Heirot

Sid stood still for a moment, like he was lost. Irritation slowly set in at the woman who claimed to be Soran's wife. Who was she to tell him not to come near him? The irritation grew slowly, and then receded again just as surely. "His damned wife, that's who," he said to himself out loud with a faint chuckle of disbelief, gathered his wits, and followed after them to the barbecue. When he got there, people were already eating. A line had formed before a line of grills with various foods. Soran stood at one cooking sausages, turning them slowly and serving them onto people's plates as they cautiously approached him. The stone-cold look on his face said there was a lot more on his mind at the moment than which side of the sausages needed more heat, though he cooked them correctly.

"Now then, who'd like to bob for an apple!" exclaimed one of the women who'd taken charge of the apple tank. Children crowded cheerfully around her.

Rai ran and grabbed Sid's hand. "Want to bob for apples?!" She asked friendily. She didn't know any better, she was a child and didn't understand what was happening.

Mizuki stood in the line with 2 plates(she and Soran would share one for now), as she didn't have the heart to tell Rai to stay away from Sid right now. Maybe if she just kept an eye on them... Mizuki tried to think about what just happened. They had a new issue, and because of the issue she had no idea what was going to happen. Using her powers here would be a bit too risky since she had no idea what would happen to her if she used them. They'd just have to wait the day out...

She hated waiting.

She came up to where Soran was and held out both her plates. She tried to show him a cheerful smile. She wondered if she should risk saying something wife-like to him.

Soran looked up at Mizuki like she was an oasis. He didn't know what to say, and knew that she would forgive him for his silence. Glancing down at her plates, he put Rai's sausage on one and food enough for them both on the other, indicating that he'd come sit with her as soon as he could. Trying on a half smile, he reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear softly. For just a moment, he felt like a normal father and mother attending parents day with their daughter, and it felt good. "We have to talk, later," he said quietly. There was no threat of some horrible news in his words, although it wasn't clear if he meant he and Mizuki, or he and Sid, or all of them.

Sid looked down at Rai, his lost expression pulling back into something friendly as she grabbed his hand. "I'm too big! Just look at me, I'd never get my head down to the water," he said playfully, indicating his height as he leaned down to talk to her. "I'm afraid you're our only hope." He smiled, and it was a real smile. Children, when he was able to converse with them, were always a joy to him. Unlike Soran, he was singleminded enough to keep that thought separate from the contradiction that he had killed, in his lifetime, far more children than he'd played with.

Nodding, albeit somewhat sadly that he had to suffer again, Mizuki went further down the lines grabbing other various types of food then departed the line to go to a table. She set the plates down and looked over at the dunk tank where Rai and Sid were. She watched them carefully. Sid didn't look a threat but...

They've been tricked before. Sighing, Mizuki sat down and kept her eyes on them.

Rai giggled and ran, dragging Sid with her to the bucket. She got on her knees and put her head in, pushing the apple down to the bottom of the bucket and grabbing it with her teeth, getting her hair all wet and tangled. She came up with the apple in her mouth, turning back to look at Sid.

Sid guffawed, and gave Rai a congratulatory pat on the back. "You're quite the apple catcher," he praised. "How old are you, kid?"

Rai took the apple out of her mouth and smiled. "Eight!" she said and laughed as she stood up, water dripping everywhere on her light pink dress. "Oops... Mommy won't be happy." she giggled.

Sid looked at the girl thoughtfully. Eight? Soran must have gotten busy awfully quickly if their daughter had reached that age already. So he really had planned it out. Staged his death and left their militia to be absorbed into the national guard. Sid had only just learned the truth about the lands outside Arken, but Soran must have known all along. He'd come here and begun a new life, and never looked back.

Sid looked at the adorable child in front of him and tried not to be angry. It didn't work, but it didn't show either. "I'm sure she won't mind. It looks like she's gotten food for you over there. I think I'll be getting some myself, so I suppose I'll be seeing you later," he said, messing up Rai's wet hair even more with his big hand.

"Yes!" Rai said and giggled, handing him the apple iwth her small teeth marks in it. Then she ran away to her mother.

Mizuki saw Rai running up to her and she wondered why. Did he do something to her? no, she didn't look scared.

"hey you," Mizuki said to her once Rai had reached her. "Hungry?"

"Yep! I am! Iam really hungry!" Rai said and giggled, covered in water. Her hair matted against her face.

"Oh! You're all wet!!" Mizuki exclaimed but she couldn't see any towels anywhere. Sighing, Mizuki shook her head. "You'll have to stay that way until I can find a towel for you. Eat until then." She gestured to the food and her eyes then wandered to where Soran was.

Rai ran off with her plate of food to go sit on the ground with some of hte kids from her school. She laughed as they said things that to an adult would make no sense, but to a child it would be the funniest thing you would have ever heard.

Sid looked at the apple in his hand for a moment, then shrugged and bit into it. He walked over and grabbed a plate, moving down the line and letting everyone dump food onto it. He acted calm as he approached the gloomy looking sausage chef. "Can I have two?" he asked as he got to Soran.

Soran frowned and met Sid's eyes, shocked all over again as seeing him reminded him he wasn't imagining this. "When you pay tuition at this school," he said, putting a link on Sid's plate.

"Aw," groaned Sid. "Come on, you never did care for rules."

"I care for the ones that make sense," the elf returned evenly.

Sid's response died in his throat. Soran still had a way of making you feel utterly small and unwanted with the most mundane of comments. Why was he even trying to get a warmer response? "That's true. You always did have a strong sense of logic," he said, a bit put out.

"Why are you here?" Soran said lowly, putting a second link on Sid's plate.

"Rhen...did you just bribe me with a sausage?" Sid blinked innocently in amusement.

Soran looked irritated. "No, I put a sausage on your plate, and asked why you are here," the rogue asserted, a bit of his old tone returning. Sid had missed that quasi-annoyed, quasi-baffled voice.

"I'm sorry, but I have to set a good example for the children," Sid said condescendingly as if he were admonishing a reckless teen. "Thanks for the sausage, though," he smirked, and went off to randomly befriend a table of strangers.

Rhen stared after him, apparently forgetting about the next person in line, who waited expectantly but didn't dare to interrupt the rogue's space-out session.