Half Valley, Evening – Outside the Whitewhisker Residence
The Shroud has reduced visibility quite a bit, but enough houses are still lit up with dining families, that warm yellow light wards away the gloom, and shapes can be made out. Paired lanterns hung about the porch of the Whitewhiskers' charming townhouse illuminate it fairly clearly. Every so often, militiamen can be heard greeting townsfolk and each other as they stroll their rounds.

Anisa skids to a halt on her oversized feet right outside the front door, panting to regain her breath. She had meant to stay near Royce, but somewhere along the line she became too exhilarated and ended up sprinting. "Where are those slowpokes?"

Heavy thumping heralds Gibson's arrival as he dashes through the fog shortly after his sister. The last to arrive is Royce, who "coasts" to a stop near the porch to lean on it and pant. "No (puff) fair… " he gasps. "I've been (pant) shut in a box for hours before this!"

The white Lapi grins as her breath starts to return to normal. "Excuses, excuses!" She pokes her patchwork brother playfully. "Now we can get some grub! Hope you're still hungry!" She turns to the door, and waits for Gibson to open it.

Royce just mutters some things about reading too much while he catches his breath, while a not-particularly-winded Gibson hops up the steps to the porch. Down the street, two approaching figures darken patches of mist, their silhouettes slowly sharpening into familiar shapes.

Anisa blinks, and looks down the street at the figures. "Is that Wanda and Spencer?" She points her ear in their direction.

The answer would appear to be "yes". A somewhat weary-looking Skeek, clad in blue, trails along with Spencer, and both are rather quiet. The brown Lapi waves as he catches sight of his fellow rabbits, and Gibson turns away from the door as he notices his friend.

The white Lapine returns the wave to her mouse friend. "Hey you slackers, hurry up!" She says with a grin. "Sheesh, they're silent enough."

"Yeah, they are kinda… " observes Gibson, ambling back over toward the steps. He leans on a porch post. "Everything go all right, Spencer? I guess this must be Wanda."

Anisa's grin slowly melts, and she goes over besides Gibson to watch the approaching duo.

Spencer, as he gets within conversation range, nods, though he doesn't look totally certain. Wanda smiles and nods, but looks a little distant, as if she were concentrating on something else.

"Pretty much, Gib," replies the brown Lapi, in a somewhat hushed tone. "Wanda and I found each other on the road to the airfield, not far out of town. But… but have you ever gotten that creepy feeling that… I dunno… someone was just watching you?"

Anisa frowns, and looks to Gibson with a look of worry. "Don't be silly – Why would anyone be watching you guys?" She looks back to the Skeek and brown Lapi, forcing her frown into a bright smile.

"He's right, sugar," asserts Wanda. Her whiskers turn a little, and she tilts her head a bit. "I don't know who it was, but I learned to listen to the voice at the back of my head. Intuition. Someone was taking an interest in us."

Gibson glances back at Anisa. "I want to call this silly paranoia, but I'd say we'll probably want to get inside anyway. Joanne's meal is probably getting cold as it is."

The white Lapi rolls her eyes, trying to act like she thinks they're overreacting, although she knows better. She puts her paws to her face in a look of sarcastic fear. "Oh dear oh dear! The big, bad meanies are gonna get the poor mousey and bunny!" She grins, and shoves Gibson towards the door. "Well, we'd better be ready for them, and no better way to do that than on a full stomach!"

Spencer's expression sours, though Wanda's pleasant smile stays in place. The lot of them, Gibson and Royce included, go trooping through the door, and Spencer calls out his obligatory greeting of, "Ma! We're home!"

Joanne's voice, along with the clinks and clacks of dinnerware, comes through the archway past the living room. "Just in time! None of the greens are soggy yet."

Anisa wipes her feet off on the mat, and puts her sunny smile back on. "Hello again, Mrs. Whitewhiskers!" She walks over to the archway, and takes a deep sniff. "That stuff smells good! Come on guys, let's eat!"

Gibson follows Anisa's lead once in the dining room, smiling cheerfully at Joanne as the matronly rabbit bustles around a circular table. Glass-enclosed candles around the room light the place brightly, as does a ceramic candelabra in the center of the table, glazed green and fashioned like climbing ivy. Quite a few places are set, though only one is occupied currently… that of a robed gentleman, who Gibson nods at respectfully.

"Good evening, Magistrate," Gibson says.

The gentleman in question, a black-furred Lapi with a white head, laughs good-naturedly. "Sit down, son. I keep telling you, you needn't be so formal with us."

Nearby, Joanne pats her husband's paw as she sets down a bowl brimming with crisp-looking vegetables. "And that's his sister, Anisa Snowshoe! We only got to meet her just today; isn't that just the strangest thing? I was going to ask Bea where she's been hiding her kittens all these years."

The white Lapi blinks, coming to a halt as she notices the rabbit father for the first time. Her sunny smile turns into a shy one as Joanne talks about her. "Hello sir, it's nice to meet you." She stands there silently for a bit, a little awkward and not knowing exactly where to sit.

"Oh, c'mon now… None of this standing around and shuffling of feet business," chortles the Magistrate. "Just sit any old place, Anisa. Your brother's told me a bit about you, and he hasn't done you justice. Say, did you know one of my sons is about your age? He – "

Spencer, having gotten rid of his longbow and arrows, pokes his head through the archway just in time. "Dad!" he protests, rather sharply.

Spencer's father hurriedly amends, " – has a twin brother named Curtis! Er… and please, don't call me 'sir'; call me Warren."

Anisa's ears blush a deeper shade of red, and she quickly takes a seat next to her big brother. She stifles a giggle at the magistrate and his son. "Well, I guess I'll have to meet him then!" She grins, "Warren is your name, sir? Like one of those colonies?"

"Almost just like, really!" laughs Warren, forking some salad onto his plate with lacquered wooden utensils. "This town wasn't much more than that back when our forefathers arrived."

Royce, meanwhile, tries to sidle into a seat without being noticed, while Spencer takes up another chair nearby, and watches the salad bowl impatiently as his father hands it off to Gibson.

More dishes arrive as the busy matron hustles back and forth between the kitchen: vegetable pies, a garden stew, a large stuffed squash. She seems quite used to accommodating a crowd at supper time.

"You mean this city was founded by Lapi?" asks Anisa, trying to keep from outright drooling as the food is placed on the table. She notices the patchwork sibling sitting down shyly, and gets a mischievous glint to her eye. "Oh, by the way, this is our little brother Royce. He came with me."

Warren looks to be warming up to a favorite subject. "Well, yes and no, Anisa. This township was founded by a group of sea-going explorers. It just so happened that the leader was a Lapi by the name of Whitewhiskers, one of my ancestors… " He looks briefly distant, as if pondering a pleasant story, before glancing over at Royce and grinning. "Well now! You almost slipped right through the cracks! Hello, young man!"

Royce gives Anisa a dirty look before trying to sink down in his chair. He makes some attempt at mumbling a polite greeting.

Anisa smirks at Royce, bobbing her legs up and down impatiently as she waits for Gibson to pass her the tongs for the food. "Wow! I didn't know our kind had ever been leader of anything; that's an interesting ancestry to have. Oh, by the way," she gestures towards the Skeek, "this is Wanda, a friend of mine from the trip. Do you mind if she stays with us for a while, just until she can get situated?" She turns to the Skeek, "I hope you like dining on rabbit food!"

Wanda nods politely, a pleasant expression on her face, though she doesn't comment.

The plate of veggie pie makes it to Anisa before the salad bowl does. "Well, I don't see why not," muses Warren. "Any friend of the Snowshoes' is a friend of ours, and the house seems rather empty, since most of the children are out and about this week."

Joanne nods as she begins carving at the squash. "It's a pity you said you have to go so soon, Gibson!"

The sister Lapi starts to spoon some of the food onto her plate, and frowns at Joanne's words. "Have to go? Go where?" She looks to Gibson, her face looking confused. "You didn't say you were going anywhere."

"This was before you arrived, Anisa," replies Gibson, somewhat uncomfortably. He shifts some uneaten peas around on his plate as the other dishes are passed around to each person in turn. "But you'll be coming along, remember?"

Anisa blinks, not understanding entirely, but some realization coming to her nonetheless. "Oh! That trip! Now I remember." She smiles, and after spooning some more of the food onto her plate, takes a large mouthful, chewing it happily. Regardless of what else is going on, she wants to enjoy the moment. "Anyways, I'm sure that after we're done we can come back and visit again. Where did you say all of your children are?" She wipes her mouth off on a napkin, and takes another mouthful.

"Oh, my goodness," chuckles Joanne. "Where aren't they? Well, Spencer is home for once, though I expect the Marshal will have him report back to duty at the militia station eventually. Kurtis is probably at the Levitha's Blanket Inn, doing odd jobs for Piksil. Janice is apprenticed to our local seamstress… I'd teach her myself, but I'm so busy nowadays. Meanwhile… " The Lapi matron rattles through names with a memory for them only a mother could have, and far too quickly to keep track of.

The white rabbit continues to eat the meal, not seeming to slow down any as she tries to pay attention to the rabbit matron. After finishing her first plate, she helps herself to a second, nodding in conversation to the Lapi mother. "Your brood's even bigger than ours, it seems." She smiles, and takes a bite of her food. "So your family's pretty important here? What do you do as Magistrate?"

Joanne clucks her tongue. "Tsk! That's the way of it with you city-born folk. Bea was always on about how she just wanted a small family. Out here, big families can take care of more land… and most importantly, take care of Warren and I when we're old and toothless!"

The white-headed Lapi laughs around a bite of broccoli. "Well now, it's not so much a problem for us. Yes, we're important to the townsfolk, but then, the townsfolk are important to us. As Magistrate, I look out for the town's better interests. I don't command as much as I unify and reason… I'm not a military leader – that's Roan's job. And goodness, he's had a time of it lately."

Anisa swallows a bit of the squash, looking at Warren curiously. "Why's that? Has there been a war going on or something? I noticed that they were out and about when I got off the ship." She takes another bite, savoring the meal.

"Oh, things have been a mess of late," sighs Warren, tossing his paws upward for a moment. He remains oblivious to a chunk of carrot that flies off his fork when he does so. "When the Sunset-Hoof landed, they wouldn't let anyone off the ship because someone had stolen something from a rather prominent merchant. They insisted the militiamen – who serve here as Temple Guardsmen might where you're from – be out in force to be sure the goods didn't slip away. I think they did anyway, and thankfully, there's been no more uproar about it, though I'm not pleased at the prospect of a thief in my town. The gossip will be spreading like wildfire in a day or two, I imagine."

The Magistrate bites at his fork, and then looks somewhat startled when he realizes there's nothing on it.

Joanne continues, "And not only that… There's that business with the Imperial camp upriver."

Wanda, through all of this, manages to keep a perfectly straight face.

Anisa quickly hides her frown by shoveling another forkful into her mouth, and avoids Wanda's gaze. "Impurhial champ?" she echoes, mouth full. She gulps it down, and after taking a drink, tries again. "Imperial Camp? What's all that about?"

Spencer, after swallowing a bite of his supper, pipes up, "I heard they were looking for a bloodthirsty anti-Naga cult!"

Warren glances at his son, and wags a finger. "Now, now… we don't need this sensationalized any more than the shipmen at the wharf already have." He sighs, and leans back in his chair. "A platoon of Nagai Imperial troops have been camped upriver from our town for months now, trying to put down a faction of Kavi guerrillas in the Pearl. They've pointed out terrorist actions against Nagai citizenry, including one very high-profile fellow. Apparently, the Kavi settlement was fairly large. From what little the Nagai platoon leader has cared to tell me about, their settlement was razed, but they've since taken to hiding in the Pearl's jungles… which are quite dense."

The Magistrate shakes his head. "It would seem that the Empire is only willing to commit one platoon, and the guerrillas know their territory. It's a game of fuff'nar and vermite that could last for the foreseeable future."

The white Lapi grimaces as she takes another bite. "So they've had a rough time of it, it seems. They don't pose any threat to Half-Valley, do they? Oh, and what is the 'Pearl'?"

Gibson answers this time around. "Nah, sis… Half Valley is sort of under Temple jurisdiction. But it's just one more thing to make relations between the Empire and Rephidim that much more tense."

Spencer speaks up as well. "The Pearl's this freakish island crater thingie off the coast! It's really weird."

Anisa tries to follow along, but just shakes her head in frustration. "Things were so much simpler back in Rephidim. None of this politics stuff! Not for me at least." She finishes off her second plate, and wipes her mouth off on her napkin. "Island crater thingie? What's so weird about it?"

"Don't be so naive, Anisa," snorts Royce. "Rephidim is the place for politics, short of Babel. You just never took your nose out of your Captain Dash books long enough to notice."

The snow colored rabbit glares at her little brother. "I said 'not for me', soggy ears! Besides, politics in Rephidim are boring, all that ritualism and stuff. I'll take a Captain Dash novel over that any day of the week!" She looks away from Royce smugly, and back to Spencer. "Anyways, what's so special about the Pearl?"

Spencer bugs his eyes out, holding up his paws up pseudo-menacingly, and wiggling his fingertips. "Scutties!" he exclaims. "Basin-Scuttlers! Like Zelaks, only feral! A million different kinds of bugs, from as big as a shikk'han, to as big as this very house! Like Plaguebringers, but with minds of their own! More vicious than horribs!"

"Spencer, you're so melodramatic," comes a voice from the archway.

Anisa startles a bit as the brown rabbit makes his sudden gestures, and shudders. She's never been one for bugs, especially after the Plaguebringer attack on Rephidim, so the comparison doesn't settle her nerves any. Just as she seems about to reply, she cuts herself short, and turns to look at the source of the new voice.

Through the door strides Spencer. Only it can't be Spencer, because he's seated at the table. No, it's a Lapi that looks rather like Spencer, except clad in robes of scarlet and burgundy. A satchel hangs over his shoulder, and the bitter smell of herbs clings to him, faint but there.

The "real" Spencer rolls his eyes. "Oh, hi, Kurt."

The Whitewhisker parents perk up their ears. "Oh, good!" exclaims Joanne. "You didn't miss dinner, Kurtis! There's still plenty left."

The white Lapi blinks as she watches the robe-clad Spencer-look-alike enter the room. She stays silent, but peers at him curiously, trying to figure out what the robes are for. Idly, she munches on a bit of leftover carrot on her plate, looking between the two brothers.

As if a counterpoint to Spencer's energy, Kurtis shuffles slowly around the table to find a seat. He looks almost exactly like his brother (and brothers they must be) except that his ears droop and dangle, where the other's stay upright and alert at all times. He seems to have a tired look about him that suggests it's his normal state, instead of just a particularly long night. "No," mumbles Kurtis lethargically. "Piksil didn't have much in the way of odd jobs tonight after my lessons with Watts."

Anisa grins, and tries to hide the look by staring down at her plate: for some reason, she is reminded a lot of Tyson. "Those are some lovely robes you have on there; are they a mage's robes?" she asks, not even introducing herself.

Kurtis nods numbly, and takes a seat, while Warren volunteers, "He's a Life Mage. Isn't that right, Kurt?"

"Apprentice," mutters Kurtis reluctantly.

Anisa ahs, and nods to the father and son, then goes back to looking down at her empty plate. "The meal was very delicious, ma'am, even better than the stuff Mom serves at the Tavern, thank you very much!" She smiles to the matron.

"Oh, you're just saying that!" gushes Joanne, though she looks quite pleased with the compliment.

The white rabbit sits back in her chair, waiting for the others to finish their meal. "How long have you been apprenticing?"

Gibson looks happily sated, while Royce appears to be done picking at his food. Kurtis' monotone seems a stark contrast. "As a healer with Watts… few years. Magic… not long. Piksil teaches me, but she knows Air, not Life."

Anisa blinks at Kurtis, and just nods. "That seems pretty neat, being a Life Mage and all. We don't have any mages in our family – not yet at least. The closest thing we got is Patches over there, who's gonna be a Technopriest." She points at Royce deviously.

"If I pass the exams," ventures Royce, a bit uncertainly.

Joanne clasps her paws together. "Oh, how exciting for you, Royce! The Technopriesthood… Very prestigious!"

The other Whitewhiskers nod in agreement, except for Kurtis, who merely drones, "Nice."

Anisa smiles as she finishes off her drink. "We're all pretty proud of him, even if he's a little weird at times." She grins at Royce, and gives him a playful wink. "Well, like I said, that dinner was very nice! What would you like me to do with the dishes?"

"Kurtis isn't just the only mage in our family… He's one of the two mages in the entire Half Valley!" Warren beams proudly, while Kurtis just tries to duck his head a bit more. "Except for Jennendra, but she's a special case."

Joanne interrupts her husband's boasting to reply to Anisa. "Oh, just bring them to the washbasin! It's too late in the evening to bother with them now. We'll just have Spencer and Kurtis take care of them in the morning. I expect you'll be wanting to get to sleep soon; you've had a long trip!"

Just as the matronly rabbit says this, Anisa stifles a yawn, as if on cue. "Oh no, I'm fine! Really!" She gets up from her seat, and takes her plates to the washbasin, putting them inside. "Well, maybe just a little, but I'd really like to hear more about Half-Valley; it seems an exciting place!"

Suddenly, the whole room bursts into laughter, except for Royce, who looks confused, and Kurtis, who looks… Kurtis. Curt, even.

Anisa freezes, and turns to look at the assembled crowd with a blank expression. "What's so funny?"

Warren rubs one of his eyes, and settles down enough to say, "Sorry about that, young lady. Well, lately things have been rather worked up… but usually, 'exciting' is not the way we'd describe Half Valley, even if we love our home."

Gibson snickers, "Hee, hee… Good one, sis."

Anisa's ears turn red in embarrassment, and she turns to plop the rest of her dishes into the washbasin. "Well, it's exciting for me anyways," she mutters shyly.

"Aww… " Gibson pats his sister's shoulder. "You've been so intent, I figure we'll show you some of the world yet. But we better get to sleep. We have things to talk about in the morning. Thanks for dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Whitewhiskers! Seeya in the morning, Spence, Kurt."

The sister Lapi smiles a bit, and rubs an eye as she yawns again. "Yeah, I suppose so." She heads for the archway, then stops. "Umm, where are we supposed to sleep?"

Spencer hops to his feet, and stretches. "Mmf! I think I'll turn in as well. The rooms are all upstairs. Guest quarters are the second door on the right. C'mon, I'll lead you and Gibs there."

Anisa nods to the brown rabbit, and after grabbing her bags in the den, follows behind the two males. "I hope it's not too much trouble, us staying here. You coming, Wanda?"

Wanda looks back from where she's been staring out a window, as if being snapped out of some deep thinking. "Sure am… I don't think I've slept right since before I got on the ship."

"Well, now's your chance!" Anisa grins, following behind Spencer and giving another wide yawn. "Whew, all that food is making me even more tired."

Anisa looks back at the Skeek, and frowns inwardly. She's probably thinking about the book – something Anisa would love to just forget about at this point. "Do you have enough beds for us all?"

Spencer yawns, and pauses in the doorway of his own room as Kurtis comes trudging up the stairs. "We should, Anisa. If not, you can borrow one of my siblings' beds, or we can get a sleeping bag for Gibson or Royce. Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have forty winks to catch! Pleasant dreams, eh?"

Anisa nods with a smile. "Good night!" She hefts her bags once more, and trudges into the guest room. "I call bed!" she grins, waiting for the others to join her.

Royce and Gibson don't even bother trying to contest the point, particularly when Wanda stakes her claim to a bed, and with much stumbling, they find their own resting places. Downy comforters brought in by Joanne make for cocoons of warmth that lull their occupants into a pleasantly deep slumber.

Anisa follows the lead of the others, and climbs into her bed, not bothering to change from her day clothes. For a while, she just stares at the ceiling, taking in all that's happened so far, and trying to figure out her next move. She may have downplayed it earlier, but she knows now that Spencer and Wanda were right: someone's following their moves, and she mentally curses herself for being so clumsy as to put everyone in danger.

The thoughts linger on in her mind for a while, but slowly start to fade as she becomes more and more drowsy. The steady breathing of the others adds to the lull, and soon the bunny is asleep. "Mmmrrrss… Why yes, Spencer, I'd love to have tea with… you," she mumbles in her sleep, before the room goes completely quiet.

Outside, the light drizzle that had started in the evening strengthens into a heavier rain. Drops patter against the windowpane, and a sense of security can be derived from the steady rushing sound of rain against the sturdy home of the Whitewhiskers. There's no thunder, just the mellow white noise of rainfall that fades with consciousness.