The Stable: mid-morning

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

It was very a dazed Karal who was late feeding Trenor this morning (a daughter from a possible future appearing out of nowhere could do that to a person). This didn't please Trenor at all, neither the dazedness nor the lateness, and he was rattling his feed bucket, his lead, his stall door, and generally being a cranky pants while Karal fed him.

Karal managed to mollify him somewhat with an apple.

[ooc: just for one and then another, thanks!]

Comments

[sixstandingby.livejournal.com]

"You look like I feel," Gavin said, wandering into the stalls look pretty dazed himself. "Um, did you get a visitor this morning too?"

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal stared at him for a moment, then nodded. "A girl, Valerie. I'm almost relieved you got one too."

Trenor too advantage of his distraction and tried to eat his hair.

[sixstandingby.livejournal.com]

"A girl too," Gavin said, rubbing his eyes. "Anya. Named after one of my sisters, it seems."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

He pushed Trenor's nose away and gave him another piece of apple to distract him. "It was a very strange way to be woken up, and she looks so much like Evey it's startling," he said. "We said the Dawn Rites together."

[sixstandingby.livejournal.com]

"How's Evey doing with it?" Gavin asked, reaching over to rub Trenor. "She all right?"

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Trenor liked Gavin. Gavin hadn't been late to feed him, so he sighed happily and nudged his hand.

"All right," he said slowly. "I left them together so I could feed His Majesty, here. It was more of a shock for her than for me, I think."

[clearlyadopted.livejournal.com]

Corran figured the stables would be the easiest way to find someone he knew. Trenor had to be there, right? Horses always stayed in the stable and Daddy would be there to feed and brush Trenor soon. Corran was sure of it.

When he pushed the door open using all his might, he nearly fell over in his excitement when he caught sight of who he'd been looking for in the first place.

He threw himself at Karal's legs, wrapping around them and squealed, "Daddy!"

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal gaped at the small boy clinging to his legs, completely incapable of forming a rational thought. "Oh, Bright Flame."

[sixstandingby.livejournal.com]

Gavin, for his part, couldn't hold back his laughter. "Looks like you've got another one too."

And he laughed some more.

Alas, poor Gavin.

[clearlyadopted.livejournal.com]

"And Daddy!" Corran said, releasing Karal's legs to attach himself to Gavin's. "You're both here! I've been lookin' EVERYWHERE."

His tone of voice made it clear that everywhere was CLEARLY A LOT OF PLACES.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal stared. He stared at the child. He stared at Gavin. He even stared at Trenor, who looked back with an expression of mild concern. Then he said the first thing that popped into his head. "He's clearly adopted."

[sixstandingby.livejournal.com]

"Are you sure you're not looking for Karal and maybe...another girl? Like a mommy?" Gavin asked.

[clearlyadopted.livejournal.com]

"Daddy!" Corran said, reaching for a hand from each of them and then jumping up and down. "Where are we? Where's Altra? Hi Trenor! You got big! I'm big too! Can we go flying? Can Daddy make tea?"

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal automatically took his hand, well past stunned and on the way to shock. "It certainly sounds as if it's us he's looking for," he said, maybe a little bit too calmly, peering down at the boy. "Can you say your whole name?"

[clearlyadopted.livejournal.com]

"All right," Corran said, sighing like it was such a chore. "Corran Ulrich Darklighter-Austreben. I have a loooooong name."

[sixstandingby.livejournal.com]

"Oh." Well, that answered that question. "Corran? Ulrich?"

It was Gavin's turn to kind of stare at Karal and Trenor and anywhere else he could.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Scrabbling at what felt like the last strands of his sanity, Karal crouched in front of the boy. Valerie he could understand; this was well past anything that made sense. "Corran Ulrich Darklighter-Austreben is an extremely long name, but you said it very well. Now, can you say how old you are?"

[clearlyadopted.livejournal.com]

"Six," he said, reaching over to pat Karal's shoulder. "Are you tired, Daddy? I told you that yesterday too!"

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"I, yes. Tired. That's it. I'm very tired." Despite the weirdness, Karal couldn't help liking the boy and he ruffled his hair. "Your, umm, other father," and he shot Gavin a look of total and utter confusion, "is tired, too. So tired we might not remember things."

[sixstandingby.livejournal.com]

"Wow," Gavin mouthed, blinking a few times. "So. Corran. You're um. We're...me and Karal, we're together?"

[clearlyadopted.livejournal.com]

"Faaaaaambly!" Corran said. "Daddy says that all the time. Fambly! We have lots of fambly though!"

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Family is very important," Karal said solemnly, while his thoughts whirred like maddened hummingbirds. Bright Flame. "Can you tell us about your family? There's me and, umm, your daddy," he nodded at Gavin, "and Altra and Trenor. Where do we all live?"

[clearlyadopted.livejournal.com]

"In a house," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal rubbed his forehead. "Of course. And where is the house?"

[notacobrakid.livejournal.com]

"Uhm, excuse me?" Faith poked her head into the stable.