Elvish Princess

In the history of Bordertown, there had been only three occasions where someone had seen an Elf old enough to, well, look old. The first had been back in the very early days after the return. Then, almost a decade later Wolfboy had seen one. Both of these sightings, as it were, had been out in the Never Never however.

"The Old Lady" as she had come to be known was in town for several days before her hair slipped and someone spotted her left ear.

"What's the matter?" she sniffed, noting the astonishment on the young Human's face. "Never seen a geriatric Elf before?"

So much for her anonymity. Though it had somewhat slipped her mind that she was in a past version of Bordertown. The fact that when she'd visited the Bordertown Library, as Elsewhere was now known, neither Sparks nor Wolfboy had been on duty, didn't help.

Her only concern in not telling everyone who she was, was her desire not to alert this "Vampire" that someone was on their tail. Not that Leda really had any plan beyond, figure out where the thing was. Surely there were "heroes" about right? Maybe that nice Dragon, Stick was still in residence.

Something was stalking the streets of Soho after the sun went down. No one had seen anything, no one who lived to tell about it at any rate. But the rumors were flying, and none of them were pleasant. Bodies turning up completely drained of blood were apt to cause such things.

Then one night someone came staggering in to Castle Pup. No one recognized her, and it was some time before they could get anything concrete out of her. She had been attacked, that much was certain. She bore the marks of a chain, and boots.

St. Jimmy immediately sent Turf with Scotty and Prodigal to get medical help (no one went out after dark alone these days), while Surf did what she could to comfort the girls' spirit.

Finally the girl, who called herself What's-Her-Name mumbled out a confused account. She was newly arrived in Bordertown, and had not known who and what to be suspicious of. She had been set upon by a pack of Truebloods who had decided she needed to be "welcomed". And...something, had stopped them. She never got a clear glimpse of her rescuer. They had simply snatched the attackers into the shadows one by one, till their screams scared off the remainder.

Then her memory grew hazy till she found herself in front of Castle Pup.

"Curiouser, and curiouser." Sila muttered.

Dear Aunt Momo,

Mom told me about how sometimes in Fandom, people burst into song as if the entire island were in a musical or something. Either that place is leaking, or Ron and I did something. We practiced Bardic magic not too long ago, and about two days later the entire city did the musical thing.

There's nothing like seeing a skirmish between Truebloods and the Pack turn into a dance/rap battle.

Love,
Sila and Ron
aka
Surf and Turf

"Sing me a story, of heroes brave and true,
Handsome and quick, beautiful and fierce.
And a fearless young queen, so cunning and grand,
With a vision no arrow could pierce!"
--The Fall of the House of Alton or, the Saga of Leda of Danan
Quickly becoming an Elvish traditional epic.

*****

Leda just stood for a moment, breathing in the familiar scents of her home town. She swore she could detect the faint aroma of Godmom's pizza, the lavender scented exhaust from spellbox driven motorcycles. The Mad River. And there, on the wind from the east was the odd smell of the Never Never.

"So are we to stand here on the hill blocking the road all night, or are we gonna go surprise the hell out of Wolfboy?" Ron asked impatiently.

Leda opened her eyes and glared at her young companions. "Excuse me it's been a really long time since I've been here last, and I think I deserve the chance to savor it."

"Yeah but we've never been here." Ron countered. "And I wish to explore."

"Technically I have been here before." Sila reminded him. "But I was a little kid then and do not remember much." She shivered, and pulled the knitted cap from her coat pocket. It was a bit of work to get it over her ears. "Seriously though Mom. I sympathize, I feel the same way every time I reunite with Uncle Iranon's caravan. But it's really cold and dry up here, can we at least get out of the wind?"

"Okay yes." Leda agreed. She sometimes forgot how sensitive Sila's skin could get in dry climates. "Welcome to February."

As they headed down the road towards Soho, Leda probably looked very much like the tourist both Sila and Ron obviously were. All three seemed to be trying to take in everything. The only difference was that there was recognition and nostalgia in Leda's looks.

"So, what are you kids looking forward to the most?" she asked.

"The music." Sila said.

"The food." Ron said at the same time.

They grinned at each other. "The boys."

Leda sighed. "This town's gonna eat you alive." She hoped to the Lady's of Never You Mind that she was kidding.

The party was partly a holiday one, combining as best it could, all the various festivals celebrated around this time of year by all the many cultures represented in Bordertown. But it was also a dedication/housewarming party. St. Jimmy and the New Pups as they had been dubbed (and yes, jokes had been made about this being a Green Day cover band), had worked long and hard to restore Castle Pup to it's former...uh, well perhaps 'glory' is too strong a word. To comfortable livability.

Now it was done, and the Strange Pupae, both old, and new were gathering to celebrate. Leda had invited her friends from Fandom as well as dragging some of her new friends from Faerie.

There was a lot to celebrate.

[Portalocity has figured out how to get stable and safe portals to and from Bordertown, making travel here no problem. So welcome all.]

Leander had been afraid Leda might do something foolish. Hopefully the fact that he was right would help offset any anger he may have that she'd done just that.

He had told her that the Elves of Bordertown were not her responsibility. She disagreed. She had been raised in Bordertown, those people were her people as much as, if not more than those of Faerie. And even more important, she had a duty to help her friends if she could. She had failed Triela. She would not fail Tick Tick. Not for lack of trying.

But she hadn't been completely stupid. She didn't waltz into Bordertown soaking up the germs. No she had gotten word to those responsible for sealing the Border, to get a message to Orient. Orient, as she could now see, had gotten the message. Here he was with a rather ill Tick Tick in the side car. She was wearing one of those masks you see doctors wear, and as best she could, was breathing away from Leda.

Leda had one too.

"You were right, the minute I got into the world Portalocity was able to pick us up." he said.

"Good. I'll take it from here." she said.

[Establishy, and now it's off to the clinic!]

By the time Leda and Sai reached Bordertown (after a quick run via portalocity to some popular touristy things in the US), time in Fandom had caught up with them. Leda's plan was to spend a few days in her old stomping grounds before heading back to Faerie. She would freely admit she was kind of putting off having to return. Squeezing in as much freedom as she could before she had to get down to some serious attempts to reform Faerie's policies both abroad and domestic. Or as other people put it, governing.

She had sent out handwavey invites to her friends at Fandom, to join her this weekend. She hoped they could make it. This may be the last chance for quite a while.

[For anyone who thinks they would have gotten an invite to visit. Contact me if'n yer not sure.]

There were many ways to get to Bordertown, but the easiest was the Bordertown Express. Steam engines seemed to work just fine this close to the border, so the old timey locomotive was a comfortable, reliable transport to the city of runaways.

Once one was in Bordertown there was no shortage of things to do and people to see. Up on Dragon's Tooth Hill there were upscale Elven shops. On the side of the city closest to the World side they'd re-opened the Wallmart. Though now it was merely a rather nice flea market where folks sold hand made wares, or things imported from the Human world.

But the best places by far were those in Soho. Like Elsewhere books, where Leda had lived for a time as a child, and even worked for a short while as a young teen. Or Magic Freddy's for the finest in Occult Goods.

Not feeling well? Madam Wu's Apothecary, located just next door to Elsewhere might be your best bet. You can also get good chinese take-out there. Or perhaps you need something more. For that there's Always Milo Chevrolet. This week he's not feeling so sentimental that he'll refuse to sell any of the beautiful vintage and antique cars in his lot.

Places to eat? There's almost too many to choose from! But Taco Hell and Godmom's Pizza are two of the best.

Looking to party? Then Danceland is the place. Or you could check out the Endless Rave.

Lost something? Need something fixed? Both? No problem! For a modest fee (we've primarily a barter system here in B-Town) Orient and Tick Tick will be happy to locate and/or fix it.

And that's only a smattering of what Bordertown has to offer! There's Dragontown, The Dancing Ferret coffee house, and more! Be sure to ask your guide (Leda) for any other suggestions. She's sure to think of more stuff on the fly.

[Come one come all! Just be aware that magic and high tech have mixed badly here so they are unpredictable. And you might wanna stay out of gang territory. The True Bloods don't like Humans, the Pack don't like Elves, and the Wharf Rats wanna share the glories of the Mad River. IE, get you hopelessly addicted to it's intoxicating waters.]