A shy grin came in answer. "As you wish then ... Melissa it is", Kay agreed. A thought then occurred to her. "Since you are the sister of my brother's sister, does that make US sisters as well ? How far do these kinship chains go ? And how do you avoid getting confused between oath-siblings, blood- siblings and siblings-by-marriage/adoption ?", she inquired. What had her instincts gotten her into THIS time ? It had all started so simply with her feeling lonely and getting that first strong friendship-affinity-urge towards Gwenn.
Melissa's eyes went wide, as the girl's complicated question came tumbling out...The poor thing! She was so confused by everything, and probably hadn't had a minute to set down and digest everything that was happening to her! Darkover had a way of consuming new visitors that way. She looked at Kay with a sympathetic smile. "It's very confusing, and to tell you the truth, I probably couldn't explain it all to you. But I promise, I'll try. Why don't we sit aside at some point this evening, and I'll try to do my best". A shy smile came in reply. "That would be very kind of you ", said Kay, "I grew up as an only child with no cousins, and I don't want to acidentally insult anyone by addressing them the wrong way".
Melissa smiled at the girl. She had been just as nervous herself, the first few weeks she had been on Terra, for the same reasons. "I think it's not as complicated as you think" she said with a wink, then continued "Especially among the Comyn - we're most of us at least a little telepathic - it is extremely difficult not to know how someone feels".
"I don't fancy the idea of having anyone picking things out of my head, not at all ... it's a violation of privacy, and I'd consider it as rude as if some strange man peeked in at me while I was changing clothing or washing myself.", Kay protested.
Melissa shook her head. "no no, it's not like that at all - at least, it's not supposed to be like that. We keep our barriers up almost always, at different levels, so that we don't project our thoughts onto other peopole, and we learn, with training and practice, not to well, peep into others' thoughts." She wondered how much Kay knew about her own laran.
Melissa's inquiring look confirmed Kay's suspicions. She understood Gwenn's reasons for why Dolo had needed to be told. And apparently Dolo must have trusted Melissa enough to share the secret with her. But she hadn't heard the two other women speak of it, so that meant Melissa was indeed at least part fey herself. Now there would need to be somewhat of an explanation offered before they reached their destnation ---- to ensure that the wrong things would not be shared with the wrong people. This made a total of three who knew Kay for what she was, and it made her alot more than just somewhat nervous.
"Certain ways of formal behavior help us to maintain the right balance. It's a bit old-fashioned by Terran standards, I know, but it's worked for us for centuries", explained Melissa, "The ball tonight is an excellent place to see what I'm talking about". Kay regarded her thoughtfully. "Forgive me for being indelicate again, but is it not the case that formal manners force people to thinly-conceal their discords rather than leave them out in the open ? I've always been of the opinion that an honest enemy is far better than a false friend".
Enemies? Concealing discord? Melissa shook her head, feeling like she wasn't following Kay somehow... She spoke as if there was some big threat looming on the horizon at all times... "no more so than anywhere else - manners are manners, and everyone has their definitions of them, do they not? All we do is seek to behave in such a way so that our Laran does not cause trouble, which it often does anyhow. It's a convention borne of necessity, really. But when you're upset with someone, there's nothing stopping you from telling them so. Our mouths certainly work well enough for that!".
Melissa cocked her head at Kay. "How much laran training have you had? That might explain some of your confusion...?". Kay blushed very bright red. She glanced at Gwenn, realized he was busy talking quietly to Dolo, then turned back to Melissa. She'd have to handle this herself then. Choosing her words very carefully, she began "Since ye ken what I am, there's nae use in me denying it. Melissa could barely digest the words she was hearing... no use denying it? A danger to people? Why, Kay spoke as if she was carrying a virulent strain of deadly fever or something...
"But I beg of ye to nae speak of it where any others might hear. Not unless I explicitly give ye permission to do so ... or unless Gwenn does so if I am incapable due to serious illness or injury. I am nae a danger to any ... there was a holy woman back on Terra. She was a priestess of the Goddess ye would call Avarra the Mother, and taught me what she could of how to ground-and-center myself to block out that which does not come from myself", Kay added. Unconsciously, one of her hands reached out to brush fingers very lightly (like the touch of a butterfly's wing) against the back of one of Melissa's wrists.
The slight contact brought reassurance that Dolo had been right to trust Melissa. Perhaps things would work out alright afterall. "Back home, 'tis considered abnormal and freakish to show any sign of having any o' the blood of the Ancient Ones ye would call Chieri", she added hesitantly. She wished VERY much to change the topic. All this talk of sorcery was making her more and more uncomfortable. Perhaps they could talk of something more pleasant ... like dancing ...
Ah, NOW it all started to make sense to Melissa. Of course, Terra was not the most forward thinking of worlds when it came to things like Laran. She and Morgana had been very careful to keep their barriers up good and tight while they were there. She would drop the subject then -- for now. But she made a note in her head to ask Dolo about Kay later.
Melissa grinned. "So ? Relax, and let yourself enjoy being pretty" she said with another wink. "You'd disappoint everyone if you didn't. There will be many" she eyes the girl in the beautiful tawny gown, "who will want to dance with you". This time, Kay giggled back. "What will they think of me then ? Though I'm dressed like one, I'm not of your Comyn. I wonder what they'll think when they discover that I'm just a Terranan of no particular importance?"
Melissa made a dismissive wave with her hand. "Nonsense. You are you. THAT is of the greatest importance. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise." She looked at Kay for a long moment, as the carriage bumped its way into town, and headed towards the castle. Her next words were going to be 'and you have Laran positively oozing out of you - that is more than enough to mark you as special' but something in the girl's nervous manner made her stop before she said that part.
Idly, Kay wondered again if what she'd heard about Comyn men was at all truthful. Well, she would see for herself soon enough, she thought. A flood of questions poured forth. "Does everyone dance with everyone else then ? Even those who know each other not ? How do I know which ones it is safe to look in the face, and whose toes it would be dangerous to step on by accident ?", Kay asked curiously. Her expectation had been to dance only with Gwenn and his friends (and perhaps Dolo's close male kin if such was expected of her by hill-kinship rules).
Melissa laughed at Kay's questions. here was perhaps the most confusing part of all... "Well, traditionally, a girl is only supposed to dance with her family and related kin. However, these days things are a little bit more relaxed. So many people have been off-world, and there are so many of us who were educated on Terra, who have been dancing with whomever we wanted for so long... It's changed a little bit."
"If you're shy, then yes, you could certainly stick to your family, or anyone that they approve of you dancing with. But you will see a lot of people dancing with whomever they please, as well. Generally, if a girl is being watched by her family though, her partner will go through some elaborate route to claim kinship, no matter how distant, just so they can dance together!"
"Very well then", came Kay's well-thought-out reply, "If anyone asks me to dance while Gwenn is not nearby, then may I instead ask you or Dolo if that person would be a suitable dance partner ? I've no wish to draw attention to myself by behaving inappropriately, and the three of you are almost certain to be the only ones I know here". Melissa smiled. "Of course you can.". She giggled, remembering some of the lads she'd danced with in the past. "Sometimes, you have to dance with them as a reward for putting so much effort into it. I swear they spend hours studying the Comyn family records to come up with possible links to each family from their own..."
This time, Kay giggled back. "What will they think of me then ? Though I'm dressed like one, I'm not of your Comyn. I wonder what they'll think when they discover that I'm just a Terranan of no particular importance ? And I certainly am no expert dancer, though I'll try not to step to hard upon their feet and ...". She giggled again, as a picture popped into her head -- a typical Comyn man as described to her by her ma. Thinking that it would give offense if she was wrong about THAT, she decided to leave that last sentence unfinished. Perhaps she had better see if they REALLY had one of THOSE before she cracked a joke about it.
"And I'd like to introduce you to my boyfriend, too.", Melissa added. She consciously used a Terran term, so that Kay wouldn't get further confused with unfamiliar Darkovan family terms."We're engaged to be married, but we haven't set a specific date yet". Kay nodded shyly. "Congratulations ! Any lad who's earned your love, must be quite a gentleman. I doubt you'd settle for anything less. So I'd be honored to meet him", she wished Melissa. "He'll be there tonight, but he doesn't know I'm coming!", Melissa grinned with mischief in her eyes. A peal of mischievous giggles slipped out as Kay imagined what Melissa might have in mind. "I LIKE that idea", she declared, "pleasant surprises are always a good thing"
As the carriage drew up to the gates, Melissa spoke quietly. "You will have a lot of new ideas introduced to you over the next few tendays, I think. Many of them will surprise you, and some may even upset you. But don't ever doubt yourself. You have Gwenn, and through him, you've got Dolo on your side. That's more than most people have. And I'm always glad to help, if I can." she smiled at Kay reassuringly, and let her own fingertips brush Kay's wrist in the usual telepath's touch. *you'll be just fine, I'm sure* she thought towards Kay, not knowing if she could hear, or not. But at the very least, she would feel Melissa's sincerity, and she hoped that would be a comfort.
The wave of warmth tickled wordlessly through Kay again. She decided that she was starting to enjoy having such sensations come to her without having to reach for them. The newness of it still felt somewhat odd, but it was no longer as unsettling. A shy smile came in reply, followed by a soft comment "Thank you ... it is a good thing (more so than I had even hoped) to have sisters, especially ones so kind-hearted and discrete". They exited in a bustle of skirts and fripperies, and entered the castle cheerfully.