Partner

Taln is very strange. He's a ... vegetarian, religious, non commercial kind of family guy. Which is so unlike every other people involved in the program that it's ... well, strange.

On an odd note... I have accidentally called the people humans three times. People are not humans, but considering how human like they are, I make the mistake. I wondered if I had made the mistake after almost making it in this chapter. Kind of surprised no one pointed that out before.

Read, review and enjoy.




They had talked long into the night and Mik had remained behind after Taln and Koln had shuffled off to bed. He talked with Mari about a gift for the Sidhe and she said she would deal with it if she could sign her name as well. Mik couldn’t exactly go shopping.

Not for that gift.

He went home and arrived just as Souse was making breakfast. Taln was up, having taken no more than a nap, a cup of coffee before him and a new pot brewing in the maker. Mik sat across from Taln and smiled at Paw as the Sidhe went through the apartment to the bathroom with the mesa. Lillow stumbled out of the couch. Out, the girl had crawled between the cushions and the frame of the couch.

Essuan entered the apartment a few moments later and settled into the chair beside Taln. She set her mesa on the floor and the little one toddled off towards the bathroom. As if it knew where its sibling was.

Souse served Taln fried potatoes and scrambled eggs and looked pointedly at Mik. Mik shrugged. He didn’t have that much of an appetite. Souse turned back to the stove and went about the motions of making more scrambled eggs.

“So. Tomorrow is winter festival,” Mik murmured, “Mari’s bringing in a bunch of food and we’ll have a bit of a feast. Could we do it in the pool area with all of the partners and Sidhe?”

“No reason not to,” Souse responded, “but we will not be taking part in the commercialized idea of gifting others new things. We do not believe in waiting until holidays to give people things and the idea that everyone must buy their children things every day and then buy them even more expensive items that they will use once and throw away just for some holiday that you people made up.”

“Uhm. All I heard was blah blah blah,” Taln said to Souse, “not giving gifts, it’s understandable, I’ve never really taken part in it either. My family sticks to the old tradition of giving no gifts except those that really mean something. Sentimental gifts and the like. Also the family dinner and the whole. Being together and playing together as a family. In today’s day and age it’s necessary.”

“Yes well…” Souse found the pan of eggs very interesting.

Paw left the bathroom and sat beside Mik, “males coming too?”

“Uhm… no, Paw, I don’t believe they are. They will spend the holiday with each other, but otherwise alone. Mari isn’t comfortable with the idea of Rel and Muan being in a crowded room with you all. He seems to handle one on one but anything more than that and he could get agitated.”

“Was hoping to meet him.”

“Are we doing anything for darkest night?” Taln asked, “candles and all?”

“Candles?” every Sidhe at the table perked up as Souse divided the scrambled eggs between Mik and Paw’s plates.

“Yes,” Taln responded, “a lesser known tradition that starts on the darkest night or a week before, depending on your god and all that. But my family starts on the darkest night. You have six candles of white and on the bottom of each you carve one word that you hope the next year will bring. Each day you light a candle and let it burn down. On the seventh day you spend the evening, from when the sun goes down to bed time, in near dark with friends and family.”

“I. Thought you lit all the candles on each day. Wait. Or was it one candle one day, blow it out and light two the next?”

“No, one candle a day, but there could be traditions that claim that, considering the fact that the people twist everything to suit themselves,” Taln said quietly before finishing his coffee.

“Like that one,” Paw said, “should play that one.”

“Uh, I think there’s another word for that when you’re talking about tradition. You… partake… no. accede…” Mik sighed, the word seemed to slip away from him every time he tried to recall it.

“Respect?” Paw asked.

“Probably not the word I was trying to think of, but it works,” Mik murmured, “we should make certain that Rel has candles.”

“Lots of candles…” Paw said in a distant voice, “fire good, fire nice. Yay. Light candles now? That would be nice, that would be good. Candles?”

“Why do you want fire so much?” Mik asked Paw, finding himself annoyed, “you’re like a kid with a shiny object.”

“Fire is the most natural happening left in the people world. People can’t change fire, can’t alter fire,” Paw grinned, “light fire, fire exists and is yay. Everything else takes lots of care and strange stuff but Fire takes whatever it pleases. Thus. Fire good. Candles?”

“Tonight,” Mik said, “after the sun goes down, perhaps you can light your candles.”

“Whoot.”

“But only if you eat your breakfast.”

“Aw…,” Paw wilted and began eating his breakfast.

“After breakfast, why don’t you collect some candles from the other apartments and give them to me and I’ll get Koln to take them up to Rel and Muan for you?” Mik said into the quiet, “then they can have what… you know… you want them to.”

“Oooh good idea,” Paw said, “then the light will be right and the …” Paw fell into Sidhe as he babbled to himself between bites of food.

Mik got the feeling he had just opened a can of worms or something.


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