Gwhen They Meet Again: Rhi-Heating By The Fire

## Thursday, December 20th, fab Llŷr Mansion

A vaguely human-shaped green blob with the texture of a well-stocked trashbag waddled penguin-like through the snow with crispy-sounding steps to ring the bell at the gates of the fab Llŷr mansion. Icy vapor rose up through a thick and well-worn red scarf, a pair of eyes glaring through the slit between it and a black-and-white baseball cap.

“C’mooooonnn,” Gwen’s voice softly growled from behind the scarf. “Rhiannon, I don’t want to have to walk all the way up that friggen lawn, at least send me a carriage or something.”

A crisp and proper British accent, not as soft as Rhiannon’s, responded from the intercom speaker disguised within an elaborately carved lion head on the gate pillar. “I’m afraid Lukas is no longer employed with us, Miss du Lac. I have not yet had a chance to call someone to come clear the path after this latest snow. You have my deepest apolo-”
Another voice could be heard in the background, though the words were unclear. “Yes, my dear, your cousin is at the gate… What?... Wait, I really think you should be conserving your stre-” The intercom clicked off as though someone released the button to move away.

A moment later, a shimmering purple arcane circle appeared in front of Gwen and began rotating slowly in place. Looking at the circle, the world between the lines appeared hazy and blurred as though not entirely there. Waves of very welcoming warmth began to emanate from the vertical ‘surface’.
Touching the area of the circle would feel like putting your hand into water but without getting wet. Gwen would find her hand seeming to vanish upon sticking it through.

“Oh thank god,” Gwen said, “much better.” She carefully put a foot through and felt at the ground, rushing through when she was certain there was solid ground on the other side. “Thanks!” She called out, “I’ve had enough of portals that just drop me down without warning.”

She began to unwind the red scarf and took off the green coat. Gwen shuddered at the sudden change in temperature, glad she didn’t have to walk half a mile more to the front door.

Rhiannon was sitting on the couch, her legs curled up on the cushion with a soft plush blanket wrapped snugly around them. Her hands were extended in an arcane gesture as a crow sat on her shoulder, purple eyes glowing intently. This manifestation was Nemain, Gwen might remember. She smiled as Gwen rushed through the matching arcane circle currently shimmering on the wall near the large fireplace, letting the spell drop.
“No problem. I'm sorry, when I asked you over I didn't realize it had snowed again. I haven't been going out much. I would have sent Lukas for you, but…” Her smile faltered for a moment. “I'm glad you still came.”

The young sorceress looked and sounded… tired. Subdued. With a gentle nuzzle and caw, her crow fluttered over to perch on the mantle. A cute wintry-themed tea set sat nearby on a folding TV table (so she could reach and move it easily). Rather than the usual tea items, there were tiny marshmallows in the sugar cube bowl, mini candy canes in the milk pitcher, and an assortment of holiday cookies on a plate.

Rhiannon happily reached for the teapot and poured each of them a large teacup of rich, warm hot chocolate. Then she moved the table closer to the middle of the couch so they could both reach everything… if Gwen chose to join her on the open cushion. A second plush blanket was draped over the armrest.

“Apparently it’s been snowy all month,” Gwen shook some snow out of her hair that had stuck out from her cap and scarf. She stood still in thought for a few moments. “Hm, that would mean it started snowing when we got--” she stopped mid-sentence, before mentioning ‘space’. She didn’t want that to just make Rhiannon be reminded of her time as a hostage by Whitelight.

She folded the coat over a chair, shook out the scarf and put it back on, put her boots besides the fireplace and plopped down on the large couch next to Rhiannon. Her face lit up as she saw her cousin fill up hot chocolate for them both. “Ahhh, it’s good to see the ancient laws of hospitality have found their way even to this wintry palace.” She raised the cup. “*Sláinte*.”

Gwen took a sip and shuddered. “So good. How’ve you been doing, Rhi? I haven’t been around so much, perhaps, but… At least this place is a lot cosier than the base.”

Rhiannon chuckled at the ‘ancient laws’ comment, taking a sip of her own and giving a pleased sigh.
“Me? I've mostly just been trying to catch up on schoolwork. Settling back into my routines and such. Did you find the notes I'd left for you and Alex, by the way? They're- missing a few days, but… Oh! And I wanted to make sure you got this back.”

She fumbled around under the blanket, clearly digging into a pocket. When her hand emerged, it was holding a house key. The one Gwen had left behind.
“You could have taken it with, you know. Even if you lost it in space, it's not like they'd know the address.” Rhiannon smiled, but her eyes glistened slightly. “I don't think I've actually had a chance to say it yet, but- I'm glad you're back safe. I was really worried, and… I didn't even get to tell you goodbye and I love you.”

Gwen took the key and placed her hand on Rhiannon’s shoulder. “Hey, better safe than sorry,” she smiled. “I love you too, Rhi.”

She pocketed the key and sipped the hot chocolate. Just right. “Perfected that hot chocolate witchcraft?” She joked. “We found the notes, yeah. Thank you for those. They were very helpful.” They weren’t *all* helpful. Gwen still had done terribly on a geography test. That was on herself however, nothing to bother Rhiannon with. “I’m sorry about leaving so suddenly. I didn’t want anyone to feel like I was ditching them, but… I’m sorry, the stakes were just so high and there was just such time pressure that there was no other way.”

“Some say my hot chocolate rituals are forbidden magicks. Too powerful.” Rhiannon grinned slyly in return. “I'm glad the notes were helpful. I didn't want you both to get too far behind.”

She reached for the mini marshmallow dish to pick out a few more to add to her drink, the others having melted away. “Oh I don't think you ditched me or anything… I know it was really important. But- I'd just gotten you back. I'm not sure what I would have done if I lost you again…”

There was an audible clicking as the dish rattled slightly against its saucer, despite her attempt to set it down quietly. Her hand was trembling. “On that note, I'm- I'm so sorry you had to come back to what you did. I'd planned to give you all a wonderful welcome home and everything…” Rhiannon's eyes remained downcast.

Gwen opened and closed her mouth, not sure what the best thing to say was. Probably not ‘hey, I kind of expected that I might die in space’. She put down the hot chocolate. Magical or not, holding hot liquids was not always the best idea when someone was sad. She was pretty sure her mother had said something about that a long time ago.

She moved closer to Rhiannon and put her arms around her. “There, there, sh-shhh,” she said, trying to be soothing, comforting. “It was not your fault, you didn’t ask for this, for any of this. Sometimes we end up in shitty situations we’ve got no control over. We just have control over getting out of them again.” She kissed Rhiannon on her head. “Sweet RhiRhi. You didn’t deserve any of that, but you’ve made some wonderful friends that got you out of there.”

Rhiannon leaned into the comforting embrace, eyes closed tightly as she tried not to start crying. Again. It seemed like all she’d been doing since the rescue. “They are wonderful friends… and both of my brave knights came as well.” As she gave her cousin a loving squeeze, there was the hint of a smile at her lips. But it swiftly faded.

“I didn’t ask for it, but- that doesn’t make it not my fault… How can you be sure I didn’t deserve it...?” She finally looked up at Gwen, teary eyes filled with pain and uncertainty. “I’ve been trying so hard, and I thought I was doing well. But Cyclone was right when he spoke to me before I was- taken... it only takes me messing up *once* for people to get hurt. It’s happened at least twice in the past and I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again. Then more people got hurt because of me, as a result of someone wanting to use my power for themselves. And with all that negative, I still haven’t managed to make a positive difference anywhere… I’m never there when people might *really* need me. I’m never there when *you* might need me...”

“Does that- does that sound like a ‘hero’ to you?” There was no bitterness in the question. Only a sad resignation.

“Rhi,” Gwen shook her head, refusing to let go of her until she felt better, “if you’re not a hero, then I am certainly not. I wasn’t there when you needed me, or Lav needed me, or Challenge needed me, or when… when Olivia needed me.” She rubbed her cousin’s shoulder and reached inside a pocket of her hoodie, taking out an embroidered handkerchief and handed it to her for her tears. She herself looked sad, and pensive. She wasn’t sure what to say that would make Rhiannon feel better, that would convince her otherwise, but she’d always seemed to care more about others than herself at the worst of times, so stalling for time until she had a better idea than making Rhiannon fuss more about Gwen than herself seemed like an okay deal for now. If it worked.

“Life is scary,” Gwen nodded, “and it’s even scarier when evil wizards or skanky fashion models try to kill you or worse. Learning to control your powers isn’t easy, being a hero isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. You’ve saved a lot of people, Rhi. You’re more heroic than many people on the Big Team! Remember that one time with that gas station attendant? You convinced him to take down that ‘NO TRANSFORMED’ sign. You did that. And I’ve heard from others on the team that that man now runs a group of people who helps the transformed. Your words are stronger than my sword. A hero is not just one who protects, but also one who *inspires*. My father inspired many, but very few members of the team have inspired anyone. You’ve inspired at least one person, who has inspired others. Just imagine how many more you may have inspired without knowing it?”

The fake knight sucked in breath. She had a tendency to keep on going if she got on a roll and forgot that breathing in is required to make words come out. “I’m… I’m sorry if I was harsh to you last Sunday. I thought you were just staying in hiding. You’d already saved the building, and I thought… it looked to me like you wanted to stay inside your shield, safe from GREY. I was wrong to just assume that, as if my way is the only way to be a hero--because God knows I’m terrible at it--and even if that is the case I don’t blame you. GREY is fucked up and too prominent and powerful and--”

She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, taking a moment to catch herself. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t go off like that. This isn’t about me, this is about you. I need to be more considerate. I need to pay more attention to others.”

Rhiannon took the handkerchief but didn't do much with it as she simply remained huddled against Gwen, head resting on her shoulder as the tears continued to fall silently. One arm was partly curled around Gwen's waist with her hand holding onto the hoodie's fabric, almost as though afraid to let go. She didn't say anything as her cousin spoke, waiting for a time until she was finished and then even a few moments longer.

“You are a hero, Gwendolyn… I know it, and so does everyone else. You're not the Team 'Capitan’ for nothing.” There was a soft chuckle. “And you *were* there when I needed you. Maybe you could have prevented it or maybe not- but in the end you still saved me. And I'm sure there's still time to be there for the others too, in whatever they need you for…” Rhiannon finally lifted her head again to attempt a smile.

“It's a nice thought…” Her tone grew wistful. “To think maybe I've managed to inspire people, even in my failure to accomplish anything else. I know you all were trying to build me up in front of Cyclone, but really Parrot did most of the inspiring in that conversation with the shop owner. I just- put the cherry on top, one might say. But you've seen the city. In the end, nothing changed.”

“As for Sunday… Putting up the shield was done out of fear initially, but I changed it to a tactical advantage so that I could have time to ensure the building was fully stable before I made another move. It- it wasn't an instant fix.” She turned her face away to hide any hurt that may be lingering in her eyes. “When you said what you did- the fact that you truly thought I was just going to hide and wait to be saved again… It really cut deep. The path you wanted me to take was different, but the root cause was the same as Cyclone's. It felt like- one more person whose opinion I value above most had lost faith in me as a hero.” Rhiannon barely got the words out.

Clearing her throat, she continued. “You *are* considerate and you *do* pay attention. You're far from a terrible hero, cousin. Honestly, I only wish everyone believed in me the way they believe in you. Better yet, the way I believe in you... my Knight. Forever and always.” The sorceress gave another tearful smile, putting her hands on either side of Gwen's face to tilt it down enough for Rhiannon to place a gentle kiss on her head.

Gwen smiled, huddled down and hugged Rhiannon closer, hiding the doubt and worry on her face. “I hope I one day can live up to your faith in me, Rhi,” she mumbled softly, “and that I can inspire and rely on such faith in others.”

She took a deep breath. “How’s…” she hesitated. She wanted to change the subject, and there was something she really wanted to ask, but she regretted not having an easy segue into it. “How’s your relationship with Lavender? I heard you two were dating.”

“You live up to it every day...” Rhiannon hugged Gwen back tightly, happy to stay like that for a while. Just her and her cousin, cozy by a warm fireplace with yummy hot chocolate. She was feeling very comforted and more relaxed than she had since the rescue- for the moment at least.

At the change in subject, first she looked surprised. It didn't take long for Rhiannon to start blushing furiously as she looked away in embarrassment, subconsciously fiddling with her hair.

“O-oh! You heard about that? I was going to tell you, but there hadn't really been a good time… Yes, we're um- we're dating. It happened kind of fast and I wasn't expecting it at all. He um… he kissed me at Thanksgiving. It felt nice. Then at my return party he just- asked out of the blue. Right now we've mostly just been messaging a lot. I haven't been going out much. Honestly I have no idea what I'm doing- how does one date…?” She gave a nervous laugh.

Gwen pulled out of the hug as Rhiannon fiddled with her hair. Gwen looked a little embarrassed by Rhiannon’s praise. Though she felt it was undeserved, she couldn’t help but blush slightly.

“Honestly, mood,” she replied to Rhiannon’s off-handed question. “If you figure it out, let me know.” She looked down and picked her hot chocolate up again. “My dating record is not great…” Gwen absent-mindedly stirred the whipped cream into the chocolate with a spoon, a worried expression on her face. It had been mere days since they’d heard Olivia had gone missing that Saturday, right before their planned date.

Gwen managed a smile, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “That sounds nice though. You seem…” She paused, having flashbacks to earlier that week, when she’d been over at Lavender’s apartment and they’d had a fight. “You seem happy.”

“Happy? … Perhaps that’s what the feeling is. He- he does make me feel special. Lavender has only really seen me once, you know… An entire team of attractive teenagers and he decides it’s worth trying to date one of the only ones he can’t even look at.” Rhiannon was a bit less flustered, but still blushing. Then her mind went back to something else Gwen just said.

“Your dating record? Have you done it much? I knew you and Olivia were maybe… possibly… Did something else happen?” She looked to her cousin with some concern, reaching out and gently pushing some stray strands of hair out of her face. “I heard that she may be missing now too, but- that’s only temporary. I know everyone will find and help her with whatever she needs, just like you all did for me. Who knows? Maybe when she’s back we could try a double date.” Rhiannon spoke jokingly, trying to lighten her cousin’s heavy mood.

“Heh,” Gwen reached out with a fist, as if to gently punch Rhiannon’s shoulder, as she often did, but stopped an inch short and opened her hand, placing it on Rhiannon’s arm. “I think I’d like that.”

Her expression wandered between grim and happy, internally struggling. When Rhiannon had been kidnapped, she’d been rescued two weeks later. She hoped they could find Olivia sooner, and not imprisoned by some techno-sorcerer. She drank from her hot chocolate and wiped away some whipped cream that stuck to her nose. “I guess one look was all it took him, huh? No hot guy like DomDom, Jake or Rescue, no cute girl like Zip or Challenge, no handsome kindred spirit like Freedo, no, he went straight for the Holy Grail.”

She put a finger to her lips and stifled an embarrassed smile. “Speaking of, yeah, no. Olivia and I have gone on like, small dates together. Nothing huge, like, I did at one point want to show her what an Avalonian ball looks like. I still do! I hope that wouldn’t be too… showing off, considering the first time we did a big thing together she invited me to the Big Dance at school. But like…”

Gwen stared at the logs burning in the fireplace. “I haven’t dated anyone seriously before this. Before… before GREY, I didn’t go to school, I had private tutors. I only met the children of father’s friends and colleagues, and of other Knights of the Round Table. I had a crush on Artur when I was 14. This was four years ago, before his father died, before everything. It felt really weird, because we’d known each other since childhood. I hadn’t done a lot of ‘regular kid’ things in Halcyon yet, so I asked him to go ice skating. I was super nervous! I had never ice skated before. I don’t know why I asked that, I think I’d seen a film about it. When we got to the park with the big pond, put on our skates and got on the ice, he gave me a shove. He was trying to be funny, but I had no idea how to skate and I slid across the ice, flailing my arms, trying to keep my balance, and…”

She made a motion with her hand. “Straight into a hole in the ice.”

“The Holy Grail, hm? I’d say that’s a bit of an exaggeration on the value, though I imagine the difficulty will be similar.” Rhiannon smiled with a hint of shyness. “Oh, an Avalonian ball? That sounds like a wonderful idea! I remember sneaking in to watch one when we were little. It was so very lovely…”

At the ice skating story, the punch line took her by surprise and the sorceress laughed out loud. She immediately covered her mouth, but the chuckles continued. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh, but- That sounds both hilarious and awful. Thank goodness you’re alright.” There was another involuntary snicker or two. “I’ll probably have my own dating horror story soon enough, though I’m afraid Lavender may be the victim. I do basically have to lead him around like a blind man when we’re together.” A momentary expression of guilt passed across her face.

She took another sip of her own hot chocolate then set it on the tray and reached for Gwen’s hand, holding it in both of hers. Rhiannon attempted to lock eyes, a more serious expression now. “We’re going to get Olivia back. You know that, right? And when we do, well then… It seems we have a trip to Avalon to plan.” Then she smiled with a warmth and confidence more akin to her old self.

Gwen smiled and squeezed Rhiannon’s hand. “Thank you Rhi. I… to be honest, I was a little anxious before coming over, but it makes me feel great to see you smiling and planning and making hot chocolate again.”

She adjusted her baseball cap with her other hand and scratched underneath it. Her expression turned into one of embarrassment, perhaps even shame. “Look Rhi, I… I know I’ve been apologizing a lot already, but I want you to know I don’t just feel sorry. I’ll do better. You may already see me as a hero, but I don’t think I live up to your idea of me enough yet. I’ve been thoughtless and hurtful and self-destructive.” She recalled her conversation with Tommy just days before. “And I don’t want that to harm those I love. You don’t deserve that, Olivia doesn’t deserve that, none of my friends deserve that. I don’t want my relationships to be about me taking and giving nothing back. You’ve done so much for me, you’ve been incredibly supportive, and I will do better to make sure I’m worthy of that. That I deserve you all. And then,”

Gwen placed her other hand on top of Rhiannon’s. “Then you bet we’ll have a grand trip to Avalon.”

Rhiannon's smile grew brighter at that last bit and she gave a little laugh. Then her expression turned to confusion.

“I know you'll do better, because you always do your best. But- I haven't seen you be self-destructive? I don't think I have, anyway. And I know I wasn't gone for that long. The other two, well… we can all get that way sometimes.” She shrugged sheepishly. “However I suppose I'm not around to see things all the time… you keep pretty busy. If you're ever feeling self-destructive though, you know you can come to me, right? Or for anything you need. I don't always know what to say or what you're dealing with, but… I have hot chocolate?”

She paused, looking down at their joined hands. “I'll try to do better too. I'll try not to give up on my dream of being a hero just yet…”

“I’m glad.” Gwen smiled. “And I will. I might not have if you hadn’t promised me hot chocolate, but you’ve sold me on it.”

That got another laugh from Rhiannon, along with a playful shove as she leaned back into the couch and readjusted her cozy blanket. She spread part of it over Gwen too before reaching for her hot chocolate, adding some more marshmallows, and settling in. The two of them continued their visit without further serious topics. Instead they began discussing Christmas plans, simply enjoying the warm drinks and good company for a time.