From her limited view inside the house, Anwyn couldn't see much -- just a small front foyer that contained nothing but a travelling-trunk sitting there with its lid open, and a large brown dog sniffing around it.
[OOC: Sorry, I don't know what breed of dog he is, but here's his picture]
Trying to distract herself from what was likely to be an awkward moment when Uilleam (whoever he was) arrived, Anwyn exclaimed "What a marvellous-looking dog". When the dog came over to sniff her, she very carefully held still, asking Donal, "May I pet him ? Is he friendly ?".
As soon as he assurred her that yes, his dog was indeed friendly, Anwyn gently began to stroke the dog's soft coat. "What a lovely colour", she exclaimed, "it's the same colour as YOUR hair". And such intelligent brown eyes too". Politely, she decided NOT to mention that Donal's rather obviously-long nose ALSO resembled that of his dog. Or that she had noticed him absentmindedly brushing dog-hair off his trousers when she'd mentioned hair.
Gwenn breathed a sigh of relief. At least the man looked as though he hadn't taken offense. But when he had spoke Terranan, Gwenn was at a loss. He'd begun to learn it slowly, but still couldn't follow much more than the man's greeting and introduction. But the fact that this man clearly spoke both casta and caheunga with equal ease, didn't offer him much of a clue as to how to address him.
Gwenn stepped forward and bowed, then said (in his best Casta), "Greetings, Dom MacLeod. I am Gwenn MacConal. Please forgive this intrusion. The girl Anwyn is the foster-daughter of my sister, Kay MacDonal' and I was trying to get her to go home...."
The way the man brushed his clothes put him in mind of Dolo and (Damon?). Maybe the man was Comyn, or related to Comyn. He'd have to be on his best behavior. "If ye'll excuse us, we'll be on our way," he finished, stepping up and reaching out to take Anywn's arm again....
Anwyn flashed him a VERY dirty look, as she side-stepped just out of his reach.
Faintly amused, Donal bowed in return to Gwenn. "I am not such a fancy gentleman as all THAT -- nor have I any such pretensions. I am simply a shopkeeper,and sometimes a traveller and a musician. But nonetheless, greetings to you as well, mestru MacConnal", he said in caheunga, guessing that the boy might be most comfortable with that.
"No apology is neccessary", he insisted, "I'm actually quite PLEASED to have such interesting visitors -- even unexpected ones". Absent-mindedly, Donal brushed at his wool tunic and trousers (both plain of design, but clearly of good quality), hoping that there there wasn't too much dog-hair visibly clinging to them.
Now Gwenn was at a loss. He dropped his hand without touching Anwyn. But how was he to get her out of here before she insulted the man or got Kay into trouble, if the man wanted them to stay? "Ahh..."
Anwyn giggled at Gwenn's obvious discomfort.
To at least partially satisfy his own curiousity, Donal decided impulsively to fish for more information. "I've done enough business with both Terranan woman and Renunciate women, that I don't find their behaviour in any way disturbing anymore -- except for those terribly-indecent Terranan uniforms that some of the women wear".
Gwenn noticed he was still holding Anwyn's over-tunic. Blushing furiously, he silently handed it to her.
Anwyn smiled her best but-I-AM-sweet-and-innocent smile at Gwenn, then loosely tied her baggy overtunic around her waist. Even though her tightly-tucked-in-at-the-waist undertunic made it obvious that she was definitely a girl, she decided NOT to pull it out to cover the top half of her trousers.
Donal added (hoping that either Gwenn or Anwyn would say something revealing), "Even my own sister no longer shocks me -- she's one of the small group of local midwives who are exchanging knowledge with some of the Terranan healers out at the spaceport medical building. Though I did initially have a few concerns when she told me that some of her teachers were MEN. But she says that one of them, a Dr. Couvillon, deeply respects our culture and has done much to make them feel welcome".
Anwyn grinned. Louis was one of her favourite people -- and not just because he treated her as if she was already grown-up. "I like him alot too. And even though he makes me dress like a girl while I'm in the medical building, he never complains about me walking around the city looking like THIS".
Gwenn _really_ wanted to reply, but to do so in front of Donal would be extremely rude. He bit the inside of his cheeks as his blush deepened.
Then he turned back to Donal, decided to reply to HIM instead of to this annoying little brat of a girl. "Aye," Gwenn agreed, blush fading to a medium pink. "The Terranan seem to have odd ideas of propriety. My sister is teachin' me their ways, though." Anwyn snickered softly to herself in reply.
Gwenn fished for something else to say. "Ah, yer roses seem to be growin' well," he commented.
"Yes, they're my mother's joy and delight", Donal replied proudly, waving a hand to indicate the dozens of different rosebushes. "She's been collecting plants for years -- I bring them back from my travels", he continued, "but the roses are her particular favourites and she spends alot of time tending them".
Anwyn sighed deeply, and continued scritching her fingers through the dog's coat. She wished that SHE had all sorts of rosebushes too -- and not just the one small miniature that Kay had propagated for her. "I think they're LOVELY", she exclaimed joyfully (sounding more than just a little bit envious too).
Donal chuckled softly and stepped past them to the nearest rosebush. Reaching up a hand, he carefully broke off a single long-stemmed rosy-copper bloom. "Please accept this, with my family's compliments", he said kindly to Anwyn, as he stepped back to stepping back to join them.
"Oh", Anwyn squeeled in delight, "Thank you ! It's so much larger than the small red one that I have at home in a pot". She grabbed for it so eagerly that she didn't even notice when her fingers brushed across his. Happily, she sniffed the deep scent of the bloom. Then she carefully tucked it securely into her hair.
[OOC: Anwyn's talent is intermittent -- it flips on and off like a light switch. Plus she was distracted. That's why she didn't notice that Donal is very minimally what Kay calls 'fey-gifted']
Donal was pleasntly surprised when a brief snapshot flashed across his mind -- one of Anwyn and Uilleam happily cuddled up together fast asleep. Thanks to his grandmother having been a born-under-the-4-moons-during-festival nedestro baby, he had gotten just enough to give him an occasional flash of insight now and then. It wasn't much, and he had never had any desire to have it come any more often. So he'd never bothered wasting anyone's time by mentioning it.
Gwenn frowned. He would have to talk to Kay about Anwyn touching people so freely. And since he seriously doubted that Anwyn would gift Donal with something, he would have to do something.
"And speaking of homes ...", Donal ventured cautiously to Gwenn, seeing a good opening and not realizing that he was making a wrong assumption that it had been his sister who'd sent Anwyn here. "I noticed that you were trying to rush young Anwyn here off before she could mention why she came", he continued, "So I do need to ask if you (or her foster-mother) has any objection to her wanting to be taking Uilleam O'Donal here into her home. He found his way here last summer and has been a joy and a delight to me. But I'll be leaving on another trip soon, and none of my family has the time to care for him".
Anwyn bit her lip, trying to hide her pleased surprise. NOW things were starting to make more sense. She had been expecting Uilleam to be a MAN, not a DOG !
Gwenn's nostril's flared, but he fixed a pleasant-enough smile on his face. "Beg pardon, Mestru MacLeod, but I was unaware that she had _any_ reason to come here beyond admirin' th' roses. An' if I had, I'd not ha' led her here. As it is, I canna' answer for my breda. But I've sent for her, an' hope she'll soon come."
Donal nodded. "Very well then. She sounds like a rather ... interesting ... person too", he replied, with a an amused grin. "Aye, she is that," Gwenn replied.
Gwenn turned to Anwyn, and his smile became more genuine, and perhaps a touch devilish. "So, chiya, why don' ye tell the good man why ye're visitin' his house unannounced an' askin' after dogs." He waited expectantly for the answer.
A rather cynical laugh errupted out from Anwyn. "Are you DAFT ?", she demanded of Gwenn, "Or have you simply not been listening ? You just admitted that you wouldn't have helped me if I'd told you. So of COURSE I didn't mention the REAL reason why I wanted to come here. And I couldn't send a message first -- I didn't have sufficiently-good directions to do THAT".
Anwyn paused, then looked down at the dog. "And such a fine fellow as Uilleam here, would make for a wonderful friend and protector for Kay and I. Maybe THEN she'd come into town more often". It was (at best) another set of half-truths at best -- but she hadn't had much time to think up a reasonable-sounding rationalization. *Goddess only knows how much WORSE a reaction I'd have gotten if I'd originally said that I was seeking what I saw in a dream-vision*
At the mention of his name, the dog's ears perked up, and he gave an inquisitive bark. Absent-mindedly Anwyn reached down and began stroking his coat. His eyelids started to slide half-closed with contentment as he leaned up against the girl's legs.
Donal was trying VERY hard not to laugh. These two youngsters were amusing in the way they quarelled -- in the same way that it was amusing to watch small puppies wrestling with each other.