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 Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 3:13 pm
Who: Anastacia, Phoenix, and Zeke
When: December 28th; 10:15pm
Where: Ambrosia in Durem
Weather: Cold, crisp, and clear!
It wasn't too far into the season yet and already Anya had been feeling the cabin fever. As soon as November rolled in so did the cold, snow, and darkness that were the hallmarks of winter and the bane of her existence. Christmas had been a nice distraction - plenty of presents and warm feelings abound there - but with the holidays edging closer and closer to being over it was back to viewing the drab white and grey world through panes of insulated glass.
And it was maddening.
Although it wasn't to say she didn't stop enjoying honing her crafts or sitting with Brad, Zeke, or the pair of them for a movie or two. They made time for her and her needs to be sure, included her in their daily lives as all good Guardians should, but despite the efforts and little forays out into the world at large to feed and just get out, with winter having its grips around Gaia, she was realizing it was less about 'going out' and more about 'doing so when I want to and for as long as I want to'. In the spring, summer, and first kisses of fall she was able to come and go as she pleased (though she still asked; some things were just going to stick it seemed). Winter? No such luck. A trip to the mall could easily be arranged but it all had to come to an end at some point thanks to schedules, work, and the like of the men who called her their own. They apologized; she forgave. Outside forces, she could understand that better than most. She always accepted their promises of more trips out soon.
Because of this, it was almost unsurprising Anya had agreed to come along with Zeke on a Lab-centered foray into downtown Durem. The vet seemed to have been feeling some of the aforementioned cabin fever himself, saying that it had been 'too long' since he had done a drop off himself and, naturally, tittering on about belated Christmas presents the likes of which SHOULD be hand-delivered if only to see the look on the face of the receiver. All the same, Zeke had asked her several times if she was sure and she confirmed each time.
"I want to," she had said the final time, "even if it's just for a half hour. So can we go?"
They had and now they had arrived at their destination. Well...second, truth be told. The first had been to the new Guardian's home to surprise him there but a few rounds of knocking and a brief chat with a neighbor later had set them on the right path - Phoenix was still at work. The probable half hour turned into an hour and fifteen minutes thus far. Anya couldn't say she was unhappy with this turn of events.
"Nice place," Zeke said from the front. The Frei turned her gaze from the window to the rear view, where she met her Guardian's own. The corners of his brown eyes crinkled as he smiled at her. "Ready to do this thing?"
"Yes."
Zeke did his best to park as close to the front door as possible before rushing to get himself and his cold-disinclined ward out of the car and inside the building. Anya barely noticed the hours of operation sign on the door before she was inside. A chime overhead greeted them first, a waitress in a heavy coat with a purse on her arm was second.
"I'm sorry but we're closed!"
The spider Frei's lips parted half in alarm, half to speak something or other, but it was Zeke who got his words out first:
"Hi! I'm sorry, I know you guys close at ten! Was trying to get here before then but you know how it is with winter driving." He strode forward with the Lab case in his left hand and his right extended toward the homeward bound girl. "I was hoping to speak with Alexis Argryis; is he here?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 9:03 pm
Typically, Phoenix Argyris was gone long before closing hours. More often than not he was there before opening, but left early enough to spend the evening with Zoe and cook her dinner. But the holidays had been chaotic, and Phoenix had returned from his day off to find he had a few too many disasters to smooth over. A quick call to Zoe's babysitter with strict demands that Zoe be smothered in the slimiest kisses possible before bed and he had settled into the office to make phone calls, sort through paperwork, and still make sure to complete inventory.
When the last of it was finished, Phoenix straightened up from where he'd been kneeling on the floor. He groaned as he noted, with a great deal of displeasure, that his back protested the movement. You're too young to have back aches, he reminded himself, before leaving the walk-in cooler. He shrugged a ridiculous sweater portraying Santa Claus riding a unicorn across the galaxy over his shoulders, draping it over his arm and letting out a weary puff of air.
It surprised him when he heard the two voices carrying from the front of Ambrosia. The last dishwasher was still working in back, and he knew that there was only one waitress who should have been finishing up in front. Phoenix caught the tail end of the exchange as he turned the corner.
"Can I help you? I'm--" Phoenix started, already smiling and extending a hand before his eyes fully adjusted to the pair standing just inside the door. He paused, eyebrows quirking slightly. He looked from Anya too Zeke, then back to Anya. It occurred to him that he was staring, but he was currently expending all of his energy towards not blurting out something completely ridiculous and was having a hard time looking away.
"I'm sorry," he said, resuming at a more enthusiastic pace with a large, toothy grin spreading across his face. There was no mistaking the childish glint in his eyes. "Would you two like to have a seat? Lucky for you there's no wait right now," he joked with a chuckle.
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 9:48 pm
The man of the hour appeared almost as if summoned. The waitress gestured to the grey-haired gentleman and excused herself from the gaggle, leading Zeke to extend his hand toward the one they had come to see instead.
"Hello, Sorry!" The smile on Zeke's face was all but plastered with the words 'I had to' and it was the kind of smile that reached his eyes as well as both of his ears. "I'm Zeke and this is Anastacia! We're looking for Alexis; very important business!"
Anya had kept with hanging back for the moment but with the introduction made she floated to Zeke's side.
"I think this is Alexis, Zeke." The vet's joke might have been lost on her but this new man's extended gaze was not. Now out of the cold, she let her crown expand in eight long sweeping motions to its normal position around her face and bobbed her head in greeting. "Good evening. It's nice to meet you."
Zeke had started to laugh when Anya spoke up about the other man's identity and he was having some difficulty stopping. Anya looked between her Guardian and the man they were set to surprise and back again with a look on her face that was some part apology for the pierced and tattooed man's behavior right off the bat and another part grimace. She didn't see what was funny enough to elicit that sort of response, but Zeke was indeed Zeke. No helping that.
"A seat would be nice, thank you." If she could do anything right now it was perhaps move things along. Alexis - or the man who was assumed to be him - offered them a place to sit and it would be rude not to accept it. Upon taking the man's offer, Anya let her eyes glance around the restaurant's entryway for the first time. It was a nicely decorated place from what she could see of it and clean in the way that meant it certainly was after hours.
"Ooh hoo hoo..." Zeke wiped an eye and nodded to his ward's words. "I'm sorry I just..." He shook his head. "Please! A seat would be great! Maybe somewhere away from the door if you don't mind? It's pretty nippy out."
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 7:12 am
Phoenix's responding laugh was more of a bark, and he shook Zeke's hand vigorously, placing his left hand over both of theirs as they shook. He immediately liked the man for his sense of humor, and his excitement over seeing a Raevan in his restaurant had not yet wavered. He was all but vibrating with wonder. If he had been tired from the long day before, there was certainly no hint of that now.
When Anya spoke, Phoenix opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted as Zeke started laughing. But instead of looking at him in shock, his own grin got even wider. After Zeke had calmed down enough to speak, Phoenix gestured for them to follow him. "It's a pleasure to meet you both! Come on in back. It'll be warmest back there."
He lead them through the restaurant, the whole while wondering to himself what could be the reason for an after hours visit. He took them to a booth near the kitchen, done up in pleasant shades of blue around a wooden table. The whole of Ambrosia was done up in blues this way, bringing vibrant splashes of color to the white walls with arches leading to and from each room. It wasn't an exceptionally large restaurant, but it was decently sized, and it extended into a patio section that was rarely used this time of year.
"Is this alright? If you're hungry, we're still not completely cleaned up in the kitchen. I can bring out something, on the house." He smiled warmly, holding his sweater over his hands as he joined them in front of his body.
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 11:13 pm
"Thank you!"
"Thank you."
The fact they spoke in unison made Zeke dissolve into titters again and Anya shook her head in spite of the man as they followed Phoenix through the restaurant. As they moved she let her eyes wander again and found she rather liked the decor. The blues were nice and against the white walls it reminded her vaguely of the ocean. That in turn made her long for another beach trip like the many she had gone on over the summer. She tried not to dwell.
"This is perfect, thank you." Zeke gestured for his Raevan to take a seat before him and went so far as to pull a chair out for her. The Frei bobbed her head in thanks to her man but opted to slip the coat from her shoulders before taking the offered seat. As she did so, she stretched her wings out to their fullest extent and shook the lingering tenseness from them that had come from being trapped flat against her back since before leaving their condo.
"Thank you, Zeke." He held his hand out for her coat and she gave it to him before she 'sat' down, jagged ribbon trailing and coiling only slightly upon the floor.
"Oh! I appreciate the offer, but there's no need for that! I'm still full from a big dinner but if Anya wants anything..."
A shake of the Widow's head was enough to cut Zeke short.
"No, but thank you." The heat in the car had filled her and the restaurant was warm enough to pull the lingering fingers of cold from her person quite easily. Put anything on top of that and she was sure to feel uncomfortably stuffed. Zeke chuckled.
"She doesn't eat like we do," as a means to explain, "but again, thanks for offering! Let me apologize for coming by so late - we stopped by your apartment but come to find out you were here! I had hoped to get here sooner but as I said to the lady up front, winter driving never makes for timely appearances."
The vet's smile was a touch sheepish as he explained. The last thing he wanted to be was an inconvenience to anyone, but situations being as they were what could be done? Work for him would come early tomorrow and there was always a chance to run late. Now with the holidays over Monday would at least - hopefully - be a bit normal and open for what was about to proceed. Besides, he highly doubted he could wait until this coming weekend to present Alexis with what they had brought with them.
"So! That being said, I'm sure you're wondering why we're here!" Zeke put on his biggest grin as the words left his lips and as he spoke his free hand moved between himself and Anastacia, who had flicked her gaze between her Guardian and the new man before settling placidly on the latter. "And that reason is right here in my hand!" He held the case up high but did not set it down on the table just yet, too busy speaking and making excited motions as he did so to do that.
"We're here to inform you that your application to Lab 305 has been not only reviewed but chosen because it - you - have been deemed perfect for the role of Guardian to a Raevan! So perfect, in fact, that in the spirit of the season we decided to come down and hand deliver the news and the tools right to you! Merry Christmas, Alexis!"
"Congratulations."
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2015 9:00 am
As his visitors took their seats at the booth, Phoenix's eyes were drawn to Anya's wings. That is way cool, he thought to himself, before again reminding himself that staring was impolite. Yes, you are doing an ace job making a good first impression. He tried to shrug his excitement and curiosity off and looked away, smiling apologetically before he did.
Zeke's sudden enthusiastic speech stopped Phoenix before he could take a seat across from the pair. --not only reviewed, but chosen-- Phoenix said nothing in response, nor to the congratulations from the Frei. He sat down, almost as if the strength had left his legs, and flung his sweater over his shoulder. "Please, call me Phoenix," he mumbled rather dumbly, his eyes focused on a spot on the wall between Zeke and Anya's heads.
Phoenix was wavering some time between the past and the present. Zeke's announcement seemed to be playing on repeat in the distance, like a radio transmission on loop. It was overlapping another voice that had once carried a similar announcement. Then he hadn't been prepared. But his reaction now was almost a mirror of what it had been back then. "You're not pulling my leg, right?"
His eyes fixated on the case. It looked so completely innocent and uninteresting. One could imagine anything could be in it. Phoenix bunched up his face and looked back up at Zeke with a smile. "You're not, are you?" There was hope in his voice, a small pleading that Zeke not be playing games with him.
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 9:56 pm
As soon as the congratulations were out, Anya had figured Phoenix to do as practically all new Guardians did. She expected surprise, to be sure, but the sort that included a flurry of activity like hands moving rapidly along with words that flew forth from over a stumbling tongue and smiling lips. Perhaps a pause for a few too-long moments before the mind caught up with the news. Maybe a tear or two, like Claire had done when Zeke dropped the bombshell upon her. Men did cry after all; they just didn't do it as often as women, or so she had been led to believe.
Instead Phoenix went all slack and vacant, looking through Anya and Zeke rather than at them. Anya had inclined her head when she had spoken last but now it slowly tilted to one side in puzzlement at everything this man was not doing. No whooping, no hollering, not even a hint of a watery glaze to his eyes. She wasn't sure what to make of this. Slowly she made herself look at Zeke, hoping for an answer to be found there.
The vet, unsurprisingly, was sitting there with that s**t-eating grin of his, the one that stretched from ear to ear and showcased a lot of white teeth and some of his healthy pink gums too. His brown eyes had done the same as Anya's purple ones and followed Phoenix's descent into the seat across from them. In that time he had set the case down upon his lap and the handle just poked over the lip of the table. If he was worried by the other man's reaction, he did not visibly show it. This only served to confuse the Widow more and she leaned just a little toward her Guardian's ear.
"Is he okay...?" She spoke softly so as not to let her words carry over the table to the dumbfounded man.
"Give him a second," was the reply and it came with a wink.
Sure enough, a moment later and Phoenix found his voice. His first question carried the shock she expected and that released some of the uncertainty-bred tenseness she had picked up because of his otherwise lack thereof. To her right Zeke sat up a little straighter and beamed all the harder. Phoenix spoke again - this time with a smile, Anya noted - and Zeke pushed his chair out with a dull wood-on-wood squeal. He set the case down upon the table with the openable side facing the other man. A couple loud snaps echoed off the restaurant's white walls as he freed the locks from their clasps.
"Why don't you tell me?" Zeke's playfulness was there with a heaping of coyness to go with it as he opened the top lid and pulled it back flat to reveal the contents to the light, the world, and their new owner.
Inside the case, tucked into the dark gray foam that was fitted into both halves, were the Soul Glass and Fel Essence. The former was the same as any other Glass - bulky, bulbous, and heavy-looking - but fitted with a stunning rainbow ombre cloth that commanded attention. Of course, the Essence was far from uninteresting. As soon as the light hit the glass jar that contained it, the sands swirling within it took upon a myriad of shapes and objects. One moment it was creating realistic-looking roses, the next it was spiking and connecting into a fancy, almost web-like design, before tumbling into ocean waves, blooming chrysanthemums, and swirling ribbons. It seemed as soon as one thing was born it was replaced by something new and no two created images were much alike at all.
Anastacia was in awe; all six eyes were trained on the jar and its contents.
Zeke, who had seen the Essence and its magic for himself earlier, continued to beam across the table at the man who would be Guardian to the being who would come from such a fantastic thing.
"Phoenix, say hello to the Perpetual Sandstorm! With this little baby and the Soul Glass beside it, you are now and forever an official Guardian of Lab 305! How's THAT for pulling your leg, huh?!"
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 7:19 am
Phoenix stared at the contents of the case in open fascination. He couldn't even be completely sure that this was real. He stared hard at the Essence, as if trying to determine if it was just some sort of projection. Were the shapes on a programmed loop, maybe? Certainly this couldn't-- he remembered Anya floating through the restaurant and wondered how the hell he could be questioning this, but now the existence of the Frei across the table from him.
This was different, though. This was someone telling him that there was a life in front of him, one that he would be responsible for. Phoenix reached out both hands, paused briefly to look up at Zeke as if to ask permission, then gently retrieved the jar from the case. His large hands could almost cover the entire bottle. It wasn't terribly large, and it was such a simple jar. The idea that something so beautiful could be contained in something so ordinary was incredible.
Phoenix stared without speaking for a couple of minutes, and in those couple of minutes his mind was racing. It was probably best that he didn't speak, for his thoughts weren't the most intelligent of thoughts, plus they were racing through him at such a speed that it would be a wonder if anyone could even decipher what he was trying to say.
"No," he mumbled, eyes still locked on the sand in the jar. It was currently rushing upward into the form of a tree. He watched as the sand leaves fell from the branches, bursting into sprinklings of sand, then as the remaining barren tree crashed into the bottom of the jar, sending splashes of sand over the sides. "But if you had been pulling it, you'd have gotten me good."
He opened his mouth then, looking up at Zeke, before closing it and returning his gaze to the bottle. He did this several times, looking like he was about to speak, but each time he thought better of it. This is beautiful, he almost said. Or, where did this come from?
"I--" He cleared his throat, pressing his thumb and forefinger to the corners of his eyes to press back the moisture threatening to well up there. "Thank you." Phoenix smiled, placing the jar back in the case. He then leaned forward, straight over the wooden table, and pulled Zeke into a hug. Phoenix just couldn't think of the words to express how he was feeling, so he resorted to the basest of ways to say it.
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 7:27 pm
It took her some time to pull her eyes away from the jar and its contents but when she did Anya found Phoenix to finally be behaving as a newly minted Guardian should.
Albeit in slow motion.
Slowly he took the jar in hand. Slowly he turned it over. Slowly he started to speak but unlike with Zeke, his words remained the same speed all the way through. He was speaking though, that was a good thing. She relaxed that much more and contented herself to watch the man and his motions, eyes of course flicking to the Essence to watch it as he did. Then he put it back and she felt the pout form on her lips.
To her right Zeke was all smiles, focused on Phoenix more than anything or anyone else. He laughed when the man commented on the presumed leg pulling, gestured for him to take the Essence in hand when he reached for it but paused, and not-so-subtley bounced on his heels the whole way through. The only time that stopped was when Phoenix quit with the slowness and suddenly launched himself at the vet, pulling him into one hell of a hug.
It jarred Anya to behold but Zeke being Zeke, just laughed and hugged the man back fiercely.
"You're welcome! You're very, very welcome!"
When they parted Zeke finally returned to his seat, turning his smile on Anya who sighed softly and shook her head at him before looking again at Phoenix. The man had gotten misty eyed and she could still see a bit of it lingering even though he had done well to stem the flow.
"So I'm sure you have a TON of questions about everything going forward, but I gotta few things to say before we unleash that particular beast. Hope that's okay!" He was still chuckling as he spoke, drumming his hands excitedly on the table before reaching over to pull the Essence Jar and the Soul Glass out of their case. He set them down and pulled the case away and onto the floor so that all three of them had a full and clear view of each of the two objects.
"You already handled your Essence, which as I already said is called the Perpetual Sandstorm. This big bulb-y looking thing next to it is the Soul Glass! They're the two things you'll need in order to make a Raevan!" The hug had left him buzzed and it showed. He spoke clearly but quickly and used his hands both to point to each item in turn and just gesture vaguely. "Now outta the pair, the Soul Glass edges past the Essence in order of importance for you. It's the main thing you'll be concerning yourself with going forward up until you capture a soul because it is what you use to capture a soul!"
Anya had heard this talk so many times in the past that even though she hadn't been on many staff-related outings over the last year or so she could still list out what Zeke was going to say without much effort. What the Essence did, what the Soul Glass did, what Phoenix would need to do, what would happen...it was old hat to Anya to be sure. Glancing at each man she folded her arms on the table and turned her attention once more to the Sandstorm in a Jar. She could tune this part out without qualm, surely. She doubted either man would notice or mind, especially when it was clear she keeping her interests related to the topic at hand.
What a pretty thing...
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Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 5:26 pm
Zeke was right, Phoenix did have a lot of questions. They were all aching to be asked, and he knew there were probably even more questions that he didn't even know he had yet. What was with the empty bottle? Where did the 'Perpetual Sandstorm' come from? What was it? What happens next? He'd said Anya didn't eat the same as them, were they all like that?
It occurred to him then just how little he actually knew. It was the same way when Zoe was born. How do you know when they're hungry? What size diapers do you get? Why is she crying? Why is that mess that color?!
Phoenix's eyes went to the Soul Glass when Zeke brought attention to it. It was a pretty bottle, and what Zeke was saying had already greatly snagged Phoenix's attention. It is what you use to capture a soul! Capture a soul? That's a bit more complicated than the good old fashioned way, he thought to himself with a fair amount of amusement. He briefly heard his mother's voice voicing her opinion on him handling a soul in any way, then pushed away the thought.
"Then I guess the first question you've heard countless times by now is...how exactly do you do that?" Phoenix laughed, looking a bit more like his usual self. The shock was giving way to curiosity and waking him up considerably.
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 2:14 pm
"That's one of the top questions asked first, yeah!" He was all about this meeting, bouncing in his seat with all the excitement of a schoolkid on field trip day. One would think that this would have gotten old ages ago for Zeke or maybe that he would be more...mature...about the explanation going forth but that was a solid negative. He lived for these moments. Seeing people light up like Phoenix was as it all hit home, explaining about what everything did and what to expect, taking questions and imparting the facts...this was his thing. The carrier service method, while freeing for the overworked vet and easier on everyone in the long run, did take away from that unless he was called upon after the delivery. He did miss this.
"So to capture a soul...it's both easy and rather difficult, though the difficulty is kind of on a slider itself." He picked up the hefty Soul Glass by its metal top and pointed to the glass bulb that gave it part of its name. "This part here is where the soul will go when you capture one. You'll know you've captured something because the soul inside it will be visible as a colored smoke." He realized he was getting a little ahead of himself. Product of being a little rusty, he guessed, though definitely not a bad thing either way!
Zeke brought his finger up and laid it gently on the rainbow-colored cloth, which shimmered slightly beneath that and the overhead lighting.
"The soul is colored because all souls have a color to them! This is where this cloth comes into play. It kind of acts as an inhibitor so that the bottle doesn't absorb a soul from just anything. If a thing has a soul that matches the cloth, the Soul Glass will try to absorb it. So like...you have a rainbow of colors on this cloth which means you have a really wide range of things to choose from!"
He set the metal piece of the Glass back down and gestured for Phoenix to take it. It was a weighty thing but not to the point where a featherweight wouldn't be able to lift it.
"Souls are found in nature. I have one, you have one, you know how that goes. Soul Glasses cannot capture the souls of humans so you, me, and our family and friends are safe. Instead, they can only capture the souls of things like animals and plants as well as rocks, metals, and minerals." Basic information, kind of obvious. But that of course led into the perhaps not-so-obvious and rather uncomfortable sort of information. "Now...this is a necessary part of the process but it is also not the happiest, I'm afraid."
Zeke paused just long enough to cast his gaze over to Anya, whom he found wholly enthralled in a flock of butterflies that had formed with in the jar before they flew up and morphed into a cascading waterfall on a high mountaintop. Despite what he was about to tell Phoenix, he couldn't help but be amused at this particular scene from her. It reminded him of when she had taken a liking to Revontulet's Essence.
"When you capture a soul, be it from an animal, a plant, or even a rock, the thing you catch the soul from dies."
He let that hang in the air, looking at the man across from him patiently but also with some concern around the edges of that patience. Not knowing him much from Adam, Zeke couldn't say how Phoenix would react and even though he would explain the dead or nearly dead clause that was often the case in these things, he couldn't help but always be a little nervous at this part. Although it had never happened before in his time with the Lab, there was always a chance that little nugget could break the deal right here and right now. He held his breath and waited.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 12:55 pm
Phoenix had become completely absorbed in Zeke's explanation about souls. While Zeke spoke, Phoenix mostly watched the Essence the same as Anya did. At one point he caught a row of tiny sand quail dash across the jar, each crashing against the glass and bursting apart one after another. There was something soothing about watching the shapes, and extremely fascinating of course. The Essence seemed to have endless possibilities as to what it could create. He wondered how long he would have to sit for before it would create something he'd already seen once before, or whether it had ever recreated the same shape at all in it's entire existence.
Zeke's tone pulled Phoenix's gaze away from the jar just as a miniature sandstorm began brewing within the jar. The thing you catch the soul from dies. That was definitely something heavy to weigh down the joy of the evening.
Phoenix sat in silence, considering all that it meant. Realistically, he knew that it simply meant his options were more limited. He knew there was no way he could let something sentient die that wasn't already going to die for his own benefit.
Or a rock would be okay.
He decided against addressing the topic of death directly. Zeke had informed him, but there was no need to dwell on that small negative aspect of an otherwise happy, blessed evening. He nodded, his eyes meeting Zeke's, and the topic was laid to rest.
"And the soul, it could come from anything really then, couldn't it?" A mile wide grin had crossed his dark features. He was considering all of the possibilities, and he'd have been lying if he said he hadn't had to squash down the idea of getting to tell people he had a kid that was part tiger.
Getting excited again, he turned to Anya almost immediately. ”And what do you eat, by the way?”
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Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 12:55 pm
"Anything you can think of! There's only only small stipulation, really."
Zeke had been taken aback by Phoenix's lack of questions regarding the situation he had outed. More surprising was the lack of anything negative shown on the other man's face. He had expected a frown or shock or something, but Phoenix had only gone silent for a moment before nodding that he understood. Not necessarily a bad thing by any stretch - he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little relieved by the Greek man's easy acceptance - but perhaps with all the excitement that little footnote was on the end of the 'things that are important right now about this situation I am in' list. Depending on how things went, it would hit Phoenix at some point in the future, that much was sure.
"Let's say you decide that this red is really nice," he touched the small amount of it on the cloth as he spoke, "and you decide on a ruby. If you wanted that for your Raevan's soul, you would have to go out and find a raw gemstone. Anything that's been cut, set, or what have you won't work. I'm not sure why myself, but if its been tampered with by humans, the soul glass won't pull anything from it."
It applied to metals, stones, and even plants in some cases. Even if Phoenix found the freshest 2 x 4 in the world, he wouldn't get a maple tree's soul from it. He would have to go out and find a whole tree himself.
As soon as he imparted that wisdom, Phoenix was turning his focus on Anya. The spider queen, absorbed in watching a whale made of sand breach out of the pool the Essence had made at the bottom of its jar, didn't so much as hear the question as feel the expectation from it. When she became aware she flicked her eyes up and the sight of Phoenix's focus on her made her jerk back, which brought a tittering from her right and then the realization that Zeke, too, was watching her.
"I...uh...I'm sorry, what?"
"Phoenix asked what you eat." She looked at her Guardian who was ear-to-ear smiles as always but with a knowing glint to his eyes that would have brought some heat to her face if she had the ability. Of course that still didn't stop her from feeling flustered either, which led to her averting her gaze from her man and directing it back to the other sitting across from them.
"Oh. Sorry I..." She shook her head. "I eat sickness. When Zeke takes me to work with him, I just spend some time with the sick animals and then I'm full." She shrugged a little. Anya didn't much care for the clinic - too noisy by half and it stank of sterility - but she couldn't deny it was the best place to be to grab a meal. Granted, there were several factors in place when she fed that dictated how long it took her to eat her fill, but no matter how hungry she was she was sure to be full and good for a few weeks afterward each and every time. "I can also feed off of heat, but that's more like a snack to me. It fills me up, but it doesn't last as long as the other way."
Didn't taste quite as good either.
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 2:42 pm
Phoenix contemplated what Zeke was saying about anything altered by humans. That didn't sound like too much of a hassle. Looking at the Soul Glass and the cloth on it, he didn't think there'd be much limitation with how much color was on the bit of fabric. The world was so full of things that hadn't been changed by mankind...
He directed his attention at Anya again. Admittedly, the idea of someone feeding off of sickness made him a little bit uneasy. But you'd never guess from the level face he kept through her explanation of her feeding habits. "And do you all eat the same way?" He inquired curiously, praying internally that would not be the case.
Once more he immediately turned to Zeke. "And what do I do once I've got the soul?"
Phoenix stopped and laughed, placing his forehead in his hands and chuckling into his palms. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to ask so many questions without even giving you a chance to answer." He smiled between his fingers at the two. "It's just crazy, you know? All of this. I had no idea, I didn't expect..."
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 1:11 pm
Anya shook her head at the question.
"No. We're all different when it comes to that." A moment's thought went to Cruz but she quickly turned that particular car around and drove it the other way. Past was past, even if the way the Croc fed was a constant and unchangeable thing. "Though I'm sure there are other Raevans who feed off of heat the way I feed off of illness."
She frowned, but in a way that jutted her bottom lip out in a small pout. By the way her brows knit over her purple eyes, it was clear she was thinking on just who out of the handful she knew that could be a potential for that.
"Zul, I think. Maybe." The Sigel was always warm as far as she knew. The Baphomet eating heat seemed like the most likely cause for that, anyway.
As she puzzled and came to her not far off the mark conclusion, Zeke was watching her do just that, caught between amusement and pride at her responses and how she was faring. This was all going so well! He couldn't be happier.
"Don't apologize! You're excited! Besides, it's only natural to want to ask questions about everything to come!" He waved his hand as he spoke, airily casting off the other man's apology. "We kind of like leaving people not expecting. Makes the reveal a ton more fun!" He loved surprising people with Guardianship. The looks on their faces, the way they reacted, the questions they had, the hopes, the dreams...All of it was amazing and he lived for it.
"After you capture a soul you return the Soul Glass and your Essence to us! There are a couple of ways to do that; you can have me come pick it up, you can drop it off at the Lab, or you can use our new carrier service, free of charge!"
He held up a finger and took up the case once more. A little well-practiced digging into the foam popped it free and in another motion he was sliding a white business card across the table at Phoenix.
"Either way, once you return them to us, we get to work and it'll be a waiting game for you from that point onward. Hopefully not a long one, of course, but yeah!"
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