Under the Starry Skies

[Arlo Creede]

Ashan 84th, 718

They'd only just arrived in a handful of breaks before, and could have settled in any number of places for the duration of their stay in Rharne. The Wanderlust itself had perfectly acceptable accommodations, except that he and Vega and her family had been aboard it for trials on end. He at least was ready for a change, and no question that the horses would be happier back on solid ground. They could have hired a room at the inn for longer term than the usual.

Then there was Jonas Creede's farm, which under most circumstances would have been the most logical choice. The house was plenty large enough and the door would be open to them. It made all the sense in the world to see Arlo's stepfather while they were in the area, and he had every intention of doing that. But not yet. The farm was home, it was where his mother had been all his life. And now there'd be ghosts there in one sense or another. Arlo wasn't prepared for that just yet and besides, it had been too long since they'd camped under the open sky. Now was as good a time as any to do it again.

They'd chosen a good spot on the peninsula, south to southeast of the city gates, somewhere between Lake Lovalus and the Zynyx River about a break's walk from Rharne's gates. And having chosen the right location, it didn't take him and Vega long to set up their camp with a long stay in mind. An important part of that was a place to prepared food that was more than a spit and a fire pit. "You alright?" Arlo asked, eyeing Vega as he unloaded crates from the back of Peg's carts and stacked them temporarily outside their tent. He couldn't be prouder to see how much progress she'd made and how quickly she'd done it. But there was always the temptation to overdo and Arlo considered it his task to make sure she didn't.

[Vega]

[img]/gallery/image ... e_id=13363[/img]

Vega had maintained herself as a study in non-committal when they'd talked about where they were setting up. That was up to him, she said. Her only criteria was that she wanted to get off the damn boat and didn't want to stay in an Inn. Which, she supposed, was about as non-committal as she ever really got. But it was Arlo's to decide, she knew. Many people would think that Jonas Creede's farm was the assumption, but she didn't think he'd want to go there. Not yet. However, what she thought didn't come in to this bit of things, so she made no comment.

And yet, she couldn't hide the simple fact that she was delighted.

They were setting up camp. Ready for a long term stay, the two of them, actually setting up camp. It had been such a long time and so much had happened in the in-between that Vega was almost overwhelmed with emotion. They'd spent Cylus on the Wanderlust to get out of the dreadful weather on Scalvoris. So, it had been Zi'da since they'd camped out under the stars and she couldn't wait to do so again. It was difficult, physically, and Vega felt much more tired than she ever would have previously, but she didn't grumble about that, either internally or externally. According to the lists he had, she should still be walking with crutches, if she could walk at all. Sometimes, if they were going for a long walk, she used the walking stick still, but other times she left it behind.

It had brought out an almost fanaticism in Vega, that she would not spend the rest of her life in pain. Frankly, she was sick right to her very back teeth of it, and of people fussing over her. So, she pushed herself and she pushed herself hard, sometimes going further than Arlo thought she should. But, right or wrong, Vega believed that she had learnt to read what her body was telling her and she would say that she pushed herself as far as she should, no further. Soon, she knew, it was going to end in a lively discussion between them.

By the time they had set up, she was limping more than usual, but she needed both hands to do the things she was doing so the stick wasn't an option. Like she always would, she'd set up their tent, which had necessitated a lot of bending. That left a deep, dull ache in her knee and leg, but she resolutely ignored it and carried on, getting their bedroll set up, with the warm blankets and things where they liked to have them. While she did that, he got the cooking area sorted, as was the usual for them. So, they could sleep and they could eat. Then, she started to unpack the crates as he put them down. "Yep," she said, when he asked if she was alright, determined not to get into it with him. "You?" She wasn't going to be discussing what hurt, where it hurt, how much it hurt or anything. Nope. This was them, back to normal and that meant that there were no worries. No, if they were going to be discussing anything it was going to be him.

"Have you seen Bert?" Vega asked, rummaging in the crate. "I thought he was in this one. Oh. Here he is." Lifting the stuffed toy up with a triumphant grin, she made her way to their tent, threw him in and then moved over to the bench she'd made when he was off on Cassion's work, sitting down with a wince. "Shurrup," she said, as she looked up and smiled. "I'm right as rain. Right, you." she added, not willing to make it all about her. "I was thinkin' I could pop round to the farm an' invite Jonas over tomorrow, while you cook for 'im. Or the next trial." That way, they were meeting somewhere not filled with memories for them both. "He might find it a bit easier, you know, the first time. Before we go to the farm. But we don't 'ave to, it's up to you."

He didn't like talking about it, not this kind of thing she knew. It wasn't his way to have long, meaningful chats and she loved him in ways that she found hard to quantify, so Vega ignored entirely what she thought and her decision to not discuss her legs went out of the window. "So, I ache a bit. I think I'm gonna turn into one o' them grumblin' old women what can tell there's gonna be a storm 'cos of my bones." She smiled at him and said what was obvious to them both. "There's been a lot of rain, the ground's in a state. But it's good to get back to campin' out. An' get away from that bunch, too." Vega loved her family, there was no doubting it. But still. "Get back to normal, you know? Just us, sleepin' under the stars an' you not fussin' over me or I'll have to pound you. Sound fair?" With a chipper grin she asked, "So, all fussin', on both sides, put away for a bit. What'r we gonna explore when we're here? What're you gonna show me, Arlo Creede?"

[Arlo Creede]

Ashan 84th, 718

It was more difficult, camping this way rather than choosing to remain on board the Wanderlust, or hiring a room at the end. And for a number of reasons. It was only temporary of course, and with each trial that passed, Vega mended more to such an extent that soon, physically she'd be right back to herself and able to do all the things they'd done before. Until then? What Arlo hadn't told her when they'd chosen the spot they'd establish camp, was that for the first few trials or for as long as need be, he'd use his blessing from Cassion in order to set them up a safe camp to sleep in. It was the perfect compromise in his mind. Camping beneath the stars, but with a comfortable bed to lie in.

Still, he thought that Vega pushed too hard at times. On the other hand, he'd learned how to say it without actually saying it. Truth was he would have said more, except that when she pushed too far, nature pushed back and it meant no harm, no foul. Better than him saying so and being accused of taking the part of a cackling mother hen. So when she responded to his question with a 'yep', and little more, he took the hint, grinning a little as he finished setting up their cook area.

"He's in there somewhere," he said when she asked about Bert, then adopted an innocent expression when she sat by the fire. If he'd been thinking that he'd told her so about overdoing it, he wasn't foolish enough to say it aloud. He frowned curiously though when she mentioned his stepfather, then took a seat himself on the log he'd dragged near the fire. She had a point, so shrugging a little, he conceded as much. "Probably would be weird at the farm." At least at first he guessed. But he'd written to Jonas a couple of times. He'd know that they were going to be in the area. Better to invite him then in the next trial or two.

He laughed though when she talked about the long term affects of her injury, while he began pulling some things for a meal together. "We had a neighbor when I was a kid who swore that she could predict the rain, snow, drought and even a world ending natural event, based on a tick in her elbow." But no, he'd do his best not to fuss at her. As for what there was to see? "There's probably some new things I don't remember from when I was here before," he considered.

But otherwise, there was a fancy, very expensive winery outside the city, Arlo thought. The lightening cathedral, which was something to see. "There's a strange, glowing island in the middle of Lake Lovalus. I used to wonder about it when I was a kid. My mother threatened to skin me alive if I sneaked off there on my own. Isle Vyrelle, I think it's called." Then there were the Mistral Woods and the Ywyngyll Forest. The last one, well, Arlo figured she would remember very well the last time they'd been to Rharned and explored it.

[Vega]

[img]/gallery/image ... e_id=13363[/img]

"You've got 'Didn't I warn you about that?' an' also 'well, what do you expect, Vega?' down to a fine art with yer eyebrows, you know." She grumbled and leaned back. "It's jus' achin' now, it's not pain like it used to be, an' I'm a'right. I am." Was she trying to persuade herself or him she wondered, and gave an ironic grin. "I've stopped worryin' about never walkin' again an' now I worry about bein' in pain for the rest of my life. I'm jus' never happy, am I?" As he pulled up the log, she shook her head. "An' why'd I make us seats an' a bench if you insist on perchin' yer bum on a log, Creede?" But, that said, she got up and moved to sit next to him. It was lower, but that was good she figured. More exercise, better for her. Besides, there were some things that needed her and him to be sitting together for.

Slipping her hand into his, she sat quiet for a moment after he'd said it would be weird, then she spoke softly. "A'right, so I'll go to the farm in the mornin' then. Invite him over, yeah? That'll be nice." Mr Creede, as she had always called him, was a quiet man and Vega couldn't say she'd gotten to know him per se, but he was Arlo's people and as such he was important. "What do you wanna cook? You'll blow his socks off, I bet." If he wanted to pop into Rharne in the morning together, to pick up some stuff, or go on a hunt first thing, that would be fine too, she said. It shouldn't take her long to get to the farm, she'd take Storm. Leaning against him, she rested her head against his shoulder and just had a moment of quiet, the two of them. It was difficult and she was here with him, but she couldn't do more than that, just support him the best way she could.

When he said he'd do his best not to fuss at her, Vega turned and looked at him with an incredulous expression. "That's right good of you, Arlo. Thanks," two bits maximum, she thought to herself. But equally, she understood that he fussed because she was so precious to him. "I tell you what, we'll do a deal, ok? Twice a trial, you can fuss. Then, after a while, we'll wean you down to once an' then every other trial." She was tormenting him, of course and she bumped her shoulder against his. "You fuss as much as you need, qau'ma. Considerin' everythin' you've been pretty good. Well, you know, alright. Not bad, anyhow.." Vega turned his head to her by placing a hand on his cheek and then kissed him. "I wouldn't let anyone else carry me. I told the twins I had to come back cos of you. You fuss as much as you need. It makes me feel loved." She grinned at him, though, not willing to be sappy for too long. "An', I get to thump you for it, an' I like thumping." All of the places, she said, when he told her about places to explore. All of them. She had a whole season and over half of this one to get back and she was hungry, truly hungry to get back to it.

When he told her that he'd used his Cassion blessing to set up a soft bed for them, Vega looked at him and one eyebrow raised. "No," she said, apparently quite determinedly. Looking at him, she tried to explain. "I've looked forward to this for so long, Arlo. Since the drugs wore off at the end of Cylus, soon as I could think lucidly, I just wanted this. Us. Me an' you an' our tent under the stars. An' I'm ready. It won't be easy, but it'll never be easy the first time, cos I'm not used to it." Slipping her hand into his, she shrugged slightly, not sure she was making sense but knowing that she was saying it exactly how it was for her. "It's .. I've held on to this moment, clamberin' into our bedroll together, feelin' your arms around me an' knowin' that if I even stick my nose out from under the blankets, I'll get chilly, but jus' feelin' warm an' loved an' free." She squeezed his hand, hoping and believing that he'd understand. "An' I'm so grateful for the gifts that Cassion's provided, an' I don't mean to sound ungrateful to him, an' especially not to you. But I need to be us again now. Jus' you an' me an' the whole night not sleepin'" There was an expression she got that was almost shy. Almost. He was the only one who ever saw it. "I'll wear my longjohns an' bzzzzzz," she teased, referring to another time entirely.

Either way, the next trial she made her way to the Creede farm. It felt like she was intruding, she thought as she knocked on the door. Like this was Arlo's and she had no right to be here without him. Nothing would stop her from doing it, because it was what Arlo needed, but still, as the door opened she smiled. "Hello, Mr Creede. I dunno if you remember me," that had been a worry on the way here. "My name's Vega an' I'm Arlo's frie..well, I didn't think about that. I came here with Arlo, before. An' we arrived in Rharne yestertrial, an' wondered if you'd like to come to our camp, Arlo's cookin' an' we'd like it very much." She looked at him with bright eyes, swirling a mass of colours and then, in true Vega style she blurted, "An' I'm so sorry about Mrs Creede, sir, she was such a nice lady." Was it acceptable to talk about dead people in this society, she suddenly wondered. Arlo would have told her, wouldn't he? Probably. Maybe. Either way, she smiled and stopped talking, resisting the urge to shuffle her feet.

[Arlo Creede]

"Nothing wrong with putting my own personal spin on sign language is there?" Arlo argued when Vega poked fun at his manner of communicating his wishes and opinions. Whatever worked, he figured, but then he figured that it probably wasn't necessary. In this case Vega knew what he'd be thinking already. Don't overdo it. Don't set yourself back. "The pain is a good thing," he said, making room on his log beside her. He liked the bench, it was useful in any number of ways. But there was something about a rough log, in just the shape as nature had left it, that appealed to him and always would.

But if she wanted to go to his family's farm in order to invite Jonas, Arlo wouldn't protest. He wanted to see his stepfather, and he'd promised he would in his letters. It was only that the closer they'd sailed to Rharne, the more he felt his mother's absence. Arlo found the feeling difficult to put into words. Her absence felt like a living thing, all on its own. Better here then in camp, at least for the time being. As for what he'd cook, Arlo frowned and shrugged a little. "I'm not sure. My mother liked to cook, she liked to think that she could. But she was awful at it. Jonas never complained, I knew better, but I'm not sure he's any better at cooking for himself."

"Fish," Arlo decided. "He's always liked it but we never had it much. I'll go fishing and if I don't have any luck I can always visit the market to get what I need." Fishing was all well and good, so long as luck was on his side. Better to have an alternative, assuming that it wasn't. "Thank you," he said, bumping her shoulder a little then placing a kiss on her lips. For offering to go to the farm, he meant. For being here and understanding that it was a tricky thing for him at the moment.

Then they kissed again and Arlo grinned a little when Vega offered up a compromise. He could fuss, and the boundaries for it were in place. "Deal," he said. At any rate her point was well made. No safe camp, and he agreed. After all, it wasn't just the body that had needed healing. They both loved sleeping underneath the stars, and she needed things to be like they once had been. So did he, in truth, in order to know that she'd gotten there. So he grinned again, snorted and took the point just as she'd known he would at the mention of the striped long johns.

***

That next trial when Vega knocked on the door, over at the Creede farm, it took a bit or so before the door creaked open. In the meantime, a black and white, medium sized herding style dog sniffed around her ankles and a littler of young, wobbly pups clambered up behind her and followed suit. One of them was braver than the others and went so far as to bark in a squeaky sort of way, one eye blue and one brown. And then Vega would find herself face to face with Jonas Creede. Clearly the older man recognized her straight away. "I know you," he said when Vega wondered. "You're Arlo's girl. But call me Jonas. Mister Creede was my father." His eyes crinkled at the corners a little, as if in a smile where the corners of his mouth were only tempted to follow suit. Still he stepped back a little from the door, pushing it open wider, and his expression turned more solemn.

"Thank you," he said when she mentioned his wife. "She was that and a lot more." Sweet, he meant as he invited her in should she want to stay for a cup of tea before heading back. His tea brewing talents weren't anything to write home about. But it was hot water and tea leaves and not that hard to manage. Turned out though, Jonas wasn't much better at small talk than Arlo was. He asked about their journey from Scalvoris, about the boat since Arlo had written and said they purchased one. But mostly, he was happy to accept her invitation to joint the two of them at their camp next trial. And when that time came, he'd turn up with a bottle of peach liqueur in his hands like any good dinner guest should.

***

The trial before, Arlo had enjoyed just as much luck as he'd hoped he might, and had brought back a fishing basket full of good sized, fresh water trout. They were ready to go onto the heat but he hadn't placed them there yet. They'd cook fairly quickly so better to wait until Jonas arrived to start them. But he'd sliced them open, cleaned them, removed the bones and scraped the scales, seasoned them inside and out, rubbed them with a light almond oil and then wrapped them end to end with strips of bacon. to further season and hold them closed.

He'd serve the fish with greens seasoned with bacon fat, garlic and herbs, steamed then crisped grains and then for dessert, pears poached in brandy with a carmelized drizzle."How did he seem" he asked Vega, expecting to see his stepfather pop over the rise any trill now.

[Vega]

[img]/gallery/image ... e_id=13363[/img]

She'd prayed her thanks to Xiur the night before, in the darkness with the stars above them and the two of them in their bedroll together. Emotions threatened to overwhelm her as she'd lay there, the pair of them wrapped up together and entangled in each other's limbs, her head on his chest. She'd wanted to tell him she loved him, but if she'd spoken she'd have cried or something equally wussie. It was alright, though, because she knew he knew and as his arms tightened around her, she allowed herself to simply sleep and for all that her legs ached, Vega slept better than she had for a long time.

~~**~~

She rode Storm out to the Creede farm the next trial, while he went off fishing. She did that for a number of reasons, but mostly because she was enjoying being able to. After all, they'd been on the seas for a long time and before that her legs and before that the weather. "It's good to get out, innit. We're not allowed to go too fast, remember, Arlo said." She gave a grin and urged the horse just a little more. Just because she could, but in fairness, she was still taking it very easy. It was good for her legs, she had discovered and now that the bones were mended, it was just about getting back to the tone and physique she had achieved previously. Every trial she felt better and now, since they left Nella's Pearl, really, she'd felt a change. It was time for her to look after him, because this was hard for him and she wanted to be what help she could be, standing with him through it all.

So, she clambered down off Storm and Vega looked at the place. She'd been here before but Mrs Creede had been alive then and there was something so much more vibrant about the place. Still, she had a job to do here so she tethered Storm and made her way to the door. "Oh! Oh look at you all!" She lowered herself onto her haunches to fuss the dog and the puppies and when the one with mis-matched eyes barked at her, Vega beamed. "Look at you, zyqat. Yer beautiful, aren't you! Oh!" Standing up, totally distracted by the dogs, Vega smiled at Jonas when he recognised her. "Yes, sir, I am," she said, when he described her as Arlo's girl. Not call him Mr Creede? Vega looked genuinely pained at the thought of not being respectful in that way and yet, he'd asked her. "Thank you, sir." Yeah, Jonas wasn't happening any time soon, but she'd give it her best shot.

Inside, if he'd let her she'd offer to make the tea. She had no issues with sitting quietly, Vega didn't feel the need to fill silences with chatter, but she would chat with him. The boat they'd named the Wanderlust, she told him and Arlo was the navigator, though he was a fine sailor too. They travelled on it with her father and cousin, she explained and asked if he'd ever done any sailing? Vega figured, she and Jonas Creede had two things in common, so she spoke about both. Mostly, she discussed Arlo, told him about the Letter from the University, that kind of thing. She didn't avoid talking about Mrs Creede, nor did she push it. And she tried not to think that this was too big a house and he just seemed to be lonely rattling around in it.

But she drank the tea, offered at least twice to wash up her cup and told him very genuinely that she was "Right pleased," that he was coming. She had a map for him, where they were camped and Arlo would be cooking. She extolled the virtues of Arlo's cooking, and then some and she assured him that all he'd need to bring was himself. When she left, she took the time to fuss the dogs and was delighted to spend a little time playing with the one she'd named Zyqat in her mind ~ a Rakahi term for a fighter or champion.

~~**~~

"He seemed lost," she said when Arlo asked. Vega had tied her hair back and twisted it into a loose bun into which she'd wound a few flowers and she'd put on a good dress. In fairness, she seemed to take as much trouble for his stepfather as she had for her own father, more even. It was important to her that she did her best, looked her best and made him proud. She turned to look at him and she couldn't rightly explain it any better. "I mean, there's nothin' changed at the farm, except the dog's had pups, but it seems more empty." Shrugging slightly, though, she said it how she saw it. "But then, yer a lot like him. He wasn't gonna go talkin' about his feelin's with me, though I think he appreciated that I told him 'ow sorry I was. He wants me to call him Jonas," she whispered then, like the man in question might be about to jump out from behind her. "I don't know if I can. I mean. He's your Papa an', yeah. He's the head of yer clan and." Vega sighed. "I'll try though. Are you sure I look a'right? I don't want him thinkin' you've gone slummin' it."

Vega was a million miles away from domestic. It simply wasn't her skill set. Yet, by her hands, the camp was clean. Tidy and clean and neat because Mr Creede was coming. "Was this 'ow you felt when my Papa first visited? Wow." She'd taken to pacing and she made herself stop that and she sat down and waited. Once he arrived, then she'd be fine, she reassured herself. That was bound to be right.

[Arlo Creede]

Ashan 84th, 718

Lost? The revelation brought a curious frown to Arlo's face, even while Lyova warned him that his stepfather was coming alone and would appear over the rise, so he put the fish on the fire. He hadn't really thought about that much, but as a kid, his own world had revolved quite a lot around his mother. Maybe Jonas's had too. And why wouldn't it have? "He didn't say much about that in his letters. Mostly he told me about how the farm was doing, when a new batch of lambs was expected and so on." There'd been clues though, had Arlo been looking for them. "He had trouble with the chickens. They're turned out during the day and cooped at night, except he couldn't get them to come in after she was gone."

In fact it was Arlo who'd offered up the solution in his very next later. His mother had a small bell made of bone china on a shelf in the kitchen. It had a faded flower pattern on it, the bottom edge was chipped and the finish had fine cracks all over it. "She'd go out in the evening and ring that bell, and the chickens came running," he told Vega, remembering those times with a sentimental smile. Nella Creede had loved her chickens like children.

He seemed a little surprised though when she mentioned the pups. "I figured Polly was done with birthing pups. She'd be old by now. She's always been by his side, helping him move the ship. Smartest dog I ever saw." Black and white, a longish wavy coat, fast as a falcon in flight when on the run. And protective of her flock, be it sheep or people. "Doesn't surprise me," he said, regarding his step-father's preferences. "He's never liked formalities much." But did she need to ask? Vega looked more than fine. She was as fair as ever, and fairer than anyone else in his eyes.

And then there was Jonas, coming along with a bottle of peach liquor in one hand an a black and white ball of fluff in the other. The pup had a blue ribbon tied around its neck, that he must have found in his wife's old sewing basket that he still kept in the corner by her chair that he hadn't moved or sat in since she'd been gone. When the older man got closer, from Arlo's perspective he'd aged some since he'd last seen him. It was something around the eyes. He stood to greet him and smiled, while Jonas took him in as well. "You haven't been gone that long Arlo. You get into something that scared a handful of arcs off you in a hurry?"

The turn of his mouth didn't give any humor away, but there was something in the eyes, and Arlo grinned in return and shrugged. "Something like that. It's a long story," he said, offering up the bench for Jonas to sit once he'd take the bottle that his stepfather had brought. Before he took the offer though, the man turned to Vega and lifted up the pup. "I noticed you took a liking to this one when you dropped by yester-trial." It was in fact the pup with one blue eye and one brown. "They'll all be needing a home except one that I'll keep to step in for Polly. Yours, if you want it," he said in case Vega did want the pup. If she didn't it was certainly no offence to him, and he'd take it back with him to find another home at a neighboring farm.

"Arlo mentioned in his letter than your family came along on your boat and theirs," he said, as Arlo poured some cider into mugs and passed it around. "They staying in town while the two of you are here?"

[Vega]

[img]/gallery/image ... e_id=13363[/img]

"But I can't call him that!" Vega whispered and shook her head. Then, when his reply to did she look alright was so unhelpful, she shook her head. "Yer useless you are. I don't wanna look fair, I wanna look good enough for you." She rolled her eyes and everything about her told him the simple truth. He was no help at all. "Yeah, there are five of them. One came chargin' up an' barked at me. Beautiful little thing he was, one eye blue an' the other one brown. Zyqat, he was, righ' little warrior."

But it was too late to think about changing her dress (again), because he was here and when Arlo stood, she did the same. Where was she supposed to stand, Vega suddenly wondered? Humans did funny things, they had rules for different things that she and her people had no idea of. With the sudden realisation that there might be rules to this that she didn't know about, Vega resisted the urge to kick Arlo in the ankle for not telling her. So, she stood next to him but not so near that any part of them was touching. No, not doing that. She was getting herself worked up into a frenzy about rules that Arlo and Mr Creede knew that she didn't, when he offered her the puppy and Vega beamed. "Oh, Mr Creede, really?" She stepped forward and took hold of the puppy and her eyes swirled green with orange and blue flecks in it. "Oh, he's beautiful, thank you, sir!" Without even thinking about it, Vega kissed Jonas on the cheek and hugged him briefly.

It then occurred to her that she was probably supposed to check with Arlo about this kind of thing, but then he'd said they could get a dog and she grinned at him. "Zyqat. It means champion, in Rakahi. Warrior to a cause, sort of thing." The delight she felt was evident. "An' I bet you he doesn't get sea sick at all. Do you? No, I didn't think you did," yes, it seemed, Vega was smitten.

When they sat, her with the dog curled in her lap and her scratching him behind the ear, Mr Creede spoke to her and asked about her family. Vega shook her head. "No, they're on the boats," she said and glanced up at Arlo with a smile as she took her cup from him, "thanks, qau'ma." Turning back to Mr Creede, "We tend not to be so welcome in some of the towns an' stuff. Biqaj are fun an' everyone wants to invite us to parties on the beach, but our ways are strange an' folks don't like that so much." She shrugged slightly, wondering how much of it was paranoia on the part of the biqaj, how much was the reality. She looked at Mr Creede and added, "I've never really experienced it, to be honest. But my Papa tells of a time when he was a young man an' him an' my grandfather an' uncle went to an Inn. He said they jus' wanted to treat their father to a feather bed an' a cooked meal. But they weren't allowed to play cards at the tables, had to pay for everythin' up front, which no one else did, an' there were insults thrown at them."

She didn't doubt that her father was telling the absolute truth, he didn't lie. "Him an' my uncle spent the night in a cell, by all accounts. Accused of bein' troublemakers an' then of thievin' from one of the other customers." Shaking her head, Vega suddenly grinned. "Sorry. I over answered. They're on the boats, sir. Gettin' on each others' nerves, no doubt. Would you like to see the boats? We'd be right pleased to show you." There were going to be times when they all got together to eat, probably either here or on one of the vessels, she said and he was most certainly invited to all of them. With a nod in the direction of the docks, she said, honestly, "we can be a rowdy lot an' most of us are too thick to walk an' talk at the same time, but they're good people an' you'd be more than welcome to come spend some time. If you wanted to, o'course."

[Arlo Creede]

Ashan 84th, 718

She could call his stepfather mister Creede if it was her preference, Arlo had told Vega when she protested to calling him Jonas. Jonas himself might repeat his wish that she'd do different, but he certainly wouldn't hold it against her. And by fair, he'd pointed out with a grin, a bump to her shoulder, he'd meant beautiful, not mediocre or anything like it. As for pups? Just hearing her talk about it reminded him of saying she wanted a dog, and him wondering if they really needed one. Apparently, she hadn't forgotten her liking for them. Not that he'd thought she would.

And at any rate it appeared that his stepfather had taken the matter into his own hands. When Jonas Creede decided he was going to do something, that something was going to be, well, he wasn't a hard or demanding sort of man, but he was one that it didn't pay to argue with. Arlo simply shook his head, smiled and concluded that whatever battle there might have been, was lost before it had started. Did Vega know that if Jonas hadn't beat him to it, he would have eventually dropped by the farm and asked for one of the pups? She probably didn't need to. "It's a good strong name," Jonas declared once he'd put the wriggling pup in her arms, and had taken a seat by the fire. "You've got a nice set up here. More like a home than most camps I've gone by on the road."

He tasted his cider and didn't seem very surprised to hear that Vega's family had stayed on the boat, and that they might not feel as comfortable in Rharne as humans or others might. "There are quite a few Biqaj to find or the shores of Lake Lovalus," he said, "But I take your point and it's not entirely unfounded. Depends on who I guess but in some quarters there's an unwelcoming air. Always has been. In others there's not." He'd never given much quarter to a disliking for the Biqaj himself. They were people with a different way of living and being. But at the core, not so different than anyone else.

"I think I would in fact," he said when she asked did he want to visit the boats. And he'd be pleased to come round for a meal as well so long as her family felt the same. "It would be nice to see the home you too have made for yourselves." Curious, Arlo frowned in thought as he pulled the fish off the flames and put their plates together. "I never thought you had any interest in boats or sailing," he said, and Jonas snorted, took the plate he was handed and said, "Well you never asked Arlo. I didn't always think it would be a life of farming." In turn Arlo looked a little more confounded, asking, then why had he?

It was because, Jonas explained, it was what you did back then. The grandfather farmed, the father inherited and carried on the tradition, and the son did the same. It was expected, so it was what you did. Looking at Vega when he handed her a plate, it was evident that he was realizing that was quite a lot about his stepfather that he just didn't know. "I thought you wanted me to take up farming." Jonas was quick to smile and after tasting his fish, shot back. "You assumed I did, and I didn't tell you different. Your mother and I knew from the time you were very little that you'd never make a farmer. And that was alright with me. You'd have been a terrible one anyway, always leaving the gates open so the sheep got out. Running off and forgetting your chores."

The food was good. More than good Jonas said then, and remarked that Arlo was a much better cook than Nella had been. The farm had become work lately, he added in an offhanded way. And it wasn't the same with Nella gone. Too quiet. But it was a living and the property was worth something if he ever decided to sell. Which he would at some point, given that he'd no other living family to leave it to. "So what did you want then?" Arlo asked, referring to Jonas' when he was young. And a spark of humor passed through the older man's eyes. "I thought I'd be a knight or a sailor." Which in a sense brought him back round. "So Vega. Arlo has told me about his blessing from Cassion. I understand your marked by Xiur?" He didn't know much about the Immortals himself. But he'd always been interested in the stars, so was naturally curious.

[Vega]

[img]/gallery/image ... e_id=13363[/img]

"Oh!" she'd said, in some surprise when Arlo had explained what he meant. "I thought you meant like, you know 'fair to middllin'.' Which would normally be a'right, but not for your pops. But, shurrup. I just needed to know it was good enough." She'd nearly missed the beautiful comment in her response to what he'd meant by fair. Thankfully, though, she got in there in time and he got an elbow in his ribs for his trouble. She watched his expression as she talked about the puppies and she figured that he was fretting over her wanting a dog. She was about to tell him that it was fine, she didn't really, and they'd probably be seasick anyhow, when Mr Creede came over the rise and as soon as the little bundle of fluff was put into her hands, what little sense or reason she might have had flew out of her head. "Oh, he's beautiful, sir, thank you." To Arlo, she shot a vaguely apologetic look but there was no doubt that she was apologising for the fact that they had a dog. Because they did. "I'll look after 'im. Walks will be good for me, too. Good exercise." She grinned at him, fully aware that there was no problem. "An' I'll keep pretendin' I don't know about the cats, too, if it helps?" She waited until he had his back to her before she said that, but the grin on Vega's face was as evident in her voice when she said it.

"We like to keep it nice, sir, thanks." Vega sat and sipped her cider, listening to Arlo and Jonas talk. When Jonas said that he would like to come round, though, and share a meal as long as her family felt the same way, Vega was quick to reassure him. "My Papa reminded me four times to extend the invitation, Mr Creede. If I'd let 'im, I think he might 'ave written a note for you, but he wouldn't trust me to deliver it," she smiled him as she spoke about her father who she obviously adored. "He's very fond of Arlo, calls him a 'fine young man', to the point that he invited him into our clan, an' he's keen to meet you."

Taking the plate from Arlo, Vega made sure that her hand touched his, her finger just brushing against his. He looked confounded, and a little bit lost himself. Vega wondered, suddenly, if Arlo realised just how alike he and his stepfather were and she quickly concluded that no, he probably didn't. She kept quiet, listening to the conversation between them. The thing she was starting to realise about Jonas Creede was that he dropped little things in, here and there. Like the 'and that was alright with me' when talk turned to Arlo not being a farmer. Still, it was between the two of them and she kept quiet, though she smiled at the though of Arlo leaving gates open and wandering off somewhere to do something else. She didn't doubt it.

Something about what they both said, though, made her curious. Confused even. But she didn't understand the grief they both felt, never having felt it herself and she wondered if it was because of that. Either way, she wasn't going to ask, she concentrated on not dropping any of her food - normally she wouldn't care two hoots, but there it was. She nodded her head, though, when Mr Creede asked her about Xiur. "Yes, sir. He called by a while ago. I've always talked to 'im. Then, we met 'im an' Cassion again after we'd been up a mountain in Scalvoris." And if ever there was a short version of a story, that was it Vega thought with a smile. She'd have to be sure and tell Arlo that she didn't mind at all what of their exploits and adventures he told Mr Creede, but he'd have to be clear with her which ones were off limits, if any.

"I was raised by my Biqaj fam'ly," she said, not sure how much of that he knew. "But I'm 'alf Sev'ryn, too. I've got the Biqaj looks, other than the hair, an' where that came from no one's really sure. But though my blood's silver, I don't got the ability to know the stars like a proper Biqaj would." It was strange, but even the way Vega said all that was different than it had been. "I got the Sev'ryn familiar thing instead. But my Papa, he can navigate by the stars with his eyes shut it's amazin'. U'frek an' Xiur, they're the two Immortals I grew up knowin', an' U'frek's blessin' is why Arlo looks like an aurora." She smiled at Arlo. "But Xiur is dusk an' stars an'clouds an' hope." She was quiet for a moment, but Arlo knew her well enough, there was something building and she was trying really hard not to say it because it probably wasn't her place, and she shouldn't.

Four and a half trill later, though, she couldn't help herself. "My mother died birthin' me. I don't miss her, I didn't know her an' I've never rightly known what to say when folks say they're sorry about it, because my life has been the right one for me. But my Papa, he loved her very much an' when she died, he jus' picked up an' went home to his family. They'd made their own life together, him an' her, an' his family were sailin' the seas." She smiled at them both, her eyes slowly shifting in colour as she spoke. "He didn't want to live that life they'd made together on his own, so he went to his family an' that was that." Having finished her food, Vega gently stroked the puppy which was fast asleep in her lap. "The Wanderlust isn't my home, sir, any more than this camp is. Where Arlo is, that's my home an' that means in my home.. ours, you're always welcome, for a break, a trial or to jus' come home an' stay." With a sudden grin at Arlo, though, she added. "Though I try not to be that nice to 'im as a rule. He gets needy. What's for pudding?"