glacial_queen | The Territory of Sceval, Kaeleer (Saturday Afternoon, Fandom Time)

Invitations had gone out, letting people know that Karla was planning to take a trip back to Kaeleer. Nothing special, just a short day-long trip, complete with picnic.

Of course, that was nothing special if you didn't know about the kind of picnic Mrs. Beale was capable of putting together with a bit of notice. Or if you weren't impressed with visiting unicorns all day. Whichever.

The portal opened up at the Hall, where the staff was packing up a single Coach with all of the supplies a group that size might need: sweetfeed, sugar cubes, apples, carrots--and provender for the picnickers, too. Guests would find themselves ushered into other Coaches; large wheeled conveyances that were powered by Craft and could be drawn by horses on roads or powered by Craft to travel over the Winds. Karla, Jaenelle, and Lucivar were not there to greet the Fandom folks; the latter two had gone ahead to ready everything on Sceval's end, and the former had vanished that morning, offering apologies and deliberately vague explanations of an errand that needed running.

Not that anyone at the Hall was going to let her absence slow down their timetable any. As soon as the last person was seated and comfortable and the last basket stowed, the Coaches took off, catching the nearby Opal Wind to speed them along.

The ride was on the longish side, lasting about an hour--apologies had been made, but Sceval was a closed Territory and portals were not permitted--but soon enough they were touching down again. This time, there was no extended hike through the woods, the Coaches landed in a large open meadow, next to a cheerful brook. Large blankets were already laid out, and the coachmen clambered down to open the doors and then begin unpacking the mountains of food they'd brought.

There were two people waiting for everyone when they climbed out. One was Karla, the other was a solemn dark-haired girl who looked about eight or nine. She gave the assembled group a tremulous smile and clutched Karla's hand tightly. Karla gave her a fond smile before looking up at her assembled friends.

"Welcome to Sceval," she said, waving with her free hand. "Lucivar and Jaenelle are already out visiting the herd, which you're welcome to do. There's food to eat if you're hungry and plenty of places to explore if you get restless. I didn't, uhh, plan any activities, so hopefully there's enough here to keep you entertained!"

[NFB for off-islandness]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

furnaceface

"... You tempt me, Ben."

Tempting him was bad! Jono tended to be all about the blunt force trauma, these days. A cane would be a thing to fear, in Jonothon's hands.

"I half want to say yes, just to see if you could find one around here."

From:

momslilassassin

"You might have to make do with a big tree branch," Ben admitted as he glanced around.

From:

furnaceface

"I could be fierce with a large tree branch," Jonothon countered. "Depending on how much bother I go through to strip it of twigs, it might actually be far more convincing than a cane, anyway."

Because he'd be a crazy large grey man with a heavy stick.

From:

momslilassassin

"Probably," Ben admitted. "Not sure any of the Fandom people would even find it weird."

From:

furnaceface

"If they don't find me weird in the first place, I've got my doubts that they'd so much as bother to blink at me-with-a-stick," Jono noted, shrugging. "And while I do tend to draw a good many second glances, I think at least most of this group is more or less used to me."

More or less.

From:

momslilassassin

Ben gave him a sympathetic smile and sat down on the ground, making himself comfortable for a long catch-up. "Why are you feeling so old?"

From:

furnaceface

Jono bit the inside of his cheek for a moment. And then he shrugged, settling himself down on the ground beside him.

"Long version, or the short one? Wouldn't want to hold you up from the unicorns for too long, really."

From:

momslilassassin

"Long is fine," Ben said. "I don't think the unicorns are going anywhere."

From:

furnaceface

"Not likely," Jono agreed, glancing around for a moment, and then directing his attention toward the ground. "Lord, I don't even know where to start. The last year for everyone else has been... Five? Something like five. It's been a few, for me. A lot can happen in a few years."

Clearly.

"I spoke to you about it already, a little."

From:

momslilassassin

Ben nodded. "And I'm used to the time change," he said. "My cousin Jaina who graduated here is now almost as old as the Jaina back at home for me."

Which was giving Ben a fair amount of heartburn, but this was Jono's story to tell.

"Has it gotten a little easier to be in Fandom, at least?"

From:

furnaceface

Jono was quiet for a moment, chewing on his lip. And then, at length, he shook his head a little.

"It's gotten easier to show my face outside," he murmured. "But... there's nothing at Fandom that can really... make it better. I can't do anything to even begin to atone. And with things the way they are back home right now, I... mostly just feel like a coward, not being there."

Not that there was anything he could do back there, really.

From:

momslilassassin

Ben nodded. "I understand that feeling," he said quietly. "We're teetering on the edge of another war, and I'm still planning to join Ender anyway."

From:

furnaceface

"You give enough of yourself, and after a while, I think maybe it's your right to make a choice like that," Jono replied, softly. "Doesn't make it feel any less like some sort of betrayal, but odds are, you've earned it."

Not that, you know, Jono would go and say that about himself.

From:

momslilassassin

"Do you think you've earned it?" Ben asked, turning to watch Jono's face.

From:

furnaceface

To his credit, Jono actually considered that for a while before replying.

"I tried to," he said, carefully, even as his gaze turned down toward the grass. "But I don't think I can say that I did."

He could say that he was too tired to deal with any of that now. Or that there wasn't anything he could do without just getting in the way. But that he'd earned it? No.

No, never.

From:

momslilassassin

"I'm not sure we ever feel like we earn it," Ben commented. "The mistakes always loom so much larger than the triumphs."

From:

furnaceface

"The mistakes are so much larger than the triumphs," Jono countered, a little more softly. "I can't think of a single thing I've got that I've earned for myself, right now. And I know I'm not a charity case or anything, though it rather feels like that's what I've become."

From:

momslilassassin

Ben reached out to poke him gently in the shoulder. "I'm glad you're here," he said quietly.

From:

furnaceface

Jono's eyebrow raised a little as he glanced down at Ben's finger, where it had poked him. And then he tried a little smile on for size.

"You still owe me a stupid film about race cars and men with huge biceps," he noted, almost idly. Almost. Kind of.

From:

momslilassassin

"Karla gave me the entire series for Christmas," Ben said happily. "Ender's thrilled."

Ender was not thrilled.

From:

furnaceface

"Ender never really struck me as the sort to enjoy racecar films," Jono mused, "but then, I don't know him all that well. I suppose people are full of surprises."

Either that, or Jono was an excellent judge of character. Hmm.

From:

momslilassassin

"He's a secret lover of cheesy movies," Ben assured him with a nod. "Not that these movies are bad."

They were bad, Jono.

From:

furnaceface

Really, all the more of an excuse for Jono to throw popcorn at the screen. Right? Right.

"And even if they were, we'd just mock them relentlessly. Like that one about the boy who drowned at summer camp."

From:

momslilassassin

Ben laughed. "That was some quality entertainment."

From:

furnaceface

"To this day, I just feel as though all I need to do to keep my arse safe is run around with a garden hose," Jono shared.

Really, after so many years, it was a wonder that he remembered that much.