Day One Thousand Two Hundred And Seven

Dear Diary,

Kinda funny, but I've just realized something. Or really, just got reminded of it.

The best way to learn something, or really the best way to push my knowledge to the next level, is to teach it to somebody else.

I'm not sure entirely why, either. I think maybe part of it is watching somebody else make mistakes that I don't make, or really more likely mistakes I do make, but don't realize when I'm making them. Because sometimes the thing that just feels right is also objectively the wrong thing to do, or is a factually incorrect piece of information no matter how much we want it to be true. Which means until I see somebody else making the same mistake I do, I don't realize that it's a mistake. Or maybe I realize that it's a mistake, but have no idea why or how to fix it, but looking at it from the outside makes it obvious.

Then there's the other part, where I have to explain the shit I do without thinking about it. I really caught that part when duBois brought me in to assist with teaching Combat Training, but I think I've hit it with Math at this point as well. I've definitely gone from 'I know Arithmetic pretty well, and Algebra, sort of' to 'I am a leading expert on Algebra here and now, as well as being one of the founders of Calculus'. Shit, we've got a couple 'founders' of Calculus here and now, and the other one named it after me. Maybe Leibniz should have just done the deed with Newton. Or the other way around. I got no dog in that fight, but I am all about making love not war.

Of course, I realized something else yesterday. Yeah, I'm getting that letting Ria and Maze teach the others is both taking some of the load off of me and helping them learn their Math, but there's another effect. I'm learning about teaching, because I'm having to teach them how to teach.

So weird. I've always thought of myself as kind of an idiot, but also thought of myself as smarter than most of my peers. I definitely wasn't any kind of intellectual or nerd, really. But here and now I've wound up having the opportunity to learn and teach and I've discovered I love both of those things.

So at the end of the lesson yesterday, the Troll girls bid their sisters farewell, and I stepped the rest of them all back to the Homestead for dinner.

Once we had all the kids fed, through the showers, soaked, and ready for bed, Tallulah touched me on the arm, then looked around at the rest of the adult family. "I would rather not overstep, or be seen as... Greedy."

Siobhan smiled kind of wistfully as she adjusted Aoibh.

Marie said, "You're Not."

Saffron just stepped over to the two of us and quietly said, "Elle, you are one of us. Beyond that, you have never failed to share when another desired the same as you." She raised an eyebrow. "Did you intend to stop sharing?"

Tallulah's jaw worked, then she shook her head. "I meant for taking both of you." Siobhan actually chuckled quietly at that. Marie joined her when Tallulah added, "again."

 "Well, just to be sure, we'll just have to take you then." With that, Saffron stepped us both to the Bedroom.

Where my Tiny Tyrant filled the room with tentacles. You had something to tell us, Elle?

I was still adjusting to Saffron doing unto the two of us as I'd done to my own High Clergy when Tallulah replied, I do, but how did you know?

You've rarely shown such hesitation before, and this is slightly more frequent than your wont.

Tallulah's breath caught, but her mental voice remained calm. Okay, she got maybe a little snarky. Perhaps I'm exploring a new side of myself?

The tentacles went still. Had you intended to do this then?

Oh. No. Perhaps another time.

That got a fuzzy chuckle out of my Kitten, both aloud and against the inside of my brain. Well then. You had information for us?

I've worked up a summary of the current situation around the Morrigan's throne.

Report. After a brief pause and another chuckle, Kitten thought, in your own time.

That got an answering chuckle from Tallulah I see you're attempting to keep things simplified.

Our Goddess prefers that.

She does. Tallulah's hand found mine, lacing our fingers together. First, while the Fae Courts of Airi are less chaotic than their Mortal counterparts, that bar is not a high one. As the saying goes, Airi has a King on every hilltop. 

Shit. Really?

She squeezed my hand, a gentle thing that warmed me. In truth, from the perspective of the Sidhe, every hill in the land has at some point held a castle lorded over by one who called himself a King. But from a Mortal perspective, perhaps not. But with the exception of those allied with one of the Sidhe Courts, none of them last for any length of time. Decades, usually, a century or two at most.

Okay. But... Are we... Are they likely to get involved in this?

Only if we involve them, or things come to a general war.

How likely is that? asked Saffron.

As you might imagine, Sidhe are not fond of large scale fighting. Too often death comes not at the hand of a Skilled Mortal or enemy Sidhe, but due to the poor luck of a volley of arrows or a push of spears. So the only time when such things happen are when the Mortals take the bit in their teeth and cannot be dissuaded by the Sidhe, or when the Courts are divided so evenly and so incapable of coming to an agreement that neither domination nor compromise is possible.

Okay, so how many Courts are we talking?

Tallulah tensed, and I couldn't tell quite why. Made her fingers squeeze mine, though, and that was nice. Again, if one counts the Mortals, the lesser... Er, non-Sidhe Fae, and even smaller Courts which are in truth no more than farmsteads for those who do not wish to fully subordinate themselves to another Court, there are hundreds. Perhaps thousands, if the Mortals haven't been culled by the Mor recently. I felt her wince. No offense intended, Mistress.

Yeah, my family are dicks. But some of them aren't around to be dicks any more. But it's only been a couple years at most, so... Fuck, I guess we gotta make sure they start taking care of one another rather than killing each other off?

Tallulah shrugged; I felt it through my fingers. As you wish. However, when it comes to major Courts, there are unofficially ten. Seven ports, two fortresses, and the Hill.

The Hill?

The traditional seat of the Mortal's High King. Also where Oberon once had his Court, and where the Morrigan's put her throne.

You said 'unofficially'. So... Officially?

Officially there are nine, all of which bend the knee to the Hill, which stands above them all.

I thought about that for a bit. Long before I came to any kind of conclusion, Saffron thought, I take it this is not the case?

Not now that the Lord of Sun's Harbor has decided to make a play for my Greatmother's throne. The forces of the Hill itself never interfered in squabbles between the other Courts unless The Morrigan thought it would be amusing to have them do so. They seem to be standing apart, despite my rival claiming the throne for herself.

Which leaves nine, Saffron replied. So... If the Lord of Sun's Harbor has the support of at least four other Courts?

In all likelihood, the Hill will support whoever has the full support of five Courts, at which point the odds favor that side in any conflict. Well, any that our Goddess does not choose to enter into herself.

Yeah, I don't really feel like depopulating the Sidhe of the island. Also, wouldn't the Dan Pantheon get up in arms about that?

They might indeed. You might want to speak with them at some point soon in any case. Since you've been holding one of them captive, and claimed the allegiance of another.

I winced. Kind of a lady boner killer there. Yeah. Uh. I'm guessing the Sidhe Courts are not really the way to go about that?

Saffron unkilled the lady boner, because my Kitten got Skills, and said, Canta likely still has connections with them, and could act as emissary. I will speak with Siobhan about it, love.

Okay, what are we looking at in terms of numbers right now?

Saffron had apparently decided to distract Tallulah, whose mental voice got a little distracted. The Lord of Sun's Harbor currently has no allies who would take the field for him, but he is calling on old debts and new, not to mention working to devalue my rival's reputation. Meanwhile she has the two fortresses and, nominally if not actually, the Hill itself.

Well. Shit. Let me know what I can do?

I... I... Yeah, Tallulah's mental voice got real distracted as she whispered out, will.

Yeah, slept well, dreamt of the ladies all laughing and throwing popcorn at the wide screen while Kitten looked annoyed for no good reason. So I dunked her until she got un-grumpy.

Woke in the morning and went about all my daily stuff in a weirdly good mood, despite our whole situation across the Atlantic.

Not good enough to keep from marching the Camden Yards Cadets around in formations until they stopped thinking about breaking formation and rushing in though.