The Estate, Sidra, Glacia, Monday Morning (Fandom Time)

[trigons_child]

Raven had returned to Glacia after leaving the dance, and had retreated to her rooms. She wasn't sulking. Well, not much, but her feelings had been hurt and it still stung. She'd controlled her temper, at least -- she'd felt it trying to slip free of her control, much stronger than it should have been, which was worrisome. Being angry was one

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[glacial_queen]

Tap tap.

Karla...really, really needed to have a conversation with Raven. A long one, filled with lots of 'I'm not sure you're okay's and 'I'm getting worried's and 'people's shields are not for you to ignore's.

You know, little things like that.

[trigons_child]

"Come in, Karla," Raven said softly, head still down as she pet Philia.

[glacial_queen]

Karla slipping into the room, moving to sit on down on one of the chairs near the bed. "Have you been here since Valentine's Day?"

All three days?

[Heading home, back in an hour!]

[trigons_child]

Raven shrugged a little. "I did not have anywhere else to be," she said.

She wasn't unhappy to see Karla, though. She'd hardly seen her friend much lately, between the baby and ruling Glacia.

Thinking of Kayla made her lift her head to look over at Karla. "How is Kayla today?" she asked. "I would love to go visit her." Maybe that would help her shake her mood.

[Safe travels in the 10 foot mounds of snow!]

[glacial_queen]

Karla was going to shift the conversation a bit away from that idea, yes.

"Drooling," she replied. "And sticking anything she can get her hands on into her mouth. She's also started rolling a little bit, which makes changing her diaper all sorts of interesting. Morton made the mistake of turning away to toss her diaper in the trash and she nearly launched herself off the changing table. Fortunately, he caught her before she could get airborn."

With Craft, yes, but she'd been caught. And Morton had summoned assistance to take Kayla to her parents and promptly went to drink away the thought of nearly letting his niece topple.

[trigons_child]

Raven laughed softly and shook her head. "She is far too young to fly yet," she said. "There will be time enough for that later." There was a wistful note to her voice; the want of a baby of her own hadn't gone away.

[glacial_queen]

Yeah, but her choice in the father hadn't really improved. Karla was almost tempted to suggest Julian, because if anyone was baby-crazy in the estate, it was him, but with the something lurking in Raven's mind and the increasingly unsettling behavior, a baby wasn't something that Karla was going to encourage.

One day, she was certain her friend would make an excellent mother. But today was not that day. And probably wouldn't be, at least for the foreseeable future.

"We're not entirely certain when she'll be developing wings," Karla said. "Warren didn't get his until he was seven. If the children we met at Fandom were anything to go by, theirs will come sooner than that, but we don't know how much sooner."

[trigons_child]

"We will just have to wait and see then, will we not?" Raven said fondly. "There is still plenty of time to prepare, and no need to rush. These early days are like magic, I think -- just watching her grow and learn."

She looked Karla over. "But not exactly easy for you," she said. "Have you been getting enough rest? Must I order it as your Healer?"

[glacial_queen]

See? This was the Raven Karla knew and loved. Funny, warm, caring, concerned. This was the sister of her heart. Talking to her now made it almost hard to believe that there was something grievously wrong with her. "Warren and I spent Valentine's Day sleeping," Karla said, pausing a moment for a rapturous smile. Oh good lord, the sleeping. "On expensive sheets and for as long as we wanted to. And we're planning a bi-weekly date where we do something similar."

But, if that wasn't the opening for the Talk they needed to have, Karla wasn't sure what was.

"I hear your Valentine's Day was not nearly so restful."

[trigons_child]

Raven had been smiling up until Karla's last words. She frowned and looked back down at Philia. "I do not wish to talk about it," she said quietly.

It hurt and she couldn't understand what she'd done wrong. Any wrongness of her actions was somehow evading her grasp, much as it had when she'd dealt with the people who'd been running the Hintergrove Orphanage.

[glacial_queen]

Probably because of an evil and demonic influence?

"I think we should anyway," Karla said, gentle but unwilling to budge on that. "I'll insist on it, if that's what it takes."

[trigons_child]

"There is nothing to say," Raven said, shrugging. "It is clear to me that Jonothon much prefers Doctor Lecter's company to my own, and, as usual, I have been a fool to think otherwise."

Yeah, that was it exactly.

[glacial_queen]

Karla's eyebrow suggested she agreed with the narrative.

"Really?" she said. "Why don't you tell me what happened? Maybe we can figure something out."

[trigons_child]

Another shrug. "Jono sent me flowers, so I went to the island to surprise him. He wasn't at home or at Doctor Lecter's, so I knew he had to be at the dance. But he told me I did not belong there and wanted me to go. So I did."

It had been just that simple, Karla. Really.

[glacial_queen]

"The Valentine's Day dance?" Karla pressed. "The one that isn't actually open to alumni? Only students and chaperons?"

Of which Raven was neither?

[trigons_child]

"I was not there to dance, Karla," Raven said, beginning to feel defensive now. "I just wanted to find Jono and thank him."

And maybe have her way with him in a dark corner, but details.