Chapter 114: "Arranged marriages...I don't like them for me, but I could grow to like them once I'm married." Friday, August 18 Felix tells Tamaryn that he'd like to have a small ceremony. Tamaryn looks confused. Felix says he's supposed to have a ring, isn't he? Tamaryn looks startled, and asks if he's talking about what she thinks he is. He isn't sure. What's she thinking of? She wants to hear the words. But it can wait for the ring. She asks what prompted this. Well, Eric wanted to arrange a marriage for him. This makes Tamaryn feel oh, so special. She tells him to try again when he has the ring. She's going to make this hard for him, isn't she? She asks how old the kids are. He "ums" before he remembers. Tamaryn figures she's been waiting five years for this, so she's going to enjoy it. She leaves to put all of the children to bed. Vixen finds Eric and tells him that she's going into town. He wants to come with her. Or for her to take someone with her. Sure. Who is she going to take? Um... Eric Trumps Ronan, who's working in town on the relief efforts. Eric asks him to escort Vixen into town. Is this a request or a demand? Whichever it needs to be. And Eric needs to talk to him in the morning. Why does Vixen need his protection? There have been attacks on her. What a shame. Eric says Ronan could use the practice. Vixen and Ronan are not enamored of this idea. Ronan goes to the castle, gets his sword, and finds Vixen waiting in the main hall. She's not real thrilled about Bruce. She heads into town, with Ronan and Bruce following. Vixen decides to torment Ronan by going shopping. Then she wanders aimlessly through town, including by Lucretia's house. It's a typical manor house, three stories high, with the original structure made of stone, and the addition of wood. There's a carriage house in back, and windows on the ground floor. Ronan realizes that Vixen is casing buildings, but can't pinpoint which one or ones specifically. Gavin checks out the hall of portraits. The portrait of Nimue looks like the ghost he saw. Gavin ponders this for a while. He receives a note from Eric, saying he wants to speak to him in the morning at ten. Ariana finds herself in a stone passageway with large open arches and lovely fields beyond. The structure is about 30 feet long. The whole place is highly magical. Ariana tries to travel to her body, but nothing happens. She casts a glamour on herself to make herself invisible, which works. She's still casting a shadow, though. She moves outside into the shadow cast by the structure. Jack said that took her long enough. He's lying on top of the structure. She suggests he leave instructions next time. Is she ready? For what? To give herself to the King. She came to deliver a message, and to find someone. She's in the wrong place for that, then. She won't give him what he wants until she gets what she wants. And what is that? They've discussed this. The last they spoke, she wanted her king back. She wants her body back, too. He's can't understand why she wants a weaker form. She's asked two questions. Has she another? Not yet. He'll bank that one, then. The things she wants are three separate quests. Ariana acknowledges this. Conveniently, there are three paths. One of the paths is meandering and overflowing with flowers, the second is more structured and an austere sort of beauty, the third one is overgrown, shadowed and murky. She and Jack snipe a bit, and he leaves. She goes to sleep on a couch. Ronan goes over the list Eric gave him of prospective brides. Vixen observes that Eric's in a good mood. He's arranged a marriage for Ronan. Vixen wants a Takaran blade. Eric will check with Benedict. Renard is already in bed. Eric makes amends for forcing Vixen to be with Ronan. Saturday, August 19 Tamaryn is busy getting the various children ready for breakfast. Felix assists by getting his kids ready. Jalana comes over to help. She looks thoughtful, and asks where her mother went. She's doing some work for Eric. What kind of work? State business. Jalana frowns. Felix turns his pin on. Jalana notices that he went blank. He denies this and runs away. Tamaryn asks what happened. He explains. She tells him this will be good practice, and leaves with the other children. Felix turns his pin off again, but won't look at Jalana. She repeats her question. Felix says he's not at liberty to say more. She'll have to ask Eric. She says she will, and she'll tell him Felix said to ask him. This makes Felix nervous, and he lags behind for a while before coming down to breakfast. Bleys and Random are eating heartily, as is Alexandra. Random tells Vixen that her carpet has been delivered to the brothel. Breakfast passes uneventfully, much to Felix's relief. Alexandra talks to Vixen. She's finished the protective device for Vixen. They discuss the brothel. Gavin goes to his meeting with Eric. Eric pulls out a packet of Trumps and slides them to Gavin. They're place Trumps. They're holding off on the rest until they learn more about Gavin. Eric wants him to walk the Pattern. Gavin wants to learn more about it. Bleys will give him the rudimentaries, and then he can walk it as soon as he's mended. They also need to figure out who he belongs to. He can talk to either Ona or Clarissa, but not both of them together, since they're watching Brand. Gavin realizes that Eric's mind is smaller than Ariana's, which was about half the size of his. He goes back to the infirmary. Angel didn't find the Pattern while she was hunting last night. The castle's haunted. Oh? She's seen ghosts. Cats can do that. There's a couple of women, and three or four males. She describes them, and Gavin recognizes four of them as Oberon, Nimue, Dalt and Deirdre, based on the portraits he saw earlier. Nimue seems to be a lot stronger than the others. Angel hissed and ran away when she saw them. He scratches her for a while. Felix asks if Tamaryn wants help with the kids. No, he can go look for the ring. She wants a big rock. As he heads for the front gate, passing the courtiers, Irene approaches him with a smile. He greets her. She curtsies and observes that they're heading in the same direction, so she takes his arm and asks how he's been. Busy dealing with the aftermath, helping Gerard with the fleet, etc. Irene's heard rumors that they've been busying themselves up and down the coast. It would be a good time for public relations. And where is he going? Running some errands outside the kingdom. Eregnor? Begma, actually. What takes him there? Errands. She doesn't hear from him often anymore. Well, they parted on awkward terms... True, but they are adults. She wishes him luck when they reach the door, and kisses him on the cheek. Felix says he'll see her around the court, and heads for the stables. He rides out into Shadow looking for his ring. He finds a silver band with knotwork all around. Then he gets a geode, cuts it open, and puts the ring inside. He doesn't get back to Amber until lunch. Vixen wants to go to the Pearl. Eric warns her to be careful. Vixen Trumps into town with Renard, then walks the rest of the way without incident. She checks out the carpet Random found. It's Persian. The place will be ready to open by that evening. Angel scratches something and gets yelled at by Alexandra, then picked up and cuddled. The cat sneezes in her face in gratitude. Vixen asks what the cat is doing there. Gavin is sending it to spy on them. Vixen draws her knife and advances on the cat. Alexandra asks what she's going to do to it. Kill it. The cat squirms. Alexandra begins coughing up blood and drops the cat. It runs away. Vixen Trumps back to the castle with Alexandra and asks if she has her Trumps. Alexandra manages to get hers out and hands them to Vixen. Vixen Trumps Suhuy, explains the situation, and comes through. Suhuy examines Alexandra, frowns, then puts his hand on her forehead and concentrates for a bit. She relaxes. He says it will take Alexandra's system a few days to work it out of her system. How did the assassin get to her this time? Vixen thinks, and mentions the cat sneezing. That would have done it. The assassin was probably the cat. Vixen goes back to the brothel, but the cat is gone. Vixen brings Renard up to the castle and leaves him with Viktoria. Then she Trumps Benedict and asks if Eric has spoken to him about the Takaran blade. She explains why she wants it. Benedict pulls her through and tells her to follow him. She jogs behind him. He leads her to his quarters, opens a cupboard, then does something that she can't quite follow, and another panel opens. He hands her two knives, a dagger, and a throwing star. He has it on good authority that she knows how to use them. Yes. They make her feel oogy, like they desire blood. She sheaths them and heads back to her quarters, to find a place to stash them. Ronan enters for his meeting with Eric, who's grinning from ear to ear. Ronan refuses to sit. Eric congratulates him on his betrothal. Is that all? He's meeting her this evening for dinner at six. Fine. Ronan leaves and goes looking for Iseult. She's with his troops. They're still busy helping clean up the city. Ronan calls three of his men over and asks how the cleanup is going. Have they noticed anything unusual? Other than the fact that half of the town is missing, no. The number of pamphlets are decreasing, and there's a new symbol. Ronan looks at the current one. It's Gavin's symbol. Do they know where they're coming from? Nope. Whoever it is, is getting more clever. Ronan comments, "Good for her," prompting his men to ask what he means by that. Never mind. They hear the sounds of a dog and cat fighting. Then Ronan hears Bruce yipping and heads in that direction. Bruce retreats, his nose all bloody and shredded. Ronan yells at Bruce for getting beaten by a cat. The cat licks her paws and saunters off. Bruce hangs his head. Ronan continues to harass Bruce, who growls. Ronan follows the cat, who stops. Iseult asks what he's doing. Ronan yells for Bruce. Bruce threatens to piss on his pillow. Iseult observes that he's having a rough morning. The cat looks smug. Iseult is amused, and asks if the cat beat his dog up. First, the dog isn't his, and second, yes. Ronan sends his men out to look for pamphlets. Should they report in to him regularly? No, he has an engagement that evening. Ariana awakens and finds breakfast waiting for her in the form of pomegranates. She opts not to try any. Jack emerges, begins eating one, and comments that they've just proved that she has Ariana's mind. Was there any doubt? Yes. She has two more questions. Which path must she take to find Oishin? Jack bows and says direct and to the point. He indicates the austere path. Ariana starts down the path. Jack plays with the pomegranate, then follows her. He comments that the path is too staid and traditional. She says that some might see it that way. And she sees it differently? Yes. He believes they both have two more questions. Actually, he's asked two already. After a bit, he says he must ask, why this path? Because that's where he said she'd find Oishin. He comments that she's very literal, so perhaps there's some faerie in her yet. Perhaps. They come upon a castle. It's very gothic, with gargoyles. She asks Jack what else must she do to free Oishin? Follow the path. There's always more than you bargain for, and she will have to deal with that to liberate him. She bids him farewell, and continues on. There's music, and she comes across a reception committee. They form a path for her to walk through. They are humanoid animals, brightly dressed. From her life as Loryn, she remembers that they are the commoners in the Unseelie Court. She enters the castle. There's a wide, main hallway, ornately decorated, that leads to a throne room at the end. That's where the music is coming from, as well. There are nobles in the hallway. They are faeries, but from the lower-class, so they're small, flying pixies, trolls, etc. They're all lined up and watching her. The only open path is to the throne room. Felix gets on his knees in front of Tamaryn, offering her the "big rock." Her eyes light up when she finds the ring, and she asks how long she has to decide. Er. He tells her of his encounter with Irene. She figures some announcement could be made at one of the confirmation ceremonies. She's still waiting for the four words. He blushes, then finally spits them out. She says yes. He says she doesn't have to make up her mind, yet. No, she's going to accept before he finds a way to weasel out of it. She's been talking to his mother, hasn't she? No, just listening. He wants a small ceremony, since he remembers what Foster's ceremony was like, and asks if they can elope. Nope, she wants it to be public. She's earned it. She reminds him of his uncle Hubert's shotgun wedding to the Duke of Karm's youngest daughter. She was 15. It occurs to Felix that once they're married, Ariana's children will be his siblings-in-law. Tamaryn says they'll just have to marry them off, like Crispin and Donal. Felix had been planning to give them the same space that Gerard gave him. Tamaryn says she won't have a small ceremony. Felix says he'll speak to Eric, shortly. Vixen enters the infirmary and puts the point of her dagger beneath Gavin's chin. She's heard that he's spying on her, and wants to know why. Originally, he wanted to know who was running the place. Angel's been acting independently since Laughter let that information slip. Vixen says a spell was cast through the cat, so if she finds the cat in the brothel again, she'll kill it. As she leaves, Angel enters. Vixen grabs for her, but Angel darts under the bed amazingly quickly. Vixen asks if he's sure the cat is his. Gavin summons her to him, then pats her and verifies that she's Angel. Vixen warns him to keep her on a short leash. Vixen heads for the brothel, alone. Torment warns of danger when she's in a crowd, just before someone tries to hamstring her left leg. She turns and finds five possible targets. Two sailors, a washer woman, a carpenter, and a blacksmith. The washer woman is most likely, so she gets a Takaran blade in her throat. Then Vixen lops her head off with Eric's sword. The corpse becomes mist and flows around her. She brings Pattern to mind, closes her eyes, and flails around her with Eric's sword. The crowd screams and runs Ronan sees the guard running to investigate the commotion and follows. He tries to tackle Vixen at the knees. She sees him coming and jumps up. He slides beneath her, then she lands on his back and jumps off. She runs off after the mist. Ronan notices a murmur in the back of his mind. He follows Vixen. She throws a star through the mist, which slows it down. She continues striking at it with Eric's sword. After flaring a bit, what's left goes at her face. She brings Pattern to mind again, with her blades crossed in front of her. Her nose tingles, then there's a thud. A headless body falls at her feet. She begins dismembering the body. It begins to burn. Once it's burning merrily, she retrieves her Takaran blades. The one she threw in the assassin's throat is missing. Ronan's men fetch water to put out the body, which flaming like gasoline. Vixen won't let them near the body. It's her kill, and she wants to gloat. She suggests to Ronan that his men make themselves useful, by finding her knife. Ronan has no sympathy for her. Ronan wants to bring her back to the castle, just so the populace feels better. They argue for a while, until the body's pretty cooked, then Vixen agrees to walk back to the castle with Ronan. In the Unseelie throne room are the highest of the high of the Unseelie nobles. There is a large throne with a man in regal attire sitting on it. He is tall and dark. There is also a man in the shadows on his knees next to the throne. The King seems to be waiting. Ariana heads down a passage to the left. They keep watching in the direction she went. She finds some doorways that lead into the castle. At the end of one hall, there's a staircase, and the hall turns. There's another staircase at the end of it. She goes to the far stair and climbs up it. At the top is another hallway with several doors, then the hall turns. The hall is lined with mirrors with curtains on either side. Ariana covers the mirrors before walking in front of them, and tries opening one of the doors. It opens onto the orchestra balcony. She walks out onto the balcony and looks down. The figure in the shadows is kneeling, bound, blindfolded and gagged. His hair is red. She glides down to the ground and walks along the side towards the figure. When she gets within five feet of the figure, the King orders her to stop. She is not allowed to approach the prisoner until she's agreed. To what? The King motions a man with a parchment over to her. It's an agreement that she will marry the Unseelie King. This will end the war, and the prisoners will be released. Will she be allowed to pursue her other tasks? Once she produces an heir. She presents him with Eric's note. He laughs and says they have too much land as it is. She wants to be allowed to grant Eric's request. Once the war is over, there will be no impediments. And he is the King? He has that role. She agrees. They have her sign and she is taken away. Gavin asks Angel how her morning went. She fought with a big dog. She hasn't been to the brothel since yesterday. She got her paws all icky, so she didn't go back. He suggests she avoid Vixen for a while. Well, duh. Gavin goes to lunch, which is sparsely attended. He begins making sketches of the castle layout. A cold breeze blows through the infirmary, then his pencil slides out of his hand, followed by the cup with the other pencils. It floats out of his reach. He goes into a nearby sitting room and sits down. The pencils begin writing "Notice me" over and over on the walls in the hall, then the pencils are dropped at his feet. A page walks in, looks horrified, and leaves. Flora enters a short time later and looks around, then asks if he felt the need to express himself. Nope, it wasn't him. Who did it, then? He didn't get a good look at them. Flora finds it hard to believe that he just sat and watched, and obviously thinks that he's lying through his teeth. She escorts him to the infirmary without touching him. Ten minutes later, a guard stations himself out of the door. Gavin asks one of the nurses how Nimue's doing, since he noticed that she looked ill. He learns that she's dead. Eric hasn't announced any details about how she died. Servants and sew Ariana into a dress and cut her hair into a different style. Jack makes his appearance. He chose a different path. The scenery was better. He doesn't understand why she's marrying to free her husband, when it means she will lose him. At least he'll be alive. Humans are too preoccupied with death. She's not preoccupied with hers. But others? Yes. They'll be reborn. True, but the waiting is difficult. She asks what his interest is in this. He's more of an orchestrator. Who is he really? Jack of the Willows. A bizarre Unseelie faerie that even the Unseelie Court doesn't trust. He's extremely devious and doesn't follow the Unseelie morality, and he's impossible to kill. She supposes she should be flattered that he's taken such an interest in her. His name means something to her? She remembers. That's why she was chosen. Did he have something to with it? He laid the spell. He also orchestrated the attack on Nimue, at Brand's request. He didn't understand why, though, since he told Brand it wouldn't kill her. Ariana says it did. Jack implies there's more going on there than meets the eye. He won't stay for the wedding, but he'll be seeing her later. Felix tells Eric that he's going to get married. Eric gives him a hard time about it, saying that it's about time he did right by that woman. Felix gets upset and storms out. Ronan brings Vixen to Benedict. She goes to see Eric. Ronan goes to Caledon to get stuff for his wedding. Vixen tells Eric about killing the assassin, and that Leto and Lucretia are shacking up. Eric says he'll bring Leto back to the castle. Eric Trumps Ronan at six and pulls him through. Ronan cleans up, with Eric's help. Then Eric brings him to a private dining room. Meyrem stands and curtsies. She's 5'7" tall, curvy, with black, curly hair and gray eyes. Her cheekbones are high and her features a bit pointed, but they work well on her. It gives her a delicately sculpted appearance. Her parents are there, too, along with Erol, their oldest son, Eric, Flora, Random and Bill Roth. Duke Karm simply inclines his head to Ronan. Ronan does the same. Ronan says his son has done quite well in the guard. Everyone is seated. Ronan still hears a whisper in the back of his mind. Flora gets the small talk going. Politics are discussed, and how the seditious rebellion will be quelled. Flora brings up how Gavin vandalized the wall, of course. The meal is fairly formal and boring. The food is Scottish, at least. Meyrem seems to be looking Ronan over. The details of the wedding are discussed. They'll be married by the Priest of the Unicorn in three months. Ronan keeps thinking about Iseult chucking people out windows. Ronan will get a small estate on the outskirts of the city as part of Meyrem's dowry. Eric comments this will leave the children plenty of room to run around. At the end of the meal, the happy couple is left alone at one end of the room. Meyrem asks Ronan to tell her something about himself. He says he only recently became acquainted with Amber. Well, they really are rushing him through the system, aren't they? You could say that, yes. He wasn't planning to get married so soon? No, he has other things to do. Find Nicholas, for one. Then he should be happy to have a wife watching his home while he's gone. Ronan mentions that he's not comfortable with all this ceremony. She says he can always be himself at home. He will, count on it. She blushes. He asks about her house. She tells him that Karm came to Amber when Oberon did. He mentions that he knows her brother. She says she's a lot like him, actually, although she has to behave herself while she's in public. Gavin asks the guard what his orders are. To make sure that Gavin isn't accosted. Right. The guard is lying through his teeth. Gavin gets ready to go down to dinner. A red-headed woman comes in with a tray. She's brought dinner for them. Her name is Clarissa, and he can't read her at all. She mentions that he's looking for his parents. Yep. She begins going through her Trumps and comparing them to his face. After some time, she guesses he's either Quin or Gregor's, and hands him the Trumps, suggesting that he feel free to try them. She'd suggest trying Quin's first. Gavin Trumps Quin. Quin is 5'11" tall, with black hair and blue eyes. He's reclining, but he shifts his weight when he notices Gavin is also reclining. He asks what Gavin wants. Clarissa said he might Gavin's father. Lovely, so he's going to bother them? No, just him and Gregor. Quin laughs. He seems amused that Clarissa suggested trying Gregor. He's afraid that Gavin's father is most likely to be him, in that case. Where is Gavin from? They called it Earth. Quin waves dismissively and says the main Shadow of that name was destroyed a while ago. He wants more details. Gavin mentions being found in Chicago, Ohio, in the Confederate States of America. The circumstances under which he was found were rather elaborate. Quin doesn't remember wenching any smart women. Well, he can try Gregor, then. Quin certainly won't stop him, although it's something he'd like to see. Gavin Trumps Gregor. He's taller than Quin, with longer black hair and brighter blue eyes. Gavin explains why he's calling. Gregor says it isn't likely that he's Gavin's father. He's rather curt. He seems to be experimenting with something. He asks if Gavin was born in Avalon. No Then he's not Gregor's. Felix takes Tamaryn to dinner in a 1940's type Shadow. Tamaryn seems very happy. Felix tells her that he's talked to Eric. Tamaryn doesn't think Eric's the one who sent Irene after him. Maybe it's Irene's revenge for being jilted. They spend the night dancing. Vixen eats dinner with Renard in the dining room. Foster is there with both Felix's and Ariana's kids. Oscar Trumps Vixen and says that Alexandra is back and wants to speak to her. Vixen comes through and gives Renard to Oscar. When she walks into the room where Alexandra is, everyone yells "Surprise!" Vixen goes into a battle crouch and draws her sword. Alexandra is lying on the couch and says she heard Vixen got him. Yep. How is Alexandra feeling? She'll live. There's lot of tidbits Vixen likes at the party. She shows off Renard, and a good time is had by all. Ronan eventually makes it back to camp, and finds someone in his tent when he gets there. Iseult says, "Hello, handsome." She turns the lamp up just enough to reveal that she's naked, then she pulls him in. He's says this is a really bad idea. Her fingers take advantage of the fact that he's wearing a kilt. He protests, then orders her to stop. She points out that she hasn't joined his guard yet. Once she joins in the morning, they won't be able to do this. But he's engaged. So, he's not married yet. She removes his kilt. His mind wars with his body. He tells her that he's flattered, and she's brightened his day, but she's his niece. She leans back and says this has never happened before. They're only second cousins. He puts his kilt back on. Fine, but she's not leaving while she's warm and comfortable. The whispering in Ronan's mind comes back quite loudly. It clarifies when he concentrates on it, but not enough to make anything out. Ronan goes for a walk. Ariana is brought into a banquet hall. The Unseelie nobility is standing there, waiting. At the front of the hall is an archway with ivy and flowers. The King is standing beneath it, along with a minister. Behind the trellis, still kneeling and bound, is Lucien. The King smiles slightly and nods at Ariana. She nods in return, but does not smile. They face the minister. He rambles on for a bit about joining the two realms, etc. Then he takes each of their hands and pulls out an open circlet of cold iron. Ariana doesn't like this at all. They are bound, then the minister says it's time to drop the charade, since the messenger's arrived. Suddenly, Ariana realizes that she's bound to Jack with a vine, and they're standing in the middle of an empty field. The messenger says he'll take her to the Seelie Court, now that she's tilted the war in their favor. Jack disappears. Ariana is brought to the Seelie Court. Auberon and Lucien are there. Auberon explains that they ceded control of most of Faerie to the Unseelie Court in exchange for her. The document she signed was basically confirming she was a hostage, and was accompanied by her hair as proof. Ariana doesn't understand why they traded so much to get her back, since they know that she isn't truly Loryn. She asks what else happened. Um... Did the land the Unseelie Court captured include the crypts? Yes. Her body is now in Chaos. Ariana comments that she's halfway there. Lucien suggests getting some more people before they go to Chaos. The borders should be open, at least. He brings Ariana back to their quarters in town. Ariana says the children are with Tamaryn. Lucien asks why she came to Faerie. She says she was tricked. Lucien seems relieved. She asks why he thought she came there. He wasn't sure. Where was he? Negotiating with the courts. She says the message she gave him was returned, unopened. She needs to have more faith in him. She says that even he can be captured, like when Sand caught him that one time. He wasn't facing anyone in Sand's league. She argues that Brand was allied with the Unseelie Court, and it seems likely Chaos was as well. That's where her body wound up, after all. Lucien thinks her pregnancy may not be as secret as they had thought. Given that Brand planned it, no. Lucien comments that at least she doesn't have to worry about having the baby anymore. She slaps him and stalks off. Lucien figures he deserved that. Iseult is still in Ronan's tent when he gets back. Is he ready to treat her like a real woman? If it wasn't for the fact that he just got engaged... She tells him to do what he wants, he knows what she wants. But she's family. Ronan bitches about the sad lot that is his life. He's marrying a woman he doesn't love in a faith he doesn't believe in. So, he's monotheistic? Well, they are too. His religion isn't the problem. He's also hearing voices. When did that start? This afternoon. She turns him on his back and starts rubbing his shoulders and back. She suggests that he talk to one of the red-heads if it persists. Has he touched any of the family? Not that he recalls. Pissed off any faeries? They had them in his Shadow. That could be it, then. He doesn't get much sleep, but he doesn't give in, either. Ronan gives Iseult some of the gifts he brought back from Caledon for his wedding, namely a piece of jewelry and a length of tartan. Gavin discusses his two calls with Clarissa. She thinks Quin is definitely Gavin's father, based on his reaction. Gavin sends Vixen a note saying that he's confident Angel wasn't involved in the attack on Alexandra. Quotables: "Men in skirts, and the women who love them." -- Sean, about Felix "I don't want (Ronan) there while I throw a bomb through Lucretia's window." -- Vixen to the group at large "Arranged marriages...I don't like them for me, but I could grow to like them once I'm married." -- Felix to the group at large "Jalana's Ariana's daughter, she can probably read my every thought. There are farm animals that can probably read my every thought." -- Felix to Tamaryn "You can't even put that in as a quote, since it would be too much like reality. I mean Amber." -- Jen to the group at large "I have Alexandra here, she's coughing up blood. I'm concerned." -- Vixen to Suhuy "I am going to beat up the cat to prove I'm more of a man than my dog." -- Kris, speaking for Ronan, to Iseult "If (Gavin) attempts to read my mind, he's going to find one big mass of confusion." -- Vixen to GM "It's Benedict's knife." -- Vixen "Maybe you shouldn't have lost it, then." -- Ronan "They're arranging the marriage in about three months." -- GM "I only have three months in which to die." -- Ronan