Nate !
Something about the way the woman talks is a little strange. Nathaniel can’t quite place it, so he ignores her tone. The words themselves are harmless, friendly, though her voice renders them somehow suspicious. Skepticism prickles at the back of his mind. He trusts the dog to keep an eye on her, though, as he takes over the wheelbarrow. Not sure if watching her try has instilled respect or the opposite.
“Rathskeller, huh?” There’s a stroke of good luck. Short of visiting himself, a visit Nathaniel continually postpones, he’s had no source of news from the Sanctuary. “Vai take good care of you?” Of course, Nathaniel already knew the answer to that. But he hoped this bubbly young woman might expound a little on what had been going on the last week. “You’re an Outlander, I take it? This your first Longnight?” He can’t imagine what it would be like, waking up one day in a place like Caido. It is the only thing he’s ever known, but Nathaniel has come to think of Outlanders as soft, for the most part. As if all other worlds are kinder than his own.
Finally hefting the wheelbarrow, he wheels it away quickly when Rexana goes to attend the coop, the big dog standing at her side, watching with studious old eyes. He is beginning to relax just a little as he returns. The woman seems eager to go to work, which is a nice surprise. Nathaniel still can’t imagine why, but he isn’t stupid enough to question her out loud.
He finds her already a little dusty when he returns, and lifts an eyebrow in wry amusement. With the animals taken care of, the rest of the house comes next. It will at least have had time to air out, exhaling a week’s worth of smoke and wet dog and stale air. All smells Nathaniel didn’t particularly mind, but which he thinks Rexana might.
“Yeah,” he drops the barrow back alongside the chicken coop and dusts off his hands. “Rathskeller gets a little… crowded.” In truth, Nathaniel has only stayed there one year, rather recently, but he has no desire to repeat the experience. Vervain is a capable woman, but all those people, all those Outlanders crammed into one space? A wonder they all managed to survive it, Longnight or no. He might have gone in to town and spent the night with his parents — a good son probably would — but in all honesty Nathaniel felt he would prefer the monsters.
“Rathskeller, huh?” There’s a stroke of good luck. Short of visiting himself, a visit Nathaniel continually postpones, he’s had no source of news from the Sanctuary. “Vai take good care of you?” Of course, Nathaniel already knew the answer to that. But he hoped this bubbly young woman might expound a little on what had been going on the last week. “You’re an Outlander, I take it? This your first Longnight?” He can’t imagine what it would be like, waking up one day in a place like Caido. It is the only thing he’s ever known, but Nathaniel has come to think of Outlanders as soft, for the most part. As if all other worlds are kinder than his own.
Finally hefting the wheelbarrow, he wheels it away quickly when Rexana goes to attend the coop, the big dog standing at her side, watching with studious old eyes. He is beginning to relax just a little as he returns. The woman seems eager to go to work, which is a nice surprise. Nathaniel still can’t imagine why, but he isn’t stupid enough to question her out loud.
He finds her already a little dusty when he returns, and lifts an eyebrow in wry amusement. With the animals taken care of, the rest of the house comes next. It will at least have had time to air out, exhaling a week’s worth of smoke and wet dog and stale air. All smells Nathaniel didn’t particularly mind, but which he thinks Rexana might.
“Yeah,” he drops the barrow back alongside the chicken coop and dusts off his hands. “Rathskeller gets a little… crowded.” In truth, Nathaniel has only stayed there one year, rather recently, but he has no desire to repeat the experience. Vervain is a capable woman, but all those people, all those Outlanders crammed into one space? A wonder they all managed to survive it, Longnight or no. He might have gone in to town and spent the night with his parents — a good son probably would — but in all honesty Nathaniel felt he would prefer the monsters.
