we do not bear children until we have so chosen

[dark_light]

Amariah appears in the Belltower, throws herself into a chair, and tries to read postcards, but her eyes won't focus on them. She tries the Bellbook, and scarcely has better luck, although her eyes do catch on a certain word.

"Jane."

"Yep?"

"I want to talk to Aether."

"I'll let her know!"

Comments

[telesonorous]

Helen just sort of stands there for a few seconds.

Then she says tentatively, "I'm Helen Ianthe. And um, my daemon's Kalavar but she stayed home. She doesn't really do indoors that well."

[dark_light]

"Well, I'm - Isabella Amariah, and this is Pathalan," (Path is on her shoulder again since the hugging concluded), "which you probably already knew, and - doesn't do indoors?"

[telesonorous]

"She's six feet tall with a twenty-four-foot wingspan," Helen explains. "Argentavis magnificens. She can more or less fit in most buildings, but she feels cramped there, and even if people are careful, somebody could bump into her."

[fortissima]

Damaris's wings unfold slightly and she peers at them as though trying to compare.

[dark_light]

"You can't tuck her away, then? - Kas didn't - how much stuff about - stuff do you know?" Amariah asks, gesturing generally at the Belltower.

[telesonorous]

"Well, I grew up knowing that my mother was... you," she says. "They call you the Shade-Dreamer now, there's a million movies and things, I guess you wouldn't know that if you haven't been back. But it was all a big secret - Granatee, I mean Ranata Ekamma, just told the queen whose daughter I was and let the rest of the clan think I was Random Witch Baby. And then after I separated, Kas told me about worlds and Bells and minting and stuff."

[dark_light]

"The Shade-Dreamer, of all the - okay - anyway if Kalavar's that big you might find it useful to -" Path tucks, then appears on her other shoulder. "That. Borrowed it from Sue and Ivy, if you've heard of them."

[telesonorous]

"...That is useful," says Helen. "Kal might rather stay out most of the time, but it'll still be good to have in my pocket. Did you just wish it, or is there some special trick?"

[dark_light]

"It's a wish generally - Sue and Ivy do it naturally because Sue was dreaming when he went to Alethia to get Ivy, but she sometimes slips in and out in his sleep. At least last I checked; he may have patched that recently."

[telesonorous]

"Wow," muses Helen. "There's a lot of stuff in all these other worlds."

She glances at her alts.

"Um...?"

[fortissima]

"Hi. I'm Damaris."

[mindfields]

"Yseult," says Yseult, with a little curtsy.

[telesonorous]

"I probably could've guessed that, if I'd thought about it. Uh, nice to meet you."

[dark_light]

"There is indeed," says Amariah wryly, "a lot of stuff."

[telesonorous]

Helen smiles tentatively at her.

[dark_light]

[telesonorous]

[fortissima]

[mindfields]

[dark_light]

"So this is somewhat less awkward than it could have been. If there are movies of me and Ranata's been helping out with you and stuff you probably have most of my life story, with whatever cinematic innacuracies - um - tell me about you?"

[telesonorous]

"I'm not really sure where to start," she says. "Kalavar used to love being dragons when I was younger... I'm really good at magic... I was kidnapped very briefly once, we never really found out why - oh, I have an ingot power, I can throw my voice arbitrary places. And listen arbitrary places, too."

[dark_light]

"That sounds potentially handy, the ingot power," says Amariah. "Also being good at magic."

"I wanted to be a dragon," Path says. "If Stella or Golden got daemons they'd have dragons."

[telesonorous]

"Kalavar wasn't even sure she'd settle," says Helen. "Because, well, Petaal. But she did, and she likes what she is now."

[mindfields]

"I checked once," Yseult volunteers. "I would have an ostrich."

[dark_light]

"I take it you didn't instantly need an ostrich in your life."