River Jensen's Story

Echo watched coyly at the goings-ons throughout the city. It was so lack-luster and boring, it was almost stifling. She barely managed to fight back a yawn as she watched a shapechanger and elementalist avoiding the same two, barely functioning, practitioners. Huuumm... so unbelievably boring. Are all humans so predictable? She glamoured herself to appear as a thin little blonde girl, one barely noticeable in hopes of hiding her impossible Sidhe beauty. She made a couple final adjustments to her bosom, before sheathing her spear upon her back and hoping the glamour would hide it, then she dove off the building she had perched upon.

The wind howled as it tore past her, impossibly lithe, she barely obeyed the laws of physics as she carefully rolled out of her free-fall. The wind soaring against her chest always sent it aflutter... A man turned to look at her, he was old and barely able to see her glamour, let alone her. He smiled, and she sent a death-curse his way, that he may stroke in front of his wife and take them both to Gehenna. Lady Rhorer made her way to the hydrokinetiscist first, taking great pains to appear as nonchalant as possible.

Simultaneously, Echo conjured an image of herself, screaming as girly and loud as she could. In front of the two practitioners, the girl was hysterical, as the projected image of the Sidhe girl ran towards the actual location of the Pixie's mischief. The conjured image of course, was wounded and hurt. All the more tempting for would be heroes to come to her aid, as she harassed the lovely stray she'd stumbled across. Her hand was held carefully on the Spear of Lugh, ready to give the pretty mutt a disciplining she wouldn't soon forget. Though, her glamour should have hidden all this from the untrained eye. "Hi, I just moved here.... Can we be fri..." She froze as she sniffed the air. Another half-blood... Echo practically shook with rage as she tried to contain herself. Try as she would, Echo truly hated half-fae.

River was surprised at the sudden confrontation of a stranger. The girl in front of her appeared small with blonde hair. There was something about the girl and her overall demeanor that didn't sit well with River. It wasn't long before the feeling of unease grew. The girl had barely spoken to her when she suddenly stopped and a look of anger appeared on her face. River took one hesitant step back. The strange energy around the girl grew. Do I run or do I stay? Curiosity got the best of her. Despite the anger radiating off of the small blonde in front of her, there was something familiar about her. River was sure she had never seen or met the girl before. "My name is River. I'm pleased to meet you," she began, trying her best to keep her composure. She wasn't willing to let this girl intimidate her.

Rokket grit her teeth, doing her best appear as calm as possible, however failing that the High Pixie snapped her fingers and summoned an almost six-foot-tall teddy bear, between her and River. The Sidhe girl found it easier to distance herself from growing irate so long as she didn't have to look, and thus think about River. With as much gusto as an inanimate Teddy Bear could manage, it saluted River before turning to console it's mistress.

Mille, neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf, neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-huit, neuf cent quatre-vi- The fey rapidly counted backward from one thousand in her mind, leaping through tens of numbers in only a few seconds, all the while the bear patted her back as if to console her. After reaching only seven hundred and fifty one she felt fully in control of her emotions again. Though only a little under half a minute had passed, Rokket was worried about losing the half-fae. Quick change of plans then... The daughter of Lugh resolved herself once more before dismissing the Spear of Lugh that was currently a teddy bear. The large stuffed animal disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving only Echo in her glamour. She quickly chirped out the same phrase she hadn't managed to finish before.

"Hi! I just moved here, so i was wondering if we could be friends!?" The way the Sidhe girl said it made it sounds like more of a statement than a question, though she honestly didn't know what she'd do if River said no. Probably tail her from a far and come up with a new plan. Switch glamours and try again...? Her sadistic little mind raced watching River stand her ground. It's not fair; you have a normal life. YOU never had to be trapped in Otherworld. You werent killed and re-formed countless times by violent Otherworlders... It's not fucking fair.... The glamour covered a single tear as it rolled down her cheek, but the Pixie lied to herself; it was a tear of joy thinking about her inevitable payback on the half-breed.

River's eyes widened in sudden shock as an over-sized teddy bear suddenly appeared at a snap of the other girl's delicate fingers. It was clear the stuffed animal was not intended to cause any harm to River as it saluted her and turned to the source of magic that had brought it there. Then it clicked. I knew I felt something familiar in her. This has to be fae magic of some sort. My mother told me there were others around here. She must be one of them.

It seemed odd that the girl was so easily upset upon meeting River. It was almost as if the girl sensed River's familiar bloodline and disapproved. Was she hoping she was the only one of her kind here? River immediately assumed the girl felt some sort of jealousy at not being the only fae around. I guess it could make one feel less unique who is used to feeling that way. I've always wanted to meet someone I could share with. She watched as the girl comforted herself in the arms of the summoned bear. Luckily for River, it was not long before the girl was not so emotional anymore and the bear suddenly became a light cloud of smoke. However, the sudden switch of emotion made River feel a little wary of the girl.

The girl began her introduction again. As much as River was not sure of this other fae girl, she wasn't willing to turn down an opportunity to learn more and be closer to her kind. Maybe her fae abilities play into her emotions. She might need a friend. River offered a friendly smile. "Sure. I'd love to be friends. It seems you and I may have something in common. My name is River," she said while swirling her index finger in the air, producing a thin line of water that trailed it. She extended her lower palm outward and spread all of her fingers. The water became a mist in the air and disappeared.

The girl's hydrokinesis came as a pleasant shock to Rokket, she seemed at least capable with her water magic. It seems her murky bloodline still affords her certain magics... The thought made her want to giggle, but she figured it was best not to act TOO weird around someone who probably was used to the behavior of vanilla mortals. The half-fae was taller than Echo, which was slightly confusing considering the Sidhe people were nearly akin to Elves and often long and willowy, but she shrugged it off as she was always the shortest young lady in Otherworld.

The mischievous Otherworlder leaned forward, standing on her tip-toes and making a show of examining her new 'friend.' "You certainly have the correct features," Rokket peered into the girl's eyes, seemingly satisfied with what she saw there, she moved on to the girl's other features. The Pixie moved eerily fast, thanks to the enhanced physique she had inherited from her father Lugh, and she grabbed River's hand with near lightning speed. She started by looking at her palm, then flipping the arm over and examining each finger individually. "Maybe you really are a descendant of the Tuathe De Danann..."

For a few moments, Echo was simply lost in thought, Would I be taller if I were half-mortal? More care-free? Have friends... Though she quickly snapped back to reality, and with an unnecessary flourish of her hand, the Spear of Lugh reappeared in Teddy Bear form, however this time it was normal sized. "I'm Rokket! This is Lugh." The Teddy bear bowed formally while the Sidhe girl gave a polite curtsy. "It's nice to meet you River, what do you do for fun around here?" Her thoughts flashed briefly to what Otherworlders considered fun, but she decided best to not dwell on all that, and she picked the teddy bear up and held it to her chest with both hands.

River remained while the girl seemed to look her over. The correct features? Are there correct features for those descended from fae? I always thought it was all in the magic. She kept the thought to herself. She would not want to offend the girl, as her emotions seemed easy to spark. There was a small urge to pull her hand back when the girl suddenly reached for it, but River forced herself to remain perfectly composed. That was how her mother raised her. She glanced down at her own hand as the girl also looked at it. She began with her palm and then turned her hand faced down to examine each of River's fingers. The girl finally said something of her examination. Tuathe De Danann? I've heard that before, but I don't know exactly what it means. She patiently waited for the girl to finish looking her over.

This girl seems to know more that I do about our heritage. Maybe she grew up around more involved members. Questions and curiosities began to rise in River. She did not want to overwhelm the girl with them all at once, so she waited for her to say something that might give her a little more information on who she was and where she came from. The girl settled with summoning the stuffed bear again and introduced herself as well as her companion. Lugh... where have I heard that name before? River politely nodded at the two to acknowledge their introduction. Rokket... I wonder if that is her real name. Regardless of the slightly skeptical thought that crossed her mind, she gave a friendly smile to the two. River watched as the girl hugged the bear to her chest. I wonder how old she is. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Rokket and Lugh," she said with a nod at each of them as she repeated their names. "I haven't lived here long. I don't know what the people around here do for fun, but my mother just introduced me to a group of fae descendants, like you and I. I was about to be on my way to meet with them if you want to join me."

Rokket could almost admire River's stoicism, almost. Try as she might to bear it all with quiet dignity, the Otherworlder had broken somewhere along the line and developed a complex in order to deal with the many trials she had been put through since her father's absence. Indeed the way her magic manifested was proof of this, as even her kindest healing spells caused unusually traumatic pain.

How interesting she would find a half-fae that didn't find her entirely unnerving, she had encountered a few handfuls of them in the past, but they usually ran screaming from her. Something was at least partially different about this one, if only her odd penchant for bravery. From it's place in her arms, the Spear of Lugh looked up at it's mistress; perhaps due to an unconscious whim of Rokket's, or perhaps a residual habit from the Spear's previous owner.

"There's more of you!?" The Sidhe girl, in her shock, didn't even try to hide the surprise in her voice, dropping Lugh along with her jaw. Echo had tried to befriend half-fae in the past, however failing that time and again, she contented herself stalking, tormenting, and ultimately eating them; something about their mixed blood made them especially delicious, or perhaps simply a delicacy. Now this girl was volunteering to take her straight to a group of them. Though that's not to say they're even half-bloods though, sometimes they mix so thoroughly one could hardly tell they were descended from the Tuath De.

"I-I-I'd love to..." The temperamental daughter of Lugh barely got the words out before swooning. The teddy bear that was her Spear assumed it's human-sized form, and barely caught her before she hit the ground. It threw her over one shoulder and shrugged, an almost comical motion due to its teddy bear proportions. With its free hand it gestured and inclined it's head slightly, as if to say 'After you'

Some short time later, Ms. Rhorer came back to consciousness. The stuffed bear that was the Spear of Lugh let her down to her feet, and the fey creature that was Rokket cleared her throat. "You see," she started up suddenly, "We are said to be children of God." With a flounce, the girl skipped forward, turning to address River. "It is said that we are all descendants of Noah, of the Ark. However, Noah's father, expressed worry that his son was not his, but rather the child of a Grigori. The Grigori were fallen angels, ones who followed Iblis out of heaven."

Echo loved recanting this tale to any audience who would listen, and as this girl was a fae who probably had no clue about it, Rokket enjoyed the story all the more. "When Iblis left heaven, he told the Lord, 'I am of fire and Adam is of dirt, why should I then, obey this mud?" The fairy let out a giggle, as she felt much the same as Iblis did when it came to humans. "Yahweh, had instructed Iblis, and all his angels, to bow to his new creation, but Iblis knew this was only a test, as humans were imperfect and ugly." The fae put a hand to her chin, making a motion of deep thought.

"And thus he was cast out, with many of his supporters. These fallen angels mingled with humanity, and created half-breeds called Nephilim. So many years later, when the Nephilim Noah was born, he lived out God's Will. However, he also gave birth to Japheth, who gave birth to Nemed, who eventually fathered our race. As such, we are a race of Earth-bound angels. Demigods, of sorts. Though we hardly stack up to true Seraphim." Lugh sauntered quietly, and almost comically behind her as they walked. "There are some mild discrepancies, which I haven't a clue about. For example, my father Lugh was also said to be Arthur's knight, Lancelot. Which would explain why he was impervious in battle, but...!" Echo put a thoughtful hand to her brow, and pretended to be lost in thought. "But Lancelot is dead, and my father Lugh still speaks to me, and influences our world. So!" The girl's shoulder's shrugged in a sigh.

"So who knows really ? If Lugh were dead, i wouldn't be here! His remnants wouldn't respond to me as they do, and I would still be with Scathach !" Rokket concluded her rant with a sigh. The mysterious Scathach had been one hell of a teacher, but also uncompromising and fierce. Echo thought herself terrifying, but Scathach was much, much worse.