Uwe was willing to leave his cart, and apparently his horse, in a nearby location so as to expedite their trip to the hotel Feronia helped him get to…she had already decided to bring him to the one she was at…the rule for those staying via labor that if they brought business to the place they didn't have to work for their stay that night, and after the day she'd been having, she figured it was best she avoid doing things with people tonight.
Uwe joked that she could use her bird form again, before claiming she'd make a good caravan guard. "I would consider it, the issue being that particular use of my power is rather unusual…possibly even unique to me. As someone trying not to be found, hiring myself out as a guard with that as my primary selling point…it'd be a bad idea." Her tone was still neutral, not implying scorn or derision at the suggestion…he'd been legitimately nice this whole time, and truth be told, she had been the one to run into his horse, not the other way around. Least she could do to make it up to him was be polite.
He then inquired as to her story, how she'd wound up here at the time of the Games. "Idiocy, mostly. If I'd've realized the Games were this year I'd've stayed far away. No desire to watch, and it's dangerous for me to be here right now anyway. Long story short, I decided traditional Stillblood life was not for me, and I left. There're laws though that say you can't do that, so technically I'm a fugitive from my own people." Feronia paused, frowning. "Only reason I'm telling you that is if a Stillblood saw or hears about my bird stunt they'll know I'm here anyway, and I'd rather at least one person know why I get arrested." She irritably kicked at a loose stone with her metal leg, the joint bending as easily as a flesh and blood leg would. "I don't care what the law says, I'm not going back. I'll kill myself first." Her voice had lost all traces of emotion as she said that, her expression deadly serious. After a moment, she shook her head. "In any case, let's get your cart and horse taken care of so we can get going…no sense hanging around if we don't have to."
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Srilm smiled amiably as the Dramoran gave a report of how things were, a twinkle flashing as he stumbled on answering the portion about the land, forcing his sister to fill the gap. He then realized he hadn't introduced himself, doing so for both him and his sister. "I too, forgot to name myself, so there is no offense taken. Srilm, Matriarch of the Drinden, at your service. I would provide my family name, but until I abdicate the post all of my people are my family, so I cannot tie myself to any one portion. Our lands are flourishing…my sisters in the north have successfully prevented a rare snow flower from vanishing from our world, bringing their number to a good hundred thousand blooms. In other areas, all is-"
Srilm was cut off by the appearance of a trio of Kitsune, two children and someone who was their mother, judging by her appearance. The young ones were rowdy, forcing an end to her conversation with their arguments. Their mother shushed them, then moved to introduce herself to the Dramoran, apologizing for their behavior. Srilm nodded graciously with a smile, not wanting to raise her voice or possibly interrupt the Dramoran as they responded.
With a wet smacking sound, a Drinden woman, visibly ancient particularly by her peoples' standards, pried herself from the fruit salad she'd been slowly picking apart from its place in her lap. "Srilm, why in the world are you letting them walk all over you like that? You're the Matriarch of our people, make them show you some respect! I assure you I would have never let those suckling brats be so arrogant and rude to me! Show some spine, girl! Seriously, how you haven't let our nation fall apart yet is a mystery to me!" The crone spoke in a carrying voice, easily echoing to those around them.
Horror filled Srilm's face as she spun to her companion. "Plissora! That was out of line!" she exclaimed, still in control but clearly upset at what had been said. "Did you not hear her? They're part of the Kitsune Representative! They have just as much of a right as any of us here, and I will not have anyone attacking them, particularly not those who should be able to enjoy their youth while it lasts, understand?" She rose and gracefully moved to the edge of her box while Plissora scowled and turned back to her snack. The Matriarch bowed deeply to Ota. "I am so, so sorry for that. Plissora…it is a tradition for our people to keep the previous Matriarch as an advisor when a new one takes over…it's typically a formality since we Drinden don't have the longest lifespan. In this case, she's lived far beyond the normal length, and…" here she lowered her voice. "Quite honestly, I think she's a good example of why we don't live that long…her mind is falling apart, it's quite sad to watch, actually." Returning to her normal volume, she bowed again. "I apologize profusely for her words. I personally delight in seeing children enjoy life. After all, the heads of the races work so that future generations might have it just as good as we do, if not better. Seeing their playfulness eases my mind that perhaps I have indeed done my part in that regard." She smiled at the two young Kitsune as she waited for the reply, hoping that she'd been able to smooth over her predecessor's harsh words.