505-04-14 Ghost and Crumpets

Ravelle is seated at a table near the window, submitting a second order to Poppy. Her guard stands near the door, ever vigilant.

Poppy scoops up Ravelle's teacup. "I'll get that right away, Milady." She heads over to get the scone requested with a cheerful hum.

Having spotted the Guard through the window of the shop, Mathis decided to try potluck on what member of Soranus he got this time, and ended up with Ravelle. With a smile and a bob that leads into a bow, the young man grins, "Afternoon, Lady Soranus." he says graciously, bounding back to his full height easily. "Seeking out company, or were you looking to have a cup of tea and quiet contemplation?"

Ravelle watches Poppy move off, her lips curving in fondness for the peppy hostess. She then spies Mathis and offers him a radiant smile. "Master Cardiff, come join me. I am always looking for company. How are you faring today?"

Poppy pauses in her steps and waits to hear if there's an order from Mathis, beaming a wide smile at him.

"I would be honored, m'lady." Mathis says, grinning that good natured grin of his. Then as Poppy pauses, the young man considers, scrating the side of his cheek with his finger, then ahas. "I believe I will have the blossoms and berries - a chocolate cheescake - and a Fortune Cookie." he says to Poppy, reaching into his small coin pouch. "Again, I apologize for our early departure from the lesson yesterday, m'lady, I had made other plans with the Baroness."

"No apology necessary," Ravelle replies, good-naturedly. "You both were there for the whole of it, and I was pleased to have you. I must admit, I was quite impressed with your arsenal of entendres. They bordered on a level I did not expect from you. Or the Baroness." Is that gentle censure in her voice?

Poppy chides Mathis cheerfully, "You can get the coin after I serve you." She goes to get the requested goodies and tea, bustling along with a merry tune coming from her.

Mathis allows a small chuckle, a blush colouring the edges of his cheeks for a moment. "I apologize for surprising you, m'lady - I had been getting practice on the art of using proper wording so I sound less like.. an unprepared former squire, and someone ready to move forward, and your lesson was the first chance I've really had to use them." he admits sheepishly, scuffing the toe of his boot against the tiled floor. "And.. yes Miss Poppy." he says, appropriately chided.

Ravelle's lips trace upward, her dark eyes moving over Mathis. "Sit. Join me. You were very good with what you did-- I was just surprised since you are so young. But I supposed a man of your years is going to hear about things eventually. Certainly you haven't sampled things, yes?"

Taking a seat, Mathis smiles faintly as he settles across from the Purist lady, his honey-browns studying her for a moment. "M'lady, I was a page and a squire. And the Knights.. like to talk.. a lot.. about things." he says with a shake of his head, a blush in his cheeks. "So.. I have a pretty good idea of things, and was brought up a lot amongst it, even if my own vocabulary wasn't quite tainted."

"Yes, the knights," Ravelle echoes, drawing her napkin into her lap with prim favor. "I did not think they were the type to have fun. But then, I suppose there are those who could say the same of me and my family." She meets his gaze directly then. "When do you speak to the Duchess?"

Poppy bears a tray back to the table and sets down teacups carefully, then the desserts. She glances up, a bit distracted, and wanders back to the counter, apparently looking for something. She whistles softly while looking, then slips into the back room for a minute.

"When the Baroness Amphorae and I decide to approach her..." Mathis starts to say, then pauses when Poppy arrives. "Thank you, Miss Poppy." Smiling warmly, now he pays. For his - and for Ravelle's. He can afford it, really. And then he picks up his response, without missing a beat. "...we have not decided on that yet, though the three month moritorium ended today." he admits as he lifts the cup of tea to his lips to take a sip.

Ravelle inclines her head to Mathis in gratitude for the purchase. "Congratulations. That is a milestone I know you were eager for. Are you going to prolong the meeting for a bit, as you had once suggested?" She sections off a small piece of her scone and samples it. Mm. Blueberry. Her favorite.

"Yes - a situation of interest has arisen, and I want to pay it a little more attention before we move forward." Mathis admits, setting down the tea to start on the cheesecake. "And as I said, we are eager, but we also can show considerable restraint and patience." he points out to her.

Interest darkens the Lady's gaze, one brow rising. "Oh, how you tease me, Master Cardiff. You know that I will pursue you now to find out what this situation is? Is it something I can be of assistance with, perhaps?"

"It is not something that I am at liberty to discuss, m'lady." Mathis admits as he takes another bite of his cheesecake and sets down his fork. "And it is something I am still trying to fully understand myself. But I am sure you will see it play out in time."

Ravelle cants her head faintly as she regards Mathis. "Are you not at liberty to discuss it because you are sworn to silence? Or because it impacts others in an intimate fashion?" She raises her teacup, adding with some play, "And I do think you cruel to taunt me with information that I cannot have. "

An apologetic smile creases Mathis's features. "Both." he comments, and leaves it at that, as he takes another draft off of his tea. Pausing for a moment, he glances over, a frown creasing his features. "Poppy has left the shop unattended for a while, don't you think?" he asks curiously. "I wonder if she needs help with a box or something."

Ravelle indulges in a silent sip of her tea and then waits til she's replaced it on the saucer before responding. "I hadn't noticed. Perhaps she's storing some items." She continues in smooth tones. "So tell me, what else have you been doing with your time besides courting a lovely Baroness and entering secret pacts to keep silent on issues?"

Something odd shifts the air of the room, a chill descending as if the season were reversed and winter had returned. The flames in the hearth dim a bit, and all of the light in the room seems somehow stilted. Cold invades the cheerful venue, with a vengeance.

Taking a draw from his tea, Mathis starts to respond. "I had a discussion with Duchess Guardian earlier about the possible shift in my duties..." he starts to but trails off as winter strikes with a vengence, and the young man draws his arms around him in a quick hug. "...was not expecting a death throe from winter to come blazing through." he admits as he curls around himself for just a moment longer before reaching for the tea to warm himself.

The guard at the door immediately straightens, his brow furrowing. He glances toward where Poppy went, trying to ascertain if perhaps a door was left open.

Ravelle's gaze strays from Mathis and then slowly moves over the room as that wintry bite suffuses the room. Noting the briefly shuttered hearth, she looks toward the door to see if someone entered? Maybe?

The silence of the shop grows heavy, as if it were a physical sensation dragging at those present. Respiration leaves white clouds within the air, and it seems as if fingers of ice are insinuated against the bared skin of those within the shoppe, as if searching for something. It is clearly unnatural, clearly a presence that was not there earlier.

Rising slowly to his feet, Mathis calls out, "Miss Poppy, did you leave the ice box open?!" he starts to says, as the first breaths escape his lips in small puffs of white crystalization. As the cold caress passes through his ribcage and the scar on his back, the young man tries and fails to surpress a shudder that carries through his whole frame.

"...I.. I think that maybe I should add another log to the fire, m'lady.." he murmurs, eyes scanning around, quickly, worry creeping into his heart as he tries to draw up on training that he has not had yet, mixing in with training that he has had. As he moves forward, he seems to be heading towards the counter first, to peer over it and attempt to ascertain Miss Poppy's location.

The guard immediately departs his post and heads for Ravelle to get her out of here.

Alarm favors Ravelle's features when she sees her breath materialize in front of her and her body starts to respond to the chill with some trembling. "Master Mathis, we should go." She pushes her chair back and rises, wrapping her arms around herself to shelter some of her body heat from the wicked cold.

"Go!" Mathis snaps towards Ravelle and the Guard. "I'll find Miss Poppy and make sure she gets out." he comments, spurred into the action by the lady's comment as he sets himself and springs over the counter to attempt to seek out the shop's propietoress.

Poppy comes in from the back groom and gasps slightly at the chill. "What.. what.. is this some magic? Are you playing a joke on me?"

The Soranus guard wraps an arm around Ravelle and hurries her toward the door.

Ravelle glances back toward Poppy and Mathis, her tone urgent. "Poppy, we should leave. Now." And then her guard is opening the door and shoving her out.

Underlying this all is the soft sound of tears, a woman crying. Perhaps it was there all along, with how subtly it shifts into things. At Ravelle's hip, her pouch tugs sharply away from her body, insistent. But there is nothing to stop departure.

"Go on, Miss Poppy.." Mathis starts to say. Then, he hears the sound. The young man pauses, torn between evacuation and.. "Miss?" he asks, loudly, pulling away from the shop owner and back into the shop proper. "...Miss, can you hear me?"

Poppy's hands twist in her skirts slightly, but she offers no argument to the lady's insistence. She bustles toward the door asking again, "What is going on?"

Ravelle hears the crying and freezes in the doorway, glancing back toward the room. Her guard still tries to push her out, but she insists, "Someone needs help." Her hand drops to her pouch before her eyes follow to see who is grabbing it.

Entering the shop is a bit hard, Melody, as there are people crowding toward the door. But. There is nobody actually departing. The room is icy cold, paradoxically more chilled than the air outside, and some oddness seems to linger about the air. Ravelle, her guard, and Poppy are all close to the door, but not departing yet.

Ravelle's pouch is tugged upon insistently, but there seems no presence there to do so. None? Perhaps a hint, a stir of air or cold, as if fingers were trying to persuade it away from its mistress. The soft sound of a woman crying continues to haunt the air, but low and soft, like windchimes echoing somewhere in the distance.

Poppy, Ravelle and Ravelle's guard are all about to push out the door. Mathis, arms hugged tightly around him against the cold, trudges forth, breath rising from his in white clouds, the cold searing at his lungs as he does so. "Miss, if you can hear me, please say something!"

Coming to a halt at the noise, the young man adjusts, trying to reascertain himself, as well as reorient. It's no longer a noise that Mathis recognizes of this world, and he swallows hard - the cold causing it to form a lump into his throat as he tries to keep himself warm, taking a few steps backwards, and bumping against the hearth.

The Soranus guard insists that Ravelle leave but his charge pushes past him to survey the room. She sends up a prayer to Providence, pleading for guidance and to banish any wickedness that loiters. "Mathis, do you see her?"

Melody can't seem to get into her place of work! Seeing people crowding at the door, and feeling that icy cold, the young girl stands on her tiptoes, trying to see over the crowd. "What's going on?" she asks curiously. When she starts to hear that crying, though, her eyes grow round as saucers, and she stumbles back a few steps.

Poppy wrings her hands and scoots toward the fireplace when it seems people aren't leaving. "Melody! Be careful. We d-don't know. It's so cold, so cold!"

Ravelle notes the tugging on her pouch, and reaches out to pass a hand over the area near where the tugging is happening.

Where Ravelle's hand passes, the cold is fierce and brutal, as if frostbite were conveyed in that brief movement. The fire sputters and seems overwhelmed, as if a blanket of unseen snow were dropped upon it.

Carina stops still when she sees the crowd in the door. Especially so when she feels the cold, "W-what is happening." Her brain seems unable to make her feet move backwards. So right now she is a road er.. door block.

"Not yet, m'lady!" Mathis calls out to Ravelle as he pulls away from the hearth, moving into the shop. And as he does so, he decides to stick out his hand. Like some kind of divining rod, the young man spreads his fingers, feeling around as he tries to feel out the cold, trying to track the noise by both the noise, but hopefully by the feel of the change in temperatures as he moves past the counter and deeper into the shop.

Ravelle yanks her hand back as if burned, a soft hiss of pain and surprise mingling with the response. "If any of you have faith in Providence, I beg you to pray now for Her rich hand in this room." She herself lapses into a healthy, faithful petition of the Great Goddess. "In the name of Providence, I banish any darkness from this room here and now and ask Her reveal that which is unseen. Give us all your great gaze, Goddess. We plead as your children. Protect us. Reveal our enemies and give us strength to help our friends. "

The cold you search for definitely grows more intent near Ravelle, as if the invisible that tries to take her pouch is the source of the cold.

"...Lady Soranus.." Mathis says as he finds himself guided back to her. Looking down, he glances at the pouch. "M'lady.. may.. may I have your pouch?" he asks, his eyes lifting to seek hers out, the trust evident there, mixed with worry.

Melody steps forward a little as she hear Poppy. "Poppy! Come out!" she says, distress in her tone. Poppy is like a big sister to her, after all. She looks over to Carina, who is standing next to her in the doorway. "I wouldn't go in, it doesn't look safe," she says.

You sense: Ravelle inclines her head to Mathis. "Yes. Take it."

The cold continues to leech vitality from the room, threatening immersion in ice, slumber beneath snow. It's like standing outside in the snow, with no winter clothes to protect.

As Mathis attempts to reach for the pouch, he winces, the cold burning his hand sharply. "Ow." You'd think he'd /learn/ from Ravelle having the same reaction. Thinking quickly, the young man yanks the dagger from beneath his pouch and with a quick slash, cuts the rope holding the pouch, setting it loose, as well as opening it, perhaps.

As soon as the pouch is separated, Ravelle's guard grabs her around the waist and half lifts her from the floor to carry her out of the room. He is not getting fired for letting his charge freeze to death in a coffee shop.

Carina shrinks back a bit now from the action, but not out of the door, just to the side of it, fingers splayed on the frame and wall next to her. She looks at what Mathis is doing, meeping a little when he takes the pouch from Ravelle's side.

Well, Melody is not going to let Poppy freeze to death! She tries to bully her way into the coffee shop, and if successful, she'll try to get to Poppy, and help her to get outside.

With the skillful swipe of Mathis, the pouch finally spills open and Ravelle's neat writing box tumbles to the floor. The clasp breaks apart. A quill within is abruptly trapped in a small twisting breeze, swept up into the air as if in an invisible funnel.

Ravelle is going to have to find out what happens in a recap from Mathis because her guard isn't letting her stay to watch. Alas.

Ravelle leaves the Coffee and Tea Shop. Ravelle has left.

Poppy stays near the fireplace, almost backing as if she'll huddle into it, her teeth chattering. She silently follows the actions of Mathis and Ravelle, then puffs a soft, "Melody, what.. what's going on here?"

A hand reaches up and stops Melody. Hopefully, Mathis, in his moment of grabbing, doesn't touch where not suppose to. "Miss Poppy, go with her, please!" he says quietly, continuing to brave the cold as he watches the quill, curiosity filling him.

Melody finally reaches Poppy, and wraps an arm around her. "I don't know, but we have to get out of here," she says, "Come on." She tries to tug Poppy away from the fire, and towards the door.

Carina whimpers a little as now she is basically alone at the door waiting for the other women to get back. She seems back to her stricken stage, not able to move.

Poppy is reluctantly tugged along, shivers running through her form as she is drawn away from the fireplace. "You worry so much, this isn't as strange as some of the things tha have happened around here!" she says in soft chiding to Melody, even though she does move toward the door.

The quill jounces and swirls in the air, searchingly, and eventually just drops to the surface of a table. It starts to scrawl with ink at first, and when the ink runs out, begins to carve in the table's polished surface.

With the women being issued towards the door, Mathis seeks out some way to keep them warm. Noticing that Ravelle left behind her ever present cloak, and reaches to yank it down, watching the quill as it comes to rest. As he looks at the note, the young man blances. "Who.. who are you?" he asks loud enough to be heard, yanking the cloak around him to stay warm.

Curiosity gets the better of Carina's instincts and she moves forward to look at what the note says, lips moving to what she is reading. "Possessio of whom?"

Melody gives Poppy an incredulous look. "Nothing ever happens in the shop, what are you talking about? Besides, I wasn't going to let you freeze to death!" she says. Yes, the little girl has got some spunk. They finally make it to the doorway, and go through it, slipping by Carina. They do stay near the doorway though, to see if Mathis is alright.

Apparently the being has its own agenda, for the carving continues, a scratch against the polish that will have to be buffed out much later. The two cups of tea upon the table start to freeze.

Melody sees what that quill is doing to their nice shoppe table, and cries out, "Hey! That's damage of empire property!"

Mathis falls silent, there seems to be no answered offered except in the scratched out words. Removing the cloak, despite the intense cold, he wraps it around Carina. "You.. y-you should leave." he says, his own lips starting to show slight shades of bluing. His lips move in time with the poem, "Miss, please!" he calls out to Melody. "You're ruining my concentration!"

Popply giveas a harrump at Melody, but rises up on her toes, as if trying to see what's being written. "What is it? What's the writing?" She doesn't look like she's about to leave, but she keeps her voice soft.

Carina is shivering, but hardly seems to notice it, more interesting in the writing. She does however pull the cloak more around her. "But whatev-v-ver it issss, nee-edsss help-p."

Melody looks around the crowd that's gathered outside. Spotting two men wearing a cloak, even on this warm day, she says, "Hey you! Let me borrow your cloak, will ya? The people in there is freezing his ass off to read some silly poem!" When Poppy asks her what it says, she shakes her head. "I don't know, can't see it from here. Just that the table's being ruined. I'm glad Rafferty isn't here, he would tan both our hides."

Where Mathis lingers near the table, the cold grows brisk enough that his exhalation crackles in the air, the moisture in it freezing immediately. The scrawl continues, wantonly ruining the property of the coffee and tea shop as it etches,

And with that, Mathis, a haze of darkness rises up before your eyes, eclipsing daylight. The last hazy thought in your consciousness is that you are falling. Timber!

Mathis winces, the cold starting to eat at him, the arctic chill causing him to have to step back, and he starts to reach of the charcoal in his bag.. just as his world starts to dim, the last of the words dying on his lips as he falls backwards, frost formed on his eyelids and the front tuffs of his hair, hand reaching out to grab, hold onto something as the poem is frozen into his subconscious as he falls against the floor, unconscious.

Poppy gives a small screech as Mathis falls. "Oh no!" She pushes into the shop again, calling, "We have to help him. Someone call the guard!"

The two men outside who got asked for their cloak look at each other and at the shop as the scream goes up. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Melody juts out her chin to the two men and says, "Give me your cloaks! Now!" She stands on her tiptoes, sticking her ample chest out and bumping against one of the men. "Don't think about it, just do it!" Oh yeah, you don't mess with a fiesty redhead.

You're stumbling in a gray mist with odd flashes of light in deep jewel tones occasionally glimpsed in the distance. Floating or falling, it is hard to tell. The sound of crying is louder, a heart-rending lamentation of deepest woe.

One of the men jumps with the command, the one who gets to meet Melody's chest up close, wrenching it off and handing it to her quickly. "What's going on? What do you need?"

Carina hurries over to Mathis and kneels down over him, covering him with the cloak he put on her, so that they in in something of a tent. She grabs at one of his arms and tries starting to drag him towards the door where the warmer air is coming in from.

Melody grabs the cloak from the man, and says, "Go get the guard! And a healer! Quick!" One cloak is better than none, and she rushes into the shop, trying to get to Mathis. If successful, she will put the cloak over Mathis and grab his other arm, trying to help Carina pull him out of the shop. Seeing Poppy back inside, she says, "Poppy! Write down what's written on that table!"

The man who is asked will turn and take off to get healer and guard, quickly. Poppy wrings her hands once and then does what Melody suggests, going behind the counter to find something and jottin gdown notes quickly.

As he finds himself in the gray mists, Mathis stumbles for a moment, lost in the light, trying to orient himself in something by all rights he is unable to. Hearing the crying in the distance, the young man closes his eyes. "Hello!" he yells out.

"I-is someone there. I.. I'm a friend!" he calls out, trying to feel a way to orient himself and pass through the ether of the dreamscape, finding it like trying to slog through a swamp as he does so.

Mathis is easy to move in his convient fish stick form!

The cold in the room is wickedly fierce about Mathis, those with hands on him easily noting that his flesh is colder than health would dictate. A cold rush of wind tears about the room as he's tugged away.

The quiet sound of misery continues, but then a soft whisper comes, "Seeeee... it goes on." And then a swell of misery rises up within you as you are plunged into a vision, so keenly clear that it is branded upon your memory as if it were your own.

The sun is very bright in a brilliant blue sky. There are butterflies fluttering about, dancing through the air. You are being held securely on the bareback of a chestnut horse by the strong arms of one of your brothers. Another brother rides just ahead on a bay stallion, his pale gold hair shining in the light. The boys are laughing at various jokes, bantering back and forth in a brotherly way as they ride along through a grassy field. Iseldis cannot help but laugh as well. There is a fallen tree near the edge of the woods, with scraggled branches reaching several feet higher than the already wide span of the trunk. As boys will be boys, the older one challenges the younger to see if they both can't make the jump. Friendly wagers are made. Teasing ensues. The twelve-year-old tickles you breifly and kisses your hair. "Down you go," he says, lifting you off the horse and settling her carefully in the grass. "You be a good girl. We'll be right back," he promises.

All the rest happened so quickly. You are watching one brother on his horse, racing toward the fallen tree. The horse leaped gracefully in a perfect jump. Or, at least, it would have been perfect if the horse's foot hadn't caught in one of the branches at the last possible minute. The horse tumbles. The other brother yells and runs toward the scene. You started running too. The horse prances a bit in a panic, but your brother the on the ground, unmoving, his skull shattered by the sharp stone he hit when he fell to the ground. There is blood everywhere, dark as night. The wounded youth stares up at the sky, trying to say something, but nothing that makes sense. He whispers a name, Iseldis, and then his eyes are empty of his soul.

Melody's wild red hair is whipped around by the fierce wind, as she drags Mathis to the door with Carina. This little girl is stronger than she looks! She looks over at Poppy, and says, "Once that's written, get out of here, Poppy! And bring the note!" She winces at the cold penetrating her hands as she pulls Mathis by the forearm.

Poppy's hands shake as she grabs a piece of parchment and scrawls down the verses. "We n-need to get warm. The fire maybe?" She looks over at where Carina falls and drops the paper, giving a soft, "Oh!" She goes to try to help.

The cold is starting to get to Cari too and she has to give the tuging of Mathis up to Melody as she stops on the way, still on her knees and pulls the cloak tighter about her. "Help.."

Confusion grabs Mathis as everything shifts and changes. "...it doesn't have to go on.. it can stop!" he yells, before he finds himself in a rather uncomfortable position - after all, he's no girl. As the scene unfolds, the pride at brotherly play starts to turn, becoming mute horror as she/he runs forward, finding her brother.. her dearest brother, bleeding out into the green earth from whence he came. "No.." she/he mutters, tears coming to the eyes. "Please, Providence, no.."

Mathis's eyes start to form tears on the corners, tears that freeze immediately to the young man's face as the cold continues to cling to him tightly.

It's then that your own darkest, saddest, most painful memory is dragged up before your eyes, forced upon you as if you were re-living it again. Every nuance of misery and loss is replayed within you. It's almost ripped from your heart.

Melody looks like she's about to mutter an oath when Carina stops and cries for help. When Poppy comes over, she says, "Get her out of here, Poppy. I can get this guy." First, however, she runs over and grabs the note.

Poppy reaches for Carina and tries to tug her along, her teeth chattering. "M-Melody, you b-best hurry! Come on d-dear." She chatters at Carina, making her attempt to assist.

Abruptly the cold seems to snap, as if the spirit of winter is banished. The fire bursts with warmth again and the lingering ice in the room begins to fade.

It's a cold day in the city where you are. The smell of burning fires rise up to caress your nostrils as you move past a forge on the way to your home, knowing that Mother is making your favorite meat and vegetable pie, and your sister is trying to make desert for the first time. As you round a corner of the shop, there's a group of boys standing around. Waiting. Waiting for you. "W-wh-what do you want?" you ask, though you already know.

"What's your n-name?" the oldest, largest of the boys demands. You are just barely a head above a vegetable cart. "K-Kevin." you say.

"No. No it's not. Dummy." The boys start to form a circle around you, trapping you within. "My name is Kevin. You don't /get/ to use it." The other boys start to chuckle, knowing what's coming. You turn to try to flee, but you know this game too well. By the time you turn, the first blow has landed against the side of your head, knocking you to the ground. You try to rise, but a sharp kick sends you to the ground. %r%rNo matter how hard you try, how much you curl, the beating seems to carry on for an eternity, though only a few minutes pass. "/What/'s your name, boy." the large boy demands of you, after each kick, each punch. You stubbornly try to cry, try to fight and hold onto your namesake. "K-Kev.. Kevin.. please."

It's not satisfying to hear you plead, to say no. To say your name. After several more kicks and punches, and a rock against the back of your neck, you slump to your knees, the coopery taste of blood filling your mouth as you spit and look at your beaten, battered reflection in a muddy puddle. You're young, no more than 6 or 7, honey-brown eyes oddly familiar to those that know him.

"Your /name/." he demands again.

Finally, you have had enough, too much, in fact. You feel as though you could die and it would not hurt as much as this. And you answer.

"...M-Mathis. M-M-My name i-is Mathis."

Carina struggles to get up and wraps her cloak around Poppy as well. "O-" She stops and looks around blinking. "It is gone."

Melody tucks the note in her pocket, and rushes back to Mathis. Holding both wrists, she digs in her feet, and pulls hard, grunting as she does so. But the guy does move. Just when the cold disappears, she has him close to the door. "I'll go see what's taking the guards," she says to Poppy. She tucks the note inside one of Mathis' pockets before she goes.

Carina looks at Poppy, "Let's get him to the fire."

Bella comes in from Keeper North. Bella has arrived.

Mathis's still lying on the floor, his skin a lovely blue color that is totally unhealthy. The fire is starting to warm the young man, returning the pink to some areas as he remains rather unconscious.

Bella comes rushing into the shop, accompanied by four guards... two of her own, bearing Green Fields insignia, and two city guard. She's carrying a backpack over her shoulder, and a leather bag in one hand. Seeing Mathis lying on the floor, she goes over to him first. "What happened here?" she asks Poppy, who seems to be the only one left standing.

Poppy gives a swift nod to Carina. "Us too," she says, and works to haul him toward the fire with Carina.

Carina is dragging Mathis over to the fire with Poppy, the boy looks a bit blue in the face.

Bella sees the blue pallor of Mathis, and drops her bags to help position him by the fire. "What happened?" she asks, as she starts to examine him in more detail. She first examines his fingers and hands, being very careful not to bend his fingers. Looking up at Carina and Poppy, she says, "You two, come sit by the fire."

Carina shakes her head, "I am not really sure myself. There was just a cold presence in here that started writing something."

Mat's right hand is good and frozen. The left - not so badly, his fingers still clutched around a piece of charcoal tightly as he is laid out on the ground, still silent, still unconscious - though the heat finally thaws his face enough so that the tears that formed on the corners of his eyes start to flow free over his temples. He's obviously going to need to be moved to the infirmary.

The guards who came with Bella disperse the crowd standing by the doorway. "Go on, get out of here! Nothing to see, get along," two of them say. They then station themselves by the doorway. The other two guards, her own, stay near her.

Bella isn't going to move Mathis right away. She digs into her backpack, and pulls out two clean clothes. She looks over to Carina, and says, "Soak these in warm, not hot, water, and wring them out, then bring them back over to me, please. Are you feeling alright, Miss?"

Carina stands up, the borrowed cloak slipping off her shoulders as she goes to do the healers bidding. "I am fine.. now." She hurries to go put them in warm water.

Consciousness slowly returns, the agony of loss still a keen dagger in your gut, fiercer than any of the cold that burns your body. As you surface to awareness, the soft sound of the woman crying lingers only seconds.

Honey-brown eyes drift open.. slowly, narrow slits, immediately wincing closed again as Mathis starts to come around. "...Iseldis.." he murmurs softly, confusion clearly in the young man's voice as he weakly coughs, his vocal chords strained. "...hurt.. hurts so much.."

Bella starts to unfasten Mathis' tunic, examining his arms and chest as she takes it off. She's looking for any other signs of frostbite. When he starts to come to, she strokes his hair and says, "It's alright, you'll be alright, Mathis." Looking up to Carina, she says, "Bring a cup of warm tea, too, now that he's coming around."

Carina hands off the warm wet cloths, having brought a bowl of warm water too. She goes to get the tea, dragging Poppy with her since the girl knows where the stuff is.

Poppy fixes the tea, and says, "Let me bring it, miss, you go warm yourself by the fire."

Carina nods to the other woman and heads back to the fire, holding her hands out to it.

Poppy brings the tea over, handing it to Bella. "Mathis, lay still," she says, "Those wraps need to stay on your hands." She moves so that he can rest his head in her lap, and she tries to coax some tea in him. "Where did what go, Mathis?" She looks over at Carina, and says, "You should have some tea, too. Both you and Poppy."

Carina looks down at Mathis, "Do not worry, it is gone now. The other woman put what was written in your pocket."

Tea coaxed into his throat, Mathis finds this a rather.. unfortunate timing on his part. "The woman..." he croaks. Yes, at the exact moment that this happened, the frozen throat, the hot tea - Mathis Cardiff's voice changed.

Poppy makes two more cups of tea, and brings one to Carina. She then sits by the fire, warming herself and drinking her tea quietly.

Bella caresses Mathis' hair as she coaxes more tea down his throat. "It's alright, Mathis. We need to warm you up, then you can talk." She looks over at Carina and Poppy, and say, "Do either of you have any parts that feel numb?"

Carina sips her tea and looks down at Bella, shaking her head, "No I do not, thankfully. Will he be all right? He was in the brunt of it for far too long."

Sipping the tea, Mathis frowns. "..can't feel some of my face.. right hand.." he closes his eyes. "Head.. really hurts. Is it bleeding?"

Bella dips another cloth in the warm water, wringing it out. She presses her fingers gently against his face, then wraps the cloth under his chin and up his cheeks. Examining his head, she says, "No, you're not bleeding. Must have hit your head a good one, though. Got quite the goose egg back there." She looks up at Carina, and says, "He has some frostbite, he'll need to go to the infirmary for a while."

"Not the Infirmary." Mathis says stubbornly. "Healers.. don't like me. I'll be okay." he murmurs, trying to push himself up and failing horribly.

Carina bites her lower lip and looks down at Mathis, "I am not going to be the one to dispute a healer. You can do that."

Bella says sternly, "Mathis, don't move. Those wraps need to stay on your face and hands. And you WILL go to the infirmary, unless you want to lose those hands and parts of your face."

Mathis winces, but relents. "Yes, your excellency." he manages, closing his eyes as he waits to be transported.

Carina stands, "Who should I go get to move him?"

Bella motions to one of her guards, "Go to my clinic and get a litter." He nods and says, "Yes, Your Excellency," as he makes his way out of the shop. Bella smiles at Carina and says, "Taken care of." She gives Mathis a sympathetic smile, and says, "It's alright, Mathis. I'll go with you."

Carina suddenly realizes that this woman is nobility, not having noticed the dropped title before. She suddenly becomes very still and quiet.

There are two guards stationed at the door. They are keeping spectators away from the shop, and would stop anyone who tried to enter. Bella has Mathis' head on her lap, and he's lying by the fire on the floor. There are warm, wet clothes around both hands and his face. Carina and Poppy are sitting by the fire, drinking tea, and looking a bit chilled themselves. There is one more guard, standing near Bella.

"T-thank you, Your Excellency." Mathis says, nearly thawed out now. "...I.. I had a dream.. and.. and I saw Miss Iseldis." the young man frowns, really in no condition to go on about it. "Need.. need to talk to her."

Bella furrows her brow at the mention of the dream. "When did you dream this?" she asks, "After you hit your head on the floor?" She checks his hands and his face, then wraps the clothes back around them. "Do you feel strong enough to sit up? I'll help you."

Mouse gets a peek inside the shop as me muscles his way through the ring of spectators, "What's going on? Mathis? Your Excellency?" Ahnlana is with him, having been drug along by the big man as he investigates the rumor spread by some young girl on the street.

Bella looks up as she hears a familiar voice. Seeing Mouse, she says to the guards, "You can let those two in." The guards then unblock the path, ushering Mouse and Ahnlana in quickly.

Mathis nods, and he winces. The bump isn't that bad, but to the young man, he feels like he cracked his skull open. "...no.. not really." he murmurs as he sort of curls back into Bella's lap, perhaps on the verge of passing back out.

Ahnlana trails in after Mouse, looking at Mathis with a hint of worry, but she doesn't say anything, biting her lower lip, perhaps to prevent herself from doing so.

Carina looks down at Mathis, worried expression, "Will he be all right, your Excellency?"

Bella doesn't let Mathis sit all the way up. "Take it easy, Mathis. Litter is on its way," she says. She looks over to Carina, and gives the girl a warm smile. "Call me Bella, please. And he will be fine, with the right treatment." She looks up as Mouse and Ahnlana come into the shop.

Mouse pushes his way inside then quickly rolls over to Mathis and Bella, "Your Excellency!" He gives Bella a deep bow, then drops down to his knees to look Mathis over, "How are you feeling Mathis me lad?"

Ahnlana quickly drops a curtsey, although now that she realises who Bella is, her eyes roam over the woman curiously. "Your Excellency." She looks again at Mathis, then back to Bella.

"...get the number of the cart that hit me?" Mathis manages to ask Mouse, a little humor showing in the young man's eyes as he closes his eyes. "...need a little nap. Not too long." His fingers are definetly showing the signs of frost bite, as are his cheeks and ears. A large lump graces the back of his head. "Miss Bella shippin' me off to the 'firmary, tell her I can walk it off."

Carina snorts at Mathis, "Same way you walked off the cold that was in here? I doubt that, since you were the one to fall over from it."

The guard who was sent to bring the litter finally comes back. He comes over to Bella, and sets it down near where Mathis is laying. "Thank you, Howard," she says to him. She gives Ahnlana and Mouse a smile, and says, "Seems we had a bit of a blizzard in here, and Mathis wasn't smart enough to get out of it." She gives Mathis a playful smile, and says, "Don't worry, Mathis, you'll be fine. You want me to send a message to Khalani for you, to meet you at the infirmary?" Looking over at Mouse, she says, "You want to help me put him on the litter?"

Last time Mathis was in the infirmary, he was able to walk out before Lani found out. This time, he doubts he can dodge the petite baroness for that long. He gives a small nod, right before he finally subcumbs and slips back into dreamland. Which involves not being a Viking.

Mouse nods to Bella and he helps by scooping up Mathis and setting him on the litter. "Sorry Mathis. You'll need to spend some time in the infirmary. But that's your second home and all, so it shouldn't be so bad. Next time, wear some gloves when talking with frozen ghosts." He is very gentle despite his big size, though of course, with Mathis, he has to talk a bit rougher.