3
Two evenings after Brody and Kate's big duck dinner with friends, the couple once again had company invited over. Jane and Mac praised Kate's glazed lamb chop meal (Mac ate his with wooden utensils he'd whittled), and they all found Brody's attempt at oatmeal cookies surprisingly edible.
The hosts had invited them for a number of reasons, but mostly to see how Jane and her fae suitor/guardian were getting along. They also wanted to learn any more they could from Mac about his world, and to have credence to give a positive report back to Liam.
Jane, in her long-winded fashion, put into simple terms what she'd come to understand about the Lore. Still, she was mystified about most of its alien nature and couldn't properly describe topics that defied logic. She did explain that her and Mac's chats were discreet, being kept to their time after school either walking or at the lent bungalow. Mac would answer any casual questions aimed at him with simple answers, but had just as many questions for Brody and Kate about subjects they took for granted.
The conversations over dinner and dessert were filled with statements like Kate's comment of, "I can't understand that geography in the Lore is considered a fluid concept" and Mac's query, "I see wire and hooks everywhere - why don't you just use rope and wood for everything instead of metal?"
Brody knew there were some topics that Kate wanted to personally address with her sister, so he invited Mac out to his workshop with the excuse of getting a different opinion on some of his sculptures. The young fae was immediately and noticeably apprehensive at the invitation, remembering the big human's warning concerning Jane. After Mac had a chance to make sure Brody's aura held no foul intent, he genially accepted.
Kate noted throughout the evening - and especially the reactions just before Brody and Mac stepped out with their respective pets - how rapid and continuous the fae's emotional nimbus fluctuated. She'd never thought to study one of the Other Crowd's patterns for any length of time, and wondered how the Fair fae wasn't exhausted. She silently mused, 'And to think I considered Janie's nimbus chaotic'.
Soon after Brody, Mac, and the pets stepped out, Kate refilled her cup of tea and sat at the kitchen table across from her sister. Jane was glancing about at the few new pieces of wall décor in that room when she noticed Kate silently staring at her with a small smile. Jane grinned back with a curious lift to her thin eyebrows.
"And so here it is," Kate finally said. "I'd like to try a little game - or test, if you will - for my nimbus gift. I did have a few questions on my mind to ask, but then this idea formed in my head. Care to indulge me?"
Jane's grin widened. It was a pleasant surprise to see her older sister being creative and playful - quite a departure from her younger self. "Alright, this might prove fun, and I've wanted to know more about your sight-gift-thing anyway. How do we go about it?"
"For starters, you'd turn and face away from me so I can't see any of your facial expressions. No offense, Janie, but your poker face is nonexistent."
Jane sneered and gave a squinty-eyed stare at the remark. She then stood and sat in the chair backwards, resting her forearms on the backrest. "If this is a prank..."
"On my honor," Kate said with a smile to her sister's back. "Now, all I'll do is say a word, a single word every few seconds, and see if I can't figure things out that way. When we're finished, I'll give my answers and you tell me how close I am to the mark."
Jane turned her head and looked at Kate from the corner of her eye. "I'm not supposed to say anything at all?"
"I know it'd be a much more fun game if you were allowed to blather on like a duck, per usual," Kate replied with a smirk, "but this won't take long, fair enough?"
With an exasperated sigh, Jane huffed, "Fine," and turned her head away once more.
Just before Kate began with her test, she said, "Em, Jane? Some of the words might be a bit... personal. Is that alright, or should I skip those?"
Jane was silent for a moment. Without turning, she eventually answered, "I suppose I'd be telling you some personal things anyway, so it's okay."
Without asking if her sister was ready, Kate simply waited a few seconds and then began. With time given between each, she stated the words, "Singing," "Doors," "Mam," "Sex."
Before Kate could say she was finished, Jane spun in her chair and glared at her. "Jaysus, Katie, you weren't kidding! That got personal right quick, like!"
Kate lowered her head for a second, but then met her sister's eyes. "I suppose I did intrude a bit, Janie, and I'm sorry for that. But I did ask, if you'll remember. It's just that I worry for you. I know you would have told me things in your own way had I asked, but I just... took a shortcut." She offered a hopeful smile and waited for a reaction.
"Christ on a bike, Kate - relax!" Jane said with a smile as she reached across the table and gave her worried sister a playful slap on her forearm. "If you'd kept on using your gift, you would have known I was only miffed for a sec. Go on, then; I'll tell you how close you come to the mark."
Relieved, Kate took a sip of her steamy tea and said, "Since I can only see emotion and intensity, I'm somewhat sorting a puzzle. I may not have all of it right..."
"No excuses," Jane said as she stood, grabbed her own tea cup and stepped toward the kettle on the stove, "Start talking, sis."
"Okay, here it is. Your singing aspirations; you still have dreams of it, but they're no longer the grand hopes of international stardom. I think you'd happily settle for less if you're able to have other important things in your life as well."
Jane nodded while she refilled her cup. "True enough, although that could just be clever guesswork from someone in the know."
"Fair enough," Kate conceded. "So, about 'doors'... You're a mixed bag of emotions on that subject. You like that it's a form of escape and refuge, but you can only protect those with it who've already been touched by fae in one form or another. You can't shield mam or da with it if things go sour in the fall, and that worries you. Equally so, you see your door gift as something magical end enchanting, yet you feel as if there's something more to it that you haven't discovered yet. You don't know what this other aspect - or piece you're missing - is yet, and it scares and thrills you at the same time."
"Now that's a nimbus gift thingy in grand form!" Jane said excitedly as she resumed her seat at the table. "You said it better than I could, and they're my feelings for fuck's sake; fair play, Katie."
Kate smiled at her sister's reaction and praise, but then said, "A bit more on that; you also have glee and guilt about your doors. You like that you have a talent somewhat in common with Mac, and that he's impressed with what you can do. The guilt is from thinking that you might be putting people in harm's way because your gift was found out."
Jane stared down into her cup with a frown and mumbled, "A little, I suppose. I bet you'd feel the same in my place."
"Jane, look at me," Kate said softly as she reached over and took her sister's hand. Jane glanced at her fingers curled into her sister's warm grip and then peered up into her big brown eyes. "Let me make a few things plain," Kate said with a serious tone. "To start, Mac is fascinated with much more about you than just your gift. Next, stop feeling guilt for things you have no control over; the supernatural happenings are by choice of the Other Crowd. Besides, Brody and I are just as involved with this mess as you are, if not more so. And I also see a trace of fear of the one who hunts for you - stop trying to deny that feeling. I would think that anxiety is a natural response in your position. All you have to do is accept it and temper it."
"What do you mean, 'temper it'?"
"Denying that there is danger would make you a fool. Being consumed by fear would make you weak and useless." Kate smiled tenderly at her sister. "You've always been strong, Janie, and sensible when there was need to be. Just keep on that path like you are now. Worry about that foul fae woman when there's need to."
"Cheers, Katie," Jane said with a small grin, "I'll keep those words near. Now," she said in a brighter
tone as she sat back and reached for her cup, "what was the next word?"
"I said, 'mam'. As I mentioned before, you're worried for her and you still haven't thought of a good solution to keep her safe. The truth is, neither have I. Given the choice, I don't think she'd want to be made to forget, although it would be to her detriment to remain aware and thus in danger of this war party's wrath. Honestly, there's nothing she could do to protect us any better than we can do for ourselves."
"I think mam's happy that she's closer with us," Jane said soberly, but then grinned. "And she's not near as scary anymore. The thing is, mam just seems so... em..."
"Overwhelmed?"
"That's it - overwhelmed. I think this is a bit much for her, Kate. Mam's not weak, but I'd imagine she feels helpless and without any say whatsoever. She's used to having at least some control, but how do you keep people out of fantasy in line? You don't - you can't. My first bit of time in the Lore almost sent me seriously loopers, so I have, like, an idea how mam feels. I'm worried she'll go mental and not come back from it."
Kate rubbed her hands together in thought before she replied, "You're right, of course; I was just afraid to voice my worries of her mental stability. It'd just feel manipulative if we had her memories altered without her consent."
"But you think she wouldn't give her consent, do ya? So, we're stuck, right?"
Kate frowned. "Unless someone makes the choice for us, we have to keep mam safe - not just for her sake, but for da as well."
Jane gulped down her tea and said, "I guess we've decided, then. Let's not bother ourselves with the details for now, okay? There'll be a time for it." After Kate nodded her agreement, Jane then asked with a smirk, "So why did you say 'sex'? Bit of a perv, are we?"
Kate shook her head with light-hearted indignation. "God, no; it sounds as if you've been spending time with Alana or something."
"Why'd you ask, then?" Jane goaded with her smirk still present.
As she leaned forward, Kate replied, "So I'd know what kind of report to give da soon enough."
Surprised and a little concerned, Jane asked, "Why - why would you be telling da anything?"
"So he knows better what sort of lad is after his precious little girl, that's why. With favorable words from Brody and me, he may just allow you and Mac - before you're off to Uni - to travel about and play in pubs and festivals and such - chaperoned, of course."
"That would be so savage!" Jane said enthusiastically. Then she suddenly glared at her sister. "Hold on, now... that all depends on what you tell da. I feel a bribe coming on..."