Welcome to Gaia! ::

Carol stared at the man slightly as he worked on the stew. Since Sai and Kizzy had left ehr she had only moved to get out her pad of paper and a pen. She waved slightly, flipping over her drawing with her other hand and murmered a shy "Hi" but kept her eyes trained on him afriad she would be scolded for being in the inn alone. "Hows....it...uh...goin?" she asked searching her mind for words. She seemed alot more shacken lately then usual. Before she would have never found it hard to talk, and now she had trouble forming a question. "Um...my names carol..."

Linnea smiled, her head bobbing in time to the music. She really did enjoy listening to it more than playing it, since she could truly focus on listening once her mind was clear.

Cleaning finished, DS looked over the tea services and frowned, counting. "Hisa-san, did I leave the rose teapot in the kitchen?"

Carol smiled "Nice to meet you Cordian" she looked back down at the paper in front of her and folded it in half neatly and then turned back to her back and shoved it inside dropping the pen in as well. "Thanks" she murmered as she relized he had spoken to her about stew. She turned back around and sighed. She tried to act calm but she could already feel her engery coming back to her. She twiddled her thumbs slightly and looked around. She would definatly need to do some things today, and soon or else shed loose it.

"Of course I'll take Shin," Dio called back as he left the farmhouse, letting the door close behind him. It actually hadn't occurred to him not to take Shin. He was so used to the child always trailing along. Readjusting his satchel with one hand, Dio realized he held the seedling firmly but tenderly in one hand. He hadn't even remembered picking it up from the tail. "My two children," Dio mused out loud. "Little one," he shouted out. "It's time to go into town!" The child quickly came running. Shin seemed to be happy outdoors like this. It was good seeing him happy. So much of Shin's time was spent drinking in the dark moods of Shin and Faevan. Maybe a sibling would help; Shin did need to be around other children. Maybe they would run into others on the way into town. That would be nice.

"I'm ready, Papa!" Shin said, pausing to catch his breath as he reached the old rancher. He didn't seem quite as fit as he had in his youth.

"Good, good," Dio responded with a sincere smile. "into town we go, then!" The two -- three actually, Dio reminded himself, holding the blackberry close -- briskly made their way into town, almost skipping through the morning dew. It seemed simpler, easier, lighter today for some reason. Perhaps the adventure with the Fae overshadowed everything else that had happened in the past days. Whatever caused this, Dio hoped this marked a shift towards the better. Dio brought his thoughts back to the present as they approached Miss Rosemary's shop. "Awwe, here we are Shin. Do you think Miss Rosemary might have a treat for you?" Shin's eyes brightened at the sound of a treat.

"Papa doesn't get sick. He just sleeps a lot when he feels bad. That's what Auntie Fae Fae says," the child quickly spouted out, wide-eyed looking at the new acquaintance.

Dio chuckled at the young fae's exuberance. "It is nice to meet you, Miss Lienna. My name is Dio. I'm the goatherd. This little one is Shin Daiko, and this other little one," he hoisted the potted blackberry a little higher, "is yet to be named. We were just heading in to Miss Rosemary's shop. Would you care to join us?"

Dio chuckled despite himself. "I'm sorry for laughing, it's an honest mistake. If i hadn't been raised here or experienced the last few weeks, I'd be shocked myself, I assume." Dio raised the seedling towards Lienna. "Do you see that orb in the center, nestled in with the blackberrys? That meens this is a Fae seedling, and will soon... hatch, I guess you'd call it... and turn into a faeling, sory of like my Shin here.

"Did I look like that, papa?" Shin asked, a look of astonishment on his face.

"Not quite, Little One. I believe each seedling is unique, just like you."

His mind wandering as was the case lately, Dio was taken aback. "Purchase... a book or a fae?" Rubbing his head, Dio quickly tried to make sense of the situation. "I don't have any books on the subject, not past my own writings. Miss Rosemary may know how to aquire some, though your best chance would be the library. It has a new librarian, but it has been there almost as long as the town.