Safe House

K. R. Jakes]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 2, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Ashley McGowen] There's a park near the edge of Lake Michigan that is less frequented by the wealthy shoreline property owners that it was built for and far more frequented by the college and graduate students that have filtered into the area. They drape their thrift store clad forms over its rocks and benches, read beneath its trees and play frisbee in its fields.

It's cooler today than it has been. The rain earlier in the day might have had something to do with it, torn through the sticky heat that's been hanging over Chicago since late last week. It means people have ventured out of their homes a little more often today.

Two people in the small park aren't particularly happy about this, to judge by the vaguely disgruntled expressions they both wear. They're sitting closer to the fence that rims the water's edge. At least, the young woman is sitting. The man is standing with a dog leash dangling from one of his hands.

He's a big man, broad-shouldered and heavy of limb, which makes up for his average height. There are salt and pepper flecks covering his head and the lower half of his face and much darker hair furring his arms and hands. If it weren't for the lined face it would be easy to mistake him for a man twenty years younger. He wears a striped shirt (black and gray) and a pair of jeans. He doesn't look comfortable in them.

The young woman, of course, is much more recognizable, sitting there on the rock and leaned over on one of her hands. Stiff and uneasy, but maybe that's just a result of the company. They aren't talking to each other.

Just there.

[K. R. Jakes] [do I notice, all aware-like?]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 3, 8 (Failure at target 6)

[K. R. Jakes] The day is clouded. The grass is green, made greener by the dimness -- filters into a twilight: as green as an elphin knight's crest. There are two not-so-happy people there together on a bench by Lake Michigan and a dog. The path that wanders in front of the pair (trio) is also the path walked by three sisters approaching [double double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble]. They wouldn't be approaching, not if the middle one had any say in it. Not of the middle one was paying any attention at all to what her senses tell her, what her blood is telling her, what the man noone sees but her who has a star burning in his left eye today and no shadow [the shadow is his hair, is his Johnny Cash dress: chiarroscurro] and who is trailing behind the three sisters, whistling, could tell her, if the amused quirk of his mouth is anything to go by.

But the middle one isn't paying attention to her senses, or to Him, because she is instead listening to her sisters fight about her on either side. The sisters: one is older, and her name is Margot; her hair is short, and dark, and she has a kind mouth, although she is too thin, and the skin of her throat is worn, is lined. Her eyes are dark, lovely things, or they would be, if she weren't so tired looking. There's a band of gold around her left ringfinger, and she is the loudest. Bossy, but adult. See? The other is younger, and her hair is reddish brown, appears to have been gelled in some godawful attempt at a Captain Planet mullet without actual hair-cut, is otherwise dressed rather conservatively [for her], and is practically punching the air with the force of whatever point it is she's making.

A good twelve feet, eleven feet, ten feet from Ashley and co, the conversation reaches its zenith with:

Margot: "Kage! Are you even listening to me?"
Kage: "Of course I'm listening."
Janet: "Then what's she saying?"
Kage: Pause. "'I'm right, you should listen to me, you are wrong, fix it.'"
Janet: "AHAHAHAHAHAHA MARGOT THAT'S TOTALLY YOU."
Margot: icily. "Very funny."

[Ashley McGowen] [Do -we- notice? Ashley, -1 for wounds:]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 7, 7, 7 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Ashley McGowen] [Dad:]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 6, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 4 at target 6)

[K. R. Jakes] Ah, that old familiar [resonance] song. Strong, today: the verbing of beloved, the bright feeling of blood-heating, amorously, hand-caressing-up-a-thigh, down-a-throat; the draining-away-of-____, the leeching-out-of, the slow [endless] withering of. Essential things. Strong, because Miss Kage has been Very Busy lately, and what she has been Very Busy with is the quintessential force that sings through the universe, and that almost blots out everything else.
to Ashley McGowen

[Ashley McGowen] It's the man who senses them first, Kage and the star-eyed man trailing behind the trio. His head turns, and for a few seconds he watches them impassively, until the young woman's attention is tugged in their direction too, like she were a dog on a lead. She perks when she notices the women: they aren't all bright-haired and amorous, but their interaction clues her in somewhat to their relatedness, if nothing else.

Moments tick by. The man grunts. "Friend of yours?"

"Yeah," she says, after another pause elapses. Beat, like they're a pair of bold countermelodies, dark and brooding, unsure of how to wind together and yet they manage it.

There's another grunt from the man as he watches the women, having determined which of them his daughter is talking about, having seen which is Awakened. He's evaluating. Piercing. Their eyes are the same blue and he carries something more shrewd, insightful, behind his. "Don't be rude. Say hello."

"I'm not five." She still does it.

She lifts her left arm - the uninjured one - and flicks her hand back and forth once or twice. Just enough to draw attention. "Hey! Kage!"

[K. R. Jakes] [Holy shit. Mage(...s?)! re-roll, mannn.]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 3, 4, 7, 9 (Success x 1 at target 6)

[Ashley McGowen] There's Hunger, to the left, now familiar, spiked through with undercurrents of something determined and purposeful, drive that presses onward in spite of all obstacles.

To the right, there's something that smacks of restraint. Aggression, rage, all of those dark red things held back, channeled into some purpose. Harnessed.
to K. R. Jakes

[K. R. Jakes] This isn't the first time Kage has run into a Tradition mage while with family, and she likes it as little now as she'd liked it last time it had happened. For someone who doesn't think of her interactions with her family, with her 'sleeper' friends, as separate, as less, than her interactions with the awakened community, she does not like the societies to mix. At all. Still. Her nod is courteous, and so is the way she lifts a hand; casual, cool greeting. And that could've been all, if it weren't for her sisters, who have different ideas about a friend-of-Kage's.

"Who's that," Janet asks, and Kage says, "Someone I know via research," and Janet says, "Wow, that was sure specific, Kage. Could you vague that up a little more?" And Kage says, "Sure, if you'd really like," and Janet says, "She's cute. I'm going to say hello to her dog." And that is what Janet is doing, so Margot and Kage are as well. Margot says this: "You are really cagy, Kage. You'd think you were ashamed of us. I can't remember the last time you invited anyone over," and Kage is saying, "Could you sound more like Mom?" and then she is saying,

"Hi, 'ley," mouth quirking, although her gaze is serious, studious. New mage, possible threat, even if he does sit on Ashley's blindside. Hermetic, maybe. Or? Hm. And Janet says, "Hey! Lee? I'm Janet. That's Margot. Who's this? He's adorable. Oh, and hi," her hello to the man isn't unenthusiastic, but it lacks some verve.


[Ashley McGowen] Kage's reluctance is clear to Ashley, that wave and then desire to continue on and have it be nothing more, and so the Hermetic's expression as Janet makes her way over anyway is an odd mix of sympathy and schadenfreude. Amusement as the youngest of the trio (dear god, her -hair-) finds her way over to Zane, who tends to get more attention from new people than Ashley herself.

"Ashley," she corrects Janet, when greeted by the younger woman. She offers up the name with some hesitation; Janet and Margot are Sleepers. She would prefer, therefore, to be called by her Sleeper name, but Kage doesn't know it. "And he's Zane." The dog is a dog and is quite happy to be receiving attention, given Ashley's injuries and the relative indifference with which the man seems to regard him. He sniffs, wags his tail and within seconds is rolling over so she can rub his belly. "Complete attention whore," Ashley adds, watching the dog.

The man, for his part, makes a noise that isn't even really a word at Janet in response. He's watching Kage at first, standing there very still with the leash still dangling from his wrist, before he seems to recall that he should acknowledge the other two women as well. "This is my dad," Ashley says, gesturing to him after a beat. "Dad, this is Kage, and...Margot and Janet, I guess."

She's polite. Her father is right there, after all.

There's a spark of recognition there when the Orphan is introduced, but anything beyond that is unclear. "Jim Novotny," her father intones, extending a hand toward Kage to shake. They're heavily calloused, workman's hands.

[K. R. Jakes] "Zane," Janet echoes, the way people echo a name once given. "Hello, Zane," and she babytalks him. "Zany Zane. Are you trouble? No. I bet you're never trouble." Deeper voiced, low: "Nooo." Scratch, scritch, scratch pet-pat. She smiles openly at Ashley, says, a little coy -- point-blankly amused: "I hope I'm not setting bad behavior in stone with all this positive enforcement. What sort of research does Kage know you via? She won't say."

"Hasn't said, yet," Kage says, here -- looking away from Ashley's dad to give her little sister a Look. When Jim Novotny offered his hand, Kage accepted it. Her expression was still casual, a little cool, but there was a touch of [ardent curiosity (so this is a Ninja Mage! This is Ashley's dad, the Ninja-Buddhist)] inquiry. "More Esoterics, kiddo." The kiddo: pointed.

Janet's not that young, and she wrinkles her nose at Kage, goes back to flirting with Ashley. "More Esoterics. How vague is that? What branch of Esoterics or whatever are you interested in? Are you a historian or something -- oh?"

The oh was for Margot who, after a nod to both Ashley and Jim, after extending her hand to the pair, cool too, quiet and watchful, stepped back from the gathering to take a call. And breaks in, now, apologetically, "Something just came up at home. With the kids," she clarifies, for Kage's sake. "So we've got to be going -- at least, Janet and I do. Don't forget what I said, okay, Kage?"

This, significant. Margot is apparently assuming that Kage is going to stay.

[Declan] [Nightmares]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 2, 3, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Declan] [Per+Awareness]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 4, 7, 9, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Ashley McGowen] Ashley is oblivious to being flirted with at the best of times (how many opportunities have gone sailing over her head? probably quite a few) and such is the case now. She just assumes people are being friendly with her. She's too busy trying to suppress irritation (eye tic there, see?) as Janet baby-talks the dog, at any rate, and is quite happy when the topic turns to research instead.

"Kind of a mix of things," she tells Janet. "I - "

And she's saved from having to lie. Poorly. As Margot grabs the younger woman and says that they need to be off, that there are problems at home with the kids - whose kids? - and is prepared to leave the Orphan there with her and her father.

Jim watches this all in silence. Hulks there impassive. Finally, when Margot and Janet have made their way out of the park, he says, "You sit here, I'll get your groceries," to Ashley. Drops a hand the size of a small dinner plate on her (uninjured) shoulder. There's another look to Kage as he passes the leash into Ashley's left hand, something a little tense, before he moves off through the park.

Ashley just glances at Kage in wry silence for a beat or two.

[K. R. Jakes] [What's That Look For, Hot & Broody Dad? Did Timmy fall down the well/is Ashley about to snap? per+aware-as-empathy?]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 4, 4, 6, 8 (Success x 1 at target 6)
to Ashley McGowen

[Ashley McGowen] He's being a worried, overprotective dad! He's thinking about getting a hold of Kage later to see what kind of company Ashley is keeping and making sure it's adequate.
to K. R. Jakes


[Declan] Most people would find it more than a little disconcerting to look around and realize that the past couple of hours of their life was a complete blank. Particularly so if confronted with evidence that something potentially unpleasant had occurred.

This was the way that Declan lived his life. Days that were broken up by black spaces of nothing. Holes in his memory, and odd changes to his state of affairs that couldn't be explained. He'd stopped trying to explain them a long time ago. Sometimes ignorance really was bliss.

Tonight, it happened when he was walking by Lakeside. Suddenly he stopped and looked around, as if seeing his surroundings for the first time. He'd never been here before. Or maybe he had. The sights didn't register in his mind, but the natural homing beacon in his head hummed in a familiar way. (Near the Mile. Near the school.) His jaw ached, and when he put a hand up to feel it, the skin was hot and slightly swollen. The joint underneath clicked uncomfortably when he flexed it. Not a serious injury. He'd been hit worse before. Didn't mean he was thrilled about it, though.

Focusing on the pain wasn't going to do him any good, so he did what he was so good at doing - moved on to think about something else. Something safer. He started moving again, letting his hands tuck themselves into the pockets of his jacket. There, one of them found the gun he'd been carrying. He didn't like being reminded of its presence, so that hand quickly pulled back out to hang at his side once more. With a sigh, he paused and just... listened. And then... oh.

He took in a breath, eyes widening a little in surprise. He felt Kage and Ashley before he saw them. That was something Emily had explained, briefly. He had a vague understanding of what it was he was sensing now, but that didn't make it any less surprising. Or fascinating. Suddenly he changed course and began to walk toward where the two women stood talking with a few others that he'd never seen before.

Nervously, as if he wasn't used to approaching people in this way, he lifted a hand to greet them. "Hey."

[K. R. Jakes] [did I notice -you- before you got there, or is tonight a night of hopeless unawareness?]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 3, 4, 5, 5 (Failure at target 6)

[Ashley McGowen] [Do -I- notice you? -1 for wounds.]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[K. R. Jakes] And then they're alone.

And, for a beat, the red-haired Orphan is silent as well. Silent, and standing easy, hands in the pockets of her dress. Yes: Kage is in a dress. Yes: the dress has pockets. This is the significant advantage of this particular dress. That, and it helps, it helps her feel less like a mermaid in this moisture-thick air. Also, there's a cigarette in her pocket, and she can think about smoking it when she touches it, and that helps family-and-awakened mage interactions go down, just like sugar and medicine. Her mouth curves, a sardonic lilt, edging toward more truly amused.

"Hey, for real," she says, and then reaches over to let Zane examine her hand, then scritch him behind his ears. Her petting is not as enthusiastic as Janet's was, but then, Kage doesn't want to get into Ashley's pants, doesn't think Zane will give them anything to talk about, doesn't care. She likes the dog, and that's it. "Why is your dad in town? Is everything okay?"

And then they're not alone.

Because there's Declan, who she didn't even feel; Declan, or someone who looks just like that boy-man named Declan from the graveyard and doesn't feel like him (let the illusion, soap-bubble, stay -- at least for a moment), coming out of the almost-gloom. A second, study, and -- it's got to be the same guy. There can't be two who look the same and act the same. Right? Right. She's just off her game today. Kage's exhales, quietly -- not-quite-a-sigh. Then, "Hey," she calls back. "I remember you."

Unless this is Declan's twin. Who isn't awakened.

Pride: needs some salve.

[Ashley McGowen] "He's been thinking about coming to visit for a while," Ashley says, "and then when I talked to him last night and told him about the demon in the chantry over the weekend and the Nephandus and hell spawlings I ran into last night, he sort of panicked and ran out here and started insisting on doing my errands for a few days. He just got in a couple of hours ago."

Ah, the Hermes portal. Making an overprotective parent's job easier.

Ashley senses Declan before he speaks, unlike Kage. She recognizes the young man's resonance, though; it isn't anything to grow alarmed at, he's a friend of Riley's, he seems fairly nonthreatening. Just a drifter: maybe a little lonely, passing through unnoticed and unremembered. If she had sympathy to spare she might throw some his way (dime into a hat.)

"Hey," she says to him, noticing how he nervously lifts his hand. She doesn't lift hers in return; the Hermetic is sitting a little stiffly there on the rock, trying not to move too much, trying not to lean weight on those muscles, trying to lean the other way and keep them raised and loose. "Declan, right?"

There's a sidelong look toward Kage, something that might hint at a smirk. "Really not on your A-game tonight, are you?"

[K. R. Jakes] [...doo-dee-doo? don't blush!]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 2, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 1 at target 7)

[Declan] It was a lot to take in, these new-found sensations. Ashley stood out to him a great deal more than she had on previous occasions. Her resonance was powerful. Hungry. The effect was a little nerve-wracking, and Declan paused a few paces away on instinct. Kage he looked at with some surprise. They'd only met once before, but despite the incredibly fragile nature of his memory... he could recall that meeting with perfect clarity. He hadn't known then, of course, what he knew now (what he felt), and it cause a slight flush of color to rise to his cheeks.

There was a third. A man he'd never seen before, moving away. Either the awakened made a habit of congregating together, or there were a great deal more of them than he ever could have imagined. Briefly, he glanced in the direction that Ashley's father had gone, before turning back to the two women. He was out of his element here, and it showed. They were both older than him. More knowledgeable. More experienced (in many senses of the word.) And they, unlike him, didn't live on the fringes of the world. Declan pulled his left hand out of his pocket, then fidgeted a bit with the frayed edges on the cuffs of his denim jacket.

"That's right," he nodded in response to Ashley's greeting. Then, glancing at Kage again, he offered a small smile. "Thanks again. For the help. I didn't realize you were... uh... Awakened, right?" He tried out the word, feeling it on his tongue as if saying it for the first time.

[K. R. Jakes] The Orphan's eyebrows take on a particularly sardonic lilt when Ashley mentions hell 'spawlings' and a Nephandus at the white fence house [cursed house (doomed house)]. Her eyes, though - they tarnish up and grow quizzical. Bad news, as usual: any sentence that has the word 'Hell' used not-in-exaggeration was a sentence Kage wished not to hear. "Well," she says. "Do let him know that I'm not a hell spawling, just in case. He's sort of scary intense." Kage doesn't seem scared, but then, she likes intensity.

The Blush. Threat Level: 7. Susceptibility: great -- for the fair-skinned. Meaning: embarrassment or anger, experts still aren't quite clear. Both, maybe. There are schools of thought. Frequent causes: failure, heat, teasing, teasing-about-blushing. Not on your A-game tonight, eh?

She almost flushes at that sidelong look. Almost. Begins to, but manages to master herself. Says, with a lopsided smile - " - I don't know what you're talking about, 'ley." And Declan is new. He practically glows with it. Kage, serious-now, studious, and stepping so that she can lean her hip against the back of Ashley's bench, faces the protean man [strange and eldritch], and she says, "You don't have to thank me again, but you're welcome anyway. Wasn't sure that you knew your eyes were open back at the cemetery."

[Ashley McGowen] She's heard before that her father is intense, judging by the wry tilt of her brows as she glances back toward Kage. "He's heard your name," is the only thing she says of him. Nothing to indicate whether that's good or bad or what she might have said; nothing further. There will be time enough for such discussion.

That Kage suppresses what was probably anger, that gets the hint, the pull at the corner of her mouth, to broaden into a full-on smirk. It's something that Ashley hasn't worn in a while, that air of smug confidence: it faded with the evening when she collapsed outside Kage's apartment, when taint burrowed its way into her soul.

She leaves off on taunting the Initiate, though, in order to focus on Declan, to whom she is solemn. Receptive, if she ever is such a thing at all.

"Did someone finally get things explained to you?" she asks him. "I'm sorry. I meant to try to track you down, but the past couple of days have been busy for me."

[Declan] Wasn't sure that you knew your eyes were open back at the cemetery.

"I um..." Declan glanced down at his feet for a moment as he attempted to contemplate the correct wording for him response. "I knew what I could do, but... wasn't sure if I believed it, I guess. Sortof figured I was making it all up in my head." Which really wasn't a stretch, all things considered. There were plenty enough things wrong with Declan's mind that adding hallucinations to the mix seemed like par for the course.

Looking up again, at Ashley this time, he answered, "Emily told me... about all of you. Kind of amazing, isn't it? There's... so many of you." Almost, he started to let his words run away from him, but ever-conscious of trying not to look overly foolish, he stopped himself. Ever since the aforementioned conversation with the other Orphan, he'd been walking around like a kid in a candy store. There was an element of that about him - like a child whose mind was full to bursting with the limitless possibilities of creativity. Declan wasn't a child though, and despite how he might act sometimes, he hadn't been one for awhile.

Collecting himself, he smiled and glanced down at Zane. "That's a beautiful dog." It was the second time tonight that Ashley's furry companion had been the focus of attention, but in this case at least, the statement had no ulterior designs.

[K. R. Jakes] "What could you do?" The question: natural, but not anywhere close to a demand. Kage is interested. The same sort of interested she'd been when she helped Declan out've Graceland and gave him a ride to the nearest Y. Then, her questions had been subtle, but to a purpose; she'd known he was awake. She hadn't known what that meant to him.

Kage can't help but wonder how Emily explained this O brave new world to an Orphan newer than she was. Wonder, and wish she'd been there to hear the explanation. What sort've Mage is Emily, now: how long is her shadow. Kage's mind wanders, and while it wanders, she Orphan's features touch with wistfulness and thoughtfulness in equal measure, although this isn't to say she isn't listening. She is. Paying attention, perhaps with determination, a ha-ha, shan't be caught out again, sort've determination.

She doesn't even correct Declan's use of the word 'you.' Yet. And Ashley has left off taunting her, so that's to the good. When Ashley says the last couple of days have been busy for her, well, again -- Ashley is the recipient of a long, thoughtful gaze. Direct. Like eye-to-eye isn't a way to let somebody into your head. She's not asking for more details now. The keyword is now.

To Declan, then, who gets her full attention after that studious look for the Hermetic. Kage takes one hat out of her pocket and scratches the side of her neck, picks her braid up, off the back of her neck, just to let the skin breathe. "There's a lot to notice once you're awake. It is pretty amazing, how frequently paths cross and roads become one road, one road becomes many roads, etcetera."

[K. R. Jakes] [okay, outta curiosity, is There Anything Else Awakened In The Park, Man? I'm Totally Paying Attention Now.]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 6, 6, 7, 7 (Success x 3 at target 7) [WP]
to Ashley McGowen

[Ashley McGowen] "He knows," Ashley says, with a wry look toward the dog, who seems happy to receive the attention. Whoever made the claim that dogs take after their owners clearly hadn't seen this pair much.

Ashley, too, is interested in what Declan could do. Curious; and Declan, who had found the air about her disconcerting when he first began to sense it, likely feels disconcerted by the look she's giving him too: the kind of look someone has when they'd like to pull everything you know from your head. But she's sitting back, accepting whatever he will tell her - not contenting herself with it. Never that.

Kage's look, she catches out of the corner of her eye and meets. A sort of promise for details later. There's an understanding between the Hermetic and the Orphan, and it's evident. An odd sort, a somewhat uneasy sort, but there nevertheless. They know each other well.

"There really aren't as many as it seems like," she tells Declan. "I mean, it'll start to feel that way, sometimes, because we have a tendency to converge and be drawn toward one another. But there's...I don't know. Maybe a little more than twenty in this city, that I know of?" A glance toward Kage as though to confirm, even though Kage doesn't truck with the others in the numbers she does.

There's a pause, and then she jerks her chin toward the redhead. "It's kind of strange how it happens. We actually had an acquaintance in common and knew each other from a while back...ran into each other here. You get used to it."

[Declan] Ashley commented on Zane's self-confidence, and her wry grin was returned. Declan looked at the dog fondly for a moment (perhaps he liked animals) while he contemplated an answer to Kage's question. What could he do? That was a difficult question, and one that required some thought. It wasn't that he didn't know. He just... didn't have the words to describe it.

"The first thing that I remember is... realizing that there was this, like... force, running through everything? Like... raw creation. Or... the potential for creation? Imagination in its purest form. Unchecked. Like the dreamstuff of the world." (He didn't say God, because Declan didn't believe in God. What he did believe was too unformed yet to be able to classify.) "And then I started seeing things. Hearing things. Ghosts? I don't know. If I focus, I can see... past everything. Like looking through a mirror."

The easiest one was last (at least in the way of explanations.) "And I can always tell where I am. Like... feeling the landscape. Which is funny, I suppose, since half the time I couldn't even tell you the name of the street I'm on." He laughed a little, in a self-deprecating way. He always seemed to find these sorts of things funnier than others did. Mostly... ordinary people just looked at him as if he was something a little sad.

The laughter made his jaw ache, and for a moment he let his fingers stray to touch the sore spot. It wasn't obvious, but it was a little red and swollen. Tomorrow there would be a light bruise. He seemed thoughtful for a moment, glancing between the two women; noting the particulars of their curious gazes. His lips parted, as if to speak again... but he hesitated, and then... ran his tongue between them (a nervous gesture) before clicking his jaw shut.

[K. R. Jakes] "When I was new, I heard things, too. Just like that." This is a - rare - offering of a concrete detail about Kage's earlier days. This is the kind of offering she gives more readily to the lost [uncertain (vagabond)]. Declan doesn't know that, and Ashley, well: Ashley is even rarer. A traditionalist who knows far more about Kage, about Kage awake, than most others in the world [although Ashley might be surprised to know].

Declan has to think about what words to use. When he's found them, the Orphan doesn't have much difficulty parsing what he means. When she isn't talking to people who use the jargon, know the lingo, she doesn't think in it. Declan chuckles, self-deprecating, and the corner of Kage's mouth hooks up -- not because it's funny? But in echo, a sympathetic thing. "A map probably couldn't tell you what it was a map of; just that it was a map, with lines drawn here, here, and here - so makes sense to me."

She looked at Ashley when Ashley says they 'ran into each other here' and both of her eyebrows flick upwards. It's in response to that remark, though, that she says this to Declan: "There are quite a few Traditionalists in the city. Seem to be a fair amount of Conventionalists lurking in the shadows as well. Actually, there's altogether too much 'lurking' in the city -- did Emily tell you to be careful? Because you should be. Careful, I mean, of some of the people who are awake. A lot of them are assholes, and a lot more of them are monsters."

[Ashley McGowen] She absorbs what Declan tells them, listens, understands how perhaps he could have come to conclude that it was all in his head. It's different from her own experience - it was not a subtle thing, not something she could disbelieve. Seeing, though, doesn't always amount to believing. Not when it's only seeing, at least.

Ashley has something to say to it, a reply that's on her lips, but Kage's last statement draws her attention: a quick shift, a glance toward the other woman, a frown that lashes upward out of the depths. It's a look that, for a few seconds, could be offended, except she shrugs the words away and lets them flow off of her.

"You're definitely not imagining it," she tells Declan, blue eyes directing themselves toward him again. "All of us can do the same thing. I mean, we sense different things, but you have to be in tune to how reality works before you can bend it, if that makes sense." Ashley adjusts herself on the rock she's sitting on, trying to find a position that doesn't strain her wounds. She hadn't expected to be sitting here for this long.

"How did you realize it? Did it just kind of...hit you one day?" There's something curious there, but something a little wistful too, as though she's trying to grasp how one -eases- into Awakening, how it just happens upon a person. She'd ask Kage, too. But she doesn't expect an answer from Kage, or at least not a direct one.

[Declan] [WP - Ah, the inevitable result of probing questions]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 3, 7, 8, 9 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[Declan] His will must have been getting stronger. There'd been a time once when the drifter could scarcely manage an entire conversation without blacking out at some point. People would ask him things (How did you end up on the street? What's your last name?) and the circuit-breaker would trip in his head. That was it. Lights out. After awhile, he'd learned to stop talking to people.

Now, Kage mentioned monsters, and Ashley asked him about how he'd Awakened, and a subconscious creeping sensation slithered up his spine. But that was all. His focus held. There was a moment of evident discomfort on his part (perhaps Ashley had asked him too personal a question, or maybe he just didn't like the idea of running into monsters who could bend reality to their will), but after a moment he reached up to scratch the five-day-old stubble on his chin as he made an attempt at formulating a response. The labels that Kage used - Traditionalists, Conventionalists - were meaningless to him. Assholes and monsters though... those he understood.

"She mentioned to be careful, but we never really got into specifics. Appreciate the warning though." Then, to Ashley, "To be honest, I can't remember." He shrugged. "Maybe it's always been there."

[Ashley McGowen] He either can't remember, or he just doesn't want to talk about it. Ashley suspects the latter more: while she often gives forthright answers, she's learned not to expect the same from other mages. Matters like their Awakenings are things they hold tightly, don't relinquish without a lot of prying. Without a struggle.

Which is certainly not something she's opposed to, but something she's learned is less successful when she's forceful with it. That people don't usually expect cunning or ulterior motives from someone so blunt, that if she tells people what she's after they generously assume it's because she has a heart of gold deep down. She does a lot of learning, Ashley.

"Maybe," she says, a slight frown sketching itself over her face as she looks back at Declan. "But probably not. Kage is right about lurking, though. You should be careful, now that you know, since some Awakened things you might come across won't be friendly. There's a house in the city that you can go to if something happens."

Though these days, the house itself isn't really a fortress against the evil without. She doesn't mention that.

[Declan] There was a reason that Declan had a gun in his pocket. Granted, he didn't know how he'd actually acquired said weapon (stolen it, more than likely), and only barely knew how to use it, but it provided some small protection from the big bad world. And yes, the world was very big, and populated with some very, very bad things. Declan knew this in an instinctual way moreso than a literal one. He might not remember certain things... but his body remembered for him. Like the way he'd tensed up when Emily rested her hand on his knee.

Hell, someone had evidently punched him in the jaw earlier. Violence was a day-to-day reality for him, even in a mundane sense. And now he was being told to watch out for dark things that he couldn't even put words to yet. Declan ought to have reacted like Emily had when a certain unusual Verbena had given her very similar warnings. He didn't, though. Maybe there just wasn't enough fear left in him (maybe he'd spent it all.) For what it was worth, he did take Kage and Ashley's warnings seriously. At least, it appeared so. His expression was one of pensive consideration as he listened, and he nodded at the end. Then he said something a bit... odd.

"I suppose that's to be expected, isn't it? Normal people can be cruel. People with extraordinary abilities might be extraordinarily sinister, given the chance. We're all pretty selfish, in the end."

He took a step back, looked up at the sky (dark, muted stars), and smiled to himself, in a dreamy sort of way. "It's still a beautiful world, for all that."

After a beat, he looked back at Ashley. "Can you tell me more about this house you mentioned? Is it some kind of safe haven?"

[K. R. Jakes] [now, now Kage...]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 3, 5, 5, 6, 8, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)

[K. R. Jakes] A few seconds, and that look: it could've been offended. That isn't something Kage is unaware of. Just like, this: Kage is not unaware that Ashley shifts trying to get comfortable, and yet is not comfortable. Does not read injury into it, though; does not read wound. Now, after all this pensive studying, she has noticed that Declan's jaw is red, raw; that it looks like someone clocked him a good one (a familiar sight [the end-result of violence]). No questions. Not yet. Not now. Not for either.

For a woman with eyes that can be so expressive, the nuances of expression aren't always easy to translate. There's a reason the other awakened tend to associate Kage with the word inscrutable, evasive, riddling: even if she doesn't think of herself so. Cautious, baby. Wary. Reticent, maybe. Okay: definitely reticent. Self-contained, see? That's what's evident. Right now, while she listens. How self-contained Kage is: how composed, how naturally poised. Balanced.

Because she's in that dress, she crouches demure-like, careful, knees directed to the side. Crouches, because she is going to give Zane attention, now that talk has taken his admirers away. Because it isn't fair of her to look cynical while Ashley talks about the house, and the bulletin board sure is useful.

When Declan asks if the White Fence House is some kind of safe haven, Kage doesn't laugh. But the impulse was there: the impulse could've got the better of someone less strong-minded than Kage, someone more given to giving in to impulse -- someone less diplomatic. Still, the signs are there. The way her gaze flicks up under her lashes, the way she straightens her back, redistributes her balance. The sardonic quirk of one eyebrow.

"Noooot really. The White Fence House isn't exactly what I'd call 'safe.' But it has resources," a glance, here, for Ashley; Kage is fair, after all, "that are difficult to come by, and it's served as a gathering space -- neutral ground, I guess? You go inside, and nobody is supposed to mess with you when you're there. Hospitality, something like that -- and it's overseen by a cabal of the more-or-less responsible. It could be worse. Ashley is one of them, so I sort of stole her thunder: she knows far more than I do. Sorry, 'ley."

[K. R. Jakes] ooc: strike that 'I guess' and add an 'I suppose?' instead.

[Ashley McGowen] It's still a beautiful world, for all that, Declan says, taking in the washed-out stars, and Ashley might have smiled for half a second. As long as that beat - she doesn't think of things in such terms anymore, beat and rhythm, but such things elapse naturally. They fade.

With some difficulty, she draws one knee up so that she can wrap an arm around it, and in that space she takes to do so, Kage makes the first answer to Declan's question about the house. That it isn't what Kage would call 'safe,' and Ashley frowns, opens her mouth to answer, quiets again, long enough to let the Orphan finish speaking.

Then Kage says that it's supervised by a cabal of the more or less responsible, and the Hermetic raises her eyebrows for a second (surprised?), recognizing it for what it is. She's not used to praise - Tytalus doesn't hand it out, refuses - but craves it (as so many other things.) She grins. Beams, really, and maybe the people who suppose there's more there than pragmatic cynicism aren't entirely wrong after all.

That too fades away. "Yeah. You can think of it as neutral ground," she tells Declan, with a look back in his direction. "There's...supposed to be a bulletin board there for keeping people updated, but most people don't use it, unfortunately. But it's a good place to network and I have a lot of safeguards there that means it's a relatively good place to go to ground if you have to. And there's a kitchen," she adds, helpfully, remembering how often Gregor used to make use of it (poor Gregor.)

[Declan] [Per+Alertness - I'm getting the feeling there's some subtext here]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 5, 5, 5, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)

[Declan] There was a great deal of subtext in this conversation, but the Apprentice (is that what he was now?) couldn't have known what either of the older magi were thinking. All he knew was what the subtle cues of body language and tone of voice might tell him - that Kage and Ashley had history, and they probably didn't agree on everything, but neither of them felt it was necessary to bring those differences of opinion out into the open (which probably meant that they had at least a reasonable amount of respect for each other.)

"Well then... I'll... keep all of that in mind."

There would be an inquiry, of course, regarding the location of this house. As previously mentioned, for someone who was so frequently lost, Declan had a very good sense of direction. He might forget an address. He might even forget who told him where to find the place. But if he wanted to, he'd get there.

After that little detail was settled, he stepped forward and stretched out a hand to gently pet the top of Zane's head, fingertips massaging around the canine's soft ears. Then he glanced between Kage and Ashley with a smile. "I'm glad I ran into you. Thanks for the advice." (Such as it was.) Before straightening, he leaned tentatively into Kage's space to whisper something near her ear.

"I'm pretty sure you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

A strange admission - that. Sudden and impulsive. He bit his lip a little as he stood up, chewing at it nervously. Then, before he'd have a chance to regret anything, he raised a hand to wave goodbye and turned to walk back in the direction of the Mile.

[K. R. Jakes] [Now, now Kage... Don't be cynical.]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 1, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10 (Failure at target 6)

[K. R. Jakes] "If you need more," Kage says, the beginning of an offer. Advice, she means. New mages, Orphanned yet - she doesn't feel responsible for them in a personal way, doesn't feel that it is her mission to teach them the Way Things Work, that she Knows the way things work in any way that can be taught, but she doesn't just let them wave in the wind either (ask me [I'll tell you, as long as it's not about me]). She isn't the one who gives out the White Fence House's address. She knows the address of the nearest decent Thai restaurant by heart, by mapquest, but the White Fence House: that's a fairytale quest, finding it.

When Declan leans, tentative, into her personal space, Kage quirks an eyebrow in query, but she doesn't rock back or put the dog between them. Listens, and then her eyelashes flicker, and one eyebrow quirks [cynical (perplexed)] a touch higher. Compliments from lovetalkers, those she understands: but Declan didn't seem the type. "Thank you," she says, after a beat. He's saved a sarcastic quip, but only just. There's a certain touch of MmHmm and O Rlly, though -- difficult to ignore. And after, while he's waving goodbye, she squints a glance toward some space off to the side,

and then lets herself kneel instead of crouch. She's still petting Zane. Her gaze switches to Ashley once the other Orphan is out of sight. "So," she says.