After assigning shifts and supervising over two hundred troops this morning, Raff just wanted a short break from all of the people. Besides, he needed to check out some of the surrounding areas closest to their encampment personally anyway. His mind fully occupied with work, he was entirely unprepared for the strike at his leg. Ow dammit! In reflex, he swiped an arm down and across to knock the sword to the side, knowing it was gonna leave one helluva big bruise.
and muttered,

"Cady not right now! Oh." That most definitely wasn't Cady! This kid looked closer to Ewan's age and about the same size.

Raff looked down at the little girl and he could see why he had instantly thought of his younger sister. 

"Good muscle on ya, but that was a distraction waste hit. Try ta angle the strike more toward the front or back of the leg nearer ta the knee so ya can do a full take down." he advised, smiling down at Kina and looking at Neela.

"No apologies needed, I'm alright. She reminds me of my sister Cady. Smart, fearless and energetic. Nice to meetcha, I'm Raff and this kid has a good right arm." Raff replied with an easy smile. He was so used to having a houseful of kids around him that it was actually a comfort to be around them again. When Neela pulled back the kid, Raff noted the implicit authority in it to obey without scolding in front of strangers. To rank up with your family. Something twinged inside him and he missed his family even more now. He would've done the same thing she had in the situation. 

Neela watched in silence, alongside her daughters, as the large man gave Kina advice. She looked up at him, wide-eyed and listening intently, her little mouth wipe open as if closing it would ruin her focus. She nodded along, mimicking the motions as he told them to her. "Strike at an angle," she said. "Front or back near the knee. Hiii-yah!" She swiped at an invisible enemy. "I'll tell Rina. I bet she doesn't know that."

"@rina has probably told you that before," Neela said, amused. Children were like that sometimes, but she couldn't blame the girl for being in awe. If he didn't have a distinctly Nevermeran look, Neela might have thought the soldier was Coheedain based merely on his size.

"Nice to meet you as well. I'm Neela. This is Nara, Neja, and this one," she said, playfully shaking the girl who had hit Raff's leg, "is Kina. As you said, she's quite energetic. She'll make a good warrior some day, if she can only discipline herself." The girl, seemingly ashamed by that little scold, bowed her head. Neela herself rarely smiled, but her every action toward the children was filled with love, care, and compassion. The children by her side, whether it be four or ten of them, would always be the best parts of Neela. Even as she spoke, dark eyes trained on the soldier, her hands were rubbing one of the girls backs, her fingers curling in their hair or idly pulling them closer to lean against her.

"Have you been to Cambria before, Raff? We often have children running around and I've found that many of the soldiers avoid them, rather than interacting with them."

Raff backed up a little and dropped to the ground to sit, trying not to overwhelm the kids with his height. His smile broadened as the kid got a light scolding, taking comfort that kids were the same no matter where you went. His blue eyes were as friendly and open as his smile.

"Nice ta meetcha Neela, Nara, Neja, and Kina. I'd introduce ya to Alan, Brent, Cady, Denzul and Ewan, but they're back home. It's good to stay close ta yer family."

It was nice just getting a chance to be around a solid family again. He hadn't realized how much he missed them already. He hoped Denzul and Ewan weren't making Kat too crazy with their stunts. Actually he kinda did. A little. He shrugged easily at her comment but Raff agreed.

"Sure kids need discipline, but it will come with more practice and time. Yes, she will make a great warrior some day."

Wow Cady would have a blast playing with these kids he'd bet. They seemed to have that same keen interest and drive. Raff shook his head no to Neela's question and answered,

"It's my first time here. And not every soldier comes from a large family. And others might be following orders too. For me, it's just weird being alone coz I'm used to having 'em around. If I can't be around my family, well, I appreciate you being nice enough to at least le me meet these future warriors."

He debated a long moment, wanting to ask the woman something, but wasn't sure how she'd take it. He watched her and the kids and decided to ask her,

"I got kinda a weird question, but my sister Cady just turned fourteen and she's... not concentrating on her training like she usually does. Now I've never been a teen girl before so.." Raff grinned sheepishly, "Do you have any helpful tips to get her back on track? Normally she's been good about learnin but now she's...growin up and a sword is the last thing on her mind." he finished with sigh. Fourteen already.

Neela watched him sit and a quiet hum of acknowledgement rang out from behind closed lips, appreciating the fact that he thought first of the children and how they felt. The men she knew would never lower themselves, especially in front of women. Not that the Nevermeran soldiers she had met over the years were bad. Most were very normal, even kind, individuals. Some were nervous, or uncomfortable around the Cambrians. Possibly because of their strength, or because they knew that the Cambrian's did not generally like men. Whatever the reason, most had not given Neela any reason to dislike them. But they also hadn't given Neela much of a reason to try to like them.

The Coheedsmen were obviously very different, but she couldn't compare the Nevermerans to them. That was like comparing sand and the clouds.

He spoke a list of names longer than hers, and she committed them to memory easily. Her memory of such things was very good, likely because it was her job to remember the names of all of the children. It was easier when putting their faces to them, though. Cady, Alan, Brent, Denzul, Ewan. And Raff. "That's a big family," Neela said. "I'm sorry that you have to be away from them. Are they all your siblings, or are some your own children?"

Kina lifted her wooden sword, proud of the compliment given by the soldier. "See, Neela? He says I'll figure it out with time. And I bet I'll do it before I'm old like you two and mother," the girl pushed the end of her sword down into the sand.

"Mother and Raff aren't old, Kina, and neither is your mom. The elders are old. They're, like, a hundred," Nara, Neela's oldest, countered.

"That's all I meant. They're older." She snapped back, chin still held high.

"It's still not nice to have said to someone who just complimented you, Kina. They may not regard elders as we do in Cambria. You should apologize."

Kina frowned, head dipping slightly. "Sorry, Raff." She said. "But you're right, I'll be a great warrior some day!"

Neela, a tired expression, returned her eyes to the still-sitting soldier. She knew that some Cambrians and Nevermeran's had produced children together, and as far as she knew, most of those children remained in Cambria. The sons sometimes sent to Coheed. Because of that, Neela hadn't given much thought to Nevermerans being so concerned with their families. In fact, many seemed to enjoy their time in Cambria as some sort of get-away from home. Whether that be because the kingdom was filled with beautiful women, or because Nevermere was filled with something they wanted to get away from, she couldn't know. Maybe it was just the sunshine. She'd heard that Nevermere was covered with clouds year-round.

"I feel strange when the children are not with me, too." Neela answered honestly. Most days they were the only reason she managed to pull herself out of bed. "You're welcome to see them when you like, if it makes you feel less homesick. I'm sure they would enjoy sparring with you and I can always use a hand." The amount of children with her now was the minimum, but it was almost always more.

Neela nodded when he said he had a question, and she listened intently. The girls at her side seemed to listen as well, their thinking caps firmly in place. When he was done, Neja was the first to speak up. "She doesn't wanna train?" She asked. "Maybe she's sick...that's the only time I don't want to train, right, mother?"

"I think Raff would notice if his sister was sick often," Neela told the girl, a teaching tone taking over. "Our cultures are very different, so it's hard to say. The girls here...they all grow up knowing that being a warrior is important for our survival, but I don't think it's exactly the same for your people, is it? Perhaps your sister simply isn't interested in being a soldier? It's taken you far away from her, and if you're as close as you seem, I could understand why she might not want to have to do the same."

When Raff sat down, it set his eye line generally at the kids' level so he smiled at them too. His grin widened to beam proudly at the mention of his large family and he answered easily,

"They're all my siblings. Alan and Brent are technically adults now, with Cady sandwiched in as the only sister, with Denzul and Ewan as my youngest brothers." the smile faded a bit as he volunteered an explanation. 

"Ma died having Ewan. I was sixteen at the time, so I took over raisin 'em up. You already know Cady's fourteen so there's Denzul at thirteen and Ewan is twelve. But Cady's the brightest of all o' em put together, that's why I'm so concerned that she's slackin off her trainin."

He drew up his knees and rested his forearms on them comfortably as he watched the back and forth between Kina and Nara with a glint in his blue eyes. It was like hearing the usual bickering between Denzul and Ewan, so it was an instant balm for homesickness. He worked to keep the smile off his face, trying to be serious for the girl's sassy form of apology and nodded as solemnly as he could. Which lasted all of about three seconds before Raff laughed. Yep. Another tough cookie--just like Cady. 

Raff watched Kina and asked her a question, engaging her and trying to get her to think ahead in the same vein as the comment. 

"And what steps are you taking and weapons you're learning to be that future warrior? Have you come up with daily or seasonal goals to do that?" it was the same way he spoke to his siblings and he saw no reason not to treat the Cambrian kids the exact same way. Encourage them and make them think, without talking down to them. Get them involved in the process of growing up. 

Neela's comment was much welcomed and he nodded gratefully as he thanked her,

"I really appreciate that Neela. I don't wanna freak out or alarm anyone though. I know I wouldn't be keen to have some stranger lurking around my siblings. But duty permitting, and if everyone's good with it, I don't mind helping out at all. Being around family is the most important thing so it's good to keep those bonds strong, no matter where we are."

They each seemed to have a different perspective on the situation with Cady and it helped him in trying to find the why of it. Cady had been madder than a barrel of wet cats when he'd left so that made some sense in what they were saying. He looked at each of their faces before his gaze settled back on Neela again. 

"You're on to something there. Thank you. She started slacking off when it was mentioned I was gonna be deployed again. I was gone just over a year before and came back home for two years. Then I got word I'm being shipped off ta Cambria-which is exactly when Cady started acting out." Raff's blue eyes darkened and he looked down at the ground. There wasn't a damned thing he could do about the situation either. She was there, he was here and he didn't blame her one bit for being mad at it all. She'd lost her mother, her father, Alan moved out, Brent moved out and then I left twice-Cady had every right to be furious at the world! 

"Thank you for this insight, you've all been a big help in getting me to understand why Cady's so upset. I'm not sure there's anything I can do about it now though." Raff replied quietly, his mind very full at a circumstance that was something entirely out of his hands.

Neela could tell by the way he spoke that he was close with his siblings. He seemed to care for each one not like siblings at all, but like his own children. She thought of her sister, and her mother. They had been killed by the Coheedsmen before Nevermere showed up. At the time, Neela had only just given birth and she'd been in no state to fight. She was at the mercy of Coheed until Nevermeran soldiers drove them out. Maybe Nevermerean rule was not ideal, but they had not caused problems, either. It left her feeling mostly indifferent, if not somewhat thankful.

Sixteen was not considered young in Cambria. Many girls gave birth sooner, but not very many of them started with having five others to look after. Raff had to be strong in order to take on the role of Mother, and even if it was what Cambrians did best, that did not mean it was an easy task. "The loss of any family can be deeply upsetting. I lost my mother as well, though much later in life. I am sorry about her death, but it sounds as though that with her death, new life was brought about as well. There is no greater and more honorable sacrifice a mother can make than one made for her child."

She, and the girls, watched him pull his knees up and rested his arms on them. No matter how he sat, he still seemed large. The Coheedsmen were like that as well, except they were more often threatening, rather than pleasant. Kina's words didn't seem to bother him, either. In fact, he almost seemed amused. It was always a delicate balance. They knew how to execute banter, criticism, jokes, and the like with other Cambrians, but it was always new territory with the Nevermeran soldiers when they made their exchange. "Of course I have!" Kina said, as if Raff should somehow already know. "I decided to start with archery, and I'm really good at it," the young girl said, clearly proud of herself. "I passed my hunting test recently, so now I'm moving on to swords. I've just started, but by this time next year, I want to move on to daggers."

A determined nod of her head had the young girls bright blonde hair swaying wildly around her ears, and though Neela's expression remained very much a frown, she felt incredibly proud and fond of Kina. As she often did all of the children in her care. He spoke of "freaking people out" and, to that, he finally got the oldest of the group to smile. It was quick, and mild, but it was a smile nonetheless. "We do not frighten so easily," Neela replied, amused by his concern as if most of the Cambrian women could not dispose of him themselves. "If you are invited, you are welcomed. As a midwife and nursemaid, I am well trusted to make decisions for the children. I have no fear that you would bring harm to them."

As for his sister, she had thought as much. Familial bonds were extremely difficult to navigate in times of chaos, in times of distance. There were times when women, having given birth to sons, would cry for days and days after they were gone. Though they did not allow men to live and grow in Cambria, that did not mean that the women did not love their sons. They bore them, from their wombs, just like the rest.

So it was a familiar look in his eye as he sat in the dirt in front of them. She'd seen it in the eyes of many, and the girls seemed to notice as well. Kina, Nara, and Neja all moved to sit down around him. Neela, though she had to take a breath to steel herself against the inevitably great emotional exchange, sat down as well, directly in front of him.

"Children, young or nearing adulthood, can be very perceptive," she began, speaking knowingly. "But they are still children. They cannot understand something until they have experienced it themselves. I do not know why you're a soldier, but I can assume that, if you have not stopped even though it brings you such pain, it is because you have no choice. Is that right?" She leaned up and reached out, grasping his forearm lightly. "She may be upset now, but she won't be upset forever. Some day she will grow into a woman who is able to understand why you've made the choices you have. She will have her own children, and for them she will have to make difficult decisions."

Once more she thought of her own mother, who died to protect Neela and her sisters. It broke through some of the barrier she had put up before setting down, and watered her eyes. She pulled her hand away from his arm, resting her hands in the center of her own folded legs. "As long as your decisions are made for them, you are doing the best you can do. When you return home, she will be happier to see you than she ever has been and that moment will make your absence worth it."