Beyond Time (closed)

[KieranSoares]

The silversmith was a handsome tan lion with a short mane, and he looked up from his work fixing a chain as Dylandra spoke. "Feather?" He asked. "What kind? Many kinds. Eagle, peacock, seabird..." He didn't have the strongest grasp of English grammar, but he understood her perfectly and his Lunar accent was beautifully crisp. "I make commission."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Sparrow." Dylan said as the lion told her that he worked on commission. "My husband loves sparrows. I want something that he would be proud to wear."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Sparrow... Little common bird, yes? I will find feather. Five days, ring will be ready." He set down his tools and offered her a kind, calloused hand. "Zadou Keddi of Golin, brother hunter of Kreston Maliar. And you?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Dylandra Ghis. Wife of Ashien Ghis, Lord of Darkwood Manor." She murmured softly as she took his hand and shook it, giving him a soft grin.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Ghis?" He asked in surprise, suddenly feeling very honored to be making a ring for a member of a family he considered all heroes after the vicious war. "I make best ring in career. You will be happy, very happy!" He promised, but he didn't forget to ask, "What size?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm not sure." Dylan said, blush coating her cheeks as she thought about the fact that she didn't know what size her husband wore. "His hands aren't large like his brother's. He's an artist so they're slender."

 

[KieranSoares]

Zadou offered her an understanding smile. "I ask Lady Katherine, keep secret," he assured her before sending her on her way with a promise the ring would be ready come Sunday.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan thanked the kind man with a smile and continued on her journey. She bought an apple and a meat pie from a vendor before she found her way to the loch. It was lovely that time of the afternoon, calm and cool as the breeze gently stirred the waters. It would have been better with Ashien, but she knew that he had other things to take care of first. She could wait, she thought to herself as she bit into her apple and simply enjoyed the calm.

 

[KieranSoares]

As peaceful as the loch was, it wasn't long before someone found Dylandra. Beside her suddenly appeared a Ghis man she could gather was probably Boar by his hulking form and the crutch he leaned heavily upon. In his opposite hand was a lunch from the market much like her own. "Hiya, lass," he murmured. "Mind if I join ya?"

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan glanced up at the hulking man that appeared beside her. He had the same dark hair and eyes that her husband had but he was broader built. It seemed that Ashien was the smallest of his brothers, even if he towered over her.

"You must be Boar." Dylan said as the man sat down beside her with his lunch in his hand. "I've already met Durban and I know Brogan isn't on his feet just yet."

 

[KieranSoares]

"An' you must be Dylandra," Boar said with a nod. "Ma made sure t'mention y'were the first blonde in our family." He sighed somewhat painfully as he stretched out his legs, trying to relax and let his ruined knees rest.

 

[heartofcourage]

"The whole lot of you tend to be tall and dark." Dylan said with a smile as her brother in law sat beside her with a painful sigh. "Should you even be out?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I couldn' stand bein' cooped up anymore. An' I've been this way fer a while now. It ain' gettin' better. Might as well get used to it an' get back t'life early as possible. An' thankfully Em's too busy with our little girl t'baby me."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Emma, your wife?" Dylan asked, knowing that Ashien had spoken of all of them in the time that she had been with him. "And I know you have two little boys as well. Seems that twins run thick in your family. I'm not sure whether so should be excited or terrified of the prospect."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I wouldn' be too worried. Twins usually don' 'ave twins in our family," Boar assured her. "Figures I'd be th'one tha' got 'em though. Ma always told me I needed t'be patient an' control my temper. Y'can't be impatient with twins. Especially boys."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Ashien told me that you're a good father. Perhaps the best in all of Inverness." Dylan said with a smile towards the brute that was her brother-in-law.

 

[KieranSoares]

"'E's a pretty good liar," Boar grunted with a smile. "Durban's th'best. Three kids an' not a one of 'em 'ave ever known true 'ardship til this war. Even then, only Gabriel got caught in any of it, but it was th'lad's own choice. An' I've never seen a better relationship than 'is with Marri. 'Cept maybe Ma's with Vincenzo."

 

[heartofcourage]

"If there's one thing about Ashien, it's that he is honest to a fault." Dylan said as she glanced towards Boar. "If he says that you're the best father, I'm inclined to believe him. Besides, I have no reason not to."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Then 'e's got you charmed through an' through," Boar chuckled warmly. He'd always been closest with Selena, but he'd watched in wonder as Ashien had grown up so different from his siblings, and enjoyed every chance to see his artwork and to tease him about being soft and too refined to be a Scot.

 

[heartofcourage]

"That he might." Dylan said as she finished her apple and threw the core into the loch, watching as the fish came to nibble on what was left behind. "Now, I just have to trust that once he heals, he's still the same person that I fell in love with."

 

[KieranSoares]

"He'll be haunted th'rest of 'is life. All of us will. I'm no' lookin' forward th'the next thunderstorm... Durban an' Ash'll have it worst, havin' been caught up in th'explosions o' the defective cannons. I don' know how Brogan an' I're gonna handle it. Vincenzo an' Val too. Every war leaves somethin' with us, but this was th'worst."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I knew when I married a soldier that this would be our lives. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon." Dylan said as she glanced towards Boar.

He looked like Ashien, but so different. She could see more of Kitty in her husband, but also a healthy mixture of the father that they all seemed so eager to avoid.

"You know...I'm an artist too. Perhaps, before we leave, I can paint you and your family. Your wife might like to have a memento of your little girl."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Ye'd have t'ask Em an' talk th'boys into sittin' still," he said with a smile. "But I think she'd like tha'."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, if worst comes to worst, something for just you and your wife." Dylandra said with a smile towards her brother-in-law. "The children can come later when they've learned how to sit still."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'd like tha'," he said thoughtfully. "Somethin' fer our family down th'line t'see an' remember us by. Think I'd like t'hang it in th'keep along with th' portraits of our grandparents from Skye. Maybe y'could talk th'others into it too, start a line of 'em."