It's amazing how some journey's can feel longer then they really are or seem shorter then they should at times? I guess time really does fly when your having fun.. or something like that?.. Events unfold including but not limited to: |
“Urrgmager..”
“You okay there Hannah?”
With an unhappy groan rolled to the side but ended up leaning on a tangle of thick straps around me instead.
Seconds later I tried to shot up in surprise making Eris lean back into her seat and squeak from her position above me.
..apparently I had my head in her lap?..
“What happened?”
There was a long awkward pause from John as I tried to take in everything around us.
It’s dark out?
We’re back in the truck somehow and John’s driving?
The thick straps that freaked me out a moment ago are actually seatbelts looped around my legs and under my arm pits like some kind of restraint.. that’s a relief at least?
I really hate being restrained these days.
“You freaked out in a bathroom. The cat led us to you when the brand link started acting up and I couldn’t get a handle on your position.”
..Cat?..
“Mau”
Oh, that cat!
“Want to fill me in on what’s going on with you? You mumbled some stuff about Eris and being pregnant but I couldn’t really work it out. You’re not still hung up on that stupid ‘project little brother or sister’ thing are you?”
I almost groaned at that too, although the sharp warning look Eris shot him for calling her ‘project’ stupid nearly made me laugh instead.
Do I really want to admit all this to him right now?
He’s going to be insufferable!
As if it wasn’t bad enough BEFORE when he was making PMS jokes about my mood-swings, imagine how bad he’ll be when he finds out that I really WAS PMS-ing at the time?!
“It’s nothing John. I’m fine.”
Glad we got the suppressors sorted out, the last thing I need is a burn for lying on top of everything else.
Speaking of ways to restrain me; I cut my eyes down to my chest and started untangling myself from the seatbelt straps around me so I could sit up properly again.
I still feel like crap but at least I’m not cramping constantly anymore.
I wonder how long I was sleeping for?.. it must have been a while to get past all that nastiness!
“You sure you should be sitting up? You looked pretty bad earlier and you moved about a lot in your sleep too..”
“I’m fine John. I’m not an invalid or anything..”
While we were talking I finally managed to kick my legs free of the belts and twisted around to work on the belt at my chest instead.
“Well what’s going on then? I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s wrong can I?”
Oh for powers sake!
“You can’t ‘help’ me John, I’m having my period, OKAY?!”
He went dead silent at that.
I tried to feel smug at finally shutting him up but it was a bit of a hollow victory and I honestly can’t work up the energy to gloat over something at this point.
The belt came loose at last and I sat up.
After a moment’s pause as my head swam from the sudden movement I leaned down slightly so I could clip Eris in properly with the belt that just became free for her to use properly.
She was staring at me with wide shocked eyes for some reason.
Just as I got the belt done she reached out and looped her arms around my neck in a tight hug.
“..sorry Mom..”
Sorry?
Why is she sorry?
It’s not her fault I didn’t manage to get preg-
DAMN IT!
I jerked away from her as tears started forming in my eyes all over again.
These aren’t MY thoughts!
Get them out.. GET THEM OUT!!
I squeezed myself tightly into the corner near the far door and brought my knees up to my chest defensively.
I don’t like this!
How can such a simple and completely natural bodily function make me fall to pieces so easily?!
It’s like every single incarnation in my head is taking their anger out on me for not getting ‘up the duff’ or something?!
“I’m okay.. I’ll BE okay.. I’m just struggling with it all for some reason?”
“That makes sense, Ari never was very good at handling herself with this sort of thing..”
For powers sake, shut up John!
I’m not ‘Ari’ and I don’t CARE if she sucked at dealing with her periods too?!
“Thinking about it, this all makes sense to some degree. If anything was going to trigger an integration cycle for you it would be the start of your other cycle.. you basically hit a perfect storm of PMS and life-integration; with just a touch of magic withdrawal and overflow to drive you insane for a while.”
Yes.. I worked that out for myself John, thank-you-very-much..
“The sudden cravings for junk food and getting a bit softer around the middle in the last few days too..”
WHAT! I’ll show YOU softer around the middle John-boy!!
“Uh..Dad? maybe you should stop talking now..”
“AND you getting so horny all of a sudden the other day, that was just weird without context but it makes more sense now. Ari used to get like that a few days before too.”
WH-BU!-I.. I. was. NOT. Horny!
He shot an almost bored look towards me before continuing.
I WASN’T horny damn it!
I just.. I just wanted a hug.. and he was warm.. really warm.. and he smelt nice and leaning into his chest made my belly tingle a little bit.. BUT I WASN’T HORNY!!
“I’m not stupid you know? I’ve lived and died through so many wives, mostly versions of Ari or Arista I’ll admit, and I’ve survived enough of their cycles that I can practically set my watch by them.. as an aside, you might want to prepare for the cramps somehow? They’re due between now and the next few days at the latest, they can be brutal if you’re not prepared..”
Really John-boy? Cramps can be brutal can they?!
My I never realised!
It’s not like I just went bloody through them or anything?!!
I could feel my magic rolling around slightly in an awkward mix of anger, embarrassment and frustration.
“Daddy you should really stop..”
I think Eris can feel my magic from the worried look on her face?
Her voice gave me something other than John and his stupidity to focus on which helped me maintain some control for a bit longer if nothing else.
“If you hadn’t ‘gone cat’ on us at almost the exact same moment that it all peeked, I’m pretty sure you would have tried to pre-empt Eris’s ‘little brother/sister’ project in one way or another too honestly..”
My cheeks flushed bright red at the truth in his words that I REALLY didn’t want to acknowledge in the slightest.
Finally at my limit I growled low in the back of my throat and surged across the seats to smack him one around the back of the head.
Luckily we were practically parked or he might have ended up swerving dangerously or something just from the impact alone.
He hissed in a breath of pain and rubbed at his head but he didn’t seem at all surprised by my reaction for some reason.
After a long pause where I stewed in my annoyance he let off a little laugh which caught my attention instantly.
“Better?”
I grit my teeth and glared at him.
“When Ari used to get in a depressive mood from her time, nothing snapped her out of it more than getting angry at something.”
STOP TRYING TO BE SMART JOHN!
I’m not ‘Ari’ and your stupid little mind games aren’t going to make me feel better!
I’m uncomfortable, I’m cranky, I feel like a bloated pig with bladder issues and let’s never forget that it’s all. your. BLOODY. Fault!
With an angry huff I pulled myself tightly back into ‘my’ corner of the truck’s bench seat and huddled in tight.
A certain uncomfortable wetness made itself known when I moved about.
For a long moment I almost vented another flash of golden magic to get rid of the evidence again but we’re not in the Bazaar anymore, so me using magic could cause trouble that I’m in no mood to handle.
I’ll just have to tough it out until we’re near home where the ambient magic from all of the mages in our house right now will shield me to some degree and I can clean myself up a bit.
With a sniff I pulled my knees in tighter to my chest and rested my head on them.
..periods suck..
Eventually I heard Eris sigh rather dramatically to herself.
I’m not sure if it was meant to be relief that John had stopped goading me or just a general sigh of frustration but it didn’t really matter because a few moments later she unclipped her belt and slid across the bench seat to tuck into my side.
I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good to have her so close again.
It feels like ages since we’ve cuddled properly.
My arms came loose from my knees and before either of us really knew what we were doing she’d scrabbled over to rest on my poor aching belly, her head landing on that exact same spot she always goes for just above my heart.
“You should sleep while you can Hannah, I can suppress any pain that may come while you’re out with a spell Ari taught me but it only lasts six hours at a time before having to wait on the next application so..”
Huh?.. he can DO that?
I’m not going to complain, it’s just my luck that a past incarnation of mine would have made something as useful as THAT but I wouldn’t remember it?!
“..Thanks John-boy..”
Eris snuggled into my chest a bit more to show her approval for the idea of a nap of some kind.
I smirked to myself lightly as my hand came up to play with her hair a little before settling in a bit better.
“Are you okay driving for so long?”
He nodded but didn’t offer more of an explanation then that.
No doubt he’s probably tired at this point but I really don’t see his stubborn ass admitting it if he is, so there’s not much chance I’ll be able to drag anything else out of him at this point.
Maybe if I still had the cat-ears and tail it would be relatively easy but I don’t and it’s not like it’s THAT important or anything; he’s just being slightly annoying as usual.
“Wake me if anything happens okay?”
He nodded without looking away from the road.
“Night John-boy”
As I settled in properly and shifted Eris into a slightly more comfortable position so I could rest my head on hers he finally responded with a quite ‘Night Hannah’.
A little smirk played on my lips again and I turned to look at him for a moment.
“You can call me ‘Han’ you know John-boy.. Hannah’s such a mouthful sometimes, it sounds awkward from a friend..”
His lips twitched up into a smile that warmed my heart to see, just ever so slightly?
It’s nice to know I can get those kind of reactions from him so easily still.. even when he’s been kind of a dick in general.
“Night Han.”
I buried my face back into Eris’s hair to hide my smile a bit better.
“Night John.”
======
With a snort that was honestly anything but ‘elegant’ I woke up to a stabbing pain in my gut.
My eyes scanned around wildly for a moment before I could focus back in on the pain safely.
Truck-Dark?
Eris-Warm?
Pain-Cramps!
Everything processed neatly I sunk into my minds-eye and ‘looked’ around the lines of my body thoughtfully.
While the pain isn’t quite as bad as it was back in the Bazaar bathroom yet it’s a sign that John’s spell is wearing off if nothing else.
I can’t actively cast anything while we’re travelling but internal magic on the other hand.. well I AM a blood mage, even if I don’t tend to use it for much these days with my golden domes doing a far more efficient job of healing any injuries I may get and all..
I’ll be honest, I think I’ve become a bit lazy ever since I got this diversion?
I used to put so much work into everything with complicated, almost ritual like, sympathetic magic enchantments, Midas Bands and blood magic being used on a near constant basis..
I practically forget it’s all an option at this point?
I’ll have to watch that!
If I’d been calm enough to think right in the bathroom I probably could have saved myself a lot of pain sadly.
Just cycle a bit of blood magic down these..
Ah! No, too much!..
..there.. that’s better..
It’s not perfect but it will do for now?
Blood magic can’t heal an empty uterus obviously, there’s nothing to heal.
What it CAN do though is effectively ‘block’ your pain receptors from specific areas of your body.. if you know where to send it.. which I do..
Pulling back into the real world I let out a long sigh of relief when the gut deep pain was reduced to just a simple tight feeling in my belly now.
I can survive this, I can cope with it.
..for now at least..
As I revelled in my sudden lack of pain my eyes scanned our surroundings outside the truck.
I’ve got no idea where we are but ‘generic freeway’ might be a good way to sum it up.
We’re probably somewhere on the I-5 considering it’s practically a straight line route from Seattle to Klamath on there?
A sudden flash of light startled me in my still sleepy daze until I managed to make out the source, which happened to be my phone sitting on the dashboard.
With a grunt I leaned forward to grab it, having to quickly cup my other arm up to hold Eris in place as I went.
It took a bit of shuffling to get comfortable again when I leaned back into my seat and Eris grumbled in her sleep but I don’t think she woke up at least?
A tap on the power button showed a brief list of information, the most important ones being ’20 missed messages’ and ‘7 new voicemail’.
Crap.. reception in the Bazaar is non-existent and I’ve been sleeping pretty much constantly since we left it haven’t I?
Knowing what I was probably going to face but also reluctant to face it at the same time I pulsed my magic under my skin to unlock the phone.
Voicemail’s first.. one missed call from Mum, the rest are from Sarah naturally.
I’m pretty sure there’s no reason for me to blow my ear out listening to her yelling at me over and over again at the moment?
Instead of actually retrieving the voicemails I switched over to the texts and stared at two separate highlighted contacts.
..Mum first?..
Definitely, definitely Mum first!
‘Hi Ari, how are things going? Any idea when you will be home yet? The Gladstone’s people have been dropping in all day and your Gran had to scare off some more visitors who claimed to be your children? I’m not complaining, the house has never been this busy before, it’s rather fun actually but it’s also all a bit exhausting. Hope you’re safe. Mum’
Looks like that was about an hour after we got into the Bazaar?
Hopefully things calmed down from there for her.
‘Ari do you have any idea when you will be back? People are asking a lot and one rather dashing Irish boy called Ocean turned up saying he’d come for the Cry-san-tha-mantis of Tear-na-Norg that you borrowed from him? When I said I wasn’t sure where you were he gave me a nice business card and left, he’s a LAWYER!.. if things don’t work out between you and Max you could do a lot worse, Irish accents are so dishy aren’t they?! Hope to hear from you soon. Love, Mum’
MUM! I DON’T need more dating material right now!
Who the hell calls their kid ‘Ocean’ anyway?
For that matter what’s a ‘Crysanthamantis of Tearnanorg’ when it’s at ho-
Tir na nOg?
The Irish mythical ‘otherworld’ of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy?
..ancient Irish Heaven basically..
If I’m right, and Mum just can’t spell things she’s never heard of before.. then that would make him..
Oisin? That’s the only name I can think of close to ‘Ocean’ that’s connected with Tir na nOg?
I have a rough personal knowledge of most myths in general from around the world that’s usually supplemented by my past-incarnation knowledge but I’m not perfect or anything!
I still have no idea what a ‘Crysanthamantis’ is at all, and that’s assuming that Mum was even close in her attempt at spelling it.
When did she.. message received at three-thirty huh?
Amazing how things can change in a few hours..
At least he left easy enough, that probably means he’s not an ex-husband if nothing else.
From past-incarnation and now personal experience I can say that THEY wouldn’t be THAT easy to dismiss usually!
Okay, enough stalling, last message then on to.. Sarah..
‘I hope you’re alright Ari? Sarah’s becoming a bit worked up over everything which is getting annoying, just between us, but I can’t really blame her. You’ve been out of contact for over a day now which is worrying in itself. If you weren’t with John I’d probably be as worried as she is but he’s shown he can bring you home safely enough times lately if nothing else. Please message me back soon just so I know you’re okay? I’m going to struggle sleeping tonight otherwise. Gran’s threatening to do a location spell on you if you don’t answer back soon.. I have no idea if that’s even a real thing but you have a few more hours before I let her do it anyway I guess? Call me. Mum’
Ouch.. just over a day and they all start losing it?..
I miss the old days where taking a random two week holiday camped out at the riverbank where the Rhine meets the Moselle in Koblenz, Germany so I could re-find my center after a particularly difficult string of missions would just about earn me a curious look from Felicia when I turned up for my next mission with a tan and NOTHING else!
When was.. seven hours ago?..
Oh boy, I should probably message her back soon then!
Sarah.. Sarah first though.. I guess?..
..Oh just get it OVER with for powers sake!..
With a gulp I flicked over to Sarah’s messages and cringed heavily.
While her first one was almost pleasant if you ignored the obvious sarcasm about how ‘grown up’ I was being in not answering her and how ‘responsible’ of me it was to leave her, Mum and Gran to look after my re-incarnated ‘army’ of children.. things steadily got worse..
I could feel my eyes getting a bit teary as I scanned my way through them all.
She said some really hurtful things in there.. she doesn’t mean them, probably?.. but she still said them and it hurts and..
It took a few deep huffs of breath to calm myself down enough that I could keep reading.
My free hand left Eris’s belly to wipe my eyes slightly at the same time.
..stupid hormones..
‘WHERE ARE YOU?!! You can’t keep doing this to me Han?! I don’t know where you are or if you’re okay or if you’re DEAD or something!! Stop being such a brat and COME HOME! Everyone’s worried and if you don’t get your stupid ass home NOW I’ll personally kick it so hard your NEXT-INCARNATION will still be feeling it!!’
At least she didn’t swear in that last message.. that’s a good sign right? or a sign of something relatively close to good I hope?..
I had to sniff a little bit and wipe my eyes again.
I couldn’t help but go over the messages constantly, my guilt building with each go around.
Sarah’s really stressing out and it’s totally my fault.
I know the sniffling and tears are just my hormones making me go loopy at the moment but they ARE my hormones and Sarah’s MY sister and.. and she’s right?
I got angry at her treating me like a child on the ride up and, even after I’d realised that I was in the wrong to snap about it all, I still didn’t message her back because I was embarrassed about my actions.
I needed to get the ‘seer’ stuff sorted and the cat business that came with it delayed us too but I should have said something when John suggested going to the Bazaar?
I should have at least messaged Mum or something to let her know we were on our way back, even if we were making a detour.. but I didn’t?..
She’s right.
I’ve been a brat this whole time.
I felt like I wasn’t being treated like an adult so the first thing I did was childishly ignore her then self-centeredly forget to check in with them later, after I’d calmed down.
If Sarah did that I’d call her a brat too!
Eris shifted on my lap slightly and moaned into my chest.
The movement brought me slightly back into the here-and-now, although my eyes are still heavy and the tears won’t stop for some reason.
With tense fingers I rose my phone up again and started typing.
By the time I really knew what I was going to say the short one-handed message was done and my thumb was left resting on the depressed send button.
‘Sorry for being a brat Sare. Be home soon. Love you.’
The message felt familiar but I was in no state to work out why.
I practically threw my phone back onto the dashboard and settled into the corner again, both of my arms coming up to hug Eris’s warm body in tighter to myself for comforts sake.
Without thinking I planted a kiss on top of her now messy hair and rested my cheek on the spot I’d kissed a moment later.
Out the corner of my eye I could see John shooting me curious looks.
Just a touch of my mage-sense’s gave me the full story.
He’d obviously seen me using my phone, along with the crying and my final reaction to it all..he’s worried about me?
His magic is doing that warm thing it does now where it’s full of worry and care specifically for me.
..it’s really nice?..
I wish I could wrap myself up in this feeling and never let it go!
I wish the world would just slow down a little so we could take a break from everything and relax.. maybe enjoy that feeling while it lasts if nothing else?..
I let off another sniff and shifted my cheek slightly so I could talk freely.
“Don’t worry John-boy. It was just Sarah being.. being Sarah?..”
He nodded in acceptance although I don’t think he really understood what I meant by that.
Hell, I don’t think I even understand what I meant by that?
“You holding up okay?”
He turned his head slightly so he could look at me for a moment before turning back to the road with a smile.
“Yeah, only a hundred miles or so left to go now, we passed through Merlin about five minutes ago.”
My lips twitched up in amusement.
‘Merlin’ is a little forest-heavy town just north of Grants Pass, which in turn is north-west of Medford.
While it’s technically its own place, most mages treat it as just the more rural part of Grants Pass because it happens to house the Hub shared between Grants Pass and Medford within its tiny borders.
I’ve honestly never had a reason to go there before, although the idea of a hidden magical Hub being in a place called ‘Merlin’ is still somewhat amusing every time it comes up in conversation.
Judging by the slightly pleased spike in his magic at my smile, John finds it funny still too.
“Night John, thanks for doing all the driving and stuff..”
He smiled at me and his magic surged a little with pride in response.
Slowly I settled my cheek back onto Eris’s head properly and tried to go back to sleep.
After a few seconds of still hazy indecision I gave in to the urge that had been building in me over the last few minutes and reached out a tightly controlled line of magic from my natural aura to touch John’s magic.
He jolted slightly in surprise at the touch but seemed to try almost suspiciously hard not to look at me despite my actions anyway.
With a bit of tugging and gentle persuasion a ‘sheet’ of his magic finally came lose and stretched out across the truck’s cab until it came to rest around me and Eris like a warm blanket.
She didn’t seem to notice the change, I certainly did though.
John shot me a curious look but my smile seemed to calm him down quickly enough.
My eyes slowly slid shut as I let his warm, caring.. loving?.. magic wrap around me tightly.
He could never do this by force.
I’m too powerful for that.. but if I let him do it?.. that’s a whole other story.
..he’s so warm..
‘I love you.. Hannah.’
With those words echoing around in my head and his magic adding so much more weight to them than ever before I quickly sank back into sleep properly at last.
A contented smile played across my lips as I went and I doubt it left even after I was lost to the world.
I can’t really find it in myself to care though honestly?
..he’s SO warm..
======
We pulled up sharply for some reason and that was enough to start the sometimes long process of waking me up.
John grumbled under his breath for some reason.
His magic is still warm as always but there’s definitely an edge of frustration to it now.
After a long moment wondering why he’d be frustrated it finally connected in my head just why I could feel his magic so easily.
With a heavy blush I ‘pushed’ the layer of his magic away from me and tried hard not to catch his eyes despite knowing full-well that he felt the shift that happened as his magic returned to him.
“..shut up John..”
His magic jumped slightly with amusement in response.
I have no doubt there’s that annoyingly ‘knowing’ smirk on his face again right about now!
“Did you sleep okay?”
Thankfully he left the embarrassing extra ‘while willingly wrapped up in my magic like a swaddled baby’ part unsaid.
If he’s willing to drop the whole thing then I’m MORE than willing to go along with the delusion!
I don’t know WHAT I was thinking?!
His magic.. it just makes me feel good..
That could be dangerous but.. ya know?
He’s JOHN? What’s he going to do SMIRK me to death?!
“I slept like a log thanks. So what’s with all the grumbling?”
Finally! I actually managed to change the topic in a conversation relatively smoothly!
Score one for team ‘not socially awkward’ Hannah!
“Downtown traffic during some weird holidays-ignoring school rush.. how so many people think it’s a good idea to drive pickup trucks in a town this size I’ll never know?..”
Despite myself a little ‘snerk’ noise escaped me before I could stop it.
While I’m still desperately avoiding eye contact with him, that doesn’t mean I can’t feel the mild glare he sent my way in response though!
It’s not my fault he’s complaining about people dropping their kids off at school using pickup trucks in a small town.. while driving through said small town in an ancient pickup truck with a small child along for the ride..
“I take it that’s a ‘no’ on you doing the school run to drop Eris off in the morning come September then?”
His magic rolled in mild annoyance again but he couldn’t hide his amusement from me for long.
I finally cracked and let off a quiet laugh of my own at the idea of John being checked out by the single-mom’s club that always seemed to hang around the school gates looking for fresh meat every year.
You can practically set your watch by them.
A lot of them tend to get bored or disheartened after the first few days most years but even MY Mum was guilty of ‘loitering’ outside the school within the pack and on the prowl sometimes, back when we were young enough to need or want a lift to school still of course..
“You know she wouldn’t leave home without you anyway, good luck convincing her to spend most of her day away from you all week long for months on end..”
My eyes cut down to Eris’s head as she lay sprawled out on my chest like the warm brown-haired little bundle that she is.
“..shut up John..”
He sniggered to himself.
I’m sure he thinks he somehow ‘won’ the conversation there, immature ass that he is.
He’s got a point though I guess.. I’ve got absolutely no idea how even I’D react to her being gone all day either honestly?
It doesn’t seem real that until recently I didn’t even know she existed?
Aside from moments where I’ve been either working, hiding or unconscious I’ve not really been separated from her at all for a week or so now.. has it really only been a week?..
GAH! Stupid past-lives are messing with my head again!
On the one hand it’s been a little over a week since we ‘met’ but on the other hand I’ve spent countless DECADES as her mother, be that biological or adoptive?!
As if prodded by my attention Eris shifted slightly in my lap.
Slowly her head moved up and her mouth split open in an adorably wide yawn that made me smile just at the sight of it.
“..mmsurnampher..”
I had to hold back another laugh, the mumbling as she wakes up is apparently yet another thing she gets from some version of ‘me’ no doubt?..
“Morning Sweetie.”
Her little eyes squinted against the early morning sunlight outside but eventually she turned them up to me and smiled awkwardly in acknowledgement.
She really IS cute when she’s sleepy.
..What am I saying?..
She’s cute all the time!
It’s in the genes obviously, like mother like dau-
DAMN IT!
Rather than show my frustration I cut my eyes away from her to stare out the window instead.
As I tried to get a hold of myself and focus again it took me a few moments to recognise where we actually were.
“No wonder you hit traffic, why are we coming in from the south?”
We’re on Shasta Way, just by the big Fred Meyer store in downtown Klamath if I’m right?
Hell, we’re practically in the ‘school district’.. if a town this small can have something like that?
There’s two high schools that run summer school sessions, a day-care and an adult learning center literally just up the street from here!
“I wanted to avoid pinging on the Hub’s sensor grid before absolutely necessary.. figured we could park up on the far side of Klamath lake and line-of-sight warp across to that field just off from your place? That way we’d be within your wards before anyone could detect us.”
Huh.. I forget how smart he is sometimes?..
The Hub likes to keep a team of ‘trackers’ on station in a rough perimeter around the outskirts of Klamath Falls.
A lot of Hub’s tend to do it if they can spare the man-power considering mages who are sensitive enough to ambient magic for the system to work are slightly rare, I’m pretty sure we only have a few people on staff to handle it all here so they have to randomly search directions as best they can throughout the day instead of having any real form of ‘full coverage’..
The system is commonly known as the ‘grid’ and they mostly use it to keep an eye on who’s coming or going in the local area these days but I think originally the idea was to give early warning and help defend from ‘demons’ or ‘monsters’ back in the days when magical creatures travelled the world more freely.
It’s almost more traditional than anything else these days, a holdover from the old settler and enclave mentality that’s still pretty strong with most mages sadly.
It’s never really been an issue before but technically all the roads leading into Mum’s place are covered by the grid so it probably isn’t a good idea for us to drive all the way home directly.
We.. I need time to get settled before the SWAT guy’s come storming over to bring me in for questioning or any other excuse they can think of to shove their noses in again!
“..you’re not just a pretty face after all..”
Unintentionally I glanced over at him and we made eye contact.
He smirked brightly before turning back to the road which made my cheeks flush slightly for some unfathomable reason.
“I AM a pretty face though and you can’t deny it huh?”
My eyes jerked back over to him angrily for mocking me but he was already waiting for me to look and wiggled his eyebrows stupidly in a way he KNEW would get to me.
With a reluctant huff to hide my smile I turned away from him and focused on the street again.
It’s much safer to look at the streets at the moment.. he’s in a funny mood this morning, it must be sleep deprivation from driving for so long or something..
“Can we go swimming?”
Huh?.. oh, Eris!
“I’m sure we can sort something out sweetie. We used to swim in the lake most summers so I don’t see the harm in it.. not today though obviously, we have to get home today.”
She looked a little disappointed at that but not too much.
Luckily I remembered to add that last point in there!
Something tells me I’m going to be too busy when we get home to be rushing around so we can swim or anything else really?
Mum, Sarah, Gran, relatives both wolf-y and incarnation based.. along with anyone else that’s hovering around and the Hub itself eventually..
Yeah.. today’s definitely looking ‘busy’ in prospect, I’ll say that much!
“We’ll have to get you a swimsuit. Obviously your Mum’s got a Bikini already, as she showed half the United States last week when she warped around like a headless chicken.”
HEY!
“A ‘headless chicken’ who was frantically trying to save YOUR ungrateful ass Mister!”
He snorted in amusement but held his hands up while resting his palms on the steering wheel to show he was admitting defeat.
“Bikini’s are like the string top thing, right?”
..that’s one way to put it I guess?..
I glanced down at Eris’s curious face and nodded with a smile.
She huffed to herself, folding her arms to show her distain.
“I don’t like those. There’s nothing to hold onto.”
John snorted again in amusement.
No doubt his dirty mind came up with several responses he wouldn’t DARE say around Eris after the whole ‘BDSM’ incident almost instantly there!
“They’re traditional native outfits for American women, your Mom was just trying to blend in with normal Americans at the time Eris.”
I shot him a withering look but it didn’t stop his smirk in the slightest.
Eris seemed to chew over that idea a little bit before nodding to herself thoughtfully.
“Like the Fontange’s at Lou-lou’s?”
um.. maybe?..
Fontange.. Fontange, that sounds familiar?
AH! The headdress thingy’s in France!
Oh powers, they were HORRIBLE!
I don’t know what Louis was thinking when he decided to make Marie Angelique the ‘Duchesse de Fontanges’?!
By the time people wised up and stopped wearing the stupid things I’d already developed a permanent neck-ache from having a couple pounds of cap-wire with untold amounts of ribbons, pearls, flowers and muslin on top of my head every time I left our rooms!
..bloody stupid idea in my opinion..
uh.. well, I personally never had to deal with it all of course but past-incarnation memories and all..
You know what it’s like at this point?!
Let’s just say that no matter what era you live in fashion often sucks and is usually stupid in some way or another.
Give me a pair of jeans and a cotton work-shirt any day!
“Yeah, like the Fontange’s at Lou-lou’s.. but less annoying..”
Eris nodded wisely and turned to settle her head on my chest again like she always does.
If nothing else I think the conversation woke her up a bit more so that’s something?
Nothing worse than line-of-sight warping with a half-awake grumpy toddler in tow!
“Where are you going to park up then?”
I’m getting good at this whole ‘changing topic’ thing today aren’t I?
=======
“You seriously own this place?”
I’m pretty impressed honestly?
After a bit of dodging and weaving along the road that runs around the right-hand side of Upper Klamath Lake we ended up pulling into the little parking lot outside the Klamath Yacht Club.
I’ve never really had a reason to go over this side of the lake, it’s mostly just big residential housing, the OTHER golf course and the Technology Institute over this side as far as I know?
“Of course I don’t. I’ve got a boat in the dock so it’s free parking.”
Oh.. I guess that makes more sense?
..I’m kind of disappointed now?..
The ‘Yacht Club’ isn’t exactly impressive.
It looks like a converted aircraft hangar more than anything but they’ve made an attempt to spruce it up with a big windowed front at least.
I’ve just never known anyone who owned their own Yacht Club before, ya know?
I mean.. yeah, I technically own more land than some monarchies if you count up all my boltholes but you can’t show a bolthole off to people and be like ‘yeah, I own that!’.. that would kind of ruin the whole point of HAVING a bolthole wouldn’t it?..
“wait.. you have a boat?..”
I’ve never known anyone who owns a boat before either!
Well, technically I guess Dante had a boat, the old white one he put the entrance to his base on?.. but I have little doubt that was probably stolen in some way!
..stupid Lichs, they have no respect for personal property..
“We live practically next-door to a massive freshwater lake? Who wouldn’t own a boat in that situation?”
um.. me?.. I guess?..
I never really thought of it that way.
The lake is just.. it’s just THERE, ya know?
It’s kind of like the mountains on the horizon.
After a while you tend to stop seeing them if you stay in the area long enough.
I’ve been away a lot over the last few years but I’ve not really stopped to take it all back in again?
With new eyes I shot a glance out across the water and north towards the tree-rich hills circling around us.
..Klamath Falls really is a pretty place if you take a moment to just LOOK at it..
“Can we take the boat across the lake Daddy?”
My moment of introspection shattered at the dangerously innocent tone to Eris’s voice.
The same one I’ve only just started building a proper immunity to but that John-
“I don’t see why not? I can dock it up and take it back over once your Mom’s safely behind the wards.”
-that John still folds to like a wet blanket as she twists him around her little fingers?
..powers damn smart kids!..
“I’m NOT going on a boat! I get seasick!”
..probably?..
“Well you can still warp across I guess?”
John didn’t really seem that fussed by the idea but I think he’s a little disappointed he doesn’t get to show off his ‘boat’ or something.
My head sunk down and I let out a heavy sigh.
..now I feel guilty?..
“Fine I’ll go in the bloody boat BUT, no speeding around like a maniac!”
His smirk went up a notch which from him is practically an outright happy grin.
Eris made a happy noise and bounced in my lap a little before settling in for another hug.
My eyes drifted out at the currently calm water.
I felt a little ill already just at the thought of it honestly?
Reluctantly I glanced back down at her head as she nuzzled into my chest happily.
I swear, the things I do for her..
======
“Do you need a hand with that?”
John grunted and tugged on a few different ropes that I honestly have no idea what the purpose of are?
His boat’s not exactly huge or anything but it’s a nice little white skimmer with a motor, a mast and all the other things I’m sure you’d expect to see on a boat found in a ‘Yacht Club’.
It was already moored up in the water so we just have to cast off or whatever it’s called, but John’s been fiddling with those ropes for almost a solid minute now?
“Most of the boats enchanted for longevity, the rope knots are like a security system.. it’s just been a while since I’ve used them..”
So in other words he’s forgotten the ‘combination’ for his boat lock?
You know this feels oddly familiar..
Ah! That’s it!
The amount of times we’d have to hang around after school because he’d forgotten the combination to his bike lock or something equally stupid as kids!
“You need some bolt cutters there John-boy?”
He shot me a dirty look.
His bike lock problems were one of the few times I got to gloat at him back in school.
The threat of calling the janitor to cut his lock open always used to get the same amusing reaction back then too.
“You know I would have had a hell of a lot less problems like that in school if you would have just listened to me when I told you to go on ahead right?”
Who’s he trying to kid?!
As if my leaving would suddenly mean he could magically remember his bike lock combi- ..Oh.
“You used to use magic to open your bike lock didn’t you?”
He winced and wouldn’t look at me as he still fiddled away with the ropes in his lap.
He TOTALLY used magic to open his bike lock!
The amount of time we wasted because he didn’t want me to see him using magic on the bloody thing?!!
..of all the stupid, wasteful, pointless-..
“..magical or not, no-wonder you got bad grades in school..”
The twitch of his eyebrow I got back for that one was OH-so-satisfying to see!
I think we’ll count that as one point to Hannah!
“Who designs a lock enchantment without a backup way to easily open it themselves later?”
He does apparently?
His eyebrow twitched again!
HA! Hannah two, John zero!
“I’m not an enchanter. It’s pretty amazing I managed as well as I did with it okay?”
opps.. I think I hit a sore spot?..
With a huff I hopped off the jetty and landed on the hard bench seat next to him.
It’s not like I feel sorry for him or anything.
I’m just fed up of waiting that’s all!
“Give them here ya stubborn idiot.”
He really is reluctant to pass the rope over, I think it hurts his pride a little to admit defeat honestly?
We held a rather intense little stare off for a few more seconds until he finally gave in and slide the ropes over into my lap.
I offered him a proud smirk which was hopefully not as smug looking as I think it may have been?
My fingers twitched slightly to limber up before I ran my hand over the ropes, injecting just enough magic in them to make them glow brightly.
Magesight may be more subtle and efficient for inspecting enchantments but I really do prefer this method.
I can FEEL the weave of the magic so much better this way, it’s like reading brail over having someone describe things to you, there’s something just more VISCERAL about being able to FEEL how things work yourself instead of relying on your eyes which are, at best, just giving you an impression of how everything works?
AH! There it is!..
Just a little tug HERE..
..and HERE.. HERE.. and THERE!
With a jolt the massive tangle of knots all fell apart in my hands into nearly perfect, neat rows of rope.
For a long moment we sat in silence.
I spent it pulling my fingers out from under the ropes while trying to ignore the weight of John’s disbelieving stare.
“With that much precision and skill how have you NOT become the world’s greatest magical thief yet?”
I cut my eyes over to him, not able to resist when he gave me such an easy line to run with.
Slowly I reclined slightly and shot him a defiantly raised eyebrow.
“Who say’s I’m not?”
The real irony here is that it’s kind of true too?
You don’t get good at breaking into bad guy’s bases, demonic lairs or just pulling your oblivious sister’s ass out of the fire day-in day-out without learning a thing or two about unravelling security enchantments.
Hell, I can pick normal locks too.. and fry electronic ones.. and there was that one time that I had to trigger a four person dead-man switch remotely without either the operators or the system itself realising what I was doing..
Come to think of it, I probably AM one of the world’s best magical thieves?
Huh.. learn something new every day I guess?..
“..please tell me you’re joking?..”
I’d love to John-boy but I’m not in the mood to lie at the moment!
Bet you wish you hadn’t asked now huh?
“Hannah.. PLEASE tell me it wasn’t you that broke into the Archivum Secretum?..”
The Vatican’s ‘public’ secret archives?
What does he take me for?!
There’s nothing useful in that place.. it DID make a nice distraction when I went after the REAL secret archive though..
My lips twitched slightly despite my best efforts.
There’s honestly nothing funnier than watching the chaos that happens when you kick over an organised religion’s biggest ant-hill of power.
You wouldn’t BELIEVE how much those priests can swear when they think someone’s stealing their dusty old papers and priceless hidden artworks!
I almost wish I’d been there to hear the air turn blue when the REAL higher ups were informed that several of their ‘doomsday’ weapon pet-demons had been slain in the confusion?!
I’d have taken that mission for free just on principle in the end honestly.
I’m all for coming up with ways to stop the ‘end of days’ from happening, but sealing up some of the most powerful demons to ever reach our realm and keeping them locked away for eon’s just to piss them off in the misguided idea that the ‘power of god’ in your city would somehow purify their evil ‘souls’ and make them willing pawns you can unleash on whatever thing threatens humanity the most is just being pig-headed!
“I know that look.. Hannah.. what did you do?”
I couldn’t look at him and keep a straight face.
It’s nice that I’VE been the naughty one for once!
Maybe he’ll finally understand what that horrible feeling of dread that comes with knowing someone you care for has done something unbelievably stupid but won’t explain it to you properly feels like huh?
..yeah, I thought it was a longshot that he’d think that far into it too..
“Hannah seriously, you didn’t really-”
Before he could finish badgering me for answers the boat rocked violently as a squealing little girl landed in it.
“I got Mau! Can we go now?”
She did indeed have the kitten with her too.
I have no idea where the little fuzz-ball got off to, probably fell asleep in the foot-well under the seats or something?
Either way he’s wide awake now and quite obviously terrified as he stares out at the wide expanse of water ahead of us.
Just to keep the distraction going and avoid any more awkward questions about world-wide organisations I may or may not have pissed off in the last few years, I moved forwards slightly and stretched out my hands towards him.
Eris let off a surprised yelp when the kitten almost frantically batted his way out of her grasp and made a leap for my arms.
Despite my initial reluctance the fuzz-ball really is growing on me?
It probably helps that he likes me and seems surprisingly intelligent for his species too.
I shot John an amused look as he finally started gathering himself back together again which probably didn’t help if I’m being honest with myself.
Eris huffed to herself and folded her arms as if the kitten had mortally offended her with his treachery.
After a long moment where her huff didn’t get the result she wanted she let it go with a sigh and made her way over to my side, nudging John and me apart slightly so she could slot herself in-between us comfortably.
With one more moody look at the kitten, who seems to have decided to stretch out on my chest with his little head resting on my boobs and his little eyes squinted shut happily, she pushed herself into my side a bit more and sighed to herself.
“Hannah, we should really discuss this?”
I purposefully ignored the ‘hint’ he was trying to drop that he wanted to speak out of Eris’s hearing range.
I’m comfortable here.
I’ve got my cat, I’ve got my Eris and I’ve shocked the hell out of John.
This is turning out to be quite a good morning surprisingly?!
“You should get the boat started before someone notices us and wonders what we’re up to John-boy.”
He glared at me for a moment but there wasn’t any real heat to it, he’s just annoyed I got one over on HIM for once.
“This isn’t over..”
Sure it isn’t!
It’s not like the whole breaking into the Vatican thing happened years ago or anything?
..honestly he’s so nit-picky sometimes..
“Just start the boat already.”
As much as I know I’ll regret thinking it, I just want to go home now!
======
“Is that a dolphin?”
Eris bounced around excitedly while waving out at something across the water.
I’d love to tell her categorically that ‘no, it’s not a dolphin’ but I’m both too busy trying to hold down my non-existent breakfast to look and clinging on to the boat for dear life to speak.
It turns out that, like most awkward forms of travel, I don’t do boats at ALL!
John finally throttled back as we came closer to the bank on the lakes edge nearest to our house.
I think he went fast on purpose just to get back at me for the Vatican thing?!
“I’ll get you for this Joh-”
Urk!.. No! I can’t even get the words out!..
I’ll get him for this somehow, only John could somehow manage to force me into using some stupid way to travel and make it seem like it’s MY idea!
New rule: Hannah doesn’t do boats!
Make a note of it!
“Are you okay Mom?”
The boat finally bumped gently up against a rough dock someone has obviously built for themselves on the lake’s edge and I was off like a shot, surprising Eris in the process as I scrambled onto the uneven but solid wood with the cat clinging to me as if it’s life depended on it.
I slowly sunk to my knees in relief as the world stopped bobbing up and down.
The cat took that chance to unleash its death grip on my top, landing with only a slightly unsteady wobble on the wooden dock before promptly mimicking me in collapsing to the floor in relief.
“..Mau..”
You said it buddy!
‘NEVER again!’
“You alive there Han?”
SHUT UP JOHN!
I can feel you’re bloody smug smirk from here and I’m NOT in the mood!
“Go give her a hand Eris, I’ll go back and sort the truck out.”
Seemingly oblivious to my poor stomach and growing headache Eris squealed happily, scrambling up to nudge persistently against me in an attempt to get me back on my feet no doubt.
All I could do was groan and thank the powers that at least the journey was over now.
======
“Are you okay now Mom?”
I hesitated for a moment as we both stepped awkwardly over a fallen tree in the way before turning my head down to grin at her reassuringly.
She grinned back and gave a little skip to keep pace with my longer legs.
Despite my best efforts to keep the pace low for her she’s still not very good at walking for long.
It’s probably just her age honestly, the fact that she doesn’t walk around much in general probably doesn’t help either though?
I should start making an effort to get her walking more or she’s going to end up as one of those mages who can throw around elemental spells like they’re free candy but runs out of stamina if they have to jog upstairs for something?
“Mau!”
My eyes cut down to the kitten who was happily sprinting around tree roots and hopping between sunspots on the grass like.. well, like a kitten really?..
“Come on little guy, I’m sure we’ve got some tuna in the fridge you can steal if you look at my Mum cutely enough.”
His awkward little ears instantly perked up and instead of continuing his playful running he practically made a beeline straight towards Mum’s place despite it still not being visible through the trees yet.
Eris giggled and picked up the pace to go after him with me hovering slightly behind her to make sure she didn’t trip over anything as she went, naturally.
When we finally did catch up with him Eris was slightly out of breath and he stared up at me as if wondering what took me so long, the cheeky little fuzz-ball!
“Mau?”
“Hold your hair on, we’re almost there..”
With that said I lead them both on the last half-overgrown path that works its way through the trees stuck between our house and the resort’s golf course.
It didn’t take much for me to push my way through the last low bush-like branches of the trees around our garden, clearing the way for Eris to follow on behind me.
The kitten reached the wide clearing we generously consider our ‘backyard’ and broke into a sprint that must have reached forty miles-per-hour in less than a few seconds.
It’s easy to forget that he’s got the speed of a purebred Egyptian Mau with how little he-
“MAU!”
-except when he makes that damned noise at least?!
The kitten suddenly pulled a complete one-eighty turn and like the proverbial rocket that he’d become, shot back towards us, only stopping when he got close enough that he could hop up into Eris’s eager arms.
I stared at him curiously for a moment before shrugging it off as him just being a cat.
I wonder what scared him so much tho-
Oh..
..Oh, that’s not good!..
A cacophony of voices rose from the house as a veritable swarm of people poured out of it.
Young, old, male, female, it didn’t seem to matter!
They were all running towards us.. towards ME.. AND calling out happily with terms ranging from my name to my reluctant designation of ‘mother’.
Leading the charge was a tightly controlled but obviously pissed off sprinter that I’d recognise anywhere.
She always HAS been a fast runner, no wonder she’s leading despite some of the crowd being werewolves with the physical prowess you’d expect to go with that often unwanted ‘gift’.
“HANNAH!”
..oh..crap..
Sarah’s pissed, RUN AWAY!
“Eris stay safe and look after the cat.”
She opened her mouth to protest but I was already dipping into my lines for a warp.
I don’t have enough time to do much more then line-of-sight it but it’ll do!
As the cresting wave of ‘family’ came charging in towards me my magic finally connected and I disappeared in a blue blur.
A moment later the world came back into focus and I landed splay legged on the peaked roof of our house with a hiss as a still rather new, rather sensitive part of my body slammed down onto the curved peak leaving me to cling on and ride the wave of disorientation that comes with line-of-sight warping out.
Luckily I landed with a leg kicked out either side of the peak which afforded me some awkward sense of balance at least.
It didn’t take them long to work out where I’d gone but, as I’d hoped, they were all reluctant to warp up here after me.
They’re all on their ‘best behavior’ around me at the moment and it’s rude to go warping around someone’s house when you’re still a guest!
“HANNAH! GET OFF THE ROOF?!”
Cautiously I peeked over the edge with a bit of a gulp at the height involved.
Eventually I managed to make out Sarah from the crowd down below, staring directly up at me with her hands fisted at her waist like she always does when she’s trying to be authoritative.
“I’m good up here Sare.. thanks though!”
A lot of the crowd down there started talking amongst themselves but that did nothing to cover Sarah’s annoyed growl from my ears in the slightest.. yup, I’m SO totally good up here thank-you-very-much!
My eyes wandered a little bit and I was relieved to make out Eris wandering over to join the back of the crowd, kitten in tow and completely unharmed.
It’d been a measured risk.
If I’d been much slower they might not have been able to stop in time to avoid running into her.
At the speed they were going, the odds of her getting hurt in the mass of people if I HADN’T warped out would have been much higher too.. so I did what I’m good at?..
As stupid as it may seem sometimes, running works more often than you’d think!
“HANNAH! You’ve got a count of ten to get down here or I’ll MAKE you!”
I peeked over the edge again to stare at Sarah’s still angry looking face.
She’s finding this all funny, I know her too well to not assume as much anyway but it’s reassuring to see it on her face if nothing else.
That DOESN’T mean she’s not still pissed off at me though!
“Nuh’uh, I’m good up here, really!.. how about everyone just go back to what they were doing and I’ll come down when I’m ready, yeah?”
There was more than a little pleading in my tone at this point, definitely more then I’d like to admit honestly, but if it works then use it.
“FIVE HANNAH! Don’t make me come up there and get you!”
She wouldn’t.. would she?..
That’s insane!
It’s just an empty threat, how would she even get up here?
It’s not like she’s got magic to cheat or anything?!
“TWO HANNAH!”
She’s bluffing!
She’s totally bluffing!
“ZERO! Okay, you asked for it!”
With those final words she started moving towards the house until she finally disappeared from my view beyond the edge of the roof.
The crowd down below seemed to be busy watching her more than me at this point.
I could practically gauge her progress in whatever she was up to by the way their eyes all trailed slowly up the side of the house.
After about fifteen seconds of near silence the old metal guttering around the rim of the roof shook violently and a pair of hands just about managed to catch onto the edge of the roof by their fingertips.
The crowd down below gasped in surprise but that was nothing compared to my fearful wheeze as the guttering shook a few more times and slowly the fingers forced their way upwards until the top of a head rose above the lip, followed closely by a pair of angry eyes I know FAR too well!
Come to think of it Sarah IS a professional ‘adventurer’ and all.. she used to go rock-climbing and train on an overhanging climbing-wall a few years back too, until she got bored because it was getting ‘too easy’ at least?..
With a grunt the eyes started rising higher again followed by a mouth set in a determined frown.
..Uh oh!..
Comments
"Uh oh!.."
Uh oh is right!
Thanks for making me giggle!
Lol!!
Don't; whatever you do piss of your sis!!!lol
I think that Hannah's starting to come to grips with the changes John has brought upon his one love. Hmmm..Wonder how accepting Mau is to this house full of Wares??
alissa
Needed This!
While not a lot happened, it was still very entertaining. I think I enjoy Hannah's mental conversations as much as any new developments!
Uh oh! Lol! Needed This!
A lot of exclamation points this time?!.. oh, now I'm doing it! :)
Sorry for the late response roundup message, I've got a cold and I'm kind of a baby when I'm ill so I may have zoned out a lot this week in a half-sleep state in the vague hope that I'd magically recover quickly.
What I wouldn't give for one of Hannah's golden domes at this point! lol
I'm glad you all enjoyed it.
If we can call giggle and 'lol' just from Hannah going through a long boring car journey then just imagine how much fun we can have when she actually has to do something again :)
For specific questions and comments:
-Uh oh is DEFINITELY right, and pissing off a sister like Sarah is never a good idea lol
-Hannah's getting comfortable for sure, whether that's just a reaction to John and his nice magic or she really is getting better is yet to be seen sadly but I'm sure she'll be able to survive it all somehow as always right?
-I'm more curious how accepting the wolves will be of Mau when all's said and done honestly, not to be mean but I get the feeling Mau is the more stable and emotionally mature of the two groups at this point somehow? :3
I'm glad you enjoyed the journey My5.
I do tend to worry a bit when we have an episode where Hannah is more introspective and passive but it's a big part of her personality so it's kinda unavoidable at times isn't it?
It's a bit of a relief to hear that you enjoyed it still despite the lack of 'action' or 'sudden surprises' to be honest lol
Thanks for your comments.
Only 4 more days until more Hannah! :)
Thanks again everyone
Nessa
Travels and roofs!
Hannah doesn't seem to do travel at all to be honest. The boat is just the latest in a long list of no-go travelling methods.
I wonder where that cat spent the trip too... Knowing certain things I can safely guess that it wasn't with them in the car. At least most of the time.
That creaking noice is not a good noice. Not for Hannah and definitely not for Sarah.
And now, to Sarah falling off a roof... Probably.
-Tornberg9
Travels and... travels-
-then one more travel, then roofs :)
I'm kind of curious if the cause of her inability to seemingly go anywhere without getting ill over it is a physical or magical problem?
She's apparently okay with some forms of travel at least, although we've not actually seen her use any of the supposedly 'safe' forms of travel yet, have we? :)
I'm sure I have absolutely no idea what you mean about Mau, Tornberg.
I'm sure the creaking will be finneeeee too! I'd be more scared of Sarah in general then the creaking ;)
Glad to see your enjoying the re-read still Tornberg... now to attack the huge mountain of comments ahead of me.
I've actually found 3 spelling mistakes thanks to my first scan through your comments before I got started so everybody wins in this! :)
Your racing towards the end now, you can do it!
See you in the next comment... in about 10 minutes time from my perspective? lol
Nessa