different we are, we all share the sense of curiosity to learn so much more about the World than can possibly be known. I have learned that I can walk through the darkness and find light and beauty and...” She tilted her head in Hinata’s direction and grinned. “...and even silliness on the other side. That is a good lesson to learn.”

Then Keiko giggled. “I think Renyard has been everywhere a person can possibly go, even to Dawnview Vale. And I think if Renyard can go there, then Tomomi can go there too.”


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Lyric, is something Good if it makes you cry?

Such an errant thought in her observations was this Child-like Playfulness. And the juxtaposition of the fierceness of a warrior culture. These were qualities she believed she admired and aspired to, but they were not the ways of her people. And so, seeing it reminded her of how different she was, from everyone. Different from Keiko and Cesare and Bekkah (who were different from each other, but quite the same in many ways) and Different from the Pack and the Mouses, and all the Forest Kin for that matter. But most importantly, for the good and the bad of it, she was different than her own people. That had cost her greatly, and yet it had also rewarded her even more so. To see the greater world beyond the borders of her home, to be free of the unchanging ways that she felt was breaking her soul. To be free from the condemnations for her actions and words and attitudes... her heresies, if that were an appropriate word. Maybe 'Treasons' was a better one.

Regardless, Lyric was different and that was just the way it was. Life was meant to be experienced, and that meant you had to have experiences. You had to live it and not exist or endure it. The Good and the Bad. Life had no meaning if there wasn't bad things like pain and death because there would be no measure to the value of the good things like happiness and love.

But these philosophical thoughts seemed academic against the reality of being honored by inclusion in something greater than yourself. One Fang called her a Packmate. She had figured he was jesting in camaraderie when he said he would talk with Broke about being an honorary Packmate, because those words were innocent and without binding or consequence when spoken as they were. Or were they?

But One Fang called her a Packmate.

She wasn't a Wuff. And those who were a part of the pack had an inborn, infused nature that bound them together. They were a genuine Pack but they were also People. To even have it mentioned that she might be worthy of acceptance, not to mention inclusion, was its own experience for Lyric.

You see, for as long as she could remember, Lyric was not truly a part of anything or any group. Sure, she had a people, but she was different than them. Different in the ways that made her life difficult. She wanted to be different. She tried to be different. And that set her apart from the people of her village. She had her Clan, within and she had her oaths and vows and all the woven bonds that kept her people at peace. But among her people she was an outcast, and seldom included for anything communal. She could not be entirely excluded because she observed her vows and kept her oaths and so she was seen as an abnormality, an aberration. She was tolerated. her skill in her chosen Paths allowed her to interact with her people, but it was not through invitation that she lived among them...

But One Fang called her a Packmate.

And this led to another experience that wasn't entirely new to her, but one in which she had so little experience with that it took her by surprise.

The tightening of her throat, like a lump had constricted her ability to swallow. Her eyes welled with tears and that blurred her vision. She felt her heart beat quicker while being constricted, while her fingers, to her hands, up her arms, get tingly. Also, her knees felt weakened as if she might stumble were she actually walking. She didn't dare test herself in this regard though

All she could focus on was the fact that she was being included, invited, and accepted.

This was different than being recognized for doing something. Lyric had no need of recognition, but what she didn't realize she needed most of all was acceptance and belonging. She now had a family again. A new clan. That was more than friends. It was a part of her very Nature. She could love and cherish her friends and the time spent with them, but Clan and Family filled a need within her soul.

And there was a tinge of guilt. She had gained her first friend, since leaving her home, along the path to Waveriders Reach in Squire Pietro. And then another In Keiko... and maybe even Cesare after that. She didn't know Bekkah well because there hadn't been much time along the way, and the Healer kept to herself in the moments where her time wasn't being drawn away by the needs of her duties as a priestess. But maybe that would change on the walk that came next. She had friends and that was important to her and could never be overshadowed by being told you belonged to something again. They were different things, different needs, and they carried an equal measure of weight in her heart.

But One Fang called her a Packmate.

That meant Family. It meant Clan. It meant Belonging. No matter where she travelled, she would never be lost and never without a home. And it gave her a strength she hadn't thought she would find again since she had been exiled and became Banished. She had purpose, but now she had Home, Family, Clan... Pack.

If she were asked, she would never be able to adequately describe the feelings, emotions, and sensations she felt in this moment. It had seemed a long time since she had experienced anything like this

But doubt lingered against all of the emotions springing out of an atrophied hope and she tried to swallow hard and compose herself before those tears ran down her cheeks and she lost it completely.

Doubt lingered because she wanted, or needed, confirmation... or maybe just to hear it again to make sure it was real. Words were important to her. Words formed oaths and bonds. Words such as these were honor and life. She doubted herself because she had not truly belonged to anything or anyone for much of what she could remember.

She choked out a few words with wide, wet, hopeful eyes, "Packmate... Are you sure?"


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