Multipup post

[ostro_goth]

On such a fine morning as this, there is always a number of people outside, happily doing outdoors things. Among them are today:

• one purple god of magic, wearing a green gardening apron, and weeding between the roses in the garden by the back door of the bar


• one tarot card, smoking a large cigar while leaning on a fence near the horse stables, watching the animals graze peacefully


• one dead Ostrogoth, wearing nothing but knee-length shorts, and surfing -- yes, surfing! -- in the Caribbean inlet, as Xaldin taught him last year


• one relaxed swan king, still wearing black drawstring pants, a white tee-shirt, and black flip-flops, sitting on a rock by the lake with a very large iced latte, and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Comments

[mogget_cat]

One not'cat is approaching the edge of the lake, possibly near the swan king's rock, eyeing the pale surfer in the sunshine.

"He's insane," he concludes, shaking his head. But he already knew this.

He holds it true for any who willingly go into the water.

[born-to-it.livejournal.com]

Donovan turns his head.

"Insane?" he says. "Who -- the surfer? That's just a surfer. One of the most ordinary things I've seen here. It's not a glowing woman dancing over the water, or anything."

[mogget_cat]

"A dead surfer in the Caribbean part of a Scottish lake on an asteroid right before the end of the entire universe isn't weird where you come from?" The cat-eyed albino shakes his head, smirking.

"Better over the water than in it, I'd say." That's the insane part.

[born-to-it.livejournal.com]

"He looks pretty alive to me," Donovan says, looking at the man. An albino were-leopard, perhaps, with those eyes?

"Look -- he's moving! And now he fell into the water, flailing. I don't think a corpse would do that. Not even a well animated zombie."

Beat.

"And who says it's a Scottish lake? I was suspecting I was in Vermont, Maine, or upstate New York, when I first arrived. Granted, that's not exactly close to the Caribbean, either, and the surfers at the Maine coast mostly wear neoprene, not shorts and a piercing."

[mogget_cat]

"He is one of the Dead, I know," Yrael says, watching the flailing wet Ostrogoth. "You can ask him and he will tell you so, himself. A great warrior, who died in battle."

Dry. "And, for a fact, I know the lake this one was modeled after, in Scotland, and the person who made this lake. He made it because his friend the then-Head Bartender was homesick for the place that lake graces. In Scotland."

He gives the swan king a dryly amused look.

"Yrael." A very very warm, pale hand is offered with a lopsided grin. "You're new?"

[born-to-it.livejournal.com]

"It's nice to meet someone paler than me," Donovan says, shaking the offered hand. "Donovan Reece. I am."

He laughs.

"This is such a cool place: great dead warriors take up surfing!"

[mogget_cat]

"Nice to meet you, Donovan Reece," Yrael smiles. "All the worlds seem to cross, here, so I suppose even great dead warriors must take up surfing, raising cats and playing the guitar, eventually."

"What's your where and when, Donovan? Earth, I'm guessing." American, by accent.

[born-to-it.livejournal.com]

Donovan laughs at that. "What a hippie sortof lifestyle!" he says. "It sounds like he's really having fun here."

He sighs, remembering that this is not a free holiday for him: the glowing dancer had said that people from his world are here, and his path was going to go on through this place, whatever that meant.

Well, it means business, that much is certain.

"Maine, originally," he says. "But my, well, job takes me all over the country, and I find myself spending more time in St. Louis than I like. But it seems to be a happening place, even if mostly not in a good way."

[mogget_cat]

"I haven't yet seen Maine," Yrael smiles. "Nor St. Louis, but not for lack of trying. I would travel more, but I'm rather restricted in travel, in the Earth I have access to."

"I'm not from there originally, after all." And that particular world lacks magic enough to sustain him.

[born-to-it.livejournal.com]

"Why'd you try to get to St. Louis?" Donovan says. "Believe me, it's more trouble than it's fun. Where have you been, on Earth?"

Hah, what a totally weird thing to ask anybody!

[mogget_cat]

"I've visited Florence, Italy, and Scotland, New York City, Amarillo, Texas... but most often I have been to New Orleans, as I have a door there, and a budding jazz career," he grins.

"As for St. Louis, I have some friends there."

[born-to-it.livejournal.com]

"Oh, do you?" Donovan says. "I wonder if it's anybody I know."

[mogget_cat]

"Possibly," the not'cat smiles, only vaguely wondering why this man is making him vaguely hungry. "It might be your world's St. Louis, too. Who do you know?"

[gorgonfondness]

Mia doesn't get to see horses often, so, on her way to a minor practice outside, she goes to stop and have a look.

It was that or watch Teja surf, but it's been considerably longer since she's seen anyone surf and it would have been difficult to pelt him with questions. Perhaps she'll go swimming later and see him.

But for now, she smiles at Tower and says, "This time, you really will have to put out your cigar if I stay long. I'll even give you a fire flower so you can relight it after I leave."

[destroy_restart]

"Congratulations!" Tower says, smiling into her eyes.

The cigar is already put out, as if had never been lit. He puts it in his pocket.

[gorgonfondness]

She'll still make the fire flower for him, whether he needs it or not. It's pretty and she needs to stay in practice. It's why she's outside in the first place.

"Thank you," she replies, her smile downright beaming. "We're all very excited at home, though sometimes that's both excitement and nausea for me. It's been messing with my magic, however, an unforeseen symptom. It's almost like I'm a teenager again."

Her hands are together as she pulls and shapes the tongues of flame in her fingers, whispering as she works.

"I have to talk to my magic a lot more with my voice."

[destroy_restart]

"Changes," Tower says. "They will affect the whole system. If you want to know more, ask the purple gardener over there, he loves blathering on theoretically about magic, and he never goes blue in the face, either, as he's naturally purple, always, so."

[gorgonfondness]

"I don't want to get in an information-off," she says with a soft giggle. "Just ask my students; I talk plenty about magic."

She 'hmmm's a little, though, twisting the fire flower in her fingers.

"I might be able to go back to voiceless magic if I use my wand, but I don't like relying on focus items if I can help it. Perhaps this will be the extent of my skill throughout my entire pregnancy."

She's unaware that a good deal of pregnant ladies get a sort of energy spike in the second trimester and isn't really aware of nesting instincts yet.

"You can tell me if I'm boring you, you know? I actually came here, aside from enjoying your pleasant company, to look at the horses before I practice instead of waxing on about magic. Horses aren't native to Katarina or other areas in the west at home, so I only saw them in my travels east."

[destroy_restart]

Tower makes a 'tch-tch' sound with his tongue, and the horses lift their heads and prick up their ears. One starts walking over; it is a reddish brown, with a white spotty rump.

"You're not boring me," Tower says, "but I'm really not qualified to wax right back at you. You and him having a magic geek-off might be a spectator sport, though, complete with betting."

[gorgonfondness]

"Should I, as an expectant mother, approve of such spectator behavior or not?"

It doesn't look like she minds. Mia has a somewhat loose morality.

"Oh, aren't you lovely?" she says to the horse. "We don't have many like you where I live. We have chukobus instead."

Yes, fans of Final Fantasy, they're pretty much what you think they are.

[destroy_restart]

"We'd just listen, and place bets on who stops jabbering first," Tower says, looking at her.

The horse nudges her, gently, almost expectantly, wanting sritches, and perhaps a little bit to nibble on? In the shape of a carrot, perhaps, or an apple? It looks at Mia hopefully from large brown eyes. It has a funny face - one side has white spots, and the eyelashes on that side are white, on the other, black.

[gorgonfondness]

"I'll give you a tip, then: I'm still dealing with fatigue. I'd lean towards me clamming up first."

She scritches the horse's nose and glances around.

"Do you think the gardener would mind if I summon an apple from the garden for the horse?"

Surely she can handle an Accio spell.

[destroy_restart]

"I'm sure he wouldn't," Tower says, "but they're not ripe yet. Unless you know a ripening spell as well."

[gorgonfondness]

"I'm afraid I don't," she says. "Aside from time turners, that is, but I don't own one."

She scritches at the horse some more.

"Perhaps a carrot instead, hmm?"

[destroy_restart]

"Make it zoom out of the ground and fly over here like a small missile!" Tower says, always happy to tempt to mischief.