I Hold You
Log Info
- Title: I Hold You
- Emitter: Ravenstongue
- Characters: Ravenstongue, Telamon
- Place: Ravenstongue and Telamon's house / Library of Apotheosis
- Summary: Ravenstongue has an idea: what would happen if she used a dream walking method to explore the memories she hasn't quite regained? Telamon and Ravenstongue proceed to take another dream walking potion (along with Pothy). They find themselves in the Library of Apotheosis, a place that seemingly contains the entirety of Pothy's knowledge (most of it is food-related). Given what they've endured together recently at the hands of Ravenstongue's father, the half-elves decide to look up the memories of Ravenstongue's mother regarding her father and are treated to a real-time playback of them. Revelations are revealed and Ravenstongue demands a reprieve from them, choosing to relive a happy memory from her childhood: only to be reunited with an echo of her mother that lives inside the Library of Apotheosis. A teary reunion follows. Ravenstongue and Telamon reawaken and decide to celebrate the life they have by staying up to watch the next morning's sunrise--together.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Dramatis Personae =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Ravenstongue 5'0" 99 Lb Half-Elf Female Short half-elf girl with violet eyes and black hair. Telamon 5'6" 140 Lb Half-Elf Male A platinum-blond half-sil man with dancing dark eyes -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-=-= NPCs of Note =-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Nadina Branfeax 5'4" ?* Human Female Enchanting blue-eyed beauty with raven black hair. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- *"That would take all the fun out of guessing, wouldn't it, darling?" - Nadina Branfeax
It's noon. The mist outside in the air obscures most vision, a grey almost-fog that clings to most things in a damp embrace. The clouds overhead are a dark and stormy grey that practically threatens to rain down but does not, choosing instead to loom like a dread monarch from their throne.
Which is to say it is no day for traveling. The two half-elf sorcerers are curled up together on the couch while Pothy munches away at the snack bowl. Cor'lana looks up at Telamon with a sudden sense of curiosity, a wonder in her voice as she says, "Tel--I had an idea. I have most of my memories back now, I think, but what if we could use something like the lucid dreaming rite and loop in Pothy somehow to explore the rest that I have't gotten back?"
Telamon is dressed casually in a patched tunic, trousers, and those ridiculous bear slippers. Sprawled on the couch with his lady love, he's actually in a bit of a reverie, mentally planning some things for when the weather improves.
When Raven speaks to him, though, his eyes flick from half-mast to fully open, and he tilts his head to hers. "Hmm. I... damn. Hang on." He waves a hand, and the air next to the couch stirs. "Go get the book labeled 'Dream Exploration' from the shelf," he instructs the unseen servant, who whisks off and swiftly returns with the book. Tel takes the book, and passes it to Raven. "I think there's a chapter in there on 'inward dreaming'. Green ribbon bookmark. I made a note of it when you'd regained those memories."
Cor'lana sits up on the couch, wearing her own ridiculous bear slippers ("Look what I found at the market! We match now!" she'd said only a few days ago with way too much enthusiasm) and a long blue and polka-dotted cotton nightgown. She takes the book from Tel and opens it up to the indicated bookmark, her violet eyes scanning the page.
"I should've known you had something in mind already," she says with a smile. "Do you think we could do something like this today? After all, it's kind of too disgusting outside to go anywhere today... And we have to do something productive."
Pothy looks up from his bowl of nuts on the coffee table. He whistles and Cor'lana turns a slight red. "Hey! It's not like we were going to do 'that' all day!" she replies. "Besides, you better behave. If we're going to explore my memories, I think you'd better get in on this. After all, you were there, too, Pothy."
Telamon grins. "I didn't know if I'd need it or not. I'm notorious for being a pack-mule. Mother once lectured me on trying to wheedle a bag of holding out of father because I wanted to carry everything I might need and pick up anything useful."
He sits up when Cor'lana does, stretching a bit. "We do have a couple more doses of the potion -- Pothy would definitely need to imbibe a little to join us, though. The ritual's a little different but we won't need to ward, since we're really not going anywhere except," He raises a hand and playfully taps Cor'lana's brow, "here."
"Well, getting Pothy to eat or drink anything isn't an issue," Cor'lana replies with a grin. "How about we prep and then we can all cuddle into bed?"
Pothy looks between Telamon and Cor'lana for a moment before he finally sighs. "Fine, fine," he says in his mistress's voice. Pothy flies off into the bedroom and takes a seat right in between their pillows on the bed. (Could Pothy be considered a down pillow in his own right given that he is full of feathers?)
Cor'lana shuffles off to the bedroom after him, ferreting out everything that's needed for the inward dream walk as per the instructions in the book. Eventually, she sits down in bed, dream potion dose in hand. "I'll give Pothy a sip of mine," she says. "Cheers?"
Telamon nods, raising his vial as well. "To your health, and Pothy's too." He's supervised the setup, since he handled it last time; but clearly he's seen no issues with Cor'lana's work. Seems they're both learning things from each other.
Knocking back the vial, he grimaces faintly. "Gods. If I didn't think it'd ruin the potion I'd spike it with honey." He puts the vial on the bedside table, before lying down next to Cor'lana and Pothy. His hand slides into hers, fingers interweaving. "See you in a bit," he teases with a smile.
Cor'lana gives Pothy a small sip of her dose before she downs her vial. Both Pothy and his mistress seem to share Telamon's opinion of the taste, although Cor'lana shows hers with a grimace and Pothy shows his by saying, "Naaaaaaa-sty!" in a child's complaining voice.
Telamon's violet-eyed bride-to-be lies down with him, smiling as his hand slides into hers. "See you soon," she echoes...
...
There's the dark of sleep before dreaming, and then there is the dream. The violet-eyed half-elf sorceress stands in the air in a cloudy sky, beholding a sunset that never does set. The clouds roll by in fast-forward motion, but the sun never moves--
And then the bookshelves jut up around her. A stone floor rises up to meet her feet. But the sun remains, as do the clouds. It's an open-air library, then.
Pothy's on her shoulder. His blue eyes look around with curiosity. "Oh, there you are," he says in his cherubic, child-like voice as he notices Telamon, who has been there the whole time.
The white raven ruffles his feathers for a moment before he flaps and flies onto a bookshelf. "Well. Welcome to the Library of Apotheosis," he says. He's still talking rather than borrowing words from others' mouths. "In other words, my library."
For a moment, Tel was in the field again, the starry sky overhead. A sense of calm.
Then the sensation of moving, and his feet land on the stone floor, and he blinks. "Wow." He looks different in the dream -- the same age, of course, but now he's dressed in elaborate black and silver robes, embroidered with runes and symbols, and his hair is tied back neatly instead of the usual shaggy mane he wears. He looks at Cor'lana, dark eyes lit from within by distant stars, before turning to Pothy. "...This is definitely different from before."
"I've kind of been waiting for you two to figure it out, honestly," Pothy elaborates as he looks down from his perch. "This is sort of my whole... I guess you could say, life's work?"
Cor'lana looks around the library. She's different, too--her black hair is let down into gentle waves, and the glasses are missing from their usual place on her face. Most notably, she wears a dress that shifts between blue and violet, the two colors forever moving on the garment like they are constantly vying for dominance. Her violet eyes are full of wonder.
"Pothy," she finally says, "are you saying this is... Everything you know?"
Pothy nods. "I told you. I'm a repository of knowledge for the inheritor--and that's you. Telamon gets to be here because I like him, but ordinarily, it'd only be you here."
He gestures to the bookshelf he's currently sitting on with a notion of his beak. "This one right here? That's all you. Your memories and your mom's memories of you. I'll let you explore these. Your mom's memories of stuff that isn't you should also be safe to explore, but uh, those could be a little graphic, so I recommend being careful about what you pick up. Don't read the pages marked with red unless you really want to see--"
Cor'lana just makes a flat expression. "I get it, thanks, Pothy." She looks at Telamon. "Well... Where should we start? Unless you want to interrogate Pothy a little more. This is your first time hearing his actual voice, right?"
"Yes. He sounds a little like a child, like you mentioned." Tel looks down at himself, eyeing the robes, then laughs. "Oh gods. I... this is the formal robe father wore during a treaty signing. I guess part of me dreams of following in his footsteps, even with the talent."
He turns his eyes to Pothy. "I probably can't even open the books, since I'm not bonded to you. But why haven't you ever used it, or told Lana beyond the bare basics? I thought Navos was about sharing knowledge, not hoarding it."
Pothy quirks his head as he looks at Telamon. "Simple," he says. "She wasn't ready, and knowledge has to either be discovered or taught. And I am not meant to be a teacher. ----- didn't design me as such." The name Pothy says is static. "So... this is something all inheritors must do. Although... usually they get left much more in the way of instruction from the previous holder of Knowledge compared to Cor'lana. Nadina was always pretty tight-lipped about information. One of her worst traits, but I think that's what kept Cor'lana 'safe' for so long from her father."
Cor'lana looks at Telamon and smiles. "They look good on you," she says. She looks down at her own dress. "I wish I could say what this is. Is it symbolic of something, Pothy?"
Pothy nods. It's a little bob of his feathered head. "Since Alud'rigan, the Feathered One, has his own bloodline that has been empowered by the pact you made with him, you are no longer only of the inheritor's bloodline as far as magical influence goes. That's not a bad thing. It's not like in your world where they measure people in halves of one group and halves of another to determine 'what' a person is. Knowledge is knowledge. It is open to all. But you are here, and as Telamon has noted, you both are wearing things that symbolize your dreams and desires. You... are confused, Cor'lana. That's why the dress shifts between the inheritor's blue and the Feathered One's violet. You don't know what to 'pick' or what path you feel you should follow, even with the pact you made."
Cor'lana purses her lips for a moment and sighs. "Alright. Enough with the talking or my head is going to hurt... Let's pick a book, shall we?" She walks over to the bookshelf Pothy is sitting on. The bookshelf bears over forty volumes bound in blue cloth, titled 'Nadina Branfeax'. The rest of the shelf contains twenty-one violet-colored volumes titled 'Cor'lana Lúpecyll'.
Then there's one at the bottom of the shelf with a padlock around it. It reads 'Cor'lana Lúpecyll-Atlon'. "That one's still being written, so no peeking," Pothy explains as he notices Cor'lana's eyes drift to that volume. "I presumed that'd be your name when you two finally get married.
Telamon exhales, grimacing. "That... makes sense. Unfortunately." He cocks his head at the static name, but... maybe that's part of it too. "I've sometimes seen what a little knowledge in the wrong hands can do."
He approaches Cor'lana, placing his arm around her. "Child of two worlds. The trick is to find a balance and work from there, remember?" He smiles at her. "One of the first things we ever talked about... after I'd given Pothy his tithe of treats, of course."
His eyes follow the tomes, and he furrows his brow slightly. "Branfeax? Well, we have a family name now, at least. I wonder if she had any kin?" He smiles at the sight of the books of 'Cor'lana Lúpecyll', then his eyes land on 'Cor'lana Lúpecyll-Atlon'. He can't help but grin. "Well, I always figured it would be Atlon-Lúpecyll -- just kidding." Eyes glinting merrily, he nods to Pothy. "It's no fun to try and read the end of the story right from the get-go."
His gaze moves back to Nadina's volumes. "One book per year?" he inquires.
"The tithes are very helpful," Pothy says happily. "They keep me energized. Cataloging and keeping knowledge is hard work! ...And it also helps my personal goal of cataloging everything there is to know about food." He gestures to more shelves with a sweep of a wing on the other side of the library.
Cor'lana blanches a little as she looks at all the books Pothy's indicating. "Don't tell me those are all food books," she says."
"Yup, those are all food books!" Pothy says happily. "I tried to make a physical world version of my book on textures in foods and how the flavors and mouth-feel of foods can be drastically altered by changing the texture that one time in the Society for Progressive Arcanists' library. That's why I had you write that line about mushed pastries. But I realized that would be a fruitless endeavor. It'd take several of your lifetimes with no breaks nor sleep to make copies of all of my knowledge on food."
Finally, Pothy turns back to Telamon and nods. "Yes, one book per year. Right on the dot. Some years are more active than others. If you want to read about how Nadina met Glórenacil, that's volume 26. I'll even do you a favor and skip past the red pages."
Cor'lana looks at Telamon. "Well... That might be helpful in some way. At least to know what my mother knew at the time--and the circumstances surrounding my birth. Your opinion?"
Telamon stares at the extensive library on food, and he looks at Cor'lana. "Why do I have a sinking feeling that it's all 'this food is very tasty and feels good in my belly' or variations thereof?" He reaches up to rub the bridge of his nose. "Maybe... maybe we'll discuss that one later, Pothy."
His eyes turn back to the books on Cor'lana's mother. "I think that would be best. Let's... avoid the red pages. How did she encounter Glórenacil? And what did she know -- and what was a fabrication?"
"Those are my questions, too," Cor'lana replies to Telamon with a nod. "And since I can't ask Mother anymore... We might as well get it from the source."
She finds volume 26 from the shelf and opens it--
And the scene changes. It's an opulent masquerade party somewhere that screams of elven architecture. People are dancing while their faces are covered partially by elaborate masks that match their clothes. A band plays a waltz in the background, and servants weave their way through the crowd of onlookers holding glasses of wine.
Cor'lana and Telamon are standing near a woman who stands at about five feet and four inches. Her long black hair falls down to the small of her back in waves, and her voluptuous figure is enhanced by the black hourglass dress she wears with a sharp neckline that plunges daringly to her navel, seemingly held only in place by magic and/or prayers. Her shoulders are dusted with the same white feathers that her masquerade mask is made from, with blue eyes that glow with a hum of power peering out at the crowd.
"That's mom!" Cor'lana whispers to Telamon. "Wow, she wore some crazy stuff back then."
Nadina doesn't seem to hear Cor'lana, but she does turn her head in their direction for a brief moment when she hears a man's voice. "Excuse me, madam," Glórenacil says, approaching in a waistcoat and pants similar to the one that Telamon had seen him wear recently, with a black feathered mask over his violet eyes. "I couldn't help but notice your outfit..."
"Of course he noticed her outfit first. He only had one thing on his mind--" Cor'lana says, and then she gasps. She points to a woman off in the distance--a woman who looks like Lady Ainasse, dancing with an elvish man whose hair is strikingly similar to Telamon's. "Ainasse's here, too! He was really flirting with my mom only feet away from her?"
Telamon is prepared for the transition, but it still makes him blink. "Alright... this makes sense. These masquerades are very common for 'fishing', looking for potential suitors -- for either men or women." He eyes Nadina carefully, then flicks his gaze to Cor'lana with a wry grin. "Oh, I don't know. I think you'd look great in that outfit, myself. Granted, I'm quite prejudiced."
He steps away a little, studying Ainasse and the man she's dancing with. "I'm not sure if this was before or after he'd started having his affair with Ainasse. He said during that last visit it was while his brother was still alive." He studies the other elf's hair. "Gods. No wonder he started coming unraveled. His hair's practically the same color as mine."
"Honey, I don't have quite the assets to fill out that dress like she did," Cor'lana replies, jealousy evident in her voice as she looks back at her mother. "How come I didn't inherit those--"
"Thank you, sir," Nadina replies as she studies Glórenacil. Telamon would instantly recognize this voice--it's the deeper woman's voice that he's occasionally heard out of Pothy, similar to Ravenstongue's voice but deeper--and, in this instance, with a lilting seductive undertone. "But I can't help but notice you were dancing with a woman earlier like you were courting her. I take it you were rejected."
The man scoffs and turns his head. "No, lovely bird. She is my sister-in-law. Albeit... trapped in a relationship with a man she does not love. And I have had many things on my mind, so we were merely exercising our frustrations through dance."
So he says. Ainasse, however, has a pleasant enough face as she dances with the presumed Vailevan. She looks at him with a smile--and the platinum-blond elf looks back at her, totally enraptured. His eyes are on no one else.
Piercing blue eyes stare at Glórenacil through the mask. The way they glow slightly is enhanced by the white feathers. "You lust after her anyway, don't you?" Nadina asks. "Is it because she's something you can't have?"
Glórenacil looks wounded. "My lady--you accuse me of such immorality. She is my sister-in-law. I couldn't. I... shouldn't."
Nadina nods gently. "And yet you do," she responds. "Listen. I am no idiot. I've bedded hundreds of men and women. I know what it looks like when a lover pines after someone in an affair."
Dark ruby-red lips spread in a smile. "You don't do that. You look at her like a coyote looks at injured prey. You are taking advantage of her vulnerability. ...And honestly? I don't particularly care about what you're doing, although I think you are a sick man. I'm only here to find a partner for the evening."
Glórenacil is stunned, as he's just been read for filth... But he recovers with a laugh. "I assure you, my lady--"
Nadina leans into his ear. "I didn't say you were disqualified. Come with me and keep your mouth shut. I hate sentimentalists until we've been together at least seven times."
She snatches Glórenacil's hand and leads him away from the ballroom. Cor'lana looks a tinge sick as she looks at Telamon--
And then the memory fades as they're back in the library. Cor'lana looks immensely relieved. "Red pages. Thank you, Pothy. -- Well, that was..." She seems lost for words for the moment.
GAME: Telamon rolls sense motive+3: (16)+7+3: 26
Telamon narrows his eyes, but says nothing, merely listening, though he can't help but smirk as Nadina reads Glórenacil like a book. "Damn. She had him ranged even before he made his first assault. That was a very formidable woman."
As the memory fades out, he watches Ainasse and Vailevan, his brow furrowed. "I don't... hm. I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of ill-tempered spouses but Vailevan... doesn't seem like the sort. But Ainasse... She's faking it. She's got a good face for it, but she's not into him."
"I don't think he made the first assault. Mother clearly initiated," Cor'lana says, still a little unnerved. After all, she'd essentially just watched what very well could have been moments before... Well, better not to think about it. "That was always what she was like, though. She could read people within a matter of moments. I remember she took clients in our home to discuss the work they needed--and I wasn't supposed to pry, but I did; I'd sneak up to the door and listen--and she'd often deduce what they needed before they even opened their mouths."
Her expression turns back to a smile as she recalls her mother. "I wanted to be like her. Shrewd and intelligent. I was convinced when I was a child she was smarter than anyone else in the world."
The words take on a sad lilt at the end, but Cor'lana looks back up at Telamon. The book is still open in her hands. There's rows and rows of runic writing that is immensely indecipherable, the intricate symbols seeming to shift the longer that one looks at them. "Ainasse looked like she was hiding something," Cor'lana agrees. "I wonder..."
She skips a couple of pages and the world around them changes again. This time, they're standing off to the side in what appears to be an opulent home of elven make, the tell-tale accents everywhere on the furniture and scrolling in the wooden panels that make up the walls. Nadina sits in a chair, wearing a dark blue gown that, while it has a deep neckline that bares some of her generous bosom, is more tailored for comfort as it hangs off her belly, the pregnancy advanced enough to visibly show on her curved frame.
Sitting across from her is an unhappy-looking Ainasse, her arms crossed. "So," she says, "are you to be my sister-in-law?"
"No, Nadina replies. Her manicured hand, nails painted to match her dress, goes to rest on her belly. "I am not seeking to marry Glórenacil. I'd like for him to co-parent if he wishes, as I said before he decided to go fetch some tea, but I'm not the marrying type."
Ainasse purses her lips together. "You're a fool," she says after a moment. "You're... an unbelievably lucky fool. Do you know how hard I've tried to have a child? Vailevan won't accept that the clerics think I'm infertile."
That line makes Cor'lana look at Telamon. "You heard that too, right?" she asks, her eyes widening.
Telamon nods. "Hell of a woman." He touches Cor'lana's shoulder gently -- even if it's a dream, contact counts. "Seems like you made a pretty good play at living up to her example, though. I think she'd be proud."
When the scene shifts again, he rubs his chin, watching the two women in the memory. "Goodness, she's grumpy--" and then Ainasse's words hit him. His eyes snap to Cor'lana's in unison. "...Yeah. I did." He looks dumbstruck, pausing to gather his words again. "I... no. There's something I speculated on with Grandfather, but let's keep going on before I discuss it. I don't want to taint your observations." He's struggling to remain dispassionate, but it's clearly a trial for him.
And the two women continue to talk. "I'm very sorry to hear that, Aina," Nadina says, with sympathy in her voice. The nickname use, combined with the fact Ainasse doesn't scowl any harder from her using it and Nadina's tone of voice, indicates something that's further elaborated when she says, "You know I didn't do this to hurt you. We may not have been friends for long, but I hate seeing you upset on account of two idiot men."
"You're not nobility, Nadina," Ainasse says with a sigh. "I may be of House Son'doriel, but that means nothing beyond the fact I am a noblewoman--and that means I'm expected only to run the household and lie on my back and let Vailevan heave above me for all of two minutes before he buttons his pants back up in the insane hope of conceiving a child. And he wants one desperately. I don't love the man, and I don't frankly want to have one--but both he and Glórenacil have been fervently discussing heirs as of late. That's why I've continued to entertain Glórenacil in hopes that Vailevan wouldn't notice in his mad love for me that a possible child could come out with red hair instead of our blonde. My father has a similar hair color, so I could simply explain it away as that..."
"You're meandering again, Aina," Nadina says with a smile. "I know you're jealous. I know you hate being nobility. Just stick with the plan and I'll get you out of this mess--then Glórenacil will be my pain to deal with. At a distance. Preferably only on weekends to visit the child and maybe my bed if he's lucky."
"They were... plotting together?" Cor'lana whispers. Not that it makes sense to. Even as Nadina turns her head to the sound of Cor'lana's voice, it's only because a servant arrives into the room from behind Telamon and Cor'lana to set a charcuterie spread down onto the table between Nadina and Ainasse.
"Thank the gods, someone in this household knows how to deal with a pregnant woman's cravings," Nadina quietly says as she begins to assemble a stack of cheese and sausage slices.
Telamon scratches his head. "This is getting more and more convoluted. Why would she hate you so if she got along so well with your mother?" He exhales, walking in a circle around the tableau. "Alright. Vailevan and Glórenacil had to know about the Feathered One. That explains the need for an heir and the mad dash to plant their seed, as it were."
He stares at the ceiling, dark eyes narrowed in concentration. "Surely the priests would've told Vailevan if there was an issue with Ainasse's fertility, though." He pauses. "Unless the problem was with Vailevan, but ... no, they'd have caught that. Changing partners wouldn't help." He rubs his temples. "Damn it, can we go back to the nightmares again? Those were a lot more comprehensible."
"This is sort of a nightmare," Cor'lana replies, looking at Telamon. "I mean, this is... It's sick. There's a noblewoman who feels trapped by her station and her infertility to the point where she's laying with two brothers--and committing infidelity in the process. I feel bad for Ainasse. But... You're right. Look at the way Ainasse's looking at her."
There's something dark in the way that Ainasse looks at Nadina while the pregnant woman feasts on her food. There's envy. There's spite. There's jealousy. Especially when Ainasse's green eyes--green with jealousy, as they say--focus in on Nadina's pregnant belly.
"What if she was only pretending to be friends with my mother because it suited her ambitions? What if she's just continuing to lie? Tel... I think there's something wicked about that woman even if I feel bad for her," Cor'lana concludes.
The scene fades away again. The half-elf sorceress's violet eyes look back to Telamon, hands still around the open book as they stand in the open-air library, clouds rolling overhead like horses galloping in the wind. "I think we've been wrong. Glórenacil's not the puppetmaster. He just thinks he is because that's what Lady Ainasse's allowed him to think. This is all... one big game for her. Has to be." Cor'lana sighs deeply.
He eyes Ainasse, and nods. "She wants a child too. Desperately. She talks about not wanting it but... what was the plan? They couldn't pass you off as Vailevan's child, that's absurd."
Tel clears his throat. "After Grandfather and I had... ejected Glórenacil, I had the time to contemplate the encounter. Glórenacil didn't seem to be in his right mind, not entirely." He sighs. "The next day, when Grandfather and I had a little chat, I broached the subject. That Ainasse might be playing him, and that was why things seem so disjointed."
He rubs his temples. "Gods. I sent that idiot back to Llyranost because I wanted him gone and out of my sight. I hope I haven't made a huge mistake."
"Whatever the plan was--and we could go back and look, there's no reason we can't--I don't think it matters," Cor'lana says, nodding to Telamon. "I don't think it ever happened because of my mother's decision to protect me and take me out of Llyranost. Or maybe the reason why Ainasse hates me is because my mother chose me and my safety over whatever they were plotting."
She closes the book and puts it back onto the shelf. "The plan never happened, so that's why Ainasse is doing... all of this." Cor'lana sighs and picks up volume 1 from her own series. "I just want to see... happier things now. I want to see my mom and not that sad woman."
Telamon nods. "Makes sense. Your mother caused the whole plan, whatever it was, to fizzle." He watches as the scene fades out. "I can't help but worry that I've sent Glórenacil right back into the lion's den. Hopefully ...he can get his head on straight. Poor dumb bastard."
He glances at Pothy. "If you've got anything to add, feel free. But in the meantime... yeah. Let's see some happier memories." He makes sure his arm is still around Lana's shoulders, trying to offer as much support as he can.
"It wasn't really much of a plan," Pothy says. The white bird has made himself rather comfortable atop the bookshelf. "She had just promised Ainasse that she would help her out of her situation once Cor'lana was born. In the meantime, she wanted Ainasse to keep acting like nothing was wrong. Your mother was not really one for making long-term plots and schemes--she lived in the moment for the most part."
"That settles it, then," Cor'lana says in response to Pothy as she leans a little closer into Telamon, taking the opportunity he's given her to be comforted. "Happier moments ahead."
She opens the violet book.
The library around them turns into a quiet, small room with white ravens carrying bundles of dark-haired babies in their mouths painted onto the walls. In a white crib, a small Cor'lana babbles happily, lying on her back as she stares at the mobile above the crib that has little wooden Pothies eating various healthy snacks. She has a full head of black hair that's been braided into twin tiny braids on both sides, and her violet eyes are full of wonder.
"Oh gods, I was adorable!" Cor'lana whispers excitedly to Telamon.
Telamon nods. "I... sometimes have a tendency to assume a scheme is more complex than it actually is," Tel admits, a bit embarrassed. "Sometimes, the sausage really IS just s sausage." He rubs the back of his neck, unconsciously hugging Lana with his other hand. "Yes. Definitely on to happier times..."
The transition, and resulting surroundings, make him smile. "Now this is almost relentlessly cute." He leads Cor'lana over to the crib, looking down at the Cor'lana-that-was. "You absolutely were. Still are, of course, but you were a gorgeous baby." He kisses her hair, before looking down. "Wonder if our children will be able to meet that high standard?" he teases softly.
Cor'lana's violet eyes sparkle as she looks down at her baby self. She leans into Telamon, putting a hand up to her eyes as she wipes away the beginning of little happy tears. "I think they'd be even more beautiful, Tel," she says. "After all, they'd look like you."
"Lana!" calls Nadina through the door of the room. This causes little Cor'lana to begin babbling happily, recognizing her mother's voice.
Nadina opens the door and strolls in. Her sense of fashion is subdued compared to the first two memories that Cor'lana and Telamon had viewed, but she's still in every way the intensely beautiful woman from before, her blue eyes glowing softly in the relative dark of her daughter's nursery.
"Oh, shoot, let's get out of her way," Cor'lana says. She slips out of Telamon's embrace--
And the world freezes with a snap from Nadina's fingers. But Nadina's not frozen. She looks right at Telamon with a warm smile, taking a few steps closer to her. Both versions of her daughter are still, not a sound coming from either of them.
"I suppose I should play a good host if you're traipsing through my memories and Lana's," Nadina says, a wry tone in her voice. "Hello, Telamon."
Telamon smiles, but he blushes a little as well. "I'm only half the spell, dear." His brows knit together as he steps back away to let Nadina approach the crib. "It's a memory, I think I walked through a chair earlier," he comments. "I don't see how..."
Snap.
Tel's eyes flick to Nadina reflexively -- that seems like such an odd thing to do. Was she summoning an unseen servant, like he does? And then he realizes everything's still. Everything but him... and Nadina.
"I assure you, madam, I am here freely, and by invitation." Telamon's tone is very, very cautious. In an odd way, his posture is unconsciously mirroring that of his father's during that tense meeting with Grandfather. His eyes flick to Cor'lana again, then back to Nadina. "This is an interesting development," he says in that same even tone. "How did you manage it?"
Nadina looks a little amused by the way that Telamon's handling himself. "You were raised with manners, I see. And a healthy dose of caution. Both are good things to teach a man--not many do."
She adopts a more casual stance, folding her arms under her chest. "I noticed you and Cor'lana back in the first memory, of course. And, well, it wasn't hard to notice you clipping a chair in the second. As an actress, I have to play my role, so I hope you weren't too bothered--more accurately, I hope you didn't notice."
Nadina chuckles, a sound that's warm and maternal. "Let me clarify. I am not the genuine thing. I am an echo of Nadina--a tiny part of her left behind with Pothy. All inheritors leave a tiny part of them behind with the poor creature. He's a child--he can't stand saying goodbye. So we all sort of live here--we exist when he needs us to, such as when we're playing a memory for the current inheritor, and then we slumber until he doesn't. The oldest ones haven't been awake in many years, however, and I doubt he will ever be able to wake them again until he's older."
Those glowing blue eyes drift to the mobile of little Pothies. "He's only a child, and he acts like it. His power is weak and limited. And he has an awful sense of memory. But he's an earnest and lovely companion who accompanied me when I was a girl up until the day I passed him onto Cor'lana."
She looks back to Telamon. "But, given that I am the most recent, I have a considerable amount of control over his domain. So I'm able to do things like this. Anyway, Telamon... I'm sure you have questions. And this is the closest you'll ever get to meeting, well, me. So, hello." Nadina's smile is warm and welcoming.
"An echo. Or perhaps a palimpsest... no, that's not quite right, is it? Nothing's been erased, just... put away." Telamon relaxes a bit. "I'm... amazed you're even aware, to be honest. I didn't think such memories could possess any kind of volition."
"In any case, I suppose a formal introduction's in order. Telamon Atlon, at your service, Lady Branfeax." He glances at the frozen Cor'lana again, before continuing, "What happened, between you and Ainasse? In life you were hardly an easy mark -- hell, I think my father would be hard pressed to sell you a tale -- surely you must've known there was more going on behind Ainasse's eyes than what she said."
"Most men were, and are, amazed by me, Telamon. Don't worry, you're not that special," Nadina says with a little wink. Is that flirting or is that just her normal way of speaking? ... Better not to think about it.
Her folded arms turn into clasped hands held in front of her. "Oh, I did know. I thought it was simply better to try and befriend her so she didn't have me murdered in the middle of the night while I was asleep or having some fun," Nadina replies. "Perhaps foolish of me to do so, given all that I've watched you two go through in Pothy's eyes--we dream too, when we are asleep. I feel... terribly foolish, in some ways. I never seriously thought Lana's father was bound to a fey lord. If I had known, I would have done the research. I would have reached out to the Feathered One myself. Perhaps I would have given him Lana. Instead, I did what was safest for us both--I blasted both him and Glórenacil in the face and I teleported with Lana back to Rune, where I'm from.
She smirks a little. "Not that anyone in the village remembered a thing about me. I made sure to cover my tracks. Just in case that pathetic man did come through the village asking around for me."
Telamon's expression tightens a bit, and he doesn't respond to the flirting. "Yes. While I can understand fleeing Glórenacil and the Feathered One initially... but why did you leave her to face them alone?"
That deep sealed anger flashes, so hot that Tel actually gives the dream a bit of a yank -- the air around him cooling, distortion around him flickering before he relents again. "All this time -- you were aware? And you left Cor'lana to wonder what happened to you, and then later to think she was responsible for your death?" He looks furious. "Why? Don't lecture me about 'growing into power', I know that. But you were, are her mother! The least you could do is try to keep her from feeling that guilt!"
"Because I didn't know, Telamon." Nadina's warm smile falls into a deeply pained frown. "In my impulsiveness and my lack of knowledge about what the Feathered One truly wanted, I thought... it would be better if she didn't know the full story once she inherited. I thought time was running out and that Glórenacil or the Feathered One would find us at any moment. And, truth be told... I was tired. I lived a very full life in the short time that I had, and I saw Cor'lana--more accurately, I saw her potential. I saw what she was capable of doing and I wanted her to succeed. But there's only one way for someone to inherit Apotheosis--the previous holder must perish. There's no growing without knowledge, and knowledge can be... difficult to bear. Difficult to learn. In my own naive way, I thought if there was some way I could make that easier, I would."
Nadina shakes her head and sighs. "It was completely wrong of me. And as I sat watching through Pothy's eyes, I lamented everything that I'd done. But Pothy couldn't speak to her until recently of his own true voice--and he, too, thought she needed to be shielded from the truth. He is also a child, and so his judgment skills are not the greatest. Trust me, Telamon--if I could go back, I would have done things differently."
But then her eyes soften. "If I had, however--you would have never met her. She would have never met you. And that would have been the greatest crime I could have done to you both. My greatest love was not in anyone I ever slept with, but in my arms from the moment I gave birth to her. And her greatest love is you. For all of my powers, I was never a seer, but seeing you both... I stand by my decisions. Even if I regret the pain they caused."
Telamon closes his eyes, his face marked by pain. "Were you really that old, Lady Branfeax? You were no older than my mother is now. Was there no one you could turn to?" His eyes open, and he looks at Nadina. "I... I can forgive, if only because what you did was done to try and protect her. Cor'lana means the world to me as well." His voice softens, and his gaze moves to his frozen fiancee. "To the gates of hell and beyond," he says with a smile, before looking back again.
"Let me offer you this consolation. My family is not the Lúpecylls. We will love her as one of our very own, and she will always have us to lean on in need. Father, mother, uncle Telgari, all my assorted cousins and other relations... she'll have a family."
He offers Nadina his hand. "I wish you were here," he says quietly. "We would have happily presented you with grandchildren."
"I felt old enough, Telamon," Nadina says with a slight smile. "Quite frankly, I never planned on getting old. At one point, I'd planned on immortality--I think I declared to an adventuring friend of mine I was content on living forever and sleeping with anyone who would have me right before I dragged him off to bed. Might have, too, if it hadn't been for crossing paths with Glórenacil and fearing for the life of the daughter I made with his meager contribution."
She sighs deeply. "Paranoia, however, is a powerful thing. I'm sure now in hindsight, I could have given her to any of my old friends I adventured with, although I'm not sure if any of them are alive now. But back then--I feared that anyone and everyone could be an enemy towards the end. It's healthy to be paranoid--but not to the sense where it rules you. Learn that from me, please."
Then there's Telamon's remark on family and grandchildren. The warm smile returns to her face as she reaches out and takes his hand. She feels warm, like the sun has been on her skin for hours on a pleasant spring day.
(One has to wonder if that's how Pothy remembers her best.)
"I am here, Telamon," Nadina says gently. "I have always been here, watching you through Pothy's eyes. I have been so happy to see her finally be happy after everything she's been through. And I know one day I'll get to see those little faces. One day, one of them will inherit Apotheosis and I will continue to watch them until the day all of existence is unmade and Pothy goes with it."
She squeezes his hand. "There are no true endings. The world goes on without us but we leave our impact on those who are left behind when we are gone."
Telamon nods, slowly. "What... should Cor'lana be aware of? I want to tell her this. To let her know you're still watching her, even now." He squeezes Nadina's hand back, before letting go. "I understand about fear. And worry. But life is made up of risks great and small, and you can't let the fear rule you or you're not living. Just... existing."
He reaches out to touch Cor'lana's face, as though she's made of fine china. "Can you release her from this moment? She... I think more than anything, she would've wanted to say goodbye to you."
"Tell her everything, Telamon. Don't be like me and hide things for her protection." Nadina is almost stern as she tells Telamon this, likely the first time she's had to use a mother's reprimanding tone in years.
She looks at Cor'lana for a long moment. There's a great and terrible reluctance in her face--a worry that her daughter may not be able to handle it.
Maybe even fear.
The blue glowing eyes turn back to Telamon, and then she snaps her fingers. Cor'lana takes a large breath of air as she looks to Telamon and then to Nadina.
The image of her younger self is quiet and still in the crib.
"Telamon?" Cor'lana asks, confusion on her face. "What's happening?"
Nadina smiles. "I've missed you so much," she says.
It takes a moment. A very long moment that seems like it might go on forever. But realization dawns on Cor'lana's face and she throws her arms around her mother, burying her face into the dark raven hair that she inherited. She weeps, and Nadina just holds her, patting down her daughter's hair.
"It's okay," Nadina says. "I've got you. I've got you, honey. Shhh."
Tel's arms go around Cor'lana and Nadina in turn, though he presses his cheek against Cor'lana's head. Letting his lady heal those last scars on her soul, as she holds onto her mother. Even if it's a dream, it'll be enough.
"It's all right, 'Lana," he murmurs. "Maybe it won't be perfect, maybe we'll have to make it better ourselves... but it will be all right." He lifts his head to look at Nadina, that last echo of a woman he never knew but owes so much to. "Thank you," he says quietly, his voice full of compassion, and respect. "For all that you've given to me, and to her." Stroking 'Lana's hair gently, soothing her as best he can.
Cor'lana can't bring herself to words through her tears and her weeping. She tries, gods bless her, but the syllables drown out and she stops trying for a long moment, holding onto her mother like nothing else. It's a cathartic cry, made easier by the comfort of her soulmate and her mother.
Nadina doesn't cry. Who knows if this echo of her is even capable of it. But she doesn't dare let go of her daughter. She looks up at Telamon and nods. "And thank you, Telamon," she says, "for giving her the love she needed when I couldn't be there anymore. Extend my regards to the Feathered One when you see him next, please."
This remark is what finally gets Cor'lana able to talk again through her tears, although her words are interrupted by sniffles and hiccups. "Y-You know (hic) ab-about Grandfather?" she asks in a little voice.
Nadina chuckles as she looks at Telamon. "Here's your chance to be transparent," she says with a wink. "Go on, big boy. I think you can handle it."
"For gods' sake -- I dream myself in my father's robe and no handkerchief?" Telamon paws at his garment in frustration and exasperation. "It's like when you dream you're in the schoolhouse without your breeches on..." He gives up, finally, and returns to hugging Cor'lana instead.
Stroking her hair some more, he explains, "This is... part of her. A reflection, maybe, or an echo. Pothy carries this memory of every magician bonded to him. But... she's aware, too. And has been, for a while. All of those echoes are aware, though they sleep."
He takes a deep breath, looking at Nadina. "So yes, she... learned about Grandfather, as you and I did, when we solved that riddle. This is... I admit I don't understand the details. I'm wise enough to know when I'm out of my depth. But I do know... your mother still loves you. And so do I."
Eventually, Cor'lana lets go of her mother, but she keeps close to Telamon, leaning into the taller half-elf. He makes a nice support as she dries her eyes, although she's still sniffling. "An echo... But it's her. It's a tiny part of my mom that's still alive..."
Nadina nods, smiling serenely at her daughter and her future son-in-law. "The rest of me may be gone, Lana, but I am still here. And I am so proud of you. I am so happy you've found happiness. I know your life wasn't always easy, and I know I wasn't always the best mother--but I hope you continue to live in happiness in spite of that."
Cor'lana looks like she's about to cry again, tears brimming up in her violet eyes. She nods emphatically. "I've been trying so hard, mom," Cor'lana says, squeaking a little as the tears tumble down her face. "I'm just... so happy. I... Well, I'd say it feels like I'm dreaming, but heh..."
She shakes her head, drying her eyes with the sleeve of her dress, which still shifts between violet and blue. Nadina's blue eyes focus on her dress for a moment.
"Pothy might not be able to teach--children shouldn't be teaching children, anyway--but I can, as your mother," Nadina says. "You don't have to choose between your bloodlines. As your husband-to-be keeps saying, you are a child of two worlds. You do not have to pick one and abandon the other. You both are radical beings, children who escape definition and bend boundaries. No one can tell you who you are; you are you. Embrace them both as you wish, Cor'lana."
Telamon's arms are around Cor'lana again, which is how things should be. At least to him. "Whatever happens... Nadina," he says, abandoning the formal 'Lady Branfeax', "we'll face it together, she and I."
He curls his lips up in a smile at Nadina's lecture on two worlds. "Father explained it to me, when I was young. He'd known half-elves who'd tried to gravitate to one side or the other, or even tried to deny both, and it never worked. The best, happiest ones he'd met were ones who took the best of both and made it work for them, even if it might not have worked for elves or humans." He tucks a finger under Lana's chin, so he can look at her face. "Don't worry about the rules others set. Let's make our own rules."
Cor'lana's face is drenched in tears, but she smiles so widely for him anyway. Her violet eyes fill with complete adoration for the man whose love has given her renewed purpose since they were nudged together by Grandfather's orchestrations.
(Not all people pulling the strings do so for nefarious reasons, after all.)
"Let's make our own rules," she agrees, and she leans in to kiss Telamon, rising onto her tip-toes to reach his lips.
The world boils away around them and they are back in the open-air library, but Nadina stands next to the two of them by the bookshelf. Pothy holds the first volume of 'Corlana Lúpecyll' in his beak. "You were going to get the pages all wet," he complains in his little child's voice. "And you! Nadiiiii, you shouldn't be taking over memory viewing like that."
Nadina looks sternly at Pothy, folding her arms again. "Pothy, Cor'lana is my daughter, and if I didn't let an honest-to-gods fey lord take my daughter, you will not take her, either." Her words take on a hum of power as the confident anger is channeled into each syllable.
It works. Pothy lets out a little "eep" and he shelves the book back where it belongs. "O-Of course, Nadi," he says. "You're right as always!"
Telamon smiles as he kisses Cor'lana back. There's no fear in his eyes, only that blend of calm focus and impish excitement at what the future holds. "That's my lady," he says with a happy grin.
When the nursery fades, returning them to the library, Tel gives Pothy a fairly acid look. "How in the hells is she going to get a book, that presumably exists in your little bird head, wet? We are in a dream, Pothy. Her dream, I might add. You're lucky you're not the size of a hummingbird."
He heaves a long-suffering sigh. "Nadina, you have my utmost respect for putting up with this featherweight." He pauses, then adds, in a softer tone, "Did you have any family, Nadina? I... don't know if they'd want to know or not, or if they even care, but..."
"Oh, don't mind Pothy, he's just a particular little child," Nadina says with a smirk. "That being said, this is a dream for you. As far as Pothy and I are concerned? This is real. We just don't get visitors. Normally, inheritors access this font of knowledge through asking Pothy instead of visiting... Of course, it didn't stop me."
"You made a mess of the place when you visited for the first time!" Pothy says with a huff.
"And you ought to have given me the answer I wanted quicker! I said I'd reach through your head and pull it out myself, and I carried out that threat!" Nadina retorts back, smiling in a rather smug fashion.
She looks back to Telamon and says, "Well, I probably had cousins. But the inheritor's lot is that we pass it onto a blood relative that we designate--or in some cases, whoever in the bloodline happens to be closest if we die and don't designate anyone. That's happened before. In fact, it happened to me. My father died when I was five after taking a sword to the gut and I had to figure everything out on my own. Nice man, according to my mother, but he rolled poorly on the dice that day."
She smirks. "He actually did roll poorly on the dice. He was gambling with a demon and was cheating. Long story."
Telamon just shakes his head, holding Cor'lana and looking amused. "And I thought I had a bit of a wild family. But... point well made. Though Pothy, there IS such a thing as too much reticence. Nobody expects you to be a parrot, but you know, there is more to life beyond mixed nuts and pastries."
He has a feeling Pothy is going to disagree, so he immediately shifts his focus. "In any case, Nadina... my point was that I didn't know if you had any family who... well, should be told. Maybe it's just me, but I would want to know."
A thoughtful 'hmm'. "And since Glórenacil and Ainasse are... no longer bothering us. Hopefully. Cor'lana and I can turn our attention to other matters."
Nadina gives a casual and dismissive wave of the notion of family. "Eh. I wasn't close to anyone besides my mother. She passed not long before I bedded Glórenacil--honestly, I attribute that choice in men that night to giving even less of a care about the world once she passed. I was a free agent. Who cared if I died? Some people would find that awfully sad, but I suppose because of my early exposure to death, thanks to my father, I had resolved to live life fully without ties to anyone."
She looks at Cor'lana with a warm smile. "Except for the one I kept to the end, of course. Now, you two--you're going to wake up pretty soon. Give me a hug before you go."
"And give me a snack when we wake up," Pothy butts in.
Telamon leads Cor'lana to Nadina once again, a three way hug that is lessened in no way by Pothy's demand for a snack. "You did keep that promise," he tells Nadina. "And again, I thank you for it. I... no matter what happens, you won't be forgotten. Not by 'Lana, and not by me." He gives Lana a squeeze, and then leans close to kiss Nadina on the cheek.
He steps back, to let Cor'lana have her own farewells. He grins at Pothy. "I have no idea how long we've even been asleep, Pothy. Might've been five minutes, or five hours."
Nadina smirks a little as Telamon gives her the kiss. "I thought my days of being kissed on the cheek by handsome men were over, but I'm occasionally wrong," she 'admits' playfully.
Even Cor'lana can't help but snicker. "Don't even think about it, mom. He's taken," she replies just as playfully. She gives her mother a very, very tight hug, one that lasts for a long moment.
"I don't want to let go," she whispers.
Nadina shakes her head and smiles, hugging Cor'lana just as tightly. "All more of an excuse to do this again, isn't it? Remember--I am with you always. If you ever get lonely, just look at Pothy. I see you through him."
Finally, Cor'lana lets go of her. She looks over at Telamon and takes his hand. "So, how--"
...!
"--do we wake up?" Cor'lana finds herself mumbling as she awakens. Her violet eyes flutter open.
It's still foggy outside. It appears not much time has passed at all. Pothy shakes himself awake, too, and he flies over to his long-neglected book roost in the room. "Wake up, slugabed!" he crows at Telamon in his voice.
Telamon opens his eyes as well, reaching up to rub his face. "Wrghlbghl... oh." He peers up at the ceiling, then gives Pothy a dirty look. "You got a lot of room to talk, friend." He levers himself upright, glancing out the window. "Weather is still rubbish. I set an hourglass in the living room though. Let's check it and see. Also get something to drink, and a snack for your bottomless gullet of a familiar."
He smiles at Cor'lana, and touches her hand. "You all right?"
Cor'lana looks right as rain. Almost radiant, in fact, at least in terms of her smile. She leans in and gives him a firm and long kiss on the lips before pulling away.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she says, giving him a rather impish smile before she gets up from the bed. "That was... more than anything I hoped for. I was just hoping I'd get to relive some of the happier moments in my childhood, not just... you know, meet my mother again."
"My name is Nadina Branfeax. Please get some snacks for my bird friend," Pothy says in Nadina's voice. He is so much less interesting when all he can do is mimic words.
Cor'lana looks at him. "Yes, yes, of course. Come on, fuzzball."
Pothy follows her into the living room and proceeds to gorge himself on the snack bowl that was, surprisingly, still full of nuts before the trio all collectively laid down for a nap. Cor'lana peers at the hourglass for a moment.
"...Hey Tel? How long does this hourglass run?" she asks, looking back over at him with a raised brow.
Telamon makes a point of kissing Cor'lana back thoroughly before the two head out into the living room, along with Pothy. While Lana makes sure Pothy has nuts, Tel busies himself with putting on a kettle of tea for the two of them, along with a pair of mugs.
"I admit I didn't expect to encounter your mother either. I was... a little startled. You always hear these horror stories about mages who seek to defy death and it never ever ends well."
As the kettle begins heating, he glances over with an arched brow as well. "An hour. I didn't exactly spring for the large-sized one. Why, is it empty?" He hmms. "You know, I wonder if you could get an unseen servant to keep time. You'd have to keep it in proximity though..."
"It's halfway through. We'd only been asleep for about half an hour," Cor'lana replies, a little bewildered as she processes the new information. "That might have been the most productive nap I've ever had. I wonder why that one was so short..."
She sits down onto the couch and sinks into it, leaning fully against the material. Occasionally, the sorceress can resemble a real couch potato, and this is one of those times. "It was like... She came into the room, and suddenly she was close. And the baby version of me wasn't babbling. It was odd--I presume she stopped 'time' to talk to you alone first, and then me. Probably was for the best. I might have started bawling my eyes out and we'd have never gotten an explanation of what was going on."
Telamon walks over to look at the hourglass, eyeing it. "Huh. Yeah. That's... surreal, especially when you consider the last dream-walk we did."
As the kettle begins to whistle cheerfully, he pours two cups of tea, before walking back out into the living room and offering one to Cor'lana. "She did. She... stopped the memory, and everything in it, but her and myself. I was just a little twitchy." Sitting down next to her, he grins. "I imagine you'd be the same in my shoes."
"I... kind of yelled at her at first. All I could think of was how she'd died, passed Pothy onto you, and then here was at least something of her that could've helped, soothed your grief... so I kinda had a little bit of a shout there." He sips his tea, having the good grace to look a little shamed. "She... admitted she'd fouled up, by dumping it on you. She did make the excellent argument that if she hadn't, well, we might have never met. Which is an annoyingly good response, I must say."
Cor'lana takes her cup of tea and blows on it for a moment to cool it down a tad--she's not as impervious to the elements as her fiance--and sips as she listens to Telamon. She can't help but snicker at his last notion.
"That's my mother," she says fondly. "She was always incredibly good at getting her point across. Like I said before--I admired her for her wits and beauty. I still don't know how much I really live up to that, even at your insistence... But someday, I'll get there."
She scoots closer to him on the couch, putting a kiss on his cheek. "She was right. I'd keep things the exact same way if it meant I got to be with you. Heartbreak and all--so long as the promise was a lovelier sunrise at the end of the long and dark night."
Telamon takes a long sip from his tea. "Absolutely. This lousy weather can't hold out." He slips his arm around Lana, snuggling up to her. "And I guess, in the end, it did work out. We're together, right?"
He nuzzles his face against her cheek playfully, before grinning. "I bet tomorrow's sunrise will be spectacular, too. I look forward to sharing it." He glances at Pothy, still gorging himself on nuts. "Maybe this one'll even let us sleep in."
Cor'lana nods happily, nuzzling into him as he holds her. "We're together for as long as the gods will let us be together--and frankly, I might fight the gods if they take you before I'm done with you," she says wryly.
Then she pauses a moment. The subject of a sunrise seems to strike inspiration in her head. "Maybe we should stay up and watch the sunrise--together," Cor'lana offers. "Then sleep in until the afternoon. I don't have any pressing plans, after all."
Telamon hmms, and takes another sip of his tea, before setting his mug down. "Like I told you before. For good or ill, you're stuck with me. And I'm not about to leave you."
"We might need to find something to do to pass the time though, before sunrise." His eyes twinkle, as he reaches up to stroke her cheek. "I can think of a couple things, off the top of my head."
Cor'lana grins at Telamon as his hand meets her cheek, her eyes taking on a similar twinkle. "I hope that they're the same two things I'm thinking of," she replies.
It wasn't long before Pothy found himself hiding in the study again.
...
"They're doing it again!" Pothy whines, sitting on Nadina's shoulder as she organizes the bookshelf that contained her life and her daughter's life. "I can't even enjoy my snacks in peace!"
Nadina gives Pothy a sly grin as she looks at him with those blue eyes, the glow in them flashing for a moment as she says, "Pothy, just be thankful that they're not getting into anything that I wouldn't."
Pothy looks at her. "You got between any adult pair of legs that consented, though," he protests.
"Oooh, you're right. Bad example." Nadina grins. "I am occasionally wrong."
The Library of Apotheosis is quiet again.
OOC
Inspiration for this scene provided by: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNGmyQ8UbZ8
(And readers like you. Thank you.)