[Flashback] Fetching from Fool's Errand (Poppy)

[Dove Brown]

Mithryn Outpost - 40th Summer, 510 AV

"We get in there, we get him, we get out again," Linnette said, looking at her younger brother and sister. "And hope he hasn't spent everything already. Understand?" Twice Dove's age, she'd been the effective head of the family for as long as Dove could remember.

Ten year old Dove shoved her hands into the pockets of her hand-me-down pants and nodded. It wasn't as if they'd never done this before. The only question was whether he'd think she was the mother she'd never met, in which case she'd have to persuade him, or whether he'd recognise her for herself, in which case he'd come after her to beat her, and she could lead him by staying out of reach.

Raven shrugged gangly teenage shoulders. "We'll get by, we always do. Ma's birthday only comes round once a year." He sounded old for his sixteen years, almost resigned. He clapped Dove on the shoulder and steered her out of the bare cottage into the hot night. "Come on, pigeon. Soonest started, soonest done." Dove sighed and trotted along beside him. It was her fault their father drank. He'd told her often enough. If it hadn't been their mother's birthday, it would be some other memory he wanted to drown out...

"I hear there's a new cook at the inn," Raven went on as the trio wound their way out of the maze of cottages in the Commons and turned onto the main road, where the Fool's Errand stood. "She doesn't know me, so with any luck she won't throw me out at first glance." He wiggled his fingers and brushed off his patched clothes. "Maybe I'll be able to pick up some food to take home, along with Father."

Linnette rolled her eyes at him. "We get Father first."

Raven flapped a hand at her. "Of course we do. I'm just planning. You know me, always hoping, always after food."

At that moment, they reached the Inn and stopped opposite the door, thin, wiry, obviously poor from their worn clothes but clean and neat. Sound washed over them, rough music and loud chatter almost drowning out the sounds of eating and drinking. They looked at each other for a moment with hungry eyes in young faces, then Linnette led them across to the door. It swung open to let out a customer and the trio slipped in. Dove stepped to one side, set her back against the wall and looked around, trying to pick her father out of the crowd of other farmers.

[Poppy Blackburn]

It hadn’t been too long since the Blackburn family had moved into the Mithryn Outpost. Putting their old life behind, they had settled into the calmness of the region, which was bliss compared to the instability and lawlessness of the region that they had been in before. Growing up in Sunberth, the young girl may have gotten used to the lawlessness of the city, and the constant need of watching one’s back and belongings, but she didn’t like that one bit. Who did? Apart from thieves, that is. Moving over to her new home, with many thanks to Marcus, the sole benefactor in she and her family’s life.

Coming to the Syliras region had been somewhat of a culture shock for the young lass but that was nothing that time wouldn’t fix. She was in constant awe of the knights from the first glance her hazel green eyes had laid upon them and she thought them to be especially beautiful and powerful in the imposing metal plate armour they wore, with their helmets fashioned in such a design that was totally alien to her. It was not something she had ever seen growing up in Sunberth, for hardly one could even afford armour there, let alone a whole suit as beautiful such as this.

The people were also all so friendly and welcoming, and for once she actually understood what it was meant to be safe. There was no more having to watch behind her back, or to keep a close eye on her belongings or it would go missing once sight was lost of it. Her heart leapt with joy as she was opened to a new world.

Her father was one of the butcher’s assistants at the local butchery and her mother a seamstress and cook at the inn. The spunky and plucky fourteen year old lass would often spend more than half of her day helping out with her parents, be it running errands for her father or helping out in the inn, serving drinks and food to hungry and thirsty patrons. The outpost was a not a big community, certainly not as big as the massive city of Syliras that stood up like a jewel in the distance, and soon enough Poppy came to recognise the frequent patrons of the establishment.

One fine evening, while the lass had been wiping the tables clean after a group of patrons had left, she noticed new entries to the inn, a rather peculiar looking trio. There was something striking about the three new individuals. Two of them were older than one, while one of the them looked to be a child, much younger than her. Their clothes were not the ones that showed any wealth between them and the young girl smiled. Poppy had always had a soft spot for the poor that sought to work themselves out of their situations. Walking up to them, she said “Would you lot like a cold drink and a bowl of piping hot stew? It’s really good.”

[Dove Brown]

Dove spotted a familiar back and head at one of the back tables, and pointed it out to Raven. He nodded and circled through the crowd to check on him. Dove didn't notice the girl cleaning tables until she spoke and her offer of food and drink was enough to make Dove's belly growl. Her cheeks went hot with embarrassment and she looked down, then up again. The girl was nearer Raven's age than hers, and like Dove, clearly worked rather than played.

Dove smiled tentatively and opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Linnette asking, "How much would the meal cost?" Linnette was thinking of the few mizas she'd have to make stretch to cover the food for all of them. With Father drinking away his pay right now, they'd be on tighter rations than ever, even with whatever Raven managed to scrounge up. A meal here would be one less to cook - but money-wise she could get almost a week's scant rations for the price of that meal. She looked at Dove's face as hope died in it and her mouth tightened. "We'll get food as soon as we get Father home..."

Raven eeled back through the crowded inn. "He's all but asleep," he said. Having discretely pilfered their father's money pouch, he slipped it to Linnette, who pocketed it. "Did someone mention food?"

Dove nodded to the tavern girl. "She - sorry, what's your name? - offered a meal..." She tried not to sound too wistful, but it had been a long day weeding vegetable fields, and the wheat berries she'd had for breakfast had long ago worn off. "...but Linnette says we'll eat once we get Father home."

[Poppy Blackburn]

Her question for food and drink seemed to elicit some form of interest in new arrivals, especially the youngest girl, whose stomach growled in response before even any other words were spoken. The young lass had blushed in embarrassment and Poppy couldn’t help but smile. Just as she was about to reply, she was cut off by the older girl, who was perhaps her older sister. She’d asked how much the meal would cost, possibly feeling the sting of the expense already. The light that had lit up in the visage of the youngest when food was mentioned was now gone, as her hopes were shot down by her elder sibling in consideration of their finances.

The boy and third member of the group soon returned, and she realised that she had totally forgot him. He must have separated from the pair when they entered, probably gone looking for the father the older girl had mentioned. He was probably hungry as well, asking about food just as soon as he rejoined the group. Poppy watched the exchanges between the siblings, she guessed they were siblings from the way that they acted around one another. There was a certain closeness that the trio shared, one that was closely linked through family bonds. The youngest tried to answer, but stopped herself just as soon as she realised she didn’t know Poppy’s name. Helping along, she offered. “I’m Poppy, how about you all? And yes I did offer you trio a meal. You lot looks like you could use some. Now as far as money is concerned, I’ll see if I can arrange something for you.”

Gesturing towards the table she had just wiped clean, Poppy said. “Take a seat, I’ll go check with Ma if I can arrange something for you guys. Don’t worry, she’s really nice, and not to mention a great cook!” As soon as she was finished, the lass bounced away to kitchen at the back of the inn, where she met her mother and informed about the situation. The Blackburn family always believed in doing good deeds, especially to the needy and the poor and this was a good opportunity to do something for such. “Ma, there’s a small group of three young people out there, and one of them is just a child. They looked to be really hungry, and I don’t think they have enough coins to pay for any meal. Could you arrange something for them?”

Marla Blackburn looked up from the pot of chicken and potatoes stew she was cooking to answer her daughter with a heartwarming smile. “Not to worry Poppy dear, we’ll soon see about getting them fed. Take it from the lesser stock that I’ve prepared for the needy and poor in that smaller pot over there.” Ladling up three bowls full of delicious mouth-watering beef stew, Poppy arranged the bowls onto a wooden tray and brought them out of the kitchen and placed them down onto the table where the hungry trio were seated. “Stew is here! And not to worry, all is well!”

[Dove Brown]

"I'm Dove," Dove piped up in answer to Poppy's question, and Raven and Linnette chimed in with their own names. Raven added with a wry grin, "Father likes birds, you see. He wanted his own flock."

As Poppy headed off to the kitchen, Raven was the first to slide into a seat, and his nod of reassurance persuaded Linnette to join him. Dove took a third seat, tall enough that her toes only touched the floor if she stretched for it, and looked round at the other customers. She didn't fit here, she didn't think she ever would, but she could watch and try - and fail of course. One eye constantly returned to her father's back, despite Raven's reassurance about him sleeping. She smelt meat and stew and beer and wine, mingled with sweat and straw and smoke, but just the thought of getting meat was enough to make her belly growl again. She started to pull her legs up to her chest to squash the growling into silence, but at that moment the Inn girl came back with bowls of stew. Dove dropped her feet back towards the floor, and drew the nearest bowl towards her.

Linnette gave Dove a look that told her she'd better mind her manners. She settled for inhaling the scent and reaching politely for a spoon, rather than practically inhaling the entire bowl. "Thank you," she told Poppy, though her mouth watered and her eyes devoured even the sight of the bowl. She took a spoonful instead, and closed her eyes to savour the taste, trying to pick out the individual herbs seasoning it. It was so good! She didn't notice her older siblings quietly confer, and then slip some of the beef out of their bowls and wrap in up to add to later meals.

Dove was halfway through her bowl when her father woke with a grunt. She saw the movement as he began patting his pockets and forgot her manners enough to begin shoveling the rest of the bowl down her throat before she lost it. Raven had already finished, eating fast but neatly, and Linnette had her back to Father.

His voice boomed drunkenly into a brief lull in the chatter, "Thief! Summun stole me purse! Itsh gone!" His head swung, looking for the guilty party and Dove braced herself when his gaze landed on her with a growl. The last thing she wanted was a beating for yet another thing she hadn't done, but he was already barging through the crowd towards them. Clearly today was one of those days where he recognised her for who she really was, and the anger in his face froze her for a moment too long. She broke out of it as his fist swung wildly towards her, and tried to duck, but she wasn't fast enough. The blow clipped her head and she tumbled sideways off the chair as his arm went up to hit her again.

[Poppy Blackburn]

The youngest girl introduced herself as Dove, and her siblings followed suit. The boy was called Raven and the older girl Linnette. “It’s nice to meet you all! My name is Poppy.” She said with a warm smile, listening to the boy explain about the reasoning of their names. Apparently, their father had been fond of birds. “Well, I guess my parents like the flower. Actually, I don’t really know, I’ve never asked them.” The girl said, giggling as she did so. After handing the bowls of stew to the hungry trio, she left them on their own, and went about serving the other patrons, making her way in and out of the kitchen and the bar, her hands filled with trays of food or drinks.

When she was not serving customers, she was wiping tables or bringing the used plates and mugs to the kitchen to be washed. Evenings were the busiest time of the day, and there was always something to do, despite their small little community here in the outpost. Beef stew was one her mother’s signature dishes, and a popular favourite in the inn. She’d lost count how much bowls she had served by now, and everyone had wanted seconds. The drinks flowed readily as well, as thirsty patrons wanted a cold mug of ale to go along with their hot and savoury meal.

Resting on an unoccupied table, Poppy was midway into her break when a loud yell rose up amid the cacophony of chatter and laughter in the inn. A lone man who had been drinking at one of the tables rose up from his chair loudly as he yelled about there being a thief who had stolen his purse. A couple of tables turned to focus their attention on him, while others didn’t seem to care.

The girl watched as the drunken man’s head swung around from left to right, looking around wildly through the crowded establishment for the possible thief. He must have found who or what he was looking for as his gaze turned into stare before turning into somewhat of a snarl. He got into action, and got on the move, dragging his drunken body into a charge, not caring who he was bumping and knocking into.

Heads followed as he past them, and by now most of the patrons in the inn was focused on the man. Poppy’s eyes widened as she realised which table he was heading to. It was the very same table where the trio she had served with the stew earlier. Sensing trouble brewing, she grabbed an empty wooden tray, and quickly headed over to the trio’s table.

Sure enough, the man was trouble as he had the gall to swing a fist at Dove, the youngest girl who was decades his junior. The young girl tried to dodge but wasn’t quick enough got struck by the blow, knocking her on the head and off the chair. That still wasn’t enough for the drunk, and he raised his hand to attempt to strike her once more but this time his head would be met with the wooden tray Poppy had in hand. The lass then yelled boldly. “Hey! Pick on someone your own size!”

[Dove Brown]

Dove instinctively flung up her right arm to protect her head from the next blow, but it didn't come. She rolled to get distance, hit someone else's chair and came scrambling back to her feet in time to see Poppy defending her with a yell. Dove's eyes widened, startled at the sight of someone she didn't know defending her for no reason. In her limited experience, nobody ever did that for her, and certainly nobody did it without a reason. Even though the knights claimed to protect everyone... they seemed more interested in keeping the peace, which meant keeping things quiet, than in protecting one scrawny child. She didn't like to think what Poppy's defence would cost her. Probably more than just the bruise beginning to darken on her cheek.

Father growled and shook his drunken head in confusion as the tray hit it. His arms windmilled, and a stream of angry words almost too slurred to be comprehensible poured out of his mouth. Dove caught the words "Thief", "Girl" and "Killer" and stopped listening to the all too familiar tirade about how she'd killed her mother, and wrecked his life. "I didn't take anything!" she assured Poppy urgently, her gaze darting in case any of the other staring farmers got involved. "I didn't even go near Father in here!"

Linnette bolted the last of her stew and surged to her feet to grab their father's arm. Raven ducked under a wildly flailing hand and circled to catch hold of his other arm. "Come on, Father. Time to go home." He didn't mention that his father had been quite right to charge their table in search of his missing money - the money that Raven had taken before Father could spend it all. Instead he and Linnette pulled him towards the door. He went three staggering paces and then tried to throw them off.

Dove took a breath to steady herself and then put herself in his view. He saw her, and started to charge again, but this time she was ready for it and already moving towards the door. He kept coming, and she kept moving to stay out of his reach.

[Poppy Blackburn]

The drunken man growled like a bear in rage, and shook his head from the confusion resulting from the blow of her wooden tray. His arms turned into a mini windmills for a couple of ticks there, as a stream of insults left his mouth in bursts. Even these were slurred and mostly incomprehensible, leaving him to be blabbering like a drunken fool. However, several words could still be heard, and the words “Thief”, “Girl” and “Killer” were clear enough to be heard by all in the crowd.

The little girl, Dove must have gotten hang of the fact that the man was referring to her, and promptly turned to Poppy, assuring her that she was no thief and had not even gone near the man, who was now revealed to be their father. What a mess. Dove didn’t really had to explain herself, but the lass could understand why she did. Which was most likely to prevent any further doubt that would begin to creep into both her and anyone else's mind.

The young girl’s siblings soon took action on their own and rose to their feet, grabbing their father’s arms, urging him to stop creating trouble and go home. His two children made a good attempt to drag him towards the door, but they were ultimately overpowered by the larger and stronger man, eventually throwing them off. He wasn’t quite done yet with his business with the girl, and Poppy could begin to sense that this wasn’t such a simple matter, and he must have a hidden feud or hatred for the girl that was his youngest daughter. Still raging rowdily like a bull who saw red, the man charged towards the young girl once more.

This time, the girl was ready for it and started to make for the door. Managing to dodge a couple of his charges, Dove kept on moving staying out of her father’s reach. By this time, the crowd was becoming quite invested in the spectacle. At this point of time, Poppy didn’t exactly know what to do, as business within the establishment was coming to a standstill as everyone in the vicinity was caught up in the spectacle unfolding in front of them. From how the two of them were located near the entrance, the commotion prevented anyone from leaving, lest they enter into the area of the conflict, and become involved themselves.

A small group of people waiting to enter outside stood by the open door, and they gathered around to watch the unexpected event and evening entertainment. It wouldn’t be long now before the knights arrive to break up the commotion themselves. But before they arrive, Poppy reckoned that she had to do something before Dove got hit once more.

The lass could see that his drunken state was beginning to take a toll on him now, and despite his rage, his movements were slowing down and he huffed and puffed with each breath, becoming much and much more predictable. Conveniently placing herself somewhere midway of where Dove’s current location was, she waited patiently for the man to charge again once he caught his breath. When he charged, she was ready, sticking out her foot and attempting to trip the drunk as he his legs encountered hers.

[Dove Brown]

Dove wasn't used to people trying to protect her and hadn't allowed for Poppy's actions when she was planning to lure Father out onto the street. The people standing and watching - well, it wasn't the first time. It probably wouldn't be the last. But they didn't step in. They didn't help. Nobody did and that just reinforced the lesson Father's ramblings taught her - that she had to work to make up for the things she'd done wrong just by existing. That she had to earn the right to live, and keep earning it, and not cause more problems...

She'd just made another dart towards the door and reckoned two more would get them out without losing Father, and he'd just charged - and he tripped over the foot that Poppy stuck out and fell, hard, to the ground. Dove froze, fully expecting to be punished for causing more problems, fear stark on her face for a moment before she ducked her head.

Father just lay there for a moment, then began to sob, repeating the name "Maria" over and over again. The tension went out of Dove's rigid body and she stumbled out of his view. Linnette and Raven also relaxed. Once he started crying, the worst was over. Raven said dryly, "Show's over, folks. Same time, next year." He and Linnette grabbed Father's arms again and, with a practised heave, hauled him up enough to walk. Raven looked over his shoulder and grimaced. "Dove..."

"I know," she said softly. "Stay out of sight for a bit. I'll find somewhere." At least this year she wouldn't be hiding by a stream, picking watercress to try and take the edge off her hunger. She backed up against a wall as her siblings towed their father away and found herself next to Poppy again. "I'm sorry," she said instinctively, her voice still quiet. "Didn't mean to cause a problem. It's - well, it would be Mother's birthday, if she was still alive. And..." she hesitated, then stumbled along the less painful path through things, "um, Linnette says I look like her, and then Father - I guess I'm too much of a reminder..."

[Poppy Blackburn]

Poppy’s efforts to trip the man by sticking out her leg was met with great success. As his leg encountered hers, the weight of his upper body moving forwards without the lower half following proved to be too much for gravity and his balance, and the man found himself crashing to the floor with a heavy ‘THUD’. Like so many others watching, the lass had fully been expecting the man to get up once more and resume his bouts of drunken anger. However, what came next was met with unsuspected surprise from all around. Instead of preparing himself for another attack, he simply lay there for several ticks before he started sobbing.

The man was crying! What a drastic change of events that was! The sudden change of demeanour from the man elicited several cries of both surprise and mockery, with some laughing about the sudden turn of events. From what she could make out in between sobs, Poppy heard the name Maria being repeated over and over again. She’d seen this before. The man was grieving over a loved one.

Glancing around towards the earlier trio, the lass saw that the tension in their bodies were subsiding as they began to relax. Now that their father was crying, whatever danger there was before, must have been over now. Poppy heard the sharp and snarky cry of the older boy she knew as Raven as he began to yell that the show was over, and for them to come back the same time next year.

His words were met with an assortment of sniggers, chortles and a clap of hands, before all focus on them was lost as the tavern resumed its business and everyone got back to what they were doing before. Raven and the other older girl, Linnette grabbed their father by his arms, hauling him up to walk and they supported him, guiding him home. Dove was asked to stay away for now, in a further bid not to agitate her father further. Before long, Poppy was left standing next to the young Dove as she watched her siblings haul their father away.

The younger girl apologised, and Poppy waved it off with a grin. “There’s no need to apologise at all, nothing was damaged or broken, so all is well, I would say.” Dove then went on to explain to her about how today was the death anniversary of her mother, and because of her uncanny likeliness to her mother, she served a constant painful reminder to her father about the loss of his beloved wife.

The lass then spoke up. “I won’t lie and say I know how you feel, because I don’t. But what I do know is that although the dead may be gone, they always leave a small part of them behind in the ones they love. In your heart.” She paused for a moment before she added. “That’s what I overheard my ma telling my pa when he was grieving after the lost of her father.”