who will be coming?

[small_magics]

Aianon has made a plant in the open airless space above the surface of Thilanushinyel. It is a very, very large plant - some dragons will be attending the party, after all, even if Ansharil in particular is going to be assorted small things and stay on Sarion's person the bulk of the time.

The locals will be Sarion, her beloveds, their other beloved, the five conjured dragons (and their Bondmates, where applicable: Virgivere and Lissa), and Liselen - Magania has, as usual, declined, and so far no Bell party has featured Bell parents.

Amariah is bringing her boyfriend and spontaneous daughter and two of the spontaneous daughter's friends, as well as an Alethian instance of the Rupert template.

Shell Bell is bringing Pearl and Screwdriver.

Golden is bringing her usual large contingent, as usual not including her husband but including her daughter and daughter's grown fosterling (the other remaining at home) and his wolf, both mothers-in-law and one father-in-law, adopted siblings, staff members including the Joker and Nathan, and the children of the aforementioned.

Glass is bringing both wives, all three daughters, Kanim, and her cat. She invited Icarin and Valeria, but their parents are not willing to let them gallivant into other worlds unsupervised and had a scheduling conflict.

Stella's bringing a smattering of people including Alice, Anna, Sandy, Libby, Bridget, her college roommate Janine, and Lazarus.

Tab is bringing Aelise (but not Kers) and Luhan.

Etty is bringing only Nona.

Aether, likewise, brings no one but Celo.

Pattern comes with Ripper, Slipstick, Queenie, and Ghosty.

Aegis is accompanied by her four-bodied boyfriend, Merryweather, Whitlock, and Howlett.

Aurora comes with Brilliance, Lexi with her Device Persica, Agent Honey with her Device Adularia, and Beth.

Rose brings her husband and three children and her former apprentice, Luc.

Angela brings her husband, her four children, several of her friends, and some of those friends' children and grandchildren with and without wings. Keziah also brings a friend.

Juliet shows up with Soph, Minus, Red, Giles, James, Virginia, Minnie, Ike, and Val.

Cam brings Jellybean and Tilly and stops there.

And from unBelled worlds hail additional Sherlocks and Tonies, Darcy, Matilda, Pepper, and Eights.

Comments

[subastra]

"Well, that hardly sounds fair."

[telesonorous]

Helen laughs. "Maybe it isn't."

[subastra]

"So what are you, secretly a hundred?"

[telesonorous]

"Not-at-all-secretly thirteen."

[subastra]

"And I suppose Shura is approximately yea big too and she's going to make me feel like I'm already arthritic and forgetting why I walked into rooms?"

[telesonorous]

"Well, the second part's up to you."

[subastra]

"I might risk it. Where is she?"

[telesonorous]

"I have no idea, but I can look!"

[subastra]

"I wasn't really expecting to be interesting enough for two universes to have me in them," muses Serah, craning her neck to look for a younger version of herself.

[telesonorous]

Helen, of course, lifts herself on her cloud-pine until she is high enough to survey most of the room.

[subastra]

Shura is over in a corner, talking to Lexi, not that Helen is liable to recognize Lexi.

[telesonorous]

Helen zips over.

"Hi, Shura! I found your alt! She's from Samaria and she's human and forty or something."

[subastra]

"Wow! Really?"

[lexicality]

"Man, everybody has alts but me."

[telesonorous]

"Aww," says Helen. "Anyway, Shura, want to come meet her? Her name's Serah!"

[subastra]

"That's a lot like my name! I guess that makes sense? Anyway, yeah, sure!"

[telesonorous]

"C'mon! She's over there," says Helen, pointing.

[subastra]

Shura follows Helen.

"You don't really look forty-something," she says consideringly upon coming face-to-face with Serah.

"That's because I'm not," says Serah, with a reproachful glance at Helen.

[telesonorous]

"You said you weren't forty but you didn't say what you were," says Helen.

[subastra]

"Thirty-six."

"That sounds closer," agrees Shura. "And you don't have a daemon either. This doesn't get any less weird anytime soon, does it?"

"I don't have a what now?"

(Nicoa is not in immediate evidence.)

[telesonorous]

"A daemon," says Helen. "People have them in Alethia. They're like your soul walking around outside your body as an animal. My Kalavar's a teratorn, and Shura's Nicoa is a ptarmigan."

[subastra]

"I don't know what either of those are," says Serah. "Why would your soul do that? Isn't that dangerous?"

[telesonorous]

"That's just how it works in our world. It's dangerous sometimes, but I still wouldn't want it any other way."

[subastra]

"And it's really weird that you don't have one. What would it be, I wonder?" says Shura.

"I couldn't begin to tell you. If most worlds don't have them isn't it yours that's weird?"

"Hmph."

[telesonorous]

"Weird is relative," says Helen. "I could show you yours if you want."