Looking Like a Family

Writers: Chelle, Jelena, Suzee
Date Posted: 10th March 2012

Characters: Naton, Jylanya, Veerona
Description: Sunset on the beach
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 6, day 24 of Turn 6
Notes: Mentioned: K'hetah

Jylanya

The sun dipped toward the horizon in a fiery display of orange, red,
and purple. The day had been one of the most lovely in her memory. Not
because of the weather or surroundings, but because of the people.

Today she'd set out with a picnic lunch to go up the beach to the
beautiful little cove K'hetah had shown her. But he didn't enter into
her thoughts. Today was about showing her foster daughter some fun in
the placid waters of the cove. They'd played and laughed and run
around chasing sea birds and wild flits. Lunch had consisted of some
pies, juice, and meatrolls.

Poor exhausted little girl had fallen asleep next to her on the
blanket as they rested and she was going to have to carry her back to
the Hall. In the meantime she intended to just enjoy this last little
bit of sunset before getting up to go home.

Naton wasn't always running about trying to have fun, though it might
seem like that to many. Like almost any human being, Naton did need
his moments of quiet. And what better place for peace was there than a
beach and sunset? He was already quite a bit on his way when he
noticed he wasn't the only one to have chosen that part of the beach
for a quiet view of the sunset. As he came closer, though, he was
pleasantly surprised to see Jylanya and Veerona spread out on a
blanket and for a moment he didn't make a sound, letting himself drown
in the warmth and sheer beauty of the scene before him.

Jylanya sighed at the sheer beauty of the incredible sky. She leaned
forward wrapping her arms around her knees and watched the late
sunlight sparkle on the waves. She reached over to brush a few hairs
out of Veerona's eyes. "Finally a family," she said to herself. After
all the time she'd spent serving an ungrateful family she was finally
earning the love of a little girl. She vowed that Vee would never have
cause to question whether or not she was loved.

While he had gladly taken a few moments to watch Jylanya and Vee in
the golden sunlight, Naton didn´t want to be caught 'spying' on them,
so he moved in closer and cleared his throat to announce his arrival.
"Hey there, gorgeous," he said softly, loud enough for Jylanya to
hear, but not too loud that it would wake the sleeping child.

She heard just a whisper of movement behind her and then a familiar
voice. She looked toward him and then smiled a welcome. "Hi Naton."
She lifted a hand to indicate the sky. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Breathtaking," Naton said, though his eyes seemed to be focused more
on the woman before him than on the setting sun. "Did the two of you
have a nice day?" he asked with a smile.

"We did," she smiled and patted the blanket next to her. "I didn't
think it was possible for her to exhaust all that energy." She
chuckled her eyes inviting him to join her.

Naton readily responded to the invitation and sat down next to her,
breathing in to catch her scent as he did so. For a moment he closed
his eyes to feel the sun against his eyelids and bask in the moment.
"Even the most active kid can tire at the beach," he then said with a
smile. "Believe me, I know."

"I'm sure you would. How do you keep up with the apprentices and their
limitless energy?"

"By being even more tiresome. In case you haven't noticed, I can be a
bit playful myself sometimes." Naton said with a wink. "It's one of
the reasons I like being around kids so much, I guess. They can
appreciate the humour in the world around them a lot more than most
adults."

She grinned at his self assessment. If there was one thing she enjoyed
about Naton it was his playfulness. "I wish someone had felt that way
when I was a kid," she sighed. "I was the youngest in a holdfull of
sourfaced adults." She still had the humor to chuckle about it and
raise an eyebrow. "I told myself that Vee will never have to
experience that kind of childhood."

"Lucky for Vee she's growing up in such a lively place. And with a
foster mother like you, I'm quite certain she will have the time of
her life." He sought her eyes as he said that, looking quite serious.
"You're an extraordinary woman, Jylanya, and she will be an
extraordinary young lady some day."

His compliment made her a little shy but very pleased. Her eyes dipped
and she rocked sideways to bump her shoulder into his softly.
"Thanks," she said. "I hope so."

"You're welcome," Naton said with a smile. "I mean what I say." For a
moment he felt like a teenage boy again, contemplating what his next
move would be, when finally he put a hand in the sand behind her with
a veiled invitation for her to sit back and lean against him. He
didn't know why he was being so careful, if it had been someone else
he probably would have tried something already, but with Jylanya... he
just didn't want to scare her away. "It's a beautiful sunset," he
commented softly, to take his mind off his pondering.

"It is," she agreed and screwed up her courage enough to lean
wordlessly into the offered support.

Feeling Jylanya shift towards him made Naton smile in bliss and he
closed his eyes to savour the feeling. He couldn't find words that
would justify breaking the peaceful silence, so he remained quiet for
once in his life.

They watched the sun sink into the water in a blaze of glory. The
silence stretched on but wasn't the least bit uncomfortable. Far from
it. "So beautiful," she finally breathed and sat forward. "I need to
get her back before it gets dark," she murmured and began packing up.
"Would you mind carrying her for me?"

"Not at all," Naton said with a smile. "As long you think she won't
mind." Vee was a shy kid and Naton could imagine she would freak out
if she would wake up to find herself being carried off by someone
unexpected. Then again, she looked like she was fast asleep and
wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

As he lifted Veerona she draped across his shoulder like a sleeping
fur completely dead to the world. Jylanya chuckled and rubbed the
little girl's back. Then she picked up the blanket and folded it over
her arm. Everything else fit into her little basket. "Ok, that's
everything," she said softly and tucked her hand into Naton's for the
walk through the dusk.

Delighted to feel Jylanya's hand in his and Veerona sleeping on his
shoulder, Naton realized that they had to look like a perfect little
family. That thought only made his smile widen on his face as they
made their way over the beach back to the Hall and he caught himself
wondering if maybe some day they would _be_ a perfect little family.
He'd like that. Very much.

Last updated on the March 20th 2012

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Looking Like a Family