Jay walked carefully across the dark market square
He could feel his heart beating, faster for every step
Suddenly time seemed to freeze... "FRELL!"
A single red flash lit up the dark sky...
"RUN JAY! RUN!!!" Jay started running towards the voice
Jay could see Micu waiving her hand behind the wall...
A second shot rang out... It felt like a bug-bite...nothing more!
I smile proudly and tell Talannah "Hamlen told me he grew up on farmland and was taken by Peacekeeper recruiters. I think he very much enjoys seeing such a vast expanse of greenery again."
Talannah grunts and says "I have heard about those conscriptors. They don't expect families to place their children in facilities - as your people and mine do - they just take whomever they choose."
Nodding, I add "He... he also did not consent to whatever they did to change him. He was drugged, likeI was, and when he woke up, he had been altered."
"I think I see why you trust him." Koronna smiles. "Seems like you both have things in common." I nod again. "Without the help of those here I wouldstill have the booster gland, and I might have ended up like him, or the other Warchildren."
Talannah rumbles softly before resting a hand on your shoulder and telling you "You have a home, a safe home, with us, Caseya - you and your husband and your Amara and future children". "I know it, Talannah" you reply, smiling "Every day I go to the galley with my family for meals and people wave to me and ask me how well we are doing lets me know that. It lets me know we are welcomed and loved".
Ano0ther whistle interrupts your conversation and Amara signals back ~Close!~ just before you turn and see the heads of three very large men and one which you know is the not-much-smaller Juroch out in front. Amara sends you and Talannah and Koronna a very short video message, showing them all walking - and you do your best to send back pride and thanks and gladness she is doing so well with her talent.
~Your 'Mara glad you think I do goodgood, mama <happiness><love>~ she tells you [i]~Like it lots when you an' dada ha-pee~ Amara runs down the tree, then you all watch as she runs back to the bridge, then across it, then over to you - where she climbs up and sits over your hip. She is briefly hot from the exertion of running so hard and climbing as well, but she slowly starts to cool off now she is not moving.
You hear voices soon after, and pass the news to the others. Trannak and Lazarus, of course, can hear them as well, buut they all commend you noticing the voices too. A slight haze can be seen briefly over Amara's ears before she calls " 'Mara heer them too! They talk-ing ti-nee bit an' Ham-len frend look 'round lots but not see ri-ver goodgood yet!" Juroch directs them to follow him with a wave of his hand, so ssoon they all crest the hillock not far from you all and come over to see you all.
Koronna and Lazarus share a loving but more subdued hug, while Harrigan grins and kisses Talannah before sweeping her up in his arms and spinning her around with Harek still in her arms. He laughs and shrieks and claps, clearly loving every microt of it. Lazarus lifts his son up and hugs him too, and little Anton growls softly with love whenn held by his father.
Hamlen seems to have the most surprised and amazed look on his face you have every seen any person show. Partly because of the landscape, but a lot to do with the children. He does not come close to them, but watches them with their respective parents and nods and smiles just a little bit...
"You can" you decide - Amara greets that news with happy claps "There are not many trees here, but I think that one at the bend in the river might give a small special person with good eyes a good view of anyone coming". "That meen me!" Amara replies happily, then giggles a bit before moving as you ask so she can put the last few clothes back on.
" 'Mara do skow-ting now, auntie 'Lannah" Amara tells Talannah "I go up tree an' I look an' then I give you sig-nuls when big funny man an' Stu-rrk an' whis-pa Sca-ran an' Ham-len come". "You are learning lots of new words, I can tell" Talannah says with approval "Go up the tree, then - scout, look around, and tell us when my John and the others come".
You all watch Amara run across the bridge, then turn to her hammond before running more and eventually scuttling up the tree as high as she can - and because she is very excitable by that point, she waves before she starts looking around. The two boys, meanwhile, are now being dressed by their mothers - Harek, although you know well that he doesn't need it, is helped into a jacket as well as his undershorts and trousers and boots. "Sometimes..." Talannah tells you, correctly interpreting the mood on your face "my Harek will have to do the best he can to blend in than any person can do when they're nearly three metras tall, or however large he ends up. Letting everyone see his caparace will not help then, so we get him clothes". "He likes the black jacket and trousers" you say with a smile as you watch him look at his own clothes and then at little Anton's "He can tell they are like the ones his friend wears".
Amara actually lets out quite a good whistle then (though you also hear the edge of a very faint gigglre afterwards) - Talannah looks up at her, and you do as well, and see her give a few signals. Talannah signals back again and Amara goes back to looking outward again. "They are close" Talannah reveals "Hamlen in the middle, my John to his treblin and Sturk to his hammond, while Juroch out in front when he's not explaining some item to Hamlen. Hamlen seems to be as curious as one of your people, Caseya, about our PTR and what is inside it".
I smile proudly and tell Talannah "Hamlen told me he grew up on farmland and was taken by Peacekeeper recruiters. I think he very much enjoys seeing such a vast expanse of greenery again."
Talannah grunts and says "I have heard about those conscriptors. They don't expect families to place their children in facilities - as your people and mine do - they just take whomever they choose."
Nodding, I add "He... he also did not consent to whatever they did to change him. He was drugged, likeI was, and when he woke up, he had been altered."
"I think I see why you trust him." Koronna smiles. "Seems like you both have things in common." I nod again. "Without the help of those here I wouldstill have the booster gland, and I might have ended up like him, or the other Warchildren."
"You can ask him, yes, when he gets here?" I grin, lifting her, still in the towel, onto my lap. She giggles happily as I rub her warm with the towel, and blow a raspberry on the back of her neck. "Mama raz-brees! HEE HEE HEE!"
Koronna and Talannah laugh along with her as the two ladies put a few more clothes on. "Ham-len co-ming heer!" Amara sings, clearly delighted to have a new person to talk to.
"I 'llowed to cly-me tree mama, an' then I seew hen they all come! An' then I sig-nul auntie 'Lannah when I see them?"
"You can" you decide - Amara greets that news with happy claps "There are not many trees here, but I think that one at the bend in the river might give a small special person with good eyes a good view of anyone coming". "That meen me!" Amara replies happily, then giggles a bit before moving as you ask so she can put the last few clothes back on.
" 'Mara do skow-ting now, auntie 'Lannah" Amara tells Talannah "I go up tree an' I look an' then I give you sig-nuls when big funny man an' Stu-rrk an' whis-pa Sca-ran an' Ham-len come". "You are learning lots of new words, I can tell" Talannah says with approval "Go up the tree, then - scout, look around, and tell us when my John and the others come".
You all watch Amara run across the bridge, then turn to her hammond before running more and eventually scuttling up the tree as high as she can - and because she is very excitable by that point, she waves before she starts looking around. The two boys, meanwhile, are now being dressed by their mothers - Harek, although you know well that he doesn't need it, is helped into a jacket as well as his undershorts and trousers and boots. "Sometimes..." Talannah tells you, correctly interpreting the mood on your face "my Harek will have to do the best he can to blend in than any person can do when they're nearly three metras tall, or however large he ends up. Letting everyone see his caparace will not help then, so we get him clothes". "He likes the black jacket and trousers" you say with a smile as you watch him look at his own clothes and then at little Anton's "He can tell they are like the ones his friend wears".
Amara actually lets out quite a good whistle then (though you also hear the edge of a very faint gigglre afterwards) - Talannah looks up at her, and you do as well, and see her give a few signals. Talannah signals back again and Amara goes back to looking outward again. "They are close" Talannah reveals "Hamlen in the middle, my John to his treblin and Sturk to his hammond, while Juroch out in front when he's not explaining some item to Hamlen. Hamlen seems to be as curious as one of your people, Caseya, about our PTR and what is inside it".
"She does seem to have a good grasp of who is trustworthy..." Talannah agrees "and yes, I am aware of her empathic ability as well. My John thinks he is trustworthy enough, so Hamlen can come here for a short while and we will see what happens".
"Ham-len co-ming?" Amara asks again, and you nod and tell her "he is on his way with big funny man and Sturk and whisper Scarran". "They all nice frends too" Amara replies " 'Mara like them all lots".
It's maybe ten more momens before another call comes to Talannah's PDA and announces "We're just inside the door - we'll be on our way once we convince Hamlen to stop staring at everything. He says he's seen PTR's before but never one this big". You pass that on to Amara, who giggles and claps under her towel before telling you "He like ri-ver lots too, I sure! He seen ri-ver in pee tee arr's be-fore too?"
"You can ask him, yes, when he gets here?" I grin, lifting her, still in the towel, onto my lap. She giggles happily as I rub her warm with the towel, and blow a raspberry on the back of her neck. "Mama raz-brees! HEE HEE HEE!"
Koronna and Talannah laugh along with her as the two ladies put a few more clothes on. "Ham-len co-ming heer!" Amara sings, clearly delighted to have a new person to talk to.
"I 'llowed to cly-me tree mama, an' then I seew hen they all come! An' then I sig-nul auntie 'Lannah when I see them?"
"YAY!!" Amara shrieks, clapping - her excitement getting Harek to gurgle and call out happily too. Talannah rumbles and strokes her son's ridges to settle him.
"Do you mind him eeing your son? You too, Koronna?" I ask. Talannah growls softly and says "If my John thinks he is safe, then I agree to it... but my eyes will stay on my son."
"Mine too." Koronna agrees. "They will be safe, I am sure." I offer hopefully. "I thought you didn't trust people easily?" Talanah laughs. I shrug. "I like him. He seems nice. Amara likes him too, and she could tell if he was bad."
"She does seem to have a good grasp of who is trustworthy..." Talannah agrees "and yes, I am aware of her empathic ability as well. My John thinks he is trustworthy enough, so Hamlen can come here for a short while and we will see what happens".
"Ham-len co-ming?" Amara asks again, and you nod and tell her "he is on his way with big funny man and Sturk and whisper Scarran". "They all nice frends too" Amara replies " 'Mara like them all lots".
It's maybe ten more momens before another call comes to Talannah's PDA and announces "We're just inside the door - we'll be on our way once we convince Hamlen to stop staring at everything. He says he's seen PTR's before but never one this big". You pass that on to Amara, who giggles and claps under her towel before telling you "He like ri-ver lots too, I sure! He seen ri-ver in pee tee arr's be-fore too?"
Harek rumbles loudly and constantly while you do that - he has a happy smile on his face when he looks up at you, so you make sure he sees one on your face before you stroke his ridges a bit and set him back down still wrapped in the towel. He sits there, clearly loving the towel's warmth, and watches you dry Amara and dress her again (as far as shirt and shorts, anyway) and sit her down in her towel too.
"Yes...yes..." Talannah says on her side of the conversation "Really?...better than we thought, then... not quite so good...PTR, love... if he can be trusted around our sons, he can come if you like". "Hamlen's questioning is over, at least the major part of it anyway" Talannah announces "MY John was asking if we could bring him here... he seems to think both that Hamlen has earnt a rest, that it will be a good test of his character, and that it might loosen his memories more by reminding him a bit of his homeworld". "Ham-lin frend come heer?!" Amara shrieks happily, clapping "We see him? He come to ri-ver an' swim?" "My John and this Hamlen and one or two of the others are coming" Talannah replies "Not many at all. Your friend the big funny man, Hamlen, and probably Juroch and Sturk".
"YAY!!" Amara shrieks, clapping - her excitement getting Harek to gurgle and call out happily too. Talannah rumbles and strokes her son's ridges to settle him.
"Do you mind him eeing your son? You too, Koronna?" I ask. Talannah growls softly and says "If my John thinks he is safe, then I agree to it... but my eyes will stay on my son."
"Mine too." Koronna agrees. "They will be safe, I am sure." I offer hopefully. "I thought you didn't trust people easily?" Talanah laughs. I shrug. "I like him. He seems nice. Amara likes him too, and she could tell if he was bad."
" 'Mara hair all dri-pees like yours mama!" Amara notes happily. I grin and shake my hair over her and Harek, splashing them with a few droplets and getting them both squealing happily.
Reaching across, I grab a couple of towels from the pile Koronna brought and I wrap first Harek and then Amara up in them. Amara giggles as I wrap her tightly, calling "Han-dees all stuck!Hee heehee! 'Mara all rap-ed up!"
OnceHarek is engulfed in the towel, I hold him close and rub his skin and body gently, keeping him warm while Talannah talks to Harrigan.
Harek rumbles loudly and constantly while you do that - he has a happy smile on his face when he looks up at you, so you make sure he sees one on your face before you stroke his ridges a bit and set him back down still wrapped in the towel. He sits there, clearly loving the towel's warmth, and watches you dry Amara and dress her again (as far as shirt and shorts, anyway) and sit her down in her towel too.
"Yes...yes..." Talannah says on her side of the conversation "Really?...better than we thought, then... not quite so good...PTR, love... if he can be trusted around our sons, he can come if you like". "Hamlen's questioning is over, at least the major part of it anyway" Talannah announces "MY John was asking if we could bring him here... he seems to think both that Hamlen has earnt a rest, that it will be a good test of his character, and that it might loosen his memories more by reminding him a bit of his homeworld". "Ham-lin frend come heer?!" Amara shrieks happily, clapping "We see him? He come to ri-ver an' swim?" "My John and this Hamlen and one or two of the others are coming" Talannah replies "Not many at all. Your friend the big funny man, Hamlen, and probably Juroch and Sturk".
Talannah urges Harek more until he does try and learn the proper stroke - although he only starts trying most when little Anton and Amara are close to him. He tries to wave and swim at the same time until he realises that's not such a good idea - Amara encourages him, and it seems to settle him and urge him to try more.
"A good start, my son" Talannah tells him, setting him on the bank once she climbs out of the water "You will learn more swimming as time goes on. Time for me to talk to your dada for a few microts, though - can you go to your auntie Koronna or auntie Caseya for me?" Harek looks around for a few microts, then zeroes in on you before walking over with as much speed as he can muster - he falls over into your arms when he reaches you, which gets him giggling again.
His baby's carapce is dripping water - and he is looking at that and testing it and giggling some more. You sit him on the grass and stroke his hair and ridges, and he growls and rumbles happily before leaning against you, while Amara sits down on your other side and watches...
" 'Mara hair all dri-pees like yours mama!" Amara notes happily. I grin and shake my hair over her and Harek, splashing them with a few droplets and getting them both squealing happily.
Reaching across, I grab a couple of towels from the pile Koronna brought and I wrap first Harek and then Amara up in them. Amara giggles as I wrap her tightly, calling "Han-dees all stuck!Hee heehee! 'Mara all rap-ed up!"
OnceHarek is engulfed in the towel, I hold him close and rub his skin and body gently, keeping him warm while Talannah talks to Harrigan.
As Koronna holds him upright, baby Anton kicks his legs - but with more control than before. He knows now that splashing isn't the object, and his legs waggle back andforth at the same pace ashe sees Amara doing.
"That's right, my son." Koronna says proudly. "Just like Amara does." Anton smiles at hearing Koronna's voice and she helps him move along in the water. His legs pump this time and as I watch I think he will be a fast learner as he grows.
Harek is rather more excitable and seems keener on having fun than actually swimming, so he giggles and splashes and claps himself before Talannah's PDA beeps from the bank. "That'll be my John."
Talannah urges Harek more until he does try and learn the proper stroke - although he only starts trying most when little Anton and Amara are close to him. He tries to wave and swim at the same time until he realises that's not such a good idea - Amara encourages him, and it seems to settle him and urge him to try more.
"A good start, my son" Talannah tells him, setting him on the bank once she climbs out of the water "You will learn more swimming as time goes on. Time for me to talk to your dada for a few microts, though - can you go to your auntie Koronna or auntie Caseya for me?" Harek looks around for a few microts, then zeroes in on you before walking over with as much speed as he can muster - he falls over into your arms when he reaches you, which gets him giggling again.
His baby's carapce is dripping water - and he is looking at that and testing it and giggling some more. You sit him on the grass and stroke his hair and ridges, and he growls and rumbles happily before leaning against you, while Amara sits down on your other side and watches...
You try to send back happiness and pride at her progress, and get a loud squeal of delight in your head to let you jknow Amara heard. Koronna swims quite well, you decide, and Amara is certainly glad she is there as she swims acorss to her and rubs her cheek against Koronna's. The two of them swim around for a bit, Amara showing off a bit for Koronna, before they surface again beside you and Amara calls "Yaaayyy! Tyme for 'mara an' auntie 'Ronna to come bak up!" and spitting a small mouthful of water at you.
Once Koronna takes her son back from you, you lift Amara up and throw her in the air - she squeals and claps, so you throw her up twice more before she throws her arms around your neck for a hug. Harek finds it all veyr exciting and growls at his mother before lifting his arms up, clearly liking the idea of being thrown up in the air very much. Talannah smiles at him proudly before doing just that, quite high as well, and Harek's own excitable squeals and growls are very loud and get both Amara and Anton to clap and splash happily.
Little Anton looks around at the water and moves his arms and legs in it, watching what happens. Amara swims in small slow circles where he can watch and see - and he coos softly, his eyes following everything Amara does in the water....
As Koronna holds him upright, baby Anton kicks his legs - but with more control than before. He knows now that splashing isn't the object, and his legs waggle back andforth at the same pace ashe sees Amara doing.
"That's right, my son." Koronna says proudly. "Just like Amara does." Anton smiles at hearing Koronna's voice and she helps him move along in the water. His legs pump this time and as I watch I think he will be a fast learner as he grows.
Harek is rather more excitable and seems keener on having fun than actually swimming, so he giggles and splashes and claps himself before Talannah's PDA beeps from the bank. "That'll be my John."
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