The Golden Songbird

Lupecyll-Atlon home, evening

GAME: Skyler rolls disguise: (12)+4: 16

It is fairly late in the evening when a caller comes to Telamon and Cor'lana's home, seemingly uninvited and unrequested. The caller is a cheerful sort, dressed in a baggy green tunic and brown trews, a gigantic purple hat and what looks at first glance to be a large, oversized stork bill poking out from under it.

Disney called, Robin Hood wants his disguise back.

"Oooo de-lally!" The figure calls out, an twig with a string on it thrown across slender shoulders, "My my my what a *fancy* house!" Surprise! Everyone is *undoubtably* shocked to realize that the stork-man-thing is Skyler, but shhh. Lets not ruin the surprise too soon.

It's been a relatively short interval since Tel and Lana returned triumphant from a lonely ridge near Hextus. And as glorious as it was... there are repercussions. Namely, the headache Telamon suffered from playing hot potato with a deific artifact.

Fortunately, the ache has abated now to a mere twinge, helped with copious doses of hot tea and minimal magic use. When the knock sounds at the door, Tel wearily drags himself up off the couch. "I've got it," he says -- a bit unnecessarily, but it is what it is. Dressed down in a light linen tunic and short breeches, he pads over to the door barefoot, and peers through the spy-hole.

Pauses. Peers again.

Then he lets out a deep sigh, and opens the door. "Ah yes," he says with a touch of pomposity, "you must be the clown we hired for the party tonight... come in." Beckoning to Skyler, and reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose as he shuts the door behind him. He mumbles something in sildanyari, and as pretty as it sounds it's probably not polite.

"Oh weeeeeeell jee golly!" The 'stork' says, hooking thumbs in the strap across his chest holding his quiver as he splays his legs out. He's even gone so far as to glue feathers to his gloves. Chicken feathers, mind you, but feathers none the less. "Can't say my jokes're gunna be any better than the one life played on you, Sirrah!" He says cheerfully, pale grey-green eyes twinkling, "Only clown here is that there Pothy feller, even if I do got some eyeballs ready for him."

He brightens, holding one finger up in a one-moment gesture before reaching over his shoulder and pulling out a baby doll. "Reckon since Imma stork an' all, I got you *this*!" And he thrusts the baby at Telamon... Along with papers bearing the heading: 'Fey and Mortal Interbreeding: Eugenics or Just Kinky'. "Congrats, y' a daddy now!" He beams, slaps Telamon on the shoulder, and walks in, giving Cor'lana a deep bow as he pulls off the 'bill' that was held in place with twine. "And you're a mommy! Without the hard part. And for Pothy, eyeballs!" And he then pulls a sack of sweets out of his quiver, little gummy eyeballs that look *startlingly* (and suspiciously) like real eyeballs. "They even have a jelly filling!"

Cor'lana is dressed in a simple spring lavender dress, and she's busied with the process of tending to Pothy (who is being incredibly baby-shaped and sized at the moment on his perch in the living room). Sometimes all she's engaged with in the world is feeding Pothy by hand and petting him and telling him he's a good bird. (It helps with his emotional outbursts on occasion. At least, Pothy says it soothes him.)

Then there's Skyler at the door, and Cor'lana's blinking... rapidly. "Umm." She looks at Pothy. "So... you have a... niece? Nephew? Nibling? What is the baby doll, exactly?" She's trying to play along with the bit, but then she mutters, "Grandfather would have a field day with this."

"Oh! Splendid. I do like eyeballs." Pothy's already happily wagging his tail up and down.

Nemenba, for his part, stands in a corner looking rather out of place and completely conspicuous. He bows politely to Skyler as the man enters the room, and eyes him thoughtfully. "Greetings and welcome to the home of my Mistress." His tone is monotone and not at all welcoming.

Telamon just kind of... blinks when Skyler shoves a baby doll and a sheaf of papers at him, juggling them for a moment before getting a good grasp on both. "Skyler, what in..." He pauses at the title on the papers, and raises an eyebrow at the man. "... wonderful, reading material for later." He just shakes his head, before following the ex-pirate into the living room. Absently, he puts the baby doll down on the table, riffling through the papers before setting those aside as well.

"I believe you're acquainted with Nemenba, Skyler," Telamon says in a dry tone. "We were able to chase down Idoren and... there were some interesting developments on that."

A gobber named Garlic Toast once commented that Skyler was an *amazing* case study for someone new to humans. Jarik calls it 'letting the intrusive thoughts win', but the swashbuckler has committed to living life to the fullest, be it foiling his nemesis Captain Cashew with clever disguises or seeing the most minute chink in Telamon's defenses. And speaking of Cashew... "That nutjob bought an orphanage to sicc the kids on me." Skyler says with an offended air as he doffs the hat and tucks the bill inside it, following that with the feathered gloves. He's gotten gear upgrades since last he visited. A small ring on his pinkie shaped like a feather, another ring with a shield on it on the other hand. A belt and a... tiara? It is surprisingly unobtrusive, probably because the red and orange stones on it are lost in auburn hair that's grown shaggy with a single longer braid he casually tucks behind one ear. "Trust, my man, you'll enjoy that literature. You like books, right?" And he shoots Telamon a sunny, confident grin, flashes him two thumbs up, and winks before turning back to Ravenstongue. "Speaking of your weirdly hot grandpa! I was thinking, if I promised him my first born would he trade it to get me out of the whole Cashew situation? I was reading that the fey like first born for an after-dinner mint?"

The levity evaporates though as Nemenba draws his attention. His jawline tightens, eyes a mixture of hurt and hard. "So you were able to find that bastard." He says evenly, finishing his peeling off of the 'costume' to reveal his mithril shirt without a greatcoat to cover it. Bejeweled, tiaraed, and wearing masterwork mithril chain, he looks like the young noble he's spending so much time refusing to be again. "I hope you didn't kill him. Hello, Nemenba." He pauses, and adds, "Mistress?" He turns to Cor'lana, frowning deeper, "You weren't able to free him?!"

Cor'lana frowns a match for Skyler's own frown. "I wasn't, no," she says. "At the time when we found him, I assessed him and the situation... A Wish spell's not even an easy solution for this." She looks at Nemenba with a particularly mournful look as she says, "Trust me when I say I haven't been putting him to work."

"I keep asking him to give me snacks and he refuses." Pothy grumbles in his very boyish voice. "It's bullshit. Also, that legume-monikered motherfucker bought an _orphanage_ to harass you?"

"_Pothy_," Cor'lana says, scandalized by the raven's language. She takes a breath to center herself. There will be addressing Pothy's colorful language... Later. "While Grandfather does love babies... It's his descendants that he adores. He's been after Telamon and I to give him more 'grandchildren'. Telamon's mother, too, for that matter."

Nemenba watches the ongoings dispassionately, but when Skyler seems to be addressing Cor'lana a bit... intently, he steps forward a little bit. His eyes flicker to Cor'lana, then back to Skyler. "Freeing me seems to be more difficult than originally anticipated." His eyes flicker toward Cor'lana. "So far however, as she says, I have not been asked to build any towers or grant any inane wishes. I am even allowed food and water when I ask for them. Not that I require such, but it is pleasing."

Telamon bristles for a moment, but then subsides, taking a deep breath. "I even tried that bit from a story I heard once, about wishing for a genie to be free. Unfortunately, he can't do that either." He reaches over, and puts a hand on Skyler's shoulder. "I know. I'm not happy either. Remember what I said at the observatory? This is... Nemenba's a good person, but it's still wrong what was done to him. We have to make it right." His lips curl slightly. "In the meantime, Idoren is currently enjoying the accomodations of the Arcanists' Dungeon. Which are somewhat sparse."

He snorts, a memory bubbling up, before his mind shifts to a different question. "I suspect Idoren's lack of skill and vision were critical to our success. The idiot had Nemenba put a tower up near Hextus, and was using some kind of magical lure to get people to set up there. He'd even collected himself a little harem, though of course he didn't know what to do with them." Tel rolls his eyes. "And then he complains about how all he could get were dates and coconuts."

"He ran out of street urchins." Skyler shrugs at the talk of his rival, "I'm just glad he didn't decide to *make* more street urchins." And he runs a finger over his throat, and lolls his head to the side with eyes rolling up. Ded. He straightens up, tugging his mithril shirt back into place a bit self-consciously as he consider the boy. Someone smarter might have arguments and 'what ifs' to throw at the magical pair, but Skyler knows his own limits. "Honestly, if he *has* to be in this position, I'd rather it be with one of you two. But what about the divine? Can that flying goblin mosquito-girl that mocked your dragon form do something? She seemed pretty powerful."

It's not the logical argument of a peer, even still.. But the plea of someone almost innocent that knows reality but still wishfully believes it could be better. It's replaced with a jaded cynicism, though, as he scrubs his face with one hand. "I won't condescend by asking you if you're happy, Nemenba." He sighs, "But if there's anything I can do for my part in you being victimized..." He gives Telamon a wry grin, before turning back to Cor'lana, "So... You're saying I give *you* my firstborn, so Grandpa Bird stops hounding you two to have kids, and then he'll strike a deal with me to make Cashew into milk? I can do that."

Cor'lana opens her mouth to answer Skyler's question about her grandfather, but Pothy beats her to the punch. "I think he'd like babysitting, but he wouldn't like having the firstborn forever," Pothy says. "He likes babysitting _me_, for instance, but I'd eat him out of house and home if I lived with him full-time."

"Yes, which is why we benevolently let you do it to us instead," Cor'lana says with a roll of her eyes, petting Pothy's feathers on his little fuzzy head. "Although... I have been giving a bit of thought to having children recently..."

Pothy bird-blinks and turns his head underneath Cor'lana's slender fingers to look up at her. "What?"

"That's for Telamon and I to talk about later." Cor'lana smiles. "As for Nemenba, I think it's time to turn to deities, yes. Telamon has a fairly close connection to Ni'essa despite not being a Seer nor Silver Guard of her order. Do you have a particular connection to any god, Skyler?"

Nemenba blinks at Skyler's words to him, seeming surprised by them. Which is a notable far cry from his usual expressionless mask or his almost-sarcastic monotone. He glances at Cor'lana then, which he does quite a lot actually. "Mistress." He pauses for a moment and then continues. "Would I be permitted, to... have lunch with him?"

There's a faint bit of wincing around his eyes, as if asking for something is something that is hard for him to do. Or worse, as if he expects something terrible to come of his request. "Preferably before you do something to free me, in the instance that freeing me is in fact killing me."

Telamon blinks as well, both at Skyler's bizarre suggestion and Lana's sudden thoughts on the matter. But he doesn't stay off balance for long, instead shifting back towards the question of Nemenba. "I might bring Simony in, but there's also Amenara Paki, from the temple of Ni'essa. If mortal aid fails..."

He rubs his chin. "There's Leca'fi Amdamu -- the Castle on the Edge of Waking. I could try and work on the problem there, or call others to aid us in this endeavor. A certain dragon-friend, for example." He gives Lana and Pothy a grin. "She hates cages, remember?"

"But it'll be a *choice*." Skyler says fiercely, when Nemenba talks about how freedom means death. "Don't you see? If you choose to keep living in whatever state you're in, it'll be your decision, not anyone else's." He shakes his head earnestly, "I've been in a gilded cage before, and you can't underestimate how validating it is to be able to make your own decision between shitty choices other people force you to make. Like bondage or death." He's still talking about Nemenba, right?

When said person makes a suggestion about lunch, he perks up. "Oooh! Yes! A lunch! I can take him to the Gobber gambling den. I think they've got corn chowder, and I can teach him Krampus-Slap!" He turns to Nemenba, grinning broadly, "You basically slap the person on your left, and then they slap the next person, in a circle. Winner is whoever is left standing last, or has the most amount of teeth left in their mouth!"

To Cor'lana, he grimaces, humor banked somewhat at the question on divinity and him. "I... don't really do much worship. I respect the Gods, and grant them their due, but... My father was very interested in piousness." His lips thin, "Or at least, the illusion of it. Soured my faith somewhat, and to be honest, when I'm sober I try not to think too hard about it."

Cor'lana's violet eyes go soft with her own kind of knowing at the talk of gilded cages. "Yeah," she says. "I've been there... And lived." She looks up at Telamon and smiles tenderly. "Glad I did, knowing now what waited for me in the future."

"You're going to make people cry, you know," Pothy says, looking up at Lana. He just might be included in 'people', judging by the little warble in his voice.

This earns Pothy a little kiss on his fuzzy little head, and Cor'lana looks back up at Skyler. "I understand entirely," she says. "If my own father was a pious man, I, too, might have associated that with unkindness. I mostly asked since even a prayer from those of us who are not connected to the divine for their magic may have those prayers answered."

Cor'lana looks tenderly at Telamon for a moment as she says, "Mine were, in the end."

"_Brother_," Pothy mutters, and he takes flight to try and land on Skyler's shoulder. "Please take me away from here before they start kissing. I'll happily go to lunch with you and Nemenba."

"Speaking of which, Nemenba, you absolutely may have lunch with Skyler," Cor'lana says with a broad smile. "In addition to learning the finer mechanics of Krampus-Slap..." Then she looks at Telamon. "You're right. How have we not called Tanith yet?"

Nemenba nods very low to Cor'lana, respect in every line of his body. "I am grateful Mistress." He murmurs, straitening afterwards. "If it pleases you Skyler, I will have lunch with you now, or when it pleases you. You need only call upon my Mistress and remind her of her promise that it can be done."

Suddenly, without warning at all, there's a golden dragon snaking through the air, landing on the couch next to Cor'lana and looking at her with wide golden eyes. Then Telamon, and then Skyler. Skyler she looks at for a very long time indeed, mostly though... because she's looking at Pothy. "FRIEND!" She says loudly, her voice high-pitched and excited. "Hellopeoples! Iamhere! Ihavecomebecauseyoucalledyes!"

She talks very fast indeed, and her words have a tendency to crowd one another so that it sounds like one very long word. She blink-blinks her gold eyes. She's a dragon, but she's also only the size of a moderately sized cat. With long arching horns and a lovely tail which she flicks back and forth. "Istherefish?"

"Because, like any good friend, I try not to bother her if I don't need to," Telamon replies. He's moved over next to Lana, and reaches over to take her hand and raises it to his lips. "But you should take care when speaking her name because--"

And then the small golden dragon appears, and Telamon looks both amused and exasperated. He finishes his sentence. "...because she'll hear it." Another deep breath, before he bows his head slightly. "Welcome, Tanith. There are tuna steaks in the coldbox; shall I fetch some? We are trying to figure out how to free our friend Nemenba here." He points at Nemenba with his free hand. "And this is Skyler Skywalker, another friend of ours. He was the one who called my attention to Nemenba's plight."

Staring with equal parts horrified fascination and shock, Skyler doesn't break eye contact with the dragon that suddenly appeared even as he digs through a belt pouch for a bit of dried fish strips. "Friends are the people that you're the least bit shy about bothering." He says absently as he continues to stare with wide, pale eyes, "Why do you think I terrorized you? You're my friends." Lucky them. He holds out the jerky... A particular favorite of Jarik's snowy familiar, it is, indeed, fish. "Thereisfish." Skyler says deadpan, in the same pitch and speed, "HellodragonwhoIassumeisTanith?"

He turns to Telamon and then Cor'lana, mouthing the words 'what the *fuck*?!' as Telamon makes the introductions, but speaks up when they discuss freeing Nemenba. "If it doesn't kill him without his consent." He interjects, firmly, "Some things are worse than dying, but that's his decision to make."

Pothy looks at Tanith and... Well, he ducks on Skyler's shoulder a little bit, folding in a little closer to Skyler's neat little braid. "She's going to swoop on me," he says in a whisper. "She likes pouncing. _Save me_." He doesn't even bother with trying to take the dried fish strips even though, normally, he'd be all over them.

"Tanithariairisixchel," Cor'lana says, sweeping her arms to the cat-sized golden dragon. "But we--and most people--call her Tanith. A couple of years ago, now, when werewolves were besieging the city of Alexandria, we befriended Tanith. She ended up being instrumental to our efforts." She smiles tenderly at Tanith. "She's recently started up a little colony of orphaned children. Which... Now that I'm thinking about it, we should not tell your Captain Cashew about them."

She nods to Skyler's points about friends and Nemenba's choice. "I wouldn't call what you do terrorizing. Merely keeping life interesting." Violet eyes shine with mirth for a moment before she says, "I will permit Nemenba any decision that he wishes... As, unfortunately, I believe he requires my 'permission' to act upon it. As evidenced for want of a lunch."

Nemenba is startled by Tanith's appearance, but Tanith is bespelled easily by the fish that Skyler brings out. Her snout wiggles thoughtfully, and her tail twitches. Her eyes seem to revolve in golden circles. "Fish!" She exclaims, hopping off the couch and launching herself at Skyler. In an instant she's on his arm, nibbling the fish in his hand and licking his fingers clean of the salt. The fish lasts all of ten seconds before it's gone. "Fish!"

She preens happily and curls up on Skyler's forearm, feeling quite light given that she's cat-sized. She looks then at Telamon happily. "Fish? Morefish? Yesmorefish. Yes."

Nemenba looks at Cor'lana. "Mistress... what is that?" His tone is a bit squished.

Telamon can't hide a small grin at Skyler's expression. See, that's what you get for needling Tel. He kisses Lana's hand again, before releasing her. "She is an emissary of Ni'essa, whom men call Eluna. And she is a good friend." He reaches over to scritch Tanith on the head.

"Lana, if you would, please fill Tanith in on the particulars? I have to go rummage in our coldbox now. If I'm lucky, Tanith will even let me cook those fillets." He gives Tanith a cheerful smile. "Depends on how patient you're feeling."

"Don't tell Greywing, but I have more fish." Skyler tells Tanith in a conspiratorial voice as he cuddles the little dragon like she were the cat she's sized as. The wild look in his eyes fades as he gets accustomed to her weight and presence, refusing to let the shock get in the way of good vibes.

Especially with Nemenba standing right there, manifestation of the swashbuckling former pirate's rashness.

He pulls more fish jerky out, tearing it into dainty little strips for a dainty little dragon-cat-Tanith-emissary of Aluna. It also gives time for the fillets to get cooked, if someone is paying attention. Luck is for noobs, Telamon! Make your own! Carpe Diem, Carpe... fishdom? "I'm curious if the actual invasion was as steamy as the crimson pen novel about it, 'Frayed Knots'. It's one of my favorites."

He then adds, with a smirk, "You're not thinking right, Cor'lana! We use the feral dragon orphans to lure him in, and when he tries to use them they can turn on him and BAM!" He makes an explosion with one hand, the one currently not wrapped by a golden drangonet.

Cor'lana reddens at the mention of the Crimson Pen novel. "They made another one about that time?" she asks in a small huff before shaking her head.

"Boy, you have no idea," Pothy says to Skyler. "That's when Cor'lana became the Temptress of Alexandria. Long story."

"Speaking of which..." Cor'lana looks at Nemenba for a moment before she turns her gaze back onto Tanith (and a deeply-affronted Pothy, but he seems to know better than to complain about snack access in the presence of a miniature golden dragon). "Tanith, this is Nemenba. His soul was bound to his bones in a horrible ritual conducted by mages that claimed fealty to Daeus. He's... currently stuck like this. Nemenba, this is Tanith. She's a friend of ours with... a special connection to Ni'essa." She frowns deeply before continuing. "Not even a wishing spell can really do anything to help him. This is officially something that requires deific intervention."

"Why don't you just let me pluck his eyes out of his skull?" Pothy mutters darkly to Skyler on the matter of Captain Cashew."

Tanith seems to have a voracious fish-appetite, and she eagerly gobbles up all of the fish offered to her despite her tiny size, and never slows down at all. "Iwon'ttell." She promises, it's her fish after all.

Nemenba watches with a faint expression of shock, but he seems to be unwilling to argue that the tiny dragon could possibly be an emissary. Indeed, he seems to decide that not saying anything at all is the best course of action at the moment. So he just watches the goings-on from afar. When properly introduced to the dragon, he bows his head respectfully and quietly.

The golden dragon for her part tilts her head at Nemenba and then peers at Cor'lana. "Stuck?" She queries sounding interested but also confused. Her tail twitches a little. "Idonotunderstandthisstuck. Isthatlikebeingtrapped? Inalittlecage? Idon'tlikecages. Cagesarebadandicky." She seems very determined about this. "Howisstuck? Whereiscage?"

This might be complicated to explain.

One of the benefits of being a sorcerer is that you always have help at hand. In Telamon's case, at least one unseen servant politely waiting in the corner to be used. Once Tel has extracted the tuna steak, he simply tosses it in a pan to cook, instructing the servant, "Turn it every couple minutes." He knows better than to bother with seasoning. It's Tanith, after all.

Leaning out of the kitchen, Telamon catches the last bit. "Lana, you may want to show Tanith the box. She may see something we haven't." A pause. "Also, Skyler, what exactly would you -do- with Cashew? I hope you're not proposing murder or something equally appalling."

"He's a fellow member of the Society." Skyler says, waving off the idea of murder, "I'm still trying to get through the bylaws, but pretty sure we aren't allowed to murder each other." He considers that, even as he continues to feed the dragonfriendperson more bits of fish jerky. "Either way, you don't solve a problem like Cashew with pecking his eyes out: you hit him where it hurts." He nods slowly, "Humiliate him, and break his spirit. He thinks he's so much better than me, that all I really have to do is prove he's no better than me." He raises his eyebrows, "Just... not as honest about it, y'know?"

He purses his lips when the talk turns to Nemenba, sitting back and paying tribute to Tanith while the intelligent people discuss smart people stuff.

Cor'lana flushes a little again at the mention of just showing the box. "Right!" she says, reaching into a pocket on her dress and pulling out a small bag that's been with her almost since the start of her adventuring days. She pulls it out and holds it in Tanith's direction. "Go ahead. It is kind of like a cage... not dissimilar to how a lich puts their soul into an object to obtain their version of immortality."

"Well." Pothy considers Skyler's plight for a long moment. "You know what we should do? We should introduce you to Lily-of-the-Valley and Mirabilis. They're the garden pixies who work for Telamon and Cor'lana. Lily-of-the-Valley's a dull idiot who drools over... well, anyone vaguely man-shaped, and Mirabilis is usually cleaning up after her or looking more respectfully at the man. But I feel like you might be able to recruit them into some mischief to get back at Captain Cashew. All you have to do is to promise Lily-of-the-Valley you'll sneak her back into the Angorite temple to help her watch the Angorite clerics oil-wrestle each other."

Tanith peers at the box, then Nemenba, then the box again. "Heistrappedinthebox?" With the last of Skyler's fish eaten she launches herself back over to Cor'lana and lands close enough to sniff the box. Peering at it thoughtfully. "Nobox!" She thrums low in her throat and then... The box vanishes.

Gone.

Nemenba gives a little jerk in surprise and then says, "Where did it go? Am I free?" He pats himself a little as though to make sure that he's all in one piece.

"Fish!" Tanith demands, hopping onto the back of the couch and wiggling her tail at the kitchen which is starting to smell like cooked fish.

Telamon watches as the box... vanishes. Uh. His eyes dart to Skyler, then Nemenba, then Lana finally. No -way- is it that easy. But... he has a slightly more pressing matter to tend to. "Yes, Tanith. Ah... what did you do with the box? And where does Nemenba go now?"

Hurriedly, the sorcerer grabs a plate, transferring the freshly-fried tuna steak to it, and putting it out for Tanith. "And this," he advises Skyler, "is how I wound up investing in six fishing trawlers. And toting back a good sized portion of their catch for several days."

"You make that sound like a *hardship*, Pothy!" Skyler laughs, grinning broadly at the Raven, "Hell, I go watch the Angorites oil-wrestle at least once a week! I even left a suggestion that they could offer to let the devote oil up the clerics in return for a small donation." He scratches his jaw, "Which is a little close to prostituting them, now that I think about it. Would that be sacrilegious?" He shakes his head, and waves a hand dismissively. "But I'll talk to this Lily-of-the-Valley. Maybe they can seduce Cashew and I can steal his pants so he's forced to do a walk of shame pantsless."

But there's more important things to think about! Like the golden songbird. He surges to his feet when the box disappears, face alarmed as he looks at Nemenba. Only to see him still alive, relaxing with a huff of air. "Cor'lana, try ordering him to rub his stomach and pat his head at the same time? See if the compulsion is still there?" To Telamon he adds, "I've considered getting into shipping, but I'm dead ass broke." He looks mournfully around the house, "How you guys pay for all this is beyond me!"

"Adventuring is pretty lucrative, all things considered," Cor'lana says, smiling a little bashfully. "Once you start becoming an established adventurer, that is. As for Lily-of-the-Valley... She's about the size of my hand. What she is, is persistent. And annoying. I bet you can get her to make Cashew agree to leave you alone if she stops pestering him."

The suggestion of the compulsion is a good idea, one that makes Cor'lana smile all the wider. "Good idea, Skyler! Nemenba, rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time." Then she blinks and looks bashful all over again as she adds, "Please."

"That's right. Your mother raised you with better manners than that." Pothy then leans in a little closer to Skyler's ear. "Hey. Can you sneak me a fish while Tanith's distracted with that tuna steak?"

Tanith hums happily digging into her fish plate. "Nobox!" She declares happily. Which seems an answer if not exactly a very clear one.

Nemenba looks quite distressed now, uncertainty making his features twist. His eyes finally land on Cor'lana. "Yes, Mistress, if you could..." He frowns, not certain he wants to pat his head and rub his stomach in unison. However it seems as fair a test as any.

The little dragon for her part has made the fish vanish lightning-quick and happily curls up near the plate which has been licked clean. "Peoplesgowherewantgo. Isaylivealifeandbehappy! Growoldlikepeoplesdo! Findloveandjoyandsadstuffs." She tucks her head on her arm.

Nemenba meanwhile is not rubbing his stomach and patting his head, he's looking at Tanith thoughtfully and nodding. "Then I would like to start by having lunch with... Skyler." He smiles at Skyler. "Perhaps I can even help you with your Captain Cashew problem."

GAME: Telamon rolls heal: (5)+26: 31

Telamon blinks slowly, before he replies. "Wait. I ... I think this is making sense, actually." He comes out of the kitchen, reaching out to stroke Tanith as he passes. Approaching Nemenba, he smiles. "May I?"

Telamon reaches out to take Nemenba's wrist, checking for a pulse, before touching the man's throat with careful fingertips. Then he places his hand on the man's chest, nodding. "...I see. Maybe."

He turns to Lana and Skyler. "A simple solution. We had his bones, and his soul at hand. Tanith has... well, resurrected him. I think you should visit the temples, Nemenba, just to make sure, but..." He offers the (former) King in Orichalcum Rags a surprisingly reassuring grin. "It seems you may have been given a second chance."

Wordlessly a piece of fish is stuffed in Pothy's beak. Does Skyler bother to wait for the raven to open his mouth? Probably. Is there any more warning than that? Absolutely not. It's like shoving a piece of hard candy in a senile old grandpa's mouth when he starts talking about Charn in a positive light: the quickest, least fussy way to shut them up.

When Nemenba indicates he still wants lunch with him, the swashbuckler looks flattered and a little surprised. Not many people willingly seek him out: usually like an questionable rash he just sort of shows up. "Sure, yeah." He says easily, "Although truth be told, I'm not as worried about Cashew as I am my father and that inquisitor he sent after me. If my brother hasn't knocked up whatever milquetoast brood mare with more money than brains he married, I'm still the spare to his heir." He runs a hand through his hair. "I doubt he'd be happy to let Christopher stay dead. Because he is." His eyes are hard as he blinks, "Christopher Ashewell died, and even the Harpist can't bring him back. I'm *Skyler*." His chin lifts, "And whatever people say about me, it's the choice I make." His eyes cut over to Nemenba. "Choices... matter." That's said in a quiet voice, as he unthinkingly tosses a bit of fish jerky into his mouth.

At first, his expression is aghast, but then it grows intrigued, and he nods approvingly. "Hey, this is actually kinda good."

Cor'lana can't help but smile at Nemenba's newfound freedom. "A resurrection _is_ the best way to describe it. A new life... _is_ a second chance," she says, before coming over to Telamon and putting a hand on his shoulder. She looks up at him with love in her eyes. "You know that from first-hand experience," she says.

Pothy gulps down his fish. "Yeah, pretty good," he says. "As far as dried fish goes. I think I had some once about... fifty? Fifty years ago. With Cor'lana's grandfather--not the fae one, her mom's dad. Pretty good. But then Cor'lana's grandfather got a sword to the stomach, so that wasn't good."

Cor'lana boggles a little at Pothy's casual discussion of her grandfather getting stabbed. She chooses instead to look at Skyler instead, smiling and nodding and his sentiment. "Skyler it is," she says in agreement. "Your life is your own to live. Freedom's a beautiful thing..."

And on that note, she looks at Nemenba. "Maybe we could all go out for lunch?" she suggests. "We'll pay."

"Am I coming?" Pothy asks in an accusatory manner.

"Fish." Tanith supplies, in a sleepy tone as she rests on the couch. Which is not an answer, but it is what *she* wants for lunch.

Nemenba smiles and nods his head politely. "You are welcome." It's clear that he wants nothing more than to live an ordinary life now. A life like everyone else gets to live. A life once taken from him; and now returned.