Snamish

[Sareth]

Brad dusted himself off and tried to regain what was left of his dignity. "Sweetheart, do you have any idea what that was all about? That man is very strange..."

"I don't know," Lillith sniffled a bit. "But he's sweet enough." She sighed, her arms hugged to her chest, looking down. "I can't stay here, Brad. I'm sorry. I messed things up."

[Drannin]

Argus sighed. "I see. I think I understand."

Damnation.

It wasn't that Argus didn't want to travel with Lillith. It was just that she would have been so much safer here. However, her philosophy conflicted too much with the town's. It had begun to turn into a matter of doctrine, and that was always messy.

[Graybeard]

"Then, of course, I will go with you," Brad said, his usual earnestness back in his face. He smiled. "It didn't really look like a place for a Temple of Luminosita anyway."

-------------

Sister Rose understood, too. The sad episode with the poor Kondriel baby had shaken her deeply. I'd always thought that the possibility of an Errant birth in Snamish was purely hypothetical, that the half-elf population in town had escaped whatever genetic quirk makes Errants happen. They ... haven't. Another thought struck her. What else might there be about this place that Kenny and Benedict never told me?

"Well, let's go get packed up," she said to break the mood. "We'll have a long travel day tomorrow, so we should get an early start."

[OOC: Truthfully, I'm kinda running out of things to do with Rose and Brad before the departure from town, and it feels like others are too. Drusia, might I suggest transacting the mother/daughter talk that we discussed before, and then we can fast-forward to morning?]

[Drusia]

[OOC: Truthfully, I'm kinda running out of things to do with Rose and Brad before the departure from town, and it feels like others are too. Drusia, might I suggest transacting the mother/daughter talk that we discussed before, and then we can fast-forward to morning?]

OOC: I was thinking about doing that off-camera. I don't really need to post a conversation with myself - if necessary, I can have Desiree flash back to it at some later point.

[Graybeard]

OOC:

[OOC: Truthfully, I'm kinda running out of things to do with Rose and Brad before the departure from town, and it feels like others are too. Drusia, might I suggest transacting the mother/daughter talk that we discussed before, and then we can fast-forward to morning?]

OOC: I was thinking about doing that off-camera. I don't really need to post a conversation with myself - if necessary, I can have Desiree flash back to it at some later point.

Fair enough. OK, forward to morning it is. Stuff coming for Rose and Brad (and Benedict) when I get home from work, but no need to wait for me...

[Graybeard]

[OOC: OK, so on to morning...]

As usual, Sister Rose arose early to go out to the lake and say her prayers. I hope this isn't the last time I do this here, she thought. Despite what happened yesterday, I love the place, I love the Lucas family. I don't want the bond to break ...

... But it may have to.

Unlike the previous morning, the house was showing signs of life by the time she got back. The travelers were taking her urging to heart about getting an early start on the journey, and Beatrice, ever the gracious hostess, was making sure that they'd be well fed when they set out. That was good, Rose thought. A good breakfast might help them all forget about ... things. It seemed to be working for Brad, anyway; as transparent as his inevitable concern for Lillith was (what was the girl feeling? Rose wondered; her face was unreadable), he was applying himself to the corn fritters and ham with gusto, and the fruit wasn't going to be far behind, unless he was saving his portion of that for the vegetarian that he loved. She smiled at Argus sitting next to her; that, at least, felt more comfortable than it had the previous morning. (After I'd made a fool of myself the night before, she scolded herself, not without a certain guilty pleasure at the thought.) As for the others ...

Wait a minute. Rose's eyebrow went up a notch. "Good morning, I didn't expect to see you here at this hour," she said to the occupant of the chair across the table, who wasn't a regular in the Lucas household, not at all.

[Porcelain Fish]

"You know," Bryce said quietly as he and Maduin headed for the dining room for breakfast, a smile on his face. "We probably could have stayed in bed for at least five more minutes."

"I'll make it up to you later." Maduin's tone was amused. He rubbed his arms, glancing out a window as they passed it. "Besides, I'm . . . eager to be on the road." He wanted to say ready to be out of this place instead, but that wouldn't be polite.

Bryce's expression indicated he'd caught the subtext. His features softened, and then turned slightly wicked. "Is that why you let them carry your luggage instead of having it walk by itself again?" he murmured in Maduin's ear.

Maduin snorted at the very idea of manual labor used as retribution for a choice he found personally disagreeable. "Don't be silly. It's just that when it's possible for the proprieties to be observed, they should be. It's how mannered society is preserved - otherwise all the wait-staff in Tsuiraku would be out of a job. You don't need people to bring you food and drinks or mind your children - golems can do anything these days with the proper facilitation, up-to-and-including build themselves - it's all for the sake of civil society. Everyone should be able to have a place in it." Including those of us who aren't pretty.

Bryce looked at Maduin skeptically, got a perfectly even look in return, and his expression changed to one of thoughtfulness, then worry, and then back to thoughtfulness. He was still clearly mulling over the implications when they got to the table, absently pulling out Maduin's chair, getting a smile in return for the gesture, and seated himself. That thoughtful gaze went to the chair he'd just pulled out, and then back to the plate that had been set in front of him. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then started to eat, but his gaze was introspective. He didn't speak for the rest of the meal.

Maduin smiled at Lillith as he settled his napkin in his lap. "How are you this morning, Lillith dear?"

[Sareth]

Across the table, picking at her fruit and bread, Lillith gave a patently false smile. "I'm fine, thank you." She fidgeted next to Brad. "It's time to get back on the road, I guess. We have appointments to keep, don't we?" Her eyes slid over to Sister Rose.

[Drusia]

Across the table, picking at her fruit and bread, Lillith gave a patently false smile. "I'm fine, thank you." She fidgeted next to Brad. "It's time to get back on the road, I guess. We have appointments to keep, don't we?" Her eyes slid over to Sister Rose.

Drusia chose that moment to walk into the room. She did not look at Lillith, but instead kept her eyes on Sister Rose.

"Sister Rose," she asked, her voice polite and formal, "May I have a word with you?"

[Graybeard]

"May I have a word with you?"

Uh, oh, Sister Rose thought. "Yes, yes, of course," she said, a little more flustered at the elf's formality than she thought she should be. She excused herself and stepped outside with Drusia.

As soon as they were clear of listeners, she stopped and faced her companion. "It's about Desiree, isn't it?"