T - Jenn, Nako, Xenon, Bee, Lucca

[carcinoGeneticist]

For a moment, it was as though the bottom had fallen out of Sophie's world. She felt her expression fall, though she willed herself to be strong, be stoic, be more than her age might indicate that she should be. But it was so hard, for the first time in her admittedly short life! She had gotten herself all excited about something, but she'd managed to prematurely ruin that by sneaking along on the trip that had let her meet Lyr in the first place.

All the same, hope didn't quite die. Slowly, Sophie turned to look at Mikael, her expression pleading. She never got anything, and she never complained about it. She just - wanted - this one thing!! Her ears drooped, her eyes begged.

He lived up to her expectations. Sophie's face split into a wide, awkward, and overjoyed smile. "You can come!! You can COME!!" It was an incredible display of emotion from the girl, and she threw her arms around the canine in an excited and poorly-executed hug. "Just talk to your Auntie and get your things and meet us at the carriage, okay?"

[The Jenn]

Amused despite herself by her daughter's jubilant display, Donnie allowed her a moment of excitement towards her Uncle in a less-than-seemly fashion. Better that it wasn't at lunch, but, well... ah well. She went to bother a waiter for a pencil and a napkin.

A few moments later, she had a carefully written address and brief series of directions, as they had been given to her in her letter of direction by the Mayor. The carriage stop was apparently one of the largest in the city, and certainly in the area. It wouldn't be especially difficult to find their little group once she arrived, not with her human form.

She returned to the table and placed the scrap of napkin carefully in front of the girl, who'd been introduced to her as "Lyr" by her daughter. They would no doubt make a more appropriate acquaintance later. "After you speak to your guardian and obtain the necessary items for your travel, please join us here," she said calmly. "You have less than an hour. I would recommend hurrying."

Making sure that her daughter made good on the bathroom break, she finished off her food and settled the check. Then she stood, glanced about for McDuck to see if he had already left, and departed the restaurant with her little group. Their servants and guard would be meeting them by the carriage stop. It would be a good little walk to get there.

[Nako]

Well, what an -ordeal- all this was becoming. After taking care of necessary biological functions and tidying himself up, Mikael found his way to his carriage with a certain feeling of fatigue that washed over him. Perhaps he could nap in the carriage on their way to the lakes.

Two kids to watch after… oy. At the time it seemed like such a noble idea; something he so eagerly would take on under Donnie's scrutinizing eye. Now, he was realizing how much of a chore it really could be; his hobnobbing with the locals and important folk of this function would be severely limited as he played the part of nanny. Heh. The Jack nanny.

But he still couldn't ignore how -important- a job it was, and what an important thing it was for Donnie to entrust him, a he, to watch after her child… and someone else's half yarrow child at that. Family or not, that didn't change what she naturally thought of men being from her upbringing. "Suits…." Mikael groaned, scratching the back of his neck with his overlong fingers.

[Bee]

That was the difficult part, when she was back at her own table, address in hand, and then leaving the restaurant quietly, in the company of her equally quiet aunt. The dread mounted with every silent moment, as Illyria obsessively ran every possible argument in her favor through her head. She had no confidence in her ability to convince her aunt to let her do anything, but she had to do it.

They made it all the way back to their own quarters before she spoke.

"I suppose," she said, with a level emphasis on each word, "that you expect me to let you go."

She stared resolutely at the floor. "I don't expect anything."

"I heard you talking," she continued, and Lyr sneaked a little glance up, to try to read her expression, to see whether that had been a good or a bad thing. She melted into a small puddle of relief when she saw that perhaps--perhaps--it was good. A good opportunity, her aunt went on, to learn from a nice family (the unspoken: a nice Yarrow family; a nice important family), but her aunt's logic had absolutely no bearing on her happiness when she finally got around to saying she could go.

She gushed her thanks. Most of her things were still in her suitcase--they had barely began their trip to the capitol, after all--and she unpacked and packed three times before she could finally let herself believe she had things properly organized and ready to go, even in the rush.

She hurried to the carriage stop, scanning the crowd for Sophie once she got there--and, more logically, she supposed, her mother, who would be easier to spot.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Sophie could hardly contain her excitement. Despite that, she was the perfect picture of behavior for the next period of time, doing anything her mother or uncle asked of her without complaint. When they were at the carriage stop waiting for the girl to arrive, she gave Mikael an awkward hug, pressing her face against his cheek. "Thanks," she whispered into his fur, then moved back to a calm sitting position to wait.

There wasn't long to wait, though to the girl's mind it seemed like hours.

A friend! She had a new friend, all her own. This was exciting on several different levels. She'd heard some of the palace staff whisper, before, that Sophie's only friend would forever be her own sister. She loved her sister, it was true. But she'd always wanted a friend. Now she had one, and more than that: Lyr was beautiful.

Sophie spied the blue hair bobbing through the crowd and waved a broad forpaw, that wide smile making its way onto her face once more.

[Lucca]

Though Graeme felt the Queen's eyes on him on her way back to her own table, the Duck very carefully didn't return her look this time, though the feathers on the back of his neck prickled. He wondered why she was so interested in him. Was it just because he was going to be present at the event? Or was she actually curious about him, as a businessman? The thought was strangely gratifying. It wasn't often he drew the attention of nobles. Again, he usually went out of his way not to, but for one blissful moment he couldn't recall why.

Then he remembered that she was the most powerful Spade in the world and could easily take his life with a word. Or, worse, put him out of business. The thought made him nearly choke on his tea. He kept his composure however, dabbing at his beak with a napkin, and paid for his own meal and left. Back to the hotel he'd stayed in last night to get his things and prepare for the journey, and then off to the carriage stop. He saw the Queen and her entourage, of course...it was hard to miss her as she cut a rather imposing and important figure in her human form.

But Graeme saw no reason to approach them, though he glanced at them from the corner of his eye from time to time. Apparently they'd picked up another little girl. A friend for the Queen's daughter. He again toyed with the idea of going over and introducing himself. Bah! When was it like him to be so shy? He took the pocket watch out of his coat and glanced at the time. There was still a bit before the carriages arrived.

With a pleasant smile and a surprised expression, as if he'd just seen them, he walked over to the group at a casual pace, cane tapping on the ground in uneven intervals. "Ach, good day again, Your Majesty! Pardon the intrusion." He gave her a proper bow this time, and then turned to the others of her party. "And good day to all of you. Ah'm Graeme McDuck, owner of McDuck Enterprises, one o'the sponsors of the event that Ah believe we'll all be attending." He offered his hand for the one with the mask to shake. A mask meant he was from the Bog? He was a good bit lighter on his fur color than most Graeme had met of that region.

[Nako]

Mikael had been just about to get into his carriage when the duck intervened. For a brief moment, the tired coyote hybrid's ears went back with something akin to annoyance; but it was quite brief. Travel fatigue, no doubt.

"Ah yes, Mr. McDuck, I recognize the name." No doubt he had several items back home that had the company stamp of this man. "Mikael, a Jack and Artist of the Court of Spades."

In working with at least a few other Morganberries, it was knowing of their affinity for commerce and other ambitious exploits that helped him devise his next comment. "Then I suppose a congratulations is in order for investing in what we all expect will be a most lucrative business. It is good to see the Spades juggle the money around a bit." Though the mask shielded the expression on his face, his voice obviously held a good natured grin at the last part of that comment.

His long fingered hand reached out and gave the man a firm, yet not crushing grip. It was a proper handshake he'd been cultivating for a while. Still, it was one that would be made easier if he could one day obtain a biped or even a human form.

[The Jenn]

Their servants from the palace of Spades found them without undue trouble, one of the guards bowing and excusing herself while the other took up a position near her Queen. Their attendants, one male and one female, remained in charge of the vast majority of the luggage.

There really weren't as many people here as Donnie would have expected. It must not be an especially heavy travel day. Mmm. But near the Capital fountain was one of the largest carriage routes in the city, or so she had been told. Horses were refreshed, passengers transferred routes, and all manner of businesses had positioned themselves to take advantage of displaced travelers and tourists. Still, every city had to have its off-days.

Sophie's movement caught her attention and she followed the line of the girl's sight to the blue-haired form headed their way. "Ah, excellent. You made very good time."

Part of her mind warred on seating arrangements. On the one hand, both children were young ladies and it would be appropriate to place them in her carriage for the ride. On the other hand, she was still mildly annoyed with her daughter and she had placed the girls under Mikael's supervision. Whether it was her mother or her uncle, Sophie would have to stay under the eye of a watchful relative. Poor child. Heh. She deserved it. Mikael it was. She would inform them when the Selkie coachmen signaled their intent to depart.

A recently-familiar voice to her right caught the Queen's attention and she turned to regard Graeme with a polite expression. "Ah, Mr. McDuck. Your arrival is not an intrusion, especially as I see that our travel plans coincide. Likely the Mayor arranged things for just that purpose."

And she would have to give Mikael a bit of a verbal pat on the back later for his knowledge of current events.

[Lucca]

Graeme was immensely relieved that the Queen didn't take it ill that he'd invited himself into her company. Funny how royalty was never as fickle as it seemed in the papers. Or maybe it was just him with his odd little paranoias. He was allowed that, after some of the Cards he'd met in his life. Especially considering how much he truly had to lose. He'd earned his fortune, and he wasn't going to let anyone take it from him.

"Ah don't doubt tha' he did," Graeme replied to the Queen, though he shook the Boggie's hand. Quite an interesting grip...Mikael had oddly long fingers. It was rather par for the course that he'd hard of him. The Duck was used to that, so he nodded. Sadly, he didn't think he'd heard of the artist. The Duck had been known to sponser the occasional art show and the like, and there had been an interesting mix up a few years back involving a painting...but really, it wasn't something Graeme found a lot of time for, sadly.

"Charmed, Your Excellency," he said with a smile, withdrawing his hand and nodding his head politely. He allowed himself a bit of a chuckle at Mikeal's little joke. He liked this fellow already. "Aye...nothing's quite as good for the economy as a little gold changing paws." Or, in this case, a lot of gold. Or, what would be a lot of it to the average Card. But he expected it to pay off in the end.

[Bee]

She ran the rest of the way to Sophie when she saw the girl waving, the suitcase bumping around awkwardly behind her. The sight of her new friend made her uncommonly happy--perhaps it was the thrill of the trip, too.

"Sophie! I'm so excited," she said, breathlessly, and then gave a somewhat bashful smile at the Queen's small compliment. The man she had seen the Queen talking to at the restaurant showed up moments later, and for a moment Lyr processed that she was the only odd Suit in the party. Her brain found this curious but didn't know what else to do with the information other than feel a little awkward, so it set it aside. At least this meant that there were five of them instead of four.

She stayed close to Sophie, feeling more comfortable at her side, content to say hello to the adults and let them do adult things.

"I thought there would be more people here," she said, looking around. She wasn't sad to see her expectations subverted, but weren't cities supposed to--bustle?