She stretched as she sent back, *Sleep well my dearest?* Connor answered her with a kiss and slid out of the bed.
Dani stayed under the covers for a bit longer wondering about what the night would bring and how Kay would react. One thing that she did know was that her reaction to what and who Connor was would not go over well.
With a sigh she through back the covers and headed off to take a bath before Connor did so.
An hour later she appeared from the wardrobe wearing a light green gown trimmed in a darker green. Her hair was braided with matching ribbons and held on her neck with a hunter green butterfly clasp.
"You look beautiful, preciosa." Connor said from the doorway.
Dani turned and smiled. "And you look very handsome."
Connor smiled. He had chosen to wear an outfit that matched hers. Dark green breeches and a light green shirt.
"Ready?" he asked as he retrieved her matching traveling cape and wrapped her in it.
She gave him a quick kiss and then laughed. He slid on his own cape as he asked, "What's so funny?"
"You do remember our last venture into the Terran Zone?"
Connor grinned. "Yes. Let's not have a repeat okay?"
"I'll try, but I won't promise anything, especially if either one of us are insulted again."
Still laughing they made their way out of the castle and headed for the Terran Zone.
The single guard at the main gate acknowledged the two with, "Vai dom, vai domna...."
Meanwhile, Kay hummed nervously to herself as she checked items off on her dinner-preparation list. Meanwhile, part of her mind worried about what Dani's mate would be like. He _MUST_ have _SOME_ good qualities, she decided. Otherwise, he would _NOT_ have been chosen as life-mate to one who followed the Lady. Yet she couldn't lay ALL her doubts to rest. Strangers with the Gift still made her nervous; and ESPECIALLY ones who openly flaunted their freakishness in public. Kay's own personal bias couldn't recognize such behaviour as being anything but dangerously-reckless.
Another part of her mind worried about Anwyn. The younger girl had been visibly surprised that morning, when Kay had paged her to 'come and get to work'. And although it was obvious that a million questions were on the tip of Anwyn's, the only one spoken was "Why are you HERE ? ". Kay stil felt somewhat guilty about having answered by gently requesting that personal business was more appropriately-discussed at a later time in a less public place. She considered the idea of perhaps visiting Anwyn later, and explaining in more detail.
Wanting the reassurance of one last thing, Kay vividly pictured her owl-kin and soon felt her wordless touch answered in return. Feeling less insecure, she let the link-line fade from active back to passive again. Oberon still wasn't overly-pleased at having his flock separated into two separate places, but at least now he had the distraction of his OTHER human-kin being awake again. Best of all, she'd gotten the impression that Ceroill was NOT angry at her for having left left without telling him.
Giving Mairead and Amadaine a brave-looking grin, Kay decided that she was as ready as she was going to get. The dishes were set out in their thermal serving-containers, the table was set tidily for three. and the little ones' dishes had been moved onto the small chest of drawers. Amadaine's wing was still too stiff for her to fly there --but she could hop from the desk qquite easily. As for Mairead, the location of the food and water dishes didn't matter -- it was realy difficult to find ANYWHERE in room that a resonably-agile feline couldn't reach.
All that was left, was for the guests to arrive ...
*Sister-human ?*, came a whisper of contact brushing against Kay's mind. She smiled, recognizing her other-favourite avian mind.
Much of the adolescent owl's discontent faded as he felt her touch. Humans were not like infant owlets; they didn't listen anywhere near as closely, and one needed to use rather simple language to make them undrstand. But at least, _his_ new humans were learning at a fairly- decent pace.
Carefully the young owl started to form a sequence of images in his mind's eye. First he showed Brother-Uncle awake and hard at work writing something. Next he showed the closed door of the residence building where Kay lived.
Kay giggled softly. So Oberon wanted attentive company, did he ? It was likely just as well that he couldn't open doors on his own. Afterall, an owl flying around the complex would surely disturb more than just a few people.
So she went to fetch himself herself. Fortunately, the halls were quiet and she didn't run into anyone. Enthusiastic hoots greeted her as she stepped outside. A few minutes later, there was a somewhat-large (and rather odd- shaped) bulge under her cloak. But the return journey was quiet, despite her worries.
With a sigh of relief, Kay slipped back into her room. As she watched Oberon greet the hawkling and the kitten, she idly wondering what was taking her dinner guests so long to arrive.
Mairead looked up at Kay, an impish idea suddenly occuring to her young feline mind. *Humans not come ? _I_ eat their dinner ? Please ?* she asked. It wasn't the clearest phrasing, but it was close enough for Kay to figure out.
It was even funnier when the two birds looked up from where they'd been eating out of the food dish. Indignant squawks and hoots were suddenly directed at the kitten. Amadaine shook her good wing the way she'd seen Mommy-Human do with the thing humans called a finger. *Wrongness* she sent in a huge encompassing wave.
Then Oberon shook himself in such a way as to fluff up his feathers, before adding in further explanation *_WE_ eat*.
Kay laughed. She'd put plenty of lightly-cooked ground meat in that bowl, and they hadn't even finished it yet. "You silly things", she said softly, with a gentle wave of warm affection, "They come ...". But even as she reassurred them, Kay wondered to herself what was taking Dani so long.
Danette sighed as they neared the Terran Zone. She had remembered this time to bring her Terran id with her so that they wouldn't have a repeat of the last time.
She gave Connor a smile and was totally surprised when they got into the Zone without a hassle.
*Maybe they remember what happened the last time, love.* Connor sent. Dani laughed.
They continued on to where Kay lived and once they were just outside the building Dani reached out for her. *Kay?*
Anwyn had been coming back from her shift at the clinic when she spotted a somewhat familiar figure up ahead of her on the path leading to the residence building. It was that woman from the Leaves ... the one with the Comyn name whom Kay had called both priestess and sorceress. That long curly mass of red-brown hair was so distinctive that it couldn't possibly be anyone else.
*Hmmm*, the girl thought to herself, *I wonder what SHE plans to get up to around here ...". Looking carefully at the woman's companion, a tall and well-muscled young redheaded man, Anwyn hoped that they weren't looking for trouble.
A mischievous grin began to creep across Anwyn's face. Having already forgotten the scolding she had gotten from Gwenn earlier, the girl decided to give in to the temptation to follow this couple. Afterall, Louis hadn't seemed to mind to much when she'd followed _him_. And if this couple objected to what she was doing, then she could always run away.