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((For Sajhiri/Ice Queen))

Arcus, a colorful Talaye male, delivers a message to Ice's House addressed to Silva and Aleric.



Arae zipped out through the closing boarding door, ruffling the airport employee's hair in the wake of her passing. Averno watched in amusement from where she was lounging on a passenger's laptop bag, where they'd slung it over their shoulder. Arae hadn't wanted to get that close to the human passengers. The pair of fairies had spent most of the flight trapped in an overhead storage compartment so as not to be seen.

Averno flitted off the man's luggage and alighted beside her sister on the now-empty podium where boarding passes were taken from passengers. "I don't know what the big deal is. It's not like any of these people really pay attention to us, Arae. They're coming to Barton, they're expecting to see crazy stuff."

Arae grimaced. "Better safe than sorry..." she murmured.

Averno hitched the stick on her shoulder to a more comfortable position. To it was tied a cloth bundle which looked relatively heavy. Arae carried a similar bundle. The two of them almost looked like a pair of hobos, especially with the assortment of bandages and the scrapes, bruises, and scratches covering them.

"Sajhiri said she wasn't going to be able to make it here to pick us up. She had some sort of appointment for the kids. So we're on our own getting home." Averno grumbled.

Arae sighed a bit forlornly. "Can we ride on a taxi again? My wings are aching from all the travel."

Averno snorted. "How many taxis do you think fly out into the middle of the woods in Barton? We might be able to hitch a ride part way, but we are going to have to fly to the tower, Arae."

Arae nodded glumly and her wings twitched as if already protesting the flight to come. "Well lets find a place to rest for a little bit first, so I can heal up some more of our wounds."

Averno couldn't argue with that, and she headed towards the waiting area.

Arae caught sight of the movement coming towards them and she startled for a moment. The attacks of the owl and the bats had left her a touch wary of flying things. But recognition glinted in her eyes as the waving figure drew nearer. "Aleric!" she called out, relief evident on her face. She rushed towards him. "Thank the 4 winds you're all right! I was so worried!" For someone so concerned about him, she certainly looked to be the worse for wear of the two of them.

Averno watched the reunion with a small smirk. The smirk faded as she spotted a glimpse of crimson amid the chairs. She looked a bit surprised to see Silva there, and she couldn't hide the relief in her own expression for a moment. The bruised and battered fairy moved to alight beside him on the chair. "I see you made it back ok," she noted.

Arae hugged Aleric as tightly as she could without wincing from the pain. "I've healed us somewhat, but I've been too weak to do much. I had to use a great deal of my magics to fend off the owl and the bats, and to get us up to the bell tower. I'm exhausted, but I'm glad to be home." She smiled weakly at her lover and then brandished her bundle. "Averno found what she was seeking and more." She unwrapped the package to reveal a purple heart-shaped gemstone. "At first I feared it was you...that you'd perished on your quest. Then we realized we were in the wrong place."

Averno opened her mouth, looking as if she were about to verbally blast Silva into next week, but she closed it again at his offer. She slidled closer and nodded her permission to heal her. Around her throat, a silver and gold torque rested, it's magic like a beacon to those able to sense such things.

Averno's fingers brushed the torque lightly for a moment and she nodded slowly. "Verasa's Knowledge..." she murmured. "I'm not entirely sure what it does yet. But it was pretty enough to get at least 2 Feien killed trying to retrieve it." She straightened as the healing made the aches fade and unwrapped the pyramid shaped, fiery-looking gem. "Arae has the other one. They were caught in a trap which contained the necklace," she murmured. "Thought it was your sorry a** for a minute. But Arae realized it was the wrong quest where there was no flute."

Arae smiled softly as she was healed. "I am just relieved to know you made it back all right. Did you find the flute, love?" she asked curiously.

Arae's breath caught at the beauty of the flute. She traced a fingertip over it lightly. "It's remarkable, Aleric. A true lovely artifact. Have you determined what it does, yet?" She smiled brightly, wrapping the gemstone back up to keep it from getting dusty from the ventilated airport systems.

Averno spread her index and middle finger to point at Silva's eyes. "Your eyes are yellow, "she pointed out. "And the other gem was purple, so it looked an awful lot like you two had gotten yourselves killed." She wrapped the gem back up carefully. "Yeah it's mine too. Though I gave Arae the other for her helping me out." She frowned.

"I'm glad you're back and all, but I owe you a major kick in the ear for taking off without even saying goodbye. What if you had gotten killed?" She looked at him with the glimmerings of her anger returning.

Averno frowned, the torque detecting the minor lie dancing off Silva's lips. She didn't understand how she knew it wasn't the truth, she just knew. "Liar." She stated. "That's not the reason. So why did you go without saying goodbye. Tell me the truth, Silva. I almost got myself killed trying to save you because you didn't have the decency to let me know where you were going and when you expected to be back."

She was going to have nightmares about owls and bats for a long...long time.

Arae's eyes widened. "Oh my...that could be extremely useful in stopping fights or cheering sadness or...well many things. It could be anderous too, though, Aleric. You should take care with it. Control over the emotions of others is somewhat manipulative."

Averno blinked at Silva a couple of times. It took a few moments for her mind to process his admission, regardless of the additional wisdom the torque imbued her with. For a second the fact he'd rather have her angry at him if he died sounded sweet. Then she moved to slug him hard in the shoulder. "What an a*****e way to think, Silva. People mourn for a reason, it lets them get over it and move on. Anger would only wind up making me feel guilt for the rest of my life for being angry at a dead man."

Arae hmmmed softly. "Perhaps we could do some research and find out just what it may have been used for in the past. That might give us a clue as to the beneficial or sinister nature of it."