| Logs |
2012 March 25
| Neverneverwhere |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
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| Realms: Taps Logs |
Head Games
Malachai takes a moment to explain the exercise to the newcomer children. The older of the townie kids have done this before, but it's always fun. "It's easy, when you're in this two-legged form, to use your eyes and forget that God gave us so many more senses. Who can name one?" He smiles and picks out children to name other senses, choosing from among both caravan and town children, "Very good! Today, we are going to work on using some of those others. I will be with you and so will Sulochana and Chanticleer. We will keep you safe, so don't worry about stumbling or running into things." It's obvious that this is more than just an exercise in using the senses. It is also a way to build trust.
Suraksha watches silently, a small smile on her face as she gently and reassuringly strokes Rohana's hair. She likes how Malachai is handling the children. She's also aware how uncommon that can be amongst men. She nods to Chanticleer to "tailgate" the children, since Rohana has a firm hold on her skirt, and Chanticleer nods back, looking like he's simply pleasantly and happily watching the lesson.
Malachai leads the line of children down the hill, walking backward most of the time, and having them walk with a hand on the shoulder of the child in front of them so they don't stray out of the line. If there's an obstacle he tells the first child in line -- a sturdy little toddler boy -- who then passes it back to the next in line, and so forth. Suraksha grins faintly as she notices the elder's unwitting grace in walking backwards down the slight incline. He tells the children they'll start with something easy, then leads them to the blacksmith's shop, where he asks them if anyone knows where they are.
Suraksha can, from the middle where she stands by Rohana, keep an eye on both ends of the line -- including up front, where her younger daughter is close to the very front of the line. She casually shifts some of her jewelry around, making sure she jingles slightly with each step, so the children can place her easily. Chanticleer too is attentive; this is a fascinating exercise. His old mentor taught him about using his other senses, but not quite in this way!
The children are all eager to call out their answers, but they all hold up their hands and wait to be called on before they say what they sense: the smell of smoke, the clang of a hammer. One of the older girls talks about tasting the metal in the air, almost. The sizzle of the quenching barrel is mentioned as well. Suraksha laughs delightedly, calling out congratulations to the children as they come up with answers. Rohana is a little shy to join in at first, but eventually she comes up with something as well: the sounds echo off the walls in a way that says they're not in a completely enclosed space. The way she says it is: "It sounds inside and outside at the same time." Sura beams down at her oldest daughter, gently squeezing the girl's shoulder in approval.
Malachai too congratulates and praises the children, then leads them over to a nearby table. There are several small objects laid out on it: a hammer, a chisel, a horseshoe, a nail, and other such things -- more than enough for each child to have one. Malachai goes down the line handing one to each child. The youngest get the easiest things to guess; the oldest child, who looks like she's getting old enough to start working in the mornings, gets the hardest: a specialized vice. Suraksha watches with approving interest, her bright golden-green eyes flicking back and forth as she smiles at the children's excitement.
Once all the children have guessed their objects, Malachai leads them on. They don't go straight from building to building, but take roundabout routes, to keep the children from simply gauging how far they've walked in order to guess where they are. The places they visit get gradually more and more difficult to guess, but most of the children seem excited by the challenge and even Rohana seems to thaw out a bit as the day goes on.
Finally Malachai says, "I am very proud of you, my cubs! Now we go back up the hill for lunch. But first, we are going to play a tasting game before we take off the blindfolds!" Chanticleer arches a brow. A tasting game as well? Curious... but when they get back up the hill, not only has a nice lunch been laid out for them, but there are also several bowls with different foods in them, cut into child-sized bites.
Suraksha laughs softly, her eyes sparkling -- somewhat to her surprise, she's enjoyed this little bit of class-work observation and assistance! She grins at Chanticleer, murmuring to the sharp-eared sidhe in his native tongue (taught to her by her godsmother), "Having fun, dear?" Rachel is also waiting there with the lemonade that was promised the adults. Suraksha brightens at that, smiling at Rachel as she accepts her glass of lemonade, "Oh, thank you, dear! I was getting parched there." She has a few sips as she curiously watches how Malachai will handle the last game, and cocks a thoughtful eye at the sun's height. To Chanticleer she adds, "Thank you for accompanying us, Chanti. I think... if we hurry a bit after this, we'll be able to make lunch back at the caravan." She thinks it's nice that much of the town eats together, but she certainly isn't assuming the caravan folk here are automatically invited, after all!
Chanticleer smiles and nods to Suraksha. "That sounds like a good idea," he replies. Inwardly he thinks it sounds like a good idea because it means less chance for being caught unaware. He doesn't want to be this suspicious of the townsfolk, but he's still not convinced of Malachai's sincerity and acceptance of the situation. Until Suraksha's satisfied, he won't be.
Rachel says, "Oh! You can eat with us. There's plenty of food laid!" Rishima and Rohana have relaxed, but their caravan playmates are starting to flag a little and want to go back.
Suraksha smiles at Rachel, politely demurring, "Oh, we wouldn't want to be a bother. Besides, I should get the children back. They'll need a nap after lunch, after all."
Rachel says, "If the two little ones want to go back, I'd be happy to go with Chanticleer to get them back to the caravan."
Suraksha is standing back a bit as Malachai talks to the children, quietly noting her own children's relaxation. Lunch... there will be lots of people around. It should be all right; and afterwards she'll likely just have time to walk home with her two little ones. She can always shift shape to carry them too -- they both enjoy rides on Tiger-Mama. She smiles at Chanti, murmuring, "I think we're good, dear. What would you like to do?"
Chanticleer murmurs, "Well, if you're all right with that...." then adds, a little louder, "Shall the caravan expect you for dinner, then?" That gives a hard time limit for when they should expect Suraksha back, and start making not-so-polite inquiries if she isn't there.
Suraksha smiles relaxedly, patting Chanti's arm, "Oh, definitely, dear. We'll likely come wandering back just after lunch as it is, so the girls can get their nap." She grins as she adds, "I suspect Fantine will come looking, after all, if the girls aren't back then!" Malachai, who has been settling the still-blindfolded children down, smiles to himself. Sura gives the tall sidhe a quick hug, thanking him for his patience -- and, in his native tongue, quietly thanking him for watching over her so well! She giggles as she softly adds, "Do have a nice time with young Rachel!" She suspects she knows what Chanti will be doing for the next few hours, if Rachel has any say in it! Then she steps over to rest her hands lightly on the shoulders of Lyosha and JosieAnna, "Little ones, would you like to return to the caravan with Chanti and Miss Rachel?"
Chanticleer nods to himself. He intuits or guesses that Malachai -- or anyone -- is not going to do much with a lot of children all around. So it should be safe for now. He smiles to Suraksha, thanking her for her trust in his native tongue, then adds in English that he'll let the caravan know she is lunching with the town. Suraksha smiles at Chanticleer, then helps the two children remove their bandannas. At a sudden thought she looks up suddenly, murmuring quietly to Rachel, "Will... Nathaniel, that was his name. Will he be here at the lunch too? I'd like to speak to him, if so...?"
Rachel says, "Oh, he'll stop by like as not." She smiles and points to the sturdy little boy that was at the front of the line, "That's his cub there."
Suraksha looks a bit startled at the thought that the young-sounding "Nathaniel" has a child, but then simply nods in relief to Chanticleer and smiles her thanks at Rachel. As she does so, she kneels next to each departing child, sharing a hug and a kiss on the cheek with them both. "Be good, children, and do what Chanti tells you on the way home, all right?" Both children solemnly promise their Auntie that they will, then patter over to take Chanti's hands. Sura smiles as she straightens and dusts off her skirt, then turns and gently squeezes the shoulders of her two girls, quietly letting them both know she's still close. She's pleased to see they both seem relaxed and unworried.
Chanticleer smiles warmly to the two caravan children, taking their hands in his. Rachel finishes up setting things out and trots over, offering her hand to JosieAnna and smiling down at the children, "I'll walk back with you, why don't I?"
JosieAnna is only about three years old, and she's tired. She yawns as she takes Rachel's hand, and is clearly struggling to keep her eyes open. She looks hopefully up at the two adults, holding up her arms, "Cah-wy?" Rachel reaches down and scoops up the little girl, who immediately lays her head on the townie's shoulder and is asleep almost before Chanti and Rachel are out of the dooryard with the little girl and the tow-headed Sokoloff boy.
Suraksha laughs softly, waving and calling quiet thanks to Rachel for helping Chanticleer out. After that she turns back to the little pack of children at the table, still smiling fondly and watching the little taste-test with interest. Rachel, carrying JosieAnna, walks back toward the caravan with the children. She seems quite content and is humming softly to the drowsy little girl. To Chanti, she says, "You seemed a mite nervous earlier. Did something get your back-hair up?"
Chanticleer chuckles quietly. [Wow, she's perceptive!] "No, not really. Well... there's always some nervousness in new places when traveling by caravan." Which is true, and he feels bad about not quite telling the truth, but... then again, she could probably sense he's not being entirely honest. He opens up a bit more, then: "Truth be told, Malachai makes me a little nervous. I guess I'm just not used to him."
Rachel laughs softly, careful not to wake JosieAnna, "He can be intimidating. I have been on his bad side a time or two, cutting capers when I shouldn't have. But he is my Nonnu, so I love him... and he's not cruel, even if he can be strict at times."
Chanticleer nods a little. "I've known a few people like that. Parents, even."
Rachel smiles and reaches up to touch Chanticleer's jaw with the fingertips of her free hand, "What do your folk do if one of the women is with child? Surely traveling in the caravan is no place to be during the last days before childbirth?" She has, after all, been raised with the Friendsville way of doing things, and wolves go to den when they are going to whelp.
Chanticleer considers. "Well, we aren't usually on schedules that are that strict," he says. "If we need to stop for a couple or few days when someone goes into labor, that isn't a problem. And the mother, before and after birth, can walk or rest as need be since we have plenty of wagons. Everyone, of course, is there to provide moral support too, and we have healers with us. Sometimes a mother-to-be, or both parents, will stop off in a town for a time when they know the caravan will be back through in six months to a year."
Rachel nods thoughtfully and walks, still humming now and again to JosieAnna, "So sometimes people do leave the caravan and come back. It's not... how is it said... all or nothing?"
Chanticleer inwardly chuckles, facepalming mentally, [She's got me there, I imagine.] "Oh, of course not," he says. "Even Suraksha has done it -- twice, in fact. Leaving the caravan doesn't have to be permanent."
Rachel nods again, still thoughtful, "And what about people traveling with you? I mean, just temporarily?"
"We've had that happen more than once. Some are just tourists, some have a particular destination. It's always safer to travel with a group. The one proviso is that there is no 'luxury class.' It's all steerage; everyone chips in somehow. They have to. There's not a lot of room to just carry someone and their inevitable entourage. You'd be surprised at how many people -- especially folks who wear considerably more silk and such than either of us will ever see on one person in our communities -- expect to just hang about in a wagon while we carry them from point A to point B."
Rachel covers her mouth with one hand as she grins, eyes twinkling, "It's not common here, but we do occasionally have someone come along that feels like they needn't pull their weight, so I understand." They've reached the edge of the caravan and she hesitates, "Do you have a free hour or so? Or do you have duties?"
Chanticleer smiles warmly. "Once we get the kids settled with their families... yes, I think I have some free time. Most of my duties are at night." Then he realizes how that came out. "Ah... that is, most of my watch duties involve the night watch."
Rachel grins, eyes twinkling, "I think I have a nice idea of how to fill a good hour or so, then." She helps him settle the children with their folks and then entices him off to have a lovely private time. Now that he's offered to try to help her kindle with child, she's going to take every opportunity!
Meanwhile, back in Friendsville the tasting game is the final stage in the using-your-senses lesson for the day. One by one, the children are handed little bites of food and told to raise their hands when they think they know what they're chewing. There are things like cubes of raw potato and bits of apple; drops of honey and crunchy slices of celery. Some are easy and some not so much. The hardest seem to be the apple and potato, which several of the children mix up until Malachai tells them to sniff it. Suraksha paces quietly to the end of the table, then rests her hip comfortably against it as she watches the children. She's still smiling at how imaginative Malachai's teaching is -- as well as taking mental notes for the education of the caravan kids. She's going to be pleased to sit and enjoy lunch soon, though. It's been a long couple of days.
Once the tasting game is over, the children get to take off their blindfolds. Everyone, parents and children both, holds hands as Malachai says a blessing over the food in the townsfolk's native tongue. Once the food is blessed some of the other townies start getting the kids ready to eat their lunch and Malachai says to 'Chana, "Would you do me the honor of sharing my luncheon with me? Inside at the nook?"
Suraksha hugs her two girls, congratulating them on how they did and smiling warmly at their excited chatter. She looks up at Malachai, then around at the other townsfolk, then back at Malachai, "But... is everyone else going to eat outside?" Remembering her need to talk to Nathaniel, she glances around again for the small boy, searching visually for a male parent.
Malachai smiles, "They are. But the children need time to talk about their lesson without teacher standing over them." As 'Chana looks around, she spies Nathaniel, who is crouching by his son and smiling as the child chatters happily about the lesson and the tasting game.
Suraksha gives Malachai a puzzled look -- why would she want to leave her children alone in a strange town? -but is too polite to say that. Instead she straightens, "Oh! There's Nathaniel. Will you excuse us a moment, please?" She smiles, holding her hands out to her girls, "Come, let's go say hello to Nathaniel's little boy, shall we?" She hustles swiftly off, uncomfortable with the apparent need for hierarchy in this village but not wishing to be unpleasant about it. Malachai watches 'Chana go get her girls, smiling to himself. He's fairly sure she'll agree to come eat with him, especially if he makes the offer again and includes the girls.
Suraksha smiles at her girls as she heads towards the other child and his father, murmuring to them, "Do you remember the little boy's name, girls?"
Rishima, who was closer in the line to him, pipes up, "Gideon!"
Suraksha beams at her daughter, "Clever girl! Thank you, sweetheart." She pauses next to the young man and his son, smiling as she says, "Hello there. Gideon and Nathaniel, yes?"
Nathaniel nods, still crouching by his son, "That's us, ma'am." Gideon smiles up at Suraksha and nods, "Yes!" He turns to Rishima, "You were right near me during lessons today!" His voice is sweet and piping; he looks like he will grow up to be quite a sturdy young man.
Suraksha smiles and crouches next to Gideon, completely spacing the apparent need the villagers have to stay lower than their alphas, "She was! This is my little girl Rishima, and this is my other little girl Rohana. Would the three of you like to play a bit while I talk to your daddy, Gideon?"
Gideon beams and says, "Wanna see my favorite climbing tree?" The girls agree that they would and the toddler leads them off toward the edge of the yard. Nathaniel watches them go, then realizes his head is higher than 'Chana and settles onto his rump on the ground, "He can't climb far. They're fairly safe."
Suraksha blinks as the man sits down, but then is internally pleased -- he must not be afraid of her! Excellent. She settles cross-legged on the grass next to him, neatly tucking her skirts under herself and smiling, "Rohana will watch over them both -- she's a good girl. So, er... Nathaniel." She sighs, looking down for a second, then smiles ruefully at the young man, "I owe you an apology. I was very worried about my goblin friend Alg, but I should not have taken that anger out on you." She holds out a hand, hoping he'll forgive her, "I am sorry I snapped at you."
When she herself sits, Nathaniel actually stretches out on his side, propping his head on his hand. He takes her hand, not quite ducking, "You stopped something that could have gone very badly for someone. There is no need to ask forgiveness."
Suraksha smiles a bit uncertainly down at the young man, relieved that he's apparently forgiven her. "I felt the need, Nathaniel -- a good person, regardless of whether they are a leader or not, shouldn't take out their worries on innocent bystanders." She hesitates, then adds a bit sheepishly, "Um... you do know goblins aren't monsters, right?"
Nathaniel flushes up and says, "I do now."
Suraksha smiles and gently squeezes his hand, "Oh, good... because now I know not to be rude to well-meaning gentlemen." She grins teasingly, trying to put him at ease as she adds, "And I know I'm quite hungry! Do you all go eat at Malachai's, then?"
Nathaniel smiles, the close-lipped smile that's starting to seem quite familiar, "Many of us do. Those that have young'uns having lessons all do. Please, feel free to stay. I know we'd all like it."
Suraksha gives the young man a startled smile, reflexively checking his chakras -- do they really welcome her so? She's touched, if that's the case. Indeed, Nathaniel's chakras indicate no sign of deceit. He seems relaxed and even pleased that she's talking to him, aside from the almost instinctual need to keep his head lower than hers. Suraksha straightens up abruptly as she's firmly reminded of that local oddity, raising her head so it's not as much work for Nathaniel to stay lower than her. "Ah... right! Right... well, thank you then." She pauses, thinking for a moment, then smiles curiously at the young man, "So, um, can you tell me why it is everyone eats separately from Malachai?" She glances around carefully, wondering if anyone else she knows (relatively well) will be here. Considering Meshek is self-conscious around girls, she'll guess he won't be -- but is Rufus around anywhere?
Nathaniel chuckles and says, "We don't, always. But with wolfish social structure in place he sometimes absents himself to let us be a little more relaxed... and it gives the children a little time in the middle of the day to run a bit wild."
Suraksha gives Nathaniel a puzzled look, "I... don't understand; pardon me. Are you saying no one can relax around him?"
Nathaniel makes a see-sawing motion with his hand, "How to explain... he's not cruel or a tyrant. But he is the alpha. He is part of the pack, but apart from it."
Suraksha's face goes neutral as she considers that. She thinks it sounds quite unpleasant! She far prefers the noisy, friendly, close, teasing familiarity of her caravan family, she thinks... and then she wonders: is Malachai lonely? That'd at least partially explain his assuming she was his mate, she supposes -- since she didn't behave as if she was subordinate to him. But no, that can't be all of it. After all, none of the caravan have rolled to him, like Meshek did to her! She sits and chews that over, mentally trying to figure things out as she quietly watches her children playing. The townsfolk all seem to be quite polite despite not having been formally told she was Malachai's mate... in fact, the one person who did roll to her is also the one person who apparently doesn't really mean it! The small woman sighs softly -- wolves, she decides, are very confusing!
Nathaniel glances over, sees people beginning to settle for food, and calls Gideon over. Then to 'Chana he says, "Why not let your little ones have lunch with us? There's plenty of food, and they seem to be having fun."
Suraksha glances at Nathaniel and smiles reflexively, "I suppose we could do that. Malachai did invite us to eat with him, but if he's apart from the pack..." She pauses, thinking again, then simply smiles bemusedly as she shakes her head, "Guess I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one. That's all right." She rises, dusting a bit of grass off her skirts, then smiles down at her girls, "Shall we see if there's a place for us at the big table, girls?"
Malachai waits until it looks like 'Chana is done speaking with Nathaniel and approaches again, catching that last comment. He says, "Bring the girls inside. There are places set for all of us in the kitchen. After we eat they can come play with the rest of the little ones." There's a general clamor of excitement from the children about that, though Suraksha gives Malachai a startled glance as the girls take her hands. She's quite confused at this point -- who all is eating with Malachai in the kitchen? She'd thought he ate in the nook, but now she's not so sure. She considers for a moment, then decides she can at least go see who it is in the kitchen with them. With an internal sigh, she pads quietly along with her two excitedly chattering little girls, smiling at their skipping and enthusiasm.
In the kitchen the nook has been set with four places, two of them obviously for children. There are serving platters with the luncheon foods on them, and cups of milk at the children's places. Malachai greets the young man and woman who are bustling about the kitchen and they greet him in return. There are a couple of wolf-bodied folks in the kitchen as well, lolling about in the beam of sunshine cast by a couple of large windows.
Suraksha sighs tiredly internally again as she realizes she walked right into what Malachai wanted: lunch with her. She smiles and waves, though, at sight of Rufus looking incredibly comfortable in the sunshine -- and when Rohana instantly curiously wants to know who she's waving at, Sura takes her children over and introduces them to the pretty reddish-blonde wolf. As the two girls happily run their fingers through his thick fur -- they know how to do really good scritchies, due to Alg and his pack of dogs! -Suraksha smiles apologetically at the other two wolves, "I'm sorry, but I don't know your names." She neatly tucks her skirts under her as she crouches next to the wolves, careful to keep her head as high as she can. For an instant a wry expression flashes across her face -- this wolf behavior stuff is a real bother! Then she has her polite face on again; she smiles, watching the rapturously wriggly Rufus with her two excited little girls.
Behind her, Malachai smiles and says, "That is Keturah and that is Vashti." Keturah and Vashti are both gray-coated. Vashti actually has a lot of the same markings as Malachai's wolf form, though her body is smaller in scale; Keturah's fur is a darker gray -- closer to charcoal than silver. Rufus is licking the girls' faces, making them giggle and squint up their eyes.
Suraksha nods as she mentally "marks" both wolves, so she'll remember them in the future, "Keturah... Vashti. Pleasure to meet you both." She starts to hold out a hand, then pauses, unsure what proper behavior is... then mentally shrugs and smiles, continuing to extend a hand to both wolves, "I'm sorry, I don't know what the right way to say hello with body language is here, so... hi there." She grins, watching all three wolves attentively; she's rather curious as to whether she can "read" wolves the way she can read Eacharn and Ohkwari in their animal forms.
Both the females bump their heads against her hand in a friendly way and then stretch out their heads for scritches from the girls, once the children decide they too want to say hello. Malachai is smiling warmly down at the pile of wolves, "Vashti is Rachel's grandmother. My grand-daughter."
Suraksha blinks at that, doing a bit of mental readjusting on ages. She nods slowly, her voice fascinated, "I see... and the hair color matches the coat color, yes? Let me guess: Isaiah's brother looks younger than him even though he's not, right?"
Malachai nods and says, "That's right. Something in being wolf-hearted keeps us young longer." The alpha motions toward the nook, "Shall we eat?"
Suraksha nods slowly again as she straightens and reflexively smoothes her skirts. Her voice is still thoughtful as she murmurs, "Of course. Vashti, Keturah, Rufus, a pleasure again. Rohana, Rishima, you can give Rufus a hug but then you have to let him go so we can all eat, all right?" Rufus seems happy to let the girls hug him, tongue lolling out. Of course, in wolfish this means the alpha bitch trusts him with her pups. Her treatment of him is doing his rank some good.
Suraksha has no idea what her behavior around Rufus says to the other wolves, but she wouldn't change it even if she knew. She does trust Rufus -- and she knows he and all the other wolves are quite aware of what she is, and therefore how suicidally foolish it would be to harm her little bebes! Suraksha is, in fact, rather relieved there's at least one wolf who's willing to bump up against her in a friendly fashion. She's a bit weirded out by the separation of alpha and pack. She covers a yawn -- the sunshine actually feels lovely right now -- then smiles and takes the girls' hands as they scamper along next to her to the nook. Rohana doesn't run ahead, however, as is her usual wont. Instead she keeps hold of Suraksha's hand as they stands by the raised bench, and solemnly says, "I'll hand 'Shima-baby up to you, Mommy, soon's you're seated, 'kay?"
Suraksha has to cover a smile at how neatly her eldest daughter has placed the three of them on the opposite side of the table from Malachai -- since Rohana scrambles up to settle herself next to Rishima and her mother as soon as they're both seated. Malachai is walking behind 'Chana and the girls, half-smiling to himself. He knows the older of the girls doesn't entirely trust him; he plans on doing his best to win her over. He simply slides into the other side of the nook and smiles across at the girls and 'Chana, serving out food to all three of them as well as himself. While he does, he talks to the girls, asking them how they enjoyed the lesson and if they were having fun climbing trees with Gideon earlier.
Rohana is happy to describe how well she did at the lesson and how she was able to help both Gideon and her little sister climb sooo high! Rishima simply dimples a bit shyly from beneath her dark lashes at Malachai, and slowly eats with her mother's careful tidiness. Suraksha finds she is rather relieved to have the girls there as well. Not only do they chatter quite a bit -- which means she doesn't have to make conversation -- but making sure that they're both behaving, eating with good manners, not talking with their mouths full, and having to occasionally wipe their chins or their hands means they give her a reason to not pay exclusive attention to Malachai.
Malachai is a perfect gentleman to all three of the ladies, and helps with the girls when they let him. He speaks with them in the way that only an adult skilled with children can. There is a careful balancing act to talk with a child at their level and not seem condescending; Malachai has this knack. Suraksha is starting to relax as Malachai both makes no demands on her, and is so helpful with the children; she's more weary than she realized, and she has to swallow a yawn or two.
Selah brings over more drink and the elder murmurs quietly to her. A few minutes later she has returned with a goblet and a plate of fresh bread. Suraksha smiles in quiet thanks to Malachai as Rohana starts to warm to him, and brightens at the delicious scent of warm bread. At Rishima's soft request, Suraksha puts a slice on each of her daughters' plates, then uses another to sop up some of her savory stew. "This is very tasty, Malachai. Thank you so much." Both girls immediately pipe up as well, "Thank you, Mr. Wolf!"
Malachai smiles, tawny eyes warm, "Thank you ladies for joining me. I try to give the little ones and their parents time together without teacher at noontide." He nudges the goblet across the table to 'Chana, adding, "This is for you. I know you've been pushing yourself; it will help you rest."
Suraksha looks interestedly at the goblet, pulling it over for a sniff, "What is it?"
Malachai's smile never fades, "It's the same drink you had the night of the hunt, but Selah brought plenty of bread to help sop it up. Without the pelt it simply lets the world drop away. You will be relaxed and sleep like a baby. Besides, it's a gift from the town. The bread, too. It's from one of our best bakers."
Suraksha wrinkles her nose, turning her head as she gently pushes the goblet back towards Malachai, "Oh! Oof -- squiffy! No thank you, dear." She lowers her voice to add in an amused whisper, "That stuff tastes nasty!" In the contrary way of children, both girls immediately look rather interestedly at the goblet. Their dark eyes are bright as they glance between Malachai, and their mother with the goblet. Suraksha adds appeasingly, "The bread is lovely, though -- thank you!"
Malachai chuckles and lowers his voice, "Please, it's a gift from my people to the newest pack member. My folk would have their feelings hurt if you did not accept it." He's obviously trying not to be overheard by Selah.
Suraksha gives Malachai a wry smile, glancing between him and Selah, then sighs. "Well. Will you at least share it with me, so there's not as much to drink?" As tired as she is, she's forgotten the significance of sharing a drink -- although honestly, even if she did remember, the prospect of drinking the unpleasantly sharp herbal drink alone would give her pause. She glances at the goblet and sighs softly again, then resignedly takes several slices of the bread -- it's going to take that many, she suspects. Dryly she adds, "Newest pack member? I'm surprised they still want me around, considering they know now what shape I shift into."
Malachai chuckles but doesn't reach across the table to touch her. "Yes, I'll share it with you. They don't care about the tiger shape. Well, they care: they find it awesome and amazing. But they don't disdain it. After all, even we here remember tales of tigers."
Suraksha looks into the goblet, gently swirling around the strong greenish blend... then sighs and takes a big bite of bread before she also takes a gulp of the drink. She shudders reflexively, her expression wryly amused again as she chews madly and swallows. She takes a deep breath, then rolls her eyes and pushes the goblet over to Malachai, "Your turn."
Rohana looks fascinated, kneeling on the bench so she can lean over the table towards Malachai and the goblet, "Lemme see!"
Suraksha says firmly, "Seat on the bench, young lady!" She adds curiously to Malachai, "Do you mean tigers in general, or tales of tiger shapeshifters?"
Malachai chuckles and tips the goblet toward the girls so they can see into it. As he does he says to 'Chana, "Just plain tigers."
Both girls scramble to lean on the table to see, and Sura rests a cautioning hand on Rohana's back, "Not too far. Be careful, baby."
Rishima wrinkles her small nose and giggles, "Stinky!" while Rohana breathlessly asks, "Can I try some too?!" Suraksha nods to Malachai's comment about tigers, then chuckles at Rishima's instant, "Me too!"
Malachai says, "I don't know, little misses. This is an adult drink, like wine or ale. It's not meant for little girls or boys."
Suraksha nods amusedly, "Indeed."
Rishima looks disappointed, settling back into her seat; Rohana leans on her elbows on the table and gives Malachai a soulful look -- one that's never failed her when she's around people who aren't used to her, "Just a little itty bitty bitsy taste? Pleeease? If Mommy says it's okay?"
Malachai, who has been around several generations of soulful-eyed little girls, doesn't smirk -- but his eyes are dancing a little bit, "That would be for your dam to say, little one." He takes up the goblet and raises it to his mouth while the girls turn their appealing gazes on their mother.
Suraksha snorts amusedly at that, her own eyes dancing with amusement as she gravely says, "I don't kno-oow..." Both girls immediately chorus together about how much they really want to try the drink and they've been very good and they're sure to like it and even if they don't they, umm... they've been really, really good, right?! Suraksha has to laugh at that, gently tousling both their dark mops, "All right, you may both try a tiny bit on a piece of bread." As both girls swivel instantly back to Malachai, nearly breathless with excitement, their mother wryly adds, "But don't say I didn't warn you!"
Malachai is wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as the eyes come back to him; he chuckles, "Since your mother says yes, you may try a tiny bit." He takes a piece of bread and dips just the edge into the drink, offering a little nibble to each girl.
Both girls are wide-eyed with interest, accepting their bread and either taking a big bite (as Rohana does), or cautiously nibbling on it, as Rishima does. Amusingly, they both have an almost identical and instantaneous reaction, their faces squinching up with disgust -- although Rohana has to finish chewing before she can get out her echo of Rishima's indignantly squealed, "Eeeew -- icky!"
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