Date Night (while waiting to hear from Meva Kri)

Vedran smiled over at Aleyn as they left the temple. "Well, my local knowledge is a little out of date - I *used* to know the place pretty well though, and I can probably find my way round still. We could go and see if Varah's is still open, and otherwise just see if we can figure out where's good these days. Sound good?"

"Sure, anything sounds good to me," Aleyn said, smiling back. At least being on another continent seemed to make Vedran a little more relaxed about the idea of going out in public together - he didn't care where they ate, it was just nice to have the chance to go on an actual date.

"I just hope it's as good as I remember - its straange being back here. I mean I thought I remembered what things were like, but actually walking around Yeshual again is just a whole different experience. I do wish circumstances were better. And its too bad Merlyn's not around, too, but I didn't think there was much chance of it. He hates being stuck in the city in the summers."

As he talked, he steered Aleyn down towards the lower city. Occasionally someone would give the pair (or vedran, really) a rude look, though their obviously Nerathi clothing got them a grudging pass from most. Still, he found himself slipping by long-forgotten habit into a body posture that walked the thin line between defensive and deferential that he'd found deflected most of the hostility when he was younger.

"Yeah, it would have been nice to meet him, he sounds like a great guy," Aleyn agreed. "Speaking of family, I asked Mom if she wanted me to send any messages while we were here. She said there was no point, but I don't know... I mean, I understand we don't have time to go searching for relatives who might not live in the same places they did thirty years ago, or even want to see me, but..." He shrugged. "Being this close, comparatively speaking, it seems like this could be my only chance to find out anything about them." He looked around at the sights as they walked through the streets, wondering if this was much like the city his mother came from or not.

Vedran smiled, but shook his head a little as they rounded a corner on one of the streets at the border of the districts. "Honestly - I hope we're not here that long. There are a few things we could try, though, if we are. Checking in the local glass shops to see what workshops are operating out of Oshuar these days might be a start, at least, if her family is still in the glass business."

"That would be a good place to try, I guess," Aleyn said. "Even if I could just tell her 'yeah, they're alive, and still working'... that would be something, at least."

"If we can find a glass seller in the market, they tend to know more about the sources too. We'll see what we have time for, I guess."

Vedran paused and peered down the street before breaking out into a big grin. "Oh good, it is still here! Come on - this used to be the first place we would come whenever we were passing through Yeshual. Sometimes even before dropping our stuff at the temple."

Aleyn smiled at Vedran's obvious enthusiasm for the tavern, which looked homey and even a bit run-down from the outside. "I hope it's as good as you remember," he said, and risked giving Vedran's hand a quick squeeze as they headed up to the door.

Vedran squeezed back before pushing open the door and looking around.

It wasn't exactly the same, but there were a few fixed points, like the worn tapestries on the wall, scuffed carving on the dark wooden tables, the brass table lamps. Some of the furniture had been rearranged and it looked like they'd had a new bar put in, but the place smelled the same.

The young woman behind the bar wasn't immediately recognizable - when he'd last seen her, she'd been all of twelve, and her aunt had been the one standing in her place. She smiled politely, a slightly quizzical look on her face, and waved them to one of the empty tables.

"I don't think she recognizes me," Vedran grinned to Aleyn. "This could be fun."

"Well, how long has it been since you were here? She was probably only a kid then," Aleyn murmured, moving to the table the young woman had indicated. He sniffed the air, scented with cooking spices, and smiled. "It smells promising, anyway."

"Somewhere around seven years, I'd say, and yes, pretty much still a kid."

She came around the bar to them and flashed them as smile, eyeing Vedran with thoughtful suspicion.

"Hello," she said, in strongly accented Nerathi. "Welcome travelers. You want food? Drink?"

"Thank you," he answered in the same, then switched to Ahkasic. "Do you still serve the pilgrim's meals?"

She smiled more broadly, her eyes still questioning. "Have you been here before then? You look familiar."

"I used to come whenever I was passing this way, with Merlyn - does he still come in when he's in town?"

She nodded slowly, thinking, resting her hands on her hips. "He does..." her eyes went wide. "VEDRAN!"

He grinned, smiling over at Aleyn. "Yes, and this is ... a close friend of mine, Aleyn. We're just here for a little bit, but I had to bring him here. It's the best food, and the best hospitality."

Stazia smiled over at Aleyn then, looking him over with renewed curiosity. "Well, welcome!"

"Good evening," Aleyn smiled warmly, greeting the young woman in Ahkasic. It felt odd to be using the language with anyone other than his mother, and the accent in Yeshual was sometimes more tricky to understand, but fortunately at least so far he hadn't stumbled over too many words. "Vedran has told me how wonderful this place is, and I'm looking forward to enjoying all the house specialties - or as many as I can, anyway!"

Stazia nodded. "If it is your first time here, I recommend the pilgrim's feast. It has a little bit of almost everything. And lots of our special rice." She paused. "Where are you from? I can't quite place your accent, though it sounds maybe coastal?"

"The pilgrim's feast sounds ideal," said Aleyn, grinning. "And it comes with tea, I hope? My mother comes from Oshuar," he added in response to her question, "but I grew up in Nerath, in Highmark. So you're right about the coast, on both continents."

"Ahh, that explains it then, hmm. Oshuar, yes. Well - is that the pilgrim's feast for two then? And tea for two?" When Vedran nodded, she continued. "So you're just here for a bit? What's brought you back?"

"Business," he answered, "unfortunately. I wish we could just stay and revisit everywhere."

"Well, if you only have a little time, I think you have made a good choice. I'll go get your dinners, and tell aunty you're here - she might even come out of the kitchen for you.... maybe."

"Thanks, Stazia."

After she disappeared, Vedran leaned back in his chair, stretching out his legs so that the tangled casually with Aleyn. "So far, so good?"

Aleyn nodded. "It should be great, I'm sure." He paused for a moment, twining his fingers together a bit nervously. "So... they're okay with half-breeds here, I guess? And...uh, us?" His mother had told him to be careful, but then she always did when he was going off on a job - he wasn't sure how much to read into her warnings.

"These people know me, so they're okay on that front. And they should be okay with us, too. Yeshual is pretty open-minded in that regard. It's not a big deal in most places, but it can vary by extremes with some of the nomadic groups depending on the context. In some places in matter more by class too, at least in the sense that 'slaves don't count.'"

He shrugged, knowing Aleyn hadn't really asked for a lesson, leaning back across the table to cover his hands with his own. "We're fine here."

"Good," Aleyn said, relaxing and giving Vedran a more comfortable smile. "Glad to hear it. Well, not the part about the slaves, that's a bit... yeah, that probably makes for some difficult situations." He thought for a moment of Vedran's old boyfriend, or whatever he had been, and wondered if that assumption of status had been part of the differences that had come between them. "It's great that they still remember you here, after years and years - you must have eaten here a lot," he teased gently, changing the subject to something lighter.

He grinned. "Well.... Enough, let's say. It was kind of a tradition, like I said. We used Yeshual as sort of a base of operations for traveling seasons, because of the temple, so we were here more than anywhere else."

He sat back to make room as Stazia brought out a tea pot with two little cups, and poured a glass for each of them before slipping back to the kitchen.

"Anyway, there's some places in the market I'll try and take you if we have time too. I gave the girls a bit of a tour earlier when you were up at the gate temple, but I admit I was holding back on some of my favourites."

"The temple is pretty impressive itself, but I'm more interested in seeing the places that are special to you," Aleyn said, picking up the little cup of steaming tea and blowing on it to cool it off slightly before taking a sip. "And the market would be great if we have time - at the very least, I'd like to get a little present for my mother." She always refused his offers of money to help out around the house (which none of his siblings did, even those who accepted it grudgingly or with the proviso that it was 'for the kids') but he could always tempt his mother with a gift. "Maybe some spices that are hard to find back home, or fabric she could have made into something nice," he said thoughtfully.

"Maybe if we don't stay up *too* late we can go by early tomorrow morning. That's when you can usually get the best deals anyway. Its good luck to make an early sale, after all. I'd recommend something easily portable, though."

"Hm, I don't know, how late were you planning to stay up?" he asked playfully. The temple of Avandra's hostel for travellers didn't provide particularly luxurious - or spacious, or private - accommodations, but he was prepared to be resourceful if Vedran was.

"Well," he smiled, matching Aleyn's tone and toying with his tea cup, "considering I'm still not fully adjusted and it feels like this should be about noon... I can certainly see the potential for a pretty late night. Assuming we can find somewhere interesting to go in the city that late."

"I'm sure we could manage to find somewhere," Aleyn said, grinning. "I mean, depending on your definition of 'interesting'..."

"I'll ask Stazia when she comes back if she has any suggestions. But if nothing else, we could always grab a room at a proper inn somewhere..."