In the Birbhouse

The Hayatiento Aerie, Evening

The illness wracking the Sliabhgeiko that have moved into Hayatiento Aerie has been all but eradicated. Therefore, much of the life has come back for the egalrin here as they get settled in. Residential tunnels are getting filled out and furnished, textiles being woven and on display and being blow about from the gusts of winds outside the mountain.

One such residence that has been lively none too far down the tunnel is a set of three abodes in a row. Several carts sit outside them, half filled with stone. Stepping out of is a tall egalrin of green and white, him ducking under the doorframe and pushing the curtain beads aside with a wing as his arms are full of broken stone. Behind them, a rust red and black striped egalrin, older, with an armful of the same payload. "Now now, Zanzi, get'chu somthin' ta eat later aight hon?"

"'course, mamaw," he bows his head, dumping the rocks into a cart. "Am I bringin' leftova's?"

"Jinaru beams. "Why of /course/!"

The Goblin ambles along, her cheeks reddened and her copious hair blown askew by the winds outside. She smiles brightly at the sight of the transformation of the aerie, and the buzz of activity.

Simony pauses to peer curiously into the carts, and ducks down when the green and white Egalrin appears. But she pops up after hearing Jinaru's voice.

"Hello!", she says cheerfully, "Goodness, it looks like you're getting your house properly set up!"

The carts are full of what appears to be pieces of stone walls. The evidence seen beyond the beaded doorway of a half destroyed wall to open the place up.

The green and white plumed egalrin flinches as Simony pops up out of seemingly nowhere. Closer now, the leather padding and several knives in sheathes glint in the tunnel light. One of which gets a hand over.

The strongman is bunted out of the way by the plump egalrin matron. "Simony!" she coos warmly. "Heya hon! We are! Gettin' some walls cleared up fo' the fam. You want somethin' ta drink? Eat? Zanzi, don' be rude, say hello!"

Zanzi shakes his head, recovering from being tossed against the wall. "Fair skies," he grumbles. "Zanzimar Unmesi."

Simony blinks at the taaaall Egalrin, and her smile falters ever so slightly, only returning to its original brightness when mamaw Unmesi speaks up. The Gobbo hops down from her spot on the wagon, and runs a few steps to hug at Jinaru. "It is good to see you, mamaw Jinaru!" A gurgling noise is heard, and the Goblin wonders, "Do you have any tea?"

She giggles lightly at the male, "Nice to meet you, Zanzimar. I am called Simony Smithsdottir. Simony. Or Moni for short, if you like. You probably missed me while I was here before, I was in the infirmary mostly, assisting Slivvie.. erm, Slixvah, and mamaw here." She offers up a hand.

Jinaru gives a hearty, winged hug as Simony comes up for one, the matron going to a knee to do so. "Good ta see ya too! Oh, we got tons of tea!"

Zanzimar bows his head, taking the much smaller hand into his and giving it a firm shake. He's built like the inverse of Slixvah- tall, muscular, and serious. "Pleasure, Smithsdottir." The son blinks. "I see. One of Slivvie's friends. Well, she's inside-"

"Zanzi, she helped fix loads of people, th' least ya can do is loosen up a lil'!" Jinaru tuts. "Go. Get food! Shoo! Bring back extra extra!"

He sighs, rolling his eyes. "... I'll be back..." he grumbles, plodding down the road.

Jinaru grins down at Simony. "Come on in, sweetie!"

The Goblin laughs then, disappearing into a sea of feathers. "I'm not particular on what sort of tea, just that it be hot, given the turn in the weather.", she says, somewhat muffled. "It is good to see everyone in high spirits, Jinaru, your people are resilient. May I see what you're doing with your home space?"

Simony nods to Zanzi, "Yes, she is a dear friend. She saved my life." She offers a wave to the green and white Egalrin as he heads out.

"Slixvaaaah!", the Gobbo calls out, as she steps inside, pausing to pull her new, sturdy boots from her feet.

"Good! 'cause I ain' have a faint idea wha' th' hell we have in stock!" Jinaru snickers, pulling out of the hug and leading Simony in with a hand on the gobber's back as she opens the beaded curtain for Simony.

Inside the abode can only be described as a paradoxial amalgimation of homey, foreign, roomy, and cramped. A vast array of textiles line the walls in a adoration of colors and styles, typical of egalrin aeries, but this one a tangled yet organized mess of hues. Dressers and chests line the walls, each one with a name scribbled on in Auran. Above each section is a hammock nailed into the ceiling. Most of the hammocks are empty, though the sheer amount takes up all three abodes, seen through half crumbled walls.

A familiar runt of a red egalrin perks up at the voice, her kneeling over a cot with a small figure upon it. A fledling egalrin, still with their down feathers peeking through speckled green plumage. One of their wings is held in a cast and turned almost painfully upside and half folded the wrong way. But they seem in good spirits as they're propped up in Slix's lap.

Another three egalrin perk up, a bright red man in robes, a green and black stiped and sleepy woman, and a dull green and red striped older woman with a winning grin. And a winning hand, as the trio seems to playing cards on the floor.

"Moni! Sugar, wha's good girl?" Slixvah coos warmly, as the others give various greetings. The sleepy one just yawns and waves.

"It must be difficult trying to find everything again after such a long trip.", Simony says with a sympathetic tone in her voice. "But, I am quick at writing, I could help you take stock of what you have, and where it currently is. If you like? Then you could organize it better, yes?"

The Goblin gasps and stares, looking at the abundance of colours inside their abode. "Whoa! You have all the colours!" She turns around a few times to take it all in. "Oh, so you are taking down the walls a bit, to make it feel more open?" Squinting at the writing, Simony smiles. "Oh, those nice flowing letters have to be Auran. Neat, you sleep in in hammocks?"

Her attention turns to Slix, and the Gobbo runs over, waiting for a good moment to hug the rust-plumed Egalrin. "Hello Slix! I'm doing well... my hair finally stopped its growth spurt. How are things with you?" She look to the wee child, and smiles. "Aww, hello, you're looking much better." The Gobbo offers a finger-wiggle wave to the youngling. Her eyes spot the others playing cards, and she offers them a wave also, before shifting a little to hide from them behind Slixvah.

Jinaru laughs as she steps over some rubble into another space, something clearly with a kitchen. "Sure, why not? Good luck tho'! Got a loooooootta stuff!" She vanishes behind a wall, but still talking. "Yuh, sure do, beds and wings don' mix too well! Th' chests are th' kids, don' touch 'em unless ya wanna get pecked!"

"We don'... peck..." the sleepy one manages to get through another yawn.

"Much!" the green and red striped woman chirps as she throws her hand down. The other two groan and slide some coppers over to her.

Slixvah's wing wraps up Simony as her hands are full of the fledgling. Slightly glowing, as it appears that she is giving a little trickle of healing mojo to them. "It loo's really nice! Lil' worried ya ain't gonna step on it and go a tumblin'?"

The little egalrin coughs quietly before shyly waving back. "H... hi."

Slix doesn't mind being the shield, but a ribbon-like feather animates and points about. "Quick and dirty intros- tha' sparky one is Xezmire."

The bright red egalrin raises a hand. A tiny bit of electricity zips between his fingers. "Yo."

"The cocky one is Loekia."

The dull green and red card winning egalrin gives a sloppy salute.

"And th' one asleep is Kamieli."

The green and black striped one has fallen asleep on Xezmire.

"One this one here is Baby Bani. Or Banilex if ya wanna get fancy."

Bani pulls her blanket up over her head.

The Gobbo barely covers a yawn with her hand, and giggles. "I will be sure to stay away from the chests.", she says softly. Her hand is already trying to fish out her notebook when she's wrapped in rust and white wings. She squeaks at Slixvah and leans into the hugging. "Oh, it already has, I slipped on it getting out of bed this morning, I'm looking for a way to do it up nicely."

Simony giggles at the introductions, "I am Simony Smithsdoggir. A pleasure to meet you all. I'm happy to see you settling in." She smiles down at the wee one. "Bani is a wonderful name. I am so happy you're looking well, I was very worried. But you're strong, and here you are." The Gobbo lets out another giggle as Bani hides under her blanket.

Glancing back to Slixvah, "How are you doing?". She pats lightly at one of Slixvah's wings. "Everything going well?"

"I bet ya can pull off a sick bun wit' what ya got," Slix suggests, giving the gobbo a squeeze with the wing before letting them go.

Two of the trio give their pleasantries, and start to pack their game up (seeing as Loekia has cleaned them out). Xezmire attempts to pry Kamieli off of him, but ends up getting grabbed onto and pulled down. He makes a little yelp. Raises a mildly sparking hand.

From the kitchen, unseen. "Xezzie boy if ya zap ya sister I'm gonna pitch ya off the bridge!" the mother chastises.

Xezmire sighs, and accepts his fate. Loekia snickers as she counts her haul.

Bani pokes her head out a bit, looking beyond tired and sleepy, but gives a small nod. "Thank ya... um. Are... are ya th' one Slivvie grabbed from tha' tower thing?"

"Shure is, lil' goobie," Slix confirms with a smile, ruffling the kid's head feathers. "I'm doin' alright hon. Been kinda jus' vibin' th' past couple weeks. Yaself? Ain' seen ya much since the med ward got turned back inta houses."

"Oh, I tried a bun, it was huge! Hehe... I think I will try two buns. Or maybe a little haircut, take some of it off. Would make it easier." Simony sighs gently. "But I've gone a long while with little to no hair, and I just want to enjoy this. Oooh, if I was a witch, I could make my hair braid or style itself, couldn't I?" She giggles lightly, "That would be pretty neat!"

She glances over at the siblings, and laughs. "That's me and my siblings, but with feathers. What uhm card game were they playing?" The Gobbo looks to Bani, and smiles. "Oh yes, that's me."

Simony reaches into her pouch and fishes around inside it for a few moments, before pulling out a carefully folded piece of paper. "I drew her, from memory..." Unfolding the paper reveals the original sketch, with Slixvah appearing through the portal, wings opened wide. "She had a rope around her waist, like a belt, and one of our friends was on the other side of it, pulling with all his might. I'd almost been blown off another rope, only hanging on with my teeth. She grabbed ahold of me, and helped us all get out."

The Gobbo grins at Slixvah, "You deserve the break. And I'm doing alright. Got my hair back. And lately I've been helping the Temple with stocking up for winter. I put in the finishing touches on a fresco painting on Telamon's living room ceiling... oh!" She looks around at the ceiling. "Perhaps your family would like a nice wide, blue sky painted up there, hmm?"

Slix grins. "Oh yes. It's /so/ nice ta jus' let ya hair style itself. I do tha' from time ta time!" The pointing feather also ruffle's Simony's long hair. "Good, enjoy it befo' a slice a bit off."

Loekia holds up a deck of cards. It's all written with Khazad runes. "Bronze Rush!" she chirps cheerfully. "So much fun! Khzad game! You wanna play?!"

Xezmire, resigned to be a pillow for his sister, pulls on Loekia's wing to bring her down. "Don', she'll clean ya out."

The sketch getting pulled out seems to drag all the birds to the fore. The trio (including Kamieli, half awake and getting dragged along), and Bani bunch up to peer at it. Even Jiranu steps around the corner with a tray full of tea, joining in the bunching up by looking over them all. "Oooh!" they all coo in tandem.

Kamieli sleepily points out, "... nice... pose..."

The proposition gets the entire Unmesi gang to perk up, and all of the children look up at their mother. There's a smattering of squawks and bird chirps that gaggle forth, Slix included.

The mother holds a wing up. They silence. And she sets the tea tray down on the floor next to everyone. Chamomile, it seems to be. "Tha' sounds ri' nice, sweetie, but firs' take a chill, lay back, have some tea! That sounds like a nice proposition, we can chat 'bout tha' when the walls are all knocked down and we gots our shtuff moved in, hmm?"

The Gobbo seems to like the hair ruffling, "Again again." Her attention is distracted momentarily by Loekia, and she grins brightly. "I would love to learn how, but, may we set aside a day to do so? I could bring some dessert, and perhaps a few coins, and we could spend an afternoon together. How does that sound?"

The Gobbo gestures to the portal behind Slixvah in the sketch. "She was like an angel, dropping out of the portal. Beautiful. I'd be floating away, lost forever in the plane of Air, if it were not for Slixvah. She's amazing!"

Simony accepts a cup of tea, while the siblings complain.

Nodding lightly, she smiles. "I'd be happy to chat about it once you're all done renovating. I'm also happy to help out, if you like? I can at least help move rocks and rubble." A sip of chamomile is had. "Mmmh, that hits the spot. Tasty, and warm."

Slix resumes the ruffling at the beckoning to continue as Loekia pumps a fist. "Excellent! I'll teach ya! Easy! Low stakes! Can set a day!" she fires off and fired up for a challenge.

The repeated praise gets Slix to rub her neck, face floofing up. "Ah, well, ya know..." she mumbles with a smile.

Sleepy Kamieli reaches up to pinch Slix's cheeks. "Super... cool... sis..." she yawns. Slix acks and bites at the fingers. There's no reaction, as Kamieli fell asleep.

Jinaru smiles as she gets tea sorted out for others. Bani's cup gets a few drops of antiplague, as well as a bit more sugar. "Mighty kind of ya, hon. Might take up on tha'. Is food an acceptable payment? Getcha a fixin' at dinner, yeah? Can load ya up fo' ya head back ta th' monastery"

Nodding enthusiastically, the Gobbo grins at Loekia. "I suppose I should be worried about your enthusiasm for this game. Low stakes would be good. Do you like pastries? I'll bring a yummy selection, enough for everyone."

Simony looks pleased as Slix's face floofing, and at Kameili's quiet comment. "Oh yes, your sister is super cool." She giggles at the girl birb's sleepiness. "Is she always sleepy?", she wonders. Another sip of tea is had, the Gobbo inhaling and exhaling deeply.

"Y.y.yes, something tasty would be acceptable as payment. But my offering of painting and of assistance in renovating were both made without the expectation of any sort of payment.

"Yes yes!" Loekia grins, her boundless enthusiasm seemingly having no stops even as she slurps down her tea. "Be worried! It makes the game more fun! Pastries! All kinds! Apple ones are the best!"

Is Kameili always sleepy? "Yes," the Unmesi gang answers in tandem. Jinaru swoops in gracefully. "Lil Kami's got a lil' sleepy problem. She's fine tho'! She just sleeps in small bits all day. She's most awake at night. Most of the time," the mother supplies as she tops off Simony's tea. "Nonsense, you'll get paid. You've helped enough 'round here, let us take care of you!"

The mom energy grows. "And no is not an acceptable answer!" she winks. "Zazni's gettin' us some food. Can get some big dishes out when he's back. You can meet the rest of the gang durin' dinner if ya want!"

The rest of the gang. There's five of her kids here, Zanzi makes six. But there's fifteen hammocks...

Oh no. This roost is packed.

Simony does look a little worried about the stakes, but nods. "I will make sure to have some apple stuffed pastries. With a few other flavours too. I lean towards raspberry, myself."

"Oh, she's a night owl instead of a morning dove." The Gobbo blinks. "I mean.. that's a saying the humans have." She look at the topped up tea, and takes a larger mouthful. "Well, being paid in the form of dinner is good. And I accept being taken care of, too." A little giggle escapes her. "I won't argue with memaw." Her eyes do the mental count of hammocks and she lets out a noise through her nose. "It's a little cozy in here, isn't it? Uhm. There's a question I want to ask later. It's a bit awkward, and might be upsetting, so I'll wait until afterwards."

Loekia sharply bobs her head. "Excellent! I look forward to it! Come down in a few days, evening! We duel!"

"Please don't clean m'friend out, Lolo," Slix sighs.

"No promises!"

The gobbo's apparent faux pas garners a round of laughs from the Unmesies, even Kameili chuckles in her sleep as they have captured Slix's wing now as a pillow. "Don't worr' 'bout it," Xezmire waves off. "Kami is very much a night owl."

Jinaru smiles. "Good! We'll get ya right sorted!" She looks about. "Mm. It is right cozy. Th' houses here got nooks and crannies fo' privacy if ya need it, but th' main room is toooo small! Shoulda seen our old nest- biiiiig main room! Super big! And downstairs had a lo' of small rooms fo' others an' th' like."

There's a silence that follows after Simony's point of having an awkward question. A few of them lean in, expecting it. Slix subtly puts her hands over Bani's ear holes.

Kami wakes up blearily in a yawn, "... shit... I wanna know... ask..."

The Gobbo grins. "Bronze Rush, you called it?" Her notebook comes out, and she writes something down. "I happen to be fluent in Khazad, I'll look up how the game is played, and see if there aren't any best plays guides for it."

Simony glances to Slixvah, and winks cheekily. She eyes Kami, "Oh... a feather pillow is certainly comfortable." The Gobbo nods in agreement to being sorted, and oohs, "Well, lucky that you can take out some of the walls, make it bigger. And with a big, bright, blue sky painted above, it'll feel even bigger. Maybe with some fluffy white clouds too."

Simony looks embarrassed then, at the sudden feeling of ... everyone looking over. "Uhm. Errr. N.no, it's honestly probably upsetting, it's just a simply curiosity I had, that's all. I'm reserving it for mamaw. Maybe Slixvah."

Loekia squints, her finger tapping her empty cup faster and faster. "... smart one. I'm gonna have pull out th' big bows."

Kami hums quietly. "Mmmhmm... soft..." she mumbles in agreement, half nestled into Slix's wing.

Jinaru looks over the room again, this time taking in the walls and the ceiling. "... yuh. I agree. We can chat 'bout it. I li' thi' idea tons."

The family looks at each other. Puzzled expressions, confused chirps, questioning clicks. Slix seems to get it first. "... you wonderin' where papaw is? Papaw's huntin' wit some of th' other fam," she answers easily.

"Ooooh, yes, m'darlin Brezzie," Jinaru grins.

Just then, the beaded curtain that doubles as the front door clacks open, a heavy smell of vegetables and cooked meats pervades the space as Zanzimar steps in with his arms full of baskets, wrapped with food. "Mamaw, I'll put thi' on the kitchen table."

Jinaru grins. "Oh thank ya, Zanzi darlin'! I'll get started on tha'."

The Gobbo looks panicked for a few moments before Slixvah mentions their papaw, and slowly breathes out a sigh of relief. But before she can answer... vegetables and meats to the rescue.

"Oh, may I assist with the cooking? Or at least with the cutting of vegetables?", Simony offers. "Or even just getting it sorted out?" She stands, moving to assist the burdened birb unload everything onto the kitchen table.

The brief moment of panic from the gobbo is met with a curious set of cocked heads. But the arrival of food gets several birds scrabbling to their feet. The matron bats them all down. "Y'all /sit/," Jinaru tuts. "Lil' Simony gonna help mamaw. Stay outta th' kitchen!"

There's a chorus of detesting, with the sleepy Kamieli saying something about 'sampling the food' before turning over and snoring quietly.

Jinaru rises, following Simony as she scoops a familiar apron off a hook in the next room. Zazni gives a nod towards Simony, offloading the various foodstuffs onto the table and into the goblin's hands. He doesn't stay overlong, once he was unloaded, he vanishes deeper into the other parts of the house. With the others in the other room, Jinaru pulls out some knives and a cutting board. "Don' worry 'bout Zanzi, he's a serious boi. Can ya dice them veggies hon? Gonna make a big friggin' stew."

Simony tries and fails to hide the look of relief as she's rescued by Jinaru. Giggling lightly, she sorts out the veggies and sets them onto the table. "Yes, he's serious, but he's got a good heart, doesn't he? And certainly! Did you want any special slicing done, or just into cubes?" The Gobbo starts by peeling a bundle of carrots.

"I was really curious about uhm..." She lets out a low sigh of breath, and then speaks in a lowered voice. "What happened to cause you all to come here? I only have an impression that something bad happened. You can see why I didn't want to speak in front of the others."

"Mmmhm. He's got a right good heart. Zanzi flew all 'round th' lands bein' a messenger durin' th' migration," Jinaru smiles proudly as she unwraps some kind of red meat. She slides an egalrin sized knife over to Simony, pauses, and pulls it back before giving a smaller one. "Jus' cubes, sugar."

She raises a feathered brow. "Ah." The mother wipes her knife off on her apron before carefully slicing into the meats. "Simply put: landslide. A landslide destroyed th' Aerie. Not everyone made it. Worst we got was Bani-" she nods towards the gathering room where one can just peek and see Slixvah entertaining her siblings with various illusory disguises, "-so thank Ceiwen fo' dat."

She continues chopping for a bit. Grinding her beak in thought. "... papaw and crew don' think it was an accident," she mutters to the goblin.

Simony nods, and the peeling soon becomes slicing and dicing, the carrots being methodically reduced to cubes the size of peas. She hums a tuneless song as she goes along, nodding as Jinaru talks. "I am sad for your losses, but relieved that your people have survived. Slix and I will put Bani right, also." The Gobbo continues slicing up the carrots as she absorbs the last bit of information. Reaching for a stalk of celery next, she pauses. "Not an accident? That is ill news indeed. And you'd not have time to investigate much, given the state of your people right after a landslide." Simony slowly slices off thin pieces of celery, concentrating more on not slicing bits of her fingers. "If you would let me know where your aerie was, I would gather a few like minded people to investigate."

Jinaru dips her head. "M'glad too, we's- not just the Unmesies- are a stubborn lot. As soon as folks started figurin' out what was happenin', we jumped off the cliffs. Scrapped what we can, had a big debate if we should move in wit' Khazad nearby, or come here. Some stayed behind, along wit' our Speaker. Compromise, the Elders came wit' us since there's a Speaker here," the mother gives a little bit of insight.

She throws a pile of cubed red meat into a massive pot nearby. But her pouring pauses. "I ain't been inta Alexandria yet," Jinaru says, not answering the question just yet. "But word of ya'lls adventurin' guild goes wide and far. Both good and bad. Now I wasn't born yesterday. We's be talkin's 'bout puttin' a postin' there ta do just that."

A yellow eye peers at Simony over a shoulder. "That kind of likeminded people?"

Simony pauses her slicing of celery to put several handfuls of carrot cubes into the pot, returning to slicing celery. "Have you news from those who stayed behind? Have you sent word that you're settled in?" She nods to the Egalrin with a broad grin. "Aye, those kind of likeminded people."

"I think that what happened to you, if it was intentional, should not go unanswered."

The Goblin peers curiously at a cluster of tomatoes, and picks one up, sniffing at it curiously. "How do they grow these so big?" Shrugging, she begins slicing into the red fruits. "So juicy too... Uhm. So, do your people have any idea as to who or what caused the landslide? Are there people or creatures out there meaning to do you harm?"

"I dunno, hon," Jinaru shrugs with a sigh. "I'm sure th' Elders have. There was a bit of a... schism between stayin' and goin'. Li' I said, compromise."

"I agree, should get looked inta. Tha's sorta wha' papaw's doin'. But too busy here ta actually do something." She looks back at Simony. Gives a sort of appraising look, one that Slix tends to wear when trying to figure out how a piece of information works into a puzzle. "I see. Hrm. Well. Alright, it wouldn't hurt if its folks like ya. I'll mark it on a map for ya later, okay? It's deep in th' Sky Curtains. Gotta path out a land route since ya ain't got wings, yeah?"

She looks amused. "Th' better question is- how do they grow you so small, hmm?" the matron, six feet tall and looming, snickers. "Dunno. But its intentional. Khazad infrastructure doesn't crumble after centuries and centuries. They build ta last."

"It is sometimes hard to adapt to circumstances of great, or fast, change. I am sure your people can heal any rift among you." Celery and tomato bits are dropped into the large pot, the Gobbo needed several trips to do so. "Onions, do you think? Or maybe something of a spicy nature?"

Returning to the cutting board, she sighs. "We would need to use experienced people for the journey, I think, given that we don't know what we're walking into. Or flying into." She flaps her arms like they were wings, grinning cheekily. "I've a friend, Telamon, whom you've met. He could help us travel there, likely teleportation, but flying isn't out of the equation. It'd be great fun to fly there, I think."

Simony laughs then, snorting. "Can you imagine Egalrin-sized Goblins? What a terror that would be!"

"Oh. Yes, khazad things tend to last many lifetimes, don't they?" She rubs at her chin. "Definitely suspicious."

"Time will tell. We have plenty of it," Jinaru hums, looking at the pot as she dumps the last of the meat in there. She stares at it, squinting. "... both. Spicy and onions. I want this stew ta slap ya in the face," she laughs.

She cleans off her cutting surface and knife. "Yeah, I've seen him Tele-port peeps in," she winks. "He brought th' worst inta th' medical ward. Bu' fo' makin' ya way there- airship. Tha's prolly th' easiest."

There's a snort as Jinaru grabs a bucket and cracks open a barrel. "Inverse, goblin sized egalrin, lil' birds!" She sighs, shaking her head while pouring water into the large pot. "It is. But, me thinks a set of eyes outside of th' Aerie will get mo' info than jus' us."

Laughing, "One stew face-punch coming right up!" The Goblin adds several onions and hot peppers to her cutting board, methodically and carefully slicing them down into cube-like bits. She sniffles and snorts. "Ugggh. Onions, why are you so tasty but make people cry when they cut you?"

"Telamon is a good person, I think he would want to help you work out who or what caused the landslide. At the very least, to make sure it doesn't happen to others in future." Sniffling again, she uses her upper arms to rub at her cheeks and eyes.

"Heh, goblin-sized birbs wouldn't be as good. Regular sized Egalrin give the best hugs."

"'cause you cryin' from how good th' meal's gonna be!" Jinaru snickers, wiping her watering eyes out with a feathered arm. She picks up the large pot, despite it being several tens of pounds full of food and water and easily moves it over a grate built into the floor. "Aye. He is. But, ta be honest wit' ya sugar, tha's like usin' th' ocean ta put out a candle, ya dig? Me thinks a subtle touch will do."

There's a snap, either the matron snapping her fingers and pointing or the tinderbox catching some wood in the floor level cooking grate. "Oh yes, yes they do!"

There's a beat as she waits for Simony to dump the goods into the pot, and then the albino goblin is wrapped into a single winged hug. "Now, we wait!"

"That or they are trying to make me feel bad for cutting them up." Simony ponders the use of Telamon for the endeavor, and she shrugs lightly. "Sometimes you need to send a message that certain things will not be tolerated and will be drowned out by an ocean." Her head cants at the snap, and crouches down, squinting at said floor grate.

"That's a neat way to contain a fire, I guess stone houses have some neat advantages."

The Gobbo stands up into the hug, letting out a squeak. Her little arms reach out to hug back as best she can. "Softest hugs ever. Hmm, may I ask how old your other children are, other than Slix I mean?"

"Their fault fo' bein' delicious," Jinaru grins as she washes her hands. "I mean, /yeah/. But honey, we don' even know what happened yet."

There's a bird clicking sound, Simony having spent enough time around the egalrin to know it's a noise of approval. "Yeah! Khazad homes sometimes got dey heatin' in th' floor, pipes all th' smoke under and out th' house but th' heat stays up. Makes fo' easy cookin'!"

She gives Simony's hair a ruffle in the hug before she pulls away to tap her beak. "Weeeeell. Lets see. Th' other kids are out wit' Papaw or doin' they own thing, I'll spare ya all thems."

She counts on her fingers. "Slivvie's a bab. She's thirty one. Zazni's m'first kid, he's seventy five. Baby Bani's ten, and my youngest. Xezmire is a biiiit younger than Slix, his egg took forever to crack, so he's thirty. Loekia is thirty five, as is Kamieli, they from the same hatch," she answers, rattling off everything.

"Still. I know he'd want to help. At least, we should talk to him about it. He may have some insight for us, right?" Simony leans against the momma Egalrin, making a little sighing noise, and laughs at the hair ruffle. "So you've thirteen children in total? I counted fifteen hammocks so not including you or erm... papaw, that's thirteen."

"A bab at thirty one? When are Egalrin considered adults? And wow, Zazni is old! Erm. For a Goblin, he would be." She giggles brightly, "They all sound like human teenagers."

"Doesn't hurt ta ask, but that man's got a lot on his plate," Jinaru points out, holding up a finger. "Not everything needs be ran by him. Don't want him ragged now, yeah?"

"Thirteen fo' the kids, one fo' me and papaw, and one fo' guests," she easily explains as she starts to slowly drift back into the main room with her five children. Well. Four egalrin, Bani giggling and poking at the snout of a red and white scale sith makari. Jinaru is totally unfazed at this. "Th' kids bring all sorts of friends over!"

"Yeah he's suuuuuper old," Loekia grins.

Kami yawns, apparently now hugging Slixmakari's tail. "We're adults at... twenty.... five...."

Jinaru nods towards Kami. "Yup. Family is bit tight knit so-" she shrugs. "-some of my kiddos have left the nest, but they'll always have a place ta crash here."

"I know.", she says with a little sigh. "Still. Maybe he'd welcome a brief change of scenery?" The Goblin sounds hopeful.

"Oh, for guests! Er, hah, some of us would need a hand up."

Outside, she grins at the Slixmakari and her sleepy tail decoration. "Adults at twenty five. Not bad! How long do Egalrin live for, then? Some hundreds of eyars, kind of like Khazad?"

"Maybe," Jinaru shrugs once more. "But- well, most guests tend ta be other egalrin, but we can get a step stool!"

"I'll be six hundred years old!" Loekia declares loudly with a fist slamming into an open palm.

"You'll turn ta dust from a breeze, ya damn goose," Xezmire rolls his eyes.

"Four ta five hundrrred," Makari-Slix rumbles. "More like elvesss and makarrri."

"May I stay the night?", the Goblin wonders. "I'll help with breakfast tomorrow!", she offers cheerfully. "I am really interested in sleeping in a hammock. Never tried that before." Simony giggles at Loekia, "And rich, right, from all the professional card playing?"

The Gobbo hops over to Slixvah then, walking around the faux-makari curiously, running a hand over the scales. "Were it not for the fact that I have personally helped many a person with the healing powers granted by my God, I would feel that clerical magic lacks something. This is very well done. Aelwyn hasn't seen you like this, has he?"

"Yeah of course," Jinaru says without hesitation as she nods towards one of the hammocks near the end. "Any friend of Slivvie's is a friend of the fam."

Loekia shoots finger guns at Simony. "Ya gawd damn right!"

Makari Slix's tail twitches, like it was going to sway happily but it is held in place by her sleeping sister. Seems like she used the magic that actually turns her into a makari, since there's no illusion to go through. "Thanksss! He hasss many timesss," she answers. "He isss, uh, jussst as forward regardless of it. These four were jus' curious of what it looks and feels like. But yeah! Spend th' night! It'll be fun!"