Fall Out – 14.1
Author: Wildbow

Fall Out – 14.1 | Pale

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One Week Later

Avery had to hide her phone from her mom as she checked the text.  Doubly so because it was from Liberty.  Liberty regularly toed the line of mom-appropriate stuff, for one thing, and she didn’t really ‘get’ living with innocents.  Avery had been forced to quickly change tabs or turn off her monitor when video-calling Liberty as Declan or her dad checked on her, which conveyed an image she didn’t want.

It’s not rude stuff, family, it’s goblins and crap.

Sure enough, Liberty had sent Avery a short video of her secretary and official bone polisher, titled ‘show Snowdrop’.  Skullcrap wore a skull over his head, with a few skull stickers on it, and danced, shaking and smacking his ass for the camera.

“Is that a game?” her mom asked from the driver’s seat.

“Hmmm?” Avery asked, turning off her phone.

“I can see the reflection in the window.”

Avery looked at the window, and then past it, at the trees and the flat faces of the rock that had been cut and carved away to make way for the highway.  A sign suggested they didn’t have far to go.

“Just something silly a girl from the summer thing sent me,” she said.

“It’s good you’re staying in touch.”

Avery unzipped her bag carefully, then dropped her phone inside.  It bonked Snowdrop on the shoulder, and the opossum roused, following Avery’s cue and shuffling a bit before moving the phone, pressing a paw to the face of it, and loading up the video.

She got a drink out of the bag, beaded with moisture with opossum hair clinging to it, and discreetly wiped it off, before wiping her now-hairy hand on her leg.

Snowdrop sent a rapidfire series of amused and energetic impulses to Avery, switching over from being sleepy to ideas like ‘fun’ and ‘gotta do something’.

Gonna have to make time for her to work out a reply video.

Avery smiled a bit at the thought, looking out the window.

“You good?” her mom asked, reaching out with one hand to run fingers through Avery’s hair, bit of a head stroke.

“Tich tired.”

“Still not sleeping?”

“Not for the last week or so.  I’ll deal.”

“Hopefully you can sleep after you’re settled.”

Avery nodded.  Her mom dropped her hand from Avery’s head to her shoulder, gave it a rub, then returned her hand to the wheel.

“Sorry if this is awkward,” Avery said.

“Oh, it’s terribly, horribly awkward, upended everything, has all of us second guessing everything,” her mom said.  “And that has almost nothing to do with you.  It’s your dad and I being too clever for our own good, splitting things up.”

“But not splitting up?” Avery asked.

“No.  Not a chance.  I adore that man, Avery.  I saw him two and a half hours ago and I miss him.  Every time I see a place I want to try eating at, I think- I want to eat it with him, hear what he has to say.  When things are busy I want to tackle it with him, working together as best as we can, and when we’re calm and tired I want to be right next to him, hip to hip.”

“Sounds so nice.”

“See, if it was Sheridan remarking on that, it would be gagging noises, with grumbling and groaning about your dad and I being gross.”

Avery smiled.

Snowdrop was wriggling a bit too much, so Avery took a drink, moving her leg to shift the bag and press it down a bit while she did, capped the bottle, and placed it in, giving Snowdrop a light bonk on the head with the bottle as she put it back in the bag, where it sat between her feet.  She reached inside to rearrange things, then pulled out a snack bar.

She had to put up with hungry Snowdrop impulses as she unwrapped it, bit off half, then sorted out the rest and dropped it back into the bag.

“Here we are.  Just around the bend and…”

Avery might’ve hoped for a bit of a rise they could crest over, to get a view of the city as a whole, but the way was flat, and the periodic rural building or dilapidated house or barn dropped away, allowing them to enter the collection of buildings that reminded Avery of Kennet’s southeastern bit.  The bit that McKeller Steel had been rooted in.  A slice of Ken and Kennet.

That line of thought made her uneasy, reminding her of what she was leaving behind.

Thunder Bay didn’t have a lot of ‘thunder’ to it, as she might’ve imagined, and it didn’t have a lot of ‘bay’, at least as far as she could see.  The passage into the city was even a bit dreary, with lots of empty parking lots, brick buildings, and not a lot of trees.  It took its time to get away from that.

That improved as they got past the borders of it.  Trees drank in the last of summer, vibrant and bright, and they saw the first houses, which were nice.  Nicer than Kennet’s, anyway.  Past the factory buildings or whatever they were, Avery could see the lake, blue and sparkling.

She relaxed a bit.

“What’s going on with you, huh?” her mom asked, voice soft.

Avery glanced over.

“Did anything happen?  With dad?  With Grumble?  You seem so melancholy.”

“Leaving friends.”

“Is that it?  That’s valid, I mean, but…”

Avery shrugged, shook her head, and found herself at a loss for words.  Her eyes scanned the surroundings, looking for anything of note.  Interesting things.  Dangerous things.

Which was a thought that led to her opening her mouth.  She saw her mom looking, and decided to go through with it.

“World feels a bit scarier than it did a few weeks ago, and it already felt scary then.”

“What’s scaring you?”

“Hmmm…”  Avery tilted her head back against the backrest of the car, drawing in a deep breath.  “I guess if I had to reach for a really short, quick answer before we arrive…”

“Going to be another ten or fifteen minutes, you know.”

“Really?”

“Thunder Bay is as big as Montreal, but has one hundred thousand people, to Montreal’s… I think one and a half million?  More than.  What were you going to say?”

“You wanted to know what’s scaring me and the cliche answer that jumps to mind is, hm, what isn’t?”

“Oh baby.”

“That might be my personality, me being a bit anxious and nervous.”

“If that’s your cliche response, the cliche mom response is to be terrified about what kind of exposure you’re getting to the world from social media and everything.  Don’t- don’t give me that look.”

Avery’s eyes were wide, hand protectively over her bag.

“I’m not going to take away your phone.  Not now.”

“It’s not social media, you know?  It’s… Verona going back to live with her dad.  It’s… people die.”

“Who died?”

“A veteran we’d say hi to sometimes.  Living in around the factories.”

“A veteran- homeless?”

“Please don’t make a big deal of it?  Mom-”

“Avery, if you’re-”

“Mom!” Avery raised her voice a bit.  “You said you’d try to listen and pay attention more, stop freaking out and do what you promised.”

“That sounds dangerous.  Why or how were you associating with this man?”

“He was cool.  And then he died.”

“Do people know?  Is there-?”

“People know.  He had friends, they swung by.  Mom… you’re missing the point.”

Her mom stopped, heaved out a breath, and kept driving.

“He’s gone,” Avery said.  “People die.  They- bad things happen and all we can do is sorta cling together, trust each other, and I might be betraying that trust by leaving.  Whatever Lucy and Verona say.”

“I thought you were worried about climate change.”

“That too.  A lot of other stuff.  Verona says- she read something that said depressed people have a clearer sense of reality than other people.  And anxious people too, I think?  Sorta makes you think.”

“I’ve read that and it’s a little more nuanced than the headlines say.  In some things, yes.  But in many others, no, not at all.  You need to keep talking to people to help you keep things straight, especially if you’re wrestling with anxiety and depression.”

“Tell me about things like this soldier, okay?  I might- I worry.  I worry so much.  But tell me.”

“John.  His name was John.”

“Do you want to talk to anyone?  Do you know if there’s a service you’d need to go back for?  Was this part of the reason for wanting to move?”

“He didn’t want one.  And I dunno if I want to talk to anyone.  I guess I’ll let you know about the therapy?  It wasn’t,” Avery replied, a bit jumbled.  “I decided, sat on it for a bit, told dad, then John died and now I feel even worse for leaving my friends.”

Her mom sighed.  “And here I thought this would be a bit easier, your dad and I giving each of you some one on one time and more dedicated focus.”

“Nuh uh.  We’re all growing up.  And on that- about that.  You can’t focus on just Rowan, Sheridan and me.  Declan.  He’s becoming a troll and dad’s a bit slow on the draw.”

Her mom sighed again.  They pulled up to a red light, and her mom looked over at her.  “First of all, it’s more you and Sheridan.  Rowan spent time with Laurie and her friends here and I think it was the kick in the pants he needed.  He’s saying he wants to work two jobs, show he’s motivated, and he’s maybe, maybe considering continuing his schooling.”

“Huh.”

“I think it’s important he’s finding that motivation on his own.  Even if it’s by feeling like a bump on the log when surrounded by motivated, cool people who are talking about their futures.”

Mom and Dad did that sometimes, where they’d be talking to Rowan and they’d use language like that, ‘bump on a log’ like they’d use for Kerry, or accidentally let swear words slip with Kerry, when they’d use that kind of language with Rowan.  And Avery got the worst of it.  “You mean he felt like a loser.”

“I’m making no comment and I’m asking you not to.  Sheridan’s Sheridan.  I’m hopeful that school starting tomorrow is a similar push for her.  We’ll see.  I’m- let’s just say I’m expecting to have to help her, steer her, give her some direction.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Same as you, you know.  We do need to talk.  I can’t help but feel you were just deflecting to Declan.  That’s the downside of the dedicated focus.”

“I’m still sorting it out in my head.  Can we talk about it after?”

“About you and you… it’s about you wanting to leave more than you wanting to come, isn’t it?”

“I wanted to come.  I do.  I like new places, new experiences.  And I didn’t want to leave, I just…”

Avery let the sentence taper off there.

The light turned green and her mom didn’t move.  A car behind them did a mini-beep.

Her mom set the car into motion.

Avery didn’t pick up the taper of sentence.

“I think we need to have a small talk about it before Thanksgiving.  And we’ll follow up on that after Thanksgiving.  And, big deadline, before you go back, I want to have this figured out.  Even if it means hard talks with your dad.”

“Or Grumble?  Or Declan?”

“All three, huh?”

“I’m not trying to dodge you.  I do want to talk, or, hmm… I do want to figure this out, you know?  I don’t want to actually have those conversations, I’m sorta sick of them.  But thanksgiving deadline for a mini talk?  Sounds good.”

“At a bare minimum, please.  If there’s more, or if you want to give me some idea of what I need to say or do, I’m here.  Busy with work, but I’m here.”

“Right.  Just… not now?  I’ve got a lot on my mind, starting the new school, moving to a new place, other junk.”

“Okay.  Speaking of new school, how are you set for back to school clothes?”

“I’ve got some stuff.  Dad gave me the card for after the bagel shop but we were distracted.”

“Show me what you got and if there’s any gaps we can squeeze something in between unloading the car and picking stuff up for dinner.”

Avery nodded.

Snowdrop was startled from a doze by a phone notification, hit the screen and then sent Avery a note of panic.  Not because of the message but because of a warning?

Avery unzipped her bag and reached inside.  Her phone screen had a big ‘do you want to block this user?’ message on it.

Avery refused.

“Who?” her mom asked, pointing.  “Lucy and Verona?”

“Nah.  Raquel from the summer thing.”

“You really hit it off there.”

“Sorta.  We were kinda enemies while we were there, but after she seemed sorta… alone?  Her uncle took over her school and she lost her friends.”

“That’s extreme.”

“It makes more sense if you know who her uncle is.  It’s less that her friends ran away and more that her uncle’s a misogynistic dildo who won’t cut her a break.  And so I offered to stay in touch by phone.  Then her cousin died a week ago.”

Her mom gave her a concerned look.

Avery shrugged a shoulder.  “Mostly I’m recommending films and shows for her to watch, because she’s horribly behind on all the pop culture stuff.  She hadn’t seen a blockbuster film since she was eight.”

“What did she do with her time?  Laundry?  I’m trying to picture-”

Avery snorted.  “They have people for laundry.  And for taking care of the horses.  And they have a private jet.  But they also have expectations of their sons and daughters.”

She made ‘expectations’ as scary and ominous as she could.

“Ahh.”

“Lucy was all, ‘you have to watch these films, they’re the genre staples, cover all the genres, then we can build out from there, figure out your tastes… and Raquel’s not- I guess having said what I just said about expectations, then saying that, we sorta should’ve realized she wouldn’t be into that.”

“Mm hmmm.”

“And Verona- I can’t tell if Verona was messing with her or trying wild shots in the dark to try to see if she could find something Raquel adored, or if it’s this artsy, push the boundaries thing, but… more misses than hits.  Raquel was sorta frustrated with that.  A lot of ‘why would anyone like this?’ questions.  Mostly she likes me to just riff off stuff I liked that I think would be cool and relaxing.  I’ve been rewatching a lot of old favorite stuff, because I’ll check it to make sure it’s kosher and not stressful and doesn’t have any depressing stuff in it, then I end up watching, and we’ll each say a few lines about it after.”

“I’m glad one of you found something that works.”

“So am I,” Avery replied.

“Are you, uh… is there anything… Raquel, was it?  Between you?”

“Us?  Heck no.  No.  Don’t do that.”

“Okay,” her mom said.  “Is she the same one that sent you the skull?”

“That was Liberty.  They’re just online friends,” she said.

A text popped up from Liberty, image included.  Hey gorgeous, how far does this outfit push it?  I want to see how close I can get to the line before a teacher says something.

Avery hurried to switch conversations before her mom saw the outfit or the goblins in the foreground that were a little too in motion to be explained away.

“A lot of online friends,” she added.

“And Verona and Lucy, I hope.”

Less than I’d like.

Avery wasn’t sure where to draw the line.  Was it bad to expect a reply in the span of an hour?  Maybe they had stuff going on.

“Any recommendations about stuff for Raquel?” Avery asked, changing the subject.  “Something not too intense, but relevant, pop culture-y.  Her dad made comments about her watching stuff but she said she needs to know so she doesn’t embarrass herself at a party or anything, and he kind of let it slide.  It’s gotta be something she can justify.”

“Hmmm.  I like musicals.”

“Good freaking call,” Avery said.  “What’s that one, it was popular last year?  They did a movie musical remake about it?  Unpopular high school girls?”

“Claudias.”

“Thank you very much… Yeah.  I could even see that being something she’d be super into.”

“Glad to help.”

“Almost there.”

“‘Kay.”

The apartment was a house, tall and narrow, with red brick and black trim.  The garden looked like something had been attempted and only partially succeeded, with patches of dirt.

There was a patio table with an attached umbrella atop the garage, bounded in by railing and tinted glass panels.  A few potted plants had fronds and leaves sticking out through parts of the railing.  Sheridan stood up as they slowed down to maneuver into the narrow driveway.

“Bottom floor is the landlord, she’s older.  Upper two floors are the apartment.  Balcony on top of the garage is also ours.”

“Kinda stretching the definition of apartment, huh?” Avery asked.

“It’s nice and I’m not complaining.”

“We really have an older landlord?  Does she need help?  Did you really find us a woman version of Grumble?”

“Ha ha.  It’s up to you guys to shovel the walkway and driveway.  We’ll work that out.  But it won’t be a Grumble situation.”

They parked at the back of the property.

“And let’s unload quick, you can unpack after, we’ll run to the store and get food, how’s that?”

“Sounds good,” Avery said.

She got out of the car, picked up her bag, Snowdrop inside, and stretched.

Then she got boxes.  Some were dusty containers they’d had in their basement.  Tape with writing on it labeled it as hers.

Her mom led the way, with the heaviest one, and Avery followed.

“Did you finish the bed?” her mom asked.

“Didn’t get around to it,” Sheridan said.

“Color me unimpressed, Sheridan.  Help unload, okay?  Where’s Rowan?”

“Job interview, or so he says.”

“I believe him.  Let’s believe him.  Okay, that’s fine.”

Sheridan stood in the stairwell as Avery went up, and as Avery went around, Sheridan sidestepped, getting in the way.

“This is heavy, please move.”

“I am going to shiv you in your sleep.”

“Sheridan-”

“Are you serious?  I’m nice to you and this is what I get?  I am almost not lying when I say the shiv thing.  I’m literally not sure if there’s going to be a point in the next little while where I’m lying awake in bed, annoyed at your existence-”

“Move!”

“-and I’ll catch a whiff of your gym clothes or something and I’ll just get up and end you.  There has to be some justice in this screwed up world.”

“Do you want me to drop this on your foot?”

Sheridan moved up a step, and stuck her toe out to press against the front face of the box so Avery couldn’t walk up.  Avery set the edge of the box down on a stair and frowned up at her big sister.

“I finally had a room of my own.  Finally!  I will murder you if it means I get a room of my own.”

Their mom stepped into view at the top of the stairwell.  “First of all, if you murder her you’re going to get a shared jail cell and I think you’ll find that much worse.”

“Is it though?  Because you know, skeevy addict or gangster woman on the one hand, thirteen year old human embodiment of a stale gym sock on the other.  I think I’d rather room with the skeevy addict gangster.”

“Love you too Sheridan,” Avery muttered.

“Loving you means recognizing who you are deep down inside, human equivalent of a stale gym sock.”

“It’s a big room,” their mom said.  “Our landlord was going to separate the two upper floors into two apartments, and what you’re getting as a quote-unquote ‘bedroom’ is the combined living room, kitchen, and side nook.  Put up a curtain to cut it in half and it’s still more space than you would have had if you’d had your own room back at the house like we originally planned.  There are whole apartments smaller than that room.”

“It’s the principle!”

“And my principles say that if you don’t let your sister upstairs and work with us on this, I’m going to be mad, Sheridan.  I’m talking worse than when you nearly failed eighth grade and I had to talk to the teachers to convince them to fudge the numbers let you pass.”

“I knew the material, the teachers just had it out for me.”

“We’re not re-litigating that.  We’re not even litigating this.  You have two choices.  Let your sister upstairs, don’t kick up a fuss, don’t murder her, and get the bed put together with no shenanigans before we’re done with our shopping.  Do that, and you can pick what we have for dinner, like I promised earlier.  Or get on my bad side.”

Sheridan moved aside.  Avery lifted the box and walked up.

“Overloaded?” Sheridan asked, walking down the stairs as Avery walked up.

“Thought so.  That’s fine.  If you get the bed made.  Don’t forget a screw because you think it’ll be a laugh for the bed to break halfway through the night.”

“You know me so well,” Sheridan said.

“What’s Overloaded?” Avery asked, as she carried the box up past her mom.

Her mom answered, “burgers and calzones with too much topping or stuffing.  Sides like Cajun fries.  This will be the third time we’ve eaten there in the last two weeks, after which point we’re going to take a break from eating there, Sheridan!”

“And give up a good way to bribe me?” Sheridan called up, already outside.

“Avery, they have some vegetarian options.  If that doesn’t work we’ll stop somewhere else.”

“Thanks,” Avery said, flashing her mom a smile she didn’t feel was too forced.

Avery carried the stuff up to the top floor, putting the box on the counter before exploring.  There was a side door leading to stairs that went to the garage-top patio.

She opened the door and her bag and let Snowdrop free.  That would be Snowdrop’s hangout spot until the weather got too cold, she supposed.  Close by, with hiding spots from family, but with access to the world.

There was also a bathroom, but it was mostly an empty space with Sheridan’s stuff at one end, and then a mattress, boxspring, and the unloaded contents of a bedframe on the ground that hadn’t been put together.  Some of Avery’s stuff had already been delivered a few days ago, and was stacked against the wall in what Sheridan had probably figured was the most annoying and inaccessible way possible.

The front window was really her best view of Thunder Bay since she’d arrived.  Or ever- she’d been before, but mainly to shop for Christmas and things, and she hadn’t been able to get a great sense of the city.  It was less of a city than she’d imagined.  More of a sprawling town, apparently as large as Montreal, very flat and low to the ground.  They had a view of the water from the patio and their bedroom window.

Her phone had picked up some more messages while she’d been carrying.  One from Liberty- Want to bet on whether I singlehandly can get them to force a dress code?   Whats yur take on school uniforms?  I need opinions from some1 who hasnt been corruptd.

Avery typed out a message: was in car with mom.  sdrop loved skullcrap dance.  I think she wants to make a reply vid.  uniforms are cool.  low pressure for fashion.

Liberty’s reply was almost immediate: hi blood pressure!!!  Boys in snazy button ups and ties.  Legs 4 yur gay ass!  Swishng skirts!?   Give me a hell yea!

Avery sent a rolling eyeball image across the text field.

Things are so absolute shit right now.

The message came from Liberty, in a complete and total shift in tone, like a bucket of water over Avery.

how bad?  She asked.

Kids getting hit with visions in their dreams, gainsaid with no warning over stuff they said a year ago sometimes.  Couple little kids are afraid to sleep.  Vice-Head Ray got gainsaid like that a few days ago and recovered yesterday.  This morning he was gainsaid again.  He’s leaving.  Has 2.  Can’t work.

Zed had already communicated about Ray getting gainsaid.  He hadn’t said anything about being hit by something else right after he’d recovered.

Avery typed: Just Musser in charge now?

Cple guest teachrs.  We might not have fall smster.

Avery was in the middle of typing something when Liberty sent a short message.

G2g.  Bbsc ttys ❤ B===D

“Shit,” Avery whispered.

The worry made her check, and she saw a message from Lucy that she hadn’t had a notification for.  It might’ve been Snowdrop accidentally opening it.  She clicked-

Her mom interrupted her, “Keep moving, it’ll mean you have more time for shopping, and Overloaded has forty-five minute waits sometimes, we’ll need to account for that on the other end.  It’s a bit of a chore but it keeps Sheridan happy.”

“Keeps me so happy,” Sheridan said.  “Don’t forget the cheesecake.”

It felt really jarring to go from the conversation with Liberty to this.  From gainsayings and chaos at the Blue Heron to cheesecake.

But Avery had felt like this all week.  From losing John and losing to Charles to babysitting Kerry and listening to her sing along to the worst cartoons in existence.

“We’ll put in the order while we’re buying school clothes and supplies,” Avery’s mom told her.

Avery nodded, forcing a smile.

They all went down to get boxes.  Avery waited for her mom to take the biggest one, Sheridan took the lightest load she could, with a pillow under one arm and a partially filled cardboard box of coats and shoes under another, and Avery went to pick up the next, when Snowdrop nudged her from afar, reaching through their bond.

Avery turned and saw a pair of women at the end of the driveway.

Snowdrop immediately started climbing down from the patio, while Avery walked over.

One of the women didn’t look well.  She had a cataract at one eye and her ears and nose were red and waxy-looking, her fingers much the same, with black around the fingernails.  The other looked like any woman who might live around here.  Like she could be a friend of Avery’s mom.  Both were old, around Avery’s parents in age.

A glimpse with the Sight confirmed.  The one woman was covered in black handprints that had pressed in, a half-inch deeper than skin level.  The other had power, tiny handprints that appeared and faded on surfaces around her like wet footprints on hot sidewalk.

Their eyes flashed as well.

“Avery Kelly, wild practitioner and Path Runner.  This is-”

She waited as Snowdrop ran over in human form, wearing a light jacket and a dress that said ‘drop dead, gorgeous’.

“-Snowdrop.  Opossum spirit companion.  I gather you’re the welcoming committee?” Avery finished.

“I wouldn’t presume welcome,” the more normal woman said.

Avery nodded, pressing lips together.

“Ann Wint.  Chainer and Destroyer,” the normal woman introduced herself, before introducing the other as, “Deb Cloutier, Storm Chaser.”

“Do you know what these titles mean?” Deb the Storm Chaser asked, voice a bit strangled.

“I think I know what a Storm Chaser is.  I got the rundown on Storms- I guess you go diving into those elemental hotspots searching for… stuff?  Or move in right after they leave?”

“Diving, yes.”

“No idea about the other, but… I gather you’re not to be messed with.  Either of you.”

“Good gathering,” Ann told her.  “That will do.  If you’re a wild practitioner, that suggests a patron Other or greater power, do we need to worry about him or her?”

By ‘do we need to worry’ she didn’t mean just them.

Avery knew she was already talking to the Lord, just one step removed.  Whatever she said or did wrong here would get taken there.

“Patrons, plural, and no, I don’t think so.  Not unless, like, you take me hostage or something goes really wrong, pretty sure.  Even then, I think, um, you’d probably have a really annoyed diplomat type before you had a war on your doorstep.  Goblin or a Lost.”

“A diplomat goblin?” Deb the Storm Chaser asked, clearly skeptical.

“Yes, and on that note, I’d like to request a meeting.  With the Lord of Thunder Bay.  To introduce myself as I move in.”  She’d been told it was better to ask for the meeting before being made to attend one, and she was glad she’d managed to wedge it in without sounding too demanding.

“You moving in is not up to you,” Ann the Destroyer told her.  “It’s up to us.”

Deb added, “If the Lord or the locals decide you’re not welcome, you’ll need to go back where you came from.  If you don’t leave after being asked, you’ll be considered an intruder to be dealt with.”

“Understood.  For that appointment, I can try slipping away for whenever is convenient, but tonight would be easiest,” Avery asserted.

“I’m diurnal, so I prefer day,” Snowdrop said.

“Either way, tonight serves.  Ten thirty.  We’ll indicate where,” Deb the Storm Chaser told her, voice strained.

Avery nodded once.  “May I have permission to practice?  I’ll keep it to travel only and some connection blockers.”

“Do without until we decide what to do with you,” Ann said.

Avery frowned, but nodded.  “Is it okay if I use a ‘down to earth’ rune to lock some passive stuff down?  I’ve got like… ongoing enchantments and benefits from running paths.”

“Does it keep things calm and uninteresting?” Ann asked.

Avery nodded.  “That’s the whole point of it.  Definitely more than not using it.”

“Avery!” her mom called over.

“Then that should be fine.”

Avery turned, and when she glanced back, the pair were walking off.  Snowdrop ran off the other direction.

She rejoined her mom.

“Who was that?  Neighbors?”

“Locals.  Delivering a ‘be good or else’, sorta.”

“How pleasant,” her mom said, sarcastic, sounding very much like she’d given birth to Sheridan once upon a time.  She frowned in the direction of the driveway entrance before looking at Avery.  “I wish you’d let me handle talking to them, in that case, or waved me over.”

Avery shrugged.

“Point them out if you see them again.  Now come on.  Still more to get out.”

Avery hopped to it, taking the bedside table with stuff still in the bottom drawer.  It had been taped shut.

“You’re going to be okay with that?  Heavy.”

“Just keep Sheridan out of my way.”

She got upstairs, maneuvered around Sheridan, who was now working on the bed frame, and dropped off the boxes by the corner where her bed would go.

She checked that message from Lucy that she’d been interrupted from twice.

I’m worried about Verona.

Swallowing hard, she fired off a reply and then hurried downstairs.

keep me up to date.  we’ll figure something out.

Being bound up in the car and then while driving around getting to food and stores, and feeling a bit bogged down by a very large meal of deep fried pickles, a veggie nacho calzone, and Cajun sweet potato fries, Avery had decided to go out for a run.  She’d been sweating a bit from just the process of eating that meal before she even set out on the run.

It was a bit dangerous when she couldn’t practice, but the idea of being locked down from morning to night and then facing a tough meeting with the Lord of Thunder Bay really didn’t sit well.

At least this way she could get centered.  Running.  Exploring.  She wished she could black rope around, but she stuck by the rules.

The sound of a tweeting whistle was a siren call.  Doubly so when she realized it was a school.

She walked up to the fence, watching as a bunch of high-schoolers ran laps around the perimeter of a field, where there was a paved footpath for running.  Boys and girls.

She had the sick feeling that school had already started, and she’d missed some, and she’d arrive with everyone’s eyes on her.

“Hey!” the coach barked.

She looked at him.  He had a shaved head and a full-face squint like he was staring into the sun, even though the sun wasn’t up anymore and the sky was overcast.  Like he wore that expression so often it had gotten stuck.  Polo shirt, sweat pants, whistle in one hand, papers in the other.

“How old are you?”

“Fourteen.”

“You out running?”

Avery nodded.  She leaned against the fence, breathing hard, little towel around her neck.

“Spying on the competition?” he asked, sounding almost as if he was joking, but not quite.

“I just moved, I think this is my school that I’ll be going to.”

“Unofficial practice,” the coach said, pointing a rolled up paper at the others.  He turned.  “Watch your form, Camille!  Don’t you dare get injured!”

“Why unofficial?”

He was splitting attention between her and the group, and the way he squinted, it was hard to tell which he was looking at.  “Track event two weeks after school starts, thought we’d get a head start.  Lacrosse a month in.  Come in, run.”

“I’m not sure-”

“Come on.  If you’re running anyway, better you’re somewhere safe, making friends.”

She debated it internally for a short bit, then nodded, running over to the break in the fence where it had been unchained and opened to allow entry.  She emptied her water bottle over her head and face, slipped her various bracelets and things onto it, waited for a gap, then ran.  A lot of the students were older.  She didn’t try to pass, and ran at a regular pace, keeping an eye on the bottle to be safe.

After her first loop, she passed the coach.  He called out, “Name!?”

“Avery Kelly!”

“Run hard, Avery Kelly!”

“But-”

“Run hard!”

She ran hard.  It was hard and annoying to pass with the track as occupied as it was, but she found an angle, then sprinted ahead.  It helped that the others were tired from running well before she’d gotten there.  She ended up behind a pack of the seniors and a couple others who were managing a good pace, and in other circumstances she would’ve maybe passed them slowly, but both passing and navigating around them was a bit difficult.

She saw the coach at the far end.  “Excuse me!”

“Excuse yourself!” a senior called out.

She grunted, then forced herself forward a bit more, slipping past on the inside track.

In the end, the seniors put in a bit of extra effort, and they did leave her behind.

“Come over here!” the coach called out, pointing at her with the rolled up papers.

Panting, she came over, went straight for the water on the little table he’d set up, and drank, before sitting on grass.

“Track?”

She shook her head.

“I want you on the track team when the school year starts.”

“I tried it.  I…” she searched for the words.  “Hate it?”

“Try it again?”

“I like hockey and soccer,” she said, pressing her hands together.

“You skate?”

“Fast.”

“You were running fast enough to almost keep up with girls three years older than you.  Admittedly, they’re on their last legs, but… I believe you.  How’s this?  I know people who manage the minor and the A-league junior teams for hockey.  Try track again, I’ll put in a word.”

“I’ll think about it?” she told him, unsure.

“Lacrosse?”

“Played some in middle school.  One game earlier this summer, with older kids.”

“Ah, darn.”

“They accused me of cheating.”

“Cheating how?  Technical fouls?”

“Being fast, I guess.”

“And how does that make sense?”

“He was sore I was faster than him, I guess?”

“Keep an eye out for the sign up sheet.  We’re doing practice twice a week, it’ll be official practice once school starts, with sheets for your parents to sign.  Don’t get injured before then, not allowed.  This isn’t me, this is them deciding they wanted to run all at the same time and I happened to come by and decide to supervise and hydrate them.  Don’t get injured or that’s on me.”

“Okay.  Will try.”

“You good to keep running?” he indicated the track.

She shook her head, drinking the last of the water.

“Do you have the speed without the stamina?”

“I was running around all summer, I have stamina.  But I’ve gotta get home.  I’ve got somewhere to be tonight.”

“See you around then, Avery Kelly.  Keep an eye out for the sign-up sheets, think about my offer.”

She picked herself up, got her water bottle, and headed out.

Someone clicked her tongue as Avery walked along the fence, trying to get some more drops out of the bottle.

A guy and a girl.  They looked like seniors.

“Impressed Artrip,” the girl said.  “How old are you?”

“Fourteen,” Avery said.

“Same,” the girl said.

Not a senior then.  Just tall.

The girl indicated the guy.  “Brother, fifteen.  He’s Oli, I’m-”

“Jeanine, Oli, run!”

“Jeanine.  See you around?”

“Run!  I know you have it in you!”

Avery shrugged and nodded.

Felt good.  Being seen.

The bracelet clicked.  Avery turned her head.

An Other with bright eyes disappeared into a gap between houses.

She raised her hand in a wave, then hurried along.

Felt less good.

Like she could have something here, but it could be taken away on a whim.

Sneaking out was difficult without connection blockers.  She got up and headed to the door, and Sheridan groaned, long and loud.

“I’m just going to the patio.  It’s nice out, and I can’t sleep.”  Because I’ve got somewhere to be.

“Fuck youuuuu.  I’m tired, let me sleep my way into my carb coma.  I hate that you exist right now.”

“It’s been hours.”

“I had that extra slice of caramel cheesecake for dessert an hour ago.  Fuck you for talking to me right now when I should be asleep.  Fuck you for this room not being mine.  Fuck offfff.”

“Love you.”

“Love you I guess but fuck you and fuck off.  I’ll still smother you with a pillow if you make noise coming back in.”

Avery let herself onto the patio, grabbing the bag she’d placed by the door.

She grabbed Snowdrop, and took Snowdrop’s direction in climbing down to the lawn.  She ran off into the night.

Felt lonely, not having the others around.

Spooky, knowing how bloody and awful the world of practice and Others could be.  Was she walking into danger?

Verona had given her the rundown from her brief experience with various minor lords and powers that had sway around Kennet.  Some only had small towns of fifty people, but they had say.  Many were beholden to other nearby towns and cities.  Thunder Bay being a prominent one, but fake London, Waterloo, and Toronto were others.  Like medieval vassals.

“You have a good afternoon?” Avery asked.

“Didn’t sleep a wink, no way to break in and steal snacks.”

“Sheridan will get blamed for pigging out.”

“That’s a shame.”

Avery smiled.

“You?” Snowdrop asked.

“Might have a team.”

“Awful, you’ll hate that.”

“Yeah.  We’ll see, I guess.  It’s all for nothing if there’s a problem tonight and we get kicked out.”

“Sure glad we don’t have Miss or anyone telling us to do this, do that, ooh, be careful, that might upset the Lord.”

“I hear you, Snow.”

They walked toward the water.  Avery’s bracelet clicked, and she saw the Other with the glowing eyes again.

As they got closer to the water, streetlights went out.

Most streetlights went out.  As they flickered back on, Avery waited for a few stray cars to pass, then hurried across the road, toward the lights that had remained on.

She got there, and the lights flicked off again.

Another remained on in the distance.

“Feels like a Path,” she told Snowdrop.

“I’d bet it’s as dangerous as one.  Mostly.”

Avery nodded.

The lights led them to a little marina.  Avery had to work to find a way in that didn’t mean trespassing.  There was a little walkway stretching across the watery part of the property, where bikers and people walking could cross without having to circle past a parking lot.  It looked like it folded up for the boats in the marina to exit.

The lights went out again.  The moon glowed bright, and when Avery turned, it was dark.

She ventured onto the rocks at the water’s edge.  As she got closer to the water, the ripples on the surface made the moon refract, cast out in three or four iterations.

It reminded her a little bit of the Choir, but that had been chaotic.  This was like… glowing lily pads.

She held onto Snowdrop’s hand, sticking a toe down, and felt something solid.

“I wonder if she’s a prankster?” Avery asked.  She helped steady Snowdrop as Snowdrop hopped down from the rock, onto the spot where the circle of the moon was reflected on the lapping water.  It sloshed over Avery’s running shoes.  “This would be a good prank, pulling the rug out from under us, letting us get doused.”

“I’d love that.  On a cold night like tonight?” Snowdrop replied.

Avery got her bag, handed it to Snowdrop, and pulled out her mask and cape.  She didn’t wear the mask, but set it over one shoulder, the ribbon at its most extreme.  Cape on, hat on but strung around her neck.  She put the little broken antler at one corner of her forehead, where it floated in place.

They hopped from one glowing disc on the water’s surface to another, out about a hundred feet past the shoreline.

On the last step, as they reached the end, it gave way.  Water rushed out and up on either side of them, and they plunged in.

They barely got wet.  They went down, balanced on a reflection of the moon, descending into deep water.

The walls of water on all sides of them went out, reshaping into tendrils and other shapes that meant they didn’t hit the people who were standing there.  They solidified into walls of parted water forming a loose dome shape, with a window at the top for the moon to shine through.

Leaving Avery with the feeling that if the Lord so chose, she could stop holding back the water and let it all crash in.  At which point most of those present would drown.

Light from the moon bounced down and reflected, casting everything in a gentle glow.  Avery could see about seven figures, plus the Lord, a ten foot tall woman with long limbs that bowed and bent.  Where forearms rested on her legs, they bent into arcs, the slender, transparent gray-skinned hands limp.  Water flowed from the top of her head down, forming hair and dress.  Her face looked like a mask, eyes glowing the mottled blue of the water on a summer day.

“Lord of Thunder Bay, I am pleased to make your acquaintance,” Avery greeted herself.  “Thank you for your audience.”

The Lord didn’t move or speak.  Was it a trick?

She glanced around and saw that there were two Others- one she hadn’t seen before and the one with glowing eyes was entering the ‘room’.  A man with glossy black brimmed hat and coat, the glowing eyes the only part of him that weren’t as black as black got.

The other four were practitioners.  Distinct practitioners- none looked like they obviously belonged to the same family or practice.

Eight in total if she counted the Lord.

She hated public speaking.  She really did.

She’d been told what to say.  She hoped she wouldn’t mess it up.

“I’m Avery Kelly, Wild practitioner, I’m told the title of Path Runner is more accurate than Finder when it comes to me, but I’ve been called both.  I come in peace, to live here if you’re so gracious.  I intend to cooperate, as much as is reasonable, and to those ends, I bring gifts.”

“Plural?”

That was Deb, with the rasping voice.  The Storm Chaser.

“Plural.  If I may?” Avery asked.

The Lord of Thunder Bay extended a hand, palm out and up.

Avery reached into her bag, nervous as heck.

“An elemental weapon, I’ll leave it to you to unwrap, so I’m not bearing any weapon against you,” Avery said, taking the Dropped Knife she’d wrapped in a silk scarf her mom hadn’t wanted anymore.

The elemental pulled her hand back.

Avery paused, unsure.

“Is… something wrong?” Avery asked.

“Do you have a coin?” a man asked.  “It can be a penny.”

Avery hesitated, then went into her bag.  She dug in and found the two coins she’d brought to the awakening ritual.  The Hudson’s Bay Company coin they’d actually used, and a silver dollar.

She wasn’t done with the other coin.  It represented things still unresolved.

“Put it in with the knife.”

Avery did.  As she did, the elemental extended her hand once more.  Avery placed the gift inside.

“And wait.”

Water swirled and sloshed.  The scarf was unwrapped and set aside.  The coin was tossed into the air, flipping and glinting.  Avery caught it, and froze post-catch.

“Do I have to give the coin with each gift?” she asked.

“It’s a belief that if you give a knife as a gift, you threaten to sever a friendship or alliance,” the man said.

“I never heard of that.”

“That’s good.  If you had and you did that intentionally, it would be a bad sign.  Carry on.”

The Escape Key.  They’d only used it once, and only as a trap.  It was inside a case.

“An elemental key, it’s dangerous to use but I know you have people who can manipulate elements in your service.  My second gift.”

She place it in the elemental Lord’s waiting hand.

A third hand extended from her liquid mass, gray-skinned and cracked, water swirling and foaming beneath the smokey, hard surface.

“And a goblin matchbook.  It’s powerful, I know it’s of fire when you’re of water, but we thought a trifecta of elemental gifts might suit.  I can explain what they do if you wish.”

“Who is we?” Ann asked.  Ann Wint, Destroyer.

“I’m one of three.  We awoke together, wearing our regalia.  We extend these gifts to you in hopes of hospitality.  I represent my friends and my friends represent me, and we hope that if they ever visit, any clout, credit, or hospitality given to me will be extended to them.”

“Any offense,” an old man said, from the sidelines, voice rough and nasal, “as well.”

Avery shivered slightly.  “Of course.”

The lord took the matchbox, closing the hand around it.  All three gifts were taken and placed on a rock to her right.

Gifts accepted?  Good sign.

The elemental turned to her right.  Just past the rocks was Deb Cloutier.  Storm Chaser.

“Deb Cloutier, Storm Chaser.  I serve this council as Lord when our Lord is unable or otherwise occupied, which is admittedly rare.  We have been informed you are of Kennet.”

“That is correct.  I’m a protector of Kennet, a representative of it.”

“Why aren’t you protecting this place you’re a protector of?” Deb asked her, voice strained.

“It’s knotting.  And quickly.  Family circumstance had me planning to leave beforehand, then Charles- the Carmine Exile took the throne, we decided it was best I was gone, protecting it from afar.  Ready to move in from the flanks.  Even before the awakening, we were told we could live elsewhere, so long as we came back from time to time.”

“In which case you could take our secrets back there with you,” Deb told her.

“I have no intention of doing so.  If need be, I could swear oaths or leave, if a secret is that important.”

“So you have no intention of being a wholehearted member of this council?”

“I- you’ll have my help if you need it and it doesn’t conflict with my duties.  But I have no interest in drama, or secrets, or anything like that.  I just want to stay with my family and keep the peace, make allies while making as few enemies as possible.”

“Right now we have an influx of practitioners who are seeking refuge in our Lord’s reach.  We’ve refused all,” Deb said.

Avery swallowed.

“Do you expect us to take you in, when you come from the same place that the current chaos started from?”

“Ma’am,” Avery answered, a little caught off guard.  Her hand shook, and Snowdrop grabbed it, holding it.  “We fought really hard to try to stop it.  We lost friends.  I don’t think the chaos followed me, it just… bled out everywhere.”

“I cede the floor,” Deb said, stepping back a fraction.

The man to her right stepped forward a bit.

Oh, shit on me, are they all grilling me one at a time?

“Florin Pesch,” the man who’d advised her about the coin said.  He had a light sweater on, dark blue, with white pants and sandals, like he was ready to be on a boat.  His blond hair looked like he used a stylist.  Avery felt underdressed in this moment.  “Puppeteer.”

“Like a Dollmaker?”

“No.  Who are your enemies?”

“I’m… not a fan of the current holder of the Carmine throne, or those who put him there.  Those include the Dark Fall Fae Maricica, one of my former patrons, Edith James, and the City Spirit usurper of Kennet, Lis.  Abraham Musser opposed us and fought us we tried to stop the chaos and we parted ways without fighting, after.  I think he’s leaving us alone if we leave him alone.”

“Abraham Musser is a friend of mine,” Florin Pesch told her.

Shit.  “Okay.”

“Who else?”

“A goblin princess took issue with me and my friends.  We fought Witch Hunters.  A body snatching watch named Bridge is currently in custody of an Other we know… we’ve offered freedom if terms are met and he refused.”

“We don’t want your trouble on our doorsteps,” Florin said.

“I don’t think any of them would come here to strike at me directly, and not in a way that hurt you, except for the goblin princess, and I’ll be told in advance if she decides to come after me.  I can try to leave and intercept her so the fight doesn’t happen in Thunder Bay.”

“Your allies?”

“My patrons, a council of Others.  With the state of Kennet, I’m told that’s no longer secret.  A Lost, an enclave of goblins, a hostbound, a swordsman now of the winter fae, a nightmare, two ghouls, a plicate spirit, a god-begotten, an Oni, an alchemical construct, and a living cigarette.  I have practitioner contacts that include a technomancer, augur, enchantress, an ex-host, a goblin princess, sister to the one I mentioned before, an emotion manipulator, an amateur collector, and a family of Finders.  There are also-”

“That grouping reminds me of some Blue Heron students.”

“Yes.”

“Were you involved in the crisis there in the summer?  Where two competing headmasters did not survive?”

“Yes,” Avery replied, heart sinking.

“Carry on.”

“I’m interested in hearing more about that,” Ann Wint interrupted.

“I have the floor, and I told you some of that.  You said it was dull.”

“Dull and irrelevant at the time.  It’s relevant now.”

“I’ll tell you after.  Any of you.  Now, may I have the floor?”

The Lord extended a hand.

“Avery?” Florin asked.

“Hmm?” Avery asked.

“Carry on.  There are also?”

Avery drew a complete mental blank for what felt like ten seconds but was probably closer to five.  Being interrupted and on the spot were a bad combination.  “There are also several Aware among my allies…”

Snowdrop squeezed her hand.

“…my Familiar, of course, and a collection of innocents that include family.”

“A good thing your familiar is your ally.  What a terrible thing it would be if it weren’t,” Florin said.

“She, and yes.”

“Will any of the patron Others you named come to offer assistance or support to Thunder Bay in times of crisis?”

“I could see a situation where they came to help me, but no, not exactly.”

“Then if we discount the Others who are not likely to come to aid us, what allies do you bring to this council?  I could reach out to Abraham Musser and have him send students if we needed those specific talents.”

“I think the technomancer and host might be leaving soon… and I’m not actually sure Musser will be in charge that much longer?”

“Oh?” Florin asked.

“I mean, I heard it’s pretty bad there.  They can’t do a lordship contest without inviting an awful lot of people in, and without the protection of lordship, it’s a mess.  Students getting gainsaid.”

“Can confirm,” a woman behind Avery said.  She looked familiar.

A student’s parent?

Florin folded his arms, taking a few seconds to think, then raised a hand, still holding that elbow, gesturing.  “Cede.”

The next was the old man with the nasal voice.

“Odis Saulsbury.  Blackforest Trapper.  If you were accepted into Thunder Bay for any length of time, we would expect you to participate in council meetings like this.  There are twelve families or individuals.  We also have four Others who appear sometimes, making sixteen in total.  You would be the seventeenth.  We try to aim for six to eight council members on nights of less important matters, but we’ll have all sixteen representatives attend for questions of war and circumstances affecting the entire city.  Individuals or representatives sent from each of the seventeen.”

“The Lord always attends,” Deb the Storm Chaser told Avery.

“I think I follow,” Avery said.

“I definitely do,” Snowdrop added, quiet.

“On another night, you might be signaled to attend as a council member.  You would be expected to stand where one of us stands now, and ask questions of an applicant, eager or desperate to move into Thunder Bay.  What would you ask, if you were as aware as I am that you’re being judged for the question as much as the applicant is for the answer?”

“What would I ask an applicant?  It would depend on the applicant, but I’d want to know how they treat Others and how they or their family deals with others.  It’s not just people from outside you have to worry about.  Sometimes your own family can be a problem.  Or people in your town, or at your school.  Mr… Pesch?”

She got a nod.

“Mr. Pesch asked about the school and mentioned the problems there and that’s a pretty good group.  I’d want to make sure we can work together with them, and that they can work together with Others.  So I’d tweak the questions but I’d ask about that.”

“Then I’ll turn it around on you.  How many Others have you hurt?”

“That’s- I don’t know.  I couldn’t give you a hard count.  A bunch.  But always or almost always when others are put at risk, or to carry out duties.”

“How many practitioners have you hurt?”

“A bunch, again, but again, they were threatening me, things I cared about, or I had to, to carry out duties.  I don’t like hurting people.”

“I’ve asked my question.  I cede.”

Bringing her to the first of the two Others.

The figure, which appeared to be a human-shaped silhouette, stepped forward, and as it did, it became clear that the silhouette was almost all of what it was.  It looked like a three-dimensional pencil-scribbling –violent pencil scribbling- of a person in a rabbit costume, but the face wasn’t filled in, making it look like a wide open mouth.

“Ashumare Ashumare,” Its voice was musical, but in a way like it was run through a program to sound that way, everything smoothed out.  It waved its arms a bit in time with words, “fuzzy to hug and sweet to hear, yet I get blamed for things little girls and boys do.  Do you see me?”

Avery started to answer, and Snowdrop squeezed her hand.

She used her Opossum sight, seeing as Lost could.

She saw an arrangement of very small bones, loosely collected together in the shape of adult bones- three broken skulls pressed in together for the upper skull, forearm bones for the rabbit ears, two jaws, each rib was three or four smaller ribs lashed together.

She used her regular Sight, and the black handprints meshed in so close together that the figure really did look like a person wearing a black-furred rabbit costume, with a gentle face and eyes that were only mist.

“Ashumare Ashumare,” the figure intoned, voice musical.  The lip movements didn’t sync up with the voice.

She dropped her Sight.

“Is it safe to answer?” Avery asked, over her shoulder.  She was asking Florin, Deb, and the Lord.

“Yes,” Florin said.

“I see you, Ashumare Ashumare,” Avery said, certain Verona would be way better at this.

Ashumare dropped their arms to their sides.  They were still but the violent pencil scribblings weren’t.  They spoke, still musical.  “Abraham with the cracked glasses has a friend who isn’t his, a guide to spirits, painted in pretty colors.  Ashumare Ashumare, say what she looks like.”

Abraham?  Musser?

Avery thought through the familiars she’d seen.

There was one Lucy had remarked on.  That John had described as old and scary?

“A pretty lady… painted in pretty colors, like you describe.”

“Ashumare, Ashumare, all played out.”

“Pesch?” Ann Wint the Destroyer asked.  “Explain.”

“Musser stole a Daena familiar.  A Zoroastrian psychopomp.  When seen by wrongdoers and murderers, she appears ugly, and she condemns them to eternal wandering.  Others she guides as a psychopomp will.”

“Bit crude,” Ann Wint said.  “I don’t like black and white tests of character.”

“It’s better than most of Ashumare Ashumare’s contributions,” the one practitioner who looked familiar said, a bit sour.

“Speaking of, Ashumare Ashumare ceded.  Your turn.”

This did not feel like it was going super well.  She’d given one answer that she felt was good, answering Ashumare’s in a way that pegged her as ‘good’, but one of the practitioners sounded not that impressed.  The rest of her answers felt like they weren’t really satisfying to this group.

Why aren’t you protecting the place you’re supposed to be protecting?  Reasons.
Will you become a wholehearted member?  No, she couldn’t.
Will you keep our secrets?  She couldn’t make guarantees.
Who are your enemies?  Got a bunch of those.
Who are your friends?  Got those too, worked hard at that, but apparently it doesn’t count.
What Others and Practitioners have you hurt?  Lost count, but I feel bad about it.
Then Ashumare.  Apparently seeing a pretty lady was a mark in the plus column.

The woman who looked familiar stepped forward.  “Nicole Scobie.  Elementalist of receding frost.  You were at the school at the same time my daughter was.  Did my daughter seem well?”

“As well as anyone.  It was pretty stressful, earlier this summer.  I saw her go swimming a lot.  She seemed happy, healthy, nothing amiss that I remember.”

“I liked her familiar,” Snowdrop said.  “Cuddly.”

“Was she with any boys?” Nicole asked.

“I… don’t feel comfortable answering that question.”

“Even knowing it may affect my feelings on you entering, and our relationship going forward?”

Avery thought for a second.  “I think establishing myself as a person willing to narc would hurt my standing here more than anything.  I said I wasn’t interested in secrets or drama.”

“So she was with boys?”

“I would have used that same general phrasing if she had been, and if she hadn’t been.  It was intended to be read as one or the other, and should be read that way.”

“I cede the floor.”

“Not very productive,” Ann Wint said.

“I went above and beyond last year, don’t get on my case if I shift my focus inward a bit this year.”

“You can only stretch that so far.”

“Are you questioning me or are you questioning her?”

Ann frowned.  “Ann Wint, already introduced.  Destroyer, Chainer, and enforcer for this council.  For matters too petty for our Lord, but too serious for most of our council, I handle them.  I consign by Abyss and I consign by Ruin, and I wield those selfsame realms as tools against the enemies of our city.”

“Okie doke,” Avery replied.

“Earlier you stated you have no interest in drama.  Yet you seeded drama when you mentioned Musser’s school failing.”

“I only provided information.  I was told to be honest.”

“You said you had no interest in secrets, but you hold Natascha Scobie’s dalliances close to the chest.”

“Dalliances or lack thereof, I neither confirm nor deny,” Avery said.  “Because that’d be a bitch of a thing to do, and just to be clear, I don’t know you, Nicole Scobie, ma’am, but I know some real shady practitioner parents and honestly, your daughter never bothered me, she seemed nice enough, as far as I know, if I give the wrong answer she gets beat up, or thrown into eternal void or something, this is just me trying to be cool to her.”

“You’re addressing Ann Wint, not me.”

“Just trying to be clear & cool,” Avery said, raising her hands.

Nicole Scobie the Elementalist didn’t exactly seem impressed.

“You maintain a secret, despite your apparent lack of interest.”

“No, that’s a misreading of what I said.  I didn’t say I wouldn’t ever keep a secret.  I said I have no interest.  I won’t share or divulge them, I won’t abuse them, I don’t want to stir up anything bad.”

“If you value fidelity so much, I’d ask what it would take for you to betray the Others you call patrons and allies?”

“I…” Avery shook her head.  “Kind of already have.  For a certain meaning of betray.  They acted against their own professed values and mine, as I see it.  They became dangerous.”

“And what would it take for you to betray the other two practitioners you awoke with?”

“They’d have to betray what they stand for and what I stand for.”

“With all these friends and allies, two practitioners you awoke with, if the bonds are so strong, the bar for betrayal set so high, whyever would you leave them all?  The real answer.”

“I didn’t leave them all.  I have Snowdrop,” Avery said.

“Ugh,” Snowdrop muttered.  “Gross.”

“The rest, then.  Why leave them?”

“Family?” Avery asked, shrugging, uncomfortable.  She glanced at Nicole Scobie.

“To go to, or to leave?”

“Yes?  Both, one or the other.  Depends on the moment, how I’m feeling about it all.  But it made strategic sense too.”

“I cede.”

Leaving the last one.

The one who had been following Avery for most of the afternoon.  With glowing eyes when the rest of him looked like wet black ink.

He raised a hand, pointing.

At Snowdrop.

“Uhhh… Bye.”

“Stay,” Deb the Storm Chaser ordered.

Avery cleared her throat.  “I should make it clear at this point, Snowdrop is actually-”

The man with glowing eyes pressed a finger to his lips.

“I’d listen,” Florin said.  “He’s tichy.”

“Gilkey,” the Other introduced himself.  “Distillation.  Errand runner, spy.  I would ask the familiar my questions.”

“You’re shit outta luck,” Snowdrop said.

“Those words may cut both ways.”

“I want to cut everyone here,” Snowdrop declared, hairs on her head standing up away from the scalp as she bristled from nervousness.  “I’m not cooperating!”

Avery put her hand over her face, hoping that gesture helped convey the situation.

“All I ask is that you tell us about your master-familiar relationship.”

“She’s the worst!  She’s actually a serial murderer, she hurts people all the time, she came here to hurt you!  She’s an ambassador of war!”

“Snowdrop…” Avery groaned.

“Quiet,” Gilkey said.

Snowdrop stopped, bristling, all nervous energy in a way that could have been read as aggression.

“Keep going,” Gilkey told her.  “It’s clear you have more to say.”

Guess you have to, Avery thought, giving Snowdrop a resigned signal.  Don’t get us killed, please.

“She starves me!  And never shows affection!  She never let me see the other Lost I wanted to see, when it came to the familiar ritual!  I didn’t even want to go with her when I could have stayed in Kennet!  When I was called to the path, she was going to sacrifice me, she almost went through with it!  But then the Wolf came, and she scared the pants off of him!  She’s a nightmare!  She tried so hard to destroy Kennet and help the guy that’s causing this whole mess!  So hard!”

Avery put up her hand like she was in class, waiting.

“She’ll kill you all!  She’ll upend your city!  She doesn’t want to help!  This is all a trick!”

“Answer enough,” Ann Wint said.

Florin Pesch the Puppeteer laughed.  Others seemed startled.

Avery cleared her thought, hand still raised.

“What is this pain in the ass, awful familiar?” Florin asked.

“Snowdrop’s great.  She just has a peculiar rule of discourse,” Avery said.

“She’s lying.  Don’t believe her.”

“Snowdrop,” Florin said.  “Could you fight and kill our Lord?”

“Could and would,” Snowdrop said, turning to him.

“I vote no,” Ann Wint the Destroyer declared.

“I haven’t ceded,” Gilkey told her.

“I still vote no.”

“No,” Nicole Scobie the Elementalist added her voice to the group.

“No,” Deb Cloutier the Storm Chaser decided.

“Yes, I think we all need a good laugh sometimes,” Florin said.  “She seems genuine.”

“Ashumare Ashumare, from sky to grass, yes!”

“No,” Odis Saulsbury the Blackforest Trapper said.  “I prefer a blanket policy of hard no until the ambient chaos stops.  We invite one in, we invite others in.”

“Yes,” Gilkey said.  “Assuming I understand the familiar right.”

Three yes, four no?

Avery’s heart sank.

What happened in a tie?

She looked at the Lord.

“The Lord doesn’t vote,” Deb said.  “And you need a majority.”

Avery swallowed, digesting that.

But the Lord moved, picking up the first gift.  The knife.  It was placed on the ground in front of Otis, along with a silvery coin.

In front of Nicole Scobie, the matchbook.

In front of Deb the Storm Chaser, the key.

“I know what Deborah is going to do, now,” Florin said, smiling.

“Do you?” Deborah asked.  “I’m not committed to my vote.  If the gifts trickle down to the council, I’ll take it with reservations.  Make it probationary.  She has to help.”

“Yeah, fine,” Nicole said.

Otis picked up the knife.

Then Otis walked into the wall of water.

Nicole followed.

“I don’t… understand?” Avery asked.

“You’re in.  More for the gifts, being genuine counts for something too.  I’ll give you the rundown after.  I’ll be on the shore.”

“Don’t give that man too much of your time,” Deb said.

Deb walked into the water, out of sight.  So did the others, in turn.

“Ashumare Ashumare, another day.”

“Another day, Ashumare Ashumare,” Avery said.

Gilkey remained.

“Speaking is hard,” the Lord told Avery.  Her voice came more from the walls than the gray-skinned giantess’ body.

Avery nodded.

“Attend when signaled.  On occasion, there will be duties.”

“Can I ask, um… sorry.  Gilkey, are you an assassin?  Or a fighter?”

“No.  I watch, I bring messages.”

“Can I… help with that?” Avery asked the Lord.  “I’ve done a lot of surveillance, I’ve protected a perimeter, I have the tools, I’m fast, I can run messages.  Not- I’m not trying to take your spot, Gilkey.”

“It’s fine.  But I’m an Other, Avery Kelly.”

“I’m okay getting the same responsibilities.  I’m not trying to grow a practitioner family or anything.  I just… want to keep the peace, keep people safe, go to school, look after family stuff and friends, maybe join a sports team.”

“Then I will signal,” the Lord said.

“Is that a yes?”

“It’s a yes,” Gilkey said, before the walls of water collapsed.

Avery was washed out and away, forced toward shore.  The heels of her running shoes skidded on silty mud as she stumbled onto shore.  When water pulled away, it left her dry.

“Wah,” Snowdrop exclaimed, as the same water deposited her on the shore.

“I think you won her over with those gifts,” Florin said.

“That’s great.”

“Betting the big dogs on the block aren’t that keen.”

“Big dogs?” Avery asked, feeling a little weirded out to be standing in the dark with a strange and vaguely intimidating guy, even if they guy was one of the friendlier and more helpful faces she’d seen tonight.

“Deb thinks of herself as the Lord’s right hand woman.  I suspect anyone who attends the meetings who doesn’t call her a suck up behind her back is thinking it.  Or will, given time,” he said, indicating Avery.

“I’m not sure-”

“And Ann Wint is the heavy hitter.  The school bully, graduated to top of the council.  Then you’ve got Odis the gingerbread witch…”

“I’m really not sure I want gossip.  Sorry.  I’m not trying to get into the local politics or anything.  I want to exist in peace.  If they don’t like me, I’ll try to prove my worth to them.”

“Hmmm,” he mused aloud.  Then he flashed a smile with teeth so white they looked fake.  “I think I see why Abraham Musser and you ended up at odds.  That’s fine.  I look forward to our continued association.”

“Same.  Thanks for the tips about the knife and the yes vote.”

He walked off.  Avery turned to the water, rubbing her arms.  She felt like she should be drying off even though she didn’t have a droplet of moisture on her.

Snowdrop stood beside her.  Avery hugged her friend, tight, rocking her side to side, aggressive, growling a bit, before mock-strangling her too.

“I did nothing wrong!”

Avery relented.  “We need to work out a system, that’s all.”

“I locked that crap down, super serious.”

“You did.  Broke the ice, I guess.  We still need to work out a system.”

“Lies.”

“Come on,” Avery grunted, getting to her feet.

“I have no idea what system we could use.  but I can tell you it doesn’t involve fire or rusty forks.”

“My system is I try to get some sleep before my first day of school tomorrow, get a snack or two in you, you can stick close to the apartment tonight, maybe hang on the patio, steal some of my comics.  Or snuggle with me.”

“I like my plan better.”

Avery messed up Snowdrop’s hair a bit, then put an arm around her shoulders.

“Let’s go,” Avery said.  It felt weird, leaving that sentence as it was.  Unfinished.

She forced her way past the weirdness, trying to adapt to the new normal.  A normal after deaths.  A normal after moves.  A normal of friendships strained by distance, now.  Strained by a very scary outside world, where she wasn’t sure what was going to unfold with a new Carmine holding sway over practice in those places where Lords didn’t yet have a say.

“Let’s go home,” she clarified.

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