"...Pearl Harbor. The terrorist nuking of San Diego." is the last thing Abe hears over the phone before he hangs up. Apparently his father is rewatching Babylon 5 again.

Abe heads back downstairs with a MIB at his heals and suggests to Sparrow and Tom that they'd go somewhere more private.

Tom wants to remain so that Dean and Jack will know where to find them and Abe counters that the MIBs can solve them for them.

"Yes," Sparrow says. "The two of you can stay at my place if you like. And De La Vega's people go wherever you go, so they will know where everyone is. Unless the others have left already."

"Thank you, Sparrow.  I will take you up on that offer."  Abe replied.  He awaited their replies about going upstairs.

The group heads up again. The MIBs don't leave them alone. Which is a good thing, as they wouldn't be able to enter the private floor without their access.



[Tom, it's up to you if you accompany them or not.]

Abe sighed with relief at being out of public ear-shot.  "So... we don't know where Hunters come from, and we know where the other guys come from... but what about us?  Are my family likely to be Fae?  Or could any person be awakened to be one?  Or just some but we don't know who until we see them?"

He thought about the massively complicated weaving she made to awaken him.  "Also: obviously we have the power of stunning good looks and magic, but is there anything else?  And is Strange's a good comparison for all of our magic - specific unrelated spells that do specific things that we learn individually over a long period of time but we can then pretty much deploy at will?  If not, how's it different?"

"You are and always were Fae," Sparrow said. "Half Fae to be precise. One of your parents is Fae and the other is human. Someone put a leash on you to hide that fact."

"In addition to that, we live for a very long time. And by that definition, our magic is very Strange-like. Not that magic can do everything they show you in the movies. Time loops and time travel are preposterous for example. And even if it was possible, manipulating time cannot change anything."

Abe's jaw dropped a little at the revelation.  That meant that Ja... he cut off the thought, not wanting to even think about the fact that he had siblings who would likely also be half-fae where there might be powers listening in on him.  He could talk to Sparrow about that when they were somewhere secure from anyone who might try to use his siblings.  "Would my parent having leashed themselves have passed it on to us, or would it be simpler for a full Fae to just disguise themselves as a human?"

He thought about how complicated the spell Sparrow had worked to free him was - he could remember the general shape it had taken, but not the details or most of the gestures she had made doing it.  It might be a very long time before he was ready to cast something like that.  "Is there anything I could learn tonight while we wait, whether it be something that actually does anything or just exercises to prepare for learning something?"

While Abe and Sparrow headed upstairs, Tom decided to stick around on the second floor to give Abe some privacy to ask whatever questions he had. Tom liked the band that was playing, and the guitar was tremendous. The moment provided a nice break from the craziness that had completely taken over his life, and for a bit, he could forget that he was in a club owned by a vampire and completely crawling with vampires.

OOC: Tom will hang out on the second floor for now and wait on everyone else. No need to throw things my way, DD. I'm fine with waiting on the others to work through their scenes.

"Full Fae cannot be leashed," Sparrow says. "It's the human blood of half-Fae that makes that possible. And even if a half-Fae was leashed, as long as their children were half-Fae too, they would be born unleashed. Any child less than half-Fae, wouldn't be considered Fae at all and would live their lives as humans."

"No full Fae would hide their beauty, but all Fae are not created equal."

"As for preparation, we can start with opening your mind."

Sparrow guides Abe in meditation, breathing, how to sit properly, and how to focus his mind on his mind.

And as he follows her instructions, the rest of the world fades away. Time ceases to matter. And there is only his mind and the visual depiction of his mind that Abe sees with his closed eyes.

An image that he reorganizes with her guidance. Opening it up to the unknown to the mystical.

Tom remains on the second floor as the rest of his party leaves. He enjoys listening to the band and it gives him some alone time. One of the MIBs remains with him, but at some distance. It appears that he is there more to keep an eye on Tom than to keep Tom safe.

Abe followed Sparrow's instructions and found the landscape he had made in his mind reshaping.  Instead of the grids and files, he now has the path leading from the road to the door of his family home.  Instead of the former rote organization that must be searched out and accessed by brute mental effort, information is now organized in strings along the path.  It was far from a true memory fortress but it was at least a foundation for one.

Abe opened his eyes, and the world around him seemed slightly more vivid, each individual part of it slightly more memorable.  "Thank you Sparrow.  It seems like I'll have an interesting conversation with at least one person when I get home.  It'll be whichever recognizes what's going on with me."  He commented.

"I hope meeting your family will go well," Sparrow said. "Someone has hidden a significant portion of who you are from you your entire life. Whatever could their reason be?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:52, Fri 22 Nov 2019.

Abe frowned.  He hadn't thought about the reason behind the leashing.  He felt some irritation beginning to build but pressed it down, reminding himself that the reason could have been a very good one.  He wondered whether both parents knew, or only one.

"That tempers my feelings on the matter."  Abe remarked.  "At least until I find out what the reason was.  Wait... would one be allowed to let a normal spouse know about Shadowland?" He asked.

"No," Sparrow said. "Secrecy is key for all of us. Some might break the rules and pay the consequences if they are found out. Most will toe the line. But some will find a way. Generally, that means that the spouse will be changed to a supernatural creature. And becoming a vampire or one of their thralls is the easiest way to do that."

Abe rubbed his temples.  "Well.  That changes things.  It might have been one of them trying to keep the other both living and in their life.  Is there a way I can partially veil my changes, so I can let my new look out over time and make it less implausible seeming?  Especially when we - or I- unleash my siblings at some point and have them change dramatically.  If my parents aren't both aware of things, it might be for the best if I didn't come home completely changed."

"Unfortunately, I know no magic to disguise your appearance," Sparrow says. "Is it possible to attribute your changes to a change of style? Or perhaps use outrageous makeup to hide in plain sight?"

Abe thought for a minute.  "Well, as my sister is necessarily half-fae, and is the only one in my family who's seen me for months I think I'll call her and ask her to play along.  Otherwise playing it off as a change in style will fall apart when she gets home in a couple weeks and doesn't know about it."


"Excuse me just a moment."  Unless Sparrow raised some kind of objection to the idea, he dialed Jayne.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:53, Fri 22 Nov 2019.

Abe stepped away and called his sister.

"Miss me already," Jayne asked when she answered the phone.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:13, Sat 23 Nov 2019.

"Yeah, Jayne.  I really do wish you were here now."  He replied.  He hesitated for a moment.  "Some odd stuff's been going on - you're tangentially involved, but don't know it yet.  As far as I can tell it's all good... well, mostly good.  Bona fide Red Pill/Blue Pill stuff.  We'll have to meet face-to-face to talk about it sometime this summer.  Until then, I need you to trust me and back me up on something.  Mom, Dad, and/or Cale might mention that I look different now.  Much healthier.  I'm playing it off as having had a lot more rest and good food this year than in recent ones.  Please pretend that you didn't really notice it."

"What are you up to," Jayne asked.

"You know I'd tell you if I could.  But it needs to be in person."  Abe said.  "When's a good time for a visit?  I can get you a plane ticket if you can think of an excuse and a time to visit for a few days.  Otherwise you'll have to stay curious until school starts up again."

"You're willing to spend that kind of money on this," Jayne asked. "I can get home over a weekend, but I can't be away more than that."

The MIB following you interrupts your phone call.

"It's time," he says. "Come with me." Then looking at Sparrow, "You can wait here."

The MIB watching over Tom approaches him. "It's time," he says. "Come with me."

Abe says, "Yep.  I'll have to call you later to arrange details, I've got a meeting right now.  Remember: if anyone asks I look healthier now.  I'll send you a pic in a bit so you're not too surprised when you see me."

He shrugged apologetically to Sparrow and headed after the MIB.