A Dream
"Kyran!"
The snow fell thick and fast about me, the silver-black clouds heavy and looming overhead, the forest that defined the borders of the House nothing but an indistinct haze of white and frosty green. Ahead, Eli was jumping up and down, waving his arms above his head to attract my attention. Luna stood at his side, a small marshmallow in her layered jackets and scarves. Next to her stood tiny little Fae, the snow nearly reaching her chest.
"Hey! Hey, Kyran! C'mon!" Eli's shouts shattered the silence I had been enjoying. "C'mon lazybones! Mother Shalee is cooking tonight!"
I laughed, the reminder sweeping the lingering, unnamed dread from my mind.
Everything was fine in a world where Mother Shalee remained to cook us dinner.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I shouted back, with one last glance at the snow covered trees behind me. With the thought of a warm dinner to look forward to, I began to wade through the piled drifts, taking a moment to scoop up a handful of snow and packing it into a snowball.
Which I promptly lobbed at Eli's face as soon as I got within range.
Only to get one in return.
Sputtering, I wiped the snow from my face, sticking my tongue out at the boy across from me. Eli laughed and threw another, then tackled me into the drift while I was trying to clear my face again.
We tussled, snow slipping through the layers of our clothing, down to our skin. It caught, glittering, in our hair, shimmering like fairy dust from the stories Mother Demi always read us. It melted in our open mouths, as we panted for breath and growled for the other to give up.
We tussled, like the children we were, and behind us Luna sighed in exasperation, her small hands darting in and yanking us apart.
"Eli, Kyran! Cease this, you silly louts" It may have been Luna who pulled us apart, but it was Fae who remonstrated us. "Remember what Mother Fara said? No more out of you. Now come on, lets get inside so that you two can change."
Eli and I shared a glance, rolling our eyes in unison at Fae's officiousness, but did as she said.
We'd do anything for our silly little sister.
Anything at all...
A Meeting
"Sir, Eli Delacroix, leader of the Snow Moon, requests your presence."
The servant's words woke me from my dream, leaving me dazed, disoriented for a moment. I could still feel the snow in my hair, against my skin, in my mouth. I could still see Luna's look of amusement as she pulled us apart. And Fae...
Fae's delicate voice still echoed through my mind. Her face, so stern and childishly serious, refused to fade.
"Sir? What should I tell him?"
With a grunt I pushed myself up and shoved the covers away from me. "Tell him I'll be there in a moment."
News must have gotten out quickly, then, unless Eli wanted something else. Either way, I wasn't about to keep him waiting, but neither was I going to run to him half dressed and fresh from sleep.
With that in mind, I took some time to ready myself, brushing out my hair, pulling on casual clothes. I left the jacket I usual wore where it lay, leaving my Blood Rose bloom exposed. Eli was a Fallen. He would be more insulted if I covered it up than otherwise.
When I stalked into the sitting room, it was to see Eli pacing behind my couch, where Luna sprawled with casual ease. Though I had not expected Luna, it wasn't precisely surprising. She and Eli were the same age, and often traveled together.
That, and we hadn't seen each other in, what, decades? Something like that.
"Morning, brother," Luna hailed me, lifting a delicate hand and flicking a wave in my direction.
Eli stopped his pacing when Luna spoke, and shot me a disgruntled look as he sat on the arm of the couch. "You take a strange pleasure in making my life hell, don't you."
"I wouldn't know a thing of what you're implying," I smiled at Eli as I settled myself into my chair. "So, what brings you here this fine morning?"
"A... small little matter," Eli was controlling himself well this time around. Apparently, being nagged by a Lost under his control was less trying than finding all his lines of credit drier than a bone right before the formal gathering of Fallen. "It seems that one of the members of my Moon has decided to hound me for satisfaction from a human. Normally, that would be no issue to bother you with, but it just so happens that she shows up last evening, wearing your symbol."
He leaned forward, flame red hair spilling across his face in jagged spikes. "I want the truth behind this debacle, Kyran, and I want it now."
"Truth, Eli?" I shook my head, "She came to me, saying that Ambrose wanted her head because she'd called him on his right to label himself a Fallen."
Eli groaned, resting his head in his hands, fingers rubbing at his temples. "Figures. Ambrose is a rather... uppity Lost. This wouldn't be the first time he does something like this. I'll deal with him."
"We Fallen should have a case for this in the Covenant," Luna spoke up, interrupting Eli.
"Speaking of the Covenant," Eli picked up the thread again, "There's a full gathering called for a month from now. Will you remember to come this time, or will we have to drag you there?"
I snorted, "I can say that I will remember all I like. The truth of the matter is that you're going to have to drag me there."
"Thought so." Eli rolled his eyes at me, and I didn't bother to correct him. I knew as well as he did that my short-term memory (short-term in this case being anything under five years) was worse than a sieve, and it always had been. I was just lucky I'd been born into a form that permitted me the leisure of long centuries of life.
He rose then, stretching his long limbs, then ran a hand through his shaggy hair, "Well, I should be going. Ambrose will be up, soon, and I'd like a word with him."
"And I need to go make sure my Moon understands the folly of impersonating Fallen, and how little we appreciate that." Luna added as she rose, winking at me as she turned and breezed out the door.