Learning to Relate

 I haven't spent much time with my Glade crew this year. Today I felt compelled to get Gray and Shy out for some new photos. It has been months since Nox tricked her into coming with him to Gray's lands. While she doesn't agree at all with his methods, she has resigned herself to the fact that she is meant to be with Gray. 

She is also coming to find there are many layers to her mate. Layers that she hasn't even begun to uncover. He is not at all what she expected.

Learning to trust has never come easy to Shay......learning to trust after secrets have been harbored adds another layer of difficulty to the process.

She is trying......

As she has come to realize her mate was only trying to protect her. Is there more he isn't telling her? She has begun to explore their mating bond more............letting him in, but she has a sense he never truly lets her in all the way. A sense that he is blocking a part of himself off completely.

Micha-Oropher Robes

 Micha likes the finer things in life and fortunately has the resources to obtain them, being a vampire who has lived a very long time.

I purchased the Oropher robe set from SartoriaJ with Micha in mind, and I'm really pleased with how he looks in the set. For those of you wondering if the Raccoon Doll men can share with the SartoriaJ51cm guys, yes, it has been my experience that they share quite well. Both the RD and SJ men are a little bit taller than the Iple men.

Genevieve-The Ice Queen

 Night finds Genevieve pondering life and her son's future. She knows they call her the "Ice Queen", and she supposes it is with good reason.  As night falls across the Glade she reflects back on a time when she was young and impressionable and excited to be Queen.  

Hers was an arranged union, much like Koehlon's to Hycis. A union made for political reasons. At the time however Genevieve was a young inexperienced girl. A girl who took one look at her betrothed and let her romantic nature run wild. He was so handsome. So tall and strong. She dreamed of happily ever after's, which would never come to pass, as her King's heart was already filled with love for another.

Of course she knew none of this when first mated. It wasn't until Laurion's birth that she discovered her mate had not only been unfaithful to her,  but that his heart resided with the mother of his bastard as well. The King "took care of it", and Laurion's mother has never been spoken of again, but he refused to turn his bastard away, and has raised him alongside their own children. The King was firm there would be no negotiation on that subject.

She supposes that was when the barriers first started being erected around her heart. She has done her duty over the years and given the King 2 more children after Koehlon, whose birth preceded Laurion's arrival by mere months. She loves her children, she truly does, but she has learned the lesson that those you love can hurt you the most, so she protects herself with a barrier of ice around her heart that even her children have felt the chill of over the years.

As Koehlon's mating approaches, she knows he is struggling with his duty to Hycis. She sees the looks her son gives the girl Nan. Nan is well beneath his status and not of elven birth. Koehlon however cares for her deeply if Genevieve's instincts are correct.  Her son is honorable, and has a strong sense of duty and she has no doubt he will follow through with his obligations to the realm. However, when she thinks back on her own past, can she sit by and let her son live the remainder of his hopefully long life living a life full of obligation and little happiness?

 

Rowena-Impatience

It has been some time since Rowena first came to Astilve. While she has enjoyed her time here, most especially the time she has spent getting to know Daisha, she is more than ready for news of Laurion's quest regarding his mother.

Daisha was able to discover information that pointed Laurion to the northern territories. Rowena understands that the passage to and through the northernmost regions can be difficult, surely during all this time Laurion and his trusted companions must have found their way?  Daisha assures her if trouble had arison, Nox would know about it, and would get word to them. Rowena has however become impatient. She misses Laurion, and even though she knows he is more than capable of taking care of himself, as time continues to pass with no word, her imagination sometimes gets the better of her.

And even her beloved books, one of the advantages of her time in Astilve,  have not been able to distract her from her thoughts.

When she finds herself playing with her hair again, she realizes she needs a diversion.

And she sets off to find Daisha and see if she wants to go for a walk.

Daisha-The Weight of Secrets

 Daisha's thirst for knowledge and love of learning, paired with the fact that she has spent almost all her life within the walls of the Scola Alte, have given her vast knowledge.  Through the years, she has risen through the ranks and become an expert researcher and historian. She loves her job, and knows that she has provided invaluable assistance to those in the field through the years. At times though, the knowledge she holds weighs heavy on her heart. 

Today is such a day. Varu finds her deep in thought when he surprises her with a visit.

Daisha confides in Varu often. He has become a trusted friend through the years, because of their backgrounds, they have much in common. Both faced discrimination, Daisha due to her skintone......as it is rare, and Varu due to his being a half breed. There are not many wolven/Misceo hybrids in existance.  Due to his uncle having him branded across his face at a fairly young age, Varu endured much ridicule within his pack until he was able to venture out on his own. He was drawn to the Scola Alte to learn more about his Misceo heritage, which is where he met Daisha. 

Not all information is Daisha's to share, hence the word "secret". This particular one is weighing heavy on her heart as it involves one of her best friends. She has been assured by Nox that soon the affected party will be informed and it will not be Daisha's secret to carry much longer. She hopes when the information comes to light that her friendship remains in tact. Varu is worried about her. He has never seen Daisha this distracted. He knows Nox knows what is going on. Nox seems to know everything. Maybe he needs to find Nox.

 

Meet Varu

 Meet my latest addition, which was not at all planned, but when I saw him posted from his previous owner I was really intrigued with his tattoo's.  I commented to his previous owner how much I liked him and she emailed me privately and stated she was going to sell him and would I be interested and the rest as they say is history, lol! The wheels immediately started turning as to how he would fit into my dolly universe. I am going to call him Varu, which  means wolf in Gujarati, and gives a clue to his heritage. I'm still working out all the particulars, but will be putting his bio up soon.

He's an immortal, so he will make appearances here in the Glade universe as well as my more contemporary blog. To begin with I thought it appropriate to explore his origins.

He photographs well from every angle, which is always a plus for me. So even though he wasn't super planned out, I can see him getting a lot of camera time.

Pretty in Pink

 Nieves usually wears shades of blue, so today I thought I would try something a little different for her. I quite like her in pink.

Gown and belt by Robyn of Period Threads.

In profile

Nox-Always Watching

 Knowledge is Nox's stock in trade.................and he's always watching.

Diamond Dusted Pink

Just wanted to share Kalysta in her new pink gown from Robyn (Period Threads). It looks like it has diamond dust on it. So pretty. With Kalysta's red lips, I wouldn't have thought that she can wear pink as well as she does, but I think it looks awesome on her. The flowers and vases in the background are Hobby Lobby finds.

And a bonus shot of her with Nox, as I was trying to see if I could get the light balance a little better photographing them together.  It's so hard to photograph the lighter colored resins with him, as he is so dark. Nox has always felt very protective of Kalysta. Not sure what they are discussing here but it looks like she is listening intently to whatever it is he's explaining.

Group Shot

 A while ago I did a group shot of my FID girls that inhabit my Glade world, and I've been meaning to do a similar shot of my RD girls. This morning I finally got around to it. From L to right in the back row: Vanya (Elf Nina in NS), Rowena (Emma in NS), Sabia (Monica in Dark Mocha), Shyama (Gene in gray) and sitting in front are Daisha (Daisy in mint) and Nan (Nana in NS)

 

And a couple shots of Daisha and Nan

Nan

Daisha

Some Time to Play

 I've been distracted with other projects lately and haven't really felt like playing with the dolls. This morning I decided to take some time to play, as I'd missed photographing them. So I put Rhi in a new dress and snapped a few new photos.

Her dress is from EvaWorkshopBJD on Etsy.

A Snowy Winter's Day

 Since Vanya and Micha live in the northern territories, I thought it would be fun to visit them inside on a snowy winter's day. Vanya definitely has something on her mind.