Once Upon a Time...(IC)

[Kavos]

Sirius thinks for a moment before responding, "Err not much actually. I can throw some fireballs, Jump really high and run relatively fast, but that's about it." Sirius says.

Looking down at the Kitsune book in his lap Sirius realizes something. "Say, you said your power's are what some form of shapeshifting? Out of curiosity how exactly do you do it?" Sirius suddenly turn's a slight shade of red. "I.. I err mean there's a few thing's I could be, but the one that stands out I lack It's signature ability." Sirius says, His head indicating the Kitsune book in his lap. "I was ah.. just wondering if you told me how you change shape, maybe I could try? Who knows maybe I have the ability too?" Sirius asks sheepishly.

[Heritage]

"Err not much actually. I can throw some fireballs, Jump really high and run relatively fast, but that's about it."

Lynn's eyes go wide as Sirius describes his capabilities; when he's finished, she leans forward and firmly grabs his wrist.

"Dude, do NOT sell yourself short! You do realize this basically makes you as powerful as the average Nintendo game character, right? I know folks who would kill to be able to do that stuff!"

"I was ah.. just wondering if you told me how you change shape, maybe I could try? Who knows maybe I have the ability too?"

The young girl frowns prettily, still holding his arm the whole time.

"Um, well, I dunno, maybe...here, follow me!"

She practically drags him off into the stacks, past a few startled patrons until she reaches the darkest, most out-of-the-way corner she can find. Onces she's sure no one has line of sight on them, she lets Sirius' arm go.

"Oh, sorry if I was a bit rough there! Okay, so you asked how it works or whatever. Guess it's time for a little demonstration."

Lynn starts scanning the bookshelves, more or less at random.

"Lemme see, lemme see, gotta pick something cool...ah ha!"

She grabs the book and turns around so Sirius can't see what it is; after a few moments, she tucks it back on the shelf and turns back to face him.

"So basically, I think about it real hard, try to fix the image in my mind, and then it just sorta happens."

For a moment, the young woman's form is obscured by what looks like a thin gray mist; when it clears, a small yellow furry little man with a red hat is standing in her place.

"Pretty cool, huh? Oops, I forgot the sign!"

'He' holds out his hand, and an odd sign appears on the end of a tall stick. Lynn then takes off her hat and bows.

"Ta-daa!"

Then there's a sudden poof of mist, and she is herself once again.

"Literally hours of amusement to be had." ;)

[Kavos]

"Dude, do NOT sell yourself short! You do realize this basically makes you as powerful as the average Nintendo game character, right? I know folks who would kill to be able to do that stuff!"

"Great, So I'll be fine If I ever get stuck in a Video game..." Sirius joked

As Lynn demonstrates more of her Shapeshifting powers, his eye's go wide in amazement. "See now that's cool!" Sirius says excitedly. Thinking for a bit Sirius looks around to make sure they were still alone.

"Well I guess there's no time like the present to try new things eh?" Sirius says. Taking a step back Sirius closed his eyes a frown appearing on his forehead. Despite the Magical blocks to his power Sirius pushed threw them, he could once use his magic in human form, so why not now?

Feeling the Foxfire flowing up out of his soul into his vain's Sirius than began to focus on one of the pictures in the Kitsune book he was holding.

To Lynn, all she could tell was Sirius looked like he was going to give himself a hart-attack. But before you could stop him a fiery red glow began to emanate from his skin. His vain's lit up as if magma flowed through them, and a strange symbol could be seen underneath his shirt glowing as bright as the sun.

Suddenly flames seem to erupt from his very pores, consuming him in a sudden whirlwind of heat less flames. As quickly as it had begun the flames were gone and the skinny Irish guy who was standing in front of you was gone, replaced instead by a Japanese woman in a Kimono, exactly like the one on the cover of the Kitsune book.

Opening her eyes she looks at lynn "Did it work?" She asks, her eyes going wide at the sound of her own voice.

(2HP spent 1 to negate Normal Identity, 1 to Power stunt morph.)

[Heritage]

"Did it work?"

Lynn yelps with delight, probably a lot louder than she intended.

"Oh my god, that's awesome! You did it, you did the thing!"

She claps a hand over her mouth and looks a bit pink in the cheeks; after taking a moment to see if they're being observed, she's back to whispering.

"Sorry, I got a little excited; here, take a look."

She produces the silver mirror again and offers it to 'her'.

"It's the most awesome thing in the world; the doors it opens for you are just amazing. You can be exactly the right person for any job, ask any question, go anywhere. Welcome to a world you've never seen before, through the eyes of someone else."

[Kavos]

"Wow..." the Japanese woman replies, "That's awesome..."

As suddenly as it had came, another wave of fire sweeps over Sirius returning him to his normal appearance. His shoulders slumping he almost looses his balance, "Wow I feel like I just went through ten rounds with uncle Joey..." Sirius says, his voice filled with exhaustion. His eye's flash up to Lynn's and a faint smile on his lips, "And thats no small feet to go ten rounds with uncle Joey."

Taking a deep breath Sirius stands upright again and recomposes himself. "Well I guess that certainly narrows the list of possible candidates." Sirius says. "Does it always feel like this afterworlds?" Sirius asks, still obviously wiry from the Shape change.

"So I guess your seeking entrance to Avalon to see were your own powers come from?" Sirius ask's.

[Heritage]

"Does it always feel like this afterworlds?"

Lynn shrugs.

"I dunno, for me it always feels as natural as breathing, but I guess our powers work differently; it even looks different when you do it, with all the fire and stuff."

"So I guess your seeking entrance to Avalon to see were your own powers come from?"

The young woman nods as she steps out of their dark corner to see if it's all clear.

"Yeah, basically that's it; I mean, it might turn out to be a toal bust, but you never know until you try, right?"

She looks back to Sirius with a thoughtful frown.

"Should we wait for her outside?"

[Kavos]

"I dunno, for me it always feels as natural as breathing, but I guess our powers work differently; it even looks different when you do it, with all the fire and stuff."

"True I didn't think of that, I suppose it's also possible that it was simply the strain of discovering a new power." Sirius says

"Should we wait for her outside?"

"Don't worry she'll find us... she always does." Leaning in closer Sirius whispers, "I swear she has some sort of tracking spell on my key." Sirius says in a manner that was as if he were half joking but also being quite sincere at the same time.

"Why don't we go sit back down..." Sirius asks

"Well Well Sirius, you certainly can pick them... Nice little trick you picked up too darling..." A female voice rang out, Stepping out from behind one of the shelves a rather beautiful woman appears.

"Alexia?" Sirius stutters, his face suddenly going red with embarrassment, "Were's mum?"

"She is sitting down having a cup of tea, she sent me to fetch you from back here... And yes your key does have a tracking spell on it... for your protection of course." Alexia said, her voice smooth and sultry, almost teasingly. She certainly seemed to be a woman who knew she looked good and knew how to use that to her advantage.

As quickly as she had arrived, she had gone.

"Err we should follow..." Sirius stuttered, the redness in his cheeks were almost as bright as they were when he attempted to shape shift.

[Heritage]

"Err we should follow..."

Lynn looks like you could knock her down with a feather :shock:

"Was that...I mean...do you have a sister, and is that her? Or was that just some wandering super-hot woman who's stalking you?"

She moves to follow him, still a bit stunned and wobbly.

[Kavos]

"Was that...I mean...do you have a sister, and is that her? Or was that just some wandering super-hot woman who's stalking you?"

"Ah, That was Alexia, she works for my mother." Sirius says, the redness in his checks fading slightly.

Following Alexia back to a seat, were an elderly lady sat drinking some tea. She was a lot older than one would have pegged as Sirius's mother, she looked more like his grandmother. Behind her stood a rather large intimidating man.

"Ah... Well you've met Alexia." Sirius said, pointing to the now seated Alexia, "The Big guy there is Torrance." The Large man grunted but did nothing else. "And this is my mother, Gwen." Sirius said introducing all who was present, as he took a seat opposite his mother.

[Heritage]

"The Big guy there is Torrance."

Lynn gives Torrance a nod; if there's one thing she'd learned for sneaking into bars, it was to respect the bouncer. She has no plans of pulling any funny business anywhere near this guy.

"And this is my mother, Gwen."

And then there's 'Mombi'; everything about her screams 'witch', so the slightly-built shapeshifter decides it's best to treat her like Great Aunt Mo, kinda deferential, like you're meeting the Queen of England.

"Nice to meet you, m'am; my name is Lynn Epstein, and I seek your counsel."

She does a cross-legged curtsy right out of the Ren Faire :bow:

[Kavos]

"Nice to meet you, m'am; my name is Lynn Epstein, and I seek your counsel."

The Old woman took a sip of her tea, before turning to face Lynn with cold green eyes. "At least some people still know how to show respect." She said coldly. Sirius face tuned to confusion for a second but doesn't say anything, letting the two women speak.

"Speak child, what do you want of me and my son?" Gwen said formally, Placing the cup of tea on a bench.

[Heritage]

"Speak child, what do you want of me and my son?"

Once again, Lynn thinks back to the Oz books she devoured as a child, and the sort of stilted and formal speech Dorothy Gale might use while addressing someone like the Gnome King.

"I, um, seek passage into the realm of Avalon, m'am, so I can, uh, so that I can better learn to master my magic...well, my magical nature, I guess."

Her brown eyes flick from between all the strange folks present in the room, and she licks her lips nervously.

"I believe I am now, somehow, of the Good Folk, and that, um, since my power comes from Fae, that I must return to Fae to master it. I hope that in your power and wisdom, you can, like, help me find a gateway to that...noble realm. M'am."

She looks down at her feet and squeezes her eyes shut in nervous anticipation.

Just don't turn me into like a frog or a milking stool or something.

[Kavos]

Gwen listens silently as Lynn speaks, her cold demeanor remaining as cold as ice. Sirius too sat silently, though much warmer in demeanor than his mother.

"There are many path's into the realm of the fey... Not all of them are wise to travel, nor do they lead to the same place." Gwen Explained coldly.

"If you truly are a creature of the Avalon, than all you must do is look back into your memory..." Gwen said, her cold eye's locking onto Lynn as if paring into Lynn's soul. "All Fey know the way home..." Gwen added almost a whisper sending a cold shiver deep down into Lynn.

[Heritage]

"If you truly are a creature of the Avalon, than all you must do is look back into your memory..."

"All Fey know the way home..."

Ever since becoming...whatever the heck she was, Lynn hadn't felt a bit of cold; the very night she was reborn, she ran stark naked down an alley in the middle of February, and all she felt was freaked out and deeply embarrassed. But when Gwen looked at her with those cold blue eyes, a dagger of ice slid down her spine, cold as the grave. Despite this, she still tried to focus on what the incredibly creepy old woman said.

"Well, I suppose...uh, the place to start would be when I woke up, that alley in the Fens." She looks over at Sirius, her eyes wide with wonder. "I haven't been back there since then; I was too scared to go back there, but logically I guess..."

She chews her lower lip in thought as she strokes her chin with a single finger, slowly turning the events of that fateful night over and over in her head; she remembers feeling unsteady and disoriented, like her legs, heck her whole body was asleep and gone all pins and needles.

"So that's where...if I came from Avalon, that's where I would have come out, right?" Her eyes dart between Sirius, Alexia and Gwen. "That would make the most sense, wouldn't it?"

[Kavos]

Gwen nods as Lynn talks. "Than you should go to the alley and trust your feelings." Gwen said he tone seeming to warm up slightly. "But be careful child, Avalon is not a place for strangers, even from those who are from there. There is Magic around every corner. anything and anyone could be a powerful fey." Gwen warned, "and remember, be careful of the food."

[Heritage]

"Than you should go to the alley and trust your feelings."

"But be careful child, Avalon is not a place for strangers, even from those who are from there. There is Magic around every corner. anything and anyone could be a powerful fey." Gwen warned, "and remember, be careful of the food."

Lynn nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, I learned that from reading Greek Mythology in junior high, when Persephone ate the pomegranate: don't eat the food and don't drink the wine."

She turns and gives Sirius an eager grin and a thumbs up, but then her face becomes more serious.

"Uh, I know the rule of this is nothing is free, everything with magic has a cost. I offered to help your son with something, and I agreed with no hesitation; does that constitute a contract, y'know, between me and him?"

[Kavos]

"Did you sign off on anything? Shake his hand, sign something?" Gwen asked, eying Sirius off.

Sirius shook his head, "No we only discussed it, nothing formal." Sirius said his gaze avoiding his mothers.

"Then no, you do not have a contract with my son miss Epstein." Gwen said folding her arms in her lap. "However, as you said nothing in the realms of magic is free." Gwen said, he cold stare returning to Lynn. "In return for the information and...."

"Ah ma, she did help me discover a new little trick with my powers..." Sirius quickly interrupted.

Gwen's cold eye's quickly shot over to Sirius, her gaze seeming to fire daggers of ice into her son. "In that case, consider it even." Gwen said, her voice showing signs of agitation.

[Heritage]

"Ah ma, she did help me discover a new little trick with my powers..."

"In that case, consider it even."

Lynn tries very, very hard not to smile.

Boy, looks like someone is gonna be in the doghouse for a while.

She does the same goofy curtsy she did before, and bows her head.

"I accept your wisdom, ma'am, and hope to use it well." The petite brunette looks over at Sirius, then back at his scary mom. "I would, uh, take leave of you, ma'am, and head to the place we talked about, the alley of my rebirth; I kinda like to get going and just get this over with, if you know what I mean. Sirius, you wanna come, too? Or y'know, at least walk me to the portal thing?"

[Kavos]

"you wanna come, too? Or y'know, at least walk me to the portal thing?"

Sirius quickly leaps out of his seat as Lynn finishes her sentence. "Sure, why not, love too, lets go! Later ma." Sirius say's rather quickly, grabbing Lynns arm as he makes a beeline for the exit.

Once outside Sirius lets go of Lynns arm, "Ah sorry about that." Sirius say's applologising for rushing her out. "So err which way?"

[Heritage]

"Ah sorry about that."

"So err which way?"

Now safely outside, Lynn can finally release the nervous laughter that was building in her belly during the entire encounter; she clutches her head and just stands there.

"Pwhahahahaha! Oh my god, dude, your mother's terrifying! How do you not pee your pants every time she says 'good morning'? Oh man!"

After a few moments she finally recovers herself; as she wipes the tears of joyful release from her eyes she looks this way and that, as though she were a stranger who was new in town.

"Oh, ah, which way, which way...oh, maybe we should catch the monorail! Though I'd have to leave my bike locked up here for a while, which is cool, I guess; I can swing by later tonight and pick it up, no sweat."

She starts digging in the pockets of her snug jeans. "Do you have any tokens? I think I might have a transit card with some money on it, if I can just...waitaminute."

Suddenly her pockets widen by themselves until she can stick her whole hand inside, and she grins sheepishly.

"Sorry; believe it or not, I forget I can do that all the time." :roll:

She holds up an FCTA card in triumph.

"Ah-ha! Now we're cookin' with gas!"

[Kavos]

"Pwhahahahaha! Oh my god, dude, your mother's terrifying! How do you not pee your pants every time she says 'good morning'? Oh man!"

Sirius sighs as if recalling an old memory. "She wasn't always like that. When I was young she was the coolest. She was always tough, but since Dad died her harts became colder than the deepest depths of space." Sirius said, Thinking back on memories of his childhood.

"She also didn't look like that either. After Dad died she changed, each day she became older and older until she stopped and now she looks like she should be my grandmother not my mother."

"But the past is the past. Sure a rail is fine with me, I think I still have a pass." Sirius says as he fidgets around his wallet for a second he pulls out a well used FCTC. "Don't have a car, and while I can get around fairly fast on foot, It was easer to use the rail."

"I believe the nearest stop is that way." Sirius says pointing down the street. "Shall we?"

[Heritage]

"I believe the nearest stop is that way." Sirius says pointing down the street. "Shall we?"

Lynn smiles and nods.

"Works for me. Hey, ever seen The Wizard of Oz, the old movie with Judy Garland?"

She slips her arm into the crook of the young Irish lad's arm, and begins skipping in the direction of the monorail station, while loudly singing just a bit off-key.

"Weeeeeeee're off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz!

You'll find he is a whiz of a Wiz, if ever a Wiz there was!

If ever oh ever a Wiz there was, the Wizard of Oz is one because,

Because, because, because, because, becaaaause!

Because of the wonderful things he does!"

("Ya-da-ta-ya-da-ta-ya!")

"We're off to see the Wizard! The Wonderful Wizard of Ozzzzz!"

[Kavos]

Sirius laughs as he follows along with Lynn. "You do realize we look like two idiots." Sirius chuckled, "But at least were happy idiots." He added.

"You know I'll probably get grounded for that little stunt back there with mother... and before you say it, I did have my own apartment, than she came over and well ruined my nice little Bachelor lifestyle." Sirius said, still smiling from the song. "what about you?"

[Heritage]

"You do realize we look like two idiots." Sirius chuckled, "But at least were happy idiots."

Lynn waves a hand dismissively as they get to the turnstile and she insets her card.

"Ah, life is too short to worry so much about what other people think; if you're not hurting anyone or breaking any laws, I say knock yourself out."

"You know I'll probably get grounded for that little stunt back there with mother... and before you say it, I did have my own apartment, than she came over and well ruined my nice little Bachelor lifestyle." Sirius said, still smiling from the song. "what about you?"

The young shapeshifter frowns for a moment as she jams the card back into her pocket on the other side of the turnstile, waiting for Sirius to come through.

"Uh, right now I'm stayin' with friends, but it's gettin' kinda weird; I'm saving up to get my own place, or maybe find a roommate. Lotsa students in Riverside, so I think I'll be lookin' there."

Suddenly she looks up and cocks her head to one side.

"Train'll be here soon; come on, let's head on up to the platform."

Warbling at the top of her lungs like some kind of drunken opera star, she runs pell mell over to the stairs.

[Kavos]

Sirius chuckles as he places his card away and follows Lynn. "Well If you ever need to chat or anything, you can find me most workdays at Jos antiques store in Riverside." Sirius comments. "I err mean it might be interesting, If you turn out to be some kinda fey and I turn out to be a Kitsune, I mean It'd be interesting to compare notes and what not." Sirius says his cheeks going red again with embarrassment.