Hammer time (Per Tea's demands)

SHIBA KLEIN

A few brief moments passed where Shiba wondered if the woman would turn away and disappear in the mist, but as her words cut across the distance, the pale woman turned and started towards her. She could feel Mikko’s presence at her side, and though he said nothing as they waited. He rarely said much, which she sometimes found irritating, but in situations like this she couldn’t help but feel grateful that her companion didn’t feel the need to insert himself into every conversation when his input wasn’t yet needed. Reuniting with her family after her most recent departure could prove to be a delicate situation, and she didn’t think the man knew the meaning of the word. He was all rough edges and blunt speech, which was something she could appreciate under the right circumstances, but now was not one of those times.

The woman spoke, her introduction confirming Shiba’s suspicions, though she wondered where exactly the girl fit into her admittedly large family tree. She’d been absent enough that she’d not had any chance to learn with any level of certainty which of her siblings had found their way here, let alone who’d had a chance to have children. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Recluse. I’m Shiba Klein, a daughter of Hamilcar and Iber." She spoke her parents' names not as a way to declare her status among the family, but to try and quickly convey to the woman before her who exactly she was. She could assume Recluse was a niece based on what limited knowledge she had of who had been around before, but there was no way to be sure without knowing who her parents were. Her hope was that the sooner she was able to identify herself as a Klein, the sooner she could start on her path to rejoining them all and finding her place among them once more.  

"Speech."