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While the weather was still fairly warm that day, a gust of wind flew down the street, causing goose flesh to ripple over Ronan's skin. The selkie paused for a few moments, watching nearby trees flutter in the wind before things calmed and the gust died down to the cool whispering breeze of before. Smiling lazily, he turned his eyes away and continued on his walk back home from work.

Fall was still a few weeks away as things were, but he knew that gust was a sign of things to come, so he made a note to bring his coat to work next time, and made do with hiking up the collar of his shirt in the mean time. Things weren't helped by the fact that his hair was still damp, having helped out in the tanks today and the clean up shower taken right before leaving, but he wouldn't have had it any other way. He loved his job, even if made things a tad inconvenient when walking home in the colder months. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a now familiar fixture on his walk home, and his measured stride slowed until he came to a stop in front of building, thumbs in pockets and head giving a thoughtful tilt.

Lab 305. Originally, it had just been another building on his journey home, just another place on the island. This had all changed 3 years ago, that December where Maili had seen a raevan at the mall and insisted on learning every little thing she could and begging for them to adopt one (he of course refused at the time, worried about how Maili would treat a raevan in her state of obsession). However, it wasn't until last summer when he had attended a Lab event his niece's stead that he gained a personal interest in the place. Ever since he had found himself looking at the building more and more often, sometimes stopping and gazing at the place for several minutes before moving on. There had even been a few occasions where he had glimpsed a raevan through one of the windows, but never had he gone into the building itself. At that moment, he decided it was time to change that.

Giving an absentminded scratch to his goatee, he crossed over to where the building was and placed his hand on one of the door handles. For a fleeting moment he found himself hesitating - maybe even a little nervous? - realizing that he was actually going into Lab 305, but soon he pulled the door open with one fluid motion, entering the lobby. He was ready to learn.

After entering the lobby, Ronan stopped for a few moments to simply take in his surroundings. A few chairs and a table, reception desk at the front, and it all lit up by the windows facing the street. A fairly simple set up overall, but it was still comfortable and nice, not the cold clinical set up he had almost been fearing upon coming into the building. Noticing that there was no one at the reception at the moment, the selkie began to turn towards the chairs, and that was when Alex made her entrance.

Ronan immediately felt himself relaxing with the woman's cheerful greeting, and the last of his doubts about coming into the building today finally melted away. Even with the welcoming lobby part of him had still feared that Lab 305 was an exclusive community, not overly welcoming to newcomers. The greeting he had just been given ground that notion to dust, and he happily and warmly accepted the hand presented to him, grip firm but casual.

"A pleasure to meet you Alex. My name is Ronan," he said with a smile, drawing his hand back after the handshake and hooking his thumb into his pocket. There was a brief moment where he considered his next words, but the pause was slight and soon the selkie launched into what he was going to say, knowing that this was the time to ask his questions.

"This may be somewhat out of the blue, without an appointment and all, but I was wondering if you could possibly help me learn about Lab 305 and.... the raevans. My niece briefly met a raevan three years ago at Christmas time, and she's been interested in them ever since. I ended up going to the Lab beach party last summer in her stead, and I must say they've ended up catching my interest too." He gave a chuckle with last statement, but returned to form in short order, going right back to what he had been saying. "However, my knowledge is very limited, and that is where I'm hoping you can help me out today. For the most part I am wondering about the raevans and the lab itself." At this point Ronan shifted his weight, wondering if he should say what was next on his mind, finally deciding to go for it. "I am also curious about the community, and.... possibly becoming part of it myself."

While he had been given the impression earlier that Lab 305 was an open and accepting place, Alex's next words would give him a definitive answer on the issue, and so he waited to hear what the woman before him would say, and to see what he might be able to learn.

Ronan had considered Alex to be cheerful a few moments before, but now he realized it was just a precursor as he was hit with the brunt of her joy. The cheerfulness was infectious, and soon he found himself giving a chuckle at her happy proclamation of recognition. "Now that you mention it I think I did see you around at the party. I don't think ever got around introducing myself however, so no need to feel bad about not remembering a name," he said with a grin. Hearing the mention of the name Zeke the selkie found himself perking up, the syllables triggering a distant memory in his mind. "I think I could have met Zeke at the beach party. Would cheerful guy with astonishing hair be an accurate description?" Ronan was practically positive now that he had met the man, but confirmation from his guide wouldn't hurt.

He listened to the rest of her words as they headed down the hallway, and then the two of them came to a door. When Alex pushed it open he wasn't sure what to expect, but when he saw the tanks within he had a feeling this room was much more important than appearances might suggest. Next came Alex's words on fel essences, and at that moment he was reminded of another conversation from the beach party. "....... or mistletoe that makes you kiss," he found himself saying before he could catch himself. Such bizarre and wonderful things these fel essences seemed to be, and in that moment he had a feeling what the second part of the equation was. "At the beach party I met someone who said they were to have a raevan made of mistletoe paired with the.... soul of a crocodile. Does that mean the next part of the equation is a soul? Though with the fel essences..... where does something so strange actually come from?"

Ronan hoped the woman before him would not mind possibly having her thunder stolen, and that the question he had posed was not too rude or obscure. He would just have to wait and see.

"With that kind of description is sounds like Zeke is a person I should want to meet again sometime," Ronan said with a smile, and the sentiment was genuine - now that the thought back the man had seemed like a very nice individual, and it was a shame the bustle of the party had cut any sort of further conversation short. And hey, even if a random encounter was unlikely, it certainly wouldn't be difficult to recognize this Zeke!

These happy musings were dampened slightly when he heard that Anita had been given grief due to the fel essence she had received, but at least there was a raevan for her that would come out of these less fortunate moments. Perhaps a small comfort, he thought, if the same issues with the essence persist in the raevan... But there was no need to judge he reminded himself, and then proceeded to hope that when she received her raevan it would be the best occasion possible.

Alex's confirmation on the role of soul in the raevan brought Ronan back to the current moment, and the selkie gave a fascinated nod at the information about the soul cloth colors. "Gathering a soul is a dangerous thing, but I must admit that this method is rather... ingenious." Following Alex over into the office he crossed his arms comfortably as he began to listen to her words... and then went completely still.

He knew this story. He knew it but hadn't heard it told to him for years. As her words washed over him he found himself thinking back, far back to the whispers of the ocean and it's currents, each segment of her story bringing up a memory of when it had been told to him before. His parents telling him of a different world before this one, all of them gliding through deep blue. An old leviathan murmuring in the deep about a great cataclysm and the sorrow that caused it, reminding a young selkie he would receive a similar fate if he did not swim away from his jaws, and swim he did. And most of all, the constant reminders to beware of the fragments removed from the natural world, to avoid the remnants of the storm so that any unknown aspects of it's nature might not do him harm. He dutifully listened, reassuring that he would play it safe, and yet part of him had always hoped to witness these wonders of another world as he twirled through the ocean waters, young and naive.

"... part of me thought I might never hear that story again," he found himself saying aloud, his eyes distant. "And I've always believed, but to realize that I might finally get to see the fragments of the lost world that I dreamed about as a child is somewhat... surreal." Ronan gave a slight shake of his head, emerging from his stillness to give a chuckle and lopsided smile to Alex. "Small world it seems."