Helantri Deru is...well, a calm oasis in ways, but a fortress beneath its beauty. The mansion holds influences from Earth's China, but a good many other sensibilities are merged into that as well. It appears open, well-lit, and airy...but can be sealed to virtual inpenetrability at a moment's notice. The grounds around it are graced by beautiful gardens, practically a horticultural museum or botanical masterwork. There are what appear to be training areas scattered throughout, but they fit into the landscape as though they belong. They do. The protective and cloaking fields around the entire area are exceedingly similar to those around Saea's Gardens.

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Ting coos. "How cuuuute you two are!"

Ai leans her head against Dewei's shoulder, the most wonderful pillow she's ever known. "We are a good match that way," she purrs. "I love you all, so much..." the admission comes as a surprise, even to her. To say it out loud like that is something of an out of character issue.

"Aww...we love you, too, Ai!" Ting super-perks at this.

It does seem out of character, but...Felina chalks it up to a near-death experience and doesn't think another thing of it. She has to smile, features softening, and nods. "Well...I think, by this time, you're very much a part of our family, Ai, and welcome in it." She glances to Dewei, lingering a moment, and back to Ai. "Whatever that means."

Dewei's features brighten by a large measure. They hadn't gotten his mother's permission to marry before this. He doesn't know Ai had asked his father months ago, but...while Orrin is immensely important to the family, Felina's consent had been assumed.

The goddess's smile turns a bit, though which emotional way is unclear. She separates from Dewei, facing his mother, and bows a deep, reverant bow to her. "Thank you for that," she quietly says. "It... well. Thank you...!"

Felina leans down just enough to take both of Ai's hands gently, picking her back up by them. "Ai. As far as I'm concerned, you've been part of this family for quite some time. If the nature of that changes, well..." she glances back to her son, before looking back to the goddess. "It will be for good reason." She smiles, and hugs Ai.

The horrors of the day are just... gone. Drifting away, exiled from her soul by the tender embrace and heartfelt words of a tiny kitten creature who just happens to be a lifelong warrior. Ai hugs Felina back, aware that words could not communicate the way she feels right now.

Felina smiles gently. On an impulse, she kisses Ai's hair, and is about to comment on it, when Ting feels really left out. "Hugging!" And she pounces them both in one shot.

Ai goes down with Felina, but she's laughing when she hits the ground. Not just Ai-chuckling, but laughing, really laughing from her belly.

Yue pokes his head out at the sound. Even his bitter mood is improved by Ai's cascading laughter, but he's far from smiling.

Ting, of course, is thrilled with the reaction. "Hee!" She hugs Ai, hugs her mom, hugs Ai again, and looks to Yue. "You came for hugs, yes?"

The angel does smile at that, sadly, and comes out a little more. He's clothed himself now, in white, which is an unfortunate choice with his newly dark eyes and wings. "Maybe..."

Ting's eyes widen a little. "Ooo...you look really pretty!" She pounces over to him, but stops just in front, and hugs Yue up good, grinning. Then she stands on her tip toes to wiggle one of his wings. "Where the heck did you get these things? These are awesome! So pretty!"

Ai cringes a little bit. That... might not go too well. Though she starts laughing amoment later, unable to control it.

"I..." Yue's lip quivers, as if he wants to cry again but is willfully resisting it. "Uh..." Ting is just too cute to be sad in front of. "A... yard sale?"

Ting titters. "You need to take me to one of those yard sales. Seriously. These completely rock. Hmm...they don't match the white, though. But you wear white with a lot of pretty colors. Hmm..." she looks over at her mother. "Mom, do you think you can rig up an illusion dingie that she can change the color of her wings to match her outfit?"

"I could, certainly."

Ting beams, and looks at Yue. "Wouldn't that be cool?"

"I don't want that," Yue shakes his head. "I don't want illusions." He smiles, but still grimly. "But thank you for the thought."

"Awww..." Ting's starting to pick up on the mood--she'd already known about it, of course, but is picking up on how hard it is to change. She nods, though. "Okee! We'll just have to take you shopping for some pretty red dresses. And green! Green looks good with red too." She grins, and hugs Yue.

His arms wrap around her, and his wings stretch out to their impressive fullness to surround her as well. "Thank you, Ting." His voice, barely a whisper, does not travel any further than his new appendages.

Ting smiles, and just purrs softly for him. "See? They're even better for hugging." She grins, and just settles in and stays put. She gets the feeling Yue needs to cling to someone awhile.

Felina smiles softly, and looks over to Ai and Dewei. "So. You two are going to take a day off and not do anything world altering for at least twenty-four hours, I hope?" She grins a little.

Ai's expression gleams. "Oh... I wouldn't say that." She looks at Dewei. "A new body, you know. Technically I am a virgin again."

Ting is right on the money. Yue starts to pull away until he realizes she isn't, and stays right where he is. He hasn't the heart to tell them, yet, that the new wings aren't the only change his body has underwent. The hot, black blood flowing in his veins is certainly far from angelic.

Dewei's cheeks take a hint at a blush...mostly because it's in front of his mother. "Well...I..."

"Shall be otherwise occupied for awhile, noted." His mother titters, and shooes them with a dismissive hand.

Ai gets up, snagging Dewei by the hand, and jogs, for all the world like a little girl pulling her sweetheart along. She doesn't care where they stop, really, so long as she is in his arms when they get there.

Dewei, for his part, only resists for the barest of moments, and then only because he's startled.

Ting giggles as they go. "Ahh...they are cute!"

Yue nods in slow agreement. He pulls his wings back, folding them tightly against his back as if he'd been doing so his whole life. "Quite. I don't know about the two of you, but I really, really need that cheesecake binge."

"No complaints here!"

"I think Mara stocked my icebox already," Felina notes. Heads over there. Grins. "Give me a vague description of a cheesecake to get you started. I'm pretty sure I've got a copy."

"Um..." Yue scritches his hair. "It's cake... with cream cheese? I'm not sure how it's made." He follows along at a slow gait, concentrating on putting this horrible mood behind him.

"Oh...I mean..." Felina starts tossing them gently towards teh counter, and they float and line up in place. Plain cheesecake. Chocolate marbled cheesecake. Cheesecake covered with nuts and chocolate and caramel. Cheesecakes covered in fruit. Cheesecakes covered in fruits. And, of course, the obligatory purple and green cheesecake.

"Wow!" Ting blinks. "That's fancy."

"Definitely Mara's influence here." Yue looks at the green and purple cakes. "That is so weird. Fruit looks good, though... what do you think, Ting?" He looks to her, working on feeling better.

"Hmmm...I can't decide between the turtle one, or the purple one. Gah! too hard! You pick for me, Yue." She grins. Felina smiles, and sets out a number of servers--one that she duplictes over and over again, actually, a few forks, and some small plates.

"You are a match for the purple one," the angel decides. He pulls out a chair and sits, but his wings catch on the backrest to a yelp of pain. He sighs a bit, and sits on the edge of the chair. Much better.

"That'll taking some getting used to, methinks," Ting observes, grinning. "Mmm...purple isgood!"

Yue nods, but suddenly, does not feel like snacking. He pushes his cheesecake around plate a bit, gazing at it. "What's become of Orrin, Felina?" He can't explain it, but he suddenly wants to talk to the assassin in the worst way.

"He's been downstairs in the forge all afternoon. I'm pretty sure he's still there."

"I'd like to speak with him. Forgive me for the suddenness of it I... just need to." He rises, wings spreading just enough to be seen better. "Thank you for the support. I will see you in a bit."

"Sure thing," Felina nods.

"We'll save you cake!" Ting just pokes at her own, then, thoughtful. Felina pats her head. "Thanks, Ting. You did much better thn you know, I think."

Ting smiles bit. "Thanks, Mom."

Orrin is down in the forge, which is working to its fullest, and the room blazes orange red. The dumen himself is stripped to the waist against the heat.

Yue arrives quickly enough. His immediate thought is to acquire a veil against the heat and smoke, but he realizes as he steps inside that the inferno inside does not bother him in the least. The black blood boils in his thoughts, but he smiles a little anyway at this one perk of it.

"Orrin...?" she inquires cautiously, peeking into the forge and taking a moment to smile at what she sees.

Orrin is only working with a small, jewelry-maker's hammer at the moment, and looks up at Yue's voice. Smiles, and tilts his head. "That's a new look for you, isn't it?"

Her blush is far from apparent in this heat, but it certainly is there. "Do you like it...?" he haltingly asks, deciding then and there that he should be more concerned with what others think than with how he feels about it personally. Short, nervous steps carry him into the forge to stand closer to Orrin.

"Yue, you're not capable of looking anything but beautiful. Besides, Mara's been telling you to go goth for years." He grins reassuringly at Yue. He's not sure exactly wht's up, or what's with the wings, but...something in him kicks him in the side and tells him not to ask. "All that I can say is...wait, I'm ruining my dramatic moment." Whistles a little tune a few moment. Tap tap. Pliers. About fifteen seconds later. "Second try. All that I can say is..." and he flips open the perfect, absolutely functional skeleton of very good, magic-imbedded fighting fan, and smiles at Yue, before glancing back to the fan, eyes shining at the fruit of his labors. "...I'm glad you picked up the red just now, or your color scheme may have been off when you choose patterns for these things."

The angel had been, honestly, gazing at him almost spacily as he spoke. Orrin is, unfortunately, exactly the type of man she prefers, but those thoughts are banished at the sight of the new device. "Is that...?" She steps a little closer. "Orrin, you are a miracle worker! How did you do this so quickly?"

"I didn't," he laughs. "I had some of the outer pieces cut and forged from a previous project, and the inner spokes don't take long. This one's assembled including razor edge, the other one's ready to be assembled and will only take a few hours, plus a day for its fight edge, which isn't forged, but the string and bracelet mechanism won't even pretend to work on simple prototype yet." He grins,snaps the barren fan shut, and holds it out to Yue. "But, it'll get there, and it's a good start. Besides, now you know what kind of dimensions you're looking at for design purposes, so you can beat me to being ready."

The angel shies away from the fan, for reasons he cannot quite put into context, smiling an apologetic smile to Orrin. "I... I will think about it. The design." His wings spread a bit more. "I wish I knew how to thank you for this. I've done nothing to deserve it."

"Tch. You've been one of my wife's very dearest friends for almost her whole life, and one of mine for few centuries. Face it, lady...you're part of this nutty family whether you like it or not." Orrin begins meticulously re-checking the fan's connections, not seeming put aside. He smiles. "And, this is the kind of thing family does, that's all."

Family still? I'm a monster, Orrin. I'm not even divine anymore, I'm infernal! How could I be part of this family?

Of course, Yue cannot muster the courage to say that out loud. So, she just holds her tongue and tries not to stare too hard at him, all sweaty and glowing with that triumphant look on his face. She's silent for some time, long enough that it starts to feel awkward.

"Soo...how does the world tree look?" Orrin offers eventually, smiling and taking up his tools again.

Yue considers his answer carefully. "It is hard to think about it," he answers with more truth than he'd intended. "It... is beautiful. Immense, and so green. I..." blinks. "Orrin, I have to talk to you about something important. Could we go somewhere... and, get you a shirt? You... I can't help but look and it is ruining my concentration. You understand, right?" All of it tumbles out in a rush that she cannot cull no matter how hard she tries. She kicks herself mentally for her candor, and in the same instant her wings suddenly seem worlds heavier.

Orrin has to laugh, and just barely thinks the better of flexing just as a joke. He grins at Yue. "Sure, no problem. Sorry. Here, let me get the forge closed up." Even his head is a little downturned against the heat when he gets near the furnce, but a minute or two later, the sound of flowing air is fairly prominent. "There we go. I...ah..." he looks at himself. "Are we going somewhere public? Because a quick shower may be in order if that's the case." He smiles sheepishly. Damned dirty blacksmiths.

Yue, of course, has no issue with how Orrin looks right now except that he's the husband of someone she dearly cares for with his shirt off and looking far too good. "We don't have to go anywhere public. If you want, though. I can wait a while." 

"Mm...I'll just grab a shirt. Meet you out front, Yue?" the dumen inquires as he heads for the door. Instinct says "no, Yue doesn't need to be made to wait."

Before Yue can stop himself, his hand snaps out and clamps around Orrin's forearm as the Dumen walks past. He looks down to Orrin's eyes, his own sparkling, as though he really, really needs to say something. Though his lips move, whatever it is freezes before reaching his lips, and he releases his not-too-hard grip. "S-sure... out front."

Orrin's brow creases a bit...from pure, unadulterated concern. "Yue...are you sure? We can't just talk here?"

"We... I need some air. Please, let's talk outside at least." He's lying, of course... the warmth of the forge hasn't bothered him at all. He just wants to get out of such close proximity, and get Orrin clothed before he has a nervous breakdown from trying not to look.

"Okay..." Orrin nods. "If you're sure, I'll see you in a couple of minutes, Yue." His gze remains worried, but he manages a smile, nods, and heads off towards his and Felina's bedroom.

The angel lets him go, waiting long enough to see that Orrin isn't going to come right back for a trinket he'd forgotten or something else. He walks to the fan, gazing at its edge. Razor sharp, he'd said.

Before he even realizes what he's doing, Yue runs the tip of his finger across the blade. He yelps sharply in pain, but resists the impulse to stop the bleeding-- just watches the inkly fluid flow down his wrist and arm.

"He should know," she says to herself, "they all need to know. You can tell him, Yue. You can do it." And he heads that way, so focused on what he has to say that he doesn't bother wiping away the trickle on his skin.

It's just a couple of minutes later that Orrin's donning a simple shirt, face wiped on a towel or somesuch. Not clean, but clearer despite smudges. He's really pretty worried about Yue. "Hi again," he notes as he fastens up his jacket, approaching the angel.

Thank heaven, Yue says to himself, his chest is so magnificent. I... should think of the matter at hand instead.

"Hi," he calls back, the word sounding so unusual coming from his own lips. "I am sorry for how I acted down there," he says, holding out his hand for Orrin to take. It doesn't occur to him that he'd just sliced the damn thing, scatterbrained as he is right now.

Orrin smiles, and reaches out to take Yue's hand. Grimaces suddenly, and jerks his hand back. "Ah! Damn, is that..." he blinks at the black substance burning his skin a moment before thinking the better of it and wiping it on his jacket. "Is that blood?"

Yue had only just suppressed a shriek when Orrin had cried out. He's at a complete loss for a moment, at least until he looks down at his arm. "Orrin, I'm so sorry...! I forgot, I was distracted... I'm sorry, so sorry, I..." he closes his eyes, stepping back from him. "I didn't, I mean-- forgive me, I..." he babbles similar things on and on, without showing any sign of stopping. Well. So much for telling him.

"No...Yue, it's okay, it's no big deal. I burn myself regularly in the forge, worse than that little thing every time, just...what's going on? This is what you wanted to talk about, right?" Now he's really concerned.

The angel nods, eyes downcast. "I wanted to tell you. I don't know why just you, I don't. I've always been so comfortable around you, until just recently, I guess..." he shakes his head. He's babbling, and knows it. "Orrin, I'm infernal. I came back to that godless world tree with demon blood and dragon wings." He unfurls them to their grandest spread, looking for all the world like doing so makes him want to crawl under a rock. "I am a monster, now, and I... I don't know what to do!"

"Yue..." Orrin's voice trails off for moment, and he steps forward again to cover the extra distance that Yue had put between them. "Hey. Listen to me. Paying attention?"

The angel is tempted to step back. Has to fight hard not to. "Orrin... y-yes."

The dumen folds his arms. "I never really gave a shit that you were an angel to any real degree. It was part of you, and we embraced it as such, but only because it was part of you. If you're infernal instead of divine now...fine. As far as I can tell, except being badly shaken, you're still you. What you are doesn't matter around here. Look at Makyon, for gods' sakes, he's zombie. Who you are matters. And we love Yue for who she is, not what she is. What she is just comes along with the package." Orrin's eyes soften a bit again. "Okay? Your physiology changed a little. Nothing that's actually important did."

For a brief moment, what Orrin is saying hurts Yue worse than any beating he's ever taken, save for an encounter with a certain sorcerer. "No, Orrin, you don't... you don't understand..." there are tears rolling down his cheeks already. "Demon's blood attracts demons, Orrin. I c-can't... be here, anymore."

The dumen's eyes widen a little. He unfolds his arms. Talk about blowing it...his expression is nothing if not contrite...and concerned. "Yue...there must be something my wife can do. Retard that effect."

"She can do so much, Orrin, but this... it's just too dangerous for her children, your children. Your new child... oh god...!" The angel steps back from him, shaking his head back and forth. "I can't. I won't! Forgive me, Orrin. Please tell your family I love them... you'll do that for me?"

The dumen's face is almost desperate. He steps forward, trying to hold of Yue's arm. "Yue...come on, there will be a way...we ll love you, you know that...hell, you've known Ting all of two days and she loves you...."

Any other time, Yue would listen, and hug him, apologizing for being so thoughtless. Now, though, his mind is so numb with fear and disappointment, worry and heartbreak, that his rational sense is still lying dead between the here and now. His wings flap a powerful beat, almost like a warning to Orrin, but he doesn't resist the hold on his arm.

The assassin does have enough self-preservation nd perceptive instincts left over to take it as such, and recoils the littlest bit...but doesn't release Yue's arm. "Come on Yue...please...at least talk to Fel about this...she'd be crushed if you just left, you know that..." he's truly pleading with the ex-angel now.

"... what if something comes before I leave...?" Yue can't even bear to look at him right now. "I should have never come back. I should have stayed dead!"

"Yue, no. I know you don't mean that..."

It's about now that Felina, finally unable to just let the men talk, steps outside. "Orrin? Yue? What's going on?"

Yue looks at her, sharply, so much so that he does it before he thinks to flee. Turns his head just as quickly, though.

Orrin's silent for several moments, just trying to process how to explain. "Yue has demonic blood, in this physiology change," he finally says, "but she's afraid to put us in danger of attracting other demons and wants to leave."

Yue just wants to apologize again. But... coming out of Orrin's mouth, his fears just seem so trivial. He tugs away from Orrin's grip at last, wings pushing him back with a determined flap, but not very far. It is as if his wings are as dispirited as he is. "I can't have you hurt," is all he manages to say, to no one in particular.

Felina's face is hidden under a forced calmness. "Yue...demons attract demons. But angels do, too, and we haven't had a real problem with that in centuries...if it worries you, we can set you up with something to hide your energy? Similar to my cloak?" Still, her eyes and voice let it slip just how stricken and conflicted she is over this.

"I can't risk your children that way," the angel's whispering voice is broken, almost cracking under the pressure of a sob-tightened throat. "I see it, in your eyes... such pretty eyes, Felina, so pretty."

A tight smile finds her lips...but a sad, almost pleading one. "Yue...I'm worried about you." She steps carefully towards the angel.

Yue wants to step back, to turn, to run, but again he can't bring himself to do it. He can hardly bring himself to stay, either, and ends up just shaking, mouth working as if he wants to say something but cannot find the breath to do so.

And then, in half a blink, the angel's eyes go dead, glazed over like stained glass. His head drops, wings folding lightly to his back. "Felina...?"

As if things could not get any worse, Makyon comes barreling around the corner of the house about then, shouting for whoever's listening.



"Yoru's loose," he informs them, out of breath by the time he gets there. "She was babbling about 'someone suffering really loud' and left the house. She..."

Is right behind Yue.




She's so glad he hadn't retreated. Felina reaches up, way up, to just wrap her arms around Yue, and hold him, her dear friend. Closes her eyes a moment. "It will be okay," she murmurs... "whatever happens, I promise you, it will be okay...."

She does pick up off the ground a little to look back at Mara's other self after a few long seconds, though. "Hi, Yoru."

Yoru sniffles, gazing at Yue. "She hurts so much," the former Mara whimpers. "I couldn't stand it anymore."

Felina nods a little. "Yue's had...an amazingly tough couple of weeks, capped by a day that's infinitely worse." She looks over to Yue. "but...that's okay. Friends and family are all about sticking to you no matter what." She nods once.

Yue is still whimpering quietly, just under his breath. If he's hearing her it isn't obvious. His muscles are so relaxed that it's all he can do to stand.

"Poor, poor Yue," Yoru nods. Her interest in the situation has vanished now that Yue is calm, and she wears a simple, pleasant smile that says 'that was nice, now I have to go dust something'.

Felina sets her hand on the back of his hair. She also takes this new relaxation and builds on it into a sleep spell. It's time to rest, she thinks.

Yue's neck slowly, slowly bends, shoulders gradually slumping as the spell takes hold. He might have resisted it, had he the will, but Yoru's spell has sapped that from him completely.

"Ish she going to be alright?" Makyon inquires, stepping close in case Felina needs someone to carry the awkwardly tall angel. Not that she would, of course.

"Yeah...she desperately needs rest, though. Not physically, mentally. Time for her mind to start to process all this on the unconscious level." Actually, Felina does gather Yue up gently, and then holds her out to Makyon. Less chance of straining the fallen angel's neck that way. She looks over to Yoru. "What spells were you using, Yoru?"

Yoru brightens a bit, as if spell-talk is just terribly interesting to her. "Spiritual deterioration of the fourty-ninth degree. Also called a 'will thorn' by rubes." She beams.

The revenant takes her most gently, and looks to Orrin. "You going to be okay old man?" he asks, playfully, but seriously at the same time.

Felina frowns a little. "You know, Yoru...the thing about friends is, sometimes you have to be patient with them and work through things the long way, even though it's not pleasant. It's ultimately better for them."

Meanwhile, Orrin nods slowly. Manages a little smirk to Makyon. "Sure, geriatric whippersnapper. I'm just worried about Yue."

Yoru strokes her chin thoughtfully, gazing down a moment. "I did wrong?" She asks this more like an electrician would ask about installing the wrong faceplate on a light switch than anything else. Looks at Yue. "But she's not crying anymore."

"No. But even if I'd left her awake, the problem wouldn't be fixed. Yue feels what she feels for a reason, and those feelings are part of her. We need to help Yue herself deal with them, not shoo them away with a spell. Numbing her into apathy is only a temporary, artificial fix that doesn't allow her any real resolution to them, and only delays the inevitable confrontation. If someone is hysterical and you can't calm them down naturally, especially if you're worried about them harming themselves or someone else in some way, then you can employ some calming magics...but things like will thorns should really only be used against foes. Which they're very useful for, by the way, to get out of something without seriously harming anyone."

"Ohh... I am sorry, I am! I will fix this." She mutters something unintelligible, and almost instantly Yue's eyes snap to focus. Yoru beams, proud of herself, as the angel's leathern wings crack open, shoving Makyon so hard that he drops her and stumbles over backwards. 

The angel looks around, almost frantically. "Wh-wh-wh," is about all he gets out before the sleep spell reclaims him, sending him toppling over like a bag of bricks.

Felina snickers, catching Yue telekinetically before he hits the ground, and smiles at Yoru. "Thanks, Yoru."

"Hee!" Yoru covers her mouth with both hands. "Pardon."

Makyon sits up, rubbing his head. "Nice. Those things hurt," he observes. "She's stronger than she looks."

Felina smirks at Yoru, and then looks to Makyon, and nods. "The wings especially. Dragon wings have one of the strongest and most advanced musclatures in...well, anywhere." She picks up the angel gently and moves her up against a tree. "We'll give her just a couple minutes to recover from the last sudden awakening, and then let her wake up."

"Good plan." Yoru looks around, gauging all of them. She feels like she's been out of the loop for weeks, for some reason. "Pretty wings, though. Everyone can breathe out now."

"Very pretty," Felina agrees. Sighs quietly, and leans against the wall. Orrin heads over to her, and puts a hand gently on her shoulder.

"Need a hug?" the dumen inquires.

"...yeah." Felina smiles faintly when she gets one, closing her eyes a moment, and hugs Orrin back tightly. Gods, she loves him.

Yoru beams in her unusual little way. "Everyone seems very fond of this woman. And tired, too. Bad things have happened, right? Then it is time to relax."

"Yes...on all counts. You raise a good point, Yoru. What have you been up to these last few days? I haven't seen you around much."

"Oh. I've been in my room. Well. His room." She points at Makyon. "He let me have it while he sleeps outside. He talks to me about a lot of things." She nods. "I understand better about... this and that."

"Well, Makyon's a smart fellow when it comes to this and that," Felina nods. Smiles a bit at her apprentice for taking Yoru under his wing. She hadn't told him to, but it's helpful. "I don't suppose you've run into Mara yet, Yoru? She hasn't mentioned it to me, if so."

"No... I think I saw her once, but she was in a hurry and I was reading anyway. I finished your library, by the way." Yoru's ears perk up. "Those love letters between you two were so cute! But I didn't know if I was supposed to read them when I found them, so I only read half of them."

A bit of redness touches Felina's cheeks at this. "Ahh...I'm glad you liked them, Yoru." She laughs quietly. Orrin grins at her discomfiture, although he's got the slightest hint of a blush on his cheeks, too.

"So, are you still interested in water elemental magic?" Feling inquires, changing the subject.

"Oh yes, very much so." She smiles. "I sort of snuck into the scary white-hair man's library, too, and he had all sorts of books about it. That's where I learned the will thorn spell. It can make people wet themselves, you know."

"It's useful to be able to do." Felina nods. "People can be more completely disarmed psychologically than physically, and there's less reason to permanently injure or kill them. Risky, though, because some people can turn around and have the will--or an inborn resistance to the spell--and then regain their senses at an inopportune moment."

"Oh, yes. That's why I learned as much as I could from his place. Thanks to that, I also know How to Raise a Daughter: A Lesson for Dad volumes one through ninety-five."

Yue's wings twitch just a little bit as he begins to regain his senses.

"Moorn really has parental self-help books?" Felina can't decide if she's amused at this, or what. Part amusement, for sure. She sits on her feet beside Yue, recalling what's left of her self-deteriorating spell.

Yoru grins, nodding, and sits a little ways away from Yue and Felina.

The fallen angel's eyes open a bit at a time, as though he's been sleeping for ages.  "Mm... nyum. Oh, hello, Felina." He looks around groggily. "It was not a dream, then," he sadly observes.

"No." Felina shakes her head. "But that's okay. How do you feel?"

Yue avoids her eyes. "Numb," is all he feels can sum it up.

Felina nods slowly. Smiles wryly, after what seems a long time. "Well, I will tell you this: you've managed to have me completley at a loss for what to do. You could have just had some lunatic wanting you dead or somesuch...it would have been simpler, and a nice ass-kicking outing to boot."

His eyes close, tight. Still, his long lashes cannot keep the tears at bay. "I'm sorry, I... Orrin." He looks up, almost in desperation. "Orrin, is he still here? Orrin...?"

"Hey, you can't get rid of me that easily," the dumen is quick to put in. He smiles, and heads move into Yue's line of sight, pseudo-sitting on his feet beside him. He smiles a bit at Yue.

"Orrin..." Yue's affection for him is written plainly on his face. It's actually quite similar, though to a lesser degree, than what he still feels for Felina even though, for Orrin, there is less depth to it. "I'm so sorry I acted that way to you. And I'm sorry I burned you." He looks down at his arm, the dried blood that still clings there.

"Hey, like I said...don't worry about it. I'm a blacksmith. Burns are about as easily forgotten as oo shiny!" He grins a little. He does love Yue dearly, as part of the family that he married into...which was much bigger than the "no living family" it looked like, by the by. "You've been under a whole hell of a lot of stress. The only thing that bugs me about it is the possibility of not having you around anymore. Don't make me pull out the kitty eyes. Mara and Ting taught me well. Which is pretty impressive for a creepy, beady-eyed dude."

"But what if the demons come...?" He asks this knowing that they will brush it aside. "And I... I am a demon now. A fallen angel. What if I discover that I have become some tormentor?  What if something changes in my mind, my heart? What if..."

Yue stops talking when Yoru's hand presses against his forehead, as if taking his temperature. She sticks out her tongue, bites it gently. "Tormentor? Nope. You, miss, are definitely..." she closes her eyes, pondering. "I know what you are."

Felina looks over to Yoru curiously. "And what would that be, Yoru?"

"Well, obviously," the former Mara beams. "She is a succu..." She stops, frowning, and quite suddenly sets her hand between Yue's legs. The angel squeaks in protest, but Yoru moves it just as quickly. She looks so proud of herself.

"Incubus."

Full fledged demon, then. Felina has to smirk a little, though in a reassuring kind of way. "Well...you have a nice job description, anyway, Yue."

The angel... demon... hides his face behind his hands. "Taking people's souls...?"

"Not if you don't want to." Yoru shakes her head. "I read mister Gabriel's manifesto on demons, Yue. Ten thousand pages, I swear, he must have hired a whole legion to help him write it. It was obviously compiled over a long time, though, so hey... stop crying, Yue." Her expression softens. "Trust me, you don't have to hurt anyone."

Felina smiles briefly, almost warmly, at Yoru, before looking back to Yue, and nodding. "She's right. I've known at least one incubus who didn't hurt people at all. He was a really nice guy, actually."

Yue lets his head fall back, leaning it against the tree. He feels horribly guilty about it, but his first thought on the matter is about visiting Orrin and Felina some near night. The very notion breaks his heart, but he manages to hide the train of thought itself.

"I..." Humor had worked before. It has to work again. "I suppose this means I can visit Radivishe Moorn and make him my bitch, at least." Please, laugh, oh please...

Orrin snickers...Felina actually cracks up a bit. "Oh, please do." She snickers again, really extremely amused.

Yoru scritches her hair. "What does that mean?"

Makyon gets up, whispers softly in her ear.

Yoru's eyes pop wide, cheeks going red as beets. "Ooooh! Mara stuff, I see."

Yue grins a little, despite himself, at that. "Orrin. Woiuld you help me up? My legs feel as though they are made of springs."

The dumen smiles, rising to his feet and holding his hands out to Yue. "Sure thing. Anything for a pretty face, you know."

The angel takes them, letting Orrin hold his weight as he stands up. The blood on his arm has dried, and as such has lost its acidic qualities. She smiles at him, and at Felina. "I will be alright, I promise. Felina... let's you and Ting and I talk about hiding this signature with something pretty...?"

"Sounds like a plan, Yue. I can weave the spells into pretty much anything solid, so..." she smiles. "I'll leave that part to you two."

Yoru watches patiently, letting the others take Yue back to the house with a little smile on her face.

"Makyon, you should have told me that helping was so much fun," she scolds the revenant with a playful bounce in her voice.

"It isn't something that can be told, really." He shrugs his broad shoulders. "You have to feel it. Felina's children taught me that, without ever saying a word about it. C'mon. Let's go get something to eat."

---

Yue sits calmly at the new table, Mara-made after the wicker man incident. He's figured out how to fold his wings so that he can sit comfortably in a normal chair, which is a huge thing. With a big glass of chamomile tea in one hand and a book of patterns in front of him, he seems almost content again.

"I don't know," he says, looking through them. "I don't really want to look like a whore, like so many incubi do. But white is obviously out for me."

"Weeeell...I was kinda fiddling earlier, and..." Ting grins sheepishly, and sets a pretty ring on the table. "I made it! I know you don't really want to use it, and it's okay if you don't--it's a pretty ring for you if you don't! The spell doesn't have to be active--but...all it does is lay a low-level illusion spell over your wings to mess with the color to whatever you want. It's not like you're hiding what they are or how they look really or anything they are, but...it's like make-up for 'em!" She wrinkles her nose. "Besides, I'm gonna steal half your wardrobe if you don't, everything that doesn't match red." She grins.

Yue grins right back, and takes the ring, smiling. "It's beautiful, Ting. Thank you." There is a certain honied politeness to his voice now, an almost saucy quality that has developed since Felina and Yoru had double spell-whumped him earlier. Far from being different, though, it has the same coy quality as he used to use, only more understated and subtle. "And you can have whatever you want of my wardrobe. Resizing it should not be hard for us. I have a divine net top that you would look scrumptious in."

Ting's ears perk. "Welcome! And...you'll have to show me. I love net stuff. In case it's not obvious." She laughs. She's happy to see Yue feeling so much better.

And he is. He still struggles to keep himself from breaking down every so often --Ting makes him want to shrivel up and weep himself to death, for some reason-- but so far, so good.

"I think black leather is out for me... it is so cliche. Do you suppose demons wear silk?" The fallen angel flips a page. "Ooh... look at that, Ting." He points to an image with two variants of an elegant, foofy-as-hell ebony ball gown, the first complete with long, swishing skirt. The second is the same as the first from hip to neck, but below... to Yue, it is like a billboard reading 'ask me to climb ladders in front of you.' 

"Oh, I love this one..." and he points to another, more form fitting dress that he would absolutely love to peel off of someone. With a sewn in bodice whose strings add to rather than detract from the design, it is exactly the sort of dress he had never wanted to wear before. "What do you think?"

"I think you should be modelling these ASAP so I can whistle," she laughs. "Pretty pretty, both. I like the ballgown with the short skirt."

"Me too. And the black body nylons? Oh, me." He loves clothes. Talking about clothes, modelling clothes, making clothes, he has always had a near obsession with it. "Let's try that one. How shall we make it, Ting?"

"Hmm...I'm not sure. To do a really quality one, I'd need some cloth samples before manifesting it."

"I have the perfect material. Give me a moment?" Yue smiles, and walks out only to return a split second later with a snow-white dress set in his hands. "Sorry for the wait," he smiles, of course having gone to his chambers in the maze, "I haven't worn this in a while." He lays it in front of Ting. It's a classy number, very stylized with complex floral embroidery that flows along in much the same manner as Ai's tattoos. "This," he triumphantly smiles, "is a cloth spun from the silk of the spider women of what a fair number of mortals would call heaven. It is durable, though not without the ability to ruin... it lost much of its toughness when the adhesive quality was removed. But sticky is only good when the dress is off. Here, feel."

Ting pets it...and her eyes pop open. "Oooo..." and the other hand joins in the petting. "This is awesome! It's so soft!" 

"Isn't it? That was given to me by Indirial Faldon Uburnia, who was my archangel, when I was exiled." Yue's eyes soften, reminiscing. "And now I'm giving it to you."

Ting's attention is jerked away from pretty-petting and up to Yue's face in a hurry, her eyes wide-ish. "No...really? But Yue, it's a special dress!"

"You are a special friend." The fallen angel shrugs a little, but his smile, though a little sad yet, is sincere. "It would never fit your mother. We can alter it to fit you well, and... besides, I cannot wear white anymore." He reaches out, lays his hand on her shoulder. "You can."

Ting blinks. Twice. Sniffles. "Yue?"

For a moment the fallen angel is terrified that he's offended her, and he has to bite his lip to keep back another outburst. "Did I say something wrong...?"

Ting examines the claws of her left hand. "I just wanted to warn you that you're going to be pounced in two seconds. Time's up, sooo..." and she pounces Yue straight out of his chair, mindful of how his wings are going to land, and squish hugs him on the ground. "Thank you thank you Yue it's beautiful and so sweet and I promise if I ever get married I'll wear that and yay you!" She grins a beaming grin, and kisses his forehead.

Yue looks like someone whose just witnessed some criminal act up close, at the moment. His lips are moving again, with no words, but in a half-instant he begins to smile again. 

"Yay me," he repeats. Sniffles, but still smiles. "You're very, so very welcome, Ting."

"Hee..." She hugs him again. "I guess I should let you up, huh?" She titters, and just raises her hands to do a smooth little somersault thing over his head and putting her straight back on her feet.

Yue, not quite so flashy, just pushes off with his wings. It's partly experimental, to see if he can do it. In the end he does get to his feet, but the experience was more painful than he would have liked. 

"There was no hurry," the new incubus points out. "You know," he says, glancing at the dress he'd brought her, "I've heard this material makes a fantastic undergarment. Something about it feeling 'like being kissed by feathers all day'." He puts his fingertips to his chin. "Hm."

"Well, if it can be manifested, I think we both need to give it a try." Ting grins, and pets it again. Preeetty!

"I think we do," he nods. "Can you do it? I would love to strut that dress in front of people." There's a sparkle in his eye, not his normal bright-eyed gaze but as close as he has come all day long.

"Hee...I think so. Can I do it right on you?" Easier to size right.

Yue tilts his head, thoughtful for a moment. "I can see no good reason as to why not. By all means."

"Okay! Stand still or I'll tell aunt to bite you. Mmm..." Ting sways a little, just trying to gather herself. Unlike her brother, who can cast pretty much on the spur of the moment, she's often too wound up and has to calm herself down first. "Okay!" she repeats, and sets both her hands on either side of Yue's right shoulder, humming prettily to herself as she works. She's also learned over the years, although she couldn't tell you why or even that she consciously does it, that the same dumen-Ting state that she enters when she really sings can calm and focus her mind to cast in varying degrees.

Little by little, and with surprising patience and meticulousness for Ting, Yue's clothes are shaped into a very sound duplicate of the pictured dress, but made of the spider ladies' material. Including his undergarments, which had to be tweaked anyway for the sake of an underskirt. After a couple of minutes, she steps back, admiring her work, and purrs. "Yay!" Fixes his bow. "That looks hot." She grins brightly, patting his poofy sleeve.

Yue turns at the waist, lifts his arms, all the various motions that one trying on a new outfit needs to perform to ensure optimum mobility and feather-kisses. "It feels lovely," he notes, and strikes a supercute-style clasped hands pose for Ting. His wings unfurl, slowly though so as to not knock over anything, and not all the way either. "This is perfect, Ting." He looks down, at the black material stretched over his long legs. "Ooh... glamorous. Thank you, Ting!"

"Heehee." He is cute. Ting beams. "Welcome!"

"So, shall we go and see if we can people to stare?" Yue smiles a mischievous smile at Ting.

Ting's ears perk. "Man accident causing?"

"Maybe a little." He feels so much better. "But first let's see what your family thinks. Shall we?" He offers her his hand, eyes aglow.

Ting smiles, and takes it. Then blinks. "Oh! Wait, I have to put your pretty dress away so that it doesn't get hurt. Weird stuff happens around this house every once in awhile, you know." She grins. "You get another hug for it, too!" And this she does, gathers the dress up gently from the table, and then skitters off to her room.

"Oh, right," he laughs, "it would be safe anywhere but that table, right?" And so he sits, just smiling to himself. It feels so strange, to be so happy and still so mind-numbingly dispirited at the same time. Thankfully, for now, happy is winning. To busy himself he glances through the clothing book some more, skipping back to the swimwear section.

Okay. Maybe he could look a little slutty.


And Ting's back in a flash, in quite a good mood. "Hi! Showing off, then?" She grins.

"Oh, yes." The fallen angel offers his arm to her again. "Who shall we bother first, my dear?"

Ting smiles, and takes his arm. "Hee...hm...well, I think Ding is still...otherwise occupied, let's try Mom!"

A sudden, irrational flush comes to Yue's cheeks. He starts to protest, but stammers until he closes his mouth.

She's someone else's now. We were never really more than friends anyway. Quit acting like such a drama queen, Yue.

"Alright," he smiles, still blushing. "Let's go see Felina."

Ting smiles, and trots off in that direction, Yue on her arm. Still... "you're awfully red all of a sudden," she notes, grinning.

"Well. I still..." he turns just a little more red. "I have a pretty girl on my arm, Ting." I wonder if I could... oh god I could..." "I was just remembering the last time I dressed up pretty for your mother. Is all."

"Oh? When was that?" Spot tilts her head amiably.

"Her wedding." It's true, but it wasn't the time he was thinking of. "The ceremony was unusual for me, but still... I wore that dress of yours, actually. It was... well. A very attractive event."

Ting grins. "Hee...I've seen pictures! I didn't know who you were in them, though."

"Most of the gathered didn't know me. Felina had so many acquaintances, still does, really. And then I missed your whole life, so it's no surprise." The two them reach the front room of the house in short time. "Now where do you suppose she is?"

"Oh, yeah. She's going for a run." Ting laughs. "We can poof over there and intercept her, though!

"Poof me, sweetheart." Yue casts a raised-eyebrow glance at her.

Ting blinks, then laughs at him. "You are so perfect for your job!" And they poof to outside Deru.

---

Felina intercepts her daughter's despondent teleportation into one of the house's many casting rooms. This one isn't as stark as some--it feels warm at least--but mostly bare. "Tough night? Here...if you'll lie down on this bed here, Yue, I'll see about finishing dispelling these...." she takes the angel's hand gently.

Yue goes as directed, more or less unable to resist anyway. The wounds he's sustained keep tearing open, bristling with white-hot streaks of pain. Again his eyes are filled with tears, though now they come more from the loss of a friend than the damage he's received. Faldon, his superior, his friend. Faldon who'd given him the dress. Who'd sworn to help him get his wings back.

Yeah. Tough night.

Ting sits quietly in a corner next to a window. Felina, for her part, offers no empty words of consolation, when she's not sure they could do more than hurt. She just quietly, slowly, carefully works on the blessing marks. So much tougher than curse marks, really...still, these she knows. Orrin is semi-vulnerable to them, and she's had any number of demonic, undead, and otherwise light-adversed friends and allies over the years.

This was a reasonably high-ranking angel, though.

Still, she thinks she has it, and, some fifteen minutes later..."bite the sheet, Yue," she instructs gently. "This will hurt a moment, but then it should dispell entirely."

The incubus does as he's told, nodding to Felina that he is ready. Whatever it is, this pain will never eclipse the feeling of betrayal when Faldon shot him not once, but twice, without a hint of remorse about it. This, Yue can handle.

Felina nods in return...pulls the central energy base out of the blessings, which should cause them to consume themselves with no particular damage to Yue, and the bullets along with them.

It's only a moment. Yue cannot hear himself screaming, but he can smell his flesh sizzling and burning as the blessings consume theirselves. It's enough to turn his stomach, but he holds himself together well enough to get through it. It had been worse than he'd expected, but now it is gone.

"... sorry, Ting... I'm sorry..." He cannot hear himself speaking, either.

Felina's quick to press both hands to his bare back, a soothing cooling spell that cannot chill permeating from them.

"Aww...that's silly, Yue...sorry for what? I'm just so sorry this happened..." Ting wanders over to them, sits back on her heels beside the head of the mattress-topped platform. Her eyes travel down, then back up to the new demon. She's not sure what to say, really, or think. She thinks she knows why this is such a big deal, and what happened tonight.

Yue reaches out for a hand, mother or daughter either one, he just needs to feel a touch. "I knew who Ale was," he slowly explains, "I knew he was going to be a sweet man, and I pointed you at him. I didn't know Faldon would turn on me for these wings." He knows he's not making any sense. "I ruined a good mood between you two."

Yue gets two. Ting takes the reaching one, Felina sets a gentle hand over the one still on the sheets.

"Hey...I had a nice night. And..." She looks aside. "You didn't know. I think Faldon was hurting too, when he saw your wings. That's why he snapped, I think, because he cares about you a lot and it broke some little barrier in him and he went after Yue because he loves angel-Yue." Her eyes sparkle, before she looks back up. "I'm not trying to defend him. He's an ass. But..." she looks down again. Doesn't know where she was going with the "but."

Ting probably has no idea how right she is. Likes, and even though Yue doesn't know it, Faldon had fallen for Yue some time before his exile. Hence the giving of the dress.

"From now on," he sighs, "you choose the place. Felina, I am sorry to do this to you again. I seem..." Yue bites his lip, hard. "... nothing but trouble lately."

"This is a really tough point in your life. I'll be here as long as it takes. I can think of at least a half dozen times you've done the same for me." Felina's face remains sadly, contemplatively serious, but her eyes are soft as she combs Yue's hair away from his face with her claws.

Yue shakes his head, but smiles at her attentions. "I'm so tired... right now, I think I just want to sleep. Sleep forever, and never hurt anyone again, or trouble anyone anymore." His eyes are half-closed, drifting, drifting away. "I miss being pampered by you, Felina. Just like this..."

Felina smiles softly."You deserves every moment of it, you know. I do love you, Yue...you're dearer to me than almost anyone in this universe."

The incubus's eyes are closed, now, his breathing light and rhythmic. The blessings had taken quite a bit out of him, and its just as well that he's fallen asleep. How he would react to Felina saying that, in the mood he's in, is anyone's guess.


"Ting," Felina requests quietly, "would you take Yue to his room, please?"

Spot nods, finally removing her hand from Yue's and, as sleep-strengthening spells float over him, gathers him up gently in her arms and bundles him off to bed, tucking him in gently...her ears are back all the time. Just...not a good night.

And then skitters off to the training field to beat the living hell out of something. Anything.

Makyon is already there. He's not training, or even attempting to, just lying on the ground and staring up. Waiting, wondering what catastrophe is going to befall this place next.

Off to one side, Yoru sits on a tree branch with what looks to be a stack of comic books sitting next to her.

Ting blinks. "Hi there. Whatcha thinkin' about?"

The revenant breaks out of his stupor not quite as quickly as he would have liked. "Nothing. Just cloud watching, really." 

There's not a cloud in the sky.

"It's a slow day for it. Do you need me to get out of your way, Ting?"

Ting grins sheepishly. "That or you might accidentally get monkeystomped."

"Can't have that." The revenant gets to his feet, stretching and yawning overdramatically enough to get Yoru to chuckle. "If ever I'm getting monkeystomped, it shouldn't be an accident." He steps aside, leans against Yoru's tree. "You're dressed up all pretty. What's the occasion?"

She looks down at her clothes. "Oh, yeah. I forgot. Yue and I went to a club. It was fun." For awhile.

"You look great," Makyon says with the ring of a little too much honesty in his voice. Yoru bops him softly on the head with her comic book, just enough to make him grin. "But there's something on your mind, isn't there?" Ting's not quite as bouncy as usual.

Ting smiles at Makyon for the compliment...although now of course part of her feels terrible for enjoying Ale's company so much. "Eh...we left after an angel friend of Yue's shot him twice." She wrinkles her nose. "He had Yue on her back with a dagger to her heart. If I hadn't gotten there with a pointy thing..." she shakes her head. "It was just a fun evening gone wrong, is all."

"... say what...?" Makyon's smile vanishes just like that. "Stars...! Is she alright? Are you?"

"I'm fine. Yue's fine, mom removed the blessing things. Yue's really messed up about it, though. I think they were really good friends. He gave me a pretty dress earlier...he was really nostalgic about the guy who gave it to him." She tilts her head a bit. "That was the same guy who shot him tonight."

"As long as no one's hurt, I guess..." he says, though he doesn't really believe it. "It sounds like this guy needs his perspective realigned. Yoru, do you... oh." He looks to the tree, where Yoru is nose-deep in another comic book. "I'm sorry, Ting. You've had a hard enough night without me being flabbergasted or acting vengeful."

She smiles a bit. "Nah...it's okay. It's...hm. Flabbergasting. Is that a word?" Her clothes, removed from the colors she usually chooses--she's been known to don a purple polka-dotted gi--shift to a simple grey gi.

"It could be," the revenant nods. "Do you need anything from me, Ting? A punching bag? A hug?"

"A bonehead?" Yoru offers, flipping a page.

Ting blinks at Yoru. "A what now?"

"You know, a dimwit." Flips another page, giggles at something there. "Makyon's not too smart."

"Hey. I make up for it in sheer personality and good hygiene." He shakes his head. "She's having a silly day, for some reason."

"Maybe the comic books can do it." Ting's really, really not in the mood for meaness, though. "I think I'll go hit things in the sim chambers. I was just going to do that here, anyway, and those spells are already laid." And she turns to head off that way.

Yoru bops Makyon's head again as soon as Ting turns around, with a dirty look that says 'what the hell, man?'

Makyon jogs to keep up with Ting, understanding perfectly well. Yoru's only been lecturing him about this for a couple of days. "Hey, Ting, wait up. I was hoping I could con you into going for a walk around the forest, when you're finished beating things up...?" It's not really a question, but it's posed like on.

Ting blinks, actually more or less astounded. Now he asks. Just...damnit, damnit. It's not like she's ever going to see Ale again anyway...and some guy she met in a bar last night as opposed to Makyon, who's been so sweet to her for so long, now? She's deeply torn, almost stricken. Finally....

"Now you ask," she finally notes, a sad little smirk on her lips. She looks down, still torn. Finally... "Some other time...I'm just...really, not in the mood, with everything that's happened."

He nods, not seeming put off at all. "I understand, Ting. For what's it's worth, I am sorry I waited so long to stop being afraid you would say 'no'." He looks back to Yoru. "Whenever you feel like it, then, come find me. I'll wait as long as you need."

Ting smiles weakly at him, and touches his arm briefly. "Thanks, Creepy." And she heads back off towards the training rooms, picking up to a jog, pressure building behind her eyes. Why now? Why not before? Why not a few hours before? Why are things so hard for Yue, why one thing after another...and why is life so damned confusing?

Makyon thinks he did the right thing, but damn, his timing sucks and he knows it. Yoru apparently knows it too.

"See, that is why you cannot mix emotions with a woman. You should have asked her a long time ago, but you are afraid of her mom and you are... well. Short of listing your fears, we'll just stick with bonehead." And she goes back to her comic. "Still. Right thing."