The Witch and the Lich; Home for Junsrew, Part One

Credits; Rea, Krell, Arcania,

Krell still hadn't quite figured out the layout of the layout of the lab.  He'd finally issued forth from the room in hopes of joining their hosts for breakfast, out of habit and courtesy more than anything else.  Rea had still been sleeping when he'd left.  He wasn't sure how much was that she was tired and how much was simply that she didn't want to get out of bed.  Her apparent age seemed to also be her physical one; so it was hardly a stretch to assume she had the sleeping habits of a teenager.
He wandered around for hours.  It was hard to navigate, and there didn't seem to be a map or anything around.  Finally he saw a familiar looking ship, a Pythen Basilisk-type fighter.  There'd been one by the entrance, and there was probably some way of calling other parts of the facility near there.  He walked over and glanced around.  There was an elevator shaft with some stairs leading down from it, the entrance.  He ran over and just as he reached the top of the stairs the door opened.  Just inside of the waiting room was a pale woman with something small and icy on her shoulder. 
"Oh!"  Her eyes widened and she stepped back.  He knew he was undead and all, but he'd never actually had quite this sort of reaction.  Attempts to kill him, yes; running in fear, yes; Oh!, no. 
She recovered rather quickly though.  Her eyes narrowed and she began looking him over.  The thing on her shoulder seemed to become more defined, growing a sort of rime-fur and taking on the appearance of a ferret of some sort. 
"You're a Lich."
"Yes, I'm a Lich.  Is there a problem with that?"
"Just a Lich.'
What was she getting at?  Not only did was she only startled, she didn't even seem to have a problem with his being a Lich, generally considered to be one of the most evil forms of higher undead.  Either she was a necromancer or she was sligtly crazy.
"More or less; what are you getting at?"
"Less I think, most Lich would have bragged at some point about how they'd cheated death or provided a grandiose title indicating themselves as death incanate.  You haven't and I like that."
"Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"It's Junsrew.  I'm here to visit my family.  A more pertinent question would be' what are you doing here and why aren't you at...you got lost didn't you?"
"What?  How can you tell that?"
"It's an enchantment.  See, when someone gets lost in here the facility automatically brings them back to the entrance and notifies the staff so they can lead you back to Igor and Cyssie, who often lose guests.  Of course, the staff is off today so I'll just lead you myself.  Come along Lichly young man."
The ice creature on her shoulder leapt off, sprouted wings and scales, and the newly formed ice wyrm flew along ahead of them, doind loops and barrel rolls as it lead the way.  Its owner followed along at a steady pace, pale blue dress dragging along the steel plates of the floor behind her.  Krell followed at his fastest, barely keeping up.  They didn't seem to have any particular path, and it seemed like they wove back past experiments they had already seen before at last arriving at the same door he had walked out of this morning.  The pale woman keyed a number into the pad and he heard a whirring.  The door opened and he saw Rea and the Von Gravagas sitting around a table playing cards. 
"Oh look, she's here.  Happy Junsrew Kate!"
"Only you can get away with that Igor, and only today.  Happy Junsrew everyone."
"Happy Junsrew sister."
"Happy Junsrew Cyssie, I'm sorry about Mom."
Rea interrupted Cyssie before she could respond.  The tension was palpable, and from Cyssie it was rather intimidating to behold. 
"Father, I'd like you to meet Arcania Immersfeld.  Arcania, this is Father Krell Casat."
She hadn't been kidding when she'd said she was nice.  He'd expected her to be cruel and unforgiving as a mountain blizzard; but if he hadn't just been told he'd have never known.  The Queen of the Forstbourne had just brought him along for Junsrew lunch with her family.  And somehow, he was still more welcome than when Lewiza had brought him home to her family.