Open NPC Post [Saturday/Sunday]

[rowan_narrators]

After their arrival, the caravan sets up camp outside the oasis, pitching tents, lighting fires, setting a perimeter. Guardsmen start fetching water from the waterfall, hunting and gathering to replenish their own ill-stocked supplies.

Guardsmen can be encountered anywhere in the oasis, on their way to complete tasks, Saturday evening or Sunday

Comments

Devorah and Jason -- Sunday (after their visit)

[cherry_reyer]

Cherry couldn't quite figure out why she was so hesitant to rush out and greet the caravan. She supposed she was just tired. Tired of the let downs and the disappointments and the obfuscation when it came to the natives of Rowan. Seeing the newcomers approach, she found herself instinctively bracing for impact. This was not an instinct she was particularly happy about.

As the fuss and commotion took place outside, Cherry remained in the cave, roosting on Cordelia's shoulder and waiting. She dedicated ample time to watching Devorah and Jason. She didn't have a very good read on Jason yet, but Devorah Cherry had grown to respect. She decided that she wanted to see what Devorah made of the whole situation before she made another foolish move.

When they left on Sunday, Cherry remained in the cave with Cordelia. "I've always liked caves," she murmured at one point, chewing on the heel of her palm. What she really wanted to say was that she hoped Jason and Devorah would return soon.

After sitting by the mouth of the cave for what felt like hours, she finally perked up a bit. Turning to Cordelia, she muttered, "They're on their way back."

Re: Devorah and Jason -- Sunday (after their visit)

[cordy_estwynde]

As Cherry waited for the gate guardians to return, Cordelia sat beside her, keeping unusually quiet and occasionally reaching out to pull her heel away from her mouth. She was tired; it was hard to sleep on a stone floor. And even worse, she found herself no longer speaking with anyone in Rowan that she cared about--Cherry aside.

She was glad to be with Cherry again, but she hated the way it had happened. Cordelia found herself rotating between anger at Bret and guilt for the situation he'd been placed in. Regardless, when Cherry perked up about Devorah and Jason's return, Cordy turned to give her a smile. Hopefully she'd relax now.

[gate_guardians]

Devorah didn't want to have to play that card. The ancient laws about Gate Guardians were considered sacred, but they were also fragile. The scarcity of Gate Guardians in recent centuries, the irrelevance of the Gate -- that gamble could just as easily have failed entirely. And then they would have been stuck in the oasis.

She walked in silence, beside Jason. Disapproving silence.

[gate_guardians]

The meeting hadn't gone any better from Jason's point of view. He walked along beside her with his hands in his pockets, staring blankly into the distance and trying to work through his own thoughts. "He doesn't deserve your respect," he finally said when they reached the base of the rocks and before they started climbing.

[cherry_reyer]

Cherry stood up, her right knee popping angrily. Shit. Was she actually getting old? Not good. "Come on," she said quietly to Cordelia. "Let's go find out the dirt."

That was a ridiculous cliche to use in the desert.

Putting on her fedora, Cherry crept out to the mouth of the cave, waving timidly to Devorah in the hopes of flagging her down. But from the look on the woman's face, Cherry started to wonder if this was a decision she was going to regret.

Smeg.

[cordy_estwynde]

With a nod, Cordy stood up and followed after Cherry. Her hand reached up and she absent-mindedly fixed her curls as best she could. Jason was a drunken pig, but he was one of those drunken pigs that a girl wanted to look her best around.

"What are you so excited about, anyway?" Cordelia asked. "Just finding out more information about the Humans here?" She laid a hand on Cherry's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, if only to demonstrate that the words weren't meant to judge.

[gate_guardians]

"The Prince?" asked Devorah. And she spotted Cherry and Cordelia and fell into silence, fairly sure that Jason wouldn't want to talk about this with too many people.

And he irritated her, somehow. Not like how Arlen irritated her. At ninety, she wasn't sure if she could be irritated anymore.

"Good evening," she greeted Cherry and Cordelia.

[gate_guardians]

"Hello, ladies," Jason said, bright smile on his face. "So, plans for the evening? I say we all go to bed early and keep each other warm. Who's with me?"

[cherry_reyer]

"Down boy," Cherry told Jason with a slightly wry smile.

She turned to Devorah, immediately all business. "So what's the deal with the Humans?" she asked. "Are they at all trustworthy? I mean...I'm all for getting out of the desert, but I'd rather not go from one prison thingy to another."

Cherry looked to Cordelia for confirmation. She had done it again. She had gone out onto a smegging ledge. Why couldn't she learn to keep her big mouth shut? "Right?"

[cordy_estwynde]

Cordy liked Jason. He had some Barney-like qualities, but he was so easygoing that the somewhat questionable suggestions he made sounded more charming than chauvinistic.

As she was considering this fact, Cherry began talking and, much to her surprise, Cordy suddenly heard Cherry asking for her to agree. Cordelia hadn't really understood what Cherry had meant, but just to be supportive, she gave a vague nod.

"Yes. Right. Exactly."

[gate_guardians]

"For you, they're trustworthy," said Devorah, to Cherry. To Cordelia: "You may want to cover those ears, on the journey."

They could question her about that, but she wouldn't explain the basis for human beliefs. The humans could do so themselves.

[gate_guardians]

May want to cover them. That was rich. Jason reached out for a handhold and pulled himself onto a low ledge, the first step in the journey up to the cave. Jason had none of Devorah's issues when it came to human beliefs. "Every human in this place has an easy ride out of here. Everyone else, not so much. So... about that body heat?"

[cherry_reyer]

Oh boy. Cherry knew that mindset well enough. Admittedly, it was usually going in the opposite direction, but that was just a hazard of not living among her own kind. Immediately, she bristled. "Well, they're not just going to take half of us and leave half of us, are they?"

Yeah, Cherry wasn't going to sit on that. She wouldn't leave Cordelia and she certainly wouldn't abandon Devorah or Sonic. Or any of the other non-Humans around the oasis. That was just...sick.

[cordy_estwynde]

Cordelia reached up to touch her ears, frowning. "They're not that easy to hide," she mumbled. "They're kind of big." Pushing them that far back against her head was painful for a few minutes, let alone a few days of traveling.

"Do they have something against Elves?" she asked softly. She assumed that was the problem. That she'd be mistaken for a very petite Elf again.

[gate_guardians]

"Elves hate demons," said Devorah. "Demons hate elves. Humans, stranded in the middle, must by default hate them both." She moved past the two, into the cavern.

"You could try a hat or scarf," she suggested.

[gate_guardians]

Jason actually caught on to what she meant. It was amazing what being sober did for his mind. He was not a fan. "You do not pass for elf, beautiful. They'll think you're a demon, but that's just as bad." He looked her up and down, because he was a guy and she was there. "Yeah... definitely not elf. No way, no how. Just stick to the background and don't say much if you're going to try and claim human."

He joined Devorah in the cave, taking up his seat against the wall and breathing a small sigh of relief. "The Queen said anyone willing to give up their weapons and magic would be taken. She won't go back on her word. The only way someone is being left behind is if they want to be left behind."