The Keep, Ebon Askavi, Kaeleer, Friday Fandom time

[trigons_child]

Raven had been at the Keep for about a month now, and she mostly kept to herself, reading or meditating in the rooms that had been given to her. Mostly it was Philia's needs that would draw her outside, but only for a short time.

And she may very well have been getting her brood on in a serious way.

She felt like herself, mostly, but then again, she hadn't realized it when her brothers had infected her with their power. Wrath, Lust, Envy -- it was all so easy to see how each had affected her now, but in the moment it had felt so natural to her. Her brothers had been cunning enough to merely amplify her own emotions rather than force them upon her. That she surely would've felt, but not the more subtle nudge to her own true anger, lust, or jealousy.

Her skin wasn't crawling as much as it had been when she'd realized what had been going on, but she still felt uncertain, disgusted and displeased with herself for allowing it to happen. She'd endangered the people she cared for most. How did she make up for that? And how did she prevent it from happening again?

[For them that are coming to visit, and for great slowplay.]

Comments

[glacial_queen]

"Until she's a year, we're going to have to pay close attention to how much time she's actually lived, regardless of what the calendar said," Karla explained. She'd thought about this a lot. "There's a huge developmental difference between one week and the next. Once her birthday rolls around, a few handfuls of unacknowledged days here and there will be less important. And by three, it won't make a difference at all, really. We'll call her a year next January 25th, regardless of whether she's a whole fifty-two weeks yet or not. It just gets too complicated otherwise."

[trigons_child]

"It is hard enough sometimes to keep track of our own ages," Raven said, nodding. "But it should not be as difficult for Kayla. At least until she learns to keep track and tries to insist we celebrate her being another year old sooner than we intend."

Not that would stop her from having presents ready for both Kayla's physical age and her calendar age.

[Time to sleeeeeeeep.]

[glacial_queen]

"The important thing is that you're always older than I am," she teased.

[trigons_child]

Raven made a face at her. "Not if I spend more time in Fandom," she said thoughtfully. "Then you will catch up."

[glacial_queen]

"Pffft, I'll make some kind of Queenly decree that says otherwise," Karla declared regally. She was best at being regal when she was being completely absurd.

"How've you been?" she asked, voice swinging back to serious. "The Keep treating you well?"

[trigons_child]

"Of course," Raven said, "though if any of the staff claim that I am not eating, they are merely exaggerating. I will admit to not having much of an appetite, but I do not need to eat as much as they seem to think I do."

That wasn't quite answering the question, Raven.

[glacial_queen]

"They're basing it off your chakra," Karla said, nodding at the gem in Raven's forehead. "Assuming it works the same as the Red."

And then she gave Raven a pointed look. "How've you been?" she asked. Again.

[trigons_child]

"Lonely," Raven admitted quietly. "Afraid. Ashamed. I have not felt any more manipulations of my emotions, but I did not sense them in the first place, so how can I be sure?"

[glacial_queen]

"That's what Jaenelle and I were working on before I came to see you. She's been monitoring you while you were here. Did she mention that?" Karla wasn't even sure if Jaenelle had had a chance to talk to Raven or if her attempts to find a way to keep Raven's siblings out of her head had consumed all of her time and attention.

[trigons_child]

Raven shook her head. "We have not spoken at great length," she said. It hadn't helped that she'd been avoidy and hiding in her room. The fact that she hadn't sensed Jaenelle monitoring her caused her a second of displeasure, but it was Jaenelle, and she knew Jaenelle's power, so she shook that of easily.

"What did she say?" Raven asked, more than a little anxious hope in her voice.

[glacial_queen]

"She said that she couldn't sense your brothers in your mind anymore, though traces of them still remain," Karla said. "Like...tracks, showing where they'd been. With your permission, she thinks that there's a way to seal your mind and Self away from their influence forever."

[trigons_child]

"Of course," Raven said without any hesitation. "What must I do?"

[glacial_queen]

"The way she explained it, it's like a door," Karla said, settling in. "Or more like a series of roads, perhaps? Never mind, the precise analogy doesn't matter. Since you're linked to the Netherverse and the Netherverse is a great cosmic crossroads, you can get to anywhere--and, sometimes, things can get to you. Like your brothers, you know? She's not sure if it's because they're linked to you by blood, or by Trigon's powers, or if they have rudimentary access to the Netherverse, too, but if you walk through a door to get to them, they've figured out how to open it from the other side to get to you. Follow me so far?"

[trigons_child]

Raven nodded as she wrapped her mind around that. "Yes. We must lock the door against them."

It was the ties of blood, she suspected. Their shared demonic heritage. Familiar enough that she hadn't felt their influence.

[glacial_queen]

"Possibly more than lock it," Karla said gently. "Bar it, barricade it, possibly even set it on fire." She took Raven's hand and started rubbing it. "It will likely hurt. It might even change you in subtle, but fundamental ways. It's impossible to say without more data or more time to observe, but that kind of thing could take years."

Karla swallowed heavily and tried not to drop her eyes. "You...you don't have to say yes."

But there would be consequences if she didn't.

[trigons_child]

"I do not care if it is painful," Raven said, but she was trembling and her heartbeat quickened despite the conviction of her words. "I cannot bear the thought of being a danger to you or Jono or anyone else, nor that my own emotions have become tainted and corrupt."

[glacial_queen]

Karla's relief was immediate and evident. She hadn't wanted to repudiate Raven from her Court, but if Raven hadn't agreed, she wouldn't really have had a choice. Other than trying to cajole her into agreeing, obviously.

"We're going to have to do a ritual," she continued. "To give your mind an overlay that I can understand. The Netherverse is too big and vast for me to get, but if I can impose my own understanding over it, I can do what needs to be done."

There would be severing. And burning. And somehow keeping Raven from unconsciously healing the parts Karla was burning away.

In short, it wasn't going to be pretty.

[trigons_child]

"When?" Raven asked. The sooner, the better in her opinion -- she wasn't looking forward to a long wait and anticipation of the pain.

"How...how do you think it might change me?" she said quietly. Karla had said it was impossible to say for certain, but surely she had some idea of the possibilities.

[glacial_queen]

"I can do it now, if you'd like," Karla said. "Or maybe in a few days to give you time to prepare if you wanted a new post/thread. Whichever would work best for you, darling."

Karla scrubbed her face, having less an idea of the possibilities than she or Raven would like. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "Your abilities might be weakened, because the bond you share with your brothers is based in Trigon's blood. Your ability to teleport might be off, because we'll be closing off part of the Netherverse. Your personality might change a bit--we're going to the deepest parts of you and scarring. It's like going back in time and punching your toddler-self in the face a few times. Even if you don't remember it, it can affect you. And since neither Jaenelle nor I fully understand the way your powers work, there can be side effects we can't even imagine. We're going all but blind."

[trigons_child]

That actually terrified Raven, but she tried not to let it show. Instead, she nodded, accepting the risk. It was worth it.

"I am ready as soon as you are," she said. "But perhaps it might be wise to spend a short time meditating and preparing myself, as it seems it will be no easy task."

[glacial_queen]

"Give us a few more days," Karla said. "I'm sorry to make you wait longer, but Jaenelle would feel better spending a few more days researching things and making sure we do it right. If you're willing to give us a little more time?"

[trigons_child]

"Of course," Raven said, nodding. "I will wait however long you need me to."

Easier said than done, though. She was probably going to be dealing with a nice bout of anxiety in the interim.

[glacial_queen]

Karla leaned over to brush her lips over Raven's forehead, next to her chakra. "Soon," she promised. "We want you home as soon as possible. Kayla misses her auntie."

[trigons_child]

"And I miss her very much as well," Raven said. "I cannot wait see her again."

Soon. This had to work.

[glacial_queen]

The alternative was unthinkable.

"Then I'll see you soon. Love you, Sister-mine."