Ausar's eyes were gentle as he heard
Chaceledon's response.
"You are the only one who can make the decision to leave your family behind," he said.
"Make sure that it is not one you will regret, and that you will never hold it against Seteta later in your lives if it is the choice you make."
Seteta frowned slightly.
"I still need to get you a ring," she said quietly. It wouldn't be anywhere near as complex and delicate as what he'd made for her, she would certainly be able to shape something from gemstone.
She tucked away the information Chaceledon gave about Dahn Argys. It might be outdated, but it was more than she'd been told so far.
Ausar, Seteta, and Rehema all fell silent as Rheinhard spoke, though. Seteta rubbed her thumb nervously over the back of Chaceledon's knuckles, biting at her lip. A lot of things Rheinhard said were things she'd considered. Some she hadn't known to consider, though.
And she knew that Chaceledon didn't like to consider deviations from his hopes and dreams. He liked to charge forward assuming things would work out how he wanted. But the Inizae couldn't afford to do that. Seteta herself walked a delicate line between living in the moment and planning for multiple possibilities for the future.
Of course, when she'd left
Amol-Kalit, falling in love with a dragon had not been something she'd even considered to be a possibility.
When Chaceledon growled at Rheinhard, though, Seteta's hand tightened around his.
"Sehejib," she murmured, her voice carrying a note of warning.
"Mut asked, and these are things you should be willing to discuss."
Rehema was silent for a few moments, waiting to see if Chaceledon had any further reactions, and began to calmly address Rheinhard's concerns.
"We are nomads and insular because we have been forced to be that way to preserve our lineage," Rehema said.
"Persian de Soto has been the main force behind that, but the Inizae have also been in penance. We've long known we would be forced out of it, eventually. If this is Abtatu's sign that we are begin to take our rightful place once more, then we will weather whatever is thrown our way."
Rehema took a sip of her now very cooled tea before continuing.
"As for making appearances at the Fae courts, that is something that will have to be considered on a case-by-case basis. The Inizae will not bow to the whims of the fae or the dragons simply because it is expected. There will have to be compromises made on all sides. Most of us speak Common, even if it is not fluent, and we can read, even if it is not the common tongue. Simply because we are not educated in the way they expect us to be does not mean we aren't intelligent and cunning in our own right.
"As for the wraith... that is something that Chaceledon's family will need to deal with as well. And it will be hard for him to poison oases that have already dried up, if he can even find them. We are not the only Abtati tribes--nor the only inhabitants--in Amol-Kalit, and he risks more wrath than our own if he poisons all the water sources."
A smile teased at Rehema's lips, one very similar to what was often seen on Seteta's lips when she knew something that others did not.
"The Autumn Court will have a difficult time raising most of our dead," she stated matter-of-factly.
"Do we look as if we have tombs to bury them in? They are burned and their ashes strewn on the desert winds."
Rehema set her tea down and reached for Ausar's hand again, her gaze just a little sad as she gazed at Seteta.
"We take the risk at every parting that we may not see each other again, Rheinhard. While it would be my greatest joy to bless my grandchildren and even my great-grandchildren before Abtatu takes my last breath, none of that is guaranteed to the Inizae. We do not clutch our friends and family close here for fear of what may happen to them. They cannot live or thrive that way."
Silence fell over the group for a few moments, and Seteta could have sworn that the thudding of her heart filled the emptiness without words. She bit her lip for a moment, then quietly spoke up.
"Does Oor actually have any claim to Chaceledon, any reason to be insulted?" she asked, her eyes flickering to Rheinhard.
"Hokkaido gave Chaceledon to Oor as... punishment. Was marriage supposed to be any part of that? I have a hard time believing that Oor could try to make any claim on Chaceledon now without risking the dragons turning against him. Persian already has."
She looked back at her parents.
"However... I have no doubt that Oor will targeting me. I was the one who humiliated him, regardless of anything else."
Before every concern could be addressed, though, a cry of warning would surge through the camp.
Hassani was adorable, if a bit naive.
Keket smiled, but made sure to contain any laughter or chuckles. She was not trying to make light of his concerns, but his demeanor was... intriguing. Her thoughts were slightly distracted, though, by a short pulse of magic under her feet. Hassani likely felt it, but wouldn't know what it meant. But whenever the Inizae gathered like this, a large perimeter was established. Something that was not Inizae had crossed into it. Quietly, Keket began looking around.
"I think if you are genuine about wanting to know who your people are, outside of Pedeo, there is a place for you here," Keket answered, still holding Hassani's hand. "And... people are not concerned about you running home to Persian. They are concerned that Persian will have followed you here."
She squeezed his hand reassuringly then. "But don't worry about it too much. Seteta is smart. It is a risk she would have considered, and she thought it was worth the risk to bring you to your own people."
Keket had suspected that Hassani was... a bit fascinated with her. She'd seen his gaze lingering often, and noticed that he frequently reached for her hand. She hadn't expected him to actually do anything about it though, and as he asked if she was married, she turned to him with a smile, then chortled at the delightful blush that creapt up his neck and into his face.
"I am not married," she answered truthfully. "But before you decide if this might be something you want to pursue, you should settle in with the Inizae a bit more. Learn more of our customs. Meet some people besides myself and Seteta's family."
Keket heard the giggling in the distance. She began to direct Hassani back toward the camp, her hand slipping into a hidden pocket in the folds of her skirt to reach for a knife she kept strapped to her thigh. She may not have been very talented with earth magic, but the perimeter was lready there. All she had to do was send out a pulse into it, and let the guards know where to look.
She stayed calm and let go of Hassani's hand, looping her arm through his elbow instead. "Have you been to the thermal springs yet?" she asked, her steps just barely quickening as they headed back to the tents. She could see the guards lurking in the shadows, ready to come to their aid if needed.
Keket caught the eye of the nearest guarded, and nodded over her shoulder in the direction where she'd heard the laughter. Just in time for Rosebury to topple head first down a sand dune, rolling towards the camp.
"Into camp now," Keket urged Hassani as a dozen guards streamed past. Her eyes widened a little as she caught sight of a familiar face.
"Aetes," she greeted him as he approached.
"Rehema is busy with family right now. Can you tend to the intruder?"
"Of course," the priest nodded, his gaze curious when it landed on Hassani, but he just reached out and patted Keket's shoulder before he strode away.
As Rosebury recovered from his tumble, he and Oscar would find themselves surrounded by a dozen Inizae warriors at spearpoint, with cords of sand wrapped around their ankles and--in Rosebury's case--his wrists, so that he could not stand upright.
None of the Inizae spoke, just waited as a male strode across the sand, tall and muscled adorned in multiple pieces of gold cuffs and necklaces and earrings. His eyes fell on the two intruders and his face paled.
"Use the iron," he barked.
"And raise the alarm."
Chaceledon
