(2018-07-08) The Perfect Room
The Perfect Room
Summary: Schuyler cases out the Masters Estate for a space to repurpose into an Art room. Fionnuala joins him to help out, and the two chat.
Date: 2018-07-08
Related: Couple of days after this log. Continuation of the visit to the Masters Estate.
NPCs: Mention of additional Masters family members.
Scene Runner: NA
Players:
fionnuala..schuyler..

TP Room 2
Jul 08, 2018


The visit continues, at the Masters Estate.

===

The Masters Estate is quite vast; the building itself is possibly pre-Victorian and maintains a lot of that decor but with modern amenities and a more eclectic taste. Think 'Addams Family' meets 'Downton Abbey' meets modern day. There's a wing that Sky claims is haunted and there are multiple guest rooms in addition to rooms for the family. Indeed, the entire place isn't fully lived in because it would be too freaking big!

There's some household staff about, mostly housekeepers and cleaners to keep things clean and dusted, and a nanny to help take care of Circe and the younger ones when they're not off in school. There's a formal living room, which isn't really used, a Family room, a Music Room, a Dining Room, a Library…all sorts of rooms that one might expect in a huge mansion. There's also WiFi, decent cell service, and all sorts of modern technology.

The parents are about and active in their childrens' lives, but the older ones are mostly left to their own devices when they're home; they're trusted not to get into too much trouble without adult supervision. Sky has gotten permission to turn one of the rooms on the second or third floor into an Art room and he's invited Rain and Fee to help him pick out which room might be the best. It -might- be in the haunted wing, but it doesn't seem to bother him too much. Just in case, however, he has a smudge stick from his mother.

It may be noticed that while at home, Sky has actually been speaking quite a bit, mostly to Circe. His speaking voice only holds the trace of an 'accent', thanks to the mental bond with Rain, and is a soft tenor.

Slated to stay for at least a 'few' days, since surely one night wouldn't nearly be enough to encompass this whole estate, Fionnuala has been busy. But, it was a fun kind of busy. It goes without saying that the shifter girl is an easy visitor: never asking for much, easy to accommodate, not in the least bit fussy re: food, activities.. etc etc. Cooler still, by the second day, Fionnuala became completely comfortable with most everyone on the grounds, family and staff alike! Not to assume that she was an instant hit, but aside from spending lots of times with her actual peers — Sky and Rain — .. the girl will have delighted in the presence of the younger kids.

The first day, maybe day-and-a-half, Fionnuala was hard-pressed to wander anywhere on her own. This was out of a desire to not overstep anything, or get lost, or be anywhere she wasn't supposed to be. But Fee being Fee, she eventually did get comfortable… and bonus?

She will have spent a bit more time with Sky, as well. Which leads us to today's shenanigans!

Having accepted the invite to stake out a new Art room, Fionnuala has joined Schuyler. Is she bothered by the prospect of traipsing into a 'haunted' wing?! Surprisingly… not. Just deeply curious.. so much so that the thought process has bowled over the girl's earlier astonishment for having heard the male half of the twinhood actually speaking! She looks to the boy as they press on, her wings kept tightly furled in, "So.. who exactly 'haunts' this wing? I bet your family is full of interesting ghosts!"

<FS3> Schuyler rolls Paranormal Knowledge: Good Success.

Schuyler only really speaks around Circe…he's back to mindspeech as he and Fee poke through some rooms, looking for what has the best light for an art room. «It's not just the wing itself. Ghosts have come into some other parts of the house…I've talked with them, but I don't know if the others have seen them.» Is he telling the truth? He's often said that it's really hard to lie using his mental powers. «It's family, mostly. We've had this place since it was built. I…» he pauses and looks thoughtful, «I don't know if any from before have made their way here. Now I'm going to pay attention to that. But I think a lot of them are buried over in England and France since that's where they started.» Even on vacation, he's wearing his usual 'goth/punk' styled clothes and he's made mention a few times of getting his hair cut when they go over to Bermuda. Maybe. It's long enough to donate now even as it's pulled back in a man-bun because of the warmth (the house, however, has air conditioning). «There are definitely interesting ones. Some are just curious about their progeny. Some…weren't so nice.»

A door is opened into a musty room that probably hasn't been dusted for at least a few decades. Sky glances about, noticing the light coming in from one of the large, picture windows.

<FS3> Fionnuala rolls Solarkinesis: Success.

"You've.. talked to them? The ghosts?" Fee asks, and the awe in her voice — sadly unheard by Sky — signifies that she believes every word he emits. If he looks at her and sees her expression, he'll likely get the same response from her gestures. "I guess that segues into my next question… can telepathy be used to talk to spirits, or is there more involved?" THe girl thinks out loud; clearly, she is a believer. She watches Sky for a few seconds as they pause outside of a closed door, and her honey-gold eyes rove to take in the hallway. Are there ghosts watching right now?!

Fionnuala has been taking on sunlight, but out of respect for the many others who live here, she has been working to cast it out as quickly and efficiently as possible. No use sitting in, come dusk, glowing like a beacon when folks are trying to relax for the night. So save for pinpricks of solar energy in and around her feathers, Fionnuala's brilliance has been dialed down some. She stands there is a pretty powder-blue sundress, hair left long and loose with a flower of a complimentary color tucked in behind one ear.

"The ones that… aren't nice.. can they hurt you? Or do they just whisper dusty, mean things? Nobody can… like.. poltergeist out and throw things, can they?" Asked with a touch of trepidation as the musty breath of the room exhales upon them. Fee squints in and immediately notes the falling light.

«Ghosts don't have vocal cords to vibrate or resonating chambers in their heads,» Sky points out with a little smirk. «It's not mental like this…» more like what he and Rain share. «I don't know if they speak aloud or anything. I think it's more like that old movie, 'Ghost'.» Does that mean Sky is a medium then? Who knows?

There may be ghosts watching who aren't manifested; maybe some eyes in portraits are following the teens?

«The ones that aren't so nice are usually angry or weren't nice when they were alive. I haven't seen too many of those because I don't think they're as curious. They're probably trying to figure out how to do more bad things. I've never really seen anything more than a few things flying around the room. I don't think that they could possess someone though. That seems like a lot of effort for not much gain,» especially for someone like Sky who might be able to kick them out quickly.

Glancing at the room, Sky doesn't look too convinced. «What do you think? We might be able to get a room with a bigger window or facing more light…» since they -are- on the right side of the estate for that.

Ask Fee and she would likely agree that Sky kinda.. looks the part of a medium. They aren't always forty-to-fifty-something year old ladies with eccentric makeup and four cats! It's not even down to the goth manner of dress, either, though that's part of it. There's just.. something. Maybe it's just the awareness that is so evident, here. Fionnuala does recall a family member — was it a great aunt? one of them? — who.. spoke along similar lines. A glimmer of recognition at the mention of the movie 'Ghost' though Fee doesn't expand too much on that, not wanting to seem rambly.

"I find the whole thing fascinating…" The girl finally admits, and pads forth into the musty room to give it a closer onceover. "Let's hope they do everything in their ghostie powers, then, to guide us to the best room. It still blows my mind, a place having so many rooms! But there has to be one that is the perfect fit. Because what ghost wouldn't want to see art being made?" She peers over a shoulder with a sunny smile, then she looks back to the window. "This is nice, but I think we should check a few more rooms. This window needs a good wipe down, too, so we can really get an accurate idea on the lighting. Let's remember this one and come back to it, if we need to."

«Rain doesn't believe me,» Sky shrugs. It's not the first time, but then again, he seems to be the only one who has claimed to speak to any ghosts in the house. His twin is also the more practical, however. He then holds up the bundle of sage, «I have this if we find any that might not want us there,» although he seems to share more of her opinion that they might not mind having folks around. «The estate we stayed at this year was pretty big…we only lived in part of it,» Sky points out, but no, it's not as big as their estate.

«I thought about maybe using one of the greenhouses,» he offers as he closes the door to the current room and moves on to another, «But getting electricity out there might be a pain. And the room will be cleaned and updated before anything else can be done.» He just needs to choose it.

"Rain is the more practical type, I reckon." Said with affection.. it is clear that Fee appreciates this part about her bestie. It is obvious, too, that spending time with Rain on her grounds has meant a lot to Fionnuala. "She may not believe you but when push comes to shove, I suspect if it meant a lot to you she would support you all-the-same. It's too bad she couldn't join us.. but hey." A cheeky grin. "You get to babysit me. Thanks for having me along.. because this is pretty exciting." Honestly, it is! Fee is an art nerd! Her golden eyes look at the bundle of sage for a time and her lips curve into a pretty smile, "I understand that use. IT's a good thing my Da isn't here, he'd be stealing it to make sauce"

Talk of other 'ideas' causes the winged girl to color with pleasure, and she turns from the one window in the room to look back to Schuyler. "What's good for nurturing plants.. can nurture art as well." Fee looks obviously quite intrigued, "Lots of speedbumps but I think if you guys put your mind to it, you'll make it work. Think of how exhilarating it'd be to work around so much natural light! Would you keep some plants in there, too? Plants are great for company."

«It's easier to fix up one of these rooms, especially if we want to put in a kiln for Besa. It might a greenhouse too hot,» Sky points out. He looks at the bundle of sage he has and blinks at Fee. «I think this is too dry to cook with,» but he just eats food. He doesn't make it. «I don't mind having someone else along and you do art too…» so it makes sense to have another opinion.

The next door seems a little stuck but he shoves a shoulder against it to get it open. It's yet another that hasn't seen movement in a few decades with another picture window. «I hope they're not all like this,» but this one seems to have a little more light. Maybe. Maybe it's just the lighter wallpaper.

"Too dry.." Fee giggles softly, "Da would see those words as a challenge. He's a magician." A light shrug, causing a quiver of the wings and a dashing of sunlight. Specks of it skitter across the ground to mingle with dust motes. "I haven't done my style of art for a long time.. it's been so hard, at Winbarry. There were some days where I was so desperate for a kiln that I was ready to try Mickey Mouse'ing an oven in the kitchen to do something similar, but Miss Annalee would have cracked my skull open!" Is she serious? Clearly not, given how the girl laughs.

She leans forth to trace a smiley face into the fine dust on the window pane, and with that done she's off to join Sky once more on the trek. They enter a like room and the girl indeed notices the colors here; the wallpaper. Fionnuala looks pleased, "Better here. Not as dark and fusty, the wallpaper helps. Even to remove it and re-paint, it'll get you a lot more light."

Schuyler glances around at the room, taking in what Fee says about the lighter decor, even if it's redone. «Maybe. I have an idea of what I want though. Not sure it's in this house…» but maybe? Not even he has explored this wing much before.

There's a turn back to her as she mentions firing clay, «You should have come with us when we took Besa to the pottery studio. They have a kiln that could be used there…and clay.»

The shifter is leaning in, squinting at the wallpaper.. and she perks, watching the boy again. "Where was this, Thunder Bay? I bet you any money that I was stuck working." Said mournfully… if she could've made it, she would've gone with bells on. (literally, perhaps to the horror of her friends)

"This was before Besa's recent sacrifice, right?" Fee asks gently, and some measure of her expression falls. "I feel kinda.. bad… I haven't been around Besa as much lately. It still sticks out to me how my wings startled him when he came back and even hiding them around him, now, doesn't help. I miss how things were with him before… now I just think he's scared of me." A blush, and a quick smile. "I'll fix that soon, I suppose.. but I don't wanna overwhelm him. I just miss him, is all."

Ahem, anyway! Fionnuala moves to this window and goes about wiping that one down a bit. "Next time you guys go, let me know.. I'll get the time off! In the meantime, did you wanna go out on the grounds to check out greenhouses? I'm cool to keep going up here, too.. I'm just getting a feeling that you want to look beyond the house." Said as she smiles at the boy.

It's quite possible that she -was- working. «I think that he's gone since he came back. And really, he'll get over it. He's been remembering more this go around, so he'll probably get used to you again pretty quickly. He got used to me faster than before. It's Bryce now who seems to whine when I'm talking mentally and not signing.» But not everyone can understand ASL at school and it's one of the few safe spaces he -can- use his mental speech. «You don't need to tiptoe around Besa anymore, I don't think.»

He walks around this room a little and frowns at one of the corners for a moment before turning back to look at the other teen. «I do, but there are actual logistical and technological issues to consider. I mean, we have money, but I doubt our parents will dig up a whole lot of the grounds to put wiring and insulation in a greenhouse or shed that hasn't been wired yet. It's really more the Kiln issue…and I promised Besa a kiln.»

"I'll make a bigger effort of it, when we get back. This has been.. a really good getaway. Ma and Da needed the time together and I frankly didn't want to be underfoot." Fee admits, stepping back from the window and tapping her chin. She isn't overly excitable in this room and perhaps that is clue, enough, of it not being a fit. Maybe she is keen on the greenhouse idea too! But it's ultimately up to Sky what transpires.

A look of surprise, "I really don't mind how you talk, as long as you simply have a means to do so. I kinda didn't want to admit it, but I overhead you talking to Circe when I was on my way to the bathroom one evening. You have a really nice voice." An earnest compliment! Fionnuala looks sheepish for a moment, as if regretful that she overheard without meaning to. "Your siblings really are great, and Circe is wonderful too." Is offered next as she re-adjusts the curtains to see how the light in the room responds. Nope, she doesn't seem entirely sold on this space either.

«It's good for Rain to have friends nearby. I know she's tough to get to know, but she really does care. And she really does need you,» Sky offers before he looks back when Fee says she heard him speaking to Circe. She gets a blink as he considers what she says before offering, «Thank you.» He's not convinced. «Circe will eventually lose her sight and I want her to be able to recognize me even if she can't see the signing.» When that happens. «You're just lucky she didn't turn you into a doll or anything.» Yet.

The words obviously warm Fee and, being who she is.. she does not get all sheepish or coy at the mention of her place in the female twin's life. She just accepts it with a fond smile, "Thanks for that. At first I wondered if I was just a pest because she seemed like she needed a pal, right?" She has moved away from the window and looks enthusiastic about exploring more, though she pauses again. "Wait… her sight?" The girl's eyes widen, and if she's feeling a pang of upset at that cute little girl being destined to be blind, Fee hastens to hide it. "Why? I… you know how she will lose it?" Fee asks gently, pausing in a slanted beam of sunlight.

The light hits her feathers and reacts immediately.. it seems to 'divert' itself inwards, pulling into said feathers and even into her skin.

"Sorry if it's kinda.. forthright of me to ask. But I'm curious."

Schuyler gestures for Fee to lead the way out so they can move onto another room. «Ever since Charlotte left, she's been in need of a good friend. We have Besa, but it's not quite the same.» He'll close the door behind them again before heading towards one of the other doors, «It's because of her magic. I guess it's a -thing- sometimes. Our mom didn't, but it seems that Circe is destined. Degeneration sort of thing. I'm not sure if it -can- be stopped…or it -won't- be stopped.» Sky's tried to bring it up with their mother a few times.

«You don't have to stifle your sunlight. As long as you aren't burning anything, it's fine…» since it's daytime and all.

"Funny, I remember most everyone… I don't remember Charlotte very well. But I've heard of her a few times now. Did she go back to.. wherever she came from? Fee asks, completely without guile. The girl easily maintains conversation as they move for the next room and Fee, getting a bit more gutsiness to her, even opens one door to peer in. "I'm.. really sorry about what will happen to your baby sister. I can't imagine what it'd be like to lose a sense like that. If I couldn't see the colors of the world or the faces of the people I love, I don't think I could handle it easily.. not after seeing it all, already."

If Fee is upset at the thought of a vivacious toddler embarking upon a loss of sight, she does not let on… though there is a touch of sadness to her expression.

When bid to not stifle her light, the shifter smiles appreciatively, but still doesn't quite set phasers to stun just yet. Much of it has been dispersed already. To lighten the talk.. "… would she turn me into a doll..?"

«She went back to France,» Sky offers simply. He's still getting over it, really…one never forgets their first love! He'll let Fee open the next door and peer into the room before he shrugs, «Me too. But I guess there's always the memory.» He wouldn't really know as he's been down one sense since birth.

As the question is asked to brighten the mood, he blinks at her, «She made me -and- Rain believe that Rain was a boy…had always been a boy…before she was even born.» As if that is the answer.

Does Fee know that Sky once dated Charlotte? Maybe enough about it, given her closeness to Rain. Or word-of-mouth, as schools can be a beehive for gossip. Either way her expression is soft, "I'm really sorry that happened.. I hope she's okay, for whatever reason she had to go back. I can't really imagine how it would be to be close to somebody only to have them leave." Ah, so she maybe knows roughly of how this departure affected Sky!

Fee backs out of the room easily, "Too dark." Said simply as they carry on.. how many more rooms are there!? If they continue, the girl doesn't miss a beat on the conversation. Though the latter statement nearly causes her to stumble. "… what?! How? Why?" Yup, Circe's antics have confounded even open-minded Fionnuala!

Schuyler just shrugs, not really wanting to talk about Charlotte. He's trying to move on and all that. At the declaration that the room is too dark, he nods…there are probably at least half a dozen rooms in this wing, mostly bedrooms but there might be a sitting room somewhere that may have better light.

The surprise at Circe's in-utero magic causes him to give a little smirk, «Rain will kill me when she hears that I told you. But it was when she was being targeted by and evil…me…last year and Mom was trying to do a spell of protection around her. Circe sort of toyed with that and changed things around. She still has those memories.»

"It can't be all bedrooms. What we need is a sitting room, or a parlour… something like that." Did she just pluck a thought from mid-air? She did, though not intentionally! It just appears that Fee's mind is on that same wavelength, "These all seem to have the makings of bedrooms.. there has to be maybe something .. maybe at the end." She's thinking out loud again, mind working. The girl is silent then as she considers, and Sky discloses to her another bit of sensitive information!

Look at her expression.. Fee did not know things, to this extent. "I won't say a word, I don't want anybody being killed—" She starts, then pauses to hear out the rest. She's poised outside another door but isn't making to let herself in just yet. "An evil you…? Like.. alternate dimension mojo!?" Her eyes are as large as dinner plates! Well, not entirely.. but you get the deal~

Rain probably already knows by now. He'll get yelled at later. «Yeah, from another dimension. His Rain had died…she and Besa were together there, I think, and the evil…me…had tortured his Circe to be able to hop around different dimensions looking for a replacement Rain.» It was kind of bad, actually. «It's why she's afraid of the ocean, too. He had these robotic octopodes that tried to grab her.»

Holy… smokes. Fee doesn't need words to convey how this makes her feel. "That is.. uh… whoa." Much as she felt in the Hell dimension, Fionnuala feels way out in another field. Clearly she met this crew at the 'right' time… how would she have handled THIS chapter?! Still, being a bleeding heart, Fionnuala feels badly for everyone having had to experience such a thing. "A replacement Rain.. oh my goodness…" Said in a near whisper. "So the protection spell… when it was toyed with, aside from making Rain think she was a boy.. did Circe's meddling turn her into an actual boy?" Whether or not this was the case, it's surprising that Fee doesn't remember. She well-and-truly was in her own world back then, before meeting the three.

"I could be really mistaken.. but this just blows my mind!" She exclaims, turning the doorknob to the room that they come upon.

Schuyler shrugs again, «It was a really, really strong illusion. I had memories of growing up with a twin brother instead of a sister…and Rain believed that she had always been a boy. Looked like one too…a lot more like me.» Seeing as the two are fraternal, but -definitely- related. «So for all intents and purposes, yes.» He'll nod as she moves to open the door, «So we don't really know what she might get into her head. But she might not quite have the power to do that on her own yet. She sort of piggy-backed on Mom's magic.»

"THat is some mad magic." Fee offers with a little outward puff of breath, "I'm glad you're both the way you are, though. Seriously. I'm still kinda reeling from everything I've experienced with you all so far," Ie. hell. "I don't know if I could have kept up with something like that. I'm glad everyone is as, and where, they should be!" Said in earnest, with a touch of firmness even.

Pushing open the door, Fee slooooowly peers into this latest room, but yet retains the tangent of conversation. "So should I.. y'know.. be careful not to piss your baby sister off?" Asked with a giggle and wing ruffle. "I don't wanna be turned into anything, even if she doesn't quite know what she's doing yet!" Said as she steps into the room and gives it a onceover. "We don't have anyone, in our family, who can… do things like that. We're mostly shifters with some added magic, or some psychic talents… but no true sorcerers or sorceresses."

«Well, you might have believed that she was a boy too. Charlotte thought she was me…and then she got all pissed off,» not that he really blames her, but they weren't trying to fool her! «It was kind of a mess and I think it started triggering Rain's personality partitions.» Has Fee even noticed?

Sky moves to look over Fee into the next room, «This one seems bigger…» is offered before he glances down and shrugs. «With any luck, Mom can catch it before anything happens…or fix it.» Maybe. «This magic comes from our Mom's side. We have magic on our dad's, but this is all her. It's why she has 6 kids.»

Oh, Fee has noticed. In fact, rather than vault into further questions re: this personality partition bit, she nods knowingly. "I've.. always wondered about that. Did Legion come around after all of that, or has she always been around? Since Rain was little, even?" She tilts her head some, scratches gently beside her nose, brows furrowed. Was that too much to ask? She almost feels bad not asking Rain about it directly but then again.. the opportunity has arisen here, and she'll take it. "I mean, I could talk to her about it.. but I just had to ask, now that you put it that way."

Fionnuala pads into the room, effectively moving out of Sky's way. She sniffs the air, looks immediately toward any windows and wall decor. "What do you think of this room? Or still kinda… not quite?"

Schuyler pushes open the door to get a little more light in and he looks to the curtained windows, «This isn't a bedroom…» maybe it's a sitting room that they were looking for! He reaches out to push the heavy curtains aside to see what sort of window might be there. Lo and behold, it's a big one! «This…is better.» Grey eyes look around before he moves to the dusty, Victorian furniture.

«Rain didn't have powers when we both came to the school. They let her in because of me. But around the end of our Freshman year, things started to develop…her 'borrowing' powers.» Or swapping, as the case may be. «Legion is fairly recent and the different personalities are even more recent. I just want her to be happy and I'm not sure she can be. Yet.»

The dark-haired girl seems to brighten more and more as the curtains are opened up, lending to the room the light beyond the window. "This could work, but it's totally up to you!" Fee exclaims, taking in the furniture now; she touches each piece but doesn't move to sit or avail herself to any of it. "If you wanna do more in here or look around, you can open the windows if you want and I can 'push' the musty, dusty air out." Fee offers helpfully but as usual, is never the sort to push any of her powers into circumstances. Without missing another beat she keeps up with the thought at hand.

"I remember when she accidentally took my sunlight, and I multiplied.. that was before we got to know each other a little better." Said with a touch of amusement, then her expression softens again. "I really want her to be happy, too. But.. what do you mean by that? That she can't be… yet?" Fionnuala looks puzzled, "Is this something else that is foretold?"

Schuyler moves to the window at the suggestion and looks to see how it might open…if it does. A couple sections might, but the window itself might be too large for it. «There might already be electricity in here…it just might need updating,» is offered as he then looks around for outlets. There are lamps on tables and burned out light-bulbs so maybe. «You don't need to apologize for using your powers here as long as they won't hurt anyone or anything. Dust doesn't count.»

He'll look around the room some more but continue the conversation, «Legion is closer, but she's more 'reckless'. I'm not sure that part of Rain's personality has come out yet.» The loving, happy Rain.

<FS3> Fionnuala rolls Wind Elemental: Good Success.

Provided at least a section open, even a pinch, it provides the snippet that Fionnuala needs. There's no fanfare involved; her small hands lift and begin to move slowly, each around the other as if her fingers have voluntarily decided to take up some sort of interpretive-hand-dancing! Is she humming? Why, now, is this happening? It seems that Fionnuala needs to use music — singing, even just humming — to work her magic. Strange Mystic girl!

Whatever the case, her hold upon this type of manipulation is solid, and it's not a great rushing force that 'sucks up' dust and works to 'pull' mustiness out of the air, but something… subtle. Gentle. Like the most careful 'vacuum' ever!

Carefully, carefully, she 'wills' the stuffiness and dusty smells out through any small section of open window that they find to open up, rendering the unused room fresh-smelling!

"Well, I'm gonna do my best to help cultivate that part of her, or find out where it's hiding. Because it's there.. it has to be, because she has such an amazing capacity to be kind. Happiness isn't very far behind.. sometimes it's just being held up or tied down. And we'll help her get there." Fionnuala says in full faith as she looks up toward the sunny window. She will go on to help Sky as much as possible for the remainder of this 'art room quest' .. whether it's doubling back to look at other rooms, move to other parts of the estate to stake out others.. or even go outdoors!

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