The weather is lovely this spring day, and the Tragedy is currently a place experiencing more joy than the name might have you believe. Porter is in main entrance of the building, speaking with great enthusiasm to whoever enters. The Archlector of Gild is a big man, with a big warm presence that he casts onto those wandering in. "Welcome, welcome!" A pair of screaming children come tearing through, but it's quick and then they're gone again. The brief distraction of noise prompts hearty laughter from the former Kennex lord.

Every bit the shadow that he can be, Cesare Whisper into the entrance slipping quickly past a group that was bottling up the door as they marvel at what they see around them. This setting does not appear to be a marvel to the Whisper. If anything, Cesare seems oddly comfortable for a man of his position. Through his dark eyes he takes a look around. He fixes his gaze especially on the children who pass through. He sees the large man, taller than even Cesare, give a welcome as he attempts to sidestep the crowd before him. The sonorous voice touches him slightly so that he stops his slinking past to look closely at the source of this profound sound.

After Porter regains his composure, as much as he ever has, he waves a hand to greet the newest arrival. He doesn't spare too much time on anyone bottle necking the entrance, they're allowed to be amazed by the great indoors of they so choose. "Good day, good day. Is this your first visit to the Holy Knights of Solace Home For Wayward Souls and Temporary Shelter?"

A bit destabilized by the big man suddenly approaching him, Cesare shakes his head quickly and regains his wits, returning from wherever his mind might have been when he first looked toward the host. After closing his eyes for slightly longer than a blink, Cesare Whisper folds his hands and brings them up to his chest. He gives a delicate bow of the head to the man approaching him. He looks up to the man with his dark eyes and comments, "Yes. Though I've been curious about the work being done here for some time." Ceasre lowers his hands while continuing to look into the large man's brown eyes.

Maybe used to having this kind of effect on people, or perhaps just /unaware/, Porter continues on being exactly as he is. "Ah! Well, welcome. A number of people believe the Tragedy cares entirely for orphans, and we do take care of a significant amount, but we also offer shelter to anyone else that needs it. We're here for the downtrodden commoners of this city when they're in need of Gild's help. Archlector Porter Kennex of Gild, unsurprisingly. Also a Knight of Solace. Do you have any questions?" he wonders at the end, rocking on his heels.

Ian has his attention on his feet as he comes into the room, moving like someone for whom walking has long-since ceased to be instinct, now requiring at least some of his active attention to avoid the risk of falling on his face. He doesn't look up until he gets inside, at which point he scans the room once, alert eyes moving fast. He takes in the whole room as a series of details with an intense sort of situational awareness that could probably be better called hypervigilance.

Cesare bows his head once more to the Archlector, this time with slightly less affectation. "Whisper Cesare." Reclaiming his gaze at Porter, he softly responds, "May Gild bless this work with much fruitfulness." He keeps his gaze on Porter, though does not respond to being asked if he has any questions.

"IAN." Porter temporarily pauses in his greeting of Cesare to wave to his youngest brother (and to call out his name loudly). It's less offensive because the building is a bit loud at the moment anyhow, thankfully. He returns to looking at Cesare, "Well met then, Whisper Cesare." And if he has nothing further to ask or say, he won't push the man.

Ian fixes his attention on Porter when his brother shouts his name. His features tend towards stony and severe, worn by age and care, but something subtle softens at the sound of that booming voice. He starts to thread his way over. "Figured Gild wasn't likely to get anything out of Tremblay," he comments, as he reaches into an inner pocket of his coat. "So someone might as well try to make up for what happened."

Cesare turns to spy the crippled man as he enters and exchanges greetings with his brother. He almost imperceptibly bites his bottom lip. He watches Ian closely as the man reaches into his coat. He slowly nods in reaction to this, then shifts his gaze back to the larger of the two brothers, gauging his happiness at the presence of his younger sibling. With that he looks back to the Lord, but waiting to be recognized before interjecting.

"At least not when it looks like the Templars and Knights of Solace are bound toward Navegant waters," Porter remarks once his brother gets closer. While Ian's expression softens some, his turns a little tight at the edges. "What's the total of the damage done so far?" he asks, his voice pitched quieter now. As if remembering his manners, he gestures between the two men. "Whisper Cesare, this is my brother, Lord Ian Kennex. Sword of Stormward."

Ian takes a coinpurse out of his coat and tosses it to Porter. "It's been bloody. Aethan and Wash have built the navy back up again but..." He shakes his head. "I trained those kids. Most of them are barely older than I was when I got hurt. You should go see Aethan before we sail out to meet the Dagonites." When introduced to Cesare, he nods, with a familiarity that indicates this isn't their first meeting. "Whisper Cesare. Good to see you back in town."

Cesare fold his hands before him and raises them to his chest before bowing his head to offer, "It is good to see you, My Lord." As he lifts his head back up he looks into Ian's blue eyes with a warmth and brightness in his gaze. He continues in his soft, yet rich tone, "I fear the tides have brought in some tumult while I was away. I hope My Lord and his family have managed to battle through the maelstrom as always."

Porter checks dexterity and legerdemain at normal. Porter is successful.

Ian puts Basket-hilted Rubicund Sword in Oiled leather bag.

IT'S A COINPURSE. Coins are kind of weighty, but luckily Porter has enough dexterity that he catches the reasonably tossed purse of coins without somehow hurting himself. He checks it quickly, nods his thanks to his brother, and passes it off to his assistant with a murmur. "I'll write to him," he says of their eldest sibling. "I'm sorry for all of them," he says quietly,

Gunner, a lovable goof of a Mistward Labrador have been dismissed.

Nara, an enthusiastic young sailor have been dismissed.

The word 'maelstrom' gets a brief moment of tension from Ian, something around his eyes. It's little more than a flicker, easily missed. "I heard you were going to try and get Waldo from Escuma," he says to Porter, nothing in his flat, heavily accented voice betraying an echo of the almost-expression. "Look... I know I'm not in Solace or a knight or anything, but say the word, and I'll be on your ship. The gods know I've got experience by now with how these assholes fight."

Calmly taking up his role as a Whisper, Cesare simply lets the brothers continue to talk as he remains placed among them as an equal, yet an outsider. He makes note of the older brother's quieting down and the younger brother's slight wince at his words. While he's slightly out of practice in these environs, he still remains who he is.

3 Laurent trained guards, Cupcake, a cookie girl, Taffy, a sweet and gentle Mistward Labrador, 1 Laurent veteran guards arrive, following Mabelle.

"Well, the Carnifex is sailing there to try and extract him and Turo." He's somber for this subject because it's quite serious. "I'm not sure if I'll be required to sail with them myself, or needed here. The Dominous may choose to have just Bree go." It all worries him, clearly. But what can a person do. "Are you recently arrived in the city, Whisper?"

Mabelle arrives on the heels of Porter's last conversation. The guards behind her carrying a chest and laying it by the door but not in a way that interrupt the entry. "Archlector, Lord Kennex, Whisper", she greets the trip and notes, "Seems I am about in time just to catch up on the news I was wondering about", she indicates the chest behind her and mentions to Porter, "Donation from House Laurent".

The possibility that Porter might NOT be at the giant sea battle on shores familiar to him gets a slightly confused quirk of Ian's eyebrow, but nothing more than that. "Just let me know," he repeats. "If you can't be there, I can do everything in my power to bring her back to you." He turns towards Mabelle when she comes in, and bows his head to her. "News of war seems to go wherever I am, these days," he comments with a twist of dry humor in his voice.

Cesare nods quickly to the Knight of Solace in response to his question as Lady Mabelle arrives. Ceasre seems to brighten up slightly as the black-haired noblewoman takes her place among the men with her entourage in tow. A little weight and tension seems to drop from his shoulders. Folding his hands in front of his chest, Cesare bows his head to Lady Mabelle saying, "Quite a generous contribution, My Lady." As he looks back at her, his gaze is filled with some warmth.

"Please," Porter says to Ian, quiet and earnest with a little hint of the dread he likely feels. What Ian is offering, he's accepting with that single word. As Mabelle arrives with a chest, he gestures for one of the Knights of Solace to come and collect it. "Thank you, Lady Laurent."

When a few children come toward the entourage, Mabelle's girl offers them some treats and cookie packets, with Porter's permission of course, as long as sticky hands do not go on expensive fabrics. "That's quite chivalrous of you, Lord Ian. I might sail on the mercy boat if they let me", she inclines her head, "But aye, War has taken over our lives, I fear. Whisper Cesare", her eyes turn to the man, "A pleasure seeing you again, thank you for your kind words, House Laurent is devoted to help those in need as is my personal favorite passtime", she likely makes a quip about herself there. "Are you building more housing for them, Archlector?".

Ian lays a hand on Porter's arm, just for a moment. "I'll send her a note once I'm back at home today." This seems to settle and conclude the matter, at least in his eyes, because his expression goes back to its usual sense of being parked in neutral, and he looks back at Mabelle. "Having the Mercy ship there will save a lot of lives. But they've already attacked one hospital vessel."

While paying close attention to the discussion around him, Cesare's glance is more fixed on Lady Mabelle than the others. He studies her closely, though quite subtly as not to seem outside the normal expectations for a Whisper. His only nod away from the group is to watch the children enraptured by their gifts from the Cookie Girl. A slight tinge of sadness comes over him as he does this, though it disappears as he turns again to Ian, raising an eyebrow at the news, yet giving no comment.

"Thank you," Porter replies simply to his brother, folding his arms across his chest. He doesn't have any objections to the children receiving sweets, he's not a barbarian! "No, simply enriching the facility we already have, Lady Laurent." A sidelong glance is spared to the Whisper, head cocked curiously.

Mabelle inclines her head to Ian, "Some might call that occupational hazard", she quirks her lips a moment and suggests, "If a ship will not go, I will board one of the Valardin ones, its the least I can do", which her expression conveys that's exactly how she feels. She registers Cesare's expression and nods toward her girl, who in turn offers Cesare a little basket of sweets, "In the first few assaults, or just the first, a Mercy Ship was directly assaulted, claiming several lives. Have you met?", she indicates Porter and Ian, unsure how late she was, "Whisper Cesare, these are Archlector Porter of Gild and Lord Ian Kennex, they are brothers", she throws that in anyway. "Enriching the facilities is always good, thank you for caring for the children".

Ian looks like Porter's brother maybe if you squint really hard. But the drastic difference in their sizes is... it's drastic. Ian's just a little bit shorter than average (a lot shorter than average for a Kennex), and Porter is... not. "We've met," he confirms to Mabelle. "Although it's been a while."

Cesare nods graciously with a slight glint in his eyes, "Perhaps too long. It's been too long for a great many things." He pauses, then turns back to Lady Mabelle, "Though these two brother have the weight of the world on their shoulders, their energy still fills one with a sense of surge of the sea." He looks back at the two brothers, "It is something I needed to feel, being an Islander myself."

"I made the introductions before your arrival, I promise I didn't forget the entirety of my etiquette training," Porter relays to Mabelle when she makes a second round of introductions. There's a call for him from the other room and the group is offered a smile, though a bit strained. "Excuse me, I'll try to be back soon." And he moves off quickly, following the sound of his name being called.

Cesare nods.

Mabelle looks a bit puzzled as to having managed to offend the host within two moments of her arrival, she turns her eyes to Cesare and mentions, "I did not know you were an Islander" and that is all she manages to say, really.

"It's good to get some time out of Arx," Ian confirms to Cesare with a nod. "This place can really get in a person's blood after a while." Not in a good way, judging by his tone. He watches Porter go, following his brother with his gaze until he disappears from sight into the other room, then looks back at Cesare and Mabelle.

Cesare gives a rare and ever-so-slight grin to Lady Mabelle. He sighs slightly with that grin, "I am pleased to know that not everyone sees me as the Singer of Setarco." He taps on the lute slung around his shoulder and continues, "Though music is the truest of my vocations." He gives a little longer glance to Lady Mabelle, with a glint in his eye again, then turns to Lord Ian to nod knowingly while commenting, "If it was only one's blood hat became tainted, it would be somewhat bearable." He lets that comment hang in the air.

Mabelle apologizes to Cesare, "I just have really horrible memory. Besides, Singer of Setraco is a good thing. I'm just a little Bee", she jests and then gazes at Ian, "Does get into your blood, indeed", her eyes look for a whiskey, until she realizes she's in a children's house.

A flicker of... something... passes over Ian's normally flat expression, shading his bright blue eyes briefly to the color of midnight, and he nods to Cesare. "Not that I'm thrilled about the reason I've had to be away as much as I have, but it's been good to have somewhere else to be."

Shifting into a more diplomatic mode, the Whisper straightens himself, though takes a slight step back as to not tower too much over his noble company who are both smaller in stature. He intones in a harmonious way, "Duty brings us both the sweetness in life and its most troubling moments, My Lord. Yet where might we be without it?"

Mabelle almost answers Cesare that she will likely be far away bathing in the sun by now but realizes its a rethorical question. "I fear I cannot share that sentiment right now, Lord Ian, I have nowhere to be but here. Soon though. Soon those sweet moments will return. If you will pardon me though, I need to attend to a few things, it was a pleasure seeing both you of. Send the Archlector my gratitude for his many works".

Ian gives Cesare a brief spasm of a smile that's not really all that far from a wince. "In my case? Drunk in a bar somewhere. Wasting my life." He nods again to Mabelle when she takes her leave. "Good to see you again, Lady Mabelle. Make sure you've got good armor, if you wind up on that ship."

While no longer showing that rare grin, there is still a warmth in Cesare's look as he watches Lady Mabelle take her leave. He bows his head gracefully saying, "My Lady."

Mabelle chuckles at something Ian says and assures him, "I'm well set", bowing her head to Cesare as she departs.

Cesare then turns with a chuckle back to Lord Kennex, "Well. I'm not quite sure being drunk in a bar is necessarily a waste of one's life, but perhaps My Lord meant those two separately," The Whisper says with an impish light in his dark eyes.

Now alone with Cesare, Ian has no reason not to fix all of his attention on the Whisper. There's an intensity to his focus, now, that's well beyond what would be considered appropriate for polite conversation. "The same. Separate. I was speaking from experience."

Cesare narrows his eyes slightly as he watches the change in Lord Kennex's demeanor. He responds by lowering the diplomatic mean he had just put on. He brings a hand up to his mouth and strokes his chin for a moment as he looks into the blue eyes of Ian. He nods, "Experiences are the only thing from which anyone might have an honest conversation, My Lord. Your honesty is quite valuable in these moments."

Ian doesn't really seem certain, at least initially, how to respond to Cesare's words. A flicker of confusion passes over his expression, and he cants his head ever so slightly. After a moment, he comes up with: "People don't know what they'd do in some new situation nearly as often as they think."

Cesare nods slowly, "Those that think they know what to do, My Lord, are often the ones more likely to find folly." The Whisper pauses for dramatic effect, then says quietly, "...or worse." He tilts his head toward the shorter man, as if being pulled in slightly by some unseen force. There's a sense that Cesare might also be speaking from experience here, but the truth of that is left somewhat obscured.

Fortunately for whatever secrets Cesare is hoping to keep, Ian is famous (or infamous) for missing all but the most blatant social cues, which might be why he doesn't react very much in this case. He looks around for a moment, before locking the intensity of his attention back on the Whisper. "I'm not sure Porter's coming back. Are you here to take donations in his stead?"

As Cesare abruptly pulls back from Ian, the Whisper's countenance lightens and he raises his voice to a more jocular tone saying, "Now what would they say if a Disciple of Jayus were collecting for the work of the Disciples of Gild." There's a slight twinkle in his eyes that notes that, though such things might be off-putting to some, Cesare does not worry about them. "Sadly, I must leave my own donation then move on, My Lord." Cesare puts his hands together and waves them slowly in front of Lord Kennex before saying, "But I'm sure the Knights of Solace will do a fine job for the Archlector."

The joke seems to have gone over Ian's head, because now rather than a flicker of confusion, he looks honestly puzzled. "I mean... You're all part of the..." But Cesare is going, so Ian just nods to him and turns to do the same.

Cesare's eyes flash at Lord Kennex as he glides toward the door. There's a warmth in his gaze to Ian, though he sees that his wittiness might have been a bit much. Yet there's that honesty Cesare spoke of earlier. Distracted by his good feelings toward Ian, Cesare lets slip, "Please send my..." The Whisper catches himself before continuing. The warmth that he had in his face goes away and he turns away before giving his farewell, lacking some etiquette in this, and moves quickly out the door with a rushed, "I take my leave, My Lord."