No Need For A Core?-358: Daring Deals and Devious Developments

No Need For A Core?-358: Daring Deals and Devious Developments

Deidre pressed herself back against the wall reflexively as Baba Yaga hopped up onto the edge of the flying mortar, and the giant pestle in her hand shifted into a wand. Then she leapt for the deck of the airship as golden flames briefly coated her form. The tall woman who landed on the deck was bedecked in finery fit for any princess, with long golden hair that matched the flames from a moment ago, and trailed off into what seemed to be golden peacock tail feathers that glowed.
This only served to make her more terrifying somehow.
"Now tell me," she said in a buttery smooth voice, "what would draw a man to a vixen like her when there was beauty like this before his eyes?"
Deidre was utterly confused by what was happening; this didn't match any of the stories she knew. Her earring chimed softly to indicate it was being activated remotely, and she heard Mordecai speak, though he sounded rather annoyed. "This is her aspect as a northern firebird, which is not the same thing as a phoenix. I wouldn't call this any better, though maybe a little less likely to be deadly." His avatar must have already had his earring active.
The witch was the firebird? Deidre did know stories about the firebird, and some of them involved Baba Yaga, and come to think of it, whether by guidance or by chasing him away, she did occasionally aid a hero in finding the firebird. Who was also sometimes depicted as a beautiful woman, or half-bird half-woman. Or a woman who could change into a bird.
The idea that these two beings were one and the same made her head hurt. How could Mordecai and Moriko face this creature so bravely and boldly? This was the strongest she'd ever seen Mordecai, but he wasn't all that much stronger now than her avatar's base strength had been when they first met.
Wait
. Deidre shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Why was she so afraid? Her actions were her own again, as were her thoughts and will. And her power. Power and will that had been carefully honed and sharpened under Satsuki's tutelage. She might not be able to act against the witch any more than they could, but there was no reason she couldn't stand as tall.
She reached for her power and brought it forth, shaping it as she did so. Deidre had no interest in her demon form, and her shape-shifting was somewhat flexible, thanks to the intentions of those who had designed her. The feathered wings that bloomed from her back were ice-blue and edged with gold, purple, and red.
This brought Baba's attention to her, and the woman stalked toward Deidre with a strange, crooked smile on her lips. "Oh, look who's decided to wake up and play. It's the other half of that girl up north. And what's this? Those two may have her scent all over them, but your aura is absolutely saturated with that little fox's scent. Oh dear, did I reveal a lover's secret liaison?"
"Not at all," Deidre said as calmly as she could manage. "There was never any secret about where Satsuki's true heart lay, and it was clear that the three of them were ready to begin bringing her deeper into their lives. I even made sure to give her encouragement when she needed it — it was surprising to see her so nervous."
The laughter of this golden-haired form was some how delicate, though it had an edge to it not unlike shattering glass. "That little fox was nervous? How delightful to hear. Hmm. But you said three... aha. I missed the scent of the other fox girl. Two queens and a king, and now they have a consort. That sounds like quite the little drama. I imagine there will be plays and operas made about all of you someday."
"If I may," Moriko said, stepping forward as she entered the conversation, "I would like to ask that you set aside any grudge you may have against her. Lady Sakiya has provided me with some guidance with regards to Satsuki. When the appropriate time comes, the next day will see her to a fresh start, and I would appreciate it if there was nothing that interfered with her healing."
"Would you now?" Golden-Baba, as Deidre had started to mentally label her, tapped her chin with her wand. "If it was just you suggesting that Satsuki has had some epiphany, I would say that she had you wrapped up in her tails. And this girl said Satsuki was nervous. That seems rather unlikely, so let's take a peek at what the fox has been up to, shall we?"
A set of images flashed in the air before settling into the moving image of Satsuki walking across the ocean zone of the nexus and into the wetlands before stepping across to the other side. Scrying this deep into a nexus's territory should be difficult, and even more so for events in the past, but the witch had penetrated those natural defenses with a simple thought and act of will. Satsuki was then down walking down toward the dark underground sea, where she met Cliodhna. The image suddenly froze, then Cliodhna's image doubled and separated from herself. The moving version of the pale lady looked directly at Golden-Baba and shook her head before the entire image shattered.
"You, you have a sea of the dead in your little dungeon? And Satsuki's gotten herself involved with that woman?" She started laughing then, and it was no longer delicate as she bent over, holding her belly. Every shake of her body seemed to distort it, slowly changing her back into the hunched form of the hag, and now her wand was a staff that she was using to support herself as she continued to laugh while she spoke.
"Oh, oh, oh, this is quite the gift of a story. Mm, yes, I need to know the whole thing. Come along now, let me show you home and make you some tea, and then you can tell your old grandma all about it, yes? I'm a lonely old woman, having the company of such lively youths would make for a grand time!"
Deidre's feeling of boldness wavered, and she looked at Mordecai with a trace of panic rising; the most dangerous place to interact with the witch was in her home. But Mordecai looked calm and was watching her as if he was waiting for Deidre to say something. What could Deidre say that would have any weight here? He's the one who was a faerie king.
Oh, right
.
"I apologize, Grandmother," Deidre said, "but I believe that would be an unkindness to my escort. They have hosted me for many months, and sworn to see me home safely as soon as possible. The only reason there was any delay at all after my core was free was to see that Lady Moriko recovered fully from her experience. It does not seem fitting to ask a king and queen of faerie to hold off on fulfilling their sworn oath and duty."
"Hmmp." The crone snorted. "Oaths and duties, is it? What do you have to say about that?" She said, shaking her staff at Mordecai and Moriko.
"Deidre is correct," Moriko said, "we did promise, and there are more who await our arrival so that various other duties, tasks, and promises can be completed."
Mordecai raised a finger as he said, "However, in exchange for your forbearance in this matter, our wife, Lady Kazue, has offered to personally write you a detailed accounting of the events involving Satsuki that have transpired since her arrival at our nexus last year. There may be details that we are obligated to not share, but any such omissions shall be acknowledged rather than obfuscated. Kazue has also just gotten Satsuki to agree to help with the book. Not that Satsuki had much choice in the matter — she has, after all, sworn her allegiance and service to Kazue, acknowledging Kazue as her queen. Naturally, I shall see to it that it is delivered directly to you once it is done, though the physical writing can not properly begin until her avatar is home again."
"Oh, oh, better and better, that little bitch has gotten herself collared. Put it on herself even, bell and all! And I can just read about it over and over again, lull myself to sleep with a sweet bed time story for Granny, I like that. Hmm." She smacked her lips loudly as if tasting something. "You seem pretty sure that her writing is going to be good enough to make it worth the wait. Why should I think her writing is going to be worth all that trouble?"
"She has been writing a lot of stories under another name, and all of her series have been fairly popular amongst our visitors. If you like, I could arrange for copies of those to find their way to you as well. Kazue is the sweetest person you can imagine, but she is also a kitsune, and her imaginative writings have a corresponding amount of passion in them."
"Ohh, dirty books, is it? You trying to bribe a lonely old lady with dirty, nasty, filthy, smutty books? I knew you were all naughty children! Done and Done! I await my gifts!" She hopped back to her giant mortar with a cackle, then turned to shake her staff at Mordecai. "And they better be nice books too! I don't want them falling apart the first time it rains, or if a rat looks at 'em funny."
"Naturally, I would never dare give you anything but the highest quality works, Grandmother."
"Hah, silver-tongued brat! I'd consider tearing it out and eating it if I didn't know it'd just grow back." She laughed wildly at her morbid joke and pounded the mortar with what was once again a giant pestle. "Go on, get me back home!"
The mortar spun in place, then suddenly dropped straight down before swooping off toward the nearby woods where the witch's hut apparently awaited her.
Mordecai held one hand up while pressing a finger to his lips with his other hand. After several long moments of silence, he relaxed with a sigh. "Her attention has wandered away, unless she's deliberately spying on us now. If she's being sneaky instead of just aware, I won't be able to tell. But I don't think she would be doing that; she seemed pretty amused."
Then he rubbed his forehead with a groan. "I had managed to avoid ever interacting directly with her before. Then, when I can't avoid her, we get to deal with two of her aspects in the same visit."
"Two?" Deidre and Moriko asked at the same time. 'Two of' was very much not the same as 'both'.
"Oh yes," Mordecai said with a tight smile, "there are more. And no, I am not getting into them right now. That's called asking for trouble."
Deidre couldn't argue with that logic at all. "That was a terrifying enough experience as it was; I do not wish for more. Although, now that I look back at it, it doesn't seem like it was very hard. She didn't really do anything. That sounds somewhat like what I have heard about her, but the tales always make it seem more difficult than that."
Mordecai nodded. "That matches what I know as well. She talks more than she acts. The important thing was that we respected the danger she represented immediately while being polite at all times. It's when people fail at either of those that she is more inclined to act."
Deidre was satisfied with that, but there was another question that had formed from their conversation with the witch.
Payne beat her to asking the question and was a lot more blunt. "Wow, Kazue really writes dirty books? What sort of dirty books? What's the name she uses? How many books does she have?"
Mordecai laughed at the questions and smiled at Payne. "Not my place to divulge that information, little one, it is already more than Lady Kazue is happy about people knowing." He raised his voice a little and said, "Oh, and Captain, I would appreciate the discretion of you and your people in the matter."
"Naturally, sir," the ship's captain replied from the helm he had taken earlier, after sending most of the crew below decks. He had remained completely unobtrusive, but Deidre noticed that he was massaging his hands and fingers, as if trying to ease them after gripping the helm too tightly for a long time. Not that she could blame him for that sort of reaction.
Thankfully, the rest of the journey was much less eventful, and Deidre could feel how close they were getting to her home. There was plenty of time to talk with Vivienne as well, though it was clear that she was forcing herself to not simply hover near her son. However unhappy she might be about Antoine’s decisions and actions, she clearly loved the boy.
On the last day of their trip, as they finally approached their destination, Deidre stood on the deck and stared at the beautiful, forested hill that now represented her home.
"You know," Mordecai said as he stepped up beside her, "the ship will need to dock at the city, but I see no reason that we can't take our leave immediately."
Deidre smiled at the thought and said, "Major General Payne, gather your troops to sally forth, and ensure any who can not fly are paired some someone who can carry them. Our home awaits us!" There was an instant flurry of chaotic action throughout the ship as the news and orders spread. Deidre had already gathered her personal effects when she awoke that morning, and all she needed to do was head down and grab her pack.
She chose to keep her wings the same colors that she had shown during the meeting with the witch, as she wanted to show her core's color prominently while showing her allegiance to the Azeria cores. As soon as Payne confirmed that all of Svetlana's inhabitants had been notified and were on their way home, Deidre, Mordecai, and Moriko took off as well.
Entering her territory was a wonderful experience; her mind immediately filled with the presence of happy, healthy inhabitants as she synchronized with her other self, sharing all that each had experienced with the other.
It was not, unfortunately, as perfect a harmony as it should have been. However, that was something to be worked on later, and the fact that they were of similar minds about both this and another plan which they had each independently come up with their own version of showed that, in most respects, they were still the same person.
The chaos and noise of reunion and homecoming gave Deidre and Svetlana the time they needed to refine their plans into one unified idea, which they needed to implement before the representatives of Azeria left.

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358: Daring Deals and Devious Developments