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"How was school, honey?"
She tries to make the kids' favorite meals on their first day of school, but when she asked Iomedae's favorite meal the girl first stared at her blankly and then after some extended clarifications proposed that they could roast a pig, and she can't actually roast a pig, so dinner is pork chops, and potatoes, and salad from the farmer's market. Iomedae is not a picky eater.
(The girl is in fact clinically obese. The doctor suggested they talk with her about cutting back on junk food, but the social worker said that was a bad idea, with a kid new to care - don't restrict her food access at all, just get her more exercise. So Jenny signed her up for swim lessons at the YMCA and for track and field at school. Iomedae balked at the swimming lessons on the grounds that swimsuits were immodest, and they do actually make hijabi wetsuit things but apparently not in her size. Hopefully track and field she'll actually enjoy.)
If Iomedae said that at home he'd probably just laugh and tell her not to die on him any time soon but she's being like this in front of his coworkers.
Why are they upset about this trivial and obvious statement. "...I do not plan be foolish. I will no go to Hell, fight Satan, until very strong."
Three rounds back Roger noticed she was really tired and asked if she was done, and she gasped out, "Three more!" because that's what she says every time she's asked if she's done. Her dad says you're not learning unless you're tired and you're not growing unless you want to quit.
She taps the top corner of Roger's shield just enough to make him put it over his eyes and then steps sharply to the right and throws the wrap juuust far enough that it'll hit the unarmoured section on the back of his thigh, right underneath the bottom edge of his shield. As soon as he yelps acknowledgement, she's already going in for the hug. "Great fight!!"
Then she takes her helmet off immediately so she can wipe all the sweat out of her eyes, and looks around for somewhere to collapse exhaustedly, and - NEWBIE!! THERE IS A NEWBIE!!
Lucy considers it her SACRED DUTY to make sure she, with her long ponytail and her slight stature and her voice that she can't get to drop below a bright soprano tone no matter how hard she tries, is VISIBLE to new fighters just in case anyone ever thinks that they won't be able to fight because of their body or their identity. (She cries whenever she sings One Of Us.)
"Hello!!" she says as she bounds over. "Welcome!!!"
Most women don't fight because they are weaker than men and less possessed of the martial virtues. Iomedae has spent her life petitioning to be an exception but she has never entertained the claim that this would work out for most people. She heard the high voice and assumed Lucia was a younger boy. But no!
"Hello! God glad we meet!" Aaand she doesn't know the knight's name at all - "This great man say me the rules."
Okay, not what she expected to hear but the important thing continues to be that she has a SACRED DUTY to be nice to the newbies even if she has absolutely no idea how she is supposed to feel about claims that God himself has taken notice of who she meets.
"I'm glad to meet you too! I'm Lucy - uh, or Lucia. Are you new?"
Belatedly, Lucy looks sideways at Sir Gabriel for confirmation she isn't interrupting anything important.
He is still kind of stuck on the whole thing where Iomedae is a holy warrior who thinks she will die for God by fighting against Hell. That's.... not how anything works. Magic is real but he's pretty sure Hell is not real. (Or he really, really hopes Hell is not real!)
"Um, Lucy, do you actually want to show Iomedae the free donuts? I should catch up with Robert, we work together."
Iomedae will delightedly be handed off to the girl her age who fights! "Thank you sir, God greet you in Heaven!" and to the girl, "I am Robert foster child. And Jenny foster child - that is Jenny there. I want to join an order, I am a holy warrior."
Lucy is nineteen but honestly looks like she could be fifteen. She will excitedly take Iomedae to the folding table where somebody has left a tray of free donuts.
...she did not just openly say that openly what the heck - okay Gabriel isn't freaking out so clearly this is fine somehow - is she just really into her persona?
"Say your name again slowly? Aye - oh - med - aye? Is that... Greek?"
"Iomedae! Pretty name. I also do not know Greek! I totally wish I did though, such a gorgeous language. Don't even worry about it, you don't need to - I mean, I picked an Italian name and I've got no connection to Italy at all besides liking the food."
Lucy needs a donut inside her face right now. She selects one with yellow icing and inhales a quarter of it.
"So you're here to fight, or do you have interest in other things too? I do some medieval cooking!"
"I don't know what - other things - there is. I know there is no religion. God smile on lots things but I only like ones make me stronger."
"Oh! Well, in the SCA we do re-creation of any activity that people did before the year 1600. There's rattan fighting which is what we're practicing now - there's rapier too but the rapier fighters meet at a school - and people do sewing, weaving, dancing, brewing, bardic - that means poetry and music and storytelling - and equestrian and calligraphy - people make scrolls to give out as awards - and archery and smithing and heraldry. You can do whatever you're passionate about. There's people in our area that whittle period flutes, and make Arabic coffee, and paint maps, and all sorts!"
She caught very few of those words but it seems unlikely to be productive to repeat them all in a quizzical tone. "1600 since God came to Earth as man to save us?"
"Um, I think it's supposed to be sixteen hundred since Jesus'.... either birth or death I don't remember? I usually just call it the Common Era."
The Empire counts time from the Starstone but it makes sense to Iomedae that this place would count from when God as a human came to them. "I think understand. ...you fight. You in fighting order?"
Lucy is a recent addition to a fighting order and incredibly proud of it. "Yes! I recently got my Order of the Silver Osprey!"
She digs underneath her gorget and pulls out a small medallion that she was wearing, hidden, underneath her plastic breastplate and her tabard. It is white enamel and shows two birds, both holding a golden sword between them. There's a massive grin on her face as she angles it towards Iomedae to show her.
Iomedae can't think of an English word for what she wants to say, not at first, but her delighted intake of breath is expressive.
"Every bad thing in every land or sea fear you, all angels sing! Good! So good!"
This is a level of effusive praise that makes Lucy turn bright red and duck her head for a second, but she comes up with an even bigger grin. Gosh, if every angel sings about her Silver Osprey, then she can't wait to hear what will happen if she ever gets knighted or something. Maybe it will be like a Disney movie and adorable small animals will start dancing around her.
"Well, I'm not sure every bad thing fears me," she says, suddenly shy. Now she's anxious in case people think she's getting big-headed, and wants to deflect a little, though she's still grinning like an idiot. "I think they'd fear Sir Gabriel a lot more - he's a knight. Do you want a donut? They're for everyone."
"Sir Gabriel?" she asks, pointing at the knight in very good steel. "Bad things sure fear Sir Gabriel. ...Jenny worries I eat donut." Indeed Jenny is watching somewhat tensely, though she hasn't actually said anything.
She will confirm that that is Sir Gabriel with a nod.
????????
"Oh I'm so sorry, are you Coeliac or something? I think Nicole said she was bringing some fruit or something but she isn't here yet." Nicole's mundane job sometimes keeps her really busy.