you can throw me if you want

[truthwright]

It turns out that there was really not much point to making a schedule. Kas and Helen visit the witch clan whenever Helen feels like it, and stay as long as she wants, and go when she wants to be somewhere else, and it all adds up to plenty more time spent with the clan than away.

After the aquarium jaunt with Ranata, it's a little more than a month before they visit the clan again.

Comments

[carillons]

Helen hugs Kalavar.

[alicornucopia]

"Come along," Ranata murmurs to Helen, and she leads her away to look for Rinda. Castarilan splits off to cover more ground.

[carillons]

Kalavar turns into a dark red dragon with bright orange spines, and climbs up onto Helen's shoulder, and preens Helen's hair with her nose and her bright orange claws.

[alicornucopia]

Rinda takes longer to find than the queen did, but eventually she's located, and brought to see Kas.

"Hmm, don't know," she says, after looking him over, tossing some celery seed onto him and muttering a verse, and looking him over some more.

[carillons]

Helen sniffles a bit.

[alicornucopia]

"Deep curse, very fast, very permanent," says Rinda, mostly to Ranata. "Might be able to unravel it with the sacrifice they used but they'll have burnt it, yes?"

"Probably," says Ranata softly.

[carillons]

Kalavar curls her tail around Helen's arm and arches her wing around Helen's head.

[alicornucopia]

Ranata puts her hand on Helen's other shoulder. Castarilan hums in patterns around girl and daemon both. "Is it worth finding a second opinion?"

"Oh, if you must, call the allied clans, ask them what their cursebreakers say, but I think they'll tell you the same," says Rinda, shaking her head.

[carillons]

Kalavar becomes a viscacha and flumps into Helen's arms, and Helen hugs her and cries into her fluff, leaning on Ranata.

[alicornucopia]

"I'm so sorry," Ranata murmurs to Helen.

Rinda makes an apologetic gesture and departs.

[carillons]

Kalavar buzzes bee-shaped up to Castarilan, and Helen hugs Ranata and cries on her instead.

[alicornucopia]

Prolonged hugs ensue.

[carillons]

A lot of hug.

And a lot of crying.

And then... Helen doesn't know what then.

Her tummy grumbles. Well, that's a suggestion.

[alicornucopia]

"Let's go to Charlie's house," murmurs Ranata, "or - no - should stay on clan grounds - let's get some food into you, at any rate."

The clan grounds are culinarily self-sustaining, and presently they have scared up some chicken and vegetables.

[carillons]

Helen eats the chicken and also the vegetables, and she leans on Ranata, and she shivers. Kalavar turns into a mouse and perches on her foot.

[alicornucopia]

"It'll be okay," Castarilan tells Kalavar.

[carillons]

"We're scared," says Kalavar.

[alicornucopia]

Long hummingbird beaks are not very good for nuzzling, but Castarilan does his best to be comforting anyway. "You'll be fine. We'll take care of you."

[carillons]

"Will Kas be fine?" cries Kalavar, huddling mousily against Castarilan.

[alicornucopia]

"Oh, sweetie," says Ranata. "We'll try the other clans' cursebreakers. Rinda doesn't know everything."

[carillons]

Helen sniffles and hugs Ranata.

[alicornucopia]

Hugs.

"I can call Charlie and he can come here," she offers.

[carillons]

She nods between sniffles.

[alicornucopia]

Ranata has a phone; she calls Charlie.

"He'll be here in an hour," she reports.

[carillons]

Helen nods again and closes her eyes.