Supplies., -Tori

[Akedhi]

Tomas can't live off the land. He never learned how, you see, and so while he's been stalking and hovering around the edges of the Miar caravan - the home of his brother and the new home of his son - he has to slip back into town for food and things every now and then.

He's getting better at figuring out what he'll need for how long and how to ration it out. The caravan's probably going to be moving on, soon. It's a wonder they've stayed in the same general area for so long.

Probably something to do with the hunting. Fur traders, you know.

He's as inconspicuous as an elf can be, in this city of humans. His hat is pulled low over his ears, his hair, after a week of it catching on briars and brambles, was cut much shorter than had been his wont in the city.

At the moment, he's haggling over the sort of dry bread that travels well and crumbles little. The merchant is trying to cheat him because he's an elf. He's not letting him, though.

He's already got hard cheese and dried bacon in a back over his shoulder. This will last him a few weeks or so.

[VictorianDragon]

Go get some fresh food and such for the tavern, 'Det. Here's some money for it, 'Det. Go save the village, 'Det. Do everything for us... She grumbled in her head while deftly sorting through the wares offered by the merchants in the market. They all knew her well enough and that what she bought was for the tavern, so Odette usually got a discount. Even thinking about that didn't do much to lighten her mood.
Today had been a particularly bad 7 hours in a chain of bad days. Ever since she'd found Robbie missing and a brief note from Tomas explaining the kidnapping, 'Det just hadn't been able to pull herself together. She'd never met this brother of Tomas' and was decidedly unhappy about being left out of the raising of her son. And yet...she was utterly helpless to do anything about it. Oh yes, she'd wept and she'd yelled and vowed to strangle Tomas if she ever saw him again.
But what good had that done her?
Pushing aside an unruly piece of sandy hair, 'Det sighed and offered the merchant his usual asking price for fresh vegetables. Turning as she made her way to the stand she purchased bread from, Odette froze in her tracks and nearly dropped her bag.
"Tomas?" Her voice came out in a shocked, angry little whisper. Could that possibly be him? Would he have the nerve to return here after leaving yet again, this time with her son?
'Det simply stared, disbelieving.

[Akedhi]

Tomas freezes, like an animal caught by sudden light. He turns, slowly.

"Um... hi?"

He fully expects her to do something drastic. He's tense, ready to flee and probably never come back to Kaste. He'll have to get his supplies and things somewhere else. Or he'll learn to live off the land.

It can't be that hard.

[VictorianDragon]

For a few tense moments, 'Det was simply still. Her eyes were unblinking, but as her mind processed the situation a cold fury lit behind them. The Treyan advanced upon him with all the stealth of her second form, stopping a scant few inches from his face, her bag of supplies all but forgotten.

"What," she hissed, "are you doing back here anywhere near me? And," here her voice grew from a slight whisper to a normal level, "where is my SON?!"

[Akedhi]

Tomas takes a step back.

Eep, angry mother ack please don't kill me.

"Um. Getting supplies."

Pause.

"And I told you. I took him to Rob."

He's going to be raised like a true elf, not somewhere halfway between elf and human, like his parents.

'Det should be proud!

... hah. Right.

[VictorianDragon]

Odette took a deep, calming breath...or something like it. "That tells me nothing Tomas. I don't know where Rob is..."

She realized after a moment that her fists were clenched, along with her teeth; she probably looked a scary sight. She also realized that she probably looked something horrible. She'd had a few sleepless nights and hadn't cared as much about her appearance as usual.

"...which means I don't know where Robbie is." There was an unspoken sadness to her voice now, a sort of resigned, 'You took him from me and all I want is to see him.'

[Akedhi]

Tomas hesitates. He honestly is trying to do what is best for Robbie - what he thinks is best for the lad - and he didn't mean to hurt 'Det... exactly... He was angry with her for a bit there, but...

"I can take you to see him, maybe."

He takes his hat off and twists it between his hands.

"I'd have to... arrange it."

By which he means he'd have to sneak around behind Rob's back and find a chance to see Robbie himself.

He's not clan either, remember?

[VictorianDragon]

"Do so," 'Det replied without hesitation, slightly taken aback by her own boldness; hers was a quiet strength, not usually the kind to impose upon others. But this was her son, after all. Not just anyone...

A light weight felt as though it had been lifted from her. A tangible knowing that her son was within grasp, possibly within sight...mayhaps not yet, but soon; that made her feel a million times better. She even smiled.

Then, looking to Tomas, it faded ever so slightly, knowing he was the reason she couldn't have her son. However, she felt ever so much better and refused to let him dampen the mood. She did, however, look weathered and tired as she said, "All I wan is to see him, if I can't have him back."

[Akedhi]

"Gods dammit, 'Det, don't look at me like that."

I believe that's guilt talking.

He rubs his temples, frustrated and guilty and rather feeling cut-off and distant from his son too. (It's not as painful for him as it is for her, because he hardly knew Robbie existed before he gave him away, but it still hurts.)

And, to take his mind off the guilt, he lashes out.

"What the hell were you thinking, raising him like that? He might as well have been born human."

[VictorianDragon]

While she had been in a fairly placid mood thus far as she addressed Tomas, his anger brought the irritation she'd been facing the rest of the day bubbling back up to the surface.

"I'm not a full elf, Tomas! He is part human!" Odette's face was slowly reddening and her fists were clenched. Her anger spent, at least for the moment, she turned on her heel and picked up her forgotten bag of supplies, making to go to the tavern once more, to cool off if nothing else.

She had a feeling Tomas would follow after what she'd said, knowing him to be the curious sort. Besides, he'd want to know why his precious little son wasn't a full elf after all.

And people were starting to look.

[Akedhi]

... pause.

Tomas has to go over that in his mind a few times before he's certain he heard her correctly, and then he runs to catch up with her.

"What are you talking about?" Why didn't you tell me from the start that you weren't pure-blooded? Might not have slept with you then, quite possibly would have, it's not like an exile really gets to be all that choosy in his bedmates and by the way, it's been a really long time.

"What do you mean, you're... Shit."

[VictorianDragon]

There's a certain glare that every woman has, a "death glare." Many achieve this frightening look at a young age. Odette turned that stare on Tomas right then.

"Yes, that's right...look down upon me, frown, curse. Does that make me unworthy to be near you, to have had your son?" She shook her head, a few sandy locks shaking free of her loose braid.

"You didn't seem to mind so much when you met me..." There was a choked lonliness hidden behind her anger, but she bit it back as best she could and continued to glare at Tomas.

[Akedhi]

"Oh, bugger that. I'm an exile, how much pride do you think I've got?" He scowls.

"And I didn't know before. Shit. Shit. Shit."

He's talking too fast, stumbling over his words. His mind is moving too quickly for his mouth to keep up.

"He'll pass, it's fine, he's mostly elf - how much human blood did you say you had? - Rob won't notice. I hope."

[VictorianDragon]

"I'm half human, Tomas..." She shook her head and readjusted the weight of her supplies, facing him with a somewhat ironic smile. "My father was human, mother was an elf."

"Which would make Robbie a fourth human. Is that noticable?"

She was almost having fun with this, watching Tomas squirm. In fact, it would've been amusing if it wasn't the life of her son she was talking about. Being noticable would mean...what? Possible exile, abandoment, death maybe? She didn't know.

[Akedhi]

"Better not be," he answers.

"They threw me out, and I'm pureblood. Bad luck. Wrong form. The caravan leader was my father. Current one's my older brother. Shit."

He rubs his face, worried and frustrated and worried.

"Thought you were full-elf. Didn't actually meet your father, 'member? Or your mother, come to think of it. Should be okay. Better be okay."

Gah.

You ought to tell people these things. How inconsiderate.

[VictorianDragon]

Odette bit her lower lip before gesturing for Tomas to continue following her to the tavern.

"What will happen if it isn't okay?" Her face and voice betrayed the fact that she wasn't as calm as she tried to portray. Her hands were trembling a bit as well as they tightened around her bag.

"Something...bad?"

She had wanted to tell him before, when she didn't think Robbie would be swept away under her nose. But he had run off before she could so much as say good-bye.

[Akedhi]

"Yes, 'Det, something bad. I don't think Rob'd kill him... 's not his style. Father might've, but Father's dead. Remind me to spit on his grave sometime. Might throw him out on his own, though. Gah."

This doesn't count as a full-scale panic attack. This is Tomas worrying over something he no longer has any control over and feeling a bit helpless. This is Tomas wishing he'd never met Odette and certainly never slept with her, because it's made his life entirely too complicated. This is Tomas wishing, while he's wishing for the impossible, that he'd been born with the right Form, instead of the damned goat.

"Rob can't see you," he says abruptly. "When I take you to see Robbie, I mean. Tia neither. Might be able to tell you're not entirely elf."

[VictorianDragon]

"Kill him?" she whispered to herself, eyes wide as the words left Tomas' mouth. Exile, perhaps yes, that she'd expected. Maybe even some harsh treatment...but killing. Well, if Tomas was fairly certain it wouldn't happen she'd just have to trust him.

She nodded. "I don't suppose them seeing me, or even knowing where I am, would be a good thing..." Odette pondered for a minute, and you could almost hear the wheels turning in her pretty little head.

"They don't...know who I am, do they?" She wasn't even sure she knew who they were.

[Akedhi]

"No. I didn't have time to talk to Rob much, and I took Robbie on my own." Tentative half-smile. "He can cheat a human merchant out of half of everything he owns, but I bet he can't walk into a locked house and take the rest."

Pause.

"Not that I ever stole from you. I mean. Oh, dammit. Anyway, Rob knows you exist, 'cause I can't've made a baby all by myself, but he doesn't know who you are or anything like that. And I'm going to keep it that way."

Rob doesn't even know that he's been trailing after the caravan for a good long time.

[VictorianDragon]

Odette nodded. "Good." It seemed like he wanted to protect her anonymity it his own sort of way, and she was more than willing to comply. Though she didn't know Tomas' brother, somehow it just didn't seem like a good idea for him to know who she was. Familial attachment to Robbie and such...

"So," she started, somewhat hesitantly, "just how do you propose we go about seeing him? We can't exactly just waltz right in..." She made an elaborate hand gesture that nearly overturned her basket.

Giving a little exapsterated sigh, she once again readjusted it. "Can we go inside?"

[Akedhi]

"Tia."

Pause. He doesn't want to explain all of that. Then again, he has to, doesn't he.

"She's Rob's wife - probably not very happy about him bringing home a child with the family resemblance." Soft chuckle. "Probably doesn't know he's mine, thinks he's Rob's. I don't think Rob'd do that to her, but he wouldn't've told her about me. So, I slip in, get Tia to let me see Robbie, don't tell her about you, and sneak you to the meeting-place."

It sounds awfully complicated, but it should work. Tia would welcome proof that Robbie wasn't a secret love child of Roberto and some strange woman. Right?

"... sure, let's go inside."

[VictorianDragon]

Odette was pensively silent as she led Tomas around to the side door of the tavern, not wanting to have to deal with patrons or other employees at the moment. Nor did she want it known she'd brought a man with her; there were already enough jokes going around about that.

Once inside, she wandered into the small storage room she and Tomas had met in for the second time; this time, she left the door unlocked. Grateful for the relief of a chair, she set her basket on the table in the middle of the room and gestured for Tomas to get comfortable.

"That sounds like as much of a plan as we'll ever get," she conceded after another moment's thought. "Though it sounds risky, especially for you." 'Det couldn't help herself: she was a caring person by nature and didn't like anyone to get hurt, even Tomas.

[Akedhi]

He shrugs.

"'Det, need I remind you that my profession is risky, by its very nature? Heh." He chuckles. It's a bit forced, but he's making light of it. "Rob wouldn't hurt me."

Not even when Tomas asked him to. Rob would never hurt his baby brother, not ever.

"It'll be fine."

[VictorianDragon]

Odette nodded as she began emptying her basket of her purchases, feeling a faint twinge of pain as she remembered that it was usually Robbie who helped her with this. He'd liked being with his mommy when she brought home food: he could usually snitch some.

Almost as if disregarding Tomas' last statement, she continued. "So, when do you think I'll be able to see him?"

She missed him terribly.

[Akedhi]

"Dunno. I'll have to head back and try and arrange an actual meeting, 'stead of the sneaking around I've been doing."

He takes something out of her basket.

"Um... where does this go?"

His own bag of edibles is lying, half-forgotten, on the floor. It's not like that'll hurt the food much - he's eaten worse.