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Friendly Conversationalist
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 Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2016 10:08 pm
Who: Lorin, Claire (alpha lyrae), Lorenzo, & Vesna (kotaline)
Where: A small city park near the beach, in Gambino
When: Early May 2016, around the lunchtime hour
Weather: Sunny and clear, early-70s temperature-wise, t-shirt and tanktop weather
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Claire could not keep her smile off her face.
The reunion with Cesc had planted the idea in her head that she should make good on the promised meeting with Lorenzo and Vesna, and promptly contacted the young necromancer afterwards. Between the two of them and several days of planning, there arose a gap in his schedule that worked out perfectly. At first Claire had thought to suggest the idea of Lorin trying out some of the traditional clothing for the first meeting between the two (she had excitedly followed Lorenzo's suggestions and ordered some from Russia, as well as a few more that Arina had sent afterwards), but the weather was expected to be too warm. Lorin sweating in a wool kosovorotka during the summer time did not seem very fair, so she did not even think to ask. Instead, the duo had settled on a park playdate (conveniently located close to the beach should the kids want to explore that and take in some of the ocean) and lunch - a nice, casual meeting for a first time. It felt elating and somewhat nerve-wracking that the long-awaited meeting she and Lorenzo had hoped for back in the wintertime was finally coming to fruition. Time certainly does fly.
Lorin had been very excited to learn he was about to meet a new friend; he had heard much of Lorenzo and Vesna from Claire in the days following the Lab mission, with it being rekindled by Cesc's visit. Still, his mama wanted to keep the element of surprise on her side and would only smile when he asked questions (much to his frustration) and tell him that he's in for a treat. He was already very excited at the venue, dressed appropriately in a light, short-sleeved green hoodie. He had been to a park before with his papa and grandmother, but that had been a different one, full of more greenery and a wider expanse of field for children to play on. This one certainly a playground and a smaller lawn for the tourists, but boasted an ocean view and a nice path down towards the beach. Claire had planned ahead in case the ocean tempted them and brought towels, coming prepared with a swimsuit on underneath her capris and tanktop; there was no way he was going to play in the ocean without her firm grip on his hand.
"What do they look like?" Lorin asked as they sat at one of the few picnic tables. His eyes were scanning the horizon and he leaned up on his arms, antennae perked forward.
"Vesna will look like you, silly." Claire kept her smile even, and while Lorin pouted a little, his mama's secrecy only invited more curiosity, and he continued watching the sidewalks with a new determination to find and pick them out from the crowd on his own.
"Nu-uh, she 'prolly is bigger than me," he corrected matter-of-factly, bringing forth a laugh from Claire. So far, all of the Raevans he had met looked more akin to his mama and papa age-wise than himself, but not that that was a bad thing, merely a point of interest for the young Frei. Why was that? He had so many questions, but all of those were put aside for the excitement of an impending meeting, and one his mother was equally excited about.
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Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 8:06 pm
"Where are we going?" Vesna asked, looking out the passenger side window of Lorenzo's car.
"We're going to meet somebody new," Lorenzo replied somewhat enigmatically.
"Is it someone else who's going to help rehabilitate me?" Vesna guessed suspiciously.
Lorenzo looked away. "Hmmmmm. It'll be good for you to meet them, at least." he said in his most neutral, professional voice as he pulled into a parking space. He pulled a backpack from the back seat, which he had stuffed with supplies. It looked odd slung over his cape, and odder still because it was Vesna's backpack, and shaped like a cat.
"Backpack," Vesna said. "Park. Towels. Is it some kind of physical therapy thing? Is it yoga? Like, dead people yoga?? I guess that wouldn't be totally lame."
"I'd like to see the yoga you can do without legs," Lorenzo remarked lightly. "Anyway, I think you'll know who we're here to meet when we see them."
"I will know them by their extravagant cape," Vesna droned theatrically, then shaded her eyes to scan the park. Lorenzo waited, and when her breath caught, he bit back a smile.
"No way," she said, and grabbed his sleeve. "You didn't say anything!"
"Not all my surprises are boring," Lorenzo retorted, but Vesna was already floating rapidly towards Claire and the little blonde raevan beside her. She landed at roughly people-height with a looping flourish. Lorenzo was not too far behind, forced into a weak jog.
"Hi Claire," he panted, setting Vesna's backpack down on the ground. Straightening up, he brushed himself off and tried to regain some of his professional demeanor. "The weather turned out perfect."
Vesna was not here to talk about the weather. "Hi Claire!" she parroted, then promptly swiveled her gaze to the raevan along with her. "Hi Lorin! I'm Vesna. It's so nice to meet you!"
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:48 pm
Lorin's determined search ended nearly as quickly as it had resumed once he spotted Vesna and Lorenzo, and he gave a quiet gasp and hovered higher. The parking lot was not such a distance aways that he could not make her out, but even as the gap closed between them, she seemed quite different from the handful of Raevans he had already met. Amity had been very excitable but it was a different sort from the one coming toward him, and her delighted expression made him smile; he liked her enthusiasm and the way she landed in front of them so dramatically. Claire stood up as the two of them arrived at the picnic table with a bright smile of her own.
"It did, didn't it?" she agreed, hands clasped. "It's good to see you both! I hope the drive was alright." Vesna had taken the meeting into her own hands and Claire shushed herself to let the two Raevans get acquainted. Lorin floated up over the table to get closer to this exciting new face. He noticed Lorenzo next to her but he gave pause when the man had addressed Claire - was this Vesna's papa? He looked so serious with his long, dark cape, but as Lorin's eyes dropped to the cute kitty backpack he had let slip from his fingers onto the ground, he knew that Lorenzo could not be that bad, especially if he liked cute kitties. Still, it was Vesna he was interested in most of all right now and he bobbed in place excitedly.
"Hi Vesna," he answered back with a tiny smile, his wings giving a little flap on his back. "Nice to meet you too! I like your flowers." Her appearance was overall so striking to him, taking in her bright blue eyes and the tiny blooms in her hair with fascination, and he clutched his hands at the hem of his shirt in anticipation. "Have you played here before?" With his first question out, his smile brightened, proud of himself for breaking the ice and he rolled into his next one. "We can play swings if you wanna."
Claire was nothing but smiles and she scooted over a little to allow Lorenzo room to sit down and let him catch his breath. Running in a cape was no easy feat.
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2016 1:15 am
"The drive was totally fine," Lorenzo affirmed. The drive had not been totally fine. Vesna had brought her ukelele, citing that any downtime was important practice time. Lorenzo suspected that she had simply decided to seize the opportunity to carelessly strum songs about his silly clothing choices while he was trapped in a car with her.
As Lorin sized him up, Lorenzo took the chance to get a proper look at Lorin. He was so small. Lorenzo had been blindsided by Vesna's apparent youth, but Lorin was even younger than that. He knew from his research into various rebirthing programs that the subjects in them could sometimes reach adulthood in a mere handful of years- he wondered whether Lorin and Vesna would age at the same rate or if Lorin would rapidly outpace her in order to catch up to what seemed to be the average age for raevans. It was an interesting question, but it was not necessarily Lorenzo's business to know, which was restful in and of itself. If they had both been his clients he would have had to spend nights researching and hypothesizing, but as it was, he was able to let it slip in and out of his mind.
"How's Lorin settling in?" he said, turning back to Claire. "I was worried about Vesna after the bird attack, but it seems like somehow she remembers the whole day fondly."
Vesna was less analytical about the gap in hers and Lorin's age. Lorin was extremely cute. That was all she needed to know.
"Thank you!" she said to him airily as he complimented her hair flowers. "They're growing right out of my head." She added, "And I learned that the hard way." Floating around Lorin to examine him, she said, "I like your little, ah," she gestured at her head and pantomimed antennae. "They look super soft!"
She swung her gaze to the swingset and stroked her chin theatrically. "You're gonna have to show me how to play swings," she informed him frankly. "I didn't know we could play swings without butts to sit with."
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 10:28 pm
"Very well!" Claire could not be prouder of how much her little Lorin had progressed already, and she rested her chin in her palm. "He's not much like he, or rather, the leshy was, but he is such a joy. And he's learning so quickly." Just by watching his family, Lorin had picked up bits and pieces of their conversations around the house, tiny face scrunched in clear concentration as he tried to puzzle it out - or, if he could not, tugging on Claire's sleeve and asking for help. She smiled at Lorenzo, ever the proud mother as she turned to keep an eye on the rusalka and leshy Freis, her mouth opened to ask the reciprocal question about Vesna, but Lorenzo's next statement drew her attention back to him with a hint of surprise.
"Really?" Claire's eyebrows lifted. "Well I suppose that makes sense." Vesna had been very cheerful during the whole experience, and considering it seriously, it had been a boon to the situation as far as Claire was concerned. Vesna's optimism about things ranging from their group set-up to the food bloggers idea did put a lighter spin on what could have been an especially trying time. "Better to have a positive outlook on a stressful day than a bad one." She let her gaze drift back to the Raevans. "I had to fib a little when I was telling Lorin about it, he didn't like the look of me when I came home that night." She laughed at the memory now but she still felt a little bad for softening the truth for her charge.
Lorin's eyes did not betray surprise about Vesna's flowers - that only made sense that they would be growing from her head, did it not? There were so many of them, after all. His head swiveled as she moved around him and examined him, and he gasped softly at her gesturing. "Oh!" His small hands flew up to the antennae themselves as though to double check what Vesna said was still true - sure enough, they were still fuzzy. He beamed. "They are!" However the discovery was short-lived when Vesna brought up their next great challenge, and his hands lowered a little.
With a glance up at Vesna, he mimed her thoughtful pose, fingers to his chin as he examined the swingset. He and his Papa had played swings very briefly when they came to the park a month or so ago, while Claire had been out hunting essences, but even that had been carefully done (Aaron had done most of the swinging and Lorin hung onto the straps while Aaron pushed his back, unable to sit for his lack of a lower half). With another careful look at the rusalka Frei, his eyes brightened in a sudden idea as he recalled her elaborate entrance onto the scene. "I got a good idea!" Hands clenching in excited fists, he led the way towards the empty swings, wings aflutter. "Can y'show me how to do the thing you did?" He turned to face her and flapped his arms once excitedly at his side. "The spin thingy!"
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 11:04 pm
"He certainly seems much less shy than he did in the pictures you showed us," Lorenzo remarked, watching as Lorin imitated Vesna's dramatic posturing. "Does he remember any Russian at least? I heard some Raevans retain language comprehension."
He shrugged as Claire expressed her surprise about the Bird Incident. "It was her first time outside the office," he explained. "She was determined to enjoy it no matter what happened. It's good, I think," he offered tentatively. "I mean, obviously I'm concerned that she might be repressing things, but it's good that she's so determined to be optimistic. Being undead is difficult, and she's not even really traditionally undead. She doesn't talk to me about it as often as I'd like, but until she trusts me more, I'm just happy that she's determined to be happy." They had been having problems with communication since the very first week he took custody of Vesna, but if she was so willing to be responsive to the world around her, Lorenzo was happy to hope they were growing pains and try to adjust.
"I actually got her a ukelele recently," he added, "For some music therapy. So far she's just used it to sing jingles about how my job is boring."
Vesna squinted at the swings. "I think I can," she said, laying flat on the swing so that her torso was on the seat, and holding the ropes carefully. "First we'll do it like this so you land in case you fall, ok?" She didn't know if baby raevans had to learn to float, although she guessed that she was as much of a baby raevan as Lorin was.
"But if you really want to do it, there are only two important things to know," she said simply. Holding up a finger, she began, "First, you have to do it really fast so that none of your stuff falls off. And second, you can't be afraid, or you won't do it fast enough."
She considered the apparent age of her company and held up a third finger.
"And third, like, be careful and stuff."
She tightened her grip on the swings, and spun herself around again. With the swing it was more difficult to manage, but when she finished, she spun off and "landed" in front of the swingset with her arms in the air. Turning around, she grinned at Lorin.
"Okay, you can try if you want! I'll be here to catch you, so don't worry about letting go." She flashed him a thumbs up and stretched out her arms.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2016 7:06 pm
"It comes and goes," Claire admitted with a chuckle. "He'll get terribly excited when it's time to meet someone, and then right when the meeting happens, he suddenly gets stage fright. But he does bounce back quickly, I'll give him that." Her laugh softened and she cupped her chin in her palm, inclining it slightly as Lorenzo dove into Vesna's perspective of the bird attack. With a darting glance, she watched Vesna and Lorin move over closer to the swings, Lorin's arms flapping to his side as though he were imitating a bird. The rusalka Frei's enthusiasm was rubbing off on Lorin already, and given what she had seen during the Essence hunt, Claire was not entirely surprised. She felt a swell of sympathy for Lorenzo, one Raevan parent to another - it was hard when one could not help their charge, even if part of it was under his area of expertise, but she nodded approvingly at his attitude towards it.
"Being ready and waiting to talk to them is also important, but.. it's a hard wait." She lifted her head from her hand. "But when they're ready, they'll know where to come, I'm sure." Vesna had settled into the swing's seat by now and Claire smiled as Lorin studied his new friend intently as she spoke. "So far I haven't had anything like that with Lorin. He's, well.. very much like any other little boy. Except for missing half of his body and all. Nothing really of the leshy to him except for how much he loves being outside and around my plants." She had spent some amount of time wondering how much of the leshy was still present in Lorin himself, but admittedly she had been very distracted by the cheerful little boy that he had become. She had thought about telling him about the leshy, but better judgment told her that it was too soon to tell him something so dark - that was something she could not sugar coat. If there truly was something of the leshy left in him, she did not want to awaken it with painful memories for now. That could wait until he was older. "I tried a few Russian words with him but it just made him confused." Claire frowned slightly, but returned the question. "How about Vesna?"
The news of the rusalka's musical prowess drew her gaze from the raevans to Lorenzo again and she covered her mouth against an oncoming laugh. "She sounds quite talented. Music might be another thing that she and Lorin have in common. Aaron plays guitar and Lorin has taken to sitting with him when he practices. He really seems to like it." She had stumbled upon a practice session one night where Aaron was goofily doing his scales and singing out the notes, much to the honey Frei's giggly delight.
Lorin watched Vesna determinedly, eyes following her as she positioned herself flush against the swing's seat. He nodded quickly, excitedly, fists clenched in his eagerness as she explained the rules. Safety was always the first and foremost thing to consider, and while the idea of falling was certainly scary, he had thankfully not done it yet. The idea of learning to do the elaborate twirl and flip that she had done was too enticing to scare him away, however. With the explanation completed, he stared wide-eyed as the ropes were turned and she went sailing upward and landed beautifully. He clapped in astonishment and wasted no time in floating over to the vacant seat, still twisting to and fro from Vesna's stunt. He stared down at it once his hands gripped the ropes, uncertain, until Vesna promised to catch him, her arms extended outward. He put on his bravest face, eager to impress.
"Okay!" he called, settling his torso onto the seat. He wiggled to find a comfortable spot and went through Vesna's instructions in his head. Wings flapping, he turned the ropes to get enough momentum ready. "Here I come!" His fingers loosened against the ropes but with a sudden jolt in his heart he grasped them again, suddenly nervous. He swallowed. He looked up to make sure Vesna was still where she was, arms out, even though it had only been a few short seconds since he had last checked. "'Kay, I'm gonna do it now!" With one more swallow, he let his fingers slacken from the ropes and the world moved really fast around him - he soared in a great arc, seeing sky and grass in turn as he turned, and he tumbled to a stop in Vesna's waiting arms, flapping his wings to soften the impact. His head was reeling and he put a hand to it, blinking hard a few times to get the world to stop spinning.
"How'd I do, Vesna?" he asked dizzily, patting himself down. "Did my stuff fall off?" His hand reached for his antenna. "Nope." Still there. Eyes closed for a few seconds, he allowed the elation of his stunt to wash over him, face breaking into a wide grin. "That was fun! Think I can do it without the swing someday like you?" It had been hard enough to manage with the swing, but Vesna was able to do it on her own - the rusalka was giving him more reasons to be impressed with her. He was still trying to work up the courage to fly to ceiling height, after all!
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Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 5:11 pm
"I didn't notice any shyness at all," Lorenzo remarked, following Claire's gaze as she watched Lorin flap his arms.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Oh, definitely. It's always important for the client to set the pace of recovery, even for clients I only see every so often. Vesna has to see me every day, so it's been a process, setting boundaries and everything." He listened to her describe Lorin's recollections, or lack of, and nodded. "If you ever need any help, you have my number." he offered. "He's a little out of my field, but if I can do anything, I'd be glad to."
He grimaced and shook his head. "She doesn't remember a word of Russian according to the tutor I hired. And it's been a wrestle getting her to focus for lessons, but she at least picks up on things quickly when she does try. She likes the tutor, too, so that helps, I'm sure. It's the same with things she wants to learn, like ukelele. She puts a lot of effort in initially, but she can't stand to do anything that feels boring to her. Nowadays, she mostly just wings it." He gestured at Lorin. "Maybe if he takes an interest in music, she could practice with him. Having someone else around to play with might motivate her."
"Oof!" Vesna exclaimed as Lorin hit her at full force. She took a moment to catch her breath and grinned at him, flashing a victory sign. "You did great!! And," she said, looking him over, "You've still got all your stuff!"
She bobbed her head eagerly. "Of course!" she said. "Anyone can do it! Well, you have to be able to float, but that's just normal for us. You've just gotta teach yourself to not be nervous about it, and then you can float however you want."
As she spoke, she drifted higher, turning upside down in the air to look at him. "I was just born fearless," she informed him casually. "I was made for stunts."
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2016 8:31 pm
"Most of his shyness vanishes as soon as company arrives," Claire replied. "His stage fright is a little preemptive like that, I suppose. But once new friends show up, he's all smiles." She spoke conversationally but she was really glad that it seemed she would not have to worry about him making friends. Lorenzo, however, seemed to have a markedly different experience regarding Vesna, but that was to be expected - not only were they from different walks of life, but their Raevans were very different from one another. As she continued to listen, a slow smile dawned on her face. Despite the differences in their approach, investment only in things they were interested in was a very common trait among one's charges.
"That much seems true across the board," she chuckled. "For most people, I think." She shrugged. "I'm still unsure what Lorin is interested in outside of what we've shown him, but he does really seem to enjoy music so far. I'll keep you both posted if he wants to play with Aaron sometime." It was a secret hope of hers but she could understand the frei's hesitance. He was still very new to the world, after all, and feeling his way around. This brought to mind another point she had wondered about - Lorin's formal education - but for the moment she pushed that to the side. "For the most part he has been following me around, playing in the garden or helping me around the house, but I'm very interested to see what he gets invested in somewhere down the road." There was time enough for that, thankfully.
As Vesna floated higher and turned to look at him, her tone so cool and confident, Lorin watched her with awe. He was still too nervous to hover higher than what was comfortable for him, but here was another Raevan like him showing such mastery of her abilities. All of the Raevans he had met had been incredible in their own way, but he was so impressed by Vesna's casual bravery. He wanted to be like that someday.
"That'd be real neat if I could too, someday," he replied, pausing for a moment in thought. There was not much he was able to do yet, at least that he had been able to see, but one dawned on him with excitement. "Oh! I can do this!" With that, he dipped his head forward and his antennae gave a rapid shake, as though they were shivering. Lorin straightened and admitted sheepishly, "I dunno what else I can do yet, though," with a smile. A breeze blew in from the ocean and his antennae twitched, and he turned towards the sea. He clenched his tiny fists, flexing the fingers open once and looking at them. Perhaps it was because of his new company, but Lorin felt like being brave today. "D'you wanna play on the beach, Vesna?" he asked excitedly.
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2016 10:24 pm
"Vesna brought her ukelele if you think he'd be interested in it," Lorenzo said. "It's in the car." He looked back to where he parked, adding, "I'll ask her if she wants to play him a song once they head back this way, and hopefully if she does, it won't be a song about my socially unacceptable lifestyle." He laughed nervously and furrowed his brow as his eyes went back to his charge. Was she floating upside down in front of Lorin? She may not have been reborn as a dangerous rusalka, but he supposed that Vesna's ability to be a bad influence was irrepressible.
"Vesna!" he called, and she righted herself to wave at him airily. He sighed and turned back to Claire. "Now that she's out and about she's unstoppable," he explained. "My parents have offered to supervise her sometimes so she can still go out during my work hours. Most of my clients are far more... sedate." He smiled wanly, adding, "You'll have to teach me any tips you have for tricking her into helping me around the house, though."
Vesna clapped as Lorin showed off. "Pret-ty cool!" she said. "That's a good start! I only know how to do so many things because my dad ran a bunch of boring tests to see what I could do when I was born. It turns out that I can't do anything super cool yet, but I'm gonna just have fun with what I can do until I get magical powers and fight monsters or something." She grinned at Lorin. "So if you have any monster problems, let me know, and I'll definitely save you!"
She looked over at the beach and nodded. "Let's go! We can make it a race if you wanna."
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 11:37 am
"Music is great but sometimes not always kind," Claire offered with a sympathetic smile, hand to her mouth after Lorenzo called out to Vesna. "But I'm sure he'd be delighted to. He really seems to like music." There hadn't been any noticable attempt on Lorin's part, other than his rapt attention when a song he liked started playing, or when Aaron was practicing for the evening, or Claire warbled out her quiet nightly lullabies to him. But perhaps under the right circumstances, his interest would grow.
As Lorenzo went on, Claire's hand repositioned to her cheek, nodding. "Well I can't really say from a professional standpoint how to make teenagers help around the house. I mean, when I was a paralegal, most of our firm's own clients had little to do with that." There were the occasional problem cases, as was par for the course, but when trying to accomodate their needs did not work, sometimes both parties came to an impasse until one gave. "But," she amended, "one thing I do know is money talks. An allowance might be a good idea, teach her a little bit about working and saving for the things she wants?" It was something she would put into practice with Lorin someday herself.
Fighting monsters? The magical powers bit was something Lorin's mother had already explained to him somewhat (although from what Vesna was telling her about Lorenzo's tests, it was nowhere near as thorough), but the fighting monsters thing was news to him. In his eyes, Vesna was only becoming cooler and cooler, especially if she'd use her soon-to-be powers to fight off evil, just like the Jedi in the movies Cadi had shown him. "Okay," he agreed, nodding, "But someday I'll get cool powers too and we can fight 'em together." As cool as she was, he did not like the idea of her fighting alone. What if she got hurt?
The draw of the beach was too strong, and he turned around to face the ocean. The breeze ruffled his hair and he responded to Vesna's challenge with a grin. "Yeah!" He hunkered down, shoulders against the wind. "Okay, ready --" His wings fluttered. "Set --" And with a loud giggle and no more preamble, he was off like a flash, flying at top speed towards the beach.
Claire stood as soon as she saw Lorin dash off, her heart in her throat, but his laughter carried over the sound of the distant waves. With one hand to her chest, she let a sigh escape, and reached down for the bag at her feet. "Looks like we're relocating to the beach. Did you bring your swim trunks?" She smiled and held up the bag as she stepped out of the picnic bench. "I brought extra towels just in case."
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Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2016 3:30 pm
"It's difficult," Lorenzo conceded, "To know how to proceed with that kind of thing. I could give her an allowance, but I'm really not her parent. I'm a necromancer and she's still my client, just a client I've taken on as a charity case." Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "I've let her call me 'Dad' because she seems to be distressed by the idea of being a client, but I'd like to maintain some professional distance still, if I can." He considered and said, "Although as it is now, I just buy her things she wants, so maybe encouraging her to get a part time job in general could be a good idea- it could teach her to be responsible with her money."
He stood up with Claire and said, "I certainly did." Holding up his backpack, he pulled out towels of his own and spread one out on the sand. Taking off his clothes and folding them neatly, he revealed a Victorian looking striped swimsuit underneath.
"I find that clients feel suspicious of necromancers who look too tanned," he explained to Claire. "People don't really think of us as outdoorsy, though, if you think about it, back in the day, necromancers were some of the most outdoorsy wizards, having to dig up so many graves." He cleared his throat, amending, "Of course, those days are over now. We only dig up graves for specific clients upon request."
Vesna slowed down a little to let Lorin win, but not so much as to cause suspicion, slapping her hand down on the sand and exclaiming, "Good race! With that kind of speed, I think you'll definitely be a great ally of justice someday." She looked at the ocean and pulled her t-shirt off to reveal the extremely modest bikini top that Lorenzo had very carefully helped her choose the other day. The bottoms were in her drawer, awaiting the off chance that by the time Vesna was an adult she'd still be into pink-and-white-star pattern swimwear. "I wondered why Dad asked me to wear this," she told Lorin. "I thought it'd just be some weird necromancer swim class or something." She threw her t-shirt willy nilly onto the sand, assuming Lorenzo would pick it up, and asked, "Did you bring your swimsuit? Can you swim?" She realized, "Can I swim?" and looked down at the trailing ribbon where her torso should be.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 9:44 pm
Claire was likewise prepared for a swim day, with a one piece on underneath her clothes, and she pulled her blouse over her head, likewise making quick work of folding it up and stuffing into her beach bag. Opting to keep her shorts on for the time being, she shouldered the bag and chuckled at Lorenzo's addendum about the changes in necromancy over the years. Her experience was limited but she found the information he shared interesting; she admired how committed he was to his field. "Always good to be adaptable. Times change, job requirements change. Maybe especially woodsy necromancers will have their day yet," she added hopefully as she led the way towards the beach. She mused on the talk of money they had shared a few minutes before; Lorenzo was in a very particular situation, after all, neither in a parent-child set-up, nor purely a necromancer-client one. It carried with it all its own difficulties, so it seemed to her.
"I think," she said, broaching the earlier topic, "A part-time job would definitely be a good track to follow if an allowance would feel strange." While that had been her usual go-to when she was a teenager, she had also done her share of after school jobs. "Maybe feel around with some people you know and see if they need help with anything?" With Vesna being still so young, pushing her into an actual workplace might be too much right off the bat. "Babysitting is a good go-to. It seems like Lorin is already pretty fond of her, that reads as a good sign for a potential babysitter." She nodded towards the two Freis on the beach.
Lorin twirled as they came to a slow stop, laughing as he spun around. "Yeah!" he agreed. "You're real fast, Vesna." The two of them had kept pretty close ranks, so he saw whenever he looked back towards her. He visibly brightened at her comment. "Really? That's good," he replied. "Maybe when my powers get here, I can help you with justice stuff." Vesna wasted no time in tossing her shirt to the side, ready for the waves, and Lorin bounced in his own anticipation. At the rusalka Frei's question, he paused. He had been so excited about the word "beach" when they planned this trip that he really had not processed if he could swim or not. He knew about it in theory, mostly from the nature videos he watched on TV - he knew how animals swim, but he didn't know if he could do that himself.
"I dunno," he replied as a blanket statement. Vesna's cute bikini top looked kind of like his mama's special beach outfit, the one she wore now as she and Lorenzo headed towards them. He lifted the collar on his shirt and glanced down, trying to remember if he had put on anything like that, but all he saw was skin.
"I'mma be naked," he observed as he let go of the collar, tugging the hem of his shirt downward to look at it. "I dunno if I got a swimsuit.. or if I can swim." He frowned a little helplessly at Vesna. What now?
"We can play in the waves but I think you're a little young for swimming yet." The arrival of the two adults on scene was heralded by Claire holding up the bag, and Lorin smiled in relief. "You can just wear that shirt, honey, I packed you another one."
"Okay good," he said. "I don't wanna be naked."
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 8:41 pm
Lorenzo seemed thoughtful as Claire mentioned part time jobs. "I guess it's not something I considered," he said. "When I was her age- er, mentally, at least- I was helping my father with adapting to undeath and doing chores for my mother in the necromancer community. A part time job would be a good idea, though I suppose it would have to be something like babysitting. I doubt many businesses would hire a months-old quarter or a girl, even if she could make herself seem extremely professional."
Vesna was not entirely sure she could swim, either. That seemed to involve copious amounts of kicking from what she had seen so far. Could she just... Float? In the water? Would it hurt to get her rune wet?
She didn't quite know how to answer Lorin's questions, so she was relieved when Claire saved the day.
"Playing in the waves sounds good," she affirmed. "We could look for cool shells!" She floated slightly above the water, adding, "We have an advantage because we can just float around until we see one worth reaching in and grabbing, you know?"
Trying to remember what she had seen of the beach on instagram, she said, "Then when we have enough shells, we can write something on the sand with them! Like... Dream... Or Love... Or maybe, like..." She thought about their previous conversation. "...Justice? You know. Something cool."
"Just be careful," Lorenzo fretted. "We haven't tested the effect of salt water on your skin-"
Vesna plunged her hand into the water and pulled it out. "Seems fine!"
"-Yet." Lorenzo finished lamely.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 2:55 pm
As she had set the bag down on the beach, Claire nodded in agreement with Lorenzo. "Unfortunately, probably true," she admitted with a slight grimace. "Babysitting is always a good place to start. Probably less stressful than sorting papers." Or dull; that seemed to be the sort of work that would put most teenage girls to sleep, especially one as energetic as Vesna. "If she needs some extra business sometime and we're in the area, we'd be happy to help." She smiled as she tilted her head towards Lorin and stepped out of her sandals.
"Yeah!" Lorin agreed, eyes wide with wonder as his hands joined together in an affirming clap. He trailed after her, floating higher as she did despite his own nervousness. Flying really was convenient. He glanced beneath them at the lapping waves, nodding eagerly to Vesna's idea. "Neat! Justice is cool." He turned to look at the expanse of beach that their guardians stood upon. He tried to picture the seashells lined up, spelling out the other words that Vesna had mentioned, and he paused. "You gotta help me spell it though, 'cause I don't know how yet." Reading was still a work in progress for him, although he was coming along quite well. He did not sound particularly discouraged however; after all, Vesna was quickly proving herself in his mind to be an expert on such matters, surely she knew how to spell the word of the day!
Lorin watched Vesna's hand dip into the water and pull something out as he hovered closer to get a better look. "Whatcha get?" Encouraged by her act as well, his own eyes scanned the area, squinting against the glint of sunlight off the waves. A dark pink sea star rested in the bend of a sand bar, and channelling the rusalka Frei's enthusiasm, he shot his hand downward and plucked it from its resting place. "Cool!" he said, breathless as he turned to show it to Vesna, but the sea star's tiny tendrils wiggled against his skin and he gave a startled yelp, dropping it back in the waves. It splashed back into the water, drifting forward with the waves and then slowly settled into the water, where it curled some of its legs in. "It wiggled!" Lorin gasped. He had only seen pictures of sea stars up until now; them being actual living creatures had been a surprise entirely.
"Most of the things you'll find here are alive," Claire called out as she approached the water. "Or used to be. Just be careful you don't pick up sea urchins." The thought seemed to give her some trouble, and she frowned fretfully at Lorenzo - that was something neither of them probably wanted. "Y'know, I'd better join you just to be safe." Lorin frowned himself at his mother's worry, wondering where it had come from and what sea urchins had to do with anything.
"Aw, is it 'cause of my skin too?" he asked. He had not really been to the beach before, or at least not in the salt water. But he was fine as well, turning his arm to and fro to examine the water droplets. His mama laughed softly, scanning the area to make sure she did not give the sea star he had dropped another nasty surprise.
"Less that and more because you're small, and currents are strong," Claire offered with a shrug and a half-smile as she waded out towards the two Freis. As they were still quite in the shallows, where the water lapped about mid-calf, she did not reach for his hand just yet.
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