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 Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 5:53 pm
who | Ethiriel, Vesna, and Nicolina Fisch.
when | 3 in the afternoon on a Sunday.
where | A teashop in Isle de Gambino called "bloom".
weather | A little rainy, a relief in the hot weather, but thunderstorms are threatening on the horizon.
__________________
"Stay near eye-level, Vesna, dear," said Nicolina as her charge for the day began to float towards the ceiling. "We're almost ready to order."
For once, Vesna obeyed. While it was fun to pretend not to hear Lorenzo, Nicolina Fisch was harder for her to ignore. For starters, she was someone Vesna mostly respected, and secondly, this was the first time Vesna had actually spent time with her outside of visits to her office on business. But Nicolina had invited her on a trip to Gambino for the day, as she had a meeting that would probably end early, and ever since Vesna had started calling Lorenzo "dad", she had seemed to come to view Vesna as a granddaughter of sorts. If it got her out of the house, Vesna was willing to be granddaughterly towards anybody.
"What kind of tea do you want us to order?" asked Nicolina. "Lorenzo told me what you could and couldn't eat, but he said you liked to take pictures of things." She flipped to the back page of the print-out menu and elaborated, "Their specialty are these flowering teas, so I thought this place might be good for pictures. You put it in hot water and it unfurls into flowers."
Vesna gasped and grabbed the menu, scanning the pictures fervently. Finally, she pointed to one blend, jabbing the paper and insisting, "Snow maiden, snow maiden!!" She paused and added, "Please."
Nicolina smiled indulgently. "Fitting for you, though I don't think you have any jasmine growing in that hair of yours." She gestured to the tables. "You find us a seat. Or," her eyes lowered to Vesna's missing torso, "Find me a seat at least, and I'll order everything."
Vesna saluted chipperly, pleased to be spoiled, and floated over to the seating area, trying to figure out which table had the most picturesque lighting. When she finally settled on something, she called, "Ms. Fisch! Over here!" and pulled out her phone to scan the scene. As she looked through the lens, it swept across the waiting customers, and she swiveled it suddenly backwards, focusing on one in particular.
"Hey, hi!" she said, but she wasn't talking to her makeshift grandmother anymore. "You're another raevan, right??"
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 6:02 pm
Now that she was able to go out and about more without Henry's constant guidance, Ethiriel found herself enjoying Gambino more and more. She had gained the nurse's trust over her stint at the cabins with Candice and her students -- not that he hadn't trusted her to begin with; it was mostly worry over her well being. So far, her favorite spot had become Bloom. The Sigel could ingest now, even though she still preferred her original means of eating, and did enjoy trying teas different than her own. It was nice.
Upon Vesna and Nicolina's entrance, Ethiriel had caught the scent of the Frei immediately. Her eyes scanned the dark expanse that was her vision, hoping that there was some silver on one of them to land on, but was fruitless. Not many people wore pure silver when cheaper metals that looked similar were available. She made no attempts to approach yet as she had little idea as to where they were.
Until Vesna made the first step.
"Hello," Ethiriel responded, a warm smile spreading across her lips. As Vesna posed her question, the Sigel had no doubt about who had approached. "Indeed, I am. I am Ethiriel; it's a pleasure to meet you." Offering out her hand, the tea Raevan hovered away from her seat.
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 6:12 pm
Nicolina raised her eyebrows as she came over to the table. "Another raevan, what are the odds?" she asked. "I'm Nicolina Fisch, the mother of her guardian."
"And I'm Vesna!!" Vesna offered, taking Ethiriel's hand and shaking it firmly. "Oh em gee, your accent is so pretty! And your clothes are so cool, were you born in those?" She sounded jealous. "Dad won't even let me wear my birth clothes without a tanktop underneath. Not that I super want to anyway, they're kind of goofy looking."
"Born... in clothes?" asked Nicolina, furrowing her brow.
"We're all born wearing clothes," Vesna elaborated. "It's like magic doesn't want us to be naked or whatever."
"And yours?" she asked.
Vesna gestured at her chest. "I don't have a lot to reveal or anything, but Dad said they were too revealing." She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, right?"
Nicolina smiled wryly. "I see. Well, please feel free to join us if you don't have other plans, Ethiriel. It's actually my first time meeting another raevan."
"I've met a bunch!" Vesna said, pulling out her phone. "Were you at the flower viewing, Ethiriel?? I met a ton of us there, but the dumb bird attack got in the way. I wanted to make ten friends, but I only made, like, five." She pushed 'add new contact' and added, "We can be friends if you want! Do you want to exchange numbers?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 6:19 pm
"It's wonderful to meet you, Nicolina, Vesna. It's a nice surprise to meet others on such a calm day," said Ethiriel as she dipped her head in a small, polite bow. She chuckled as the Rusalka barraged her with compliments and questions but nodded as the "grandmother" interjected. "Yes, these are the clothes I transformed into when I became a Sigel. Your compliments are too kind; thank you."
Giving another small nod, Ethiriel lowered herself back into her seat, her hands curling around her mug once it was found. She hadn't taken a sip yet as Vesna's appearance into the shop had kept her attention, but once everyone was seated and they could continue, she lifted her tea to her lips and took a small drink -- warm and bitter; just how she liked it.
Placing it down, the Sigel smiled. "I'm glad to be your first, then, Nicolina. An honor." Ethiriel then turned to Vesna, her brows knit lightly despite the gentle smile remaining on her lips. "I had fallen ill before then so I wasn't able to join. My guardian was there, however. I heard it wasn't a very great gathering in the end."
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 6:36 pm
"I live in Barton and Vesna lives in Durem, but I had some business here today, and I thought she might like to get out of the house," Nicolina explained. "I've been here before when last I met with this client, and it's a lovely little establishment. I thought it'd be nice to show her." She elaborated, "I'm an undead rights lawyer, and since there are so few in my field, my work tends to take me all over Gaia."
Vesna, eager to push past the "undead" thing, interrupted, "I thought those had to be the clothes you were born in! They're so neat looking. Plus, that kind of thing normally doesn't end at the waist, right? I've seen stuff like that before in anime." Not exactly like it, but Vesna was no expert on Asian cultural traditions. "What else do you like to wear?" she asked. "My friend Eden's helping me with clothes, and I look things up online and stuff, but it's kind of hard to coordinate when you're just, like, a torso in the air."
Nicolina got up while Vesna was talking and came back. "Tea," she said, and there was a moment of silence as Vesna took pictures of the flowers blooming in their glass teapot with her phone.
"I can't believe how cute this tea is!" Vesna said. "I'll have to show Cesc so I can upload it to our food blog." The food blog had started out as a ruse to find a fel essence in a restaurant, but Vesna had more or less kept it going. She couldn't eat, but she could blog with the best of them. When she needed a stomach to try things out with, she had friends she could inflict the task on.
Glancing back at Ethiriel, she noticed that she had a stomach like Cesc did. "You're a sigel!" she said. "That's cool, too. how long did it take??" She yearned to be able to eat the cute pastries she looked at online.
"I don't know, I had a ton of fun looking for fel essences!" she enthused. "We got to pretend to be bloggers and search for clovers and we all had tacos, it was really exciting. I guess the bird attack was scary, and we almost got hit by a truck, but it was better than staying at home." She frowned. "I'm sorry you were sick! Are you okay now?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 6:47 pm
Ethiriel nodded along as Nicolina spoke, her interest apparent despite the lack of focus on her eyes. She rested her chin against the back of her folded hands, elbows propped on the table. "My guardian and I live here in Gambino. An un--" the Sigel started before Vesna was quick to change the subject. Her brows rose in surprise but allowed it, perking as the Rusalka continued to ask questions.
"These are far more practical than what I was born in, to be honest. I quite like them," Ethiriel nodded. "I've found myself, surprisingly, enjoying crop tops and light shirts. I used to be rather shy about showing skin, but... I guess that changed. I'll wear whatever is offered to me, though."
Again, Ethiriel perked.
"You know Rhede? He is a dear friend of mine," she said as a small, day-dreamy glint glossed Ethiriel's eyes. The Sigel still cared so much for the stag. However, she caught herself and relaxed into her knuckles.
A chuckle escaped Ethiriel as she leaned back against her seat, her hands rested atop each other, palm down against the table. "Let me see... I was born in 2011 and grew this March. A little over four years?" Nodding to her own statement, the Sigel gave Vesna and Nicolina a smile that met her eyes. "It is different for everyone."
With her brows furrowing, she nodded again. "Henry mentioned the birds. I'm glad your search was more fruitful -- my guardian said that they only found two, and both were under... strange circumstances. And yes, I'm feeling much better. There is no need to fret!"
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 7:01 pm
"So far away!" Vesna said, sighing. She was thrilled when she found out Yuri lived near enough that she could come visit without Lorenzo, but she supposed she couldn't always be so lucky. "Well, we can always text each other or something."
She looked at Eth's clothes curiously. "So mine'll change when I grow, too? I hope they're more like yours." She wrinkled her nose, adding, "I'm not gonna wear whatever people give me though. Dad chose my wardrobe when I grew and it was so boring." Whatever her style was, it certainly wasn't anything that involved traditional Russian robes. "I like cute stuff! Showing skin isn't bad either, but I like to cover up my hands, I guess" Her cold, moist skin was still a sensitive subject for her. "There are tons of cool gloves in anime, so I wear stuff like that."
She didn't quite know who "Rhede" was, so it took her a moment to remember. "Oh, yeah! Cesc's real name is like, Rhededendron or something, right? We met during the flower viewing. He and I found four fel essences," she announced proudly. "He's pretty cool for a grown-up. He made me a neat cosplay mirror! Oh, and Dad and Claire helped us find Fel Essences too, I guess."
She seemed taken aback at the time it took Ethiriel to grow. "Four years?! That's so long!" She did some frantic math in her head, and when Ethiriel mentioned it was different for everyone, she relaxed a little. "Oh, well, then, I'm gonna grow super fast. I wanna try food and stuff! Oh, but I'm not in any hurry to get legs or anything after that. I like floating around!" She sized up Ethiriel and added, "It probably took a long time because you're so pretty, but I'm fine with being less pretty because nobody can see what I look like. If I'm just kind of pretty but grow super fast then I can take a long time to get legs and catch up that way."
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 7:11 pm
Humming, Ethiriel nodded. "I'm fine with texting, so don't worry," she said, having accidentally missed Vesna's prior comment about adding each other to their contact lists. Digging out her own phone, the Sigel placed it gently in the middle of the table for the younger Raevan to take. "My number should be in there listed, as well, so you can add it to yours."
Her hands left the table to lightly pull at her hanfu, brows raised. "I would assume so; but like I said, it's different for everyone." Ethiriel chuckled. "I have no need to pick out my own clothes. My guardian's mother is more than happy to put together outfits for me."
Eyes rounding, Ethiriel stifled a laugh as Vesna attempted, or rather hardly attempted, to pronounce Cesc's proper name. Lifting her chin, the Sigel nodded. "He is a very good man. I'm glad you found a friend in him." The term 'grown-up' felt strange to Ethiriel, but she took it for what it was. Hunching forward again, she rested her chin back onto her knuckles with a smile.
"I'll root for you in your growing!" Ethiriel laughed. Vesna's motivations were interesting, but everyone had their own. For a moment, the Sigel wondered if she would be able to hover once she had legs -- her wings were immobile, so perhaps once she had legs she wouldn't be able to anymore. It wasn't a thought that necessarily bothered her, but part of her worried about tripping and falling when she thought about Hyunae. Of course, she'd find a way to adapt. She knew she would.
Another thing Vesna said stuck out in Ethiriel's mind: "Nobody can see what you look like? I don't understand. What is your essence?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 7:55 pm
Vesna took Ethiriel's phone and added her number, sending a text to the sigel so she could add back.
That being done, she put away her phone for the moment, glancing at nicolina as Ethiriel mentioned her own "grandmother".
"I'm a bit busy with work usually," Nicolina explained, "But Vesna seems more than happy to pick out her own clothes."
Vesna beamed. "I got the cutest bag the other day! It looks like a crescent moon. It goes great with the mirror that Cesc made me." She nodded at Ethiriel's appraisal of him and elaborated, "i want him to teach me to make cute pastries! And I want to hang out with him more. He's kind of like a cool oniicha-- older brother." She added, "And his powers are really cool, too! I'm so jealous that he can make neat things all the time."
She pumped her fists. "You just have to act like a grown-up to get a stomach, right? So I'll act really grown up until it happens." She pursed her lips and raised a teacup to her mouth with her pinky out, putting on a fake-rich-wife accent. "Yachts, stock markets, contract law, ah yes." She couldn't quite keep a straight face though, and burst into giggles. "Well," she amended, "I'm working on it."
She hemmed and hawed when Ethiriel asked about her essence. "Me? Oh, it's , uh... False reflection? Like a puddle that shows you, but like, kind of different looking. So everyone sees me differently. And like, uh, idealistically. Dad thinks it's because my soul is a rusalka. "Sooo, like, however you see me, it's probably not how I actually look. We figured it out a while ago, but it's still kind of weird to think about. I eat reflections, too, so I just totally don't know what I look like at all!" She laughed nervously. "Weird, huh?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 8:04 pm
As Vesna sent the message, Ethiriel perked when her phone made a chime to signal it arrived. "Siri, read text," she said. The phone beeped twice before a synthesized voice read Vesna's text aloud. The Sigel laughed at the excessive emojis being spoken aloud.
"For my growth, it was triggered by... well, a huge emotional growth. I used to be afraid of being myself." She then giggled again at Vesna's mocking of adults. With a soft clap, mocking as well, Ethiriel said, "You'll get there one day."
False reflection, huh? Ethiriel listened with interest as the Frei attempted to explain it, brows raised and lips relaxed. It was hard for her to understand despite the few times she was able to use a mirror before her vision failed again, so her brows ended up settling over her eyes. "I can relate to not knowing what you look like," Ethiriel said with a curt nod. "That must be an interesting snack to collect. I'm 'unoxidized silver,' and I feed on tarnish and rust... but my soul takes water and tea, as well. I'm able to eat now, but I don't eat much."
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 10:58 pm
Vesna goggled as Ethiriel's phone read her text. She was more tech savvy than she had been during her first month with Lorenzo, but she still had no idea that phones could read. Ethiriel suddenly seemed very advanced to her.
"Why would you be afraid of being you??" Vesna asked. "You look so cool!" She thought about her own confidence issues and pulled her gloves up a little. If she had to like herself to grow, she had a lot more anime to watch still, she guessed. At least it wouldn't involve learning how to talk about fancy yachts and taxes.
"You can't rush these things if you're a raevan or a human," Nicolina laughed. "I remember Lorenzo was in such a hurry to grow up, too, you know, so he could be a real necromancer."
Vesna wrinkled her nose, trying to picture Lorenzo as a teenager. "Dad was born old though," she said. "I was just born with an old soul." She paused, remembering that was also an expression. "You know, like, literally."
"Can you not see yourself either?" she asked Ethiriel curiously. "What's your soul?" If her essence was unoxidized silver, it didn't sound like that would eat reflections up. "I might feed on other stuff, but the reflections are just the most obvious one. I can't control when I eat them, so it's hard to tell when I'm eating other stuff just based on how peppy I feel and stuff." She glanced down at the glass teapot on the table in front of them, which normally would be reflecting people, but was only reflecting an empty room. Talking about food sources, she sounded like she was just rattling off something Lorenzo told her. "The mirror Cesc made for me was so I could eat on the go... If it ever gets tarnished, I'll let you know!"
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 10:27 am
Surprised, Ethiriel's smile faltered for just a moment before it spread and she silently scoffed. "Why, thank you," she said, placing her phone down now that it had finished speaking. "I held myself back a lot. I kept myself from living fully because I wanted everyone to like me -- so I was overly proper and reserved."
Nodding at Nicolina, her smile softened. "Indeed. Your time will come, Vesna." Ethiriel then laughed at the Frei's comment over her guardian -- she once had a similar idea about human children before she began going on hikes with Candice and her kids. To be honest, she still didn't quite understand humans fully, but it was a learning curve.
Ethiriel shook her head at Vesna's next question. "I cannot. I could for a very short time, but that time has passed." She had yet to realize that the Frei didn't know her situation, her lack of vision, so she didn't think to explain. "The mirror is made of silver? I would love to see sometime!"
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 10:49 am
"Well, what's wrong with wanting everybody to like you?" Vesna asked. "I like you!" She added, "And I think people can still like you even if you don't act stuffy. I only do what I want to do, and everybody I know likes me so far. Dad acts stuffy and all his clients like him, but it's just boring in my opinion." She made a face.
"It's a gold one!" she said blithely. "Wait, does gold not tarnish?" She didn't know a lot about precious metals. She had hot glued rhinestones into the cover of the compact mirror as if it really was just a plastic cosplay item. "Well, either way, Dad probably has some tarnished occult stuff." She pulled out the compact and said, "This is the mirror, anyway. It's supposed to look like the one Sailor V uses in Sailor Moon!"
Nicolina leaned over to look at it. "This Cesc just gave you this?"
Vesna nodded. "He can make them with his powers, so it's just like me giving you flowers. Well, it would be if my flowers were supposed to come off my head."
Turning back to Ethiriel, she asked, "How were you able to see yourself?? I'd like to see myself, too. Even if it was just once, it'd be nice to know what I look like..."
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 11:05 am
Ethiriel chuckled at Vesna's reassurances and shook her head lightly. "It was very stifling. I kept my emotions under strict control and, well... it's just easier now." she said, her smile meeting her eyes despite how gentle it was. The Frei's compliments kept coming and it warmed Ethiriel's heart. "You're too kind, dear Vesna. I like you, too."
Lifting her chin, Ethiriel let out a quiet "ah," as the mirror was explained. Shaking her head again, she added, "No, gold doesn't rust or tarnish. I thank you for the thought, though." Given her time with Henry and Gabe, the Sigel knew next to nothing about anime, so this Sailor Moon went over her head -- she didn't draw attention to it, however.
"I had surgery to repair my eyes, but unfortunately it ended up failing. I was about to see for a couple of months." she said, her brows knit together. "I wish the solution for your predicament was just as easy a fix, but it sounds to me like your problem is vastly different than my own."
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 11:15 am
"Oh my gosh!" Vesna said, covering her mouth. "I didn't realize you were blind at all. You must think I'm such a moron, I'm so sorry!"
Nicolina looked less surprised, but considering how strange raevans were to her in general, she had supposed that Ethiriel's situation might be just as, well, situational as Vesna's was.
"Well, I think you're fine the way you are," insisted Vesna, rallying slightly. "It's cool to meet somebody who can't see me- people just see me however they want when they can see, and it's weird to think all my friends must have such different ideas of what I look like."
"But that means you've probably never watched anime or anything, right??" She closed her hands around the mirror. "Then I should tell you about Sailor Moon! It's like about girls who transform into magical warriors and fight evil with the power of love. You're really elegant, so I'd say you're more like Sailor Neptune. She has a mirror and her powers are all watery, like my soul, but I think I'm more like Sailor Venus, because she fights for love, and she has a cat." She struck a pose, but remembered that Ethiriel couldn't see it. "If you want, I can watch it with you sometime and tell you what's happening!"
"You said you wanted to see the mirror, can you see things that are silver?" Nicolina inferred. "Raevans have such interesting powers. We often work with the undead to help them adapt to different kinds of life, but all you raevans are going through second lives with such a unique approach."
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