[PRP] Sweepin' the Clouds Away (Juniper/Rabbit)

[Smerdle]

He didn't like it when he found himself here without his squeeps, but short of carting them around with him 24/7, there was always a chance he'd arrive without them. To be honest, he wasn't sure he'd even gone anywhere this time, since there was no rain to speak of, but after a few minutes of creating and banishing balls of light and juggling them awkwardly, Rabbit concluded that this was other Ashdown after all.

With a bit of mental effort he lifted himself off of the ground, hovering just above it to keep his shoeless feet out of the dirt. Also, it just looked really cool. Not that there was anyone around to see. He glanced left, right, then headed toward the brighter part of the street. It had been a long while since he had arrived here without feeling threatened in some way, and as such, he was in the mood to explore.

Kolina

 

[Kolina]

It was still an annoyance when Juniper found herself in Other Ashdown. Not because she didn’t want to explore the place and learn about magic, but it seemed to happen at inoppurtune times when she was on her way to something. As luck would have it today though, she had been rushing her way to work, already running late, when she passed through the threshold of the mall doors and ‘bam’ she was faced with a dark grey world. The only thing that had made her doubt where she was was the lack of rain overhead, but otherwise she knew. “I am going to miss work aren’t I?” She grumbled at Other Ashdown as she turned to look down the street she found herself on. Not that she expected a reply of course, but it helped ease her frustrations. Missing a day of work was not, at all, an option for her. Not a voluntary option anyway.

In her mood she wasn’t paying much attention to stuff around her. She was more keen on trying to find a way back out. If anything, she’d be a little late at this point. As luck would have it though, she was turning up completely unsuccessful. What or whom she found though, after almost running into him, literally, was not someone she had expected.

“Rabbit?” She looked at him from top to bottom. Instinctually she was checking to see if he was alright. After all, at the ball, things were rather strained for many reasons. “You are Rabbit right?” She remarked, afraid that this just might be his fetch. After all,s he was in Other Ashdown. Who knew what could happen here?

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Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Unsurprisingly, the first feeling that struck him when he heard Juniper's voice was embarrassment. The last time he had seen her he had been kind of a panicked wreck, and the time before that, he had cuddled a chair. He supposed he had also helped save a man's life, but it was the awkward moments that generally stuck in people's minds, Rabbit's included. He floated back down to the ground, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Yeah, it's me. I don't know how I can prove it now, especially without Oroh here. I guess I could talk about being in the tithe room or climbing out the window or... that's it. I don't know. I feel like he could've made a pretty good guess about the other things I did that he didn't see." He shrugged, a small rise of his shoulders. "You're okay?"

Kolina

 

[Kolina]

The fact that Rabbit had been floating was almost lost on Juniper in her concern for him. It was the very distinct motion of his drifting back to the ground that it clicked in her mind that he had, literally, been floating around Other Ashdown. I seriously need to spend some time here and practice that sort of stuff! "I have top admit, that's a cool trick." She nodded her head in the direction of his feet which were now firmly on the ground.

"Oroh?" She paused, who was..."Oh! Your fetch right?" It was still weird to think that the tithes had been pulled into the world of Other Ashdown in a way that was much more different than the normal visitor. She forgot, at times, that people like Rabbit, Thorne, Alois and the other tithes now had their own fetches and carried the rank of Noble. In her mind, it was still up in the air if all the trauma was worth the outcome. "I'll take your word for it that it's you. The others I've run into are themselves as well. But yea, I am fine. I got away with nothing more than a nasty scratch which is healed up." She shrugged. "It'll be a scar with a fun story attached to it."

"How have you been keeping up? Alright I hope?" Unlike Rabbit, Juniper didn't once think about the things he had done at the party as any sort of reason to be ashamed. There was so much happening and so much that occurred before the event that she didn't have any right to judge his reactions. She was just glad he seemed to be alright now. Certainly not as timid and panicky, anyway.

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Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"Oh, it's..." Once he had gotten started, some of the magic in this Ashdown had proven fairly easy for him. Oroh had said it was because he had a childish mind. Rabbit had taken that as an insult. But whatever the reason, there were definitely certain aspects of it that he had picked up more readily than others. "Floating is fun! And, uh, it's good for me in particular because I don't show up here with shoes a lot." He looked down at his thick brown and green striped socks. "Definitely easier than healing. I can only do that in emergencies, apparently. But I couldn't tell you how. I just think about floating and I do."

He looked a little surprised that she knew he had a fetch, but he'd spoken to enough people who almost knew more about his life than he did that it passed quickly. "Yeah. She is. I'm not sure where she is right now? She always seems to meet me when I get here, so she might show up. But I was just going to look around a little until she did." He did glance past Juniper then, unconsciously shaking his head at the lack of rain. "I guess it's a good day for it? It's so weird that it's not raining here."

"I'm glad you're good. And I've been fine. Just... overwhelmed, I guess? The fetch and the magic and the squeeps, not to mention keeping my job. Hm." Gloria had been understanding about his and Autumn's flakiness, but he doubted her good will would last forever.

Kolina

 

[Kolina]

“I seriously need to practice this whole magic thing some more.” And it was true. Maybe, she’d get to play with some today if she ended up stuck in Other Ashdown for awhile. What better way to pass the time? Well, besides hanging out with people she knew? Hell, maybe Rabbit could show her a thing or two. “It looks like a blast and I totally agree, healing is...not easy.” They both had found out how tiring healing was when they had worked at healing Hux at the ball. Truthfully, it was amazing that they had managed anything considering Juniper had no real idea what she was doing besides knowing that she wanted to help Hux.

The surprise look that flashed across his face caused Juniper to smile softly. “Ah, I’ve talked to Thorne, Alois and Hux since the Ball. I got filled in on what the outcome of the whole tithing process was for you guys. Well, some of it anyway. I pretty much just know that basics that you’re now considered Nobles of the court and have your own fetches.” And it was true. Juniper didn’t know the full extent of what that all meant, but she didn’t care either. She was just happy that they all managed to make it out alright.

The idea of seeing a fetch, whether it was Rabbit’s or not, put Juniper on edge a bit. Her last interactions with them were anything but pleasurable and she wasn’t sure if she was keen on having another interaction with one. “Odd that she isn’t here then.” She said, before clearing her throat out of anxiousness. “But yea, I am game for some exploring. I’ve been wanting to do some more roaming around actually. Having someone with will make it more enjoyable.”

“Whoa whoa….did you say, Squeeps? What is a squeep?” It had to be something magical of some sort. It sounded like it could be absolutely adorable, but she had begun to learn to be a tad bit careful when it came to adorable creatures and Other Ashdown. Dee had taught that hard lesson.

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Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"They're..." Rabbit motioned with his hands, but he might have been miming anything from baseballs to beanie babies. "Before I was taken, a bird asked me to help it save some eggs. The bird died, so I kind of... took them home?" He had been warned, to be fair, but he had been afraid to leave them with Father then. "And when I got back after the ball, they hatched. So, they're... little bird people." He indicated their height between his palms, and this time his meaning was more clear. "I'm looking out for them and it's exhausting. You should come by and see 'em someday." He almost asked for her phone so he could give her his address, but phones were spotty around here, in his experience at least.

"But, yeah. Lords or whatever. A fetch and a title. But I don't feel any different." Rabbit stuck his hands in his pockets and looked around. "I don't know which way to go either." He cracked a smile. "Does anywhere look good to you?"

Kolina

 

[Kolina]

Juniper was trying to follow along with Rabbits description of the creatures he saved. At first, they sounded like adorable little birds who just needed some TLC but then he mentioned bird people and Juniper was highly confused. Still, with the way that Rabbit continued with the description of them, Juniper was pretty intrigued. She assumed they came from Other Ashdown, and she couldn’t blame him for wanting to help them. She’d probably do the same exact thing that he did. “They sound like they could be really cute. I’ll definitely need to meet them at some point. How many of them are there?” She had this mental image of a dozen of the little creatures (however she imagined them) following behind Rabbit like a grouping of baby ducks behind their mother. Juniper smiled.

“Well, different or not, you’re not well engrossed in Other Ashdown aren’t you?” She commented as her eyes flicked around the area they were in. She wasn’t really sure where she wanted to go. There wasn’t a specific place in mind. So, blue eyes scoured the facade of several run down buildings, pausing on a larger one that was towards the end of the block on the corner. Something about it intrigued her. Maybe the stonework out front on the facade of the building? Or perhaps that the front door was already ajar as if someone had recently been inside. Whatever it was she nodded her head towards it. “How about we check that place out? It’s a familiar enough building and maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll find something interesting inside. If nothing else, we’ll know if it’s a safe place or not.” She shrugged.

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Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

His gaze followed hers, and he nodded at her choice. "Looks good to me." With another pause for concentration and a brief flick of his wrists, Rabbit was floating again, making his way toward the front door without strictly paying attention to the obstacles that might have normally hindered his forward motion.

"I don't really know a lot about this place, no. But the squeeps came from here and it's important, so I've been trying to learn." He turned around entirely to look at Juniper as he spoke, still gliding along toward the door. "There are two. I haven't come up with any names yet, but one of them is loud and flappy and one staaaaares at you. It'd be creepy if it wasn't cute. Or maybe it's both."

He stopped just outside the building, leaning to one side to peer in the open door. It was dark compared to where he hovered, and it almost felt as though it should be cooler inside, even though that was probably just his imagination.

Kolina

 

[Kolina]

Juniper watched at Rabbit made himself float again. Smiling she watched him float there for a moment, before following after him towards their chosen destination.

"You're like a proud father." She remarked with a grin. "I don't blame you though. If you want to care for them properly it's best to understand where they came from." She continued to walk behind him, amused at the fact that he was lazily floating along backwards so that he could talk to her face-to-face. It certainly was convenient to not have to worry about tripping on anything. "They almost sound like some sort of parrot." She laughed. "At least the loud and flappy one does. But, give it some time, I am sure you'll come up with suitable names for them or something will just begin to stick."

Juniper paused next to Rabbit at the entrance. Likewise, she leaned in to look around, bracing herself against the door frame. The dark of the building wasn't terribly inviting but the run-down nature of it intrigued the young woman. After all, was there something useful possibly hiding amongst the deteriorating decor? "Welp. Standing out here won't do us much good." She said, and tentatively walked into the building, the floor boards creaked underneath her weight with each step.

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Again with the father thing. This time, to his surprise, Rabbit felt himself smiling faintly. He was still entirely unprepared for this new title, perhaps even more so than the noble one. He'd earned that, at least, though father did freak him out a little less than it had the last time. Maybe he was making progress.

He followed Juniper inside the building, bolstered by her courage, but the darkness remained a feature of the space that seemed unlikely to let up. He knew a way he could make things brighter, as bright as turning on a lamp, though it felt a little extreme, especially if there turned out to be an actual light switch around here somewhere.

"Do you mind if I turn on a light?" he asked quietly, touching the wall to see if he could find a working switch.

Kolina

 

[Kolina]

The light shining in from the doorway was weak. Too weak to really lighten up anything in the room past the initial threshold. So, it was unsurprising whens he felt herself kick something, but couldn't make out what it was. It didn't move or yell out at her, so at least it wasn't an animal or something. It felt hard actually. Probably a piece of wood or something, so she kept on exploring a bit.

"Oh man, if you can find a light switch, and it actually works, that would be amazing." She said into the dark in the direction that Rabbit's voice had come from. "It would make life so much easier and I wouldn't be afraid I was walking on something I shouldn't be." Amusement laced her speech.

It didn't dawn on her to use magic as a source for light.

Smerdle