[Hopetoun] But I don't know how.

[Vega]

36th Trial of Ashan during Arc 721

"This is the design," she said, showing Wren. "An' we need three pieces like it. Then, I need to check out the pieces what have already been made," she gestured as she spoke. "Over there, see." They had it going in a particular way and it worked well. Pieces were made by people who were less skilled than her, and then checked by her or her cousin, Reese, who was also a very competent carpenter. She then put the final touches on things, specifically the aspects which needed a more skilled touch. It saved time and, she was very pleased to say, the people of Hopetoun were very helpful - and much better at this than she thought they might be.

"Here we go, little bird." Vega handed Wren a small section of the railing which was going to go around the spiral stairs. "See the pattern that's already been cut out in it? Well, now I've jus' got to finish it." He nodded, looking at her with concentration and then turning back to the piece of wood. "What are they there for?" His question was clumsy, but Vega knew that was because he didn't really have the words to explain what he was asking. So, she answered it anyway. "Well, that's a boy sittin' on a crescent moon, see?" Wren nodded. "Like on the sign?" Vega grinned. "Yes, like on the sign. That symbol was really important to Nella. An' this is a chicken, because she loved her chickens, an' this is a storybook, because story was really important to her."

Vega showed each of the things, tiny detail, but very much there. When she'd finished, Wren looked at her and asked, quietly. "Vega?" She glanced at him. "Who's Nella?"

A smile crept across her face and Vega reached out to straighten his hair. "She was Arlo's Mama, little bird," she said. "An' she died."

"Was she away on an adventure?"

Vega shook her head. "No. She were safe in her house, Wren. It was Arlo who was on the adventure. But she got ill an' she died." Wren nodded. "People don't always die on adventures, do they?" Vega shook her head. "Arlo's away right now, you know that. He jus' felt the pull an' he had to go."

Wren's brow furrowed. "Are you worried about him?"

There was never a time when she'd lie to him, so Vega considered her answer before she gave it. "Well, the bit of me what doesn't like admittin' different wants to say no. But I am yeah. Jus' a bit though. An' you know, Wren, I'd be more worried if he hadn't gone." Vega showed him how to use a tiny sanding stick. She could see as he worked so carefully and meticulously that he was thinking about that.

"But he'd be safe here."

Vega nodded her head. "Yeah, I guess he would. Safer, probably. But if he stayed here, an' didn't go an' do what he needs to do, Wren, then he wouldn't be himself no more. An' I have a very firm rule about things like that." Vega didn't really do rules. It wasn't her way. She didn't like them or need them. "What's that?" Wren asked and there was a deep curiosity in his gaze. "Well, my rule is simple. When you love someone, you love them for who they are, an' that means you support them bein' that person." Shrugging slightly, she gestured to where she and Arlo slept. "I choose him. He chooses me. An' that means bein' us. I don't try an' change myself to fit in with what he wants. I don't need to, I am exactly who he loves. But he's exactly who I love, too, an' so I'd hate it if he stayed behind, because he wouldn't be bein' true to himself."

Wren considered this carefully and said nothing more on the subject. "Like this?" He held out a piece of wood and Vega smiled. "Yes, little bird," she said. "Jus' like that."

[Vega]

36th Trial of Ashan during Arc 721

A few moments passed in silence between them. Vega was comfortable with silence and she thought that was part of what Wren liked about her. She didn't chatter to him like so many people did to children. Instead, she sat and worked and he sat and worked. It was intriguing to Vega, the expression on his face as he concentrated. Quietly, gently, Wren did everything with such full heart and full focus and Vega was learning to read his facial expressions well. He was thinking about something. Trying to work it out. That was fine, Vega's own hands were busy on the tiny sanding jobs, small repairs and little amendments which the others just weren't skilled enough to do. Wren would talk when he was ready and, in the meantime, there was a pile of pieces which needed working on.

"If I went after Hart," he said softly. "Would you stop me?"

Putting the piece of the railing that she was working on down, Vega folded her hands into her lap and looked at him. "I'd try, yes. An' if I couldn't, then I'd go with you." That caused a frown from Wren as he thought about it and he obviously didn't like that answer. "But you're pregnant." That was true and Vega nodded. She didn't speak though, just waited for him to finish that thought. "Why would you do that?"

It was an inevitable conversation, really, Vega knew. She knew that Wren had a hundred questions and he was worried about Hart, and about himself. So, she broke it down as best she could. "You see this, little bird?" She handed him a small piece of wood. He nodded. "That's a piece. Jus' a carvin' of a moon an' there's at least fifty of those in this bannister an' railin's. It's one very small thing an' it might not seem important. If it had thoughts, it might not think it were important at all." Looking down at it, Wren examined it, turning it over and over in his hands.

"But, if we lost that piece, there'd be a gap. The whole thing would look wrong an' feel wrong an' you know, there'd be that gap there an' it's what you'd notice." He thought he understood what she was saying and he contemplated it a little while longer before he spoke again. "You're saying that I'm this piece of wood to Hart?" Vega smiled softly and stroked his cheek. "No, little bird. You're not one little piece of wood to your Papa. You're the whole picture, the beacon of hope. " With a sigh, Wren thought about that.

"So who's the piece of wood?"

"I am," Vega said. Wren looked a little surprised at that. "I'm that bit of wood what would leave a gap in your life if I were the kind of person to let a child go off tryin' to solve stuff on their own, or to rescue Hart. He asked me to look after you an' I said yes. That means I get to be a piece of your life." Wren's face showed his concern and Vega simply lifted up the piece of wood again, and started slowly engraving a small, delicate star on it. She didn't trust anyone else to do those stars just the way they needed to be done as they allowed tiny pinpricks of light in through them - it would look wonderful, she knew, when it was finished.

"You're not a small piece, Vega." He sounded so serious and she smiled. She didn't lift her head, though, instead she simply waited for him to continue. He would, she knew. Using a tiny drill, she widened the hole in the very middle of the star just a little. "You're a big part of me, and Hart."

She lifted her head and looked at him and smiled. "An' you're jus' the same back to me, little bird. So, that's you're answer, innit? That's why I'd go with you, because you're a big part of me, an' I couldn't let you go into danger alone. So, I'd have to go with you. Instead, I just have to hope that you've got sense enough to see it's our job to jus' wait now. That you'll realise that we can't do nothin' but harm by chasin' off. An' I hope to all the Immortals toes that you understand that it'll all be alright in the end."

"Do you promise?"

"Promises are tricky things, little bird," Vega said honestly. "Especially when they're about the future. But I promise you that I totally believe that it'll be alright in the end an' if it's not alright right now, that jus' means it's not the end of this bit." She smiled and stroked his hair. "It's hard, I know. But I do honestly believe that it'll be alright. He'll come back."

Wren sighed. "You always believe that, don't you? You always have hope?" Vega nodded. "I do, yeah. I'm sure there's other ways to be. Other ways to look at the world."

"Why don't you look at it any other way?" He was curious, honestly just curious and Vega shrugged.

"I said I'm sure there are other ways to be. I know they exist, but as for bein' them?" She grinned at him "Sometimes, I think maybe I should be a different way." Her eyes met his and she held up the piece of wood she'd been working on with the tiny pin-pricks of light. "But I don't know how."

[Pig Boy]

Player Name: Vega

Points awarded: 10
Magic xp: none

Knowledge:

Caregiving: x 3
Psychology: x 1
Woodworking: x 2

Renown: 5 for the finishing touches on the Beacon.
Loot: Vega puts her own finishing touches on the beacon.
Injuries/Overstepping: none
Wealth Points: none


Skill Review: All Skills used appropriately to PC's level

Notes: Looks good! OMG Wren destroys me every time he's in a thread. I found Vega's reasoning for letting Arlo go without her interesting, in that he allowed him to be who he was. But when it comes to Wren asking what Vega would do if he left to look for Hart, she makes an interesting exception, or so it seems to me. But then she explains it in more detail, and it comes clear why and how she sees Wren and perhaps children in general. That she's a part of them and they are the big picture, that she is compelled to aid and go along with. It's a very interesting introspective to the Mortal Born of Children.

I love it, well written!


If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this review, feel free to PM. Enjoy your rewards!