Jon smiles "Let me know where your rooms are and I can knock on my way out.  We usually met by the Stables."

Jon listen's to Janessa's story. "It could be similar, I am not sure. Unfortunately since he has made himself scarce, it is hard to try and include him in anything." *shrugs* "But I will keep your advice in mind."

Jon looks a bit relived. "I am glade to hear that.  I don't wish Lance any ill will nor do I want to unintentionally sabotage any relationships with our family."

Jon grins. "Good more the merrier for the Party.  Once Jade is back, I am sure she will be thrilled!"

At her question about time he stops and thinks "Not sure, but I don't think more than 30 minutes have passed." He pushes off the desk and sets down his glass.  "We can continue to talk in the hallway until Uncle Random shows up if you like."  He moves toward her and offers to take her glass.

Janessa hands him her glass. "I'm the second door on the left around the corner." She stands and stretches. "I should see Lance at the party at least, right?" She walks over to the door and steps out into the hallway. "Stepping out will also let Ariadne know you've got company. One you want her to meet at that!"

Jon smiles and nods, he puts the glass down on the desk next to his and follows her out of the door and leans against the wall.
Shakes his head "I don't know if he know about it yet. But I expect he will be if he is in Amber." *chuckles* "I was going to walk the Pattern the other day, but Ballad was not available and she wanted to be there for our walks.  So I delayed and then Jade asked us to carry an item for her on our walks to see if it gets imbued with power. And that is why the walk party is in 5 days.  Jade's item will be done the day before."

Walking down the hall was Ariadne.  She was wearing a somewhat feminine version of a men's outfit, which looked beautiful, but also easily suitable for fighting or riding.  She had a long(ish) sword on her left hip, and a long dagger on her right hip, and was wearing a half cloak that was dark colored like the rest of her ensemble.

She seemed lost in thought, but smiled as she saw Jon.
"Hello there, Jon, how's it going?"
She nodded to the woman he was with, curious but not wanting to pry.

Jon beams a smile at Ari as she approaches "The outfit looks good!  So far so good.  I have a research project from Aunt Vialle to work on over the next few days." he then push off the wall.  "Ariadne, this is our cousin Janessa.  She too is from Earth."  *grins* "Janessa, this is our cousin Ariadne." he says as he finishes the introductions.

Ari looked at Janessa with amused surprise.
"Another one, eh?  We are coming out of the woodwork, it seems."
She stepped forward, holding out her hand confidently and gave a wide smile.
"A pleasure, Janessa.  Happy to meet you.  Earth, you say?   What part?"
The short haired brunette chuckled wryly.
"That place is a regular vacation spot for the royal family, it seems."

Janessa turned to look at Ariadne when she spoke. Her mouth hung open for a moment. "Holy hell." She whispered. Janessa smiled and shook her hand. "You're Ariadne Arrington. I loved you in Fast Cars!" Janessa chuckles and shakes her head. "Sorry, fangirl moment. It's nice to meet you too!" She releases Ariadne's hand and flips the length of her ponytail back over her shoulder. "I'm from Wyoming, about 20 miles north of Cheyenne. Maybe there's something in the water back home?" Janessa says with a smirk.

Ariadne blinked in surprise at being recognized.  Despite her modicum of fame, she'd been growing used to being anonymous in this foreign land.  She chuckled wryly and shook Janessa's hand with a firm grip
"Always good to meet a fan, thank you.   And i guess all this medieval stuff gets old after a while, so the Elders of Amber like to head to the bright lights of Earth, I suppose. "
She cocked her head, nodding
"Wyoming?  Wow, I'm impressed.   I've heard that it very beautiful up there.  I had a producer once who had a ranch up there, and he wouldn't stop gushing about how picturesque it was."

Janessa chuckles. "I've got younger half brothers. Robert, the eldest of the two, is obsessed with the Fast Cars franchise. I had to take him to see the first couple, though I do enjoy them myself."

She gave a nod and beamed. "It is very picturesque. Though most of the famous people live up around Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, and the Tetons. I'm from the south-eastern plains of Wyoming, down around Cheyenne."

She looks, still smiling, at Jon. "I've been tell Jon here a little about home. Offered to have him visit my part of the ranch. We can do some shooting and some riding." Janessa looks back at Ariadne. "I'm extending that invitation to all my cousins."

Nodding,  Ariadne smiled wryly.
"I'd never planned to do much riding,  being more of a fan of motorcycles,  personally,  but since it's the main way to get around in Amber,  some more practice,  away from prying eyes, isn't a bad idea.    Thank you.  And I'd love to play hostess to everyone in Boston or Los Angelos, as well, if we ever get time to travel around. "

Jon leans against the wall and just watches and listens as the two cousins talk.

Janessa nods. "I can help with that. I've been riding since I was 6. Plus, I'm a ex-barrel racer." Her eyes twinkle at the invitation. "I've never seen either of them. Maybe we can take Jade and Jon here on a tour of Earth. See if we can't rope in Lance too."

*chuckles* "Jade is already itching to go to earth.  We both want to check out the autocycles as they sound really cool. Ariadne has told us bits about her earth.  So now that a third of us from there, a trip is all but certain.  And we want to see Ariadne's magical card work, since it has access all of earth's knowledge." smiles, feeling that he nailed all of his earth references properly.

Ariadne grinned playfully
"An actual Rodeo Queen?  I'm impressed.   Then I'm definitely in good hands.  But a fiepd trip to Earth definitely sounds like a plan."
She smiled sheepishly as Jon talked about Earth and looked at Janessa with a shrug
"I've been telling them about Earth culture and technology,  but , um, i suppose I've glossed over a little bit.  In my defense,  I've been very distracted while I've been here"

Janessa chuckles. "I wouldn't go that far. I've won a few but had to give it up after an injury a few years back. I just started taking it up again, since The Pattern healed my leg right up."
 She quirks an eyebrow at Jon. "Magical card?" Janessa says as she cocks her head to look at Ariadne (similar to a puppy). "Ah. Exploring the castle can be distracting. If you managed to get down to the city, I would also understand and be a little jealous about it."

Ariadne nodded to her cousin,  her expression curious
"The Pattern healed your leg?  So that was a recent thing?  I seem to remember always being a fast healer.  Though I'll admit that i never had this bizarre frame of reference of Amber.
Yeah, we've made a couple of jaunts into the city, which is like hanging out in a Renaissance Faire where everyone is WAY too in character.  There were a couple of rough spots, but mostly it's been positive. "

She chuckled sheepishly at the puppy dog look, and took something small from a leather pocket.
"This, i suspect, is the 'card' that he's talking about.  My cell phone.  I have been trying to describe it without sounding like I'm either speaking gibberish or that I'm just delusional,  but I'm having mixed results "
Ari held up a small cellphone in a protective case.

Jon nods "Yes, that is it." he confirms when she produces her phone. "In fact, after lunch we are headed into the City on an errand.  You are welcome to join us if you are done with Uncle Random."

Janessa nods. "I did deep damage when I was 18. My horse threw me when I tried to force her into a rattler nest. I went over the fence that separates our ranch from the neighbors and got my leg tangled in barbwire. The more I tried to untangle myself, the worse I made it. I ended up dangling in between the two fences for almost an hour." She shakes her head. "Thankfully, Mike and Cody were able to track me down once my horse made it back to the barn without me. They also were nice enough to not lecture me about forgetting the big three rules of ranching until after I was out of the hospital. I healed quick enough, but because of torn tendons I walked with a limp and my left leg was never quite right. Who knew, I just needed a nice stroll on the Pattern."

She smiles. "I happen to love Renaissance Fairs, though I have to go to Nebraska or Colorado to see one. One of my best friends works for one that traverses around the Midwest."

Janessa chuckles at the phone. "Ah, that explains it. Gibberish, delusional, or like you're trying to summon some kind of demon."

She looks at Jon. "I would like that if I'm available. I don't know what I'll be doing after my talk with him and possibly Uncle Julian."


((OOC: the italic is there to indicate sarcasm.))

Ariadne tapped her lip thoughtfully
"Yeah, we still need to do our "stroll" on the Pattern.  I suppose it's comforting to know it can heal an old wound like that."

Jon smiles "I agree with Ariadne, it is another piece to the puzzle that is the pattern." and his smile becomes a grin at Janessa's tentative acceptance. "We Hopefully Uncle Random and Julian won't keep you to long. And you can join us." He looks over at Ari "Please remind me to stop at a couple of weapon shops.  I want to pick up a new hunting knife." *chuckles* "Now that I've told you, I will probably remember on my own."

In reply to Jon (msg # 208):

Ariadne smirked at Jon
"Isn't that always the way it works, eh?  I suppose it's good to know that some things truly ARE Universal "

Janessa nods and pats her waist. "I always keep at least one knife on me. Though this one is more for everyday use and not hunting. When you come to visit, I'll see if Cody and Mike will show you the hunting knives they have collected over the years."

Jon smiles and nods "Yep, a good hunting knife can often mean the difference between life or death back home." he raises and eyebrow "A collection? Huh, I didn't realize there were that many variations."

Ariadne nodded,  smiling wryly
"If you'd asked me about seeing a 'hunting knife' collection a few years ago, I'd have maxe a discreet exit and run for the hills.  But recent events have definitely gotten me interested in that"

Janessa shrugs. "They're just variations of a typical hunting knife. Different lengths, different materials, different shapes. That kind of thing. Cody also has an impressive gun collection, but then he's ex-military, a Marine sniper. Mike's got a bigger knife collection. He's also ex-military, Air Force pilot."