| With One that Wants Her Wits |
| Summary: | Lady Tiaryn arrives in the Seagard camp to be greeted by a worried Cordelya. But the worries shift as the conversation continues and the darkness speaks to the lady Flint. |
| Date: | 2/2/289 |
| Related Logs: | All the Seagard Logs. |
| Players: |
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| The Flint Campsite |
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| The small but busy Flint war camp. |
| Thursday, February 2, 289 |
"Why stay we to be baited with one that wants her wits?" — Coriolanus, Act IV Scene II
Outside the camps, at the small Flint encampment that has shrunk so much with the loss of so many men. Cordelya's not been straying quite so far from home over the last few days, though she still routinely checks in on Aleister, she's not sitting at his side for hours and hours. Now, she sits outside the Flint tents, her maid in the background no doubt repairing some vital garment or other. Cordelya's not in a working dress right now, but a light thing of buttercream and lace. It'd be lovely on her if she hadn't lost so much weight she seems a child in her mother's clothing. Even her face is more skeletal and hollow looking than the elfin cuteness it used to hold. She's reading a book under the late afternoon light, a neglected mug of somethng hot at her side. Her eyes look distant. Haunted.
Clop clop, clop clop. The sound of horses arriving. It's not a new sound at all, especially now as gradually traffic starts to pick up, with small caravans of folks coming and going in groups for protection. Today, the group is coming, and as it passes the camps, a smaller group detaches and heads towards the signs of the Flint camp. Three people, some gear packed on the horses as well as riders, and once they near, the guard moves aside to let Tiaryn come forward. Her gaze slides over what she can see, her expression very somber. She's lost a little weight as well, though she at least wasn't so skinny to start with. "Hello the Flint Camp," she calls out. That voice ought not be here, right?
The voice is enough to draw Cordelya out of her distant thoughts, doing a double take in the woman's direction. Completely unexpected, especially with the woman's letter, but Corrie is happy to see her never the less. The tall, too thin Flint woman stands up and makes a quick few steps over to Tia's side, "Tia!" She breathes out happily, abandoning book and tea for her good cousin over whom she worried so much. "Gods you… you rode? I thought they were keeping you behind!"
Tia dismounts, moving a little gingerly, but at least she's moving. "Corrie," she says, for a moment just staring at her friend. "You look like you need to sleep for a week. Is everything okay?" She takes a breath, and the guard holds a hand out for the reins. She passes them over. Adara mutters something about looking after the clothing and stuff, and finding out where sleeping quarters will be. All the mundane things that Tia isn't supposed to worry her head about. "I came - there was a caravan, with enough folks to be safer, so I thought I would come at least to see. I don't know if I will be able to stay, Corrie. But I had to see."
Cordelya nods gently to the woman, frowning a bit at the comment. She looks down at herself…"I look fine. I'm fine. I've just been busy, though Anders is healing… Aleister…" The expression on her face is carefully grave and exhausted. She doesn't have words. He's clearly not improving. She sighs gently and reaches out to tug Tiaryn into a close, tight sort of hug, letting bodies linger near and warm as long as the woman will permit the embrace to last. "I'm fine. How are you? I… I am so sorry we left you there… But I knew it was safe there… I knew I'd be needed here. I wish I was wrong but I wasn't…"
"Took yourself out of safety in order to help with healing the wounded. Good thing that we won," is all Tia says, just to start with. Mind you, if the army'd lost, it probably didn't matter where anyone was, since eventually the ironborn'd arrive there. Still, she does let Corrie hug her, leaning into the hug for a good long few moments. And then she pulls back, to say, "You haven't been eating, have you? Too worried about everyone." She leans back for another hug. "Gods, Corrie, I just - don't worry about me. You said you needed some help? What can I help with?"
As Tia pulls back from the hug, Cordelya steps away gently herself, not wishing to seem too emotional or wild to the woman. She smirks at the comment of them winning. "…And if they had lost, dear, I'd have been lost anyway. To lose Anders…" She loves too much, still, to this very day. She shakes her head at the thought, trying to push it back before she grabs at Tia's fingertips and gently brings her over to the fire…"Do you need anything? Food, tea? Perhaps some ale? Tell me how you have been. I… I'm fine, help wise, for now… perhaps when I return to Aleister again but… I do not know if that is a battle I can win. I will not destroy my marriage for it."
It's perhaps a good thing that Tia didn't really get to fall so very deeply in love with Connell back in her past, isn't it? She lets her hand be taken and follows Corrie to sit by the fire. "I am glad that you did not lose your Anders," she says simply. A bit of a pause as she thinks, and then she says, "maybe a bit of tea? I'm not really hungry, so no need to get any food out or anything. Better to save it for those who really need some." She settles down beside Corrie, the black fabric of her dress a colour that ought to suit her, given her colouring, but perhaps it is the listlessness about her that makes her seem too pale with it. She bites her lip, as she thinks how to answer, not at all sure, and ends up just stopping there for a moment.
A slightly deeper look of worry crosses Cordelya's face as she looks Tiaryn up and down. Of course, she's not all that good at taking her own medicine, but she is good at getting it. "You need to eat, though… you look like you've lost as much weight as I and you've not been to war. Come, sit… I'll get you stew." She guides the woman onto a log near one of the fires and then turns her head back to the maid behind. "Niamh, two bowls of stew and a hot tea for the Lady Tiaryn. Thank you, dear." She murmurs gently before looking back to her good cousin…
Tia shrugs lightly, as she looks over at Corrie. "Thank you, but no need to worry," she repeats solidly. She does settle down without a worry, blinking at Corrie as the other woman seems to suddenly get all worried. "So, Lord Aleister is not doing any better? Poor Lady Cherise, it can't be good for her," she says, though there's not a lot of emotion in her words, or in her expression. About now, Adara comes back, the maid pausing and curtseying before she finds a spot to settle nearby in case she is needed.
The lacking emotion at all in Tia's voice seems to catch Cordelya's notice. She frowns gently, studying Tia up and down. "…Tia… I am sorry I left… we left. I don't know what to… say… or do…. to help things. I sent for you as soon as I could…" Corrie is smart. She's good at reading people. She knows something's wrong and yet she has no clue how to even try and help fix it.
Well, Tia isn't aware what the problem is so she's not going to be much good. She sort of blinks and gives Corrie a look. "Well, of course you had to come help," she says, sounding totally unphazed by it all. She even reaches over to pat Corrie's hand comfortingly. "It's alright, Corrie. It's alright." Her maid looks worried, though almost relieved at Corrie's reaction. Just the poor maid isn't at all sure what to do. "We'll just have some tea and stew and everything will be just find."
Cordelya furrows her brow, sitting forward a bit more on the cloth folding chair that she's often kept to. It's more comfortable for the work she's doing, or was doing. Now all her work is just focusing on Tiaryn. "Tia… it's not alright. You… you've lost so much. Been pulled from your home… and then we run off again. You're not yourself. I can see it in your eyes… it's like… Like you're just a shadow. It's not good…" Corrie explains softly, her worry heart deep, husky voice dead serious as she speaks.
Tiaryn tilts her head, as she listens to Corrie. "I - don't know who I am, if I'm not myself," she says after a moment. She looks down to the fire for a bit, trying to figure out what to say that will help Corrie stop worrying unnecessarily. After a bit, she looks back up, meeting Corrie's gaze with that distant one of her own. "You have things to do, and that only makes sense, Corrie. I'm - okay, honest." She even believes it, not having a clue that there is anything wrong with herself, as she just isn't bothered by it even if she should be.
The stew and tea is brought over by one of Corrie's maids, the woman quiet about it before sinking back to the side. Corrie nods to the bowl in Tia's fingertips. "Eat. We… we both need to eat." And apparently she's going to at least try and take her own advice about the matter. She takes a few bites out of the bowl before looking back to Tia. "You… you are showing nothing, Tia. No emotion, no… nothing. You should be feeling something, at least… the whole world has gone half insane."
"Only half?" Tia asks, though she doesn't expect an answer to that really. There isn't one really. The world is turned upside down and will never be the same again. Tia takes the stew and she obediently eats a few bites, and then a sip of tea. "I feel fine," she says after a moment. "Maybe it's just lack of sleep?" She pauses a moment, and then she says, "So why would helping Lord Charlton break up your marriage anyway?"
Cordelya smirks a bit more, staring harder at Tia, "You feel fine. That is… half the issue. You've been through hell, Tia. It takes more than a few weeks to get through something like this. And here you say you're fine… you… You're not. But… it's not the sort of wound I know how to sew." She admits raggedly, her brows furrowing just a hint more. Worry only growing deeper as she realizes just how bad Tia is. The last question gets a soft sigh, "…Anders wishes me to act more the lady, not the chiurgeon… save him or Aleister or not… he wants a wife who is useless, apparently. Not a healer."
"Really? That doesn't sound like him, does it? Though I guess I don't know him all /that/ well, truthfully, but are you sure he didn't damage his head with his wound?" Tia asks. "Well, no, I suppose you would know that, if it was the case." She eats a bit more stew, and then sets the bowl down, focussing on her tea. "And why shouldn't I be fine? The wounds have healed, there's nothing to be wrong any more." She shrugs a bit, at a loss a bit, since it seems that Corrie isn't believing her even when she's telling the truth. "I think it would be nice to see Young Lord Anders, and Einar. And well, whoever else is around." Like it's a genteel little tea party.
Cordelya shrugs slightly at the commentary on her husband, a frown tugging a bit more at her own tired features. At least she's beginning to acknowledge that it's all getting to her. "…I don't know. I thought… I don't know what I thought. Clearly I was wrong. We will get through it or… or he'll set me aside for someone more proper. What's done is done…" Cordelya murmurs quietly, giving just a bit of a tired shrug, but it is all getting to her and she's not figured out how to shut it off like Tiaryn. "And I'm not talking about physical wounds, Tia, but the ones to your heart and mind. Those take far longer to heal, dear…"
Tia stirs a little, her brow furrowing into a frown. Just a small one, but she does look a little bit bothered, though by what Corrie is saying about herself, not about what she's saying about Tia. "I - don't know about that," she says, though it does occur to her that maybe Corrie could also be talking about herself and Anders as well, if unintentionally. "I guess if they do take time, then they will take all the time they need to, right?" she asks, with a little bit of an attempt at a smile.
"I… I guess… and I'll figure it out. What Anders and I are going through… it is nothing compared to so many. We're truly the lucky ones… So… don't think on it. I… I just wish I could do more for you.." Corrie trails off in her words, not certain what more to say. It's hard… she worries so much and yet she feels quite so helpless. She just takes a few bites of her stew.
Tia frowns a bit, and then she reaches a hand out towards Corrie, her eyes shifting for a slight moment, almost showing an emotion, and then shuttering again. "If you wish," she says simply. Though perhaps that idea is stuck in her head, to talk to Anders. If she remembers it. As she sees Corrie eat a bit more, she recalls her own stew and reaches to have a small bite. Thankfully, Adara has learned by now not to say anything about it, and that does work, as Tia continues to eat ever so slowly. "Corrie - it's okay. You've already done so much for me, please don't worry."
Cordelya allows her fingertips to come over, taking Tia's offered hand, tenderly and warm. She gives a brief, long squeeze before letting go so that both of them can go back to eating. It's something they both -clearly- need to do more. She takes another bite or two and sicks back a bit deeper, breathing out slowly. So tiredly. "Tia… I.. I didn't do much. I made certain you didn't die. Just as I've done for Anders and Aleister. But just because you're not dead doesn't mean you're alive…"
Tiaryn is seated by the fire, eating stew. Corrie is next to her, the two women chatting perhaps not as lightheartedly as one might wish. "I think that saving my life is worth a lot, I'll have you know," Tia replies, though theere's still no heat in it, no emotion. Perhaps no belief? "And it's been a long day. I'm sure I'm just tired. Maybe we both should eat, relax and get a good night's sleep?" she asks, though it's still just words.
It's late afternoon, the sun just starting to set around the small Flint Campsite. Many of the men off training, the women are now relaxed and eating stew near the fire side. Cordelya's picking at a few more bird like bites of the bowl in her lap, but the skinny woman doesn't really seem to have much interest in food right now. She gives Tia a faint, still worried smile. "I think it's a lot too, Tia… By the Gods, I'm glad you are here, but…" She exhales slowly, "It doesn't mean it is enough." She nods at the comment about eating. "Yes, we are eating, and we'll get you settled in and relaxed. I need to go check on Aleister tonight, if nothing else. My husband might not care for me using my skills all the time but I'm not going to abandon Aleister in his hour of need."
Tia considers that for a long moment. "Do you think it would be alright if I came along with you?" she ventures, though she doesn't expect to be able to go. So already her voice sounds bored and not really caring. "It is good to see you, Corrie." She turns back to her stew, eating a few more bites, and then the tea again. But now she puts the stew away from her, as if done. "I still think you should continue to use your skills. It's not like I ever learned anything about herbalism or chirurgeonry, much to my mother's dismay."
A ways away from where the two women sit, in a corner of the campgrounds where the setting sun has caused the shadows to stretch long and dark, there is a faint flicker of moment. And then, a soft, sweet giggle. **
Cordelya arches a brow, just a bit of hope in her pale jade eyes as Tia asks if she can come. Corrie just wishes that it actually sounded like she had some heart behind those words. "Of course, Tia… Of course. You can come any time. If I need your hands, though, be prepared to work. And I should warn you the smell of a sick tent is… well, it's not pleasant in the least. The Lady Cherise has already been driven ill by it once. But I'd love to have you come…" And then Corrie blinks, turning her head somewhat quickly as she looks off in the direction of the camp's corner. She stares into the shadows for a quiet, confused moment before she tries to shake it off. "…Sorry… What did you say, Tia?"
Tia's eyes brighten, hope showing for a moment in her eyes. "Really?" she asks, sounding startled. Yes, an honest to goodness emotion in those big blue eyes. She shutters it down swiftly, but it was there. "I will try to remember that and not get sick, though - " Her gaze follows Corrie's blankly, but she sees and hears not a thing, so she just looks a little puzzled over at her friend. "I didn't - well, anyway, I'll try not to get in the way, or get sick or anything. But thank you for letting me come along."
There's another tiny laugh, and a slight, silhouetted figure skitters from one long shadow to the next, it's shape and form indistinguishable. The shadow it's a part of now, however, is one that stretches closer to where Cordelya and Tiaryn sit.
Cordelya forces her eyes back away from that corner, a slightly warmer smile dancing across her lips as she looks back to Tiaryn. "You won't be in the way. I'll be happy for the help, really. Just…if you do feel ill, get outside first? I don't know how squeamish you are. It's not a pleasant matter, especially when the leeches come out. But another set of hands would be lovely." Corrie affirms warmly in Tia's direction. She sits forward a bit more in her chair, going to say something else, but she looks back to that shadow now, though, and her eyes go a bit wider. "…there were no children in that caravan with you, were there, Tia?"
Children? "This is no place for children," Tia says, eyes going wide. She thinks and then she shakes her head negatively. "I didn't see any, unless you count me," she says, a little drily. "I promise if I feel ill, I will promptly vacate the room," she says simply enough. Though she's not sure at all about the idea of leeches, that's got to be enough to make anyone squeamish. "But hopefully I can at least be another pair of hands." She bites her tongue there, so she doesn't say anything she really shouldn't. "Don't forget to eat, Corrie," she adds gently.
A slow breath, and Corrie reaches back to her stew, taking down the last few bites of her bowl of stew. See? Tiaryn's being useful already, in truth. No one else thinks to actually remind Cordelya to eat in the middle of the mean, even if they keep putting food in front of her. She's just so distractable and worried, she rarely gets through the entire thing. "Thanks, luv… And no, I just thought I heard… " She sighs and shakes her head, braids bouncing slightly against her shoulders. "Nothing. I am, perhaps, over tired. I suspect we all are. I'm glad you're here. I could use another lady who is not Cherise…I just worry about her as much as…" And this brings a half tired laugh, "As I do everyone, I guess."
The movements in the shadows stop, but that sweet voice can be heard humming, strangely near for all that no one is visible. Slowly, the gentle humming resolves into words.
On a wagon bound for market
There's a calf with mournful eye.
High above him there's a swallow
winging swiftly through the sky.
Tia shakes her head, glad to see that Corrie is eating, cause Tia's at least not afraid to say things. Which may not be a good thing, but you never know. "I'm sure you are tired, Corrie. Look at all the things you're doing here - from what I can tell already. Is there anyone you're not taking care of?" she asks, sounding a little bit bewildered. "Where are sleeping arrangements? Should I look for a comfy rock somewhere?" Well, she did arrive somewhat unexpected, all things considered. Probably Adara already has that information, but the maid actually stays quiet as Tia makes … a joke? Maybe? Hopefully.
Cordelya is trying to focus on Tia, she really is, but the woman can see Corrie's eyes go distant and flickering for a few brief heartbeats. Those shadows drawing her again and, for just a moment, it's like she hums something… but she shakes it off and reasserts the focus of her own mind, gazing back to Tia firmly with a bit of a smile. "Ah… there are mats in the big tent, or a few of the others. You can stay in the tent with Anders and I if there is no room with the other women. Just… find a mat, essentially, and a blanket. They are not rich accommodations, I promise you. Hell… you could help us organize a bit more, if you're up to it. The camp has been in a bit of chaos."
How the winds are laughing!
They laugh with all their might.
Laugh and laugh the whole day through,
and half the summer's night.
"I could?" Tia asks, with a blink of confusion. "I - maybe. I'd have to see it." So perhaps in the morning after she has a chance to look over the Flint area in daylight and see just what Corrie is talking about. Again, as Corrie's gaze goes off, Tia glances that way too, but she doesn't see or hear anything. She tilts her head, now watching Corrie for a long moment, her brow furrowing once more. "I should be fine in the tent with the other women - so long as you point me to the right one." Because most likely any other tent will have her screaming blue murder very quickly after entering. Or someone will be, at any rate.
Cordelya is trying not too look over there. Yes, she's oddly distracted. Like someone listening to a distant song that they cannot quite remember, but she's managing to keep her focus quite fine on the conversation. "The ladies' tent is right next to ours, since it's full of more delicate souls, or so they say. Though…" Corrie takes a moment to drink and raise her brows at Tia, "You are a widow… There are many handsome knights about these tents. Should you find one that strikes your fancy…" She teases, light and warm, tryign to get a smile from Tia. "And yes… this camp… it's both grown and shrunk. The war has put it into chaos. We've lost men, supplies…"
"Stop complaining," said the farmer
"Who told you a calf to be?
Why don't you have wings to fly with,
like the swallow, proud and free?"
"It's a war, after all," Tia says with a nod of her head. She can't see much of the camp, so she's not sure whether it's in any mess at all, or just Corrie's being Corrie. "I promise I'll look into it - if nothing else, I can make a start," she says, sounding slightly interested in the task. Though truthfully the sort of housekeeping that would be needed here is such that her mother used to have to bribe her to learn. Her maid arches a brow, and Tia blinks at Corrie. "Why Corrie, what are you suggesting?" she asks, and then she does smile, for a very brief moment, her expression showing a hint of mischief. "I wouldn't dream of any such thing." That's said loftily, but oh so patently and obviously untrue. Though she might not /act/ on it, but that's another story. "I will remember you said that, and keep my eyes open."
Whatever Corrie was hearing, she seems to have shaken it off mostly. She grins at Tiaryn as the woman gives that mischevious look. "Psh. You'd at -least- dream of it. Have you seen Fenrir? War has done good things for the man… Mm… If I weren't married. Oh! Oh. There's this new sell sword… Markus Ilgrave… Oh Tia. He is…" Yes, the Lady has probably had one or two untoward thoughts about him, "He was telling me stories of the Dothraki. The man is quite… Wonderfully… Experienced." And that is enough to bring a good, warm blush to her cheeks.
How the winds are laughing!
They laugh with all their might.
Laugh and laugh the whole day through,
and half the summer's night.
Tia actually laughs outright as Corrie starts going on about the men in camp. "And you a married woman," she says, in return. "Your poor husband must be jealous." Said in jest, though whether or not there's any truth to the matter, Tia certainly doesn't know. "He probably will find me boring, I should think," she says, giving Corrie a woebegone look. Not the dull one from before, but one with a bit of emotion to it - fake though it is. "And Fenrir - hrm, now that's someone I'd not thought about in quite some time. I should imagine he cleans up nicely."
The laugh makes Corrie smile and chuckle a bit more, still blushing a hint at the thought. "Yes… yes he does. They both do. And I think Mark… Ser Ilgrave… he would be happy as long as you were good conversation. And you are. He reads. He's intelligent. He's sailed almost everywhere… Oh yes, you should meet him." Living vicariously? Maybe just a bit! She's sitting straight and stiff and instead of looking at the shadows, she's actually doing everything she can NOT to look in that direction. She is ignoring that direction. Shadows do not exist. Though Tia's words hit her a moment later…"…Jealous… why would Anders be jealous? it is not as if I am going off with these men…"
Calves are easily bound and slaughtered
never knowing the reason why.
But, whoever treasures freedom,
like the swallow, must learn to fly!
"I'm sure I will meet the man," Tia replies easily enough. There is a bit of an easing in her, perhaps noticeable to Corrie, perhaps not. Though the question she asks Tia wins a blink from the widow. She wasn't married for too long, perhaps not too much longer than Corrie and Anders have been, at this point. But well, she's got the benefit of being able to see the forest for the trees, given she's not in love with either of them, as such. Her words are gentle, but somewhat pointed. "Have you listened to yourself, Corrie? If Anders was speaking of women like you just were speaking of your Ser Ilgrave, how would you feel?"
Cordelya considers that quietly, her body slightly turned away from the shadows and that corner. There is nothing there and she knows it. Her eyes are all for Tiaryn, especially as the woman seems a bit more settled and more present than before. And the things she's saying actually might make more sense that the exhausted Flint woman's brain realized. "…Uh… I… I mean, I don't speak like this around him. But… I do suppose I was spending… far more time with others… Aleister in the man, than Anders. You truly think he could be… Jealous? Oh gods, Tia… I am no woman worth being jealous over… I'm not like Cherise, or you, or the pretty girls at court…"
How the winds are laughing!
They laugh with all their might.
Laugh and laugh the whole day through,
and half the summer's night.
There is a final, soft laugh and small hands clapping in delight as the song reaches its end.
Tia shrugs a bit. "I don't know for sure, Corrie. I haven't even seen the man yet. But he is a man, isn't he? And of course you are worthy of jealousy. You are a wonderful woman and your husband is no fool." She pauses a moment, finishing her tea. "and did you just compare me to Cherise? I - good gods, Corrie, I'm kind of not the right person for that. I'm already known for being a little wild." Okay, so most of the folks who know of her wild side are dead now, but still.
It's a bit distracting, Corrie's eyes finally snapping over to the shadows at something, swearing that she's going to see some little child coming out of the corner, but there is nothing. She sighs and shakes it off, gazing back to Tiaryn, "Wild?…Truly? I… I want to hear these stories. We do not know each other well, Tia… but if there is another woman who might understand wild, it would be me. And I was talking more…. PRetty. I know I am no great beauty… I thought the new maid was going to pass out when she first looked at me." Corrie admits with a slight frown.
Tia blinks at that, and then she reaches a hand towards Corrie again, patting her shoulder. "You need to eat more," she advises simply. "But pretty is one thing, and beauty is another. Beauty comes from inside, and it shines through, you know," she says. Though it feels odd to her to be saying this to Corrie, of all people. "And yes, wild. Did I not tell you my mother drew me in from the woods with the lure of music and used that as a carrot to learn whatever I have now of etiquette and proper behaviour? Maybe not, it doesn't always come up in conversation. Though I fear my idea of wild and that of many others might not match."
Cordelya didn't know that about the woman, in truth, and she's managing to not be distracted by shadows at all again. It was nothing, clearly. She smiles quietly to Tia, "I…did not know that. That is why you love your harp so? Well… ingenious teaching techniques, your mother had. I… I don't think my mother ever really figured anyway to get us in from the swamps, but those were safe places to play. There were children everywhere… Bogs, trees… hovels. And the most dangerous thing you might find were the lizards, but one just had to walk gentle. And occasionally you'd find bones from the most interesting things… mermen and things… " Corrie is about to say more, but then she does realize she's rambling on. Probably a bit homesick herself. "I am sorry… I ramble."
Tia certainly didn't broadcast such things when she went up to Flint's Finger to get married. That would have been something top secret to never be shared. But now, it hardly matters. "I suppose, or the other way around. That my love of music gave her an inroad to teach me other things that were needed." She smiles a bit, remembering. And that memory is sweet, all the more so because of the more recent losses. "Our woods were always safe, with trees to climb, rangers to try to find, and the gods whispering on the wind," she says. "I need to go back there, I think. I have to see it - for myself." But she doesn't dwell there, instead looking to Corrie. "Your bog sounds just as messy as my woods, if not more so."
Cordelya laughs a bit more…"I grew up in a swamp… I do not think I ever owned a single white dress until I wed Anders, because it is impossible to keep anything white when even solid ground is mostly mud, and many places you sink to your ankles or knees in the muck. But… I miss it… I loved home. Graywatch seems so… far. So impossible to finda gain. I… I hope I can remember how to get back there when I next return." Corrie admits, her eyes returning to the shadows where nothing seems to play any longer. Almost a part of her wishing it back. She dimly remembers to scoop up her tea, now cold, and she takes another sip of it. "Did you bring your harp, Tia? The nightly fires, well… I suspect many of the men would love your voice and your playing, if you'd keep them company and give entertainment."
"I have the Lady Isolde's harp, aye. I do not know if I can play the songs they will want to hear with any amount of … joy, but I will do my best." For sure, they won't want to hear the quiet eerie songs that Tia has been preferring of late. She considers laundry in a swamp, and thinks aloud, "I suppose that the grass stains I managed to find were somewhat less daunting to the laundress. And I am certain you will find your way home, Corrie. When you get near, your eyes will see what you do not expect, and you will recognize it." She pauses to look to the corner that Corrie is still watching, and then has to stifle a surprising yawn. "Oh! Excuse me."
The yawn is enough to tell Corrie all she needs to know. She smiles and pushes herself up to her feet, going over and reaching her fingertips out. "Come here, luv. We're going to tuck you into a bed first, let you get some sleep, and then tonight you can come out and help me with the torches and the light to treat Aleister. And then to the fires for some song. It's a busy night, Tia, come, get some rest now." Cordelya then guides the woman through to the smaller tent at the side of the Young Lord's tent, where some of the other lady's things rest. She'll get Tia settled in for an afternoon nap, in the very least.
** The italicized poses were things visible to only Cordelya Flint's eyes. Thank you very much to Imp for running the voices in her head!
