milliways_bar | (no subject)

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When Autor steps through the door today, his clothes remain the same: white pants, oversized gray sweater, and glasses. What changes are the ears. Not his, necessarily--those still remain human--but he sprouts fuzzy, gray, and pointed kitten ears on top of his head with a soft, "Oh!" The tail is also new, and telegraphs his body language as the tip curves upward in agitation.

"Really?" he calls up to the ceiling. "Come on!"

Experimentally, he brushes his fingers against one of his fuzzy new appendages--and tears his hand away, blushing. They point in different directions, moving independently of one another to show his ambivalence with the costume.

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"The Raven King sounds interesting already," Autor says, flashing a quick smile. His ears perk up, as does his tail.

Childermass laughs quietly. "Well, then. He was born mortal, but raised in Faerie. Returned at the age of fifteen or so and claimed a kingdom in the North."

"He must have an interesting set of morals if he was raised by Faerie," Autor says, blinking at him. His ears flick the air, as if testing it. "Why would his leaving stop up the well of magic?"

"It may be that all our magic comes in from there. If he closed the door behind him, as it were..."

"That makes sense, I suppose," Autor says, inclining his head. His tail wraps around his hips. "So you think you were just borrowing magic from the land of Fae?"

"It is the best theory I can think of. There used to be a deal more coming and going between the two places, when magic was commonplace."

"Can Faeries get back to your world, then?" Autor says, furrowing his brow. His ears rest against his head.

"No one has reported seeing a fairy in nearly two hundred years", Childermass says, without a scrap of regret. "All to the better, for now mortals are safe from them."

"That's good at least," Autor says, inclining his head. His ears swivel about as his tail points straight up. "Do you think there's anyone left with Faerie blood?"

"There may be. Much watered down by now, of course, it is not likely there is anyone with only one human parent. But I would not call it impossible that some have Faerie blood."

"Interesting," Autor says, adjusting his glasses. His ears perk forward. "Maybe they'll be able to do some magic, too."

Childermass smiles a little. "If anyone can, I should think it would be them."

"Of course," Autor says, matching that smile. "Maybe you have a little Faerie blood yourself. And perhaps Norrell does as well."

"If there is fairy blood in his family", he says wryly, "it will have been hushed up at all costs. In mine, there is no telling."

"Why is that? Does he have a respectable family and you don't?" Autor asks curiously, not passing judgment in anyway. His tail wraps around his leg.

"That and I do not know who my father was", he says without a hint of shame. "I cannot be entirely certain my mother did. Sometimes she said he was an Italian sailor... or a gypsy..."

"That does make genealogy difficult," Autor says, slightly wry. "For all you know, he may have been a Faerie himself."

"For all I know", Childermass agrees. "Though I think she would have told me that if she suspected it."

"Oh, probably," Autor says, nodding. His ears perk forward again. "Did it take you a while to get used to the magic of this place?"

"If I am honest, it almost brought me to my knees when I first arrived. My head was spinning such as I have never felt before."

"You can sense magic as well, then?" Autor says, raising his brows. "Interesting. Is that an innate talent or a hard-won skill?"

"Innate, I suppose. I certainly have never knowingly worked toward it."

"I see," Autor says, his ears perking forward and slightly to the side. "It's useful to have a skill like that. I do hope the bar hasn't given you anymore headaches, though."

"I seem to have grown accustomed to the level of ambient magic here", Childermass reassures him. "The first hour or so was the worst, and it has lessened steadily since then."

"That's good at least," Autor says, nodding. His ears swivel around, and his tail points straight up, tip twitching. "What's your favorite part of the bar?"