Welcome to Gaia! ::

“If walls could talk, what would they say?”

Nell twirled and spun from one chaos filled room to the next, just behind her foster mother.

Lifting her camera Trivii snapped a picture while stringing words together, glancing towards the darkness beyond the window. She spoke out loud to the digital recorder in the breast pocket of her denim jacket. She combined intuition with research.

“The Jenness Homestead, so long a landmark for our community, tells a story of some of Gaia’s dirtiest secrets. One of our oldest and most respected families, before the Gambino’s and Von Helson’s rose to power; there was Master Frances Jenness…. But nobody talks about the Jenness family anymore. While still around they began to fade into the background after in a power hungry rage Frances slaughtered his family. But as with all great legends there is more to them than what outsiders can share.”

The marble halls and shadows had her on edge, keeping her tail from sweeping the cold floor the cat girl wrapped in around her waist and followed after Carnelian’s curious shimmer.

This place tugged at memories better left forgot.

Bobbing down to look under a settee, for a moment the cabochon slipped out of sight.

The Master has found you.

Frozen for a moment Trivii knew what those walls would have said about her… It had been almost half a year since the note had been delivered, she shivered and looked after Nell. Maybe they should disappear for a little while. Find a magic user to help hide them both.

Pushing on the cat girl continued to take her notes and talk to herself, until she toured the entire house.

It was chaos.

The radio was on, the picture box was on in both rooms and everything was playing something different. But Trivii was glued to it, like someone had stolen the crown jewels!

Maybe someone had?

But no....

Sinking into her chair the cat girl could not believe what was going on, street signs being switched around she got, fruit hanging from trees that couldn't bare fruit she got; they were jokes. It was April First and went with the territory.

But the landmark Durem Clock-tower... Going Digital, was heart braking. No one would commit such a cruel joke.

Curious she swung around her foster-mother and dipped under the Queen Anne wing-back chair to observe this strange, noisy ritual.

The pure idiocy of the moment was all she could gather.

Answering the phone Trivii glanced around for Nell and furrowed her brow when she didn't see her.

"Hello?"

Leaning forward she scribbled on a piece of paper a time and channel.

"Thanks George, yeah I know... Mmmhmm, How like Gambino to destroy a landmark. I wonder about retaliation.. Ah? No I'm not in that business anymore... Hmm? Yeah I'll talk to you later."

Powering off the radio and two of the televisions she dropped the controller on the coffee table and moved sat down.

Nell came up to eye level on Trivii and shadowy tendrils and curiosity.

Trivii leaned forward as the camera zoomed in on the broad shouldered blond moving out to stand at the Podium.

"Thank you all for coming to the unveiling of the new Durem Clock-Tower." Gesturing behind himself the smug grin formed. "Many of you questioned my decision to make this change, but rest assured this change will make a new landmark, a landmark for the next hundred years powered by the latest technologies!"

The man on the scaffolding tugged the rope and the canvas slip out of place revealing a brightly lit digital sign suspended on the clock tower.

"APRIL FOOLS" With a bellowing trademark laugh he retreated from the podium.

Collapsing back in her chair Trivii laughed in relief.

Nell glimmered and zoomed up to the television, and turned to look back at her foster mother.

Not. getting. IT. At. ALL.

It had been almost a year since the mysterious note had been left with her, and since; she had read Aricin’s words countless times. Waiting for the other show to drop, waiting for the Hunters and Catchers, waiting for her Mast- Lord Clarath…

And she was still here, in her little farmhouse, on the refugee world of Gaia.

If he knew where she was, why hadn’t he come for her? Oh he would use her and make an example. She would likely see days of torture, branding before they finally did away with her. Lord Clarath’s affection did not run deeper than his pride.

A still small voice whispered in the back of her mind, Why are you waiting? Run! You idiot…! And still she waited until the voice was no longer a whisper, now more voices were joining in the havoc of her thoughts, It’s time to fight!

And yet more clamoring in the solitude of her own mind, she smiled over at Nell. “This is our home isn’t it little one? And no-one is going to force us to leave.” Returning to washing her breakfast dishes her eyes landed on the note.

Aricin



No.

She didn’t want to buy time. She was done running.

Calmly finishing up the dishes, the cat girl gathered herself together, collected Nell and went upstairs to change.

She found what she was looking for tucked into a basket at he back of her wardrobe. The grey scarf, same as her ears, the gloves and oversized tunic.

Nell hovered, feeling the change in her foster-mother… She wasn’t dressing for a meeting with her editor. This felt entirely like she was donning war paint.

Shimmering excitedly the little wisp hung back.

There are places that your average, everyday, good person just did not know about. The not so average knew that they existed but avoided discussing them, and going there…

Triveni Villitana ap Tamesis Viscarin: went there.

Carefully composing herself Trivii knotted the deep grey silk scarf around her head allowing the back to fold over her ears and arranged it to obscure the feline feature. This leather gloves were then pulled on over long fingered hands to cover the retractable claws at the end of each digit.

You never knew what could lead to a dangerous fascination with that kind of person… Winding her tail up and around her slim waist she buttoned the extra long tunic into place and knotted a belt to finish hiding the extra appendage.

It was amusing somehow, she learned of this kind of place, that kind of person running errands for her Master, which she had done without a glimmer of fear. But now, on her own. She was terrified… So much so that she was trembling. Glancing at the mirror on the inside of her wardrobe door, Trivii knew that the best trick to going unnoticed was to obscure without hiding, but to ravel willingly back into the groups her Master had frequented… all but stilled her heart.

Gathering Nell into he basket and closing the lid. Trivii headed out, into the back allies and hidden culture of Durem.



Finding the right shop took her almost an hour she hesitated briefly when the shop keeper flashed her a smile full of fang.

“Welcome, can I help you?”

Trivii strolled forward, “I think you can… I need a Mage, a real one not some purveyor of party tricks.”

“That sort usually doesn’t like to be disturbed miss….?”

“Viscarin. Triveni Viscarin.” Producing a simple card, not her usual business card, she slid it across the counter towards him. “Just let them know that I pay well.”

Taking the card off the counter the fanged shop keeper eyed it and her. “Anything in it for me?”

Turning to sashay back out the door Trivii glanced over her shoulder and purred. “Only if you send someone I can actually use.” And without another word she was out the door, holding her breath she didn’t relax until she reached the actual shopping district.

Numb. She couldn’t believe she had done it.

Trivii just closed the door after coming in from yet another interview. A year since Aricin had written, and better than a month since she had let circulate among Gaia's "others" and she had still only met with a two likely suspects, and a half dozen charlatans.

Sighing she unwound her tail and tossed off the scarf.

Glaring at nothing in particular, lightning crackled in the air around her.

Nell approached her foster mother and snuggled into the negative space at her neck.

Relaxing, Trivii exhaled and collapsed on the couch.

The anxiety of the situation danced along the bond she shared with Trivii, and it made the wisp angry, so angry that she unfurled her shadows and cloaked the entire couch, hoping that her foster mother would be able to rest well. But through the darkness should could see the woman's eyes, as she whispered to herself.

You would think in the crystal form she would be immune to the sleeplessness that came in the dark heat of late summer. But as Trivii prowled so did she.

It was interesting seeing the darkened world through a slightly orange haze.

There was a shimmer, a sparkle.... and a pretty tinkling noise. Nell followed it, dodging around the edge of the room where Trivii sat working at her computer, to the porch off the kitchen, where the moon lit up the summer night.

The gentle sound was louder now, and she extended her little tendrils to taste the world around her.

"No you don't come on little one back in the house." A clawed hand caught her up and pulled her back into the kitchen through an open window.

Pinning the last rhinestone flower in her hair, Trivii studied her glittering reflection. She and Aiden had managed several casual dates, but a pickup at work had had them both falling out of touch with each other, and mutually they had agreed that the crush of trying to get a private moment on Valentines day was unrealistic.

She glanced to the left where Nell hovered beside the mirror, odd creature wouldn't get in front of the thing. The energy rippling down the bond was agitated. Trivii sighed, in the almost year since her last date with Aiden, Nell still didn't like him and the cheerful wisp had acted out in some truly awful ways when the man had come around.

It was a wonder why he persevered.

As Trivii reached for the small container of roll on perfume on the vanity, the small wisp pushed her shadowy tendrils, normally so curious and excited, to block the woman's hand.

Feline ears flattened. "Enough Carnelian. I'm dating him, not you. I don't have so many options that I can just toss aside the only guy who is willing to put up with the drama in this house." Snatching up the perfume she looked in the mirror forcing the angry lines off her face, she rolled the perfume along the hollow of her throat, the back of her neck and then both wrists, before standing and tucking the perfume in her small evening clutch and giving Nell a pointed look.