Returning from Iryrod's shores...

[Kell]

A good score of seagulls flew up in sheer panic as Captain Blackbeard went charging down the pier at Thrall’s Gate with eager, loud barks. Grinding to a halt at the end of it, he shook his head, hacked and looked up startled at the angry quacking that was hurled back. “Come here boy,” Ardaion smirked as he caught up with the bouncing ball of fur. The Captain jerked his head towards the familiar voice and flopped his way over. He was greeted with a smile, encouraging words of approval, a quick rub through his long manes and a release of his collar. “Go on, have at them,” the elf spurred the dog on. “Damned flying rats don’t deserve anything less, mm?” At that the energetic ball burst into a sprint towards another flock of unfortunate birds and Ardaion chuckled amused seeing him do it

Initially they’d taken the Captain in for Quinn, so she wouldn’t be alone during the daytime when he was at his Temple but as it was, the mornings were usually for him. Not a problem; Ardaion liked these morning walks when all was still quiet. And it appeared that the Captain enjoyed them just the same. The dog quickly caught up on the whole beach combing “search and find” idea and shared the elf’s curiosity for washed up debris and curiosities. Be it more for enthusiastic digging doggy reasons, of course.

Loud barking made the elf speed up his sauntering to a jog to see what was going on. From a distance it looked as if the Captain had found yet another artistic, marine creation of Rhauth. Digging ferociously the dog had his snout deep in the sand and his tail high up, wagging and waving likening a crow nest’s flag at sighted land.

“What have you got Captain?” Ardaion called out as he closed in on the dog and his find. His fast pace dwindled down into quiet step and then he stood still. “Captain, come here.” His tone became insistent and stern. “Come here boy.” The sudden change in his master’s voice had the dog looking up and over. With his head kept low he crouched to Ardaion’s feet. “It’s okay…” the elf dipped his head too as he squatted down to scratch the dog behind the ears to assure him. “Good find. Thank you.”

What the Captain had found sort of came as a shocker. Sure, he’d seen washed up corpses before but it wasn’t anything you could get used to. Amidst the weed and wood lay the remainders of a man. Ardaion folded his hand over nose and mouth as he got a reeking whiff of the corpse; the sickly sweet smell that lingered on the air was hard to miss. A quick estimate told Ardaion that the man had been in the water for about a week. The rule of thumb was that one week in the open air equaled two weeks in water. The skin had become fragile and looked that dull white. The dark blue shadows emphasizing on the eerie feeling of nearby death never failed to give the elf the creeps, but he knew what had to be done so he took out a pair of coarse gloves and kneeled down. Slowly he began uncovering the man.

Short after he began, Ardaion stopped again. Removing the twigs, branches and weed, he got a better look at the man’s attire and what he discovered then shook him even more. A soldier; this man had been a soldier. And not just a soldier either. He rubbed gloved fingers over a badge that drew particular interest. It pictured a trident in deep, radiant silver. Ardaion didn’t need to see more to know, but couldn’t look away as sadness took him over. That’s when he began to notice the colors of the wet and torn apparel too. The elf sunk back on his calves and gathered a confused Captain in his arms. He frowned and took a deep breath as raw emotions threatened to surface. These were his own red and blue; the Iryrodian colors.

[Kell]

As the bell which Commander Allers had ordered was hoisted up just outside the main entrance to the temple of Rhauth, Ardaion opened the door slightly for the children to have a look. “Have a peek” he said with a smile. Curious little faces pressed their foreheads against the door to look up at the magnificent copper bell. Ardaion made sure each and every one of them had a look and then he closed the door again. Motioning them to go and sit on the benches he told them of the little game he had planned next. “We’re going to play a game this afternoon. It’s a game of hide and seek, and it’ll start like this.”

“First, I go outside. And the moment you hear a bell chime, I want you to go outside and find a good hiding spot. I will come then and look for you and when I find you, you have to come help me find the others that aren’t caught yet. You can go hide in the entire dock area, just make sure that I can’t find you, alright? The winner gets something special for dessert tonight.”

The priest paused and looked over the children a moment. He smiled satisfied, noticing that they were quite eager to run around outside for a change to play their games and the mention of special dessert made it all the better too.

“Now I won’t be using that big bell, because it still needs to be polished up properly before it’s being used. For now, I’m going to use a small bell but you’ll hear it just the same. And when it rings.., don’t hesitate, just go, alright?”

A little boy lifted up his hand. “Father ‘daion, what if the bad man catches us?” Ardaions’ face clouded over some as he thought about of how to answer that. “Well.., just don’t let him catch you. I will catch you. And when it’s time to come out again, I’ll shout. Don’t come out before the game is over.”

The elf looked over the children and threw a glance towards Father Thorpe. Then he went outside, stood atop of the stairs and chimed his little bell. Very soon after, a loud hollering of the children sounded as they sped past him down the stairs. He smirked at their enthusiasm and watched as they spread out over the docks. Fifteen minutes, and then he’d go watch for them. Tomorrow, they were going to play this game again and he’d give them just ten minutes and they would have to be really quiet. The day after, they’d have five minutes and would need to go in utter silence. The best way to teach children new tricks was through games after all.

If the predictions were true, they would have learned enough just in time, to make sure the Mistress would find an empty temple.

[Kell]

A soft, gentle arm slid around the tiny bard’s waist and a kiss was planted on her cheek. She dropped the flour sifter in her hands and looked over her shoulder into her lover's grinning face. “So you went ahead and did it?” Quinn asked Ardaion with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Yes, of course. But they still need to be wrapped because I wanted you to see them first and see if they are okay.”

As she nuzzled her nose against his she patted the elf against his chest; their mutually accepted sign for him to back off and let her move. That is, if he wanted her to do anything right now. She smirked as he didn't move. “Ardaion, move. My hands are dirty; I need to wash them.” she whispered against his ear as he leaned in to tease her. Then she slapped him against the shoulders in a playful scolding, leaving two white hand prints on his dark blue tunic, “Honey!” she began with slightly a raised voice, “I don’t have any time for this! Let me have a look so you can go do your thing while I finish this cake. We have a lot to do! It’s Trinny’s birthday and I want to make sure I get this right.”

“Fine, fine,” he smirkingly pouted in response to her pleading look. Then, he moved aside and gave her the leeway to wash her hands. He turned, unpacked, and sat three little toy pets on the countertop. Two little teddy bears, one in pink and one in blue, and a taller bunny in teal with long, fluffy ears. “They didn’t have a third teddy bear so I picked this one for Trinny. Do you think it’s something she would like? What do girls like? They didn’t have any other colors.”

Quinn threw a glance over her shoulder as she shook the water off her hands. “I would like to think that every girl likes bunnies.” The elf looked at her a while as she fished up a towel to dry her hands further. He was so proud of her and the way she ran this home. Despite her young years and troubled past, she’d become the warmest, most tender and loving woman he could ever have imagined. Though she gave him the freedom to roam and be whenever, wherever and with whomever he pleased, there was no place he would rather be than right here, in the home they shared. “The color is just fine. Trinny likes pretty things and this is pretty.” she continued, setting her hands on her hips as she looked the gifts over from a distance. “And as far as Arveldir and Crystal go, they just want something to bite on. These will do just fine.”

She walked over to the counter and picked up the pink teddy to give it a look over. “They don’t have any bits that can break off so they can’t choke on it. These will do just fine.” She poked her tongue at him as she prepared a teasing sneer. “Well done, you picked out perfect and acceptable gifts for your children.”

He smirked, picked up the three toys, and put them back in the cloth bag. “I don’t think you appreciate the time and effort that went into finding these, Dearest.” he retorted as he rummaged around some in the bag. “In fact, I don’t think you’re going to appreciate the time and effort that went into finding these either.”

He threw her a little package with a wink and a smile. “I know, I know.. we should be saving up, but I thought if we are going to spend some on the kids then you should have something too.”

The look of surprise on her face was worth gold. She simply looked too adorable as she opened the package and two emerald earrings emerged. They weren’t as lavish as the women of richer families would wear, and they hadn’t the shine that would come with the really expensive gems, but it was clear he had attempted to go out of his way to find them for her.

“I love you, Spitfire,” he said as he sided with her to look at them too, “So what sort of cake are you baking again?”