They were, technically, all out in town in order to buy the supplies that they needed for the next couple of shows. Sukeena usually just left that part to Natharie, though, and tended to wander instead. She wasn’t very far from the others—after what happened Natharie, subconsciously or not, liked to keep Sukeena in eyesight—but she still spent more time at several individual stalls than they did.
She also didn’t care that Umi was practically her shadow. It gave her someone to talk to when she saw something she liked.
“Isn’t that one pretty?” she asked, gesturing to one of the little figurines in a stall, though kept walking. It must’ve been around some kind of festival; not only were there more stalls than usual, but they were also all filled with their own little unique wares. She’d never been able to remember all of Qizar’s festivals, though, nor when they happened.
Umi gave an indifferent mumble.
“Come on, not even a little?”
“If it’s anything, it’s overpriced. I could make you something better than that for a lot less.”
“Really?”
“You sound surprised, even though you’re talking to the person that made your prosthetic.”
“Yeah, I guess you have a point there. What would it take to get you to make me something, then?”
“I’ve got the tools I need for carving, I just need some extra wood. I don't think it's worth it, though.”
“I bet it will be! What if you made some to hand out at the end of shows, too? Would knowing you get something back out of it make you more willing to try?”
He shrugged.
Sukeena, realizing Natharie was surprisingly close by, called, “Natharie, do you think we can get some wood for Umi?”
Now, Natharie’s nod was undoubtedly the absent not-really-paying-attention kind, but Sukeena still glanced over and smiled at Umi. She’d learned a while ago that that was his “I appreciate the thought, thanks” look.
Then something else came to properly catch Natharie’s attention. Three goblins walked up to her and started talking to her, the fact bringing the wandering troupe members closer to hear what it was about.
Sukeena walked up behind Natharie just in time for her to say, “Just saying that hardly makes me more inclined to listen to whatever else you want to tell me.”
“Natharie, do they want something?” Sukeena promoted in a near-whisper. She saw their collective hopeful gazes and asked a hopeful question of her own, “Do they want to join us?”
The three goblins must’ve heard her, because they nodded in unison and said, “We’re Miho, Ilathy, and Nillie! We saw a couple of your shows and we want to travel with you!”
Natharie glared at them before properly turning to Sukeena. “All they’ve told me so far is that and that they ran away. They’re not too interested in telling me anything else.”
“Well, how much harm could it do?”
“No matter what, I see no reason to trust three random goblins who won’t tell me anything about themselves.”
“We would,” one of them, who seemed to be the oldest, remarked, “but we don’t think it’s really necessary. We don’t have any stories to tell—our life was pretty boring, before we saw all of you perform.”
“How old are you?” Orith asked, observing them like he was trying to figure it out on his own to little success.
“They’re goblins,” Umi pointed out. “They could tell us one age and really be another and we’d never tell the difference.”
Still, the three of them answered in unison, “Twenty-four!” The younger-seeming of them added, “Don’t worry, we don’t have a reason to lie to you about that.” The other two nodded.
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“Even in Qizar, they’re legally allowed to be on their own, aren’t they?” Sukeena asked. “Isn’t the twenty-five thing just a religious practice?”
“Yes, but depending on the circumstances, it doesn’t matter,” Natharie said. “Age isn’t a factor in this situation—the reasons for their leaving, and how desperate someone is to get them back, is. And that’s not something we’ll know unless someone tells us.”
“No one’s going to come looking for us,” the goblin in the middle replied. “They all knew we’d leave eventually.”
The older one nodded. “We say ‘ran away’ but it was more like just leaving.”
The youngest chimed in, “We’ve been wandering around for five years now! If there was anyone who was worried about us, they probably would’ve caught up to us by now.”
“I still wouldn’t believe them,” Umi muttered. “There’s no telling exactly how much of this is true or not.”
Sukeena decided to stay stubbornly opposed and declare, “Well, I don’t think they have a lot of reason to lie. If they want to come with us, and they’re old enough, I don’t see why not. The closer we can get to what Dad had, the better.”
Natharie looked like she might’ve tried objecting though, realizing something in Sukeena’s expression, sighed. “There’s nothing I can do to convince you to think this over a little more, is it?”
“Nothing bad is going to happen. I’m sure of it.”
“Then I suppose there’s nothing I can do to stop you…” Natharie turned to the goblins. “Alright, by Sukeena’s request, you’re going to be able to stay. But I’m keeping my eye on you and you’d be better off telling me now if there’s anything you’re hiding.”
…
Over the years Insith was running things, plenty of children of Fleyw Bresh had joined the troupe. Sukeena still remembered each of their names, faces, and performances like every Seothian member. But she would be the first to admit that her understanding of Qizar’s beliefs was little more than “Orestis created everything, Danai is good, Eldrianna is bad.” Most of the children of Fleyw Bresh—and the handful of goblins or fairies, of course—had left because they didn’t believe in the same things. Some of them were shunned for reasons she didn’t understand. Others simply couldn’t put their faith in it. She would say the most religious child of Fleyw Bresh, goblin, or fairy that had been with the troupe was Natharie… and that was something that, as far as she was aware, only extended to acknowledging their existence only for high praises or curses.
So, that night when they were gathered near the caravan, Sukeena walked into a conversation she couldn’t even begin to understand.
“Why did you choose those names?” Umi asked casually, glancing at the three goblins.
Miho innocently smirked and replied, “Why do you think we’d chosen them?”
“I doubt your parents just so happened to deny a portion of Old Qizar’s beliefs to give you matching names.”
Ilathy grinned. “Well, that explains one thing! We were wondering if you were from Fleyw Bresh. You seemed to have the magic for it, but even Seothians have that nowadays.”
Nillae, though, actually got closer to asking his question. “We wanted to. Is there something so wrong about it?”
“Depends on how much you believe in divine retribution,” Natharie remarked. Sukeena was partially surprised that she was listening to the conversation at all—she looked busy with whatever else she was doing.
All three goblins looked at her and practically cheered, “You too? There’s a lot more of us than we thought there was going to be!”
Sukeena, without thinking too much about it, looked at Umi and asked, “You’re from Qizar, too? I figured you weren’t. You never mentioned anything about it.”
“I was about to ask that, too,” Natharie said. “I was beginning to wonder how long you’d be able to go without telling anyone.”
“Is it really that important?” Umi replied, not so much hesitant as he was annoyed. “I don’t hear you mentioning what you did before finding yourself with Sukeena’s father.”
“I wasn’t a random fifteen-year-old boy who’d apparently been wandering on his own before running into Zacharael.”
Sukeena realized what might end up coming and she was quick to try her best to stop it. “Hey, at least not in front of the new guys! Sorry, you three, we usually work better than this, I promise.” She paused. “But I doubt that’s going to really solve anything. Oh! Why don’t you both ask each other a question and the other will answer? That way you can know more about each other’s pasts in a non-hostile way.”
Natharie and Umi simply glared at each other for a moment, then Natharie asked, “So, what part of Qizar are you from?”
“Rahasari,” Umi answered simply. “My aunt took care of me. She’s the one that taught me what I know about woodworking and carving.” His own question was just as nonchalant as his reply, “What did you do before you stumbled into Sukeena’s father?”
“Nothing special,” Natharie mumbled. “Just an average girl from the Andrea Province looking for her place in the world.”
He gave a half-hearted laugh. “Well, sounds like we’re both not saying something.”
Sukeena cautiously glanced over at Miho, Ilathy, and Nillae, wondering if perhaps they’d change their mind if they saw this; they actually looked amused.
“This is going to be fun!” they decided in genuine laughter.