Good to Be Home

Log Info

• Title: Good to be Home

• Emitter: Ravenstongue

• Characters: Ravenstongue, Telamon

• Place: Ravenstongue and Telamon's home

• Summary: Ravenstongue and Telamon return home after several members of the Shining Chalice have assured them that it's safe to do so. Telamon makes Ravenstongue eat some wraps with him, and Pothy gets a wrap, too! Then Ravenstongue gets to inspect Telamon's new mark some more and the two half-elves share a tender moment.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Dramatis Personae =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-    
Ravenstongue         5'0"     99 Lb      Half-Elf          Female    Short half-elf girl with violet eyes and black hair.             
Telamon              5'6"     140 Lb     Half-Elf          Male      A platinum-blond half-sil man with dancing dark eyes
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Lúpecyll-Atlon home, sunset.

The home that was abandoned briefly for a few days has been occupied again by its rightful owners after several members of the Chalice volunteered to keep an eye on the house and then inspect it for any more signs of entry. Once given the all-clear--and, most importantly, when Cor'lana and Telamon felt safe enough to come home--the two half-elves brought themselves back home.

Cor'lana steps out of the water closet, dressed in a fluffy bathrobe after a long, long bath. "Nothing better than your own tub," she comments quietly to herself as she tightens the sash around her waist.

Thankfully for the safety of the household, she's already dried off her hair using magic, meaning she doesn't trail water behind her as she sits down on the couch with a deep sigh.

It's good to be home.

Telamon had bathed as well, swiftly, to let Cor'lana take her time in the tub. He's been poking around, checking things, before finally putting a kettle on for tea. "The pixies are overjoyed to see us. They were a little nervous at Daneira and Stiger nosing around and hid from them -- which, I told them, was probably for the best."

Seated on the couch as well, wrapped up in his own bathrobe and the furry bear slippers, his arm goes around Cor'lana when she sinks into the couch's embrace. "Hells' bells," he grumbles, before cuddling her close. Comfort, as the kettle burbles happily.

"You could have taken longer in the bath, you know," Cor'lana complains, frowning a tad. "After all, you're the one who got strangled."

This has been a running theme over the conversations of the last few days since the very rude houseguest arrived: Cor'lana insisting on Telamon getting the best of things on account of having almost been throttled. But this time, she doesn't put up much more of a fuss, choosing instead to push herself into his form in a very close cuddle--maybe a little too tight on the cuddle for comfort.

"I'm glad the pixies are okay," she says. "They must have been worried for you."

But Cor'lana's expression falls into a frown again. "I just wish I knew what Grandfather's been up to. I've tried reaching out and he hasn't answered over the past few days..."

Telamon refuses to rise to the bait. Instead, he begins stroking Cor'lana's hair, as he shakes his head. "Almost only counts with fireballs and meteor swarms, love. And after swigging a couple of potions from the Chalice stocks I'm fine." He then pulls back, and gives Cor'lana a stern look. "Which brings me to you, dear."

"You're good at putting up a brave front, but I know you've not been eating much the last few days. Hence," and he gestures, an unseen servant bringing a large bag over, "why Turow brought some food from that new 'Wyvern Wraps' place not too far from Addy's coffeeshop. And you're going to eat some of it with me, before you start fainting."

Cor'lana looks at Telamon for a long moment--and seems to be thinking all that time, the metaphorical gears turning behind the violet façade. "I actually haven't been hungry," she says, actually a little surprised with herself as she says this. "I didn't even think about it until... well, until now."

She does look at the bag that's brought over with a nod. "I'll certainly not refuse food, though," she says. "Wyvern Wraps, though, hmm... What is it, exactly? Sandwiches--"

Pothy comes flying out of the bathroom, too. He apparently decided to have an extra-long soak in the bathtub, and his white feathers are now a very glossy cream-white. "I heard food!" he says, the cherubic little boy's voice excitedly chattering. "Food, food, food!"

Cor'lana can't help but snicker. "Of course you'd sound off at that," she says.

Telamon reaches into the bag, pulling out paper wrapped bundles. "Not exactly. It seems to be based off how elves make trail rations -- using a softer flatbread, 'wrapped' around meat and vegetables in this case. They're quite tasty, though." He smiles at Cor'lana, and leans in to kiss her cheek.

"I know what happened rattled you," he whispers tenderly. "But we are still here. We've survived this, just like we survived the clockwork wizards, and the nightmares, and the sewers." He strokes her face, looking into her eyes for a long moment in turn. The stars continue to twinkle in the depths of his gaze.

And then Pothy of course shows up. "Of course I got some for you, you glutton," he says with a smile as the bird perches on the table. "You're a part of the family too."

Cor'lana, of course, stares into those starlight eyes--she can never really stop herself from doing so, especially when he so effectively commands her attention onto them. Her gaze runs through a range of emotions, but eventually she just closes her eyes and sighs. "I just want..."

"To eat!" Pothy declares. His little raven tail is wagging like a dog as it waves up and down at a ferociously fast clip.

Cor'lana's eyes open back up and she smiles, just a little. "I just hope Grandfather's fine. This is... the longest I think I've gone without hearing from him in a while."

Telamon begins checking the bundles. "Well, we have chicken, jack wyvern tail, and mutton. Any preferences?" He smiles gently at Cor'lana, and shakes his head. "We all have 'wants'. But of course, as one bard said, you can't always get what you want." He nuzzles her gently.

"I mean, if something was wrong with Grandfather, you'd probably feel it, right?" He reaches out to tap her above her heart, right where the tattoo is. "We both know he avoids the courts of the fey... which means if he wants to 'get away from it all,' he may have wandered off somewhere."

"But regardless. You won't be able to do anything if you don't eat." He unwraps the paper off one of the wraps for Pothy. "Even your familiar is giving you good advice."

Pothy speaks up first: "Jack wyvern tail, please! It's a curious taste and texture that I enjoy greatly."

Sometimes, Pothy might be more tolerable when all he can say is 'snacks'.

Cor'lana looks at Pothy and says, "I'll have the chicken."

Pothy nods for a moment. And then he tilts his little fluffy head. "Wait. You don't mean me, right."

"No, of course not," Cor'lana says with a noise somewhere between a laugh and a huff.

She leans back a little more into the couch and nods, looking contemplative again. "It just... isn't like him. To be quiet. I mean, he drops by constantly. But, you are right. If something happened to him, I'd know--we have that connection."

She closes her eyes again and pauses, her jaw going a little slack. "Even now, I can still feel the Conduit," she says, effortlessly slipping into Sylvan. "It's there, at the edge of my head, and all I have to do is open the door..."

Her violet eyes open and she has to blink them a few times. "Mmm. Feels like coming back into bright sunlight after being in a dark shop for a while," she murmurs.

Telamon peels the paper away from another wrap for Cor'lana. "Come, my love," he murmurs. "Dine with me first, before you let your mind wander."

He smiles at Pothy. "It's not actual wyvern tail, my friend. It's a close approximation -- and they spice it pretty good." He slides Pothy's over, before starting to dig into his. Meanwhile, the teakettle drifts over along with three cups, pouring tea for each member of the family -- yes, even Pothy.

Well, who can refuse that invitation to eat. Cor'lana takes the wrap and eats quietly, opting instead to let Pothy talk.

And boy, does he talk.

"Aha! Imitation, I see. Well, I have had the pleasure of dining on wyvern tail before--about, hmm, ah, five-hundred and forty-seven years ago, I think. The inheritor was a cousin of yours named Plesi Branfeax. Didn't get very far in her studies, unfortunately. I was with her for about seven years before she was kidnapped in the middle of the night and..."

He looks at Telamon for another long moment. "Mmm, nevermind. Anyway, the kidnapper was very unhappy when he saw me poof away into the arms of Plesi's designated inheritor very far away."

Telamon winces at that. "Not the best anecdote, Pothy." He shifts topics hurriedly. "In any case, I have had wyvern tail before." His eyes twinkle. "I mentioned father and I negotiating a trade route through an oruch clan-chief's territory. Part of that was ... well, what passes for a formal dinner. A little rough, but not that hard. That was actually where I met the clan-chief's daughter and, well, narrowly avoided matrimony," he quips with a grin.

"In any case, a warband had brought down three wyverns that were preying on their horses. Oruch style wyvern tail is quite good, but they cook with some very hot peppers. I've never seen father's face turn that flushed before, and I was very glad for the cider and mead on hand."

Pothy's nibbling away at the jack wyvern--well, nibbling is the wrong word for it. He tends to inhale it, and if he can't inhale it in one go, he tears it apart into more inhale-able pieces... which is what he's doing. Both Telamon and Cor'lana have seen it a hundred times or more by this point, but it's certainly bizarre.

Cor'lana is far more dainty and measured with her bites. It's pretty clear that it's as she described: she wasn't hungry. But she is eating for the sake of eating. "One of these days we're going to end up crossing paths with that oruch girl again, I think," she says, "and I have a feeling I'm going to have to win her respect or something like that. Even if we're already wedded."

That's said with a little smirk that only widens as she looks at Telamon. "Which means I'll probably have to eat those hot peppers, but I'll endure it all for you."

"Lana, you complained about cinnamon being spicy before," Pothy says between large gulps of his wrap.

Telamon shrugs. "Stranger things have happened. Though... I meant what I said when we were going into the sewers that time. You're stronger than I think you realize." He smiles at her tenderly. Evidently, seeing her finally eating a bit is making him happy.

"In any case, I hope not. I couldn't taste anything for a whole day after that meal. Father, well... there's a reason he keeps alchemical remedies around. Evidently he'd run into that sort of thing before." He makes a face. "He could've warned me though."

He sits back a little, reaching out to pick up his mug of tea and taking a sip. "There we go. Much better."

Pothy's polished off his wrap. He even lets out a little 'uuuuurp!' as he finishes. "That was tasty," he says cheerfully. "I'd have it again!"

Cor'lana eventually finishes hers, too, and she leans into Telamon a little more with a tiny little sigh of contentment. "So," she says, "besides waiting on Aryia and Aya to track down the you-know-what, I think I've managed to get a handle on a more powerful charming spell. It sort of... come to my head as I woke up the morning after, oddly enough."

Telamon nods. "You mentioned you'd spoken to them. Aryia is... Aryia," he grins. Teasing, but there's respect there. "And if Aya is anything like her sister, well... there will be some very unpleasant times ahead for this creature. Hope she appreciates the attention."

He reaches out to stroke Cor'lana's hair again, before nestling her under his chin. Happy place! "I had the servant hold the mirrors in place again. That... tattoo on my back is... well, it's interesting. There's scriptwork around the sunburst now, in Celestial. Looks like a star chart." He looks thoughtful. "I guess... like you said, the Watcher was speaking literally about carrying a weight on my shoulders."

Well, that's just not fair. It's almost impossible for Cor'lana to be all frowns if she's put into her happy place, and there's a smile to match that little sigh of contentment from just a moment earlier. "It is interesting," she murmurs, and she eventually shifts herself so that she's sitting more fully in his lap, wrapping her arms around him behind the base of the neck--although, of course, she takes great care to give him plenty of room there.

There's another beat as Cor'lana says, "Can I see it again? We... didn't exactly have a lot of room for privacy when we stayed with your friend." Which, well, was true.

Pothy makes a disgusted noise. "You're just trying to get him to undress," he says. "I'm out of here!"

The white raven flaps off back to his study as Cor'lana snickers. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not!" she calls out after him.

Telamon chuckles. "Actually, at some point I would like a drawing or image of it done. I'd like to study it, and that's kind of hard when it's on my back." He gives Cor'lana a squeeze, before giving Pothy an annoyed look. "Gods, he's such a crank sometimes..."

That being said, he unlaces the tunic, carefully pulling it over his head and off before setting it aside, and turning to bring his back to Lana. He glances back over his shoulder with a grin, "See anything you approve of, dear?" His skin has started to tan ever so slightly from being outside now and then, and the tattoo is in gold and silver, a shimmering sunburst surrounded by delicate script, as if done with a fine brush.

Well. She'd asked for it. Cor'lana had literally asked to see his back and yet a blush settles on her face as she looks his back over. And then she notices a particular detail on his skin that makes her go even redder.

"Umm. Well, it seems like it doesn't have any issue with slightly broken skin," she mumbles.

She coughs a little into her hand before she continues, "It's beautiful, really. I like it a lot. I could... draw it for you, if you want?" she asks, avoiding his glance over his shoulder--and yet looking at that glance anyway and just getting even more flustered.

The only winning move is not to play, apparently.

Telamon grins back over his shoulder at her. "That'd be good too. And I certainly don't mind you looking at me, what with how much I look at you." He winks, seeing that blush on her face, his eyes twinkling. "I mean... it's not like a 'real' tattoo, I certainly didn't go under the needle or the brush or anything..."

He pauses, looking at her flustered expression, and his eyebrows raise. "...That's not really what you're talking about, huh?"

Cor'lana squirms, just a little. A little noise leaves her--a squeak, something like a kettle but shorter. "No, it's not what I'm talking about, Tel--you..."

She shakes her head, blush deepening even further. "You know what I mean. That thing I do--"

Then she squints at him, still deeply flushed, as she says, "Don't make me say it! You're just playing dumb, aren't you? I'm supposed to be the dense one!"

She is clearly not her mother's daughter in this regard.

Telamon blinks as the penny drops. "Oh. Oh!" He actually colors a bit himself. "I, uh... didn't even think of that." He has the good grace to look embarrassed. "Um... well, I don't know if that'll... damage it. But I don't think so, it... it almost looks like it's under the skin in some way."

At this point even he's blushing. "Maybe I ought to put my tunic back on?" he offers. "So Pothy doesn't have to hide in the study and pout any more?"

Cor'lana looks at Telamon for another long moment until she finally just breaks out laughing--a very long, long laugh right from the belly. Eventually there's tears pouring down her eyes, too, as she eventually leans into the couch and catches her breath.

"Sorry!" she exclaims, followed by a few more stragglers of laughs as she wipes away the tears from her eyes. "Sorry, I just--haha, I just thought--ooooh, I just realized... Gosh, Tel, I honestly sometimes forget you're not always so charming and smooth. I really, really thought you were turning that into an opportunity to tease me."

Finally, Cor'lana just throws her arms around him and kisses him on the cheek, smiling from ear-to-ear. It was easily the hardest she'd laughed since the incident, and apparently it was therapeutic for her.

Telamon seems to subtly relax as he sees Cor'lana burst out laughing, his face lighting up in a smile. There's his girl, his laughing fey princess. He knew she was there, and now she's back again. Grinning as her giggles and laughs finally trail off. "I... sometimes find my silver tongue doesn't always serve me around you. With you, I am disarmed, and cannot resist." Shifting from tradespeak to Sylvan fluidly.

When she rushes into his arms he welcomes her, embracing her and hugging her close as she kisses his cheek. Nuzzling her in turn, he smiles, and gives her a squeeze. "I love you," he says. For him, it always needs to be said.

Cor'lana's eyes sparkle a little in that adoring manner as she looks at him, her face lighting up even more for the three magic words. "I love you too, Telamon," she says, smiling in that feytouched manner that seems to perfectly ride the whims of joy when it comes around--and those words always give her that.

She leans in and kisses him more soundly on the lips, although it quickly becomes a little more intense than that... and when she pulls back for air, she grins a little more impishly. "I hope you won't resist me if I ask... can we get reacquainted with our bed?"

For all of her hemming and hawing about being the 'dense one', she does well for herself on occasion.

Telamon nods, his eyes glinting. Not really fey, but clearly just as happy to dance to her tune. "I think," he says with mock gravity, "that would be a marvelous idea." He doesn't, however, pull her to her feet. Instead, he picks her up... lifting her, as he looks into her eyes.

Then, because he is a generous and kind soul, he calls to Pothy, "We're going to bed, Pothy. Feel free to demolish the leftovers."

That's probably a fair repayment for running poor Pothy off, as Tel carries his lover to the bedroom.