Fool's Journey

"Well, wait and see how home feels when you get there. It should be interesting." He chuckles. "...oh. any allergies I should know about? Have some animals around, so..."

He cracks the door open, and there's an excited clucking and click of claws scurrying across the back patio. One chicken manages to get her head in before Freddie blocks it with a foot, balancing as she clambers onto his boot. "Hey. Hey. Ladies. Stay outside! You're not getting fed in the kitchen."

 

"Chickens!" Kainze shrieks with glee, hopping off the chair and rushing over with his arms open to receive fluffy feathery chicken hugs. "What kind are they?!"

"No allergies..." Mischa grins softly, watching the chicken try to clamber her way inside. "We used to have chickens... when we were little."

 

"Hah. Uh. Eight Cochins, four Rhode Islands, two Sussex, four Brama, two Jersey Giants, and Lois, my Silkie Bantam.... I'm thinking of trying to breed some Ayam Cemani, but... they're expensive to start up." He carefully pushs the Cochin on his foot into Kainze's arms. "That's Henrietta the Fourth. Great pedigree. Ephriam is... strutting around somewhere, I'm sure."

 

"That is so many chickens!" Kainze crouches down and gently wraps his arms around Henrietta, then starts carefully petting her feathers, even preening a few with his fingers. "So much soft fluff~. What kind is Henrietta?"

"We only had three Jerseys." Mischa says, "And a Rhodey."

 

"She's a black Cochin," Freddie grins. "Very friendly.... as you can probably tell." He chuckles. "...well, I try to do the sustainable living, insofar as I can. Having a lot of chickens helps."

 

Kainze cradles Henrietta in his arms and stands up, holding her with a soft happy smile on his face. Chickens are so sweet~!

"Yeah... can't really do that living in a low income college dorm." Mischa sighs, looking wistfully at the chicken her twin is holding, then up at the hanging herbs.

 

"Well, you're free to visit here as often as you want," he leans against the doorway, still herding the other chickens outside while he tries to reach their hidden bag of feed. "I'm not exactly going to turn both of you loose on the world without any guidance."

 

"I still don't really understand what happened earlier... and what about your arm!!"

 

Freddie frowns, looking down at his arm once he's done feeding his flock. ".. it stopped bleeding on the drive over. I'll....see about closing it up shortly. Just a bit concerned. I... think you tangled some of your magic into it. In the sense of the 'carved your name into the tower'. It... might not go away."

He grimaces. "Which means I'm going to have an awkward chat with my girlfriend tonight..."

 

"I'm... sorry?"

"Wait..." Kainze turns towards his sister, "So this guy isn't your boyfriend Mischa!?"

"Oh my gods Kainze NO!!"

 

"Not really your fault..." he pauses, frowning at Kainze. "...pardon?"

 

He grins the wide mischievous grin of a little shit who knows he's being a little shit.

Mischa huffs a sigh, frowning at Kainze slightly, before electing to ignore him for now. "So... what was the tower thing?

 

(( 2 successes on empathy to try and figure out if kainze was being at all serious with his teasing. Poor Freddie is confused. ))

"....oh. well. There are several realms... which are... kind of sources of magic, more or less. Mine is in another realm than yours, a land of life and spirits."

 

Kainze's got his face half buried in Henrietta's feathers, humming and smiling as he stims off the softness of them. Precious cinnamon bun chicken!

Mischa's blushing, but that's been fairly constant since they got there with Kainze's consistent teasing, her expression a sort of frowny pout. The tone of her voice hasn't changed, still casual and somewhat friendly. "So... what was mine? I remember thorns and water...?"

"Mine had water too. And it smelled like roses and vanilla. Emberlynn said we were in the Fae lands."

 

"Arcadia. Fate and Time. Really, really weird place. I got dragged in there. Once. It was...not a good time. It's dangerous even if you know where you're going, but I think that's the same with all the realms."

 

"Emberlynn mentioned it was weird there. I found my way to the pond with the tower pretty easily though." Kainze turns to set the chicken into his sisters lap, making her grin with glee as she hugs and pets Henrietta, then pulls out his necklace to show it off. "I used this. Mischa got it from me from the hippie shop."

 

"...you're just as lucky as Avesta, I'm sure." He hums, reaching out to gingerly turn the pendant over. "...though I don't think it's always in water. They tend to... be where they will be."

 

"Who's Avesta? The girlfriend?"

It's a very well formed pendant, tingling with magical power and potential.

 

"Avesta is one of the many crazy Acanthus I've met. The ranks of which now include both of you..."

He frowns, turning the pendant over in his hand. "...what... oh. Well now... no wonder you didn't have trouble. This thing is keyed into finding places of power... that's gorgeous."

Spoiler

You can locate Nodes and Sense Ley Lines.

 

"I really do pick the best stuff... huh." Mischa says, still snuggling Henrietta.