Re: Dashing Through Dolerum (119 4A)

[Kara Winters]

Miyuki actually thought about it, simply because she wasn't sure if she could drag the bags of flour and rice back out of her bag afterwards. Runed bags were a bit odd. being endless and yet one could find anything they wanted in there if they shuffled around enough.

She always wondered what it was like in a runed bag, when she had posed it as a rhetorical question her mother once said everything just stacked on top of each other. How that didn't damage anything she didn't know, nor did she know how her mother knew this.

"Delivery," Miyuki finally replied, "I think actually would be for the best..."

It wouldn't be heavy for her to take back, but with all her other things she didn't want to be dragging the bags back out again.

[Nara-pyon]

The man nodded and made another note. With a glance out the window, he grimaced slightly. "Unfortunately, I can't have them delivered until tomorrow," he said, his apology genuine. "The weather is growing far too dangerous to send anyone out anymore today."

"You know where to bring it?" Gwen asked him cautiously.

The man smiled faintly and nodded again. "Everyone knows where the foreigners are staying," he said simply.

[Kara Winters]

Miyuki chuckled, considering how rare it was for outsiders to come here and how strange their group can get, Miyuki wasn't at all surprised.

"Excellent," she replied, "I can wait on the delivery of rice and rice flour, but I will have to take the bag of flour with me unfortunately. I have plans for spiced bread to go along with some story telling tomorrow..."

She paused and glanced out the window.

"If the weather is fair, it's been a long while since I've seen snow like this."

That one storm caused by Daneis didn't count.

[Nara-pyon]

The man nodded and headed towards the sacks of flour.

"To be honest, I have not seen snow like this in many years," he commented. "Usually we can keep the outdoor market open well into Autumn ... this weather is like mid-Winter, which is two months away."

He picked up the sack and brought it over to Miyuki.

[Kara Winters]

"That is unusual," Miyuki murmured thoughtfully.

Though she knew weather could be unpredictable at times, but elves who were long lived generally were good at predicting weather patterns even if their shifts were thousands of years apart.

Once she had her sack of flour and paid the shop keeper, Miyuki had to admit, it was best they leave now for the tent than later. She just hoped Gwen would be able to go home safely afterwards.

[Nara-pyon]

Gwen hurried with Miyuki back to the tent, and it seemed to her that the weather had stabilized slightly by the time they reached it, if not showing some slight improvement. For that matter, she reasoned, it could simply be that the snow was more centered around the other side of the city. Still, she was glad to get inside and rest again.

It seemed they had arrived only a few minutes after Kyrie, Daeron and Iorlas, and Khetal and Wren were not yet back. Iorlas was with Lancaeriel in the playroom, talking together as Amir and Kaede slept on the floor, Amir's head on Kaede's side. Daeron was out of sight, presumably putting away his purchases, and Kyrie was leaning against the table and chatting with Cael.

"Welcome back!" Kyrie greeted the two of them cheerfully when they entered the tent, snow dusting their cloaks. "I was wondering who else would come back here."

[Kara Winters]

"We figured it was best to come back before it got any worse," Miyuki explained.

Once they had left the shop, Miyuki had put the sack into her bag so she wouldn't have to lug it around so much. It also left her hands free to take her cloak and boots off.

[Nara-pyon]

Gwen also removed her cloak, shaking it out before hanging it on the back of a chair. "And I think I shall stay here until the weather clears, at least a bit," she sighed, rubbing her arms to warm them. "It's strange, this weather."

"It is," Kyrie agreed. She turned her eyes to Miyuki, and her gaze was both thoughtful and curious. "I would even go so far as to say ... perhaps even unnatural ..." She arched one eyebrow slightly, and in a lower tone asked, "What do you think, Miyuki?"

Gwen frowned in confusion. She didn't know what her sister was talking about.

[Kara Winters]

Miyuki frowned, the shopkeeper had said it was unusual, and the thought of it being unnatural had passed through her mind. She paused for a moment and took a deep breath, she had been quite distracted earlier by the fact she was trying to make her way through snow to think of anything amiss. However, now that she was in somewhere warm and being snowed on she could focus more.

Now that she could think, outside had felt heavy in a way that couldn't just be the snow.

Eyes glazed for a moment before coming back into focus, "There's a good chance that it's unnatural, there's a heaviness about it."

Coming into sharper focus she tilted her head at Cael, whom Kyrie had been talking to earlier.

"Had anyone sensed anything today?"

Between Cael, Lancerieal and now Eron, someone probably sensed something.

[Nara-pyon]

"No need," Cael said darkly. "Unfortunately, we know what is causing this weather."

Kyrie rounded on him, her eyes filled with surprise. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you'd only just arrived," Cael pointed out, "and there's not an awful lot we can do about it at the moment."

[Kara Winters]

Miyuki frowned, she wondered, could it be....

"Cael..." Miyuki asked slowly, "Is Daenis in emotional distress?"

She did have that fleeing thought earlier in the day that she had never seen anything like it, except when Daenis had made that storm that covered them. However, she knew Daenis would never do so on purpose and magic could be very much linked to emotions at times, especially when it was a Gift. Not everyone had full control over their Gift.

Like her mother, though Miyuki had never seen the phenomenon herself having never been near a large enough colony of butterflies in the right season.

[Nara-pyon]

Cael snorted. "That's putting it mildly."

Gwen frowned. "I don't understand ... what connection could she have to weather?"

"What happened to her?" Kyrie asked quickly, cutting her sister off.

Cael's eyes shifted to the playroom area, where Lancaeriel was just leaving Iorlas and Amir behind, coming to join the others in the kitchen. He nodded at his wife. "Ask her. She could tell you better."

[Kara Winters]

Miyuki blinked up at Lancaeriel, she couldn't understand what could have put Daenis in such distress.

"Lancaeriel?" Miyuki asked softly, "What happened to Daenis?"

[Nara-pyon]

Lancaeriel bit her lower lip anxiously as she came to join the others, and it wasn't until she was at her husband's side that she spoke. In a low tone, she explained, "This morning, Daenis confessed to Mailon that she loves him ... and he as much as admitted that he also loves her, but that he will never allow anything to come of it because he doesn't deserve to be happy."

Kyrie's eyes blazed with sudden fury. "Is he mad?" she seethed, her fists clenching at her sides. "He's going to make her miserable and blame it on me?"

[Kara Winters]

Miyuki didn't even bother to restrain herself as she palm faced herself.

"No, because he's emotionally stupid," Miyuki muttered.

Mailon was sweet, but his 'emotional intelligence' as it were was lower than even her brother's. At least Andarien understood when he's made someone miserable and that something was generally wrong, he just sometimes didn't know what it was, Mailon sometimes didn't even know that.

Though she supposed, weirdly enough it made sense. The way the White Elves were would kind of make those longer lived a bit emotionally stunted. No good role models and that rot, Miyuki supposed, but Daenis was young and... well she was special.

"And a bit selfish, not that I think he realizes it," Miyuki sighed, "So... where is Mailon?"

It was a bit selfish, after all he was only thinking about himself, but that sort of went along with being emotionally stupid in her mind.

[Nara-pyon]

"In his room," Lancaeriel replied softly, nodding towards the hallway.

Without a word, Kyrie headed down the residential hall and knocked solidly on Mailon's door. "Mailon!" she called angrily, barely controlling herself, "get out here, right now! You have some answering to do!"

Mailon's door opened, and he stepped partially out into the hall. There was an expression of deep sadness on his face, and resignation.

"Kitchen," Kyrie ordered him, pointing. Silently, Mailon obeyed. When he saw the circle of people awaiting him, he lowered his gaze guiltily. Kyrie followed him back into the kitchen, shaking so badly with anger that it was visible.

[Kara Winters]

Miyuki wasn't angry like Kyrie, but she had the look of a disappointed mother. Not that she would know without looking in the mirror, probably because she wasn't surprised, but wished Mailon had asked someone, anyone for advise about love and relationships.

After all, they had no less than three married couples in the tent, one married woman and she was pretty sure Eron was old enough to have at least dated before he fell through that tear between worlds.

[Nara-pyon]

Before anyone could say anything, Kyrie smacked Mailon upside the head so hard that he nearly fell forward.

"What is wrong with you?" she demanded through clenched teeth. "Do you have any idea what you've done to that poor girl? She is so in love with you, she was in tears, begging me to help her find a way to let you know that she doesn't care about your old life!"

Mailon swallowed hard but made no move to retaliate against Kyrie or even rub the spot where he had been hit. "But what I did ... I don't deserve-"

Again, he didn't defend himself when Kyrie slapped him again, this time across the face, the sound of it so loud that Gwen, Cael and Lancaeriel all flinched.

"Stop thinking about yourself," she snapped at him. "Stop going on about what you don't think you deserve. Think about her! What does she deserve? And did you honestly think that I would let you use me and others like me as an excuse to destroy someone else's life? I told you - you've more than paid for what you've done! So get over yourself!"

[Kara Winters]

Miyuki winced and let the silence that was Kyrie's rant sink in before giving a soft cough.

"Mailon," Miyuki spoke up softly, "I'm sure you know living among other White Elves, emotions like pride, and anger can be very strong and very extreme, but the same is for emotions like love and sadness. When someone, especially another elf says they love someone, and says they love them with all their being, they really mean it in every way possible."

She sighed and realized she might not be getting that point across and thumbed her teacher and Cael.

"I mean look at these two, they found each other through several life times, and I don't mean how long they've been living. When a person loves you in that way, you can't just tell them to forget you because it's not going to happen. If you're miserable because you feel you can't be with her, she's going to be far more miserable because you told her she can't be with you."

[Nara-pyon]

Mailon swallowed hard again, his gaze on the floor. "But what ... what if I just end up hurting her?" he asked in a strangled voice. "If I go back to ... to what I used to be?"

"You've already hurt her far worse than anything you ever did to me," Kyrie told him flatly. "And if you can just stand there and take my hitting you without even trying to defend yourself, then there is no way you will be capable of ever lifting a hand against her."

There was another silence. His head still lowered, Mailon raised one hand to his face and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

[Kara Winters]

"And... despite the fact this tent was made to give privacy, with all of us traveling together, there is not that much privacy. Someone would know, and then we would all let you know," Miyuki replied dryly.

Ai yipped from where she sat at Miyuki's feet, also pointing out (with a bit of indigence), that if Mailon did actually do something (which the Pokemon added was unlikely), her child would put him in his place. To which it sounded like Ai was scolding Mailon.

Miyuki coughed trying not to chuckle at her Pokemon, "And Ai would like me to remind you that Ira would really let you know if you even raised a hand at Daenis. I mean, he could throw needles of ice at you if he was so inclined."

Which she realized, Ira might be at this point.

[Nara-pyon]

"And really," Lancaeriel spoke up, "the fact that you're worried about it is already an indication that you would not be able to do it. You love her, it's clear, and where there is that kind of love, I truly believe that there needn't be any cause to fear such things."

Cael put one arm around his wife's shoulders. "It's true. It would be worse than tearing out your own heart, to cause harm to the one you love."

Mailon nodded slowly, but otherwise made no movement. Kyrie watched him through narrow eyes, her arms folded across her chest, and after a moment, she asked, in a slightly softer tone, "Well? What are you waiting for?"

[Kara Winters]

"Go on," Miyuki added, "Better talk to her now rather than later."

Before the whole town was buried in snow, she thought quietly to herself. Hopefully no one would think too much of the snow.

[Nara-pyon]

Mailon nodded again slowly and took a deep breath. "Where is she?" he asked, looking up again.

"Right where you left her," Lancaeriel murmured in reply. "Go on."

Mailon looked around at those around him. Kyrie had calmed down now and was looking at him expectantly. Cael and Lancaeriel were smiling at him encouragingly, and Cael nodded at him. Gwen still looked confused, but she understod enough of what was going on to give Mailon a warm smile.

Lowering his head again, he started down the hallway towards the work rooms.

[Kara Winters]

Once Mailon was out of sight, Miyuki couldn't help but sigh. Ai rubbed her head against her owner's leg reassuringly.

The kitsune suddenly felt tired after all that for some reason, even though before she was fully of energy.

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