Owner	Pose
Rien D'Arqueness	Rien has reached out to Jon to see if he still wants that chat about magic, agreeing to meet in the Velvet Room so they can be comfortable while they talk. When Jon arrives, Rien is already settled in at the sofa, a bottle of wine on the table with a half-filled glass in hand and Vivaldi playing courtesy of Nameless. She has a peaceful smile on her face, enjoying the music as she sips from her glass of wine, held by the stem and not the bell because she's not a HEATHEN. Dressed in her usual casual chic with the blonde hair and yes, there are freshly baked pastries to be enjoyed... or taken home to the family after if he prefers.
Jonathan Sims	Jon really /ought/ to have a hangover, given how much he drank last night, but doesn't. He's spent part of the day at SHIELD HQ and part of it packing, so Rien's request to come talk is a welcome break. He comes down the stairs at a quick pace, scrubbing a hand through his hair.     "You have no idea how glad I am to have a moment to do something that doesn't feel like work. Cael took Agnes off to watch baseball, and I considered going but I'm just..." He blows out a huffed breath. "Not really in the mood, I suppose. I'll throw some money at the charity though. How are you?" He grabs himself a glass from the bar and goes over to sit nearby.
Rien D'Arqueness	"Robbie's at the game too, he's playing. Normally I would have gone to support him, but I simply cannot fathom how people can -watch- baseball. It's so... slow. Just.. a grind of a game," Rien shakes her head and takes a sip from the glass, then shrugs gently. "But he loves the game, so I expect he'll have a wonderful time of it." She motions towards the bottle, that light blue glow enveloping it as it rises up and hovers over his glass, ready to pour. "Fair warning, this is from my private stock, so it's an excellent, older vintage. Chateau l'Arrosee Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe. Hints of black currant and blackberry, cassis, and just a tinge of vanilla-soaked tobacco." She smiles and takes another mouthful, letting it linger for a moment before she swallows, "I'm doing well. I had a date night with Gabe, we got to talk without Robbie being there, and I think we're going to end up even closer for having shared the time together."
Jonathan Sims	Jon snorts. "I love cricket, myself, but it's not /quite/ so slow. And football, well... much faster-paced." He sighs as he sits down. "I would've gone and I'm sure I would've enjoyed myself, but so many people when I already had a blinding headache last night... mmm. No." He shakes his head.     He holds out the glass to let Rien pour and then sniffs at the wine before taking a drink. He makes an appreciative sound. "This is /excellent/. I tend to drink wine with dinner more than on its own, but this is worth it."     A nod. "Gabe is... Robbie's brother, right? I don't know much about his personal life, but he seems like a good fellow. Robbie, that is, and I'm presuming Gabe as well."
Rien D'Arqueness	Rien pauses, then asks, "When you say football.... is that.. American or everywhere else?" Because there's a marked difference between American football and everywhere else football (or soccer). She offers a smile, "I enjoy rugby, football, and equestrian sports... races, courses..." Lifting a shrug, her age probably shows there but she doesn't care. "Cricket isn't bad, either." Smiling when he enjoys the wine, she nods, "It's an excellent wine to have with desserts or sweets. Speaking of which..." She snaps her fingers and a mille-feuille appears on a small plate in front of them both. "Gabe gave the approval on these, so I will presume that I made them correctly." Nodding, she murmurs, "Gabe is RObbie's younger brother. He's very sweet and kind, and pretty much the opposite of Robbie in most things." Her lips twitch into a brief smile.
Jonathan Sims	Jon snorts. "'Everywhere else,' of course. I don't entirely see the point of American football. I went to a game but it was just... weird, the number of breaks they took for commercials, and six seconds of action just to have everyone set up again..." He shakes his head. "Just very odd."     He leans forward to pick up one of the pastries. "Martin and I never really had family to get to know, but it was important to me to take care of his daughter. I even stopped smoking when she moved in." Given the way the smell of cigarette smoke clings to him now--changed, recently--clearly that's no longer an issue. "It's good you got alone time together."     He sits back with a sigh. "So... magic. I did realize the other day that I have no idea how you view magic, and it's important to know about each other, even outside of teaching other people." He takes a bite of the pastry, smiling.
Rien D'Arqueness	Rien lifts both hands and smiles at him, "We're in the US, I have to ask! If we were sitting at the cafe, I would just assume we're talking European football." She takes another sip of her wine, then chuckles, "I don't mind American football, but it was definitely a sport made for people with a short attention span and not much... thought capacity. None of the plays are overly difficult, the rules are extremely simplified..." She lifts up the mille-feuille and takes a careful bite, savoring the rich sweetness and flaky pastry, then follows it up with a sip of her wine. "We still smoke outside for Gabe's sake. The boy already deals with a genetic condition that has him wheelchair bound." Her smiles grows, "But I did enjoy the evening." Lifting both brows, she gives a nod, "Well... for me, magic is... normal. It's every bit as much a part of me as my claws or sense of smell. To me, magic simply -is-. It's an energy, a force, like any other in the world. You can find it most places, though some have greater concentrations than others, but you can also find it in people, things. Magic itself simply -is-."
Jonathan Sims	Jon taps at his throat, highlighting his accent. "I may have gone mostly native but I did grow up in England, and my husband would look at you quite calmly and respond that 'American football' uses neither feet nor balls. He's a Manchester U fan to the core." He snorts and shakes his head.     He's clearly enjoying the pastry; he says, "These are /excellent/. And you made them? That must have taken a lot of effort. Thank you." He smiles.     Then he considers Rien's words, taking a sip of his wine. "I mostly see it that way myself, although I didn't know I had innate magical ability until a few months ago. I'll give definitions like 'magic is an application of will to change reality,' but... that includes a /lot/ of things. I mean... by that definition, is an airplane magic? Cellphones?" He smirks. "My mentor used to say that it was both yes and no--even beyond 'sufficiently advanced technology,' a lot of the /concepts/ are similar. That magic is a tool, just like science of engineering, that has no inherent moral status. The same magic that heals can be used to harm. And so on."     A pause. "Of course, said mentor turned out to be trying to destroy the world and wanted to steal my body, so I don't know if I should look to him for moral guidance." They snort.
Rien D'Arqueness	Rien lets out a small laugh and grins at him, "France National. We just went 5-0 against South Africa on 29 March. I'm looking forward to June. We start Nations League against Denmark. They don't stand a chance." Lifting a small shrug, she can't help her pride in her 'home team', smiling brightly. Her expression lights up in delight over the pastry. "Oh excellent! I was hoping the vanilla hazelnut custard would turn out well. I'm so glad you like it. Poor Gabe has been my taste tester for so many batches..." Settling back in, she sips her wine and listens to him, smiling faintly, even when he gets the part about his mentor trying to take his body and end the world, giving a nod. "If anything, I would say that lends veracity to what he said. If two people from such varied beliefs and backgrounds, like your mentor and myself, can have the same thoughts about magic, then that really just proves the point that magic is neither good nor evil, it simply -is-. Atoms are neither good nor evil. They just -are-. It's what -we- do with them that determines what sort of action they are used for." She motions outwards, encompassing, perhaps, the world, "Even beings that are made entirely of magic... they can be good, they can be bad, much is depedent on creator, level of free will and sentience... and just.. what they learn along the way."
Jonathan Sims	Jon nods. "I used to think I didn't know /anything/ real about magic. I presumed he'd taught me badly, on purpose. But it turns out that even if he was evil, he was at least teaching me properly." A snort. "It's as if I discovered Hugo Strange was a supervillain--he was my mentor when I was an intern at Arkham. Taught me everything I know about criminal and forensic psychiatry, and all of that was good and useful and valid, regardless of whatever his moral compass might be."     He sits back and considers. "I don't know that I've ever considered magic a /force/ though perhaps I should? I mean almost anyone can do certain kinds of ritual spells, but the kind of thing you and I do..." They casually conjure a ball of light on their palm and then just as casually wave their hand to make it disappear. "That's something /else/. Something more powerful, something that comes from inside but also without. You know?"
Rien D'Arqueness	Nodding her agreement, Rien smiles, "Perhaps more than most, I can understand. I was taught magic... as soon as I could read, could comprehend. And I was taught well, but I was taught by people with an agenda that did not include any form of... care.. for me as a person. *I* was the tool through which the magic flowed. But they did not neglect that tutelage, regardless of their feeling for me." Or lack thereof. She lets out a breath and takes a swallow of her wine, lofting the bottle up and over to refill her glass as she watches Jon, "So I very much understand that... oddity of wondering if you were being taught correctly because you realized there was something.. off about the ones teaching you." She pauses as he continues to explain, a smile growing faintly. "You mean the Power Cosmic. And yes. It is... vastly more powerful. It is literally the cosmos. Everything in it, every iota of -everything-, every person, place, thing... it all has.. an energy. And it all comes together, into the Power Cosmic. And that is a power that is limitless."
Jonathan Sims	"The Power Cosmic... is that what it's called?" Jon says this with genuine curiosity; he'd never heard the term before. "I mean, that sort of implies that that power comes from the Presence, which... makes sense, in a way." A pause, and then he smirks. "And also explains why it's so hard for me to hold my constructs in reality; shaping that kind of power, holding it in place, must be... hard."     A pause. A blink. "/Is/ hard. Oh, good lord. We... literally channel the power of the cosmos, don't we?" He reaches up to rub a hand at his face. "I'm still getting used to this 'phenomenal cosmic power' business. It blindsides me sometimes."     He lets out a breath and finishes off a pastry, takes a drink of wine, then picks up another. "Alright, so, same basic power source then... but different methods to use it, yes? Zatanna, for instance, can do almost anything if she can speak the words backwards. I have to imagine things on the Astral Plane and then summon the constructs into reality. It has wiggle room--for instance, I portal by summoning a door that leads to where I want to go--but there are definitely limits. How do you shape that power?"
Rien D'Arqueness	Nodding, Rien offers a slight smile, "That's what it's called. And that is the basic power source that we all tap into to do what we do." She waves a hand lightly through the air, "That's why travelling between dimensions or timelines doesn't really affect what we can do. No matter when or where we go... if we go -somewhere-, the Power Cosmic is still there." She lifts her glass towards him with a small nod, "It's not easy, to be certain." She chuckles softly and offers, "It does get easier as time passes... though I imagine for you it will take less, given that the Archive seems intent on ensuring it's Archivist is well-prepared." Rien sips from her glass, then gives a nod, "Zatanna practices logomancy, an extremely powerful means of accessing the Power Cosmic... but also dependent on speech." She gives a nod to Jon and offers, "In my case, I -am- the conduit of power. So where you imagine something into being on the Astral Plane, then bring it over.... I pull the power and create it myself, through will. Similar, but different. Mine is powerful.. but limited, because that sort of usage can be a drain. That said, the more often I do something, the less taxing it becomes. Like muscle memory. Teleportation and portals, banishment... those are muscle memory. Simple telekinesis, same thing. Even matter rearranging isn't overly difficult. But that is why channeling from the Nullspace is.. painful. It's literally passing through me before I release it."
Jonathan Sims	Jon nods thoughtfully. "I'm getting training from Saint Uriel now, as well. He didn't precisely /create/ the Archive, but it was his idea, and he used to train us when we were still based in Egypt. It's been a couple thousand years, though. We're both getting used to the idea."     He listens to Rien while he eats the pastry, nodding thoughtfully. "Mmm. That makes sense. It's like that for me to some degree, muscle memory I mean. The more I summon something, the easier it gets to do. But Nullspace... gods, I remember how awful that felt, and I was technically getting it given to me second-hand from Ammit. That's the other thing I can do, channel power given by my gods. But I still have to... channel the power."     He frowns. "I swore that off, though. Nullspace energy. Never again, not even if the universe is ending." A shake of the head. "It's just as good that someone else can do it."     He shakes himself. "Hmm. I think, for the actual... 'class' session, we should probably do things a little loosely. Explain how we do magic, how we see it, answer whatever questions people have. Unless you were planning something practical? Ritual magic is /not/ my forte, unless it's amulet-making."
Rien D'Arqueness	Nodding towards Jon, she lifts a small shrug and smiles, 'So long as you can both agree to civility, I'm sure the awkwardness will fade in time. That tends to be a thing for any teacher/student relationship. An awkward 'getting used to you' period." Sipping from her wine, she finishes off her own pastry and gives a nod. "Nullspace energy is like... being unmade. It's why you need to release it as soon as you know you have it. Myself? It won't -kill- me, but it hurts like a bitch, and my healing factor is constantly trying to regenerate those dying nerves so it just keeps hurting." Rien lifts a shrug and smiles, "But if there's one thing Howlett's know how to deal with, it's pain." She pauses, then looks down into her glass before looking back to him, "Mine will likely be more practical than classroom. If there's reading to be done, it can be done on their own time. The way I see it, if they're going to -learn- something... really learn it. Then they need to do it. I have two classes in mind to start. Portals, Teleportation, and You. And Demonology 101. The Demonology class I expect will end up splitting off into Summoning, Circles, and Banishment."
Jonathan Sims	"Oh... we're civil," Jon says. "Actually, Uriel was spying for me all through the war. We had more than one clandestine meeting with donuts and coffee in the snow-covered ruins of the Laughing Magician." A pause, and then he adds with a smirk, "Turns out angels /love/ donuts and coffee. Who knew, right? I guess it's hard to get that kind of thing in the Silver City. But... honestly, he's kind of the closest thing I have to family anymore, since my immediate family is dead and most of the my extended family won't talk to me. Sort of a /literal/ godfather, you know?"     They sigh. "If only Cael didn't hate him, but that happens, right? Girlfriend hates the family." A shrug.     He nods, though, as he listens to Rien talk about channeling Nullspace energy. "I'll never forget the look on Caitlin's face when I channeled that energy on her. Even if I didn't have perfect recall. The look of just... sheer /terror/. Gods, I don't know what I was thinking, sending that shit at a relatively normal person." He rubs at his face with the hand holding the wine glass and takes another drink.     Noticing it's empty, he goes to pour himself another glass, though he'll let Rien do so if she insists. "That's an excellent idea, especially with the reading. I mean... I believe in reading, generally, but with magic there's not a lot to... /read/, really? Beyond philosophical stuff, but honestly I almost feel like that's more advanced. I have Chas reading it because Chas /is/ magic now. I suppose he's Power Cosmic now, hmm? And what he needs more than anything is a good firm understanding of /himself/, to learn how to manage what he does." A beat. "Also, somehow he's spent half his life learning magic without ever hearing the term 'dharma.' He hadn't heard of the Tao Te Ching!" He shakes his head.
Rien D'Arqueness	Rien quirks a faint smile and murmurs, "I understand -that- all too well also. This Logan... he's my father but... he's also not. MY father is in Hell, with my mother, a stone statue that locks a cage holding a pair of demons that -nobody- wants unleashed. Not even Lucifer wants them out. They're too.. powerful and chaotic and.. unkillable." She lifts a shrug and quirk a smile, "I actually visit my parents from time to time. It's... strange, but it's almost.. comforting. The Logan here, he's never met my mother as an adult. Because the demon that brought them together has already been banished." Making a wry face, she gives a small shake of her head, "Gods but my past is convoluted." Rien shakes her head and looks back to him. "Null Energy -is- terrifying. That's why it's so -effective-. It works against -everything-, angels, demons, people, things.. everything." Letting out a breath, she murmurs, "I could wish the responsibility of it didn't fall to me but.. at the same time, better me than someone less prepared to deal with the consequences of it." Looking back to Jon, she motions for him to help himself, smiling faintly. "Admittedly, part of that comes from the fact that I would be bored to tears myself if my classes were nothing but lectures and book work. I would hate that every bit as much as the students and we would likely never make it past the first lesson." She pauses, then adds, "It might be good if we also did a general training class for... Mind over Matter, ways to shore up or build up one's willpower? That is something that -any- member of the JLD should be versed in, magical or not." There's a chuckle as she offers, "To be fair, Jon, most overlook the eastern philosophies when it comes to magic."
Jonathan Sims	"Most /white/ people, perhaps," Jon says as he sits back with his wine. "I grew up Anglican, but I had Buddhist relatives on my father's side. I have met magicians who know Sanskrit as an 'ancient tongue' but know /nothing/ about Buddhism or Hindu. They use the language and know nothing about the people or the culture it came from, and then they wonder why their spells fail or their deals don't work out the way they expected."     He shrugs. "I figure... if knowledge is power, then it behooves one to learn about everything they can. I don't know much about Japan, myself, for instance, and I'm trying to fill in that gap. The Archive has a /terrible/ dearth of experience with the indigenous cultures of the Americas, too, and I've been trying to fill /that/ in. A lot of the magic I can find information about from the Americas is actually fairly similar to ancient Egyptian workings--amulets, apotropaic workings, things like that. And all of that is giving me some lessons in animism which... should not feel as strange to me as it does, but it really does!" He laughs, and shakes his head.     Another sip of wine. "Willpower is an /excellent/ idea, yes. And things like... personal defenses? Mental defenses? Which sort of goes in the same vein. Actually, maybe the Gotham folks could help with that--a /lot/ of what I know to defend against telepathy I learned from Red Robin."
Rien D'Arqueness	"Hey hey hey... don't start with the stereotyping. Some of us white people come from countries with long histories of not caring about skin color so much as... overthrowing a selfish, hedonistic upper class in order to have better equality for the -masses-." Rien sends Jon an arch look before settling into a smile and sipping from her wine. "I grew up learning about -power- and -magic-, regardless of the ethnicity attached to it. Picking up the underlying culture and mythos surrounding it was a necessity." She lifts a small shrug and smiles, "I can certainly help there. I have my father's predilection for all things Japanese, though I also don't stick solely to Japan. China, Korea, Mongolia, Thailand..." She chuckles, "Gods know I've had the time." She takes a sip and gives a nod, "Admitteldy, the indigenous Americans are a bit beyond me as well. There are a few that I can reach out to, but none that I know as magic users." She gives a small nod, "Being able to shield oneself mentally and emotionally is every bit as important as a bulletproof vest or defense training."
Jonathan Sims	Jon grins at Rien. "Okay, most /English speaking/ white people, how's that, hmm? Maybe just most English white people, gods know I've seen the problem most in them. But, then, they're still clinging to the vestiges of empire in a lot of ways." He shakes his head. "I definitely concede that France has a better grasp on a lot of that."     He sighs. "But of course, that's... part of why there's so little information on the indigenous cultures. The knowledge was too often lost, and those who remain guard it jealously. I don't blame them in the slightest, so I haven't exactly pushed. I'm just trying to learn what I can. I mean... I'm working spells on the land of their ancestors, I should know about them, right?"     He considers for a moment, peering over toward the bar more as a spot to look at while he thinks than anything else. "Hmm. I could use that portals class myself. I keep being off by a block or so at the oddest times." He shakes his head. "But, alright. Magic 101, Portals, Demonology... maybe into summoning and circles and such. I'm fairly certain Lydia can help with ritual magic and circles--she'll downplay it, but she made a golem, in the Kabbalistic sense, and she /did/ come up with the circle that bound Michael. I can offer more in-depth history if anyone wants it, but..." He laughs. "Who knows if anyone would. /But/ I can also definitely offer a primer on the Astral Plane, and maybe teach people to make amulets and such? An amulet's a fairly simple thing, and easy, you know? A ritual circle is more powerful in a lot of ways, but it's big and requires a lot of knowledge. An amulet can be made with whatever's on hand, and can even just be a good focus for something like mental shielding."
Rien D'Arqueness	Flashing a grin, Rien gives a nod, "I can agree to that. We didn't handle -everything- better, Gods know there were some real losers that came out of French history... but I like to think we handled the matter of race and ethnicity pretty well." She sips from her wine and chuckles, "I think there are many countries that never fully recovered from the loss of an empire." She lets out a breath and nods, "This is also true. But I think the best we can do is respect their boundaries and just try to be as respectful of their homeland as we would be of our own." Rien smiles faintly as he mentions his problem with portals, "Do you portal through your head or your heart? Heart portalling is much more difficult to pinpoint. And can be far more... awkward. I do know a few things that might help you to gain the clearer focus needed, though." She gives a nod and murmurs, "I'm still sorry I missed that part. But... I had my part to play out." Looking back to Jon, she does offer one point of clarification, "Creating a golem is a different beast from summoning an otherworldly being. They follow -very- different rules. That said, I would -love- to sit in on a class about the creation of golems and homunculi. I've often thought it might be nice to have a familiar of sorts." Pausing, she adds, "As an aside... how familiar are you with Hades? Both the place and the person?"
Jonathan Sims	"I..." Jon gapes at Rien for a moment. "I don't... know. Ma'at kind of... showed me that I even /could/, back during the final confrontation with Michael, and ever since I've just kind of been... doing it. I'll imagine a location I want the door to open to and then... well... sometimes it's /precisely/ where I want, but sometimes it's a block down the street." He frowns. "I'm always able to hit /right/ where Cael or Agnes are so..."     A pause. A blink. "Oh. That's... probably heart portalling, right? Gods, see? I don't even know what I'm /doing/ with it." He shakes his head.     "And as for missing out...? You were keeping us from getting any opportunists sneaking up on our flanks. I don't know if we could've handled that--even without the literal armies of Hell coming after us, we were already fighting what amounted to a guerilla war against a /far/ more powerful foe. Even just potshots from opportunistic demons might have ruined everything. I'm really very grateful."     They furrow their brow. "Hades...? The Archivists served Serapis for a time, and he has a similar likeness, but I don't know much about Hades himself, or the Greek underworld, than is covered in basic classics courses." A beat. "Well. I mean. I wrote a whole album where one of my bandmates took on the moniker of Hades in a re-telling of the Odyssey as a science fiction gangster story, but..." They look faintly embarassed and rub at the back of their neck. "I doubt the Greek underworld is actually a place where people's brains get used after death to power a computer system that runs a planet-sized city, hmm?"
Rien D'Arqueness	Rien waits, letting him talk his way through it, giving a series of small, slow nods as he gets to where he can teleport or portal straight to where -people- are but -places- are more difficult. Lifting her glass, she smiles, "You got there, though. And that's the important distinction to make. I head portal. I find it to be far more fast and accurate in the long run, but when going to a -person- rather than a place, heart portalling is the superior means of transport." Taking a drink, she smiles and dips a nod of acknowledgement, "I appreciate that, and I recognize that what I was doing was important. But I still -feel- as though I missed out, or... wasn't there enough. But that is something I will have to deal with. Make peace with." Rien smiles faintly, "After all, someone has to watch your backs." Rien chuckles softly and shakes her head, 'Ah, no. Not like that. Tartarus, as a place, exists adjacent to but not part of, Hell. Which resides in the Dark Dimension, otherwise known as Nullspace. It's unique in that the Greek pantheon was so well known and revered, it spawned it's own dimensional plane of existence." She sips from her glass and looks to Jon, "I want to go there. Not specifically to Tartarus, though we may end up there. But... Hades' realm. I want to get a puppy for Robbie."
Jonathan Sims	"I don't know if... I don't know if I /could/ do it your way." Jon considers that for a long, long moment. Frowning down at his glass. "You'd think," he finally says slowly, "that given everything, my magic would be 'head' focused. The Astral Plane being the realm of ideas and all. But then again... it's the realm of /dreams/. And we often make decisions and form ideas subconsciously before we're aware of them at all." He smiles. "Besides, my ancestors believed the heart was the seat not only of the soul but of thought. Didn't have much use for the brain. I suppose it stands to reason."     He eats more of the pastry, considering. "Well, many of the 'Underworlds' have their own dimension, I think, near to Hell or Heaven or both. The Duat is... I'm not clear if it's more attached to Heliopolis, or Hell, or what, but it's its own... thing. But, then, much of the Duat isn't the 'paradise' or 'punishment' at all... it's the land of the gods more than anything, and people travel /through/ it to get to ultimate destinations."     A shake of the head. "But! Anyhow. Tartarus. Hmm. Or, well, Hades in general. You want to..." A pause. "You want to get Robbie a /puppy/? From Hades. That's..." He snorts. "I don't supposed you have a spare demigod lying about, do you?"
Rien D'Arqueness	"I struggle with doing it your way. So it's definitely a trade off. You'll always have an easier time portalling to people, and I'll have an easier time portalling to places." Rien offes a smile and lifts a small shrug, "It helps keep balance, though, so that's good. And it isn't to say you could -never- do it my way, it would just be difficult and potentially more effort than it's worth, especially if you can refine your way to work well enough for places." She takes another swallow of her wine, letting him talk through the part of underowrlds and Hell, smiling a little as she gives a nod. But then he gets to the part where she wants to get Robbie a puppy. Leaning forward, she looks at Jon, "You've seen how Bear and Lady react to Robbie. He -loves- dogs. But they just sense Eli and back away. He needs a dog that isn't going to immediately back away from an evil spirit. One that deals with them enough that it won't bat an eye if Robbie gets mad." Rien sighs, "At first I thought about getting him a Hellhound... but that would just ignore Robbie and listen to Eli. A -Cerberus- puppy, though, would be used to seeing all manner of souls every day. It wouldn't flinch from Eli, but it wouldn't follow him either."
Jonathan Sims	Jon considers Rien's words as she speaks, drinking some more wine and eating the rest of the pastry he's holding. He nods along with her logic. "That... makes a great deal of sense, actually. Something in between, like he is, used to thing that are in between."     He smiles. "I'd be more than willing to come down and help. I don't know how much, ahh, sway the word of Ma'at would hold, but... Troia, who's evidently a Titan of myth, recognized me when I walked into her... domain... as an emissary of the Ennead. I wasn't even wearing the wings or anything. So it's /possible/ I could be an... ambassador of sorts?" He shrugs. "Anyway, I seem to be good at finding my way around places, so I might be able to lead us in and out."     A pause... and then he /laughs/. "Oh. Oh, I need to tell Cael it's a good thing she never looked back over her shoulder at me when we were coming out of Duat. Because, you know. Orpheus."
Rien D'Arqueness	Giving a nod, Rien smiles faintly, "That's what I thought as well. The Cerberus line is unique. Guardians of the Underworld, of souls both evil and benign." She sits back, her smile gorwing slightly. Looking back to Jon, she gives a nod, smiling towards them, "Thank you. I would appreciate it. I'm hoping that we can speak to Persephone first. If she understands, if she'll help, then we're that much closer to getting Hades to agree. And... I'm sure there will be something. A test. A challenge. It won't be easy. But... I want to do this for him." She glances down at the glass and smiles faintly, "I love him." Looking back up, she laughs, "Would it have worked the same in Duat?"
Jonathan Sims	Jon smiles in understanding at Rien's statement. What wouldn't *he* do for the people he loves, after all? Going down to Hades to get a Cerberus puppy is really fairly low on the list of 'potentially crazy things Jon Sims would do for his husband and/or girlfriend.' Not to mention friends.     He considers the question about Duat seriously, though, hmm'ing softly. "I'm not certain. I mean... it /worked/, so that's different, but in all honesty part of why it worked is that Cael /trusted/ in me, and in the gods. Orpheus' problem was always his doubt. Honestly if he'd just believed that he'd be reunited with Eurydice in the Underworld none of it needed to have happened."     He coughs. Clears his throat. "I... /may/ have thought the whole story over a /little/ too much in my youth. I have a sappy sentimental love of tragic romance. All the albums I wrote with my university band had a tragic romance at the core." A pause. "All of them were queer, too, and one was even poly. I'm not sure what that says about me."     He shakes his head. "At any rate... I truly hope you and Robbie do /not/ go down the route of tragedy. In spite of everything, Cael and I are moving in together... which still baffles me to say. I never thought she would, not /ever/. And yet, here we are. Packing. Talking about new cookware and whether to keep the furniture." He smiles. "We're keeping most of it. She doesn't care really and Martin will appreciate that that much remained."
Rien D'Arqueness	Oh the list of things that Rien would do for Robbie or Gabe is quite extensive, and creative. She loves the Reyes boys quite deeply and is not above giving in to the animalistic nature of her father's line in order to protect them. "Isn't that the root of most tragic romances? A lack of trust between one or both parties? It's.. been something Robbie struggles with, but... he's gotten so much farther than I expected." Rien smiles softly and looks down into her glass, "He didn't even tell me to be careful with Gabe when we went on our date. He just... trusted me to make sure the Gabe would be okay." Looking back up, she smiles brightly, "It's tremendous progress really. Far more than I expected from him. He even let me tell Gabe about myself. And he's met my father now, and passed the Logan test. So that's huge." Clearing her throat, she murmurs, "It won't be easy, it can't be... but... I think we could truly go the distance." She lets out a breath and murmurs, "Gabe and I are working on getting Robbie to agree to let them move into my place. For now, I tend to stay with them."
Jonathan Sims	Jon seems about to protest but then frowns thoughtfully as he thinks about it. "You know... I was /going/ to bring up Romeo and Juliet or one of its iterations... you know, the star-crossed lovers... but if those two trust each other and don't run straight to poison or knife the moment anything goes wrong, they both live and get away from their terrible families. So... I suppose you're right. Tragedy is built on distrust. I hadn't thought about that."     Another moment. Then, "Huh."     Then they shake themself. "You two may be star-crossed lovers--far more than me and Cael! The demon hunter and the man cursed to share a soul with one. But trust can make it work. And communication, although I suppose that's part of trust, hmm?" He smiles. "You look good together, I freely admit. Your... auras blend nicely, if that makes any sense."
Rien D'Arqueness	Chuckling, Rien gives a small nod and winks at Jon, "Never go against a Frenchwoman when it comes to romance, tragedy, or romantic tragedy. Our literature, music, and pop culture is -littered- with it. We -love- stories of tragic romance. But it always boils down to, someone didn't trust someone else, so people died and/or are separated forever." She lifts a shrug and smiles, "It's sort of our thing. Also cursing God, but that's it's own thing." Her smile softens as she gives a nod, "I like that.. star-crossed lovers. And it certainly is fitting. But... I like to think we'll make our own way. And we do trust each other. And communicate." She lifts both brows and smiles, "They do? That's one area of magic I've never been able to tap into... divinatory or aura reading... but I'm glad to know that they blend well together."
Jonathan Sims	Jon furrows his brow. "I /also/ curse God, or at least I used to. I screamed at God in the nave of St. Patrick's after Christmas Eve mass last year. Perhaps I ought to have been French." A smirk.     Then Jon nods eagerly. "They do! I, ahh... I'm an empath and minor telepath, along with all the rest of it. Part of being the Archivist. And for me... a lot of that shows up visually. I can sometimes /hear/ thoughts, but emotions almost always show up as an aura. It's interesting--everyone has a unique aura, but I cannot tell people's 'secret identities' a lot of the time, because people like the Gotham vigilantes see themselves as different enough in each persona that their auras are different. People who get along will sometimes blend in to each other, particularly lovers or good friends or family."     A pause, and then he adds, "I never put much truck in it, but people /do/ have... colors, and emotions will have colors as well. Yours is sort of blue and gold, for instance, thrumming with power but calm and strong. You're sure of yourself, you know who you are, you're confident in it. Robbie's is the fire that all the Ghost Riders have, but also silver or maybe red--it's harder to tell, it comes through better when you're around. The silver works well against the blue and gold." A fond smile. "Cael is firey reds and oranges, muted from her depression but slowly becoming more vibrant. Agnes is the brilliant yellow of the noonday sun; when they're together they crackles and feed off each other and they don't even know it."
Rien D'Arqueness	"If our cinema is to be believed, we curse God on the regular... while chain-smoking unfiltered cigarettes and wearign berets with horizontal striped shirts," Rien chuckles softly and lifts a shrug. "It's apparently a very niche market." She smiles as he describes hw reading auras works for him, giving a nod and offering, "I have telekinetic abilities from my mother's side, but we were never very gifted with the, ah... mental and emotional magics. It makes sense. You don't want one person who can do everything, then what would everyone else do? But it's fascinating to hear about." When he startes describing their auras, she smiles, chuckling softly, "That silver or red you see would be Robbie, or possibly Eli. Since he isn't a traditional Rider, he might look a little different. But... I imagine that we certainly look interesting together if our auras start to bleed into one another.." Then she's chuckling, "That sounds like fun, seeing their auras growing, feeding off one another..."
Jonathan Sims	Jon snorts softly at 'one person who can do everything.' "Even the person who can, potentially, do 'everything' can only do so much at once--or else at some point you're just talking about becoming a god. And /nothing/ is invulnerable to /absolutely/ everything. There's always a weakness, and what do you do facing something that has said weakness?"     He shrugs. "The powers granted to the Archivist mostly revolve around either taking in information or compelling people to give information. So... magical sight, telepathy, empathy, perfect recall, I seem to be able to at least /understand/ any human language... I heal faster than normal, though nothing like yours, but that helps me not stay down for too long after running into danger. The magic is likely just because the bloodline's homo magi, but it also helps..."     He frowns. "Did I tell you our original purpose? We were created to be... not /quite/ like the Riders, exactly. To protect humanity by judging beings that don't die in the normal course of matters. So... angels, immortals, gods, things like that. The Archive proper got attached along the way, but it still feeds into that purpose--Thoth is both scribe of the gods and advocate for the dead. And if you're supposed to be tracking down and judging powerful beings, it helps to be able to fight them, whether or not you have a team to help."     Thoughtfully, he adds, "There's a few new things, from Ma'at. I can sort of... sense the lines of fate around people, where it's coming from and where it's going. It helps me track down 'suspects' for lack of a better term, too. And, of course, the wings. But it's still all related to the ultimate purpose. I'm still learning the fate part. I've been trying to figure out if some kind of fortune telling might help with focus, so I've been studying the tarot."     He snaps his fingers. "Fortune telling! We should find someone who can teach some divination methods."