faun

[shesepankh]

Saturday morning sees Bella with her notebooks about magic all in her knapsack, her medallion safety-pinned by its chain to her bra just in case she trips the wrong way, waiting with Charlie for pickup for the Avalon trip.

Comments

[castmyown]

"That's an extremely good reason. I suppose the best solution to that without a medallion is to live in an Avalon, but obviously not everyone wants to do that."

[shesepankh]

Angela shakes her head. "I like Forks. I don't really want to leave, even though it's nice here."

"And it's terribly expensive to live full-time in an Avalon," says Mrs. Weber. "The monsters need to, and so do any family they have even if they have medallions, so the neighborhoods with houses in them are terribly priced."

"Monsters?" says Bella.

"It's not as rude as it sounds, it just means a kind that doesn't get medallions," explains Angela, "and can't look human with other magic either - jackalopes aren't monsters, because they can shapeshift by themselves, but harpies are."

[castmyown]

"Right," agrees Darren. "The ones with medallions are the lucky ones - Avalons are nice but you don't get as many options inside them. It's kind of a bad situation."

(He wants to change it.)

[shesepankh]

Bella writes down this information about critters in chart form on a page of her notebook (Medallion - winged lion, peryton, faun; Shapeshift - jackalope, Monster - harpy). "Yeah, it sounds it. This place is huge, but - it's huge for a secret town within Seattle."

[castmyown]

"Pretty much," he agrees. "Usually they're very nice, though."

[shesepankh]

"It does seem nice. And I guess getting resources in and out must be pretty straightforward too, since it's warehouses, you just drive up a truckful of frozen French fries or whatever and haul it in for the restaurants to sell."

Angela nods. "We're not here that often, but it's pleasant."

[castmyown]

"This is the first time I've been to this one. I was at the one in Detroit and this is such a long drive we didn't think it was worth it for me and Savannah to go while we had school. Until Bella turned." He motions to her.

[shesepankh]

"Usually we go in the summer, but Dad won a little sweepstakes, so -"

"Angela, we would have bought you a medallion any time," says Mrs. Weber.

"I know, but it seemed like it would be convenient to do it while there was a windfall."

"Is your dad a critter?" asks Bella.

"No, but he knows about us, Mom told him before they got married."

[castmyown]

Darren smiles at Mrs. Weber. Good on her, for informing Angela's father before marrying him. "My dad's human and knows, too. We seem to be making a club of fathers who are human but are supportive of critterhood."

[shesepankh]

"I make three, yeah. We're pretty sure it was my mom's side but I don't think she knew and he doesn't want to check because it sounds like a hassle to him."

"I can see that argument," says Angela. "I wish it weren't so permanent. And expensive."

"We can afford it, Angela," says Mrs. Weber.

Angela nods, still looking thoughtfully at the display of necklaces.

"How do these even get into shops? Wouldn't people be likely to hoard them for their - not kids, I guess, because it's one to a customer at a time, but grandkids?" Bella asks.

"I believe most of the ones in stores previously belonged to people who didn't have such relatives," says Mrs. Weber. "I expect mine to go to a grandchild one day, certainly, unless all three of my children marry gryphons or something and have all gryphon children."

Angela giggles. "It's a little early to think about that, isn't it?"

[castmyown]

"Some of them might not have any children," points out Darren, amused.

[shesepankh]

"Perhaps," shrugs Mrs. Weber.

"Well, anyway, now that we know you know about critters," says Bella, "it will be less awkward to have you over, although mostly it's just me and Darren studying magic while Savannah whines. Maybe you could keep Savannah company or something."

Angela smiles. "I'd like that."

"Also one of the teachers is a bugbear."

"Really?"

"Really."

[castmyown]

"Mrs. Adams. She's pretty nice about it, actually."

[shesepankh]

"She'll be able to tell if I turn, won't she?" muses Angela.

"That seems to be how it works," agrees Bella.

[castmyown]

"I think you'd have to ask her about the specifics of how bugbears work - I don't have any idea. She could tell that Bella had, though."

[shesepankh]

"She probably already knows about me - well, that I exist; I don't believe we've met so perhaps she doesn't know who in particular I am," says Mrs. Weber.

"She's nice," reiterates Bella, "I wouldn't worry about it either way."

Angela nods.

[castmyown]

"We had her as a sub, it was interesting," provides Darren.

[shesepankh]

"She's a good teacher, I'm looking forward to having her regularly actually," says Bella.

Angela nods again.

"I think I'm going to get it," she says of the faun medallion. "I can't think of a single good reason, but I want it."

"That's quite sufficient, Angie," Mrs. Weber assures her, and she pays for the medallion and offers it to her child.

Angela hesitates, then grabs it, and is abruptly very deerlike. She slips it over her head, which has just become complicated by large ears. She twitches them once the chain's over her head.

[castmyown]

Darren grins. "Welcome to the deer club," he says brightly. "Savannah's around somewhere - I should call her and let her know."

[shesepankh]

Angela smiles.

"You're adorable," Bella says.

"See if you can get human form down before we need to start home, Angela," says Mrs. Weber. "Do you want to wander with your friends a bit? I can go occupy myself."

"That would be great, Mom," says Angela. She has a tail too! Twitch twitch.

[castmyown]

"Excuse me for a little while. I'll call Savannah."

He goes and does that! "Hey. No. Of course not. N- you're not going to guess it. Yes, really. No, no, no, and no. Can I just - okay, definitely not that one." He turns a shade of pink. "No, Savannah, definitely not. Well if you're going to be like that you'll just have to go to the magic shop and see for yourself. Bye. Also, no."

Click.

"She's on her way," he informs, still looking flustered.

[shesepankh]

"What did she guess?" laughs Bella.

Meanwhile Angela is working on changing back, starting with her currently inconvenient hands.

[castmyown]

"She'd guessed that I'd been - I think her exact words were 'making out' with someone," he says, ducking his head.

With a certain someone.

[shesepankh]

"I assume this seemed like a reasonable guess based on your long sordid history of making out with people in magic shops?"

Angela gets her hands back just in time to cover her mouth with them while she giggles.

[castmyown]

Darren is still pink! He will keep doing that. For a while.

"Yes, you've caught me," he manages, laughing. "That's exactly it."

(He's such a terrible liar. He can't even manage it when he's joking.)