Arrogance and stupidity brought me here

[Meridian]

She's been smart when that Warlord Prince had let her up. Neither running her mouth or darting away, no matter what her instincts had been. She'd waited, trembling with the need to run until he'd said his goodbyes to Talimar. But as soon as he was gone, she'd taken to the sky as quickly as she could and run. She hadn't run far, her marks gone and her food just the same, Meridian had no choice but to wind her way back, taking care to avoid that same clearing until she had come to the inn she stood outside of now.

She needed a place. She needed money and she needed food. If Tailmar could be trusted she might be able to find what she needed here. Just as long as that prince was no where near. Curious probes sent along quiet paths searched for that volatile psyche and found the space around empty of it. Heaving a sigh, Meridian moved forward. She didn't know what would happen if the scarred Prince had been within. She'd have run, no doubt, tail tucked between her legs and wings buzzing with flight. This had to work and have Peiter around would only lend for failure.

Stealing her spine and tucking her wings back, Meridian opened the door and entered. She scanned her immediately area, searching for the open face of Tailmar but not finding it and too interested in the people around her to send out a probe. Such a difference it was from the place she had taken Corian. The Eyrien she'd kept house for elderly and nearing his end not at all like the rough and tumble crowd here in the inn. Maybe this was a mistake. She was certain of it when a voice called out and Meridian spun.

Safety and not someone who would threaten. A simple maid asking what she needed. "Work," she said, "I'm looking for Talimar. Can you point me in his direction?" The maid smiled kindly at her and Meridian was grateful for the motion. A smile was nice, better than her life being threatened. She should have just stayed at home. "I'm a hearth witch with some experience in housekeeping and could use some temporary work," she continued, "If you can fetch him for me, I'd appreciate it."

☘

@dergon

[Talimar]

The only answer Meridian received was a grunt. The old witch, whose skin was like a cross between old leather and tree bark, sliding from her stool. Her eyes could have been any color, hidden by the folds of skin around her eyes, but the wrinkled wings at her back marked her Eyrien. She lead Meridian through the kitchen and out to the side of the inn.

Talimar was there. He leaned against the fence of the small garden the inn kept, gleefully harassing his sister while she pulled weeds. Which were, more often than not, chucked at his head rather than the wheelbarrow he was standing next to. The old crone did not speak then either, but to heads turned to look at them. Eyes similar in shape and color, blinking against the sunlight.

Rian went back to the weeding, shoulders rounded and eyes glancing curiously as her brother wandered over. And the crone wandered away.

”Wasn’t expecting to see you again.” His wings twitched, and then settled down his back. One over the other to protect what was missing. His head cocked in the direction the old woman. ”She didn’t say why you came. You don’t really owe me anything, though. Putting Peitar out is plenty payment for me.” He’d worried when she’d rushed off. He had no wings to chase her with, not anymore. And fleeing a warlord prince was always a gamble. There had been nothing for Talimar to do but walk home. So that’s what he’d done.

”Want to go in? Its cooler, and then she can’t try and eavesdrop.” Wing elbow jerking Rian’s way as his lips turned upward in a grin.

[Meridian]

[size=10pts]
She hadn't expected to be shown out the back of the building by the wrinkled old woman and she hadn't expected Talimar harassing some woman. When the identical eyes came her way Meridian knew that girl was his sibling. They were similar and different enough that from a distance there would be no way someone would know. Up close was an entirely different matter. Meridian shifted from foot to foot, prepared to flee just the same as she been prepared to come here and caught the curious look on the girl's face.

"I wasn't expecting to come find you either," she answered truthfully golden eyes catching the movement of his wings. Her own answering and mimicking, settling down over her back as tense as they were. "She didn't really say much to me either." She smiled lightly, trying to make a bleak situation less so. Meridian didn't know where to go from here. She didn't know how to ask for the help she needed.

"I didn't come to pay you back for helping me out," she started, "Well, maybe I did in a way." She grimaced at the sound of Peitar's name and was reminded she never should have left Corian and the safety of that sleepy little village. She glanced at the girl who continued to weed the garden. She wished her life was as simple as weeding a garden but she'd gone and ruined everything with her inability to keep her mouth shut.

"Please," she answered and followed him inside the building. Her eyes were curious on his wings and she found that one had been damaged in some way. Her lips pursed in sympathy before she cleaned the look from her face and eyes. She settled where he lead them and her eyes darted around taking in the exits and things around her. Exercising a prudence she hadn't shown in that clearing.

She breathed deeply, expanding her chest before letting it out in a rush. "I need work," she started in that rush, "You told Peitar you needed help here and I can help. I know how to clean and I have a fine hand at cooking. Just a bit of work for a while and a place to stay and then I'll be out of your hair." She didn't let the desperation show on her face and fought to keep it out of her voice. She was starving, cabinet empty of the food stuffs she'd stored, and she knew a job here was the only way to keep herself alive for the time being.

"You won't be disappointed if you hire me."[/size]

[Talimar]

”She must be having an off day. She is usually very talkative.” Tali smiled, eyes crinkling at the edges at his joke. From the garden, Rian snorted, eyes rolling skyward as she pulled a weed from the neat row, plucking a worm from the soul around its roots and dropping it back into the ground. ”Quit eavesdropping.” Talimar shot over his shoulder, flicking his whole wing at her in annoyance.

Talimar paid her no more mind. Blind to the eye rolling and tongue sticking as he bent his attention to Meridian and ushered her back into the inn. Eyebrows rushing up at her quick assurance she wasn’t there to  pay him back. Most were quick to claim the opposite, and he wasn’t sure if she was rude or blithely honest as his lips followed his brows. Whatever she was, she was also nervous, eyes rushing about as if he were going to lead her down a hallway to a dungeon.

He made sure to give her some room. Only looking a little when she finally got up her courage to face him, sucking in a deep breath that put her rather on display.

”Oh that.” Talimar grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. That had all just been ribbing. His old hearth witch was still as wrinkled and present as ever. Talimar didn’t have the heart to tell her that though. She seemed to very tense and desperate. He would have to find a gentler way of letting her down. Or maybe the truth was gentle. He had lied mostly to save her. Or rib Peitar. Rian tapped at the back of his barriers, sibling thread so familiar no alarm was ever raised at its approach.

”My sister is a terrible cook,” Talimar told her, coming just a little closer so he could whisper to her. ”Don’t tell her I said that. But everything she makes tastes exactly the same. And always like potatoes.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Rian wasn’t a bad cook, but she wasn’t a very exciting one either. And she had a fondness for root vegetables he just couldn’t understand.

”Now, lady, I can’t pay you much, but room and board can be included if you wished to stay here rather than find a place in town.” It might do his sister good to have some company. Some feminine company.

[Meridian]

Her hopes were sinking faster and faster as Talimar grinned and rubbed at the back of his neck. Had he been lying? Just telling stories for whatever reason? She'd made a mistake coming here. More than one. More than two. She was on the verge of simply turning away and leaving when he started to speak again.

Meridian's answering smile was far weaker than it should have been at the ribbing he was giving his sister, but she couldn't find it in herself to truly find the amusement. Maybe after a time she'd find it again, but for now, she already knew she would have to search for it. She did, however, sniff delicately through her nose, "I am not. I've a decent hand at a stove and I can sew a fairly straight line. You won't have to worry about rats or mice."

She shook her head, "Room and board is perfectly fine and whatever you can pay me is too." She didn't have much choice in the way of payment. She needed money whether it was a small amount here and there or a large sum at once. The only way she could make it home in one piece was with something in her cabinet. And money was the only way to accomplish that. "Have we struck a deal?" she asked as she held out a hand to shake it.