<TIAMAT> *It's the next day -- Whisper's got the afternoon off and decides to see what Kender and company are up to.

<JETMODE> *Just for the sake of argument, Kender and Dorian are down at the stables, Johan is off exploring with Roary, and Elly is babysitting Marta up in the cafe.

<TIAMAT> *Jarod is practicing telepathy.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper, um, er, knocks. ^_^

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> *trills* It's not locked! Too many people without keys, you see.

<JETMODE> *She's puttering around the kitchen, humming contentedly to herself. You wouldn't know from looking that she was a dancer for half her life.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper opens the door and pokes her head in. "Oh, hello, Mrs. Oanesdale. *she enters and shuts the door behind her, glancing around. "Kender's not here?

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> Just Rinelle, Whisper, dear -- and no. He and the love of my life took off to the stables. *hmphs* Men!

<TIAMAT> *Whisper smiles and goes over to see what Rinelle's up to. "Well, Kender certainly is diligent in his work. He's been putting in a lot of time the past few weeks.

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> He's feeling guilty, fool boy. *she's chopping vegetables with expert precision* I can think of better ways for him to be spending his time.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper: There's quite a lot of work in becoming a Beast Master like his father, though. Do you need some help with that?

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> *cheerily* Quite all right -- you could set the table, though. I'm nearly finished.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper smiles. "All right. *she grabs some plates and glasses and silverwear from the cupboards and heads over to the table.

<JETMODE> *Rinelle turns to face her and keeps talking. "Really, just because he's devoted to his work doesn't mean he should ignore you, really!

<TIAMAT> *Whisper laughs. "He hardly ignores me. We can't spend all our time together, after all, if we want to succeed here. *she starts going around the table with the dishes.

<JETMODE> *Rinelle hmphs, then peers at her a moment, setting down the knife -- and the carrot she was brandishing.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper doesn't notice. ^_^ She's busy. :D

<JETMODE> *Of course she is. ;) Rinelle marches up behind her, a pensive frown on her face, and pushes her hair aside, exposing her back. "Tcha.. you poor thing."

<TIAMAT> *Whisper starts at her touch and spins around, looking startled. "W-what?

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> *shakes her head* Was it slavers? Traders? *she sounds weary, as if she knows similar stories -- then she blinks* Oh my. I am sorry, that was terribly prying.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper looks a little sad. "No...it's all right. *pause* Your were right the first time, though.

<JETMODE> *Rinelle nods, still looking apologetic. "Some of them caught my clan once -- I missed the attack out of luck. *wry smile, glances at her* Have you told Kender anything about it?

<TIAMAT> *Whisper shakes her head. "I try not to talk about it much. The memories are...*trails off, looks away*

<JETMODE> *Rinelle takes her arm and smiles. "And of course he's too polite to ask. Here, let's sit, shall we?" *she gestures to a miraculously clear trunk*

<TIAMAT> *Whisper: What..? Er...all right...

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> *still holding her arm, pulls her over to the trunk and settles them both down* If it's all right, I thought I might tell you a story.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper looks a little bemused. "Er, I guess...sure.

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> *smiles* You're a sweet girl. Well, this one takes place, oh, twenty or so years ago, I guess. *she looks thoughtful for a moment* There was a young girl -- probably about your age -- who lived in a fairly large city not very far from here. Her father had died, and her mother had taken ill, and she was dancing for coins in the street.

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> It wasn't bad, really -- there were much worse things she could have been doing -- but there were a lot of risks involved.

<JETMODE> *She falls silent for a moment, evidently thinking.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper's listening intently, already figuring the girl was Rinelle.

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> Her tribe had left her family behind because they couldn't travel -- not out of cruelty, really. They just couldn't afford to do anything else. But in any case, the girl danced every day, and she avoided most of the dangers involved in what she did, until --

<JETMODE> *She winks impishly. "Of course there's an 'until'."

<TIAMAT> *Whisper, softly: Always is.

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> *pats her arm* Well, there were three of them, and they were all much larger than the girl -- and unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough that day. She'd turned her ankle on the last dance and had to quit early.

<JETMODE> *She turns a ring on one of her fingers and smiles. "She was trapped in an alley, you know the type -- and the worst was about to happen.. but --" She smiles.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper, a little anxiously: But?

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> Suddenly -- I could almost swear it happened in an instant -- all three of them were in the dirt, and I looked up to see the most incredibly scruffy young man peering down at me. He took a look over at the three of them, shrugged -- and asked me for directions to the nearest inn.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper laughs in relief.

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> We were, of course, married in six months. *smiles sadly* If I were just to guess, though, your scruffy young prince didn't get to you quite fast enough.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper laughs again, this time a little sadly. "Well, no, I suppose not, but it was hardly his fault. Truthfully, I probably shouldn't even be here now. *pause* *softer* And if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be.

<JETMODE> *Rinelle puts an arm around her shoulder. "So he wasn't quite useless after all." She smiles affectionately and brushes Whisper's bangs back. "Well, you know, the rest of the story is that the girl's incredibly scruffy prince kept her happy for the rest of her life -- well, so far." She smiles.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper manages a small smile. "I'm glad yours has a happy ending.

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> Oh, it hasn't ended yet. *wags a finger* And neither has yours. If I know my son, he'll do everything he can to keep you safe, warm, and happy -- though you might have to nudge him in the right direction once or twice.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper: I haven't had to, yet -- I've never been happier since I met him. *she smiles fondly.

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> *gives her a squeeze* You touch my motherly heart, you know? *goes serious* Is there anything he needs to know?

<TIAMAT> *Whisper: Er -- what do you mean?

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> *closes her eyes, then opens them again* Maybe there's more to my story ...

<TIAMAT> *Whisper gives her a puzzled/curious look.

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> Two months after I met Dorian, we were on our way back here, actually .. and those three men and a number of their friends caught us in the open. We never made it here, but we did get away with our lives, which was well enough.

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> I don't expect Kender even knows why he never came back here.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper's gazing silently at the wall.

<TIAMAT> *She's also got something of a hard look in her eye -- something Rinelle probably hasn't seen before.

<JETMODE> *Rinelle watches her for a moment, stroking her hair in a motherly way.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper, softly but fiercely: If they ever come here, I'll do the same to them that I did to the others.

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> *momentary flash of sorrow* Well, don't forget to include him in your calculations, in any case.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper looks at Rinelle and blinks. "Kender? ... *pause* It's my affair. I can deal with them on my own--

<JETMODE> *Kender's mother gets a peculiar glint in her eye. "Whisper, you're as dear to me as my own child, but don't be a fool."

<TIAMAT> *Whisper gives her a hard look, but doesn't respond.

<JETMODE> *Rinelle returns it. "You have friends, Whisper. People who hold you dear. You aren't alone -- so quit acting like you are!"

<TIAMAT> *Whisper quails a little. "But..

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> Ah! *lifts a finger* You can't protect people by pushing them away. You have to hold them close.

<TIAMAT> *Whisper: But if something were to happen to him...because of me...

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> *smiles wanly and kisses her temple* My dear girl, everybody faces that chance. All you can do is do what you can, no?

<TIAMAT> *Whisper looks at the floor, a tear trickling slowly down her face. "Yeah.."

<JETMODE> *Rinelle smiles and pulls her into a warm embrace. "Shh now. It'll be all right."

<TIAMAT> *Whisper hugs back, closing her eyes fighting back emotions that threaten to flood her. "Thank you..

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> That's what I'm here for, right? *smiles* Now, why don't we finish lunch before everybody gets back?

<TIAMAT> *Whisper smiles back, wiping her eyes as she pulls away. "Right, and before something gets burned again..

<JETMODE> <Rinelle> Oh, yes, that would just be perfect. *gets to her feet and heads back to the kitchen*

<TIAMAT> *And Whisper finishes setting the table.