Forums » Sci-Fi Roleplay » An unexpected future (1x1)

The announcement of the Aetherian being on his way to Cell theta filled Kayleight with fear as well as curiosity, and she was nervously shifting her stance from one foot to the other. As soon as she realized what she was doing, she stopped it, just listening to the rest of Dawn's explanations.

As far as Kayleigh had picked up, Aetherians were sort of like mages she had read about in fantasy novels from the library, mainly focusing their power on the magic capabilities they held. Kayleigh was curious about what a "mage" would look like.

Her mind now shifted back to the selkies as well. "How will we take care of that?" she asked curiously.

Dawn sighed and spread her hands, "There are protocols in place for this kind of thing, but the best we can do on such short notice is begin a wide area search of the south coast. Selkie are Fae and the Fae leave a certain impression in places ere they've lived for a long time. Selkie tend to follow similar migration paths, we'll follow those and see if we can sense the presence of a Selkie nearby. There are a lot of small towns and villages on the coast, though, so it might take a while."

"Who knows, maybe we can rope the Aetherian into helping. I've heard of Aetherian Peterson, from what I know of him through his reputation I think he'd be willing to lend a hand." Kate said.

"Perhaps, but he might be under certain orders... and even if he does consent to aid us,... well, working with Aetherians has always made me nervous. The kind of power those people can wield... it's dangerous." Dawn said.

"No more dangerous than a lot of things we do in this line of work." Kate pointed out, "The gifts of the Aetherian should come in handy, though. I mean even the weakest Aetherian is magnitudes more powerful than your average magic-user. Hell, an Alpha-level Aetherian could slow down the charge of the combined Four Horseman if he set his mind to it."

That information scared Kayleigh more than just a little. She didn't even know the four horsemen existed, let alone that they could be stopped by a single human. She didn't want to linger on the subject, and chose to change it. "I hope we can get food first..." she asked softly.

Dawn smiled, "Well, we can hardly go Selkie hunting on an empty stomach. Let's see what we can rustle up in the kitchen." The auburn-haired Irish girl led them inside the mansion that was Cell Theta's home.

Arrow relaxed almost imperceptibly as she crossed the threshold and into the house, as if she had been tensed the entire time she was gone and now she was somewhere familiar and safe she could relax, "I'll catch up, Dawn. I want to put my things away in the armoury." With that, the blond woman went to one of the hidden entrances to the underground levels and left them, unstrapping her bow and quiver and various knives from their hiding places around her body.

Dawn nodded her acknowledgement and turned to Kayleigh, "We'll wait until tomorrow before we begin searching for that Selkie, it's late after all and I don't want to go blundering around in the dark looking for her." She hesitated a moment as she entered the kitchen and then asked, "How is your training with Jerian going? How does he seem to you? Sometimes that boy laughs things off and hides what he really feels from me. I don't want to pry into hi business, but... well, he has nightmares on occasion and he worries me."

Kayleigh looked up in surprise. "He hasn't spoken to me about that as far as I can remember." she replied. So far he's just been training me - and not taking it easy in the process." she replied. with a chuckle.

Dawn smiled at that, "Yes, he does tend to take that sort of thing seriously. You might not like how hard he is on you, or his methods, but I'm not wrong in saying that Jeria's one of the best Paladins in The Society. If anyone can each you how to fight, it's him." Her smile was fond and she shook her head, "Some times I wish he was that serious about other things, but I suppose that if he didn't laugh at everything he'd end up crying instead.. and I'd much prefer him laughing."

The Irish girl cleared her throat awkwardly after that admission, "Ah, anyway.. food." She started raiding cupboards and the fridge, "What do you fancy? We've got quite a lot of things in... heh, especially considering there's only a few of us. It's like we're stocking up fr a siege or something."

Kayleigh smiled. "Surprise me!" she said with happy eyes. All those years of living the poor life really made her oblivious as to what she could have had, had she been slightly richer. She barely knew any of the names of the types of food that were present in this mansion.

Her response brought a sparkle to Dawn's eyes, "Oh? Surprise you? I think I can manage that." Before long, she was an whirlwind of activity, she got some beef out of the fridge and several different types of spices and seasoning from a spice rack, then she began shopping up carrots, potatoes and several other different types of vegetables. She began putting all of this into a large cooking pot and let it simmer, it wasn't long before she had a delicious smelling stew cooking merrily on the hob.

"I'm fairly good at cooking." dawn explained, "Mother taught me everything I know about cooking, and after she died and father came back home I discovered that whilst he might have been a demon-slayer and monster-hunter and a rather able politician he was, in no way, a capable cook. My father could burn water and char ice cream if he set his mind to it." She tasted the stew thoughtfully and added a dash of pepper and tasted it again, with a different spoon, "Hmm.. that's it. This particular stew recipe has been handed down in my family for quite some time, I think it was created by my great-grandmother, or my great-great-grandmother."

Dawn ladled out two bowls of the stew and set them on the table, "Heh, my father always used to say that he fell in love with my mother the first time he tasted one of her stews. I don't know about that, but I'm pretty proud of it."

Kayleigh's face lit up at the smell invading her nose. Everything about this stew cried out that it was delicious, and without hesitation she nearly attacked the plate, occasionally stopping to prevent herself from choking.

Dawn watched her attack the stew, a glowing look of pride on her face as she ate her own bowl of the delicious concoction, though she ate it much slower and in a much more lady-like fashion, "So... I take it you're enjoying my stew?" Dawn asked with an amused smile on her face, "I'm glad you like it. I make most of the meals around here. Tech's too... ah... eccentric to be trusted in the kitchen, Jerian is a hopeless slacker when it comes to routine chores and Kate is only passable as a cook... so it often falls to me. It's a good thing I find cooking almost as therapeutic as coffee, or there'd be trouble."

Kayleigh looked up and grinned. "Of course I enjoy it!" then her smile faded slightly and she started eating slower. "It's the first proper plate of food I've had since I can remember."

Dawn nodded, "Well you'll have plenty more meals like that if I have anything to say about it! You're part of The Society now and our people have to be fed properly... Now that you've been on your first mission, I think it's time I gave you something." She stood up and rummaged around in her pocket and then took out a silver necklace. It was a simple affair; three interlocked circles suspended on a silver chain, she held it out for Kayleigh to take it, "Normally you'd receive this after you completed your training in The Academy, but I have no doubt that you'll come through the training with flying colours. I know we've already welcomed you into our little group but... well..." Dawn smiled softly, "Welcome again to our little family, Neophyte Kayleigh Simmons. Once your initial training here is completed and you're sent off to Tibet for the formal training at The Academy I hope you'll keep this necklace, to remind you of Cell Theta... perhaps when you are Knighted you might even come back and join us. I look forward to working with you when the time comes, as a sister Knight."

Kayleigh smiled thankfull at Dawn, and even had a single tear rolling down her cheek. "Never in my life have I been accepted into a group of any kind, nevver did I have a family other than my mother and my father, and I've even had to do without them for three years now." She replied.

She took the necklace from Dawn and put it around her neck, closing the clasp gently. "I'm honored to be part of Cell Theta, Dawn. I'll gladly accept this." Kayleigh's smile was broad and gentle at the same time, showing off how proud and happy she genuinely was at that exact moment.

She smiled warmly and nodded, "Yes well..." She had an emotional tear in her eyes as well but she blinked it away and cleared her throat in embarrassment, "We're glad to have you aboard. Some one had to balance the numbers around here, in case you haven't noticed us girls are out-numbered and I have my hands full trying to deal with Jerian as it is, and Kate's the one keeping tabs on Tech so he doesn't blow us all up." She clasped Kayleigh's hand firmly, "So, welcome to our little family,we all look out for each other, we take care of our own... so if you're ever in any trouble just contact us, we won't be far away." She let go and then she said, "The next season at The Academy is due to begin in about four months, we'll be sending you to Central then to complete your training.I know the idea of being sent all the way to Tibet might be intimidating, but don't worry. Every member of The Society has to go to Central Command for their training, it's not really such a bad place."

Kayleigh smiled and nodded. "I look forward to officially be part of the society." she replied, indicating she was not at all nervous for the future to come. At least, not yet."

Dawn nodded, "I look forward to working with you, I don't know why but I have a feeing that you'll go far in The Society... well, if you ever do make it into the upper echelons, just spare a thought for poor old Commander O'Hara now and then." The Irish girl laughed, "I like having friends in high places, I've found that being the daughter of the Grand Master can open all sorts of doors." Her smile faded a little, "I've come pretty far, even though I'm still young. I just wish that my mother could have seen me join the family business... I mean, I know dad's proud of me, he almost burst when I got named Knight Commander of Cell Theta, but... ah I'm just being silly."

Kayleigh chuckled. "Don't worry about it." she said. "We all are, at times."

As if suddenly remembering her stew, she quickly finished it. "Thank you for the great meal!" she said with another big smile.

Dawn nodded, grinning, "You're welcome! It's nice to know you like my cooking." She shook her head, "It's a good thing too. I'm the only one who does a decent meal in this place. Jerian always seems to vanish when it's his turn, Kate's okay at it, but I suppose a plain meal is better than starving... Seth's dead so he's physically can't and Tech..." She sighed, "Well, you know Jonathan by now. The last time he got into this kitchen... well, you know about the Coffee Maker Incident... suffice it to say, he's barred from ever entering this room, or touching anything remotely to do with cooking. Ever."

Kayleigh grinned. "Don't worry, I can understand why." After all, she was about as eager to find out about Tech's cooking, as a tidy man was eager to wade into a pile of cow dung. She didn't want her face blown off yet, not if she could help it.

Dawn laughed, "Now if only I could get Jerian to cook once in a while, I'd be happy. I have no idea if he can, but it's not fair that Arrow and I are the ones always stuck with it. I have a feeling he doesn't cook purely to annoy me. He seems to delight in it." She shook her head, "But then I suppose I can allow him some oddities. I know all the joking and pranking is his way of letting off steam, and maybe even showing affection perhaps." She frowned a little, "He worries me sometimes. If I'm honest, I think a lot of his jokes and digs at us are a kind of front he puts up. I wish he'd open up to me a little.... but I guess I can't have everything... and I'm just his commander. I suppose that has to put some distance between us, and between me andthe others too."