He chuckled at the simplicity of smashing gourds, nodding agreement with the sentiment. "It can be very cathartic. I wouldn't necessarily seek them out, but if they attack us first... well. They can't complain when we defend ourselves." He shrugged, hardly the staunch defender of all life that Amalia was. Most life, perhaps, but individuals that went out of their way to hurt him or his friends got what was coming to them.
Jigano was content to wait while Freina went shoe-hunting, but her hissed complaint drew his attention to her sharply and he smiled wryly as he walked over. "Hold on, I'll treat it again." Kneeling down, he extended his hand to send the soothing gold of his healing magic into the girl once more. "They're a nuisance, but the town has fended them off before. Last year they weren't so bad, but the year I arrived..." He grinned ruefully. "They're at least as bad this year as they were then. Maybe worse. I'm guessing the farms don't draw as much attention? Rory's hasn't, at least. But with all the people gathered in one convenient place I suppose it makes a tempting target when the vampire gourds get rolling down the war path."
"They're easy to piss off," she agreed. "And thank you, again. I owe you much for all the healing you've done for me. I'm not sure I can ever repay even those debts, let alone all you've done for Quanil.
"As for the farms, they're a nuisance out there as well. It's especially bad for us; we grow squash." She grinned. "You think you're just checking up on the crop and then SNAP. We've taken to prodding them gently with the other end of the hoe this time of year, just to be sure. But it's usually just one or two, if they see an opportunity. I've never had them knock me down, for sure. I wasn't really paying attention this time... though I'm not sure that's a great defense."
Once her ankle was healed, she headed off in the direction she'd accidentally flung her other shoe, keeping an eye out as she walked for gourd guts, animal scat, or pointy rocks.
"You've mentioned Rory several times. Friend of yours then? Fellow Loreseeker?"
"Quanil doesn't owe me anything," Jigano reassured Freina with a chuckle. "And if they did, those debts would be theirs to pay, not yours." He only shook his head, grinning wryly as he tended the ankle that just couldn't stay mended. "And you don't owe me anything, either. I'll let you know if you do, before you wrack up any debt with me. The gods here might not have intended me to have this magic, but since I do I'll use it to help. Other abilities I might barter with for things I need... but not Healing." He was no saint, but he had his principles.
Her description of autumnal farm life earned a chuckle as he stood and dusted his knees off, nodding agreement but not rubbing in that her lack of attention could have had more disastrous consequences of something other than gourds had been out looking for mischief. She seemed level-headed enough to have already figured that out on her own, and responsible enough to not let it happen again. Not soon, at least.
"Loreseeker? No." His wry humor softened to something more genuinely gentle as he waited patiently for her search. "He's a Natural here, born and raised within the barrier. A hunter and farmer, right on the edge where the fields meet the woods. He's quite a bit older than you and Quanil though, so you might not have known him and Karlia. He's my..." Not husband, but more than a boyfriend. The bard's smile turned a bit rueful as he shrugged. "My partner. My mate." The man he loved, to put it simply, and who loved him back.
"Good to know, thank you." Her estimation of Jigano ticked up a notch. She didn't think it'd ever be anywhere near Quanil's near-worship of the man, but so far he'd been nothing but a help, and there was no reason to think of him as anything other than a decent person. So far.
It sort of galled her to admit she hadn't been paying attention, really. She knew better. Everyone knew better, out here. You weren't ever safe, not even on your own farm. Usually you were okay within your own house, but... Well, life was the leading cause of death, after all. Best you could do was keep sharp and hope to put it off a while.
"Oh! I didn't realize you were married! Or... partnered, rather," she added. Not everyone married. To each their own. "Our parents did like us to keep to other kids our same age, or an adult they trusted, so I may have seen Rory and not known it, but I've never met him, certainly.
"So, you live with Rory on his farm then? And raise goats and horses together? That sounds lovely." And it really did. As simple a life as you could have, really. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to... it's just... you're a Loreseeker, you're the Loreseeker, really. The first, the founder. I thought Loreseekers went all over, explored new places, stuck their noses in where they might get them snapped off. ...uh, no offense." She cleared her throat. "But you have this lovely farm, too, and it's not at all what I expected."
"He does leatherworking for trade goods, and raises goats and horses along with the crops. Mostly rye, hay, and root vegetables." There was a certain contentedness he had when speaking of the farm that those from his old world would never have recognized or expected, and his grin to Freina was relaxed, without any of the usual wryness or crooked humor. "Married might happen at some point, or it might not. We're in no rush." They had a lifetime to decide what would work for them, after all. Even if lifetimes on Caido tended to be shorter and more brutal; it did make the time they spent together all the more precious because of it.
Her expectations earned a laugh that was the same as the smile, genuine and warm as he began to walk nearby, helping to look for her shoe. "It is. He does most of the work, admittedly, but I've been learning as we go. I'd never have guessed I'd be happy in such a life, either, until I was already there. Oh, I still spend most of my time on the Guild, but there's a surprising amount of paperwork involved in that. In the early days, two years ago, it was like you described. Exploring, wandering into dangerous places and meeting people who didn't want us there, that sort of thing. Now, though... now there are more Loreseekers to help out. I still spend days exploring beyond the portals, but," he shrugged, "I come home every night, and some days in the spring and fall especially are dedicated to the planting or harvest."
She smiled back, warm herself at the thought that her sibling might have all that some day, but then... More Loreseekers to help out. Like Quanil. Now it was their turn to do dangerous things. Of course, they wanted to do those. Right now, at least, they wouldn't have been happy doing paperwork during the day and coming home to a farm at night.
It was inevitable, and it was better they had a guild to help and support them than to be wandering off alone on these adventures.
Her smile faded just a little. "It sounds wonderful. To have a... a place in the world that you fit in, like a peg in a hole. I guess..." She exhaled roughly. "I'm trying not to get maudlin again, but I guess I was a square peg for a round hole, and I'd thought all my life I was round. I just... have to find the square hole, I guess."
He glanced over in time to see her smile fade and wondered at it for only a moment before her next words cleared up the source of unhappiness. Jigano tilted his head as he cast about for the shoe, giving her a few moments to think about what she had said before he offered his opinion again. "You might be surprised," he said quietly in the silence left by the dead vampire gourds. "That hole you left might be more square than you think. You have a lot to think about right now... but so does your family. Coming into your abilities changed things for everyone, and it will take time for both you and them to come to terms with it." He smiled over at her encouragingly. "Your siblings sounds like they don't have much problem accepting these changes, but it may take your parents a while. Don't write them off yet, though. They may still want you back to run the farm again someday, especially if your brother proves to be more of a Quanil than you are." He winked at her, fond teasing for his youngest Loreseeker who was filled with more questions than a book of riddles.
"But you might find that you a different shape entirely in a few years, too. The world is bigger now than it was when your parents were growing up. The farm is necessary, but you may find something else that suits you better as you try new things. Perhaps sailing on the ocean in Torchline, or hunting in Halo, or working a trade in Sanctuary." He shrugged. "You've a chance to explore new paths now, and though it comes at a steep price you might find that it offers a path that leads to equal happiness from the one you started on."
She listened to Jigano as they walked, and perked up when she saw a hint of golden-colored fabric in the distance. "I think I see it!" She ran up and, sure enough, there it was. She picked it up and eyeballed it. "Not putting these on my dirty feet though," she murmured, mostly to herself.
She looked back to Jigano. He'd given her an awful lot to think about, but she still had a question. "What did you do, when you first got magic? How did you... learn more of it?" She wasn't sure she wanted to say improve it.
He grinned as the missing shoe was found, chuckling as she displayed a fastidiousness he completely understood. "Let's head into the Settlement and see if we can find a well to rinse those feet off at." The shoes, too, since they were a bit gutsy at the moment.
Her question was well-thought out and succinct - something he was coming to appreciate after Quanil's rapid-fire multi-shot approach to interrogation. "Mmm. Well, I already knew quite a bit," he admitted. "I'd already known a lot of people - Outlanders, mostly, but not entirely - who had it. So I had many opportunities to observe and record what they were capable of. I also found an old journal last year detailing the most common types and strengths of magic, so I knew more or less what to expect." He chuckled, reaching up to run fingers through the silky tail of his hair. "There was guilt and panic and relief, of course, but I spent time working with it on my own, learning what it could do, and I sought out Deimos, Loren, and other mages who were more practiced to speak to and practice with."
"A journal?" That definitely piqued her interest. "I don't suppose you'd let me read that at some point? It sounds like it'd be really helpful. I could... do some mending for you, if you need it? I'm a fair hand with a needle and thread; not fantastic, but I can patch things up a treat. Never even know it was ripped or the button was missing or whatever. Clean a bit, maybe." She'd learned a while ago to lay out exactly what services she was willing to offer, or else some people would try for something she most definitely wasn't offering. She didn't think Jigano was like that - especially if he were in a relationship with another man, as he said - but being specific was habit now.
"I just wish there were a magic school not run by that power-hungry maniac," she said. "But there'd never be such a thing here. People are too afraid of... of magic users." She still couldn't say that word. "Or, if they're not afraid, they hate them. Us." It still felt weird and wrong to put herself in that group. I'm just not used to it yet.
"I'd be happy to," he agreed with a smile. "In fact, I'm planning to offer a lesson to that effect soon, hopefully before season's end. But I can also lend you one of the copies I made of the original. For payment... I can do my own mending, but I'm hoping to fix some rooms up in the Atheneum for some of the Seekers without homes to stay in. If you would sew a couple sets of sheets for the beds, perhaps hem up some curtains, I'd be the one owing you. I can help you get the raw materials, if you need them." At least linen and cotton. Wool and silk were, sadly, beyond his purview.
He grinned at her description of Zariah, nodding fervent agreement. "As do I," he admitted, "And maybe in a couple generations things might have eased enough here to allow it... but the fear and hate are too strong yet. Zariah herself certainly didn't help with that." He grimaced, remembering her attempt to force people to publicly list their Abandoned status for her army. "But Deimos really is an excellent teacher, even if he says little aloud. He would be particularly able to help teach you to use your magic defensively, too." He had already offered his own services, but if she hadn't met the General yet it was good to remind her of his name. "Unfortunately, most of our other strong mages have left for... friendlier regions," he admitted with a sigh. Zariah's wretched academy not least among them.
She smiled brightly when he said he was going to be offering a lesson on it soon - the relation to Quanil becoming more readily apparent - and it dimmed only a little as she listened to his offered 'payment'. "Oh, you mean Quanil could stay there then? How about you fetch me good linen, I sew up some sheets and curtains, and then I'll attend the lecture. If I still have questions after that, I might ask for a copy, but... well, as much as I love my sibling, and as grateful as I am to them for a place to stay just now, sharing a single room at the VlamVloed is... less than ideal. If Quanil moves to one of your rooms, I could take over their duties at the bar to cover my room & board, and we'd both be much better situated." She considered a bit, and added, "I might even be able to dye the curtains, do some little designs with wax first... it'd be nice."
"I will look General Deimos up," she agreed. "If I'm to have this... ability, I should learn how to control it and how to use it best to be of aid to others. In addition to that being my natural inclination, it would help other Grounders have fewer qualms of magic."
She wasn't sure she'd ever get the farm back, but... it'd be nice to be allowed home again, to visit now and again, while her parents were yet alive. It'd be nicer still not to feel like a monster in everyone's eyes.
Another question occurred to her as they walked. "While I would like to get better at what I already have, would it be possible to learn healing, as you do? Help in the Infirmary is near always needed."
"I'll bring it by the bar tomorrow," he agreed, delighted with the transaction. The linen could be made with his own magic, though it would be made in small squares to avoid the degradation they'd been noticing for the past season with larger items. Still, he thought two or three strips of it should be sufficient to make the right size for sheets and curtains, if Freina didn't mind sewing them up neatly. "And we have a deal. I've a few newcomers who could use a place to stay, especially as the VlamVloed has been turning into an unofficial Loreseeker dormitory," he added wryly. "Whatever decorations you come up will be lovely though, I'm sure."
The bard nodded contentedly to Freina's willingness to find Deimos, and her well-intentioned reasons for learning more about her magic. There was no need to urge her further or push beyond what had already been determined, so he walked quietly and listened. Her final question earned a chuckle as he glanced aside to her. "I learned some basic medical skills as well as magical ones. The former you can certainly learn. The latter?" He shrugged apologetically. "That, I don't know. There doesn't seem to be any equation or way to guess what types of magic someone will develop as they grow. For Outlanders, sometimes it matches what we had on our worlds - for me, that was healing - but my earth and fire magic came out of seemingly nowhere." Ice would have made slightly more sense. A magic of sound would have made the most. But here he was, gathering an interesting collection of powers he'd never had before.
She nodded in agreement at the deal. It wasn't really one she had to haggle over; everyone would benefit from this, and all it would take was some time... which she had a lot of, just now. It would be nice to work on something tangible, something she could hold up at the end of the day and say, "I did this."
For now she was much more interested in hearing about this curse ability she'd suddenly Acquired. "So there's no way to know what other powers I'll develop as I go along?" She frowned. "I really hope I get healing. Or... or something else useful. I mean, almost anything can be useful if you put your mind to it, but something obviously useful even to the... the non-magical layman." That came out a bit froofier than she'd really intended but she was beginning to loathe the standard terms, now that she... didn't fit the standard any longer. "So you don't have to explain to them, y'know? They'll just... just know that it's good and useful and... dear gods is this how Quanil felt all their life?" She stopped walking and just stood there, blinking.
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