Shiva smiles weakly up at Elodia as the woman squeezes her hand, and stands to follow her out to Alaris and Nikolai. Before departing, she turns to face the trio still at the table. Her face is stoic, but her eyes express the pain of old wounds. "...the one at fault here is Valentine. Taking our fear and pain out on each other is only going to make it easier for him to kill us. We have to stay together. For Ling. For our family." With this, she turns and heads outside.

Catching up to the others, she takes a deep breath in the frosty morning air to try and wash away her episode. "So, where to, Nik?"

Quote from Lyrel >>

"We must tread carefully, my friend. The foolishness of those three have forced Valentine's hand. He will be watching us more carefully than he might have been. Before we were simply one of many threads he was weaving, but with Nimue, Caio, and Astrid walking into his damn home... That changes things. Caio thinks I did not foresee this eventuality? Of course I saw it coming! That does not mean you rush headlong into it! He is reckless and impulsive. Just like the day he and I first met when he tried to kill me without learning the truth of things. Nimue is just as impulsive. They are worse than Ling in this! At least she would listen to me. Those two." He sighs angrily. "I need to not be around them right now. I am taking Shiva to gather some components for some new spells that Shahar has gifted me with this morning. She needs to not be around them either, I think. You are welcome to come with, but let me make it clear that I do not want Nimue or Caio near me right now. You need to keep them away from me."

He points at the paper. "I will see what this bastard has to share. I also want to seek out a new spell that will allow me to speak directly to Ling. If she is safe and left willingly, then... I will come with you on this journey, but otherwise... I cannot. I promised her I would keep her safe, Alaris. I know what you all think about me, but if there is something that is true and honest about me it is my word. I keep my promises and do not give them lightly."

Alaris takes a deep breath and pushes their worries and frustrations to the back of their mind while Nikolai speaks. They listen closely and do not respond immediately. After a couple beats, while Nik catches his breath, Shiva and Elodia appear and Alaris says, "Well, let's walk and talk, put some distance between us and them and get some fresh air. We are short on time, regardless of what we decide to do."

As the foursome makes their way to the shops, Alaris murmurs to Nik gently and without accusation, "Nikolai, my brother. You are angry at them for not knowing something you knew. Something you knew but did not tell us. You treat deadly adults like idiot children and wonder when we snap back. We are all creatures of action... we would not do what we do were it otherwise, so it's crazy to expect creatures of action not to act on what they know."

A gust of icy wind jostles Nikolai's shoulder holster as he walks with Alaris, Elodia and Shiva. The usually firmly secured buckle flaps open and several tarock cards scatter across the slippery cobblestones, falling in a perfect circle face up around Elodia's feet. There are nine in total. The empress, the ace of pentacles, the sun, the chariot, the lovers, the tower, the queen of swords, the three of swords and the nine of swords.

Elodia is quiet as she walks just behind Nikolai and Alaris with Shiva, her eyes focused on everything and nothing. It has not been long since she'd left home but already she's wondering if she ought to return to it, discretion being the better part of valor. They had waited for so long for this moment, been so careful; dared to dream for the first time of a life where they might be free at last of oversight. It had been a year and more in Piotrgrad, but how long in Breanne? Her whole life, perhaps. At least the parts that mattered. Built to this, and dashed as easily as it had been to open a wrought iron gate.

Blue eyes blink back tears, no stranger to her this morning, brought on in equal parts horror and frustration. Leaving had been far from easy, but it had been done for them, with the idea of building a safe future in mind. How safe could that possibly be now, with the Morgenstern gaze brought down upon them? If she left now for what seemed to be an obvious trap, Francesc might pay for it, and she feared that more than she feared even harm herself. He was too close to them. There was too much at stake.

Almost unbidden, his words come to her as quietly as he'd first said them what already feels a lifetime ago. "Stay in Piotrgrad. We'll work out some other way."
"Will we?”  Had been her reply then, with the optimism of the fool she'd been before this morning. ”It’s been a year, and this is the closest we’ve ever come."

Now, in the early dawn light that none can hide from, she finds herself shaking her head. I'm sorry, my love. I should have listened. You were right. With that in mind her attention slowly shifts to give a long look at the blue tiefling beside her, weighing thoughts of fear and trust. Did she trust Shivala? Could she? Was she a fool to think yes? Elodia evaluates her for a moment before beginning quietly, "Shiva, I'm no longer sure I –" 

Abruptly she cuts herself off, lifting her arms as if to protect against the bitter wind that seems to come from nowhere. Pushed a half step back on reflex, her heel slides unexpectedly on something slick and she glances down, startled enough out of her thoughts to stare at the perfect circle of images encasing her feet. Perplexed and wary, she looks up to Shiva. "I don't –" Her gaze shifts to Nikolai and Alaris, her feet frozen still in the street, unwilling to risk unbalancing whatever's at play. "I don't understand. What is this magic? What does it mean?"

Nikolai curses loudly and viciously as the snap on his holster suddenly flies open in the breeze. His hands immediately fly up to secure it, but before he could several cards are drawn out and fall to the ground... in a perfect circle around... Elodia? Nikolai immediately stops and stares, placing a hand up to quiet any inquiries. "Shahar? What are you saying?" He crouches down to examine the cards. "Do not move, Elodia."

Shiva had walked in silence beside Elodia, taking in the morning sun and doing her best to come back to herself. When Elodia addresses her, she turns, just in time to see the wind blow several of Nikolai's cards free from their holster. She opens her mouth to speak, but as they form a circle around the young woman, her brow furrows as she looks on in interest.  "I can't remember the last time that something like this happened. What does it mean, Nik?" 

Nikolai stares at the array, feeling a sort of giddy excitement at the unexpected closeness he suddenly felt with his patron Shahar. He'd always known the being to be especially distant, speaking through Nikolai's cards indirectly. It was not capricious, but this... this was unprecedented. Such an act almost made Nikolai forget why these cards were spread out around this woman. His eyes are drawn to specific cards first and the seem to dart about as if moved by the unseen force of Shahar. The further he reads into the cards, the deeper he leans down until he is practically kneeling in the streets muttering to himself quietly. Each card brings more and more concern as Nikolai's eyes dart across the reading over and over. Finally he stands and holds Elodia's gaze with his wide eyes. He opens his mouth to speak, then turns on his heels and begins to pace back and forth for a moment, stopping several times and looking at Elodia to speak, but the words do not come. He rubs his hands over his face as he mutters to himself again, seemingly working through the meaning of the reading. He finally stops and swallows hard against a knot that had formed in his throat as he stares at Elodia's midriff. "Elodia, I genuinely do not know any better way to say this than to be very frank. You must come with us to Littlewood." He holds up a finger to stop her as she frowns and starts to question. "You must because... you're pregnant."

Alaris opens their mouth to speak, then closes it again. They stare wide-eyed at Nikolai as he shifts from angry to frustrated to... earnest?? When he blurts out the news, the aasimar flushes with excitement but chokes and stammers and can't find the right words. I never know what to say at times like this...

Elodia stares uncomprehendingly at Nikolai, a year's worth of emotions dawning across her face in quick succession like a cycle of the sun. Miscomprehension fades into shock which bleeds into confusion which dissolves into a look of happiness so pure it seems, just for a moment, to light her. Already she wants to turn her back and run to Francesc and tell him, breathless and hopeful and dizzy, but for some reason her feet stay affixed in the circle instead, heart beating so loudly in her chest she thinks she might not even need to find him because surely he can hear it. Her eyes stay unfocused on the tiefling as the hundred implications of what this means start to process, each conflicting with the last; a flurry of Breanne and Piotrgrad and del Toro and Morgenstern, bastions and threats aplenty.

"How can you know that? What does it have to do with Littlewood?" Her voice sounds unlike her own, asking distant questions when all she wants is to dare revel in this news. She looks down at the cards again, raking them for signs she doesn't understand before to the flushed Alaris and Shiva and then back to Nik, eyes wide and a little pleading, as if he might yet wave his hand and take it all away. "Nikolai, please – it's true?"

Nikolai shrugs. "I can see no reason why Shahar would lie about this. They are a being of great power and have never been capricious in such things. No, this is important to Shahar for reasons I do not know, but..." he gestures at the cards. "It is quite plainly clear. This baby is important to Shahar. I have never had anything like this happen before. Ever." He lets those words sink in for a moment. "But if you do not come with us, something awful will happen to the child." He leans down to tap his finger to the Tower. "They want us to take you under our protection. From what exactly I do not know. I can guess that it has to do with Morgenstern though. Make your choice." He begins to scoop his cards from the ground, gingerly wiping them clean of any lingering debris before securing them back into the pouch on his shoulder holster. 

"Nikolai never lies about messages from Lady Shahar. He is, and has done, many things - as have we all. But he will not lie to you," Alaris finds their words suddenly and lays a warm hand on Elodia's shoulder. "If Nik says we need to protect you, you can count on me. Come with us."

Quote from Sphynxyy >>

Caio shakes his head before resting his temples against his tensed fingers. “Astrid is right. They don’t see that there are larger forces at work. They put more weight in our actions than they truly hold in the grand scheme of things. I suppose you could call it hubris. We are far from having any true power over these forces that loom above us, and we will have to put far more at stake in order to gain that power. Until they realize that they will continue to get up in arms over every risk, every loss. Ling is safe and that’s all that matters. Even if she weren’t, it would be the same path laid before us.”

"I have to fix this. I don't think I can live with myself if I don't." She holds her head up again, dried tear tracks across her cheeks. "I don't care how much Nikolai may hate me. I will find Ling, and I will put Valentine in the ground for this." Her eyes are burning brighter with blue flame. She looks to both Caio and Astrid, and they can see Aralath's burning vengeance in them. "He's not getting away with this."

Her amulet sparks, and glows brightly with a blue light, and a symbol is visible, etched inside the black crystal. The silver wire glows white hot, but her alabaster skin is unharmed. Her eyes are glowing now, and she stands slowly. "This will require patience. I only hope Nikolai realizes the same."

The reservation that had kept the dam of Elodia's excitement in check cracks and breaks between Nikolai and Alaris' words, tempered only by the lingering threat the cards seem to imply. The fact Nikolai speaks of it as if there's a choice at all seems incredible, as if there is any world that exists where she would risk Francesc's child. "Of course I'll go. Anything. Of course." Her smile on Alaris' is radiant and unrestrained, unable to be wiped from her face as she looks back at them. "Thank you. Truly."

Looking back to Nikolai and feeling a slight twinge of panic as he sweeps the cards up, a small hand reaches out to curl around his forearm as he secures them back in his pack. "What did they say. Exactly. I need to know – please. This...I need to know everything. This is important."

Nikolai looks over his shoulder to Alaris and nods, but turns back quickly as Elodia's hand curls around his forearm. He looks at the fingers briefly, then to Elodia's eyes. "They do not speak words like we do. More through symbols and cryptic messages, but the basics of the message is this: 'This woman is pregnant and the child is important. It must be kept safe. You must protect this child. If Elodia does not stay with you, harm will come to the child.' If this is important to Shahar, then it is important to me. I can see that it is important to you as well. And make no mistake, I cast no judgements, but I also recognize that not all are as excited about children, Elodia. And there is always a choice. The outcomes may not be what you desire, but the choice will be there. So, I will stay with you as you gather your things to go on this journey if you have not already. We do not have much time, lady, and there is someone to whom I must speak before we leave. Lastly, I wish to speak to Ling myself. So I would like to find a quiet place for a ritual at some point before we depart. Now, come. There is much to do."

      Astrid wipes her mouth after finishing the last bit of her breakfast. Looking up with a smile to Nimue, she replies, "I have Brightmantle providing me with the time - and patience - to see this through." Rising from her seat as well. "I think Ling knows how to look out for herself in the meantime. Don't worry," she adds hopefully. "Now, I will see you all at Alaris's temple. I need to run and get my mount from the stable." 

"It is not a choice. Or rather, it's one I made long ago," she replies simply, taking a step back to turn the way they'd come. "It sounds like there is much you need to do. Meet with who you must and cast your ritual; I will find you before we leave. I cannot leave without telling Francesc." 

Shiva is frozen in place as the three discuss the implications of this reading. Her exposure to pregnancy was little more than passing a pregnant person on the street, momentarily reflecting on how vulnerable one would be in such a state. The idea of creating life seemed entirely alien to one who thrived on death, indeed, one who seemed born for it. All at once, the consequences of this announcement dawn on the young tiefling. Reaching out, she takes Elodia's hand as she turns to depart.

"Elodia. Félicitations. ...I swear to you, I will keep my word. I will tear apart an army before I let any harm come to you." Then a bit of levity returns to her voice as she smiles lightly, "And give Francesc my best." 

Elodia turns toward Shiva with a brilliant smile and briefly lays her hand atop the tiefling's. "Thank you. I already feel safer knowing you're here." At the mention of her husband her expression turns playful, and she squeezes Shiva's hand. "I will. With this news to preface it, you may even receive the same." Looking back at the others with a final nod, her fingers fall delicately through Shiva's as she draws up the hood of her cloak. "I will meet with you soon. I hope you find the answers you seek."

Pilgrims throng around an ornate carriage in cold air of the square outside the temple of Vida, awaiting the relic's departure. Many huddle in groups and loiter in doorways, banding together for warmth. Others stand in prayer groups on the cobblestones before the temple gates.

The morning hush is cut through by a squawk from Ghoul, already circling above and relaying details to Caio about the charges now under the protection of his troupe as he scans them himself. Like a specter he hangs in the vicinity, waiting for the others. If he is still perturbed by the earlier revelations and accusations, his face doesn't show it.