The conclusion of the kids had been to come with them. They deemed them "safe" and that there was safety in numbers, which most Nix'Rylians did realize – that was why they formed loose groups of people who might not trust each other but worked together for survival for a time.
Each of the kids were claimed by someone to ride with them. Brilma's eyes had lit up as she had scooped up Thorn and planted her in front of her, almost squealing at the cuteness of the little girl. Her husband had taken Sap and with a ruffle of his hair had done the same, though without the squealing.
Jem had been taken by Kion, at least for now (He ended up being passed between the twin brothers and their friend a lot). Lyta had been scooped up by Miria, who had a bit of a smug smile on her face over getting to hold one of the cute little children.
And Rex, well Dawn let him ride with her and Raven. Though he was young she wanted to show him respect befitting the leader of his group, albeit young and small that they were.
The young lad sat up straight and kept his eyes forward. He was fairly quiet, and seemed to be deep in thought. Her other passenger was relaxed though and had started to whistle absentmindedly.
Raven had a fairly nice whistle. Not as good as Arrion had been but then, no one was. How could anyone compete with someone who could literally copy any sound any bird could make and hardly trying at that.
But Raven was pleasant to listen to. And it seemed to relax Rex, who after a while of listening to this tilted his head at Raven and then muttered, "Uh, mister? How do you do that?"
"Do what?" Raven seemed puzzled.
"Make that noise?"
"Huh?" After a while, Raven asked, still confused, "You mean whistling?"
"Yes?"
Raven thought for a minute, and then attempted to explain. Though he had to keep pausing as if he was figuring it out as well. After his attempt at explanation he asked Rex, "You've never heard anyone whistle before?"
"Well…" Rex gave a tight-lipped smile that frankly looked cute on his childish face, "No. Jem sings but doesn't whistle. Hums sometimes… he might have been able to tell me what it was though. He knows a lot of things."
"Is your friend Jem wise?" Raven asked in an interested voice.
"Well, he can actually read and his mother actually told him stories before she died. I don't know if he is luckier because his mother actually did love him or if he is worse off for losing that."
"I see… that's sad." Raven pulled the boy into a hug. "Well, we can take care of all of you now, and the others can teach you how to read."
"….Uh…. okay?" Rex seemed bewildered.
Dawn smiled listening to the two talk. She could see that Raven was trying to get the kid to trust him more and he seemed to be doing a good job at it.
At least the child seemed more at ease now. Dawn was still not sure if taking five kids with them was a good idea but it did seem to boost morale in a strange way. Everyone seemed so happy to see these bright young ones, and though they had just met the children everyone already had very protective vibes around them.
In the end, she was sure it would all work out. They would make sure the kids did not see any fighting or anything, except from afar. And afterwards, she was sure they could make sure the kids were well taken care of.
If she had to, she could always adopt them. That might help with a bit of a problem Lumna had now. Without Arrion she had no way of producing an heir and she did not plan on ever remarrying as it would not be fair to any man when she would be constantly comparing him to her dear sweet husband, nor would anyone try to force her to – Arrion had been a highly beloved king. Which meant that Lumna would not have any natural heir to the throne.
But she could not force that on a bunch of children. Being king was not easy, even if at times Arrion had made it appear as a game, but she knew that at times it did seem to wear him down. He had just been really good at finding fun in just about anything and he had not been against finding an outlet in teasing her unmercifully. She actually missed that, though it had been somewhat annoying at the time. But now, she would gladly be teased by him if it just meant she could have him back.