Dinner with the Harrowdens

Kallista cocked her head at Aleyn.

"That's actually a good question. Would they? I mean if we had kids would they be tieflings or half-tieflings or... halflings? No, wait, that's not right..."

Before Aleyn could even attempt to answer that question, a young man shyly approached the group. He looked rather like a skinnier, teenage version of Aleyn, although with rather better fashion sense and more of an effort made with his hair. "Um, excuse me, Miss Sinsinger? It's so great to meet you..."

Aleyn smiled. "Kallista, meet Lenyard. He's a big fan of yours. He practically died when he found out I knew you."

Lenyard blushed in a way that made him look even more like Aleyn at his most flustered. "I'm a rogue too - well, trying to be. I just really admire your body of work."

Kallista smiled warmly and shook Lenyard's hand. She blushed slightly at the attention she was getting, but luckily her red skin hid it fairly well.

"Great to meet you, too, Len! I'm honestly flattered that you know who I am. Have you done any of the qualifying tests at the Union yet?"

"Um, not yet," he said. "I'm hoping to in a few months, maybe."

Tavya leaned over to whisper to Kallista. "It's kind of a ... thing. Mom really doesn't want him to join up, because of what happened to Aleyn and all that. Even though he's fine, it kind of freaked her out. Personally, I think it's dumb."

Kallista nodded to Tavya. She could understand how Len's mother would be concerned. It was dangerous work, and not everyone always came out of it ahead, but still, she thought the boy deserved his shot.

"I'm not gonna lie," she said, "It's rough work. Sometimes bad things can happen."

She put her arm on Len's shoulder and leaned in slightly to speak lowly enough that his mother wouldn't overhear.

"But if you really think you want in, come talk to me sometime. I'm gonna be moving soon, but Aleyn usually knows how to get a hold of me. I can show you a few things to get you started."

Len looked positively thrilled, and a little bit intimidated. "Really? That would be ... amazing, thank you so much! And maybe you can tell me some of the stories about your adventures. I mean, I've read all the books, but everyone knows they change a lot of things for those, and I bet the real stories are way more interesting..." He beamed at Kallista, almost bouncing.

Aleyn chuckled at his brother's enthusiasm. "'Interesting' is one word for it. Come on, Len, let's go see if they need any help in the kitchen." He gave Kallista a little nod and an 'I'll be right back' kind of look to reassure her before disappearing.

Tavya grinned at Kallista. "Well, you've made Len's day. Probably his entire year, actually! Now, come on, you have to see the glass, so you'll be able to tell Mom how nice it is." She took Kallista's arm and dragged her over to admire a cabinet with some intricate miniature glass sculptures. "Okay, now spill," she said once they were a little apart from the rest of the group. "Is he doing okay, really?"

Kallista slid her arm gracefully into the human woman's, moving slightly closer to her than was strictly necessary. Her slender red fingers lightly brushed over the back of her hand as they stood in front of the cabinet, which Kallista had to admit was very impressive. The degree of craftsmanship in many of the small sculptures was astounding.

She shrugged and gave a half smile at Tavya's question.

"I think so. I mean, I didn't really know him before he came back to adventuring, but he seems mostly happy. He likes the work and he fits in well with the group. I mean, I'm sure what happened with his last group shook him up a lot, but he doesn't seem to be dwelling on it. Sometimes the only way out is through. And I think it's helped that he has..."

She paused suddenly, glancing over towards the kitchen.

"Well... never mind. Yeah, he's doing ok."

Tavya gave Kallista a sidelong look. "Has what? You can't stop there!"

Kallista bit her lip slightly. She knew this was probably the time to keep her mouth shut, but she also sensed that Tavya wasn't one to give up something like this easily.

"Well..." she said, uncertainly, "I don't know if I should say."

"Come oooon," Tavya said, hanging off her arm and looking up at her with those big brown eyes. "I'll buy you a drink later if you'll tell me what you were going to say."

Kallista grinned at the thought of grabbing a "drink" with the pretty young woman on her arm.

"Well..." she said conspiratorially, "There is someone he's interested in, and... well, it's really complicated, but I think they're interested too. More than that, it really isn't my business to say."

"Hah, I was right!" Tavya smirked. "Aleyn is so obvious when he's interested in someone, and I was pretty sure it wasn't you - no offense, but you're not his type. What with the breasts and such," she added with a wink. "Well... I hope whoever he is, he's nicer than the last guy he dated. Roth was kind of a jerk. I mean, I'm sure Aleyn saw something in him but..." She shrugged, rolling her eyes.

Kallista giggled lightly.

"He hasn't really mentioned him much, but he can be fairly private about certain things. And don't worry, the person he's interested in wouldn't do anything to hurt him, if that's what you're worried about. He's a good guy."

She gave Tavya's arm a light squeeze.

"So were you serious about getting that drink later?"

Tavya smiled warmly. "Sure! It'll be fun! We can get drunk and talk about boys."

Aleyn's mother moved over to them just in time to catch her daughter's last few words. "Boys, is it?"

Tavya shrugged. "I was just showing Kallista the masterpieces, Mom," she said, ignoring her mother's query. "She was just saying how impressive they are." She smiled to Kallista, giving her a strong hint as to the more harmless direction she wanted to steer the conversation in.

"They really are gorgeous," Kallista said sincerely, hoping she hadn't misread the signals she was getting from Tavya. But Kallista was an optimist in the end, and decided she would figure that out later on. If nothing else, maybe she would make a friend out of it.

"I love the detailing on them. The green dragon is especially beautiful. You can see each individual scale..."

Nasira beamed. "That was Lystra's work, when she was nineteen, little show-off." There was pride in her voice, though, as she pointed to each piece in turn. "And this one here, the seashell, is her husband Tomas's - he was my apprentice before he decided to marry her, hah. The candle is Ciryl's masterpiece, and the flower, my husband made for me when we were courting..."

Tavya smiled affectionately at her mother, who had obviously given this speech to guests many times. "And she's too modest to tell you, but the big one at the back, the eagle, is hers."

"You made that?" Kallista said with a hint of awe, "It's gorgeous..."

She smiled wistfully as her gaze swept over the sculptures once more.

"I wish I had some kind of talent like that. Ive never really been much of a creative person. Sometimes I feel like all I ever do is destroy stuff."

She shrugged.

"Runs in the family, I guess."

Nasira merely made a little gesture of acknowledgement of Kallista's praise, but she seemed pleased.

Tavya looked up at Kallista, eyes bright and curious. "Oh? What do your family do? Are they mostly adventurers too, or ... soldiers maybe?"

Kallista smiled, but her eyes quickly scanned the room, looking for Aleyn. She realized this may not have been the wisest topic of discussion to open up. Luckily, however, she was used to deflecting questions about her family, and her bluff skill was more than up to the task.

"My mother is a soldier," she said with a nod, "My father is in politics."

She shrugged.

"We... don't really talk much anymore. We kind of had a disagreement over my... life choices."

Nasira reached up to pat the tiefling on the shoulder comfortingly. "Now, there... it's all right. You do what's right for you, not for your parents."

Tavya muttered something that sounded a lot like "Tell Len that," but managed to look completely innocent by the time her mother had turned back to her.

"I have to go see what the boys are doing with the roast," Nasira sniffed, and bustled off, leaving the girls behind.

"Sorry," Tavya said to Kallista once her mother was gone, looking a little embarrassed. "She just can't help mothering. I think once you have seven kids, you're pretty much stuck in that mode forever."

"Oh, it's fine. She's very sweet, really. I wish my mother had been more like her. You guys are really lucky."

"How about you?" Kallista asked with a mischevious smile, "Do you want to be a mother someday? I assume Nasira has already started bugging you about it, huh? She seems to be a bit grand-kid happy from what Aleyn tells me."

Tavya laughed. "So far, not too bad. She has Lystra's kids, and now Maynard and his wife have a baby too, so she's satisfied at least for another few months. She'll be on my brothers before me, they're older and have, well, real jobs and things, they could support families. I work as a barmaid, it's not really ... the kind of thing you can raise kids on. Unless I find some rich husband, I guess," she added with a wink.

"Ooooh, so you're a sultry tavern wench, then?" Kallista said with a giggle, "I bet you make great tips."

Tavya chuckled. She tossed her hair, tugged her bodice down slightly, and put on a flirty smile. "I guess I do all right."

Watching Tavya adjust her bodice proved very distracting for Kallista, and she suddenly found it just a little bit harder to drag her eyes back up to the woman's face.

"Ahem... I imagine you do." she said, slightly flustered, "Where do you work? I don't think I've seen you at any of the taverns I usually hang out at. Pretty sure I'd remember."