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[awesome_lilly]

Her conversation with Thom had been... well. Interesting in the Chinese curse way.

Lilly's out back now, sitting by the lake and thinking. There are certain topics she's been determinedly avoiding for some time now, but it's hard to ignore them after all that.

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[the_lioness]

The back door slams -- not from anger, but strength -- and boots crunch gravel, then dirt and grass, in a quick, determined stride. Alanna spent most of her allotted time for sword practice speaking with Thom, and she's eager to make the most of what time she has left.

Her blade is already drawn, ready to begin the first sword form, when she sees Lilly.

"Lilly!" Without breaking stride, she changes direction. "Hullo."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly didn't even hear her coming.

"Alanna, hey."

She eyes the sword.

"Uh, you're practicing, right? I swear, any recent warping of your children has been done by Raven and Raven alone."

[the_lioness]

"And Mike and Steph and George and any number of people," Alanna laughs.

With a shrug and only slightly chagrined sigh, she sheathes the sword, unbuckles her sword belt and sits, biting back a sarcastic remark about Lilly having her own children to corrupt. Lilly doesn't look as if she's in the mood.

"Shouldn't practice after having a drink anyway." She glances at Lilly. "It's been a while, huh?"

[awesome_lilly]

"Yeah, it has."

Lilly smiles sideways at her, half-heartedly.

"I blame the five children we have somehow managed to accumulate between ourselves. Among other things."

[the_lioness]

Alanna laughs, partially amused and partially Goddess-are-you-kidding-me-how-did-Lilly-and-I-wind-up-with-five-children?

"Yes," she manages, but only just. "I did hear you suddenly acquired twins. That had to be quite a shock."

[awesome_lilly]

"And a husband. And-"

Lilly breaks off. Thom's probably told her, and if not, well. She has to know eventually anyway.

"And that's not even the biggest shock I've had recently. I just had a drink with your brother."

[the_lioness]

"Did you?" Alanna smiles, but there's an edge to it. "So did I, as fate would have it. A relatively short one, however.

"I hope he was civil."

[awesome_lilly]

"Actually, yeah," Lilly says. Her voice is very deliberately casual.

"Also? Alive."

[the_lioness]

"Yes."

Wishing fervently for another drink, Alanna turns to look at the lake, carefully keeping the Pearl in her peripheral vision, and pulls her knees to her chest. If Lilly looks, she might notice that Alanna has gone a bit pale.

"You can't say anything I haven't already said to myself, just so you know," Alanna says, barely above a whisper.

[awesome_lilly]

"I- have no idea what to say, actually. Well. One thing."

Lilly's quiet for a moment, staring at the lake and not her friend. Remembering.

"What did it cost you, Alanna?"

[the_lioness]

Silence.

Eventually, she admits, "I'm not sure yet."

There's a grimace, and a quick shake of her head.

"It's- With that sort of magic, things are different." Pause. "Thom is going to give up his Gift. As will Adam, when he's living in Tortall. What I might lose is a bit more complex. The Goddess' favor, possibly.

"Any hope of an afterlife with my brother by my side," she adds, knowing that much to be true, at least.

[awesome_lilly]

There's always a price. Lilly nods, slowly.

"Well. At least you thought about it."

[the_lioness]

Surprised, Alanna turns wide eyes on Lilly.

"Oh, I thought about it. I thought about it for months. My decision was not made lightly, but there was no other decision I could make."

She swallows.

"I won't pretend some of it wasn't selfish. But if Thom dies on Earth and Adam in Tortall, each might escape the turmoil to which destiny seems to have doomed them."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly's quiet for another moment, letting Alanna's words sink in. Adam and Thom and... Lucifer. Of course.

"I get that, I think."

She bites her lip a little.

"And I think you know why, well. This is a weird thing for me on so many levels. Still..."

She sighs.

"There isn't much I wouldn't do for my brother, either."

[the_lioness]

Softly: "I know. I wish to all the gods I could change that."

Sometimes Alanna wishes she could bring all of her friends back to life. A distressing number of them are dead.

"What's he like?"

[awesome_lilly]

"Duncan? He's a dork," Lilly says fondly. "He used to come to the bar, but... then he left Neptune with his daughter. Lilly. I call her the Lillyette."

She shrugs, one-shouldered.

"No doors where he is now, but I see them in dreams every once in a while."

[the_lioness]

Alanna can't help a small smile at the fondness in her voice, and watches her friend closely.

She doesn't want to say she's sorry, but she is, and she bites her lip for a moment before offering, "It's nice that he named his daughter after you. Really nice.

"Dead or alive, I don't think Thom will ever have kids. Probably best that way."

[awesome_lilly]

"Seriously best that way."

But the mention of Thom makes her think of their conversation again.

"Alanna? Did- did Thom mention Delia to you?"

[the_lioness]

Delia's dead, Alanna's subconscious reminds her. She gives a jerky nod, eye twitching, and focuses on a spot over Lilly's shoulder.

"He did. She's gone to the Black God."

[awesome_lilly]

"Yeah. Yeah, that's what he said."

Lilly's not bothering to look past Alanna's shoulder. She's turned a little to stare out at the lake.

"Just slipped out in the night, apparently."

[the_lioness]

"I'm still surprised by that," Alanna remarks, and it's a bit dry. "After everything she said and did, I can't believe she resisted one last dig."

And Alanna would have liked to say her piece as well, which is perhaps what is bothering her most.

[awesome_lilly]

"Yeah, it surprised me at first too. Delia and I, well. We never really got along, between Indy and the brothel and everything. Still."

Lilly's mouth twists into that crooked smile again.

"I think I get it. Sometimes when you're done, you're just... done."

[the_lioness]

Not having an immediate frame of reference, Alanna can't quite relate; however Thom's other option, had she not done the spell, runs through her mind and has her nodding.

"I won't miss her," Alanna confesses, "but I'm glad she was here. I'm glad we could talk, and that it didn't end as it would have otherwise."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly nods again.

"I'm not really going to miss her, but-"

She shrugs, unable to find words.

"It's weird, somehow. Knowing she's really dead now, instead of dead and here like before... oh, man. I bet Indy doesn't know yet."

[the_lioness]

Alanna has already thought of that.

"I told him the first time. I suppose it's only fitting I tell him the second," she sighs. "It is weird. As much as it has my time here, I never really think about this place changing."

[awesome_lilly]

"Better you than me," Lilly says frankly.

Talking about dead ex-girlfriends leaving for the afterlife is not exactly something she wants to do with Indy before, well, she has to.

"And, yeah. I know what you mean. It feels like nothing ever changes here somedays, and then I think about what it was all like when I got here. Who's still around and who- who isn't."

[the_lioness]

If she stops to think how many people fit in that latter category, Alanna is certain she'll tear up, and that's not likely to help Lilly at the moment.

"Well, if it helps any," she hazards, "we may be moving home, but I'm around for the duration."

Small recompense.

"You know, when we manage to see each other by foisting our litters off on other people."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly laughs a little at that. It keeps her from thinking about the difference between Alanna's duration and her own.

"Seriously. I'm going to hire some babysitters soon, I think. Even splitting the work with Puck is kinda too much for me. I didn't sign up for it, after all."

[the_lioness]

"I've gotten sketchy reports from people," Alanna tells her. "What happened? Did Puck see you and Raven in marital and parental bliss, and suddenly decide it was for him?"

Her expression is skeptical, at best. Amused at the thought, she picks a blade of grass and watches Lilly.

[awesome_lilly]

"I wouldn't put it past him. I mean, Raven and I were pretty much the ideal couple with the ideal child."

Scarily enough, Lilly might mean that. The baby was plastic, the husband was spastic. What more could a girl ask for?

"I was just having a drink, 'lanna, I swear. And then Puck wanders by all 'want some of my weird honey and peppercorn snack' and I tried it and Coyote splashed some gin on us and then Jack Sparrow was all ha! you're married now because of Africa before staggering away and then the Prince heard that and decided we were tragically childless and so he threw his babies at us and Puck had to go catch one and now I am married with twins."

She takes a much needed breath.

[the_lioness]

A husband with biology, perhaps, but why be picky! It's not as if he'd get jealous when she availed herself of the biology of others.

Er.

Struggling not to giggle, Alanna arches an eyebrow and lazily points a finger toward Jack's ship.

"Africa? Are you entirely sure Jack wasn't having you on? I love him dearly, but I think I might want to check my sources if I were you."

Not that that would help with the twins, unless the Prince found out they were living in sin and wanted to make other arrangements.

[awesome_lilly]

"I did. Apparently it's a totally legit custom of some people who live in the Niger Delta area."

Lilly shrugs.

"There are worse people to be married to. I don't bug Puck about his boyfriends, he doesn't bug me about my lack of maternal instincts. And if I actually do the boyfriend thing again, he won't care."

[the_lioness]

"Huh."

She's not sure why she's surprised; Jack knows more than he lets on.

"Well, belated congratulations, then. And at least you didn't have to give birth, right?"

There's a wry smile at that.

[awesome_lilly]

"God."

Lilly shudders.

"No."

Her tone makes it clear she can hardly imagine worse fates.

[the_lioness]

It's possible Alanna mutters something about demon sperm under her breath.

"How old are they?" A terrifying thought occurs to her. "Gods, yours and mine together? They're going to be such trouble."

[awesome_lilly]

"Nonsense," Lilly says, deadpan.

"My children will be perfect angels, or they get sent back."

Yes, she does plan on telling them that when they get older.

[the_lioness]

Alanna snorts, reaching over to pat Lilly on the shoulder.

"I don't think it works that way, no matter how you get them."

She looks at the lake, thinks about Delia and wonders if things will ever be simple.