Jake had his mouth full with a cracker with veshrati on it and he turned around to face Gwenn and the woman Jake saw Gwenn dancing with ( :-P:;:;:; ). He had to finish chewing and swallowed before he could answer.
A nervous giggle slipped out. She couldn't help it -- this boy reminded her of one of her father's prize colts (who always ate quickly in full mouthfulls). The boy even resembled a colt, being long-limbed and wiry, and bursting with cheerful energy.
Hoping neither lad had heard her giggle, Kay bowed and said carefully in her finest casta "Good evening, Cadet Ridenow. I am pleased to meet you". She hadn't been sure how to address him, and hoped she'd guessed correctly. And she was glad that Gwenn had said "Kay" rather than expanding it. Her gran had been the only one to call her by her full first name -- and then, only when they were alone.
Jake grinned sheepishly and said, "Good evening, Mestra MacDonald. Hello Gwenn. Enjoying your night off?", he said grinning at Gwenn. Taking his cue from Jake, Gwenn decided to forego formalities. "Yes, Jake, very much so. And you?" Jake said with a grin and a glance toward Riona, that happened to be dancing with Julian, "I am also."
As the two lads greeted each other, Kay took the opportunity to look at this Jake person a little more closely. He didn't look like anything out of a fairy-tale or scary-tale ...
Jake *felt* Kay's eyes on him. He had the distinct impression she was *studying* him. She wasn't standing too close to him but it *felt* like she was standing in front of him with her nose two inches from him. It made Jake slightly uncomfortable and he automatically took a little step away from her and he tightly barriered himself. Though he was still mainly his jovial self so it only appeared that his body language stiffened and he took a very small step away from her.
Kay blushed a bright crimson as she noticed the boy take a small step back. Uh oh ... she'd just done it again ! But at least she hadn't *peeked* with more than just her eyes this time. "I beg your pardon for my rude curiousity, vai dom", she said quickly, hoping that she hadn't unforgivably offended him, "My offense was born of ignorance, not malice. I'm newly-come to this world and still often have trouble remembering the differences in manners between this world and Terra".
Giving Gwenn a pleading look, Kay hoped that he would help her out in explaining. She REALLY didn't want to say WHY she'd been staring -- it would be even more embarassing than THIS. Fortunately, Jake understood she must have just been curious so he thought it wasn't anything to really be bothered by.
To cover the sudden awkwardness, Gwenn quickly said instead "Ummm, I hope you don't mind, but Kay has some questions regarding tales about the Comyn which she heard as a child--her grandfather worked for the Terrannan at Caer Donn, and she wanted to know the truth of the matter." He looked at Kay, then back at Jake. "However, she didn't want to ask any awkward questions of a stranger who might take offense at them." Gwenn's palms got just a little damp and the tips of his ears turned a faint pink. He hoped he'd presented things well enough.
Now at least Jake understood why Kay was so curious about him. Jake said, "oh, well that sounds alright, then. I'm not an expert on the history of our people but I'll answer the best I can." He then turned to Kay, "First of all the 'vai dom' isn't necessary, Mestra MacDonald. Gwenn is my friend and you are his breda so please call me Jake.", he said with a grin.
A shy smile came in reply. "As you wish ... Jake" , Kay replied. Blushing even brighter red, she looked down towards her own feet. Feeling far too embarassed to look anywhere else, she said hesitantly to Jake "I hope I haven't offended you too much already ... my curiousity keeps getting me in trouble ... that's why I wanted to ask somebody about a few things before I do something to get myself mistaken for Durraman's donkey .... Sometimes I think I'm much better suited to the company of those with four feet instead of those with only two. No matter how hard I try to act proper, I often still end up saying or doing something wrong. And unlike strange people, strange animals don't make me nervous ... ". Jake grinned and chuckled a little, "I know what you mean. I have the MacAran gift in full so I _really_ know what you mean." But after saying that, Jake figured this would generate one of her questions. But that was alright with him. He didn't mind explaining the MacAran gift, or other gifts, if she wanted to know.
Kay sighed with frustration. She was oh so tempted to inquire about this thing called a MacAran gift, which seemed to have some connection with getting along well with animals. But she didn't dare to show too much interest in it, because Jake might guess why she was interested. THAT would almost certainly lead to questions she didn't want to answer --- especially not HERE. But perhaps she'd be able to ask him about it another time.
To distract herself from the temptation, she said to Gwenn, "if you ever catch me staring at anyone again, PLEASE step on my foot or poke me with your elbow, or something like that. This is TWICE so far that I haven't been able to resist the temptation to look too closely at someone. And we've not even been here a candlemark yet ! Perhaps I shouldn't have come ... I've not been much of a credit to you so far". Idly, she wished she was in her Da's hobby-barn back on Terra right now, surrounded by the welcoming mass of animals -- but she hadn't been there since the loss of what she considered its two best attractions. She sighed again.
Gwenn leaned closer to Kay. "Nonsense. If I notice, I'll step on your foot. Otherwise, play the ignorant Terranan." Gwenn grinned. For a moment, Kay was tempted to give him a poke with her elbow, to wipe that grin off his face. She was NOT just pretending. But oddly enough, Gwenn's comment seemed to have helped. His friend was now looking more kindly at her. "
"I am NOT just pretending to be an ignorant Terranan", she protested indignantly, "but unlike some of my xenophobic co-workers, I know that the Comyn don't have horns, hoofs and pointed tails !". The thought of some of these important-looking people with such appendages was so ridiculous that she giggled. Gwenn snorted and his face screwed up in an effort to keep from laughing out loud.
Rather than say anything about the ignorance of Terrans (or the change of subject), Jake said instead "What is the first question you would like to ask?". Kay regarded him thoughtfully "You know our host, do you not ?", she began cautiously. Jake said, "Well, yes. A little...".
Carefully choosing her words, she continued, "There are a great many tales told of him in Thendara -- some fair, some foul, and some so bizarre that I have no idea what to make of them... I would feel more secure about being introduced to him if I had some idea of what he was really like ... some of the tales remind me of when my gran used to tell me fairy-tales and scary-tales from when she and Da and Grand-da lived in Caer Donn ... I've no wish to make of myself an even bigger fool than I have already, so if it's not totally inappropriate to do so, might I first ask if it would be taboo for us to speak of such matters together ?". She hoped this was delicately-phrased enough.
Jake wasn't sure what he should say. It wasn't very polite for him to talk about if the rumors about Auster were true or not.... And if they had anything to do with Auster's laran Jake was pretty sure Auster might not be comfortable about talking about his laran and the manner in which he used it which caused the rumors, especially the one where he was tossed out of the Tower. And in most circumstances the Comyn lords did not discuss their laran with Terran strangers..... Though Jake didn't actually mind telling Kay some basics if she really wanted to know.
Jake finally said, "Well...... there are really only some things I can say in truth about Dom Auster and his laran. One of his gifts I'm told is the Elhalyn gift. The Elhalyn gift is the ability to see many possible futures for certain situations. It's a very confusing gift for many people because you never know which future is the correct one....... ".
Kay nodded. "Aye ... My gran told me that not many people on this world could look into what she called the Other-when -- just one group among the Highlanders (the Aldarans ?) and one group among the Lowlanders (the Elhalyns, if I'm not mistaken). She also said that the two talents did not look into the Other-when in the same manner, and she warned me that the Elhalyns were sometimes driven into madness by having seen too much", she ventured.
A thought wandered across her mind. Gran had often had such visions, though she had rarely spoke much of them beyond "I just KNOW it" -- perhaps this could be a lead in tracing that part of her family. Filing away that thought for later (along with her questions about this thing called a MacAran gift), she turned her attention back to what Jake was saying.
Gwenn finally gained control of himself. No longer looking as if he was trying to avoid laughing out loud, he listened closely to what Jake was saying about Dom Auster. "And his other gift I'm told is the Alton gift which is forced rapport, which means they can read someone's mind at any time they chose and they can even get through someone's mental barrier. This gift also requires a lot of training because it is very easy to seriously hurt someone, and even kill, with only a thought.", Jake reassured Kay, "But anyone with this gift will usually get the training they need so that they don't hurt anyone by accident."
Kay stared at him, wide-eyed in sudden horror. "USUALLY ?", she squeeked fearfully, like a small rodent about to be eaten by an owl.
Jake saw her scared look, "Well.... yes. When someone's laran develops with a chance of the Alton gift they will seek out training in a Tower, but that can't be said for everyone. Some people may not have immediate access to a Tower so they might not seek training right away.... or at all sometimes, I guess. Those people who aren't trained are called 'wild telepaths' sometimes." He said, "I don't have any formal Tower training myself, but I do have laran and my older sister was Tower trained so I got some basic instruction from her.... Though I will get some formal training at Comyn Tower this winter... I hope.", he said smiling.
"So it really is true?" Gwenn said in surprise, "I had heard so, but hadna' truly believed they could kill with their thoughts--read minds yes, but kill?".
Jake looked at Gwenn a moment before answering, "Yes.... They are the most powerful telepaths on Darkover next to the Hasturs. Altons can use their gift to control people as easily as they can break into someone's mind, and they can be powerful enough to kill with a thought...... But this is why it's important to get training so they don't do anything by accident....."
But what about when finding a good teacher (or teachers) was part of the problem ? Not knowing what to say, Kay said nothing. Part of her wished desperately for someone to explain the odd things that kept happenning to her, and show her how to better block them out. She didn't have voices in her head, and wasn't sure that she ever wanted any. It all sounded rather creepy that someone could get into her mind. Unless it became an emergency, she decided that it would be far safer to keep her distance and avoid being noticed by any of the Tower-folk. Being safe was better than being sorry.
Jake continued "And there's a code of conduct that you learn in Towers too about being a telepath. Like respecting people's privacy and not using your gifts to harm and stuff like that. My sister went over all that when she was teaching me things." Keara had respected that Jake didn't want to go to the Tower for a while, but she did tell him that if he wasn't going for a while that he should at least learn the basics.
"Aye", replied Kay, falling into cahuenga and not noticing, "me Ma said sae .. that 'tis verra grave danger tae look an Alton in the eye ... ye couldst easily lose yer will, yer soul or even yer life ... and wi' nae way to fight it". She thought of her mother's recurring nightmare, and shivered. Marvelling at the fact that Jake would so openly admit to being a minor sorcerer himself, Kay thought to herself that he must be very brave to be looking forward to going to a Tower. His jolly attitude towards it, went against everything that her family had ever told her about feyfolk and fey talents. Had things changed so quickly, over so few decades ?
Jake's sister sounded like someone rather nice, who gave out sensible advice. But once again, Kay didn't dare to show too much curiousity. What if Jake had gotten preferential treatment because he was a noble ? It might be the case that other folks were treated differently. Even if only half the tales she'd heard were true, that would still bring more trouble than she could handle. And what if nobles were the only ones who were allowed to have the gifts that came with having some of the blood of the Ancient Ones (who were called chieri on this world) ? She didn't want to be publicly-known to be some kind of gene-warped freak, and to have people stare at her (or worse, fear her).
Jake noticed Kay all of a sudden switched to Cahuenga but her accent was so thick in it that he could barely understand what she was saying. He said with a tone that said he was a little sorry he couldn't tell her much, "As for rumors you have heard I'm afraid I can't confirm anything for you...... I have heard some things too but...... I'm afraid it's not my place to discuss them......", he said gently, "And I don't really think it would be a good idea to ask him about them." He said, "As a general rule Comyn Lords usually won't be inclined to discus their personal laran use with... with.... Strangers.", Jake used that instead of Terrans because it seemed a lot nicer to say.
Kay blushed even redder. It would be the height of folly to ask a powerful sorcerer if he really was short-tempered and if he had a large appetite for sowing his seed as far-and-wide as possible. Especially since she had no wish to fight (or mate) with anyone.
Jake grinned, "But I can tell you that I like Dom Auster and he is famous in the city for throwing very big parties. Also a very good apple wine comes from his cellars and you should try some if you have not sampled any yet."
Kay grinned back. "If you like him, then perhaps he's not so bad ... and I'll admit to a great fondness for apple wine. We used to make it back on Terra, Da and I, from whatever the horses didn't eat first". Jake grinned, "No... He's not so bad at all.", Jake said thinking about how when he saw Auster today he was picking out a kitten to give to his promised bride. "I am glad to hear it ... rumours often have a way of warping themselves into more fiction than fact", came Kay's relieved reply.
Jake smiled, then added "And if there's anything you want to know please don't hesitate in asking me. If there is anything general you want to know, like who the Comyn families are and gifts they may have... or anything like that.... I'll be happy to answer for you."
Thank you kindly", Kay answered, "There are a few other things I've wondered. But I see Dolo over there, and perhaps I should ask her to introduce us to our host and guest of honor -- BEFORE I lose all my courage". Jake smiled, "You are quite welcome. I'm glad I could be of service, Mestra Kay."...
Gwenn nodded. "Aye", he said, "we havena' yet thanked the hosts. Thank-you, Jake. Perhaps I can return the kindness someday." Jake gave Gwenn a grin. He said, "Good night to you both. Enjoy what's left of it." Then he spotted Riona again and decided to go dance with her. "If you'll excuse me I see someone I need to dance with". Gwenn turned and began to head toward Dolo, but hesitated in confusion as the dom and the lady he was with began to walk off.