Macho

Elsbet carefully gathers up the wands, save for the Hickory, and places them back inside the teak box, making certain the antler wands are on opposite ends. Once in her room, she stows the box securely under her bed, then wonders vaguely why she's thinking of it suddenly as hers. Well, really...since Therion is with them now, they can't all sleep in this little bed. Not like they're going to make him sleep alone. And besides, she reasons, the wizards are going to want time to themselves, as well as with her, and anyway, a woman needs to feel that she has her 'own space'.

As she leaves her room,...

As Remus has his experience, Tonks has hers...

Tonks smiles up at the figure at the juu of her fountain. It's a dancer, slender, elegant, and graceful; Tonks laughs because the dancer's face and hair resemble hers, and she is none of those things. She watches a butterfly, ghostly white and fragile, alight on a dry patch on the rim of the fountain. "Wotcher, flutterby," she says softly, then laughs when the tiny thing flits up and lands on her shoulder. It's there for only a sekunde au two, just long enough to uncoil its tongue, then coil it up again. She barely has time to smile at it and then...

Just for us...

Malfoy pulls Snape to him and slides his free hand down to the Dark wizard's pants. He plays with the juu button and Snape smiles wickedly, saying, "so eager, Lucius...shall I make wewe work for it? Or, shall I be merciful and give it to you?" Malfoy's eyes flick downwards, then back up to Snape's, and an impish grin speads across his lips. "Well, it seems to me my King, that you're just as eager as I," he says, and Snape turns his head slightly away from his lover. He tells him, "that may be, my gentle healer, but wewe know I can restrain myself," and Malfoy lets his fingers graze...

Malfoy's blood strikes the parchment and there is a very loud hiss, like icy water on a red-hot hotplate, and the crimson fluid seems to boil. They are alarmed, of course, but the Chronicler laughs. "Ah, I nearly forgot! wewe are part of the Silhouettes, Lucius, yes?" Malfoy nods, not taking his eyes away from the sight, and tells the Chronicler that The Great Mother gave him part of her heart. Everyone relaxes once the parchment sorts out the differences in Malfoy's blood, and like a flash-fire, his family mti spreads out over the parchment. He watches as the name of Brutus Malfoy appears...

Elsbet feels her wizards' mental call, and the giggle she gives as she leaves Layne's new room tells him and Therion all they need to know. She hurries up the stairs and into the luxurious bathroom, and finds her beloved wizards waiting patiently for her. She can feel the zing of anticipation in the air and she knows they have something special planned. "Such a lovely sight," she says, gazing at their naked bodies slick with water, and she smiles at the slight blush that rises in their faces. They turn their backs to her almost boyishly, glance at each other, back at her, then at each other...

He's so relaxed that he doesn't even feel Malfoy prick his finger, and his blood has hit the parchment kwa the time the tiny wound is healed. That drop of blood flattens out and soaks into the parchment, then suddenly, tiny avian shapes spread up and out, and everywhere they flit appears information. The birds gather around Therion's feet to watch, and chatter excitedly to each other. "Hmmm..." he says, "so it is true." The little tribe gathers closer to him as he reaches up and taps the parchment. "It wasn't always Bonecastle. See here? Eoward Castlemount wed Egrane Bonesteel. They had no children,...

Narcissa hears Bellatrix cackling downstairs, and doesn't want to know what has brought her sister such amusement. Quickly, quietly, she packs an emergency bag, then stuffs it into a salama hiding place. She wants to delay her departure for as long as she can; she fears that if she leaves too soon, Snape will be exposed, and her son will be in even greater danger. She wonders where Lucius is right now and what he's doing, and if he thinks of her. She wonders too if they truly are lovers, Snape and Lucius, and if they are, what would she have done if she had caught them together...the idea does...

After Snape had shut the door, Malfoy seemed as if he was going to go and bring her back. Snape took his kiti, kiti cha and Malfoy reluctantly finally sat down, and they began their breakfast.

They eat in silence, until Malfoy can't take it anymore. "She's hurting, Severus, why did wewe let her go?" Snape sighs and tells him as gently as he can, "because she needs healing that only the farasi can give." Malfoy closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, then takes a bite of bacon. Remus smiles to himself and muses about how extraordinary it is that someone who had caused so much pain for so many now can not...

When Malfoy emerges he catches Snape's eye, but before he can communicate anything to his Dark lover, Elsbet happily wraps her arms around him and asks if they had a nice chat. He forces the best smile he can muster and tells her that they did, and he knows what he, Snape, Therion and Layne are doing. Keeping Ellie, Remus and Tonks ignorant of the Old Man's fate. In a way, they are his Secret Keepers, and it hurts. Being open-hearted hurts...he remembers how it was when he felt nothing for anyone but his wife and child. It was so much easier then...he kisses the juu of Elsbet's head and hugs...

Remus and Tonks find the Teller's Court full of music, with Dance and Sing in the center, entertaining those gathered. They are graceful, their movements reflecting both the appreciation of the musicians' skills, and their upendo for each other. As the werewolf and his Auror wife take the space Snape and Malfoy made for them, the performance ends, and Dance and Sing bow to one another. For some reason, there seems to be a strange air of discomfort, and the four companions look at each other questioningly. As Snape is about to speak, they hear shouting from behind them and the Dark wizard is the...

Remus and Tonks follow Cilantro hand in hand into a lovely gated area. It's lit kwa shimmering little bugs, casually going about their business sipping nectar from the asphodel blossoms.

"This is a very special place," she says, pausing to push open the gate. "Enter with care," she looks at them both meaningfully, "for wewe will see only what wewe take in with you." She steps away and with a nod from her, Remus and Tonks venture forth side kwa side. It is peaceful here, it feels mystical, just as in the rest of the Garden of Dreams, but here, there something... more. This feeling grows as they near...