Lohn was there, also covered in decorations and dressed in robes and reeking of the scented water, standing in a row with Maze and Grif and Nils and her brother and a cousin, and Mara had to pick the right one just by squeezing all their hands in turn. Nils told me Mara would have to get married to whoever she picked, but I don’t believe him, and she knew which one was Lohn anyway – the citrusy scent of the ritual water gives the groom away.
We all sat about on cushions and rugs (or rocks and benches for grandparents) and watched Mara offer Lohn her name, and Lohn accept it, and their parents made little speeches and accepted their new son or daughter, and so Lohn is now Lohn Senez. Then we all ate a piece of the very alcoholic cake, and had a huge picnic which lasted till the afternoon got too cold for us to be outside any longer[7].
Lohn and Mara had included their kids and ours in their getting-dressed ceremony, and Sen naturally adored that, and Lira and Ys didn’t nearly manage to pretend they weren’t touched and awed by the whole thing. Rye was all pink and blushing. Fein and Shar have been wholly overwhelmed by Mara and Lohn’s families, who have embraced them in no uncertain terms, and there were plenty of games for the kids as part of the post-wedding picnic. I think having a lot of Taren kids (and even some Kolaren ones thanks to a few of Squad One’s families being invited) introduced into the mix is benefiting Ys and Rye immensely. The idea of being just a servant is wholly against Taren philosophies, simply not on the radar. Ys and Rye are Caszandra and Kaoren’s wards, brave and exotic and not for a moment to be dismissed because of the length of their names.
I think it’s helping Shar, too, to be Shar instead of Sharlotsofsyllables – just some thirteen year-old boy. He’s going to grow up to be a serious and leaderly person, and Place Sight really is something which it can be a struggle to live with, but Lohn and Mara are giving him some quality just-a-kid time as well as helping him with the strange politics which comes with his name[8].
Sen tore about madly, got wholly overexcited, and then came and smothered me in very sticky kisses – I think that was thanks for how happy Rye was, chatting with a half-dozen boys his own age about Muinan animals and the park design and canoeing, and making arrangements to teach them to swim[9]. Ys and Lira didn’t embrace popularity so completely, but they weren’t hostile or rude either, and I was very pleased to see that Ys had decided to be protective of Enna and make sure she wasn’t overwhelmed – that’s Ys all over.
The Setari-relatives' children will be attending the talent school as well – most of them have near-Setari level talents or were even washed out of the Setari program early on. I’m really glad of that, of the changes it should bring to the school, and the opportunities it will give Ys and Rye to be around some peers they haven’t erected huge walls against. Mara’s brother’s sons, Del and Serry, have joined Fein as Rye’s closest compadres, and they fill what few moments he had left spare. Sen, of course, considers everyone around her age as belonging to her. Ys and Lira are polite, but for the moment enjoying their own friendship most.
I eventually got a bit exhausted from all the socialising, and Kaoren and I have been having a quiet week this week. We also wanted Sen to have a break from so many people. She thoroughly enjoyed the wedding, was brimming over with joy, but this is also an effect of her Sights – being surrounded by radiantly happy people is a bit like swilling champagne. Psychic children are complicated.
Mara came over today for a bit of peace and quiet as well. First and Second Squad are really enjoying living with their families near them, but their places can get pretty raucous. We sat out on the balcony (Maze and Alay were my guards) and talked about the transformation Siriath – and all of Muina – has undergone in such a short time. I still feel guilty about it sometimes, particularly when I found out that my otters seem to have moved away from their stream – or died – and that KOTIS Command is talking about settling Border Collie-ville next.
Maze is looking very alive and non-tired these days, and full of plans to turn his bit of Siriath into a test ground for his landscaping ideas. He’s been doing courses in his spare time, and takes very seriously the time he spends with Rye, who had a lot of practical experience on Nuri (at least until the bastard head of his house realised how much he loved gardening and wouldn’t let him tend the vegetables any more). Rye and Maze are actually doing a couple of the same courses, and while Rye struggles a little with reading (he does okay, but it’s not quick and natural for him yet and he has to use the text-to-speech facility a lot), he’s picking up the scientific concepts quite well for a kid of twelve[10].
The kids came home while Mara was still here (we’ve more than a couple of boats between us now – simple covered sleds that are slow but easy to drive about – and we rotate kid-collection). I could tell from the way Sen behaved that Alay was, as I’d suspected, not feeling nearly as happy with the world as everyone else. She’s always been the quiet one of First Squad – she isn’t shy, is actually pretty decisive and definite about things, but she’s the least chatty. Since Nils told me about how she’d loved one of the Setari killed by the massive – Suzlein – I’ve wondered whether part of the reason Alay’s quiet is the same as the reason Maze is (or was) sad.
The way Nils talked about him, I don’t think Alay was very in love with her technician, which is probably a good thing because so far I haven’t seen any sign that he’s coming to Muina to be with her. Perhaps she cared about him more than Nils suggested, and that’s why she’s down, or maybe it’s just because she’s surrounded by romantic things, and the person she loved is dead.
She really likes Sen, though (everyone does!) and let herself get drawn into a silly game with Sen and the kittens and it was nice to see both of them laughing. Sen’s had such a rough time of it the past couple of months, and still her first instinct is to cheer up anyone who isn’t happy.
My kids are the best.
The Muinan new year is at the end of this month. The one-Muinan year anniversary of me telling the platform that Kaoren was Muinan. We’ll be going into Muina Year 2, and there’s plans for all sorts of ceremonies and I have turned down numerous invitations. Still going to celebrate, will maybe start a tradition of a New Year’s Cake or something.
7 - June
June 24
Sudden Developments
Picture me wide-eyed. Scarcely know what to think.
I’d noticed that when Maze schedules people to be my babysitter, he’s usually obliging about sticking couples together – Nils and Zee, for instance. Not Lohn and Mara together any more, since they adopted, but he’ll usually pair Ketz and Jeh, or Ketz and Grif. And Mori with Ro, since Eighth is currently stationed on Muina. Maze obviously knows all about people’s love lives. I thought that scheduling himself and Alay together semi-frequently was just because they were left-overs and didn’t have kids to look after.
8
A terribly complicated situation, since he’s basically a member of the ruling family who was left to die with the crowd, instead of joining whatever it was the Nuran Cruzatch allies were trying to achieve.
9
We’ve since had the whole pack over to our island, for a mass swimming lesson, and gone over to Siriath for another.
10
Rye’s not able to do the level of courses
that Maze is doing, yet, but they can both attend all the