Old Friends

== Summary ==
== Full Text ==
Clover Rose Verdile: Clover stands out on her porch, watching the road for Treepelt. It’s been a long time since she’s seen her friend–too long. With Melira and William gone, she spends much of her time maintaining the library, and the rest of it alone.
While she waits, her thoughts wander, and a sad smile crosses her face as she thinks on the years past. Absently, she fiddles with the ring she still wears after all these years. However much things change, some stay the same. A rebellion is always on the horizon, and she isn’t sure what to make of the current situation.
Amma Hope: She’d ridden on a cart for most of the day. But the driver who’d kindly let her ride was now off a separate way, and Amma Hope found herself trudging along the side of the road by foot. The supplies she carried on her back were beginning to feel heavy, and she was realizing that now would probably be a good time to break.
It was at this point she noticed someone standing along the side of the road. 
Convenient timing. 
“Hello? Excuse me,” she said as she approached. 
Clover: Clover jumps, pulled out of her memories by the unfamiliar voice. She makes an effort to smooth out the frizz in her tail while forcing a smile in the woman’s direction.
Amma Hope: “Probably not. But I wouldn’t mind directions. The nearest town? Or inn? Or, at least, someplace decent to stay to rest?”
Clover: “There’s a village just up the road,” Clover says. She studies the old woman before adding, “Or you could come up to my house for a cup of tea.” She gestures to the house just visible at the top of the hill. “I’m just waiting for a friend, otherwise it’s quite empty.” She can’t quite keep the melancholy note out of her voice, missing her family more than ever. “I’d be glad of the extra company,” she admits.
Amma Hope: Hope could hear the wist in the other woman’s voice. That was enough to make her feel like… perhaps she’d met some sort of kindred spirit. Gods knew that she’d been acting like a hermit lately, and it’d taken its toll.
“That’s rather kind of you. Sure, some tea would be nice.” She began walking in the direction that Clover had pointed. “It better be strong. If I’m going to drink something, it shouldn’t taste like leaf aftertaste.”
She didn’t bother to ask if this visit would distract the other woman from uniting with her friend. 
Clover: Clover chuckles. “I’ve had nothing but time to learn to make a proper cup of tea,” she says, starting up the hill herself. She reaches the house first and pushes the door open. It opens up into a tidy sitting room. Motioning to one of the chairs, she says, “Take a seat. I’ll just get the tea started.” With that, she heads into the kitchen, bustling about to gather what she needs to make a pot of tea.
Amma Hope: Hope slumped into the chair like she’d always owned it.
She then fished through her bag until she pulled out a bottle. It smelled… strongly… but it’d go nicely with the tea. This person might say she knew how to make a proper cup of tea, but Hope was more interested in improper cups. 
“So. Who are you? I don’t make a habit of walking into strangers’ houses without some information.”
Clover: “Hmm? Oh, I’m Clover,” she says distractedly. “Officially a librarian for the remnants of the Grounded Dungeon rebellion, but… mostly I just lend out books for the children in the village to read, and keep the old archives in order.” Out of sight from Hope, any trace of a smile has dropped off her face, and she sighs. Making an effort to pull herself together, she asks, “And what about you? I tend not to invite strangers into my home without some information, either.”
Amma Hope: “I’m Hope.”
The chair creaked in the silence that followed.
Treepelt Arnason/Kendra Arnason: A sharp knock rapped on the door, breaking the quiet, and outside, another older woman with black and orange graying hair and scarred cat ears set down her basket and groaned slightly, leaning backwards with a hand on her lower back. Beside her, a much younger half-breed with chestnut hair bound in a braid looked over at her curiously and used her hands to ask her mother if she was all right. Treepelt waved a hand and nodded, picking up the basket again as she waited for her friend to answer the door.
Tea momentarily forgotten, Clover rushes over to the door and flings it open. “Tree,” she breathes. “It’s so good to see you,” she says, dragging her friend into a hug. She pulls back and studies the other woman’s face. “It’s been a while.”
Stepping away, she waves a hand towards Hope. “This is Hope, by the way.” She doesn’t elaborate further–there’s nothing else she can say, honestly.
Amma Hope: Hope should have said something. She didn’t. At least, not right away. Her emotions were difficult to read: she could have been unimpressed, or bothered into wordlessness, or oblivious to the fact someone had spoken of her at all. But the one thing that was clear was the sharp way at which she stared at the younger half-breed… before she coolly said to both of them, “Pleased to meet you.” She did not sound pleased.
Maybe it was just her naturally monotone voice, though.
Treepelt/Kendra: “It has!” Tree said, slightly out of breath and beaming at the sight of her old friend. She placed the basket on the table and patted its side. “I brought us some game for supper, hopefully we can make something good out of it.”
Kendra smiled politely at Hope and then glanced at her mother, who signed H-O-P-E quickly for her, and then the half-breed looked back at Hope and beamed, waving and signing a greeting. “Nice to meet you,” Tree translated, looking curiously and intensely at the old woman, but also smiling. “A friend of Clover’s is a friend of mine.”
Jari Ericson: Suddenly the ground shook and there was a terrible roar as a five foot long whispering death emerged from the ground slightly down the hill from Clover’s house. Rather than going on a rampage though, as it’s known to do, it calmed down as its rider gently stroked it’s quills.
“Good girl Stonecrusher.” She said as she hopped off the dragon. She pulled off her helmet, letting her Pookan ears free, and readjusted her goggles so they sat in her head. She looked around and, satisfied with their location, headed up the hill. She knocked on the door, not waiting a moment before opening it. “Knock knock! Aunt Clover? It’s me Jari!” She called out as she stepped inside.
Clover: Clover’s tail twitches, either in annoyance or amusement, she can’t quite decide. “At least you had the grace to bring your dragon up down the hill, rather than in my house,” she says in a tone that implies a past incident of just that happening. “Don’t leave a pit for travelers to fall into when you leave.” Turning to Tree, she raises an eyebrow. “How much game did you bring? I’m beginning to think we’ll need quite a bit of it.”
Treepelt: Tree gave a short laugh, looking around bemusedly at Jari as Kendra bounced in place excitedly and ran up to give her a huge hug. “Maybe we need to run into the market again,” she said, shaking her head with a hand on her hip. “That is, if everyone is staying for our little get-together.”
Amma Hope: “I’ll have my tea right here, thanks,” said Hope, who was glancing over in the direction of where the tea had been made. She didn’t go up to get it, despite the fact it would certainly be done by now.
Clover: “Oh, yes,” Clover says, hurrying away from the group. She returns moments later, balancing several mugs and the teapot. “Who else wants some?” she asks, handing a mug to Hope and looking at the others.
Amma Hope: Amma Hope accepted the cup of tea and immediately poured half of it out, letting it spill at the foot her chair. She then uncorked her bottle, filled the rest of the cup, and began to chug what now smelled rather un-tea-like.
Jari: Jari grinned as she bent down and picked up Kendra and spun her around, holding her in a tight hug. She put her down as she watched the old woman poor her tea out on the floor. ‘Who’s she?’ She signed.
Kendra/Treepelt: Kendra paused, looking cheerfully confused, and shrugged. Don’t know! she signed, marching over to get some tea.
“I wouldn’t mind a cup, thank you.” Tree took a cup and sat down in an unoccupied chair, resting it on the table to cool while flexing her shoulder and touching it gently, bothered by her old injury. She kept a curious eye on Hope the whole time.
Clover: Clover, still staring at Hope in surprise, gives herself a shake. “Of course,” she says, preparing a cup for Kendra. “Here you go,” she smiles, handing it over carefully. Her gaze wanders back over to Hope, and she stares at the old woman, thrown by her behavior.
Amma Hope: Hope looked Clover in the eye steadily. Still staring at Clover, she brought her drink to her lips and gave another several gulps, as though daring the woman to make comment about it. But given the neutral way in which she handled herself, she probably wouldn’t care even if someone mentioned it aloud.
Jari: Jari frowned as she watched the scene unfold. She quickly pulled a rag from her pocket and got down and started to clean up the tea. “Careful there Grandma you spilled some of your tea.” She said condescendingly. “Though I can’t really blame you I guess, one tends to lose control of themselves when one gets old.”
Treepelt/Kendra: Treepelt coughed on her tea and quickly signed the exchange to Kendra to keep her involved in the conversation, and her daughter laughed aloud giddly. Sighing, Tree rubbed her forehead and looked at Jari.
“I’m sure it was an honest accident,” she said pointedly, giving the young half-Pooka a chance to redeem herself. But her eyes were watering slightly, from either choking on her drink or holding back some kind of reaction, it wasn’t clear.
Amma Hope: “Oh goodness, what a silly mistake.” Hope put a hand over her mouth. Her voice had risen to a higher intonation. The act was good, but obviously faked, and meant to be interpreted as a stab. “So thankful to have young, obedient children like you clean up a silly old lady’s whoopsies.”
She intentionally tilted her cup so that just a few drops landed right on top of Jari’s head. Then, chugging the rest, she stood up, and said, “Well I believe I’ll need to take a leak. That was delicious tea, thank you, Clover. Do you put your dirty dishes over in the kitchen area? Wonderful. What a lovely home you have.”
She left before anyone would be able to get another word in to her.
Clover: Clover blinks after Hope for a few moments. “Er… right, then.” There’s really nothing else to say to that. Turning to Tree, she asks, “So, would you like to get dinner started? I’ll need to find a mop,” she adds, glancing at the puddle of tea on the floor.
Jari: Jari laughs as she wipes the tea off her head. “If she thinks that’s the worst I’ve had she’s wrong.” She grinned, signing for Kendra. “Don’t worry about it Clover, I’ll clean it up.” She said cleaning up the tea with her rag.
Treepelt: Tree shook her head as she began to unload her basket on the table. “Mind if I ask who that was?”
Clover: “I just met her,” Clover admits, following after her friend. “She was travelling, and I invited her in for a cup of tea. She… seems friendly enough, if a little odd.” Chuckling, she says, “Not that any of us were ever considered ‘normal.’“
Jari: “Hey! Who are you calling not normal?” She giggled as she cleans the tea out of her ear. “Anyways, I hope I’m not intruding too much Aunt Clover. Would it be alright if I stay for dinner?” She asked.
Clover: “As long as we’ve got enough food for everyone, of course,” Clover says. “The more the merrier.” Her home has felt too empty lately, having everyone around all at once is… comforting. It makes her miss her husband and children just that little bit less.
Treepelt/Kendra: Tree smiled as she started to prepare the meal, and as she rolled her sleeves up to her elbows, she signed to Kendra, Did you tell Liam to be here?
Kendra rolled her eyes. He said he’s B-U-S-Y. She exaggerated the sign out slowly and dropped her hands as though she were immensely tired, looking grumpy. Tree sighed and looked at Clover while searching the kitchen for a knife to suit her needs. She knew exactly what Liam was up to, and bothered her.
“Well, our plus one doesn’t seem to be coming, so unless you’ve got other surprise guests on their way, we shouldn’t need too much more than we have.”
Jari: Jari grinned as she took Kendra’s hand and dragged her over to the living room. Alright let’s see what I’ve got in my bag. She pulls out a pair of plain looking shoes. These look like a pair of ordinary shoes right? Well watch what happens when I do this. With that she dropped the pair causing them to light up in a strip around the heel. Pretty neat huh, I managed to get some of the chemicals from bioluminescent plants and wildlife and put them in the shoe so the light up!
Kendra: Kendra’s jaw dropped and she picked them up delightedly, inspecting the light with intense curiosity. They would be so good for running at night! she said excitedly. Jari, you are a genius. Do you have more!?
Jari: She grins and nods, We should go outside though, your mother would kill me for playing with it inside. She dragged Kendra outside took out a small can she poured out a pile of dark powder before walking backwards, leaving a trail of it. Once she finished she pulled Kendra behind Rockcrusher and handed her a pair of goggles. Once they were secured over her eyes she struck a match and pressed it to the trail of dark powder fire sliding along the trail until it reached the pile, causing an explosion, sending chunks of dirt flying. Which of course caused Jari to yip and laugh in excitement.
Clover: At the sound of the explosion, Clover sprints outside. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING, JARI?!” she bellows from atop the hill. “GET IN HERE THIS INSTANT!”
Kendra: Kendra looked a little alarmed but delighted all the same, popping up from behind the dragon to peer at the resulting mess. She didn’t notice Clover’s furious shout; instead, she turned to congratulate Jari.
Jari: Jari just laughed and gave a deep over exaggerated bow before taking the goggles from her and heading back up to the house. “Hey pretty Auntie Clover, what’s up?” She asked. She always talked like this when she got in trouble.
Clover: “You know exactly what,” she says darkly. “We’ll talk about this later. Get inside.” Truthfully, she’s not as angry as she’s showing, but if she doesn’t discipline Jari now, things will only get further out of hand.
Jari: She grumbled as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her metal hoodie. “It was just a little controlled explosion it’s not that big of a deal.” She murmured.
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Clover Rose
Category:Amma Hope
Category:Treepelt Halfpaw
Category:Kendra Arnason
Category:Jari Ericson
Category:Act I