#earthrunes

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Delores wipes her brow "Valentine is always so.. messy"

Coradel smiles. "Now, Delores, you mustn't overwork yourself. But surely you got to enjoy some of the delights of Valentine's Day?"

A light blush "I am... satisfied with my work life balance yes." She says "But there's a lot to clean up regardless, Baroness"

"I have every faith that you will do admirably. Now...do you know where Dame Leonora ended up?"

"I think she's in the sunroom" she gestures down the hall

"Thank you!" And she departs, providing fewer witnesses so that Delores and staff may get more work done, faster.

The sunroom still looks over a winter landscape, but it catches every possible ray of sunlight and makes it twinkle across the parquet floor.

Indeed, it almost seems to amplify light. Leo lounges comfortably

"Hello, you!" Coradel perches on the edge of the couch next to Leo. She leans in to kiss her cheek lightly. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

A kiss back "Delightfully. Vince gave me flowers"

"Vince is delicious like that," Coradel says with pleasure. "I had some...interesting conversations. And of course, August was wonderful."

"Now...I actually had something I wanted to discuss with you." She strokes Leo's leg lightly. "How would you feel...about being a hero?"

"oh?" She purrs "You're certainly inspiring me. What herculean task did you have in mind?"

"Well, to be honest, it is rather Herculean. And part of me is..." she pauses. "I'm asking you, Leo, because I think you'd kill me if you found out about it later and I hadn't asked you. But..." She explains the situation about the Varich hold and the sluagh hunting and the scheme to retake it with the Dutchess's pennon and the need of a noble to undertake the task, take the hold, and then pass it back to the sluagh under the leadership of Florian.

"Oh. I ... I think Florin is wanting to kill the bastard himself" She admits

She blinks. "He...well...I mean, I can't blame him, but he has no hands. Unless that's been resolved so quickly?"

"that's what I thoughtt" She ponders "maybe he'll use his tongue?"

She blinks. "You know...that could work...." Then she shakes her head. "But I don't think that's the plan. So...don't you agree that he needs a champion?"

"I think I'm an Archer, and while i'm decennt at swordp lay and would love to try. I might lose in melee"

"But I'm right that you would have been pissed if I hadn't at least asked?"

"Oh SOOO Pissed" She admits with a grin

"Good." She smiles and gives Leo a kiss.

Leonora returns it annd when it ends "How much time do we have?"

"Well, I think sooner is better. Otherwise we'll have to go into a more concerted sluagh resettlement program."

"And they might find replacement sluagh to enslave " A frown "Zara must be furious. Rigghtly so"

"Indeed. I haven't seen her directly, but I can imagine. So we either need to get an available noble to mount this challenge, or we need to get Florian some hands."

"I believe he has something in the works" She admits

"Well, then, I shall have to get an update from him. Now...Valentine's Day...gimme details...."

And the two spend some time with a bit of gossip. Not like boggan gossip, of course. Noble gossip. Totally different.

"Oh... well... picture this... " And a delightful seduction is descibed, with words like 'edible' applied to things that most don't consider food

(end scene)