Kay grinned at the confused expression on the tall middle-aged man's face when she entered Leaves and began tidying the pile of parcels in a very proprietary manner. Hazel eyes regarded her from behind spectacle lenses. What must he think of her in her mismatched clothing ? As fond as she was of her Terran wool tartan shirt and skirt, they did look somewhat odd with her form-fitting black uniform underneath, and her Darkovan wool cloak (with the hood firmly fastened) over top. And while her new boots were comfortable, they looked like something better suited to a fighter.
Gwenn made introductions, "Mestru Merrick, allow me to introduce Damisela Cas...Kay MacDonald; Kay, this is Mestru Ceroill Merrick." Kay decided to ignore Gwenn's slip of the tongue. If he'd been another Terran, she'd have elbowed him in the ribs. But such an action would NOT be appropriate here. And anyways, perhaps Mestru Merrick hadn't noticed it. Evidently Gwenn had a preference for her full given name, but at least he had caught himself before the whole thing slipped out. True, the name wasn't classified information. But years of hiding it were a difficult habit to break.
She bowed politely, "Greetings, Mestru Merrick. I am pleased to meet you. This is a lovely shop you have here".
"Thank you indeed, Damisela", he replied, bowing in return. "Are you finding our fair city to your liking?" "It's very ... busy ... and exciting ...and colorful ... ", she began, "but I dinna wish to keep ye from your meal, and so I should properly let you and mestru MacConal continue on with your business. Perhaps we shall speak again another time"....>>
"If I can ever be of use to you, please stop by. Oh, and don't worry > about my meal, I ate already." He will stand, and take her hand as if to kiss it, but simply bows a little over it. (OOC: By the way, he is not so tall, only 5'10", he is rather pudgy though...)
Kay allowed Master Merrick to take her hand, flattered that such a reserved person would make such a gesture to her. When his fingers brushed lightly against hers, it sparked a small flash of intuition. Though he hid it well, she could now see that he also knew what it was like to be lonely in confirmed bachelorhood. She herself had decided several years ago that being anyone's lover involved more pain than it was worth. 'Twas far better to have friends.
Looking up (sitting makes her feel even shorter than she already is ), Kay replied warmly "You are too kind to a foolish Terran woman who thought she'd caused too much trouble already today. Until we meet again, may the Bright Goddess hold you safely in the palm of her hand".
An idea suddenly occured to her. She recalled Gwenn mentioning earlier that he'd like to learn to read Terran Standard and she wonders if perhaps he might rather learn from a male instead of a female. *When I know Gwenn better*, she thought to herself, *I can ask him if he would be willing to allow me to arrange some reading lessons for him, as a gift from one friend to another*. She didn't know what Master Merrick might want in return (assuming he'd be willing), but thought there was a good likelihood that something could be worked out.
She smiled happily to herself as Master Merrick turned back to Gwenn.
Gwenn had been politely waiting for Ceroill & Kay to exchange courtesies. He said then, "Have you finished the letter, Mestru Merrick?"
"Indeed I have, Mestru, indeed I have." He hands a neatly folded and addressed missive to the young guardsman. "I trust it meets your needs and your standards. It is not yet sealed, I was waiting for your final approval."...
Gwenn looked at the letter, since it seemed to be expected of him. The letters appeared to be neat--no ink blotches as far as he could tell. He nodded, "Excellent work, Mestru Merrick. Thank-you."
Resisting the urge to get up and peek over her friend's shoulder, Kay instead made a mental note to write down her idea about language lessons as soon as she got back to her quarters. Recalling how she'd needed to sound out the words on the sign of mestru Raul the barber, she decided that reading lessons would also be useful to herself.
Spoken fluency had come more easily to her once the desire to speak to Gwenn had over-ridden her original hesitation about speaking cahuenga to native speakers Grandmother had spoken it to her as a young child (so the same hillfolk accent tended to sometimes accent Kay's own use of the language). But until she had come here and started learning to read it, that skill had grown rusty from lack of use. However, it was still better than her casta, which had all been learned from language tapes (and still felt odd in her head and strange on her tongue).
Gwenn accepted the envelope from Ceroill and paid him for his work. He tucked the envelope in his tunic, and bowed to Ceroill, wishing him a good evening.
Kay stood up, bowed again to Ceroill and echoed Gwenn's parting comments. Master Merrick was like the Chinese puzzle box she'd had as a child, and she looked forward to visiting him again. As a local source of information, perhaps he knew where she'd be able to find the best local gossip (especially that of a geneological nature) and somewhere she could rent a horse for a pleasure ride.
He then picked up the packages he had brought in, and, with an inquiring nod to Kay--as if to say "Shall we go?"--left the shop.
Kay grinned at Gwenn's retreating back before following him out the door. Perhaps he was worried about getting back late to the barracks.
Gwenn followed Kay to the Spaceport entrance, where a Terranan guardsman was standing.
Kay stopped in dismay, noticing the frown on the Spaceforce man's face. *But I don't WANT to get into an argument*, she thought to herself, *just the peace and quiet of my quarters*.
"My dear friend", she said, turning to Gwenn and hoping he would understand. With a jerk of her thumb towards the gates, Kay continued "The hour grows late. Instead of my arguing with THAT one over visitor's rules tonight, let us part here this time. May the Bright Goddess hold you safely in the palm of her hand while we are apart. I will come seeking you at the barracks three days from now, around the dinner hour. The food here is barely-adequate and I've no cooking facilities of my own. If I am unable to find you, then I will return the next morning, when you have the entire day off".
Kay bowed, wishing she dared to embrace her new friend. Instead she reached out to take the packages from his arms, turned and slowly walked forward (so that the pile wouldn't tip over again).
Defiantly frowning back at the Spaceforce guard, she saw his eyes notice the ID badge tightly clenched between two of her fingers, but he said nothing to her as she passed him.