#earthrunes

And she busts out laughing.

She joins in the laughter, but then notes that the pooka pair have snuggled up next to her, their heads resting against her thighs, snoring lightly. "Oh, let's not wake them."

She subdues it, nodding. "Okay, okay. I think this is going to take days to preen out..."

"How do you even manage it? I mean...you're not a pooka, who might wash as a bird does. Do you have special feather combs?"

"Honestly? It's a huge pain. It was easier when they were smaller." A sudden blush about something.

"I.. ah.. a do have a soft brush for them, though. Yes."

Coradel catches that blush. "Wait, now, what was that?"

"What was what?" Innocently.

"Oh, don't you even. You blushed. Something about when your wings were smaller? or caring for them? Ohhhh...I'm guessing somebody's had a chance to help you in that endeavor, haven't they?"

"Well, maybe." BRIGHT pink. "It was nice. Just... nice. Being taken care of. I was... I was in so much pain back then."

"Oh. This was back then." She nods, softly stroking the pooka kids' hair. "Was it Sassy?"

She nods. "After I broke my wing, and it was molting... all pinfeathers and broken shafts..."

"Oh, that sounds awful."

"It was just after the big fight with Luke, when he...." Her throat catches and she frowns.

A frown. "When he what?"

"Yelled."

She blinks. "He yelled." Clarifying. "Just...yelled."

"Just yelled. And then we weren't friends anymore."

"Not friends? Wait, I don't understand. What did he yell about?"

She shrugs, not looking at Cora. "That I couldn't tell him what to do. That I was a bad person. Lots of things."

"Well...what were you trying to tell him to do?"

She shakes her head.

"I.... did not like or trust his one friend. And it... it wasn't enough for me to be polite and distant at this... this party... Jade, she's a childling, she was there... I thought it best to keep an eye on her... but that was an insult, and... and just trying to avoid the one guy was an insult..."

"I was worried Luke would be hurt, hanging out with them."

"So...you were trying to protect him, and Jade. And he thought it meant you didn't trust his ability to choose his own friends?"

"I guess." Her tone is dull, an old defeat.

"But that was a while ago. Have you spoken with him since?"

She nods. "After I killed the ogre. The one that broke my wing."

"He... reminded me that we weren't friends anymore."

"But Deryn, that was ages ago."

"Yeah. Doesn't matter now, I guess."

"And you're quite a different person now than you were."

"No, I mean...maybe...maybe you won't feel like you need to protect him in order to be...good? I know you were very worried about being good, or good enough."

"He didn't want that from me, I know. And it was stupid of me to be upset when he forgot. Right?" Her feathers slick down, wings tense.

She pushes up to her feet, mouth twisted into an unhappy knot.

"Never in all the Dreaming would I describe you as 'stupid,' Deryn, and you know that. But we all have urges that we might take further than others would like." Her voice trails off a bit.

"Whatever. He's not part of my life now."

"Okay. Then no need to dwell on him. Hey, can you help me with one of these?" She indicates the sleeping pooka. "We should get them to bed."

She nods. "Sure. I'll take Isis." Sparrow gently scoops up the pooka, though her face stays in that frigid, guarded expression.

The warm ball of sleeping, purring kitten may melt a bit of that frigid tension? Coradel manages to stand without waking the puppy-boy, and they go to settle the childlings into bed.

Sparrow is quite careful with the pooka, tucking her in, setting a glass of water on the nightstand 'just in case.'

"And I..." Coradel murmurs as they leave the childlings' room "...need to seek out Shalimar for fool-lessons."

"I'm sure you'll perform admirably, Cora."

"I think I'll crash in my room tonight, head back in the morning."

"Hmm...I'm going to take that as a compliment, regardless of how it was intended. And yes, sleeping here makes sense. Thank you so much for art-ing with the kids. You know they adore you, right?"

"They're pretty good kids."

"They really are. Good night, Deryn." She reaches to give her a light hug, glitter be damned!

She unbends, slightly, at the hug. "Night, Cora."

A smile, and she's gone down one of the corridors.

((scene?))