"I can't say that I knew that you were lovers," Dianna replies softly, her cheeks flushing lightly, though her amber gaze remains open and freely-set upon Aureth's eyes.  "Though... it, of course, makes sense that you would not 'set hounds upon him' - so to speak - if he had left a message for you."  The priestess draws a slow, deep breath before proceeding, her voice cutting short mid-stream, "Did he turn into an ...eagle, then?  Or, was he carried away?  I truly... wished to know more of him, and I'm afraid I very selfishly felt ...robbed."  Dianna's amber eyes slant away briefly, a frown pulling at her lips, "I realize how wrong that may be.  But, truths are truths.  I just wish to know that he is well, and to know... what I may."
Aureth smiles in surprise, lips parting over a flash of teeth. "If he turned into a bird, that would be a great surprise," he says, and laughs. "No, my dear, I'm reasonably certain that he was transported by one, but did not become one. His soul was beloved by birds, and carried the kinship of one of the Primasens of the Nefer'khat, and I believe that that is where he went; and if he went there, he did so on the back of an eagle. It's possible that I am wrong and that he became one, I suppose, but I ...  it was not what I believed to happen." He leans back in the seat again, hands falling to his lap. "He might return one day," he says. "Perhaps as an ambassador of the Nefer'khat, laden with the knowledge and understanding of their people to share. But he left of his own will, and he told me it would be a very long trip, so. I have no idea where they live, besides that it is very, very far from here."

The priestess' eyes fall at the news, no more prepared for this revelation than she was for the idea that Tomwell had somehow been transformed into a majestic bird.  "I suppose he should likely find himself... full of much to learn, then.  Gods know how beloved he was by all who knew him... so he would be an excellent ambassador... for whomever might earn his time."  Dianna lifts her gaze again to Aureth and speaks sincerely, though her voice is roughened by some deep emotion, "You are lucky to have known him so well, I think.  He clearly has a mind like few others."

She inhales, breathes quietly and decides softly, "Well, that's settled.  I suppose that there is not more of which I have to speak... at this particular moment.  Unless --" Dianna hesitates again, her eyes finding Aureth's again.  "Unless you have some suggestions as to how one might manage one's ancestors who like to speak inopportunely - such as your mother did.  I ...have a similar ...difficulty," Dianna reveals carefully.
"I consider myself _very_ lucky to have shared the few years we had," Aureth says. His smile is warm and quiet, a little rueful. He hesitates, and inhales a long breath, and then says, "I think if there is anything to learn from Tomwell it is the power of compassion. His heart was warm enough to warm all who knew him, yet he rarely permitted it to overwhelm his grounding in good sense, which is almost unique in my experience of anyone. As far as the matter of ghosts, well--" Aureth coughs. "Since you are aware of the difficulty my mother's echo is currently presenting us, I think you may be aware that I'm lacking in really very _good_ advice in that area. I can tell you that the general _theory_ of ghosts -- as per the Nox'Alfar, who generally have had more dealings with them than we humans recall -- is that the best way to be rid of one is to find out what she wants and help her to accomplish it, rather than trying to banish her in any other way."

"Well..." Dianna sighs, dropping her gaze with withheld turmoil, "...I do not know how to go about giving them what they wish... seeing as I am banished ... even if the ghosts do not consider me to be."  For a moment she is pensive, quiet, "What is involved in the blood rites?  What... if I was to die?"  The priestess lifts her gaze, earnest, to look again at Aureth's eyes.
[Shadow Court] Svana: Indeed.
[Shadow Court] Mailys: Not shady at all.
[Shadow Court] Shard: I can, but Shard's teaching is uh. 1.
[Shadow Court] Aureth: Shard teaching: 'ugh just do the thing why even'
[Shadow Court] Shard: Pretty much.
[Shadow Court] Mayir: It's better than what I got!
[Shadow Court] Mailys: 'why can't you just DO it'
[Shadow Court] Mayir: 'Be QUIETER.'
A player you are watching, Talia, has connected.
"I'm not an expert on blood magic," Aureth admits with a scrub of his hand across the line of his beard. "I don't really believe any humans are. But there's enough primum in only a very little blood to do most workings. Tyrval used a thimble's worth of blood to make an entire sofa in the embassy which," he pauses for a moment, frown knitting his brow, "was a little unsettling to watch, I admit, and probably not that relevant to the point. However, I think the risk of possession is more concerning than any risk of death. Opening yourself up to the control of a supernatural entity strikes me as... unwise." Aureth, once one of the foremost occultists in the city, cites possession as 'worrying' and that more goes to show how little humanity really remembers of the occult. "I've found the Deathspeakers quite useful in communicating with ghosts in the past," he adds. "If it is a question of finding _out_ what they wish."