Welcome to Gaia! ::

Adenah waited patiently for the informant to arrive. She’d been in Besaji for a few days now and apart from a few conversations with sailors she’d kept a low profile. Relatively, that is. Unfortunately for her anonymity she’d gotten involved in a few knife throwing contests and made a hefty wage at the inn she was staying in. It helped pay her way while she waited and for that she wouldn’t fuss.
When a hooded figure approached her through the throng of strangers, Adenah couldn’t help raising a brow. A gloved hand flashed a familiar sigil and when she nodded they slipped into the booth across from her. “You have his whereabouts?”

Adenah slapped a hand over her mouth. She’d almost slapped the table itself, but that would have brought about too much attention and she stopped at the last moment. Still, it wasn’t enough to hide her surprised gasp. Sitting before her was Dris’rynne with the firmest scowl she’d ever seen her mother wear. The woman looked older than she had when Adenah had last seen it, but seeing as it had been years at this point it was only expected. Still, she was as beautiful as ever and seemingly just as sharp.

“What are you doing here?”

The hybrid raised her hand to passing server and ordered a shot of the strongest liquor they had. She was going to need it if she was going to make it through this. The last time she’d seen her mother face to face had been a few years after the twins were born and even then it had been brief. There was so much left unsaid between them, but Dris’rynne was perceptive. She’d always been afraid of her mother finding out too much which was why she hadn’t wanted to look her in the eye.

Now she couldn’t escape it.

“How much do you know?”

Of course you still have them. Adenah mentally groused. Even living the life of a wife in Jauhar, Dris’rynne was far from ‘helpless’. Her sword skills were what protected their family and also earned their gold so honestly she should have predicted this. Still, at a certain point Adenah had gotten in over her head with this whole matter and no matter how hard she fought to keep above water she was always so close to drowning. Maybe having her mother here wouldn’t be so bad? “What about Ezrah and Mahikel? If you stay here for much longer you could be hurt and they still need you.”

[5/10]

When she saw something shift in her mother’s expression Adenah reached forward and took the shifters hand in both of hers. Was her hand always this small? As a child Adenah had always thought her mother was larger than life, but now she could see the shifter for who she really was; a small, grizzled mother who’d never been given a chance to rest. She’d worked so hard her entire life and it hurt Adenah to know that even with a country separating them she’d been worried.

“I still don’t like the idea of you getting involved,” She murmured. When the server came back around with their drinks she smiled and paid the girl before going back to Dris’rynne. “It’s not your fight anymore, mama; it’s mine. You did as much as you could and then he did what he wanted. None of this is your fault.”

Nodding along, Adenah reached for a shot glass and held it for a moment. While she’d never truly planned on going in this alone she’d assumed her only allies would be those in the guild who detested the way Grunt ran things. Most fell along with his rule happily, but the dissenters were easy enough to gather once word got out that she was Korres’ daughter. Once they saw Korres alive and helping them would they be spurned to fight that much harder?

Or would they run away? Grunt would likely go for her mother first since she was his biggest threat. Adenah’s skills may have sharpened over the years, but she was a stealth killer; her mother was pure, brute strength. The woman’s blades moved faster than the wind itself.

“If we moved tonight we could leave for Yael before he does and set a trap.”

[7/10]

Looking over the map, Adenah had to hmm in agreement. If they left early enough they could spread their people through the area and perhaps even pay off a few ‘opportunistic’ yaeli to keep an eye for them. Some members of Adenah’s own group from Yael so it wouldn’t be difficult. “Then we should leave and find a Captain who doesn’t mind sailing at night.” Normally the task would be hard enough, btu finding one that was okay with sailing to Yael at night? Honestly, she was worried about what kind of monsters would come out for them.

Then again, weren’t they the monsters?

Waving the server down once more, she paid off their tab and waited for Dris’rynne to knock back her drink before making their way out of the pub. They passed a few of Adenah’s compatriots on the way and she spread the word. By midnight they needed to meet at the dock and one way or the other they would be on the sea by morning light.

Adenah nearly choked on her own spit. “Ah, well- Yeah, sure. Maybe one day.” With everything going on she’d nearly forgotten that Dris’rynne had no idea about Arkadios and Siofra. She and Dovian had done so much work to keep them hidden that even if her mother had an inkling she would have had a hard time. It felt…so wrong not to include her, but mentioning them now would be a sucker punch. If they came out of this alive then she would have to properly introduce them…The entire family deserved that much.

“…Would you like that? If I had children?”