(Not So) Helpful Pixies

Log Info

• Title: (Not So) Helpful Pixies

• Emitter: Ravenstongue

• Characters: Ravenstongue, Telamon

• Place: Ravenstongue and Telamon's house

Lupecyll-Atlon house, late afternoon.

Daeus lowers further in the sky on this fine early Hattanani day, the blue sky and spring breeze feeling more fresh and wonderful than every. This is, of course, why the pixies of the Lupecyll-Atlon household are more active than ever, and they're murmuring over something indeed in the gardens, the two winged women talking in a rather animated fashion.

"... Don't you think that it's weird? It's been nearly over half a year since they tied the knot, and--"

"Lily, you're going to get us KILLED--"

"Whaaaaaat!? I'm just saying, it's weird that--"

"LILY."

"--that Lady Lupecyll-Atlon isn't with child yet--"

This phrase is what gets a hand clamped over the mouth of Lily-of-the-Valley. "Are you out of your mind? What if Lord Lupecyll-Atlon heard that!?" Mirabilis shouts, which is, incidentally, the loudest part of their conversation. Easily overheard by the man in question.

Telamon is sitting in his study, having returned to a minor object of interest; namely the staff that he drew forth out of the dreaming. "What are you?" he murmurs, turning it over in his hands, studying the triple-ring top. "You refuse to tell me anything, but you react to spells like an enchanted item..." He sighs wearily. At least it's comfortable and the windows are open.

Which is why he hears Mirabilis yelling something about 'what if Lord Lupecyll-Atlon heard that?' and Telamon lifts his head in confusion. Setting the staff back in its place in the corner, he leans out the window. "Mira? Lily? What's going on out there?" His dark eyes are more puzzled than anything else.

The two pixies both yelp at the same time. Which would be funny if, well, they weren't apparently discussing something that Telamon is apparently not supposed to know.

"N-Nothing, my lord!" Mirabilis stammers out. Which is rather uncharacteristic of her; she's typically as orderly and calm as... well, as pixies go. "We were--"

Lily-of-the-Valley, however, zooms past her into the study. She has an utterly serious look on her face as she takes a seat on the desk. "Lord Lupecyll-Atlon... I have a very important question to ask you. One that I understand is very sensitive and... I do not wish to insult you in any way." It is downright strange for Lily-of-the-Valley to be this sober, serious, and quiet. But she is. Her dark eyes regard Telamon with the full weight of what she's about to ask--

"Are you and the Lady having, ahem, marital issues? There's not been any indication whatsoever of children on the way yet."

"LILY." Mirabilis screams from outside, horrified.

He's used to the pixies zooming here and there, so Telamon steps nimbly aside as Lily comes piling in. He raises his eyebrows at the entry -- is something wrong in the garden?

In fact, he's about to ask specifically that, and then Lily just dives in where angels AND fiends would not dare to tread. For a moment Tel is just utterly flabbergasted (and probably leaking shock across his telepathic bond).

"Lily, what in the hells are you -- oh." His brain finally catches up and engages, and he looks outside. "Mirabilis, get in here," he says in a cool, flat tone. Uh oh. He points to the desk, where Lily is perched. Looks like this is going to be a discussion.

Mirabilis flies in as commanded, her head buried in her hands. "I am so sorry, my Lord," she murmurs apologetically. "I should have reined her in, I know she shouldn't have asked that--"

"I just want to help the Lord," Lily says with a huff. "I know that things have been difficult around here lately, and--I thought maybe Mirabilis and I could do something for you that would help. Like... I don't know. Make you prettier than normal?"

"How?" Mirabilis asks, gesturing to Telamon with both arms. "Look at him! He's already perfect! The Lady adores him!"

Telamon looks like he can't decide if he wants to laugh or explode in rage. He takes a deep breath, gritting his teeth, before finally finding an even tone. "There is no 'marital difficulty', you two. Lana uses Grandfather's night tea recipe because we don't want to have children just yet." He reaches over to grab his chair, and sits down again. "You are not the only ones asking for children. Grandfather keeps dropping hints, to say nothing of my mother."

Another deep breath, focusing his thoughts. "For gods' sake, we practically didn't leave the bedroom for the better part of a day after I got the curse removed. Pothy was fit to be tied because he'd eaten all the treats."

Lily-of-the-Vallet holds up a hand. "Okay, wait a minute--" She goes shuffling in her dress of petals and somehow, from somewhere, pulls out a very tiny scrap of paper. Her other hand begins to glow, inscribing very small letters onto the page. "So this day of passion in the bedroom, what did you do specifically--"

THWACK. Mirabilis has already flown in and is tussling with her pixie-sister on the desk, growling. "You idiot, you're going to get us fired! You don't need inspiration for your stupid Crimson Pen submissions!"

Thankfully, there's a few steps that come into the room, and a hand falls onto Telamon's shoulder. The warmth that comes into the bond, as well as amusement, make the presence of Cor'lana all the more apparent. "Dinner's ready," is all she says to Telamon, knowing he's already ready for a reprieve from the pixies.

And that is a bridge too far. Telamon's eyes flash. "I am -not- having a discussion about our bedroom activities with-- with you of all people, Lily! What the hells!" He almost comes to his feet before Lana's hand lands on his shoulder, and arrests him from saying something offensive.

He breathes deeply through his nose, before offering his wife a smile. "Thank you, dear. I'm at a stopping point, so why don't we eat?" He leaves unsaid what might occur after dinner is done. Uh oh.

Cor'lana smiles politely at the two pixies--who are now quite visibly shaken by Telamon--and she nods. "Yes," she says. "Let me take care of the matter after we eat, my starborn king."

She helps him up from his chair but doesn't let go of his hand until they reach the dining room table, where there's a simple meal of chicken and spring vegetables waiting. Pothy's dining on his plate already, but that's to be expected. "Wine tonight?" Cor'lana asks with a smile as she goes to take her seat.

Telamon almost thrums with irritation, though it's rapidly dissipating. "Yes, love. I'm sorry if I'm a little tense. Give me a moment." He picks out a good white wine from the rack, and a couple glasses, and returns. A bit of deft 'persuasion' uncaps the bottle, and he carefully pours each of them a glass before sitting down.

"Those two," he states firmly, "need a hobby. I don't mind them living in the garden -- or even inside -- but I think they need something to distract them."

"Speculation on couplings and children is par for the course at royal courts in general," Cor'lana says softly. "They're merely doing what they would if they were around Queen Niceven's Court. That doesn't make it right that they did it in front of you or even at all, but... I will talk to them. Because I don't want it disturbing you."

She reaches over to Telamon and squeezes his arm gently, smiling. "I know we've dealt with trial after trial lately," she says, "but--you and I, we're still as strong as ever. We still have each other, you know?"

Telamon's expression softens, and his fingers slide into hers. "We do. And I'm thankful for it." He smiles back at her. "It's been a rough road of late, but we're still here, still together." He laughs softly. "I think it wouldn't have pissed me off so badly if Lily hadn't immediately jumped to 'ooh, tell me all about the day after you got the curse removed'."

He begins to eat, taking a sip of the wine as well. "You never did tell me about this 'Lord of Ears', though I got the impression he was... a lot less scary than his moniker suggested. Wonder how he deals with this sort of thing?"

"He was... Well, he's a fastachee," Cor'lana says with a smirk. "They're strange fey who look like they're made of cornhusks. The way he talked reminded me of Dolan when he slips into his farmboy voice from time to time. I can't say I know how the Lord would deal with it at all."

She sips her wine. "Honestly, I had half a mind to tell Lily that we held hands all day and that was that, just to mess around with her head a little, but that would be a disservice to the day we had in general." There's a small twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "Now. How're inspections with that staff going?"

Telamon looks blank. "Can't say I'm familiar with that one. But... wait, cornhusks?" His expression suddenly lightens and he laughs. "Oh gods! The Lord of Ears -- corn ears! Of course!" He grins. "And of course he sounds like Dolan. I imagine if you put them in a room together, in fifteen minutes they'd be smoking corncob pipes and discussing farming."

He's still chuckling as he inspects his wine, nodding approvingly. At Lana's sally about that day, he smirks back. "Well, we did hold hands. Just... probably not how she'd be expecting." His eyes twinkle, but at Lana's inquiry about the staff, his expression clears again. "Frustrating. I need to talk to Dolan. It... it doesn't behave like it should. The legend lore spell didn't function on it, like it was an illusion -- but it reacts to magic cast on it like it's enchanted. Very, very curious."

Cor'lana's blushing a little, of course, but she puts her mind on the matter of Feadril's staff again. "I mean--if it's a thing you created from a dream, then it's real and it's not real at once," she says. "My guess is that the only way to know for certain as to what's going on is to... Try and use it in some fashion. I wonder if it could be used as a conduit..."

Then she tilts her head in thought. "I wonder. If you bled on it. Would it react like a totem would?"

"It's a thought. Or try to use it as an implement to cast a spell. Though I think I'd want to try that in a very controlled setting -- say, the University testing grounds." Telamon chews on a bite of chicken and vegetables, his expression thoughtful. "Bleeding on it is... true, might be worth trying if casting through it doesn't work. It's just... strange."

Telamon looks at Lana. "It shouldn't have this much... call it 'realness'. It should just dissipate on its own. Which makes me wonder -- what's keeping it intact? Me? The totem? Either would be plausible, I guess."

"Maybe it's both," Cor'lana responds, looking at Telamon. "It was your whim that made it real, willing it into existence. The totem was just the tool that amplified the will. Maybe this, too, is another tool."

She's taken a few bites of her meal but seems somewhat disinterested in it compared to looking at Telamon. "What else has, for lack of better phrasing since I know what goes through your head, been on your mind recently? I know there was something about two men at that party you went to?"

Telamon nods. "It's... complicated. And doesn't easily make its secrets known." He smiles slightly. "Though I appreciate a puzzle that doesn't involve various ravening monsters trying to eat me. If nothing else it's one I can tackle with a cup of tea and a notebook." He rubs his chin thoughtfully.

At Lana's mention of the party, Tel's eyebrows raise up. "Oh yes. That was all sorts of strange, and honestly I am wondering what form the other boot dropping will take. Two Stormgardians -- one of whom looked a bit like that lowlife Zinskas, though it might just be 'the Stormgarde mien'. The other gave a name of Micha Kamyar -- which I certainly didn't recognize. But he claimed to have seen me in a vision." His starry eyes glitter. "Now, this entire charade may have been truth, or falsity, but something tried to pry into my mind during the conversation. It may have been someone lurking, or those two up to mischief. No way to tell."

"Men from Stormgarde? Was one of them an older man?" Cor'lana asks, her eyes narrowing. "Zalgiman spoke of Marsward like he was... a wizened, older man." Even her fingers tense around the wine glass. She's thoroughly forgotten the matter of dinner now, and she has that look in her eyes like she's already plotting someone's death.

Telamon shakes his head. "Definitely not wizened. Older, but still hale, and no gray in his hair. Green eyes. The lad, Micha, was fair haired and blue eyed." His eyes narrow as he thinks. "The two were not close. The boy definitely wasn't fond of his companion." He frowns. "To be honest, I... half expected to learn Micha was Zalgiman's son or something. Which would've been exceedingly awkward."

He taps his fingertips. "I think, when I arrange to meet with this Micha, you should be quietly in attendance. If there is no skulduggery afoot, no harm done -- but if someone thinks they're going to try and ambush me with a story about visions, I want them to live just long enough to regret the idea."

"He..." Cor'lana sighs. "Zalgiman didn't strike me as someone who had a son, let alone one that was grown enough to be speaking to you. He was an old soul, but made old by pain, and..."

(I was the only person he wanted in that sense,) comes the thought over the mental bond, as all thoughts do over the bond. It's quickly dismissed with a, (But that isn't my fault, and he is gone and put to rest, and I remain to ensure the man who seduced him into the Hound's service is dead and destroyed.)

"Maybe it wasn't Marsward, but Dace Zinskas. If they're not the same person, that is." Cor'lana drinks more of her wine. "Either way. Zalgiman was able to see me when invisible--so I think it's safe to assume the others are able to as well. It might be best to be out in the open."

Telamon frowns. "I just can't see Zinskas trying to approach me, mundane disguise or not. If he got spotted, well..." He holds up a hand and closes it into a fist. "He came very close to meeting his filthy god in person last time." He shrugs. "In any case, I think it'd be best for you to be there openly. A not too subtle hint that why yes, if they try any funny business they may have a lot more on their hands than they desire." He snorts. "And if someone wants to ask 'Am I afraid of them?', the answer is 'I'm a fool, not an idiot'."

"We've both put him on the ropes," Cor'lana says with a small smile. "Zinskas, that is. I still haven't forgotten how I was able to match with him until the moment that he pulled his totem out. Remember--these are servants of the Hound. It is in their nature to be prideful. We can take advantage of that pridefulness. And... there is a need for them to be out and about again now that Zalgiman is gone. Someone needs to be the recruiter. If it isn't him, it's going to be someone else."

"True. But there's pride, and then there's just rank stupidity. They even let me set the time and place of this meeting." Tel's eyes glint. "I think such a discussion should occur in the eyes of the gods, if it involves a vision, no? And while there may be chicanery afoot, I like the odds better with you at my back and the temples bearing witness." He snorts. "Playing fair is for suckers. Which is why we're not going to, not with these bastards."

Cor'lana finishes her wine and puts the glass down, smiling sweetly at Telamon. "I like those odds quite a lot better myself," she says. "Worse comes to shove--we're a package deal in most things. There's no meeting if your beloved wife can't come along. And if they really want you, they will probably want me, too."

She looks at Telamon for a moment. "That being said... I can think of things that I want." And there's a sly little smirk on her lips. Lily and Mirabilis might have to wait after all for their 'talk'.