"What is it this time?" asked the taller woman, looking around her with some disdain.
"This is one of the Earth planes," explained the shorter of the two.
"And your point?" The tall woman sniffed and then blinked and sniffed more fully. "Despair, pain, terror, loss?"
"Not just the humans," said the shorter woman.
"The planet itself? Interesting," said the Winter Queen. "I... no. It is not just the one planet in this one frame."
"All the Earths in this strand are in danger," said the Summer Queen.
The air shimmered and another Queen stepped forth. "Mab. Aurora."
"Himeko," acknowledged the Summer Queen, Aurora.
"This is a nexal world, should it be lost..." said Himeko.
"So? A few mortal worlds perish and I should care?" asked Mab.
"I thought the chance to meddle would interest you," said Aurora.
"Oh? What did you have in mind?" asked Mab.
"A Gift to be bestowed on a girl-child," said Aurora. "Traditional."
"Boring," said Mab.
"A girl child, already touched by fate and one of the parasites," continued Aurora.
"Better," said Mab. "A girl-hero?"
"Or villain, she has the seeds of both," admitted Aurora.
"Even better," said Mab, a smile showing sharp teeth slowly appearing on her face.
The Queen of Yokai hmmed as she considered. Like the other two, human concepts of good and evil didn't truly apply to them. They were too Other for that. "That one then?"
A despairing girl sat on a bench, a cloud of despair mixed with confusion and depression surrounding her.
A quick glamour had three matronly-looking human women approach, and another to prompt the girl to speak.
"What's wrong, dearie?" asked Himeko.
The girl began speaking, not realizing she was caught up in a charm to do so, and continued until she had to blow her nose and dab away her tears. She froze in place then as the three wanted to speak.
"Her mother died and she partly blames herself. Her friend and sister-in-bond has cast her aside and she knows not why. Her father has wrapped himself in loss and despair over what he has lost," Mab summed up before distilling it down to a single word. "Mortals."
"They lack the years to learn perspective," said Aurora. "So we agree?"
"One must keep their hand in, practice skills," admitted Mab.
"Boulder, parchment, shears?" asked Himeko.
"No, all three of us should try something. A bit of a contest," said Mab. She turned her head to focus on her usual competitor. "I truly think that musical ability or beauty are not going to cut it here."
"Cancel your Time Stop," counseled Himeko. "Leave the compulsion to speak and speak true. Let her decide."
"Very well," said Mab, snapping her fingers to cancel the effect. "Tell me, child, you have spoken of your troubles. What is it that you now want of life?"
"I lost my only real friend," said Taylor Hebert, age 14.
"And?" prompted Aurora.
"I..." began Taylor. "I wish I had friends."
"Friends?" asked Mab, the word sounding unfamiliar to her.
"Friends. Friends who could look out for me. Friends that wouldn't tell me to go away and die."
"Oh, THAT I can do," said Aurora.
"I think I could do that pretty well myself," said Himeko.
"In this world, in this state? Friends are hardly enough," said Mab dimissively. She thought a moment then bared her teeth in what have might have been a grin for all its lack of warmth. "Though I have an idea there."
"I'm sorry, what?" asked a confused Taylor.
"I proclaim you, Taylor Hebert, to be considered the 227th daughter of the Court of Winter," said Mab, the world going quiet around them and her voice echoing strangely in the mid-afternoon. "Let her be recognized as Emissary of Winter to this world to take on the Mantle of the Magi of Glacial Frost. So speaks Mab, Queen of the Court of Winter."
"What? Don't you already have a knight of that?" asked Aurora.
"Eh, he's been wanting a vacation, a mortal lifetime where he gets to go play at beaches or whatever should do," said Mab.
"Uhm, excuse me," said Taylor.
"Oh?" said Himeko with a grin. "In that case, I Himeko, Queen of the Night Parade, do proclaim Taylor Hebert as Emissary of the Yokai Realms and Lands Between. That she may act as a member of my Court as a miko and onmyoji."
"'Court of Winter'?" asked Taylor, blinking rapidly. "'Queen Mab'?"
"Oh, she's throwing off the glamour," noted Queen Aurora.
"That was faster than I expected," noted Mab.
"Oh... crap," said Taylor. "Do I, uhm, have the honor of speaking to THE Mab, Queen of Darkness and Winter?"
"Oh? Someone is at least half-educated," said Mab. "I am pleased."
"My mother was a professor of English," explained Taylor, swallowing nervously as she saw the three through the fading veil of normalcy. There were a LOT of stories about humans getting the attention of the fae and the overwhelming impression was that NOT getting their attention was very much preferable. And the old Grimm's Faerie Tales? Were downright grim.
"That leaves you, dear," Mab told the third member of their group.
"Aurora am I, Queen of Summer my title," said the slightly plump looking fae. "In this land gripped by hate and shadows, hear now my gift."
"Just don't go with the usual beauty and skill at music, or household skills, or that sort of horribly overdone thing," said Mab.
"Actually, that doesn't sound so bad," admitted Taylor before she slapped her hands over her mouth.
"Oh, that does give one ideas, doesn't it?" said Queen Aurora.
"How can you make that sort of thing not boring?" asked Queen Mab.
"It's a world of these costumed idiots playing their little game while the world burns around them," said Queen Aurora. "So what about we follow that sort of theme?"
"Oh?" asked Himeko and Mab.
* Hebert Household, 1745 hours, same day *
Danny Hebert opened the door, entered his house, and walked to the kitchen. "Taylor, I'm home."
"Be there in a minute," said Taylor's voice. There was a flushing noise almost immediately thereafter.
"Take your time," said Danny as he sat down, taking a glass from the pixie who was almost the same size.
Danny stopped. He checked. Little six-inch tall girl with dragonfly wings on her back who was struggling with bringing a bottle over.
"Uhm, let me," said Danny, taking the bottle from the itty bitty girl and pouring himself a drink before calling out to Taylor. "On second thought. As soon as you can."
The little girl with the light green hair and maid uniform bowed briefly, then flew up from the table and went to the stove.
Taylor came rushing down, her eyes immediately tracking to the little maid.
Danny Hebert had a good swallow of his beer, put it down, and regarded his daughter for a moment. "Explain."
"Emma decided we were no longer friends, and so I ended up making some new friends?" tried Taylor.
"A pixie?" asked Danny Hebert.
The little flying girl was abruptly in front of him, hands on her hips, cheeks puffed up, looking quite put upon.
"Sylph," corrected Taylor.
"Is that a name or..." Danny asked.
The maid let out an audible huff and turned back to the sausages frying on the stove.
"She's a sylph, Summer Court of the Fae," said Taylor.
"She's a cape?" asked Danny.
The sylph turned around, hefting a spatula bigger than she was.
"Faerie. Her name is Ripí."
"Uhm, sorry, Ripi." Danny inclined his head towards the girl.
"Ripí is the servant of the Summer Court assigned to me," said Taylor.
"The... 'Summer Court'?" asked Danny.
"Oyuki is from the Night Parade, and Syntrivi is from the Winter Court," said Taylor.
"Syntrivi?" asked Danny.
"Yes," rumbled a deep growly voice.
Danny heard the voice behind him and slowly turned just enough to see that somehow or other there was a wolf larger than his sofa that was right behind him.
"So... things happened," said Taylor.
"I could tell," admitted Danny.
"It could have been worse," grumbled Syntrivi. "Mortals dealing with the Fae Courts or the Yokai?"
"Yeah, I've read some of the old stories," admitted Taylor.
"Even Queen Mab is reluctant to twist the knife when the individual is already at rock-bottom," said Syntrivi, the wolf pausing for a moment to lick his lips and show an impressive set of teeth. "Kick them when they're not looking as opposed to kicking them when they're down. Sportsmanship I suppose."
"You're at rock-bottom?" asked Danny, wondering how much he'd missed.
"Not her specifically. Your world though?" Syntrivi yawned. "Spiraling into a final destruction from which nothing survives. Adopting your daughter gives the Courts an excuse to meddle, and they DO love to meddle."
"Adoption?" asked Danny, thinking that sounded a bit ominous.
"Uh. Yeah. Emissary and representitive to this world from the Courts of the Fae and the Realms of the Yokai." Taylor shrugged a little.
Syntrivi cleared his throat. "In addition, she is adopted as the 227th daughter of the Winter Court. The 334th daughter of the Summer. And an honorary yokai of the Night Parade, though there was some disagreement as to whether she should join the clan of the yuki-onna, the kitsune, the nekomusume, or the oni."
"I said I'd have to research it, they'd have to discuss it," said Taylor.
"You couldn't just say 'no'?" asked Danny.
Syntrivi gave off a little laugh that stopped abruptly. "Oh, wait. You were serious? No, that would have been BAD."
Ripí fluttered close and moved Taylor's hair a bit then made an excited trilling noise.
"Taylor, your ears have little points," pointed out Danny Hebert.
Syntrivi moved a little so that he was no longer behind the elder Hebert. "She was adopted by the Courts. There are consequences."