#anywhere

(end~!)

Piper lays out on the warm stones - heated by one side by the steam off the naturally heated water, and from the sun above. Her clothes are draped out to dry on another rock, and she enjoys the sunlight on her fur and skin. "I'm going to be pink tomorrow from all this sun, and probably freckle in places no one else will see." She says over to Adam, where he sits safely a few feet back from the water's edge, looking at his study materials.

(Evening of same day as the Talk or the next day? It was eveningish when they Talked. Can say he grabbed a blanket too.....)

(Um, I had as early afternoon. Can be the same day, or they came back the next. Either works!)

(Daylight, at any rate - Play on!)

(TIME HAS NO MEANING)

"You want sunscreen?"

"Mmm, not if I have to go get it." She looks extremely comfortable, despite laying on rocks - basking in the heat like some sort of lizard.

Adam searches through the bag he grabbed. "Dad has all these little kits and collections, this is the water/pool/beach one.... here. Might be a little old?" He offers over the tube.

"Ugh, ok, enough history for now. Some of this other stuff doesn't make sense to me."

"Did you want to go over the Heraldry? At least it has pictures." She teases, and instead of accepting the tube, turns so that her back is to him, exposing her skin. "You can draw your crest on there, and see if it stands out tomorrow..."

"You mean put my mark on you?" And he applies teeth gently to the nape of her neck.

"That would probably pass as a family sigil in a Fiona court, at least." She remarks with a grin, snaking a hand around to tickle his ribs.

"Mmmmm....." he nibbles her a little, then goes about smoothing the lotion on. "EarthRunes is a Fiona court."

"Ok, so how come Fiona has a silver lion? Why red and silver?"

She blinks. "Why? I... uh. I never really thought of that. I assume that Fiona - the original one, the house... progenitor? Not sure what the right word is. Oh, rub there a bit more, it's itchy. Maybe that was her original personal crest. They are renowned for bravery, so that makes a lion pretty much a given symbol, and red for love? Silver... for contrast?" A grin over to him. "I bet you could find a satyr with a passion for art history who would talk your ears off for hours on the subject."

"Your uncle, maybe?" He scratch/rubs obligingly.

"Hm, I don't know if he specifically knows heraldry. That would be a fun thing to research though. Maybe there's a library somewhere with more information..." And a sly grin. "Or even songs. Lots of old lore was passed down as music. There was something I was trying to remember..." She focuses for a moment, thinking.

A finger starts tapping lightly on the stone in a soft rhythm, as she tries to remember.

Adam lets the silence sit for a moment. "Do you think you could teach me to sing?"

And after a moment, she sings softly, a sweet yet melancholy sounding tune...

Fiona, the fierce, Fiona the fool,
Braver than any, with love did she rule
Flirting with any, even fair disaster,
Until tragic loss stilled her mortal love's laughter...

She hums a moment longer, then lets the note trail off. "I'm sorry, I don't remember the rest..."

"That was beautiful." Softly.

"Maybe I can look up the rest... Is there a historian at EarthRunes? Maybe Siv could ask."

Adam blinks. "Think she would? Or, if there's a library there.....?"

"Would they let me?"

"Most noble courts have some sort of library or study, but whether it's just stodgy old court records or something good, depends on the holding. I've only seen the bar..." A small grin.

"Where?"

"At EarthRunes." She clarifies.

"There's a -bar- there???"

"Of course. They ARE Fiona after all. Well, that's not fair. They might have just had a wine cellar. No, it was a nice little setup. The bartender, Jack, sent me back with a bottle of smoked mead..." a small frown. "Which I completely forgot to pass on the the Chieftain."

"I'll remind you. If you still have it?"

"Oh, I didn't drink it, it's in my room... under a pile of junk, probably... but safe." A smile. "I didn't get any massage lessons, though."

"Maybe we can go back on our trip? Siv could probably hook you up."

Her expression lightly up a bit. "Siv did mention they had gardens I might like to see. Oh, and if they have musicians there..." But she pauses, with a small frown. "Maybe if there is... hm. I wonder, if they have a day when the lords are keeping court? Just, so we could take a quiet look around, without bothering the nobles.."

Adam nods. "Yeah. We should call Siv."

Then he grins. "Later."

He sighs. "She's so lucky. I hope she appreciates it."

"Did you meet the lord and lady of the manner when you were there?" leaning back against him. "Lucky, maybe... but she's working her arse off. Maybe it's sidhe that are lucky, they just "POP" and have their house. I mean, if you like that sort of thing."

"I met the Baroness, yeah." His voice holds wonder.

"Hey, I'd work -my- ass off, if could get into that ... program, or whatever."

"Oh, the lady... she was nice, and very lovely." She nods. "But... yyou'll just -be- Sidhe, and fiona. When you... uh. Hatch. There's got to be a better word, you're not a baby bird after all." A small grin. "When your flower opens, and you blossom into sidhe-hood..."

Adam groans and jostles her. "That's... awful." He laughs.

"So, what, all the info will just be in my head when that happens?"

"Well, maybe... there's like... when I popped my horns? There's a rush... and it's like your eyes open for the first time - or more like you were blind and deaf, and suddenly, light and sound and song... and you remember, just a bit... some more than others. For me, it wasn't really specific things, so much as glimpses, like a bit of a song, only you can't quite hear the words... but sometimes I'll be looking for it, and it's there, something I didn't know I knew?" A smile at him. "Like that song... maybe I was a troubador at a Fiona court many lives past."

"Maybe we were there together? That's how it works, right? Past lives and stuff?"

"I..." She gives him a look that is contrite. "We don't really know what you are... if you were a sidhe in Arcadia? Maybe... it's not impossible we knew each other. But if you're just.. something new? A sidhe magicked up out of Genie spells and pixie dust? Then you'd not have been... anywhere before, right? And... no one really knows, if Sidhe reincarnate once you're here. They didn't take the changeling way... but you, you're something different. So maybe, you would."

"Oh, your sword! Did you get to ask Zane about it?"

"Yeah, well.... at least I'm starting to match up with the rest of my family." wryly "Yeah! I did! It said....hold on..... 'The impossible ascent has three Steps, Three Eyes Must open, Ere the Horns sound.'"

"No idea what that means but Zane said he heard clanking, like rattling? Gates opening? Or closing. I thought maybe that meant Arcadia?"

"The horns... " She butts him lightly in the shoulder with her own. "Maybe you DO get to be musical. "You can be a bard, like True Thomas." And then the pauses, stunned. "No, nevermind. The name must just be a coincidence."