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It shows no sign of letting up.
The typhoon continues to pummel the homes and structures of the Menagerie Coast.
A hell of a downer for the six occupants currently sitting in the main lounge within the Lavish Chateau: Clara Lionett, Yasha Nydoorin, Veth Brenatto, Fjord Stone, Jester Lavorre, and the Ruby of the Sea herself. And just after Fjord and Jester had arrived, too.
Clara sighs. It wasn’t even that long ago that a disaster had been averted regarding Veth’s son and now this. She’d been hoping to let herself relax more, and while she could do so within the Chateau, the storm is raging outside. It’s definitely nowhere near as welcoming and tranquil as a sunny day at the beach.
So she turns away from the windows showcasing the Wildmother’s temper tantrum outside and turns back to the crafting session hosted by Jester. It feels a little awkward, to be honest. She hadn’t had much of an opportunity to be familiar with the sapphire tiefling or her half-orc paramour, only knowing them from their one and only visit to her former home. Maybe she should try to make a better impression while she can?
Swish, swish. Swish, swish.
The gentle stroking of paintbrushes are the only notable sounds being made apart from quiet breathing, with the scent of paint thickening in the air. It’s soothing, really, as Clara takes to the canvas with a practiced hand. Calligraphy and painting have been familiar to her from a young age, and as she grew older she found herself doing it less and less. But it seems that all it took to renew her interest was this rather charming horned woman, to say nothing of the older, more mature crimson-hued woman looking on with undisguised affection.
It pains Clara a little. She can tell that Marion loves her daughter so much. And Clara herself had only recently been reconnecting with her own daughter by comparison. A rather unfair comparison, but one that needed to be made.
Swish, swish. Swish, swish.
The strokes are fluid like water, the image in her mind beginning to have a more refined shape as the brush goes across the canvas.
As she dips her brush into a nearby water cup to paint anew, she can sense Jester looking at her.
“You’re pretty good at this, aren’t you, Mrs. Lionett?”
Clara smiles, but it is mixed with a grimace. She hated being referred to as a “Mrs.”, especially after what happened. But she lets it slide because it’s Jester. “I suppose I am, yes. It’s been a while, but it’s nice.”
“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm!” The girl nods enthusiastically. She then drops her brush and walks into Clara’s personal space. “You know, it’s okay to take a break. Even I need to do so at times.”
Clara thinks about it for a moment before she, too, lowers her brush. “Fair enough.”
Following Jester’s lead, she heads into a small dining room at the back of the lounge. Joining her there is the half-orc gentleman, Fjord. He sees them approach and gives a nod. It’s his glare, though, that is rather hard as he looks in Clara’s direction. Clearly it’s because he doesn’t like her much.
She can’t blame him, considering what Beau had said about him. The man was once in an orphanage and had been abused and bullied rather badly when he was young. So of course he’d be slow to give the benefit of the doubt to anyone associated with abusive people. That same glare had once been cast in Thoreau’s direction, and she can safely assume that he views her with the same level of disdain.
“Mrs. Lionett,” Fjord says in her direction.
“Fjord,” Clara responds.
Gods, this is awkward.
“So… been out at sea this whole time, huh? My daughter’s mentioned you both here and there and—”
“Why should I listen to what you have to say?”
Jester looks aghast. “Fjord! I thought I told you! She’s no longer living with that asshole.”
Clara nods. “Exactly. And please, Jester, just call me ‘Clara’. I want nothing to do with that man.”
Fjord seems to take this in stride yet he doesn’t respond right away. From the look on his face, he’s clearly conflicted.
After a while, he sighs and finally drops the intense glare, resting his head on his open palm. “Sorry, it’s just… I still remember seeing Beau in that state and… it’s hard to shake that first impression.”
“I can understand that,” Clara replies. “Gods know I definitely took a long time to sort things out with her. Funny that I was able to do so once my life was in danger.”
“What?”
Fjord’s reaction to this news leaves Jester stunned for a few seconds. “Fjord, you don’t remember what I said? The guy almost killed her. Because of the trial.”
“It’s fine, Jester,” Clara assures her. “It’s been a few years since. And… I’m happy where I’m at now. I mean, just recently…”
She turns her head in the overall direction of where Veth was last seen. “I was able to convince another mother that things have gotten better. So I wasn’t expecting immediate acceptance anyway.”
Jester gives her a pat on the shoulder. It’s reassuring, if only by a little bit. Clara knows that she has a lot to do in order to be seen in a different light by the rest of the Mighty Nein. By her count, the only ones remaining that she had met were the other human in the bunch, the man with the fancy coat and book harness, and the very tall firbolg among their number.
She smiles a little, recalling the very few times she’d ever encountered a firbolg for a client. Better times before everything got worse.
“I mean… I’m sorry that I forgot about that. Again, hard to shake a bad first impression. But if you are being truthful…”
Fjord is suddenly sitting tall in his chair and, though slowly, he extends a hand to Clara.
“If you are being truthful… I want to really get to know you. If that is okay, ma’am.”
Clara can’t help but smile as she shakes the hand. The man truly is a gentleman, if a bit dense and prone to having his attention wander. But he’s got that silent strength to him, a quality she had seen from Beauregard herself on more than one occasion.
It doesn’t take a lot for her to connect the dots and see that Fjord had been helping Beau be better at dealing with people. And she can’t help but be thankful.
“Oh! By the way, Clara…”
Jester’s voice draws her attention away and back to her. “I’ve been making some new cards and I was wondering… if you would like a card designed after you?”
At that declaration, she pulls out a small card with a rather particular design. From the overall look, it’s much like a tarot card. And sure enough, there are banners on both ends with words on them.
The design in question has one half dominated by a lioness guarding her two young cubs, the other a giant bird of violet flame — a phoenix, in particular — hovering menacingly over a decrepit adult male lion.
Clara knows of this creature from local lore in Kamordah. It’s the very image of the Twilight Phoenix.
“And what does this card represent, Jester?”
“This side,” she points out, referring to the lioness and cubs, “represents family, devotion, pride. And this side,” and now to Desirat and the lion, “refers to rage, how it consumes someone, and leaves them ruined.”
As she explains the card, Clara seems to understand what Jester is depicting with the design. The phoenix and the lion is that of Kamordah and Thoreau. The lioness and cubs are herself and her two darling children.
“I call it… ‘Pride and the Fall’.”
Clara picks up the card as Jester has a belated revelation in her head and rushes off to grab pastries and tea for the three of them. “A card for me? She actually did this?”
Fjord nods. “That deck used to belong to a friend of mine. Turns out he had cards made for all of us.” He reaches for the deck that’s on the table, looks through the cards, and draws one. “See for yourself.”
Clara takes the card and when she flips it, she can’t help but let out a chuckle.
A double-sided design. Both sides have a dark-skinned woman in different emotional states. One side has the woman with her brow furrowed in deep concentration, the other is more animated and perhaps frustrated.
The words “Book” and “Rumor” are on opposite ends.
Clara smiles, recognizing immediately the woman on the card.
It’s her daughter.
And she couldn’t help but feel honored at having herself, her own story, immortalized in a deck of cards containing her and her companions as well.
It gives her hope that everything is going to work out after all.