Welcome to Gaia! ::

. razz ilgrims:.


"She needs a bedroom." Leeward said, frowning sternly at Nicola, who lay indolently across her favorite chaise lounge, petting Galleai idly and putting tiny braids in the paler bits of her hair.

"She sleeps in my room. How is that a problem?"

"She sleeps wherever she drops." Leeward argued. And indeed, it was true. The little girl could be found curled up almost anywhere. Sometimes in Leeward's room, sometimes in Nicola's and sometimes with the twins. Sometimes they had even found her asleep on the cold hearth after the fire had died down.

"I fail to see how that is a problem." Nicola responded icily. "She has a nice pillow in my room if she wants to use it... if you really insist we could perhaps put a little bed in there..."

"She's NOT a pet, Nicola. You can't just give her a dog-bed and call it good. Galleai, my dear, dont you want a room of your own?"

Galleai looked between the two of them complacently. "I dont know. Isn't a room where you keep things? I dont have anything to keep."

Nicola looked smug while Leeward sputtered a bit. "But, don't you want some private space?"

"Why?" The little girl asked, seeming truly bewildered. "I belong to the coven..." Her lower lip began to quiver very slightly. "Do you not like it when I sleep with you, daddy?"

"Shh, pet." Nicola said smugly, gathering the little girl closer and petting her comfortingly. "Daddy is just being silly with all this talk of private rooms. You can sleep anywhere you want to."

Leeward scowled, but knew when he was outmatched. Nicola he could handle. But Galleai had him very thoroughly wrapped around her tiny little finger. "Fine, but--"

A deep, ringing chime interrupted him. At once, the twins joined the rest of the family in the drawing room and Nicola had risen to her feet, setting Galleai down on the lounge.

"I didn't know we were expecting pilgrims." Apollonaire said with a wry grin. "Do we have space for them?"

"We always have space." Leeward responded. "You two, go ahead and greet them. Make sure they're not nosy humans or somesuch."

"Don't worry." The twins grinned ferally. "We know what to do with them. We'll get them all ready if they're pilgrims. And if they're not, we'll have a lovely little party."

Galleai watched the whole exchange with a little frown. They had never had visitors before. And it was obvious that these particular visitors were probably very important. She kept her mouth shut, however, as it appeared she was forgotten for the moment. Soon, the drawing room was empty save the little dreamwalker.

She waited for what seemed like ages for someone to come back for her, but nobody did. Making her way to the bookcase, she managed to clamber up to the right shelf. Galleai was blessed with a reasonable memory, and after a few missed tries she found the right book and the wall slid aside, revealing a long, dark passageway. Silently on her bare feet, she went down the stairs and cracked open the door at bottom just enough to watch.

She recognized the figures of Leeward and Nicola and the twins standing in a cluster by the fire. There were three tall and pale men standing around the fire as well, completely naked. Through the far door, the Oracle's door, a figure emerged. She was cloaked entirely in gauzy veils so that it was impossible to see anything about her. But she was the same height as the woman Leeward had called the handmaiden, so Galleai could only assume it was the same woman.

The handmaiden approached the three newcomers, who bowed low before her. When she spoke, it wasn't with the voice that Galleai had heard before. She spoke in a voice that was rich and deep, both masculine and feminine and redolent with some secret magic. "You seek the power of the Oracle?" She asked.

"We do." The three bowed figures responded in unison.

"You seek to travel the long-road?"

"We do." They said again. Galleai detected a faint trembling from one of the men on the end, though wether from fear or excitement she couldn't tell.

"And why should the Oracle accept your service?"

One by one, the men stood and gave their reasons in their native languages, the words of which Galleai could not understand. The handmaiden seemed to hear and comprehend without difficulty. When they had finished speaking, the men bowed again. There was a long, breathless wait.

"The Oracle accepts your surrender. One hundred years in the dark and then you may take your place on the long-road." She extended an arm towards the first man and Nicola hastened forward to gently slide the cloth away, to bare the flesh. "Drink."

He did, revrently, as did the other two. Galleai caught her breath, stifling a gasp. She knew how the coven fed, but she had never watched them do it before. Somehow, though, she imagined that regular feeding did not have such a worshipful element to it. The men, when they stepped away from the handmaiden, stood straighter and their eyes shone bright as if with fever.

Meanwhile, the twins had been busy. Three of the coffins along the wall had been opened. They appeared perfectly normal aside from the fact that they all had a long, wicked looking metal spike fixed in the door so that, when closed, it would pierce the occupant's heart.

The three pilgrims were escorted to what would be their resting places for the next hundred years and fixed firmly inside, the lids closing with an ominous thunk.

"It is done, then." And the terrible voice changed, melted, transformed back into that of a perfectly normal woman. "If you would help me back to my rooms, Nicola?" She asked breathily. The vampiress obeyed with alacrity, tenderly escorting the handmaiden down another of the long, dark hallways.

Whatever had happened seemed to be over, and Galleai crept silently back up the secret stairway, closing the wall behind her. She climbed back onto the chaise lounge and looked for all the world as if she hadn't moved an inch this whole time. And indeed, when the rest of the coven re-emerged none of them looked at her suspiciously save Leeward.

"We need to talk, little princess." He said in a low voice.

"About what, daddy?" She asked innocently.

"About what you saw. I didn't expect to have this conversation with you so soon, but it looks like you'd better know what the coven is about down there."

Galleai nodded. He wasn't angry. None of them ever really got angry at her. Nicola didn't because she just saw Galleai as a little pet. The twins didn't because the twins never got mad at anyone. And Leeward didn't because he loved her. She smiled up at him. "I would like to hear the story, daddy."

The vampire heaved a sigh and sat down beside the little girl, pulling her into his lap. "It's a long story, my love. And it begins a long, long time ago..."

.:RP log:.

Smoke on the Water - Galleai takes a trip through Polly's dreams

.:Like the waxing of the moon:.

The moon was waxing. It was a huge silver disc in the sky, shining down on a monochromatic landscape of trees and fields. It was all lined in sterling. It was... breathtaking. Galleai stood at the edge of the field, the grass moving gently like waves. She slid off her sandal and, like a swimmer sliding amongs the waves, stepped barefoot onto the rich living earth. A raven lit on her shoulder and, flashing in the distant forest, she could just make out a family of deer. They looked at her with liquid eyes, full of secret knowledge and then startled and bolted. Whatever startled them startled the raven too and it took flight, crying loudly.

The shrill call of a crow woke Galleai, who had fallen asleep on the cold hearth before a dead fire as was her habit. The crow called again outside and she sat up and blinked blurrily. Something felt... odd. She had only just gotten used to her body and now it felt like there was something weird about it. Different. She stretched experimentally before realizing that all four members of the coven were standing in the room, staring at her.

"What happened to her?" Nicola asked petulantly. Galleai stumbled to her feet, her customary grace escaping her her as she reached out to put a steadying hand on the wall. There was clearly something wrong!

"She's grown up a bit." Was Leeward's calm reply. "It happens with babies, you know. They dont stay babies forever."

Nicola gave a harrumphing sound and swept haughtily out of the room. Her little pet was gone, and in her place was a long legged girl with eyes that pierced her to the core. Haunting eyes. Haunted eyes. But, most importantly, her little pet had dissapeared.

"Daddy?" Gallea asked quietly, her lovely voice laced with trepidation.

"Oh, my love," Leeward responded softly, stepping towards his girl and embracing her. "You'll get used to it." He drew back a little, held her at arms length and ran a gentle finger across her cheek. "You are beautiful, my darling."

The wings at her temples fluttered slightly as she returned his embrace. Galleai wasn't a foolish girl, she knew that whatever it was that had happened, her place in the coven had changed. Something in the pattern of her life had been irrevocably altered. Life, though, was a fluid thing. Something you endlessly adapted to. She would get used to it, just like her father said she would.

"Now we're really going to have to get you your own room." Leeward added teasingly. "You'll be wanting your privacy."

"I will?"

"I would think so. Girls do, so I'm told."

"I'm not just a girl, daddy."

"Oh?" Leeward asked, eyebrow raised. "What are you then?"

"I'm yours."

.:RP log:.

So we meet again - Galleai and Maddy

.:RP log:.

Ghost Ships - Galleai and Melchy

. razz art Three and a Half:.
(reference part three in Kaimi's journal)

The breaking dawn found Galleai blearily awake, which was more than unusual for her. The coven kept such strict hours that she'd never even stayed awake to see the daylight. And today, the watery sunrise was tainted by the necessity of what she had to do. There wasn't time to pay attention to the thready gold and pink streaks in the sky, though she did find herself pausing every once in awhile to peer curiously out a window before remembering the task at hand.

Getting out of the library wasn't difficult, though it was three days before she really had the chance. Galleai discovered that she was rather dexterous and besides, if you didn't want someone to learn how to pick locks you didn't lock them up in a massive library in the first place. It was pure common sense. Out of the library she crept and down to the chamber where the pilgrims slept. She wasn't sure which coffin they'd put Kaimi in. She knew the two which were occupied by pilgrims, but there could be more. None of them stood open, after all.

Only one, though, had a table pushed up against it as if to keep something - or someone - inside. That had to be the right one. Unfortunately, the table was heavy and she couldn't move it by herself. Taking a deep breath, Galleai turned and made her way down the corridor towards the home of the handmaiden. Knocking softly on the door, she hoped she was doing the right thing.

"Yes?" The handmaiden opened the door and blinked a few times at the small girl who stood before her. This was unexpected.

"Please..." Galleai swallowed. She knew that this was probably deeply against protocol. "Help. They've taken a little girl. They put her in one of the coffins the pilgrims sleep in, but she's not a pilgrim."

The handmaiden raised an eyebrow. The coven were always doing strange and unusual things, though she couldn't remember them ever dealing with children before Galleai had come along. "I dont think..." She began to say.

"Leeward took her. I was at her house. There was a picture on the wall, of the girl and another girl and a woman. The woman looked just like you." Galleai knew that, somehow, this fact was significant and was rewarded by the complete whiteness that overtook the handmaiden's face, the clench of her jaw and the maelstrom of emotions that flickered across her expression before she finally got control of herself.

Naomi? Here in Gaia? Why? "I see..." Said the handmaiden slowly. "I suppose it wont do to have them locking up little children." This said with a desperate attempt at levity which failed spectacularly. "What is it that you need help with?"

"They blocked the coffin off with a table thats too big for me to move." Galleai replied, leading the handmaiden out to the main chamber and pointing out the coffin. Together, they pushed the table back enough so that the coffin lid could swing open. "Thank you." Galleai said, humbly.

"It's ... quite alright." The handmaiden knocked softly on the door. "Hello in there?" Her heart had not beaten this quickly since the first time she'd been taken by the oracle. There was no response from inside, but she tentatively opened the lid anyways. The figure that spilled out was small and weighed little, all big eyes and tangled hair and long legs. She tried to scramble away and scream, but her body and her voice were too weak.

"Kaimi!" Galleai said, going to the other girl who looked at her dumble in horror. "Kaimi. You have to run. They'll be up soon and they mustn't find you. Do you understand?"

Mutely, the girl nodded and swallowed.

"I'll take you outside." Galleai said. She was about to say more when a cracked and abused voice sounded out.

"Mom?" Kaimi asked in disbelief, staring at the handmaiden.

"No, my dear." Her eyes were sad, but she made no move to go closer to Kaimi. To comfort. "I'm not your mother. But when you find her again, tell her that Holly says hello. Tell her... that I love her. And tell her she need not fear Leeward anymore. Tell her I will find her."

Not giving her time to respond, Galleai tugged Kaimi towards a tunnel that led up a gentle slope for a long way and eventually emerged in the mausoleum of the small graveyard. "The road is that way." She said, pointing. "You have until dark before the realize you're gone."

Kaimi looked wildly at the direction Galleai had pointed, confusion written clearly on her face. She gave a half-nod and started a stumbling little run, as if she wasn't used to her own weakened body. Which was true. She also wasn't used to the growth her body had undergone.

Galleai watched the other girl lope away, chewing her lip with concern. It was all she could have done, she told herself. At least they wont feed from her or hurt her anymore than they already have. She turned to go back to the coven house when something odd caught her gaze. Kaimi's footprints appeared to have killed the grass where her feet touched. It looked like it had been burnt to ash.

.:Consequences II:.

"Ring around the rosie..." Galleai hummed softly to herself, her voice drifting ethereal in the dark of the night. The sky was clear though there was a low fog that hovered about the ground indecisively. "Pocket full of posies..." She'd forgotten to bring a set of boots or a cloak in her haste to get away from the coven house. And now she was cold. But the cold rarely bothered her as it did other people. She simply didn't pay enough attention to herself to notice it. "Ashes. Ashes. Ashes." Spinning in a little circle with her arms outstretched, she wondered how long it would be before she could go home. There was no reason to believe Leeward wouldn't, eventually, forgive her actions. And if he forgave her, the others didn't have much of a choice but to do the same.

"We all fall down." Came a soft voice from the other side of the gate. Galleai stopped in her spinning and peered into the darkness. The moon was small tonight, it didn't give much additional light to the stars so the shadows were thick and dark. But she did recognize the voice, it just wasn't the one that she'd expected to hear.

"My family is buried here, did you know?" Asked Nicola as she paused at the gate a moment, staring at the tombstones before stepping into the hallowed ground. Trailing delicate, crimson nailed fingers across the cheek of a praying angel. "There..." She pointed to a cluster of gravestones that stood as sentinels around the mausoleum. "My sisters. There were seven of us."

"Seven is a powerful number." Galleai said softly, not approaching Nicola. She wasn't sure that, even in this thoughtful mood, the vampiress wouldn't lunge for her. "I saw you crying." She added. "In the cupola room. You were spinning, but there was nothing there."

Nicola gazed at Galleai, her expression first arrested and then resigned. "Perhaps it was me. Perhaps it was one of them. We were cursed, all of us. Just like in a fairy story." She knelt before one of the stones and beckoned to Galleai, who approached her like a deer about to take flight, all legs and huge dark eyes.

"But you survived." Galleai whispered, kneeling beside Nicola.

"If you can call it that, then yes. I did." There was a sad melancholy to the vampiress' smile. A sort of longing. "Family is important, Galleai. One must always do what they can to protect their family."

"You think I was disloyal because I let that girl go." It was a comment, not a question. The answer was clear.

"We are all we have, you know. Leeward shouldn't have brought the girl, but you shouldn't have interfered. She wouldn't have come to too much harm, I dont think."

Galleai disagreed, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Loyalty, my dear, goes deeper than just a feeling. The oracle spoke with us and her wishes are known. You are not to be punished harshly for your actions. Really, it's not a punishment at all, but an honor that will be bestowed on you."

"An honor?" She swallowed. Honor and punishment, at this point it all sounded about the same. Malevolent.

Nicola raised her own wrist to her mouth, using her sharp teeth to puncture her flesh. She was clearly newly fed, for there was a thick reddish blood that flowed down her arm. "Here. You are not one of us, but you will feed. And you will understand."

Galleai hesitated for a moment, staring at horror at the blood. Knowing what she was supposed to do. Knowing that this was the form that the coven's forgiveness was taking. She swallowed and reluctantly lowered her mouth to Nicola's wrist. In a sharp, blazing instant it was all made clear. The cemetary, the dream, the truth that shone behind it all. After what seemed an eternity but had truly been only a moment, Galleai raised her head and stared at Nicola, a strange light in her dark eyes. "See how it bleeds..." She whispered, licking the crimson stains from her lips.

.:Sewing:.

With a small sigh, Galleai surveyed the mess of fabric and paper patterns in front of her. She reached out and fingered a raw silk and then a luxurious brocade. She was supposed to have a dress. An actual, fitted ballgown type dress. Leeward had promised her that he would take her shopping for actual clothes having somehow magically divined that the rags and tatters Galleai usually ran around in were not quite appropriate. He'd promised her shoes, as well. But only after she had a formal initiation gown, as he'd called it.

"We'll be initiating you formally into the coven." He'd told her several days ago, face grim.

"I don't want to be turned." She'd responded with a little shiver. Galleai had no desire to be a vampire.

"Ah, no. We aren't turning you, princess." At least he'd started calling her princess again, that was something. It meant that he'd forgiven her though she was still fairly certain that this initiation was a contiuance of her punishment. "There are all sorts who worship the Oracle that we protect here. We are singularly precious to her, of course, as we keep the handmaiden, the vessel for the oracle."

Galleai nodded, she was aware that the status of the coven was high in certain dark circles because Holly - the handmaiden lived there. It had taken her some time to comprehend Holly's exact role. She was formally called the handmaiden, which meant that she served the Oracle. But what it really meant was that when the Oracle wanted to or was called upon to speak, it used Holly's body as a conduit. Which made her the vessel and so she was twice blessed and very important. But Galleai also knew that Holly had just been a normal girl, before she'd been drawn into this secret darkness.

Leeward continued. "You'll sew yourself an initiation gown. You'll find patterns and things in the library and Nicola will show you where the fabric is. You'll have to do it all by yourself, thats part of the ritual. You'll pick the pattern and cut and sew the fabric all by hand. And you'll be bound to silence from the time that you begin until the time the gown is finished. But when it's done I'll take you out and we'll get you some other clothes, too."

It was a daunting task. She'd been poring through patterns for days trying to find one that her inexperienced fingers might be able to manage. But there was also a level of pride to it. She clearly couldn't drape herself in silk rags and call it good. Whatever this initiation was, it was important and Galleai was smart enough to take it seriously. Finally she'd found a design and a pattern and now all she needed was...

Ah. That was much simpler than it should have been, it was as if the fabric was just sitting there waiting for her among all the other colors and patterns. The sheer, dark fabric was appealing, as were the tiny silver flecks that dotted it here and there. And the pattern that she'd chosen was simple enough, Greek in origin. Galleai sighed softly and threaded a needle, poking her finger the first time out of what would become many. She hoped it wouldn't take too long. She hoped she could finish the dress and get this whole initiation thing out of the way soon.

Of course, it wasn't that simple. Nothing was ever that simple.