Father Daughter Wake Up Party

Jamison was going to say something cheeky about her activities with Zalina. but before had had the chance, she went on and said that Zalina may have been with child. and he had a touch of genius, eyes widening and he leaned forward." You had hopes she was with child? how long have you been trying? how certain are you she may have been with child?" all asked very quickly and he rose to a stand, going over to his apothecary's chest. sifting through his ingredients.




Spider felt the changes in Jamison's energy before she lifted her head and saw them with her eyes. If her wife was not currently missing Father would have received a glib retort about his sudden interest in grandchildren when he had never supported her and Zalina's relations. Circumstances were different however and she was an astute woman. She knew the connection her Father was attempting to make. Still she would not be herself if she wasn't somewhat precocious in return. "I personally have not done any of the trying, Father. You see, I do not have the key which fits the female lock. Unless I strap one on, of course, but despite advances there are still some things..." She would mercifully not end that sentence. A prideful purse of her lips. "Her visit with the doctor was scheduled for the day after she disappeared. She had not tried for long. She was fortunately fertile for her age."




Jamison had pulled several containers from the chest, placing them down on his chest of drawers. and was on his way to start a spell before her retort." wait, wait..." and he went back to the chest, searching for something, only to pull out an empty bag."I've run out of sarcasm, I guess I'll have to make do." and a over dramatic sigh, in true english fashion. " I believe that may offer us a lead as to what happened to your wife." from cheek to serious, Jamison didn't waste any time.




Spider smirked. His attempts to be playful were sweet in the way vanilla humans found Santa Claus sweet. "It wasn't sarcasm, Father. You profess yourself how old you are and I'm fairly certain they did not have such boudoir equipment in your younger days. I was educating you." Moving with moderation, Spider set the glass of juice on the table unfinished. When she stood it was a pleasant surprise to her that the ache had lessened considerably. Maneuvering towards Jamison her body felt more like its old self. As she was a child of forward action already Spider wondered to herself if four days would be necessary after all. "I wish to help you." It was not a question, it was a statement. "And I wish to know why you feel Zalina's female condition is connected to her disappearance."




He was setting up another spell , attention focused on his workings"You'd be surprised what the Fae have done for thousands of years, that humans are only discovering now." was his reply to her first statement, a smirk offered over at her before standing strait and turning to face her."Good, I was going to ask for your help. here," placing into her hand a lead slug. "hold onto that... do you remember the story of the birth of our line?"




"You are not Fae, Father. Or was that a hint at what you and Mother spent time doing in the few minutes of fondness that you had for each other?" Always a retort. A sign of a defense mechanism just as it was a sign of intelligence. When he held the slug out to her she hesitated. Honey-bright eyes studying it before she slowly took it. Spider wanted to make sure it wasn't what base instinct warned her it might be. The slug sat squarely in her palm. "Haven't I grown out of being your little holder yet? The little you've told me I remember. Great-great grandmother was a dangerous woman who made a dangerous deal for power." The end. She often wished he'd speak more on the subject. About his liaison with Mother especially. About the Fae too.




"Your mother and I where not always at odds..." Moving to his spell again, and organizing things on the table." well yes you have, but that slug there is absorbing some of your magical energy. as your wife and potential child will have..." now maybe she would put together the fact that whoever took Zalina, may not have thought to mask the potential child within her." and I'm going to run a trace for your magical energy any sources of which I can find..." taking the slug back and setting it in the center of his circle." that's right... problem with her deal was, that it didn't just pertain to her, it affects us all... part of the reason that our name incited the council to keep us watched.




Spider looked sour. All children wish to have parents who are not at odds with each other. It was a source of unhappiness for her that for most of her life she was reared only by half of the pair who brought her into the world. She understood what Jamison was doing but she looked uncertain. "You do understand that if there is a child is not of my blood, right? And that I channeled no energy to it?" Not on purpose at least. She watched her Father work. It had been a long time since she done so. "In what way does it affect us? Pardon my ignorance but you did raise me in the dark giving me only a candle flame to see with, Father." That was her take on how little he'd told her over the years when it came to certain choice topics.




Of course I understand, but energy permeates all, that is precisely why electronics fail when we grow close to them... and while the young child may not have gotten some of your power purposely, Zalina has lived with you for decades. she is like a beacon announcing that she is yours... have you never watched her with your Sight?" he shook his head then and turned from his spell to face her. " Through her, her child will also be exposed to your energy... I uh... well it affects us in that we're able to tap into founts of energy not available to most others..."




A beacon announcing she was Spider's. A proud sultry smile crossed her lips. "Mmm." Her tongue touched against her top lip as her mind dreamed on it. "I haven't. But I'll risk the Sight to see that." Spider had marked her territory on Zalina in so many other ways that the marks the Sight would show hadn't occurred to her. Nails curled and raked the front of her black dress over her stomach. A sign of where her mind had gone. The Sight was a talent she didn't use. She hadn't used it even now to try to track her wife. She had her reasons for it. The experience of it was too potent. Her Mother's blood in her felt so much stronger in that state and she had not felt in control. If there was one thing Spider needed to be it was in control. "Zalina is mine." Emphasis on both is and mine. There was a quality in her voice that usually didn't come out when she was with her Father. Husky, potent. The result of her thoughts and one of the abilities she didn't fully realize she had thanks to her Mother. "I don't like when things that are mine are taken. What founts of energy, Father?" Honey-bright eyes stared into his with determination.




That uncomfortable moment aside Jamison shook his head and cleared his throat." Indeed she is...um, yes. Founts of energy, that allow you to stay awake for a week without sleeping, eating or drinking... among other equally impressive feats...And you're right to be upset for someone taking your things... and we're going to get them back..." he didn't tack on 'hopefully to the end of that sentence like he should have.'




"Of course I'm right to be upset." It was hissed. Emphasis on course. Her eyes narrowed. Spider was a dominating and possessive force. This was true even in her marriage. She crossed her arms. Looking at her Father expectantly. He said they were going to get Zalina back and she was waiting for him to do the spell he had just set up. There was a question that she had but she wasn't going to ask it now. She feared it would only distract him from the task.




He held her gaze for a moment, nodding before turning around again and going back to his spell. picking up his cane, and using it to cut a small slice on his thumb, which he used to seal the circle with his blood, an audible pop and a soft buzz in the room. a slow deep breath, jamison's eyes closed." you should really sit down, might take a while."




Honey-bright eyes narrowed to slits. Spider was taking careful measure of Jamison. "Fine. I will find myself reading material." While he was working with his circle it gave her leave to go exploring. His mention of her great-great grandmother and the founts of energy changed her chosen interest. She slowly walked his room, moving over to where the journals were kept. She would open whatever drawer door or trunk needed opening in order to find what she wanted. She was looking for the oldest of the journals. Ones she had not be permitted to read in her younger years.




The ones he had here where more recent, only going about three hundred years back from the current date, which meant that several of the journal's where his own. the rest where in his laboratory, there was no reason to have all of them all in his room, not when most problems he faced where of his own doing. The spell he was working pulled all of the wizards attention. lips moving in silent words while he channeled the energy required for his task.




It was good that he could concentrate. Spider was not making a point to be quiet about her search. There was purpose to her movements. There was a significant difference in how she was able to move. Much better than she had when she first woke up. The food had helped naturally. It was more than that. As a half-blood she was more resilient than she knew. How her body behaved she never stopped to question. This didn't mean she no longer needed rest. The body was only one part of any healing process. A pronounced sigh was the result of her not finding what she was looking for. His own journals. She had seen him write in them in her early days but had never read them. For now that opportunity would have to do. She pulled the earliest of his from the shelf and began to skim through it.




"It was one from when Jamison while he was still an apprentice, maybe even a few positive mentions about a woman Spider might know as her mother. but they where spaced throughout he entire journal. odds are though, she couldn't get through the entire things before Jamison came out of his concentration and gave a soft "hhmmm... fascinating."




Spider was a fast reader but she also never skipped forward in books. Each word and page was read in order. She only was six pages into his words when he spoke. There had been only one mention of Mother so far but that mention was enough to bring her to a decision. She would read all of his journals. If he put up a fuss she would find a way to get what she wanted by hook or crook. That was the fae in her that was so willing to bargain and trick for what she wanted. She did not look away from the sentence she was reading. Spider was blunt as usual. "Have you finished?"[/color]




She would have wonderful luck trying to barter with him using her fae wiles. he was one tough cookie. but he did turn around, a single brow arching when he noticed she was reading one of his own journals."I have, but I can wait until you're finished to share the news with you."that had a bit of a tone with it, apparently he didn't want her reading his journal, and that was a rule when she was younger. and he wast aware it'd been repealed.




Jamison should thank his stars she didn't truly know how to use her fae wiles. Or what all those wiles were. Spider's eyes had not turned from the page yet she could feel the nature of his look. It was transmitted with his energy. She smirked with triumph. "Then you should really sit down, Father. Might take a while." His exact words from only moments ago turned back on him. She lived for moments like this where she could do that. It filled her with such deep satisfaction. There was a greater concern however or else she would have kept up the reading for hours just to get under his skin. She only read to the bottom of the page. But he would watch her fold down the corner of the next page. Dog-earing it. To show him she intended to continue. The book was shut, clasped in her right hand as she lowered her arms. Left hand clasping her right wrist. "Do share."

color=olive]A cocky scoff from Jamison.'If not for my name, I would be merlin...Just because they don't like it doesn't mean they could stop me. I haven contacts in the summer court I can confer with, that will not be needed... besides, its an extremely risky practice, and wizards need to train years to master dreamscaping.. and even then, any creature you ran into would still be able to manipulate you…It's sort of like renting a room in someone's house, sure you have your own space, and its yours... but you're still in someone else's home... Though you should get ready, if we do have to go into Faerie to save Zalina, you need to learn more about what they can do to you..."[/color]




Spider noted that he said nothing about her ability to make a choice. She considered this typical. Often she felt the conversations she had with her Father were not about what he said but what he did not say. This she abided by as a chid but the older she got the less patience she had for it. Right now she was also tired of him telling her that she should not or could not do each thing it occurred to her to do. She was silent. Her face was stone. Her eyes were the same. She said nothing. Just stared him coldly down. Letting all the words she wanted to say to him right now roll through her mind's tongue and away where the words would be left unspoken. She did not even voice her frustration at his nerve telling her to learn more when he had never himself shared his own knowledge on the matter. There was a lot that could turn Spider to ferocious argument but she did not let any of that happen. She only agreed. "Yes Father." There was ice to the agreement but he was given what he wanted. She moved to take her coat. Also the cup of coffee now cold. She would ready herself out of his company and on her own terms. "I will return."




Jamison set his jaw and shook his head slowly." yes father... I might be able to use those words to chill my beverage... I'm sorry, that its not happening how you want it... but you have to trust me when i say that doing this my way will mean the difference between Finding your wife in good health, and finding a corpse. "He wasn't blocking the door, so she could go. he knew she was still going to leave, she was too much of a child to really listen to reason. and yet she didn't want to be treated like one.




She would not let that corpse like raise her ire. Spider was not about to be fooled to stay and argue through the use of such a scare tactic. She didn't flinch or change her tone as she replied. "Then do. I'd hate for your beverage to be lukewarm and I haven't a clue what you expect me to say." While she put her coat on she changed her tone to falsely conversational. "Here I thought my agreement would make you turn cartwheels. But I'm wrong, as usual. Wrong wrong Carolyn LeFey who makes all the wrong choices. Spending time in your company does wonders for my self esteem Father. So unless you're going to teach me candidly for a change instead of omitting whatever you can to keep my training wheels on, I will spend a day elsewhere mending my spirit." He might assume she meant spirit in a wizardly sense. No. She meant her feelings, ego. The things he'd done well bruising.




"You're not wrong Carolyn... I've never hindered your training...You did, with your "book are useless next to experience" mantra that you've had for years... is what hinders you... I'm more then willing to teach you whatever you'd like to know." She had pained him, but thats what she wanted, really all she ever wanted was to pain him. which is why she was never really diplomatic with him. as for bruising her ego? maybe it had to be done, Spider needed to know that despite her age, she couldn't do everything immediately, and that she was still a child."You're going to go rest... you can sit down, listen to what I have planned, and maybe learn something... or you can go. The Gardens are lovely for a bit of alone time."




The snarl on her lips would tell him what she was about to say wouldn't be polite. "Did it ever occur to you, you pompous relic stone of a man, that maybe my infatuation with learning from your lips and not some damned dusty pages was my desire to learn from YOU? My Father. The Great Warden LeFey who would be Merlin if not for his name. Who knows more than anyone about the race I am half descendent from." Emphasis on anyone. It was his words after all. "Who used to be my hero until I heard 'read a book Carolyn' one too many times. Then I realized read a book meant run along and I stopped bothering to ask. Wizards. They don't deserve to procreate. None of you have a clue when it comes to someone besides yourself. I don't want to sit down like a good girl and listen to what you have planned. Because what that actually means is listen to what details you feel like telling me. As it's always meant. Unless you're prepared to finally cough up the knowledge that you've never wanted to tell me and until you're ready to acknowledge that half of me is not like you then you're damned right I'm going to do what I've always done. Run along." The possibility of a garden appealed to said other half of her but you better believe she wasn't going there since he'd suggested it.




And another fantastic facepalm from the father who's daughter didn't at all get it."Spider... I know that you wanted to learn from my lips. I understand that, and I did my best to teach you. But it is hard to teach when your student doesn't want half of the lesson..." he sounded beaten then, she apparently stuck the killing blow for the day, though he put up a valiant fight. and he took a deep breath, leaning back against the wall, wilting a bit." 'read a book carolyn...' was never meant to mean that i wish you leave me alone. I'm sorry that is how you took it... I'm sorry that you mistook my actions..."Standing strait again, and offering his daughter a nod. "I've leant several of my texts on the Fae to another resident of the inn.. I'll have to get them back from her if you want an unabridged history of your blood history..." his tone firmed up again. seeming to have recovered from the dreadful blow she landed earlier.




Her attitude. He would have to accept it. They had not been on good terms for at least eighty years. Her wife and potentially her unborn child were missing. She had remained awake and mobile for seven days in a row and was currently in the middle of paying the high price for that. How straight did he expect her to think right now? Small things like finally calling her by her chosen name were of no good at this point. She couldn't help snorting. He chastised her refusal to read and then told her that the books he wished her to read he didn't have. "I will get them back from her. Give me her room number." At least she would be doing something. Spider didn't say anything else. There was a reason for that. She was so angry it took all of her power to stay standing and not keel over from the resulting pain on all those levels. Damnable burnout.




"Two-oh-six... But I do not think she is up currently..." it was still rather early in the morning."In the mean time, maybe you should get some more rest... It might help a bit. its dangerous to keep active in your current condition. Please..." hell it wasn't often that Jamison pleaded and if he hadn't been verbally bitchslapped he might not even offer that to her.




Spider's eyes glanced towards the window. There outside was the best clock she had. The sun. She was well-practiced with telling time by the arrangement of the sun and stars as many wizards were. After she made her estimation she pressed her lips into a thin line. Another slow measured breath through her nostrils. She said nothing. She walked with deliberate steps over to his bed. She slowly shed her coat and this she lay on the foot of the bed. This time she would leave her shoes at the side of the bed. She also shed her long sleeved black dress. This was laid on top of her coat at the foot of the bed. Underneath that dress she wore a thin long sleeved red shirt which matched her full floor-length red petticoat. So she was still entirely clothed. Spider then laid down on the bed. On top of all the blankets and covers as she did before. On her back she lay straight as an arrow with her arms at her sides. She promptly shut her eyes. It was likely she would not sleep right away but would put her focus instead on meditation renewal.




Jamison had won, at least a small victory. and when she lay down, he walked around to the other side of the bed, pulling the covers from the other side of the bed and folding them over his daughter. draping them over her body, Jamison placed his hands over her, and whispered an extremely familiar incantation over her body. It was the protection spell he weaved every night when she went to bed as a child. When she was tucked in and asleep Jamison returned to his couch, though this time the older man collapsed onto it, and lay down its length. maybe he'd catch some sleep this time. who knew?