Svarik and the company I :)

[Mirach]

"Warm wishes from us to as well, Willow. Maybe we will meet again..." And after saying goodbye, Svarik gathered both animals and asked Xia to fly up to the portal. 

[VisAnastasis]

After they flew upwards, the fresh air had met them - the clear air of the outside world. It was, close to the time Willow predicted, around two hours after noon - as it took them a bit longer to find tea jars in their dimension and speak with Mordecai. It was a little cloudy, but the day seemed nice and pleasant, and cool wind from the east brushed through their hair as they finally reached the exit.

[Mirach]

"So what now?" Svarik asked. "Straight to the sea or shall we make some other stops? In any case we should stop at some nice place for lunch, and I want to hear about how you fared back home with Conrad," he told to Erdel.

[VisAnastasis]

" Yes, sire, I'll tell you all you wish to know. " Erdel reassured him obediently. He smiled a little then. " Whether we make other stops, or go straight to the shore, I am okay with whatever you desire, sir... If I may say, though, I'm just really glad that it turned out in the end somehow that I'll actually have a chance  to see our Southern seas for the first time along with you... "

[Mirach]

"Let's have lunch here," Svarik pointed at a place that Melody marked in the map with a little picture of a tree - it seemed uninhabited, so they would be able to talk freely there.

[VisAnastasis]

Erdel nodded with acceptance. He seemed already a lot better than he was when they just met, and thanks to San's care, he was able to follow king in their flight without difficulty, to the place Melody marked.

[Mirach]

There was a huge and ancient linden tree there, that they could see already from afar, despite it being surrounded by younger trees - it was towering above them. Svarik let Xia circle atround it to get a better look before they landed next to it.

[VisAnastasis]

Vampire took a little time to land as well, a little further from them - but he seemed very pleased with himself, as thanks to bit more experience and to Cernunnos's good advises, he was able to make a pretty solid landing, without making a pile of mud or hurting himself. He looked around shyly and curiously, wondering why Melody picked this spot, specially at winter ( Aren't linden trees deciduous? Or is our tree magical, and grows leaves all year long? It's Melody's suggestion, so it wouldn't surprise me : )

[Mirach]

(They are deciduous, but huge tree is huge tree with or without leaves, they don't need to be magical to be interesting)

The tree was majestic even in its winter sleep, its trunk the size that several men would be needed to emrace it. Svarik laid his hands on it, as if feeling a faint song under the thick bark.

[VisAnastasis]

( OOC: Just wondered if there was something otherworldly Erdel should find strange. I love the choice of the tree, btw ;) <3333

Erdel had sharp senses, but he wasn't exactly the listener, as Svarik. More than recognizing all vibrations and being able to interpret them, his demonic senses were able to more keenly pick up vibrations left by the feelings of those around him. He looked in king's direction, focusing on the tree, curious to figure out what caught king's attention.

[Mirach]

It was exactly what it seemed - a big tree. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Svarik turned to him. He then sat down, leaning on the trunk, and found some lunch for them in the bag. "So tell me how it went with Conrad..."

[VisAnastasis]

" Well, it looks almost as old as Death, so yeah, quite fascinating. " Erdel commented with some dry humor. Then he slowly sat down at the lower part of the trunk, seeming to feel better when king was higher than him, so he can show he means no disrespect. " And with Ser Falcon - you keep calling him Conrad, you know you have to be mindful of that, right, sir? " he suggested. " Anyway, it was fine, I guess... I told him everything, then I did some errands... Then he let me go back to you... "

[Mirach]

"There is noone here. I picked this place for that, so we can speak freely. But your summary of events is very concise. Did you get orders to not tell me more? Did he find some feathers to call Waffle? Did he try to use it, or the wine with honey? And how is he doing? How is everybody doing? Did you meet anyone else?"

[VisAnastasis]

" Those are quite a few questions. " Erdel noted a little shyly. " It's a little bit of both... Falcon did tell me not to worry you about anything, but it is not like I was really doing something you should be worried about. We still didn't call Waffle. Falcon said it may be best to try to give her some space. But one of the errands he sent me to was indeed tied to feathers - he never though it may be needed, so he never collected them... I had to follow her scent across the city, and search for scattered feathers as inconspicuously as I could, so guards wouldn't think I am sneaking around sinisterly or report me... That took me quite a while... But Liron helped me as well, and we managed to find couple of them that could be useful, and we gave them to ser Falcon, so he can use them when he feels is right.... But Waffle still didn't return on her own, even if it's been around a week since she flew away... " demon whispered, embracing his knees and evading king's look, as he seemed to have felt quite guilty about that predicament he felt he was to blame for.

[Mirach]

"I trust he will know best when to use the feathers, don't worry... Speaking about worry, could you make a little fire before we talk further?" Svarik asked  "We need to burn the nail from Cernunnos to let him know we got together safely."

[VisAnastasis]

" Oh, I am so sorry. " Erdel stood up right away. " I was so concerned when I couldn't find you and had to search for you underground, please, forgive me sir, it was so thoughtfulness from me  - I'll do so now. " he said, and immediately started preparing the little fire, to burn the nail, but also to keep Svarik warm so he doesn't catch a cold in this winter weather.

[Mirach]

"It's fine," Svarik shook his head, and as soon as the fire was burning, he threw the nail in so that Cernunnos wouldn't worry for them. "So could we take it from the beginning? How did Falcon react when you appeared before him?"

[VisAnastasis]

" He... Did not yell at me. But he looked at me with such weary disappointment, that I really wish that he had yelled. " Erdel whispered quietly, looking down still, as if burn from that look still lingered heavily within him. " I think it was a bit of, if I may say, disappointment directed at you as well, sire - I felt he must had not been worried, seeing me calm, as I think he must had concluded you sent me away so you could take the rest of your trip without a guardian that would keep a check on you, and travel alone, like you used to when you traveled the land as meadow king.... But once I explained him about Waffle, and how I only came to him shortly to tell him this, he was a little more forgiving. He still wasn't happy, though, that I didn't tell him about source of our knowledge of what Waffle had become. " he bit his lip, and he cringed heavily, as if wanting to sink deeply into his sitting place, but while not looking at king, he listened to his heartbeat with trembling attention, as if hoping to recognize if king will be angry for it and if he made a good decision. " You ordered.. I mean... You did say we should keep Cernunnos a secret, did you not, my king? Falcon was unhappy that I didn't want to tell him anything about one who told us about Familiars and why we trusted that source, but I could not possibly out Cernunnos like that, could I? Death can read into possibilities of future, and knowing ser Falcon, he would have probably considered possibility of telling Death, so... I decided it's best not to tell even him. He accepted it without audible complaint... But I think he was displeased that I couldn't possibly... trust him enough to tell him of it freely. That fallen Forest God did not survive for all those centuries, only for me to dare to compromise him now. I just wanted to be extra careful. It's not a trust thing...  "

[Mirach]

"You did well," Svarik assured him gently. "Better than I would. I don't know if I would be able to resist his look. But we really need to be extra careful. Death's ability to see into the future complicates things a lot. We should certainly tell it to Conrad, but only in a time and place where we will be absolutely certain that Death won't find out. Another one we should tell it is Zephyr. That necklace he gave me, and his tattoos could be a solution for Emil to be able to see his father more often. His poppies could even help to clean some of the miasma in the fortress. I was thinking about that when we were there, but didn't want to make any promises or give false hopes without speaking with Zephyr first. But let's not stray from the topic. When we tell Conrad, I will tell him why you couldn't reveal it before. Don't worry about it, he will understand..."

[VisAnastasis]

" If it wasn't for Death's future vision, he would have broken my resolve. I trust in Falcon's character more than I trust in anyone else's. I would have told him, at least something. He was never unkind to me, I am certain he'd never wish to harm someone as kind as Cernunnos. But with Death's powers to find out about the demon and kill him and his son, or worse, I really had to keep silent, sir. " Erdel's voice trembled, as he seemed to stumble to make sure king understands his point of view, even if Svarik could already hear quite a bit of relief coming from the lad now that he could see king didn't get angry, or worse, disappointed with him. " I really hope we could tell Zephir, at least. Both your ideas about poppies and tattoos are great. I could see how much both Emil and Cernunnos care deeply for one another.... And his priests too. They all deserve a chance for better life. "

[Mirach]

"Indeed," Svarik nodded. "I think it would be best if we didn't tell it to them anywhere near Death, at least before Bell is well again and can stop him if needed. Maybe we could just take them to meet Cernunnos, and explain first on the way, far from the city."

[VisAnastasis]

" Sun Spirits already explained me better how Solstice used to make sure Death has least chances to find out something when he does not want to share it. We need to hold conviction that we won't do it at all, and only decide to do it in last possible moment. Like, I agree - maybe best would be that we lead them to meet him themselves. But I think we should not tell them anything, not until we are at the very doors of the fort. The more focused at the moment they are, less likely they are to consider speaking to Death who is so far away, and Spirit is really not likely to try to look into his future right at that moment... And after they meet him and when we are to get back, they'll understand already how unwise telling Death the truth would be. Chance of Death finding out would be much slimmer then, wouldn't it? "

[Mirach]

"As far as a mortal can be certain when dealing with Death - which is not much at all - I would say it could work. So, did Conrad say anything else?"

[VisAnastasis]

" Actually, not much. He isn't really talkative those days, when you're not around. He mostly stays silent. Before I left, he bid me for a favor - to watch stars with him for a little while. I knew I had to go back, but I could see it was important to him, so I stayed for the two hours. It was... kind of nice, until clouds rolled up and it began to rain. Then, I did some more quick errands, before leaving to find you. " vampire explained. " He only had a message for you - and I bid you to forgive me informal speech, I am just a messenger. He told me to say you, I quote" vampire cleared his throat, and then started doing the best jokingly sarcastic Falcon impression he could. " Listen lad, I did explain you why it's important for Erdel to follow you, and you did promise me you will let him guard you, did you not? I can't technically count this as a broken promise, since it was important, but still, I got my eyes on you. If you send him back again, I'll just assume you're an imposer and that someone kidnapped my dear friend and exchanged him with better looking straw copy. No more excuses, sunshine - no more looking back at what I could be doing every second day. I got you those days, and only thing I seek in turn from you is to use them to the fullest of your desires, if Sunshine hasn't eaten your share of those for this trip. Just go out there, seize each day,  and have fun! "

[Mirach]

Svarik smiled fondly and a bit sadly. "That's not so easy, Conrad..." he murmured. "But I will try." Then he nodded to Erdel. "Thank you. Did you meet anyone else?"