rainbowlounge | RP Time? You betcha!

"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.

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Ah, someone a little more like him, if not precisely a Shade. Jack drifted closer, curiously, before remembering that even if he was a half inch or so off the ground he probably didn't look it and should at least pretend to pick his feet up and walk.

"Hello," he said, pretending to walk all the way up to them. Charlotte would have been so proud. "As best as we can figure this isn't a trap."

((Just for reference: Jack is not a ghost, he's a Shade, which is a different lifeform altogether. Albert is welcome to try to control him, but it wouldn't work.))

Susie noticed a handsome man coming over their way. She didn't know why he tried to walk, she gave that up ages ago, but figured it worked for him.

"Hello!" She waved with a smile. Albert turned to the person Susie greeted and waved. "Hello. I hope not, but I have my staff ready if it turns out not to be the case. My name is Albert and she's Susie."

Susie curtsied. "Nice to meet you."

"What's your name?" Albert noticed that the man wasn't a ghost, but something different. Something he knew he studied before, but couldn't remember. He didn't sense anything off him, he figured he was alright.

"Jack," Jack said, amused and a little intrigued. The manners that Charlotte had beaten into him by means of her saddest wistfulness kicked in and he continued, automatically, "I'm pleased to meet you as well. I take it your staff has defenses."

Not that much could harm a Shade. He could always go back to his proper form, if it came to that. But he rather liked being human, tall and dark and sleekly handsome.

The fact that Nicholas liked him human too had no bearing on the matter.

Albert nodded as he patted his pocket. "Yep, everything needed to fend off an attack. I'm not much of an attacker though, but I do alright."

"Says the man who can face a Poltergeist."

"Susie!" Albert exclaimed with an embarrassed flush. He didn't know how people felt about Necromancers in this world. He wasn't attacked or anything yet, but he couldn't be too sure.

Susie patted his shoulder with a reassuring smile. "It's true! I know what you're thinking and people would have more trouble with me than you. Sorry about that." She said to Jack. Susie wanted to pull out her record book of ghosts to see if his name was there, but decided against it. "Where do you think we are?"

Poltergeist? Interesting. Jack thought those were all mischievious Aethers out for a prank. But he certainly didn't know anything, as demonstrated by his interaction with that other man.

"I don't know," he said, responding to Susie. "It's a nice place, though. Full of..." There wasn't a word in English. "...experiences." And baby Aethers. Perhaps he'd go over and play with them for a bit, take one or two home to see Charlotte. She would love them. She would love this whole place.

Susie nodded. "It is interesting. This reminds me of the last place I was ended up in. It was a pretty place, it reminded me of Chris's home."

"I know that place I ended up there too. This one feels different, but not bad." Albert said. He looked over at Jack, going through the list of different species in his mind. He wanted to ask him about it, but thought it would be rude. He wished Jill was here she wouldn't hesitate.

Susie placed her hand on Albert's shoulder, her eyes darted over to Jack. Albert nodded.

"Um Jack can we ask you a question?"

"Certainly," Jack said, suddenly amused. These humans were almost adorable! Oh, certainly the girl was no longer alive, but that didn't make her any less human.

...hmm. Perhaps he should have said as much to the other man. Ah well.

The question Albert had on the tip of tongue almost disappeared with the ease Jack answered the question. He came back when Susie squeezed his shoulder.

"Are you a ghost? I know I've seen this before, but I can't think of it at the moment. I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but I've felt this before."

"Me too. I hope you don't mind our curiosity, where we're from it's our job to talk to ghosts and the like. We want to be sure we don't make any assumptions, that's all." Susie said before she started babbling.

Jack laughed. "No, I'm not a ghost. You wouldn't recognize me, I don't look as I should. In fact..." He paused, then shrugged. The other man hadn't had any idea what he was. "In fact you might not even know what I am."

Albert relaxed when Jack didn't snap at him, a smile tugging on his lips at the reaction. He wasn't a ghost that was interesting. He turned to Susie who looked back in surprise. She giggled, no one has surprised her in a while. She didn't know who Jack was, but he was making their visit very enjoyable.

Albert grinned at Susie before he turned to Jack. "Do you mind telling us? I'm looking to learn something new."

"Not at all," he said. "In fact if you like, I'll show you my true form. For the moment though, I am a Shade, of Starside." Formal manners kicked in and he added, "I am called Jackson, grandson of Nancy, son of Christopher and Isobel, brother of Miranda and Charlotte, father to none and grandfather to none." And never would be, if the gods were merciful.

Though Pip could make you want a child. Pip could make you want anything.

A shade that was something new. He wondered if there was any information about them in Amulet. He made a note to look it up when he got back home. Susie didn't know shades existed. She knew about ghosts and poltergeists, but not shades. She continued to learn more and more about Jack.

Jack's true form interested Albert. He wondered if Jack's true form ever scared someone. Albert had a list of fears, but when it came to things like this it never scared him. He stopped wondering why that happened and accepted it a few years back.

Albert nodded. "That sounds like how we greet the council." He held up his wrist to show a silver pendant with an Amethyst stone in the middle. "I'm from the Silver Family of Amulet."

"We didn't have a formal greeting in my village, but I have this from the Second Great Plane and Necromancy office." Susie lifted her wrist to show an identical bracelet and pendant around her wrist. "It shows that I work with Albert and has permission to be out and about."

Greek to him, but it obviously had some sort of importance to them. Jack acknowledged the introduction with a bow. "It is formal manners," he said, and smiled. "My sister Charlotte made me learn them, and you may see how well she succeeded."

"I do. My sister Julie taught me the proper way to greet people too." Albert said.

"My mother taught me. She said it was something important to learn. I learned the other greeting from my guide in the Second Great Plane. Can you tell us more about Shades? Do they have some connection to the afterlife or something different?" Susie said.

"Um," Jack said, taken aback. "I don't know, I never really thought about it. We're creatures of darkness, though, not death. I don't think... I don't think Starside is the afterlife. I don't think you'd come back from the afterlife."

RP Time? You betcha!

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