RP:Back Home

Summary: A chance encounter with Callum, a reunion that is not so happy.

Wharf to Pier & Cenril's Inn

Callum didn’t get that letter that was supposed to be sent to him regarding Meri’s reappearance in Lithrydel. Sure, it was sent to his house, and then forwarded to Frostmaw, but Callum was already gone at that point. The need for healers during the tournament wasn’t as dire as it seemed and so Cal had just given up and returned to the deliveries he’d been doing again since he quit his job in Larket. Thankfully, a shipment of frostfire roses and other various frosty plants from the Frost Herb and Armor needed to be sent to Rynvale. So, here Cal was, standing at the beginning of the wharf, trying to find a ship that could carry him and his few crates of cargo to Rynvale. Sure, there was the transport ship north of the beach, but he didn’t trust them to care for the cargo as well as he could through them. People like those on the Tranquility, or other cargo ships, knew that the merchandise meant money and they’d care for it like it was their only child. Despite how much he offered to any of the first mates that he talked to, none of them seemed to bite--mainly just because they were already full with other cargo and couldn’t take on anymore. Callum looked hesitantly towards the Tranquility, but didn’t even bother going near it. He wasn’t going to ask Brand to do this thing. Brand had a kid on the way and a woman to take care of. He still hadn’t even gotten around to asking him about fighting lessons, and now he wondered if there was even any point. He pressed on though, trying to find -someone- that could take him on for the short trip, even going so far as to upping the amount of gold to the thousands.

Meri knew that word had been sent to Cal, but it wasn't enough to keep Meri holed up on the ship. Waiting for Cal to make an appearance did not feel like the right answer and so Meri would make good on her promise to leave the Tranquility as soon as she had spent some time with the healer, slept, and had a bath. Meri wasn't entirely sure if she should start with the house in Larket, or if she should drop by the one in Sage. Meri wasn't entirely sure about a lot at this particular second, what is one supposed to say or do in a situation like this? Hi babe, missed you? One thing that Meri was sure about was that she would have a bit of a journey to figure these things out....but she is mistaken in her confidence on this matter. She barely makes it off the wharf before she encounters Callum, and the woman almost didn't notice him because she was not expecting to run into him in this place of all places. When it does finally dawn on her that the face she is looking for is right there on the wharf, her heart just about stops from nervousness. Did he get the letter? And decide to not come to the Tranquility? There was only one way to find out. So Meri approaches Cal slowly, both nervous and excited, which makes her also feel like she is going to end up throwing up on his boots. Hi feels so trite, so Meri ends up not saying anything when she's in Cal's line of sight. He gets this mousy half-smile to start.

Callum’s problems with finding a ship didn’t get any better in the time it took Meri to realize he was a lot closer to her than she thought he’d be. The poor guy had let a bit of stubble peek through--we’re not talking a wizard beard or even the bit if facial hair that Brand keeps, but more than anything the usual clean-shaved Cal kept around for too long--and he sort of looked like a homeless person, except in nicer clothes. The clothing was somewhat dirty though, from the wyvern and carriage rides here, and that stubble wasn’t helping things. What? No. I didn’t steal these herbs. No, I didn’t steal these clothes either. Had it really been so long since he worked here? A lot of these ships’ crew were brand new, so anyone he had connections with were long gone by now. Callum would sigh heavily and wave off the most recent attempt at boarding, only for him to turn and catch sight of a blonde. It wasn’t just any blonde. It was -the- blonde. -His- blonde. Her uncertain half-smile is noted, and she’d get one of his own in return. Was she a ghost? Spirits and undead followed the Tranquility as if Death himself captained it (maybe Brand -was- Death himself. Wouldn’t that be funny?). Raven eyebrows twitched, rather unsure whether or not they should look surprised or concerned, and his eyes started getting all misty. He didn’t say it, but those ocean-blues of his screamed out ‘Are you real?’.

Meri has grown to know Cal enough that she can at least somewhat decently read his emotions, perhaps not perfectly but she is only human and no one is perfect. In this moment she has a pretty good sense of what the guy is communicating with his misty ocean-blues, and so she'd move even closer to him to close the distance. The blonde pauses a few inches in front of him, really taking in the details of Cal's current state, the stubble on his face and the slightly dirty clothing. Meri doesn't care though, once she has absorbed those details she steps even closer to wrap her arms around him in a tight hug and burying her face in is neck. She's not really keen on breaking the hug, but she'll have to at some point. After lingering in the hug for awhile, Meri will pull away and try and smoother Cal's stubbled jawline with a few kisses. Finally she'll actually speak, "You didn't get the letter." And try and head off any questions that Cal might have in advance. "I haven't been here long. A day?" Her hold on the Catalian loosens at this point, taking a step or two away and trying to claim a hold on his hand instead. "I missed you." If this was not already apparent. "What are you doing here?" Hopefully this confirms that at least one ghost has not followed Cap'n Death and his lady home.

Callum’s entire form is stiff as a corpse as Meri hugged him, and only grew moreso as she buried her head in his neck. But, she didn’t take a bite like some undead would be tempted to, and when she pulled away, he suddenly felt awful for suspecting as much. He’d let her take his hand, but it was only so he could grab her and pull her into another hug, as if in silent apology for the lack of one just moments ago. “No letter, but I’ve not been home. I went to Frostmaw to help heal with the Tournament. It’s not over with yet, but they didn’t really need me. So, I started doing deliveries again, and there was one to go all the way to Rynvale. You know how the passenger ships can be with cargo, so I was trying to get someone to help from over here.” He paused, drew in a deep breath and sighed finally, “I missed you too.”

Meri swallowed hard when Cal pulled her in for a second hug, quickly reverting back to feeling that same a mix of emotions the felt when she first Cal today. The hug is reciprocated but Meri doesn't try and linger in it nearly as long as the first one and it's not followed with kisses or hand holding. A month is a long time to be away from someone, maybe she's being too forward. Nerves are starting to get the better of her, Meri taking another half step away from Cal so that she could look at the various ships floating in the docks before they finally come to rest on the Tranquility. She did not dwell too much on why Cal might not have asked Brand, that reason was obvious to her. "I'm glad to hear you've been trying to keep busy while I've been gone. Healing. Deliveries." Meri's gaze turns from the Tranquility and back to Callum, shoving her hands into the back pockets of her pants and she scuffs the heel of one boot against the ground. She was fidgeting, making it obvious those nerves were getting the better of her. "Have I missed much else? How are things in Larket? Are you still living there? Or did you settle back into your other house?"

Callum frowned at the way Meri pulled away, but he didn’t force her into another hug. He was having similar thoughts: a month was a long time, maybe she felt differently now. But then there’d been the kisses and such, yeah? Oi. Relationships still weren’t any less confusing to the poor guy. “There was this one guy… Trent? Blonde guy, kinda shady looking. He was asking about you.” A friend, he’d said. He was starting to fidget now too, her anxiety causing his own to surface. “I couldn’t really settle at one place or the other. It’s ultimately why I went to Frostmaw. That and the healing thing, of course… because I thought it would be something you’d want me to do. To help people.” He let out a dry chuckle, “Turns out, most of them have their own healer friends, more or less, and didn’t want to deal with an outsider.” He shrugged, seemingly unbothered by it. “You look well enough for being over there. Did they take care of you on the ship?” He motioned to the Tranquility.

Meri has had more practice at these relationship things and they still don't get less any confusing for her, but she tries. "Do you want to go somewhere else?" Meri motions around the docks. "I mean I guess we could stay here talking, but what if we take a walk to the Inn? Get a bite to eat? And maybe a room, because it sounds like you've got some work out here you're trying to take care of?" Meri held her ground as she waited for Cal to decide yes or no, but if it rated a yes then she'd take hold of his hand as they made the walk to the Inn. Regardless of the decision, Cal would get his answers. "Yeah. They took care of me on the ship. It really could have been worse, a lot worse, but I had some help when I was out there from Khitti's family." Even with Callum she'd be tight lipped about what really transpired, she had to be. "Plants in the Shadow Planes are not nearly as kind as the plants out here." Nothing in the Shadow Planes is that kind, Meri frowns as she recounts. "I am glad you're healing. I would want you to do it, I think you should keep at it. It'll take time to get your name out there as a competent healer." But it's not like the lands don't need them. "Trent...he's alright. Just, if you ever see him again. I'd be careful around him."

Callum would nod and lead her on to the Inn, assuming she could come back and grab her stuff later from the ship, if indeed any of her stuff survived the trip there and back. “Food sounds good.” Before they fully left the wharf though, he’d grab someone, offer them a thousand gold to ever so carefully transport the crates of herbs from the wharf to a spot out of the way, and to let him know where that was going to be. As Cal and Meri carried on away from the wharf, he nodded a bit more, seemingly pleased with her answers. Khitti’s family is over there? Weird, but okay. As long as they helped her. Plants in the Shadow Plane are definitely weird and he’d not like to mess with them. As for Trent, he seemed a little off, “I guess. Kinda odd that this guy would just show up out of the blue looking for you. For a bit there, I thought he had something to do with Kahran. No clue if he’ll actually come looking for you again. I’m not sure where he is now. He was a little upset when I said that you were gone and that people were trying to save you, but I didn’t tell him where and that he just needed to sit tight. He wanted to know about Khitti too, where she was, how he could find her. I was absolutely not going to tell him that information either.”

Meri is not as trusting as Callum. Whomever he is offering that sum of gold too is met with a mixed expression, and Meri is not shy about making this mistrust subtly known. She was a psion, she'd try and convince Cal, and it would be easy for them to move the cargo temporarily onto the deck of the Tranquility for a little bit. It's not going to be long. Maybe a day? Surely Khitti and Brand would forgive them for using the ship as a temporary storage place while they caught up and had some time to themselves. Ultimately the call was Cal's, he could fork out the gold if he really wanted to....and, while Meri does not say as much, she'd knock some skulls in if Cal did not get his goods back safe and sound. Once the details were worked out, Meri would give Cal a more in depth answer about Trent. "I met Trent just outside Cenril, on the bridge. I used to like the draw there a lot." She has actually met a few people on that bridge that way. Khitti ruined that spot for Meri, thank you very much. "He's cursed. And the last time I saw him he was killed. Supposedly. But I think that is part of his curse. He is also an amnesiac and really knows nothing about his past. The gauntlet on his hand? It can't be removed and it has a mind of it's own. Trent on the surface seems like he is 'good' but I am not entirely convinced. He has had moments were he has blacked out and has been completely manic. We went to the Xalious mountains once to try and find some answers, he feels like the key to his past is there. We found something, but they weren't the answers he was hoping for."

Callum would eventually let Meri do as she wishes with Cal’s stuff. He really only did it so she wouldn’t exhaust herself so soon after getting back, but she was determined to do it. The poor guy that didn’t get the gold at least got a much smaller amount for his trouble. “Ah. Seems the cursed thing is just about everywhere, I guess. Not really sure if that’s a good thing or not. I try not to think about it. I don’t really have the stomach to deal with it.” Khitti, for the record, ruins a lot of things for a lot of people. It’s a skill. An unwanted skill, but a skill nevertheless. “I’m not so sure I’ll be inclined to point him in your direction any time soon. I didn’t really care for the digging he was doing on you, and then me, because we’re together. He found me at the house in Larket as I was getting ready to leave.”

Meri forgives Khitti, mostly because it's not like she meant to burn to her death on that bridge. With the matter of Cal's cargo taken care of, Cal and Meri were on there way. She did not seem as concerned about exhausting herself as Cal, though she probably should be, but this was Cal and keeping his belongings safe was important to Meri. News that Trent had found Cal out in Larket brings a frown from Meri's lips. "Ah, it is probably for the best that you do not. When we went out to Xalious, I saw these figures. He says that he did not. They spoke to me. He says he heard nothing. They told me that if he ever gets his memory back, he'll kill me. So while it is true that we that we were friends, he's met with more caution now. I don't know if it would be wise to point him in anyone's direction. Mine or anyone connected to me." Meri sighs, because this really is not a charming 'welcome home' conversation. "Anyway, I don't really want to think about any of that right now. I'm home. I'm here with you. All my friends are safe. And every step we take brings us a little bit closer to ice cream."

Callum merely nodded in agreeance with Meri on the subject of Trent. No, definitely not someone to be trusted. He’d certainly turn him away the next time Trent managed to run into him. “You asked, so…” he’d say in response to her not wanting to talk about it. He’d fall silent for a bit, occasionally eyeing the beach. It’d been awhile since he’d been here; he actually missed the ocean. “Sorry,” he finally said at length, “I’ve not really talked to anyone in a while, unless it was necessary. I guess I’m not sure what else to say. Nothing’s really happened since you’ve been gone. That’s not a good thing, of course.”

Meri also nods, she did ask this was true. Cal falls silent and starts to eye the beach occasionally, and while he is doing this Meri is watching him and trying to get a read on the guy. His apology felt worrying to Meri and it caused the woman to chew on the inside of her lip. The Inn was within sight and soon they'd be at it's door, but Cal is given another thoughtful look and Meri brings herself to a halt before they even reach the establishment. "Do you...maybe not want to get dinner then?" the tone of her voice was a confused and concerned one. "We don't have to if you don't want to. Same with the room. I mean, you do have a job you were working on...and I did interrupt that...So..."

Callum shook his head. “No, we can. I sent word to the guy in Rynvale that it’d take a few days, between the traveling from Frostmaw to here, and getting the boatride there. You can go with me too, if you want. It’s been awhile since you’ve been on the island, and the sun might do you some good. The apothecary’s in the forest, though, but we wouldn’t be there for too long, and then we could stay somewhere in town. That’s up to you though and how you feel--physically and mentally.” He may have only been there once, but Cal knew that the Shadow Plane was no picnic. Meri was not supposed to have stayed there as long as she had. She hadn’t been prepared. He was worried about how her mind might be after all of that, but he was afraid to ask. “Come on.” Callum continued on into the Inn, moving to the counter to get them a room before heading towards the cafe part of the building. “Get whatever and however much you want. I’m sure you’re starving,” he said as he sat down, pushing one of two menus over to her.

Even if Cal had asked, Meri probably would not have been able to give an accurate answer. Everything was fine, at least as far as she was aware at this moment in time. When they are seated and looking over the menus Meri answers, "I mean, I am pretty sure you know me well enough to know what I am going to say. Of course I want to go with you. I suppose if I end up feeling tired at any point, then I don't have to travel all the way out to the apothecary with you? But, if it will put your mind at ease that I'm not straining myself too much, I could go home and wait for you to come back." She wouldn't be super enthused about it but she'd do it. As for what Meri orders? She's not looking for a light dinner, that is for certain. Stew. Bread. Etc. Meri was a little bit more concerned with the deserts (of course they're not at the best place in Cenril for sweets, a certain bakery takes the title in that department). "It feels surreal being back here. Like this isn't real, like at some point I am just going to snap awake and be back in Khitti's home."

Callum shrugged, “You know I’m not gonna say no.” He certainly knew better when it came to Meri; he assumed she’d likely want to tag along, especially after being gone for so long. “We’ll take things how they come. I s’pose with the two of us, we won’t need to worry about getting passage on one of the cargo ships. The two of us should be enough to watch over the stuff I’ve got to ship over there.” There was a faint smile as he realized she was looking over the sweets. He wouldn’t have been opposed to going to that certain bakery, but she likely wanted her foodstuffs now, and going to the other place meant more of a walk. Maybe they’d grab something for breakfast there before they went on to Rynvale. “Khitti’s home…?” It took him a moment for it to register. He vaguely remembered her mentioning something about the spectral home that’d been a mirror of Khitti’s town on the island. “Oh. Well. You’re not there. You’re here. And we’re going to Rynvale and then we’re going sunbathing on the beach because, frankly, I’m damn tired of the snow and cold.” His tone was stern, but not in a bad way. It was more of a ‘we’re doing these things and it’s going to help you feel better’ sort of way.

Meri smirks toward Cal, because she did know that he was not inclined to tell her no. "I think you've probably told me no once." Even that was debatable, Meri probably could have argued and may have gotten her way but leaving Larket shortly after Valrae's death seemed important to Cal. Talk of Khitti's home in met with a nod but Meri does not expand further, there was a clear hesitance in speaking too much about anything related to her stay there. Thus far, she seemed comfortable with offering up little snippets at a time. A lot of people might have broken down in tears by now, recounting every detail about their traumatic experience. Meri seemed to be doing the opposite. "I've missed the ocean. And the beach. And the sand. And the sun. And of course you. So all of this sounds amazing." She understood what he meant with his stern tone. "Maybe I'll drop by the shop and see if Lita's not in." She probably wasn't. "I wonder if Eleanor's still out in Rynvale, or if she has migrated back to Cenril." Meri starts to eye one of the waiters, "Do you know what you want? I'm starved."

Callum really only had that argument with Meri because he was more concerned about her than his own well-being, even though he knew she could take care of herself. Valrae could take care of herself too and see what happened there? Meri’s hesitance was noted, but he didn’t press further. If it was something that bad, he’d not want her to continue on that topic until she was ready. “Eleanor was in Frostmaw, actually--and I heard people in the tavern talking about how she just showed up out of nowhere through a portal with some priestess and some ridiculously stoic, grey-haired fellow. I saw her skulking around the seating area during one of the matches, however. The match itself was… interesting.” He’d not go further down that train of thought unless she asked. “Not sure about Lita. Haven’t seen her since the dragon eggs thing.” He’d finally stop talking long enough to eye the menu, “Hm. I’ll just have whatever you’re having. I’ve not had any specific cravings lately.” Stew and bread and dessert would definitely hit the spot. One of the waitstaff would come, and their orders placed, and then they’d be left to their own devices again until the food was ready.

It would not be long for the waitstaff to return, stew was one of the easier orders to fill and the Inn probably had a large pot over a low fire in the back. A few minutes, they did have a couple other tables that needed to be tended to. News that Eleanor has been seen with a grey-haired warrior is met with a lofted brow. Meri can already think of one person with grey hair that would be described as ridiculously stoic. Why Eleanor was keeping company of someone who tends to fly so straight and narrow....Well Meri does not vocalize that thought, but her expression doesn't hide it either. Talk of Lita is met with a 'hm'. "That whole egg thing just ended up being a waste of time..." Meri recounts with a bit of a snort. Their food arrives at this point, a bowl in front of each of them. "I think that....Despite how much I've missed you, if you still want to assist the contestants by healing them afterward up in Forstmaw, you are going to have to keep making those trips on your own. I don't know if it is a good idea for me to make my way up to Frostmaw." Meri lifts a hand to rub the side of her neck, specifically the side that is marked with that wolf tattoo. Their fix for any shenanigans was executed. "And I think you should, after Rynvale." The stew in front of her is eyed and Meri wastes no further time, she dives right in, ripping off chunks of bread and dipping it into the broth. Yum. She'll make quick work of that bowl of stew.

Meri spoke and said her piece with regards to Frostmaw, then started digging into her food without much hesitation. The words ‘despite how much I missed you’ is smirked at, somewhat bitterly. She couldn’t have missed him much if she’s forcing him away to Frostmaw, yeah? Literally -the- frozen wasteland of Lithrydel. The situation with the red dust had long since been cleaned up by Lionel and Hudson, though the only thing that Cal really knew about it was the fact that he’d not heard anything about drugged up addicts wandering around Frostmaw--and now he’s actually been there and seen it. “Alright,” he finally said at length. He wasn’t going to argue; he was too tired for that right now. Briefly before, when he’d found out that she was gone, he wondered if she were even in the Shadow Plane. His anger and constant moodiness had certainly driven a wedge between them, even just the tiniest bit. He wasn’t going to let his anger overtake him now. He was past that. It was not a side of himself that he liked and he wasn’t going to let things fuel it anymore. Just as hungry as she was, or at least close to it, he didn’t say anything else and started in on his own meal as well.

Meri saw the smirk. Prior to this moment, there had not been any realization that a wedge has been driven between the two of them. Cal’s anger was concerning to her, enough that she had tried to talk to him about it, but she was concerned because she loved the man and wanted to see him happy. Not angry. There were of course several factors contributing to this anger, rejection to Mage’s guild, etc. For the first time ever, Meri feels like one of those factors. She has only been back in his company for how long? Things felt tense at their table. They felt tense from the first moment she even tried to hug him. Seeing Cal again played out in her mind several times a day while she was gone. In none of those scenarios did Cal smirk at her bitterly like that. Meri had thought they had moved past awkward in this reunion and hoped they could move into happy. Meri certainly did not want Cal feeling anger or annoyance. Especially at her. Especially so soon after coming home. There were days where Meri wished she could read minds. She can’t. She can only try and urge the guy to talk, “Cal...? Talk to me.”

There had been a wedge, of sorts, considering the fact that they’d had a huge fight they day Valrae died and it was never truly resolved. But, Callum wasn’t actually angry right now, contrary to popular belief. He just sorta blinked at Meri mid-bite, clearly confused, “What? You seem to want your space and that’s fine.” He shrugged, finished what was on his spoon and continued, “You can go find Lita and Eleanor and I’ll take care of my business in the forest, and then I’ll head up to Frostmaw afterwards. I don’t particularly care to see either of them, so I’m completely okay with this.” There was no tone whatsoever to indicate that he was actually upset at the moment.

Maybe Meri was just misreading the entire situation. Cal did not seem outwardly angry, but that bitter smirk he sent her way seemed to have suggest that something was wrong to Meri. Any appetite she has has been forgotten, her attempts to eat abandoned shortly after she caught sight of that smirk. Meri was usually good about keeping her emotions restrained, but she was still physically and mentally exhausted and this....tension....was the breaking point. Today she is going to be the girlfriend that ends up crying over dinner. Those tears are triggered by the claim that she needs space. At least it is more of a silent cry, she is not sniveling and dry heaving and making all the tables stare. Probably at least one table is gossiping their predictions of an impending break up. “Callum Rochester. I have not seen you in how long? I don’t know what I have said or done to make you think I want space. I don’t want space...I greeted you with hugs and kisses. I suggested we come here? Dinner and a room so I can have another night to rest before we try and take care of your business? I am not going out to Rynvale because I want to see Eleanor and Lita...I brought them up because I was excited to be home and to have the chance to see them again. The entire reason I am going to Rynvale is because you have business. If you had no business? I would be going back o Larket with you to try and spend time. Because I want to spend time with you first and foremost? I brought up Frostmaw because I was trying to be supportive of your recent endeavors....but also I am trying not to be dumb and reckless because I just got back so I thought maybe if you did decide you want to proceed with that, maybe it would be smarter if I stayed home.” Because sure the druggies have been addressed. Don Santiago was never the one who marked Meri though, not that Cal would know this because at the time they had agreed she would keep that secret so that she did not drag anyone else into trouble...”I don’t want space. I don’t want space at all. I am starting to feel like you want space though...”

“Have I said I wanted space? Have I gave any indication that I wanted space from you at all?” Callum put down his spoon, ocean-blues settling on Meri. He felt a little bad for making her cry, but damn it he didn't do anything wrong. “Let's start from the top, okay? You were in the Shadow Plane. You and I both know what happens over there. I got no letter because I wasn't home. I thought you were a ghost, or worse, some sort of flesh-eating ghoul. Things are frakked up over there--I’ve been there so I know. So, you hug me and I'm a little hesitant because hey guess what? I don't know frak-all about undead.” Cal tried to speak as calmly and as slowly as possible without making it seem like he was trying to be condescending or whatever else Meri might misinterpret. Because he wasn't. “So, I soon realize my error, grab you, and hug you back. You pull away with something obviously on your mind, but say nothing about it. So things continue and you want me to go back to Frostmaw. Without saying why. You say you want to go find Eleanor and Lita. I can't frakking stand either of them, and you know this, so I obviously wouldn’t be going. So I'm led to believe you want space. Which is perfectly fine because you've just been through a hell of a thing and some people process that alone. You did with Khitti's death and Valrae’s and I respect that, so I thought this was no different, given the way you were acting.” Cal sighed heavily, “I love you but this constant miscommunication of ours and the lack of using words when we're both gifted with silver tongues is going to be the death of me, Meri.” Not -literal- death, mind you.

Meri listens to everything that Cal says before answering back."I don't know that trying to analyze every single way things in this situation were perceived incorrectly is what we need...But there are a couple of things I would like to say. Starting with....I did not actually say I wanted space either. And just like things I may have said led you to feel like I did...Things that you said or did led me to feel a certain way. Neither of us are doing this intentionally, but we're both guilty of misreading the other right now. I can respect that you did not get the letter because you were not home. I did not expect you to stay home all hours mourning over me. But I hope you can see how it would be a nerve-wracking situation for me. I think if the roles were reversed you would have been filled with the same nervous doubt. I was not thrilled when you went stiff as a corpse, but I also did not say anything because I wanted to try and move past it." She did suggest dinner and a room so they could snuggle up. "I wasn't sure if you thought you were seeing a ghost, I was not sure if you had moved on, I was not sure if I was just being too touchy-feely...because we have established that one of us is more physical than the other. You did grab me again, yes. And yes, I was not sure how to articulate my concern on that. I didn't want to say something to make you feel bad. I certainly did not assume that you thought I was a ghoul trying to eat you. I can't read your mind, babe. Sometimes I wish...." But she can't. So she wouldn't know about the doubts that Cal had as to if she was really stuck in the Shadow Planes, nor does she have any concrete notion of this wedge formed over a fight that she had ultimately thought was trivial. She had thought they had moved on and were going to get a puppy. "I love you too and I am trying really hard to do this communication thing. We're both gifted with a silver tongue, yes. I don't use mine to talk about myself though. I use it to learn about other people...I'm not perfect but I am trying to do right by you. Anyone else and I would have stormed off by now...." A beat. "That being said...I would like us to get out of here." Us. Tears have been had, people had seen this, no crying in the club.

Things -did- need to be analyzed, however. Their communication issues were numerous. And, no, Meri couldn’t read minds and likewise Cal couldn’t either--they were frakking human after all--but this is why Cal pointed these things out. He was giving her -his- side of things first because she clearly wasn’t going to. That fight had not been just a trivial thing. Trivial things are arguing over who ate the last of the ice cream or who left toothpaste in the sink again. Arguing about whether or not it was a good idea for Meri to leave Larket, in the off chance that Josleen would’ve jailed Cal, giving Meri the chance to rally some people together to save him? That’s not trivial at all. And it bothered Callum because what if something -had- happened? They’d both be sitting and rotting in that jail cell right now, likely next to burn at the stake because they voiced their standings in the matter of Valrae and her execution. Definitely not trivial. It wasn’t a huge something or a huge wedge, but it was enough to bother him--and likewise with Meri going to the Shadow Plane. Would she have been lost if he’d have been there? There’s no telling there. Callum listened to Meri though, and nodded at length. Now wasn’t the time, if only because Meri -did- just get back from the Shadow Plane after a month long ordeal. Now wasn’t the time, because he needed his rest and to get that cargo over to Rynvale. Who knew when the time and place would be? Not Callum. Too many things were happening. Things that are, things that were, and things that have not yet come to pass. He’d take another bite of his stew, sigh in that tired way of his, and get up from his chair, “Come on, then,” and led Meri off to a room so they could both finally get some sleep.