Welcome to Gaia! ::

“You have to be shitting me.” She said, as she saw the Othergulls fly overhead. She thought, for a moment, that they might have missed her in the small alleyway. Several of the flock had flown right over without noticing her, but her luck didn’t hold out. “Idiot! Ugly! Below! Below!” Juniper was sure she’d be hearing those voices in her sleep. She darted out of the alleyway, as the birds began to attack her again, but she was not at all willing to throw her purse. Then again, was that what they really wanted? She had thought her food would be enough to deter the pests!

“Waif! Dumb dumb! Run, run, run!” Flailing her arms around her she tried to protect herself the best she could.

“Worthless girl! Can’t escape! Ours! It’s ours!”

Juniper was getting well worn down by this point. The continuous insults just got worse and worse as they went, and her attempts at trying to free herself from their onslaught wasn’t doing much of anything. How the hell was she suppose to get rid of these things!?

Could she do something? Wait...magic. She could do that here right? But how was she suppose to concentrate to do anything? The birds were just relentless in their pecking and dive bombing.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” She cried out, a few tears sliding down her face in frustration and pain.

Juniper almost mistaken the new voice for another one of the Gulls. In fact, she probably would have if it wasn't for the fact that it sounded different. Now whether it was the accent or the tone, she wasn't quite sure, but she opened her eyes up against the onslaught to see the fire.

Close to her or not, it was still startling to witness especially when she could feel a cold sensation radiating off of it. The birds though, reacted as if they had been burned as she watched feathers and wings become scorched. Still the damn things were persistent!

Another shot of fire. It almost felt like someone had turned on an air conditioning unit to full blast. Juniper wasn't in any position to question the fact that the fire was chilly. The birds were finally backing off!

With his hand outstretched Juniper didn't think twice, she reached out to him and pulled herself to his side. Grown woman or not, she practically melted against his side as she pressed against him like a small child hiding from a big scary monster. As much as Juniper tended to stand her ground and let her fiery nature show, the damn Othergulls had done quite a good job at breaking her down in that moment. She had no clear defense against them and that scared her.

Funny how to feared the damn gulls but standing up against powerful faeries didn't even make her bat an eye.

Then again, she had been more worried about others than herself in those instances.

"Thank you."

Juniper looked up at Jeremiah and offered a tired smile before disengaging herself from him. "Yea, I am fine. Just some minor bruising and some scrapes I think. My sweater took the brunt of the damage." She plucked at a few holes that were quite visible in her sweater. Most showed nothing but pale skin underneath, but one or two bore the tell tale signs of blood where the damn gulls had managed to actually nips her skin. She looked back at him and shrugged. "I'll survive."

"Yea, I am Juniper. Juniper Wilcox. Jeremiah Mercer, huh?" She thought she had heard that name before...where. "Oh! Right. You were at the ball." Where else, right? Wait....maybe somewhere else...the theatre? Well it didn't much matter actually. "So much happened that night, I can barely keep things straight."

She crossed her arms across her chest in an effort to warm herself against the chill of the rain. Not to mention, Jeremiah's cold fire hadn't much helped in the heat category. Speaking of, actually. "How did you do that." She wiggled a finger from her crossed arms at him. "That fire? I mean, I get that magic can be done here and all, I just haven't gotten much use to it. Plus, that fire felt...well, cold. Is that something you purposely do?"

"Sorry." She said. "I can get a bit carried away." She laughed but her attention was quickly caught up by what Jeremiah was doing to her sweater. By the time he was done mending the holes in it, it almost looked brand new. "Alright. That's pretty neat and super useful. I seriously need to understand this magic stuff."

At the mention of her few scrapes and bruises she shrugged and pulled up the sleeves of her sweater revealing the few bruises and scrapes as well as the bandaged wound on her upper arm from the ball. She didn't think much of it though as she looked at the new battle wounds. "This place is crazy. Each time I come here I somehow manage to get hurt." She sighed in exasperation.

"You can help teach me some things?" She perked up at that, but noted his expression at the mention of the cold that seemed to predominate the fire he had used earlier. She wondered what there was behind the cold nature of his magic that made him look sad. Maybe a bad memory? As bold at Juniper could be, she wasn't insensitive, and knew that bringing that up now probably wouldn't be the best of topics. "I definitely want to learn how this whole magic thing works. I don't like feeling incompetent and useless."

And then Jeremiah did quite the gentlemanly thing, and draped his coat over her shoulders. That hadn't been expected at all. "Thanks, but what about you? This rain isn't the most comfortable stuff to deal with. Unless, you're use to it?"

She snorted slightly. "Harry Potter?" She gave him a wry look, but hey, she wasn't going to dis it. If that worked, then she was all for it. She could certainly come up with something that would work for her that wasn't necessarily a 'swish and flick' sort of motion. Though...the idea of using a stick for shits and giggles was amusing.

She studied the bruises and scrapes she had gotten courtesy of the Othergulls after Jeremiah healed them. "That's super helpful. I've...attempted healing someone once so far. At the ball. I am not sure it was terribly helpful but it did something I know."

She wrapped the jacket around her now that she was on the mend from her little run in. And then Jeremiah had to go an do something even more impressive. "Alright. That's cool as hell!" She remarked as she looked upwards, watching in fascination as the rain seemed to hit a barrier of sorts and trickle down around her. "So...like, do you have to keep concentrating on this." She pointed upwards at the barrier. "To keep it active? Or is it something that just sort of, exists are you magic it up? Also, I remember hearing someone mention strength of will with this whole magic thing. Actually, I heard it a lot come to think of it." Despite the rain not hitting her, Juniper still very much appreciated the coat draped over her shoulders. The oversized coat was doing wonders and warming her up.

"Wait! Could I like...keep myself warm within this little bubble of yours?" She wondered at that idea as she thought about the mechanics of that happening. Would she think of another bubble inside of his? Or maybe, just imagine herself being warm.

This magic thing was becoming increasingly fascinating!

"Well then I'll have to make sure I practice." She said with conviction. "Mind, this place certainly gives me the creeps at times, but I'd rather be able to take care of myself and others if needed." Already Juniper could think of a handful of times that being more adept with magic would have been much more useful than her bumbling attempts. "I have to admit, I do like the idea that there's no real limit to what I can do." She grinned. "That's such a lovely notion." After all, in the normal Ashdown she tended to feel constrained by her money issues. Unable to fully conceive what she was able to do because her time was always being monopolized by her finances.

"Ah. That makes sense. Anyone who believes more strongly is the one to come out on top here then, I suppose." That made it click as to why the nobles of the court at the ball seemed to act so high and mighty, because they, deep in their hearts, believed that they deserved all the power they had and could wield. Now, that was not to say she didn't think there was likely more to it, but...it helped put things into a better perspective for her. Of course, it still didn't make her feel kindly to what they did to their tithes.

"I'd love to head back, I won't lie, but I've not found a consistent way to make that happen. Both times it's happened so far to me I was either sent back or just sort of....found my way back. Is there a trick to it? Willing an entrance or exit to appear?" Was it that simple. Could she has really just willed a doorway back home?

"Finds you when it wants, huh? Well, how convenient for it." She remarked casually, a bit of sarcasm in her voice. Still she didn't look upset about the fact.

"Being able to find your way in and out of this place has to be incredibly useful." She turned her attention to his eyes at his indication. It took a moment for her to realize why they had look odd earlier, but his indication made it more pronounced. "Whoa. Your eyes are like a cats." She stood studying his eyes for a bit longer, before she realized that i might be awkward, or even rude with the gawking she was doing. "Heh. Sorry."

"But yea, if you could lead the way out of here that would be great. Is there, like, certain things that tend to be entrances? Doors? Windows? Or is it just completely random?" She bit her lower lip in thoughts. "I'll need to pay attention to stuff a bit more when I am here and try and 'see' these ways in and out. Or, like you said, maybe I can make doorways." She grinned at him.

Welp. Lesson 101: How to get into Other Ashdown was pretty much covered by that point, and Juniper was set to resign herself to the fact that her arrival and exit would predominately be run by the other world. That was, until she could figure out her own way around that problem. Like tonight. Here, she had the escort of an older, yet still attractive British man who certainly knew how to put on the gentlemanly charms.

Looping her arm into his, Juniper felt a small blush grace her cheeks. It wasn't every day she was treated so nicely. Chivalry and charm seemed to be a trait many men lacked now-a-days. So, when it was offered by Jeremiah, it was very welcomed. "Well I certainly can't turn down an escort, now can I?"

She walked along with him in easy silence for a bit. Her mind continued to roam though and it wasn't long before more questions popped up. "So, I have to ask, what do you do here besides learn magic? Are there places that someone should make a point to visit or find? I can't imagine wanting to spend longer than necessary here. I mean, I know for a fact the food is terrible." She remembered the bland tasting food she had had at the theatre. "I mean, if I am going to get dragged here anyway, I may as well having things to do."