#elsewhere

(Fade)

Sometime after Imbolc (but not so very long after), Adam receives a message requesting that he meet with Baroness Coradel for afternoon tea.

He dresses well, if all in black with an armband, and arrives just a bit early prepared to wait.

Oh, but she is already there. Apparently she had planned to have a bit of time before he arrived, but she doesn't seem upset by his appearance. "Adam, come and join me," she indicates the other chair at the bistro-style table in a windowed alcove.

"Thank you, My Lady. I'm honored by your invitation." he enters, and waits for her to be seated if she is not; if she is, he takes his seat.

He may be well-dressed, but she is perhaps surprisingly casual, wearing jeans and boots and a loose open blouse over a silk shell top, all perfectly tailored for her, but they'd be quite appropriate in the mundane world, too.

She is, and so he does. She asks how he takes his tea, then pours and prepares. There is a little plate of cookies as well.

He knows how to order tea, at least, and waits until all the service is done before touching his.

She finishes and refreshes her own before taking a sip.

"You are well today?"

"I am, thank you. I hope you are as well?"

She smiles. "Very well. Wonderful and refreshed. Such a good Imbolc!" she adds with a pleased sigh. Then she grows more serious. "It is past time that we talked about your current situation."

He nods, listening.

She regards him a moment, and sips again. "I know you are still in the midst of mourning, so you may not be able to answer some of my questions, but let us see. I'm curious to find out first if your chrysalis has brought you any new insights about yourself."

"Sir Bachdion asked something similar."

"Ah, well, I am my teacher's student."

"I told him it was like taking a breath after you've been underwater for a long time."

Adam takes a sip of tea. "I think.... it's also like...."

She nods, encouraging.

"If someone took two sheets? From a bed. And sewed them together to make a big bag? And you were inside the sheets when they did, and then they soaked them with water? And then you had to do everything you normally do, like get dressed and eat and do daily stuff like that?"

"That's what it was like before. It's.... easier now. And less exhausting. Or it will be. I think."

She is quietly amused by that description. "Quite vivid. And I'm glad that you feel less encumbered, now. I think you're right that it will become easier over time. That is an excellent start. Now...you're in a terribly odd situation, because of how you came to be sidhe, but do you seem to have any knowledge or memories that you didn't have before?"

A slow nod.

"Some. They're fuzzy, I dream about them but I can't remember clearly when I wake up... and I remember like they're dreams, so they don't always make sense? Like the dreams are giving me symbols of memories, maybe?"

"Jumping from a bridge onto a blue dragon. And... fighting these ... statues and rescuing maidens."

"Oh, interesting. Hm...was the dragon a foe or a steed or a friend, can you tell?"

"No, My Lady."

"Just.... the sense of jumping, falling, landing on it."

"Mm. Well, you will likely learn more in time. When you are ready, a Dreaming quest will probably reveal much more." Another sip. "Now, have your studies continued, or resumed?"

"I haven't been to class at the farm, or had lessons with my mentors." he reports "I wasn't able to leave my room for a couple of weeks; it's only been a few days I've been out."

((Ding - a couple weeks? Word was it was less than one since the incident that led to his awakening))

(And the Baroness might know that Magnus used a bit of Chronos so the lad wouldn't waste away)

((Likely))

She nods easily. "I'm not surprised, and I'm not trying to say that you should have done anything else in that time. I'm merely asking."

He nods and takes a drink of tea.

Another sip. "So you do have memories from before. That reassures me. You are so very odd, Adam, that I wasn't sure if you were somehow going to become a sidhe who knows no past!" A soft laugh.

Adam doesn't laugh.

That doesn't seem to bother her. She gives him a measuring look. "I wonder how best to count your Saining? A year from when you first started learning with us, or a year from your actual chrysalis? Do you have a thought on that?"

"I'd like it to be from when I started fostering, if that's what it was. I've been part of the Fae world for a few years now, anyway. Maybe there's some magic that can tell the right answer."

"Mm. So...you'd prefer a shorter time, but you're willing to defer to a magical determination of the right time?"

"I.... guess. Yes."

She smiles. "Good. You're respecting the Dreaming's timeline. It's not easy, sometimes...sometimes not easy at all," she adds with a wry tone. "But it generally bears good results."

"Thank you."

A nod, and she regards him with mild curiosity again. "Any new interests or abilities manifesting?"

He shakes his head. "No, My Lady."

She nods. "They may arise, or perhaps your current interests may remain dominant."

A pause before he says "I will try to remember to stay open to it."

"Good. Of course, if you don't like them, you don't have to keep them. You don't need to re-enact who you once were, but there may be unknown strengths that will benefit you."

"I understand. I think."

"Well, you're beginning to. Which is good. Now...do you have any thoughts about how you'd like to proceed from here with your studies or training?"