A teenage boy wearing bright red pajama pants appears in midair about three feet off the ground and falls to the floor with a yelp, as though he just rolled out of a nonexistent bed.

"Where even am I?" he asks, squinting at her. He makes no move to take her hand.

"Mont Blanc," says Chelsa patiently, still holding her hand out. "It looks like you've landed here accidentally, but Aelise will know what to do."

He shakes his head. "Who's that?"

"Aelise is - Aelise," says Chelsa. "She's the Empress, but no one really calls her that. Wherever can you have come from if you don't know me or her? What's your name?"

"Harley," says Harley. "Who are you?"

"I'm Chelsa," says Chelsa. She's still holding out her hand.

This does not seem to have an effect on the screaming and running away that he is doing.

She runs after him. "Harley!" she calls. "Calm down! I only want to bring you to Aelise!"

"Anneia!" exclaims Chelsa. "Someone's just jumped off the balcony - come with me -" He's likely to land near where the south elevator lets out, and if he's alive at all he'll need healing.

"I'm not sure. He just appeared, in the hall. He looks a lot like Corona but he definitely wasn't, none of the right warmth until I kindled it; I was trying to bring him to Aelise when he took off running."

"Maybe Corona learned how to double himself," she suggests wryly.

"I suppose stranger things have happened," allows Chelsa. "But I think anyone Corona conjured up like that would have heard of me and Aelise. He didn't know who she was."

"I don't know, then. And Corona's still not home, right? I hope he's okay - the stranger I mean."

Harley curls up into a little ball and whimpers.

"It looks like a duck, it quacks like a duck..."

"I dunno," says Anneia. "And do what with him then?"

"Fetch some of the others, haul him to Aelise together? I am really not cut out for making critical decisions about strange things," says Chelsa helplessly.

Harley buries his face in Anneia's shoulder and cries.

"Well, at least he'll act like he likes you," says Chelsa. She doesn't begrudge her friends their affection with each other. It's so much more convenient this way. She just wishes Harley would act like he likes her, too. The warmth is catching and crackling just like it ought, but... hm.

"I'm not sure if he's acting like he likes me," says Anneia. "It's hard to tell, with just the crying to go on."

"He isn't trying to run away from you, let's put it that way. Honestly. I'm not scary," says Chelsa.

Corona might disagree, but there's no point getting into that. Corona's just Corona, that's all. Anneia sighs and pats her bundle of Harley.

This is a fast elevator. Here they are. "I'll get Sandre to help you carry him," says Chelsa. And back she goes into her friends' quarters. "Sandre!"

Sandre peers out of his and Anneia's room. "Huh? What?"

"We need to transport someone to Aelise and he's very upset and needs to be carried; Anneia can manage him, but only just."

"Oh. Okay," he shrugs, and he gives Chelsa a hug and a kiss on the cheek and follows her to... wherever.

With some difficulty, Sandre transfers Harley from Anneia's arms to his.

Now where might Aelise be at this hour?

She is extremely likely to be in her office!

"Yes?"

"A few minutes ago a boy who looks and sounds and kindles very like Corona appeared in the hallway right in front of me, in his pajamas, and spoke to me briefly, and had none of the generally possessed warmth for me or you but wasn't cold like that one horrible girl and kindled just fine when I tried, and when I told him my name in trying to get him to come see you, he took off screaming and jumped the balcony. Anneia's fixed him, though."

"But he's younger," says Sandre. "And he doesn't have any scars. Inside or out."

"Yes, I'm frightfully confused," complains Chelsa.

"I can tell," says Aelise. "Who have you kindled him to so far?"

"You, me, Anneia - me and you because I was trying to convince him to come talk to you, her to calm him down when we fetched him from the bottom of the mountain."

"Leave him with me for now," she decides. "I'll see if I can't get some sense out of him."

"If he's not dangerous, you can keep him," Aelise promises.

"Sure thing!"

Harley seems quite content to do nothing but cry on Sandre.

Sandre avails himself of a comfy chair, since the office has an extra.

Aelise has plenty of work to do while she waits for the mystery boy to calm down.

Harley gives her a look. It contains heavily mixed emotions, but the one he's trying to get across is contempt.

"I want to help you, but I can't do that unless I know what's wrong," she says patiently.

"My - feelings," Harley says helplessly, and he pulls the blanket Anneia gave him over his head and starts crying again.

"Corona all over again," Aelise murmurs. "Oh, dear."

"Who the fuck is Corona?" says the blanket.

"He's... very like you," says Aelise. "I think you should be introduced to him."

The blanket sniffles.

"Do you want to tell me anything about who you are or where you came from?"

"No," sniffs the blanket.

"Sure," says Sandre, scooping Harley up.

"And keep an eye on him. In case he decides to take another trip down the mountain."

"Fuck you," sobs the blanketed Harley.

"I hope Corona gets back soon," says Aelise.

Chelsa hopes Corona gets back soon, too. When he is expected, she can be found pacing at the entrance to the Mont Blanc stronghold.

He jogs up the path from the landing pad and hugs her. As always, it's like getting cuddles from the sun; as usual, he looks most of the way to tears.

Hugs hugs hugs! "Hello! I'm so glad to see you," coos Chelsa. "And there's a surprise for you, too."

"Surprise! Show me the surprise," he says.

Chelsa beams and shows him to his room, where Harley has been stashed. "Harley," she sings. "Corona is home."

"Come on out," encourages Chelsa. "I think you two will get along so well."

"He's having trouble adjusting. We're not sure where he came from," explains Chelsa. "He just appeared. He didn't even know who me or Aelise were. She hasn't been able to convince him to tell her anything much, yet."

"Why is he in my bed?" wonders Corona.

"It seemed like the best place. Haaaar-leeeey," sings Chelsa, tugging at the blanket. "Come on out."

"He's so much like you," beams Chelsa. "Not just the face, but he sounds the same - including when he jumped off the mountain - and he kindles just like you do." She pets Harley's hair.

Harley bites her hand.

Thank goodness for Kers. He can try to bite her hand all he likes. "And," she says, frowning, "he has some antisocial habits he picked up wherever he's from."

"I can tell," says Corona. Slightly enviously.

Chelsa waits patiently for the release of her hand. "Anyway, it seemed like you should meet. Harley, this is Corona!"

"I hate you," says Harley. He drags the blanket back over his head.

"You love me," sings Chelsa, fluttering her hands through the air. Twin suns, lovely twin suns.

"Go fuck yourself," hisses the pile of blankets.

"I'm sure you'd have a much better time of it here if you tried to be nice," says Chelsa. "I think I'll let you two get to know each other, how does that sound?" And she goes off to see which of her friends is most in need of company; she kisses Corona on her way out.

Aelise wears shoes that make a very distinctive, echoing sound on the tiled stone floors, and she doesn't visit Chelsa's friends very often. The sound of her walking down the hall in a hurry is both unmistakable and unexpected.

Chelsa obligingly cuddles Sandre until she hears Aelise's footsteps, and then she gets up and peers out into the hall. "Aelise?" she asks, puzzled.

"Our new guest has an interesting talent," she says. "I'd like to ask him about it."

Chelsa blinks, confused, but opens the door to Corona's room.

Corona is snuggling Harley, who is weeping inconsolably.

Aelise gives them both a thoughtful look.

"What's going on?" Chelsa asks again.

"All things considered," says Aelise, "I think you'll be happier if you leave them to me for now."

"...All right," shrugs Chelsa, and she goes back to her Sandre-cuddles. He's so cuddleable.

A little, but Chelsa trusts Aelise to have the situation under control!

"What's wrong, dear?"

"Um - nothing," he says, bewildered. "I guess."

All right then. Snuzzle. Nice and warm.

Snuzzle! Confused snuzzle.

After about an hour and a lot more screaming, Aelise leaves.

Chelsa decides to let whatever just happened filter to her at some more convenient time. Aelise has good judgment about these things.

Tima, on the other hand, drops by Corona's room and knocks curiously.

Corona answers the door and smiles tiredly when he sees who it is.

"Hi!" Hug. "Welcome home. What's going on?"

"I'm not really sure," Corona says wryly. "Um - that's Harley," with a gesture to the very Corona-like figure curled up in his bed. "He fell out of thin air a while ago. He's almost exactly like me, except his Gift is different."

"That's peculiar," says Tima, sidling in and sitting down. "What does he do?"

"He's immortal. And not the same way as Luhan - Aelise was just in here draining him, she must've done it like thirty times, and he just bounces right back."

"Wow. That explains the screaming, I thought you were just having fun with self-mutilation again."

Corona giggles. "Nope, it was all him."

"Is he okay? I mean, physically intact yes, but - okay?"

"...Not really," he says. "He's - well, he's like me. And Chelsa wants to keep him and he really doesn't want to be kept. But the draining was fine," he adds. "He liked that."

"If he's just infinitely renewable I guess Luhan's going to leave, isn't he," Tima remarks. "I still don't really get what you have against Chelsa. Either of you, I guess. You're full of contradictions."

"Oh, you talk," says Tima. "So where are you from?"

"Well, you don't have to tell me, but it seemed worth asking."

"I am not feeling super sociable right now," Harley says flatly. Corona winces.

"Uh," says Tima. "If it bothers you when Chelsa kindles you, can I give you some advice? Pretend to be sociable when she's around. She doesn't like it when people aren't getting along."

"How about I just set her on fire instead," says Harley, with a tone of deliberately false cheer.

Tima winces. "I get that you have mixed feelings about her but - dude, that's a little much. Besides, Kers covers her."

"Yeah, I know," says Harley. "If she wasn't magically invincible I wouldn't be joking about it, I'd've fucking done it already."

Tima looks away. She's used to Corona, but Corona doesn't talk like that.

"I can see that," says Tima quietly. "Sometimes I wish there was something I could do. I don't know what, just something. But I'm pretty useless, all I do is kindle pretty."

Corona smiles sadly and hugs her.

"She didn't seem worried, but it's hard to tell with her," says Corona with wry fondness. (Some people are less flavour-receptive than others.)

"I guess, yeah. Huh. Corona-clone. I wonder if there are more of anybody else. More Aelises, more Chelsas."

"One Chelsa is enough," shudders Corona.

"Well, Harley doesn't have your gift, maybe another Chelsa wouldn't have hers?"

"One Chelsa is still enough," says Corona.

Tima shrugs.

"I'm gonna go snuggle Harley now," says Corona. "You can come sit with us if you want."

Tima does. Tentatively she pats Harley's head.

"I want to rip your throat out and drain you like a juicebox," growls Harley. Corona sighs and cuddles him.

"Not so good, huh?" sighs Chelsa. "And you're not making friends around here as fast as I hoped you would, either..." She lifts her hands.

"There, there, you'll settle in soon, you're among friends," says Chelsa tiredly, and her hands make patterns, and Harley is very distinctly among friends.

"Well, since you can't, you should really try to be comfortable here," says Chelsa reasonably.

"Fuck you!" yells Harley. "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck - aaaaaaaaaah," and he's back to the crying again.

"I don't understand why he's so upset," Chelsa sighs, looking at Corona.

"I know you don't," says Corona tiredly. "And you don't understand how I feel about you, either. And you probably never will."

"I don't have anything else I can do for him. Does he miss whoever he used to live with, is that it?" She's holding her hands out palms-forward, now, not working, just inspecting.

"How is missing all these people going to help?" wonders Chelsa.

"If you stop him missing them, it will hurt," says Corona. (Harley whimpers and burrows under the blanket.) "Having our own feelings is better than having somebody else come along and change them even if they're not feelings we like."

"But you're happier than he is and you don't miss anyone from home," Chelsa says.

"Look, if you want to know how to make Harley happy, I'm telling you," says Corona. "The answer is leave him alone."

"And that will make him happy?" Chelsa asks skeptically.

"Happier than he'll be if you do anything else to him," says Corona. "I think maybe he's just never going to be happy ever again."

Chelsa hmmmms. "Well, we can try it that way and see what happens," she sighs.

"Thank you," says Corona, cuddling Harley.

"You're welcome. I love you, you know," she says to Corona. "My warm sun."

"I love you too," Corona sighs. Because it'll make her happy, and it's not false. It's just not - the whole story.

Chelsa beams at him, doesn't kiss him because Harley is in the way and would probably bite her, and goes off to pay attention to her other friends.

Tima's back late that evening. "How is he?" she asks Corona, nibbling on something chocolatey.

"Pretty bad," says Corona.

"Can I do anything?" she asks.

"You can come snuggle with us," he suggests.

Tima joins the snuggle.

"I don't see how anyone would," says Tima. "I understand that you do, just not - how."

"She fucked around with my head," says Harley, shivering. "She literally forced me to love her and you don't think that's fucked up?"

"She's been around my entire life," says Tima. "I'm only fifty." (She doesn't look fifty.) "I've loved her from the day I was born and one day she found me, out walking around, and she thought I kindled pretty and now I get to live here with her and see her in person, every day, and she hugs me and tells me she loves me. I can't think of anything nicer. I don't know where you're from, but - this is where I'm from."

"I'm from... somewhere else," says Harley. "I'm not just a clone of Corona. There's a bunch of us, twelve or something. We're called the Jokers. And we all have really shitty childhoods, except me, because the other ones found me when I was a baby and they gave me to somebody who wasn't shitty."

"Twelve Coronas," whistles Tima. "Wow. I think it's probably best if nobody tells Chelsa that."

"Yeah, because she'd want to track them down and mind-rape them," snorts Harley.

"And she's not allowed to have all the live-in-friends she wants. I don't think kindling pretty will keep me a spot next to that many of you, and I like my spot."

"...Think about why she's not allowed to have all the pets she wants, though," says Corona, glancing at Harley.

"...Ooh."

Tima makes a face at this description of Aelise.

"What? She sucks the life out of people," says Harley. "That is the literal truth. Who's she usually kill, anyway? I bet she wouldn't have drained me to the ground if she wasn't trying to stop killing somebody."

"I didn't ask if they mattered," says Harley, "I asked who."

"Just," Tima shrugs, "babies, usually, not ones anyone will miss."

Harley hisses.

"But she didn't like to do it too often, so there was Luhan, and Chelsa has to send someone away if she wants to rotate someone in - or she did, anyway, I guess she can keep you and Jony now."

"How do you not understand how fucked up that is?" says Harley. "You live in an empire built on dead babies and mind control!"

"It's not very many dead babies," says Tima. "And before Aelise found Chelsa and took over there were a lot of wars, and now everyone gets along."

"It's not very many dead babies," Harley repeats incredulously. "How about I just kill everybody on this mountain, then, there's not that many of you!"

Tima shrinks away from the cuddling.

"So do I," Harley says into Corona's shirt. Corona cuddles him some more.

"If they were here she'd let you visit them. We all leave sometimes except Amdon," says Tima. "Chelsa isn't setting out specifically to make you miserable."

"No," says Harley, taking his face away from Corona's chest. "She's just making me miserable by accident because she wants to get high on my feelings and doesn't care how bad she fucks me up in the process."

Tima doesn't really have anything to say to that.

"It's not okay," says Harley. "It won't ever be okay."

"I wish I could make it okay for you," says Tima tentatively.

"Then get Chelsa to leave me the fuck alone," says Harley.

"I can't," says Tima. "She loves me; that doesn't mean she does what I say. I'd say ask Amdon, but..." She shrugs; that wouldn't actually work.

"Yeah," says Harley. "I figured."

"Aelise could make her but I don't think she would."

"Course not," says Harley. "Well, fuck her too."

Tima shivers.