2013.10.08 - Never Saw That Coming

It's been a rather long and meandering trip home from work for Fern, first stopping at the beach at Great Kills Park and running into an Atlantean, of all things. Then, for the second time this week, she decided to ditch the subway early and clear her head with a walk in the park. While the sun is getting low, there's still plenty of time before dark, and the girl is in no hurry to get back to her empty apartment in Harlem.
 
Pulling her plaid overcoat tighter against the cool breeze, her new brown boots tap lightly on the path as she walks, heading toward one of her favorite parts of the park, Belvedere Castle. Her big debate now is whether to go to the Castle itself, or down to the pond to visit with the frogs before they hibernate (or whatever it is that frogs do) for the winter.
Onora may or may not have made the same debate. If she did, she chose the Castle. She likes the Castle. It's calm and quiet. Like the Gardens. She likes the Gardens.
Either way, the young woman can be seen disappearing into the doors of the Castle. Once caught up with, it's seen that she's simply... Meandering through the first area with a cup of some sort of warm drink in her hand, she's donned a handkerchief, fae cut skirt of sapphire blue that reaches just below her knees. It's been paired with a silk blouse of emerald green with a teal and blue design on it, a white wrap and white kitten heels.
The decision is made for Fern when she sees a familiar form up at the Castle. One she's not crossed paths with in some number of months, which only hurries her steps to follow after the young woman. Fern almost trots to catch up, slowing as she approaches from behind, venturing, "Onora?"
Hearing someone call her name has the young woman turning and blinking. Seeing Fern there causes Onora to quit walking so her friend can catch up fully. It's been ages since she's seen Fern! The smile she gives, while genuine, reaches sad seem eyes. With her free hand, she signs: **Hello, Fern.**
A somewhat unsure smile grows bolder on Fern's lips, and the ex-waitress steps forward for an embrace with her long lost zoo buddy. "It's been forever!" The hug is brief, and Fern steps back, her own smile tempering as she notes that Ona's smile doesn't quite seem to reach her eyes. "How are you? Everything alright?"
Onora returns the girl's hug. She nods her head emphatically. It really has been far too long! When asked if she's alright, Onora shrugs her shoulders a little. The warm drink is set aside so she can 'speak'.: **I let myself get attached to someone who seemed interested at first then... Walked away. Flowers were sent, and a bunch of other random stuff, but...** She shrugs her shoulders and forces back a sniffle.
Fern frowns at Onora's shrug, then watches as the other girl signs. From her short friendship with a boy who couldn't speak, Fern learned a few signs, but they mostly talked in her head, so she didn't learn much. Still, Fern doesn't interrupt until there's another shrug and the sniffle. Fern's arm immediately goes around Ona's shoulders and she gently pulls the girl to sit on the Castle wall, next to where she'd set her drink. "I still haven't learned much signing," she says apologetically, even as she pulls around her messenger bag and digs inside it. She pulls out a tablet, courtesy of Hammer Industries, and with a couple taps has a note up with the keyboard. It's offered to Onora, and she says gently, "Tell me what happened again."
Onora blinks and then sighs. That's right. The spell has worn off. She let's herself be led over to sit down. The apology is waved off and a small smile given. When she takes the tablet and begins to type. When she's done, she's simply typed out the same explanation she offered in sign as well as: **I'm sorry. I didn't think to use my phone. I'm a little braindead.**
Blue eyes watch Onora as she types, brows drawn together into a stormy visage as Fern waits for the tablet to be turned. She reads quickly, her brows knitting more tightly, and then looks up at Onora, distress clearly read on her face. "Oh Onora," she says softly, and the arm is back around the other girl's shoulders. "I'm sorry, that's awful." She both knows that pain and has caused that pain, and has an idea of how deeply it can cut. In typical Fern fashion, she says in an attempt to comfort, "If they could walk away they weren't the person for you. That person is still out there."
Onora leans into her friend, taking the offered comfort. A quiet sigh is given before she reaches over to type once more. **You're the second person to tell me that today. I know you're right. It doesn't make the hurt go away though. I'll be alright. It'll just take a little time. Luckily, I have a few wonderful friends.** She grins and lightly bumps her shoulder against Fern's.
Fern echoes Onora's sigh with one of her own, reading again. She still hasn't gotten over her own guilt about hurting someone, even though they've made amends and have even gotten close again. "I'm the second person to say it because it's true. But I kinda know how you're feeling." She can't say she knows exactly, because no one ever knows exactly how someone else feels and it's just silly when people say that. "It sucks to care about someone who doesn't seem to care about you. But you're right, you have friends who do care."
Onora smiles and reaches out to give Fern a one armed hug. Then she's back to typing. **Thanks, Fern. I really appreciate it. And Zachary isn't a bad guy. He's a good friend. I guess there's just a few blaring differences that make it impossible. I got to see him do a hell of a magic show though!** At least she can find a silver lining!
She doesn't do it intentionally, but like any well-meaning friend Fern can't help but immediately ruffle through her mental card file of men she knows. There's a very short list of what she would consider 'eligible bachelors' and an even shorter list of ones she would attempt to fix a friend up with. Of course, that's just in her estimation, and some of her male friends she just plain doesn't consider in that way so they aren't on the list.
One name that comes up is immediately dismissed as too impatient and perhaps wanting fun more than a relationship. As soon as she realizes she's doing that, Fern slams her internal Rolodex shut. The last thing most people need when they're freshly disappointed is to dive right into something else. That almost never works out. "Sometimes it's better to have someone as a friend than as something more." And, of course, there's always that chance that a friendship, if given time, can grow into something deeper. But she feels her words are totally inadequate, and her frown deepens as she changes track. "Magic? That sounds like fun at least."
Onora watches Fern with a smile. **Zach and I, I don't think, will ever be anything more. He'll never want to be in a serious relationship. And the more I think on it, the more I'm okay. Zach's a great friend but...**
There's another shrug and smirk before, **I guess I'm just too quiet.** Look! She has a sense of humor. **I think one of the reasons it hurt was because he was one of a few that didn't seem to mind that I couldn't speak. It wasn't a flaw to him. It just...was.** And there's the core of it. Yeah, losing that chance with Zach stings but it's more a fear of 'if someone who doesn't mind that I can't speak doesn't want to be with me, what hope do I have?'. She's... scared.
Fern nods as she reads, watching as Onora types. Yeah, she kinda had a thought that Ona was looking more for 'someone' than 'anyone', and the indication she gets is that Ona wants someone who is looking for something to turn into an actual relationship. She understands that very well. There's a soft giggle at the note of being too quiet, but Fern sobers at the following words. "There are more men out there who will accept that it's just the way things are. Especially these days, now that there are so many people who have stopped hiding that they're different." She hrumphs softly, adding, "And with the baggage even the most 'normal' man carries around, he's got a lot of nerve if he's put off by one tiny little issue."
Onora grins at her friend, the smile finally reaching her eyes which have brightened considerably. She looks... Somber though. **I never told you, did I? Never showed you? Being mute isn't my only issue, Fern. Oddly... I've found the other one is easier for many to accept though.** She seems amused by that. Laying the tablet in Fern's lap, Ona stands and steps back. Looking around to make sure they're alone, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. There's a flare of darkness that shimmers into a bit of white. When it all fades, where Onora once stood is a very large panther. It has the same eyes Onora did as a well as a white, diamond shaped patch on it's chest. If one knows Gaelic myths and legends, she's clearly a very real Cait Sidhe.
Fern's blue eyes are curious as she accepts the tablet back from Onora, and she starts to ask, "Showed me...." She hushes herself as Ona looks around, squinting as the light around her friend shifts, masking her for a moment. When it clears and there is a panther standing there, Fern blinks. A few times. "Huh." She's very articulate at times. She thought just earlier, seeing a man walk from the sea, that she's seen so many odd things it would seem nothing should surprise her any more. And then her friend turns into a panther. It doesn't occur to Fern to be afraid of the deadly cat. It's Onora, after all.
The panther walks forward, slowly just in case. and stops only inches away from Fern. There's a brush against her mind before a voice sounds. Quiet and soft wih an almost musical french lilt to it. An overall feel that's like satin against bare skin. **Forgive the intrusion into your mind, my friend. It is my only form of communication in my shifted forms.** Yes. Forms... as in plural.
Maybe it's that sometimes she's not all that bright... maybe it's just that Fern has endless supplies of faith in her friends, but she doesn't flinch away from the big cat. And it doesn't hurt that Fern is an animal lover and probably wouldn't fear most animals even if she should. When the touch to her mind comes, that doesn't startle Fern either, rather it brings a soft smile back to her lips. "It's alright, Onora, I don't mind. I had another friend who communicated like this." For a moment Fern thinks it's a shame she hasn't seen Eli lately, because the two might have gotten on well. Then she thinks to ask aloud, "Uh... can your hear my thoughts too, or just my voice?"
Tuesday evening and inside the Castle in Central Park is Fern. She sits on one of the walls and in front of her is a large panther with a white diamond shaped patch on it's chest. According to Gaelic legends, it's clearly a Cait Sidhe. The only difference? One eye is sapphire blue and the other is emerald green.
The large cat gives something akin to a purr of happiness at Fern, tail swishing idly across the floor as it responds to her mentally. **I can hear your thoughts as well, yes. I try to stay out though unless invited or there's no other way. You can speak however you want. This is one of four forms I can currently take on.**
While she had been perched atop the short wall, Fern slides off to crouch in front of the panther, peering at it's mismatched eyes. She makes a mental note to watch what she thinks, which Onora surely also catches, but she did develop a little bit of a knack for policing her thoughts when Elijah had access to her head. Still, out of habit, she answers out loud. "Four? What are the others?" If anyone were to happen across this little scene, it would look like a girl talking to a very large panther. Sure, why not.
There's a swirl of blue light that starts as a pin prick and rapidly turns into a swirling vortex of blue light. It's only open for a moment when a figure comes flying out from it as if he'd been tossed, going head over heels and rolling for a little bit. Dressed in his black costume, Zack rights himself after a moment, holds up his hands and speaks,"It's alright. It's just me. Everyone go about your business. One question, is everything going round and round, or am I just really dizzy?"
Onora watches Fern move, the mental note making her snort. As close to a laugh as she can get in this form. **You do not need to be careful. I will not intrude, my friend.** The posed question causes the cat to sit up a little straighter, obviously proud. **A dragon. A gryphon. And a winged unicorn.** Or a horned pegasus. Whichever you want call it. Unisus? Pegacorn? Anyhow!
The light causes Onora to shift until she's crouched protectively in front of Fern. And then there's Zack and he makes... that statement... The panther blinks a moment before it's head tilts and she sends out to him, including Fern in it, **I'd say you’re dizzy but I could be wrong. What do I know, after all? I'm just a cat.** That mental voice is soft and quiet with a gentle french lilt to it.
There's reason for Onora's pride, and Fern looks duly impressed. She can only take on the forms of a waitress, a personal assistant and, not as often as she'd like, an actress. "That's just...." Again, her thought doesn't complete as the pinpoint of light catches her attention, and the young woman stands, absently smoothing her plaid coat down. There's a wince as a body comes flying out, and she frowns lightly but doesn't make a move to go for the mace in her bag. It's not a known threat, and there's a pretty big cat here that makes mace seem a little less useful than it is when she's alone.
 
Fern nods in agreement to Onora's thought, adding in a quasi-helpful way, "Yeah, because everything is really pretty stable." There's a sideways slide of blue eyes and Fern half grins at 'just a cat'.
"Cait Sidhe." Zack says going even paler for a moment before he relaxes a bit once he realizes it's Onora. "Ah. Yes. Hello again. Sorry about that. I needed to get here right quick and flying would have taken too long. So I really am quite sorry if I startled you ladies." He says shaking his head a bit to clear it,"Alright. I think the world has stopped spinning for me now. Really it's quite annoying when it gets that rough." Stretching a bit he lets out a bit of a sigh,"Man, I am glad that my outfit protects me though. That would have been really quite painful."
There's a mental chuckle that sounds for both of them as Onora relaxes her stance and pads over to Zack. She nudges him gently in greeting and then returns to Fern's side and sits back down, tail a-swishing. Again, she reaches out to both of them. **Hello again, Zack. A pleasure to see you. This is my friend, Fern. Fern, this is Zack. It's quite alright. And I'm sorry I startled you. Not many realize what this form is. Or what it can do.**
There's a moment where Fern studies the new arrival, as if trying to place him. She has a feeling she's seen him before, but she's sure they haven't actually met. Maybe it was at one of the weird things that she seems prone to stumbling into. Probably. There's a smile for the young man, open and friendly, "Nice to meetcha, Zack." She absently rests one hand lightly on Onora's sizable head, not petting but just letting it set there.
"Yes. Cait Sidhe are rather nasty buggers. I ran into one back when I was visiting a cousin up by Inverness. Nasty bit of work that thing was." Zack says shivering in remembrance,"But a pleasure to meet you both. Yes. I am Zack, best keep it at that. Nice and simple." He says laughing merrily, his blue eyes alive with the merriment."Pray you never cross one of them. Their claws are wicked sharp, they're bloody fast and don't really like people much. However, laying out cream is a right good way to distract to get away!"
Onora gives no sign of minding having the hand there. If anything, her tail swishes a little more because of it. There's amusement in her mind when she 'speaks' to them again. **Cream is lovely, yes. I'd suggest not letting us get close to your nose or mouth either.** Her own eyes sparkle before her front legs reach out and she bends her back, giving a very feline like stretch. **I'm sorry your run in was so unpleasant.**
"I'm probably pretty safe for never running into one then," Fern says with a grin, before she looks at OnoraKitty. "Well, except for you. And I don't think you're going to gut me or anything." She thinks 'Memo to myself: don't piss off Ona' which her friend surely picks up. Her hand falls away as Onora stretches, but Fern has to ask, "Why not the nose or mouth?" A Cait Sidhe isn't something she's ever heard of before. Fern's head swivels toward Zack, and there's clear interest in her question directed at him. "How'd you get away?" Clearly he's got some sort of talent, from the way he appeared. 
"Conjured a bit dish of fresh cream." Zack says seriously to Fern,"Because it is said that a Cait Sidhe can take your soul that way. Not sure if that bit is legend or not. No one I know has ever seen it happen or disproved it from happening. There are just certain things that are not worth it." He pauses for a moment,"I considered using a giant laser pointer type thing." He says with a bit of a grin.
Before Onora can respond, Zack answer. So she offers this up, **The legends are true. The soul will never reach the Gods if one of us takes it.** And then... Cream... Oooh... The giant cat licks her lips, almost making a smacking sound even as her tail swats playfully at Fern. **I would never hurt you, Fern.** Silly girl! She gives a yawn and lowers herself into a laying position. **I don't know if a laser pointer would have worked... And now I want cream.**
"Oh, that was clever," Fern says softly, when Zack explains his escape, and as he goes on her brows rise again. There's a soft giggle at the tail swipe, but a question occurs to her. "Ona, if you take a soul, can you give it back as well?" She pulls up the bag hanging at her hip, shifting the strap to move it into her lap. It's a fairly large messenger bag, and it could really contain any number of things. And it does. What she pulls out is a candy bar, a Kit Kat, in fact. Fitting. "I don't have cream, but I'd be happy to share some chocolate with you both," is offered. 
Making a gesture, Zack conjures a dish of cream for Onora,"Not fair to tease with something and not deliver right?" The British teen says grinning a bit,"I'm not particularly in the mood for chocolate at the moment, but thanks any way. I've also found I don't like the sweets here in the states quite as much as back home. Everything tastes quite a bit different."
The large cat stands and stretches once more. **I'm not sure I should eat chocolate in a shifted form...** She walks over to the cream and laps at it eagerly for a few moment before her eyes catch something outside. Lifting her head, she blinks slowly. **I'm afraid I need to go actually. It was wonderful seeing you both again and I hope to see you soon. Take care and stay safe!** And with that, she turns and bolts out the door, giving an example of just how fast this kind of cat is!
The appearance of the bowl of cream makes Fern blink, and she looks impressed at the feat. Aside from some guys doing a spell that wanted to kill her once, she's had very little exposure to actual magic. At least that she knows of. "Neat." With no takers, she shoves the chocolate back into her bag to save for another time, watching OnoraKitty's lithe stroll over to the cream. A hand is lifted as Ona takes her sudden departure, and she calls after, "See you soon!" She's used to people coming and going quickly after being in the city for a while. A lot of the people she meets sometimes have to bolt off to save someone or something like that. Her eyes finally settle on Zack again, and she looks at him curiously. "Is that something you learned or just... something you can do?" 
"A bit of both. I learned how to do it but it's also just something that comes naturally to me." Zack says shrugging a little bit at Fern,"It's magic. I can do a lot of things. Mostly it uses magic inside of me but there's some ability to draw on the power around me."
Fern studies Zack, but it's not a judgmental sort of stare, or she doesn't intend it to be. The boy is slight, but she knows that power doesn't really have a lot to do with stature and his appearance and conjuring the cream are no little feats to her. She smiles, nodding her understanding, "That's pretty neat. And you're from... England?" Even though he mentioned Inverness, he doesn't sound Scottish, but she's still a little hesitant when she asks. 
"Quite right. I grew up closer to London, but I have family all over England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland." Zack says grinning a bit,"Cousins, second cousins and so forth you know." He casually adds before considering it a bit. "And if you're wondering, yes. I do magic that can be pretty potent."
Fern boosts herself up to sit on the short wall lining the walkway, crossing her legs at the ankles and lightly swinging her feet. She looks in no hurry, and there's still time before the sun goes down completely. She likes to be home by dark when she's alone. "My grandmother was Irish. I don't know very much about our roots though. Maybe we're cousins," she speculates with a grin. Sure, sure, big country, but it's still amusing. "I was wondering... you can't read minds like Ona, can you?" The question is partly a joke, but she's met a couple people now who can get into other people's heads. 
"Not without a spell and that would be really quite dangerous." Zack says looking at Fern,"It would create a link between us that would be really quite dangerous for me. Anything involving the stuff of the mind is really dangerous types of magic because you can cause all sorts of mayhem."
"We won't do that then," Fern says agreeably, glad that she can stop watching what she's thinking now. She wasn't really concerned about much of what Onora might have picked up in her brain, but thoughts of who she might know to introduce to her friend could have been embarrassing. She means well, though, and just wants Ona to be happy, not sad because some guy gave her the brush-off. "Have you been here in the States very long?" she asks. 
"Not too terribly long, a year or two. We go home for holidays though." Zack says shrugging a little bit,"It is entirely possible for a spell that allows one to read the mind to actually cause the person being read to have their mind wiped for instance. So I just try and minimize the damage." He says casually to her,"There are people who can do it well, but I'm very clumsy about fine tuned control."
Fern nods again, tossing out, "I like your accent." She could probably mimic it, but she hates people who do that in social situations. It is, however, filed away if she ever needs to call on it for a part. Her own speech patterns are noticeably from the midwest, or at least are noticeable to Americans. "So you go more for the bigger picture when you do something magical? she asks. 
"Pretty much." Zack says nodding his head a bit to Fern,"Thank you. A lot of girls my age and a few boys, have mentioned that to me. It's quite weird since back home everyone sounds like this." He says sounding a bit amused,"I do what I can. Also love a bit of a swashbuckling."
There's a grin at Zack's words, of course girls his age would mention it. He's a cute kid with a British accent. Chicks dig that. "You're a novelty here," she teases lightly. "Swashbuckling? Do you get much of a chance to do that?" She tries to imagine Zack as a pirate, but comes up with something more akin to Peter Pan. She just won't mention that. He looks like he's still got some growth spurts coming and Pan will be left behind in no time. 
"A bit of a chance. I know... I'm more Peter Pan than Jack Sparrow but I do like a good bit of sword play." Zack says with a big grin at Fern,"So I've noticed. A spot of footie here is rather uncommon." His blue eyes are still filled with amusement. "I've been called Peter Pan by folks before."
There's a soft laugh as Zack hits on exactly what was on her mind. "Are you positive you don't read minds?" It's too bad that her fuzzy blue friend has fallen out of touch, she could have introduced the pair to have fun buckling some swashes together. "Even Jack Sparrow was a kid once," Fern says. "Bet he looked a lot like you. Footie... that's soccer to us, right? I've seen Australian Rules Football, they call that footie, too." So she was maybe a little hooked on the sport when they could actually get some games on the cable sports stations back home. 
"Aye, same thing." Zack says nodding his head a bit,"I'm quite sure about not reading minds. However, when you get called Peter Pan a time or two, you really do run into a problem. I can do a pretty good imitation of Peter Pan if I chose I guess. A bit of magic for the voice mimicry and all." He says before laughing,"I am sure that there was a lot to it." His blue eyes watch Fern curiously.
"Better Peter Pan than Captain Hook," Fern speculates, smiling back at Zack. "Everyone loves Pan the Man. Hook? Not so much." She's got an easygoing nature, not finding it difficult to warm up to strangers and call them friend before long. It's a rather inopportune moment, now that she's fallen silent, for her stomach to growl audibly, but growl it does. It brings a giggle and Fern pats her stomach, saying apologetically, "Sorry. Must be getting close to dinner time." 
"There's a bloody good reason no one likes Hook. He's a bleeding violent cut throat pirate." Zack says rolling his eyes a bit,"Anyway, it is indeed getting close to dinner.I should be getting home sooner or later. It's family dinner night."
The boy's eye roll gets another grin from Fern and she slips to her feet. "Maybe he had a terrible childhood." Her bag is adjusted, the strap crossing her slight form from chest to hip, and she looks up to smile broadly at Zack. "It was good to meet you. Hope to run into you again sometime." For just a second, the thought of a family dinner brings a wistfulness to the young woman's eyes. She's going home to leftover Chinese food in an empty studio apartment. A far cry from her own family dinners back home in Ohio. "Enjoy your dinner." 
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