A Reunion and a Warning

When: Thursday, October 14, 2004
Who: Flashfire, Ktai, Suntop.
What: After Ktai's brought Flashfire to the Palace, she and the improving 
  wolfelf get the chance to speak with Suntop and catch up on a couple things 
  after many turns apart. A warning is shared in the process and after Suntop 
  moves on, Flashfire and Ktai touch on a few more things.

----

Gathering Hall - Palace
This chamber, while massive, is dominated in the center by a massive circular 
table. The table is carved of shaped of the same irridescent stone that the 
Palace, itself is made of. Set around the table are stools, set solidly in 
position, of a golden stone. The table is encircled by massive pillars carved 
with smooth, organic designs. There are passages through some of these, others 
are there purely for the astetics.

Contents:
Suntop
Ktai

Obvious exits:
Small Archway <A>  Small Corridor <S>  Dark Passage <D>  Out <O>


Another nap? Flashfire blinks and lifts his head from the sizable table he seems 
to have fallen asleep and napped at, yawning wide as he looks around the large 
room. Oh, that's right..he came down here to eat, then he must've been tired 
enough to rest again for a while. Been doing a lot of that since Winnowill's 
healing touch was delivered.

Ktai is nearby, as she has been since she brought Flashfire to the Palace. She's 
keeping an eye on him, being that she saved his life. She feels rather 
responsible to ensure that he manages to make it back to normal... or as normal 
as it gets for one such as he. What that is precisely, she doesn't know... but, 
hey, whatever works. He hasn't exactly told her to go away yet.

Suntop has been making daily rounds of the Palace, seeing who has taken up 
temporary residence and in which rooms. His own area seems to be undisturbed as 
do the Scrolls, so he has moved into the lower rooms. His footsteps are quiet on 
the crystal floors, and only the soft hiss of his mothcloth robe betrays his 
presence. Blue eyes look at the two elves currently in the Hall and a simple 
send offers, ** Shade... **

Flashfire hasn't really thought about asking Ktai to leave him alone. In truth, 
she's helped a lot in reminding him to eat, reminding him to rest, and reminding 
him not to push himself too far while he regains his strength and stamina. The 
pain of having dozens of small shards of molten rock tear into you is one thing. 
The healing and recovery time is another, though it's more preferable than 
death. The mind is improving as well, the memory of the battle still strong but 
easier to deal with as the nights go by. The sound of another's arrival along 
with a familiar scent and send, if not felt for quite some time before, is 
immediately recognized. "Suntop..!" he speaks, turning towards him with a smile. 
"My eyes see..with joy," he remembers the phrase.

Ktai looks up at the send, and smiles at the voice. Well, well. ** Hello, 
Suntop, ** comes the usual resident's greeting. She's a lot paler than the last 
time Suntop saw her, a good deal thinner, and somehow sadder garbed in the 
clothing of the Gliders. But she's alive. She saw the battle with her own eyes, 
and lived to tell of it. That's saying something. What, she isn't sure, but it 
has to be something.

"Ahh, you do speak!" Suntop gives a smile and approaches the two taller elves, 
"I was beginning to wonder when I saw you last." He moves over to Ktai and 
offers a hug before moving to Flashfire, "I heard you were in the battle...I'm 
glad to see you are healed from your injuries." What does one say to an elf one 
hasn't seen in turns upon turns?

That's one thing Flashfire has on Suntop - height. More hair, too. He rises - 
slowly and carefully as it may be noticed, indicative of his continued recovery 
- and waits for Suntop to reach him. When he does, the wolfelf reaches for an 
embrace and light nuzzle, cheek to cheek. "I was," he confirms. It'd probably be 
a surprise for Suntop not to know of that, if anyone's kept him abreast of the 
situation. "Did my best, but almost didn't make it." He pauses and frowns. 
"Winnowill had to heal..wouldn't be here otherwise." But he is, and seems to be 
well enough. What do they say? Depending on what happens, perhaps they'll have a 
chance to find out.

Ktai hugs Suntop in greeting, giving his hands a quick squeeze, as if to tell 
him that she has news for him later, but knows that there is a reunion of sorts 
waiting to begin. When Flashfire nuzzles Suntop, she muffles a smile, and 
settles down again, absently picking bits of leaves from her hair. She's half-
tempted to cut it somewhat, largely due to the fact that it's been in her way 
since she started helping those who were recovering from the battle. All things 
considered, now might be a good time to do it, except that Rayek... Rayek! She 
hasn't sent to Rayek! Oh, but she's in the Palace now... if she sent to him from 
here, there's little doubt that she'd be overheard. Two-Edge's balls, will she 
ever remember to send when she's closer to the Mountain? She sighs in 
disbelief... mostly at herself.

Suntop gives a nod, "I hear that she has been tiring herself healing others. 
Perhaps she will finally learn that helping others will make her stronger rather 
than harming them. But then again, probably not." He looks to Ktai and gives a 
nod, recognizing the squeeze of her hand. She gets a slightly longer, 
inquisitive look before he turns back to Flashfire, "I didn't know you were in 
the Mountain..."

Flashfire lowers his arms and steps back from Suntop after the hug is returned. 
He decides to sit down, looking back to make sure he's got a good hold of the 
edge of the table for support, planting himself on a stool. "I wasn't. She must 
have come back outside to finish. They said she could only do part of it first, 
then finished it later." He pauses, wanting to talk to Suntop about better 
things, but without knowing the next time the Palace's Master will be available, 
he gets to the point, the reason for asking Ktai to bring him here before he was 
capable of coming on his own. "We were eating out there.." he begins. Some were 
eating, but he was picking at his bowl of stew. "We heard one of the GoBacks say 
something about coming for the Palace. Be careful.." There's concern in his 
tone, worry that with the numbers the GoBacks have, they might just try it with 
the Palace so close.

Ktai seems to be perfectly content to pick the leaves out of her hair and wait 
to see if she is needed. Flashfire has brought up what she intended to later, 
and so her immediate need of discussion with Suntop is abated, for now. There's 
still the matter of her daughter's presence and activities to be discussed... 
but Suntop's more or less still in one piece, and she's content with that for 
now.

"Careful? Why? What would they do?" Suntop seems rather curious...odd how all 
that he's been through, he has managed to retain some sort of innocence. "I have 
spoken with Kahvi and she was searching for another...we found her, but she was 
in wrapstuff." He looks at the two, "Do you think that they will try and take 
the Palace?"

Flashfire looks up to Suntop from his spot on the stool, tall enough that he 
hardly has to crane his neck at all. Kahvi is here already? That could be 
potentially bad, and he looks towards Ktai with a questioning, somewhat 
concerned expression before answering Suntop's query. "They might..that's what 
the one was mumbling about. I wanted you to know, maybe to have them watched."

Ktai looks up when she feels Flashfire's gaze on her, and simply shrugs 
slightly, a strangely eloquent, yet silent motion. "One of them... Joth, by 
name, said something to the effect that there were enough of them to try it. He 
called Rayek... a thief. ** She can't exactly agree with that, being that she 
wasn't here for that part of it, but she knows that Rayek often allows his 
impulsiveness to overwhelm his better judgment. After all, that's what she's 
for, right? ** I warned him that it would be folly to attempt such... but it was 
by send, and I am not certain it made an impression. **

Suntop actually gives a bit of a laugh, "Why? They can't fly it. What would they 
do? Just forbid entrance?" He shakes his head, "I think they would be very 
unwise to try such a thing. Especially with the Mountain so near and especially 
after so many asked me to fly it here to help with the Twins."

Flashfire nods along with Ktai's explanation, adding during a quiet moment, "I 
told him they'd better not try." Suntop's laugh suggests to him the mystic 
doesn't consider it much of a threat, but that may be what the GoBacks want him 
to think. "I don't know what they'd do..I just don't want to see them do it." 
The concern at least shared, he begins to relax somewhat. "Good to see you 
again..you've done so much." How does he know? He doesn't, but he believes it.

Ktai returns to her hair. It's a trivial thing, but it keeps her hands busy, 
gives her something to do with the nervous energy that's been building around 
her for, well, let's face it. Since she laid her eyes on Blue Mountain once more 
with the dread knowledge that she would enter it of her own free will once more. 
It only got worse after the battle. Will any of them be the same, those that 
were there? She thought her dreams were bad before... if she were possibly on 
better terms with her younger daughter, maybe she would ask for some of the 
memories to be shielded. Then again, maybe not. "Just bringing the Palace here 
gave several the will to fight, the spirit to be strong. This place... is a 
powerful motivator."

"I?" Suntop looks a bit surprised at the compliment, "I haven't done more than I 
should..." humble as always. He then turns to Ktai, "It is really surprising, I 
suppose...having lived here for even these few turns it seems almost like 
'home'. As 'home' as any place is, I guess...but I never thought of it as such a 
symbol." Because Suntop grew up with the Palace always there. Flashfire is given 
another smile, "I am glad to see you again as well. I'm glad to see you up and 
about instead of too injured."

Flashfire nods agreement to Ktai's few words, needing to add nothing to them. 
They stand well enough on their own. He gives Suntop a bit of a grin as he 
listens to him talk of home, leaving him to admit, "I haven't had a home for a 
while..but maybe I'll stay here for now." Another slower nod is returned when 
Suntop expresses his pleasure in seeing him in good health and he answers, "It 
was..too close. Thought I was gone, but Ktai wouldn't let me give up, and 
I..wanted to see you again..mother, father, Ember.." And Ktai here - she's been 
acting very motherly towards him since he woke up again. In fact, she's been 
around him enough to notice this is the most he's said at any one time since he 
was saved.

Ktai coughs at Suntop's words. ** You didn't see what that one did to him. ** 
That's a rather hard edge to her send, a sense that things were Not At All Well 
In Hand for a while. She hasn't looked away from her hair, hasn't shifted 
positions, but there's a growing sense of weariness about Ktai. It's little 
wonder, you see, she hasn't slept in entirely too long. Napped yes, but truly 
and completely slept, with her soul quiet as well...? Well, not since she left 
the sun village to head to Blue Mountain with Rayek. Flashfire's eloquence does 
not go unnoticed, and she smiles to herself as she works yet another leaf out of 
her hair. Really, it would be easier to cut this length completely off...

Suntop just gives a smile, "You haven't changed much, Flashfire..." and he will 
leave that enigmatic. A nod is then given to Ktai and his smile fades, "And he 
wasn't the only one, Ktai, I know. But they are gone. Their spirits are at 
peace. We should leave them that way. They left much for us to heal, but it is 
not impossible." He moves over to Ktai and moves to rest a hand on hers, "This 
is a time for the Now, Ktai." And at that, he starts to move back out into the 
hallway.

You locksend to Suntop, Flashfire's send-sense touches your mind lightly, 
something he hasn't done in a very long time. No words are said this time, but 
he does share a sensation of pleasure that you are well, and he has been able to 
see you again.

Flashfire raises a brow slightly at Suntop's answer to him, and he just grins in 
reply. There's no real need to go into all the details of his injuries, though - 
just being here after all that is proof enough that lots of work was done to 
bring it about. Farewells are shared as Suntop exits, and once he's gone he 
cants his head up towards Ktai. "You, and the Now?" He sounds amused.

Ktai snorts softly, a quiet sound. "I don't need the Now, Flashfire. After all, 
someone has to keep the memories in here," she shifts one hand to her heart, 
"don't they? So that it isn't entirely forgotten? Things like this... should not 
be forgotten. It cheapens the lives of those who were lost." That's a lot of 
Deep coming from Ktai. It must be the presence of the Palace.

"Doesn't matter if you need it or not," Flashfire answers with a grin. "Either 
you live in it or you don't." That's about as deep as he's going to get. Most of 
the time, he pretty clearly does. It's strongest when the wolfen side is. "But 
someone has to remember, aye." That much, he agrees with. He then looks towards 
the corridor Suntop passed through; he must be continuing to make his rounds. 
"That went well.." he says more quietly, and there's relief in his voice.

"It seemed to," Ktai comments, allowing her hair to fall away now, looking up to 
him. "And you seem better than you have been feeling lately. I'm glad." She 
won't tell him how worried she was when she saw him fall and no-one else on the 
battlefield seemed to care about him. Sure, rescue the Gliders, rescue the 
GoBacks... but not him? A part of her is still wondering at how she threw care 
to the wind quite literally to dart into that and pull him out.

Flashfire was just a single, furred elf. Perhaps the rest thought him dead 
already, that there was no way he could survive what happened. Perhaps nobody 
else was able to spare a moment to get to him. Perhaps they just didn't care. 
"I'm feeling better," he answers quietly; could be he's thinking about the 
moment he pounced upon Ryriel and all the hurting that came after. "You've 
helped..a lot," he nearly whispers.

She smiles, a gentle smile, one that only comes to her face rarely, and never 
while she is in the Mountain. "I did what little that I could, Flashfire. I am 
not a fighter, nor do I wish to be one. Instead, I try to be there when I am 
needed." Just as she was with Rayek so very long ago... not that he would ever 
admit to it, but that's a small issue, all set aside for later amusement and 
wonderment on her part as to what possessed her to think that Rayek would listen 
to her... and even more amazement that he had. More or less. "The important 
thing is that you did not die, and that you are here, in the Palace, and that 
Suntop was happy to see you."

"Without it, I wouldn't be here now," Flashfire answers. Or, he might be here, 
but not like this. Winnowill did the healing, but Ktai was the one who reached 
out to him first. Could it have been destiny, one of those inevitable things 
that can't be explained, all those years after the hunting accident? When she 
finishes speaking, he nods his agreement to everything she says. "And we warned 
him about the GoBacks," he adds, sharing, "Kureel..we talked, and he wanted me 
to warn the others here, that they might listen to me instead of him."

Ah, but has he recalled that yet? She certainly has, but she hasn't said a thing 
about it. Still has the scar, too, though currently it's hidden by a sleeve. "We 
tried to warn him. I do not think that it made much of an impression on him," 
she sighs, shaking her head. "As for Kureel..." well, it's no secret that Ktai 
doesn't like him... she likes him a little more than she likes Tsoran, and 
that's saying something! "I think that if Kureel had set foot in here, Suntop 
would have sent him packing and taken the Palace away before we could have 
gotten here."

Flashfire may still be getting back to the point where he can remember details 
about that near-tragic encounter way back when. He will just need time. "We 
warned him, but we should look out for anything ourselves. Kureel..I won't say 
it, but at least we talked." So, it's possible. He yawns, the fatigue beginning 
to creep in again, and he suggests, "Maybe we should both rest."

Ktai looks wryly over to Flashfire. He noticed, did he? That same shade of wry 
colors her voice as she comments: "I could appreciate some warm and soft furs. 
It's been a while since I have slept." And even longer since she allowed herself 
to dream. Does she dare crawl into the furs in the room that she and Rayek 
share? After so long, would it seem too empty without him? Maybe she'll just 
find a dusty dark corner and lean up against the wall to sleep. She hasn't 
decided yet.

Flashfire smiles once and wonders, "We could share the furs, if you like." He 
stands slowly and rolls his neck from side to side, then flexes his fingers a 
few times. In this regard, no doubt it'd just be to share warmth and not much 
else. He's not in /shape/ for much else.

She smiles softly, and looks to him for a moment. "Like as not, I'd keep you 
awake. I do not go to sleep easily. It comes from too long on my own in a world 
that is unforgiving to Gliders." There's a sense of sadness about her voice, but 
she ignores it in the hopes that he will too.

Flashfire begins to walk, not yet sure where he'll wind up sleeping this time, 
and he shakes his head to her. "I can go to sleep easily..doubt it'll be a 
problem," he says, but it seems he'll leave it to her to decide.

Ktai rises at length, seemingly unwilling to allow him too far from her sight. 
"We'll see if you regret that later..." Sounds like she's going to curl up 
where-ever he does... be it in the same furs, or at the very least, in the same 
room as he does. Someone has to keep an ear on him, though it is likely that 
once she falls asleep, she won't wake for some time.

And that will be Flashfire's big chance to slip out! Or not. Wherever Ktai is 
all right with, that's where they settle down. His only preference is someplace 
quiet. He behaves, too.