blue-mood-blue:

Griffin said that Kravitz made a deal with the Raven Queen on Lup and Barry’s behalf. I’m sure Kravitz had to do a lot of negotiation to get that deal.

They’re in the Raven Queen’s office; it’s less grand than the room where she usually holds meetings, but there’s no need for ceremony with someone who’s worked for her as long as Kravitz has. He’s asked for this meeting, and he seems nervous. The Raven Queen is not surprised – Kravitz frequently seems nervous. She has no idea why, she’s made no secret that she’s very fond of him. She offers him a cookie. He politely declines.

“My queen, I wanted to speak to you about the fates of some, um, new acquaintances of mine. They have… broken some rules.”

Of course they’ve broken some rules. Kravitz seems very fond of people who have broken rules of late. The Raven Queen has tried to talk him into bringing by his new beau several times, but he always seems to think she’s joking. She’s not. She wants to make sure this elf is up to the standards she has for her favorite.

“And they’re looking for pardon now, I suppose? Who are these acquaintances?”

“Um, Lup and Barry Bluejeans.”

The Raven Queen paused.  Trust Kravitz to make her job easier entirely by accident. “Lup and Barry. Liches, both of them, correct? One was… trapped in an umbrella, I understand.”

“That… yes.”

Everything was a bit of a mess after the apocalypse, but a few of her emissaries reported a story circulating. That story involved a very unique umbrella. The Raven Queen doubted the fact that she’d heard about it already was a coincidence; this had Istus’s intervention written all over it. “And this umbrella vored a lich named Edward to his overdue death.” It was Kravitz. He’d seen her drunk before, she could let the queenly facade drop a little. “Barry, meanwhile, consumed manufactured despair to weaken both siblings. Fucking gross.” Now there was a man who needed a cookie.

“Um.”

“The Wonderland Twins, Kravitz,” she explained, handing him the file with their bounty from her desk.  He opened the folder and his eyes widened. “Possibly the biggest bounty in our records with the exception of your new friends and boyfriend. I fucking hate those liches. Their fucking games, that damned wheel, and poor Keats has been waiting at the door for them for generations. Assholes.”

The Raven Queen picked up another file from her desk and tore it in half. The paperwork inside indicated two pardons, and there was another copy filed in the proper location, but she liked the dramatic effect. Dramatic effects were one of the few perks of being a goddess. Kravitz didn’t react; he was becoming too used to the drama.

“Let Lup and Barry know I would like to meet with them as soon as possible.”

“My queen?”

“We need to discuss the terms of their employment.”