That evening, Lianna stood outside her house next to Elenora. Early that afternoon a snowstorm had moved in, piling an increasingly deep layer of snow on the forest floor. The two of them were warmly dressed by Foch standards; they were attuned to the colder weather of the Wildwood - ‘warmly dressed’ meant a sweater at best.
“You wanted to talk with me, Elenora?” Lianna asked.
The snow fell around the two, slowly beginning to accumulate on the wooden walkway they stood on.
“Yes. I don’t think I’ve ever explained what the schism was, have I?” Elenora said.
The two stood outside Lianna’s house, the light provided by hand lanterns. Elenora began her late-night history lesson.
“I know you enough, so I’ll put it bluntly. It was a war between the different convoys of humans.”
Lianna’s mouth opened in surprise. She never knew much about the schism with the humans, beyond it being the reason why they hadn’t come by Foch land in years.
“A war?” she asked.
“Yes, though I’m not surprised that you don’t consider that a possibility. We don’t have much ability to leave our lands anyway. It’s a uniquely human problem. I don’t know the full details about why it started - it’s not really our problem to an extent.” said Elenora.
“The important thing is that, while the schism was going on, all the convoys were busy fighting and many of the routes not involved were abandoned for the time being. One of them was the one through our territory.” she continued.
Lianna nodded along. She started to get where Elenora was going with the conversation.
“I take it the Fredericka convoy were the ones who came here previously?” Lianna said.
Elenora shifted her feet, kicking some snow off the walkway’s edge.
“Yes,” answered Elenora.
“So why are you considering making them enemies?” asked Lianna.
Elenora sighed.
“Maxwell Fredericka, Samuel’s father, told us to consider the previous agreements we had with them to be over. It’s not a guarantee that they would survive to return, after all. Though, since they have, they’d have to be renegotiated. So they aren’t officially on friendly terms, and given what Samuel has said, being cautious seems prudent.”
Lianna furrowed her brow. This was new territory for her.
“So if they weren’t before, why are they being less agreeable now?” she asked.
“Well, Maxwell’s death is unfortunate. The last time they were here, the immediate caravan leader was Matthew Gillan. He was a good man, but since he was promoted to Maxwell’s spot, he must have put his son in his former spot. If there’s anyone going wrong here, it probably starts with his son.”
Lianna nodded. She brushed her ears, clearing off some of the snow that was turning them white.
“So that’s why you’re having Leon do scouting daily. Trying to watch for a negotiator,” she concluded.
Elenora gave out a sigh. She gave an annoyed look at Lianna, complete with a frown to display her frustration.
“Lianna, you need to stop thinking so impersonally so much. Remember when Samuel said that Maxwell was temporarily the leader of the convoy?” Elenora complained..
“Yeah…” said Lianna.
“It means that the next actual leader is going to be Aria Fredericka.”
Lianna processed that information, and connected it to other things she already knew.
“Who is Samuel’s mother, right…” she said.
Elenora stared down Lianna. Her frustration was turning to a specific motherly brand of disappointment - the kind when a child has missed the obvious.
“When you were a child, what would happen if someone told your mother that someone could have killed you?”
“She would be ver--”
Lianna stopped mid-sentence. Her face went from confused to dopey disappointment in a near-instant. Elenora folded her arms.
“While I am waiting for a negotiator, what I’m waiting for is someone looking for Samuel.” Elenora said.
The dialog paused as Lianna took in the conversation to that point. The snow continued to fall around them, as Lianna shook her head to display her frustration in missing the real point to Elenora’s actions. After recomposing herself, Philas popped out from Lianna.
“You know, I don’t like this Thomas guy.” said Philas.
Valea also appeared, settling on the railing they were standing by.
“I agree. He seems… misguided, somehow.” she added.
Elenora faced the two spirits. “Well, I’m sure we’re all curious as to why, but unfortunately we’re not going to get any answers right now.”
Lianna’s ears gave a twitch the moment after Elenora’s statement. Even with the snow dampening the noise of the forest around them, the ears of a Foch were still able to pick up the sound of a door. She turned around to face the noise.
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“Samuel?” she asked.
Samuel had put on a few sweaters he had managed to find in Lianna’s house. They didn’t fit particularly well, being made for someone taller than his stature. Regardless of fit quality, they kept him warm.
“I’m… sorry, I couldn’t sleep well and I heard noise outside,” he said.
He walked his way, still with a limp, over to the group of Elenora and company. Philas and Valea kept their eyes on him as well.
“What were you talking about?” he asked.
Elenora gave a warm smile to Samuel. If she was being a serious leader of the village before, Samuel wouldn’t have known.
“We were talking about what to do with you. Say, what do you want to do, now that you’re here?” Elenora asked.
Samuel looked at Elenora, and then to Lianna. His face was red - either embarrassment or cold, depending on preference.
“I don’t… know, I…” he trailed off.
Valea hopped off the railing and swooped up to Samuel’s face. It was hard to place, but her look seemed to be that of a smile.
“You don’t need to rush it. You’re here with us, remember? Take it easy,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll find something.”
Philas looked over, still on the railing. He added his own personal take on the matter:
“Besides, which would you rather, being here in the village or out in the cold snow?”
Samuel shook his head quickly side-to-side. Samuel may have made impulsive choices recently, but he wasn’t one to intentionally wander to his death.
“Here, here, I prefer here,” he said.
Elenora gave a short giggle. She walked over to Samuel, and gave him a light pat on his head.
“Samuel, can you do something for me?” she asked.
Samuel looked up to face Elenora. She gave a smile, and then pointed to Lianna.
“Can you bother Lianna more?”
“What?” Lianna yelped.
Samuel looked around confused. He didn’t get what Elenora meant by ‘bother’. Lianna looked at Elenora wondering why she would ask Samuel such a ridiculous request. Elenora kept her focus on Samuel, ignoring Lianna’s confused reaction.
“Lianna’s a good person, but she’s a bit too cold. Not in the literal sense, but… well, you may have noticed already. I want you to be an annoying little brother to her, if you know what I mean.” she explained.
“I was an only child, so I’m not sure how to do that…” he replied.
Elenora frowned. Beyond the exchange, Lianna looked on with an annoyed glare as she continued to be ignored. Elenora knelt down to meet Samuel’s eye level.
“Oh, well… how do I put this,” said Elenora, “just ask her questions of a non-serious variety, I guess? I think you’ll figure it out,”
After a quick moment, Samuel nodded.
“Okay,” he answered.
“Thanks!” Elenora said.
She stood back up, and walked back to where she was standing before. Lianna felt concerned about the amount of enthusiasm Elenora gave her appreciation to Samuel.
“Well, I won’t keep you much longer. Lianna, you should get Samuel here back inside before it gets too late,” Elenora added. “See you tomorrow!”
She walked off to her own house, Valea following in her airspace. Lianna turned to face Samuel, who was now standing on his own in the falling snow.
“Well… it is getting late. Do you want a hand getting back inside?” she asked.
Samuel looked back at Lianna.
“Sure…” he said.
Lianna walked over and took Samuels’ arm to help him get back inside the house. As they walked back, Samuel asked:
“Hey… the snow is pretty. Can I see the snow from the ground tomorrow?”
Lianna kept walking forward, making the way to the door. When she went to open it, she answered:
“...yeah. Why not,”
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