Welcome to Gaia! ::

Em came out of her wagon and peered up at the noonday sun that shone, glancing off the trees and casting leafy shadows around the clearing. She had long moored her wagon, but still made sure to check that her oxen were well-settled in the grass, grazing along the edges of the circle. She was tempted to walk to one of the great beasts and reward its hard work of the day with a loving pat, but she had Pierre swaddled in a sling that was tied about her neck, and didn't wish to alert the oxen with the presence of her son. He was still in his darkling phase, and more often than not, his still hedgehog-like, piercing scream frightenened other animals. They heard the animal nature of it, but the new, darker undertone set them ill at ease.

Instead, she headed towards the fire pit, and sat on one of the logs that had been dragged closer to the stones. Pierre threw up a squeal, and Em rocked him through his sling.

"Hush, child. You'll disturb the others."

Em would have stood to greet her, but Pierre had just calmed down upon his mother's insistence, and didn't want to rouse him again.

"Leshya'e! You're right, it's been days- but then again, it's difficult to socialize sometimes, when we're travelling so fleetly. And I'm just fine. Just trying to get Pierre some air- these days he seems to hate being in Daggerheld. It will be nice when he's a little older, he might start to enjoy being in the wagon." She untied the sling and let Pierre lay, still swaddled, across her knees. "And how is Anezka?"

Em laughed. "Well, that's true. I just suppose I expect him to take after his mother. I love the outdoors, but more...through a window. That wagon is my home, and I seem to be more gypsy in the fact that I adore trade. I think that's why the caravan calls to me." She smiled at her friend, and looked up at the ancient trees. "Can you believe we'll finally be out of the Sheulan soon? I can't wait for the next trading expedition."

"Oh, I know what you mean," Em said, watching her prod the ashes with a knowing hand, "the woods seem like home, almost. And I think all the Fortunettes will be a little on edge to be clear of it- at least for a while. So many are forest creatures." She paused, and smiled at the thought of her friends Fortunettes- and Anezka in particular. "Are you excited for the growths? I think it will be wonderful to have some infants about, other than Pierre."

Em didn't know why Leshya'e bit her lip, but she had reservations of her own, and knew that they probably showed. "I... well, I don't know. As darklings, I don't know how any of them will get along. It will be hard for you, I think, to have something so pure and innocent as Ane turned into a darkling." It had been hard enough for her, she thought, looking down at the drowsy, prickle-headed infant with dark marks around his eyes. Pierre had started his life as a dagger, which was a violent enough instrument that the change into a darkling had come almost too easily... and he bonded with the darkness in a way that seemed to match his personality enough that it wasn't too big of a change for Em. She didn't know how Leshya'e would react to the changes in Anezka, once she was a darkling.

"That would be wonderful," Em said, pushing the unpleasantness of the possibilities out of her mind. "I've not had anything since this morning, and that was just some smoked preservatives that I keep in the wagon. Do you have any milk, as well? I'm completely out, and I soak everything Pierre eats to make it softer. I can give something in return, if need be."

((I completely understand! I hope he's okay- I know how hard it is to get such bad news. As for posting thinly, I may have to scoot soon, myself.))

"Oh, that's just fine. He usually drinks milk warm, anyway. He mostly doesn't get much but goat milk. And my oxen are both male, so..." she chuckled, "that doesn't help much."