"Well, It's A Marvelous Night For A Moondance" (IC)

[Heritage]

So when an ageless Queen of Faerie gives you a set of simple instructions, it's usually wise to follow through; this seemed like a fairly good rule of thumb to Lynn Epstein, who dutifully rode her bike through the rain-slick streets of Lantern Hill on September 4th, the night of the full moon. Four moons had passed since her oh-so-freaky trip to Candyland, and the strange fluted bottle felt heavy in her messenger bag.

 

This is gonna be so weird; I just know it.

 

Silver's Rare Books and Antiquities was quite a sight to see, totally blowing away her Grampa Lou's old store on the Imposing Mysterious Building Scale. She locked her bike out front and pushed the heavy door open.

 

"Whoa." Total Keanu moment.

 

The place was far cooler on the inside, very Ollivander's; using every heightened sense at her disposal, she did her best to drink in the whole place as she strolled around in her clunky boots, cargo shorts and Fleet Messenger T-shirt, her battered plastic helmet tucked jauntily under one arm.

 

"Hello? Anybody home?"

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Arcane Snowman]

A little late for customers thought Damien as the bell above his door announced the arrival of someone in his boutique and demesne, none except John of course, and he was already downstairs reading a book by his table, "Just a moment" yelled he at the newcomer, he was just in the middle of rearranging some books.

Meanwhile, downstairs, at his table, John was reading, as always, when the woman entered Silver’s Rare Books and Antiquities, she was beautiful, with an air about her that he couldn’t explain, it was the same that would Ooze from Damien when he became all nostalgic and stuff, but it was still different, less… refined. â€ÂI…I…I can help.†stammered the boy a little too eagerly.

[Heritage]

 

Arcane Snowman said:

â€ÂI…I…I can help.â€Â

 

Lynn looked upstairs for a moment, then smiled and approached the boy.

 

"Oh, okay, hi. Um, I have a package I'm supposed to give to Mr Silver?"

 

She pulled her messenger bag around to her front and started digging around inside.

 

"Actually, he's supposed to use it or do something to help me, I guess; the lady who gave it to me was less than clear...pretty much as a rule, I'm thinkin'. Okay, here it is, I got it."

 

The young woman pulled out an unusual bottle and rested it on the table in front of John with a dull thud; the silvery metal body was round and bulbous, about the size of a grapefruit, tapering upward into a fluted neck that twists like a narwhal horn. The stopper was clear heavy glass, cut to look like a rose; attached to the neck by a simple loop of string was a card that merely reads 'Drink me' in elegant, flowing script. Lynn pointed to the card and chuckled.

 

"Classic, huh? Lady's quite the joker."

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Arcane Snowman]

Oh… thousand fold damnation, thought Damien, dropping the books he had on the floor with a dusty clatter. There was only one person, or more accurately, fey, who could so easily track down his whereabouts, but why, she didn’t take sides. â€ÂThat’s an odd bottle,†said John, interest obviously piqued by whatever it was had been presented, â€ÂJohn, I want you to go home, I have some personal business with this lady†said he with a chilling calm, â€Âbut…†objected his friend â€Ânow,†said Damien calmly in a voice that abided no contradiction.

John had never heard Damien be like that, it scared him, but it also made him a little angry, who was he to tell John what to do, he didn’t argue the case though. Arguing with Damien had proven to have as much reason as banging your head against a pool of water, it might look like you were getting somewhere, but you quickly got wiser. Silently, he gathered his belongings and left, carefully slamming the door, his only show of defiance for the old man.

[Heritage]

 

Arcane Snowman said:

â€ÂJohn, I want you to go home, I have some personal business with this ladyâ€Â

 

Lynn made to wave goodbye to the clearly upset boy, but he was in serious pout mode, so she let her hand fall to her side.

 

"So, I'm guessing you're Mr Silver? My name is Lynn Epstein, and I was sent here on a mission, or even a quest, I guess you could call it."

 

She pulls a bottle of lukewarm water out of her messenger bag, takes a swig, and wipes her mouth with the back of a fingerless cycling glove.

 

"Are you familiar with the Line of Silver? I was supposed to ask you about it, and give you that bottle."

 

She drops into the recently vacated seat and sighs deeply.

 

"Awesome shop, by the way; reminds me of my grampa's place, but turned up to eleven, y'know?"

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Arcane Snowman]

â€ÂNext time you come knocking at my door young lady,†growled Damien, having not even bothered using the stairs, but instead stepped through reality and deposited himself behind Lynn. â€ÂI’d appreciate more subtlety on your behalf.†He was quickly over his little moment of fume though, at the mention of the line of Silver and the sight of the peculiar bottle, he brightened up visibly, so that’s why she’s here he didn’t even hesitate when he answered, â€Âof course I do, I started it.â€Â

[Heritage]

 

Arcane Snowman said:

â€ÂNext time you come knocking at my door young lady, I’d appreciate more subtlety on your behalf.â€Â

 

Lynn sunk down into her chair, grimacing.

 

"Okay, jeez, I'll be more careful next time..."

 

Rolling her eyes, she took another swig of water-

 

 

Arcane Snowman said:

â€Âof course I do, I started it.â€Â

 

Which she promptly sprayed across the table :shock: Coughing and spitting, she sat up in her chair, using a handful of paper napkins from her bag to mop up some of the mess; thankfully there were no books or papers out.

 

"I'm sorry, what? You started the Line? Forgive me for being blunt, but just how damn old are you?"

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Arcane Snowman]

Chuckling at Lynn’s response, Damien continues â€Âold enough,†after which he points at the bottle, â€Âso the queen sent you here, how is she by the way†not that he was going to be particularly surprised by whatever Lynn responded with, nothing much happened in the realm of the fey, despite what people thought. â€ÂEnough of that†interrupted he, leaving little room for actual responses on Lynn’s behalf, â€Âyou have come to be awakened, that much I can tell. But let me hear a bit about you, I'd like to hear about my kin.â€Â

[Heritage]

 

Arcane Snowman said:

â€Âso the queen sent you here, how is she by the wayâ€Â

 

Lynn shrugged as she cleared up the rest of the water.

 

“Uh, I dunno, I guess she's fine; she also said she's just the current queen, that they rotate or something based on the seasons. She's the Queen of Summer, and soon her reign will end for the year; she also said I'm aligned with the Winter Court, but the woman behind the counter at Macy's said I'm an Autumn, so I don't know who to believe-"

 

 

Arcane Snowman said:

â€ÂEnough of that; you have come to be awakened, that much I can tell. But let me hear a bit about you, I'd like to hear about my kin.â€Â

 

The young woman swallowed and looked vaguely ill.

 

“Okay, yeah, how have the, uh, 'kinfolk' been; well, that Cletus sure is a handful, and Natasha Jean is just growin' like a sprout, I tell ya whut.“

 

She stops herself and wrinkles her nose.

 

“Sorry. Okay yeah, well, the real truth is my life pretty much sucked until I died in an alley...aaaand an emissary of the Winter Court followed a dream, picked up my lifeless bod and took it back to his Queen. Now I am fey, and I guess things have improved a lot; my mortal soul is now draped in glamour, so Miss Queenie said, but she also said I'm not 'finished', whatever that means."

 

By the time she's done, her cheekiness has drained to dead seriousness.

 

“So that's why I'm here: to be finished. Like a clay pot."

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Arcane Snowman]

At her mention of being “finished†Damien scowls visibly, the court of the fey were as proficient talking to humans as a blind man taking photographs, mind you, half the time Damien wasn’t much better, but thankfully he was usually just good enough. But this mention of her soul being wrapped in glamour did make him intrigued, and worried.

It changed everything, he wasn’t just going to awaken her latent fey blood and make her soul accept the unnatural influence of the fey. He needed time to think, but he couldn’t let her know that â€Âlet me collect a few things so that we can get started.†he had some incense around, and some other old Celtic items that would probably help to make a scene; he scooped up the various items and deposited them in a bag, chalk, always good… he inspected the bag, there wasn't much, but it would have to do. â€Âget yourself something warm on...†said he as he walked towards the door, grabbed his coat and put it on. â€ÂWe're going to be outside for some timeâ€Â

[Heritage]

 

Arcane Snowman said:

â€Âget yourself something warm on...†said he as he walked towards the door, grabbed his coat and put it on. â€ÂWe're going to be outside for some timeâ€Â

 

Lynn gets up out of her chair and dusts herself. "Um, okay. Well, I don't actually get cold, but if you want, I can wear something a little more appropriate, I can do that."

 

For a moment, her body is obscured by pale mist, which wraps around her completely; when it clears, she's wearing a long black robe with a hood, reaching down to the floor. She throws back the hood and shrugs as she looks down at herself.

 

"Whaddya think, too corny? At least I didn't cover it with stars and moons."

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Arcane Snowman]

Damien looked at her, lip quivering, feeling an overwhelming need to bury his face in his hands and then just make her go away, but only for a second. â€Âyoung lady…†he said, keeping the sense of indignation out of his voice â€Â...I’m going to have to…†as he spoke, his frail old self transformed: it was as if his flesh turning to ash in a split second, â€Â…teach you…†Damien’s voice changed with his appearance, becoming younger, yet older, more distant, yet louder â€Â…something about…†red lines press their way out from underneath his ghostly visage, slithering their way all over his body, making a never-ending pattern across his body "…proper" having finished his transformation, and his little comment, Dalkaresh lets himself be consumed by his powers, spreading the touch across to Grim, so that they both could travel across reality, as mere thoughts, within a split second, the two of them were within a forest.

[Heritage]

Between the old guy getting pissed, shedding his body to show his freaky-ass true form, and being teleported to a dark forest, Lynn was thunderstruck, left standing open-mouthed in her new surroundings, completely adrift.

 

For maybe thirty seconds; then she got mad.

 

"Hey!"

 

She angrily jabbed a finger at the mysterious magical entity before her.

 

"You are like centuries old and stuff, right? You've been around for a long time, and I respect that. What I want you to respect is that I'm just a frickin' kid! All I know about magic I picked up from watching cartoons, and movies, and forcing my older brother to play Dungeons and Dragons with me. I know squat. I am Jewish trailer trash, and I did not ask to be part of this! But you know what, here I am, trying to keep my head above water in the big leagues, and I am scared sh##less by all of this!"

 

Her anger takes on an air of desperation as her voice cracks and tears form in her eyes.

 

"So you don't get to bully me...okay? I have traveled through time, visited other dimensions, and I killed a man with my bare hands before I was sixteen! I have lived. So you don't....you don't get to yell at me..."

 

At last, Lynn Epstein can only stand there, weeping.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Arcane Snowman]

A great sigh escapes Dalkaresh, and an ephemeral hand reaches for his head, once again he is Damien Silver, with the aforementioned limb’s fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. He could have hit himself; he really could, if it wasn’t for the fact that it wasn’t going to help the child who was crying in front of him, he would.

Likewise he wasn’t about to correct her about the fact that centuries was probably a bad measuring scale, indeed even a single millennia would never compare, yet for all his age, all his “wisdomâ€Â, he still managed to trample all over this woman, like he had thought he wouldn’t. Not knowing was not an excuse either.

Taking a step forward, he embraced her, with all his feeble strength â€Âforgive an old coot, I promised myself I wasn’t going to be like them, but look at me, still talk before I think.â€Â

[Heritage]

 

Arcane Snowman said:

â€Âforgive an old coot, I promised myself I wasn’t going to be like them, but look at me, still talk before I think.â€Â

 

Still sniffling, she accepted the hug, then shook her head as she wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand.

 

"Nah, it's cool; I try so hard to be all badass, then sometimes it's just too much."

 

Lynn gently untangles herself from Silver's grasp, wrapping her arms tightly around herself.

 

"Look, if it's easier for you to be, y'know, like your true form or whatever that was, it's cool; I know what to expect now."

 

She laughs self-consciously.

 

"I actually did come here to learn, not just get snot on your shirt; you can be yourself if it makes you more comfortable."

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Arcane Snowman]

â€ÂWell, I don't know about being "badass", but trying to be something you're not, will generally fail" begins Damien, though he stays in his current form, even though he had spent but the tiniest of fractions of his life as Damien Silver, he actually preferred it, it made him feel, human, if only for a little while.

"There is a great difference between teaching, and forcing knowledge upon someone.â€Â

Scooping up the bag of stuff he had brought with him, which had been promptly dropped when he embraced Lynn, he set his mind to the task ahead. â€ÂTime to get to work.â€Â

Now, what to do: gathering a few stones, Damien began making a rough circle, although he had just complained about her taste of aesthetics, he was going to do something incredibly, well, corny. All these gimmicks were going to be a façade, something to buy him enough time to think, to sense, and to finally help this young woman become “completeâ€Â.

[Heritage]

Lynn shifts her weight from foot to foot, staring down at the ground while Mr. Silver goes through his preparations.

 

"Is there anything I can do to help, like stir something or chop stuff up? I feel like a guest on a cooking show."

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Arcane Snowman]

â€ÂYes, most certainly. Stand inside the circle, and be still.†is Damien's reply, somewhat distant now, his mind already starting to wander:

Awakening a feykin was easy, their connection to court’s powers is much akin to a floodgate, either it is there there, or not, dribbles were not unheard off, but more often than not, led to full awakening sooner or later. All a normal feykin needed, was a little push from someone on the right side of the gate, as to open the path before them. But Lynn, Lynn was different; after all, her soul was draped in a shell of glamour. What to do, what to do.

All the while, Damien continued making the “Magic Circleâ€Â, five stones to the circle, as to make the traditional Wiccan pentagram, some candles on each stone, just to set the mood.

[Heritage]

 

Arcane Snowman said:

â€ÂYes, most certainly. Stand inside the circle, and be still.â€Â

 

Lynn nodded firmly. "Gotcha, zip it." She made the 'zip it and lose the key' motion as she stepped into postion, then as an afterthought shifted her clothes again, going for a sort of vaguely Maid Marian look in pale blue, but keeping the hooded cloak.

 

I really overdo the whole clothing bit sometimes :roll:

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Arcane Snowman]

Damien began pacing, reciting an old Celtic incantation meant for luck; moving around always helped him think. Perhaps if he united the glamour and the soul, no that would be too dangerous for both. This was getting more complicated than he had imagined, â€know what to do, bah.†repeating the queens words, as Lynn had told him, Damien scoffed.

[Heritage]

 

Arcane Snowman said:

â€know what to do, bah.â€

 

Lynn's sensitive ears caught the strange man's muttering, and for a moment she was about to blurt out something witty yet thoughtless, but she caught herself; if there's onne thing you get from reading fairy tales, it's that magical type people tend to be proud, and don't usually appreciate a young whippersnapper's wisecrack.

 

But was there anyway she could actually help? Didn't songs and poems and stuff usually figure into this sort of thing? Without really meaning to, Lynn found herself standing with eyes closed softly chanting, somewhere between a song and a story, about her trip into Avalon.

 

"I met a maiden in the field, bound unto a mighty stone.

Save me girl, or I shall die, she cried."

 

"I met a mother in the wood, searching for her baby lost.

Save my child, or she will die, she cried."

 

"I met a crone upon the path, living in a house of bone.

Save yourself, or you will die, she cried."

 

"I met a queen upon the hill, sitting on a throne of gold.

Change yourself, or you will die, she cried..."

 

When the words stopped she felt a sudden chill, like an icy breeze across her heart, freezing her where she stood.

 

What the hell was that...? :shock:

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Arcane Snowman]

Damien stopped dead in his tracks, as well as train of thought, he could sense her connection to the fey, and he knew this sensation intimately, it felt as if he’d been struck by the lightning bolt of inspiration. A single word came to his mind, â€eureka.†whispered he with triumph, I’ve got it.

Focusing his eyes to see only the ebbs and flows of the faean magic, he had his realization confirmed; of course he knew what to do. Sensing the tickle of her slumbering powers, Damien gathered his strength and sent a small surge of power through Lynn, meant to awaken feykin.

[Heritage]

At first Lynn just felt a little queasy, like when she rode the Wild Mouse after too many Italian ices when she was six (Oh what a mess that was!), but then the sensation spread outwards, down her legs and arms and up into her head. Her heart was pounding and her head felt light, which left her staggering.

 

"Oh wow, I think you..."

 

Her hands were glowing, a pearly white light that emerged from within. Lynn twisted her fingers through the air like birds, ghost images gracefully floating back and forth.

 

"So pretty..."

 

Then the light was gone, and the young woman fell insensible to the ground, her clothing dissolving into mist as she lay, breathing softly, on the cold ground.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Arcane Snowman]

Closing his eyes, Damien made sure one last time that Lynn’s connection to the fey realm was complete. Content with a job well done, Damien reached down and touched Lynn gently on the cheek. The expression of affection, turned into one of mild amusement â€Honestly, I’ll have to teach you about proper.†with that, the two of them are engulfed in his powers and in the same instant they we're inside Damien’s dusty old shop again.

[Heritage]

Lynn woke up on the floor of the shop, feeling all warm and fuzzy. Suddenly aware of her own nudity, she yelped as she wrapped herself in a simple dress of green and gold; she trusted the old man, and was sure he'd been a perfect gentleman, but nudity is still nudity, after all. She rose unsteadily to her bare feet, dusting herself off as she peered at all the bookshelves before her eyes came back to Damian.

 

"So, did it work? I don't feel all that different, to be honest." She stared closely at her both sides of her hand, then shrugged.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Heritage