Owner Pose
Zatanna Zatara In the winter season a fire is kept burning nearly round the clock in the Library, more for the cheer of its crackle than the warmth of the flames. It gives the old library with its ceiling high bookcases filled with leather bound books and magical curios a pleasant scent. Zatanna is in and receiving visitors today.

She has ensconced herself on the settee with a formal tea set out for her, reading, of course. The magician is /not/ in her iconic uniform of tux, tie and fishnets preferring Yohji Yamamoto to dress her in tailored black jacket and pants with a crisp white shirt under it.
Zachary Zatara     Zachary steps into the library, cradling a white rabbit in his arms. He's also not dressed for the stage, wearing dark jeans and a floral dress shirt. He doesn't announce his presence to his cousin right away, instead taking a seat on the arm of the couch she's on.
    After Bunny gets a few more pets, the young man looks up, green eyes twinkling. "Reading anything interesting?"
Atrun-Rai     There is, after this a knock at the door - no shuddering of eldritch power this time, no rippling of time and space being sundered. He's just...walked up to the front door, and been conducted through the house to the library. Where he makes his customary greeting: a loud knock at the door, and a bellowing in his rich, warm baritone with vaguely Mediterranean accent.

    "Zatara Zatanna! I, Atrun-Rai, visit you."
Zachary Zatara     "An ancestor?" Zachary's head tilts, brows furrowing in confusion. He looks expectantly at the door and plucks a cookie from the tray. "That seems pretty unlikely, Zee. I guess theoretically someone could sustain their life for that long, but...are you sure you're not being conned?"
    At the sound of Atrun-Rai's booming voice, Zachary's gaze narrows. When he looks back at Zatanna, it's with a smug smile. "Yeah, pretty sure you got conned."
Zatanna Zatara Zatanna rises to greet Atrun-Rai, gesturing to a wing-backed chair facing the settee. "Just in time for tea and to meet another one of your descendants, Atrun-Rai of Atlantis meet Zachary, my cousin who...." She tilts her head to one side, thinking,"is definitely related to Lord Arion through our mothers. Just not the double tie through my father."
Atrun-Rai     "No." He smiles as he enters, this vaguely Mediterranean man with his vaguely Mediterranean accent, and his beard that should come off a bust of Hammurabi - and corrects this great magician with the oh so lovely legs with just this single syllable before bowing to the two inside. "I must correct you, sister. I am not of Atlantis." He gestures to Zachary, now, and with a new bow makes a strange hand signal before his heart that is suspiciously like some kind of mudra. "I am Atrun-Rai of Lantala, of the Ten Kingdoms of what would precede the Empire of Atlantis. It is...a picky point, certainly, but for a man who lived in that time and was proud to be of his kingdom and not of any empire headed by the city of Atlantis, it is important." A beat, and he winks at Zatanna. "I am, as your cousin will tell you, frustratingly pedantic upon this point."
Zachary Zatara     Zachary remains seated. "Or something like that," is tacked onto the end of Zatanna's explanation of the family lineage. "You can call me Zach if you'd prefer," His greeting is cool, but he watches the visitor with open interest. "As long as I can call you grandpa."
    He wears a sharp grin. "I imagine that, if you are as old as you say, then it would make a difference. You'll find few in this age that could actually appreciate the point, though. Most people only have a vague understanding of Atlantis, nevermind a nation predating it."
Zatanna Zatara Relaxed, Zee concedes to the correction with a smile, "Unforgivable of me to not make that point. You are far older than Atlantis."

High brows arched high in amusement; she shifts her blue eyes to her cousin, "Yes, he is both frustrating and pedantic and therefore knows his craft bone-deep." Her gaze hovers between the two, waiting for Atrun'Rai's reaction to being called Grandpa.
Atrun-Rai     "I am pleased to educate others as far as I am able," replies Atrun-Rai with a nod to the young man. "Though I would be very interested to see where the lines of my family's bloodline traveled after my first death." He gives Zatanna a smile. "I am simply here to soak up this reality, alas. I find the walls of my own sanctum increasingly restrictive. I shall leave before my presence begins to afflict your home."
Zatanna Zatara A servant knocks at the door then noiselessly crosses to Zatanna to whisper something in her ear, to which she nods.

"Zachary, would you entertain our visitor while I see to something, please," she asks brightly. "Take care of Bunny," she adds, impishly. "Atrun-Rai knows /a lot/ about magic, enjoy yourself. Forgive me for running like this."
Atrun-Rai     "Be well, sister," he calls to Zatanna as she takes her exit. and that said, he looks back to the young man, quirking his brows in expectation.
Zachary Zatara     "Of course," Zachary waves as Zatanna leaves and gestures to the table. "Help yourself to tea and cookies."
    He falls silent for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. "You must be tens of thousands of years old. I shouldn't say that's impossible. First rule of magic, anything's possible. But..." He looks warily at Atrun-Rai. "Zee says you're powerful, but such a feat is at the level of gods."
Atrun-Rai     He laughs faintly. "I'm actually only thirty-five or so," replies Atrun-Rai, who goes to take a seat in a chair; he reaches into his overrobe, withdrawing, through a trick of sorcery, a brass chalice from which he takes a sip. "I was dead for forty thousand years or so. Would you like some wine?"
Zachary Zatara     "Ah, that makes much more sense. Forty thousand years of life honestly sounds dreadfully boring," Dark brows lift in surprise. "I won't say no to a drink," Zachary opens his arms to let Bunny hop off and play in the library. He won't mention that he's underage. Atrun-Rai may not even understand the concept.
Zatanna Zatara A faint pop sounds from the corner of the room farthest from the fireplace and a waft of cold air accompanies Zatanna's return. She frowns down at her boots, the toes of which have snow on them and wipes them with a handkerchief that she pulls from her sleeve.

"Well, on to wine already?" She asks, laughter warming her voice. "As they say, it is 5 o'clock someplace in the world. Looking expectantly between the two men, "Has he told you how old he actually is, Zach?"
Atrun-Rai     "My family sold wine," Michael points out to Zatanna as she enters; he conjures another goblet of the stuff, holding it out to Zachary. It is, of course, wine as it might have been found in the ancient world of more modern epochs: mulled with spices, warm, and not necessary all that alcoholic. "And yes, yes I have." He gives Zatanna a smirk before teturning his attention to Zachary.

    "I expect it wouldn't be boring. By the time you're thirty years old you've met enough people to know what repeats and what doesn't - or at least, that was how it was for me. Simply understand that some things repeat, and you'll be fine."
Zachary Zatara     Zachary tries not to look caught when Zatanna reappears. He gives her a sheepish smile and nods. "Yeah. You have some weird friends," He says, accepting the goblet. "This one's cool, though."
    "I suppose that's true," Zach nods. "At forty thousand years old, though, you've seen generations of people die. It'd be a solitary existence, no?" He brings the goblet to his lips, sipping. His eyes flare, and he licks his lips. "Wow. I wasn't expecting it to be so warm."
Atrun-Rai     "It isn't always," says Atrun-Rai. "That is how my family sold it to be prepared. Some of the things you read about in what modern people consider the 'ancient world' are simply reintroductions of ways that were first forged in Atlyente." He takes a sip from his cup and smiles. "Of course, it isn't terribly alcoholic, either. Getting drunk on wine was considered, at least in Lantala, to be a sign of a lazy mind." A beat. "Keep in mind, everyone could use magic in those times. A lazy mind could well see everyone killed."
Zatanna Zatara Zatanna makes no comment on Zachary being underaged, having been raised more as a European than an American. She routinely drank small amounts of wine with dinner so she could learn to appreciate its nuances early on. Most European parents don't worry about teens abusing it if it is demystified early. Far be it from her to be the strict substitute aunt or overbearing cousin, only as far as magic is concerned, she has decided or treating other people well.

"That," she indicates the goblet with an up-nod, "is not your everyday Chianti. It grows on you, doesn't it? Mulled wine is good when it's cold out." She adds nothing to Zach's comment on Atrun-Rai's solitary existence, turning solemn eyes on him.
Zachary Zatara     "It's a shame it won't get you drunk, but I definitely don't mind it," says Zachary. He takes another sip and stands. "Y'know, I think I read somewhere that the ancients used their feet to crush wine grapes." He glances at Atrun-Rai for the confirmation or denial of that fact before slipping into a high bookcase.