Niels enters with the tea for the three women. "Here you are."
She gives him a nod as she takes the tea from him, "Thank you."
Toni takes her cup. "Thank you, Niels."
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Clara comes back into the main room, wearing a loose top and breeches. Her feet are bare. "It's nice to come home with someone waiting for me."
Celia smiles curling up on the couch, leaving room right beside her. "You deserve to have someone take care of you, the way you take care of others Clara."
"Thank you very much." Hitome says taking her cup.
Clara sits down next to Celia. "It takes some getting used to...the divorce kind of set me back a little. I still feel a little unstable at times..."
Jelks returns with the lyre and sits on one of the chairs, putting one leg on top of the other. She sets the lyre on the crook of her leg and begins to play a tune.
"That's understandable." Celia replies compassionately, "Heartache takes time to heal. But you will."
Pouring her a cup of tea she looks into the paladin's eyes. "You have a very big heart, one with far too much love to keep locked up, no matter how scary letting it out is."
She gently hands the cup of tea to the paladin.
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Clara takes the cup of tea and sips. "I don't really consider 'safe alternatives' to loving someone, as painful as it may end up."
She sets the cup down on the table. "Sadhana taught me to stop denying myself, to stop blaming myself. She took me out of a dark place and...then she was gone. I couldn't be the doting housewife waiting for her to come back and she...she needed someone to understand her in ways I couldn't. I'm scared because I really, really like you, Celia. I think you like me too. No...I know you like me too. The thing is...what's going to happen when you have to go? I can't keep you here. That's not a relationship worth pursuing if you're not free. I'm not sure I can wait...yet. The idea of letting you go is too frightening for me right now because everything that makes sense at this moment won't the minute you're out of Valwick."
She looks down at the floor. "I need you and I'm angry at myself for needing you."
Jin sips quietly on her tea as she listens to Jelks play. The sound was more beautiful than she had imagined. She didn't think she had ever heard anything like it before. Oh, she had heard others play different instruments, but none of them had sounded like this. Her fingers played across the strings like magic feathers. So entranced by the music is she that she doesn't even notice the gathering moisture in the corner of her eyes. The music was absolutely mesmerizing and as she closes her eyes to everything else but the sound of the Lyre, a single tear slips down her cheek as her very soul is moved by the notes that she plays.
As Arista and Celine work on baking the cookies, Arista cracks one of the windows in the kitchen to let out a little of the stifling heat that had built up from all the baking they were doing. They were only halfway done, but the sweet smells of cookies baking wafted out of the house and filled the area with a delicious scent.
Celine looks up at her mommy and smiles, "We take cookies to Nana and Poppy mommy?"
She looks out the window at the snow and sighs, "We're not done baking the cookies yet my sugar dumpling. We'll see when we're done, we might not be able to go all the way to their house today...but we'll see what it looks like later this afternoon. Hopefully the sun will come out soon and start to melt off some of this."
Celine gets a sad expression on her face but nods her head, "Okay mommy. Bake more cookies."
She laughs as she puts in the last batch of shortbread cookies and starts on the dough for the oatmeal spice cookies.
Alethiro walks back into the house. "I'm home, Arista."
Jelks finishes playing. "I think that'll give you two houses, Toni."
She smiles, looking over at Jin. "If you like that, you might enjoy my ocarina playing."
"Thanks, Jelks," Toni says.
When the music ends she opens her eyes and wipes the tear off her cheek, "It was beautiful. I'm sure I would love to hear you play the Ocarina. I really like the sounds of wood wind instruments. I only learned how to play the Sakuhachi, but I'd like to learn how to play other instruments someday. Thank you for the houses and for letting us listen to your music." She says with sincerity.
"We're in the kitchen love, just follow your nose." She calls out as her hands are covered in dough.
"You'll still need furniture and whatnot," Jelks says. "But I'm sure Toni has an idea about how to go about getting that for you. Don't you, Toni?"
"More or less," Toni says. "It'll involve a visit to Kjell..."
Alethiro walks into the kitchen to see Celine and Arista hard at work. "My, you've been busy."
Celine looks up with a flour covered face and smiles, "We making cookies Daddy."
She keeps working on the dough in her bowl while she nods, "Yes, we're on our third kind of cookie now. We've made chocolate chip, shortbread with strawberry jam in the center, and now we are on to the oatmeal spice cookies." She scrapes the mixed dough off of her hands and gets two pans ready before starting to drop the dough by spoonfuls onto it. Her face and front of her apron are covered in flour as well as she smiles at her husband, "I'm not sure if we'll be able to get all the way to your parent's house today, but once we're done baking all of these cookies Celine and I are definitely going to need a bath."
Jin looks at Toni, "Who is Kjell? Or is it a place?" She asks, unsure of what they are talking about.
Alethiro smiles at Celine. "And I'm so proud of you."
He then turns to Arista. "We'll see. It's still early enough that some of the snow might melt away."
"Kjell is a merchant with the ability to get us what you need more quickly than the carpenter, Mr. Meacham," Toni says. "With enough money, he can pretty much furnish the house in a couple of hours."
She stands up. "Thanks again, Jelks. Where are the houses at?"
"Near the beach, right around Ieyasu's," Jelks says. "I figure the main part of town was getting too crowded."
While mommy and daddy are talking she goes to the table to get one of the chocolate chip cookies. Taking it to her daddy she holds it up to him, "Here...cookie daddy. Try it."
Alethiro takes the cookie from Celine. "Thank you."
He takes a bite of it. "Wow, these are good!"
She looks at her husband, "She is really proud of the cookies we made. She helped mix in the ingredients and stir it together. I just wouldn't let her get close to the stove. She even helped put them up on the table to cool off. It's gonna be a while yet before we can go anywhere. I'd say at least another hour or so to bake off the rest of this batch of cookies and then there's the clean up. Both the kitchen and ourselves. Whew...it has been some morning, but I really loved spending it with her." She says while looking at their little girl lovingly. She smiles as he enjoys the cookies, "I'm glad you like it, because we made A LOT. I was thinking of packaging some up and taking them around to our friends later. I still have to talk to Cyna and Sienna too." She says while making a verbal list out loud of the things she still needed to do.
She smiles and claps her hands, "Sweet like me!" She proclaims before bursting out in a fit of giggles.
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She gets an excited look on her face, "Near the beach and that wonderful restaurant with the fish? Oh I just love the sound of the ocean, it's perfect...absolutely perfect. Thank you so much Ms. Jelks. Oh....oh...before I forget, I was supposed to talk to Mr. Andimus about some armor and things that he was going to work on for me? Is he busy right now?"
"Oh, let me see," Jelks says, getting up. "Let me find him for you."
She gives her a slight bow of her head, "Thank you again Ms. Jelks, for everything."
Alethiro smiles. "We might have to see Cyna and Sienna after you're done. Then we can see about my family."
She nods, "That sounds good. All the dough is already mixed up so now I just have to bake them off. Celine can't really help with much else right now, do you think you could help her with a bath and getting changed into warmer clothes while I finish things up in here? Then I'll just have to clean up and get a bath myself before we go."
"Okay, sure," Alethiro says. "Come on, Celine, let's get you cleaned up so we can deliver your delicious cookies to our friends."
Jelks nods and heads out of the room. She returns a few minutes later with Michael by her side.
"Ah, Ms. Jin," Michael says. "I've been working on the enchantments but I'm not quite done yet. I should have it ready by this evening. I can have Niels deliver your articles to your new home."
Standing up she gives them both a respectful bow, "Thank you so much for all your hard work. That would be greatly appreciated." She pauses for a moment as she tries to gather her thoughts, "I just...everyone has been so kind. It's made leaving everything I ever knew behind...just a little easier. It's not so scary anymore. Thank you for that too Ms. Toni, I know we can trust you and I know you're going to be a good leader."
She looks at her mommy, "No more cookies?"
Going to her little girl she lowers herself to the girls eye level, "You did a great job helping mommy, but now I have to finish them in the oven and it's too hot for you honey. Go with daddy and get cleaned up now so I can finish these cookies."
She nods and goes to her daddy without putting up a fuss, "I dirty."
Toni blushes. "Aw, go on."
Standing back up she looks up into Toni's eyes, "I don't use my words lightly or give out praise frivolously. I told you that because that is what you make me feel....safe. You, Hitome, the people I've met here...you've all been so kind to me. I can tell by how much you care about me feeling comfortable and safe that you're going to be a good leader. I just don't think you hear it enough. I can tell you that I believe that, but it's up to you. You have to believe it too." She says with all sincerity.
Arista goes back to making the cookies.
Alethiro chuckles. "Yes, you are."