#scarsdale

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Zara is in her bedroom, curled up with a book. Bronte has her own hoard.

A voice on the other side of the door begins to speak

"Helen, thy beauty is to me Like those Nicean barks of yore, That gently, o'er a perfumed sea, The weary, wayworn wanderer bore To his own native shore."

She raises an eyebrow, looking up at the door. She considers calling out, but decides that would be pointless. Up to her feet and over. A crack open to peer outside.

Earl, dressed in a nice new suit, is quoting..." On desperate seas long wont to roam,
Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,
Thy Naiad airs have brought me home
To the beauty of fair Greece,
And the grandeur of old Rome."

He holds up a flower , not native to this land

She snags his free hand, drawing him into the room.

And he's dragged into the room, and uses a foot to gently close the door because he takes her into a rather warm and demanding kiss, one that speaks of not having been with her enough of late.

She falls into the kiss - if she's surprised, she does not seem alarmed. A cool hand caresses his cheek, icy lips welcome his attention.

Oh my, still seelie she suspects, but kissing almost as boldly as when he's a rake. His free hand runs through her hair as the kiss lingers, and when at least they part, he says with earnest passion "I may have missed you."

"I see!" She smiles, then noses the flower. "And what's this?"

"A Dahlia flower, of the sort used by ancient aztecs to adorn lovely the sacrificial zugarats where young men had their hearts given up to the gods, or in your case, 'Goddess' " A smile then he admits "To be fair, I'm not sure what specific type this is, there are a lot variations."

"Oh! Like the Black Dahlia?" She takes the flower, with a little whirl of delight. "I shall hang it to dry over my bed."

"Please do," he says delighting her delight

She fetches a skein of floss from a box on her dresser and stands up on the bed in order to reach the canopy frame. The dahlia is hung by a loop of thread. "There. And I may smell it in my dreams..."

Earl smiles, "I'm glad. Now, tell me, my hind, what you've been up to? I have some news but I want to hear your side of things first."

"Well, yesterday was saturday and quiet. We have to start cleaning the house soon for passover. And, ah, make up my stuff early..."

"oh?" he notes the 'ah'

"Well. It needs time." She catches the dangling flower with slender fingers, drawing it close to drink in the perfume. "Complicates things, but it is what it is."

A nod softly. "Well, if you wish to talk of it, I am here. "

"But as for myself? I was, obviously, in Mexico. I went to Fenix."

"Oh? How is Jessica?"

"She looked good" He answers, "Though it turns out some her pooka subjects love her a bit too much." Amused

"There are a lot of pooka in that hold... what did they do?"

"I received a commission from what I thought was her..asking for portraits of her to be done. And...five hundred dollars. So I showed up to one at least, and discuss style and price..."

"Aye?" She moves to the edge of the bed, sitting down. She pats the spot beside her.

"Well, she was happy to have me visit, but it was news to her. Turns out some of her local pooka..." He sits down and smiles "faked the note, but the money was real. Oh, the wanted her in the style of Boudica or maybe a Spanish Queen. Naturally, she was mortified."

"It's flattering in a way, isn't it? But... most trolls I know, they're a bit shy." She leans against his side, pale head on his shoulder.

"Yup, we're very delicate" He nods his head slightly and smiles as he looks down on her "But I told Her I couldn't just paint 'nothing'. I have my own honor too, you know? I'd been paid."

"So - did you paint her as her?"

"No, technically itw as from her, what she asked for instead was a painting on the trolls of the Wave Maiden, especially Frank and Brekke. She'll have it to hang in her hallway or the like. She misses them now and then, you know? I mean, if you and I ever moved into our own space, I know you'd want reminders of family in the house, even if they lived on the same street right? so.. yeah. "

"Well, they're her parents. So - aye." A little nod of her chin towards the Miriam portrait.

A smile at the Miriam portrait, then a nod "Exactly. So.. I couldn't say no to that. But in addition to all this, she would like us to come down some time, spend the weekend or longer... moonlight beaches, urban decay, old dreams of Old Mexico and New Baja all mixed. What do you think?"

"It's a lovely hold. it might be a fun trip..."

"Yes, I was thinking, yes, we should go there one soon, but... and I'm just guessing here, but ... what do you think of also visiting there around the Day of the Dead?"

"We could! Though, oh, it is a little frustrating to forget..."

"Well, I think it might be a bit before Samhain, I might have to check the calender"

"I think it would be nice, yes."

"I mean - London, even blurry, was amazing!"

"Oh, did I tell you about the library at Earth Runes?"

"What I found?"

"Something new?"

"Well, a little more on the Balor-bred... there's my marks, of course." Only the smallest of falters. "Mine, and Cassandra's, and Golnaz - the pale complexion, the dark eyes. Truth, most sluagh are pale... but others..."

"Records of two other branches. One afflicted with a kind of palsy, and one with deformed feet... it was said, no, that Paler wasn't the only one who sought to plant seeds."

"They have a whole breeding program in the House" He says appalled and fascinated

"Aye. Though... Paler still seems to be the most prolific."

"Moth has been by a fair amount. I hope she continues to."

"I... yes." Cautious then "You're he doens't have some Manchurian candidate thing with her?"

"I suspect he knows she's coming here, aye. And she is likely telling him what she sees." A shrug. "And - what of it? That I love my family? That my mother and father are kind? He knew that already."