Tales of the Ice Harpy from Glacia

A little more than a week ago, Karla had sent the vast majority of her Court away from Haven. One could hardly have a proper processional through one's home Territory without people smoothing the way. There were perspective soldiers to assemble, food to purchase, lodgings to prepare, Province Queens to quietly contact...And so Karla had sent her Court to prepare her way, possibly cackling, "Fly, my pretties, fly!" to herself because a girl has to make her own fun sometimes.

A few days later, a 'gift' from Khary and Morghann had come in the shape of a dozen beautiful Scelt-bred horses, led by four kindred Warlord horses. Those four stopped before Karla, Warren, Raven, and Dinah and bowed, giving each a respectful greeting from Lord Khardeen--though from Warren's rueful burst of laughter, it was likely that Khary had included a special message just for him.

The next morning at long-enough-after-dawn-for-coffee-because-we're-not-barbarians-Mother-Night-though-it's-still-a-ridiculous-time-to-leave o'clock, they headed out of Haven and made for Glacia. Though mountain traveling was never comfortable or easy, they made good time; they were too late for shockingly-fast summer storms and too early for the ferocious autumn ones. Though it snowed several times during their crossing, the snow itself was light and did not impede them much. With kindred horses leading the way, they didn't even need to worry about the horses finding proper footing or running the risk of broken ankles.

For a trip through mountains heading to war, it was surprisingly good natured. There was singing and story-telling, conversation and contemplation, bickering and bonding. They made good time and Karla was almost sorry to leave the mountains behind. Because the easy part of the summer was over. Now it was time to get down to work.

The first village they rode into had a surprise for them. There was Julian greeting them on the outskirts of the village wearing an insouciant grin. "My lady," he said with an exaggerated bow. "May I have the honor of giving you a present to celebrate the formation of your Court?"

Karla raised an eyebrow. "I do like presents," she agreed, confused but willing to play along. "Is it my uncle's head on a platter?"

Smirking, Julian shook his head. "No, but possibly better." He led her horse through the village to the open green at the center of it. Though very little of the green could be seen through the mass of men and women standing at strict attention, lined up in orderly, if somewhat ragged lines. "Lady," Julian said, with a bow, "may I present the beginnings of your army."

[For the Glacian contingent! NFB]

Karla wasn't sure why she'd been surprised to discover that, in addition to renting the wonderful Captain Chiba and his yacht, Serenity, Warren had also rented them an island. Okay, so, he hadn't exactly rented the island, he'd rented the villa they were staying in which just happened to be situated on an island, and their exclusive use thereof had been included in the rent.

She had tried to laughingly explain to him that normal people didn't do that, that she was a Queen and daughter of a Queen and even she thought renting an island was extravagant, which was when he pointed out that a) they weren't normal by any means, b) this was their last vacation together for awhile, which meant he had every right to be as extravagant as he'd like, c) that neither of them would be comfortable staying at a resort where they'd have to hide who and what they were, and, d) the nonsense about renting the villa, which came with the island, as opposed to deliberately just renting an island which would be ridiculous.

Karla splashed him for the pure, patent nonsense which was the last argument, though she was willing to go along with him with the other three.

That, and, well, who would be that much of an idiot to turn this place down?
( Not Karla, that was for damn sure )

[Mostly establishy. Post co-written by not_a_parakeet. NFB.]

It was almost time for then to catch their portal home, but Morton had cautiously decided that there was enough time to visit one more landen village before they left. Even Julian didn't have much a problem with this, mollified by the five Blood males (and seven females) that Karla had handwavily, because cons are exhausting offered a place in her First Circle, once she'd made her Offering.

Once there, they'd scattered to their respective duties with an ease that came with having done the same thing many times within the past two weeks. Karla took over whatever building was the largest, more interested in being a Healer than a Queen, taking care of whatever ailments came her way, either with Craft, mundane medicines, or just some brisk advice. Warren sat nearby, making sure she had plenty to eat and drink, while talking to the people about their problems and their woes, making sure they felt heard, understood, and cared for. People who might otherwise have been afraid to come to Karla were set at ease by his openness and, more importantly, his lack of Jewel.

Jono and Julian were teamed up elsewhere, talking frankly about the war that Karla would be bringing to Glacia, about her plans to depose the current Queen and her Ruling Council, and making it clear that any landen who wished to fight--or even learn to better defend his village--was welcome to join with them. Jono made it very clear that the landens that joined with them would be more than simply fodder for the Blood. Their willingness to fight for a Queen that would see them as people too had even Julian offering a grudging respect.

Morton was out in the fields, delivering the Queen's Gift to nourish the crops. A cupful of Karla's blood in a bucket of water was enough to give the tiny plants new life and fullness, ensuring that the village could meet their new tithes while still having enough leftover for themselves. And Kaelas remained outside of the village, keeping watch with his superior kindred senses, which he never failed to point out to their group of tiny noses and ineffectual teeth.

[NFB, and all PCs modded with permission. Violence and dark themes in the comments, because what would a trip to Glacia be without those?]

Whether they'd unlocked the way by reliving the emotional echoes or the plan to force the count to expend more energy making henchment loosened his hole on the magic backstage, or some crazy combination of the two, Karla and Warren were able to make their way to the wings with no pauses for dead ends, blank walls, or masked assailants. Good show.

( Now to just find the prima ballerina and make her see sense, right? )

[Follows many posts, the most recent being this one. Preplayed with wesleynotponcy and not_a_parakeet! Many, many thanks to Michelle for letting us play in her canon and liven up Angel S03E13, "Waiting in the Wings." Apologies to Tracy and the f-list, but this is the last post! NFI, NFB, OOC is love forever]

Between the flower sale and rehearsal, Karla barely had enough time to grab her mail before catching the portal to Warren's dorm for Valentine's Day plans with Wesley at the ballet. Upon arrival, there was the traditional 'God/Mother Night, I missed you' greeting which took up some time, but eventually, they settled in for a relaxing evening in, with Warren working on a paper for class, and Karla memorizing her lines for Frank.

Eventually, however, she remembered that she'd shoved her mail into her coat pocket and pulled it out to go through. Junk, junk, bills, invoices for 'Dite's, letter from Grezande...and a letter from Worthington Labs. Just looking at the envelope made Karla's heart pound and throat dry. She...honestly hadn't expected a return letter. At least, not quite so quickly. For her to have gotten a reply from him this soon, Warren, Jr must has responded the same day he had gotten her missive.

The letter was short, only three sentences long. And now that it was here, she was going to have to talk to Warren about it. She'd been hoping for a little more time to figure out exactly how to broach the subject to him, that she'd contacted his father about a business arrangement on behalf of Glacia, but it looked that time wasn't something she had anymore of.

"Warren?" she asked, trying not to sound tentative. "You have a minute?"

Times had lined up well enough that Karla's portal had arrived late in the night for both Fandom and Kaeleer. She'd barely stayed awake long enough to follow a footman up to her suite before flinging herself onto the bed and falling asleep.

The next morning, however, she blearily realized that her suite was decorated for Winsol, even though it wasn't the holiday season. She'd tiredly noted the same thing on her way upstairs, but it hadn't registered then. It took her a few moments to understand that the family and staff had decorated the Hall again for Christmas.

For Warren.

There was a lump in her throat as she sent out a mass text to all of her friends. Merry Christmas!

[NFB for distance, but open for holiday greetings, phone calls, etc! SP warning in effect like whoa, because, y'know, Christmas.]

Karla could hardly contain her excitement. She'd gotten a psychic thread from Helene earlier in the afternoon, requesting her presence at the meeting hall that evening. All day, apprentice and journeymaid Black Widows had been cleaning and airing out the building, the last of the patients having returned home to recuperate the evening before. That could have just been Helene's common sense sense at work. No one who could read psychic scents would want to gather in a makeshift hospital; too much pain and fear and discomfort lingered in the walls.

Common sense or no, Karla was fairly certain that wasn't why the young Black Widows had spent all day diligently scrubbing down every inch of the building.

When a journeymaid proved herself adept at the Craft and practices of the Hourglass, she was acknowledged by her coven and promoted, receiving an hourglass pendant with all of the sand in the lower half as visible proof to all that she was a student no longer, but a full-fledged Black Widow. Karla had been a journeymaid for years, since before leaving Helene's coven to return to the estate and Hobart. In the intervening years, she'd grown up, practiced her Craft, helped friends and acquaintances work through mental and emotional trauma, founded a village to save Black Widows, and rule Haven as Queen for a full season. If there was a more thorough way to prove herself worthy of attaining full Black Widow status, she couldn't think of what it was.

So, after putting in her day in the fields and eating a hearty dinner (not that Warren was around to see, blast him), Karla got ready for her investiture ceremony. She reluctantly decided against wearing Widows Weeds (not everyone had theirs and it would be rude seem too eager), so she settled for a nice dress and brushing her hair and then blithely skipping her way from their cottage to the meeting hall.

She had a cheerful smile for Helene when an apprentice opened the door and led her way in, one that turned into brilliant when she saw who else had shown up. Jaenelle and Gabrielle had also been invited--Helene must have considered this a very special occasion indeed. Her smile faltered a moment later when she saw Luthvian's forbidding countenance near her friends, but regained its merriness when she realized Helene had probably just invited every Black Widow Karla knew. And it never hurt to be polite to the mother of Saetan's youngest son.

This was probably going to be one of the happiest nights of Karla's life.

( Spoiler: It wasn't )

[NFB for long-distance. For interaction if you'd have a reason to be around and/or want to deal with a sobbing witch. After this post, Karla and co are back on-island!]

So, one of the the interesting things about way Kaeleeran time lined up with Fandom's? Weird bouts of Fandom whimsy that usually affected everyone while they were asleep on the island could sweep through and affect its farflung residents at any time.

Like, say, tea. You know, one minute someone--for example, Karla--could be sitting on a windowseat, devouring both her latest book and honeycakes, and the next minute she could be on the floor along with everything else, too big for the windowseat and to lacking in hands to keep holding the book and cakes. The less said about what happened to her clothing, the better. Everyone else in the room not similarly changed would have to settle for being dumbstruck, because while they'd all heard of the funny little tricks the island liked to play, this was the first time they got to see it in action.

The other really interesting thing about the way Kaeleeran time lined up with Fandom's? They "got" to stay ponies for four days instead of two.

Huzzah.

[For them who are in Kaeleer with her, and phone calls if they can be managed!]

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]

Regretfully, Captain Chiba had had to explain over the phone that, no, his yacht was not available for them to charter today, as it was already in use. That had led to much sad eyes and wobbly lower lips on the other side of the phone until Warren had asked the good captain what it was chartered for--possibly to offer the other party some kind of financial incentive to let them go instead. That was when Captain Chiba explained that the week leading up to Christmas, he and his crew sailed around the islands, offering rides and dressed up like Santa and his elves to hand out presents to children.

Warren hadn't even had to look at Karla before he asked if they could come along and help pass out gifts.

Captain Chiba had sounded surprised that they were interested in coming to visit for a trip that wasn't romantic or private or even very scenic, but they'd insisted they were serious (and Karla had squealed enough so he'd believed them), and he told them that he'd be arriving at Oahu's main port Monday afternoon--and that if they did manage to come, he'd have something special to serve them for dinner, if nothing else.

While he was fairly certain that Karla and Warren were rich (and he was right), eccentric (double-right), and enthusiastic (righter still), he probably hadn't been expecting them to be waiting for him at the docks, a giant pile of presents by their feet, with Karla dressed up like an elf and Warren in white pants and a vest, wings out and resplendent.

He was the Christmas angel, of course.

[NFB and for one, please]