Goblin Town -- Logs

Later, Cinnamon invites Hilde and Torben to meet her, Shane, Thorn, and Marcus for lunch at her little cottage a day or so later. She figures best to have this meeting indoors, after all, where other ears cannot overhear. She also includes Spice and Josie -- both because they're dear friends, and because Spice always has the best ideas on where to go in order to not have any sidhe come to harm! It's clear Hilde and Torben are slowly becoming more cozy with one another, as Torben immediately agrees to go in search of the yellow dragon with them, once Hilde does. It's obvious he's the one who is a little more "all in" on the relationship, but he's also obviously quite unbothered by that, and willing to be patient with Hilde's skittishness. Cinnamon privately thinks that's so awesome and sweet and romantic! Being who she is, it doesn't occur to her at all that she and Shane are doing much the same, of course.

The evening of takeoff for what Cinnamon is now laughingly referring to as Operation Drake-Locate, everyone gathers on the roof of Currier's Hall. The scarlet dragon is lying in relaxed sphynx pose as Shane and Marcus do a last harness check, while Hilde, Torben, and Thorn all buckle in. Luggage is neatly tied on behind the flight saddles, and when Shane settles into his saddle and checks the instrumentation, everything is working correctly and the directions are entered.

After her pre-flight jump-wiggle to ensure everyone and everything is secure, Cinnamon cheerfully launches, wings beating powerfully, "Okay, we are go for liftoff for Red Dragon Airways -- please remain seated for our two and a half hour flight, and enjoy the complimentary in-flight entertainment!" She giggles as she levels out, orienting on the stars and speeding up as she goes. She mostly sings to pass the time, but she also chatters with her friends, "So if we do find him, should we wake him up? I mean, I think Elias wants him here, but... we'd have to convince Aoi to stop wasting energy for him to be able to thrive here too, and... do we think she'd allow herself to be publicly less than perfect?"

Marcus considers, "That depends on if he's actually asleep or if he's simply laying low. As for convincing her to let down the glamour... maybe talk her into doing it in private?"

Cinnamon sounds a little glum, "I... am not sure she'll be willing to see me again, actually, Marcus... not since that last meeting. But... maybe Elias or Nasteexo can talk her into that?" She considers for a bit, then hesitantly adds, "I... would guess he's sort of hibernating? I mean, just lying around doing nothing... for over a hundred years?! I think I'd go mad with boredom, if it were me!" She grins wryly, "But then I'm not a dra- er, I'm not an Imperial Chinese dragon!"

Marcus considers, "Perhaps not asleep, but not being a dragon. It's possible he's existing as a simple human."

Cinnamon muses on that for a few seconds, "Hmm... but if he's being human, how's he getting that odd tremor effect? Unless... maybe he's awake and human, but his entire court is still asleep? Though even then, that seems... a bit weird to me? I don't know... maybe the Chinese had different attitudes about stuff like that?"

Marcus replies, "It's just a thought. I am definitely capable of being incorrect. I know I've proved that." His voice is playful.

Cinnamon blinks startledly over her shoulder at Marcus... then grins uncertainly and goes back to flying. She's not sure if that means she somehow insulted him, or what, but... she sighs in relief as she calls back to her companions, "Hey, I think those lights up ahead are the outskirts of Phoenix! Shaney, can you direct me to the motel Spice got for us? I can land out in the desert next to it, and folks can drop off our luggage, and then we can take flight again to see if there's anything odd from the air in the area Sparrow mentioned. Sound good?" Shane gives the directions and hums along with the songs Cinnamon sings as they get ready to land. The scarlet dragon lands with a bit of an unwanted dust cloud -- she's new to landing on flat-dirt desert land! But after sneezing fire once, she settles down so folks can easily reach and untie their luggage. Shane, Torben, and Marcus scoop up the various backpacks, duffels, and such, and head on in to the main office, while Cinnamon, Hilde, and Thorn watch and wait patiently in the warm darkness.

After a few moments of chatting with the young man at the office, the three supernatural men are handed keys. They emerge -- with a wave from Shane towards where he knows the others are -- and head over to the appropriate motel rooms. A few minutes to check the rooms, drop off the luggage, and emerge again... and shortly after that, the dragon is once more aloft, with Shane calling out directions for them to do their planned flyovers on the Sonoma Desert. Along with everyone else, Thorn too searches the ground below as Cinnamon flies over the Sonoma Desert. The healer borrowed a pair of night-vision goggles from Sparrow, earlier that day. Since Thorn has sort of used them before, he also knows what to do so as to not drop them.

The flyovers are a grid pattern, which is the most efficient way to do so. Torben stares down with a somewhat unfocused expression, while Hilde holds onto him as if she's afraid he might fall off the side -- despite him being strapped securely in. However, Torben is clearly not looking at visible physical features of the land... no, he's studying the leylines themselves -- and he immediately calls out when he sees one traveling northeast/southwest. On another flyover shortly after that, he calls out in a nearly surprised voice: there's a minor one moving almost directly east-west, and crossing the fairly major one. When he raises his head, he adds, "That means there's a node here! It's minor, but it's a node!"

Cinnamon calls back, "What's a node? Are they unusual? Should I land there?"

Torben answers, "Not directly on it, no! But nearby. I'm just surprised because I didn't know it was here! A node is where the lines cross! Normally they're fairly powerful locations. A lot of enclaves are located on or near nodes."

"Oh, okay!" Cinnamon spirals slowly back around, adding over her shoulder, "Give me more directions on where to land, please?" Torben does so, guided by Shane helping find a safe place to land in the desert -- one where she won't damage the biome and won't be landing on top of anyone's home or business where she might be seen. Cinnamon lands with a great deal of flapping, but manages to descend almost directly, straight down so nothing gets squished... and then she settles, neatly folding up her wings as she glances around. Her voice is soft, "Does anyone... feel anything?" Marcus shakes his head. It's nighttime, so it's a bit chilly. Shane actually takes off his shoes, hops off of Cinnamon, and wiggles his toes into the sand, brow furrowing. Thorn keeps the goggles on for the time being -- it's not just a really dark night, but also the goggles are warm. After a bit, though, he takes them off to start to let his eyes get acclimated to the darkness.

Torben turns in a circle, then points, "The node is in that direction... about five miles. I can feel that."

Cinnamon hmms, starting to walk in that direction with her companions -- or at least the ones that are still seated in their flight saddles. She grins at Shane, "Coming? Or do you want up again?"

Shane shakes his head, "Gonna walk, I think..." He strolls along, apparently unworried about his bare feet in the sand. No one mentions the possibility of scorpions or anything of the like, as if it's a non-issue. Perhaps he's wanting to see if he can feel the leylines, since he's earth-attuned. Torben leads the way unerringly -- but before they quite get to the node, they run into a compound. That's really the only way to describe it, too, because it's not a town and it's not a home. There are several buildings surrounded by a fence -- not razor- or barbed-wire, but definitely meant to say 'This is a border. Stay on your side of it.'

Thorn blinks, and puts the night vision goggles back on, seeing if there's anything he can spot. Cinnamon blinks interestedly down at the fence, "Wow, this is... different?" She studies the buildings with IR vision, checking to see if anyone's outside or not -- she doesn't want to be spotted by some hapless human strolling around peacefully at night, after all! She flickers her tongue a few times as well: is there animal scent, like this is a farm or something? There's the scent of animals -- goats, most likely -- and chickens. There are heat signatures outside, in what might be paddocks, and there are heat signatures inside some of the buildings. There are also a couple pairs of human-sized heat signatures moving around together, close inside the fencing. Thorn, Torben, and Marcus immediately know what that means... and even Cinnamon can likely recognize a patrol when she sees one. Indeed, the scarlet dragon blinks interestedly, her voice a soft whisper, "Hey, peeps? I can smell... goats, I think, and chickens? -and also I think there's a couple of pairs of folks strolling around outside by the fencing, except, um... they don't seem relaxed at all? It's more like..." She pauses, then adds in soft surprise, "Oh, patrolling! That's it -- I think they're patrolling?" She curiously flicks over to UV vision, to see what's visible that way. However, there's nothing that shows up, really... no body fluids or recent butchering or such.

Torben and Shane reply almost at the same time, "Yeah, patrolling..." and "Definitely a patrol..." -- followed by Torben adding, "We should likely back off a bit. If they're supernatural, they might have night vision."

Cinnamon nods and starts backing carefully up, far enough that she can easily turn around and pad back off into the night. As she does so, she curiously asks Torben, "Um, so... if they are supernaturals... why is it bad if they spot us?"

Torben smiles, "It's not, necessarily, but we might want to discuss it amongst ourselves. Because right there? The largest building on that compound? It's sitting on the node."

"Ooooh!" Cinnamon grins excitedly as she glances over her shoulder... then beams toothily at Torben, "Okay, so now what? Should we come back during the day, or what?"

Marcus blinks and looks back over his shoulder at the compound, "So... we're looking at..." Cinnamon glances back at Marcus, waiting for him to finish the sentence... because she's not precisely sure why everyone seems a bit... wary?

Torben replies, "We're looking at an unknown minor leyline node in the midst of a non-fault-line seismic activity area with some sort of compound sitting on top of it."

Cinnamon nods encouragingly to Torben, since she's still not sure what's wrong, "And that means...?"

Torben's voice is slightly wry, "Anything that can create a leyline, no matter how minor, is powerful. I don't say let's act scared. I simply say let's approach in daylight as would be polite."

Cinnamon stares confusedly at Torben, "Wait, what?! 'Create' a leyline?! Why do you say that, please?"

Thorn blinks, "You think that someone created a leyline here?"

Torben nods, "Because I don't remember there being a minor leyline or a node here. A hundred miles back east from here, yes. But not here."

Cinnamon glances back over her shoulder with IR vision, her voice wondering, "How does one create a constant line of energy?!"

Thorn nods slowly, "In that case... yeah, let's back off a ways...."

Cinnamon grins at Torben, "So, go get a good night's sleep, then come back tomorrow in the day? Okay! Spicy said she'd gotten us a rental, so we can drive out here easily enough." Over her shoulder, to Marcus on her back, the scarlet dragon adds, "It's a big ol' RV, which should hopefully not give you ironsickness!"

Torben nods, "Well, one could be sitting atop a main leyline and have the flow from it part due to a massive disruption. There are a lot of reasons it could happen... but yes. Let's rest and come back bright-eyed and busy-tailed."

Marcus smiles and strokes Cinnamon's hide gently, "I'll bring along honey and bread."

Cinnamon nods to Torben, quietly delighted at learning such fascinating new things, "Huh, interesting!" then grins at Marcus, "I brought a little jug of honey for just in case, if you want?"

Once they're far enough away from the compound everyone remounts up, and Cinnamon flies back to the motel. She's gleeful when she manages to change on her first try, almost skipping along beside Shaney, "Yay! -that was easy let's walk over to the restaurant and get some dinner and then we can go sleep and go visit the maybe-supernaturals tomorrow yes?"

The next day, after breakfast and picking up the RV, the entire group drives on over to where Torben directed them last night. Shane is in the driver's seat, with Torben (with a map) as passenger, to give directions. Cinnamon is in the main living area of the RV with Hilde, Marcus, and Thorn -- she's made some sweet hot tea for everyone, and there's a fresh loaf of bread on the little table, along with the pot of honey, for poor Marcus.

When they find the compound again, they realize the main gate doesn't quite look like a torii. In fact, it looks a little closer to the entrance of a pagoda -- but the shape is a little stylized, like whoever owns this land didn't want it being too obvious what this place is. In daylight, the brightly-colored red paint of the wooden fence is easier to see, as are the various colors of the buildings visible through the wooden slats of the fence. No two slats are more than three inches apart, but that's plenty enough to keep most humans out. When the RV pulls up, the gate is closed, but there's a keypad and a speaker. Also, in the daytime the sounds of goats and clucking chickens are more obvious. Cinnamon tilts her head a bit confusedly as she stares up through the windshield -- she's moved to kneel between the two front seats so she can see, and others could look over her head. Thoughtfully she murmurs, "So... do we say we're here to see the dragon?" Then she flashes a mischievous grin as she adds, "Or do we say the dragon is here to see the dragon?" She giggles!

Thorn laughs quietly, "Why not?"

Shane, who's driving, snorts, "Yeah, why not. What's the worst they can do? Say they have no idea what we mean -- and then move their compound?" He rolls down the driver's window and leans out to press the button on the speaker.

Cinnamon laughs at that! Her grin gets more mischievous as she adds, "If they ask which dragon, you could say the Welsh one? Though... they might think that was Liam?" She giggles again, "Or you could say the red dragon is here to see the yellow one, and which dragon are they referring to?"

A voice -- quite mellifluous, with only the very slightest hint of an accent -- asks their business. Shane replies, "The 13th Chair -- the Welsh Red Dragon -- is here to see the Yellow Dragon -- the Yellow Emperor."

There's dead silence on the other end for long moments. Cinnamon grins excitedly, her eyes sparkling as she gently squeezes Shane's hand! A moment later another much gruffer voice growls, "Who is this really and what kind of joke are you playing?"

Shane arches a brow at Cinnamon, tipping his head at the speaker -- as if asking if she wants to do the talking. She is, after all, the actual councilor. Cinnamon takes a deep breath, then replies as firmly as she can, "This is not a joke, and I am in fact the 13th Chair. With me are two other Chairs, as well as friends... and we are all here to speak with the Yellow Dragon." She pauses, then adds more softly, "The Phoenix... is not doing well, and does not know we are here. Please talk with us."

There's more silence for a moment or two before the gruff voice speaks again, "Swear to me that none of you mean anyone here any harm."

Shane blinks. That's exactly what he does when he's protecting someone and using his Truth-Speaking ability! Cinnamon considers that for a moment, then replies, "I can swear for myself that I don't mean you any harm, as long as you don't try to harm myself or my friends. Will that do?"

There's another silence... then, "That will do for now. But I must say if there is a breach of hospitality, it will be met with severe displeasure." His voice is even and almost pleasant. It's... a lot like Shane's when he says the same kinds of things: just a statement of fact, with no aggression or dislike in it. It makes the half-beansidhe blink again. Then the voice rumbles, "Please. Be welcome." The gate slides open, giving them admittance to the compound.

Cinnamon beams, "Thank you!" She grins excitedly at her friends, unwittingly bouncing a bit in place, and adding with a small squeak, "Yay! Let's go see!" Thorn thinks that was remarkably easy, considering that was exactly what they were looking for! Cinnamon blinks as an interesting though occurs to her: she did mean what she said... but she didn't actually swear! Clearly these dragons are not familiar with tricksy talk. She turns to quietly warn her friends, "Hey, peeps? Let's keep in mind that the folks here don't seem to get tricksy talk, so we should make sure we all speak clearly and precisely, okay? We don't want anyone to feel betrayed and upset or anything!"

Along with several of the others, Thorn nods to Cinnamon, "Absolutely."

Once the RV rolls through the gate, it closes behind them again. They find themselves in a somewhat dusty entrance way, where a couple of utility vehicles are parked -- a jeep and a handful of ATVs. Sitting there -- and clearly waiting to meet them -- are two enormous, vaguely leonine creatures and one tall, slender humanoid. The creatures have deep russet fur and luxuriant manes, along with huge eyes and tusk-like teeth. They also stand well above the human-seeming person's waist, even sitting. The humanoid wears Japanese hakama and a loose tunic, and has their hair braided neatly down their back. Thorn blinks at the creatures. They seem exceptionally fearsome! Cinnamon stares with avid interest through the windshield, unwittingly murmuring, "Ooooh! Are those... what are they called... lion dogs?!"

Hilde's eyes get big and she too whispers excitedly, "Are those fu dogs? Actual, real fu dogs?" She too bounces like a little girl -- and when Shane puts the vehicle in park, the lj�s�lf rushes forward to look out the windshield, "They're gorgeous!"

Cinnamon grins up at Hilde, "Right?!" She giggles excitedly and wriggles backwards so she can rise and move to the RV's door -- though she pauses just long enough to self-consciously smooth down her hair a bit, and to straighten her shirt.

Shane offers her his arm with a smile, "Shall we?"

Cinnamon beams up at him, almost glowing with excitement as she rests her hand on his arm! Then she pushes open the door and beams with equal delight out at the three entities, "Hello! We're so happy to get to meet you!" People come trooping out of the RV, as Thorn lets Cinnamon and the others emerge first, and brings up the rear.

The slightly larger of the two fu dogs rises and speaks, the voice the low rumble from the speaker box, "It is an honor to meet the 13th Chair and another dragon, whichever of you that is. I am Jaw-Long. This is my mate Haoyu. The skinny one is Yan. We are the guardians of this place."

Haoyu also rises and takes a step or two forward. Her voice is gentle and warm, "Welcome, honorable visitors. As my mate said, if you mean no one here harm, you are welcome. We have great sadness to hear the Phoenix is ailing." She watches everyone emerging, then adds, "So many of the elf-people! We have not seen many of you in moons and moons. Please, come. Yan will take you to a cool place for food and drink." The only one that hasn't spoke is Yan, which means she's likely the first voice that spoke to them, since Haoyu's is the gruff one.

Cinnamon remembers her (admittedly predominantly modern) Chinese culture training, and releases Shane's arm to bow very politely. In Mandarin Chinese, followed by English, she thanks the three for honoring them with this meeting, then introduces everyone. She tries to go via rank as best as she understands it, starting with Hilde as the oldest councilor and Scandinavian Chair, and apologizing to Torben for introducing him as Hilde's holding-mate and 'companion,' since she doesn't know how he'd prefer to be introduced. She moves then to Marcus -- and carefully introduces him as the Western European Chair, since she doesn't want to be either rude or obsessive about what lands he actually covers. After that is Thorn the healer, then Shane... and after a heartbeat's hesitation, she nervously squeaks out that he's her... her s-sweetheart too! She whews internally when he smiles at that, beaming delightedly back at him! -- then turns back to the Chinese folks to conclude with a cheerful, "-and last of all, there's me -- Cinnamon! It's so nice to meet you all!"

About halfway through the introductions she suddenly wonders if this is a good way to see if the yellow dragon is as hung up on protocol and rank as Aoi is... so she simply continues her slightly stream-of-consciousness introductions -- then watches the yellow dragon's... retainers? Guardians? -whatever... to see how they react. The two fu dogs and the humanoid person all nod and bow in their own ways to the introductions. Haoyu answers, "My mate and I are the guardians of this place. Yan is our hands. They are a very useful person. There are others about, but most of them are likely waiting to see if things will go, as I have heard people say, 'pear shaped.'" Cinnamon grins wryly at 'pear-shaped,' since she's pretty sure she's kind of round... but since she understands what Haoyu really means, she just nods... and wonders a bit excitedly what other types of folks live here with (hopefully) the yellow dragon!

Yan bows deeply and gives them a closed-lipped but obviously-welcoming smile before murmuring, "Please, come with me." Yes, her voice is definitely the first one to speak with them. She moves with an inhuman grace, but stays to the pace a human would have, "It's very hot here, so much of our building is actually under the ground where it stays cool even during the day." She motions at a door obviously leading downward, "Please, do not be frightened." She speaks as if people have been spooked about going down into these spaces before. The air coming from the door has a cool, pleasant scent and feel. There's nothing at all ominous about it -- unlike several trods they've been to.

Cinnamon looks around with great interest as they all troop along after Yan. Torben too is looking around, with awe on his face. Well, not so much looking as simply staring into space -- to the point that Hilde guides him. The room Yan leads them into has low, comfortable seating and a table which she motions for them to take seats at, "If you'll be so kind as to wait, I'll bring you cool drinks and food. It is hot in the desert, even if you drive in. I should know. I'm one of the few that drives out." She smiles again and gives them a respectful bow before disappearing through an inner door. Apparently they're trusted enough to be left alone.

Cinnamon looks around in fascination, "Wow, this is... hmm, actually, if it's supposed to be about a century old, I guess they'd have time to make it nice, right?" She grins at her friends, "What do you all think?" She curiously adds to Torben, "Are you seeing stuff we're not?" She considers that thought... then grins and tries glancing around the room with her IR vision. If there's stuff like cameras in the walls, won't that show up as a heat pinprick?

Thorn taps his chin, "They're very polite for having unexpected guests, but I imagine that comes from well over a century of tradition." He thinks for a moment. Oddly, he trusts them... certainly enough to be led into an underground room. But if they had any ill will towards the group, they would have asked if anyone was expecting them in the outside world. Besides which, they invoked hospitality first... so why shouldn't he trust them at least that far? Cinnamon nods in agreement.

Torben blinks, "Oh... seeing, no. Feeling. We're on a leyline node. A small one... but a node nonetheless. There's something extraordinary here." He smiles almost giddily -- his earth attunement must be quite strong.

Cinnamon grins at Torben. She doesn't know what this must feel like to him, since she doesn't have that kind of Earth attunement... but he does seem to be happy about it! Her IR vision shows nothing like cameras, but she does see several warm areas. She curiously studies them, trying to figure out what's going on there. Are they behind walls, or inside furniture, or what? They seem to be at the base of the walls in the corners, as if they're gathering heat from above to dissipate or trap it.

Torben's words make Thorn wonder: are there leylines attuned to other elements? Like, is the Earth's core one huge fire node? What about the oceans -- are the currents water-based leylines of sorts? And air -- things like the jetstream? He knows Torben said there weren't, but... maybe there are? What is the nature of magic, after all? He snorts to himself -- might as well ask that question. But considering his own magicks and how it arose from his heritage... maybe add something else to the bookpile to read.

Shane peers at Torben, then stands and asks a strange question, "Will you shove me? Like as hard as you can?" Cinnamon blinks at Shane... then looks intrigued -- Shane must be testing his Earth attunement! She steps out of the way... and wanders over to one of the corners so she can study it a bit more closely. This is kinda cool and weird! Torben shrugs, braces his feet, and shoves Shane -- and Shane barely sways. Both men blink and then grin at one another before laughing.

Cinnamon finds there's metal in the corner, leading down to a pool of water beneath the floor. Hilde wanders over with her and blinks slowly, "Heat sinks."

The little dragon is crouched by the corner, lightly running her fingers along the metal trace. She grins over her shoulder and nods to Hilde, then stands up again and curiously asks, "What're you sensing?"

Hilde looks around, then points at herself, "Me?"

Cinnamon looks confused, "What? No, I meant how did you know there were heat sinks there?"

Shane and Torben have started doing something that looks half like a dance and half like martial arts, as Hilde smiles, her voice very low, "It's... part of what I can do: sense heat and cold." She taps her forehead, "I don't have infrared vision or anything; I can just... feel it. I've been told it was useful in finding underground geysers once upon a time... and avoiding volcanic activity." She shrugs, "Not so useful now. Mostly a fun party trick."

Cinnamon tilts her head thoughtfully at Hilde, her own voice very low as well, "That's really interesting! So you can sense heat and cold, do magical charms, and I've seen you use what seemed like a mild form of, like... pre-cognition? Oh, and you speak at least four languages that I know of." The little dragon grins teasingly at the lj�s�lf, "Let me guess: your lineage is pretty amazing too, yes? No wonder Torben's so interested in you -- you're a lot more than you look like on the surface!"

Hilde smiles, "The charms... that's not a knack, that's a skill. Like... like learning to embroider or something." She actually looks a little bashful, "The heat-and-cold sense might be more along the lines of a racial thing." There's a light shrug, "The other? Yeah, that's a knack... and the languages? I'm nothing on you." Hilde is so rarely self-deprecating, "I'm really a baby compared to Torben." She glances over at him and laughs, "Yet he's playing sticky-hands with Shane like they're both kids."

Cinnamon laughs softly, shaking her head, "Girl, you should totally not be talking yourself down like this -- I think it's cool! So are you from a powerful lineage?"

Across the room, Thorn is at first surprised and confused by Shane and Torben pushing each other -- but then he gets it, and laughs quietly. He looks around, pursing his lips. "Erin?" he asks quietly. "Please stay close? I'd love to send you a-scouting, but that might be seen as rude." He gets a brief, dizzying glimpse from Erin's eyes, where she's perched at the highest point of the compound -- which seems to be something similar to a pagoda roof. Thorn blinks a bit, feeling a wave of vertigo. "Okay," he murmurs, "you did that on purpose!" His tone is humorous, though; he doesn't really believe she did. "Just stay safe."

Shane glances over at Thorn, "Who did what?" Even distracted, he isn't knocked off-balance.

In the corner, Hilde smiles, "Oh, several generations back, yes. But it's like my great-great-great-great-great grandmother that was the powerful one." She's opening her mouth to say something else, when Yan returns with two young men carrying trays of food and drinks.

Cinnamon giggles as she whispers in return to Hilde, "Closer than mine, it sounds like!" She too looks inquiringly at Thorn, wondering who he's talking to... Torben? Shane?

Thorn hmms? -then ohs at Shane's query, and Cinnamon looking over at him. "Erin -- she's outside the building. So far, nothing to worry about," he manages to get out, when the three people enter.

Cinnamon blinks -- then grins and nods to Thorn. She brightens at sight of the food, though, and thanks Yan. The trays are put down on the low tables and Yan invites everyone to sit and help themselves. Shane and Torben stop their game of push-me-pull-you and settle down with the others. Yan and the two young men she brought with her join them as well. One of the young men has hair nearly as long as Shane's, that he wears half in a topknot. The other has hair that's cropped very close to his head. Both wear light-colored tunics and loose linen trousers. The food is all chilled fruit, cold meats, and so forth -- nothing that would make for a heavy meal. There's fruit juice and iced, spiced tea. Cinnamon smiles interestedly at Yan and the young men, as everyone helps themselves to the nibblies, "So who are your friends, Yan? Should we introduce ourselves?"

Yan smiles and nods, "This is Jiajun," the one with cropped hair inclines his head, "and this one goes by Tao."

Yan speaks to them in Mandarin, introducing the table -- and Tao grins, speaking flawless, accentless English, "Yan, we both speak perfectly good English." He inclines his head to Cinnamon and company, one at a time, as he adds, "We don't get a lot of visitors, and we largely speak Mandarin here amongst ourselves."

Cinnamon nods interestedly, "Okay! Well, nice to meet you all! Um... is it acceptable to ask what you all do here?" She wonders if one of them... Tao, maybe? -is actually the yellow dragon -- then blinks and wonders at herself: where did that thought come from?! Though... huh! Could he be? She grins shyly as she studies the man more closely.

Jiajun nods and smiles, "I mostly deal with the hydroponics. There's not enough actual fertile soil to do normal gardening all the time, so we've been working with hydroponics for food for the last couple of decades. It's really fascinating. We use a system that gathers condensation from the atmos..." he flushes as he trails off, then wryly adds, "I... also get very excited talking about it to new people."

Tao grins at him, "It's exciting stuff! I think it's really fascinating." He smiles, continuing, "I do a little bit of everything. I basically do whatever's needed at the moment. What's the English idiom? Jack of all trades?"

Shane tips his head at Tao, brow furrowing. Thorn glances briefly at Shane, but otherwise makes no comment other than, "Hydroponics? That's very cutting edge!"

Cinnamon grins at Shane's reaction, then cheerfully asks Tao, "So what else do you do? Are you actually the yellow dragon, checking us out?"

Tao blinks slowly at the question, revealing a nictitating membrane over the young man's dark eyes as he smiles, "What an interesting question." The smile is almost playful, "What made you ask it?" He folds his hands together, resting his chin on his fingertips. Around the room, people get very, very quiet. Torben especially is looking closely at Tao.

Cinnamon grins as she notices him carefully not answering -- but then she thinks for a bit and answers politely, "I... am not entirely sure, actually, but... Jiajun was introduced by his name, and you were introduced as 'going by' Tao. Also, the Tao," which she pronounces correctly for modern Chinese, "is -- at least in my limited reading, sorry -- defined as: 'the essential principle underlying existence; ultimate reality,' and also as 'the way or path to be followed.' So I initially thought 'wow, that's a... really big concept to take on as your alias!' -- and then I remembered the yellow dragon is supposed to be the embodiment of yang, another big concept, which is conceived of as heaven, maleness, light, heat, activity, and p-p-" She pauses, takes a deep breath as she mentally chastises herself: this isn't always a sexual thing, sheesh! Carefully she says the word, "P-penetration?" then sighs in relief that it came out right. She flushes slightly with embarrassment, but manages a shy grin as she adds, "Also... you're not afraid to tease Yan, like everyone else I've seen here, and, umm... y-your hair is really long which I know is a s-silly reason but that w-was a thing from what I've read in ancient times that men's hair was long and, umm..." She blinks, looking around as everyone continues to silently watch her... and her flush deepens as she adds in a small voice, "A-and... th-the nictitating membrane which I have too and everyone's really-really quiet like I said something rude and if I did I'm really sorry I didn't mean to?" She carefully does not mention Shane's reaction, however -- that's his secret to reveal only when he wishes. She sort of shrinks in a bit on herself as she adds in a really tiny voice, "Also, I... Ireallylikelonghairsorry?"

Tao's smile widens, turning into a full-on beam -- and showing that some of his teeth look especially sharp. It doesn't seem threatening, however, just... wide, "You are a very smart one! But most of us dragons are." He winks at Cinnamon and looks around the room, "You brought a very interesting group of people with you, too. What brings almost a full third of the council to my door? Also, how on all the earths did you find me?"

Cinnamon sighs softly in relief, "So -- s-so you're not mad?" Thorn is kind of amazed Cinnamon got 'penetration' out with only a modicum of embarrassment. Wait -- nictitating membrane? He missed that. But he does catch 'all the earths.' [Oooh, I'll have to remember to ask about that sometime!] He actually likes Tao's smile. It reminds the healer of Elias.

Tao shakes his head, "No, not angry. Intrigued, yes. Wondering if I need to have words with Sparrow, yes. But not angry. Yan informed me Aoi is ailing."

Cinnamon sighs in relief again... then brightens, "Oh! Yes! Okay, um... let's see. Okay, so since you're not surprised to see me instead of Liam then I'm assuming you've been keeping up on council business, right? So that means you know about the changeover in seats on the council. Also yes, Aoi is ailing but it's, um, sorta mentally not physically? -and also, no -- Sparrow didn't tell us where to find you!" She beams at the yellow dragon, adding, "Actually, finding you was the easiest part!" Cinnamon has no idea that any -- or even all -- of her little word blurt might be at all shocking, of course!

Tao replies, "I didn't say I'm not surprised to see a young woman instead of an old man. I said I'm intrigued. I am just quite good at keeping most of my emotions off my face." He sighs and looks to his two companions, "We may need to move the compound."

Cinnamon blinks, "Wait, why?! We'd like you to come back, please!"

Tao smiles ruefully, "Because if we're easy to find, people might more easily stumble upon us, and we don't want that." He tips his head, "Come back? There's barely enough worship for Aoi, much less both of us. I don't want to upset the balance. If I stay here with my small court, I get as much as I need to stay alive and thrive... without harming Aoi."

Cinnamon shakes her head sharply once, "No, wait, wait -- I'm getting ahead of myself! Okay, let me start over, please." With that, she sketches out a very simplified version of what happened on the Council, due to Qadan's manipulations. She finishes that, then inquires brightly, "Got that? Any questions?"

The yellow dragon listens to the story with furrowed brow, his nose wrinkling, "I never did like him much."

Cinnamon grins wryly at that, then nods once, "Okay, so the next thing that happened is, I think, that this made some folks decide the 13th Chair was listening, right? So..." and then she launches into the story of the Nusantaran request to be moved from Aoi's care to Cinnamon's. She also asks her friends to correct her if she gets anything wrong, or forgets anything... and when she finally comes to the end of that story she sighs, "They've had almost all their issues handled now, thank goodness -- and also, huge thanks to Shane and Thorn and Marcus, here, for making sure that happened! But... Aoi lost a ton of face at that, and it made a lot of the other councilors really unhappy and uncomfortable." She takes another deep breath, then adds, "Make sense so far?" She's watching Tao's face closely during this story... because it shows the beginning of Aoi's sort of 'fall from grace' as far as the councilors and Aoi's own people are concerned. How Tao reacts to this will tell them all a huge amount as to how he sees Aoi and her responsibilities... and his own place in them -- if any.

Tao listens, keeping his hands folded and chin on the tips of his fingers, face solemn. At story's end he sighs, "My poor Aoi. Her pride has always been her problem. She is a wonderful being. But..." he shakes his head and shrugs, "she has been slipping." The hands unfold and he rubs his face with them, "You are right. She will not often listen to those outside our pantheon... no matter how logical the argument. So, so proud. So, so lonely."

Cinnamon replies wryly, "I would have to agree... and I think the next story will emphasize that." She takes another deep breath... then smiles at Thorn, Shane, and Marcus, "Again, please correct me if I miss anything, okay?" With that, she proceeds to tell of Snow's private discussion of her concerns -- and how now it's at the very least Nasteexo and Dejiyo, Elias, Snow, Sparrow, Marcus, Jalil, Elias, and herself who're all worried about Aoi pretty much not doing her actual job. She adds in an apologetic aside to Hilde, "Sorry, I didn't want to speak for you, regarding your thoughts on Aoi!" Cinnamon then tells of the meeting with Aoi, and how it slowly became apparent to everyone: Aoi wasn't just ignoring her responsibilities -- she was also wasting energy on frivolous details and personal comfort! The little dragon concludes with, "So that's when Elias mentioned that he thought you might need to replace Aoi, and I asked why not have it like with Nasteexo and Dejiyo, which they agreed -- they're two people, one vote -- and... what happened next... oh, right. So then we deduced where you'd likely go hide, and came looking." She smiles uncertainly, "So... that's it, really -- you're all caught up! Any questions?"

Tao lowers his head, quite obviously in thought... with his fingers touching his lips as he sits quietly, breathing. There's no sense of urgency or upset to his contemplation. Cinnamon sighs softly and has another cup of the very nice, chilled, spiced tea. She's been talking a lot... and she's a little worried she was rude to this poor man, too. So she cuddles up a bit against Shane, if he doesn't seem to mind, and rests and waits. Shane doesn't mind at all -- he wraps an arm around Cinnamon, pulling her close. The little dragon sighs and relaxes, leaning her head against Shane's shoulder; he always makes her feel so much better! She smiles slightly to herself as she realizes she forgot to tell how they so easily deduced where the yellow dragon was hiding. She wonders thoughtfully: was part of the reason it was easy to figure out due to her being a dragon, like Tao suggested earlier? She... isn't sure. She doesn't think so, honestly?

Perhaps it's because he's possibly millennia old, but Tao doesn't seem uncomfortable in silence and contemplation. Eventually, however, he raises his head and takes a deep breath, "I do not know if we could share a seat. I also do not know if she would willingly give hers up. But if Aoi is not doing the job, she may need to step down."

Cinnamon sighs again, her voice regretful, "I... I admit that would make me sad? -if only because I... well, was kinda hoping the two of you being together would help her see better? I mean, I know when I first arrived I was terrible at seeing things -- and I d-don't mean just my glasses!" She grins shyly, pushing them up a bit, then continues, "But... but I had some really kind and amazing people help me, and I learned, and... well... I was kinda hoping maybe Aoi could too? She... she's not evil or anything! She's just... well... she feels so incredibly sad to me? ...you know? I mean, not that she herself is feeling sad, though she may be -- just that she... she's like... I wonder if she feels sort of... 'left behind' by the world?" She glances inquiringly at Marcus, "You probably know her better than I do, Daki-kun -- what do you think?" She blinks a heartbeat later, her cheeks flushing -- eep! Did he catch her rude slip on his name?! She hopes not! Maybe... maybe just... pretend it didn't happen, and he won't... get mad or anything?

Marcus actually smiles widely at the nickname and winks at Cinnamon when she uses it, then replies, "She actually feels rather offended by it, I think. She is, after all, the Great Phoenix."

Cinnamon blushes even more hotly at the wink -- crabcakes, he noticed! Well... whew, at least he's not mad. However, at his reply she looks rueful, "Offended by... the world changing? Well, crabcakes... this is exactly what I'm talking about, in a way. I really wish there was someone she'd listen to!" She adds to Tao -- with a mix of wryness and frustration, "Before we went to Nusantara, I had a visit with her and a friend, where I asked her if she had any advice on how to work with the people there. Do you know what she suggested? It was-" She hastily pauses, then takes a slow, soothing breath before she adds more calmly, "It was something I'm not going to repeat here... because I feel very strongly that we are all sapients, and so are also all worthy of respect and kindness." She sighs again, adding, "She won't listen to me. She wouldn't even listen to Elias or Nasteexo, and I think they're both nearly as old as her. Will she listen to you?"

All eyes in the room turn... toward Tao. He rubs his face again, "She... might. She used to. When we were young, and she was my best friend in the world."

Cinnamon's small smile is hopeful, "Will you... try again, then? For her sake, even if not for her peoples'? I just... well, I can't help but wonder if there might be plenty of energy for you both -- if she just dumped all the elaborate, unnecessary... excessive stuff she's using it for! Like, she's already beautiful! Who the heck cares if she's perfect or not? That's just her outside -- it's her inside that matters to the folks she's supposed to be representing, you know?!" The little dragon blinks, reviewing her words, then hesitatingly adds, "I, uhh... I meant, like, her mental state, there? Not... not like intestines, right?" She's pretty sure someone who speaks such perfect English will get that, but... she really doesn't want to torpedo her efforts due to a problem in communication!

Tao smiles, "I understood. I've been in this country almost since its inception; I understand most of the idiom. I'll speak with her. Our people no longer expect perfection. It's the twenty-first century... not the eleventh."

Cinnamon nodnods in fervent agreement -- then brightens, "Oh! Yay! So you'll come back with us? Or... or do you want to come back later?" She laughs, "Sorry! Sorry, just... really hoping this works out well for Aoi!"

Tao nods, "Yes. I will come back with you. If only to assure Aoi she can drop the facades and use the energy for what it would be better used for."

Cinnamon sighs in relief, then grins sheepishly at her sudden urge to hug the yellow dragon in thanks, "Thank you so much, Tao!"

Tao smiles and motions at the food and drink, "Please. Eat. Drink. Everything but the tea was grown here."

Cinnamon grins shyly, "We have been, actually, and thank you!" She studies the food for a moment... then looks up at Jiajun, "All your hydroponics are underground? Hey, would you be willing to talk to some friends about that for me, please?" She wonders if the two new, night species that live under Coblyn could benefit from this information. Heck, they could potentially become underground farmers, and support themselves that way on the Street, as well!

Jiajun shakes his head, "No, not all of them. The plants need sunlight, after all. So we have quite a few of them in greenhouses, but it can easily be done underground if you've got the electricity to do it. The ones we have underground are powered by the solar panels."

Cinnamon looks excited, "Really?! Oh, wow -- then please-please, once you're on Coblyn, will you come with me to talk to some new folks there? They're night people and have to live underground, and are new species to us all that just got discovered, and I'd really like to help them if we can!" She thinks for a bit, musing aloud, "Solar panels... that should be doable on the roofs of some of the larger buildings that don't use their roofs... hey, Mark- uhh, Marcus! What's on the roof of your home? Or Cafe Prague -- do you know?" She mentally tchs at herself -- she has got to stop this stupid urge to add the friendly Y sound to the end of Marcus' name, darnit!

Marcus finishes his sip of tea and smiles, "There's a garden on the roof of the Residence, and a small fishpond. But I'm not sure what Vanya has on his roof. I know quite a few folks have small gardens and such, because the ground-floor real estate is at such a premium, due to the magic to make room being so intensive."

Cinnamon blinks in amazement at Marcus, "There's a fishpond on your roof?! Ohmygosh, how did you manage that?! Especially in winter!"

Marcus grins, "It's a small one, in a sort of pool. We keep it covered with its own little greenhouse, and a heater in the winter. You're welcome to come visit and see it sometime. There's also a hot tub, but it's smaller than the one in the solarium."

Cinnamon tilts her head consideringly, trying to imagine that... then grins a bit bemusedly, "Yeah, I... I think I'd like to see it sometime... though I admit, I always wondered why you all didn't have a nice little fountain in your, er... what's it called... arboretum? The, um... the green place in your house?" She carefully doesn't mention hot tubs at all, of course. She shivers slightly, in fact, at thought of the one in the house. She doesn't realize it consciously, but it's still firmly linked in her mind with Frieda, Albrecht, and the horrible Solstice Market experience.

Marcus smiles, "The arboretum or solarium -- either one. It's got plants from our trod," he explains, turning toward Jiajun. "It lets us have a little of that restorative property on Coblyn Street." Cinnamon nods silently to Marcus, thinking about that... yeah, okay, this sounds like it might work! The elf adds to Tao, "You'd be welcome to stay there if you'd like. There are plenty of rooms."

Jiajun grins and nods to Cinnamon, "I would love to spread the knowledge! It's an excellent way to grow crops in otherwise inhospitable climates!"

Cinnamon beams at the slender man, "Oh, awesome -- thank you so much! I'm trying to put together a sort of, um, book of supernatural needs and knowledge, if that makes sense? It's so folks in need can be linked up with folks who either have abilities or know stuff that can help... and this hydroponics sounds perfect for that, if you don't mind!" She nearly bounces with excitement in her seat, actually! Jiajun gets all enthusiastic about talking about hydroponics, after all -- and she thinks she might be able to find quite a few folks who'd love to share his learning! She grins excitedly at Hilde, "I wonder if any of your folks would like to learn about hydroponics too, for fresh food in winter? You mentioned, after all, that there was a lot of warm underground water in Iceland!" More pragmatically, she adds, "The more self-sufficient we can be, instead of essentially stealing electricity and water from the humans, the better for all of us, right?"

Shane nods wryly in agreement regarding self-sufficiency. Torben and Hilde too both nod at Cinnamon, and Hilde replies, "Oh, yes. More warm underground than above." She nods toward the heatsinks, "Do you do anything with the water that catches the heat down here?"

Tao smiles and glances toward the closest corner, "We use it for heating on cold nights."

"Ooh, that's smart!" Cinnamon's brilliantly excited smile at Tao and Jiajun is unselfconsciously beautiful, "I'm so glad you're all coming back! Fresh food in winter is really important, I know, after all... and from the reading I've been doing, we should all be trying to be more sustainable in how we live, right?" Thorn listens quietly, sipping from the tea. This is a fascinating turn of events! He's glad Jiajun is so eager to share the hydroponics technology; that'll make things easier on their underground fellows on Coblyn, and maybe even elsewhere. He's also glad Tao is going to be speaking with Aoi, or at least try to. The healer isn't certain how it will go, though. Cinnamon turns to Tao and happily adds, "If there's anything you all need, or that I can help with, please do ask, okay? We all -- well, I know I do, at least -- really want this to work, so poor Aoi gets better!"

Cinnamon glances at her friends, about to say something else -- when a thought hits her, and she goes still and silent for a moment, one finger still raised. A few heartbeats later she exclaims in surprise, "Oh! You sat down -- that's how I knew!" She grins uncertainly at Tao, "You asked how I knew you were the yellow dragon, right? It was because you and Jiajun carried the food in, but Yan didn't... but despite that, you all sat down with us!" She smiles and shakes her head, "I've never seen that, before -- someone being accompanied by what seem like servants or assistants who're carrying stuff, but then everyone sits down together. I haven't seen that happen in Caradog's palace, or at Aoi's place, or at the Elm residence. It doesn't happen in big human estates either, from what little I've seen, nor at things like restaurants or pubs or... or anyplace, really?" She thinks a moment more, then grins shyly, "I hope that answers your question...?" She blinks a moment later, and hopes that statement doesn't offend Marcus! She glances sideways at him, trying to check surreptitiously.

Tao smiles, "That's because Yan is not a servant. Neither is Jiajun, and neither am I. I am doing my best to foster a sense here of equality and community." His eyes crinkle, "It does not stop our friends outside from taking their duties as guardians very seriously, of course... and Yan acts as their hands because they practically raised her."

Cinnamon nods and smiles, but doesn't say anything. She's not sure if Tao got what she meant or not, but she's not going to worry about it. Frankly, the very fact that he carried in a tray himself says a great deal about him -- so as far as the little Welsh dragon is concerned, she's pretty sure by now that Tao will take care of the people Aoi has effectively abandoned. In fact... she wonders a bit excitedly: might the Nusantarans be willing to return to the Asian Chair's responsibilities, if Tao was either half of, or the entire, Chair-holder? Wait, wait, she can think about that later! For now: "So... when would you like to leave? Is everyone coming with you? I can help carry some, if you need?"

Tao looks around the room, "I think I will go and bring perhaps two people with me. I suspect one of the fu dogs will insist on coming, and one will want to stay. Yan will probably stay here with whichever stays..." He seems to be musing, "Jiajun will likely want to stay with his plants... so likely just the two. Carry... you flew here, then?"

Cinnamon nods, "I, umm... d-didn't want to make our sidhe, er, companion... ironsick?" She hopes that doesn't offend Marcus either! She's not sure if she should keep taking these surreptitious sideways glances at him, though -- he might notice!

Tao smiles again, inclining his head, "That is very much the way a good 13th Chair would think... and also the way a good dragon thinks. No matter the Western tales told, we have almost always been protectors."

Marcus smiles and inclines his head, "She's very good at taking care of everyone; even me -- despite the fact I have been a bit of an arse in the past."

Cinnamon blushes hotly at the compliment from the imperial dragon himself! ...then blushes even more at the sweet comment from Marcus too! She stutters a bit, unsure of how to reply -- but then hastily covers her mouth and makes herself take a long, slow breath... and only then squeak out a very self-conscious, "...thankyou!"

Yan grins, "Jaw-Long will likely go. He is, after all, the outside protector. Haoyu is the inside protector. She will probably wish to stay."

Tao nods to Cinnamon, "I will fly with you and carry Jaw-Long if he comes. He will be able to be... himself in this place? He is capable of taking a human shape, but does not do so often and it makes him..." the imperial dragon smiles indulgently, "somewhat cranky to have to walk about on two feet."

Jiajun says with a chuckle, one hand over his mouth, "He turns into a great, grumpy beast if he's forced to take a two-legged form! Says he does not know how we keep from falling down with just two feet to balance on all the time."

Cinnamon giggles, then replies cheerfully, "Oh, once we're on Coblyn Street itself, it's no problem!" She grins at Hilde, then adds, "In fact, the only problem may be that people will all want to see him -- he's quite dramatic looking!"

Yan giggles, both hands over her mouth, "Oh, he will be happy to look handsome and dramatic and bring great acclaim to our great lord!"

Those last three words make Tao roll his eyes, "I am older and more magically powerful than the rest of you, but I keep telling you: we are a community, not a court here." Cinnamon sighs happily as she watches the three Chinese relaxedly tease each other. This is so nice to see -- and so unlike Aoi's beautiful but stiffly ritualized court! Tao pushes to his feet, adding to his visitors, "I need some time to make arrangements to be gone. Please, relax. Rest. It will likely be a handful of hours to make sure all is good for my departure."

Cinnamon nods, adding a very happy, "Thank you!"

Thorn too nods, smiling, "If you have need of a healer in the meantime, I am at your disposal."

Jiajun looks intrigued, "Truly? We have no problems at the moment, but knowing a healer is available might become useful in the future. We don't always dare go to the doctor because... well, even if we look human, most of us are not."

Cinnamon nods cheerfully, "Thorny won't say it, but he's the bestest healer!"

Thorn nods to Jiajun, "Completely understandable!" He blushes at Cinnamon's praise, and stammers that, well, he just does his best....

The little group is shown around the compound while they wait for Tao to make arrangements. They get to see Jiajun's hydroponics, which include not only foodstuffs but also some gorgeous flowering plants. They meet the goats they heard before; Shane is greatly enamored of the kids, and spends time laughing at their antics along with Torben. The herd, they're told, are largely grown for their milk and not their meat, and sometimes they are rented out to clear land that's become excessively overgrown. The chickens are a different matter -- they're raised for both eggs and meat. There's also a small herd of sheep raised for both their wool and for Tao's food -- since (despite spending a lot of time in human form) he's still a dragon, and thus occasionally needs large meals. The little compound does try to be self-sustaining, though, so they try to grow what food -- flora and fauna -- they can on their own.

Cinnamon is quietly impressed, asking many questions and taking careful mental notes -- this is a fantastic example of being sustainable! She curiously checks with Jiajun, "Are the flowers edible or something? Or just to be pretty? Or... oh! Are they for the pollinators? Also, do you grow the goat- and sheep-food here, so they don't graze the outside down to the dirt? Or do you bring in outside food as well?"

Jiajun smiles, "They are a little bit of all of that. Function is all well and good, but one needs beauty in one's life as well as function, or why live life at all? Also we do try to draw the pollinators out here by making it hospitable for them." He adds, "We try to grow as much as we can here, though we aren't large enough to be completely self-sustaining. We make the milk into cheese and fudge and butter and other such things and sell it, along with any overage of eggs and chicken we have, and use that to buy what we need that we cannot produce."

Cinnamon nods interestedly, "That is so cool -- and it makes really good sense, too!"

By the time the tour is done, Tao has finished his preparations, so they're asked to meet in the courtyard where he and Jaw-Long are waiting. Tao is wearing a loose robe when they arrive, and his hair is out of its braid and flowing down his back. He looks young to be ancient, but he is also obviously not using any sort of glamour -- his handsome good looks are just normally handsome, not dazzlingly so. There are a few pieces of baggage with him, all serviceable and sturdy. Haoyu is with her mate, grooming and fussing over him. Cinnamon comes pattering out into the courtyard with her friends, wondering excitedly just how glorious the imperial dragon himself will look! She hopes, a bit nervously, that she doesn't look too shabby next to him, too -- she doesn't want to embarrass her friends, after all. When the group arrives, Tao smiles, "Are you ready to leave? I will be relying on you to guide me. I haven't been to Coblyn in a very long time and don't quite remember the way there." He's starting to untie the sash on the robe he's wearing.

Thorn wonders if Tao is going to fully disrobe -- and if so, will they need to get something for Cinnamon... fondly, of course! The little dragon nods cheerfully at Tao's query, "Sure! Moment, let me get my friends sett... led..." She blinks startledly -- is he... is he actually... stripping?! She hastily whirls, her eyes wide and her hands up to her mouth so she doesn't audibly squeak (she hopes) -- but then remembers: she's a dragon eeek don't look just change change change! There's a small whumpf! of displaced air... and Cinnamon in dragon form carefully looks only at Shane, "Hokay! Y-you all, umm, just... j-just hop on?"

Thorn is not disappointed! He smiles, "No worries, Cinnamon. Thank you for taking us here and back!"

Cinnamon grins shyly (and toothily) at Thorn, "Welcome -- I enjoyed it!" Then she drops her big, triangular head down next to Shane, whispering, "D-did he... er, I m-mean, is it... safe yet?!" Tao doesn't seem to notice Cinnamon was discombobulated at all. For those who watch, he does indeed take off the robe, revealing he is nude beneath it. A breath later there's the same sound of displaced air, and a second dragon in the courtyard.

Cinnamon is magnificent, gleaming scarlet and nearly 50 feet long at this point. Tao is ancient -- golden-scaled, sinuous, and well over 65 feet from snout to tail-tip. He is also more serpentine, coiling back over himself somewhat. Instead of four feet, he has six -- and there's a ruff of sorts around his head that spreads between what seem to be some sort of flexible spines or horns. It's currently lying back relaxedly against his neck. His muzzle sports tendrils that give the feel almost of an old man's long whiskers. The eyes resting under his ridged brows look like iridescent pearls with onyx pupils. Down the length of his back are two delicate frills that start out about two feet tall near his shoulders and taper down to barely an inch where they meet at the tip of his tail. The tail tip itself is bifurcated and looks as if it might be dangerous. His fangs -- or at least the ones currently showing -- are delicately curved and ivory-white, while his wings are folded down his back in long, almost lace-like folds. While he might be magnificent, it is the magnificence of long life and self-assurance. He is a different sort of dragon, so there is no way to directly compare him to Cinnamon's scarlet beauty.

Cinnamon glances cautiously over one wing at the air-noise, checking to see if Tao is a dragon yet... then blinks and nearly bounces around in place so she can get a good look! Her eyes widen as she studies the Chinese dragon -- and without realizing it, she murmurs, "Ooooh... so pretty!"

Tao inclines his head at the compliment, murmuring, "This one is gratified at the compliment. You are very lovely yourself. Western dragons have such bright, colorful scales."

Cinnamon blinks interestedly as she notices the wings, "Oh, cool -- you have wings! So the Chinese artists all got it wrong, then? I wonder why?" Her eyes widen a bit at the charming compliment, and her ears tilt back self-consciously, "Oh! I, ah, umm... th-thank you!" She hastily drops into sphynx pose, hoping her ears aren't showing off the blush too much, as she adds to her friends, "Okay, um, everyone -- l-let's get ready!"

Thorn checks the others who are strapped in -- just to double-check they'll be safe -- then checks his own seat. A moment later he replies, "I think we're ready!"

Tao spreads his wings slowly; they are translucent almost to the point of transparency, "I believe it is because when seen from below, they are very difficult to see if the sun is shining through them." They are somewhat wider than he is long.

Cinnamon smiles her thanks to Thorn, then glances curiously over at Tao as he speaks. She tilts her head, studying the finely patterned, lovely wings. They're extraordinarily beautiful! She grins shyly, "They look a little like... not the shape, but like the color? -like dragonfly wings?" She wonders how Jaw-Long will travel with Tao, too -- will he just cling on, or will Tao carry him? She doesn't see any sort of harness or backpack, after all.

Tao tilts his wings this way and that for Cinnamon to peruse. In this shape he's speaking very softly, as if he's afraid speaking loudly might cause a problem, "Thank you; that's a lovely compliment. I don't flap them much -- I use them mostly for soaring and steering. It feels sometimes almost like they are solar panels instead of actual wings." Jaw-Long is being outfitted with a backpack; he shrugs a few times when it's strapped on, making sure it's secure. It seems to have handles on it... almost like it's turning the fu-dog (who now looks almost diminutive) into a tote-bag!

Cinnamon blinks at Jaw-Long... then hastily covers her muzzle with one paw-hand so she doesn't giggle! Only once she's sure she won't embarrass herself by laughing does the scarlet dragon check with the folks remaining behind, "Is it okay if we leave the RV here for now? We'll have to come back to return it, but... oh!" Her big head swings around to Tao, "Do you, umm... can you, like... make the 'don't see me' field stronger, maybe? Since we're flying in the daytime?"

Jiajun grins, "I believe the... how did the human author put it... the SEP field? It will follow him quite strongly..."

Tao nods, "It is fine to leave the vehicle here -- and yes, no one is going to notice us. Even if they do, they will believe they were daydreaming. After all, who sees two dragons drifting through the sky in the middle of the day without a care in the world?"

Cinnamon laughs at that! She beams excitedly, spreading her wings and bouncing lightly to her clawed feet, "Well then, let me do my final check..." Her usual preflight wiggle-jump reveals everyone's secure -- no one has yet told her just how incredibly cute it is watching the wriggle sort of travel down her spine from nose to tail! -- and with a happy, "Up, up, and awaaaaay!" -- the scarlet dragon leaps into the air! She takes a moment to circle, of course, to make sure Tao's up and ready to go too -- she's read about car-caravanning, and she figures that sort of applies here too!

Tao laughs delightedly at the pre-flight wiggle, though he needn't do one himself -- because his only 'passenger' is the fu-dog in the backpack/carrying case. A moment later he too is aloft and circling around Cinnamon, banking slightly so the sun reflects and refracts off and through his wings. For a moment there's a scattering of rainbows all around them... and then he laughs joyously and invites her to lead the way. Cinnamon too laughs -- and can't help sort of swooping around and trailing rainbows over her body as she air-dances with the gorgeous dragon for a few moments! Tao passes Jaw-Long from claw to claw as he air-dances and spirals with Cinnamon. The fu-dog seems utterly unconcerned with the way he's being tossed and moved around, as if he's got absolutely no worries that he'll be dropped. At one point, Tao throws himself into a moving spiral around Cinnamon, rolling around her and her passengers from her tail, around her middle, avoiding her wings, and around her head. Strangely, he actually folds his own wings to do this. It's as he said: apparently he uses them to steer more than fly. As soon as he's free of the playful spiral, however, the nearly-transparent wings snap out again, once again catching sunlight sparkles.

Cinnamon laughs delightedly again, thrilled in a way she has never before felt -- it is so wonderful to be able to fly with another dragon! She's still giggling happily as she calls over her shoulder, "Sorry! Sorry, peeps -- is everyone okay? I'll behave now!" Everyone calls that they're okay, while Jaw-Long is actually roaring happily through the whole aeronautic dance! Cinnamon straightens out her body, a big grin still on her face as she calls to Tao, "Okay, here we go! It should only be a few hours, if that's okay?" She starts beating her wings more strongly and regularly, swiftly getting up to her top speed of just barely under the speed of sound. She's doing her best so she doesn't unduly slow down the Chinese air dragon, since she figures he's quite capable of undulating through the air even faster than she, after all!

Tao laughs, and there's a moment where it becomes obvious why he was being quiet before -- because the crack of his voice sounds like distant thunder, "Yes! Let us go. We will land and feast and rest -- and tomorrow I shall speak with my dear Aoi!"

Cinnamon grins as she wonders: will Tao indeed talk to Aoi tomorrow? Or will news of his arrival reach the phoenix, and she immediately comes to talk to him at the Elm Residence? It doesn't occur to the Welsh dragon that Aoi might feel it is Tao's 'duty' to come to her, after all. Nor does it occur to her that she and her little group of friends are performing yet another minor miracle for the supernatural world. She's beaming as she hits her comfortable top speed, and on the way home she ends up singing happily with anyone who's willing to sing along! Even Tao sings with her, when he knows the words to the songs. The Imperial Dragon keeps up easily with her cruising speed, occasionally doing loops and spirals -- as if he doesn't get to do this often enough.

The flight ends up being not quite 3 hours, in fact, when Cinnamon slows and calls to Tao, "We have to stay lower now, so we don't bother any jets... but not so low that we're easier to see. Almost there! We'll land on the roof of Currier's Hall, okay?" Tao calls back that he'll follow her lead regarding altitude and landing grounds and such. Once the Hall comes into sight and Cinnamon lets him know they're about to land, he furls his wings to give them both more space, and curls his body into a sinuous shape so there's room for them both on the roof. Cinnamon giggles as she lands on the roof, commenting to her friends, "Operation Drake-Locate is a success!" She hastily bounds to one side to give Tao room to land as well... then beams at him, "Do you want to change here, or at the Elm Residence?" Over her shoulder to Marcus, she adds, "Hey, Daki-kun? Can we all get a meal with you? Or should we go eat at, say, Cafe Prague?" She blinks at a sudden thought, studying the harness Jaw-Long is wearing -- did Tao's robe get tucked into that? Or does he have a little duffel or something attached to the harness as well, for clothing?

Marcus calls back that he'd be happy to feed everyone, just as Tao carefully sets Jaw-Long down -- and in the next breath there is an unselfconsciously nude Tao-human standing there and opening a pocket on the side of Jaw-Long's harness/backpack to take out some clothing to don. Apparently he either has no nudity taboo or has gotten so used to the fact that changing means nudity that it doesn't bother him in this particular circumstance. He does at least put on trousers first, though. Cinnamon, however, chirps in alarm, whipping her big head around to stare fixedly at... something. Yes -- anything but Tao! She blinks a moment later, registering Marcus' comment... then calls back -- while carefully continuing her intense study of anywhere-but-Tao, "Okay that's fantabulous thanks so much Marcus... um... is everyone off?"

Thorn does a brief check of Cinnamon's back, then calls, "We're all off!"

Shane slides down off Cinnamon's harness and stands by her head, stroking her nose until Tao is clothed -- at which point the half-beansidhe lets her know it's safe to look again. She sighs in relief and whispers thanks to Shane... and can he hold up the, er, tarp for her p-please? He immediately gets the changing blanket/tarp for her, though he no longer tries not to look. Cinnamon sighs in relief -- no one has laughed at her yet about this! She beams thanks to Thorn, takes a deep breath... then does her best to change in just one attempt. A heartbeat later, Cinnamon squeaks in horror, hastily turning back into a dragon! She sighs, mutters to herself... and tries again. That time it works -- whew! The little dragon is a bit pink with embarrassment, though she hasn't yet realized Shane saw her while entirely nude. Instead she mumbles, "Thanks, Sh-Shaney, for being patient with me!" as she patters back to the others. "Okay! Let's head off to your home, Marcus... when you're ready?"

Shane wraps her in a tight hug, murmuring, "You're amazing." Cinnamon squeaks startledly at that -- but then happily hugs back! She's not sure why Shane would say that -- sheesh, she still can't change reliably on one try! -- but... well, Shaney-hugs equal awesomewonderfulhome!

On the walk to the Elm Residence, Cinnamon feels almost... oddly proud of her adopted new homeland -- or, um, street, she supposes? She cheerfully points out where folks can be found, though she doesn't bother with naming stores or other commercial enterprises, since she's guessing Tao and Jaw-Long will be more interested in connecting with people while they're here, and less in a shopping spree. "So this is Currier's Hall for all the official street stuff anyone needs to do, and that's King Caradog's mansion next door, and on the other side is the Infirmary, where Thorn works and lives and Iason is the, um, what's the word... chi-somethi- oh, chirurgeon, that's it! -and those three anchor the street's beginning, though I guess if you've been here before you already know that? Oh, and over there is Aisling's house -- she's the Celtic Chair and Shane's trodmate and really nice -- and oh! That's Pocket Park if you two want to stretch your legs a little? -and see there -- that's-..." In between her cheerful pointing out of street locations, Cinnamon has to cover an occasional giggle at the startled double-take folks occasionally have at sight of an actual fu-dog striding magnificently down the street! She can't help grinning also at how Jaw-Long's mane fluffs out beautifully, and his tail curls up proudly, as he paces with great dignity alongside his less startling-looking lord!

Marcus grabs the first runner available, sending them off to the Residence to let the staff (and Jaeger, if he's still there) know a large number of people are incoming. Jaw-Long -- as expected -- does indeed receive a lot of attention! What's less expected is how much of that attention is due to a group of small supernatural children, all squeeing with excitement and asking Jaw-Long himself (rather than Tao) if they can hug the big fu-dog! Cinnamon giggles delightedly -- she knows these children, since they've occasionally played with her tail the handful of times she's walked the street as a dragon. It's lovely, to her, to see them so happy and excited!

Jaw-Long looks shocked as well as pleased, but he looks to Tao for the answer -- though the dragon simply grins, "It is your choice, my friend. I do not believe I am in danger in this place." His warm brown eyes (at least while in human form) crinkle at the corners, "Besides, I know how you feel about children." Jaw-Long grins widely as he gives a low, rumbly, playful... sound. It's not quite a growl and it doesn't quite sound like a purr, but it's definitely not menacing... and it comes right before he pounce-tumbles the first of the children! Before long, there's sort of a moving melee of play-battle consisting of equal parts petting, giggling, growl-purring, and tumbling -- including Jaw-Long literally tossing the children ten or more feet in the air, then leaping to easily catch them before they come to any harm!

Cinnamon laughs delightedly, clapping her hands and cheering on some of the more... egregious leaps and tosses! Of course, she also (in the areas of the street where there aren't many residences) curiously asks questions as they occur to her -- things like, "So... how did that leyline node-creation thingie work, please? Did you do that?" and "I'm guessing, if the last time you were here was a while ago, that the street's gotten a lot longer maybe? How long was it while you were here -- do you recall?" and "Do you have to visit with Caradog at some point to be... I don't know how it's called... proper, er, protocol or something?" and "Do you need to visit Llewellyn or the Vault while you're here, to establish credit or anything?"

Tao walks with his hands clasped behind his back, smiling as he watches his companion play with the children of Coblyn. By his expression, he's very pleased. His smile is still very toothy and sharp, but -- as Thorn originally thought -- also much like Elias's, in that it's quite friendly. When asked about the leyline, he sighs, "Yes. That was me. I chose that area because even more leyline-walkers don't use that particular area... or, if they do, they go past very quickly and might miss the change."

Cinnamon blinks, "I'd wondered about that! Torben says that's why enclaves don't site themselves directly on leylines, in fact!"

Tao nods, "Indeed, that is why. As for Caradog: yes, I shall need to present myself... but not before I have freshened up. I even brought my official robes and all those... how did Liam once put it... gewgaws?"

Cinnamon giggles at that! -then looks a bit wistful, "I wish I could have met him... oh! I know you're actually probably going to be really busy while you're here, but if you have some free time two days from now, I'm holding a nice memorial for him in my office, which is his former office. You'd be very welcome to come and share a story or two about him that you remember fondly, if you want, and there'll be nibblies and such too?"

Tao nods, "It is good to hold such memorials." He looks up and down the street, "I cannot tell just from here how long it is now, but last I was here it was perhaps a mile long? Though at that point in human history it was much easier for our kind to hide amongst the humans. There were less of them... and much further spread out. Enclaves were more like trading posts than the safe havens they are now."

Thorn comes along with the little group, listening to Cinnamon's explanations of what's on the street. He's surprised to hear Coblyn used to only be one mile long, considering it's ten miles long now! That makes sense, though, if it wasn't originally meant as a safe haven. Cinnamon grins wryly, "Yeah, it's... about ten miles long now! Though it's the same crookedy shape, so you can't get lost on it." She blinks thoughtfully, then adds, "Did you have radio o- no, wait, that wouldn't report stuff like Liam's murder, would it? So... oh! Did Yan meet with a known supernatural in the nearest town for supernatural news?"

Tao smiles, "Yan and Jiajun meet up with various folk here and there for news. We also have a couple of dead-drops for information. We don't always know who leaves the information there, but we check them periodically."

Cinnamon nods interestedly... then brightens and points out the Elm Residence, "-and just a few doors down -- see the giant there? That's the Vault, if you need to visit it too!"

Tao looks down the street and smiles, "Different giant, but same location. Lovely. Though I don't believe we're likely to need much extra money while we're here." When they reach the Elm Residence, Marcus simply opens the door -- and Butler is there to take his coat. The children fall away, giggling and waving cheerful goodbyes to Jaw-Long and the others, and Cinnamon grins and waves back at the departing kids. The fu-dog grabs one child before they get away, though, and growls quietly to him. The child flushes and hands back a small handful of something before being released to scamper away with the others. The little dragon blinks at the interchange between Jaw-Long and the child, tilting her head to see (if she can) what was returned... and making a mental note to be sure the street kids don't do more than swing on her tail when she's dragoning -- because she's not sure how she could tell if someone stole something from one of her saddlebags! The child apparently swiped some jewelry from somewhere in Jaw-Long's bag/harness, which they return with a slightly embarrassed (if also cheerful) shrug at being caught -- as if the stealing was as much a game as the tumbling. Thorn's attention is caught by Jaw-Long's reaction to the child, though he's also surprised anyone would try swiping anything from the fu-dog! He'll ask the others later about it -- as in, is this a new habit picked up by some of the Coblyn children? Cinnamon can't quite make out what precisely it was, though, so she just turns and happily greets Butler as he waits for everyone to enter.

Butler is friendly to those he knows; he bows deeply to Tao and Jaw-Long. The pair return the bows, but Tao chuckles warmly, "Please. We are on equal footing here. Well, actually, I believe I am outranked. This is the home of a global councilor, and I have officially stepped down from anything involving a title." Jaw-Long snorts. Cinnamon grins, unsurprised Butler can 'read' who the esteemed visitors are... though she glances curiously at Marcus to see how he handles that statement.

Marcus blinks a bit, "I'm honored you think so, Tao, but my father would be quite wroth were I to treat you as anything less than an esteemed guest. Please, come in. I'll show you both to your quarters. Would you prefer to share a suite or would Jaw-Long prefer his ow-..." Marcus doesn't finish before Jaw-Long says, "I will stay with His Imp..." Tao cuts him off and says, "I am just Tao now, Jaw-Long. Even if I am going to dress in all the finery, I am simply Tao, but yes. He will stay with me."

Cinnamon smiles with quiet happiness at that -- good for Marcus! She glances towards Butler, thinking clearly about whether everyone could maybe have a moment to wash their faces and hands before the lunch Marcus has invited them too? She doesn't want to bother the elf, after all, when he's trying hard to be really pleasant and polite to such an esteemed guest -- even if Tao insists on being known as just Tao. Marcus smiles and motions around, "I think we'd all like a moment to wash up and refresh ourselves as it is. It was a short flight, but any flight can get a little gritty and tiring... even if it also brings a glow to certain faces." He winks at Cinnamon, then smiles around, "Ingrid will show everyone to rooms they can use for the next hour or so."

Cinnamon grins and blushes at the wink, but doesn't say anything! She instead chatters happily with Shane, if he goes with her, as she freshens up -- she's incredibly pleased with how well the search for the imperial dragon went, and she's so proud of how awesome her friends are! She also hopes the talk between Tao and Aoi goes well, though she suspects he'll want to talk with the phoenix alone... and the little dragon hopes the food is served soon -- she's starting to get really hungry! Shane absolutely goes with Cinnamon! He almost always does unless there's something he needs to take care of elsewhere. Thorn is offered the same room he was given when he first arrived on Coblyn, as well.

Half an hour or so later, everyone is called down to the dining room. Cinnamon is relieved it's only half an hour, rather than the hour Marcus was talking about! She turns up with Shane, bright-eyed and excited -- she's hoping Jaeger will be really proud of Marcus for finding the long-lost imperial dragon, to help Aoi! She hasn't really realized yet how much she likes seeing Marcus do well with grace, or how she (still) downplays her own critical role in that and other endeavors.

Jaeger is indeed there -- and he hugs Cinnamon when he sees her. She beams excitedly as she returns the hug -- she can't wait to see how he responds to the introduction to the extremely important guests Marcus has brought home! Once they're all seated at the dining table, Tao is given the seat of honor at Marcus' right. Jaeger sits at the foot of the table, where Marcus' spouse would sit if/when he has one. Jaw-Long is given the option of either a chair or just a space cleared for him next to Tao -- but the big fu-dog chooses instead to stand guard near the door, and to eat separately, later. Jaw-Long has clearly fallen into guardian mode now the yellow dragon has started into the rounds of greetings, and meals, and so forth. Cinnamon is a bit surprised Jaw-Long enforces a hierarchical separation from Tao... but then mentally shrugs -- it's his choice, after all. Maybe he (like Ingrid and Butler, from what Marcus has told Cinnamon) just really wants to act that way? Jaeger bows deeply to Tao before seating himself; the yellow dragon returns the bow, then smiles, "Let that be the last of our very formal greetings. I am Tao and you are Jaeger, yes?"

Cinnamon beams at sight of Tao and Jaeger getting along so well, but manages to stifle her urge to babble excitedly with them both! That makes her turn her head so she's leaning her forehead against Shane's shoulder, to smother the giggle that wants to get out. She grins as she wonders: will it take her a century -- or maybe five or ten -- to achieve the level of serenity the two older men display so easily?

Shane is seated on Marcus' left, meaning Cinnamon is the only person between him and the other young elf; the half-beansidhe murmurs quietly to her, "I want to grow up to be as smooth as Tao one day." It's Shane, so it's obviously truth. Cinnamon grins and nods to Shane, her eyes shining. She wants that too -- and she wants to do it with her beloved asthore!

Jaeger laughs warmly at the yellow dragon's comment, nodding, "Yes, and you are Tao. It's a true pleasure to meet you. I have been concerned about Aoi's behavior and health for decades." He motions for them both to be seated, just as Marcus leans in to Shane and Cinnamon -- meaning Thorn, on the other side of Shane, can also hear the young elf murmur, "And I want to be as diplomatic as Vater one day. Perhaps we could team up somehow." The lean presses Cinnamon between the two young men for a moment, before Marcus sits back up. The little dragon blinks as she's suddenly sandwiched, her thoughts a bit jumbled: [Wha- oooh! Eeeethisissocooool!] and turns slightly pink with pleasure. She can't think of a single thing to say that won't embarrass her entirely, though -- so she remains carefully silent! Thorn's lips quirk into a smile -- he's liking Marcus's change in general attitude and behavior. Then he blinks, pondering a "team-up" between Cinnamon, Marcus, and Shane. That... would be an incredibly formidable thruple. Thruple? Where did that term come from?

Once everyone is settled, Ingrid and Butler begin to serve the food. Without making a big deal of it, both Tao and Cinnamon are served triple portions -- as if it's simply what one does when there are dragons at the table. Marcus also mentions that Tao and Jaw-Long are more than welcome to stay at the Residence while they're on Coblyn, but he understands if they wish to find other lodgings, of course, should they be concerned about appearing somewhat biased. Cinnamon blinks at the serving -- then glances up at Butler and beams at him in thanks. She really appreciates his and Ingrid's kindness in doing that! She eats swiftly and tidily, like usual, as she's listening to the conversation... and at some point she smiles and mentions how efficient and self-sustaining the Chinese compound is -- she was quite impressed! After the table chats about that for a bit, she also muses thoughtfully, "I'd been considering asking Caradog if I could have a bit more space made magically for a sort of cold-storage basement at my little cottage, but now I've seen Tao's and Jaw-Long's compound, I'm wondering if it'd be better to not add to the magical load, but rather instead ask one of the Akoesdi Ayvwi -- Quickclaw or Brightscale, maybe? -- if they could make a structurally sound little cave down there for me- oh!" She beams as she adds, "Also, I want to talk to Josie, since the new species are her folks, about her maybe taking Jiajun to meet them sometime, so they can talk about hydroponics!" She happily adds to both Jaw-Long and Tao, "I want you both to meet Josie, the Eastern US Chair -- she's really sweet, and a protector type too!"

Jaeger nods and smiles at Cinnamon, "Indeed. I think creating a small cellar with their help would be a better idea." The little dragon brightens with pleasure -- she's happy that Jaeger agrees with her assessment! It makes her feel like she's on the right track.

Tao too smiles, "I would enjoy meeting this Josie before bringing her to meet him. Protectors are important. The last Eastern Nations chair was a wolf changer, I believe?" He's eating tidily as well; largely with his fingers.

Cinnamon nodnods, "Her father, I think, yes! I've not met him, though he seems nice from what I've heard."

Tao nods and looks thoughtful, "I think they always have been, since the council's inception. With perhaps one bear shifter for about a decade..." He shakes his head, "But no matter."

Marcus asks, "Are you going to let Caradog or Aoi know you're on the street first?"

Cinnamon curiously asks Marcus, "'First'? Before what, please? I think I missed something there?"

Tao smiles, "I believe he means am I speaking to Aoi before Caradog, or Caradog before Aoi. Protocol demands I speak first to Caradog. As much as I wish to step away -- quite far away -- from protocol, I think I will wrap myself in it at least this far. It will win me a little good will, and if I seem to be staying with the old ways, it will soothe Aoi's pre-ruffled feathers when I go to her. She does not deal well with change, so should she believe she is dealing with Tianlong rather than Tao, she may be more amenable to hearing reason." Tao's nose wrinkles a bit as he says 'Tianlong,' which makes Hilde blinks a bit. She's seen that reaction in people who changed genders and left behind a name forced upon them.

Cinnamon silently mouths the word 'Tianlong'... then nods thoughtfully, "I see... thank you for explaining." She will remember this, she knows -- because she also knows there will be times where she too will have to deal with folks who do not like (or even refuse) change. She knows the word 'tianlong' is the heavenly/celestial dragon of Chinese myth, who guards the heavenly dwellings of the gods... so she's guessing Tao's really saying that he doesn't want to go back to all the stiflingly formal ritual of imperial times. She'll have to be careful, as she gets older, to not end up stiflingly stuck in the past, herself too, she suspects.

Tao takes a deep breath... then smiles around the table, "But let us talk of lighter things." He moves the discussion to the arboretum Cinnamon mentioned and asks if he may be allowed to make sketches and notes to take back to Jiajun. Jaeger offers not only sketches and notes, but cuttings and/or seeds of anything they might be able to offer that would thrive in Jiajun's garden. Cinnamon listens silently as she eats, quietly fascinated! So Tao's going to stay here, but formally visit Caradog before Aoi, and meet with her on his own... in a pause in the conversation she slips in, "Tao, Jaw-Long, if there's anything we can do to help, or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, okay?" She grins as she adds, "And past that, I hope you have a really nice visit here, regardless of how things turn out!"

Tao smiles, "I wish to have time to visit and explore. I also hope to take someone with me to visit Aoi..." Over his shoulder, he adds to Jaw-Long, "Besides you!" The fu-dog's mouth was already opening, as if to protest that he would be with Tao!

Cinnamon giggles at that, and then smiles at Tao, "Who did you have in mind? I... don't know who Aoi's best friends are, honestly." She turns to Marcus, "Do you know, Da- M-Marcus?"

Marcus leans in a little and murmurs in a low, warm voice (which is a tone he might not even realize is almost a purr), "I liked Daki-kun..." Then he goes back to his normal voice, "I don't know that she has best friends. She has servants and people she enjoys fawning over her." Cinnamon blinks and flushes bright red! That particular tone of voice sort of tingles in various places in her body that she didn't even know were associated! She has to take a few slow, careful deep breaths before she's sure she won't either babble uncontrollably or squeak higher than a doggie squeaky toy... and only then does she realize what he actually said -- which makes her go bright red all over again! Shane looks curiously at Marcus, his mind starting to turn over. Interesting: he's... not feeling jealous. Instead he's smiling at the way Cinnamon gets verbally stumbly around Marcus -- now he's sure the elvenvolk man isn't going to hurt his acushla. Hmm... is this that whole compersion thing?

Tao smiles, "I believe you and your young gentlemen companions would be good. Perhaps this Josie if she is another protector. Who else does Aoi respect here and now?"

Jaeger replies, "I would suggest perhaps Snow and Elias, though... maybe invite her out somewhere rather than go to her home? Many people might feel somewhat invaded, were you to arrive at their home. Perhaps ask her to meet somewhere neutral... perhaps the pocket park... or even here? We could create a small get-together either in the arboretum or around the rooftop koi pond..."

Cinnamon takes another few slow breaths... then speaks very, very carefully to be sure her voice is level and calm, and she won't embarrass herself, "W-would, umm... Jalil, maybe? Or... hmm, actually I think Elias is a good choice, but I don't know about Snow. Mmm- Dak-ki-kun, d-do you know how Aoi feels about Snow?" She feels almost shockingly daring at deliberately addressing Marcus so! It makes her feel oddly happy too, though she's not sure entirely why. She slides her hand over under the table to take Shane's, and smiles up at him unselfconsciously. It hasn't quite registered that she's showing increased interest in Marcus, though -- she's simply feeling unaccountably wonderful right now. Life sure is good sometimes!

Marcus considers, "I would say not Snow or Nasteexo. I think Aoi sees them as against her for some reason now. Everyone trusts Elias, however, and Jalil is almost seen as neutral at this point, so they would be good choices." He taps his fingers on the table and looks thoughtful, "I would love to be there, but I believe if I am to be the person providing housing to Tao, I should possibly not be there." His eyes soften, "I trust you to tell me all I need to know, and I know Shane will protect everyone and keep everything truthful."

Cinnamon blinks, "Oh! Good point!" and turns to Shane, "Will you come with, asthore, if Tao is okay with us being there?"

Tao nods, "Elias the vampire, yes?"

Jaeger smiles, "I would suggest Sparrow, did he not put her so on edge. I believe every meeting needs someone to keep things from getting too serious."

Shane nods amusedly, "Indeed. I get the feeling I'm almost the Council's Truthspeaker at this point."

Tao nods, "Yes. A Truthspeaker is always good." Thorn listens to the preparations to speak with Aoi. He's glad it's going to be a team effort, to support Tao. Cinnamon giggles, glancing towards Jaw-Long to see how he takes the news that he has a peer who can talk shop with him!

Jaw-Long sits up and looks curiously at Shane, head tipped to the side, "You and I should..."

Shane nods and grins, "We should. I am to her, what you are to him..." Then his amber eyes twinkle, "Though not in all ways." He flickers a look to Cinnamon that holds just as much heat as is okay in public, to let the fu-dog know they're lovers.

Jaw-Long's tongue lolls in a bit of amusement, "Oh. I see..."

Cinnamon blushes hotly at that! She grins a bit goofily as she gently pokes Shane -- then laughs and looks back at everyone else, "Okay, so... Tao, the folks you want there are, umm... Jalil, Elias, me, Shane... maybe Thorny, as a healer, would be good? Umm... yes or no on Josie, please? Also, may I suggest we have the meeting, umm... I think in the arboretum, so it can't be overheard, and... I may be totally wrong on this -- I'm just guessing here -- but the fact that it's in a sort of wilderness-like place rather than a formal meeting room... maybe that'll help Aoi not feel as, umm... as if she has to be all formal and stuff? What do you peeps all think? Oh! Jaeger might be good to have there too -- like as an uninvolved host, maybe? Or... would it be better to not have him there for the same reason Marcus doesn't want to be there?" She grins shyly as she adds, "Jaeger's taught me a whole lot about diplomacy!"

It's agreed: Josie and Thorn will be there as well, and the meeting will be held in the arboretum, in the central island where tea and food can be served. Jaeger and Marcus will be in the Residence, but they'll not be seen unless really needed. After everything is decided, Tao excuses himself so he and Jaw-Long can go and prepare, then go stop in and see Llewellyn, and then present themselves to Caradog. When Tao reappears shortly thereafter, he wears a heavy kimono-like outfit in gold and scarlet silk embroidered with... himself -- in actual gold thread. The embroidered dragon's eyes are created out of dozens of tiny pearls and jet beads, while his scarlet tongue and the plum blossoms around him are picked out in rubies. The human form of the Imperial Dragon has his long hair braided with strands of rubies as well, then wound into an elaborate topknot that somehow manages to be not at all feminine. At his waist hangs a scabbarded blade -- not a katana, but rather a saber of some sort. In all, the Imperial Dragon is wearing far more than a small fortune on his body. Jaw-Long is with him, wearing a heavy chest-plate and some kind of armor over his back -- all crafted from what seems to be lacquered bamboo decorated with gold chains and rubies.

Cinnamon blinks slowly as she studies Tao from top to toe... and then slowly back again! Her voice is both awed... and, oddly, a little flat, "Wow." A moment later she grins wryly at him, "I can see why you don't want to do this all the time!"

Tao mutters and shrugs to readjust his attire as he walks, "It's ostentatious and uncomfortable and heavy!"

Jaw-Long snorts, "You are very strong! It is nothing to you to wear so much weight... you just do not like calling attention to yourself anymore!" This makes Tao scowl.

Cinnamon giggles at their interplay! "If you want, I have a family member named Tre who runs a rickshaw on the street. Maybe you could get a lift from him, so your pretty clothes don't get at all dirty?"

Tao smiles wryly, "I would not make anyone else carry this much weight." He walks to Jaw-Long and swings himself up side-saddle onto the fu-dog with a grin, patting his friend and protector on the shoulder, "He can make himself useful -- because he too is very strong!"

Indeed! Cinnamon laughs at that. She grins and waves as they head off, "Well, I hope you have a wonderful time and everything goes well for you both!" She would guess -- with all the gold and silk, and all those gems -- Tao is wearing at least three hundred pounds of finery. She finishes mentally totting up that information as the fu-dog strides magnificently off, the two old friends still bickering amiably together. She giggles, then adds in a low voice to her friends, "Holy shamolies, peeps... I think that was about 300 pounds of stuff Tao was wearing... and it was all the real thing, too -- you don't want to know how much money it likely cost!" She shakes her head amusedly, adding, "I'm glad Liam didn't have a habit of stuff like that, that everyone would expect me to carry on!" There is wry agreement all around, at that.

During the three hours Tao was off being official, Cinnamon sends off a few runners before settling back to chat with her friends: she checks in with Llewellyn for any new letters or requests for assistance -- she tries to do that at minimum once a week. She also sends a message to Quickclaw and Brightscale, asking them to meet with her for a meal perhaps? She has a request for them, and some information she'd like to share. During the meal at her cottage (with all the lights on very low) Cinnamon will explain about both her desire for a structurally sound, small cold-storage cave under her little cottage... and the possibilities of hydroponics. She intends to ask them if they and the Svnoyi Ayvwi elders might maybe like to talk with Jiajun sometime about that.

It's at least three hours before Tao returns. However, by the time Butler lets the dragon and his companions back in, and he returns to the room everyone is mingling in, he's already taken off the top layers and draped them over his arm, leaving him in a couple of layers of linen under-kimonos as he sighs, "I am very glad that is over! Though Caradog is a rather pleasant and unpretentious king. He greeted me with all proper protocol, then offered me some plum wine and roast lamb, and filled me in on things I might want to be aware of... all of which you'd already told me about... hm, except for the captives in the dungeon."

"Oh! I'm sorry, Tao -- I didn't know you'd be interested in them!" Cinnamon thinks, then adds, "Umm... was there anything else you wanted to know?"

Thorn grimaces slightly at mention of the bigoted brothers, "It's an ongoing issue. The would-be assassins are being held incommunicado while we try to remove the rest of their network."

Cinnamon beams excitedly at Thorn, "Oh, we have, Thorny -- didn't you hear? Sparrow put his no-luck-at-all thingie on the ranchers who were sponsoring them, and Spice was absolutely brilliant at utterly defunding them all! Plus Baird's emptied out all their safehouses and stuff... that was why I gave you the million dollars too, Thorny, remember?"

Thorn nods to Cinnamon, "I do remember, yes! Spice did amazing work, as did Sparrow and Baird! I'm just... I'm not convinced we've seen the last of them, though, you know? Or if there are more out there... but we don't have to worry about that for now!"

Cinnamon nods slowly to Thorn, "I... admit, I hope you're wrong, but... good point -- we should totally check up on them in a few months' time, I guess." Thorn hopes he's wrong as well. So he settles back into his chair, listening to the banter. He likes Tao, and hopes the yellow dragon can help Aoi, and bring much-needed balance to the council. Cinnamon grins and blushes as she adds to Tao, "Yes, Caradog is surprisingly nice to me, despite my turning into a burbling nincompoop anytime I make the mistake of being alone with him!"

Tao shakes his head, "I didn't need to know about them. The only reason I would need to is if I take a seat with or in Aoi's place." He waves a dismissive hand at Cinnamon as he adds, "You have more power in your smallest claw than he has in his whole body, when it comes to magic! He holds more administrative power here in this enclave. Besides, he seems to be a good, if slightly gossipy, person. I could enjoy having a few drinks with him on a day he did not have a million pieces of administration to take care of. He seems to actually care what is happening with his people."

Cinnamon blinks startledly at Tao -- and then blushes again! "Oh, I, uhh... um, right! R-right, the, er, th-the assassins... we've, er, not officially discussed them at a council meeting but you're right I should p-put that on the agenda for the next one!" She takes a deep breath... then nods in complete agreement as she adds, "Plus you're right -- he does really seem to care, doesn't he? I really like that about him..." she giggles and turns a bit pink again, "p-plus he... he seems to really like unpretentious gifts, from what I've been told? Like, I made cookies for him for Solstice -- and Diarmaid said he was completely thrilled with getting such a useful gift!"

Tao looks interested, "Will the meeting be soon? I would like to attend, even if I am not a council member. I am starting to think I have been sequestered for too long." The Celestial dragon laughs, adding, "I too enjoy unpretentious gifts. I think one can only receive so many bolts of silk or intricate music boxes before one begins to get sick of them and long for someone's Baba to send along some bao or milk candies."

Jaw-Long mutters, "You have too much of a sweet tooth!"

Tao pssshes! "It is not as if I can get tooth rot! Also, if Ganesha can ask for offerings of candy, I can enjoy candy as well!"

Shane leans in toward Cinnamon, murmuring, "I'm starting to understand why Sparrow likes this guy!"

Cinnamon giggles as she watches the two entities -- then grins up at Shane, her eyes shining with happiness as she nods! She replies to Tao, "The next council meeting is here, and Jarek's hosting it, and it's on the 20th of May. Today's, umm... 8th of April, so... about a month and a bit? Plus you're absolutely welcome to attend, whether as audience or with Aoi!"

Tao nods, "I will have to return to the compound between now and then, if only so my people can benefit from my presence and I from their work. I do not need so much energy as Aoi because I do not do anything drastic most of the time. I take my draconic shape once per month and I sleep quite a lot of the time. When they need blessings from me or need my strength for something, I do that... and I try to take what energy I can from the sun itself."

Cinnamon curiously asks, "Are you a restless sleeper? Is that why the seismic events occur there?" She brightens as she adds, "Ooh, how do you take energy from the sun? Can you teach me that? Or is it a dragon-specific kind of thing? Oh, is that why you go dragoning only once a month too?"

Tao motions at his back at Cinnamon's question, "My wings. They are... they are more than wings. They help me soak up the sun and convert it... and yes, I am somewhat restless. I wanted to be far away from most humans so those small tremors do not bother most people. Our compound is very sturdy and built to withstand my tossing and turning." Cinnamon nods interestedly -- she's faintly disappointed she can't soak up the sun herself, from the sound of it... but she absolutely loves learning all these new things! She also checks with Tao and Jaw-Long, of course, as to how formal they wish the meeting with Aoi to be, so she knows what kind of clothing to wear. Tao replies, "Don't be too formal. We are trying to have this be friendly. You will not see me wearing that monstrosity again." He's smiling as he speaks, however. "I will be wearing another embroidered kimono. If any of you have such clothing, that would be wonderful -- make her feel as if she is being taken seriously, but not so seriously as to swell her ego overly much."

Cinnamon thinks a bit, then checks, "She gifted me a kimono a while ago. Would it be nicer to wear that, or just business casual clothing?"

Tao nods, "Wear that. It will make her feel special and appreciated. I am trying to go into this carefully, which is why I'm wearing a kimono instead of my Changshan." He sighs, "I want to carefully walk her into the twenty-first century. You see, the last time she saw me I looked like this..." He takes a breath and calls on some of his stored energy. Where the handsome -- but only normally so -- Tao once stood, there is now a breathtakingly gorgeous man so handsome it's almost hard to look at him. His hair gleams like ebony and his eyes are no longer brown but the deep green of jade... while his skin almost shines like pearls. In the next moment, he's back to the man they're been dealing with and looking a bit tired.

Cinnamon winces slightly -- that's so gorgeous it makes her want to run away! She gives him a wryly sympathetic smile once he's back (so to speak), and impulsively replies, "W-well, I like you better like this -- the real you!"

Tao replies, "Once upon a time we both wore faces to reassure the humans that we were worthy of their energy and worship. But I have come to believe -- and I think I have proved it with my people and my compound -- that the best way to convince them of that is to treat them well; to give them our gifts to make their lives better -- and then they will give us theirs in return. Symbiotic, not parasitic." He winces when he uses that last word, adding, "Though I would never say it to her that way."

Cinnamon nods firmly in agreement! "Okay, I'll let Josie and Shane know what kinds of clothes to wear, then. Thanks!" She's not sure what they'll wear, but wants them to be comfortably sure they're both suitably attired. She'll also explain to them why she'll be in a kimono, and asks Shane for help in getting dressed. She knows, after all, that Thorn has his healer whites, while both Elias and Jalil seem to always be proper for whatever the occasion is, so she's not so worried about them! The little dragon will also be careful to hire Tre for the trip to the Elm mansion. She would never forgive herself if she tripped and dirtied up the glorious kimono on the way to the meeting!

For now, though, Cinnamon happily thanks everyone for being so kind and helping find Tao, before they all head off for the rest of their day. The little dragon herself is quite busy for that day, in fact! She continues to prep ingredients for the food and drink she intends to have for the Liam Memorial party in two days, and she checks with Elias -- does he know of any favorite foods or drinks Liam had, that she can bring to the party? She's put up a notice in the broadsheets about the memorial as well, so she wants to be sure she has plenty of food despite having effectively made it a sort of pot-luck event. She figures that's a good way to ensure people will remain a bit casual and friendly -- and, hopefully, also upbeat, so they can all remember Liam well and happily! With even more luck (she hopes) she'll get to hear several really good stories about Liam -- because then she can share the stories with Rebecca the next day, on the actual anniversary of Liam's death.

Cinnamon has checked in with Rebecca already, of course, to make sure this is okay with the elderly woman... and to find out whether Rebecca would prefer company during the day, or an evening sort of event. The latter, after all, means Elias can come along -- but Cinnamon leaves the choice entirely up to Rebecca.

That evening Cinnamon shares a meal with the two Akoesdi elders, who both are quite intrigued with the idea of hydroponics -- and are quite certain the Svnoyi Ayvwi elders will be too! The lights needed for it will have to be carefully managed, of course -- perhaps by above-ground solar panels -- and kept away from the light-sensitive eyes of the two earth-dwelling species. They'll happily send representatives or... if this Jiajun is willing... have him visit with them so Tao's people don't have to try to accommodate them. They're quite surprised to find out that large parts of Tao's compound are underground!

[Previous Log] [Index]

Last modified: 2019-Jun-12 19:53:32

All material on this site is
Copyright © 2019-2024 Reality Fault
unless specifically indicated on each document.
All Rights Reserved.
Administrated by Reality Fault Webmaster