Her Mantle Is Love

You look at the lyrics Thistle left you, and then at your violin case, carefully tucked away in a corner of the room, far from your bed.

You get out of bed, and pick it up: setting it down on your vanity, you open it and extract your ragged block of light rosin. Unwrapping the soft leather bundled around it, you take your bow in your other hand and carefully re-rosin it.

Plucking each string carefully, you listen intently: yes, the E string is a little off. You adjust the metal dial at its base, and pluck again. Better.

You take the bow in your right hand, and - no, palm not touching the base, are you really that out of practice? - and pick up your violin with your left. Pinning it against your shoulder with your chin, you curl your fingers over the neck, take a breath, and slowly draw your bow over the strings.

It sings: Hmmmmm - mmmmmm - mmmm...

You sigh, and set your violin back down. Picking up the rosin again, you add more: then you repeat the whole process, careful of your palm.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, sings your violin.

You carefully tilt your bow, testing each string in turn: then you double-string, testing each pair together. Yes, everything is well-tuned.

You test your fingerings, playing a few quick sequences of notes. One of them is slightly off-key: you wince, and drop momentarily down to three fingers - but with the next note, you find the proper position again, instinct guiding your pinky to its proper place. Your fingers remember, you just need to stop getting in the way.

You pick one of your more recent practice pieces, and drop into it: the Swallowtail Jig, from some human country somewhere. You still have trouble keeping them all straight. You play at half tempo at first as you shake off the rust: it's been almost a week since you last practiced, an eternity -

- but it comes back. Your music hasn't deserted you. Your legatos are smooth, your spiccatos satisfyingly bouncy. Oh, you're making a hash of the poor jig with all this messing about, but the techniques are there, you can call them up like that: you exaggerate your vibrato for a phrase, then play with none: you repeat the same verse three times, playing the same notes on completely different strings each time: you laugh, and do a section from a folk tune so old you've forgotten its name, about a an elven lass who fell out of a tree and into a lovely young man's arms -

Somebody knocks on your door.

You sigh, and lay your violin and bow back into their case. Shoving it into the middle of the bed, you call over your shoulder: "Just a moment!"

You open your door, and come face-to-face with a half-dressed Kumi, her robe slung around her shoulders like a blanket. Her tails are all disheveled: her ears lie flat along the top of her skull. "Eli," she groans.

"- What happened to you?"

She rolls her eyes. "Some madwoman of an elf decided to practice violin at seven in the morning, that's what happened to me. Don't you look at the time?"

You glance over at your alarm. "...Aren't you supposed to have been up for an hour already? You have duties to do."

"Says the - black pot."

" - what?"

"...said the bishop to the actress?"

You sigh. "Stop trying to be clever and just spit it out."

"When was the last time you were up and out of bed at six AM?"

"Yesterday?"

"Yeah, fine, okay. Before you met your shadow girl."

"Uhhhhhhhh..."

"Sometime last year, right?"

"- no, I got up at six for Full Moon month before last."

"Oh, so only six weeks then."

"...yeah, I guess."

"Point made. Now could you please pipe down, some of us had late nights."

Now it's your turn to give her the hairy eyeball. "... do you think I'm up this early because I slept well, Kumi?"

She cringes. "- sorry, I didn't think. Tired. I'll - find some earplugs or something."

You cast a look back at the violin laying on your bed, and sigh. "Well, since you've already interrupted me, I might as well go see to the shrines. And you're already up, so... keep me company?"

Kumi flicks an ear. "I, uh... Yeah, I'll come with you."

You smile. "Thanks. You should get dressed properly first, though."

She smirks back. "Same to you."

- oh. You didn't actually put any clothes on, did you. Whoops.

"- yeah, I'll meet you back here in five minutes."

"Thirty. I need to fix my tails."

You sigh. "Fair enough. I'll go take a shower."

-----

Since Kumi's fluff is going to take a while to get under control, you take your time in the shower and getting dressed. You browse the internet a little on your phone: Aya'd call it a bad habit, but you like keeping up with what's going on in the world outside. Car crash kills local politician: new self-driving car startup in the area: watch these stocks...

Wait, is that a picture of Rose? Your eyes flick upwards to the headline.

Arms Heiress Still Missing
Rosalia Armille, daughter of local arms manufacturer Ethan Armille, has not been seen at the Armille residence for a week now. Both the family and local police continue to decline to comment, stating only that Rosalia is "safe enough," a phrase that is no doubt familiar to them after her sister Victoria Armille's quiet month-long stay in prison last June. Although all charges were eventually dropped, police records obtained by the Times indicate that she was arrested for solicitation.

Rosalia has always distanced herself from her playgirl sister: she has won multiple national youth shooting tournaments, and is rumored to be attempting to qualify for the Youth Olympics in...

- yes, that's definitely Rose in the photo. Tori is her older sister? Well, you suppose it's not too much of a coincidence that the two young, wealthy heiresses you've met are related. Does Tori know? Probably not, she'd tell half the planet most likely...

- what does the rest of her family know? What's going on? You're sure your sisters have it well in-hand, but - you can't help but worry a little. You look back at the article -

"Elisandra!"

You hastily stuff your phone in a pocket, and slip out the door. "Yes?"

Kumi taps her foot. "You were supposed to be the one waiting for me, not the other way around. Come on, we have shrines to attend to."

You nod, and follow her.

-----

Kumi takes Desire: you take Intimacy. You don't have a thistle to offer today, so... you settle for humming a few bars of half-remembered song. It feels - right, somehow. You clear the shrines meticulously, packing away a faded daisy left in offering by some visitor.

You and Kumi turn to Devotion at the same time, and follow the motions. Genuflect: wave your cupped hand slowly down through the air, like so: step leftward: another wave, this with the fingers spread, falling to the ground: kneel, turn towards Devotion: genuflect, head touching the earth: look up to the corner of the opposite building: bow your head again: lift your hand, palm upward: bring it back to earth, genuflecting a third time: step away backwards, hand on heart, head bowed low as you rise. You match each other perfectly, step by step, like shadows or reflections.

You pray, as always: Please don't let my Thistle worry too much: watch over Rose for me, Goddess - and. And if you could help Liath change, just a little - I'd be grateful. That's not too much to ask, is it? I hope it's not.

... Thank you.

You look over at Kumi.

"- I need to talk to Tasha."

[ ] "Would you like to come with me?"
[ ] "Do you know where I can find her?"
[ ] "You can go back to bed now if you want."
[ ] Write-in.

"Yeah," Kumi agrees. "Yesterday was a long day for her, too - she could probably use a little company."

"- I was actually thinking of discussing the whole blowup and the thing with Rose with her, so -"

"Business, business, always business!" Kumi throws up her hands."What's gotten into you lately, Eli? Can't you just spend some time with a fellow Sister now and then?"

"- I have, Aya took me to see the supplicants and we played chess and -"

"That doesn't count, you were on strict bed rest - and even then you managed to get into a kink scene and nearly kill yourself. Seriously, Elisandra, you don't have to put so much effort in!"

"- when was the last time I did a First Quarter, Kumi?"

She blinks. "Uhhhh. Sixish years ago, now? It's not a big deal, Tasha does them all anyway -"

"- the same Tasha you were just saying I should help out more? Who's probably having conniptions right now trying to manage two different crises and also get ready for First Quarter? That Tasha?"

Kumi sighs, and nods. "Yeah, that Tasha. She's had worse weeks, Eli, it's not a big deal -"

You fold your arms across your chest. "- alright, that settles it, we're going to go take over for her today so she can get some rest. And I'm doing First Quarter."

"- What, with Liath's Kiss on you? That's foolish, Eli, you'll hurt yourself -"

"- or somebody else, is that right?" You yank down the collar of your robe to show bare skin. "It's gone, Kumi. It healed in the night, thank the Goddess. I think she approves of me and Thistle." Her humming echoes faintly in your head, and you smile slightly - then you look back at Kumi. " - sorry, what was I saying?"

Kumi sighs. "That you love Thistle, you didn't get enough sleep, and your Kiss is gone. So - yeah, I'll come with you to talk to Tasha."

You curtsey with only a tinge of mockery. "Thanks, Sister. Glad I could count on you."

She halfsmiles, and curtseys back. "When have I ever let you down before?"

"Well, there was that time with that drow girl," you say, picking out the stone path to the Supplicant's hall.

Kumi follows. "Hey, it's not my fault that my tails take up a lot of space!"

"Yeah, but did you have to hit her in the face with one?"

"She moved on me!"

"Noo, you quite deliberately whapped her, I was watching -"

"Come on, she was such a pain, she deserved that -"

"She was their crown princess!"

"Isn't everybody?"

-----

When the pair of you arrive at the Supplicants' Hall, there's some kind of commotion going on: a crowd's formed around the doors by the gardens, and you hear raised voices. Is that the tip of one of Tasha's wings poking up above Melody's head?

You share a glance with Kumi, and both of you lengthen your strides, falling into the trained lope that lets every Sister jog across a crowded ballroom without seeming to hurry.

The crowd parts before you: you find Tasha standing between Cocoa and Sofya, wings outstretched to form a buffer zone neither can cross.

"Lying thief!", yells Sofya, pointing an accusing finger. "You're the one who's always eating contraband chocolate, you're sneaky, clearly it's you who took the key -"

Cocoa rolls her eyes. "I did no such thing, and have you tried asking Ishaza for things? Nooooo, because that would be work and require actual communication, miss high-and-mighty CEO."

"That's beside the point! You hide things, you like to fuck with people, clearly it'd be wonderful for you to have a key to the private rooms -"

Tasha looks at the pair of you. You can see the sweat on her skin.

Kumi sighs, and steps forwards. Holding up a brass key, she asks: "Is this what you're looking for?"

Sofya stops cold. "Uh."

Kumi rolls her eyes. "Next time, ask before accusing." Pocketing the key again, she turns to the crowd and makes a shooing motion with both arms. "Show's over, get back to what you were doing. First Quarter's day after tomorrow, and I want you all to think carefully about whether you really want to go through with this. None of you are obligated to have sex you don't want."

The crowd looks at her.

You step in and back her up. "Go on, I'm sure you've all got better things to do than stare at priestesses."

Tasha nods, and folds her wings again as the crowd starts to disperse.

You nod back. "- and Sofya, stay a moment so we can talk about acceptable ways to raise issues."

She sighs, but acquiesces. Cocoa smirks as she walks away.

You look at Kumi. "Let's get a private room."

-----

As soon as the door closes behind the four of you, you turn to Kumi, and ask:

"That's your personal key, right? Not mine?"

She grins and nods: as she holds it up again, you can clearly see the emerald heart set into the ornate handle. Yours would be ruby.

Sofya blinks. "So wait, you hauled me in here just to hide that from everyone else?"

"Yeah. Hopefully the real thief still has it on them: they're enchanted so that their owners can always find them." Kumi looks back at you. "Elisandra, if you'd do the honours?"

"- It's in one of the other private rooms. Down the hall, around the corner…"

You step out, and lead the way.

- this is Rose's room. You knock, and wait. No response. You try the lock: sealed.

You knock louder, then step back to let Tasha open the door: she's the priestess in charge of the Hall, she ought to do the room check. A shake of her head - no, Rose is out.

A moment's search turns your key up in the bottom of a flower vase: you carefully put it back into your purse where it belongs.

"What on earth was it doing there?", Sofya asks from the hall.

You shrug. "Beats me. Don't tell anyone, though: it's for the best if the thief doesn't know what we know."

Sofya nods seriously, and hastily vanishes down the hall. Huh. Wonder what you were keeping her from.

Turning to the private room opposite Rose's, you slot your key into the lock and step inside. Unoccupied? Yes, good. You beckon in your sisters, and flop down on the bed.

"Well," you say into the awkward silence. "Let me start with the big news. One, my Kiss is gone." You display your neck for Tasha, and she nods seriously.

"Two, I'm doing the First Quarter rite day after tomorrow."

Tasha gives you a deeply skeptical look.

"- I know, I know. I should be resting. But - I need to prove to myself and to everybody else that I can do it, that I'm - not a failure as a priestess."

Kumi wraps a tail around your shoulders. "You don't need to prove that to anyone: we know already."

"- that I'm a failure?"

"That you're not, you silly girl."

Tasha nods.

"- Well, if Cheri or Ishaza agrees, then I guess that's a majority in favor of my not being terrible. But - I still do need to prove it to myself, and my next opportunity won't be till next year, so…"

Kumi and Tasha sigh in unison. "Honestly," Kumi continues, "you'd think you'd slow down a little bit after the mess yesterday was -"

"No, right now what I need to do is prove that I'm good enough to hack it. And - Tasha, be honest. I see dark circles under your eyes - do you really want to do the First Quarter rite right now?"

She hums lowly, then quietly speaks. "- I don't, but they don't deserve to suffer just because I have a lot on my plate right now -"

"… Like they'll get with a priestess who's already half-asleep on her feet?"

Tasha sighs. "- but you don't know them, you haven't spent any time with them, I don't want to force any of them to have sex with a stranger -"

You raise a finger. "I was here most of yesterday, the supplicants will at least recognize me -"

"And I've been living with them since Sunday."

"- how long did you spend with them yesterday?"

She frowns at you.

"- okay, that was a cheap shot."

Tasha nods. "Thank you."

The silence stretches.

"- Don't try that on me, Tasha. I know I'm giving you what you want by being the first to speak, here, but please. Work with me."

She rubs her forehead. "... I suppose you're right, I'm - overinvested again. There's too many of them for any of us to really get to know them all, and..." She gestures at herself wordlessly.

Kumi nods along. "Yeah, you're... not exactly the most social of us. If you have time, you do really well, but - twenty-one people?"

"Twenty or less. Rose isn't participating, and I expect a few others will drop as well."

You nod. "Still, more than a dozen for sure. How many of them do you know?"

"Rose, Ipsea, Lily, Pigeon, Shimmer, Alice, Shannon, Sunshine, um, Aura... I think that's all..."

You share a glance with Kumi. "- so only eight of the actual ritual participants?"

She nods.

"- What's been keeping you so busy?"

She scowls. "Rose. Not - her, but - making sure she's safe. Parents, press, other supplicants -"

"Other supplicants?"

"People who didn't know the situation - she looks older if you're not paying close attention, and her family's - they've taught her to beg and plead for the smallest scraps of praise, so -"

"... she knows how to protect herself, but she can't stop herself from hoping."

"And so she's - too eager to find someone who'll really understand her, she was clinging to Pigeon a bit and Pigeon was overwhelmed by having someone paying so much attention to her and took it as a crush and after a few days suggested that they go to a private room where it would be quieter and Rose didn't turn her down because she's never been allowed to date anyone ever and doesn't know what it looks like when someone's crushing on her, and - everything worked out alright, Rose - isn't actually attracted to Pigeon, once it became clear to her where things were going she backpedaled - but it was very nearly a very awful mess."

You hold up a hand. "Who's Pigeon?"

"You played a game of chess with her - the quiet one with the dusky feathers."

"Oh, her. - She tried to seduce Rose?"

"Fumblingly. I think it was actually a love confession: I couldn't prise the whole story out of either of them, but they weren't unsupervised together for more than ten minutes before Rose fled back to her private room and locked the door. With some gentle prompting I was able to get them to admit that Pigeon tried to kiss Rose, but both of them swear nothing more happened. I think that's the truth, as far as it goes."

You sigh. "- I trust you had the talk with Pigeon about not taking nonverbal cues as consent? And the other one about how Rose is underage and if they had ended up doing anything it'd be statutory rape?"

Tasha nods.

"So they're alright, more or less, but you're not. Don't even tell me about the family, I've seen it before and I don't want to know."

Tasha - nods. "Yeah."

Kumi settles a comforting tail over her shoulders too.

"Tasha," you say...

((Pick as many as you want.))
[ ] "You've been trying to do the work of three priestesses, and it's a blatant miracle you've held on this long. Go get some damn sleep: I'll do your duties for today."
[ ] "I'm sorry for the mess I made out of yesterday, I didn't mean to stress you even more than you already were..."
[ ] "Is there anything I can do to help comfort you? Read you a book? Give you a massage? Have sex? I'm your Sister, we look out for each other -"
[ ] "- I'm not going to force you to drop the First Quarter rite, but - is there anything I can do to help? You're seriously under-prepared..."
[ ] "Why didn't you come to me sooner? I was just doing regular duties on Monday and Tuesday, I could've easily helped you if you'd just asked me -"
[ ] "I'm doing the First Quarter rite, and that's final. I'll spend the day getting to know the supplicants: Kumi will attend to your other duties, she's got nothing better to do anyway."
[ ] "Tell us everything that's happened in the last week."
[ ] "Is there anything I can do for you, anything at all?"
[ ] "May I hug you?"
[ ] Write-in.