Trying to be patient, Anwyn waited a few minutes. Then she looked over at Connor (who was seated beside her), and inquired quietly, "Do YOU think it was rude of me to ask ? I didn't MEAN to be rude ... I'm just curious"
"ANWYN LUZ MCCARRON", Kay said sharply, abruptly catching the girl's attention, "I thought I told you how local manners differ from what you're used to. This is NOT a good time to be discussing THAT in such a manner".
Anwyn frowned resentfully back at her, muttering under her breath, "But that's SO totally not fair ... all I did was ask a question. How am I ever going to get any answers if I'm not allowed to ask questions".
Connor sighed as he regarded Anwyn for a moment before answering, "It wasn't neccesarily rude, but it has made people uncomfortable. Questions like that are best asked once friendships are established."
Dani, who looked about as mortified as Kay, added, "There is a time and a place for everything. You just need to learn how to tell it.
Anwyn frowned. "I don't know HOW I'm ever suppossed to LEARN anything, when nobody ever tells me anything -- except when I'm doing things WRONG, and then they want me to be quiet and go away", she grumbled softly to herself. "It's like some sort of adult conspiracy that excludes children. And even though I'm not a adult yet, I'm CERTAINLY not a child anymore". This world especially frustrated her in many ways -- especially the double standard about how local teenagers who were HER age (16 Terran, or roughly 13 Darkovan) were considered to be ADULTS, but SHE still got treated like a child.
Noticing Kay had fixed herself a plate, Dani got up and fixed one for Connor. Silently she said, *I think that you ought to talk to Anwyn for a bit while we eat. I will talk to Kay.*
*Agreed.* he sent back as he watched her. Moments later Dani handed him his plate and he accepted it with a smile.
Dani moved back to fix her own dinner as she smiled. Fear led to ignorance and ignorance to hate. What was it that Kay feared so? Was it the laran powers that she herself posessed?
Louis meanwhile, wisely said nothing and pretended not to have heard Kay scolding Anwyn. On one hand, Kay had a good point about it being polite to conform to local manners. But Anwyn had a good point too - asking questions was the starting point to learning. But even though he was Anwyn's other guardian, he certainly did NOT want to get in the middle of an argument between the two of them.
Kay then turned to Dani and Connor. "As you can see, Anwyn is still young, I hope that neither of you were offended by her bluntness. On some of the many worlds she's lived on, ANY subject is considered to be suitable for public discussion". There was a pause. Then, "However, things are DIFFERENT here. And I certainly do NOT wish to be the subject of anyone's gossip", she continued, with a frown.
With a sigh, Kay thought to herself that this was turning out to be a LONG evening. There were many more things that she WANTED to say, but didn't know if she DARED. And so the subject kept being touched upon, without her ever addressing it directly.
For example, she had noticed that both Anwyn and the paintings seemed to be getting quite a bit of attention. She wondered (and worried) if either Dani or Connor had noticed the same thing about one of the paintings that Melissa had immediately spotted.
[OOC: Hey Bonnie. would you like me to point you to where the paintings are described ? I won't directly tell you the clue that's hidden in the pictures. But maybe you might want to guess. And if you don't want to guess, then it'll simply remain something Kay is wondering about]
And Kay worried even more than Anwyn's curiousity would lead her into trouble that was too great for either of them to handle. Perhaps what Anwyn needed was a teacher that Kay could trust. But such delicate negotiations would definitely be easier WITHOUT Anwyn being in the room. And the teacher that Anwyn seemed to want, was someone that she didn't know well enough to know if she could completely trust.
"And speaking of private subjects, Anwyn", Kay mentioned when all the food had been finished, "there's something Louis and I need to discuss with our guests ALONE. So please take Mairead back to your room with you, and please let Amadaine and Oberon go out the window to do some hunting. I'll let them back in later".
Anwyn frowned, "That's not FAIR ... I should be allowed to hear it"
Kay shook her head, "Absolutely NOT", she replied firmly, "some of it is MY private business. And if we DO mention you, then I'll tell you about it later".
Anwyn scowled darkly. But then a thought popped into her head. Yes, she'd been told to go to her room. However, Kay had NOT explicitly ordered her to STAY here. So therefore, she could justify leaving her room as soon as she got there, and then hanging out in the hallway to talk to Dani and Connor when they left. There was something that she wanted to ask them, and that she thought that she NEEDED to know. And, unfortunately, it had to do with one of the subjects that Kay did NOT want to talk about in front of her..
So, she made impressive teenage-grumbling sounds as she let the two birds out the window into the chill of the early evening and then stomped out the door (with Mairead clinging to one shoulder).
****** [OOC: here's the gap that hasn't yet been filled in. It's what was said in Kay's apartment after Anwyn left, and BEFORE Anwyn steathily returned] ******
Anwyn was MUCH quieter as she walked quitely back through the hallways not too long afterwards. *As long as Kay doesn't spot me lurking in the hallway, she can't get mad at me for not STAYING in my own room*, she thought to herself. A mischievous grin spread across her face as she thought up an excuse for being there. *And if anyone ELSE notices me, then I can always say that I'm walking about for the sake of exercise, but didn't want to go too far from home*.
As soon as she saw Kay's door open again, Anwyn took a quick peek to see who it was. The first time she was dissapointed. It was only Louis -- with a rather ODD confused-but-excited sort of expression on his face. When she saw him walking towards her, Anwyn at first thought that she'd been spotted. But, much to her relief, he simply smiled. And as he passed by her, he suggested "Good night, Anwyn. PLEASE try to stay out of any more trouble tonight" and then kept walking.
Anwyn watched Louis as he departed. *Just when I think I have him all figured out, he does something to surprise me*. She had expected him to get angry with her for having not stayed in her room like she'd been told.
She then had to wait a few more minutes before she saw Dani and Connor leave and start down the hallway. Once she had figured out which outdoor-exit door they were clearly headed for, she slipped away to take a shortcut there.
So Anwyn was already waiting by the exit door when they approached. She waved to catch their attention. Then, when they had gotten closer, she said awkwardly, "Ummmm ... hi again ... I ... ummm ... forgot ... something ... and it's kinda real inportant". She could feel her face turning red with embrassment as she continued, "An' I was kinda hoping that you might help me with it ... but PLEASE don't tell Kay that I'm asking it, even if you decide to tell me to get lost".
Connor arched a brow at Anwyn in question, while Dani fought hard to repress a smile.
"Come back with us and we will talk." Dami said gently. She gave Connor one of her looks. *She needs a confidate, Connor. They both do, really, Kay's running from something.*
Anwyn gave Dani a mischievous grin, then made a small bow. "Thank you", she said eagerly, "I'm sure that I can sneak out without Kay knowing about it -- that's technically only BENDING a rule, not BREAKING it. And I never promised her that I would STAY in my room -- just that I would GO there. And Doc only told me not to get into any more trouble tonight ... possibly 'cause Kay's already mad at me for asking too many nosy questions".