Haven, Arceria, Kaeleer, Saturday [Fandom Time]

[glacial_queen]

The portal had dropped them off in the outskirts of Haven. Portalocity tech was one more thing that Karla could add to the list of information she didn't want most Kaeleerans to have, especially her enemies. But Haven wasn't that far from the Glacian border, which meant it was the ideal staging ground for their reconnaissance missions. They could slip into Glacia without Hobart being the wiser and then move around from there. She knew he was watching the Winds, so they'd stick to roads and private Coaches as much as possible, but they should be able to see much of the Territory while they were here.

It helped, of course, that they'd have a few native guides and a system of safe-houses already prepared. The underground movement had been working overtime lately.

"Morton!"

[NFB and SP]

Comments

[glacial-warlord.livejournal.com]

Morton hadn't needed Karla's cry to start him running towards her. Just her psychic scent in the air was enough to get his head up and his feet pounding towards her. Part of it was a Warlord scenting his Queen, yes, but so much more was a cousin seeing the only family member he had left, one he'd spent years and part of his soul trying to protect.

"Karla!"

He got to her, sweeping her up in an embrace, and whirling her around in the air. Yes, the deep snow made such an act tricky. He didn't care. It was Karla.

"Missed you."

[glacial_queen]

"Missed you more," Karla said, hugging him tightly. "Oh, Morton, I've missed you so much. But soon, okay? I'll be home soon. For good."

And he wouldn't be allowed out of her sight for at least a week when she was.

[glacial-court.livejournal.com]

Julian was a little slower to greet her, shoving down that traitorous leap of his heart. Unlike Morton, it was only a Warlord (Prince!) scenting his Queen; he barely liked the Queen he'd found himself unwittingly attached to and didn't trust her at all.

Which made this damnable bond that much more irritating. He should want to wring her scrawny neck, not sniff it.

He was compromising by wanting to do both.

"At least you didn't bring an entire brigade of friends with you," he said, following Morton at a much more sedate and dignified pace. "This time."

[glacial_queen]

"I do understand the basic concept of 'reconnaissance,'" Karla said sharply, once she was done greeting Morton. "I'm not a pampered aristo that needs to be waited on by a bevy of servants and sycophants."

[glacial-court.livejournal.com]

"We'll see," Julian said, non-committal. "You have been away from Glacia for a very long time and early spring is not the best time to go traipsing about the mountains. Especially for the unprepared. You might find yourself wishing for those servants and sycophants before we're done with this."

He wasn't sure whether he'd be more disappointed if she gave up and retired to a hunting cabin while the rest of them continued the important work of saving Glacia, or relieved to have her of his hair, or exultant that he'd been right all along.

[furnaceface]

Jono really didn't have anybody here to run and greet, though he did smile faintly as Karla ran to do just that. He remembered a few of the faces here, of course, from past Kaeleeran visits. He just didn't know any of them well enough to run to them in joyous greeting. This trip wasn't meant to be a social call, after all.

And so he was hanging back, half watching Karla's reunions with a little smile, and half getting a feel for his surroundings. This was the settlement that Karla and Warren had helped to establish last year, then? Even taking the time difference into consideration, it seemed to be doing fairly well. That was encouraging, if only slightly.

[wwiii]

"Morton," Warren greeted, stepping up to Karla's cousin with a smile and a bow of greeting once the two of them were finished their reunion. "It's good to see you again. How are things going around here? Haven is doing well, I hope?"

It looked like it was, but... well, it never hurt to check.

[glacial_queen]

"I'm not here to traipse," Karla snapped. "I'm here to work. And do remember, Lord Hagen, that it's only been half the time for me as it has been for you."

[glacial-court.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Julian said, mouth twisting. "Pity that, for all of Glacia. You might have been here sooner, otherwise."

[wwiii]

"Yes, and she would have been killed or broken, leaping into something she wasn't ready for yet." Warren's tone was mild, but there was a bit of ice lurking somewhere underneath it all as he stepped up behind Karla and rested a hand on her shoulder. He didn't have any patience for Julian rubbing in Karla's face what she'd been beating herself up over for years, already. "Haven wouldn't be here at all if Karla wasn't here for her people, Julian. Maybe you should keep that in mind."

[glacial-warlord.livejournal.com]

He clung to her, burying her face in her neck and inhaling. "I know, I know," he murmured. "I don't know whether I should be grateful that you're coming home or wishing to keep you at Fandom for longer."

[glacial-warlord.livejournal.com]

"I believe so," Morton said, with a little smile and a bow of his own. Then he reached out to clasp Warren's forearm. "I only arrived yesterday, but it seems to be thriving."

The Black Widows knew to call him if there was trouble, but otherwise he tended to avoid the village. Hobart's eye was almost always on him, so he tended to stay away from things he cared about.

[glacial-court.livejournal.com]

Julian gave Warren a long once-over. "Mister Worthington," he sneered. "So nice to have your opinion."

Because Julian cared. Really. About what Warren had to say. About anything.

[kindrednotkind.livejournal.com]

There was a very, very large cat who was very interested in Jono. *You are one of Karla's males?* he asked, in Jono's head.

[wwiii]

Warren nodded, clasping Morton's arm in turn.

"Hopefully we'll have an opportunity to see it before we head back into Glacia? It hasn't been all that long for Karla and myself, but with time running double here, I'm interested in seeing what's changed."

[wwiii]

"Yes, well, you're going to have to get used to hearing it," Warren replied, his feathers prickling slightly behind him. "You're going to be stuck with me for the next few weeks, after all."

It was amazing just how talented Julian was at making Warren want to punch him in the mouth. Funny how that worked.

[furnaceface]

Really, it was difficult to miss the source of that psychic voice. Jono might have kept on looking, if not for the giant feline that seemed to be staring him down, after all. As it stood, he mostly regarded the cat with a sort of vague curiosity, concealing no small amount of awe.

"I suppose I am," he replied, giving the feline a small nod of his head and suddenly wishing that he had a far better grasp on Protocol than he currently did. "I'm Jonothon. One of her friends from the island."

[glacial_queen]

Karla smiled at him. It wasn't a nice smile. "You probably don't want to talk that way to the future Consort of Glacia."

[kindrednotkind.livejournal.com]

Kaelas was sniffing him--all over. Look, his best friend was Ladvarian. He got some confusing ideas about smelling, okay.

*I am Kaelas. I am Warlord Prince of Haven. I am very brave and very fierce.*

He wasn't threatening Jono, just trying to find common ground. *You do not have wings or claws like Warren. But you are much bigger.*

[furnaceface]

"Much bigger," Jono replied, with the sort of tolerance for sniffing that came from having a nose the size of one's head shoved into one's crotch, when that nose was sitting just above some fairly impressive teeth. "And a warrior in my own right, though I'm not Blood, either. I try to make up for my lack of claws in other ways."

[glacial-warlord.livejournal.com]

Morton thought about it, then shook his head. "Not much," he said regretfully. "Not if we want to make good time over the mountains. Perhaps a bit before we go and if we make good time on the way back?"

[wwiii]

"That works, too," Warren agreed, a little regretfully as well, though he understood the need to make good time. "We aren't actually here for Haven, after all. How long do you suppose we'll spend in the mountains?"

[glacial_queen]

"Right, because I never get into trouble on Fandom," Karla snarked. "Besides, this is bigger than both of us. And you miss me, remember?"

[glacial-court.livejournal.com]

Julian's jaw tightened at the reminder. "Indeed," he said. "What a wonderful addition to your Court. Excellent way to make sure you're taken seriously after you depose your uncle. But you'll have a pretty Consort."

[wwiii]

Warren was not going to kill Julian. It was perfectly legal for him to do so, but he was not going to kill Julian.

He'd keep telling himself that.

"She'll have a Consort that's capable of holding his own," he ground out. "Even among bigots and morons like you." He lifted his chin. "She'll have a Consort trained in Protocol by the High Lord himself, and trained to fight by the greatest Eyrien warriors in Blood history." He gave Julian a sharp grin. "And she'll have a pretty Consort."