[ussbansheec] Reunion
- From: Andy Maluhia <CaptainAndy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ussbansheec@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 06:36:05 -0400
_Reunion
_
by Tal & Aidoaneth S'Ghaladriel, Aylin t'Sen Menkara, Iruvande
S'Akhiy'Rhienn,Jada & Talibah Swiftwind S'Ghaladriel, & Vincent Laughing
Eyes
The Romulan strode through the corridors of the Lloann'na station with a
self satisfied grin on his face. Ie, I'll show you, dear dianvm. You
are no more the rightful Hru'hfirh than I am a toad. Pah. I will get
that information from the hru'Airifvir and leave you choking on the
streets, covered in ashes. Hnah, to find a fortune teller. In truth,
Tal was only smart enough to know the hru'Airifvir would recognize him.
With careful fingers, Aylin weaved the lengths of silk with small
semi-precious stones to make a chakra bracelet for sale. She already
had a small basket of them by her at the table, each merry in bright
colours. The one in her hands was special though as it was made from
every colour of the rainbow. With a smile, she weaved the last little
piece of amethyst in place and set it aside for Major Ecitsuj's little
boy when he came.
Tal's skin rippled with disgust. So many freakish looking things walked
about this station. How could they stand each other, he wondered. They
don't even look like people. It seemed to him that they got even
weirder looking in the civilian sector. Oddly enough, it was a young
Rihannsu couple that he asked for directions to the fortune teller. He
didn't see the young man's lip curl with disgust as they left him. His
sights were solely for the stall they'd pointed out.
Aylin hummed to herself as she picked up another. Pink this time, she
chose for the bracelet, and again this was for someone specific though
she couldn't imagine who yet. Still her nimble fingers made quick work
of the intricate knots that would keep the stones in place.
Elements, more freaks! Tal stepped into the shop and shook his head
upon catching sight of the woman. Only his damned dianvm had dared wear
piercings in public and that was because he was Hru'hfirh. It galled
Tal to no end. His glance was nothing if not disdainful as he said, "I
have come from S'Ghaladriel."
Aylin shivered before she looked up but when she caught the look on his
face, she stared, hard. "Ie? I'm so very happy for you. Is your
master good to you? Personally I would have you beaten with a stick
just simply for your ugliness." You will know him by the kindness in
his eyes, Iruvande had said, and by the fairness of his hand. This one
didn't look as if he'd been fair to a soul in his life.
Tal's face flushed emerald. Who was this nothing to speak to him so?
He knew his brother hadn't been by yet, knew the man had taken another
ship. "You forget your place if you speak to the rightful master of a
Hfihar that way. Too long among the Hevam."
"When I speak to the 'rightful' master of a House I will be sure to give
him the respect he deserves," she said with a shrug. "Now, how may I
serve thee? Perhaps a love potion for surely you cannot attract it on
your own."
Tal fumed, his face darkening even more. The wort had been here
already? Impossible! "You will tell the hru'Airifvir that I have come."
"And why would she care about that?" came a slow drawl from the
doorway. "I doubt the lady has use for back biting nei'rrh."
Aylin glanced at the newcomer and knew instantly: this was Ghaladriel.
"Welcome, rekkhai. So glad you could send your indentured servant
before you but perhaps you should send him away, I dislike his
attitude. It reeks of imperial arrogance."
"My apologies, lhhei, but this is na my hru'hfe. Khiy has better
manners," Erianath said, his stare pinning his brother. "Get lost,
ira'dianvm. You disgrace our name."
"Here," Aylin said airily as she pressed a small bottle into his hands,
"for free. Even if it doesn't attract a mate, it might make you smell
better."
Erianath stared hard at Tal. He'd seen the look in his brother's eyes
at the dismissal, saw the clenched fist. "Go," he hissed. "You had no
reason to be here to begin with."
"You will regret this," Tal said, shuddering with barely contained range
as he spun about.
"I regret allowing you to share oxygen," he retorted toward his
brother's retreating back. When Tal was out of earshot, Erianath turned
back to Aylin and offered her a brief bow. Ie, so she appeared to be a
common trades person but that did not mean she automatically acquired
lower status. Just who do you suppose keeps ch'Rihan going beneath the
skin, boy? That was what his Hru'diranov asked. "My apologies, lhhei.
My ira'dianvm is an impotent twit."
Her dark eyes followed the passage of the other man. "If he uses that
potion, he won't have to worry on that score, rekkhai. You'll see him
again, mark me on this." The she turned and smiled. "My name, rekkhai,
is Aylin t'Sen Menkara. Welcome to my small shop. How may I serve?"
A Hevam name? How interesting but that is neither here nor there for
now. His arms folded over his chest, his traditional thinking pose, as
he said, "I wish you would tell me. The hru'Airifvir, if you know her,
sent me some odd missive which directed me here to either you or to
someone my grandparents told me about who cannot possibly be alive."
"The Enarrain? Don't underestimate the power of the Elements to keep
obnoxious men alive," Aylin chuckled. "So, what do you wish to know,
rekkhai?"
"Must I ask the hru'Airifvir or do you know why I'm here?" Erianath
asked. "If it was important enough to be sent by scroll rather than any
other method, it was obviously of utmost importance. Anything to
irritate Tal but this much mystery is a bit much."
"You do not have dealings with the hru'Airifvir much, do you, rekkhai?"
Aylin smirked. "This is how she conducts most business that she
considers personally important. As for how important it is to you
personally? That would truly depend on how closely you hold your
estranged kin."
"I have had no dealings with her at all," he told her. "I've never met
her personally in my life." His expression darkened slightly as he
stared at her, slowly asking, "What estranged kin?"
Iruvande smiled as she stepped into the small shop behind him. In a
soft but heavily accented voice, she said, "Swiftwind's kin of the House
of Ghaladriel."
Ie, he was of an old and noble hfihar but Erianath knew better. This
lady was the hru'Airifvir. He offered her a bow. "Lhhei, you called
and I came but...do you speak of my riana? The children of Talibah?"
"I do and of the lady herself," Iruvande said smoothly. "Thee knows of
the loss of two of her children?"
The arms crossed over his chest pulled tighter and Erianath's spine
stiffened. "I know nothing. I have no heard from her in...a while.
What goes on, lhhei? Which of them?" He'd grown up a few years with
them in their grandparents' home. Kin was kin even if they weren't so
close.
"Joseph and Tabetha, the Hevam child thy aunt adopted," Iruvande
informed him.
Tabetha he remembered especially well. Older than him, certainly, but
there had been plenty of childish shrieking fun in the house with her.
With all of them. He'd about cried when they left for good. "What
happened? Where is my aunt?"
Aylin answered instead of Iruvande who was staring out of the shop at
something and very hard. "She's staying with her betrothed in the guest
section of the military sector. The ship your cousins were serving on
is lost, no trace, no one knows if they live or not."
Erianath sucked in a hissing breath. As usual, the Empire's government,
if it didn't concern them directly, said nothing yet here was the
hru'Airifvir. Personal involvement he assumed. "I had no idea," he
admitted. The arms held themselves even tighter. "My veruul ira'dianvm
will probably not be disappointed hnah."
"Let him assume it is something to gain you power then," Aylin shrugged.
"It is," Iruvande mused as she turned her attention back to Erianath.
"Thee are aiding the hru'Airifvir in an oath, that is a powerful action
filled with many consequences."
Erianath disliked being roped into things he didn't know existed.
"hru'Airifvir, I mean no disrespect and I will do as I ought to
but...what is it I'm to do? Obviously, I would give what help I can to
Talibah--she's family-- but what do you require of me and my Hfihar?"
"Only that thee does thy duty," she told him. "I search for the ship
but I see forces here that do not bode well for its return. Protect thy
Hfihar and stay close."
Searching for the ship? Erianath was not a firm believer in the
esoteric arts but that he kept to himself. It was no a prudent thing to
mention in front of the hru'Airifvir and the lady who seemed to be her
go between. "Of course, lhhei. If I were to do otherwise, Tal would
ruin our name. My grandparents raised a wiser child than that."
"It is a pity that thy dianvm does not follow that ilk." Iruvande fixed
her pale green eyes on him and nodded. "Be near, I will contact thee
again." With that, she slipped out of the ship and disappeared in the
crowd.
"Sometimes I even wonder why I bother asking her questions," Aylin
sighed. "She's so vague. Now, can I get you some tea before you go,
rekkhai?"
"Near?" he asked wryly. "Where am I going to go? At the very least, I
need to see my aunt." He shook his head at Aylin. "My apologies,
lhhei, that would be fine, Hann'yyo."
"Please call me Aylin, I don't hold with the old, fussy, out-dated
superstitions of our people." With a furry of her hand, she swished out
the back to make some tea. "Will Lapsang-souchong do?"
"I will trust your judgement, lhh--Aylin," he called to her. "You must
excuse my formalities, especially with a Rihanha lady. Aide from being
proper of the Hru'hfirh, it was simply the way we were raised. The
veruul didn't learn his lesson but I did."
"You are very polite," she told him as she set the tea to infusing.
"But it's wasted on me. I am still too much my Ri'nanov's daughter.
She was strongly of the opinion that such formalities were outmoded."
"As you wish," he said with a chuckle. "You are perhaps only the second
of our people I've seen wearing piercings. I did the ones I have simply
to irritate my brother."
"They're very pretty," she mused as she returned with two steaming cups
of tea, one of which she handed to her guest. "Mine I had done to show
the world I would survive with or without it."
"Mnhei'sahe indeed," he said with a nod of thanks for the tea. "Very
few of us live to be very different. These," and he tapped the three
studs on his left ear, "are as far as I dared. As it was, Hru'diranov
was not pleased."
"You would suit a tattoo," she said absently as she looked him over.
"Something down your spine or across your shoulders."
Erianath snorted. "I think na, Aylin. That would be a bit too much for
the capital," he said with a half smile. "Though it might be interesting."
"Such a pity. I could imagine an eagle with the twin worlds across your
shoulders or an adder down your spine. It would fit so well," she
sighed. Turning, she showed him the small one on her neckline.
"Pretty, na?"
"Well drawn," he said, leaning forward to take a look. "Was it the old
man in the capital market?"
"This was, yes, but my other was inked by an old Hevam who was passing
through this station at the time. I think his name was... Nightwalker
or something?" She shrugged as she straightened and sipped her tea.
"Truth be told, this is my first time on a Lloann'na station," he
admitted. "I've never seen half of those...people before. At least,
the Hevam I have."
"You have? Why is that?"
He looked at her curiously. "The riana the hru'Airifvir referred to
lived in my grandparents' home for a few years when I was much younger.
I know them."
"I assumed they were Rihannsu, I have to admit," Aylin said with a shrug.
"We who are Ghaladriel are unusual. First because the sons of my
grandfather were twins, identical ones. Then, their sister--my
aunt--married a Hevam. She and her children lived with us after her
bondmate was murdered," Erianath explained as he sipped the tea. "Do
you know of any other House that would still stand after that?"
"Not many though the stories I've heard about the hru'Airifvir's House
could rival it, I'm sure." As she swirled her drink she hummed to
herself. "Perhaps you should speak with her ward. She could weave it
into a story of Lore."
"Perhaps," he said with a shrug. "Hard to tell a story when parts are
missing though and have been for a while."
"Then follow her advice and stay close to your family. She will find
out what's happening."
He nodded in agreement, hoping that Tal would not disrupt things more
than they already were. He also knew that it was a useless hope. "I
intend on it. Do you know where I might find my aunt at least?"
"I've got her details out back," Aylin said before bustling away and
grabbing a PADD which she handed to Erianath.
Erianath took the PADD with a nod of thanks. "Hann'yyo, lhhei, for this
and for the tea. If you don't mind, I'll be off to find them but I will
return. Tell the hru'Airifvir if you can?"
"Of course, she's using my cabin at the moment. I'll be here or in my
husband's cabin if you need me."
"Hann'yyo again," he said as he stood. He turned to go but turned back
for a moment, a mischievous look in his eyes. "Whatever you gave my
brother, whatever it cost, I'll pay for it. I do so love to irritate him."
"Two credits," she said with an easy shrug. "It was my cheaper one.
Should make him smell like a vase of flowers if he uses it."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ten credit slip. Tossing it
to her, he said, "Keep the rest. It's worth it."
"Thank you," she smiled. "Have a good stay." For a fleeting moment,
she wondered if he knew it would be for longer than he anticipated but
felt it wasn't the time to tell him. "Send my regards to your Aunt."
A smug smile on his face, Erianath followed the directions on the PADD.
He had no idea what to expect other than he loved his aunt and wanted to
see her, offer what comfort he could. Finally, he reached the right
door and pressed the chime.
"Jada, dear, get that?" Talibah asked as she rocked her granddaughter in
her arms.
Rolling her eyes at her mother, Jada slipped up to the door and let it
open. "Rian!" she gasped as she threw her arms around him. "Oh
Erianath..."
Strong arms embraced one of the cousins he hadn't seen in years.
"Little io," he said happily. "You got big! Look at you!" His eyes
found, not his aunt and the infant, but the rather large Hevam standing
there watching him with a bit of suspicion.
Talibah blinked then rose to see if Jada was teasing. But she wasn't.
"Welcome, little Erianath, you're not so tiny as I remember either.
Come in. Vincent, this is my nephew, one of Aidoaneth and Eisnas' sons."
"Aefvadh, Erianath," Vincent said, his deep voice still carrying its
Canadian accent.
Erianath's brows both went up. The strange looking Hevam spoke the
language flawlessly. "Hann'yyo, rekkhai," he said carefully. Removing
his arm from Jada with a final hug, he moved to stand in front of
Talibah. He knelt then and took hr free hand. "Lhhei, I am at your
service."
She blinked again then smiled down at him. "Stand up, child, you owe no
debt to me. Come, sit and meet your newest cousin."
"A gentleman shows the proper respect, though," Vincent mused even as
Erianath stood up.
Erianath reached one finger toward the baby's cheek. Pretty little
thing, he thought. Na fully Rihannsu but pretty. "Yours, Aunt?" he
asked carefully.
Talibah nodded toward her daughter as she said, "Ealasaid."
"My husband is dead," Jada said softly as she moved to take the baby
from her mother. "He left me my daughter and enough credits to get back
to the Federation."
"Ouye," Erianath murmured, wishing again that he had a family of his
own. He looked at Jada and shook his head. "I wish I had known. You
are always welcomed to the House."
"I know," she whispered. "But I had only the one chance to come home
before the transport left. I do love you, cousin, but not as much as
my Ri'nanov."
"Understood," he said simply, "and it still stands no matter what my
wort ira'dianvm says. Aunt, you...I wish I had heard of the
disappearance before that note from the hru'Airifvir. I would have come
sooner."
"The note?" Talibah asked as her heart soared. It had worked, her
message had called the hru'Airifvir out. Stepping back a little, she
leaned back against Vincent for strength.
Erianath nodded, even as he noted her closeness to the Hevam. It could
have bothered him (and he knew it would bother Tal) but it didn't.
Instead, he was pleased. Old as the man was, he would take care of his
aunt and her family. It was his job, really, as Hru'hfirh but he could
not do that on ch'Rihan.
"It surprised me," he admitted, "since we knew nothing of it. Has...my
brother been here?"
"No," Talibah said carefully. "With my granddaughter here he is not
welcome."
"I'll toss the man out on more'n just his ear if he shows," Vincent said
darkly.
"I like that," Erianath said brightly, finally really smiling at the
Hevam. He looked at them all, his dark eyes so serious. "I don't know
what I can do but I will do it. Aunt, please tell me that that note was
not the only way you felt you could contact me."
"To be honest that was not the reason I called for the hru'Airifvir. I
asked for her aid. I had not wanted you to be taken from your home,"
Talibah told him sadly. "This is no place for a man with responsibilities."
"Thee are family, lhhei, and that is important," he said easily. "If
you remember Maec, his son Khiy is now Hru'hfe and I trust Khiy to help
Eris and, truth be told, I needed a break."
"What if you are prevented from returning?" Talibah asked softly. "What
if your brother returns to disrupt things for your sister? What if..."
Jada sighed as she hushed her mother. "Ri'nanov is plagued by what if.
What if Banshee is truly lost... what if Joseph and Tabetha never
return... what if they return and are changed beyond recognition... Too
many, please stop."
"Talibah," Vincent said as he moved to put an arm around her, "he's a
grown man who knows what he's doing. Relax, petite. Let the man enjoy
the presence of his family."
Relaxing in Vincent's arms, Talibah let out a sigh. "I don't like
things that I cannot control. But it is good to see you, little io."
Opening her arms, she silently asked him closer.
Little io, he hmmphed to himself even as he did as she asked. It felt
good to relax with family."I am no small boy, lhhei," he teased with a
chuckle as he tickled Ealasaid's chin. "Na like this little girl
sitting so pretty."
"You are still my little boy," Talibah corrected as she wrapped her arms
around him and cuddled him. "My brothers' son and as dear as my own
children to me. I'm so sorry I stayed away so long, my little io."
"I understand, though, Aunt," Erianath replied, relaxing and feeling
comfortable for the first time in longer than he could remember. "Life
has a way of making us busy."
Jada beamed at how comfortable the two of them looked, well three if she
counted Vincent with his arms around Talibah. "And would my brat of a
cousin like to cuddle his niece?"
One brow went up and a smirk appeared. "I'm a brat?" he wondered. "How
soon you forget, rian. But, ie, if Ri'nanov will allow. There are no
small ones in the house now."
"You and Joseph were brats," Jada informed him smugly. "I was sweet and
Matthew too young to be anything but the baby." Carefully, she passed
the little child to her cousin.
Ealasaid opened bright, inquisitive eyes and reached out little fingers
to grasp at the little bit of fringe hanging from the new warmth's
hair. She tugged on it, smiling for him.
"Hey now, little io," he teased, poking her gently to see if she'd
laugh. "Not many would dare touch the Hru'hfirh so. You must be special."
The baby giggled, tugging harder on the hair and curling it around her
fingers.
"She is," Jada said softly. "First grandchild to the House, if I'm not
mistaken."
"Don't take the job, little ouye," Erianath whispered to the baby as he
bent his neck to keep the hair from smarting. "It's not worth leaving
Ri'nanov and hru'rinanov."
Ealasaid suddenly became serious and she nodded as if she understood
what he'd said.
"I swear she knows what we say," Jada chuckled.
"Babies're sharper than you think, Jada," Vincent told her. "Mine were
and so were you all. Old souls reborn."
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