The Sorrow of Lost and Found

The Sorrow of Lost and Found
Date of Scene:	21 June 2013
Location:	Atlantis
Synopsis:	Avira discovers her own ties to Atlantis, and the sorrow that goes along with it.
Cast of Characters:	Skoll Ulfang, Zia, Avira
Tinyplot:	What Has Been Lost...

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Zia has posed:
Atlantis had proved to be so much more than just a myth. Where many might have expected nothing but ruins, what they have found is an entire civilization, perched on a plateau over lava beneath. The glow reflects off of the stone, offering some semblance of light, although it seems that there is no cycle of day or night here. Many of the buildings seem deteriorated with age, and what might have been once great monuments, now lie in rubble. Yet, people live here. A people who seem welcoming enough to strange travelers from the outside world.

Strangely, all of the people who live here do seem to share certain traits, specifically, white hair, blue tattoos, and those familiar crystals. Though curious about the strangers, they seem polite enough to stay out of their way for the most part. Some members of the party have spent the day out and about in various places - shopping or exploring.

Zia and Skoll have returned, at least, and the two hover at the entrance to their donated domicile. "So how in the world do ye bloody well cook this thing?" She waggles what looks like an oversized lobster at the werewolf. "Ah dinnae even know if they /have/ butter here." At the very least, she does seem in better spirits.

Taking a chance, the white gargoyle peeks inside, "Tifa, Reize, Percival, Avira, anybody?" She calls out, "Anyone home who knows how te cook giant weird Atlantean lobsters?" Well, it's one way to get attention. It also seems to have drawn the eye of a few locals as well, who seem amused by the antics.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll is leaning quite comfortably against the edge of the entryway to their temporary 'home away from home', with his arms crossed. There's still that distracted quality to him, but when she speaks up, his ears perk up and his gaze shifts to the lobster. He tilts his head a little, and then shakes his head. "Don't ask me. I don't /do/ seafood. It's not good for you, you know." Which is really the exact opposite from what is true. But then, one must keep in mind that the diet of a werewolf is not alike to a human's.

Red meat and the like is good, fish not so much, veggies are ugh, and bread is generally somewhat of a bad idea. He looks up at the ceiling of the place, and lets out a little sound - sniffing the air. "Percival, Reize and Tifa are off exploring still, I think." So he points out, before looking down again. "Might not wanna call their food weird though." He adds and reaches a hand out to ruffle Zia's hair.

Avira has posed:
For a civilization that has been untouched by outside influence for thousands of years, it was a pretty nice place. A lot more rustic than what Avira is used to, even as far as her time in Rabanastre goes. But so far, it's been a lot more peaceful.

Avira needed peaceful right now. The occasional curious looks from the locals do not bother her so much as these people seemed innocent enough, free of the darkness she was shoved into as of late. The scarred woman had been relaxing in their shared house for now when Zia and Skoll came knocking.

"What?" she calls out from within the domicile. A few seconds later she appears, then takes a horrified look at that lobster creature Zia has returned with. "I've never had lobster in my whole life." Avira admits with a hint of sadness, "Always too rich for my blood. But I think you just boil them, right? In a big pot?"

Her hair is down and she has a slightly ruffled look to her. Maybe she was taking a nap before. That new white streak through her hair extends all the way down to the tips.

Zia has posed:
"Nae everyone in the world can live on beef 'n bacon." Zia points out, waggling a limp claw at Skoll. She had her doubts that a werewolf diet was really as strict as he made it out to be. The fact that he ruffles her hair causes the white gargoyle to run a hand through it, sighing to herself. "Ah'll call it weird if it's weird."

Avira's arrival has her just looking at the lobster-thing ruefully. "Aye, tha's the problem. Havenae much experience wi' em, but some old lady gave this one te me earlier." She walks over towards a little pond next to the house and tosses the thing in. " There ye go. We'll be back te try te eat ye later." The moment it hits the water, the lobstrocity seems to wake up, then scuttles down to hide beneath a rock, peeking out with little creepy eyestalks and feelers.

Zia is thinking better of that idea just now. "Ye look like ye needed a rest, lass. Things tha rough lately with VALKYRI?" She asks, with some measure of concern. It's a question she didn't get a chance to say during the journey. The gargoyle motions at the little white bit of hair, then tilts her head slightly. "Seems like everyone's in a bit of a rough spot lately."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll looks up when Avira comes out, and takes a step from the side of the doorway. "Sounds about right." He notes. "I brought a bunch of pots and pans when we started this expedition. They're in my house." He points out and looks up at Zia. "But we might be better off requesting more precise methods to make the lobster from one of the Atlanteans." He raises a brow at Avira though. Too rich for her blood?

"Rich tasting, or too expensive?" He asks. And off goes the lobster. Skoll watches it with this curious look. His ears perked up and his tail still as it goes into the air, and then down into the water. He witholds the temptation to rush to the side of the pond and look inside the water. Instead, he walks towards Avira - moving his tail along Zia's legs on the way there - and lays a hand on her shoulder in that 'big brother is worried' kind of way. "Sorry I can't just take you back home like I used to." He points out.

It seems like everyone is in a rough spot indeed.

Avira has posed:
Avira steps out of the house now and walks over to the little pond, peering in. Cautiously, she sticks a toe into the water-she's not wearing her boots right now, it seems-and wiggles it around, curious to see if the creature will respond to it. She'll be quick to yank her foot back if the lobster-thing tries to pinch.

"Well...rough for some people in VALKYRI." Avira's shoulders slump. "Maira in particular's having a rough time between the business with the Dark Knight and her father." And another certain someone. "...me..I..."

She lowers her head. "Garland trapped me in the corridors of darkness. I had to find my way out."

She sounds very...blunt about it. It's clear she doesn't want to elaborate about that experience. "Too expensive, Skoll." Avira smiles, but that smile is quick to disappear. "...I don't want to use that form of transportation anytime soon." She looks up at Skoll, then frowns, peering around his shoulder.

"...it's that man again." she mutters, jerking her head behind Skoll suddenly before looking back to him and Zia. "He keeps showing up. I think he's spying on us." Indeed, there is a man there-an Atlantean of course, that looks about 30 or so in human years, but who knows how long that is in Atlantean years.

Zia has posed:
The lobstrocity seems frightened enough after being carried around in a bag all day, so it just waggles it's eyestalks at Avira's toe, but doesn't get all snappy about it. Who knows, maybe no one will figure out how to cook it and the little creature will get to live for a while, unnoticed in the pond. It's a Disney film, it happens. Then again, there's the kitchen scene in the Little Mermaid, so not all sea-food has a happy ending.

"Aye. Ah heard tha the fire-haired lass had been hidin out in the watchtower for a while." Zia had gotten a bit of an update from Percival prior to this whole escapade to Atlantis getting started. "Sounds like the poor girl has inherited the role as trouble maker from the rest of us." Well, some of them are /still/ troublemakers, if the events in the tunnels tell anything.

Hearing the source of the discoloration, though, Zia glances over at Skoll. The little she knows about darkness comes from the werewolf, then again, from what she'd heard, he'd lost that particular power. "Tha sounds more frightenin than Ah would like te imagine. But yer alright?" She asks, trying to make sure of that, one brow raised.

It's the mention of someone 'spying' on them that has the white gargoyle glancing over her shoulder. It isn't the first time that someone has followed them since her arrival in Atlantis. The first had been the gargoyle who had an interest in Percival and his sword. But this one seems human, which is just that much more of a strange thing. "It seems te be common practice here. Ah ran inte a gargoyle doin much the same earlier."

She pauses and glances at the pond, "Ah could throw a lobster at 'im." The lobster scurries to the back of the pond as if it heard her. "Or we could jus go ask." That sounds like an easier solution.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"I'm afraid I don't keep track of things so well." Skoll admits in regards to the situation with Maira. "Her father though?" This is the first time he's heard about that. The youth squeezes her shoulder a little - her smile disappearing too fast for his comfort. "Hey, we're here for you, okay?" He tells her. He then glances away - he'd never felt discomfort within the Dark Corridors. But he'd never noticed just how upset Avira would get when moving through them. What can one expect from a former Dusk Princess though?

Then she mentions something about a 'guy', and Skoll's ears perk - of course, looking behind him. "Oh? She wasn't in there last I visited. She and Percival getting along a bit better?" Maira's men situation is a bit confusing. He then glances back to Avira and pulls her into a proper hug for a moment. "I won't make you travel through there again." He whispers to her, looking down at the girl, and when he lets go - he tilts his head at the 'man in question'.

Then Zia has to suggest to throw the lobster at the man. It scurries away and Skoll walks over. By the time Zia suggests the /other/ option, Skoll already has his hand wet and is holding the lobster, and staring at Zia with an 'innocent' look. He quickly hides the lobstrocity behind himself, followed by the sound of a CRACK! The wolf's ears perk in the bad way, his tail POOFS up along with his hair, and he then starts to shake the lobster around. "Ouch ouch ouch ouch, leggo!" And suddenly... FLOOOOOSH!

The lobster goes flying right towards the inquisitive man's head in a nice pretty arc.

Avira has posed:
"She was. Hiding from the Dark Knight in fact." That felt so long ago-since then 'Leon' had been cured and then later regressed back into the Dark Knight. "But yeah. We all just attract massive amounts of trouble, don't we?" she laughs lightheartedly. "Percival and Maira seem to be getting along." To Avira's knowledge. She didn't know how Percival felt about the whole Angantyr situation.

'But yer alright?' Avira falls silent at that.

Slowly, she shakes her head. "No. It did something. I'm not sure what...I know I didn't give into the darkness, but..." Avira shudders and wraps her arms around herself, "I...I don't want to think about it." Skoll's timing is good for at that moment, he pulls the short human into a hug. "T..thanks." she murmurs.



At that point, the man, perhaps upon being spotted, turns away and disappears into the rest of Atlantis. Just in time too as the lobster creature strikes the ground just where he had been standing.

"Looks like we won't have to. Maybe he heard us." Avira mutters, looking to Zia, "So wait, they have gargoyles down here too? Really?"

Zia has posed:
The white gargoyle rubs at the side of her head, but nods some measure of understanding. Just who the 'Dark Knight' is, remains a mystery, but she'll probably figure that out sooner or later. Either that, or she'll ask Percival. It's not like she doesn't have ample opportunity to harass the russet gargoyle for information. "Aye, lass, but it seems like trouble is everywhere these days, either way. At least it keeps life interestin'."

Though, her humor falters for a moment, though. While she had some small thread of darkness in her own magic, leftover from her own past, she's never been as close to it as some others. It's hard to imagine being lost between somewhere, but Avira had been able to escape, so perhaps that speaks to her strength. "It's alright, lass. Yer back, now, 'n tha's all tha matters."

And then Skoll has to go and turn the moment into comedy sketch. Zia turns towards him just in time to see him puff up and fling the lobster across into the street. It all happens in slow motion. The lobster flying through the air, and then *thump*. The lobster shakes it's little beady-eyed head, glances over at them, and then starts to skedaddle away.

"Well, at least we dinnae have te worry about how te cook it." The white gargoyle scratches her head, "Ye alright?" She asks Skoll, but having seen him live through far worse things than a lobster-nip, she's pretty sure he'll live. "Maybe ye can put tha nose of yers te work." She suggests. "After our spy, nae the lobster." She notes, just incase he has ideas.

"Huh?" Zia blinks towards Avira, "Oh, Aye. A small clan tha lives up on tha ridge there." She points to a place that just looks like a tower of rock.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll is kissing his wounded finger for a moment, before he finally ends up responding to the two of them. He wouldn't bring up the darkness thing to Avira anymore, at least not for a while. She knows that he's always there to talk - and that he's a good listener. Her words are safe with him. "I know you wouldn't." Skoll does at least note, as if telling her that he believes in her. It's important for Skoll that Avira knows just how much he trusts her and believes in her.

He shows his finger to Zia as she asks him if he's alright. "Yeah, I'll be okay." He answers her, and then taps his nose with that finger. "Skoll, your detecti~ OUCH.." Detective nose, on the job, with a painful finger. Or maybe he's just being a tad more silly for Avira's sake.

"Oh yeah, Gargoyles. Quite a few of them. All sporting white hair too." He notes. "Haven't a clue how old they are. But it's quite impressive." He points out, and starts walking backwards slowly. "So ehhh, I'll be chasing our spy now." He indicates and then turns to follow along.

Avira has posed:
"I wouldn't trade it for my former life, that's for sure." Avira smirks lightly as she pulls away from Skoll a little to rest her hands on his forearms. Until he pulls away from that too. "Thank you." she offers Skoll quietly.

Fortunately, poor poofy Skoll's little pinch lightens Avira's mood. It's good-she needs this right now. She was back. Zia was right. That was all that mattered. She'd figure out what happened later.

"Yeah but it it gets away, what are we going to eat for dinner? I was kind of looking forward to actually getting to taste lobster for once." Valeth never got her lobster when they dated. The jerk.

She puts her hands in her pockets and looks up at the rock formation, "A Gargoyle clan on another world?" she pauses, "...with white hair like these people? How strange."

Skoll starts to back away but Avira follows. "I'm coming with you." she says pleasantly, stalking after the werewolf. "Maybe I can learn some more tracking things from you in the meantime~"

Skoll's nose would lead him deeper into the parts of the city. There are many other houses here, all obviously very old and worn. Foot traffic is light here so Skoll won't have that many competing scents to deal with. In fact, it may even lead him to one particular house, though there is no sign of the man outside of it.

Zia has posed:
"Me either." Zia admits. Her old life of being afraid, hiding in abandoned buildings and eating out of the trash? Yeah, it can stay gone. Sometimes all you need is a good nudge and a reason to be brave. "Guess tha's one of the benefits of all this. For some of us, it gives us a chance te be wha we couldn't be b'fore."

She chuckles to herself, watching as the lobster tries valiantly to get away, but ends up falling into another pool just a bit up the road. "Ah dinnae think we'll have too much trouble trackin down dinner. It doesnae seem very smart."

And then the wolf is off playing bloodhound, and Zia trails him along with Skoll. "Tha's the strange thing, though. Ah dinnae think this is a part of another world. Ah think it's part of ours." As they follow deeper into those older parts of the city, the gargoyle's blue eyes take in the buildings, trying to imagine what they might have once looked like. "The writin' on the sword Ah gave the young squire is the same as the symbols you see all over the city, 'n the crystals are the same, too."

While Avira tries to learn tracking from Skoll, it's a bit of a harder task for Zia. She doesn't seem to have any better nose than your average human - except perhaps for certain delicious foods that she seems to be able to track uncanny distances, but that's mostly just a fluke. "Ah dinnae think Ah've been te this part of the city before." She murmurs in a quiet voice, reaching out to touch a nearby wall as they pass. It almost feels like walking through one of those old ruins from her own homeland.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
When Avira rested her hands on his forearms, the youth laid a hand to her upper arm for a moment, patting the spot before indeed pulling away. "'welcome." He answers her with a stupid smile on his face. And then, tracking!

The werewolf remains upright for a good part of it, looking at the ground thoughtfully. Now and again, he leans down and spreads his hand along some rocks and blows air at them, before getting up again and walking in a certain direction. The further they get away from the city, the faster Skoll's pace becomes. It's probably hard for Avira to 'follow' what he is doing, for the wolf is honing the one thing that she doesn't have.

A nose with the sensitivity of a wolf's. Still, he points out certain things to Avira as they move. People who have shifted themselves to look at them and subconsciously look the direction the man went. A small group of craps that had 'split up' into two groups and were trying to get close together again.

"This way." He lures them further along, until they get to the older parts of the city. From there-on, he points out stones that have been shifted, or dust settlement patterns. But mostly, he relies on his nose to guide him, until they finally come to the house. "I leave this to you two." He notes to Avira and Zia. "I don't think he means any harm."

Avira has posed:
A slow smile spreads across her face at Zia's words. "You're right. You're exactly right, Zia." Avira took advantage of that opportunity pretty thoroughly months ago.

As they follow along, Avira keeps conversing with Zia, though her voice is a lot quieter. "This is a part of Earth? As in Atlantis is real on Earth?" Well, apparently things like Loki and Fae and Coyote were real on Earth. Lumping Atlantis into there, though. "I noticed that. I noticed that everyone here seems to have the same crystals that you had and..." Avira reaches down her shirt and pulls out a necklace that was under her shirt. It's one of two, on a much smaller chain now that she's not a mutate. It too has a crystal, but it doesn't glow at all. Not anymore. Not since Manhattan was restored. Skoll would definitely recognize it as the gift he gave her for Christmas. "...well, okay, maybe not this since it doesn't have that glowy thing going for it." She lets it drop.

"I haven't been here before either." Avira says quietly.

Ah, but Avira remembers. Avira remembers, as a mutate, having a greatly enhanced sense of smell. She sees the other signs of passing though and quietly notes each one for later.

The entrance to the house is covered by an old length of embroided cloth possessing a symbol of what seems to be two intertwined sea snakes. Just beyond, people can be heard conversing in the Atlantean language that nobody in their party can speak.

Avira waits for a moment, then reaches in to brush the cloth aside. "Hey-" she calls in, "Why are you-"

The scarred woman stops silently, her eyes widening suddenly. If Zia or Skoll peer over her (and she's short, so this is easy to do), they'll see a collection of Atlanteans inside. Their spy is there as are a handful of other people that appear to look related. One of them though...

One of them is a woman who appears to be in her mid-forties. Something about her seems remarkably familiar. It is this woman that seems to have Avira's full attention.

The huntress's mouth slowly drops open. "...mom?" she says in a tiny voice, filled with disbelief.

The Atlantean woman steps forward, hesitating for a moment before quickly closing the distance. A hand reaches out to touch the side of Avira's face, slim fingers brushing over one of her scars. "Rosalie?" she speaks, equally shocked.

Zia has posed:
"Ah think so." The white gargoyle confirms, lightly pulling out her own crystal. Though it still bears the deep etched line from the day that Skoll had been saved from the Gaudium Lords, it now glows softly. "Ah dinnae think the Gargoyles here could have fixed this otherwise." She glances over at the pendants that the other woman wears, regarding them curiously.

For now, though, she doesn't ask. Instead, the gargoyle hangs back a step once they arrive, her ears twitching slightly at the sound of voices. Someday, they need to find an expert in jibberish.

As Avira stops, Zia peeks, trying to get a view on what would have stopped her. At first, nothing seems unusual - just a group of Atlanteans, and then.. 'Mom?' Blink.

Obviously, this is one of those moments where the world seems to focus in on the two women, reunited, but Zia can't help but lean towards Skoll and mouth the word: 'Rosalie?' to him, with a questioning lift of a brow.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll looks at the embroidered cloth, touching his hand against the symbol. The two intertwined sea-snakes speaks to him, due to that whole 'Skoll and Hati' thing. He's distracted long enough for the scarred woman to find her way inside. He doesn't actually get inside until he suddenly hears 'mom?'. That's the moment where Skoll can't help but duck his head and walk into the room himself and sees the woman reaching out to Avira's face. And then... that name.

It may be a miracle, but Skoll /actually/ knows Avira's name.

And so, when Zia leans in and mouths that word to her, Skoll shakes his head a little. "Long story." He whispers back. "I think Avira is a better match for what she is now." He follows this up by walking in and coming to stand besides Avira and placing a hand on the girl's shoulder for a moment, and then lays that same hand to his heart. "It's an honor to finally get to meet Avira~.. I mean, Rosalie's mother." He then reaches out that hand to shake hers.

"A please, miss Ardivashi. My name is Skoll Ulfang. A friend of Rosalie's. And this..." He steps aside, and shows a flat hand towards Zia. "... is a fellow friend. Zia - from beyond Atlantis." He then steps back. Skoll doesn't wish to intrude /too much/ on this sudden meeting.

Avira has posed:
Surely Avira's necklace wasn't one of those crystals? Where DID Skoll get it...?

It was an unbelievable thing to see each other like this-but between mother and daughter, they knew. They knew each other despite their respective transformations. Resemblence was undeniable now with them close to each other.

Avira seems to mentally crumble a second before she launches herself forward and hugs the Atlantean woman. "Mom!!"

Further inside, the group of Atlanteans there start to chatter in their native language. There seem to be five of them-the man, another woman about his age, a young child, and a much older man and woman. A family maybe? They look related, if only via similar blue tattoos upon them.

After a long moment spent hugging, Avira's mother pulls away and looks to Skoll. There is a simultaneous look of shock on both Avira and Ardivashi's face.

"Hello." Ardivashi's accent is strange. Her english has a hint of of Spaniard in it. "Why, that's good to hear that Rosalie has found friends." She slowly smiles, "With a Gargoyle no less."

"Skoll." Avira frowns, "How...how on earth do you know her name?"

Zia has posed:
Introductions are still somewhat of a foreign thing for Zia, so it takes Skoll initiating it for her to sweep her wing forward to offer a bow of her own head. "It's a pleasure te meet ye m'am." At the very least, someone has taken to giving her name, because she barely gives it out, even now.

Yet, seeing the reunion between mother and daughter leaves a pang in her own heart. It's heartening to see family brought together, no matter how strange the circumstances. Her own hand goes to the little bottle that rests next to her crystal.

Skoll's explination helps somewhat to set pieces into place.

With so many people in the house, Zia steps back a bit towards the wall to give the others room, but her head cants to the side, "The gargoyles here seem te get along wi' the humans." And then it clicks somehow, glancing at Avira again, "It's nae quite the same up-top. But there's a few good humans out there." With a nod of her head, the gargoyle obviously groups Avira into that.

Then, it's a flash of blue eyes from Avira, to Skoll, and back again.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll can't help but give that most adorable 'confused puppy' look when Avira and Ardivashi both give him that shocked look. His tail naturally folds between his legs and one ear goes up while the other goes half-down. He tilts his head a little and purses his lips slightly, and then tilts his head the other way, making a little whiney sound.

"Oh yes. She has quite the group of friends, this one does." Skoll points out in regards to Avira and her VALKYRI. "You have no idea..." He adds to this, grinning, before tilting his head towards Avira. Ahh... you should see the smile on his face.

"Well you see, the Skoll you once knew isn't really here. I am a Skoll from a different timeline. I am actually your father. And I am here to make sure you two meet, so that the world of Atlantis might finally be introduced to the might of Bacon. Your mom will be a very important in the Bacon Wars in the coming days." Skoll folds his arms over his chest and rattles this off with the most /serious/ face he can manage... and keeps this stern face for a few seconds to see if anyone is going to believe /any/ of this.

Then he bursts into laughter. "Nah. But it's a secret." He adds, and smirks at Avira before glancing back to Zia - who is no doubt giving him a look. "What?" He appologizes, shrugging his shoulders and showing the flat of his hands near his waist.

It's Skoll. Mystery wolf.

As for that crystal. That is a story for another time. "Still, " He jumps right to another subject. "We should probably leave you two to have a reunion without people lollygagging about."

Avira has posed:
Avira makes a different, sympathetic face when Skoll lets out that cute little puppy whine. She can't take it! It was just too...too adorable.

"I was shocked when I discovered it was otherwise on the outside world." Ardivashi says with a sad smile, turning to look at Zia with some curiosity. "While it was true that there was conflicts here, it was nothing like what I witnessed."

Avira's mind looks pretty blown, "But...but how did.."

Then Skoll starts talking. For a few lines of that she actually believes him because why the hell not? Suddenly nothing is making sense. Her mom is here, alright, maybe this is where she was sent after the world was destroyed. But how can she know about gargoyles?! And this place?! Rosalie knew her mother as Hispanic! Sure, the premature white hair was a little weird but not an unheard of condition!

But as soon as Skoll starts talking about bacon, Avira breaks away and gives the werewolf a shove! "Don't mess around like that, it almost sounds believable!" Avira blurts out, confusion upon her face.

"A long story no doubt. As was mine." Avira's mother mentions, waving the pair to come in. "Oh, you may both join us. I am always happy to meet friends of Rosalie. She never had much...luck with friends in the past..."

Promptly, Avira looks embarassed. "Ah..uh...I go by Avira now, mom." she murmurs.

Zia has posed:
"Skoll Ulfang." Okay, /now/ Zia uses his name. "Will ye stop tha before ye confuse the poor girl more than she already is?" The gargoyle sweeps her tail out and twitches it against his. A bit more of that, and it wouldn't surprise her if steam would start coming out of the scarred woman's ears.

Then, with her attention back on Ardivashi, the white gargoyle nods softly. "Aye. Humans on the surface world have largely forgotten aboot magic. Anythin other than themselves tends te scare them, 'n tha fear turns te anger." There seems to be some people in Manhattan that have accepted the strange other worldly creatures, and others still intent on keeping their place for their people.

Zia reaches her hand towards Skoll's, "Come on, stay a wee bit longer. This is the sorta thing friends do, ye know." Though she hasn't ever had a great many friends, it doesn't seem right to just leave Avira still struggling for the answers to why her mother is here.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll sticks his tongue out at Zia in response to that swat, and then chuckles at Avira. "I'm sorry - I didn't think that'd come across as that believable." But then, time shenanigans aren't something Skoll is very familiar with. "I'll be good." He raises his hand to show that he promises this. In regards to Zia asking him to stay however, he nods for a moment... and then decides something; "Okay, I'll stay. But on one condition!"

And with that, Skoll is suddenly gone. A minute passes at most, before Skoll suddenly shows up with two lobsters in hand, and one hanging off of his tail. "Could you teach me how to make these? Avira says that nobody has ever treated her to lobster - and I'd like to fulfil that wish." The young werewolf stands there, full smiles.

He's a good friend.

"But she is right. She is Avira now - but she's still your daughter. She's just... grown up since medical school. I think she's made up for her 'bad luck' with friends over the last years." Although... there /is/ still the case of Angantyr. Skoll then smirks, "Let me tell you about Avira." He then begins, prompty sitting down, and begins to tell the story of how he met Avira the first time.

Avira has posed:
"It's for the best." Ardivashi speaks up after a moment of silence, "The surface world is not responsible to handle magic. Maybe...it never was-"

"You knew about this!" Avira suddenly blurts out, "This whole time, you knew about it but you never told me. ...why?"

The older woman looks uncomfortable for an awkward moment, "It's along story. A long story of a life I left behind to pursue the man of my dreams. I can explain, but...in time."

Skoll steps out for a moment to retrieve the lobster creatures. The man that had been spying on them laughs out loud and, for the first time, speaks, "We can show you." He motions Skoll farther in, "Come here."

With each word from Skoll following that, though, Avira grows red in the face, "Attempt at medical school." she murmurs quietly. "But...yeah I...I go by Avira now."

"Oh, yes." Ardivashi sounds conspiratorily interested, "Go on, go on, I'm sure you have a /very/ interesting story for me~"

Zia has posed:
"Well, it doesnae ma'er if they're responsible now. Magic exists, if they like it or not." Just how the humans of Manhattan handle such wonders remains to be seen. Thus far, it seems that there are two sorts - those who embrace it, and those who want it to go away. As if somehow by throwing out those strange outsiders, they might somehow reclaim their world. If only it were that simple.

At first, Zia is as curious as everyone else about the 'condition' that Skoll has, but as he returns with the lobsters, she just laughs. "Maybe ah should see aboot rentin ye out to the locals as a lobster-catcher." She reaches over and helps to detatch the one from the poor wolf's tail. "Then again, Ah think Ah'd prefer ye te keep her tail attached."

Since she had been there to see how to disable the lobsters, the gargoyle takes a minute to help skoll with them before handing them over to the Atlantean man. She settles down, finding a place just wide enough for her wings to tuck in, then falls in to listen to the story. It isn't one she's heard before, and of course, Zia is expecting to eventually hear the mother's story as well.

"Ah think yer mum would be proud te learn aboot wha ye've managed te accomplish. It isnae like any of us were given a crash course on the end of the world or anythin."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll looks a bit uncomfortable with those lobsters hanging off of him. He casts an appreciative smile at Zia in regards to the lobster-detachment. Well, the one on his tail anyhow. "It seems that if you stick fluffy things into the pond... they latch on." Skoll points out to nobody in particular, and follows the man they'd been following towards the kitchen. From there, he can listen to the girls speaking a bit more. "Just give me a bit to make this." He calls out back, and gets to work. Rather than just letting the guy show him 'how' to do it, he immediately gets his hands dirty. The wolf isn't afraid to make mistakes.

His fluffy ears are pointed back towards the women however. He can only wonder what it must have been like for Avira; to grow up without a mother to support her. "I bet you still know more about medical stuff than me." Skoll does call back regarding the whole Medical School thing.

Avira has posed:
Further redness comes to Avira's face. It's not embarassment anymore. It's shame. Shame over a dream she failed to fulfill. "Barely. Can...can we talk about something else? My mom's already...familiar with that point in my life."

One of the older men starts taking the lobster creatures, holding them in such a way that they go slack in his grip and do not pinch or squirm. He even pauses to show Skoll this, chuckling a little about the fluffy comment. Following that, he does show Skoll how to properly prepare the lobster creatures!

On the subject of magic, there's a look of discomfort on Ardivashi's face. "Perhaps it would develop out of necessity now that there is a threat to unify against." she says softly, settling down on one of many soft chairs arranged around the home. Avira takes a seat as well. "But I would love to hear your stories. All of them."

"Well..." Avira sucks in a breath and starts to talk, starting with the end of their world and how she was thrust through the darkness and eventually wound up in Ivalice. So much has happened, she goes through mostly the highlights, such as creating VALKYRI, meeting with the likes of Skoll and later Zia since they are her friends, joining up with the TDA, the whole fall of Manhattan saga, its restoration, and a number of other adventures on the way.

Dinner actually winds up being ready about halfway through Avira's story.

Zia has posed:
"Ah pray yer right, but some days Ah have m'doubts." Zia admits, her expression rueful. Even though Gargoyles came from the same world as the humans of Manhattan, they were often treated as badly as the outsiders. Her tail tucks in against her side, and eventually she shrugs, uncertain of what else to say on that matter, at least. Hopefully, it will be a while before the people of Atlantis have to deal with the outside world and it's prejudice.

As the story-time starts, Zia spends part of her time with an ear trained on 'operation lobster' and the other on the tale at hand. Now and again, where it's applicable, she chimes in a bit, adding some extra information or a different set of events. During the fall of Manhattan, for instance, there were times when she and Avira were fighting in different parts of the city, meaning that they had vastly different stories to share on what happened.

When food arrives and the werewolf returns, she scootches over to give Skoll room to join them, accepting a bowl of pseudo-lobstrocity sniffing at it curiously. "Ye know, after growin' up in Sco'land, Ah shouldnae be afraid of eatin anythin, but sometimes..." The gargoyle pokes a talon at the meat. Eventually, though, she pops a piece into her mouth, closing her eyes as if expecting it to fight back. It takes her a moment to realize that it's actually pretty good, and then it's all food shoving in her mouth and incoherent mumbling.

Her time on the streets and her natural gargoyle matabolism are enough of an excuse not to pass up any meal, even if it's primarily giant freaky lobster.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll, much like Zia, keeps an ear on the story. He too chimes in now and again; but is a bit more flattering with his comments about Avira and his meetings with her. She was a good friend, and he wanted to make sure she made a good impression with her newly found mother. The note that she 'knew' about the Medical School failure also is taken to mind - realizing that her mother at least hadn't abandoned her at a young age. As much as Skoll knew some details thanks to Castle Oblivion, he didn't know everything. No, there was much even he was missing out on.

When he finally comes back with the prepared lobster - two of them to be precise, the other one still squirming around in the kitchen in a closed off pan on the floor - he comments a little more. "When you have time, you should make sure she meets Maira. I am sure Maira would /love/ to meet your mom." Skoll notes, not having a clue that the heartless problem is about to get much worse tomorrow. He sits down with Zia and then animatedly begins to weave a story about the time he was in trouble at Port Royale.

He's very... colorful with his word use, and one can tell that Skoll really does come from a tribal kind of society, a group that prides itself on things like 'warriors' and 'tracking skills'. The story quickly evolves into a very verbose description of the heroics of both Zia and Avira. He doesn't put any specific attention to either of their roles; telling the story as it 'was'. And between weaving the story, he noms heartily on the lobster.

Avira has posed:
Unlike the brutal lives of the werewolves that Skoll lived through, Rosalie's was a lot 'softer.' Failing to successfully get to medical school resulted in disappointment, but not disowning. Whether or not Skoll saw a glimpse of this, though, whether or not he saw the unconditional love of her parents shine through...

"Gargoyles are especially fearless, I've seen." Ardivashi interjects with a smile, clearly pleased by the stories. As Zia describes her own battles, which Avira had not been present at, the huntress listens intently.

"Oh definitely! You'd love her, very sweet. Though I hope she can get down here..." her cheer starts to fade a little as other thoughts start to occur to her. Dark thoughts of enemies. What would they do if they discovered her mother was alive?

Her mother, none the wiser, sits back and listens as Skoll describes the quest to save the werewolf. The daring expedition into the jungle! The valliant fight against the Gaia Sister! She does notice how Skoll plays up the fighting of Zia and Avira when she knew that it was, in the end, Skoll that did the monsterous woman in.

Ardivashi is absolutely beaming with pride. "I always knew." she says quietly, "One day you would shine like the stars in the sky, Rosali-no, Avira." There's a strange glimmer in her eyes, "Always."

Zia has posed:
Fearless? Zia rubs at the back of her neck and shakes her head. "Ah wish Ah could claim te be fearless, but unfortunately tha's somethin Ah cannae do. None of us were really ready for wha happened, we're just tryin te deal wi' it the best we can. Sometimes, ye just havete be brave, or the state of the world would scare ye all the more." It's probably a way of talking around the compliment, as she isn't really used to such things.

In the end, the warm words from Avira's mother are heartwarming, and while Zia doesn't say anything, she does rub at one of her eyes, looking down into her now-empty food bowl rather than saying anything at first. Would her own parents have been proud of who she's become? Maybe, but that's something she'll never know.

"So... ye've heard some of our stories, Ah'm sure yer daughter would like te find out aboot all this." She looks around, as if taking in all of Atlantis as well as everything that happened before.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"She's quite amazing." Skoll refers to Avira when the mother expresses her hopes for her daughter - and how she's lived them. He smiles ever so warmly as he states this. So this is what it is like. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to have a caring mother like that. It actually makes him go quiet as he reminisces about home for a moment. This leads to him missing out on the chance to chime in with Zia on the request for the woman to word her own story. But there's no real need for it either.

Skoll just keeps quiet and continues to eat; and fills Zia's plate a bit more with his own. He wasn't /that/ hungry at the moment, but more importantly, he was also eating slower than her.

Avira has posed:
Avira herself looks like she might be tearing up a little. It'd been so long since she'd heard anything like this and, in fact, the whole time she had worried she'd profoundly disappointed her parents. Not lived up to expectations. But she hit the mark somewhere along the lines and ultimately, that's what made her parents proud, right?

"This place..." Avira's mom grows silent, "I was actually quite surprised myself to see what had become of it. Thousands of years have passed since this city was at its height. There had been a catastrophe-a disaster that would have destroyed the city completely but our queen buried it beneath the earth. In exchange for her life."

"Since then, our city has slowly crumbled. But we manage to get by without the surface." One of Avira's family members speaks up. "It is a shock to see my sister again. We believed her lost those thousands of years ago."

Avira seems confused. "I'm sorry...thousands of years? But you people don't look older than...I dunno, forty."

The Atlanteans all look amongst each other. "Our aging is magnitudes slower than those of the surface." Ardivashi says patiently.

Zia has posed:
More food? Yes, please. Zia doesn't argue at all with the second helping. For those that met her months ago, it might be a surprise that she's actually filled out to something close to a normal weight. Scavanging on the edge of human society hadn't really worked out well. There's a fine line between survival and thriving. She's busy nomming as Avira's mother starts to tell some measure of the story of Atlantis.

She'd heard some parts of this before, although in different words from people who hadn't been there at the time. At the mention of aging, though, Zia gives a glance towards Skoll before glancing again at Ardivashi. "It... seems te have te do wi' the magic of this place." Zia takes out the crystal she'd carried with her throughout their journey here. It's what she'd come to have fixed, and it seems that the once cold gemstone now has a faint glow that matches that of those worn by the others.

"Some of the Gargoyles tha we met were thousands of years old, themselves. It's power let m'father live nearly twice his normal lifespan, too." Zia continues, but then tucks her crystal away again. Having just gotten it repaired, she's just a little cautious with the stone. "Ah cannae imagine the things ye must have seen in tha time."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll catches that little glance, and nods at Zia rather thoughtfully. Indeed... longevity is something that in a ways, has become 'important' to Skoll. He then looks out towards the mother again. "And with Gargoyles, it must only be more." He suggests. "I hear they live longer than humans after all. Unless the magic works differently?" It's partially a statement, partially a question, because he doesn't have all the information here; and is trying to reach out to grab it.

The werewolf then glances back to Avira. After all, she must be in for a bit of a shock. Especially as... well... her mother is likely to outlive her.

Avira has posed:
Ardivashi reaches down to pull up her own crystal, which Avira does recognize as a necklace that she's seen her mother wear off and on. In fact her mother always seemed to age gracefully while Avira was growing up. Turns out she might not have been aging at all. The others at the dinnertable wear similar crystals, of course.

"My own time was...twisted. I did not spend it all on the surface world as a normal human might. For what turned out to be many more years than I realized, I resided in a place called Avalon. In search of a man I kept finding in my dreams, I walked into those mists and found myself...very far away. Years passed and eventually those mists released me into New York City. By then the year was the mid 1960s."

Avira's shocked alright. Learning that her mother will have a hundred times the lifetimes she will is pretty overwhelming. It hasn't gone unnoticed by the rest of the family inside the house that Avira is starting to look a little pale as she realizes all of this.

Everybody in this room is going to outlive her.

The scarred woman has stopped eating now and stares down at her plate. One hand reaches down into her own shirt and pulls out a crystal on a chain-Skoll will recognize it as the gift he gave her for Christmas. But this crystal does not glow. She holds the stone in the palm of her hand for a few seconds before closing her fingers around it.

"I knew from my dreams..." Ardivashi continues, "That I would meet Dmitri in this city."

Zia has posed:
"Avalon?" Zia's attention perks a bit at this, "M'da used te tell stories aboot the restin place of King Arthur. He loved those old stories but..." She hesitates, "Ah never thought they were real." Then again, most people didn't think the old stories about gargoyles were real either.

At last, she seems to get her fill of the food and sets her bowl to the side, tail curling down around her legs, expression thoughtful. Ardivashi found her 'love' through her dreams and the powers of Avalon. Avira had found her true love to break a curse. Skoll was searching for his true love in some mythical Sky Wolf.

"Maybe it runs in the family. Love 'n magic." White ears tuck slightly, offering the two women a small smile. "Seems like the sort of thing tha comes out of fairy tales. At least the good ones, anyways."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll raises a brow regarding Ardivashi's story. Man, it was even more confusing than he'd first thought. Twisted time though - what an interesting concept. "So you are from... the far past?" He inquires, tilting his head a little. That's when he notices that movement of Avira's. His attention is drawn to her fingers, and that little crystal that comes out. It doesn't even have that glow to it anymore that it had once had. Skoll's wolven ears both fold down a little. That pale look. No, he knows exactly what is going through her mind. He glances away from Avira, almost feeling... guilty. Like he is somehow at fault for those thoughts in her mind as well.

It's not just Avira's family. It's himself as well, and Zia. Some of Avira's friends - even 'Kara', whom might very well become her friend one day, would certainly outlive Avira.

"It's nice that you managed to meet him?" Skoll suggests, before glancing at Avira again. She had Mercade though. They would live for the same amount of time. They'd grow old together. Maybe... that would be enough.

Avira has posed:
"It is very much a place. Perhaps with a mind of its own. In time, there came clan of gargoyles that lived there as well with a few humans that cared for them. They had their own fantastic stories to tell." Ardivashi sighs. "Perhaps it does run in the family. Yes, Skoll, the very far past."

Abruptly, Avira stands, drawing concerned looks from the white-haired Atlanteans in the room. She is shaking ever so slightly, the grip on her crystal almost hard enough to draw blood from her palm.

"Avira...?" her mother ventures.

"I...I need some air." she murmurs hastily before abruptly turning away and all but sprinting out of the entrance, leaving the tapestry covering flapping in her wake.

Zia has posed:
The white gargoyle seems about to say something when Avira rises, drawing her attention. Whatever question was on her lips falls silent as Avira makes her hasty exit. In that instant, she can't help but feel that maybe they'd worn out their welcome. Of course, that's also when a different sort of entourage comes looking for her.

As Avira exits, two gargoyles in cloaks pass, peeking in to the home with quiet, serious voices. These are the guards that had been sent out into the tunnels to check on the Heartless. Zia is on her feet, joining them in the entryway of the home a moment later. Low voices murmur, and then the white gargoyle makes her apologies before being harried off to deal with some greater disaster.

Soon enough, the danger to Atlantis would become known to all of them, and the plan to help protect them, if only for a time. For now, though, it's one less person to confuse an already confusing situation for Avira.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll looks up when Avira suddenly starts shaking. He can tell she's upset. Skoll looks towards the mother, who is probably not quite understanding quite the impact of her words. And soon, Zia too has to leave. He passes a little motion towards the Gargoyle, touching her side as he leaves - letting her know that he'll soon be going out too.

Yet, he does stays a bit longer. He stands up, puts his plate down, and offers the woman a bow with his hand to his chest. "I thank you for welcoming you into our home." He then raises his posture and glances back at the door, and then at the mother again.

"Don't take it personally. But unlike the people of Atlantis, your daughter won't live that long. I personally am Immortal myself, and Zia has a crystal - as you saw. She will live much longer than even you. It's likely that you'll outlive Avira... and her descendants... and her descendants' descendants..." He pauses for a moment, looking a bit sorrowful. He hopes that explains things for her. "If you'll excuse me. It's been nice meeting you."

The youth then turns and moves to the exit, trying to follow after Avira. He is certain the girl will needs a good hug... and some time to let go of the feelings she is keeping inside. He's not sure though if... he is the man to spill these feelings towards. After all, much like her mother...

Avira has posed:
Various stages of shock spread throughout the Atlanteans that occupy the mother's side of Avira's family-with the exception of Ardivashi herself, who instead looks quite sad.

"It seems my excitment got away from myself." she says quietly, "I am...well aware of the tragically short lives that those of the surface world live. I am sorry, I didn't want it to come up like this..."

Skoll, of course, being Skoll can easily track the human girl. She's actually put quite a bit of distance between her house and herself in a short amount of time, owing to her fitness level and just how upset she was by all of this.

Curled up near an empty pool of water, she rests her face against her knees, her shoulders heaving with the quiet weeping.

"...it's so short..." she whimpers, "...why? Why is it so short."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Indeed, Skoll manages to find the girl in fairly short notice. The werewolf rounds the house, but does take his time getting over to her. She wants her to have a little time to calm down; and if he came running, she might run away. When he finally does come across her, he ends up just sitting down right besides her, and remains quiet for a moment, staring out at the water. He's not sure what to answer her - he heard her question.

"I wonder sometimes, why mine has to be so long." He answers Avira. He picks up a pebble and tosses it at the water. "I don't know if it's that bad a thing... to live a regular lifespan. Most people around you will live just as long as you do..."

Avira has posed:
Though he's quiet, Avira knows he's there. Her heightened awareness remains, especially with news that the Heartless are threatening this place. Here! Heartless all the way down here! How awful!

"I don't want to live forever..." Avira mutters, not lifting her head, "...but still. It's so short. The people around me too...it's all so short. It isn't fair." She finally lifts her head up a little so her eyes are visible. They're, of course, slightly red and filled with tears. "I barely get any time and mom gets to live for thousands of years. It's not /fair/..."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll lets out a long sigh and scuttles a little closer to her, before he puts one arm around her shoulder and pulls her towards him. In that 'good friend' kind of way. "I know..." He whispers and lets out a sigh. "It sucks." He then agrees. "It always sucks when it comes down to the end of things. We always want the good things to keep going and going. But at some point they have to come to an end..." Skoll doesn't sound too happy to say any of this, and he cares not look her right in the eyes - although he'd seen how she looked just now, glancing her way.

"But if things don't come to an end, we'll never learn to appreciate them. We'd be just like the Jotun from the stories, who plague humans because of sheer boredom. Who keep going to further extremes to find a new fancy..." Would he one day become like that?

Avira has posed:
Avira tilts sideways to lean against him and turns her face, burying it into his side. He's trying, she can tell, to comfort her though she does faintly realize that he probably doesn't get it. He'll live forever and he doesn't want to while she'll be lucky to get a half dozen more decades. Neither of them really get it.

"I won't be appreciating anything when I'm /dead/." Avira sniffles. "Oh Skoll, I don't belong here. I don't belong with that family."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll rubs his hand over her side. Indeed, he didn't really get it. But at the same time, he feels he can 'understand' it. He can understand it, because he looked with greed towards one of those Crystals once. Zia's crystal. After all, if he ever found his Golden Wolf, and she'd be like Avira...

Still, he also values life. "They're still blood, Avira." Skoll whispers to her. "But I know what you mean. When you're dead... it's just..." He stiffles his voice for a moment. Trying to reach for words. Then, with a slight stutter that hints towards the sadness in his heart; "Too sad..."

Avira has posed:
Skoll might remember that crystal he gave her...it did glow at one point. It glowed with enough light to light the darkness of a cave. But after Manhattan was restored, after she was pulled free of the rebuilt Heart of Manhattan, that light had gone dark. Still, she continued to wear it as a tribute to her werewolf friend.

"I know, but...but..."

She breaks down and wraps her arms around Skoll, crying into his side. She doesn't seem so capable of words right now-maybe she just needed to cry it out.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll moves a hand towards the back of Avira's head as she wraps her arms around him, and draws her head towards his chest - lowering his own head closer to hers and keeps her warm and protected in his own. He's a protector after all - a guardian. He'll keep her safe. "I know..." He whispers. No 'it's okay', no 'it will be fine', none of that. This is all he can offer. Someone who understands the feelings she has.

He doesn't continue to speak, he doesn't try to cheer her up. Honestly, he doesn't even know /what to say/, and he'd probably just make things worse. No, he remains quiet and just sits there with Avira for as long as she needs him. And if she'd fall asleep, he'd pick her up and take her back to her own temporary hut. Because that's just who Skoll is.

Avira has posed:
It wouldn't be okay, not to Avira. With such little life, she'd have to work extra hard to accomplish anything before dyring. To her credit, she'd done quite a bit so far at least. But she's too distraught to realize any of that right now.

Though Skoll's 'fears' do seem to come true. Avira, fraught with exhaustion, eventually cries herself to sleep as she leans against Skoll.