The question was rhetorical, giving her time to think. Kira never expected to see the wanderer she'd met during the adva ka again. As helpful as he'd been, he wasn't high on her list of people to keep track of.
But maybe that was her antisocial nature coming out to play.
"I guess Pallas really is your seon'yer," she observed.
The wanderer ventured further into the room. Unlike the last time they'd met, there was no hood with weird shadows to obscure his features. Like all Tuann, he looked deceptively young. His ears pointed and his age somewhere in his early twenty’s human-wise. Older than Devon but not by much.
He had white blond hair that was short except for two braided locks that hung near his temple. His hazel eyes were striking against his darker skin tone. The contrast made his appearance memorable.
Kira now understood why he'd chosen to use a cloak and hood during the adva ka. His face was the type you didn’t forget. For someone like him who drifted along the edges of society, that could be dangerous.
It was better to keep a low profile until he had the power and strength to protect himself.
His armor was of Tuann origin. It had been repaired so many times throughout the years that it looked like a patchwork quilt. The result of being on his own in a violent universe with no House to protect him or proper resources with which to fix his armor.
Still, she could see the care that had gone into maintaining it. Likely hours of intense work to get his welds perfect.
"You doubted me?"
Kira shrugged, restlessly swiveling the chair back and forth. "Don't take it personally. My history with Pallas makes it hard to see him as any sort of mentor."
Unless he was teaching someone how to be the most extreme and crazy person in any room they walked into. Pallas would be perfect for that.
There was a trill from the hallway. A second later a creature the size of a small cat glided into the room. It landed on the wanderer’s shoulder, hooking its claws into the collar of his armor and hugging his neck with its tail. From its perch, it regarded Kira through eyes the color of gemstones.
"Hello, little one," Kira greeted with a soft smile.
A series of whistles came from the lenacht. A greeting.
In Tuann, lenacht meant blessing. The Mea'Ave's blessing. They were born only once in a great while, for the purpose of going out into the universe. A seed, ferried by their chosen guardian. In this case the man in front of her.
He would convey the lenacht to a destination of its choosing where it would then take root to become a new Mea'Ave. The source of the Tuann's strength.
Strangely, Kira was a quasi-god parent to the lenacht. If the wanderer fell or was unable to continue in his duties for some reason, Kira would be the one to step in and pick up his mantle.
"The last time I saw you, you had just turned yourself into millions of sparkling lights before diving into his body," Kira said conversationally.
At least, that’s what had seemed to happen.
Currently, the lenacht was a lot more solid-looking. Crimson danced along its paws and the horns on its head. The rest of its body was a whitish blue. Its lower half similar to a lu-ong's with no back paws. Just a serpent-like tail that it thrapped against the wanderer's chest in happiness.
The wanderer cupped the lenacht's body, shifting it higher on his shoulder to a position that was more stable. "Using me as a temporary host after its birth was necessary for it to gather strength. As long as it is in a healthy state, it will remain in this form."
The lenacht nuzzled the wanderer's cheek.
"It's Lathan." At her questioning look, he added, "My name. I'm assuming you didn't know."
"I didn't ask."
Mostly because she didn't care. He seemed like a nice enough person. Or as nice as someone apprenticed to Pallas and fighting for survival could be. But Kira's attention span was finite. Particularly in times of crisis. She only had so much to spare for people and things that didn't directly affect her or her goals.
That's just how it was.
To say nothing of the fact that names held a certain significance. Attaching a name to a person meant you knew them on some level. It made it more real when something bad happened to them.
Kira had more realness in her life right now than she could handle. She wasn't looking to add to it.
"No, I suppose you didn't," Lathan agreed, showing no offense at her rejection.
Well, well. Wasn't he just the understanding sort?
Lathan patted the lenacht absentmindedly. "I didn't expect to see you here so soon. I thought the meeting would take longer."
Kira’s body tensed. "You know about the forty three?"