#rescuemiriam

Earl looks confused, "What?" He finally asks.

Emmit puts the mask back on, picks the listener up, and puts it in a pouch at his side, muttering some sort of chicanery to 'muffle' it, then looks to Zara and Earl, "Thank you finding this. I'll return it to its owner and handle it from here. Mountain Matter."

"Pardon... p-pardon, Mountain, and I mean no disrespect..." she blanches, grey lips drawing into a thin line.

"None was given or taken, young lady," He assures Zara.//Earl blink, "Mountain matter?" //"Sure it isn't a storm matter?" Murray speaks up, "Defense of the hold?"//"It's a magic situation, and not a threat to the hold's security," Emmit tells Murray.

"Is it not a situation th-that concerns Earl? Th-th-the sluagh, and the trolless?"

"It sure sounds like it," Earl says.//Emmit pauses, undecided at something.

"I... understand, sir. The urge to use silence as.. a shield. As protection from knowledge that... that may only wound. I perhaps know this too well. But he has a right to it, even if it hurts."

For a moment Emmit seems to be ready to firm up and then send them out, then finally, he looks at Earl, "Earl, this may shake you. " he looks to Murray, "Murray, this isn't a Storm matter. I'd swear an Oath to that." //Murray raises a brow, "No need to get dramatic, Uncle. Your word is good enough for me." He nods and heads off.

She fades back a step. "I should go, yes?"

Earl looks at her, "What? why? Zara, I trust you."

"I know not what the news is."

Emmit sighs, "Well, maybe you could help me, Zara. On something else? Could you go to the house..." He describes the house of Herb and Eloise DeBuke, "I think you'll find Mr. De Vere outside of it. If anyone can find him, it's you."//"I didn't even know he was visiting," earl says still confused, //The mountain goes on, "I saw him through the ear... Zara, see if you can find him. If you do, inform him that 'I know' and 'I'm about to tell Earl'. He should know what that means."

"Bring him here, sir? Or... to the homestead?"

"Here, more private here."

Earl blinks, "What IS going on?"

Zara nods, and dips into a brief bow. "I suspect, Earl, that no family is easy."

Earl still looks confused, "Well, I knew that ... " brow knits "thought I knew."

And she makes her way towards the House...the one she had pointed out to her, searching for a sluagh. Not always an easy thing

Spidery fingertips graze against his arm, cool but perhaps reassuring, before the sluagh slips away on her search.

OOC: works 🙂

OOC: Perception plus Alertness please

(( Zara rolls 5 dice to per/alert 8,9,9,1,2 [2 successes]))

BIC: the place is quaint and cabin like, there are other houses nearby, but she sees no sluagh She does find footprints in some chimerical snow, feet too small for your average wilder or grump troll. but only brief, someone moved through it to other areas where snow was not.

"I may not see thee, but doubtless you can hear. Mountain Emmit knows, sir. And plans to tell Earl, thus."

From the roof ledge of a nearby building, "How did he... oh sweet lords of night no. How..." A figure disentangles itself from the ledge, like an old rope ladder, frayed, but still strong, unfolding , and she sees her kithmate come into view. A top hat with a top that that threatens to come unstitched. A once fine jacket held together by patchwork threads...tux and tails of sorts, but each segment seemingly on it's last legs. "Forgive, my manners. I am De Vere. I would stay but... I must stop him..." A pause, "I must stop him before he ruins everything. He will hate his mother. His own mother."

"Me, sir." she tilts her head, watching her kithmate. "Is.. pardon my boldness... is he thine? Earl?"

A brief pause, then, he hangs his head low , "Aye. My son. Who I could only ere watch from afar or else pretend to be a 'friend of the family for'. I tried to give him things of comfort. Poe, my favorite author who I never thought he' take so so well. I had excuse, the DeBukes needed me, you see? What I provide." A sigh "And for years I did it happily ? Then I met Eloise... and she was so forlorn, so lonely and ignored. I forgot all honor. Scandal. Scandal. And now they may learn, and she will be cast out. "

"The past may not be undone, sir. Honor may follow dishonor, no? Please, I will take you to them."

"I know of you, Zara...ghost, hexer, helper.... nockerkin and trollfriend. I make it my business to know all that concerns him. What father would not?" He says, "You know how fragile he is in so many ways. How uncertain. What if this truth destroys him along with his mother and I?"

"Because if he is of the blood? Then knowledge will help, and sadness is... not so far from his heart. The truth can only destroy that which is false."

"You are young, you do not know how desperately we need lies to survive this world, I think," He sighs, "Lies like, one day she and I could be together forever. I am a Fortuno, the truth has melted magick, and the harpy I've held comes for me."

He follows her though as he whispers his laments.

Softly. "You say you know me, sir? I am nockerblooded, mother lost, father lost - no, I think the truth here... mayhaps it will offer understanding?"

"mm, you're strong. Stronger than you realize I think. " They make their way towards the area and find Earl and Emmit together/ Earl looks...poleaxed. As if someone had struck a blow with a crowbar to his head

Zara slips away from De Vere to Earl's side, reaching for his hand.

Earl takes it, like a life line, and he looks at De Vere, "Mister De Vere...."// "Yes, Earl, it's true I..." De Vere rasps weakly, "You should know your mother and I...you were born of..." //Earl's jaw sets, "What, what was I born of ? Betrayal? treachery?" Earl's eyes darken, "And lies! Lies like me being a real troll who was just a bit off? Lies like my mother being a good woman? Lies like 'our good sluagh friend: Hey, he smuggles in Imbolc flame now and then...saves us trouble and seems really nice'...THOSE lies?"// De Vere flinches, not because of the volume, "Love. You were born of love. I know you do not beiieve it. And you ARE a troll, you have some sluagh blood, but it is all through the lens of watchfulness, guardianship, loya..." //"Don't you DARE say Loyalty. You don't get to use that word" Earl hisses low

Zara squeezes his hand, leaning in. "I have seen thee in the dreaming. Herne. Tall, strong, and true. Thou art a troll, sir..."

Earl's dark eyes dim to a duller gray, but the blue isn't back, not yet, and he aches, "Zara, I...at least ICE knew. And now... my mother. Oh god, dad... " A pause, "I guess I should call him Herb. No wonder he never understood me. Never got close. i wasn't his son. I wonder if suspected it."

"And is Hannah not my mother? Hirim and Ratchet not my kin, for all that I share not a drop of blood with them? Does Clementine not love thee, and fight for thee?"

Emmit frowns, "Earl, you won't believe this, but it was going to come out eventually. I.. I'd been closing my eyes for years. But I suspected. And Eloise... she lights up every imbolc. This would have outted. Clem was right about that. The truth always gets out, eventually." Emmit sighs, "And Herb is no angel. Not that it's right, but the man cheated first."

"I..." Earl looks ready to fall over, "Oh geez... I thought, but they're TROLL blooded. How could they cheat on each other?" A glane to Zara, "And...yes, I know, your family is great but...my father, the man I thought was my father cheated on my mom, my mom cheated on him.... and the family 'friend' helped her break her wedding vows? My whole life is a farce."

Zara takes Earl's hand with a second, rubbing her thumbs against the blue crest of his knuckles. "No. Your life is your life. It is... not what you thought, or expected, but it is not a farce."

"You are Earl DeBuke, a troll who can see in the shadows and speak softly, and turns not from that which is grey. Do not run for black and white now."

De Vere and Emmit exchange a look at her words, and then nod at something, even if Emmit still looks tempted himself to slap his old friend silly//Earl for his part nods, "You're right. It's..hypcritical of me to assume this was always some perfect paradise where I just didn't fit it. It's as damaged as any hold, any family, and ..." A set of his jaw, "The flaw wasn't with me at all, was it?" He looks to Emmit "Clem was right. This place...it's damaged. And she's been trying to fix it. But the elders were so scared fixing it might hurt it that they'd rather let it decay from the inside. She didn't know about this, or shee'd have told me, but she was right. And Zara's right too. We're all human, well, half human,a nd mistakes are made, wrong choices, happen...and we deal with the consequences, but if I'm going to be a part of this family, it's going to be on MY terms too, not just the family's and no one gets to stick their nose up at me again . Well, obviously they can, but I'll know they're full of shit or blind."

"You are not flawed. No more than I am." A wry, sad smile. "Misfits, the both of us."

That actually makes Earl smile, which, he didn't think was possible, and he gives her hand a very soft squeeze, "Then I'm in good company."

"My boy, I..." De Vere reaches out. Earl shakes his head, "Not yet, Mr. De Vere, it's too soon. Too soon. I don't know if you're ready to take some punishment, or want me to run to your arms, but either way I need time." He look to his Uncle, "Uncle Emmit, I'm sorry if what I said was hurtful, but it's true. I won't be treated like I'm 'wrong' anymore."//Emmit nods, "Nothing to apologize about, not on your part. So..Earl, this is your life. Not just yours. what do you want to do about what you've learned?"

Earl looks at Zara, clearly wanting her opinion

She pushes back her bangs, thoughts not far from her own situation. "You both, I suspect, have a difficult path ahead. But... "

A soft sigh. "Tea?"