Interlude – Welcome to the Family (Part 5)
by Commander Isha t'Vaurek & Colonel James Darson & Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Commander Chelsea Dunham & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Commander Richard Dunham & Lieutenant JG Taleria von Alesk & (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian & (G) Arrain - Lieutenant Arrienye t'Merek & Alderman Yolanthe Ibalin
Post Details
Isha led Rianni through the crowd which parted for them without a word needing to be spoken, though every now and then Isha did exchange a greeting or a touch or a smile.
She came to a halt near a table around which sat Isha's mother with some friends of hers. They greeted each other with the appearance of warmth and less formality than most expected from Isha, but they were among family. In this part of the Box of Delights there were no aliens, and fewer people entirely - there was no visible division, but there were people stationed on the edge of the main gathering subtly keeping those who were not part of this elite group away.
Rianni just sort of silently waved to the group in greeting, wondering what she'd gotten herself into.
"I had some business with tr'Vainlli that couldn't wait," Isha said, "the man is as slippery as an Efrosian Eel and the Elements know when I'll next get a chance to catch him alone. Dragging my way through the lloan'su seemed an almost impossible task. There's always something they feel they need to talk about," she grumbled.
"You keep strange company," Llaiir observed taking a bite from something that looked like a spring roll, "Abandoning us here, you're her sponsor," she pointed out to her daughter.
"Rianni had to have time to talk with her old friends, ri'Nanov," Isha replied. "If you'd wanted to speak with her you could have mingled instead of dashing back here the moment things were over."
"Rianni," Llaiir said, "You must know by now that my daughter is a stickler for respect and tradition except when it comes to herself. Oh, she demands respect quickly enough but is reluctant to give it. I'm sure R'Vek has told you all about that."
"Actually, Father only speaks of Aunt Isha in the highest esteem and with great affection." Rianni answered, "They're very close and always were from what I understand."
Isha interrupted as she sat. "ri'Nanov, I would not dare but to esteem you," she replied though like her mother's the words she used were purposefully ambiguous; they were, as they often did turning their conversation into a game of lei.
"Speaking of whom, you have all seen Rianni, of course," Isha said turning to her neice who still remained standing. "My mother, hru'Hfirh t'Khellian you have met formally, but the rest of the inner House, well, I think they cannot have been more than a blur in the crowd."
"Well, it was a really huge crowd." Rianni laughed, then quickly turned serious and reverent to risk offending anyone, bowing her head, "It's my honor to meet you all at last." ~I so hope I'm not fracking up here.~
Isha made some introductions pointing out Hanaj, a huge man who served as Rianov (weaponsmaster) one of the highest positions in the House, S'Tarleya a female cousin of Isha's of similar age, but clearly of a military bent, Teillh, one of the youngest women in the group and a beauty by anyone's standards as well as her husband who too had recently joined the House on his marriage. There were others too but Isha did not expect Rianni to remember everyone.
Isha rose. "Here, take my seat," she said to Rianni. "I told you we had one more ceremony, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did." Rianni nodded as she sat, "I look forward to it."
"And they say we are duplicitous," Hanaj said in an deliberately audible whisper to Llaiir, who replied, "We are just better at lying. So, Rianni, how do you find us?" Llaiir asked. Isha had disappeared for a moment and Llaiir was filling in the time.
"To be perfectly honest, I haven't had enough time with any of you to know what I feel about you individually." Rianni replied, "Give me the rest of the evening and get back to me with that question. I do know you're family, and as such I love you and will fight for you, whether or not I end up liking you or you end up liking me is for fate to decide."
With that she turned her attention to Hanaj, "Honest enough for you?"
He chuckled deeply and smirked, "Quite," he replied as Isha returned carrying a large box. As she stopped Isha tilted her head to one side.
"Have they been awful?" she asked holding out the box to Rianni. "You'll forgive me for accessing your personal files to find your measurements," she said.
"Nah, they've been fine." Rianni smiled, "And don't worry about looking at my sizes, I got nothing to hide or be ashamed of." Then, with a curious smile, Rianni opened the box Isha had brought her, "Oh, wow, it is beautiful! Thank you so much!"
She pulled the custom uniform in the colors of Isha's house, her house, out of the box and laid it against her, "It's beautiful, I love it, Aunt Isha, thank you." At that point she embraced and kissed Isha, her thoughtfulness amazing Rianni yet again.
Isha chuckled softly as she returned the embrace. "Well," Isha said with a tug at the sleeve of the formal robes Rianni still wore, "If you are very fortunate, you will never need to bother with ceremonial attire again, but keep the robes safe just in case," she added. "Perhaps you would like to change then we can go through the other gifts and return you to your party?" Isha suggested.
"Sounds like a good idea." Rianni smiled, leaving to do just that.
Eleni watched the two of them from a distance, it was obvious that Rianni loved Isha, and equally obvious that Isha loved Rianni, ~I still do not know if I trust that woman, but she can't be all bad.~
R'Vek smiled as he stood next to his wife, wrapping his arms around her waist, "See, I told you Isha was okay."
Eleni, not quite ready to give up on this on yet, simply nodded and said, "We'll see, darling."
By the time Rianni returned Isha was squeezed in between Hanaj and S'Tarleya, apparently unaware of how delicate she looked compared to them. But then these were Isha's people, she felt safe in their company, and whilst they were here, separate from the larger gathering Isha was free to relax for a change.
Rianni returned, dressed out in her new uniform of the Khelliana, smiling broadly as she saw Isha sitting comfortably with the others, "Okay, what's next?"
"I have one more gift for you before we go back and face the Lloann'su," Isha said, "And I give it on behalf of everyone here," she said that with a wave of her hand to indicate the twenty or so individuals who made up the inner House.
"Oh?" Rianni raised an eyebrow, Isha's gifts were something to behold and she could only imagine what the next one would be.
Hanaj shuffled out from behind the table and dissappeared for a moment allowing Isha time to slip out and back to her feet. "We had such trouble coming to a decision," Isha said. "You are part of our House but not part of this circle, what I mean is that you are not in any way part of the line of succession, not any more than your father is so the obvious and most fitting gift that would suit your qualities we could not bestow on you, but we, or I should say Hanaj found a compromise," Isha explained. "My brother, Taev was not in the line of succession either, so we believe that it is appropriate that you have this."
Isha took the long thin bundle wrapped in plain cloth from Hanaj. "It is not an ancient weapon, but one made for Taev and presented after D'sora, he has no use for it now. You are a warrior, Rianni, jewels or land would be out of place, but this, we think is a fitting gift to mark your return to us."
Rianni unwrapped the weapon and held it in her hands, feeling the heft and balance of it, it was indeed an elegant weapon and something she'd treasure always, "I love it." She said, just above a whisper, awestruck by it's beauty.
"Well then, welcome to the family," Isha said with a smirk.
"Thank you." Rianni smiled, finally feeling that she did truly belong where she now was, "All of you."
There were some other gifts given out of form rather than meaning but soon that part was over too. "You can escape from us now," Isha whispered to Rianni, "and I think my mother is due to hold court for some time seeing those who can squeeze their way through her cordon. I will remain here a while longer."
Rianni giggled softly, they'd gotten past the part she wanted to escape forever ago,"Well, I should probably go work the room, so to speak."
Isha nodded, "thei'khaiell ssuin hw'aenevha, Rianni," she said. Between them they embodied all that the House stood for, Rianni the warrior, the hunter from which archaic root the Khelliana derived their name, and Isha the ancient and unyielding beauty and nobility that carried the matriarchy through the centuries binding together the devisive and often savage clans into a functional force, a political power.
With one lingering grasp of her Aunt's hand Rianni walked back into the crowd to find her sister and friends, it was time to celebrate with them properly.
R'Vek took his daughter's place at Isha's side, his face alight with a broad smile, "Well, well, Isha, you've outdone yourself."
Isha looked up. "I wondered if you'd sneak back here, R'Vek," she said with a smile that lit her eyes, a rarity in recent weeks. "You watched I presume? Is that a hint approval I see in your eyes?" she teased.
"No, dear cousin, that is full, wholehearted approval, no hinting needed." R'Vek laughed, "You've done a wonderful thing for my daughter and set the course for her to do many wonderful things for our house and the Empire as a whole." He saw Rianni rejoining Ashara just a few yards from them, wishing their older brother could have been there in time to see it, ~In good time, R'Vek, in good time.~
"She's going to make you look like a genius, dear Isha." R'Vek said proudly, he'd seen her battle plan for her forthcoming campaign against the pirates, it was as tactically sound as any he'd ever had the privilege to lay his eyes upon, "Very soon, this new generation of ours will make the Khelliana heritage proud."
"New generation?" Isha said, "R'Vek you make me sound positively ancient. Fair enough because ancient is how I feel," she said walking away from the elite clique who sat nearby. "What am I going to do?" she asked leaning against a pillar. "I can appoint all the right people and make all the right decision yet always there is someone there who sees me as a target or an obstacle to be removed. I feel it acutely right now. My government insists that I am here, but I want to be with them," she said glancing back to the core of her family. "I don't have a say in the matter. For the first time in my life I am involved in a dispute that I do not think I can win," she said. It was not the ale talking because though she had held a glass or two she had drank nothing.
"You'll win this, just as you have all the others, Isha." R'Vek reassured her, "And perhaps it's not the government that's put you here but the Elements. Who's to say what would've become of Rianni if you'd not been here? Don't worry, Isha, you've nothing to fear. Remember, you've friends in the Tal Shiar."
Isha had a lot to fear, she knew that from experience - he was not going to go away.
Isha rested her head on R'Vek's shoulder, "When I do need you, I will ask," she said, and she would need her cousin before long.
"Just know that things are never as bad as they seem as long as the Khelliana stand together and stay strong." R'Vek reminded her, "We're the very definition of the warrior culture of our people and none will stand in our way."
"I won't yield," she said taking comfort in the proximity of someone who had never tried to hurt her.
"I knew you wouldn't." R'Vek laughed, he wasn't sure if Isha even knew what the word 'yield' meant, "And I will wait for you to tell me who our enemy is so we can go about the business of defeating them as efficiently as possible."
"When the time comes, R'Vek," she whispered, "When the time comes."
R'Vek knew not to press it any farther, she wasn't going to give him a micron of information until she was ready to do so, not a second before, "Very well."
OFF
by Commander Isha t'Vaurek & Colonel James Darson & Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Commander Chelsea Dunham & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Commander Richard Dunham & Lieutenant JG Taleria von Alesk & (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian & (G) Arrain - Lieutenant Arrienye t'Merek & Alderman Yolanthe Ibalin
Post Details
| Title | Welcome to the Family (Part 5) | |
| Mission | Interlude | |
| Author(s) | Commander Isha t'Vaurek & Colonel James Darson & Alderman Dorian Gabriel & Commander Chelsea Dunham & Lieutenant Commander Jarred Wallace & Commander Richard Dunham & Lieutenant JG Taleria von Alesk & (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian & (G) Arrain - Lieutenant Arrienye t'Merek & Alderman Yolanthe Ibalin | |
| Posted | Wed Aug 04, 2010 @ 6:36pm | |
| Location | Box of Delights |
She came to a halt near a table around which sat Isha's mother with some friends of hers. They greeted each other with the appearance of warmth and less formality than most expected from Isha, but they were among family. In this part of the Box of Delights there were no aliens, and fewer people entirely - there was no visible division, but there were people stationed on the edge of the main gathering subtly keeping those who were not part of this elite group away.
Rianni just sort of silently waved to the group in greeting, wondering what she'd gotten herself into.
"I had some business with tr'Vainlli that couldn't wait," Isha said, "the man is as slippery as an Efrosian Eel and the Elements know when I'll next get a chance to catch him alone. Dragging my way through the lloan'su seemed an almost impossible task. There's always something they feel they need to talk about," she grumbled.
"You keep strange company," Llaiir observed taking a bite from something that looked like a spring roll, "Abandoning us here, you're her sponsor," she pointed out to her daughter.
"Rianni had to have time to talk with her old friends, ri'Nanov," Isha replied. "If you'd wanted to speak with her you could have mingled instead of dashing back here the moment things were over."
"Rianni," Llaiir said, "You must know by now that my daughter is a stickler for respect and tradition except when it comes to herself. Oh, she demands respect quickly enough but is reluctant to give it. I'm sure R'Vek has told you all about that."
"Actually, Father only speaks of Aunt Isha in the highest esteem and with great affection." Rianni answered, "They're very close and always were from what I understand."
Isha interrupted as she sat. "ri'Nanov, I would not dare but to esteem you," she replied though like her mother's the words she used were purposefully ambiguous; they were, as they often did turning their conversation into a game of lei.
"Speaking of whom, you have all seen Rianni, of course," Isha said turning to her neice who still remained standing. "My mother, hru'Hfirh t'Khellian you have met formally, but the rest of the inner House, well, I think they cannot have been more than a blur in the crowd."
"Well, it was a really huge crowd." Rianni laughed, then quickly turned serious and reverent to risk offending anyone, bowing her head, "It's my honor to meet you all at last." ~I so hope I'm not fracking up here.~
Isha made some introductions pointing out Hanaj, a huge man who served as Rianov (weaponsmaster) one of the highest positions in the House, S'Tarleya a female cousin of Isha's of similar age, but clearly of a military bent, Teillh, one of the youngest women in the group and a beauty by anyone's standards as well as her husband who too had recently joined the House on his marriage. There were others too but Isha did not expect Rianni to remember everyone.
Isha rose. "Here, take my seat," she said to Rianni. "I told you we had one more ceremony, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did." Rianni nodded as she sat, "I look forward to it."
"And they say we are duplicitous," Hanaj said in an deliberately audible whisper to Llaiir, who replied, "We are just better at lying. So, Rianni, how do you find us?" Llaiir asked. Isha had disappeared for a moment and Llaiir was filling in the time.
"To be perfectly honest, I haven't had enough time with any of you to know what I feel about you individually." Rianni replied, "Give me the rest of the evening and get back to me with that question. I do know you're family, and as such I love you and will fight for you, whether or not I end up liking you or you end up liking me is for fate to decide."
With that she turned her attention to Hanaj, "Honest enough for you?"
He chuckled deeply and smirked, "Quite," he replied as Isha returned carrying a large box. As she stopped Isha tilted her head to one side.
"Have they been awful?" she asked holding out the box to Rianni. "You'll forgive me for accessing your personal files to find your measurements," she said.
"Nah, they've been fine." Rianni smiled, "And don't worry about looking at my sizes, I got nothing to hide or be ashamed of." Then, with a curious smile, Rianni opened the box Isha had brought her, "Oh, wow, it is beautiful! Thank you so much!"
She pulled the custom uniform in the colors of Isha's house, her house, out of the box and laid it against her, "It's beautiful, I love it, Aunt Isha, thank you." At that point she embraced and kissed Isha, her thoughtfulness amazing Rianni yet again.
Isha chuckled softly as she returned the embrace. "Well," Isha said with a tug at the sleeve of the formal robes Rianni still wore, "If you are very fortunate, you will never need to bother with ceremonial attire again, but keep the robes safe just in case," she added. "Perhaps you would like to change then we can go through the other gifts and return you to your party?" Isha suggested.
"Sounds like a good idea." Rianni smiled, leaving to do just that.
Eleni watched the two of them from a distance, it was obvious that Rianni loved Isha, and equally obvious that Isha loved Rianni, ~I still do not know if I trust that woman, but she can't be all bad.~
R'Vek smiled as he stood next to his wife, wrapping his arms around her waist, "See, I told you Isha was okay."
Eleni, not quite ready to give up on this on yet, simply nodded and said, "We'll see, darling."
By the time Rianni returned Isha was squeezed in between Hanaj and S'Tarleya, apparently unaware of how delicate she looked compared to them. But then these were Isha's people, she felt safe in their company, and whilst they were here, separate from the larger gathering Isha was free to relax for a change.
Rianni returned, dressed out in her new uniform of the Khelliana, smiling broadly as she saw Isha sitting comfortably with the others, "Okay, what's next?"
"I have one more gift for you before we go back and face the Lloann'su," Isha said, "And I give it on behalf of everyone here," she said that with a wave of her hand to indicate the twenty or so individuals who made up the inner House.
"Oh?" Rianni raised an eyebrow, Isha's gifts were something to behold and she could only imagine what the next one would be.
Hanaj shuffled out from behind the table and dissappeared for a moment allowing Isha time to slip out and back to her feet. "We had such trouble coming to a decision," Isha said. "You are part of our House but not part of this circle, what I mean is that you are not in any way part of the line of succession, not any more than your father is so the obvious and most fitting gift that would suit your qualities we could not bestow on you, but we, or I should say Hanaj found a compromise," Isha explained. "My brother, Taev was not in the line of succession either, so we believe that it is appropriate that you have this."
Isha took the long thin bundle wrapped in plain cloth from Hanaj. "It is not an ancient weapon, but one made for Taev and presented after D'sora, he has no use for it now. You are a warrior, Rianni, jewels or land would be out of place, but this, we think is a fitting gift to mark your return to us."
Rianni unwrapped the weapon and held it in her hands, feeling the heft and balance of it, it was indeed an elegant weapon and something she'd treasure always, "I love it." She said, just above a whisper, awestruck by it's beauty.
"Well then, welcome to the family," Isha said with a smirk.
"Thank you." Rianni smiled, finally feeling that she did truly belong where she now was, "All of you."
There were some other gifts given out of form rather than meaning but soon that part was over too. "You can escape from us now," Isha whispered to Rianni, "and I think my mother is due to hold court for some time seeing those who can squeeze their way through her cordon. I will remain here a while longer."
Rianni giggled softly, they'd gotten past the part she wanted to escape forever ago,"Well, I should probably go work the room, so to speak."
Isha nodded, "thei'khaiell ssuin hw'aenevha, Rianni," she said. Between them they embodied all that the House stood for, Rianni the warrior, the hunter from which archaic root the Khelliana derived their name, and Isha the ancient and unyielding beauty and nobility that carried the matriarchy through the centuries binding together the devisive and often savage clans into a functional force, a political power.
With one lingering grasp of her Aunt's hand Rianni walked back into the crowd to find her sister and friends, it was time to celebrate with them properly.
R'Vek took his daughter's place at Isha's side, his face alight with a broad smile, "Well, well, Isha, you've outdone yourself."
Isha looked up. "I wondered if you'd sneak back here, R'Vek," she said with a smile that lit her eyes, a rarity in recent weeks. "You watched I presume? Is that a hint approval I see in your eyes?" she teased.
"No, dear cousin, that is full, wholehearted approval, no hinting needed." R'Vek laughed, "You've done a wonderful thing for my daughter and set the course for her to do many wonderful things for our house and the Empire as a whole." He saw Rianni rejoining Ashara just a few yards from them, wishing their older brother could have been there in time to see it, ~In good time, R'Vek, in good time.~
"She's going to make you look like a genius, dear Isha." R'Vek said proudly, he'd seen her battle plan for her forthcoming campaign against the pirates, it was as tactically sound as any he'd ever had the privilege to lay his eyes upon, "Very soon, this new generation of ours will make the Khelliana heritage proud."
"New generation?" Isha said, "R'Vek you make me sound positively ancient. Fair enough because ancient is how I feel," she said walking away from the elite clique who sat nearby. "What am I going to do?" she asked leaning against a pillar. "I can appoint all the right people and make all the right decision yet always there is someone there who sees me as a target or an obstacle to be removed. I feel it acutely right now. My government insists that I am here, but I want to be with them," she said glancing back to the core of her family. "I don't have a say in the matter. For the first time in my life I am involved in a dispute that I do not think I can win," she said. It was not the ale talking because though she had held a glass or two she had drank nothing.
"You'll win this, just as you have all the others, Isha." R'Vek reassured her, "And perhaps it's not the government that's put you here but the Elements. Who's to say what would've become of Rianni if you'd not been here? Don't worry, Isha, you've nothing to fear. Remember, you've friends in the Tal Shiar."
Isha had a lot to fear, she knew that from experience - he was not going to go away.
Isha rested her head on R'Vek's shoulder, "When I do need you, I will ask," she said, and she would need her cousin before long.
"Just know that things are never as bad as they seem as long as the Khelliana stand together and stay strong." R'Vek reminded her, "We're the very definition of the warrior culture of our people and none will stand in our way."
"I won't yield," she said taking comfort in the proximity of someone who had never tried to hurt her.
"I knew you wouldn't." R'Vek laughed, he wasn't sure if Isha even knew what the word 'yield' meant, "And I will wait for you to tell me who our enemy is so we can go about the business of defeating them as efficiently as possible."
"When the time comes, R'Vek," she whispered, "When the time comes."
R'Vek knew not to press it any farther, she wasn't going to give him a micron of information until she was ready to do so, not a second before, "Very well."
OFF