A few candlemarks passed while Cheron tended to the Companions, consulting with the Seneschal to find the new trainee room in the castle, supplying him with a uniform and a map of the Collegium. It was a routine Savil herself had undergone many times before. It was uncertain if Cheron would end up working with the new trainee or not. If their skills matched up well, already having a report might benefit them both.
In case Cheron hadn't managed to find something to eat, Savil ordered up a simple meal of bread and cheese, and a bit of fresh fruit to round things out. Likely Cheron hadn't had anything fresh in a fortnight. By the time the younger Herald arrived Savil had run out of tasks to occupy her time, and was beginning to pace again. She exhaled a sigh of relief when Cheron tapped on her door, letting himself in. Fatigue from the long ride back was writ across his face as he sank into a chair by the fire. "There's some cider on the table, if you'd like." She sat back, waiting for him to start wherever he felt appropriate.
"Savil- has a Companion ever Chosen- a non-human, that you can recall?" He poured a glass of cider, allowing that to take his attention rather than his teacher.
"What?" She frowned, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. "What are you talking about?"
"The boy- Ilia's Chosen, I don't know what he is, but he's plainly not human. He's got- these ears-" He gestured with his fingers, drawing exaggerated points over his own ears with his fingertips, "And- he doesn't speak Common, or Karsite, or any other language that I can fathom. Ilia through Aravel assured me he can speak, in his own language, and a few others, but gods be damned if I can fathom what those are." He rubbed his thumb tensely between his brows and shook his head. "I know Companions don't Choose wrongly, but good Gods- it's not even a matter of dialect, he doesn't speak Common whatsoever."
Savil blinked in surprise, tugging her hair back into a neat bun at the nape of her neck. "Well, it's true they don't choose wrongly, but you're right, it will be- a challenge, to teach him. Did you get a sense of what his Gifts might be? If he has Mindspeech, then maybe-"
Cheron shook his head and sipped at the cider. "That's the other thing. I- well, I was able to communicate with him third-hand, through Aravel and Ilia, but no Mindspeech. What he does have, is a tremendous gift for Empathy- he was projecting all over the place, and Reading everything within a half a day's ride, so far as I could tell. Ilia managed to keep shields on him, but if he doesn't learn to shield and fast, it's going to be a-"
"-disaster. Driving everyone in the collegiums half-mad, you're right. Gods, as if there weren't enough going on lately."
"The Companions can keep shields on him for now, but yes, something is going to have to be done." He half smiled, lifting his glass with a bemused grin, "To new challenges-" Savil indulged him with a lift of her own glass. "Speaking of which, dear Lady, how's your little challenge going? Your nephew?"
Savil's smile vanished, replaced with flared nostrils and a slight grimace. "The peacock? He's collected quite a little- coterie of admirers around him, and spends all of his free time with them, being cosseted and preening." She shook her head, tugging at the end of her beaky nose, "I don't know what his father expects me to do with him. No- that's not true, I know what he expects. He expects me to make a man of him, and send him home to be the head of the Holding. Even I can see the boy isn't cut from the same cloth as his father, and there's no way he's going to be happy living out there at the edge of the world. Damned if I know what to do with him outside of knowing what he's not good for, I've no bloody idea what he is good for." How I wish that weren't true. But at the present, all he's been good for has been keeping Tylendel's mind off that thrice-damned feud of his family's. At least that's something though; as long as Withen doesn't find out and jerk him home before he's of age.
"I'm sure the answer to that will come, in time, dear one. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to see if there's any hot water at all, and ride my own bed for a change."
"Of course, sleep well. And I'll see if I can come up with a Mindspeaker who can communicate with the new ward-" She nodded, standing to hug Cheron tightly before sending him off with the rest of the bread and fruit, and orders to get some of it in his mouth before he passed out.