The Glimmering Gate

[Circe]

It wasn't that they hadn't simply just shown up, Catherine had had the foresight to send a message ahead before everything. She had thought that Tyrus would have a solution, given his knowledge of magic and skills, but just in case Catherine had asked that the house be made ready to house guests.

"They'll likely be turned out to pasture to enjoy a rather spoiled life here." She commented before starting down the road up to the house. As she said this, a small group of staff appeared in front of the house waiting, ready to take their horses and see to anything else their mistress might need. "And yes, I agree. It is a rather nice house, isn't it?" Catherine added with a brief smile. Here her childhood had been happy, and she'd learned many things under the patience of her father and likely much to the consternation of many of the staff.

Dismounting from her horse, Catherine handed the reins to a man standing nearby, "Fearchar, would you please see to the horses? They were rode rather hard from Lilishara unfortunately due to a malfunctioning gate." She said apologetically, her words and accent flawless. However, she had been speaking the language since she was a child and considered this strange place her home. "Of course Lady McBride, is there anything else?" He asked her. A hard ride from Lilishara was unexpected, but the truth of the matter was it had to be done to ensure the safety of her guest and herself. "Perhaps give them some extra when you feed them?" Catherine asked idly stroking the neck of the creature, thinking that the ride had been hard on her and Tyrus both, and perhaps even more so on their horses.

The man nodded then took both horses away towards another part of the property. Afterwards Tyrus was shown to his rooms, while Catherine headed off towards hers. She had instructed the staff to assist the prince with anything he might possibly need before leaving.

Ushered to a well appointed room with a large wood bed with heavy draperies, and stone fireplace were immediately apparent as its main features. A set of large window diamond paned windows looked out over the gardens and towards hills covered in the early morning mist. Life here was quiet, and while certainly a cut well above the farm of earlier visits, still simple.

[demikara]

Tyrus didn't dismount so much as he fell off. He was definitely not used to riding so hard, or riding horse in general and he could feel sores. But he was glad to be off the very patient horse they had stolen. Experience taught him not to thank the man taking care of the horses. It wouldn't be welcome here. He got away with it periodically at Molly's, thanks to a patient family that was used to non-fae. But given Catherine didn't like being thanked, he didn't think the staff here would either.

The bedroom was entirely too welcomed and he half collapsed on the bed once left alone. The urge to take a nap was strong, but with the spell he used, it wouldn't be a nap at all, so much as his body shutting down for several hours. The goal, he decided, would be to somehow not upset his host over the next several days. Given his track record with Catherine, he doubted he'd manage it, but he was willing to try at least. He suspected a good deal of it would be not spending time near her outside of meals.

The room was lovely, he decided. And it was so much better than a cot in a room the size of his closet that he had to share with someone else. Well, he decided. It was a bit of an exaggeration to call Pwyll's room the size of his closet. It was, perhaps, a little bigger than that.

Well, if he wasn't going to sleep, he should get some food. Riding through the night meant he was hungry, and they hadn't stolen enough food for either of them to eat nearly as well as he was used to. It had been enough to fuel the magic he used, but magic took its toll and he'd need to be well fed for the solstice anyway. And preferably asleep. With food waiting on the other side. He'd need to talk to Catherine about all of this, wouldn't he?

Time to find the kitchen, get a snack, and then try and figure out how to discuss how they were actually going to handle the solstice other than a vague note that they were staying at her place in the fae realm.

[Circe]

Catherine was no where to be found near or around the kitchen, but a friendly cook had apparently recieved instructions to feed the mage should he wander down into her domain. Something that they appeared all to happy to do as they shooed him out into a dining room, and soon had a food and drink set in front of him.

While Catherine hadn't exactly outlined a firm plan on how to handle the solstice, at the very least they were safer from Grigore there. Getting to the realm required using a gate, a spell which in of itself was extremely difficult for anyone, or begging a ride off someone like Molly or Xiaolian. Neither of the two were terribly interested in managing whatever chaotic fall out might happen this time, especially with someone like Tyrus who often insisted he knew better than most.

"I see you found Mrs. White after all, good." Catherine said as she came into the dining room and helped herself to a piece of fruit, an apple, from the center of the table.

She had had time enough it appeared to clean up, and had exchanged her more mundane clothes for a high necked soft tunic of dark green with black trousers and boots. Her long hair had been brushed and neatly pulled back from her face before being braided loosely with a gold clasp securing it.

"Mrs. White has been by far one of the most reliable cooks we've had thankfully."

[demikara]

He was enjoying the meal. It was simple, but filling and perfect for replenishing his magic. It was pretty clear Mrs. White had been warned to expect a mage. It was even better than Monmack's food. Not that he ever planned on telling the dwarf that, not when he basically relied on him to keep himself fed. Tyrus had never learned to cook. He could boil water, but trying to make noodles always ended up with noodle mush. The man lived off of freezer meals and take out and periodically searched for an adult beginning cooking class. It wasn't like he had ever needed to cook for himself growing up. He had a personal private chef to handle his snacks and meals as a child, and maintained the court chef even now. Quietly though, so Grigore wouldn't find out.

"She's an excellent cook. Definitely one of the est I've had, but all the meals in the fae realm are amazing. There's much more magic in the food here." It certainly contributed to it, he was sure. Catherine cleaned up nicely, he noted and gave her a smile. "I haven't even properly shaken the road dust off my clothes." He had cast a spell to get rid of the worst of it, but spells didn't clean particularly well and he knew it. Or at least, he didn't know of any spells that cleaned.

He did know how to use a washing machine at least. Madeline had had to show him in college, but he had learned how to handle that chore, along with other household chores, with a very patient Madeline teaching him everything he had missed and only making fun of him for some of it. He did take care of most of the chores at his ranch though, thanks to her tutelage. Just not the cooking, which he was quite convinced was some sort of mystical art as well.

[Circe]

"That's not unsurprising, given everything." Catherine pointed out. The realm had to have a way to contain and deal with so much magic given the extreme proximity to the veil it had, and the guardianship the fae had over it. "I'll be sure to tell her you appreciated it though, I'm sure she'll be happy to hear it." She added before taking a bite out of the apple. It was one from the estate's own orchards, warmed by the sun and cooled by the rains that came down to the foot hills where the family had its land. But with Sir William having passed several years earlier, and Catherine with her own affairs in the human realm, the house rarely saw guests other than the staff that took care of it and the surounding property.

Unlike Tyrus, Catherine had grown up to be largely self sufficient. Her job had always kept her busy and when she had been married to Izaak, there had been even more to deal with. She did well enough to remember to take clothes to the cleaners and drop things off with the laundry service. Food was another matter altogether, and like Tyrus it was often something frozen, delivered, or grabbed in between meetings. It wasn't uncommon to find her subsisting off the stale station coffee and whatever snacks had been left for others in the break room. Getting her team running and off the ground had taken more time and energy than she was willing to admit.

"I can have bath drawn up for you and a change of clothes brought up if you wish?" She suggested hearing the other's complaint. It was the least she could do after dragging him across half the realm with assailants on their trail. But Catherine was tall, and that was often one of the first things people noticed in the mundane realm. She may have blended in easily among the fae nobility, however she was no where near Tyrus's own height.

"I'm unsure how they'll fit though."

[demikara]

Tyrus considered it. "A bath would be lovely. As for the clothes, if it's a bit big, I can use magic to make it fit a bit better. Though with my height, pants may be tricky and probably a little short. Which is fine, of course, especially under the circumstances." They hadn't exactly expected this. And given where they landed, bringing clothes along hadn't really been an option. He had been resigned to staying in his current outfit for most of the time here. The mage finished off his meal and sat back, thoroughly satisfied.

"I think I much prefer staying here to staying at Molly's farm already." He admitted, smiling at Catherine. "For one, there are significantly fewer sheep." He could appreciate a lack of farm animals. But if he could rag on himself some to try and cheer Catherine, then he would. "You have a lovely home by the way. I don't know hoe you can stand to be in the human realm if it meant leaving here." There was more space here to spread out, and more magic in the air itself. He didn't understand why she didn't return here to stay. It wasn't like the council was able to reach people in the fae realm. They're ridiculous summoning trick only worked on people in the human realm.

The fae representative lived in the human realm full time, with visits back home to see to their queen's will.

[Circe]

Catherine nodded, "I'll arrange it then." Food, bathing, a change of clothes and some rest might put the other in a better mood. However, she doubted it given the expression she had seen when things had gone wrong with the gate. They were stuck there for the foreseable future, or at least until the solstice was over and she had recovered from what was likely to come. She could already begin to feel some of the first warning signs that told her this had the potential to go bad quickly again.

"Well I can assure you that there are no sheep here." She said with an easy smile. "Perhaps there are some in the village if you're curious?" Catherine added. Tyrus's discovery of what an actual working farm was had been amusing for all involved, except for Tyrus. Especially when one had managed to get the upper hand on the mage, and knocked him flat into the mud. Molly's family had cautioned them, but apparently only one of them had thought that they had been joking.

But then her expression fell and darkened, she didn't like to think about why she was no longer living there. "Because some things are painful and lonely, Tyrus. No matter how beautiful they are."

[demikara]

And that failed. He was great at sticking his foot in his mouth, wasn't he? "That's entirely too true." He admitted quietly. There were times he hated being in the family rooms of the court because of the memories there. "I think I'll be fine without a sheep. It might knock me over." He wrinkled his nose. "Given my luck it would then try and eat my hair or something." And he treasured his hair. He couldn't imagine cutting it because a sheep decided it was something to chew on. "I suppose we should figure out how we're handling this. I almost think a sleeping spell may be a good idea. But I'm worried about having to monitor things." He needed the data, truth told, if he was going to figure out a solution. But at the same time, he didn't want to make his vision worse than it already was.

At least he could still see, he reminded himself. He hadn't even had that for awhile, and he was more than a little worried that would occur again. If he didn't fight it this time, didn't try and direct the magic, maybe he'd come out the other end okay. If he wasn't a magical being now, he was fairly certain he wouldn't have actually made it through the last solstice. The area may be able to better handle the magic outpouring they'd be dealing with. But would his body? He didn't know.

[Circe]

Catherine was silent for a time as she listened to Tyrus speak, her mind clearly elsewhere as she tried not to think about who wasn't there and why. Her answer hadn't been angry, more disappointed and sad than anything else. "Why don't you go get some rest? It was a long journey here, and I'll think about the sleeping spell and see if it's possible to engineer something." She said after a moment. They were both tired, and the upcoming events would exhaust them even more.

Catherine needed time to think, and time to herself to consider more than just the solstice. One thing she was certain of, was that she would need to make a decision either way in the coming days, weeks, and months. She was miserable, that much she was certain of. Perhaps time in the sanctuary of the fae realms would provide her the strength and clarity to go forward.

[demikara]

"Th-" He stopped himself and wince. "What I mean is...I mean, you know what I mean, but I don't know another way to say it. And I know you don't like it when I do say it." He was stumbling over himself. Face red now, he stood. "I'll...I'll take my dishes to the kitchen and go get some rest. The spell I used to get here means I'll sleep for about fourteen hours." He never knew what to say, how to thank her without actually saying thank you. He had no clue how to handle himself around his sire and never had. Cheeks red with embarrassment, he picked up his dishes and returned them to the kitchen before heading to bed.

Despite how tired he was, it would take him time to fall asleep. His embarrassment played on repeat in his mind. How the hell was he supposed to interact with Catherine? He still didn't know, still had no clue what she wanted from him, other than to be left alone. And that wasn't a luxury either had. Not when everything was as shitty as it was in the human realm, with a mad man at the helm of the court, who demanded they pretend to be mother and son in front of him.

[Circe]

Catherine had known what Tyrus meant, and didn't bother to correct him. There were some things that were worth the energy, but this one wasn't one of them. He would learn eventually she supposed, and until then she would just have to live with the blunders. They were mostly harmless, and given that he had been raised a human in a vampire's court, his manners were better than most thankfully.

She had been about to tell him to just leave the dishes, but he had already picked them up and headed down the hall. Hopefully with rest things would be better, but Catherine had her doubts. They still had another two days at least before the solstice by reckoning on this plane, and while that wasn't much, it would be have to be enough. Their strategy to ride hard through the night had paid off, and bought them at least a small margin of time.

--
The next day found the house just as quiet as the previous day. The cook left Tyrus with a plate of food and drink, and then set off for the market. With a mage in residence, meals would need to be planned much more strategically. Never mind the fact that the mistress of the house was there for the first time in a long time. Everything seemed more at rights with her there, even if she was quieter than she had been in previous times.

Occasionally a dull cracking thud with the sounds of indistinct conversation could be heard drifting through the open windows. Fire arms weren't a thing in a place so full of magic, so it had to be something else. Likely whatever it was, was likely where Catherine could be found.

[demikara]

One more day until the solstice, and he could feel his magic acting up. Tyrus was, however, at least clean and dressed in clean clothes. The green shirt was a little baggy on him, and the sleeves were a little short. But the bagginess wasn't so bad that he was willing to risk a spell on them. The trousers had needed to be spelled tighter, but he had been careful, given they were short on him. It was better than nothing though, and he was grateful just to have clean clothes at all. His dirty clothes had been whisked away shortly after he woke up, presumably to be washed, which was nice, if a little odd. It did mean he'd have a clean outfit when it was time to leave though, and he'd definitely take that. He had been given a few more outfits as well, given they didn't know how many more days they'd be here. Tyrus had said a very uncertain 'probably three days, at least' when asked by the staff so that's what was provided for him. Where they got the clothes, he didn't know.

Breakfast had been good as well, and he looked forward to seeing what was for lunch. The cook seemed to know how much a mage could eat too, which was a bit of a relief. He didn't plan on casting much magic here, but he'd still need plenty of food just to maintain his weight. He didn't have any weight to lose if he went without enough food. He had, however, been very gently scolded yesterday for bringing his dishes to the kitchen himself, so he knew to leave the dishes there today.

Wide awake, though still sore from the riding the other day, Tyrus decided to see what the noise was. There was little else he could do in the place, given if there was a library, it wasn't like he could read fae. He didn't know a translation spell that worked on writing. The one for understanding the people around him was complex enough. Translation spells were not easy things to cast. There was a reason most people avoided them while they traveled. They weren't perfect and were expensive enough magically that most humans would hesitate to use one that wasn't grounded in jewelry of some sort. And the ones grounded in jewelry tended to be expensive. Tyrus should know, he had sold some in college.

He found the exit well enough, remembering how to get there from his room, and followed the noise. He was curious about the thudding, and even if it turned out to be someone chopping firewood or something like that, it was at least something other than sitting in the room he had been given. Besides, he could hear conversation, even if he couldn't make out the words, so Catherine may be there. Which meant someone to talk to at least.

[Circe]

Occasionally the noise would stop, punctuated by conversation. "Try bringin' 'im around 'gain. Perhaps aim a bit lower." A male voice said, clearly offering guidance to someone or another. His voice sounded unhurried and cheerful, clearly enjoying themselves with whatever this strange activity was.

As Tyrus drew closer to the voices and sounds, now coming from a large fenced in area with two individuals; one seated on a large black horse and the other standing at the far end of what appeared to be an enclosed pasture. Both wore face obscuring visors, and were dressed in worn arming tunics covered in a myraid of patches. The rider clucked at the horse and headed for the end of the pasture at full tilt.

Suddenly there was a loud "crack!" as the blunted weapons met, causing the horse to dance and shy away, much to the aggravation of the rider. "Almost!" The man on the ground chuckled goodnaturedly as he relaxed his stance. "Relax, Pyrebone. No one is aimin' for you." He added with another laugh, this time at the horse who snorted and flicked its in reply.

"It would be easier to hit you if you would stay still Dùghallach." The rider commented drolly before turning the horse around and instructing it to walk back up to the upper end of the pasture.

"Ah but stayin' still isn't the point here." Dùghallach replied readying himself for another round with Pyrebone and his rider.

[demikara]

Tyrus watched curiously, hanging out by the fence. Armed combat on horses. This was definitely something interesting to watch and Tyrus settled in two watch the two go at it. This had not been what he was expecting at all. He hadn't been introduced to...Dùghallach by the sounds of it, but whoever he was, he was clearly trained in fighting. As was his opponent, who Tyrus was just about betting was Catherine. It could be someone else, of course. It wasn't like he knew everyone on the estate, given his experience so far had been the kind servant who drew his bath for him, and the cook but it would make sense it was Catherine. He didn't see how she could stay to be on a horse today after the all night ride and early morning arrival of yesterday though. She was probably more used to such things than he was.

Either way, he was content just to watch the two go at it. Lately, his only experience with the martial arts was Xiaolian kicking his ass and knocking him to the ground every ten minutes. He had bruises from Xiaolian's lessons. He hadn't even managed to snag a vampire sparring partner. Even with the promise to not use blood magic or fire magic on his partner, most of the court shied away from fighting him.

[Circe]

As soon as she had been old enough Catherine had learned to ride and later fight just as well as anyone else. With no other heirs, she was it to ensure the legacy and status of the McBride house. Thankfully once time came for her to assume the position she had inherited from her father, things were peaceful. The unseelie menace, as some refered to them, hadn't given anyone much trouble for some time. Likely it would all boil over eventually, but until then she had no real need to stay in the realm and be present at court or the estate.

The rider clucked at Pyrebone as they turned around and started down the pasture again at the same breakneck pace as earlier. This time however, Dùghallach succeeded in knocking the rider off. Landing with an audible thud on the ground, they lay there for a moment before rolling to their side with a slight groan. "Christ Dùghallach!" The rider complained as they stood up dusting themselves off and reaching up to unfasten the helmet.

Struggling with the clasp for a moment in their gloves hands, the rider ripped them off impatiently and tossed them aside on the ground before pulling off the helmet. Tyrus's inital guess had been right, Catherine had been the rider on the horse Pyrebone, who meanwhile was rolling on the ground at the edge of the pasture intent on removing the saddle himself. "Could you hit any harder? I may be out of practice, but we're not trying to kill me!" She complained breathlessly before tossing the helmet aside. Her hair was plastered to her face with sweat, evidence of Dùghallach working her hard through various drills and techniques.

"Ha! It wasn't that bad, now was it?" The man asked taking his own helmet off to reveal a flushed but wide and cheerful face. Like most of the fae, he was quite tall. But also like humans there was a variety of appearances, and Dùghallach's build was stocky with dark hair and olive skin. Spying Tyrus at the fence, he grinned. "You want a turn?" He asked clearly quite pleased with himself for having knocked Catherine out of the saddle finally.