I was nearly asleep by the fire, trying to keep warm. There had been a cold mist falling all day, and my clothes were damp, so as the sun went down I started shivering in the chill air. It was Astanal's snorting that alerted me to our visitor. He shook his mane and backed up a step as the boy stepped forward to try to touch his muzzle.
"Hush," I called over to him, climbing stiffly to my feet. "It's just a boy."
The boy jumped at the sound of my voice, backing away from the stallion and holding up his hands. "I'm sorry mister. I didn't see you there. I just wanted to see the horse, because it looked like he was all alone out here."
"Well, he's not," I answered. "But if you are, you'd better get along home before someone worries about you." I turned back to try to settle once more in front of the fire.
"How come you're camping here?" he asked.
I sighed inwardly, and stood back up, tucking my hands into my armpits to try to warm them. "Because I needed somewhere to sleep."
"And you chose the forest? With winter coming?" A blond woman came around the tent and tugged the boy away from me. She looked me up and down, probably trying to judge if I was as much of a vagabond as I appeared in my torn clothes and smelly shoes.
"Just for now," I said, my teeth chattering as I spoke. I was really starting to shake. The cold was unlike anything I'd ever felt on Ajri, and I could barely stand upright.
"I see, Mister..." She let the sentence trail off, and turned back to face me, raising her eyebrow. I realized she was looking for a name.
"Jaffaran," I said. That seemed to perplex her. Of course it wouldn't be a common name here. "Most people call me Jaff," I added quickly.
"And do you have a last name, Geoff?"
If Jaffaran was an issue, I was pretty sure den'Rhelys was not going to work. My brain was fairly fuddled by the cold, so I said the first thing that popped into my head -- a word I remembered from my brief trip downtown: "Dumpster." Brilliant.
Luckily, Iris just replied: "Dempster?"
"Yes." I smiled winningly. My teeth chattered again as I did.
She studied me once more with a thoughtful expression, then shook her head with a sigh. "Well, Mr. Dempster, I don't like leaving you out here in the cold, and you'll have to move along soon. But if you say you're all right..."
I nodded, and tried to back away but my feet were like lead. I stumbled and fell to all fours. Astanal whinnied in alarm and stomped at the turf.
The woman tried to reach out to catch me, but she was slow and awkward, as if she were carrying something heavy strapped to her waist. "You're not all right. JONAS!"
Iris sent her son running ahead to let his father know we were coming. The Ingbergs were living in a small red cabin by the falls. I recall that Iris told me they had a second house in town somewhere, but that they often stayed at the cabin in good weather, because of the surrounding nature and the beautiful views.
I tried to pay attention as she told me about her husband, who was a doctor of some sort, and about Jonas, who liked to go fishing rather than do his schoolwork. Astanal was beside me, mincing around like a nervous hen, and I held tightly to his mane to keep from falling over as I stumbled after Iris.
The cabin, thankfully, was warm as a summer's day. Iris's husband, Jakob, had stoked up a small fire, and Iris sat me in front of it with a cup of warm broth. Jakob looked me over with a practiced eye, checking for injuries or signs of anything more serious than a chill.
"He'll be fine once he's warmed up. Call your sister to have the police come for him. They can take him down to the jail for the night."
Iris gave her husband a reproving look. "At this hour, in this weather, you're going to turn him out of the house and send him to jail? Let him stay the night, Jakob. He's done nothing wrong, and he's no threat to anyone."
"You don't know he's no threat. We can't just take in every stray you find out here. He's no limping deer, or hungry cat, Iris. He's a drifter, who was camping in our woods, and who looks more than capable of overpowering you and me both."
"They're hardly 'our woods,' Jakob," Iris started to object, but her husband was having none of it.
"You're pregnant, Iris, and I'm not going to let you--"
"You're not going to LET me? Because I'm pregnant? What does that even have to do with anything?"
The argument continued in hushed tones, but with a lot of emphatic gesturing. As they moved away, I tried to turn to watch, but my head was too heavy. Probably for the best. I'm sure they didn’t want a stranger listening to their marital tension.
"Your horse is looking through the window at you," said a small voice beside me. I cracked open an eyelid, and found Jonas sitting on the floor next to my chair. "He came around to the other side of the house to find you, and he's watching through the glass."
I smiled without lifting my head. "He's a good friend."
"What's his name?"
Before I could answer, I heard Jakob yell "Fine! Do what you like then. You always do." Jonas flinched at the sound, and then watched his father disappear into one of the cabin's bright red doors. It closed with a slam.
Iris put on a smile, and stepped over to take me by the arm. "Come along," she said kindly. "You can stay in the cellar. It's not much for luxury, but it's better than a tent in this weather."
I was finally warm enough to stand steadily on my own. Jonas scrambled to his feet to follow. "Do your homework," his mother interjected firmly, nodding toward the desk. "It's a school night."
Jonas eyed the books there, then chewed his lip, obviously trying to think of an excuse. "Can I feed the horse first?" he pleaded.
"Horses eat grass," I said. "Do your homework." I didn't want us to be any more trouble than we already were. And Astanal really would be fine. He seemed to be weathering this place better than I.
"You can take him an apple in the morning," his mother added. "If Mr. Dempster says it's all right."
With that, we were out the door. Astanal was waiting outside, of course, and followed us around to the side of the cabin, where a separate entrance led down a ladder to a small storage room. "I'll be fine," I murmured to him before I went inside again. "These are kind people." He nickered back at me, and then turned to stand guard in front of the small door. I patted his flank in appreciation, then climbed down to the small, dark room that would be my home for the next few months, though I didn't know it yet.
"As I said," Iris continued, digging around in some of the boxes and trunks. "It's not a five-star hotel, but we keep the old furniture down here, and some old clothes and things for camping. So you should be able to make do."
"It's very kind of you," I said gratefully. "More than I need."
"Well," she said breezily, still looking for something in the boxes. "You don't need very much then." She found what she was looking for, and handed me the blanket she pulled from one of the trunks. "Make yourself at home. Take whatever of the clothes here will fit you -- they're all bound for the charity shop anyway -- and then sleep as long as you like. Come upstairs for breakfast when you're ready, and we'll talk about what to do with you after that." She smiled again, with the same kindly expression, and then climbed back up the ladder, leaving me on my own.
I took her up on her offer, shedding my smelly, torn clothes for the warmest layers I could find, and then settling in under a pile of blankets.
The mattress was soft, the sheets were musty but clean, and the blankets -- oh thank heaven for the blankets -- were toasty as a cocoon. I drifted off to sleep, snug, safe, and finally warm.
------------------
Got a little carried away on this one -- it was pretty long, even for me. But Jaffaran -- er, I mean, Geoff -- is settled in at last. 
For those who keep track of ID rules, here's what I did. Storywise, it may look like I am joining the Ingberg household, but it was just the opposite in reality. I bought the dynasty lot at the start of the game, then invited the Ingbergs to join my household. Sold their car, etc, and used the money to build "their" cabin on the dynasty lot.
