Another lovely evening

Elijah
He had invited her to dinner.

the pho place wasn't extraordinarily busy on weekends, namely because people were bustling about trying to get the weekend covered and they were faking that Sunday is family dinner day or whatever the case was it only came out to one simple fact: People were not really in the mood for pho on Sundays. Except, of course, if you were Elijah. Elijah was always in the mood for pho, namely because it was cheap, delicious, and easy to dress up for any occasion. In truth, he hadn't had the same pho twice wsince he started coming here. THat meant he'd come up with no less than sixty different combinations since he got to Denver.

Elijah picked Arionna up, borrowed Jenn's car (which was a lot nicer than the Civic. Well, it happened to be another Civic but this one smelled new and a little like a lavender satchel that she stuffed in the cup holder along with a piece of rose quartz and a rolled up piece of paper.

They got there quickly enough set up with a table, and Elijah held the menu like he wasn't going know immediately what he wanted. This was part of the ritual.

"So, I missed the shit out of you," he announces, "glad you took a break from your studies."

Arionna
Getting out the house was more than enjoyable when you find yourself stuffed in it for so long. It was almost thrilling. She enjoyed studying, sure, but her family was almost always there in some form and Lavinia...she had left. Ari hadn't been exactly in good spirits since then. But that was life wasn't it? Something she understood and knew would happen in time. People leave. It's a simple truth.

She sat across from him in a skirt that reached her ankles. She had gone shorter so she didn't trip, but she still enjoyed being 'girly.' Thankfully, with a little help, she had managed to make sure her wardrobe could match almost anything; how could she fail?

But that is neither here nor there as they sit across from one another, Eli with his menu and Ari with her palms placed on it flat on the table; it's not readable for her after all. In this place she often trusts Eli.

His announcement causes a lift of her brows in curiosity or perhaps confusion. "Not something I expected of you. Are all the others lacking in entertainment these days?

Elijah
"They're lacking in specificity," he tells her, as though this mattered or as though this made any sense. He's content to leave it where it is; Elijah has a smile on his face. She can hear it in the tone, in the way that there is a slight lilt to that southern accent.

"Rare beef brisket or are you feeling like tripe?"

... yes, that was a serious question.

He looks over the menu again, his attentions there for the time being while he tried to find something that she would like that he hadn't already ordered for her before. Arionna was a surprisingly good sport about these sort of things.

Arionna
"Beef." It's a simple choice for her really. Red meat always wins her heart over. "They must just be busy."

"I expected we wouldn't talk for some time given our last meeting." Her head canted just a little and Ari relaxed her brows. "Makes me wonder at the nature of our meeting again."

Arionna
[alertness for fun]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 4, 6, 6, 8, 9) ( success x 4 )

Elijah
"I'm getting better at self-regulating," he says, "so you don't have to worry about me expecting you to be the sole source of my catharsis when shit hits the fan."

A second and he continues on, passing through as to why they may be meeting. Doesn't hold on to something sentimental because in truth he doubts she would accept it. He knew that they weould hurt each other, but he stayed anyway save for the moments that he simply couldn't handle it. Their relationship was a moving walkway; iut was hard to go back unless you truly wanted to work doubletime to make it happen.

She can hear him put the menu down again, tuck it away between a napkin dispenser and the condiments on a lazy susan. As though her will made it happen, the waitress came by and took their order. Two pho tai. Small, because the portions were freaking gigantic here and they were going to get a freaking gallon of noodle soup no matter what they ordered.

They are left alone again. The silence isn't bad.

"The storm that acted as a deterrent to getting into other realms is gone," said with wonder.

Arionna
"I'm simply not an excellent source for that sort of thing. That isn't to say that I'm unwilling to be...supportive in some manner. The trouble is that I do not operate in similar ways to those you know. Believing I do will only cause future errors." Arionna tilts her head as the waitress comes and asks for an ice tea to go with that. The more she thinks about noodles, the nicer it sounds.

"I suspect that pleases you in some manner. That is something that relates to your work. Do you know why it has vanished?"

Elijah
He bites his tongue. It's a literal thing. He literally bites his tongue and takes a second to breathe, to process through and remember that there are things about his friend that are different from other people. She doesn't say things to be callous, and she doesn't speak the way she does to isolate people. No, she does so simply because this is how she is. She is intelligent; she is academic. She speaks in a manner befitting of an academic.

He grazes over the statement about causing future errors to focus, instead, on the Avatar storm.

"Yeah," he says while he inhales,. "it's been going on for... what? Twenty years? Maybe? Almost twenty? It may be closer to fifteen, I would have to do more research. It cut us off from a number of umbral realms, killed multiple masters, did a whole bunch of shit- it's really pretty fascinating if it weren't so terrifying."

"Apparently it's been dying down for months, which makes sense. I've never known a storm to rage for an eternity; everything moves in cycles. If I knew what caused the thing in the first place it would be different, but I get the feeling that it would be a complete mess."

Arionna
Arionna can hear the silence, feel the tension without knowing he's bitten his tongue at all. It's there, in the air.

"I don't think it's wise to move into other spaces that are not our own. Engaging with other beings that are unlike ourselves is dangerous. Their desires, needs, and expectations may be different. Ghosts, I imagine, are very much like us, but it isn't those I would be concerned about. Even the darkest of witches knows better than to, say, consort with demons. Nevermind how weak it makes one."

"But if it is indeed gone, then there is a reason, and that reason may be good or bad. Given its length, I might suggest bad, if only because of our tendency to rush to positive assumptions."

Elijah
"It has its consequences," he tells her, "the gauntlet is a two way street- if it's easier for us to get in it stands to reason that now it is easier for other things to get out. It also ebbs and flows with the location- places that are undisturbed by people and are less calcified are easier to pass through; the indication is that uninhibited nature and the world we see are not so different. When you pass through it's very much more than is looks.

"It's a place that demands respect. Not everything there is a demon, and there are places deeper still that are beyond human comprehension and seeing just a part of that was so validating."

There's that smile again. A sigh. Some pleasure in what was there.

"I get the impression that the storm itself was unnatural, so letting it dissipate might be good for restoring the natural order."

Arionna
"Precisely why one shouldn't meddle. Despite that, it's pleasing to see you excited about something." As if Elijah wasn't ever excited. Ari was simply trying to 'be nice.' She shifts a little, turning her head away from him as she listens to what few are even present.

"I suspect that the other realms and the storm isn't the most eventful thing that has occurred in your life. I almost suspect it was a consequence of something you were doing."

Elijah
"It was just a jaunt off into the umbra, Henry said he'd take me at some point so, like, this was it. Which was pretty amazing. You can't stay too long, though," he skips right over her being nice and continues to be exuberant about the experience. Soon enough, food does come. The waitress, that Ari can hear, is talking to some of the other customers in Vietnamese. She leaves the bowls and gives a subtle please enjoy before wandering off. Drinks are filled- a water and an iced tea, and away she whisks like a thief into the night.

"I wish that you were actually interested in this. Your turn to be excited- three two one- name something interesting you've been doing."

Arionna
"And why can't you stay for too long? How does one quantify that?" She slides her hand slowly t find the utensils, using the other to orient herself in relation to the bowl. People sometimes forget that eyes for used for more than just walking and reading. "I've simply never been interested much in those who find no peace. Not unless I wish to bind them in some manner."

He wants her to state something she's been doing that's interesting. "Reading." Is what he gets because...what did he expect from her?

Elijah
"Because the longer you stay, the greater risk there is that you lose a corporeal form. I don't have a time line, but I'd imagine it's a matter of months, which can happen pretty easily given that time doesn't pass the same way. It requires resetting your internal clock to be aware of time outside, I'd think? Just hypothesizing there," he sais, has already headed for the soy sauce and limes as he doctors his bowl to meet his specifications.

"What've you been reading about?"

Arionna
"Is it? Hm. I suspect that spending many, but brief moments in such a place would aid you in telling time effectively, though I'm not certain. Obviously." She leans a little, lifting up some of the noodles to eat them slowly. She chewed, scooping up another set of noodles. After a moment she answered with, "Behavioral Genetics." There's a beat before she realizes he may not understand exactly what that is. "It's the examination of the way genes and environment affect behavior."

Elijah
"Is this within the confines of animal behavior or are you guys, like, working on people stuff too?"he takes a bite of food. Beef. Noodles. Jalepeno. He doesn't seem to be having terribly many problems with this, but he does seem to be paying attention. He knows Arionna is smart, and knows that she doesn't often talk about what she's studying so his attention is directly in front of him. Eating, yes, but paying attention.

He couldn't be a singular creature even if he tried.

Arionna
"They are one and the same. What we learn of animals is true of humans. Often we examine animals first and apply such findings to people within the...ethical confines defined by society. For instance, is the tendency to avoid others versus extend oneself to risky situations environmental or genetic? It is a combination of course, as one must have the tendency towards one or the other at the very beginning, but its expression relies on the right circumstances. Discovering the variables that lead to such things is imperative to understanding the root of behavior, and how it can be altered."

"It isn't easy, of course, and it can be quite dull. Fruit flies are a favorite organism to use for their lack of ethical restraints and ability to propagate quickly."

Elijah
"So what's the thought process on that? The risk taking, that is- what causes the whole I actively seek danger spiel?" she does say that they study fruitflies, though, and something about that makes Elijah laugh. The sound comes easily, and he sounds just comfortable with the whole concept.

"Why is it bad that I'm imagining criminology majors studying the serial murdering patterns of fruit flies. Like you end it with this weird Dahmer fly or something."

A beat.

"Sorry, that was kinda morbid, even if it was with hypothetical sociopathic fruitflies."

Arionna
"Psychopathic." She corrects him. "Sociopathic relies on the environment. Psychopathic would be genetic. In the event that a fly would exhibit such behavior, and that its offspring could be made to do the same, it would be psychopathy. It is possible." She considers it for a moment, taking another bite.

"It seems that the desire for risk or no risk is partially dependent on the environment the organism is raised in. In an environment with an abundance of predators, you may have fewer risk takers as it is unwise to do so. In a place with fewer, more will be riskier. That is the most simplistic explanation, as genes do still play an important role. "

Elijah
[Per+empathy- are you talking down to me?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (4, 4, 4, 8, 9, 10, 10) ( success x 4 )

Elijah
She corrects him, and he takes a bite of food, chews and swallows before he reformulates what he's going to say.

"... I get that you don't think I'm not your intellectual equal, Arionna, but when you talk down to me it is disrespectful. I treat you like an equal and I expected you to extend the same courtesy to me, unless I am again making an error in my perceptions."

Elijah
(""... I get that you don't think I'm your intellectual equal."

Double negatives Heather)

Arionna
There's a pause and a silence as she considers his words.

"Ah."

"Then I should speak as if you know precisely what I'm referring to? I suppose it was rather presumptuous of me to assume you are not versed in behavioral genetics, or ecology for that matter. I'll refrain from explaining the intricacies in a manner that would allow for minimal confusion." There is a bite to her words, a sort of irritation at him. She isn't hiding it.

Elijah
"Not understanding the entirety of a subject or being mistaken on subject matter doesn't mean you have to talk to someone like they're less of a person, Arionna," he's trying, like he's pleading with her, like he's desperate for her to try and see this his way. He exhales.

"And now it sounds like you're trying to say fine, I won't explain things anymore because very clearly it would confuse you. I'm not dumb, but you have to be patient we study different things. There are things that I don't know that I don't know."

He drops his voice, "you do this with magic too and I don't get it. Am I not trying hard enough? Am I not getting what you need? What am I missing here- I'm trying to be your friend but when I try it's like the message I'm getting is that I have no idea how to do that."

Arionna
"You become angry when I explain, and you become angry when I say nothing. I'm not entirely sure what you expect. You want me to realize you don't understand something, but you also wish I won't explain things in such a manner. I'm unclear as to exactly what you want of me? You ask what I study and I explain. I correct your mistakes so that you are the wiser for it and won't make them again. Yet that seems to displease you. So I admit defeat and won't do such things again. Yet that displeases you."

"You will inevitably ask questions of what you don't know. It's more efficient to simply explain it now rather than later."

Elijah
"It's not the explanation it's the tone of it all," he says, "we're on opposite sides of the issue on human behavior, so I've tried to stop bringing that up because i don't want to fight with you. We have different views on where ethics come into play with free will, or whether or not free will actually exists and it's not a conversation, it's not a debate- it's never a debate. It's not been a back and forth and a sharing of ideas about anything, it's all been approached from the perspective I'm right and that's how things are and you don't even entertain the idea that your view isn't the only one out there and it freaking kills me."

He lets out a long breath, because he had been talking fast. Probably gesturing. Probably forgot about his food for five seconds.

"I want you to treat me like an equal in the sense that we both have an inherent right to being allowed to have dignity."

Arionna
"How can an individual hold an educated opinion when they know nothing of the subject? If you're not versed in biology, how can you entertain any opinion of that which relates. Just as I have no true opinion on the nature of these other worlds you have such a passion for, only that I am quite leery of engaging with such things myself. In the end, you are far more versed in it than I am, and I am pleased to accept that."

"One cannot debate what they don't know. You may hold an opinion on the nature of humanity, but it is merely from your own observations, not from an actual acquisition of knowledge. It would be no different than my attempts to debate the finer points of the other realms. I speak merely from lack of exposure, and you from actual knowledge. How foolish I would be to debate it."

She tightens her lips, leaves her bowl untouched except for the fact that she has simply pushed it closer to the edge of the table, where the waitress can pick it up. Ari leans for her bag, ruffling her hand in it long enough to slip out her wallet. The bills are folded in different ways and she touches them for a long moment before pulling out a 10, setting it on the table. "That will likely take care of my own, I think. You'll let me know if it doesn't."

Elijah
"So you're just walking out?" he reaches for his wallet, throws a twenty on the table because he doesn't really care what he's tipping the waitress, which comes out to be little more than a forty percent tip, all things said. She gets up and he gets up with her. This is a familiar dance.

"You're talking about exposure and I'm talking about intelligence. We're talking about two different things," he follows along because she's walking off and he is having none of it. "The only thing I'm asking, literally the only thing I want from you is to at least fucking pretend like you take me seriously."

Arionna
Ari walks slowly given her troubles, but she still persists, pausing just outside of the door. "I think you hardly have any room to critique my decision to end the conversation given our meeting prior to this one. Though maybe you've forgotten it." Her brows furrow slowly and she cants her head toward shim a little.  "I'm talking about the capacity to form an informed opinion worthy of debating. One cannot debate physics if one doesn't know it, no matter how intelligent they may be."

She taps the end of her cane against the cement as hard as she can, resting her hand on top of it. "So you assume I perceive you as a joke then? That I don't take you seriously because I don't engage in a debate over a topic that we are clearly not on even ground with. " Her voice lifts in irritation. "You have so little trust in my character when it pertains to you that I even wonder if I am the one who struggles with trusting. At the very least I would expect a little faith on your end given our past experiences with one another. Unless, of course, such activities mean very little to you."

"I'm going home. Lavinia has left, so it's not the only real place I have to return to, but at the very least I have the fortune of being alone. Where I'm not fighting over bruised egos and whatever else comes along. "

"I'll call a cab."

Arionna
[*it's now the]

Elijah
[WP: don't say something shitty to her]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (2, 2, 4, 7, 8) ( success x 2 )

Elijah
because I don't engage in a debate over a topic that we are clearly not on even ground with

"You act like we're not on any ground with any topic and when-"

He stops.

She continues on, and he inhales slow and long and deep and there were a number of things he could retort with. A number of comebacks and insults and details that he could pick apart. If he wanted to, he could be cruel... but he doesn't want to. At the end of the day, he doesn't make any attempt to hide that this hurts.

"I'll pay for your cab if you'll let me. I'm sorry that this hasn't been the best of evenings, and I genuinely hope you have a good night." He does stay until the cab gets there, but after that point he doesn't actually say anything. He only leaves if she specifically tells him to go away, which he doesn't fight and there is stillness.

He knows at least three bars he can hit on the way home.

Failed comforts

Arionna de la Babin

Arionna was doing her best to focus on her studies. She had braille to finish before school was out, lest she require a tutor (Ari was not a fan of people, and so she was particularly motivated do it on her own). Then there were magical studies. It wasn't as...scholarly...as Elijah's, though she might have thrived in such an environment, but it still required concentration and work. This meant that she was busy. She had taken time to help Eli with his parents, but then it was back to work.

Ari was getting increasingly focused. She liked her studies, and if she truly wanted to dedicate herself to her worship...

Wouldn't that mean that much of life in general was a distraction? How did Lavi effectively live on the road without an education and secure job?

The house was quiet, mostly, with only her uncle and herself present, though her aunt would be home soon. She moved around the house in a pair of pajama pants and a tank top, glasses left away because she didn't need them, and her stick held against her body while she tried to move around the house without using it. She didn't know, yet, that Eli was coming, but when he did, she would find it a bit surprising. 

Elijah

The house was quiet, mostly. The house was about to get louder, because with Elijah there came sound. There came movement. There came motion. He hadn't seen Arionna since his parents had left. Maybe on campus, if she was ever on campus. He still worked there, he still had studies to go through. While the Order had quite a number of things that he had to learn, he didn't seem to be drowning in his studies. It was actually something he could look forward to-

Even if he did end up dusting a lot of things that Elijah was pretty sure might be cursed. One had to be careful with other peoples things, you never know quite what you're handling.

So there he was, at the front door, motorcycle in the drive way and his backpack slung over his shoulder. He knocked, hard, sharp fast. Three times and then done.

"Aaaaaarionnaaaaaaaaa, I brought you strawberries."

Arionna de la Babin

[alertness]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 4, 4, 5, 9) ( success x 1 )

Arionna de la Babin

She is... out of it. Or maybe she's tired. She doesn't move as deftly around the house as she would like, though she does manage if only because of memory. It takes the third knock for her to hear him, and Ari begins the progression to the door. 

Lily, and her lovely perfect car, slides into the drive way, parking neatly behind his motorcycle without much care. When she steps out, her dark hair is pinned back perfectly on her head, and her head held high as she clicks her way on her heels towards the door. Ari opens the door when Lily is halfway to the door, giving a cold look at Elijah.

"Strawberries?" Her brows furrow a little because she smells nothing (are they something you can smell easily?). Ari steps to the side, and Aunt Lily is right behind Elijah, her purse held in her thin, bony hand. She doesn't say anything but expects Elijah to move one way or another; Forward or back... he will decide eventually, though she expects now.

"You're in high spirits, Elijah." Ari tilts her head a little and she reached out for Eli's arm t pull him in. "We can go upstairs."

Elijah

Lily gives Elijah a cold look, and he can't help himself. he literally can not help himself, because he looks at her and beams at her, for her, because she is there and he's pleased to be there and how dare he be anything other than pleased to be in good company. He even waves, "hi. Want some strawberries?"

But then, there's Ari, she steps aside and he steps on to take Ari's arm since she's pulling him in, "I survived to twenty-one. I feel like I've accomplished something."

Arionna de la Babin

She is unphased. Lily  looks towards Ari as she pulls him in. Lily steps past the two of them as if they didn't even exist. "I will be having guests later this evening. I expect you'll be on good behavior." And then she was gone, wandering past the kitchen and livingroom to the beyond. 

Ari closes the door behind Elijah. "Twenty one is hardly an age to be celebrating. Most people in the western hemisphere make it to that age." But now she was moving slowly, making her way in the direction of the stairs. 

Elijah

[Totally chipper and good!]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (2, 3, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9) ( success x 5 )

Elijah

He drops his voice, steps in to Ari and whispers as though he were the narrator of some great epoch, "I expect you'll be on good behavior, she said. Her voice like strings held taut for so long that they knew no slack. But only the dark haired maiden knew if she could trust her companion to make good on such an imperative."

But it was off to the right places, and he stood straight and tall again and he followed. Lily was unphased and he, bright and chipper, continued on to wherever it was that Ari was taking them. Truth be told, she could have left him in the basement and he wouldn't have particularly cared. He just seemed to go… wherever. Perhaps a little distracted, perhaps too chipper for all the things that have happened.

"I got shot. It was kind of iffy."

Arionna de la Babin

Ari snickered.

She snickered and then she laughed. "You'll get me in trouble, you know. I swear she hears nearly everything." At the top, she closed her door and locked it as she often did. Ari was protective of her space; she liked having a private place to work on her magic, or in some cases, have a friend (her only friend) over and talk about matters that she felt Lily ought not to know about. "There couldn't be two individuals more different than you and she."

Elijah got shot. Ari's brows dropped again and she lifted her cane to give him a whack on the leg. "What did you do?!"

Elijah

"If you don't see me after this, presume your aunt buried me in the basement or something," he paused, "do you have a basement? Basements are imperative for nefarious plans. Besides, if you get in trouble here, it just means we have to go out- which is exhausting, so I suppose I should keep my subversive activities on the down low."

He came to the room and took a quick look around. he left his backpack at the door, which was dropped with a quiet thud. He was careful with it- it actually did have strawberries in it, you know. Though, he does get to the part about being shot, and he does draw a sharp breath when she whacked him; he needed that shin, thank you very much!

"I went out to see a band, Sera and Dan were there- then, the place got shot up because- I don't know- some drug deal or something, I guess?" he shrugged, "that's what the news said. But anyway, shots were fired- I thought the bartender was going to die, ended up catching a bullet between the shoulder blades when I tried to vault the bar?"

he's pretty calm about this, and there are things he's leaving out. He's not talking about the fact that it nearly killed him, and would have had Serafíne not been there, "the bartender lived, though, so I think that was a plus."

Arionna de la Babin

"I suspected you had been the cause somehow. You're reckless." She moved to her bed and sat down, packing up her cane to put away. Ari knew where everything in her room was, she didn't need help. "I don't much care about anyone else really. Wouldn't you have had some inkling that the bar wasn't a place to be? I'd find it unlikely the more upscale establishments to have a shoot out over drugs. The people around here are more likely to quietly dismember you and drop you in the lake at their vacation home."

"And yes we have a basement. She's smart enough to know that burying you in her own home would be unwise. Best to bury someone in a place you're not known to visit. "

Her lips had pursed, displeased. But she sighed a little. "At least you're well now."

Elijah

"I prefer to deal with people who are going to outright shoot me than people who are going to steal my livelihood. There's honesty in turf wars, and I get being desperate enough to do something stupid. I mean, I'm not mad about it- I figure I could be, but… what's the point? It's done," he said with a shrug, "if I'm gonna do something to deserve getting shot, I'd be a lot more cavalier."

He does settle down, takes a step and sits with his back against the bed on the floor. He's close enough, but takes a second to just observe and take her in, take a little bit of joy in that. He doesn't think of things, though maybe this is a distraction. Maybe he's in good spirits because he wants to be instead of being mortified that the month has decided to try and kill him twice.

"But yeah, I'm here. I'm breathing, I'm… yeah, I'm good," he says, like that convinces him. Saying it makes it so, words have power and all that. "What's new? I haven't seen you in awhile."

Sounds an awful like I missed you.

Arionna de la Babin

She pulled her legs up slowly onto the bed, curling them in and crossing them. It gave her a place to put her hands since now, she could rest on her knees, or play with the fabric of her bed. Ari rarely blinked, and she knew it was upsetting to normal people (though normally she cared little) but here she didn't have need to cover them. Sometimes she wondered what she actually looked like. Where did she have a tendency to look exactly? How blank did she seem?

"I've never understood the appeal of drugs really. I understand the use as a means of escape, but they don't really provide that. The world still exists, and you still have  a place in it. When you return, you'll only return to a bigger mess. Ignoring a problem doesn't really make it go away, it often times makes it worse. If a problem is too great, you'd be better served simply leaving. Then escape is possible."

Ari cants her head, her soft locks swaying just a little as she listens to his movement. "Being alive doesn't constitute being good. The two aren't very well connected to one another. Which tells me you aren't really at all."

But he's curious as to her life, and if she noted the way his comment might have sounded, she didn't say anything about it. "Nothing." She states simply. "My life is considerably less exciting than yours. No shootings. No parents...just all the things I have been doing for months. Did you expect something different?"

Elijah

He reached over to the side, hand on her knee and trailing down her shin for a moment. A nice contact, a reminder that, yes- he was sitting in the floor, and yes- he was content to be precisely where he was. "Sounds like advocacy for responsible suicide," he tells her, "if the problem is too great, you're better served by leaving… except, sometimes, you don't actually get to leave but, y'know."

He shrugs, leans back against the bed. His thoughts travel, because he's always wondering when his thoughts are wandering, and soon enough he stretched his legs out in front of him, crossed at the ankles.

"I was hoping for something about what you've been studying, what you've found that sparks your passion, what words and thoughts and actions have pushed you forward and driven you on… as for me, I'm not always good. I'm not good right now, but I want to be, so I'm here. Which makes right now good."

Arionna de la Babin

"I suppose that is one way to leave a situation, but no, I meant the relocation of an individual. Moving, as an example. There might be new problems, but it does help escape the previous." Her chin tilts down a little at the affection, and at least now she knows his location. Exactly. "If someone wants to end their life, it is a choice that is theirs to make. It is a choice that can be criticized but ultimately understood and respected. It's no different to me than choosing to live. There is no right nor wrong answer. We all return to the same place eventually."  Maybe Lavinia was rubbing off on her more than she realized. "Then we will be reborn, and returned again in time. "

Ari reaches out to lightly touch his hand, to let him know she noticed. "How to read with my hands, how to understand the composition of the universe, and whether or not my path is true. If you really want to know, the question exists as to whether I am dedicated as much as I ought to be, or if I'm allowing interference."

Then Ari's brows furrowed slowly and her head tilted. "I wouldn't consider my home the pinnacle of joy. No one comes here to be happy or good. Unless your concept of 'good' involves impressive silverware, fancy meals, and proper english."

Elijah

Ari furrowed her brows, tile her head, and she can hear the grin on his face. "Tell me again why we are not going downstairs and being on our best behavior, then?"

Oh, there is a way he says it. There is a way that he says it that makes it sound like he means it, like he genuinely means that they could go downstairs and be bright and lovely and charming little children except there is a hint, an edge- an edge Elijah uses and uses well that tints his words. He's had to play nice and play perfect for awhile, stressed over it and picked through everything he believed to boil it into something that his potential tradition mates would buy.

Lily is not a Hermetic. Elijah could really give two shits about being perfect for her.

Arionna de la Babin

"I have no interest in those people." She says as simple and matter-of-factly as she can. "And for the moment, she controls the money. Both for myself and my mother." She uncurled her legs slowly. "We have time until her people come, most likely. Were you wanting something?"

Elijah may be trying to be playful, but Ari doesn't seem to take the bait. "In the end, you can leave. I can't. I have to return here each night, and I'd rather do it in peace. Hardly any fun, I know, but we both live in different situations it seems."

"You didn't come here to wreck a dinner party anyhow."

Elijah

"I never come to wreck a dinner party, but when the opportunity presents itself I have been known to wreck dinner parties," Ari doesn't take the bait though, and he sighs an overly dramatic sigh. He calms, less dramatic, "I actually do like dinner parties. If you can believe it, I actually like the almost high ritual aspect of it- rules and protocols the players in the game know. Courses brought and cleansing completed, like you're paying chiminage to some great and powerful spirit because if you play by their protocols, then they accept you as one of their own. The slightest break, a well-timed breath and a look are points made and challenges thrown. All done with this veneer that nothing is amiss. It's all languages spoken in flowers and fans and I kinda want to get good at it sometimes."

A moment passed again, an odd pause.

"Do you get along with your aunt? Like, do you like her?"

Arionna de la Babin

"I find some beings acceptable to come to mutual terms with, and others I think best to dominate. Appeasement should only be offered to those who deserve it. So I hate dinner parties. I hate the rules, the fake etiquette, and the forced dramatic conversation that always skirts around issues worth talking about for the more mundane gossip. In the case of her parties, it will be about business. Business is boring, dull, tiresome. The men aren't exactly worth speaking to."

"But you are a different person than I. You enjoy the presence of others, I don't. You approach the world with a far nicer perspective, I don't. You perceive people as being better than they truly are, and worth more of your time than they are...I don't."

"We coexist. I like her more than most people and less than a select few. I don't hate her, if that is what you're asking. We are similar in a lot of ways, and dissimilar in more. She is capable of limited magic, and that places her beneath me in many respects. " She pursed her lips for a moment.

"Anyone who proclaims true loyalty to your own personal cause and your own personal welfare is suspect. Everyone has their motivations, and they rarely align perfectly. In that vein, she and I are not...connected. So your question has a complicated answer. The simplest answer I can give you is, I don't mind her mostly."

"Why?"

Elijah

"The etiquette isn't fake, at one point it actually did have a purpose. There's symbolism and history in all of it, and it's not the ritual's fault that some people are too dumb to understand the purpose- if you're versed, you can spot a poser a mile away. It's training wheels for dealing with spirits, who really  do require that many rules," he stops, he rethinks.

He softens, "I didn't get it, I mean, I talked to Sera when we were talking about, like etiquette and the way the Order works and ritual and protocol because I was fucking tripped up over this and it wasn't that things don't have meaning- it's that some things have shit tons of meaning and you have to be open to it.

"A well-done dinner party is fucking art."

There was other stuff, things he needed to wonder, things he needed to field. He takes in what it is Arionna's saying and he inhales again, his breathing is measured. There are things he's not saying, but there are always things Elijah isn't saying. there's the problem, she knows well and good that he isn't all sunshine all the time, but what was his angle today?

"I just wanted to know," he says, "because I wanted to know if you guys cared about each other… because the way that it sounded, you guys just kind of tolerate each other."

Arionna de la Babin

[empathy -Bull]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 5, 7, 10) ( success x 2 )

Elijah

Elijah has suspicions. He has questions because he wants to know the dynamic of the place that he is in and all he can feel or see is resentment. The status differences on multiple levels- Arionna's perceived (or actual, depending on where you are) superiority towards a hedge mage. Her aunt's clear use of status as a means of control followed by Arionna's flaunting of conventional status to focus, instead, on the magical where she has power and she has pull. He wonders what the dynamic is like, because what he sees is a power struggle that remains unspoken. 

Arionna de la Babin

"Dinner parties are fake. The people at them, are fake. It isn't genuine. Any person who sits at a dinner party and engages in the banter they provide is nothing like they appear to be, and yet, they do it all to save face. "

Ari listens. She's not as attuned today as she often was, and she might blame that on her studying. But she listens to him, tries to feel the weight of him from where she is without even moving. "Tolerate is an acceptable term. Her feelings are unknown to me. She has always been as she is now, even when she located me. A sudden appearance I find very...suspicious."

"I...have very few individuals I care about. I may be able to count three that I find important enough to consider close to my person and worthy of my ...affection." She shifted a little in her seat to get comfortable again. "But you're probing at something else. If you want to know something, Elijah, then you should just ask it. You know I dislike subtlety in words."

Elijah

"I feel like your assessment of pomp and circumstance and falsehood-" there's something almost biting the way he says it. Elijah has a way with words, knows what he says sometimes, knows how to use them, wields things like daggers or poetry when he needs. Falsehood needed to be biting, because it was- the very nature of the word, "it doesn't matter what I feel."

Brushes it off, "that isn't why I came anyway. Talk about family dynamics because I'll just sound naive and I don't feel like being judged."

"You know I'm not as sunshine and rainbows and doesn't know how the world really works as I seem, right?" he's tense, rides across in his tone, "and sometimes, I don't think you mean it, but it comes across like you're judging me and I can't figure out what I did to deserve it or why I give a shit but I do." He shouldn't be talking, but he keeps going, "do you know that I killed something a couple days ago? Used True fucking words and Will and wrote something out of existence. Left it in a pile of charred flesh and ashes."

He's quiet after that. A long, awkward quiet.

"That's… why I came over. I nearly died on my birthday because I decided to save someone's life, and two weeks later I used magic to unmake something and it was all really fucked up and I wanted to spend time with you because I really fucking missed you."

Another moment, something raw, like… like pushing on a bruise or skin rubbed raw from rope too tight.

"I came over because I wanted to be around you, listen to the things that you love studying and make you happy, and affirm life because that's important because things can be really fucking dark and I just-" and thus, the young man with all the words, all the precision… lost them, "I don't know."

Arionna de la Babin

There's a sigh that lifts in the air. 

"Is it sad that I find amusement in you coming to me to feel better? I'm not skilled in comfort or appeasement. I don't even like it often times."

"Everyone judges us Eli. Even when they say they don't, they are. Everyone watches everything we each do, and they form opinions based on that information. Those are judgments. I can stop it no more than a frog can stop hopping. It's what we do. It's how we understand one another. Form our connections.. or whatever it is humans seek out. The only reason it's not so apparent from others is that they are kinder, gentler, and not aware of it. You don't need to be naive to miss that. Normal people just think that friends never think badly of them, never look at their decisions and make opinions of their character. Normal people trust enough to over look the fact that each moment we're assessing each other to keep each other within the confines of the 'rules.' "

"But I don't believe that anyone truly trusts me,, and I find it difficult to do it myself. You want us to talk, to exchange, and you want me to be nice about it, knowing I don't do that. You expect me to be someone I'm not. I use to do the same to you, and I've learned to move beyond it. "

Ari has an idea of how this is all going to end, but she keeps going. "I'll do a lot of things for you Eli, a gift I don't give to very many. If I have to choose between you and someone else...the odds are more than likely in your favor. I will even defend you, if I have to, and keep you safe from others like me. But I can't soften my words to make you feel better. Maybe that will hurt, and you'll feel judged...maybe you'll feel like I don't care. But I'll never lie. I will be honest because I believe in honesty. I'll tell you everything you don't want to hear, criticize your ideals, and push you. You're not naive, most of the time, you're not unaware of how bad the world can be, but you don't see everything. So when everyone else sugar coats their words and tries desperately not to hurt your feelings, I'll tell you exactly how I feel, and exactly what I think if you want to know it. I assume you do when we talk, but maybe I've been wrong."

She lifted a hand to pull a strand of hair from her lips, sliding it back behind her ear. "I'm sorry you had a rough time. That things didn't go the way you hoped, and it made you feel horrible. I'm sorry about your birthday. I didn't even know when it was. Or I might have visited. I can't even understand how you feel in 'unmaking' something, as I find the concept strange. I appreciate your sentiment. I find it puzzling, but I appreciate it anyway."

"Just don't expect happiness from me. It's not something I look for. I don't expect it. The world doesn't work that way. I can't give you that, no matter how much you want it. And I can't tell you about what I've been studying unless you anticipate looking at pages of raised dots or talking about how the world is put together or...whatever. I doubt that is a good idea given our past conversations."

"But I find it odd that I'm a person you come to when you aren't feeling as exuberant as usual. I've never been very cheery, or optimistic, or loving, or affectionate. And I have no reason to suddenly become that."

Elijah

[Manip+sub: I'm fine! +2, because seriously, no I'm not]

Dice: 7 d10 TN8 (1, 1, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10) ( success x 5 )

Arionna de la Babin

[buuull - empathy]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (5, 5, 7, 8, 8, 10) ( success x 4 )

Elijah

She can't see the way he looks right now, the way that his stomach tenses the way that he just looks at her like this was all some sort of expected. Like this was a punch he knew he'd walk into, but did it anyway. Even rubs his jaw as his breath catches in his throat.

"I'm… I'd better go," he says, stands up and starts to head for the door, towards his backpack, to rummage through whatever was there and determine whether or not he was actually going to leave produce for Arionna, "I'm not good company right now, I should let you get back to your studying."

"I'm a little too fake right now to be good company," which sounds like something conversational. Which sounds like just a matter of understanding when he isn't in a good headspace, "I wanted to try and be honest with you."

Arionna de la Babin

"Good company is boring company. I'd rather have your 'terrible' company than to study anymore braille. I know that may be difficult to believe, that I like something other than reading."

Ari senses something below the surface but.. nah it's probably nothing. He just sounds like Eli. "Were you? Were you completely honest? You sounded honest. You sounded genuine. I trust that you were. If you weren't, then you should be. Did you really visit because you felt bad and 'missed' having me around? Because if you did, I can't help but wonder why."

Elijah

"I'm never completely honest. I try to be, because I don't like lying to people, but I lie to people when I'm afraid of things hurting. It's funny, because at the core of magic I believe that there is Truth- pushing that aside negates the potency of our will and our desires," he says , contemplates for a moment before pushing forward. He hasn't finished picking up his things. Stalled. 

"I came here because I like hearing you laugh, and I like seeing you happy, and I like making you happy. I ask about your family and the things you like and your passions and your goddess because I hate the idea of you being lonely."

this was honest, and he does sling his backpack over his shoulder at that point, "but I'm pretty sure you've told me before about how you don't need people and how you're fine being alone so... I guess that's kind of dumb of me. It's not born out of a need for you, it's for me."

Arionna de la Babin

"No. I need people, some people. I learned that. Sometimes you need someone there. Maybe just to keep you alive. But someone needs to be there. But I'm use to being alone. I'm use to it, so I accept it. There's no sense in being upset about what is an inevitable truth."

"You will never be alone. You will always have friends and people willing to do everything for you. I am the opposite. One day, Lavinia will probably die, and I'll have no mentor. You are only part here. And my mother is miles away, in body and in mind. So I am alone. "

There's a forced, small smile. "You shouldn't worry about me. I make up my own stories to entertain myself. And if I need someone to talk to, I can just look in the mirror. Or..well..you know what I mean." Ari slid off the bed slowly, stepping towards the door to unlock and open it. 

"I think, if you want someone who is good at listening...Ian will help. If you want someone to make you feel better, Kiara will be there. Maybe even Grace. I'm just here to balance that." She stepped passed him, putting her hand on the railing and slowly making her way down with him. On the bottom step she paused, sliding her foot from left to right and then lightly tapping the floor to be certain it was solid. Ari made her way to the front door slowly to open it for him. "Drive safely."

Tag in the rain

Ian
Washington Park was alive with the deep, vibrant green of late spring. Today the effect of it was somewhat incongruous with the weather, as winter's icy breath gave one last exhale - a reminder of nature's unpredictability. At 41 degrees, the air was cold enough to warrant a coat. The breeze that gusted over the landscape had a sharp bite to it. Most of the afternoon visitors cleared out when the rain started, but the precipitation never exceeded more than a light drizzle. Now it was more of a mist than anything - the kind that beaded up and left little pin-drops of water on your skin and clothes.

Ian rarely let things like cold or rain deter him from his daily routine. Recently, even less so. He'd been running, but now he was pacing quietly through the grass, hands in the pockets of his dark windbreaker as his breath plumed little clouds in the mist. His hair was wet. So were his shoes. The wetness made the cold more noticeable, but his core temperature was still up from his run. Looking out over the sleepy landscape, Ian pondered the way the deep green of the grass contrasted against the grey and darkening sky. Someone else might have called it dreary, but for him there was something meditative about it.

Elijah
[Per+alert, do I hear people?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 10) ( success x 6 ) Re-rolls: 1

Elijah
(you know, it would help if I rolled the right number of dice... My bad! Per+alert (not aware)]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7) ( success x 2 )

Elijah
Elijah Poirot lived a very loud life.

When he woke up, there was a warning. When he woke up and when he Woke Up he had an imperative imparted to him. A command, a reminder-live, live- for tomorrow you die and all begins anew. He heard the wisdom between the walls, of something that was restrained because there was something between Elijah and a truer part of himself. It was telling that, for a long time, he had no desire to see what lived behind that wall. Any wall. There was a memory, a dream, something that left the smell of sulfur in his nose and the feeling of something ancient and terrible in his mind. There was a man like an ocean and a woman who felt like the end of all things (a fact Elijah learned to take as comfort- Elijah missed Eleanor.) There had been a warning he knew in his heart- there were consequences for selling your soul. There were consequences for asking for eternity.

We digress.

Elijah lived a life that was loud, a warning from his avatar (a very different being living behind the walls and barriers and bullshit that Elijah built) to the dead. To talking. To the constant sound and hum of something that was just beyond his reach. Well, maybe not beyond his reach anymore. He's learned that it's hard to push past those walls, to touch the seemingly intangible spaces between the worlds. He tried it anyway, but did not meddle. He learned that there were consequences, and consequences that should not be ignored. But there were the dead. They were always around, sometimes distraught. Sometimes wailing, sometimes battling their inner demons for control and he heard all of it. He heard every blessed moment of it, whether his ears were meant to hear them or not. There was a reason people drank to forget; there are things mortals aren't meant to here.

And still, he stayed alert, awake, focused for now to pay attention to the physical instead of the land between. He was moving to find that silence, that nice moment where the world shuts down and he's nothing but a body because there is no difference between him and the rest of the world. He doesn't run often, but Jenn had harped on him about omniscience and perfection. Perfect mind was nothing without paying attention to your body, and vice versa. We are not parts, but a whole. So there he was, hands in a beat up leather jacket and wearing a pair of hiking boots that were intended to keep the water out. Jeans and a tee shirt, something white and V necked that started to get a little wet in the front, like he was going to be a last place finisher in a wet t-shirt contest if he wasn't careful.

He did not smell sulfur in his nose, did not pick up unmistakable, ageless evil. Just wet grass and cold air and a slow, pounding pulse . His attention went to the distance, to nearby water and the feeling that maybe... maybe it was time to be less afraid. Maybe it was time to push past something, to move, to transcend. To be more because he could be more.

For now, though, the young man was dressed comfortably and seemed to have no problem reveling in cold and searching for silence, only to hear the rhythmic pounding of someone's feet on a run. The water on a bench. [the quiet keening of something long dead by the lake, weeping into hands, breath useless but shuddering 'oh, Richard'. The taunting of something terrible. He doesn't approach the lake for a reason.]

He turned, looking for the sound the running, the source. He waits, grin on his face like he was the only spectator of a one man marathon.

Ian
[Awareness]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9) ( success x 3 )

Ian
A figure moved nearby. Ian surveyed the lake in the near distance, but did not make any motion to approach. Instead his eyes fixed on Elijah's profile. He watched him move for a time, the way that people sometimes watched animals (or animals sometimes watched people,) finding a simple fascination in the rhythm of his gait and the slope of his posture.

He knew who it was. Even at a distance, with details obscured by mist and low light. He felt Elijah in the air. Recognized him by the way he moved. Almost imagined for a moment that he could smell him, but that was probably a sense memory.

Gradually he closed the distance between them, moving at a relaxed gait. His steps were fluid and quiet, muffled against the wet grass. When he neared Elijah, he stopped and tilted his head, a subtle expression of familiarity showing on his features. He didn't speak just yet. Maybe he'd forgotten for a moment that he was supposed to.

Elijah
[oh, who is this? Per+aware]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10) ( success x 3 )

Ian
Elijah knew Ian. Had felt the presence of his resonance many times now. But tonight there was something new there - deeper, stronger, more visceral. It mingled with his cunning elegance and that ever-present echo of the feline predator that lurked beneath his skin. He didn't so much feel changed as more... himself, as though inhabiting his nature more fully. He felt altogether more Primal now.

Arionna de la Babin
[per+aware -jesus you two]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 4, 5, 7, 8) ( success x 2 )

Elijah
[WP: because we have impulse control]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 4, 7, 8) ( success x 2 )

Arionna de la Babin
[dex+stealth-I can totally not be seen or something]

Dice: 3 d10 TN6 (1, 4, 9) ( success x 1 )

Ian
[Per+Alertness oh-ho, is someone sneaking? ( -2 diff from acute senses)]

Dice: 6 d10 TN4 (1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4) ( success x 2 )

Arionna de la Babin
The gods are warring.

This is a simple truth that people like Arionna understand. The gods are warring, and we know this to be true because the cycles are shifting. Where once the gods of the night fought bravely, stealing more of mortal time for themselves, now they are growing tired and those of the light are pushing them back. It's a war that will go on until the end of time, as neither can live without the other.

It is during this time that those of the night feel most vulnerable. The cold has shifted away from them, the nights grow shorter, and their strength...their strength becomes difficult to maintain. It's hard to wander among people during the time one is most vulnerable; you feel...like prey. Thus it is that when these times come, those of the eve shall step forward and take what little night they have available, and use it shamelessly. They will not yield; they will endure.

She ought to be at home, certainly. But this is her time, and she will not give it up. Her time. It is what she has for herself, if only for a moment. While it is not entirely safe for someone such as her to be wandering the dark park, she does it anyway, utilizing what scorn she may have as a shield against the suspicious.

She can feel them at the edges of her own wind; at the edges of winter and sorrow. Elijah. Ian. Though there is a difference amongst them, one she does not know, and she can only wonder if there is someone new. Wonderful. It's all she needs. Another groupie. Or perhaps she is mistaken. Thus enters curiosity.

Arionna follows the sensation, her footsteps light and careful. She is no master of the shadows or silence, but she has learned something of her time of running and hiding. From the path she moves towards these feelings, her boots sinking into the earth softly with each step.

Alexander
[Int+Med?]

Dice: 3 d10 TN6 (3, 4, 7) ( success x 1 )

Elijah
There was movement.

There was a lake in the distance, crying on the other side, a wailing, keening something but he wasn't listening to that. He was listening to footsteps, feeling something altogether familiar but more. So much more than what he was familiar with. It felt right. It opened up questions and there he was, wet with the rain and feeling like... like...

His attention turned, not quite prey but certainly not a predator and awed by the grace of those who were with him. There was a feeling about Ian, something Elijah always expected but what came to life. His eyes are alight, green and amber and he bridges the gap.

Green and amber and focused and there was a second when he was there, steps away, there- but a breath away. His hands come up, cupping cheeks, pulling in, coming closer and pressing his lips to Ian's like it was the only thing he could have ever thought of doing. Not an impulse, but an imperative- exactly what he inteded for it to be. Lips against his, heart beating loud and there is a reckless abandon in the movement. Something fevered and intent and warm- even if his fingertips are cold.

He doesn't say a word.

Alexander
There are others in the city who are regular visitors to the park, although their reasons for being there vary.  Some come for exercise.  Some come to be sociable.  Others come because they just fucking feel like it walking over the grass in heels.  Others come to wait.

Alexander, depending on the day, can slip into several of those categories.  He runs here, has played soccer and Frisbee here.  But today the reason is to wait, in the hope of meeting someone once again.  Someone met here twice before, so the hope is that there will be a third time here too.  And so he sits and he waits and he watches without really seeing.  The city moves along at its own pace around the park, and the park continues in its own patterns around him.  Alexander sits on a bench near the lake, lost within himself.  The pattern of the drizzle provided a base for meditation and, so far, there hasn’t been much reason for it to come to an end.  He sits, frozen apart from the slow rise and fall of his chest.  His clothes – jackets, combats, boots – are wet, but that little fact is either unnoticed or not really important.

And so it’s easy for him to miss the not-so-familiar resonances moving around nearby.  Just as much as it’s easy for his own to fade into the cold of the park.

Ian
The kiss probably shouldn't have surprised him, but it did - a little. Maybe because neither of them had ever kissed to say hello before. They hadn't really kissed all that often, actually. And then... usually as a prelude or an accompaniment to other kinds of physical intimacy. So Elijah kissed him, and he did not immediately react apart from the instinctive softening of his lips. But still, he gave no objection, and after a couple of heartbeats he let his eyes close and exhaled gently against Elijah's mouth - kissed him back a little more assertively, then pulled away with a little smile.

"Good time for a walk, hmm?"

It wasn't, but they were out here anyway. Ian's eyes shifted toward the nearby trees. The muted light in the sky was disappearing behind Denver's horizon, drawing on toward night. Toward darkness. Soon the park lights would switch on, but right now the trees were mostly in shadow. It would be easy to slip through them unnoticed, but Arionna's passage did not quite manage to escape Ian's attention. He caught her movement in his gaze, hovering there a moment before his focus shifted to the nearby lakeshore. The bench (Alexander.) And back to Elijah again.

Arionna de la Babin
Another like her. The end state of her process. She feels him too now. Three that she knows. Three that she is familiar with. Thankfully, these are not three that she greatly dislikes.

She walks through the trees, curling her dark arms into her chest momentarily when a bit of cold seeps through her sweater. Despite how it feels, she misses it already; misses the deep cold and the dead trees. She sees them, their moment of affection, and she knows all too well that what she feels is not the way a person ought to. It's not Elijah or Ian's fault, and perhaps for once she understands that. Still...

Arionna watches them for a moment, pressing her palm against a tree as if it will provide some sort of support. Then she steps away from it slowly, and moves from the trunk. She tries to be quiet. Tries to go unnoticed, because there is another. One she is likely to approach, and to feel comfortable with.

Elijah
[Do I notice Ari now? Per+alert]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (4, 4, 6, 6, 8, 9) ( success x 4 )

Elijah
There's that little smile, and Elijah can't get the grin off his face. Ever so pleased, like that was exactly what he wanted to do, grinning like he had made some great discovery (grinning like he stared down a tiger and lived to tell the tale). There is a moment, a moment where that grin is both pleased and a little cautious- aware that there is an edge he can ride and delighting in the fact that there is something new.

Good time for a walk?
"No kidding, right?" he said, hands go into his pockets (fiddle with the pocket watch on his left) "would you think me too Beyonce if I called you fierce? Because you feel fierce... like base instinct."

It went without saying, indicated in tone and the look in his eyes that he very heartily approved. He liked it, to say the least.

His attentions do move, though, since his senses are awake and alert and the cold keeps him sharp. Sees a man on the bench- Alexander, maybe? And someone by the trees- Elijah smiles, takes a hand out of his pocket and gives a little wave. All good natured, unaware that his actions may be pushing on a bruise (or perhaps he does know, perhaps he is callous, but it's hard to imagine.)


Alexander
[Per+Aware?]

Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (2, 2, 5, 6) ( success x 1 )

Alexander
Frozen, but not quite.  Moisture had been building up all over Alexander and, finally, was the cause for him to lose that long moment of focus.  A drop of cold water ran from the hairline at the back of his head and down his spine, making him shiver.  And that small recognition of his body led to more.  He’d been there for a while, as the temperature had dropped.  His muscles had stiffened up, joints complaining at moving again.  A crick in his neck needed release.  So Alexander stands, shrugging his shoulders up and rolling the knots that had formed between his shoulder blades out.

He realises that, once again, the creature that he still hoped to encounter – still hoped would take him up on his request to travel the Umbra – hadn’t appeared.  There isn’t so much disappointment as… patience?  It will happen when it happens.  Realisation also follows that he’s not alone in this part of the park.  Two familiar-but-different resonances linger with each other nearby, a third – unchanged from the last time he’d encountered it at the station – in the tree line.  Running his hands over his hair to dislodge the remaining moisture, he turns to look at the closest two.  They could be Elijah and Ian, they could be someone else.  It does seem to be the season for change though, in more than just the weather.

Ian
On a different day, Ian probably would have made a joke of that. Today he just smirked and gave a small roll of his eyes, glancing briefly sideways. "It's... been an eventful month."

And yet he seemed uninclined to elaborate. Maybe it wasn't necessary.

"Should we say hello, or leave them alone?" Ian indicated Arionna and Alexander with a tilt of his head. The cold was beginning to creep into his bones. His hands (and his lips where Elijah had kissed him) felt chilled to the touch, though there was yet color in his skin. He shifted on his feet to keep his blood moving, walking in a lazy circle around Elijah.

Arionna de la Babin
Elijah waved.

Knowing him,she hasn't a clue. He can be dense sometimes, and other timse he's far too empathic. If she could liken him to a creature she knows well, it would certainly be a dog; loyal, friendly (far too much so), and yet sometimes doesn't get it. But...people could say similar things about her (minus the friendly).

But he waved, and despite that feeling that is forming down in the pit of her stomach, she pauses. Sometimes she even wonders if he realizes exactly how willing she is to push against her own nature sometimes when he's around.

You're growing too attached Ari. You're becoming dependent. 

And now she is torn. Torn between the two that cling to each other's space, and the other who, like Elijah, pushed a little further and gave her something to go on...some bit of advice.

Does she move or doesn't she? For now she remains...still.

Elijah
"Let's be sociable," he decides, concludes with a bright and chipper smile (one that does not relay that he is cold and that his hands are cold and that he might end up with a cold in the morning, but that is a problem for Tomorrow Elijah. Today Elijah feels just fine and is happy to roll around in the grass and-

He pauses, takes a second and takes a few steps towards Arionna.

"Hey," he starts, friendly enough, "I'm thinking about playing hide and seek. Wanna play? Jenn's been riding my ass about needing to do more physical things with people that don't involve doing things with other people."

And then he turns, with no regard for personal space or the fact that Alexander might have something he wants to do aside from listen to his cabal mate's apprentice.

"Hey Alex-" a hitch, since he realizes something "-ander, wanna play hide and seek?"

HE looks towards Ian, brows raised, glance inviting, words lacking but the question quite clear. HIs word view is nothing but words and symbols, and he knows when one does not need words at all.

Alexander
[Per+Alert - I see you, Ari?]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10) ( success x 3 )

Alexander
The closest two certainly appear to be the people he was expecting them to be, but it’s Elijah’s shout across the grass that makes him smile.  Definitely Elijah.  He leans back, curving his spine and getting one last crack out, before turning back to a patch of grass near the lake that looks like any other.  He says, to the air, “another time, then,” before turning to Ian and Elijah.

Then he turns towards the pair and starts walking, waiting until he’s a little closer before he calls back.  “I can’t remember the last time I played, but I’m game.”  Then, closer still when he doesn’t need to shout anymore, “But won’t it be too easy if we can just feel where each other is?  Although you both don’t feel quite the same as you used to.  Interesting times.”

He nods up towards the trees and the figure standing partially obscured by one trunk.  “Speaking of interesting times, have you guys met Arionna, yet?”

Ian
"And what things would those be, exactly?" Ian couldn't quite resist the bait, dry amusement evident in his tone. The question didn't necessarily require a response. But he followed along behind Elijah as they approached the others, his gait long and fluid. Elijah's suggestion (that they play hide and seek, of all things) didn't get an immediate response, but when he repeated it to Alexander, Ian's breath gave an exhale of soft laughter.

"You're serious, aren't you?"

It seemed like the kind of suggestion that Ian was likely to reject on principle, but he didn't (yet.) Instead he turned to Alexander with a thoughtful expression. "Probably. You'd have to get creative."

Have you guys met Arionna, yet?

To that, Ian just nodded.

Arionna de la Babin
"Play?" It's a question of uncertainty because hide-and-seek has rarely been about play. She cants her head to the side and regards Elijah, and now the group with a bit more wariness than before. Of course this could hardly be much fun in a park right? There are trees and other good things, but it loses its fun when you lose the possibility of getting lost; or getting people lost.

"They know who I am, Alexander." Though Ian has already answered his portion of it. She steps forward slowly, enough so that they can speak normally. "How do you play this game?"

Yes. Ari hasn't a clue how to play child games. She might have more fun than she'd suspect.

Elijah
"I have a story for you, I'll have you know that Latin tutors aren't half as boring as it sounds," who would have thought the young man to have an interest in language (anyone who knows him would, actually, you don't have a love affair with words without loving each blessed detail of language, trying to piece it together to find where it may trace back to something True. Kalen might be proud. Or he might not. The path was still rocky there, but getting better.)

There's that grin, though, the kind that is ready for anything, even if it was a little childish. Was he serious? He blazes past the question in time to explain to Arionna- "It's basically that someone is it? And they cover their eyes and count to, like, sixty, and everyone runs off and hides and the person who is it has to find them and the people who are hiding have to find home base and get there to be save so the person who is it can't actually tag them but if the person who is it is really slow you end up being it for a long time and people end up tending the safe base because they don't want to actually find people who are hiding which is against the spirit of the game."

Wow. All that in one breath. He inhaled deeply.

"Basically, it is what it sounds like. The people who aren't it hide. The person who is it seeks. The people who aren't it go to home base to be safe from predation."

And, to Alexander, "Yeah, I've met Ari, we're friends." And just like that, he makes the assumption, runs with it, doesn't think it could be to the contrary because... well... he was fairly certain Arionna was his friend.

"Who wants to start?"

Alexander
“You’ve never played before?”  There isn’t judgement in the question to Arionna, but there is surprise.  It seems like one of those things that all kids should play at some point, just like climbing trees, playing tag, or pointing their bike down a big hill and regretting their decision half way down when the line between getting down safely and breaking something gets ever slimmer.  “It’s fun, you’ll like it.”

As to the question of who’s starting?  “I’m easy.”

Ian
Elijah assumed that he and Arionna were friends because Elijah was the kind of person who made friends with everyone. Ian... was not that kind of person. Both Arionna and Alexander had expressed dislike towards him in the past. Arionna's had been rather emphatic. That they were now all considering playing a child's game together in the park at night probably said something about the way people with common experiences tended to band together.

"I'll start."

He hadn't played hide and seek since his sister died. If anyone other than Elijah had suggested it, he probably would have declined. But... for whatever reason, he didn't. Perhaps there was a bit of nostalgia, there.

"We can make the boathouse home base." A pause before he grinned. "I'll count to 100. Better hurry." Then he paced over to the bench by the lake and sat down.

Arionna de la Babin
"What is it?" She asks, furrowing her brows just enough to indicate that all her questions have not been answered. This game seems half put together instead of well thought out; clearly a child's game. "Oh. You mean 'it' is the predator and those you seek are the prey. I understand. Though it does seem most intelligent to stay near this 'home base' if you know that the prey will come. "

You've never played before?

"If you wish to ask whether I have been chased, then your answer is yes. If you want to ask whether I did it 'for fun' then the answer is no."

"How far can we wander?" It made sense to her to have a sort of perimeter that they could wander around in, otherwise they'd be searching until dawn.

Her lips tightened a little, and Ari looked to both Alex and Elijah. Well then, it seemed they were about to play hide and seek....for fun.

Elijah
[stop running and don't fall over! +2 diff because slick grass is not your friend]

Dice: 3 d10 TN8 (6, 8, 10) ( success x 2 )

Elijah
"OhshitrunIan'sfast," it's the most warning he gives anyone.

There is a simple rule in survival: you don't have to be faster than a bear. You just have to be faster than the slowest person there. Elijah realized, of course, that he was the weakest link. His eyes darted to a nearby tree and he sprinted for it, knowing that he was going to need a run up if he was going to be able to reach a low hanging tree branch, momentum to help pull himself up because he wasn't exactly strong but damned if he wasn't determined.

But Arionna had a question and it made him skid to a halt, successfully managing to not fall flat on his face while doing so.

"Ian is the one doing the chasing. If he makes physical contact with you then you're it and he's not. Then you count and we all hide again. No perimeter, just as far as you can get while he's counting."

Elijah stopped and listened realizing he's talked too much and lost a good thirty seconds of time.

"Shit."

And off to try and get to that tree again!

Alexander
There’s a moment where the fun of the bizarre situation threatens to vanish, as Arionna doesn’t seem to quite get the point and bring their thoughts crashing back to reality.  But there’s Elijah, dashing off and, with two quick U-turns, gets things back on track again.

Then Alexander is laughing and rushing off towards the trees too, calling back, “Just get away first, then worry about how you’re going to get back to the boathouse.  We can go find jello and ice cream somewhere after!”  He takes a path to the right of Elijah’s, aiming for a lighter patch of trees where he’d be able to make better time through the spaces and get further away.

Ian
When Ian sat down, he began counting, his voice raised to a loud enough pitch that the others would be able to hear if they kept within a reasonable radius. He closed his eyes as he did so, leaning back with his face tilted toward the sky and his arms draped over the back of the bench. The wooden slats felt cold, despite Alexander's recent presence there. Cold and wet, apart from the drier patch that Ian now occupied.

He could cheat, if he wanted to. Though they hadn't really laid out any specific rules about magic use. He could cheat, but he didn't. Why make the game easier?

So he counted, and the others ran for their respective hiding spots. For Ian, time seemed to pass slowly, drifting by with the monotonous rhythm of his voice.

"98... 99... 100."

When he reached the end, he opened his eyes and stood up, surveying the darkened landscape. Some time during the count, the lamps came on, filling the space around the bench with a soft glow of yellow light. There were others too, lining the path and the boathouse. But the trees remained in shadow.

Ian moved quietly, his gait different now than it had been earlier. Stealthy, predatory (hunting.)

[Alright let's see. I'll start with another Awareness roll to see how sensitive he is to resonance right now.]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 6) ( success x 1 )

Ian
[And Per+Alertness]

Dice: 6 d10 TN4 (1, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8) ( success x 4 )

Ian
[Wits+Survival (tracking)]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (2, 5, 8, 10, 10) ( success x 3 )

Ian
[And Dex+Stealth - being quiet]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (3, 4, 4, 7, 8, 10, 10) ( success x 4 )

Elijah
(Elijah: did I get into the tree? dex+athletics)

Dice: 3 d10 TN6 (4, 5, 9) ( success x 1 )

Elijah
[Shhhhh, i'm being quiet! +1 diff because no stealth}

Dice: 2 d10 TN7 (5, 10) ( success x 2 ) [WP]

Arionna de la Babin
[stealth]

Dice: 3 d10 TN6 (2, 4, 7) ( success x 1 )

Alexander
[Dex+Ath for some distance]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (2, 2, 5, 5, 9, 9) ( success x 2 )

Arionna de la Babin
He's already counting when Elijah tries to explain her questions. She's never felt this sort of uncertainty before. She's never stood there for a moment, considering what's happening before letting her feet carry her off. But that's what she does. The two of them run, clearly enjoying the game at hand, and she stands there for a moment, listening to the counting...

Ari finally forces her feet to push her off and she's running down the middle of where the other two had wandered, sliding to the right as she tries to spot herself some place to hide. Parks are different. Manicured. Perfect. Not as many hiding spots when you're accustom to the wild sort of space.

But she finds a bush, something big enough that she's certain she can crawl half in it, and tuck herself away.

This is not the best place to hide Arionna.

She knows that. She really does. But she's pressed for time.

Alexander
[Dex+Stealth for sneakiness]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 4, 6, 9) ( success x 2 )

Alexander
[And Wit+Survival, because I know some of the tricks you're going to try]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 2, 4, 7) ( success x 1 )

Elijah
He's not good at climbing.

He knows what he needs to do, spends a good five seconds just hanging there, not quite having the upper body strength to pull himself up and it's through willpower alone that he gets his skinny butt into the foliage. The tree creaked uncomfortably, and he nestled himself somewhere high in the branches.

He might not be hidden terribly well, but he was going to make it difficult for Ian to actually reach him. Now, all he could do was hope that he doesn't get driven higher.

Alexander
Elijah runs towards the trees, hoping that he just isn’t the slowest one to get away.  Alexander just gets the edge and disappears into the tree line before him.  But they’re both leaving Arionna behind as they look for their respective hiding places.

Once out of view, Alex slows down a little and gets a little more careful about how he’s moving.  He has no idea if Ian knows much about tracking, but leaving dirty great footprints and lots of broken twigs and branches in his wake wouldn’t be hard for anyone to spot.  So he tries to make it harder to be followed as he works out a way to curve back to the boathouse.

Arionna de la Babin
[Do I see the big bad wolf? per+alert]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 6, 6, 7, 8) ( success x 4 )

Ian
The odds were stacked in Ian's favor. Most of them likely knew that. But that wasn't really why they were playing (to win.) Alexander made an attempt to hide his tracks, anticipating the ways in which Ian might try to find him. And he was successful to a point, but the ground was soft (easily marked) and Ian was a good tracker. That month he'd spent surviving in a wasted landscape had been good for something, at least.

And there were other clues as well. Soft sounds (the creak of a tree branch,) a flicker of movement, a faint spot of color through shadowed leaves. His eyes followed the trail of tracks, leading his gaze toward three potential hiding places. Even before that, he had a rough idea of the directions they'd gone (closing his eyes did not mean he stopped being able to hear - even while counting.) But he wouldn't know for sure until he followed one of the trails, so he did.

Arionna, being the closest, was the easiest target. Elijah the next easiest. Alexander would likely be safe this round. After a short pause of consideration, Ian made for the bushes where Arionna was crouched, sliding quickly through the shadows. His feet were silent in the damp grass, and his dark athletic clothes blended easily into the landscape. She wouldn't notice him coming until he was close. Likely by then she'd feel his resonance before she actually spotted him.

Closer. Closer.

If she didn't run, he'd duck under the bush and reach out to grasp her ankle (gently.)

Arionna de la Babin
[running! I think]

Dice: 3 d10 TN6 (2, 2, 4) ( fail )

Arionna de la Babin
The rule has always been thus for the prey...

If the predator is far away and you've noticed him, you are safe enough to freeze and give a signal that says 'Hey I spotted you and I can outrun you.' If the predator is smart, he will stop. Why waste energy if you're more likely to lose?

If the predator is close, running is usually a bad idea. He might miss you if you're careful, but he's also likely to get you if you run. It's hard being prey, it really is.

So she waits, and she can feel his approach before she sees him. The trouble that she has is this:

Is he coming for her or one of the others? She could cheat, though she'd hardly consider it so. There were no explicit rules against magic. But that takes time, and right now..being still is better.

That is until he's closing in. Arionna presses her right boot into the ground to propel herself up and out except...

She doesn't quite make it. She pushes, sliding up and out of the bush only to feel her left foot, the one to give her a bit more leverage, slip under her. Her leg curls and Arionna plummets to the softer ground with an obvious crunch of sticks, and a thud.

Curse you Ian.

Elijah
[dex+athletics- go higher!]

Dice: 3 d10 TN6 (5, 8, 10) ( success x 2 )

Elijah
There was relief, yes relief, when he...

No, no he didn't see Ari. He didn't see Ian either. After all, he was actually just pretty well content to be in a tree and not getting rained on, but it was enough to remind him precisely how cold he was and what time it was and he took a quick second to check his pocketwatch- still only accurate twice a day, save for the times that he can keep time to the precise second.

He notices, he notices Ari move and faceplant and he winces. The young man inhaled quickly, hoping at least that Arionna didn't know where he was so he didn't have to try getting out of the tree. Instead, he went upward, content to entrench himself further like he had the time that he got stuck in a tree at the park.

Hmmn. This appeared to be a theme with Elijah. He patted himself down for his cell phone, realizing that this time he didn't have the ability to call Dan for moral support to get out of a tree.

"Oh, shit."

Alexander
Alexander slowly, carefully works his way through the trees, unaware of what’s happened with Arionna’s attempt to run.  It seems like a decent plan – keep in the trees until he’s close enough to make a break for the boathouse.  Hope that Ian is busy with one of the others so that he doesn’t notice.  There’s a smile on his face as he takes another step…

And steps awkwardly on a stone, twisting his ankle.  There’s a muffled crash as he hits the ground and a not-so-muffled curse as the pain hits.  He leans against a tree to get up again but isn’t doing anything strenuous with that sprained ankle for a few days.  He starts to hobble towards open ground.

[And Alexander’s driver needs to crawl to bed, so am taking him out of the running.]

Arionna de la Babin
[get some rest vesta!]

Ian
There was a moment, after Arionna fell, that Ian's instincts wanted to pounce. He felt an uptick in his heart-rate and a prickle of hot tension in his coiled muscles that practically screamed: now.

But Arionna was sensitive about her physical space, and he remembered things like that. So he didn't. Instead he dropped into a crouch next to her and let his fingers graze her arm, making just enough contact to call the catch official. If she didn't pull away, he'd grasp her elbow gently and help her to her feet. If she did, he'd leave her be.

"Got you." His voice was low and honeyed with amusement. As they stood up, he called out to the others. "Round's over!"

As it happened, Arionna wasn't the only one whose escape plan was foiled by the hazardous landscape. After noting Alex's condition, Ian walked over to the tree where Elijah had gotten himself stuck. "I think maybe we should call it a night and try again when the ground isn't so slippery."

A beat later he asked, "Do you need any help?"

Elijah
[I can totally jump down. It's like falling, right?]

Dice: 3 d10 TN6 (1, 7, 9) ( success x 3 ) [WP]

Arionna de la Babin
She's embarrassed. Not necessarily because she fell, but that she fell around them. Well, at least it wasn't Grace and Kalen, right? She'd nearly want to drown herself if that happened; Ari would never live it down...at least in her own head.

There's a touch on her arm, apparently the motion of 'tag' and Ari is now the predator. She pushes herself up on her feet, avoiding the assistance that's even remotely offered. She can feel the wet earth on her clothes, soaking in against her legs and she sighs. It really isn't any trouble, but at least it helps to hide the embarrassment.

Ari looks over towards the limping Alex, and now Elijah as well, following Ian slowly. "In a better location I'd suggest. With more holes and less concrete."

Elijah
He thinks that they should call it a night-

"Yeah, it's a little unkind right now-" he said as he looked down. He was a good midway up the tree, high enough that he had a good view but not so far that he would break an uneasy branch. It feels a little like Peter Pan, but the young man started the tentative approach downward. A little careful, shaking water out of the branches if he chose a wrong step-

"Uh..."

He looks down, hand on a branch and painfully aware that he's kind of high up and it made his stomach turn but something is alight and pleased in his eyes as a terrible thought crosses his mind. Not quite like jumping out of a plane, but close enough.

Does he need any help?

He jumps, possibly in the middle of the statement, probably in the middle of the statement, doesn't topple, but does bend his knees and take the impact softly. It's through sheer wanting that he doesn't fall all over himself. That he doesn't make a total mess while coming down the maple, but he does just stand there for a minute while he reorients himself with the ground, then the ground top the air, standing up, being tall and exhaling like this was the most centering thing he'd do all day.

He looks a little surprised, though. He clearly didn't expect to not fall on his ass.

"Sounds like a plan," he announces, "if you guys are game I'd love to play again. Had a blast."

All sincerity, this one. With that in mind, he doesn't say much but his goodbyes- no kisses or touches but definitely bright, beaming, pleased grins as he meanders- soggy but content- back to his means of conveyance.

Ian
[I believe that's a wrap! Thanks for playing guys! I am off to sleep.]

Arionna de la Babin
[ditto! night]