Chapter VII - Healing Pains

[Karl the Mad]

"Was I invited to London too?" Marius asked. "I know the rest of you are minor Fae nobility or something, but I was never granted that honor..."

"Eh, who cares, yer with us, yer been rehabbin' yerself on prime-time teevee fer a few," Charles countered, clapping Marius on the shoulder. "I'd jus' watch out fer Jameson, she's been rehabbin' too but... eh, you'll see."

[IamLEAM1983]

Aidan couldn't quite repress a wince of empathy at Charles' comment. He'd spent the last six months wishing Hope hadn't been swamped in demon guts, or that some sort of reprieve would've allowed them to travel under the radar and lend a hand.

"Things were hard for everyone," he opined. "I'd like to use that opportunity to build more bridges, if I've got time. The incursions gave the Sin Seven the same goodwill the Sons of the White Dragon enjoy here, and they deserve all the infrastructure we've managed to build with our partners around the planes. I know the Gentlemen aren't terribly Eastern in their philosophy, but they'd probably be eager to work with Mary's people if given the chance."

He looked back to Lucian. "The only solution that comes to mind to the problem you've described, honestly, is that you probably started the sapling's cultivation off-world. I used to think Fae Gates to Paradise couldn't be stable enough, but judging by your abilities, you probably tapped into a place that's populated and that follows a markedly different Spacetime from Earth."

Rothchild nodded, smiling behind his tendrils. "You're close, Aidan. The Darkhallow doesn't count, and rooting the new dryad in Heaven's soil would have made it unsuitable for a later transplant. I needed a place that is tangible, that is suitably Earth-like, and that would allow the sapling to effectively suckle on an abundant source of arcane power.
- But Faerie, Heaven and Hell don't diverge enough for the sapling to grow this quickly. Or, well, Faerie sometimes does diverge by entire generations, but it's random. I doubt even you could precisely control how closely a given Gate is tethered to our plane of existence."

Nereus seemed intrigued. "I think we're suggesting that there is a place, somewhere within the mortal plane, where its own laws are circumvented or modified. Unless the Architect has new tricks up His sleeve, I don't know where that could be."

Carrie glanced around the midway and theatre, as if looking for something that could jog her memory. "The - The bug people who were here during the worst of the occupation, the people who... turned this Nasir woman..."

Lucian didn't confirm Carrie's grasp for logic, but he did nod. "Our Garden isn't the only one, and the Architect knows quite well how warps and wefts in the Real can create... pockets, of a sort. Smaller Gardens, hidden within larger ones. Paradise's Vanguard have their roots in such a place, one where depending on where and when one enters, a few hours can equate to thousands of years - or somewhere close to eighteen. A place with people - and especially a place where Lady McHale and Lord Haskill could have watched over her safely, hidden away from the Goat's later machinations."

Nereus nodded. "So this dryad, this girl... She's only been in Hope for a short while, then.
- Long enough for her transplanted Tree to take root. She only is a few months old from your perspective, but from her own and the Fae's, she is an educated young woman in her own right and has been prepared in accordance with her station."

He raised a finger. "Her time within the Vanguard's Cradle will have affected her coloration, somewhat. A few months spent absorbing Terrestrial nutrients should eventually make her bark and sap resemble Sophia's."

[TennyoCeres84]

"That should make for an interesting transition from one soil to another. She'll likely have to adjust to the local ecosystem and vice versa," Meris mused. "Shouldn't be too much of a problem in that regard."

"How is she, emotionally? I know she's supposed to have received Sophia's memories and personality traits to have given her a starting foundation, but that will obviously also be a transition in and of itself," she noted with some concern.

[Karl the Mad]

"I should probably go prepare for this party, then," Abraham said eventually, putting a hand on Charles' shoulder. "You be careful with your plans, Boss." He shook Aidan's hand, nodded to the others, and turned to leave.

The idea of some hidden pocket of reality where time moved differently was intriguing for Marius as well, though for different reasons. "Are such places easily accessible for the likes of us, then?" he asked curiously. "Isolation on Mars helped me with my state of mind before the Pride Wars, perhaps true isolation would do more..."

[IamLEAM1983]

Lucian smiled beneath his tendrils. "You're welcome to petition the Vanguard for access to their Garden, Marius - I doubt you or anyone would find many more like it across the known universe. It was the Akari's will that Helena Nasir's research party survive their encounter with the singularity that serves as a gateway, so I would suggest speaking to Elder Protis using light-ping transmissions."

The remainder of the assistance and staff started to vacate the premises, and the stage's lights were ponderously turned off as Squids, humans, anthro and vampire staff members or volunteers could be seen clambering along the upper catwalks to go back to the stairs leading to the ground floor. Horatio stepped forward from behind the curtain, now being back in his usual Ringleader attire, facepaint included. It was a bit more elaborate than usual, and his pie-tailed jacket and black jackboots looked to have been painstakingly cleaned, his white gloves showing the crease-less cast of brand-new pairs.

"So, how were we?" he asked, the customary sniggers hiding behind his words. "Informative, entertaining - heart-wrenching, perhaps? You can say what you want about our little cadre of gods and madmen, but they certainly do liven up a backstory, don't they?"

Three smiled and nodded. "That, they absolutely do. It wasn't always the most pleasant of retellings, but I understand why it was needed, Horatio. It's just too bad the average public won't get to see it."

Grimley gestured dismissively. "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much; that's what books are for! Now the Void Weaver rebels have a voice, they can put all this to paper, all publisher-backed and everything, and vie for the esteemed honour of ending up on someone's two-fifty game show quiz card."

Carrie's smirk was a bit more sardonic. "That's kinda bleak, isn't it?" she noted, to which Horatio gave her a sly sideways look.

"Ah, but the victor can afford to let his collective memory turn into miscellany and generalized trivia; most winners are smart enough to delegate the remembering part to people whose job is it to do exactly that. You know you're at peace if the hottest query on the block involves the last Augur's favourite moss wine blend. When people with knowledge or memories get explicitly tapped for research, that's when you know History is about to take a turn."

He tapped his chest with a few fingertips and gestured to Marius. "I'm sure Mister Vlastos would take a novel amount of pleasure in a six-year old very seriously telling him they need to see some old trinket of his for a History project - and I know I would if a high-schooler paid us for Vault access - but neither scenarios are exactly likely to happen, are they?"

Anjali had stuck around, as had her father, and she slipped a smile between Marius and Horatio. "A new dryad's going to be unveiled right across town; I'd say that counts as a historic event, right?"

The Ringleader made a bit of a show of adjusting his gloves. "Why, but it certainly does, my dear! Why do you think I had myself all gussied-up in record time, hm? As much as I enjoy looking my best, I do feel some sense of obligation towards this new neighbour of ours, and I think I'd find some kinship in Herr Haraldson's desire to protect the Nexus."

Grimley added a dramatic wink. "He's had several snipers posted around Holden Hall's block and he doesn't know I know he's done exactly that. He also doesn't know I've added my own spotters, seeing as Wallace Doherty loves his speeches, and sighting for threats can be a snoozefest at the best of times."

Aidan seemed a bit confused. "Why not tell him? You could coordinate more effectively."

Horatio looked about ready to openly guffaw, but instead caught himself, adopted a comically mincing posture and approached Aidan.

"I don't know if you've noticed, my dear mister Drake, but all of us are vulnerable, and we will remain vulnerable until such a time as the new dryad finally takes her fair share of the load off of Old Jack's shoulders. That's however many days, weeks, months or years left wide open for threats with less muscle than a Prince of Hell, but a little more moxie than your average hoodlum. You might've thwarted the Apocalypse, you haven't done anything for bad Tuesday evenings, parking tickets, gang tussles or the occasional murder. There's a lot of beings that fit this scale, starting with Squids themselves and including the Fae, dragons, other vampires or, Hell, the odd Mage or Warlock with an agenda."

[TennyoCeres84]

Meris frowned thoughtfully. "We'll be vulnerable, yes, but I don't think we should necessarily underestimate the new dryad. She's Sophia's sister of sorts. I believe Sophia would've at least done something to prepare her successor so that she wasn't completely unprepared. She'll be inexperienced, but that's why she'll need us even more," she noted.

Overhearing the conversation, Ciaran felt it was best to add in his opinion, "Sophia had some idea that there was a chance she wouldn't make it through the Goat's machinations, so she started making plans early. She took some of the acorns and selected the best one she thought would be up to the role. She spoke with her and shared some of her energy. There's something of Sophia that will live on in this new dryad."

Looking over to her great-grandson, the Heiress nodded fondly. "I'm glad that's the case. The girl will at least have some idea of what's ahead of her."

[Karl the Mad]

"I'll do that," Marius told Lucian. "When I was on Mars the Noise was completely silent, and I'd still like to know why." He just smirked when Horatio mentioned six year olds and trinkets, and nodded in agreement with the sentiment.

"I thought it were great!" Charles exclaimed. "Nice 'n informative, better 'n school any day!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if the Hauser boy hasn't got his vagrants-for-hire loitering around either," Marius added in regards to security issues.

[IamLEAM1983]

The remainder of the group began to pack up, followed by Horatio, Alora and Phineas.

"I haven't met this Sophia," admitted Nereus, but I've been around somewhat, and Greece's own dryads would've given our lot of schemers a run for their money!" he lightly joked. "I don't doubt that she was exceedingly thorough."

Horatio gave his reed cane a twirl. "Hm, about as thorough as some vampires I've met, I'd say - just in her own way. She never asked my troupe for storage and going from Ciaran's story, I doubt she would've had anything tangible to store outside of personal trinkets."

As they walked outside, Aidan gave the surrounding rooftops a brief visual once-over. "So you've got intel on Preston," he stated, extrapolating from Marius' assumption. Still, the way he looked made it clear he didn't resent Vlastos for having only thought of this in the moment - his concern for Preston had always been set as a colleague and friend. "Did you manage to gather enough to get a sense of how he's doing?"

A slight ways away, Tom also stopped on the sidewalk and lightly craned his nose in the wind, his expression notably more alert and calculating than what had been his usual fare, when assessing the air. Aldergard's second seemed to notice as he shucked his jacket back on.

"Something the matter, Herr Magnus?"

Tom's eyes slid sideways as he etched a smirk. "Uh - not exactly, er, Herr Magnus," he teased, "but you might as well say the last few months made it my business to anticipate the worst. I've never doubted of Sophia's resourcefulness and I'm sure an offshoot of hers will be just as capable, but I'm also aware that what Lucian's described means all that this new protector has is a set of memories and applied theory provided for her by Vernon and Eirean. As far as practical applications go, she's as fresh-faced as a spring daisy."

The Draugr seemed amused as he buttoned his jacket. "Come now; it isn't as though dryads deserve live-fire drills - they're set in place in the hopes that they'll never have to act offensively in more than lightly dissuasive patterns.
- I know," replied Tom, his eyes and snout still set somewhere ahead, his tone kept airy and thoughtful. "I'm just thinking that Jack might've gotten the right idea, lately. His independent Animates of his - his boggarts, as he calls them, and thorny roots exposed for miles just to make concertina feel cheap in comparison... It wasn't pretty, but it worked. His node wasn't breached - unlike our Nexus."

That seemed to darken the dessicated Norseman's spirits, somewhat. He set his gnarled hands in his pockets, icy-blue eyes tracking an approaching limo. "It certainly did," he noted, in Norwegian, "but at a dreadful cost..."

[TennyoCeres84]

While her Norwegian was a little rusty, Meris understood Haraldson's noted lament. "Sometimes, dryads are forced to make difficult decisions," she mused. "Strategy is involved, but the particular strategies plan for different outcomes. Some are for the longer game, others more immediate and seemingly more effective. I imagine Sophia may have been planning for things, even beyond her passing."

Ciaran frowned with a sigh. "We won't ever know for sure, but I think she made the best decisions she could with what she had at her disposal," he offered.

[Karl the Mad]

"Second-hand intel," Marius stressed. "He may have formally accepted my apology, and the aid of my corporate advisors in reorganizing what's left of Hauser C&C, but he still holds a grudge for my treatment of Detective Delgado..." He sighed and shook his head. "To be honest I have yet to forgive myself for that, I can't even claim that it held any tactical benefit for my schemes. It was... it was pure sadism, tormenting her and keeping him out of my way."

He shook his head again. "No, one of my old retrieval guys, Mallory, is working part-time for Hauser now, and he still reports back to me now and then. The short version is you were all right about him and that company, he made it through two board meetings before losing his mind and fleeing back for the underworld. Beyond that, you'd be better served speaking to him yourself; as I said, I'm certain his people will be there at the unveiling, and he won't be too far behind. I would have mentioned it before, but we've had a lot on our plate," and he tried for a rueful grin.

Up ahead, Charles shrugged. "She was an 'elluva tree, an' if y'all're right, we're gettin' another helluva tree pretty soon. But she'll have some mighty deep roots t' fill in, that's fer sure 'n certain..."