Open Reunions

[Autumn Leithea]

The Rayala seemed bittersweet about the Tent City. Many of whom had lived there would also feel the same. The fragile balance and mix of distrust and brotherhood in the Tent City often yielded both happy and terrible memories in tandem. They were lucky to have known their beloved Grandmother Anna for so long. She seemed to tie the place together with her unspoken kindness towards everyone, stranger or not. The young woman seemed to embody the spirit of the Tent City, and as they walked, Autumn seemed to enjoy her new friend even more. It pained her to say this, but Autumn waited for Rayala to finish before she broke the bad news. "I didn't see Grisham anywhere near the docks when we were escaping. I'm not sure if he got out." Lily seemed to be listening to her heart now, as she had a smile on her face of empathy towards Rayala after hearing her talk a bit about her life. Autumn turned and gave her a reassuring smile, and Lily looked up at Autumn and motioned to Rayala. Autumn gave a reassuring nod. "I'm sorry about your friend Grisham. I lived in the Seaside quarter of Sunberth, not the Tent City, so I wouldn't know him. I'm sure he'll find his way to Zeltiva!" Lily said reassuringly. "My father was a businessman of sorts, but I never really knew what he traded, and that's probably a good thing because the money he was making was much more than a man whom trades in flour. A stocky, well built man, but intelligent moreso than a brawler. My mother was a herbalist and philterer, and a skilled one at that. She made a great deal of money trading in medicinal potions tailor-made for her clients and saved a lot of lives in doing so. We were a rich family, my father owned two slaves that were my father's bodyguards. My mother's shop was at home, so she barely even needed their services. They were good to my sister and I, not to the point of spoiling us, but they were good to us. I really miss them..." Her heart faded as she fell from daydream to reality and realized once again that she was separated from her parents. "That's okay Lily, we'll see them soon. I know it." Autumn said with a warm smile. They were approaching the gates of the city, they seemed very old and very strong, and between the two walls could be seen the bosom of the city. Already it seemed crowded, and some of the buildings seemed very elaborately made. Autumn couldn't wait to see what was in store for all of them as they approached the city.

[Rayala]

Raya sighed at Autumn's words, not seeming surprised though. "That's a shame, he was such a figure, in a way, when I was there," she murmured, pursing her lips. In truth, it didn't upset her too much that the man might be gone, it was more a matter of that showing how much things had changed. And she really had only been gone for a few seasons, it wasn't as if years upon years had passed...

It really did seem life was starting anew. And she wasn't sure how to deal with that other than ignore it.

The woman gave a smile to Lily, "Not sure I'd call him a friend but well," she shrugged, then fell silent as she listened to the girl speak. "Ah, so your family carved out a good life in Sunberth. That's nice to hear, especially when many children are left to run about without. Your friend is right, you'll see your family again soon." She smiled as she spoke to the girl, still a real smile which was still a bit out of the ordinary for her.

As they drew closer tot he gates, she frowned, glancing back to Autumn, "I don't know what you did for a livin' yourself, but just keep in mind they're really strict here," she rolls her eyes at that. Zeltiva was rather much a place she hadn't pictured herself living at for any long epriod of time. "Especially about food. So don't even think of looking at somethin' and not having the mizas for it." She figured it would be worth it to warn them, at least since Sunberth was so different from this city. While there were some similarities, their rules... She still didn't like those.

[Autumn Leithea]

"Haha I'll keep from doing anything illegal." stated Autumn. Rules were a new thing to her, such strict guidelines frustrated Autumn for a moment as she thought about how it clashed with her lifestyle. In Sunberth she could probably swindle or steal to make a living, reselling the items for a few mizas at her own leisure or to one of her favorite fences, especially if Marjorie was involved, but not here. Here it was incredibly different. She hadn't yet experienced such laws firsthand, but she knew she was about to. It was alright though, she had enough mizas for what they needed in the city. Some food and a bed for the night would be all they needed, Autumn daydreaming about how she could swindle getting a bed if Marjorie were here just for the fun of it. Lily was warming up to their newfound friend, and Autumn could see her mood had improved. "Where will you be taking us Rayala?" she asked. "We still have to get some food and a bed for all of us in the city, and then return to the docks to get my parents, Grandmother Anna, my sister, Jack, and Jorie." The girl was surprisingly organized, and had a quality of charismatic leadership that Autumn very much admired. "We have time Lily, it'll be alright." They came to the city gates, enormous stone gates beckoning them inside. Autumn and Lily were about to experience culture and a place they had never been before. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Marjorie sat at the docks, legs over the side of the pier watching people scurry about. Vessel after vessel passed and was moored to the side of the piers. None of them looked anything like the ships that were at the harbor in Sunberth. She sighed, and watched the silvery schools of fish flit about in the water below her. There was still much time before the sun would set, and it lay late in the sky hovering over the city. Marjorie wanted to close her eyes for awhile, but she knew she had to remain vigilant. She yawned and stretched out her arms and back looking out over the ocean to see one of the ships that was at harbor in Sunberth that fateful day of the storm! She smiled and waited for the ship to dock, its wonderfully deep colored sails being rolled up after it was moored at the dock. Marjorie got up and walked over to the gantry, a stiff wooden board from the ship onto the docks. People began pouring out of the cramped ship and Marjorie waited patiently, until finally a few familiar faces made their way through the crowd onto the dock. "Hello there!" Marjorie said to them.

[Autumn Leithea]

Later that night... "Hey thank you for waiting for the kids' parents." said Autumn warmly. "Anytime hun, I'm glad you found this inn for us. It was great reuniting the kids with their parents, and such a lovely dinner afterward. Them paying was such a treat, and with such great atmosphere and company? What more could a woman ask for." said Marjorie. "Laughing and joking was such a wondrous opposite from being rained on by cold rain on the deck of a cramped little ship." Autumn said smiling. "Yeah, I can't believe we made it all the way here, I've never been out of Sunberth, and though this place is... different... I still think the city is beautiful in a strange kind of way." Autumn was going through her belongings to make sure everything was there as she listened to Marjorie. They were in a single-bed inn room for the night, and down the hall were the kids and their parents in larger rooms, and Grandmother Anna in another. The parents had paid for dinner and their room, and they humbly accepted the gift as they were running out of gold themselves. "So when would you like to return Jorie? We could stay here and witness the wonders of the city, or we could catch a ship tomorrow and get home." "This city intrigues me beyond a doubt. Lets spend the day in the city and then return home again, I want to see what this place has to offer. We could stop by a bookshop and buy Grandma Anna a new book on herbalism, she'd like that." "Yeah, she would very much appreciate such a gift." "And we could get something to eat at an outdoor cafe, just you and I." said Marjorie with a touch of blush to her cheek. "I'd love to babe." said Autumn walking over to kiss Marjorie lovingly.