Tinania of Naxen sat outside under the shade of one of the large blooming trees in the courtyard, thankful for the warm weather, which meant she didn't get sick as often now. She was singing a song about the spring she had learned at the convent as she had a small tablet of sorts in her lap and was sketching the Palace, her concentration fully on her current task and when a shadow blocked her light source, did the noblewoman look up.

Garrett decided to take a walk. He didn't really have much else to do. Really, the man was a knight. Why didn't he have anything else to do? Shouldn't he be off on some heroic deed or something? That's what knights did, right? After six years, people would assume that Garrett knew something. All he really did was amble about. Sometimes he was sent on errands, but that's about it. His stepmother was after him to get a wife, but Garrett didn't think that was going to happen anytime soon. So, in his doing nothing, the knight decided to take a walk.

It was during the walk that he spotted a young noblewoman sitting under a tree, drawing something. Presumably the palace, since that was in her view. She was also singing a little ditty. Garrett noted that she had a lovely voice. Upon closer examination, he decided that she was a Naxen. She looked a bit like her brother, which Garrett had met in the hallways some time ago. The man had no idea whatsoever as to who she was. He wasn't even sure if he knew all of their names. After a moment's hesitation, he made his way over to her.

Standing in front of her, he bowed slightly. "My lady, how do you do?" Garrett hoped she wasn't stuck up like many of the court ladies. He didn't want to be stuck in proper speech for eons.

Tinania's eyes drifted over the man whom addressed her and she smiled gently, bowing her head to the side shyly. " I am well, my Lord. Just outside and enjoying the beauty of a clear spring day." She replied, setting the sketch to the side and rising to her feet a bit shakingly, as she had been sitting awhile and her legs were a bit stiff.

Her eyes were full of a child's curiousity and a moment later, the noblewoman curtised in perfect convent fashion. " I am Tinania of Naxen, whom might you be, my Lord?" She asked in a soft tone, as she tended to save her snotty and superior attitude to those beneath her, save for her personal servant.

The lady began to get to her feet unsteadily. Before she could rise any further, Garrett assisted by giving his hand. "Yes," he agreed, "it's splendid out. Good after the dreary weather."

Garrett loved the look on her face. So flirty. He didn't mind that one bit. "Let's do away with the my lord nonsense. I'm not a lord yet. That would be my father. My name is Garrett, by the way," the knight said with a charming smile.

So she was a Naxen. It seemed his guess had hit the mark. "You're Surion's sister?" It was a question, but said more like a statement. "I met him not too long ago." The man didn't really know why he was talking about her brother. A subject, he supposed. Until she gave him something to go on.

" Yes.. Surion is my elder brother. I am his second youngest sister, only older than our eleven year old sister Tomoko, whom is a Page here at the Palace." Tinania replied, brushing a strand of hair behind her ears. Everything about the female was almost doll like and fragile and gentle, as a high bred noblewoman should be. Her manners and ettiquette were as perfect as the Convent taught and her shyness actually was not fake, she really was shy to a point. " I am just Tinania, or Nani among my close friends and family."

Brody walked through the courtyards as he tore pieces from a leaf. He paused a moment, letting the remains of the leaf fall to the ground as he heard voices. Recognizing one as Nani's and another as some male, his eyes narrowed. Brody walked to where he had heard the voices coming from. He smiled as he saw Nani, though at the sight of another nobleman, jealousy rose into Brody's throat like bile. He walked behind Nani, placing a gentle hand on her back as if silently telling the other man to back off. "Hello Nani, I'm sorry I've been so busy lately. My father is...unwell."

Garrett gave a ragged grin. Maybe one day... he thought. Aloud he added, "My youngest sister is also a page. And my brother a squire." The knight wondered if the lady's shyness was real. They must teach that in the convent. Not every single lady on the planet could exhibit the same qualities as another. There were a few exceptions, his twin, for example. She still spoke her mind, but now she was married. So maybe that changed something.

Garrett's thoughts were interrupted by another man that he didn't know. It seemed that Garrett didn't really know many people around the palace lately. Were they all new or was he just loosing his memory? Grinning slightly at his own thoughts, the knight finally noticed the protective stance the other man had taken over Tinania.

The other man didn't even bother to greet Garrett. Rather rude, he thought. Judging by the tone and the usage of Tinania's "friend" name, the noble must be fairly close to the woman. Garrett detected a little jealously and noted it with raised eyebrows. This man was certainly quick to judge.

Quickly getting over the rudeness, Garrett introduced himself, giving the slightest bow. "Garrett of Linshart. I don't believe we've met before."

Tinania was about to reply to Garrett when she jumped as Brody seemed to materalize out of no where and she noted the tension in his touch. She noticed the other man seemed a bit put off by the fact he was ignored and she knew Brody was being rude and gently elbowed his side. " Brody, Sir Garrett and I were just discussing our siblings." She said to the Jesslaw man then hearing a famaliar voice in the distance, she smiled. " Don't be shy sister... come join us!" Nani called out to a figure nearby.

Having been just outside looking for her younger sister to give her the medicine she would need in case her allergies acted up later, the Healer was not expecting to be drawn into a conversation but joined the group none the less. She smiled to Nani and bowed her head politely to Brody then turned to Garrett, not familiar with him and curtsied politely. " Hello Sir Garrett, I believe my brother had mentioned you to me and I recognized the badge on your tunic... I believe I have seen a sibling of yours in the infirmary before... I am Xi Fang of Naxen, but Xi works well enough for me." She replied, tucking a long and oddly blonde curl behind her ear and smiling kindly, without the shyness her sister had exeibited.


((Thank you Cor for pulling Xi in here ^_^))

Brody flashed an apologetic smile at Nani before bowing in return to Garrett. "No, I don't believe we have. Brody of Jesslaw by the way." He said, relaxing slightly. Brody did not fully relax, however until Xi Fang came along. He smiled at the woman as she walked up. Brody liked even numbers.

Another person was invited to the conversation by Tinania. This time her sister. A lovely sister. Who was not shy at all. Garrett took a liking to her right away. Quite the opposite from both of her family members that he had met previously.

Giving her a grin and a slight bow, he replied, "Lovely to meet you." Then, hearing her belief of seeing one of his siblings, he laughed. "Probably my brother, Hamlin. He's always getting into some bit of trouble. Come to think of it, you could be seeing Kacy. I hear she's a small handful these days, too."

The other man, Brody, seemed to relax a bit when Tinania reassured him. Or whatever it was that she did. "Nice to meet you," Garrett responded to his greeting. He did not even make an attempt to bow again. The noble made it clear he was uncomfortable with Garrett's being there. Oh, well. That was his problem.

Garrett thought back on what the women had said and wondered how they knew he was a knight. He didn't remember saying it, but maybe they kept up on court things like that. Yes, that was probably it. Garrett didn't have the knack for that. That's why he like introductions so much. They told exactly what position everyone had. Garrett frowned slightly, puzzled with his own logic. He liked it when he knew everybody's titles, but never gave out his own. He barely ever said his family's fief, Linshart. As heir, he really should be doing more of that. Garrett quickly changed his chain of thought away from getting older. Right now, he should be focused on the present.

"You're a healer?" the knight asked Xi Fang cheerfully. Anything to start a conversation.

Xi smiled at Brody and her sister then offered the Knight the same smile as she nodded her head. " I am actually. Have been since I came from the convent. Not to brag or anything but I am the only one in my family that can speak three languages fluently. I can speak Tortallan, Yamani and Gallan. Language, healing and music have always been passions of mine since I was a child." She shared then noticed the man had looked a bit puzzled when she and Nani had called him Sir.

In all honesty, Xi called all the men she seen in the Infimary as Sir or Young Sir to Pages and Squires. Being she was close to Surion and he had mentioned Garrett in one of their conversations over tea, she had assumed this man to be him.

" Just to clear up any confusion from my part, I call all noblemen that look the part of a Knight as such and I believe you are the Garrett my brother Surion mentioned to me a few weeks prior. If I have offended you in someway, I do apologise." She replied and unlike most convent women, she did not shy away but simply kept her gaze up and on his face.

Despite her difficulty with men, she had grown a bit less timid in the year since she was widowed. She was fairly certain it was no lost knowledge of her marriage and most noblemen left her be, thinking her as damaged goods.

"Three languages. That's quite an accomplishment." Garrett himself knew at least that many. Not easy to learn. It wasn't something most would boast without something to back it up.

What the lady said next pleasantly surprised Garrett. "Do you read minds too?" he asked with a laugh. "That's exactly what I was just thinking."

Surion seems to be talking a lot about me, Garrett thought. Odd. Why somebody else should have that much interest in him, was quite beyond the knight's thoughts. "I seem to be meeting all of the Naxens lately."

As he was thinking this, Garrett was thinking about how much he liked Xi Fang, despite only knowing her for a few minutes. She spoke up more than her sister, which was a bit surprising. The knight had heard bits of the lady's history from his step-mother. She disapproved, but that was exactly like Jacqueline. Getting her approval was a rare thing indeed. Garrett didn't want to make any assumptions, for obviously his father's wife was very wrong. If he was lucky enough to get to know Xi Fang better, she could tell him what had happened in her own words.