Happily ever after with a little flavor

[missrecalled_mods]

Sponsors for the ship? So... Sponsor'ship?

Rare had an hour seemed so long on the Isle, or carried so much hope. The King and Queen spoke to all who wished to speak with them, and to Yen Sid. At one point they even opened the barrier enough to go back to the ship where they conferred inside a silence spell with Sylvando. And once more for the King and Queen to return a few minutes later. Then back on the Isle they pulled a few individuals aside once more. Oddly, not those from the Isle this time. Aqua first. Then Lea. Then Æn'kae.

Finally the hour came to an end and the King and Queen called for everyone's attention. Mal stepped forward to address everyone.

"Alright, so here is how this is going to work," she told them without preamble, once she had their attention. The wind pulled at her purple hair, pulling it like a banner behind her. "Here are the terms by which we will take the people we will name to Auradon. Each person will be assigned a sponsor. If you want to change sponsors you may let us know once we are back in Auradon. Your Sponsor will be watching out for you. You need to check in with him, her, or them, regularly. How often that will be will be between you and your sponsor, but the sponsors will report to King Ben and myself. Behave and you'll get to stay in Auradon, and we will let you know when your probation is over and you no longer need to check in with your sponsor. Break the rules of Auradon, hurt anyone, steal.... depending on how bad the act and how many were harmed, we may, with your sponsor decide to give you a warning... or you may wind up back here. This is a chance to prove that the sorting magic was wrong, that you are good people. Or can become good people given the chance." Mal looked and sounded like she was clearly waiting to make her own judgments.

"As I list each name, please go to your sponsor if he, she, or they is here. If not, come stand with the king and I."

She took a deep breath. "Xion, your sponsor is Lea." she pointed to him, suspecting that she didn't actually have to, but it was good to set a pattern.

"Utau, you are with Sylvando, who is on the ship so come join us." Then a bit of a wicked grin. "He's also keeping an eye on Nadeshiko and Nagihiko, why not let him keep an eye on all three of you," she said, knowing she was throwing fuel on an explosion waiting to happen. But she trusted Sylvando to sort out which of the kids actually belonged on the Isle.

"River you are with Æn'ki. Hope you like animals," she said with a grin that wasn't all that softer than her last as she gestured to him.

"Morgana and Emporio, you are with Aqua," she added nodding to the woman with the blue hair. "Of course we understand if any of you want to stay..."

She turned to the Headmaster. Doctor F.... We're aware of you, and your efforts, I assure you. We'll be speaking with those heading to Auradon. But for now, stay where we can see you while the rest of you, those coming with us? You have ten minutes to get your stuff if you have any and say goodbyes to anyone if you want to. Goodbyes with the headmaster will be supervised so we can make sure he is being as good as he claims these days. Alright. Ten minutes, starting now!"


**************************************************

The gathering of belongings and saying of goodbyes was accomplished in the allotted ten minutes without much trouble. Getting everyone onto the boat, then equipped with lifejackets- thankfully the boat's owner was a bit over prepared so there were enough for everyone, if only just-, and reasonably settled for the trip back took a bit longer, however. The boat was a large catamaran, painted mostly in blue and purple pastels. The life jackets however, were the standard safety orange, and so stood out as sharply as they were meant to. The water was still rough so once everyone was equipped, Sylvando advised those unused to boat travel to settle down somewhere until they were in calmer waters.

Getting back to the mainland took time as well, though not quite as much as getting there had, as the tide was in their favor for the return trip. Still, there would be plenty of time for conversation, awkward silences, or angry glaring during the trip. And Sylvando himself wouldn't be adverse to conversation, provided it didn't interfere with the steering of the vessel. Those without their sea legs would also want to be careful walking around, as the boat-while large for a catamaran- wasn't large enough to prevent it from rocking.

Once they'd reached the harbor and the Bibbity Bobber had been secured in her berth, her passengers and crew disembarked and began the trek back up to the school. There seemed to be an inordinate amount of junk that had once been clearly blocking the road before the path to and from the harbor had been cleared. All of it was the sort of things one might expect to find in a modern city- cars, sign boards, fallen trees and lamp posts, etc- but there seemed to be too much of it for the simple vanishing of the populace to account for it all. Very odd.

Once they arrived at the school, they were led past the pretentious sign and statue of King Beast and directed into the lobby. There, they were issued phones and information sheets. On account of everyone being exhausted, no formal welcoming ceremony was planned for that evening, and those staying were directed to the dorms to get showered and settled in. Since that was sure to be a process in itself, Ben, Mal, Sylvando, the other sponsors, and anyone who still had the energy would likely be around for all that as well until everyone got settled. Thankfully the exhaustion had been anticipated, and it was announced that there was soup in the kitchen's refrigerator that had been premade and portioned out and needed only to be reheated for supper at each person's leisure.

The next morning however, proved that Auradon was still Auradon and couldn't really go without some kind of official welcome, as those who came down to the lobby would find a simple but tasty breakfast of muffins, fruit - provided by Malia-, tea, and coffee waiting for them along with the eternally chipper Sylvando, ready to answer any further questions they might have.


****************


Professor Yen Sid and the Headmaster stood and watched the ship through the barrier until they could no longer see it. Then the headmaster, looking bitter, turned on his heel, stalked back to the school, muttering under his breath about needing to speak with someone. He did not say who, but it did not seem like it was likely to be a pleasant conversation.

Yen Sid, on the other hand, turned to those who chose to remain. “Shall we get these supplies in before the humidity destroys them?” he asked, gathering his things into his bag before grabbing it and one of the boxes.

Comments

[lovebites_sodoi]

Wait. What? Hold the phone here.

Morgana blinked rapidly, holding up a hand as if she could press a pause button. "Wait, wait, wait. You... want to stay on this floating heap of garbage? Why?!"

[elvendryad]

"It... is inaccurate to say that I want to stay.... But there were people like us here before I arrived -- people from elsewhere, who would not wish to be here. ...Do you really think that if every one of us leaves, no others will similarly be brought to this cold place in the future?"

He eyed her, quiet. "What I have seen of this place may be unpleasant, but there are things I suspect that I can do here to help make it less so. And unlike most others, I do not eat, as such, so I do not need to contend with hunger claiming my strength." A little pause, and, more reluctantly, "...And here, without magic, I cannot hear the ent. Nor can it seem to hear me. It would be best looked after on the other side. Knowing that it is in good hands... I can spend my time doing other things."

[lovebites_sodoi]

Great, now the guilt was growing. What about the poor schmoes who would keep popping up here? But it'd be insane to change her mind about leaving now... ugh. Well, she'd always been a terrible person, so why not have some proof here as well?

Awkwardly shifting back and forth in her heels, she exhaled sharply, trying to turn off her emotions, arms crossed. "I'm certainly not going to tell you what to do. If you want to rot here, that's your choice. Shouldn't be hard to keep track of that walking bark-and-no-bite, I doubt I'll have anything better to do."

[elvendryad]

He made a small sound that was mostly just breath, refraining from much of a chuckle at her display. "Thank you."

A slight pause, and then, more quietly, serious again: "If I might ask a further favor...?"

[lovebites_sodoi]

Morgana tried not to keep eye-contact, lest the guilt keep eating at her. Instead, she pretended to inspect her nails. "I won't make any promises, but I'll listen. What's up?"

[elvendryad]

He looked away briefly too, to eye Mal and Ben over where they were standing. "Those two," he said softly, lowering his head so it was less obvious at a glance that he was trying not to be overheard by anyone but her, "But primarily that human 'king'....

"I would appreciate, should you remain alert... and should you have a chance to send word back... hearing what you think of him. And of the others there... the humans. Are they as they seem? I admit, I did not feel from them the hatred I have felt from others before... but there had hardly been time, and then it was, all of it, gone again, before I could draw near enough....

"But perhaps the dragon keeps him in check...? Or perhaps he has learned better...?" He frowned, folding his arms, back to discreetly side-eyeing the couple as he watched them. This was already bothering him, not knowing quite what to make of Ben and the others....

[lovebites_sodoi]

Boy, that sure sounded like a sore subject for him. Morgana wasn't sure that mortals and humans were that different beneath the surface level, but then again, what did she really know? Her world didn't have humans at all. She did want to trust Mal after that shared dream... but could you really base a whole perspective on one meeting that was forced to begin with?

...Actually, wait. That wasn't quite what Chell was saying, was he? He was only talking about Ben. What dragon? Was he saying Mal was actually a dragon? That would be... insanely cool and earn more Mal more points, to be quite honest, but Morgana couldn't help but think asking any further would be opening a can of worms. She felt way over her head to begin with.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "As if I wasn't already going to have my guard up around them, and the entire island of goody-goodies! Believe me, they haven't totally earned my trust just yet."

[elvendryad]

The humans in general, sure, but Ben in particular... there was definitely no lack of mistrust here, and he was doing nothing to hide it from Morgana now. Honestly, he'd seemed more relaxed on the Isle in general before this whole meeting, excepting being glad to be able to hand out fruit again for a while there an hour prior.

He nodded. "Thank you, sister." A long breath, not quite a sigh, and he tried giving her something of a smile. "At least we have kin there as well. In fact, I would even suggest that the hostess -- the wine fairy," he quickly clarified, "--might appreciate some company, should you have a bad day. She seems to remember more than I do about the past... I wonder if she has any embarrassing stories from when I was a small child?"

The look he gave her seemed almost a dare, at that point, an open invitation to try to get ammunition on him.

[lovebites_sodoi]

Why would anyone over there have memories of anyone's childhood period? That wasn't something that sat right with her, but as always, she did her best to hide it. She even clicked her tongue at the implication.

"You realize it's hardly embarrassing when you're offering it on a silver platter? That's no fun. The best humiliation is a surprise." Said with a smirk.

[elvendryad]

"But it would be a surprise. I don't know what stories there may be. ...I haven't spoken with her long here, and while we did, it... was about my last battle, and the centuries which followed. She wanted to know what I may have done, which could possibly have prompted this place to bring me here." His smile had disappeared, tone quieting, seeming hesitant, unsure if he should elaborate.

[lovebites_sodoi]

But embarrassing stories wouldn't leave his face looking like that! He continued to drain more and more fun out of the idea, so she tossed her hair back, trying to lighten the mood.

"You know, you really suck at goodbyes."

[elvendryad]

He blinked at her, unsure what to say for a second... and then just had to laugh, shaking his head.

"Sorry. ....You certainly have a point. Um... I... don't suppose there is anything here I ought to attempt to take care of here, for you, as you'll be leaving? Anything of yours I should find, to be collected in the future, or...?"

May as well check, before the boat loads up....

[lovebites_sodoi]

"I've got my babies, I've got my guitar, and that's all I've ever needed." Morgana shrugged the offer away. "The only thing you need to take care of is yourself. If things get even worse here, I'll march right back around and start smashing heads."

Her own weird little way of showing she cared.

[elvendryad]

That got a nod and what looked like an actual smile from him, small as it might have been. "Please don't cause a need for me to intervene...." He didn't exactly move to draw her attention to it, but something at his left forearm might've caught her attention regardless, a small shield of some kind folding out, fan-like, from it. That was why it was bigger than his right. "It would be a shame for anything to splash onto you.

"But you should go." He nodded to where the others were readying to leave. "Join the others, and be well."

[lovebites_sodoi]

"... You too."

She didn't want to say the actual word goodbye in the way it was supposed to be used. It felt too... final. So, once more playing it cool, she turned on her heel and walked off, as if nothing and no one bothered her.

Her bats kind of killed the image - as they sat on her head, they waved goodbye to Chell.

[elvendryad]

Smiling a bit more at that, he raised a hand to wave a little wave right back to the bats. What she didn't see wouldn't embarrass her, right? Those bats were cute, what could he say....