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The Heartwood
Dawnview Vale
Snowgate Keep, Upper Gardens
Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Tiger

Cesare, Keiko, and Tomomi

"If you two wish a place to do your Dances, then I might suggest the upper garden. It's one of the southern ramparts; because it has excellent light I set some planting boxes along in the shadow of the crenels and I grow all sorts of shadow-leaves there. I have greens and purples and reds and even a few rare dark blue ones there. I know that they aren't fancy blossoming flowers and all, but I like how they are so hardy, easy to care for and when you make cuttings of them they regrow twice-fold. You'd have to be careful because the rampart is hard paved, but it's not like we have many soft fields inside the keep."

Eleni focused her attention on the two Rhoni, trying to find a place for them to undertake their practice. As she spoke, her manservant took a half step forward and then hesitated as if he was having second thoughts of such a forward action. His liege never noticed as she tugged at her hair, twining a bit between her fingers.

Tomomi spoke up, looking at Keiko a bit nervously.

"Would it be... would it be... it's just, well, I've never been to many keeps, but I have never been anywhere where there was at the least a place for markets not just on Marketday? Could I go look?

"I promise to be good. It's just that I've been told there are pretty things here and I'd... I'd just like... even if its just to look, you know. I promise to be good."

Eleni considered that for a moment, then two, fingers drumming on the table.

"TeeCee?"

The captain of the guard nodded and called out a single word.

"Slink."

TeeCee paused.

"Slink!"

TeeCee crossed her arms.

"SLINK!"

From above came a yawn and the clink of metal. Resting on the gallery balcony, sprawled out lazily like a hunting cat on a branch, a Dayalan with two bright red ribbons in her hair slowly looked up. She just gazed blearily at her Captain, stretching as she sat herself up.

"Slink. This one's going to the market. See that she doesn't get lost and folks don't frighten her. Simple? Ja? No spending your allowance, this is work."

"Awwwwwwwww..."

While she definitely seemed a bit disappointed, with a bounce, the initiate rushed down from the gallery. She came to a stop, looked at Tomomi and blinked.

"Captain?"

"Ja?"

"Don't you see the irony in this?"

"Of course not."

"Fine. Come, Miss Mouse. We have Market Road to explore."

"Slink?"

"What? Oh. Fine. Fine. Miss Mouse, come. You have Market Road to explore."

As the younger Dayalan escorted Tomomi away, the Captain made a simple observation.

"You cannot explore a place you already know better than you should."

Then it was Eleni's turn to speak. She kept her eyes a little downcast, not unhappy at all, but if anything, there was a hint of shyness.

"Anatoli? Would you, would you make sure our two guests here find their way to the garden terrace? Snowgate isn't large but one still can get lost if one does not know their way around."

Of course, the servant would. He was but a Keep servant, how could he refuse any reasonable request from his Lady?

***************

It was exactly as Eleni described it: a wide-open terrace that was lined with colorful plantings. What she hadn't spoken of was the view. The view was spectacular, looking along the mountains that formed the rim of the vale. From here they could see the keep's various courts, even the temple courtyard where morning training was going on far below. Also to the south were the terraced farmlands, three of them sparkling with water as if they had just been flooded. It was something Keiko had seen before, just never from such a vintage. Those three terraces were most likely the site of Eleni Allaine's agricultural experiments.

Anatoli stood at the side of the door to the tower that opened out to the makeshift garden, waiting patiently, waiting to be of service if needed. He watched, a steadfast and earnest observer, as the two Rhoni moved and tested their skills.

There were many darts forward, blocks and throws, most of them ending in them circling each other once again. While they were closely matched in skill, Keiko was the littlest bit better. They were dancing differently; Cesare's was more aggressive, backed by a dagger's bite, designed to hurt a foe unarmed. Keiko's dance was one of movement, both his and hers, using his weight and momentum against him and taking full advantage of her own. When it came to blocking a blow, however, Keiko was definitely more skilled; thus, when a strike did occur it was most likely to be one of hers, meaning it was Cesare who ended up being thrown to the ground for the final takedown.

Anatoli winced each time that happened to either one of them, his face paling a bit. But then, each time, he would stiffen and fold his hands into fists as if trying to draw forth a mote of courage on his own.

The reason for it finally became apparent.

When Cesare had found himself on his back again, breath slammed out at the impact of his back to the stone tiles. Finally, finally, after all this stillness, Anatoli took a step forward.

"Could you...

"You probably can't...

"But could you teach me?" he asked Keiko.

Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko
[pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]

After laying her cloak, pouches, and daggers on the ground, Keiko had tightly braided her hair and tucked it into the back of her tunics. It was what she did when Dancing with her brother and cousins, so it was the same respect she showed Cesare. It meant that she was taking this session seriously and trusted that he was, as well.

It hadn’t taken long to be grateful for the lack of her cloak. Although it would have made an excellent item for parrying Cesare’s blade, she was a head shorter and needed to move two steps for his one. Storms against Daggers wasn’t the most difficult Dance — that would have been Storms against Storms if both people were of equal skill — but it was an energetic workout for all that.

But her size also meant she could duck in close and dodge away again in less space than taller, more muscular opponents.

Cesare’s skill was... Well, it was hard to say exactly what his forms lacked that made it easy to parry and difficult to predict. Perhaps it was heart. He knew the technical aspects of the form, but it seems like he never... never just fell into the joy of the Dance. It was as if he’d been trained by someone who hadn’t Danced for life and joy, but someone who had seen the Dance as a way to protect himself. It was that, of course. But it was so much more.

Not once, in all the times she knocked him to the ground, did she gloat... or even smile. Each time, she gave him a respectful nod and waited until he was on his feet again. This was just a practice Dance, after all. No lives were at stake here.

Perhaps, now that they were in the relative safety of Dawnview Vale, he would be more interested in their Rhoni heritage.

After this last time dropping him to the ground, Keiko could hear that Cesare’s breath was more ragged than the other times. A break for a few minutes would be welcome. She dragged a sleeve across her forehead and took a step toward Cesare to offer him a hand up when Dama Eleni’s manservant spoke.

Eyes wide with surprise, the Rhoni lass turned toward the young man.

“I... you...” She blinked and shook her head, more to shake thoughts loose in her head than as an answer of negation. Glancing for a moment at Cesare, her expression became one of confusion.

It was rare for anyone to be this bold in asking a favor of a Rhoni. In fact, no one had ever asked her to teach them... not so plainly and almost desperately, that was certain. Something about Anatoli made her want to say yes. And yet...

Ah, and yet...

“Are you of the Rhoni? To teach you this if you are not...” Keiko bit her lip, hesitating. “It is our culture and not meant to be shared, you understand. It is not unheard of, it is just... well, complicated.”

She paused a moment, considering what she had just said. It could be heard by many, perhaps even most, as a refusal. It wasn’t that. It was merely... well, complicated.

Perhaps he could offer a purpose that might persuade her. The waves were often capricious and there was no accounting for their ebbs and flows. She would like to teach Cesare the Dance of Storms. And help him improve his Dance of Daggers. Perhaps in doing so, she could help Anatoli, too?

And yet... and yet... and yet...

How much could she possibly teach the young man even if his words spoke to a greater truth? Lady Daxia didn’t seem content to stay at Snowgate Keep for very long.

“It would be simple enough to teach you if you are Rhoni. If not?” She finally smiled softly and shrugged. “Speak of your reasons so that the Fates can hear, and they might speak to me of this task.”

Cesare

He accepts her hand even as she turns away to deal with the servant. Checking himself over for any clothing rips or dirt patches, he moves a little closer to both of them.

"Looks like you could do with teaching me too."

He gins.

"That was a good workout. Proves to me I am a little rusty too, so I needed that."

He wipes the sweat from his brow with his sleeve as he watches them both. Probably he has given the servant time to think which is not a bad thing.

Anatoli

The servant swallowed and ducked his head politely, teeth catching for a moment upon his lower lip. Only slowly did Anatoli look back up. At his sides, completely unconsciously, his hands formed little fists, not in defiance, not for power, but for, if anything, frustration and regret.

"Priestess-ma'am has the gist of it. I am only worthy as a shield between me and Ele... my... my Lad... my... my Liege, if things ever went so badly wrong. But I am no fool. While I would not hesitate I know, I know in my heart that even if I was as brave as the smallest one of you, I would be a shield for but a single blow..."

He let out a slow breath.

"You will say, that is what Captain TeeCee is for. And yet, and yet, if you were one who meant to harm my Liege, would you not do so when she was without her Dayalan Guard?"

Letting his head drop, Anatoli stared at a spot on the terrace deck, perhaps a foot or two in front of her feet.

"I am an orphan. I have no idea who my parents are, but I would never claim anything like that, just for. This just for is too important to be dishonest."

Anatoli looked back up, meeting Keiko's gaze, his honest and gentle.

"But we know who her Father was, I guess if that can count.

"Because I ask not for me, I ask for her.

"I...

"I...

"I don't ever want to fail her."

Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko
[pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]

What do you do when the right thing to do is the wrong thing to do?

“I cannot say yes to your request,” Keiko told the young man, “not yet, anyway. But I won’t say no either.”

She stared at her pile of belongings off to the side for several breaths, then studied Cesare for a moment before finally looking at Anatoli again.

“Even if the Ancestors were to favor me with their approval, it takes more than just a day or two to learn even the simplest forms of the Dances. Cesare has stated that he wishes to follow Verchovai Daxia on her quest here in the Vale. My Forever Friend Tomomi hopes to visit the Castle and show off her lace. Friend Lyric seems happiest when she is experiencing new things.

“So this wave I ride is taking me with them — to the far end of the Vale and then up beyond Glacier Keep.”

She paused again, her brows furrowing.

“Could Dama Eleni do without your expertise at making her life run more smoothly? Even if she could, would the time allotted to us in the Vale be sufficient for training you? It would be no more difficult to teach two than one, for Cesare does not know the Dance of Storms, and it seems that would be most suitable for you, Anatoli.”

This time, Keiko glanced at the sky as she spoke. “Lady Dayala has created Time to work in a way that keeps all things moving forward. I don’t know how to teach you enough to be of service to Dama Eleni.” She looked at Anatoli again, her violet eyes full of sadness. “It benefits no one to ask if the teaching is possible if Time would make it impossible.”

She looked from Anatoli to Cesare and back again. “If either of you has a suggestion that will resolve one part of the problem, I will be happy to seek guidance from the Cards on the other.”

Cesare

"I think I can solve the time problem."

His breathing is much easier now and he stands both relaxed and amused at the problem facing them. That is not to belittle the issue. He admires the man for his loyalty and his courage in making the request.

"You have a forever Mouse friend do you not Kinswoman? That would mean that either we could come to.. Anatoli isn't it?.. or he could be fetched for us."

His head tilts on on side as he considers the wider issues.

"And maybe the approval issue could be slightly side-stepped in that you would be teaching me, with an observer practising alongside."

He chuckles, eyes full of the enjoyment of the moment.

"Now I know you are going to tell me that I am bending rules too far.. but I have always felt that rules are there to be bent if the cause is good enough.. and keeping Eleni safe seems a mighty fine cause to me."

Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko
[pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]

Keiko shook her head. “Tomomi can only carry what she can carry.” She gave Cesare a half-smile. “Perhaps you are thinking of the Young Master’s skill at moving people and a reluctant horse from one place to another, ja?”

Then her smile slipped, and she bit her lip to keep from speaking immediately to his other suggestion. Staring at the ground in front of her, she clasped her hands and settled them over her midriff.

Breathe. And breathe again.

“In this, you are more Gaija than Rhoni, kinsman,” she said softly. “Perhaps the rules of the Gaija are as malleable as you suggest. But you speak of breaking Rhoni tradition.”

When she looked up at him again, there was a hint of fear in those violet eyes.

“We are Rhoni because we hold to our traditions. That, as much as knowing our lineage, is what makes us who we are. The Elders might forgive your gift of Rhoni daggers to a Gaija, for you were Lost and knew no better. But I am a daughter of Hoshiko Nakano, one of the First Mothers. And I am a Lore Master. The only authority that would allow me to teach Anatoli is the Cards, for there is no Elders Council I can consult.”

Once more she shook her head.

“No, I do not disagree with your reasoning, Cesare. Protecting Dama Eleni is a worthy cause. But traditions cannot be forsaken simply because one young woman from an important Gaija family — even one as significant as the Allaines — needs a protector she trusts and with whom she feels comfortable.”

Her gaze moved to Anatoli again as her mind searched for possibilities.

“Cesare’s thoughts aim in the right direction. I am bold enough to request a boon from Lord Dominic in this endeavor, for he is the foster brother of your liege. But he and his lady have only recently been married, and even I would not trespass on their time together so soon. I know no others who are alive and free who serve the Lady Vixen.”

Keiko smiled wryly and chuckled. “Of course, those who serve that Lady are known to hide in plain sight.”

She spread her arms to the side in a partial shrug.

“I want to help you, Anatoli, for you have a good heart and I can see your frustration. Help me find a way to allow Time to work in our favor, and I will consult the Cards on the matter of Tradition.”

Cesare

"Oh.."

The word is soft, serious and almost apologetic in tone.

"I would not wish you to do anything against your beliefs Keiko. I just thought I saw a simple solution and offered it but in ignorance, not in malice. And I didn't realise that mice just took themselves and belongings, though looking back on those few times I have witnessed a mouse disappearing, that was certainly true."

He sighs.

"Forgive my optimism. I guess we need to think harder."

The Heartwood
Dawnview Vale
Snowgate Keep, Upper Gardens
Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Tiger

Cesare, Keiko, and Anatoli

"I... I didn't think of that."

Anatoli's hands tightened as he looked down. For all his desire, his need, his want, he still had his many years of being a proper servant and those same responses were a polite and respectful habit.

"I was being very foolish, wasn't I? My apologies. And I think that no matter what I do if it was disrespectful to ask those who would help, my Lady would not be very pleased. My Lady is like that. She may not be able to see past her outstretched hand but she can see into most people's hearts.

"Most people, which is a thankful thing."

That last comment appeared to be a non-sequitur and perhaps it was, at least, perhaps, for Keiko and Cesare. It seemed to make a modicum of sense to the servant.

"And yes, I knew... about her poor eyesight. I figured that out a long while ago. I am very glad there may be some way to help her with that. So thank you. Very much."

For a moment, a moment or two, there was silence on the stone terrace. Then Keiko spoke up again, searching for possibilities. She uttered one particular phase and it was like she had suddenly brought attention to herself, the wind kicking up and tousling her hair this way and that. Just as fast, it was gone but they could both watch and hear the banners and flags that topped the keep snap and flutter. There was a definite pattern, one after another, each one farther away than the last. It was as if the wind suddenly had a place to be. A place to be that wasn't here.

The wind hadn't touched Anatoli, so for him, it was just a breeze. But when Keiko looked back she was met with his quiet gaze.

"Is this a better question?" He founded his request on what the Cardreader had last offered.

"What manner of Path might I seek?"

Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko
[pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]

She shrugged as she gave Cesare a bright smile. “You’re still learning who you are as a Rhoni, kinsman. It is not merely my beliefs I profess, but those of all the Rhoni. There is certainly nothing wrong with optimism. Sadly, it must be tempered by reality.”

Keiko turned the same smile on Anatoli. “It is not foolish to ask for help. And how can a request be disrespectful if you are not aware that it might crash down on someone else’s beliefs? You have learned something new today, and that is a good and respectful thing, Anatoli.”

The odd wind that seemed to focus only on her was... Well, she wasn’t sure what it was. She watched it dance through the keep’s flags until the last of them was once again still. Only then did she turn back to Anatoli, realizing that he had another question.

With a look of perhaps confusion on her face, she nodded to the young man. “It is a fine question — just the sort of question one might ask if they had ever seen Readers laying out their Cards.”

It took only a few minutes to spread her cloak on the ground and retrieve her Deck. Then there were the several additional minutes Keiko took to settle herself, kneeling back while shuffling the Cards and thinking only of Anatoli’s question. She laid down the three Cards that been shuffled to the top of the Deck — not face up, as if Reading for herself, but face down, as was normal when Reading for another person in public. It wasn’t strictly necessary to lay them out face down, but it did add to the mystery of Card Reading. And Grandmother had insisted it was proper and gave respect to the Questioner.

She turned over the first Card.

Wolf.

This was an auspicious Card, especially in the first position. Powerful forces were at play. In respect to Anatoli’s question, it likely meant someone, something that required his attention.

Then she turned over the second Card.

Wolf.

Keiko simply stared at the Card for two... no, three breaths. Impossible! Yes, the Cards were known to play tricks on Readers who did not respect them. Her Cards had never once played a trick on her. Never! And this? This was not the sort of trick they could play. Was it?

Then she noted that the first Card had flipped itself back to a face-down position. What madness was this? Slowly flipping over the first Card again revealed...

Wolf.

And the second Card was once more face down.

Her brows drew together and she pursed her lips as she looked at the flags hanging still in the quiet air above Snowgate Keep. She let out a sharp exhalation before returning her attention to the Cards. She had a suspicion... and she needed to confirm it. She flipped over the third Card.

Wolf.

Barely biting back a growl of annoyance, she gathered the three Cards and held them together in hands that rested in her lap. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took several calming breaths before opening them again. She spread the Cards apart and looked at the three of them in her hands.

Wheel of Chaos.

Storm.

Hunters.

Hunters? Not Unicorn?

Breathing a sigh of relief, she silently thanked the Cards for their attempt. How could she apologize for an outside force influencing them? She didn’t think that was possible. A certain Someone may have found that amusing... Keiko most definitely did not. It would appear that the Cards didn’t either.

Looking at Anatoli again, she shrugged.

“The Cards themselves can’t give an answer to your question right now. Someone seems to be playing with them. It doesn’t please them.” Again she sighed and gave Anatoli a rueful smile. “There is only the message from... the busybody. Whether you wish to heed it is up to you, but there are powerful forces rising, growing, approaching... with a message, advice that bears listening to.

“I’m sorry, Anatoli, if that makes little sense. If you find no comfort in the message, I would be happy to try again this evening after dinner.”

Cesare

He watches with interest as Keiko takes her cards. He has seen this before.. once.. and is fascinated to see it again. He tries not to intrude but cannot help but watch. And it is most odd. Seemingly Keiko finds it odd too.

The Heartwood
Dawnview Vale
Snowgate Keep, Upper Gardens
Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Tiger

Cesare and Keiko

"There is something my Lady sometimes says..."

The servant had watched the reading with an earnest sincerity. It was obviously not his first time watching a Rhoni Card Reader at their work. Indeed, for all the years he had been in Snowgate in service to the court, to somehow have missed each and every Midsummers or Midwinters without having observed such, that would have been the more surprising case. His attention perked, however, as the deck seemed to misbehave, carefully noting the change in Keiko's expression between cards laid out and the cards in the safety of her own hands.

He thought for a bit, as he considered the counsel given him.

"...that the difference between her and her sister is that the Khorall is hardly ever surprised, whereas my Lady is often surprised. Thus, when it happens to her sister, the Khorall becomes confused, worried and focuses inward — she asks, what did she miss? For my Lady, she says surprise shatters everyone's walls and thus it is a chance for deeper insight."

Anatoli raised his shoulder in a friendly and philosophic shrug.

"So.

"Maybe.

"Well.

"Uhm."

His head tilted as he considered matters some more.

"Maybe the fact that we've attracted someone's attention is not a bad thing. Perhaps when the answer to my question comes around, I better be smart enough to listen to it. That... uhm... busybody seemed pretty insistent, ja?"

He looked down at the stones again.

"Do not worry. I am very used to that. Insistence, that is. My Lady gets rather... insistent... if her hot tshokolat doesn't get hot fast enough."

When he looked up, Anatoli managed a small smile for the Card Reader.

"Thank you. I could see it was hard and disturbing. I have a little more direction than I did before I asked. Even if, at the best, the advice is to be patient and wait. At the least, I now know the waiting and wanting isn't an empty or misguided waiting or wanting.

"And I apologize for asking a question with such a disturbing result."

Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko
[pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]

Keiko smiled at Anatoli’s easy acceptance of the unusual nature of the Reading.

“Perhaps the lesson to be had here is exactly that, Anatoli — be patient, be observant.” Then she, too, shrugged. “There is no need to apologize. No matter how strange and unusual this Reading was, it was a wave I rode to its end. As a Reader, it was necessary for me to do that. And I can honestly say that I have learned something new today.”

She gave the lad a sidelong glance.

“I have seen many things in my travels, so perhaps I understand your... your deference to others. Surely you and I are similar in age. If you would accept a small gift of advice from me, I would say to you: Don’t forget that you have worth as a person on your own merits, and as someone who holds the trust of Dama Eleni. You can be proud of that without being prideful.”

The young woman reached out and lightly touched his shoulder — a butterfly alighting and quickly gone again.

“You don’t seem the sort of person to have pridefulness in you. But I think, perhaps, you forget that you are worth more than just an orphan child, a servant in the Khorall’s keep, or any label that others might have given you.” Her smile lit up her face. “I have seen terrible things, Anatoli, and still believe in the goodness of people. Imagine how silly that might sound to some folks! Well, I see someone who is not content to ride the easy waves when I look at you. I would not ever say that you are destined for greatness. But I think that might be a wave you could ride well, should the Fates arrange things in a way that such a wave comes your way.”

The Rhoni chuckled. “And ‘greatness’ is a personal thing. Even standing in the shadows, you can shine the Lady Sun’s light on those around you.

“You helped me learn something today. Thank you, Anatoli.”

The Heartwood
Dawnview Vale
Snowgate Keep, Upper Gardens
Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Tiger

Cesare and Keiko

As Cesare watched Keiko deal with her cards, he noted the peculiar atmosphere around them. It was a familiar oddness though. It had a certain feel — like Midsummer's mischief — that struck a chord. It was like hearing a melody and not being able to remember the lyrics. It was as if something had been summoned by the words the Rhoni lass had uttered and had then decided to stay.

That the Deck misbehaved was also not unfamiliar. It had a tendency to react that way when asked a particularly stupid question or when something was seriously amiss. This situation was certainly more like the latter, save that in the end, there was an answer — one that was acceptable to both the one who read the Cards and the one who asked the question. As their conversation closed, the breeze at the top of the castle returned, sifting around them playfully. It paused for a heartbeat and then the air was calm again. It was as if the breeze had decided that leaving things well enough alone was for the best.

Anatoli still kept his head ducked, listening to Keiko speak. He nodded every now and then, only looking up when his shoulder was touched.

"But I don't want to be a hero. That is for the Captain and Slink and the mismatched twins.

"I just don't want to see her hurt. I just want to be there when she needs me."

He managed a small wry smile.

"That's pretty selfish, isn't it?"

Taking a breath, Dama Allaine's servant offered Keiko an honest and thankful nod, a politeness that came from him and not well-practiced propriety. Anatoli then turned to Cesare.

"Do you think you can find your way back? I actually do have tasks and commitments to keep as we approach noon, and I would not wish to keep my Lady or the rest of court waiting because I was late. I shall then leave you to your practice undisturbed, and the rest of the afternoon as you wish."

Then, unless the two decided to stop him and true to his word, Anatoli would take his leave, returning to his much more mundane tasks within Snowgate Keep. This left the two of them to finish their lessons or move on to their own next tasks.

Cesare

He noted the return of the breeze. His head lifted and he watched its passage by tracking what it touched, breathing in the air as if to taste it's scent. Distracted for a few moments, he then returned his attention to the conversation, letting Anatoli and Keiko converse without interruption as some things are best not interfered with.

He smiles as Anatoli turns to him.

"No problem. I have a good sense of direction."

He nods to Anatoli in a friendly fashion, watching him leave before speaking to Keiko, who probably knew exactly what he had been referring to in his general answer.

"Would you like to do more practice? I think there is still a little time. I want to allow time though to clean up before going to watch Eleni dispense her justice. She really is quite remarkable. I am interested to see this side of her."

Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko
[pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]

As Anatoli spoke his truth — But I don’t want to be a hero — Keiko stood so still that she might have been frozen in place. She heard the rest of his words, she understood them, but those first few words captured her attention as very little had since kneeling in the bloody mine.

She shook her head finally and gave him a crooked smile.

“I think that you will be a hero whether you wish it to be or not, Anatoli,” she said softly. “The greater world might not know it. Even most people here at Snowgate Keep might not know it. But to at least one person, you will become a hero.”

The Rhoni lass held his eyes for what seemed to be forever, her own shining with a sadness she still couldn’t put into words. She blinked then and the moment passed, her natural optimism wrapping around those emotions and gently tucking them away again.

“Wanting to help someone, to be a friend, to care about another person? That is the least selfish thing you can do, Anatoli. Simply be who you are and trust that the Fates will show you the Path that will allow you to be the person Dama Eleni needs you to be.

“I don’t have the Sight of the Allaine, but my heart tells me... it tells me you will find what you seek if you watch and listen carefully for the help you desire.”

She watched him walk away before turning to Cesare with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“‘A good sense of direction’! It’s a wonder the Gaija don’t hate us for that simple skill.” Keiko chuckled. “Instead, they make up their own stories about us and distrust us for those reasons. So silly!”

She glanced the sky and pursed her lips before shaking her head.

“If we are to make ourselves presentable and have time for a midday meal, we should stop now.” She looked back at her kinsman and nodded. “But I think we should practice each day. Allow me to teach you the forms of Storms. It’s a gift I freely give, so you need not worry about a trade.” Then she smiled, giving him the same friendship she’d given Lyric and Tomomi. “If it would make you feel better, you may keep the thought in your mind that you owe me a favor. But don’t be unhappy if I never claim it.”

Keiko picked up her cloak, shook it off, and then twirled it around her as she always did after dancing for the Gaija before settling it on her shoulders.

“Let’s get cleaned up. It would be impolite to keep Dama Eleni waiting in her own home,” she said with a smile.

Cesare

"It is a very handy skill though."

He grins, glad to have shared his joke with Keiko.

"And I would be very happy to learn from you and accept your gift.. as maybe you may have to accept one from me in the future."

In his mind it is right to repay friends and family if they help you but he does not consider it an obligation, just something that is right to do.

"And you are right, we should go and get ready."

He steps as if to move away but pauses.

"I hope Anatoli can find a way to his goals. He is a good man."

Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko
[pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]

She stopped short and looked back at him.

“Do you ever wonder about the nature of people? There are those who can look into the hearts of others and still know their own heart.”

Keiko’s expression was pensive.

“You keep your own counsel more often than not, Cesare, but you seem to have a solid understanding of your own self. I’ve seen you interact with people from Waveriders Watch all the way here to Snowgate Keep — you have a way of connecting with others that points to a childhood spent with a good family.” She smiled and then chuckled. “Not all parents — not even all Rhoni parents — are adept at teaching their children how to look outside of themselves as well as within.”

She glanced at the doorway through which Anatoli had disappeared before looking back at Cesare.

“He is a good man, and I’m glad you see it, too.”

The young woman paused, hesitating about speaking of a more delicate matter.

“Balance is important. We know this is true. I have seen the Allaine struggle with it as we traveled with her, but Lady Daxia seems to almost force her into the struggle on a daily basis. But I worry, Cesare...”

Keiko’s gaze shifted from him to the towering mountains to the east.

“I worry for Lady Bekkah, who spends all her efforts looking outward and rarely thinking of herself. And I worry so much for Friend Lyric, who looks within so deeply and so often that I fear she will get lost.”

She shook her head.

“For all my skills, I can’t teach someone else how to ride the waves that the Fates — or their Deities — roll in front of them. I don’t know how to ease Lady Bekkah’s loneliness that she has buried deep beneath her devotion to her Lady. I don’t know how to ease Lyric’s grief that can’t always be chased away with her music.”

She paused another moment before turning back to him, a sad smile on her face.

“Grandmother would say that I should simply allow them to walk the paths they’re on, to aid them when they seek my guidance. And then Father would say, ‘Now, Mother, you know that’s not how our little Keiko was made.’ My siblings would be giggling, and Grandfather would be telling everyone to stop talking so my Mother could sing.” Her smile brightened a bit then as she thought about her family. “They’re all right, of course. I use propriety and humor to shield my own soft heart. Those things can’t dispel the injury it felt as I knelt in the Dragon’s blood in the mines when we freed the Forest Folk.

“I learned a lesson that day, but I wonder if there wasn’t something else I ought to have learned from that Wave. And I can’t help but think it has something to do with Lyric. I am unclear about my thinking and feelings, and only have the thought of helping my friend at the forefront of my mind.

“Have you ever experienced this sort of conflict? Of wanting to help and not knowing how, yet also knowing it’s important to do something?”

Cesare

His eyes take on a sadness for a moment but there is pride there also.

"My family were my mother, aunt and uncle. We were close knit when we were together because all we had were each other. And it is my father who was the greatest influence on my life. I strive to be more like her every day but often fall short. But I always try. It is hard to talk about her."

He smiles at Keiko, a soft smile full of memories.

"And yes I do understand that conflict. My mother taught me though that the only person who can change someone are themselves. And I know what you mean about Bekkah. She has always been the same. She has such a capacity to love, I do wish she could find someone to return that. But all we can do it to show our friendship, try to provide moments of fun when we can and smooth the waves a little so her ride is less bumpy. But she has to find that special someone and to let him in. Not something we can do for her."

"And Lyric. She carries so much weight and carries it all by herself. Again all we can do is give trust and then when she accepts it, she may share her burdens with us which will lighten her considerably.. but she has to do it for herself."

"I value both of them so much and for different reasons. As I do you Keiko. You have returned a part of my heritage to me, filled one hole I had in my being. There are still others but I will find a way to deal with them. And your family sound great! I would love to meet them all someday."

The Heartwood
Dawnview Vale
Snowgate Keep, Upper Gardens
Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Tiger

Cesare and Keiko

Above their vantage point, over the high castle terrace, the Sun continued to rise higher and higher into the sky. Her light was both warm and harsh. Warm, as She banished the coldness of the Vale but also a bit too bright and crisp in the clear air, reflecting off of the snow-capped peaks. It reminded them that they were in the mountains, far from the more temperate lands along the coast of the sea.

If Keiko and Cesare looked from the terrace and almost straight down they could see folks gathering in front of the great hall's doors. It was an informal milling and only slowly growing in size. It was still a little bit before the doors would be thrown open for Court, so these were those who hoped for an earlier audience with the young Khorall. Some stood alone, others were obviously in conversation, all of them glancing toward the sky every now and then, waiting for Her to reach Her zenith and the large doors would be thrown open.

A bit farther, beyond the Keep's ring-wall, Snowgate had woken up. The wide street that looped up from the main gate was well-trafficked. The square just inside the gates was probably the market. First, it was properly located near to the Snowgate's entrance and second, even from here they could tell it was the busiest neighborhood. Somewhere in that crowd, Tomomi was bustling back and forth, investigating a market so much different, so much larger than the one at Waverider's Watch. It was also a reminder that there were purchases to be made. It had been a long time since any of them had spent time in the mountains. New and warmer clothes would benefit them all, especially as their path was even further East. Be they bound for Dawnview Castle or the Jambles, it was bound to get colder.

Thus, the two on the terrace had their afternoon before them. Anatoli had already moved on to his next set of tasks, his future guided by a very strange reading of the Cards. Keiko and Cesare had no such hints, they would have to decide what to do next by themselves.

[OOC As posted on 13 & 19 Nov, we were already making tracks to get ourselves presentable for court ]