A/N: Oh look, reviews. Wait, what? REVIEWS!
Grey: Yeah, I know Dennol's edgy. He knows that and he loves it. Taggerung theories abound! I missed your comments about the story - the suspense! And the ARR reference wasn't intentional, by the way. But still, it could still be true... Totally Not Thordan! I miss the Chillgrave chapter - that's the best action I have ever written. Can't believe that was 2019. Oh, and what do you mean by 'consistent PoV'?
Adrastos: Kio is best boi, I know. A bit melodramatic, but still best boi. I don't always get to write Veil, but he's still super fun! Cynical little ferret... what's not to love?
Chapter 8
Rounding Down
Life shouldn't be a lifetime of waiting. -AA, Death's End, by Liu Cixin
It was only natural that Corrado Truetide never truly struggled with managing his children.
He had never been a particularly well-disciplined pup - angry explosions at his mother and fights breaking out with the younger Lecannu rats or Lora Skulasdottir were the norm. Adolescence, of course, only exacerbated these tendencies, but he had mellowed out enough to be a father - the sort of beast his namesake sire never lived to be.
The elder Corrado was perhaps the only beast Lorelei burned with passion for. All those times they snuck into each other's rooms, all those times they made her parents blush, all those times they laughed at the jokes that were (in hindsight) not amusing at all - that bright period of her life led only to Tebaldo Aldabreschi entering Ruggeru carrying a mangled corpse, which in turn led to Erlend Streambattle.
Corrado was able to greet his mother in person for a brief while before he disappeared into the castle halls for some clandestine purpose, leaving his wife to deal with a rather exhausted mother-in-law while Sigurd had gone away to check on Kalla and her pups, leaving the pair undisturbed.
"I wasn't expecting your visit at all," said Eliska Highwind as she led Lorelei to her room. With her smile and relaxed visage, it was hard to believe she was related to Vatslav of Szaila, but unlike her uncle she was married and mated to a beast she loved. Letters and portraits had exchanged before they wed in Ruggeru, and the number of pups they produced was a testament to their passion. To say Lorelei was not jealous of them was to lie.
"The Fates work in mysterious ways, I suppose," mused Lorelei. "The winds over the Szailan strait were very strong indeed." That was technically true.
"That is a part of why I did not like my home that much. The perpetually poor weather, issues of family, atrocious food-"
Lorelei interrupted before Eliska got impassioned once more. "What is your husband up to now? I would like to believe that it's important."
"Oh, he's just playing with the pups," said Eliska. "He does that five times a week."
Lorelei's eyes squinted. "Playing… with the pups?"
"Oh, Corrado does that almost every day. You can't expect him to keep Eufemia and Marla waiting, can you?"
"I just thought that he had better things to do. A Prince of the Realm has duties towards his subjects-"
"Not unlike a parent's duties towards their children," answered Eliska. "Duties Corrado told me you had seen fit to neglect."
Lorelei was not sure if she should choke on her own tongue or somehow make Eliska choke on hers, and in the end she simply huffed and turned her head away.
She had brought this upon herself, after all. The Szailan princess was a risky pick for a marriage, and while 'playing it safe' had never been in the Skyward dictionaries, Corrado got cold footpaws. Despite their prior differences, it pained Lorelei to see her son worry. A trek across the lands and seas of the Empire was the result, and Corrado did not see much reason to turn away the very Lorelei-like Eliska.
"I will not complain as long as you commit to them better than I did. I will see myself to the baths; you need not follow me any longer."
Before either of them could speak another word, Lorelei was in a different room. Then she was in a second different room that led into a corridor. Then she was making her way down a staircase.
The palace was built on the Gelassa by the old Briscans, and despite the summer heat earlier it was constructed on hot springs. They were abandoned for centuries before Ruggeru the Great reconstructed it into a castle with a bustling town around it, which had been transformed into a fortress city by time and liberal amounts of investments. Now, the great king's great-granddaughter could enjoy the fruit of her ancestor's labours.
Lorelei pushed open the door to the baths, shedding her worn travel-clothes as she took in her surroundings. The pools of water were lit by candles and lamps, their cloying scents mingling with the heated vapour within the enclosed cavern. Mosaic after mosaic was plastered on the wall, with tesserae of every imaginable colour forming patterns of plants, buildings and beasts. To her left was Ruggeru founding the town and castle that would bear his name and his daughter Eufemia's marriage to Emperor Raimund, while most of the wall was covered with little snippets from the life of their son. Kiordan leading troops into battle, driving off the forces of some old usurper Lorelei did not remember. Kiordan marrying Marla Highwind of Wielkoskela, flanked by Birnardu of Lecannu and his family. Kiordan finally gaining the friendship of the Laskarines - something no Skyward before him managed to do.
But there was something else that interested Lorelei. Kneeling before the patchwork, the princess felt her paw slide over two figures that seemed out of place. At the bottom right of the mosaic, a blue-furred rat (Lorelei supposed the artists used the wrong colour) clad in black robes stood beside a grey otter in a full suit of armour. She briefly wondered who they were, concluding that they must have been the beasts who laid the tiles together, until she realised that they were dressed for very different roles.
"Trust yor favver ter help 'imself ter most of the wall."
Lorelei turned and saw a greying, smiling rat, her thin body submerged in one of the warm pools. She knew Lorelei more than the inverse, and the otter did not expect her to be here as well. "I apologise for the disturbance, Lady Ignazia. You were supposed to be somewhere else."
"Wotchin' over me nephew 'ad been quite tiresome as of late, so I decided a vacation were in order. Yor son were as 'ospitable as any otter can be, right, I'd say."
"Then why are you here?" Lorelei asked, plunging into the warm water next to the rat. "You were never the type to use the baths. Not for long periods of time, at least."
"Gah! Right! All the chuffin' pups above right cop on me nerves. Yer know 'ow ardent me 'atred for them could be. I barely managed ter survive yer and Corrado, and yor Kiordan drives me insane in a different way ev'ry time we meet."
"He calls himself Kiormund now. Besides, you have not missed much, to be honest. Pups are…" Lorelei paused, wondering about the correct word to use. Horrifying? Atrocious? "They're bothersome at times."
"Never regretted not gettin' any," said Ignazia. "Me favver wanted me to marry, right, but I made meself useful in uvver ways."
The otter pursed her lips as she recalled all the different stories her mother told her teenage self. "So I've heard."
"So yer've 'eard, init? I'm glad yer only 'ave four grandpups ter be pestered by. If there were any more children in this castle, right, I will rip me ears off!"
Before Lorelei could say anything else, the door to the baths opened, and out sprung a weaselpup. A very familiar weaselpup.
Lorelei's eyes widened. "Nadarr, no!"
But it was too late. The weasel plummeted into the pool, sending a wave of water up Lorelei's face. Rubbing the droplets off her face, the otter turned to the rat, who was pointing two claws at her ears. "You could take these."
Getting the weasels to stop flapping around in the baths took almost as long as lecturing them for rushing in, but once that had been dealt with, Lorelei was eager to take a rest. Her plans, however, were once again scuttled by Kalla.
"What now, weasel?" hissed Lorelei.
"I just wanted ter ask if we are welcome, right, that's all. We 'aven't seen anybeast greet us, or uvverwise know we're 'ere."
Lorelei winced at the weasel. "You are welcome here as much as I am, I can assure you that."
Kalla was silent for a few seconds before she asked another question. "Are yer welcome 'ere then, then, eh? It doesn't seem like yer 'ave been greeted eever."
The otter gritted her teeth. "Like I said, I am welcome here as much as you are. Would you like to be welcomed?" Seeing the weasel nod frantically, Lorelei smiled. "Good. I see we have achieved some sort of understanding. Now go make yourself scarce."
Kalla scratched her head. "I don't know wot that means."
Lorelei was interrupted by a booming voice from the other side of the corridor. "She asks you to rest, weasel."
Both females turned to the new beast. He was a head taller than Lorelei and his black fur resembled his father and grandfather more than his mother, but his green eyes and round ears made his parentage evident. While Kalla's expression transformed into one of curiosity, Lorelei found her eyebrows gravitating towards each other in a frown.
"Do leave my mother and I alone," continued Corrado. "Sigurd Streambattle told me that you have had a rough day. Go up the second staircase on the right. There is a room for you and your children there."
The weasel nodded, darted past the otters and slipped through a doorway.
"Corrado, I-" Lorelei found herself interrupted again.
"I apologise for my disappearance. The pups wouldn't let me forget it if I missed another one of their sessions."
"Fine, fine," grumbled Lorelei. "Fatherhood is treating you well, I take it?"
Corrado shook his head. "Perhaps having four pups in six seasons was not the best of ideas. Eliska is handling this better than I could ever hope to, but we do not plan to have more in the near future." He shook his head. "But I believe we have greater matters to discuss, haven't we?"
Lorelei looked at her Amplifier ring and wondered if her father told her son about the whole Thaumaturgy business before deciding otherwise. "We have."
"Oh, good." Within an instant Corrado's arms were crossed as his expression morphed into a scowl. "You didn't tell me Kio was back."
"I did not know that until three days ago. Father had been rather slow with the news. The message had to be filtered through the Streambattles to him before it could reach us."
"That explains much." Corrado shook his head. "I was looking forward to meeting him. He's a gentle otter who's a bit of a know-it-all, always amazed at all the little things."
Lorelei pursed her lips. "Are you sure he isn't dead?"
Corrado's eyes widened. "Isn't… what?"
"You know full well that Lamont Streambattle does not have the best opinion of his brother. What if he decides to take out some of his anger onto my child?"
"He will be fine." The younger otter took his mother's paw. "Lamont will not dare hurt him in any way - unless he has some sort of suicidal death wish and is trying to antagonise the Empire. He needs every bit of help from us to see Tarelis completely destroyed, obliterated, razed to the ground, or something sufficiently similar. It is very easy to get into the mind of a Southswarder."
"I'm still worried about him, that's all."
"Have you never gotten worried about him before? Not even when he was at Redwall? Hellgates, have you ever been worried about me?"
"He was safe in Redwall. All the hordes in the world cannot take the Abbey, neither by force nor by guile. As for you, my dear, I have faith that you can look after yourself well enough."
"'My dear'." Corrado laughed. "What do you want from me this time, Mother?"
Lorelei took off her ring. "Put this on."
Corrado's eyesight lingered on it for a few seconds, before his gaze darted towards his mother. "Wha- what are you thinking? You know I'm married, right?"
"It's not about that. It's to do with the Dreamscape."
"Pardon?"
"It's the manifestation of all dreams. It ties together all worlds, and every time we dream we enter this plane. Or sphere. Sources vary."
"Alright..." Corrado slipped the ring onto one of his claws. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but go on with the dream-speech."
"If you focus all your energies into the ring and then envision a location, then there will be a Pathway leading there!"
"Sounds like a great game of make-believe," mused the younger otter as he closed his eyes and focused. Lorelei decided not to interrupt. She could envision the shock on her son's face when he got to discover the world of dreams just beyond the boundaries of the waking realm, but as time dragged on and nothing happened, it was obvious that it would be her that would be surprised.
"Hmm… I can already smell the Dining Hall from here!" said Corrado, opening his eyes. "Can't see anything though. Still, it's a rather amusing game. Maybe you could teach it to my pups - you know the importance of having an imagination - you taught it to me, for Fates' sake.
"Yeah…" mused Lorelei, suppressing her desire to call for Hirsent. "I do suppose we have not had a family supper in a long time."
Supper had never been a muted affair in the Skyward household, and this statement still rang true even without Lorelei's father.
The entire family was gathered together in a single room, decorated by paintings of the Garlescan landscape in place of more mosaics depicting Kiordan's deeds. As the elder two of his four pups were goaded to the end of the table, Corrado took his seat on the other edge, as his mother and wife sat by his sides and the other guests, Sigurd and Ignazia, were placed in the middle.
A legume soup was first served, followed by a pot of long, cylindrical noodles made from wheat, fried with eggplants and tomato sauce and sprinkled with liberal helpings of almond cheese. It was quite amusing for Lorelei to see Eufemia and Marla Truetide play with their food, and it was even more so to witness Sigurd Streambattle attempt to consume the dish.
"I hope you do not mind me fumbling with my utensils, Your Highnesses," said Sigurd, whiskers twitching as another strand slipped free from his fork. "I was raised elsewhere, and I am unused to this sort of cuisine."
"Everything is fine, my friend!" said Corrado, laughing and placing a paw on the younger otter's back. "Especially the wine! Us Garlescans are blessed by Great Seasons to have grapes and vines so wonderful, don't you think? I got the best barrels - it isn't always that my mother comes to pay me a visit!" He winked at his mother as he lifted up a full chalice. "Let it be known that Lady Ignazia is also here for this blessed day! Be well!" With that, he downed his serving of deep-red wine, and Lorelei followed suit, as did everybeast but the pups.
"I wish the Emperor were 'ere," said Ignazia, her lips still stained with leftover beverage. "He is never one ter miss out on a right good festive occasion."
Lorelei wiped her muzzle with the napkin next to her. "He's in Southsward as of now. Has he notified you?"
"He didn't, actually," answered Eliska. "One of his attendants wrote to us. Hermina, was it?"
"Hirsent," said Lorelei, yielding to her overwhelming urge to correct her daughter-in-law. Turning to her son, she continued. "Your grandmother's not feeling well, so she'll have somebeast looking after her in the meantime."
Corrado's fork suddenly clattered down on his plate. "What has happened to her?"
"She has begun to lose her memories, slowly but surely. Something's eating away at her mind."
"Like me favver did," added Ignazia. "Seein' 'im wither away were a painful slow process."
A long silence enveloped the room before Sigurd spoke. "Perhaps you would like to accompany us to Wossaham?" Lorelei shot her charge an icy glare, but he seemed totally oblivious. "We are to depart there soon, before I return to Kaldos to reunite with my kin."
"Is that true, mother?" asked Corrado. "I must admit it was a while before Grandfather's city called to me, but I do miss my time spent there."
"I'd say I would join," said Eliska, briefly turning her attention away from her pups," but I don't think the Empress has a high opinion of me. Besides, somebeast has to look after Garlesca while you are away."
"It's settled then." There was a sudden gleam in Corrado's eyes, one that Lorelei had not seen in a seasons. "Wossaham awaits!"
Sigurd's smile was broken when he finally noticed Lorelei's glower. "What is it?"
"Nothing. I just thought we were supposed to take the fast way, that's all."
"Fast way?" asked Ignazia, rubbing a whisker. "I fought the seas aren't calm in winter."
"Don't you mind." Lorelei's rudder twitched as Ignazia huffed and returned to her meal. "Sigurd, maybe you should consider packing as well? We don't know when we might have to leave - it could be any time."
The younger otter's eyes lit up. "You mean-"
"Who knows? It could even be this week."
