#earthrunes

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A note sent to Coradel was thus: "To your most honorable Baroness, HEPL!- Signed Shally! Location my room)"

Coradel knocks on his door not too long later. "Shalimar? It's Coradel. Are you all right?"

"Tragedy!" He calls out, opening the door wearing long johns "Fashionista to the rescue?" On the bed of the pooka are, four uniforms, each fool's motley. His old black and silver stripes. Another almost exactly like it but Fiona red instead of the black. Another that is patchy counter charge of blue and red with black trim to break it up. And the last is black with silver tassels and a red half cloak.

She glances in, breathes a sigh of relief, and grins at him. "Truly, a dire emergency. Well, now...let me see...."

She pauses at the third, the one with the blue. "Tell me about this one. About the choice of colors."

"I know right? I mean, it could keep me up at night this, like tossing and turning wondering why doctors , professional doctors, call what they do 'a practice'" He shudders, "Oh, that? Well, you see, when an Oak tree falls on your lioness, you kind of want to recognize the power of solid wood in the jungle." Innocent look

She laughs at that, a bright and happy sound. "I see! I do like the intent to honor August. But..." She pauses. "Shallimar, I've never asked, I just assumed I knew the answer...do you have a house affiliation of your own?"

"Melady, I'm as Common as Clay! Though I prefer the name Ali."

A puzzled look...she clearly doesn't get that one. Her attention returns to the uniforms...and she rests her hand on the fourth, the black, red, and silver. "This strikes me as honoring both the Baron and myself. Old friend and new. And I think it must look quite striking on you."

He picks it up, "Curiousier and curiouser, yes, I wondered if I could juggle past, present and future as part of my act. I always worry about dropping a ball, but what fellow d oesn't? but if I can deal with the fact they actually sterilize needles for lethal injection, I can deal with being then and now"

She watches his expression carefully. Gently, "If it's too much of a reminder, if you'd rather move forward and leave the past in the past, I can understand that, too...in which case I'd select the red and blue." She adds, "I think he'd understand."

"My lady, there are things none of us understand... why isn't there mouse flavored cat food? Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes? But I think I will hold onto the black just a bit longer," He touches the third one

And nods, and smiles "It'll be fine"

She gives him a bit of a smile. "All right, then. I do think it's quite a handsome design."

He hugs her, then says "The lady knight and I had a chat. The one who might call you 'harridan' one day. she's off to prove herself worthy by bargaining a bit of her soul food to a dragon more knolwedgable than she. Girl power..grrr."

Her eyes widen. "Dragon....Claire? She's done...what?! Where is she?"

"I couldn't say, lady," He hands her some hotel stationary

Unremarkable, but there's an address on it.

Looks to be Kansas City

She frowns at the paper. "Do you think Magnus knows?"

A shrug

A sigh, and she considers. "Probably best he not, yet, then. Maybe. Oh, I'll figure it out. Shallimar, thank you."

She turns and heads for the door, texting. "If August asks, tell him where I've gone and why."

"Of course, I'm well suited to relaying information" A grin

"Well, as best you can, anyway. Thank you!" And she's off to gather her cloak and head for the trod to KC.

Another text, this one to Deryn.

At the trod, she nods to the thanes, then waits, pacing, for Deryn.

Sparrow appears shortly, pulling her cloak on. "Hey."

"Hi. Okay...it looks like Claire is trying to do some sort of deal with a higher-ranked Ailil, something that will make her feel more worthy. My information comes from Shallimar, so take it with that in mind. I just want to make sure she's okay." And she leads the way into the trod.

*********************************

Coradel is sitting on a pile of rubble outside of the mine entrance, a collection of shabby and malnourished childlings seated around her, two in her lap.

The other vehicles are pulling up, and in the last van, August is riding shotgun.

As they pull up, August is swinging the door open and stepping out. Sweats with a coat on over it, a chimerical blade not his own. He glances around, taking it in as he joins Coradel.

She looks up at him with a grim expression, but doesn't dislodge the little ones.

Sparrow is coming from below, carrying a cloth-wrapped bundle with the aid of a black-clad satyr.

August crouches next to her. "How can I help?" softly.

The van side door opes and out comes Clem looking like she got dressed FAST... but she did bring medkit, and other gear.

"Sir Spiro and Dame Winoline at your service, Sir August" Claire makes introductions, "Both of my House. Folks, this is Sir August, Scribe of Earth Runes and quite the hero in his own right. "

August looks up with a guarded expression and nods to the other Ailil. "Hello."

Coradel's about to reply, but then Claire is making introductions, and she grins a bit with pride.

August can see the effects of kids gone without regular meals for too long. The two childlings closes to Coradel are pooka sibs, one a poodle boy and the other a kitten girl ...the latter has an infected gash on her arm.

Then she murmurs to him, "There's another body below. Can you help Deryn retrieve it?

Sparrow sets her bundle down, kneeling beside it with her eyes closed.

He nods and rises to cross to the other red-head. "Deryn." He kneels next to her.

The black and silver clad satyr actually appears to have tears in his eyes. Aill or not, he's a satyr "Damnit" A low mutter

"There's another. We were too late." Softly. Her feathers are slicked flat, wings trailing in the dirt.

Coradel looks to Sir Spiro and Dame Winoline. "Would you come back to EarthRunes with us?"

August touches Sparrow's arm. "I'll go." Softly, and he rises to disappear into the mine.