Echo takes in Wings

Characters in this scene: Echo, Evelyn

Editor's note: Silver Wolf of Blades is Evelyn's player - any time you see her speaking, that is who is being played.

Echo - OMO Moderator — 03/08/2021

Elfrida is sitting outside of a small cafe beside the sea front. The sky is grey with the threat of rain. The waves are calm and steady against the sea wall, the tide is in. He appears to be in his early 30s, wearing a dark green coat with red trousers. He sits where he said he would with a cup of tea on the table, idly looking around, relaxed.

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

A girl steps off the boat, barely 16. She's clutching at the straps of an ancient leather backpack; it was her only luggage. Her hair is dusty-white, cut to her ears, and clearly by someone who didn't know what they were doing. Her clothes are neat, but worn, a long-sleeved shirt and pants in bleached grey and brown. They're not appropriate for the weather, far too thin, but she isn't shivering. After casting around for a moment, clearly unsure, she spots Elfrida; she promptly straightens, hiding away her nerves, and approaches at a steady pace. "It's you, right?" she asks, a flicker of that uncertainty back.

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

Elfrida nods, "I'm me. Although you're probably meaning are you Elfrida, which I am also. You'd probably be Evelyn, then, you look slightly different to the pictures." Elfrida stands up and extends a hand to her.

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn extends her hand, shaking it. "I am Evelyn Weiss, yes. I expect that the pictures were of me... younger? Or is it the ones in better clothes?" She half-smiles, with a touch of bitterness.

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"Probably the journey, it's not the shortest." Elfrida smiles, "well, it is a pleasure to meet you at last. Would you like to take a seat then we can get the next lot of formalities done?"

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"Yes, we would." Evelyn sits, her movements cautiously precise. She watches Elfrida warily.

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"Well then, is there anything you would like? Tea, cake?" Elfrida sits.

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"Either? I... don't suppose any meat is on the menu?" Evelyn rubs the back of her neck sheepishly, before putting her hands in her lap. "It's... most things will do. We would like some cake."

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"Bacon sandwich and cake?" Elfrida motions for the waitress to come over.

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"That would be nice. Thank you."

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

Speaking to the waitress, "A bacon sandwich and a slice of cake, please." The waitress walks off and Elfrida turns to Evelyn again. "Now that that is out of the way, I have the contract here. I have a few questions before we get to signing it but if you want to read through it you can."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"I imagine you do, yes." Evelyn ducks her head. "I would like to give it a second read, yes, but you can ask your questions at the same time."

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"Okay, here it is." Elfrida passes a sheet of paper over on a clip board "Now, I don't require you to answer but it would be useful. You say 'we', is that to do with your Hosting or something else? I understand that it may be personal so if you feel uncomfortable with it you don't need to answer."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn is reading, carefully. "It's the Hosting, yes. They have opinions on certain things. In those instances it frequently would feel false to say *I*, though among the fostering I would often try, where it was not a lie."

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"Your record. What is that about? I can see how 'self harm' would come up with various parts of the Practice and the delinquency could be the same but I'd rather check with you." the waitress returns with the bacon sandwich, a slice of cake and places these on the table.

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn ducks her head, rubbing the back of her neck; after a moment she jerks it away. She thanks the waitress, busying her hands cutting the food. "It is. Some is the Practice, yes. I was taught... literal hollowing, it could be phrased? I made the mistake once, of trying to temper myself in the house, because I thought it would be safer. I learned that I should not. And my previous mentor's requests were not always... they did not entirely understand civilised requirements. I suppose I did not explain it too well, either. My care for my non-Practice commitments was not the best, for a while."

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"That's fine. I'd like you to know that, if you agree, you could ask for help or support at any time and I'll do my best to provide or make sure you get it. Next question, is the agreement to your liking?"

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn nods. "Yes. I do not see any flaws on it." She ducks her head. "We rather hope that is a measure of its fairness, rather than a criticism of us, but we will see. Is it as simple as a signature?"

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

Elfrida smiles again "It is. Just on the line at the bottom next to your name. You can then get a copy of the text and I'll put the signed one in the safe back home."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"And you promise to sign as well, if I do?" Evelyn cocks her head, bird-like. "Do you have a pen with you?"

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"I swear that, should you sign the apprenticeship contract before you, I shall sign it as well. Notice that it only come into force if both of us sign. Yes, I've got one here." Elfrida puts a plain black fountain on the table next to the contract.

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn picks up the pen and signs, quick and easy. She then passes it to Elfrida and begins to eat the bacon sandwich, alternating between picking it to pieces a bit and then eating it properly.

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

Elfrida skim reads the contract and signs as well. "So, how are you with long car drives?"

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"If the window's open, we expect we're fine. Confined spaces... None of us really like confined spaces, though I suppose one of us can manage as long as its cold."

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"We can wait for you to finish you you can eat as we get started. You can ride in the passenger side and choose the music if you'd like, it's should be a couple of hours from here."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn eats quickly and neatly; she has a bird-like appetite, where 'bird-like' is 'can fit away your own weight in two minutes'. She polishes off the sandwich and the cake in short order, then looks up at Elfrida. "I get to pick the music?" She seems to brighten at this.

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"You do. Shall we be off then?" Elfrida stands and gestures towards a dark green car parked to the side of the cafe.

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn follows, seeming to relax a bit at this positive start. She studies Elfrida curiously. "You don't seem to look 400 years old."

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"One of the advantages of not having your Self anchored to a single body. You can make your own." He unlocks the car and slides into the driver's seat.

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"You get to *make* your own body?" Evelyn sounds *fascinated.* "That would - oh my. Is it hard?"

She slides into the passenger seat; it takes her a moment to remember the seatbelt is a thing.

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

Elfrida starts the car while responding. "It's not the hardest thing although it can take a bit of power. You should be able to sooner or later." Elfrida pulls out carefully and starts driving out of the city. Gesturing to the compartment below the windscreen on Evelyn's side "There're some discs in the compartment there, you could choose a radio station or connect your phone - I think."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn rolls the window down, then busies herself investigating the available discs. She considers them, before eventually plucking out her phone and a USB cable and connecting it. She scrolls through, then finds a playlist. *Winter Bird* by Aurora starts playing, a melancholy tune. "How does it feel, moving from body to body?" Evelyn asks, curious.

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"It's hard to describe. You can get some bad dissonance to begin with. Practice a little more and it becomes easier to work out what'll give you dissonance and what'll not. By this point it just feels normal. I get a little clumsy in a new body but that passes fairly soon. Nice choice, by the way."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"Thank you. I don't exactly know your taste, so... a guess. And that one... amuses me, a little, with which lyrics I can sing. "So... hmm. So you make them, you definitely don't take them? What do you make them out of?"

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"I don't normally take them. What they're made out of is a little more complicated. Some Alchemists are able to take something and turn it into something seemingly different, what I do is sort of similar to that. Once I would have made them from stolen divine power but that's somewhat risky. Nowadays I'd normally collect things like echos and elementals to convert their power in my demesne."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"Huh. So you can make a body to your own specifications, and out of sources of power of your choosing?" Evelyn straightens. "*Definitely* relevant to my interests. I'm looking forward to my studies." She laughs, sounding young. "That's a bit new!"

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

Elfrida smiles while keeping his attention on the road "I'm glad to hear you're looking forwards to it. I'm looking forward to teaching you and seeing where you take it."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"It sounds like eventually I could make them a better home. Perhaps not for Chill, I guess. But I know I'm sometimes uncomfortable for Owl. I try, but... I'm a bit nervous, about changing myself too much. Mistakes would be permanent, I think."

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"They can be. If you're unsure you can ask me or another of the Cynewiþþan who're almost all experienced Heartless you can ask about such things."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn pauses. "Another of the... uh. I didn't catch that, apologies."

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"Ah. I forgot that I've not said what we call ourselves. My Circle, it was founded under the name 'Séo Trendel of Cynewiþþan' which normally ends up getting shortened to Cynewiþþan. If you want you can call it Cyne then members should be able to understand it."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"What does it mean?"

The music changes. *Ghost Town*, by Neoni and Layto.

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"Roughly translated it means 'the circle of wreaths'. Isern suggested it and it stuck. Isern's another of the founders, it's a taken name rather than a given one and it translates to 'iron'. I think I mentioned it but my taken name is Cypren, that translates to 'copper'."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"A circle of wreaths, but it seems that there's a pattern of metals, here?"

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"That's a slight translation issue. A cynewiþþan is sort of like a diadem, so think metal wreath."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"I'm assuming that there's important symbolism there." Evelyn frowned, thoughtful. "Will *I* need to take a new name?"

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"You can if you want. It was the five of us founders who gave up our previous names together. As my apprentice you could call yourself a Cypren but you don't have to."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"I think I'd like to table that option. Don't know you that well, yet, and all, though you do seem nice." Evelyn tilts her head into the wind, half-closing her eyes; for a moment she's almost feathery, but the moment is soon gone. "Does it snow, here?"

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"It does. It snows more near the house because that's higher. If you were down south it'd be uncertain but we're not." The car is now driving through the foothills of a mountain range and slowly climbing.

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn smiles. "Good. We work much better when its cold." She stares out the window, wide-eyed. "Oh! We're going up high!" She sounds delighted like a child. The music shifts again. *Begin Again,* by Purity Ring, still soft and sweet but an active tune.

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"We are. The house is a way out of town. If you look to the left then you should be able to see the town. Not too far to go now."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"This seems great!" Evelyn's definitely shed a few layers of propriety, brightly entertained by the height and the cold and the environment. "The town looks pretty!" She actually wriggles in her seat.

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"If you look in front of us there", Elfrida points to a small, clear river winding between some trees, "that's the river that goes through the grounds of the house. We're coming up to a junction. Left heads down to town and right heads to the house. Which'd you prefer to see first?"

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"Right, I think." Evelyn ducks her head. "I'm rather tired."

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"Off to the house it is." The car turns right and climbs a little further along a private road surrounded by trees to both sides. The car leaves the trees end comes up to a security gate. Elfrida opens the window and types a code into it. The gate closes behind the car. There is a tamer woodland on this side of the gate. It is around a gravel drive with a wide, stone building behind it. Elfrida parks the car. "And we're here." The building starts as one story high in front of the drive but rises unevenly further back to a short tower at the far left corner.

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn hits the seatbelt release and exits the car, looking over the environs with fascination. "Are there other people here?"

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"There are some Aware staff members but it should just be us for Practitioners at the moment."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"So it would be safe for Owl to fly, here?" Evelyn turns to look at Elfrida.

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"Should be. Are they connected to you? I may need to give them leave to enter and exit as they wish. On that note. Do you prefer to be addressed as 'she' or 'them'?"

"Formally, I should say. I would need to extend permission for you to enter and leave whenever you want to and I'd rather not have to do it multiple times by getting something that simple wrong."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

"Owl's quite connected to me, yes. Chill is... less so, but I don't tend to let them out. I don't think I'd let them go far unless they were leaving me entirely." Evelyn frowns. "We... hadn't really thought about that. A she, I think? We're mostly a she. Chill isn't, but Chill doesn't care about much. It might change, though. I'm arguably missing a spirit, at the moment, and a different third might... but probably not."

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"I, Æðelfrið Cypren, declare that Evelyn Weiss may enter and leave my estates as she so desires until such a time as their time as my apprentice ends." Elfrida waves vaguely at the house before taking out a set of keys and holding them out of Evelyn. "These are for you then. Look on the shaft for an inscription, it should say what they unlock. There are keys for the library, the front door, the side door and some other rooms you may find useful. Oh, your bedroom key's also there. I can show you around if you'd like. The other option would be showing you where your room is and getting one of the staff to show you around tomorrow."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn takes the keys, studying them thoughtfully. She looks at the house yearningly. "I'd love a proper tour, but... we're really tired." She sounds really regretful. "I'll probably crash soon. Potentially literally. And that should probably not happen in your house. Owl still doesn't really understand how human bodies work, and that generally results in more crashing."

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

Elfrida open the door and motions Evelyn forward. "If your shoes get muddy there's a boot scraper thing there. Please wipe your feet before going past the entrance way and avoid wearing outdoors shoes on carpeted areas. Then coats hand up there and that empty shoe rack is yours to use."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn wiped her feet and gingerly toed out of her shoes. "I get... an entire shoe *rack* to use?" She sounds utterly baffled, even as she makes use of it.

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

"I only have a couple of different pairs of shoes in different sizes but you'll probably find it useful to have those different sizes if you don't make vessels all the same size. Follow me then." Elfrida starts to walk down the corridor, past small windows and passages lined in rough stone.

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn follows, glancing around curiously, but her energy is visibly flagging at this point. "That isn't an issue that had occurred to me."

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

Elfrida stops next to a solid door with an empty name plaque on it. "This is your room. I'll have someone inscript it if you want. I have a key and so does the head of the staff be we won't use these unless you ask us to or we believe you're in risk. Go on in."

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn pushes open the door, stepping inside and putting down her bag.

August Эхꙮ of the Blazing Green — 03/08/2021

The room is a good size, three meters wide and slightly longer with a window in the wall. The walls are plastered and insulated although looking through the window it is obvious that they are still stone under the plaster. The walls are painted pale blue, there is a note on the bed saying that if Evelyn'd like it redecorating that they need only ask. There is a double sized bed to one side and an empty wardrobe in the other. There is a door in one wall leading to a small bathroom. Next to the bed is a small bookshelf with some books on mythology, history and Scotland in addition to some tomes on basic Practices - from simple protections to basic Heartless theory. Next to the bookshelf is a small safe, the key is on Evelyn's key-ring, it is currently open and empty.

Silver Wolf of Blades — 03/08/2021

Evelyn immediately goes to the window, opening it, before circling the room, fascinated. She comes to a halt back at the door. "Thank you, Elfrida," she says, utterly sincere. "I haven't ever had a place like this."