[OWBotB] The witch who came in from the cold [Anora]

[Amelia Lynsdaughter]

First cycle of Melora, Era 15 PF

Amelia dutifully retreated for but a few moments to serve some tea. With the fire perennially going in the hearth out of the sheer necessity to cook and brew for the spirits, preparing some of the nectar did not take long at all. The girl, showing a more domestic side, returned with an ample tray and all the various paraphernalia of a tea service together with home-baked cookies and candied almonds. Her spectacles removed and stored, Amelia had lost quite a few years of age and was now a girl of nineteen once more.

She said nothing of the lack of bodyguards, though it struck her as very strange. Dimitri, she recalled, was absolutely paranoid as far as her safety was concerned. For him to allow Anora to visit another province without a single escort sounded disconcerting to the young witch. She picked up something resembling loneliness coming from Anora, or maybe some echo of it, given that the woman radiated little emotion of her own. It was still enough for Amelia to pick up, though. She knew she was facing a stronger Anora now, a strength that invariably came, often unwanted, from loss.

Could it be that she had begun to pay the price, much like Amelia had warned her once before? Could it be that even ice could bleed, if only cold moisture? The 'price', after all, did not always take on the form one would expect it to.

"I see," Amelia said, non-judgmentally. "Do not worry about visiting unannounced, Anora, you are always welcome here." Something she might not have said in Nexus, but seeing a familiar face was a rare luxury in Zinn'Sunn. Kemites mostly kept to themselves, only showing up when they needed her for some task, and even then looking down upon the foreign demon. Not that Amelia minded. She always saw the job through. They always paid. Did anything else matter? Yet, a piece of her old life every now and then was a welcome break.

"A very intriguing society, the Kemites," the girl gave a secret smile, "so open and yet so closed. They allow people to practice deals with the dead, but they will not do so themselves for the most part. Their contradictions make them quite adorable." Amelia liked Kemites - she especially liked using and manipulating them into making her wealthier. They were more entertaining to relieve of their money than Medonian people were.

The girl stirred her tea without the spoon making taboo noises against the walls of her cup. "Oh, this is wonderful news. Could you please congratulate the lady Avrie on my behalf? I always thought they were a perfect match." Truth told, Amelia bore no particular liking to Avrie - shockingly enough, she liked Dimitri better, though she had appreciated her husband's good looks upon meeting him. Amelia liked people who amused her for one reason or another, and Dimitri was an endless source of that.

Amelia blinked politely at Anora's mention of a present for her, and the look in her eyes did not escape the witch. She wanted to elicit a reaction, and it was working. While Amelia's greed was not piqued just yet, her curiosity was. Just what did the woman want? "I am flattered that you remember me this fondly. Also a very fortunate coincidence that I have a deep fascination for all things Arakmatan." It appeared that Anora did not want to reveal her cards right away, and that was fine with her. Two could play this game.

"Thank you," she said sincerely in response to both gift and compliments. "I tend to think of this as a stepping stone of sorts, and we will see what the future holds. I hope your business is also blessed with success. Certainly, with the fragmented state of our economy, trade routes must be quite profitable... and the silks are lovely. An angel's caress." Amelia owned an item or two, and could tell that they would be the rage in most Eastern cities of the newborn Kingdom.

[Anora Eventide]

(OOC: Birthday Presents! ;-) )

Anora brushed her eyes over the offered tray, tilting admiringly toward it.

"What a charming spread, Amelia." A low enchanting murmur, "Thank you."
The well-bred matrons of Daltina had favored the girl for a reason, her lace-delicate smile seemed sincere.

Daintily, the Daltinan belle took her tea, dosing it with milk and honey. It usually surprised guests that she still sweetened her drink like a little girl would.
Young as they both were, it seemed impossible to imagine either woman as something tender and rosy as little girls. No, Amelia had been suckled in the bloody heart of some thorn armored rose and released at adulthood. Anora had been made of minerals and winter air and found when the snow thawed. Better explanations for their presence than the messy human affair of a childhood.

Letting her tea cool, Anora began again in her feminine purr of a voice.
"Thank you for your well-wishing on all subjects."
She paused, letting her mind's fine cogs and gears reposition to deal with thoughts of her sister.
"My sister also finds herself expecting. I am to be an Aunt it seems."
An amusing idea: Gray auntie Anora and Uncle Dimitri. Little twins held to her voluminous skirts and gifted with tiny books and wards from the lady and toys from the gentleman. Avrie would be wise to search her children's pockets when they were returned to her.

"As for business, there is still much work to be done in regards to caravans, but it is a personal pleasure to have many plans aloft at once."
Yes, the woman had comfort in calculation, cause and effect. Some things in the world could be had by effort. It was the trophies that came by chance or innate goodness that vexed her.

The tea was sipped, testing its temperature, then returned with its saucer to the desk in front of her.
Her hands reached into some secret fold in her rich skirt, withdrawing a wooden box. It was tied with a satin strand of lavender ribbon, similar to what the lady would tie her hair with.
Anora gently set the box midway between them.
"You will find some humor in the idea that I told the merchant they were for my blue-eyed sister. I did not have the patience to articulate otherwise." A wan little smile.

Within the box, a feminine little present rested. A reminder that they were breathing women after all.

Two small earrings shaped in a circle with tendrils shooting off in every direction to resemble the suns, from them hung thin ropes of chain suspending three stars beneath the sun. Now while that design was simple enough that a young and fairly inexperienced jeweler could create it, what they were made of changed everything. Instead of being silver or gold or even made of stone the earrings caught the light and reflected back a beautiful shade of azure.

"I hope you like them."
Her expression was lost in her teacup as she sipped the drink.

[Amelia Lynsdaughter]

The half-Elf sipped her own tea, likewise sweetening it. One must find harmless sweetness where it exists, after all, though Amelia suspected the very expression to be something of an oxymoron. She remembered how these things usually went when Anora was in the same room - there would be silence, then something would be said, then some more silence, and then some more words, usually unrelated to the previous exchange. Which suited her just fine - truth told, Amelia had indulged her desire-driven core to the point of excess while in Zinn'Sunn - having to practice the icy shell a bit was a welcome change.

"Truly an union blessed by the gods," she commented pensively, no real cheer in her voice. There were few things in the world who could frighten Amelia, daughter of Lyn, daughter of Adel. Pregnancy was one of those. The thought of life growing, moving inside her was enough to make her feel sick. Then again, Amelia's reactions were often those of a normal girl, only inverted, like penning white ink on black paper... or sometimes they were normal reactions, but augmented to abnormal levels.

After the tea was comfortably sipped, and Anora had probably warmed up a bit from the rigors of winter, she placed the mysterious box between them. Amelia blinked, slowly, and focused her light blue eyes on the present. "Thank you, Anora." While the witch enjoyed seizing what she wanted with her very hands, that did not mean she could not appreciate a present... quite the opposite, in fact. Especially when totally unexpected.

She lifted the box with gentle care and brought it closer to herself, undoing the lavender ribbon and folding it attentively before she turned her attention to the actual contents of the box. Her eyes widened a little as she took it the azure reflection of the earrings in the box. "They are beautiful," she said, voice unbiased by emotion. She was stating a fact, a truth, something incontrovertible. She held one on the palm of her milky hand, playing with the lovely glitter. "Truly beautiful."

It was clear, however, that something troubled her. Or perhaps 'trouble' was too strong a word - something did not fit her plans. After a brief pause, she calmly explained what it was, and it might possibly surprise Anora. "... but I am afraid I have never had my ears pierced." She shifted a chestnut lock aside, revealing her slightly pointed ear whose lobe was still intact and virgin.

Amelia had never worn earrings before. Which was only natural, if one knew her personal history. As a half-elf, heavily prejudiced against in her village, she had tried her best to avert attention from her ears in any way. By the time she had been free, the habit had stuck, and she had favored necklaces and bracelets. Amelia was not particularly proud of her ears, but she thought this may be a good day to fix that particular shortcoming.

"Perhaps you would be so kind as to help me with that, if it is not too much trouble?" she gave a vague smile, "Otherwise I will not be able to enjoy your gift."

[Anora Eventide]

Amelia's admiration of the gift summoned a smile fragile and smooth as glass. Anything warmer from the strange Daltinan belle would have marked her pleasure as untrue.
"I am pleased you like them, Amelia."

Anora had once been an admired daughter of the vines, envied for the pristine edges of her life. But it was the facets of this accomplished little gem that were to be most feared. It was evidence of an ability to deceive completely, to implement a dream while awake. A "spontaneous" glitter was a flourish of absolute control.
So the wan smiles, while disconcerting to most, were usually better than happy looks.

Amelia's confession was met with interest. Anora drank more tea, letting quiet fill the space a little. It was heartening to be met with a task she could accomplish, something finite. The touch of ascetic violence to the task may also have cheered her, but that remained to be explored.

"Would you really like me to pierce your ears? I have only my sister's and my experience to go by." She tilted her head, that feminine habit of hers.

"But it is not so difficult. You are fortunate we have snow to numb you." Her conversation became an ordered list.
"I will need some alchohol, a needle, cloth, a quill with ink, a mirror and a bowl."
A knowing darkness touched her pretty eyes, "Things I have little doubt you possess."

The woman leaned into her chair, ready to bear an explanation.
"How surprising that a woman of fashion, like yourself, has forgotten such a thing. Never cared for ear bobs?"