The Creepy, Currently-Being-Invaded Mansion in the Woods, Saturday

[deathsmajesty]

As was happening all across the island, Liliana was quite happily asleep in bed, still tangled up with Ignis and sleeping the sleep of the pleasantly exhausted. She had no plans to leave the bed until noon at the earliest, and Ignis would have to talk fast if he expected to be let up much before then, either.

And if anybody came trying to drag him out for an early morning run, she was going to blight first, ask questions never.

One could forgive her for not realizing what today would be. Last year, the island had been kind and hadn't sent them any surprises as they were recovering from their battle with Emrakul and Liliana had decided to take that as a sign that it had been a one-time fluke that the universe had hastily made sure would never happen again.

You know what she didn't need? A shouted, "RISE AND SHIIIIIIIIII~IIIIIIIIINE!" from the other side of the bedroom door. You know what she was gonna get?

Just guess.

[Open for kids, guests, and anybody else what wants to wander by!]

Comments

[blueblackbrat]

Irrim had planned out her maneuver very carefully as she'd headed to the mansion from the park. She would knock on the door, allow the steward to see her in, and then make a break for the stairs to run up them, down the hall, and bring the good news of a beautiful morning to her mother.

Sorry, Ignis, that you were gonna be caught in that friendly fire there, but some things were too perfect to not do just because someone else was also in the crosshairs. (And this was yet another way she proved to be her mother's daughter, as if the eyes and face didn't give it away entirely.)

She knew her time was limited and the steward was already on his way up to fetch her, so she proceeded to bang on the door and yell in the sugariest tones she could muster.

Pfft, and here her actual mother insisted that she needed a hobby!

[deathsmajesty]

Later, Liliana would insist that Irrim wasn't greeted by the most undignified squawk of surprise and alarm, and she certainly hadn't startled and nearly flung herself out of the bed. Sure, she'd be lying through her teeth, but when had that stopped her?

"What in the--?" Liliana yanked the door open, still fumbling with her robe but absolutely ready to take the hide off of whatever fresh hell the island had sent to harass her this morning, but came up short as she realized exactly what said fresh hell actually was. Her steward finally reached Irrim's side and placed a heavy hand on the girl's shoulder, intending to bring her right back downstairs again.

Liliana barely noticed him. "I-Irrim!" she exclaimed, sounding...well, rather dismayed, honestly. "You're...here."

[blueblackbrat]

Well, that greeting slid the expectant grin right off of Irrim's face. She'd been ready to be yelled at, threatened, scolded, had been quite looking forward to it actually, but seeing her bit of mischief met with a look like that stung in a way she hadn't been expecting. She hadn't expected Liliana to turn into the mother of her dreams since the last time she'd been here, but she'd thought-- after their goodbye-- maybe something?

When would she ever learn?

"Not for you," she informed Liliana, her tone as frosty as Innistrad during Hunter's Moon. She shrugged out of the steward's grasp. "I'm here for Ignis. You know, somebody who might want to see me." And with that, she spun on her heel and stalked back towards the stairs. She didn't need your stupid, undead servant, thank you very much, she could drag her own self down the stairs.

[deathsmajesty]

"Irrim, wait--!" Liliana protested, and then sank back against the door, groaning. This was how how she'd planned for her morning to go. She wasn't even supposed to be seeing morning! But here she was, out of bed, wide awake, with an upset teenager stomping down the stairs to make sure everybody on this half of the island knew she wasn't best pleased.

"Mistress?" Her steward stood, waiting for orders.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...." This time, Liliana's groan was more of a whine. "Try to keep her from wrecking anything in her fit of pique," she sighed. "We'll be down once we've readied ourselves for the day."

Serra help her, please let Irrim be the only one returning this year. She didn't think she could handle having to deal with Samantha again, too.

[chef_chocobro]

Had Ignis expected the usual bout of random rugrats and absurd ankle-biters after a week like the one leading up to this Saturday morning? Hard to tell, but the kitchen did seem particularly well-stocked with plenty of things for making breakfast. Which was, naturally, precisely what he was going to be attending to once the surprises of the day sort of settled. It was the least he could do to make sure young bellies weren't going hungry, and it was a good distraction that would allow Liliana to have some space away from them, if needed.

There was plenty of batter for pancakes and waffles, with chocolate chips and blueberries to drop into them, other fruits and croissants, and bagels. Mini kid-sized quiches that he'd snuck plenty of vegetables into, because he knew that was a time-honored tradition of managing to get Noct to eat a few here and there, even if he was well above the age of these children when Ignis started cooking for him regularly. Sausages, bacon, hashbrowns....he liked to think that it was a spread that would please even the pickiest eater who came through their doors today, unless that picky eater was sold on nothing but sugary cereal, of which there was going to be a distinct lack of today.

And, of course, there was plenty of coffee for himself and Liliana and any other beleaguered parents who might also come through, because gods only knew, they'd need it.

[blueblackbrat]

There were a number of things that informed Ignis that there was someone coming into the kitchen, and that person was not Liliana, but perhaps the most marked difference was the trepidation in the step, like whoever it was felt unsure of her welcome, or maybe her right to be present at all.

"Ignis?" Irrim's voice was also soft and unsure. "Um. Hi."

[chef_chocobro]

"Irrim." Ignis greeted her back with a nod and an expert flip of the pancake he was close to finishing up. He was not at all surprised by the trepidation in that step, but it did make him all the more determined to banish it entirely when it came to entering his domain, at the very least. And so there was also a soft smile, and a nod toward the pancakes already made, and the rest of the food set out on the island.

"Good morning. Come have some breakfast. Good brain fuel for the rousing chess match I hope you'll humor me with later."

[blueblackbrat]

"Oh! You want to play another round?" Irrim asked, much of that trepidation vanishing under a wave of gratified enthusiasm. "Yeah, I'd really--" Oh wait, that's right, she was a cool and disaffected youth. "I mean, that sounds okay."

She helped herself to the pancakes and was doctoring them most thoroughly when she added, very casually, "I've been practicing. You know, playing without reading people's minds. Just to prove that I could do it."

Certainly not to make anybody proud or whatever.

[chef_chocobro]

Of course not. Such a cool and disaffected youth such as herself would never be concerned about something like that.

The particular tug at the corner of Ignis's mouth was almost as much for that casual brushing off of enthusiasm as it was for the effective dismantling of Irrim's uncertainty, and he lifted a brow in her direction.

"Oh, have you?" he asked, finishing up on that pancake and adding it to the latest stack, before turning off the heat and setting the pan aside for now. The only thing Irrim would have to compete with for his attention now was the mug of coffee he was refilling before turning toward her. "And how's that been going?"

[blueblackbrat]

"I'm not winning as much," Irrim said, making a face. "And it's definitely way more fun when I do win." Listen that was just facts, okay? Winning was better than losing.

She took another few bites of pancakes (with not a few happy noises for how good it was), and then added, off-handedly, "I get what you mean, though. About how the satisfaction of winning because I'm just that good is y'know. Cool, and stuff."

[chef_chocobro]

"I have always felt," Ignis noted, between sips of coffee absolutely not hiding any sort of proud grins, "that victory tastes much sweeter when it's well-earned. But excellent. I'm excited to find out how you've improved. And I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it turned out you'll be able to predict half my moves even without looking into my mind. There are plenty of other methods of 'mind reading'," he put quotes around the words with his fingers for emphasis, and this time, there was no hiding the hint of a smile, "that have nothing to do with telepathy, after all. Master both, and I daresay, you'd be unstoppable, Irrim."

[blueblackbrat]

"And when I do peek, it becomes kind of a game-within-a-game," she said, letting herself sound a little pleased. You know. A bit. "Because I can see what they're gonna do, and then I figure out why they're going to do that so that I knew what to do to make it so they can't. You know?"

[chef_chocobro]

The teeniest, tiniest modicum of pleased. Of course. Surely, no one would even notice, it was so miniscule.

"Oh, yes," Ignis agreed, "quite. There's nothing quite like managing to throw off an opponent's entire carefully planned strategy before they can truly even get it started. And then the real fun begins, discovering if they've already got a Plan B in the chamber, or if they're remarkably good at managing to think on their feet when things go quite a ways off from where they thought they'd be."

There was a slight pause there, a moment to just rather enjoy talking strategy with the girl. But he rather had the feeling that they couldn't exactly fill the time with only chess talk (especially not before they'd even played another game!), and he pondered if there was anything that would be wise to head off at the pass, and to reflect on how much had changed or happened since Irrim's last visit.

"Anything else," he ventured, "of note that you've been up to lately, Irrim, besides the sharpening of your strategic wit? I'd love to hear all about it."

And not just because he rather worried that she still didn't have many people around her usually that would care to listen, although, yes, that was a large part of it, too.

[blueblackbrat]

Whoops, back to ever-so-casual mode. She shrugged, realized that wasn't going to help, and made a small noise of negation. "Jace is working himself up to doing something stupid," she said. "Don't know what though. But Auntie Chandra and Uncle Gids are worried. They don't talk about it in front of me, but it would be so obvious that even if I weren't a telepath. Neither of them have a pokerface that's worth a damn." She rolled her eyes and took another bite.

"Oh and, y'know, I'm maybe grounded. So when I get home, I'm going to be super-grounded.. But whatever." Surely Ignis wouldn't hear the stuff in the middle there!

[chef_chocobro]

Oh, yes, surely not. It wasn't as if he had exceptional hearing, honed from over a decade of either being able to hear every little detail or die, or anything.

There was another twitch of a grin, after a faint grunt, at the absolute lack of surprise that Jace would be working himself up to something stupid. It would be bigger, more noteable news if he wasn't, really.

"Irrim," he said, regarding her with that dry, deadpan tone of his that could make even the most standard statement sound withering, "one doesn't even need to see their faces to know just how bad their pokerfaces are. I've had the chance to meet them, you know, since your last visit. Well, our universes' version of them, anyway, your Auntie Chandra and Uncle Gids and your father."

A small pause, before he added, with a mastery of the cool and casual that she might want to take notes on: "Thank you, by the way. The barriers you set up proved to be most helpful, as well as an incredible amount of impeccable foresight on your part."

Enjoy the compliment while you could, Irrim, because as soon as Ignis finished with this next sip of coffee (which, to be fair, he was absolutely taking his time with), he had no choice but to switch into psuedo-fake-stepdad mode, which she'll know was being activated as he set his mug down on the counter he'd been leaning on.

"So why are you...maybe grounded?"

[blueblackbrat]

Pseudo-fake-stepdad? Oh no, that sounded terrible! Don't throw her into the briar patch!

Though she was going to push her food around on her plate for a few seconds before answering. "Because I went to Thunder Junction. But I left a note! I didn't just vanish off the plane without word!"

Like she had today, laaaaa.

[chef_chocobro]

You know, the funny thing about being so blue-coded that you didn't even need telepathy was...

"Did you leave a note today?" Ignis asked, brows lifted pointedly, at both Irrim and the narrative, with the expertise of a man who'd been at this for much too long.

[blueblackbrat]

Goddamn blue mana users. At least be properly Dimir, c'mon.

"If I'd left a note, they would come get me like they did in Thunder Junction," Irrim said, quite reasonably, she thought. "And also, I haven't really explained that I come to an alternate dimension to visit my alternate-mother and her--" Her eyes dropped to his left hand. "...Huuuuusband?"

See, if she were reading your mind, Ignis, she'd know it was fiancé!

[chef_chocobro]

"Fiancé," Ignis corrected, although with a nod of concession and appreciation for the uncertainty in that honest guess, "at the moment. We've got a few things we need to check off the to-do list before we seal that deal. And I'm almost certain that, in this instance, even they would find it difficult to come after you. This island has..." His non-coffee hand waved vaguely in the air. "...its ways.

"Besides," his non-non-coffee hand took another sip, "I never said anything about a detailed note. Just enough so that they don't worry about you too much.""

[blueblackbrat]

Her gaze lingered on that ring on her left finger. "She's never said anything about wanting to be married," she mumbled.

Her real mother, that was. She had lovers aplenty, but the only time marriage had come up was when Jace had thrown their almost-engagement in her face during one of their endless spats.

"Huh?" Oh right, Ignis had been talking. "It does? The island, I mean? I just take the omen path here when it shows up, and anybody could do that."

[chef_chocobro]

The pause and the distraction and the definitely-not-heard-by-anyone-here murmur had Ignis tilting his head slightly, thoughtfully, and there was, for a brief, sudden flash of a moment, an urge to point out that, well, her mother had never met him. The prideful thought did bring a faint smile to his face at the idea, but how did he explain the complexity of it all? Probably best to ignore it, leave it unaddressed, but a part of him was reluctant to let it pass without at least some acknowledgement to what a remarkable thing it truly was.

"No," he said, a bit quietly himself, "Liliana is not generally the marrying type, is she?

"But," best move on before he went and got too smug about it, "yes, I believe so. On these weekends, it seems to be distinctly children who are sent...allowed, I'd even imagine...to come through from alternate realities, or potential futures. How it does so, I'm not sure. But now you have me almost wishing you did leave a detailed note, just to find out what might have happened if they'd tried to come after you..."

A pause. Followed by a faint wince.

"Actually, on second thought, considering your parents, that sounds like a uniquely terrible idea."

As much as he enjoyed the idea of it driving Jace absolutely crazy not knowing how or why he couldn't follow, he wouldn't want to put that on a Liliana that would be equally frustrated, even if it wasn't his Liliana, and he definitely didn't want to know what lengths either of them might feel tempted to go to correct such an indignity.

[blueblackbrat]

"No," Irrim said. "She says it's pointless. Jace says she'd have to love someone more than herself to understand, though I'm not sure if he's ever gotten around to marrying Stepmommy Vraska, either. But they did adopt a kid, so maybe they are feeling domestic."

And she was fine, just fine with them adopting a fuzzy little kid instead of paying attention to the daughter he actually had.

Though at his comment, Irrim looked contemplative. "You think they would? Come after me, I mean? It was Auntie Chandra and Uncle Gids - and Nissa, obviously - who came to get me from Thunder Junction. But mentioning mother is always a good way to get her interested in something..."

[chef_chocobro]

Oh, this conversation was going to eventually a fun spot of awkwardness for Ignis the next time he had a conversation with Summer about some of the work she was doing over on Ravnica these days, wasn't it?

Right now, though, he had to admit, the reasoning that Jace had apparently given did nothing to help settle the swell of pride in his chest, even if what Irrim said after that left him a little deflated in another way.

"Ah." He said, looking a little disconcerted. "When you said they, I thought you'd meant..."

Well, Scientia, that's what you get for still tending toward expecting better of other people than they sometimes deserved. He'd even had a little bit of hope over the idea that they had cared enough to go after her.

"Mmm."

A rare moment, where he was a bit at a loss for what to say, brow furrowed as he finished up the coffee in his mug and went to pour himself some more.

"Well. I certainly want to put that sort of trouble on Chandra or Gideon or Nissa, and I'm genuinely not sure the multiverses would be able to survive two Lilianas in the same rough."

Coughcoughcough.

[blueblackbrat]

Was that the sound of muffled screaming coming from somewhere?

"Oh, I don't know if they even bothered to let either of my parents know. It was low odds that Mother would bestir herself and Jace always has reasons why he's too busy to come see me. If they wanted to actually get me in a reasonable time rather than on his schedule, it was easier to just go themselves." This was load-bearing studied casualness, thank you.

"But yeah, I can understand why you wouldn't want two Lilianas in one place," she snarked. "They'd wreck your house fighting over who was getting more attention."

She'd meant to leave that there, but she heard her mouth adding, "I bet you'd go after your kids."

[chef_chocobro]

Oh, I'd go after most anyone, Ignis thought, but his mouth was much better at keeping itself shut.

But it seemed generally best to divert away from who might go after whom, and whether or not that was any indication of a person's value when two people who valued themselves too much couldn't be bothered.

"Oh, I have a solution for that," he said, instead, smirking slightly. "I'd just sic Prompto and Gladio on one of them, and then we'll see how she feels about getting more attention.

"You'd like them, I think," he added. "Prompto and Gladio. Your Auntie Chandra and Uncle Gids remind me of them an awful lot. Perhaps we should make some time to introduce you, if you'd like."

[blueblackbrat]

And then you'd have two Lilianas mad at you, Ignis. Was that what you wanted?

"Sure!" Irrim said, perking up after that. "Do you have a Nissa, too, somehow?"

[chef_chocobro]

That was a risk he was willing to take. He was, after all, tragically prone to all that self-sacrifice...

"In a way," Ignis allowed, thinking about a little with a tilt of his head, "actually, yes. But Nell is much more personable and warm than Nissa, though there's certainly an overlap in their particular skills and interests. If Gladio is around this weekend, there's a good chance you'll get to meet her, as well, though I believe they've been spending a lot of time in Soulwood lately. Planting season, you know. Very busy time for a homestead farm."

[blueblackbrat]

"I'll take your word for it," Irrim snorted. "I'm a city girl, and not a Selesnyan one." She had self-respect and avoided cults. "I don't think I've ever seen a farm, never mind actually been on one."

Though none of her assorted parents or guardians were much for a peaceful bucolic life.

She paused. "That's not a request to go visit theirs," she added, suddenly wary. "I'm fine with my ignorance."

[deathsmajesty]

"Well this is an interesting conversation to walk into," Liliana said, entering the kitchen and beelining towards the coffeepot. This morning had been a million years long already, she needed the pickmeup.

And the kiss she bestowed on Ignis was a simple greeting, certainly nothing ridiculous like a steadying action or something. Especially with how she could see Irrim stiffening in her seat, expression clouding over at her entrance.

"You are a lifesaver, my darling," she said.

And let it never be said that Liliana was a coward, because then she was turning around to talk to Irrim of her own volition. "And good morning to you, Irrim, now that I'm properly awake. You caught me off-guard earlier. I'm sure your mother is just as disconcerted in the mornings."

So, you know. Cut this Liliana some slack, maybe?

"Couldn't tell you," Irrim replied, her attention fixed on her plate. "I've never seen her in the mornings. Visits don't start before two or three usually."

That seemed to be a 'no' on the slack.

[chef_chocobro]

"Two or three?" asked Ignis, sounding impressed, and his coffee mug switched hands so that he could better keep one gently poised at the small of Liliana's back. Not that she needed it or anything, of course. Purely for selfish reasons, obviously. "So she's an early riser."

To Liliana, he explained, "Irrim and I were just discussing Nell's farm. We were throwing around the idea of introducing her, but I realized that she and Gladio might be at Soulwood."

He had been spending most of his time still helping to rebuild Innistrad, and then this week, he'd been rather...well, pre-occupied, so he actually wasn't sure what the others might be up to in this moment.

He should definitely give Prompto a call to make sure he wasn't swarmed with an entire brood again...in addition to the slowly growing one he currently had.

[blueblackbrat]

Irrim snorted at Ignis' joke. "I'm sure she gets up special just for me," she drawled. "But yes. We meet up in the afternoon and then it usually ends some time after dinner if I haven't made her storm off by then."

Liliana thought of the conversation she and Ignis had had, that Tuesday after the children had gone home. It's like watching someone do a spectacularly poor job at something and realizing that person is me. And then wondering if I, myself, would do better.

"I have been known to have something of an extravagant temper," she allowed. "...Though - and no offense meant to you, Irrim, darling - but if she's still being run off by a teenager after all this time, that's just embarrassing.

Irrim looked surprised to hear Liliana say something critical of a version of herself...but then, it did let her feel superior and she liked that. "She must have missed that notice."

Or it was just a convenient excuse, but Irrim wasn't really ready to admit that, even to herself.

[chef_chocobro]

Ignis would certainly like to make the argument that being run off by teenagers wasn't the only thing embarrassing about Irrim's Liliana, but absolutely not in present company.

He figured it would also be wise to avoid making any comment regarding tempers while he was at it, too.

"Well," he offered, "hopefully, then, we can certainly avoid having anyone storming off after dinnertime in this household. Which reminds me I should start planning for that. Irrim? Any requests? I feel it's only right to defer to our guest."

[blueblackbrat]

Showing off those important tactician skills to your pseudo-fake-stepdaughter. She already had Irrim making this whole 'trying to make it work' thing harder. Add in a snarky Ignis and she might just give it up and decamp to Ravnica for the weekend.

Listen, Irrim's mother had had thirteen years of practice, Liliana was working on a handful of days.

"A fancy dessert," Irrim said promptly, giving Ignis a smile. "But I guess you won't just let me eat that, even if I win it fair and square."

Liliana glanced between her fiance and her alternate reality daughter sharing some kind of inside joke and something in her chest squeezed. She made the very wise decision to just refuse to interrogate it any further.

[chef_chocobro]

And Ignis had honed this skills long before either of them.

"You guess," Ignis informed Irrim, with a sternness that wasn't really, "correctly. A fancy dessert, yes, but only after dinner. No matter how equitable your presumed victory may be. Liliana, my darling?" His attention shifted her way. "Since our guest has opted to put her bid into dessert...any preferences on your part?"

[deathsmajesty]

Ignis would note that her answer was oddly hesitant. "Well, darling, I was thinking...I don't suppose you have the ingredients for a...seafood paella, perhaps?"

Oh look! Her coffee mug! She was just going to take a deep swallow right now, don't mind if she did!

Irrim watched her mother, head tilted, at this unexpected behavior.

[chef_chocobro]

Ignis did note, and it did make him feel slightly worried, but, well, it was this weekend, it always did seem to bring out...interesting things, didn't it?

But the request also spread something in his chest, though his was warm with a slight touch of a good fluttering ache, and how could he not let that warmth spread to his smile, as he leaned in to give her a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Of course, my love," he said. "Always."

...and if not, well, that was something fixed easily enough, really.

[blueblackbrat]

"There's something weirdly mushy going on," Irrim said, now dealing with her own weird feelings--though she'd been jealous of her mother and the seemingly effortless way she could capture everyone's attention for so long that she barely noticed it anymore. "...Though I don't know what paella is."

She was certain somebody would have an opinion on that.

[chef_chocobro]

Someone certainly did.

"Ah, then." Ignis gave one of his soft huffs of a laugh, lifting his hand from Liliana's back so that he could snap his finger. "It seems I've come up with a new recipeh...for you to try! And something for you to look forward to. It's actually one of my favorite dishes."

And there was a brief flash of a moment, where he tried to make a decision, unsure if he should add what was on the edge of his tongue. That he'd made it for their first proper date. That hesitation in Liliana, though, knowing how guarded she preferred to keep, and that likely extended even to thirteen year olds who would be gone after a few days...

"It's a dish," he said, instead, hand back around Liliana to give her a small squeeze as he said it, "that has utterly transformed my entire life."

[deathsmajesty]

Though that hesitation seemed to have lessened when Ignis agreed with her choice of meal, almost as if she'd been uncharacteristically concerned he might disapprove. She relaxed slightly, leaning against him slightly as she continued to sip her coffee.

Though if he were to ask her why she'd suggested that dish, she wouldn't be able to properly say.

"Though I doubt a simple fruit salad would fulfill Irrim's request for a fancy dessert," she said, smiling up at him.

[blueblackbrat]

"Oh, this is some kind of romance thing between you," she said. "Gross."

Though she found she didn't hate it as much as she usually did when her mother and whichever interchangeable lover might be hanging around flirted with one another. But then, she also wasn't feeling the way she usually did, which was jealous and resentful of that someone was there taking her mother's attention away from her when she received so little of it as it was.

...Well, okay, maybe not feeling it as much. And less for Liliana than of her.

[chef_chocobro]

"We can add a flavored whipped cream," that earlier huff of a laugh had elevated in that moment to a laugh more robust, "or perhaps set it alight en flambe."

And even though he couldn't see it on her face, Ignis knew Liliana was smiling, and so of course he smiled back.

"But, yes, Irrim." Because if she was going to lean into it, he might as well say it after all, "it is. I do hope that doesn't put you off your appetite, because, I assure you, you'll be doing yourself a disservice."

[blueblackbrat]

"I dunno, if you guys are spend all dinner flirting, I might not have a choice," Irrim said, rolling her eyes with the disdain that only a teenager could muster. "Ew, gross."

You know, in case they hadn't gotten that memo the first time she said it.

While Liliana could only lean into to kiss Ignis after a laugh like that, though, in deference to their easily nauseated guest, she kept it soft, sweet, and short.

"Hmm, perhaps that's my plan," she said, turning back to Irrim with an expression of impish delight Irrim had never seen before. "Convince Ignis to make it for you, then claim your portion when your stomach turns. More paella for me."

Irrim snorted. "Nice try," she said, rolling her eyes again. "Like Ignis isn't going to make enough for all of us to have plenty. You just want mine because--"

"--food tastes better stolen," mother and daughter said at the same time, which clearly startled them both.

And then, slowly, exchanged a smile.