Kieran had expected this on some level, and let the woman voice her concerns. “I can understand why you would want her to be free from the war, but keeping her in the dark about her existence is not a blessing. You said that I told her such things for my own personal gain, but that is not the case. I didn’t ask her to join my side. I told her what she was so she could make the decision for herself, because like it or not, your daughter is an adult.” Kieran accepted the tea, and took a sip before he continued.

“Yes, my side would benefit from Anabelle’s help, but there is a lot more than that at play. She needs to understand what she can do, so that she can control it. Even if she does not use her gift for the war, she should understand it well enough to help those here, and to keep her abilities under her control rather than living in fear and doubt of what she can do. I offered her information, and help with learning her abilities. But of course, I don’t know healing as well as you do, Madea. Had I known that you were the same, I would have suggested that she turn to you as a mentor. Because letting her go around with no control will get her discovered by authorities here, or leave her open to attack by those involved in the war.”

“Finally… if our enemies came here and found her…I don’t care how long you have been hiding in this world, I am sure you understand as well as I do that she would be taken. There would be no question as to whether she would help their cause. She would be taken by force, and you would never see her again, probably never even know where she had gone.” Kieran lowered the tea to the table once more. “She might be able to fend them off, but once she was found, it would only be a matter of time before they came back with more forces. Then she would be thrust into the war with little understanding of her own abilities, and cause much more harm than good.” Kieran didn’t like speaking about Anabelle as if she wasn’t in the room, but he had to relieve Madea’s concerns as well. Surely the woman understood the gravity of the situation, and that she couldn’t continue to have her daughter hide out as if she was completely normal.

-.-

“That’s…interesting.” Rhys admitted, though she liked the bartering idea much more than she vocalized at the moment. This town…honestly it sounded like a place she might want to stay. She hadn’t interacted with many of the people yet, but she felt like…if it was everything that Devon seemed to make it out to be, she might be able to let her guard down a little, and actually relax. Devon took care of the ordering, and she followed him over to the bench, sitting across from him at the table. She was surprised by how much there was provided. “Thank you.” Rhys chimed in as well. 

She ate mostly in silence, enjoying the variety of food that was provided. When it was finished the man from behind the bar came up to gather the tray, asking if there was anything else that they needed. It was a subtle, and polite way of also asking how they planned to square this away. Rhys answered first this time, getting up the courage to actually speak, which was tough for her. “It was lovely, thank you very much. I don’t need anything else, and I was wondering if there any dishes that needed to be washed, or other tidying that I could do?” She questioned, her voice wavering a little. Somehow, she imagined that he would demand something less wholesome in exchange for the food, and it took a little while to remind herself that this town was not necessarily like that. 

The man nodded, accepting her offer. “Yea, we’ve got some dishes in the back sink, soaking already, but they could use a good scrub and dry. And if you could get your dishes as well…” He requested of the girl before turning to Devon. Rhys didn’t mind if he helped her in the back—it was really whatever they agreed upon. She stood up with the tray, though, and went through the door that led to a kitchen. The dishes weren’t that bad, and she assumed that this was likely a common way for people to pay for the meals that they took. There were some cooking pots and cutting boards, and she slipped in the dishes they had eaten off of before rolling up her sleeves and getting started. The dishes wouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to wash, and she let them all air dry until she had finished the washing, that way part of her work was done, and she didn’t have to go back and forth with washing and drying. 

The woman from the counter came into the back and helped her put things away at the end, so that they were all in their proper place later. When the dishes were away, the woman thanked her, and told her to have a good evening, releasing Rhys from the debt. It felt weird to Rhys, for the meal to have simply been covered by something she could [i]do[/i] and she liked it a lot. When she left and encountered Devon once more, she was actually smiling. “I think I like this town.” She admitted.