just when the ocean starts to dry (closed)

[inducings]

Who: Piper and Lady Fayura
When: Just after the Festival, before the Strangers arrive.
Where: At first the Residence, then... around?
What: Jason Grace has left Draega. Piper wants to find out if he's okay, so she seeks an audience with the Queen.
Warnings: Unlikely, will add in if needed.


[ There are certain things Piper McLean knows in the marrow of her bones. Love is the most powerful motivator in the world. Words have power. Jason Grace is faithful. Which is why when he is suddenly... not there, it never crosses her mind that he's left of his own free will. He wouldn't do that, he wouldn't leave her and Leo behind, not without saying anything, not when she and he had mourned and raged over Leo for doing the same thing.

It's after she's satisfied herself that he is no where to be found that a - not quite frantic, but very, very worried Piper requests an audience with the Queen. Fayura graciously grants her request, and to Piper's surprise invites her on a walk. That's fine by her, she feels better when she's moving. ]

Thank you for agreeing to speak with me, Lady Fayura.

Comments

[agentlenpc]

Frozen cream is a remedy for all sorts of ills. When I was young—

[Fayura catches herself short. She's always been very careful when talking about herself. Has always held secrets back. But perhaps... Piper has shared something precious with her. She should share a bit of herself in return. She exhales and continues speaking as she leads the way down the street.]

When I was young, [she says with conviction, with force, to remind herself that sharing parts of herself is no longer a dangerous thing,] whenever we went to a village, my mother would find a sweets shop. We never had very much money, and mama... [Sorrow fills Fayura's eyes.] Well, we made what we had last so mama didn't have to do the kind of work she hated. But she would always buy frozen cream for me at a new village. [Because they only went to new villages when the old one became unsafe, either because of the mercenaries and wild men or because someone learned something of Fayura they should not.]

Here.

[Fayura opens the door to a small shop, warm and lit by witchlight. There are a few awkward tables and chairs pressed against the front window and precious little space between the seating and the display case. The cakes and muffins and cookies on display aren't pretty. They'd win no prizes in Piper's world for plating or attention to detail. They're rough and a bit ugly, and the price tags attached to them are high.

But the witch who emerges from the back of the shop breaks into a huge smile when she sees Fayura.]

Two cookies with frozen sweet cream, [Fayura says. She turns to Piper and adds,] It's my treat. Don't worry about the prices. I barter my services for a lower price.

[inducings]

[ Piper's heart is still reverberating like a struck tuning fork, and will be for some time. But her own sense of pain doesn't blind her to Fayura's hesitation or the personal nature of the story she's sharing. Piper grew up with her every physical need met; her father hadn't had it, and was particularly proud of his ability to provide. So although she can't relate specifically to the nature of the treat, she knows what it's like to share something special with the parent you adored.

'The kind of work she hated' and the fact that they traveled... and this country was so very dangerous... Piper wonders - what had happened to Fayura's mother? If she was alive, surely she'd be here, where Fayura and her court could keep her safe...

So much sorrow and loss... ]

Thank you, [ she murmurs quietly, as Fayura opens the door. Almost anything else seems trite, really (as if thank you was profound, jeeze, Piper). She does give Fayura her full and unflinching attention, listening.

One glance at the pastries and she knows they're out of her price range. She's no longer staying in the Queen's Residence and she has yet to find a steady job, helping who she can and bartering her services irregularly. She hesitates, bu has the sense that turning Fayura down, especially after what she'd just shared, would be worse than insisting on doing it her own way or on having nothing at all. ]

That's very kind of you. Thank you again.

[agentlenpc]

Times are lean and hard. You don't need to thank me for kindness.

[That's not true, and it's obvious from the delight in Fay's eyes how much that thanks means to her.]

I've... lived with little for most of my life. To be able to give things to others now makes me happy. [Even if that means Fayura gets less. For a woman who wears dark Jewels, she eats remarkably little. She shares her meals with her court as subtly as she can, and though there's always a back and forth dance of food between her plates and theirs, she always comes out the winner. If someone brings her a snack tray, she nibbles on the crackers while inviting the other person to have more.

It doesn't occur to her to do otherwise.

She calls in a small coin purse and pays for their treats: two lumpy sugar cookies with a hefty dollop of lemon frozen sweet cream on top. One plate, she passes to Piper, and she nods toward one of the tables pressed against the front window.]

Let's sit down and enjoy it, shall we?

[Because in spite of how the cookies look, they're delicious, and so is the frozen cream.]

And while we're here, do you have any other concerns you'd like to talk about with me? I don't want to be all business, but I do want to make sure you're as well as you can be.

[inducings]

[ Piper moves as Fayura indicates to sit at one of the tables, carefully holding the plate in her hand. At home, her father's chef would wrap her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in gold leaf, he was so offended by her simple request. He'd never serve anything that looked like this. And Piper had never looked at anything that he cooked with such gratitude. ]

I'm pretty sure that kindness is exactly what people should thank others about. [ There's a bit of a spark of stubbornness in her eyes now, and she sits straight. When she forgets to hide herself, Piper has a natural confidence and grace, a surety of movement - and it comes out now. ] You brought us here, so it's fair and right that you answer questions about things like -- random disappearances. [ That stab of pain in her heart sharpens; she ignores it ] And I appreciate that you are being right and fair. But this? [ Gesturing between them to the ice cream, the restaurant, the caring. ] This is more than that. And I'm grateful to you for it, because it is very kind.

[ And even if she didn't get to treat Fayura to the ice cream, she's going to remember this and try to reciprocate somehow. Because she felt terrible, worried and alone, and now she felt a little bit better. Now at least she knew Jason was okay. And Fayura had offered to listen, and that meant a lot.

Plus, ice cream.

She doesn't quite sink back into herself after her speech, but she does glance down to the cookie and ice cream and lift up her spoon. ]

And let me think about that for a minute?

[ Because it really was hard to think of anything other than her loss. Maybe the ice cream would help. ]

[agentlenpc]

This is what you needed. [Fay shrugs, just a little.

To her, this is the least required of her for someone who lives in her Territory. The Strangers may come and go as they please, but Fayura thinks of them as a part of her court. Looking after them feels natural to her.

It feels good. And Fayura's only concern is that she helps people for that feeling and no other reason. That she craves the satisfaction of aide given more than giving it.]

Truthfully, I didn't expect anyone to come after the first group. [She sighs.] At least I understand now why the initial weaving took so much out of me. The power was needed to keep the Craft going.

[inducings]

I remember you saying something about needing to check the web after we got here. [ She takes her fork and stabs at the ice cream covered cookie, not wanting it to melt and go to waste.

She wishes Annabeth-Hazel-Jason was here to ask these questions instead. Annabeth could figure out anything, given enough time. Hazel, with her training with Hecate, her stubborn incisiveness... and Jason just...

But they weren't here, so... she was just going to have to do the best she could. ] Your weaving pulled more power from you than you'd planned, and now the web is calling people back home whether or not they're finished here... that makes it seem almost like the web is alive?

[ Again - is Jason okay? What's happening here? How does this work? ]

[agentlenpc]

[Fay nods to the first statement as she, too, takes a bite of the cookie and sweet cream. Sweetness bursts on her tongue, start enough to make her shiver and sweet enough to make her teeth feel fuzzy.

At the question, she shakes her head.]

No, no, the webs aren't alive, but they're built on intent. Mine simply wasn't precise enough. My only requirement was "bring me heroes." Since I didn't specify a timetable, the web is pulling people in monthly, but that could change. Since I didn't specify how long you should be here, the web doesn't try to hold on to you or make an effort to keep you here.

[She presses her lips together with an expression of mild consternation.]

I should have done that. [With a faint sigh, she takes another bite of her cookie.] If your intent isn't specific, the Craft will either break down or fill in the gaps. I suppose that sounds like it's alive, but it's really not.

[inducings]

[ Piper frowns lightly in concentration, thinking about that. ] So it's not so much... that it's alive and making choices, but it's like... you're trying to direct a very powerful river. [ She imagines it like a dam with floodgates like the levers on pinball machines, needing to open them just enough to get the river to go through with enough power to accomplish the task... but then how do you keep the river from overflowing its boundaries once it's through? Specific intent. [ And the more power you need to get a task done, the more specific you need to be in order to keep the river from overflowing its boundaries?

[agentlenpc]

Ah, yes, that's an excellent metaphor. [Fayura nods.] You're exactly right.

In some ways, it's necessary to be very legalistic with webs. Say, for example, you wish to marry wealthy. You weave a web of intent to bring your dreams to you, and you only tell the web you want a handsome, wealthy husband. Eventually, the magic works and brings you a handsome, wealthy man, and you wed. And then you find out he's a monster who delights in torturing children and his wealth has been accumulated through buying and selling young orphans that no one will miss.

[Fayura isn't exactly casual as she describes this scenario, but her tone implies this isn't uncommon—and there's just as much implication that it nauseates her.]

The web did precisely what you asked it to, but you weren't specific enough in the weaving.

Sorry, life got crazy - lmk if you'd like to drop the thread

[inducings]

[ Piper blinks at that example. It's horrifying, and to think that it's an easily reached-for example is equally so. ]

In my world, we have jokes like that - about evil genies. But they're just a story - at least, as far as I know. [ Piper's brow furrows. ] So the webs are just like a... vehicle for tapping into the power of the jewels? The Darkness?

no worries!

[agentlenpc]

Yes, that's a good way to look at it. The webs make dreams into— [There's an odd skip.] —reality. More the Jewels than the Darkness. The Blood revere the Darkness, but it's not a sentient entity, either.

[Her head tips to the side.]

It's just the wellspring of ours powers, I suppose.