Alder's Grove

Written to inventrix's and Kuro-Neko's request/commission after I Should Visit, Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV and Part V; 2500 words

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“...you might consider, in due time, why some people’s children seem to know so much more, coming to Addergoole, than others’.”

Regine watched the woman walk down the stairs, her mink tail bobbing. She watched her open the back door and head out into the back yard, where Feu Drake was telling the toddler some convoluted story.

It was a question she had not given too much thought, she was forced to admit, if only to herself. Some students came in with basic or no educational background; some came in nearly college-educated. Some knew what a Kept was, what a promise was, what hawthorn was. Some learned those things the hard was during the course of their time at Addergoole.

It did make it harder to shock them into Changing, but the tight, Ellehemaei-full environment did what surprise did not.
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Written to inventrix's request/commission after I Should Visit, Part I, Part II and Part III; 1,676 words

Kurt bowed low, with an overdone flourish. “Welcome to Doomsday, lady and gentleman.” Never had those words been spoken so cheerfully. “I do hope you enjoy your stay.”

He sounded like a movie. Regine raised her eyebrows at him in the gesture that had quelled so many Addergoole students. This child, however, had no common sense, and was unconcerned. He winked at her playfully and turned back to the sidewalk, moving forward with a hop and a skip.

“First up is the dining hall and otherwise gathering-around place.” Kurt gestured negligently at the building.

“A church?” Regine was honestly shocked, enough that it showed in her voice. The building was tall, pale, and had a steeple -- every bit like an old country church.
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Written to inventrix's request/commission after I Should Visit and Part I; 1,431 words

The buildings were almost entirely stone, or, at least, things that would qualify as Eperu; according to Regine’s records, that was one of Cynara’s best Words, although Meentik had not been one of her Words at all. They were made with skill and grace, not generally more than three stories tall, and their architecture echoed both Hopi buildings and northeastern brownstones. Bright banners and signs hung from many walls, and the shops lining Main Street seemed to be doing a brisk business. Regine noticed three clothing vendors, each with their own specific niche market; a yarn-and-thread-and-cloth store with three people spinning in the center of the store and one weaving in the back; a baker, a butcher, a candlestick-maker; a cheese store with the fragrant odors of ripe cheese wafting out. The list went on. Nothing was particularly high-tech, but everything that one needed to live somewhat comfortably seemed represented.

“It seems to be a thriving town,” Regine allowed carefully. “I do, ah, see some people who appear poor.”
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For kunama_wolf's prompt to my December Bingo Card - it fills the "evening the odds" square.

Addergoole has a landing page here on DW and here on LJ; the original series lives here.

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1800, somewhere in England

Feu Drake eyed the woman in front of him over his tea. "You are an interesting woman."

"Thank you." She sipped her tea in turn, decorous despite the shackles on her wrists. "And you are an interesting young man... Ignazio, was it?"

"That's as good a name as any."

"'Fire,' jae'Fire-Drake. You are not interested in subtlety, are you?"

"I am not certain jae is appropriate here, Miss... Attwater, was it?"
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See wiki here, for Nicor/knucker, and wiki here for tearoom.

Feu Drake teaches Law at Addergoole.

First of two I want to write for inventrix's prompt "Pellinore."

This Pellinore has appeared in June Again,, Boom, and referenced in Legacy.

As first referenced in Loose Ends and Tying Off (these two stories reference slavery and mistreatment), the Addergoole staff make visits to graduated students to check up on them.


Cynara wasn't surprised when Professors Drake and Pelletier showed up at her doorstep. By now the staff had to have noticed what she was doing, and, while she had gotten good marks for being one of the more level-headed students in her year, she was, after all, part of Boom. If anyone merited looking-in-on, it was her and her crew.

Pellinore, on the other hand, seemed both startled and upset when he opened the door. "Profe..." He stopped, as if unsure if saying that was giving away some secret. "What?"

"May we come in?" Trust Professor Drake to look over Pellinore's shoulder like he wasn't even there and ask Cya. She was glad the kids were with Leo today. She wasn't sure this wouldn't get unpleasant.
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