Yes, yes, the hyaeniforms are another Northlander type, with a hyena-like animal form. I just chose to spell it differently because it makes me that much cooler. :D

So Niira's wandering around Bale at night, headed to her grandmother's house. And we all know how much fun Lavitz's mother is. Indeed. Also, she is never given a name in the game, so I just kinda...made up my own.

Thanks to the people in the legenddragoon community over on LiveJournal for helping me figure out descriptive terms relating to Basil :D.

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Marach was right of course, about her grandmother never turning anyone away. There were many times as a child that Niira had woken to find strangers in the house, people fleeing Sandora and the terrifying reign of the Emperor. Not that she had understood most of that situation at her young age. All she knew was that it would take her father away for months on end, leaving her sitting at home and wondering if she would ever see him again.

Niira was somehow surprised that her grandmother was still alive. Then again, the more she thought about it, the more it seemed natural. Of course her grandmother was still alive. She couldn't be all that old. Okay, then again, she could be. Niira smirked to herself. Her grandmother was such an unstoppable person, perhaps she could even stop death. Again the half-blood smiled, amused at this train of thought.

She had been standing outside of her grandmother's house for several minutes by this time. Finally, she looked up, past the eaves to the stars above. Niira had actually grown up in two houses, the one that stood before her, and her father's smaller house close to Indels Schloss. Lavitz had always seemed reluctant to have his daughter live at that house, due to its proximity to the knights' barracks and training grounds. As if Niira would be influenced by the soldiers in ways that were not lady-like. The First Knight tended to worry about that a lot, hence why they had spent more time at his mother's house instead.

Not that it had mattered in the end. Niira had found her own ways to be around the knights, had watched them and taught herself how to fight. Any attempt to get her to act like others of her gender usually ended in a disaster of some sort.

Niira hesitantly stepped to the front door, wondering if it was too late at night to be knocking. A few windows of the house were lit from within, the soft orange-yellow glow of candles and fireplaces. So it wasn't too late. Someone was still awake. I wonder if Grandma Maeja's got any 'visitors' now, or if she just likes to keep a lot of rooms lit at night. Shakily, she reached up and nervously tapped on the door.

There was no sound from within. Niira's face twitched into a hopeless expression. Nothing's going right tonight. Then, she could hear someone stepping across the front room, heading for the door. Niira froze in the beam of light that fell on her as the door opened.

The old lady who stood inside looked up at her questioningly, although she wore a friendly smile. She was still dressed in her day clothes; obviously she had been busy with something only moments before.

So I guess there is someone else staying here tonight. She's probably busy cooking them enough food to keep them fed for three winters.

"May I help you, young lady?"

"I...um..." Niira suddenly realized she had no idea what to say. Should she say she was just passing through, and had been told she could room here for the night? Or should she go ahead and just announce who she was? She stared at her grandmother, suddenly feeling very small in her indecisiveness. Maeja waited patiently, as if she was used to such a reaction. "I...I'm home, Adie." She had called her grandmother 'Adie' when she was younger; it was a Basilian term of endearment for older women.

The woman blinked up at her, as if trying to figure out what she meant by that. Then she smiled broadly, hurrying forward to wrap her arms around Niira. "So you have...so you have... I always knew you would come back."

Wow. Was she just being optimistic or has she really gone crazy? "Yeah...um...I guess so."

Maeja released her. "Oh child, how you've grown. Does your father know you're here?"

"...Yes. He does."

Her grandmother missed the pained tone of her voice, instead taking Niira by the wrist and dragging her inside. "Come, you must have something to eat!"

"No, that's not necessary."

"Of course it is. Don't worry, I can fix you up some soup and bread real fast now. It won't take long at all."

"Well...all right." She had forgotten how insistent her Adie could be when she got an idea in her head.

Maeja scurried off to the kitchen. "I'm sure you want to look around the house and see how much hasn't changed." She laughed a bit. "There are some people in your old room though, sorry."

"It's okay." Niira stood in the front room, almost uncomfortable with being in the memory-filled place once more.

"I'll call you when the food's ready."

Niira rubbed her wrist, which her grandmother had squeezed mercilessly in her excitement. Finally, she breathed deeply, and mounted the nearby stairs.

The family's bedrooms were on the second level of the house. Niira had slept in the room next to the library as a girl; it was almost directly across the hallway from her father's room. He had always said that was so he could hear her if she decided to sneak around at night, which she was known to do. Not only around the house, but outside as well. Once she had figured out that the window in the library led to the roof of the house, and the roof led to the roofs of other houses, she would spend her nights using her cat-like abilities--or her feline form itself--to jump around, high above the streets below. Much to the dismay of her family. Her nighttime expeditions never ceased to be a source of heart attacks for them.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she eyed her old room door to her left. It was closed, and soft voices could be heard from the other side. Oh, right. Random people in the house again.

Instead, she turned to the right, reaching out her hand in the dim light. Her fingers brushed against another door. She gave a soft push, and to her surprise, the door opened, revealing a dark room within. She looked at it for a moment, then stepped inside, as she had done so many times in her youth.

-----

She burst from her room, making a straight line for the door across the hall. She hit it hard; it swung open in response. With a burst of energy, she took a flying leap at the end of the bed within the room. She landed on her hands and knees and, grinning, crawled across the bed to the man who was still asleep--or rather, now awake. She pounced his shoulder, flopping onto the blankets next to him. "Come ooooon," she pleaded, playfully tugging at the blankets. "You said we could do stuff today!"

The man groaned softly, rolling over, pulling the blankets back over him. "Niira, if you don't get out of my room this minute..."

She knew what that meant. Squealing, she jumped back from him, but too late. The knight had flung his arm out, catching her in a headlock. "No!" the child shrieked, half giggling. "Noooo! Let go! Eeeeeep!" She knew how well noise could distract someone, and she made sure not to let a silent moment pass as she wriggled in her father's grasp, unable to escape.

"I warned you." He sat up, dragging his daughter with him. "Don't you ever wake me early on my days off!" He tousled her hair until it was a hopeless mess.

"NO! Stop! Errr...let go!" Bracing her feet against his side, she pushed hard, trying to get out of his solid grip. He let go of her then, and she suddenly found herself tumbling backwards and over the edge of the bed. She hit the wood floor with a loud clunk. "Mff. Ow."

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The bed was where it had always stood--within pounce distance from the door. Niira smirked.

One of the wooden posts that supported the wall and ceiling also still stood. She wandered to it, running her hand along its surface. They stopped at about waist height, caught in a series of grooves. Still here, huh? Well, why wouldn't they be? One of those notches belonged to her. She was six then, and she had been measuring herself against another mark in the wood--one her father had made when he was that age.

She had always looked up to her father, always tried her best to follow in his footsteps, though she would have never been able to in the end. Is that why he was always so upset with me playing with boys? Did he want to save me heartache later by showing me what I could do instead? Niira frowned.

Even when her mother had been alive, Niira had preferred to be a tomboy, taking part in the boys' rough war games. Although she had never been the fair maiden the warriors were sent to save. The boys had quickly learned never to suggest it to her, or they would get a swift beating with a stave. She wanted to be equal to them, or nothing.

"Niira?" Maeja's voice came from the hallway. "Food's ready."

"Coming."

"You can sleep in this room if you want. I'm sure--"

Niira turned to her suddenly. "No, I'll sleep downstairs."

The elderly woman frowned. "I'm sure your father wouldn't mind."

"I know. It just...wouldn't feel right."

"All right. Well, come on then, before your dinner gets cold."