truthwright: (⒂ i never cry)
Author: truthwright
Kas is sadder, after Inkeri's prophecy. And it gets worse as time goes on. The closer they get to Isabella's return, the more it hurts.

He tries to do the best he can for Helen regardless. Helen, in turn, hugs him a lot and doesn't fuss when he cries on her. They make a good team that way.
subastra: (Default)
Author: subastra
"Your dad is really upset lately," Shura observes to Helen.
carillons: (☿1d. princess)
Author: carillons
"Yeah, I know," she says. "It's been bad this week."

Kalavar hops off her shoulder and perches on the ground as a huge black bird; Helen hardly has to reach down to pet her head.
subastra: (white silk)
Author: subastra
"What are you?" Nicoa asks Kalavar.

"What's the matter with him?" Shura asks Helen.
carillons: (☿1d. princess)
Author: carillons
"I'm a teratorn," says Kalavar.

"He's just sad," says Helen. "Sometimes he's just sad."
subastra: (earth)
Author: subastra
"You're big," says Nicoa.

"Not about anything?" says Shura. "Aren't there doctors for being sad not about anything?"
carillons: (☿1d. princess)
Author: carillons
"I don't think he wants to see a doctor for his sad," says Helen.

"I am big," says Kalavar, preening her long black feathers.
subastra: (Default)
Author: subastra
"Why not?" asks Shura.
carillons: (☿1d. princess)
Author: carillons
"Because he doesn't want a doctor to do anything about it," says Helen. "He's like that."
subastra: (dagger)
Author: subastra
"Just peculiar," says Shura. "A lot of things about your dad come down to him just being peculiar, don't they."
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"Yeah," says Helen. "They really do."
subastra: (Default)
Author: subastra
"It would bother me if my dad was very peculiar and I didn't know why. Do you know why or do you not care about knowing?"
carillons: (☿1d. princess)
Author: carillons
"What do you mean, 'why'?"
subastra: (earth)
Author: subastra
"Why he's peculiar, instead of... not peculiar."
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"I'm not sure there is a reason," says Helen. "I think maybe he just is."
subastra: (cloudpine)
Author: subastra
"Yeah, that would bug me if it was mine," says Shura. "But my dad is very normal."
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"Then everything should be fine as long as your dad and my spinach don't decide to switch places."
subastra: (ballad)
Author: subastra
"That would be the peculiarest thing ever," declares Shura.
carillons: (☿1a. gleeface)
Author: carillons
Helen giggles.
subastra: (dish)
Author: subastra
"I wonder if you're so good of magic because of your own peculiarity or if you just are. That's a thing people can just be."
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"I think that's a just-is," Helen says consideringly. "Or maybe it's because I worked so hard when I was little so I could learn runes early and bake cakes in the wilderness. So it's indirectly because of being peculiar."
subastra: (olympia)
Author: subastra
"Wilderness cake," giggles Shura.
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"It's delicious because it's unexpected," Helen says cheerfully.
subastra: (dish)
Author: subastra
"How is it unexpected if you make it yourself?"
carillons: (☿1a. gleeface)
Author: carillons
She laughs. "Not unexpected like surprising, unexpected like - unusual."
subastra: (olympia)
Author: subastra
"So you don't do it a lot?"
carillons: (☿1c. speak shout sing)
Author: carillons
"No matter how many cakes I bake in the wilderness, there is still a whole planet full of people out there who don't do that at all."
subastra: (starlight)
Author: subastra
"I guess that's true," laughs Shura.
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"So I think my unusual cake is safe."
subastra: (olympia)
Author: subastra
"Yes, probably."
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
She laughs.
subastra: (dish)
Author: subastra
"Unless a bunch of other people copy your idea. Where do you even get cake ingredients in the wilderness?"
carillons: (☿1c. speak shout sing)
Author: carillons
"Oh, Kas brings them," she says.
subastra: (starlight)
Author: subastra
"I guess that makes sense. I was imagining making acorn flour and maple sugar from random wild trees."
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"Maybe I'll try that next time."
subastra: (olympia)
Author: subastra
"It sounds like a lot of work and probably the cake wouldn't be that good."
carillons: (☿1a. gleeface)
Author: carillons
Helen laughs.

"But it might be fun!"
subastra: (velora)
Author: subastra
"You have a funny idea of fun."
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"Yes I do," says Helen.
subastra: (sky)
Author: subastra
"But at least you also like regular things like flying."
carillons: (☿1d. princess)
Author: carillons
"That's true, I do!" says Helen. "Wanna fly?"
subastra: (starlight)
Author: subastra
"Yeah!"
carillons: (☿1a. gleeface)
Author: carillons
So they do that.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri still doesn't initiate conversations much, but she tends to lurk around Helen, since the prophecy.

Lurk, lurk, lurk.
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"You are lurking," Helen informs her, and smiles. "Think any interesting thoughts lately?"
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"I have been thinking about geography," says Inkeri.
carillons: (☿1c. speak shout sing)
Author: carillons
"Ooh. What about it?"
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"I have been wondering if anything interesting with spells that deal in cardinal directions happens if you try to cast them near the poles."
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"Good question!" says Helen. "If you were at the north pole, would you be at the northiest north because there wasn't any more north to go to, or the southiest south because it's south any way you point, or both? And would the magnetic poles do the same thing or is it the geographic ones that are important? What if you were on the moon?"
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"I don't know at all," says Inkeri.
carillons: (☿1a. gleeface)
Author: carillons
Helen grins. "It's still fun to think about," she says.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Yes. I don't think any witches have been to the moon," muses Inkeri.
carillons: (☿1c. speak shout sing)
Author: carillons
"Witches should go to the moon," Helen asserts. "When I grow up if nobody else has I'll do it."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Where will you get a space suit?"
carillons: (☿1d. princess)
Author: carillons
She shrugs. "I'll think of something."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Will you tell me how spells with cardinal directions work there if you do this?"
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"Of course!" she says, grinning.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Thank you," says Inkeri.
carillons: (☿1a. gleeface)
Author: carillons
Helen beams at her.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri smiles back.
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
Helen bounces happily.

Kalavar leaps from her shoulder as a dragon, then circles them as a teratorn. There's hardly room for her to stretch her wings without tugging on the bond a little.

"I wanna go flying," says the enormous bird. She shifts species subtly, once and then again—her wingspan in this last form is massive, twenty feet or more. "I wanna - oh."

The massive black bird lands on the ground beside Helen and preens her hair with a beak longer than her hand. Standing up, not stretching, Kalavar in this form is a good six inches taller than her human.

"I think - I think I'm done," says Kalavar. "I think I found it. What we're supposed to be. I think I settled."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri claps. "What are you?" she asks politely.
carillons: (☿1d. princess)
Author: carillons
"I'm not sure," Kalavar says thoughtfully, leaning gently into Helen as Helen hugs her. "I'm a teratorn - a big one. They're exctinct; I think they might have been related to condors, or maybe just similar to them."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"You did always like those," observes Inkeri.
carillons: (☿1c. speak shout sing)
Author: carillons
Kalavar laughs. "Yeah. And I've been teratorns a lot lately, but I was never the right one until now, and then—" She makes a shruglike gesture, lifting her wings slightly and then folding them close again.

"I'll tell Ranata," says Helen, and she puts her voice where Ranata is. "Manatee, manatee, I settled!"
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"You did? Oh, congratulations!" says Ranata. "What are you?"
carillons: (☿1c. speak shout sing)
Author: carillons
"Some kind of teratorn," says Kalavar. "We might have to look it up to get the exact species."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Well, that's lovely. We can go north first thing tomorrow."
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"Okay," says Helen.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Congratulations, Helen," says Ranata again.
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
Helen giggles a little.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Is there anything you want me to pack you for the trip? Food is usually it - and I'll get your white silks."
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"If food is usually it, then food can be it," says Helen.

For Inkeri's benefit, she says with her voice in place, "We're going north tomorrow."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri nods. "That is usually how it goes."
carillons: (Default)
Author: carillons
"Yeah."

Helen hugs her enormous daemon.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri's Veravia shows up, and lands on her shoulder, and inspects Kalavar for himself.
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
Kalavar stands in place and spreads her wings.

That is a lot of wing.

Helen looks at her thoughtfully.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"I wonder if you could ride her," says Veravia.
carillons: (☿1d. princess)
Author: carillons
"I was just thinking that," says Helen.

"I bet you could!" says Kalavar. "I'm wondering how I'm going to get off the ground like this. I'm not sure I can jump high enough to get a wingbeat in; I might need a run-up. Or a good headwind."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Sit on Helen's cloudpine," suggests Inkeri. "Get up that way."
carillons: (Default)
Author: carillons
"I could manage that," Kalavar acknowledges. "I'll have to figure out something else for when I'm by myself, though."

Helen hugs her some more.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"If the bird existed they must have had some way to do it," says Veravia. "Unless that is why they went extinct."
carillons: (☿1c. speak shout sing)
Author: carillons
"Well, they're extinct, so nobody's sure, but some people think they did use the wind," says Helen.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Wind is useful," opines Inkeri.
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"It is!" laughs Helen. "I'm glad I know how to make it."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"It may come in handy," agrees Inkeri.
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
"It just might!"

She hugs her daemon. Kalavar's feathers are shiny and nice to touch.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Are you worried about separating?" asks Inkeri.
carillons: (☿1d. princess)
Author: carillons
"We are, some," Kalavar admits.

"It's supposed to be easier for us or something," says Helen.

"But easier doesn't really mean easy," says Kalavar.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"It doesn't," agrees Inkeri.

Veravia shakes his head as only owls can.
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
Kalavar chuckles.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"We did it on the first try and it was not easier for us," says Veravia.
carillons: (☿1d. princess)
Author: carillons
Helen nods.

"I don't know how many tries it'll take us. I hope it's only one. It must be worse to have to do it a lot of times."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"That is part of how we did it on the first try," says Inkeri.
carillons: (☿1b. yeah yeah)
Author: carillons
Helen smiles wryly.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri shrugs.



The next morning, carrying bagged lunches and a length of white silk, Ranata collects her grandchild.
carillons: (☿1d. princess)
Author: carillons
Helen and Kalavar are a little nervous, but not fretting too badly.
truthwright: (⑷ sweet sweet thing)
Author: truthwright
Kas and Petaal hug them goodbye.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Ranata instructs Helen in how to tie on the white silks - it's a simple tie, not used with the everyday black ones - and they go north.

Ranata lands at the edge of the waste.
telesonorous: (⑭ breathe)
Author: telesonorous
Kalavar lands a little ways along the edge; Helen lands beside her, and hugs her, and then starts walking.

"It hurts," Kalavar murmurs, pressing forward against the edge of the waste as far as she can.

"I know," Helen murmurs back. "Me too."

She keeps going.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Castarilan hovers close to Kalavar. "It'll be okay," he says.
telesonorous: (⑮ i have become)
Author: telesonorous
Kalavar rustles her wings unhappily, careful not to disturb the air too badly for Castarilan's sake. "I know," she says, "but it hurts."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"I know, sweetie," sighs Castarilan.
telesonorous: (⑪ eclipse)
Author: telesonorous
Kalavar waits.

Helen walks. Pretty quickly, too. The sooner she gets there, the sooner it's over, right?
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
That is how it works, yes.
telesonorous: (⑦ shine on)
Author: telesonorous
And—

Kalavar lets out a sigh of relief.

"We did it!" says Helen, to all three of them.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Wonderful!" cries Ranata. "Well done, well done."
telesonorous: (④ hey you)
Author: telesonorous
Helen is very shortly visible dashing back across the waste. She tackle-hugs her daemon; Kalavar nuzzles her exuberantly.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Ranata lets out a small sigh of relief. "Let's eat our lunches and head home," she suggests.
telesonorous: (② never gonna die)
Author: telesonorous
"Good plan," says Helen.

"I'll race you!" says Kalavar.

"I'll ride you," laughs Helen.

"Ooh," says Kalavar. "Better plan!"

"Lunch first," Helen says firmly.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Ranata proffers lunch and starts on her own salad.
telesonorous: (③ exquisite)
Author: telesonorous
Om nom nom lunch lunch lunch.

And then it is time to fly!

Helen climbs on Kalavar's back holding her cloudpine. It is surprisingly comfortable. The wind is good enough that Kalavar hardly has to run; she just spreads her wings, lumbers into the wind for a few steps, and lifts off.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Ranata follows on her cloudpine, matching pace and smiling.
telesonorous: (① fly high)
Author: telesonorous
Kalavar has a pretty good sustained top speed. A cloudpine could outpace her, but not by a lot.

And flying daemonback is, apparently, even more fun than flying cloudpine.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"You're having a good time," laughs Ranata.
telesonorous: (② never gonna die)
Author: telesonorous
"We aaaaaaaare," giggles Helen.
truthwright: (⑺ have things my own way)
Author: truthwright
The moment they land, Kas is there to hug his daughter.

"Lookit you, button," he says.

"And look at you," says Petaal to Kalavar, running her fingers (she is presently human) along those gorgeous black feathers. "You're just - magnificent."
telesonorous: (⑧ blue sky)
Author: telesonorous
"Oh!" exclaims Kalavar. "Argentavis magnificens. That's what I am." She stretches her wings out to their full twenty-four-foot span, then folds them again and gives Petaal a nuzzle.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"She's beautiful," agrees Castarilan, hovering near both other daemons.
telesonorous: (④ hey you)
Author: telesonorous
"I am," Kalavar agrees smugly. "I'm amazing."

"You are," laughs Helen. "Hey, spinach, can we - go? I don't know, somewhere? I want to go places and see things."
truthwright: (⑵ talk about cut of meat)
Author: truthwright
"Sure thing, button," says Kas. "I'll pack up; you tell me when you wanna go."
telesonorous: (② never gonna die)
Author: telesonorous
"I should say bye to my friends first," Helen decides. She gives Ranata a hug and whirls away to go look for Shura or Inkeri or both.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri is easier to find - or rather, Veravia is and he leads Helen to her.

"Hello," says Inkeri.
telesonorous: (⑤ your honour)
Author: telesonorous
"We did it!" says Helen. "Now I think I'm going to go away for a few months and then come back and find someone to teach me more exciting kinds of magic."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"I hope you have a good time," says Inkeri.
telesonorous: (① fly high)
Author: telesonorous
"Thanks, I will!"

Is this an appropriate time for Exuberant Hugs? Helen thinks it might possibly be that.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri calmly accepts her Exuberant Hugs.
telesonorous: (③ exquisite)
Author: telesonorous
Well, they are exuberant from Helen. From Inkeri they are just hugs. But that's okay, that's how Inkeri is.

"Gonna go tell Shura," she says, "bye!"

And off she zips.
subastra: (sky)
Author: subastra
Shura is over here, apparently learning to weave silk.
telesonorous: (④ hey you)
Author: telesonorous
Ooh. That is worth hovering to watch.
subastra: (olympia)
Author: subastra
Weave weave weave.

Nicoa spots her. "Hi!" he calls, and Shura looks up.
telesonorous: (② never gonna die)
Author: telesonorous
"Hi!" says Helen. "We did it!"
subastra: (starlight)
Author: subastra
"Yay!" says Nicoa, and Shura claps her hands.
telesonorous: (③ exquisite)
Author: telesonorous
Helen swoops down and hugs her. Exuberantly.
subastra: (cloudpine)
Author: subastra
Shura is much more exuberant about hugging than Inkeri is. "Are you and Kalavar okay?" she asks.
telesonorous: (⑤ your honour)
Author: telesonorous
"Yeah, we're good," she says, "we're fine - I rode her all the way back, she's big enough to carry me and I don't hardly slow her down, it's awesome."
subastra: (olympia)
Author: subastra
"That is awesome! Will she still be big enough to carry you when you're all done growing, d'you think?"
telesonorous: (① fly high)
Author: telesonorous
"Yeah. Probably. I hope so," she laughs.
subastra: (starlight)
Author: subastra
"That would be really, really cool."
telesonorous: (② never gonna die)
Author: telesonorous
"It so would! Anyway, I think I'm taking off for a while," she says. "Enjoying my newfound adult freedom and stuff. But I'll be back in time for my birthday."
subastra: (sky)
Author: subastra
"Have lots of fun!" says Shura brightly.
telesonorous: (③ exquisite)
Author: telesonorous
"You bet I will!"
subastra: (cloudpine)
Author: subastra
And another hug for the road.
telesonorous: (⑧ blue sky)
Author: telesonorous
Hug hug.

"Bye, Shura!"

And she goes back to Kas, and tells him she is ready to leave, and they gather up their things and Helen climbs on Kalavar and away they go.
truthwright: (⑹ of all that you could see)
Author: truthwright
Kas decides that this trip is a good time to tell Helen some things.
telesonorous: (② never gonna die)
Author: telesonorous
[Hey guess what,] says Helen to Ranata, when they have been gone for a few days.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"What?" asks Ranata.

She does not register the difference between this and the usual method for Helen to suddenly communicate with her from arbitrary distance.
telesonorous: (④ hey you)
Author: telesonorous
[I'm on the brainphone is what!]
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
[...Oh! So you are! Hello!]
telesonorous: (① fly high)
Author: telesonorous
Helen giggles.

[I love you, Granatee.]
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
[I love you too.]
telesonorous: (⑤ your honour)
Author: telesonorous
[Anyway. Kas told me a bunch of things. I think I'm going to visit the moon now,] she says merrily.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
[...Have fun, dear.]
telesonorous: (② never gonna die)
Author: telesonorous
[For sure!]

And she does.

She is back with the clan in time for her thirteenth birthday, and so is Kas, although he arrives later in the day. Helen waits for him before she bakes and distributes the cake. It is delicious.

After cake, she seeks out Inkeri.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri is over here, planting vegetables.
telesonorous: (④ hey you)
Author: telesonorous
"Sooo," says Helen, "do you remember when we were talking about casting spells on the moon?"
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri thinks, then nods.
telesonorous: (⑥ out there)
Author: telesonorous
"It turns out that on the moon, 'north' is where you think it is, if you're definite enough about it. If you're not sure, then spells that draw on the cardinal directions just don't work."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia


Inkeri tilts her head.
telesonorous: (⑤ your honour)
Author: telesonorous
"Also," says Helen, "I've been to the moon."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri tilts her head the other way.
telesonorous: (③ exquisite)
Author: telesonorous
"There's a big, complicated explanation full of interesting secrets," she says. "Want to go to the moon and hear it?"
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"You can take me to the moon?" asks Inkeri.
telesonorous: (② never gonna die)
Author: telesonorous
"I can take you to the moon!"
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Will I be alive there?"
telesonorous: (④ hey you)
Author: telesonorous
"Yeah," laughs Helen, "I'm not going to take you to the moon and kill you, why would I do that?"
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"I do not know how you survive on the moon," says Inkeri reasonably, "so I did not know if I could do the same thing."
telesonorous: (⑦ shine on)
Author: telesonorous
"Special secret magic," Helen asserts.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia


"All right," says Inkeri cautiously.
telesonorous: (② never gonna die)
Author: telesonorous
Helen grins.

She closes her eyes and listens hard, making sure there's no one else around to see them disappear.

And then—

—they are on the moon, standing next to a perfectly straight arrow scratched in the dust.

"That's one of my north marks," she says, gesturing to it. "I made five in different places, and no three of them point to a single north pole; I checked."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri looks around, somewhat more interested in the moon than the diagram.
telesonorous: (① fly high)
Author: telesonorous
It is the moon. It is very moonlike.

Helen is beaming.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"You were going to explain interesting secrets?"
telesonorous: (⑧ blue sky)
Author: telesonorous
"Yeah," she says. "I'm just - kind of not sure where to start? Um, I'm the Shade-Dreamer's daughter. That's where Kas started when he told me, it kind of explains some things all by itself a little."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia


"It could. Sort of. She was missing long before we were born, though."
telesonorous: (⑦ shine on)
Author: telesonorous
"Yes," she says. "That was big secret number one. Big secret number two: she had a lot of magic that isn't anything like witch magic, and she gave Kas some before he left. That's what he used to make me, and what I used to bring us here - it grants wishes, and it's nice about it, as long as you more or less know what you're doing. I would've been in trouble if I'd tried to go to the moon without thinking about air first, but Kas took me the first time and I could just copy what he did after that."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Oh," says Inkeri, looking up at the sky.
telesonorous: (④ hey you)
Author: telesonorous
"I took us to somewhere away from the Earth and the sun, but I could show you the Earth if you want," she says. "It's beautiful from up here."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Yes, please."
telesonorous: (⑧ blue sky)
Author: telesonorous
Teleport, and there's the Earth.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
There is Earth. Inkeri admires it.

"When the Shade-Dreamer comes back like I prophesied, what's going to happen?"
telesonorous: (⑪ eclipse)
Author: telesonorous
"I... really don't know," she says. "That's what Kas has been so depressed about, actually. He's always had a hard time with her being gone, and now he's having a hard time with knowing when she's going to be back and having to wait for it. And I've never met her or anything - Ranata's told me stories, and so has Kas, and of course there's about a million movies, but I don't really feel like she's someone I know."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Does she know you exist?"
telesonorous: (⑥ out there)
Author: telesonorous
"I don't know. Probably not. I can't imagine how she would; if there's yet another secret kind of magic that would tell her, I don't know what it is."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"That sounds difficult," says Inkeri.
telesonorous: (⑦ shine on)
Author: telesonorous
"Yeah. For everybody."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri nods. "What are you going to do when she comes back?"
telesonorous: (⑪ eclipse)
Author: telesonorous
"I don't know," she says. "I can't help thinking... what if she doesn't like me?" She sighs, and looks up at the Earth. "I'd be okay. But I'd rather get along with her, and I don't know how to do that, or if I can even make a difference to it at all."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri nods, still admiring the Earth in the sky.
telesonorous: (⑤ your honour)
Author: telesonorous
"Maybe it'll be okay," says Helen. "I don't know. I guess I'll find out soon."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Very soon," agrees Inkeri. "I don't know exactly when because I don't know when she left. Do you?"
telesonorous: (⑧ blue sky)
Author: telesonorous
"Late spring next year. That's when Kas says."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Not long now."
telesonorous: (⑪ eclipse)
Author: telesonorous
She nods, looking up at the Earth.

"Yeah."
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri is quiet.
telesonorous: (⑨ don't look so frightened)
Author: telesonorous
For once, Helen is quiet too.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
Inkeri will be content to sit on the moon looking up for a long time.

But after that long time is up, she says, "I would like to go home now."
telesonorous: (⑧ blue sky)
Author: telesonorous
"Okay," says Helen, and she listens to Kalavar and murmurs, "Who's there?", and Kalavar says "Nobody," and Helen teleports them down off the moon.
alicornucopia: (Default)
Author: alicornucopia
"Thank you for showing me that," says Inkeri.
telesonorous: (⑤ your honour)
Author: telesonorous
Helen smiles.

"You're welcome."
truthwright: (⒂ i never cry)
Author: truthwright
Time goes by.

Helen stays with the clan, more or less; Kas more or less doesn't. He'll drop in to see her, but mostly he keeps in touch by brainphone and spends his time - elsewhere. Every kind of elsewhere.

He cannot handle this. He plainly can't. Late spring gets closer and closer, and he gets less and less sure of what the hell he is doing. He burns an entire stack of half-finished postcards and cries. He cleans Isabella's house and cries. He bakes her a tray of welcome-back muffins and eats them all and throws up in the backyard and cries. He leaves for a month, gets into fights and has sex with strangers and cries in public bathrooms, and then he comes back and cleans Isabella's house again and falls asleep in tear-stained exhaustion on her immaculate living room floor.
dark_light: (unimpressed)
Author: dark_light
Amariah goes home. She makes sure the local Janepoint is reasserting normalcy, even if it's a bit of a sluggish process from a break this bad. She spots Kas curled up on the floor. She conjures up something more comfortable under him and curls up beside him, the big spoon to his little spoon, Path perched on her head.
truthwright: (⒀ and an old man's heart)
Author: truthwright
Petaal, wearing one of her big-snake forms, flops a few loops over Amariah in their sleep.

Kas cuddles up, too.

He has definitely been crying; there are still tearstains on his face, long dried.
dark_light: (pensive)
Author: dark_light
Poor sweetie. Jane's fried enough she didn't know how long it had been right away, although she promises to figure it out. Amariah figures anyone who's been waiting besides Kas can wait another few hours. She closes her eyes and goes to sleep.
truthwright: (⒂ i never cry)
Author: truthwright
Time passes.

Kas wakes up.

He bursts into tears.
dark_light: (squinting)
Author: dark_light
Isabella wakes up as soon as he makes a noise. "Oh, sweetie." She wraps her arms around him tight and hugs him. "How long was it? Jane was so fried she didn't know -"
truthwright: (⑿ when all the world's asleep)
Author: truthwright
"Sixty-six years," he half-sobs, hugging her back. "I love you - I missed you - I could not take missing you like that, fuck."
dark_light: (pensive)
Author: dark_light
"I'm so sorry." Hug, hug hug. Path nuzzles his cheek. "I love you too, sweetie, I'm so sorry - we went to this fucked up world that broke Jane as soon as Aegis walked in - they're going to give Jane her own body and she's gonna sit nice and snug in the Belltower doing fuckall with it and there's a backup for time syncing now."
truthwright: (⑻ who i really am)
Author: truthwright
Kas snuggles her, and so does Petaal. Cuddly cuddly cuddly.

"I - I wrote you postcards," he says, "you might wanna go to the moon or something to read them, I'm not sure how many and the room might get full if you conjure 'em all at once."
dark_light: (collected)
Author: dark_light
"Must have been a whole lot of postcards. I can conjure them in batches," she says, "right now I'm too glad to be home - I wasn't gone nearly as long on my end but the world was pretty terrible, Glass puked when she saw it through the door." She conjures up the first couple hundred, starts reading.
telesonorous: (⑪ eclipse)
Author: telesonorous
"—Who's that?" says an uncertain voice out of thin air.
truthwright: (⑽ something inexpressible)
Author: truthwright
"Fuck." Kas rubs his face with both hands. "C'mere, button."
telesonorous: (⑨ don't look so frightened)
Author: telesonorous
A somewat confused thirteen-year-old girl teleports into the room, hovering on a cloudpine branch.

She sees Amariah.



She stares.
dark_light: (seriously?)
Author: dark_light


Amariah stares back.

[That's an Yseult. That is an Yseult. What did you do.]
truthwright: (⑽ something inexpressible)
Author: truthwright
[I had a kid!] he says. [I wished myself pregnant and I didn't specify by who and apparently the magic picked you!]
telesonorous: (⑭ breathe)
Author: telesonorous
The Yseult in question is looking increasingly uncomfortable.



"Hi?" she tries.
dark_light: (pensive)
Author: dark_light
"Hi," says Amariah automatically. "I - apparently haven't - gotten to that part yet." She waves the postcard she's holding, drops it negligently into the "done" pile.
telesonorous: (⑬ more deserving)
Author: telesonorous
"...I could go away," she offers. "Until you've caught up."
dark_light: (pensive)
Author: dark_light


"Yeah."
telesonorous: (⑮ i have become)
Author: telesonorous
"Okay. Bye," she says, and tilts her head as though listening, and vanishes.
dark_light: (squinting)
Author: dark_light
"How old is she?" asks Isabella quietly.
truthwright: (⑽ something inexpressible)
Author: truthwright
"Thirteen," says Kas, also quietly. "Her birthday's in August, I said the third but I could've been wrong. It's in a few months - you've been gone exactly sixty-six years minus a day."
dark_light: (pensive)
Author: dark_light


Path goes slowly fluffy, all his feathers standing on end.

"I am not old enough to have a thirteen year old daughter, fuck, I'm not even old enough to be her irresponsible preteen mother!" says Isabella, "I just - we never even talked about having - goddesses all - I can't." She gets up. She conjures the remaining postcards into a magic bag that will hold them all. "I can't right now - I am going to the Belltower, I will be back, this place is synced and brainphoneable twice over if you need me or you can get Jane to send you after me but - I can't." She flicks her bracelet.

Jane picks her up, and puts her down.
truthwright: (⒂ i never cry)
Author: truthwright




Kas sits by himself, on her living room floor, and he hugs his daemon, and he just... doesn't do anything. Not a thing at all.