#elsewhere

"Uh, hiya, Mini-Zapdos... there's some fine berries here?" She points at a globe. "Plenty for everyone."

Two of them zap into the globe... it glows twice as bright as the others, but seems to hold. A third flies into Thistle's face, and her hair starts to stand on end - until Citrine zips in between the two and tells him off in a loud complaint of chimes!

Startled, this last lightning spirit circles a few times, then finds an unattended globe. The first globe hisses and crackles a bit, and looks... slightly melted on one edge, but is intact.

"Whoa." Tupp whispers in awe.

GWEN:

Art winces, guilt flashing across his face as Gwen’s words cut. He takes a step back, lowering his gaze to the ground.

"I—I never meant to make you feel like that," he says quietly, his voice tight . "You're right. I should’ve told you. I should’ve kept you in the loop. I should’ve trusted you enough to make these decisions, especially when it comes to something this important."

He takes a deep breath, exhaling slowly as if gathering his thoughts. "You’ve every right to be angry. I messed up, Gwen. And I can’t take back the choices I made, but I’ll do whatever it takes to fix this, to make sure you’re part of this every step of the way. I just... I didn’t want to burden you further, and wanted to help... but that wasn’t my call to make."

"Well! Little excitement there!" A slightly nervous laugh. "You okay, Tupperware?"

THISTLE:

Tupp beams up at her. "The thunderbird sparrows came to you. They don't really like anyone." He sounds in awe. A nod! "It just stung a bit, like when you lick a battery..."

"Thunderbird sparrows, huh? Cool critters. But they wouldn't have come if you hadn't made your offering, neither." Hair-ruffle.

"That's right!" He gives her a grin, there's an adorable gap tooth there. "Riven says that back when the old Count was in charge, he tried to cage 'em up to light the way, but they wouldn't light, even when fed with glamour. Our lady was the one who thought of asking them and giving them offerings to come, and now people come from all over the county to see 'em." Tupp beams almost as bright as the globes.

"Fer sure, they're spectacular. Most chimera wither right up in a cage. They aren't meant to be held like that."

Citrine chimes in agreement, now on Thistle's shoulder for a moment before she gets distracted again.

"Well, thank you! And, uh, if anyone asks? That globe was melted A'FORE we got here." He grins mischievously and darts off.

"Art... you ever leave me out of the loop again in something that involves my mother I can't promise I will not lose my shit, and it certainly will hurt our friendship at the least, but this is not JUST your fault, and ultimately it falls on me." She feels humiliated, but now comes more "If the Countess wants this for herself, there is nothing, nada, I can do to keep her from taking it except begging and hoping she remebers the Baron more fondly than she appears to and will allow it for his sake. As it is, I think we're about to get a 'and you do this for me' thing, a delay in helping my mom that I NEVER expected nor want to face. This is not just your fault, so it is not just your fault that I am now... I've never wanted to head home and just curl up more than I do now." She admits "But this is more important than my feelings or sense of worth. I'm going to go grovel to the Countess like the dumb animal my friends treat me as, and hope it amuses her enough that she doesn't intrude even if she doesn't help"

She snerks. "Totally." Once Tupp has run off, she collects her supplies.

Everything seems to be in place. Not that there was any reason to think something might go missing. 😇

Art sighs deeply. His voice is sincere when he responds.

"Gwen, you're right. I messed up. I should’ve kept you in the loop. This is your quest, your mother, and I failed you. I’m not going to fix it with words, but I’ll make sure I’m with you from here on out."

But... You don’t need to grovel for anyone. Not her, not anyone. We’ll deal with her demands if they come, but you’re not alone in this. I'm not going to tell you you're overreacting, because never in the history of time has THAT ever been a helpful remark. But there's something to be said about not borrowing trouble that hasn't come to call. We don't know what's going to happen, but we can hope for the best, and continue our quest - together."

Pencils back in the bag, she trots off towards the library with her way illuminated by the shining globes.

"Gee, Art, an apology AND a sermon, you're batting a hundred today" Gwen says still at low volume, "Thank you for telling me I'm 'not over reacting buuut'... that's not well intentioned condescension at all. Don't tell me what I do or don't have to do after telling me you're going to trust me in the future. I am angry at you, and now is not the time for Beaumayn wisdom. I've probably got either a tattle tale on me or a sluagh in the walls on her orders. Maybe not, but It would not be 'borrowing trouble', it's what happens in a lot of holds" She holds up a finger "Don't compound it by trying to tell me how you're with jme and we're a team and then insult my intelligence.. AGAIN. Just.. don't. Just, let it drop, if you would. I am not in the mood and I need to talk to the Countess. Because MY ignorance of the true contents of the letter means mmy approach was not just confusing to her, but rude. Just go on researching. We may still leave in the morning." She turns and walks away

Each globe glows a bit brighter as Thistle passes, as the bird within presses against the glass to get a closer look at her. It does attract a bit of attention, but no one approaches, perhaps busy with their own agendas.

She hovers a hand near the globes - not touching, she doesn't need a spark. Her hair is still a bit... fluffy.

Bright beaks peck at the glass in interest!

TICK! TICK!

Like static pops.

A sharp grin. Oh, those are cool chimera.

Art turns, his shoulders slumped, and steps back into the library.

"Art! Gwen!"

"Oh good, you two found each other. Have you SEEN the Thundersparrows?"

"Art will fill you in... cat's out of the bag already... pardon, I have to see the Countess or wait for her if she requires. I have apologies to make."

"Huh? Why?"

"I'll telll you later" And she's gone with Ivan

Art's shoulders are slumped and he looks about as upset as the piskey boy had been.

He looks to Thistle, then stares back at his feet. "I didn’t realize it needed to be kept a secret," he admits, his words careful. "I honestly thought it was just... something to work through as we went along, not something to hide. I should’ve asked her. I should’ve figured out how she’d feel about it, but I didn’t. I was so focused on my part in all this, I missed the bigger picture."

He exhales sharply, frustration and guilt warring. "I didn’t see how important it was to her—how personal this whole quest is. And I made the choice for her, without even thinking. It’s not just about what I wanted. I didn’t respect her enough to treat it like HER quest, not mine. So now, she’s angry, and convinced we've copulated with the hound, and it’s my fault."

"I... I guess her worrying about Marigold has her on edge? I didn't realize it was some big secret, either, until she was freaking out over the Countess."

"She wants to leave in the morning."

His voice miserable. "I thought we'd be leaving tomorrow in any case - tomorrow is the Gathering, and assuming we had found what information we sought, there'd be no need to linger." A sigh to THistle. "I'm sorry. I know you wanted to see more of Ravens' Rest."

She frowns, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm just the driver right now. It's Gladiola's quest. I mean, I wanna help Marigold, too. But she's her mom."

Art sighs and shakes his head. “I messed up, Thistle. Gwen’s angry... and maybe she is right to be, because I tried to fix things by talking about me—apologizing, giving advice, instead of just listening to her."

A frown, "I could be wrong AGAIN now, but... maybe she mostly needed to vent, and I ended up invalidating her frustration. It wasn’t about me trying to help—it was her quest, her mother, and I should’ve respected that. I made her feel like her anger didn’t matter. I just… didn’t think it through. I... this is going to sound stupid, but I wish Marigold was here."

"SHE would know what to say."

A sigh. "Marigold would. I don't know what to say, either."

He gives her a look with a wobbly half-smile. "You're the Nocker... can't you fix it?"

"Sure, I'll whip up a pot with 'We're sorry' carved onto the side."

"Just hope that the COuntess's Primal includes heather balm, in case she breaks it over my pig head."

MEANWHILE...

The sunset is lovely as Gwen stalks down the pathways back to the main hall of the Freehold. Globes that contain (but not trap) little lightning spirits light the ways as she walks.

Perc + Kenning from Gwen

And, Perc + Alertness

"Well, having something to smash probably WOULD cheer her up? And making sure she gets a good breakfast. And. Um." She smooths down her hair as she thinks. It crackles.

/roll 6

/roll 6

"We'll just have to succeed. We get Marigold fixed, and Gwen'll be happy. Simple."

There's a bird perched atop a nearby branch, and as Gwen moves on, it also flutters forward to another tree, keeping her in sight. Ah, she knows that bird, it's the same one that called to them on their way in, the grey and white one.

"Eli" She says and nods "I'm seeking another audiance with the Countess. I need to apologize to her among other things'

And she keeps going