Welcome to Gaia! ::

Renard wasn't sitting far away. He looked exactly like what he was: an Adult Professional taking a break from his fortress of solitude. His blazer was cuffed up to just below his elbows and his collar was rakishly popped. Even the threads of silver in his hair made him look distinguished, Interesting, rather than older.

He'd also been glancing at Oliver over the top of his laptop screen for the past ten minutes. The boy hadn't noticed because he was too preoccupied, probably.

"Something wrong," said Renard, who kind of had Dad Aura when he used that tone of voice. "I didn't think that they went so sharp on that last note."

"We have," said Renard. "We worked on an art project together?..." The sigil. He raised his eyebrows.

He didn't shut up his laptop, but his attention was obviously on Oliver exclusively.

"It's quite alright," said Renard. "I wasn't sure it was you until you--" he mimicked Oliver's gesture, a hand to his forehead, and then leaned his forearms against the table. "Renard Leroux." He didn't offer a hand to shake. "I apologize if I seem standoffish. I don't like touching people."

He watched Oliver for a long minute. Then he said, "You may be surprised. May I sit with you?"

Renard had put his laptop away in exchange for what looked like a pretty fancy leather-bound planner. He had a sharpie pen out, and was tapping the capped end against the book in time to the music as he listened to Oliver's description. "That sounds like thanatophilic clairvoyance," he said. He sounded interested. "Interesting... but I imagine you find it quite disruptive."

He looked down at his planner, and drew a slightly wobbly circle. "How long have you been aware of deaths around you?"

There did seem to be a pattern to whatever the hell it was that Renard was drawing. Three equilateral triangles, a few connecting lines... "Mhmm. Clairvoyance that largely draws attention to death, or people near death. It can be quite disturbing, I've heard." Okay, but do you have a solution, Renard? "It's a powerful tool. A clairvoyant with an affinity for death can even pull a person's soul back from the brink..."

He paused in his doodling. "It can be controlled, though I don't believe it can be turned off. I can teach you a few tricks, if you're willing."

"Mhmm," said Renard. "It used to be a quite impressive feat of magic, before the full consequences of an undeath bond were known." He tapped the end of his pen against his drawing, and then nodded. "Of course. What do you know of mindfulness exercises, Oliver?"

"Precisely." Renard favored Oliver with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Though I find the 'deep breathing meditating sort of stuff' to be rather unhelpful when it comes to managing my own abilities. My preferred analogy is--have you ever done a polar bear swim? Where you go swimming when the air is below freezing? When you first enter the water, it's unbearable. That is, in this analogy, where you are now."