Calliope heads through the woods, seeing the remains of blight before she stops at the old garden, looking over the wild growth which had taken over. She'd asked Kyuu to meet her here, a place where they might go hunting together, but only after something a little more important. She calls out behind her. "When was the last time you'd seen Kyuu?" There's a brief concern the fox might have gotten lost in time or space since their last meeting. Or worse. With dangerous, too handsy boys.
Julius trails after Calli, and the wild growth at the once-cultivated place makes him happy, somehow. The question catches him off-guard, and the reply takes a second of thinking. "Through my own eyes? Her birth," and there's a sort of apology in the admission. "Through yours? You'd know better than I would." He crouches to examine an overgrown bush, the bright red fruits a warning sign.
Calliope nods, pushes through a thorny bush, the sharp pricks scraping against bark instead of soft flesh before she makes it to the water's edge. "I've been keeping her busy, though..." A sudden stray thought of a Windgrace is pushed away instead of continuing the thought out loud.
The ring is a portal, a path between farey and the mundane world outside of it. Is Callisto really that mundane? Perhaps not since the fox has been drawn back to the where and when of this local more than once. She’d been asked to meet Kaylee at a specific time and in that specific place. In some ways, the trip was hard. She had to imagine the when just as intently as the where. No small feat for a young, memory parched version of herself.
There is a flash of light, heat, and then a spill of shadow. As the darkness melts away the kneeling form of everybody’s favorite fox becomes visible. She tilts her head up, looking around, then visibly brightens when she lays eyes on Cali. Julius gets a large part of it as well, the godling’s emotional magic spilling out her happiness at seeing them. She shifts about and it is clear to any who knew her well that were she in a foxie form, her tail would be wagging so hard that her rear would be following it.
Julius leaves the berries where they are, pushes himself back to standing. He avoids the thorny bush Calli shoved through in favor of taking a slightly longer route to the water's edge, but a few seconds later, he arrives next to her, offering a smile. "Anatomy lessons. Very useful." Then the thought of That Boy brings a frown, and he sighs-- only to be cut off by the sudden appearance of shadows and warmth and a wiggly youth. Whatever frown had been on Julius's face instantly disappears, replaced with a far-too-toothy smile. "You made it! You're big! And no tail to be seen! Is that comfortable?" Very enthusiastic, very happy, he takes a few steps forward, but stops just shy of the edge of the fairy ring.
Calliope turns to look back, ear and tail wiggling wildly as the fox appears. Though she stands back, wanting to watch the other two for a moment instead of encroaching.
Kyuu bounces up from the ground to her feet and nearly topples over from the exuberance. She is wearing a mismatch of clothing, some of it perhaps too small for her, and all of it ill fitting. Stolen, likely. Or borrowed. She stumble skips toward Julius and reaches out toward him, golden topped claws curled a little so as not to slash or gash at him. “Hiiiiii!” She is so very happy to see him. She thinks. There are so many little memories milling about in her head, swishing and receding. “I know you!” Sort of. Either way, she is tickled pink. “Hii!” a glance back at her rear then she is looking back, “I do not like missing my tails. My balance is off and I cannot bury my nose in the fluff. I miss it but Cali says that eventually I will be able to go all fox again and take any form I want but I have to perfect the human one first and I am not very good at it but I really am trying. I think I am mostly human now? Maybe? But I keep messing up the eyes and not getting it right.” Its .. a lot. She just opens her mouth and all that comes out, fast, maybe too fast. And then she beams at Callie.
Julius loses what hesitation he'd had when he sees Kyuu extend her arms for him, and he goes in for a hug immediately. A big, squeezing hug, and when he pulls back, he's still smiling, totally overwhelmed with joy at seeing her. "You do! And we will get to know each other better yet! If you want." The rambling only causes him to tilt his head and watch her talk with squinty-eyed fondness, so pleased that she is willing to speak so freely. "She's right, you will be able to do all of that. She's very knowledgeable about these things, being one thing or another. You look perfectly human to me. There's more variation in the human body than most people think!" He glances back at Calli, raising an eyebrow at her. "Are you going to look at the eyes, give her a passing grade?"
Calliope now bounces over, thorns dulling and her step with an inhuman spring better suited to animation than reality. Though she stops short to peer into the burning eyes of the fox. "You got the sclera right! Oh good job! The pupils though, they're more fox than human, the shape should be round even when they're trying to only let in a little light. But it's almost perf-" She stops as she realizes the black split tongue is inhuman "ect. You're getting so close." Then the claws. She smiles ruefully. "Then we'll focus on the easier modifications to the human form. Though if it were not to get your true form back to you, I would say you are already exactly as you should be."
Through the forest, from the edge of town, Drystan makes his way along a quaint little path, pulling at his robes till they open and only the belt holds it closed, his long pants hanging off narrow hips, bare feet crunching in the grass and leaves. Slowly his skin swarms with ichor and squirrels into a pattern on his skin, the ashen scars of eyes opening as well. Aether from the plants nearby and from his own being effervescences from his body, large swirls of faint energetic blue darts around him as well, showing that he had likely given himself some spell before leaving the tower. In fact, not a soul noticed him as he walked so casually from the tower in his pajamas. Once he was as alone as he thought he could be he’d lifted that mirage and the golden arms waved around him, peering all around him, taking in angles he could not see with his two eyes, looking through time with the myriad of pupils dilating and then refocusing at another angle as he walked. Ahhh… he was approaching where he had run into Kyuu and Callie for the first time in SOME time, and slowed his steps, carefully putting one foot in front of the other. He was not trying to sneak, but also not trying to enter the space like a loud buffoon. He opened his mind and allowed himself to be lifted up with his telekinetic power so that his toes no longer touched the forest floor, and eased his way towards the ring of transport, hearing voices.
Kyuu opens her eyes really wide for Callie so that she can see the pupils and iris and she concentrates really hard on not letting her inner flame out to dance in that gaze. She is fairly successful... but the slit is still rather fox-like. Still, she beams at Callie and then pulls her into the hug with Julius, head nuzzling the both of them with clear affection. “I hope it happens soon. I miss being little. And these things for the feets. They are tight.” She kicks a foot out. “Do you remember that guy? That was here before? Drystan? He said he had gifts for me. Gifts from me, for me. Do you know him well?” she worries her lip a little then realizes that she is gripping the both of them rather tightly. They are gingerly and maybe apologetically released, but she doesn’t move away. “Oh! Thank you.” This to Cali’s approval of her current perfection.
Awareness of Drystan’s arrival is more felt than heard, or smelled. Something wicked this way comes. Her dainty ears twitch and her head lifts, for all the world like a wild creature alerted to the potential of something dangerous. But her reaction is decidedly less than fearful. More. Eager. “Oooh.”
Julius takes a tiny step back for space once the hug is released. He gives a contemplative 'hrm' at Calli's assessment, then sighs and nods in agreement. "You are in luck, though. The pupils are simple once you adjust. And--" He opens his mouth, sticks out his tongue, pokes it with a fingertip, then withdraws it. "A color change, it should be simple for one as talented as you. The tongue is just a muscle, like all the others in your body, and it is as pink as they are." Of course, by now the fox has moved on to more interesting topics, and his face falls. "Ah, no, I don't know him."
An awkward pause, and his ears drop low as he looks around for the source of that odd feeling. "Some advice-- if anyone asks to drink your blood, you should bite them first and run away. Or--" He's not going to tell her to eat them. "Avoid them. Vampires are no good." That seems reasonable.
Calliope facing Kyuu, sees the glow as Drystan approaches and at first she smiles, raises a hand to wave in return to his own many hands. She remembers the plan, the plot, she's talked over with Julius. So despite the concern over the too many hands and the hound's instinct to bark, when she pulls away from Kyuu's words, it's with the same too bouncy step of excitement towards Drystan. "Look who it is! Bringing gifts to my sweet godchild? How thoughtful and you have new nipple rings. Wait, are those new?"
"Hopefully the gift is new shoes then, Kyuu. I'm sure you would know what you're likely to want most. If not we'll get you new shoes." She shakes her head as she answers one of Kyuu's questions. "No, I don't know him well, but I'm looking forward to getting closer." Despite talking as if he isn't there, her eyes shift back to the Windgrace.
Though Julius' words pull her expression into a frown. "That's not true. There's at least one good one."
Coming down to place his feet on the ground, he walks the rest of the way up to the mushroom circle, and gives a wave to all of them there. “Seems like a party…I was just ..out, to get out.” He shrugs a little and pushes some hair from his face. “Gifts? Well of course, Anything for Kyuu.” He widened his eyes a little and began patting himself down. The cloak had a small pocket, and it was empty, and there was a whole mess of nothing hidden in with the rest of his clothes. “Ahh yes. Ahem..” He clears his throat and gives Callie a wide smile, and then one to the one at her side as well. “They…are not new, …no. Though the metal has been replaced a few times. They can get torn off easily enough and lost. I just make new and… shove ‘em back in there.” He stopped and laughed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck, listening to her talk about getting closer to him. He then looks to Kyuu and steps into the circle with her, and reaches a clawed hand out to her - she could decide how to greet him.
Drystan’s appearance transcends that sensation and becomes the full on experience. The fox turns about and her dainty ears twitch when they catch the rise and fall of his words. A shy smile is shared with him and she steps a little away from her godparents and into the ring of the man’s personal space. Her hand lifts to thread fingers with his own and she leans in to press a brief though rather warm hug to his side. Kyuu then steps back, still holding his hand within hers, before slowly relaxing her grip so that he might slip away. “I knew a Vampire!” she states, suddenly excited. Then she furrows her brow. “I .. think.” A glance is given back toward Cali and Julius. “I have a lot of bad memories of people taking my blood from me. It's .. too much.” She lifts a hand to rub her temple, “They were human though.”
Julius gives Drystan a sidelong look as he approaches, suspicion written clearly across every bit of body language. Though the explanation for the piercings makes some of that suspicion fade into nonplussed confusion. "Do you regrow them as a hobby...?" Completely baffled. He shakes his head to clear it, bares teeth in...sort of a smile? They don't look vampiric, they look like someone forced a wolf's teeth into a human mouth with arguable amounts of success. "They are difficult at the best of times. We are better off without them." Though he shoots Calli a look at that, takes another step back. When Kyuu rubs at her forehead, he's flooded with concern, and continues moving away.
"Blood is powerful, and it should stay inside your body. Anyone who wants to take it from you, fight them. Or call for my aid, and I will help you." Drystan gets another weird look and Julius points at him. "Keep the hands to yourself. If anything happens to her, I will blame you." That said, he shakes his head again, the talk of blood getting to him, and in another two steps there's a wolf bounding into the woods where a person was a second ago.
Calliope watches Drystan pat himself down and produce no gifts. She can't help but chuckle, smile playful with his discomfort. "Fascinating." Her gaze on him is unwavering until Kyuu speaks and her own ears droop. "We won't let that happen to you again, we will eat anyone who hurts you, and we'll get you new shoes too." Then Julius is bounding away and there's a sudden pain on her face. "He's just worried... I should go after him. Stay safe you both, the woods are dangerous." Her shapes shifts after his, a brightly colored hound compared to the darker wolf.
As Julius asks his question he opens his mouth to answer, but decides to let it go, he could feel the suspicion coming off him in waves. “I have only the very best intentions for Kyuu.” Is all he really says, and keeps all and any of his bloodworking to himself. It wasn't needed now anyhow. But his face breaks out into a large smile when he goes wolf style and scampers off. The smile is met with a sort of melancholy in his eyes. He turns to Kyuu, “I have an adopted sister that is a wolf. She left the island a long time ago…I miss her.” He sighs lightly and shakes his head as Callie morphs and follows after him. “They care quite a bit for you Kyuu, to make threats..” He smiled softly at her. “If you take those boots off, I can make you something far more comfortable.” He lifts a brow at her.
Kyuu stares after the two as they head off into the forest and her expression? It holds a longing. It's been far too long since she could bound through the forest, leaping from rock to ground and fallen tree. Climbing trunks and racing about until her heart felt fit to burst. The sheer excitement of it!
Turning her head and tilting her chin up to look at Drystan, she momentarily does not understand what he is offering. But then it clicks, her features brighten and she abruptly plops herself to the ground at his feet, fingers tearing away at the strings in her excitement. “Calie has been apart of my life longer than I can fully remember.” She shares, pausing and glancing up. “At least three lifetimes. I think. She has been in each.” A smile curls her lips which then purse, “I think I was male though.”
The many arms fade into the shimmer of the aether that surrounds him, and he makes a snuffing sort of laugh. “Yes, you could change back and forth as you saw fit. I’m sure that will come back to you at some point. He watched her thrash at the laces and smiled bigger. “Would you like something flat? Like a boot? Much more comfortable. No need to balance on your tippy toes.” He eyes the tall heeled boots and starts to imagine all kinds of shoes he had seen Kyuu wear over the years. “I only know her as she fought at my and my family's side against threats to the island, to the people here. The mist that covered the island for so long. She looked different then though, she’s taller and …different colors i think. But I have stayed fairly far from all manner of Fae for a while, other than my Pixie friend and engineer. He’s different. And you - You’re only half fae.I was prepared for that though. We talked for many hours about your history, your memories, things I would need to give you, when the time was right.”
Utilizing the rather sharp claws at the tips of her fingers, Kyuu gives up on trying to untangle herself and instead starts to slice through the laces that hold the boots in place. She does it slowly, like it’s a game, finger slipping under taunt laces and then tugging. A smile grows wider upon her gold touched lips with each pop and give of the bindings. “Half fae.” She thinks on that for a moment, head tilting to the side. “Half god. Half Oni. Half kitsune. I am whole of many, many things – but the parts are paint on my canvas. I am the painting.” A hand lifts then twirls by her head, “A work in progress.” One boot is kicked off a bit then slid off to be lightly tossed to the grass beside them. Her bare toes curl then stretch. Relief is had. “I do not like those boots.”
Drystan laughs some as she gives up on trying to untie the things and just pops herself free. “A very good analogy. One I certainly understand.” He reached over for the discarded boots and started to pull the strings free, tossing them to the side. He examined them, inside and out, and nodded. “I can work with this.” He lowered his head and held onto the pair, under his breath he began chants in several languages, some more easily recognisable than others. The aether around him seems to center around his hands and the boots themselves, the bright blue wisps falling into line as well, and infusing themselves into the boots as they began to twist and reshape themselves, and then the boots were …just different boots. Probably something Masculine Kyuu might have worn once, but in any sense, they are now flat soled, and would fit to the shape of her feet most perfectly. Once done he handed them out to her. “There you go. It’s not as good as your actual work, but only because I couldn't think of a precise pair that didn’t have heels. You were fond of them before. Maybe it just is something you get used to.” He waved a hand at the pair and shrugged, “They are black though, which matches everything.”
“You said something like that before.” Kyuu murmurs, reaching out to gently accept her new boots from Drystan. She admires them, impressed with the magical transformation. “That I did better. That I had great taste. Every time you do, I get so many images in my head. Like.. so many garments. Sewing? Puzzles. I liked puzzles. I like puzzles. And color. And.. just so many things.” Her brow furrows again. “Ever feel like you are a shadow and cannot compare at all to that which came before?” She pauses, looks at him, then laughs at herself. “Silly, I am sure.” She puts the boots on, brows lifting when the fit is so much better. “Oh. Yes.”
He nods affirmatively at her. “Yes, sewing. You were…a fashion mogul. Your designs garnered you many followers that worshiped every released garment, that fed into you being an actual godling of course, in one manner. Your designs are highly sought after even now, ..Especially now, since it’s been quite some time since you and your fashion house released anything. I put stories in newspapers around the world that spoke of a time of renewal for Kyuu and the brand. Every ten years or so, the story pops up on the aethernet or through the wires. AMuses me to no end. Humanity has no real sense of time. And you were so far ahead of your time. I bet the pattern must have been like puzzles for you. You created wearable art. When you made clothes for me, it was to a precise measure, and then the style… It helped express things without saying a word. Clothing and dress can be quite powerful. I learned all that from you, by the by.” He smiled softly at her.
It is still hard for the fox to equate herself to the creature she was. And yet.. in her deepest core, she is aware that what he says is true. She blinks as another train of thought and memories comes to her. “I like discipline.” There is a pause as she contemplates this. “Because I am by nature chaotic. I think I have spent lifetimes cultivating myself. Meditating..?'' She slides her feet about, uncaring of any show she might be flashing in the skirt she is wearing as she settles into an ‘Indian’ style position. She looks down at her hands then pinches together the pad of her thumb and her middle finger. The hands are then gently rested against her knees and she takes a slow and deep breath. “Peace. Tranquility.” Her eyes close and she hums softly. “Something happened to knock all that down.”
He watched as she crossed her legs over one another, and she moved into a meditation pose. “You gained discipline at some point long before I met you. You told me you had lived so many lives, and that it had been meant as punishment. The statue of you was broken and strewn far and wide. I wanted to help you put it back together. There were many stories you told me, but I paid the closest attention to what you wanted of me, for you. I have a document in that office you came to see me at? It is signed by us both. Callie and Julius were right, blood has power, and agreements made in blood hold a heavier responsibility. I know that it will become easier for you, given time, and that it must be rather confusing for you now. But - you are YOU…I am not meant to recreate you in your former image - just to give you the resources to become the fullest version of yourself now. You will need your memories, I will provide guidance, and …help you gain discipline.” He cupped his hands in his lap and watched her as she sat.
There is a knack to meditating. A skill that this version of the fox has yet unlocked. Her fingers release the hold, and her hands turn so she can cup her knees. A curious look is given to the elder Windgrace and a hint of mischief dances a path across her features. “I am afraid that I am quite a handful.” She assures Drystan. “Not even my fathers have managed to tame me.” She leans in, head tilting to the side, “I have a very good feeling that it would be a whole lot of fun though. To try.” She really sounds like she knows what she is talking about – the words come naturally. But she is somewhat oblivious to the actual challenge she is laying out right there. “Thank you.. I am not sure I said that yet. Thank you for helping me. I am not sure that I see you gaining anything from this, so I am doubly grateful for your kindness.” She smiles at him then shifts about again, moving her legs so that she can get up to her knees and shift step over toward the man. She examines him a moment then flushes with a bit of color. There is an urge to do something that she is uncertain of the outcome. These are strong, dubious emotions. But Kyuu has never allowed fear to guide her in any incarnation. She lifts a hand to his shoulder to brace herself and then leans in to place a kiss upon his cheek. Should he allow it. “I have to return now. To Farie. I will see you again, later.”
A smirk plays across his face when she reassures him that she is in fact, a handful. He would have expected no less from the firebrand young creature she was. Despite his mind wandering to the idea of her actually trying because it would be fun, he kept those thoughts private and just licked across the front of his eyetooth and canine. “Rest assured, I do get something from it, but it's a hard thing to convey. Maybe one day I will try and show it to you, the thought of it.” As she shimmied her way over, he held still, when she leaned in to kiss his cheek. He let his smile spread wide and reached the crows feet on the side of his eyes. He rolled and stood in one motion and hopped backwards out of the mushroom circle. “You know where to find me.”
“I do.” Kyuu agrees. She knows where to find him. She smiles at him and eyes his feet, careful that he is outside the circle. A moment later she is reaching down toward the ground. Her fingers burrow deep in the mossy growth as her eyes slip closed. All about her light wells up and then is swallowed by shadow. When the shade disappears, she is gone. Nothing left but a bit of sliced laces that had fallen outside the circle.