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Date Posted: 20:45:24 11/01/01 Thu
Author: Sarra (and a little Kandarin)
Subject: new faces
In reply to: Tia 's message, "Wouldn't want to miss out on a good dinner!" on 18:40:34 11/01/01 Thu

Sarra was quiet after Erlic finished his apology, but she met his eyes with a slight nod of acceptance that she knew he would understand. She was physically exhausted from the battle below, more so than she cared to admit, and emotionally exhausted from the recent verbal combat she’d partaken with Erlic. However, her thoughts were enough in order to send a suspicious tingle up her spine when Erlic immediately drew Laurel into the hall. Sarra’s earlier absorption of a feeling of dislike from Laurel might not have been too far off base…it seemed as if Laurel was more to blame for the accusations Erlic had made than was Erlic himself. Annoyed by this, Sarra’s eyes narrowed, but her attention moved to Ravin as he spoke.

“They must be serving dinner.” Now that sounded appealing! Her stomach growled, and she realized just how much energy she’d sapped herself of in the dealings with the dust monsters. “Erlic did say he hoped you’d stay with us, and I feel the same way.”

Smiling and grateful for the words, Sarra followed him into the hall, from Erlic’s directions choosing an empty room and tossing the small pack she wore on the outside of her clothing on the dresser, then removing the smaller, concealed packages she’d stored the jewels from the sarcophagi from the linings of her slim-fitting hide clothing.

These she laid amongst her spare hand-knives in a drawer, shrugging at the prospect that someone might lift them from her. There didn’t seem to be any one worthy of mistrust in the group insofar, and the palace was well guarded. She shed her working clothing and slid into a more comfortable silk trousers and waist-tunic, both black, sliding her fingers through the long smooth hair that hung in glistening darkness down her back.

Sarra started toward the dining area, the location of which was effectively stored in her brain, along with every other room she’d seen in her explorations with Ravin, in a handy mental map. Her current emotions barely in check, she reviewed the thoughts filling her mind carefully, so the reappearance of one or more of them later wouldn’t upset her composure, as it might be needed.

Laurel…well, what to say about her? Sarra accepted that she wouldn’t always be liked by everyone, but the elven woman fit into the latter category with far too much ease for Sarra’s comfort. Had she offended Laurel somehow, or did she disapprove of Sarra for some reason? She hadn’t always been popular amongst female companions in the past, as she tended to get along better with men, who were up front and generally easier to get along with from her point of view. Not that she’d ever really had a close female friend as a basis of comparison, but nevertheless Sarra had, for some reason, always strayed away from friendships with females and towards friendships with men. Perhaps this was because the only person who truly knew her heart, inside and out, was her brother, and a good woman friend was too far a leap for her to be brave enough to take a chance at.

Not that any of this really had much to do with her current predicament, but deep thinking did tend to web out and get out of control as far as Sarra was concerned. Furrowing her brow and pausing in the hall to press the heels of both hands to her eyes, she realized that she had been extremely lonely, needing of a confidante. It had been almost three years since she’d last seen her brother, and in all honesty, he was the only person she truly trusted enough to open up to. All the emotions she had penned up in her heart were raging with more fury than ever, and it was a struggle to maintain the cool detachment she had always adopted as a barrier to the world.

Sucking in a deep lungful of air, she pressed on, slipping into the kitchen and blinking at the number of people she saw there. There were the two young men from the bedroom where Erlic had confronted her with his accusations, then an extremely ugly gentleman, another youth holding a staff topped with a skull. There was another kid, younger than the others she could tell, who had the oddest bodily decorations she’d ever seen, and then a rather beautiful, dark-eyed fellow who looked quiet, and she imagined was a healer of some sort. Then Tia and Rowan, both of whom she’d already met.

Then there was Ravin, next to the ugly fellow, with a spare seat beside him. She slid onto it, hoping he didn’t mind her taking advantage of the empty space, and leaned close to whisper: “Thanks, by the way. I didn’t get a chance to say it back there, but it meant a lot to me for you to stand up for me.” It was a heartfelt statement. Leaning back on the stool once more she eyed the un-introduced members of the party she was intent on becoming a part of, her stomach growling at the sight of food.

The doors opened again and Kandarin and Neramii entered. She wondered where they’d gone after she’d seen them last, and why they seemed to be in one another’s company so much. Kandarin seemed to have a rather shifty personality, and Neramii was inhuman after all. That would certainly sway Sarra from spending too much time around her…not that she particularly had a problem with other sentient species, but this Neramii was just a little too awkward around her heightened senses.

Kandarin was growing closer to Neramii. She’d originally been hostile toward what she’d learned was an unholy being, but she found a kinship with the shapeshifter. Both were rather reclusive in the group to which they now belonged, and due to her upbringing it was as difficult for her to associate with the over-direct outlanders as it was for Neramii. But, the more “modern” members of Nerombian society presented a steady way for the two to grow more used to the world, and Kandarin had soon learned that the life she sought in the next year or so was rather identical to what Neramii hoped to find. They’d been spending a lot of time talking quietly together, and in her Kandarin saw the prospect of true soul-deep friendship.

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