Humble Beginnings (ATTN: Kyn)

[U4ea]

Loraine stared between her horse's ears, praying that the day's riding would be over soon. It had been three days since they'd left Adelene and the White Cloaks behind. She had no idea how many days it had been since they'd left Mardecin. She'd let Kyn lead the way, even though it had been decades since he'd been home. He was bound to know the land better than she did, so she just trailed along behind him, dusting their trail until they'd reached what appeared to be a well traveled road. Not that they'd passed many people on it. A merchant train a day and a half ago and wagon here and there. She'd kept her head down and her mouth shut, avoiding them. If anyone thought it was strange, they never mentioned it. 

 

It had been a rather uneventful three days and she was grateful for every boring minute. She distracted herself by surveying the land they passed, gleaning as much about the man before her as she could as they went. They'd talked about his childhood, but not often. She'd avoided talking about hers, too, though, which seemed a bit odd, now that she thought about it. She'd known he'd come from much more humble beginnings than she had, and knew in her head that he'd grown up on a farm. For some reason, the connection felt surprising to her, seeing him in this land. She sighed, closing her eyes. She'd conveniently ignored the fact he was Amadacian for years; had, in fact, only considered it in tactical terms when this disaster had landed in her lap. This was her children's heritage as much as the House in Carhien was. How would they feel about that? Had they even discussed it with them? 

 

Her horse drew up and she opened her eyes to see Kyn stopped ahead of her. She peered over his shoulder, expecting to see someone else on the small cart road they'd been traveling on for the last half a day. There wasn't much room on either side of the road to move out of the way, so she hoped there wasn't a cart coming the other direction. Her lips parted at the sight that met her eyes. A moderately sized farm house was buried in the undergrowth before her; the thatched roof pitched in where it wasn't covered in growth from the forest. She could see fields off in the distance, but it seemed as if no one had been here in quite a while. 

 

There was a mix of emotions flowing through the bond with Kynwric and she moved her horse beside his to look over at him. As good as he had become at hiding his emotions, she watched them dance plainly across his features as he took in the sight before him. Pride, that warmth of homecoming, anger, sadness... they were all there. She reached for him, her hand laying on his forearm. "Are we home?" she asked quietly, her lips tilting in a soft smile. 

 

~Loraine

 

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn had spent three days riding back and forth across the countryside to make sure they weren't followed, weren't in any danger of running across any more Whitecloaks and to make sure they were still moving in the right direction. It would have been a normal ride for them if it weren't for also tending to Loraine's injury as they rode. It should have only taken two days, but with his having slowed their pace to keep Loraine conscious and out of at least some of the pain it had taken an extra day. 

 

At first he was unsure this was the road, as it was much more overgrown than he would have expected a working farm track to be. Of course, the condition of the road was made clear when they came upon the old house, it was abandoned, run down and overgrown. He wouldn't have seen it if it hadn't been for the old oak tree that was split in three from a lightning strike, he'd spent many an hour in that tree as a youth. He wwas absorbed in inspecting what had been his home, he didn't realize Loraine had come abreast of him and he started at her question. Turning his head he gave a nod. "It was home. Long ago." Her turned his gaze back to the house, "I didn't think I'd ever come back here, not after going to the White Tower."

[U4ea]

Loraine smiled and settled her hand on top of his on his thigh, looking back at the house. "I wish they had known the man you've become," she whispered softly. "I am sorry I kept you away for so long." The house wasn't small and she wondered at the stories of his childhood the walls held in. She knew his parents were long gone, but he had more family when he left for Tar Valon. What had become of them? It wasn't the first time she'd felt pained at knowing what he'd given up to join and train at the White Tower. At least she had been an orphan, with no one to miss her and no one to miss. Kynwric, on the other hand...

 

"Perhaps we can scare up a few ghosts?" She asked gently, easing a leg over the back of the horse and climbing gingerly down to the ground. She led her horse closer, her hand on the hilt of the sword that had been strapped to her horse's saddle when the boys had brought them out into that field three days ago.  "Do you suppose it's really abandoned?" 

 

She ignored the pain of stretching in her side, knowing it was the first time she'd stood up straight for longer than a few moments since her injury. She wasn't likely to sit down soon from the looks of that house, though. She looked over her shoulder at Kynwric and smiled. "Should I go scare them out for you?" 

 

~Loraine

 

Beefier...

Edited February 2, 2013 by U4ea

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn looked down at Loraine when she asked if it was really abandoned, he had been listening but hadn't come to the complete conclusion that his parents farm was deserted. "There should be people here. There's no reason for my sister and her family to have left. If nothing else one of her children should be living here." He slid from his horse and eased his sword in its scabbard, just in case it was needed. "But no one would leave the hosue in this state if they intended to return." He looked again to Loraine, "I really expected to find help here." His shoulders slumped a bit and he turned back to the house, beginning to walk towards it, it was odd behavior as he was treating this entirely like a dangerous situation... even though he should.

[U4ea]

Loraine felt the sadness in him and her heart ached for him. She hadn't ever had a family, except him. She couldn't begin to imagine what it must feel like to walk back into a house that should be full of life and find it desolate and seemingly deserted. She felt the caution in him and noted his hand on his sword, a bit of blade visible as he moved towards the house. She followed him closely, her ears and eyes alert to every twitch in the trees around the back of the house. Her muscles were tense, but the attention to everything around her drew her away from her injury and that was quite a blessing, in itself. 

 

She followed him into the house, leaving the horses tied loosely to a railing on the porch. They wouldn't bolt, they were far too well trained for that. She wished she could channel, just to give them the edge should they come upon someone unexpected, but she didn't dare considering where they were. Light, but she longed for Carhien, or Andor, where she could channel without fear of repercussions. If they made it out of Amadacia, she swore she was going to light a big bonfire in celebration! 

 

~Loraine

lead away, dude! It's your house! 

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn entered through the front door, which as with most farmhouses led into the main room which had a scattering of furniture still arranged in what seemed a normal setting. Kyn paused and looked around, after a moment he took a few more steps into the middle of the room and his eyes swept through what was the kitchen area which was separated from the great room by the main hearth. He took in the whole expanse and then turned back to look at Lor and shrugged, letting his hand drift away from the hilt of his sword. and he turned his palms upwards.

 

"It feels wrong, but it seems empty here."

 

He turned towards the only other door in the main room, pushing it open and again taking a good look down the hall and up the stairs before heading deeper into the house. Leaving the stairs for later he strode down the hall, which led to the only other room on this floor, his parents bedroom. 

[U4ea]

Loraine followed Kynwric through the door, but paused just on the inside. Her senses were tuned to everything around them, though she paid the most attention to the noises outside of the house. Kynwric would be poised to act on something inside the house and thinking about what was outside of it kept her from falling over on the dusty floor. Her eyes scanned the room, getting hints about her husband that she had known, but hadn't ever really absorbed. The furniture was old and worn, but looked comfortable enough even if it was horribly dusty. The fireplace was enormous and she could see the kitchen clearly enough from this angle. It was all one room, which would allow the heat of the cook fire to warm the whole space and not leave the people who were cooking out of the conversation occurring on the other side of the fireplace. 

 

Kyn paused and looked back at her, his posture relaxing a bit. "It feels wrong, but it seems empty here." He turned and moved towards another doorway, leaving her alone in the large room. She took a deep breath and embraced saidar, searching for traces that would've given away channeling in the room. It was a habit and, of course, she didn't find anything. She cursed inwardly and released saidar, leaning her head on the wall from the slight drain of energy that little bit of uselessness had caused. Channeling in Amadacia? Only a busted up old woman would even consider it! 

 

She eyed a chair that was near enough that she could reach it and still be able to hear outside and settled into it, too tired to clean the dust off before relaxing into it. She coughed on the dust that was shifted into the air and then sneezed so hard her side screamed in agony. She closed her eyes and breathed in shallowly until the dust settled, her hand clenched over her side, as she waited for Kynwric to return. Normally, she'd complain about him pushing her to rest so soon after arriving in a new place, but right now she'd be only too content to allow him to do just that. Light, she'd settle for the floor if he didn't make it back with better options...

 

 

~Loraine

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn took a quick glance around the room that had been his parents, it was different than he remembered however, the furniture was in rearranged and the linens weren't what he'd expected to see. while he'd known that his parents had died long ago, he'd never really dealt with the ramifications of that, he'd always been busy with Tower business on Lor's behalf or busy with his own family. He hadn't returned when either of them had died and been buried. He couldn't, Tower trained didn't just mean for women if the Whitecloaks really took a dislike to you and he couldn't just bring Lor here on a side trip. It had been too dangerous, it was still too dangerous to be truly be here, but this was the best place he could think of to rest until they could travel more easily out of Amadacia.

 

He backed out of the bedroom, to the staircase which led up to the second floor, it only stretched half the length of the house from where the chimney of the hearth rose up to over his parents bedroom. This had been where he and his sister had slept when they were younger, before he had left for the White Tower and left his family behind. His thougths turned to her, wondering where she was, this house should be hers, and should be full of her family... not abandoned. He took the steps carefully, slowly, going about halfway up before he stopped and looked back down. Lor hadn't followed him, it was unusual for her to miss the chance to explore somewhere new, he crouched to look back through the doorway and saw her sitting in a chair and decided to leave her there for the moment. He climbed the rest of the stairs to the small landing that led into what had been his bedroom and his sister's. He pushed one door and then the other open, neither room bore any resemblance to what these rooms had looked like when he had lived there. One had a set of bunk beds and small lead soldiers and wooden horses and other toys he was certain boys all over the world owned. The other room was closer to what his sister's had looked like, with dolls, and frills and other such things. Both rooms were dusty, and had been unused for some time. Kyn pulled both doors closed and returned downstairs to the main room, he gave Lor a shrug and siad "It seems we're alone here. I'll go get the bedroom cleaned up and then we can get you settled in."

[U4ea]

Loraine looked up as Kynwric came back down the stairs. She didn't need to be bonded to him to know something was wrong, but she let it go as he moved back into the first room he'd entered. She leaned her head  on the back of the chair as she heard him bustling around inside the room. 

 

The place smelled empty, like the air itself was stale. For a place that seemed so capable of a bustling lifestyle, it was oddly silent. What had made these people leave? And why so quickly? They'd taken nothing with them that she could see. Comfortable furniture was still resting, waiting on someone to come relax upon it. Drapes still hung on the windows, as if begging for a breeze to lift them from their dreadful slumber. The fireplace hadn't been cleaned out, either. In fact, the cast irons pots and pans were still arranged as if waiting for the evening meal to be cooked. 

 

It didn't bode well for her husband and she watched him move through the doorway he'd disappeared through. She knew he felt guilty about not being here for his sister after his parents had passed away. It was something he'd buried pretty deeply, but Kyn was a family man at heart, regardless of the blade on his hip. Missing half of his had affected him, even she knew it. She sighed inwardly. She'd could understand his feelings, even though she'd never had the luxury of them herself. She'd actually rejoiced a bit when her grandfather had finally passed away. He hadn't been very close to her and made sure every time she was near him that the only thing she was worth to him was a good marriage to a high ranking family that would land the Kilaine House closer to the throne.

 

She snorted as she looked around the farmhouse she was sitting in. He must be turning in his grave, she thought, her lips lifting into a small smile for the first time in three weeks. She watched Kynwric reappear in the doorway and her smile deepened. Light blast her grandfather, anyway. There wasn't a high ranking nobleman in Cairhien that was worth half of what the farm boy she'd married was worth. She almost wished he'd have been around to attend the wedding... 

 

 

~Loraine

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn busied himself cleaning out the master bedroom, wiping away months of dust from everything and digging through trunks to put clean linens on the bed and blankets atop those. Everything he moved, picked up or shifted brought back memories of the family he'd left behind. His mother and her warmth and caring, his father's strength, resolve and endless knowledge of the outdoors, his sister's playfulness and exuberance. They were all thing she'd missed from time to time, but being here now brought all that he'd missed over the years crashing back into him. He'd expected a lack of recognition, some denial or anger at his having been gone for so long with no word. But he hadn't expected to find his home empty. Kyn didn't know what to make of it all., Soon enough the room was clean and he reemerged into the front room. He found Loraine sitting in one of the chairs and he smiled, despite the emotions of being back here he knew he had made the right decisions in his life, overall. "Come on love, let's get you into bed so you can rest and heal."

[U4ea]

Loraine looked around the room she was sitting in, her thoughts idly tracing knicknacks and worn furniture. She leaned on the back of the chair, her mind starting to drift as she tried to imagine Kynwric as a young boy jumping on the couch near the fire place. She had always imagined their sons were little miniature versions of him, anyway, so it was an easy thing to imagine. Would his mother have fussed from the kitchen or pretend not to notice until he landed too close to the fireplace? Did his sister giggle watching him and climb up after him or run off to tell on him, instead? 

 

The chair next to the one she was sitting in was bigger and more sturdy than the one she'd chosen to sit in. His father's? His brother-in-law's? She smiled, imagining Kynwric sitting in that chair, children laughing and playing in the floor. Would they have a dog? She closed her eyes, letting her imagination mix their lives in Emmond's Field with this house. It was pure insanity, but it was entertaining. She was pretty sure she dozed off sitting in the chair. She felt it when he walked into the room, though. She opened her eyes slowly and returned Kyn's smile, the warmth flowing to her mirrored the look in his eyes.She was glad the emotions had changed from the longing she'd felt from him while he was in the bedroom. "For once," she said softly, easing herself out of the chair and crossing the room to him. "I won't argue with you on that." 

 

She curled her hand in his and looked up at him. "Are you alright, love?" 

 

~Loraine

[_Kynwric_]

"No, but there is nothing to be done about it." Kyn replied as he circled his hand around hers and tilted his head down to kiss her lightly on the forehead. He knew what troubled him, and he knew there was no way to undo what choices he had made. And, even given the chance, he would not change the life he led now for what might have been. He led Loraine deeper into the house, it was nothing large, just enough for a farmer's family to live in. The 'master' bedroom barely fit the bed and a few other furnishings. It was modest, spartan in comparison to how Loraine had grown up, but for now it was warm, dry and safe. The bed had been remade and turned down, there was clean sheets, a soft comforter and well worn quilt spread over it and a pile of blankets on the rack at the foot of the bed. "Get some rest, love. I'm going to scout the area and see if I can buy some food."

[U4ea]

Loraine let it go, for now. She'd talk to him when he grew a little more comfortable. She leaned on his arm as he lead her through the house and she smiled, imagining him as a child toddling through these hallways. Did he bring his mother breakfast in bed on her birthday? Did she brush his rowdy hair out of his eyes while he was sleeping? Did his little sister put peas in his water and giggle as he spluttered? She let those imaginings fill her thoughts as she took in what had to be the master bedroom. It was pretty obvious there was a lot of love in this room. She moved towards the foot of the bed, her fingers brushing over blankets and the uneven stitches of the quilt spread over the bed. She smiled and looked over her shoulder at him. 

 

"Get some rest, love. I'm going to scout the area and see if I can buy some food." his voice held a warmth she'd grown to love and she laid her hand on his arm again. 

 

"Yes, love," she said quietly. "Perhaps in a while I can find my way around the kitchen and make some fresh bread." She settled on the corner of the bed and began working on the laces of her boots, "Don't stay away too long, promise?" 

 

~Loraine

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn smiled and nodded before he turned to leave, "Of course. I'll be not long." With that he took a look at her and then disappeared out of the bedroom leaving Loraine there while he went scrounging. He could feel the weight of what he was doing though, this would be twice in a row he walked out of the doors to this house leaving his family behind with every intention of returning but uncertain of when it would be. He knew the feeling was irrational, illogical and none of that made it any easier to leave Loraine behind here, alone. Alas, he had no choice, they had to have food and that meant going into the village. 

 

He was out the door and back on his horse and was gone into town, the ride still left him way too much time for reflection and thought about whether he had made all the right choices in his life. He was certain he was where he was supposed to be, but could he have prevented the abandonment of his family home if he had come back sooner? Prevented whatever had happened to his family? Not knowing what had happened was gnawing at him. He had not expected his parents to be here, but he had expected his sister to be here, or at least her children to be present.

[U4ea]

Loraine smiled as he backed out of the room and held on to that smile until she heard the horse's hooves fade. She felt his unease and dropped her foot back to the ground, boot still encasing her foot. She worried about him, but not for the reason he thought. She looked around the room again, looking for a hint of where the occupants of this house might've gone. Nothing met her gaze and she sighed, doing something she'd only done a handful of times since bonding Kynwric: she masked the bond so he couldn't tell what she was thinking. There was no need for him to pick up her own concern. She was pretty sure he'd notice it soon, so she didn't have much time. She made that masking a gradual thing, backing away slowly so he didn't catch on too quickly. She hummed as she unlaced her boots, settling them near the bed before reaching to unlace the simple dress she'd encased around herself. She peeled back clothing until she was standing only in her shift. 

 

She paused, appreciating the simple beauty of the house. The boards under her feet were worn smooth with life and she ran her toes over them a moment. Her limbs felt tired, but his unease made it impossible for her to relax. She walked back out into the main room, running her fingertips over dusty surfaces that hadn't seen attention in a long time. She chewed the corner of her lip, opening cupboards in the kitchen and shaking her head at the stores still stacked in them. These people hadn't left for good. It was disturbing. She went back to the fireplace and the neat stack of wood standing there, ready to be lit for the evening meal. The fireplace was clean, scrubbed free of soot. She moved the pot hook, shaking her head when it didn't make a sound as it moved back and forth. Her unease grew as she moved away, through the living area and back into the bedroom where she'd started this investigation.She eyed a trunk and pulled it open, her eyes meeting handmade quilts and, as she moved those quilts out of the way, trinkets of a happy family. Her lip still caught in her teeth, she moved to a wardrobe, flinging the doors open on silent hinges and shaking her head at the gowns hanging within. 

 

She backed up, dropping onto the bed and shaking her head. There was no sign of a struggle; no overturned furniture, no broken decorations, no damaged door frames or window casings. She sighed and tried to lay down and let her exhaustion lull her into sleep. Her mind didn't allow that to happen, however, as a thousand unpleasant scenarios played out in her head. Most of them ended badly if Kynwric let on about his identity while in town. How many people here knew where he'd gone when he'd left home? Why had she never thought to ask him before now? 

 

Her senses heightened, she propped herself up on the pillows on the bed, listening to every creak and breath of wind in the trees around the house until sleep claimed her in its fitful embrace.

 

~Loraine

[_Kynwric_]

Kynwric made his way slowly along the path that led to the village that had always been the hub of commerce for his family’s farm. He was uptight about entering the village, he knew that there was a risk of being recognized despite all the time that had passed since he had last been here. There was too much of the look of his father about him to be completely safe here. The only real thing that would keep people from associating him with his father was the fact that his father had been dead a long while and he had been gone since he was a youth. Just travelling the road brought back memories of his childhood, going back and forth to the village had been a big deal when he was a youngster and now he’d barely notice a grouping of buildings this size if he passed through them. His perspective had changed drastically after he had left this place, been broadened by travelling from one side of the world to the other. He’d been to places that had only been remote destinations in stories when he was a child, seen things that had been legends, nightmares and fancies. He’d seen the wonders of the world. He’d found his one true love and yet he missed the safe comforts of the farm. Kyn reckoned that was why he yearned for the time they spent in the Two Rivers, without the daily pressing concerns of the Tower pressing down on them and only truly having to deal with the daily pressures that running a farm and family had inherently and even then they still had advantages that others didn’t.  Involuntarily he swung his head around to look back at the way he’d come, the remembrance of the last time he’d traveled this road had been. He’d been leaving home, setting out for the Tower and the training which made him an outlaw in his homeland. That he’d had his family’s blessing for it only made it harder to leave. As he looked back over those choices he realized he wouldn’t change them, but perhaps he might have made more of an effort to return home. With a rueful shake of his head Kyn realized that the only time it seemed he and Loraine hadn’t been running from for their life had been when they were running from it and had settled to raise their children. A muttered “by the light, it has been a long time,” escaped his lips and he raised his eyes to see the tips of the roofs appearing before him. He had been letting his horse take his own pace down the road and it had apparently been brisker than Kyn had realized, that or he had not been paying attention enough, which seemed the more likely when he realized his horse was plodding along at a slow walk.

                The village was not much different than when he had left it, still sleepy, slow and quiet. After the first shop he went into turned out to have changed owners and goods, Kyn began to pay more attention to the signs hanging outside. He hadn’t really needed a new hat, but he could hardly have walked in and then turned around and walked out, so a new hat it was. Slowly, bit by bit, Kyn gathered what he needed; both for a short stay at his parents farm as well as for the next leg of their journey.  Shopping completed Kyn made his way back to where he had stabled his horse, and paid off the stableman and waited for his horse to be brought out. As he waited he heard the sound of a large number of hooves trotting into town and his eyes turned to look down the road and see who was in the group riding into town. He fought the urge to quickly turn his face away when he saw the patrol ride in, their dusty white cloaks displayed proudly as they heeled their horses around and into the stable yard. He met the young lieutenant’s face as the man ran his eyes over the yard and then swung down off his horse. Kyn wanted nothing more to do than to snatch the reins from the stableman and ride hard out of town, but he knew that would do nothing but cause the Whitecloaks to give chase. So, instead he waited, giving his horse a thorough going over and making it look like he was riding a good way today and wanted everything to be just right before setting out. He watched with cautious interest as the Whitecloak patrol dismounted and immediately set out to caring for their mounts. He did respect the soldiering of the Whitecloaks, they were first rate heavy cavalry. What made them truly dangerous was their zeal for their wrongheaded view of the world and it was that which Kyn had to be careful of, just having been trained in Tar Valon was enough to get him strung up here, never mind that it was just in swordsmanship and had nothing to do with the one power. Loraine on the other hand, she had twice as much to fear. As he was in the middle of the inspection of his horses hooves he saw the dusty black booted feet standing beside him and he finished his inspection and then set the horses leg back down and stood up, straightening his back and looking at the young lieutenant.

“How can I help you Child?”

The young man responded “Lieutenant. Lieutenant Everress” The man corrected and Kyn nodded his head, “Lieutenant Everess, how can I help you.” He hoped the intentional mistake would set the man’s suspicions at ease.

“I am looking for a man and a woman, they would both be injured and likely travelling by horse. He gave a brief, accurate, description of Loraine and another briefer, less accurate description of himself. Kyn gave a laugh and smiled, “Well, the last one there, he fits me. Exceptin’ I don’t have a pretty blonde about anywhere. My wife’s as ill-tempered as a red head likes. I did see a pairing like that though, travelling southeast on the road. Didn’t pay them no mind though, they were travelling south, I was going north and they didn’t seem to be in any hurry.”

The young Lieutenant’s eyes flashed in excitement and greed and you could see the desire in him to leave right now. “Hope that helps Lieutenant.” Kyn said with a smile, which he hoped was taken as glad to have been of help but was really a smirk of pleasure at having sent the Children of the Light on another wild goose chase. It was then he realized the Lieutenant was speaking to him from atop his horse, thanking him. “Always a pleasure to give service to the Children, the Light save you Lieutenant. And your men.”

Kyn watched as the column mounted back up and headed out of the village headed south, he then swung up into his saddle and headed out of the village, going north for a short time before turning off the road and doing some cross country to make his way back to the farm. He was still familiar enough with this land to go cross country at something resembling a normal pace.  It was when he turned off the road and let his thoughts drift back to Loraine that he realized the knot in his head was a bit fuzzy and he wondered what was going on there. Was something wrong? Had they found her? He concentrated a bit and then with no improvement in the feelings coming across the bond he dug his heels into the horse and made him move faster, he had to get back to his parents farm and make sure everything was alright.

[U4ea]

A jangle of harness drew her out of her sleep with a jump. She hissed in pain at the sudden movement, but cautiously slid out of the bed, silently crossing the room to an interior wall well away from the room's window. She held her breath, focusing nearly everything in her on the sounds coming from outside. A single rider, she guessed, only hearing the hoof steps of a single horse. She leaned her head on the wall, sensing Kyn's location through the bond and breathing a slow sigh of relief. He was very close, and she felt the worry and anxiousness pumping through his emotions with each beat of her heart. She smiled, focusing comforting thoughts on the knot in her head as she made her way into the living area and settled into the chair she'd found earlier.

 

She was still smiling as the door opened. "I am fine, silly husband. No need to worry. I trust you found what you were looking for in town?"

 

 

~Loraine 

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn let out a breath in relief and then took in another deep one before speaking, even as he stepped through doorway and shut it behind him. “Everything I needed and some things I didn’t. There was a Whitecloak patrol coming in, and they were looking for you. Gave your description and a rough direction of travel, I gave them a goose to chase, but that won’t last more than a couple days. So we might have four if this Lieutenant is as fervent as I think he is.” He crossed the short space between them and then leaned down to press his lips to hers, letting them linger a little longer than a simple greeting kiss, he then straightened and headed for the cast iron stove. He glanced back over his shoulder at Lor and then went back to making something fresh to eat. He knew he was tired of travelling food, and he was certain Loraine was too, not to mention the fact that it would be better for healing than what they had been eating. He had already taken in her state, and the careful way she was sitting. They had to leave in three days, it was the longest he could afford to wait and still be comfortable at being able to evade that young Lieutenant and his zeal for capturing a ‘Tar Valon Witch.’ He then caught Loraine’s gaze on him and turned his head back to the food, trying to make something simple, hot and good all at once.

[U4ea]

Loraine watched him move around the kitchen, concern etched in her brow. He was worried they would be caught, that much was obvious. That he'd run into white cloaks so soon after their arrival here meant they hadn't covered their tracks as well as she'd hoped. Hopefully, the Lieutenant Kyn had spoken with would be led off easily. Surely the Light would send that much luck. Worst case scenario, how long did they have if it didn't work? She knew he had done all he could to not lead them back here. He was good at covering his tracks, she knew that from experience.

 

Her head ached from worrying and she debated pushing herself up pot of the chair to help him with their meal. She doubted he'd let her get far and it was a little baffling that he hadn't already told her to get back into the bedroom. She sighed and levered herself up, moving closer and reaching for a knife and some vegetables before settling herself in a chair at the table to cut them up.

 

"Stew?" She asked quietly as her body adjusted to the chair and she got used to the pain of sitting up. She started cutting without waiting for an answer.

 

~Loraine

Ironically, cooking dinner.

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn glanced over his shoulder as he felt and heard her move around behind him, but saw that she was settling back into a chair to do some of the work and so he kept his mouth closed, she didn't really need him to remind her to take it easy... at least not right this moment. "Yes, stew... the meat isn't worth doing anything else with. But it's at least beef and not rabbit. There's some onions, carrots, celery and garlic to toss in and I also got a bit of barley to boil as well. Simple, good for you and it will last a couple days."

 

Once everything was cut and he had it in the pot to cook he turned back around on his heels and looked at Lor. "I prolly should look at your wound, put a clean dressing on it. Maybe some more of the poultice..."

[U4ea]

Loraine smiled a little, finding her hands in her lap as he took her knife and cuttings away. "And here I was thinking you weren't going to rush me back into bed so soon." She eased herself out of the chair and back onto her feet, holding onto the edge of the table as the room swayed. "Alright, you win," she whispered, picking her way back towards the living area. "Do we have more if the poultice or are we going to make to make more?" She asked as she made her way across the floor to the bedroom. She eased herself back into bed, happy that she wasn't buried under the layers of clothes she'd be tied into in Carhien. There were positives to being cut open away from home. She tried to laugh at her joke, but it was buried in a hiss as she opened the shirt tucked into her skirt.

 

~ Loraine

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn let her ease herself back to the bedroom and open her own clothes so he could look at her wound. He peeled the bandage away and taking up a wet, clean rag he washed from around the wound and finally poured some clean water over it to flush out anything left inside. “I still have some of the poultice, but we’ll need to make more before we leave. Be right back…” he rose and disappeared back into the main part of the house to fetch the jar of poultice from his saddle bags and was gone a moment or two before returning. He sat on the edge of the bed and used his fingers to scoop out a liberal amount of the gooey substance which he then smeared over and around her wound. Then he peeled off one of the leaves that had been included to press against her skin before wrapping her back up with clean bandages. “There, it’s looking a little better… take no chances, this needs to be much better in three days. We’ll be riding again then, and not stopping til we’re well out of Amadacia. Unless…” He turned his head to look through the walls at the barn that lay behind it, “unless, they left the cart. Then you can be bounced slightly less than a horse would.”

[U4ea]

Loraine closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as he cleaned the wound, The poultice had a cooling effect, and she was glad when he'd finished wrapping it so she could relax into it. She took a moment to think about the horse or the cart and shook her head at him. "The cart wound slow us down. It's a three day ride, maybe four considering how far we've traveled from Mardecin. Three days might not give us much in the way of healing time, but I'd rather die on the back of a horse riding like the wind for the border, than be caught by the White Cloaks in the back of a cart. It will make us more of a target, anyway." 

 

Opening her eyes, she stared at the ceiling. "We can disguise ourselves, in case we cross paths with any more of them. Three days is enough time to layer our hair in khol and rub stains into my skin. Change what we can without a weave to give us away..." her speech was starting to slur again so she stopped talking. Fatigue was nagging at her and she curled her hand around his and smiled. "Will you still love me if I look more like a Tinker than a Lady?"

 

~Loraine

[_Kynwric_]

“Yes, the cart would slow us down. But they’re looking for us on horseback and if you’re going to go through the trouble of doing a disguise it may as well be done right.” He finished the bandaging he slid up onto the edge of the bed and looking at her as their hands entwined, “If you want to be a Tinker, then you need a Tinker’s stuff, which in my experience includes a wagon… if we're going to hide, let's hide not spoil it by doing something uncharacteristic. Oh, and weaves are fine, It isn't like there's going to be a Child who can tell...”

[U4ea]

Loraine laughed softly, pinching his hand under hers. "We'll use the cart if you want to use the cart. We can always burn it if it's causing too much trouble." She sighed and looked at their hands. "I'm not worried about channeling Children, either. I'm worried about wearing myself out when my energy is already low. If I'm going to use it, I'd rather give it to you so you can get us out of here. Just sitting in a chair cutting vegetables is exhausting." 

 

She looked back up at him. "Now, kiss me like you mean it and go finish dinner. I'll take a nap and you can wake me up when it's done. Maybe I'll have enough energy to sit at the table and eat it and not have to slurp it down in bed like I just gave birth to twins!" 

 

~Loraine