The Stumble Inn

Elena smiled at Kasei. "Yeah...from what I've heard, that would not be pleasant."

Kasei-La smiled, but it quickly faded when Hal came in. "Yeah, you do." He grinned, and picked Kasei-La up, slinging her over his shoulder. "Back to bed." Kasei-La sighed, dreading the fact that she would never get much taller, either. Hal turned to them. "I'll be right back." He brought her back to the bedroom, and tucked her in, before returning. "Ahhh, kids."

Elena smiled. "Yeah...they can be a handful." Her mind wandered to her own daughter in Port Royal, and her smile faded momentarily.

Hal smiled, and relaxed against the wall. "How old is yours, Captain? And... Have you ever taken care of a child before, Mel?" He pulled out a cigarette, and offered the box to both of them.

Elena put a hand up to refuse a cigarette. "She just turned one recently." She smiled again as she thought about her. "Her name is Samantha."

Wesa pokes her head into the door of the inn, looking around with wide blue eyes. She appeared to be a preteen girl at the moment with long curly hair framing her face. "Hello? Mel-Mel? Anyone?"


Mel turned away from the window, smiling at the visitor. "Hello, Wesa. Welcome back. We have visitors."

Hal blinked, and looked at the girl. "Erm, hello there. Wesa's your name, then? I'm Hal."

Kasei-La called from the bedroom. "Who are you talking to?"

"Go back to bed!"

"I'm not tired!"

Wesa bounced into the room, flashing everyone a (pointed)toothy grin. "Hello, hello! Hello again!" She giggled, rocking back on her heels. "Where are all of you from?"

"I am from the Terran Empire. The little girl you just heard is my ward, from Venus."

"I'm 12 and a half! I'm not a little girl!" Kasei-La called indignantly.

"You'll always be a little girl to me, Kasei-La. Now SLEEP."

"Never!"

Elena laughed at Kasei and Hal and then turned to Wesa. "I'm Elena..." She held a hand out to Wesa. "I'm from Port Royal...or...I guess the Caribbean."

Wesa skipped over to Elena and shook her hand. "Hello! Awesome! A pirate, right? I've read all about pirates! I love them. Adventure is awesome!" She giggles and then stops herself. "Sorry, I'm a little immature at the moment."

Hal stared at her for a few moments, and then blinked. "...You're not one of those kind of aliens that have a really weird life-cycle, are you? Or are you just a midget with some sort of psychosis?" He really didn't know better than to use the word midget, since it was never taboo in his universe.

Wesa glared at Hal. "I am NOT a midget! I am a moon, thank you."

"Well, you AREN'T wearing any pants, so I guess that's true." Hal chuckled at his little pun.

Wesa looked down at herself. "Why would I need pants? I've got a skirt. And fur."

"Well, skirts went out of style in the 1930s on Earth, so... Well, it's just unusual to see a woman in a skirt, especially with fur. Damn kids never get humour."

Wesa looked perplexed. "Well. . . humor? What were you joking about? I don't get it. . . "

Hal ruffled her hair. "Nevermind, kiddo." He sighed, and lit up his cigarette, remembering it was there, finally. Fourth one that night. "So, Wesa, do you know anything about the Terran Empire?" He grinned at her, he enjoyed telling stories to kids.

Kasei-La grumbled, and hopped out of bed once again. She wasn't going down that easy. She stepped out into the hall, and walked to where the others were. "Hal... I'll go to bed later. Like when you guys go to bed."

Hal looked back at her with a frown. "Fine, Kasei-La. Just remember, if you give me any guff when I wake you up, it's your fault for what happens."

Wesa glares at him. "I am not a kiddo! I'm probably older than you, you jerk." She grumbles to herself, finger-combing her hair back into place. "I don't think I care to know about your culture at the moment! Hmph!"

Hal grimaced, and then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Way to offend the ancient being, Hal." He bent down. "I'm sorry, ma'am, it's just that you look incredibly similar to an Earth child, and so I treated you like one on instinct."

Kasei-La giggled, and walked up to Wesa. "Heh, he treats anyone who isn't 18 like they're two years old. I'm Kasei-La, his 'ward', whatever that means. Don't treat him too bad, though. He's actually a nice guy."

Wesa crossed her arms and flicked her tail. "That's more like it. I'm a moon, you know. Sort of royal. But I'll forgive you, I am in my waxing days, so I am physically quite young at the moment."

Hal nodded, and then stroked his chin. "So... You age according to the moon phases, is that what you're telling me?" He eyed Wesa, now rather interested.

"Heh, puts a whole new meaning to 'monthly cycle."

"Kasei-La! That's lewd!"

Kasei-La sighed "Sorrrrry. But it's true though." She looked at Wesa. "Kind of a drag that you're not really a kid, though. I was hoping to have someone young like me to pal around with."

Wesa nods at Hal and turns to smile at Kasei-La. "Well, I'm a kid for half of the month, so that's good enough right?"

Kasei-La nodded, and smiled, before holding out her hand. "Friends, then?" She grinned. "I have a few cool toys left over from when I was younger and Hal still bought me stuff like that."

"Hey! I still buy you things. I just figured you were old enough to stop getting dolls for your birthdays, is all."

"Sure! I could always use friends. Couldn't everybody? Even the moon gets lonely." Wesa flashed them a huge grin. "Speaking of which, you haven't seen my guard around, have you? Green haired guy, very quiet and serious. We're soul-bonded and all, you think I'd be able to find him." Wesa sighed and shook her head. "Well, he does his own thing and I do mine. But I was sorta lonely today, and I decided to go looking for him."