She sighs and gets a mock pouty look on her face, "Why is everyone always telling me to be careful? You'd think I was a clutz or something."
"Because we want you to be safe," Dillon says. "It's not about you being a klutz, it's about the roads being slippery."
"She won't say where she is from, just that it's far away from here," Pandi says. "Actually, it's a promise she made that she wouldn't tell anyone where she came from. Her first home was on the south coast of Khorama, but..."
She sighs. "Settlers came and cleared out her tribe. Someone came to rescue her and one of her tribesmen. After that, she won't talk about it. Anyway, she came here with some newcomers that fled from Nicae...funny how I keep hearing about that place."
Sipping on her tea she looks up at him and nods, "I know....I'm sorry."
Arista nods as she listens to Pandi's explanation, "Well, I'm sorry she lost her home...but maybe she can make a new one here. More people from Nicae? But...but that's where we found Sienna....yeah....that's a little weird...but, I better let you get freshened up. I have a fresh bar of soap over by the sink if you need it. Just hollar if you need anything okay?"
Dillon kisses Rajni's forehead. "It's okay. I just want you to know that everyone who tells you to be careful isn't judging you."
Smiling a little she finishes her tea and hands him the cup, "Okay...I know and I love you...I guess I just don't know how to make jokes."
Dillon smirks. "It's no joke when your safety is concerned."
"Okay," Pandi says, going into the bathroom and closing the door.
Arista goes back to the kitchen and makes Ylrhea her tea, "Here you go, I have sugar, cream, honey, and lemon for it. Everything is on the table except the cream, I wasn't sure how you liked it." She says while starting to clear dishes off of the table.
Nudging his arm playfully she says, "Okay, I got it, I got it."
"Thanks," Ylrhea says. "I don't have tea often enough to have it a favorite way."
"Do you need some help cleaning up, Miss Arista?" Dau offers.
Looking over at Rhea she nods, "Okay, well I usually like honey in mine to help sweeten it...but you can fix it however you want to. Just don't mix lemon with cream...it's gross." She replies while making a slight face.
Giving Dau a smile she says, "Thank you Dau, I would appreciate it...but...you don't have to call me "Miss Arista", I'm not that old yet. You can just call me Arista if you like." She says in good nature, "If you could just help me get these things to the sink and start washing them, I could start preparing the meat for cooking. It's going to take the longest and I need to get the stock started for the beef and barley soup.
Going to her husband she gives him another kiss, [b]"Why don't you go relax out in the other room. We have this in here. I can bring you another cup of tea if you like."
"No, thank you, dear," Alethiro says, returning the kiss. "Call me if you need anything."
He wanders out into the living room and sits on the couch.
She nods, "I will honey." Arista then gets to work.
"Sorry," Dau says. starting to wash the dishes. "I tend to be very proper with people I don't know well."
Giving Dau a smile she says, "It's okay, nothing wrong with having manners. If you're more comfortable calling me that, then it's okay. Thank you for helping me with the dishes. Rhea, could you please start cleaning and getting the vegetables ready while I prepare the meat? I really should start getting things ready. I want to cook it on a lower heat so it's nice and juicy on the inside while absolutely falling off the bone."
Taking the different meat out of the fridge, she starts by rubbing it down with different seasonings and pours a little boiling water over the meat to seal in the juices before putting them in the oven. Taking a little left over beef from the cold box, she starts cutting it up in little bite size pieces before adding it to a giant pot with beef stock already in it. She would make the salad last, but the beef barley soup she wanted to start sooner to let the meat cook down until it was super tender, then she would add the other stuff to it.
While the meat starts to cook, and the beef for the soup is simmering, Arista prepares the dough for the two pans of biscuits and sets it aside to rise. Taking a few minutes she, sits goes and gets some water before sitting down at the table. Looking at Rhea she asks, "Do you think we should roast the corn with the chicken, or cook it in a pot separately?"
"Probably do it separately," Ylrhea says.
Thinking for a moment she says, "Okay, we can start them a little later then. I think I should have something around here large enough for them."
Pandi walks back into the kitchen, looking refreshed. "Alright, Dau, the bathroom is all yours. I'm going to go see Lovecraft now."
"I can go with you," Theon offers quickly.
Arista shakes her head and chuckles as she takes Dau to show her where the bathroom and linen closet are, before returning to the kitchen.
"It's alright," Pandi says. "I'll be back soon."
She then hurries out the door. Once out in the snow, she lets out a soft chuckle. "You are beyond funny, universe, but I like you."
Ylrhea sips her tea and takes in the scene with a smile. It made her think of her and Sadhana for a moment and her smile fades.
Dillon takes the cup to the kitchen before returning to Rajni. "Anything else I can get you before you go?"
"Just a kiss." She says with a smile.
Dillon takes Rajni in his arms. "As you wish."
He tenderly kisses the fetchling, caressing her cheek with his hand.
Sighing softly she returns the kiss, "Mmmm....I better go before this turns into more than kissing."
Dillon smiles. "I know. I'll see you tomorrow."
He walks her to the door and hands Rajni her cloak.
Pulling her cloak around her, Rajni stretches up on her toes to give him one last parting kiss. "I love you, have a good rest of your day, stay warm, and I'll see you tomorrow." Rajni then heads back out into the snow towards home, before thed temptation to stay becomes too great.
Being careful not to slip on the roads, she finally makes it back home. Kicking the snow off her boots, Rajni heads inside. After removing her boots and cloak, she heads into the kitchen.
Priya looks up as Rajni enters the kitchen. "Have you been out?"
She nods, "Yes auntie Priya...but I dressed warm. I just went to check and see if Halfpocket was going to be open...which of course he wasn't. He was hanging the sign and getting ready to go home when I got there. Then I went to see Dillon and check on him....I was kinda cold by that point, so Dillon wrapped me up in a blanket and gave me some hot tea. Then after I warmed up I came home, and here I am. Have Kama or Elena been down yet? I didn't know if they'd sleep in late considering how late I kept them up doing their Mehndi."
Priya shakes her head. "I haven't seen them. Asha, Juhi and I ate breakfast not too long ago. I volunteered to clean up."
She nods, "Okay, need any help?"
"No, dear, I'm done," Priya says. "I guess I have some time to catch up on some projects."
"Oh...well, if you need any help with anything I'll just be in the other room I guess." She says before going into the living area and getting a book. Sitting down on the couch, she tucks her legs under her while reading the book. Shamara comes up and nudges her. Rajni smiles and pets her cat for a little bit before Shamara gets up on the couch with her. Rajni reads while stroking her cat's head.
Seeing the look on her friend's face she goes to her and gives her a hug, "Are you alright?"
Ylrhea nods. "Just trying to get used to not seeing Sadhana in the morning."
Getting some more water she sits next to Rhea, "I'm not going to tell you that it will get easier...but just know that I'm here for you and that Sadhana is doing everything she can to do what needs to be done so she can get back home to you as soon as possible." Not really sure what she could say that would actually make Ylrhea feel better and not sound stupid she kind of shrugs, "If it makes you feel any better...I'm still trying to get used to being at home. I know that must sound crazy."
"Nah," Ylrhea comments. "You get used to doing something for so long and changing that is pretty jarring."
Juhi comes into the living room, attempting to be sneaky. She peers over Rajni's book with her bright brown eyes. "Whatcha doing?"
She smiles and puts aside her book, "Oh nothing much, just reading a book to pass the time I guess. You feeling bored too huh?" Sitting up a little she makes room for her little sister on the couch beside her, "I saw you trying to sneak up on me, would you like me to teach you how Shamara and I sneak up on our prey? We don't really have to be outside for that, but if you're not interested I could always read a story to you, or we could find something else to do." She says, giving her sister some options to choose from in case she's not interested in learning how to be sneaky and just wants to play with someone.
Rajni found that she really enjoyed spending time with her little sister, and had fun watching her just be a kid...and she liked being a kid with her. It was something she never had while growing up herself.
She nods, "Yeah...I love my husband and Celine, I'm happy and grateful that Theon is home and safe...I love my family, all of you...I guess it's just...you can take the girl out of the battlefield, but you can't take the battlefield out of the girl. Know what I mean? I feel like I'm always waiting for the next boot to drop or whatever. I've been feeling so many things lately it's just hard to sort them all out." She takes a few drinks of water and gives her friend a smile, "You know...I'm just really glad you're here." She says, giving Ylrhea's hand a squeeze before finishing her water.
Looking around the kitchen she says, "Alright, I guess as soon as you're ready we'll get started on getting those vegetables ready for roasting. The meat is gonna take the longest...but if we have the vegetables all ready to go, it won't take long to finish up. Then all we have to do is throw together the salad and I don't want to forget to bake off those biscuits." She stops for a moment and seems to think about something for a minute, "Do you think Konstantyna and Lucy will be okay having lunch with all of us? I mean...I origionally invtited the two of them and you over, and then Theon came back and the list just sort of....grew. Do you think I should go let them know, or will I just get scolded again for going out in the cold?" She asks with a mock pout.
Ylrhea nods in agreement. "I've always been tied up with one adventure or another."
Ylrhea gets up and looks out of the window. "It looks like it's starting to slow down a little. So I guess you can go ask them if you want."
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"Read to me," Juhi says. "Then we can practice sneaking."
She laughs, "Sure thing kiddo. So, what kind of story would you like to hear?" She asks, getting up off the couch and going to the bookcase. Putting away the book she had been reading, Rajni waits to hear what type of story her adorable little sister wanted to hear.
"I dunno," Juhi says. "Surprise me. Please."
Rajni nods and takes a moderately thick book off the shelf, "This one is pretty good. It has far away places, magical creatures, swordfights, pirates, and a super awesome fighting faerie Princess that rescues....ya know what, why don't I just come sit with you and we can read about it together. It's no fun if I give the ending away."
Going back to the couch, Rajni situates herself up against some pillows before pulling Juhi into her lap and covering them with an afghan. As they sit on the couch together, Rajni uses different voices for the characters and at the right time roars and tickles Juhi's sides before breaking out into a fit of laughter as they share the magic of a good book and spending time together as a family. Shamara lays with them on the couch, her head resting on Juhi's leg as she sits in her big sister's lap.