#toa/gilded crossover

[honeyxmonkey]

[long sigh] I think I need to join a support group for people addicted to writing aus.

The bell over the door rang. Lorraine barely looked up from drying dishes, calling, "Welcome to the Wild Swann Inn, I'll be with you in a moment!"

The sound of heavy footsteps crossing the floor made her perk up. She looked up when a strange young man stopped in front of the bar. He looked nervous, eyes shifting about like he expected the shadows to leap out and attack him. A dark cloak covered most of his features, but she could just see his eyes. Shaded by the hood he was wearing, they were almost gold in the lowlight...

"Hello," she greeted kindly, smiling despite her initial unease. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm traveling with a group," he said quietly. He had a strange accent. She wondered what region he was from. "Three rooms, please?"

Lorraine slowly nodded, reaching below the counter for the room keys. "Alright then."

"And," he took in a breath, clearly nervous, but by what she didn't know. "I was wondering if you knew this girl. I'm looking for her."

He placed a hand sketched drawing in front of her. Lorraine gasped. The girl was clearly Serilda, right down to the details of her eyes.

She peered up at the stranger again, her eyes narrowing. "Serilda Moller?"

"... Yes," he confirmed after a moments hesitation. "I... I heard she moved here."

Lorraine regarded him suspiciously, unsure if she should tell him to go away. He was strange, that was clear enough. And while she didn't want to put Serilda in danger, she also knew that girl was very capable of handling herself.

"Mama," Leyna called, poking her head out from the backroom where Gild had set up a spinning wheel and a loom. Serilda was back there with him now, the three working on a special project. "Gild says we need another basket."

"In the kitchen," Lorraine said, watching her daughter skitter off to go fetch it. She turned back to the stranger, noticing the way he stared at the now ajar door, something strange lingering in the lines of his face. "What do you want with her?"

He slowly looked back at her, fingers twitching nervously against his cloak. "I'm an old friend of her mother's."

Lorraine stared back in confusion. She didn't know much about Serilda's mother, though she knew there was something Serilda herself had found out during her time with the Wild Hunt that she hadn't told anyone but Gild. And possibly Erlen. "If you wait at that table," she said, pointing. "I'll go fetch her."

A relieved look crossed his features. "Thank you."