Uncle and Niece

Loxy was pouring water into the cups, making coffee for the first time in her life. The smell seemed strange to her, but after managing to finally obtain ingredients to prepare this unusual drink and getting a brief introduction on how to prepare it, she certainly hoped she was doing this right. The visitors from Araulen and the mistake she had made around them were still lingering in her mind, but the mysterious coffee in front of her provided the distraction she needed.

Suddenly a voice came from behind: "I see you are here after all." She turned around in surprise: "Sean!" The young female wanted to apologise again, but then her eyes fell on the figures of hooded man and Sunrise warrior standing behind her brother. "Ah, so there is some coffee in Dun Kilty after all," said the man in a tone that carried a hint of pleasure. Loxy looked at her brother, and at the man again, feeling unsure why Sean had brought them here considering everything, and she felt like she was missing something.

Sean closed the door to the kitchen and then turned to Loxy again: "There is someone who you should be introduced to properly Loxy." The mysterious man took another step forward and removed the hood: "So, you are Loxy, daughter of Caitlyn O'Carrick." The young female gasped. Now that she could properly focus on the stranger, she couldn't unhear the familiarity in the voice, and taking a closer look she realised that the man's features - in spite of several differences - screamed uncle Ferris to her.

Loxy stared in disbelief, yet her brain offered her only one logical sollution. "Are you... Are you...?" she tried to ask, but her voice failed her. She glanced at her brother for confirmation, but Sean was looking at the man too, who gave a short nod: "I am your uncle Halt."

The young female let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Being so shocked at the revelation, she put one hand in front of her mouth. "But... how's that possible? I mean... we though you to be dead..." Halt replied calmly: "A lot of things are different from what they are presented to be."

Sean decided to join the conversation: "It appears that our uncles had..." he paused for a while, looking for a suitable wording, "...a very strong dispute concerning the succession to the throne, which had resulted in uncle Halt leaving Clonmel all these years ago." Halt snorted: "That's a very fine way of putting it, but correct nevertheless." Loxy blinked, trying to take everything in. The twin brothers didn't share the best relationship - that much was obvious. Then she suddenly remembered something. "Araulen...? That's where you've been during all those years... uncle?" Halt replied: "Yes, and to be honest, were it not for the current affairs I probably wouldn't have returned like this."

The statement only confused Loxy, but further questions were interrupted by Horace: "Uhm, how about we sit over the coffee to properly explain the situation?" Halt nodded: "Excellent idea." He was the first to move toward the table. Sean and Horace followed, and Loxy was quick to get on the track and prepare two cups of tea for herself and her brother. Over the drink the three men explained how the Outsiders were wolfs dressed as lambs, and how they wanted Ferris to openly stand against them. The yound female, while still slightly baffled, tried to take everything in and put the pieces of puzzle together. Her uncle Halt was still such a mystery to her, but she could tell she agreed with his views better than with Ferris's.

As she was recollecting her first interraction with Halt, suddenly her jaw dropped in realisation, and she asked with a hint of accusation: "Wait a second. You knew who I was right from the very start, didn't you?" Her uncle confirmed that: "Yes, you look a lot like your mother that it left me speechless for a while." Loxy could hear Horace mutter: "Too bad I didn't see that," but her mind was too fixed to react to that. "That means... that you were just toying with me!" the female exclaimed, not knowing whether to feel offended or amused.

The reaction on Halt's face was a rather unusual one, for the ranger, who rarely showed such emotions, grinned: "Well, weren't you actually asking for it with the way you waltzed into the hall?" Loxy's expression was once again torn between two feelings, but this time it was a mix of blush and pout. After a couple of seconds, she finally found her ground and laughed softly and admitted: "I guess you're right. It must have looked very stupid."

Horace shook his head slightly: "I actually liked the change of atmosphere you brought." Loxy smiled at him: "Thank you, sir Horace. At least someone appreciates my stunt." Then she playfully looked at her brother who shrugged: "I'll rather not comment on that."

In the end, while she still admitted that what she had done earlier in the day was a mistake, Loxy could not help but feel glad she had done so, mostly due to how the situation developped. The yougn woman was happy to learn about her second uncle, who she was starting to like in spite of the mysterious feeling surrounding him and some darker remarks. Halt was also slowly warming up to his niece, who reminded him of his bellowed sister so much. When the group has finally parted, both sides felt a strong light of hope the meetings of the day had brought and were to some sense looking forward to the next day.

Note: So, the proper meeting of Loxy and Halt is finally here. I tried to capture the important moments concerning their relationship, while cutting out the explanatory dialogues. I hope that you like it this way.