Rajni sighs, "You don't make me feel like I have to do anything. You're my sister, and I love you. If I want to do stuff for you, I will. Now, would you like a sandwich and some fruit?" She asks with a supportive smile.
"Sure," Elena says. "Thank you."
Smiling she says, "You're welcome Sis. Kama, wouldc you like anything while I'm making stuff? Rajni asks as shed starts taking stuff out of the cold box to make sandwiches with.
"Yes thank you Rajni, that would be wonderful. I'll make us all tea while you do." Kama replies with a smile. The hijra was delighted to see Elena having a day where she felt herself.
Rajni mods, "Sure, no problem and thanks for making the tea. I sorta forgot that I was gonna make some. Let me get our lunch ready and then we'll eat."
Taking everything over to the counter, she slices pieces of bread off the loaf left from the other day. Once her bread is ready, Rajni puts a few pieces of leftover spiced chicken, a slice of cheese, fresh spinach, a couple slices of tomato, and a pickle on the side. Putting thef sandwiches together, shed plates them before adding some apple slices and wedges of orange to the arrangement. She sets a bowl of grapes on the table for them to share, andc setsx thef plated lunch on the table. She sets Kama and Elena's plates together on one side ofv thef table and puts herself across from them.
Looking towards the stairs she says, "Juhi has been asleep for a while, I wonder if I should wake her up now or just wait till we're done eating? I don't want her sleep schedule getting messed up." Looking at her sisters as they gather around the table she asks, "So...are you guys nervous about tomorrow, or just excited beyond belief?"
"Both," Elena says. "I think it's possible to be both."
Giving her sister a smile she says, "I'm sure everything will be wonderful." Looking up as she hears the knocking, "Who knocks around here?" She wonders aloud as she gets up to see who's at the door.
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Elena shrugs and eats her sandwich.
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"Definitely a bit of both, though more excited." Kama replies with a smile.
Heading back into the kitchen she goes into the cabinet and gets one of her cups to put her hot tea into after she sweetens it the way that she likes. Looking at her sisters apologetically she says while getting some of the fruit to take with her, "There's some strange guys in town and I'm gonna go with Toni's friends to let Barclay know what's going on, and then I'm gonna go with them to gather up the rest of their summoner friends and midwives, then we're gonna find out what these....people are up to, if anything. I didn't want to just take off without letting you know what was going on. Toni is gonna stay here and relax on the couch until we get back...I really don't like how she's looking and she's coughing and stuff, but she's determined to go...so, I asked if she'd wait here where it's warm while we do the leg work at least." She explains as quickly as she can while getting her thick hooded cloak and boots on.
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"You're not getting involved in something...long-term, are you?" Elena asks, a bit concerned.
Hearing the tone in Elena's voice, Rajni stops what she's doing and goes to her sister. Sitting down next to Elena she wraps her arms around her, "No, I would never put myself at risk that way when I know there are other people capable of taking care of it....and Toni. I just don't want her running around in this weather any more than absolutely necessary right now." Loosening her embrace slightly she pulls back so she can look her in the eyes, "You, Dillon...you're my family...my heart. I would never do anything that could risk taking me away from you, and I would never even consider doing something that would cause me to miss your wedding. I just want to go with them to talk to Barclay, and then gather up the rest of the summoners and midwives to deal with...whatever this is. I want a chance to talk to Malyoxa and let her know that there's something wrong with Toni and it worries me. I don't..." Rajni looks down for a moment, "I don't have many friends, I just want her to be okay." Giving her sister a little smile she gives her another hug and kisses her cheek, "I promise that I will be back as soon as I can and I won't get sick either and be bright and bushy tailed for your special day tomorrow okay? I promise." She repeats before letting her go and giving Elena, or Kama a chance to say something before she leaves as she's getting her warmer things on and taking some fruit to go as well as her tea.
"Okay," Elena says.
Nodding she finishes getting ready to go, "Don't worry, everything will be fine." She says before bending down and giving her another hug. Moving to Kama she gives her a hug as well, "I'll be back in a little bit. Thanks for the tea, I'm sorry I have to take off right away."
With a final wave, Rajni heads back into the other room with Toni and her friends.
Elena shakes her head and chuckles.
"She never stops moving does she?" Kama comments with a smile.
"It really doesn't seem like she does."
Once Juhi is ready, Rajni comes back down to the kitchen with her.
As Juhi goes to sit at the table with Kama and Elena, Rajni quickly makes her a chicken sandwich like she made earlier. She slices up another apple and orange and puts them on her plate with a little slice of cheese. Getting Juhi a glass of milk, Rajni sets the plate and glass of milk down in front of her before getting her a napkin, "There you go Sis. I'm gonna check and see if they're ready to go okay? You enjoy your lunch and I'll see you in a little bit." She says before giving Juhi a little hug.
"Okay, Rajni," Juhi says.
Juhi looks to Elena and Kama as Rajni leaves. "Is she okay?"
"I don't know," Elena says to her littlest sister.
"She seems worked up about ssomething." Kama adds.
"As long as she's okay," Elena says. "I'll leave her to it."
"True," Kāma agrees, continuing to eat. "Did you have a good rest Juhi?"
Juhi nods as she eats her sandwich. "Yes, I did."
Rajni hurries to the restaurant, hoping that if Hadrinn didn't have what she needed, that he could at least tell her where to find it.
Hadrinn sees Rajni come in hurriedly. "Is something wrong, Rajni?"
She nods, "Toni has a cold and Konstantyna said that if I got her some orange juice that it might help make her feel better. Do you have any, or know where I can find some?" She asks, a bit out of breath.
"I have a few oranges lying around," Hadrinn says. "I'm waiting on a larger shipment, but you can have them. Can't do much with them myself."
He goes to the kitchen and returns with five oranges. "Hope that helps."
Rajni looks at the oranges, and then back at Hadrinn, "Thanks for these....so, I just squeeze them? Do I have to do anything specific to get the juice out?"
"Cutting them in half and squeezing them seems to work," Hadrinn says. "You might see if Halfpocket has a tool for that, though. Might save you some time."
She nods and puts them in her bag, "Thanks Hadrinn, I owe you for this."
Giving him a quick hug, she turns and hurries out of the restaurant and over to Halfpocket's.
Rajni finds Halfpocket trying to clear snow out of the way of his shop's door.
"Hey there Mr. Halfpocket, need some help moving that stuff?" She asks as she walks up to him.
"Oh, all I can get," Halfpocket sighs. "Shovels for people my size aren't good enough when it's this deep."
Nodding she walks up to the side of the building and picks up one of the larger shovels, "It's okay, I got it." She says as she starts shoveling the snow away from the doors.
After about five minutes, Rajni gets the path to the store cleared.
"Thank you, Rajni," Halfpocket says. "Was there something you needed or are you going around randomly doing good deeds for people?"
She blushes slightly, "Actually, Toni isn't feeling well and Ms. Konstantyna said some orange juice might help her feel better. So, I went to Hadrinn's, but all he had were these oranges and after telling me how to squeeze them to get the juice out, he said that you might have something I can use to get it out faster? Like some kind of tool or something?"
Halfpocket thinks for a moment. "Oh, I do have one of those strange things. Came in from Alarion just the other day."
He leads the way back into the shop and produces a small bowl which has a dome with ridges in the middle of it. "You cut the orange in half and then put the fruit against this dome. I suppose you twist the orange to get the juice out of it and it ends up in the bowl."
Rajni looks at the strange object, "Hmmm...okay, I think I get it. So, then after I squeeze the oranges on this thing I just pour the juice into a cup or something?" She asks, while looking over the strange otem, "Also, hows much do I owe you for this?"
"I guess so," Halfpocket answers with a slight shrug. "Since you shoveled all that snow for me, you can just take it. Most people don't know how to use it, so it'd just gather dust on the shelf."
Rajni gives him a smile as she packs it carefully in her bag, "Thank you so much, I really appreciate it." She says, before getting ready to head back to the house.
When Rajni gets home, she goes straight to the kitchen. After cutting a couple of the oranges ijn half, she starts using the thing the way Halfpocket told her.
Rajni manages to get a glassful of juice from her labor.
Rajni cleans up the mess shed made, and washes her hands before carefully taking the glass of juice to Toni.
Toni is sitting up in a bed reading a book when Rajni enters. "Hey."
Walking over to Toni she holds outg the glass to her, "I brought you some orange juice. How are you feeling?"
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"Bleh, but I'll live," Toni answers, taking the orange juice. She takes a sip and makes a face. "Ah...real oranges..."
Rajni looks at her with a concerned expression, "Is it bad? Do you not like it?"