RP Time? You betcha!

[shipwreck_light]

"Lucien? What did I tell you about running off on your own?"

Somewhat unsurprisingly, his son didn't answer him with more than a grin. And a splash, once Claude had drawn closer.

Leave it to any child of his to throw off his nice new boots just to stick his feet in the first likely looking stream that came along.

It wasn't even as if they'd gone that far out of town, but away from the roads, from the other sorcer-sorts and Aethies, even the breeze felt calmer, though it had hardly caught to much all the while they'd been walking. Claude being glad they had any at all, as hot as it had been the past few days.

The storm the night before had left lacy scatters of twigs and leaves and knocked down spider webs. Clean and still damp, the leaves overhead and tangled in the grass, they looked pieces of stained glass. And the trees, when they nodded, they sounded clear as harp strings with nothing else to cut the sound.

Out of farmland use and the whiles of any humans at all, the stream had been left so clear, so delicious looking. Just begging for some little blond imp of a boy to come along and kick his heels in it.

Well, one already had. Claude didn't bother with another sigh. He pulled his shoes off and laid them in the stones at his side, stretching lazy as he reached his own toes towards the glittering surface.

And promptly jerked back with a yelp. "Child of mine? That's /cold/."

"I know," said Lucien. "I think it feels nice."

"Maybe if you're part bear. I've always halfway figured, you know."

They had some teasing hums between them and Claude crossed his legs, feet now on the warm pebbles along the bank where they damnwell belonged.

"I think I got that from your side of the family," his son suggested after a while. "Anyway, why do you think it's like that? I don't hear anybody around."

"That wasn't tagging along?"

"Well..." The boy knitted his fingers in his hair, tugging himself a wingtip curl along his temple. "I think I'd only notice Nene if she was /gone/."

"And as for our new friends?"

"They couldn't have gone far. They know we have candy." To which, he nodded. Ever so sure of himself.

Ah, children. Children had gotten him this far with their self-assured beings. And children had found him what was really a rather strange clearing on closer inspection. The stream wore deeper through some places in the grass than others, showing shifts of rock, glints of moss and tree roots sneaking by. It divided the clearing just about cleanly in half.

Besides, on the edge of the forest easing back into being, a great, old ash stood.

Covered in tiny flowers. Pink and violet and hints of white. All of them, growing in streaks as if the bark had long ago turned to soil, though the tree seemed healthy and strong otherwise.

Besides.

"Papa," said Lucian, voice hushed. "There aren't any birds here, are there?"

"No," Claude answered after a moment. "It's just you and I and /a bunch of stinkers who ran off from us/."

"Oh, so that doesn't include me?"

"Child of mine."

They had a few more hums, there in the quiet of the clearing.

There, before something very strange and very faint began to creep along Claude's Aether lines.

It felt like being tickled almost. Anyway, it made him smile. Lucien too.

And next, there his son darted off again, racing over the grass and into the middle of the clearing, where he stood staring into the sky and whistling. Expecting a giant Gust to come sailing down in the form of a giant bird? It might just be that.



Welcome!

Note that anything your characters do in the clearing may result in posts back of things happening around them, even if these aren't exactly invited. Something's lurking around here, and it wants a snack!

Feel free to bring your own fairies, ghosts, mages and seriously confused regular people.

Comments

[janet_mohren]

"I don't know if the Corlionis are still a big presence in... import-export and... other things," Janet said, which was as comfortable as she felt talking about it to strangers, "but I work for Johnny Corlioni. Or Giovanni, whichever name you might know. I'm his assistant."

"And I," Alyce said, "am the nanny and housekeeper for Salvatore Corlioni and his wife, Eileen. If you know who the Corlionis are, you might know him as Torey."

Janet tipped her head back. "I'm going to have to tell him you said their first names."

"Only because I was explaining something," Alyce replied, faux-primly.

[johnny_corlioni]

Johnny's eyes narrowed. "How the fuck'd ya know he's trans?" He'd think about the Michael thing--and the straight, cis Matt thing, who was apparently male-assigned at birth (which was a hell of a mindfuck, considering)--after he knew what the fuck his baby sister was pulling.

[sarcasticsra]

"You thought about it earlier. It was an easy path to follow," Maria said. "My strongest magical ability is telepathy. I wouldn't have pried, normally, but this entire situation is abnormal."

[sarcasticsra]

"I'm afraid the names don't ring a bell," Richard said, shaking his head. "That doesn't necessarily mean anything, though--the last time this happened to us, we ran into a woman who inhabited a universe that used sapient lightning to power their electronics. These...meeting places seem to acquire people from everywhere imaginable."

Mark, meanwhile, restrained a smirk. Given the euphemistic language, he was guessing a criminal enterprise of some kind, which didn't bother him. He had always found organized crime far more preferable to other options. Chaos was infinitely more intolerable.

[johnny_corlioni]

Johnny blinked, considered that, and then just shook his head. "Course it is. So how much'd ya find out 'bout me an' Matt? Or jus' 'bout him?"

[sarcasticsra]

"Just enough in flashes to understand the basic differences between our dimensions," she said, shrugging. "Your natural shields are fairly strong for a non-magic-user. I didn't press very far."

[janet_mohren]

"In that case, I think we could be a little more blunt and say they give the Mafia a run for their money," Alyce said.

Janet elbowed her in the calf. "They could take any of the Mafia families," she said, looking over at Richard and Mark. "Believe me. I'm around them five days a week, sometimes fourteen or fifteen hours at a time."

"They have a legitimate import-export business, too," Alyce explained. "I understand it's pretty profitable."

"That's an understatement," Janet murmured.

[johnny_corlioni]

"Well, thanks for that." It was fairly polite of her not to, even if she had read his mind in the first place. "So ya know some 'bout me an' Matt. What 'bout ya? Where'd ya go ta college? What're ya doin' now?"

[sarcasticsra]

"Maybe," she said skeptically. She wasn't planning to live past 70, at this point. She wondered if she might be able to speed up the process. Maybe Little David would have an idea about where to start. "I would certainly adopt one if I could. Cats are excellent companions." Even housecats had enough of that predator streak left in them. She thought that had something to do with why they got along.

[one_eyed_nemo]

Nemo's ears didn't turn back, but they did flatten. "Rikis not pets. Companions," he emphasized. "Friends."

[sarcasticsra]

Maria blinked. "Well, yes. That's what I said. One adopts children too, you know," she said, somewhat pointedly.

[one_eyed_nemo]

She had cats. She should know he wouldn't be mollified so easily. The tip of his tail twitched. "Demis like children. Can't survive alone. Rikis can. Also have jobs, earn credits."

[sarcasticsra]

"That makes sense," she said thoughtfully. "Though why you would then choose to live with people, I can't fathom."

[sarcasticsra]

"I just graduated from Columbia's law school," she said. "Studying for the bar. I've been working at the business part time for years. I plan to join full time once I've passed all the bars I need to."

[sarcasticsra]

"Impressive," Mark said, nodding slightly, a little smug to be proven right. He couldn't help but wonder how this enterprise might fare in his and Richard's current time.

"Fifteen hours at a time?" Richard asked, raising an eyebrow. "I certainly hope you're well-compensated."

[one_eyed_nemo]

The tip of his tail stopped twitching. "Not all do. I do for friends, adventure, curiosity. Housecats in background." That ought to explain some of it.

[sarcasticsra]

Maria nodded thoughtfully. "Living on a ship sounds like an excellent place for that. Do you enjoy it?"

[johnny_corlioni]

Johnny could only imagine how many she planned to take, especially if the ones that accepted results from other states stopped doing so. "Leo's workin' on bar exams now," he said. "Fuckin' pain in the ass whenever I see him." He smirked. "How's he like havin' ya work with him an' Sable?"

[sarcasticsra]

"He's exactly as you might imagine." Maria smirked. "It's rather entertaining, of course."

[janet_mohren]

"Oh, extremely," Janet said, "and I get cash bonuses whenever Johnny's pissed off all day. He doesn't take it out on me, but I think he still feels bad."

"And on her fifteen-hour days, I'm with Mr. Corlioni and Ms. Smith's kids until one of them gets home," Alyce added. "But since they bought me a new car last year, I'm fine with it."

[one_eyed_nemo]

"Yes," Nemo said emphatically. He could try to explain about the Murrol, but he wasn't sure he'd get it across properly. Bryta or Jenna would be able to, but, even as augmented as rikis' minds were, they didn't have a fantastic grasp of grammar; their brains weren't structured for eloquence. Fortunately, his companions understood him well. "Travel around galaxy all the time, all different worlds, moons, asteroids."

[johnny_corlioni]

"Tantrums least twice a week?" Johnny guessed. "Does he piss off even Tore?" He didn't bother asking about Letta or David; their thoughts about Leo couldn't possibly change. Same with Sable.

Orion

[blossomdreams]

"I'm not going into a cycle. My powers are growing stronger because spring is near. The first day of spring is a Fae holiday, but that doesn't mean I get a free pass from work or other responsibilities. I know you and Bernard want me to take the day off. I can do that I just need to make sure everything is finished before I do." Orion pressed the cell phone against his cheek as he tidied up his room. He often forgot that outside of Eco no one knew about Fae holidays.

"I packed Chris's bag, he has everything he needs for the night at his grandparents." He put the books down on the nearest coffee table in his room. He picked up his bag of laundry and walked out the door into a field. He couldn't hear Alene's voice at the other end of the line. He closed his phone and put it in his pocket before he turned around to see the area he landed in.

Orion placed his laundry bag down by his feet and took off his shoes. It felt good to have grass underneath his feet.

He plopped down on the grass and looked around. "Well this is new."

(OOC: Orion is a Faerie who's powers are connected with Spring. He works with the Winchesters, but I haven't introduced him yet.)

Re: Jack, Spirit of Darkness

[bookblather]

Jack eyed him, then shrugged. "All right," he said. "If you say so. But it is what I am, through and through. Temptation-- doesn't enter into it. Nor does it mean we are bad."

Re: Jack, Spirit of Darkness

[bookblather]

Oh, hey, another guy. Jack smiled at him. "Got sick of staying down," he said, and bobbed up and down a bit like a cork on the water. "Why, never seen a guy float before?"

Probably not, if he was human, as he smelled. But after the last guy, this was refreshing.