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Light!

Sosiqui had glanced out her window just once, and had instantly been hypnotized. The color, the movement, the beauty held in the depths of the new stars was so amazing... she stared deep into their hearts as they spiraled upwards.

Who is doing this? Take me to them! Illumin's voice was urgent. Again, she had to stop her lips moving in time to his mental voice.

She nodded, and ran downstairs. "The stars! Who's making the stars?" she gasped to all and sundry, breathless.

She kept rising slowly with Lucius, amazed at their success after the last trial. The lights were most beautiful up close. It was something she would not soon forget.

When the woman came bounding down and yelled, Hidalgo yipped and scurried under the couch. He knew he was definitely the omega in this pack.

Lucius:

"Just a little....more..."

His neck craned back, wings extended and beating slowly behind him.
And now for the best part

"let your reins out a little, and I'll nova them...."

Harmodius:

o.o'

"Outside," Sosiqui managed - and then she stiffened. Her mouth opened, and no sound came out.

Then her stance shifted, and between one blink and the next a milky purple shade spread over her eyes. Illumin stretched and held up one hand in front of his face, blinking at each finger. "Yes. Stars, brimming with new power..."

He took a step and tripped, sitting up with a frown on his face. "This is... displeasing."

He let go of Beryl's hands, flying up a few feet and extending up his hands.

shower.

The fires that swirled hissed and exploded out into millions of glimmering scales like falling petals.

Illumin managed to clumsily make it over to the nearest window, limbs feeling like lead - cursed body! Why didn't it work properly? For all his machinations, his work was nowhere near complete...

Once he made it to the window, though, his complaints were temporarily forgotten as he watched the cascade of stars, transfixed. The lights reflected in his milky-purple eyes.

Illumin turned around, using the windowsill as a means of support, his movements still infinitely more sloppy than Sosiqui's were. "They're falling... they should not fall, they should not." His eyes seemed, bizarrely, to ripple in Revei's direction before he turned back to the window.

He laughed triumphantly, spinning in place in the new born air. The stars of his skin flashed and danced in mirror of the flickering fire-flecks.

Looking down to Beryl, he smiled and concentrated, sending some small glowing starlings to dance in the air around her.

"We did it...You should fly! It's so clean!"

Illumin sighed, then stumbled from the windowsill and into the nearest chair, not so much sitting in it as draping awkwardly over it. "An eternal cycle, but sad, so sad... I should have been able to see them born, but no. So much old light whose birth I've never seen. DAMN those ingrates." One fist clenched tightly, and anger flashed across Illumin's eyes for a second.

Then he seemed to calm down, and he looked over to Revei again. "You, you are.... you?"

He turned a lazy arc to her faster one, pulling his wings close for sharp banks and loops.

Harnessed wind and fire, it was good to work with someone....
but I need to be strong of my own right, yes?

yYes.

Will that be enough? I will miss it.

He halted, flapping to stay aloft, and looked up into the morning sky.

"I should hope it does. It hardly befits Light to stumble about - light must glide, glow and flow as it spreads, which it will." Illumin sounded a whole lot more confident than he looked - it was obvious that he had yet to really sink into the body enough to make it express body language. "I remember now. You are Dream, you are."

Then he blinked, and a rush of gray flickered over his milk-purple eyes. "Cast it into darkness... can I only manage this? Am I still not strong enough?"

Another blink, and gray eyes opened blearily. "Wh... what am I doing here?" Sosiqui looked at Revei, utterly confused.

Johnathan stopped at the door, flicking the cigarette away and grumbling. He hadn't meant to make it a habit again, bit after having his back ... assaulted ... he had gotten more stressed and nervous then before his trip. It was finally time to face the music and get this over with. And maybe then he could sleep correctly. He felt a surge of hot emotions, a temper mixed with impatience and simply opened the door and stepped in, looking around and taking in the scene.

A flicker in his mind stirred, and resettled. He scratched at his back, around the jewel a moment, trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

"Nexus?" Sosiqui peered owlishly at Revei. "He has? I remember thinking you were Dream... are you Prolixity? I remember from Beryl's chambers. The cat, right? How are you?"

Sosiqui sort of shrank away at the realization that she was talking to a god, not to the nice catboy, although considering she was in a chair and still disoriented, it wasn't very effective. So, instead, she turned to the newcomer as a way to avoid Revei's attention while she recovered from that flustered discovery. "Hello," she said, nothing the odd movements... they reminded her of how she fiddled with...

Ah. "You have a jewel too, don't you?" she asked, bluntly.

Illumin said nothing. She could feel him pulsing in the back of her mind, but weaker than he'd been since the beginning of their time together.

He gave a "oof" at the hug, and placed a hand over one of hers briefly.

"We will always have this. And these smiles."

Small fires like candles in dark skies, flickering.
I don't want them to go out.

"We should go in and have a seat...that took a lot."

All candles burn out.

Johnathan's blue eyes immediately focused on Sosiqui with a sharp glare almost before he settled down, his hand moving quickly away. He bit his lip a moment, then finally responded. "Yeah... you could say that."

His eyes flickered to Revei then, looking over the god there and taking in the sight. He hadn't seen this person before, but standing there, a name -- no, it had to have been just a trick of the mind. This wouldn't be right-

But what is right? a voice hissed in his mind. Outwardly he shook his head a moment. He was getting annoyed with that, and it showed. "I- I came for some answers, since it seems some things were meant to be. And some which weren't."

Sosiqui suddenly realized that there was a weird animal looking at her - but if she shrank back any more, she'd merge with the upholstery. "Um... hi?" she said weakly to Revei's creature, before looking back at the newcomer.

Had he been glaring at her? Illumin's sudden sense of affront bubbled up, but she forced it back down before he could speak. "What kind of answers?" she asked, quietly, feeling a weird sense of deja vu. Once, she'd been the seeker.

The stars beneath the surface dimmed to a violet blue, centered with brilliant, flickering white, and he hitched his wings to go into a steep dive. Pulling up only at the last second at the door, he opened it for Beryl.

Smiling she gave him a small bow and entered the shop, a bit surprised when she looked around.

"Well it certainly seems as if everyone's come out of the woodwork." Nothing the small creature she wandered over, offering a hand for it to inspect.

Hidalgo had bounded out the moment the door was opened and now came rushing back in behind Beryl. He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized there were many others about.

Johnathan bowed his head slightly, thinking and ignoring the warmth he felt in his lower back as he mused. "About what all this is, what will be... I heard things before, but I need to understand more. Accepting once something is in stone is not always easiest... but then-" He cut off there, perhaps wisely and glanced to Revei again, before back to Sosiqui.

"If I am resigned to a fate, I prefer to understand what will be and expectations. I've had enough of not knowing." His voice was a slight growl fading to resignation, as though a man condemned by fate. His shoulders slumped and he leaned against the wall and looked to the carpet.

"He's a lost little lamb is all." He had been looking down when the words were spoken, and it was not quite his voice, low and sultry, a smooth alto reminiscent of a fine wine almost. The only sign of anything was the slight tightening of a fist in reaction.

Sosiqui petted the korat cautiously, as if she was afraid it might bite at her. "His na... oh, HIS name?" She frowned. Illumin's name was HER treasure, she was the only other soul that knew it...

But he stirred, deep within. Tell him.

She sighed, and let the name go. "Illumin. His name is Illumin," she said, regretfully.

Sosiqui petted the korat some more, now that it didn't seem likely to bite her fingers off, and turned her attention to Johnathan. "You will be a god... or goddess, I guess... in a sense. If yours is kind, you will have a place. If not, you will die." It was blunt.

Staying silent, he strode for the kitchen. She was ensnared as usual. Motherly wind....as much as that made any sense.

He put on some water, and started rummaging stuff out of the fridge.

If the words were meant to bother him, they had no effect. Perhaps it was the fact it was better that it was blunt. "Not that it matters," he said quietly. "I outlived everything else that mattered to me but one, and that bridge was burned awhile ago. If death is what she so desires, then I suppose that be it. I've made my terms with my maker, wherever he may be." He looked up, carefully.

"Though she seems to take more delight in the matter then I."

He looked up more quickly then, focusing on Beryl. Someone he at least knew marginally more. A flicker in his mind was laughter, and then gone. Khiviance was eying up her competition quietly. She was not ready to face another yet... no. Now was not the time for war. She wasn't sure what she wanted yet... but she was already aware of this one. She prodded him again, quietly, urging him to speak more.

"Ah, Beryl..." He nodded slightly, then realized in his haste and irritation he'd disregarded manners. Possible eradication delayed or not of the future, he should be more polite. Muttering something to himself, he straightened up. "I shouldn't be quite so irritable... I've not slept well since this fused into me in a dream and woke into it." He paused, and decided wisely not to dwell on the content.

"She's not one to talk much to em or tell me anything... is there any way to know, or is it a waiting game for her to do something?"

Johnathan shakes his head slightly. "She's difficult at best. I suppose with time she might bother talking to me without the mind games..." He flexed his hands, trying to think now, but his mind was whirring again, and not all quite his own.

"Is there a time frame to expect?" He did have some things he wanted to get cleared before he no longer had any ability. Guilt plagued him then a moment but he brushed it off.

At least, until Revei was right there. He pressed back against the wall instinctively, and narrowed his eyes, studying the Dream god inquisitively. Something though reminded him of someone... "Do I know you?"

"I never had bridges to burn. You're lucky," Sosiqui mumbled to Johnathan before falling silent again, concentrating on her rhythmic stroking of the korat.

He shot a look to Sosiqui, almost to say 'I gladly would have traded' before looking back to Revei. Something about the eyes...

His hand tightened into a fist then as his eyes became near slits as he heard Beryl. "I'm not sure. Maybe it's a trick of the mind, an illusion. Wouldn't surprise me anymore." He shook his head, looking down again and trying to relax. "I shouldn't be quite so... I'm Johnathan, since I don't believe we have met." He looked up again, leaning now on the wall once more.

There was a platter out, piled with little melba toasts that had been garnished with brie and candied ginger. Another platter next to it had savory biscuits with strawberry preserves.

He was finishing a pitcher of iced tea, hands inexplicably shaking.

Sosiqui rubbed the korat's belly obediently, relaxing as she did so. There was something calming and soporific in the repeated motions and the soft feel of the fur. She let herself drift along with it, only peripherally listening to the conversation around her.

Dream. Both minds alighted to the word as it was repeated, for different reasons. Johnathan's eyes widened then went back to normal. Perhaps that was why - being so attuned to it has had was becoming before leaving again-

"Indeed, it is, for whatever time I have." It explained, partly, the odd nature, too of Revei, even if it unsettled him. If the God was anything like the place, it made complete sense.

He looked down, closing his eyes again and rubbing at his head trying to clear his mind. Instead he found himself jarred slightly an speaking without knowing but aware for once. "Well, at least someone has taste." She hoped, although that took some will, the other had not heard.

He giggled, a little uneasily, and looked over to her, "You'd think that making tea would be easy...."

"It's nothing...It just must have taken a lot to open so much into the sky. I'm proud I kept myself together."

She is not one who would help. Righteous motherly acceptance. Better for hearths.

He set the pitcher down onto the counter with her help. "Think you can grab this? I'm not the god of waitressing, so I can't handle it and the two trays. I bet no one's had breakfast out there."

He snagged the bag of plastic cups, so much for high dining, and teetered out to the main room. "Here's some snacks for everyone. It's getting to be about brunch."

His attention was drawn only briefly towards the fireplace.

The rhythm of the purring nearly sent Sosiqui to sleep; certainly she was tired from being jolted out of her bed by Illumin and forced downstairs - and then back into the gilded hall in her mind.

What was that line about a bird in a gilded cage?

Her reflections were spoiled by the sudden scent of food, that set her stomach growling, She looked up just in time to see Beryl with a tray of food. "Ah... can I have some, Beryl?" she asked, hesitantly.

Johnathan felt the jarring self-return and returned the bow, at least remembering his training ages ago. He could feel her amusement now, like a cat almost in contentment. "First time I've noticed her actually do that. She seems content enough however."

She withdrew more then, concerned as the other appeared. No sense yet, lay low. Let the little lamb have his time. She had no strength for the moment to try it again, anyway. She did prod him about eating though, since he was being neglectful. She was beauty as well, she would not be inheriting a malnourished body!

Johnathan straightened again and walked over, taking a biscuit. "Thank you very much, I've yet to eat today." He looked to the colorful one, nodding in respect. His stomach growled then, acknowledging the stated. He still had more to do, but was hesitant to leave just yet, either.

Sosiqui tried to figure out how to get the food without bothering the korat. It was like having a cat on your lap - you'd move, but you'd feel so bad about it that maybe it wasn't worth moving, purrr, no it wasn't... better to just stay put, surely?

"Dive right in, miss. There's tea, too. You okay? You look pretty tired since last I saw you."

Yes. Since her moving in. Something bristled, deep down.
She has *that* one. The one he-

He moved back from the set up and took a seat on the floor, crosslegged.

He gave a nod to the strange blonde man, "Please."

He heard the footsteps and looked over his shoulder, shifting and following Gianfar's path with his eyes, "Well.....look what the books left behind. Gianfar!"

"Just tired, a bit. Illumin - he really liked your star-trick, there," she said, almost shyly. Lucius had been so kind to her that one time, when Illumin had been so infuriating. "He wanted to see it better, so he... took over, I guess?" She looked through her thoughts, absently - yes, the remains of memory from when Illumin had been in control were full of his pleasure at the sight of the bright stars. "He really really liked it. But he was sad when they went out," she added.

Finally, she moved the korat and lunged for a few bits of food, coming back to the chair with a handful. She offered the korat one dainty by means of apology.

So many there, and she couldn't do anything. She was restless, and more then a little irritable now. She was guaging what was, and she liked what she saw so far. Only one concerned her so far, but it would be overcome, no?

Johnathan knelt as he felt a warm dizziness spill over him from his back outward, catching himself carefully without overturning anything. He was aware of a sense of hotheaded impatience and a temper, and knew she was the one behind it. It was all she could do at this point, save waiting, but she let her displeasure be known to her host.

He shook his head, mumbling something and looking up. "I'm fine," he said, before anyone bothered asking. It was enough large gatherings unnerved him still, but to show weakness that wasn't of his own cause... he felt a little more then foolish.

He looked to Sosiqui then, curiosity stirring slightly. "Illumin - he is who you will ... become?" The others aside her, they were all beyond being mere people now, weren't they? A soft assuring yes was all he received in his mind.

He smiled to the girl, "Well, stars are my specialty. I'm surprised anyone was watching...."
His cheeks blushed, manifesting a slightly reddish glow of light.

"Can I get you anything Gianfar?" He asked, craning his neck and examining the grey figure from upside-down.

Sosiqui swallowed and looked back to Johnathan. "Yes," she said, simply. "He has offered me much in return, and I was looking for a useful end. I found more. He is... kind, in his way, I think."

Getting off his butt again, he grabbed a little assortment and set them next to Knowledge's hand.
instinct's gotta kick in I'll bet.....he'll just start eating without breaking his train of thought.

He grabbed some more and put them next to Sosi, along with a drink. That way she wouldn't have to get up again.

Johnathan nodded. "Mine seems intent to playing me like a cat would a mouse." A slight hint of bitterness laced his voice, as though it was a reminder of something he rather not think of. He took another biscuit carefully, eating it slowly and listening. These would all be people he would need to know, and then she, whatever she would decide of him.

She was listening as well, finding the grey one amusing and 'quaint' and seeming terribly out of place. She was musing over the ones around, although this 'Illumin' bothered her a little. Kind? She hoped he was not some goody two-shoes who'd spoil her fun.

Sosiqui smiled at Lucius in thanks, then turned back to Johnathan. "They're all different, I think. You should come and visit our rooms, sometime - Illumin fitted it out like some temple-thing." She sighed and took another bite of fruit. "He likes such things. He says there will be statues honoring me when he has real temples someday. Maybe you'll have the same?"

I knew it.

Teasing, "Don't eat too fast, Gianfar."

He seemed to sink into thought a moment, selecting a brie this time. "I'm not sure, I'll have to figure in time what she wants, or she'll simply do it herself when she feels ready enough... or simply tell me otherwise. She seems content to wait quietly."

Sosiqui had brought something else up - residence. Although he had something temporary, he needed something more stable, and she wouldn't have what was there as far as he knew. "Perhaps I shall visit... I need to figure where I'm going to stay at this point... what I have is on a week-by-week basis and that's going to run dry soon enough... and she doesn't approve." He taps his head then, acknowledging the presence that lurked. Here, at least he was becoming comfortable. Perhaps it was the presence of others of like place and mind and state.

She definitely did not like the sound of that. A temple - a temple when he had barely come to be... too arrogant and self-centered perhaps to understand and admire beauty, let alone give her what she'd want. She'd have to see though, with time. She was eternal - she had as much as she wanted.

He looked to Beryl, smiling and taking the drink. "Thank you, I'm still feeling a bit weak. She seems to be restless though... no idea why."

She shrank back further a moment, then realized the best way to gain the advantage was to know thy enemy. And if she liked him - she delighted to herself, but was cautious all the same.

A corner of his mouth twitched then turned up in a grin when he caught the wink.

"Playing all out, maybe you could win if you set some books he hasn't read nearby. He'd be quite distracted."

That would be an impressive match. He knows the game. Knowledge may be one of his only prospective good opponents.

Johnathan brightened as Khiviance recoiled in his mind. Still, it would be a step up, and she could learn more, and hopefully eventually set up a solo residence in time.

"That sounds good, I just need to resolve a few things beforehand and get a few effects from both places, of course." He took another drink, relaxing more. At least that was one major concern down. "Oh... would it be alright if I brought someone - well, yes, someone small - with me? I don't think she'd be a problem, but I can't really leave her there anymore either." He makes a small shape of something able to fit on his shoulder. "Requient is a quiet little dream, I'm sure she wouldn't be a bother."

She brooded about quartering with the enemy, although did acknowledge the little one should come. She was going to have a long talk with the little lamb though about their future, away from prying eyes and ears... after she gauged her only last 'competition' and it's reaction to what was to be.

Sosiqui felt full, and content - and sleepy again. She had been woken up early - it wouldn't be a bad thing to snooze a bit more, right?

But not here on this chair, in the middle of all the activity. She longed for the cushiony nest on the dais in their rooms above, bathed in soft light she, too, was coming to love.

Quietly, she stood up and snuck up the stairs, heading for some rest. Illumin approved.