Dinner goes well, given that Walter Thorndike handles all the cooking. Envoy still hasn't quite got the concepts of cooking done right, namely in spice portion control. More does not necessarily mean better and she has yet to quite grasp that nuance. In any event, dinner went quite well around a small bonfire out in the old hangar.

After a good meal, Envoy decided to contact Morpheus and the other two decided to resume work on the gravity sled. The last thing she remembers seeing before she drifts off into limbo is Icarus and Thorndike arguing over the best way to attach the next part

Once again Envoy finds herself standing amongst the ruins of the old city of dreams. Her friend Morhpeus is perched on a small ledge as he peers out into the expanse. This time he's dressed in a tuxedo? Yes, it is definitely a tuxedo, complete with top hat. His head turns lazily and he looks at the Aeolun sidelong through his left eye. "You rang?" he intones in an all too deep and somewhat ridiculous voice. The seriousness of his expression is soon broken by a brief, but genuine, smile.

"Yes! Well, I slept… but… anyway, I have some new information about the Tribunal," Envoy says, staring at the tall hat most of the time. "And my own fugitive status."

Morpheus hops down from his perch. He tugs at his sleeve as if to show nothing is up it … and then a walking cane appears in his hand out of thin air. Its tip clicks upon the ground and the dapper Khatta-Eeee saunters over to Envoy. He sweeps into a formal bow and removes the top-hat in a flourish. "Do tell? As some Eeee say, I am all ears," he says as he rises up and drops his hat onto the end of his cane.

Envoy giggles at the display. "Well, as for me, I'm not on a wanted list anymore, so long as I report to Caroban and have my case reviewed by the High Council within half a year," she reports. "Also, I talked to a Sifran spaceship that belongs to the Tribunal, and found out their goal is one of Sifran domination of… everything, I suppose. With other sapient races that don't meet with their criteria for usefulness being exterminated."

Morpheus' right brow arches up a bit too high at the news and information. "Are you sure it is safe for you to go address the High Council?" the Khatta asks as he lifts his hat from the cane and turns it brim side up and balances it right on the top of the cane. He waggles the fingers of his right hand, then plunges his whole arm into the hat. As he draws it out, there's a little Envoy doll hanging from a noose. "They may intend to kill you on sight," he notes and makes the doll sway back and forth.

"I… doubt that," Envoy notes, blinking at the little hanged effigy. "They want to know what's happened here on Abaddon, and I don't think they have much of a case against me at the moment. They've called off the Watch for now too, unless I don't show up. They play politics, and that means I'm valuable towards getting the Guild accepted here on Abaddon."

Morpheus hmms and then nods. He bounces the little effigy on the string and in a dramatic poof it turns into a bouquet of flowers. He offers thos to Envoy as he says, "Well, that is good news. I do not relish the idea of having to torment them with terrible dreams for harming you."

Smelling the dream-flowers first, Envoy grins and says, "Well, I guess I can count on the Sphere of Dreams to be lenient on me then! Oh, I also have a big chunk of memory from the spaceship's dead Svartifin drone. It's too much for me to sort through, but I thought maybe you or Cypher could find something useful in it all?"

The flowers somehow manage to smell like a pie. "If they know what is good for them, yes," Morpheus notes and even winks. He taps the rim of his hat and it flattens down into a 'plate'. "Now this ship … what you say about domination concerns me. It confirms some fragments of information I have been uncovering in some of the failed systems of other worlds through the old network. Do you believe the information you received contains more details?"

"It could, if it contains the orders the Svartifin was given," Envoy notes. "The ship itself was told to wait, but had originally been used to run supplies to Behemoth. Whether that was a normal function or not, I do not know. It may have been supplying a secret installation there. I suspect that the Tribunal wants the engines to fail, at least on inhabited worlds. The drone's memories might tell us more. Along with, I hope, what these are for," she adds, holding up her forearms to show the blue scales. "I'm tempted to try and synchronize them using the same crystal that let me break the hold of the ship over the drone."

Morpheus runs his finger down the embedded crystal scales and to Envoy the touch feels as if he were touching the unscaled part. "If I had to guess their purpose, it is to make you more compatible to Svartifin interfaces," he says, "Which means they are likely … I believe the word is programmable. Latticework that can be realigned for a desired effect."

"So that may be why they don't seem to reveal any function to me, if they are blank slates still," Envoy notes. "I wonder if the drone download has programming information for them? I thought I could transfer the data to you with my ansible, if you can access it."

Morpheus reaches up and takes hold of Envoy's cheeks and then tilts her head from side to side. "Mmm, yes," he murmurs, "Yes… "

"Mmmph?" Envoy asks, her eyes blinking.

"Oh, you have pretty eyes," Morpheus notes as he lets go. "Now, as you can see, nothing up my sleeve," the Khatta-Eeee says and holds open his sleeve so that Envoy can indeed see. There really is nothing, not even his forearm. His hands are floating there.

"That is a little disturbing," Envoy admits, and reaches to see if she can feel an invisible arm.

Admittedly, yes, she can feel an invisible forearm. A crystal-clear one, you could say.

"So what do I need to do?" Envoy asks.

"Now with a wave of my magic cane," Morpheus declares. Naturally his cane floats up into the air and waves about. And before Envoy can blink, Morpheus is pressed up against her and his white eyes are peering into hers. "You relax," he says … and then the Khatta-Eeee kisses her. The phrase knee-melting could be applied to the sensation that follows. Everything feels light, floating and somehow wonderful all at once. She hears all of the worlds, perhaps, endless voices all whispering in chaotic chorus. She sees brief brief images float before her eyes, fragments of impossibility.

One moment she sees a fat Khatta merchant somehow flying in only his underwear, the next moment she sees an orgy of Eeee engaged in some unspeakable act of carnal lust, and then in the next moment she sees and feels the rush of the wind and blood through her veins as she experiences for a brief moment what it must feel like to run across the Savan on spotted legs. It's then she realizes as she is being accessed by Morpheus, she is also accessing him. All the dreams, the threads, the hopes that can never be that is his domain are suddenly opened to her. She feels the hopes and dreams of the mortals she has lived with for a decade. Some simple, some evil, some beyond description. A unique view into the tapestry of life.

Is this what I wanted in my previous life? Envoy thinks as she floats in the sea of dreams. To be a world, and everything in it? There's so much… Some part of her automatically struggles to keep her mind and sense of self from being lost in the foam, though. Still, it is a very seductive sensation to see into so many minds at once.

It's hard to retain one's self when you can feel everything, sometimes even the dreams of the trees themselves. It's all so beautiful, really. So much hope in the face of a world that is all too often cruel. Hope, even when the mortal is dying. In fragments she sees the last dreams of some as they pass from their worlds, casualties of some war or just some accident. As the sensations fade, one seems to stick in her mind. It's a child's dream, probably. An Eeee in a place she knows all too well, the pace she fell, the place she lost, the place where so many died. A child stands looking out over the Wound. Only … it is the wound no more. Flowers have grown up around the rim. So many flowers. The center has long filled with water, forming a lake. Upon that lake floats even more flowers. Fireflies dance among them, bringing their fleeting light as if the stars themselves descended upon the water. As the image fades, a thought seems to linger in her mind. Perhaps even the worst of wounds can heal in time. She blinks and she finds herself staring into Morpheus' eyes once more.

"How do you handle it all?" Envoy quietly asks once she has her voice back.

"That's like asking how the stars know to shine. Like them, I just know how to," Morpheus says. He waits until he's sure she can stand on her own and slowly releases her. "I suppose I just know how to 'tune it out', I believe. It's like focusing on a single voice in a large room of people, you could say."

"I'm still learning that," Envoy admits. "Did you get all of the information from me?" she asks next.

"Yes, I did," Morpheus says. "It will take some time to sort through it and isolate single threads of data." He steps back and takes his cane from the air. The point clicks back to the ground and he rests his hand atop the ball. He watches the Aeolun now with an odd mix of expression etched on his face.

Envoy blinks as she stands on her own. "Is it always going to feel like that when we kiss?" she asks, a bit shyly.

"I don't know," the Khatta-Eeee admits. "You care for me as more than just a friend," he finally says, sounding somehow confused and nervous at the same time.

"I… well, once I'm finally fully recovered things probably won't feel so confusing," Envoy admits. "The ship was going to suggest a treatment, but shut down before finishing. Since it was trying to add a crystal horn to Icarus, I imagine it would involve embedding crystal processors in my brain though."

"Well, I hope you won't feel any … less for me," Morpheus says in a halting voice, "But I also fear for you and the choices you may have to make Envoy. About everything. About me."

"I made my choice about you before I had my difficulties, Morpheus," Envoy says. "I don't regret what it cost me to keep you from being devoured by the High Princess. Although I still have to worry about the Sisters. I had visitors while we were all down investigating the spaceship, and they left a note that didn't make a lot of sense. I can only assume they were followers of Barada or Inala, since those two have a direct interest in my activities – that I know of. If Rephath is involved though, then I could be in trouble."

"And if you had to choose between saving the inhabited worlds, or saving me, which would you choose?" Morpheus asks and bows his head. "I am part of the Sifras system and there may come a time you will have to decide what to do with that system. I don't know what the future holds, but I cannot deny what I ultimately am, and understand that I may have to be sacrificed if the system must be stopped."

Envoy blinks three times and takes a step back at this news. "I… I won't let that happen," she claims. "It may be that I can just keep repairing damage or get the other Sifras to act. Things are just starting, and I don't even know the enemy that well yet."

"As for the Eeee … that is concerning," Morpheus agrees. "I am not sure precisely what they would desire with you any more, other than simple vengeance. Do you wish me to pay more attention to their dreams? It may draw the attention of the Sisters."

"Barada wants the source of the gravity burst for the greater glory of Babel," Envoy says. "I can't let them find Icarus. Although if I repair the spaceship, it could be used as a deadly decoy, since it kills any non-allied aliens that come across it."

Morpheus frowns. "I would prefer avoiding killing anyone else. Even the Eeee," he says.

"So best not to draw attention," Envoy concludes. "If you do, then Barada may assume from that that I do have a weapon and I'm just hiding it from her. But I also have to make sure she doesn't find out about my friends, or she could use them as leverage to get me to do what she wants."

"Which friends? I could keep watch on them to make sure they are not touched," Morpheus says.

"Icarus and Walter," Envoy says. "If you can hide them somehow, that would help."

"I will see what I can do. Is there anything else that you wish of the Magestic-Mysterious-Master-of-Mystery-Morpheus?" the Khatta-Eeee asks. He even waggles his brow. "I'm perfecting my pulling a Lapi out of my hat trick… "

Envoy tilts her head and asks, "Mysterious Master of Mystery? How are things going with Cypher? Is she adjusting well? Should I be trying to find her a body too?"

"Hard to say," Morpheus admits, "She has a hard time relating well to … anyone. Even me. I think I need to feed her more general data to expand what she is aware of."

"Is that why you were dressed like this?" Envoy asks. "Or did you just find the outfit agreeable after you rescued me from the puppet-store dream?" She grins at this latter suggestion.

"I am expanding my repertoire," Morpheus claims and even puffs out his chest. "Do you like it?"

"It makes you look very dapper," Envoy admits. "Good for dancing! Oh… that reminds me; I worry about Icarus' socialization, being isolated with just me and Walter. Have you seen any dreams from the inhabitants of New Zion that might indicated a fear or loathing of hybrids?"

Morpheus taps his chin. "No, I don't remember any obvious dislike for hybrids. Curiosity for what is different is certain, though," he says.

"I hoped to claim Icarus was an Exile, but I don't know if the locals are familiar enough with the idea to accept it," Envoy admits. "I don't think they would immediately think him to be a fusion of human and Silent-One though, since he's mostly just a fluffy human with a tail. Do you think they would accept him if I claimed he was an elf?"

"I don't think he would be in any immediate danger and his appearance is close enough to their visions of elves that they might believe it," Morpheus agrees. "They may also request a medical exam, which you will need to avoid."

"I'll ask Walter if they performed one on him," Envoy says. "I didn't have one until after I had to be hospitalized."

"He may also be considered attractive," Morpheus notes with an actual grin. "He may develop a following of human girls."

"Hmm, I cannot predict what sort of effect that may have on him," Envoy notes, rubbing her chin. "Do teenaged boys like that sort of thing, or fear it?"

"Depends on the boy, alas," Morpheus says, "And how he views himself."

"He seems insecure still to me," Envoy admits. "I do not know how to instill self-confidence."

"That may just require time," Morpheus says and shrugs. "Do you wish me to speak with him alone?"

"Well, you are his father, sort of," Envoy notes with a grin. "You can show him things from dreams and so explain things better, as well as gauge his reactions. I will ask him."

"Father? I have yet to properly join with you in such a way," Morpheus teases as he snaps out his hat, twirls it, then places it back on top of his head.

"We may not be a traditional family, but we are still a family," Envoy declares, trying to ignore the tease. "I should check on them now, to make sure they have not gotten into trouble. I still need to develop a power source of some kind for the gravity vehicle, the Leviathan, Icarus and probably myself as well."

"Yes. I suppose you must leave me," Morpheus says. There seems to be a hint of disappointment in his voice at that. "Will you at honor one request for me before you go?"

"Of course, Morpheus!" Envoy agrees readily. "What would you like me to do?"

Morpheus waves his cane at Envoy. Colorful light swirls around her from her feet all the way up to her horn. When the light fades, Envoy is left wearing an immaculate ball-gown (unfortunately complete with a tight corset). He extends his hand to her and asks, "Dance with me?"

Holding out her hand and smiling, Envoy curtsies and says, "It would be my honor, Mysterious Master of Mystery!"

And dance they do, from the fallen streets to the highest spires of the old city. Around and around to some unseen band. As the music draws to a close, Envoy finds her friend once more kissing her. This time, the world around her falls away. She blinks and finds herself sitting back in the hangar. The bonfire has faded to dull embers and there's a weight in her lap.

Envoy blinks to clear the last vestiges of the dream from her eyes, and then checks to see what rests in her lap.

Icarus has chosen her lap as a pillow, it seems. He's curled up next to her with his head resting on one of her legs. Hard to imagine someone so small could be potentially so dangerous.

The Aeolun smiles and brushes a few strands of hair from the boy's face, and then blankets him with one of her wings. She also takes the crystal rose, and slips it behind Icarus' ear so he can see Morpheus himself. Then she looks about the hangar to see what progress has been made, and try to locate Thorndike.

Quite a bit of the gravity sled has been completed. The entire outer frame and skin have been welded in place and the beginnings of a mechanically controlled frame to contain the gravity discs is in place. Thorndike has also fallen asleep, it seems, on the other side of the bonfire. He's using his long coat as a blanket and a rolled up pack as a pillow.

I can start working on the propulsion elements it looks like, Envoy thinks. But I still need a reliable source of magic to power the enchantments if they're going to operate at altitude or in Forbidden Zones or other chaotic regions. The orb that powers the robot and the spaceship must be tapping power from somewhere to transform it into electricity.

With the boy in her lap though, Envoy isn't going to get much done at that moment, so she just plans out spell and enchantment structures in her head while keeping watch over the sleepers.

Icarus shifts a bit, then seems to smile. It may be that Morpheus has made contact with him. Her thoughts and his occasional shifting almost distract her enough that she didn't notice a soft ripple in the weak magic field of the world. Someone else with magic ability is in the room and it isn't Icarus…

Envoy doesn't move, but focuses on the disturbance. This is her territory after all. Probably a Shadow user, she reasons, and tries to narrow in on the source of the disturbance.

The feeling is pretty chaotic. It doesn't feel like shadow user. The sensations come from above, somewhere up in the rafters.

This prompts the sitting mage to tilt her head back and look upwards towards the ceiling. Chaos Magic, perhaps?

There is a shadow flicking around up in the rafters. The feel is definitely something that seems like chaos magic. Or at least a chaos mage.

"If you can fly, you probably have good ears," Envoy whispers to the ceiling. "Please explain your presence."

There's a sudden clatter from above, a muffled squeak, then a soft plead of, "Don't kill me!"

"Kill you? What stories have they been saying about me, anyway?" Envoy whispers back. "And how did you even find this place?"

"Miss Latania got a letter and she was yelling and fuming about about you being on this world. Could hear her even through the tent muffling. So I, uhm, snooped a bit and learned that mail would reach you. I followed the supply truck that came out to here. I just … had to see if you were the horrible monster some claimed or the nice person Meadow claimed," the voice whispers. "I'm no threat! I'm not even out of school! I'm a nobody. I won't tell anyone where this place is, I promise."

"You are awfully sneaky for an apprentice or novice," Envoy says. "Chaos?" she asks.

"Yes," the voice answers, "I should probably go, right?"

"Not just yet," Envoy says. "I haven't spoken to a another mage in a long time. If Latania dragged you along, you were probably studying at the Rephidim Campus, or helping your mentor. Where are you from originally?"

There's a long pause. "Babel," the voice admits, "My parents were killed in the boomer. I would have died too, but the Daughters of Rinala helped me and got me to a life mage in time. I didn't really have anyplace else to go … so the life mage offered to at least sponsor me for testing. Turned out I had some ability … so he got me out of Babel and … well, I've been in school since."

Envoy thinks of another young Eeee mage – one who was lost in the Boomer attack. "I'm sorry to hear that," she says. "Did my actions in Babel make things harder for you?"

"No more than my wounds did," the voice admits.

"Are they really calling me a monster?" Envoy asks next, sounding a bit worried.

"Some do, some don't. No one really knows," the probable Eeee says. "Can I come down? I'm not armed or anything."

"Yes, you can come down, since my lap is occupied and I can't come up there," Envoy says with a grin. "Have you eaten?"

"Not today," comes the voice. There's a flap of leather and a shadow glides down from above. It lands a ways outside the low light form the bonfire. The Eeee walks towards Envoy now and as the light begins to flow over the mage, the robes of a chaos mage in training become evident, probably just an apprentice. It's always a little hard to tell with young Eeee, but at a guess it's a female. Like most, she looks thin and frail … and at a distance her fur seems to have an odd mottling to it. The mottling looks more like a blast smear as the light better illuminates her. Streaking from her left to the right what would have been normally brown fur has been replaced by a strange violet-colored fur. Even the iris of her left eye has the strange color to it. The parts of her right side that aren't 'damaged' are just dark brown. "They call me Violette," the girl says nervously as she wrings her hands.

"You were caught in the edge of the Boomer?" Envoy asks, figuring that to be the cause of the odd coloration. "I don't have any bugs, but there's leftover meat and vegetables over there," Envoy notes, pointing towards the lab room. "Have you been watching long enough to know where the food is, or did you only just arrive?"

"Yes, I was caught at the edge. My family's home was where the rim of the wound now is," Violette says as she looks towards the lab door. "It took me a while to figure out how to get in," she admits, "So I don't know where your food is."

"It's in there," Envoy notes. "Did you come in through the ventilation system then?"

The Eeee nods. She seems to assume the indication is an offer, as she goes to the lab. After a couple minutes she comes back with a small tray and a few bits of food on it. She sits down equidistant from the sleeping human and Envoy and Icarus. "You're not what I expected," she says before taking a nibble of a piece of meat.

"You can't have expected something too bad, or you wouldn't have risked coming," Envoy points out. "When I was on Caroban, I spent a lot of time with the Chaos Mages, you know. What were you expecting?"

"Something more grand," Violette admits with a sheepish grin. "You're not much bigger than me. And other than looking kind of odd and having quite a magical presence you're just … " The Eeee even waves one of her arms a bit for lack of an appropriate word. "And you don't look like Inala at all," she adds.

"I am very thankful for not looking like Inala," Envoy comments. "And I was never the sort to try and look or act impressive. And… if I may ask… just how furious was Latania?"

"She was annoyed that she now has a zerda who acted like a burr was stuck in his butt to deal with," Violette says, "The man of the Watch doesn't want to leave, though he is under orders to do so. She threatened to curse him with some sort of terrible digestive disease if he refused to follow orders."

"Shrikendune?" Envoy asks, her voice going a bit cold. "He's still on Abaddon? The Watch is supposed to leave me alone now, at least until after my hearing on Caroban. How long have you been gone from the camp to track me down?"

"Yes, that was his name. All he does is march around the camp and yell. It's not very pleasant for us Eeee," Violette says. "I've only been gone a day. I got permission to visit the city so I won't be missed yet."

Envoy blinks at that. "They let you go off alone, on such a dangerous world? You're only a child," she says, looking aghast.

"The city isn't that dangerous!" Violette asserts and crosses her arms.

"You are an Eeee though… hmmm," Envoy says, eyeing Violette now. "How did the people in the city treat you?"

"I got a lot of glares," Violette admits, "But I'm used to that. I'm ugly."

"You were glared at because the Expedition and the Coalition are not on good terms right now," Envoy points out. "Any Eeee or Korv would get the same treatment. That is why you should not have been allowed to go alone. From here, can you find your way back to the train depot?"

"Of course I can," Violette asserts. "Do you want me to leave?"

"Not until you are rested and it looks safe," Envoy notes. "I have to wonder if you planned ahead very well though – what will you tell the others when they ask you what you did in the city? How much leave were you given?"

"A couple days," Violette says, "And … I'll just make something up if I'm asked." She even nods as if confirming her own idea.

Envoy sighs, and wonders how to make the best of the girl's presence at least. She reaches into her robe and pulls out the twisted ring of the battery crystal. There's still a little bit of a charge left on it, so she offers it to Violette. "Tell me if you can sense anything from this crystal, would you?" she asks the girl.

The girl takes the odd crystal and peers at it. "Is this Sifran crystal?" she asks.

Envoy nods. "It is also a battery for magic. When you were first tested, was there a pre-charged area that you were taken to? Think of it like that."

Violette nods and runs her hands over it, "It feels like … like a weak ritual circle," she says, "Only … that's odd." Her ears splay, in confusion.

"What is it?" Envoy asks, looking a bit concerned at the girl's reaction.

"It doesn't have any direction. Rituals always have a direction the magic was collected for, right?" Violette asks and looks up. "I don't feel anything from this other than just raw potential."

"Have you ever been close to a Forbidden Zone, or felt Wild Magic?" Envoy asks the apprentice.

"Once, yes," the girl says with a shudder. "It's still different than that. That has no direction, but it moves and ripples like crazy. It gives me a headache. This doesn't. It's not directed, but it is also not wild. I don't know what it is. Balanced maybe it could be described as." Again her ears splay and she says, "Sorry. You need a better mage than I am to make much sense of it."

"I'm still glad you are Chaos, as I don't know if any other Sphere could feel the nuances you've described," Envoy says with a smile. "Do you think you could tap into that energy for a spell? I'm curious to see if it will work for a normal mage."

"I can try," Violette says as she slips it over her thin wrist and holds up her fingertips. The Eeee begins muttering to herself. The air above her fingers begins to ripple, distorting the view of the Eeee behind it from Envoy's perspective. The glow of the band diminishes a slight bit more in the process. "Yes," the Eeee concludes and stops the simple cantrip.

"Impressive," Envoy notes. "You probably now how to do ritual support, or you wouldn't be with Latania. Can you try to charge the ring back up a little too?"

Violette slips the ring off her hand and sets it down on the floor in front of her. "This will take a while," the Eeee admits and then begins chanting. A while turns out to be true, given her relatively low experience. Envoy can guess she's working a basic enchantment ritual, one of low power and centered on the ring of crystal itself. It's slow and subtle, but as Envoy watches the ring over the next near hour, the glow grows brighter.

"Excellent," Envoy notes, smiling. "I wasn't sure that would work, but it means a ring like this could be installed in, say, an operating room and be pre-charged for emergencies. Unlike a regular magic circle, it won't lose its charge over time. Now, does the charge you added still feel undirected?"

The Eeee stops chanting and focuses back on the ring. "Yes," she says, "It does not have a particular intent."

Envoy grins even more. "Any Sphere could use it then," she notes. "I just have to get more crystals to work with that I can transform, and they could be used in critical locations… "

"Change your tone a little. You are too high-pitched and your waveform isn't syncing exactly, causing loss in transfer and some resistance," murmurs the soft voice of Icarus. His eyes are slightly open and he seems to be watching the Eeee.

"How long have you been awake, Icarus?" Envoy asks. "Did the magic wake you up?"

Violette squeaks and nearly jumps up! "It moved!" she gasps and covers her mouth. "And talked!"

"You didn't realize he was just asleep?" Envoy asks the Eeee girl.

"About twenty minutes, I think." Icarus says as he groggily pushes himself upright and stretches. "Felt like I was being tickled."

"I didn't know if it was even alive," Violette says through her hands as she peers at Icarus. "Did you make it? What is it?"

"Violette here is an apprentice Chaos Mage," Envoy says to Icarus. To the girl, she notes, "Violette, this is Icarus. He's… a special Exile, like me, who can use Sifran crystals."

"Were you tickling me?" Icarus asks the Eeee.

"No no, I didn't touch you!" Violette squeaks. "I swear!"

"It must have been a reaction to the Chaos magic, Icarus," Envoy tells him.

"I don't bite," Icarus offers and grins. That may not have been a good idea, given he does have Silent-One inspired teeth. Violette looks to Envoy for confirmation.

"He doesn't bite people," Envoy notes. "Just food."

"What did you mean my tone was off?" Violette finally asks and lowers her hands.

"Well, I can … uhm, see the effect of magic and how it interacts, sort of," Icarus says sheepishly. He looks over to Envoy questioningly on if he should explain any further.

"It's okay," Envoy tells him. "Violette is studying much the same thing. It's what Chaos Mages do for the most part."

"Oh, well, you see it's like watching water, only it doesn't look much like water," Icarus tries to explain and waves his hands about, "And your voice and I guess your will create these ripples that interact with other ripples. If you get it right they synchronize and work together in a constructive way to improve an effect. If you get it wrong, they sort of cancel each other out and do nothing. If that makes any sense at all… "

"Chaos Mages learn how to read that in other peoples' spells, and correct them accordingly," Envoy explains. "They can improve the efficiency of another spellcaster quite a bit. Or hinder it, if they choose."

"Actually, it does" Violette blurts, eyes wide. "When we are assisting mages in rituals, we try to make sure we're in time with the other mage. The closer we are, the better we can assist or hinder like she says. So it's also why mages of the same species tend to compliment each other better than mixed, simply because the similarities help with timing… "

Icarus reaches over and picks up the ring that Violette was experimenting with. He holds it perches on the tips of his fingers and stares at it intently. Icarus mutters something to himself for a minute and the crystal flares blindingly bright! "Waugh!" goes Icarus as he topples backwards and drops the ring.

Envoy tries to catch Icarus in her wing before he can hit the floor. "What did you just try, Icarus?" she asks him.

Violette pull her ears down and squeaks loudly. "That shouldn't be possible," she babbles, "He just did an enchantment boost ritual on that ring … but it was perfect. No wavering at all."

Icarus smiles weakly. "I, uh, tried copying the effect she was doing to the crystal," he admits.

"He has perfect pitch," Envoy tells Violette, hoping she'll accept that explanation. "If they still have choir practice at the College, you should enroll, Violette. It will improve your casting as well."

"Is he a member of the school?" Violette now asks. "He might make a great chaos mage. You should bring him to camp! Latania would be surprised! She might even smile!"

"Latania doesn't really like surprises," Envoy notes. "And Icarus is my apprentice right now, although maybe later I will invite a Chaos Mage to teach him more."

"But … you're not in the College anymore. You aren't allowed to teach anyone!" Violette says, aghast. The Eeee then blinks and realizes something. "That doesn't apply to Abaddon, does it?" she asks.

"Not according to the sovereign governments here, no," Envoy says with a nod. "But I will be returning to Caroban to talk to the High Council within a few spheres, and Icarus will probably come with me. He has much to learn before then, however."

Violette peers at Icarus now … and Icarus fidgets. "He looks kind of like a Savanite," she says.

"So do leopard Khattas," Envoy points out. "What do I look like to you?"

"Weird," Violette admits.

"Exactly," Envoy notes. "You have unusual markings because of your accident, but do other mages tease you about it?"

"Yes," Violette says. "I'm used to it."

"Who teases you?" Envoy suddenly demands, and then hopes she wasn't loud enough to wake Thorndike.

"Other apprentices do. One calls me Splotch," Violette explains, "Another calls me Scarwing."

Envoy hmms. "Those… don't seem so bad as nicknames, I suppose," she notes. "Unless they are meant to be teasing or insulting. But if that is their intent, you should report them for disciplinary action. That is not the proper attitude for a Mage to develop."

"I don't think you're ugly," Icarus offers. "The color is interesting. Makes you stand out."

"I have never understood the general lack of respect that Chaos Mages get from other Spheres," Envoy mutters.

"It's still better than what I was called in Babel, before I was healed," Violette says with a small shrug. "Everywhere there is violet … I was badly burned. I looked a lot worse once, so I guess you can imagine what people said then."

Icarus actually cringes. "That had to hurt a lot," he mutters to himself.

"Even after a tragedy like the Boomer… Babelites were still cruel to the survivors?" Envoy asks, looking upset – but not surprised.

"Not as much as losing my family hurt inside," Violet says, "I would have been happy if it were only the burns." Icarus' head jerks up, he didn't expect her to have been able to hear his comment.

Noticing the jerk, Envoy notes, "Eeee have very good hearing, and can even hear things too high for us to notice."

"Some were, some weren't," Violette says to Envoy and hangs her head. "A lot of people helped us as much as they could. I know Babel has a lot of bad stories about it, but a lot of the people there have good hearts too. We aren't all cruel monsters."

"It's all such a mess," Envoy says, and sighs. "I don't know if I should try to fix any of it, given my history there. Anything I do could backfire."

"Oh, some people have tried to help fix it. Lots of odd rumors on that. Want to hear the strangest one?" Violette says.

"Sure, I haven't had much news of events on Sinai for some time," Envoy replies – even if it is just a rumor.

"This came from one of the Yodhrinala, so you probably shouldn't spread it around … but one of them was actually saved by a follower of Sunala. The follower was even supposedly her son," Violette whispers. "Right after Rephidim attacked, he supposedly disappeared. Then even the Yodhsunala started caring more for those injured and such. It was … very strange. The claim was that this mysterious son did ispire more people to actually care about others. I don't really know much about it other than that.

"If he did exist, he was probably killed in the attack on the city," Violette adds and shrugs. "Since he hasn't been seen since then."

"Perhaps it is a sign that Sunala is returning to Her role as Rinala," Envoy says, perking up a bit. "Having some deities that actually served the people of Babel instead of setting bad examples for them could only be an improvement. Even without him, are people still inspired to be more helpful to one another?"

"From what little I've heard, it seems so," Violette says, "I haven't been there in a while, so I just hear things from news that comes in. What confused the Yodhrinala about him … was he had the presence of someone who would be dangerous and deadly, but his actions and voice were total opposite. 'One kind act can change the world,' he supposedly told a Yodhsunala once. And she didn't try to kill him for it, even."

"A good omen," Envoy says. "Pity I didn't get a chance to meet him, but I had to leave soon after the fall of the High Princess."

"Well, maybe he survived and is still somewhere," Violette says, "It's a nice thought, anyway. Someone cared enough to try to help people. I can't imagine any of it was easy for him. Better to imagine he's happy somewhere instead of dead."

"Supposedly the old Vizier, Thath, has even tried to establish some sort of democracy in Babel," Violette adds, "After Rephidim invaded. I have no idea if it actually worked, is still in practice, or what. It's just a huge mess."

"Hmmm, I wonder if anyone thought that of me," Envoy notes. "I disappeared for quite a while, after all."

"Thought what?" Violette asks.

"That I was alive and happy somewhere and not dead," Envoy explains. "But Ra kept coming after me even when all evidence should have told him I was gone."

"Mage Meadow always hoped you were. She always spoke well of you," Violette offers. "And truth be told, you do not seem like the monster others described you as at all."

"I should hope not, since I don't think I've done anything monstrous," Envoy says, looking thoughtful. "Although I suppose the whole life-dome incident could be painted to make me seem so. I really need to get some sort of formal statement of forgiveness from the Imperials. Although really it will have to be a sealed statement that I won't be able to read until I see the High Council for it to mean anything."

"Ask them to send one ahead of the meeting, then," Violette says. The Eeee yawns and then casts another look to Icarus. "You know, you feel funny," she notes.

"He does have a good sense of humor, I suppose," Envoy says of Icarus, albeit with a smirk on her face.

Icarus asks, "Me?"

"Yeah, you kind of feel like sitting near a place of wild magic that has been suppressed to be safe," Violette says, "But that's silly, because a person can't really be a source of wild magic."

"There are always exceptions," Envoy notes. "But Icarus is an Exile, so you may be sensing… uh… Strange Attraction instead," she extemporizes.

"I've got a lot to learn still. I'm probably just not reading him right," Violette says, "I'm just an apprentice after all."

"And you sound tired," Envoy points out. "So best to settle in and get some sleep, Violette," she says. "Icarus needs his rest too, and even I have to sleep a little bit now and then."

"And I should get back," Violette admits and stops another yawn. "But … maybe in the morning. Is it okay if I sleep here? I can sleep in the rafters and keep out of the way."

"Stay close to me and Icarus, so that Mr. Thorndike isn't startled by you if he wakes up first," Envoy suggests, and spreads a wing as if offering a blanket.

Violette scoots her way over and settles up against Icarus. She even drapes her wings over him. Icarus looks, well, really confused. "You're warm," the Eeee claims. Icarus' ears splay, but the hybrid then shrugs a bit and lays his head back into Envoy's lap.

With a chuckle, Envoy covers them both with a wing, and starts going into her own rest mode. She can't help but think, however, that if this girl could find her so easily, it won't take Ra too much longer to do it himself. I may have to make a public appearance soon, just to draw him away from trying to find this place, she thinks.