The Villa Is Open

[shipwreck_light]

Zephyr had a plan. "We are gonna make you the best electric milkshake that ever was!"

"Or will be!" Pip joined in, clapping her hands over her head as she danced along before him and Roa and generally got in the way of where they were trying to walk.

This gave Zephyr plenty of excuse to pause at the end of the hall and make himself a sweeping gesture. "In the historya... ah..." one that should have ended with him banging his hand on the wall.

Except for the part where the applicable wall had disappeared and not in the usual behold the busted drywall kind of way. It was just gone. Likewise, the hallway and the entirety of Sky Plaza.

Zephyr stood on some low, sweeping stone steps. That happened to be outside, while just a moment before been /inside/ and headed to the kitchen. "OK, what the hell?"

Roa took in the sudden sky all golden up the flanks of the villa before them and held her finger to her lips in curiosity. "I don't know, actually." Then, she attempted to walk down the way they had come. This got her over the steps and almost to the spray from the fountain in the drive before it became quite apparent merely turning around wasn't going to accomplish much besides dampening her shoes. Back up she went. "This *looks* like where they held the last Court of the Manor."

"You dunno?" his next sound was an odd one, not a moan and not a laugh, and awfully feline besides. "Yeah, that's not freakin me out or nothin. Dun you know everythin?"

"Zephyyyr. Same to you."

"You guys," interjected Pip, her bare toes rapping on the stone. "Think this's kinda the same thing happened to Seb."

"Hm?" Zephyr craned himself her way, and their hands tangled together, wires all a-flash.

"Mm!"

"Mnhn."

"Nnn~."

"Well, I like your theory so far," Roa nodded. Mostly, she wasn't being silly right back at their latest ridiculous display. Mostly. "Happened to Siebenkas...?"

"Yeah, he had this dream," the elder of the two evokers almost began to explain, digits working.

Whatever he meant to coax out of the recollections between them, Pip took over, swaying as she did. "He thinks was a dream, but is totally notta dream. I know. I touched him thinkin about it an it was all wrong fora dream. Still didn't make any sense, but not the same kinda way dreams do."

"Also, Seb never dreams he's nekkid. Fun fact."

("So useful, too," Roa remarked, quite to herself.)

"But, he walked outta his bathroom an alla a sudden, he was in this bar in Old New York an there were all these other people an he was almost kinda sorta mebbe flirtin with this mob boss lady over gin an tonic and then there was this real cute muddy guy. Seb didn't think he was so cute, but I did. He got way more distracted by the other lady evoked with her eyes and the booze was good an there were pretty blond polyamourous peeps bonkin in the restroom an... an... an..."

Her not so little description might have gone on another few hours, except that Zephyr reached around with his unoccupied hand and tickled her. The way they'd tangled up together, she must have known it was coming.

Which left Roa to conclude Pip wanted tickled more than she wanted to discuss any washroom adventures. "On one hand, that sounds very much like a dream to me. On the other, if there's some sort of precedent for people in our manor suddenly disobeying all known laws of physics. And you're not playing some sort of elaborate prank."

"Hey! I had my heart set on givin you your first electric milkshake an that's not somethin I'd go back on for any money." Next thing she did know with any certainty, Zephyr had play staggered over, clutching at his shirt, "'m so disappointed it /huuurts/."

"Well, you can make it up to me when the universe goes back to normal."

Grin for the time being, too.

"It is going to go back to normal?"

"Did last time. 's why we still gotta Seb an notta portal to someplace called Dan's," said Pip.

"Alright, so why don't we...?"

"Make the besta it?"

"Yes!" Roa swung from Zephyr's grasp. He only then reached for her, trying to find that place in her moments where the best meant [concrete] he could play after and with her. As it was, he missed her as she skipped the villa steps instead, swirling her skirt in her hands and calling back after: "We're going to get company, right?"

"Woul, that'd be nice, but if not," he shrugged. "We get blitzed an watch the stars come out." A quick little sigh and a pop of his shoulder after, he followed.

Pip watched the space in the sky where the clouds should have been. The end of her nose twitched. "We're so gettin company. Can smell it, almost. Somethin's zactly not right out there." Laughing then, she blew past them both and straight through the doors.



Stuff you actually need to know available in this direction:
http://rainbowlounge.dreamwidth.org/18653.html

Have fun!

ETA: This post has not been up thirty-six hours and we officially have more than 500 comments. SO I SUPPOSE THIS ISN'T FUN AT ALL AMMIRITE? XD

ETA II: I am really, really touched that everyone wants to take care of the deceased fellow in the pool. I'm sure he appreciates it (he didn't even have a name in the story where he first appeared ;_;). But, alas, there was only one of him and he's currently being handled. He may be installed in a bedroom shortly, and should that happen, I will give him his own thread for poking purposes.

Comments

[zach_meyers]

"Oh, my sister goes to Dan's sometimes! Dani runs it now, though. Dan's daughter. He's retired."

Zach would probably be more weirded out by the idea of necromancy if he hadn't shown up in a ballroom with armloads of groceries. As it was, he just said, "Is that a fun job? And thanks."

[blossomdreams]

"That's good to know. I'm glad he's doing well and his daughter is running the bar. He mentioned her when we talked. When he mentioned her she was a child. I wasn't aware that so much time had passed. Then again when I went to the bar I was engaged and now I'm married." He smiled and rubbed his ring.

"Yeah it's pretty fun. I get a chance to do what I love and wear things like this." He gestured to the skirt, boots, and other accessories that completed his outfit. "My friend Susie picked it out. She loves doing that for me. How about you? Where do you work? Are you married? Any kids?"

[zach_meyers]

"I'm a stay-at-home mom," Zach answered. "I also blog, when I have time. My husband and I have six kids. I was actually going home to Jessica, one of the two middle kids, because her respite worker's time was almost over." He gestured at the groceries on the floor. "And, obviously, I went shopping just before that."

[blossomdreams]

Albert nodded to the groceries on the floor. "I see. That sounds nice. I don't have any kids yet, but we're talking about it. I actually was on my way home for date night. I think that happened the last time when I ended up at Dan's." He chewed his bottom lip and messed with his bracelet.

[zach_meyers]

"That sucks," Zach said sympathetically. "What's your spouse like?" No assumptions, not from her.

[blossomdreams]

"Yeah it does. Thanks." Albert flashed a grateful smile.

"What he's like?" He smiled happily as he messed with his pendant. "He's sweet, kind, and hot. Many times he does things without thinking, that makes me shake my head, except when he's working. He's in the army and over his own platoon. He cares a lot about his men. Many times I have to remind him that he should care about himself just as much. I have a lot of fears and phobias, but he doesn't make me feel bad about them. He can be understanding, but then there are times I want to pull my hair out because he's so damn stubborn."

Albert chuckled and shook his head fondly. "He won't back down when we argue or try to manipulate me when I feel uncomfortable. He can be hot headed, stubborn, and irritating at times, but he can be shy, sweet, and kind too. It's hard for me to do anything when I'm sick."

"I think the best part is he knows about my phobias, my outfits, my family, and that one of my best friends is a ghost, but he doesn't bat an eye. I forgot to mention he's a Fire Demon too."

"Sorry for rambling like that." Albert smiled sheepishly. "What's your spouse like?"

[zach_meyers]

"He sounds awesome," Zach said with a grin. "Adamo? He's just awesome. We've been best friends since we were babies, so he's known I'm genderqueer forever, and he's always accepted it. He's always accepted everything about me. He's considerate and loving, and he adores our kids at least as much as I do. He's a high school English teacher, so he has ridiculous patience, but he can also be hard on the kids when he has to be--they're acting up or not listening or something. There was a time, when he first started teaching, that one class didn't listen at all, so he gave them a quiz on a book they'd read two years before." He laughed. "They respected him after that."

[blossomdreams]

"He's really awesome. I forgot to mention his name is Christophe, but I just call him Chris. He's not working late tonight so I'm anxious to see him." Albert said. He smiled and bounced a bit before he settled down. He laughed at the end of the story. "I would respect him too after that. I have alot of respect for teachers. They can do things I could never do. Adamo sounds really sweet and how awesome you knew each other since you were babies."

[zach_meyers]

"You said it was your date night, right?" Zach asked. "I'm sorry you're going to be late, or maybe miss it altogether."

[blossomdreams]

"Thanks. I know if I miss anything I know he'll take it home for me and we can have a romantic dinner at home. He'll be home from work early tomorrow and afterwards his vacation starts. I just hope he believes me when I tell him I got sucked in another world. He's a Demon, I'm a Necromancer, but he finds going to different worlds hard to believe." Albert said with a fond smile.

"What about you? You were going home to see your daughter. You won't be late going home will you?"

[zach_meyers]

"I hope not," Zach said fervently. "Her respite care time was almost over, and she doesn't like her routine being disrupted--which means I need to be there as soon as the two hours are up, or she starts to cry." And then it took forever to calm her down. "And I need to get my other kids soon, too."

[blossomdreams]

"I really hope you can get to her soon. Can you tell me about her and your other children?" Albert asked.

[zach_meyers]

Zach did not need another invitation. "Jessica's the fourth, age-wise. She's seven now, and she's wonderful. Such a sweet girl, and she has the cutest laugh. She's adopted, same as the other three older kids, and her biological brother is Ben. She's also profoundly autistic."

[blossomdreams]

Albert smiled at Zach's enthusiasm. "She sounds so adorable! Me and Chris talked about adoption or looking into a surrogate. I think there's another option in my city too, but I have to look into it."

Albert nodded he knew a lot about autism from his grandmother a healer in Amulet. He knew it was important for Jessica not to have her routine interrupted.

"She's with her brother? That's good. I know a few people who had to look for their siblings when they were old enough. My friends, Kimi and Takashi, didn't separate, though I don't think Takashi would let them. I'm glad they didn't separate Jessica from her brother."

[zach_meyers]

"They almost did," Zach said darkly. "They had a lot of trouble finding a foster home that would keep Jessica. We were the last option before she was placed in a group home and Ben was fostered on his own, and that would have destroyed both of them."

[blossomdreams]

Albert glared and clicked his tongue angrily. "I can't believe they would do that. I couldn't even imagine being separated from my brother and sister. Why would they think Jessica and Ben would want to be separated?"

Albert grumbled under his breath. "I don't know much about the whole situation, but I'm glad you and Adamo have them."

[zach_meyers]

"We are too," Zach said wholeheartedly. "Ben's our only son, and he's such a good kid. He's really solemn because of what their original home was like, and he takes on way too much responsibility for his age--he's only nine--but he's a bright, sweet kid. We're lucky to have him, like all the others."

[blossomdreams]

"Ben sounds awesome. Ben and Jessica sound great. I would love to hear more about your family." Albert smiled. He hoped he wasn't prying too much or asking the wrong questions.

[zach_meyers]

"Evelyn's our oldest. She came to us as this skinny little kid with bright red and gold hair, and she wouldn't talk more than 'yes' and 'no'. Now she wants to be a politician and fix the foster system." Zach laughed. "If anyone could, I think it would be her."

[blossomdreams]

Albert laughed. "I wish her good luck in her future goals."