Alex was a little bummed to find out he missed them dancing. Even in the bar when some folks were starting to get buzzed and some very danceable music had been playing, there had only been brief moments of that activity. A few steps shared between people who were definitely, without a doubt, sleeping with each other but not otherwise involved. A pirouette that almost ended in a table being knocked over. It had left him curious as to what dancing looks like for normal Tsla’o, not on a stage or surrounded by other nobles and senators.

Now, Keta and Desata were sitting on the steps, leaning on each other. The light drizzle they had arrived with had turned into pouring rain. They looked drenched from a good five meters away.

“I don’t think they will be trouble, but stick with me while we get this sorted out, alright?” He directed that to Kanath, standing on the other side of the doorway, looking out at the pair with him. Alex was careful to ask. He always asked anyway, but Kaseya had followed him out here, which meant Nata and Tado were along for the ride as well. That meant being particularly careful about spilling details, like giving someone orders.

He just hoped that no one found it too odd that he was taking point here. Alex bolstered his own defense should anyone start questioning why he was ordering people around. “I think I’ve gotten to know them pretty well on this trip.”

“Of course.” She gave him a nod.

Alex hadn’t planned much. Just pop out and check up on them, politely request that they come on inside and warm up. Should be straightforward. Easy. He pushed the door open and was greeted by the sound of almost maniacal laughter filtering through the downpour.

Well. That wasn’t the best sign.

As he approached, the weather quickly soaked his jacket and seeped into his t-shirt. It was maybe nine or ten out here, max, and the water was wicking the heat from his body by the time he crouched down on the deck behind them.

Keta’s shoulders jerked as he laughed, the sound stuck somewhere between humor and anguish. “And he said.. He said, I do not care what you do. I do not want to see you again, get out of my house. You are a failure and I hate you.”

Yikes. He cleared his throat. “Heeeeey. Keta, Desata. Weather is getting pretty nasty out here, why don’t you both-”

“It was an accident! Just a stupid broken flue. But that is all it took.” Another peal of reedy laughter, followed by a deep sniff. “They did not want me, and I have not searched for their names. I do not want to know they lived.”

Alex glanced over his shoulder at Kanath, who had a rainproof coat. Even had a hood. Man. He reached out and set a hand on each of their shoulders. Their jackets were ice cold and wet under his hands, both of them shivering as he gave them a gentle shake to get their attention. “Guys? This weather sucks, come inside.” Rain streamed down his face, most of his upper body soaked already.

Yeah they weren’t going to get that turn of phrase even if it made it through the translator, but they’d get what he meant.

They both turned to look at him, registering a dull sort of surprise that there was anyone out there with them. Desata was first to really recognize him. “Lord Sorenson? When did you get here?” She said, cracking a wide smile. She spoke slowly, plainly. “We have wonderful news!”

Tsla’o looked kind of creepy when sopping wet and smiling. It wasn’t so bad in the shower, or even in the baths after being momentarily submerged. This was soaked all the way through, the fur that had produced a lot of definition in the face matted down leaving them looking gaunt, which made the smile take up entirely too much of their face. “That’s great, let’s talk about it inside, in front of one of those heaters.” And wrapped in blankets if they have some to spare, and drinking more piping hot tea.

“Yes, there is!” Keta chimed in, realizing that there was something better to talk about than what seemed like a very dark point in his past. “I have-”

“Royal decree: all wonderful news has to be discussed indoors. Let’s go.” He didn’t think that one through, it just flowed from him. “Hurry up, I want to hear this!”

Neither of them seemed bothered by that glib use of his power, if he could even do such things, but it actually got both of them up off the steps so he didn’t care. Alex gestured for them to follow, standing and backing towards the door to ensure they were actually coming alone before turning to usher them inside.

A quick scan found the seating area to the right mostly unused, just a middle-aged fellow trying to translate something with one of their shiny new datapads. “Ok, let’s park you two right here by the hearth and get you warming up first.” It was a large, simulated wood stove - dancing lights inside replicating flames, an element producing the heat, and a fan to move it. The settings were easy to find and he cranked up both the temperature and the fan and got them settled on the floor right in front of it.

The two of them were both dazed and dripping rainwater on the floor. They still weren’t bothered by the whole soaked to the bone thing, or the visible shivering. They just seemed to be happy to be with each other. “Should probably hang your jackets up, too. I’ll take care of them and then we can discuss this news you two have.”

They were perfectly happy to hand their coats off to him, heavy with water. They were, thankfully, wearing a socially acceptable amount of clothing under those jackets. Both of them wearing something more like a sleeveless compression shirt than the wrapped daman that Carbon usually wore. These were also soaked through.

There didn’t actually seem to be anywhere to hang the jackets up around here so he just laid them down next to the fireplace. This was weird. After the hot spring, Keta had been almost afraid to approach him. Understandable, considering Alex overheard Keta call him weird and knew that he was involved with the Royals. While they had both become more accustomed to being around him and Carbon, there was still a rigidity to their interactions that seemed to be entirely gone. They barely reacted to his presence unless he was talking.

He knew how Humans should react to dropping body temperatures. One of those things they taught him to help stave off death in emergency situations back in the Scoutship program. “Kenath? Symptoms of hypothermia in Tsla’o?”

“Ah... Shivering, slow reactions, dulled senses, euphoria.” She looked the pair over and her eyes slid back to Alex. “Shall I get the doctor?”

“Or one of the nurses. Whichever is available first.” He took his own jacket off, not nearly as wet as theirs, and tried to wipe a spot on the floor dry before sitting down next to them. The two had gone back to talking with each other, softly now, though they still shivered and looked like drowned rats.

Alex looked around to see if his entourage was still here. Nata was easy enough to spot, just outside of the seating area, Astada had just laid his head down on her shoulder and gone to sleep for the moment. Kaseya was standing beside her and peeking up over the back of a couch.

He made eye contact with Kaseya and waved her over, the sassy child actually hurrying as she threaded through the seating area, Nata following at a casual pace. “You know the situation here better than I do, is there any chance these two could get some towels? They are a bit damp.”

You treat kids like adults, there’s a pretty good chance they’ll act like adults.

“I can!” She nodded, resolute and full of purpose before turning to Nata, “where are the towels?”

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“Let us check the kitchen, there should be some smaller ones. Otherwise we will have to go to the bathing house.” She smiled faintly, ushering her sister back to the community kitchen. The weariness was still there, but she appeared buoyed by Kaseya’s enthusiasm.

All right, all forces at his disposal marshaled into active directions, appropriately delegated to people who would know how to take care of them. Wait. Shit, was this what Eleya wanted him to be like? When had he done stuff like this before? Not like he had ever been in a situation like this. Was this just what having authority was like?

Keta sneezed and sniffed again, bringing Alex back to reality. He was just working with what he had. If nobody else was there he’d be getting a nurse himself and hoping they don’t wander off. He’d be the one digging around in the kitchen for dish towels. “All right, so what’s the good news?”

He had a suspicion about what it would be, and maybe 50/50 odds if it would stick once they were warmed up and thinking clearly.

“I- I suggested that we get entwined.” Keta was shivering worse now, teeth chattering as he spoke, shaking hands clasped around his fiancee’s hand. “And Desata accepted!”

Yup, that was it. They both looked pleased as could be about it, at least. “Well, that is great news! You two are a really great couple.” While Alex was hedging his statement there to avoid saying anything that might pressure them into keeping that choice, it was true. They did seem to be a great couple and despite having only known them for a few days, he was reasonably sure they would actually work out long term. If a hypothermia driven marriage proposal was something they wouldn’t rethink, anyway.

“It is... It is wonderful. I had thought about asking in the past, but never knew when.” Desata was on the same path as Keta, shivering harder now, both of them starting to look a little less out of it and a bit more miserable.

Kenath’s timing was impeccable, returning with the Head of Medical in tow.

“Sorry to be a bother, could you check these two over? They were outside for quite a while.” Alex did feel a certain amount of responsibility for them. He was the one that suggested they let crew members come down, after all.

He was the Crown Prince. If he was taking that seriously, he had a responsibility to everyone in this giant yurt, in this little town. The entirety of the Empire. As far as he understood the whole idea of being a Prince, at least.

It was a smidge unsettling. He’d deal with that later.

“Certainly.” His words were guarded, wary about his use of language around Alex.

Keta and Desata were perplexed about why they were getting looked over as the doctor got to work, but they went along with it anyway. A quick check of vitals, eye dilation, mobility in the extremities. He seemed to know what he was doing, working quietly and quickly.

Kaseya erupted from the kitchen with an armload of towels and ran all the way back to them, wide-eyed and still hyped about helping as she distributed a stack of what were clearly kitchen towels to the patients. She had a task and she was doing it just as hard as she could. Nata followed a moment later with a pair of mugs, Astada’s fluffy head still resting on her shoulder as he slept.

They were confused as to why they were being given towels but gratefully accepted the hot tea, dulled senses in full effect as they apparently didn’t feel wet. Kaseya was happy to start drying their faces off herself, in the meantime.

The doctor returned to Alex, Kenath stepping over to hear the conversation as well. “Your guess was correct, they have mild hypothermia. Body temperature is just about three degrees low for both of them, but they should recover without issue as long as they warm up quickly. Their fur and clothes are going to be an immediate problem for that, but apparently there is a laundry in the same building as their shower facilities here.”

Alex got the hint. “Alright, I think we can take care of it. Thank you, doctor.” He gave the doctor a bow and he departed. Alex wasn’t about to ask refugees for clothes, but this town was apparently brand new and their facilities looked modern enough to make a request to use the showers and a laundry dryer feel pretty reasonable. Also wasn’t going to ask children about that. A little help finding things just felt different from asking if they could take them who knows where in the village to use facilities that might have limitations he doesn’t know about.

Fortunately, people who would be able to make calls like that were coming down the stairs right now.

Carbon was looking for him as the group descended. He assumed as much anyway, as she was the only one scanning the open area - everyone else was chatting among themselves or watching the little clinic that was ongoing. She was just about to wave to him when she caught the entire scene he was sitting in. The doctor walking away, one of their security team standing beside him, Desaya being furiously dried off by an unknown child while Keta sat beside her. Both of them partially undressed and still shivering.

It probably did look kind of suspicious from overhead. He smiled and gave her a little wave anyway. A friendly wave, not an overly familiar one. She waved back.

Part of the group peeled off to see how the check ups were going, the remainder headed for the front door, which was conveniently near where Alex was, particularly after he hopped up and put himself between them and the exit. The small group - all of six people now - stopped just before him.

Alex started off with a nice formal bow directed towards Mayor Akaso. “I am very sorry to interrupt, but a couple of our group spent too much time in the rain, would it be possible for them to use a shower to warm up?”

“Oh, of course. There is a community bath directly behind the great house. You just...” He petered off, gesturing back towards the stairway, lips pressed tight in thought. “It is around the side, down the hallway and out the door. There is a covered path to it.”

Alex looked to where he was intimating, seeing absolutely no ‘around the side’ or hallway. There wasn’t even an emergency exit sign over there. “Well, sure. We’ll figure it out, thank you.” He bowed again and saw Nata edge into the corner of his vision, eyes darting over to the star-struck girl.

Everybody else saw her, too. The entire group had turned their attention to the kid, who was staring at Carbon.

“Nata, are you feeling all right?” The Mayor recognized his people far better than he gave directions.

“You, ah... Lan Tshalen has a bit of a fan here.” Alex turned to Carbon and nodded towards the fluffy youth now standing beside him.

This motivated her to act, bowing deeply but carefully - Astada never woke despite having come along for the ride. “Hello, Lan. I learned about you in school, before... before everything.” She ran her words together, voice squeakier than usual. “It is wonderful to meet you in person.”

“Please, so formal a bow is not necessary.” Carbon smiled, in full public relations mode already. “I seem to have made an impression despite never having met you before. Nata, was it?”

She nodded vigorously. “Nata Haksha.” And then she bowed again. “I did not think I would ever meet a Lan, let alone one I knew of. I wanted to go to the academy, to follow your path. I... I do not think it is possible anymore.”

“Perhaps.” An older voice joined the conversation from the back of the group, clearing her throat to punctuate her statement. “As I do not need to tour a village I live in, perhaps young Nata could take my place. I will watch Astada and Kaseya, and show these miserable folk to the baths. If the Lan finds that acceptable?” The woman was nearly solid silver, a little flash of green fur still visible atop her head. She pointed to Keta and Desaya, who despite having somewhat dryer faces now, did look pretty miserable.

“I see no problem with it, Clan Mother. Do you have any objections, Nata?” Carbon turned from the old lady to Nata, waiting for her reply.

“No, none.” She could not get that answer out fast enough. “It would be an honor.”

“It is decided. Let me have Tado, carefully.” The Clan Mother stepped up, and with the Mayor’s help they successfully transferred the carrier Astada was in without waking the child up. Despite her obviously advanced age, she didn’t appear to have any problems carrying the weight.

“Thank you, Clan Mother.” Nata bowed to her, not as deep this time, but still with strict formality.

She waved the youth towards the group, apparently having roughly the same attitude Carbon had for all of the bowing. “Go, make sure they do not miss anything.”

There was just a hint of mischief in the way she said that.

The tour group departed for the front door, and Alex gave Carbon another wave as they went past. Carbon waved back with a little laugh and a smile that was a fair bit more than friendly. Nothing too obvious, of course. But it was affectionate, bordering on flirty, her eyes crinkling as they might when you look at someone you are very good friends with.

Nata was the only one that caught it, eyes going wide as she looked between Alex and Carbon rapidly before they disappeared out into the rain.