Abigail leans back slightly on the fountain and touches the surface of her finger pads against the moving water, wishing it were still. In all honesty, the girl is not much of a swimmer, but she does like the look and feel of placid water- so long as it is shallow enough to be safe. The feeling of the very surface of still water on her fingers is, and always has been, inexplicably soothing to the young woman. When she was younger, the girl had often been entranced by such little things- like the feeling of rolling the fingerpads of either hand together until it feels as though they are both touching separate, frictionless surfaces. It might seem like a strange thing for someone who often comes across as so logical to be so enamored with, but the strangeness does very little to change the fact of it. She must be allowed her littler pleasures, at the very least. They help her to clear a mind which is now constantly moving and working. Even now, while she tries to focus on the water, another part of her mind notices Desdemonda nearing, and her expression of trying to concentrate- probably with the intent of blocking out all of the auras. Abigail feels that she, on some level, can relate with the sudden overload.
Headache? Clematis, Cottonwood, Lavender, she remembers notes she'd read in one of the books. Of course, she doesn't know whether they actually work- just remembers them being listed as helpful for headaches. Remembering everything is not all there is to knowledge, after all. But she knew that even before she was gifted with a nearly unsurpassed mind. Anyway, Piper, whom Abigail remembers vaguely has knowledge of medicinal herbs, provides Desa with a salve for her headaches.
Maybe I should ask for one. Then again, I doubt mine can be cured by any herb that isn't used for things like opium. I need to clear my mind, she muses, internal conversations playing out as they have done with increasing frequency lately. The girl finds her fellow 30 interesting, but knows that some of her thought processes, though not this one specifically, will only lead to confusion. Of course, she can't be completely stopped from occasionally speaking her mind. Intelligence has not proved to be a complete cure for bluntness. The not-so-subtle aggression between Piper and Oasis, for example, is hard to remain silent about.
"Must you argue like angry siblings?" she asks, regretting it immediately. That was supposed to be only said in her head, but as was mentioned, sometimes things slip through. She doesn't feel the need to take it back, anyway. She means what she said- their argument strikes her as somewhat childish.
The young woman is happy to be distracted by Jenny, asking if anyone knows what the Holiday of Mages is. Abigail knows, of course- she'd seen it mentioned in her reading a few times, and overheard Delphine speaking with Adamus about it. Feeling eyes on her, the girl speaks up on the matter, "It's supposedly the day on which the five Mages gifted magic onto humankind. It's almost sacred for magic users- not that we're really the approved sort of magic users. There were things in the books about that, as well," Abigail trails off, frowning.
Tristan raises his eyebrows, mouth curving into an amused smile at Jenny's response about being pecked out with birds. "They don't get along with you, do they? Were you near a nest or something? They would be more overprotective now- it's nesting season, isn't it?" of course, he knows nothing about the seasonal habits of birds and whatnot, it just sounds right. Summer equates baby birds- or maybe Spring? Regardless, he is keeping the conversation going. Likely, Oasis knows, being the official animal guru as of a few days ago, so he turns to ask her, still smiling. Before a word escapes, though, Desa arrives and begins to speak about a headache and wishing she had a tylenol. Seems he's not the only one missing certain luxuries of modern days- but, of course, he knew that already. Still, her complaint brings back that amused smiles, his eyes crinkling slightly.
"Ouch. I'm sure someone can help," he responds, and sure enough, Pan begins searching through her satchel for something. Meanwhile, Oasis comments on a raccoon running into the kitchen. His response is a shrug- he grew up in a town south of nowhere, and is used to animals having dominion over the place. Not that he was ever the sort who would go off trying to save or deal with all of them, of course. Even when no one else hung out with him, Tristan was more of a people person than anything else. He had more things to focus on than whether there was another snake slithering through the backyard.
The situation becomes a bit more tense rapidly, when Oasis and Pan seem to shoot lightning bolts at eachother- if looks could kill. The two have made it clear that they do not like each other from day one, and that has yet to lighten up even a little bit. Hopefully they'll reconcile soon, or else the tensions might boil over into a full blown fight, and he doubts that such a thing would be pretty. Honestly, Abigail's quip about them arguing does little to improve the situation, so he is glad when Jenny speaks up again about some 'Holiday of Mages' thing she had heard about. It piques his interest- and not just because the holiday part conjures images of parties and food. Tristan wonders what Medieval parties are like- balls, perhaps? Festivals?
Jessica and Darren have arrived by now, and Tristan greets them both with a smile. At Jenny's inquiry about any further information he, along with Darren, looks at Abigail. Knowing things is kind of her strong suit, after all. She offers up a vague sort of explanation, before dropping off with an even more cryptic comment. "'Approved' sort?"