Staff Meeting [Friday Afternoon]

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe had met with the teenagers, now it was time to meet with the grownups after handwavily messaging them all about the meeting. There were more sweets among the sandwiches and salad for the staff - donuts, cookies, etc. - but no alcohol among the drinks unless someone brought their own. With this group, she pretty much expected it.

"Hello folks, thank you all for coming. I know some of you are very busy," she said. "I wanted everyone to have a chance to get together in case any problems have come up in your classes, or with any of your students. Also, we're going to be getting ready for the summer sessions soon, so be thinking about what you might want to teach and who you might want to teach it with. That's all I've got in the way of speechifying, so if you need anything, just flag me down."

[Going OCD-free today!]

Comments

[never-dull.livejournal.com]

"Thefts?" Hannibal frowned. It was difficult not to notice her lack of Jewel, but he hadn't realized it had been stolen. The land and deer could be anything - "theft" meant a person involved. "What happened?"

[glacial_queen]

"I don't know," Karla said tightly. "I was napping in my office after doing Craft in the preserve to try to figure out what was going on with the land. I fell asleep wearing my Jewel and woke up to a broken chain. My Ebon-gray was gone."

And when she found out who had taken it, she was going to call you, Hannibal, and demand that you cater a goddamn feast.

"Kayla was with me. Whoever stole my necklace had to pass by Kayla--" She couldn't finish that thought.

[never-dull.livejournal.com]

Hannibal offered her a strong arm if she wanted a hug, but didn't insist. "Kayla is unharmed?"

He would be pleased to cater that for you, Karla.

[glacial_queen]

"She's fine," Karla said, taking him up on that hug. "Thank the Darkness, she's fine. But when I just think of what could have been stolen--"

Of course, if Kayla had been kidnapped, they wouldn't be having this conversation. There wouldn't be an island left to have this conversation on. It would have been a race to see who could cause more destruction first, Karla or Jono.

"Kayla was chewing on a toy when I woke up. The only thing that had been disturbed was my Jewel."

[never-dull.livejournal.com]

A hug it was.

"Have you checked with Portalocity? It would be good to know if any portals to or from Glacia have opened recently." If not, it might mean that whoever had taken the Jewel didn't know its significance.

[glacial_queen]

"None," Karla said. "Other than the ones I took. Warren checked first thing."

And Karla hadn't caught any Kaeleeran psychic scents in her office. Of course, if they'd been fast and professional, there wouldn't have been anything to catch.

"And the squirrels were no help, either. They were all conveniently off playing tag with the gremlins. And none of the gremlins saw anything, either."

[never-dull.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps a common jewel thief, then. They may not even know what it is they've stolen." Hannibal nodded at Parker. "If anyone can help you, I imagine she can." He shook his head. "We've several light-fingered students, but I can't see any of them behind this."

[glacial_queen]

"That's the problem," Karla agreed. "I fell asleep in my office because it's safe. I mean, I know I don't know everyone on the island anymore, but it's always been somewhere where I could go and be safe."

Glacia hadn't been that place in years. Still wasn't, not really. And now, the island was proving that it wasn't a safe place, either.

[never-dull.livejournal.com]

"If you would feel safer, you're welcome to stay with me," Hannibal offered. "Jono's been spending a lot of time there lately, so you would have both of us as well as Warren."

He somehow didn't think she'd be heading home until she found her Jewel.

"This may sound ludicrous, but have you contacted the police? If whoever stole it used conventional means, perhaps conventional detective work could find some evidence."

[glacial_queen]

"You wouldn't mind if Kayla stays, too?" Karla asked. She looked away before adding, "And...are you sure Jono would want me there?"

They had some unfinished business between them, after all.

[never-dull.livejournal.com]

"I would be honored to have you both. Or all three, if Warren is still here." He raised an eyebrow at her second question. "Is there a reason why he shouldn't? Jono counts you as one of his best friends."

[glacial_queen]

Karla gave Hannibal a wan smile. "From what I gathered over coffee yesterday, you and he had a conversation. And, well, he's not best pleased with me for not telling him sooner. Or maybe for telling you not to tell him. I'm not quite sure. We agreed that it was a conversation that we should have when Kayla wasn't around."

Because there would be yelling, yes.

[never-dull.livejournal.com]

"Ah, yes." Hannibal gave her a rueful smile. "I did mention it to him, though I made sure to clarify you hadn't stopped me from saying anything, only encouraged me not to. But regardless, he still thinks very highly of you." He grinned a bit wider. "And you're welcome to use the basement level for your conversation if you like. I can keep Kayla distracted on the second floor."

Or vice versa, but he doubted Kayla would be terribly impressed by power tools and cardboard boxes. Or even his wine collection.

[glacial_queen]

But it was such an excellent collection! Babies just had no appreciation for things.

"That still doesn't make up for not telling him." Karla shrugged, unable to properly return Hannibal's grin. "I knew he was going to be hurt and upset when he found out. Everything has a price." She shrugged. "I knew what this one was going to be when I agreed to stay quiet."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"It wasn't me," Parker said, popping out of nowhere. "It's pretty but too personal. And babies are frightening."

Holy crap SO SCARY.

[glacial_queen]

Karla jumped, hand twitching in an aborted gesture to call a blast of power.

"Hasn't anyone told you not to startle people?" she asked, other hand clutching at her heart.

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"Yes." And your point is? Parker gave Karla a mystified look. "Would anyone want to sell this, or would there be a collector for it somewhere? We could track it down that way, maybe." Here, Karla. Have a donut. Parker didn't mean to unnerve you.

[glacial_queen]

Karla spotted the weird sugar cereal on the top of the donut and demurred. "I'm good, thanks."

Seriously, though, who ate donuts covered in cereal?

"It looks like a gemstone, so probably," Karla said. "And it's a reservoir for my Craft, so if there's someone out there who can figure out how to tap into it, it's worth far more than any jewel on this whole bloody planet."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

People who are sort of secretly nicely homicidal eight-year-olds at heart?

"So if someone knew, a ton of money, if they didn't, still a lot." Parker frowned, nibbling. "But... that sounds complicated. Would a lot of the magic people know how to do that?"

[glacial_queen]

"I don't know," Karl admitted reluctantly. The idea that her Jewel had a monetary value made her slightly squeamish. It was like putting a price tag on her heart. "My Craft doesn't work that way, but that doesn't mean someone else's can't. I'm sure that there's probably a whole school of magic that works by draining the power out of an item."

Karla suddenly had a horrifying mental image of someone draining her Jewel until it cracked. She paled and abruptly sat down, knees weak.

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"You really should eat something. You don't look so good." Parker frowned, and offered a cookie. "Nobody hurt you? Or your little girl? They didn't drug you to make you sleep, did they?"

[glacial_queen]

A cookie, Karla would take, with an appreciative nod and a smile that had a lot more in common with a grimace.

"No. I haven't been sleeping much. Kayla's teething, Warren--my fiancé--is molting, I'm having nightmares that I can't remember...and then I got here and exhausted myself trying to save the preserve from dying off completely."

Her lips thinned ever so slightly. "We're fine, thank you. Believe me, had anyone harmed Kayla, it would be VERY apparent."

What with the screaming and sobbing and fires and sirens...

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"Good. I'm glad." She didn't want to be *around* babies, but no one should ever hurt them. "How were you saving the preserve? I just thought that was normal."

City girl here, not really at all in tune with anything like nature.

[glacial_queen]

"I'm a Queen," Karla said with a shrug, like that would explain anything. "Among my gifts is the ability to Heal the land. I can feel it, when the land is sick and dying. It's one of the reasons I don't like most cities here on Earth."

Pumped full of poisons and pollutants and then sealed away. It was like hearing someone screaming through several thick walls.

"The trees and plants in the preserve aren't sleeping through the winter--they're dead. It didn't matter how much power I poured into them. Nothing changed. I couldn't fix it."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

Parker just barely followed that, but did fasten onto the main point. "So what does fix it? Bringing in new plants? Or fertilizer, or something?"