"What have you done?" her father asked quietly, though his eyes burning with anger. "Brought demons into our house? Used magic... MAGIC... in our home!" He grabbed Keris' arm and shoved her toward her room. "Get in there," he hissed, motioning with his head for Keris' mother to go with her.

"What ...

"'ey now... stop cryin', they'll 'ear ya..."

Chrish's warning dried Keris' tears immediately. She had no desire to have her parents walk in right now. Explanations would be... difficult.

To make her own decisions... was she ready? Keris didn't really have a choice - or rather, her choice was ...

It was fortunate, perhaps, that Keris had neglected to bring the candle from her room with her across the small hallway. If she had then the pair on the bed would have seen a horrified, embarassed, blushing girl before them - and she would probably have dropped the candle, burning down the house as ...

If Keris' hair could have blushed - it would have. Fortunately for her, Chrish changed the subject, again mentioning that she might consider going 'away' someday. Unsure how to reply, Keris only nodded before turning to leave the room. As she quietly closed the door behind her, Keris looked up to ...

Upon entering the room and seeing the pair seated on the bed Keris blushed bright pink, though she tried to disguise her embarassment by quickly turning to place the now-filled pitcher of water by the basin. She could only hope that her burning cheeks had paled by the time she moved to face the man ...

Fortunately, Keris was not taken completely off-guard by the question. She had realized while making her way towards Marn that she would need some explanation as to why she, still considered a young girl by some, would be travelling alone. Few, she knew, would willingly harbour a runaway, fearing ...

The girl made her way outside to the well where she quickly began pumping water to fill the pitcher for Chrish and Nia. Frowning, Keris couldn't stop thinking about the strange man's words. Leave Shim? But where would she go? She did not know anyone outside of the village... the thought was a ...

For a moment Keris considered Nora's offer, then she shook her head slowly. "Maybe another time..." she replied, a sudden feeling of shyness and uncertainty coming over her. Perhaps Nora's uncle could tell her more about the piece... maybe he knew an artist who did such work... but it was also ...

Keris's mother presented a forced smile that her eyes belied at Chrish's response to her offer. She took her daughter's arm, none to gently, and pulled her aside. Speaking in hushed tones so that their guests could not overhear she gave Keris terse instructions. "Show them to their room, provide ...

I'm okay with waiting for Nora's aunt to come up. The girls can visit for awhile. :) Feel free to have Nora ask more about the necklace or leave it for now. I may bring it up again later... but I have no plans for Keris to find out anything meaningful about it yet. It is just her only connection to ...

The light in Keris' eyes vanished as quickly as it had formed, and she quickly slipped the necklace back under her dress. "Oh... it was just something my... parent's gave me. They did not know where it came from, but it is how they chose my name."

Any courage Keris' had felt in asking about the ...

Keris' parents seemed to take the strange appearance of their visitors in stride, calmly welcoming Chrish and Nia and insisting that they eat well before continuing their journey. Keris' mother even informed them that she would prepare a sack of provisions so that they would not find themselves ...

*bows head in shame* Please forgive my lack of posting of late. Things have been so hectic and I should have posted something in the "Away" thread. In any case, I have returned and posted and will do better.

Keris allowed herself to be caught up in the excitement Nora exuded as they ran in a futile attempt to avoid the rain that continued to pour down unmercifully. She couldn't help but grin and laugh in return as Nora pulled her along.

Once they reached Nora's Aunt's shop, Keris paused as she took in ...

Sorry about the short post... I think I'm still feeling my way into the plot. I'm sure once we get going things will get easier.