Lady and the Bard

Log Info

• Title: Lady and the Bard

• Emitter: Ravenstongue

• Characters: Patch, Ravenstongue

• Place: Ravenstongue and Telamon's house

• Summary: Patch is coming home from an all-night musical engagement when she spies Ravenstongue trying to move a new sith-makar sized chair into her garden while the garden pixies comment from the peanut gallery. The bard helps her move it in, and is rewarded for her efforts by Ravenstongue explaining her fey heritage and rocky family history. Patch empathizes with her on both counts, and the two friends become closer than before.

Lúpecyll-Atlon house, morning.

The garden gate is left open again on the property of the Lúpecyll-Atlon home, but for good reason this time, as Cor'lana is working on dragging a nice, albeit somewhat large, garden chair into the backyard. She gets halfway through the open gate when she stops to take a breath and wipes the sweat forming on her brow.

There are two tiny... butterflies? observing her. No, those are not butterflies. Those are very tiny women--one with cool-toned dark skin and vibrant green hair dressed in a cascade of braids, and one with warm-toned fair skin and blonde, curly ringlets. They wear a pink dress and a white dress made from flower petals, their butterfly wings matching the colors of their dresses.

"Lady Lúpecyll!" the one with blonde ringlets cries out, throwing her tiny hands into the air. "C'mon, you can do it! You can do it! Pretend it's training and you're going to use your newfound strength to KILL that demon lady!"

"Lily-of-the-Valley, it is far too early in the morning to be discussing death and dismemberment," the green-haired girl replies with a sigh. "Nevertheless... Keep going, Lady Lúpecyll. You have our utmost support. If not our help. We are garden pixies, not mover pixies."

"I'm starting to wish I knew where to get a mover pixie," Cor'lana grunts as she pulls the chair in a little more. "If Tel were here, he could just move it with his unseen servant spell, but of course he stepped out on errands when the delivery people came by."

It might be an early morning for some, but Patch had been out all night. There was a militaristic event thrown by Blar that she had attended honoring those who had fallen in the Sendor war. She's still trying to walk straight having spent the night with a few new friends, pausing now before the open fence to the Lúpecyll-Alton house. "Strange..." the bard muses to herself, giggling a bit with a warmth to her tone. Today she wears something other than her coat, a cloak colored deep maroon. Under it is a simple sleeveless blouse of white, and a pair of riding pants with boots to match.

It was those voices she heard, drawing her near, her curiosity of her friends and her impulsive mood bringing her here today. "What is all this?" she asks, rounding upon those small fey talking and musing to Cor'lana as the half-elven woman struggles with some bit of furniture. "I'm not intruding am I? I could come back. Honest." hesitancy in her tone, more because she doesn't know what's she's walked in on, but also because her mind still fights off the small bits of fuzz that she had from being offered a lot of apple brandy the night before.

Patch's offer to leave is also as quiclky rescended, her mind seemingly fixating on the physical struggle. The fey she will mostly only acknowledge with a short dip of head, and polite smile. "Uh, do you need help there Cor'lana? I could do that too."

Cor'lana seems almost relieved as Patch approaches and announces her offer of help. She straightens herself out and wipes off her hands on her knee-length black dress, which is at least sensible for the weather, especially as the season is beginning to turn. "I would love more help--"

"Oooh! Oooh! New friend? New friend!?" the pixie named as Lily-of-the-Valley chirps, her blonde ringlets bouncing as she begins to flit around like a bumblebee excited over flowers in bloom. "You can't just stand there and--"

The green-haired pixie clamps her hand over Lily's mouth. "My apologies, dear friend of our fair lady," she says. "My sister here was born when a puppy barked for the first time and is about as excitable as one. You may call me Mirabilis. We are Lady Lúpecyll's devoted servants."

"I'm not a lady," Cor'lana mumbles in a way that suggests this is a protest that has gone unheard for very much some time. But then she looks back at Patch with a smile. "But yes, I'd love some help. Sorry about the pixies--long story there, but they help Telamon with the garden."

Patch lets out a sigh of relief, eyes flicking to the pixies as her manners seem to soften. "Okay, good. I'd like to help." Cor'lana addressed first, but she pauses to take care of another matter first.

The Bard turns to properly meet the two pixies that greeted her. "A pleasure, Mirabilis and... I think I heard Lily-Of-The-Valley?" she asks to confirm, but that name is part of what drew her, it even having caused her ear to twitch on approach. "Chat as you will. I do like to prattle on myself." indulging the two with a bit of amusement at their antics and manners. "You both can call me Patch."

"So, where do we begin, and what can I do?" Patch's focus shifting on the task, even rubbing her hands together as she approaches to help. "And, yeah. No need to apologize for all of this. I've been in many a situation that couldn't be explained easily, and I'm willing to just stroll with it."

"Well, now that I have you here, we can lift this chair up and set it down by the table pretty easily," Cor'lana replies, pointing to the garden table and two chairs that reside next to it already. The chair that is currently parked in the open gate is in a similar style to them, but has a semi-open back that seems like it may be more comfortable for those with tails--such as the sith-makar--to sit. "I'll take this side and you take the other."

"Yes, you may call me Lily-of-the-Valley," Lily replies with a smile. "Boy-watcher extraordinaire, cheerleader supreme, and gardener superior!"

"If you're going to assign yourself titles, you might as well back them up with effort to show for it, Lily," Mirabilis quips. "And lest you think of us as rude, madame Patch, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Any friend of Lady Lúpecyll and Lord Lúpecyll-to-be are to be treated just like we would treat the Lady and Lord-to-be."

"Yes, sure!" Patch's feet carrying her to help with the chair, bending to take one side of it as she listens to the chimes and declarations of the pixies with a small smile. "Oh, they do seem to be using the titles a bit, don't they?" she teases with a tone of mild mirth as she looks up to where pixies call from. "Though I would say, madame may be a bit much. Patch would be fine on its own." she muses, looking to the chair she helps with, pausing before realizes its design and function. "All are welcome here, yeah?" eager to help lift and move.

"So, why do they insist on calling you 'Lady'?" The Bard asks, flicking a glance to Cor'lana across from her. "I kind of get it. I often think of you and Telamon as a prince and princess tale." she concedes, finding amusement in her own words. "Lady Lúpecyll does have a ring to it, and well...." smirking broadly. "It's not as if you don't already exude that kind of air. I see where they're coming from."

The heavy lifting is, well, heavy, but the silblooded ladies manage to make it work. Cor'lana huffs a little as it's finally down on the ground by the table. She wipes the sweat off of her brow. "Yes, all are welcome here," she says, "hence the chair. It came to my attention that we needed more accommodations for our larger-statured and tailed friends in the garden--we have suitable chairs for them inside, but not outside. So, I arranged for this one to be delivered, but I didn't quite realize that they weren't going to just put it in my garden." She smiles sheepishly as she admits it.

And then the subject of Cor'lana's 'ladyship' is brought up. Cor'lana flushes a little as she looks at the pixies--who both giggle at her. "Well," she says, "I am descended from fey nobility. I am the great-great... many greats-over granddaughter of a fey nobleman called Alud'rigan, the Feathered One. I've got his violet eyes and the mark on the chest to indicate that I am not only his descendant, but that I am also the current head of the Lúpecyll mortal bloodline."

She snorts a little. "Not that's an impressive thing, since it's only me and the man who sired me with my mother one night in Llyranost, but Grandfather--as I call my ancestor--gave me the distinguishment on my birthday a few months ago. He's a nice man, albeit... Very lonely, and sometimes quite terrifying. I am thankful he loves Telamon and I so dearly, as I wouldn't want to be on the other end of his talons."

"Lady Lúpecyll and Lord Lúpecyll-to-be are a prince and princess tale!" Lily-of-the-Valley sighs dreamily, putting her hands together underneath her chin. "They're so gorgeous together! Their children will be dis-GUSTING-ly cute~!"

"The children will be impeccable, yes," Mirabilis tags on, albeit with not nearly so much of the fangirl enthusiasm of her pixie-sister.

Patch is one to try and complete a job without complaints, resting a moment once the chair is put in place where Cor'lana wishes. A brow is wiped with back of hand, but the juicy conversation has her beaming with an impish grin. "Oh yes, let's acknowledge truth of it as strange." she teases, the tale seeming to spark something in her dull eyes. "I would not of guessed, but the signs are there if one would look close enough. I can see it now." she reasons. "You're already kin in many regards, you and Telamon both, yeah? It's true some have more connection to ancient bloodlines than others, but it sounds like your ancestry runs deeper into the fey realm than even my own."

"So, only recently did you learn this?" Patch asks, trying to follow as best she can. "How is this all not an impressive thing? Ties, family, and bonds that span generations. You talk down of yourself when many others would celebrate. It would be status enough to flaunt to some." Patch's words coming with a heft of breath, and sigh. "But, I do prefer your nature and way of it. Flaunted it could mean trouble, more if secrets and names were to be abused."

"Disgustingly cute? That's a new one." Patch observes of the small fey, amused, but rolling eyes at their antics. "I'd of went with adorable, precious, captivating.... bewitching even. Disgustingly? Oh, that's not a word I associate with our Cor'lana and family, future children included. But, yes.... a prince and princess tale make far more sense." she chimes. "At least to me. I have always gotten that impression of a noble air."

"It is all strange," Cor'lana concedes merrily with a smirk. "There is very little about me that I daresay is normal and never has been normal. There's the business with my mother, who was a formidable sorceress in her own right and whose power I have inherited, and then there's my sire's lineage from the Feathered One--in fact, the reason my father was never in my life was because of the Feathered One."

She takes a seat in one of the two more appropriately-sized garden chairs, seeming much happier to be sitting. She did say she was a sorceress, not a handy person, after all. "You see, my mother happened to be in Llyranost with her adventuring party--I believe she was invited there specifically for a job--and she... Well, my mother took on many lovers. So she was at this grand elven ball and met a sylvanori man there. Took him to bed and... a few weeks later, discovered she was pregnant. She decided she'd be a better mother to me than her mother was to her, and planned loosely to stay in Llyranost with me and let my father come visit."

Cor'lana sits up a little straighter in her chair as she peers at Patch. "Then she gave birth to me--and as she was resting in bed, she saw my father hold tiny little me out to what she saw instantly as a monster. Despite recovering from childbirth, she found the strength she needed to blast them both, free me from the clutches of the monster, and teleport very far away to her home village in Rune... Which is where I was raised for two decades."

She folds her hand neatly in her lap. "The truth of the story, however? Grandfather struggles with what he calls a 'curse of loneliness'. Left alone to his devices for too long, he is driven to despair and even touches of insanity. The Lúpecyll family--his descendants--solved this problem by giving up the eldest child of the eldest child to him. They live out their natural lives with him in Quelynos as children all the way til they cross the Halls--and then the next child comes to live with him."

Cor'lana's expression takes a turn for the dour. "But over time, the family forgot. They became more and more distant. And then there was my father and his brother, manipulated against each other and turned into aspiring nobility in the elvish noble houses by his brother's wife, a minor noblewoman of House Son'doriel with delusions of aspiration for the royal throne by having a child--and so she thought, 'it doesn't matter which brother, so long as I have a chess piece to use.' So she urged my father to have a child with someone so that her miracle child--which never came to be--wouldn't be 'kidnapped'."

Cor'lana leans back in her chair. "That noblewoman is now in prison for the rest of her days, as she tried to have me kidnapped. I went from learning of my father and my fey ancestor not even a year ago to a near-victim of her schemes a few months ago. Telamon and dear friends of ours saved me from her."

That tale had taken many turns, but Patch listens to it without uttering a word of her own until it's done. She quietly finds a seat in one of the smaller chairs of the garden, sitting close. She nods at times, and wrinkles her nose at some words or another when it's through. It takes a small moment before she speaks, a flick of a pierced ear coming almost a soon as her breath leaves her lips. "Llyranost is full of many kinds whom plot and play the games of the court. I do not envy you your trials, but I know what it is like to have others seek to control what you can and will do in life."

"I am not fond of home, and your words and tale remind me of many others whom have had to pay the price of those once so protected and sequestered from the toils of the rest of the world." Patch's opinion of her kin not high at all. "It is good she's in prison, it's likely where my mother should be, but... influence and money can hide what people already don't want to see." a smile peeking even after her own dour tone. "I wish I had met your mother, standing against such things on her own, and... it's admirable. Mine? Well, she named me Siofra." this seeming to be explanation enough for the bard.

"I don't know what to say to it all. I could ask and pry all day, but I don't think that serves you, or things as they are now." Patch's thoughts meandering as she sits back, crossing one leg over another, and letting hands rest upon a knee. "It definitely doesn't make one want to visit home. Rune would be more appealing... even now with so much lost." disappointment clear even in her playful tone. "So what of the Feathered One, and your father now? Is the Feathered one truly placated with things as they are, or are they still trying to draw you into the folds of the fey world? You mentioned the curse, is it not satiated? Or is this still... ongoing?"

"Your opinion of your mother is... similar to mine about my sire, and I certainly do not have a high opinion on the sylvanori and lyranesi who support the courtly intrigue in Llyranost," Cor'lana says, with a measured amount of distaste in her voice for her own father and paternal people. "Manipulated as he was by his brother's wife, who then became his wife... He still has never put in the effort to be someone I want to know in my life, and... it's better for the both of us that we don't know each other."

But she smiles gently at Patch as she asks about Grandfather, mirth returning to her eyes. "Well, now that we've found each other--and since I was able to negotiate for myself--Grandfather and I have agreed that Telamon and I will come to live with him in Quelynos one day, when we are old and beginning to wither away. We will live out our twilight years with him, and by then, we ought to have grandchildren that may be able to live with him. Until then, he staves off the curse by using an animal messenger spell of sorts to visit us--once every week or so. It is possible for him to cross planes, but it is very difficult for him. And I have only managed to visit him once so far on my own."

Lily-of-the-Valley finally pipes up. "Wait! Is he coming here soon? Oh no! I don't want to get eaten!"

Cor'lana bites her lip for a moment to keep from laughing. "Grandfather is not a fan of other fey," she informs Patch, "so the pixies hide whenever he comes over. -- No, Lily, Grandfather is not arriving today, I think."

Patch finds herself nodding slowly, casting a softer glance to Lily as she voices her worry. "I can see the tension there." she muses to Cor'lana with a nod. "I wouldn't want to be caught up in such a mess either, it surely is scary for one so small as Lily."

"What a wonderful mess it is though, Cor'lana. I wouldn't of guessed any of it." Patch having to pause in her own thoughts, and truly think about parts of this tale. "Your Grandfather seems more reasonable than I would of guessed. We are afforded more time than others, even so with your mixed blood. Maybe he cares not when he gets his wish, only that it's fulfilled... though even that's a kindness that fey often don't extend."

Patch shifts in seat, a lower lip bitten in thought, mulling words quickly in her head. "Well, regardless. Your secret will be kept close, and guarded. I have little reason to speak of any of this with others, but... if you ever need something, or help I can give, do not hesitate to ask." a wink given. "Consider it a courtesy from one who rejected the court to another whom was nearly taken by them. It's not much, but it is what I have to give."

There's a glint of intrigue in Cor'lana's eyes as Patch touches briefly on courts--and her own association with them. "It sounds like you have your own ties to the fey," she says with a smile. "But... as intrigued as I am to ask, I wouldn't expect you to volunteer yours as easily as I've given mine. You are a friend, albeit a recent one--and yet I feel I could trust you with a lot. After all, we both work to thwart a common enemy of ours, although it seems we've both chosen unconventional means of doing so."

She snickers briefly. "I have... unfortunately, gotten Grandfather a little riled up lately. I have met not one, but two fey queens at this point, and learning of my Grandfather's past with one of him made him... Let's just say he is very protective of me. But if you ever come over and meet him, rest assured that he will like you just fine. He's just a nice old man who finds mortals like you and I to be pleasant company. And his food is delicious."

"He cooks and he cleans," Lily-of-the-Valley complains. "It's no wonder that Lady Lúpecyll's great-great-great... we don't have all day, but her grandmother fell in love with him! It's just such a shame that he is absolutely terri--!"

That earns Lily-of-the-Valley another clamped hand over her mouth. "Lily, don't describe the Lady's honorable ancestor with such language," Mirabilis chides.

"I..." Patch begins, but for once the woman has no answer. She huffs a breath with drooping ears, shaking her head as she dismisses some thought. "It's hard for me, Cor'lana. My mother bid to win favors, and 'heal' me led to dark times in my life." and that being the most she can offer of the tale for now.

"She was taken by madness, and blinded by what she thought was love. It's not an excuse for her, there really isn't one, but I have learned to see that she was just broken." speaking of her mother, but not what she did.

"I'd of wished for a Grandfather like yours, one whom would of whisked me away into another place, but I had no such luck. My father was misguided, and sought to make peace between us, but it wasn't to be found. If anything, it enabled her to keep pursuing her dreams of fixing me." speaking as if there was something wrong, though she's touched on this once before in passing. Her mother never cared much for her marks, and the name Siofra does translate to changeling in the trade-tongue. It seems she's mentioned many pieces to this puzzle, just not in any order for those around her to decipher.

"For all the talk of your grandfather being terrible, I doubt he would try and buy wishes to force change in you." Patch finally gets out, huffing in her seat. "I find no acceptance at home. Nor do I want it."

Cor'lana frowns deeply as she listens patiently to Patch speaking of her life. Eventually, she reaches out and... holds out her hand.

"Patch, you know your home doesn't have to be that place, right?" she asks quietly. "You can make it whatever you want to be. Your family can be whatever you want it to be. And... Well, it wouldn't be the first time I've offered it, but since we've established that we are 'kin' in a way... Please. Call me a friend or perhaps even a sister."

She smiles gently, though her brows are still furrowed in sadness. "I think I understand a little--not from experience, of course, so I can't say I've walked in your shoes, but I've heard stories. I do, after all, know what that name given to you means. And... Like I said before: we're only recent friends, but I'm willing--perhaps all too readily, given my occupation--to happily welcome you into this odd little menagerie of close friends and family that Telamon and I have built together. Because we'll accept you here... and we know that you are not broken. You're just different."

Her violet eyes twinkle. "Kind of like me," she says.

Patch takes that hand, offering a gentle squeeze as she lets her eyes flutter closed as she speaks. "You're words are truly kind, and I am grateful to have met you all. I appreciate the friendships, and bond you share with me. I jsut... I accepted myself long ago. It isn't thoughts of me that make things hard. It is the thoughts of my mother, and how she is now." the bard clarifies with a renewed look, dull green eyes opening with a small smile.

"It's why Patch was born, an identity to make my own, and way to accept myself. I have my marks. My badges of blood and flesh. Like hell I'd let that woman take it away from me." a laugh coming as she lets the other woman's hand drop from hers, that smile broadening. "Family is what we make it, and here in Alexandros there are some close enough to be called it."

"Though, I hadn't realized how much I liked of you and Telamon until I heard Zalgiman curse you while in the temple of Daeus. That pompous ass made me mad. I'd of slapped the smile off his damned lips if Telamon hadn't already of threatened life for your honor." Patch muses. "So it's an honor you'd even think of me as anything like you. I'd always imagined I was more a nuisance than not." eyes meeting Corlana's with a wink.

Cor'lana returns the little squeeze, the smile returning to her face as Patch eventually laughs. "Well, Patch, I hope in due time, Telamon and I can be counted among your family," she says. "And... perhaps one day, you'll meet Grandfather. I can't help but feel he might be very aggressive about winning your friendship, however, so... maybe bring an empty stomach that day."

Now that she's grinning from ear to ear, she snickers. "No, Patch, you're not a nuisance. Far from it. I mean, sure, I convinced Zalgiman to part with his totem, but you? You followed him into the woods! That's bravery beyond measure. Half of the time, I feel compelled to hide in those four walls," she says, pointing to her home. "After all, the place is warded from evil, I have an adorable Pothy to cuddle with, and I often have a very lovely fiance there, too--but then I remember how people out there need all of us adventurers to keep fighting the dark, so I push myself out into the world--"

Speaking of Pothy. The kitchen window opens up, and Pothy flies out of the house, landing smoothly on Cor'lana's shoulder. "Hello," he greets Patch in a mimic of Cor'lana's voice. "Snacks?"

Cor'lana sighs as she looks at Pothy. "Oh, that's right, I keep forgetting. Breakfast is a thing. Well, perhaps I should feed you... and have something for Telamon to munch on when he comes home."

She looks to Patch with a bright smile. "I'd offer you to stay over for breakfast, but something tells me you'd probably just rather be in a bed right now."

"No, no food. Magpie, and I were snacking most the night away after watching a detachment from Blar give a remembrance in song. Afterward I had a bit too much brandy, and those snacks were lost." Patch muses, tired eyes flicking from Cor'Lana to Pothy with a widening smirk. "It was a neat thing to witness. The detachment I mean, not me losing my snacks."

"Mr. Pothy, ever the little charmer." Patch's manners perking, but still subdued and slowed as she uncrosses her legs, and stands to give her small body a stretch or three. A hand over head, a lean in either direction. Her new cape is then adjusted with the woman and bird briefly smiled upon after.

"You misunderstand. When I said there are few here worth calling family, I meant you and Telamon. I don't get mad on behalf of others often. Usually my temper is reserved for me." her head dipping in a brief nod, eyes roaming then eyeing path and garden towards the street. "I shouldn't keep you anyways. You've got a full home this morning, but it was nice. Comforting."

Cor'lana brightens as the clarification is made. "Then I am happy and honored to be one of the lucky few," she says. "And don't mistake my home for being full unless I've suddenly become the site for a fey ball--"

She turns her gaze to the pixies and almost glares at them. "Which I sincerely hope won't happen," she says coolly. "That's right, Lily-of-the-Valley, I know you've been plotting."

Lily-of-the-Valley makes a small 'eek!' noise as she dips behind Mirabilis for safe cover. (Even though they're both just about the exact same size.) "I just wanted to see you and Lord Lúpecyll-to-be dancing under the moonlight with all of the other fey hiding here in Alexandria to witness your GLORIOUS and EPIC love storyyyyyyy," she whines. Mirabilis just... reaches over and pats her on the head.

Cor'lana shakes her head and snickers. "Not a full house," she clarifies to Patch, "but my hands can certainly be full. Vaire's verse in your heart, Patch. Come by any time."

Patch is struck by something in Cor'lana's last words. She seems truly touched by the mention of Vaire. "Thank you, Cor'lana. She and I walk an odd path together." speaking softly. "I might share that in time. It's why our paths crossed." she muses in her retreat. A smile is flashed again, and nod passed on to the pixies in their mischief. "I'll visit again, more rested this next time I hope."

As the bard turns to take leave, a fingers are snapped as an arm motions towards the gate. "Intro." and it swings open with the invocation of her innate magics. Once she's crossed the threshold, she flashes a smile back from over her shoulder. "Coda." this uttered with another snap, whisking the gate closed as she is on her way. It's a flashy and silly thing but it seems the mention of her goddess had a clear effect on her mood.