Ruli debated her answer, but his foremost thought was that he was surprised it was still morning. Somehow he expected that he'd sleep through the afternoon, but she had woken him earlier than he would have, naturally. At least the coffee helped. "Come on." He said, leading her out back with his freshly filled cup of coffee.

Once outside, he studied her face more clearly, with the sleep from his eyes and the light of the day. Not bad. Much easier to look at, at least. He led her to the stream, where he set his cup aside so he could wash his face and neck to further help himself wake.
"Eons ago, there were two Gods. Solaralai, the Sun Goddess, and Akay, the Moon God. Made for one another to keep balance on the land. Only, Akay loved not Solaralai, but the creatures that walked the land they cared for. Humans." Ruli sat by the stream and drank his coffee, taking his time on this much stronger cup.

"After a few decades, he had taken one as a lover, and together they had had five children. Akariel, Taryn, Jyavi and the twins, Raiel and Kartai. They slept during the day to hide themselves from Solaralai, who had begun to suspect that her alleged husband had taken a lover, and was searching. Only, one day, as her husband had learned to do long ago, Solaralai took human form and walked the earth, finding his family. Accepting her fate, the mortal woman begged that the life of her children be spared. Solaralai agreed and slaughtered her before Akay's eyes before banishing him to the skies to never walk the earth again. While keeping her word that she would not kill the Five, she cursed them, so that if they ever stepped into her light, they would burn under her ire.
"She didn't know that Akay had already gifted them with immortality, so he could watch over his beloved children forever, while mourning the loss of his beloved. Akay also did not know that Jyavi, his eldest daughter, had betrayed their mother and sold them out to Solaralai. She alone could withstand the sun as payment, and the other four cast her out."

Ruli paused to stifle a yawn. "Th-the Kartaians were dark, vicious, and cold. The dark side of their father. While the Raielwens were the calm, peaceful side. The others all took up certain qualities of their parents; Akarielwens were the soldiers, the Taryn's the caretakers, and the Jyvaian's the hunters. The Taryn's were wiped out, too passive to survive, and the other two flourish somewhere, far from here. The Raielwens and the Kartaians remained here, nearest to their beloved mother's homeland, still unable to withstand the sun. Most of the elves, like Ysaryn's bloodline, derives from the Kartaians, or the Akarielwens. Based on their dark skin, I assume the former, as the Kartaians were the only ones to carry that colour. The Raielwens don't leave their colony often, and even more rarely socialize with mortals, with the exception of Aera, who met an ill circumstance that brought her to Ziad."

Kire sat cross-legged, drinking slowly from her cup as he washed his face. She listened to his story, imagining the two gods, though she wasn’t used to hearing about the sun as the female aspect. The philandering male god, though, now that was just typical. “Kartaian, Raielwen, Akarielwen, Jyavian, Taryn,” Kire repeated softly, though her tongue stumbled over the names. She fell silent again after that as he finished the story with Aera, the elf that had stayed with them in the Tunnels. She finished the rest of her coffee now that it wasn’t too hot. “I’ve always wondered,” she began, stretching her arms as she spoke, “how come whenever I am told a story about the origin of some thing or some race, it’s always about some gods being bloodthirsty bastards?”

She looked out at the stream, thinking over the story, her fingers tapping on the cup. “Why is it always a tragedy with these myths?” she muttered. This didn’t help her opinion of the gods at all. But at least that’s another thing Amria and this world had in common. “This Aera must not have taken to you and Envy, if she hadn’t kept up a correspondence. Unless that’s just how these Raielwens are.” She frowned at that for a few moments. “So, if the Kartaians had long been this cruel, Envy’s a rare good egg. How’d he end up the way he did?—in Ziad, I mean, and also, you know, not a murderer. And if all elves are supposed to be immortal, does that mean Envy is, too?”

"Mm." He responded as she she repeated all the races of elves that came from the Five. "Well, Solaralai is, or was, ruthless. She killed everything, and only the hardiest could survive under her attentions. Its why Akay came, to balance her out and make things easier. While she believed he was made for her, he did not. He believed they were separate entities, just coexisting to aid one another. To him, he had done no wrong, though Solaralai obviously saw things different." he tilted his head back. "Its why the face on the moon is so mournful. The loss of his beloved because of a misunderstanding."
Her name had been lost to the ages, torn from the pages of history by Solaralai and Jyavi. He had always wondered who she wasm that captured the heart of a God and threw aside her life for her children.

"He's a very rare abomination. His words." Ruli agreed. "He was born a twin, which, for elves, is significant. His sister took his existence in her space in their mother's womb as a challenge, and made it her goal to end him. She cut off his ear when they were in their adolescence. Gave him a good few other scars, too. But, he never challenged her back. He had no desire to try to blend in with the rest, no taste for blood. Which marked him as weak. So he left. The Kartaian's den is close to Ziad. In the mountains on the opposite side of the desert. So Envy knew where it was. They make raids often to steal people for slaves or playthings. Their history is entertwined. Its another of the reasons they're so unwelcoming toward Envy. The refugees, I mean."
He pointedly ignored the question about Aera. To her assumption that Envy was immortal, he shrugged. "Yes, and no. The Five were immortal. But over time, bloodlines became less pure. How often they mingled with mortals dwindled their immortality. Kartaians and Raielwens live a very long time, but still age and die."

"Wait a moment." Kire frowned. "So these two gods, they were--are--real? Really gods?" She had assumed the story Ruli had just told her was a mythic version of the truth, with parts exaggerated or embellished, but the more he spoke, the more he made it sound like he was talking as if every detail was objective fact. For a few moments she forgot Ruli was there, lost in thought. After all, before she had received the Ring, she had thought all that--Paladins, dragons, elves, portals--was all a myth. They did have what Amrians call "Off-Worlders" who had brought the 'common tongue' to Amria many generations ago. Kire, however, had come to believe that as just another story based on a truth, that these people might have simply come from somewhere very, very far from the mainland continent of Amria and had been branded as so exotic they couldn't have been of this earth. "Hm. I suppose if dragons are real and elves are real, it isn't too big of a leap to imagine gods are real." Kire wrinkled her nose at that. "Either way. In any story involving a god, it's never been good news to be a god's lover." Kire didn't feel too sympathetic to Akay; if he was a god, he should have known better. But the woman he had loved, who made the sacrifice for her children, Kire felt for her. "It's always the mortal lover who pays the price for gods' mistakes, isn't it?"

She didn't fail to notice him neglecting to elaborate on Aera, but Kire decided not to needle him about it. His story about Envy's past was plenty interesting, at least. "What an absolutely barbaric lot, these Kartaians," Kire said, grimacing at the absurdity of thinking the mere fact of sharing a womb was some challenge to be met with violence. And yet Envy was Kartaian, born from that life. "I suppose if you were from that clan, being a decent person really is an abomination. I'm surprised his sister didn't smother him in his sleep. I have been worried about him being in close proximity to people who fear and hate his kind, however." She pointed her thumb back at the mountain. "I feel if that tension isn't resolved one way or another, it'll come to a head eventually."

Ruli furrowed his brow and looked to her, confused. "Are ... Are you Gods lies? I don't understand." He stated. "All myths come from a truth somewhere. I have never wondered if they were real or not." Her comment on dragons, and then being mortal lovers, made him furrow his brow even deeper, wondering if there was a story behind that, and if probing would be at all rewarding. "I've never seen a dragon." He argued. "But they are in all sorts of stories here. So I see no reason to believe they aren't real."

As she went on to insult the Kartaians, he nodded, twisting his empty cup in his hands. "Mmm, they're not cowardly, not toward each other. Least thats how he described it. He would have been challenged formerly, and defeated publicly. And, then, likely ripped to shreds and his teeth and bones used in their swords." Ruli gave a grim, tooth-less smile. "I can understand why he fled, instead."

"If the refugees turn against him, it won't last long." Ruli informed her. "Envy can Shadow-Walk to safety, if need be. Which, in answer to your question the other day, yes. The majority of the Five descendants can to it. It was their way to travel and avoid the sun. Its mostly the Kartaians that have the ability, that, and their compelling touch. Its hit or miss in other clans. Jyavians, for instance, I know can walk, but not touch. Raielwens can do neither. I have no idea about the Akarielwens." He clicked his tongue. "But, everyone within the caves would rise in defense of Envy. Still do, currently, which makes things a little tense."

The theology questions were making Kire's mind itch. "I've never been given a sufficient reason to believe they are real before. And if they were real, where in all the seven hells are they? Powerful lot, but nary a trace when mortals really need them? I-- never mind," she muttered, shaking her head, stopping herself before she got too worked up. "I've seen a dragon. It was frightening, and magnificent." Kire smirked at the memory. "I promised Envy I'd tell him about it. He looked really curious when I mentioned it."

She grimaced at the thought of Kartaian weapons, clicking her tongue and shaking her head slightly. "They're quite creative with their cruelty, aren't they." She listened to him explain how Envy would be defended by the people he had sheltered and raised, and that he still had his Shadow-Walking. It didn't assuage all her fears. "You need to see where you're going to Shadow-Walk, right? And it'll be doubly hard for him, won't it?" She sighed. "Envy said Zeke had to make up a ruse. Pretend he's a prisoner. That won't last forever."

Kire glanced at him. "This other power, though. This Touch. You mentioned it before. Envy can do it, too, I presume? How does it work? Communicating something, like pain, that's one thing. By 'compel', I assume you mean the Touch can give a Kartaian absolute control over your mind, so long as they are in contact with your skin?"

Ruli blinked when she pointed out the flaw in Envy's ability to Shadow-Walk, clearly having not realized it before. Envy couldn't see. He could only picture in his head what he already knew. He only knew Ziad.
And then she mentioned the touch, and he blinked again. That would help. Envy could take mental images, see through another's eye and use it as an escape route. The trust would have to be flawless, though. Zeke, maybe.

"They can, yes." Ruli answered. "If they want, they can tell your body to stop working, and you'll die. But they're not so quick to the chase. They, uh." Ruli sighed, remembering his last little bout with the male Kartaiain in Ziad. "They like to make you relive things. They get into your head quickly and make you feel every bit of paint you've ever felt or inflicted. Every regret. Every fear. They flood your mind with it. Make you feel hollow, ripping everything out and breaking every piece of your body without moving an inch."

He inhaled and sighed. "Envy's never done anything of the sort. At least not since leaving them. He admits that he uses his touch on kids when they come under his supervision. he'll find a favourite food, and favourite game, and use it to build a bond. Only for the tough ones. Like myself." Ruli shrugged.
"Envy's being blind, it will have to be used to help him. He can take, if offered, a mental image of a location to retreat to. From Zeke, surely, who will have some evacuation plan in mind. Because no. The prisoner ruse won't last long. But, hopefully, by the time it fails, he'll be out of their reach."

Kire’s lip curled in hatred the more she learned about these Kartaians. “As if they weren’t formidable enough with their size and Shadow-Walking.” Kire stewed in silence for a while. “That’s atrocious,” she commented after the silence. “No wonder Ikegai and Akuma struck a deal with them.” She was glad that they didn’t have the power the Kartaians did. Likewise, at least the Kartaians would have to have been within reach, and without Ikegai’s help, presumably, they wouldn’t attack during the day. When Ruli told her how Envy used the power in his own way, Kire nodded, not surprised that someone with his disposition would use it for something good.

She was lost in thought again, pondering on the scope and possibilities of such a power. Useful. Dangerous. “I wonder what he used to get you to soften up then,” she said aloud, not really expecting him to tell her. Imagining it was amusing enough. “But they better have that contingency ready anytime now. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared as soon as possible. Desperate people cooped up in groups can get volatile very fast. And hopefully you’ll stay and help with that, too,” she added, looking sidelong at him for a moment. He kept talking about Zeke’s escape plan as if he was the only one Envy could rely on; Kire dearly hoped this wasn’t Ruli thinking about shutting himself off and running away from them. He’s their first line of defense, Sid said. Maybe someday he can be, again. “They need you here.”

She sank back into silence, thinking over all the information he had shared with her. She almost drank from her now-empty cup, pouted when she realized, then put it back down. Her gaze on the water in front of them, she asked in a quiet voice, “Why do you have the Shadow-Walking?” She tapped her cup absentmindedly. “When I said to Envy that this power that I have was given to me, rather than me being born with it, he said it was unlike him and you. So you were born with it.” She paused, then looked at him and shrugged. “If that’s too personal, don’t answer.” She was already expecting some jibe about her being too nosy for her own good, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

He glanced at her and narrowed his eyes suspiciously when she asked what made him soften up towards the Kartaian. He didn't remember much of it, but he knew he didn't trust the Kartaian. Knew that he'd tried to bite the elf, but beyond that, much of it was blurred. And she went on to chide his wording, and remind him that he was needed, and Ruli lowered his gaze. It was about trust. Ruli needed them to trust him, and he barely trusted himself.
And, if shit went sideways, Ruli would rather Zeke and Envy get out, while he remain to fight. He could go down in a last stand if push came to shove.

As Kire asked about his being born with the power, Ruli looked up again, surprised that Envy had said as much. He normally withheld all information on everyone else, but never minded information being revealed about himself. No secrets, with the giant. He could easily tell her to keep her nose out of his business, he had no reason to trust her with the information. But she knew pieces, and would easily fit the details together. She knew he had the powers, anyway.
"Half-breed." He said quietly, almost shamefully. And that was all he said.

"Your power is in your Ring." He said instead, changing the subject. He pointed with his index finger. "I can,, I don't know. Sense it. Whatever it is, its strong."

Kire watched him as he, no doubt, contemplated on whether or not to say anything. When he spoke, his answer wasn’t what she had expected, but it confirmed what could be pieced together from the little she had been told. Bastards, foreigners, half-breeds. The heavy weight that the word brought upon Rulitus was clear. She may not know the details, but the way his body sunk at the utterance wasn’t unfamiliar. “Understood.”

When he changed the subject, though, Kire snapped back to look at him. “Ha! Well, now. I suppose it was only a matter of time before somebody figured it out.” She smirked at him, then held out her right hand in front of her. “Yes. The power it has, though, is to open portals and act as a conduit to whatever magical energy lies dormant in my blood. The Ring was bequeathed to me. Ikegai’s been lusting after this, though it wouldn’t answer to anybody but me.” She held it up to the light, where the sapphire stone caught the sun and glinted. “There are—beings—we call them Seers. And they would give this power to someone they would call the Paladin. Someone to watch over the land, use the power wisely, be a protector. With this, I can summon the portals without needing an elaborate ritual, or a cataclysm that would rip the veil between worlds. As you’ve already seen, it takes a lot of energy to open the portals regardless. Without the Ring, you would need a lot of energy, and a lot of blood.”

Kire frowned, fuming at the thought. “Somehow, Ikegai managed to open one, undoubtedly with my enemies’ help, but it would be a hard feat to replicate by himself, without any other blood mages to help. It’s possible he still has his eyes set on opening a world-gate. What he plans to do with it, I can only guess.”

"The others have probably figured it out, as well, they're just more polite than I am." Rulitus declared watching her raise her hand to show off the Ring.
As she spoke about its power, purpose, and origin, he watched her speak, studying the item on her finger curiously. It was a shortcut for a portal, to use energy instead of blood and dark magic. That Ikegai wanted, despite having successfully portaled without.
Between worlds, Kire said. Watching her portal from local place to place looked exhausting. He couldn't imagine the energy it would take to jump from one world to the other.

"Amria isn't in this world, then, is it?" Ruli asked, recalling how very drained she'd been in Ziad their first encounter. She'd managed well, but the small jumps had taken so much out of her. It was nothing like in Cordon, when she was traveling a few hundred miles each way.
"Makes sense. Why you've never seen elves. Or met a dragon." Ruli glanced toward the stream.m, watching the water trickle lazily.
"But why does Ikegai want your Ring if it won't work for him?" He asked, glancing toward her again.

Kire shook her head. “No. Not in this world. Though our worlds have similarities, or we wouldn’t even be having this conversation, literally.” She smirked a little. “I have been trying to tell you. But I guess it’s hard to fathom. I’m surprised Envy figured it out and accepted it so quickly.” She watched the stream, same as Ruli, though after a few moments she began fiddling with a pebble before tossing it into the water. “I have no idea how or why those Seers make the choices they do. They’re supposed to be clairvoyants, seeing different branches of the future. I tried asking, once, and the best They could tell me is they make ‘educated guesses’.” Kire snorted at that. “So many lives at stake, so much bloodshed, because some ethereal beings are tinkering with Time. Poking at the splitting branches of the future and seeing where the next bit goes. Now that sounds like the work of gods, too.”

She was silent at his question. She had rehearsed the answers over and over with herself. “You don’t understand,” she began, though not unkindly, “when I say it takes a lot of energy and blood to summon a world gate, I mean imagine a whole town’s worth of blood, at the least. It is very complicated magic. I suppose, if gods really did exist, that’s precisely why they made opening world-gates taboo. A lot could go wrong just from the spells, the rune-circles, the conduits of power that you’ve chosen. And you need to sacrifice blood to it. You need a small army of sorcerers to complete such a ritual to begin with, and even then you’re not guaranteed success. Most difficult of all, you’re not even sure for how long that gate will stay open. Without the Ring, one ritual equals a one-way portal.”

Kire’s hand, which had been resting on one knee, dug in as she spoke. “There had been an attempt on a large scale once. Many, many years ago. I was about—forty? The blood-mages cordoned off a whole town and its surrounding land, but something went wrong. Or went right, I don’t know. The consequences of their summoning brought a catastrophe called the Black Storm that destroyed many places in my country, killed many Amrians. The fact that Ikegai might still be here in your world means he hasn’t been able to open another gate just yet. Some good news, if that counts as good news.” She sighed deeply.

“There are other reasons for him wanting this Ring, though. Before I went to search for him again and came to Ziad, I demanded that the Seers answer that very question. I suspect it might have to do with that obsession with me I told you about before. All they’ll tell me is that he would have been the one to receive the Ring’s power, had he not fallen and become what he is today. Probably it’s a mix of both.” She could see clearly the skies of the Black Storm, the strange red lightning, skies so black it almost became night. Kire huffed, frowning. "Plenty messed-up, isn't it?"

As she said she'd been trying to tell him, he frowned, retracing their conversations to see why he'd missed all the signs. Suppose she had been trying. He met her gaze again, listening as she explained how the Seers chose their champions and interference by educated guesses. It sounded infuriating. To have someone meddling in your own life of the lives of others based on something so flimsy. And when she went on to describe the terrible power behind opening gates, the blood and souls it took, the number of sorcerers, all for a chance to open a gate.

When Kire mentioned that there had been an attempt, failed or successful, who knew, years ago, Ruli blinked. She'd been forty years old. So, he surmised, either she had a long life, too, to her world worked different when it came to age. She looked nothing like forty years, or however much older she was. But, then again, nor did he.

"A bit, I suppose." Ruli answered her, rubbing his face again. "I sort of understand the need to hunt him down and kill him a bit more clearly." He lowered his arms, toying with his empty cup. "So. Breakfast, and then back to Cordon? We can see if your enemies are really there, or just purchase more lumber and seeds."

Kire smirked at his response, glad that he was seeing things her way, at least a little bit. “It’s almost noon, as far as I can tell. I’ve had breakfast, but I suppose I can eat a bit. Can’t go to Cordon too hungry in the middle of a festival.” She stood and stretched, walking ahead to the kitchen. “You need more tools around here, too, I think. And I’ll see about getting clues to their whereabouts.” She was quiet as she scrounged around for some leftovers, found some fowl leftover from when Sid had cooked. Kire didn’t bother heating it up again. Having bothered Ruli with her questions and gotten some meaty responses for once, she decided to leave him in peace while he ate.

Cordon was even busier when they returned. Kire’s strategy to keep herself from being tempted to find something to eat was, unfortunately, not successful; each street was filled with shops and taverns expecting more guests and tourists. There were travelling musicians this time, some of them accompanied by performers. Kire looked sidelong at Rulitus, remembering how he had reacted their first time around here and wondering what he thought of all this. As fun as such festivals usually were, she knew this would potentially make her search more complicated. On the other hand, this might also mean it wouldn’t be too unusual to see newcomers to the city going about and asking for information.

She could hear songs being played about Lord Itallo, and she vaguely remembered some of the information she had overheard from other patrons. She could also see men walking around with bouquets, accompanied by troubadours, as well as young women receiving flowers from such men. “Ah.”

Breakfast wasn't horrible. A bit of herbs added to it for flavor and it passed as edible. Ruli knew Sid had shit luck with figuring out which herbs went well with one another, and never really tried to correct her when she avoided them altogether. She was trying, and it wasn't an easy to take to make food for so many people with such limited supplies.

When they arrived in Cordon again, Ruli donned in his usual gear, too-small-boots, plus a shirt he borrowed from Envy beneath his regular one for extra warmth, Ruli inhaled. He could smell the recent rain in the city; it amplified everything, which, despite his recent meal, made him hungry all over again. There were more people out and about, informing him they were nearing the apex of the festivities. He observed people dancing, playing instruments he was vaguely familiar with, handing out flowers, and more dancing. And drinking. At least that, he was comfortable with.
He glanced sidelong at Kire when he felt her eyes on him, ready to growl at her if she so much as hinted that she wanted to dance with him.

"How many similarities?" Ruli asked at random as they wandered along the crowded street to locate a botanist. "You speak the language. Obviously terrain is similar, as you know oceans, mountains. One sun, I presume, on your comment on sunsets."

Kire raised a brow at him, wondering why he looked at her that way, then turned elsewhere, pondering his question. "It's hard to say. There seems to be just as many as there are differences. Yes, only one sun, one moon. Different gods though, depending on what country or island. I'm used to the sun being referred to as the male aspect. Language-wise, we have our own native tongue, and this one that I'm speaking with is one of many that had been brought to us. This one that I speak, we use our own alphabet. I can't read that, for example." She pointed at a nearby sign that looked similar enough to the ones she had seen last time. "I assume if you read that out loud, it would still be the common tongue. Hmm. Seasons. We have four, but other parts, depending on how far from my country, have only two. Our winters aren't so bad, but my family right now is living far North, in the mountains, where it gets really cold."

She paused, getting out of the way of a crowd of giggling women. "We have royalty. Fiefdoms. Lords and ladies who would answer to one crown. At least normally. Things are rather, ah, complicated on that front at the moment." If she had the humor for it, Kire would have laughed at her gross oversimplification of their exile. She gestured around them. "Not this exact festival, but we would have similar ones. Don't particularly like all the shallow courtship stuff, however." She made a face.

"Brought to you?" he asked, glancing at her again. "You mean to say people from this world have traveled to you? Or you've had others that have visited here?" What did they call this world, Ruli pondered. For what purpose did they move through worlds, and how. With these world gates? he's never heard of such a thing before, but that didn't mean gates weren't opened on the other side of the world.
His eyes wandered over the sign she pointed at, understand in part her difficulty in reading it. He'd been slow in picking up written text, even with Zeke's help.

That seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Shallow indeed." Rulitus agreed with a grumble. "And you age slower? You mentioned being forty when the Black Storm hit. You don't even look thirty, so I would comfortably guess as much."

"I'm not sure." Kire's brow furrowed, thinking it over. "Apparently this language didn't become widespread until an Off-Worlder who spoke it became a royal consort. I don't think they came to us intentionally; as far as I know, whenever they came to Amria they've been stuck ever since. I hadn't really thought of them as world-travellers until I became Paladin. I had always believed such people were just refugees from some very far-flung corner of Amria." She gestured at the direction of the sea. "It's possible they came from here. Or that some of my people might have ended up here, too."

She nodded at his question. "Age slower, yes. So far, time seems to run the same here, but I can't be too sure until I've spent much more time here. Could be both. We age a bit fast, maybe what would be normal for other humans, when we're young, then slow down upon adolescence. Forty would be, hmm...teenage? Before being adult. And they say a terrible childhood ages you faster, too. I'm about a hundred now."

A hundred. Ruli glanced at her once more, caught off guard by that for no real reason. He, himself, was older than he appeared, a blessing from his elven blood. Envy, too, was about her age. A little older, maybe, he'd never really asked the Kartaian for his exact age. But, considering Envy's retelling of his decades in the den, and then their years together, he could take a fairly accurate guess.

"Here." Ruli said, dropping the subject for the time being and ducking into a building on the corner of the street. The sidewalk and overhang were crowded with plants and flowers that were in more shapes and sizes than Ruli ever recalled seeing in one place. The woman behind the counter was a round woman with fiery curly hair and a gap between her two front teeth.
"Afternoon!" She chirped with a small bounce on her feet.

Great. Ruli internally grumbled. She's a people person.
"Uh." He pulled the cover away from his face. "We're looking for seeds, if you've got them. We're moving to a mountainous terrain, not used to the climate. We'll need any sort of edible plant you can offer that will grow."
"Mountains, hm?" The woman peered between the two. Then she gasped. "My word, are you refugees from Ziad?" She asked, looking over their dark skin. "My poor babies." [Ruli refrained from growling at her]. "I think I have some of what you need. Maybe a few items you'll be used to. Give me a moment."

She bustled around the store talking to herself, while Ruli stood beside the counter and observed her suspiciously.

Ohh, she's friendly, Kire thought, putting on a small smile for the woman while Ruli talked to her. She wondered what Ruli had thought of her age; he did seem a bit surprised earlier, based on the look he gave her. Half-breed... Was Ruli as old as he looked? Likely a question to which she wouldn't get an answer, or not soon, anyway, considering his reluctance.

And speaking of reluctance, Kire looked at him and noticed him rather ill at ease. She nudged him with her elbow and made a gesture that said What is with that look?. When the lady returned to speak to them, holding a basket containing pouches of seeds and root crops, Kire smiled at her, letting the woman express her pity for them in between her explanations and recommendations for planting, watering, and harvesting. It was a torrent of information, and Kire was getting lost in parts. She glanced at Ruli sidelong and hoped he understood most of it.

She heard people enter behind them and turned to see well-dressed men, clearly people of standing. "Are the flowers ready for delivery in two days' time?"
"The lord wants everything perfect for his wedding," another interjected, casting the two the briefest glance. "We'd like to make a final inspection." The tone didn't give the impression of a request.
The woman looked apologetically at Kire and Ruli, muttering a hurried apology before ushering the men to the back door of her shop.

"Well. That's something." Kire poked around at the basket while they waiting for the botanists to return and attend to them. "Did you catch all that? I lost track at some point."