Royesland [Full]

[TrashRabbit]

"Well first of all that would have been a shame," Quill says. Its good to be in the waning sunlight in possession of a smile as Pol chatters, as he is want to do, knowing that giving the man the positive social attention he deserves wont physically undo him into a low hanging cloud. "Second of all, you are exceedingly clever with your tax observations. The Fae did in fact try- though I would call it kidnapping not taxing. The gentry are something of their own you know. There are spirits of every kind, spirits of things living and inanimate and there are a thousand hundred small gods. But the gentry are the ones who mimic people- who like to give themselves titles and names. It's like a twisted little mirror of our own flaws. Its something with the interplay of human minds and wild magics, the two affect each other- in ways I do not wholly understand. And that is why the godess of pearls offered them manners and cleverness in exchange for giving up their demands of blood tithe from the locals- this was long ago of course. And that is why the fae lords of Royesland are more agreeable than most. "
This was no common knowlege but Pol was some thing of an academic and magician in his own right so they felt no reason to keep it from him.

 

[CelticSol]

Jacqueline "Jackie" Sapienti​

Jackie hums, "If you have to wonder whether or not it was, it probably was. I think it's a mother nature to hate boyfriends - my mom hated every boy I brought home til she died, regardless of how much they minded their p's and q's," Jackie ducks down and takes a sip from her drink through a straw, pausing in thought, and then says, "Then again, all my boyfriends were either too old for me or they were thugs, so I guess I can't really fault her. I like to think she would've like my husband, but she was a hard woman to please."

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

"Absolutely unpleaseable," Cathal agreed, still working on the salmon. He looked up at Jackie's last words from covering it in honey, and said, "If he was a good man, she'd have probably been relieved you'd found one. Unless she was the type to think most men weren't good. Which is my mother's problem, I suspect."

He didn't get a chance to say more because Nicola returned, followed by--

"Molly!" Cathal shouted, and abandoned the fish to scoop her up in a hug, lifting her right off the floor and spinning her around the kitchen. "I--oh, you have no idea who I am, do you?" He grinned sheepishly and set her down, and the offered a little bow. "Let me introduce myself properly! Cathal McKay, back in my own shape, in no small thanks to you, Miss Sil."

 

[theunearthlyfool]

Nicola led Molly back into the wizard’s tower, pausing their conversation to shout “I’m back!” to the building as they came through the door.

She had headed straight for the stairs, but Molly pointed, noticing voices coming from the first room off the main entrance hall. “Should we say ‘hi’ first?”

"Oh, sure I guess." Her sister frowned, clearly eager to get working on the potion.

"You get points for enthusiasm, I'll give you that much," Molly teased. Going into a homey kitchen, she was surprised by its warmth: so much different from the last time she'd been in this tower. Nicola's friend Jackie was sitting at a table, and she gave a little wave. "Hi, Jackie! How’s it- oh!"

There was a flurry of motion as someone shouted her name. Before she could tell what was happening, strong arms had lifted her off her feet and spun her around, guitar and all. She couldn’t help but squeal in fear and shock, yet when the lovely voice put her down and she could see more than a blur of ginger hair, her heart jumped into her throat with joy.

“Oh! Oh, Cathal! Cathal, you’re you!” As he bowed, she cupped his face in her hands, taking in the face she’d seen in her vision now real and standing before her. Happy tears sprang to her eyes. “How- how? When?! You’re- oh, I can’t believe this, this is-” Molly threw her arms around him. “This is wonderful!”

When she heard shouting, Nicola had followed to see what the commotion was. “Oh, yeah,” she mused to herself, watching Molly and Cathal’s reunion. “Between getting stuck in the tree and meeting the Duke, I totally forgot about that. Sorry! Hey, Cathal.” She noticed Jackie and nodded bashfully at her, not making eye contact. “Hey, Jackie. Nice fish.”

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

“Well, I did what I probably should have done in the first place,” Cathal admitted. “I went to the temple, and I got a quest.” He hesitated a moment—his own reunion with his long lost sister had played out less charmingly than Molly’s had, after all—and continued, “I have a sister at the temple, and she set me a quest. Um. I did steal the pearl from you to bring it back to the goddess. I hope you don’t mind,” he said, flushing a little red.

 

[theunearthlyfool]

“Aw, I’m so sorry you were stuck for so long, if it was something so straightforward as th-”

Cathal’s words sunk in and Molly let him go, stepping back to better see the look of blushing confession on his face (good grief he was tall- an enormous cat made for a large man, at least in Molly’s 5’2 book). In comparison, she went pale, remembering where she’d stuffed her bag under her bed at the inn, certain it would be safe there.

“Oh, uh,” she floundered, thinking once again what am I going to tell Tuesday?! He had trusted her with the pearl, although she’d had the very strong feeling it didn’t actually belong to him any more than it had belonged to Tom. “I- um-” Returning the pearl of Port of Pearls to its goddess sounded in her heart like the right thing to do; it’s very likely she would’ve tried to do that herself at some point, even. But Tuesday…

Molly smiled and hoped her face didn’t betray her guilt. “...Sure, I don’t mind!” she fibbed brightly. “Glad the goddess got her pearl back, I’m sure she’s happy it’s home safe.”

Nicola hadn’t heard this part of the story, although she supposed that explained why he’d been dressed in priestess’ robes when he showed back up this morning. “Gee, think your sis would’ve helped you out without making you go on a quest for it. But that’s not always how curses work, I suppose.”

She snickered. “How the hell did your fluffy ass get that pearl all the way out to the island without, y’know-” she cupped the plant in one hand so she could wiggle the thumb of her free hand as demonstration, “-thumbs? You didn’t steal Molly’s entire purse, did you?”

Her sister looked very wide-eyed and betrayed at the prospect.

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

Cathal wasn't sure Molly was completely okay with his theft, regardless of what she said, but he couldn't blame her. He looked at Nicola and scowled.

"I did not. I wrapped it in a napkin from the inn and dragged it. Which was not elegant, but it did do the job."

 

[theunearthlyfool]

Relief cleared Molly’s face, although she figured it was likely the contents of her bag might be scattered all over her room when she got back. She brushed the thought aside. “How very clever! I’m so happy it worked, and I finally got to meet you properly!” She hugged him again.

Her sister grinned good-naturedly at Cathal’s scowl. “Man, I’m sorry I missed that. Must’ve been a great show.”

“Nicola, stop being mean,” Molly chided over her shoulder.

She just winked at him.

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

"You should ask Tuesday, he'll tell you all about it," Cathal told Nicola, giving Molly a squeeze again.

 

[theunearthlyfool]

Though it was directed at Nicola, Molly went still at the mention of Tuesday. Oh, shit. Slowly she pulled herself away, looking guilty as if whatever Tuesday had done was her fault. “...Do I even want to know?”

Nicola rolled her eyes. “Sounds like we got a lot to go over with ya boy when we see him next.”

Molly groaned.

“But I have things to do before that, so if you’ll excuse me-” Nicola used the plant to gesture to the doorway. “Potion time.” Away she swept.

“Well, if she needed help with that she probably would’ve said? Sooooooo…” Molly pulled her guitar case off her back, setting it against the wall. Gesturing at the fish, she asked, “making supper? Can I help?”

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

"...Well, from his point of view, he was trying to stop a thief," Cathal said. "So I really have no grounds to be mad at him, even though it was deeply inconvenient. Which reminds me, I have to thank Pol when I see him. Bye!" he added to Nicola as she fled up the stairs.

"I am! I'm getting the fish ready. Would you peel the potatoes for me?" Cathal asked.

 

[theunearthlyfool]

Pol? “Oh, Apollo! He’s lovely,” Molly agreed, knowing nothing of her sister’s earlier encounter with him. “Anyway, I’d love to! My godmother and I used to race each other, see who could peel more faster.” She laughed at the memory. “But she was a witch, so of course I only ever beat her when she let me.”

Cathal got things set up for her, giving Molly a chance to consider the relief that she wouldn’t have to explain the loss of the pearl to Tuesday, but also that Cathal breaking his curse meant there was hope for the magpie prince as well. It brought a smile to her face that lingered without her realizing it. Nicola’s breaking her friends’ curses, she thought. One of my friends has broken his too. ...I think things are going to be all right.

 

[CelticSol]

Jacqueline "Jackie" Sapienti ​

Jackie waves her intangible hands to the newcomers, "Thank you. I'd like to eat the fish, but, alas, no hands. So I guess I'll just fuckin' die. Also, I realize that I saw you dragging that pearl around, and... hindsight. Maybe I should've helped. My bad."

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

"You'll eat whatever I put in front of you in my kitchen," Cathal said, returning to the fish. He paused. "That sounded threatening. I didn't mean it to be threatening. You don't have to eat it, but I'll make sure you can." He laughed when she admitted to seeing him with the pearl. "Oh, I muddled along, but thank you though."

 

[CelticSol]

Jacqueline "Jackie" Sapienti​

"Don't threaten me with a good time. I would love nothing more than for you to feed me, Cathal."

 

[theunearthlyfool]

Molly giggled at their back-and-forth. “Oh, please don’t die, Jackie! Nicola’s working on the potion to fix your hands right now. I’m sure she’ll have you back to rights by suppertime.”

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

“Oh, is that why she was runnin’ through here like a man on fire?” Cathal asked. “Well, with any luck you’ll have your hands full time again by dinner.”

 

[TrashRabbit]

Tom peeks over a fat red leather bound book as Nicola careens into the work shop. He's made a spot for himself on the cushioned window seat and isn't completly visible from the stairs among the clutter and the visual chaos of the magical workshop, it looks very much like an up turned natural-magical museum in most respects.

"That was fast," He says.

 

[Nimbus]

If Quill's smile wasn't enough to send Pol straight to cloud nine, then the phrase "exceedingly clever" certainly did. His inner foxes paused in their slap fight long enough to soak in the praise.

I am exceedingly clever, aren't I? I can negotiate with Lockette even if I didn't make the best first impression. After all, it's not like I can be dunked into the town square fountain!

Pol would have continued to view the forest and everything in it through the pink spectacles of positivity, if not for the mention of kidnapping. The grains of truth in his native land's celebrated Folke Ballads stuck to him and made him stumble over the few roots and rocks at the edges of the road.

"So whichever road the gentry used to, ah, escort the townsfolk on...is the tithe road? We could be walking on it right now! Oh, thank goodness for the Goddess. I'm not sure I'd like to meet any gentry as they are, let alone how they were before. Your house spirits are perfectly pleasant, however, so they can stay. Have you...can you see them sometimes?"

 

[TrashRabbit]

"Oh no no this tithe road is the other way around, this is the road the fey walk to the temple. Though I suppose before that perhaps it might have been used the other way around. There's not much record of that sort of thing in these parts and I'll be honest I haven't researched, I've only been to the temple here the once. And the house spirits..no I'm not gifted with the sight though I'm aware of them. I let them in after all- do they bother you? I know you're more magically gifted than most?" Quill asks this last bit with interest. Locket's cabin and pastures have come into veiw, nestle as they are agaisnt the dark tree line of the Royesland's fairy forest.

 

[theunearthlyfool]

Having not seen Tom when she entered the room, Nicola jumped when he spoke. "Son of a- oh, Tom. Don't sneak up on me like that."

Her attention was only half-focused on the rest of the world as she gently set the moss-orchid plant down on top of a stack of books. "Was it fast? I was gone for a few hours at least," she said absentmindedly, clearing a workbench off enough to organize her potion ingredients.

"Hey, if you're not busy, can you please give me a hand?" Nicola retrieved the potion recipe from the bag and offered it to Tom. "Help me find the equipment on this list so I can get started on Jackie's potion? I mean, I know you don't know where shit is, but I don't either. So we're even there." She cocked her head thoughtfully. "Unless you do know where shit is. Is it-" she gestured at the big red book in his hands, "-helping? Jogging the memory at all?"

 

[TrashRabbit]

He frowned at the request and closing the book gave it a look as he contemplated her last question, "No not really. Its just a story where I happen to be the main character." He takes a long look at the list and starts rummaging around. The workshop was once well organized, Tuesday had simply dumped most things our of their drawers in his FBI like raid of the tower of something that would un-man him.
"Is toads tears something that's liable to be in a bottle or is that like a physical thing?" He asks as he looks.

 

[theunearthlyfool]

"Huh. Trippy." She returned his frown, feeling bad for asking, and started to say, "you don't have to get up if you don't-" But he took the list and started going through the still-chaotic workshop.

Nicola sighed quietly, watching his back as he rummaged around. I need to stop pushing him, she chastised herself, unloading the potion things from her bag. He's fragile. This will take time.

She shook her head, trying to brush aside her fears that if Tom's memories never came back neither would her magic, leaving both of them adrift. If we can fix Jackie and Finn we can fix Tom too. Cathal broke his curse all by himself, after all.

"Hm? Oh, it ought to be in a bottle or a little vial, if you'd been using it for potions. If you'd been using it for wards they'd be dried into beads and would probably be in a box of some sort." She blew some dust off of a beaker she'd found, and sneezed. "Ugh, excuse me. Yeah, look for the liquid kind, that'll work better for our needs."

 

[TrashRabbit]

"Dope, tight," Hesaid pawing through an entire cubpard of little vials, that at first seemed to have no organization at all, untill he found a little blue bottle with a tag that read "Toady boohoos T^T" in cathal's handwritting.
"Uh,,, is this it?" He asks handing the little bottle over.

 

[theunearthlyfool]

"Hm… ah, yes. Thank you." Nicola took the bottle from him and started to turn away when she noticed the label. "'Toady… boohoos'?" A giggle bubbled out of her chest and turned into a long, loud laugh. "That's fucking adorable. Whose handwriting is this? Can't be yours, I can read it." She nudged Tom's arm.