Somnium

[Thalia]

[[Yep ]]

[Calvin]

Another woman arrived, and in her eyes and scent Calvin saw distrust. Thalia jumped at the sound of another voice and the newcomers look changed. A slight smile at the edge of her lips and an eyebrow raised slightly in curiosity. Her scent changed too, mirroring her facial expression.

A voice sounded in the distance, barely audible to Calvin's ears discussing the events in Sierra Leone. The woman's head turned in that direction for a moment, listening. Was she like him?

"Excuse me a moment,"
the woman said, pulling out a really fancy wallet and typing a message on it. A few seconds later, it beeped again and she nodded putting it away.

[Emily Shale-Vanders]

Emily couldn't help the small smile that crept to her lips as the woman in front of her glowed. It was only for a brief instant - it appeared and then disappeared, but Emily recognized it for what it was. She had seen the same around Ayden when she embraced magic.

Was that why the woman was scared? Emily could see it in her eyes. She was frightened and that's why she had come over to check on her. But the woman had responded that this man was a friend and she was inclined to believe her at this point.

A voice caught her ear, and she turned slightly to listen. "Things are changing in Sierra Leone too.."


It was enough. That pull was still there and she had to do something about it. Jacques Danjou had to be it. He was changing things there - and fast. He had to be the reason why she felt the pull to Sierra Leone. Perhaps she had to help him.

Emily made a decision. "Excuse me a moment,"
she said and pulled out her Wallet.

<dl>
<dt>Outgoing Message to Andrew Mitchell</dt>
<dd> </dd>
</dl>


Andrew - get me in contact with Jacques Danjou to discuss a personal investment.

It didn't take long for Andrew to respond.

<dl>
<dt>Incoming Message from Andrew Mitchell</dt>
<dd> </dd>
</dl>


It will be done.

Emily nodded and put her wallet away before turning back the woman. The man had a curious gaze on his face. "He can't help you control it.
Emily said, taking a gamble. "But I might be able to."

[Thalia]

Her attention tuned out. Focus on the river. Don't think of anything else. She was on the path back to, if not peace, then at least stillness, when the woman spoke again. Thalia's gaze slid up, confusion and hope battling control of her expression. Because those were impossible words. She grasped them like air to dying lungs. But it couldn't be what she meant, could it? How could she know? Had she been listening?

Thalia glanced at Calvin, uncertain. Disbelieving. And yet completely desperate to believe. Which was why she dived right in, filled up on trust. "You... could? You know what it is?"


There's more, her mind whispered, eager to unburden itself after so many years. The reality touched paintings. The frantic scribbles that scrawled hundreds of sketchbooks, and one day coalesced into a real breathing person. Impossible. More impossible. She had too much impossible! Her fingers clutched into the grass, but she held her tongue, eyes wide as she stared at the woman, and waited.

[Calvin]

Calvin didn't say much. He didn't have much to say. Thalia was one of these mages, and this woman was too. She somehow had recognized Thalia for what she was. This was no longer Calvin's business to get into, but he didn't want to leave Thalia alone.

Calvin gave Thalia a shrug when she looked at him. The woman's eyes moved back and forth between them before she answered.

[Emily Shale-Vanders]

Emily nodded at the girl's question. "I've never taught anyone, but I know what it is. You can see it now - like a light inside of you right?"


She stopped as her wallet beeped at her. "Excuse me again, please."


Andrew had responded with another text stating he had sent a message to Jacques Danjou and had included the text of the message as well. If she was going to meet him, she would have a lot to prepare for.

"Unfortunately, I can't help now. I have other things I must attend to right now. I am willing to help though, if you desire it."

[Thalia]

"Yes."
A light inside. Exactly like that; warm and beckoning, the most beautiful sweetness, and yet with the potential for so much destruction. Even now she skirted away from dwelling on the memories of its past volatility, and instead sought comfort in the woman's words. This couldn't be a lie; the stranger could not know what it felt like unless she was the same.

It clicked into sudden place; this morning's registration, the snippets of conversation she'd heard on the metro. She's been avoiding the news, too wrapped up in her own problems, and had only the vaguest idea of what had happened over the past few days. Of course there were others like her. And fate had seen fit to send her someone to help. Two someones, truth told. Thank you.

Thalia's thoughts processed slowly as the woman was busy with her phone, but she nodded in response to the offer, still a little dazed at the turn of events.

[Emily Shale-Vanders]

Emily smiled and pulled out a card, writing her first name and a number on it.

"Call me sometime and we will set up a time to meet."
Emily smiled at her. "I'm sorry to run. I wish you both a good day."


Emily waved good bye and headed on her way. She wondered what she was getting herself into.
**********
((Posting as Calvin here too))

Calvin wished her a polite farewell and watched as she headed off. "I used to not believe in fate - now I wonder."
he said turning back to Thalia.

Thalia had accepted the woman's offer and he didn't think the woman was a danger. "Would you like me to come with - when you meet."
Calvin offered to her. Thalia was a friend and he would help her if he could. "If you ever need anything - a friend to talk to or anything like that - call me. I'll be there."

[Thalia]

The whirlwind was over and Thalia blinked, stunned. She glanced down at the card in her hand to assure herself the whole thing had been real, and spent a few moments fiddling about with her wallet to transcribe the details and ensure she didn't lose them. The encounter had lightened her mood, and wisps of the old Thalia surfaced through the gloom.

"You don't? I do. Always have."
A small smile slowly lifted her lips. The light breeze felt like curious fingers in the hair knotted on her head, loose strands tickling her cheeks. She closed her eyes, breathed in the scent of river and grass and sunlight, and stretched out her legs, the tension rolling out from her muscles. The day seemed brighter, and not because of the light that hovered inside her mind.

"You would?"
The offer's generosity took her by surprise. Thalia shifted to sit comfortably cross-legged, toying with the straps of her discarded sandals. "You wouldn't be scared I'd accidentally blow you up?"
The words were blithe, but she meant it sincerely. It wasn't the only reason to ward him off. She thought of the wolves in her sketchbooks. The grave marker. A man bowed away. A chest torn with three stripes. He said he'd met her as someone else, in a world of dreams, but she only remembered him as a kind face in a coffee shop. Not that she didn't believe him -- she did, and it was the very reason she'd usually shy away.

But he was also the man to whom she'd told almost all her secrets. That counted for something too, and maybe it was past time to stop hiding. "I think I'd like that. Thanks."


She was quiet a moment, considering. Her thoughts swam -- there was still so much to process -- but her mood buoyed. Aylin would be relieved, but then Thalia had always been able to find light in the gloom; perhaps she'd never had any doubt? Thalia hadn't been so sure this time. In any case, it wasn't her own problems that occupied her now. When she next looked up her expression was earnest. "Can I see them? Your eyes, I mean."

[Calvin]

Calvin smiled at Thalia's quip about blowing him up. "Of course - that's what friends do for each other."


Calvin stared out at the river, taking in the scent. She wanted him to come with her. He'd only be there as emotional support. Thalia seemed to need it, even though now she seemed better than before. She didn't smell as much of fear at least.

And she was curious enough to ask to see his eyes. It wasn't something he did much, but she had revealed much to him today, and considering they barely knew each other, that was a big thing. He had given her quite a bit as well, and he felt like she deserved to see them.

"Okay,"
he said, pulling out his contact case.

Calvin slipped the lenses out of his eyes and put them in the case. The motion itself felt great - like he was no longer hiding. It was too bad that he would not be able to do this all the time.

Finally, he looked towards Thalia so she could see them. Golden eyes glittered in the sunlight. "I like them,"
he said with a smile.