Nemaisare

The EarthGiver [Nem & Glaw]

Each subtle shift of her mind's focus helped him pluck something new from the surface of her thoughts. Whether it was about her papa or their location or how she saw him, it was all important. He'd been asleep long enough for the world to change. What he knew of this place now was surely small enough to fill a seed. But seeds could grow, could they not? It was a fundamental truth of nature, and nature, at least, rarely changed its laws. He belonged there, not in this building, house, the girl’s home. But here was where he was, not there.

And she was panicking.

He let her. Better to let her get over it than have to go through this again and again. She’d learn, or they’d part ways. His brow furrowed then, the illusion’s motions hinging upon her portrayal of those emotions that leaked between his mind and hers. A thought had escaped beneath the barrage of her whirling mind and now he played with it, uncertain and unhappy with what it might mean. Could he leave her? Could he leave his idol? She was the one giving him a shape, and he could feel that connection as though it was tangible. Did no one else believe in him? Or were they so far away that didn’t matter?

Too many questions. And they were all wrapped around her own of wondering who he was. And where her papa had gone. He didn’t know. Her papa was the other set of footsteps he’d felt then? A family lived here, perhaps. Aylen’s sigh came as a resignation of his thoughts rather than a deflation of his chest and his green gaze, the most solid part about him yet, followed her own when her eyes slipped towards the table and a tiny little dragon. Through his own eyes, he saw nothing. They didn’t exist, and so, could pass no signal to a brain that also, in a manner of speaking, did not exist. It was somewhere far away, probably still dreaming.

But Agatha’s eyes could see very well. And now that his attention had been drawn that way, he could feel the scratch of little claws atop the table. He could hear, through her ears, the clatter and crash of Pinafore’s(what an odd little name) defiance. But he ignored it, for now. Instead, returning his focus to the recreation of the body he remembered; the one that didn’t frighten little girls, at any rate. He needed her attention back on him, to gauge his progress, so he asked again for her name, and felt it sift upward towards him, likely without conscious effort on her part. Her feeling of elation sparked a confused pleasure in him, as it was a better response than everything else she’d managed so far and was a far cry from the nothing he’d suffered within the stone.

And then that sank into worry, but a slow sort, concern and just a touch of the fear that had been there before. He could not fault her for that. He, too, might have felt some concern if the air started talking to him, or he might have supposed it was one of his kin riding the wind. But as her observations dragged out his adjustments into just the very grandfatherly figure she thought was a kindly old man, he felt that fear vanishing too. Ah, children. There was a reason he’d always liked their company. Their minds were surely no more simple than their adult counterparts, but their thoughts were so much more enlightening, less guarded, and certainly freer. He wondered what a picture book was, but he decided to take one question at a time. Introductions first.

He couldn’t help the amusement inspired by her confusion as to how one went about greeting and introducing one’s self to a god, but he made no move to correct her. In so far as he could remember, he supposed he was. And if he was as old as her thoughts implied (and he’d been old before this whole fiasco began), then proper respect was due. Though he certainly wouldn’t know if she messed up her curtsy. He didn’t even know what that was.

Agatha Eugenia Kerrigan Thrimble…

Her name echoed in a cavernous way, as though to emphasise the size of the mind that accepted it and sent it back, though Aylen certainly meant no such thing. The weight came from a stirring irritation as she tried out what courtesy she knew and mentioned his sleep. His green eyes flashed and faded as the notion of moving lips distracted him, and the old elemental settled back, his emotions easing free of the illusion until it was as solid as it might ever manage. Which was to say, it looked it, but most assuredly remained nothing but air. Colourful air.

He tried, this time, as he introduced himself, so that she might think of him as something other than ‘an earth god’, to give himself the movement that would make him real. He remembered, now that she’d brought it to mind, that there were muscles that made sound and the sound required movement. Of course, an illusion would never be able to make actual words, but an illusion made by a god might make it seem like it could. Once he got the hang of it.

Call me Aylen, as it is my name. It has been years, he didn’t know how many. since I have heard it.

As he sent the thoughts to her, he tried to move his mouth to match the words. But he could no longer quite remember the shape it should take, so there was a rather strange disconnect between words and lips. He kept trying anyway, the memories would return to him or they wouldn’t, it wasn’t as though he could not communicate until they did.

Knowledge is what I need, Agatha. I have no body now to sustain.

He didn’t like that last fact, he didn’t like it at all. And his thoughts were soaked with bitterness as they crept into her mind. But he did not dwell on his lack. For the moment, it was enough that he was free from the stone.

What is a picture book?

The Alcean Resistance

Whoo! Poor Yanhua, being all normal again.

The Alcean Resistance

Short post is short, but Lacchi is present and amused. Now, back to homework with me.

The Alcean Resistance

He'd caught the mood off the queen and Sir Stefan a day prior to this early rising. And he thanked whatever luck he'd been given that this night hadn't been a shifting one. He'd spent the night pacing the floor of the young king's room or snatching a few winks before getting up to start all over again. He knew they were leaving, he knew it wasn't a happy occasion. There'd been no news, at least that he'd heard, of compromised security in the palace, so there was no reason for the queen to be going into hiding somewhere else. The only other answer he had for the nervous tension was that they weren't going to be hiding for much longer. A fact he didn't particularly like. It meant he'd lose his pampered position, didn't it? Back to the kennels for him, it'd be. No more prince and no more fine table scraps. And who knew what would happen to them. Maybe that Janolf mage would kill them before they could even start, maybe he wouldn't, maybe they'd succeed. But what were the chances of that? He wasn't very good at looking on the bright side, these days.

So it had been with no small amount of trepidation that he'd stood at the first sound of footsteps in the hall, fur bristling along his spine, growl raising the little boy from his bed with sleepy blinks until his mother opened the door and Lacchi settled back with a snuffle as though to say he'd known who it was all along. It was with surprise that he obeyed the order to come along once the queen had her boy dressed and safely settled over her hip. No one tried to stop him, and none of the men they passed stepped up to claim him and lead him back where he was supposed to go. And then she told Darlond that he was going with them! Well now, he didn't know what to feel! Dismay that he might share their fate, or pleasure that he could stay with the boy a little while longer, help to keep him safe. He decided to ignore his misgivings at least until he couldn't, for the moment anyway, as he preferred not to have an unsettled stomach so early in the morning, and stretched out on the cool stone of the courtyard where he could keep an eye on Darlond and the queen while avoiding the heavy hooves of the horses. Bitter twist if he was allowed to go and then couldn't because of a crushed foot.

He perked his ears to listen to what passed for conversation, brown eyes darting from one face to another as two men made their way into the courtyard. He knew neither, though one he thought he recognised slightly. A soldier? Maybe, he moved with the stiff economy of a man used to efficiency and sharp commands. Lacchi usually made a habit of avoiding such men when he was human, bad for business, getting caught redhanded by a military sort. Now, his head lifted and he licked his nose before panting some amusement at the stranger's rejoinder. Lippy sort of fellow, seemed liable to have some humour in him then. Rayf... A man to keep an eye on when he was looking for entertainment, maybe? And Palentine he'd go to for the important things, like cheese, apples went with cheese, didn't they? And he was feeding the horse...

The hound loosed a high pitched, whining yawn, loosening his jaw and comfortably clicking his teeth shut as their conversation ended before rising and stretching his back in preparation of idling over to sniff a few knees and perhaps beg a morsel or two from so generous a man. He smelled like metal, leather and dusty tomes. And Lacchi sneezed before lifting his head to eye the man accusingly, trying a slight tail wag to garner some favour. The horse wasn't the only hungry beast about.

The Alcean Resistance

Lightniiiing! Whammo! And then when everyone's staring at him, Lacchi will go breezing by with his tail on fire and the little fellow riding him... Yep.

Awesome postie! Also, head's up that I'm going to be a little slow this next week, maybe two. Luckily, Lacchi is a 'dog'... He'll do what you tell him to if you say it threateningly enough. Or it sounds like a good idea. :P So if you would like to and I'm not around to ask, feel free to make use of him in your posts, provided he doesn't end up in two places at once or dead... Yeah. I'll at least try to make a short something this friday, but I can't make guarantees.

The EarthGiver [Nem & Glaw]

Terribly sorry Glaw, I'm getting busier and busier, so I'll keep trying to get something out, but I don'tknow when I'll manage. The next two weeks are pretty full.

The Alcean Resistance

Hmm, that's a good question... I'd say if they focused on him and expected to pick up any magic, they'd possibly get a small response. But it's pretty inert except when he shifts, so the magic would be stronger an hour before and after the shifts probably. Then they'd almost certainly pick up something strange, even if they can't pinpoint it. If they know how to identify spells they'd probably be able to tell what it was, or close to, since it's a little skewed. But if they don't, it might seem a little more like he's picked up/brushed against/ate/whatever magic than that it's coming from him.

The Alcean Resistance

Lacchi's tagging along as a gift from the emperor to his honoured guest's son, since the boy seems to like the dog, also, as secondary protection for the whole party, since it's always good to have a guard along that has better senses than you do. :P

The Alcean Resistance

I'd be okay with that, but since I wouldn't have any part in the discussions, my vote probably shouldn't count for much. I also don't think I should take a second character at this time, but I might insert one in later if there's ever some particular role needed that's still unfilled.

The Reawakening - Advanced, modern day, elemental magic RP

Sounds good, I'm heading to bed right now, but I'll get back to you as soon as I wake up tomorrow. :)