Ymiden 50 718
Enrick had no idea what to expect now that he'd not only learned of this person, but knew exactly where to go to look for her no less. Of all the mysterious things about his life he'd slowly came to understand, who his mother was before his birth had always been one he sought to uncover. And now he had the chance to meet sister of that woman, as he stood at a distance of the hut where her only sister remained. The rest of the family though? That was for him to ask her when the two came to meet, if he carried out such a notion that is, when the other Sev'ryn he spoke with directed him here. It always amazed him to think that a community so close knit like this, somehow had ways of pointing others like Enrick in the right direction when it came for answers.
The fisherman looked hard at the hut and paced about a couple of times, unsure if he really wanted to go there and bother this person. From what he understood it was the older sister of his mother, Lhu'nẹda, who lived as a herbal gardener with no immediate family apparently. Enrick breathed a heavy sigh through his lips with a few bounces in his steps, "Okay," he told himself in a low tone of voice, "Okay y' got dis. All y' gotta do is introduce yer self, and bring up de fact y' her nephew..." The nephew that pretty much killed her sister shortly after being born of course. He really wished he had someone like Ellen or Qit here for support, alas this had to be something he needed to do alone.
Thus he changed his repetitive paces to a full walk towards the hut, his footsteps felt a little heavier with each step the closer he got. Then he stopped as an older woman stepped outside with several potted plants placed at her doorway, her tangled hair a messy grey as her freckled skin slightly sagged. When she placed her plants down and stood straight, her soft wrinkled face looked towards his direction as she noticed him relatively nearby. "Diuv sev ise agbese ke’u?" She seemed to inquire with a quirk of her eyebrow, eyes dulled to a light green color locked on him now that he had to approach.
"Er..." He hadn't the slightest clue as to what she said honestly, his Xanthean still quite sloppy as he'd been slow to learn the language. "Bayyanannu ïtärä?" Enrick tried to ask although he more than likely butchered the second half of that, needless to say it seemed to be enough for the elder lady to register.
"A foreigner who's learned our tongue?" She tested with her head craned curiously.
"Sorta," He admitted with a soft attempt at a smile, "Oi'm here t' learn what it means t' be Sev'ryn."
"No parents to teach you our ways?" Lhu'nẹda's inquiry only received a slow shake of the head from Enrick, which she looked to him with a sense of pity in return. "Being Sev'ryn can be hard when you're alone, I hope all goes well for you outlander."
"Actually Oi..." He swallowed hard as the bronze eyes filled with flecks of blue. "M' name's Enrick Maze, son o' Deitrick Maze and Mïshän... yer sister."
Her reluctant wonder suddenly became a moment of offense at hearing the name, and for a moment Enrick felt as though his very existence insulted the lady; if not the memory of her younger sibling. "You? You're their child?"
"Yes..." He admitted reluctantly as his eyes were full of a deeper blue now, Lhu'nẹda looked at him harder now and Enrick honestly felt as though she'd judged him.
"You look like him." She admitted finally as she reached for her water pail and sprinkled water over her plants. "A lot like him in fact." Visibly Enrick seemed to release the tension in his posture, slightly relieved that the lady didn't send him away after hearing what he told her. "I doubt he taught you much, if anything, otherwise you wouldn't be here to learn." Lhu'nẹda reasoned with a sigh as she set the pail back down, her soft eyes back on Enrick as she gestured at the door. "You must have a lot of questions."
"Aye. Oi certainly do, as must ye."
"Sound just like him too," she commented with a soft chuckle, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Come. I've tea brewing in the pot, we can chat while we drink."
As she turned to go in first he couldn't help but loosely grin with the welcome, already he felt a little more at ease knowing now that she proved far more accepting. More than he gave her credit for at least, then again where Enrick came from one couldn't put a lot of stock in others. Back in Almund people were just as liable to use you, before or even after they've judged you with their own prejudices. The blue in his eyes lightened to match the natural green of the environment, as he followed the older woman inside the hut to find her already setting the table up with cups and a kettle. "Been waiting for it to cool off as the tea steeps, should be warm but not enough to scald your tongue."
Enrick couldn't help but glance around to see the small setup she had inside her hut; the small space seemed to only possess enough room for a reception area, along with a table and two chairs for sitting space, and then a nook where her bed resided in a far corner. Everywhere there seemed to be potted plants of various herbs, some placed where they caught sunlight while others resided in places that almost appeared for decoration. "Dis is a nice place."
"It's quaint." She remarked with the wrinkles of her lips curved into a faint smile. "Serves its purpose well enough though. Sit." He didn't dare test the directive she gave him, with one of his hands used to pull a chair he soon sat at the table while she poured a cup of tea. "Enrick you said?" The fisherman looked up to her and nodded as his eyes bore green and silver hues. "Certainly have your father's blood in you. Where exactly did you come from?"
"Scalvoris." He answered in turn as he accepted the cup from Lhu'nẹda. "T'anks."
"Ke’ua nyärä." She answered in turn, keen on the fact he paid closer attention to the words. "I never really got to know him like Mïshän did, the two certainly spent a lot of time together before he convinced her to go with him."
"Y' mean..." Enrick's eyes were a full silver now as he looked to Lhu'nẹda curiously.
"Oh yes, my little sister was fierce in her age. Once her mind was made up nothing could dissuade her." She sounded so fondly when she said that, enough for Enrick to tell that he missed her. The both of them sipped at tea for a moment, before she finally continued with the story. "She used to play in the forest all the time, until she joined the hunters that is; she never really wanted to ever stay in Desnind too long."
"She liked t' be outdoors?"
"She loved it," Lhu'nẹda corrected with a warm tone, "she always wanted to explore and see the world. While I preferred the comfort of my home and garden."
"But y' didn't 'ave a family?"
"She didn't..." The healer seemed reminded of grief by that question. "A plague took mine at an early age, and my opoiye lost his life while hunting."
"Oi'm... sorry." Cerulean seemed to splash in spots of his irides when he looked to her sincerely.
"It was Arcs ago, long before she met your father." She told him in turn with her eyes fallen to her tea for a brief moment. "I never suspected she'd actually settle down and bear children, yet here you are..."
"Oi..." He swallowed hard with a look away from the woman, which led her to watch and wait as he found the will to continue. "Shortly after Oi was born, she'd lost too much blood or so Oi was told. Oi never got to meet her, much less grow up knowin' who she was."
Lhu'nẹda took a deep breath and exhaled a sigh, clearly observant enough to know how he felt. "You're not to blame for her death Enrick." A reluctant gaze slowly reached up to meet her eyes after hearing that. "Our family always had difficult times when it came to childbirth. She knew the risks and she accepted that, you needn't burden yourself with guilt that you never deserved."
"Tell me more about her." He finally murmured as he fought back the emotion that welled in his throat. Lhu'nẹda looked a little surprised but quickly gave him another soft smile.
"She was named after the sky."
"Sky?"
"My name, Lhu'nẹda, is derived from the word 'lhunẹdọh' which means 'summer' in the Common Tongue. Our parents then named her 'Mïshän' which means 'sky' in your tongue." She smiled just a little wider as she watched him wrap his mind around the words and their meanings.
"T'ey're both very beautiful names." He complimented in a warm tone accompanied with a soft grin.
Sure enough they continued to share more with one another, Lhu'nẹda sometimes laughing a little when Enrick told a story of his father; or the people that raised him after the man left. They spent a good Break just talking of the two as well as one another, and for once Enrick slowly appreciated the fact he still had family left somewhere in the world.
