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++ [ Entry 51 - self roleplay ] ++

"Am I a bad person Mum?"

Kaze blinked, this was... Sudden... Especially as she was trying to teach Arian the finer point of fractions - something that was difficult as Maths wasn't her particular strong point and it seemed to be a subject that Arian was not particularly interested in. "Of course you're not a bad person" she told him. "Why do you ask something so silly?"

Arian looked downcast at the desk "Because I don't have many friends who are spirits like me" his voice was quiet, the unicorn spirit had been doing a lot of thinking about it. "The only two friends like me are Mikomi and Aikori and I don't see them at all really."

Kaze pushed the Math's book to the side carefully, the half sprite having a feeling that today's lesson would probably not involve fractions. "But I don't think you've really had a chance to really meet any of the other spirits." She pushed the plate of cookies from the middle of the table over to Arian. "I know that you met a few spirits from before we went on our travels, but.."

Arian interupted her "But I don't remember.." he started.

"There's the little matter of our trip" she told the Unicorn spirit dryly. "Didn't you tell me yourself that Mikomi had told you that people had left? And I know that there were people with lanturns kind of like yours who you didn't get a chance to really talk to before we left - like Miss Eri and her brown lanturn or Miss Kalena and her pink lanturn."

"Miss Kalena? Miss Eri?" Arian frowned "I don't really remember them. "I remember a pink haired spirit my size and a purple one who had a really nice one... And I remember Aikori and a little red spirit Mikomi's size who kind of seemed fun..." He paused thoughtfully "Well the height Mikomi used to be before she grew."

Kaze smiled "Mikomi's grown?"

Arian nodded "Yes she's grew like Aikori grew abd she's around my size now like he is. I saw her at a cafe when I was out a couple of days ago and we talked. She grows stuff with Tayne in her garden."

Kaze laughed "We should invite the two over for tea some time. I'd like to see what Mikomi looks like now and how she and Tayne are getting on." She smiled "We could invite Aikori and Enikil over too at some point... Maybe have a flat-warming."

Arian gave her a dubious look "But the flat's plenty warm, why would we invite people over to see how warm it is?"

Kaze laughed again "No a flat-warming would be more of a party, so we could show people where we live now." The laughter faded into a teasing smile "And I have a solution to your lack of friends - why not do something where you could meet some of the other spirits - then you could decide if you liked them enough to be friends." Reaching over to snag a cookie from the plate "You don't have to but it's a thought to keep in mind don't you think?"

Arian thought it over - it was a good thought, although he wasn't sure what he could do or whether the other spirits would even want to do something he came up with.

Whatever he came up with would have to be something good, something fun and something that he could do himself - something that... His eye lit on a flyer tucked under the fruit bowl. The picture showing a jolly-looking old man with a long white beard, in red with a sack full of presents.

And the idea hit him - it was simple, it was easy and it was perfect! "Mum..."

Kaze looked up from where her hand was reaching out to snag another cookie. "Hmmm?"

"Do you think we could play Santa?

++ [ Entry 53 - self roleplay ] ++

coming soon... Christmas preparations and gift hunting...

++ [ Entry 55 - guild roleplay ] ++

coming soon... Gift Reveal Day...

++ [ Entry 56 - self roleplay ] ++

Arian was bored.. Not something that sat well with the lanturn spirit - especially not when he was left to his own devices.

Organising the Secret Santa had been fun, the whole idea of having known something the other spirits having been fun - although it would have been a lot more fun if he'd had the chance to meet more spirits.

It was something he had found himself thinking on - the other spirits and what they were like. The three he knew and remembered were all very different from each other - from Aikori, probably his first friend - to Mikomi, who he still found hard sometimes to think of having grown.. And then there was Vidali, a spirit the size that Mikomi had been, a spirit with an arm completely metallicised. Then there was the spirit around his height with bunny ears and the purple spirit with the long hair that twisted into curls and who'd had shimmering purple dragonfly wings...

All of them had seemed very different from each other - excepting for one thing - like him they seemed to have woken up in a lanturn.

The other spirits wasn't the other thing piquing Arian's curiousity though, there was also the strange pendant that seemed to belong to his Mum and yet didn't seem like something she'd wear.

Besides it was strange in the way she'd never talked about it, had hidden it away - he certainly hadn't seen it anywhere with the rest of the stuff that she wore, and Mum was usually pretty easygoing about her jewellery so he'd seen all the other bits and bobs she owned.

The strangest thing of all had been in the fact that the chain round the pendant was too small to fit round his Mum's neck, more a child's pendant - in fact more around his size - but why would she own a pendant for a child, when she didn't have anyone other than him...?

The third thing had been bothering Arian had come about due to a conversation he'd had with Uncle Kori just after Christmas and before the gift reveal - and that was the fact that apparently not everyone came from lanturns - Uncle Kori hadn't exactly gone into any details.. In fact he'd seemed almost embarassed when Arian had asked him where did people who didn't come from lanturns come from and had been extra mean to him for days afterwards - but it still left the fact that he came from a lanturn and didn't know why...

Especially as he hadn't liked being in the lanturn in the first place because it had been so boring in there.

None of the things (why the other spirits were so different, his Mum's strange pendant or the the fact that some people came from lanturns) made any sense to Arian, and with the Secret Santa over (and his mind no longer distracted on whether the others were having fun with it or whether he'd made a good Secret Santa), it left Arian with things that didn't make any sense and the burning desire to make sense of them.

He grinned as an idea struck him - maybe he could investigate like one of those secret agents he'd read in some of the books his had gotten for him. Look for clues and stuff, maybe even get a sidekick - since all the best secret agents had sidekicks.

His smile dimmed slightly - although he wasn't sure who he could ask to be his sidekick. Mum wouldn't work - he had a feeling she wouldn't want him to be playing secret agents right now - especially with her being really strict on him focusing on lessons and besides she was one of the mysteries he wanted to investigate.. Well at least her pendant was - so she was out. Uncle Kori was out too - but that was because he was mean and no fun.

Emerald eyes looked determined, though he could investigate on his own - no one said that he had to have a sidekick, which meant that he woouldn't have to wear any stupid costume either like most secret agents seemed to do.

He could read books and investigate for clues and stuff, although he'd have to pick something to investigate first, since investigating three things wouldn't be easy.

After thinking on it for a bit, Arian finally decided to investigate why some people came from lanturns and what he'd been doing in such a boring place like that, maybe he could even start by peering through Mum's books.. She had so many books that surely she must have one about where people came from.

++ [ Entry 58 - self roleplay ] ++

"Lanterns..." Arian read out loud to himself from the large dictionary he'd found tucked away at the top of one of his Mum's bookshelves. "A portable lighting device used to illuminate broad areas... Dim varieties are often used for decoration..."

The dictionary had also shown a few pictures of different types of lanterns. Like the elegant-looking stone lantern in the middle of what looked like a garden...



Or the three lanterns that had been mostly made out of paper



Then there'd been the one with the chinese symbols, the small japanese lamp, the one that looked kind of like one of those genie lamps he'd read about in his story books and an odd star-shaped lantern that the dictionary had called a Kandil and used in something that the dictionary had translated as a festival of lights - something that the unicorn spirit had thought of as sounding cool.



Arian's absolutely favourite two had been very different to each though - the first being a candle lantern like the genie lamp-like lantern and the second a pair of lanterns that seemed to be made completely out of snow and which was something the unicorn spirit wanted to try the next time it snowed, to see if he could make the snow glow like it did in the picture in the dictionary.



There was just one problem... Interesting as his reading about different lanterns had been - they were lanterns and not lanturns.

The dictionary hadn't mentioned anything about lanturns - much less lanturns which had people like him in them.

The other six books that the unicorn spirit had pulled down from the bookshelf didn't have anything about lanturns either, although one had contained a lengthly description of how to draw some kind of rune-type thing - at least he figured that that's what it was about from the diagrams that went along with it as the whole book was written in some kind of language he couldn't understand.

Sighing the unicorn spirit put the books carefully away and then pulled out the Maths homework that Mum had left him with when she'd gone over to visit Uncle Kori.

Maths - to Arian had to be one of the least interesting things to do - especially fractions... He'd decided he hated fractions.

Picking up the pencil he reluctantly looked at the first of the problems on the page, his mind more on the mystery he wanted to puzzle out than on the numbers written on the page.

Tommorow he would go to the library and see if they had any books on lanturns - especially books in which lanturns had spirits like him in them.

++ [ Entry 60 - self roleplay ] ++

Two slices of banoffee pie later and no good plan in sight. Arian finally, reluctantly agreed with himself that he was stumped.

He hadn't managed to come up with even one teensy-weensy idea that could be called good and he was starting to feel quite dejected about it all.

I bet all the good Dectectives never found it this difficult to find clues to stuff... Like that Sherlock Holmes guy in Mum's book - I bet he'd know what a...

The sound of things being carefully placed on the table in front of him startled Arian out of his melancholy thoughts.

Blinking, the first thing Arian noticed was a glass of what looked to be banana milkshake. The second thing the spirit noticed was a plate with a small slice of banana cake.

Quote:

Smiling at him was the lady who'd been behind the till, her brown eyes bright and un-dim-like, despite the fact that she looked old... Way older than his Mum even.

"You seem to like bananas so I thought one of our milkshakes might cheer you up." When Arian would have opened his mouth to say something she added. "And the cake is our new special - I thought you might like to try a piece. All our other customers have done so."

Arian looked from one to the other "R..really?" he asked carefully - he'd never been to a cafe before where they'd offered him free stuff before. "I can pay, really I can." He pulled out his wallet to emphasize the fact.

"Pfft" the lady snorted, in what Arian thought was a very non-old lady type manner. "Put your money away young man - it's on the house."

"But..."

The lady interrupted "Although if you really want to thank me you can tell me what you think of my new banana cake."

Arian found himself smiling "M'kay" he said picking up the small fork and using it to take a small piece of the cake.

It didn't take long for the taste to sink in... And after that the rest of the cake was demolished pretty quickly. Reaching out the the banana milkshake to wash down the last of the cake with a little bit of the milkshake, he was interrupted by the old lady's chuckle.

"I take it that you really like the banana cake." Her voice sounded amused.

Arian nodded eagerly "Yes, I really liked it - you could really taste the bananas in it and it looked really pretty too" he said enthusiastically. "I'm definately going to try it again." Then as he was curious about it "How do you get the bananas to taste so good in the cake? Mum's tried to make banana cake, but hers doesn't taste like this - though..." He paused, then he admitted quietly. "I like yours better."

The lady laughed again "Don't let your mother hear you say that young man." She smiled "As for the bananas - well lets just say that it's my little secret. It's good to see you smiling though - someone as cute as you shouldn't look as miserable as you did before."

Arian's smile slipped slightly as he remembered why he'd been feeling so miserable. "I've been trying to investigate something." Somehow it felt ok to admit that to the old lady. "But I can't find any information on it, not at home or in the library or anywhere!" Ok so he hadn't really looked anywhere but those two places - but the unicorn spirit couldn't really think of anywhere else good to look.

"My, my that sounds difficult" the old lady's voice was sympathetic. "But I'm sure even the greatest dectectives have trouble finding clues sometimes." She pushed the unicorn spirit's forgotten glass of milkshake closer to him.

Arian picked it up absently "Really?! But in all the stories I've read they've made it seem so easy..." He took a swallow of the milkshake. "Especially Sherlock Holmes - he's the greatest!"

The old lady chuckled "Ah but stories aren't always the same as real life young man. Stories make things seem easy because if they were too much like real life no one would read them."

Arian frowned "But then isn't that kind of like lying? Isn't lying supposed to be bad? Mum's always told me that lying is a bad thing to do." He drank some more milkshake.

Another chuckle "Your mother is right, lying is not a good thing - no... But not all lies are bad." At the unicorn spirit's confused look she added. "It's something you'll understand more when you're older."

She started to add something, but got interupted by the tinkling of the shop bell announing the arrival of a new customer.

"It looks like I have to get back to work young man, but maybe you could find some more information for your investigations by asking at the source. It wouldn't hurt." Her brown eyes twinkled "But before I go - what's your name?"

"Arian."

"Well Arian, it was nice talking to you. My name's Miss Irisa, though feel free to just call me Iris. Miss Irisa makes me feel old." She chuckled "And feel free to let me know how your investigations are coming along, unless they are top secret." She winked at him. "And most importantly don't give up - none of the great dectectives ever gave up!"

"I will Miss Iri.." Arian started. "Er I mean Iris. Thanks for the cake and milkshake, they were both really, really nice."

Miss Irisa smiled and then made her way back to the till, to greet the new customer.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Finishing up his milkshake Arian found himself considering Miss Irisa's words. Talking to her had made him feel better somewhat - especially her words about not not giving up. He would solve this mystery he would - he just had to...

"Maybe you could find some more information for your investigations by asking at the source. It wouldn't hurt..."

For some reason those words of Miss Irisa stuck in his mind. The source... More information... Asking at the source....

Come to think of it there was a place that would know about lanturns, because that was where his Mum had bought the one he was in - he remembered overhearing her talking to Uncle Kori about it once.

And co-incidently it was one of the few places that he hadn't thought about asking at.

Then he found himself thinking about the last words Miss Irisa had told him.

I won't give up Iris he promised her silently. I'll find out why some of us come from lanturns.. I'll find out why I was in a lanturn too.

He wasn't sure why he'd added the last bit about what he'd been doing in a lanturn, in fact he hadn't been thinking about it at all - all he'd wanted to know was what he'd been doing in such a boring place.

However now the unicorn spirit wanted to know more than that - wanted to know his purpose to be in the lanturn, wanted to know how...

And he really, really wanted to know.

I'm going to find it all out for sure! I promise!

++ [ Entry 62 - self roleplay ] ++

Status: Reserved for aftermath of rp between Arian and Mikomi