xp_logs | Rahne and Nathan, medlab, Saturday around lunch

Rahne ventures down to the medlab, bringing Nathan lunch. The two of them talk about what's happened - or try to, rather, as Nathan's still not communicating very well in English. She tells him about her dream, and he makes a promise to tell her more about the Askani once he can.

Apparently, Nathan was all right. Still in one piece, at any rate, even if he had been causing housequakes. Visitors seemed to be allowed (and Rahne rather thought she might have been let in to see him anyway, except in extreme circumstances), and it seemed that lunch might be in order.

So she slipped down to medlab with four large sandwiches, two apples, and a couple of the giant cups with lids on them she'd found months ago, with milk in them.

She found Nathan humming something that sounded vaguely familiar at the ceiling. "Er, hello? I've brought ye lunch if ye want it."

Nathan blinked at the little redhead who had spontaneously appeared at his door, then smiled broadly. "Rahne," he said happily, a bit embarassed that he'd missed her approaching. Some telepath he was... but then, his head was awfully full today. "Se'mahri, ni'vallio?"

Her eyebrows went up in confusion. "I doona speak Askani," she reminded him. At least he sounded cheerful. "Do ye feel like eating?" She brought the tray over anyway.

English, Nathan told himself, and tried again. "Yes. Thank--you," he said carefully, then grinned. "Ni'ascena... missed--dinner."

"Maybe I should've asked ye or Doug to start teaching me that," Rahne remarked, setting the tray up and pulling a chair over to perch on. "Ye missed breakfast, too, I suppose? I thought I'd brought enough for us both, but I can always go get more."

Nathan shook his head. "Stay," he said, still smiling at her. "Good... ti'eana." He sat up slowly, wincing a little as his side protested, again, but kept the smile on as Rahne gave him a worried look. "Okay," he assured her.

"All right." She tilted her head. "Ti'..eana?" She mispronounced it slightly.

"Ti'eana," Nathan said, concentrating for a moment, trying to find the English. "It's...enough. Lots."

"Oh. Good." Rahne appropriated one of the cups again. "Yui're in a verra good mood now...."

"Over," Nathan said, tapping his temple with a finger. "Vai'irae... visions."

She blinked. "What? --I'm glad, but -- how do you know?" She'd rather thought he might have reached some sort of detente with them, but she wouldn't have thought spouting Askani involuntarily would be a consequence of *not* having them anymore.

Nathan frowned, utterly failing to find the words to explain it to her. "I know," he said a bit hesitantly, but then smiled at her again, hoping she would see in his eyes that he did know that he was right. "Kaleesra... positive."

"...All right." Rahne pushed one of the sandwiches toward him. "Should I stop asking ye questions?" she asked with a little grin.

He chuckled wryly, picking up the sandwich. "No'hai... hard. To answer."

"Aye, well." Rahne took a sandwich and bit into it thoughtfully. "Ye were sharing dreams last night, I think," she said after she'd swallowed. "Nae the awful ones," she added quickly, "just... strange."

Nathan took a bite of the sandwich, chewing and swallowing before answering. It gave him a moment to muster the words. "Amanda...said." He tilted his head, looking at Rahne concernedly. "Did--you? Dream?"

"Aye."

He tilted his head a little further, giving her an inquiring look that he hoped she would take as an invitation to explain.

Rahne had stopped for another bite and laughed a little at the unworded question. "Aye, sorry. I was... I got in as somebody's dog, I think. Dog-thing? It didna feel quite like my wolf-form. I -- it -- came out of the dark to a campfire and lay down, and they were all singing. Well, nae the dog."

How very odd, Nathan thought. He was going to have to find out about all of these dreams, however many of the others in the mansion had been hit by them, and figure out whether there was some pattern or not. After he apologized for apparently leaking all over the place overnight, of course.

"Not... bad?" he asked hopefully.

"No. Not... anything like what... ye'd been having, I think. They werena at peace, exactly, but having a peaceful moment. Mostly." She stopped and frowned a little, remembering the end. "Something did try to sneak up on them. It didna work."

"Why?" Nathan asked curiously.

"Er... Well, I'm thinking that's part of what they had the dog for. I remember... knowing 'twas there, and going out to get it. 'Twas a fighter. I mean, the dog was. I think if they'd been in a battle before, it was too, and it got whatever was sneaking even though the thing was bigger."

Nathan nodded slowly, eating a little more of the sandwich. "Jhaaya," he said. "Interesting. You're... all right?"

"Aye, I'm... I doona ken what the thing was, but it was going to try to eat my -- the people there if I didna kill it first. It tasted terrible," she added reflectively, "but the dog was very pleased with itself."

Nathan studied her for a long moment, the sandwich briefly forgotten. "Fidayel," he said finally, his voice soft. "Loyal... all of them. To each other."

"...Aye."

Nathan smiled slightly. "When--I can," he started slowly, "I'll...tell. All of it. Sie'gaesta... their story." It was one of the things he knew he had to do. The kids, especially, had to know, to understand.

Rahne tilted her head. "....I think that's gonnae be a long one."

"He'entara," Nathan said, his smile growing. "A hundred years."

"...Is that what they were wanting?"

"One thing," Nathan said, nodding, the smile still playing on his lips. He was going to need to get much more of his English back before he could explain the rest to anyone.

Rahne regarded him wryly. "...I'll wait to ask what else, aye?"

Nathan laughed and nodded. "Thank you," he said again, and it was a little more easy this time. He hoped Rahne would understand that he meant for more than just the food.

"Well, I doona think I'll understand the answer if I ask now," she replied with a grin.

Nathan saluted her with his raised cup. "Later," he promised.