Yue emerges from the surface of the water about then, coughing and sputtering, eyes wide and shivering. He could have sworn that he felt... him... nearby just now.


Ting breaks the surface a moment later, and blinks. "Hey, are you okay? I mean, outside of the 'me trying to drown you' part?"

Yue doesn't answer, just splashes back to the rocks and leans against them, cowering, looking around for him. He felt that evil, he is sure of it.

Ting is very confused...swims and walks after him, as depth allows and puts her hand on his shoulder, concerned. "Ai? Is that who bugged you?"

At her touch Yue calms a little. That, and the source of that horrible signature is apparently gone.

"I felt Radivishe Moorn's power just now," the angel nervously explains. "Right there, on the shore. I... was he here?" He looks to Ting, his expression pleading.

Ting shakes her head. She's a bit confused, but is quickly deciding that Yue's had some really, really horrible experiences with the sorceror. Heck, Moorn scares the pants off her, and she's never had any kind of problem with him. "No. That was Ai. His daughter...you met her earlier. She's pretty."

"Ai?" Yue looks at Ting. "Ai didn't have that kind of anger. That was his." Though, his panic is breaking. He needs a hug, but can't really hug her right now, dressed as they are. "I'm sorry, Ting. I do not mean to upset you." Heaven knows he's good at it, lately.

"No...it's okay." Ting's Ting, and wastes no time in hugging him reassuringly. "That wasn't Moorn, that was Ai. I don't know what pissed her off, but...it was Ai."

Yue starts at first, but feels none of the passions he's been feeling all day. He is calming down, bit by bit, but holds onto Ting as long as he thinks she will let him anyway. Comfort is such a wonderful thing.

About this time a certain revenant comes strolling by the river, a bottle of red wine in each hand and a case of cups under his arm. He was looking for Dewei and Ting, but stops on the shore, blinking.

"H... h-holy shit!"

Ting blinks. "Hi! What's got your panties in a bundle?"

Yue smiles at Makyon, when he realizes what happened. "I think we do, dear."

The revenant smiles a little. "Oh, nothing. Just the two most beautiful women in the history of existence hugging half-naked in the water. Small thing that."

Ting grins her "cute" grin t him, tilting her head a little. "So what do I need to add for a nosebleed?"

Makyon chuckles quietly. "Use your imagination, dear. I'm using mine." He sets down the bottles and cracks open the case of cups. "I brought some drinks for us and Dewei. And Yue too, if she's interested."

"Yay alcohol!" Ting pats Yue, making sure she's okay. "So. Wine for you, too?"

"I think... yes." Yue lets his forehead rest against Ting's shoulder, innocently enough, and tries to let the panic finish soaking out of him. In his entire life he has never felt so broken as he has today, and doesn't quite know how to handle it. He whispers a barely audible bit of gratitude to Ting.

Ting smiles, pats his sopping-wet hair--she's feels better herself--and wades to shore. "Sooo...while I'm absolutely drenched..." she pounces for Makyon, ready to hold the wine and glasses psychically in safety.

He never sees it coming, and goes down like a sack of potatoes.

"Gah!" He looks up at her, blinking, and wet. "Um... thank you?"

Yue climbs out of the water, instantly wrapped in a robe so as to keep Makyon from looking at the person who is not important to him. He smiles and sits on the shore, looking out over the trees.

"Hee hee." Ting purrs at him. "It's the least I could do. So. Whatcha laying around for? There's wine to be had!"

"I was just overcome, is all. Pour away, my deliciously dressed kitten."

"And it only gets better with more wine!" Ting observes, purring. She pours three glasses, and carries one over to Yue. "Here you go!"

"Thank you." Yue takes the glass with a smile, but really, he feels far too emotionally drained to say much right now. At least he isn't dreaming of anything in particular right now.

The revenant looks at Yue, thinking, wondering what on earth had happened to make the flirty angel so agonized. He doens't ask, though. Ting in a bikini, male mind shut down.

Ting pats Yue's hair again. "This is wet," she informs him. Grins, and wanders back over towards Makyon. Poor Yue likely needs time to think. She manifests a robe too, but...most of it's tightly-woven fishnet, so that shouldn't be too much a problem. "Where have you been all morning, buster?" she inquires of Makyon. "I haven't seen you!"

"Laying low. Most of what's been happening is really out of my league, either in power concerns, or just none of my business. I didn't want to be in the way. Plus I needed the sleep." Makyon holds up his glass, admires Ting's robe choice, and has a sip. "Looks like I came back too soon, though."

She bites. Mostly because she genuinely has no idea where he's going with it. "Why's that?"

"Lookit," Makyon nods to Yue, who is looking off into the distane. "And I guarantee that's not the only problem. I could swear I heard Ai sounding irritated just before I got here. And your mother is nowhere to be found, which means something is being saved."

"Ahhh...yeah, that usually does mean something's about to blow up, huh?"

"Oh? Did someone forget to inform me about the impending explosion?" Felina inquires as she walks into the clearing. "I'm usually invited."

"Speak of the..." Makyon stops, smiles. "Hotness. We were just talking about you. Nothing but compliments, though, not a word about anything else."

"All that and a cup of my long-lost curves, huh? Don't let me stop you, I'll pick on you later." Felina smiles at her apprentice and, especially, her daughter...she's relieved that Ting seems to be feeling better, ruffles her hair briefly, and walks over to sit beside Yue. "Hey. Feeling better?" She inquires more quietly.

Makyon grins, and proceeds to ask Ting if she's ever caught a fish with that robe.

Yue seems to wake at Felina's voice, enough to give her a nice smile. "I've been worse," he admits. "Did you come to swim too?"

Ting is quick to ask whether a mer counts.

"Nah. I actually came to bug you about maze stuff again, if you're up for it. The current idea is to put Mara to sleep for a long period of time, a century or so, while her mind re-orients itself through its dreamscape...I'm sure you can connect the dots as to where the maze fits into all this. "I'd wander over and ask Ansendul myself, but he doesn't like it when I head in there without your help, which I hardly blame him for." The maze's unique properties create a strain on her portals that makes it hard to keep them from being recalled, and makes the method and paths available to someone who knows how to retrieve them.

Makyon assures her it does.

"Oh. Alright, I'll take you there. Wait..." Yue tilts his head. "Why don't we grab Dewei and his girl while we are at it? They wanted to try aging their tree in the maze, too." The angel stands up, clothing himself only after a sudden circular field of wind clears the water from his skin.

"Do you think Ansendul will mind the multiple impositions, though? The thing with Mara is a lot more important, no offense to Dewei and Ai certainly, and I don't want to threaten it in any way."

"Not at all." Yue shakes his head, as a cute green beret appears in his hands. "This is a small thing for him and his maze. He has really taken his art to new levels, and besides, he still likes kisses if nothing else."

In that case, Ting assures Makyon that she has.

"Oh, lord..." Felina's cheeks actually redden the littlest touch at that. "I wonder if we can take Ting." She laughs quietly.

"We could. But Ansendul has changed since even you saw him last. Transcended. He looks..." Yue considers this. Blushes a little. "Like an angel, like me, only a man, and still colorful. We might never get her back."

"Point. I really would like him to meet my kids at some point, but probably at some time I'm not looking for a favor like today, and also after...well, you know." She smiles a little. When he can meet the three of them. The secret's tearing her up inside, it really is, but...almost there. Hopefully.

The angel nods, beaming suddenly. Felina a mom again... it must be penance for something. "Oh, he won't mind meeting them. Besides, he likes you. You still have his brush, right?" Yue is referring, of course, to a certain crystalline hairbrush Ansensdul had given Felina, presumably, in just about every timeframe where she'd still been alive.

"Of course! Well, usually. Ting's been stealing it regularly ever since she was...walking." Felina laughs quietly at the memory.

"Of course. It's shiny." The angel looks to Ting and Makyon, ignoring what Makyon is saying about indecency being just fine. "Children. Want to go on a trip?"

Ting simply sticks a hand out and covers Makyon's mouth, and looks over to Yue, grinning a little. "Sure! Where are we going?"

"A place where time means nothing and everything." Yue tilts his head. "Also, it has pretty shiny things."

"Got my attention!" Ting laughs. "Shiny! Is tall, dark, and creepy here coming too?" Why Makyon likes her is a great mystery.

"If he likes, it is fine with me." Yue nods.

"I think I should stay. Heaven knows what might happen if someone isn't here to protect the place." He likes Ting because she's curvy and cute and willing to touch.

And very cute. Her ears twitch. "Hee. Fair enough!" Her clothes shimmer back to her normal outfit. She looks back to Makyon after a moment, and grins. "All covered!"

"Your prettiest parts are still exposed." He reaches up on a whim, touches her cheek gently. "See?"

Yue actually bites his own fist. That is so corny and adorable!

Felina has to smile a bit.

Ting actually blushes fairly red, which isn't very easy to cause. "Ahh...you just earned your brownie points for the next...week!" She laughs, kisses his hair, also on a whim, and looks back to Yue and her mom as though nothing had happened. "So! Is anything going to try to blow me up in the place where time meets eternity or something like that and time needs to ask directions?" She tilts her head.

"Only if you want it to, or piss it off, or its Ichenrei. She might, but it would be a fun sort of blowing up." Yue nods, he knows this from experience. Nothing like a blast of ice crystals against a sunbathing butt to get a girl moving.

Ting blinks. "Isn't that kinda hard for an ice creature to manage on a guy?"

"Not as hard as you might imagine, dear." Yue tuts. "We can go any time."

Felina nods, and stands up. Smiles a bit, and squeezes Yue's shoulder. "Thanks, Yue. Ting...don't mess with the clocks."

She blinks. "Clocks?"

"You're better off not knowing." Yue holds out one hand, palm flat, and mutters something under his breath. A doorway, a literal one, appears in front of him, and he opens it for the others. "After you."

"Hee. Yay!" Ting hugs Makyon briefly, for no particular reason, and then trots off through the door.

Felina watches this, trying to decide what she thinks of it--she doesn't mind, exactly, but she's going to be really creeped out if they ever sleep together--and then calls for Mara. "Mara? We're about ready to go...are you?"

"Butterflies... are... oh. Hee! Hi Fel! Where are you? I see you but I can't hear you. Or is that...? No? Maybe?

Iscovis's booming, though checked, mental voice supercedes Mara's in an instant.

Felina, she'll be right there. She is sort of drugged, though without chemicals, so that the transition will seem easier for her.

And right about then Mara-Kuru appears just beside Felina, looking goofy.

"Hi!"

"That works. Thanks Iscovis. I owe you some interesting memories later, I think." She smiles at Mara. "Hi! Ready to visit the maze?"

"I don't have my formal fur," Mara whines, convincingly despite her condition.

"That's because you thought your formal fur must be bored and animated it," Felina reminds her, directing her gently to the door with a hand on either shoulder.

"Oh... yeah huh!" Mara steps through, grinning as she disappears into the millenium maze.

---

Once Felina follows Mara back through the door, her mood positively phenomenal, the doore remains behind her, much like it does for Yue. It occurs to her that she should have asked how to properly seal them. Shuts the door, locks it, and it vanishes.

That works.

Felina smiles. "You'll need to pounce Ting, I'm pretty sure she won't pounce you first. Also, since you disappeared off the face of existance for a bit, I'd expect Moorn here very soon to check on you."

"Okee! Let's find Ting first." Mara closes her eyes, looking for the eldest child. "Gonna pounce her so good...!"

Ting is sitting on a sprawling, sturdy branch overhanging a small lake, swinging her legs a little and generally thoughtful, borderline pensive.

Mara-Kuru wastes no time when sees Ting. She squeaks and performs a leaping, forty-five degree tackle pounce to take Felina's daughter out of the tree.

"Eeeeep!" This squeal lasts all the way to the tremendous splash that puts both antie and niece in the lake below. Ting comes up sputtering, wide-eyed, and stares at Mara. "So...um...that would make you you again, right?" Grins a little. Something between tentative and very hopeful.

"Nope! This would!" And Mara kisses Ting, just as she said she would. Two down. She realizes that she forgot Yue, but hey, he'll be around for a bit.

Ting's eyes widen. She laughs gleefully a few moments later, and pounces Mara back into the water. "Auntie!"

Mara burbles, and comes up shaking her long, thick hair off. "Yup! Hiya shorty." Irony. "I came back from the boring! And I'm old! Well, not as old as five thousand. But old still. Where's Ding? He gets a kiss too."

"Rethinking how to greet you," Dewei laughs from the shore. He jumps into the tree and walks out along the branch to offer them both hands up.

Mara takes his hand, smiling at him. "Sneaky sneaky. Hey Ting?"

Ting purrs. Although it sounds profoundly funky as her mouth's got water in it. She takes her brother's other hand.

It's about this time that Dewei realizes that this was a very bad idea. "Ahh...this is the part where you climb up with gah!"

Felina laughs softly from the shore at another tremendous splash. Stars it feels good to have her whole family together again. Which is completed as Orrin walks up behind her, setting a hand on her shoulder. Felina smiles back at him a moment, and then just leans back, wrapping his arm around herself, nodding to confirm. Yup. Everything is just fine.

Attempted drownings and hysterical daughters aside.

Mara's head pokes up out of the water.

"I smell Orrin." She looks at the kids. "Shh. Maybe he won't see me. I have to hunt him! Oh..." First things first. She snags Dewei and kisses him, smiles, and then heads for land to attack Orrin. She probably won't kiss him the same way for Felina's sake. Maybe smack him somewhere fun.

Dewei ends up very red, of course, like any nephew kissed by his aunt historically is. He looks over at Ting. "What?"

"You're wet!"

Dewei snickers after a moment. "That's deep, Spot. Know what else?"

"What?"

And he dunks her back under water.

Orrin looks back out to the water about now, and blinks. "Hey, where'd Mara go?"

"..... caatch meeee!" sounds just about the time Mara plummets towards Orrin from high above, fangs gleaming.

Felina whistles, and takes a step forward.

"Gah!" Bless his heart, Orrin does try. But there's no stopping that kind of momentum, and despite a good run at it, he ends up on the thankfully soft ground with Mara on top of him. Coughs out a clover, and smirks up at the crimson-eyed serinian. "Back for three minutes," he manages after a moment, "and you and my wife are already conspiring against me. At least we know we have our dear Mara back." He grins impishly, and scritches behind one of her ears.

Mara oversells the purring for their benefit. "Oh sweety, we were conspiring two weeks ago. So... nyeh." And she goes straight for the tickle-weapon.

"Gah! Not fair!" The dumen, as Mara well knows, happens to be extremely susceptible to tickling. "Any help?" He cries to his wife in a gulp of air before losing the battle with laughter again.

Felina smirk-grins, and raises her hands in mock defense. "Uh-uh. I know better than to get between Mara and tickling victims."

Mara's head snaps up quite suddenly. "Heyy... I gots him!" She leaps off of Orrin and tackles a just-appearing Radivishe Moorn right off his feet. She'd been in the air before he had fully formed, and pins him with a victorious smirk.

"Hiya cutie! Lookit what I got!" And she kisses him. 

The sorcerer, for his part, is just a bit too shock and awed to answer.

Felina has to smile a bit. "That should answer most of your questions, I think," she notes, a touch quietly. She helps her own husband up. Yep. It's a good day.

Mara fawns over her man for a bit longer, but finally lets him up. In a strangely un, but still, characteristic move, Moorn puts his arms around Mara and holds her quietly. The Serinian purrs and stays right there, knowing that if he is this out of sorts it deserves attention.

Finally, though...

"I am thrilled to see you alright, Mara. Actually, I came here to ask if anyone had seen Ai." Mara snuggles tighter against him. "But this is fantastic as well."

"She's resting a bit at Niven Ai, I believe," Felina notes. She'd gleaned the thought from her son, who's suffering the retaliation of dunking. Dewei manages to grab a breath before Ting springs out of the water and lands on top of him again...knowing full well that both of them can just use 'breathe!' spells if they need them.

He nods. "I was apprehensive. She and I did not part on the best terms earlier."

Mara looks up at him. "Were you mean to Ai? Meanie."

Moorn chuckles. "No. I only forbid her from marrying into a complex situation. I thought that was a father's duty."

Felina blinks. "Was it unsolicited, or did Ai ask about it?" Needless to say, Orrin's very interested, too.

"She asked." Moorn's attention is mostly on Mara, and were it not for the parties involved it would be exceptionally sweet. "She was upset, of course, and fled."

Felina just nods, thoughtful. On another edge of the lake, Dewei finally manages to drag himself up onto the bank...sister clinging to his knees and content to be dragged. He coughs. Helps her up...by the shirt collar, since taking her hands hasn't yet yielded fair results.

Ting grins at him. "He can be taught!"

Their mother just shakes her head, amused. "Mara, I have to hand it to you...no chaos elemental anywhere can cause craziness faster than you." She grins. Wants to let the bit about Ai's desired marriage sit in her mind a bit...it's not like it's truly new knowledge, although knowing that it's officially confirmed and also that Moorn has such a hard and fast stance against it are points to ponder.

"I'll take that bet, baby. Now. Who wants to drink?" Mara looks at Moorn. "Not you. Drunk men are bad at useful things."

The sorcerer shrugs. "Indeed. If I could borrow Mara for about three hours...?" He's looking at Felina in particular.

"If she's willing to be borrowed, sure thing. I just count on her coming back later when things get too calm again."

Mara beams at Felina. "Of course!" She smiles at her freakishly white-haired man. "Let's go! Mama want!" And they vanish together, Mara's giggling slowly fading away.

... just about the time Yue comes strolling out of Felina's house.

"Alright," he calls, "everything is square with Ansendul, dears. From the state of things here I would guess Mara has come and gone?"

"Yes, and I predict that both she and Moorn are going to be in a very good mood by the time we see them again," Felina laughs softly. "Promptness, Yue, you missed both my kids and nether double all trying to drown each other, my husband being ambushed from above and tickle-tortured into submission, and assorted other misadventures. Oh, wait." She thinks a moment in pantomine. "Nevermind. You only missed three minutes."

"But such a three minutes!" Orrin observes, grinning.

"You would be surprised what one can do in three minutes," Yue meaningfully answers Orrin. "Dewei, may I borrow you a moment? I have to speak with you."

"And I need to borrow you a bit, Orrin," Felina notes, smiling. And then they're both headed for the house, the dumen something between intrigued and male-ishly hopeful.

Dewei is wringing out his ponytail, looks up to Yue. Smiles in greeting, and then nods. "Sure." Looks down. "If I can have my shoe back, Spot?"

Ting purrs. "Beware the half-shod man! He will cute you into non-existance." And then she's gone, boot and all.

Ding blinks. "Ahh..right then. Guess not." He laughs softly, just pulls off the other one to leave it on the bank, and then heads over to Yue. He's gone most of his life barefoot, anyway.





"Yes, well, what a way to go to non-existance. Dewei," Yue looks down at him with a thoughtful sort of expression on his face. "I need a favor from you. I would like to ask you about that world tree's being planted." He doesn't want to push, since he asked Dewei about it earlier but failed to mention why.

"Oh, right...I'm not sure when Ai's planning to right now, to be honest. She was pretty upset earlier, and I'm not sure what she thinks about the matter now." He hadn't quite picked up its being a request for a planting rather than a request for information.

"Well, whatever you and Ai end up planning..." and he explains the entire 'tree/kill me/rebirth/wingy hotness' story, taking his time. "And that.... well. It is a great deal to ask of you, and you certainly do not need to marry her, but it would mean a great deal to me to have back my wings." His kitty eyes are in full force. And he has no problem seducing people if it becomes necessary, either, but Dewei is sweet and he doubts it will come to that.

Of course it doesn't have to.

Dewei's extremely taken aback, of course. "I'll be sure to run this by Ai as soon as I see her again," he promises. "It's...ehm. A bigger deal than I can quite understand, I'm sure." He grins a bit. He understands a little better than he lets on...he's lost something dear to him too, for a long time. Like, someone named Orrin. "We'll find some way, Yue. If Ai isn't ready to plant the tree yet, I can scry for other yggdrasil universes to try to find a working spot."

"The only other one that I am aware of is not fit for setting foot these days. Cataclysm and all. I thought of that. But, you are sweet." And cute! "I can guarantee you that she is ready, though. How she could wait when you are there for her is beyond me."

Dewei smiles sheepishly. Yep. Yue's still a pretty, pretty girl. Looks down to his own drenched, bedraggled garments. Raises one, which drips generously, and grins. "Cute. If that's what you want to call it." He laughs softly. "Thank you, though. I'll be sure to tell her about Ansendul's offer to age it remotely, and..."

"Hiii!" Ting's in a really good mood. She kinda-pounces Dewei from behind, but just loops her arms around his shoulders and leans her head on one. "You look spunkier, Yue!"

"I had a private moment in the maze, thank you. And spending time with your mother always helps." The angel tilts his head. Good heavens, they are adorable. "The same could be said for you, dear."

Ting grins. "Hee...I have my auntie back!"

"Yes, I am aware. That lowers our to-do list by about twenty-five." He smiles at them more brightly. "Dewei, ah... I wonder if I might pry further into your thoughts on this Ai thing? I imagine that when Mara-kuru finds out she will be pressuring Moorn into changing his mind."

Oo. On the spot. Dewei considers his answer for a few moments. "Ai moves fast, and I'm still trying to mentally catch up," he admits. "But..." Then with the clarification. "When it comes down to it, spending existance with her...well...a pleasant state of affairs." He smiles, and nods.

Ting grins, and pokes his cheek. "Aww...how cute! And he's even blushing!"

"He is always blushing, dear." But this is good news. It means the tree will more likely get planted, and they may not have to wait all that long. It also means that flirting with Dewei is officially curtailed. "She needs to hear that, you know."

"I know." Dewei nods thoughtfully. "It's just getting so complicated. I don't want to set her against her dad."

"Do you honestly think she would turn on him?" Yue tilts his head the other way. "From what I have gathered she seems devoted to him."

"Absolutely not, you're right." Dewei shakes his head. "But that doesn't mean that there can't be tension between them. She was really upset earlier. I couldn't stand for that to be her every day. She doesn't deserve that."

"And it would drive you batty. Right." The angel considers this for a minute longer. "Well... nothing alcohol can't fix. Where did Mara go? We might entice her into opening up the cupboard for a bit."

"She headed off with Moorn," Ting notes. "I think they get to have fun!"

Yue blinks. Puts out his hand, lays it on Dewei's shoulder to steady himself.  Breathes. "Oh goddess..." he shakes his head. "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. Ugh. Forgive me."

Ting giggles sweetly. "I thought you'd like that." Bats innocent-eyelashes.

Yue smirks at her. "I need to get something to wash out my mouth. Excuse me." And he heads off towards wherever there's water to be had.

Ting wrinkles her nose. "Ugh...she was serious. Icky."

Dewei laughs. "I was aware, yes. Doesn't it feel good to have that effect on people?"

"Oh, hush you. Pfff. Twins. Who needs 'em?"

---