06 Work at Last
07/12/2007

Helena: I prepare to walk to Alma's Ways from my own when Saras has to leave in the morning. I dress for brunch, and take Boss and the lemur with me. I hope I don't have to give the lemur up, as Boss likes him and I am fond of him, too.

I head in, greeting the servants quietly in case Frey and Freya are sleeping...

GM: The cute pink and blue swirl nursemaid imps do indeed put fingers to lips before taking your hands and leading you into Alma's private bedchamber. Alma has the twins settled to nurse, one balanced on each arm, with the cushions for support. As you mother flashes you a big smile, you note that she's wearing a pretty white eye patch over her left eye. An identical patch sits on the entry table, close to hand for you as you're walking in.

Helena: My heart sinks through my stomach, but I refuse to let her see that. And besides, I must smile at the sight of them, so beautiful.

I approach them and slide in alongside her, my head propped up on my elbow, watching them, content to be quiet until she is done.

GM: Alma does not see your heartbreak, or at least does not let on that she sees, and remains all smiles and joy until the twins have their fill.

Once the nursemaid imps gather up your siblings, Alma shrugs back into her loose sweater and hugs you hello. Whispered into your shoulder, her voice full of love and emotion, gently held together with humor, "Happy to see me?"

Helena: "So happy. It is so... much." I hug her tighter for a moment. "I was breaking in the dark. I felt so... useless and so damaged. Saras was moving away, and Father, and there was nothing for me to do but push them... And that is done and I know I have not lost my {beloved} in my weakness." I pull back, speaking through tears, with relief to speak to someone of weakness and failure and that be okay. "But this... How will Father forgive me for this?" It is strange. I still smile. I know it is of Alma's choosing, and I would not take it from her. I also know Father may not understand. Strangely, that is okay, too. We will see him through.

GM: "I would have given you both eyes, and he would have found it in him to forgive me... though I imagine it would have taken longer, and I would not have had your support so readily." Then, perhaps to show the depths of her love, as if there could ever be doubt between you, "If you need the other, it is yours, my beautiful daughter. You have already led me out of a deeper darkness."

Helena: "No. Serpent, no. I will not need that from you." I grip her hands in mine. "Having us both back from darkness...? We are blessed."

GM: "We are indeed." She brushes your hair back, looking to your new eye and smiling so brightly. A sigh of relief escapes her.

Helena: I lie back on the pillows next to her, still holding her hands. Finally I say, "Frey and Freya have the best parents in the many worlds." I grin at the sentimentality. "You must let me know when they can lend me their mother for a night dancing... though given it is getting harder for me to control my own shape, it may be after my own is born as well."

GM: She smiles at your sentimentality, willing to accept the compliment... this once. "I was not too badly gripped by my {work-form} until my fifth month, and I might have been able to fight it, but not so willing. If your experience is similar, perhaps we can sneak a night in next month, when I am certain the twins can bear to be away from me a while." A devilish twinkle takes hold in her remaining eye. "Will we prowl as sisters, or are we wrangling our men into this?"

Helena: "I think Saras would enjoy the opportunity to dance with me once more, now that we know one another... better."

GM: "Then we go as couples. It will just be one more small arrangement to have your father and I out at once."

"I would hope our Saras knows you quite well, now that you are beginning to show." Soft laughter.

Helena: I laugh with her, taking the humor, which after all I shared with him just a day ago, but I answer seriously. "He has known me well since that first day. His taking my case as a patient... perhaps a more intimate introduction than we would have wished. I can't say that either of us has ever felt it was a mistake, however. I love a man I want as a friend, a man whom I respect. Love cannot choose more wisely than that."

GM: "Such a match was all I ever hoped for you, Helena. I do not fear for your future with Saras beside you." She sheds a tear, then another and another. "I have never been so happy to be wrong; we have a chance at raising broods in peace, and I mean to take it." *sniffing* "One grandchild or many, I will do all I can to help you."

Helena: "I hope they will bring you joy." I rest against her a while, doing nothing more than feeling this sense of family and love and sharing among the three of us, mother, daughter, granddaughter to be.

GM: "They will," she answers, and her smile broadens slightly at your choice of plural. You stay together until the twins begin to call.

As the nursemaids bring them back in, "Is there anything your mother can teach you, Helena? My second time is almost my first, but... I relish being able to make up for what I missed before... what we missed before."

Helena: I blush a little, but I am pleased by her frank offer. "I... don't know. I will have to see what questions arise as we go. There is nothing I would ask just now. She seems happy and stable, and I am comfortable. And we are both well taken care of." I grin, remembering Saras's solicitousness.

GM: "If something occurs..." and she leaves it at that. "This is most of how I will spend my day, aside from napping when I can get away with it. I will not fuss if you choose to return to Saras' comforts, much as we enjoy your company." She is distracted for a few moments with settling the twins, but then is open to talk or accept your farewell.

Helena: "I will bring cards, and the book I am reading, next time I come, and we can spend the day.

GM: "That would be wonderful, Helena." Glancing down at her hungry charges, "We would all love that," said with a mother's song.

Helena: "Father is busy, I suppose? I would see him as well before I go."

GM: Said quite lightly, unworried, "He went off to pout a while when he saw what I'd done to myself. I think he's at the Estates, off to negotiate some deal or another and forget long enough to forgive. I'm sure seeing you would heal him more than anything further I could say," but she does not ask you to make the trip for her.

Helena: "I will go there now. You know how much he likes to be interrupted at his business." I give a wry smile, and stand up to brush and re-pin my hair. "I think I am dressed for it, should there be business contacts there. This black patch is plainest, and calls least attention, but if you think the other is better...?"

GM: "I'm sure it will please him to see us so well matched," said with some barely concealed amusement. "Tell him I miss him, please." This not said with as much humor, but not bitterly either.

Helena: I trade the patch or keep it, at her word, and make my way out the public entrance and along the formal Jesby Ways to Loren's Estates.

GM: She smiles to see you in white now, and waves as much as she can with her hands full.

The Estates are busier than when you were last here, and wagon traffic outnumbers foot, which had never been the case before. His offices are bustling, and his staff is quite a bit larger than it had been. Do you make an appointment, feign one, or just slip or bully your way in?

Helena: I would never bully my way in, but I will ask his secretary (is he new? or one I know? in either case...) to bring him a note... which I write out from a pad on the desk: "Lady Helena here to see you. Will wait."

GM: The secretary is a familiar face, tenured some ten years in your father's service. Kelsor quickly and efficiently produces page and pen for your note, and sees it delivered on the spot.

Loren keeps you waiting maybe twenty minutes - a reasonable span, given the local bustle.

Kelsor escorts you in, seating you in the inner waiting room. A few moments later, Loren comes out to greet you. He does not look cross at all. Hands out to you, though not too boldly, "How are you, my daughter?"

Helena: I rise formally, bow, and then take his hands. "I am very well. Mother's work was successful. I did not know her price, but she bought what she intended." I search his face for understanding.

GM: "I am... displeased with her subterfuge, but I cannot fault the result. Do you regret the price she paid, unasked?" He does not seem angry with you.

Helena: "Yes, and no. How can I refuse this gift, or regret it, without belittling what she did? I won't do that. If she had told me... But she knew better."

GM: "You have much in common, for I would have forbade it if she had asked me either. Not to keep you in the dark... but for the risk." He lets some knot in himself go at last. "I am glad to have you see me, my beloved daughter. From the day I found her 'patched,' I have had a position waiting for you." He smiles.

Helena: I cannot keep the pleasure from my face, but master it immediately. "I would be pleased to hear of it. I did not expect something so soon, but it is welcome."

GM: "It is not a particularly choice assignment, but I believe it has the potential for great profit, and perhaps your unique skills may be brought to bear on the most relevant difficulties, now that you are restored."

Loren gestures toward chairs, making himself comfortable behind his desk. "The opening is for a site manager, overseeing a mining operation some seven Ways distant from here. The goldstones from that mine are in demand in several Golden Circle markets, but the location is rather {Logrus-stubborn}, and the local wildlife seems to find our standard mining daemons rather tasty. It is not an operation we can put a great deal of resources into at the moment, given all our demands elsewhere, but I think a firm hand could turn a profit fairly quickly." He leans back, steepling his fingers in front of his smile. "I believe a concerted effort now might make the project sustainable, and then when you return from maternity, you might completely round the operation into shape. Are you interested?"

Helena: "I'm not sure fromyour description what my role would be exactly. Security?"

GM: "You would be in charge of the entire operation, from Mining and Security to Transport and Marketing." He frowns a bit. "Please, Helena; do you think I would risk my grandchild by making you a mere security guard in a Shadow full of predators?"

Helena: "You would not, if it is truly your assessment that she would be at risk. I should not have asked the question, since your answer was not relevant to mine. I am willing--and glad--to do whatever is required. Please, Lord Loren, make the assignment. I am in the House's service."

GM: "I will send you the relevant paperwork in the morning, and you may report as soon as your home is in order."

Helena: "What are the living arrangements there, so that I might best prepare?"

GM: "Fairly spartan, I'm afraid, but I do not think you will need to maintain residence throughout. There are apartments above the miner's barracks; fairly soundproof and quite fortified, but it only amounts to three rooms. The advance scout who set things up Trumped back and forth extensively, so it was not extensively developed. Copies of his place Trumps will of course be in your packet."

He smiles proudly. "It is good to have you serve the House again."

Helena: I stand and bow correctly. "I am honored."

GM: He stands as well, bows a bit beyond what your station requires, and then comes around his desk to clasp your arms in a formal and distant (but not emotionless) embrace.

After any final words, what will you do next?

Helena: Head home, contact someone to get uniforms made for my... unfortunate resting shape, consider packing. When Saras gets home tell him about the position. Try not to bounce with excitement.

GM: You know one tailor of reliable discretion. Little creativity, but he's not one to talk about his commissions. Of course, if you feel safe enough now, you could speak to one of the designers Alma and Hanla favor....

Helena: Lack of creativity is not a problem, given what I'm looking for, and I don't know what if anything will be problematic about my shape - or anything else about me for that matter.. I will use the man I know.

GM: Are you in the entity shape when he arrives?

Helena: I plan to show him my two baseline shapes, indicating that the entity shape seems to be my "relaxed" state now that I am pregnant. I would prefer something that doesn't look terrible on my own body, but planning for the entity shape to be most common as time progresses.

GM: Having typical-to-above-average knowledge of shift-fashion, he is able to panel the outfit such that a bit of re-buttoning renders the uniform passable in both forms. For formal occasions, he suggests one for each form, for a smoother line. You imagine that a more creative tailor could do better, but his work is not in any way substandard.

Are you planning ahead for maternity, or just going with a comfortable cut at your current girth?

Helena: If he can create at least one at a slightly larger projected size, I can contact him when it becomes necessary to have more made. I commission several of the changing uniforms and one each of the more formal ones, plus one of the changing ones in the ... expanded size.

GM: You feel prepared to face the next few months, at least in terms of wardrobe.

While we're on the subject, does it sting a bit less, this 'other', now that you have returned to the light? (You did mention being a bit less bothered when you were out with Saras, but I was wondering if that comfort had carried over to your everyday experience.)

Helena: Not at all less, no. I despise it. I hate it. The fact of it burns. But on the flip side, I am much more comfortable -- perhaps not bothered at all -- by the necessity of it. While shapeshifters of my
level are rare enough, we are a society of shifters. Having another shape is not so strange in conducting business.

GM: Quite clear, thank you. ;-) You will discover that changing small details is not such a challenge, even some distance into the third trimester, if that helps at all. You always wake up as 'her' however.

Saras cannot help but smile at your infectious excitement. "Excellent! I am so happy for you, {beloved}. You have wished this for a long while, I know." A kind embrace, a gentle kiss, and then, "Will you need an assistant? My university time is up in a few weeks... and as I am no longer in dire need of their libraries...." He pauses. "I would not impose, if you would rather have a chance to stretch alone for a bit... but I would see more of you than less in these months to come."

Helena: "Father did say the position did not require me to live there full time. Place Trumps will be made available to me, apparently. And I would love for you to join me when your term is done. I gather many of the miners have been attacked now and then by whatever the predator is out there, and so your assistance could be quite valuable. I mean, I am sure they have medical facilities already, but they won't match your level of skill I am also sure."

GM: "Zaran is not as 'qualified' as I am, but I do not think a dying miner will notice the difference." Then, phrasing his question and monitoring his tone quite carefully, "How much danger does the position entail?"

Helena: "I have no idea. Lord Loren is sending a packet and the green sheets, so we'll have what he has."

GM: Saras defers his questions until later, then, and begins planning a meal suitable for a private celebration.

When the packet arrives, the beasties in question appear to be burrowing hexapods with bone snapping jaws, durable high-mineral skeletons and very sensitive navigational whiskers. Quite charming. Only about a Seven or so on the Chaosian 1-12 nastiness scale, but certainly a problem, especially in the numbers reported. They don't climb well, so the stilt housing has been fair defense, but there is some concern that they might one day learn to chew through supports to bring down such structures.

Helena: Have to figure otu what kind of cladding we can install on the stilts to prevent that eventuality and still keep the project profitable. Also obviously everyone should be equipped with MOWs (relatively non-lethal burst of pressure shotguns, basically; they'll tumble a tank) unless the shadow conditions don't support their functioning.

GM: The Shadow supports such weaponry, but the mining daemons are remarkably incompetent when it comes to hitting anything moving _or_ much beyond arm's reach. To ask them to strike something moving at range invites both comedy and inappropriate bloodshed. Acquiring new, more defense-minded creatures for mining would likely break your current budget.

Helena: Then we need competent "bosses" with the teams... or is that more expensive than the loss of trained mining demons?

GM: You could probably score some 'military surplus' of some kind that would be useful and fairly inexpensive. More than three or four 'bosses' would be a significant strain on the budget, though.

Helena: I don't know how many teams go out at once, but even a few seem like they'd help immensely.

GM: There are usually 8-12 miners in the ground at any one time. Right now, only one or two shifts are running, but three would be ideal, once resources permit.

Helena: Two bosses per shift for now, then (hoping other precautions come into play) one boss per shift, with a spare.

GM: Cladding for the stilts should be easy enough to arrange, though the creatures lithovoric habits make rendering them invulnerable impossible. (They eat the miners because they savor the taste of their bones.)

Helena: Well, I'll wait and see what the full reports are. I'm not going to duplicate other people's work unnecessarily. Maybe there is some kind of perimeter sound wave, temperature, chemical, what have you that will keep them away.

GM: That may require some local research, as the current reports are less than thorough.

There is an indigenous population that reveres these creatures, making outright extermination additionally problematic, despite fairly good relations with the natives.

Helena: Of course. How do the locals survive them, for example?

GM: The locals are arboreal dwellers. They rarely interact with the 'dirt dragons'.

Helena: They don't do anything to keep them away when they do have to travel over land?

GM: The forests cover hundreds or thousands of square kilometers. There is precious little need, and those that die are considered sacrifices to the dragons, their 'gods of the dead'.

Saras considers this to be a manageable risk, at least for now. As you get farther along, he reserves the right to ask for precautions on your part.

Helena: He should understand that I will always welcome his advice and precautions!

GM: It is easy enough to convince him. Clearly, he does not want you to feel caged by motherhood.

Helena: Good man.

GM: Do you plan on spending a few days on site initially, or setting up a commute from the get go? Do you try to tap any off-budget resources (favors, trades, etc?)

Helena: Few days there to start, but playing it by ear. I won't start with any off-budget stuff until I know what the situation actually is. I'd really like to know what I'm getting into before I start investing.

GM: How soon do you plan to go? What equipment, supplies, etc. are you taking with you?

Helena: Other than computers (if they work), Trumps, personal journals, luggage, my own weapons (and a crate of MOWs, in case we can figure out who's competent to use them) I've got to get on site and see what we need first. I'm assuming the place is pretty much equipped, being as it's already operational.

GM: There is actually a slight surplus of mining equipment, due to the casualties and short shifts. Do you want 'bosses' from Jesby, or the lowest bidder?

Helena: Jesby, if it doesn't break our bank. Best (if not necessarilly lowest) bidder otherwise.

GM: You are able to afford three rather than four if you choose Jesby, though you are certain of their quality. A less robust model from Hendrake is inexpensive enough for your budget to bear four, while their top-of-the-line would be a budget risk beyond two units. Your choice.

Helena: The three from Jesby sounds best. I can still have one resting during any set of three shifts.

GM: The guide lemur has been formally adopted - the other thing the celebration dinner was for. All he needs is a name.

Helena: Heh. Porland. Named after a small-boned Jesby scout from my old unit.

GM: Are Porland and Boss staying home when you start commuting?

Helena: Yes, at least at first.

GM: Do you do anything with them to celebrate the addition to the family?

Helena: Picnics!

GM: Porland has a fairly insatiable appetite for fruit salad and fetch, though he thankfully rarely combines the two. He is even bright enough to lead Boss away for a while if you and Saras want to use the blanket for something other than a tablecloth.

Helena: Yes, avoiding the "nose in strange places" is always a bonus! Yay, Porland! :-) On this particular occasion I think Saras and I can wait until the picnic is officially over, given it was for the "boys'" benefit.

GM: Speaking of which, are you making advance arrangements for child care (nursemaid imps or whatever) or do you want to do things yourself at first and then add help later at need? Some of these contracts are a fairly lengthy negotiation, unless Saras Conjures them wholecloth.

Helena: Start the negotiations now; get Alma to help with the final details and ongoing stuff, since I'll be out of town. I trust her with this implicitly.

GM: Alma will have an appointment for you arranged with a very reputable summoner / wrangler in a few weeks, where you can discuss the specifics of what you might need and dicker over price. Your mother is very glad to be able to help in any way she can.

Are you still visiting her and the twins? How often and for how long, in general?

Helena: The promised card games and mutual reading-and-hanging outs will have to be scheduled, rather than impromptu for a while, but I still intend to do them. As much as a day, but usually several hours at a time. Shorter in the first few weeks while I'll be seeing very little of Saras, also, and will feel the need to split my time between them all.

GM: In the first few weeks, you are able to visit perhaps a half dozen times, occasions just far enough apart that the twins are noticeably bigger from visit to visit.

Saras fills the hours you can give him with fine meals and lovemaking, always ensuring your rest without leaving you feeling rushed or neglected. Thus far, you are not feeling awkward in bed, though you feel the entity's shape nagging a bit when you are tired.

Helena: I'm going to start letting that shape take hold gradually, if it seems inevitable. Doing so will make less of a compromise to my physical skills (I have time to adjust to its changes) , and furthermore I don't think I want to put Saras off for several months there towards the end of my pregnancy, when it sounds like I won't be myself at all.

GM: By the time of the summoner interview, you have restored the mine to two shifts, and have only lost one more miner. The operation is tenuously profitable, though you think it would greatly benefit from updated or additional equipment in a few areas. Is it your inclination to stand pat until you have a bit more of a reserve, or invest more immediately in the hopes of a likewise immediate gain in profitability?

Helena: Invest sooner, especially in anything like security, housing, research that is durable and of longer-term usefulness. (unless -- do these kinds of mines tap out quickly? what is their useful life?)

GM: Do you completely defer to Alma's recommendations regarding your nursemaid order, or do you have requirements of your own?

Helena: Heh, I have not got requirements, other than that they be ery discrete (which Alma already knows) and that they also be good at handling the animals.

GM: Will you remind Alma of your dance date shortly after? Do you make much of inviting Saras, or just mention it in passing or assume his interest while you plan? Will you have something pre-existing altered, or commission something new to wear?

Helena: Of course I invite Saras. (um... here's a worry -- has any acceptable amount of time of mourning passed? Some cultures have a certain amount of time it is expected or even required. But if I'm okay on the social front...) I will have something commissioned, and let Alma know I am doing so, so that she won't feel left out or shown up. I can suggest we either get a joint commission, or have designers compete ;-) That'd be cool.

Simone: Most stuff is going on in the background, even the dance can be background -- "we go, we have a good time" -- if that's what you envision. So any thread that has your GM bumps or that you want Helena IC reactions to is fine with me, or going into the future.

GM: Well... the nursemaid imp is ordered....

First note - the traditional period of mourning is a month or so for a fiancee and a year for a husband. 'Saras' is nine months dead by this point. Do you feel that is sufficient to be in public with Zaran?

Helena: God. Helena wouldn't, if Saras were actually dead. But it is beyond what is expected. Waaaay beyond.

GM: What face does she put on it, then?

Helena: So yes, she will. I think her face is, "I'm trying hard to get over my loss." It's not like she and Saras were seen together almost at all.

GM: Sure. And it's not like she ever loved this way before. Her friends and acquaintences might be surprised that she waited, given her bed hopping previous.

Helena: Exactly.

GM: One dance breaking her heart would be silly, to the public perception, anyway

Helena: They'd be more likely to attribute her absence and lack of further flings to her trauma in Amber... which of course we don't talk about in public. Even thinking of marrying is a total change for her.

GM: There you go. So, after going dancing with Alma, Loren, and Zaran, you actually receive a few 'welcome back to the race' cards and such

Helena: She was going to be one of those "casual sex widows."

GM: Ah. Never making the vows public, then

Helena: She had no plans on vows until she met Saras. I don't think the vows are public yet, in any case. (unless that got followed up by Loren and we just didn't cover it.)

The cards are amusing. And some of them are people she was actually good friends with, so they make her smile.

GM: (no - haven't gotten to the vows. It is scheduled for a month or so before your due date) Cool!

So, will the child be Saras', Zaran's, or 'undisclosed'?

Helena: Oh, Serpent. I need Saras's help with that decision. How long is Chaosian gestation, anyway? Or do our... abilities in that regard allow them some flexibility? She could have retained Saras's seed from before her capture, for example, I guess.

GM: Yes. Gestation is nine months, but you could store a fertilized egg for decades or longer

Helena: It's too soon for Zaran's, and too late for Saras's, which is awkward, otherwise. I think it will have to be Saras's, stored. We'll have to make legal arrangement for Zaran to become adoptive father.

GM: Common enough, in this and other circumstances. Any public face on why you stored?

Helena: Um... bringing an infant to term in Amber's dungeons? No way in 7 hells.

GM: More, why you chose to store before your capture. And Saras is helping you with this story, btw. Asking the questions, anyway

Helena: Not publicly stated, though.

We had just got back from me resigning. Settling into new routines in our home. Decided to start the family then. Next day... captured. Not much choice, really. Or is even one day of natural development too long to wait before making the decision? That's like... 16 cells or something.

GM: It usually takes a few days to recognize and capture the egg... unless the pregnancy was very purposeful.

Helena: Fine, then... that story works, I think?

GM: Sure.

Helena: It is an easy story because it is within hours of being the truth.

GM: Yeah, that's true. Might have unleashed the soldiers that night, if not for the JRS

Helena: exactly.