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Alg had felt compelled to reconnect, to check in with everyone to make sure his doppelganger hadn't done anything detrimental. He'd gone through his phone, been disgusted at home well the thing had played him, and now checked in with anyone he hadn't seen appear that he was overly concerned about.

The last time he'd seen everyone was the ball... and it wasn't exactly the best memory.

He'd texted Jamie, pleasantries and an offer of lunch, and they'd settled on something more of a picnic. Alg could get some of the spare cooking out of the house and they would meet up.

It was still overcast, rumblings and short showers, but no longer quite like the rainstorms that had apparently plagued Ashdown while he was gone. Alg waited, looking a bit thinner than when Jamie last saw him, holding a picnic basket and looking over his phone while he sat on a bench.

Alg had packed some sandwiches made up of cuts of roasted meat he'd found in the fridge. It only dawned on him after he'd left that he didn't know if Jamie was a vegetarian or vegan or some other ridiculous thing. There was also some sort of slaw, so that would have to tide him over if he had dietary concerns.

"Jamie, Hi. No no.. no wait," Alg smiled, a genuinely pleased smile. He approached and offered a hand in greeting. As always it was warm and reassuring, a bit bolstering like he had been at the ball, but there was a bit more strength to his grip that was entirely unintended. In fact he was acting a bit like he hadn't seen the young man in ages.

"How are you doing? You look well." He was given an appraising look and approving smile.

"I've been... busy," Alg glanced around. it looked like there was some sun glaring through the edges of clouds and the park begun to fill up with students and people eager to take advantage of the break in the weather.

"School started of course so the store and classes are keeping me busy," Alg motioned for them to walk, "Let's look for a spot and I can fill you in.. and you let me know how everything is going and how Shiloh is doing?"

The transition into other ashdown could sometimes be eerily seamless. The rain was nothing more than a mist right now and the milling pedestrians had simply disappeared. The older man concentrated and swiped a hand over their heads as a see through barrier that looked very much like a large umbrella spread out above them and stopped the rain.

"Strange I thought it had stopped raining here," He looked at Jamie with a reassuring smile, "We'll be fine. Though we can find somewhere indoors if it makes you feel more comfortable. I'm sure the ground is too damp to sit on."

"There's always somewhere to sit," Alg gave Jamie a reassuring shoulder pat with a squeeze. Thankfully his barrier was more than adequate to keep them covered for the time being.

"Do you find it awkward to have to come back here so much?" He knew the were had to come back for the moons but he hadn't seen Jamie around much. Especially since the ball.

Ahead there seemed to be some sort of pavilion, though the park didn't look quite the same as it did in the 'real' world. It wasn't dilapidated and would serve a good enough spot to lunch.

Alg had a folded tablecloth that he'd planned on throwing down for them to sit on but fit nicely under the pavilion which had a small table and a pair of benches.

"It's certainly quiet," Alg glanced out at the desolation, knowing full well it wasn't quite as dead as it seemed, "And I don't mind that."

He unpacked the containers of food and even set out some of the leftover baked goods from their fridge. Anything in the fridge had the possibility of being cooked by the fetch that had replaced Jeremiah which meant both of them were eager to rid themselves of the food, no matter how tasty.

"You know Jeremiah can detect entrances," Alg finally sat, "If you need help."

Plates came next, plastic cutlery, and finally Alg (with a bit of a growling stomach at this point) was serving himself up small bits of everything.

The mention of the weather did have his eyes lifting over the rim of his glasses to scan the grey sky. It didn't look much different than usual besides the odd pattern of precipitation.

"I think it's because of the cage," because of what was done. But it dawned on him that Jamie may not know of Heliodora's demise and he was then very unsure about whether to tell him. "What with the rift in the forest they said they found. And whatever weird things are going on with the ocean..."

Algie was increasingly sure, from things working themselves out, that the Ashdown they knew wasn't totally real. He couldn't explain it, but when one side changes and the other doesn't.. with ripples outward.. well they may have been living in a ripple. It wasn't an idea he enjoyed - to think his life wasn't quite real.

"Haven't discovered any of your own new magical powers, have you?" Algie sounded interested, diverting the conversation slightly to more interesting things.

"I feel like once it starts," the magic, "it all sort of snowballs."

word count to here: 909

"Maybe we are doubting too much.." Alg shrugged. Doubt wasn't good when it came to the magic. Confidence and will were key. They had to trust themselves and the decisions that led them here or they'd fail themselves as well as everyone else.

"Oh just like the cats!" Alg got way too excited about sharing cat pictures. He slid his seat a bit and unlocked his phone. His wallpaper was actually the cats asleep on top of Jeremiah on the sofa.

"Have you met our cats?" The gallery was opened and there was a fat white longcat with violets behind her ears sleeping on a mossy windowsill, "This is Violetta."