[PRP] howling at nothing (shiloh & jeremiah & noeh)

[azuredreams]

Things were complicated. It was not just the matter of the Court but also what was happening with the three that were once deer. Yet everything seemed to boil back down to speaking with Mina (would he ever call her Noeh again?).

He had spoken with Pride, they had reached a loose consensus amongst the Nobles that change was necessary (to put an end to what the Court has been), and he had studied so much BSL that his dreams were starting to be in it versus actually speaking. (At least he wasn't wandering into hand creatures in his dreams in other ashdown. That would have been disturbing.)

What remained was speaking with Mina again but he remembered Shiloh, remembered their talks of working together to make a difference, remembered the look on his face as he talked about Mina ...

It was why he was waiting for Shiloh near the beach, a satchel over his shoulder and his hands in his pockets. That if he was going to see her again, to potentially speak with her about what he had learned from Pride as well as about the document that was related to the founding of the Court, Jeremiah wanted Shiloh around. They were both just as heavily invested.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh showed up looking like a mess. Could you say the stress was eating him alive? It was eating him alive. His hair was way too frizzy, his gaze a little too glazed; but he showed up regardless, stuffed under layers of clothes and jackets. It was probably to cover up the fact that the shirt he had on hadn't been washed in a while. Good going Beaumont.

"Hey." He said when he came to Jeremiah's side, his gaze looking out at the ocean. "Sorry about the meeting." He clicked his tongue, "Well, not really. I ain't taking back what I said."

He rubbed at his eyes to try and drown out the sleep (or lack thereof in this case). "I needed to talk to Noeh again though, so thanks for letting me hitchhike I guess."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah's fingers flicked in familiar greeting, head inclined towards Shiloh as he approached. It was worth noting that he saw the state the other was in and- Well, he didn't like it. He looked as if he was going to crumple at any moment. (It was odd really because Shiloh was a walking representation of how he had been, how much the stress could eat someone alive.)

"Do I look like I am going to make you take it back?" he said with a huff of breath, eyebrow raising. Jeremiah and Algie were not the same people and their styles of approach were vastly different as well. He was still far, far more open and Algie far, far more guarded after their respective times as tithes.

"I figured you might, as I do too considering Pride was found and," a breath escaped, "all the time I've put into BSL I'll be better able to understand so she doesn't cramp her hand writing out things." His fingers curled around his satchel strap before he glanced to Shiloh once more. "I also think if we're going to find the founding document for the Court, she would know about it."

Melancholies

 

[shibrogane]

Noeh apparently took over the beach witch position so recently vacated by Sunny Shore. Well, she was much better-kempt: her hair was still fluffy as a cloud, but her clothes were neat and clean and she even seemed to find time to trim her fingernails. Upon spotting them, she signed: Shiloh! The S-sign, her arms held out as if to hug him. Jeremiah was signed with the J-sign, but instead of stopping at the tip of her middle finger she tapped her face just beneath her left eye with the tip of her right index finger. His sight, apparently, was a defining trait for her.

She smiled at Shiloh, her eyes bright, crinkly, and warm. That was pretty much a what's up in Noeh-charades. Norades.

Melancholies

azuredreams

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh shrugged. "I dunno." Seemed like he was still feeling a little contrary. "Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this quick—" His head turned and he caught sight of Noeh, all the dourness in his face evaporating in thin air (it was actually, more or less, the stress getting stuffed away from the forefront of his mind). He ran to meet her halfway and bumped (see: smashed) his shoulder into hers as a rambunctious greeting.

"Noeh! Noeh." He didn't speak until they had reconvened with Jeremiah though, "I found some of that stuff out for you. Jeremiah has some stuff he wanted to talk about too." His brow furrowed a little, "Some of it is kinda bad though..." He thought about Pride, about the second seal he had heard about from Jamie and his thoughts on who the bearer of such a seal might be. "Maybe not bad, just heavy." He cracked his knuckles.

Shiloh looked from her to Jeremiah to Noeh again. "I dunno where you wanna start." He said to Jeremiah.

shibrogane

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah ended up smiling himself when he caught sight of Noeh, more so when she was signing their names. Something about seeing both Shiloh and Noeh, the interaction, was heartwarming. It was cute, though something flickered through his eyes as Shiloh called out to her as Noeh. His hand moved in greeting, the far too familiar flick of his hand to signal hello.

"Heavy is a good way to put it," he said with a sigh, "but Shiloh's right- We both have information and questions." There was always questions. "First, however ..." His satchel was flipped open and a pocket sized moleskin notebook was pulled out, a pen attached (it read: jeremiah mercer - congrats on twenty years of service!) to the front.

"That's just for you to hang onto. To write on, if you want." The pen and the notebook itself. "... but I think between Shiloh," who was good at both Norades and what he had picked up from Noeh herself, "and myself, you may not have to." As Jeremiah spoke the last bit he spoke was signed in BSL this time. His shoulders rolled, a slight pause because he was not sure where to start.

Then he was staring at the beach before he flicked his fingers, as if he was trying to lay out a blanket, and a rather fluffy (probably overly comfortable) blanket settled itself onto the beach.

"Might as well be comfortable while we figure out where to start. I think there's some overlap," as Shiloh had likely mentioned Melany and now also knew of Ezra, "but I found Pride in Blackfriars. He's alive but his magic appears to be acting out destructively. Pax was found in where Heliodora's demesne was but is dying."

shibrogane

Melancholies

 

[shibrogane]

Noeh leaned up to bop her forehead with Shiloh's, still smiling. She held up a hand, the universal thumbs-up-for-okay on display, and then she settled onto the blanket to get ready for whatever heavy stuff they'd brought. She accepted the moleskine and the pen and tucked them into her jacket. Then she signed okay in BSL, and flashed a double thumbs up with a toothy grin.

She nodded gravely at his news, and started to sign. Pax--the sign for P, up near her hairline--and Pride--the sign for P down near her heart--were farther from human than I am. I'm not surprised they're not doing well. I told you they wouldn't be.

Melancholies

azuredreams

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh nodded. "I guess I'm glad you're okay..." it was a selfish thing to admit, but true all the same. He wasn't nearly as close to Pax or Pride, even if he wished them no harm. He also took his seat on the blanket, legs crossing as he fished out his iPod. He wasn't going to listen to his music, but he had a habit of spinning his thumb along the circular menu when he was antsy. "I haven't actually met with either of them. I've only heard second hand information."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notepad. He flipped it to a preemptively drawn picture of the sigil and the Ogham runes that were copied from his larger sketchbook. It kept him from playing around with the iPod anyway. "Is it okay if I go before we get further into that stuff?" He shifted his weight around, "I actually haven't mentioned any of this to you yet Mercer 'cause I was trying to figure stuff out."

"It might not even matter that much." He passed the notebook to Jeremiah. "But the key's in the sigil spell out a name. It's Sunny. Well, with an 'e' because Ogham doesn't have a 'y'." To Noeh, he added, "Ezra seems to be not on fire—Mercer probably knows more about it—I just know he's apparently giving music lessons to one of my friends." Because him and Dhan were definitely friends now, "But he still has all his memories from what I've heard. Not like Melany... but I haven't had a chance to speak with him either."

azuredreams

shibrogane

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah sat himself, shoulders rolling and stretching before he settled. There was a brief nod towards Shiloh, an agreement. "Of the three, you are the one that is ... alright. I'm glad for it." Not that he wasn't concerned but-

Mina was special, or so he would believe.

The notebook was taken, a small shake of his head to show it was fine. Jeremiah had no problem with him talking about what he found first. His finger traced the shape of the runes, a flicker in his mind of when Leila had shown him it's creation. "Is this because she's what's caged now?"

After reading the notebook, Jeremiah was passing it back to Shiloh. "Ezra is not on fire, like Shiloh and ... living life as a student. He's young, as well. Not that much older than Melany." His eyes closed a moment, thinking of the brief memory that Leila had unintentionally shared. Jeremiah had a desire for a clementine suddenly and pushed it away as he opened his eyes back up. "He's different- Not the same at all, really. I was going to speak with him in the next day or so."

It was just not something that came to him easily. The image in his mind of Father did not mesh with the Ezra Fitzpatrick who lived in Ashdown. "This is all because of the new Sigil and the fact Sunny is caged isn't it? Did it-" Jeremiah blinked, his head tilting. "Would caging Sunny have weakened things she did to others?"

Melancholies

jer will get back to

shibrogane

his info momentarily

 

[shibrogane]

Noeh nodded gravely and made low hms in her throat as Shiloh talked. (Her vocal cords were fine.) It was almost silly, how intent she was on Shiloh; she certainly didn't act that way around Jeremiah. She made eye contact with Jeremiah, leaned back and sat up straighter. Then she started signing, at first slow and deliberate for the less-experienced and then faster as she got more into it:

That's very important actually! When did that surface in the casting? Do you know? Before or after the spell was cast with-- and then her signing just got too fast. Maybe she said with intention or with duration but it was obvious that she had way more experience with BSL than either of the men sitting with her.

She shrugged at Jeremiah's question, and signed a Not my area of expertise at him. She didn't know about the old sigil or the new sigil--not that much anyway.

Melancholies

azuredreams

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh tilted his head at this. "Was cast with...?" He pursed his lips, not catching the last part, but spoke anyway, "It— Because that's what doesn't line up. The women who drew the draft of the sigil—I hadn't seen her before. Sure, there were a few new faces, but..." He tried to piece together the face of Veronica, recalling her only vaguely. "Maybe she did know Sunny, but I kinda got the impression that she wasn't fully up to date on all the stuff happening. There were a couple of people like that..." He trailed off.

"Anyway, knowing Ogham isn't really common, yeah? I don't think she would've put that into the sigil when we added our blood. So maybe after?" He shook his head and shrugged. "Maybe before. I dunno really." Shiloh seemed almost oblivious to her shortness with Jeremiah. "But since I'm the key, I wonder how that ties into everything... what exactly would change, if it was there before or came after?"

"We still dunno what's up with the new sigil and the effects of everyone in this world." He added to Jeremiah. "Like, it makes no sense for Melany to be how she is, given her ties to the Court..."

shibrogane

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah's lips moved wordlessly as he watched Noeh's hands move, losing her bit by bit as she sped up.

"Duration?" he inquired but then pressed his lips together as he thought about what Leila had given him. "... so I am working on something I was shown by Leila, not actually seen myself, but the sigil that the young woman drew? It shifted and changed after she drew it. As if the magic took their intentions of using a key, a tree, and a trinity knot and gave it the form we now have as the new Sigil."

Was that important? Jeremiah was not sure but he was certain he remembered that from what he had been shown- the bits and pieces of visual things Leila had flooded his mind with.

"She doesn't even seem to recall the Court, correct? Ezra, however, does. There has to be a reason for that but we'd have to speak to someone who's area of expertise is Sigil creation."

shibrogane

Melancholies

 

[shibrogane]

It does that, Noeh nodded.

Her face, open and warm, shuttered when they spoke of Melany not remembering. It does, actually, she signed, slow and red-faced. I don't know if she still is, but Melany was a sigil. I made her that way.

Melancholies

azuredreams

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh shifted as Noeh admitted to her actions, watching the awkwardness and shame on her face. "Yeaaahhh...." he looked at Jeremiah again. "Jamie and Mercer talked with Pride. I guess he told them something along those lines, but..."

He shook his head. "That's the heavy stuff I was talking about before. I'll let Mercer explain since he was actually there..." he was giving Noeh the benefit of the doubt. There were too many open ended possibilities to make any conclusions. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen, his hand absentmindedly doodling in the tiny notebook he had. It was something to do while they discussed.

shibrogane

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"That is one of two main reasons I came to speak with you, like Shiloh said. We found Pride and he told us that Adoelle had you change the sigil- That a third was needed to stabilize both Ming and Jennifer and it pulled you in as well." Jeremiah's own notebook was pulled out, though this one was different. It was his own notes on things- specifically other ashdown.

His fingers rested against the pages as he looked to Noeh, something conflicted in his gaze. Jeremiah wanted to reach out but there was a distance there he could not place. "You didn't know that it would be a curse on you, on Pax and Pride- It even warped the spirit bond." Moonwalkers and wargs. "... and Melany was the fail-safe, a dead-man switch if the original seal failed, or that's how it was explained to me. It's also likely warped Melany."

Jeremiah let out a breath, trying to not think about how Melany's focus on killing Noeh probably stemmed from what was done to her. "Ezra mentioned an undeath bond between you three and the original Principals. Was this it?"

shibrogane

Melancholies