Ceroill had followed at a slighty less accelerated pace, eventually reaching the kitchen about the time Anwyn finished explaining, and just in time to hear the knock.
He watched the whirlwind that is Anwyn as she zipped into the store, and marvelled at the energy of youth as he wished she hadn't done that. With a sigh he decided to let her have her little game for now. All these people making free with his place was getting rather tiring and annoying. but at least these new arrivals knocked.
Deciding to have a little bit of 'fun' with the visitors, Anwyn opened the door and said in her most formal Standard, "Good day, ladies. Master Merrick is busy today. If you would care to state your names and business, I shall convey a message to him". Giggling silently to herself, Anwyn took great delight in how successfully she'd imitated a generic stuffy-bureaucrat.
"I'm Danette Lanart-Aldaran. My companions and I need to speak with Kay", replied one of the young women.
Anwyn raised an eyebrow questioningly,"Aldaran? That's fine enough, I suppose". Turning to to the other two women, she inquired "And who are the rest of you ?", then added impudently, "I shouldn't care to let anonymous people interrupt Master Merrick and his guests".
Melissa turned to Dani with an expression of "What's this all about?" on her face, and she saw Katie hide a smile behind a discreetly covered cough. The girl, whoever she was, had all the appearance of a child playing pretend-you're-a-... Whatever she was up to, it didn't quite work.
Dani rolled her eyes at Anwyn's comment. She turned to Melissa and Katie. Danette grinned at Melissa and shrugged. Might as well play along. She winked at Katie and then said, "We need to speak with Kay."
"You needn't repeat yourself. I heard you the FIRST time", Anwyn told her firmly, "you all fit the description closely enough, so I guess you're probably the ones she's expecting".
"I'm sorry." Dani said, "I wasn't sure that you'd heard me".
Anwyn stepped back out of the doorway, and gestured towards the door in the back. "Come on ... they're all in the kitchen", she said loudly, starting to lead the way.
Dani stepped inside smiling.
Anwyn heard the front door close, just before she knocked on the door to the kitchen. "Just a minute", she called over her shoulder to the ladies, before opening the door just a wee crack so that she could peek through.
"Hey, Kay ...", she called.
Kay looked over anxiously. Then some of the tension flowed out of her as she noticed the girl's wide grin.
"You were right about the company coming", Anwyn told her, "One of them is that witch-girl come again. I think the really worried-looking one is your sister, and the Terranan one must be the animal doctor. They've got a really cute dog with them. So is it okay for them to come in now, or should I ask them to wait ?".
Danette rolled her eyes. She hadn't been called witch-girl since she was a teenager. Now Darkover was home.
Meanwhile, Ceroill realized at last that things were no longer in his control (had they ever been?), and that at this point he was likely going to be more in the way than of any help. Surrendering to what he saw as the inevitable, he started back up the stairs. "I'll be up in my sitting room if anyone needs to see the owner of the place", he said quietly, to the room at large. He hoped that he would not have to clean up too much when they were done. He sighed to himself as he selected a recently acquired Terranan novel, and sat down by the fire to resume his reading.
Wanting to apologize for his loss of privacy, but unsure of the right words, Kay had silently watched him leave. Her eyes had then turned pleadingly to Oberon. Feelings of unease and helplessness radiated wordlessly at the owl: *sorrow**uncertainty**desire to comfort nest-mate*. The effort brought a small increase to Kay's already-painful headache. Oberon hooted softly in reply, before hopping onto her lap and rubbing his feathered head against her cheek. Then he took flight and swooped up the stairs to join Ceroill.
Then Kay turned to Anwyn. Scolding was easier than apologizing. Kay frowned. "Anwyn!", she protested, "The _proper_ term is either 'Priestess of the Lady' or 'Wiccan Initiate'. It's like the difference between saying 'Amazons' and saying 'Renunciates'". Then she sighed, and added "Unless Mestru Merrick says otherwise, I suppose you all might as well come in". It was fairly clear to her that all these people were making him uncomfortable. He hadn't asked any of them to leave, so perhaps _she_ should be the one to suggest it.
Dani smiled and called to Kay, "It's all right. This feels like home now!".
Anwyn blushed bright red. Her head dissapeared back through the crack in the door. After fidgeting for a few moments, she turned to Dani, and (while looking down at her feet in embarassment), said quietly "I'm sorry ... I didn't realize that was a slang term ... just meant that you shared Kay's religion".
Dani then smiled at Anwyn. "It's okay. And you were right, the Goddess works in strange ways. You don't need to be embarressed."
Anwyn shyly smiled back, "I try not to be _accidentally_ rude", she admitted.
Melissa, already worried past manners, looked past Anwyn towards Kay's voice. "Kay?! Breda? Where are you? Is everything all right?", she called.
"It _will_ be .... ", came Kay's reply, as Melissa hurried into the kitchen, "or at least, I hope so ... oh Hell, Goddess only knows what it'll take to get me out of _THIS_ much reish ... I don't want to go back to Terra ... not yet ... and there _isn't_ anywhere else ...". By the expression on Melissa's face, Kay couldn't tell what was most disturbing her. There were too many possibilities --- Kay's rather bizarre outfit (sports bra, baggy mens' pants and wool socks), the colorful bruises on her exposed ribs, or the fact that she'd gone temporarily missing. It was _all_ going to be awkward to explain.