10497/Show Me the Way to Go Home

Show Me the Way to Go Home
Date of Scene:	26 February 2022
Location:	E05 - Kian's Dorm - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Three quarters of the birds go home.  Items are transferred both ways.  Terry will wake up and have a difference of a pinion.
Cast of Characters:	Kian, Terry O'Neil

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Kian has posed:
    Not because of any insistence from his homeworld, but because of his own sense that they're pushing their luck the longer his kinfolk are on Earth, Kían has finally insisted that it's time for his friend and siblings to go back to Kyshán.
    He's also made a few promises about helping Terry recover from the strain of opening a hole stretching six parsecs away, but that couldn't be helped.  There's no question that the Imperial Interstellar Corps was working out the details of sending a ship to Earth if it was needed… but picking up three misbehaving birdfolk under the direct care of the Rhyták t'Kiáre and who had direct access to a local rhy'thar holder who could send them home at will did not constitute a mission that was "needed".
    And really, the Akiár Imperium doesn't really want to make contact.  Kían's presence on Earth is entirely accidental.
    Shíri, Keth and Kála are probably in for one hell of a debriefing when they get home.
    Which is on none of their minds, gathered as they are in Kían's room, with Terry, and a small pallet of chocolate to fulfil a few requests and keep his family stocked.
    Kían is routing translations through his computer system via mindport: the others have surrendered their translators, and Kían has returned them to Donna—except for the one he's wearing.  <<Kyshán is going to be so boring,>> Shíri complains.
    <<Yeah,>> Keth agrees.  <<And I can't wait!>>
    Kían can't help but laugh.  "There, see, Keth proves there is a sane one in my family!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    In truth, Terry would love to be at that debriefing.  It means he gets to witness how Kian's kinfolk explain Harley to another world.  That alone would be worth the price of admission.
    "He takes after you."  The Cheshire grins.  "That's why he's got Shiri to spice up his life."  He gives her a wink and a thumbs-up.  "We will have to do this again sometime.  Maybe you can come visit us for a holiday like Thanksgi—"  Pause.  "Christmas!  Christmas is lovely, it has sparkly lights and singing and the yummiest drink called Wassail, you'll love it!"

Kian has posed:
    <<We'll do it in the summer when the weather is sensible,>> Kála says, with the visible agreement of Shíri and Keth.  <<It's an interesting planet, but it's qokh cold!>>
    "I've told them that," Kían says, "but they won't change the weather for us."
    <<Well, they should.  What's the point of being a godling if you can't get your way on little things like the weather?>>
    Kían just stares at his sister.  "Don't."
    <<And there's going to have to be another qihár match here,>> Kála says firmly.  <<Maybe next time we can bring the whole team and play proper Akiár against Earth!>>
    "That's… up to Terry, if he can hold it open long enough for everyone to come through.  And remember, he's got to do it for your return trip, too!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Terry crosses his arms.  "Please, Kian!  Holding it open is not an issue.  I can hold it open for quite a while.  Once the connection is made, it's made.  The thing that drains me is the opening and closing at such a distance.  At least…."  A speculative look comes to him.  "Not without being plugged into a source of chaos magic…."
    "In any case, I hope you will give a glowing report of the place so that you can come visit without issue!  It really was an unexpected but great pleasure having you here."  He glances at Kala and grins.  "And I can assure you Gar enjoyed the visit just as much, too."

Kian has posed:
    <<Your teammates should come visit,>> Shíri offers.  <<I bet you can use the quiet time sometimes.  It gets a little, uh, active around here sometimes.>>
    "Understatement of the millennium," Kían says half under his breath.
    Keth looks up, then out the window, then reaches for Terry's shoulders… then yanks his hands back, remembering that cat brain is intense.  <<Keep our brother safe, will you?>> he asks, quite seriously.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "Something can be arranged."  Terry nods.  "They'll probably leave in aternating shifts, I can't imagine they would be comfortable leaving the world unprotected."  The cat nods.
    Terry smiles at Keth.  "Hey. I love your brother and I always do my best to keep him safe.  He hasn't gotten injured significantly at all since he's been with us!  And we went through the literal under-world and fought dead monsters.  He will do fine."
    Tilting his head, he asks, "You've got my word of honor!"

Kian has posed:
    "I can't imagine Robin or Rae being very comfortable on Kyshán, but maybe they need some peace and quiet," Kian muses, "if they can stand it for more than two minutes."
    He watches Keth, hides a smile when he backs off from physical contact with the Cheshire Cat, and finally says, "We all look out for each other.  It's safer that way, if only because we never know what's coming next.  I'm not going to say don't worry because you will anyway, but if I'm going to be on an insane planet, I'm surrounded by the right people."
    <<That doesn't make me feel as much better as you wanted it to,>> Keth says, ignoring Shíri's snicker.
    <<And you're going to keep Gar out of trouble too, yes?>> Kála puts in.
    Kían glances to Terry.  "Uh, as best we can…."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "My other boyfriend gets into whatever trouble he wants to get.  We always get him out, though."  Terry grins, pretending very much that HE is the one who doesn't get into that much trouble.  He winks.  "But he's a resilient one.  Don't worry too much about him!"
    He glances at Kian.  "Is there anything else we should bring across?  I do have some ABBA CDs…." he teases.

Kian has posed:
    "And what will they play them on, Terry tenár'h?" Kían asks.  "Do you know how many days worth of music I have on my personal computer?  Anyway, I have a fresh load of chocolate ready to go through and I ordered the kirat to prepare a couple things to send through this way.  I think Dad said the viceroy had sent a payment along for more chocolate, too.  We'll need to find someone who can exchange precious metals for your local units.  We don't really have money the same way you do.  Stop that!" he says at Shiri, who was trying to sneak a chocolate for herself.  "Wait until you bring them to our parents' and enjoy them together!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    The Cheshire grins.  "Oh, that's not hard, Kitco buys and sells metals, the rarer the better.  Miss Lane wanted me to look into—"
    He pauses and glances at Shiri, and then smirks.  There is a gesture in mid-air, and a tiny rabbit hole opens, dropping a little egg.  Three of them.  "We call them 'Kinder' eggs.  They're chocolates shaped like eggs with a treat inside.  I figured it'd have made a good 'see you soon' gift, so…."  He offers them his eggs.  "That way Kian won't get all upset because you're touching the hoard."

Kian has posed:
    Kían snickers.  "I just don't want them getting lost on the way through the hole," he says.  "I think we're probably about ready to—"
    Before he can finish that, he gets swarmed by his siblings.  <<Be safe, little brother!>>
    <<Stay safe, or Kála will never let us hear the end of it!>>
    Kála laughs.  <<Better believe I won't!>>

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "There is no getting lost in the Rabbit Hole, you big dork."  Terry rolls his eyes and sighs, beginning to gather his chaos magic.  "It's point A to B.  The tunnel is just there for dramatic effect."
    He awws.  "Look at you, your feathers are all ruffled!"  He is so getting zapped—

Kian has posed:
    "My family are weirdness attractors.  If it's possible to get lost inside one of your Rabbit Holes, my sister will find a way."
    <<Kían!>>
    Kála folds her arms and smirks at her.  <<He has a point.  You would.>>
    Before Shíri can object, Keth adds, <<They're right, you know.>>
    <<It's not my fault!>> Shíri protests.
    Kían chuckles, and turns to Terry.  "I… we should probably do this before something happens.  Are you ready?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    A bright purple light blazes in the room, and after a few seconds of roiling chaos magic, a portal opens to the other side, the light of a distant world shining through the threshold.
    "Ladies and gentleman: the door to paradise," he says with a grin, no visible strain made to open the hole.  Which is being done completely for show.  Totally.

Kian has posed:
    There are a last few hugs, of course, and probably some further telepathic communication privately between the Akiár'yw.  Keth is through first, followed by Kála, and then Shíri—who, being last, is stuck dragging through the chocolate shipment.
    Waiting on the other side are three boxes, one small, one medium and one large, and Keth and Kála pass them through to Kían quickly.  Whether or not Terry is showing signs of strain, they know it still has to be an effort, and knocks him out for a day or so.
    Ultimately, there are three birdfolk standing in Kían's home on Kyshán waving, and one birdman standing in his room on Earth, waving back.  Kían slips the translator off to exchange a few words in his language and then… they're home, and Kian exhales.  "They are safe," he says very quietly, essentially to himself… and starts fussing with the boxes.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "Good!" Terry says with a grin, and collapses the hole once everyone was where they were supposed to be.  "Because I'm just going to… take a nap now…."
    On the floor, apparently.  It isn't so much a fall as a graceful curl-up and conk out.

Kian has posed:
    "I should haf expected that," Kían says; he hasn't put the translator back on yet.
    The first order of business, then, is to get Terry into the bed, because sleeping on the floor isn't as comfortable.  Then he puts the small and medium boxes out of the way—those can wait.
    He opens the large box, revealing a wingset like Terry had gotten to use on his world.  He thinks he can get it to work through his portable computer here, even if it won't have the speed or range it would under the control of the house systems on Kyshan.  Kían's sure Terry will enjoy being able to go flying with himself and Gar, even if they have to stay within range of the tower.
    Once Terry is situated in bed, Kían gets the kind of smile he could have learned from only one chaos cat… and straps the wingset onto Terry while he sleeps.
    It should be interesting for Terry to wake up with Kían curled under one of his wings, instead of the other way around.