Sime~Gen Roleplaying: Householding Naros Scenario
Episode #78: Rally at Ronapl (12/11/98)
Nick brushes the accumulating snow from Pumpkin's mane.
Nick: It's coming down faster.
Wise Snake grunts.
Nick: Is there any sort of shelter up ahead?
Wise Snake: How should I know?
Wise Snake: It's just snow.
Wise Snake is not interested in taking any guff from the weather.
Nick thinks that Snake might be underestimating the effect of visual limitations of those unable to zlin--like the horses.
Nick shivers.
Wise Snake steers Freelance closer to the middle of the road.
Wise Snake zlins Nick's obvious shivering and sighs.
Nick: ~~ chilled Gen ~~
Wise Snake: Oh, all right.
Wise Snake: ~annoyed~
Wise Snake: We'll stop at the next place, how's that?
Wise Snake thinks Nick has turned into a wuss since they left Bender Cove, but manages to avoid saying so.
Nick: Fine.
Wise Snake zlins ahead.
Nick peers ahead in hopes of seeing shelter of some sort.
Wise Snake: Don't be so anxious. You're not going to get lost, or frozen, anytime soon.
Wise Snake: ~testy channel~
Nick offers ~~ soothing support ~~
Nick: I'd hoped we'd find some work for you before this.
Wise Snake: Ummh.
Nick: Does living in the country really make people that much healthier, or is it just that there's fewer people around to get sick?
Nick: ~~ curiosity ~~
Wise Snake considers.
Wise Snake: I think it's the latter.
Gepdan trudges through the snow.
Wise Snake continues to zlin Gepdan idly as they talk.
Wise Snake can't see him yet due to the driving snow.
Gepdan is bent over under a huge pack.
Gepdan: ~~ tired ~~ ~~ cold ~~ ~~ need ~~
Wise Snake: Hmm.
Nick notes Snake's attention.
Nick: Something ahead?
Wise Snake: Nothing that would interest you. Too small to climb inside, and no fire.
Wise Snake: Hello! [calls out to Gepdan]
Gepdan stops.
Nick adjusts his field to support fine zlinning.
Wise Snake rides up to him.
Nick stops Pumpkin next to Freelance.
Gepdan zlins around but can't make anyone out, even with need sharpening his sensitivity.
Wise Snake appears out of the snow, looming on a big black horse.
Gepdan scurries over to the side of the road.
Wise Snake obligingly follows.
Gepdan yanks off his pack and starts tossing snow on it.
Nick notes Snake's interest in the stranger, and wonders if he requires a channel's services.
Wise Snake sits on Freelance and watches Gepdan curiously.
Nick wonders idly why the stranger is burying his pack in a snowdrift out in the middle of nowhere.
Wise Snake: Excuse me... [attempts again]
Gepdan zlins Snake getting close and steps in front of the ill-hidden pack.
Gepdan: ~~ Defiant ~~ ~~ need ~~
Wise Snake shakes her head to herself.
Wise Snake: Ummm, yeah.
Wise Snake: So, I was going to ask you if you require transfer, but now I am really curious as to what's the big deal with your pack.
Nick feels the Sime's need and makes sure his nager blends untemptingly with Snake's.
Gepdan: It's mine! I found it!
Wise Snake: A more suspicious utterance was never heard.
Wise Snake: Well, do you require transfer or not?
Wise Snake zlins the pack since the guy is freaking out over it.
Gepdan: "Transfer? Like you're a channel or somethin'?" [ snorts ]
Pack: ~~ dirty metallic objects ~~
Nick wonders how Gepdan could fail to zlin that Snake is a channel.
Nick: Actually, she is a channel. And a very good one, too.
Nick: ~~ pride in his channel ~~
Gepdan zlins over at Nick. "Yeah, like a channel'd be out here. In this."
Gepdan gestures at the snow.
Gepdan: Nearest channel is at the Sime Center in town.
Nick: Do you really want to wait that long?
Gepdan will be hard pressed to get there on the selyn he has.
Gepdan: Not like I got a choice, is it?
Wise Snake looks pretty disgusted.
Gepdan: I was - busy. Had something that couldn't wait.
Wise Snake: Whatever you say, guy.
Gepdan zlins Snake more closely.
Wise Snake: If you want to throw away your life for a bunch of metal lumps and dirt, that's your prerogative.
Wise Snake: ~bored, ill-tempered channel~
Gepdan: ~~ defiant ~~ "It's my Big Break!"
Nick: Wouldn't you rather be alive and well to enjoy it?
Gepdan: Hey.... Are you really a channel?
Wise Snake: What else would I be?
Gepdan: Prove it.
Wise Snake looks incredulously at Gepdan.
Wise Snake looks back at Nick.
Wise Snake: Do we have time for this? Or do you want to get warm?
Nick raises an eyebrow.
Nick: Go ahead. You require the work.
Wise Snake: OK.
Wise Snake: Let's see, prove that I'm a channel, prove that I'm a channel. How could I.... oh, I know.
Wise Snake augments off Freelance and tackles Gepdan physically.
Wise Snake: ~~~~~~~~GEN DESPERATE FOR TRANSFER~~~~~~~
Gepdan: ~~ surprise ~~
Nick tightens up his ~~ support ~~ to working standards and dismounts, more slowly than Snake.
Gepdan: ~~ INTIL ~~
Wise Snake: ~~~oh please take me take me TAKE ME~~~~
Gepdan leaps hyperconscious and grabs for Snake's arms.
Nick grabs Freelance's reins and moves closer, into the proper position, or as close as possible, under the primitive conditions.
Wise Snake's field engulfs Gepdan like the heart of the sun.
Wise Snake: ~~burning~~
Wise Snake entwines tentacles and plants her lips on Gepdan's.
Gepdan draws from this 'Gen' as hard as he can.
Wise Snake: ~~release/glorious upswelling~~
Gepdan sucks the burning selyn into his starved nerves.
Gepdan rides on Snake's projected emotion as his system fills.
Nick holds the fields ~~ steady ~~, which is not much of a task out here with no other nagers around.
Gepdan takes all the selyn he can and then drops hypoconscious.
Wise Snake releases Gepdan.
Nick: Do you think she's a channel now?
Nick: ~~ amusement ~~
Wise Snake wipes off her mouth and then stands, brushing snow off herself.
Gepdan: Yeah. I believe you now.
Wise Snake: So. What's in the sack?
Gepdan: Ancient metal.
Gepdan: I suppose I should pay you.
Nick: Ancient metal? Are there ruins around here?
Gepdan turns and starts fiddling with the pack.
Gepdan: Ruins? Around here? Why, - No. ~~ lie ~~
Wise Snake: Ummmh.
Gepdan: I'm just a - distributor. Getting it to market from somewhere else.
Nick: I thought you said you found the metal yourself, somewhere?
Wise Snake: ~impatience~
Gepdan glares at Nick.
Nick doesn't care that much; unlike Linn, he has never been passionate about history.
Gepdan: I found the guy who had it. Business opportunity.
Wise Snake: Whatever. You said something about payment?
Wise Snake hopes he is not going to pay her in anything that weighs more than a horse can comfortably carry.
Gepdan holds out several heavy looking things cover with a thick layer of corrosion.
Nick wonders what kind of shape Gepdan's "business partner" was left in, and whether he requires healing as well.
Gepdan: Real Good stuff. Keon uses this sort of thing for starter.
Wise Snake eyes them dubiously, then gestures to Nick to take them.
Nick takes them, and wraps them in rags before putting distributing them among the saddle bags.
Pumpkin grunts in disgust at the extra weight.
Gepdan: Any dealer'll give you a good price for 'em.
Wise Snake remounts Freelance.
Nick hopes there is a scrap metal dealer in the next town, so they don't have to lug their payment halfway across the Territory.
Wise Snake: Happy augmenting. [to Gepdan]
Gepdan: Thanks, Hajene. Just what I needed right now.
Wise Snake winces at the pun, but lets it go.
Wise Snake wheels Freelance and starts off down the road.
Nick gets back on Pumpkin, and wraps his cloak around himself.
Gepdan looks thoughtful at the realization that this transfer won't be on the Tecton's books.
Gepdan starts working his pack pack on.
Pumpkin trots along after Freelance, wishing he were back in his stall in the Naros stable.
see note 1
Prunida zlins ahead, hoping to catch a trace of Nick's nager.
Prunida sighs at the limitations of life as a not-very-sensitive renSime.
Prunida: Can you zlin anyone ahead, Riyyh?
Riyyh is in slightly better mental condition, mostly because while Prunida was negotiating for their lunch at the last rest stop, he managed to find and "console" three young daughters of the local inkeep, who had been fighting and required the soothing presence of an adult.
Riyyh zlins.
Riyyh: [he has resorted to handling the whole kidnapping bit using his last-ditch most effective method: Denial]
Riyyh: A renSime.
Prunida hides her ~~ disappointment ~~
Prunida: Perhaps we can get some more current information.
Prunida nudges her horse with a heel to convince it to pick up the pace a bit.
Gepdan trudges along. A bit faster, since he has plenty of selyn.
Prunida is now able to zlin the traveller for herself.
Gepdan wishes the snow would let up. He's always had trouble zlinning when he's post.
Prunida: He zlins like he just had transfer...
Prunida: Hallo, there!
Gepdan looks up.
Riyyh: Oh Prunida... you're not going to har... er, pest.. er, speak with the fellow, are you?
Riyyh feels ~pity~ for him.
Gepdan tries to zlin if there's time to hide the pack this time at least.
Prunida: Have you seen a channel on a black horse, accompanied by a Gen with a strong nager?
Prunida tries to zlin as ~~ friendly ~~ as possible.
Gepdan wonders if they are after transfers too. He zlins them closely.
Prunida: ~~ well past turnover ~~
Riyyh is a channel somewhat past turnover, but not yet in hard need.
Riyyh looks about 10 years older than usual, that is to say, he looks his age.
Gepdan: What's going on? You having a convention or sumptin'?
Prunida: You've see them, then?
Prunida: ~~ hope ~~
Gepdan gets shrewd. Here's a chance to get back what he lost. "Maybe."
Riyyh sees this is going to take a while and, turning his horse slightly away, pulls out the comb lovely young Ferisaa gave him... or was it Terissa?
Riyyh smiles and tries to forget where he is, as he works out a tangle in his silver hair.
Prunida shakes her head.
Prunida: I haven't time to dicker.
Prunida pulls a coin out and shows it to Gepdan.
Prunida: Have you seen them or not?
Gepdan eyes it, gaging its value.
Prunida waits for Gepdan to make up his mind.
Gepdan: Yeah. Riding up this road. Passed 'em about an hour ago.
Gepdan: Gen looked cold. Good horses though.
Prunida: Cold? Was he getting frostbitten?
Prunida: ~~ worry ~~
Prunida has, perhaps, underestimated the Gen tolerance for cold.
Gepdan shrugs. "Didn't zlin that close. Was more interested in her."
Prunida smiles, passing the coin over.
Prunida: Did she give you transfer?
Gepdan takes it and makes it vanish.
Prunida: ~~ curious ~~
Gepdan smiles broadly. ~~ affirmation ~~
Prunida: Hmm, she must have more talent than her scruffy looks would indicate.
Gepdan: I'd say so. That Gen her Companion?
Prunida: He's my grandson.
Riyyh ~purrs~ as he drifts in the world of denial-buffered grooming ritual.
Prunida nods back at Riyyh.
Prunida: His, too.
Prunida neglects to mention that they are Nick's only grandparents. 2
Prunida: They're only an hour ahead, you say?
Gepdan smiles "Oho! Lovers running off? Why don't you want a nice channel like that in the family?"
Prunida: If they haven't stopped... Are there any likely shelters along this road?
Gepdan: Yup. I saw 'em just past them rocks that look like a big bear.
Prunida peers down the road, attempting to make out the ursine rock formation.
Gepdan: There's farmhouses, but most of'em pretty fur back from the road, mostly.
Gepdan: There's an inn maybe an hour beyond that.
Gepdan eyes the snow. "Meby 2, in this stuff."
Prunida ~~ worries ~~ that Snake will take shelter where she and Riyyh can't zlin them.
Prunida: Well, I hope we'll catch up to them before too long.
Prunida: Thank you very much for your help.
Prunida: ~~ sincere gratitude ~~
Riyyh smiles at Gepdan automatically, having not followed their conversation whatsoever.
Riyyh: ~kindness~
Gepdan: Well, good luck.
Prunida: Thank you.
Prunida: Come, Riyyh, we're catching up.
Riyyh puts the comb away and raises his cloak's hood before too much snow can land on him.
Riyyh: Yes, Prunida.
Gepdan would be even less willing to think Riyyh a channel if he hadn't zlinned it. He's never seen a channel out without a Gen in tow.
Prunida nudges her horse on into the storm.
Riyyh follows.
Riyyh: He seemed like a nice fellow.
Riyyh: And you were so kind to him.
Riyyh: People like that.
Riyyh: ~gentle approval~
Prunida: Yes. I admit, I hadn't thought that a rogue channel could give such a good transfer.
Riyyh: Prunida, really. She is a Farris.
Prunida smiles at Riyyh's approval.
Riyyh: She trained at Zeor for her first two months.
Riyyh realizes Prunida's study of the Tecton has been limited mainly to Donors and their payscale, but...
Prunida: One thinks of Farrises as Tecton officials in neat uniforms, not as street children.
Riyyh smiles.
Riyyh: Yes, true.
Riyyh: It's a shame.
Prunida wonders if Riyyh thinks it's a shame that Snake isn't a Tecton-uniformed Farris like the others, or if, alternatively, he thinks it's a shame that the other members of the Farris clan aren't street children like Snake.
Riyyh of course thinks it's a shame that Snake was orphaned and forced to live on the street.
Prunida: He said there were farmhouses around, set back from the road.
Riyyh: Might we go to one? ~hope~
Prunida: Only if Snake and Nick have taken shelter there.
Prunida: Otherwise, there's an inn an hour or two down the road.
Riyyh: We will stay at the inn? ~hope~
Prunida: I don't think Snake go past it, not in this weather.
Riyyh is pretty sure he wouldn't be able to zlin who's inside farmhouses unless the houses were pretty close to the road.
Riyyh sighs as he realizes there is going to be a lot of uncomfortable riding over ditches and across country between houses getting close enough to zlin inside, between now and the inn.
Riyyh wonders if Prunida could be persuaded to do the scouting herself while he sticks to the road.
Riyyh: ~hope~
Riyyh has been trying to keep a positive attitude.
Prunida ~~ approves ~~ of Riyyh's attitude.
Prunida: Yes, we'll catch them soon.
Riyyh shies away from the thought of the expression on Nick and Snake's face at the zlin of Prunida and him, and concentrates upon how ~relieved and enthusiastic~ he will feel when they arrive at a nice, warm inn where he will be able to have a hot bath, obtain clean clothes and climb into bed for at least 4 hours.
Riyyh: [perhaps after finding some friendly people to spend time with]
Prunida zlins, trying to stay on the road and identify any farmhouse-type turnoffs.
Prunida's horse stumbles over a rut.
Prunida: Is that a gate over there?
Riyyh: I think so.
Prunida: There must be a farmhouse down that way.
Riyyh: Perhaps. [hesitant]
Burf is stuffing straw into a crack between boards in the barn to keep the drafts out, hopefully.
Riyyh thinks he zlins somebody there, several hundred yards off.
Prunida tries to zlin whether there are any people in the indicated direction.
Prunida: We passed the rocks our informant mentioned, and it was snowing hard an hour ago.
Prunida: Maybe they took shelter there.
Burf curses the Shenshid flickin storm.
Riyyh thinks if it was "snowing hard an hour ago", what's it doing now?
Prunida starts for the gate.
Prunida: We'd better make sure.
Riyyh: Of course. [graciously]
Riyyh sighs internally.
Burf makes a round of the stalls, checking the animals.
Riyyh follows, more slowly.
Prunida: We just have to get close enough for you to zlin if they're here.
Prunida really has little concept of a channel's sensitivity in relation to her own.
Riyyh wonders if a case could be made that they'd catch up to Snake and Nick faster if they're actually at the inn and Riyyh and Prunida didn't stop to check all the farmhouses.
Riyyh: All right.
Burf decides to sit here among the cows for a bit before going back to the house.
Riyyh thinks, even if Snake and Nick weren't at the inn, but at a farmhouse, Riyyh and Prunida could spend a comfortable time at the inn waiting out the storm, then meet Snake and Nick at their leisure when the duo passed by the inn later.
Prunida carefully guides her horse towards the farmhouse.
Riyyh ~regrets~ that Prunida is likely too bloody-minded to tolerate such an elegant solution.
Riyyh follows.
Prunida is sure that Snake and Nick have gone to ground to wait out the storm, and is determined not to bypass their hiding place.
Riyyh: I don't think they're here.
Riyyh: There's somebody in the barn, though. Not them.
Prunida pulls her horse to a halt in the barnyard.
Riyyh thinks that's certainly good enough.
Riyyh turns his horse around.
Prunida: You can zlin that clearly enough?
Riyyh: Well... I mean, [helplessly]
Riyyh gestures at the small house and modest barn.
Prunida: If they were there, you'd zlin them?
Burf hears something. Hooves? One of the animals must still be outside!
Riyyh: I believe so.
Riyyh: Unless they were hiding in a stone cellar or something.
Riyyh thinks not even Snake is that masochistic.
Prunida herself can't zlin through a normal wall, even when it's not particularly well insulated.
Prunida: Well....
Burf gets up. He grabs his whip from the peg by the door.
Prunida contemplates having to search every cellar of every farmhouse along the road.
Prunida: I suppose we'll have to assume that they aren't here.
Burf goes to the barn door.
Riyyh: ~relief~
Burf pulls it open and zlins out into the snow, closing his eyes against the wind.
Riyyh: He's noticed us.
Riyyh, like all native Narosians, is extremely sensitive to the attentions of others.
Burf: ~~ Surprise ~~
Burf: Hey!
Prunida: ~~ crabby, chilled, worried, past-turnover old renSime lady ~~
Riyyh: ~~ sensitive, extremely wimpy out-of-his-element aging channel type ~~
Burf strides out into the yard.
Prunida decides that she might as well settle the cellar issue, at least for this house.
Burf shouts over the wind "What the Shuven are you lorshes up to?!
Riyyh: ~alarm~
Riyyh quails at the man's reaction.
Prunida: Excuse me... Have you seen a channel on a black horse, accompanied by a bearded Gen with a strong field?
Riyyh: Prunida, I think maybe we should just leave.... [plaintive]
Burf: You won't steal none of my stock, you Freebanders!
Burf shakes out his whip.
Prunida: Then they didn't take shelter here?
Riyyh stares at the whip in astonishment.
Burf: None of your fancy talk!
Riyyh: ~fear~
Burf: This is my place!
Prunida decides that it's unlikely Snake and Nick are in this man's cellar.
Prunida: We'll leave you to enjoy it in peace, then.
Riyyh sends Ifto's horse skittering for the road.
Prunida: Come, Riyyh.
Riyyh is in fact a ways ahead of Prunida, this time.
Prunida follows at a more sensible pace.
Burf cracks the whip for emphasis.
Prunida's horse jumps ahead at the whip crack.
Burf: Now, Git!
Prunida reaches the road at last.
Prunida: What a rude person.
Prunida: ~~ annoyance ~~
Riyyh says nothing, but points the horse down the road toward the supposed inn and grips the reins.
Riyyh's carefully nurtured morale has melted down into a quivering stress.
Prunida: If all the farmers around here are like that, we won't find them until we get to the inn.
Riyyh doubts that any farmer, even an armed one, would be able to stand up to Snake, but realizes it would be stupid to point that out.
Prunida is struck by a sudden thought.
Prunida: If they even have money for the inn.
Prunida: ~~ worry ~~
Riyyh: Perhaps they will let them in out of charity?
Prunida: An innkeeper?
Riyyh looks at Prunida in genuine innocence.
Riyyh: Why not? It is a storm, after all.
Prunida: They don't make a living out of charity.
Nick breathes on his fingers and flexes them...
Nick tries to offer ~~ support ~~ while minimizing Snake-annoying ~~ chill ~~
Wise Snake: I suppose you're going to all that effort because you don't want to stop at the inn just ahead? [sarcastically]
Wise Snake points at the lights just now glimmering through the haze of falling snow.
Nick looks at the lights.
Nick: ~~ relief ~~
Wise Snake gets close enough to read the sign: Ronapl Inn.
Mogan tosses another log on the fire, knocking loose a shower of sparks.
Wise Snake: Egads!
Nick: There might even be work for you...
Nick blinks at the sign.
Wise Snake's mouth twists.
Wise Snake has a natural distrust of any public place which names itself after a bodily secretion.
Nick looks at the sign again.
Nick: Looks like the innkeeper has a strange sense of humor.
Wise Snake: Let's hope so.
Nick doesn't let that stop him from getting off Pumpkin, however.
Wise Snake dismounts also.
Wise Snake: You take these two around and see if you can find the stable person. I'll go in and get us a room.
Mogan wishes more people had gotten in before the storm hit, so they could get stuck here.
Nick nods and accepts Freelance's reins.
Wise Snake walks into the Ronapl.
Wise Snake augments slightly to shake all the snow off herself just inside the door, after having let in a bunch more on the blowing wind.
Nick plods around to the back with the (now very willing) horses.
Wise Snake: ~~quite a channel, with quite a hairdo~~
Mogan turns at the blast of cold air.
Mogan: "Hello!"
Wise Snake resembles a small white sheep wearing a large black wolf's clothing, which has somehow been buried in, then reconstituted from, a large glacier.
Wise Snake: Hello.
Mogan is a balding rensime who has somehow managed to get a small potbelly.
Wise Snake: I'm interested in a room for the night. For two, also stabling for two horses.
Mogan: Certainly! Welcome to the Ronapl Inn!
Wise Snake winces.
Wise Snake: Thank you.
Mogan: The finest inn in the district!
Mogan: Is your associate outside with your horses?
Wise Snake: Yes, he is.
Wise Snake: I had him take them around back.
Wise Snake: Is someone there?
Mogan: Yes, if you bang on the door.
Mogan: We've still got stalls not against the outside walls!
Wise Snake is sure Nick will figure it out.
Wise Snake: Great. OK, also I'll need food for my G - C - for Nick.
Mogan: Of course! Anything in particular?
Wise Snake: I'm sure he'll eat anything hot.
Wise Snake: Do you have any idea how long the snow is expected to last?
Mogan purses his lips.
Nick rousts the stable hand and passes over the horses, after retrieving the saddle bags.
Mogan: Ah, well potluck is our best deal! ~~ slight disappointment ~~
Wise Snake: I will require some food as well, although my requirements are rather specific.
Nick stumbles back around to the inn's front door.
Mogan: Ah! Well We'll certainly do our best! 'The customer is always right' I always say!
Nick enters the Ronapl Inn, looking like a grizzly bear which has been backpacking on a glacier.
Mogan: Ah! You must be Tuib Nick! Welcome!
Nick zlins like a Zeor-flavored, high order Donor, though.
Mogan: Here, let me take your coat.
Mogan bustles over to Nick.
Nick shrugs out of his coat, which is stiff with encrusted snow and ice.
Mogan takes Nick's coat, and goes over to hang it near the fire.
Nick checks the room for Farris allergens as he goes to Snake's side.
Wise Snake rubs the back of her neck as she has the eerie sense of being watched, or followed.
Nick is also blissfully soaking up the heat.
Wise Snake: Huh. [to herself]
Nick looks at Snake in concern.
Nick: Entran?
Wise Snake wriggles out of her cloak and passes it over also.
Mogan bustles back "and can I take your coat Tuib, er, [zlins] Hajene...?"
Wise Snake: No, just have... [glances at Mogan]
Wise Snake: Farris.
Nick had hoped that serving Gepdan would have it under control for a while.
Mogan: Hajene Farris! What a great honor to have you here at my inn!
Nick suspect that not too many Farris channels would hang out at a place called the Ronapl Inn.
Wise Snake winces, but is, after all, used to various reactions to the name.
Wise Snake: Thank you.
Mogan mentally adds 50% to his rates.
Nick feels his fingers begin to thaw and wiggles them in appreciation.
Mogan: Oh, dear you must both be frozen! Would you like some tea to start with?
Wise Snake: Yes, please.
Wise Snake goes over to join Nick by the fire.
Mogan goes back to the kitchen and grabs two mugs and a teapot.
Mogan fills the pot for the hot water tank on the back of the stove and dumps some tea in.
Mogan comes out, swirling the teapot to help it steep.
Mogan: Here you are! Hot tea!
Nick sniffs in appreciation.
Mogan pours a mug for each of them and puts the pot down on the edge of the hearth to stay warm.
Nick picks up his mug and uses it to finish defrosting his fingers.
Prunida spots a light in the distance.
Wise Snake: Thanks.
Prunida: Is that another farmhouse? It seems too near the road.
Riyyh: No, it isn't.
Riyyh has been denying zlinning or seeing any farmhouses, adamantly, since the whip incident.
Prunida's recent experiences have convinced her that the local farmers are insular nutcases.
Riyyh: ~shelled in~
Prunida: It's the inn?
Mogan goes back to the kitchen and looks for what food is ready now.
Riyyh zlins the thing-that-won't-be-there-at-all-if-it-turns-out-to-be-a-farmhouse.
Riyyh: I think so. ~intense relief~
Prunida: I thought he said that there were a number of farmhouses before we got to the inn.
Prunida: ~~ suspicion ~~
Riyyh: We must have missed them in the whiteout conditions.
Riyyh: ~desperate~
Riyyh urges Ifto's horse to hurry toward the inn.
Prunida: Well, let's hope that Snake and Nick missed them as well.
Riyyh would gladly encounter Snake and Nick if it means getting warm and having a nice bath.
Prunida is discovering that even her determination (or mule-headed stubbornness) is proving insufficient to force her aging bones any further.
Riyyh fantasizes that the inn will be posh and offer bubble baths, and free entertainment, as well as fine teas and delicacies.
Riyyh: ~feverish~
Mogan comes out with two bowls. "Here you go, Tuib Nick. A nice hot bowl of stew, and some of those nice fried potatoes we have left from lunch."
Riyyh: And for you, my friend, a nice rub down and a hot mash, doesn't that sound good? [to Ifto's horse]
Prunida's ~~ last hope ~~ is that the fugitives have taken refuge here.
Nick's nose twitches at the savory smell, and his stomach gurgles loudly.
Riyyh clambers stiffly and painfully off the horse, in front of the Ronapl Inn.
Nick: ~~ embarrassment ~~
Riyyh: ~pathetic eagerness~
Wise Snake smiles.
Prunida dismounts even more stiffly, as she is less well preserved.
Prunida: ~~ arthritic ~~
Riyyh may be more limber, but he is less unused to physical labor.
Smell curls out enticingly, promising onions, grease, and calories.
Riyyh: ~tired~
Nick picks up a spoon and digs into the stew, hoping to silence the noise.
Nick: ~~ hungry Gen ~~
Wise Snake sniffs thoughtfully.
Riyyh assumes Prunida will want to barge in immediately in search of Nick, and reaches for her reins.
Prunida: Riyyh, why don't you take the horses around to the stable, while I make arrangements with the innkeeper?
Riyyh: Of course. ~kindly/wearily~
Smell seems like a comfortable old friend.
Nick: ~~ delicious ~~
Riyyh nerves himself to be denied warmth and luxury for just a little bit longer.
Mogan turns to Wise Snake. "And you Hajene, what would you like tonight?"
Wise Snake: Do you have any bread with no spices or wheat?
Wise Snake has been nursing a private suspicion that she is developing a wheat allergy.
Mogan: Yes, I think so.
Wise Snake: Great, let me know. Also, I'd like an apple, plain, washed, and er, let's see,
Prunida makes her way stiffly through the inn door.
Nick: ~~ appetite ~~
Wise Snake catapults out of her chair.
Wise Snake: Holy shen!
Wise Snake: ~disbelief~
Mogan steps back.
Prunida zlins Nick digging into a large meal in front of the fire.
Prunida: ~~ profound relief ~~
Mogan was just thinking that bread he put aside for the chickens won't be too stale yet....
Mogan turns at the blast of cold air.
Wise Snake: What are you doing here? [suspicious]
Prunida: Nick, you're safe!
Nick recognizes the newest arrival.
Nick: ~~ shen ~~
Prunida zlins Nick closely to assure herself that he's not frostbitten, starved, or otherwise mistreated.
Mogan starts over to greet Prunida, but stops when he sees she is focused on Nick.
Wise Snake moves over to stand near Nick, body language hostile.
Wise Snake: ~paranoid~
Nick recollects himself and tries to ~~ soothe ~~ Snake.
Nick: Grandmother, what are you doing running around in the middle of a blizzard?
Prunida: Looking for you, of course. With the rabbit.
Wise Snake was about to start hyperventilating in rage, but Nick's ~~soothing~~ nager keeps it to an ~~icy annoyance~~
Prunida recollects herself and turns to the innkeeper.
Prunida: He'll want a bath, and we'll have tea and a room as well.
Prunida: And stabling for our horses.
Riyyh managed to get the horses handed over to the stable man, and is feeling a great dread since the guy was in the middle of grooming Nick and Snake's very recogniseable horses at the time.
Mogan nods. "Of course Tuib! And Welcome to the Ronapl Inn!"
Prunida: The what?
Riyyh is now staggering back through the snow carrying the things Prunida had bought for their travel, and wondering what kind of scene he is going to be walking in on.
Prunida hadn't stopped to read the sign.
Mogan: The finest inn in the district!
Mogan doesn't believe in bothering his guests with trivial details like the lack of other inns in the district.
Riyyh: ~~frozen, exhausted, in denial, and definitely not in Kansas anymore~~
Prunida looks at Snake.
Wise Snake gives Prunida a narrow-eyed, arrogant look which really makes her look quite Farrislike.
Wise Snake: (and ferret-like)
Prunida: Did he say that this place is called the Ronapl Inn, or are my ears going the way of my old joints?
Wise Snake: Do you have a problem with that?
Wise Snake: You could leave.
Wise Snake: ~invitation to leave~
Prunida declines the invitation.
Prunida instead selects a chair at a nearby table.
Mogan darts a momentary look at Wise Snake for trying to drive trade away.
Wise Snake sends Mogan back an even, intense, emotionless look that lets a person know they are shenned lucky she didn't care to send any messages... this time.
Riyyh pushes open the front door, augmenting to handle it against the wind, and stumbles inside.
Prunida: Ah, there you are, Riyyh.
Riyyh nearly weeps at the combination of blessed warmth and the awful ambient within.
Mogan sees yet another customer come in the door, and thinks that this is a good day after all.
Riyyh smiles weakly at Prunida, Nick, shies away from Snake, then sends the smile to Mogan.
Prunida is not very much affected by the ambient, being relatively insensitive.
Riyyh: I'm terribly sorry, I hope that this hasn't been too much trouble for you, [begins to apologize to Mogan for the behavior of the others]
Riyyh: ~appeasing/apologetic~
Mogan zlins the newcomer before saying "Hello Hajene! Welcome to the Ronapl Inn!"
Nick suppresses a groan at Riyyh's appearance.
Riyyh smiles again, ~warmed~ by Mogan's friendly greeting.
Riyyh: Thank you.
Mogan: Not at all, Hajene, I like a lively common room on a cold night.
Nick hopes things don't get too "lively".
Riyyh is sure he must have heard wrong, when it comes to the name of the inn, but certainly wouldn't be so impolite as to ask him to repeat it.
Riyyh starts to peel off his cloak, which has attempted to become one with his flesh through an infusion of ice crystals and the dirt of the road.
Wise Snake: What in shen did you bring him for? [demands of Prunida]
Wise Snake may have been absorbed in Farris exercises for the last weeks, but is not so uninformed that she couldn't guess whose fault Riyyh's presence is.
Prunida: It seemed a good idea at the time.
Prunida: After all, Nick is his grandson as well as mine.
Prunida doesn't mention that Riyyh is Nick's father as well.
Wise Snake: If you think you're going to talk Nick into anything he doesn't want, you're sorely mistaken.
Wise Snake thinks, for one thing, she's tried.
Wise Snake thinks, for another, it'll be over her dead body.
Mogan: Let me help you, Hajene.
Riyyh: Oh... thank you.
Riyyh: ~grateful~
Riyyh responds naturally to the offer of help by appearing as harmless, helpless and cute as possible.
Mogan takes Riyyh's cloak and goes over to hang it by the fire, where hanging space is getting scarce.
Riyyh follows Mogan closely.
Riyyh: ~seeking badly required salvation~
Nick tries to keep Snake ~~ calm ~~, which is hard to do in Prunida's upsetting presence.
Mogan is ~~ glad ~~ that Riyyh's nager is blunting the rather tense ambient.
Riyyh: Might you have a small cup of tea? ~pleading~ Any kind would be perfectly delightful.
Mogan: Of course! Just let me get you a mug!
Nick feels the pull of Riyyh's approaching need, fighting with Snake's.
Mogan gratefully takes the excuse to head into the kitchen.
Nick focuses down on Snake's need.
Riyyh hesitates, then follows Mogan.
Nick: ~~ support ~~
Wise Snake doesn't miss the slip, and her eyes narrow.
Prunida: Nick, how could you run off without even saying goodbye?
Riyyh hopes Prunida won't berate him for cowardice, but, well, he's a coward.
Wise Snake: What business is it of yours? [interrupts]
Nick wonders how his grandmother manages to invoke ~~ reflexive guilt ~~ even when he hasn't done anything.
Prunida: What business is it of mine? He's my grandson.
Prunida: And the rabbit's.
Wise Snake: So? Everybody's Riyyh's grandson, what's your point?
Wise Snake: ~annoyed~
Prunida: There are obligations that come with family.
Wise Snake: You want a piece of Nick because you screwed Riyyh a few times?
Mogan goes over to get a mug and turns suddenly, almost running into Riyyh.
Riyyh: Oh, I'm terribly sorry.
Riyyh's tentacles flutter.
Wise Snake: Let me tell you, sister, you have no claim on Nick. He's mine. Comprende?
Mogan: No, my fault entirely.
Riyyh: I just couldn't bear to... [glances over his shoulder in the direction they came from]
Prunida looks at Nick in ~~ appeal ~~
Mogan: Here. [thrusts mug into Riyyh's tentacles]
Mogan: There is tea out by. Oh.
Prunida: I raised you, Nick. Doesn't that count for something?
Mogan says cozily "I'll just make up another pot for us here, shall I?"
Wise Snake's body language resembles a cross between a fur-puffed kitty and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi about to bite Nag in half.
Nick recognizes the danger signals and tries to ~~ charm ~~ the Snake.
Mogan goes through the tea routine again.
Riyyh clings to the mug and remains near Mogan.
Prunida's face crumples in defeat as she zlins Nick's herpetologically-centered response.
Riyyh: ~~numb, sore, road-filthy and desperately far from home in more ways than one~~
Prunida: ~~ defeat ~~
Prunida suddenly zlins like a tired, cold, arthritic old lady.
Wise Snake nods, satisfied by the reaction.
Mogan: Oh dear, I do hope there won't be too much trouble. You are all such nice people, I'm sure there must be a way to work things out.
Riyyh: I hope so also. ~sincere~
Mogan: Can I get you something to eat?
Nick blinks, not having seen Prunida look her age before, much less twice it.
Riyyh: It is so difficult to influence others, these days, but perhaps, with a little kindness... oh yes, thank you.
Wise Snake for some reason feels little compassion for Prunida.
Nick finds the sight ~~ unsettling ~~
Mogan: Do you have to have plain, wheatless bread and washed apples also?
Riyyh: I would be most grateful for anything you have to offer.
Riyyh is a bit alarmed as it sounds as if the best they have to offer is far below his ordinary standards, but at this point isn't going to turn down any act of kindness.
Riyyh: ~grateful~
Wise Snake: Look... why don't you get some sleep or something, then go home?
Wise Snake: Bring that... jellyfish with you.
Wise Snake has experienced a resurgence of dislike for Naros' Sectuib after zlinning Nick's response to his presence.
Mogan tries to decide if that was a yes or a no on dietary restrictions.
Wise Snake: Nick and I are moving on.
Mogan: Well I have some lovely stew and fried potatoes, which that gentlegen out there quite liked. Shall I get you some?
Riyyh: Oh yes, please. [smiles]
Prunida feels a ~~ stabbing pain ~~ at the utter rejection of Snake's announcement, particularly when Nick doesn't deny it.
Riyyh: ~relief~
Wise Snake notes Prunida's emotional reaction, but having had a pretty hard life herself, she is not affected by it.
Wise Snake in fact thinks Prunida is a self-absorbed, calculating, mean, greedy and ultimately foolish woman.
Wise Snake: Get your food, Nick.
Mogan gets Riyyh a bowl of each, smaller than the bowls he gave Nick, of course.
Wise Snake: Let's get some privacy.
Wise Snake disappears in the direction of their room.
Riyyh: Thank you. ~grateful~
Nick takes the remains of his food and follows Snake, without looking at Prunida.
Riyyh: I suppose I should... [looks nervously in the direction of the common room]
Mogan gets that chunk of barley bread he was thinking of, and slices (well, scrapes) off the bit where it looks chewed.
Riyyh turns and walks back to where he'd left the others, carrying the bowls and the tea.
Riyyh enters ~cautiously~
Riyyh zlins Prunida and what she's feeling and immediately sets the bowls down on something and flies to her.
Riyyh: Pru!
Riyyh: ~~concern/distress~~
Mogan washes off an apple and follows Riyyh.
Prunida looks at Riyyh tragically.
Prunida: I've lost him, Riyyh.
Riyyh: Oh Prunida, I'm so sorry.
Prunida: And she won't let me close enough to even try to get him back.
Riyyh: ~~soothing/concerned/loving~~
Prunida reaches out to Riyyh for comfort.
Riyyh knows somewhere very deep in the back of his mind that he never even got a sip of tea or a taste of food before rushing to her aid, but the part of him which is capable of noticing such a thing has been bypassed.
Riyyh takes her in his arms.
Riyyh: ~~soothing~~
Prunida: Riyyh, what am I going to do?
Riyyh: You'll be all right, I won't let anything happen to you. ~promise/soothing~
Mogan looks around, ~~ puzzled ~~, and then goes towards the rooms looking for Wise Snake.
Prunida buries her face in Riyyh's chest, too close to need for the good cry she requires.
Riyyh strokes her hair gently.
Riyyh: ~~compassion/kindness~~
Mogan knocks on the door.
Wise Snake zlins it's only Mogan, and goes to open it.
Wise Snake: Oh, hi.
Mogan: Hello. I have that bread and the apple you asked for. [holds them out]
Wise Snake: Great.
Wise Snake takes them and bites into the thoroughly stale piece of bread. (crunch)
Wise Snake: Ummf.
Wise Snake: ~surprised~
Mogan: Did you want something else?
Wise Snake: Fank yu.
Wise Snake thinks she hasn't tasted bread quite like this since she was diving dumpsters as a child.
Mogan smiles and makes a polite gesture.
Wise Snake: Noumhh, thath all.
Mogan: If there's anything you require, just let me know.
Mogan moves back out of the doorway.
Wise Snake finally manages to swallow the bite.
Wise Snake: Thanks. [dryly... just like the bread]
Nick: Do you want some tea to wash that down?
Nick holds out Snake's mug.
Wise Snake: Oh... thanks.
Wise Snake has a drink of tea.
Wise Snake: Hey, now this is good stuff.
Wise Snake: ~~appreciative~~
Nick makes a note to replenish his "Snake kit" with more of the inn's blend.
Mogan: I'm glad you like it.
Nick works on finishing the last of his stew and potatoes.
Mogan goes off down the hall.
Wise Snake takes another bite of the nostalgia-inducing bread crust.
Mogan zlins Riyyh and Prunida and decides not to disturb them.
Mogan goes out the back to check on the stables and let the hand come in and warm up.
Riyyh: Come... wouldn't you like to have a nice, long, warm bath?
Riyyh: ~coaxing~
Riyyh: Something to eat, perhaps, some tea?
Riyyh: You'd feel so much better.
Prunida looks at Riyyh like a querulous old lady.
Prunida: I suppose I should have something.
Prunida has no trace of appetite.
Riyyh: Of course. [kindly]
Riyyh puts his arm around her shoulders and gently guides her toward their room.
Prunida might have done better if Nick were still in the room, but there's no crying over spilt trin.
Notes:
1) About an hour passes between these two scenes. [return]
2) Actually, as was pointed out later behind the scenes, Nick does have two sets of grandparents: Riyyh and Prunida, plus also Riyyh's parents. Of course, they double as his great-grandparents as well. [return]