Kay nodded, wondering if Gwenn would want to seek out his friend Jake later. "What relation is the dom to our sister ? There looks to be quite a bit of sad history 'tween them.", she said, pitching her voice low enough for his ears only. "Do you know the others as well ?", she added curiously.
Gwenn answered, "I ken not...he was worried for her when I last saw him. As for the others, remember, breda, that I am newly come among these people like you. Fear not, I will give you such names as I know."
The young lass certainly looked friendly enough. But it was the pair of strange men that caught more of her attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she tried to study BOTH of them more closely (from the front AND from the back). There was one rather large difference between their appearances and her ma's description. Perhaps THAT feature had been hidden by sorcery for some reason, or perhaps amputated ? If only she dared to ask. But what if someone overheard and became offended ?
Remembering how Melissa had noticed when she *peeked* (and how the sight of Dolo's blue fiery stone still made her feel nervous enough to want to throw up), Kay decided to make it ONLY a visual inspection this time. Checking to make sure her barriers were at their ordinary- everyday strength, she decided she probably wasn't leaking. Feeling more confident now, she reminded herself firmly to pretend to be head- blind (and above all, to NOT *peek* out unless it became absolutely neccessary to confirm a possible-danger, and to NOT visibly react if anyone projected at her in the way that both of her new sisters had done earlier).
Kay watched the young lord depart with the young girl. She hoped it wasn't because they had noticed her staring. But she didn't want to ask. Even though she'd heard Dolo call them "Dyan" and "Anya", she hadn't been introduced to them. And if she HAD given offense, then drawing attention to it would only worsen things. Especially since they seemed to be beloved kin to Dolo in some way.
So she turned her eyes back to the other young man --- and realized that, oh dear .. apparently she had indeed been caught staring. Kay blushed bright crimson and nervously bit her lip. He was very obviously pointing at her as he spoke to Dolo, but his voice was too low for the words to carry. A very faint trickle of curiousity drifted through her partial-shielding, but she resisted the urge to reach towards its source.
THAT hadn't felt like Dolo, which meant that this young man was fey like her new oath-sisters. Did Dolo perhaps COLLECT them ? This would be something to inquire of her in private at a later time.
"Oh no ... I think I'm in trouble again ...", she whispered softly to Gwenn. "Hmmm?" Gwenn muttered, trying to figure out what Kay meant. Then he saw Dolo beckon them and squeezed Kay's hand in reassurance before they approached the pair. That one small gesture made her feel a bit better, and gave her courage. After her earlier experiences that evening, it was a great comfort to be able to touch someone and NOT have any odd sensations jumping out at her. Idly, she wondered how much of it was the gloves.
Gwenn bowed to Jamil, saying, "I am honored to make the aquaintance of a kinsman of my clansister, however distant. Well met, Dom Raineach-Lindir." Feeling very unsure of herself, Kay added another light layer to her shields. It still wasn't enough to fully-comfort her -- that blue stone was DANGEROUS, Kay was certain of it. And as much as she liked (and instinctively trusted) her new sister, she instinctively felt the urge to move away from that stone as soon as possible. But if she raised her shielding to full-strength, Dolo would surely notice and possibly be offended -- so she didn't dare.
"Mestra Kay MacDonald-" at the mentioning of her name, Dolo sent Kay a twinkle of amusement, "and Mestru Gwenn MacConal, this is Dom Jamil Raineach-Lindir, a cousin of my cousin Maibrie's cousin Anya." Bowing to the young lord, Kay said in a soft formal tone, deliberately forming the words in her best casta (with a light Terranan accent), "It is a pleasure to meet you, Dom Rainech-Lindir". If she was going to get away with her pretense of being "just an ordinary Terran", then it was very important that nobody hear the hillfolk accent she tended to fall into when she spoke cahuenga.
Kay smiled shyly at Jamil. "Please excuse my rudeness", she added, "I meant no offense by it". Part of her itched to stare at him again, and to ask the questions that danced on the tip of her tongue. But her sense of caution held her back. What if he laughed ? Or worse, what if he grew angry ?
Gwenn said softly, "Oh." as it dawned on him that whatever faux-pas Kay thought she had made had something to do with the dom. He said to Jamil, "My sister was raised on Terra, dom, is newly come to Darkover, and is nae familiar wi' our customs."
"Aye, my brother DID indeed tell me NOT to put my eyes too long or too closely upon strange men ... ", Kay began to explain to Jamil, pointedly looking at his shoulder rather than his face. "But I've never seen a Hali'imyn man up close, and I wanted to know ...". Then she caught herself, shrugged as if her question didn't really matter, and finished instead "Never mind .. it's probably impolite of me to speak of such things".
Jamil suppressed the urge to brush at his shoulder as he realized the Terran was trying to be polite. "I assure you, Mestra, we are quite like other men... " But Kay still wasn't completely convinced. If only she could get a closer look, maybe it would be easier to tell -- but THAT would probably just get her into even more trouble. Noticing that Dolo had a look of amusement on her face, she idly wondered if her sister had managed to guess the nature of the awkward unasked question.
"I have been studying with the good brothers at Nevarsin, who are cristoforos, and they are quite like me. Just holier.", added Jamil. A shy grin came in reply. "I've heard of them", admitted Kay, glad of the change of subject, "Among my family, there are some who follow christoforos ways". Absentmindedly, one of her hands reached up to her throat and stroked the Brighid's Cross charm that lay hidden under the neckline of her gown.
Sensing Kay's discomfort, Gwenn turned to her and said, "It sounds like they are beginning a pavanne, breda. Would you like to dance?" He figured that if she was becoming uncomfortable, a nice, slow pavanne would allow her to relax and he could ask her what she wanted to know about the Hali-imyn. On the other hand, if she wanted to continue the conversation, she could bow out. Gwenn was pleased with himself; it was a most diplomatic way to ask her if she wanted to end the conversation.
A look of great relief filled her eyes. It was a great temptation. Dancing would be lovely. But back home, it was considered an insult NOT to greet the host/hostess upon your arrival. Unsure what to answer, Kay turned to Dolo, and said (with great insecurity clear on her face) "I know not how you nobles do things here. Should we greet Dom Elhalyn and Domna Alar-Lanart before we do anything else ? If so, could you please introduce us ? I would feel awkward just walking up to such important people".
Dolo smiled at Kay. It was a valid question. She turned to study the room, and saw both Auster and Javanne busy with large groups of people, some of whom she didn't particularly feel comfortable joining.
She turned back to her newfound sister. "Well, it looks like they're both busy. I think that you could legitimately sneak a dance with Gwenn in before we greet them... it's not necessary to greet them right away, just as soon as it's convenient. Tell you what- when they're free, I'll meander up to them and you can follow me... just keep an eye out, okay?"
A wave of delight drifted out from Kay. She loved dancing, though she wasn't very good at it. And it would give her time to calm her nerves before she had to greet important people again. Between Dolo's blue stone and being surrounded by strangers, this evening was becoming a bit of a strain already. "Thank you, breda", Kay told Dolo happily. "If you'll excuse us ...it was nice meeting you, Dom", she added, before grabbing Gwenn's hand as if she were a child again and tugging him towards the crowd of dancers.