Norah was aware, vaguely, of being watched as she loaded up her basket with food and more gatorade back at the camp. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to find a guest taking photos, but was instead greeted by Hammer and Harris walking past the tent. Previously, she would have assumed that the latter was stalking her again, looking for an opening to discuss their child. But since their last discussion she didn't feel as on edge as she normally did when confronted with the red headed guardsman. She didn't really feel anything at all towards him. Maybe, she thought as she covered her things with a bit of cloth, at some point they could have some sort of a friendship again now that they had reached an understanding. They would never be best buddies, and she was sure they would have some sort of set back once things with Domick were out in the open, but it was a start.

Harris nodded at her as he passed, and she gave him a small wave in return. Hammer, however, glowered at her for a moment before his frown turned into a smile. "Good morning, milady! How are you this fine afternoon?"

"Well, and yourself?"

"Well enough, well enough." He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "I must offer my condolences."

Norah frowned. "Oh?"

"Yes, I just saw that your newest drummer - the one that took you as his wife a week or so ago - has been claimed by his true family. I am truly sorry for your loss."

She felt as if someone had punched her in the gut and knocked all the air from her lungs. A gig. It had to be a gig. A mean one. But a gig nonetheless. Something probably dreamed up by the two to learn some gossip or get some confirmation on what their relationship was. She glanced at Harris, trying to gauge what his reaction was, but he looked just as confused as she did. "Well, I shall have to go and introduce myself to my in-laws then."

"I wouldn't want to do that if I were you."

"Why?"

"I'm certain one of them is his wife. Pretty young thing with brown hair. Wouldn't want a repeat of what happened last time, now would we?" He jerked his head in Harris's direction and smirked. "Good day." With a tip of his hat, he spun and walked away before she could reply. All she could do was gawk at his retreating back.

Harris touched her arm, startling her out of her stupor. "Don't listen to him. He's just trying to stir things up."

She had figured as much; Hammer was just as bad as everyone else at the Faire... jumping to conclusions and stirring up gossip for entertainment. "Why do you waste your time with him?"

"He's a good friend."

"Who does nothing but try to stir up trouble with your kid's mom at every opportunity. Do you really want him hanging around Marcus?"

"I don't see how you letting Domick spend time with him is any better."

Norah tried not to roll her eyes. She really did. But it happened before she could stop it, and Harris scowled in response. "Right, because someone who doesn't talk trash and is trying to teach our son a valuable skill is such a horrible influence."

"You don't really know who he is." He licked his lips, "Hammer and I did see him and Marcus in the food court with some folks."

"How shocking, a harper attracted an audience."

"He wasn't playing for them - he was talking with them. They all seemed to know each other. And they were wearing these weird outfits - like something the SCAers would wear, except with arm bands instead of those belt things."

For a moment the world tilted and shifted under her feet, and her heart came to a stop. Weird costumes. Arm bands. "Well clearly they didn't look too dangerous if you didn't feel the need to rescue Marcus."

Harris shook his head and grimaced. "I didn't like them anymore than I liked him when he showed up. But you know Marcus wouldn't listen to me if his life depended on it. I figured it would be safer to give you the heads up instead. You're so close to that man, you would know if they-"

"Whatever." She pushed past him, and then once she was sure he couldn't see her anymore, she ran.

Norah found Domick and Marcus sitting on the outskirts of the food court just as Harris and Hammer had said. He was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest while Marcus stood in his shadow, gawking at the men and women talking to him in awe. The strangers were dressed in odd garments - similar in cut and style to what Domick wore when he first arrived. Medieval but also not, and hand sewn in a way that Fancy would probably squeak over if she were to see them. However where his clothing had been finer, theirs appeared to be more basic and rough - the sort of lower quality clothes that people wore everyday. Which made sense as Domick had claimed that he had been at a gather prior to his accident. She had never believed him, and still didn't, but now that she was confronted with this, she felt her faith wobble just a bit.

"Mom!" Marcus called out, drawing their attention to her. It felt more than a little disconcerting to suddenly be the one gawked at instead of the one doing the gawking. Even though she was used to being stared at day in and day out, this was a little different because these people were definitely not from around here. Not even close.

She forced herself to smile. "C'mon. We have a show to go to."

"But Mom!" He hissed. "That's Menolly."

"That's nice. It's a pleasure to meet you." She mumbled, glancing at the girl that Hammer had called a pretty young thing. She certainly was attractive in a way, at least she probably did when she didn't look like a startled fish.

The girl - Menolly - said something in return. What she said, Norah wasn't entirely sure, for she was too struck by her accent to process anything that passed her lips. They, whoever they were, definitely sounded like Domick; part British, part Australian, with a dash of American. Sort of South African but not. Really, it was just a large mushpot of accents that she vaguely recognized.

That, and there was something extremely odd laying across the girls shoulders, almost dragon like, but again, just like everything else about these people, it looked like a dragon, but it wasn't like any dragon she recognized. It appeared to be a stuffed toy, but made out of fine leather instead of some plush fabric. The eyes were opalescent, glittering in the sun, and the material that made up its wings was practically see through. It was a beautiful work of art.

And Norah swore she saw it breathing.

"Excuse us - we need to go."

"Norah." Domick reached out to stop her - which seemed to only surprise the strangers even more. "Please, wait."

"It's fine." She cut him off, shepherding Marcus in front of her. He pulled back a little when she said the word fine, as if she had physically struck him. Did the male understanding a woman saying 'fine' in response to a question mean one was in danger span the cosmos? It must given the expression in his eyes. But again, none of this was possible was it? Travel between worlds. Dragons. It was all impossible. Even if evidence to the contrary was staring her right in the face. "You look like you're busy catching up. So come find us when you're done."

"But-"

"It's fine. Everything's fine." Norah lied. "But we do need to get to the next performance."

He glanced at the watch Mudd had given him. "The next one isn't for another hour."

"This is a surprise gig. A last minute thing."

"I'll come too then. Jal said-"

"Jal will understand that you have better things to take care of. We'll see you later." She quickly led her son away, her thoughts tumbling over each other. It wasn't possible. None of it was possible. And yet, here was proof that somehow it was. Either that or they were really dedicated cosplayers, or they were all trapped in some group fantasy, a Folie A Deux. Like that old Lord of the Rings fan group had gotten caught up in with their crazy Bag-End cult.

Marcus pulled at her hand. "Mom, you're being rude. They're really nice people."

"We don't know anything about them."

"You don't know anything about Domick and that didn't stop you."

She snorted. "Honestly, I had reservations about him when he first showed up too. But this is different."

"No, it's not." He finally managed to break free as soon as they reached the safety of the tent. "Menolly is one of the most famous people on Pern. She has awful parents just like Grandma."

For a moment she wasn't sure how to respond. Despite her best attempts to protect him from the favoritism that ran rampant in her family, he had picked up on it. She debated about defending the old woman to him, but chose to avoid the subject altogether instead. "I'm well familiar with her story."

"So then you two should get along."

"Just because someone has similar backgrounds, that doesn't mean that they're going to automatically get along." Norah sighed and she sat down on one of the cushions inside. "Look, I know you're tired of me saying this, but it's true. We don't know those people. We don't know who they are or if they're safe or not. Just like we knew nothing about Domick when he showed up. Domick earned our trust. Those people? They haven't."

"You let me hang out around strangers every day here."

"With someone watching you - like Jal, or Casey. And all of Faire knows who you are and who you belong to and where to come if you get in trouble."

"But Domick."

She held up her hand, and Marcus fell silent at the gesture. "We'll get to that in a moment. Your father -" Here he made a face, something in between a pout and a scowl, but she plowed on ahead. "Whether you like it or not, Harris is your Dad... He should've stepped in and pulled you out of there, for your own safety. In typical fashion, he's leaving the parenting to me, so I'm trying to explain why. As for Domick... regardless of who these people may or may not be, and regardless of my feelings about them, Domick clearly knows them from somewhere. He should be able to talk to them without having to worry about you."

Marcus groaned, dragging the word out across octaves and into multiple syllables in a way that only an upset kid could. "Mooooooom!"

"Plus there's the fact that..." She sighed, unsure of how to address this. When she had first heard Hammer talk about the group, she had thought that maybe he was just joking. But once she had seen them, the reality of the situation had settled in. As much as she didn't want to loose the best thing she had had in awhile, the truth was the harper didn't belong here. Even if he didn't come from some far away planet, he was too good for this place. She had just let herself get too caught up in playing house to see the truth until now. Just like she had refused to realize that something was off about Harris until it was too late. "Domick may... He might want to leave with them."

"He wouldn't."

"He might. He doesn't need us influencing him, or trying to convince him to stay. It's his choice to make."

"What, exactly," Domick's voice interrupted her. "Is my choice to make?"