A Holiday Tale
A Chronicle for Changeling: The Dreaming
Chapter 1, Turn 7 Summary

In Baker Systems, the central building for OSU's computer departments...

(5th Floor, Baker Systems)

Seeing that his blow connected well, Sebastian twists back, raises his elbow, and accelerates his fist toward the beast's head, repeating the motion from before. The creature is ready for him, however, and uses the force of his blow to twist the satyr off him. As Sebastian roles away the beast leaps to its feet and disappears into the darkness.

"Furgmurbin' Yeah!" someone exclaims. Suddenly a beam of purple and green chimerical lightning fires across the hall, slamming into the beast about to ginsu Jubair. Smoking, the beast drops lifelessly to the ground. In the mortal world, a flashlight clicks on pointing at an area near the young man clutching his abdomen

Jubair looks up - he is bleeding copiously from a gash in his thigh and abdomen. He blinks at the torchlight. "What the . . ." he says as he slowly and painfully attempts to stagger to his feet.

Before anyone can react, the dark creature which had been fighting Tess turns and leaps towards Jubair. Grabbing its fallen comrade it disappears into the darkness like its fellow beast a moment before.

Jumping to his feet, Sebastian looks over in the direction of the flashlight. "Who's there?"

Turning of the flashlight, Sylvana begins walking towards the satyr. "Calm yerself there, killer. I'm not your enemy. They're gone now."

An excited murmur of voices can be heard coming from the computer lab. "Relax, relax..." the lab tech is saying, "The computers are on a different circuit breaker, just save your work..."

Seeing Jubair's state, Sylvana runs to the fallen young man. "Frignablin... could we get some help over here? He's not looking too good." She begins to tear at some of his robes to form makeshift bandages. "Let's go folks! This guy needs help!"

Sebastian follows the young nocker to Jubair's resting place. He aids her in tearing the cloth, and motions to the troll to come and help. "Tess, come give us a hand. We need to carry him out of here."

Tess moves quickly to where Jubair is writhing on the ground. Sheathing her sword, she gently picks up the wounded Eshu, and says over to Sebastian, "I don't know what just happened, but we are damn lucky it did. Come on, the elevators will be out during the brown out, so we gotta find some stairs."

Tess then starts walking toward the nearest emergency exit sign.

Slightly taken aback at the troll's disregard for her action to bandage the young man, the young nocker shouts "Hey! What the hell? Bring him back here so I can bandage him, you shtunk! Hey! He needs help! Where do you think you're taking him?!" Sylvana stands and chases after the troll, snagging her bookbag as she leaves.

Once a set of stairs is found, Tess makes her way down the five flights in the pitch dark. After finally making her way down to the ground floor, she heads for the lobby, making sure everyone is following her.

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(Lobby)

The lights flicker as Chris/Kelia passes through the door. She takes another couple of steps, clearing the door, then turns around toward the doors. "Oh, great," she mutters in a near-whine. "I hope my UPS is working."

"Ah," Brighteyes cries, startled. Soon she regains her composure and looks around.

"Screw it," Chris/Kelia mutters. "It's all backed up anyway." She turns and starts walking out into the parking lot, squinting in the sunshine.

Tess and the others enter the lobby, Tess and Sebastian are bleeding chimerically from small cuts, Jubair is being carried by Tess and is obviously in bad shape.

Tess looks about her for a moment, and frowns, "Where is the girl?"

Keighvyn sighs. "She said something about going to the Starbuck's in Upper Arlington. How's Jubair?"

Huffing to keep up, Sylvana catches the troll and chimes in "He'll be fine, if we stop the bleeding. You shouldn't pick someone up like that when they're injured. You can cause more bleeding than necessary. Now put him down so I can help him. I'm a pre-med student. Let me have a look at him. I can probably temporarily fix him up, until we get to a freehold." She stops a second, as if in a moment of realization. "Oh, right. Duh. I'm Sylvana Kyteler Brechtfeld. Now let me at the furking patient!"

"Tess, you can put me down now - I'm not incapable of movement, you know," Jubair says. He flashes a quick smile at Sylvana as he is put down by Tess. As she tends his wounds, Jubair turns to look at Sebby and Tess. "Sorry about being little help to you guys back there," he says.

Sebby throws him a wry smile and replies "You did fine. That distraction technique you had was really top rate." He looks away towards the sunlight coming in the doors, and shifts his weight to the opposite hoof. "They're gonna be coming back, and it's gonna suck if we're not ready."

Tess nods in agreement with Sebastian. "You did fine Jubair." She watches as Sylvana bandage Jubair for a moment, then turns to Keighvyn and Sebastian. "We need to get someone over with Logan, in case more of those things come." Looking to Sebastian, "Would you mind taking Keighvyn and Jubair back to the freehold? I think the Countess should know about these. The owl's warnings hint at something more than free chimera looking for Glamour. The girls and I can go to Starbuck's."

"I'll take Jubair, but Keighvyn should go with you. You two are the most martial among us, and the Lady is shining like a beacon. We can't afford another episode like this." He gestures to Jubair. "No offense, man, but you were a fish out of water up there. We don't need any needless casualties."

Tess turns her attention back to the young knocker bandaging up Jubair. "'Sylvana', did you say? My thanks for your assistance with Jubair. How does he look?" She places a hand on Jubair's shoulder as she talks to Sylvana.

Grumbling and muttering the whole time she bandages, Sylvana neatly and carefully binds the bleeding gashes in the Eshu's abdomen and thigh. "He's gonna be fine, so long as we get him to a freehold right-a-furkin'-way." Turning to Sebastian, she says "Lissenup goatboy: you get him to the gribnabbin' freehold with a lead foot, got it? You got room in your ongepochket machine for me to tag along? I wanna make sure this guy is okay."

"That'd be fine. It's a Jeep Cherokee, there's room." Once Sylvana has finished bandaging him, Sebastian offers a hand and supports the young man, holding him up under his arm. "Let's go." He turns back towards the others. "If I find anything pressing, I'll find you."

"Okay," Tess says after a moment of consideration. Turning to look at Sylvana, Tess says, "I'm not sure why you're here Sylvana, and not at the Institute, but it was our good luck to have you." She gives Jubair a firm squeeze to the shoulder.

"I go to school here. In case you forgot, I graduated from the grubbin' Institute last June. With honors, dammit. Urbisnabbinfrumbleluggins...." She stalks away after Sebastian, muttering nearly incoherently under her breath.

Rajabal comes swooping down from the sky and lands next to Jubair. He begins a quiet lecture on caution to the young eshu, though it's plainly evident that beneath his tirade is genuine concern over the wounds.

Sebastian, Jubair, and Sylvana head to Sebastian's car.

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(The group chasing Kelia)

Turning once again to Keighvyn and her wards, Tess says, "Come on, lets see if we can catch up with Logan before she gets to far. Tess leads the way out the door. "Probably parked over at the garage, if she has a car. Besides, that's where we're parked, and we'll need the car." Tess motions for the others to follow, and sets off at a light jog, attempting to not draw much attention from those few people around.

They catch her in the parking garage, walking up to a dark blue Pathfinder.

"Miss Logan," Tess calls, as she catches up to Kelia, "If I might make a suggestion? Perhaps it would be best if you didn't drive? If you start having these," Tess pauses a moment as if considering her words, then continues, " hallucinations, while driving, you could get hurt, not to mention hurting others."

Tess motions toward Keighvyn, "Kevin here can drive if you want to take your car. He's a police officer," with an amused gleam in her eye, "and not on the take as far as I can tell, so is pretty trust worthy. The girls and I can follow in my car."

"You've gotta be kidding," Chris/Kelia replies, with a look toward Keighvyn. "No freakin' way am I gettin' in any car with some strange man."

Brighteyes frowns very deeply at all of the going ons. "Miss Tess, please don't let her go alone..."

Tess sighs softly in frustration. "Okay, Miss Logan, I can understand." She takes off her broadsword and hands it to Keighvyn. Turning back to Christine she says, "Perhaps you would be more comfortable if I drive you, then?

Chris/Kelia, eyes growing a bit wider, swallows and says, "Uhm, yeah, I suppose so." She looks over at the two young girls. "Are they coming with us?" she asks Tess.

Tess digs her keys out of her satchel, and hands them over to Keighvyn. "Hope you can drive a stick," she says with a grin. "You and the girls can follow us. I'll buy you all a drink, or maybe a doughnut." The last is said with a vain attempt to not snicker.

Turning back to Christine, "Shall we?"

Chris/Kelia nods, only slightly reluctantly, and points unnecessarily at the dark blue Pathfinder. "That's my car. It's already unlocked." She hands the keys to Tess. The car has Texas plates and the plate holder has "SMU Mustangs" on it. She opens the passenger-side door and gets in, holding her briefcase protectively on her lap.

Tess takes the keys from Christine and takes the drivers seat. After telling Keighvyn that they will wait here for them, until they pull the Civic around, Tess begins adjusting the seat and steering wheel for a person of her stature.

When Keighvyn and the girls pull around, Tess starts up the Passport, and drives to Starbucks, driving so that Keighvyn can easily keep up.

As Tess starts the car, music begins to play. It's rock, the alterna-lite variety. A woman's voice sings, "...my voice, have I lost my virtue? How much more can I sacrifice to you? I could lose everything surrendering to you, like praying to a god who doesn't even want to know you. Down--" The music stops abruptly as Chris/Kelia reaches over and hits the stop button. "Sorry," she mumbles. She stares out the front windshield for a moment. "You sent me an email last night, didn't you," she says, her tone indicating it is not a question. "About my book. Lisa." She laughs softly. "I was going to call the school, to make sure you weren't some sort of stalker."

Tess smiles wistfully for a moment as she nods her head. "Lisa, Lisa McCane, at your service Miss Logan. If you had called the Institute, you would have found that I am an English teacher, and that I have spoken with the director about having you there." She attempts to smile calmingly to the distraught sidhe. "And I am still interested in you coming to speak with the class, if of course, you're still willing to speak to me."

Tess pulls into the nearest parking place in Starbucks, and with a grin, pulls the keys out of the ignition and hands them over to Christine before they get out. "I really aught to get me one of these things, much easier on the back than my car."

Tess leads the way into the coffee house, holding the door open for Christine, while glancing about to make sure Keighvyn and the girls arrive. Once inside, she motions for Christine to pick a table, and follows her to sit down.

Chris/Kelia walks up to the counter and orders a plain coffee, the largest size. Napkins in one hand, coffee in the other, she heads for a table in the back, one of the larger ones. She sips the coffee and sighs softly. "Okay. So just what is it you people want from me, anyway?" Her tone is steady, matter-of-fact, but her hands tremble ever so slightly.

Keighvyn follows Tess, making sure the two girls follow along with him. When they sit down, he takes a seat, letting Tess or one of the girls sit next to Ms. Logan. he orders a butterscotch latte.

"Want from you?" Tess says, her manner like one trying to decide what to say. "It's not really so much what we 'want' from you Miss Logan. More, its what we can help you do." Tess takes a drink from her coffee. "We were told yesterday that you would begin having the difficulties you are having soon, so we," Tess says, indicating the girls and Keighvyn, "and our friends that left us earlier, were sent to help you get through it."

Christine downs a good third of her coffee. "Is that... man, is he all right?" She takes a deep, shuddering breath. "God. Those things..." She drinks more coffee. "Call me Chris, please." Her brow furrows with confusion. "Or Kelly. No, wait, that's not right. Kelia. Yeah, that's right... Always liked that name. Used it for my main character..." She trails off, suddenly looking more scared than confused.

"So which would you prefer? Kelia or Chris? Both are correct," Tess says with a grin. "You may call me Tess. Its what my fae friends call me. This is Sammy," Tess says, introducing Brighteyes. "Her friends, as well as me, call her Brighteyes." With a wink at Chris, Tess says in a mock whisper, "Keep your eye on anything shiny or that makes a jingly noise."

Brighteyes looks completely innocent.

"Uhm, I think Chris would be best," she says shakily. "I'm confused enough as it is." She looks over at Brighteyes as she's introduced. "Yeah," Chris comments, almost smiling, "she already tried to swipe my keys." She drinks the last of her coffee, a 20 ounce cup. Her rate of consumption is impressive.

"This is Chely Rose," Tess continues, nodding to Chely. "And this is Kevin," she says, indicating the handsome sidhe. "Or Keighvyn in the Dreaming world," she continues, her voice slightly accenting the minute difference in pronunciation.

"Uhm, hello," Chris says, looking to each of them. To Keighvyn she adds, "Uhm, no offense. About the car."

"Hey, no problem," says Keighvyn with a friendly grin. He takes a sip of his latte, then continues. "It's what my friends at work and I always tell the school kids, after all... 'Never get in a car with a stranger.'"

Chris flashes a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"Tess' boyfriend." Brighteyes smiles conspiringly.

Chris raises one eyebrow. "I'll keep that in mind," she murmurs.

Tess glances askance to the ceiling as she roles her eyes.

Hearing the last portion of the conversation, Keighvyn nearly chokes on a sip of latte. "'Sokay," he assures the others around a coughing fit. "Went down the wrong tube, that's all..." A pink flush has crept along the tips of his pointed ears.

"All the good ones are taken," Chris comments to Brighteyes with a grin.

"I'm sure that Sebastian and Jubair will be fine, though Jubair may need to spend a few days in the freehold," Tess says, finally responding to Kelia's query. "Right now whats important is you, and your Chrysalis."

Brighteyes nods. "Don't worry. We'll help you in any way possible, okay?"

Chris manages a smile at the young girl's assurances. "Thanks."

"God," Chris mutters. "So what the f--" She breaks off, glancing guiltily at the two young girls, then restates, "What's happening? Why'm I seeing things? I mean, I've seen things before, like I was daydreaming." Her brow furrows. "I saw some weird-looking people once, when I was an undergrad, in a parking lot..." She winces apologetically. "A half-goat, a big ol' blue guy, stuff like that. I figured I'd just been studying too hard. But I used that, the way they looked, when I wrote..." Chris brings her hands up to rub her eyes, but stops just before she turns herself into a raccoon. "Oh, man. I made all that stuff up..." She scrunches her eyes closed for a moment, then opens them and sighs. "I think I'm gonna need another cup of coffee for this. 'Scuse me a sec." Chris goes to the counter and orders another coffee, the same size, then sweetens it the same way she had the first and sits back down. Her hands, resting on the cup, are still trembling slightly. "Okay," she says, looking directly at Tess. "What happens now."

"Well, for the next few days," Tess says, "You are surrounded in Glamour, as your true self awakens. Of course, it could take less time, or more, but usually it's a day or three." Tess glances at the others to see a moment, then continues. "You will probably be seeing and hearing things that make absolutely no sense to you. Right now you are vulnerable to the Dreaming, and all the good and bad that come with it. Fortunately, you have friends who will help." Tess smiles as she indicates herself and the others.

"Worse than giant bugs and Anthony Hopkins?" Chris asks in a near-whine.

"Quite honestly, the best thing for you right now is to get away from your normal life for a few days. Call work, tell them that you have to take some time off, if you've got a husband, tell him you need some time away from everything. You need to learn to deal with what's happening, and the more distractions from the 'real' world, the harder and more confusing it is," says Tess.

Chris very nearly chokes on a mouthful of coffee. Once she manages to swallow, she says with a somewhat strange look at Tess, "No, I don't have a husband." She takes a sip of her coffee, a small one, and adds, "I work from home a lot. In fact, I was in today only for a presentation. I only go to my office when I need all three machines going to debug... Uhm, sorry, that probably doesn't make much sense. But I can avoid going in for a few days, yes." She opens her briefcase, the main compartment, and pulls out a slim laptop. She plugs something into the side and runs her finger around on the touchpad for a few seconds, then types a short message. "There, I sent a note saying I'd be working from home the rest of the week. Now..." She types a bit more, then shuts down the laptop. "I asked a tech guy to check on my equipment, what with the power outage," she explains. "So. What now?" Chris asks. "I sit at home for a few days and try not to go insane?"

"Well, that might work. I'd suggest you keep one of us with you if you choose that route. There are a couple other options also. The first is that you could come and stay at the Institute with me for a few days. The Institute is actually made to educate kids who have come into their own sense of self, or those related to the fae, who may awaken themselves." Tess finishes off her coffee, then continues. "There are a lot of others there that can help. The second option is what I would more strongly recommend. You can come to court with us. The Countess would be delighted to meet you, I'm sure. She and her advisors are most able to help, or provide assistance at the least."

Tess looks to Chely and Brighteyes, then to Keighvyn, before returning her attention to Kelia. "The choice is of course yours. You could stay at your house, but if the people nearby hear you making strange noises, they may look at you funny from now on. I would strongly suggest the Court myself. It's where I was taken when I began my Chrysalis."

Tess stretches out her large blue hand and places it comfortingly on Kelia's. "Remember, each of us have gone through this before you, and we are here to help you."

"Countess?" Chris asks shakily and rhetorically. She looks down at Tess' large hand on top of hers, her expression taking on an almost vulnerable quality. "Oh, God. Uhm, okay, but I've gotta take care of some things at my house first. I mean, if I'm not going to be home for a few days. And I think I'd rather wear something besides this suit for a few days." She manages a faint smile, then downs the rest of her coffee. "Uhm, I guess you can all come, if you want," she says, looking at the young girls and Kevin in turn.

The piskie nods. "We're not here to hurt you or anything, ma'am. We just wanna help you through this tough time you're goin' through. I remember when I went through my Chrysalis... It was really scary..."

"Scary, yeah, Chris says. "Uhm, how old were you when that happened? I mean, does this just happen whenever?"

She nods. "It can happen when you're really young or really old. It just happens. It was a few years ago for me. At first, I thought it was a game. Papa looked just like me when I looked in the mirror, and Mama was all glittery n' stuff... "

"'Really old'?" Chris asks, eyebrow raised. She looks over at Tess and sighs.

"To a childling, 18 is real old," Tess says comfortingly. "The girls were lucky, they awakened pretty young, so they didn't have as many preset convictions or beliefs. Its harder for folks our age, since we already know how the world works." Tess grins. "I underwent my change when I was here at the University, during my senior year. I've only been Dreaming for 2 years or so."

Keighvyn stops coughing, takes a deep breath, and gives Christine a small smile as he joins the conversation. "And I've known since I was about fifteen. I guess I had it easier than most---my folks and my sisters know about what I am, and my Uncle Ciaran helped me through a lot of it." Hie expression becomes wistful at the mention of his uncle's name, and then he continues after a short pause, "And if it's any comfort, ma'am, you aren't the only one who's seen ravens."

Chris listens, head tilted slightly, as the three discuss their chrysalis. "I thought it was a grackle," she confesses. "I'm afraid I don't really like birds all that much." She looks at her empty cup. "Are y'all ready?"

Tess nods to Christine. "Sure, lets go." She drinks off the last of the coffee in her cup, and motions for the girls to finish.

Everyone gathers their things and heads back to the cars.

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(Going to Herbium Castellum)

Sebastian lifts the Eshu into the Jeep, and helps lay him out on the seat. Once Jubair is settled, he walks around to the driver's side, climbs in, and starts the engine.

Jubair helps them help him through into the car as best he can, audibly grumbling to himself about his own stupidity the whole time. He puts his seatbelt on and sits back, trying to ignore the pain.

"Listen, stop worrying about it. It's not going to happen again." Sebastian says.

"Yes," Rajabal hoots, "Do not continue to berate yourself. I shall do that for you. By all accounts you were brave, if fool hardy. Your only mistake was staying behind. We must get you a blade, and soon."

Jubair replies "Very true Rajabal," in that tone of voice that says 'I know I've done something stupid, so please don't remind me about it. I can do that myself.'

Rajabal snorts, "_Don't_ remind yourself! Get cocky! Even without a blade, unprepared, and facing savage beasts of the Dark, you survived! I'll keep you prudent, young eshu. You'll need your rashness." If owls could smile, Rajabal might have a grin at this moment.

Jubair stops and laughs as Sebby helps him in. "Point taken, Sebby. Trust me to learn the hard way!"

"Hey, Sebby, how's everyone else?" Jubair asks, smiling through his injuries.

"Tess and I will be fine. I'll get bandaged up when we get back to the freehold. For now, let's go." Sebastian answers.

"Great - nice to see you're all OK, or at least doing better than me!" Jubair replies with a smile.

Once everyone is in the vehicle, Sebastian hits the accelerator, and drives back to the freehold as quickly as possible without incurring a voluntary tax.

Intent on driving, Sebastian says little until they are under way. As soon as they get on the road, he reaches over and pushes a tape into the player. A man's tenor voice sings over a tightly orchestrated background "...a choice is facing you, a healthy dose of pain..." He tilts his head slightly and comments to the two passengers "It's good driving music, but I'm not supposed to be listening to pop. Hecataeus, my mentor, isn't keen on things that distract me from my studies."

"Why would anyone try t'keep you goats from yer music?" Before he can respond, Sylvana turns around in her seat to face Jubair. "Howzit going there? You comfortable? You need anything? Once we get to the freehold, I'll change your bandages. Then I'll talk to my pops and see if he'll whip up a batch of his ointment. Takes away all the pain. So what if your skin turns purple and you smell like cheese. You'll feel a hell of a lot better. Then I'll have him give you a sword fighting lesson. Maybe even make a sword for you. He's a great guy, you'll love him. Taught me everything I know."

Jubair was listening to the music on the tape when Val turned to talk to him. He wrinkles his nose at the "smell like cheese" bit, but then he spots Val's accidental mispronunciation. "I already feel battered as it is, I don't need more!" he laughs. After a moment, he continues "don't worry, I knew what you meant. That would be great - I could obviously do with the skill, eh Rajabal?" A smile spreads across Jubair's face, apparently disregarding the pain.

Rajabal clucks his beak, obviously still worried about his protégé, "There are other ways to avoid harm then swordplay, you must find what works best for you."

Sebastian waits until Jubair has finished responding, and says quietly to Sylvana "He's not trying to keep me from music. Just music he figures is distracting. He would rather I listened to something quieter. Like whatever world music happens to be in fashion this week." His face flashes a half-smile at this idea. "Like that's gonna happen."

Jubair listens quietly, then smiles and rolls his eyes when Sebby says his piece. "Maybe he doesn't like your taste in music."

"Probably. I can't say that monotone chanting does much to take me to Nirvana or wherever he goes when he's doing his meditation." Sebastian sighs as he takes the car around another corner.

Sylvana shifts in her seat as centripetal force exerts itself on her. "Maybe if you tried listening to it instead of rejecting it, you'd come closer to understanding him. By rejecting his music, you're as bad as he is. My pops once told me 'Resemble the good qualities of the person you look up to. You've got enough of your own bad ones that you don't need more.' Let's be open-minded, here."

Before Sebastian can respond, the Conservatory appears on the right. He turns the car in and finds a parking spot. It's not very crowded, this early in the morning on a weekend. This close to downtown the roads are crowded, but relatively few folks are stopping to pull into the conservatory.

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(At Kelia's Place)

It's a short drive to Kelia's house, and nothing unusual happens enroute. Kelia allows Tess to drive again, giving her directions. She points to a garage door remote. It's a two-car garage, one side unused.

As she exits the car, however, her cell phone starts ringing from within her briefcase. Kelia stops and digs out her phone. It's a small flip-phone, fairly pricey. "Excuse me," she murmurs to Tess, opening the phone as she opens the door leading into the house. "Hello?"

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