Attack on Sylica

[Anastasia]

A volley of greetings, including, "Yes," Emmaline says, quietly. She pauses to have some bread.

"We are," Antenora concurs, "Marie, you know this story, entertain us while Ebony finishes cooking. Tell us what the slaad did next."

"...please do," Emmaline says, "It's a good story so far."

[Ebiris]

"Well, we were on Ysgard so I figured what's the worst that could happen, right?" Marie begins, a pouty look on her face. "Also I was mostly sticking to my elf form by then so I'd look less edible to the slaad palate. Really it was all Antenora's idea more than mine though. Those big sad froggy eyes must have touched something in her rigidly lawful heart... either that or she figured he'd be a captive audience for some of her order-focused diatribes. Anyway he wasn't that bad as a guest to start with either, even if it didn't much suit the mood for a romantic getaway. So anyway, he's telling us stories of his journey from Acheron back to Limbo, taking the long way home, and Antenora offers him a candied apple since we were having snacks. And oh Mystra, you've never heard someone make such a fuss, you'd think we'd poked him in the eye. On and on he went about how apples were the most orderly of fruits and how its established from their life cycle to their flavour to their coloration... then he goes and falls asleep mid-rant. So we just look at each other and count ourselves lucky. Antenora tosses a blanket over him before we go to bed, right?"

As everyone nods to Marie's prompt, "So morning comes and we wake up and you know those stories about houses made of candy? Our rustic little getaway cottage was made out of fruit now! Furniture assembled from bananas, pale grapes for windows, walls made of carefully stacked pears... our bed-blanket was an orange-rind! And there sat by the fire where we'd left our guest last night, there's this huge green apple that blinks at us with those froggy eyes, opens a mouth on its side, and says, 'I have consumed the fruit of pure law, Limbo is lost to me. Tell my spawning stone that the apple never falls far from the tree.' So then I just let Antenora have it," she shakes her head in disgust.

[Anastasia]

Antenora's expression cools a little bit at the word diatribe, but listens to the entire story. "Alicia, I would like to object and tell my side of the story," she says primly, "Without Marie's chaotic contamination of events."

Jessica giggles at all of this, listening along as Syala just smiles, watching.

Emmaline blinks at that, looking back and forth between them.

[Ebiris]

Alicia just closes her eyes a long moment, a mixture of resignation and amusement going through her. "Very well Antenora, tell us the other side of the story. Without casting Marie as a bad apple, of course."

"... I can't believe you went there," Marie whispers, staring back at Alicia after that awful pun. "Not even I I went there. And I was there!"

[Anastasia]

Syala blinks at that and laughs, throwing her head back. Latha laughs loudly as well, even Emmaline joining in.

Only Antenora stays out of that, "Very well, I won't let Marie's deeds worm into the core of what I'm going to say, Alicia."

[Ebiris]

Alicia smiles widely back at Antenora for sinking to her level. "Go on then. And lets not hear a pip out of Marie while you tell your version of events."

[Anastasia]

"Oh no, I wouldn't dream of having Marie speak up, she's the apple of my eye," Antenora's expression is smug at that, "Ahem." Antenora clears her throat and gives Marie a side long look.

[Ebiris]

Marie just crosses her arms and looks unimpressed.

And maybe a little jealous that she's not contributing to all the puns, but she made her stance against them so she can't backtrack now.

[Anastasia]

"Dinner," Ebony announces, interrupting story hour. Shecomes in carrying a pot, smelling of beef. "Beef and noodles." she announces, the smell of the herbs mixing in your nose, making you all hungry.

As everyone is served and laughter dies down, "Is it always like this here?" Emmaline asks. "It's so warm."

[Ebiris]

"Thank you Ebony," Alicia smiles at dinner's arrival, hoping that Ebony found the act of cooking to be suitably therapeutic after her last couple of days.

"Usually," Marie speaks up in reply to Emmaline, "Everyone likes to laugh whenever Antenora and I settle matter of Chaos and Law, but it's serious business and don't think otherwise!"

"That aside," Alicia says, "We do generally get along. Jessica may be my flesh and blood sister and Syala my spouse, but everyone else here is as good as family."

[Anastasia]

"The bonds formed," Latha speaks up, "That's as important as blood." She reaches over and lays a hand on Emmaline's own, "Don't worry about it. Just watch and remember how much more there is to life than ending it."

"Exactly, now try some of this," Jessica says, as Ebony serves away. As people take bowls of it - delicately sliced beef, fresh noodles and seasoned with all sorts of herbs, as well as a light cream sauce to go with it.

As everyone tucks in, Ebony takes a bite and adds, "Antenora and I both understand making mistakes. Worry not your heart this way, just recover. There is time enough for everything else soon."

[Ebiris]

Alicia is happy to focus on enjoying Ebony's superlative cooking for a bit, paying her respects to the chef first of all. "This is lovely, Ebony. We need to pull you back from Aurora more often," she praises. Then to Emmaline, "You hurt many people, but in the end you're as much a victim of Shar as anyone else. Ebony's right - heal your wounded heart, and the rest will start falling into place. I never thought there'd be anything like this for me after my loss, all those years ago."

[Anastasia]

"Or when I sat in the Halls of the Vanquished," Latha adds after a bite of food, "When all was frozen and lost."

"Or when I was stuck in front of that tree for centuries," Syala says after flashing Ebony a smile, "In timeout, as it was. Didn't even have anything to take it out on."

Emmaline looks down at her food, "I was a victim, too?" Half a question, half not.

"Everyone's a victim of evil, the evil most of all," Antenora says, "Listen to me. Not a single soul in any infernal realm is truly happy. Evil is the fruit of a dead tree, sustaining nothing. This is the fruit of a living tree, one which sustains life."

[Ebiris]

"We don't know for sure if Shar targeted your family the way she did Alicia's," Marie speaks. "But she was subtle there too. Bandits kill, violent men do violence... it's easily possible for her to set off just the right nudge. The whole prison-break with a Sharran in the right place at the right time, things seem to line up just so, don't they? And even then, they took you while you were hurting and only honed that pain into a weapon, rather than do anything to really help you."

[Anastasia]

"Destruction and suffering," Ebony speaks up as Emmaline considers and eats, "Using instead of helping. That's why Antenora compared it to a dead tree. Evil destroys. Shar destroys."

"I..." Emmaline looks down, voice tighter, "Was everything just...a cosmic accident or did she do it from the beginning. They seemed so eager to train me once they found my potential!"