Vanyel walks over and tries to smile reassuringly.

"Herald!" the girl in front says, sagging with obvious relief. 

"Um, we found out you were here and came to rescue you," Vanyel says. "We won, everything's going to be all right. I'm Herald Vanyel and this is–" oh gods this is so awkward now, :um what's your name? And your friend's name?: 

She flashes a sign at her companion, who points at her and says "Xaari Deskyl," then at herself and says "Dee Zee Du-Desimt Cue".

Vanyel nods and tries to smile at the children. "Right. Er, and another Herald and some of the Guard are coming." Flash of inspiration. "Why don't you come over and sit with my Companion?" Kids like Companions, right, that's a thing?

It seems like Yfandes is one of the less scary things around, at least. If Deskyl can get the other doors open, then Vanyel can lead the other children over and get them all sitting down and put a heat-spell nearby, he's not sure if they're shaking from cold or fear but it is a bit chilly and they're not warmly dressed. He gamely tries to talk to them until reinforcements arrive. 

Reinforcements arrive another few minutes later. If the other white-clad Herald and the half-dozen blue-uniformed Guards accompanying him on horseback are surprised at Deskyl and Dee Zee's appearance, they don't say anything. The Guards just exchange terse nods with Vanyel and then spread out to search the area, while Herald Jores takes over sitting with the children. 

Which leaves Vanyel standing around awkwardly, unsure what to do with himself next. 

:Why don't you speak with Deskyl?: Yfandes suggests to Vanyel, privately. :We do still have a lot of questions, and the emergency's over: 

So Vanyel squares his shoulders and heads her way, trying to steel himself – she helped him, sure, but she's also terrifying. He clears his throat, and offers her a waterskin. :Thank you for you help: he sends. :Er, can we talk now?: 

She takes a sip from the waterskin and offers it back before closing her eyes and slipping inside his shields again. :Sure.:

Vanyel looks around for a place to sit, and spots a log by the nearby firepit. He heads over and hunkers down. 

:I wanted to ask you some things, but you might have questions for me too so we can alternate if you want: he suggests. :Um, so, you said you weren't actually here about the kidnapped children. How did you end up here at the same time as me, then?: 

She leans on his senses a little to follow, rather than open her eyes. :The Force is like that.: The Force being magic as she sees it, wild and unlimited and at least slightly conscious.

:I've never heard of the Force before: Vanyel admits. :I think you must've gotten here from somewhere far away. Is it sort of like a god?: The only things he knows of that work even a bit like that are gods, and the Web in Valdemar, which is partly the miraculous creation of a god.

(If Deskyl is curious, she'll be able to skim some fragments about both of those from Vanyel's mind, though they're sparse because he doesn't know much about them either.) 

:Different world, pretty sure. Sort of like a god, sort of like the laws of physics.:

Vanyel stares at her, the idea of another world is obviously a startling one, but he doesn’t pursue it further for now. 

:Is that how your powers work as well?: he asks. :With the Force?: Which would mean it exists here in Vanyel’s world as well. Right? Probably? 

(If Deskyl is paying attention, she’ll notice that now that the battle-adrenaline is fading, his thoughts are tinged with a background pain-loss-grief, though whatever the source is, he’s keeping it shoved away in a deep dark corner. On the surface layer, he’s mostly feeling nervous and very self-conscious - he’s suddenly the one responsible for making a good first impression to someone from another world, who’s more powerful than him to boot, how did that happen?)

:Yes.: She's starting to flag herself, though the result of that is that she calls on the Force for support, not that she shows it in any outward way - she'd probably be close to collapsing if she didn't have that option. Still: :Explain later. What now?:

:Well, I think the plan is to bring the children back to town once they’re calmed a bit - um, I don’t know if the Force is calling you to go somewhere else: having a source of power that's something between a god and the laws of physics dragging you wherever you’re needed sounds even more exhausting than being a Herald, :but if not you could ride back with us and grab a hot meal, and there’s a Healer there–:

Oh. Right. 

He gulps. :I, er – I swear I wasn't trying to be rude, I didn't mean to read you, just, you weren't shielding: she can glimpse in his embarrassed surface thoughts that he considers this a massive faux pas that she'd be well within her rights to be upset about, :and I know it's none of my business, but, um... Are you injured? It looked like there was something... If you were in a battle somewhere else before this and then the Force dragged you straight here, er, you'd be welcome to come back to town with us and rest for a few days. I mean, the town does sort of owe you for helping me out just now, I think: He ducks his head. :If you want:

She seems a little taken aback at this, and takes a few seconds to get her immediate hostile reaction under control and think about what she actually wants to do. :No healer.: She's firm to the point of threatening, about that one. :Do need to rest. Droid learn your language - we're not going back.:

:Oh. Um, that's fine, of course: He's pretty sure he just put his foot in it, maybe he should have just pretended he didn't notice, but then again he seems to do that constantly and half the time he doesn't understand why so he might as well just feel vaguely embarrassed about it and move on. Also it wasn't clear if she knew that not shielding here means anyone with Mind-Gifts can see it and now she knows at least.

:I can help with language! Um. What's a 'droid'?: Also he still needs to clarify what a 'Sith' is but he's trying not to make the additional faux pas of asking more questions than a person can answer at once. 

:Droid,: she sends - her metal companion, and others like her, mostly much less human-looking, all of them powered by something like tamed lightning and a special language that she knows very little about without, somehow, being magical at all; she tries to keep the fact that she's in love with this particular one out of the impression she sends but only mostly succeeds at it. :Person,: she adds, as if that needs clarification.

It had not in fact crossed Vanyel's mind that the silvery humanoid wasn't a person, she moves and interacts like one and there's a mind there even if he can't actually read any of it. :Neat! Are droids a species that someone made, then? We have some intelligent species like that in my world but usually they're made originally from other animals, using magic... Um, sorry: It's such a fascinating and exciting concept. 

Behind them, the children are being rounded up and carefully, one by one, deposited to ride in front or behind of one of the mounted Guards; there are enough Guards that all the kids get a seat, the brave little girl in particular riding with Herald Jores. 

Vanyel clears his throat. :Deskyl – or should I call you Xaari – anyway, um, would you be all right to ride up behind me on Yfandes? She can carry us both easily and get back to town fast: He glances over at the droid before remembering that she can't speak the language yet and he's not at all sure Mindspeaking to her would work. :Can Dee Zee move quickly on her own – if not, is she heavy? Er, and she is female, right?: The silver body is feminine but he's not at all sure that's an assumption he can make with a species made of metal and tamed lightning. 

:Female, yes. Heavy for her size but within human range. I'll run if you're out of room.:

Vanyel glances around hopefully, but they do in fact seem to be short one horse in order for everyone to have a spot to ride double. He offered Deskyl first because, while she doesn't look particularly tired or haggard, he still wonders if she could use rest more than she's letting on.

:Er, maybe you and Dee Zee can take turns?: he suggests. :And I think they left a few extra horses back where the reinforcements were staged, so when we get there we can nab one, it's about halfway: 

:Don't argue with Sith.:

:Um, sorry!: Dee Zee can ride Yfandes on the pillion-pad behind him until they get to the staging point, though, and when they do then Deskyl can grab an unused horse if she wants or she can suit herself and run the whole way. 

Still, he's really confused and keeps putting his foot in his mouth. There's some sort of context he's missing. :I wanted to ask what 'Sith' means: he sends. :Since we don't have Sith in this world: His best guess is that it's either a generic term for someone who uses the Force – someone Gifted with the Force? he's not clear on how that works – or else a specific school of practice. 

:Type of Force user. Emotion makes us stronger, less stable. Sith use it. Jedi don't. Enemies.:

She can be kind of touchy and she's scary and so he doesn't really want to ask, but he grits his teeth, it might turn out to be relevant. :Er, is it important that I know anything about what Jedi are? Or no, since they're from your world and aren't here?: