WHEN: Sometime after the fall WHERE: Windgrace Tower
WHO: Dinah, Alectrona, Ashton, and Alfred Windgrace --
[2024/05/27 11:37] The kitchen smelled... interesting. Roasted garlic and the sweet smell of cooking fruit, burned sugar? Something sweet anyway. Freddy stood barefoot, tapping on the wood rhythmically. His hands were ripping at a slice of bread and tossing them into some sloshy mix of egg and milk. He'd woken recently from the mussed state of his hair, a sweater thrown inside-out over the loose tee he wore.
[2024/05/27 11:40] Dinah (dollihead): Security clearance obtained to leave her rooms, Dinah had been on her way out when the smell of...whatever the hell that was assaulted her senses. There was only two possible culprits that might be responsible for the current biological terrorism occurring in the kitchen and she peeked around the doorframe, beaming and approaching her beloved boy. She reached up to pat him on the shoulder, standing on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek.
"good morning, my darling. what on earth are you making?"
[2024/05/27 11:45] Ash hasn’t slept yet. She;s been up all night painting. This isn’t unusual – but some scent in the air made her realize that she was hungry. Once the realization hit, the hunger hurt and she had to stop what she was doing because her concentration was just shattered. Tsking her displeasure, she nevertheless descended the stairs into the depths of the tower, seeking the scent and subsequently the kitchen. As she moves other things make themselves known – she’s tired. And a bathroom stop was needed along the way down. Finally – she steps into the dining room and wiggles her nose as she breathes in the weird savory sweet odor. “Ugh. I don’t know what that is.. but its gonna either be good or gross.”
[2024/05/27 11:48] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) dropped her dance duffle on the seat of one of the dining chairs casually though from the solid 'thud' it made, Alec had packed some 'light reading' for when she was waiting at the studio. Her nose wrinkled as she followed their mother into the kitchen. "I am reasonably certain that you can't poison Father with garlic and if you could, I rather think you'd make yourself ill as well," Alec teased, passing Ash with a fond pat on the shoulder before moving away from whatever carb nightmare that Freddy was concocting to head for the fridge and the yogurt and fruit that Alec preferred for breakfast before adding politely. "Good morning, Mother. Would you like me to put some tea on?"
[2024/05/27 11:59] Freddy seemed absolutely unaffected by the noxious mix of aromas in the kitchen. He paused with his fingers in bread, milk, and egg mix and peeked over his shoulder at Dinah and the gathering of siblings. "Bread pudding. I'll have you know D... Uncle Dorian loved it when I made it the first time. Caramelized peaches, bananas, sourdough bread, some milk and eggs. Garlic's that super secret ingredient yeah? You singe it up with some brown sugar and get it crumbled on top." He dumped the 'pudding' mixture with an odd, improvised mix of spices into a metal pan before shoving it into a noticeably un-preheated oven. "There's enough if the lot of us want to share," he said when he straightened up, a little grin directed at his two sisters. "You two look like you're headed off somewhere. Got plans huh?"
[2024/05/27 12:03] Dinah (dollihead) turned at the sound of her daughter's voices, attempting to collar them both for cheek-kisses too, starting with Ash and finishing with Alectrona, expression warm. "Mummy's princesses. hello, my angels. No tea for me, darling. I will be going out soon." she wrinkled her nose with a smile when her creative firstborn suggested what it was he was making. A dessert, with garlic.
"you are sweet to offer, darling, but I don't eat breakfast." she patted her leg, her snarling pompom of a dog tappa-tapping his way to her side and looking none too thrilled about it. She scooped him, holding him like a baby. "i am certain dorian will finish my share though."
[2024/05/27 12:08] Nosey chit that she is, Ash sidles up to her brother and peers around his shoulder to eye whatever it is that he is making. Her nose wrinkles but her stomach rumbles, expression and reaction at odds with one another. She tilts her head toward Alec then follows her to the fridge to stand in front of it and stare at what is there. There is another stomach gurgle sound followed by a sigh and then she is reaching for the loaf of bread to pull a couple slices out. One is stuffed into her mouth and then she is assaulted with momma cheek kisses. She makes the kissy noise around a bunch of crumbling break then goes back to staring into the fridge, trying to decide what she is going to nom. Besides the bread. Maybe she will just have the bread. She pulls it out of her mouth, swallows the bite, then chirps at Alec, “I would like tea. I’ll have hers. Can you make some for me too?” Freddy is then given a mock horrified look. “You think I am going to socialize with ‘People’?”
[2024/05/27 12:12] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) gave Dinah a small smile nodding her agreement before she laughed at Ash. Dutifully, Alec headed over to the kettle to start it up and began pulling down things for a proper tea. "I can make you tea," she agreed fondly before arching her brows at Freddy's explanation. "I am reasonably certain that such things need proper measurements. You look like you're throwing handfuls of things into the bowl based on whimsy," Alec offered dubiously, pausing in her graceful motions to pull her phone out when it chimed. Texting one handed, she continued setting up the tea service with her other, shadows occasionally nudging the thing she was looking for into her hand when she missed them. "I'm going to socialize with people. Well, sort of. I have dance practice today and then I am heading up to Uni to collaborate on a project for one of the Professors. Hoping to round out my CV with a bit of necromantic practicals."
[2024/05/27 12:17] Freddy went to wash the pudding goop off his hands and set the oven for baking. "EVERYONE should eat breakfast, it's supposed to be important you know?" he protested, wringing his hands a bit to spatter excess water into the sink. "PLUS... garlic's especially healthy for you." His mother got a very, very pointed look. Talk of tea brightened him up though and he leaned against the counter as the garlic and brown sugar toasted up on a nearby pan. "I've got some looseleaf teas up in my room. Some things we put together up at the Academy. Just let me know which bag you pick though - some of them are uh. You know. Special, yeah?" He winked at Ash before squinting at their middle sister. "Socializing? Necromancy? Which classmates are you working on that with, Al?"
[2024/05/27 12:20] Dinah (dollihead) clicked her tongue at Ash's derision of spending time with others. "you should, Ashton my beloved. people can be terribly inspiring. And not all of them are terrible" she petted Pel in her arms, a proud smile touching her face at Alec's words.
"Double wards with necromancy, darling. I don't like how slapdash they are about protection there in the other classes. Some spirits can be particularly mischievous and have very little in the way of boundaries" she tapped her dog on the snout, earning a quiet snarl.
Freddy's protests had her laughing softly, reciprocating his pointed look with a sweet smile. "I eat plenty, dear" Comparatively to some mice, perhaps "Plenty of spinach, I am perfectly healthy. you worry too much about your dear old mother."
[2024/05/27 12:28] Ash beams at Alec and stuffs a bit of bread back into her mouth. Mmm. Carbs. She chews a moment, dry swallows and then clicks her tongue to get rid of the doughy tackiness at the roof of her mouth. “You are the absolute best.” She informs Alec. Eyeballing the .. pudding? That her brother is tossing in the oven she debates whether or not it would kill her to try it, or at the very least upset her stomach. That thought trashes the idea and she decides to stick with the bread. “I got breakfast.” The crust is waved in the air, a circle eaten within of the soft insides missing. Consumed. Alec mentioning her studies gives Ash a little panic attack. “Oh shit. I might have a class today.” She makes a pained expression and then frowns. “I am in the middle of a PAINTING. It is way more important then Hermetics 101. Mamah already taught me that stuff already.” She pers toward Dinah, “People are stupid. And emotional. And hormonal. And gross. And mean.” She clearly could go on and on here. “Why can’t I just like .. Test out of it?”
[2024/05/27 12:36] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) reached for the tea cannister that was already in the kitchen cabinet rather than go on a quest to try and suss out what tea was safe with Freddy's dubious filing system. "We'll save your tea for later when you can choose it. Herbology is not my forte and I'd rather not be practicing fouettes while the walls melt this afternoon," Alec said dryly still texting. Dinah, however, got Alec's full attention, putting the phone to the side and turning her head to nod her understanding even though she was always a cautious caster. "Yes, Mother," Alec said, with a bob of her head, "I'll go straight to the great pentacles out of the Clavicula Salomonis and skip the lesser Key entirely." She promised before steeping the tea and beginning to pour. Her phone chimed again and she picked it up, scrunching her nose at Freddy. "Whichever classmates are also wanting to round out their work. There's a collaborative between technomancy and necromantics upper levels next year and competition is going to be tight." Alec stuck her tongue out at Freddy. "You probably don't even know half of them." Proving adult siblings remained still very much siblings at their core. As she turned towards Ash with a tea cup, she grinned at her dismay. "Because its important to know how other practitioners work. That's the real lesson and takeaway. Otherwise you'll struggle when you're trying to pick apart some hedgewitch's magic because they build a circle completely different than you think they should."
[2024/05/27 12:49] Freddy met his mother's reply with a little huff. "Spinach my ass," he grumbled. Shaking his head at Ash's shaken bread slice he made his way over to shut off the heat to his garlic and sugar monstrosity. "I know what I'm doing with my teas, you just have to let me know which you pick! But fine, fine. Mother's right for once, you know. Dangerous to fool with necromancy and that school doesn't have the uh. Well. You got some weird ones in those courses. Why do you need to go that route anyway? Isn't Hermetics the family thing? Gods know I got an earful for swapping over to Witchcraft instead." Quick fingers snatched some sugar and garlic and popped it in his mouth before shaking the hand, a little wince crossing his face as the burned skin at his fingertips began to regenerate.
[2024/05/27 12:54] Dinah (dollihead): Dinah gave Ash a warm, if weary smile. "go to your classes, sweetheart. you might know it already, but practice is never bad for you. it's my only rule with your studies. Both of your siblings needed to study wards too. you should count yourself lucky, you know. I was never allowed to go to an academy at your age, I had to have tutors and they were generally all completely wretched old drunks" she gave an approving smile as Alec spoke of her wards. "that's my girl. destroy the competition." she shot a sidelong look to her son at his complaining and she grinned.
"because witchcraft studies is bohemians and charlatans, my darling boy. you are one of the only people in that class who are attending it for actual studies sake and not just access to the sativa" her tone was teasing, reaching to his cheek to try and squish it lightly between her finger and thumb.
[2024/05/27 13:00] Reaching out to accept her cup of tea from Alec, bread dangling from the fingers of one hand, Ash breathes in the steam and noticeably brightens. She hums softly in sweet appreciation of the moment and even closes her eyes briefly. She snorts softly at the reasoning her sister gives for her going to class. “So I can learn how other people do things wrong. Seems like such a waste of my time and energy. They should just learn how to do it right.” Or at least the way her brain thinks it is right. A sip if the tea is taken, gingerly, because it is hot, and then she is peering toward Freddy. “I might enjoy class better if the walls are melting. Which tea is the fun tea?” She gestures with her cup then switches it to one hand so she can begin eating the crust of her bread slice. “Mmm, anywangg ta mek it bettern” She should really not speak with food in her mouth. Dinah gets a pained wince. Like her comment is killing her. “I would rather paint. Give me an art class. I’ll attend that. I’d be /all/ over that.” Then ma is going in with the cheek pinch on Freddy and she is rolling her eyes. She protests for him, though there is a smile twitching her lips, “You know he isn’t like, 5. I don’t think he has ever been 5.”
[2024/05/27 13:05] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) looked briefly smug, "I don't need to add any more Hermetics to my CV. I'll be an accredited Master of the school on the next listed rolls," Alec said, her tone prim but clearly pleased with herself. She slanted Freddy a grin, "I got an Adequate on my Hermetic dissertation from Dashrix." Which really, was about as high a grade as the old man gave. Technomancy students had to learn to live with passing their classes being the highest achievement possible. "I can't learn the family faith magic from the school so I'm onto either necromancy or technomancy and I've gotten the basic requirements done for both. So I am... dabbling." Alec said, finally tucking her phone carefully back in her pocket. She poured tea for Freddy and then finally a cup for herself. "You don't need painting classes, Ash."
[2024/05/27 13:11] Freddy scrunched up his nose at the cheek pinch. He abided it for maybe half a second before reaching up to gingerly divest motherly fingers from his cheek. "They're contemporaries," he argued. "It's better than ages-old books and, like you just mentioned, crusty old drunks. Besides..." and here he paused, lips pursing a bit as he mulled over how to put things gently. Mention of the family faith magic had put a tiny bit of discomfort on the eldest's face. "...I er. I think it suits me better. Anyway. Ash, you know you paint better than any of those instructors can teach you how to. S'not like you have to do much to pass a 100-level anyway and you get credit long as you pass."
[2024/05/27 13:15] Dinah (dollihead): "When other people are hiding their warding sigils, darling, you will need to know what to look for.. How their minds work as to what they would imagine to be 'hidden' or 'secret'. Some of those classmates of yours are from the old families and we need to keep an eye on them" there was an edge in her voice at that, even after all this time. some things remained unforgiven. "swallow before speaking, dear. and don't scold your mother. I have exclusive rights to squeeze freddy's cheeks" she smiled playfully.
Alec's high praise from Dashrix had her quirk a brow and she chuckled again softly.
"wonderful, just wonderful. We shall have to get that framed. I can teach you the family rites when you are ready, sweetling. We shall see how you take to necromancy first" her hand returned to petting the pom in her grip, grinning at Freddy again.
"am I a crusty old drunk, Alfred? Don't answer that. you'll break my heart. As long as you keep learning...that is what matters to me. you three are the future of this isle, you know. Everything the light touches and quite a bit of it that it doesnt is yours, et cetera, et cetera"
[2024/05/27 13:21] Ash gives Alec an offended look through the steam of her tea cup. “Everyone needs Art.” she disagrees. “And I need more time to practice. I can’t get any better if I am wasting my time on things that just don’t matter. Hermetics is our family’s thing.” She gestures with her mug toward Freddy, “Like he said. I’ve been living and breathing it since I was a baby. I did my first incantation when I was 4.” That poor child who stole her bun. She peers toward Freddy then huffs when he notes she won’t have to do much anyway in the class to get through it but she also smiles cause her ego has been stroked. Art is her thing. Her obsessive hyperfocus thing. Dinah’s point about some of those other students being from some of the founding families has her narrowing her eyes. This is true. Its part of why she doesn’t want to go. She’d never thought of it as keeping an eye on them though. That? Is a different way of looking at it. She is generally distrustful of anyone who is not her family.
“Hm. You have a point there.” She mutters, then glances up when she is chided for talking with her mouth full. A wrinkle of her nose is given but she doesn’t argue. “Yes Mamah.”
[2024/05/27 13:27] Alectrona (tempest.vyper) beamed at Dinah's praise and the promise of family secrets. "I can't wait, Mother. I'll see if I can retrieve it early from the school for your review as well, of course." Alec murmured, pouring her own tea in a steel mug to take with her. "I will try your concoction when I get home if there's any left, Freddy, I promise." The yogurt and fruit cup were scooped up in one hand before Alec went to lean in and very carefully offer a brief kiss to her mother's cheek that wouldn't smudge any makeup. "I should get going, though, I'd hate to be late to the studio. I promise I'll be home after classes tonight." Passing Ash, she grinned at her pique, "I merely meant that I don't feel structured classes would do you much good and you have Uncle Drystan to teach you and he's far better than anyone the university would possess, that's all, not that it wasn't important." She paused at the threshhold to glance back and bob her head, taking Dinah's reminder as a personal mantra. "Yes, Mother, we'll endeavor to make you proud." She promised on behalf of all three siblings as she scooped up her dance bag.
[2024/05/27 13:44] Freddy sighed. "Well, you're not crusty," he said quietly. He made a face though in the wake of the cheek pinching and Dinah's insistence on her right to such things. Arguing took a backseat in light of the conversation and its turn toward the family magic. "She doesn't have to get herself mired in all that you've got downstairs to be a good kid, you know," he said with a nod of his head at Alectrona as she departed. "Neither of them do. There's more out in the world than just... blood and secrets." Freddy rolled his shoulders, the fabric of his inside-out sweater slipping a little as muscle tension and the creep of something dark under his skin moved in a roiling wave below the surface. The eldest had deliberately refused to participate in many of the family rituals as he grew older and the mother god under whose influence he was born was not particularly fond of being shunned. He distracted himself elsewise, clearing his throat. "You let us know if those others in class give you any trouble yeah Ash?"
[2024/05/27 13:50] Nodding after Alec, Ash is now smiling her way. “Uncle Drystan is the best.” She agrees readily. “Every time I think I have learned all that he has to share? He comes up with a new technique, or a new way of looking at things.” She muses on this as she sips from the tea again then wiggles her pinky finger after her sister as she turns to depart. She peers back toward Dinah and Freddy though at the mention of blood and secrets. “Sounds messy.” A brow quirks and then she is lifting the bread back to her lips for another nobble and then a careful sip of the tea to wet her mouth. She contemplates this a moment, thinking of her paintings, then glances back at them. “I can handle bullies.” She notes in a dry tone. “I just don’t want to.” Lifting her cup in a salute, she also to head for the exit. “I guess I should shower. Get presentable. Check on that class.” The last sentence comes out tired and with another eye roll. “Send your tea up Freddy. I’ll bring it with. Maybe share it.”
She glances over her shoulder toward him and shares a toothy smile. Mischief. But then she is heading off too.
[2024/05/27 13:51] Dinah (dollihead) gave Ash an indulgent smile and she nodded. "of course I have a point. I do occaisonally have them" she leaned in close to smooch Alectrona on the cheek.
" You always do. have a good day at practice, my sweetling. mummy loves you." she said fondly "We shall have to have a fabulous frame made. some of those little spotlights to draw attention to it too." she lifted her head from the belly of her pom to wave to the eldest daughter, giving Freddy a reproachful look.
"Nonsense, darling" she softened at his uncomfortable shifting, reaching to touch his sleeve lightly "Those Below helped me have three beautiful children I never could have otherwise. Your sisters want to learn. I wouldn't force them to learn if they didn't want to, but i shan't spurn them if they do."
(To be added to)