Ehud was a gracious host at least and insisted that she stay in Sien's room while they slept in his room together. Using the wall as a brace, she slid her hand down the hallway and followed the two men, one little and one big, to the bedrooms in the back. When he explained about Sien still learning the manners of a household, she chuckled. "Ah, yes. Something Calysta is still trying to teach Cypher too. I'm used to locking the doors if I don't want any little visitors at this point," she replied, "Thank you for the advance warning though." He smiled at her a little then went to go get another ice pack along with an extra pillow and blanket, for which she was grateful. Once he seemed her set for the night, he announced he would be available if she needed anything then left without any lingering looks.
Priscilla laid down on Sien's bed with a small sigh and used the pillow to prop her ankle up, which had gained some girth again at walking down the hallway. The boys bed was a little smaller then hers at home there was plenty of room for her to wrap the blanket around herself for sleeping. Normally, she would have taken off her bra and skirt before diving into the bed to sleep, but this time she remained fully clothed. All she she felt proper in doing was pulling her hair down from it's shaggy bun and then unlacing her shoes to leave them neatly beside the bed. Laying back on the pillows, Priscilla stared up at the ceiling and sighed to herself against the dull throbbing in her leg. What was wrong with her? She wanted to reach out and get to know Ehud more, but she felt like she couldn't ask him things really. They were dating...sort of...shouldn't she be able to ask? There were some things she knew. He was a work-aholic with a dry since of humor and a lack for details sometimes. His mannerisms with his son and herself often reflected his work. She knew for as shy as he was, he was a bit of a trouble maker on occasion. He hadn't asked very much about her either. What did he really know about her? She was a widow and a Terran. She liked fried chicken and had a penchant for falling in holes. Hadn't she tried? Or maybe she was hurting and missing Harry. His response would have been different from Ehud's altogether. He would have joked about her lightly, and made her laugh a little about it. How could she even think to be looking at someone else?
It wasn't really fair to be comparing Ehud to Harry though, and she knew it. She and Ehud weren't that close. They were hardly what she would call boyfriend girlfriend at this stage and here she was staying in his house somehow feeling more lonely now than when she started. For a brief moment, she almost wished she was at Illya and Calysta's. There she would have heard Thomas snoring a bit through the wall, Cypher's feet pattering to the bathroom before the toilet flushing, Lohgan's giggle in the night and occasionally the twins cooing. Sometimes a brief note of love making could be heard upstairs if the flytr bugs weren't chirping and she happened to be on the second floor. Here in Ehud's house it was quiet and a bit chilly, making her wrap up further in the blanket, and she felt a bit like she wasn't supposed to be there at all. It was kind of them to let her stay the night at least and he had tried to take care of her in some way. The chicken had been a nice too, reminding her a bit of home that she hadn't had in a long time.
For the rest of the night, Priscilla tossed and turned unable to find a comfortable spot while the distinct longing for Harry settled in deep. She was awake when she heard the shuffling of feet down the hall. First it was Sien because the footsteps were softer, and they were shortly followed by heavier thumps. A light filtered in from the hallway through the bottom of the door revealing passing feet as shadows. The sounds were accompanied by the smell of food cooking, which she assumed was her cue to start gathering herself. Priscilla, pulled her significantly less puffy ankle from the bed first and inspected it. There was definitely some blackened bruising around her foot but it wasn't nearly as swollen which was a good sign. Lacing up her shoes, she managed to comb her fingers through her hair, setting her light blonde hair down her shoulders in soft waves. Her make up was all but gone and she probably looked bleary eyed from lack of sleep. Wouldn't she be a lovely sight? Resolving to fix herself, she grabbed the bed post and hauled herself up, testing her foot tentatively before adding a little bit of pressure. "Youch," she grimaced. It was still nice and tender with the added bonus of being stiff from the previous night. She was going to have to get up and move though.
A knock sounded at the door and she whipped around, a sense of dread striking her. She really didn't want him to see her with clothes wrinkled and make up smeared half from sleep and half from a bout of tears in the night. Sure, he had seen her covered in dirt from the fall, but this was different. "I...I will be out in a minute...thank you!" she called through the door. That answer seemed to satisfy him because she saw his feet moving away from the light filtering through the bottom. Relieved to find him gone, she hobbled over to the door and unlocked it before making a lurching dash for the bathroom.
The mirror revealed that she did look exactly as she though. A nice wreck. Leaving all of her weight on her good foot, she washed her face and combed through her hair a bit more before straightening her clothes. That made her look more presentable, and she deemed herself ready to make her way into the kitchen where food was waiting. If it was one thing she could say, was that Sien looked very much like his father in the matching pajamas and his blond hair sticking in all directions. Priscilla's eyes traveled from Sien to Ehud who was putting plates on the table and she couldn't help the sight of the two of them looking so similar in their pajama's. Some of the gloom from the night before lifted almost automatically. Ehud was actually very handsome standing there in the morning light coming through the window. "Good morning," she said with a gentle smile toward the boy. He grinned and grabbed a seat at the kitchen table, pulling it out with great effort for her to sit in. "We made breakfast!"
"Well, thank you." Stepping over to the offered chair, she settled into it and looked at the plates, "This looks wonderful. It's even smiling at me." The pancakes were each given a smile with egg eyes and a little cream grin. They ate in the quiet and she had to admit that the food was excellent. Ehud really could cook well and it seemed to be a natural sort of skill unlike with Calysta who occasionally ran aground of not knowing things about what she was cooking. "You've impressed me again," she told him honestly, "I haven't had good Terran food in so long. There's a diner on Kinte, but it just doesn't compare."
With breakfast done, they sat around and Sien told her all about how Mickey Martian survived the pirates. "Sounds like he had a close one there but he saved the day in the end, huh? You know there was a hero on my planet like that. They called him Superman and he could fly...he would stand in the sun with his cape blowing in the breeze. He saved the world with his strength. He was strong like your father." After that, Sien had to know all about Superman and she told him until the morning inched toward early afternoon. She talked and chatted along until she knew that Ehud probably had things to do that didn't involve entertaining her. Despite that she felt like she didn't want to go just yet. Things had grown more comfortable with him now that he stopped following Illya's dating advice. The inevitable silence fell between them, and she nodded. "I suppose I should go," she said finally, "I could probably walk a little ways out to the flyer if you don't mind dropping me off?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Their morning was a good one following a good night, though it had started out a little stressful for both of them. She hadn't worn the last of her tempting outfits for him, but that hadn't stopped him from being enchanted some how. In fact, when they stayed on the balcony for a bit, he couldn't keep his eyes off her or his hands. It was a bit encouraging to know he was alright. That he was there with her and not some far away place with voices that were long dead. Their night was lively as ever and even at her teasing when they woke, he seemed to know just what to do. He drew her in with the song he had learned in Kaerelean, singing in his low, slightly raspy voice that she couldn't resist. Even he knew it had worked when he grinned and wrapped her up all over again making her giggle all the harder.
After they had managed to get their shopping done and returned to their room for the first attempt at a short break, Calysta let her Chip do whatever it was he needed to relax while she packed away their new blankets for traveling. It was a good distraction from any sort of worry that might creep up about the reason for their 'break' time and she was focusing so hard on packing properly, she had almost missed when he said something about a package on the desk. Tilting her head, she paused in her task to inspect it, removing the lid with a curious gaze. Inside was a beautiful insignia set made for flyers bearing a silver bird. His Little Bird. Her eyes bounced around the box in wonder and a fair amount of surprise. She had never had something so nice for the inside of a flyer before. Her classic flyer she had built from scratch had been vandalized by purists on Pyrta when she was younger and it taught her never to invest too much unless she was willing to let it get ruined by them. Even her racing flyer Elian crashed on Kinte didn't have finery like this. Calysta looked up to Illya with a beaming smile and out of instinct reached up to give him an exuberant kiss on the lips. "It is good," she said, "Perfect even. Thank you, love."
The zoo turned out to be a good trip in the end as well. It always made her happy to see Illya with animals and going to see the korybei was no exception. He had no qualms about jumping right into the pen with the scaled herbivores and petting over their smooth hides. Watching him visit with the creatures was peaceful. Illya was always gentle with them, ever since she had known him, and it something she enjoyed because he was at peace in those moments he spent with the creatures. She doubted he knew how long they had spent at the korybei pen in the afternoon. It was well over an hour, but he seemed surprised to learn it was so long. "We had a good time though," she told him taking his hand, "Let's get some food."
They ate a nice dinner in the restaurant overlooking the waterfalls, and this time Illya seemed much better. He felt more relaxed and even sprang for a big dessert, their favorite chocolate cake with extra whipped cream. It was delivered with five inches of fresh cream on top by the waiter, making his eyes go a bit wide with delight. Neither of them wasted any time marveling though. She dug into the bottom for the chocolate cake, excavating from below, as he scooped from above until their forks clashed. Calysta just laughed and stole a bit of the cream before inviting him to a bit of the cake itself. They made a good team in most things, even when it came to devouring deserts and with these breaks it appeared things were better. She only hoped they stayed that way.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Illya was on the quiet side for the rest of the afternoon and spend some time in the office, undoubtedly informing the Elders of the incident. It was something she somewhat disagreed with. She felt it should have been handled privately, but the more she thought about it, she knew it was a Chippeqouti reaction to something of the sort. She let him have it. In the end, it might be easier to work through Edgar on the issue anyways. While he was tending to the business with the Elders, Calysta walked upstairs with a glass of chocolate flavored milk and went into her sons bedroom. She found him with Hairy, Rose's rabbit, he was sitting on his bed patting the animal gently between the ears like his father had shown him. His eye was puffy and bruised along a few spots on his chin. Seeing him like that made her chest ache, and especially knowing the reason behind it. He sat up when she came in and looked at her with his big blue eyes before wiping his nose with the back his hand. "I'm not in trouble, Mam?" It was usually his mother who got on to him when things like that happened and he had expected no less this time. "No," Calysta replied carefully, "I brought you some milk and I want to talk with you."He sat back on his bottom and took the glass with both of his tan hands to listen to his Mam.
Calysta sat on the bed and smoothed down her boy's fly away hair for a moment before looking at him. "Did what the Pithian boy do scare you?"
Cypher wasn't sure how to answer at first. He knew it was his job to protect his sister because she was smaller, just like Dah said, and that's what he had done. "Dah Pitian boy made meh mad."
"Because of what he said about Dah? And Lohgan?" she asked. Cypher nodded as he sipped his milk and a scowl came to his face. "He is a dirty Pitian boy. Dah said so." He knew immediately by the look on his mother's face that this was the wrong thing to say. But Dah said it all the time! Mam looked at him with something he knew wasnt anger but it wasn't happy either. It was his first taste of disappointment from his mother. "What makes him dirty?" she asked. Cypher had already chosen his opinion, though his Mam didn't like it. "He is a Pitian."
Calysta could see things were already deeply engrained and she sighed in frustration. "And you think all Pithian's are mean. All Pithian's are not mean. Some are and some are not. It's the same thing with Terrans. I suppose you think all Terrans are bad too?" He nodded firmly. Of course they were all bad. His father grumbled about them too, so it must have been true. His mother seemed even more distressed about the answer and he wondered what exactly it was he had done wrong. "Do you think I am bad Cypher?" she asked him. The boys little brow pinched together and he shook his head. "No, yah are my Mam."
Calysta looked over her son and nodded. "So, you don't think I'm bad, huh? You're sure?" The boy seemed adamant that was good. She tucked him in at night and gave him blueberries in the morning. She helped him with school and taught him games to play. He even got her to play the cowboy so he could be the wild indian. He loved his Mam, but all of that love was thrown in to shock when she said something he didn't know. "Did you know I'm part Terran?" she said, "That Rose is Terran? Papa too?" The boys eyes grew wide and he shook his head ever so slowly. "So, if all Terrans and Tannas and Pithian's are evil, how can I be good if I am one of them? What about Papa and Rose?"
Cypher grew very quiet and he sat down his glass of milk in deep contemplation but didn't say anything else. Calysta let him stew on it and then continued. "I think this Pithian boy was starting a fight because he thinks that you are bad like you think he is bad. He was mean to you and that isn't fair because he doesn't know you, does he?And he doesn't know Dah either. It's called racism and it's not a good thing to do. I know Dah does that sometimes but he tries not to be that way and you should too, yeah?" She got a vague head nod from him as a reply and she could tell his he was still processing a few things. Maybe it would do some good or maybe it wouldn't. She still had to try. Leaning down she kissed the top of her little boy's head, but he drew away slightly. Calysta frowned and left her boy to play with the pet rabbit and to think for a long time on what they talked about.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Calysta sat in front of Edgar in his home which had been added to since her last visit. They had gotten a new book shelf and filled it part way so far, which was something she was itching to browse out of curiosity. However, she was here more on business than pleasure, and while she had brought the twins for Edgar and his agreed to see, there was still a less pleasant reason for their visit. Tomas cooed from Edgar's arms and tugged at the man's shirt with his tiny fingers, making them both smile. "Illya spoke to you about what happened at school the other day with Cypher, yeah?" She tried to make it sound a bit lighter as if it was a simple matter that they could solve, or at least try to.
It was always a special pleasure to have his great grand kids brought to his house. Edgar and his agreed couldn't get around quite as well as they used to and he enjoyed having his family come. No matter the reason it was good if they brought the little ones. Holding onto the baby he grinned. It seemed all of Illya's children had good sense and they loved the Dark Chippequoti as much as their people loved them. "Would yah look at dat grin?" Lifting the baby up slightly he blew on the boy's belly and watched as the baby giggled. After a moment he let the boy settle in and just rest in his arms. Looking to Kalizda he smiled and nodded. "Yes, Illya talked to me. He said that you have a plan and he wanted me to take it into consideration. I think that you are the council woman and it would be wise for the Elders to know what is on your mind. We would like to support your decision."
Edgar watched his great grandmother with intense interest as she poured tea into ceramic, Chip sized cups and then walked back into the kitchen. Her boy was constantly hungry, and in this moment his hunger was no different. He smacked his tiny lips together and grunted as he tried to keep the older Chip woman in view. When Edgar replied, Calysta looked at him unsure of where to begin. What wasn't on her mind would have been a more appropriate place to start. Still, she took a sip of her tea, gathering her thoughts, and nodded to the Chip elder. "I think that there are tensions between the Chippeqouti and the Pithians that aren't likely to go away for the foreseeable future. I do think we can ease them though and the best way to start is by teaching the children. Alliance members aren't forced to agree with one another, Pithian's and Chips included, but it is in our best interest to respect one another. I think the children would do best to learn about one another from each other."
"Hmmm." Edgar nodded a little when she spoke. It sounded like an age old problem that they had dealt with for quite some time. While he was busy thinking of what to do about it his agreed gingerly made her way over to sit next to Kalizda. Once she was seated she held her mug up for baby Edgar to try. "It won't hurt him to try it and see if he likes." She spoke in Quoti like usual and her brown face wrinkled with pleasure when the boy leaned forward to try and get a sip. Finally, Edgar lifted his head and he sighed. "What do you think would help?" He had a few ideas of his own, but he wanted to see if there was something she would suggest first.
Calysta didnt mind if she let Edgar have a sip, though he was tiny and she thought it best if maybe a finger tasting was better. About the time she was going to suggest it, the woman was already gently bringing the cup to her baby's waiting mouth. He suckled on the edge of the cup, then made a grimacing face. That was not what he was expecting at all. Where was the milk? The taste of the herb tea rather than milk was such a shock that he began to cloud up, with great sniffling sounds of sadness. "Oooh," Calysta winced with a small chuckle, "Maybe he's a coffee drinker instead." It was a small joke the two Chips likely wouldn't get and she dug through the diaper bag until she found his bottle of milk. "Would you like to feed him?"" she asked. The woman smiled and seemed to look forward to the task. "Well," Calysta said to Edgar, "I think it would help if maybe the children were require to learn a little bit about each other. I was thinking of some cultural studies at the school. Where they could learn about all Alliance member cultures....Kaerelean...Terran...Pithian...and of course Chippeqouti. I think it would be prudent to ask our Tannas members if they would like to be included as well. I think if the children learned more about each other, and understood each other beyond what prejudices they might be exposed to at home, then it will help."
Both Edgar and his agreed chuckled at the baby's reaction to the tea. Often times a baby didn't like the first taste of tea, but they were curious and more than likely the baby would want some tea the next time they saw a cup. With the offer to feed the baby Edgar's agreed nodded eagerly and she held out her old wrinkled hands for him. Taking the boy in her arms she gazed down into his little face and cooed gently at him. "Aren't you just as handsome as your dad was when he was little. You have your grandmother's eyes though. Lovely blue." Talking softly to the baby in Quoti she rocked him with the expertise that only a grandmother could and she smiled at the boy. Occasionally he would reach up with his little hand and try to touch her face and she would let him and then pull her cheek and chin away. While she played with the baby and fed him her agreed listened to Kalizda. Edgar nodded. "Very good. I will present this to the Chippequoti council and ask for funds from the people to provide a new school. If you are going to teach Chip custom then there will need to be a good room like Chip school room and we will need a Chip teacher. We will need a room for all cultures to be taught like they were in their own home and each race will have a teacher to teach the young about their kind. I'm sure that many Chippequoti will want to fund the school if they hear of the project and the reason that it is being proposed. There should not be fear for our children when they go to school to learn customs of those in our Alliance."
She was more than happy to let Edgar's great grandmother enjoy some time with the boy. In some ways, it still amazed her that her babies had family that they could come to and rely on. They were a wealth of extra love that Calysta wanted them all to know of. Without too many further questions, Edgar seemed to agree with her and went a step further, adding that a new school should be built to accommodate the program. A new school building was a big deal. The on the Pyrtan's had now was small, and quickly growing smaller with the amount of soldiers they had living lives on the continent. Not to mention, the facility had suffered some damage during a raid by the Federation some years ago. Perhaps a new building would be in order. His last statement made her hands tighten together in her lap for a brief moment. "I agree. Fear should not be something children should have when learning about each other in school. This may not be easy in some moments but I think it will be worth it and successful if we make it a space for the kids to learn without fear of each other," she said, "If the Chippeqouti are willing to help fund the school, I know the Pyrtans would give what they can as well and we have several good Terran people who would gladly help. Dora and Priscilla would be excellent teachers. I would have to maybe ask Helen who she thought might be willing to fill the Pithian role, and the same for our Tannas members."
Edgar nodded as he listened to Kalizda, but he was sure that there would be no need for the Pytran's to pay for the school unless they wanted to have part in it. He knew as well as anyone else that the Pytran's did not have so much money. "Perhaps we make small modification. There is still money from the offer of aid. We will use some of this to build a new school house if the Pytrans will accept that use of funds. Then we will ask each people that want to have their culture represented to provide a teacher and equipment necessary to make the school room like they would for their own classes. Chippequoti will pay for the building, extra land, and we will provide for our own class room and a teacher to be hired. Does this sound reasonable to present to your people? I believe that the Chippequoti council would agree with me."
She thought over all the uses of those pledged funds. They could have gone anywhere...military...business...but this would be something important. There wouldn't be an Alliance if their children didn't understand what it was like to be equally allied. It was would never survive. This was an investment and Edgar understood that, at least she thought he did. Chippeqouti always had their own way of looking at things and she knew by Illya's reaction, and what he told her, that Chippeqouti consider Kaereleans their own. His insistence they go through the council on this matter rather than handling it privately stemmed from his own tradition. An attack on one was an attack on all. The same went in the opposite way though. An offer of peace was meant for all, and she had contracted with the Pithians living in Kaereal, offering safety and citizenship for standing against the Federation. There was very little choice but to work together even if it was hard and at times difficult. Mistakes would be made but with the chance to understand one another better perhaps less grievous ones could be made. "The Pyrtan's will likely do what they can. Perhaps the land can be donated," she said, "I know there are one or two fields some of the younger Pyrtan's might offer. I think it would help to have these cultural parts in addition to the schooling they go to." She gave Edgar a an assuring sort of smile, hoping that she didn't come across as tired as she felt that day. "Offer this to the Elders and see if they agree, Asha as well, since I know she is acting General and Admiral. Things aboard the Omebrey have been going well since Jaimye's decommission and her new first mate has taken over. She might have some insight as well."
"I think that the Elders will find this agreeable. I will send you our final proposal for the use of some of the funds designated for Pytra. We will trust your judgment regarding the final decision. I hope that Pytrans will find the offer satisfactory." With the business out of the way he decided to move on to more pleasant things. "I have spoke with my agreed, Dahvine and we want to see our great grand children more. You will let us watch the twins for 3 hours once each week and then Cypher and Lohgan for 3 hours once each week. We want Rose to come see us when she can. She is almost a woman now and we must wait for a time that works for her. The Elders want to make contract with her to write our stories and history too. We will need translations if we build this new school. She will be busy writing in Quoti for us and translating if she likes the work. We will pay her well. Tell her to come see me and I will talk to her about this."
"I will draw up the proposal and send it to my people," she replied, glad to have that part out of the way. His next statement made her bristle slightly, starting off with 'you will do this' but occasionally, he did that when they spoke. Though, this time he was sounding a bit more adamant about it and she took another sip of her tea before replying. "You're right, Rose is nearly grown and she is an excellent writer. She knows Qouti and we've spoken briefly before about having her work on projects for the Chippeqouti. I will tell her she should come to see you about working for the Elders on recording the Chippeqouti stories and history. As for the other children, I agree that you should get to see them more. I'm not sure we could have a consistent day, as Illya will be applying to Skycorp and we may be spending some time on Kinte in the next months, but I think it would be good." It would also give her the chance to help Illya study along with her a chance to spend time more singular time with him along with their other children.
They visited for awhile longer until Calysta felt an incoming message on her pad which chimed on the higher priority channels. "Excuse me," she said, reaching into her bag. When she opened up her messenger she saw what the alert was and a kernel of dread slipped into her stomach. It was something she would have to deal with personally. "Edgar? Would you mind watching the twins for a bit right now, actually? Something has just been brought to my attention and I need to take care of it." The great grandparents didn't seem to mind being left in charge of the twins while she was gone and she nodded her thanks. "I'll be back in just a little while or Illya will come by to pick them up if this takes longer than I intend. Thank you." With that, she kissed both of her boys on the their foreheads and left the house to make her way towards town.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Cypher knew his Mam had gone out for the afternoon and he had been doing some hard thinking while she was gone. Dah said that Pithians and Terrans and Tannas were all bad regularly when Mam wasn't around. His Mam said they weren't all bad when Dah wasn't around and Mam was a Terran. Mam was not like a Terran though. She was good. It left him a bit confused and since Dah would talk about it while she wasn't there, he was determined to find the solution to the predicament.
Venturing out into the yard, he found his father standing in the yard with Cin loping around. The big bear was making chortling sounds, begging to be played with, but his father was on a mission to feed the chickens instead. Cypher walked up to his Dah and grabbed a handful of the grainy feed for the clucky birds causing them to gather around him like he knew they would. Even the chicks peeped around his feet. Normally, he would be delighted to have them so close where he could pet them, but he was on a mission of utmost importance. "Dah?" he asked as he threw the feed, "Did yah know dat Mam is a filty Terran?"
Priscilla laid down on Sien's bed with a small sigh and used the pillow to prop her ankle up, which had gained some girth again at walking down the hallway. The boys bed was a little smaller then hers at home there was plenty of room for her to wrap the blanket around herself for sleeping. Normally, she would have taken off her bra and skirt before diving into the bed to sleep, but this time she remained fully clothed. All she she felt proper in doing was pulling her hair down from it's shaggy bun and then unlacing her shoes to leave them neatly beside the bed. Laying back on the pillows, Priscilla stared up at the ceiling and sighed to herself against the dull throbbing in her leg. What was wrong with her? She wanted to reach out and get to know Ehud more, but she felt like she couldn't ask him things really. They were dating...sort of...shouldn't she be able to ask? There were some things she knew. He was a work-aholic with a dry since of humor and a lack for details sometimes. His mannerisms with his son and herself often reflected his work. She knew for as shy as he was, he was a bit of a trouble maker on occasion. He hadn't asked very much about her either. What did he really know about her? She was a widow and a Terran. She liked fried chicken and had a penchant for falling in holes. Hadn't she tried? Or maybe she was hurting and missing Harry. His response would have been different from Ehud's altogether. He would have joked about her lightly, and made her laugh a little about it. How could she even think to be looking at someone else?
It wasn't really fair to be comparing Ehud to Harry though, and she knew it. She and Ehud weren't that close. They were hardly what she would call boyfriend girlfriend at this stage and here she was staying in his house somehow feeling more lonely now than when she started. For a brief moment, she almost wished she was at Illya and Calysta's. There she would have heard Thomas snoring a bit through the wall, Cypher's feet pattering to the bathroom before the toilet flushing, Lohgan's giggle in the night and occasionally the twins cooing. Sometimes a brief note of love making could be heard upstairs if the flytr bugs weren't chirping and she happened to be on the second floor. Here in Ehud's house it was quiet and a bit chilly, making her wrap up further in the blanket, and she felt a bit like she wasn't supposed to be there at all. It was kind of them to let her stay the night at least and he had tried to take care of her in some way. The chicken had been a nice too, reminding her a bit of home that she hadn't had in a long time.
For the rest of the night, Priscilla tossed and turned unable to find a comfortable spot while the distinct longing for Harry settled in deep. She was awake when she heard the shuffling of feet down the hall. First it was Sien because the footsteps were softer, and they were shortly followed by heavier thumps. A light filtered in from the hallway through the bottom of the door revealing passing feet as shadows. The sounds were accompanied by the smell of food cooking, which she assumed was her cue to start gathering herself. Priscilla, pulled her significantly less puffy ankle from the bed first and inspected it. There was definitely some blackened bruising around her foot but it wasn't nearly as swollen which was a good sign. Lacing up her shoes, she managed to comb her fingers through her hair, setting her light blonde hair down her shoulders in soft waves. Her make up was all but gone and she probably looked bleary eyed from lack of sleep. Wouldn't she be a lovely sight? Resolving to fix herself, she grabbed the bed post and hauled herself up, testing her foot tentatively before adding a little bit of pressure. "Youch," she grimaced. It was still nice and tender with the added bonus of being stiff from the previous night. She was going to have to get up and move though.
A knock sounded at the door and she whipped around, a sense of dread striking her. She really didn't want him to see her with clothes wrinkled and make up smeared half from sleep and half from a bout of tears in the night. Sure, he had seen her covered in dirt from the fall, but this was different. "I...I will be out in a minute...thank you!" she called through the door. That answer seemed to satisfy him because she saw his feet moving away from the light filtering through the bottom. Relieved to find him gone, she hobbled over to the door and unlocked it before making a lurching dash for the bathroom.
The mirror revealed that she did look exactly as she though. A nice wreck. Leaving all of her weight on her good foot, she washed her face and combed through her hair a bit more before straightening her clothes. That made her look more presentable, and she deemed herself ready to make her way into the kitchen where food was waiting. If it was one thing she could say, was that Sien looked very much like his father in the matching pajamas and his blond hair sticking in all directions. Priscilla's eyes traveled from Sien to Ehud who was putting plates on the table and she couldn't help the sight of the two of them looking so similar in their pajama's. Some of the gloom from the night before lifted almost automatically. Ehud was actually very handsome standing there in the morning light coming through the window. "Good morning," she said with a gentle smile toward the boy. He grinned and grabbed a seat at the kitchen table, pulling it out with great effort for her to sit in. "We made breakfast!"
"Well, thank you." Stepping over to the offered chair, she settled into it and looked at the plates, "This looks wonderful. It's even smiling at me." The pancakes were each given a smile with egg eyes and a little cream grin. They ate in the quiet and she had to admit that the food was excellent. Ehud really could cook well and it seemed to be a natural sort of skill unlike with Calysta who occasionally ran aground of not knowing things about what she was cooking. "You've impressed me again," she told him honestly, "I haven't had good Terran food in so long. There's a diner on Kinte, but it just doesn't compare."
With breakfast done, they sat around and Sien told her all about how Mickey Martian survived the pirates. "Sounds like he had a close one there but he saved the day in the end, huh? You know there was a hero on my planet like that. They called him Superman and he could fly...he would stand in the sun with his cape blowing in the breeze. He saved the world with his strength. He was strong like your father." After that, Sien had to know all about Superman and she told him until the morning inched toward early afternoon. She talked and chatted along until she knew that Ehud probably had things to do that didn't involve entertaining her. Despite that she felt like she didn't want to go just yet. Things had grown more comfortable with him now that he stopped following Illya's dating advice. The inevitable silence fell between them, and she nodded. "I suppose I should go," she said finally, "I could probably walk a little ways out to the flyer if you don't mind dropping me off?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Their morning was a good one following a good night, though it had started out a little stressful for both of them. She hadn't worn the last of her tempting outfits for him, but that hadn't stopped him from being enchanted some how. In fact, when they stayed on the balcony for a bit, he couldn't keep his eyes off her or his hands. It was a bit encouraging to know he was alright. That he was there with her and not some far away place with voices that were long dead. Their night was lively as ever and even at her teasing when they woke, he seemed to know just what to do. He drew her in with the song he had learned in Kaerelean, singing in his low, slightly raspy voice that she couldn't resist. Even he knew it had worked when he grinned and wrapped her up all over again making her giggle all the harder.
After they had managed to get their shopping done and returned to their room for the first attempt at a short break, Calysta let her Chip do whatever it was he needed to relax while she packed away their new blankets for traveling. It was a good distraction from any sort of worry that might creep up about the reason for their 'break' time and she was focusing so hard on packing properly, she had almost missed when he said something about a package on the desk. Tilting her head, she paused in her task to inspect it, removing the lid with a curious gaze. Inside was a beautiful insignia set made for flyers bearing a silver bird. His Little Bird. Her eyes bounced around the box in wonder and a fair amount of surprise. She had never had something so nice for the inside of a flyer before. Her classic flyer she had built from scratch had been vandalized by purists on Pyrta when she was younger and it taught her never to invest too much unless she was willing to let it get ruined by them. Even her racing flyer Elian crashed on Kinte didn't have finery like this. Calysta looked up to Illya with a beaming smile and out of instinct reached up to give him an exuberant kiss on the lips. "It is good," she said, "Perfect even. Thank you, love."
The zoo turned out to be a good trip in the end as well. It always made her happy to see Illya with animals and going to see the korybei was no exception. He had no qualms about jumping right into the pen with the scaled herbivores and petting over their smooth hides. Watching him visit with the creatures was peaceful. Illya was always gentle with them, ever since she had known him, and it something she enjoyed because he was at peace in those moments he spent with the creatures. She doubted he knew how long they had spent at the korybei pen in the afternoon. It was well over an hour, but he seemed surprised to learn it was so long. "We had a good time though," she told him taking his hand, "Let's get some food."
They ate a nice dinner in the restaurant overlooking the waterfalls, and this time Illya seemed much better. He felt more relaxed and even sprang for a big dessert, their favorite chocolate cake with extra whipped cream. It was delivered with five inches of fresh cream on top by the waiter, making his eyes go a bit wide with delight. Neither of them wasted any time marveling though. She dug into the bottom for the chocolate cake, excavating from below, as he scooped from above until their forks clashed. Calysta just laughed and stole a bit of the cream before inviting him to a bit of the cake itself. They made a good team in most things, even when it came to devouring deserts and with these breaks it appeared things were better. She only hoped they stayed that way.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Illya was on the quiet side for the rest of the afternoon and spend some time in the office, undoubtedly informing the Elders of the incident. It was something she somewhat disagreed with. She felt it should have been handled privately, but the more she thought about it, she knew it was a Chippeqouti reaction to something of the sort. She let him have it. In the end, it might be easier to work through Edgar on the issue anyways. While he was tending to the business with the Elders, Calysta walked upstairs with a glass of chocolate flavored milk and went into her sons bedroom. She found him with Hairy, Rose's rabbit, he was sitting on his bed patting the animal gently between the ears like his father had shown him. His eye was puffy and bruised along a few spots on his chin. Seeing him like that made her chest ache, and especially knowing the reason behind it. He sat up when she came in and looked at her with his big blue eyes before wiping his nose with the back his hand. "I'm not in trouble, Mam?" It was usually his mother who got on to him when things like that happened and he had expected no less this time. "No," Calysta replied carefully, "I brought you some milk and I want to talk with you."He sat back on his bottom and took the glass with both of his tan hands to listen to his Mam.
Calysta sat on the bed and smoothed down her boy's fly away hair for a moment before looking at him. "Did what the Pithian boy do scare you?"
Cypher wasn't sure how to answer at first. He knew it was his job to protect his sister because she was smaller, just like Dah said, and that's what he had done. "Dah Pitian boy made meh mad."
"Because of what he said about Dah? And Lohgan?" she asked. Cypher nodded as he sipped his milk and a scowl came to his face. "He is a dirty Pitian boy. Dah said so." He knew immediately by the look on his mother's face that this was the wrong thing to say. But Dah said it all the time! Mam looked at him with something he knew wasnt anger but it wasn't happy either. It was his first taste of disappointment from his mother. "What makes him dirty?" she asked. Cypher had already chosen his opinion, though his Mam didn't like it. "He is a Pitian."
Calysta could see things were already deeply engrained and she sighed in frustration. "And you think all Pithian's are mean. All Pithian's are not mean. Some are and some are not. It's the same thing with Terrans. I suppose you think all Terrans are bad too?" He nodded firmly. Of course they were all bad. His father grumbled about them too, so it must have been true. His mother seemed even more distressed about the answer and he wondered what exactly it was he had done wrong. "Do you think I am bad Cypher?" she asked him. The boys little brow pinched together and he shook his head. "No, yah are my Mam."
Calysta looked over her son and nodded. "So, you don't think I'm bad, huh? You're sure?" The boy seemed adamant that was good. She tucked him in at night and gave him blueberries in the morning. She helped him with school and taught him games to play. He even got her to play the cowboy so he could be the wild indian. He loved his Mam, but all of that love was thrown in to shock when she said something he didn't know. "Did you know I'm part Terran?" she said, "That Rose is Terran? Papa too?" The boys eyes grew wide and he shook his head ever so slowly. "So, if all Terrans and Tannas and Pithian's are evil, how can I be good if I am one of them? What about Papa and Rose?"
Cypher grew very quiet and he sat down his glass of milk in deep contemplation but didn't say anything else. Calysta let him stew on it and then continued. "I think this Pithian boy was starting a fight because he thinks that you are bad like you think he is bad. He was mean to you and that isn't fair because he doesn't know you, does he?And he doesn't know Dah either. It's called racism and it's not a good thing to do. I know Dah does that sometimes but he tries not to be that way and you should too, yeah?" She got a vague head nod from him as a reply and she could tell his he was still processing a few things. Maybe it would do some good or maybe it wouldn't. She still had to try. Leaning down she kissed the top of her little boy's head, but he drew away slightly. Calysta frowned and left her boy to play with the pet rabbit and to think for a long time on what they talked about.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Calysta sat in front of Edgar in his home which had been added to since her last visit. They had gotten a new book shelf and filled it part way so far, which was something she was itching to browse out of curiosity. However, she was here more on business than pleasure, and while she had brought the twins for Edgar and his agreed to see, there was still a less pleasant reason for their visit. Tomas cooed from Edgar's arms and tugged at the man's shirt with his tiny fingers, making them both smile. "Illya spoke to you about what happened at school the other day with Cypher, yeah?" She tried to make it sound a bit lighter as if it was a simple matter that they could solve, or at least try to.
It was always a special pleasure to have his great grand kids brought to his house. Edgar and his agreed couldn't get around quite as well as they used to and he enjoyed having his family come. No matter the reason it was good if they brought the little ones. Holding onto the baby he grinned. It seemed all of Illya's children had good sense and they loved the Dark Chippequoti as much as their people loved them. "Would yah look at dat grin?" Lifting the baby up slightly he blew on the boy's belly and watched as the baby giggled. After a moment he let the boy settle in and just rest in his arms. Looking to Kalizda he smiled and nodded. "Yes, Illya talked to me. He said that you have a plan and he wanted me to take it into consideration. I think that you are the council woman and it would be wise for the Elders to know what is on your mind. We would like to support your decision."
Edgar watched his great grandmother with intense interest as she poured tea into ceramic, Chip sized cups and then walked back into the kitchen. Her boy was constantly hungry, and in this moment his hunger was no different. He smacked his tiny lips together and grunted as he tried to keep the older Chip woman in view. When Edgar replied, Calysta looked at him unsure of where to begin. What wasn't on her mind would have been a more appropriate place to start. Still, she took a sip of her tea, gathering her thoughts, and nodded to the Chip elder. "I think that there are tensions between the Chippeqouti and the Pithians that aren't likely to go away for the foreseeable future. I do think we can ease them though and the best way to start is by teaching the children. Alliance members aren't forced to agree with one another, Pithian's and Chips included, but it is in our best interest to respect one another. I think the children would do best to learn about one another from each other."
"Hmmm." Edgar nodded a little when she spoke. It sounded like an age old problem that they had dealt with for quite some time. While he was busy thinking of what to do about it his agreed gingerly made her way over to sit next to Kalizda. Once she was seated she held her mug up for baby Edgar to try. "It won't hurt him to try it and see if he likes." She spoke in Quoti like usual and her brown face wrinkled with pleasure when the boy leaned forward to try and get a sip. Finally, Edgar lifted his head and he sighed. "What do you think would help?" He had a few ideas of his own, but he wanted to see if there was something she would suggest first.
Calysta didnt mind if she let Edgar have a sip, though he was tiny and she thought it best if maybe a finger tasting was better. About the time she was going to suggest it, the woman was already gently bringing the cup to her baby's waiting mouth. He suckled on the edge of the cup, then made a grimacing face. That was not what he was expecting at all. Where was the milk? The taste of the herb tea rather than milk was such a shock that he began to cloud up, with great sniffling sounds of sadness. "Oooh," Calysta winced with a small chuckle, "Maybe he's a coffee drinker instead." It was a small joke the two Chips likely wouldn't get and she dug through the diaper bag until she found his bottle of milk. "Would you like to feed him?"" she asked. The woman smiled and seemed to look forward to the task. "Well," Calysta said to Edgar, "I think it would help if maybe the children were require to learn a little bit about each other. I was thinking of some cultural studies at the school. Where they could learn about all Alliance member cultures....Kaerelean...Terran...Pithian...and of course Chippeqouti. I think it would be prudent to ask our Tannas members if they would like to be included as well. I think if the children learned more about each other, and understood each other beyond what prejudices they might be exposed to at home, then it will help."
Both Edgar and his agreed chuckled at the baby's reaction to the tea. Often times a baby didn't like the first taste of tea, but they were curious and more than likely the baby would want some tea the next time they saw a cup. With the offer to feed the baby Edgar's agreed nodded eagerly and she held out her old wrinkled hands for him. Taking the boy in her arms she gazed down into his little face and cooed gently at him. "Aren't you just as handsome as your dad was when he was little. You have your grandmother's eyes though. Lovely blue." Talking softly to the baby in Quoti she rocked him with the expertise that only a grandmother could and she smiled at the boy. Occasionally he would reach up with his little hand and try to touch her face and she would let him and then pull her cheek and chin away. While she played with the baby and fed him her agreed listened to Kalizda. Edgar nodded. "Very good. I will present this to the Chippequoti council and ask for funds from the people to provide a new school. If you are going to teach Chip custom then there will need to be a good room like Chip school room and we will need a Chip teacher. We will need a room for all cultures to be taught like they were in their own home and each race will have a teacher to teach the young about their kind. I'm sure that many Chippequoti will want to fund the school if they hear of the project and the reason that it is being proposed. There should not be fear for our children when they go to school to learn customs of those in our Alliance."
She was more than happy to let Edgar's great grandmother enjoy some time with the boy. In some ways, it still amazed her that her babies had family that they could come to and rely on. They were a wealth of extra love that Calysta wanted them all to know of. Without too many further questions, Edgar seemed to agree with her and went a step further, adding that a new school should be built to accommodate the program. A new school building was a big deal. The on the Pyrtan's had now was small, and quickly growing smaller with the amount of soldiers they had living lives on the continent. Not to mention, the facility had suffered some damage during a raid by the Federation some years ago. Perhaps a new building would be in order. His last statement made her hands tighten together in her lap for a brief moment. "I agree. Fear should not be something children should have when learning about each other in school. This may not be easy in some moments but I think it will be worth it and successful if we make it a space for the kids to learn without fear of each other," she said, "If the Chippeqouti are willing to help fund the school, I know the Pyrtans would give what they can as well and we have several good Terran people who would gladly help. Dora and Priscilla would be excellent teachers. I would have to maybe ask Helen who she thought might be willing to fill the Pithian role, and the same for our Tannas members."
Edgar nodded as he listened to Kalizda, but he was sure that there would be no need for the Pytran's to pay for the school unless they wanted to have part in it. He knew as well as anyone else that the Pytran's did not have so much money. "Perhaps we make small modification. There is still money from the offer of aid. We will use some of this to build a new school house if the Pytrans will accept that use of funds. Then we will ask each people that want to have their culture represented to provide a teacher and equipment necessary to make the school room like they would for their own classes. Chippequoti will pay for the building, extra land, and we will provide for our own class room and a teacher to be hired. Does this sound reasonable to present to your people? I believe that the Chippequoti council would agree with me."
She thought over all the uses of those pledged funds. They could have gone anywhere...military...business...but this would be something important. There wouldn't be an Alliance if their children didn't understand what it was like to be equally allied. It was would never survive. This was an investment and Edgar understood that, at least she thought he did. Chippeqouti always had their own way of looking at things and she knew by Illya's reaction, and what he told her, that Chippeqouti consider Kaereleans their own. His insistence they go through the council on this matter rather than handling it privately stemmed from his own tradition. An attack on one was an attack on all. The same went in the opposite way though. An offer of peace was meant for all, and she had contracted with the Pithians living in Kaereal, offering safety and citizenship for standing against the Federation. There was very little choice but to work together even if it was hard and at times difficult. Mistakes would be made but with the chance to understand one another better perhaps less grievous ones could be made. "The Pyrtan's will likely do what they can. Perhaps the land can be donated," she said, "I know there are one or two fields some of the younger Pyrtan's might offer. I think it would help to have these cultural parts in addition to the schooling they go to." She gave Edgar a an assuring sort of smile, hoping that she didn't come across as tired as she felt that day. "Offer this to the Elders and see if they agree, Asha as well, since I know she is acting General and Admiral. Things aboard the Omebrey have been going well since Jaimye's decommission and her new first mate has taken over. She might have some insight as well."
"I think that the Elders will find this agreeable. I will send you our final proposal for the use of some of the funds designated for Pytra. We will trust your judgment regarding the final decision. I hope that Pytrans will find the offer satisfactory." With the business out of the way he decided to move on to more pleasant things. "I have spoke with my agreed, Dahvine and we want to see our great grand children more. You will let us watch the twins for 3 hours once each week and then Cypher and Lohgan for 3 hours once each week. We want Rose to come see us when she can. She is almost a woman now and we must wait for a time that works for her. The Elders want to make contract with her to write our stories and history too. We will need translations if we build this new school. She will be busy writing in Quoti for us and translating if she likes the work. We will pay her well. Tell her to come see me and I will talk to her about this."
"I will draw up the proposal and send it to my people," she replied, glad to have that part out of the way. His next statement made her bristle slightly, starting off with 'you will do this' but occasionally, he did that when they spoke. Though, this time he was sounding a bit more adamant about it and she took another sip of her tea before replying. "You're right, Rose is nearly grown and she is an excellent writer. She knows Qouti and we've spoken briefly before about having her work on projects for the Chippeqouti. I will tell her she should come to see you about working for the Elders on recording the Chippeqouti stories and history. As for the other children, I agree that you should get to see them more. I'm not sure we could have a consistent day, as Illya will be applying to Skycorp and we may be spending some time on Kinte in the next months, but I think it would be good." It would also give her the chance to help Illya study along with her a chance to spend time more singular time with him along with their other children.
They visited for awhile longer until Calysta felt an incoming message on her pad which chimed on the higher priority channels. "Excuse me," she said, reaching into her bag. When she opened up her messenger she saw what the alert was and a kernel of dread slipped into her stomach. It was something she would have to deal with personally. "Edgar? Would you mind watching the twins for a bit right now, actually? Something has just been brought to my attention and I need to take care of it." The great grandparents didn't seem to mind being left in charge of the twins while she was gone and she nodded her thanks. "I'll be back in just a little while or Illya will come by to pick them up if this takes longer than I intend. Thank you." With that, she kissed both of her boys on the their foreheads and left the house to make her way towards town.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Cypher knew his Mam had gone out for the afternoon and he had been doing some hard thinking while she was gone. Dah said that Pithians and Terrans and Tannas were all bad regularly when Mam wasn't around. His Mam said they weren't all bad when Dah wasn't around and Mam was a Terran. Mam was not like a Terran though. She was good. It left him a bit confused and since Dah would talk about it while she wasn't there, he was determined to find the solution to the predicament.
Venturing out into the yard, he found his father standing in the yard with Cin loping around. The big bear was making chortling sounds, begging to be played with, but his father was on a mission to feed the chickens instead. Cypher walked up to his Dah and grabbed a handful of the grainy feed for the clucky birds causing them to gather around him like he knew they would. Even the chicks peeped around his feet. Normally, he would be delighted to have them so close where he could pet them, but he was on a mission of utmost importance. "Dah?" he asked as he threw the feed, "Did yah know dat Mam is a filty Terran?"