Stone's Throw

[Charon Tethras]

"Hrmph," grumps Charon, tail tip twitching. He has to be careful where he suns himself; family four had caught him sunning one afternoon and tanned his backside for 'idleness', nevermind that his chores were done and it was a beautiful day. One reason they'd started meeting at the riverbank was so Charon could come home with a few fish to show for his efforts, to prove he was spending his day off wisely. 

"Anyway," he sighs, no longer feeling as playful. "You want me to read that out to you now that I'm here?"

[Diligence]

A tongue flickers out, and a note of concern enters Dil's voice. "I would, yes, if you're truly wishing to do so for me. You seem kind of... down though."

[Charon Tethras]

"Oh, it's not that. Just, missing childhood I guess. I must have enjoyed sunbathing when I was with my mother, right?" Dil knows well by now that Charon barely recalls that time, which makes sense given he was a toddler during it. 

[Diligence]

"Oh." Diligence winces, never knowing what to say about things like this. He has zero memories of his parents after all. He's never even met another kobold before. Charon had managed to sneak his way into the township records once and there aren't any in the entire province, at least not officially. "You, umm, wanna talk about it or..." He coughs awkwardly. "Or would could try animating some dead mice? I have enough reagents for two more attempts so..."

[Charon Tethras]

"Yeah," Charon says relieved. "Let's animate some mice. And maybe after we could do some fishing."

[Diligence]

"Fishing is great," Dil agrees, both because he likes fish and because it's something that he can do well despite being functionally blind. Well. As long as he can figure out where the water is anyway, which isn't an issue in the familiar cove.

[GamesMaster]

They only manage to raise one mouse, but they consider that a success. After all, Dil is blind and Charon has never been to necromancer schooling, only learning from tutoring his best friend. They catch a few catfish in the river, which Dil lets Charon bring home to show his industriousness. Still, he's scolded when he gets back; catfish are "poor people food", unlike the salmon he doesn't have the skill to manage, not at this time of year when they're not thick in the river. But it's only a scolding, not a beating, so overall, life is going pretty good for Charon today. 

Later, he'll look back on this day with fondness. It is, after all, the last of his carefree days as a boy in Sweetwater before everything else happens. 

[GamesMaster]

The straw that broke the dragon's back comes casually, over dinner; as Felicity passes the potatoes to her mother, Parisa, she sighs and says "I will miss you, sweet girl."

"Miss me? Am I going somewhere?" asks Felicity, and every child at the table was on edge. 

"Oh, yes, didn't I mention? You, Diligence, and Joy are being sent onward. What with the crop failure and all, it just seems fair to pick the biggest eaters." Felicity's eyes cloud with tears; she can't help it, she's an imisy goblin, and she's always hungry despite trying her best to control herself. Joy is an imisy troll in a growth spurt; at eleven, she's starting to get her full size, and that requires a lot of food. 

[Diligence]

"Wait what?" Having been lost in his thoughts, Diligence can't quite process through what Parisa is saying. Biggest eaters? Onward? What?

[GamesMaster]

Joy scowls. "That's not fair! We work just as hard as everyone else!"

"I know, dear. You're a good girl. I put in a word with the Agency to recommend a future home for you. I suggested they keep you all together; you'll like your new parents, they're Keindranasi so they'll know best how to take care of you."

[Diligence]

"No, wait, what? Back up please," Diligence insists, voice rising. Not in volume though; his natural aversion to loud displays might not have keep his volume down by itself, but his foster parents had reinforced that preference rather firmly. "I have school here. And-- and Joy just got an apprenticeship?"

[GamesMaster]

"That will have to go, of course. But there's schools in Cloud Song's domain, and... what was it dear? Butchers?"

"Baker," mumbles Joy, looking slightly queasy -- she eats elven style for a reason, after all. 

"There are butchers in every domain. I'll pass along your preference when I pick up the money."

"Money?" asks Felicity. 

"I mean, the paperwork from the agency, of course."

[Diligence]

There's a small pause before, "Cloud Song is over a week away from here. Maybe twice that on foot, alone." Dil's voice is almost numb now, his hands tightly clenched into fists under the table.

[GamesMaster]

"Don't be so dramatic, Diligence. You'll only have to go that way once. Think of it as a new adventure."

[Diligence]

"But I don't want to go that way once. Zero or twice would be much better."