Quote:
The view never really changed much each time he came here. Majestic red walls, a thundering waterfall, a surprising amount of greenery… the water might not be quite as thunderous as it was the first time he was here but then again he had been dealing with a lot of stuff lately. At least it was doing better than the trickle it was when he had been overworking himself. The night sky was just a slash above the canyon, stars twinkling like diamonds thrown on black velvet. It might have appeared dark but but it was truly bright out, everything was bathed in a silvery glow, shadows softened and even the stone looked less intimidating.

The knight turned towards his companion and murmured, “Open your eyes.”


Quote:
The call out had been...awkward. Things had been strained since their conversation and in truth, Rae...no Aeaea as she went by in this 'form' still didn't want to believe any of it. Sure it was hard to believe willing this outfit into being was really all it needed. After that all, she didn't understand it let alone want to. It was just an act....an act that kept getting more and more odd.

"Look, what is this..." Aeaea started to say just as her eyes opened. The sounds filled her hears and before her, red walls and one of the most beautiful falls..."WHERE THE HECK..."


Quote:
Hav backed away just in case she wanted to hit him, she had a mean right hook, and gestured to their surroundings. “Its Havasu Falls, my wonder.” He yanked his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair before adding, “ I know things haven't been easy. My s**t hasn’t made your life any better either but I didn’t know how else to convince you. It took me over a year to believe, to really believe that what happened to me really happened. I don’t want you to have to go through it the same way I did.” He shrugged and smiled slightly, “It’s not all bad really. After all I get to come to this place.”


Quote:
"Your....wonder?" Aeaea offered, echoing the words as she moved closer to him. If he could hear her heart as much as she could feel it, it felt as if it would leap from her chest. "That still didn't answer my question..." Those eyes flickered towards him before once more gazing out at the site. It was....beautiful. But what seemed odd was when she looked up. "Where are we Qui....Hav...whatever your name is."


Quote:
“Hav… it's easier to think of my name as Havasu when in this get up. Fundamentally safer too,” He sighed and looked up at the stars. How many of them were the same ones they saw on earth… would she believed him when he told her exactly where they were? “We are on Pluto, specifically at my wonder on Pluto. I don't really know how we get here specifically and I don't think we can safely leave this one spot,” He hadn’t tried really but it made sense really. They were here by magic, leaving this spot could very well mean the loss of whatever life sustaining magic that was letting them be there. “It's not just this really. Apparently the past knights converted the very stone within the walls to their liking. Thousands of years ago this place was a spot of refuge for others. A type of spa actually. A spot to unwind and get lost in the passage of time really.”



Quote:
"Hav...if we were on Pluto we would be...." she stopped her train of thought and held up her hands. "You know what, okay. Say i believed for a second that we were on Pluto and this....this....whatever we are in was your wonder. So what happened to it then if magically it died?"



Quote:
“It will decay and crumble until it is no more,” the answer didn’t come from Havasu, rather it came from the ghostly figure of his ancestor. The curly redhead was in one of the relaxed pale green scrub type outfits Hav had noticed were in every ‘guest’ room. It was a drastic change from the outfit he first saw her in, which was a much more feminine uniform then what he was currently wearing. “Valerie?” Hav asked quietly, not entirely sure why she appeared. His own moss green eyes locked with his for a moment before his curvy ancestor focused back on his... friend? “So long as there is a Knight of Havasu this place shall remain. One can not live without the other.”



Quote:
The sound of another voice caused the red head to spin in place. It took her a second to lay eyes on the figure Havasu was talking to but when she did, Aeaea felt her mouth go dry. It snapped shut and she stepped back realizing the woman was...not all there? "Um...you know, you don't have to bring out smoke and mirrors to prove a point." She glanced over at Hasasu before looking back at the female. "This isn't New Orleans..."



Quote:
Hav stuck his hands up and shook his head, “wasn’t me I swear. First time she ever showed up in front of another person. If she hadn’t slapped me silly the first time I saw her then I would have figured she wasn’t real too.” The ghostly figure glared at her charge and snapped back at him, “if you hadn’t tried to kill yourself by drink, anger, then work I wouldn’t have had to knock some sense into you. Stupid boy!” She huffed and promptly ignored the knight, turning the eerily familiar gaze on the other woman. “Will you be the one to keep him in line? He has gotten better but as the fall itself shows he still isn’t doing as well as he should.” She gestured to the cloudy water, only taking her eyes from Aeaea when Hav started to say something. The look on her face shut him up. “Life requires balance, balance requires time, and he doesn’t take the time he should.”


Quote:
Aeaea's attention went from the women to Qui...Hav and then back to the woman. "You know what, I like her. I couldn't smack you back then so I'm pleased to hear someone did." Aeaea smirked before the woman turned her attention back onto the knight in pink. "The problem is, balance requires the will of someone to make it happen." Aeaea stepped forward to gaze down into the cloudy pool of water. "Our mutual idiot here doesn't seem to want to stop for 5 minutes and figure that part out. So instead, he punishes himself and those who care deeply for him without ever realizing it." Aeaea's eyes gazed back over her shoulder at Hav, a dark look there showing just how much she too wanted to smack him. She might even do so later. "But who are you? If this isn't some parlor trick then...what is..." Her hands went out to her side. "All this?


Quote:
“Hey!” Hav started to object to Aeaea’s opinion of his work habits but backed off when he saw the look his ancestor shot him. Like it was his fault he was now the head of a multi billion dollar company who didn’t really have any free time. He caught Aeaea’s look too which meant that maybe this trip wasn’t such a good idea after all. Not if he was going to be smacked again.

Valerie sighed and shook her head at the pink knight’s comment. The current knight of Havasu really was an idiot. “I’m this numskull's ancestor, by a couple of thousand years or more. Kind of like a Great Aunt except in space. As for what all this is, that is a bit more complicated.” The long dead knight shrugged, “This particular place is the home of Havasu Falls’ knights. It once was also a resting place for others, a place for them to regain a inner peace and to heal the wounds of their soul. But that is not what you meant is it?” She eyed the younger woman, a knowing smirk on her face.


Quote:
"If it means I can push this one into the pool to force him to relax then yes, it is what I meant." Aeaea threw back, knowing full well what the male was going to come back at her with. But the smile trickled off her face and she gazed at Valerie. "But you are correct. I got that this, " She gestured towards the falls and pool "Is some sort of space spa, if I'm going to believe what I'm being told. However, that still doesn't answer everything else. Also what night cream do you use?" Fine, Aeaea would play along as she raised an eye to hear about being over a thousand years old.


Quote:
“If you push me in I’m taking you with me,” Hav warned his friend even as he took a few steps away from her. He was all for some fun and games in the water, hell he even enjoyed jumping off of the top of the falls, but not when he was in his whole getup. No thank you. “Besides there are perfectly good hot-springs inside if you really want to relax,” He practically muttered to himself since it seemed the girls were back to talking to each other and pretty much ignoring him. Why did he bring Aeaea here again? Wasn’t he the one who was meant to help her adjust? Why was it Valerie who was doing it all?

The particular ghost in question just smirked and patted her own face, “Just clean living dear. Just clean living.” She had been dead for so long that even the thought of age was rather irrelevant, and as such she just sighed at the obvious questions. “Very few questions have clear answers. Try again. What is it really that you want to know? I can’t promise to know but it will likely be better then what the dingbat comes up with.”

“Hey! I resent that!”


Quote:
Aeaea rolled her eyes as she listened to the woman. As much as they both scolded the male, it appeared she was just as likely to avoid straight answers as Hav was. This was going to be a headache...So with a sigh, she picked her head up, put her hands on her hips and asked "What the hell is one supposed to do dressed like a cowboy or in my case, like something out of a brothel?" Aeaea asked, annoyed once again that she was basically in nothing. "Dingbat says there is a war going on back on Earth but I'm not sure what that has to do with us? With a giant spa in the middle of Pluto?"


Quote:
Valerie’s brow rose at the sadly apt description of Aeaea’s uniform but she contained the laugh that threatened to erupt. Instead she answered her questions calmly, “Maintain the balance. That's all any knight can do. You maintain the balance between the very forces of the universe.” She shrugged and gestured to everything around them. “Life is only possible with death, joy is most appreciated as long as there is sadness, darkness is needed to make light that much brighter. Two sides of the same coin. You can’t have one without the other.” She held up a finger in warning, “But too much of one thing and that's when knights need to step in. It isn’t easy but it is necessary.” The ghost shrugged, “You were chosen without your knowledge, now you have a choice. Should you fight to regain the balance the universe needs or will you decide to ignore all that you are and all that could be?”


Quote:
Aeaea's brow rose at the laugh and her arms shifted to cross under her chest. There was a long sigh and she watched the woman hold up a finger. "You know, I still like you but the riddles are a bit much." Shaking her head, Aeaea looked back at Hav and gave him a shrug. "Translation? She is your ancestor after all. The two of you sound more alike then I think you both want to admit."


Quote:
Hav shrugged back at Aeaea, “I don’t really get it myself. Not the first time she told me, this time wasn’t any better.” He didn’t really get the whole balance talk. It seemed so very new age and hippy-ish but she had lived thousands of years before that concept even came into being so he had no idea where Valerie got it from. “I think what it boils down to is that you might be a knight now but it’s up to you if you want to be a Knight. Capital letter and all.”

The ancestor in question just chuckled and started to walk away, fading into the darkness. “Oh, and a coat might help with uniform. Although I can tell you from experience that the girls can be a rather formidable weapon themselves.”

“Oy! Don’t go giving her ideas!” Hav yelled after his disappearing ancestor. The idea of Aeaea using the skimpy outfit to distract and tease other’s bugged him irrationally for some reason. He definitely needed to teach her the biggest trick of being a knight. Layers.


Quote:
Aeaea's eyes blinked as she watched the other woman literally disappear. She gazed back at Hav, pointed in the direction Valerie had been standing in and then threw her hands up. "Really? No, don't want the answer to that." Then she walked over to Hav and pinched his arm.


Quote:
“Owch,” Hav bitched and rubbed his arm where Aeaea pinched him. “What was that for? For her stupid idea? Because it wasn’t mine so why did I get pinched.” He grumbled and shifted away from his apparently violent friend. “So um, do you want to see the rest of the place or do you plan on pinching me some more?”


Quote:
"No, I pinched you to see if this was real..." Aeaea asked, taking a long breath. He was real. He whined just like normal as well. She wasn't dreaming if it wasn't humanly possible. Pluto? Really? Oh come on...

"There is more?" She asked with a look.


Quote:
“Your supposed to pinch yourself not me damn it,” he was mostly just grumbling since it hadn’t hurt all that much. He had brought her here to show her that the new side of her life wasn’t all fighting but it could have some wonder as well. Instead he got insulted and pinched. Bah. “Yeah there is a whole complex hidden in the stone walls. Do you want to see it or are you going to pinch me some more?”


Quote:
"I make no promises on not pinching you." Aeaea offered with a smile. "You had it coming. But...lead on"


((The Continuation: Part 2))