Ellessandir watched the band with interest as they lapsed into "Rutland
Reel". It had been nearly 300 years since he'd last heard that one.
The green haired one, Kione, was actually pretty good with the kit. It
had been even longer since he had heard that particular instrument.
Everything that made him a Bard urged him to get his ocarina from his bag
and join in. Probably wouldn't go over well, though, considering the lass's
irrational dislike of him. He was confident he could win her over by the end
of the night, though.
~~ came a sending from
behind im. Ellessandir stiffened, automatically slapping the side of his
pant leg,where either his ocarina or his sword should have been, except that
either one would probably have stuck out just a little in the bar. Any
thought of either music or romance was driven out of his mind as he turned
casually around to scan the bar. The "man" in the leather jacket gave him a
smug smile.
Ellessandir casually walked over to the man, pretending for the
crowd's benefit to reach for something under the bar.
~< Well, it's been a while since I've seen your kind, Unseleighe,>~ he sent
coolly. What in Danaa's name was an Unseleighe being doing having a drink in
Foxglove's? ~~
*Well,* he thought, amused, *first Unseleighe sighted in Atlantis... Won't Queen
Brigid be pleased.*
She felt lightheaded as she intently listened to the music the band played
and played fairly well. The instruments used...she knew that not many played
them. *I can't get distracted now,* she thought bleakly, suddenly standing, nearly
running to the bar.
Crysalis opened her mouth to say something, uncaring that she would have
interrupted the bartender's apparent conversation with the other man. Then, her purple
eyes caught sight of the tender and paled to an icy blue.
*Well,* she told herself dryly, *I guess this night wasn't wasted after all.*
~~ she thought to herself, accidently transmitting it. Realizing her
mistake and that it was too late, Crysalis carefully backed away as far as she could
into the shadows, hoping that he would have thought it would have been someone else.
She hadn't realized that her eyes had gone deeper to its shade of deep purple, nearly
black and that she had gone terribly pale.
*And me with no progress...what would he say, what would the Queen
say?* she thought miserably.
As if echoing their thoughts, the Queen of the Seleighe was wondering what
was happening with two of her strongest warriors. The tall woman stood on a stool,
pale arms stretched out slightly on either side of her. Two youthful-looking maids
bustled about her, draping the near-transparent wrap about Brigid's shoulders and
arms. The other two, both older and more experienced, knelt down to smooth out
the ends of the shimmering white dress.
Her jaden green eyes stared at her own reflection in the mirror directly across
the room, revealing a face of suppressed anxiety. Just when she thought she could no
longer stay quiet, one of the maids intervened:
"We are done, Your Majesty."
Brigid turned her attention to the women.
"Thank you. You are dismissed. Please tell the gentlemen that I'll be with them
in a moment."
The doors closed behind the four as the Queen stepped down from the stool,
brushing a stray strand of hair away from the small pearl tiara that dangled from her
forehead.All this festivity for a thirty-minute political meeting. Silly, indeed. Her worries
lay with something else entirely.
Her hand moved over the surface of the mirror. Nothing. Which meant Ellessandir
was not at home. That could be either good news or bad news. If she had time, she
would draw up one of her stronger spells to see what her court members were up to in
the other world, but that would have to wait.
She left her bedroom and entered the meeting room, smiling gracefully at the
officers as they bowed. She took her seat at the end of the table. Before she started,
she closed her eyes briefly.
As Crysalis' accidental thought transmitted itself to the bard, another voice intervened
before neither one could move. It was a feminine, pleasant voice, yet commanding and
clear. The voice of the High Queen merged with the last syllable of the sorceress' thought,
like one disjoint medley merging into another.
*Remember your duty. Please report in an hour.*
Brigid opened her eyes once more, and continued with her meeting.
A young man carefully entered Foxglove's, at six foot two the young man was a
small wall. He was tall and was muscled, not heavly, but enough. He also had a ponytail
of loosly gathered ice-blue hued hair that reached completly between his shoulder-blades
and pericing Green eyes that, at this moment conveyed a carefull aquisition of his
surroundings. He smiled at the song that was being played as he sat at the bar, swinging
his brown trench coat like a cape to drape over the stool. "Whada ya got?" he asked
the bartender.
It was probably for the best that Ellessandir wasn't either pouring or taking a
drink at that moment, or most of the bar's customers would have had to endure a shower.
First, someone calling his name, a familiar voice. At almost the same moment, his queen's
voice reminding him to check in in no more than an hour. And then the kicker walking in
and sitting down at the bar: his "son" Reivy.
He realized he must look like an idiot, staring at the boy, who to all other eyes must
look as if he was simply coming in for a drink.
"Be with you in a moment," Ellessandir said in mock cheerfulness, while seething inside.
How could Reivy have been allowed into this world, to endanger himself like this? Yes, the
boy could take care of himself, and yes this was actually his true world, but he hadn't been
in contact with it for nearly 70 years, and was ill prepared. Who would have let him come
here?!
~~ Ellessandir sent, ~~
Baynsh Mysfortune went from 'Riverhead' into Gladys' Leap' into 'Wise Maid.'
Kione ended with a flourish on the kit, as Kory announced they would be taking a fifteen
minute break before they began again. Kione jumped off of the stage happily, in a much
better mood than before. This lasted until she sat at the bar next to Colette and Richard
and spotted the bartender.
*Ah yes,* she thought, remembering, *I thought I had forgotten something...* With
a grin that had absolutely nothing to do with what she was actually thinking, she waved
the bartender over.
~~ ReivynWulf laughed to himself, ~~ ReivynWulf got up after ordering
some water and then went to sit Ellessandir, "I'm fine, I've been studying how to get through,
so you'd be getting rid of me." ReivynWulf looked Ellessandir in the eye, "I have for
sometime, coming here."
~~
Crysalis sighed in resignation, sensing another nuisance in their midst; her shocked,
now very pale blue, eyes Saw ReivynWulf enter and apparently speak to the bartender.
She didn't need any more of her home people near her; Papillion had never been well
liked except by those she helped heal or ferret information for. Otherwise, unless they
were hurt or aching for information she had access to, she was left alone to her own
devices, to her own company other than the creatures she met, and to her own failures.
Nothing.
And now Her Majesty wanted her progress in the spanse of an hour.
*Foolish, foolish girl,* she chided herself, teeth clenching.
*But staying here like a frightened child won't get your duty done.* If all the progress she
would make was. Steeling herself inside, Crysalis slipped out of the shadows veiling her
and went back to the bar, ignoring the curious looks she got; she must have looked like a fool
walking back and forth without any particular reason why.
With her eyes forced to a cool azure color instead of the iciness they had held, she
said quietly to the pair she was staring at, "Hello," without hiding the neutrality hidden in her
voice, the dead emotion whispering beneath it.
Richard applauded as Kione drew near. "Nice job! I really enjoyed that. Did yinz
write those, or are they traditional?"
~~ Puck replied cheerfully, timing
it just right to further confuse the light fae. As it looked, the poor Faerie was having a bad
hair day, first hearing from him, then the blue haired guy-- a little snicker escaped his lips at
that, it seemed the babe did well in the Seleighe Court-- than the other light fae approached
him, while the pretty mortal witch from the band practically hopped up and down trying to
get Ellessandir's attention while trying NOT to look like she wanted to punch him. He sighed,
shaked his head and finished off the beer. ~~
Puck leaned over the squirming man-- who jumped up from his seat and ran screaming
about purple spiders into the Men's room-- and gave Richard a playful punch in the arm.
"Don't tell me you never heard traditional music? I thought you were a heavy history buff,
'Card."
~~ Ellessandir said uneasily, referring to the
meeting. ~~ He gave a sideways glance at the witch. It was obvious, now that he was looking
for it. Interesting... Speaking of the girl, what HAD he done to infuriate her? He was almost
truly sure he had never seen her before tonight. Guess it didn't matter tonight. There was too
much to do. But she had mentioned she was a regular. Ah, romance. Or lust, or boredom...
whatever.
Ellessandir turned to the quiet Sorceress Papillion, who was looking more and more
nervous in her current surroundings. She wasn't exactly the sort of person to frequent places
with this many people, and humans to boot.
*She must be nervous as hell,* he thought sympathetically.
~~ he said.~~ he added, glancing at the Unseleighe who
was chatting up Kione and her friend. ~< You too,>~ he said to Reivy.
He had guessed from the dark faerie's talk that he had Puck to thank for his "son".
Around 50 years ago, he would have attempted to punch his lights out for the trickster's
"favor, but he had had time to become used to the idea. Somewhat. And Ellessandir loved
his ward, even if he wasn't exactly happy with him at the moment. But moon and stars, he
wished this night would be over with...
~~ Crysalis quipped, shrugging as she
averted her darkening eyes to the counter as her eyes narrowed in thought. *Meetings.
Of all the loathed events that should happen today,* she growled to herself. She was about
to turn and leave imperiously, frustrated with the day's events and with her behavior, when she
remembered the Bard and ReivynWulf. ~~ she told them amiably, still with
quiet restraint and lack of emotion, ~~
~~
Puck said as he slid onto the now vacant stool. ~~
"I'm sorry that I inturrupted you guys," he said to Richard and Kione. "But I know 'Card
from class, he's the one who always moans when I start one of my lectures about funny
historical facts. And I think I've seen you at the Faires. I know I heard that odd rift
before, the G-minor chord in Gladys' Leap, in last year's Faire. Are you going to be in
this year's one?"
~~ Reviyn stood, ~~
Reiyn looked back at the man in the leather coat, ~~
Reivyn took a long sniff, like he was clearing his nose of a cold, ~~
Reivyn clenched a fist and did all he could do to keep from launching at the man.
Richard laughed. "Well, if you'd keep your little lectures down to something halfway
reasonable, maybe I could keep quiet in class. I swear, every time you open your mouth
I almost expect to hear that you believe that Tax Accountants From Another Planet landed
in Mecca and handed down the secrets to double-entry bookkeeping.
"But no, I've never actually heard this stuff. I don't tend to concentrate so much on
the entertainment - I'm too much of a generalist to get that specific." He smiled at Kione,
"But I think I'm having my mind changed on me. So, you hang out here a lot, Alan?"
Zoey lifted a fingertip to scratch at the spriggan's head, something done out habit
more than anything, much like a mortal would pet a dog without thinking about it. Pausing
at the bar, he glanced over at the others,an air of wariness about him. Unselighe just didn't
tend to react well in social situations... well, except for Puck. Resting his hands on the
bartop, his gaze roamed over the bottles, slowly lifting to Reivyn, unsure if the man were
glaring in his direction or not. He was hoping it was the latter. In this 5'2 delicate seeming,
he wasn't much prepared for the combat that the fellow looked as if he were about to
initiate if one judged by the fire in his eyes. Shaking his head softly, Zoey scratched
the spriggan's head once more before turning back to the bar.
Puck smiled innocently. "Who me? Nah, they learnt of double-entry bookkeeping
when they first invented inventory records. The only Alien help they got was when the
first pyrimid was built and the aliens came to steal the gold for a new sunroof.
"But really, this is the first time I've been in here. I finally got a break from Ol' Ironlungs
to spend time doing my own kind of research.. beautiful women and loud music."
~~Focusing
his thought, Puck sent a private message to Zoey.
~~
Dubiously, Crysalis looked over the strange man in the leather, then at ReivynWulf
and Ellessandir, eyes narrowing in thought. *Just what I need. Surrounded by males,* she
complained to herself. She was about to suggest that she let them have their meeting without
her presence when the full realization of the words sank into her mind. *A park?* she
thought and it was that moment that made her inhibitations melt away. ~~ she told
them, ~~ Of all her names, she liked that one.
It was much more formal than "Moth" as most teasing members of the Court used to call her;
she hoped that they wouldn't know her by that name. Without knowing it, she winced at
the bitter memories, then sighed when she saw the change over Reivyn.
She looked over at where the man in the jacket was, silently observing, then said
neutrally, ~~
~~ Reivyn sniffed
again, ~~ Reivyn's eyes widend as he heard Puck's
message, ~~ Reivyn's hands balled into fists
and took a step forward, ~~ Then Reivyn recognized
the smell, he had smelled it before, somewhere, then on certain fairies after running into
'The Trickster' ~<...Puck...>~
~~ Puck cheerfully replied. ~~
Ellessandir sighed, and put a hand on Reivy's shoulder.~~Letting go of the were-wolf's
shoulder, he filled out a few more orders. ~~ he sent, ~~
Crysalis shrugged then said clearly to Reivyn, ~~ Her eyes darkened to an almost black, a signal of annoyance. ~~ She didn't feel comfortable
at the least; it had been a while since she left her room to be around people, Seleighe or
humans, and she was uneasy. Not that she would be in anyone's company for very long;
her mistakes must have been known to Ellessandir, if not Reivyn too. But Crysalis merely
sighed, turning away from the pair, and looking around the room with her eyes forced to
lighten into a calm sky blue.
"Hm?" Kione asked, coming out of her reverie. For the first time, she noticed the leather
clad man who had sat next to Richard and herself. "The Faire?" she asked for a moment,
stupidly, before remembering what he had asked her. "Oh, yeah. I play there whenever I
can in the summer. Probably going to be the same way this year, too."
She squinted, remembering faintly a lively wandering minstrel dressed in purple and green.
"I see you there every year too, if you're who I think you are."
(
geocities.com/tokyo/market/Market) (
geocities.com/tokyo/market) (
geocities.com/tokyo)