Gather Girls

Writers: Chelle, Eimi
Date Posted: 15th February 2012

Characters: Parale, Syren, Venrys
Description: Parale takes the girls shopping at the gather.
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 6, day 1 of Turn 6

**Okay, carisak-check. Hat-check. Girls-check.** Parale tried to think about
anything else they might need as they looked at the stalls. "Did you
both eat?" That way they could save a little anyway.

Syren nodded emphatically while Venrys just muttered a simple, "Yes."
She still wanted to get a bubbly at the gather, no matter if she ate her
lunch or not!

"Okay, and we remember the ground rules right?" She'd told them enough
times that they had better not be out of her sight for a moment.

"Don't take anything without paying for it," Syren piped up, believing
that was the ground rule in question.

"Yes and don't go where?" she prompted, looking at both faces. Venrys
had grown quite a bit, but she was still young enough for someone to
grab her up.

The older girl could feel the question directed towards her. "Don't go
anywhere without you."

"And don't go to the necessary without telling you first!" the younger
added, just because she could.

"Right. Okay then, here we go. Hold hands everyone." Heading out of the
hold, it didn't take long to get to the gather square and the stalls.
"Look at that one." Parale was on the eye out for some good fabrics. She
wanted to make the girls some working dresses that would last.

Syren wasn't looking at fabric! "Look! Bubblies!"

"And fruit tarts!" Venrys joined in, pointing to the stand right beside
it.

"We need to wait a bit before we can have snacks," she reminded them.
"Later, though, I promise." As they continued, they came up to the
woodcrafters' stall. It held some toys along with other things. Parale
could easily make
stuffed animals for Syren herself but this was something different.

"Look!" Syren cried, running over to the corner were a beautifully
crafted miniature cot cut in half was standing. "A doll cot! Look,
Parale!"

Venrys rolled her eyes. "You got a doll cot at Turn Over, silly. You
don't need _another_ one."

The little girl ignored her older sister completely. "Come look,
Parale!"

Walking over there to see it, she smiled. "It?s very nice, though not
as nice as yours since we made that nice blanket for it with the
ruffles."

"But you could put the blanket in here!" Syren pointed out a room that
would make a wonderful bedchamber in the little cot.

Meanwhile, Venrys, who was too old now for dolls in her own mind, walked
down the row of hand carved goods until she came to a beautifully golden
stained little jewelry box with a tropical flower carved into the top.
She opened it carefully and fingered the soft cloth inside.

Smiling to herself as she saw Venrys looking at the jewelry box, Parale
made a note of that. "Well you could sure. Weren't we going to look for
furniture for yours, though?"

"Oh yeah!" The new doll cot was quickly forgotten. "Can I get a
rocking chair like the one Daddy gave you?"

"You sure can. You know how much you get to spend, though, so remember."
Parale wanted to make sure Syren realized she would one item of her
choosing versus the few items she needed.

"I want to look around more before I choose anything," Venrys said,
rejoining the pair. She had been to enough gathers to know that if
she bought something now, it meant if she found something better she
would be out of luck.

"I think that's a very wise decision," Parale praised Venrys. Once Syren
had finished looking at the wooden objects, they headed over to a stall
manned by a group of southern traders. There were all sorts of things
and Parale couldn't help but finger some of the beautiful skeins of
thread.

"Are you going to make something for Daddy?" Venrys asked, seeing how
she was looking at sewing materials.

"With this sort of thread I think I could manage a proper waistcoat
maybe. I'd have to get some fabric but see how it's thicker than the
type we use for darning and the like?" She picked it up and let Venrys
finger it.

Venrys picked it up and felt it like she had been instructed. "Uh huh."
She liked it when Parale talked to her about adult things. It made her
feel much more grown-up.

"Whereas that stuff over there is embroidery thread. It's made for
decorating." She grabbed another one and handed it to Venrys so she
could see the difference.

Syren was getting bored with their talking about thread. She had banged
on a handmade drum, looked at the little boxes of beads, but none of
them were as interesting as that little doll cot had been. And they
were still just talking about _thread_! They were no fun. Well, she
would just have to make her own fun, then.

Picking a few that were what she needed, she made her purchases and
stuck them down in her carisak. "Venrys, is there anything here you
want? Syren?"

"They have a little sewing kit over there," Venrys pointed, out,
thinking that such a choice would be practical as well as pleasing to
Parale.

Syren, however, was uncharacteristically silent. In fact, she was
nowhere to be seen.

"If you want it, you can get it, but I've got all those things at home."
Having not heard from the smallest girl, Parale's head turned. Looking
around the stall, she began to feel her blood pressure rise. "Renling,
do you hear me? Venrys, do you see your sister?"

Venrys put the sewing kit back, thinking it better to save her marks if
Parale seemed to think it was wasteful. Turning, she scanned the tent
for her sister. "Syren?" she called when she didn't find her.

Taking the trader aside, Parale asked if he'd seen the small girl. She
tried to keep calm, to keep the panic from overwhelming her thoughts.
"Syren, you better get out here this instant, young lady." She walked
out to the entrance, looking up and down the aisle and into neighboring
stalls.

While her back was turned, a little form crawled out from under the
table draped in a long cloth, and with a triumphant smile on her face
she called, "Here I am!" She must have found the _best_ hiding spot
ever to get both Venrys _and_ Parale!

Letting out the breath she'd been holding, Parale rushed to where she'd
heard the voice. Seeing Syren safe and sound and realizing what she had
done, she was angry at first. "What did we say about going places where
I can't see you?"

"You said not to go anywhere without you! I was right here," Syren
said, confused as to why Parale might be angry as she pointed to the
table that was in the tent they had been in just a few moments before.

"Syren, you really shouldn't disappear like that," Venrys scolded, hands
on her hips as she looked down at her sister. "There are _dragonmen_ at
this Gather. They steal little girls, you know."

"When I call and you don't answer and I don't see you, I think you're
gone. Venrys is right, there are people who would steal little girls and
hurt them. You scared me." She had half a mind to cut the gather trip
short just then. Parale was still slightly in shock. "If you ever do
that again, you're going to get a hiding. Do you understand?"

Syren wasn't sure which scared her more in that moment, the thought of
being stolen by a dragonman or the thought of Parale being so angry that
she would hide her. But scared she was, and she had never seen Parale
so angry and especially not at her. Her eyes filled with tears and a
wail began from deep inside.

She hated to make little Syren cry, but she had to make her understand.
"Syren, I want an answer. Do you understand me?" Her voice had leveled
somewhat by then, but her face was still radiating serious.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, wiping at her eyes and nose with the back of
her hand.

Her older sister just let out a long sigh, shaking her head. "Kids."

Last updated on the February 16th 2012

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Gather Girls