To the Southern Continent

[Jack Rothwell]

Tamina lifted herself up and perched on the edge of the mattress as she answered Jamie's question, her eyes were drooped wearily but there was no mistaking the happiness in her voice.

"At the village." She said. "Carried you back with Leli. Plague's gone. Saw it leave you." She reached over and stroked the woman's face in a tender gesture. "Safe now. You...err... in my hut... wanted...umm... to take care of you." She finished.

[Sareth]

Jamie gave a pained giggle. "Take care of me, hmm? Care to kiss my wounds better? It may take a while. I seem to have a lot of them."

The girl carefully levered herself upward and began taking stock. She ran fingers up and down various bits and pieces of her, wincing fairly frequently. "Ow. The back of my head is pretty roughed up. Right arm scratched up pretty bad. I think I broke several ribs. My knee is swollen like a melon." Her fingers slid beneath the blankets and wiggled a moment a little south of her naval. She gave a wicked grin. "That works at least."

She lay back again. "So, where's Nera?"

"I'd like to know that too," came a familiar voice.

Jamie suddenly sunk beneath her blankets until her eyes barely peeked out. "Hello, Mom. How'd you get here?"

[Jack Rothwell]

Tamina couldn't stop a guilty flush from flaring over her skin as her companion's mother walked into her hut. Her turned to face the woman and gave her a smile that was equal parts apprehension and guilt.

"Umm... ahh... hi Jamie's mom." She said. "Was just... err... helping your gah... umm... daughter. Bay-bee's in Elder's hut. Taken care off."

Underneath, her claws burrowed into the bedding hard enough to puncture it.

[Sareth]

"Taking care of? I just BET you're taking care of her!" Jasmine's expression looked pleasant, but no one was fooled. "Jamie Porter, you get out of that bed, get your clothes on, and come get my grand daughter at once! We are going home and finding you a nice boy... a human boy... and you are settling down for once and for all!"

"But mom..." Jamie seemed to try to burrow even deeper under the covers. "I'm still dre"

"NOW!" Jasmine bellowed. "I didn't hijack a ship, shoot up half a town of loonies, and march 20 miles through jungle for you to go seeking exotic life-forms to get... all... horizontal with!" The woman stomped over to the bed and ripped the bedding from atop Jamie.

Jamie blinked up from the bed.

Jasmine looked down at Jamie.

Jamie blinked again.

Jasmine looked down at Jamie.

"You are still dressed." She reached down and grabbed Jamie's knee.

Jamie shot upright, an arm wrapped tightly around her ribs and let out a stream of flithy language collected from at least five port towns, one military base, and a particular fun night with a very well hung Tsuirakuan.

Jasmine pulled the sheets back over Jamie and turned back to Tamina. "So... what sort of treatment were you recommending, doctor?"

[Jack Rothwell]

Tamina's mouth worked silently at the scene between mother and daughter. She felt a growing sense of unease. Despite not following some of the conversation it was clear to her that Jamie's mother wanted to take her away, and the prospect filled her with sadness. At the older lady's question she bit her lip and moved tentatively closer to her companion.

"Umm...I'm... healer." She said. "Can treat." She gestured to the young woman's broken ribs and gingerly moved Jamie's hand, managing to sneak a pained smile at the teenager while her back was to Jasmine. She put her own hand to the wounded spot and channeled.

"Heal." A faint green glow iluminated the room accompanied by the quiet popping noises of ribs remembering where they should be. The kobold looked back at the irate mother and gave her a sheepish grin.

"Helping her." She repeated. "She... umm... needs to rest. Long day. Dangerous day."

[Sareth]

"I believe that. I had rather a time of it myself." Jasmine shook her head. "Alright, she gets some rest. I'm off to find the elder's hut. I want to see my granddaughter." Jasmine smiled and let herself out.

Jamie waited until the woman had exited. "Aw, hell..."

[Jack Rothwell]

The tone in her friend's voice gave the kobold a flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe, 'Jay-me' wouldn't be dragged out the door that second. Her mother was intimidating and her plans seemed to be set in stone, but Tamina thought in her heart of hearts that it was her companion's desires that mattered. She resolved to find out exactly what those desires were.

"She...um... nice lady." The native said diplomatically, although with little conviction. "You... uh... not happy?"

[Graybeard]

[OOC: Still here, just lurking ... To de-lurk slightly: /OOC]

"It wat tut and go por a while dere," Keyes poke spoke into the crystal ball, "but I tink dey're going to be okay now. 'Tape' it a relatibe contept on dit continent, from de look ob it, but dey're about ad 'tape' ad dey're going to get." He gave the man at the other end of the conversation a description of what he'd seen, ending with "I had to ude Old Tarlie, but it all worked out."

The listener let out a low whistle. Keyes, he knew, really didn't like to use his amulet unless it was a serious life-and-death situation; it had only happened three or four times in their long association. (Speaking of which, how were the trolls doing? Mr. Stagpoole was not an emotional man, but he did feel a certain attachment to Grope, and it wasn't all ulterior motive. Maybe he could spare the time to check that out, now that things down south were stabilizing.) "Yes, there's a reason why we never extended our operation very far into the Southern Continent," he said. "Too many improbable ways to get dead, and not enough profit to be made. I hear tell that there are worse things out there than these 'Ralkin' you describe. Far worse."

Keyes didn't like the sound of that. "And ip pat practite mean anyting, Damie will pind a way to pind dode wort ting and get in trouble wit dem. I twear, dat girl teem to be a trouble magnet. Never taw anyting like her." He was quite startled at what happened next.

Mr. Stagpoole chuckled over the ball. Mr. Stagpoole never chuckled. And then he said, "You don't know the half of it." (And immediately regretted it. He thought seriously about whether he'd have to kill his most valued employee because of that little indiscretion, but decided against it; the working relationship had lasted as long as it did in no small part because the half elf could be counted on to keep his mouth shut. He decided he could trust Keyes to do it again ... at least for now.) "Why don't you see if you can get Jamie and the catgirl back to Farrel or Veracia or even Tsuiraku? All in confidence, of course. At least we know how to handle the kind of trouble she gets into in places like that."

Keyes chuckled in his turn, more willingly than his employer. "Roder dat, bot. I'll work on it." The connection was broken.

[Sareth]

"She...um... nice lady." The native said diplomatically, although with little conviction. "You... uh... not happy?"

"She means well. But it's so..." Jamie sighed and snuggled into the sheets of the bed. "She is absolutely convinced that the best thing for me is to get me married to some nice, gentle, and very very sedentary man so I can start asking like a good, docile wife. Not that she's ever managed that with me. Or herself for that matter." Jamie snorted.

Jamie turned and glanced out the window. "She really does think what she's doing is for the best. But I'd die of boredom inside of a week. This..." Jamie waved vaguely out the window. "This sort of life has been so much more fun. Don't you think?"

[Jack Rothwell]

Tamina smiled, feeling reassured at Jamie's words.

"Y'know..." She began. "When I was... capchoored? Only wanted to go home. Wanted to see the Killikah." She shuffled uncomfortably on the edge of the bed, trying to find the words to continue. "And the plague... lost people. Lost good people. See the loss here. Feel it. Home feels dark, different." She tapped her chest to illustrate. "Before I left I never seen the world very far from here, but..." Her eyes turned downward, it was clear she felt a little embarassed at what she was about to say. "You helped me, Jay-me. Showed me the peoples, the places. Even managed to have fun sometimes when things were dangerous. Want to... umm... stay... with you... want to see what else there is... like you, Jay-me."

Her ears drooped and she flushed scarlet. It was funny, expressing herself was something Tamina rarely had a problem with but she was struggling in the sight of her companion's earnest gaze.

"Unless... umm... you don't want me along?"