A Second Generation Whateley Academy Story

Born in Fire

by

Astrodragon

Part Four

Monday 17th October, Thulia's Workroom, Plane of Fire

Thulia cast a worried look around at her final setup. Everything seemed as complete as she could make it, so the last thing she had to do was finish her personal preparations. She'd taken a quick shower to get rid of the dirt and sweat from her overnight work, and slowly put on a formal robe as she tried to think of anything she'd forgotten. The small mundane details of preparing herself were a help, they diverted her thoughts a little from what was about to happen. Bruce quietly offered her a box, and after smiling her thanks, she opened it to show two ornate bracers. Silvery metal filigree etched with complexly detailed spellwork inlaid in gold and jewels. She caressed one with a finger; she wouldn't wear them yet. They pulsed softly with the power stored in them, as she next laid down the chain her grandmother had lent her, the orichalcum links glistening in the light, and put two copies of the ritual next to it.

She looked at them for a moment, almost reaching out to touch them before pulling her hand back, before opening a smaller box to carefully inspect the crystal wands nestled inside. She knew she would need stored power today, and these would be the backup to her inner power. One to restore her personal essence, and two emerald green ones fully saturated and ready for the major healing she knew she would have to do at the end. Finally, she summoned her sword, inspecting it critically. She wasn't sure if she'd need it, but she might, so best to be prepared. She held it up, reading the spells inlaid in the blade, feeling the power thrumming within it, and bared her fangs as she smiled coldly. If the demon tried to manifest itself here, she would give it a very warm, and fatal, reception.

Her eyes lingered on the chain, the tiny delicate letters that made up the spells inscribed along the links almost invisibly small. She knew the way she felt about Morgana, despite trying, at least at first, to deny it, and her only worry now was that Morgana would refuse the bond. She licked her suddenly dry lips, hoping that Morgana would accept the bond for itself, not just because it could be the thing that saved her life, but even if that was the only reason, she'd accept that. Still, she couldn't but hope.

Anxiety was a hard-wound spring inside her as she finished bringing Morgana and Caitlin through to her workroom, before passing them off to Bruce for a few minutes while she closed the portal. The last thing they needed if something went wrong was to have an open portal to Whateley next to a rather large energy release, and she did a double-check of her preparations just to be certain. Finally, she couldn't put things off any longer, turning to Morgana as she gestured to her.

"Morgana, would you sit with me for a moment, please?"

Morgana nodded, looking puzzled at the expression on Thulia's face; if she didn't know better, it was almost as if she didn't know what to do or say next, an attitude that she wasn't used to seeing when it came to Thulia.

 Thulia opened her mouth as if to say something, then she paused and gestured again, this time to Bruce and Caitlin.

"Please, come and watch and bear witness. I may need assistance in this."

The two shared a look of confusion between them at the formality of the phrasing, before walking over. Thulia nodded in thanks.

"Before we start the operation, there is something I need to explain to you, Morgana." She took a deep breath in a - rather futile - attempt to calm herself before continuing. "Now, while you will have access to your own resources during this trial, and of course, you have your link to Fire, there may be a time when you need more. As it stands, I cannot help you directly as I won't actually be with you, at least not physically."

She looked down at her hands, winding the fingers together in the first real sign of real nervousness Morgana had seen from her; even throughout the experiment and all these preparations and meetings, Thulia had always seemed so confident and sure of herself, no matter what the situation. "Morgana, I would like to make a more - a deeper - connection with you, to help you through this."

The tone of her voice showed Morgana was completely confused. "Thulia, just what sort of connection are you talking about?"

Thulia cast a quick, worried, glance at her audience. She'd have preferred to talk about something like this in private, explaining all it entailed to Morgana, but having witnesses would save a lot of issues with her family later. So she carefully went through the details, first the need to be able to feed Morgana extra power, and the fact that the only way to arrange this in the time they had was for her to provide that power. She'd just got around to explaining the type of bond she wanted to offer Morgana when Caitlin interjected.

"Hang on, you aren't suggesting to marry her or something, are you!?"

Thulia froze, mouth open in shock at that blunt statement, while Morgana looked at her with wide eyes. It was only Bruce's gravel tones that brought some sanity back to the conversation.

"Nah, it's not like that. Or even an engagement. It's an arrangement, which you can reverse later if you want to."

Thulia gulped as Morgana met her eyes, worry biting down on her. Only slowly recovering her composure as Morgana smiled at her. "Thulia, I would be happy to exchange such a promise with you, if you will accept it." Then she leaned forward, close enough the two watchers couldn't hear. "And not just because of any help it might allow you to give me."

Thulia blinked, blushed, and finally gave her a shy smile before taking Morgana's hands in hers and squeezing them.

Thulia finally realised that the intimate moment the two girls were sharing had two interested observers, who were trying to pretend they weren't seeing anything (and not succeeding very well) and stood up. "We need to get started then. Grimes told you to bring your Athame, I think?"

Morgana nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'm going to lose blood over this, aren't I?"

Thulia nodded, amused at the ironic tone. "I'm afraid so. First, we need to get naked, then I'll start the ceremony." That got a raised eyebrow from Morgana, and the way her eyes quite obviously looked over Thulia in anticipation made her blush slightly, as she muttered half-seriously 'humans, minds always in the gutter!' which at least brought a laugh from Bruce.

She started to remove her robe, then realised that Morgana was taking the opportunity to watch her closely while removing her own clothes. She carefully tried to look as if she hadn't noticed, but despite the circumstances, she couldn't help but preen a little as she made a bit of a production about getting naked, and quite deliberately showed herself off to Morgana. No matter what happened today, at least she would give Morgana a good memory.

The initial part of the bonding ritual went smoothly, which Thulia fervently hoped would be a good omen for the rest of today. The two girls faced each other and recited the ritual phrases as the magic slowly built around them, a glowing red pattern starting to glow in the air around and between them. The second part was a bit more painful, as both of them had to slash their palms and let their blood run down the orichalcum chain and mingle, something the magic of the chain made easy as their joined magic made a shimmering braid of essence that twisted along and around the length of the chain.

Thulia licked her suddenly-dry lips as they entered the final, binding, part, and she could see the tenseness in her partner. She could so well understand that, she wasn't exactly feeling calm and relaxed herself. Reading the second part of the spell was easy enough, but forming the link affected her in a way she hadn't expected. The start of the scratching between her shoulderblades as the mark began to inscribe itself she had expected; it was the feelings she experienced that she hadn't planned for.

The twisted mesh of the shared magic joining them flickered, then started to throb in time with their heartbeats, and with each pulse, she felt another part of the pattern inscribe itself into her flesh. Her aura slid along the chain, to meet Morgana's, and when the two glows finally touched she felt a thrill of excitement and passion flow through the link. If she hadn't been so caught up in the ritual she would have blushed as she felt Morgana's feelings touch her, and for a timeless moment the aura's of the two girls mingled, sending a pulse of passion through her as she realised Morgana was echoing her own feelings. It didn't last, and she felt a pang of disappointment as the ritual finished, leaving her looking into Morgana's eyes and trying to keep her breathing and her emotions in check. A part of her knew she had to carry on with the next ritual to save Morgana, but another part of her yearned to keep that closeness and intimacy going for as long as possible. Finally, she broke eye contact, taking a deep shuddering breath as she collected herself and let the bloody links of the chain fall to the floor.

"Uh... I'd better heal these cuts, hadn't I?"

Morgana just nodded, holding her bloody palm out to her, her eyes still fixed on Thulia.

Thulia did blush deeply this time, as she held her hand over Morgana's, green fire sliding over the cut as it healed the damaged flesh before she did the same to her own hand.

Thulia deliberately turned away from Morgana as she went to collect the final tools she would need. She didn't want Morgana to see the expression on her face, hopefully she would be more composed in a moment, or at least would be able to hide her lack of it better. Bruce handed her the sword she'd been waiting for with a muttered "Good luck, Boss." as she slipped into the smaller of the conjunct circles, placing the long blade on the floor next to her. She wasn't sure if she'd need it, but she suspected she might. She patted the blade as she saw Morgana eyeing the weapon.

"Don't worry, this isn't for you. It's just in case the psychofágos tries something stupid in here." She looked down at the rune-inscribed blade, with a soft. "I almost hope it does..."

Sitting down in the centre of her circle, she made a final check her bracelets were fitting comfortably - unnecessary, their magic made sure they fit her wrists perfectly, but despite the appearance of calm she was trying to project for Morgana's sake, she needed her own reassurance. Taking a few deep breaths to calm and centre herself, she gestured, the complex movements of her hands and fingers activating the circles around the two girls. Twisting curls of essence and fire followed her fingertips to trail through the air, setting the symbols inlaid in the diagrams to glow and pulse with magic. As soon as the circles had all responded, she started to chant in one of the old languages, the words resonating oddly with a power of their own. She could feel and see the power curling and coalescing in her cupped hands, her eyes fixed on Morgana's aura as she watched it start to move and shift. Her chanting grew to a crescendo, the glow in her hands now blinding to anyone who could see the magic, and with a gesture hurled it at Morgana, watching as it enveloped her aura, sending it crackling with energy, before Morgana's spirit form slowly rose out of her body, the glowing fire of the cord connecting it to her physical body curling in the air between them.

Morgana's physical form looked as if she was asleep, the only expression, one of confusion, being on her spirit body. Thulia wasn't concentrating on that, instead looking with narrowed eyes at the greenish-yellow crepuscular glow still surrounding her physical form. She forced down the feeling of disgust it made her feel, as a snarl escaped her throat as she pulled in her power. Her wings flared out behind her as they manifested, the delicate patterns of ebony and scarlet burning brightly across them as she channeled even more power into herself. The gold inlays on her bracelets glowed burning hot as she gestured with both hands, fiery talons manifesting around that glow, digging into the demon's immaterial form and yanking it upwards out of Morgana's body. It screamed in pain and outrage as she dragged it up, a mass of wriggling obscene tentacles that resisted every inch, the air vibrating with the tortured sounds of its protests. Finally, it was held in a writhing mass above Morgana's body, only a few tenticular strands stretched tight as they stubbornly dug deep into the girl.

Thulia snarled again and, keeping hold of the obscenity with one flaming claw, she gestured imperiously. Her sword leapt into her hand as she chanted again, her voice this time the crackling of an angry fire as her sword responded. The golden runes etched into the dark surface were a study in brilliance, and the edges of the sword itself lit the room as they burned with leashed starfire. With another tearing snarl, she slashed it forward and through those stubbornly resistant tentacles, severing them in a flare of fire as the creature howled in protest and shot up towards the ceiling. There was a weird flash as both Morgana's spirit form and the demon vanished through a crack in the air, the only remaining sign being the cord connecting Morgana to her physical body, which was now resting, breathing very slowly and showing few signs of life. She let out a long breath and slowly laid her sword down, waiting till her heart stopped pounding in her chest. Now it was all up to Morgana.

Thulia wasn't sure how long she'd been watching Morgana's cord twisting slowly in a non-existent wind. She'd been far more concerned with the changes she'd been seeing in it, which she thought were a result of whatever was happening to Morgana at the time. More than once it had faded, the small flames flickering along it dying down, but each time it had brightened, allowing her to start breathing again. This last time it had stayed faded and dull for longer than before, and deep inside herself, she felt that maybe the situation was building to a climax. Still, right now all she could do was watch and stay ready.

She didn't have to wait for much longer. This time the cord shimmered, before growing brighter, and finally she felt what she had been waiting for all this time, the sharp tug of need at her leman bond. She didn't hesitate, allowing her essence to flow unhindered into the mark on her back as she felt it grow burning hot. A stream of essence so dense she could almost see it without her magesight flowed in a twisted spiral up towards the rift in space about Morgana's body, and she bit her lip as she urged even more through it. In the back of her mind, fear grew at what all this power would do to Morgana, but she had to ignore it - the vital thing now was for Morgana to win her battle and survive. She winced as she saw Morgana's body start to burn, the injuries reflecting what was happening to her spirit in the demon battle, but despite that, she steeled herself to continue, even though she knew it was her power causing the damage. She could feel her link to the Heart of Fire pulsing in time with her heart, opening herself wide to it and letting its full flow saturate her with fire essence, allowing her to keep feeding it to Morgana. Carefully, though, she didn't know what too much fire would do to Morgana, tempering the flow with essence from her own well. She felt her well slowly drain into the link as she gave Morgana all the power she could.

Finally, the drain on her well stopped abruptly. She almost fell forward in reaction as she panted, then brought herself back upright. This was not the time to relax. Grabbing the crimson wand from the box next to her, she held it between her hands, the point pressed between her breasts as she drew the stored power back into her well, replacing the essence she'd just passed to Morgana. Restoring her power so fast was painful, but she knew she would need her full power soon, and fire essence was only a small part of what she would need. Her eyes were locked on the flaw in space as it widened, the glowing cord connecting Morgana pulling her spirit back into her body. She shivered as she saw the dark spots staining the cord, but it was intact. A few seconds later Morgana's physical body jerked spastically as her spirit returned, and she fell forward onto the floor.

As soon as she collapsed, Thulia was on her feet, a hand gesture tearing the circles between them open, as she rushed to Morgana, ignoring the flare of energy from the disrupted circles. Morgana had fallen onto her side, her body twitching and jerking as she tried, vainly, to speak.

 She kneeled next to her love, cradling her head in her hands as she bent forward over her. She winced inside as she saw the lines burnt into her arms and the charred and bleeding hands, the lesions covering her body.

"Ssshh, don't try and speak yet, just relax and let me take care of you."

Despite her words, Morgana was still struggling to talk and get up, her eyes screwed shut as tears of pain ran down her cheeks. "Hurts... everything hurts."

Thulia let go long enough to make a complicated gesture, and the circle they were in obediently reconfigured itself, the symbols turning a greenish-gold colour.

"Trust me, Morgana. Just let go and sleep while I fix you."

Morgana opened her eyes just enough to look at her, and nodded painfully, her voice still a hoarse whisper. "Trust you..." Then her eyes squeezed shut again as another wave of pain wracked her body.

Thulia pressed her hands to Morgana's temples, her voice vibrating eerily as she started to cast the healing spells she'd prepared earlier, her body glowing before breaking out in greenish flames, covering the two girls in a nimbus of soft fire. Morgana shivered once more before her face finally relaxed as Thulia pushed her down into sleep. Then she set herself and started the real work she needed to do.

Her first need was to stabilise the critical damage, and she had to force her emotions aside; she could cry later. The damage to Morgana was worse than she had anticipated, while the overt signs were bad enough, the internal damage and the stress and warping of her essence channels and well were far worse. The circle surrounding the two girls shimmered as the air around them glowed with green fire, and finally Thulia drew a shuddering breath and sat up straight. The emergency work of stabilising Morgana completed, she now had to work in more detail. She drew the two emerald green crystals out, holding one in each hand as she moved then slowly over Morgana's body, the crystals seeming to shimmer as they glowed green-gold.

Finally she had drained both of them, dropping them to one side as she held Morgana's head between her hands, and despite her resolution, a tear trickled down her face. Then she concentrated again, pouring her remaining stored essence into healing the damage still disfiguring the girl.

Bruce finally stirred himself and walked out to the spell circles as the curling flames started to sputter and die down.

"Boss?"

Thulia blinked, her concentration broken, and looked up at him in surprise and a little frustration. "What is it, I'm not finished yet."

Bruce pointed at her hair. "Oh yes, you are, at least for a while."

Thulia looked at her hair, absently running fingers through it. The once-flaming strands were now a pale ash-grey, and she looked at them for a moment. Just as well Bruce had stopped her before she started to damage herself. "You're right, I guess." She sighed at the way her own power hadn't been sufficient, before taking a close look at Morgana's aura and nodding to herself.

"It's not perfect, but, I wasn't far from finishing, she's well enough now her body can cope with healing the rest herself if need be."

Bruce patted her on the shoulder. "Yeah, you build them to take a beating."

Thulia finally smiled, pressing her hand down onto Bruce's. "Thanks, Bruce. Well, let's finish things up."

Caitlin had walked over behind Bruce, looking critically at the two girls. She didn't comment that both of them looked exhausted, it would have been redundant."So you've fixed the damage?"

Thulia nodded as she got to her feet, for once moving stiffly rather than with her usual grace. "Nearly all of it. Even if I don't work on her again, her natural healing will be able to cope with finishing the job."

She moved out of the circle, leaving the sleeping Morgana inside it. "I need to confirm the psychofágos is completely gone. I'm sure it is, but I must make certain." She walked across the floor to the screens Bruce had been monitoring, pausing for a moment as Bruce offered her a robe. She put it on slowly, feeling her bones creak after all her exertions, and gave him a smile of thanks, before starting to examine the data on the crystal slabs.

Thulia had allowed Caitlin to carry Morgana back through the portal; while she would rather have done that herself, she felt like she'd have dropped her, she hadn't felt so exhausted in a long time. In one hand she clutched a pad holding the results of her final tests, showing Morgana clear of the parasite. No doubt her teachers would appreciate them. She hadn't realised that Morgana's sister would be waiting. Ceridwen leapt to her feet at seeing her unconscious sister, unable to restrain a gasp of alarm.

"What's the matter? Is she hurt? Why is she unconscious?"

Thulia lifted her hand tiredly to cut off the stream of Ceri's questions. "She's fine, everything went well, She's free of the psychofágos, which is no longer with us. It did cause her body considerable stress and damage, but I've healed most of it and she'll be fine in a few weeks." She smiled slightly as Ceri seemed torn between rushing over to examine her sister and rushing over to hug her.

"Elyzia, I think we should get her to Doyle and have her checked over. Just to see how she is now." Grimes nodded. "Yes, Caitlin, I agree. Can you see to that, please? I'd like to talk to Thulia a bit more about the operation and the effect on Morgana." She looked at Ceridwen and smiled. "Perhaps you'd like to go with them, Ceridwen, and see she's OK?"

Thulia watched the people leave, wishing she could go with them. She didn't know if this strange doctor was capable of treating Morgana properly, but Grimes was looking at her expectantly, and she'd given her word earlier.

"Lady Grimes, I have a summary of her current condition and state on a pad for you and your medical team, you might find it useful. It also shows she is clear of the parasite."

Grimes took the proffered device as the teacher she remembered them calling Mrs. Horton spoke to her. "Thank you, dear. But maybe you'd better sit down while we talk, you look fatigued."

Thulia slipped into a chair with a smile of thanks to the housemother. "I am somewhat. As I expected, I had to heal Morgana afterward, and there was more to do than I'd expected. But I assumed you'd want me to go through everything so you would be reassured."

It took some time to go through it all, and Thulia was surprised by how incisive both Grimes and Mrs. Horton's questions were. They finally finished, and she offered the pad to Grimes. "Your doctor might find some of this useful as well."

She hesitated before continuing; she knew she wasn't supposed to ask what she said next, but it was important to her, and at worst they would just say no. "Ms. Grimes? I realise you want me to go now as we agreed, there's nothing more I can do for Morgana for a while."

Mrs. Horton gave the girl a considering look. "What is it you want, dear?"

Thulia blushed. "Would it be possible to stay with Morgana, just till she wakes up? I mean, I know she's OK, but..." she ground to a halt, not willing to go further.

Mrs. Horton exchanged glances with Grimes, before making the decision herself. "I don't see why not. Just until she wakes up, then a few words with her. Then we will need you to leave as promised. Will that be all right, Elyzia?"

Grimes gave a small smile. "Given what Thulia has done, I don't see why not. We have your oath to leave after, and not try to harm anyone here in any way before that?"

Thulia nodded vigorously - a mistake, as a stab of pain pounded through her head, reminding her insistently of just how much effort she'd put in today. "Of course! I just want to know she's all right."

Mrs. Horton chuckled as she stood. "Come with me, I'll take you to Doyle and show you where you can wait."

It was a little way from the summoning room to this place they called Doyle, but Mrs. Horton had cast a glamour around them, and no-one seemed to notice the two of them. Thulia was too worried about Morgana to take much notice of people passing them in any case. She ended up in a room with Morgana, who was asleep in a bed. Some equipment was attached to her, but she was relieved to see it didn't seem invasive. Still, she worried at how worn Morgana looked, it made her want to take her home and look after her properly until she was healed, but she knew that wouldn't be allowed. That didn't stop her from wanting it, of course. Mrs. Horton just smiled, and pointed to a chair in the corner, so she nodded her thanks and curled up in it, without taking her eyes off Morgana.

The next thing she knew, a hand was gently shaking her. She jerked in surprise before she realised it was Ceridwen. For a moment fear ran through her, but the smile on Ceridwens face reassured her that Morgana was probably all right.

"Oh! Ceridwen, I'm sorry, I fell asleep."

Morgana's sister chuckled. "Morgana's awake..."

She smiled her thanks at Ceridwen, then despite her tiredness, she forced herself up, then over to Morgana, taking one of her hands carefully in hers. Ceridwen smiled at the sight of the two teenagers, then moved to the door. "I'll just go and get a coffee, I'll be back soon." She chuckled to herself; it was so obvious neither of them had even heard what she'd said.

"Morgana? How are you feeling?"

Morgana looked at her. "Like I just fought with a demon." Then she reached out and grabbed Thulia, pulling her close. "And feeling like I REALLY need a hug from you!"

She slid into Morgana's arms with a shy smile. "I didn't expect it to be quite so rough on you, I'm sorry."

Morgana broke off her explanations with a kiss. A long one. When we finally broke apart a little, she put my finger to Thulia's lips. "Stop apologising. You saved my life - again - and it's all over now." She gave her a slightly questioning look. "It is all over, right?"

Thulia smiled. "Oh yes. The demon is gone, you're free of it now. I didn't quite manage to heal you completely after, but you will heal the rest yourself over the next few weeks. You're going to be fine!"

She would have loved to just stay and sit with her leman, but she had made promises to Grimes. Morgana was reluctant, but the entry of Ceridwen and Dr. Tennant meant they had to part. She gave Morgana's hand a final squeeze, before moving away with a final smile to reassure her.

Thulia stumbled as she passed through the portal to her home, causing Bruce to exclaim in alarm and to slide an arm around her before she fell.

"Are you OK, Boss?"

She nodded, patting him on the arm to reassure the alarm she'd heard in his voice. "Just exhausted. The ritual, and the healing, took a lot out of me." She blushed. "They let me wait till Morgana woke up, but I fell asleep! Luckily her sister was there to wake me."

Bruce squinted as he examined her face closely. "I don't like how faint your hair is, and you need rest. Lots of rest. I'm going to put you to bed, and no arguments!"

She smiled a little. "OK, this time I won't argue. The important thing is Morgana is safe now, so I can take a few days and get my strength back."

Tuesday 18th October, Thulia's Home, Plane of Fire

It wasn't until the middle of the next day that she opened her eyes, to realise she was in her bed. She vaguely remembered Bruce removing her robe and items before putting her there, but then she'd just passed out. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and was startled when the room seemed to spin a bit. Surely she wasn't still feeling the effects of yesterday? She pulled a lock of her hair forward - mainly black with still some grey, so she was recovering. Still, she needed to check. So she made herself comfortable, going through a mental exercise to calm herself before turning her magesight inwards and examining herself.

She took the time to be thorough, and it was nearly an hour later when she'd finished. Despite her current weakness, she was relieved to find she hadn't damaged herself. The effort of pulling so much power into and through her well and energy channels in such a short space of time had strained her somewhat - she hadn't done that to herself for a long time. Still, she reckoned she'd be fine in a day or two.

However, there were important things to do. Starting with breakfast. Or maybe lunch, but in any case, now she'd finished checking herself over, she realised she was starving. So she slipped a robe on then went to see what was available.

Bruce gave her a long, careful look before nodding. "Everything OK, Boss?"

She nodded. "Just a bit of overstrain, I'll be fine in a day or so." She looked optimistically around. "Food?"

Bruce just laughed at the hopeful tone in her voice. "How does a jednorog steak sound, we still have some preserved from that hunting trip."

Thulia's eyes lit up. "Oh yes! I'm starving, I could probably eat a whole jednorog right now."

Half way through devouring her meal, she suddenly stopped. "Oh! Bruce, I need to tell Tanau how it all went!"

Bruce just grinned and motioned to her to finish eating. "Don't worry, Boss. When you passed out last night, I got hold of her and told her how it all went."

Thulia sighed in relief. "Thanks. After all that she did to help me I need to thank her, and not telling her how it all worked out would have been so rude of me."

"Boss, I told her how exhausted you were. She said to tell you to call her once you were rested and feeling better."

Thulia took another huge piece of steak with the happy sigh of someone who hadn't eaten in far too long. "Could you ask her if she can visit? I'd rather tell her everything in person. I owe her so much."

It didn't take Thulia too long to finish off her meal, and soon after her portal glowed. She looked at the runes edging it and smiled. "Welcome, Grandmother!" She waited until Tanau had stepped through the portal before rushing over and flinging her arms around her in a massive hug.  "I don't know how to repay you, you saved Morgana!"

Tanau chuckled, hugging the girl back before gesturing to some chairs. "Silly girl, you don't need to repay me. I was happy I could help. She looked her granddaughter over carefully. "Hmm, Bruce was right, you still look tired."

"It's OK, really it is. I checked myself thoroughly this morning, I just overexerted myself a little."

Tanau nodded. "I'll trust you on that, then. However..." she leaned forward "may I see your mark?"

Thulia blinked, looking a little surprised, before slipping her robe down to expose her back. "Of course... er, why do you want to see it?"

Tanau just smiled, peering closely at the complex magical inscription etched under Thulia's skin, then slowly stroked the air above it with a finger. "Hmmm, interesting."

Thulia of course tried to turn and look, with total lack of success, which just caused her to blush while Tanau chuckled. "Don't worry, it's not interesting in a bad way."

Thulia was looking puzzled, as well as a little concerned. "So how is it interesting? I mean" - she blushed again, considerably more deeply - "I am going to have to explain this to my parents."

"Ah, Tell me, did you have time to find out about a leman bond while you were completing your ceremonies?"

Thulia shook her head. "I didn't have the time, there was so much to get ready. I only know what you told me. "She gave Tanau a questioning look."This sounds like there was stuff you didn't tell me!"

Tanau just smiled. "Tell me, when you were forming the bond - how intimate did it feel?"

Thulia looked down and coughed, trying to play for time. It didn't work.

"Be honest with me, child; don't worry, I won't tell about it."

"Well... grandmother, when our auras' touched, I felt... I don't know exactly what I felt, it was like I was touching her, all over at once?" She frowned... "I'm sorry, I can't quite put it into words." She blushed again. "And it felt...well, exciting. And arousing. I was so sorry it had to end."

Tanau looked at her thoughtfully for a minute, then smiled and nodded. "Thank you for being honest with an old woman. Given the depth and complexity of the mark, that was rather what I was expecting." She saw the confused expression on Thulia's face, as she tried to put things into a form that the girl could easily understand. Despite all her teaching, Thulia was still quite inexperienced in matters of the heart, but it was best to tell her what her situation was.

"Leman bonds are all different, of course, depending on who makes them, the circumstances, how deeply they feel for each other, all sorts of factors. What you experienced was the sign of a deep bond, and while they can be broken, in your case that's something you shouldn't consider casually. That is if you want to dissolve it now you've saved her?"

Thulia's voice was plaintive, almost scared. "Dissolve it? Do I have to??"

"No, dear, you don't. I have strong suspicions that's the last thing you have in mind, isn't it? Of course, without seeing her I can't be certain about Morgana's feelings, but this bond isn't formed like this from just one of the participants' feelings. So I think the two of you will be together for a while at least."

Thulia thought about that. Oddly the idea that she seemed to almost accidentally have committed herself to Morgana didn't seem as scary as she might have thought it would.

"Before we made the bond... she told me she was happy to do it even without the issue about saving her."

Tanau smiled and patted Thulia's hand. "Well, now all this psychofágos issue is sorted, I'm sure you will have the time to get to know each other - and your feelings - more deeply. After all that you've been through, the two of you deserve that."

She waited for a moment for Thulia to smile shyly, then dropped the other shoe."Now, when were the two of you thinking of announcing a formal engagement?"

"GRANDMOTHER!!!"

Tanau merely smiled innocently as she watched Thulia splutter helplessly and rather incoherently. Well, time would tell, but she had a suspicion her joke might not turn out to be a joke at all. 

Thulia's Parents Home, Plane of Fire

"Thank you for meeting me, Lord Mirdaz."

Mirdaz nodded politely, concealing his curiosity about this meeting. He didn't know the name of his visitor, and interestingly he hadn't offered it, although knowing who he represented meant he could hardly have refused to talk to him. Still, the two men uttered the usual polite nothings before getting into the real reason for this visit.

"We have been hearing interesting things about the activities of your daughter which have come to our attention. While the reports we have from the Academy show her to be a most gifted and studious girl, what she has achieved recently is rather beyond what we would expect from someone so young."

Miraz frowned. While he didn't approve himself of some of the things Thulia had been doing recently, she was his daughter and the scope of her extracurricular activities was between her and her family. Although he still didn't approve of her methods, the things his daughter had achieved at such a young age were a source of pride to him. However, given the significance of the small flame badge on his guest's shoulder, he remained polite.

"I see. What do her recent actions have to do with you?

The man chuckled. "Please, we are not interested in attaching any blame to Thulia. However her actions have resulted in interest, shall we say, in certain quarters. Now we don't have any issues with those who we know well, although it's possible she may get some communications with people interested in how her experiment worked, and its consequences, but there is interest in her from some unsavoury parties."

Miraz's frown darkened considerably. "Just what unsavoury parties are we talking about here? And just what are their intentions towards my daughter?"

The man looked thoughtful as he worked out just how to answer that question.

"It seems that her actions on Earth have upset a group of mages. Given their reputation, frankly, we see anything that upsets them as a good thing. She did arrange an initial contract with them through the Intermediaries, and they have assured us that any actions she took were not in breach of that, so as far as we are concerned she's done nothing wrong."

Miraz thought this through. "So as long as she stays away from Earth, there shouldn't be a problem with them, surely?"

"I'm afraid that isn't the case. This cult is quite powerful and has contacts on other planes, including this one. So if they identify or locate your daughter, simply forbidding her from visiting Earth wouldn't resolve the issue."

Miraz's voice was close to a growl. "I and my family are quite capable of protecting my daughter, and any cult that travels here to attack her will be ended. Permanently!"

"Please, I didn't expect otherwise! In the case of any overt action, I would quite agree with you, and any such action would have our full support. What may be more worrying is something subtle, rather than direct action. Short of locking your daughter up for the foreseeable future, which is hardly practicable, such indirect actions would be extremely difficult to notice and stop."

Miraz thought on the idea of locking Thulia away for her own good and immediately decided that would be a bad idea. Not to mention fairly impossible to do against her wishes. Despite that, he couldn't stand by and let her be threatened.

"I assume you came here today to do more to help than just tell me of this possible threat?"

"Indeed I did. We take a dim view of people who threaten children, and we have been giving this matter some consideration. There are aspects of your daughter's situation which are very unusual, and we think it may be possible to leverage some of these to solve the problem in a manner which would also be to our advantage."

"Unusual... are you referring to her interest in this human girl she's been in contact with?"

"That is certainly part of it, yes. It's very rare for such a pairing to occur, and the circumstances are highly unusual. We would like to discuss some of the ideas we have in mind with you, to come to an agreement on what the best course of action is to safeguard your daughter."

Saturday 22nd October, Thulia's Home, Plane of Fire

"So how did it go, Boss?"

Thulia sighed and dismissed her staff. "About as I expected, truly. I didn't get a chance to do anything except visit their Artificer and help her prepare that limiter." Then she smiled, remembering a few other pleasurable moments. "But we did get a few minutes on our own. Not nearly enough - it was so frustrating, but they aren't going to trust me until they have that amulet ready for me."

"So how's Morgana?"

She smiled. "Doing well, she's almost finished healing. I still wish I could do an examination myself, just to make sure, but their healers do seem competent."

Bruce shrugged. "They seem to think you'll do all sort of evil mind-controllery things to her if you get her here on her own!"

Thulia thought for a moment, a smile slowly forming. "Oh, that wasn't exactly what I had in mind..."

Bruce looked at her and sighed. Teenagers. He thought he'd better change the subject before Thulia got too involved in whatever she was starting to fantasize about.

"How did you find their Artificer?"

"She was... interesting. Really not what I was expecting. Her magic is odd, I've never seen anyone cast so much like a machine."

Bruce frowned. "But aren't Artificers supposed to be sort of machines?"

"I think so. But apart from when she was making the amulet, she acted just like a person. Or at least she was doing a really good impersonation of one, and Morgana thinks of her as a person."

"And she got your blood?" Bruce very obviously didn't seem approving of that.

"Yes, as agreed, just a few drops. She gave me her oath it would only be used in the amulet, so it isn't really a risk."

"So, pretty boring in all then?"

Thulia sighed. "I'd much rather have spent time alone with Morgana, it seems so long since we've been able to do that. Whateley is an odd place, though. It seems someone had bugged her watch to spy on her!"

Bruce looked concerned. "You don't think it's the Cult, do you?"

"I don't see how, and she didn't seem to think so, apparently there's a group on the campus who spend their time spying on people."

"They spend their time doing that? And no one stops them!?"

"I told you Whateley was weird, Bruce!"

A secret meeting room, somewhere on the Plane of Fire.

The robed figures sat around the table, lit mainly by the glow from the tablets set in front of them. Their voices were quiet, almost anonymous even to each other.

"Next item for discussion, the girl Thulia." There was some movement as the various members of the group brought the details up in front of them.

"So, did her latest visit to Earth go smoothly?"

"It seemed to, although my understanding is that she was only there for a short time. I'm informed she's planning on returning soon to spend more time there with her lover."

"Are they lovers now? I didn't realise they had got that far."

"Maybe not physically yet, but they have it seems formed a leman bond, so I'm assuming it's just a matter of time and opportunity. They are, after all, teenagers."

"A deeper, lasting bond would be useful, it would help smooth over some issues she has which might otherwise prove a problem. There is also the issue of how bonding with a human will work out in practice, they are rare and more information on this subject would be helpful. And the whole issue of the transformation that was done to the human is another area that some of our academic colleagues are most interested in."

"Yes, but their relationship is likely to distract Thulia from any other considerations, at least for a while. Currently, she seems to be planning short visits, which would indicate little time for considerations other than her lover. That will make it more difficult to steer her to get the information we would like to have for our studies."

"I agree, however, I believe that our current plan can cope with that problem."

"I think we have no reason not to progress our plans, then. Assuming nothing goes wrong with this second visit, we can make some firm recommendations about how we can use Thulia in this experiment. Given her circumstances, it would be more likely to get her agreement before she gets too used to frequent visits."

"Do we have any more information about a threat to her?"

"There has been an additional development. It seems that her latest adventure has involved the destruction  - or at the very least, the incapacitation - of a psychofágos. This has obviously both offended certain parties, and, while the story is still not public, has raised interest in her in certain quarters."

"For someone so young, she's certainly the centre of some interesting events."

A chuckle ran around the table. "Well, if she was ordinary she'd likely never have got into the position of being a possible candidate."

"That's fine, as long as she's not a bloody Chosen One!"

A louder chuckle of agreement went around the circle this time.

"So, we have two issues regarding her safety we need to consider as part of the proposal. First, the possibility that this Cult she was contracted to - or their associates - will be interested in her with regard to the work she did for them. That effort would most likely be limited to Earth. Second, that the psychofágos, if it survived, or its agents or followers, if it did not, will be looking for some form of retribution. That might occur anywhere."

"How credible are the threats? She is after all young, it would be immoral to put her at additional risk for our purposes."

"While there is a possibility of a threat from both sources, we consider any intervention from demonic sources to be minimal. There are various treaties and arrangements in place, and having a demonic relative would help her. The human threat is more difficult to quantify, we simply don't know enough to predict what they would do - after all, improving our knowledge in this area is one of the aims of this experiment - but as she took her contract through the Intermediaries, it's unlikely they can force a summoning. However, it would be sensible to assume that she is at risk from them, or their agents, whenever she is on Earth. There is also the issue of the Cult and her lover - they had originally intended her as a conduit to Fire, and would undoubtedly wish to recover her. That would obviously raise issues with Thulia."

"I think we can assume, subject to further information coming to light, that the possible threats are likely minimal, and in any case, the experiment itself would not make them worse. A certain level of risk cannot be separated from the experiment, given its aims. An attack by the cult on her lover is not directly our concern, but we should allow for any effect it would have on Thulia."

"While I agree the risk is small, the fact of them existing will help the girl's parents agree with our ideas. Their active help will make the experiment go more smoothly."

"Good. So, unless there are any objections, I shall start the necessary steps to advance this experiment to the next stage." The speaker waited a few moments, with none of the other participants commenting.

"Very well, our next item of business..."

Friday 21st October, A penthouse in New York

The two men made a quite mundane sight, sitting across a table sipping tea. Of course, that assumed that they were men, which didn't actually apply to either of them.

The older of the two uttered a sigh, then looked dyspeptically at his companion. "Since I doubt if you've come here just to sample my tea, I assume there is something of more import involved?"

The initial response was a chuckle. He waited, still glowering at the man until he got an actual answer.

"It's nothing serious, we just want to make use of your position and contacts here on Earth."

That just deepened the scowl. "You do remember, I've been here a long time, anonymously? As in, not doing anything that would lead people to me, not causing any trouble, just living here quietly?"

The man raised his hand in a calming gesture. "Please, Faryngagrax, we do realise that. And we have no intention of jeopardising your status, or indeed your secrecy. We just need some information, and if it's traced back to the source of the request, we'd far prefer that to originate on Earth. It shouldn't be hard, or dangerous. The information is not exactly secret, but we have learned its dissemination is limited.

Faryngagrax wasn't terribly impressed. "Yes, you say that but I have been here, in secret, a very long time, and having to move and establish a new identity would be highly inconvenient. Why should I take the risk?"

The man didn't look at all surprised. "We will, of course, compensate you for the effort. Generously."

Faryngagrax smiled considerably wider this time. "Ah, well, in that case, I could possibly see my way to helping you, if we can come to a mutually suitable arrangement. So exactly what is it you want me to find out about?

"Well, we are interested in information about a school called Whateley Academy." He reached down into his briefcase and slid a plain file folder across the table. "This is what we know, but it's not much more than its existence. My contact in the DPA was rather tight-lipped about it."

Faryngagrax leafed through the rather thin folder, a frown on his face. "So, if you know about it, and where it is, just what do you need me for?"

"We'd like to know more about what actually goes on there, and how they handle things, what sort of a place it is. There's a list in there of the things we'd like to know, although we do realise you might not be able to get them all in the time we have available."

"Time? When do you want this all for, anyway?"

"Next week would be good, but in any case not longer than two weeks."

Faryngagrax sighed. "Typical, you leave me alone for a century and now you need everything tomorrow." Then he looked at what they were prepared to pay, and metaphorically licked his lips. "However, as long as it doesn't involve too much risky investigation, I do have some contacts who can handle this. I'll be in touch."

Afternoon, 31st October, St. Ninian's School for Ladies, Britain.

"So, are we all set for tonight's celebration?"

Ms. Crawley nodded. "Yes, Headmistress. The ritual space is prepared, and we have arranged for a visitation from Fire to be the piece de resistance, as it were. We haven't been able to arrange one of those for the last couple of years, so it will impress the new girls. We had a rehearsal this morning, so I'm looking forward to a good ceremony tonight. That's one of the good things about the school having previously been a convent, we have a nice space to use for ceremonies."

"Good, while I know a lot of the girls love the fire display and the entertainment, it's always worth remembering that this is more than just a mundane event." She paused in thought for a moment. "I suppose I should make sure the girls realise that they are not to set fire to anything they aren't supposed to just so they can watch things burn, even if it is supposed to be a fire celebration. We don't need our insurance increased again!"

"A very wise suggestion, Headmistress. Some of the Fourth Form do get a little...overeager... when they see the chance to set fire to things."

"Exactly. And remind them again, this is a serious ceremony, not an excuse for trying to seduce the Horned God. We had quite enough of that last year!"

Evening (GMT), Academy, Plane of Fire

Thulia was looking at the piece of parchment she'd drawn for tonight's visitations. Parchment. In this day and age. Seriously? Still, the obligation of the senior students to supply manifestations in response to the humans celebrating the Fire Festival was a long standing one, and she was quite keen to find out what it was like. Last year had been her first experience, but she hadn't really known what to expect and had just gone through the motions as she'd been instructed. After recent events, anything that let her find out more about humans and their rituals were interesting; this time she'd take a good look at what they were doing.

"So, who have you drawn for this year?"

"Oh, hi Vexy. Some place called St. Ninians School."

Vexhistiriorcus shrugged. "Never heard of it."

"Neither have I. Oh well, looks like they need one of us to be the centrepiece of their fire festival."

Vexy snickered, at which Thulia rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah, live in hope. I have to manifest as a fire spirit, so they aren't getting an eyeful of anything but flames."

"Me, I keep hoping they'll do a festival in Hong Kong, then I could do a flaming dragon. And I just love Chinese food."

She rolled her eyes. "Typical, don't you think of anything but your stomach?" Given that Vexhistiriorcus was a fine, one might say classical, figure of a European pot-bellied dragon, it wasn't an unreasonable comment.

Vexy snorted, looking her over in a far-too-obvious manner. "Well of course I do, but you don't seem to appreciate my qualities!"

"Of course I do. That's exactly why you aren't getting anywhere."

St Ninians

So far the Samhain Ritual had gone as smoothly as could be expected when it was being mainly run by the students. There had been the usual issues with some of the new handmaidens fluffing their lines, but nothing critical. The Headmistress looked on with an air of general approval and hidden menace as the first part was completed, and the High Priestess started to ask for the gift of a presence from Fire to bless them. She was slightly amused to see the nervousness among the younger girls; they hadn't witnessed this before, and probably didn't know that this had all been pre-arranged. No doubt they were worried about the idea of a fire entity manifesting in front of them. At least, she hoped that was what they were worried about, she hoped no one had decided to improvise anything tonight.

The girl, her two handmaidens beside and a little behind her, raised her arms in supplication as she began the ceremonial chant. The position made it quite obvious she wasn't wearing anything under her thin robe, and the Headmistress made a mental note to remind the girls later that a fire festival was not a sex festival, no matter how some of them tried to interpret it. Of course, she had to do that every year, but the proprieties had to be maintained. Despite this, the girl was doing well, as the senior handmaiden tossed her burning torch onto the prepared fire, the flames licking up eagerly from the wood.

Plane of Fire

Thulia cast an eye over the circle on the floor, making sure everything was correct. It wasn't unheard of for someone to play tricks with them, either on the summonee or to freak out the humans on the other side, and she wanted to make sure none of her classmates had left any undiscovered 'presents' for her. It wouldn't have been the first time. She gave everything a final look, nodded, and slipped out of her robe, putting it neatly on a nearby table. It felt a bit odd doing this. The first time she'd acted as one of the fire entities at the centre of this human festival, she'd been excited at the new experience. Now after all she'd done during the summer, it all seemed a bit mundane. Still, it was one of the duties expected of her as a student, and the Academy had as usual been quite happy to use the students for this so the staff could get out of the work. She just hoped she wasn't going to have to perform for something like the Cult.

Stepping into the circle, she made a complex gesture as she activated it, the encircling runes glowing as she made ready to be invoked. Not actually physically, of course, this would just allow her to take over a suitable form of flame and look impressive. Still, she was acting as a representative here, and the coven summoning her deserved a properly impressive and solemn performance. Of course, the humans didn't have her true name, or anything close to it; this was a generic class of summoning, the prearrangements ensuring it was her answering the call rather than some random inhabitant of the Fire Plane.

She could feel the call already; not strong, but on this night the transfer was far easier than it normally was. She centred herself and manifested a covering of fire over her body. These summonings were supposed to be the centre of a religious ceremony, so covering her nakedness was considered respectful.

She felt the world shift around her, finding herself standing in the middle of a small stand of blazing logs. Nice, the previous visit they hadn't lit them, and she'd got cold until she got fed up and lit them herself. Looking around curiously, she saw three girls facing her, the foremost one chanting something, and a fairly large crowd surrounding them all. She hoped they didn't expect her to do anything too spectacular, she wasn't very good at theatrical performances. Still, she'd been briefed.

"Who summons me?" She was quite proud of the way she spoke, the crackle of flames behind her words.

The girl in front bowed deeply. "The Coven of St, Ninian's welcomes you, creature of fire, and asks you to grace our festival."

Thulia peered down, wondering if they were actually going to offer her anything? Nope, they were just looking up at her, presumably hoping she was going to do something interesting. Ah well.

She manifested her wings, covering them with the same flame that hid the details of her body, extending them as she raised her arms and tried to remember the words she was supposed to say. Oh yes.

"I bless your Coven in the name of the Heart of Fire on this festival." As she spoke, the flames rose up, whirling around her and sending a shower of sparks spiralling up into the night sky. She was rather pleased with that particular effect. Sadly, her hope that she'd get to see something interesting didn't come to pass, as the girl simply acknowledged with a bow, then the group started to do some sort of weird human dance. Sighing, she settled down for what she expected now to be a rather dull evening.

Thulia's parent's home, Plane of Fire

"Thulia, I'm so glad you came, we don't see nearly enough of you."

Thulia returned her mother's hug. Now that she was starting to make her own way, she wasn't visiting as much, and the greeting had made her feel a slight tinge of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Mother, but I'm starting to live my own life now, and..."

Her mother smiled. "I know you do, dear, but I'm your mother, of course I miss you."

Thulia was slightly suspicious, given how fraught her relationship with her parents had been over the last few cycles, but there was nothing in her mother's words she could actually find objectionable.

A little later, Thulia was beginning to feel relieved at how relaxed her parents seemed to be. Her recent visits had been fraught with issues and alarms, just visiting quietly was a major, and pleasant, change. She should have known it wouldn't last.

"So, Thulia, how is your leman bond working out?"

She spluttered her wine over her robe as she looked at her mother in shock. "Wha...."

Her father actually chuckled. "Tanau told us about it. No, we aren't mad at you. Although obviously, we would have preferred to talk to you first about taking such a step, we understand that circumstances made that impossible. And in the end, the bond is between you and this girl."

Thulia was still trying to make sense of the situation, it was as if a chasm had opened up in front of her, in particular because they were being so understanding about it all. Where had her real parents gone? SO she tried to make the best of it.

"Er... well, yes, time was critical, and it proved necessary to save Morgana's life. I don't regret it."

Her mother gave her a keen look. "It sounds like you aren't planning on dissolving it now the danger is over, are you?"

Thulia tried to answer a couple of times, not able to find the words before she finally looked down and shook her head slowly.

Her father grunted in amusement. "I suspected as much. Well, you're old enough to start having relationships, and while the circumstances of this one aren't exactly normal, it's not like you've committed to anything irrevocable yet."

He looked at her again, more closely. "However... if you wish us to approve of the situation, we want to know all about this girl, Morgana, to see if she is an acceptable leman for you."

Thulia gulped, deeply, wondering if there was any chance she could curl up into a ball and hide? It seemed unlikely, so she was going to have to tell all, something that as a teenager she was constitutionally unwilling to do. So she bit her lips and started to describe Morgana, how they'd met, how she'd found her - well, him at that point - and how she'd started to feel. How she'd related to him as a person, and how he'd reacted to her. Then the experiment, and that despite what she'd done, Morgana hadn't blamed her. How after all the trials and tribulations of her rescue and recovery had just seemed to bind them closer together, finally culminating in the desperate ritual to save her life. What Morgana was like, how she liked and related to her as a person.

Her parents had sat silently while she stumbled through her story and explanation, before exchanging a look. Finally, her mother smiled. "Well, dear, I didn't realise your courtship would be quite so unconventional, but then you've never been a conventional girl. Morgana does sound as if she has many good qualities, but of course, we can't just take your word for that, can we?"

Thulia was trying to recover from her terminal embarrassment of having to be so forthcoming with her parents, as she lookup up, confused. "I don't understand...?"

Her father gave a deep chuckle at the look on her face. "Why, girl, we'd like to meet her and see her for ourselves."

Thulia considered running as an option. Probably too late now. Maybe it wasn't too late to fake a heart attack or something?

"Ah... that could be tricky, I mean her teachers made enough fuss about her visiting my workroom to help save her, I don't know how they'd feel about allowing a real visit."

"Now don't worry, dear, we aren't expecting to see her immediately. But once things settle down, we would like to talk to her. After all, you're our daughter, we need to be sure she's worthy of you."

Thulia gulped deeply and nodded to her mother.

Her father nodded, rubbing his hands together. "Good, good. As long as you promise to arrange a visit once it's practical, that will be fine."

Thulia finally managed an expression that might, in the dark and with some imagination, be considered a smile of acceptance rather than a rictus of terror. At least she had some time to get her courage built up enough to tell Morgana about all this...

Tanau's home, Plane of Fire

Bruce sat as he watched Tanau gesture to one of her attendants for refreshments.

"So, Bruce, how is Thulia getting along? No new excitements?"

"It's been quite quiet, recently." He gave her an amused look. "It's been a pleasant change!"

Tanua laughed. "Oh dear, it's been a busy few cycles for you, hasn't it?"

Bruce sipped his beer and nodded. "You have no idea! Well, OK, you know about the demon thing, but ever since she started that experiment, it's been one thing after another. If I had hair, it would be white."

Tanau patted his arm. "Still, I've been most pleased about the way you've looked after her. Without you, she'd likely be in a far bigger mess."

"I guess, Lady. You've read my reports, I guess?"

"Oh yes. Fascinating reading, she seems to have been living an adventure novel."

Bruce scowled. "More like a bloody soap opera!"

"Oh dear, you poor imp!"

Bruce sighed. "Seriously, Lady, it's been hard. On her in particular. Not being able to spend time with Morgana is getting to her. I know she's managed to arrange a few visits, but she really wants more than just that."

"Yes, I'm not surprised. I saw the depth of the leman bond they formed. And this is Thulia's first romantic affair, the first one always hits the hardest."

Bruce nodded. "Still, she was going to have one eventually, and Morgana is a good kid. They fit well together." He saw the look of amusement sent his way at that turn of phrase and sighed. "Not in that way! She's a girl now, remember."

Tanau was still smirking. "And that makes a difference?"

Bruce snorted. "Technically. Well, I'm pretty sure they want to, at least I'm certain Thulia does, but there's been no opportunity. Which is one of the reasons she's been getting frustrated."

"You think it will grow into a problem?"

"To be honest, Lady, I'm not sure. Thulia is growing, while the events have been a stress, they've forced her to mature. I don't think I'll be able to be as much of a moderating influence as I have been, she's more certain of herself now."

Tanau nodded thoughtfully. "Well, growing up is expected, and I can't fault your care for her so far. "

"Thanks, Lady. She's a good kid, I've not regretted my task. But I do worry about what she might get into visiting Earth without me."

"There isn't much I can do about that, I'm afraid. I wish I knew this Morgana better, I'd like to see what sort of an influence she will be on Thulia."

Bruce gave that some thought. "Morgana is more careful than Thulia - OK, that isn't a high standard to pass! - but I think in general at least she won't help Thulia get out of her depth. I'd like to find a way of warning her that Thulia can, well, get a bit enthusiastic about her ideas, but I can't see an easy way of doing that, and with them seeing so little of each other, it's not a good time to try it anyway."

Tanau sat thinking for a few minutes. "Yes, those are good points." Then she smiled very slowly, worrying Bruce. "Maybe, once things are a little more settled, I could arrange to meet her. After all, Thulia is my granddaughter, Surely it's reasonable that I'd like to talk with her?"

Bruce looked at Tanau's innocent expression and sighed. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. Just..." he thought carefully, trying to put things into words. "try not to be too...blunt... about certain aspects of their relationship?"

Tanau's laugh was a chime of bells. "Oh Bruce, do you think I would do that?"

He just glowered.

"Oh all right, do you think I would be that blunt?"

"Better, Lady."

Sunday 6th November (Earth time), Thulia's Home, Plane of Fire

Thulia was worrying again. This time about what might happen when she visited Whateley, after what Morgana had described about the attack on her and her friends had gone the other week. While Morgana had tried to make light of it, she hadn't been particularly convincing, and certainly, the entertainment she'd watched on the internet showed Earth as an extremely violent place where attacks - and surprise attacks at that - were surprisingly common. Granted, she had escaped without incident on her last visit, but the only time she'd really been out in public was by the A.E.G.I.S. building, which presumably was less likely to have acts of random violence around it. And her previous short trip to Whateley had stayed deep in the Magical Arts building, while this time Morgana had promised to show her around the campus.

She'd been thinking first, of course, about what to wear. Morgana had explained before her last visit that Whateley dress codes tended to be rather varied and unusual and that something like one of her usual gowns would be fine, but that wasn't entirely the point. Before she'd only been visiting long enough to work with their Artificer, this time she was intending to spend time with Morgana. Alone if she could possibly arrange it, and she wanted to wear something Morgana would find attractive, at the very least. And, if she was honest, show herself off as her girlfriend as well. So she was not only giving careful consideration to that, but to what protections and weapons might be useful, just in case. And then there was the difficult problem of co-ordinating makeup and accessories with weapons, they'd never really covered that in her classes.

While she hadn't gone quite so far as to ask Morgana what sort of weapons were common at Whateley, she had asked some discreet questions to try and get a feeling for what she might encounter. The movies she'd watched that covered High Schools didn't often show weapons, but when they did it seemed to be things more suitable for a heavy battle force or minor invasion than something she'd normally associate with a school. Morgana had rather dodged the subject, but she had gleaned the fact that lethal force was very much frowned upon, and if force was to be used something incapacitating would be a far better option. OK, that she could manage.

Still, Morgana was going to be summoning her in a few hours, so she had to make the decisions. Walking over to her closet, she frowned as she sorted through her available clothing options. It wasn't until recently she'd realised that she didn't have a huge range of outfits. Once she put aside the robes and outfit for the Academy, it was quite small; her rather dedicated regular and personal studies hadn't given her time for much of a social life. And even if she'd been so inclined, there were sometimes issues with her ancestry that were much more easily avoided by simply not meeting people. Still, there were several possibilities. She moved some of the clothes aside to examine an outfit she'd been thinking about. It wasn't too revealing, she thought, it showed her off nicely and it was one Morgana hadn't seen her in. She pursed her lips and drew it out to take a better look.

She held the dress up against her as she inspected the way it looked in her mirror. The dress was neck high, and then hugged her breasts, the backless dress was cut just wide enough that it didn't actually show anything at the sides. Instead, it just hinted at things in a rather interesting way. It hugged her waist before falling to her calves, the high slits in the side allowing her freedom of movement. That might be useful, she might need to run from something, and the open back wouldn't get in the way of her wings. She slipped a leg forward and smiled. Coincidentally the design would also show her legs off very nicely indeed. She held it against herself again, nodding as the green and gold shimmered in the light. Yes, this would work. Now she just needed to accessorise...

She finally decided that she was ready, taking a good look at herself in the mirror to do a final check. As she'd thought, the figure-hugging dress did make her look good, indeed Bruce had given it the thumbs-up and a wide grin. She'd settled on gold strappy sandals - partly because they matched the dress, partly because, if necessary, they wouldn't hinder her running. She'd finally decided on minimal makeup - she hadn't had a chance to question Morgana about that particular subject, so she'd settled for a few touches to enhance her lips and face. As Morgana had told her that today would be a red flag day, which she understood to mean using her 'human' form, she'd left her long ebony hair loose to flow down her back, with just a jewelled barrette to stop it going everywhere. Her athame was on a decorated belt around her waist, and she'd gone for a few items that were both decorative and protective on her ears and arms. She gave herself what she hoped was a sexy smile, cocking her hip so one of the slits in the dress showed off a tanned and toned length of leg. Yes, she thought, this should do. After all, she wanted to make a statement - both to Morgana and to anyone who saw them together.

"Do you think this will work for Morgana?"

Bruce gave her a look, then chuckled. "Unless she's dead, I think she's going to love it. Stop worrying, Thulia, you look great. Now go and spend some fun personal time with your girlfriend - the two of you have had to wait long enough!"

To be continued in Where There's Smoke There's Fire 4