Snippet #1524778

Talae smiled as Fae exited the tent and came to sit beside her. Though she was somewhat disappointed that Faera had clearly managed to get herself into a proper mess the night before, it was impossible for her to remain angry with her for long. Even when they were both still children- well, young children, anyway- Tala had resented the younger one for impeding upon her mother's time and energy. Fae had been born blind, and especially in her formative years, this necessitated extra attention on the part of both her parents. On another level, she had represented all the things Tala could not have- the fact that her own father had left while Fae's (strangely light-skinned and radiating chivalry) remained had been something of a blow to her, and she could not help but feel as though the tiny girl and her male parent were the second and far superior try to an actual family that their mother was making.

Even then, though, Fae's inescapable good nature would not allow her to hold her hate for long. She supposed she must have finally cracked on the day the small thing said her name- the first one she managed, no less. Despite how much she tried to appear it, the assassin was not all that hard-hearted, just pragmatic. It wasn't like Faera ever called her on it anyway. She probably just assumed her sister acted this way towards everyone, though very little was further from the truth. "Good morning, Faera," she greeted softly, still stirring at what of her brew remained. There wasn't much, but she was saving it for someone particularly. She had promised after all. Still, he didn't seem to be around, so she shrugged and set it aside. She wasn't offended- was she?

"I do not like this talk of traitors," she murmured, quietly enough that only her sister could hear her. Even if she didn't have much to do with it, or see the logic in it, she knew that such mutterings were not good for cohesion or morale. To her relief then, another bit of news soon replaced it on the rounds- the Black Guard was moving out tonight. Interesting... a night march. Would that not impede the vision of a large portion of their troops? Unless they intended to take advantage of the fact that the same would be true of the Children. An ambush, perhaps? She did not presume to know what those in charge thought.

"Fae, if Kisikoni comes by, give him some of that. I'm going to pack our things."

---

Alistair heard the news, but as he had very little in his possession and had long ago gotten into the habit of keeping himself as close to departure-ready as possible at all times, he found himself with a bit of free time. He'd have to test his wings later today, but he wanted to give them a few more hours, so instead he set about walking around camp, pitching in whenever he found someone in need of assistance packing or loading something, which is how he ultimately wound up getting roped into loading the weapons cart.

It wasn't so bad; this was something he was well-used to, and it gave him the opportunity to chat to anyone that came by, which satisfied his compulsion to be sociable. Achiru and Qinn came by to see him, and though he was not fond of the latter's habit of calling him old man, he could not quite deny that he sort of set himself up for it. He had to admit, seeing the two of them together was somewhat refreshing; they clearly actually enjoyed each other's company. Not something he was all that used to seeing within his own species. He saw them off with a wave and went back to the business of loading longblades.