The customers were little more then drifters and merchants wandering from place to place, they didn't have enough workers to build more onto the Inn, and the well dried up. The only reason they themselves had stayed was because they didn't have enough money to go anywhere else. They were stuck.
The Inn itself seemed to reflect the desperation the couple had been feeling for so long. The paint was peeling, the roof sagged, and its sad window eyes seemed to be begging the wind to just blow a little harder so it could be put out of its misery once and for all. Kirielle cringed just looking at the poor, beaten thing.
"Home again, home again, dancin' a jig," the old woman chuckled as the wagon came to a stop. Kirielle felt a smile tug at her lips but forced it to remain away. She'd smile once she knew her friends were going to be okay. She glanced over at Narcius and Karwyn. Both took slow, steady breaths that were invisible in the air. It wasn't much, but it was something.
"Miss, can you help me wake these boys up?" The old woman said, hefting herself up from her seat and meandering towards the back of the wagon. "I don't think Jeb'll have a problem getting them out, but I don't want'em freakin' out or anything when they see a buncha old people pullin' out of a wagon like sacks of seed."
Kirielle nodded and began to shake Narcius awake. He moaned, jerked, and then bolted upward so quickly Kirielle narrowly missed cracking heads with him. He rubbed his eyes and looked around in a confused daze.
"No, not dead," He suddenly said, looking a little more comfortable. "If I were dead my hands and feet wouldn't hurt so much." Kirielle looked at Narcius with dumb shock. Then she clocked him a good one.
"Ow! What was that for?!" Narcius yelped, rubbing his head with his palms. Kirielle's eyes were filled with tears and righteous anger.
"If you ever, ever say anything like that again I swear I'll- I'll-!" Kirielle began to both sob and cough as she hugged Narcius, who suddenly mirrored her previous look of dumb shock. He patted her back awkwardly, trying to figure out what exactly he had just said to set her off like this. She was emotional, but she wasn't a touchy feely person either.
"Kirielle, um, I know I'm kind of interrupting me but where the heck are we?" Narcius asked, waving awkwardly to the old woman who was just chuckling and grabbing bags to haul inside. Kirielle released Narcius and wiped her eyes with her sleeve before answering.
"These people found us by the road and just picked us up I suppose," she answered in a strange, hoarse voice. "They keep saying they're going to help us."
Narcius looked in the direction the old woman had gone with suspicious eyes. Narcius didn't believe in getting anything for free, even from his two traveling companions he believed he would have to give something in return. He bit his lip and thought as Kirielle moved on to wake up Karwyn.
Narcius sighed audibly, deciding that there was really no choice in the matter. They were in a new town, being 'taken in' by this elderly couple. If he did something now, then they would probably be driven out. He'd wait for now, and see what exactly it was they wanted.
"Settle down," he heard Karwyn say suddenly, making Narcius' heart rate jump to a sudden, rabbit fast pace. Narcius swore under his breath and Kirielle covered her mouth to hide a faint smile.
"I swear one day I'll find a way to make your mouth trigger an alarm so when know when you're gonna to do that," Narcius grumbled, looking over at the weakened man. Karwyn offered a sort of smile that looked odd on his face before trying to get up. He made it halfway before Narcius reached over and helped him up.
"What have they asked?" Karwyn said, his face regaining it's normal calm appearance. Kirielle also resumed the appearance of a Master, something that was unnerving after seeing her in such an open state for so long.
"Nothing, the old woman just talked the whole way here. The old guy-" Kirielle broke off to start coughing again before she continued. "The old guy is called Jeb, he sounds rough but he's nice."
Karwyn nodded, eyes closed and face showing no traces of the thoughts beneath. "We'll have to tell them we're family," He finally said. Raising his head as though to meet their eyes. Narcius stifled a laugh.
"Family? Karwyn, maybe in a circus we could be considered family but otherwise I think we're just a little too different to pull that one off hotshot," He said, illustrating Kirielle's thoughts as well.
She loved them enough to call them her brothers, but there was no way anyone, even these old timers, would confuse them for siblings. They didn't look anything alike.
"Maybe not blood family, but we were all raised together and we were raised by the same man. Even if they won't believe we're related, they may be willing to buy that we consider each other siblings. We don't have much else to go on," Karwyn answered, looking over at the two. Narcius opened his mouth to argue, then shut it again. Kirielle considered Karwyn's words before nodding.
"Okay, I don't mind playing sister for a while," she said, her voice regaining some of the haughty tone it had had as a Master. "It'll be a heck of a lot easier then all the other things I've pretended to be. How do you feel about it Narcius?"
Narcius though a moment before smiling. "Why not? We get on each other's nerves enough that it should seem natural."
Karwyn smiled faintly again, that odd little smile that didn't look natural no matter how he looked at it, and nodded.
"We're all siblings then," He said, finally forcing himself up from the spot he'd been laying. Kirielle followed him to the back of the wagon, where they climbed out to help him down. For once he willingly accepted their help, either because they were now suppose to be siblings or because he didn't want to make a fool of himself tumbling out of the back of a wagon.
"Come on kids!" Jeb yelled to them from the Inn door. "Ma's got food on the stove, so you'd better hurry if you want any!" He called. Narcius grinned.
"That's all I need to hear, sorry Kirielle but you're cooking is horrible," Narcius said, hurrying on ahead and leaving Kirielle with Karwyn.
"Hey! You jerk, get back here!" Kirielle yelled with contempt at Narcius' retreating back. Beside her Karwyn began to make an odd, painful sound. He placed one hand over his mouth and seemed to be having trouble suppressing a cough.
"Hey are you alright?" She asked, looking concerned. Karwyn eventually removed his hand and nodded. He tried to begin walking when Kirielle grabbed the edge of his shirt.
"Hey, wait, what was that?" She asked, looking at is back as though expecting blood to begin staining the fabric. Karwyn reached over and tugged her hand from his shirt.
"I'm fine Kirielle, now head inside and get something to eat. I'll be there eventually," He said, and continued walking towards the Inn. Kirielle, worried but not likely to disobey orders, walked ahead of him and headed inside. She sat down beside Narcius and watched his slow progress to the Inn before she sat and ate with the elderly couple.
"No, no, you're doin' it all wrong. Put some wrist into it, like this!" Jeb swung the hammer down in one sharp movement. The nail went down in a single hit, still straight as a pin, and secured the board in place. Narcius gave the man a bemused look and then stared at his own nail and hammer. He set the nail carefully in place and rose the hammer into the air. He began the sharp swing downward.
"No, not like that!" Jeb yelled suddenly, distracting Narcius for one crucial moment. The hammer swung violently off course and crashed into the fingers holding the nail. Narcius opened his mouth to express the pain and Jeb reached over and covered it. The curses came out a muffled grumble.
"Give me a little warning next time would ya!" Narcius yelled when his mouth was uncovered. He stuck his injured fingers in his mouth for a moment before looking at them. Bruised and blackened, but everything was working. Narcius shot the old man a glare to which Jeb met with a smiled. They'd been on the roof for close to an hour and barely had a quarter of the darn thing fixed. It may have gone faster if the old codger would have stopped playing games.
Jeb grinned. Maybe it was a little mean, but this boy was just too fun to pick on. He got twisted into knots over the littlest things. Jeb went back to hammering while Narcius tried to burn holes into the back of his head with his eyes. So far there wasn't even smoke.
Narcius sighed and then looked at the road below. He could see people walking around, hurrying out of the cold into shops and then hurrying out to head home. It gave him an idea...
"Wow, look at her! I bet she'll catch frost bite in that!" Narcius said just as Jeb began to pound another nail. The old man suddenly craned his head in the direction Narcius was looking and nearly broke his thumb. Narcius giggled madly as the man grit his teeth and tried to hold back his own screams of pain.
"That wasn't very nice," he finally managed to say, giving Narcius a stern look. Narcius grinned back, completely unabashed by the old mans look.
"That's what you get for bein' a dirty old man," he answered, pounding another nail into place. The pain in his fingers was fading already. Jeb considered this a moment, and then clapped Narcius so roughly on the back he was nearly knocked off the roof.
"Ya got me there boy! Ya got me there!" He said, roaring with laughter. Narcius could only smile. Maybe this wouldn't be half as bad as he thought.
"Keep stirring Miss! If you don't it'll burn on the bottom!" The old woman, whom they'd been instructed to call 'Grandma' said. Kirielle picked up her pace again, refocusing her gaze on the pot of soup in front of her.
"Yes Grandma!" She said, stirring the pot furiously again. Her right arm screamed in protest and seemed to be threatening to fall off any second. Kirielle bit her lip and wiped her forehead with her free arm. Negative fifteen outside and ninety inside, she thought, watching carrots and bits of meat float cheerfully in the broth. How crazy is that!
"Good, good! We'll make you a master chef in no time!" Grandma said, favoring Kirielle with a smile that suggested she was proud of her. Kirielle felt a faint glow of warmth underneath her annoyance. She was used to being praised for killing, or being a clever deceiver, but being praised for cooking worked just as well. She felt Karwyn approach before she saw him, and Grandma turned and looked as well.
"I've finished taking inventory, what would you like me to do next?" He asked, setting some papers down on the counter. Kirielle grinned. Just like him to finish so quickly and then ask for another job. Kirielle tasted the soup and frowned a little before taking a pinch of salt and tossing it in.
"Oh go to bed, dear! I don't care how well you feel, if you don't rest you'll just get sick again!" Grandma said, brandishing a large wooden spoon at him. Kirielle began to giggled at the idea of him possibly being chased from the kitchen by an old woman with a wooden spoon. After all the wars we've fought, I think we've met our match, Kirielle mused.
Karwyn didn't go back to bed, but instead sat down and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. He smiled a little at the old woman.
"I can't work like this with my hands in the air, and I'm very comfortable right here," He said softly. "So, would it be okay if I stayed here to watch my sister?"
Grandma gave him a stern look and then turned to Kirielle. "If he does so much as pick up a dust bunny, hit him with this, okay?" She said, setting the wooden spoon beside Kirielle. The girl nodded, grinning widely, and watched the old woman leave. As soon as the room was clear, Karwyn resumed his poker face Kirielle burst out in rib splitting giggles.
"She has your number, eh Karwyn?" She asked, sipping some more of the soup. That was a little better. She'd have to write it down so she'd remember to add more salt next time.
"She's just worried, that's all," he said, letting out a breath. "How have you two been doing today?"
"Well, a little while ago I'm pretty sure I heard Narcius yelling, and then Jeb started laughing so it can't be that bad. Grandma is a bit of a slave driver, but she's nice about stuff, so I'm fine. How have you been doing?" Kirielle asked, glancing over at him.
"The pain is less, if that's what you mean," he answered, returning her gaze. She had hoped to see something new in those eyes, but there was nothing. Despite how he acted around the old couple, he had changed little in the time they had spent there. Very little. She sighed and looked back at the soup.
"What's wrong?" Karwyn asked, looking over at Kirielle. He could feel stress and traces of sadness coming off of her, despite her laughter moments ago.
"Nothing, now just wait a couple more minutes and the soup should be done, okay?" She said, smiling faintly. Karwyn watched his false sister for a few more seconds before turning his head away and focusing his attention on Narcius.
He didn't really understand what it was that bothered Kirielle, all he knew was that it had to do with him. He placed the moment in the back of his mind, deciding to re-examine it later. It wasn't his place to try to press her for information anyways. It could wait.
A cookie to the person who can figure out what Karwyn was doing XD