Honey, I'm Home!|Naurorod

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"I didn't even know who the bloody blazes you were related to until I got here!" Alexi snarled back. "Pits! Now I remember why I take herbs." He sat down on the other side of the fire. "That's one of the things I stocked up on in Ilyamen, if you must know. But damn it, I was just trying to be careful when I asked. I'm not hot on the idea of being a father; I've been avoiding it since I was fifteen."

[Kender Bard]

Charminei calmed down a little, staring at her stew and relaxing. "You take herbs? Good." She heaved a sigh of relief. "I'm not keen on kids myself. Cute little buggers but I can't raise 'em." Careful, Charminei, that's cutting it close to the truth. "Look, I'm sorry I snapped..." She smiled at him a little sheepishly. "I'm just moody. To be honest, you're the last person I want to upset. I need a dependable friend, and Locke's certainly in no position for me to go cry on his shoulder." Looking at him a little slyly, she tried to shift topics. "How old are you anyway?"

[Deleted]

Alexi debated telling her. Only his family knew how old he was. "How old do I look?" he hedged.

[Kender Bard]

Charminei smiled, amused as she studied him. "Old enough not to be a kid but young enough to still be sexy." Grinning she tapped her cheek and hazarded, "Late twenties?"

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"Thank you. I'm flattered. Praise Forces I still look that young," Alexi sighed, and looked around to see if anyone was in earshot or eavesdropping before leaning forward and lowering his voice. "I'm thirty-eight." He leaned back, suddenly grinning. "And you thought I was in my late twenties? Hot damn. I am a stud."

[Kender Bard]

Charminei laughed in delight at that. Seeing his discomfort at having his age revealed though, she grinned at him, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Since you told me your secret, I'll..." And then she switched over to mind-speaking. ~Gladly show you mine!~

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Alexi choked on his stew. "Forces, don't DO that! I had enough trouble when the kid had to call me last-" He broke off, black eyes widening. "Holy Etaf f---ing Taed upside-down on a group of cacti," he whispered. "You're not a spitfire, you're a Mindfire! Pits!"

[Kender Bard]

Charminei frowned, lunging forward and trying to clamp a hand over his mouth. "Shut UP!" Looking around nervously, she added ~Be quiet, I didn't say it was a secret for you to go hollaring at the top of your lungs over it. This is the only edge I've got sometimes and I'd rather keep it a hidden ace, if you catch my meaning.~

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"Since when does a whisper count as yelling?" Alexi asked in exasperation, prying Charminei's hand off his face. "But pits! That's some edge, babe. Ever think of sharpening it?"

It looked as though they were safely straying from baby territory. Thank Forces.

[Kender Bard]

Charminei relaxed, shaking her head. "I only know how to mind-speak and do very tiny teleporting. Only once have I been able to do something long-range, and that's because I thought my home was burning down, which it nearly was. Believe me, it nearly knocked me out. The power's there, but it's untrained. I should probably try buuut... I don't know, I grew up under the impression it was a curse so I don't think about it much." Her mind started to drift with that current until she pulled it back to reality. "Anyway, what do you think about heading to Maelstrom sometime? Just you and me." She flashed him a smile and fluttered her eyes in what she hoped was a charming gesture.

[Deleted]

"I could go for that." Alexi served himself some more stew. "But what about your brother and everything that has to be done here?"

[Kender Bard]

A stab of guilt assulted her and she tried her best to ignore it. "He'll live. Maybe if I up and disappeared it'd show him I'm not his to boss around. He can go back to the clan and rest up and run things from there; all the hot spots have been taken care of. It's no hardship. I do know that if he pressures me, I might burn down this whole place single handedly in a fit of rage. I'd rather avoid the situation of butting heads if I can help it."

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"I think I would too. The Clears have worked really hard to make this place a home." Alexi finished his stew and briefly went into the tent, coming back with two small loaves of bread, one of which he tossed to Charminei. "Here, dessert. It has fruit stuffed in there."

[Kender Bard]

Charminei nibbled, smiled at the taste, and took a large bite. "So how about it? We can leave whenever you're ready. It'll be fun!"

[Deleted]

"Gimme about a week or so," Alexi decided after thinking about it for a while. "I still have to get some hunting done to help these people stock up. They've really thinned out the game around here, so we have to range pretty far to get lucky."