I’m afraid the other half might be a wee bit more difficult, though. Before Hector can do anything, he has to prove something … and that might be easier said than done.

Still, I feel better knowing that Squeak and Hector are on the case. At least there’s a hope that this might end without River Sulis being burned to the ground or worse.

I don’t imagine, also, that seeing your parents’ cousins, who are close enough to your family for you to basically think of them as another aunt and uncle is really all that important to the Finessa kids at this point in time. The shiny has rubbed off the royalty for the twins especially.

Poor Nathaniel. Vivi is going through a pretty bad stretch of teenaged angst and she’s taking it out on Nathaniel (and everyone else.) I think that Lynnette and Hector understand that too. But I don’t know that he’ll hold it against her. He’s not really the sort to hold a grudge.

Yes, Annette has had the honor of Squeak spying on her husband and father both. (And he saved her mother’s life, though she doesn’t know any of that.) Squeak actually started watching Cats because Cox doesn’t go there without Josh and he was watching Josh, trying to get a feel for what Josh is like. (Obviously he’s figured out that Josh =/= Jayson Jr. Everyone he’s talked to and his own observations tell him that while Cox frequents “upstairs” Josh does not, never has and never would. His distaste for going is fairly obvious.)

But he also knows that Cox does most of Jayson’s dirty work, so by watching Cox and who Cox associates with, he finds out things about what Jayson is up to and planning.

If Cox knew that Squeak knew about Cats, he probably would wet the bed. But Squeak wouldn’t be much of a spy if Cox knew.

Thanks, Winter!

Yes, most people with a conscience would probably help to close a child brothel down. I think Squeak’s comment is more related, though, to people with kids should feel just as, if not more, strongly about such things than people who are childless. (Although, I suppose it depends on why one doesn’t have kids.)

I don’t know that Elizabet, at least at this point would want to sit down with Squeak and Hector. I imagine sitting down with strange men and talking about being attacked would be hard. And I think it might also be hard because she sees Squeak on an at least semi-regular basis, what with being friends with Vivi. Seeing the man you told that your father tried to have you raped over tea? Might be hard for a girl of twelve, even one with a spine that might not melt if tossed into Mt. Doom.

Well, I dunno, I mean every family has a few bad apples. (Let’s not forget that Vortigern and Morgause are closely related to the Pendragon family. Vortigern and Arthur/Morgan have the same father, Morgause and Arthur/Morgan have the same mother…) But I do fully understand, it’s hard to imagine a Pendragon post founding that’s completely bad.

Squeak is descended from George/Ravenna, which (mild spoiler) does actually confirm they get married and have the babies. (Well, most directly, I’m sure there are Clarice and Freddy’s descendants in there too, it’s been centuries.) This was at Kellie’s request. But it doesn’t really mean that they couldn’t take Ravenna’s last name, I don’t actually know, we’ve never really talked about it. He’s still descended, either way, from Bianca and Richard who are Ferreiras. Also Squeak is a Finessa, as surnames go, which is a place-based last name due to being off a cadet branch somewhere along the line.

Thanks, Van!

It seems Annette has the honor of having had her father and her husband spied on by Squeak. I wonder if Squeak was spying on Cox or just spying on Jayson secondhand by spying on his retainers? Either way, I would be wetting the bed if I was Cox. Squeak seems like a damn good operative who works for a king with a conscience. Being tied up in Jayson’s business and known as a customer of that brothel isn’t a good spot to be in.

I’m glad that Squeak and Hector are close to being on the right track, and will be keeping a closer eye on both Jayson and that awful brothel. And yeah, I’m sure Henry would help where he can, even if he wasn’t the father of several children. If they talk to Elizabet, I wonder if she’d be willing to open up. She is a good judge of character, and neither of these two guys strike me as the victim-shaming type, or the type who would go around spreading the story without her permission. That said, she probably doesn’t want to talk about it, even in a safe space. Or possibly she wants to get certain details straight herself first.

Nathaniel seems decent enough, even if he didn’t feature too prominently, though it’s tough to imagine a Pendragon who isn’t decent.

Squeak’s ancestors have been to Underhill? Is he descended from the Ferreiras through Freddy and Clarice, or through George and Ravenna? I don’t know if it’s because Ravenna is Morgan’s only biological child or because she and George are progressive, but whenever I think about George and Ravenna getting married, I always imagine him taking her last name. But obviously that would be Kellie’s call.

Also, this post is full of people who’ve lead other lives. Charlie and Severus are the only ones who haven’t been in some other story first. Mostly CoA. Squeak (Freddy/also as Freddard in Naroni), Lianne (Clarice), Lynnette (Dilys), Hector (Kay. Although I did tweak Lynnette and Hector to better fit my current proportions), Vivianne (Morgaine’s self-sim/The Demigoddess), and Nathaniel (Lock from It Would Be You.)

Also, a ret-con on Nathaniel’s hair color, I forgot that I made him a redhead in this incarnation, not a blonde, so I’m saying Vivi misremembered a little and that Nathaniel got more red with age.