"Any god or whatever that likes a human has good taste." Cloudy
remarked snarkily, hand releasing Lilya's and curling around his
milkshake as he sipped more agressively than he'd like to show. All
this talk about Gods spiked his blood pressure. He coughed into his
fist and straightened his back. Lilya squeezed his shoulder. She
grinned at Iteral and Delano's antics before covering Cloudy's eyes
like a parent to their child. He gave a short burst of protest and
laughed.
Eunice brushed her hand through one of the large feathers, tracing
her fingers over the constellations. "Magic! So that's how you did
it! You didn't grow a tail all of a sudden." Her face spread into a
broad smile again. "I don't have magic. That's what daddy says! He
says I'm just like mom. But mom has a magical glowy baseball bat
she locked in the closet. Sometimes it glows green. And it says my
name!"
"What's wrong, Cloudy?" Iteral notices the slight tension, tilting
their head slightly. "... are you okay?" They ask, looking over at
Delano. He just shrugs a little awkwardly, unsure of what to do.
"Don't look at me. I always wanted to meet the more celestial side
of your family. Flaws and all."
Ambrose chuckles and shakes his head. "You don't have to have magic
inside you to cast spells, the incantations are simply commands
that maneuver the magic around us. Being a witch - or in my case, a
sorcerer - just makes things easier. It's like doing a painting,
some might have a knack for it but anyone can do it with enough
perseverance. I could teach you a beginner spell, if you like and
we'll see from there."
You know the first rule in combat?
shoot them before they shoot you.
Cloudy gently tugged Lilya's fingers off his eyes, mouth pressing
into a thin line. "You know." He rolled his shoulders slightly.
"Gods. Call me biased, but they all suck. They do. Even the good
ones." Yes, he knew he was singling out a lot of people. His
parents, Mercy, blah blah blah, anyone from the resistance. But
truthfully he hadn't had the time to forgive them all yet.
"Oh!" Eunice nods briskly. "Yeah! I'd like to try some magic!" When
she thinks of magic, only witches come to mind. Daddy used to be a
witch. Aunt Iteral was a witch! She didn't think her dad's
lightning powers were magic. They were just... there! Like the
norm! It'd be weird if they weren't.
"Yeah." Iteral didn't even argue. Instead, she just looks down at
her plate and puts a hand on her chest, right over her necklace. A
remnant of Ambrose. "... let's enjoy our status as non-gods while
we still can."
"My grandmother is still a witch. She is a professor of witchcraft
at the academy. I suppose we can try a spell soon. Let me think..."
While Ambrose is stirring his tea, he looks over at the "adults
table". They seem to be having a moment.
You know the first rule in combat?
shoot them before they shoot you.
Cloudy snorted and then cleared his throat. "I apologize for
ruining the moment. We shouldn't bore this get together with
discussions of hate." Much more formal than before. "...How about
an icebreaker of some sorts? Delano," he looks up, "what's your
favorite color?"
Eunice nodded again before following Ambrose's gaze. Lilya gave her
daughter a thumbs up. "Adulting sounds a bit... tiring." Boring.
Boring was the word she wanted to say. "But their math is fun! I
think." Eunice put her hands under her chin. "People say math is
hard, but it's not too bad."
"That's an odd one." Delano laughs again, while Iteral puts a hand
on Cloudy's shoulder. "We'll talk later, okay? Under siblings." She
gives a heartfelt smile while Delano turns to Lilya, smiling. "My
favorite blue aside, how does it feel for you to be married to a
deity?"
Ambrose shakes his head. "The crown jewel of adulthood is to never
let your passion waver, lest you grow stale and stuck in repetitive
jobs. People think astronomy is tiring as well but we seem to love
it. Same with math."
You know the first rule in combat?
shoot them before they shoot you.
Cloudy squeezed her hand with his, a grateful look in his eyes.
Lilya laughed, tipping backwards as she does so. "Feels like being
married to a ball of energy, that's what! Always bursting out
alllll over the place and needing to be contained by a hug.
He wakes up at like, what , 5?? If I'd known you were so
enthusiastic to see the sun, I would at least have slept in a
different room!"
"Waking up early has nothing to do with godhood. I just- I just
like to see the sun!" Cloudy complained with an undertone of
fondness to his voice.
Lilya put her hands under her chin and did a pose. She grinned
sweetly. "I'm your sun! You could just stare at me!" "I love you,
Li, but you have horrendous breath in the morning."
Lilya sighed and put her hand over her head. "You wound me, babe."
She gestured, facing Delano. "See! This is what it's like! Come on,
don't pout at me like that." She puts a finger on each side of
Cloudy's mouth and pushes his lips up so that a wonky looking smile
forms. "Okay, okay. I'll stop. My turn with the icebreaker!! Hmmm.
Iteral! Tell us about your daughter! Luciana, right?"
"People thing astronomy is boring?" Eunice's brows furrow, in a
very similar way to her father's. "Maybe they're mistaking it for
astrology?"
"Oh, I know what you mean. Only during vacation time though, Itty
was always excited and took us to some fun places around the world.
Ahhh, remember when we went to Sicily and you just couldn't stop
talking to the townsfolk in Italian?" Iteral blushes, as Delano
continues. "Every morning, you were already gone by the time Lucy
and I woke up and you appeared cooking us the most Italian dishes.
And you weren't even from Siciliy, you were from Rome!" Delano
laughs again while Itty hides her face a bit out of embarrassment.
Then the topic change. "Oh, Luciana? She's a sweet button, though
about 42 now." It is obvious that the time witch would know her
people's age. "She's the outcast of sorts, not being a witch. She
does have magic and can use it but I promised her that she could
forge her own path so... even if it's a stereotype-"
"Cliché." Delano smirks. Iteral clears their throat. "She became a
model designer."
Ambrose sighs and shakes his head. "A rule for the world, Eunice.
If something exists, there will be people who like it and people
who do not. But I am glad to have met someone who shares my
devotion for the stars."
You know the first rule in combat?
shoot them before they shoot you.
"Model designer! That sounds neat." Lilya clasped her hands
together, leaning into Cloudy. "I hope she's in good health and
having a happy life right now." Cloudy put his arm around her
shoulder as she continued speaking. "Okay, now you have to ask
another question. That's how an icebreaker goes, else it'd be like
an interview!"
"I guess... else everything would be too easy, right?" Eunice moved
her feet back and forth again. "Politics, emotions, art." She sits
up straight and smiles. "I'm glad that you like the stars too!!"
"Pretty sure it is already but alright." Delano leans back in his
chair, playing with the fork in his mouth and doing an "mmmh"
sound. "Lilya, got a job? A profession? Hobbies?" He was kind of
blunt but not in a bad way. Much like Itty, he had an accent and
lacked certain words... though surprisingly, he had a French
accent.
Ambrose thinks a little and then stands up, leaning over Iteral's
shoulder to whisper something. They nod and go back to the
conversation, taking their broom. Then, he gently offers Eunice a
hand. "Cloudy and family, do you mind if I take Eunice out for a
little spin? We'll be back before sundown."
You know the first rule in combat?
shoot them before they shoot you.
"Head chef and proud owner of the Solendor." Lilya winks. "And, I
co-partner the Morningdom cruise with my beautiful husband." She
pinched Cloudy's cheek and he pulled her hand away with an
affectionate eye roll. "Hobbies? I like watching baseball. BIG fan
of the Toronto Blue Jays. I've got like, maybe eight t-shirts."
Cloudy raised an eyebrow at Ambrose before nodding. "Of course. I
trust that you'll bring her back unscathed. And if not," he points
to Delano and Iteral. "I'll keep your grandparents hostage." He
said, teasingly.
Eunice sprang up from her seat and eagerly took Ambrose's hand.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
MEGATRON HAS FALLEN!! I, STARSCREAM, NOW LEAD THE- Oh we weren't
talking about Transformers? Well, this is embarrassing.
"You're a sailor?" Iteral was a little overwhelmed with the info.
Delano chuckles a little, pointing at Eunice. "I guess there's a
picture somewhere of your little one with an oversized shirt of the
Blue Jays then? We sure got one with the uniforms." He takes out
his phone, which is actually modern, and shows a picture of a
four-year-old Luciana wearing Itty's hat. Way oversized and she's
almost consumed by it.
"I'm sure they will enjoy your company." Ambrose laughs and puts
the broom "down", as it levitates around Eunice's waist. "Get on
then, I'll show you my favourite spot to look at the stars."
You know the first rule in combat?
shoot them before they shoot you.
"Awww!" Lilya coos at the picture. "She looks like a darling!"
"Well, not with an oversized shirt, but." Cloudy pulls out his
phone too and scrolls through his pictures until he finds the one
he wants. It's Eunice, maybe four or five years old, wearing a
business suit that's way too big for her that it makes her look
like a Dr. Seuss villain. On her head is an orange baseball cap
that shadows her eyes but her grin is as wide as ever. "She snuck
into our closet." Cloudy laughs slightly. "Did a little fashion
show. Eunice got a bit embarrassed about it but now she thinks it's
funny."
Eunice regarded the broom for a few moments before getting on. She
tipped backwards and spun her hands around for balance. "I'm
alright!!" She grabbed the broom and exhaled in relief. "Whoo! That
was harder to get on then a horse."
MEGATRON HAS FALLEN!! I, STARSCREAM, NOW LEAD THE- Oh we weren't
talking about Transformers? Well, this is embarrassing.
"Heh, it's always cute to see them trying to imitate us." Delano
smiles, looking through pictures again. Then he shows one of a
theme park, where Luciana was inside a large bunch of cotton candy
and walking around on all fours. She couldn't have been older than
eight at the time. "Heh, Lucy wanted ot pet the sheep but it wasn't
a petting zoo, so she bought a lot of cotton candy and tried to get
into the exhibit. It didn't work out but it was adorable." While
Delano shows them, Itty just smiles. "I'm glad Lucy could have a
normal childhood, even if I wasn't there as much as I wanted
to."
Ambrose just gets on normally, with one leg over and then sitting
down. "I'm not as free-spirited as Grandmother but this should
work." In contrast to her, he takes off much more dignified and
slowly, as they ascend and pick up some speed, soaring through the
air and letting Eunice see the streets below. "Enjoy the view while
you can."
You know the first rule in combat?
shoot them before they shoot you.
"Hear hear." Cloudy lifted his milkshake glass a bit before taking
a sip. He crossed his legs. "You guys have any pets? Any dogs?
Birds, cats?" "You guys seem like a bird person." Lilya commented,
leaning on her hand. "Y'know. The vibes." She waved her hand with a
grin as if trying to pinpoint her reasonings.
Eunice exhaled loudly, staring down at the buildings before. She
held on tightly but not in an anxious way. She simply seemed eager
to travel. She thought the streets sorta looked like doodles from
up there.
MEGATRON HAS FALLEN!! I, STARSCREAM, NOW LEAD THE- Oh we weren't
talking about Transformers? Well, this is embarrassing.
Iteral and Delano look at each other, then smile. "Well, I haven't
had a pet since my familiar died during the first war. Apart from
that... mmh, no, the closest I know is Professor Pisces from Luna
Nova. A goldfish. And some stray cats I feed sometimes outside my
apartment." She turns to Delano, who answers after. "No but we had
an animal shelter nearby. Lucy sometimes went there to help
out."
Ambrose chuckles and as they flew out of town, he used his wand
again and casts a spell. "Reloca Beinn!" The scenery changed as
they flew through a simple portal, now slowly ascending the final
part of a mountain.
You know the first rule in combat?
shoot them before they shoot you.
"Your professor was a goldfish???" Lilya gasped loudly.
"That's bizarre! How does his voice even reach the students? Is he,
like, does he have a fishbowl head or is he fully goldfish?? Oh my
gods." She waved her hands a bit, the same way Eunice did. "Sorry
if I'm being rude! I'm just so curious! How did a goldfish get a
teaching liscence?"
Eunice's face scrunched up as the mountain air hit her. She stared
straight down at the ground far bellow and then laughed. "We're so
high up!" She said breathlessly, moving her legs a bit then
stopping as she nearly rocked her body off the broom.
Iteral simply looks up a picture and shows it to Lilya, zooming in
on a little fishbowl. Inside is a simple goldfish, yellow-green
with blue fins and a little witch hat. "This is Pisces, our
philosophy professor. A cute one who doesn't actually like being in
the bowl all day, so us professors sometimes take them out to a
lake or a river for them to enjoy themselves." Iteral laughs, as
the picture shows... Iteral actually holding the bowl and making
bunny ears behind Pisces. "Magic in Luna Nova also allows for
people of different kinds - or even animals - to talk with each
other.
"Almost there." Ambrose slowly decelerates, as they reach the top
of the mountain, landing above a simple oriental rug with a little
table of tea next to them. With a wave of his wand, the tea heats
itself up and arranges itself. "I have several places to watch
stars across the world but this one fits the current time. Ready?"
You know the first rule in combat?
shoot them before they shoot you.