But it was not Cera but instead another ghoul, dressed in the attire of an Upstairs employee, who burst out onto the balcony and vaulted over the railing.  He landed solidly, grinning like an idiot.  "You're him!  You're you -- I mean--"  The young man seemed positively giddy, and reached out to pump Orion's hand with considerable enthusiasm.  "Ohmigosh Ican'teven Cera said you'd shown up and the mask but /WOW/."  His nametag identified him as Bart -- the fan that the vampire had mentioned.  He wasn't speaking loudly, but there was a singular intensity to his words.  "I can't tell you how honored I am!  Especially that you gave me your old mask, I mean -- no words!"

---

"He's been eyeing me right back," Amuné said, focusing on the blue flames again.  Was it really watching her, whenever she was near, or was it just paranoia?  She settled on the cushion, crossing her legs and resting her hands lightly on her knees.  She'd calmed considerably by then, and it wouldn't be an issue to meditate, or even enter a trance now.  The young woman wasn't completely sure what Tsitua had in mind, so she would let him provide instruction, but as she waited she let her thoughts settle, becoming the still pool that would transmit the ripples of whatever disturbed it.  Her senses spread outwards, and it occurred to her that part of why she was so uneasy was because there were so few people nearby, in comparison to on earth.  She'd never been without that constant pressure, and with it gone things felt...empty.  Her control was excellent, with nothing to challenge her.  Indeed, she'd practiced tirelessly to become so.  The threshold of what Amuné could withstand before being overwhelmed was what might be expected from a trained Seer.  It was the blind panic of someone tampering with her thoughts that had had sent her spinning earlier.

---

"I'd love to.  Who's your brother?"  Jareth's voice was slightly muffled, speaking as he was almost directly into a piece of metal.  Valkyrie had no sooner given him permission than he was taking a look at the engine, careful not to mishandle anything but giving it a thorough examination.  "Man, this looks like nothing I've ever seen before," he commented, not entirely sure what all the parts did.  Probably because it was magic or something.  "I didn't know you could use magic to run things...."

[@TheMinorFall]