Time and Tide, the 26th

[Shaeliana]

"Bless you my son," the robed man made the sign of the One over Dorian just as a young lad come running up, out of breath.

"Master fisherman! Master fisherman!" the youth looked to be around twelve yahren, sandy brown hair bushed around a tan lean face with gray eyes.

"Yer the one, yes? Come lookin' for Doris? She told me ta tell ya she couldn't come. They lo..." he glanced up at the man in the robes, paused less than a flicker and then his eyes went back to Dorian.

"She said yer ta come with me," he nodded and grabbed the fisherman's arm. "Sorry father," the youth offered while tugging on Dorian's arm.

Once they were out of sight of the priest, the lad stopped and mopped his brow. "Almost ruined it, I did," he shook his head.

"Doris couldn't come cause they," he nodded his head in the direction they had come from. "The robes took her and hers ta the poor house, claimin' they was makin' trouble in the streets, foulin' things up. No houses ta live in but they don't want ta see bodies sleepin' in the side streets and such. Noooo, the city's too fancy fer that sorta thing," the young man sneered.

"Doris said ta say she was sorry, awful sorry since ya were sa kind ta her and hopes the missus' birthin went well. Was it a boy or a girl?"

[Guest]

Dorian had let himself be dragged through the streets, stumbling along, still uneasy on his feet while on land. He took in the lad's words. "Where's this poor house ?" he asked. "The baby was a boy." That anyone would be upset about someone sleeping out in the open, well that was a puzzlement to him that could not be immediately understood. Selkies slept on the rocks quite contentedly, and had no ideas of houses unless they spent a lot of time in mannish form. So the shack of Old Nate Drake had always seemed a grand enough place for Dorian, and in hot weather he was not adverse to going to sleep on the cool sand or in the boat.

He resolved to ask more about the 'robes' when he got the matter sorted in his head of what to ask.

[Shaeliana]

"Where the orphnage use ta be," the young lad answered. "Near the main church. Guess they figured it was already set up ta house the homeless," he shrugged, eyes darting back and forth on the streets. "Hard ta keep hidden with three youngin' ta tote along with ya. I'll let her know t'was a boy and thanks," the young man moved off quickly, darting down a side alley just as the grey robe drew near with a city guardsman in tow.

"Hes'.... Hey!," the priest walked up to Dorian, a frown on his face. "Where's the young rascal you were talking to sir?" he asked the fisherman plainly before turning back to the short stocky guardsman.

"He was just here, not a burn ago. Talking to this man. Lad about ten or twelve, light brown hair. I'd know him anywhere. I've seen him stealing produce from street vendors and suspect he has no living family."

"Where did he go?" he turned his attentions back to Dorian.

[Guest]

Dorian Drake shrugged, in his slow and amiable way, turning to face the priest and the guard. "I don't know the city streets. I live by the Mer." It was true, for he had never learned to read, and stayed out of the city unless he had business there. The city was for those who were of the city, and he was a Drake, and a fisherman. He was also delaying, for long enough - or so he hoped- that the lad could escape.

[Shaeliana]

Furious, the gray robed priest grabbed the fisherman's shirt, jerking him forward. "Direction? You don't have to know the streets to know which direction he went," the man growled, his tone radiating with contempt and fury.

"Now, now," the guardsman stepped in, gently prying the priest's hands from Dorian. "There's no need fer that," he said gently, moving the man aside and placing himself before the fisherman.

"If ya'd just point out the direction the lad went? I assure ya nothin' ill will happen ta the lad," he smiled amiably, ignoring the continued low grumbles and complaints of the priest.

[Guest]

Dorian shrugged again, and turned around in a slow circle, looking at each of the streets in their turn, and then selected one that wasn't the way the lad had gone. If he'd wanted to, the priest would have been laid out on the cobblestones with a smarting jaw, for the muscles that hauled wet nets full of fish were thick on Dorian's frame. But it took a powerful lot to annoy a Drake. There was no money to be had over anger, and that was what townspeople were for, to give Drakes money for fish, to buy the things they couldn't make, find or trade for.

"Might have been that one. I wasn't really watching." he said, with a rub of his chin, as if he wasn't really sure, and an idle wave of the other hand toward the wrong street. City streets did look a lot alike to him, anyways. "Why's the lad so important ? He wasn't bothering anyone." Unlike a young Dorian, who had been a little mischievous at times.

[Shaeliana]

"He is an orphan! I am sure of it," the grey robe uttered roughly. "He belongs in the children's home where he can be trained properly and cared for," he nodded sanctimoniously. "And it would keep him off the streets so he couldn't go about stealing from others!"

Nodding, the guardsman added softly, "We've been tryin' ta round up the orphans. They shouldn't have ta sleep in the streets or steal ta stay alive. The church has always been good ta see ta them, but with so many more after the seige," the man shrugged.

"Thanks for yer help, sir," he tipped his hat as he motioned for the gray robe to follow the direction Dorian pointed them in. "We'd best find the lad though like as not, he's where we won't find him by now. Good day," he nodded to the fisherman and headed off down the street. The gray robe stopped before Dorian and spoke in a low growl.

"I'm taking note of you, fisherman. You're not one of us, not part of the church. Of that I'm almost certain. Go ta Pax while you are still able," he sneered before quickly moving after the guardsman.

[Guest]

"Trained properly ?" Dorian Drake asked, with a puzzled look. That sounded like animals, not people ! But the words from the priest made his eyes narrow down. "Aye, I baint part of any church as treats children like animals," he agreed to the priest's back, "And I'll be watching the threats, holy man - if that's your word, you're not doing good." That was a rather horrible insult from a Drake, at least as far as a Drake was concerned. You either did good, or did no harm, and this priest sounded
about as far away from goodness as could be. Weren't churches there to be of good service, for those as needed it ? A Drake wouldn't take time away from fishing, but as he understood it, a lot of folks set a great store by what a priest said and did.

And Dorian Drake did not run away from trouble, not now, not that he had roots in the city. Only long enough to take Maranda to safety, and then he was coming back to deal with the matter.

[Shaeliana]

"Trained in the doctrines of the church," the gray robed man spat back at the fisherman. He moved off after the guardsman and in no time was out of sight. As the fisherman stood watching, an old woman approached him smiling.

"Could I ask yer help lad?" she asked putting out a shakey hand for support. "I'm just goin' down the lane here, ta home and could use a strong arm for support," she grabbed hold of the fisherman's arm with surprising strength.

"Please walk with me," she added under her breath.

"Fine weather we've been havin'," she offered loudly. "Sa much better than all that rain we had," she dropped to a soft whisper again.

"Best to avoid the gray robes laddy," she warned. "There's those that wear the garments of the church that's got the heart of darkness. The gray robes are usin' the church ta make sure only those under their thumb remains. Folks what think for themselves aren't wanted," she stopped and patted Dorian on the arm.

"Dominicus bless ya, laddy," she said loudly and smiled warmly. "Not many these days as would help an old lady get home," she patted his arm again, turned and hobbled her way up a few low steps before she entered an herbal shop.

[Guest]

Dorian knew that great deeds were done by tough old ladies, but went along where he was led, nodding in his amiable fashion to her prattle about the weather.

He nodded again, with a serious cast to his sea-blue eyes, as she gave her warning. "I don't think he's doing good, that priest," he said thoughtfully. He thought back, wondering if he'd managed to rid the whole of the city of the shadow, if some of that darkness hadn't seeped into the church itself somehow. Certainly, he had not much experience in such matters. He would have to travel far to ask someone who knew.

So he mulled on matters, making a note of the herbal shop and where it was, using landmarks, for he still could not read street-signs. This would be a good place to bring fish, for those dodging the church would still need to be fed. Then he set off in his slow, ambling way home...and made certain that he wasn't being followed.

[Shaeliana]

No one followed the fisherman through the now dark streets, but now that Dorian was alerted to them, he did note more of the gray robed priests roaming the streets almost as if they were guardsmen. It was odd because the priests of Dominicus had always worn white robes or the occasional traveling priest might wear brown. The gray robes were something new and it seemed not something friendly.

Back at the shack, the aroma of dinner greeted the fisherman as a pot of various vegetables simmered slowly over the fire. Cat, curled up next to the door, stood and stretched at the fisherman's arrival and made her way to his ankles in greeting. Down the beach, he heard Maranda's voice calling out.

"I'll be back in the morning," the words came faintly, a sound that an ordinary man wouldn't have heard. Several burns later, the moonlight shown on the blonde as she came strolling across the sand with a basket in hand. Her face lit up with a smile and she ran home to her husband.

"There ya are," she grinned and kissed him soundly. "I was afraid I was doomed ta sleep alone t'night," she teased as she released him and moving to the shack, took down the fish for supper and tossed them on a hot rock beside the fire.

"Was there trouble in the city?" she asked, curious why he'd been gone so long.

[Guest]

Dorian, ever a slow thinker, mulled over the grey robes. It seemed there was still a shadow, of sorts, afoot in his city. Well, that couldn't carry on, insofar as he was concerned.

But he was happy to welcome Maranda home. "Twas indeed, a strangeness," he replied, and puzzled how to explain to her. "I went into the city, sold the fish. A priest in a grey robe came to speak to me, and then two people warned me about the priests in grey robes. Then he wanted to chase down this lad who spoke to me, and I'm thinking he's not a good priest." He painstakingly, laboriously told her the whole story, for Maranda's cleverness was one of the reasons he loved her so. She would know the right way of it, or at least, puzzle it out well before he would.

[Shaeliana]

Listening while she dished some vegetables onto a plate and pulled the fish from the outside of the rock, barely warm and very much raw, onto the plate which she handed to her husband as she shook her head.

"I'd heard there's those in the city that'd like nothin' better than ta kill anyone they consider not part of the church. Some say the new city they opened ta the west is ta protect unbelievers from that sort. Seems wrong ta me," she shook her head and looked up at Dorian's deep blue eyes.

"You'll be careful while yer in town, Dorian? I don't know what I'd do without you," she leaned in for a quick kiss and then returned to the pot of veggies to serve up her own dinner, turning her fish over to cook on the other side.

"Lucy's doin' fine and such a handsome baby boy she has," she grinned up at Dorian. "I spect our son'll have dark hair and wonderful blue eyes, like his da," she pushed the fish to the hotter part of the rock, closer to the fire.

"Dorian," she started, a note of uncertainty in her voice as she focused on the fish. "D'ya know anything about..." she trailed off, clearly unsure how to say what was on her mind. "I mean... well, when we have children, will they be Selkie or human?" she looked over at her husband. It was a subject she had pondered on occasion, whether it would be a baby or a seal that would grow inside her belly.

[Guest]

Dorian Drake nodded, accepting the plate with a happy smile, for he did prefer his fish uncooked, the fresher the better. It was just a preference from the time when he wore a seal-skin and caught it in the water. He also nodded again at Maranda's warning, and then what she said next would take some time to get through that thick skull of his, though he started answering her readily enough.

"I reckon," he said, after some consideration. "Most Selkies are dark. As for Selkie or human, I think I'm only half-Selkie, so there I don't know. If they are born as seals, they're Selkie." He minded he also had a Selkie-skin, in keeping for its owner, and he'd been remiss in seeking out Finn.

Then it hit.

His jaw fell open as if the hinges had worn out; the sea-blue eyes turned into saucers of shock, and he was incapable of speech for a good moment. Was she saying that she was with child ? That he would be a father - much sooner than he might have imagined ?

[Shaeliana]

The blonde's dreamy look was replaced by the slightest frown as she contemplated the thought of giving birth to... a seal. Much as she loved Dorian, bearing a human child could be difficult and did on occasion claim the mother's life for various reasons. Was it possible for a human to bring forth a seal and live? And who would she have to help her with the birth?

"Dorian," she spoke up after a few moments. "Who'd help with the birthin'? With the church bein'....well, sa outright against everything that doesna line up with their beliefs..." her voice trailed off.

"We'd have ta be careful who knows. There's those that would want such a child dead," she murmured, leaving her thoughts of death out of the current discussion. While she wasn't pregnant, the birth of the son down the beach had awakened the yearning for motherhood in the young woman. It wasn't a good time for children, with the famine and wars but there were those who would claim there was never a good time for children.

"And promise me ye'll be careful around the gray robes. I've heard told that they're gatherin' those that aren't church goers and sending them ta the mountains and dessert ta live," she smiled at her handsome husband and nibbled on her fish.

[Guest]

Dorian, still much in shock, nodded dumbly at Maranda's words. It would take a while for him to get over the idea.

It was also a great deal to consider. Maranda's welfare was paramount; he had to make sure she was safe. "Time may be to leave here," he said, after a long time. "I can fight a shadow, that's one thing, but there's a lot of men in grey robes. They might be wrong, but I'm one man, one voice. They're many. I can't let anything bad happen to you and our child."

[Shaeliana]

"So, you'd not mind if we had a child then? I mean things bein' the way they are and all..." she trailed off with a shrug as she put another bite of grilled fish in her mouth.

"Oh! Almost forgot," she swallowed quickly. "Aunt Dora came by t'day. Says she's thinkin' ta try this new city, Pax. I'd heard tell they created it for pagans, ta keep them safe," she snorted as if she didn't believe that to be the motive, which she didn't. Things had grown steadily worse in the city. As if the destruction of homes and lives by war wasn't enough, now the church had decided to add their own manner of suffering to the mix.

"She says they're givin' away land and houses and ya don't have ta be pagan ta sign up. Sendin' folks through a portal even," her eyes twinkled at the thought of using a portal even once, something that wasn't likely given who she was and her circumstances in life.

"Says she can't stay here. Too much death and pain and no hopes of it gettin' better any time soon. I'll miss her," she sighed wistfully, then looked up at Dorian.

"If you think it's time ta leave here, maybe we could go across the lake, ta those other places ya talk about," she grinned. "Or perhaps down the shore a bit ta Roque. Dora says lots a folk left here for there with the war and the red rash outbreak that had so many sickly."

[Guest]

Dorian considered. If Maranda wanted to move, or felt their chances might be better elsewhere, then he would leave the city. She was after all the brain trust of the outfit. It was not the first home he'd had; it wouldn't be the last. While he'd fight to the bitter end if she willed it so, if she had no wish for it, then he could let go and move on. "Land ? Me ?" he said, in a faint tone of voice. The trip to be wed had been a wretched one, for he got landsick.

He still had reservations about magic, and portals, and suchlike. They were all right to use as desperate measures, but the everyday sort of life was best accomplished by the commonplace hard work and diligence. He considered this, in his slow and deliberate way. "So long as I'm by the water," he said, "And can fish, we'll be all right, my wife. There's also some family I have, that I might be looking for. We can leave in a day or so. I want to find Finn; we still have her sealskin."

[Shaeliana]

"Oh no, husband," she smiled at the fisherman. "The new city's near the desert... and mountains from what I've heard. No where near water and I don't know that I trust this idea o'movin' all those they don't like off to one city for protection," she shook her head. She'd argued fiercely with her aunt trying to disuade her but the elderly woman's roots here had been destroyed and the promise of land and house was like an oasis in the desert. Only time would tell if the oasis were real or an illusion. She feared she would never see her aunt again and not just because the woman had moved far away.

"I'd feel no safer there than here," she smiled and reached over and put her hand on his leg. "Then again, I feel safe anywhere long as I've you about," she squeezed gently before going back to her food.

"And we can't go anywhere for at least a week or more," she added after some moments of silent thought. "Lucy'll need some help for that long and I'd feel bad leavin' em like that," she shrugged.

[Guest]

Dorian nodded. A desert...that was just much too odd for him. He'd go mental at the lack of water. He was a fisherman, and a good fisherman never wanted for anything, or so Old Drake would say. "Aye then. In a week's time," and that was that. There was nothing Dorian owned that could not go into the boat and be taken away, apart from the shack itself. Maranda's mattress would have to be left behind, but that was that. They'd have to move soon anyway, for winter was coming, and he'd need time to build a new shelter.

[Shaeliana]

When the meal was finished, Maranda cleaned up their dishes and settled next to her husband, sewing in hand. "What did ya do fer fun when you were a lad, Dorian?" she asked as she stitched on a piece from Marta's shop. She wasn't sure there was anyone left to collect the work, but it gave her hands something to do.

[Guest]

He mulled this one over. Actually, he'd gotten into mischief; he'd spent a lot of time swimming or playing in the water, usually stark naked. There was plenty of fishing in there too, and cleaning the catch, and repairs to the boat and other equipment, and listening to Nate Drake. Nate Drake had never spoken a great deal, but when he did, each word had weight and that was what Dorian lived by now. He deeply missed the man who had raised him, the only father he had clear memories of, the man who had looked after him so carefully and raised him to be a good man. He considered all of this, and then replied in the thoughtful manner of a Drake.

"I swam, I fished, and I played," he said, with a smile that was bittersweet, "I learned how to fish, and how to tell the weather, and all of those skills for my trade. And sometimes Old Nate told me stories, of the great seas and the creatures in them." It would be a hard wrench to leave the old shack...but that was also a Drake way, to be utterly practical when something needed to be done.