#elsewhere

Dagmar gets to the next one....the venom in her not so heavy but how many more?

Run. Focus. Mission. Duty.

And again she is stung as she must try to evade another swarm.. this time failing. Before, behind, ignorance is everywhere!

Some try to swarm into her pocket, pushing past connor

He snaps and bites and cronches!

Pooka, Dagmar realizes as she gets stung, are all the same. Adorable little liars, but not too useful. Not like trolls. But who can understand the less duty boundkith and their odd.. no, something is wrong with that way of thinking

Connor cannot bite many, but his head IS in the way of the pocket and frustrating their attempts

Another plaque, another chance to take a breath - but she's not wasting time, nor the gift of the quicksilver. Her head hurts, but if her kith is good at anything, it's holding on to a task.

The plaques help as before... some part of her is aware these things are taking a horrible toll on her. But she bulls through. the Swarm takes much, but she is House .house something.. the bird house with the honor and the right and the hey hey hey? SHe goes from one, to the next...

If not for those little bronze havens, she'd be lost..and Connor feels a sting!

Huff, huff - surely, the Lions must be close. She needs to get to the Lions.

And Connor YIPS... and for a moment... he doesn't understandpeople.. they're all so odd... he feels a distance grow... and then rejoices! It'll be like making new friends all over again!

The swarm is confused..that's not how their venom is supposed to work. That's not how ANY of it works!

He tries to slurp a few of them. Maybe even these buggos can be friendos.

As for Dagmar? Those things just stung HER squire!

Dagmar has never been the fastest, or the brightest - but she has always been focused. Well. Stubborn.

She said she'd do this! She'd get there! Just a little further, surely.

Nobody stings her squire AND wins? Not nobody, not no how! She charges forward.. someone yells "is that #$# on drugs?" Don't care. Screw whoever . Gonna save the egg. Gonna protect her squire. Someone says "Watch it!" Don't care. Screw you too. Squire. Egg. Mission!

And then...LIONS!

"Lions!" A final push, yes!

Yipping in excitement!

Patience and Fortitude work opposite ends, but now they unite at least in the dreaming's eyes, for they have never liked ignorance. They guard the library..

and both roar together! Like a thunder clap, it buffets and knocks back the nervousa swarm! Then Patience says "Get inside, you are safe there. We smell the young one on you, and call you friend"

Grunt. Nod.

She climbs the stairs, seeking refuge. Her head hurts.

And they enter.. and she feels.. a little better. Not all the way mind.

"Is she allowed to bring a dog in here?"

"I think it's a support animal" Someone else says

She sets the dog down and rubs her temples. A frown.

And then the bookwyrms fly in, oh they are not few, but the fastest is a male as big as the lions "You don’t raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they’ll turn out to be heroes, even if it’s just in your own eyes" He says fierce

and a little desperate

Grunt.

Buddy stays close to her feet and VERY well behaved. Giving no reason to be kicked out (except, possibly, spite)

Another bookwyrm, her script not as bold but more elegant peeks out "“I suppose the mothers of most twelve-year-old boys live with the uneasy conviction that their sons are embarked upon a secret life of crime.”

She takes out the egg, cradling it carefully in her hands.

The father snatches the egg gently, and carries it to his mate, and they croon over the egg as it is returned to a nest of books which includes, oddly, the Ransom of Red Chief. For a moment, the troll and pooka are forgotten as other book wyrms come by to see the return of the egg

Dagmar fades back and sits down.

"Are you all right?" A figure says, concerned.

The figure is a sidhe. She can feel that he is a Liam.

"Me.." Frown, that's wrong. "I don't..." Frown. "Head hurts."

Buddy rests his head on her lap.

If she needs glamour, it's freely shared.

It's not glamour the venom is... but the Liam is learned and glances over her stings "oh so that's why they've been hovering. Such forces always were the enemy of any who might share knowledge or dreams of the other that were not hostile. A moment, lady knight" he looks over "they will have the young one settled in soon and..."

A furrowed brow and little frown. "You feel bad."

there is a cracking sound, as the little egg breaks open

She pets Buddy's head. Even if things are fuzzy, he's a friend. Right?

"Yes. But Gwydions have been most forgving of that as a rule.."

And yes.. yes he is

"What's a Gwydion?"

"A very honorable house whose members impress me greatly" the Liam says