Twenty-two

How often do people use "Of course" and "naturally" when it was just what they expected the one doing the listening wanted to hear? Gemma smiled. Idle speculation.

"And how long have you been waiting so far?

"For far too long, some would say. Most of my adult life," Kai said and sipped his tea without paying the slightest attention to Riya's sudden look of astonishment. "It may take longer still. Saint Joachim, the patron of the temple I grew up at, travelled for fifty years of his life before he had the temple built."

Riya's forehead wrinkled. He only looked to be around twenty years old, but there was no telling...

Kai set his cup on the table, rubbed some warmth into his right forearm and stopped being on the defensive. He felt it was polite, of course, but the questions were getting a little too close for comfort. "How long have you had this shop?"

Gemma laughed.

"I've been working for or with Old Ivy since I was seventeen. It belonged to Garren's parents then. We took it over after they retired, a bit over 20 years ago."

Two grey eyebrows rose. He gave the kitchen another look and nodded. "Ah, I see. Was it Garren's parents who set up the shop, then, or grandparents?"

"His aunt, actually," said Riya, glancing at Gemma before launching into a rather detailed description of how the shop had come to be owned by her grandparents.

It turned into quite a lengthy discussion, lengthier than Sebastian-Kai had expected. From there they got into discussing the sights of the city as well: it refreshed his memory suitably and gave him a few ideas about what to do should he brave the cold and the dark and the damp again that day.

But he felt as if he had overstayed his welcome. "Thank you for the tea," he said, stretching his shoulders drowsily. "And the hospitality and chat, as well. It's been a rather dreary past couple of days, and this was certainly a change for the better."

Ayu-Asra shifted slightly to hold his balance, but obviously felt comfortable enough on Kai's shoulder.

"Glad to hear that; you're welcome," Gemma answered.

Kai couldn't help smiling one of his brighter smiles as a response, but it faded into one of his more controlled half-smiles as he looked at Ayu-Asra. "I'm afraid you'll have to get down," the half-elf told the dragon as he pulled his gloves on.

Riya collected the cups, curious to see if Ayu-Asra actually understood what he was being asked to do.

After looking at Kai and then at each other for a moment, he leaned forward, lowering his heads towards the table. After a first hesitant "step" down over the sleeve, he quickly changed direction to crawl into Kai's jacket.

"Does he like you too much or is it just that he's not clever enough?" Riya asked and walked next to her mother.

Kai gave a sigh and drummed a simply, foreboding rhythm against the table with his fingers. "I'm not sure. I guess he might have forgotten where he was going." He snaked a hand into his jacket, trying to gently get a hold of the dragon.

Gemma chuckled. "Well, what? He came down from your shoulder."

Ayu-Asra curled up and fidgeted and tweeted pitifully a bit, but didn't struggle when Kai pulled him out. Gemma offered to take him.

Kai actually grinned, chastised. "You know, that's right. I wasn't clear enough then," he said as he handed Ayu-Asra to Gemma - much to Riya's relief. She just didn't understand how to deal with the dragon.

He stood up, gathering his hair behind his shoulders. Before he realised it, his fingers had already picked out the usual portion of hair that he braided. That stopped rather quickly. Instead he made his way to his raincloak, took it and turned look at the women and the dragon. "Could you do me a favour?"

Gemma, who'd followed to the door of the kitchen, looked up from the dragon and at Kai, smiling. "Depends what it is."

That bright smile touched his lips again. He almost straightened his hat - which he of course wasn't wearing at the moment. "Would you please tell Sylvie I dropped by and that I may be dropping by again later?" He wanted to add something about his plans to leave as soon as the weather cleared... but that feeling of ambivalence struck him again. Instead: "Alternatively, I'm still staying at House Crow. If not, I'm probably at Fortuna's shrine."

Meanwhile Gemma nudged Ayu-Asra onto her shoulder, and llifted her left hand to keep him from flying off. He gave a sad little jingle.

That so-called favour Kai asked made her grin. "I'd have asked you if you had something you wanted to have passed on to her if you hadn't brought it up." Offering her right, she added, "Pardon that I don't take you to the door, but I think I'd better keep this silly lizard from following you. Good bye!"

Riya gave a wave, finding that she was largely perplexed by Sylvie's travelling companion. She could have sworn he was slightly fidgety now and then, or at least a little hesitant when they had discussed his pilgrim background.

"I thought I'd try to be polite and save time," Kai said and bowed his head slightly. "Thank you and goodbye. Be good, Ayu-Asra."

With that, he left, giving Mael a nod on the way out.

When she was sure Kai was outside, and the dragon fidgeted a bit less, she talked to him. "Well, Ayu, your friend is a bit of an odd one, no?"

She got a hiss as return, corrected herself to "Ayu-Asra" and looked at Riya. "But then, you could say the same about Sylvie, no?" Nothing wrong with odd in itself.

"I guess," Riya said and combed her hair with her fingers. "I just wonder what kind of parents he had..."

Gemma shrugged. "They both could have died before he was old enough to remember them. I don't think I'm going to ask him."

Riya shrugged as well. It had only been idle curiosity after all. "I think I'll go watch the shop..."

"Good idea. I think you own Mael."

Riya didn't say anything, just walked off to relieve Mael from his duties. She smiled as she went through the corridor. All you had to do was to know a person's secrets. That really got them to co-operate.

In hindsight, the talk with Auker had not really solved much. Or anything. The problem was that Sylvie had the suspicion a priestess of a divinity, rather than merely a patron, would react badly to questions about the divinity's morals.

Hearing that Sebastian had been around brightened her mood considerably. She didn't let that distract her from work, though - at least not much.

When Sebastian arrived to the shrine, he didn't waste a moment. He stopped only to shake off some of the water before he made his way inside, watching from left to right, then down at the floor. It was clean and dry... which most likely meant that Sylvie was already gone, if not to Old Ivy then somewhere where he couldn't find her. He stopped and sighed. There was no sign of sister Auker, either, except for the scent of food. Following his nose and assumptions, he set off to find the caretaker from by her fireplace in the back.

Sister Auker had cleaned the place up after Sylvie's visit and dumped most of the bottles outside in a little box. She was sitting in a chair in front of the fire now, eating soup. But she hadn't cleaned up because she was afraid she would be having guests, nor was it because she was feeling charitable. It was a bit of money there for anyone who saw an opportunity there - of course, if they didn't, she would have to tell Rosz to do something about the bottles.

It was because of -- and there he was, walking into the room as if nothing at all had happened. Nothing! Auker glared at him and said nothing.

Sebastian shuddered slightly and walked up to another chair, pulling it to the fire. "Hello."

"Hello," said Auker and ignored him for about five seconds, until he sat down. Then, when he was trapped next to her, she let it fly. "You ass. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Sebastian countered and squinted at her, feeling old habits and a manner of speech return to him unbidden. His glance sank to the mug Auker was holding. At least it was water.

"Don't play smart with me, Fox!" she snapped. "You never told me who you were when you came here. Pilgrim! Bah! As if. I thought you were a bit too well-dressed for a pilgrim, dusty and worn as you are."

Oh, so that is what it is. "For your information: I thought you knew. You did, after all, guess the initial letter. Also do me a favour and do not call me Sebastian, the Fox, the Hat, Jester or whatnot," he said back at her with a glacial calm he hoped would - if not calm her - at least irritate her.

They glared at each other for a while, and during this time Sebastian realised the tone he was using was the one he shouldn't have been using.

"I'm damned sorry," said Auker and squeezed her hand around her mug until her knuckles were white. "For your information, I don't have a direct connection to Fortuna. What did you think? That I'd guessed your damn name?"

"Yes," he snapped back at her, suddenly feeling very angry. "Yes, I bloody well did. I even left earlier because I thought you were preparing to ask some awkward questions concerning our fair Lady --" Auker twitched "-- or some other tripe of the sort!"

Sister Auker was very aware of the fact that she was not only bickering with one of the faithful but a man who, according to the church's legendry, had done a bit of everything. Chances were she wouldn't have done anything like this if the Fox hadn't been one of the faithful, of course, but she suspected her mentors were rolling in their graves as if there was no tomorrow.

"You know, fine, whatever, I'm sorry. What can I do for lordship?"

Sebastian nearly struck her right then. "You can start by calling me Kai if you are going to call me something, sister," he said, again placidly, as if his previous outburst had not happened at all. There was not an inkling of anger in his body language or tone; the half-elf sitting on the chair looked as if he was contemplating the wild patterns of the fire and attempting to find logic there.

Auker found it terribly callous, somehow frightening. "Kai?"

"Yes," he said and looked at her, one eyebrow raised. "Sebastian Fochs is not here. I do not intend to raise any manner of hell unless either of the Ladies wish me to, and the Lady Luck - do stop fidgeting - certainly has not expressed any such wishes."

There was little to say to that except... "You're a real bastard, you know," Auker muttered. "Don't you even want me to forgive you?"

"I do," Sebastian said and smiled. "But I'm not sure if you would."

All her anger felt so terribly powerless in front of a face so calm. And she had to admit - she hadn't really pushed the issue... but as if she was going to let him off that easily. "Well, I just might, depending on a few things."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

She made him tell stories all night and did her best to make him feel bad on more than a few occasions. A few times she even succeeded, but somehow he managed to make her feel just as bad. It was because of the glimpses of the more relaxed, less formal-sounding person she had met, and by the time they were done with the stories and their few drinks, she found that much simpler person again.

Auker almost forgave him, too, but decided to sleep on it. She gave a thoroughly tired Sebastian-Kai a blanket, promised to not mention any of the names and wandered off to bed to dream about smug foxes.

Somehow she felt as if she had lost the battle.

The next morning, Sylvie was tired of being confused. More immediately, however, she was just plainly tired.

Ayu-Asra had woken her a couple of times, stirring, unhappy with being cooped up. She didn't want to let him into another room, afraid he would damage things or cause a mess or scare someone in the morning, and he couldn't fly in rain like that, so the room became a trap.

With a bit of a bad conscience he left him there when she went down to the kitchen. It was still before breakfast time, but maybe she could make herself useful, or just warm up a bit more.

"Good morning," Riya said as she put eggs into boiling water. The table was set: there were plates and utensils for five, mugs for just as many. A basket covered with a cloth housed the bread rolls as always, neighboured by a jar of jam. The tea wasn't made yet, however.

Riya turned around to see who it was. She smiled at Sylvie, but looked a little surprised. "Oh, hello... I thought it would have been mother. You're a bit early."

"Mhm. Stupid dragon's getting restless." She looked out of the window, blinking slowly, and asked, "Is this weather normal for this time of year?"

Riya followed Sylvie's gaze and shook her head. The pitter-patter of the rain hadn't died down or calmed at all. It went on its merry rampage and showed no signs of tiring.

The Old Ivy family's daughter shook her head again. "Usually it's only a day or two. If it was late autumn, I'd understand. This is out of the ordinary..."

After a pause, Sylvie answered, "Well, that's good to hear." It would be terrible if this was usual.

"Do you need a hand?"

"I'd love it if you could make the tea. A full pot will do," Riya said with the faintest of smiles, rubbing her eyes. "Did you sleep well?"

"Not very. You?"

Right. Kettle. Water. Get something to do, waking up comes while you try not to foul up.

"No," Riya admitted, "I didn't. I've been thinking too much about what we talked about earlier." She pursed her lips and listened to the rain for a while, watching Sylvie.

"It didn't help that Kai told us he was a pilgrim and had been traveling for most of his adult life," Riya continued thoughtfully.

"Talking about what?" Sylvie wasn't even sure which "we" that was.

"And are the eggs finished yet?"

"Traveling, remember? Where I said I'd like to travel some day... like you," Riya said, glancing at the eggs. "No, give them a few more minutes."

No, you don't.

"I wasn't sure if you meant us two or you and someone else."

Sylvie tried to think of something to add on the topic of travelling, and sighed.

"Riya... after I left home, several times it was sheer luck that I didn't get killed. I've since learned ways to defend myself better, but still... I'm far from the best example to look at if you want to stretch your horizon."

"Luck, hah," Riya said, amused and utterly ignoring most of what Sylvie said. "I guess that wasn't putting it clearly enough. I just want to travel. Not necessarily like you. I want what Fren wanted too... no, never mind... forget it."

How could she put it? All those geography, cartography books, all the maps she tried to draw... It was no use trying to explain it to someone who wouldn't understand anyway. Maybe it was childish, but it was her dream. Sylvie's dream obviously didn't involve being on the road, discovering 'nowhere'.

But she couldn't let go entirely - even so, she felt a little awkward asking this. "Anyway, something I noticed yesterday, um. Kai... he looked like a human-sized fairie, almost. Do you know anything about that?"

The question surprised Sylvie enough to make her forget the other problem, at least for the moment.

"No." She gave a small chuckle. "I've never even met a fairie."

She'd assumed "Kai" had mixed elven and human blood, but this reminded her that things may be different here. For one, she'd never met anyone who wasn't human.