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((Sizzla, Mirela and Tafari wandered over to aide Irina and her kidlets in my last post - just letting you know in caes you missed it ^^))

((I did miss it! Sorry about that! XP I edited my post for you. biggrin ))

The girl looked back, and seeing that her mother was starting to draw near, leaned in close to Taniel, and whispered conspiritorily, "You look like a doll. You have skin like Eastern ceramic."

"My, what a polite little kerl." She chuckled, something that sounded, with her high pitched voice, like a malfunctioning bell. "I am called Grendenla. This is my sister, Algurna," she motioned to the frowning one, "and my friend, Hurwar." She was tall, but not too thin- more compact than anything else, and her skin seemed to be too soft to hold in her muscles. The women behind her were of approximately the same height- Hurwar being slightly shorter and with a more yellowish tinge to her skin. All three women were dressed to kill in well-fitted long tunicsuits of pressed and dyed wool, their feathery hair wrapped into innumerable, well-oiled coils along the base of their neck.

"I'm afraid, my little Kale, I am going to be somewhat rude," Grendenla said, "and ask you what species you are. You are quite a curious little thing, and I don't think I've ever seen someone like you. Are you from the north?"

The ferry took a bit of a dip, and one of the fellow passengers- the Corphori, to be exact- tumbled directly into Irina and her brood. He didn't know how hard he'd smacked into her, but in the split-second of the impact, hoped it wans't as bad as he thought.

Before Irina could greet her caravan family, the ferry dipped low in the water, causing her to check her footing. Kal fell to her bottom, still not a professional at walking, and scrambled up again before she saw a man rolling toward them like a bowling ball to pins.

"Mama! Care-fu!" she shouted, trying to warn her mother before something bad happened.

Irina shrieked as the Corphori came tumbling into her and Eerie, and before she knew it, they were a pile on the wooden flooring of the ferry. Eerie crawled out of the mess easily, and headed toward his sister, who helped him stand, and she continued to hold his hands so that he could also get used to the rocking of the ferry.

Irina, checking to make sure she was still intact -- which she was -- looked up at the man who had tumbled into them. "Still haven't got your sea legs, have you?" she asked, chuckling a little. "Mind helping me up? I have some problems with that these days," she said, a twinkle in her eye as she raised a hand for him to pull her up.

Just as she was doing so, she heard a shout from Mirela, who scurried toward them with Tafari. "Oh thank you dear sister. I think we're alright. So far, nothing hurts, so that's a good sign, right?" She smiled at her, offering her her other hand as Mirela reached out to help them up. "Maybe you both could help me..."

The man turned to Mirela first, scrambling up to the deck with his hands out as if he were waiting to be injured for his indiscretion. But when he saw it was only another gypsy, headed to help the woman he'd tumbled, he relaxed visibly, though beads of sweat rolled in raindrop form down his forehead. His apologetic growl of a voice was lined with the guttural Corphori accent.

"I am so... sorry," he said haltingly, "I didn't mean to... oh, and you... children. So many children." He saw the swell of her stomach, and although he offered her his arm, he stepped wide around her stomach, as if being near it would tumble her again. He turned to Mirela, as well. "I so sorry. I so so..." His woolen hat (an ill choice in such hot weather) had remained on his head during the trip, so he now removed it, holding it to his chest and offering his sweat-stained hair as if in another apology. "My name is Rosyoia." It was a deeply growled word, and it sounded almost vicious.

Irina took the Corphori's arm gratefully as he helped her from the deck. "Thank you sir," she said, only slightly wary of the gruff voice that accompanied the sweaty man. "It's no problem. I know you didn't mean it," she smiled. "And yes, there are quite a few children, aren't there?" she said with a laugh. "They seem to all be okay."

She turned to check on Kal and Eerie, who were now looking curiously at Tafari. They hadn't really met officially yet. Last time they had been close enough to chat, Kal was still an infant, unable to get around on her own, let alone talk.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Rosyoia," Irina said, looking at the woolen hat atop his head. "Have you been on the ferry before?"

As Kal steadied her brother, she let go of one hand, allowing him to do more of the work on his own. She then turned to Tafari and waved cheerfully. "Heywo!" she said, giving him a grin. He was quite interesting looking.

Eerie just stared quietly. He looked down at his own hooved feet, and then to Tafari's. He couldn't help but wonder why his bottom half didn't look like his animal form, like this child's did.

Kale happily absorbed the compliment. He nodded at each of the other women with his trademark grin, before turning to Grendenla. It was a difficult inquiry to answer. The fox certainly didn't know how to explain the mysteries of the meij to women who weren'teven gypies. He wasn't close to fathoming it himself.

He shuffled on his feet a little as he said, "Well, ma'am, I was a candle when my mama found me, then I was a fox, then I was a baby, then I was a candle again....now I'm just bigger and.. on fire." Kale paused. "I'm a Fortunette." He grinned.

Taniel laughed, amiably, his smile still sweet. "Why, thank you! I don't believe I've ever received so sweet a compliment from such a lovely young lady."

He glanced up at the approaching mother, trying to convey that he didn't at all mind being 'bothered'. He hoped she wouldn't reproach her daughter too much.