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Changeling: February, March!
Well, it's been a while, but I need to get back on top of this...
In January and February, Kathryn started trading letters with Nadya, wherein she learned that Nadya - whom Kathryn hadn't met before - was going to be marrying the Count, and would therefore be Countess. Kathryn was very happy to meet Nadya, who seemed very nice, and helped Nadya to make a royal gift for the Count, a cloak of feathers with a sunburst clasp. Kathryn was glad to help, even though she was starting to get more busy at making things - Diezel had asked her for a pair of Wolverine claws, real ones not chimerical ones, and Thangobrind had given her 100 dollars to make him a pair of brass knuckles and a set of gauntlets. Kathryn particularly enjoyed making the gauntlets, which had daggers specially designed to socket into them such that they could be slashed easily while swinging an arm. She was also *so* excited to get paid for something, because it meant she could maybe afford a date with Dino at some point without relying on charity - she hated taking money from the Baroness Eleanor Elise, even though BEE didn't seem to mind giving her money.
She was also studying frantically, learning to make electronic devices so that she could make a stun gun as Thangobrind had asked, and still studying armor - even though now she wouldn't need it - and visiting the lions, studying fire arm creation, and secretly learning to cook and dance from Kaye. It's amazing how busy one little boggan can be!
Near the end of Yule, Kathryn had learned that the Dale Derring that had been around Muses wasn't the real Dale Derring, and that the real Dale was a prisoner of the Monkeys. Then, at the Duel, Petros and the Monkey Princess enlisted a band to go and rescue Dale. Thus, Kathryn, Petros, Amelie, Careg, a nocker named Broderick Chrome, and Kaye Arden (Grendel was originally supposed to go instead of Kaye, but he wandered off, jerk!) headed into deep space in the Monkey Princess' shuttle to rescue Dale.
The trip was long and perilous. We were attacked by Dr. Fandango and his goons! They were very much a pain in the butt, and Kathryn was very unhappy with them because he kept making passes at Amelie, who was less than observant - it's bad when even Kathryn notices something like that. She almost hurt him very badly, but was spared doing so by the ever increasing ability of the rest of the crew to manipulate him into doing what they wanted.
Once we arrived, it became necessary to formulate a plan. Dale's body was in cold storage in a science banana, while her brain inhabited the Monkey Queens body, by the kings side. Try as they might, no good plan could be determined to deal with this problem, so the group decided to split up: Kaye, Kathryn and Amelie would go for the body - they could move it very quickly using Amelie's dream boat - while the others went to rescue the body. Dr. Fandango, meanwhile, and his goons were tricked into undergoing the brain switching surgery, thus getting them out of the way so that they would not inconvenience the questers.
While Kaye kept the ship ready for their return, Kathryn and Amelie boarded the Dream Boat and made for Dale's body. It was hard getting around - the corridors of the ship were narrow and low, and they had to get past many guards without being detected. There were many close calls. Then, as they approached, Kathryn noticed a large, shiny rock on the ground, glimmering in shades of purple and blue. Entranced, she reached down and touched it...and was sucked into another dimension!! At first, she was completely at a loss, and unsure of what to do. The walls teemed with worms, and, shocked, she realized that she was in a wormhole! There were lots of "things" all over the place. The worms didn't want to let her go. They hated the way that people and things kept getting drawn into their hole, and all they wanted to was to be in a dark corner and left alone - but whenever they let people go, these people never helped them, so they were sick of letting people go. Eventually, Kathryn swore on the dreaming to move the stone into a dark corner, if only they'd let her go. Satisfied, they released her. At first, Kathryn was stumped as to how to move the rock - since everything that touched it got sucked in - but finally she realized that she could do it as long as she didn't touch it, and she got Amelie to gimmix the rock into an appropriate location. The worms were most appreciative. Kathryn was left wondering how they could tell what kind of corner they were in.
Moments later found Kathryn holding off guards while Amelie grabbed her body. The plan was that Amelie would take the body on the dream boat and escape as fast as possible, but it feel apart some what as the ship began to explode! Running as fast as they could, they barely made it out of the banana science vessel to the ship that Kaye was piloting before the final explosions! Later, they learned that Fandango (who had been used as a distraction to keep the monkey's away from the rescue team) and his goons had decided to blow things up. Thank god they got Dale in time!
Things resolved quickly from there; Amelie, Kathryn and Kaye rejoined the others as they successfully defeated the Monkey King - leaving Petros as their ruler - and using the Monkey technology Dale Derring was reconsituted, and all was well! Kathryn returned to Muses in time to check on the Monkeys (only to leave days later for the SMART mission to Prague, as already described)
Meanwhile, Chet stood trial for treason, and was acquited, though Kathryn never learned the details. She also heard through the grape vine that the dauntain who had threatened Pinnochio and had her so worried had all committed suicide!
Kaye had been working for some time to organize the craftsmen of Muses into a guild to produce a weapon to help all of Muses in the coming conflicts - the fomori were starting to be a real threat, the White had appeared in the blight, the Red were sweeping across Ireland, and generally things were scary! So all the craftsmen of town - Kaye, Careg, Kathryn, Dino, Lexander, Petra, and others too, got together to start work on...something. Originally, the idea was to build a fleet of living ships, but they had a lot of trouble reaching any sort of consensus - people kept talking about different animals, which Kathryn thought was sort of silly, though she liked the idea of different types of dragons.
At one point, in one of my personal favorite moments, Lex and Dino were arguing, and Kaye told them to stop, there was no need to try to prove whose tool was the larger, at which point Kathryn leaned down and, blushing like crazy, whispered to Kaye that she knew whose tool was the larger. Kaye laughed for many minutes, while Lex and Dino watched and stared.
Though the birthday date has been thoroughly explained else where, I'll go into a little bit now. A few days after Kathryn's return from Prague, Dino approached her and asked her if she'd like to go on a date on March 1st. Kathryn had told no one 3/1 was her birthday, and was surprised and gratified that he'd approached her, though he didn't mention her birthday really, and was very shy about it all the way around. Nervous and excited, she looked forward to it, feeling much better about her situation in general.
Kaye took her that morning and revealed that she had in fact known it was Kathryn's birthday, and that she had told Dino, and made sure that Kathryn didn't mind - of course she didn't! Kathryn made her share of lewd comments, too, though she'd never have admitted to them. Kaye took Kathryn all around and got her a beautiful, beautiful outfit - and then set up the date. For more on the date, refer to this LJ entry, because I wrote it like two days later and therefore it's a lot more accurate than anything I could remember now. :)
The day after the date, Dino slipped a manila envelope under Kathryn's door. In it was an application to join the Bes Din completely filled out - including nepotism paperwork, which reassured her slightly as to her social position - and instructions on what she needed to do to complete it. He also asked to make sure that he'd danced well, and hoped she'd had a good birthday. Reassuring him, Kathryn returned the completed paperwork, having read every word even if she didn't understand the legal mumbo jumbo, along with a lock of her hair, which she thought the paperwork would need, though she wasn't sure. She returned it with a note that said what a great time she'd had and how happy she was. A day later, she added a post script in the form of another note, asking if he'd like to go on another date with her.
Kathryn, riding the high from her date with Dino and the gratefulness shown by Thangobrind and Diezel when she gave them the things that they had asked her to make (Except the Stun Gun, which she hadn't quite learned to make yet) realized that there was a way that she could help out in Muses greatly. After a lot of thought - trying to decide if she thought it was a dangerous or bad idea - Kathryn decided to send out a grogan to everyone offering them her craft services. A few individuals took her up on this offer. Dante, who she barely knew, got in touch with her and asked her for two longswords; the Baroness asked her for a gun, Lara got in touch with her about making armor, and, worst of all, Harbinger Frost, a representative of the White fomori and one of the bastards himself, who asked her about the potential of a shield that would keep the attacker from wanting to attack the bearer. Kathryn cheerfully agreed to make all of these...except for the shield. To that, she said that she would think about it. Lexander Lugnut had suggested that he would make it instead, and Kathryn hoped against hope that he would be the one to do so, and as the White Court approached, she prayed that Harbinger Frost would decide that Lex would be adequate - but they would discuss it then.
Dante loved his swords, and paid Kathryn 2 dross for them, which she was as thrilled about as can be. She made Thangobrind and Diezel swords for their birthdays, and the Baroness liked the gun so much that she asked Kathryn for 100 more of them, agreeing to pay her $200. Lara met with Kathryn in person and asked her to make, in secret, armor for Azriphael that would remind him of what it was to be a night. This intrigued her, and she was excited about this - Lara wanted Kathryn to make Azzy armor that would render him a knight in shining armor once more; Kathryn began drawing up plans, making sure that Lara knew that she would need to provide Kathryn with the dross to cover the items creation, though beyond that she asked for no payment.
Feeling good about what she was doing to help Muses, Kathryn tried to focus on the good things in her life - Dino in particular - though she was nervous about things with him, still she was happy that things seems to be going somewhat decently for a change, even if he was still timid as could be - and ignore the bad things, like the upcoming court of the White Fomori.
The court, set for the 15th of April, fast approaching, Kathryn worked extra hard to come up with ideas for a date with Dino. Though she was largely at a loss, having no experience in such things, she sat and thought long and hard, and finally came up with a plan. She would buy a whole bunch of kite building kits, pack a picnic lunch, and take Dino out on a picnic. Then they'd build the kits, and see what they ended up with. Hoping that this was a good plan - packing every kind of picnic food that she could imagine just in case, including making ice cream, bread, and cholocate chip cookies, and fresh squeezed lemonade, she drove with Dino to the park on a sunny, windy day in late March.
The date went well - they were both still very timid, but Dino acted most sweetly, asking Kathryn what she wanted on her sandwich and then making it for her. When she pulled out the kits, his eyes lit up, and they spent many hours afterward building and rebuilding and combining the kits - there were 6 different ones in all - while Kathryn sat and sewed the cloth parts to put around the architecture that Dino put together. Finally, they ended with one giant kite (and lots of stunned onlookers) which flew for several long minutes before doing a nose dive that destroyed enough of the pieces of it that it could no longer be flown.
A few days later, as Easter approached, one of the Aldara, who was to be departing for beyond. It was a fun party - a phoenix egg hunt was held (and they had candy inside of them, and other stuff gathered from the people of Muses), and dancing, and stories were told, and it was great fun. Kathryn and Kaye decided to pool their eggs and gather them togethe, and combined they had lots and lots, though they kept giving them away. Finally, when the time came to open them all, Kathryn took a small hand full (though she kept passing hers to Dino, who hadn't bothered to gather any)...she was a little sad at first, because none of the eggs she opened had any of the special things in them - the one that did contained the pound of peanut butter fudge that she herself had donated! Finally, as she opened her very last egg, a very strange thing happened!
There was no gift inside of the egg. Instead, the contents were a feeling, a moment of insight and clarity that pierced her into her very heart. In that moments, she felt and saw in it's entirity the warp and weave of her romantic feelings, with no secrets at all. It was so profound that she was very shaken for many minutes; Kaye looked at her with great concern and clearly didn't believe her when she said she was fine (which, granted, she said in a very strange manner indeed!) and she managed to avoid Dino's queries as well; every time he pressed her to find out what was bothering her, something would distract him, or she'd be able to avoid the question, and finally he got distracted enough that he didn't ask again, and Kathryn was relieved, for she didn't feel that she could really tell him what happened: in that moment of insight, she had learning something she'd known but always had feared she might be wrong about - she loved Dino completely and utterly, with all her heart. Profoundly happy - though still worried that he might not feel the same way - she wondered if she should tell someone. Indeed, she was so distracted that she acted most strangely to the Count (completely missing his explanation of Beltaine), Diezel and Thangobrind (who told her about Diezel's birthday), Pinnochio (who told her that he was going to the White Court as a reporter, though she tried to dissuade him and convince him not to go) and others who spoke to her. Kaye remained worried, and she finally pressed Kathryn until she told her, though Kaye didn't give further explanation.
A bit confused, unsure what she should do next, Kathryn was surprised when, a few days later, Dino invited Kathryn to his room. Not sure what she expected, or what he intended, Kathryn poked her head only to see the room laid out most strangely, the furniture pushed against one wall, a complex pattern edged in candles on the floor, and the walls painted. He invited her in, and, with minimal explanation, began a ceremony. Intrigued, Kathryn sat very still and waited while Dino completed the ritual - it took almost an hour! - and suddenly, they were elsewhere, on a sand dune, high above a city, looking out over it. The city was beautiful, laid out in gorgeous white stone, gleaming in the sunlight. It was ringed by vast walls and had a complex and yet cohesive organization, all centered around a great big building that towered over the city. When she asked where they were, Dino, sounding a bit more nervous even than usual, said that they were in Alexandria...which was in his mind.
Dino showed her all around the city, giving her a tour of it's many buildings (some of which were a bit incongrous from up front), the temple square, and finally leading her to the library itself. Across the street from the library was a 1970's style dance club, with pounding music coming from within and a line of people appropriate to such a venue and yet at the same time appropriate to Alexandria outside of it - that was Armand's place, and he came out and they met in an official sort of way - they'd met before, of course - Kathryn had long been secretly a bit jealous of Armand's behavior - and they chatted briefly before Dino led her off into the library. The library was vast and filled with rooms of all shapes and sizes, and books and kowledge and information. Much of what was in it could not possible have actually fit in the building she had seen, and sometimes windows in the library would look out on scenes other than that of Alexandria. Fascinated, Kathryn let herself be led around, wide-eyed, marvelling at everything she saw, as Dino shyly showed her around. She tried to be as accepting as she could, given how nervous he was acting.
Finally, Dino started to lead from the city, and Kathryn felt so happy. They got to talking, and Kathryn commented that she didn't know how to repay Dino for this; that she could think of no way to return the trust that he had shown her by showing her this place, however much he might have wanted to. Dino seemed confused by this, and wasn't sure what she meant, and when she tried to explain, he suggested that she had was wrong - but she didn't understand. Finally, he led her to the temple square and into one of the temples that she had not seen before.
Inside the temple, inside Dino's mind, was a room devoted to Kathryn. On the walls hung pictures of Kathryn, pictures of her smiling and laughing and just being herself. In between the framed images hung copies of all of the swords that he had seen her or known her to make, with Troy in a prominent place on the back center wall. In front of Troy was a pedestal, and on the pedestal was a lock of hair - the lock Kathryn had included in her Bes Din envelope. From a peg hung the necklace that he had given her.
Kathryn moved into the room slowly, eyes wide, while Dino stood in the back looking mortified and incredibly unsure of himself. When she turned back to face him, there were tears in her eyes. She told him how amazing this all was, and how happy it made her to know that she meant this much to her. She turned to look at the room once more. Behind her, Dino, gathering himself, came up to her quickly, pulled her around to face him, and kissed her. The mind palace faded around them as they continued to kiss. Dino pulled away after a few moments, clearly embaressed and very unsure if he was doing the right thing, and he turned away from her...but Kathryn would have none of that! She'd wanted to kiss him for such a long time - since Samhain, months before - that she pulled him 'round and kissed him - and they lost a fair amount of time to such things. Finally, after much time, embaressment overcame both of them, and finally Kathryn wandered back to her own room, looking very happy.
Despite her misgivings, Kathryn got ready for the court of the white fomori, making her mask out of feathers, getting all dressed up in a long skirt, a corsette, with her head all a mass of white and pale pastel feathers. Meanwhile, Dino prepared for it by unknown means, though he warned Kathryn that Armand was going to be in attendence, not him. Kathryn worried about her conversation with Frost, and tried not to show it. And the day approached. Dino took her aside and tried to do something to protect her mind from the White's influence - even as Kathryn tried to find a way to use the truth she knew about herself - the fact of her love - to help her cope with the white - Dino helped her to build her mind into a safe home with the fomori on the outside, but it didn't seem to work; and he seemed worried.
Kathryn arrived early, unsure of herself, and promptly found herself trying to keep Pinnochio out of trouble. He got an early start on making things complicated - before all was said and done she'd spend a lot of the day trying to keep him out of trouble. Whatever else, though, she resolved to not keep Dino from accomplishing whatever it was that he meant to accomplish that day.
She met with Frost early, and they talked for a time. Lexander, who she had been counting on to protect her, wasn't there - her dislike and discomfort about him apparently justified to a large extent. Frost, though, was very reasonable. They talked for a long time, with Frost suggesting to her that the shield would have to be of something that could have a universal appeal. At first Kathryn suggested Hope (referring, as she did so, to Dino's cloak) but the fomori apparently do not feel hope. Then she suggested ideology, for ideology shelters and protects those who believe in it from outside forces, but that wasn't universal enough, for there is no ideology that appeals to everyone universally. Finally, giving her the hint that the answer was right in front of Kathryn's face, he sent her off to solve this riddle. All the while she talked with him, she noticed her friends keeping an eye on her, trying to distract Frost from her, but it didn't really work - she was too interested despite herself.
Intrigued, she talked it over a lot with Petra - while keeping an eye on Pinnochio, meeting a new satyr named Abery, meeting the Bear Tanawa the Devourer - who threatened her and terrified her, though she stood up to him when threatened Petra and ate her hat. Kathryn managed to interpose herself - though she was later reassured by Mantokele - who'd never spoken to her before! - that the bear could not act against them at this point.
Anyway, Kathryn talked to Petra a lot, laying out the riddle situation. It was weird for her in many ways, though, keeping an eye on Abery, and Armand, and Petra, and her friends - she was so worried about absolutely everyone!
After a bit, the White called the court to order, and the White Queen herself arrived. She danced with Ree and the Baroness, and then exchanged a ritual with Harbinger Frost. During the ritual, the answer to the riddle came to Kathryn, for in the midst of it as the fomori talked she realized that the White could feel love, based on things she said - for she'd already dismissed the most obvious answer to the riddle - that what was right in front of her face was a mask, which was the literal truth.
However, after the ceremony, Frost was no where to be found. Tense and a bit excited, she talked to Petra about what she thought, and Petra agreed. Petra also asked her about Armand, puzzled that Kathryn wasn't bothered by the fact that he existed, and wondered about the situation with Armand and Dino, so Kathryn explained how Armand came to be a part of Dino because Dino had accidentally killed him - which isn't entirely accurate, though Kathryn didn't know that then. She also explained that he didn't really bother her because it wasn't really Dino, not exactly anyway...
When she'd gone to grab Petra from BEE's company, there was a great bit - BEE was upset due to the dance, and her retainers were around her, and Kathryn found herself introducing herself to Thraxx, one of BEE's knights. "Hi, I'm Kathryn," says K, to which Thraxx replies, "you're the one sleeping with Dino, aren't you?" Shocked and a little appalled, K could only reply, "um...well...we're not...that is to say...I have to go!" and fled. :)
Kathryn did some more hanging out with folk, but kept looking for Frost, and finally she got antsy enough that she decided to go to try to find him, so she left the room where the court was taking place and headed into the rest of the building. It wasn't long, though, before she was thoroughly lost!! Upset, but not nervous yet, she cast Will 'o Wisp to follow it back, only to find that it didn't work in the strange maze of the building - the Wisp split in four at intersections. She tried again, but had the same problem. Then she tried marking the way, and found that she kept coming back to the same intersection time and again! Alarmed and getting worried, she used the SMART network to contact Petra and Amelie and let them know that she was in danger, begging them not to tell Dino/Armand or Kaye, for fear of alarming anyone too completely. Meanwhile, she continued to try to find her way, but all her efforts were for naught.
Soon, the Rovers - Torn, Dante and Petros - were sent out to find her. However, soon they got lost too. Petros was on the SMART network, and so they could keep track, and ultimately they found themselves in a room. Meanwhile, Kathryn was still trying to find her way. After several other failed attempts, include a bread crumb method and more, she finally decided that she needed to concentrate. She settled her thoughts, and convinced herself to the best of her ability that she KNEW the way back, for certain, and then with that conviction in her she set off in the direction that she knew to go...and soon found herself in the study with the rovers!! Following her lead, after a few failed attempts at magical escapes, Petros closed his eyes and led the way (all the while assuring their friends back in the court that it was alright and that they shouldn't panic or come after them also or anything like that) and they found themsleves in a study filled with books...and with an interesting account of how Frost had witnessed the battle between the Balor Hemorrage and Mantokele without anyone being the wiser, which was most distressing.
At that point, a little man came and led them back to the Court, which was all in all rather surreal. Kathryn went straight to the others to let them know that she was okay, and then was approached by Armand, who checked to see if she was alright - apparently Dino was worried, though she assured them both that she was a-ok and that there was nothing to worry about, and prayed that he hadn't noticed her extended absence.
Frost showed up not that much later, and Kathryn went to him with her answer. They talked for a while more (once more under the fearful eyes of her friends) and he said that both of her answers were correct, and that the way to make the shield that he wanted would be to make a mask that caused all who looked upon it to love the person wearing it. Distressed by the very concept, though, Kathryn said that she'd not make such a thing; Frost said that was fine, but he would be interested in seeing her make it if she could over come her objections - for forcing love on people is a cruelty that Kathryn couldn't bear. In the course of the conversation, she also had another idea, though - for a shield whose properties were such that the person bearing it could not be hurt because of the love that the original creator felt for all life - a shield that would reflect an inner love, and protect all in it's vicinity. Kathryn felt that it would be a great thing, indeed, but she feared that the creation of it would probably cause her death. Troubled, she went to talk more to Petra.
A great deal of the time after that was spent trying to protect Pinnochio from Rasputin, an evil half fae half fomori, the son of the White Queen, who kept taunting Pinnochio, who wished to talk to the queen (Rasputin was in charge of who got to talk to her)...Kathryn even considered stabbing Pinnochio to protect him from himself, or stabbing Diezel, if she were a member of the Varich - Rasputin wanted to make Pinnochio go away, so kept asking unreasonable things of him, and the situation kept getting more and more dangerous. She also talked to Petra about what she called the second riddle, the question of how to make the mask not morally reprehensible. Kaye, meanwhile, approached her, concerned, saying that whenever she saw Kathryn that day Kathryn was looking for Frost. Bothered by this, she resolved to not talk to Frost again unless she needed too; and Armand was still sending concerned looks her way.
Periodically, the Bear would also approach her and act...strangely...some more.
The Queen paused the court to tell a story of how the fomori came to be, and during it Kathryn realized the solution to the second riddle - and so afterwards she approached Frost again. The solution for the moral dilemma was simple: if the person wearing the mask were forced to reciprocate all love expressed towards them, it would be fair and balanced. Proud of her self, she then declared that despite that, she would never make the mask for the White, and Frost seemed satisfied with that. Kathryn left the conversation unsure of whether she should make the mask or not, and what she should do with it if she did make it.
Things progressed as they were wont to do, and she was able to largely distract herself keeping Pinnochio out of trouble. Finally, Armand/Dino's turn came to talk to the White Queen, and Kathryn sat ready for the worst. While she did, the bear came up to her again, and it didn't threaten her, but instead spoke to her as if somewhat curious - all the while still scary - but she was so intent on Dino that she hardly remembered the conversation afterward. Armand left the conversation distressed - he even reverted to Dino for a few moments - but wouldn't explain what had bothered him so.
Finally, the court ended with nothing all too awful happening. Kaye was told by Torn about Kathryn's getting lost, so she had to explain things to her; Kathryn also told her about the substance of her conversations with Frost. She told Petra about her ideas, too, and about the shield that Kathryn thought would cost her her own life - that she didn't mention to anybody else, though. Relieved that it was over, she headed back to Willowgrove.
A Night Out: Dino and the Countess, learning some of what's going on, V and Lex, "You're getting paid HOW MUCH??", explaining the mask
May interlude: (who is the armor for? are you going to make the mask?) I love you..., Kaye: What did you say to him??, advising Diezel, checking on Amelie and Careg, scolding Pinnochio, Lexander and Dino's hands
May game: Beltaine, dancing, the injury of Jain, talking to Lara about the armor, chatting with Petra, Dino checking if she is really really sure or just kind of sure, nerves and sadness, "Today is Beltaine, I'm not letting anything get me down!", the Oath!!, Crash and Rasputin, Lots of congratulations, talking about the past, what's wrong Dino?, Beltaine night, talking to Kaye, talking to Armand
A Night Out, 2: Are you really okay with Armand? Stick up for yourself, Kathryn!, the grail quest
BGA: A trip to Prague, armor for Jain
BGA: talking to Careg about Rasputin's death, talking to the Countess about what happened to Lexxander Lugnut
June Interlude: Talking to Jain about item creation and the fomori, talking to Careg about the White (I kind of trust Harbinger Frost...), lying to the Bear, BEE's Batchelorette party - talking with BEE, talking with Triza and V, dancing, dancing with Diezel (Are you a lesbian?), Dino's arrival, Dino clothesless, "are you okay?", "what are you laughing about, Diezel?", secret passageways of Highground, moving the party to Willowgrove, Kaye's freedom, "it's going to be okay, Kathryn" (holding hands), telling Dino about the Bear, talking to Johnny Doe - why doesn't the bear mean me harm?
In January and February, Kathryn started trading letters with Nadya, wherein she learned that Nadya - whom Kathryn hadn't met before - was going to be marrying the Count, and would therefore be Countess. Kathryn was very happy to meet Nadya, who seemed very nice, and helped Nadya to make a royal gift for the Count, a cloak of feathers with a sunburst clasp. Kathryn was glad to help, even though she was starting to get more busy at making things - Diezel had asked her for a pair of Wolverine claws, real ones not chimerical ones, and Thangobrind had given her 100 dollars to make him a pair of brass knuckles and a set of gauntlets. Kathryn particularly enjoyed making the gauntlets, which had daggers specially designed to socket into them such that they could be slashed easily while swinging an arm. She was also *so* excited to get paid for something, because it meant she could maybe afford a date with Dino at some point without relying on charity - she hated taking money from the Baroness Eleanor Elise, even though BEE didn't seem to mind giving her money.
She was also studying frantically, learning to make electronic devices so that she could make a stun gun as Thangobrind had asked, and still studying armor - even though now she wouldn't need it - and visiting the lions, studying fire arm creation, and secretly learning to cook and dance from Kaye. It's amazing how busy one little boggan can be!
Near the end of Yule, Kathryn had learned that the Dale Derring that had been around Muses wasn't the real Dale Derring, and that the real Dale was a prisoner of the Monkeys. Then, at the Duel, Petros and the Monkey Princess enlisted a band to go and rescue Dale. Thus, Kathryn, Petros, Amelie, Careg, a nocker named Broderick Chrome, and Kaye Arden (Grendel was originally supposed to go instead of Kaye, but he wandered off, jerk!) headed into deep space in the Monkey Princess' shuttle to rescue Dale.
The trip was long and perilous. We were attacked by Dr. Fandango and his goons! They were very much a pain in the butt, and Kathryn was very unhappy with them because he kept making passes at Amelie, who was less than observant - it's bad when even Kathryn notices something like that. She almost hurt him very badly, but was spared doing so by the ever increasing ability of the rest of the crew to manipulate him into doing what they wanted.
Once we arrived, it became necessary to formulate a plan. Dale's body was in cold storage in a science banana, while her brain inhabited the Monkey Queens body, by the kings side. Try as they might, no good plan could be determined to deal with this problem, so the group decided to split up: Kaye, Kathryn and Amelie would go for the body - they could move it very quickly using Amelie's dream boat - while the others went to rescue the body. Dr. Fandango, meanwhile, and his goons were tricked into undergoing the brain switching surgery, thus getting them out of the way so that they would not inconvenience the questers.
While Kaye kept the ship ready for their return, Kathryn and Amelie boarded the Dream Boat and made for Dale's body. It was hard getting around - the corridors of the ship were narrow and low, and they had to get past many guards without being detected. There were many close calls. Then, as they approached, Kathryn noticed a large, shiny rock on the ground, glimmering in shades of purple and blue. Entranced, she reached down and touched it...and was sucked into another dimension!! At first, she was completely at a loss, and unsure of what to do. The walls teemed with worms, and, shocked, she realized that she was in a wormhole! There were lots of "things" all over the place. The worms didn't want to let her go. They hated the way that people and things kept getting drawn into their hole, and all they wanted to was to be in a dark corner and left alone - but whenever they let people go, these people never helped them, so they were sick of letting people go. Eventually, Kathryn swore on the dreaming to move the stone into a dark corner, if only they'd let her go. Satisfied, they released her. At first, Kathryn was stumped as to how to move the rock - since everything that touched it got sucked in - but finally she realized that she could do it as long as she didn't touch it, and she got Amelie to gimmix the rock into an appropriate location. The worms were most appreciative. Kathryn was left wondering how they could tell what kind of corner they were in.
Moments later found Kathryn holding off guards while Amelie grabbed her body. The plan was that Amelie would take the body on the dream boat and escape as fast as possible, but it feel apart some what as the ship began to explode! Running as fast as they could, they barely made it out of the banana science vessel to the ship that Kaye was piloting before the final explosions! Later, they learned that Fandango (who had been used as a distraction to keep the monkey's away from the rescue team) and his goons had decided to blow things up. Thank god they got Dale in time!
Things resolved quickly from there; Amelie, Kathryn and Kaye rejoined the others as they successfully defeated the Monkey King - leaving Petros as their ruler - and using the Monkey technology Dale Derring was reconsituted, and all was well! Kathryn returned to Muses in time to check on the Monkeys (only to leave days later for the SMART mission to Prague, as already described)
Meanwhile, Chet stood trial for treason, and was acquited, though Kathryn never learned the details. She also heard through the grape vine that the dauntain who had threatened Pinnochio and had her so worried had all committed suicide!
Kaye had been working for some time to organize the craftsmen of Muses into a guild to produce a weapon to help all of Muses in the coming conflicts - the fomori were starting to be a real threat, the White had appeared in the blight, the Red were sweeping across Ireland, and generally things were scary! So all the craftsmen of town - Kaye, Careg, Kathryn, Dino, Lexander, Petra, and others too, got together to start work on...something. Originally, the idea was to build a fleet of living ships, but they had a lot of trouble reaching any sort of consensus - people kept talking about different animals, which Kathryn thought was sort of silly, though she liked the idea of different types of dragons.
At one point, in one of my personal favorite moments, Lex and Dino were arguing, and Kaye told them to stop, there was no need to try to prove whose tool was the larger, at which point Kathryn leaned down and, blushing like crazy, whispered to Kaye that she knew whose tool was the larger. Kaye laughed for many minutes, while Lex and Dino watched and stared.
Though the birthday date has been thoroughly explained else where, I'll go into a little bit now. A few days after Kathryn's return from Prague, Dino approached her and asked her if she'd like to go on a date on March 1st. Kathryn had told no one 3/1 was her birthday, and was surprised and gratified that he'd approached her, though he didn't mention her birthday really, and was very shy about it all the way around. Nervous and excited, she looked forward to it, feeling much better about her situation in general.
Kaye took her that morning and revealed that she had in fact known it was Kathryn's birthday, and that she had told Dino, and made sure that Kathryn didn't mind - of course she didn't! Kathryn made her share of lewd comments, too, though she'd never have admitted to them. Kaye took Kathryn all around and got her a beautiful, beautiful outfit - and then set up the date. For more on the date, refer to this LJ entry, because I wrote it like two days later and therefore it's a lot more accurate than anything I could remember now. :)
The day after the date, Dino slipped a manila envelope under Kathryn's door. In it was an application to join the Bes Din completely filled out - including nepotism paperwork, which reassured her slightly as to her social position - and instructions on what she needed to do to complete it. He also asked to make sure that he'd danced well, and hoped she'd had a good birthday. Reassuring him, Kathryn returned the completed paperwork, having read every word even if she didn't understand the legal mumbo jumbo, along with a lock of her hair, which she thought the paperwork would need, though she wasn't sure. She returned it with a note that said what a great time she'd had and how happy she was. A day later, she added a post script in the form of another note, asking if he'd like to go on another date with her.
Kathryn, riding the high from her date with Dino and the gratefulness shown by Thangobrind and Diezel when she gave them the things that they had asked her to make (Except the Stun Gun, which she hadn't quite learned to make yet) realized that there was a way that she could help out in Muses greatly. After a lot of thought - trying to decide if she thought it was a dangerous or bad idea - Kathryn decided to send out a grogan to everyone offering them her craft services. A few individuals took her up on this offer. Dante, who she barely knew, got in touch with her and asked her for two longswords; the Baroness asked her for a gun, Lara got in touch with her about making armor, and, worst of all, Harbinger Frost, a representative of the White fomori and one of the bastards himself, who asked her about the potential of a shield that would keep the attacker from wanting to attack the bearer. Kathryn cheerfully agreed to make all of these...except for the shield. To that, she said that she would think about it. Lexander Lugnut had suggested that he would make it instead, and Kathryn hoped against hope that he would be the one to do so, and as the White Court approached, she prayed that Harbinger Frost would decide that Lex would be adequate - but they would discuss it then.
Dante loved his swords, and paid Kathryn 2 dross for them, which she was as thrilled about as can be. She made Thangobrind and Diezel swords for their birthdays, and the Baroness liked the gun so much that she asked Kathryn for 100 more of them, agreeing to pay her $200. Lara met with Kathryn in person and asked her to make, in secret, armor for Azriphael that would remind him of what it was to be a night. This intrigued her, and she was excited about this - Lara wanted Kathryn to make Azzy armor that would render him a knight in shining armor once more; Kathryn began drawing up plans, making sure that Lara knew that she would need to provide Kathryn with the dross to cover the items creation, though beyond that she asked for no payment.
Feeling good about what she was doing to help Muses, Kathryn tried to focus on the good things in her life - Dino in particular - though she was nervous about things with him, still she was happy that things seems to be going somewhat decently for a change, even if he was still timid as could be - and ignore the bad things, like the upcoming court of the White Fomori.
The court, set for the 15th of April, fast approaching, Kathryn worked extra hard to come up with ideas for a date with Dino. Though she was largely at a loss, having no experience in such things, she sat and thought long and hard, and finally came up with a plan. She would buy a whole bunch of kite building kits, pack a picnic lunch, and take Dino out on a picnic. Then they'd build the kits, and see what they ended up with. Hoping that this was a good plan - packing every kind of picnic food that she could imagine just in case, including making ice cream, bread, and cholocate chip cookies, and fresh squeezed lemonade, she drove with Dino to the park on a sunny, windy day in late March.
The date went well - they were both still very timid, but Dino acted most sweetly, asking Kathryn what she wanted on her sandwich and then making it for her. When she pulled out the kits, his eyes lit up, and they spent many hours afterward building and rebuilding and combining the kits - there were 6 different ones in all - while Kathryn sat and sewed the cloth parts to put around the architecture that Dino put together. Finally, they ended with one giant kite (and lots of stunned onlookers) which flew for several long minutes before doing a nose dive that destroyed enough of the pieces of it that it could no longer be flown.
A few days later, as Easter approached, one of the Aldara, who was to be departing for beyond. It was a fun party - a phoenix egg hunt was held (and they had candy inside of them, and other stuff gathered from the people of Muses), and dancing, and stories were told, and it was great fun. Kathryn and Kaye decided to pool their eggs and gather them togethe, and combined they had lots and lots, though they kept giving them away. Finally, when the time came to open them all, Kathryn took a small hand full (though she kept passing hers to Dino, who hadn't bothered to gather any)...she was a little sad at first, because none of the eggs she opened had any of the special things in them - the one that did contained the pound of peanut butter fudge that she herself had donated! Finally, as she opened her very last egg, a very strange thing happened!
There was no gift inside of the egg. Instead, the contents were a feeling, a moment of insight and clarity that pierced her into her very heart. In that moments, she felt and saw in it's entirity the warp and weave of her romantic feelings, with no secrets at all. It was so profound that she was very shaken for many minutes; Kaye looked at her with great concern and clearly didn't believe her when she said she was fine (which, granted, she said in a very strange manner indeed!) and she managed to avoid Dino's queries as well; every time he pressed her to find out what was bothering her, something would distract him, or she'd be able to avoid the question, and finally he got distracted enough that he didn't ask again, and Kathryn was relieved, for she didn't feel that she could really tell him what happened: in that moment of insight, she had learning something she'd known but always had feared she might be wrong about - she loved Dino completely and utterly, with all her heart. Profoundly happy - though still worried that he might not feel the same way - she wondered if she should tell someone. Indeed, she was so distracted that she acted most strangely to the Count (completely missing his explanation of Beltaine), Diezel and Thangobrind (who told her about Diezel's birthday), Pinnochio (who told her that he was going to the White Court as a reporter, though she tried to dissuade him and convince him not to go) and others who spoke to her. Kaye remained worried, and she finally pressed Kathryn until she told her, though Kaye didn't give further explanation.
A bit confused, unsure what she should do next, Kathryn was surprised when, a few days later, Dino invited Kathryn to his room. Not sure what she expected, or what he intended, Kathryn poked her head only to see the room laid out most strangely, the furniture pushed against one wall, a complex pattern edged in candles on the floor, and the walls painted. He invited her in, and, with minimal explanation, began a ceremony. Intrigued, Kathryn sat very still and waited while Dino completed the ritual - it took almost an hour! - and suddenly, they were elsewhere, on a sand dune, high above a city, looking out over it. The city was beautiful, laid out in gorgeous white stone, gleaming in the sunlight. It was ringed by vast walls and had a complex and yet cohesive organization, all centered around a great big building that towered over the city. When she asked where they were, Dino, sounding a bit more nervous even than usual, said that they were in Alexandria...which was in his mind.
Dino showed her all around the city, giving her a tour of it's many buildings (some of which were a bit incongrous from up front), the temple square, and finally leading her to the library itself. Across the street from the library was a 1970's style dance club, with pounding music coming from within and a line of people appropriate to such a venue and yet at the same time appropriate to Alexandria outside of it - that was Armand's place, and he came out and they met in an official sort of way - they'd met before, of course - Kathryn had long been secretly a bit jealous of Armand's behavior - and they chatted briefly before Dino led her off into the library. The library was vast and filled with rooms of all shapes and sizes, and books and kowledge and information. Much of what was in it could not possible have actually fit in the building she had seen, and sometimes windows in the library would look out on scenes other than that of Alexandria. Fascinated, Kathryn let herself be led around, wide-eyed, marvelling at everything she saw, as Dino shyly showed her around. She tried to be as accepting as she could, given how nervous he was acting.
Finally, Dino started to lead from the city, and Kathryn felt so happy. They got to talking, and Kathryn commented that she didn't know how to repay Dino for this; that she could think of no way to return the trust that he had shown her by showing her this place, however much he might have wanted to. Dino seemed confused by this, and wasn't sure what she meant, and when she tried to explain, he suggested that she had was wrong - but she didn't understand. Finally, he led her to the temple square and into one of the temples that she had not seen before.
Inside the temple, inside Dino's mind, was a room devoted to Kathryn. On the walls hung pictures of Kathryn, pictures of her smiling and laughing and just being herself. In between the framed images hung copies of all of the swords that he had seen her or known her to make, with Troy in a prominent place on the back center wall. In front of Troy was a pedestal, and on the pedestal was a lock of hair - the lock Kathryn had included in her Bes Din envelope. From a peg hung the necklace that he had given her.
Kathryn moved into the room slowly, eyes wide, while Dino stood in the back looking mortified and incredibly unsure of himself. When she turned back to face him, there were tears in her eyes. She told him how amazing this all was, and how happy it made her to know that she meant this much to her. She turned to look at the room once more. Behind her, Dino, gathering himself, came up to her quickly, pulled her around to face him, and kissed her. The mind palace faded around them as they continued to kiss. Dino pulled away after a few moments, clearly embaressed and very unsure if he was doing the right thing, and he turned away from her...but Kathryn would have none of that! She'd wanted to kiss him for such a long time - since Samhain, months before - that she pulled him 'round and kissed him - and they lost a fair amount of time to such things. Finally, after much time, embaressment overcame both of them, and finally Kathryn wandered back to her own room, looking very happy.
Despite her misgivings, Kathryn got ready for the court of the white fomori, making her mask out of feathers, getting all dressed up in a long skirt, a corsette, with her head all a mass of white and pale pastel feathers. Meanwhile, Dino prepared for it by unknown means, though he warned Kathryn that Armand was going to be in attendence, not him. Kathryn worried about her conversation with Frost, and tried not to show it. And the day approached. Dino took her aside and tried to do something to protect her mind from the White's influence - even as Kathryn tried to find a way to use the truth she knew about herself - the fact of her love - to help her cope with the white - Dino helped her to build her mind into a safe home with the fomori on the outside, but it didn't seem to work; and he seemed worried.
Kathryn arrived early, unsure of herself, and promptly found herself trying to keep Pinnochio out of trouble. He got an early start on making things complicated - before all was said and done she'd spend a lot of the day trying to keep him out of trouble. Whatever else, though, she resolved to not keep Dino from accomplishing whatever it was that he meant to accomplish that day.
She met with Frost early, and they talked for a time. Lexander, who she had been counting on to protect her, wasn't there - her dislike and discomfort about him apparently justified to a large extent. Frost, though, was very reasonable. They talked for a long time, with Frost suggesting to her that the shield would have to be of something that could have a universal appeal. At first Kathryn suggested Hope (referring, as she did so, to Dino's cloak) but the fomori apparently do not feel hope. Then she suggested ideology, for ideology shelters and protects those who believe in it from outside forces, but that wasn't universal enough, for there is no ideology that appeals to everyone universally. Finally, giving her the hint that the answer was right in front of Kathryn's face, he sent her off to solve this riddle. All the while she talked with him, she noticed her friends keeping an eye on her, trying to distract Frost from her, but it didn't really work - she was too interested despite herself.
Intrigued, she talked it over a lot with Petra - while keeping an eye on Pinnochio, meeting a new satyr named Abery, meeting the Bear Tanawa the Devourer - who threatened her and terrified her, though she stood up to him when threatened Petra and ate her hat. Kathryn managed to interpose herself - though she was later reassured by Mantokele - who'd never spoken to her before! - that the bear could not act against them at this point.
Anyway, Kathryn talked to Petra a lot, laying out the riddle situation. It was weird for her in many ways, though, keeping an eye on Abery, and Armand, and Petra, and her friends - she was so worried about absolutely everyone!
After a bit, the White called the court to order, and the White Queen herself arrived. She danced with Ree and the Baroness, and then exchanged a ritual with Harbinger Frost. During the ritual, the answer to the riddle came to Kathryn, for in the midst of it as the fomori talked she realized that the White could feel love, based on things she said - for she'd already dismissed the most obvious answer to the riddle - that what was right in front of her face was a mask, which was the literal truth.
However, after the ceremony, Frost was no where to be found. Tense and a bit excited, she talked to Petra about what she thought, and Petra agreed. Petra also asked her about Armand, puzzled that Kathryn wasn't bothered by the fact that he existed, and wondered about the situation with Armand and Dino, so Kathryn explained how Armand came to be a part of Dino because Dino had accidentally killed him - which isn't entirely accurate, though Kathryn didn't know that then. She also explained that he didn't really bother her because it wasn't really Dino, not exactly anyway...
When she'd gone to grab Petra from BEE's company, there was a great bit - BEE was upset due to the dance, and her retainers were around her, and Kathryn found herself introducing herself to Thraxx, one of BEE's knights. "Hi, I'm Kathryn," says K, to which Thraxx replies, "you're the one sleeping with Dino, aren't you?" Shocked and a little appalled, K could only reply, "um...well...we're not...that is to say...I have to go!" and fled. :)
Kathryn did some more hanging out with folk, but kept looking for Frost, and finally she got antsy enough that she decided to go to try to find him, so she left the room where the court was taking place and headed into the rest of the building. It wasn't long, though, before she was thoroughly lost!! Upset, but not nervous yet, she cast Will 'o Wisp to follow it back, only to find that it didn't work in the strange maze of the building - the Wisp split in four at intersections. She tried again, but had the same problem. Then she tried marking the way, and found that she kept coming back to the same intersection time and again! Alarmed and getting worried, she used the SMART network to contact Petra and Amelie and let them know that she was in danger, begging them not to tell Dino/Armand or Kaye, for fear of alarming anyone too completely. Meanwhile, she continued to try to find her way, but all her efforts were for naught.
Soon, the Rovers - Torn, Dante and Petros - were sent out to find her. However, soon they got lost too. Petros was on the SMART network, and so they could keep track, and ultimately they found themselves in a room. Meanwhile, Kathryn was still trying to find her way. After several other failed attempts, include a bread crumb method and more, she finally decided that she needed to concentrate. She settled her thoughts, and convinced herself to the best of her ability that she KNEW the way back, for certain, and then with that conviction in her she set off in the direction that she knew to go...and soon found herself in the study with the rovers!! Following her lead, after a few failed attempts at magical escapes, Petros closed his eyes and led the way (all the while assuring their friends back in the court that it was alright and that they shouldn't panic or come after them also or anything like that) and they found themsleves in a study filled with books...and with an interesting account of how Frost had witnessed the battle between the Balor Hemorrage and Mantokele without anyone being the wiser, which was most distressing.
At that point, a little man came and led them back to the Court, which was all in all rather surreal. Kathryn went straight to the others to let them know that she was okay, and then was approached by Armand, who checked to see if she was alright - apparently Dino was worried, though she assured them both that she was a-ok and that there was nothing to worry about, and prayed that he hadn't noticed her extended absence.
Frost showed up not that much later, and Kathryn went to him with her answer. They talked for a while more (once more under the fearful eyes of her friends) and he said that both of her answers were correct, and that the way to make the shield that he wanted would be to make a mask that caused all who looked upon it to love the person wearing it. Distressed by the very concept, though, Kathryn said that she'd not make such a thing; Frost said that was fine, but he would be interested in seeing her make it if she could over come her objections - for forcing love on people is a cruelty that Kathryn couldn't bear. In the course of the conversation, she also had another idea, though - for a shield whose properties were such that the person bearing it could not be hurt because of the love that the original creator felt for all life - a shield that would reflect an inner love, and protect all in it's vicinity. Kathryn felt that it would be a great thing, indeed, but she feared that the creation of it would probably cause her death. Troubled, she went to talk more to Petra.
A great deal of the time after that was spent trying to protect Pinnochio from Rasputin, an evil half fae half fomori, the son of the White Queen, who kept taunting Pinnochio, who wished to talk to the queen (Rasputin was in charge of who got to talk to her)...Kathryn even considered stabbing Pinnochio to protect him from himself, or stabbing Diezel, if she were a member of the Varich - Rasputin wanted to make Pinnochio go away, so kept asking unreasonable things of him, and the situation kept getting more and more dangerous. She also talked to Petra about what she called the second riddle, the question of how to make the mask not morally reprehensible. Kaye, meanwhile, approached her, concerned, saying that whenever she saw Kathryn that day Kathryn was looking for Frost. Bothered by this, she resolved to not talk to Frost again unless she needed too; and Armand was still sending concerned looks her way.
Periodically, the Bear would also approach her and act...strangely...some more.
The Queen paused the court to tell a story of how the fomori came to be, and during it Kathryn realized the solution to the second riddle - and so afterwards she approached Frost again. The solution for the moral dilemma was simple: if the person wearing the mask were forced to reciprocate all love expressed towards them, it would be fair and balanced. Proud of her self, she then declared that despite that, she would never make the mask for the White, and Frost seemed satisfied with that. Kathryn left the conversation unsure of whether she should make the mask or not, and what she should do with it if she did make it.
Things progressed as they were wont to do, and she was able to largely distract herself keeping Pinnochio out of trouble. Finally, Armand/Dino's turn came to talk to the White Queen, and Kathryn sat ready for the worst. While she did, the bear came up to her again, and it didn't threaten her, but instead spoke to her as if somewhat curious - all the while still scary - but she was so intent on Dino that she hardly remembered the conversation afterward. Armand left the conversation distressed - he even reverted to Dino for a few moments - but wouldn't explain what had bothered him so.
Finally, the court ended with nothing all too awful happening. Kaye was told by Torn about Kathryn's getting lost, so she had to explain things to her; Kathryn also told her about the substance of her conversations with Frost. She told Petra about her ideas, too, and about the shield that Kathryn thought would cost her her own life - that she didn't mention to anybody else, though. Relieved that it was over, she headed back to Willowgrove.
A Night Out: Dino and the Countess, learning some of what's going on, V and Lex, "You're getting paid HOW MUCH??", explaining the mask
May interlude: (who is the armor for? are you going to make the mask?) I love you..., Kaye: What did you say to him??, advising Diezel, checking on Amelie and Careg, scolding Pinnochio, Lexander and Dino's hands
May game: Beltaine, dancing, the injury of Jain, talking to Lara about the armor, chatting with Petra, Dino checking if she is really really sure or just kind of sure, nerves and sadness, "Today is Beltaine, I'm not letting anything get me down!", the Oath!!, Crash and Rasputin, Lots of congratulations, talking about the past, what's wrong Dino?, Beltaine night, talking to Kaye, talking to Armand
A Night Out, 2: Are you really okay with Armand? Stick up for yourself, Kathryn!, the grail quest
BGA: A trip to Prague, armor for Jain
BGA: talking to Careg about Rasputin's death, talking to the Countess about what happened to Lexxander Lugnut
June Interlude: Talking to Jain about item creation and the fomori, talking to Careg about the White (I kind of trust Harbinger Frost...), lying to the Bear, BEE's Batchelorette party - talking with BEE, talking with Triza and V, dancing, dancing with Diezel (Are you a lesbian?), Dino's arrival, Dino clothesless, "are you okay?", "what are you laughing about, Diezel?", secret passageways of Highground, moving the party to Willowgrove, Kaye's freedom, "it's going to be okay, Kathryn" (holding hands), telling Dino about the Bear, talking to Johnny Doe - why doesn't the bear mean me harm?