Closed The Golden Hour

[Hadrian]

Some questions were answered easily enough, while others cut like daggers. His smile was pained, but he didn't want to deny Tiki information that certainly wasn't secret. Not really. And the Kelvic would develop more and better if his mind was engaged. As an adult now, it was probably safe to assume he would never be the barely there, slavish sort of Kelvic that Ethan so despised and Hadrian pitied. But he was already on to Nugget. "Harameus is the god of alchemy and transformation," Nugget said, adopting an academic tone. Apparently Hadrian's ancestor had been a bit of a know-it-all too. "We were created through alchemy, although, yes, I was born, after a fashion. The Pycon fashion." Hadrian chuckled at Tiki's admission. "Well, time enough for that when you meet somebody to try things with, Tiki. And to answer your questions, Ethan is in the city. He's joined the Wave Guard, where he helps protect the city and its people. Kendall left because, I suppose, he doesn't love me anymore." He hurried past that. "And Aurrealis didn't want to stay put. He wanted to travel, like you. So he did. And my ancestor was called Victor Zekvan. Nugget knew him. I only know him by studying his things. His goddess marked me," he lifted his let hand so Tiki could see the golden Lormar symbol, "to help me read impressions people leave behind on the things they touch. But I would venture to guess he was rather an amazing man." When Tiki didn't stop to hear about the clothes, but ran for the door, Hadrian stepped up behind him, putting a calming hand on his shoulder, and then touched the stone panel that raised the door. "I'll lend you my coat if you want to talk on the way back, but your feet will be cold. It's up to you. A friend is stying in my cottage, but I have rooms at the University and at the Farson Home, where the orphans live. There are walls around that and the children are used to Ethan, so you can wander around at will there. It is a little cold out in the courtyard, though. "Nugget, it looks like we'll be leaving now." "Yes, Master. I will prepare as much as I can before you return with a full plan." "Thank you, Nugget." He started unbuttoning his coat. The winterbane pattern and material would keep Tiki warm, and the walk would keep Hadrian warm enough. "Oh, should I bring your sack?"

[Tiki]

Tiki remembered Ethan, vaguely. He didn't think that little beak could protect much, and from experience he knew force would blow away most words that he'd squawk. Kendall, he…she had changed from when he had met her in dreams and then at the temple. Tiki still felt sorry for her, and wished the best, but what could he do? Aurrealis, Tiki hoped, would find his way as Tiki found his, and Tiki smiled at this. As for some old dead man, Tiki had mainly asked to entertain the thought of Hadrian seeming so distant from a relative. He didn't know how the lair became Hadrian's, and it somehow seemed wrong up front that he was so possessive of it. Hadrian was good though, so there was more to it, he figured. It made sense… Tiki eyed the gnosis suspiciously, his squinting perhaps more fearful than when he had seen Hadrian first use magic. He tried to forget about it once it was covered again. When the door opened, Tiki dropped down and mimicked a Jamoura knuckle-walk through the small passage back into the ruins. The cold hit him then, a draft cutting through his hair. "I think…I'll walk, on fours, you know?" He smiled, looking back into the lair, and realized he was still on his knuckles. He corrected himself and stood up, "Like a cat, I mean, not a Jamoura." Tiki leaned into the passage and tried to answer as much as he could. He had a question for Hadrian, or two. He wanted to entertain his own knowledge a bit. He learned about orphans in the Spires long ago; he helped save a few from the nasty mistwalkers. Still, he asked, "Hadrian, what's a Farson? What's an orphan too?" He peeked his head out for a moment and back in after he remembered, "Bring my bag, please." His devious plan was set in motion. When Hadrian finally got out, TIki entertained the idea of walking on his hands so his feet wouldn't be cold. "I can try like this," and he posted up on his hands for maybe a second before he tipped forward and rolled onto the ruined floor. The tumble was less than graceful, but he didn't go thump at least. Cats have reflexes after all. He stood back up, brushing off what he could, and leapt forward again, shifting this time, no wiping out. His rump ought to have bugged him for a day or two after. Hopefully he didn't get any nasty splinters or cuts. That was a secret in his fur though, now wasn't it?

[Hadrian]

Hadrian nodded, and retrieved the sack. "Good night, Nugget." "Good night, Master. Good night, Tiki." The little Pycon waved before using an old, carved cane to tap the panel and shut them out. Hadrian climbed out of the hearth too. Then as they started out, Tiki recovering and shifting, which would only make him hungrier, Hadrian started answering his questions. "Ethel Farson was the woman who ran the orphanage for a long time, an orphanage being a place for orphans, who are children without parents. So the Farson Home for Orphans is just that. The staff and I, we take care of the motherless and the fatherless. We feed them and clothe them, teach them and raise them, so they can hopefully be whatever it is the gods have in store for them to be." As they neared the exit from the honeycomb of sea caves, he began to think about security for now and the future. Eventually he was going to want to put up more magical barriers or deterrents. "Tiki, when you go hunting, if you go hunting around here, feel free to leave bones scattered around the entrance. Hopefully anyone nosing around will think a predator lives here and think twice about entering. And I need to teach you one more thing before we get home, in case you don't already know it. A secret. That's when you know something but you don't tell anyone about it. I need you to not tell anyone about this place, or lead them here. I will show Ethan, but it's still just best not to talk about it unless we're someplace private enough. The equipment in there I can use to create things, but these things are only helpful in the right hands. Other people might use them for bad purposes. So it's important you don't share my secret, all right?" And as they stepped out into the night air, biting with impending frost, he buttoned his winterbane coat back up to ward away the chill. "But I'm so glad you are here, and that I can share it with you."

[Tiki]

Now wasn't the time Tiki had been looking for. Nugget presented interference at first, and now a lack of time was pushing things forward. Tiki wanted to stop and catch up, maybe to recall a calmer time after the storm, but it didn't seem to exist anymore. This was, after all, the busy life Hadrian lead. He had questions for Hadrian, things that would need time. Well, thing Tiki would need time with anyway. Nugget answered Tiki's question, but presented another. What did he mean that he, Tiki, and his kin were made from alchemy, from magic? How could Kendall stop loving someone? Love doesn't end, does it? Guards, as Tiki knew, even from observing the movements of the otherwise peaceful Jamoura, were still agents of violence, a senseless violence. What could possibly bring Ethan to violence? Tiki thought Ethan to be, or at least he was an intellectual of sorts. What was he fighting for, and did it compare to the necessity at which he fought daily: survival? Most troubling of all was the mark Hadrian bore. Tiki knew the divine were powerful, magical beings. Surely Hadrian did too. People would pray to them, and sometimes they would go unanswered. It was like game. Hadrian was somehow marked, covered up, more than the little symbol on his hand led on. Tiki couldn't trust it outright, and it sat in his gut as something not needing be bothered. It was different from the magic Hadrian had showed Tiki, which has only evoked feelings of nervousness followed by curiosity. Tiki was leading the way back out of the network. Hadrian knew how to defend them from things he knew little of, like magic, like the storm. Tiki, feeling he owed Hadrian in some ways, after realizing over long times how Hadrian had risked himself to save Ethan and himself. He thought about the kindness only the Jamoura seemed capable of. Hadrian gave Tiki, almost at least, a hope that the world the merchant prince came from wasn't so bad. Tiki would guard the wizard from the enemies and nightmares of his untamed world as Hadrian had repelled those of his "civilized" one. A breathe of the wind, Tiki took it in and observed its faint signs. He could follow his scent, which even to himself had a certain flavor to it different from his fur. He detected nothing too close, praying the wind was on his side, and yet praying not to Zulrav. As they walked, Tiki wondered more about Hadrian's secret, the lair. He had kept a secret from Hadrian, just then about orphans and things like that, but it was small and playful. Tiki thought of the Spires and how it was kept a secret until you knew about it. The Hahk'Shatara would watch you die unless you touched the city. That was nature's way though. Caiyha's way even, as if he owed her something too… Knowingly deceiving someone was just different to him. He understood Hadrian's reason though, and that there were bad people in the world. This brought up a new curiosity as to what Hadrian would be doing with tools that could do evil things. It wasn't that Hadrian would ever do a bad thing. It seemed unlikely of him. Tiki was just, he was afraid that someone would be able to do bad things. He just admitted the worst was possible. He didn't know much about Victor Zekvan of course either. It puzzled him more as to what kinds of things Hadrian's ancestor had used things for, and if anyone else had used them poorly since he died. Tiki wasn't aware of the remains he had come so close to, bones so old the scent of death had left them. He had, only fairly recently, come to terms that death will come inevitably to everyone in some way at some time. If Hadrian thought keeping secrets was okay then it would be all right. He would keep Hadrian's secret of course, he thought highly of the wizard. He would, similarly, keep his secret about knowing about orphans. Maybe Hadrian would teach him even more than Tiki could have imagined he knew about them. The orphans were a thought that would warm him. The Jamoura, hmm, "pups" were fun to play with. Tiki's mind quickly flashes to the mist-stalker attack on the Spires, their envenomed hook fangs and razor claws, the thin black fur coasted in a misty shimmer that made them seem ghostly, and their soulless white eyes. Yes, Tiki knew his share about death, necessary and senseless. Tiki wasn't sure how much time had passed by the time he had led their way back through the evening dark as far as the city gates. He looked to Hadrian to take the lead. Zeltiva was Hadrian's home after all…and maybe soon it would be Tiki's too.

[Hadrian]

Since Tiki would remain in his furry form for ease of travel and comfort, Hadrian couldn't expect him to speak back, and so they journeyed home in silence, but it was not an awkward silence. The occasional bump of Tiki's bulk against his leg was comforting, and he knew that if there was something his eyes missed in the dark, Tiki would warn him. It was good to have friends, and while some people denigrated the Kelvic race, Hadrian felt they had the potential to be the best of both worlds, human and bestial. At the gates, Hadrian vouched for the big cat to the Wave Guards, who knew him as professor, headmaster, and general important person. It didn't take long to get to the protective walls of the Farson Home, and he fished his key out from under his shirt, pulling it over his head to let them in. "This is the Farson Home, Tiki. This is where I oversee the education and rearing of the city's orphans. There are other adults who help, of course, and I will introduce you, especially because I hope you will stay. Though if you are uncomfortable here, I have rooms at the University, too, or you can stay in the sea caves with Nugget, too. I want you to be happy." Then they were inside, and he locked the gate behind him before walking across the crunching, gritty snow in the courtyard. The West Wing was in obvious disrepair, even in the moonlight, but the East Wing looked all right, and there were some lights on, and inside it was warm. "I can find you some spare clothes if you need them, but you don't have to worry too much indoors. They are used to Ethan and the occasional nakedness now. But you must be hungry..." And so he led him to the kitchen, which was already largely shut down, the children fed and doing their homework in the dormitories by now. His hand fell to pet Tiki hard from head to the base of his tail as he pushed open the door. "I'm so glad you're here," he admitted quietly. Had he said that already? Well. He found where the meat scraps were kept, anything not eaten in the evening cooked into something else the next morning. Still good, but nothing wasted. He uncovered the bowl of cooked meat scraps mixed with some bits of vegetable and bread too. He set it down before Tiki and crouched down beside him. "It's not raw meat, I'm sorry. Perhaps if you stay with me... I mean, stay with us," but of course he meant what he had said the first time, "if your hunts are successful, you might bring extra here. The children need to eat to say strong and healthy, especially with this pox running through town. Who can hunt as well as you, right? Maybe you can even teach me..." He was the one who was ultimately responsible for filling all those bellies, after all. It was terrifying.

[Tiki]

Tiki would eat just about anything. Hadrian's comment on meat went to show even the wizard in his expanse of knowledge still had much to learn. The feline face looked back at Hadrian before dipping down and taking a whiff of the mix. His tongue was out next to lap some of the pieces, still detecting some saltiness on the meat. His face dug deeper into the bowl, pushing it forward on the ground a bit, his tongue trying to grip a piece and rolling it up into his mouth. Tiki was chewing hard, with big chomping bites while looking at Hadrian. Surely the wizard was thinking something similar? There was just an easier way of doing things. He'd have to stop shifting for the night, or the orphans would be starving tomorrow too. In a blinding flash he was grabbing the bowl up off the floor in human hands and finding the nearest counter space or table. "It's much easier using fingers," he said, a piece of the scrap meal already finding its way into his mouth to be ground up. "You know, Hadrian," Tiki started in a new tone, the Kelvic more outspoken then before, yet mindful enough of what was being said that it would mean something, "Those clothes of mine hardly fit anymore. If any of the orphans fit – use them." He was speaking between pieces. He was quite hungry as Hadrian noted… "And I don't really need that money. I admit I didn't feel well when I came back to Zeltiva, the air is cold – " - had Hadrian known Tiki had been around and waiting? – "but I can manage to keep myself fed. I think – I think I can hunt, but I can't make money then. Or at least I wouldn't expect to. Usually the meats would go to someone else right? But if the meat comes here, then you'd have to pay me, which doesn't make sense. If we don't need the fur and bones though, maybe someone will take those for a price?" He offered his little business plan before shoving the bread in his mouth to mop the lot up. For every bit that was shoveled down his throat, he was trying to at least taste the food too. "As for the Mizas, I can't use them much. They've just been extra weight I've carried around until now. Strong legs – maybe you can split it in half and get things I might need – clothes or whatever I cost to care for – and the rest can go to here. You can have whatever is left to do as you need. You'll need to do the math though - I'm bad at math. " When he was all done though, Tiki tried to reach Hadrian's level of understanding. "Hadrian," the name said with such a tone as to suggest the Kelvic's praise and doubts of the human wizard alike, "What are you doing?" It was a simple question with a lot of weight to it. Tiki had not known Hadrian well before, but even now something seemed different. Tiki remembered a wizard with lesser responsibilities sailing the world in adventure. There were experiences waiting. Tiki recognized that things changed, but something about it, even in its honor, didn't seem like the Hadrian he remembered. Maybe he praised Hadrian too much? The wizard had always seemed so wise and brave. But, as Tiki thought, Hadrian was accepting another challenge, and he was sharing his strength with the children now. The world had changed, had it not? Maybe the adventure was over. Maybe, even for just him, Wind Reach had just been a silly dream, and he had found his own rewarding experience elsewhere along the way. Tiki was done eating and gave Hadrian his fullest attention, eyes unblinking, no twiddling of the thumbs or otherwise. Hadrian might even be able to see it in Tiki's eyes without magic what kind of thoughts were in his mind, deep contemplations that he knew no better about. He could learn though, as he always had tried. Nugget would be long done with whatever Hadrian had tasked him with by the time all of Tiki's questions were answered, and quite possibly awaiting Hadrian's return in vain. Right now though, Tiki was very worried about Hadrian. He couldn't help but feel otherwise.

[Hadrian]

"Is it?" he asked, thinking a Kelvic probably felt more comfortable in its animal form, but what did he know? "I'm sure we can clean the clothes and give them to one of the older boys. Thank you, Tiki. As for the hunting, I think that would play to your strengths rather than making you find some other job, though you ought to do what you wish. I want you to be happy here in Zeltiva. But if hunting keeps you fed, helps keep the children fed, and pelts can be sold to the tanners for extra money, then all's well, I think. Bones and the like I can use to make carvings. Some people will pay for those too." He didn't mention that he would be carving glyphs into those bones, the better to release their magical essences with the skill he had learned from Tieh on Sahova years ago. Tiki didn't seem pleased by the reality of magic. "I'll hold onto the gold for you, but I don't want to spend it unless it's for something you need. And..." What was he doing here? "The storm happened, Tiki." The young Kelvic must remember that. Hadrian had tried to Shield him from the worst of it, not knowing what it was. "It changed me, and not just my colors. It sent me back here, and I'm needed here. I can make a difference here. You know?"

[Tiki]

Tiki nodded in agreement with most of what Hadrian was saying. Regarding his homecoming, he was kind of surprised to see Hadrian back home to make a difference. Hadrian could make a difference wherever he pleased. He had in Avanthal; he saved Ethan and Tiki. At the same time, this was home for the wizard, and Tiki felt at home with him, so it would do. The Kelvic finished the meal for what it was worth, smiling with satisfaction to have anything in his stomach. For what little it was, it would keep him until the morning. Even though Hadrian had it in mind to take care of Tiki, the cat was trying his best to turn it on the wizard. In a way he owed Hadrian, even if it was the wizard's will and nature to care for Tiki's simple kind. If Hadrian were well off, then he would help Hadrian's cause, and hopefully from there help him all the more. The storm had long passed, but a different one still seemed to stir in Hadrian. Tiki wished to calm it if he could. "Well, I'm not sure, but I think I understand. We'll find out in the end. I'm serious about taking some of my money for the home, too, you know. It will help until the winter passes." Musing around the room with his eyes, he couldn’t think of much else to do here He asked, "Where to next?" The wizard was sure to be busy with orphans under his keep, secret lairs to hide, among other things Tiki was sure to uncover sooner than later.