| Logs |
2020 May 08
| Goblin Town |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
 |
| Realms: Goblin Town Logs |
I Reach Out For The Stars
Cinnamon flips through her notes, then nods once and glances up again at everyone present, "Correct me if I say something wrong, okay? So... the samples that Liam got -- we're now assuming they're not from the assassin, right? We're assuming that's more from the... either the weapon or the wound, right?" She adds, "As in: we're not looking for black, sulphurous blood, for example?"
The vampire listens, nodding as Cinnamon goes over her notes. "I think it is Liam, yes. I don't think we're looking for sulphurous ichor, no."
Cinnamon nods, "Got it. Okay, and we're assuming now that this means the assassin had to know some type of chemistry or whatnot... and had to be in Europe long ago when the nettle was first being stamped out, right?" She hesitates, reviewing her notes again... then glances up and adds, "So are we guessing this is or is not connected to Branigan's murder, too?"
Elias thinks a moment, "I would say we should factor Branigan's murder in."
Cinnamon nods and makes a note of that, then looks curiously at Elias, "Also... what language was Dmitry speaking, please? Vanya said it was, uhh..." she reads from her notes, "ah, here: 'part Bulgarian and part Church Slavonic and even part Czech.'" She looks up again, "Is that what you heard too?"
Thorn nods, "Even if he wasn't outright murdered," he says, "and assuming it was an accident, the 'reveal' faction has taken advantage of it. If nothing else, it was -- had to have been -- a catalyst." Cinnamon nods again to Thorn, her expression a little grim. She's really not happy at two kind, ancient beings being murdered like this!
Elias says, "It sounds like so many of them because it's an extremely old dialect of Bulgarian. Back when the languages had much more in common. Like French and Spanish deriving from Latin."
Cinnamon nods, a bit of excitement starting to light up in her again, "Okay! Okay, in that case, Elias... would knowing a really old language like that maybe mean... that Dmitry is supernatural?! I mean, it's not a generally known tongue any more, is it?"
Thorn frowns. "Curious that a modern mortal was speaking it, then...."
Cinnamon nods and beams at Thorn, "That's what I was wondering too!"
Elias thinks, rubbing his chin in an almost stereotypical way before he speaks, "Either supernatural in some way or raised in a very isolated way. There are pockets of places in North America that are still speaking Cornish and Scottish dialects."
Thorn muses, "He was a mercenary with modern arms. So he was possibly raised in a community that spoke that dialect. And he probably developed contacts with the supernatural world while there. Would it be hard to find such communities?"
Cinnamon grins excitedly, "Awesome! OK, I'll add that to my list of questions for Dmitry, then!" She scribbles hastily, then thoughtfully taps her pencil against her lips as she reads... then looks up again, "Also, wou- oh! Good question, Thorn!"
Elias nods thoughtfully, "It wouldn't be impossible. You'd have to work through those of us that lived in the Slavic regions, perhaps." He smiles self-deprecatingly, "I am afraid that I will not be much use there. I myself have been here for centuries."
Cinnamon nods thoughtfully at Elias' answer, then asks, "This one's a just in case question, please, Elias, since it's likely you know John at the bank better than anyone else here... but if we went to him and asked if anyone had made a large withdrawal to the mercenary company... would he tell us? Or do you think he'd decline due to confidentiality issues?" She adds in explanation, "I don't know how closely the supernatural community sticks to real-world laws and stuff, after all, you know?"
Elias says, "John would keep confidentiality. Else how would anyone be able to trust him? He tries to be neutral, though he has been known to cut off business with people that went beyond the pale."
Cinnamon sighs and nods, "Understandable... even if it makes things a bit harder for us. Though honestly, I can't see the assassins as being stupid enough to make a direct deposit like that!" She shakes her head with a wry grin, then adds, "Well, let's not mention it to John until we have some real proof. Okay! So, let's see what we have." Flipping back and forth between the pages of her journal, she muses aloud, "We've got... Marcus, Nasteexo, Aoi, Jalil, Qadan, and Killa in the 'reveal' faction... and we have evidence against Moustapha. However... we're pretty sure neither Marcus (since it's his father & home trod that were attacked), Nasteexo (since violent murder really doesn't seem to fit their portfolio), nor Killa (since he's got all the subtlety of roadkill) are implicated."
Cinnamon continues, "Also, they have to be or have access to Europe some time ago, and be alchemical. That leaves... one or more of the following: Aoi, Jalil, Qadan... and Killian, since Branigan's murder potentially leads to a council seat for Killian." She considers for a moment, then slowly adds, "Though... Aoi is not European. Her status as a possible chemist is... unknown, leaning towards dubious. I'm guessing she's not one of the conspirators also because she just feels too... too civilized, maybe, to dirty her hands that way, if that makes sense? Like, neatly assassinating one person? Maybe. Messily wiping out an entire trod? No -- that would feel like something she'd consider beneath her... at least to me? What do you all think?"
Thorn nods to Cinnamon, thinking furiously. "We need to talk to Dmitry," he says. "Right now, he's our link to Moustapha, if there is one. And we should try to speak with Jarek as well." Then he adds, "I'd believe that just about everyone on the Council, and anyone with any idea of power has caches of money, valuables, even equipment and easily liquidated assets. They might not have even needed to think about approaching John." He taps his chin. "We could try introducing ourselves to Slavic, uh, undead... but I get the feeling that we're still missing something here. Maybe we should talk to Dmitry sooner rather than later."
Elias chuckles at Thorn's comment about Slavic undead, seeing as how Elias himself fits that category, "I have some species-kin that are still tied closely to their home countries. I would not recommend speaking with most of them, however. Try Jarek. As for Aoi, you are right. She is quite civilized. She comes from an ancient culture and was considered of the highest divinity there."
Cinnamon nods thoughtfully, "Okay then! So of Kalil, Killian, Qadan, and Moustapha, we know only Killian is European... though we have no idea where Moustapha's actually from. We also don't know if any of them are chemists, though..." she glances at Shane, "is that sort of thing something a sidhe might research? Do you know?" She thoughtfully adds, "Actually... Mongolia shares a border, and a lot of culture, with China -- and alchemy was a big deal there, as I recall?" She sighs consideringly, then muses, "Killian is European, definitely. Also, as a sidhe, he could be the weather nudger, though we don't have any proof of either that or the chemistry. On the other hand, it's a real good bet he's involved for the simple reason that he's the only real European, and two of the murders were awfully convenient for him!"
Elias is still listening and nodding, "I think you're right that you need to speak to Dmitry again. Does he actually speak English?"
Cinnamon nods, then adds, "So... at this point I'm going to tentatively state that the 'murder crew' consists of Moustapha (definitely) as the 'face man' who can nudge emotions; Killian (probably) as the nettle provider and possible rain creator; and ma-aaybe then either Qadan or Jalil -- someone's got to provide money (though that could be Killian), and be the person on the council who'll nominate Killian, after all, right?
"Though... it's possible the chemist/money additions are only recently arrived... as in, Liam's death happened only about a month ago, and the mercenaries would be expensive! Which... hmm. Which means Killian could possibly have murdered Branigan all on his own (needing only the nettle and the weather nudge, which says he did them both)... but then took this long to figure out Moustapha's more subtle plan, and step up to offer a means of getting rid of the strongest member of the 'hide' faction: Liam." She sighs a bit unhappily, looking up at everyone else, "How does that sound? ...aside from very ugly?"
Shane's brows draw together and he says, "Cinnamon, Branigan wasn't poisoned. He fell and broke his back and his neck."
Cinnamon nods to Shane, "Right, that's what we know right now. But as you yourself said, isn't it kind of suspicious that someone that'd been walking those hills for centuries should stumble and fall? And if we're looking for a reason for him to have fallen... a poison from an extinct plant would probably not be something they're looking for, right?"
Shane shrugs and says, "I suppose. Quinn and Saoirse seemed to think it was more likely to be a shove or, well, something more violent. But it doesn't hurt to research. If nothing else, we could go to the trod and ask more questions. I mean, none of us are sidhe. Planes won't give us problems."
Cinnamon nods slowly, "True... or... hmm." She glances curiously at Elias, "Do you know anything about scrying, Elias? Like... if you can scry for a particular thing instead of, say, the entire view of what happened?"
Elias says, "I know the theory, but it is not a talent I possess. For that, you would want a norn or an oracle. Some of the sidhe supposedly have the knack, but none that I know of particularly."
Cinnamon nods excitedly, "Awesome! Ok, we can ask that at the Trod of the Elm, when we go visit Dmitry!"
Elias rubs his chin again and says, "You know, children, that Africa and southern Europe actually have some quite close ties not so many centuries ago. There are still influences there. Such as The Alhambra..."
Cinnamon blinks puzzledly at Elias... and then her eyes widen, "Oh my gosh -- Jalil! That -- that means he could be the European!" Thinking furiously, a moment later she adds, "Alchemy too -- that was a big deal in Spain as well, wasn't it? And Moustapha works for him, and there's a lot of money in the Middle East-" She goes silent then, her expression falling... and a moment later she murmurs sadly, "Oh, Jalil... I really hope Moustapha's taking advantage of you, and it's not actually you! I'm going to be so disappointed in you if not... 'cause I was rather touched by your kindness in actually writing me a letter to sympathize about Killa being such a jerk!" She sighs, morosely making the appropriate notes in her journal, regardless.
Cinnamon reviews, then sighs gustily as she looks up at everyone else, "Well, those are all my questions and thoughts. Anybody got any more, or shall we head off for the trod?" Wryly she adds, "I have to pack first -- and this time I'm taking an extra pair of jeans as well as extra shirts!"
Thorn nods, "I need to pack as well. I don't think they'll mind us coming by again, especially to try to talk to Dmitry." He's... reasonably sure Jaeger hasn't had the man killed.
Josie listens and nods in several places. At the last question, she says, "I'm going with you. Someone's trying to hurt you and they've seen that Thorn was with you... you need extra muscle."
Cinnamon grins affectionately at Josie, "We wouldn't dream of trying to stop you, Jo! But... I suspect a 7' wolf isn't going to fit in the car, right?"
Josie smiles, "Don't worry. I have a human form, after all. I'll go home, and change... in both ways, and meet you back... where?" Cinnamon glances inquiringly at Shane.
Shane thinks, "It'll probably take us an hour to get packed and ready. And I'm sure they'll not mind. And Thorn knows how to find the entrance. Let's meet at the entrance of the street." After that, people go their separate ways to get ready. When Thorn and Cinnamon arrive, they see Shane and Josie in street clothes and -- in Josie's case -- human form. She's built rather stockily and has dark hair with mahogany skin. Her clothes are just as practical as they are on her lupine form. Shane has a soft-sided rifle case slung over his shoulder and his hair braided, "Everyone ready?"
Cinnamon beams and waves, her bag still clutched firmly to her front despite the strap being over her shoulder as well -- she's learned not to assume she's safe on Coblyn Street! "Hi, everyone!" She's pattering along quickly next to the longer-strided Thorn, and continues hastily towards the Boston streets as she calls over her shoulder, "Let's go! This is so exciting!" Josie shakes her head and chuckles at Cinnamon's enthusiasm.
Perhaps it's Cinnamon's enthusiasm or perhaps it's because the other person is distractedly looking at the building on the Coblyn side of the main street, but the two women nearly trip over one another. The distracted-looking person has the features of someone that is at least half Asian and medium-length black hair that's in a stubby ponytail at the crown of her head. She's perhaps 5'4" and slim in the way that is likely just genetics. Distressed jeans and heavy black boots are topped by a camouflage army jacket that's enormous on her. It looks like it has all the original patches and there are some that are obviously new. There are also several pins on the front and more on the strap of the messenger bag she wears slung over her back. One delicate nostril has a thin gold ring through it.
Cinnamon squeaks startledly, almost falling over her own feet as she tries not to plow into the poor woman, "Eek! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!" As she straightens and locks eyes with the other young woman, she blinks confusedly, "I... know you...?" Then she shakes her head slowly once, "But... have we met?" Thorn himself almost trips over Cinnamon as he emerges from the Boston side of the street. He blinks, looking between Cinnamon and the other person, and frowns when Cinnamon says she knows the woman.
The other young woman -- she really looks like she can't be much over 20 -- blinks in the same way and says, "Mmmmaybe... I mean, I feel like we have but..." She blinks several time in rapid succession and then says carefully, as if she learned it phonetically, "Ai chi yw'r ddraig?"
Cinnamon looks startled, "You're... Welsh?!" Her eyes narrow in thought -- and a heartbeat later she brightens, "You're supernatural?" She adds apologetically, "Sorry, I don't speak Welsh... but I listened to some on youtube so I'd know what it sounded like!" She grins excitedly, then adds, "So what are you, then?"
The woman in the army jacket blinks, "Well, half.... ish Welsh. But... supernatural? Uhm... not me really, but...." She looks at the four people there. Of them all, Shane is the only one that looks like he might not be fully human, "Uhhh... it's sort of a pass-phrase my dad and granddad taught me." Her accent isn't Welsh. It's decidedly midwestern American -- the sort of accent that Americans think of as being no accent. She shakes her head, "Sorry. I'm Tanwen. I'm looking for someone." She licks her lips and says, "I'm... just human." She rolls her eyes at herself, "Sorry. I didn't mean to bother you all..."
Cinnamon blinks puzzledly at... Tanwen? "Er, no problem, but... why do I feel like I know you?!" She considers a moment, then brightens again, "Ah! Did you feel a call too?"
Shane has been watching Tanwen quite closely, wearing his 'listening' face. He reaches out, not quite touching Tanwen's shoulder, "Wait. That word you said. The last one in Welsh... was that dragon?"
Cinnamon turns to blink at Shane -- then wheels around excitedly to ask Tanwen, "Oh, wow! Are you related to a dragon too?!"
Tanwen's already-large eyes are getting even larger as she looks around at the four strangers. Perhaps surprisingly, her gaze actually rests longest on Josie before coming back to Cinnamon, "No! I mean..." She sighs and rolls her eyes at herself, "OK. My folks, they told me we're kinda linked to this genetic line. Dragons. I always thought it was, y'know, a euphemism or something. So, you're saying dragons are..."
Cinnamon's eyes widen again, "You... oh, wow!" Bouncing with excitement, she happily adds, "Another dragon -- how awesome is that?!"
Tanwen says, "Whoa! No! Nonono! I'm not a dragon! I'm just this chick whose family has always... ugh. OK. Look. My folks always told me that we're linked to this dragon's family. O'Donnelly or Conal or something. And just... not long ago, really -- I started getting itchy feet. Like literally, if I wasn't moving, my feet itched. And Dad said that he thought something might have happened and I needed to go where my feet led and that's... here? I mean, it feels like I'm supposed to be..." she waves her hand vaguely toward the side of the street where Coblyn is, "somewhere over there, but there's nothing there. I mean, it's just these buildings."
Cinnamon's eyes widen again, "Y-you... your family knew Liam?!" Shockingly (to her), she can feel tears welling up -- this is almost like a closer connection to her unknown relative! She smiles shakily, rubbing the back of one hand over her eyes before she adds, "It is so nice to meet you, Ta- er, wait." She glances around at the others, "Should we, um... go someplace quieter, maybe?"
Shane says, "I thought we were going to... Athala's place?"
Cinnamon beams at the girl as she offers a hand, "I'm Cinnamon O'Donnelly! Liam was my many-greats grandfather, and, um... how would you like to go for a drive, please, while we talk?"
Tanwen takes Cinnamon's hand and actually looks relieved. She looks around at the rest of the people, "You got some kinda big SUV or somethin'? Or are you lot not all together..."
Cinnamon adds, "Oh! Shane, is that okay? I mean, maybe she can hang out at a Starbucks while we're, um... visiting Athala?" She laughs, glancing back at Tanwen, "It'll be possibly boring for you there -- no internet!"
Tanwen laughs, "That obvious I'm a computer geek?" Shane nods, "We can use the SUV." He says that as if there's a small collection of vehicles for use. "We'll drop her off at the town close by Athala's place."
Cinnamon blinks at Tanwen, her eyes widening again, "You are?! Oh my gosh -- are you a hacker too maybe?!"
Tanwen flushes and clears her throat, "That would be illegal."
Cinnamon laughs again, feeling almost effervescent, "Oh my gosh, you are totally the answer to my prayers!" She laughs, tugging Tanwen along with her, "Come on! This is Josie and that's Thorn and that's Shane -- oh! And you'll need an alias too!"
Tanwen holds up both hands, "Whoawhoawhoa! Slow down. You want me to take a ride with four strangers, even if one of them seems awfully familiar. And now you're talking about aliases..."
Cinnamon grins ruefully, "I'm sorry -- I know it seems like a lot all at once! Same thing happened to me, honestly. So, want to come or stay?"
Thorn is still kind of stunned at how fast this is going. He's managed to focus on one thought when more information comes through. Finally, he gets the wherewithal to say, "Whoa, wait, CInnamon? I think she's kind of overwhelmed." [As am I!] "We have some time before we have to go to Athala's. Why don't we get lunch and talk things out, and then we can decide where to go?"
Cinnamon glances inquiringly at Shane and Josie, "Sound good to you too?"
Shane and Josie look at one another and there's a sort of silent conversation consisting mostly of eyebrow position and head tilts. Finally Shane says, "Yeah. Lunch. Someplace like Subway." He hopes they all understand that as 'not on Coblyn.'
Cinnamon nods cheerfully and whips out her cellphone, searching for a nearby sandwich place. There's got to be one nearby! As she does so, she adds to Tanwen, "Got any dietary restrictions, or are sandwiches okay?"
Tanwen says, "Nah. I'm a carnivore but..." The closest Subway is actually in easy walking distance. She's started moving, apparently OK with going along with these four strangers.
Cinnamon giggles at Tanwen's comment, "Carnivore? Hopefully not obligate!" She beams as she adds, "So, share more, please, about the dragon link?"
Shane and Josie have moved not quite like they're flanking, but definitely both within a long lunge's distance of Tanwen. The Asian girl with the giant coat says, "I don't know a lot about it. They always talked, like, religious-like about it. We're linked to them... family name... blahblahblah... always thought it was a bunch of bullshit, but then..."
Cinnamon is trotting along next to Tanwen, nodding and listening. She curiously asks, "So... your family is related to Liam, then? Is that it?" Then she frowns puzzledly, "Wait, no -- that can't be it. You had a call, you said, right?"
Tanwen shakes her head, "Not on the phone. No, not related. Like... ugh... they talked about it like you'd read in fantasy books. Hereditary servitors or something."
Cinnamon gasps startledly, momentarily stopping in her tracks, "Ohmygosh, really?! Oh, wow, that is so awesome!" Hastily trotting after Tanwen again, she considers for a moment, then carefully adds, "Um... do you think it's awesome, though? Or is it... like, just a bother?"
Tanwen shrugs, "I mostly think it's weird as fuck. I mean, you go along for twenty-two years just being this geeky chick and then suddenly you're a dragon's hereditary servitor? I mean, what even is that?" Shane actually chuckles at that.
Cinnamon grins shyly and nods, "I know, right? So, um... will it bother you if I tell you I'm the dragon?" Apologetically she adds, "I know I'm not, um, very... dramatic looking -- sorry!" Over her shoulder to Shane and Josie, she curiously asks, "Was Liam dramatic? I mean, when he wanted to be?"
Shane says, "Liam was one of the most chill people I've ever met... right up until something called for him not to be. Then he wasn't violent, he was just intense."
Cinnamon nods once... then sighs internally as she looks forward again. She hopes someday she'll maybe feel less like she's stumbling around in emergencies -- and a bit more like she actually knows what to do! She smiles hesitantly at Tanwen, "So... yeah. Just me."
Tanwen looks Cinnamon up and down with one brow arched, "Who gives a damn about dramatic looking..." As she's moved with them, the back of Tan's hair is shown to be dyed scarlet and cut into something like scales.
Cinnamon blinks... then grins shyly at Tanwen, "...yeah! Good point!" She blinks again when Tan shifts enough that the shorter woman spots the hair dye, "Oh, wow, gorgeous hair!"
Thorn listens closely to the conversation. He's fascinated, of course -- dragons had hereditary, um... servitors? Assistants? That might go over better, yes -- hereditary assistants? And they were magically bound. He deeply hopes that Tanwen is not only okay with being Cinnamon's bound assistant but (more importantly) totally on board.
The walk to the Subway is easy and Tan stays quiet as they order food. But she does get a lot of meat and not a lot of veggies on hers. Once the five of them have found an out-of-the-way spot to sit and talk, the story comes out a little better. Tan's family are Welsh mostly, except that two of her paternal line married Asian women after two different wars. She's been raised on the stories of the dragons as well as stories of Vietnamese and Japanese mythology. She finally pulls out her computer and looks something up using the shop's wifi, "Hereditary servitors of the line of Liam... no one could quite remember the name." Then, a few months ago, she'd started feeling this pull to travel. It had pulled her one direction at first, but then moved so that it was pulling her toward Boston. The longer she talks, the more animated Tan gets and admits that as a kid she'd read a lot of fantasy and always got irritated that the dragons were usually the bad guys.
Cinnamon nods and beams as she eats her sandwich and listens... and laughs in agreement -- she too had thought dragons were so cool! Surely they couldn't all be evil! It boils down to Tan -- and she does ask them to call her Tan -- being excited about this, but she'd gotten puzzled and discombobulated when the pull just seemed to... stop... at a blind block of apartment buildings. Cinnamon also shyly asks Josie and Thorn to explain, please, regarding the alias? Then she whispers quietly with Shane, while Thorn and Josie are explaining to Tan: is it okay to bring a new person into Coblyn Street? Cinnamon doesn't want to do it wrong, after all!
Josie gives the succinct explanation that having your actual name bandied about can be a little dangerous. Thorn too maintains conversation with Tan, to let Cinnamon talk with Shane. He's glad to provide an explanation about aliases. Shane leans into the whispering and says quietly, "That's up to you. If you trust her, invite her. She's your responsibility, so I hope I don't end up having to come down on her with both feet or turning her over to Caradog."
Cinnamon's eyes widen in concern as she stares at Shane for a moment! Then she whispers, "Oh, no! Was she... lying or something, before?!" She abruptly feels rather... well, dumb! She'd just accepted this girl's story. Has Shane seen something she missed?!
Shane shakes his head, "No. Far as I can tell, she's on the up-and-up. I'm just telling you the consequences of vouching for someone. You could be held culpable for anything she does."
Cinnamon says, "Oh." She falls silent -- now she's worried! Hesitantly she whispers, "Um... is there... something special I should be doing for her, or something? I mean, I... I've never had any assistants before...?"
Shane grins, "Treat her like a friend. You're not a having-servants type and she sure doesn't feel like a being-servants type to me. Be partners." Cinnamon nods slowly, still feeling vaguely... alarmed! She really doesn't want to bring someone into Coblyn... just to have them be stomped on, after all! Maybe... maybe she should think about this for a while... Shane catches the look and says, "Cin, relax. If you feel you can trust her, trust your gut. And know I have your back. So does everyone else you know."
Cinnamon blinks at that, absurdly touched at Shane's confidence in her! She blinks a few more times -- must be dust in the air or something -- then smiles shakily and nods, "Oh... okay. Right. Right! I... I can do this...!" She hopes she can, at least. She knows she's still learning about friendship, after all. No, wait -- she's a dragon -- she can do this! And... and she'll just do her best and... and learn whatever she needs to, to keep Tan safe. Yes! That's it... be confident!
Tan nods slowly at the explanation regarding aliases, "Makes sense. Like a handle. I mean, you never use your real name on the internet."
Cinnamon blinks at Tan -- then grins shyly, "Yeah, Cinnamon is mine. Josie thinks it sounds like a porn name, but..." she blushes slightly, "I, I really like it!"
Josie flushes and gives the impression of her ears going flat, "But I like it! It fits you!"
Cinnamon laughs, leaning over to hug Josie, "Don't be sad! -and yay! that you like it too!" She grins at Tan as she adds, "I like cinnamon, the spice -- it adds color and flavor, you know? And it has other meanings that I think work really well for me. It's connected to both fire and the sun!"
Josie still looks a little abashed. She's also sort of glancing at Tan quickly and then away. Tan either doesn't notice or doesn't mind. She's nibbling on a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie and looking thoughtful, "Hm... maybe I'll just call myself Spice. I mean, I come from so many backgrounds that I can't choose a favorite."
Thorn smiles to Tan, "That sounds very good."
Cinnamon laughs! "Oh, I like that! Cinnamon and Spice... okay!" She pauses, then frowns, "Wait... you said a couple of months ago you felt the pull?" Calculating quickly, she sighs internally -- sounds like it was actually Liam that Ta- er, Spice -- right, must remember the new name! Er, so where was she... ah. Sounds like Spice started out heading initially towards Liam. How... odd! That must explain why the family didn't lose track of their dragons, Cinnamon supposes... because it sounds like every time a child reaches a certain age, they feel the need to go check in with Liam. Er, felt... right... wow, even more weird -- that means they'll all start checking in with Cinnamon instead, then! She curiously asks, "So do all your family members know about dragons? Is it like through the patriline or something? How's it passed down, do you know?"
Spice blinks and then swallows her cookie, "Well, yeah. But we're not a huge family. Apparently Liam did some sort of..." She waggles her hand side to side in a seesawing motion, "A few generations back, he told one of my ancestors that he would call if he needed their assistance. Didn't mean on the phone. But then... boom! Me. Apparently it falls to the eldest in each generation. And then if that one dies, it goes down to the next in that generation. Not sure why I got activated."
Cinnamon pauses at a sudden thought: is she including the time she felt her own pull, but was resisting it? She hastily does some math... then brightens a bit. Looks like it is her that Spice felt pulled to originally! Curiously, that makes Cinnamon feel a bit better -- like she's not just a secondhand fill-in for Liam. She smiles ruefully as she catches Spice's last comment, "Oh. Well, um... probably because Liam died. I had a call too, after all. I guess it's kind of like... reshuffling or something, you know?" She sighs thoughtfully as she finishes her sandwich and has a long slurp of her drink... then tilts her head as she considers Spice, "So I guess... the question becomes: do you want to stay? Or would you rather not get tangled up with the supernatural?"
Spice nods and looks down at the table thoughtfully before raising her head and looking around at the people at the table, "So... you're a dragon." She looks at Shane, "And you have got to be an elf or something. No one has eyes like that if they aren't contacts." Her eyes go to Josie and Thorn next, "I have no clue what you guys are." Then she's back to Cinnamon. "What? Are you fucking kidding me? Why would I not want to do this? Dragons! And elves! You are an elf, right?"
Cinnamon giggles in spite of herself, then grins, "Um, no -- not an elf! Just a dragon." She giggles again, eyes sparkling as she glances at her friends... then beams at Spice, "Well, awesome, then -- welcome to... to the madhouse, I guess!"
Shane looks around to see if they're being overheard and then makes a patting motion with his hand -- a 'quiet down' kind of gesture, "I was born and raised in suburbia. I'm... not quite an elf."
Cinnamon smiles warmly at Shane, "Hey, now! I was born and raised in suburbia too, but you always say I'm a real dragon!"
Thorn smiles, "I'm actually just a plain mortal human. With a few gifts from the sidhe -- the elves."
Cinnamon adds cheerfully, as she gathers up her trash, "Hey, let's hit the road -- we can talk on the way, right?" She waits until they're in the car again to check on Spice: "So, how're you situated, please, if it's not rude of me to ask? I want to be sure you have a safe place to stay and all, right?" Cinnamon doesn't want to shush Josie... but she does want to casually change the subject if Josie doesn't want to say what her species is.
Spice grins, "I meant the tall guy. I was asking if he was an elf."
Shane, once they're in the car, relaxes, "Half-sidhe, actually. Dad's full-blood. Mom's human."
Spice nods to Thorn, "I'm just human, too. Well, if you don't count my superpowers of creative computer science. And apparently somehow being linked up to a dragon's family." Josie is quiet, but she does keep looking at Spice and then letting her eyes flick away. Shane is driving and Spice has managed to fit into a space that would hold about half a human normally. She replies to Cinnamon's query, "Oh, I'm good. I'm staying at a hostel. Not very private physically, but people leave you alone if you want. If I stay here, I'll start looking into student housing."
Cinnamon nods, looking pleased, "OK! Here, I'll give you my phone number for just in case." She gets out her cell, adding wryly, "Most of the street I live on has no connection, but I have a repeater over my house. You should be able to at least leave voice for me, you know?" Thorn is quietly impressed with how many people seem to gravitate towards Cinnamon. He sees it as a good thing; more people means more help for her, and the more support she'll get. It's also helpful that someone with an extremely modern skillset has come into her orbit -- no offense to Josie or Shane! -- but he can't see Marcus really comprehending even the need for a computer specialist.
Spice takes the number and puts it in her phone. Then she looks at Josie with a smile, "You have a phone, too? You seem like you're tight, so maybe I could use it as a backup?"
Josie goes so pink in the cheeks at that, no one in the car could miss it! She's also unusually taciturn and shy as she gives Spice her number, "Like Cinnamon said, reception's spotty, so that's a landline. You'll probably get my answering machine." Spice grins at the fact there might be an answering machine anywhere in the world anymore. She guides them through Boston to a building with 'HI Boston' on the front, thanks them for the ride, and scampers off.
Cinnamon waves, then watches Spice leave for a few moments before turning to settle back into her seat with a small sigh, "Okay, that... was really weird!" She grins ruefully, "Nice! -but also weird. Hmm... what did you all think of her?"
Thorn says, "It's an intriguing development. I mean, how many more retainers might Liam have had? She seems sanguine, if not outright happy, with the situation."
Cinnamon considers thoughtfully... then grins shyly at Thorn, "Hopefully not more than one family!" She nods as she adds with obvious relief, "I'm so glad she's not upset!"
Shane waits until he sees Spice go into the building before pulling away, "She was telling the truth as far as I could tell. And she seemed far from upset."
After a moment Josie says, "I like her. She smelled nice."
Cinnamon beams at that! She's tremendously pleased her friends seem to like this new girl, "Maybe... maybe she's good enough to do a bit of hacking for us too!"
Shane chuckles, "Did you look at the patches on the jacket? Some of them look like Vietnam-era Army patches. But there was one under the name patch with a little house on it and 'found a backdoor' stitched around it."
Cinnamon ooohs! "No! I missed that! That's like... like a coding thingie, right?"
Shane says, "That's a hacking thing. But I suppose coding would be right. That means she found a secret way into a program or system, if I'm remembering my 90's movies correctly."
Cinnamon beams excitedly, "Oh, fabulous! Maybe she can do the research we need, then!" She grins at Thorn as she adds, "-and on this trip, maybe you can give that boon away like you wanted to, too!"
Thorn almost goes pale again, "Yeesh, I almost forgot about that! Yes, the sooner the better!"
Cinnamon blinks, pushing her glasses into place, "Oh! I, um... sorry I mentioned it? I didn't mean to make you feel bad, Thorn -- I'm sorry!"
Thorn says, "No, I'm glad you mentioned it, since I'd forgotten it! I'm fine. But thanks for the reminder since I'll be even better when it's dealt with!"
Cinnamon smiles uncertainly, "Oh. Well, okay then... I... guess?"
The drive up this time seems shorter for the three of them than it was before -- even though it's still about five hours. Josie is quite a good passenger. She seems happy with whatever music is on and if Shane tires, she offers to take over driving for a bit. She is, however, a little quieter than normal.
When they pull into the parking lot at the trailhead, it's completely empty. Cinnamon is quietly relieved to see that -- if the ATVs were still there, she'd have been a bit worried! She sighs in wry amusement at herself, though, when she remembers the hike... both in and out! Her legs are never going to forgive her for this! She smiles faintly -- well, at least this will teach her to be more careful about spacing out periods of intense exercise... so she can recover some in between! She shoulders her bag, has a drink of her water, and takes a deep breath. Just got to keep putting one foot in front of the other... and eventually they'll get there!
At least Shane doesn't laugh at her, or wait exasperatedly for her to catch up -- only to dart off again as soon as she arrives. She really appreciates that he doesn't treat her like her family did! Cinnamon sighs gustily, "Okay, let's get the hike over with!" Because it doesn't hurt her, she's completely spaced that she's still sporting quite the bruise across the left side of her face. The terrain is the same and Josie keeps slipping off the path to examine things, but she is happy to let the others move ahead of her and trot to catch up. As they go on, her normally bubbly nature comes back.
The surprise comes when they're perhaps three-quarters of a mile in and two people step onto the path in front of them. One second they weren't there; the next they were. Thorn blinks in surprise at the sudden appearance of the people. The trod must have increased security, which is entirely understandable. Cinnamon almost ploughs into them -- she's been doggedly stumping along with her eyes fastened on the trail ahead of her, panting and struggling to not slow everyone else down. She squeaks startledly, jerking to a halt as boots step into her line of sight -- then stepping back several more steps as she tries not to fall onto her butt! "Whoa! Wha- uh... whew! Uhmmm..." She blinks, pushing her glasses up, "Hello? Who're you?"
It is quite obvious to everyone there that these are members of the trod. They're the more human-seeming ones, so they are most likely elven. Both are androgynous and have short hair, and clothes that are camouflaging without looking like military or hunting camouflage gear. The expressions on their faces are forbidding at first, but then they seem to recognize the people there, "I'm Juergen and this is Ilsa. And you are Cinnamon, Shane, Thorn and... I don't know you." Josie smiles and waves, "Josie."
Cinnamon smiles uncertainly, "Um, yes? Hello! May we... come visit again, please?"
Ilsa smiles at Josie's cheerful introduction of herself, "I have heard of you." Both of the people have those slightly Teutonic accents warming their speech, "Of course you may. We simply had to make sure we knew you. We've moved the perimeter out beyond the trod proper... and the entrance is a little harder to see." Juergen nods, "I will take you."
Cinnamon nods gravely -- she can completely understand that! "Thank you very much."
Thorn too nods to Juergen and Ilsa, "Thank you!"
Juergen motions them to follow, while Ilsa steps back off the path -- and immediately disappears completely! As they walk, Juergen talks, "We are doing the vigils for the dead, so don't be alarmed if people seem subdued. It will be going on for three days total before the burials."
Shane nods and says, "Quinn told me the trods in the Isles do that too."
Cinnamon says, "Oh, dear... should we have waited? I don't want to interrupt anything important?"
Juergen shakes his head, "No. If you should have waited, I would have told you to come back. You are all welcome here. I just wished to warn you that people may be subdued..." he hesitates for a moment, "and that the dead are not hidden away. We do not see death as shameful, but I do know that humans often see it that way."
Cinnamon blinks, "Shameful? Uh..." She frowns -- what an odd thought! Unless... maybe the guy is reading nervousness about the dead as shame? She smiles a bit nervously at Juergen, "I think- well, hopefully we'll all be okay! Mostly, um... we just wanted to talk to that prisoner a bit more, you know?"
Juergen nods, "You are welcome to. Dmitry is doing much better physically. He has not tried to harm anyone and is being quite compliant."
"Good," Thorn says. "Hopefully that means he'll be a little more forthcoming this time."
Cinnamon smiles at Thorn, "He was pretty forthcoming when that elf persuaded him to talk, though, wasn't he?"
Thorn nods, "True, yes!"
Juergen nods, "Yes. He was. He has been... we think he has been praying." When they reach the entrance to the trod, Shane, Cinnamon, and Josie have a hard time seeing it. Thorn, on the other hand, sees it clear as day.
Cinnamon frowns thoughtfully, pushing her glasses into place as she studies the entrance while walking through it, "Wow, you guys really made this hard to see again!" She pauses, considering that... then mutters grimly, "Good!" Thorn is surprised he can see it so well and the others can't, even after Jurgen explains that they reset it. It must be his connection to Athala -- or maybe he is considered to 'belong here'?
Juergen nods, "It is like many trods and enclaves. You must have been here, been led here, or belong here to see it the first time. We..." he pauses as if he's looking for the word, "reset it."
Cinnamon nods in understanding, "Makes sense to me!" She smiles as she looks around, adding, "Also, I think you might be right about Dmitry. We came back because someone translated what he said to us."
Juergen nods, "Good. It is good to know." He smiles as Thorn's look of surprise registers, "You belong here, Thorn. It is why you can see it. Athala says to me that you came in the first time by accident, so it seems you have belonged here for a long time. We moved the entrance for twelve hours to let this one erase itself. Then we moved it back." Thorn blinks again, nodding at the explanation as he processes this.
Inside, the bodies of the trod members that died are each resting on a bier in front of different dwellings of features of the trod. One is at a curve in the stream that moves through the trod. Another is in front of what is obviously a house. Each of them has been cleaned and dressed in undamaged clothes. There is at least one quick for each of the dead. All of the bodies have little tokens -- flowers and other small things -- either on their chests or around them on their biers. Cinnamon carefully doesn't look too closely if she notices people laid out in state -- she's still very conflicted-feeling about death! She's relieved that it wasn't her that actually killed anyone. After all, if she'd actually been the death of that guy in the tree, the elf woman wouldn't have needed to spear him, right?
Thorn remains quiet as they pass by the ones laid out. He can't help but pause at each one, though. He belonged here enough that the trod recognizes him even after the entrance was reset; he will pay his respects to those who are his kith. Each time Thorn pauses he receives a smile from the person or persons sitting vigil. Many of them reach to give his hand a gentle squeeze and he gets quiet thank-yous from several of them. It's obvious it is very appreciated. Thorn squeezes hands back, returning small smiles, nodding quietly at the thanks. [Not again,] he promises quietly, as if he had any say in the matter, [this can't happen again. I can't let it.]
Juergen leads them to something that isn't quite a building and isn't quite a natural formation and knocks on the doorjamb. A creature that looks much like Butler opens it and invites them in. Cinnamon keeps her eyes mostly downcast so she doesn't see too much... then sighs internally in relief as they're welcomed into the, um... hill? No, it must be a house -- Jaeger said to put Dmitry into his basement, after all!
Jaeger's home is not opulent -- opulent would be hard to do in this setting -- but it is lovely and welcoming. The room they are shown to is not a formal sitting room. It looks simply like a family room with seats and rugs and a couple of small, low tables. On the wall are paintings and other small pieces of art. Some of them look like carvings that might have been taken from somewhere else and displayed here. Jaeger is in the room and he stands with no sign of pain, face solemn, "Welcome back."
Cinnamon smiles uncertainly, "Th-thank you for seeing us, sir?" Thorn inclines his head in greeting to Jaeger as they arrive, and lets Cinnamon speak.
Shane and Josie are quiet, but nod in response to the greeting. Jaeger motions to the seating around the room, "Please. Relax." He settles back into his own chair, "You have come back for the vigils or for Dmitry?"
Cinnamon thinks for a moment as she seats herself, pushing her glasses back into place. Then she looks up at Jaeger and says carefully, "We initially came back for Dmitry, yes -- but, um... i-if it would be, like, respectful? We'd be happy to come for the vigils too?" She unwittingly twists her fingers together nervously, hoping they've not all committed some horrible, stupid faux pas!
Thorn is quiet, and inwardly winces at Jaeger's question. He should have thought of that. Surely in his time in the trod, nobody had passed? Or was he so enchanted that he didn't notice? It's the latter answer he thinks is the case, and that bothers him on a level he can't properly explain. He realizes, though, that the more logical answer is the former. He would have noticed if violence had been done, or if Athala had stood vigil, or if there had been anything untoward that had happened.
Jaeger shakes his head, "It is not required. If you are respectful of them while you are here, it will be enough. No one has passed since Thorn first found us, so I don't think any of you would know about the funeral rites." He looks at Shane, "Except, perhaps, for you."
Shane nods, "I knew about them, but they slipped my mind. I apologize."
Jaeger shakes his head, "No apology needed. We are not your trod."
Cinnamon sighs in relief, relaxing once she realizes no one is offended. "Okay. So... are you due to go, um... stand vigil or something? I have a few questions, but they can wait, you know?"
Jaeger smiles and it's a warm and friendly smile. In it, one can see just how dazzling Marcus could be if he were a little more genuine, "No. It is not my turn. I will stand the last of the vigils and then we will do the rites and they will go back to the earth. Ask your questions." Josie blinks at the smile and smiles back her brightest, most friendly smile -- which is quite bright and quite friendly! Shane smiles a bit himself. It's interesting to him to see the contrasts between father and son. Thorn finds himself surprised at the warmth of Jaeger's smile, especially in comparison to Marcus. He now really hopes that they can turn Marcus away from the headlong path that he's set himself on.
Cinnamon blinks, her eyes widening at that lovely smile... she reflexively smiles back as she pushes her glasses into place, though hers is a little wistful. What a shame Marcus is so... so small inside! She hopes her relationship with Liam isn't describable in the exact same way, too -- rather than feeling threatened by her amazing elder male relative, as Marcus seems to be, she actually very much aspires to be as wonderful as everyone tells her Liam was! "O-okay then... thank you! Um... well, first, I guess: did you find any more traps?" She absently rubs one hand along the livid bruise, her expression worried.
Jaeger nods, "We did. We found several around the outer perimeter in places where we would walk for hunting or for patrols. Luckily, no one else was bitten by them. It was a slow process, walking and prodding at the ground with stout poles."
Cinnamon whews quietly, "Oh, good!" She pulls out her notebook and scribbles in it, then looks up again and smiles shyly, "So... we'd like to talk more to Dmitry, but I had another question for you, please... do you know anything about scrying?" Cinnamon is quite sure she'd gladly walk all the areas necessary to ensure there are no more traps, after all... but she also knows that would take quite a bit of time, and possibly be rather ouchy! That the sidhe have already taken care of it is a relief.
Jaeger leans back just about the time that the creature like Butler comes in and brings a tray with an earthenware teapot and several sturdy mugs. Jaeger murmurs his thanks and then says, "I know that it exists and that there are people that can do it. It is not within my purview."
Cinnamon nods eagerly, smiling and thanking the butler when she's offered a mug of tea. She blows lightly on it, enjoying the flowery scent before she says carefully, "Well, do you know... if a scryer could look into the past for a thing, by any chance? Or if not, do you know if there's a scryer here in the trod, say?"
Jaeger arches his brows, "Into the past? No. That is not a thing I know of. Seeing things afar, yes. That can be done. It is not easy. Scrying is a rare talent and some of the basis for the superstitions about hair and nail clippings."
Cinnamon sighs, "Well, poop! Okay, then... that kills that possibility." She crosses out that question, frowning -- she really, really wants to figure out some way to tell if Killian is part of this conspiracy! It's going to have to wait, though, until she comes up with some other idea. She looks up again, adding apologetically, "I didn't realize I'd be coming right back here today, so I'd already handed over the pants I borrowed to Marcus. But I'm sure he'll get them here... and it's fine with me to return my clothes through Marcus too, if that's convenient for you all, okay?" She grins, adding, "That's all the questions I have! Does anyone else have any? You too, Jaeger -- do you have any questions?"
Jaeger smiles, "Your clothes are here awaiting you. Well, not here. At Athala's home." He rubs his chin thoughtfully, "You ask this, of scrying, as if you had something in mind. Tell me what it is and perhaps I can help."
"Oh!" Cinnamon glances at her notes, then at Shane. If he doesn't shake his head at her or anything, she'll tell the story of Branigan's death, ending with, "So apparently there was something that prevented scrying to see what happened before he fell... but it occurred to me: what about scrying for just the nettle's presence? That'd be a really important link between that death, the assassination attack on you... and Liam's death."
Jaeger thinks a moment, watching Shane's face as he does. He seems to approve of what he sees because he says, "I knew Branigan... and I know Killian -- know, but not like. If those nettles were present -- if the actual plants were -- there would be traces. It would require someone looking."
Cinnamon nods excitedly, pushing her glasses up, "So it can be done?!"
Jaeger says, "I would send someone that is proficient in herbary or botany. Or even an alchemist."
Cinnamon looks confused, "To... scry?"
Jaeger shakes his head, "I did not say scrying could find it. I said that traces would still be present."
Cinnamon blinks again, "After... 25 years?! Wow, that's cool. I'd not realized that was possible!"
Jaeger says, "Think of it this way. It is possible to find traces of toxins in the earth around where a body has been buried. What humans call toxic waste contaminates the earth for generations. These nettles are a toxin."
Cinnamon's eyes widen, and she turns to Shane, "Do you think they'd allow that? Or -- or maybe they could search there for it, if given the description of what nettle to look for?"
Shane considers, "I'd say us going would be best. Besides, I think Quinn and Saoirse would like to meet you and Thorn."
Cinnamon blinks at that... then feels abruptly shy, "Oh. Umm... okay? I guess?" Sternly she reminds herself: firstly, she's a dragon -- this will be fine! Second, Shane and Thorn will be there too -- it's not like she'll be under a microscope or something! She takes a deep breath... then sighs it out, "Okay then. Well! In that case, umm... may we see Dmitry, please, Mr. Jaeger?" Then she blinks at a sudden thought, hastily pushes her glasses back into place, and adds, "Oh! Also, please: Mr. Jaeger, those traps that were found? Did any of them have the nettle poison on them?" That, she thinks, will be the first non-circumstantial proof they've found yet that the attack on Jaeger and this attack on the trod were definitively linked!
Jaeger smiles, "Just Jaeger, child. But no, the traps that were found were simply iron... and well hidden -- and had the teeth sharpened so they were not just meant to hold a person in place. They were meant to cripple." He pauses, face tight for a moment before he relaxes again, adding, "And yes, you may see Dmitry. He's in the second room on the left." He motions to a hallway.
Cinnamon frowns disappointedly, "Well, poop again. So we don't yet have any physical proof that connects the attempted assassination on you and the assassination on Liam... with the recent attack on the trod." She sighs, scribbling a few more notes before she blinks at another thought, looking up at Jaeger, "Oh! Um, mist- er, Jaeger... I'm guessing you were walking with someone when you, er... got... stepped into the trap? And got you out quickly, before it could kill you?"
There's a heavy sigh as Jaeger says, "There was someone not far behind me. They got the trap open... but not before it tore through my boot and into my leg. Iron is poison enough. It acts like any other toxin would to us."
Cinnamon nods gravely, "Thank you very much, sir, for talking with us. I do apologize for asking so much about such painful things... but I truly hope that by doing so we will be able to find out who your attempted assassin -- and who Liam's actual assassin -- is." She stands up, giving a funny little, half awkward, but very sincere bob of respect. She smiles as she pushes her glasses back and adds, "Also, please feel free to call upon me if you happen to visit Coblyn Street? You've been so very kind, and I'd love to have the opportunity to return the favor!"
Shane is listening intently as Jaeger speaks, so he's not said much. Josie is making sure to sit close by Cinnamon as if she's on guard. Jager smiles, "I would consider it an honour to do so, child."
Cinnamon beams delightedly at that, her face lighting up with sincere happiness, "Thank you, sir!" After that, the little group heads down the hallway to talk to Dmitry... though as they head that way, Cinnamon stands on tiptoe at one point to whisper to Shane, "If we gotta go visit your trod, we totally should take your mom along, Shane, don't you think? Wouldn't your parents love to finally get to see each other again?!"
Shane tips his head slightly to listen and smiles a little lopsidedly, "Quinn asked me not to bring her for a visit. He fears for her safety. But as to the last? Yeah. They're madly in love."
Cinnamon frowns at that, disappointed, "Oh. Well, foo. We'll have to find a different way to get them together, then!"
The room Dmitry is in seems to be just a room, but there's a silent young elf in the hallway nearby. He simply nods when they get close, acknowledging them all but not trying to hinder them. Cinnamon smiles uncertainly at the elf, "Er, hello...? We're here to speak to Dmitry!" When he simply nods again, she looks pleased and thanks him, then turns and knocks on the door.
It takes a moment, but Dmitry answers the door. He's dressed simply in linen pants and a tunic. He's got a day's worth of stubble on his face and a serious mien. When he says hello, there are fairly heavy traces of his native tongue, "You are the dragon." His eyes move to Thorn, "And the healer," and lastly to Shane, "and the lucky elf."
Cinnamon flinches back startledly when the door opens -- but when her back hits Shane, standing behind her, she abruptly feels slightly braver. She takes a deep breath, straightens, and nods once, "Yes. Er, m-may we come in to talk to you, please? Oh! Also, this, er... this is my friend Josie too."
Dmitry is still showing quite a few signs of his burns and he's moving slowly, but there's a shiny look to the uncovered burns that says he's being taken care of, "Of course you may. Please, come inside." He steps out of the way and motions them in. Cinnamon hesitates... then firmly reminds herself: it's not like the poor guy can hurt her! Plus he's hurting a lot more than she -- and she's safe here with her very effective friends! She takes another breath, then walks into the room, looking around for an out of the way place to sit.
The room is fairly simple, but not spartan. There's a double bed -- made up using military corners at the moment -- with a duvet folded atop a bench at the foot. There's a reading chair and a window seat. There aren't a lot of decorations, but the rug underfoot is soft on the feet and looks like it was made with love. Dmitry motions them in and invites everyone to have a seat. Shane declines, citing having been sitting for hours in the car. Josie plops herself down on the floor by the reading chair in its little corner. Her eyes don't leave Dmitry.
Cinnamon settles into the little reading chair in the corner near Josie, then pulls her notebook out of her bag and flips through it for a particular page. Once she has it, she watches interestedly as everyone else sorts out where they want to sit. As Dmitry moves past her she grins shyly and reaches out to point at the back of his closest hand, where the snake tattoo is clear and bright, "Smok?"
Dmitry looks down at his hand and nods, "Da. Smok." He takes a breath and says, "They did not tell us we were hunting a dragon." He says the last word as if he's doing a mental translation of a term that doesn't come easily to his tongue.
Cinnamon beams, delighted that she figured something out! To her friends she cheerfully explains, "I found something on line about that -- here!" She reads aloud from her notes, "'In Bulgaria is a similar folk belief that the smok, which starts out as a non-venomous snake, grows to become a zmei dragon after living 40 years.'" Looking up again, she happily adds, "I wondered if that was why Dmitry had snake tattoos!" She blinks then, pushing her glasses up with one finger as she adds, "Dmitry, why is your apparent native tongue an ancient dialect of Bulgarian? How old are you?"
Dmitry settles somewhat painfully onto the edge of his bed. He smiles tightly, with a wince, "I am forty-one. But I come from an old family. It is the tongue we speak at home. I know others."
Cinnamon nods thoughtfully, "OK, that makes sense." She sighs, looking at her notes, then looks up at the man again, "Dmitry, I'm sorry to bother you, and I know it's a long shot, but... well, we're trying to figure out who exactly was behind this attack and a few others we know of. Would you be willing to sit and think back for a bit, to the meeting at the Ethiopian restaurant with the smiling dark man... and see if you remember anyone seated nearby as well?"
Dmitry says, "Da. I will do this. It will be my penance." He closes his eyes and the movement of his eyeballs beneath the lids is obvious. It's almost like a waking REM cycle. When he starts to speak, it's in concise, military-sounding terms, "The restaurant was crowded. I was there as bodyguard to the commander. The smiling man had very dark skin and very white teeth. His accent was African, possibly actually Ethiopian." He goes on to describe clothing and mannerisms as well as the feeling that the smiling man was making fun of them in some way, "No one nearby seemed interested, but the client kept looking at his cellphone."
Cinnamon nods and hastily makes notes of the description -- she's more and more sure that 'the smiling man' is Moustapha! She sighs quietly at hearing no one nearby seemed interested -- then perks up at the comment about looking constantly at the cellphone! If Moustapha wasn't typing anything in, but was checking it repeatedly, then maybe his... what, master? puppeteer? co-conspirator? -was close enough to hear! With soft, breathless excitement she murmurs -- so as to not interrupt Dmitry's concentration, "Can you describe anyone at the tables near you?" [Definitely not puppeted], she decides, [Moustapha's in on this sick 'joke,' after all!]
Dmitry goes on to describe the people nearby; he took note of things as a soldier or bodyguard might -- mostly age, skin color, apparent gender, and basic clothing. Almost everyone there was a POC. The exceptions were a white woman with blonde dreadlocks, a white man with short-cropped black hair, and someone whose gender Dmitry was unsure of, with a bald head. All three of them were using their phones at one point or another, as were several others in the restaurant.
Cinnamon frowns thoughtfully as she scribbles and considers. Finally she looks up and murmurs, "Was there anyone in... something like native dress? Like... an embroidered tunic top, or loose, baggy trousers? Anyone... barefoot, or in sunglasses, or... Asian?" She's trying carefully to add elements from several of the Councilors, since she doesn't want to 'lead' Dmitry to remember something incorrectly by her unwittingly emphasizing it. She knows, however, that while Killian might be androgynous, he's very likely not bald -- she's yet to meet a sidhe that isn't crowned by a glorious (and vain) head of hair! Also, none of the 'reveal' faction are bald, with the possible exception of Nasteexo... who she doesn't believe is involved. Heck, their name alone means 'comfort me' in Somali!
Dmitry opens his eyes and shakes his head, "No Asians, but a few Indians or Pakistani. There was a variety of clothing and some of it was native to countries other than this one. It is an ethnic restaurant."
Cinnamon sighs in faint disappointment. While this pretty much verifies the contact was Moustapha... it gets them no further on finding out who Moustapha's manager was! She smiles faintly at Dmitry, "Okay, thank you."
Shane is listening intently, but has given no sign that Dmitry is speaking untruths. He does lean down and murmur, "Some sidhe have the capability of disguising themselves or of being unseen."
Cinnamon blinks up at Shane, her mouth forming a small 'ooh!' of thought... then she murmurs quietly back, "Could they do that while simultaneously working a cell phone, though?"
Shane smiles, "I know of one that can read or write correspondence whilst going unnoticed. Your eye just sort of slides off her." His lips quirk, "I think we may need to have a conversation with the suspected smiling man."
Cinnamon nods slowly, though she looks unconvinced, "I guess... but it seems to me that talking to him will just alert them all that we're on to them, you know?" Shane nods in agreement regarding potentially tipping their hand. Cinnamon frowns down at her notebook, then murmurs quietly, "Do you suppose... maybe Dmitry might be able to help Spice hack?"
Dmitry's brows go up, "Hacking? On a computer, da? This I can help with somewhat."
Cinnamon glances over at Dmitry, her expression thoughtful as she muses aloud, "Dmitry, umm... so, what-" She blinks at that, straightening in her chair, "You would? Oh, wow! That'd be awesome!" She pauses, her eyes narrowing in thought... then adds, perplexedly, "Why is Shane 'the lucky elf,' please?"
Dmitry says, "The shot that was aimed at him did not hit him. This is lucky."
Cinnamon says, "Oh!" Without realizing it, her hand goes up to her bruised face... and she looks down as she gets a small, shyly happy smile. She's very glad she was able to be there for Shane at that moment! Her cheeks are a little pink as she hastily changes the subject, "Okay! So, umm... do you have any questions, or anything you can tell us that might help? Oh! Was it you and your people that set the bear traps?"
Dmitry immediately says, "Your forgiveness is all that I ask... and that of God, which you cannot give. My people set the traps, but they were given to us by the smiling man. The teeth had already been sharpened. I... do not have questions now."
Cinnamon blinks a bit startledly at the man -- can she give forgiveness? She... has no idea! Plus: wow! Direct confirmation that the traps were from Moustapha! So he is behind the attack on Jaeger -- and the nettle poison on both Jaeger's bear trap and the... dagger? -that was used to murder Liam tie those deaths together too! Which means... they have strong circumstantial evidence that Moustapha and whoever his boss is are behind all these deaths! Cinnamon's excitement abruptly abates as it hits her: so many dead, murdered to amuse Moustapha and please his boss... she takes a deep breath. This must be stopped! Too many innocents are dead -- no more must die for this person's insane cruelty!
Cinnamon blinks again as she realizes Dmitry's waiting on her. She goes silent, thinking hard... then says slowly, "Dmitry, I... I don't know how to give forgiveness for all the dead. I think... I think you need to ask them -- or rather, those who were close to them -- for forgiveness, not... me. Does... um, does that make sense?" She twists her fingers worriedly together in her lap. This is such a delicate situation! -- and so strange to her -- she so hopes she's not hurting anyone by saying this!
Dmitry says, "Your forgiveness for harming you. Not for them. Only God can forgive me for them."
Cinnamon sighs slowly as she considers that... then smiles faintly, her voice wry, "I... am not sure you can really harm me... physically, at least, Dmitry? Which means to me that... there's not really anything I can forgive you for?" She holds up a hand, "I'm not trying to be difficult! But... I'm not sure I'm as important in this as you, er, seem to be making me out to be, you know?"
Dmitry looks a bit downcast at that, but nods, "As you say."
Cinnamon feels abruptly, absurdly guilty for making Dmitry feel bad! She twists her fingers together even more anxiously as she darts worried looks at Josie and Shane, "Is this -- forgiveness, I mean -- oh, dear! I mean, is this, like, a supernatural thing maybe? One that, er... that I don't yet know?"
Josie shakes her head, "No, I don't think so. I think he's really just wanting you to forgive him for trying to kill people here. Specifically for harming you." She scowls, looking unusually formidable, "I don't think you should yet, though. There are a lot of dead people here. We passed them on the way in... and Shane might have been killed -- and Shane's my friend."
Cinnamon tenses at that, her eyes widening in shock -- then nods slowly, "That's right. I am really glad he's still alive and unharmed -- lucky or otherwise!" She turns back to Dmitry and says gently, "I'm sorry, Dmitry... but I'm still too tangled up emotionally about this to be genuinely forgiving. If you're willing to wait, though, it's possible things may change?" Dmitry nods slowly. He doesn't seem angry that Cinnamon can't forgive him yet -- he did almost harm someone who is obviously one of the dragon's close friends. She smiles faintly at Shane as well, though her eyes are shadowed with worry as she does so. Is hanging around her going to make him more of a target? She really loves having him as a friend! But if that's going to get him killed... she shudders slightly as she looks back at Dmitry, resolutely pushing that horrible thought away for later. Instead she says to the mercenary, "Actually... what do you plan on doing once you're healed up?"
Shane, sensing Cinnamon's anxiety, puts a hand on her shoulder in a soothing gesture, but he doesn't speak as they wait on the merc's answer. Cinnamon glances up gratefully at Shane, smiling worriedly again... then looks back at Dmitry, who takes a breath and says, "I plan on doing penance. I will stay here while they need people to help in the recovery from the attack. My security clearance has likely been revoked, but I may be able to get into the company's computers if I have a secure connection."
Cinnamon nods slowly at that, thinking carefully... then nods again, "Okay. In that case, if things go well and you're willing, I may try contacting you again for that job, okay? But for now I'm going to guess resting and healing is what you need to do most right now... so unless anyone has any other questions, I think we'll leave you be?"
Shane speaks quietly, "He's right on that. You might want to get him together with your new friend once he's healed. Out away from the trod, though. There's no cell reception and no electricity out here."
Dmitry nods, "Thank you, lady."
Cinnamon grins as she glances at Shane and nods -- then blinks startledly at Dmitry, "Oh!" Her soft laugh is uncertain, "Oh, I'm... just... I mean, uh, you can call me j-just... Cinnamon!"
Dmitry shakes his head, "No. I have not earned that honor, lady." His smile is unwittingly a little unpleasant, with all the scar tissue, "Be safe on your travels."
Cinnamon nods uncertainly to Dmitry again, then heads back into the living room with the others, where they last saw Jaeger. He's not present, but the creature like Butler gives them the feeling that he'll be back shortly. Cinnamon's thinking hard and looks a bit distracted... but as she sits down again she blinks at another sudden thought, then turns to Shane, "Hey, Shane... what happens if Killian dies? Does the contract go away, or what? Who's his heir? Are they as, umm... as cranky as he is?"
Shane considers, "Killian's heir... I honestly don't know. That would be something to ask Quinn or Aisling."
"OK." Cinnamon sighs thoughtfully, "I'm just... trying to understand how all this works, you know? Because, like... if Killian is in fact guilty, but someone even more unpleasant takes his place?" She shakes her head ruefully, "Not... something we'd want sprung on us by surprise, right?" She pauses, glancing around the room... then grins curiously at Josie, "Also, I've been wanting to ask, Jo! Did you not want Spice knowing what you were, or what?"
Josie ducks her head and her hair falls into her face. It's an oddly shy look for the young wolf shifter as she mumbles, "People get weird about wolves like me." It's strangely bashful for her, and even Cinnamon can't miss that -- she might not see the flush, but she can tell her friend isn't acting her normal perky self.
Cinnamon blinks in confusion at that, pushing her glasses up to stare perplexedly at her friend, "What? But... but Josie, you're awesome! What's to be strange about? You're warm and fluffy and huggy and sincere and kind and..." Indignantly she adds, "Why... why, if Spice can't see that, I'm not sure she's the right person for us to hang around with!"
Shane keeps his face mostly under control. He can tell what's going on and actually finds Cinnamon's naivete rather endearing. Still, he lets Josie handle this on her own. She and Cinnamon are friends, obviously, but the wolf shifter might have kept this one facet of her personality to herself. Josie's shoulders hunch a little and she says, voice quiet, "She might think I'll bite her... and I don't want to scare her."
Cinnamon huffs indignantly, "You wouldn't! I'll tell her so myself, if you want!" Almost fiercely she adds, "I'm going to, too -- don't you worry! I'm not having any friends of mine being treated like... like they're monsters or something -- by folks that say they want to be friends!" She folds her arms and fumes indignantly... which loses a lot of the effect by the fact that the chair she's in doesn't quite let her feet touch the ground.
Josie sighs and looks up at Cinnamon and says in possibly the smallest voice the dragon has heard from her friend, "She also might feel weird about me being gay."
Cinnamon mutters aggravatedly, "Really, the nerve! If Josie's a monster, then I-" She blinks, hastily and worriedly adding, "I'm sorry, Josie -- I didn't mean to cut you off! What was that again, please?"
The wolf shifter's words all run together as Cinnamon asks her to repeat herself, "She'sreallyprettyandI'mgayandsometimespeoplegetweirdaboutgaypeoplethinkingthey'repretty."
Cinnamon blinks confusedly, taking a moment to work out what Josie said in that blurred sound-bite... then blinks again, pushing her glasses back into place, "Wait, you're... you're gay? Oh!" She turns bright red, one hand flying up to cover her mouth, "Oh, I -- I'm so sorry, Josie! I, oh, I hope you didn't take it wrong when I was admiring the boys on the street with you!" She can't help turning even more scarlet when she remembers: one of the 'boys' they were admiring... was Shane himself! She tries resolutely not to flick a guilty glance his way! She really doesn't have much experience with the non-straight -- she just remembers feeling really uncomfortable at listening to her father sneer quietly about gays and lesbians... and thinking that she couldn't figure out what was so wrong about them, so she was never going to sneer like that herself!
Josie immediately relaxes completely, with a big, whooshing sigh, "I mean... well, I like some boys. Just... not about 99% of them, you know? I thought it was fun to do that with you. So... you're not weirded out that I slept at your place and stuff?"
Cinnamon sighs in relief, clasping her hands in her lap, "Oh, thank goodness! You're not mad?!" She pauses, then adds, "Wait... weirded out?!" She blinks again, tilting her head in confusion, "At what?"
Josie shakes her head. It's a very canine headshake. Shane rests a hand on Josie and says gently, "Josie, it's Cin. You know she's not going to take coming out as coming on."
Cinnamon sighs in relief again... then giggles, "Oh! Is that what you meant? No, silly -- why would your sleeping over bother me? I'm not the type of person that pretty people fall in love with!" She grins excitedly, her eyes sparkling as she adds, "Wouldn't it be cool if Spice was either gay or bisexual too?!"
Josie smiles bashfully, "That's be pretty nice, yeah. I haven't really dated a lot since coming to Coblyn."
Shane chuckles a little bit at Josie's relief and pats her on the shoulder. Somehow, he gives the impression he'd be scritching her ears if she were in her other form. A second later, though, Josie looks indignant, "Then the pretty people you know are blind! You're awesome!"
Shane smiles wryly, "She's got a sh... a stupid family, Josie. They've got her brainwashed." He winks at Cinnamon, "Don't worry. We'll get you deprogrammed."
Cinnamon blinks at her friends... then giggles! Happily she says, "You two are the awesomest friends ever, you know?!" She beams as she adds, "I've asked all the questions I can think of here... do you all have any that might help, that I've not thought of?" She pauses, then adds uncertainly, "Also... it's going to be well into nighttime by the time we get back to Coblyn. Umm... is there any problem with getting back onto the street at night?"
Josie shakes her head, "No. You'll see it just like always." During most of this Thorn has been quiet, musing on his place if he 'belongs' in the trod. A few minutes later Jaeger comes back, apologizing for his absence. When the little quartet let him know they should leave, he wishes them well on the journey and thanks them for coming back. Cinnamon thanks him very sincerely for all his help, then shyly adds that they hope to figure out in the near future who the assassin is... and she looks forward to seeing him then so he can hear it too!
The drive back to Boston is quiet, but Josie seems much cheered up. She's chattering happily about this and that when she looks down at her phone and flushes, "Uhm..." About that time Cinnamon also gets a message on her phone. The young dragon wonders who's contacting her -- hopefully not her family! She groans internally, but makes herself check regardless.
The message is from Spice, apparently just checking in with her liege lady, though there are a couple of grinny/winky faces with that to take the subservience out of it. Cinnamon laughs in relief, "Oh! Spice just checked in -- sounds like she's doing fine." She beams as she glances at Josie, "Did she contact you too? I know she asked for your number too, after all?" Josie smiles at her phone and her ears go red. Cinnamon giggles as she quickly texts in a reply -- where she eeks! and notes that she's not much of a liege lady, considering she's only been aware of being a dragon for a few months... and she'd really rather not be known as Spice's liege baby, thanks all the same! With the addition of several embarrassed/laughing emoticons, her reaction is, in fact, much like she would have reacted while face to face!
Josie nods and beams, then giggles a little, "Yeah. She did text me. That was nice of her, I think."
Since it's Thorn's turn to drive, Shane arches a brow and says, "Oh, reeeeally? And what did she say?"
Josie sticks her tongue out at the half-sidhe... and Cinnamon giggles happily, inordinately pleased to see Josie has perked up again! It's only a few minutes later, though, that she blinks, then mutters, "Oh, poop! I forgot to pick up my shirt and jeans from Athala!" She considers for a moment... then grins and shrugs, "Oh, well! I'll just have to go pick them up from Marcus, later!"
Shane chuckles at the exasperation at not getting the clothes, "I'm sure they'll get them back to you."
Cinnamon says, "Oh, sure -- I'm not worried about that!" She pushes her glasses back as she grins wryly, "I'm more worried that I'll end up tearing too many of my jeans, and run out! So I'm trying to keep track of them, since I don't have that many."
Josie says, "You'll be able to get new ones! You saw the tailor. They make my jeans!" Now that the relief is there, their regularly scheduled Josie has returned.
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