Alethiro comes back into the kitchen. "I see you're still as nervous as ever, Marenus."
Marenus gives the other elf a wan smile. "Mother and Father...you know how they were...very distrustful of other races after...all that back then. I still worry..."
"I assure you, there are no slavers in Valwick," Alethiro says, sitting down. "Arista would run them off if they ever showed up."
He turns to Arista. "It's a bit to explain but elf/human relations aren't good in the rest of the world, so to speak."
Satisfied that her love knows him better than her, she gives him a kind smile. Between bites of her breakfast she says, "So, we do happen to have quite a few different races here, but everyone that is in this town, or outside it in Priroda, are really good people that are just looking for a fresh start. We have had a few not so nice people, and a couple outright evil ones get through the cracks....but fortunately that is the exception, not the rule. We strive to make Valwick safe for everyone. If there's anything we can do to make you feel more comfortable, you just let us know."
Arista nods, "I assure you that nothing bad will happen to you here, as long as there is life in me. If anyone showed up in this town with less than pure intention, I'd run them through and then send them off...in a box." She smiles brightly before going back to her eggs and bacon.
Recognizing the tone in her mommy's tone, Celine reaches over and pats her arm. Tilting her head up to look at her mommy she says, "Nice words mommy, nice words."
Arista smiles down at her daughter, "Okay sweetie, finish your breakfast."
Arista shrugs and goes back to her breakfast, as Celine continues to eat as well.
Celine finishes up her food and holds up her hands, "All done."
She nods, "Alright honey, go wash your hands and play with Honey in the other room please."
Celine nods and hops down from the chair. Calling Honey to her, she heads into the other room. After washing her hands, she plays with Honey in the living room as she rolls a ball across the floor for the puppy to chase.
"I suppose that bodes well for the town," Baron Trepphorn says with a slight smirk.
Dillon shakes his head as they arrive at Hadrinn's. "She didn't say why she wanted to go there."
Rajni starts chewing on her fingernails, "Oh...I might have some idea...but it's just speculation based on what she was telling me."
Arista blushes and then shrugs, "I'm sorry, that was probably not the best way to put that...but, I just wanted to make sure that all of you understand that we would never allow something so evil in this town. Not without a fight."
Dillon frowns momentarily before opening the door for Rajni. "After you."
The dwarven woman speaks up. "I'm sure the town's safety is valued by everyone."
Rajni goes in, "Thanks honey."
Arista simply nods as she finishes her breakfast. Letting out a satisfied sigh, she looks around everyone else at the table. Giving them all a warm smile she asks, "Is there anything else I can get for anyone?"
Theon shakes his head. "It looks like everyone is fit to burst after all that."
The guests all murmur in agreement.
Hadrinn smiles as Rajni and Dillon enter, quickly escorting them to an empty table. "I have biscuits, gravy, sausage, eggs and toast this morning."
Arista smiles and starts picking up dishes and taking them to the sink.
"I think I'll just have some sausage, eggs, and some toast with coffee please Hadrinn." Rajni says.
"I'll have the biscuits and gravy with coffee."
Hadrinn heads to the kitchen with a polite nod.
Alethiro helps with the dishes. "Anything I can do to help with your guests?"
Trying her hands after finishing the dishes she says, "Ummm....if you could just see that they're made comfortable in the living room while I get dressed, that would be great." Going to her guests she excuses herself to get changed.
After a few moments she returns to the living room, "Sooo....did any of you have any questions for me?"
"Around what ages are these children?" the half-elf woman asks.
She has to stop and think for a moment as her Census of the town was a while back, and while she had not gotten around to every single house, she had seen enough of the families to take a rough guess at the age ranges of the children that resided in the town.
"Most of the children range in age from about four to eight, give or take for varying races. We have quite a few different races here as well, so the ages vary slightly for them...but they're mostly all around that age range. We have a few that are pre-teen to teenager years, but most of them are taught at home in their family's line of trade at that point. In another seven to eight months, there will be a quite a few newborns, but we can wait on dealing with all of that since they'll be at home with their mothers for a good while before going anywhere, but I was interested in setting up a day care, or school to prepare them for going into regular classes." She pauses to take a breath, "I'm sorry...was that too much at once. It's just...once ideas start formulating in my head, it's hard to stop it and these are things I've been thinking about for a while." She says apologetically, while she looks down at where Celine concentrates on one of her puzzles. Carefully trying the different shapes until she finds where they fit.
The half-elf smiles politely. "So relatively young then..."
She glance at the halfling. "I suppose you'll have to tone down your lessons on numbers, Rhi."
The halfling give the half-elf a slight grimace. "And you with your history lessons, Loria. None of that bloody stuff."
Marenus seems to perk up at the prospect. "Those are good ages for learning about which plants are safe and which aren't."
The dwarven woman shrugs. "Reading, writing and art are easy to adapt for young ones."
Looking up at them with an expression of gratitude she smiles, "I'm so glad that you all came here. We are so grateful for all the knowledge that you bring with you, and I know that our children are going to learn much from all of you. Was there anything else you needed, or wanted to know?"
Looking thoughtful for a moment she says, "I think that by the time the new school is built and classes are ready to start, that Celine here will be ready for it."
Looking down she shakes her head, "I'm sorry I dragged you into the middle of it...I can't help but worry though. She was talking about her old life and her old job and how dangerous it was. How...she would go to work every night not knowing if she would come home or not. Then she was talking about Hygindi and how he brought her here for a reason, but she feels she's the only one that can stop him or something and talking like....like she's not coming back. I don't know exactly what she's planning...but it scares me. I know she's trying to protect us...but there has to be a less fatalistic way of doing that." She says while wringing her hands, the anguish at the thought of losing one of her very best friends, and few friends at that, etched plainly on her face.
Marenus turns to Arista. "Do any of the children have special needs?"
Indicating her little girl as she plays on the floor she says, "Well, Celine has had certain....issues. She seems a little delayed in her speech and...social issues? I'm not really sure how to explain it, but she was sick as a baby and so she was slightly underdeveloped. She had to wear leg braces for a while, but her legs got stronger and now she doesn't need them anymore. She's really smart and catches onto things pretty quickly though. I have not noticed that there are really any issues with the other children in Valwick. Some of them had to deal with some trauma early on, but they've been here for a while with families....other than that, the only other thing I can think of is that not all of them speak common...but most of them have been working on it at home. Celine can speak common, but she speaks and understands Dwarven better. It's what she grew up learning, and I learned it in order to communicate with her better."
Hearing her name, Celine stands up and takes her puzzle to her mommy as she sits on the couch. Showing her the pieces she put in it she says, "Look mommy, circle, triangle, and sqwa...square. I did it!" Celine points out the different shapes as she calls them out, smiling up at her mommy and clapping her hands.
Kissing the top of her head she smiles at her, "Good job Celine. You did that very well."
The dwarven woman nods. "Between all of us, we can communicate in most languages. Just nothing too exotic."
Looking back up at the assembled group she nods, "We have a little bit of just about everything here, but nothing that exotic that I'm aware of. Mostly human, elf, half elf, dwarf, orc, and half orc. So far, I think that's pretty much it." As she talks, Celine lifts her arms up. Arista picks her up and holds her in her lap, "You're such a big girl Celine, soon mommy won't be able to pick you up." She gives her a hug and a kiss as Celine wraps her arms around her.
Looking up at the group of people, Celine gently rubs her mommy's tummy. Patting her tummy she says, "My mommy, my baby. My sister baby in mommy. We waitin'." Letting out a sad little sigh, she lays her head on her mommy's shoulder.
Arista blushes slightly, "I think someone is tired. Will you all excuse me for a moment while I put her to bed? I'll be right back." Arista somehow manages to push herself off of the couch while holding Celine, "Come on sweetie, let's get ready for a rest."
Taking her daughter to the bathing room first, she lets her go potty and wash her hands before taking her to her room. She tucks her into bed and lets the puppy get up on the bed with her. Handing her the teddy bear, Arista kisses her forehead. She can see Celine's eyes start to close as she is leaving the room.
Getting back to the living room she looks apologetically at the group of teachers and the Baron, "I'm so sorry for that interruption. She's been pretty clingy as of late. I'm amazed she lets me out of her sight long enough to take a nap." She sits down on the couch and lets out a tired sigh.
The dwarven woman nods. "I think that's all we'll need for now. We'll be around in case you have any questions for us and we know where to find you as well."
The baron and the teachers stand. "Thank you, Miss Arista, for the lovely breakfast and your hospitality."
Hadrinn returns to Rajni and Dillon's table, dropping off their food before hurrying off to take care of the morning crowd.
Standing as well, Arista extends her hand to each one in turn. Giving them all a warm smile she says, "You're welcome, and thank you again for coming to our town. We really appreciate all of you, and what you will be contributing to our future."
After the teachers and Baron Trepphorn depart, Alethiro starts straightening up the living room. "They seem like they'll really help the children."
"Maybe she's looking for a safer way...I really don't know," Dillon says, taking a sip of coffee. "I'm she knows how much she means to you."
Nodding she gives his cheek a kiss, "Yeah, they seem very knowledgable. I'm really glad they came here, and that the Baron brought them...but I hope things in Lysse are okay." She says, as she helps him straighten up the room before sitting back down on the couch and letting out a tired sigh.
Rajni bites down on her lower lip, "Yeah...I just...I think she does, and I just hope she really does find a way to do whatever she needs to safely, or at least asks for some help, and doesn't try to deal with it by herself." Rajni puts a healthy amount of sugar and cream in her coffee before taking a couple of deep sips to soothe her nerves.
Dillon shakes his head. "I don't think she could do it by herself, even if she wanted to."
"If we could help, I know we would want to," Alethiro says. "There's more than a few capable people here that could go, anyway."
Rajni nods as she nibbles at her breakfast, "Okay." She says, between bites of her food.
