(Con't from Playdate on Haligan Island thread)
Seasick: Dagny and Havelock along with Shadow spent most of the day inside the forest, exploring every corner of it as well as getting to know more about each other.
As dinnertime approached, the kids decided to head back and join up with their sibling. They could see the large group of children standing near the Chief’s house, however there was someone else with them. Havelock didn’t know who it was, but Dagny seemed to, as her eyes widened with excitement.
Nalaagura: It had been a while since Nalaagura had visited the island of Chief Grey, and she figured the Arnasons wouldn’t need her around in the next week or so. Besides, she had not been with any children besides Liam and Kendra in years.
But perhaps this was too many children at once, she mused.
As she approached, she worried over if she would scare them. Nala tilted her head to the side, a bit confused at the crowd. As far as she knew, Grey only had a few children, not nearly this many. She adjusted the tattered shawl over her shoulders nervously and ran her jointed fingers through her violet hair.
…Grey? she called out tentatively, eyes roaming the group.
Grey: As she noticed Dagny and Havelock returning to the village with Shadow, Chief Grey jumped at the familiar voice and turned around. Her eyes widened when she saw the familiar figure approach her and the children, and she smiled. She immediately knew who it was. Overwhelmed with happiness, she ran over to her old friend.
“Nala!” she tried to say in a low voice careful not to expose her demon friend. “Nala, my friend! It’s so good to see you!”
Meanwhile, Sven looked up and noticed his mother talking to someone. He immediately recognized the figure. “DAGS, KARI, LOOK!” Sven suddenly shouted. “IT’S AUNT NALA!! AUNT NALA!!!”
“AUNT NALA!!!” Dagny and Kari shouted in unison as they ran over to the demon and their mother.
N: Her eyes curved in a smile and she bent down on one knee to reach out and hug the children as they ran to her. Hello, little ones, she laughed, lightly touching their minds. She glanced up behind them and nodded to Grey as well. Then her gaze shifted behind the family. Who are all of them…what are they doing here? A nervous worry seized her that they might be hostile towards demons.
S: All of the seachildren stood around their parents, not knowing the strange person who arrived, and thinking it was rude to interrupt. Havelock joined back up with his siblings, forgetting that he was gone for most of the day.
“Who’s that, mom?” Havelock asked Seasick, tugging at her sleeve.
Seasick had paled when she saw the woman arrive. After all these years, she never thought she’d ever see that demon again. She quickly pulled Havelock behind her, and stepped forward.
“The Warden…” Seasick said in a low voice. “What is she doing here?”
G: Chief Grey and her husband Brandt watched in pure joy as their children reunited with their aunt. Nalaagura hadn’t come to visit too often, so the children were always excited to see her visit Haligan Island. She then noticed Nala gesture to the family behind them. Grey heard Nala’s question in her mind and smiled.
“Oh, it’s alright,” Grey said gently. “They’re friends of ours. You remember Seasick from the–” She suddenly stopped when she looked at Seasick and her family and remembered one tiny detail… “Oh…”
The three children stopped and looked at their mother.
“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Kari asked.
Grey didn’t answer Kari. She smiled at Seasick and held up her hands. “It’s okay, Seasick,” she said. “Na–The Warden is our friend now…you remember that…don’t you…?”
S: Seasick stared hard at the Warden. Her mind went back to the days of the Rebellion and the terrible things that had happened. But then remembered that slowly the Warden had changed…
“Ah, yes, well, she’s your friend. Not mine.” Seasick said sternly. Glancing at her children and then to Grey’s children, Seasick’s priority was the safety of the children.
“I just want to make sure our children will be safe around her. I know you are friends, but are you sure she won’t harm us or the children?” Seasick asked, trying to remain calm.
N: Nala sighed. This again.
I swear I will do no harm to your offspring, Seasick. I have been friends with both the scout and the half-cat for years, as well as the Chief and her family. They can vouch for me. She was tense, anxious, anticipating just as much as Seasick was.
S: Seasick looked at both the Warden and to Grey, and sighed. “Okay, I trust you, I’m in no real mood to fight anyways.”
Turning to her children, Seasick introduced them to the demon. ”Children, this is someone Grey and I knew from our rebellion days, a demon known as The Warden. She won’t hurt you.”
G: Dagny stopped and looked at Aunt Seasick, then her Aunt Nala, and then at her mother. Confused was etched all over her face.
“Mommy, why did Aunt Seasick call Aunt Nala ‘Warden?’” she asked curiously.
“Yeah, that’s not her name,” Sven added.
Grey froze as she realized that that was one detail she always tried to leave out in the Rebellion stories she told to the children. That the demon Warden and their Aunt Nala were one and the same.
“Uhh…well, you see, kids, Aunt Nala…sometimes…prefers to be called that by the people who don’t know her as well as we do,” she stammered grimacing at Nala hoping that was believable enough. “It’s kind of like how people who I don’t know call me ‘Chief.’”
N: Nala’s scarlet gaze flicked from Grey to Seasick to the children and back to Grey, narrowing slightly as she put together the children’s confusion with the chief’s stumbling excuse. Hopefully they will ignore it. She looked cautiously at the other kids, raising a hand in greeting and immediately feeling foolish. It’s…it’s good to meet you.
S: Havelock pushed his way through his siblings and walked up to Nala. “Although mom doesn’t like you, I think you’re pretty cool!!” The boy said, staring up at her.
Seasick let out a small awkward laugh, while Ellidi just stared in confusion. The rest of the seachildren slowly greeted Nala, curious about her history with their mother and Grey.
G: Grey watched the children slowly approach the demon and her children. Sven, Dagny, and Kari seemed to have forgotten about it as they were conversing with the other children about their aunt Nala. The Chief could only look up at Nala with a nervous grin on her face.
“I’m sorry,” she said.