Rurik!
Civelia smiles. It's the kind of smile that an artist might struggle to achieve, the ideal that they would strive to be able to create on demand: subtle, gentle, without pulling the lips back from the teeth. A smile that is not mad, don't put in the news bulletin that she got mad, she's so happy to be rebuked by the Hero of Ages.
"We're going to need to have an Emergency Civil Conclave just to untangle all this trouble," she says, sweetly. Her gaze lowers to the tiles, lit by flickering starlight and lanterns. "Just having this unexpected revelation from the stars would be trouble enough, but the Khatun has begun to play her hand at last, and perhaps other dragons have begun to stir in their slumber." (Heron hasn't been to the Mansion... recently, that is. If you asked Tsane, though, there would likely be notes from a previous life's infiltration somewhere in the stacks, and Cair would have inroads on where to find the apron.)
She clutches her hand to her breast, and though there is no wind here, still her hair dances. There is faint and flickering starlight on her stony lips. "Heron, by the Trust placed within me by the First Fallen, I charge thee with bringing some token to the Emergency Civil Conclave upon the morn which shalt suffice to shine Light full upon Our troubles and turmoil. Furthermore, I beseech thee, bring forth some treasure which has been vouchsafed to you from Our keeping, that from it I may draw strength in proportion to the tumult that does Us surround."
There. That's the real thing. That's not a polite request. The Goddess has called upon her Eternal Bridegroom, formally, invoking magic almost as old as the world itself. Time to get on it.
By and by, where's Kalentia?
Kalentia!
"We are not the descending into starglamour," the Lunarian says, staring down the length of the Via Cobera. Like many major Crevas roads, the Via Cobera contains both a stairway and the broad Nagi paths, heading down the straightest route to the Welcoming Plaza. Or, at least, it should. It's just that... it doesn't. There's supposed to be a straight path, and if you squint you can almost see it, but... no, it snaps right back to splitting around a building jutting out of the center of the road like a mountain, and sending both sides of the Via Cobera veering off into other streets.
They've extended an arm (the bandaged one) to stop you from running down into it. One of the earlike things floating above their head twitches. Their shoulders are hunched, and as far as you can tell, they're exhausted from the running fight. But they stopped you from following said running fight into the 'starglamour.'
"I am the displaying of penitence for failing to arrest this disturbance of serenity. You are... the judging of my weakness, Mending. You are dictating how I am atoning."
Yuki!
Speaking of doubling back, however, it appears that some members of the Khatun's pack have doubled back for their goblins. A goblin-crab is scuttling along walls, goblin-horses gallop recklessly down paths made for the Nagi, and a small sharp-winged goblin soars upwards, against the stars. Olesya and Juniper both tense up, watching its arc, and then Olesya shrugs. "If she knows..."
The huntress doesn't bother to finish the thought. What does Juni see in her, anyway?
Together, the three of you make it across rooftops and over streets until you're within eyesight of the Welcoming Plaza. Well, isn't that perfect? There's only one way in and out of the city, assuming that you're not going to dare the perils of the Outside. Perhaps you can lay a trap for him here? Or, well, not a trap. You usually don't think about making traps for your friends, do you?
"Oh, perfect," Juni says. "We can lay a trap for him here!" She sounds positively giddy at the thought, and is already pulling some sort of folded net out of her robe's inner pockets, like she's the blonde member of Mystery Incorporated.
Eclair!
Here's the trick, Eclair. The poisoned tip of this scorpion's sting.
The Paladin's gamely trying her best to keep up with her, and it's to her credit that she can keep up a sprint even faster than yours, but she doesn't have a skateboard. You do. And you have no hopes of catching up with the distant sound of tricks if you don't take to your skateboard. Leave her in your wake vainly trying to catch up.
But if you were to abandon her, well. Then you'd get close enough to see. To call out. And then it would be a race. And we all know who happens to be grinding towards the Welcoming Plaza at this time of night.
Hazel!
It would be polite, at this stage, to offer me a String, wouldn't it? I do think you should be a good boy and do just that.
Particularly because, at this point, I might as well be you. The you that scampered into my den, at least, just with better eyeliner. On either side, my daughters peek out from behind me, hands to their veils, eyes alight with intermingled pride and affection. And I am putting on a show of stretching, limbering up, getting ready for a run (which you should definitely get in the habit of doing, Golden Fawn).
"It's such a shame we can't take him home yet, yah?"
"He'd look right at home on the Garnet boardwalk!"
"It'd be easy for him to get work, yah?"
"He'd die blushing first~"
"So? We'd kiss him back to life~"
That barrage from my girls is interrupted by Amali making her way through the door. Ah, Amali, brought here on extremely short notice, game and ready for anything that her Auntie asks of her. My perfect weapon against you, Hazel Valentine Fletcher. My trap to keep you right where you're needed for our game.
"Why, isn't he a handsome young fellow?" Amali adjusts her half-moon spectacles, getting a better look at you, smiling with the warmth of an Aestivali hearth. "They'll love him up at the Chrysanthemum." (Keli and Seli frantically swallow giggles, electric with the prospect of going and finding you there.) "Don't you worry about a thing, darling," she says, looking up at you, hair silver with age, leaning on her driftwood cane, ears at attention even as she radiates the benevolence of age. "We'll overnight here and then head out with the crowds in the morning. You certainly look like you could use a good night's sleep after all that excitement and magic and such. You're probably peckish, too, and we can feed you properly, dearie. I've forgotten more places to eat around Crevas than you've known!"
"But for now," I say, your accent almost down, "how's about I, uh, give you this, maybe?" I stand up on my tippy-toes, the way that you would, to snap two nets around your antlers, letting them contract down to a tight fit. "It's thirsting wool; it'll grow soggy and heavy with your light if you leave it on too long, but, um, maybe it'll work for short distances? And you can always wring it out to get liquid light, and, oh, gosh, that's really useful stuff! Just be aware it'll soak through and get as sheer as, uh, as," and I do a devastatingly true-to-life hand gesture at Keli, who offers you a bouncy bow.
"Now, the two of you, gosh, you've got to get going! Because soon this whole place won't be here anymore, and you'd be right in the middle of all those strong Nagi and opportunistic Serigamalu and then all that effort I put into helping you would go right to waste, and, oh, Amali would probably get hurt, too, and we both know you're not going to let that happen! So get going, okay?"
Amali takes your arm, and you're definitely not going to be able to wriggle out of helping a little old lady to her hostel. You've been bound as tight as can be, Hazel. Aren't my bindings so very pleasant?
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