I Will Be the Danger

Log Info

• Title: I Will Be the Danger

• Emitter: Auranar

• Characters: Auranar, Ravenstongue

• Place: Auranar and Verna's house

• Summary: Auranar and Ravenstongue are baking! Or... Auranar's trying to teach Ravenstongue how to do a complicated braiding technique in baking, anyway. Once that's done, Ravenstongue and Auranar discuss Pothy's challenge to a duel from a member of the fey nobility, as well as Grandfather and the Corpse-Eater. Ravenstongue attunes to her totem and the two discuss the relationship of the fey to the dreaming realm... before getting back to baking.

There's the sound of raindrops falling on the roof, but the sound is far away and covered by the gentle rise and fall of friendly voices. Two women stand in Auranar's kitchen, Cor'lana having come over to learn one of Auranar's recipes. Auranar herself is still learning many of Grandfather's, some of which call for ingredients which she will have to wait for their season to come again, but she has her own which she is happy to share with Cor'lana.

They are well into it at the moment. The recipe is for an elvish bread which Auranar learned to make during one of her trips back to where her grandmother lives. She hadn't picked the recipe up from her grandmother actually, but one of the other elves whom had noticed her interest in baking and taught it to her. "It's the braiding that takes the longest, aside from the baking." Auranar explains, up to her elbows in dough as she shows the intricate knotwork that she was taught. "Here you try on yours."

Cor'lana's look of concentration is almost comical as she presses her lips together, mimicking Auranar's motions. While the half-sil sorceress is magical in the conventional sense of the word, she isn't nearly so magical as her adopted sister in terms of baking. Sure, she can assemble a pie, and she can knead dough, but the braiding is a thing that she approaches much more carefully, like the dough might rise up and bite her.

As a result, hers looks a bit more rough and shaggy than Auranar's. Cor'lana looks at it for a moment, and then she looks at Auranar, a sort of sheepish expression crossing her face. "Do you think it'll bake out?" she asks, followed by a laugh at her own expense. "If Grandfather were here, he'd probably put both of us to shame. I don't know how he does it with those talons of his."

Auranar laughs, getting a little pan to put the breads in and settling both in carefully one after the other. Then, into the oven they go! She checks to make sure the proper temperature is there before sliding them in, then rinses her hands in a cool basin of water waiting for the purpose. "Grandfather has had hundreds of years if not longer to perfect his craft. You're doing fine Cor'lana. We'll do the glaze while the bread cooks, I need a drink though! What would you like?"

Cor'lana washes off her hands, too, once Auranar's done with the basin. "Tea, please. Something calming?" she requests, politely. Her eyes flicker to the nearest window, like she's inspecting the skies for something, before she looks back at Auranar.

"So... Speaking of Grandfather. I actually wanted to talk about something that's kind of related to him? And... kind of not. It's a bit of a story." The way Cor'lana wrings her hands together makes it evident why she asked for a calming tea.

"I have just the thing." Auranar says, getting into her tea cupboard and shifting the various teas around until she finds the perfect one. The cupboard itself is stacked with teas, making it quite clear that there's a lot of it gone through in this house. She wanders from the kitchen to the hearth, pulling the kettle off where it's been allowed to simmer at a low temperature in preparation of need, and pouring it into the tea pot with some of the tea to steep. "What's the matter Cor'lana? Is something wrong with Grandfather? Has he taken ill or something?"

Auranar can't imagine the powerful figure of her new Grandfather as being ill, but she doesn't discount the possibility. Though that hardly explains how something can be 'about him but not'. The tea steeps and Auranar looks at her sister worriedly.

"Sick?" Cor'lana contemplates it for a moment, like she's trying to parse the very idea of Grandfather being sick in the same manner that people can be sick. Finally, she says, "He's... He's not sick, like how you or I get colds and need to curl up with warm tea and hot soup. But..."

She presses her lips together a moment. "He's always suffered from something that makes him despondent and lonely if he's left on his own for too long. Yet he... intensely dislikes others of his kind. He is Unseelie by nature, yet he thinks of other Unseelie as monsters, and Seelie as annoyances--and when he is alone for too long, he thinks of himself as a monster."

Cor'lana waves all that aside. "The issue isn't... really with him, though, other than that I ask you to please, please do not tell what I am going to tell you to him? It has to do with other of his kin. And when Grandfather learned I made an... arrangement with one of them, he was beside himself with all sorts of dark feelings. I fear he could do something that could get himself hurt, or even paint a target on your back as a member of our family."

There's a pain in her eyes as she admits, "I should have told you everything before you took our family name as yours, but... I felt the same as Grandfather--and I still feel the same--that you deserved a family who loved you and wanted you."

Auranar listens to Cor'lana's words with at first confusion and then if more understanding as the other woman goes on, not complete. She pours the tea, a cup for herself and a cup for Cor'lana, and brings the cup to her sister. Pressing the warm tea towards the other woman she offers a smile. "I know better than most that family isn't all sunshine and rainbows Cor'lana. Grandfather is a kind man, but I knew when he accepted me into the family that he suffered from a loneliness not unlike mine. Nor am I surprised to learn that he is estranged from others like himself; if he had that connection he might be less lonely than he is... but that's neither here nor there. I'm sure he has his reasons for removing himself from their company."

The wild elf holds her own tea cup for warmth. "Let a target be painted if it is. It's worth it to have what I've been waiting all my life for Cor'lana. It's more than worth it for you, Grandfather, and Telamon. I won't tell him, not unless he needs to know. I won't risk him hurting himself." Auranar looks at the other woman reassuringly. "You can tell me anything Cor'lana. It'll stay between us."

Cor'lana takes the teacup and takes a sip, seeming to relish the warmth and the taste of the relaxing tea. She smiles a little to be reassured that Auranar doesn't want to suddenly shed the family name, but the pain remains in her eyes even still. "I'm glad," Cor'lana says at first, before she adds on, "I just... didn't want you feeling like you were cheated. Because it is a lot."

She holds her teacup for a moment before she says, quietly, "I swore an oath to an Unseelie monarch, the Queen of Air and Darkness, in exchange for a sword that is still in my care and possession that can permanently put an end to things that normally do not die. The price was heavy. Her Majesty originally wanted me to stay in her Court for a century, and Telamon told me he couldn't approve, because he swore to me that he would always stay by my side."

Here, she looks consumed with guilt as she looks up at Auranar. "Pothy volunteered in my stead. He was only gone for a few weeks here in our realm--time flows differently in Quelynos--but... that's why he came back and started sharing his snacks. I've come to learn of some of the things that happened to him while he was there, but it sounded like... someone who was very important to him passed on. Someone he loved, but couldn't be with, and now she's passed on--and we received a challenge from a member of the Court, issued to Pothy. A duel. And... I might have to fight in Pothy's stead."

This is... a lot to take in, and Auranar doesn't immediately respond. It would have been nice to be able to reassure Cor'lana right away, but that would be denying the seriousness of the situation. She sips her tea instead and looks at the other woman seriously. "That's... a lot to deal with. Poor Pothy. How... How is he handling this? And... if this person is challenging Pothy - can you take his place? I'm not sure how duels and such-not work."

She licks her lips and lowers her tea cup. "I'm afraid I don't know that much about the fae, demons and devils are more my specialty. Weird magical items yes, but the fae are a very complicated people. One that does not reason as we do. If this person wants to challenge Pothy, it might be a good idea to find out why, why they really are challenging him."

"Pothy's been... Sort of quiet and sullen about the whole thing," Cor'lana says. "He doesn't like talking about his time there, and there are parts that are... I think, too painful to talk about. I know about grief and I know about pain all too well myself, to the point where I dare not coax it out of him. It is still a wound too recent."

She looks thoughtful. "I've learned that duels are common in courts to settle matters of disagreement. A champion can be selected if one is unable to fight--which Pothy really can't--and can be done by sword, magic, or both. He could decline the challenge, but it might lead to more challenges later, and his standing with the others at the court would dull. It's... easier to accept the challenge and fight in Pothy's stead, as my garden pixies didn't learn much of anything about Pothy's challenger, beyond that he's a really minor noble, and he's got an awful temper. Snooping myself by inquiring with fae that are better connected... Might result in Grandfather hearing about it. And that's the last thing I want. He loves me so much that he might show up and intervene."

Auranar considers this too. "Not knowing what you're getting into is... Very dangerous. You don't know what this is about. You don't know who this person is. What if you choose magic - since that is your forte and it turns out that he's a more powerful sorcerer? Fae have unusual magical abilities sometime - specifically the nobles - and he might be able to drain the very life out of you with a thought." She shudders and shakes her head. "No, you need a friend on the inside Cor'lana. Someone who can give you the information you're looking for..."

She trails off after a moment and then continues. "Maybe I can help. I'm sure that Grandfather isn't keeping as keen an eye on me in that way, so maybe I can get to some of this information for you. Just tell me where to look."

That thought of being robbed of her life by just trying to defend Pothy chills Cor'lana visibly, her face going pale. "I... You're right, Auranar," she says. "I need to know more. Way more, before I can think of taking this duel more seriously."

She looks at Auranar for a moment, clearly weighing something in her head, as a grave expression falls onto her lips and darkens her violet eyes. "As much as I don't want harm to come to you by getting involved--the reality is that you already are, by being part of the family. I..."

Cor'lana looks thoughtful as something crosses her mind. "There's another we could approach. The Wee Queen. I need to find out how to get into contact with her. I was introduced to her by Archmage Mikilos, but I'd rather not rely on him to call on her. Besides that--we're going to have to find out exactly how much fae presence there is in Alexandria, and who can be trusted to be discreet when we ask for information about the Queen of Air and Darkness's Court. My pixies could only unearth a little. Do you think you might be able to help me there? A little... canvassing of the city?"

She didn't intend to unsettle Cor'lana, but when that leads to introspection, she doesn't regret her words. "I'll do what I can Cor'lana. I've heard of this wee queen before, and I'm sure she'll have information on the other courts. Rumors at the very least. So she's a good source to go to I think..." She trails off again, drinking her tea a little. "I'll see if anyone local - fae or otherwise knows how to contact her. If not, if they have information that might be valuable to you."

She smiles reassuringly at Cor'lana. "Just don't go accepting before we get the knowledge we need. Is there a specific time with the duel? A date?"

"There wasn't a specific time and date, no," Cor'lana replies, "but that doesn't mean we should be slow about this, as time moves differently in Quelynos. In the meantime, I'll see if my pixies can inquire about arranging a meeting with the Wee Queen--I think they might be better at getting that then rumors about the Queen of Air and Darkness's Court."

She downs more of her tea in a large gulp, clearly needing a little more to soothe her nerves. "Needless to say, I will not accept that duel until we have a better idea of what we're working with. I--"

Another thought crosses her mind, and she sighs. "I forgot to tell you. There's... another issue with the family. Grandfather has a 'cousin'. A man called the Corpse-Eater, who has delighted in toying with Telamon and I by impersonating us. He likes toying with his victims before they die, and he seems to be exactly the sort of person who might rile us up by sending a fake letter of challenge. I can't rule out his involvement with all of this, either, even if he's been quiet for some time."

"Hopefully we have time. Maybe this challenger knows that time moves differently and that is why they didn't send a distinct time. And it make sense that the pixies would have an easier time finding out information about the wee court. Even if neither of them are nobles they're still a part of that world right?" Auranar offers another comforting smile and finishes her tea and takes Cor'lana's tea cup from her. She refills them both and offers the other woman the second cup of tea.

"So... I should be on the lookout for fakes of you and Telamon." Auranar seems troubled by this, and shudders. "I almost hope that it's a fake challenge Cor'lana. After all, then you wouldn't have to fight."

Cor'lana offers a grateful nod as she takes the refilled second cup of tea. "Thank you," she says in regards to the tea and, in another sense, the comfort Auranar provides. "I... hope it's fake in that the Queen's Court is leaving us alone. I hope it's real in that the Corpse Eater is, to me, almost more terrifying than the prospect of getting tangled up in Court intrigue. One is an arbitrary labyrinth that I have no idea how to navigate... and the other is a sadistic monster."

She looks at Auranar with a haunted expression. "Telamon cast a spell that allowed him to learn information about the Corpse-Eater. If he wasn't occupied with the Shining Chalice for the entirety of this weekend, I'd have him cast it on this noble who's challenging Pothy, Folendel, but he's out. Anyway, what he learned was... grim. He saw a fey woman murdering her own husband because she believed it was the Corpse-Eater, and when she realized what she'd done, she fled as..."

Cor'lana can't even bring herself to say it. Her lips press together tightly into a thin, thin line, and finally, she manages, "He did as his epithet implies with the husband. That's what he likes to do. He finds no thrill in hurting people himself. He'd rather torture his victims in an intimate manner and cause them to doubt what's real and what isn't real. He has a fixation currently on Telamon and I because he tried to do the same to Grandfather and his wife--only Grandfather caught him and beat him to within an inch of his life, and made him swear he would never do it again so long as his wife drew breath."

There's a moment where Auranar's mouth sort of just hangs open. She's caught entirely off guard, and speechless and then she finally manages to say something. "Cor'lana... Does that mean that his oath is gone? He might well fear Grandfather, but... Fae are known for their long-lived grudges. If he can he might do something to hurt Grandfather... Especially if he's already shown an undue interest in you and Telamon."

Cor'lana looks grim. "I'm almost certain that's why he's taken an interest in Telamon and I," she says. "He can't hurt Grandfather physically. But he can still torment him by getting at me. Getting at Telamon. And..."

She takes a deep breath here. "The moment he learns that you are precious to Grandfather, too? You might be involved. I don't know. When Telamon encountered him before, he made a remark about bloodlines. Given that you're a part of our family by bond, he may not consider you as... 'appetizing' of a target."

That makes Cor'lana visibly disgusted to even say. She shakes her head and waits a moment, and it passes. "I hope for your sake, he doesn't. I really, really hope he doesn't. Just know that Telamon and I have figured out a system to know if it's really us that we're talking to--we talk about flowers in our garden last year that we didn't plant, or we refer to things we do inside of our home that haven't happened. If the other person goes along with it like it happened, or they're just acting off--then it's the Corpse-Eater."

She looks thoughtful. "Maybe our arrangement could be... A completely fictitious recipe. 'I really enjoyed the crusted rhubarb pie you made for me the other day,' for instance?"

"That sounds perfect, and very wise." Replies Auranar with a nod. She smiles softly, but the expression is quick to fade. "I hope that you're right and that he doesn't find me interesting. I have little desire to interact with such a creature even by proxy. I think that for the sake of safety however I will invest in some cold iron arrows." Here her expression goes particularly grim.

She reaches out and touches the other woman on the arm comfortingly. "We'll deal with these things together. There is no force stronger than our combined will; the totems have taught me that. We can deal with these challenges."

"Cold iron anything will serve you well, even if it makes me uncomfortable just to hold it," Cor'lana says with a small smile, putting her hand on top of Auranar's where her sister comforts her. "My estranged father brought a cold iron dagger into my home once--back when Telamon and I were just engaged, actually, and that's a long story there--and just the thought of it being in my household was disquieting. It wouldn't hurt me any more than other types of steel would, but I think because of the blood pact I have with Grandfather, as well as my lineage from him, even diluted over generations--it still manifests as dangerous in the back of my head."

She chuckles a little. "I know that sounds odd. I'm sure all of this sounds both odd and awful. I'm just... glad that you're standing by me even in the face of all of this, but that's what sisters are supposed to do, right?"

Then she recalls something. "Oh! The totems. Hold on..."

Cor'lana goes fishing in the bag that hangs from the belt on her hips. She pulls out a totem, still in the shape that its previous attuner left it in. "I... haven't attuned to it yet. It looks like this because another had attuned to it that wasn't one of the Hound's servants. I offered to Telamon that I could take a totem on if he wanted me to, and... now this totem is mine, it looks like."

She looks at Auranar. "I could attune to it here? If you don't mind supervising, that is. I work with blood normally with my pact, but... This is a bit different."

Auranar nods in agreement. "Yes, this is precisely what sisters are for. No danger you face could scare me off Cor'lana. I've already faced my demons, and though it didn't end well for me at the time... In the end we defeated him." She smiles here softly and lets Cor'lana retrieve the totem.

"They sure are ugly things before they're transformed. I have to admit that though we've learned a lot about them... they still bring so many questions to my mind." She motions for Cor'lana to do as she wishes. "You're welcome to. I'll happily make sure nothing untoward happens when you do."

"I have questions, too," Cor'lana says, eyeing her totem before she puts it down on the table. She pulls up the long sleeve of her dress to reveal a thin, tiny pin, like the kind used for sewing, concealed cleverly along the seam, just tucked away within the fabric that lays on the wrist, where she can get at it quickly if needed. "I have a pin like this hidden in all of my dresses," she explains. "Just in case I need to draw on the powers of my pact. Biting my skin was getting painful, and a necklace with a concealed blade seemed too precarious of a solution."

She pricks her thumb with the pin, a bead of blood welling up on the seat of her thumb. Just as when she watched Telamon do it before, she almost barely reacts to this, the slight twitch of an eye the only discomfort she shows.

Her violet eyes lock onto the totem, thumb bloodied. Her countenance becomes... serious is not quite the wrong word. Cor'lana looks engaged, like all that there is in the world is herself, the totem, and the magic that is about to happen. "I enter this arrangement as myself, of my own free will and my own desire," she states. "I am Cor'lana Lupecyll-Atlon, and I am the Feathered One's child."

She turns her thumb down and presses it to the totem.

"A wise precaution." Auranar admits and considers adding something similar to her own dresses in the future. It's not the first time that she's considered adding some kind of weaponry to her outfits. One too many times being attacked by someone on the street really. Alexandria was not a wholly safe place. She watches as Cor'lana pricks her finger and touches it to the totem. At first it does nothing and then it is rapidly shifting until it takes the form of a lovely woman with wild hair. Auranar blinks at it. "I was expecting... more."

Cor'lana studies the totem for a long moment, and... she smirks a little to watch it take form. "It must be the amount of blood," she says. "In addition to the fact that, because I am not a follower of this totem's deity, it may not do for me what Ni'essa's totem does for Telamon."

She regards the totem a moment more. "The Tyrant being this totem's maker doesn't bother me. Not anymore. He may have gifted me the knowledge that I demanded of Him to hurt me, but... many things have hurt me. People, too. We use the tools that we are given."

Cor'lana looks at Auranar. "A part of me wants to feed it more blood and take it into the dream. Without one, and connected to Telamon the way I am via telepathic bond--I was able to match the power of Dace Zinskas, before he augmented his totem with blood. He said it was dangerous for someone like me, with fae blood in my veins, to be in the dream."

She pats the totem with her unblooded hand. "He's got it all wrong, though. I don't intend to be the one in danger. I'm going to be the danger. This is the key that will get me there. Tyrant or no."

Auranar smiles at Cor'lana. "You're so brave. I don't know if I could... or would. Though it's tempting! I want to learn everything about everything." She glances down at her tea. "I know it'd worry Verna if I was to get into that too deeply though. Sometimes I don't care. Sometimes I just want to DO something you know?"

She sighs and takes a drink, still looking at her cup. "I wonder what he meant about it being dangerous for you in particular though. Have you considered asking your pixie friends? Or another friendly fae you know besides Grandfather?" Auranar can understand not wanting to get him involved.

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Perform/Oratory: (4)+15: 19

"I have a theory as to why," Cor'lana says, putting the totem away back into her bag. Her expression is a little bashful as Auranar compliments her. "The legend of Quelynos's creation is that Ni'essa created it. And since She is the goddess of dreaming--there is something about the fae who live in Quelynos, and those descended from them like me, that makes us... sensitive to the dream, perhaps. Given that I have always been a dreamer--it was how I coped with the sadness of my childhood, and the only way I coped with my mother's passing and the amnesia that followed--it was... natural for me to manipulate the dream with only my will, once I realized that Telamon and I were dreaming. Once that I realized that I could."

She pauses for a moment. Then the words tumble from her mouth in a manner like a feather winding along a rock-filled river: flowing, but with a bump here and there along the way.

::"For the dreamer, she wakes but sleeps: ::She dreams but lives in a world that turns; ::Not caring an inch for if the reality matches hers, ::Not caring for the world she creates in her words, ::Not caring for the cruelty it inflicts onto her. ::Its arrows, although lodged in her side, disturb her not: ::For the dreamer, she wakes but sleeps, ::And in her world, there are no wounds, no scars, ::And in her world, there are castles and queens ::And she creates herself wings with which to fly, ::Their feathers leading her to invincibility. ::For the dreamer: she wakes and thrives, ::Her steps echoing in all worlds, all places."

There's a twinkle in Cor'lana's violet eyes. "I have to write that down and refine it a bit more--and keep to to myself, I think," she says.

Auranar sets her cup down to offer a light applause to Cor'lana's poem. "That was lovely! Did you compose that on the spot?" She seems even more impressed perhaps than she had been a moment before. She flushes a little. "You are so talented. As for the rest though... that does sound interesting. Possibly... you'll have more power and control there, but there may be specific risks to you that you should let me research also. Just in case."

Cor'lana flushes quite a bit at Auranar's praise, too, grinning from ear to ear. "Yes, that was totally on the spot," she admits. "That's... something that I do from time to time. Because of how many poetry events I attend at the Theatre District, and how some of them are challenges to improvise poetry--I've gotten a little good at it. And there are certain things I draw inspiration from... dreams being one of them."

Then she nods and takes up her tea to sip it again, now that the totem business is done and it's put away. "Please, any findings at all you bring would be wonderful," she says. "I'll do my part to research, too. After all, we are both part of the Lupecyll-Atlon family now--and sisters don't let each other go off alone into dangerous things."

The wild elf considers this a moment then nods. "I..." She hesitates, clamps down and sighs. "Never mind." Her eyes track to the right for a moment. "We should get back to the baking. The glaze will not make itself!" She smiles ruefully and sets her tea cup aside after finishing it off.

Cor'lana blinks a couple of times. "Oh, right!" she exclaims as she sets her teacup down. "The glaze! I, err--let me clean my hands, I don't want to get blood on the bread!"

The sorceresses throw themselves back into baking, where all thoughts of fae, totems, and danger give way to happier things (and happier results, although Cor'lana's bread is still not as clean-looking as Auranar's). Laughs are shared, joy is made, and a poem percolates in Cor'lana's head.

Unbeknownst to them, a rook watches from outside, sitting atop a tree from many feet away, where the women are almost silhouettes from his skull-faced. His violet eyes watch, and watch, and watch... until he seems to grow bored of the domesticity, and he takes flight into the Alexandrian sky.