Tonan stepped out of the gates of Vienda, looking out to the bridge. Nata's voice echoed in his head again.


It had been through his head many times since he arrived at Vienda.
"The old seer better be right.." he thought.

He made out some shapes on the bridge. People, maybe?
"I've left it too late, I shoulda' come earlier"
He wandered over to the bridge anyway.

" 'Scuse me" He said while approaching a person on the bridge "I'm looking for two people, from Dorhaven?"
He hoped they could help. Anything would be better than nothing.

The woman on the bridge gave Tonan a quick once over, eyebrow raised sceptically.

"Uhh, which two people?" She said, accent containing an obvious Dorhaven slant. "I can show you dozens."

She waved Tonan over and pointed at the far side of the bridge, at an encampment. There were cooking pots, tents and a sizable array of people. They all looked fairly healthy and in good spirits.

"Who are you lookin' for, son?" She asked, voice a little more open now. "If you've got folks down there I probably know them."

Tonan looked past the woman and saw the camp. He took a quick glance over the camp, seeing one or two familiar faces.


He quickly stood back in front of the woman.
"Oh, My parents." He looked over to the camp once more.
"The Sayanias?" I'm their son"

The woman thought about it.

"Sorry kid, th' name's unfamiliar. Gotta description of them?" She said scratching her head. "What're their first names, I know people by given names, you know?"

She started walking and indicated for Tonan to follow.

"Come with me, least we can do is have a look see."

Tonan started thinking of a way to describe his parents, before being quickly cut off.

"Oh" He snapped out of thinking. "Anne and Quinn" he said.


Tonan nodded happily "That'd be great"

He followed the woman down to the camp, looking at people, feeling bad that they had to up and leave Dorhaven. It just made him angrier at the galdori. He clenched his fist.

"How are things since you left Dorhaven? Good, I hope?" he asked, genuinely worried.
Judging by the general mood of the camp, he was probably not too far off, but he felt like he needed to make small talk.

"Oh yeah, them, I know them." She said, setting a fast pace. "My name's Sandra, by the way."



"They've been crap but they could be worse. I ent dead yet." Sandra said, weaving her way through the haphazardly arranged tents. "Your folks are just up past that ridge, they've been looking for you too. Good thing you showed up, they were getting worried."

Tonan's heart skipped a beat They were here! He kept his calm.
"Pleased to meet you, Sandra."


"At least they're safe, thats the main thing.."
He followed Sandra closely.

((Introduce yourself! I don't know what Tonan's parents look like, so I'm introducing them from behind a tent wall.))

Sandra waved at Tonan to stay put.

"Wait here a mo, I'll go get your folks." Sandra peaked inside a dark and slightly worn tent. "Hey, Anne, there's a boy here sayin' he's your son."

A voice tremulously rose from within the tent.

"T-Tonan? Is it really you?" Tears and fatigue were obvious in her voice.

There was a shuffling sound as Tonan's mother stood, silhouetted in the entryway.

"My son!" She cried, arms rising, ready for a hug.

Tonan stopped his fast pace and stood still. His eyes followed Sandra towards the tent.


"That's her alrigh' " He thought excitedly to himself. "She sounds pretty tired though. I wonder if she's okay?"
"Yeah! It's me!"
He ran up to the tent.


Tonan pretty much dived into her arms, hugging his mother tightly.

Anne Sayania was slightly rotund. A result of too much home cooking, Tonan was always told. Her brown hair extended just a little past her shoulder, and her long fringe was pulled behind her ears. She was wearing the Apron she always wore at home too.

"I went straight to Dorhaven after I'd heard the news.. When I couldn't find you.." He cut himself off, he didn't want to think about it.

He had only just noticed. His father wasn't in the tent. Not that he could see anyway..
"Hey, Where's dad?" he asked.

Anne wept tears of joy into her son's tunic.

"He went out for the day... Something about looking for work. Oh, you have to stay for dinner, please." Tonan's mother kept sobbing. "I'm so glad you made your way here, your dad will be so happy to see you!"

Anne pulled Tonan inside the tent, waving goodbye to Sandra and thanking her as she went.

"Oh Tonan, how have you been? What have you been up to son?" Anne sniffled, still overwrought.

Phew his stomach stopped dropping.
"Oh! I sure will! I've missed your home cooking, amongst other things!" He smiled happily.


"There's actually a funny story behind this, actually." he said. Which was true.

Tonan turned around and thanked Sandra before being dragged inside.


Tonan patted his mother on the back.
"Thats, quite a long story actually, maybe we should save it for when Dad get back, eh?" He didn't fancy telling the same story twice.

Anne sniffled a little more.

"Oh Darling, it's so good to see you. Do you have a girlfriend yet? Or a boyfriend, I don't judge."

He blushed a little. "Well, that's a little complicated. I'm still not sure myself."
It was true. He wasn't sure what was going on. He had feelings for Mue, that was sure, And it was obvious she had feelings back. Unless it was him being a complete and utter fool.

((Sorry Tonan, I need a little more to work with, short posts don't give me much to respond to, Mue is welcome to join))

Anne began to bustle about the homey tent.

"Well, tell me all about her?" She said, laying out a surprising amount of food for them both.

In truth, it was all the food she had but she desperately wanted to put out a spread while her son was home. She wanted to feel normal again.

"I have to warn you, about your father." She said on a sadder note. "What happened at Dorhaven plum took a toll on him. He's had a difficult run, please be gentle with him when he gets home."

Mue almost choked on fresh air as the words hit her ears.
Girlfriend..? The thought made her turn just a little brighter than beetroot.
She had been tailing Tonan for a while now, after he simply upped and left from the inn without uttering a word. She at least wanted to know where he was going, if not to drag him into a random alleyway and.. NO! Bad thoughts bad thoughts.

The sly smile Mue had given Tonan once before, upon the meeting with Nora and Annie, returned with twice it's intensity.
If I wanted to.. right now.. I could embarass him in front of his own mother!
After a careful few moments deciding and planning, Mue gave a nod to herself and readied herself. This is going to be so.. embarassing.

With a final deep breath, Mue prepared to charge..

Tonan sat and watched his mother bustle about for a moment. Bloody hell, that's a lot of food.. I've been away for too long..

He sighed a little. "Well, She's caring, I know that.." He remembered back at the brawl. Dodging that flying rock. He blushed again. "She's kinda pretty too" Oh god, this is awkward to hell. I'm glad Mue isn't hearing this.."

Mue was about to burst into the tent and dive-tackle Tonan where he stood, when a certain set of words made her remain crouched low, ears burning for more than one reason.
Caring? Is that all your going to say..? A knot formed in Mue's stomach, silently hoping the boy would say more. Hoping to hear those certain words.. praying that he shared the same feelings for her, that she did for him.

Her prayer was partially answered;
She blushed furiously in her hiding place, and she could imagine lighting up the place like a little red lantern.
Tonan.. She smiled and stood up, at least now confirming that he thought she was pretty. That was enough, for now.
She silently retraced a number of her steps, then went back to the tent with a more casual gait, instead of sneaking around. Upon her re-arrival at the tent, she called through the walls.
"Tonan, are you in there? It's Mue."

Her mind was racing, already coming up with a number of things she wanted to ask the boy, having found out that he thought she was..
She blushed again and stood waiting with a happy smile on her face, absently playing with the bandage on her left arm.

Anne smiled at Tonan, silently thinking that no girl could possibly be good enough for her boy. She heard the sweet voice of youth as soon as it arrived. She recognised the tone. It was the gentle tone of corruption that brought teenage pregnancy, shotgun weddings and sexually transmitted diseases.

Needless to say, she made it to the curtain before Tonan did.

"Hello." Anne gritted out at Mue. "And who might you be?"

Mue's inner joy faded quickly when it was his mother who greeted her, and not Tonan himself. Her outer smile remained, however, by using a simple technique known only as "faking it", something she was very familiar with.

Why the attitude..? Old hag.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Mue." She said with a slight bow, and a genuine-looking smile on her face.
"I'm a friend of Tonan's. We travelled to Vienda together from Brunnhold."
A slight frown crossed her face, purely fake, of course.
"I'm terribly sorry. Did I interupt you?"

Behind the woman she could see Tonan, but barely. She wondered if he would come out and greet her, or even better, stand up for her.

Anne's lips thinned. So, this was the girl who wanted to sink her claws into Tonan? She wasn't off to a good start, if she'd at least brought a flan then maybe... It was rude to just arrive without an invitation or at least a plate of something.

"Lovely to meet you." Anne said, sizing Mue up and finding her wanting. "I'm afraid we're refugees who've just been reunited with our son, so yes, you sort of have interupted something."

Anne gave Mue a Look. "If I'd known I was having guests I would have rationed a little more effectively this week. Didn't see fit to bring anything, I see? How modern."

"Your move." She thought.

For the love of Vita, who didn't bring at least a bottle of something when they were inviting themselves over? The cheek.

Tonan's face froze. No. clocking. way. She followed me!
Just as he was going to say something, his mother essentially dived towards the door of the tent.


Tonan stepped past his mother. He could sense the tension between the two.
"Mum, there's more than enough food in there for 3 people. It's not like Dorhaven around here!" He turned around to his mother and whispered "I'll get you somethng later, to compensate"

Turning back around to Mue, remembering what he said, he blushed manically. Even Obsidia felt the awkward, and hid her face under Tonan's tunic
"You.. Didn't hear what I said, right?"
He hoped not, otherwise he was probably going to wish a Hatcher would just randomly appear and take him.

Mue found it hard to hide the smirk that followed the womans challenge, and her lips twitched in response.
So that's how you want to play it.. I really don't care that your his mother, that gives you no right to address me like that. Blasted old wench.

Just as Mue was going to issue a healthily competitive comeback to the remark, Tonan stepped out from behind the woman and every thought process whirling around in Mue's head suddenly turned to mush.

Mue's next words tumbled out of her mouth in an embarassing mess, voice rising and falling with clear nervousness at the sheer presence of the boy and the thought of his recent words.
He.. likes me.
"T-that's really alright! I, uhm.. I didn't plan to stay or anything I, um.. I just.." She couldn't help but steal a longing glance at him, her practiced eyes taking in his every detail, appropriate and otherwise. A blush was creeping it's way back into her face.

She allowed a fake confused look to form across her face.
"Hear what? I've only just arrived."
Lies! she thought with amusement.

She reluctantly tore her gaze away from Tonan, and back to the woman.
"I'm truly sorry for intruding. I just wanted to speak with Tonan about certain matters. It's nothing important. Please, don't mind me, and enjoy your meal." She made a slight bow to them both, and turned to leave.

Upon reaching a relatively safe distance, Mue whistled sharply; the clear signal ringing through the camp. Furhloc responded quickly, and was on her shoulder within moments.
"Wait here for Tonan. Meet me at that spot." Mue gestured with her hands to emphasize her commands, and Furhloc acknowledged her with a deliberate wink and a small chirrup. He jumped off her shoulder and crept a little closer to the tent, before curling up on a nearby crate.
There he lay, watching the tent entrance with his deep-black, all-knowing eyes. He would bring the boy to her, of that she was sure.

With a satisfied nod, she exited the camp and headed to "that" spot, already planning a number of things to say to him when he arrived.

Anne gave Tonan a painfully wounded look. He would have recognised it as he'd seen it before. Her eyes spontaneously watered and her shoulders dropped like stones.

Watching that skinny hussy trip all over herself made it all the worse. Tonan liked this girl? She had no buttocks! How did he expect to have a large family if he was dating a girl who looked like a boy?

Maybe he was gay!

Once Mue was out the door, Anne allowed herself to cry. "Oh, son, this is all the food we have!"

Anne's wail was custom built, though largely genuine. She sounded like a dying cat with some kind of glandular problem that gave it a deep voice.

"We've worked so hard but there's no one who will hire your father, ooohhhhh!" Anne sobbed into a teatowel. "We're destitute!"

Sandra appeared at the door of the tent, looked at Anne, looked at Tonan and then made a slit-throat gesture against her throat.

"I will kill you." She mouthed, before walking out of his view.

Uh-oh. What have I said this time? He'd seen that look before. It was never good.


Crap.
"As I said earlier, I can get you some!"
He looked in his cloth purse.. 20 tallies sat in it. I can live in the wild. My parents can't, they need it more than me. He dropped the purse next to the food. "Get some with that, I don't need it as much as you do."


What the clock have I done to her? He saw Furloch as Sandra backed away. That's.. Not Obsidia.. that's Furloch! What was the old osta doing there?
"Mum, sorry about this, but I gotta dash." He didn't like the look Sandra had given him. The earlier he left, the better. "Tell dad I said hi!" he quickly ducked under the tent door and jogged over to the osta. He looked at the creature's black eyes. It stared back.

A shadow fell across Tonan's view. It was Sandra.

"So, kid, I show you in here and you make your ma cry?" Sandra clapped slowly, mouth drawn in a flat line. "We still have our pride, you know, even if no one will give us a fresh start here. I see you causing trouble in my camp again and I will kick your ass."

Sandra pointed to her eyes using her index and middle fingers. Then she pointed at Tonan.

"I like your cat." Sandra said in closing, disappearing into Anne's tent.

The wailing continued.