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Three's Company - Matilda's lame

A Wand Finding

The silence of the room was something that Ianna wasn't used to, in the least bit. No nagging voice in her mind and Coailiann, bless her heart, was worn out and currently curled in a small ball atop the fluffy mountain of pillows which were resting on the couch.

She had quiet. Something she hadn't had since...Well, for a few years. Malen wasn't there, he was off with Kishi and Del...And, well, she liked it. Perhaps it was wrong of her to bask in the idea of having the people she loved far FAR away from her.

But right now? The silver haired lady didn't seem to care. At all.

She was just about to lay down for a nap (since she'd seriously been lacking sleep with Malen and his daughter and Coailiann) when she heard a familiar ping in her mind. More wands had awakened.

But how many? God she hoped only one. She didn't want to do too much, especially on her day OFF.

"How many this time, Matty?"

There was a soft groan, seemingly of pain, "Three. Two in Ireland, so that's one job...They're close to each other. The other is in Romania. I don't know what the soul is, you'll have to consult the book on that. The Celtic wands are Leprechaun and Lesidhe.. I know simply because of the Kinship with Coailiann, I think. Their magic is guarded."

Ianna gave a soft sigh, "Had to be on my day off...How are you feeling? Three at once must have hit hard..."

There was a pause, "I feel tired, weak, and very very pained. But I can deal with it. After this, however, I'm going to nap. Send Coailiann here, mother, I'll watch her."

Ianna gave a small nod of her head and picked up the sleeping Sidhe child, moving to the small portal and laying her inside. She watched Matilda take her before closing the door and walking to her closet to fetch her boots, "Any idea where you're going to send me in Ireland?"

"Just a forest. Both wands will be found in the same place, just outside of the forest. It should be an easy fetching, since you don't have to go underground like I did with Coailiann. Romania, I believe, the wand was found by a woman and is now being used as a torch. It's naturally on fire."

Ianna closed her eyes, "All right, I won't need any weapons then. Maybe some money..." she reached for her dresser and opened it, picking up several golden coins, "Let's go."

Without a word she was teleported to a very old-fashioned village in Romania, just outside a small house. If it could be called one.

The silver woman raised her hand to knock on the door, only to have the door pulled out from her hand. It was then that she came face to face with an old, worn woman.

"What do you want?"

Ianna took a deep breath, "I was admiring the light you have," she indicated to the wand stuck in a metal cone to hold it up and give light to the outside of the house, "And I was wondering if I could purchase it from you?"

The old woman raised a brow, "You wish to buy my torch? It must be very special if you do. I just found it out by a haystack...Amazing that it didn't catch the hay on fire. Gypsy magic."

Ah...A Gypsy soul, then, Ianna thought, a smile crossing her lips, "You see, I had one like that. My grandmother gave it to me," damn, she was good at pulling things out of her a**, wasn't she?

"But I lost it. I'll give you five gold pieces for it."

Five gold? The woman had never seen five gold pieces in all of her existence. The torch had to be worth more than that if the woman would start with five gold! "Ten," came her greedy croak.

Ianna had only brought seven or so gold coins with her. That wasn't good. Taking a deep breath she did her best to look distressed, "Madam, I don't have much more than five coins...Please, will you take 6?"

The creaky old woman eyed her quietly, "Seven."

With a nod of her head, Ianna pulled out all seven coins and exchanged it for the torch, "Thank you so very much!"

Her pale hand wrapped around the wand and pulled it close to her, feeling the cool fire and the crispness of the reeds bound together. They felt stiff, like a steel handle, more so than the pliant reeds they looked to be made out of.

Definitely her wand.

Ianna bowed to the woman before walking away, only to disappear thanks to Matilda's magic.

"Well, that was fairly easy," she muttered, setting the new wand atop the Shoppe's desk, where she usually kept the wands, "Cost me some gold though," a face was made, "Ready to go to Ireland now...Maybe I should bring Coailiann? I'm sure she'd love Ireland...."

"I don't think that's a good idea. While the fetching looks easy, you never know. Besides, she's sleeping like an angel here - and she's safe."

Ianna gnawed on her lip and then sighed, "You're right."

"I'm always right."

"Bite me."

"How hard?"

"Oh shut up."

"Very mature."

Ianna growled low in her throat, "Just send me where I need to go, okay?"

With a small pop and a rough landing on the side of a hill, causing Ianna to roll rather quickly to the bottom (and stain her favorite shirt), Ianna arrived in Ireland.

Thankfully, unlike last time, no bones were broken, "Thanks. I see how much you value my physical well being and the mental sanity of my silk shirt."

There was a gleeful laugh inside her mind as she trudged up the hill and to the edge of the forest, "Edge of the forest? I see nothing. Nada. Cept the undergrowth and shrubbery," there was the sound of Matilda's mouth opening, "Don't you DARE make a Monty Python joke, missy."

It was silent again.

"I thought s--" We are the knights that say NI! "MATILDA!!!!!"

More laughter, "God damn it all," Ianna groaned, holding her head to try and block out the laughter despite the fact she knew it was futile. What was inside her head would never give her a moment's peace when there was a wand - or in this case - two wands - to find.

"A leprechaun and a Lesidhe, hmm? Lesidhe should be harder to find. The soul's naturally programmed to camouflage. Leprechauns are just flashy...."

Speak of the devil - the moment she said something a green and gold wand seemed to glint in the sunlight, "Well then. One down, one to go..."

It took another hour of searching before her hand grasped both the shiny Leprechaun wand and the more natural looking stick with an eye and leaves made of real emeralds.

A pity it housed a soul. The leaves could be worth a lot of money. Not that she NEEDED the money.

She just liked it.

Well, home, ho!

And hopefully, Matilda would simply give Kay back and take a year long nap.

God knew that Ianna needed one.

"Come on, Rune. A Wand shop?"

The half-amused voice from outside the door was obviously female, with a very slight accent that reminded a listener of Gallic. A few moments later, the door pushed open, revealing a pair of teenaged-looking girls as they stepped inside. The short one in the lead had a mane of long, thick blue curls, lean, delicate features, and pale skin. Dark green eyes glanced at her companion from behind blue-wire-framed spectacles. "You didn't have to come, Shakira."

"Shakira" had her own long, thick mane, though this one was so dark a crimson it looked nearly black and had been streaked in several places. Her skin was pale as well, although there were several tattoos across her wrists and shoulders, with a lean, elegant frame and both ears pierced several times. She moved with a haunting, eye-catching grace, her pretty face animated with an exasperated roll of her amber eyes. "Please. You, shopping on your own? Do you OWN anything but jeans? I just don't know why the hell you'd need a wand."

"I'm LOOKING, nerd. Now pipe down."

Shakira's eyebrow rose at the little girl on the floor, lips turning up just slightly in a wry half-smile. The blue-haired girl - Rune - grinned brightly, stooping to pick up the knob in one hand. "She's adorable. And you've got a good arm, Coailiann, was it?" She stumbled over the name only slightly, ignoring her friend as the redhead smirked. "I'm Rune, and this is Shakira."

"Who has no idea if you can help us, since I'm not sure why we're here." Shakira added brightly, earning herself a glare from her friend. Rune's ears pinked slightly, and she turned back to Ianna, handing Coailiann her knob back. "Honestly, I just felt like looking around a little."

Easier to say that then explain she'd had a vision of the shop when scrying earlier, and an urge to come there.

Rune grinned and nodded, eyes lighting. "I'm fond of them, yes." She stepped forward cheerfully, hand hovering above the book's worn leather cover. "Especially myths and legends."

"A book in a wand shop?" Shakira muttered under her breath, then shook her head. She'd given up trying to make sense of Gaia's weirdness earlier in the afternoon. Instead, she knelt on one knee beside Kay, smiling slightly. "Are you supposed to be eating that, pretty girl?"

"Why yes, she is. About fifty times." Shakira replied smartly, smirking and unable to help herself. Usually, this would have earned her a glare or a smack from her blue-haired friend -

- if said friend hadn't been entranced by the picture in the book and the words beneath it, at any rate. "A soul - in this wand? The picture is beautiful. But where - " Rune paused, eyes widening. "Wait - I'm - "

The rest of what she might have said was cut off as Shakira burst into laughter, having finally realized what was going on. Tears stood out in her eyes as the young woman gasped for breath, still giggling so hard she could barely speak. "Oh my gawd, Rune! I didn't believe Fayth, but it's TRUE! You collect kids the minute you step out of the house!"

Rune cuddled the wand to her, eyes softening in the way they usually did when confronted with one of her children. "I think he's a little boy. Might be wrong, though." Her voice was slightly quiet, but gentle. "And eh, they're a bit nuts, but I love the little rugrats."

"They're little monsters." Shakira own voice shook slightly, still laughing hard enough that she looked close to crying. "You should see them. Demons, shamans, angels, plants - "

"Oh, will you shut up." Rune raised an eyebrow at her friend, who simply snickered. Glancing up at Ianna, she smiled wryly. "Sorry. So he - a leprechaun? That's interesting."

"Will he be a midget?"

"Shakira, I'm going to hit you."

"Damn, Rune, this is almost bigger than your place." Shakira's voice came from behind Ianna as the two young women followed into the headquarters. Craning her neck, the redhead glanced up to the ceiling, looking rather impressed. "Though I guess yours is a bit more kid-friendly. Maybe the wand kids don't try to hang from the chandeliers."

Rune elbowed her friend in the gut, the wand balanced gently in her other arm. "It's beautiful." She said to Ianna, glancing around. "Magically enhanced?"

Rune shuddered. "Zoning laws are a nightmare." She agreed, shaking her head. "Makes me grateful I can expand my houses and Center inward."

"Yeah, just kick your cousin's lazy a** into gear." Shakira dodged another well-placed elbow and smirked. "A training room? Any of the rugrats take lessons?" This seemed more interesting than making fun of her friend, at least for the moment.