Title: Rafi: Hunting the Jaguar
Last saved by: Phoenix

Rafi: Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth

Chapter V – A hiss behind the shadows

After a bit of fruitless wandering around the mall, Rafi finally ended up finding a kiosk in the middle of one of the concourses that sold cellular phones. He decided that it was as good a place as any in which to start his search, so he approached it, the booth proclaiming QUICKSILVER SPEEDS AVAILABLE! on one of its advertisements.

The girl at the counter had long blonde hair, wore a powder-blue dress shirt and khaki slacks. Rafi decided that she might have been pretty, but for a tragic case of acne that made both of her cheeks a bright pink, rendered them pitted and uneven. VERONICA, her name badge read.

There was nobody else at the kiosk, so she moved over to help him right away. "Hello, sir!" she smiled. "Can I help you?" she asked.

“Hi!” Rafi waved to the girl and smiled warmly at her. “I hope you can. I’m searching an office where I can order a lined phone to my shop and some kind of internet, too.” He pointed back outside with his left hand and went on. “I saw the advertisement on the side of your booth, that’s what I thought that you might help me.” Rafi looked at her questioningly.

The girl with the tragic complexion smiled at him. "Oh, okay!" she nodded. "This is a cellular phone shop," she said, reaching onto the flat of her counter and holding one of the small black oblongs arranged on the top of the glass counter up for emphasis. "You're looking for just a phone for your house?" she asked. "And Internet access?"

"It doesn't really work in Elysium City like it does in most places, sir," she explained. "In Elysium City, all you have to do is plug your phone and your computer into the walls of the house, or use wireless, if you have it. You automatically get access to the Stark Quicksilver network!" she grinned. "For free!"

Rafi blushed slightly as he realized how stupid his question was. “Uh-oh” he muttered under his breath and gestured a little wave in his embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I was confused about that thing…” he looked at the girl’s feet, avoiding her stare and pulled a faint smile on his face. “Thanks for the info, anyway.”

"It's okay!" she smiled. "A lot of people ask me that. You must be new to the city," she said and then, completely changing gears: "By the way, I love your hair! Is that little green tint natural, or do you put something in it to get it like that?"

“Well, okay. I’ll buy a phone, connect it to the slot. How will I know my number? Should I call myself up on my cellphone and it will show me? It’ll be funny.” 

"No," she said. "Actually, when you plug the phone it, it'll ring on its own to tell you that you're connected to the network and what your number is. It's pretty cool!" she enthused. "You won't believe how fast the connection speeds are here. Your computer, your modem, will be the only thing that slows 'em down!"

Rafi smiled joyfully at the girl “It’s natural. When I decided to came here, I put away my hair colorization, too.” He shrugged and grinned even widely. “Well, okay, it isn’t true, I decided that last night, but I didn’t paint my hair for a while, so it came up. Actually, I didn’t notice that, so thanks for mentioning.”

"It's okay," she smiled. "I just think it's really cool. Believe it or not, you're actually the third person I've seen today walk by with almost that exact shade of green hair! I've tried to color mine before, but it always turns out crappy," she confessed. "I bought this really cool redhead shade--and my hair ended up, like, magenta," she stuck her tongue out to show just what she thought of the shade.

“Maybe your hair is telling you, that she likes her own color better than anything else.” Rafi winked at the girl with a big grin, to cheer her up. Then the meaning of the former sentence struck him, so he looked at her, his eyes becoming wide. “The third person? May I ask you to describe them? I’ve seen only a girl with bright green hair, but her hair was much brighter than mine.”

"Sure! You can't miss her, that's for sure," she nodded. "She was really tall, maybe even a little taller than you," she started. "She was wearing this gorgeous black dress and high-heels, too, which I thought was kinda funny, because nobody would wear that out shopping at the mall, I didn't think. Her hair was about the same as yours, dark green...so dark it's almost black. Except she wears it long and straight, kinda parts it Emo-style, y'know? Where you can only see half of her face? I dunno why she'd do that, either. She was beautiful," she smiled. "Like a supermodel, or something."

She held up her hand so it obscured half of her face to Rafi. "I was gonna try and sell her a phone, but when I said 'hi' to her, she just gave me this look like she wanted to rip my eyeballs out. So she's really, really pretty...but I think she's prolly mean as a rattlesnake, too."

Rafi made a thoughtful face, but he couldn’t figure out who could that woman be, so he just shrugged and nodded thankfully. “Well, thanks. I don’t know who she could be. Her appearance doesn’t sound familiar to me.” He looked back at the girl, while continued “but you said three people with the exact same color, and this is just two, counting me in. Who was the third?”

She made a little face as she tried to remember. "Short girl, maybe a touch over five foot," she said. She wasn't dressed for the weather, I can tell you that," she recalled. "Black combat boots, ripped jeans, a little black tank-top. I figure she was probably eighteen, nineteen?" she said. "Really pretty girl, too, like the homecoming queen-type," she smiled.

Then looked at him like they were sharing a secret. "All these questions," she said. "Are you with the police?"

Rafi’s eyes narrowed and he furrowed his brows as he listened to the girl. “It can’t be” he muttered under his breath “they said me that she’s out of country”. The look on his face mirrored his full surprise; he didn’t even notice the girl’s question for a while, too. The he shook his head and turned his gaze back to her. “Huh, sorry. Police? No, not really. I just have a friend of mine who has such hair-color, and was interested that if maybe she was who you saw.” He explained himself. “Thank you for your help, it was nice from you.”

She chuckled gently. "Can I interest you in a cell phone, though?" she waved it a little for him. "We have some great deals, starting as low as $5.99 a month!"

“I have a phone already, and I’m satisfied with that, so no, I’m not interested to buy a new one.” He managed to chase away the uncomfortable feeling he got, and smiled again. “Well, maybe, if you can show me one which makes better photos than this Nokia N91” he showed her his not-so-old phone.

She made a little face. "No," she said and then smiled. "That's better'n anything I have!"

Shrugged sheepishly. "Uhm, have a nice day then, I guess!"

“You too” said Rafi, then he left the shop.

His heart bumped like after a long run, with heavy, slow rhythm. He still couldn’t believe that the agent didn’t tell him the truth about Carmilla. Or maybe he didn’t know it, either, he thought. ‘I must find out!” he decided and searched a peaceful corner in the Mall, where he riffled through his cards and took out some flying bug again. He took a deep breath, sat down leisurely, and sent them out to the building with his power, desperately hoping that they will find her somewhere. 

He spent the next few minutes with this activity, but suddenly -even if the bugs couldn’t go too far by that time- he ceased them. Sat there, eyes still closed, breathing hard. ‘What if Carm has a reason for this? What if I’ll cause trouble if I’ll try to find her? I should and I will trust her!’ he thought and a faint smile came onto his lips. He waited until his heart calmed down, then stood up, and began to wander around for his next target, the hypermarket, to get some food into his fridge and some accessories into the kitchen, bathroom and the entire apartment.

One of the Mall's anchor stores, the giant ones at the end that were multi-level goliaths, turned out to be a place called The Cornucopia. To Rafi's delight, it had almost everything else he was looking for. Primarily, it seemed to be a grocer, and so he ended up buying all of his food on the three different levels that held edibles, before going up to the top floor and buying his accessories. All told, he ended up finding out that the prices weren't so bad, either. In spite of the Forever Winter driving food prices up so high, he managed to make it out of the store with under $300.00 spent.

He sighed once after he left the cashier, but he knew that he bought many items that would be last and wouldn’t be need to buy every week, like the plates, silverware and such. He was lucky, he thought over-thinking the list again. It could have been worse. Yeah, definitely, he nodded.

It was actually more of a hassle getting his three floating carts out, at the same time, to his car.

His first thought was that he maybe he should try to create a duplicate of him and they’ll help him out, but then he decided that this isn’t the place to try something like that in the first time. So he went alone, struggling with the carts.

But he managed that part, too.

Before he moved out from the Mall, he put on his new coat, enjoying the warmth of it, and only then made his way to his car. 

Rafi was instantly happy with his choice. Not only did the color suit him ideal, but it fit perfectly, too. The Gore-Tex fabric retained his warmth well without allowing any o the wet snow within. It had been worth the price the sticker said; that he got it free was unbelievable.

There he grimaced when he saw that the snow buried his car, again. Rafi tried to sweep off it from the trunk, and then packed in all his stuff, but he was forced to the recognition, that they won’t fit in. So he went forward and put the rest onto the backseats. When he was finally done, he pushed the carts back to their store-area and rushed back the car. Jumped in, and began his way back home.

Chapter VI – Marvels within the family

And in the way that it always seems to take longer to get somewhere than it does to get home, he found himself parking his car in front of the tattoo parlor in no time at all.

Within the front window, he could see the vague outline of a huge feline, looking outside at him.

Waiting for his best friend to return home.

Rafi climbed out from the Cricket and walked to the door, meanwhile fishing out his keys. Opened the door and instantly kneeled down to greet his companion. “I home, friend, I’m home.”

As Rafi said it, the great jade feline affectionately butted the flat of his nose against Rafi's shoulder, craned his neck so as to stroke his heavy fur coat against him. As big as he was, as much as he weighed, it almost knocked Rafi flat down onto his bottom, had he not had the sharp balance he did. 

„Could help me to grab the things in?” he looked at him, stroking his fur gently. He knew that usually Rasgar can’t do such things, but after these few days in the city, and especially after his dragon became real, he thought that it might work. It must work, he corrected himself. He was so fond of that animal, like not if it only a part of his imagination but if it was a part of his soul. 

He looked deep into the great cat’s emerald eyes, as if trying to looking into his soul and broadcasting his thoughts to him, more clearly and with more effort he ever tried. Then he stood up, tilted his head as he looked down at his friend. “Come. We have much to carry in, before the shop will be covered with that damned snow.” They went out to the car; the door was left opened behind them. Rafi opened the door of the car, grabbed the sack with the clothes and held it to the jaguar, waiting that he’ll take it from his hand.

Although the great cat looked like it wanted nothing to do with the falling snow and the cold outside, reluctantly it followed him out, running briskly behind him over across the street to his car. And when he opened that trunk, prepared to hand over a bag full of food, half of Rafi expected the sack to fall right to the ground. Sure, the cat'd almost knocked him over in the doorway, but that was because the illusion was so real that his body just naturally reacted to it, he knew. Holding a bag would be a completely different thing.

He reached out with the bag's handle and Rasgar opened his mouth, revealing his shap fangs, each incisor about the size of one of Rafi's fingers. Let go.

And to his amazement, the jaguar held the plastic sack in his mouth.

Rafi just stared at him for a second, in awe of the defiance of simple physics, his wish come true in the way of a massive jade jaguar before him. And in a moment later, he watched the massive green jungle cat suddenly turn around and dart off toward the open door of the tattoo shop, kicking up snow as he went, his wide footprints sinking into the snow each one, as he ran off.

It was the single most amazing thing he'd ever seen in his life.

He stood there for almost a minute, the wide grin frozen onto his face, the let out a single cry of joy into the swirling, snowy wind. It was the happiest moment in his life. Well, maybe the second, counting the last night with Carm, but he didn’t want and couldn’t compare those. Both were joyful moments, ocean-waves of emotions and dreams that finally came true. He cried again to let the world know his joy then grabbed a few package, and walked after his beloved jade jaguar.

Rasgar had stopped, just inside the threshold of the doorway, turned around and was looking at him. The bag was no longer in his mouth and Rafi presumed that he must have lost interest in it, put it down somewhere within the apartment's confines. But still overjoyed at what he'd managed to do, he couldn't have cared less if he'd have dropped it in the toilet. He crossed the street in an excited trot, eager to get his things inside and see just how real his friend had actually become.

Rafi got about two steps from the door when he found out for himself.

In that two steps, Rasgar suddenly leapt up on his hind legs, putting his paws on his chest. the suddenness of his pouncing and his enormous weight conspired to bowl him over, knocking him flat on his back in the snow. His bag full of oranges split open, all six of them sticking deep into the snow next to him. And before he could protest, Rasgar was licking him all over his face with his flat, rough tongue, purring so loud that it felt like he was beneath a running automobile. his fur was warm and soft and as green as the sum of all spring's visions.

All Rafi could do was laugh as the great cat showed him his affection.

Celebrated the joy of being truly alive.

He laughed out loud, dropped the bags next to him, and didn’t even come to his mind to take care of them. “Stop that licking, dude, you remove all of my skin from my face!” he He stroked and patted the jaguar’s massive chest, enjoying the velvet touch of his fur and his breathing. Rafi buried his face into the fur, too, as he hugged his friend. 

He forgot the weather, the snow beneath him, and the stuff he bought in the Mall, as he played with Rasgar. They wrestled with each other playfully, rolling up and down in the snow in front of the shop until the great jungle cat had enough of the cold white water and stood up. He shook off the snow from himself, and then walked into the shop, looking back over his shoulder at Rafi, with the urge in his eyes to get some warmth. 

Rafi stood up, too, patted off most of the snow from himself, gathered the dispersed oranges and other things then followed the jaguar into the shop. He didn’t want to go up, not until all things would be in the building, so he put them down next the door. He made a few turn after till the packing was finished. By that time the parlor became as cold as the street outside, and the wind carried in some snow, too. After he finally brought inside the last pack, and locked the car and the entrance, he sighed.

His teeth chattered, but he didn’t stop and continued to sort the stuff and put everything on its place. While he was busy with this, he found enough time between the single tasks to occasionally stroke Rasgar, to ensure that he is there and still real. It took almost two hour to get everything in place, after that he dropped himself to his new bed and just laid there on his back, with opened arms, watching the ceiling. 

His companion jumped onto the bed, too, and nuzzled against him, putting his head on his chest, purring contentedly. Rafi stroked his side and back softly “Slowly it begins to look like home and not just a flat, isn’t it, partner?” he asked quietly. He didn’t wait answer, just wanted to tell somebody the feeling he had right there. 

After a few minutes, he stood up, searched for the line-phone he bought in the market, then went down to the parlor and plugged it in the point. It was a cordless one, with two receivers, from Panasonic. It took only a couple of seconds when it began to ring, just like the girl in the phone shop said, so he lifted the receiver, listened carefully and tried to remember his new number. To ensure that he will do that, he typed it into his mobile, and saved under the ‘My Shop☺’ name.

Rafi sat back in his chair in front of his computer with a satisfied smile as the details of his home number appeared on the small digital screen of his phone. He found that to do so, he had to sit three feet away from the desk as Rasgar had condensed his lithe bulk down somehow to squeeze himself under the desk as he stared across the room, the dark green jaguar stalking some prize outside his window.

He followed the sleek feline's gaze out to see the birds that had made their nest on the roof of the building across from his. Nestled up to preserve their warmth, three of them had seemed to become Rasgar's afternoon entertainment.

Rafi's home was very nearly just as he wanted it. Now he could begin enjoying living within it.

Then he took the second receiver and walked back upside where he sat down and called his mom in her office, knowing the time. He laid on his back, holding the phone on his ear and counted the ringing.

Once and then twice.

The phone on the other end picked up. "Dorotéia Gurney," she replied the calm, professional tone she always reserved for the workplace. "Can I help you?"

The sound of his mother's voice made him smile to himself. For his part, Rasgar seemed bored.

He laid his great jade head down and closed his eyes to nap.

His first thought was that he should trick her into some weirdness. This was some kind of odd game between them, Rafi liked to joke the other family members. His little adventure with the SHIELD seemed perfect, but then he decided not to be so cruel with her. Then he looked down to the cat, stroked the fur right behind his ears, and grinned widely.

The huge green feline cocked his head upwards so that Rafael could scratch beneath the line of his jaw, making a triangle shape of his head for the effort. When he'd had enough of it, Rasgar flopped over onto his side, instead allowing Rafi to stroke the flat of the smooth fur on his side, like gentle emerald suede, purring loudly as he did it.

He watched him close his eyes. If he kept it up much longer, he knew he'd probably fall away into sleep, a cat's favorite demense.

“Hello Mrs. Gurney, I’m James Cochran.” he said that on the voice of the SHIELD agent, and used his family name, too. “If my information is correct, you used to write about environmental damages, is that true?”

"I still do, Mr. Cochran," she replied coolly. He could hear the edge of interest on her voice, though she was doing a job of not fully betraying it. It made him want to smile to himself, but he forced himself not to, so as not to give away the game quite yet.

“I just arrived home from Brazil, where I found something strange, which might interest you as well.” he continued, with a little more passion in his voice “Near a small city in the deeper country there is a factory which produces various chemicals for the agriculture. This isn’t strange, anyway, I know. But the jaguars in this area developed an odd mutation in the last few years. Which I think may be caused by this factory.” He paused for a moment; to let the tension rise a bit, then spoke again. “Their fur became tainted with green, like some kind of plant-infection or something. Every breed became greener than the former. And in this year I’ve found the first full jade jaguar between them.”

"That's a very interesting story, Mr. Cochran," she said. Though she remained sounding disaffected and measured, Rafi knew that, on the other end of the phone, his mother had to be standing up behind her desk, pacing. The journalist within her was curious, while the activist that remained within her was probably seething with anger. "I suppose you have a few details about this company, hm?" she continued. "For starters, a name, maybe?"

Rafi stayed calm, he put as many emotion into his voice as many needed to play real the informer. “Yes, I have a name. It’s a small facility of the Ultrapar Holdings, Inc. It’s maybe fifty miles north from Porto Velho.”

Rasgar opened one eye to look at Rafi, somehow noticing that he talked about him, then closed it again, and began to purr contentedly, that way responding to the stroking what Rafi continued while he talked with his mother. 

If it was a decision between paying attention to being discussed or enjoying being pet, Rafi knew which Rasgar would choose every time. He closed his eyes once again and purred, the power of his sleek form making Rafi's had vibrate as he continued to revel in his master's affections.

He didn’t know that his mother would see through his tale, mainly because he never told straight her that he has his gift. When it revealed itself, the family didn’t believe to him and by that time his power wasn’t stable so he can’t control it to show them. Therefore, he left it that way. Rafi wasn’t sure about that no one from the family knew about his meta-ability, but he never asked them. Because of that, he didn’t know that his sisters got any powers or not. The thing that he moved into Elysium City, was a sure point about him, but still, it wasn’t said out loud. The tattoo on his chest –which was lying at his carpet now, in full life-size and touchable reality- was a clue to his mother now, but he wanted to try the trick anyway. It was fun. A legacy from his father who had an odd sense of humor.

And both Rafi and his father, over the years, had played this kind of trick on his mother and sisters more than once. The two of them, as a result, had both become quite good at disguising their voices. He could tell that his mother--still wound up into the details of the story--still had no ide that it was actually her son on the other end of the line.

His father was good in mimicking voices and noises, but Rafi was even better. His talent allowed him to mimic almost any noise he ever heard or imagined, from the tiniest bug’s creeping to the biggest dragons roar. And he already demonstrated it in the city, virtually claiming the hill for himself. The thought made him smile again.

"And some idea where this is happening might be a nice start, too, Mr. Cochran," she continued. "After all, you can't write a story without a few basic particulars," she explained. "Otherwise, it becomes a work of fiction--not fact."

Rafi almost laughed out loud.

It was truer than she could've guessed.

“Very true, Mrs.Gurney, very true. Nowadays so much news came online without the perfect background work. That’s why I decided to call you, instead of other reporters.” A little flattery can’t hurt, he thought, and all he said was true, after all. He knew well his mother and her eager to write true stories, not unrealistic ones. “I was on a journey there, and I came across a young local, named Rafael, who led me to the area.” This was the second clue for his mother, to notice the trick. 

He could almost hear her taking notes in the background. "Uh-huh," she said dispassionately, professionally. While he'd never met anyone quite with the fervor for the natural world that his mother was possessed of, she'd always done a good job of balancing that with the journalist within herself. And he could tell that the cool calm in her voice was a reflection of that portion of herself, forced objectivityso as to allow herself to do her job without prejudice.

Of course, it might mean that she was beginning to catch on, too. He had to force himself to be a little like her, in the moment, stifling laughter so as to be able to continue the merry chase.

“First I was interested in the animals, so I got back year by year, making notes, photos and drawings by hand.” Another clue, not to reveal himself directly, but leading the way to the truth. “But then I learned the source of the changes, and while I like the new color, I decided that this is too much prize for it, and now I called you to tell the story to the world.” He paused, waited for questions or the reproof if his mother saw through the holes of the tale. And grinned widely, still stroking his jaguar.

"I'm glad you did," she said. "But there's still a few questions I wouldn't mind having you answer, if you don't mind. What you've seen has the possibility of breaking into quite a major story, and I want to make sure we've got all the details right before I let you go," she explained.

“I understand, I know that there are shadowy places in the story yet. Ask away, please!” he answered, laughing silently, and his shaked in the effort to do it so quiet that it can’t be heard on the other side of the line.

"For starters," she continued. "I'd like to know how my son's doing in that big, shiny new city to the south," he heard her voice break into a slow, sly smile.

“Pardon, Milady? Your son? What should I do with him?” the smile break through his voice and he winked, even he knew that it’s isn’t a video-call and she couldn’t see him.

"And if he's seen any jade jaguars since he's been down there," she asked with a little laugh.

Rafi returned to his own voice and laughed with his mom. “Oh, he’s quite good, and he saw only one jade jaguar.” His laugh turned into a gentle chuckle. 

He heard his mother break into a merry laugh along with him. "You had me going there for a bit!" she admitted. "Up until you mentioned your little Brazilian friend by name, that is!" she said. And, almost as if he knew that he'd been discussing him, Rafi felt Rasgar, laying stretched out on his side on most of the bed, drop his massive head into his lap, eager for his renewed attentions.

“I got caught, huh?” he chuckled over the phone, while he stroked and petted lightly the emerald fur of his companion, not really paying attention, just enjoying the feeling and the moves.

"You did," she replied. She paused for a moment and Rafael imagined her at her desk at the newspaper, sipping coffee out of a small ceramic mug. It might have even been the one that he and his sisters had made for her for Mother's Day when he'd been five. If he tried hard enough he could still remember Virginia trying to teach he and Joana how to draw on the side of it with the glue in straight lines. By the time they were done, all three of them had been a mess of glitter, laughing and giggling, the sparkly stuff all over their skin and in their hair. Their mother had almost cried when they'd given it to her; he'd very rarely seen her drink out of anything else ever again. "You'd expect a mother to recognize her son, though," she added, "no matter what kind of funny voice he puts on."

“Hi mom! I feel great here. Now I’m lying on my new bed, in my new apartment, over my new tattoo parlor. I managed to set almost all things right, and gathered only a little debt during that.” His voice became excited as he talked about his new home. 

"Really?" she said. "That's great news! I was talking with your father just last night about whether or not we could afford to give you a little loan to get yourself established. I was worried you wouldn't be able to get everything you needed with the little money you had...and I wasn't sure if everything they keep saying about how inexpensive it is to live in Elysium was really true, or just some kind of hoax."

“As much as I have seen yet, it’s true. Not counting the food prices, which are the same as anywhere else.” He sighed, but this was only for a moment before the smile came back to his face. “I managed to arrange almost anything I needed. For the furniture I agreed with the shopkeeper on easy terms. And I sold, well, lets say, some tattoo in advance, too.” He tried to compose the events in such a way which is true, but he didn’t have to tell about the gangstas to his mother. She didn’t like that company of his at home, too.

"Well, that sounds good," she replied excitedly. "It takes most people months to get established in a small business. It sounds like you're well on your way in less than a day!"

Rasgar closed his eyes again, purring so loud that Rafi wondered if his mother could hear him over her end of the line, was starting to fall asleep where he lay. "So you sound like you're enjoying yourself so far," she said, her voice smiling proudly to him over the phone.

“It’s amazing here! I never imagined that I’ll receive all this building for free if I come here. And the people whom I met, they’re all interesting in some way.” He continued his tale. “The only thing this freakin’ snow, bleh. But that you know well. Oh, and to calm you, I bought a new coat, so I’m not freezing from now.” He chuckled happily.

"I told you you should've taken more than that thin little top," she chuckled over the line. "But I'm glad to hear that everything's going well, Rafi," she said. And in her voice, he could sense that he really was happy for him. If anyone had always been there to support his dreams and hopes, throughout his life, it had been his mother. Now that they were coming true, he thought maybe he heard a little catch in her voice, like she might cry for joy.

But if she was on the verge of tears, she managed to hold them back. "Everything's going fine back at home," she said. "Your father's fine, keeping himself busy as usual. I expect a call from Ginnie anytime now; she'd promised to call sometime this evening."

“I planned to call you yesterday evening, after my first day, but a lot of things happened, which kept me busy” he blushed a little and his voice shivered a little as he remembered what he did during last night “so I got this new line-phone first, and called you. This is my new number in the shop and the apartment, too.” He turned on his side on the bed, leaned on his elbow, and continued to stroke Rasgar absently.

Then, a slight sigh. "Right now, we're just...having one small problem," she admitted.

His hand stopped, and he put more strength in the touch, and that caused Rasgar to growl resentfully. “What problem?” he asked.

"It's about Joana."

“What’s up with her?” he asked again, with more concern in his voice. Jo was his little sister, he always guarded and aided her. And she was his favored audience when he drew something new. The thought that maybe something bad happened with her, made him nervous.

"Well," she said, searching for the words and then stopping. Rafi started to worry even more, just sensing the edge of her tone. It sounded like something really might be wrong...and that gave him a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Jo's..." she started, then stopped once more.

When she finally started again, the words all came out at once. "Jo's a mutant, Rafael," she said, a little sigh at the edge of her voice. "I'm sure you remember all the headaches she was having, the couple weeks before you left. Well, they got progressively worse and worse...to the point where we ended up having to take her to Doctor Morton, up at Bayshore. He wasn't able to find out what the problem was, so he referred Jo to a specialist in Cupertino. He did some genetic testing on her and, well..." she took a deep breath, "found out that Jo's a little...different."

Rafi’s nervousness lessened a bit, he almost sighed when he heard what the problem is. But the tense remained, he knew that not all power came with advantages or as little physical changes as his. “Sheesh, mom. I was afraid you’ll tell me that she’s deadly ill or something like that.” He sighed, and then continued. “With this, we, erm, she could live together. Do you know already what kind of alteration she got?” he asked, been curious and a bit afraid, simultaneously. “And I prefer the term meta” he added.

"Meta, mutant, whichever you prefer," she sighed once more. "To me--and to your father--it doesn't really matter what name you want to put on it. I agree with you, Rafi, I'm just glad that she's healthy and that her specific...gift," she finally decided, after looking for the right word, "isn't harmful to her or anybody around her. From what Doctor Keillor, down in Cupertino says, it's not uncommon that people that are different like your sister end up with abilities that are very dangerous."

I know, mom. He really wanted to tell her that from somewhere deep in his heart. I know because I'm different like Joana. But instead, while he laid back, petting his best friend, who'd now drifted off into sleep on his lap, the weight of his enormous, sleek head, beginning to put his leg to sleep beneath it, he let her finish. "It's really simple," she said. "She can fly."

He listened to his mother laugh gently. "Amazing, isn't it?" she said. "In the history of mankind, all humans have ever wanted to do was fly. My daughter can actually do it...and it's driving her crazy."

Rafi almost laughed when he heard it. “Jo can fly?!” he asked with joy in his voice. 

"Yep," his mother replied over the line, in a voice that clearly said that she was still trying to believe it herself. "Just like a bird. The clumsiest bird you've ever seen," she added with another little sigh. "But still a bird."

Rafi laughed as he imagined her sister stumbling across the sky, like a nestling, who just began to learn how to fly.

“Amazing! I find it really cool, and I’ll tell her that’s sure.” He chuckled over the phone, relieved by knowing the nature of his lil’ sister’s power. “flight… I could use that, too, but my ass’d freeze instantly outside at any height.” He laughed out loud.

"I thought the same thing," she agreed, stopping to take another drink of coffee. "But Jo says that she doesn't really get cold anymore, either, whether she's in the air or on the ground. Doctor Keillor said that it's not uncommon for...gifted people to have what he calls secondary mutations. Those are kind of the underpinnings of the main thing that they can do," she explained. "What makes it possible for them to perform these unbelievable things and still end up surviving the experience. He had to take Jo's blood with a needle made for horses, Rafi," she said, a little concern creeping into the edge of her voice. "Her blood's become so thick, it's more like syrup than anything else. He said that when he took the sample, she started to clot even before she was really bleeding."

Rafi sighed again. Secondary mutations, yeah. I know exactly what you’re talking about, mom, he thought, and stroked his braids. “Whoa, sounds strange. Her skin became stronger, too? Or the doc needed the bigger needle to wish out some blood sample before it stuck in the needle? Poor Jo, it must have been a hard experience.”

"They had to do it under sedation," his mother replied somberly. "The needle would have been too big to have done it while she was awake--it just would've hurt too much," she explained. "And the way Doctor Keillor said it, her blood was too thick to draw with a normal needle. It would've clotted solid halfway up the syringe."

"She's kind of having a hard time adjusting to it," she continued. "We had to pull her out of school for the rest of the year and she's just sitting around the house mostly...trying to get used to the idea. I'm glad you called here before you called home. You should probably hear it from me or your father before you speak to her. It's gotten her very...down," she sighed again. "She just doesn't know how to handle it."

"And frankly, neither do your father or I."

Rafi smiled faintly and nodded to himself. Yeah, you couldn’t know, because I never had to tell you that I’m different, too, he thought, but he just let out another sigh, to reveal his mother.

“I can imagine, mom. I’ll call her right after you, then.” He paused for a minute as he thought over how could he help, and his face delighted almost immediately. “Hey, I’m living now the biggest meta-city in the world. What if Jo moves to me? I can see a way how I could separate a part of the room for her, and here she could go school. I’m sure that the teachers here are prepared for special kids, don’t you think?”

"Rafi, that's a very sweet idea," his mother said to him over the phone, some quality in her voice letting him know that she really did appreciate the notion. "But you're finally out on your own, finally realizing your own dreams. It wouldn't be fair for us to ask for you to take Jo in, just when everything's starting to come together for you. Besides," she said, "I'm not sure what she'd think of the idea. She's got all of her friends up here, all of us...."

“I know. I left my friends there, too, y’know. For me, it was a bit easier, because I moved from home when I went the college. For her… it’s hard ‘cause she is only 16.” His voice became serious, as he emphasized his message. 

"That's exactly it, Rafi," she replied. "Everything's hard when you're that age, let alone finding out, one day, that you can fly."

“And you don’t have to ask me. I came up with the idea. Family first, always.” Rafi paused for a moment, but then continued with a little sigh. “Carm’ll understand, I’m sure about it.” 

"Carm?" He could almost hear his mother lift a brow. "Who's Carm?"

“Erm…” Rafi blushed a little and stopped even before he started the sentence. “She’s a girl I met long ago, back at home, and we met again yesterday.” He sighed, and cleared his throat before continued. “She is the reason why I didn’t call you yesterday. But I can’t really tell much more, yet.”

For the first time in the conversation, he was sure his mother was smiling over the other end of the telephone line. "Carm," she repeated her name, simply, like she was mentally judging its weight. "Short for Carmen?" she asked, and then, only another moment after, "And when will we be able to meet this Carm, hmm?"

Rafi blushed again, and let out a little sigh. “No, not Carmen. It’s short for Carmilla.” He said and rolled his eyes as he knew exactly that his mom probably already planning the family-meeting, in their big dining room, around the table to know the girl better. The sound of her made him thinking that she even trying to imagine her look after the name. 

"That's a very pretty name," she decided. He almost thought he could hear her grin wider.

He chuckled nervously, and continued “I dunno, her working schedule is quite random. I met with her yesterday, after a year, mom!” griped Rafi over the phone. “And to answer your unspoken questions: she’s around 5’5”, cca. 120 lbs; has emerald eyes and jade hair. She just turned eighteen in February, and her family name is Black. Did I forget something?” he asked back with a mischievous tone in his voice.

"No, I think that's just about everything," she said, returning his sly tone. "I think the only thing you left out was promising your dear old mother that you'd ask her as soon as you get the chance to come up and have dinner with your family, actually. But I know you were only getting around to that part, hm?"

Rafi had no choice but to chuckle to himself. On more than one occasion, his father had told him about those first days, in Brazil, when he'd met his mother. He'd told her that she was like a wild mare, full of fire and with an unbreakable spirit--fast and beautiful, but just as stubborn as any horse that walked the Earth.

In moments like these, he knew exactly what he was talking about.

Rafi sighed once. “Okay, okay. I promise. If the situation will be adequate, I’ll ask her.” He said fretfully. “But still think it’s not a good idea for a while.” He muttered under his breath. “After one day… Me and my big mouth…” he bitched over the phone, but with smile on his face and in his voice.

“As I said, I could manage to separate some space for her. Independent from this, I wanted to create a bedroom anyway, now I have to make two of that. It’s not a big problem.”

"Maybe you need to talk to her about it," she said. "Rafi, she's always--out of anybody in the family--been closest to you. She really looks up to you, y'know. Maybe hearing from her brother might, if nothing else, cheer her up?"

As she said it, Rasgar started to snore loudly, dreaming, he imagined, all in green.

Yeah, he thought. Very different.

“Yup” he confirmed simply what his mother said. “I’ll call her right away. Don’t let it take you over, I’ll handle it. Everything will be okay. Just smile with me, ok?” he asked, trying to cheer his mom up. 

She sighed. "I'm smiling," she said. "Really, I am." He wasn't so convinced, but from a hundred miles away or more, it was hard to say. In was in the mother's nature to worry, he'd remembered being told once. It was true, to be sure...but it was in the son's as well. And the brother's.

“I’m happy because we could talk. I love you, mom. Talk ya’ later.” He hung up the phone.

"I love you too, Rafael," she replied before the phone went dead. "We miss you."

And as silence overtook the line, Rafi missed them more than a little bit, too. He wondered to himself how maybe he might have made a difference for them all if he hadn't moved out of San Francisco--how easy he might have made it on Jo if he'd lingered just a while longer, maybe even if he'd just let his family in on the secret of his powers, perhaps. He knew she wouldn't feel so alone, so...different, he was sure of it. He knew that there was no way he could've known, to be sure, but it didn't make some bit of him feel any less ill at ease for it.

In the silence of the room, he realized that it wasn't too late for him to make a difference, though.

Rafi laid on his bed, listened to the jaguar’s snore, mixed with purrs, as he stroked his fur. His face was serious and he bit his lips, lost in the process of thinking. He looked around the room, measuring the distances and places where he should place the new walls, made from plasterface, maybe. The coloring would be the easiest part. And she’ll need a bed, shelves and some whatnot, too. He sighed as Carm came up in his mind. What she will say if he tells her about his sister, he wondered. He said to his mother that Carm’ll understand, and he thought that so, but their relationship just started, it was so frail, he was afraid a bit, too.

Two small and comfortable bedrooms should be enough, he decided, especially, because Carm had to arrange her status in the SHIELD, too. And Jo didn’t even agree to come here, so all of this was speculation, anyway.

He grabbed his mobile, made a few snapshot about Rasgar, fallen asleep on the bed, and prepared an MMS with them, to Jo, but he didn’t sent it yet. Instead, he grabbed the other phone, again and called number of his family home, eager to talk with sister.

The phone rung and rung. Three rings, four and then five--he was beginning to wonder if perhaps their answering machine was going to pick up instead of someone at their house. Thinking to himself how upset his mother had said Jo was, it made him start to worry.

The burgeoning fear was cut short when someone finally picked up the phone.

Slightly out of breath, like she'd run to it, Rafi smiled at the sound of her sister's voice.

"Hello?" she asked. Then: "Rafi, is that you?"

There was no disguising the hope at the edge of her voice.

“Hey there! How my favorite ebony-elf dancer feels herself today?” he smiled and put as many joy and happiness into his voice as he could gather. 

She sighed. "I'm okay," she said. And though it was his sister's voice on the other end of the line, Rafi could tell that a little bit of the light that was usually so bright and bountiful in her tone had dimmed. Like the quality of her timbre now held some kind of dark and persistent melancholy. "How's life in the big city?" she asked. It made Rafi's heart hurt in his chest a little, so much so that he watched Rasgar, as if he was aware of such things, suddenly open one jade eye to look up and see if he was all right. It wasn't even the way she'd normally ask such a question, he thought. No joking, no merry laughter.

The ghost of a girl who'd just learned to fly.

“I’ve just talked with mom, she told me about the news.” 

Jo sighed. Sounded frustrated when she spoke. "I was wondering if that was why you called," she replied. He imagined her standing there in the kitchen, looking out the back window into the white wasteland of their backyard. Looking at their empty treehouse, the clouds above it; clouds she could reach out and touch now, any time she wanted. "I was kinda hoping she wouldn't have told you quite yet."

“Hey, I arrived only two days ago here. I called mom and you as soon as I could. You didn’t think that I forget you, did ya?” he asked back. 

She was smiling slightly, now. "No," she said. "I didn't think you'd forget. I just..." she stopped, then admitted, "I was just hoping maybe you'd wait a little longer. Y'know, after maybe this has a chance to go away, or something."

A chance to go away, he mentally repeated her words. Not a chance, Jo. This is who you are.

“You know her. She never keeps the infos about the family for herself. By the way, you’re my fav in the family, how could you think that she wouldn’t tell me?”

She snickered. "I guess," she said. "Sometimes Mom talks too much."

He continued and used the voice of a cartoon news-reader, whom se loved when she was a little girl. “I proud of you, kid, do you hear me? More than I can tell ya’ over the phone. It’d melt the line” he chuckled. 

Another sigh. It was amazing, when she did it, how much she sounded like a younger version of their mother, though he'd have never dared to tell her as much--especially not right then, of all times. "Yeah," she said, obviously unconvinced. "You make it sound like I just got straight-A's in school--instead of losing all my friends and having everybody looking at me like I'm some kind of human atomic bomb, or something."

The grip around Rafi’s heart became tighter as he listened to her complaints. “But it is like you got straight A-s in the school! As for your friends. Give them time, and they’ll come back, if they really friends. Moreover, if you’ll become peace with yourself, you can calm them down that you are not an atomic bomb.” Rafi chuckled as he went on “well, maybe when you’re practicing some new move for your special dance, and they don’t stand back enough to give you space.”

“And I have some news, too, if you interested.”

"Shoot," she replied. "At this point, nothing's gonna really surprise me, believe me." In the shallow bucket of his lap, Rasgar had, apparently, decided that all was well and settled back down to resume his nap. Rafi, though he hadn't the heart to move him, could no longer feel anything put pins and needles, all along his left leg.

“I offered to mom and now you that you can come to here, to live with me. Maybe here you’ll find a more comfortable class and neighbors, if you’re afraid of your newly awakened gifts. Here that is the normal, you can believe me.” Rafi tried both to cheer her up and to offer a new path of living. “Or you could remain at home, just be happy. That is the only thing that matters, believe me.”

Jo paused for a moment. "You..." she started, trying to determine whether Rafi, ever the prankster, was kidding or not. "You're serious," she said, when she decided that he was. "You'd let me move down to Elysium City?" she asked. "To live with you?"

Rafi nodded, but then realized that she can’t see him, so began to talk again. “Yep. If you want it, I’m gladly offering a part of my new home to you, Jo.”

He sighed, paused for a moment, and then went on “Do you remember the little magic cartoons on the side of my books and booklet’s pages? How they cheered you up and how they made you laugh when they moved over the page as I riffled through them? I always said that is a kind of magic which only I know, and you weren’t able to do the same?” He paused again, and his voice became serious. 

"Yeah...." she started.

Then, over the telephone, he heard her gasp slightly.

Rafi knew, right then, that she'd figured out his secret. "You, too?" she asked, just to confirm what they'd both known to be impossible--but true.

“I moved them, but not with my hands. I’m like you. I have a gift, too. Just never told anyone.”

"Rafi," she said quietly. "I...I can't believe it!" The sound of her voice was a mix of shock and disbelief on it's surface. But somewhere deep beneath it, he could tell that there was hope that was quickly rising to the top of it, as well. Hope and a profound sense of relief.

She wasn't alone. And that meant everything.

"Does..." she started, quietly, like somebody else in the house might hear her, if she were too loud. "Do mom and dad know? Ginny? Anybody? About your powers, I mean."

Rafi smiled when he heard the excitement in his sister’s voice. “I was younger than you, when it first happened. I tried to tell the family, but no one believed me. Talking with drawings which are step off the pictures, that was the question.” He sighed, remembering those times. “So no, I don’t think any of them is sure about it. Maybe they forgot it completely. But others, yes. There are some people who know about my powers.” Rafi shrugged and smiled. “As I said: here, in Elysium City there are a plenty of metas. More than normal human, I think.”

"I've heard..." she said, almost incredulous. "It's on the news every night, just about," she said. And paused for a moment. Rafi could tell that she was still trying to wrap her mind around the idea that her older brother was every bit as different than she was. "I guess," she started, then stopped again, "I guess I just thought it was a lot of exaggeration. But now I think I know why you moved down in the first place, don't I?"

Rafi smiled happily and let that felt in his voice, too. “This counted much, you’re right. It’s true what I said to mom and dad, when I announced that I move here, that here I could build my own business. But because I am what I am, they gave me a lot of discount, too.”

"That's awesome," she said, still half in disbelief at the thought of it. Then, as if it had suddenly struck her: "Do you think maybe..." she started, "Maybe they'd do the same for me? Like, set me up with my own business? My own place to live?"

The reality settled in on her a moment later. "I mean," she chuckled, "once I turn eighteen."

Rafi chuckled along with her. “Yeah, that’s not a bad idea, to turn eighteen, before you ask for an own business. But now you could found your own, here, making contacts and become familiar with the city.”

Her voice smiled. "So you said there's other people that know. Who?"

Rafi shrugged before answered. “Not so many. Jazlyn form the capoeira circle. Josh, my friend from the school. Keisha, my former girlfriend. Grant, from the Fangs.” He paused, before went on, looked over the mental list. 

"I can't believe you showed it to Keisha," she said flatly, a deep frown in the quality of her voice. It almost made Rafi laugh; of all of his previous girlfriends, Jo had particularly despised Keisha. He was never quite sure why. They'd only met a couple of times and each one, they'd seemed friendly enough. Eventually, they'd broken up and he'd never gotten around to ask her. It never seemed important enough, really. "I always hated that skank."

“But why? She had some really lovely qualities.” Rafi smiled over the phone.

“I revealed it to some new dude here in the city, when I had to use it openly. And Carm.” He added ad last, but not least.

"Carm?" She said it almost exactly like his mother had. "Who's Carm?"

Rafi sighed and buried his face into his free palm. “Oh my… You’re sometimes just like mom, ya’know? I drop a girl’s name, and she jumps right on, like a bulldog, already planning the family-dinner.” 

"I'll take that to mean you love me to death and you think I'm a smart, relentless girl that can dig the truth out of you regardless of your best efforts to keep it hidden," she giggled gently. "C'mon, Rafi! Spit it out!" she exhorted him. "You know I'm gonna meet her soon enough, anyway! Might as well not even try it!"

He sighed again, and let his true feelings came through his voice. “She’s the most beautiful and charming girl I’ve ever met. And this is set into stone, I tell you. But if you pass this to mom, I’ll torture you!” he said finally, half-serious, half-jokingly, with a sly laugh.

"Wow," she replied. Then, after a pause where Rafi could almost hear the gears in his sister's mind turning to consider the situation: "The way you're talking, all you're missing is an engagement ring! Is she..." the sly smile rose to the edge of her voice again, "she's not already living with you, is she?"

“No, she isn’t.” Rafi shrugged and that somehow came through the line. “Her job comes with a lot of travelling, and she has to set things with his company to change that. But we have plenty of time to organize these things, I hope.” He smiled confidently.

He looked down at his mobile, and hit the send button. “I’ve just send you an MMS. That cat awaits you, if you’ll come to visit me here. He is my friend, from my chest, remember? Now he is alive, kind of.” Rafi became silent, and waited for an answer.

She didn't even hesitate for a moment. "I'll have to ask mom," she said. "But if she or dad or Ginny won't drive me down..." he heard the light returning to her voice like that of the sun rising over the horizon at dawn. "Would you pick me up?"

He knew she hadn't even yet looked at the picture.

It was every bit as good as answering yes.

Rafi laughed as the relief waved through him, and stroked Rasgar again. He cried out in pain silently as the move reminded him his numb leg, so he tried to pull it back. The big cat groaned displeasedly, but didn’t wake up. “Sure, kid. At any time, just tell me when, so as I could arrange my other activities and meetings. So you want to come?”

At the question, Jo's voice bloomed like enthusiasm, flowering off the vice. "Hell yeah, I wanna come!" she replied. And Rafi could imagine her actually hopping slightly when she said it. "I wanna come right now!"

Rafi laughed out loud. “Hey, hey, little elf. You wanted to talk with mom, didn’t you? Or you’ll fly here on your own?” He asked laughing.

"No way," she chuckled a little. "Just because I can fly doesn't mean I have any idea where I'm going," she sighed. "I've gotta be, like, the world's worst flier. First time I did it, I almost broke my neck! And you want me to try and go three hours south of here? In this weather? No thanks, bro," she laughed again. "I'm at least taking a bus--if I can't convince you or mom to drive me."

Rafi laughed at the comment, and imagined his little sister floating through the air. When he could breath again, he responded. “You just learned that you can fly. I think if you practice, you’ll be the world’s best flying dancer. Mom said, you don’t feel the cold. Or this frost is too much for you?”

"I dunno," she sighed. "It's nothing like dancing, Rafi. Dancing, all I have to think about is left and right, forwards and back. This...flying stuff..." she moaned, "there's up and down to think about, too. Plus I'm not very good yet at going in more than one direction at a time yet--which makes turning pretty much impossible. The second time I tried it...remember our swing-set in the backyard? I almost killed myself on the top bar, where the chains attach to it," she explained, wincing audibly at the memory. "It took dad twenty minutes to get me untangled out of 'em."

Rafi cringed at the thought. "So yeah, I pretty much suck at flying," she chuckled humorlessly. "But no, I don't really get hot or cold anymore, no matter what. Everything just feels like it's room temperature to me--even being outside now without even a jacket on. Doctor Keillor says that's part of my abilities right now, but that could all change without any warning. He says my powers," the last word, like it was something dirty, "are kind of unstable. Like my body's kind of changing every day. So, of course, I'm afraid to practice. It'd be just my luck to all of a sudden lose 'em about a hundred feet off the ground."

“Understood.” nodded Rafi. “To be honest, I’m already jealous of your powers. The flight and the temperature-resisting are much more useful than the mere illusions and sensing through them.” he said ruefully, but then began to chuckle to let her know that he’s joking only. 

"What?" she asked, buying into it for a second and already ready to counter the notion before he started laughing. "Oh, yeah, I see how it's gonna be," she sighed. "Laugh it up, clown. Some big victory, pulling on over on your traumatized little sister. Then telling her her powers suck while she's at it," she started to laugh back in return. "That's kind of like kicking a girl when she's down, isn't it?"

“Don’t say that, Jo.” Rafi laughed along with her. “I’m just trying to cheer you up as ever. You just don’t see the grins I make for ya. But I hear your laugh, too, so it must’ve worked some way.”

"You always know how to make me laugh," she said, the proof of it in the continued laughter on her lips. "Even when I wake up in the morning a completely different person than the one I fell asleep as."

“As for practicing… even a bird needs to do that, although it’s built for flying. Please, have a little faith in yourself. For my sake.” He begged his sister. “I heard that there is a park in the city, but I weren’t there yet.” He became silent for a moment, as he remembered that they planned with Carm to go there… “Maybe it’ll be a good place for the lessons. You fly, I follow you with a bird, so we could talk, and if you fall, I’ll be there to catch ya. Waddaya say?”

"I say I'll try to have some faith in myself, just for your sake," she said, hesitantly. "And I suppose breaking my neck in a park's as good a place as any, if you say so. But I'll tell you what--you'd better start figuring out how you're gonna stop me when I drop down from a hundred feet in the air at fifty miles an hour. If you're thinking you're gonna catch me...all that's gonna get us is both dead. Might as well try and catch a bullet--except one that weighs about a hundred pounds, give or take a bagel."

Rafi could tell that she really was trying. But she was still at the point where all she could see was the bad stuff. The whole thing was still too new, too recent for her to be over yet, yet alone be able to look at it in a whole new light. Really, she was only now beginning to be able to crack a grin once more.

He was hoping, by the time he was done, he could teach her how to smile again.

“A hundred pounds?! What are you eating, kid? Steakes for breakfast?” he teased his sister. 

She sighed. "I know," she said. "I don't look any different, but I've put on something like twenty-five pounds in the last week. Doctor Keillor says my whole body just seems to be denser than a normal person's--which is probably part of why I'm pretty much immune to temperature changes, he thinks. It's weird, I don't feel any different, either. I just can tell I weigh more when I walk, or sit down on something, by the way they kind of give underneath me now, y'know?"

“I see, Jo. Sounds strange, but which power isn’t strange if we look at it with the view that we learned in the school?” he asked the girl.

“O-kay. We’ll figure it out. Maybe I’ll draw a mattress for you, and when you rushes down to me, I’ll summon it from the card.” He paused for a moment, thinking it over, and then continued. “Well, perhaps I’ll have to try summon it before you come down, to see if it is real or not. That’s new to me, after all.”

"That's gotta be like," she smiled over the line again, "the coolest power ever. You're kind of like that kid Simon, y'know? From the British cartoons? If I were you, I'd start drawing stacks and stacks of hundred dollar bills or a couple dozen gold bricks, or something."

Then, Rafi could tell that an idea had suddenly bubbled to the forefront of her imagination. "Could you draw me a new car?" she asked, the idea seeming to delight her thoroughly. "Like, I dunno, a brand-new Prius, or something? That would be so tight!"

“It’s not really working like this. I’m able to tell the picture to came out the paper or poster or whatever, abut it’s a mere illusion. You could walk through it. Today, with Rasgar was my first successful try give them solidity.” Well, maybe the second, counting Skie yesterday, but that I still don’t understand fully, he thought. “I can’t create working engine. Well, I didn’t try yet. And as far as I know, my power is limited about 1 or 2 mile in range, so you wouldn’t go too far with that car, anyway.”

"Well, okay then," Jo decided. "If you're gonna make me practice flying until I can be the best sky-dancer in Elysium City--then we're gonna work on you powers, too! I didn't go to those stupid driver's ed classes all summer long just to not have a car to drive!"

On that, Rafi was sure, her mind was absolutely made up.

“Okay, I have to practice anyway. I want to reach that I could solidify my images as easily as I create them.” He answered. “I think we’re gonna spend many hours in that park… but then who will work in my shop?!”

"As for asking Mom," she finished, "I'll ask her, but I'm telling you right now--I'm coming. If she doesn't want me to...you'll get have to sneak me out of the house," she practically giggled.

“Hehe, I’ll steal you gladly, but then you have to tell them, how you got down to me.”

"I'll worry about that," she laughed. "You just worry about driving the getaway car!"

"Where would I go to school?" she asked, so excited by the prospect of a new life on the horizon that she fired question after question at him. "Is your place big? What kind of neighborhood do you live in? Have you seen any famous super-heroes yet? Do you have any friends yet?"

He tried to keep up with the flood of the question. “Big enough for us, with a little reforming, I hope. My neighborhood is cold and snowy, like everywhere else.” He chuckled. “And I heard rumors about vampires, living near here; so we’ll have to be cautious.”

"Vampires?" she asked, just to make sure he wasn't joking. When she was greeted with the silence that told her he wasn't in the slightest, she continued. "You're kidding, right? Honest-to-goodness vampires? Really?"

“The dudes told me that, and they seemed serious. Fortunately I didn’t see any of them yet. Not if I want to see one.” He informed his sister.

"That's nuts," she said. "I can't believe you're not worried about one breaking into your place and sucking you dry. Prolly like the vampire-equivalent of going down to the corner store for a beer. 'Cept in their case--they only drink Blood Lite," she joked.

“I’m not worried about vampires yet. I’m worried about you and your happiness.” said Rafi seriously. And I’m worried about my mysterious followers, even more worried about Carm, he added mentally. “We could hang up garlic-threads above every window and door, maybe that’d do.”

"Sure...if you don't mind smelling like a bolognaise," she smirked over the phone. "I think we can do better than that--but how, I'm not exactly sure yet. It's not like I woke up this morning thinking I'd have to come up with a way to fight off a pack of vampires before lunch," she giggled, obviously somewhat tickled by the idea. "I'll work on it, though. And find a way to do it without either of us reeking of Pasta Primavera."

 “No, I didn’t see any famous superhero yet. But I’ve seen a little girl who had the ability to grow so large that she was bigger than the houses around. I met an old man, who could collect things into one place with his power if he has images about them. Yeah, I met three pal here, who are in the same gang whom with I used to hang out back at Frisco.”

"Oh God," she moaned. "You're still hanging out with those idiot gang-bangers? I can't believe it--you get out of San Fran and have the chance to get started fresh and new with everything, and right away you get mixed up in all that retarded gang stuff! What is it with those guys you find so freakin' fascinating, anyhow?" she asked. "It's not like you have anything in common with those scum-bags, y'know."

“My shop is on the territory of the gang. What do you think, how many of my guests will be from the gang-members?” Asked Rafi from Jo seriously. “I met three of them, and they already made themselves useful. They carried me over the city on the first day when I bought most of my stuff.” He didn’t mentioned the money he got from Deuce. That wouldn’t be too wise. “I can add that, too, that they know that I won’t shoot anyone, I won’t participate any fight, I’m just a guy who’ll do their tattoos, and will go out with them for a party, maybe.”

"That's how it always starts, right?" she countered. "Favors."

Rafi sighed again, and shook his head. “I know. I used to crawl on the streets back at Frisco enough to gather steady knowledge about these things. Trust me, I’m more than cautious.”

"I notice you're saying a lot of that: trust me," she mused. "Famous last words, those, eh?"

Rafi grimaced and took the voice one the announcers from the news canal when answered “The talented young tattoo-artist, Rafael Gurney was shot in a drive-by-shooting on the streets of Elysium City. Witnesses state, his last words were trust me, they are the good guys, before he fell.” 

"Rafi," Jo chided him solemnly. "Don't even joke about that. That's serious business."

He went silent for a moment, then whetted his throat. “Erm, that was bad. I got the point. I won’t say that more, and will think even more, before I do something.”

"You won't have to, when I get down there," she replied resolutely. "I'll make sure you start hanging around the types of guys that won't be getting you into trouble. Consider it my way of paying rent," she added.

Rafi knew she was serious, too.

“hehe” he laughed a little embarrassed. “My little sister’d protect me from the bad gang-guys. How would that look like?!” he asked fumingly. 

"It'd prolly look a lot like a hundred-pound flying girl smashing into 'em from out of thin air," she giggled for the sheer thought of it. "Betcha none of your gang-buddies'd be too eager to try and catch that, either!"

“I hope you’re not gonna fight with them. I don’t know if you are bulletproof or what. And I don’t even wanna try that, Jo. Okay?!”

"Relax, Rafi," Jo laughed gently over the phone. "I'm only kidding! But you do hafta admit, it would look pretty funny--a bunch of big, tough gang-bangers sent flying in every direction when your little sister comes crashing down in the middle of 'em like a missile!" she practically giggled with glee at the thought.

“Sheesh, Jo…” sighed Rafi a little relieved, then began to giggle along with his sister. “I’m glad your mood has returned. You’re the one in the family who could trick me like this.” He shook his head, still laughing, as he added another sentence. “And you’re right, too. It is a funny picture. Perhaps I should draw it for you as a welcome-present.”

“You could tell me your opinion, and I’ll answer to that, but leave the acting to me, please.” I already have a girl as protector, but at least about her I know what she could do, he added mentally.

"So your new girlfriend's a meta, too???" Jo replied, surprise and wonder in her voice. Rafi thought he heard the refrigerator opening in the background, followed by the sound of his sister opening the top of some sort of carbonated beverage. "Do tell," she added, a devilish smile in the tone of her voice. "What does she do? Other than seducing talented tattoo-artists from up the coast, anyway?" she laughed.

“Yes she is a meta, too.” Answered Rafi flatly. “Her hair is the deepest jade as I ever seen, beside my own and Rasgar’s fur. But I won’t tell about her more, until you got here down.” He continued, but suddenly a thought popped in his mind. “Hey, how did you hear that?! I didn’t say it aloud!”

Yup, his sister was back now. Just as playful and witty as ever.

Rafi smiled as he listened to Jo’s cheerful voice. It worth every second he spoke with her. His heart calmed and he knew, that when his mother would arrive home, she’ll be as happy as he is now, to see that Jo, who they know, returned.

"Yes, you did!" she replied, the tone of her voice like she thought him crazy for insisting to the contrary. "Maybe you didn't mean to tell me--but you did!"

He was sure that he just thought about Carm, and did not say it aloud; even more sure about that he didn't mention Carm's parability to no one, but he left it that way, for now. They could talk it over when Jo’ll arrive.

"Anyway," she chuckled, "I can't wait to meet her. She's gotta be better than Keisha!"

“Way better.” he agreed with full of his heart. Even when they only spent one day and one night together till now. He had great hopes and couldn’t wait to see her again.

Then, a pause.

"OH MY GOD, RAFI!!!" she shrieked. "Is that real??? Is that actually your cat?!?"

He had to chuckle to himself. Apparently, she'd finally opened the picture he'd sent.

Rasgar never knew how famous he'd just become, already fast asleep once more.

Rafi stroked his sleeping friend before answered Jo “Yeah. He is called Rasgar, and he is a big, fat, lazy jade jaguar.” He giggled as he teased his cat. 

As if above the comment, Rasgar moved not a whit.

“Right now he is sleeping in my bed, next to me. He made my leg to go dead.” He paused as he tried to draw up the situation. “He is alive, because he is a part of my power. This was the first time when I was so lucky that I could bring him fully alive and tangible. But we’ll talk it over if you get down here, okay?”

"That is so cool," she replied. "You've got a jaguar for a housecat!" Then, a bit less excited: "Uhm, that's gotta be awful, cleaning out his litterbox," he imagined her making a little grossed-out face.

Rafi laughed out loud so happily, that he even shed a few teardrops. “He is imaginary. Practically an illusion, which is tangible and solid. He doesn’t use litterbox.” His face suddenly became white and he stared at Rasgar, who opened one eye to his laugh. “I hope.” He added, still looking at his jaguar. “You won’t eat, drink and use litterbox, will ya?” he asked silently from him, putting his hand over the mic of the phone.

But all Rasgar did in response is sleep right through the question. Probably dreaming of chasing jackrabbits and fawns, he imagined to himself, his purring like the loud thrumming of an automobile's motor through the thick meat of his thigh.

How big of a litterbox would a cat like him use, anyway? He was starting to hope he'd never have to find out.

“I’ll visit the Immigration Office today, and if I’ll have luck, I’ll arrange your settling and ask what school they could offer to you. Do you have any special wishes for the school? Here you have to ask anything and maybe they will grant them. After that I’ll call you up again. Till that, you could talk it over with our parents. Is that okay?”

"Is it okay?" she repeated the question. "Hell, yeah--it's okay! I don't care what kind of school they get me into...just as long as they can get me into someplace! Anything'll do, as far as I'm concerned. I'll talk to Mom as soon as she gets home, okay?"

“Hm, so you don’t care. Then I don’t have to ask them about some dance-class, or singing, huh?” he asked on a mischievous tone.

He could tell that Jo was smiling from ear-to-ear, the vibrant excitement returned to the edge of her voice. The little sister that he loved so dearly had returned.

"Nope," she replied. "I'll figure that part as I go. Besides, if I hate the place you pick, I can always transfer, right?" she asked. "Once I'm down there, we can worry about all that. For now--I just want to get down there and get started!"

"I can't wait to get down there, Rafi!!!" she enthused.

And in truth, he couldn't wait for it, either.

“Me neither, Jo, me neither.”

"I love you, Rafi," she replied, earnestly and warmly. "Call me later, okay?" she bade him.

“Nobody could prevent me from that. I love you, too, elf.”

And then hung the phone up. Leaving him with his sleeping green jungle cat, spread out across his lap. Quiet in the small apartment, but for the sound of Rasgar's purring and his own thoughts, a silent thunderhead within his imagination.

And the thought of a litterbox, the size of an entire beachfront.

Chapter VII – Official Cases

Rafi put the phone down to the bed, then laid down onto his back, and lightly stroked Rasgar. He rested there for a few minutes, wondering over the sudden changes in his life. Then he stood up, fished out the forms he got from the city administrations when he registered. 

Sliding out from underneath the massive feline on his lap took a little bit of effort and ended up being enough to wake him from his shallow slumber as well. As Rafi dangled his feet off of his bed to a stand, Rasgar watched him, his wide, flat tongue dangling from his mouth as we followed him with his impossibly-brilliant emerald eyes. He was aware of him getting up as well, hearing the heavy, yet quiet sound he made as he deftly jumped from the comforter onto the carpet, walking off in the direction of his kitchen as Rafi made for his computer.

He looked the address of the office, then grabbed his mobile and went onto the WAP, hoping that there will be a map about the city where he could find his goal. 

After only a short bit of navigation on his browser, he found himself on the city's website, looking at their interactive city map. In less than five minutes, he was able to figure out that all he really needed to do was to venture downtown, either to City Hall or the Stark Building in order to get Joana's immigration paperwork completed.

He was surprised how fast he managed to get the information, and shook his head marvellingly. This city has some very lovely advantage, he thought. He didn’t believe truly, but he searched the page after a phone-contact, to see if he needs to go there personally or could set everything via phone.

The site said that it could be done, from start to finish in less that a half hour and that he could arrive at any time of day, any day of the week and someone would be on hand to help him. He wasn't sure how that could be true, but in this city of miracles, it seemed like the most ordinary kind of magic he'd seen so far, to be sure.

Rafi smiled to himself. Cool, then all can be settled today for Jo, he thought. He decided that he’ll go to the City Hall, because it’s on the way he knew already, from his tour at the Mall. He looked up from the screen, searching for his companion, but he didn’t see the jaguar.

Rafi heard the sound of something loud banging inside his bathroom. By the time he'd turned around, he saw that Rasgar had jumped inside the tub; from his vantage point, all he could see was his sleek, feline head poking up from above the porcelain level of his bath, eyes directed out the open door upon him.

Waiting for him to run some water for him, to be sure.

Rafi laughed and walked into the bathroom, meanwhile asking his companion. “Hey, dude. Wanna try the bath for real?” he scratched the jade fur behind the jaguar’s ear and grabbed the shower head. “Cold or hot or medium, my lord?” he asked the cat, and grinned widely, with his hand on the handle. 

The great green jungle cat simply looked up at him with its tongue out. His eyes were so expressive that, sometimes, Rafi wondered if he might actually start to speak to him in reply. But instead, he simply shut his eyes and leaned into his master's scratching, dipping his head so as to get as much as he could out of it.

Rafi figured the shower might be a bad idea. Rasgar would probably prefer the bath, instead.

“After this little pleasantry I have to leave, to arrange Jo’s papers. You come with me, or stay to guard the house?”

At that, the feline shifted its weight to its back feet, so as to take his paws and lay them atop the top ring of the white ceramic basin. It was as good as him saying that he'd prefer to come along for the ride, Rafi thought with a little laugh, seeing the excited look in Rasgar's eyes.

He was starting to imagine what a wet jaguar would do to the inside of his car.

Maybe he'd save the bath for later...

“Well, my friend, if you come, you’ll get your bath when we’ll be done with that, okay?” he told to the jungle cat, and put the showerhead back at it’s place. He crouched down, and stroked his face to Rasgar’s, imitating his purr. Then stood up, and waved to him to follow. 

Once again, Rafi marveled at how much of his conversation and gestures his companion seemed to completely understand. As he waved him on, Rasgar deftly leaped out of the bathtub, the near-silent landing he made belying his immense size and weight. He watched the jade jaguar's step grow lively as followed him eagerly in the direction of the stairs.

They went down to the parlor, Rafi slipped onto his coat.

Rasgar waited patiently, sitting on the sweep of his tail and watching his every move as he put his new coat on. While he moved to the door, the jungle cat born of his imagination, made flesh with his power, craned up to sniff at the new material of his jacket, rubbing the side of his face enthusiastically against it. Probably, Rafi thought, marking it as just another part of his domain.

The young man scratched his companions head, somehow returning his eager to show how they loved each other. They were friends, at the purest meaning of the word. Rafi couldn’t compare this relationship to no other, it was like participating in a fairy-tale, or a comic, where the imaginary friend is as real as the others around, but only he could know how much exactly.

He opened the door. It ended up taking several minutes to coax Rasgar out of the parlor. Whether he was created by the union of his dreams and inborn gift or not, it was exactly the reaction one would expect from a feline--especially one born to the tropics--when faced with cold weather. In the meantime, Rafi shivered and shook in the face of the biting wind and the thick drifts of snow it brought with it, burning his exposed skin wherever it found it. Finally he managed to get the willful cat out of the confines of his business and home, and the two of them made haste to cross the street over to his car.

Outside he took a deep, freezing breath and let out a sigh, before he began to clean his car from the snow’s bondage “Next time, come out sooner” he said to Rasgar with chattering teeth. “I almost froze into an ice-statue.” . Once the door became accessible, he let Rasgar in, and started the engine, creating warm until he could get into, too.

He wasted no time at all getting inside, jumping into the front seat of the car, then marching across the center console until it sat dutifully in the passenger seat. The jaguar sniffed around inside, observing all vibrating light and movable handle within, but decided to conquer the backseat, where he laid down, and stretched out fully. His paws hung down from the couch, while he watched as his master moved in. Then they began their drive to the City Hall, on the highway, through the bridge and the Man Ray park. 

Rafi began to navigate the bright green automobile in the direction of the Elysian Gate Bridge, towards the entrance to the park. Inside, he was more than a little excited to see its confines; it was a sight he'd been looking forward to seeing since he'd first learned about the city. He wasn't so sure how much he'd be able to see of it today, though. The weather was the worst it'd been in moths today, the near-gale winds blowing sheets of snow past him so heavily that he could barely see twenty feet beyond the front bumper of his car. Still, he decided, it was better than nothing at all.

Rafi focused almost all of his perception onto the road, muttering under his breath, silently cursing the snow. Still, he managed to turn on the radio, scanning for some music which could chase the frost away, or at least could call images about the sunny summers.

He turned onto the ramp that led to the highway. In the distance, it would become a bridge and then the park. He was beginning to relish the chance to embrace nature already.

Even if it was somewhat ravaged.

The jaguar sat up on the seat, and placed his head onto Rafi’s shoulder, while watched the world outside the car. He looked interested in the swirling snow, but then he noticed the green of the park, far ahead them. The great cat sneaked through the two front seat, and sat onto the passenger’s seat. He placed his paws on the console and bowed to the windshield, as he tried to see what is it there. 

Rafi groaned when the feline pushed his hand, the car shivered on the road for a moment, but then he managed to hold the direction. “Hey, pal, don’t kill us!” he growled to him.

The car had long since crossed the steel corridor of the great suspension bridge. In the grey of the early day, a condition created by the great sweeps of wind-blown snow, everything around them on their passage--whether it be other cars or trucks, the buildings on the horizon or the vague outline of the water below--was rendered mere silhouette in the vast vagueness.

It’s a bit surrealistic, Rafi thought. A lonely young man in his car, going to somewhere, in a big bridge, with an imaginary friend with him, and all the white and grey around them. Their green was the only color in the middle of the picture, bright outside the car, and jade inside the hair, in an odd contrast. His vision became blurred, he drove with instincts, without real perception as he felt the scene around and converted it into an artist’s dream. It’d be a great drawing, he thought.

Rasgar, predictably saw it long before he did. But as the car drifted down into the lane that led to the park, though, Rafi too saw the spot of green at which the long road ahead terminated. And, approaching closer and closer, it began to settle upon him that he had finally reached Man Ray Park.

Apparently, the last place in the world that was green and alive.

The sight of any green beside his own color surprised him. He heard that the park is alive, despite the Forever Winter, but he didn’t really believe that. He focused his vision again, as he tried to notice the details, but then weren’t close enough yet.

The green shadows were drawing closer, towering, verdant silhouette, almost as wide as the eye could see. As they drew nearer, Rafi could see that the road that he and Rasgar drove was forked into three separate causeways; they stuck to the one that stabbed out directly into the heart of the forest. Soon enough, they found themselves passing a sign at the side of the road, tall and wooden, as if made of a great block of petrified wood, letters carved into its surface read MAN RAY PARK. The black and white picture of a man in a beret smoking a cigarette in one of those long plastic holders, just above a neat handlebar moustache, somehow affixed just below the lettering.

Rafi's car suddenly passed through what seemed like a curtain of the snow. As he went forward, when the windshield wipers cleared it free of frozen precipitation, he noticed that no longer did winter white seem to fall on the vehicle. In fact, from his new perspective, there was a distinct place in which the snowfall simply ceased to be, as if warded away by some sort of hemispherical magic. Awestruck and slack-jawed, he looked ahead of himself.

The forest, giant and looming, was a lush green, brilliant and thing with living, growing things.

Here was the place where springtime had gone into hiding.

He almost ran the car off the road, for the sheer shock of the sight.

Rafi instinctively took off his foot from the gas as he looked the living, breathing forest in wide amazement. He looked at Rasgar, watching the expressions on the great feline’s face. He smiled when he saw that it mirrored his own feelings almost exactly. Rafi stretched his right hand to stroke his buddy, to confirm him that he feels the same, without words. He didn’t stop the car, just slowed down a little, to elongate the time that they could spend with the crossing of this wonder.

The road wound through the midst of the park, bracketed on either side by tall, stout trees of all kinds, their broad, leafy boughs reaching up high above him to form a canopy of their own. Once again, his car was plunged into dimness, but this one created by the powerful forces of nature, alive and well in this pinprick of brilliant, vibrant green. Rasgar, next to him, suddenly sat up to attention, watching a family of raccoons at play at the edge of the forest, slowly passing by the car. His tail lashed back and forth and he eyed them carefully before they were lost to the framed edge of the glass, left behind.

Rafi watched trails bleed away from the main road, paths meant for hiking or bicycling, other, smaller roads designed to lead into other portions of the enormous park. In amazement, the whole way, as they proceeded on their journey, though the last living place on Earth.

“We must stop here on our way back home. At least for a few minutes. It’s amazing.” He said, but his thoughts went after Carmilla, again, as he remembered the last night when they agreed that they will explore the park together. So many things to do, with so many people, whom were kind for his heart, he wondered, but then he turned his gaze back to the road, and continued their way to the City Hall.

Once he'd emerged outside of the park's confines, the most difficult part of his journey was once again becoming used to driving in the battering snowstorm, the push of the wind against his car and the reduced visibility from the thick winter white. Actually getting to City Hall was not a difficult thing, really. It was less than five minutes away from the exit, his drive swinging him wide to the east and then somewhat south until he could see the rough outline of the glittering dome that marked the center of Elysium City's administration. There, he found that, like most places in the city, the edifice had a large underground parking garage, which he navigated his car into, down a series of ramps until he finally arrived at Sub-Basement #3. He ended up parking in a space marked 44-3, between a weathered Dodge pickup truck and a new Mitsubishi Eclipse, the vague color of burned rust.

Opening his door, he found to his surprise that the garage seemed to be heated and dry, the air around him relatively comfortable to the skin. Not far from where he parked, he saw that there was an elevator that led, he presumed, up into the building above.

Now, it was just a matter of deciding whether or not to bring along Rasgar.

The great jade jaguar sat patiently on the passenger seat, as if waiting to be invited out.

Rafi stood there, his hand on the top of the opened door. He hesitated for a moment. In this office they already know what I am and who I am, he thought, so there is no reason to hide the jaguar down here. Then he shrugged and waved to Rasgar to come out. 

The feline excitedly bounded out over the car's center console and then, after a momentary spring off of the driver's seat, he shot out through the open door, onto the parking garage's concrete floor. Rafi had to laugh at the excited look in his expressive green features, so happy just to be allowed to come with him.

Rafi felt him bump his head up affectionately against the meat of his thigh as he was opening his trunk. His purring, so powerful that he could feel it vibrate through his pants, even in the momentary contact.

Once he was outside, he pulled off his coat, and locked it into the trunk of the car, then locked the car and went to the elevator. He pushed the button, and waited patiently until it arrived.

The doors opened gently before him, accompanied by a soft chime.

Meanwhile he looked down to the jaguar, and scratched the fur on his neck. “Don’t cause any trouble, even if you’ll see a rabbit or something, okay?” Rafi smiled at his partner, and tried not to show the little nervousness that came onto him. He never really liked the offices and the paperwork. His world was more close to the streets and the parks, to the people and the nature. But now he knew that for his sister, he must do what he can. Maybe they could provide information about other residents and he would find partners to form a roda, he hoped.

Rasgar looked up at him happily as the doors closed off the parking garage in front of him. The both of them began to feel the subtle sensation of acceleration upward as the elevator moved within its shaft. The great jade jaguar began to once again rub the side of his face against Rafi's hip, then thigh, a sure a feline's way of saying I love you as existed.

The move made him grin widely, as usual. He reached down and dug his fingers into the feline’s soft fur, to stroke him underneath. Then he pulled him closer and whispered to him. “Stay close, friend.”

They had seemingly only just begun in their journey up into the main portion of City Hall when the car stopped once again. The doors opened once more, the soft chime sounding again, and when they parted, Rafi immediately knew they'd reached their destination. A fast elevator, he thought, to be sure.

The technological achievements of the city made him wonder. They were everywhere, from the tiniest things like his phone, through this elevator to the biggest marvel, the Man Ray Park. It was amazing and lonely in the world, and he could participate to turn it living, he thought, and smiled even wider.

The panorama that the opened doors revealed, as Rafi stepped out, was a gigantic ovular area, with a domed ceiling that opened high above his head. It reminded him somewhat of some epic Greek ampitheatre; the floors were all a sterling, polished white marble which seemed to be cut of a single, mammoth sheet. Along the walls of the place, the bright white flowed up into evenly-spaced Doric columns that were designed to appear to hold up the dome. Up above, light filtered through the crystal-clear panes of glass that, while covered with snow, still somehow admit radiance. They were set at angles so as to make a perfect curve, make the small white slats that held them in place as minimal as possible.

They stopped as they step out from the elevator, and stared around the open agora, like two boy scouts from the back of the country. The artist in Rafi immediately started to measure the angles and the distances, his endless imagination began to create ornamentation to the hall, to form it to his taste.

Walking around in the expanse were dozens of people of all kinds, young and old, men and women, dressed in all manner of clothing. The way the place was designed, it seemed colossal in scope.

Rafi looked around and tried to catch every unusual feature on the crowd, like an odd color or partner, like his own, to memorize it for later use. He also tried to find the counter where he could arrange his goal.

He found that, upon closer inspection of the crowd, he saw more than one curiosity. Off to his left, a woman whose entire body seemed to be composed of constantly shifting rainbow-colored lights was walking by, glittering starmotes surrounding her every movement. Over to his left, after passing by a hulking man in a black overcoat that was nearly twenty feet tall, five brothers passed by, each one exactly identical to the other, from their haircut to their manner of dress to the tone of their skin, each one walking in unison as they passed by. A cute little girl and her mother passed him, excusing themselves before walking into the open elevator; it took him a moment before he realized that neither of them set foot on the ground--both hovering scant inches above the floor. They were joined by a man who wore an empty glass bubble on his shoulders like a helmet that was full of absolutely nothing and another who had skin the color of safety-flag orange with hair that was so transparent as to only be visible when the light hit in just so. On his way past, he stopped and pet Rasgar on the top of his jade-furred head and smiled. "A handsome cat," he remarked, in an accent he couldn't place immediately. Rafi thought he smelled vaguely of anise.

On the first hand Rafi was surprised that Rasgar let the man touch him, without taking any rejecting motion. “Yes, he is,” he admitted, and stroked the feline’s head by himself, too. “thank you. He appreciates your comment, I know.” He said, and eyed the man’s features, but tried not to be rude with his staring.

It was something out of character for the great green cat, to be sure. Normally, Rafi would have expected the strange man to have pulled back a bloody stump after petting Rasgar, especially with the odd scent of licorice that followed him about that he couldn't imagine smelled pleasant to his sensitive nose. He wondered if perhaps, since he'd made him real, there was some kind of other force at play now, something that made him understand that such behavior wasn't acceptable here.

Was it as simple as his telling him to behave in the garage? It seemed difficult to believe.

But there it was, the same.

All of the strange sights and senses made him have to take a moment to gather himself again before getting on with his task. He thought he saw a series of booths at the far west side of the room with lines formed before each one.
	
Rafi was glad that his power came without such changes in his appearance. He had no prejudice against these people, he watched all deformity and wonder with the artist’s eyes and endless imagination, so he could find the beauty even in the strangest sight. To be here, and watching all these people, it was like an odd dream or a scene from a cartoon, when the main figure got hit or drunk some substance and began to see visions. Well, at least until it attacks his nose, he added in his mind.

Rafi had only stepped out of the elevator a moment when a neatly-dressed man approached him, a small digital clipboard in his arms and a silver nametag that said Kurt Walker, Elysium City Administration. He smiled as he closed to greet him. "Hello, sir!" he said in a friendly tone. Welcome to City Hall!"

Rafi was surprised, but managed to say “hi”, without looking too rude. The sudden approach and the clothes of the man reminded him why he didn’t like the offices at all.

"How can I help you today?"

“Erm, I think yes. I’m looking for an officer who could help me to fill an immigration form for my sister. She will move down here, to me, and I thought we should report it to the city. Was I right?” Rafi looked at the man with a faint smile and a look in his eyes like he waited for some encouragement. 

The man smiled politely. "Absolutely, sir," he nodded. He pointed at the lines to his right. "If you'd like to speak to an organic representative, you need to get into one of those lines. If you don't mind speaking to a Virtual Intelligence," he looked to the left, at a series of small, podium-like arrangements, "any of our inorganic reps can help you over there." Rafi noticed that there were no lines in front of them at all. Behind Walker, he saw a young girl wearing a light sarong that seemed to be trailed by a brightly singing coterie of songbirds off all sorts of merry colors. At first he was worried--Rasgar seemed mesmerized by their flitting movements and gentle chirps and whistles--but he was relieved to see that he obeyed him, staying at his heel.

Rafi followed the girl and her birds with his eyes, just like Rasgar, and put his hand on the jaguar’s shoulder, but when he saw that he won’t chase them, Rafi turned the move into scratching, silently complimenting him.

Rasgar purred loudly, rubbing the side of his head affectionately against his thigh. Rafi was sure now that he could actually tell that it was meant as a way of rewarding his good behavior. He would have to make a point of determining how deeply their new understanding ran, he silently decided.

“I also have a question that maybe you could answer me. Can I get any information about other residents of the city? I’m looking for capoeira dancers, but I don’t know where to begin my search.” He patted Rasgar’s head, and stroked his ear, to be sure that he is with him, while he waited for the answer.

He chuckled slightly. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that kind of dancing, sir," he admitted. "But one of our representatives should be able to help you," he added. "They're trained for that kind of thing."

“Thank you for your help, Mr. Walker.” He answered to the guide, and then walked onto the VI’s direction. He would appreciate more to talk with an -what was the word the man used?- organic officer, but there were too many who arrived before him, and he didn’t want spend to much time here, so he choose the shortest line.

A small robot, no bigger than a beachball, coated in a silvery sheen, rolled its way over to one of the podium-structures, he saw. Not far behind, a woman with short-cropped hair the color of the pure snows outside, wearing a dark, vaguely diaphanous dress.

A city of miracles, indeed.

Rafi moved to a free podium, but stopped before it, and studied it’s structure, while time-to-time glanced over the others in hope that he could figure out how it works. After that, he decided to start in by himself, too. Rasgar remained behind him, still unusually calm and obedient, and excited in the same time, slapping his tail from one side to another, and eyeing everything around them. When Rafi stepped in, he sat down before the machine, yawned, more to show his sharp teeth to everyone than because he felt sleepy, then kept one eye on his master while observed the surroundings.

As Rafi came close to the podium, he noticed that the top of it was set with a small keyboard and mousepad, a small monitor inset into the wooden cabinet. Another step closer and, in the air just behind the elevated riser, a girl suddenly sprang into being.

Rafi stopped at the moment, eyeing the phenomena. His first thought was some kind of teleport power, but then he reminded himself that it’s a VI, so that can’t be.

Well, it wasn't exactly a girl, per se, Rafi decided. Actually, he could tell that she was some type of light projection, though he could not truly confess to seeing where the light that formed her came from. Further, she was denser than any simple hologram that he had ever seen before, the way that she was brought into life giving her a certain depth and weight, a feel of genuine authenticity, that he had never seen before in any type of pure lightshow. Aside of the way that she flickered occasionally, gained some kind of gentle translucence when the light struck her just so...she looked exactly like a real girl. Or at least a perfect likeness thereof.

He stared at her, measuring the technique which made her look alive, and all with his senses he tried to catch the core of the trick. His powers worked somehow similar, he knew, because practically said he created holograms, too. With this ability and with the artist within him, he had to admit that the girl was perfect.

She was maybe six inches shorter than he. She had hair that was someplace between blonde and brunette, depending on the way that the light struck her, short and tucked neatly beneath a little black beret that bore the city's ubiquitous crecent moon seal, with the woman and her hunting cat tucked within its curve. She wore an artsy black ensemble that matched her chapeaux and a white sash. With her peaches and cream complexion and big smile, he imagined she wouldn't have looked terribly out of place in some Parisian cafe. "Hello, sir!" she greeted him. "Welcome to City Hall! My name's Glenda and I'd be happy to help you today!"

Rafi saw that she wore a nametag like the man that had greeted him before, confirming her identity. Her voice sounded so real that he began to feel a little odd, knowing that she wasn't actually alive. Now he knew why people avoided the VI's. It wasn't because they weren't good; they were a bit too good.

“Well, hello.” Began Rafi, unsure about how he should call the VI. “First I’d like to fill a check-in form in my sister’s name, to register at the city.”

"I can certainly help you with that today!" she replied brightly, from across the podium. "Could you please tell me your name and type in your social security number into the podium? Then tell me the name of the individual you'd like to sponsor for city immigration?" she asked politely. Rasgar was sniffing at her foot curiously with a strange expression on his face. Absently, he was aware of the funny little ball-shaped robot rolling across the marble floor behind him, making a noise that reminded him precisely of that what a pinball makes, within an arcade game's cabinet. Gone, only a moment later.

"I can either approve or deny your request within four minutes or less," she smiled proudly.

Rafi already began to move forward to the keyboard when the meaning of the sentence struck him. Until now, he didn’t even think about it that maybe they won’t approve Jo, and won’t allow her to live here legally. She’ll come down without any doubt, but it would cause trouble if she had to do it undercover. ‘Aw’, he froze even more, ‘she is underage… and I have no paper from mom… I hope they won’t ask to present them right now’ he thought. Then he shrugged, and went to the keyboard. “I’m Rafael Gurney.” he said and meanwhile typed the number. “The individual we talking about is my younger sister, Joana Gurney.”

Almost the same instant that he’d pressed the ENTER key on the podium, Glenda replied back to him. “Your identity is confirmed Mr. Gurney,” she smiled pleasantly. “I am currently processing a background check on your sister, Joana.”

She paused only a moment after informing him of the fact. “Joana is currently a minor, Mr. Gurney,” she said, meeting his eyes. Glenda’s blue eyes held no type of judgment within them; they were kind and soothing, he thought. Whoever had designed them, he decided had probably made them that way deliberately, so as to put everyone that she came into contact with at ease. They had done a masterful job. “Will you be acting as her legal guardian during her residence within the city? Additionally, on what date does she desire to officially immigrate to the city? Will she be residing with you upon her arrival?”

“I know, she’s my younger sister.” He answered wryly. Then sighed and nodded to the holo-girl. “I guess I have to, so my answer is yes, I’ll be her guardian.” Or she’ll be mine, he added in mind, and grinned widely with the thought.

"Thank you, Mr. Gurney," Glenda nodded graciously. "Joana's immigration application has been updated, listing you as her guardian." The way she said it, an obvious acknowledgment of statement meant to offer him a chance to either change his mind or contradict her, it was one of the few things that separated her from a human being. It was something, simply put, he thought, that a computer would say. In a way, it was a crack in the sublime facade that her programmers had created, a tell-tale sign that she was machine, not man.

Was she intelligent enough to wish it different? he wondered, but then decided that the consideration was far too weighty for the moment. That was something best considered some other time and probably by either scientists or philosophers.

“The plan is that she’ll arrive during the weekend, but this can change.” Rafi looked into those brilliant blue eyes. “Is this a fundamental question in the allowing-process or not? I could call her to fix the date if needed.”

"Not at all, sir," she replied gently. "Once the immigrations paperwork is officially filed--if Joana's case is approved--she will have a thirty day time frame in which to arrive at one of the many checkpoints that surround the city and offer her intent to enter the city. Your answer is simply meant to give the Elysium City Border Guard another piece of information to aid in positively identifying her when she arrives."

The young meta swallowed and tilted his head a little. “Yep, she’ll live with me, for the first time, that’s sure.” Then he furrowed his brows and looked questioningly at Glenda. “Why? Is there a probability that she could live on her own, despite her age?” He didn’t really believe that, but he was surprised by so many things in this city already, that he knew that a question never hurts. “Then a flat right next to mine would wonderful, if we could open a door between the two.” When he spoke, Rafi suddenly could see before himself the layout, and began to smile faintly.

"The city is largely unconcerned with Joana's eventual living arrangement, Mr. Gurney," Glenda nodded. "There are already many minors that, for one reason or another, live separately from their legal guardians and if Joana chooses to be among him, the city believes in her right to do so, provided she has the mans to make such a situation tenable. The question is meant to ensure two conditions: that Joana has an established citizen that maintains a residence within the city limits to reside with in the case that she is either unable or unwilling to maintain a residence of her own, and that Elysium City Emergency Personnel have an official address at which she may be contacted until she chooses to maintain her own residence. The first condition assures her protection from catastrophic loss or homelessness. The second condition is a legal and administrative function."

Rafi knew what she meant quite clearly. If she turned out to be a criminal--they'd want to know where to find her. It made all the sense in the world.

“Is Joana possessed of superhuman abilities, Mr. Gurney?” she asked. The question, he found, was more difficult to answer than he’d expected it to be.

“Well, she has some, but they manifested only a few days or week ago, so we are not quite sure about their nature.” He paused and thought about Jo, but then he smiled as he decided that she’ll be allright now. “Yes, she has superhuman abilities.” Not only by word, but in her heart, too, he thought.

Glenda seemed to take his response in perfect stride, as if it was something she heard every day. As he looked around himself--he decided that that was probably exactly right. "Joana will be subjected to a routine scanning process by the Elysium City Border Guard upon her entry to the city," she said. And with the declaration, Rafi remembered his own scanning very well. He'd read about it in the immigrations paperwork he'd gotten from the library, back in San Francisco and in his own mind, had built it up to be a intricate affair, something like a physician's examination. But when he'd arrived, all that the Border guard that had met him at his car had done was aim a small gun at him, like the type cashiers used in retail stores, holding it on him for perhaps fifteen seconds. And that had been that. "At this time, you may either declare the nature of her superhuman abilities and have them registered with the city or withhold that information at your discretion. If you choose to register this information, it will be treated as secure and personal information, only to be used by Elysium City Police and Emergency personnel as needed. If you choose to withhold it, no action will be taken against either you or Joana. It is strictly your choice."

“I see” nodded Rafi. “I wish I could tell you what her abilities are, it would be good for me, too, but unfortunately I can’t do that. All we know is that they are developing and might change.” He shrugged and let out a little sigh, too. He seemed very embarrassed as he stood before the counter. “But this can be added later, if she chooses that way, so for now, I leave it that way.”

"That's quite fine, sir," Glenda smiled gently. And the way that she did it made Rafi feel even more self-conscious and embarrassed for his answer. She wasn't a real person, he had to remind himself. Why are you acting like it? He decided that it was because the illusion was so masterful--like one of his own, really, it was easy to buy into her actually being somebody hiding behind a holographic projector. "Her immigrations application will be filed without registration for now," she continued as he mused on her reality/unreality. "As you suggested, Joana can always choose to register at a later date."

"Joana's status as an active metahuman affords her access to the Fujikawa Elysium City Trust, by which she may free housing and be assigned employment based on her specific interests and skills," Glenda continued. Rafi knew of it well, it was the same program by which he now had his wonderful home and his burgeoning business. "Would she like to take advantage of that immediately or at a later date?"

“This is a question which only she could answer, honestly. We’ll return to you if she decides herself.” He smiled at the VI, and remembered Jo’s amazement when she was thinking about the same thing.

"Please feel free to have Joana come to City Hall or the Ministry of Metahuman Affairs at any time she'd like to take advantage of, or get more information on, the Fujikawa Elysium City Trust," she said by way of acknowledging his answer. "If her application is accepted, she is welcome to take advantage of the program at any time, provided she remains a resident of the city."

Rafi stepped back, to see better the VI named Glenda. He managed to give a faint smile as he waited for more questions. While he waited, he looked at Rasgar from the corner of his eyes, to see how patient his jaguar is, but because he didn’t hear any growling or screams he was pretty sure that the feline is just watching and not moved an inch from his seat.

Rasgar was being entertained by all the myriad sights and sounds around the two of them, turning his head to follow with his perfect emerald eyes all of the strange things that caught his interest.

It was only another moment before Glenda spoke again. “I have excellent news, Mr. Gurney,” she smiled. “I have been given the authority to approve Joana Gurney’s immigration to Elysium City.”

“Cool” that was all he could manage to say, he became so happy. “Thank you, Glenda.” He said honestly.

She actually seemed pleased by his response, some arcane bit of programming that took him a bit aback for how genuine it appeared. "You're welcome, Mr. Gurney," she replied.

She pointed across the open concourse of City Hall to a series of boxes near where the booths manned by the city’s human representatives were arranged. Rafi saw several machines set into the wall there, people picking up set of paperwork that each spit out. “Please go to station number three and key your social security number into the terminal you’ll find there,” she instructed. “Once you’ve done that, the station will produce your official paperwork, which you may keep as an official record of your transaction,” she explained.

“Wow that was fast and easy.” Rafi looked into the direction she pointed, and noted the terminal he was directed to, then nodded and turned back to the VI.

"I'm happy to hear that you've been pleased with our service, sir," she smiled. "It's our fervent hope that Joana finds Elysium City a warm and welcoming home."

Quick and efficient; it had been less than three minutes from beginning to end. “Do you have any more questions concerning your sister’s immigration, Mr. Gurney?” she asked.

“Yup, I’d like to ask how we could find a school for her, where she could continue her studies. If there is any school with special classes for dancers, that would be great.” He paused for a moment, sighed, but then went on. “Considering her awakening abilities, maybe some help with them will not hurt, too. But this is up to her, I’m just asking after the possibilities.”

Glenda met his eyes. If she paused before responding, it was only for a fraction of an instant. It made Rafi wonder how much computing power was necessary to run Glenda and the row of other VIs that appeared from the row of podiums aside her. "I have attached contact details for several excellent educational institutions along with your paperwork, Mr. Gurney," she said. "You may inquire with each individual school and decide for yourself which you feel Joana would most enjoy and benefit from."

“Thank you, again. We’ll do that tour together with her.”

“Is there anything else I can assist you with?”

Rafi nodded and pulled his question. “I hope, yes. I’m looking for caopeira dancers in the city. Could you provide information about that if there is a roda or single dancers within? And about that how could I contact them?”

Another eyeblink-brief pause. "There are currently forty individuals that have expressed an interest in Capoeira, registered with the Elysium City Ministry of Recreation," Glenda informed him. "Further, three Roda are likewise registered with the Ministry. I have attached contact information with these individuals and the location of their meetings along with your paperwork," she smiled gently.

Rafi’s chin dropped when he heard the numbers. He hoped that there will be some dancer in the city; it was much too huge to not have a roda, but he didn’t really believe in that they will have a database on that topic.

"Do you wish to register with the Ministry of Recreation so that interested Capoeira enthusiasts might contact you as well, Mr. Gurney?" she asked.

"You can do so here and now, if you so desire."

“Hell yeah!” he agreed enthusiastically. “Sign me up, please” answered Rafi and made a half-turn to look down at Rasgar, he even bowed a little to stroke his head and share his happiness with him. He was about to turn back to the consol, when something caught his interest in the crowd, so he did the turn very slowly.

Rasgar wasn't, as usual, responding to his attention and affections; it was that, really, more than anything else that drew his attention. "You have registered with the Ministry of Recreation as a Capoeira enthusiast, Mr. Gurney," Glenda was saying. But Rafi was only barely listening, instead, following the jade eyes of his best friend into the density of the crowd around him. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

“Hold on a sec” he answered flatly over his shoulder as stopped the backturn, and focused his attention to the crowd, looking for the object of the feline’s stare.

At the other end of the jaguar's stare, Rafi saw a middle-aged man in a black suit, with dark black sunglesses on. With his blond hair cut severely, professionally, he supposed that he was a businessman, or at least that was the general aura he gave off with his attache case at his side, his expensive-looking Italian shoes. But the same, Rafi couldn't help but identify him with someone from the Secret Service or the CIA, at the same time. He had that sort of look to him, too, down to the small Bluetooth earpiece that he guessed was linked to a secreted cell phone. He was probably too old for that kind of work, but as he wound his way through the crowd, he saw that he had a pretty impressive physique, the same. Probably an athlete, as a younger man, he decided.

Glasses or not, Rafi could tell that he was staring directly at him as he came through the crowd.

‘Who could he be?’ he wondered silently. It couldn’t be helped, the thought about the SHIELD agents popped into his mind. ‘Will this man be one of them again? Or he is from another agency?’ And the most important question remained to the end of the chain: ‘Why me?’ he murmured under his breath.

He was probably a dozen steps away when Rasgar started to growl at him, deep in his throat.

Rafi stepped down from the podium, right next to his companion, and put his hand on his neck, where the head attaches to it. He both intended to calm him down, and to strengthen himself up. “What’s up, pal?” he asked the jade feline. “What’s wrong with him?” He was pretty sure that the man wouldn’t attack him in the City Hall, but Rasgar’s reaction still made him feel uncomfortable. “Be silent, please. You could rip him apart without a sound, don’t ya?” 

At his request, Rasgar settled back down, bringing his chest low to the ground. Rafi knew that his posture wasn't really completely relaxed, was kind of a position common to felines--especially great cats--that they could spring out of at prey in an eyeblink. As the man in black approached him through the crowd, the jaguar's growling reduced to an edgy purr in the well of his throat, he wasn't sure that it was an entirely bad thing.

He stretched himself up, and looked at the sunglasses as the man came closer. Rafi then waited to the approaching man to take the first step in the conversation.

The man stopped. He was perhaps five feet from he and Rasgar when he spoke. "Are you quite done yet, sir?" he looked at the shimmering form of the VI, then back at Rafi. "I apologize for the interruption, if you are not," he nodded politely. "I am Johann Keller," he introduced himself. "And you, if I am not mistaken, are Rafael Gurney--the famous tattooist from San Francisco, are you not?" he asked.

His face, beneath his glasses, curled into a broad smile.

His accent, Rafi thought, was unmistakably German.

‘Famous tattooist?’ he asked himself by thought. ‘Who the hell is this guy?’ he wondered, but he said much less loudly with a faint smile. “I’m Rafael Gurney, indeed.” Rafi stepped forward, offering his hand for a shake, then retreated next to Rasgar. 

The German shook his hand, his grin spreading wider as he acknowledged his identity. For such a large man, he had a loose, almost nonexistent handshake, Rafi thought. It also struck him that the glasses he wore were the kind worn by the blind, now that he was closer, although he had no cane nor dog to help him navigate the visual world. Perhaps he was a meta, he supposed. Here in Elysium City, anything was possible. "Gut," he replied, his native tongue dripping easily from his lips. "It is a privilege to meet you, herr künstler," he nodded.

He glanced back at the VI, and then spoke again. “Unfortunately I’m not finished yet, but may I ask how could I help you?”

He played it nice, maybe the man is a potential customer or something like that, but the feline disapproval forced him to be cautious. He didn’t remember the man from Frisco, but he made some quite good tattoo, during his trainee years, so he could hear about him. He inspected him carefully, looking after any small piece on the suit and on the man, which could lead him to a clue, to reveal his identity. And that German accent… he had never been in Europe before… Strange, at least, he thought, as he stood there, waiting for the answer.

"I apologize, Herr Gurney," he nodded. "Then I will make myself brief, ja?" He reached into his pocket as he spoke, Rafi watching his hands closely for any suspicious or quick movements. Instead, he simply withdrew a plain, white business card. Glenda stood behind her podium in silence as he did so, turned as if to watch Rafi alone. "I represent Mátuska Károly," he offered him the card in his hand. "A lady of considerable wealth, recent to our fair city. She retains me as a sort of...hunter," he explained. "When she wishes something, it falls upon me to find these things, something that I have been told I excel at."

The word ‘hunter’ struck Rafi when he heard it. ‘What kind of abilities could this blind(?) man has if he is the one-man collector of that lady?’ he wondered in mind, but he listened carefully when Keller went on.

"At any rate, Frau Károly is in search of a tattoo," he continued, eying him through his utterly dark glasses intently. This man, this...Keller, he never seemed to stop smiling. It is something, as befits a woman of her standard, a very specific piece. It has, shall, I say, a very singular significance to her, ja?" he nodded. "I have done extensive research on the piece and of the artists that create them and believe you to be one of seven men in the world that would be capable of rendering it to Frau Károly's flesh to her satisfaction. I should tell you that Frau Károly is well aware of that exclusivity...and given that, and the importance of the piece to her, she is, of course, willing to compensate you accordingly. Which is to say that the commission would be quite lucrative, should you be willing to accept it."

Rafi raised his left eyebrow questioningly when he spoke about the tattoo. It definitely caught his interest, despite the non-common circumstances of the offer. Mentioning him as one of the seven people who could do that piece of art was something astonishing, but it made him aware in the same blink, because he didn’t know from when they had so much information about him or his art. He hoped, that mostly about his art… Rafi opened his lips to ask about the tattoo, but Keller continued his speech before he could spoke a single letter.

"I wanted to contact you in person to discuss the matter, of course," he finished. "And give you my card, so we could discuss it further, if the opportunity piqued your curiosity. But I can see that you are busy," he nodded in Glenda's direction. "And so, I will not hoard any more of your precious time," he smiled. "I have said what I came to say."

“Well, okay.” Rafi said. “It is very kind that you hold my artistic abilities in such high regard.” He smiled at Keller, but his eyes were as watchful as before. “May I ask you what kind of picture should I draw if I take the offer? And that how you did you find me?” he knew that the answer probably will be very simple, but right now he just couldn’t resist asking it.

"As I said, Herr Gurney, I am compensated well to do this sort of thing," he replied somewhat cryptically. "But in the interest of setting you at ease, I attempted to contact you at the parlor you frequented in San Francisco, only to discover from several of your acquaintances that you had since migrated to Elysium City. So I traveled here to this magical city in continue my search. I would very much like to say that I came upon you by a series of brilliant deductions and a unrelenting tenacity for the hunt," he chuckled. "But that would be to lie, ja? The truth of the matter is more simple. I came here today to City Hall to see what sort of information I could find that could lead me to your door. Records, you see? Telephone, public utility, residential...this type of thing. Fate happened to smile upon me, though. I saw you while I stood in line, over there," he pointed to one of the long lines of people in wait to speak to human City Hall representatives. "I have a picture of you," he explained. "I recognized your hair immediately. It is very unique, ja?"

And here it came, the simple answer, Rafi thought. He shook his head and gave off a faint smile to Keller. “Thanks” that was all he said after it, but he noted himself silently that he must not be so paranoid.

"As for the matter of the art itself," he smiled, "you will forgive me if I am not so forthcoming. This is a matter for you and Frau Károly to speak of, as it bears significant emotional value to her. In truth, I am ill-informed to discuss it at any length, at any rate. I only know enough of this affair so as to prepare me adequately to make this contact with you. And now that I have," he nodded, "it is best that you meet with my patron to gain these sorts of answers."

“Understood” nodded Rafi. “I’ll think over it, and I’ll call you whatever I decide.”

He began to turn around to return to the crowd. "Auf wiedersein, herr künstler," he bade him farewell.

“Have a nice day, Mr. Keller” he waved to him goodbye.

Rafi looked down at the business card as he was only five steps away. Saw that the opposite side of it was all black with a symbol in its center stamped in gold foil. Filled with a bright green background, the icon was of a skull, eight tentacles erupting from its bottom to seize a globe, beneath it.

He felt a cold chill run up the length of his spine.

The small piece of paper froze between his fingers, and its chill spread across his body. Rafi stood there like someone hit by a lightning as he slowly lifted his gaze back to Keller as he walked away. That symbol, again. ‘Could it be the same reason why those robots followed him in the morning?’ he asked himself. ‘They failed and changed the way how they want me gather?’ he shook his head, to chase these thoughts away, but they didn’t want to leave. 

Rasgar, at Rafi side, seemed to sense his unease. He felt the great jade jaguar butt the top of its head against his thigh, stroking the side of his face across the thickness of his leg repeatedly. Nuzzling for affection, and to reassure his master that he remained vigilant, he knew.

From twenty feet away, in the crowd, Rafi saw a mother wearing a dark-colored silken wrap to hold her blonde hair in place. She pushed a stroller that had no wheels, like his shopping cart yesterday, floated a few inches off the ground. The toddler inside, a cute tyke of maybe two years of age thrust out a finger and pointed at Rasgar. "Kitty-cat!" he proclaimed with glee. "Momma! Kitty-cat!"

The mother looked at Rafi and smiled. The two disappeared into the thickness of the crowd.

Rasgar didn't seem to care. He simply continued to nuzzle at the side of Rafi's leg.

He knelt down to Rasgar, and stroked his fur. “Thank you, friend. Guard my back while I continue wherefore we came here.” 

Rasgar purred as if in assent. Sat back onto his hindquarters and watched the crowd vigilantly. His sheer size made the gesture like the running of a small motor at his heel. It made Rafi smile to himself, regardless of his feelings of dread.

He then stood up, and sank the business card next to the former. An instant later, he palmed the fly’s card, and focused his ability to it. “Come on, little one, help me to follow that man unnoticed” he whispered to it, and then released after Keller.

Instantly, with the subtle concentration that marked the application of his power, Rafi saw the fly spring off of the thick paper of his monster cards, which he quickly secreted once again in his coat. He watched it immediately buzz off high into the air over his head and disappear from sight just as quickly. So small as to be invisible, he knew precisely where it was just the same, the benefit of his spiritual link with the art he brought to life.

After that he returned his attention to the VI, smiled at her, and asked “Sorry about the delay. Where were we?” 

"I had asked you had concluded your business with me," Glenda replied pleasantly, apparently unconcerned with his strange meeting with the German. "Do you have any further questions, Mr. Gurney?" she asked.

Meanwhile, high into the empty space of the dome that encapsulated the main part of City Hall, Rafi sensed his watchful stranger's progress, carefully following the man that had seemed so interested in him. Taking a quick peek through his eyes, the world exploded into hundreds of identical images of what the fly took in through its compound eyes. The sudden change in perspective was almost too much to take in, almost made Rafi nauseous, so he focused his attention on just one of the images of Keller, briskly moving through the crowd towards one of the elevators. It was a different one than Rafi'd taken from the parking garage, across the length of the Hall from where he stood. If he didn't hurry, he was sure he'd lose him.

Rafi, when he saw that Keller easily lengthens the distance between him and the fly, focused more of his will into the little creature, and forced it to fly directly after the man. While it moved its wings, and made the circles that the flies usually do, it became much faster than them, because it was moved with will, not just wings. In that way the bug managed to arrive to the elevators before Keller, and settled on the jamb, waiting eagerly his arriving prey. 

When the blind man appeared, the fly pulled off from the jamb, and took a few circles in the air, trying to avoid the gaze behind the sunglasses, and then went inside the same booth as the man. 

Rafi then let him loose to continue the watch, and returned to his own senses.

“Ah, okay. I think it’s all I needed now. At least I can’t think of anything else. Thank you for your help, Glenda!” Rafi waved goodbye to the holo-girl, and stepped off the podium. He tilted his head to sign the feline to come with him and directed his steps to the station where he could get the papers. 

"Have a nice day, Mr. Gurney!" Glenda enthused. "Thank you for visiting City Hall!"

Rasgar, unperturbed by the VI simply followed Rafi's instructions and set off with him in the direction of the printer stations. There, he found the process of getting his paperwork just as simple as dealing with Glenda had proven to be. He did exactly as she'd said, arriving at the station with the large number 3 over its top, something like a hexagonal pillar with six identical keypads that hovered over a small tray. When he followed her instructions and keyed his social security number into the pad, he was greeted by ten sheets of paper that spit out of some inner mechanism within the pillar into the tray below. The first thing that caught his eye was the official Elysium City Immigrations forms, the G-325C he'd had to fill out when he'd first decided to come to the city himself. At the bottom of the paperwork, the declaration: THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN PRINTED ON STARK GREENPAPER! THINK GLOBAL--THINK GREEN! Rafi was pretty sure it was some kind of environmentally friendly paper he held in his hands, though it was sort of an oxymoron. It was as white as anything in creation.

The name didn't seem to matter so much, though. In his hands, he had the official papers that would allow his sister access to the Imperial City. That, if nothing else, was enough to make him want to jump for joy.

He quickly riffled through them, to check it that there are all of them, even the ones with the dance-circles and addresses. When he saw that everything is all right, grinned widely, and looked down to the jade feline at his side. “Jo could come now! I can’t wait to introduce her and you to each other. I know that the pair of you would cause a lot of trouble to me” he winked at his companion and gently pulled one of his ears.

Rasgar offered a gentle growl in response to the ear-tugging, something that reminded Rafi of the kind of noise a hen-pecked husband might make. The way he did it, following beside him with a shake of his head that made his ears flop back and forth on the side of his head audibly, he couldn't help but laugh.

After he pocketed the papers into his backpack, Rafi fished out his cell phone. He sighed and began to write an SMS, while headed back to the elevators, leaving the role of the sentry to Rasgar. “Hi Carm!I miss you,too.When’ll you come back?I have news,both bad&good.& I need your help or someone’s from your employer.But this isn’t phone-topic.Kiss&Love,Rafi”. He read it once, and then twice, but his finger trembled only over the send button. 
 
He ended up sharing the elevator with a young girl with a black leather motorcycle jacket that head EXPLOITED on the back over the top of a red skull. She had one of the singularly most resplendent mohawk haircuts he'd ever seen, easily rising a foot over her head and going from a bright red at her scalp, through orange yellow and green before turning a violent ultramarine at its tips. Her face had enough piercings in it that he thought she should avoid magnets. Even with the mohawk, he'd be surprised if she was as tall as him. She paid him no attention at all--or even Rasgar, for that matter--as he stabbed the final key on the phone. She looked like she might be angry with something or someone.

He was so lost in his thoughts that if Rasgar didn’t stroke his head to his thigh along with a gentle purr, he would’ve hit the elevator’s door that was sure. He shook his head, looking around, and then smiled at the jaguar. “Thanks pal. I’m here now” he said and called the elevator. Re-read the message again, and hit that button, too. Message sent, said the caption on the screen…

The phone's face returned to his wallpaper, the picture of Rasgar he'd sent Joana earlier that day. There was no taking it back, now.

The first move was made, he thought. From now on, his future actions were in need to get more information about this lady, her ‘hunter’ and that symbol. He sighed, and put the phone back to its place on his belt, and then looked around. This was the time, when he truly noticed the girl in the booth, and sized up her, with an elfish grin on his face. He wondered why she so pissed off was, but he didn’t ask directly, just raised one of his eyebrows.

The elevator drifted down to his level, the doors parting before him at the gentle sound of a chime. The girl with the mohawk strode off quickly out of the small cabin of the thing, heading off towards a half-rusted, powder blue Ford Escort that would have surprised Rafi if it actually started, let alone managed to run. Even from where he stood, he saw his car awaiting him.

Rasgar ran off ahead of him, sat patiently right next to the driver's side door.

Rafi smiled at the jaguar, but not fastened his steps. When he reached the car, and opened it, Rasgar jumped in to the passenger’s seat where he settled himself. Rafi sat in, too, and looked at the seat, shaking his head lightly. “Poor seat” he said while he reached out and stroked the green fur of the cat. “Now it really feels your weight, pal” he answered to Rasgar’s interrogative look and growl, smiling wide. Then he leaned back, and looked out the front window with misty eyes. ‘My nosey fly, where are you?’ he asked himself, and switched his senses to the bug.

Rafi flipped the invisible switch of his power in his imagination. In an instant, he went from staring out of the windshield of his car, at the grey concrete block wall he was parked before. Blinked his eyes once--

--and then he was inside an elevator, descending rapidly. All around him, the world had once again become the expansive mosaic that the fly's compound eyes captured it as. It took him, as always a moment to get his bearings, get used to the odd point of view. As he did it, he realized that he was standing on the great field of black that made up the back of Keller's suit coat. Two other individuals were in the elevator with him, as well. One was a tall, gaunt-looking woman, her long face and poor dental hygiene reminding him something of a horse. She was actually taller than Keller, wearing a drab brown pantsuit outfit. On the other side of him, a man that was an obvious meta, just for his gigantic, almost-cartoonlike mesomorphic build. He was muscle atop of muscle from his shoulders to his ribcage, which then trailed off to something like a greyhound's build, lean to the point of severity. He wore an ill-fitting coat (how hard it must be for some metas to buy their clothes! Rafi considered) and sweatpants that barely contained his massive thighs. Every time he moved, even slightly, his face reddened with visible pain. None of them looked at one another, never interacted. He was relatively confident that they were strangers.

Eventually, the elevator stopped and its doors opened with the same gentle chime he'd heard himself only a moment ago. The muscular man left first, then Keller behind him, with the woman last. He noticed that she saw him, stared at him for a moment. For an instant, he actually thought she might try and shoo him away, but she changed her mind and walked away, off in the direction of her car.

The fly froze on on the coat as Rafi stared at the woman through the faceted eyes of the fly, and tried to persuade her with that look to turn away. “No, no, no, I don’t want to get caught” he thought, and sighed silently when she turned away. “Sheesh, that was close…”

Keller made a straight line for his, as well. It looked like a new model BMW, every bit as black as his suit. He reached into his pocket, touched a small button, then a second, which disarmed his car alarm with an audible double-tone. He opened the door, slid into the driver's seat. To avoid being squashed, Rafi--from the fly's point of view--flew off of his back, taking a new seat up atop the car's headrest.

Rafi grimaced as he watched the back of Keller’s head, but then turned his attention to the dashboard, and the windshield in front of him. He searched after the license plate number of the car, to memorize; probably it will be helpful later.

Sitting down, he produced a cellular phone from the front pocket of his suit coat. Dialed the pound key and then the number 0. Rafi listened closely as he waited from his intended recipient to pick up. "Null, das ist zweiundvierzig. Ich habe kontakt mit der künstlerin. Er wird erwartet, um ihn schnell, denke ich. Er ist durchaus zur schaffung der dichtung."

“Oh, shit” murmured Rafi under his breath in his car. “F*@& German again.“ He then focused his attention, and tried to remember the words, even if he didn’t understand them. The only thing he understood was that the speech was about some artist, probably about a woman, because Keller called him Künstler, and now talked about a künstlerin.

He paused for a moment. "Ja. Er war der vorbereitung auf einen bekannten wanderte. Ich weiß nicht, wem, aber ich denke, es unwahrscheinlich, dass es sache. Ich glaube nicht, dass er weiß, dass wir seine frau." He watched him smile that cool, confident smile of his.

"Ja. Natürlich," he responded, nodding to himself as he did so.

"Heil Hydra," he finished before turning over the car's motor.

After Keller finished his phonecall, Rafi shrugged, and then he moved out of sight, to the back of the headrest, to avoid being noticed from the mirror. He will hear anything there, too, and he could follow the way, too, so it will be safer, he decided.

He then blinked, and returned to his own senses. Rasgar watched him with a little worry on his cheek, aware to that he didn’t was there really. Rafi smiled at him and stroked his tail. “Its okay, pal. I was just curious where that blind man went.” He paused and made a thinking face. “If he is blind even, because he has a bright BMW, so some way he must sense the surroundings.” 

The great green jungle cat seemed much more at ease as Rafi assured him that all was well. As he nuzzled his hand affectionately, it made him wonder just how much of what he said Rasgar was capable of understanding. Clearly, he was different than any other work of art he had previously brought to life. But what exactly did that entail?

Was it because Rasgar was his best detailed critter? Or because he came down from his skin, from his heart? Or was it because he chose him as his partner and because of that Rasgar was animated almost every time he could do it without being noticed? Or simply, the wonder that he could bring him into the real, tangible world, changed something in him? Rafi didn’t really know, but for now, it didn’t matter. He smiled at the jade feline, and stroked his head fondly.

Rasgar sat dutifully on his hindquarters in the middle of the passenger seat as he waited for his master to direct the car out of the parking lot. It made him wonder if there was such a thing as seatbelt laws for jaguars in Elysium City. But Rafi wasn't quite ready to leave yet, either. He still had a very important decision to make, regarding his friend the nosy fly.

And of course, Herr Keller.

“The question is, what should we do now? Shall I follow him with car? Or leave it to the fly, but he gets out my range, I’ll loose him. Or shall I wait till Carm’s response? It’d be much safer, I think.” He looked at the jaguar, but he was talking to himself. He knew that Rasgar wouldn’t answer, as usual. He developed this habit, when he was alone, and he needed someone to talk to. If Jo’d come down, and if Carm will arrange her move to Elysium, this will change a bit, he hoped. He loved the feline, but sometimes an answer could help a lot.

Rasgar didn't disappoint him a bit, simply looking over at him from the other side of the car, cocking his head slightly, thoughtfully as if to say, I thought we were leaving.

Rafi chuckled at the sight and shook his head. “Patience, my friend, just for a minute or so.”

Within the other car, Keller smoothly began to pull away, navigating his vehicle up the slope that led outside, back into the snowstorm that constantly blanketed the Earth. Through the fly's eyes, Rafi watched the German reach down and touch a button on his radio, prompting a CD to begin playing. A moment later, the BMW's cabin was filled with powerful-sounding classical music, which Keller began to hum along with. He turned the car easily out onto the main road that ran in front of City Hall, smiling that everpresent, satisfied grin of his. He had no problem at all steering the car, even in the snowstorm; Rafi was beginning to find it increasingly difficult to believe that he was blind.

Maybe he was using a special sense or simply faked the blindness. Or more accurately, Rafi was wrong, when he thought that he is blind, just by the glasses, he thought.

He could feel the slight tension, back where he sat, when one of his creations began to strain the outer limits of his power's range. Absently, he jotted down the license plate number he'd seen on his way with Keller inside the vehicle. California, VHE-782. Only a few moments later, he felt his power strain one final time before he could see no more through the fly's eyes, felt it discorporate and fade from reality's veil. Keller had probably never noticed.

Chapter VIII – Dancing around 

Rafi sighed, and opened his eyes. “That’s it. The man is gone, and I have to wait to get any information about him or his employer.” He grimaced wryly, and shook his head. If Carm will not respond until the morning, I’ll have to search for the agents. I’m sure that they are still following me somehow” he said to Rasgar, but then shrugged. “We’ll see, don’t we?”

Rasgar leaned over towards Rafi. And just when he expected him to bump the top of his head against his, as he liked to do when he wanted to show his affection, instead, he licked the side of his face with his great, flat tongue. The spicules on his tongue made it a rough, if loving, gesture. And as he did it, not only was Rafi treated to the sensation of the jaguar’s spittle all across his cheek, but the wafting scent of his feline breath. It made Rafi unable but to make a face; how it was that an illusion just borne could smell quite that that eluded him.

“Oh, boy” he chuckled “What did you eat by morning?” he said as he stroked the cat’s back firmly in response. “We must find a way to clean your mouth and teeth” he stated, but grinned widely.

The massive jungle cat seemed pleased that his affection had been received so well and happily laid down in the passenger side chair, curling himself into a green, spotted ball. He looked like he might go to sleep.

Rafi, by contrast, was looking for a tissue to clean his face.

He opened the rack in front of the passenger seat and fished out a tissue. Then the looked it, shook his head once and grabbed another one, too. With the two white paper strip he cleaned the drool from his face, and then touched the slightly reddened skin, which was refined by the jaguar’s harsh tongue. Rafi watched his friend who was already halfway into sleep, grinned and swung his head by the thought that maybe from now on, his flat won’t be out of danger if Rasgar would be in the mood for a little claw-sharpening.

He then grabbed his phone, and typed a short message “Hi elf! Most of the papers are done; you could come legally, at any time you want. I’ll be your boss, the city wanted, and I did this sacrifice;)Call me when you’re over the meeting with our parents. Rafi” After he finished he sent it to Joana, and looked at the time on the screen.

Maybe a minute later, his phone buzzed right back. Rafi couldn't help but laugh aloud when he saw Joana's message flash over the phone's tiny screen, reading: AWESOME! WILL CALL AFTER TALK WITH MOM. DISCUSS THIS BOSS THING. It seemed like his sister's spirits were back in good form, which always put a grin on his face.

His trick worked, he laughed at the message. He knew that Jo would argue over the boss word. After the talk they had today, Rafi was sure that his sister would light up the common days around him.

“Hm” he said, “It seems we have time to check one or two from the rodas.” He smiled at the thought, then went online to search the way to the addresses, which Glenda gave him.

Looking at the paperwork, Rafi saw that the list was sorted alphabetically. The names seemed to come from places all over the city, so to avoid ending up driving too far, he decided to go right down the list, picking the first two that he found that were in Hightown. Without leaving the district, he figured he could easily reach both places in little time. The first name he found was an A. ABERNATHY on Potter Street. He consulted a map on his phone and started in that general direction.

After he finished, he ignited the engine and left the parking lot.

As he'd expected, the trip didn't take him very long. Just a block away up Sterling Street, he found Potter, which was a very short, but pleasant-looking thoroughfare that was bracketed on either side by thin, tall townhouses. It took him less than five minutes to get there, he figured, thouhg he hadn't been watching the clock all that closely. 187, where the paperwork said this person lived, was more or less like the others, that particular edifice only differing for the flower box full of violets that was visible from the road, set just inside the front window of the place, the white Volkswagen Jetta parked directly before it with the bumper sticker that read I WISH MY LAWN WAS EMO SO IT'D CUT ITSELF, taped into the bottom right corner of the rear window.

Rafi chuckled on the comment happily. It seemed that the guy - or gal he reminded himself - had a good sense of humor.

There was a parking spot just behind it that Rafi found his car fit neatly into.

He led his car into the place, and killed the engine. Grabbed his coat, and looked at the jaguar. 

Rasgar didn’t move from the small ball he’d curled into. Instead, Rafi just saw him open an eye slightly. Training a great emerald upon him with some curiosity about why they might’ve stopped…but not so much as to actually prompt getting up.

“Wait here, please. I don’t want to scare them first. If I can, I’ll invite you in, okay?” he apologized.

The jaguar didn’t take it badly. He simply closed his eye again and returned on his way to slumber. It made Rafi want to laugh to himself. He supposed it had been a pretty exciting day for his friend…especially considering that he was an animal that was used to sleeping upwards of fourteen hours a day.

Then he went out to the snow, and shivered as the cold struck into his face. 

Outside his car, the day was every bit as bright as it was going to get, which meant that the sky was little more than a murky dishwater grey, the leaden belly of clouds that hung over his head only illuminated in places, where the sun came close to penetrating its thickness. It was almost as if, through some kind of wintertime alchemy, when the sunshine stuck their tops, each ray magically turned into so many snowflakes, pouring down onto the world around him. The wind was blowing in hard from the west, making a gentle whistling noise as it rushed through the gaps between the townhouses on the street and bit into his exposed skin. The snow that came with it was drifted up on his side of the street, almost a foot high at the side of the Volkswagen parked in front of his Cricket. It was a good thing the townhouses were there, he thought. Otherwise, standing out on the street might actually be painful, instead of simply unbearably cold.

This helped him not to hesitate to much, so Rafi walked up to the door, and pushed the bell.

The door opened up so quickly that it actually startled him. Not so much that it was flung open, mind you, but simply the response was so prompt that he immediately thought that the person on the other side must’ve been standing right there when he’d rung.

Rafi instinctively took a half step back, surprised by the speed of the door-opening, but he also managed to show a faint smile.

That person, he saw when the thick wood actually swung open, was a man just about his height, but much thinner, pale with long sandy brown hair tied back into a ponytail. He wore small, wire-frame glasses with circular lenses, and that, along with a peaceful, thoughtful expression on his face made Rafi think that he looked more like a college professor than a Capoeira dancer. He wore blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt with an odd texture to it, like it was made of thermal material or something.

He smiled at Rafi. “Hey,” he greeted him. The way he did it immediately struck him as friendly; his soft voice, something kind. “What’s up?”

He had a six-string electric guitar slung over his shoulder.

“Hoi. I’m Rafael Gurney, and I’m looking after A. Abernathy” the young dancer said while he offered his hand for a shake.

The man with the guitar looked very relaxed as he offered his hand in turn. His handshake was warm, something he guessed had come from recently playing his instrument. “You mean Aaron,” he nodded. Then: “C’mon in, man,” he invited him, turning aside so he could step in from out of the cold.

“Thank you” replied Rafi, and glanced back at his car before he stepped inside. He saw nothing unusual, Rasgar probably already fell asleep, and he almost could hear his snore where he stood. Rafi wondered if he would breathe the car’s window steamy or not. The thought made him smile. ‘Aaron’ he noted the name in his mind. Rafi took off his coat and hung it next to the others on the coat rack. Meanwhile he swept the snow off his boots, too.

Inside, the apartment seemed nice, the air fresh and filled with a lemony sort of smell. Not like some kind of cleaner, he decided, but more like a freshener, like a scented candle, perhaps. Immediately within the door, behind the man that had let him inside, a steep set of stairs lay. To the right and left, there were open rooms and he heard the sounds of activity toward the latter. It sounded like multiple people. “I’m Wall,” he introduced himself with a little awkward grin. Then pointed in the direction in the direction of whatever he was hearing: “Aaron’s this way, man.”

“I’m new in the city, and asked one of the City Hall’s VIs about other caopeira dancers here. They gave me some name and address, and this was the first on the list. Could you help me?”

“I dunno, man,” he shrugged, leading him into the attached room. “I dunno what Capoeira even is. Is that like disco or break-dancing?”

Rafi snorted at the comment, and waved. “It’s a dance, yeah. Or a life-style, if you are responsive for such things.”

“Oh…cool, man,” Wall replied, nodding as they made their way into the adjacent room. “Yeah, I can totally dig on that. Very cool.” The more the man ahead of him spoke--the calm and measured way he had about him--Rafi was becoming increasingly certain that he was a fairly more-than-casual smoker of substances bought out of thin plastic bags by the nickel, dime or quarter. Mind you, he didn’t exactly smell of the tell-tale fragrance of aromatic herb that he could sense as he followed him, but there was just a way of telling somebody that smoked, Rafi had come to understand. Some sort of universal body language and manner-mien that, while unspoken, was also utterly unmistakable. The notion that such a thing existed--and that he was fully-conversant in its parlance--made him smile to himself.

As they entered the room, Rafi saw that it was much smaller than he’d expected. The way that the furniture was arranged, he imagined it served as the living room of the house. The different pieces dominated the small confines, easily far too large for the house; like somebody had bought a dollhouse, then tried to furnish it with pieces from another toymaker, this one twice the size of the first. Seated around the coffee table were four other people, three men and a woman. One of them immediately stood up as the two of them walked in. “Aaron,” Wall said, looking at him, turning and sitting down on the couch next to the woman, careful so the neck of his guitar didn’t swing up and hit her as he did it. “You gotta guest, man.”

“Hi” greeted Rafi the people in the room when he walked in.

His eyes naturally gravitated to the corner of the room where a young man sat. He looked younger than any of the others, maybe fourteen or fifteen. He was fresh-faced and a blush of exertion lay at the top of fair-skinned cheeks. He had slicked-back blonde hair and vibrant blue eyes above his shirt that read MINISTRY in caption to accompany a black and white picture of a train wreck. He sat behind an array of small grey pads arranged on an ensemble, a pair of drumsticks in his hand. He smiled and gave Rafi a quick little wave, the way he did it, immediately giving him the impression of somebody shy.

Next to him, a young black man sat on the couch. His hair was incredible long, almost falling to the seat cushions he relaxed on. He was a sculpted figure, his handsome features hard and chiselled. His shirt--a breathtaking picture of ocean blue with the Quicksilver logo above it--was barely visible behind the black guitar he had in front of him.

He was sitting next to a young woman, tall and thin. She had long, straight auburn hair and was moderately attractive, Rafi thought, in an athletic sort of way. She was wearing a dark flower-print sundress and had a large barrette that swept her hair back from her face in a neat part. She was holding a bass guitar that she had to be careful not to swing into the guy sitting next to her. It was very eye-catching, plain, like unadorned and barely-finished maple wood.

Band-practice, he instantly realized. He’d walked in right in the middle of band practice.

The man smiled. He was much closer to what Rafi expected. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and black Adidas tracksuit pants. He was about the same age as him, he guessed and definitely athletic-looking. He had a muscular build that made the shirt stretch across his defined chest and broad shoulders and short, spiky blonde hair. His face was likewise-chiseled and he had prominent cheekbones that looked like they’d been cut out of stone. “It’s Capoeira,” he looked over at Wall, pronouncing the word carefully for him. “Y’know, the circle on Sundays.”

The man nodded sagely behind his glasses, as if he suddenly understood.

“Hey,” he grinned at Rafi with a disarmingly-pleasant smile, “I’m Aaron Abernathy.” He offered his hand to shake. “You dance?” he asked, apparently delighted at the thought.

Do jaguars have bad breath? Rafi bemusedly thought to himself, by way of response.

He didn’t know where the thought came, but it flashed through his mind. He must do a search after that, he thought. Rasgar was a product of his imagination, after all. A very real and tangible product, true, but he bore from his ideas. He raised an eyebrow as he thought about it. ‘Maybe all I should do is to think it away?’ he marveled silently. 

“Hi Aaron, I’m Rafael” he shook the offered hand, with a firm grip. And yeah, I dance” Rafi reflected the young man’s smile. “Am I not disturbing?”

“Naah, man,” he shook his head. Rafi watched him clear out a small spot on the coffee table, sweeping away a pizza box, atop which sat a bottle of water. “Have a seat. We’re just takin’ a little break, anyway.”

Rafi nodded and walked to the table, and then settled down to the offered spot, carefully avoiding any obstacle. His motion was like his friend’s, Rasgar. Smooth and graceful, well-balanced, like a dancer and a hunter, although he was the first one, mostly. “What type of music do you play?” he asked, addressing the whole group with the question.

"Nothing good," the black guy at the end of the couch that ended up just to his left when he took his seat replied. The comment made the girl next to him laugh; the young drummer performed a quick rimshot, the cymbal seeming to punctuate the joke.

Rafi just raised an eyebrow questioningly, with a wry smile, but he didn’t say anything, instead of just waited for the explanation.

Aaron snickered, snorting gently as he did it. "Lotsa stuff, man," he explained, a little more seriously. "We all go to school together, just get together and play for fun. Matt," he looked over at the drummer, "is real good, but...overall, we pretty much suck," he laughed. "We just play stuff each one of us likes."

"We're kinda working out Cult of Personality, right now," the black guy informed him. "Remember that song?"

“Not really” he shook his head. “The title is familiar, but I can’t put it into place.”

“You met Wall,” he pointed over at the man that’d met him at the door. “That’s Matt the Cat,” he pointed at the young man behind the electronic drums, who responded with a little nod. “That’s Corey and Melissa,” he introduced the two guitarists on the couch behind him.

He smiled at them as he followed with his eyes the order of introduction.

The black man extended him a handshake, offered a broad smile. “’Sup, man,” he greeted him. Melissa just smiled fetchingly. Rafi could feel them all looking at him, curious as to what he might want. Aaron, though, already seemed to know.

He shook Corey’s hand, strong and straight, already feeling some friendly atmosphere in the room. He felt the question in the air, too, but before he could start an explanation, Aaron began to speak.

“You’re lookin’ for a roda, aren’t you?” he asked him, obviously pleased by the thought, judging by the look on his face.

Rafi immediately wondered if he was a meta.

Behind him, Wall started idly strumming on his guitar. He wasn't plugged into an amplifier, just acoustic, and Rafi knew the song he was playing a bit of, but its title naggingly eluded him. It might have been something by Fleetwood Mac, maybe Neil Young. Definitely something he'd heard before, maybe something his mother liked.

“Yup. I arrived in the city only 2 days ago, but I already missing the moves and the company” he said with a faint smile on his face. “Today I had to visit the City Hall, and I exploited the opportunity to gather some name and address of registered dancers in here. They gave me a list, and you were the one who lives the closest to the Hall.” Rafi tilted his head onto the direction of the young man, and looked at him, smiling. 

Aaron grinned and laughed. "Man, I never figured anybody actually used that contact list. That's pretty wild," he nodded. "Yeah, man, I dance. Every Sunday morning, about ten o' clock, out by the sundial at Man Ray Park. There's six of us that get together regularly."

Rafi laughed with him for a while then answered, “Why, how else should I get infos about such things? This seemed the easiest way, and as the example shows, it worked” he grinned back.

He stood up, stretched his legs. "You want something to drink?" he asked him, looking over to the side of him where the room opened up into another chamber, deeper in the house. The kitchen, Rafi presumed to himself. "I got coffee, water, some beer."

Behind him, he thought he heard Melissa whisper over to Wall. "I thought that was your beer?" she asked. Rafi managed not to laugh, except to himself.

“Water would do, thanks” He responded politely.

“I’ve heard that you said to Wall that you dance on Sundays. Is it a one day per week occasion or there is more?” Rafi raised one eyebrow. “Back at Frisco I spent almost all of my free-time in the roda, here I’ll have less time, but still, I feel the need for more than one day.”

"My roda only gets together once a week," Aaron said, disappearing into the kitchen. Rafi heard his voice echoing around in the strange acoustics of the small room. Across the table, Matt was looking a little bored and started tapping away a little tune onto the tubing that held his drum kit together. He decided that Aaron was right; he was pretty good. "But sometimes I get together with a bunch of people that get together a little more often. They seem to move where they dance around a lot. once it was in Man Ray, not far from where I go...another time, we danced in the basement of this ballet academy on the Hill."

He re-emerged from the kitchen with beverages in hand. "Most of the guys in that roda are metas," he said, handing one over to Rafi. "A couple of 'em can do some pretty incredible things, inside the circle."

Rafi’s interest definitely sat out to his face, as he listened to Aaron. “That sounds pretty interesting!” he said. “Could you give me a contact to them, or something? If they dance more often, I’m sure there is a place for me, too.”

He nodded, popping open the top of a silver and blue can. Rafi heard the hiss of carbonation escape the thin aluminum confines of the can just before his host took a deep drink of what he guessed was some kind of soft drink, though he didn't recognize the brand. "No problem," he smiled. "They're a cool bunch of dudes. I'd probably dance with 'em a lot more often, if I didn't have my own circle. If you brought you list in, I can maybe pick out a couple of their names for you. The guy who throws it together, his name is Damon."

Rafi nodded and replied to him. “That sounds good, man. I didn’t bring that list in, but I’ll jog out for it. I appreciate your help and your time, anyway.”

Behind him, Melissa stood up. "This sounds like a good time to use the bathroom," she smiled sheepishly, struggling for a moment to get around the coffee table and past Wall. "Excuse me," she said before disappearing out of the room.

He wasn’t sure that the girl left because she needed to go there, or because the metas emerged in the conversation. He turned after her and followed her steps with his gaze, but then looked back at the others, with an asking look on his face. He hoped that he might be wrong with this feeling. Somebody, here in Elysium, who has problems with any meta, would be some kind of strangeness. Still, he was new here, and didn’t want to be impolite, so he didn’t ask it loudly. 

Matt shrugged and chuckled behind his drum kit. "Chicks, man."

The young dancer just nodded, but his face showed that he wasn’t sure in that statement.

Corey seemed to know exactly what he was getting at by his expression. "Naw, man," he shook his head. "Mel's cool. I think she has an aunt or something over in the Quarter who's gifted. She ain't like that at all," he shook his head definitively.

An interesting information, but didn’t help much to ease the situation. Still, Rafi new how hard could be handling a meta in the family. He saved his parents from that when he was on the line, but now, with Jo, he could hear his mother’s fears and doubts over the phone, when they talked today.

Rafi looked behind him over at the professorial Wall, still strumming away on his guitar. He seemed completely oblivious to the conversation. He decided that that meant he was either already comfortable with his presence amongst him or really easily distracted. It was probably a bit of both, really.

“You say, they have metas in the roda? What kind of powers they have, if I may ask?”

"I never asked," Aaron shrugged, taking another sip of his drink. "I think Damon does something with music, though. There's a girl there named Lise that, the way she moves, probably has some kinda physical gift. The others, I couldn't tell you, man. Not having any kinda powers myself, I dunno...I guess I was kinda afraid it might be rude to ask, y'know? I only have a couple of meta friends and I couldn't tell you if they get offended if somebody asks somethin' like that."

“Some took it offense, some not. It depends on the circumstances how they receive the question and who is asking them.” Rafi said in turn with a wry smile.

Matt was looking at Rafi a bit more intently from his corner of the room. "Are you a meta, Rafi?" he asked him. "Or," he smiled awkwardly, suddenly aware that it might not be the preferred term, instead offering,"I mean, gifted. Whatever's the right way to say it."

Rafi found himself right about ready to speak when he felt his cell phone, in the baggy expanse of his hip pocket, start to buzz animatedly. Three buzzes, then one, before repeating the cycle.

His sister's vibrate-tone.

“Does it matter?” he asked back with an uneasy grimace instead of answering straight. He knew that this sentence held the answer in it, but he didn’t knew this group, and although Aaron was kind to him, the girl’s leaving cramped him slightly.

"I dig on your hair, Rafi," Corey said, nodding to his braids. To be honest, the young man with the guitar's were much nicer looking, to his eye, resplendent and long, thin and neat.

"That green you got goin' there's way dope," he grinned amiably.

“Thanks, man” he smiled proudly. “It seems that my hair got more fan than myself.” He grinned wryly, and chuckled.

"I was going to say something about that," Melissa's voice came from the open end of the door as she re-entered the room, drawing everybody's attention over in her direction. She was smiling as she said it. "Do you do it yourself?" she asked as she circumvented the table again and sat back down next to Corey. He smiled at her and handed back her bass, to which she thanked him by way of a brilliant smile.

The phone continued to buzz away.

“Nay, I can’t see the back of my head” he chuckled along with his own joke. “At home, my sis used to weave it, but I have a good hairdresser, too.” The buzzing at his waist reminded him to the caller, so he knew, that isn’t a message, it’s a call.

Rafi fished out the phone, and looked at the picture of his sis on its screen. “Could you forgive me? This is important.” 

"Whatever, man," Aaron smiled. "You're the guest."

It sort of made Rafi feel a little self-conscious, holding up their practice like that while he sat in the middle of them all, talking on his phone. Normally, he'd have let his voice mail pick up the call, but the truth of the matter was--it was a very important phone call. Too important for him to risk missing, impolite or not.

He then stood up, and walked out to the front door, laying his back to its frame, and then he picked up.

“Hey there, kid. This was fast.” He smiled over the line. “What’s up?”

"Heya!" Rafi heard Jo's voice reply to him over the line. Wall was still strumming away and now Melissa had begun to tune her bass, but both of them were doing so very quietly, obviously being considerate of his conversation. He heard her voice easily. "I'm in the car with mom," she informed him. The phone, wherever she was, was getting excellent reception; despite the fact that she was moving, it was as clear as a landline, he mused.

”Nah, where are you headin’? Finally she’ll bring you to one of her green-parties or what?”

"We're on our way to the 'Frisco Bay Mall," she said. "She wants to take me shopping to buy a couple new outfits." The excitement in her voice was bubbling over her tone; Rafi could tell that she was only barely managing to contain it.

“Women’s tour at the weekend?” he teased her with a little smile in his voice. “Or you are going to some beauty- or dance-contest, and you should look more gorgeous than usual?”

Finally, she started to giggle riotously. The battle to remain calm had been lost.

"She says I'll need 'em--'cause it's supposed to be so cold in Elysium City!!!"

Rafi chuckled silently, trying to cover the phone’s mic. “O yeah. It’s frosty here, like the heaven in winter. All those clouds and winds… you can’t be clothed enough.” Rafi used the voice of a well-known weather-newsman, from the TV. Cold and professional, whatever the weather is, the presentation was the same. 

“But why matters this you? You’re gonna drop for a short visit at your long-seen brother, who started to conquer this new city of miracles?” he continued the joking, as serious voice as he could manage to give off. 

"Don't even!" Jo replied. "Mom says I can come down, if I want! To stay!"

She giggled with glee as she said it. "She just wanted to take me shopping to pick up some stuff before I headed off. A new coat, a couple outfits--that kinda thing," she informed him. "Since I might not be back home until at least the school year's over. By the way, mom wants to talk to you about a few things--I guess just to square away a few details before I come down. She says, if it's okay with you, I can come down as soon as Tuesday!"

“Okay. I know well the rules: being home at sunset and bedtime at eight.” Rafi teased his sister again joyfully. “Oh, and homework first, everything else is after that.” He chuckled as the imagined his sister’s face, hearing these instructions. “Do you hear me, mom? I’ll guard her!” he said louder, like if he was talking to his mom behind Jo. “Or” he lowered his voice “I’ll let Rasgar take the guardsmen’s role. He is a fierce cat, y’know. If you’ll be bad, he’ll lick the skin off from your face!”

Another wild giggle. "This is gonna be so awesome, Rafi!"

By the tone of her voice, he wondered if he might have bitten off more than he could chew.

“I’m already afraid of it, Jo, you could bet that.” Rafi laughed along with her happily. But what he said was the truth. He was a bit afraid of the situation and what could happen with his lil’ sister if something turns serious around him. And certainly he couldn’t resist being afraid of what she would do around him.

“By the way, I’m at someone’s home, to ask after partners for a new roda. Could I ring you back a little later? I don’t want to be rude to talk long while they wait for me.” He asked Jo, this time using his own voice, mixed with a little plea.

"It's cool," she said. "I'll tell mom you're out and you'll call as soon as you get home. Besides, that'll give us a chance to get some shopping done before you two need to get too serious," she said, moaning a bit at the last part, as if anything serious was dreaded and to be avoided at all costs. Behind him, Melissa played a few notes on her bass, another snippet of a song that he was fairly sure he'd heard before, but couldn't quite place. She didn't sound as bad as Corey let on that they were; he was starting to wonder if maybe he was being modest.

“Goodbye, elf. See you soon!” he hung up the phone. 

"See ya, big bro!" her smile carried clean over the line, despite the distance. "Love ya!"

He stood there for another moment, and then walked back to the door of the room, and poked in. “I’ll go out for the list we talked about, okay? I’ll be back in a minute.”

Aaron stood up and led him over to the door. "Cool," he nodded, opening it for him. Outside, the snow and the wind were every bit as bad as they'd been when he'd first walked in. With the tiny room so crowded, it was comfortably warm and being exposed to the reality of the weather was like a punch in the face, by way of a reminder.

“Ugh. It didn’t get any warmer out here” Rafi groaned, and twined his arms around himself prone to be shivering with cold. He almost began to walk to his car, head down against the wind, when Aaron gasped.

His host held the door open like that and squinted out in the direction of Rafi's Cricket. "What the Hell is that?" he asked him incredulously.

He followed his eyes over to his car. Rasgar was now sitting up in the passenger seat and facing them, his great green paws flattened up against the window, his nose likewise spread across the glass. His beautiful emerald eyes had a soulful look in them, as if he was saying please let me come out and be with you, Rafi?

Apparently, Aaron had never seen a jade jaguar before.

So much for keeping his powers a secret.

He sighed and shook his head. “He is my buddy. If ya wait a moment, I’ll introduce you” he said, and then turned and jogged to the car as fast as he could. There Rafi opened the door and bent in to get his backpack with the papers. Once it was in his hands he looked at the feline, and smiled at him. “What’s up, pal? You awoke because of the warm had gone?” he teased the great cat, and stroked his chest and scratched under his chin. 

Rasgar immediately nuzzled his warm fur up against Rafi's upper arm and torso, purring loudly as he rubbed up against him affectionately. Once he got up underneath his chin, the great cat turned his head skyward to reveal the entirety of his throat for him. There, his purring was louder, like that of a motorboat's engine.

He only stopped for a moment to readjust himself. When Rafi did it, he saw Aaron standing in his doorway with his arms folded across his chest and an incredulous look on his face--regardless of the cold. He turned back to the green feline and saw that he was looking at him, his emerald eyes green and soulful, as if to get his earlier point across to Rafi. He wanted to be where he was--and that was that.

“Nah, don’t look at me with those puppy-eyes. Come” he waved to Rasgar, and retreated from the door to give him space. When the jaguar jumped out, he shut the door, and run back to the waiting Aaron. 

Rafi watched him test the snow daintily, his great paws suddenly gaining the delicacy of a ballerina's footsteps. He would step into the snow, then as he stepped forward, he'd kick his feet to try and shake the cold wetness away. Rasgar did that with every step he took, following him up only a step behind as he made his way back up the front path to the steps.

Rafi couldn’t resist, despite the soul-chilling frost, he laughed out loud as he looked back at his companion. “You look like queasy cheerleader with those steps, my friend” he said to Rasgar, and patted his head.

"I'll be damned," Aaron shook his head and chuckled. "I, uhm...didn't think they made 'em in that color."

“He is very unique, indeed” Rafi smiled and nodded, being proud of the feline.

He stopped before the door-step and held Rasgar back. “Aaron, this is Rasgar” he pointed at the jade jaguar. “Rasgar, this is Aaron, and his home. Be nice, okay?” he said to his companion.

The jaguar circumvented Rafi and walked right up to the house's owner, measuring him as he did it with his intense, verdant stare. It was the way that a normal cat, in the wild, would size up prey, Rafi thought and it worried him slightly. But then, all Rasgar did was sniff around at Aaron's pantlegs, apparently finding something of interest there. "You, uhm, like my pants, huh?" he laughed as the jungle cat looked up and him, then back at Rafi, until he joined them just inside the door.

Rafi chuckled along as he watched the big cat schmoozed with Aaron. He was worried a bit, but in the same time, Rasgar had his full trust, too. After how he behaved himself in the office, he knew that he will obey him, even when he dislikes someone, and that was good. “Yeah, it seems, he like you” he agreed, and looked into the young man’s eyes. “I’m sorry to call him in, but he apparently doesn’t like to be alone, and this is new for me, too. Usually, when he gets asleep, even a total war can’t awake him for a while.” Rafi smiled with an apologizing look on his face, and shrugged.

"It's new for you too?" Aaron asked him, cocking a brow in his direction. "Whaddya mean by that? Did you just...find him someplace?" The tone of his voice told Rafi immediately that he could hardly believe such a thing.

Rafi folded his arms around his chest, a little gesture against the cold, but he answered softly. “I mean this habit, that he won’t be alone” he smiled down to his partner, and then looked back at Aaron. “And yeah, you can say that. I’d found him somewhere… far beyond reality” he said mysteriously, but he didn’t explain it more.

“May we come in?” he looked at Aaron with chattering teeth.

"Yeah, yeah, sure!" Aaron nodded, the novelty of having Rasgar so close to him apparently making him forget the cold outside. He held the door open and the feline strode inside before Rafi, proud and regal, almost royal in his saunter. It was as if he could tell Rafi was showing him off and he was about to enjoy every bit of it. "There's, uhm...not a lot of room," he finished. "But he can go wherever he fits, I guess."

The young artist nodded thankfully, but eyed his feline buddy. “He’ll remain near to me, to avoid any conflict, I assure you” he said, and in that moment, like if Rasgar wanted to disprove his words, the jade cat began to explore the flat.

Aaron watched his tail lash in the air behind him as he started toward the room containing the rest of the band. "You think he wants a snack or something?" he asked Rafi. "I've got some ham...some salami in the fridge."

“Hey, stop right there!” Rafi called out to the jaguar in a silent but strong voice. He knew that he would hear him. 

Instantly, the massive green jungle cat--so much muscle coiled upon muscle that was tightly wound beneath a pelt resembling so much spotted, verdant suede--stopped dead in its tracks. Rafi watched him turn his head over his shoulder, looking back at him with his tongue slightly out of his mouth, the look in his big emerald eyes like a naughty child that'd been scolded by his parent. Still, even chided, the way his mouth was slightly open revealed his massive fangs. Rafi hoped Aaron hadn't seen them. It would be quite a first impression, he knew.

When he saw that it works, he turned back to Aaron. “No, thanks. I don’t want to excess the limits of your hospitality.” He tilted his head, looking thoughtfully at the excited cat. To be honest, he didn’t know that the cat could eat or not, even by himself. He has to nose that out, when they’ll arrive home, he decided.

From where he was sitting, Wall was the first one to see him. He stopped strumming immediately. "There's a giant green leopard in the foyer, man," he said matter-of-factly, staring at Rasgar.

Rafi heard Corey laugh, deeper in the room. "Man, I thought you said you done gave that shit up, Wall!" The others joined in laughing as well.

They were about to be in for one heck of a surprise....

“I hope they will not hate me because of that” he said in a soft voice, as he walked up to the room, to accompany his friend.

There he waved the feline next to his leg, and sank his fingers into his fur on his back. He sighed and entered the room, his eyes narrowing at the embarrassment he felt by the forthcoming reactions. He waited and feared Melissa’s comment the most. “He is a jaguar, not a leopard, Wall. And he is called Rasgar” he said calmly, a faint smile spreading across his face.

The expressions around the room varied wildly. Wall just kept staring at Rasgar, like he was trying to decide whether or not he was real...if he should be scared or not. Meanwhile, across the room, behind his drum kit, Matt's eyes simply widened, though Rafi couldn't tell immediately if that was excitement or fear that he saw reflected in them. At the far end of the couch, as soon as he saw him, Corey actually jumped. "Holy fuckin' shit!!!" he exclaimed, trying to rid himself of his guitar so he could flee the room. Rasgar just watched him with muted interest as he did it. Rafi knew that he was suppressing his instinct to chase that which ran in front of him; he'd have to reward him for his good nature later.

When he saw Corey’s panicked reaction, his muscles tightened as he prepared to hold back Rasgar if he’ll try to hunt on the people in the room. But to his mild surprise, the great cat remained next to him, and just followed with his eyes the scene. Rafi almost could feel the slight of humor in his look, as if the jaguar was pleased by the reactions he caused. Rafi suppressed his own smile and stroked the skin with his fingers under the fur, slowly enough to hide the movement from the gang, but strong enough to express his own thoughts. It seems that the cat can be as impish as his master sometimes, he wondered.

To his surprise, Melissa laid a hand on Corey's arm, both preventing him from running and soothing him at the same time. "C," she addressed him, chuckling gently and shaking her head. "Relax, man," she smiled at her friend. "Can't you see? He's got him totally under control," she reasoned, nodding at the two of them across the room. "Not like running'd help you much, even if he didn't," she added with a smile.

Rafi smiled back at her, nodding at her comment. “Very true. He’d catch you before you could take more than five steps” he stated, then realized that wasn’t very calming, so he went on. “But have no fear; he is friendly, most of the time.” He looked down, and patted the feline’s head with love. “A lazy cat, like any house-sized version, but he just felt him alone outside in the car, and begged himself into” he grinned at the end of the sentence as he looked back to them.

At Rafi's assurance, Corey started to calm down slightly. Or, at least, he didn't look like he might jump out of his skin if Rasgar so much as looked in his direction. "If you say so, man," he said, still giving the jaguar a sidelong, wary look. At his heel, the great green cat simply purred loudly, obviously quite content in the reaction his majestic presence was getting.

"He's gorgeous," she addressed Rafi with the tone in her voice that Rafi recognized as one that could only belong to an animal-lover. "What's his name?"

“He is, indeed” he agreed, and eased his stand when he saw the girl’s calm reaction. He was afraid to receive a much less pleased response. “His name is Rasgar.” Rafi tilted his head, and glanced at the cat, and then back to the group in front if him. “He is my friend.” So was it, a simple statement, but the whole essence of Rafi was behind it.

"Rasgar," Wall repeated gently. And, as if he actually understood the word, Rafi watched as his best friend slowly swung his head around to fix his gaze on the man who'd said it. The intensity of his emerald stare was so much that he actually stammered. "Uhm, c-cool name."

“It just popped into my mind, when I first met with him, but I think it sounds good, too” Rafi smiled, and kept the meaning to him. Actually, he didn’t know by himself, too, why he named a big jade jaguar as ‘Tear’ in Portuguese, but it sounded very good to someone, who didn’t knew the language. Maybe it came from those months, when his power became alive, and no one understood, so he felt himself very alone, even with a loving family and a few friends.

Melissa frowned. "Aww, c'mon, Wall!" she chided him. "Don't tell me you're scared of him, too?" As she said it, she was standing up, swinging her bass slowly around herself so she could lay it down on the couch where she'd been sitting. Rafi watched her come around the table in the center of the room, approaching the two of them slowly. Rasgar looked away from Wall, finding the pretty young woman much more interesting. And closer. "Do you," she looked up and Rafi with a hopeful smile, "mind if I pet him? I love animals," she confessed. "I work at the Elysium City Zoo."

Behind him, Aaron was closing the door again. Corey was calming down and Matt and Wall still didn't look like they'd decided what to make of Rasgar yet.

At Rafi's heel, he laid down on the carpet, tucking his forelegs beneath him.

He didn't look like he had an opinion of them yet, either.

“We’ll leave soon, don’t worry about us” he said, looking at Corey. “As I see, he’ll wait patiently for me now that he is inside and in warm.” 

He seemed a lot more relaxed, now that Melissa had shown the courage to come up to him and the sleek jaguar hadn't pounced on her in response. Yet, anyway. "You got him trained pretty good, I'll say that," he admired, brushing some of his long braids behind his head. "You, uh, had him long?"

"Not too long," Aaron replied for him as he walked into the room. He stood right next to Rafi and Rasgar as he addressed the rest of them. Either he had gotten used to the idea of having him in the house and was now convinced that he wouldn't hurt him with his master there, or he wanted to look like it, in front of his friends. Rafi wasn't sure which.

“If I say that we learned each other, it’d be closer to the truth.” Rafi replied to Corey as he knelt down next to the jade feline, put his hand on his shoulder, lightly scratching the spot between his shoulder-blades, and looked up to Melissa. “Come slow and calmly, but you already know that, isn’t it?” Rafi grinned at the girl, and hoped that Rasgar would receive well her overture. He will, he decided, he is a cat after all, and they loved to be pampered. 

She smiled, cautiously lowering herself down to Rasgar’s level as she did. Rafi might have been able to tell that she worked with animals even if she hadn’t mentioned it, she moved slowly but assuredly and didn’t seem terribly afraid of the jaguar, though she obviously respected his speed and power. “Yeah,” she said. “I don’t work with the big cats, but I’m told it’s not good to move too quick around them. They don’t like that too much.”

Rasgar seemed more interested in her than anything else. Melissa reached out her hand to him, making little purring noises in the hollow of her throat and while she did it, the great green cat slowly extended its neck so he could sniff at her fingers. He might have wondered if she had anything in her hand for him.

Finally, in the middle, he allowed her to touch him. It started with a few tentative strokes across the short fur atop his head, between his ears. Quickly enough, though, both of them warmed a bit to one another and she started to scratch a bit behind his ears. Like any cat, Rasgar loved that particular ministration and in short order, he was rubbing the side of his face against her hand.

“Damn, that’s some wild shit,” Corey grinned, shaking his head to himself.

“He’s gorgeous,” Melissa repeated. “Aren’t you a gorgeous kitty-cat?” she said, addressing the feline like you might a baby. Rasgar seemed to relish being the center of attention and--naturally--ate it all up.

“What’s your job in the Zoo?” he asked Melissa. “Are you working with one kind of animal or in some office?” 

She laughed slightly. “No…not yet,” she replied. “Right now, I’m the lucky gal who gets to clean up the ungulate poop. I just started, and I’m still in school,” she explained. “So I get to start off with fun jobs like that, until I get a little further along in my internship.”

When he saw that the two will be good with each other, and his friend is enjoying the petting, Rafi turned his attention back to the original topic which he came to here.

He put his pack down, and fished out the list which had the capoeira-dancer’s names on itself, and then turned to the arriving Aaron. “Could you then mark those names you mentioned?”

"Sure, man," he nodded, leaning over onto the table and picking up a small ball-point pen from next to where he'd moved the pizza box to. Rasgar looked like he might want to investigate what lay within the cardboard--evidently, he thought it smelled interesting, at least--but held back the urge and stayed where he was.

Rafi grinned when he noticed the struggle within the cat. Which one I should choose the petting or the tickling smell? He could almost hear the gears turning in his mind, but then Rasgar let fall his head to the carpet and purred loudly, contented with Melissa’s care. “Hearing this purr, I think I should be jealous soon.” He teased the girl. “Hey buddy, don’t get used to it!” he joked the cat, gently poking his feet with his own. My sis would totally ruin my control over him, if I’ll allow this... he mused for a moment. Or not, he thought, he is my imaginary friend, after all.

Melissa laughed. “I wouldn’t worry about that. He must really, really like you, Rafi,” she countered. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen any kind of great cat that actually listens to its keeper like Rasgar does to you,” she said. He could hear a little bit of admiration in her voice, he thought. “You did an awesome job of training this big kitty!” she said, stroking the flat of his powerful neck.

Maybe not that good of a job, he thought. In response to him, Rasgar simply closed his eyes, reveling in Melissa’s attentions and pretending he hadn’t said a word.

Rafi just smiled as he saw that his friend ignores the call. “And you don’t know the half of it…” he said silently, but then the mood returned in it when he talked to the cat again. “Ssoo typical” he elongated the first word to make it sound scornfully, but his wide grin showed that he didn’t mean it.

“What’s an ungulate?” Wall asked, in a confused voice, to nobody in particular. Rafi saw Matt, across the room, just shrug.

“Dunno, but prolly Melissa’ll provide a clue to us” shrugged Rafi, too. “It doesn’t smell good, that’s the only sure thing, I think” he grimaced and turned up his nose, playing like could smell it right there.

“Animals with hooves,” she looked up and grinned. “Horses, camels, moose--that kinda thing. There’s a whole section for ungulates at the Elysium City Zoo…and that’s where I’m working, cleaning up their exhibits.”

Wall nodded. “Oh,” he said simply.”

Melissa smiled down at the jaguar in front of her. “I wish I got to take care of a beauty like your friend, though,” she said, continuing to scratch at him. “He’s so beautiful,” she said, her voice melting as she did. Then, she brought her gaze of to Rafi: “Where’d you find him?” she asked.

Rafi frowned when he heard that question again. He could wave it off when they came inside, and Aaron asked the same, but now everyone listened to.

The answer wouldn’t be an easy one.

He eased himself while he was thinking about what and how shall he say. He’d tell the truth, he decided finally. Well, sort of, he thought with a ghost of a smile in the corner of his mouth. “He found me, when I was a teen, and felt myself terrible alone. Then Rasgar came from Dreamland, and accompanied me, and since then I’m not alone, even if no human are around me.” He stroked the cat’s head and neck fondly and smiled down at him. “He is like an imaginary friend, only that he is visible and touchable.”

Melissa’s gentle smile only broadened in response to his tale. “That’s a beautiful story,” she replied, stroking the fur along the jaguar’s thick, powerful neck with renewed vigor. “I think God gave us animals for exactly that,” she considered. “To be there for us, even when nobody else is. Nobody’ll ever unconditionally love you like an animal,” she said, looking down at the relaxed jungle cat, then back up at Rafi, “like your friend here does.”
Rasgar looked at the feline before him, looking every bit like the royalty of the rainforest with his eyes closed, the noble way he held his head aloft, above the carpet. And as he regarded him, he knew that her words were truer than she could guess.

He was a part of him, his friend, given life by the magical grace of his power.

And that was a bond unbreakable.

Aaron circled two names on the paper. "You'd have caught up with Damon next, if you'd have just kept going down your list," he remarked, noting his last name--apparently Albemarle--was right after his own, alphabetically. "He's a good dude--and one hell of a dancer, too." It took him a moment to find the second one before he marked that, as well. "This must be Lise right here," he nodded. "I never knew her last name, but it's the only Lise on your list." Looking at the paper, Rafi saw that her surname was apparently Farrell.

“O-kay” Rafi nodded. “Do you know any other name over this two?” he asked Aaron lifting his right eyebrow.

“Nope,” he said. “Remember how I said I don’t dance with those guys too often? That’s, ah…mostly ‘cause I have a hard time keeping up with ‘em without embarrassing myself,” he admitted. “I could recognize them by face, a couple more of ‘em, but not by name.”

“No prob, man. You helped a lot anyway” nodded Rafi gratefully.

He handed him back the paper while Melissa continued to fawn over Rasgar.

"You gonna stick around and listen to us play?" he asked.

"Do yourself a favor," Corey smiled, his sense of humor apparently returned. "Don't"

The young artist grinned, and cocked his head. “I’ll stay for a song gladly, and I hope Rasgar’d stand the loud noise, too” he said, but he already had an idea in his mind, to lessen the probability of Rasgar’s turmoil. He knew that he could sense through his images, and he could control the sound-level of the surroundings. If the music would be loud, he’ll try to dampen it in the cat’s ears, but he hoped that it won’t be necessary. Rafi sat down cross-legged next to his cat, and looked at the band, waiting for their performance.

Aaron looked around the room. "What you guys wanna do?" he asked.

Matt grinned. "Outshined!" he replied enthusiastically.

"That's in D, right?" Wall asked, strumming his guitar a few times.

"Noooo," Corey shook his head. D-minor."

Melissa straightened up after another few loving scratches behind Rasgar's ear. "Wait for me!" she exclaimed, hurrying back around the table to reclaim her bass. The jade jaguar, almost asleep, promptly opened up one eye as she stopped petting him, as if to ask where did the nice girl go?

The young meta chuckled by way of response and placed his hand to the feline’s side. The touch of the velvet fur made him wonder again, that it’s warm and living now, not only a loveable mirage.

Rasgar responded to his petting by craning his neck up, turning his head and dropping it down into Rafi’s lap. The comfortable weight of him upon his legs, the warmth of his sleek fur and the vibrations of his gentle purring were all soothing. But even nicer to Rafi was the knowledge that his best friend--brought to life through the magic of his wonderful power--simply wanted to be with him, close to him. For him, that was the greatest gift of all.

He closed his eyes again, ready to pass into jaguar dreamland once again. Where he would probably either give chase to small hares through the steam of the tropical rainforest or be pet luxurious by a small army of pretty young girls with bass guitars. Either would probably do, he considered with a grin.

A small cacophony of sounds began to surround Rafi as each of the people in the room began to tune their instruments. As they did it, he took it as an opportunity to begin using his powers to shield Rasgar from what he expected to be an awful racket. Slowly, he concentrated on hearing the world through his best friend's ears...then turning the invisible volume knob on reality slowly downward--until all he could hear were bare murmurs.

He let out a silent sigh, muttering to the cat, petting him. So much to learn, to try, with this new state and he could only hope that he’ll have the time for it. But he didn’t have much time for thinking as the band finally placed themselves into order.

By that time, the five of them were done. Matt started to tap time on his cymbal, counting: "One, two, three, and--!"

Then the five of them began to play. Rafi heard the three guitars around him come to life in a wall of sound, the deep bass like a giant metal wheel that crunched everything in its path. Rasgar didn't seem to notice the noise at all; he was pleased to see that his efforts had paid off. And instantly, as they kicked off into the first few notes of the song, Rafi recognized the tune, though he wasn't sure of the band that played it. It was something that had been pretty popular about ten years ago, he thought, and he'd heard it on the radio then, he thought.

As Corey began to wail out the first few words of the song, he realized something else.

They weren't bad at all.

Actually, they were pretty damn good.

Corey had a voice that could be that of a professional singer's. Matt played the drums precisely and effortlessly, while Aaron and Wall's guitars blended together in a single, seamless sound. melissa's pounding bass was an awesome backdrop to the audio landscape that filled the room.

Rafi couldn't stop himself from smiling. Or bobbing along to the beat of the music.

Although it wasn’t his preferred style of music, he had to admit that it had something in it. Once they finished their song, he clapped his hands “You liar, you ain’t as bad as you said” he addressed Corey with an impish smile. “Call me, if you’ll give a concert.”

“Naw, man, I wasn’t lying!” he shot back a grin to him. “We pretty much just got together, only a couplea weeks ago. This is, what?” he looked around at the rest of the band, “our tenth practice?” Heads bobbed around the room in agreement.

“Whoa, then this is even more great!” wondered Rafi, with widening eyes. “You shouldn’t be so modest, this sounded very good.”

“We got a show next week, at the Starfish,” Matt said. “If you wanna come, that’d be cool. We can make sure you and whoever you bring gets in free, if you want.”

“Just don’t bring, like, the whole Capoeira circle,” Aaron laughed a little, putting aside his guitar. “The owners might get pissed if we comped alla you guys!”

Rafi chuckled at the thought, but shook his head immediately. “If I’ll go, I’ll go with family, if they’ll be interested” he said with a grin. Then, when the meaning of that sentence struck him, it turned into a wry smile. They, he thought… he counted not only Jo in, but Carmilla as well. Family… he mused for a moment, but then returned to the reality.

“Bring Rasgar!” Melissa encouraged him.

He just smiled and shook his head watching the girl’s sudden fondness for the jade feline.

“Don’t bring Rasgar,” Corey countered, shaking his head. “Not unless you wanna start a riot, man. We know Rafi got him cooled out,” he reasoned. “I know the owners of the club don’t, though!

Rafi let loose the control on Rasgar’s hearing and shook him gently a little, to awake him. “Wake up, buddy, we have to go now” he whispered to the cat, and then when the feline opened his eyes, he stood up.

After that he turned back to the gang. “I don’t think that Rasgar’d like to come to any concert. His hearing is way better than ours, so he’ll be half-deaf after one, and there’ll be much blood around him. And believe me, that won’t be his” he grinned viciously, but his eyes twinkled with humor. “So no, I won’t bring him. But if you’d like to meet him, I’ll be out in the park sometimes…”

Rasgar opened his eyes, revealing the sharp emerald beneath. It was amazing how cats of all size and stripe could instantly go from a deep slumber into the height of wakefulness without seeming groggy in the slightest. He stood up next to Rafi and only then betrayed any sign that he’d ever been asleep, yawning wide. He couldn’t decide what was worse, the four-inch fangs within the gaping maw he revealed or the breath that issued forth when he did it.

I must think away that smell some way or another, he thought instantly, and made a grimace. The young artist grinned widely when an old comic strip popped into his mind; he peered down to the jaguar’s throat as if looking for something. “Hey, isn’t that my missing sock which I see in your belly?” he asked the cat with a wink.

Rasgar knew that he was talking to him; Rafi could see it in his eye as he turned his head to look at him. The green eyes of the jungle cat locked upon him and he cocked his head thoughtfully, as if he didn’t understand what he meant.

It made him wonder what he might say, if he were actually able to speak.

He grabbed a pen and wrote his name, address and phone to the bottom of the list, and then ripped off the tag. “If any of you want a tattoo, come and visit me” he advertised his business with a sly smile as he placed the tag on the table. 

“Sweet!” Matt said, apparently extremely excited about the idea. Although he ended up giving the card to Aaron, standing next to him, the drummer quickly snatched it out of his hand. “Gotta get to work on some sleeves!” he shot him a cheeky grin before pocketing it.

“If everything would go well, I’ll open 30 April or somewhere around, but maybe I can make an exception” Rafi winked at the kid, and his grin reflected the others.

The youngster laughed and rapped out a quick drumroll on the skins in front of him, punctuating it with a crash of a cymbal. “I’ll get my dad to okay it before I show up,” he nodded certainly in the artist’s direction. It made him realize just how young the drummer must have been. Definitely under eighteen, at least.

“Thanks for the hospitality and have a good practice” he waved goodbye to them, and walked back to Rasgar who slowly come to his feet after a huge yawn. Rafi shook his head smiling, and patted his head, before walked out from the room. He grabbed his coat, took on and grabbed the doorknob.

Aaron walked him back out to the front door, the whole of the band waving and saying their various goodbyes as he did it. Rafi hadn’t intended on making so many new friends when he’d come into the house, but he had gotten a good feeling about them, now that he was leaving. They seemed like genuinely nice people. “Hey, man, thanks for coming, bro,” Aaron gave him a handshake, which he turned into a sort of clumsy soul-shake halfway through the gesture. “Hopefully, I’ll see you at the Park this weekend,” he smiled at him. “You and that cat of yours drive careful, okay?” he bid him farewell, even daring to lean down and give Rasgar a little pet, in spite of his earlier trepidation around him.

“I’m glad to meet you, pal. If I can, I’ll be there” he nodded in agreement, though he didn’t was as sure as he played. He smiled when Aaron finally stroked the cat; he knew that it was a great advance. Then they opened the door, and marched out to the empire of frost.

Chapter IX – Gentle souls embraced by the snow

The wind and the weather greeted both him and Rasgar roughly as they walked back outside of the townhouse. After being inside its warm confines, it seemed even colder outside now, if that was even possible--the wind blowing that much harder and the snow that came with it still more unforgiving. The great jade jaguar broke off into a brisk trot directly for his Cricket and this time, Rafi couldn’t blame him a bit. He too ended up running for the car, quickly opening up his door, allowing Rasgar to leap inside before he followed, closing it shut tight behind him. Even inside, he found himself shivering, his teeth chattering. It was like being locked inside the freezer in his house! he thought to himself, shaking through. He wasted little time in turning the engine of the car over and revving it, turning the heater up to its maximum. In response to the warm air pumped inside, Rasgar sat in the well in front of the seat, where a passenger’s legs would normally be, eager to soak up as much of the heat as he could.

“Now I’m very jealous to Jo’s power” he said with chattering teeth as the warm touched him and melted off the cold which wormed itself through his clothes and flesh even over this short distance. “Hm…” he muttered under his breath “I wonder if I draw a small campfire, or a little sun for personal use, would it provide warm to me?” Definitely another trick he should probe when he’ll arrive home.

The next address on the list--Albemarle’s--was quite a distance across the city, over in Academy Hill. But that’s to the city’s intelligent design, he knew it wouldn’t take him long to get there. And besides, it would allow him the chance to explore more of the magnificent city, if he decided to go.

He figured it would take ten minutes, at the most.

Rafi looked at his phone, both to know the time which he guessed around half four, and to check if he got any response from Carm. When he saw that he got nothing, Rafi grimaced and began his way to the house of that Damon-guy.

He turned the corner, winding his way through the canyons of glass and steel created by the impossibly-tall buildings that comprised the city’s downtown district. The Hightown streets were virtually empty but for a single black Ford Explorer that circled a corner around a crystal spire before disappearing into the winter snows. The dearth of traffic made it easy for him to navigate the city until he could get onto Route 99, the central highway that bisected the metropolis and made north and east from its center. He took the latter, once again utilizing the underground system of layered thoroughfares to speed his passage. Rasgar seemed fascinated by the tunnelway, the way that the sodium lights made the inside of the car seem to glow with and unearthly, eerie light as they sped past the vehicle like the beacons that marked the edges of a runway. They were the pilots and the Cricket their jet. Rafi enjoyed watching the jaguar look at the subterranean world around him with wonder for the five-some minutes it took them to pass through it. When he emerged on the surface again, he almost wished the trip was longer.

It was again that weird feeling, which came to him when they went through the bridge before the City Hall. Everything was white, all blank, like a canvas, waiting for an appreciative hand to be painted. He felt the stimuli to stop on a high point and do that painting, but he oppressed it, for now.

Rasgar’s excitement made him smile, and he reached out to pet his head, before he grabbed the wheel again. Watching the jade feline was like watching a small kid; he found so much things to explore, so much thing to enjoy which were everyday to him that he felt himself refreshed by it. I wonder if the SHIELD agents are following me right now, he mused for a moment, to place a spy on the tunnel’s ceiling but then he left the thought flew away.

They passed through the Violet Town district--or really passed it by, just an abrupt strip of land off to the right of the car from their now-elevated position on the highway--in short order. He decided that it actually looked quite pleasant and resolved himself to check it out in detail when he had more time to do so. But for this time, at least, he simply passed it by.

We should do a sight-seeing tour when the girls show up, he decided. One day won’t be enough for it, that’s sure, he knew, but the idea was neat.

In another three minutes, he found himself navigating the car onto the exit that lead to ACADEMY HILL. The snow and the wind had grown so thick, harshly coming in off of the Mendelssohn Inlet to his left that he almost missed the turn. Driving in the conditions brought about by the Forever Winter was miserable. Just another reason, he thought to himself with a sigh, why it all needs to be over. Soon.

When he saw the board, he remembered the battle with the giant kid and her attackers. It was in this district, too. Maybe he’ll drive by the damaged buildings, who knows, he speculated.

The address was not far away from the highway, once he'd gotten free of the off ramp, turned the car southward and passed an array of austere-looking houses. After a few short turns, he found himself parking his car on a street just in front of a pleasant-looking ranch home that looked like it could belong to a family, rather than a single individual. On closer inspection, he decided that it was probably quite an expensive home, from its elaborate design. Rafi saw a beautiful bay window that had to have been fifteen feet wide, a stone garden covered in snow that led around to a path beside the house that he imagined led to still more white-topped foliage. A grand estate, really. But of everything he saw, his eyes naturally gravitated to a stone sculpture out in front of the place. It was hard to make out what it was of, at first, but as he squinted his eyes, he saw that it was of a ladybug, humble in repose.

Rafi eyed the villa, nodding appreciatively. “Not bad, this guy prolly has some cash in his pockets” he said just to the air. “Or, looking what Aaron said, he is a meta, then he got this all free, like I the shop” he continued the thought.

He saw lights on, within the house's windows.

“I guess, you want to come in again, right?” he asked the jungle cat, but he already know his answer. Rasgar’s eyes sparkled as he looked back at him, like a kid when the adults ask a very stupid question from him. How could you ask that?!, the look said that. Rafi grinned and opened the door. He quickly stepped out, and when the feline did the same, he locked the car. As the snow felt, he knew that probably he’ll need a snow-blower to free it. He grimaced as the wind scratched his face so he didn’t waste any more time, and literally run up to the door, with Rasgar at his heels. There Rafi stopped and pushed the bell, hoping that someone’d save them before the chill crawls deeper inside his coat.

Rafi only ended up having to wait a moment before he heard the sound of motion behind the door. The sound that he heard, in of itself, was strange in that it sounded like some kind of abrupt suddenness. It did not build at all gradually, he considered; it was like whoever made it was simply there, without crossing the space between his point of origin and his destination. It made him smile to himself. He wondered if he'd already gotten the first clue as to the nature of his metahuman abilities.

The suddenness of the arrival brought back the event at Aaron, where Wall was at the door already, Could it be something like that, too, or he is a teleporter or speedster, he thought.

The door opened. Behind it was a man somewhere in his late twenties to early thirties, Rafi guessed. He was wearing a thin, dark sweater with a white t-shirt beneath it, a single stripe of greay across the chest, light khaki cargo pants. His hair was a light brown, short with a bit of gel in it, and he wore a bead necklace of several different colors, taut, close to his neck. He was handsome in a manner of speaking, he supposed, just about the same height as Rafi was and greeting him with a quirky grin as he saw him, looked down at the green jaguar at his heel, his coat just beginning to cover with a bit of snow.

Rasgar eyed him carefully as he addressed them. "Hey," he said, his voice surprising Rafi; it was mellifluous and marked with a definite British accent that identified him as unmistakably a foreigner. "Come in!" he waved the two of them inside. "You'll catch your death out there!"

His friendliness made Rafi smile. He didn't seem bothered by Rasgar in the slightest.

“Hey...” Rafi wanted to greet the host, but he only said the first word, when Rasgar took charge, and pounced in. 

The man at the door simply sidestepped the leaping jaguar as it rushed past him to get inside. The movement was just as graceful as the feline’s leap and he seemed to regard the cat curiously rather than anxiously as he went past. If he could move like that, standing in his doorway, Rafi considered, he could see why Aaron might have been intimidated by him, in the roda.

Rafi tilted his head slightly as he eyed the movement of the man. Definitely not bad, at least on par with him in agility if not higher, he thought. If the others could keep up with him, hose roda-sessions would be great, he decided silently. 

The jaguar did it with such grace that almost made him look ethereal, even in his hurry. “… there” finished the young meta the sentence as he walked after his companion with an apologetic smile in the corner of his mouth. “Sorry, but Rasgar doesn’t like any environment where the temperature is lower than 77 degrees” as he said that Rafi looked down at the jade feline, shaking his head a little, reproofing the cat’s action, and his smile became wide and cheerful. Rasgar, for his own, didn't care with Rafi's disapproval, and already shook off the snow which covered his fur. After that he looked around, and sniffed as if analyzing the territory marks.

He gave him another awkward smile before giving the jade jaguar another look. He might have been admiring him. “It’s nothing,” he said, shrugging. “I hate all this bloody snow, m’self. Can’t say I much blame ‘im.”

Inside he took of his coat, and offered his hand for a shake. “I’m Rafael, and I came to meet with Damon” he said calmly. “I got the address from the City Hall, when I asked after capoeira dancers in the city, but Aaron suggested to me, too, coming here after him” he explained the cause of his arrival. “Have you some time for us?” he asked politely.

He took Rafi’s coat and hung it up on a tall, three-footed rack behind the door, like the ones they’d used in old movies he’d seen before. “Really?” he replied, as he did it. “Aaron? The guy from the roda in Man Ray Park? I figured he didn’t much care for my people. I haven’t seen him in quite a while,” he chuckled to himself, as if remembering something vaguely humorous.

“Yup” nodded Rafi in agreement. “I wanted to go by the list which I received, and he was the nearest to the City Hall. He mentioned that sometimes -not too often, anyway- he dances with a group of metas in the Park, and that they are pretty amazing” he explained, and glanced at the guy -presumably Damon, himself- when he said the word ‘meta’. He wanted to know how he will react.

The mysterious young man didn’t try and hide it for a moment. “That’s us,” he nodded, his enigmatic little smile gracing his face again. Rafi thought that it made him look like he knew something that you didn’t, something between a smirk and actual mirth. It very closely approximated cockiness, though he wouldn’t go quite so far as to say that, either. Maybe that was the best way to put it; it was between a lot of things. “There’s six of us, all metas, if that’s what the kids are calling us these days. But we don’t just dance at the park,” he added with a chuckle. “That’s part of what makes our roda… a little different,” he explained. “We dance in a different place, every time.”

“I see” nodded the young black dancer. “Aaron mentioned that, too, just the Park caught my interest so much that I came up with that” he smiled at his host. “I actually like that name. Far better than ‘mutant’ or something less correct biological term” Rafi made a wry grimace.

“I can’t say either one really offends me too much,” Damon shrugged. He cocked his head thoughtfully. “You know, a lot of them are still very frightened of us. It was bad enough before everything happened in New York. But now with that…Calcutta,” he shook his head sadly. “I can understand. They’re worried that some would-be Godling having a bad hair day might walk through the middle of their city and murder their babies. It’s got to be a terrible feeling, knowing that if somebody wants to, they can do something like that anytime they want to…and there’s not a bloody thing they can do about it.”

Rafi sighed and made a little shrug. “Oh yes, they could do something. They could notice that not everyone is bad who has some strange power. They could treat them like humans on their own right. They could unite against the terrorists. The anger only leads to war and losses of lives.”

He sighed somewhat sadly. “I try and keep it in mind, anyway,” she said. “Most of them don’t really mean anything by it, anyway. I guess it’s all in the way that they say it that matters, if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, how they say… it could fill novels.”

Rafi considered it for a moment. It was true. He knew exactly what he meant. It made him see the young man in front of him in an entirely new light. He could tell, just by the way that he said it, that he was a kind and gentle soul. Considerate and thoughtful.

It made him smile to himself a little.

Rafi looked into the house, past where Rasgar sat on the mat laid out in front of the door. The whole of the house was immaculate--one of those homes in which you’re afraid to walk in the wrong place, sit somewhere or touch anything for fear of getting it dirty. He could see all kinds of matching wooden antique furniture, like what he’d seen yesterday at Antiques By Michaud, many of which he’d really liked when looking around there but knew would never have fit into his loft. It looked like the home was a model for a magazine, like it’d been arranged by a professional interior decorator. “I’m Damon,” he introduced himself, finally turning around and shaking Rafi’s hand. A firm handshake, the strength in his arms evident through his grip. “But you knew that already, I guess, right?” he offered him his quirky smile again.

Rafi smiled back, and nodded again, while he responded to the grip with an equally strong one. It carried a little test, two capoeira warrior trying to measure each other in a friendly way. “Yeah, I guessed.” He looked around and waved with the move. “You have a very nice and elegant house.”

“Thank you,” he nodded, apparently genuinely grateful for the compliment. “I actually designed it myself. I spent a year, back in London, at design school. I figured I’d might as well put it to good use.”

He started to lead them into a room adjacent to the foyer, off to the left. The whole of the wall that he saw in what looked to be the living room looked like the raw face of a shale cliff; somehow, water trickled gently down its rough contours into a stone-hewn trough that sprung from the floor below, creating a waterfall of it that bubbled softly in the background. “You two look like you’ve come a long way,” he said. “I’ve got plenty of time for you.” Rasgar walked up to the side of the trough and noticed that it was full of bright, orange-scaled fish that swum about within its confines. He sat up in such a way to study the water intently; he was instantly fascinated by the swimming bits of sparkling light he could see through its surface.

“This wall is amazing! I’m impressed, no doubt!” When he noticed what caught Rasgar’s interest, he stepped next to the feline, bowed down to him, and whispered into his ear. “Only for your eyes not for your claws, buddy.” He turned back to Damon only after he petted the jade feline’s head a little. 

Damon didn’t look like he minded that Rasgar was showing so much interest in his fish. At first, it occurred to him that he didn’t consider them pets as much as part of the house’s decoration, but then he thought that it just might be that he had noticed that the jaguar was so well-behaved that it simply didn’t concern him. In any case, he looked as relaxed as could be--a man very much at peace with himself.

“That’s nice from you, thanks” said Rafi gently. He walked back to the man, and explored the room with his eyes. Even if he wasn’t a decorator, the artist in him had a definite sense for beauty and harmony.

He gestured to a comfortable wing-backed chair that sat behind a glass coffee table, offering him a seat. “I just put on a spot of tea a bit ago,” he said, settling himself down on another chair, close to the other. The whole arrangement of the room was so much calmer and relaxed than Aaron’s, it was like it was in a whole other world. “Would you like some?”

The young artist settled in the offered chair, and found it very comfortable. He leaned back with a little confident sigh, letting the tense leave from his body. “Sure, I like the idea. A warm cup of tea could save lives in these conditions outside” he poked into the direction of the street with his thumb. “May I ask what type of tea you made?”

He stood up, turning to his left. “Just an Earl Grey, I’m afraid,” he replied, disappearing into the kitchen for a moment. “I hadn’t expected any company.”

“No problem with that. I came here, anyway, I don’t want to show myself too choosey” Rafi grinned wryly. “If you don’t mind, I ask my tea with one sugar and a little milk.”

He nodded and offered a small smile. “Of course.”

“Thank you”

Damon re-entered the sitting room in a moment later, carrying two white ceramic cups, steam rising from the top of each. “Here,” he said, gently giving one to Rafi. “Be careful, it’s still a bit hot.” Once again, he had the occasion to watch him as he walked about and was taken by the way he moved. It was more like he floated from place to place rather than strode, his motion reminiscent of the fluidity of water or maybe a light breeze, fluttering the leaves on a crisp spring morning.

Rafi placed his hands on the side of the cup, enjoying the warmth that it gave off. “Aagh… So nice to feel this heat. I was only a few seconds on open air, but it trailed under my clothes.” Rafi was amazed by the movement of the guy, and began to feel a little jealousy, too, even when he knew that he didn’t have to. He was self-confident enough to admit that his move was like his cats. Silent and powerful, always on the edge of the speed, but he could became lazy in equally short time.

”It’s terrible, isn’t it?” he asked rhetorically, disappearing for a moment. When he returned, he bought a small silver tin, like a miniature pitcher, and a matching cup of sugar with a thin spoon projecting from its side.

Rafi just nodded at the comment, sensing that it wasn’t really needed an answer.

“Here you are, my friend,” he offered them to him. Then: “Yes, it’s hard enough these days even working up the nerve to leave the house with all that snow,” he looked absently out his window while Rafi sweetened his tea to his liking. “It makes me wonder,” he said gently, letting the words trail off as he spoke before looking back in Rafi’s direction to make sure the cream and sugar were to his liking. Exactly what it was that he wondered about, he never really said.

The young artist put a spoon of sugar into the tea, and a lot of cream, and then he stirred with the spoon. While Damon looked out through the window, he watched the stirring liquid in his mug. It took a moment or two until he noticed the unfinished sentence, so he lifted his head and glanced at his host. “Wonder about what?” he asked, and took one sip from the tea, sighing pleased by its taste and warmth.
“A lot of things, I guess,” he replied. “For one thing, it’s pretty bleery obvious that it’s not natural. I mean, we were all worried about global warming…and now, here we are, stuck in the middle of another Ice Age,” he chuckled humorlessly. “And for another thing, I wonder why nobody does something about it, y’know? With all of these people out there with all of their wonderful powers…it’s hard for me to believe that there’s nobody out there that can control the weather--or at least give it a little nudge back in the right direction. I think of all the people out there, all the animals out there dying,” Damon just shook his head and sighed slightly.

He looked back up at him and offered a wan smile. “I suppose we all just do what we can do, hm?”

“Right” nodded Rafi in response. “I don’t know personally any weather-controlling meta, but I think they do what they can to hold this arctic climate at bay.” He tilted his head thoughtfully as he looked at Damon. “I have no idea what range the weather-commanding has, but I guess it couldn’t be too big. Like ten miles or so, prolly based on the experience which the meta has.” Rafi guessed that based on his own power, which he knew that it stretched to a few miles, centered on him. “Maybe that’s the cause why we have the Man Ray Park, could it be?”

“On my part I can only draw down what I see, either to paper or to the skin of somebody” the young artist reflected the faint smile of the Briton.

He sat back down on his chair, taking a sip from his teacup.

Then: “So you dance, eh?” he asked, his eyes flickering with life as he said it. Rafi watched him creep closer to the edge of his seat with obvious interest.

“Have you found yourself a roda yet?”

Rafi shook his head before his reply. “Not yet. This is our second day in the city, I was, erm, I am busy with the moving in and with the gathering of all stuff I need. So much to do in so little time” he smiled at Damon. “But I hope I’ll have time for dance at the weekend. If not, at least I tried to make contact with possible partners.” 

He nodded. “I think everyone’s in the same situation,” he said, thoughtfully. “This is such a new place, with so many people coming in every day, I think it’ll be some time before everything’s settled. I find that I quite like that, though,” he confessed. “That’s actually the whole reason I came, from London. I think, judging from the number on my immigration application, I was in the first two hundred people to actually be accepted as a resident. I came for the excitement, the whole…verve of the city, you know?”

“Whoa, that’s impressive, being within the first two hundred.” He leaned back in the chair, slowly sipping his tea, taking a pause after every nip. “I found the city quite silent, for my part, I haven’t met too many people yet, although whom I met, almost all of them were nice and friendly.”

He shrugged. “Not really so impressive,” he replied modestly. “As soon as I heard about the plans for the city, I decided that that was where I wanted to be. I made a few phone calls and set up the arrangements immediately. Maybe more impulsive than impressive,” he smiled. “I think any thoughtful bloke would’ve done a bit of research first.”

Another shrug. Rafi noticed that Damon had a habit of doing that. “This is something that I wanted to be a part of,” he added. “So far, I haven’t regretted it for a moment. This is the greatest city in the world, my friend,” he smiled. “We should all count ourselves lucky to be here. Or that we’re impulsive enough to be here,” he finished, poking fun at his own foible.

He spoke with his hands as he explained himself, obviously excited about the proposal. “This is an amazing place in which we make our homes, my friend,” he smiled. “Every day I wake up, I feel like I’m on the edge of something important, you know? On the cusp of history.”

Behind him, Rasgar could have cared less. He was still fascinated at the swimming fish in the small trough on which he leaned. But Rafi noticed that he was still behaving himself; the worst he did was testing the edge of the water occasionally with one of his massive paws.

Rafi smiled as he eyed his friend, and was proud of him. What if he could spoke, too, he mused for a moment. “Yeah, on the edge… I saw a meta-battle on my first day here. Some local gang-member told me that there are vampires near my loft, and that wasn’t the last in the row of surprises… definitely on the edge of something” he chuckled but his eyes were serious.

“There’s going to be bad eggs everywhere, I think, Rafi,” Damon replied. “Remember what I said about the Godlings with their bad hair days? With so many of them here in one place, I think the stakes are just a bit higher than they are anywhere else.”

“But you know what I starting to think?” he added, creeping closer to the edge of his seat excitedly. “I’m starting to notice how much, when things happen in this city, how people want to get involved to fix it. I think that’s unbelievable, my friend. In any other big city I’ve even been to…New York, Moscow, London, Munich…it’s just not like that. People want to turn away from trouble, like it’ll go away, if only they close their eyes, you know? But what I think is that people here…they have the power to make things right, when they see something that’s not right. They do something about it. I’ve never seen that, anyplace in the world I’ve ever been before, Rafi. It makes me proud to be a human being when I see things like that.”

“Sure. It’s based on Mr. Fujikawa’s dream. All, who came here, had a reason to do that, and tries to protect it, I think.” So do I, he thought, when I revealed myself without a second thought when I noticed yesterday that earthquake. “It’s not just about the powers, it’s about the way they think and behave” he finished.

“I saw an eight-year old girl on the telly yesterday,” he shook his head in wonder. “Fighting a bunch of tough guys in robot suits. Do you know how wonderful that is? What it says about us, as people? It makes me think that, just maybe, all those people who say the whole world’s going down the loo’re wrong. Maybe it isn’t about us. Maybe it’s just the fact that, with all the governments, all the people that have all this money just so they can keep anybody else from having any, we’ve all started to think we’re powerless to do anything. And so, we don’t. And we’ve been letting the world systematically crumble at the edges for years now. But now that people realize they have power here, that they can really do something….”

He smiled. Took a sip of his tea. “It’s like magic, I think,” he finished.

“The magic of hope and thinking” smiled Rafi back. “The battle I mentioned, it was between a little girl, who could grow up to the sky and some freak in green armors. Probably the same you saw on TV. I saw a part of that fight from the first line. It was terrible. And it was not too far from here, if I remember the environs correctly.”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Maybe. I walked in on the story halfway.”

He sighed, and swigged from his tea. “It’s wonderful that a little girl could fight off those guys, but it’s scary, too, isn’t it?” he looked at Damon with a lifted eyebrow. “What could the normal humans think if they see that even a so little girl could fight like that? Would they think that ‘Hey, what a good girl, she protects us from the bad guys’.” Rafi shook his head, and shrugged. It was a little infectious as Damon did that continuously. “I fear no. They would think, ‘Look at that! They are so dangerous, even a child! What should we do with them to protect us?!’. It’s in their blood, to fear any unusual, and to put it into cells and behind bars, to study it or destroy it.”

Damon nodded sagely. “You’re absolutely right, I think,” he agreed. “Which is why I don’t think that what we have here in Elysium would work anywhere else in the world, even if we tried it. Here, we’re not so much of a minority, you know? And everybody without powers came here because they wanted to, so either they’re not predisposed against meta-people--or they just don’t care,” he laughed gently. “So I think we should probably treasure what he have here and do whatever we possibly can to make it work. And also, we should never forget that we have a rare chance here to show people that they shouldn’t be afraid of all of us. They more of us out there doing good things… well, I guess I like to think that people’ll realize we’re just like anybody else. There’s good meta-people and bad ones. You have to accept the good ones and join up with ‘em to make sure you hold the bad ones at arms length.”

“That’s what I think about it, too. I mean, the joining against the bad people, independent from their powered or powerless nature.” Rafi said that with glittering eyes as he was happy that he found somebody who thinks alike. “The only problem, that the X-men tried to walk this path, and even they’re gone… I could only hope that if a whole city shows that it could work, the last of world will see and think about it.

He sipped his tea. “I know it’s harder than it sounds,” he acknowledged. “But if we don’t try, We could lose it all. Then this miracle of a place’ll be just like everywhere else. And that’s a tragedy that I’m not willing to have rest on my shoulders. I never want somebody to look at me and say: ‘hey Damon, what were you doing when Elysium went straight to Hell?’” he shook his head. “I want to be able to say I was one of the ones trying to save it.”

Rafi felt himself a little ashamed as he listened to these thoughts. The main reason he came here was to finally be himself, without hair-dying, without hiding Rasgar, and his other creations; and the city offered very good terms to start his own life. And now, he met someone who wanted to save the world itself and change the people on it. It was like meeting a philosopher or a peace-warrior. Okay, he knew that everything must be started at small, so probably he wasn’t late, but it annoyed him a little. 

Then a memory came up from today’s events; that green-gold-black symbol… and Rafi’s mood eased. He knew that life already offered a path for him, to try and make the world a better place. If he’ll choose that, maybe he has to fight, or even could be killed, but if Carm could do that, then why don’t him, he asked himself. “Yup, we have to do what we can.” His voice was serious from the thoughts he had before.

“I’m interested in you circle if you don’t mind. I never had the chance to dance with gifted people before.” Rafi looked at his host, with hope on his face. He was a little worried how Damon will take the request, but what he already showed, it seemed that that won’t be a problem either.

He nodded. “We’d love to have you,” he smiled back, sipping his tea in such a way that Rafi thought that he had to have grown up in a wealthy household. He seemed like he held the cup in a precise way, something that accentuated the refined, cultured way in which he spoke. He was obviously educated and articulate, but in such a way that Rafi felt like he wasn’t being pretentious--it was simply the way that he was. “We usually dance three or four times a week,” he continued. “In fact, we’ll be getting together tomorrow, though I haven’t yet decided where our roda will be yet. I have a tendency to decide at the last moment, you see. I prefer to call everyone in the circle an hour before we begin to tell them where we’ll be, on any given day. I like the spontaneity that comes with the arrangement. I think there’s a bit of the thrill in the unknown, if you understand me,” he smiled gently.

A delighted smile lit up on Rafi’s face when he heard that Damon allowed him to join. “Since my things are in the air yet, I can’t swear you that I can join every occasion, but I’ll try. Back at home I used to dance a much as much free time I had, but here the twist dragged me temporarily.” 

Another little shrug. “That’s quite fine,” he replied. “Not everyone makes it to every roda,” he confessed. “Hopefully, you’ll have a good enough time at ours that you’ll make a point of making it back as often as you can, though.”

“That spontaneity sounds good as I’ll know the city better through this, I think, and it’s a good thing.”

“I like it,” he said between sips of his tea. “It keeps things fresh, I think. And like you said, seeing new things is always a good thing, in my books.”

He looked over at Rasgar. “You’re obviously--how did you say it?” he cocked his head. There was that sly smile again. “--gifted, yourself, my friend. “You know, I’ve been to South America more than once and can’t confess to’ve ever seen a jaguar exactly that shade of green before,” he mused.

He took another sip of his tea as he waited for his guest to respond.

Rafi smiled happily, for the first time today when this question came up. “I have roots in Brazil, through my mother, so I was there not once, and I know what you’re talkin’ ‘bout” He nodded thoughtfully; the lights glinted on his deep green braids as he did it. “Rasgar is a part of me, though he has became quite individual over the years.” He placed his hand over his chest, where the original tattoo laid “He is on my flesh, and in my imagination, and since this morning, he is real in this world, too. As for his green… this color has big role in my life, it seems” he chuckled and wondered silently what may happened with Carm since the morning. 

“I have the power to bring alive any given image I see” he explained finally.

Damon nodded and smiled, pausing a bit before speaking so the whole of what Rafi said could sink in on him. The Englishman had a way of speaking slowly, he noticed, like he was putting a great deal of thought into everything he said. “That’s amazing,” he finally said. “You’re an artist,” he said, looking over at Rasgar, who was still gazing down into the water, fascinated by all the fish within. “An artist on the canvas of life. And I’d say that your friend over there,” he pointed with his pinky, using the hand that held his cup, “is a definite masterpiece.”

Rafi grinned proudly as he glanced over at Rasgar. “He is more than a masterpiece. He is a friend” he said, and Rasgar looked back to him as he used to when he knows that the conversation is about him. “The true masterpiece is on the back of someone who is very important to me” he added at last.

“Ah,” he nodded with a little smile that let Rafi know he knew exactly what he meant.

“Talkin’ about powers… may I ask what is yours?” he tilted his head as he looked at his host.

Another pause. For a moment, Damon looked lost in thought. But finally, almost abruptly, like he’d come to some kind of silent decision in his own mind, stood up from his seat. “Come with me,” he said, placing his teacup down on the table next to his chair. “I think, maybe, it’s one of those things I’d be better off showing you than telling you.”

“Sure, lead the way.” He was curious what power it might be, if they must leave the room to activate it. Maybe it isn’t teleport, then, but something that needs more open place.

Rafi began to follow him out of the room, out through the foyer that marked the entrance to his room and down a hallway that led deeper into his house. Rasgar noticed that he walked away and, reluctantly, tore his attention away from the water, jogging lively after the two of them until he reach Rafi’s side.

He smiled down at the jaguar, and stroked his fur on his back momentary, to welcome him, while they continued to follow the master of the house.

The great jade jaguar drew closer to his side, bumping the side of his face up against Rafi’s leg, nearly knocking him over in the process. It was an affectionate thing, but with his size and mass, it was almost enough to spill him over anyway. Rafi managed to catch himself, only shuffling slightly, which was good; he really would prefer not to embarrass himself in front of his new friend quite so soon. Rasgar didn’t seem to care in the slightest, continuing to rub up and down against his thigh as they walked.

Rafi was grateful that he had some many years of dancing behind his back, otherwise his friend would have knocked him off his feet. He chuckled silently and petted his head a little. “Okay, boy, okay. I know. Take a look what Damon wants to show us” he whispered grinning widely.

“Erm,” he looked back at him. “Before I show you… you don’t have anything against bugs, do you?” he asked.

He made it sound like it was a very important question.

Rafi made an interrogative face, surprised by the question, but then he remembered the statue in front of the house. Could it be that Damon could turn into a ladybug or alike? Or would he control them? He mused for a moment, before he answered. “Erm, I used to squash the fleas and the skeeters, but other than that I have no revulsion against them. Some insect could be very useful for my powers, to be honest.”

He stopped at a door on the right side of the hall, reached out to the doorknob and turned it, but did not open it. He seemed to consider what Rafi said for a moment, nodding slightly.

“Why do you ask?”

He looked back at Rafi. “I’ll show you,” he said.

He finished turning the knob. Pushed the door open. Damon strode in only a few steps and did not step to the side, allowing Rafi only to get maybe three feet into the room behind him and making him see it’s contents around his slight frame.

But what he saw, even from there, took his breath away.

Rafi gasped, and froze there within the last step. He just stared forward, over Damon’s shoulders as he tried to intercept the wholeness of the room and its contents.

The Englishman chuckled a little bit. "Be careful you don't step on anyone," he cautioned him. "I've told them not to come too close...but sometimes, they can't help themselves. They get curious, just like anybody else, I suppose."

The room within was not a large affair, probably about the same size the living room, Rafi thought, if that. The far wall of the place was just like the one in that area as well, a rough face of shale with a stone trough at the bottom that created a constantly-cycling, gentle waterfall. But any similarities between the two ended there. The carpet on the floor stopped abruptly two feet inside the room, as did the floor itself; Rafi could see that it dropped down about four inches from the level of the rest of the house. There, the rest of the firmament became grass, lush and green, perhaps three or four inches tall! Rafi stood agape at the sight of it. It was real grass! Clearly alive and growing! He noticed that the lights in the room, from the ceiling had a strange yellowish tint to them and he instantly reasoned that they must’ve helped allow it to grow indoors in such a way. He also guessed that beneath the soil was actually the Earth itself, which was why the house was built so low to the ground. The waterfalls, everything made sense to him now, as he gazed out onto the only decorations in the room, a stone sculpture of a ladybug, right in the center of the room atop the grass, and a stone basin, filled with a sweet-smelling fluid, right next to it.

The room was full of ladybugs.

Rafi’s mind struggled to take it all in. There had to be tens of thousands of them inside the room, he guessed. They covered every one of the walls, in such a way that you could see more black and red motion on them than you could the forest green-colored paint beneath it. They were on the trough at the water’s edge and drinking from the stone feeder and wandering about on top of the sculpture. The air was absolutely abuzz with the little things, each mote whirring around to and fro in such a way that the air seemed to hum with the sound of a million little gentle wingbeats.

The first thought of Rafi was that it’s amazing, like the Man Ray Park shrunk into a room’s confines, green and lively. The second was to put his hand on Rasgar’s neck, to hold him in place, because he guessed that this little niche of the nature would pull him, like nothing before in the city.

He could tell that the verdant feline wanted nothing more than to charge past the both of them onto the soft green grass, flop onto his back and roll around on its lush, soothing texture. But Rafi's steadied hand kept him from doing so. Instead, he satisfied himself with pawing at the edge of it, where the paw became terra, exploring it one claw at a time. He watched his friend sniff it, too, taking nature in through his wide muzzle as he could. He seemed to relish even the ten square feet of springtime with pleasure.

The room was full of ladybugs.

Rafi’s mind struggled to take it all in. There had to be tens of thousands of them inside the room, he guessed. They covered every one of the walls, in such a way that you could see more black and red motion on them than you could the forest green-colored paint beneath it. They were on the trough at the water’s edge and drinking from the stone feeder and wandering about on top of the sculpture. The air was absolutely abuzz with the little things, each mote whirring around to and fro in such a way that the air seemed to hum with the sound of a million little gentle wingbeats.

“Marvelous” he breathed in total amazement. His mind drank the sight; he knew that this will show up in a new picture someday.

Rasgar looked fascinated by the sight. And Rafi noticed that not one of them came closer to him or his feline friend, whether on wing or crawling, than two feet distant.

"You like it?" he asked, though it was obviously a rhetorical question, looking over his shoulder at his guest with a little grin before turning his attention back towards the thousands of tiny insects within the room. "You wouldn't believe how expensive it was to have built. But I think it was worth it," he smiled again. "Especially when I'm here."

As Rafi was an artist, his tools for self-expression were the various pencils and pens, not words. He just nodded eagerly, and showed OK with his thumb. His fingers were itching as he tapped his beltpack, to take out his sketchbook, but he held himself back. Well, at least he tried like he held Rasgar at bay. He knew what he wanted, and he would like to do that by himself, too, but here they weren’t able to do that. They could ruin this lithe shelter within seconds, and he didn’t want to do that.

Not so Damon. The little things seemed to gravitate to him. He watched as a single one spun lazily through the air; he extended his hand and it came gracefully to rest right on the tip of his finger. A moment later, and it was joined by a few dozen others. Soon, his entire hand was covered in red and black-dotted movement.

He looked over at Rafi and smiled. “They seem to like me, the little guys,” he mused. “This is every single ladybug that I’ve been able to find, anywhere in the world, since it first started snowing, a few years back. Probably the only ones left alive, outside of Man Ray, the poor dears,” he frowned.

“I am speechless” the artist said, shaking his head slightly. “This is a great surprise, though the statue in front of your house gave some hint, I never thought that I’ll find so many ladybug here.”

“I can talk to them, hear ‘em,” he explained, looking down at his hand. “I first found out about it when I heard them screaming, dying ‘cause of the cold,” he said. “Which is when I started traveling all over the world, trying to save as many of ‘em as I could. See, they can hear me, too. And they’re the sweetest, gentlest little guys in the world,” he looked over at Rafi and smiled. So I built this place for ‘em. A place to wait, until the world warms up again. They’ve got everything they need, right here, until then.”

“I am so with my pictures. I could hear and see them, as they do with me. It’s a good thing that they’ll live. The world’d be much poorer without them.”

"I dunno what I'm gonna do when the winter's finally gone," he shook his head. "I've talked to a lot of people who seem to know a lot about the weather, the climate in general," he explained. "They're telling me that most of the damage's already done. It's been cold so long that the ecosystem's already been destroyed. Even if it got warm tomorrow, all the stuff my little friends like to eat's already dead. It'll probably never come back. I'd basically be releasing them to their deaths."

“As long as we have people with the gift to talking to the plants and help them grow, I think the world could be saved.” Rafi tilted his head as he watched the room and it’s inhabitants, not directly Damon. “Or if someone could make the heat or light obey her that could be useful for the flora, too. We just have to find the proper gift and the willing gifted to help.”

“Maybe,” he nodded, considering it. “You know, when you put it like that, maybe it’s not up to one or two of us…but all of us. When I say that, I mean Elysium City. Everybody in Elysium City. Like I said, this whole city’s all about people helping people, when they have it in them to do so. Maybe if we found some way for everybody to help…maybe between all of us, we could do it.”

Rasgar leaned his head up against Rafi’s hip, rubbed himself up and down against the material of his pants affectionately. It must have sounded like a good idea to him, he thought with some mild amusement.

“Heh” he chuckled “it sounds like an advertisement for a talent-show, doesn’t it?” Rafi glanced back at Damon and lifted his left eyebrow. “A show for saving the planet. I think it could move the people. Hm… maybe we could use the old Captain Planet figure as the main sponsor” he chuckled, but then his face became serious. “But we have to be very careful as the terrorist would come there, for sure.”

“Isn’t that what the super-heroes are there for?” he smiled wryly. “I mean, if us normal gifted people are going to turn into heroes for a little while…I would think it’s the least they could do to make sure we were left alone long enough to do something, hm?”

“He-he, yes, we’re the giants on the playground, and they’ll be our guardians when the bullies’ll come to trash our sandcastle.” Rafi chuckled as he envisioned the scene, Elysium City as the field, the Avengers and the X-men standing around while the inhabitants of the do their tricks to better the world, and all look like those chibi-drawings. 

“And else those experts say, hm?”

He frowned looking over at Rafi. "They say that if it suddenly got warm again, it'd be the worst thing imaginable," he shook his head. "The water levels'd rise so much the flooding'd kill most of the land-life on Earth--what hasn't been killed already. Plus, without all the plants to eat up the carbon dioxide people release just by breathing, the atmosphere'd be hostile within a matter of months. Then, there's the matter of everything that's been killed in the cold. When all the bodies thaw out, they expect disease to start running rampant. In a way, Rafi, it may very well be that you're looking at our future. The people I talk to--the ones that would know--are saying that we're better off with the winter than we are with the alternative."

“It could be” nodded Rafi sagely. “But we must find a solution, anyway. I’d rather swim a lot and try to grow a gill, or learn a way to fly than freeze in the moment when I leave my house. I’m almost as much a jungle-cat as my jade jaguar.” He smiled and stroked the thick fur on the back of his friend. “I mean, I like the warm and foresty environments.”

“If I understood you right before, I’d say you were right the first time,” Damon countered. “You’re as much a jungle cat as Rasgar…and he’s just as human as you,” he mused. “The two of you are opposite side of the same coin. Maybe you have different faces and are made of different stuff…but you’re still one inseparable thing, if you understand me. Which is part of what I think makes the two of you so amazing and fascinating,” he smiled. “I think your power didn’t as much make him as it made the union between your dreams and reality, you know? It was just the magic that brought the two of you together. The both of you always existed, in some way or fashion.”

He shrugged. “I think I like it better that way, anyway,” he laughed slightly.

Rafi became silent as he thought over the things Damon said. Then he nodded delightedly when replied to him. “I used to say something similar, when somebody ask where I got Rasgar and I don’t want to tell directly that I’m a meta” he paused for a moment, but then went on. “Like today, when I was at Aaron and his band was there. I told that Rasgar came to me from Dreamland, to reality… I used almost the same words like you now, isn’t that funny?” he looked at Damon, and grinned wryly.

“We are one.” He said at last, looking down the massive cat, who glanced back askew, their eyes reflected in each other’s.

He sighed. "I know there's got to be a way to fix it," he nodded, though more to himself than to Rafi. "I can feel it in my bones, my friend. There's just too many of us, with all of our gifts not to be. But what that way is, I'm afraid," he said, his voice trailing off with a shrug, as if to say he had no more answer than anyone else.

“Yup, we have to find it. As you said, everyone could do his or her own little to help the big picture to form.”

A swarm of the little beetles flew away off of his wrist, setting down atop the stone feeder. “When I touch ‘em, a bit of ‘em rubs off on me, too,” he smiled. “I’m every bit as fast as a ladybug, every bit as strong…except because I’m big, it’s all relative, y’know. And believe it or not, for their size, they’re very strong. I can probably lift ten times as much as I could, before I found out what I could do. Plus, I can fly, though I don’t have wings, just like they can.”

“Woot” that was all he could say. “This is even more amazing than I thought until now! Your power is truly wonderful.” Rafi’s mind already was on the wing as he imagined the Briton over the sky in the park, surrounded by a swarm of ladybug. Then a flash and he saw his sister there, too, following them, giggling all the while.

He looked down at Rasgar. “So y’see, Rafi, I have my own best friends, just like you.”

“Only mine wear little black polka dots.”

Rafi smiled and cocked his head, cleared his throat and borrowed the voice of Bogart. “Damon, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.“

He laughed a little. "How so?"

He smiled so wide that his face began to hurt, but he just couldn’t stop it. “It’ll be shameless, but I think, you could help me a lot, if you have some free time. And I’m not talking about dancing now.”

Damon looked over at Rafi and smiled. One of the ladybugs spiraled around in flight and landed directly on the tip of his nose, prompting laughter from the both of them. "All right," he said, though he clearly didn't have the heart to brush the tiny thing away. "I admit, I'm curious," he mused. "I'm not so sure what a bloke who's half-beetle could offer a guy with the kind of wonderful gifts you've got, though. But if I can, I'll tell you right now--I'd be happy to help you. Like I said before, I think that's what this city's all about, is doing what you can do to help, when you can."

“My sister would come here on Tuesday. Her powers surfaced just a few days ago, and one of them if flying. I think you could help her a lot, how to do that without hurting herself or anything around. And I think she’d love your friends, too.” He glanced at Damon, the question radiated from his eyes.

Damon smiled back at his new friend. "Really?" he asked. "Your sister can fly, can she?" Rafi thought he sounded genuinely excited by the thought; even though it was part of his own repertoire, it was like he was hearing about a gifted person for the first time in his life. "That's unbelievable," he shook his head with a little laugh. "And you want me to give her flight lessons?" he pointed at himself.

“Sure” the young meta agreed excitedly. “You said you can fly, and I’m sure that you do that with more experience than Jo has. To be honest, she wasn’t really happy when it happened for the first time, I managed to give her a little self-confidence, but if she could meet with you, prolly at the park… it certainly would make her even more cheerful.”

He met Rafi's eyes with a big grin. "Of course, I'd be happy to," he said. And Rafi could tell that he really was happy about it. Obviously, we'll be exchanging numbers before you leave, so I can call you about where we'll be dancing next," he explained. "Whenever you sister arrives and she's ready, phone me. I'll pack up a few of my friends and we'll go visit the park together. The three of us'll make a day of it...flying, maybe have a picnic," he looked down at Rasgar and smiled, "playing frisbee with your friend, maybe. Does that sound good?" he asked.

“Hell yeah!” looked Rafi gratefully at Damon. “It is very nice from you that you agreed to my request. We have just met, and your help would mean so much to my sister, and me, that I can’t be thankful enough.”

“It’s nothing,” he shrugged. “Like I said, it’s in the spirit of the city to help, when you can. Who am I to refuse something so grandiose?” he countered.

“What can I offer in return? You want a good drawing? Or a tattoo?” he smiled at his host.

He reached out and clapped him gently on his shoulder. “You seem like a really good guy, Rafi,” he replied. “How about this, instead: you can pay me back simply by being a friend. And by letting me be the first one to know if you can think of some way we can all get together and save this screwed-up world of ours,” he smiled. “To me, those two things’re worth more than any money.”

“A far goal, but then we have time to know each other, and dance a lot until we reach it, huh?” Rafi smiled back, amazed by the gentleness of Damon.

The slight young man just smiled even wider. "Sounds perfect to me," he replied.

There was just something about Damon, Rafi considered, the word gentle springing to his mind once again. He really was a sensitive soul, considerate and thoughtful. He was obviously very well-educated and mannered...but Rafi couldn't help but wonder if perhaps, when he touched his friends, he had adopted more than their physical characteristics. Maybe, with the spark of his power, he had also gained some of their harmless, friendly way, as well. Something that had touched and possessed his very soul as well as his body.

Gentle, he thought again.

Gentle as a ladybug.

The ladybug took flight from his nose once again. Rafi noticed that all of the small beetles had flown off of him by then, leaving him as clean as he'd been when he'd walked in. However he spoke to the ladybugs, he realized, he wasn't able to hear it.

He tried to remember what he learned about the insects during his school years, but he didn’t find too many information. Maybe he did the talking telepathically, he mused, or with subtle movements, with his body language. He knew that he could ask it, but he kept his curiosity for himself for now.

"C'mon," he nodded back in the direction of the living room, helping him out the door in front of him. "Let's go back out front. Our tea's getting cold, I'm sure."

Rasgar looked up at Rafi. He could tell that his friend really didn't want to leave.

“I know, buddy” smiled down Rafi heavy-heartedly at the great feline. “We’ll stop at the Park on our way home, and you can run and climb there for a while, okay? Now c’mon.”

But he did anyway, as the three of them marched back down the hall.

“I still can’t really believe what you got in your backroom, Damon. It’s so amazing” said Rafi.

“I’ll tell you what, Rafi, I’m lucky that I could afford to have it built,” he replied seriously. “Before I came to Elysium City, I was fortunate enough to be pretty successful professionally. At least, successful enough that when I realized that I was gifted, I could afford to travel around the world a few times and save as many of my friends back there as I could, then have that little place built for them back there. If it wasn’t for that, I don’t know what I’d have done.”

“Prolly you’d do the same, just within smaller confines. Though the money isn’t as important, this shows how useful could it be if you have enough.” Rafi said that as serious as Damon before. He didn’t know how much money needed to build this home, but he didn’t care the slightest. Only the result counted, and it looked amazing.

He nodded gently, seeming to agree. "Probably," he said. "I just feel terrible that they have to stay in such a small area. I know that they want to be outside, where they belong, I can feel it, when I touch them. I think I've gotten them to understand that I can't let them do that, that it's bad for them...but it doesn't make me feel any better about it," he sighed.

He looked down at Rasgar. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t have let your friend in to run around and play for a little while,” he frowned slightly. “I didn’t mean to seem rude, but I was afraid he might accidentally step on one by accident…and with as few left as there are,” he sighed, “I was just a little too nervous to take the risk. But I feel like a royal shit for not being able to let him enjoy himself. He really looked like he wanted to play terribly.

The young meta nodded, and smiled faintly as he stroked the feline’s back again. “Yeah, you’re right, he wanted to jump in and run like crazy. I wanted that too, but I came to the same conclusion as you, that we’d probably squash accidentally a few of your friends, and I couldn’t take the risk. We’ll stop at Man Ray on our way back home, I think.”

The mere mention of the last green place on Earth made Damon smile from ear-to-ear. "That sounds like a fabulous idea. I'd actually ask if you wouldn't mind me coming along, but I've got some visitors coming over later...and since they were sort of vague about when they'd be by, I think I'd better stay home. I don't know if you've had a chance to walk around there since you've been in the city, but it's unbelievable, Rafi. And from what I understand, the city really only has a little to do with it. They have some small weather-controlling machines there, I hear, but they don't even bother running 'em anymore. Remember how you and I were talking about somebody that's got a gift to control the climate?" he raised a brow, drinking some of his cooling tea. "I think that's what's going on there, though nobody's sure who it is."

“Wow, a secret benefactor, hiding within the confines of the park?” Rafi was surprised; he thought that someone does that officially. “No, I didn’t have the time to explore that treasure yet. I made a promise to someone that we’ll do it together, but I think a little running and foolery doesn’t count as exploring” he grinned joyfully, and his eyes sparkled with mischief.

He laughed slightly. "You and Rasgar take care while you're out there," he added. "You never know what you might run into out there. People say they've seen all kinds of odd animals inside the park. Giraffes, elephants...that kind of thing. So something's afoot, even if we don't know what, yet."

Rafi followed suit, the gentle sound of the man-made waterfall that was the wall behind him making a soothing bubbling noise, like the sound of spring rain falling behind him. It smelled fresh and clean, too, and Rasgar immediately went back to its edge, fascinated once more by the fish swimming in the impromptu pool beneath it.

“Elephants?!” he asked back discrediting. “I saw on the map that it’s big, but they need a lot of space…” Rafi looked down at the feline again, addressing the next sentence to him. “You hear that? Maybe we’ll find relatives for ya’… but prolly they wouldn’t be such lovely green as you are.” How would that be, he mused, a meeting between a real, Earth-born jaguar and Rasgar. 

Rasgar looked back at him, his deep emerald eyes asparkle with curiosity. It was hard to tell if that inquisitive streak was born of the new surroundings of Damon's house, what he'd just finished saying about other jaguars, or just the normal insatiable curiosity that came with being feline.

He turned around in a little circle once Rafi'd finished talking before going back to the bubbling waterfall and its bounty of placidly swimming fish at its foot. He could have probably sat there all day and watched them, he supposed, watching his friend dip his face close enough to the water's surface to wet his whiskers. The truth was, so could Rafi, had he not been in the presence of a young man that he was coming to find quite engaging and excellent company. The two of them might come to be good friends, he considered, judging by this first meeting. It would be nice to have somebody to call a real friend in the strange city, that would be for certain.

After that his thoughts trailed back to the dance-group, and their own powers.

“Could you tell me something about the others whom you dance with? I’m curious about their abilities as a dancer, and yours as well.” He smiled wryly. 

“Sure,” he replied. “I must say I haven’t been dancing very long, though; I’m probably not nearly as good as you are. I only learned last year when I was on my ‘Save the Ladybugs’ tour,” he explained. “I was down in Brazil seeing how many I might be able to recover down there when I ran into a few dancers enjoying themselves in a roda. I was pretty stressed out at the time and decided that it looked like something fun, something I might be able to enjoy, that could help me relax when I had some time to myself. After I started dancing, I got hooked right away,” he smiled.

“Maybe I’m more experienced, but I have no physical power to keep up with you, like strength or flying” answered Rafi, without any jealousy or complaining, it was a simply statement. “I dance since I was, well, twelve or so…” he paused thinking, and then pulled a long face “and it was almost 10 years ago.”

“It’s pretty addictive I should say. I left my stage-magician carrier for the dancing” smirked Rafi not without some self-irony.

"You were a stage magician?" he laughed, clapping his hands together with mirth. "That's marvelous! I think, at some point during their childhood, everybody wants to be a magician! At least they do right after they see their first show," he smiled. And as he did it, there was a certain quality to his expression that made Rafi think that, perhaps, he had a very fond memory associated with the cape and the baton. But if he did, he didn't speak of it.

Rafi laughed along with Damon, and nodded smirking. “Yup, that was how it happened. I practiced for a year, maybe two, but then I met the capoerira, so I dropped the cape,” he explained, and while they were still walking back to the room, he palmed out one of his cards from the beltpack, showed it to Damon, then hid it, showed his empty hands and a few moments later he pulled out the card from Rasgar’s ear. 

"Ha!" he laughed delightedly, rolling back in his chair as he did it. "Marvelous! You've still got it!" he grinned cheerfully.

“Ta-dah!” he chuckled, “not much, but my fingers became pretty agile thanks to this childhood-dream.”

“Like I said, there’s six of us,” he continued. “There best of us, by far, is Lise. She’s incredible, Rafi, like poetry in motion,” he shook his head. “Her gift affects her motion somehow,” he tried to explain as they made their way back into the living room. “She’s so fast, the way she says it, she has to try hard not to break the sound barrier. She tells me she likes to use the roda as a kind of meditative thing,” he nodded. “For her, it’s therapeutic--otherwise, she’d go crazy. Imagine living in a world where everything around you is constantly in slow-motion,” he reasoned, sitting back down on his chair. “I can see what she means. It’d drive me crazy, too.”

Rafi’s jaw fell as he heard that, and his mouth hung open until he managed to gather himself. “Not to break the sound-barrier?! Woot! That is almost an unimaginable speed!”

He nodded in agreement, putting down his empty teacup. "You'll have to see it for yourself, Rafi," he chuckled. "It really is almost unimaginable. And I'm not sure how she does it, but when she moves, she has a way of not disturbing the air around her. She's absolutely silent, even when she's going hundreds of miles an hour. It's just amazing."

The artist in him made Rafi thinking about the woman, with dark hair, and tanned skin, clad in both deep and sky blue, whooshing through the night in total silence, without any noise and strain; her sparkling teal eyes leaving visible trail behind, like a reflector after the cars. Running around the globe, just to do her nightly jog, to keep herself in form. It was a nice picture, worth of drawing. Later, he decided, after the ladybugs, and the landscapes. When I’ll have my PC set up. The computer’s mentioning made him thinking about the gangstas. What did they say?, he mused, if they didn’t get back around noon, there was a problem? He looked down at his phone, to see the time, and sighed when noticed that they’re after noon by a few hours already. I hope they are doin’ well, he thought.

“Do you use your gifts in the roda?”

“I do,” he nodded, “not that I can really help myself. After I touch one of my friends,” he explained, “as I said, I take on a lot of their characteristics. When that happens, it’s a part of me. I can’t turn it on and off,” he shrugged. “So yeah, it helps out in the roda,” he smiled.

“At least, it helps me keep up with Lise,” he laughed.

“Hm, I’m even more curious for our first dance. At home, I was one of the best dancers. Here it seems I have to work on my style even to keep up with your band” he grinned wryly.

He waved the thought off. "Don't worry about it," he smiled. "It's not a competition, by any means. Sure, it's nice to be thought of as good, but I'd wager you're better than me, with all of your experience," he nodded. "Just come with us and have some fun, I say. That's the most important part."

Rafi nodded smiling. “Yup, it’s about fun, and not a competition with prize, but it definitely has the feeling when you have someone to keep up with. It forces you to try harder, on a friendly way, I mean.”

"I know what you mean," he said. "It would be amazing if you could push Lise like that," he added. "Sometimes, she's so good I wonder if she gets bored with the rest of us."

Rafi just smiled in response, while the thoughts swirled in his head. Actually, he meant that Lise could push him, to be even better than now, but if Damon thinks that he is so good, then he changed his mind. This advanced confidence stroked Rafi’s soul and pride, though he tried not to show it.

Damon looked out his front window at the snow and the wind. "Life's way too short to worry about all that other stuff," he said, then looked back at Rafi and smiled.

“Yeah, there are enough things to worry, who needs a new?” his thoughts again went back to Carmilla and to the skull with tentacles. Why me?, he wondered, and why now? Rafi shook his head a little, and forced the problems to the back of his mind for now.

"Now, would you like more tea? Or do you and your friend have to make a beeline for the Park?"

“Thanks, I accept one more cup.” He looked at Rasgar, still eyeing the fishes and then turned his attention back to Damon, smiling wryly. “As I see, my friend found some interesting prey to engage himself for a while, so we don’t have to hurry.”

He stood up and walked back into the kitchen. "I'm glad he likes 'em," he said, his voice seeming to get a little hollow as he spoke to him from the other room. "They're nice little fishies, I suppose. They don't bother anyone...and they seem to be happy enough just swimming around in my little stone pond."

“I think they wouldn’t be so happy, if Rasgar’d try to pull them out, which he would do if I wouldn’t be here, I’m sure” replied Rafi on a little raised voice, to ensure that Damon will hear his answer.

He heard his host get a small chuckle out of the comment. "I'm sure he would, though I'm not sure you could really blame him, could you?" he mused. "That's what jaguars do. It's too easy, blaming an animal for what thousands of years of honed instincts compel it to do. And if I'm not mistaken, cats like your spotted friend out there are quite excellent fishermen, aren't they? I think I remember seeing that, on a nature show once."

“I know, and no, I can’t blame him, but still I think it isn’t a good way to present ourselves in someone’s home if we catch his friends and eat all his fishes from the pond” he laughed out loud. “Fortunately Rasgar feels that, too, so I don’t have to worry about it. He has a very good behavior.”

He came back a moment later with another pair of teacups and placed Rafi's down next to the empty one, by the small silver containers of cream and sugar. He dropped back into his chair and gave a little sigh. "Let's see," he said, musing over a thought for a moment. "You asked about some of the others. Graham's got kind of an odd gift," he said. "He can see through walls. It's the funniest thing, without his glasses, he can't see a bloody thing, but when he's got 'em on, he can see things you and me couldn't see with a microscope...even a couple dozen miles away. He's a friend of mine, back when we were in London," he explained. "He came with me on my 'Ladybug Crusade'. Without him, I doubt I'd have found half the ones I came across. I got him into Capoeira and he's only been dancing since we've been in town. He's still learning and isn't all that good, to be truthful. But he's a terrific guy. I think you'd like him a lot. Kinda shy, but a lot like you and I, I think," he said, sipping his tea.

“It was nice from him. You say, he could see through walls? And a built-in telescope and microscope? Not bad, if you can use them during your work, I guess. I can see distant things only through my creatures, as I said, I can borrow their senses, a I could even talk through them.” Rafi nodded, just for himself before he went on. “Sometimes it could be funny, sometimes it’s a very strange feeling, depending on the being.”

He nodded as if in understanding.

“When we started dancing, we weren’t too good either. Grace and knowledge will come with time,” he stated.

"That's what I tell him," he said, smiling gently. "But he sees someone like Lise in the roda right before him and I think he gets a little frustrated sometimes that he isn't pick it up just like that," he snapped his fingers softly for emphasis. "Like you said, it'll come. I remember feeling just like that, when I first started, too. I think everyone probably does."

Rafi’s thoughts went back ten years ago, when he first spotted those acrobatic moves within the park, not too far from their home, on a lazy summer afternoon. He remembered the amazement he felt as he stopped with his skateboard, and watched them. He did that from a distance first, quite shyly, but then he stalked closer until he was right next to them. Certainly they spotted him, and invited into their circle, their roda. It was the first time he heard this word, but he liked immediately it’s ringing.

After a few days of watching he gathered enough bravery to step into the circle and to try to copy their moves. He smiled as the memories came back in a row, all his falls, all of the bruises, though the others said that his move is quite remarkable for such a young boy and for a starter. Later, during the years he became one of their best dancers, with his own acrobatic elements and smooth moves. Oh yes, he could remember very well for the start… it gave him a new life and a bunch of friends.

"And then there's Tanya," he continued. "Tanya's a witch--at least, that's what she likes to call it. She's I guess what you'd call a sorceress..real magic, not like the stage magic we were just talking about. She's a really interesting girl," he said. "I guess she grew up in something like a new-age monastery, out here in California. She's also absolutely gorgeous, but..." he smiled, "you mentioned you already had somebody special--so never mind that," he added with a wry smile.

Magic, Rafi thought. Real magic.

At the sound of the word, his imagination immediately began to race.

Rafi smiled shyly, but his eyes showed a definite interest. “I have. But this doesn’t mean that I can’t talk with other gals, or that I can’t dance with ‘em.”

"She's quite good," Damon added. "In that monastery of hers, I guess they trained her body as well as her mind and her spirit. She's a bit...different, but I guess I'm not so used to California yet. To me, the whole vibe out here's much different than anywhere else I've ever been. It's a very different lifestyle, and I think maybe in a good way. I think I'm just still sort of adjusting," he smiled, sipping his refreshed cup of Earl Grey. "Anyway, she's very friendly. I think you two'd like one another, too."

“Yeah, we Californian’s are different” he chuckled at the comment, “it’s caused by the sunshine. We’ll see how well we’d get along” he added, hen his thoughts went back to the power of the girl.

“Real magic from a witch? Stupefying! I’m not too experienced with that thing, anyway, but I’m curious, that’s for sure.” Hell I am, he thought, I have a damn artifact in my possession which I received a not-faerie/not-witch girl, and now I could met a real sorceress. He grinned widely at the idea. 

"I don't know anybody that really is," he countered, "except for Tanya herself, that is. She grew up with magic being a day-to-day thing and while I wouldn't call her jaded about it by any means, it's definitely something she's more used to than anyone else I've ever met."

“Woot. Is it a gift like ours or it’s a craft like our jobs? Or I should ask her, if we meet, I guess.” 

He got a little thoughtful look across his features. "Y'know, I can't say I ever asked," he replied. "I suppose I just naturally thought it was a gift, like yours and mine. But now that you put it like that, I suppose any normal person could just pick up magic, with the right teachers, couldn't they? You're right--we'll have to ask her, when we all get together. Now you've got me a bit curious about it, myself."

The young artist just nodded smiling, as if agreeing the idea. It made him curious, too, that maybe someone could learn magic tricks if she or he gets a good teacher. He knew that it’d take years of training probably, all the tales told that, but who knows, what he could achieve in the future with the ancient tattoo tool and with some little magic.

“What spells she used, you know that? Is she able to heal scars and hard injuries? I made a promise to find someone for a friend.”

He chuckled gently again. "You seem to make a lot of promises, my friend," he smiled slyly. "Actually, I couldn't tell you. I've only seen her do a few different things at the roda. When we're all stretching out, getting ready, she likes to levitate off the floor and do a bit of yoga, I know that, and I'm pretty sure that's some kind of spell. As for the rest of it, once again, I think we'll have to ask her."

“I make promises only if I feel that I could keep them. So far I was successful in this,” he said it as a matter of fact, and his attitude became serious. 

He smiled in such a way that Rafi could tell he hadn't meant anything unflattering by the comment. "That's good," he nodded. "I admire someone that stands by their convictions. It's good to be someone that others know they can take at their word."

“I thought that in this city there must be someone who could heal really bad wounds and injuries, even if they didn’t happen yesterday. If I have to ask everyone one by one, I’ll do it.” He then began to smile mischievously again, and added a last thought. “But I think I should began my search in a hospital first, prolly I’ll be more fortunate there.”

He nodded in agreement. "I have to believe--in this city--there's more than one person at the hospital that's got some kind of ability to heal the sick or hurt," he mused. "I suppose if I were looking for someone like that, I'd start at the biggest hospital in town and work my way from there. Where d'you suppose that is? Elysium City General?"

“I didn’t do much thinking on it yet, but that is a good way to start, I guess” said Rafi making a thoughtful face. “As I said, I arrived here only yesterday, so I didn’t have much free time yet. It seems this city has the ability to make the newcomers busy” he laughed silently over his cup, and swigged some tea.

"It's true, you know," he agreed, nodding sagely. "There's so much to see and do...it's easy to get sidetracked, that's for sure. Sometimes, I think I'll live in this city for the rest of my life and only see a fraction of what it has to offer," he finished. And Damon sounded a little sad at that thought, Rafi mused. He could understand the feeling.

Rasgar, behind Rafi's chair, finally turned away from the waterfall and the golden fish beneath it, sauntering casually up beside the left arm of his seat. There, the great green jaguar yawned once, exposing his powerful fangs for the gesture, then sat himself down at his heel. Rafi watched him close his eyes and settle down on the carpet. He could tell that he'd soon be going to sleep; after all, it had been a long day for an animal that slept upwards of thirteen hours out of the day.

Rafi lied forward in his chair, put down the tea onto the small desk, and stroked the cat’s muzzle and head, to help him asleep.

He hoped he wouldn't snore too loudly when he finally did.

After a few minutes of silence he turned back his attention to Damon, sipped his tea, and continued the conversation as he tilted his head a little.

“You said there are six members in your circle. So far you listed three of them, four, including you. Who are the last two, if I may ask?”

Damon sipped a bit more of his tea before he continued. "That would be Alex and David," he said after he'd drunk it down. "Good mates, I think they have a flat together over in Iron Town. Alex is a boat pilot, he gives water tours of the city that take off from over by City Hall, where you were earlier. David's a computer programmer, though I'm not sure what he works on, to be honest. He doesn't talk about his work too often, with the rest of us."

“I see” nodded Rafi in agreement, “some work doesn’t need comments, and some doesn’t allow them. I’m a drawer and tattoo-maker, so I can speak about it.” He smirked and winked at Damon. “Sometimes too much, as my friends used to say.” 

Damon laughed gently. "I wouldn't say that," he replied. "You're quite good company, I think. Not too many people're quite a thoughtful as you, I think, Rafi," he shrugged slightly. "Even less share our points of view. I think you and I seem to think a lot alike," he grinned.

“I noticed that, too, and found it a good thing” replied Rafi with a faint smile.

“The tour sounds interesting, maybe we’ll take one travel later with my family.”

"Anyway," he continued, "Alex's powers all have to do with water. He can breathe it, like your friend's new pals, my fish," he grinned. "Really, his whole body's perfectly suited to swimming at great depths underwater. He's terribly strong and fast and his skin's tough, to handle all the pressure. Most of all though, you can see it in his eyes. They've got a nictitating membrane over them and he can use it to somehow see underwater, I suppose."

“A fish-man, you say? It’s fit into the concept I said, that your powers could help a lot if you have the right job.” Rafi grinned wryly as he went on. “and it’d be even more useful if the snow melts and we became an underwater city.”

"If that ever happens, Alex may very well end up ruling the world," he snickered.

“I think Namor of Atlantis will have some words against that, don’t you think?” Rafi smiled at Damon with tilted head.

“Hm, what do you think, if that will happen, would the city have a dome to protect it from the water? Like in some sci-fi series? Whether the founder thought about that or not?”

"Fujikawa?" he asked. "I wouldn't put it past him, that's for sure. Every time I turn on the news and see something going on in the city and think Uh-oh, that's going to be a serious problem, I come to find out that it's something him and his group of city planners've already thought of and made arrangements to deal with. So who knows?" he shrugged again. Maybe so. Or maybe he's found a way to deal with the floods so we won't need a dome. Sometimes, it seems like science is a magic all it's own, Rafi."

"David's powers are all up here," he went on, tapping at his temple. "His thing is numbers. He's a genius with numbers, does calculations in his head that even college mathematicians can't work out on computers, from what I hear. I guess that kind of thing helps him with his work, whatever it is. Anyway, they're nice enough guys, the both of 'em. As dancers, Alex is better than David, but not better than Tanya...if that makes any sense," he smiled faintly.

“The math isn’t my thing… I never really liked it. I use it because I have to, with my own parlor, but I guess I have to find a good accountant sooner or later.”

He nodded. "I'm not a math guy, either," he replied. "But, I suppose not everyone can have wonderful, glamorous gifts," he reasoned. "And David's are good for a lot of things, anyway. I'll keep mine, if it's all the same, though," he smirked.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to underrate his power!” Rafi shook his head surprised. “It could be useful, you can do so much things with math. Just look at the TV, and that series… erm, … ah, got it, Numbers. That guy solves all kind of problems with math.”

“The dance I’ll see, and then I could speak about it, until then you’re right, whatever you say ‘bout them” he smiled genuinely. So the best is Lise, then Damon and Tanya, then these two guys and the starter Graham, he thought. Where will I be in the row, he mused over the thought for a moment.

"Ha!" he laughed. "Draw your own conclusions, my friend," he encouraged him. "That's just my opinion. We'll see after a few dances if you agree with me or not."

“Sure!” he replied excitedly. “I can’t wait to dance; it was almost a week ago that I had the opportunity for that! The preparation of the moving took a lot of time” said Rafi smiling. “Even if I don’t have so much whatnot” he added.

Rafi finished his bit of tea as Damon had been talking, marveling at his friends' various gifts.

Outside, the snow seemed to be falling harder.

In Elysium City everyone looked different, thought Rafi, wondering about the gifts of the people. After four months of existence this made the whole project even more impressive. Will be here clubs for people with the same gifts? Or they already exist? Another question which he forgot to ask in the Hall, but he didn’t felt sorry for that. He’ll have plenty of time to get infos about his interests. 

Rafi looked at his host again, and tipped his head. “Talkin’bout jobs. What is yours if you don’t mind to tell me?

Damon sighed as if he were caught at something. "Ah, I was wondering when we might get to this," he admitted. He took a deep drink of his tea and swallowed it down. "I'm a musician, like our friend Aaron," he finally admitted. "Sort of in semi-retirement right now," he quickly added, "until inspiration strikes me again, anyway."

“I don’t want to bother you with the question, Damon. Sorry if I did it unintentionally” Rafi waved off the embarrassment with open palms, and looked at his host apologizing. 

"No, no," he waved his concerns away. "It's no bother. Sometimes, it's just...well," he shrugged again, "I prefer to be a little anonymous. That's not always easy, for me. At least, it hasn't been, in the past. That's sort of part of the reason it's nice to be away from England, where less people recognize me."

“But why?” asked Rafi gently, at least as much question in his eyes as in his voice, as he continued. 

"I've, ah, managed to somehow be pretty successful, back home," he replied. Rafi could tell that he was trying his best to be modest, not sound conceited as he searched for the words to express himself. "Sometimes, it's nice to be here where nobody really recognizes me right from the start, y'know? Here, I can go to the supermarket or out to eat...and it's not a tremendous ordeal," he chuckled.

“Sounds like a good work. What do you mean by this ‘semi-retirement’? Sort of rest to re-fresh the brain cells?”

“I’m so with my pictures; it happens that I can’t draw nothing for days but then I do more on day” replied Rafi silently, and nodded to show that he understood the feeling.

He nodded. "That's sort of it," he said. "Right now, I guess the best way I can put it is that I'm sort of in between projects," he tried to explain it. "I just finished up something I'd been working on for the better part of a year. Now I'm trying to rest up and recharge while I try and decide what comes next. Like I said: waiting for inspiration," he smiled. "Sometimes, that's the hard part, y'know?"

He grinned at Rafi. "Trust another artist to know what I mean," he joked.

Rafi chuckled silently, as he tried not to awake his companion, but the feeling that Damon described was known by him, too. “Yeah, I know it very well. But I think it’s harder when you have something in mind, and that thing on the paper isn’t reflects it good enough, and then you have to re-draw it. Sometimes more times than you can count”, he smiled wryly and nodded to his own words. 

He nodded. "That's the songwriting and recording process, too, in a nutshell," he agreed. "Sometimes, it's almost unbearable for me to go back and listen to some of the stuff off of our first two records. All I can hear all the things I wish I'd have done differently, listen to how dreadful I sound in some places," he shook his head and laughed gently. "When you have a CD, it's a lot like your tattoos," he added. "They never go away. The radio's always there to remind, you, just in case you've managed to've forgotten."

“Yeah, the early tattoos, which I inked up during my trainee years… huh, some of them was more a monster than a normal tatt”, Rafi grimaced and shivered at the thought. “But that’s part of the self-improvement, isn’t it?”

“So, what’s the deal?” he asked, leading the conversation back to its trail.

He looked down at Rasgar, now soundly asleep at Rafi's heel, then back up at Rafi. "My last name's not really Albemarle," he confessed. "I just put that down for the City folks so as to be a bit more low-profile. Actually, my last name's Albarn," he informed him.

“I see” nodded Rafi with a look which clearly showed that he has no idea who Damon is, in spite of the ‘new’ surname.

"Have you ever heard of Gorillaz?" he asked Rafi. "Or Blur?"

“Gorillaz, yeah, even though it not my music” the young meta replied calmly. “The Blur, I’m afraid not, unless in the radio and I didn’t notice the artist. What type of music they play?” he asked and looked curiously at Damon.

He considered the question for a moment. "I'm not all into labels," he started, "so it's hard for me to answer that. How about this: when I go into Virgin, I usually see our stuff under Rock or Pop," he allowed. "Though that's probably because they don't have a Britpop section, even though I can't stand the term, myself."

“Hm, these terms have this unlikely habit, that they aren’t fit as good as you want, huh? Like the ‘meta’ we talked before” said Rafi thoughtfully. “If they’re in the Pop section I should’ve met with their name, though I still don’t remember” he explained his confusement, but began to think that Damon has something with these two band, prolly he didn’t ask them at random.

"Actually, you've no idea how delighted I am that you've no bloody idea who I am," he smiled, leaning back in his chair, visibly more relaxed than he'd become since they'd first started talking about music. "I end up talking about the music I've made a lot more than I'd like to, and I notice that the best friends I have are the ones who I can talk to about things like tattoos and Capoeira and not bloody Song 2," he chuckled.

Rafi nodded, and decided that he must search and listen songs from the Blur; probably they’ll have some on youtube, he thought.

“I’m usually listening to chillout and such music, like Arkenstone, Oldfield, Loreena, and such. And Brazilian folk music, of course” he added grinning widely.

"You've got excellent taste, my friend," he replied. "As far as Gorillaz and Blur go...I'm the singer in both bands," he said, matter-of-factly, shrugging like the concept might embarrass him a little. "Though if you wouldn't mind terribly, I'd sort of like to keep that between the two of us," he laughed. "I adore them, trust me, but sometimes, the fans can be a little much to deal with."

“You’re the singer of both bands?!” the surprise was clearly audible in the young meta’s voice. 

He nodded matter-of-factly. "I am," he confirmed the thought.

“Woot!” then, after a little pause “Should I feel honored or you’d prefer if we stay as we are now?” he asked with a subtle, mischievous tone in his voice. He couldn’t resist the sly joke, it was part of him. 

He chuckled slightly. "Please, the latter," he smiled. "Trust me, I'm much more envious of your talents than you should be of mine. Unless we've started talking about being able to hear the secrets ladybugs whisper to each other, in which case, I wouldn't trade it for the world," he said, in such a way that Rafi couldn't mistake how much he held that particular gift dearly to his heart.

“As for the fans… I have none by myself, or at least I don’t know about them” he added when the German’s voice came back to his ears, as he spoke about how great his work and talent. He shivered once, and sipped from the warm tea, as it wasn’t a really warming thought in spite of the words meaning.

"As I said, I adore, them, I really do," he shrugged slightly. "Believe me, Rafi, there's nothing quite like having something you've created--in my case, my music--validated by hundreds of thousands of people who say you're absolutely smashing and fill up an arena on any given night, just to hear you sing. My agent, a few years ago, when Blur first started to get big, used to give me dozens of letters a day--picked out of hundreds and hundreds, mind you--from people who just wanted to tell me that Beetlebum was their favorite song, or how our album changed their life and helped them get through some awful spell they'd had. I'd get marriage proposals and pictures from people that'd had our band's logo tattooed on their bums," he laughed and shrugged. "You can't believe it, Rafi. It's just an amazing, amazing, gratifying feeling."

"Until," he shrugged, "you realize that you can't go out to a pub for a pint without being mobbed by people who want an autograph or a picture or just want to spend time with you, telling you about the poetry they write and that sort of stuff when you're tired and short and just want to be left alone to drink in a bit of peace. And then there's always the drunk yobs who want to walk in from out of the corner and tell you how you're utter shite and how Oasis' is so fucking brilliant and how their album is so much better than your and wants to mash every tooth in your head, just to prove it," he frowned. "One day, I woke up an saw on the front page of the London Times how Liam bloody Gallagher told a bunch of pressies some rubbish about how I supposedly had AIDS," he remembered sadly.

"So," he shrugged, "how do you Americans like to say it? It is what it is," he smiled wanly.

It was occurring to Rafi how Damon could afford the house that he lived in, could have paid to have a 10-by-10 room full of Springtime built for him. He had to be a millionaire, probably many times over. It also made perfect sense why he'd want to remain so low-key...and had turned to the dance as a way to relax.

Rafi smiled wryly and his eyes became a little cloudy as he mused over Damon’s behavior, but then he looked at him again and his smile turned normal. “I can understand why you’d like to remain hidden. I’ll not give away your secret, my friend.”

"Thank you," he replied earnestly. "It makes things easier, it really does."

Next to his heel, Rasgar began to snore rather loudly.

Rafi giggled a little, and bent forward to stroke the cat’s head and side with so tenderly, that it didn’t wake him, just calmed little, like a mother’s touch the little kids, so Rasgar snorted once, whipped his tail a little, and continued his sleep more silently.

"My God, he's fabulous," Damon whispered, like he was afraid of waking him to talk at a normal pitch. "And to think, he came right from your imagination, straight from your soul," he smiled at Rafi. "That says something about you, I think."

Rarely, Rafi thought, looking down at the sleeping jaguar, had he ever been paid such a compliment.

Rafi blushed slightly, as he nodded “Thank you. As you said that you came here to be here at the start, and because here you can get a more private life than in the UK; I came here to be myself. Back at home there were only a handful people who knew about my gift, and only two, who had met with him” he smiled down the jade feline, and glossed his side again. “Here, in EC, he can walk on my side, and that is a marvelous feeling.”

In the front yard, Damon's stone beetle was now covered in winter white.

When Rafi looked out and saw that the snow comes down so hard, he sighed deeply. “I should get a portable radiator or a personal portal if I ever want to get home. I guess I have to dig out my car from under the snow.”

"If you want, I'll give you a hand," he smiled wryly. "After I touch one of my little friends, you can imagine I'm pretty handy with a shovel."

He turned back to Damon, and continued with a faint smile “I bet, you don’t have one?”

"I used to," he smiled even more broadly, confirming Rafi's thought before he even answered. "But I sold it. I haven't owned one since I left England. Better for the environment, I think," he grinned.

“I’ll accept the help, my friend.” Rafi smiled at his host thankfully, but then something popped in his mind. “Hm-hm” he murmured “I’m in the beginning to practice something with my images… maybe I’ll try with them first, and if it won’t work, then I’ll accept a hand. Is that okay for you?” he asked.

“Fair enough,” he smiled back at his guest. “What did you have in mind?”

The young artist just smiled, but said nothing. Once, because he wanted his art to be a surprise, and second, because even he didn’t know how the creature will look like, yet.

Damon stood up from his chair, beginning toward the door, sensing that Rafi's comment had been meant to set the tone for his imminent departure.

"Tired old girl, she needs all the help she can get these days."

“Please, wait” Rafi laughed silently, careful enough to not to wake his companion, and then fished out his sketchbook, and began to draw. Shortly a strange creature, a being with many arms put on a form on the paper.

Damon sat forward in his chair, craning forward so that he could get a good view of Rafi’s handiwork. He looked like he might be a bit confused, at first, the initial lines not making any sense to his eye. But as he began to connect them, drawing detail and adding contour and dimension to it, he watched his thin smile began to grow in delight. Rafi knew that he was beginning to understand exactly what he had in mind, now.

It had a small, powerful body, long arms with many joints, and a thick, harsh fur on his body, and a wide delighted smile on his mouth which was full of small, smooth teeth. It take only a few minutes only until Rafi leaned back to the chair, and smiled down contentedly at the newly created thing. 

“Nasty-looking little critter,” Damon replied, looking up into the artist’s eyes. “What d’you call him?” he asked.

“A friend to help to blow the snow away” he stated, and then continued to draw on the side of the page. He put there the eye of the spider-yeti, an iced orb which was full of humor and happiness. 

Damon laughed gently. “There,” he nodded. “Now he doesn’t look quite so nasty.”

“He doesn’t have a name, yet, but I’ll come up one if the muse kisses me” he winked at Damon, when he drew last lines on the paper. Then he craved the small green jaguar-head into the bottom-left corner as his handsign, and looked up smiling. 

“And he is a fun-loving guy, in my mind. He likes to play with the snow, that’s the reason why I’ll call him.”

Once finished, he stood up and walked to the window, waving Damon after him, and then focused his power on the eye of the snow-monster. He stared down to it’s enlarged eyes, until he felt the connection, meanwhile his own became fully dark green like he they used to be when he borrows the senses of his creatures, then closed his own, and extended his imagination and power to the outer side of the house. 

Rasgar continued to lay there next to the chair. As Rafi and Damon began in the direction of the window, he saw him open his bright green eyes to thin slits, but they must’ve become far too heavy to remain open; they fell back closed only a moment later--and with the gesture, the great cat fell back into a deep slumber.

He tried to focus as hard as he did when he called Rasgar in life after the Mall, as he desperately wanted this trick work.

Rafi could feel the swell of his gift welling up within him, like a great pool of power rising up within him, making his entire body tingle for its containment. Usually, his power was an easy, graceful thing to employ; as soon as the magical tingling of expression manifested itself, he released it as quickly, breathing the kiss of life into the form and shape of his creations. But this time, he was trying something new, something more difficult. And as he concentrated his power, it began to fill him up, slowly spreading across his body, until it started to encompass him from head to toe. He almost shuddered for the way it overtook him, as if it threatened to run out of control for a moment before he regained his grip on the gift.

Rafi stood before the window, and slowly stroked the newly formed creature, the spider-yeti on the page, and if he tried to feel its fur, it’s form under his fingers to call him into life. His power shivered in his grip, it was built up so much that it not just requested its own life but it’s even demanded that.

Then, in one massive gout, he released it.

The sensation washed over him, as he released the massive force of his imagination and gift, and it waved forward to the chill and snow which was the home of the thing.

And there, in the middle of the snow in the front yard, right next to Damon's stone beetle, Rafi saw the air begin to gently waver, tremble like heat coming off of a lone desert roadway. Then, in the midst of that disturbance, he began to see the central orb of his creation beginning to resolve itself; insubstantial and ghostly at first, like a reflection off of the glass itself. That encouraged him, though and he began to focus harder on its details, imagining the way it might feel to the touch, the little sounds it would make as it moved. And as he imagined those details, he watched them slowly become real, hardening from spectral translucence into something tangible and substantial.

First the eye came to live, an icy, sparkling blue orb in the middle of the swirling snow. It hung there, maybe five feet high, and stared into the house, to the two men who stood there. Then suddenly, it blinked once. And the twice. A ghostly skull appeared around it, faint and translucent, but after a few moments it became white and furred like a strange ewok from the StarWars movie. The big mouth smiled already, when it formed, the small teeth glittered in the otherworldly light which surrounded the creation.

A thick, barrel-like body was built under the head, with six, slim arm which had five joints each, and normal human-sized palms and fingers. The inner side of the palms was furless, deep blue-skinned, perfect place for a snowball to fit.

At last, the three leg came into reality, supporting the weight of the snow-critter, and making his stand solid with their claws.

In but a moment, Rafi felt himself completely hollow, the totality of his gift spilled out into the creature now standing in the front yard. He felt light-headed for a moment and thought he might actually faint.

But, it's weight carving footprints into the snow before him, he had given art life once again.

The little creature gazed back with its odd central eye, a wide smile on its toothy face.

And Rafi couldn't help but smile right back.

“There” he whispered under his breath. “A friend to blow of the snow”, he smirked and waved hello to the alien. It waved back with all his hand, and the sight made Rafi laughing out loud. “Heh, a whole pack of football fan in one body, who can wave by himself”

Damon stood there in awe, staring at the creature that occupied his front lawn. “That’s so bloody brilliant,” he shook his head, laughing in gentle disbelief as he continued to watch the merry little creature waving in their direction. “Is it real?” he looked over at Rafi, his breath having left a little spot of fog on the glass in front of him that gradually began to fade as the window frosted once again. “Or, I should say…is it actually alive, like Rasgar?” he asked him. “Or something you’re controlling, yourself, like a puppet?”

When he finished laughing and wiped off the tears of joy from his eyes, he turned back to the newborn happy critter, and waved to it.

Rafi then made a thoughtful face, and scratched his chin before he answered the question. “All my images are puppets, if I want to use them like. I can borrow their senses, and I can control their every single move, and I can speak through them.” He paused for a moment, glanced back at the critter and then at Rasgar, and then smiled. “However, when I gave life to a picture, I do it somehow subconsciously, so they always have some sort of personality as my dreams and imagination works from the back of my mind. Some of these creatures I love so much, that I leave them alone, so through every summon they develop more and more, until they’ll have their own tastes and behaviors.”

The young artist looked at Damon’s eyes, and smiled joyfully. “So far Rasgar is the best; from all the drawings and dreams of mine. And this will remain so, as I’m not planning to change that. I can count on one hand those images which have almost-real personality. All the others are help which I use when I’m in need, but then I release them after with easy heart.”

“Now get to work, boy, do what you can!” he said silently, though the yeti seemed to understand.

The two men watched the odd little thing able off in the direction of Rafi’s Cricket, leaving behind him a storm of small, thin footprints in the snow behind it, a long, shallow trough where it’s round body drug across the flat of the snow. It looked like a sled had passed over the tacks of a herd of fawns.

Rafi sighed relieved as he noticed the tracks which the critter left behind him. It worked, he thought, thanks to the angel of dreams, it worked. “It” Rafi pointed at the odd creature “is a new one, I drew it for the fist time, and it doesn’t even have a name or sex yet.” He paused and puckered his brows. “Maybe it will be a she, looking at her smile and eye…” he mused loud. 

Damon laughed out loud at the prospect. “She,” he snickered. “We should put the little beauty in touch the fella from Monsters, Inc.,” he mused with another laugh. “Be love at first sight, for those two.”

“The hard thing was to give it tangibility, to give it real body so that it could really put the snow away.”

Its smile became even wider if that seemed impossible, and it walked up the Rafi’s car and stood before it. It took a deep breath and with one single puff he blow away most of the snow that covered the car. 

Damon started to laugh, loud enough that Rafi wondered if the noise might wake Rasgar, for a moment. “Awesome,” he declared, “absolutely awesome.” He turned over to his new friend. “You know, you could make a tidy sum, sending your friend around the neighbourhood, like that. Assuming they got past the funny bugger’s looks.”

Rafi looked like if he was thinking over the idea, but then he shook his head laughing silently. “No, I hope the tattoo-parlor would provide enough work for me. But if a friend needs help to clean his yard, I can lend her” he smirked as he tilted his head and looked at Damon.

“Heh,” he laughed again. “Terribly gracious of you. I’ll have to keep it in mind. You can imagine my pets aren’t too good about helping with the housework,” he smiled, but added: “Not that they wouldn’t try, if I asked ‘em, mind you.”

Meanwhile the critter’s arms began to move, and swept away the remaining white, frozen water. The moved with grace and care, like the grass bowing in the gentle wind. All the six of them moved, swept and stroked the automobile, wherever their master saw a little snowflake. It took only a minute or so to clean the whole thing.

When finished, the snow-spider turned back to the window, waved again, still smiling wide, but instead of just standing there, it began to knead the snow on the yard, and in front of the watching eye of Rafi and Damon the spider-yeti built an icy forest where a big cat and a ladybug was shown between the bushes, markedly playing with each other. It used all of his hands and her hurricane-like frosty breath to do that, and it was quick and elegant, like a born sculptor.

Damon smiled wryly once the little creature had completed his task. “You are an artist, the both of you,” he grinned, looking at the snowy creation on his lawn. “I should get my camera and take a picture of it, before the snow sweeps it all under the carpet.”

Rafi thought he was just joking, but he held up a single finger and bade him be still. “I’ll just be a second,” he promised, before quickly loping off deeper into the house. A few moments later, he came back with an expensive-looking Canon looped around his neck. Rafi bemusedly watched him sight up the sculpture for a moment through the eyepiece, turning the lens back and forth until it was focused as he liked.

“Ask her to pose for me,” Damon grinned as he stilled himself to take the shot.

Rafi just nodded, and grinned widely, then the turned back to the yard, and waved to his new friend. “Be a good girl, and stand next your art” he asked her, and the critter obeyed to his wish. She walked to the front of the composition, carefully to not to overlay the two animal behind her, and leaned down on her side, two of her arms supported her head, one was crooked to embrace her hip, while one of the upper three showed an OK, one waved hello to the camera and the latter was put on her hip, too. And it (she) smiled mischievously. 

By the time she’d done posing, Damon was laughing so hard, he was having a hard time holding the camera straight. “Too good,” he said as he tried to settle himself down enough so he could get the picture taken. It took a fair bit of time, actually.

Rafi couldn’t help but laughed out loud again. “There she goes… right to the front page.”

A moment later: CLICK!

He allowed the camera to dangle from his neck, flipping a small toggle on it that powered it down, snapping the lens cap onto its face from his pocket immediately afterwards. “I’ll have a copy for you, at our first roda,” he promised with a big smile on his face.

“Thanks, man” he replied still amazed by his new art.

Damon continued, cocking his head thoughtfully. “So,” he asked, “what d’you do with her now?”

“Well, I think I’ll try and say her goodbye”, Rafi’s smile became a little sad, but he knew that it will be the best. “Anyway, as long as I have this picture” he showed the original art which he drew, “I can call her forth any time. But now I can let her stay.” 

Damon nodded in solemn agreement. Although he didn’t say anything in response, it wasn’t hard to tell that the thought left him maybe a little sad.

He felt himself bad as he talked like this, the creation of this playful being absorbed a lot from him. A lot more than a normal illusion would take, he knew, but with time and practice he hoped that will change. He cocked his head again, and glanced at his host with an elfish smile in the corner of his mouth. “But maybe if you want to play a snowball-fight… the two of us against her… hm-hm.”

He gave him a sceptical little look, cocking a brown brow.

„I fear that we’d loose, as I watched her performance with those arms, so probably it isn’t a good idea, anyway,” he chuckled.

He started to laugh again. “That’s what I was thinking!” he grinned. “With all those arms, it’s two on one…and she still outnumbers us!”

Just being around him, the two of them laughing and joking together, Rafi really felt like he’d just met someone that was something of a kindred spirit; Damon seemed to love to have fun and didn’t take himself at all too seriously. Kind-hearted and concerned about the Earth, he was now certain that he’d made a good friend for a long time to come.

He reminded Rafi to himself, and artist, who liked to present what is in his heart and soul, but a bit reluctant if some stranger, like a fan wanted to come too close, and stole to lonely, silent moments. Not as if Rafi had many experience with the fans, but he could understand the feeling, as he used to wonder about what would be like a famous one to be. And as Damon said during their talk: they think alike in many topics. The thought made him smile again; sure, this was a beginning of a beautiful friendship, he nodded silently.

Rafi turned his awareness back to the being, and waved goodbye to her. “We’ll meet again, my new friend” he said, and then closed his eyes, and searched after the thread that bound the creature to the real world. He did that very carefully as he didn’t want Rasgar to leave, but only this new monster. 

When he found it, he focused on it, and slowly began to remove his power from it, until remained nothing.

When he opened his eyes once again, only a few dots of color remained in the air above the footprints in the snow, where his happy little creature had once stood. In the breadth of a heartbeat later, even those were gone, going bright like starlight and spiralling away like a bottle of fireflies with the lid screwed off, escaping brilliantly into the night. At his side, Damon was still waving slightly, replying to what Rafi knew was the monster’s last goodbye to the Ladybug King. For now, anyway, he thought. He was sure that he’d bring her back once again, someday soon.

“Well,” he sighed slightly. “I suppose that’s that, eh?”

The young artist just nodded, silently, with a ghost of a smile on his face.

From behind him, Rafi felt the soft leather of Rasgar’s warm, slightly moist nose as he bumped it gently up against the artist’s hand, hung loosely at his side. Sometime during the process of loosing his hold on the nameless monster that’s so charmed Damon, he must’ve woken up and was now affectionately brushing up against his hand, as if to tell him both that he was awake and that he could begin to pet him again, if he wanted.

“You awake, lazy cat?” he teased the cat, grinning as his mood returned instantly. He knelt down to him, and hugged the great jade feline, and patting his back. 

Rasgar was purring so loudly that Rafi could feel the vibrations of his satisfaction even through the thick muscle and short fur of the powerful jungle cat's neck. As he held him, he relaxed, allowing his heavy head to rest affectionately against his shoulder and arm. He seemed to be able to sense that Rafi was about to straighten up to a rise and didn't seem to thrilled about it, nuzzling into the crook of his arm to try and coax him into staying right where they were.

“Okay, okay, pal, we have plenty of time to hold each other” said Rafi silently; chuckling as he freed himself from the jaguar’s embrace. However, he felt himself happy with the situation, as he didn’t want to leave the nearness of the cat, too, but they had other things to do.

Then he stood up again, “Right on time, as we finished our stay here” he said, and looked at Damon, smiling. “For now”, he added.

His host grinned. "I should hope so," he nodded. "I very much enjoyed having the two of you, err..." he paused, looking back outside where the many-limbed monocular monster had been in the snow of his front yard, only moments before, "three of you visit. As I said, I don't get out too much, outside of the roda. So it'd be great to have you over again sometime soon. And of course," he added a wry little look, "you can bring as many of your amazing friends with you as you'd like."

“If I bring all of them, you’d feel yourself in a Disney and Pixar co-production movie, I can assure you”, he laughed silently as he already imagined the scene as the various illusory animals and monsters would fill up the house and their paw would be in everything.

“I’ll phone you tomorrow,” Damon smiled, extending his hand for Rafi to shake. He’d sensed, with his car cleaned, it was time for him to be on his way. “Sometime around five. Sound good?” he asked.

The thought of the metahuman roda made him unable but to grin.

He was looking forward to it already.

“Definitely!” said Rafi excitedly, and shook the extended hand gently but firmly. “I’m looking forward to dance with you!”

“Thank you for the tea and for the help to my sister” he said at last.

"Thanks for stopping by," he replied, accompanying him in the direction of the welcome mat. "You two were lovely company."

After the farewell they walked up to the door, he jumped in his boots and his new coat, and shivering in advance he opened the door. Outside he waved a last goodbye to his new friend, and jogged to the cleaned car. 

Damon watched him from the front window and gave a little wave as he hurried to the curb. Rasgar had chosen to cut a direct path to the vehicle and bounded through the snow in long, graceful, loping strides until he finally stood by the door. He waited patiently, though the snow continued to come down, driven viciously by the edge of the cutting wind. Rafi wasted no time getting the door open and the jade jaguar hopped in deftly, stepping across his seat before coming to rest on the passenger side of the Cricket. Rafi started the engine to heat up the car. He watched Rasgar immediately try and fit himself down in the well at the foot of the seat, where the vents blew, looking up at him with a confused look when he discovered that cold air was coming from their grillwork.

It didn't take him long at all to clamber back up onto the seat itself.

The young meta chuckled at the expression of the jaguar’s snout. “You have to wait a little until it warms itself, and then you can curl down, Rasgar.” He reached out and patted the cat’s head. So many things waited to them to learn and practice, he knew, as the jaguar was his companion for a long time, but he was born into reality only at his morning.

Once the car was in a movable state, Rafi pulled off from the sidewalk and began their way to the Man Ray Park, as he promised to his partner. His thoughts were around the green life in the park, and that color trailed them again after Carmilla… where she could be, and what might happen with her. It was the waiting, without a sign or term, what was the worse.

Chapter X – Small flaws on the perfect green

Before long, the car began to warm up, Damon's stone beetle in front of his home receding into the distance. As he began to drive back across town over in the direction of the park, he reflected on his stay with the singer, the little slice of springtime that he kept in his house as home to over a hundred thousand of his best friends. It made him glad he'd decided to visit, as the two had hit it off well. But thinking of the ladybugs couldn't help but make him a little sad. Not because they were in any danger; no, they were in good hands, with Damon, he was sure of that. But it made him think of how badly the word had been damaged by the endless winter right outside the windows of the Cricket. Who would save the fireflies? he wondered. Was there a King or Queen of Butterflies that would save them, come the thaw?

No, there probably weren't. Damon was, unfortunately, a very rare kind of person, he knew.

Rafi sighed as the thoughts crossed his mind. There were so many beautiful animal and plant on this Earth before the snow covered it all, which the humans do not even knew about. Some place hidden within a patch of jungle, or up, on the peak of the mountains where no one was before. He hoped that there’ll be scientists or metas, or meta scientists who are able to re-create what the planet will lost until the end of this ice age. Though he wasn’t really a religious person, or at least he didn’t have faith in the popular ones, he did believe that there were gods somewhere out. He always respected the nature and the dreams as those two supplied base for his art, and sometimes, in his most happy or most desperate moments he murmured a short prayer to them. And within these sad thoughts this was a moment for that, so he did.

As he drove on through the ice and snow, he looked over to Rasgar, now back at the foot of the seat, soaking up as much of the heat from the vents as he could.

Outside of a zoo--he might be the only jaguar left alive.

In these times he felt sorry that he only could bring still images into life, and not actual -dead or imagined- beings. That would be so cool, he always wondered, to walk past a dino-skeleton, and resurrect it, to see what professor was right, and decide that it was a predator or a scavenger. If someone had this power in the world, she or he will be damn famous if, no, he paused, not if, when the winter ends and the people will search after what they lost. 

Until then, his friends will be here, and show the world how they looked and how they lived before… at least in his fantasies, he mused as he drove his car closer and closer to the big green spot in the heart of the city.

Eventually, Rafi guided his Cricket through the subterranean highway that led beneath the city's downtown district, following the signs that occasionally read MAN RAY PARK along the way. As before, Rasgar found himself fascinated by the eerie, yellowish lights that were shed by the monorail sodium floods aligned in the center of the tunnelway's ceiling, staring up at them through the window. Rafi thought that the jaguar might have been more interested by the cars that would periodically drift past them--at the very least at the great trucks with no wheels that glided like massive, ghostly gallions, silent and smooth--but he completely ignored them in favor of the radiance from above. He vaguely wondered if Rasgar might somehow be particularly sensitive to the color of the light but had little time to ponder the question before the car was emerging out from the rising tunnel after his exit.

Those lights looked like the sun, high above the clouds, weak and powerless, and maybe that charmed the jade jungle-cat. He wasn’t able to stare them by himself, as he drove the car, but perhaps he’ll have the chance to look at them through Rasgar’s eyes, and then he’ll solve the mystery, he decided.

It ended up placing him less than a block from Man Ray Park. Rafi saw it immediately through his window, the immense trees rising higher than any of the buildings in that direction and stretching nearly as far as the eye could see in either direction. The dark evergreens of the massive forest seemed somehow immune to the howling wind that whipped past the vehicle and around their trunks and branches; he noticed that they did not sway an inch, even in their ferocity. Nor did any snow seem to gather on their needles or in their boughs. It simply seemed as if they had chosen to ignore the voracious white razor teeth of the winter...and so it did not exist for them.

Amazed, he pulled his car still closer, navigating it onto the road that led into the park's depths. Once again, the snow was three feet deep at its thinnest, almost engulfing the hewn-wood sign that greeted visitors to its safety, making it illegible but for the single word WELCOME at its top. He drove closer and closer, the trees seeming to become greener and greener for their nearness....

Rafi remembered to the experience when he drove on the highway which led through the park, and there were no wind and snow, too. His hope that within the park’s confines there will be summer became reality.

And suddenly, the wind simply stopped.

He grinned ear to ear, so wide and happily that the little muscles in his face began to hurt. “We’re home, pal…” he whispered when they entered the magic forest.

It was as if the awful, bitter weather were controlled by some unseen machine and, tiring of it, an invisible hand had simply switched it off. Once inside the boundaries of the park, the wind was a dead calm. The snow, so deep just outside, was completely gone, lush green grass to rival the spate of it in Damon's room in its place. Almost instantly, Rafi could see that the ice on his windshield was beginning to melt and to behold the trees that surrounded him, he could swear that the sun was actually shining, though in a dim, muted fashion.

Slack-jawed in awe, Rafi had to slow the car's progress or run right off the road. The sound of birdsongs, just outside the glass of his windows, rose above the sound of the vehicle's engine. Rasgar was sitting up now from the well at the foot of the seat, stiff as a board. His eyes darted back and forth amidst the lush verdance, wide as saucers, and his tail lashed excitedly from side to side.

He took off his foot from the accelerator so much that the car almost stopped. When he noticed that he put it back, but only to roll the car like he wanted to sneak into this green marvel and not distract its peace.

Spring had survived after all. It had fled from the winter and hid itself away, where no snow or wind nor bitter cold would find in and freeze it within its terrible embrace. Deep within the city of miracles, a new place on the lake, it had made itself a final refuge.

And as Rafi looked around himself, he knew: he had found it.

When he finally found a place where he could stop the car without leaving it on the road, he immediately exploited the opportunity, and droved his Cricket onto a free parking place. 

Not far down the road, once inside the park's confines, that opportunity came in the way of a small drive that led to a concrete-topped parking area. To Rafi's great surprise, there were few in the way of cars parked there and he guided his vehicle in between a powerful old-style Dodge Challenger painted a bright orange and an empty spot. He could barely believe there was any room left for him at all! How was it that everybody in the city didn't spend virtually their every waking hour within the park's confines?

He took off his winter-coat, and put it back to the seat, then locked his car; after that he took his first few steps in the park, cautious as if some ranger will jump out from behind a tree to yell at him to stay on the trail.

No such authority appeared at all. In fact, as far as he could see, there was nobody in the park but him at all. And in a moment later, Rasgar, when he bounded out through the open door, springing once off the concrete before leaping joyfully onto the lush grass surrounding it. 

He just stood there for minutes, breathing the rich air and sensing all the things which were lost to him for almost 2 years since the winter didn’t stop. 

From where he stood, to his right, Rafi could see the curve of the invisible boundary that surrounded the park, saw the fury of the wind and the snow raging outside of it. They were like the winds of the hurricane and he and his friend stood in its calm eye.

He looked back at Rasgar, who had found a small elm tree of particular interest. He was sniffing at its manicured base, surrounded in a small circle of fresh, brown mulch, rubbing the side of his face up against its pale bark. He could have cared less about invisible boundaries or the hurricane it kept at bay. For now, he was reveling in the clean air, like that of springtime in its flower, and rediscovering the wonder of trees.

“This is so cool,” he breathed and then let out a cry of happiness he felt simply being alive and seeing this hideout of nature. Then he searched after his buddy, and when he spotted him he tried to sneak up the feline, as if he wanted to jump on its back like predator.

Rafi got about five steps from the great green jungle cat when he noticed that he was sitting straight up, a bit of the hair on the back of his neck raised. Ignoring the tree now, he sat beneath it instead, his tail lashing back and forth as he stared off into the distance, eyes as green as the grass on which he stood fixated at something on the horizon. The young artist stopped his play, coming up behind Rasgar so he could see what he might have found that had torn his interest away from the tree. And as he followed his eyes, he had to simply stand still, slack-jawed in awe at the sight that presented itself, no more than five hundred feet away from them.

“What you found, buddy?” he asked the cat, as he stretched himself to his full height and looked into that direction, trying to uncover the subject of the interest.

In that direction, Rafi saw that there was a small copse of tall shrubs, green with small white flowers occasionally dotting its surface. Past that, he saw some taller trees, their large canopies providing a wealth of shade beneath them to relax in, perhaps to hold a picnic. That was the direction in which Rasgar was staring, and at first, Rafi couldn't see what it was that he was watching.

He tilted his head, and forced his eyes to capture the sight what the jade cat might saw, but the still wasn’t able to spot the animal, though he was sure that it can’t be any other thing. Rafi began to brood on the idea that he have to borrow Rasgar’s senses to appease his curiosity, but then something moved at the distance.

When the branches suddenly began to move, pulled down sharply a few feet before being released to waggle up and down on their heavier trunks--he saw the object of his attention for certain. A long, graceful neck dappled with tan, oblong rectangles with a row of short hair along it that led up to a gentle blonde head, calmly chewing up the bit of sticks and leaves that it tore from the greater tree. Behind it, Rafi saw a second such head, then another, that one much smaller than the others, just above the treeline. Stunned, he watched the three of them continue to dine on the feast of greens from the nearby trees.

He had never seen a giraffe before. Not this close, at least. And not outside of a cage.

“Whoa” he muttered in awe, and placed his right hand to the head of his jaguar. “This is amazing!” He said this sentence over and over since he arrived in Elysium City, and still found it needful. “Giraffes, free in the park…” He stood there shocked by the sight. “What else could be here?” he mused, and the thought alerted him to his companion, more exactly to his instincts.

He knew Rasgar hadn't, to be certain.

Rafi knelt down next to his friend, and talked directly to him, like ever, though he knew that Rasgar couldn’t fully understand him, but the meaning of his words somehow reached the cat always. And now it was important. “They are too large for you. And everything which is living here is rare and precious, like you.” 

And, in response to his words, Rasgar turned his attention away from the tall, slender animals feeding in the distance, toward his best friend and master. The way that Rafi knelt, they were face to face, and when the green jungle cat fixed his breathtakingly sharp emerald eyes upon his, it was like meeting the gaze of nature itself. Powerful and undeniable in its intensity, Rafi had to actually take a deep breath, just to look into their depths.

He could tell that he was listening to them. No, more than just listening, he knew. Their connection ran deeper than simple words were capable of conveying. Their bond was something that had fused their two yearning souls into one whole. And so, Rasgar listened to him with his heart just as much as he did with his ears. Maybe even moreso.

The cat could feel the struggle within the young artist as he spoke, and as he talked to him with his heart, too, not just his words. But even if Rafi loved to talk sometimes, now the feelings meant much more, as the words were only the faint carriers of his thoughts.

He paused for a moment, and shook his head. “No, not like you, but they’re still valuable. I don’t want to hold you back totally, but please, try not to eat anything which comes in the way.”

Rasgar continued to stare into the young artist's eyes. It might have been a total coincidence, but as he finished speaking, the jaguar licked its upper lip with a flash of its rough, jade tongue, wide and flat. It was hard to tell if he understood what Rafi was trying to get at, but he got a good feeling about it. At least, he thought he was getting his point across.

He'd soon see, he knew. Especially if, when he stood back up, the powerful feline broke into a frenzied sprint in the direction of the peaceful blonde giants in the distance....

Rafi smiled faintly, he still had some doubt, but on the other hand he had full faith in his companion, and tilted his head, though he continued looking into those emerald eyes.

“I still don’t understand your state now… so I don’t know that you are able to feed or not… but I guess we have to find it out sooner or later.” The young artist shrugged and made a thinking face, still looking at his friend. “I bet that there are some other carnivore and predator within the park, so one more doesn’t change much on the balance.”

He then patted the feline’s head gently, and then stood up, and looked at the trees. “Okay, let’s get more inside and explore some of the nearby forest!”

Rasgar affectionately craned his head upwards so as to rub back against Rafi's hand. He loved his littlest attention, and with the feel of his fur, like soft, thick suede across his skin, he realized that he felt much the same toward his devoted feline friend.

He was forced to think about it again, that Rasgar is really a part of him, a shard of his soul, the one that put on an independent form. A small, lazy smile came to his lips as he enjoyed the moment.

He saw a stone path, not far from the tree under which they stood and Rafi began to walk off down its length, into the density of the lush and verdant forest. At first, Rasgar just sat still, loathe to walk away from the sight of the gentle giraffes. But soon enough, once Rafi got a few paces away from him, the jade jaguar finally turned, trotting briskly after the young artist.

He was every bit as happy as he was relieved.

He hoped the two of them didn't see a rabbit or something soon, to test his new resolve.

As they walked deeper inside the miraculous forest, he mused over the thought that perhaps he should draw prey for the jungle cat, and that might solve the problem. The only drawback he could think was that he must control the animal’s movements and for that, he has to borrow its senses. And he didn’t felt too much bravery in him to feel when the jaguar would catch and presumably kill the victim. Still, the idea tickled him.

Making his way down the path that led into the green depths of the forest, Rafi was still held in amazement by nature's bounty, growing up all around him. Only a few feet away from the path, on either side--beyond the small strips of grass that bracketed the walkway--gigantic trees exploded up from the woodland floor to tower high above him. The great canopies created by their massive boughs, leaves that spread dozens of feet all around their central trunks swathed him in cool shade. Below them, Rafi could see small arrangements of wildflowers of vibrant purple and orange, saw the seeds that had fallen from great heights above, dotting the grass occasionally.

The air was fresh and clean, full of the scent of living, growing things. It was invigorating and refreshing; Rafi felt like he could simply run off into the depths of forever-green and become lost in them, careless of the time or responsibility. And judging by Rasgar's reaction, how he would run off the path to sniff at every new flower bed or rub his face across the great widths of the timber giants around, he knew his friend would gladly join him in such frivolity.

The path continued to arch around to what Rafi supposed was some sort of clearing.

Meanwhile he marveled at the sight, the smell, and all the impressions which reached his senses. This would be his favorite spot in the city, in that he was sure. Almost everything was in place to make him happy. The two things he missed were Carmilla and his sister…

The truth was, he was beginning to worry about the girl that had captured his heart. It had been quite some time since she'd last called him and, considering what had happened between them only a night ago, he could not deny the lingering fears that something had happened that were beginning to form at the dark edges of his imagination.

And to be honest, Rafis had a very vivid imagination… and agent Cochran’s sayings didn’t make the thing easier, too. He said that Carm is on an out-of-the-country mission, but Rafi later heard about her -or someone who looked like her, he remembered himself- in the Mall. It was getting confusing, all the mystery around the girl. 

Until now, he could manage to control his worries, but after the last night… and with the message on the picture, his emotions shook off their chains so his soul burned and his stomach became more knotted with each passing hour. Okay, he thought, he wrote that his problem isn’t phone-topic, but an answer about the when would be more than enough.

He wondered if, perhaps, he should call her? He hated to bother her, but....

The young man fished his phone from the belt-sheath, and watched musingly, still hesitating. Then, he grimaced faintly, and flipped to the girl’s name, but before he could push that luring green button, something checked his move.

Suddenly, as he was remembering the shape of the tattoo he had etched on her skin with the magic of his ancient needle, Rasgar stopped dead-still in the middle of the path. Instantly, Rafi's head turned down to his closest companion, knowing that he'd seen, sensed something. And to follow the jaguar's eyes, whatever it was was in the clearing just ahead, hidden around a bit of a bend in the path.

Rasgar's ears flattened to his head. And the jaguar began to growl....

Rafi immediately put his thoughts on the side, and put his phone back onto its place. He didn’t say anything to the feline; he knew it must be something important if he acted like this. His stance became aware, as he turned his own senses into the direction which Rasgar showed to him, trying to see and hear what the cat did.

Crouching down low next to the thickness of Rasgar's neck, Rafi squinted his eyes, straining to see what he could through the dense verdance that separated him from the small clearing ahead. At that new vantage point, he saw two sets of legs; human legs, to be sure, wearing what looked like tough, industrial workpants over heavy leather boots. It was difficult to see what they were doing, at first. Initially, all he could hear was some kind of discussion, just under the threshold of clear hearing. He eventually heard one of the voices laugh, a man's laugh, deep and heavy.

Two men, clothed like a worker, and enjoying whatever they do, he thought. But then why did Rasgar acted like if they are wrong persons, he mused, and there must be something that I can’t see yet. The young meta remained silent, next to his friend and continued his watch.

Waiting another moment, he saw one of the two men bending down to grab something off the ground. With the high grass and flowerbeds, it was impossible to tell what it was until he lifted it up off the concrete. When he did, Rafi's eyes widened, staring breathlessly at the object of his attention.

“Oh no”, he mouthed silently, but Rasgar heard him anyway, and his growl strengthened as he noticed his master’s disagreement to the men’s actions in front of them.

He watched the man pick a raccoon up off the ground, limp, by its back legs.

“What could happen here” he stared at the poor animal, shocked by its pose and by the brutality how the man lifted it from the ground. He hoped that it will move suddenly and bite in the hand, but it didn’t move.

It was impossible to say whether it was alive or dead.

“Okay, let’s go and ask what are they doing here and why” he whispered into the feline’s ears, and placed his hand on his shivering neck. “Play nice first, we don’t wanna fight until its necessary”, he added, and then stood up.

The pair of them walked forward easily as if they doing their evening walk in the park, gapering the trees and the show that the nature showed them. When the two men came to sight, Rafi stopped, and looked curiously at them. “Hello there!” he said, and waved a small hello to them with his free hand. 

Both men turned over to look at him as if they were surprised. One of them--the one with the raccoon--was older, perhaps in his late forties, while the other was perhaps two decades younger. They had on light tan work coats that matched their pants and uniform hats, as well; just a casual glance between the two of them and Rafi was sure that they were related.

Now around the corner of the bend in the path, Rafi could see that the two of them both bore long, heavy hunting rifles, both of them slung over their shoulders and behind them. Neither of them replied to him as the elder of the man hung the raccoon in his hand suspended over the top of a large sack made out of some kind of heavy, synthetic material.

Hmh, a father and son are hunting together in one of the last living forests in this world, Rafi thought to himself. If they’d have met in a normal mountain forest, a couple of years ago, probably he wouldn’t have any problem with that, but here… it made him angry for the people devil-may-care attitude.

There was danger in their eyes, Rafi decided as they met his, silent and suspicious. He'd caught them doing something wrong--he was aware of it instantly, just by the look on their faces. At his side, Rasgar made another low growling sound, deep in his throat, inaudible to any but him. To look at them, Rafi could've had the same response.

The young meta tilted his head as he glanced at the pair, as he tried to measure their speed and their fighting will, but he had a very bad feeling how this could end if he allows them to draw their guns. On their own end, especially on Rasgar’s, he was sure that the combat is almost unavoidable; his conscience tickled to teach them for right.

Then, like he just noticed the raccoon, he lifted an eyebrow and made a surprised face. “Oh, what happened with that poor animal? Is he okay?”

"Not no more," the younger of the two said with a thick Appalacian accent, cracking a little smile. Then his eyes looked down to Rasgar for a moment before coming up to the young artist's once more. He thought he was going to make a comment about his sleek jaguar friend, but it never came.

“Are you from the City, to take care of the Park or something?” he asked, all the while stroking with his finger Rasgar’s neck, under his thick fur, and covering the move with his body from the two, trying to avoid that they notice that he is actually holding back the jaguar.

"Or something," the elder man responded with a little chuckle, the accent the same as the youth's. Rafi saw that he was smoking a thin brown cigarette, the smell of it wafting unpleasantly over on the light breeze towards him and his barely-restrained friend. "We're contractors," he explained, flicking some ash onto the pavement beneath him. He dropped the raccoon uncerimoniously into the bag at his side, distending it with its weight. "City hired us on. They gotta rabies problem runnin' around the animals o' this Park o' theirs and they're askin' us an' a couple o' others to cull down anything that looks suspicious. This lil' feller here," he shook the bag, "was foamin' heavy around the mouth. Lucky we got to 'im 'fore he bit somebody."

Rafi nodded like if he agreed to what the man told, but his eye flashed suspiciously at the dead raccoon’s jaw; and then he furrowed his brows when the old man flicked ash to the ground. 

The second before the small mammal dropped into the confines of the dark bag, Rafi was sure that he saw that its leg twitched slightly, its eyes rolling back within its furry little skull. In the instant before it disappeared, the young artist realized that it was far from dead. When the animal gathered in the bottom of the sack, he watched its slick surface distend with its plaintive struggles to escape; it confirmed what he'd thought undeniably.

“Oh, how bad to hear that even in this last marvelous living forest can such thing happen.” He said it a tad more deep voice than his own, and though it sounded like he reflects to the rabies, but he was talking about the poaching as he was sure that those two did that. His voice carried a bit anger which was slowly building up in him, although his stance didn’t reveal yet.

"Yup," the elder man said, the grey smoke from his cigarette rising idly from its end until it dissapated into the open air. "That'll happen, though," he shrugged matter-of-factly. "Wild animals get sick. Way of the world, mister."

He looked down at Rasgar, then back up at Rafi, smiling awkwardly.

"That's a nice-lookin' cat you got there, mister," he added. "Might not want it to run loose around this here woods, though, if y'know what I mean."

"No tellin' what might happen, if somethin' managed ta get to it."

Rafi narrowed his eyes when Rasgar came into topic. “Thank you for the advice… but I can’t loose him. And let me tell you, that I’d be worried for those who met with him, not for him.” His voice became even deeper and carried a bit warning and threat.

Rasgar's short green fur, all along his back, bristled. It was almost like he understood the rising tension between the three men. The young man looked down at him and chuckled. "Mebbe so," he replied to Rafi's circumspect warning. "'Less they had guns on 'em, right?"

He looked up and met Rafi's eyes. The return of threat was unmistakable.

“You say that you were hired by the city?” he stared at the older man’s eyes. “Could you show me your ID or pass to ensure that? I’m sorry, but in my mind there is a completely different image how a ranger should look like and how he should behave” he pointed at the small hill of ash on the pavement. “By the way, if that raccoon had rabies, he must have met with a damn fast dentist as I don’t see any foam on his teeth.” 

After the last sentence he counted on that they will try to treat him to go away, but he hoped that they won’t use their guns right away. He measured the distance which divided them, and began to plan on what movement will be the fastest and he most effective to take them out. If he’ll let Rasgar loose, he was sure that the jade feline would attack the older one, as he was the more unabashed.

The older of the two men slit his eyes, obviously a bit annoyed. "Mister, I don't know who the Hell you think you are," he said, taking a long drag off his cigarette before flicking the still-lit butt down onto the concrete, stomping it out with a grinding motion of the toe of his boot. "But if I was you, I'd best mind my own business."

Rafi nodded solemnly. “That’s what I do, man, mostly.” His hand moved to his beltpack, and he hooked his thumb into it, like a very though gang-boy, to cover his intent to get his cards out. He was damn grateful for his mage-training, again.

Neither of the two of them seemed to notice the bit misdirection in the slightest. There was probably some irony to the fact that the man's staring into his eyes, trying to intimidate him, actually made it a lot easier to be pull off the feat than it might've been normally--but he'd have to enjoy that later. For now, he didn't do anything that might give himself away. All part of the act, he thought to himself.

He was about ten feet from the man that was speaking, he guessed, maybe fifteen from the younger of the two. It wasn't a good place to be. He was confident in his speed, his skill--but the fact was that they were still armed. There was a good chance that one of them might be able to get a shot off at either him or his friend before he was able to close that gap. "Lemme give you a piece o' advice while you're at it, son," he met Rafi's gaze. "I'd think about keepin' that green cat o' yours somewhere safe inside, where the Hell it is you came from. There's people out there that'd be willin' do some awful bad stuff to you, so's they could box 'im up and sell 'em to some rich folk that collect rare animals, if'n you know what I mean. A man could make 'imself a good livin' offa that kinda work. To the point they might not give a damn who they hadda do wrong in the process."

The old mug’s speech made him even angrier. He didn’t know that either of the two is a meta or not, but now as he saw that the lil’ raccoon is alive, he knew that he didn’t have any other chance but to try and rescue it. “Sure, old man. If somebody doesn’t have a soul, it must be a good way to earn money.” He said it so silently, that they had to force their ears if they wanted to hear what Rafi said.

"You say somethin'?" the younger of the two of them said, acting tough behind the more confident old man. He eyed him with cruelty in his eyes; Rafi could tell that he really didn't expect him to answer. "I couldn't hear you, mister."

Rafi looked at the young man, and shook his head. “No problem, pal. I just spoke to my jaguar, not you” and he smiled at the poacher, brightly, as if speaking the truth.

He eyed his gun, then looked back at Rafi. "I guess what I'm sayin' is that's a good way to get a feller shot, 'round these parts."

The young dancer glanced at their guns, and replied calmly. “I wouldn’t like to go on that route…” he nodded then, and decided that whatever it takes, he have to do it fast and turned his gaze’s weight to the younger poacher.

The younger of the two of them seemed like he was getting antsy.

Eager to make a move at the slightest provocation.

“I’m a big fan of fortune cards, actually” he shifted the topic of the conversation suddenly. “Do you guys like them, too? I have a pack of them here with me, would you mind if I get them out?” he asked with a faint smile.

He could see a confused look on the young man's features. The older man didn't seem too amused at all by the turn of conversation. Rafi knew he was going to have to start talking quickly in order to avoid seeing the business end of their weapons.

“These are very good cards, they always shows the truth, at least as I’m sure. I traveled a lot to gather them, each one is from various fortunetellers, from various countries, and they usually blessed the whole pack, too.” He talked smoothly and all the way he looked into their eyes, to hold his thoughts, and prevent the single move as they could lift their weapons either to him or Rasgar. “Basically I’m gonna decide myself, and you, certainly, what to do here and now; without causing any trouble.” He flashed a smile at them, before continued.

Meanwhile he fished out his cards from the beltpack, slowly, cautious to not show any sign of threat to them, as he didn’t want to give a reason to shoot him or Rasgar. For now, anyway. When he got his cards on his palm, he outspreaded them with one hand, so they looked like a fan and he looked at them for a moment. When he found what he searched he glanced at the two men and smiled at them. “Hm, you guys are lucky. It seems the cards are with you” he tilted his head, and slowly pushed one card a little over the others. 

"Mister, I ain't in no mind to listen to your fool bullcrap," the elder man said, beginning to shrug his shoulder in such a way that his rifle dropped into his hands. "Y'all need to get gone, know what I'm sayin'?" he said. "'Fore you end up inna bag, too."

Rafi gulped once when the old man mentioned the bag, his imagination already running wild in the tense of the situation, but he chased the possibility of loosing away, and filled his mind with the chosen partner of his. Then he continued his speech as if he didn’t do the slightest pause.

“This is the most powerful sign for the wealthy and wise people, so I think you two are really blessed by the gods…” he said, but his tone showed that he didn’t finished the sentence yet, but then paused to take a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, to cover the sign of his power. “…the dragon!” he finished strongly and called forth Skie, trying to place her so that her tail cover him and Rasgar from the poachers. He put all his power into this summon the real monster, like back at Damon, but with one single outburst as now he needed to do it quickly.

"What the?!?!" the young man cried out in sudden shock and surprise as the massive blue dragon suddenly appeared into being in midst of the small clearing. In an instant, where once nothing at all had stood, Rafi saw the thick trunk of a brilliant azure tail, covered in bright scales, each one the size of his head--thick as any of the trees that rose up into the air around them. He saw the end of it curl, twisting once and then again, lashing angrily back and forth with a whipping noise as it cut the air in its violent path. The young artist found himself standing right next to one of the massive claws at the end of its legs, a bone-white curve as tall as he was that sank deep into the ground, breaking the concrete beneath it into rubble, trenching the ground just off the edge of the path.

Rafi stepped on step closer, put his hand on the side of the dragon, and looked at the enormous, while still gorgeous and powerful body, in total amazement for the new side of his power.

The monstrous blue dragon looked skyward, shattering the still with its roaring fury, just brought to life by the sudden expression of Rafi's power. Its wings spread wide and knifed through the branches of nearby trees, snapping some of them like twigs as it beat them once in the terrible, keening cry. Rafi smelled the sharp scent of ozone from the lightning that spilled from gigantic fangs as Skie made known her anger, flashes of brilliant light that erupted from her maw into the blue sky above.

The young meta closed his eyes as he sniffed the air, and shook his head to clear his ears from the remnants of the sounds of the dragon’s anger. “Woot…” he whispered, but then he turned his attention back to the two thieves.

The men were no longer there when she finally curled her neck, bigger than his entire car, downward, to stare vengefully at them with her eyes, bluer than the ocean and crackling menacingly with shoots of blinding sparks. No, they'd already turned tail and began to run in a panic, the young man into the woods and the older down the path in the other direction. Rafi watched the young man fall clumsily, yell out in pain as he found a thicket of thorns, but push himself through them and beyond in a frenzy to flee from the Wyrm's anger.

“Hah, run, cowards!” he said, but he didn’t thought that really. He knew that if he would be surprised by such an enemy, he would be running too. Still, their fear filled his heart with warm, as they called the faith against them; it wasn’t his intent to fight.

The older of the two had a considerable lead on Rafi. He didn't think he might be able to catch him, fueled by his fear and given such a head start.

“Damn” he said as he saw the distance between them, but his problem suddenly solved itself.

Rasgar, though...he was another matter.

In his lightheadedness, putting forth the effort that had brough the great blue dragon to life, he'd let go of the jade jaguar's neck. And so, Rasgar shot forth at a full sprint for the man with the gun and the bag--a streak of green lightning.

He almost felt bad for him, when his friend would finally catch up with him.

Almost.

“Just catch him, buddy!” he shouted after the jaguar, and he hoped that the great, angered jade feline did hear him. They didn't really need to kill or hurt someone over the needed amount which was enough to protect themselves.

Despite the fact that Rasgar was already gone before the words had even gotten all the way out of his mouth, disappeared around another bend in the path in his pursuit after the fleeing hunter, Rafi was somehow sure that he had understood his desires just the same, somehow knew that he wished him alive and in one piece when he came upon the two of them, at the end of his own chase. He wasn't sure how, but he knew it was so.

Okay, maybe not necessarily in one piece, he grinned to himself. But definitely alive.

It was the only thing now, to capture them alive, all other wound would heal up, though it’d be nice the get them unhurt -mostly, anyway- not to make too bad impression on the cops he planned to call after the scene ends.

Then he began to jog after the younger one, but he stopped after a few steps and looked back and up to Skie. “Stay here, okay? You can reach us faster than anyone, but I hope we’ll return here soon” he asked the dragon, smiling but with honour. His eyes shifted to the holes what the dragoness's huge claws and almost unimaginable weight caused, and shook his head slightly. But this was another problem, and he'll have time to think about it if the poachers will be in chains. Chains... he already has something in mind for that, but before the drawing he had to catch the running men.

From high above him, the giant dragon's neck slithered down serpentine, until it's head, half the size of his car, was level to Rafi's own. It's eyes, reflecting the raging lightning storm within its great belly, fixed on his, like two immense star sapphires. In the second it took the noble wyrm to accomplish the deed, she nodded her head in assent, something demure and regal, like he might imagine a princess or a queen doing.

It was a marvelous view as the huge lizard shifted her neck and head to him, and stared down to his lithe frame. He felt like an ant, comparing to him. It wasn’t too good feeling, even that he felt what was behind those starfire eyes. 

Though Skie did not speak, somehow Rafi know that she, too, understood him well. When he would return, he knew that she would be there waiting.

Until she gave him his sanction to his request, he couldn’t turn his gaze away, but then Rafi glanced at the pavement again. He took a deep breath, and the chided himself as now he had some other ideas how he could have used his power and his dragoness instead like this.

He could have put her behind the poachers and then they couldn’t run away, but perhaps they would have felt threatened enough to give up the fight.

Or he could have put Skie around them, curled into a neat circle, to capture them instantly.

He shook his head and noted himself that he had to draw some nice booth and shield for such situations in the future.

Though Skie did not speak, somehow Rafi know that she, too, understood him well. When he would return, he knew that she would be there waiting.

The young artist then turned again, and sprinted after the escaping boy, hoping that his calm head would provide advantage and he could beat him before he runs too far. He held his cards in his left palm all the while; they could be useful later, too.

Even though the youngster had quite a head start on him, he was clumsy with his gun and big boots as he tried to make his way through the thick woods before him. And though he'd been slowed by the thorn bush he'd fallen into, even at his best Rafi saw that he'd pose no match for him in a race. He was young, sure, but the way he gulped for air as he ran, he could see that he wasn't terribly fit. Certainly not as fit, at least, as the agile Capoeira dancer that chased him. By the time he looked over his shoulder to see what the noise was that was coming up on him, Rafi was less than twenty paces distant.

He eyed the distance between them as he ran after the boy, and measured the runaway’s movements which were as graceful as a tipsy rhino. He had enough stamina to smile himself at the thought, and put a little more effort into his speed.

A heartbeat later, he was almost upon him.

Rafi grimaced as he glanced at the gun, he knew that he somehow he must took away that from the guy if he didn’t want to get shot. As he came up on him from his back, the running dancer took a sidestep, and stretched his right arm to grab the gun, and using his strength and his momentum, he tried to yank off the weapon from it’s strap and from the guy’s shoulder. He didn’t care in the slightest if the boy will fall flat or would hit a tree during the process, he knew that he will survive but the gun must be taken.

With a final dash of speed, he stretched out and grabbed the rifle right around its thick barrel and the adjoining bit of wood beneath it. Deciding that it'd be the easiest way to snap it from the strap, the instant he put his hand on it, he stopped dead in his tracks--digging his heels into the soft turf under his feet and bracing his calves and ankles for the shock to follow.

Rafi utilized all his strength as he counted on that the momentum of the youngster would be quite big. He knew that he had strength a bit above the average, but no one could cautious enough so he added his own mass to the pull as he leaned back a bit.

It was more spectacular than he could have ever hoped for.

The strap suddenly stopped as the young hunter continued on--and too quick for the eye to follow, it slid up around his neck, sending him spinning virtually head over heels like he'd run headlong into a clothesline. Rafi heard the thin leather cord snap loudly, instantly giving way under his weight...but not before he went airborne for a space of about five feet and subsequently slammed down face-first onto the forest floor uncerimoniously. He barely even had time to squeal out a yelp of surprise and pain before the twigs and brush underfoot cracked--shoved directly into his face at the full pace of his sprint.

The young dancer groaned as the gun pulled his arm out, but managed to maintain the hold. He looked down at the fugitive, and put a faint smile on his face. He did it. He stopped the running man, and no one was hurt seriously. At least he hoped that; and for his conscience he eyed the lying man more extensively, but he still didn’t step closer to him.

In his right hand, Rafi held the hunter's gun. Below him, the young man lay still, motionless. He might have mistaken him for dead, if not for the low groaning he mumbled into the lush green below his prone from.

Right then, he mused, he might've wished he was.

He took the courage to reach out and borrow Rasgar’s senses for a moment, to get some information about their position and his feline friend’s state. He hoped that he is unhurt, as he didn’t hear any gunshot or other loud noise until then.

Looking down at the young hunter, he wasn't worried that he might take advantage of his distracted state to attack him or escape. As it was, it looked like it was going to take quite an effort on his part even to get back to his feet, let alone lash out at him. So with that, he turned his thoughts and his gift both to his verdant friend...hoping he would see him unharmed....

At first he had to take a deep breath, to calm his mind to the light, almost floating state which he used to control his ability. Rafi could use his images even he was in anger, but the tension made the concentration harder. Anyway, he managed to reach out and touched Rasgar’s mind... wait, Rasgar’s mind?, he thought, but the process has already began...

...and his perspective shifted.

In an instant, he was somewhere else. The sudden change left him a bit disoriented, confused as new, expanded senses reeled to take in his new surroundings. Much of the time, when he made the change, it was like flicking on and off a television set; it wasn't such a completely new experience that he struggled to take it all in. But Rasgar's senses were sharp. So much sharper than his own, in fact, that he found that his mind was assaulted by all of the new sights and sounds and smells...a rush of information and feeling that took him a moment to adjust himself to.

He staggered unwantedly as the huge pack of ever-changing information struck him. He shook his own head, and maybe let out a silent groan, too, even he wasn’t sure which throat made the noise. These senses were complete surprise for him... Rafi borrowed his jaguar’s talents in past more than one occasion, and he knew that they are very sensitive, but now they were even more. Back at Aaron he just turned down his hearing, he didn’t listened much through it, but now... it was amazing.

When he finally did, Rafi found that he was standing atop something, like the jade jaguar might a fallen tree, in his Amazonian home, far away. Not far from where he stood, he could see that the thick tan bag that the hunter had carried lay discarded in the middle of the path--a large lump settled to the bottom that told him that the raccoon still lay at its bottom. With Rasgar's sensitive nose, he could smell it from where he stood, its sweat and fur something recognizable even from within the sack.

Good, he thought, the raccoon is here. Then the feline had snatched the old one, too, hardly enough to drop the sack. But where can he be now, he asked himself, and tried to locate him using his friends senses.

But there was a still-stronger smell in the air, this one all around him. It was a familiar smell, too...the sharp, awful smell of stale burning, carcinogens in the form of smoke that hung heavy on the wind. A glance down from his point of view told him where that came from, too. He saw the sight of an arm,--the old hunter's arm--connected to the trunk on which he stood. Rasgar walked back and forth up and down his torso, pacing anxiously, causing him to groan out uncomfortably under his ever-shifting weight.

It sounded like music to Rafi's ears.

The young meta smiled wryly, hearing the growling of the poacher. For a moment he enjoyed the sound, but then cleared his mind, and reminded himself that he is the good one here, so he must act like that. Rafi sent his voice after his senses, and utilized his other ability in connection with his drawings: he could talk around them. 

“Okay, old man. My friend would leap off from you, and let you stand again. You can then grab your weapon, and push its barrel into the ground as hard as you can, to fill it with dirt. We’ll be watching you so do not try any nasty trick. Then you’ll grab your sack with the raccoon, and slowly walk back to our meeting point.” 

The old man groaned, ironically, a lot like his son before him. "Ugggh," he breathed. "The goddamn thing talks, too," he muttered.

“Your son is with me, so I really suggest being nice. If you try any other action besides the walking, you’d regret it.”

"I reckon I might do just that," he replied. "But I don't rightly think I can move. When y'all landed on me, I think I done broke my leg." Rafi couldn't help but smile again. The way he was talking, it was clear that the old man wasn't sure whether he was talking to the young artist or a hungry jade jaguar. He wondered what his voice must've sounded like to him, coming from Rasgar's mouth. It probably sounded like an angry growl.

“Then your path back to us would be a bit painful, man” said Rafi calmly, as he was sure that the old poachers tried to fool him. He sniffed again into the air, but he still didn’t sense anything else from the cigar and the fear which was more and more obvious. There wasn’t any coppery taste in the air, so no blood was effused. He nodded, and looked back at the man as he continued his speech.

"Tell you what," he continued. "I'll just side my gun across the sidewalk, so's I can't shoot you or your buddy, all right?" he posed. And the old man proceeded to do exactly that, grasping the thick part of the rifle and tossing it away from him. It didn't slide as much as it tumbled, but a good ten feet away, with Rasgar on top of him--he figured it might as well be ten miles distant, for all the good the weapon would do him then.

"There," he said. "Everything's good. Ain't nobody gettin' shot, now."

Rafi was pretty sure of that already. But it was nice that the old hunter knew it, too.

“It was perhaps your wisest move tonight” he said calmly again, and let out a little growl, to ensure the position. “We’ll meet where we did first”, he added.

He then turned his attention to Rasgar, and talked directly to him. At first he thought that he should say his requests on Portuguese, but then he decided that the English would have more effect on the poacher. “Okay, my friend” his tone carried his feeling, that he was proud of the cat, “please escort this mug back to Skie, and bite freely but not too deeply, if he tries to be bad again.” For finishing the conversation he tried to send another feeling, as if he was stroking slightly the cats head like he’d be there now.

Back over their ethereal, insubstantial connection, Rafi could have sworn that he felt Rasgar's fur--the warmth of his nearness--brushing up against his cheek affectionately. He even thought he heard him purr...but that, too, was gone as he pulled back from their connection. He wasn't sure the cat was going to have any luck coaxing the hunter to move, in his condition, but Rafi knew--if he was able--he would.

After a second, he returned to his own body, then turned the gun down, and pushed it into the ground, filling the barrels with mug, at least a span deep. In this way ensuring the gun became non-usable, -okay, at least not before an extensive cleansing- he nudged the boy with his foot. “Get up, and move you ass; back to the road.” 

He groaned again painfully when Rafi as much as touched him. "Fuck me," he breathed, shaking his head. "You're fuckin' crazy, man," he proclaimed.

“Could be” he admitted. “Don’t make me more nervous, if I might ask” he said, with a slight shrug, and a step back to see, how the kid would react.

The young hunter didn't as much as make a single move. "I ain't testin' you, mister," he said, holding out his hands wide, as if to show he had nothing hidden in them.

It was just the reaction he'd hoped for.

Maybe it was exactly that--the thought of what Rafi might be capable of if he didn't comply--that finally motivated him to motion. Painfully, he rolled from him back onto his chest and pushed himself up to his knees. His nice tan work coat and pants were soiled from his fall, bearing grass and dirt stains that he was pretty sure wouldn't wash out too easily. It took the young man a few minutes to manage himself up to his feet--and he needed the aid of a nearby tree to do it--but he finally made it up. Rafi didn't give him the slightest bit of help.

“You first” he said, and showed the direction with the gun. “Don’t try to run off again, I’ll chase you if I have to, but I’m even more tempted to send one of my ‘special’ friends after you… and they won’t be as nice as I am now.”

He was limping as he walked, plodding. Every step looked like an effort. "I ain't goin' nowhere, mister," he said, shaking his head as he started back to the main path. "I ain't gonna be no trouble," he promised. given the way he was moving, Rafi was inclined to believe him, too.

“Good choice” he answered, using a calm, professional voice. He felt a little sorry for the kid, in spite of his best tries when he watched his painful walking. Rafi had good heart after all.

“We’ll wait there until the police arrives to take care with you and your old man,” he said in a very calm, quiet and very evil-sounding voice. He was still angry about the raccoon, and the chasing not helped a lot to become peaceful. 

He seemed to hang his head a bit more as they walked, resigned to the idea.

“While we walk, you can tell me your story… what were you doing here and why?” he asked using the calm, professional interrogator voice of agent Gibbs, from his favorite series, the NCIS.

He sighed slightly. "Me an' my dad, we're here fer the animals," he admitted, not even bothering to turn around and look at him as they walked. "You saw the 'coon, right? You know my daddy di'nt kill it, right?"

“And that was his luck as my green friend wouldn’t be as nice to him as he was now. I still hope that animal would be okay after all this rubble, otherwise…” he let the end of the sentence hung in the air.

The young man looked a little nervous. "'Coons are pretty tough, mister," he said, though it sounded like he was trying to convince himself, just as much as Rafi. "She'll be okay, I'm pretty sure. They's just darts we got 'er with."

“Now tell me why?” he asked curiously, but his eye was on the kid and the other was on their surroundings, to catch any sign of threat.

"Ever since the winter came," he explained, "nobody cain't find no animals nowhere--'cept in a few special places, like this forest here. My daddy, he knows lotsa rich people down south that'd pay lotsa money fer live animals. I dunno what they do with 'em, maybe put 'em in zoos, maybe hunt 'em, or cook 'em up...but they basically pay any amount o' money fer any animal you can find. That gun o' mine you got," he finished, "ain't no bullets in it, mister. Just tranq-load. Honest, we wasn't tryin' ta kill none of 'em."

He said it, as they started back onto the paved path, like it might appease him.

He couldn't've known how the story made Rafi's blood boil within his veins.

“You steal animals from their last shelter and sell them to wealthy rats to eat them?!” his voice trailed high as his anger began to rise again. “Or, if they are lucky they would be behind bars for the rest of their life, when they could be live in a free place like this?!” he gestured with his free hand around the verdant forest. “This is disgusting” he said finally.

"Mister," he said, his voice trembling as he spoke, "no disrespect, but they're just animals, y'know? Me an' my daddy...we're people. Y'know, not everybody's rich, wearin' nice, fancy clothes like I see you got on. People gotta eat. With alla this snow, ain't like people got jobs, like they used to have. The whole world ain't like yer nice, new city, right? It ain't good, outside, back where me an' daddy're from."

"Mister," he continued, "we're just men tryin' ta survive, that's all. I know this place is special an' all...but it's all folks like us got left."

“I wasn’t born in this city, too, kid,” he used that word as he felt himself much older than him, although he had only a few years in advance, perhaps. “Nobody here was. We all came from other places, from other countries, to find ourselves a new home.” Rafi explained his thoughts silently, trying to convince the youngster about the wrongness of his path. “We had jobs on our own back, from where we came here. I’m sure most of us studied hard to became someone worthy.” He sighed, and shook his head a little, even if the kid couldn’t see him. “I met in this city metas and humans both, and they were all good and normal people.” Well, most of them, he thought, as he remembered to the gangstas. “Have you done any school yet which could gave you an opportunity to be useful? For your own and for the society, too?”

"I done tried," he replied, sounding exasperated. Was it with Rafi? Himself? The situation? It was hard to tell, really. "I ain't real good at school, though, mister," he admitted. "Books an' me, we never quite saw eye-to-eye, y'know?"

Rafi couldn’t help, but a ghost of a smile came up to his face. Anger was always the fist reaction when something unwanted was suggested. He was so with the Math and Physics classes, no interest, no good grades, and after his parents’ sermon, he usually went to the park, to dance off the heat. He nodded, likely the same.

"But mister, this thing with the huntin'," he said. "Folks've been doin' it since the bible-days, right? I read it myself in the good book, back home in Tennessee--Pastor Morgan used ta talk about it alla time. It's a man's right to hunt, ta survive. I guess I don't reckon I can see how if'n it's in the Bible, it c'n be wrong."

“You’re right, a man’s right to hunt. Hunt, to feed his family, nothing more.” He said that in a clam, measured voice, something cold, distant; then he sighed, and his voice became friendlier. “There is some thing which changed since that book was written, I think. Maybe not all the things in it are right nowadays.” He grimaced while answered to the boy. “And as I remember, there was something in with ’steal not’, isn’t it?” he asked.

"I don't see how it's stealin'," he shrugged and sighed again. "But you got the gun, mister--not me. I reckon that means you make the rules."

Rafi grabbed his phone, and called the 911. While he waited for the operator, he grimaced at the back of the kid, shaking his head. “If you want to work near with animals, there are other choices, ya’know. I don’t think that this is a job that worth the risk... as you’ll notice soon.”

The young man sighed, hanging his head, remaining silent.

“Change your mind, I suggest. And your daddy’s too. If you’re such great hunters, maybe you could be as good rangers, too, just give it a chance.”

The young man kicked a small rock gently--away from Rafi's direction--as he waited for him to make his call. It reminded him of something that a scolded little boy might do. He heard it bounce off of the pavement and into the underbrush beyond before settling.

Rafi just sighed silently, and rolled his eyes as he saw the youngster’s silent protest against his advice. Then he shrugged, and decided that he had to tell that to him, from now, it’s his choice to live with or without it.

The phone began to sound--the distinctive double-ring tone like no other place in America. It didn't even make it to a second ring before the other end picked up. "Elysium City Emergency Services," a female voice replied to him, sober, serious.

Waiting to hear what the disaster of the day might be.

When the operator’s voice reached his ear, he answered calmly. “I’d like to report a poaching attempt in the Man Ray Park, near the first parking place. I managed to hinder it, and now I’m sitting here with the two would-be-hunter and with two of my friends.”

“Could you please tell me what should I do with them?” he asked.

A pause for a moment. "Are you Mister Gurney?" the operator asked. 

“I am” he answered, surprised by the fact that they already knew the caller’s name. But then he shrugged and smiled simultaneously.

He presumed that they had to have traced the call somehow, instantaneously, correlated it to the phone's owner's name: his. In a sense, it was a bit disarming how quickly they did it, what kind of access to information it implied that the authorities in Elysium City possessed...but at the same time, he knew that having that kind of information could work in his favor, too--as it was today. That kind of response-time could be the difference in saving lives, he knew, so with that said, it probably wasn't such a bad thing.

Then: "Please leave the line open; I'm sending some officers your way," she said.

“Okay, we’ll wait for them. Please, tell them that they don’t have to be surprised by my friends whom I mentioned.” He grinned widely, and let that feeling leek through his voice. “They are kind of magical creatures.” 

The operator paused for a moment; over his end of the telephone, he could hear the clacking sound of a keyboard busily typing away. "I'm informing the officers en route," she informed him. "Can you give me any information on what types of magical animals they can expect to see? And how many?" The sound of the operator's voice, calm and cool, made him smile. It was like she hadn't even blinked at his comment; like it was the kind of thing she heard every day. He almost laughed. She probably did, at that.

Rafi lifted an eyebrow as he listened to the calm operator, not even surprised a little, but then he cleared his throat, and answered to him. “My companion is a jade jaguar, but they’ll prolly notice a gargantuan blue dragon first, she’ll be around us.” He paused for a moment, and thought at the holes she put into the pavement. “I hope you have ways to repair the sidewalk, she’s is a little overweight to stand there...” And how overweight, he mused for a moment, considering that was the second time he saw Skie alive. Okay, the second time to see her tracks, and the first time to see that she’s actually tangible, he thought.

To his mild surprise, the operator didn't seem at all concerned by it. He heard a little more tapping at the keyboard he imagined she sat at, then: "I've relayed to the officers that they can expect to see the two animals on arrival," she said. he presumed in a city like his adopted home, she probably got calls such as his all the time...and probably far stranger, at that. "I've also called a City Infrastructure crew to your location who can repair the sidewalk. I'd expect them to arrive shortly after the squad car."

"Is there anything else I can assist you with, Mr. Gurney?" the operator asked, still in her clear, calm tone.

”How long I have to wait, could you tell me?” he asked, then mused over the question, but then shook his head. “Until your officers arrive, I can’t think anything else. Thank you.”

Another short set of taps on the keyboard. "Less than five minutes," she replied. "Officers Thompson and Tallent of the Elysium City Police Department should be arriving at the source of your cell call," she explained in a little more detail.

Rafi put more volume onto the phone, to hear it when needed, but lowered his hand after they finished the conversation. That was what the operator asked, after all, to keep the line open. It seemed reasonable that, once the officers arrived, he could end the call.

But he wasn't about to a second earlier.

As Rafi reached the sidewalk, he saw the bright blue of Skie's clawed foot, like a great azure wall in the center of the path. Further up the way, he heard the faint sound of the old hunter protesting, amidst the sound of something dragging, coming towards him slowly. It was everything he could do, not to laugh, imagining Rasgar holding the bottom of the hunter's pantleg in his powerful jaws, dragging him down the sidewalk to Rafi's side. He was going to have some awful burns from the concrete, he realized.

He smiled yet again.

Good.

Rafi looked up to the dragoness’s eyes, while he drove the young man next to her side. “Sit down” he said to him. 

The young man stumbled a little, hitting the concrete a little harder than Rafi'd meant for him to do. He yelped slightly as his hands hit the pavement to break his fall, rolling once before coming to rest on the great, scaly curve of Skie's foot. The hunter looked like he was about to say something in anger, to protest, but cut it short when the massive blue dragon's head coiled around, serpentine with its long, slender neck. Skie said nothing, but the look in her eyes, crackling with the might of ten thousand silent thunders, was enough to freeze whatever he was going to say in his throat before it ever made it to his lips.

Rafi smiled up to the great dragoness, and nodded thankfully, but addressed his words to the boy. “Sorry, man, sometimes I forgot about my strength and now I forgot that your stance wasn’t too stable, too. I didn’t mean to push you down so hard.” 

"S'okay," the young man shrugged, rubbing hands hands together to bush off a few pebbles that'd bitten into his hand. "Just tripped, s'all." Rafi imagined that he might not have been nearly so polite, had he not had his gun and been circled by a gargantuan blue dragon...but such that it was, he was clearly on his best behavior.

He looked in his eyes, while smiled, but then went on. “But this doesn’t change anything on my intention that you and your father will go into the police’s care.”

He hung his head and sighed again. Seeing that continuing to speak wasn't helping him in the slightest, he simply resigned himself to his fate and remained silent. Wasn't that what they told you to do in all the police shows, anyway?

He turned his gaze back to Skie. “Thank you for waiting me, Skie. Could you lie down around the glade after Rasgar and the old man arrives? With that we could secure that place and that they won’t escape again.” It was a strange feeling to talk her like this, but since she was real now, too, Rafi didn’t want to offend the mighty dragoness with that he simply takes control over her movements like he used to before. It was a weird situation, he knew. 

They have to find time to practice and to schmooze with each other later, he thought. Or just he had to decide how should he behave with his drawings, he continued the thinking. But there were some, who was more than a drawing, they were friends. Like a big zoo, he mused and the idea made him grinning again.

“Guard him, okay?” he asked the great wyrm, nodding to the direction of the youngster, and lively jogged before the feline and his victim to see, how could he help.

As Rasgar dragged the unhappy old hunter into the clearing, Skie took a single, massive step sideways, the very earth shaking around her as she put her foot down again. Then, Rafi watched her lower herself to the ground, flat on her belly, like she were laying atop some massive, imaginary hoard of gold and treasure. She curled her neck, thin in a relative sense but actually as tall as he was standing straight, and her tail in opposite ways around the outer edge of the clearing until she formed a great circle. An impenetrable wall of shining scale, each plate the size of his hand and the color of the deepest part of the ocean. Finally, she rest her head atop her tail and turned it inward, eyes flickering with interest as she watched the hunters laid before her master.

The young artist stood there, stunned by his creation’s awesome look, and power. As the light flickered on her scales, and as her clear blue was contrasted by the forest’s green and brown, it was amazing to his eyes, a picture worth to remember, and to share. He’ll take a few pics with his phone if he could after the police leaves, he decided.

She seemed to be mildly amused by his breathless astonishment as she lay her eyes on him, like two solid, gigantic robin's eggs, flecked by the most brilliant whites and golds, like lightning that occasionally leaped and arced within their infinite cerulean expanses. He thought he saw her great maw curl itself into a slow smile, the act revealing the edge of a fang very nearly his own size, before she turned a way eye back in the direction of the hunters.

The end of her tail made short, sharp hissing noises through the air as she whipped the thin ten feet of it in the air back and forth like a bullwhip, as if in eager anticipation. The young hunter watched it play in that way with fear in his eyes. He was probably starting to wonder if Rafi might feed him to the dragoness.

She looked at them as a hawk might a field mouse, Rafi thought.

The young hunter shivered visibly.

Finally, when the old hunter was within arm's reach of the young one, Rasgar let him go, dropping him unceremoniously next to his progeny. He looked tired, in his eyes, but the sleek jade jaguar happily jaunted over to where Rafi stood, sitting down at his heel.

“Good work, pal” said Rafi proudly, and patted the jaguar’s head, scratching his fur behind his ears at the end.

Rasgar leaned his head up so he could rub it against Rafi's hand turning in such a way that he focused his attention to the slightly thicker fur just below his ear. He was purring loudly, obviously enjoying the attention, but quickly settled down to lay flat where he sat. The exertion of dragging the hunter had tired him out, he was sure. He closed his eyes to slits, even his tail quieting to motionless behind Rafi's shoes.

The young artist looked down at the jade cat, and smiled. Their tour in the park became unwantedly short with this event, he knew. Even if Rasgar will manage to find a bit of power in him for his pleasure, it wouldn’t be a nice move to force him to do that. They’ll go home, after the cops will arrive and take those two with them, he decided. But until then, they have things to do, he thought, and raised his eyes again.

"Daddy," the young hunter said sorrowfully, "he done called the police."

The old hunter sighed.

"Lissen, mister," he said, "y'all done made your point, I reckon. I got me two ruined rifles an' a broke leg outta this whole sorry episode--don't you figger that's enough?" he asked him. "I tell you what--let me an' the boy go. I swear to y'all on a stack o' Holy Bibles ain't nobody ever gonna see us anywhere near this here forest o' yours again, all right?"

He made a face.

"At least give us a head start, huh?"

Rafi turned his gaze back to the captured pair, and tilted his head while the hunter talked. After that he narrowed his eyes and answered to him. “I think you should have made this decision before you run off from me. More accurately, before you agreed to this type of work. I can feel with you, loosing old jobs, and getting new, all the trouble caused by this weather.” 

The old hunter looked over to his son. "I tol' him everythin'," he explained. "'Bout you gettin' laid off, back in Knoxville, an' all that. "I figgered he might unnerstand," he said. his father looked like he might have been vaguely annoyed with the thought, but either didn't have the energy or the inclination to yell at him for it.

Again, an expected reaction. Most of the people don’t like to talk about their motives which led them to the bad path. Perhaps if they feel so that they can convince with it their captor to let them go. The young one nearly made it, only if they said that before the running. And only if they wouldn’t be so scornful and threatening when they got their guns…

Rafi looked down, saw that the older hunter's leg, indeed, was turned at a bit of an unnatural angle. It didn't look like he was lying about his injury, after all.

Rafi narrowed his eyes and his mouth became a thin line as he watched the injured leg. He hated the thought that he caused pain to someone -even if it was through Rasgar-, but again, the hunter deserved it someway.

“But as I said to your son, I don’t think that this gave you the right to steal and capture free, wild animals, from one of the last remaining truly living forests of the world.” He gestured around them, showing the lively trees and took a deep breath to smell their scent.

The old hunter looked disgusted with his comment. "Tha's easy fer y'all ta say, mister," he frowned. "Don' look like you got much trouble keepin' yerself in nice clothes, let alone tryin' ta find a way ta keep food onna table. I bet you figger y'all're some kind super-hero," he said the word like it was poison in his mouth. "Seems ta me super-heroes're supposed to be helpin' people, not throwin' 'em jail on account of they cain't find no way to make ends meet."

“By the way, this isn’t my forest. This is ours, who live in this city, and this country. And for some wealthy rat, who wants exotic food or house zoo, I can’t allow such actions like you tried” shrugged Rafi, and shook his head. “I’m sorry for your leg, but while that will heal up, the animals you two captured and sold, never will live again.”

At first he thought he’ll finish his preach there, but the complaint tickled him. “You think me a superhero?” Rafi asked back with a ghost of a smile. “I never thought myself to be on that level.” His smile became wider a little, but still it was much more distant than his usual. “As my clothes and all… I worked and studied for them, ya’know, like a normal man. My other gifts have nothing to do with my wealth, it came from the work from my two hands” he showed his long, thin fingers, an artist’s palm. “I guess you think that only the work on the field or in the forest counts, but this isn’t so.”

He shrugged, and looked at the two men; somewhere deep he knew that he can’t convince them. There was too much distance between their thoughts and conscience; and excuses always were there. “Super-heroes help everyone, even to the bad guys, to get out from trouble, but the latter ones go to jail after they save their lives. It’s not my job to judge you, so I’m trying to avoid that.”

He then turned his back to them, and walked up to Skie’s head, and then placed his hand to his maw between her nostrils. He found that the scales on her snout were much like those of a snake; cool and smooth, yet dry, like those of a great snake. Supple like leather, each one of them was hard, though--he imagined hard enough to easily defy gunfire. “Allow me to pass, Skie, I want to collect his gun and the poor raccoon as well, before the police arrives.”

The azure dragoness simply flicked the end of her long tail, an act that cut the air with a heavy swoosh...and simultaneously created an arch in the face of the great blue wall of scale she formed. She didn't even look his way, still fixed upon the two hunters in the midst of her powerful coils.

“If they come before me, tell them where am I, and let them take those two into their arms, okay? Oh, and let me see them” he told the dragoness, and then turned back to look at Rasgar. “Will ya come, too?” he asked the feline.

Rasgar didn't look like he wanted to get up in the slightest, but managed to find the energy to prop himself up on his feet and slowly lope over to his side. Butting his head up against his thigh, in that way, the two of them passed beneath the massive curve of Skie's tail, out back down the path through the woods. Rafi agily ducked under her and jogged up on the sidewalk, looking after the sack and the raccoon within.

“You can rest at home soon, my friend” he said to the jaguar during their walk. “It was a tiring day, I know.”

He found that it wasn't far at all. Only a few dozen steps outside the great ring of deepest blue, the sack lay, discarded and forgotten, directly in the center of the path. Rafi opened up the top of it while Rasgar sniffed inquisitively at its bottom, his whiskers dancing as he tried to guess at the scent of the creature within.

Rasgar curiousness made him smile, as he saw that even in his tired state he looked after what’s inside. He tried to chase his pessimistic thoughts away, but he wasn’t too successful to do that at first.

Settled at the bottom, he found the dark, fuzzy bandit. At first, his anger rose as he thought that it might actually be dead, but a moment later, he saw that the animal was still breathing. The spaces between the little rises and falls of its sides were far between though as it rest in the deepest sleep of its life, he guessed.

Rafi sighed relievedly. At least the little beast was alive, and seemingly unharmed. He reached into the sack, and carefully took the raccoon out from it, taking the animal into his embrace. He positioned it so, that it lied on his left arm, with its bottom in his palm, and its head at Rafi’s elbow.

His first sensation was that it's fur was nothing like Rasgar's. Thinner and a bit more stiff to the touch, nonetheless, he would that it was warm in his hands, soft as its weight settled in on his grasp. Somewhere, off in the distance, Rafi thought that he could hear the sound of sirens vaguely approaching his direction; he hoped they were the ones that he was expecting and not others off on some different call.

He saw the red feathers at the end of a silver dart, stuck neatly into its hindquarters, not far at all from its bushy, ringed tail.

Rafi grimaced, with his free hand he fished out a tissue, and grabbed the dart with it. He then pulled the dart out from the creature, carefully, but with a quick, strong motion. 

The raccoon--probably drugged up to its eyeballs, he presumed--didn't as much as respond to the dart's withdrawal. Instead, it continued to sit motionless in the palm of his hand, eyes closed gently, like it was still asleep. In his hand, the dart was a heavy bit of steel, he saw, inspecting it a bit closer. On the opposite end of the red fletchings, he saw the long, thin metal needle, about half the length of his index finger, its very tip covered in a viscous red blood. It made him shake his head to himself. Once again, he was amazed the poor little thing was still breathing.

The young meta stood there for a moment, looking around confused, one hand full with the raccoon, one full with his phone and now this dart. He then stepped next to the dropped gun, let the projectile fall, and put his phone back to his beltpack. 

Then he took up the gun and the bullet, drop them into the sack, and swing the sack onto his shoulder, and only then looked down at his companion. “Come, we’ll go back to Skie.”

He wondered if it might be dreaming, deep in raccoon-slumberland.

While they walked, he eyed the sleeping bandit, and stroked its fur gently. Though he loved the animals, he mostly met then in his own drawings, and this was a new experience for him.

In his hand, as he pet it, it made a little noise, something between a trill and a gurgling. So soft as to be imperceptible, he wondered if it was what passed for raccoon sleep-talk. He had heard a lot of things about how dangerous wild raccoons were to handle; most of the time, if you caught one, wildlife organizations made you destroy it--of course, before the Forever Winter changed all that. But the raccoon he held seemed clean and healthy. He couldn't see any signs of mange or fleas or ticks, and aside of the drug that had sent it deep into dreamland, it seemed thick and hearty. In his hand, he guessed it weighed close to twenty pounds. It was no baby, that was for sure.

Peaceful and asleep, it looked adorable. He couldn't imagine what kind of heart it would take for someone to bring themselves to shoot such a creature. He'd rather starve, he knew, if it came to that.

He wondered as he glanced at Rasgar next to him, and muttered under his breath. “Would you fall asleep from a similar dart or not? You aren’t as common animal as this little furbag, you came from my soul and from a land somewhere deep in the realm of dreams. Could it hurt you, anyway? Or if I think that, you’ll be bulletproof? And how can we test that, because I’m sure I won’t shoot you? What do you think, pal?” he asked.

The jaguar loping wearily at his side did not reply, its attention firmly fixed on the little striped furball in his hands. He seemed fascinated by the little creature, occasionally lifting his head to get a better look at it over the ridge of his arm.

Bullets couldn't have interested him less, in the moment.

The young meta smiled at his companion, and gently shook his head. “You can take a better look at it, when we’ll sit down next to Skie, okay?”

When they arrived back to Skie, he just halted his step at her head, and told her silently his wish, to avoid being heard inside. “I don’t wanna go back to them, okay? I’ll wait the cops here.” He then settled down, and placed his back on her warm scales, which occasionally sparkled with her restrained energy. It was a tickling feeling, but that made the position even more comfortable. 

He waited.

It wasn't long before he saw two figures appear from up the path he'd walked only a few minutes ago. Two women, one well into her middle-age with her hair pulled up into buns that she wore behind her head, the other younger and thin. Both of them wore the dark blue uniforms that seemed ubiquitous to police officers, their guns in holsters at their sides and ringed by all manner of devices on their belts, their golden badges--replicas of the city crest with writing on them--seemed to shine forth from the single-colored uniform. They both wore glasses and, to Rafi, seemed more like librarians than they did police. Something about them, more scholarly and studious than punitive.

As he noticed the incoming cops, Rafi stood up, and stepped forth to greet them. He still held the raccoon in his hand, and with the other he closed his phone-call. The cops arrived, at last.

Their eyes, of course, immediately fixed on Skie, stopping them dead in their path.

He couldn’t help, but smiled, as he saw their reaction. He expected such amazement, and he was proud of his power and drawing skills that they allowed him to bring the mighty dragoness alive.

The younger one saw Rafi first. "Are you Rafael Gurney?" she asked. They kept staring at the dragon, even though he knew they'd expected it, been told to be ready to see it.

He couldn't really blame them a bit.

“Yes, Mam’, I am” he replied calmly, and smiled at them.

Officer Thompson--he could tell by the nameplate just above her right breast--smiled back and offered him her hand. "Debbie Thompson, ECPD," she introduced herself. Rafi thought that she really did look a lot like a librarian with her angular features, her Roman nose. She had nice blue eyes though and she was attractive in a strange sort of way. "This is Officer Tallent," she said, looking back to her partner, who offered a handshake as well.

Rafi shook the offered hands. “Nice to meet you, officers.”

"Nice to meet you," she smiled pleasantly. She didn't have the trim, athletic body that her partner had; she was actually sort of plump, if he were to be honest. She wasn't what he associated with a police officer, in the slightest.

“Thank you for coming so fast.” 

"It's no problem," Officer Thompson said, then looked at the massive azure wall that was the curved back of the great blue wyrm. "We, ah, were told to expect a dragon, but...."

Officer Tallent laughed gently. "I don't think we expected anything quite this big."

Rafi’s smile widened, as he was proud on his artwork. The dragon helped him in the second time within the last two days, and everyone who saw it, was amazed by her. The bad guys had their fear, the friendly ones felt the marvel of such existence. “I asked the operator about a repair-team for the sidewalk,” he said with a light chuckle, “I thought that would show something about Skie’s size.”

"They're already here," the older of the two explained. "They're out there, in that parking lot your car's in. They won't come in to start any repairs until we give 'em the go-ahead, though. At least, they're not supposed to. The policy's meant to keep the city workers away from as much danger as possible. That's not what they get paid for," she smiled wanly.

“Okay, this sounds reasonable”, Rafi nodded, and then he glanced at the dragon, then back at the women, and grinned widely. “She means no harm for ya’, I can assure that. Right now she guards the poachers, whom I reported.”

The policewomen nodded. "She's, ah...quite a guard," Thompson replied. The awestruck sound in her voice made Rafi unable but to smile again. He loved seeing the response that others had to the majesty of his creations...maybe Skie, most of all.

Officer Tallent met his eyes. "They're behind her?" she asked Rafi. "The poachers, I mean."

He stepped closer again, and showed the sleeping bandit on his arm. “Those two, father and son, wanted to kidnap this little one, and probably some more, when I met them. They didn’t look like normal workers in the park, so I questioned their position, and they tried to threat me and my cat” he pointed at Rasgar, with a perceptible love in his voice. 

"They threatened you," Tallent repeated. He could tell she was just repeating him, not questioning the veracity of his story. "What did they say, exactly?" she asked.

“We stepped forth from behind the curve of the sidewalk, and asked them what they do with this animal. At first they tried to convince me that they work for the City, and captured the raccoon because he got rabies, but I didn’t believe them.” Rafi shrugged, and looked at officer Tallent.

In return, she looked over at her partner. Rafi presumed she must've known something about such things. He watched her step forward, close enough to touch the animal, and stoked the side of its face with her thumb in such a way that when it got to the corner of its eye, it pulled it open. So deep asleep, it didn't protest a bit, the act simply revealing plain white. "No," she shook her head. "Your instincts were right. This little guy's doesn't have rabies any more than any of us do."

 “They didn’t looked like an official ranger or something, ya’ know. When I asked after their IDs, they just suggested me to leave, but when I asked more, the older one said me to take care on my cat, as who knows what could happen with him, or even me in this forest. He told me that somebody might capture him and sell wealthy folks who keeps private zoos.” He grimaced wryly.

Neither of the two of them looked even vaguely amused. "Cute," Tallent remarked sarcastically.

“As you can see they were armed with this narcotic-gun, but I’m not too familiar with any weapon, so I felt the threat real.” He looked at the officers apologizing, and pointed at the guns in the sack at Skie's side. 

The older officer strode over to the sack and collected it, the guns rattling against one another as she did it. A look at the barrel of it and she frowned. "Deb, get a look at this," she bade her partner. "This thing looks like a friggin' elephant gun!"

She looked over and squinted her eyes as she looked at the top of it that protruded from the top of the bag. Rafi got the sensation that--glasses or not--her eyesight was woeful, given the way she looked at it. "It's not legal, that's for sure," she replied, once she'd gotten enough of an eyeful. "And I'd be willing to bet, unregistered. If nothing else," she looked back at Rafi, with a slight smile, "we'll be able to get 'em on that much."

The young artist nodded again, and smiled contentedly. “I hope they’ll get what they deserve.”

"We'll be taking these with us," Officer Tallent nodded, hefting the sack before placing it back down at the edge of the clearing.

“Okay, that’s why I collected those. One of them has soil in the barrel; I pushed into the earth before I noticed that it’s a narcotic-gun only.” He looked apologizing at the cops.

“Talking about the poachers… the younger one seemed a little more talkative, and I think he could be convinced, if someone knows the Bible better than me.” He made a wry face, and looked at the officers. “They’re a bit fanatic, ya’know.”

Officer Tallent looked over at her partner and made a little face. "Terrific," she sighed wearily. The younger of the two of them didn't seem too terribly excited about the idea, either. She looked back at Rafi. "Thanks for the tip," she said, "but it's a little late for these guys to get back onto the right track. As far as I'm concerned, it's nice that they like to read--'cause I'm willing to bet they're gonna need to find a hobby to pass a lot of idle time they're about to find on their hands."

Officer Thompson reached out and stroked the raccoon. Just like he did, he could tell that, at first, she thought he might be dead. Only with the gentle rise and fall of his chest could she tell it wasn't so. "Your friends could be in a lot of trouble," she explained. "Willful damage of the park or its resident animals is a Civic Felony 2, if you're found guilty. Though I can't imagine why anybody'd want to do anything to anything as cute as this little guy."

“I couldn’t allow that, so I called forth Skie -the dragon behind me-, and they tried to run away, as the odds were changed.” He smiled wryly, and shook his head, looking down at the raccoon.

"I can imagine," Officer Tallent said. "So they're in there," she nodded. "What kind of condition are they in?" she asked, obviously wondering if it had been Skie herself that'd taken them down. If it had been her, Rafi wasn't sure how much of them'd really be left.

Then he lifted his head, and looked into their eyes, as he went on the story. “I captured the younger one, while my companion went after the older. Unfortunately, he broke his leg, when the feline pounced on him.” The look on his face showed his sadness, though he knew that the hunter was a bad guy, here and now, he didn’t like the idea that he was wounded.

Officer Thompson nodded. She turned her head and held down the small microphone that she wore connected to her right epaulet, connected by a curling wire down to a radio at her hip. "Control, this is 11-Golf Tango," she said. "We've got a 901-Alpha on one of our suspects in Man Ray Park. Please 10-42."

When a voice came back over her radio, Rafi heard it crisp and clear, devoid of any of the static he would have normall expected. "11 Golf-Tango, acknowledge 901-Alpha. Will route 10-42 to your badge location."

She looked up at Rafi. "How bad off is he?" she asked. Then: "Did he do it on his own, or did you break it for him?" she asked. The look on her face, impassive and nonjudgemental. It was tough for him to guess how she might respond, depending on what he said.

“I don’t know that part of the story fully, as he was captured by the jaguar, as I said, so I didn’t see the act. But I guess it happened when Rasgar pounced at his back, and he fell on the ground from running state. Probably he just fell bad.” the young meta answered calmly.

She nodded. Smiled as she looked down at the jaguar. "We'll have to find out after we take their disposition," she said, like she was speaking to the jaguar more than to Rafi. Amazingly enough, Rasgar looked up at her like he was listening intently. "For now, we'll assume he just tripped trying to get away from you."

Rafi watched as Rasgar glanced at the woman. Usually he knew when he was the topic, so it wasn’t surprising, but the quality of the jaguar’s look seemed more intensive than usual. Perhaps the cop has some sort of communication with animals, thought Rafi.

For his part, Rasgar didn't respond. He seemed happy enough about the outcome.

Officer Thompson turned her attention over in Rafi's direction once more. "He's hungry," she said, looking over at him. "You should probably give him something to eat."

“Well, when we get home, I’ll try to.” He replied with a little hesitation in his voice. “How do you know that?” he asked with a cocked eyebrow. He didn’t want to directly ask about the existence of her power, as it could be some sort of experience or skill with animals, too.

She smiled gently. When she did it, it had a way of making her blue eyes twinkle, behind her glasses that Rafi found rather pleasant. "I know a couple things about animals," she said, maybe like the notion of it kind of embarrassed her a little bit. "Your jaguar's...kind of different," she admitted, "but I can tell."

Rafi made a thoughtful face, and tilted his head. “He is very different, indeed. Different in so much terms that even I can’t tell you how real or how imaginary he is, despite that I called him alive.” He looked a little confused, as he glanced at Thompson, and then shrugged. “But in this city I guess I have to live together more wonder than anywhere before.” Rafi smiled again, and then went on. “Thanks for the tip, anyway.” 

"No problem," she said. "And, for what it's worth, as far as I can tell...he's just as real as our little raccoon friend over there," she looked at the small ball of sleeping striped fur in the young artist's hands. "Like I said, I know a thing or two about animals--and I can't tell any difference, if it means anything to you."

Rafi’s jaw dropped for a moment, before he could collect himself to answer. “As real as this bandit?” he asked surprised, and glanced at Rasgar unwittingly. After this comment he was sure that the officer had some meta power in her pocket. Perhaps that was why she was near to the Park, he thought. 

Rasgar looked back up at Rafi as if curious as to the glance he'd gave him, cocking his head slightly before turning back in the direction of the raccoon he had found himself so captivated with. Somehow Rafi was pretty sure that, even if were to put the little striped ball of fur down on the ground in front of him, Rasgar wouldn't hurt it. He just looked like he wanted to sniff at it, figure out what it was and what it did.

“It means a lot to me if this is true, and why wouldn’t it be if you said?” he smiled at Thompson, still impressed by the simple sentence she said. 

She laughed slightly, a merry little thing. "Because you barely know me," she replied. "And not everybody--not even police officers--tell the truth all the time," she replied, seemingly tickled by Rafi's unquestioning belief.

That made him thinking that how strong his power really is, because he was able to use Rasgar’s senses back at the house, then he still must be and image. Or not? And it was the deep connection between them what allowed for him to do that? He wasn’t sure, but he knew that he got another item to his ‘to-do list’. The thought made him grinning.

He then turned the conversation back to its original route, and finished the description of the event.“Now both of them are sitting inside the circle, and Skie guards them. Would you like to get inside, or should I tell Skie to step away?” he asked on a mischievous tone, and a spark of humor in his eyes.

Officer Tallent considered it for a moment. "Why don't you ask the dragon to step away?" she said. Then added: "While you're at it, I'd like you and your cat to stay back behind us, too. Keep a hold on the raccoon--we've got somebody separate coming for him."

The officers drew their handguns from their holsters.

And waited for Rafi to give his command.

Rafi nodded in agreement, and waved the officers after him. “We can go in at her head, I don’t wanna shout to her.” And I don’t want to take control over her now, he thought after, and slowly walked back to the dragoness’ head. There he patted her neck a little, and said his plea aloud. “Skie, please step to the side of the glade, okay? The officers would like to see the poachers. Be careful, we don’t want to crush any tree or the people you guards.” Then he stepped back and looked at the two policewomen smiling as if saying that they should do that too, if they don’t want a dragon to step on them.

They took the hint; he watched both of them slide over away from where she stood, giving the dragoness plenty of room to manuver.

And in another moment, Rafi watched as Skie rose up on her legs, revealing the two poachers through the blue pillars on which she stood. Deftly, for a creature of her sheer size, she made a single step to the side, crossing about thirty feet in the motion--leaving the two men completely exposed.

Their eyes fell immeditely on the two officers and their guns. "Well, shit," the old man frowned. Rafi almost laughed as they both put up their hands simultaneously.

Rafi looked at Skie, and smiled up at her. “Thanks, mylady”, his voice clearly carried honor, gratitude and happiness. He was tempted to talk to her more, but he held himself back, in front of the two hunters. He just tilted his head, and with the motion asked the great wyrm to lower her head next to him so that he could reach out to stroke the soft skin on her maw again.

Skie responded to Rafi's wishes by lowering herself gently back so that her belly was flat against the smooth concrete of the walkway. As she did it, her long, slender neck curled around gracefully, in such a way that it passed behind him and emerged around by his hip. When she lay her head down on the ground, it was big enough that it came very near to the top of his shoulder, the fangs that protruded out of the sides of her mouth, about belt-high. She had turned her head so that Rafi could stroke the smooth, flat scales where he neck met her massive skull, each one the size of the palm of his hand, a brilliant cerulean in shade. Again, he could not help but marvel at how much like a snake's skin each one felt, smooth and supple, warm and slinky against his flesh. Each one, though, he knew was as hard as steel, belying the grace of their composition. Skie watched the officers with interest as they closed in on the poachers. It was hard to concentrate with a creature as majestic as her around, though; they were half-watching the azure dragon even as they carried out their duty.

Rafi just shook his head and smiled as he saw the reaction to the dragon’s movement. He knew that he wouldn’t be the one who called her then prolly he’d be in such fear, too. But now he simply enjoyed being near his art, brought alive by his power. 

A moment later, he narrowed his eyes as a thought popped into his mind. Perhaps he found a way to present company for Jo on her flying lessons… if Skie’d allow him to sit on her back. He mused over the thought for a moment, but then Officer Thompson talked to him, so he turned his attention back to them.

Officer Thompson looked over at Rafi and smiled gently, lowering her weapon. Officer Tallent did not follow suit, closing the distance on the hunters. "I'd say you're free to go now, Mr. Gurney," she said to him. In the background, he watched her partner reading the twosome their rights, fastening their hands behind their back in handcuffs. Further, in the distance, he thought he could hear another siren approaching. "You're listed in the city registry; we'll call yo if we have any additional questions for you. I'd say, either way, you should be expecting somebody to contact you within the week. Odds are you may need to give a testimony about what happened today to somebody at headquarters. I wouldn't expect it to take long, though," she chuckled. "This doesn't seem like it's gonna be too complicated a case."

“I counted on that, so I have no problem with that.” Rafi nodded smiling at the officer. “Though I’d like to wait until they” he stabbed into the direction of the captured men with his thumb, “got away since I have to send Skie back where she came from. Unfortunately she isn’t fit into my car…” he grinned. “And the flying out from the park doesn’t seem to a good idea, too.”

"Fine by me," Officer Tallent said. Then, to the poachers: "Get up, gentlemen," she ordered them, helping them in the effort with a rough tug on the backs of the cuffs they were bound with. It turned out that she was considerably stronger than she looked. "You're wasting the rest of a perfectly nice day for our friend here."

“They already did…” muttered Rafi under his breath, but didn’t say it out loud. Instead he leant to his dragon, and watched the arrest with her. Rasgar laid down next to his feet, and seemed interested too, but Rafi could see on him that he is tired, and only the others presence keeps him from to fell asleep right there.

The young man straightened up immediately, the older man a moment later with a laborious wince. Further down the path, Rafi could see a pair of men coming down the trail with black uniforms that consisted of slacks like those that the officers wore, but loose-fitting nylon windbreakers, instead of their jackets. They bore a red cross insignia on their left breasts and were pushing a wheelchair ahead of them. "You're lucky these guys showed up," Tallent informed them in no uncertain terms. "I was planning on making you walk to the cruiser."

Rafi shook his head a little, though he felt the same way. He eyed the incoming pair instead, measuring their movements and outfit. This was the first time he saw medics in the city, after all. Not like he wanted to see them more often, he added mentally.

The younger hunter was still looking in Rafi's direction, fixated on something he'd said. "Wait a second," he blurted out. "What d'you mean send her back where she came from?"

The young artist turned his gaze back to the kid, and smiled wryly. “What did you think, I keep a dragoness in my pocket?” he asked back to the boy, and patted the beltpack where he kept his cards. “She is out there, where she wants, and in the time of need, she can arrive after a single thought.” Rafi stroked the giant wyrm-beauty’s head, and narrowed his eyes again as he looked at the poachers. “She’s is a dragon after all, and they’re one the mightiest mystic creatures of our world”, he said at last.

All he said was true, he knew, it was only the way he said it, made the statements sounding otherwise.

The young hunter looked like he might reply to him, but his words were cut short in his throat as Skie regarded him with her lightning-kissed stare, the long thin line of her mouth curling into a satisfied smile. She might have looked like she was hungry, her ultramarine, forked tongue protruding for a moment to lick her lip, the act revealing one of her razor fangs again for a moment.

Predictably, that shut him right up.

Rafi just smiled, and made a little bow into the direction of the young man, like an elegant gentleman at the end of the conversation.

"You have a nice day, sir," she looked at him, blue eyes glittering behind her thick glasses.

She looked down at Rasgar and added: "And you too, cutie."

The jaguar seemed especially happy at the sound of the comment.

Rafi stroked the cat’s head, and smiled back at Officer Thompson. “We thank you, and wish you a nice weekend, too.”

"We'll be in touch," she smiled gently, placing her gun back in the holster at her hip as the newly-arrived paramedics began helping the old hunter into the waiting wheelchair. They were having a tough time of it, but it was hard to say if that was more because he had his hands cuffed behind his back...or because they were staring awestruck at Skie from the second they came around the corner.

“You said that someone will come who’ll take care on this little furry bandit.” He glanced down the raccoon on his hand. “I guess he is waiting at my car?”

"No," Thompson shook her head, a bemused look crossing her face. "In this town, the paramedics don't just take care of people."

Rafi should’ve made a confused look, he didn’t really get the reason, until the medics turned their attention to him.

One of the two of the men, after the old, crotchety man'd finally gotten seated, made his way over to Rafi. "I'll take the little guy," he smiled, reaching out to him.

The place seemed more amazing every day.

He stroked the furry bandit once more, looking down at it, but then handed it over to the guy. “Take care of him” he bade, “and tell me what happened with him, if you can.” 

The paramedic was gentle as a lamb as Rafi shifted the little creature's weight into his arms. "Sure," he said, almost instantly, as soon as his fingers touched his flesh. He watched his eyes seem to glaze over for a moment before he continued. "He's fine," he said. "That dart they hit him with was loaded with low-concentrate Locrasin, a commercial Phenobarbital. Mostly used as a cheap animal anesthetic," he explained. "He'll be asleep for an hour or so and have a bit of a bely-ache...but after that, he should be back to normal. We'll take care of the dart wound, make sure it runs a low risk of infection and turn him back into the park, once he's awake," he smiled, looking down at the slumbering animal.

“Woot”, the word escaped from Rafi’s lips before he could catch it. “A power of knowing the patient state and the medicals within the body?” he asked curiously.

"Sort of," the paramedic replied. "The chemical part's a power, yeah," he admitted. "The rest I learned in school, though," he smiled before heading back toward his fellow medic, pushing the wheelchair away. "I'll see you later, sir," he bade him farewell. "Thanks for helping out," he said, giving him an appreciative nod.

When the paramedics were gone, he turned back to Skie, and looked into her shining eyes. “Thanks for the help. Could we fly together later, what you say?” he asked the blue dragon with a lifted eyebrow, smiling all the while.

The dragon looked at him with her eyes like sappire teardrops. It was hard for him to know exactly how she was feeling, what she thought, but it almost looked as if she might be sad...like she didn't want to leave quite so soon.

Rafi sighed, and he looked sad, too. “I know, Skie. It’s hard for me, too.” He sighed again, and placed his hand on her maw, looking into her sparkling eyes. “I’d like the idea that you could remain here, but we just don’t have enough space… and I guess you didn’t wanna shrink to Rasgar’s size.” The young artist smiled impishly at the great blue wyrm, and tilted his head. “Oh well, maybe a little smaller, like my arm, or something. Then you can travel on my shoulder. What do you say?” he asked. 

Skie really didn't much change her expression by way of response. But her body language--the way she held her bottom up in the air a little bit, lashing her tail back and forth through the air quickly--was probably the Blue Dragon equivalent of her bristling in protest.

“Hehe, I knew it.” He chuckled at the look on her face, and stroked her scales again. “So now you have to go back to Imageland, my friend. Look at the lazy cat, he almost fell asleep, even while we are talking, and I don’t wanna carry him back to the car.” He chuckled, stroked the scales for the last time, and then released his power. 

He didn’t close his eyes as Skie faded from reality; instead he watched the whole process, showing his pride to her.

Before his eyes, the dragon began to lose solidity, all of her color beginning to fade from view. The effect started at her extreme edges, the brilliant, vibrant blues becoming something hazy and washed, like a watercolor exposed to the rain. Gradually, she lost more and more of her color until she was but a ghost in the air next to him...and then, in a second more, she was gone entirely.

Somehow, her vanishing made Rafi feel a little lonely.

He sighed again, and just stood there for a moment, looking at the empty space where Skie was before. “I wonder how many creatures I can keep so alive in one time”, he mused silently. “Does their size matter or just their numbers and complexity? Phew, hard questions for the future, I guess”, he said, and took a deep breath. “Too many wonders and plans in a day… I have to slow down a bit” he grimaced for himself.

After all was said and done, Rafi crouched to Rasgar, and scratched the top of his head, then stood up, and called him with a wave. “Let’s go home, find some food for ya, and let you rest up the day, ok?” Then they walked back to Rafi’s Cricket.

Chapter XI – Green snake-charm

The two of them walked back down the forest path, enjoying the warmth and the pleasant park air, until the parking lot once again came into view. Rafi could see his car there, not far away, an ambulance and a black and white Elysium City Police Department cruiser. He passed both by and opened his door, Rasgar jumping in through the opening, crossing the seat over onto the passenger side where he immediately curled up into a little furry, green spotted ball.

In a few minutes, Rafi knew he'd be asleep.

He reached out, and stroked his friend gently. “Don’t sleep too deep, my friend, we’ll arrive home soon, I hope, and there you can enjoy your rest.” 

He started the engine, and made his way back to the road slowly, keeping the forest and the fresh air as long in the car as he could. 

He found that, as he pulled the car out of the parking lot and down the avenue that led into the city, that he was driving far slower than he might have normally, were the situation different. But, despite his best attempt, soon enough, he found himself in full view of the curved edge of the magical effect that seemed to keep Man Ray Park a green and growing place. It was amazing, even as he closed in on that weird, transparent boundary; like being on the outside of a gigantic snow globe, looking in.

The thought of the snow globe stuck on him. He mused over a moment, but then shook his head, and modified it. Maybe being inside a forest globe, looking out, to the harsh environment outside. Like in a weird sci-fi dome or in a lame reality show. Again, a picture worth of drawing.

In another moment, the car passed into that maelstrom of whirling white and gale wind.

He immediately wished he was back inside.

Rafi grabbed the wheel stronger, to resist the blowing winds pushes, and focused on the road. They barely went a few dozen yards when the car’s interior began to chill down, so he flickered life to the heater, which -he knew- will draw Rasgar closer to the vents.

Rasgar wasted little time wedging himself back down in the front of the seat where, when Rafi turned the heater back on, blew warm air directly into his short, lush fur. He found himself taking a left, following the signs back toward Iron Town and wondering how in the world it was that he'd ever gotten used to driving in such conditions in the first place. It was absolutely miserable by every imaginable standard.

When he turned back to the highway, he pushed the accelerator, and began his trek home. Home… he mused over it. A few little additions, and it’ll soon become one perfect.

It wasn't long at all before he found himself pulling back up in front of his parlor, the neon sign that proclaimed it as STEEL BULL TATTOOS dark, as were all of the windows in the house. Directly in front of it, across the street, precisely in the spot he'd left from, he parked, turning off the car's engine and preparing himself for the cold walk inside.

He shivered even to the thought as he grabbed his coat from the backseat, and pulled it on. Although this winter didn’t end for 2 years now, and he should have adapted himself to it, he wasn’t able to do it. He was a child of the warm forest and the summer breeze, so he shivered again. “Okay, buddy, we’re home. Get up, and prepare to run.” He said, and looked at the finish line, the door of his shop.

Amazingly, the great jade jaguar did exactly as his master bade, seeming to almost unfold itself as it emerged from its place in the well before the seat. Rafi watched him climb back up on the seat in two distinct motions, first with his forelimbs and then his back legs until he sat upon the passenger side cushion. There, he waited patiently for Rafi to open his door so he could get back inside the parlor. He knew already that the jungle cat would be fast asleep within minutes of their entrance.

Even from there, he could see the note taped to the front door.

His hand froze on the doorhandle, as he noticed the note on the window. Who? When? How? The questions swarmed in his mind, and made him look around more carefully, to spot any unusual on the street or on the roofs.

Once again, Rasgar surprised Rafi with his ability to seemingly read his mood in an instant. he watched him cock his head gently, looking at him in such a way that it seemed like he was trying to figure out what might be wrong. He wondered if he could simply read his body language...or perhaps it wasn't that simple at all. It made him wonder if the link between the two of them--that magic wrought by the virtue of his power that allowed him the use of the cat's senses--might not only be a one-way operation.

The thought made him smile, even as he didn’t know what awaits for them. Since his power called the jade feline forth from the tattoo on his chest years ago the jaguar had became more and more a part of him. And now, since the morning, when his power made him more real than ever, he experienced even more new wonder in their connection. He smiled again, and stroked the cat, before turned back his attention to the note on the window of the shop.

“Be aware, Rasgar, we had some visitor while we weren’t home.” He warned the jaguar, then pushed the door open, and stepped out to the snow. Was it Carm? Or the gangstas? He wondered, and forced himself to the door against the wind, to solve the mystery as soon as he can.

Before Rafi was even all the way out of the door, Rasgar sprung forth from inside the car, taking a few quick paces so as to outdistance him. Then, when he was ahead of him, he watched how the feline got his body low--so low that it almost drug on the snowy ground, in fact--looking all around himself as if he was stalking an unseen prey.

Rafi knew immediately what he was doing; he was protecting him.

Rafi tilted his head as he watched his feline companion’s moves. Exactly the same thing that he would do if some of his beloveds would be in danger. He looked around, up and down on the street, not forgetting to look up to the roofs, too. He watched too many late night horrors where the monster jumped on the victim above. He grimaced wryly and shook his head. Too much paranoia won’t do any good, he thought, but the agents words echoed in his mind, so he remained tense. 

But all the way to the front door, no type of threat made itself known in the slightest. He was completely unmolested as he walked straight up to his front door, quickly taking the note off the glass portion of the portal before he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Immediately, he was greeted by warmth and that complete sense of relief that greets a body when returning home after a long day. He watched Rasgar walk right past him before he closed the door, continuing his stalking deeper into the flat.

Rafi unlocked and opened the door, and stepped in, and only looked at the paper when he secured the entrance again after the jade feline. He didn’t even bothered to shook of the snow from his boots, the message held his full interest.

Rafa,

Where was you man? 991-6719.

D

Written in an awful, sloppy scrawl--the numbers all runny on the snow-soaked paper.

The young artist sighed, and eased his stance a little. He looked at Rasgar, and waved to him. “Would you look around? I guess you won’t find anything unusual, but the wariness never hurts” he said, then shook his head as he looked down at the paper again. His first guess was true. Carm never would use so direct and flat way to contact him. 

The great jade jaguar immediately swung his head around in the direction of the doorway that led upstairs. He watched him seem to sniff the air for a second, then open his mouth in a silent sort of a hiss, like he was tasting the very atmosphere within the flat. Rafi had seen cats do this before, had read that felines had a special sensory gland in their mouths that they used from time to time in just such a manner. In any event, Rasgar seemed satisfied with what he found and began to silently creep up the stairs towards his bedroom, all the while cautiously scanning to his left and right as he went.

He grabbed his phone, and created an entry for the gangsta, then pushed the call button right after and lifted the phone to his ears, waiting to the answer.

The phone rung once, then twice. It picked up on the third ring.

He heard Deuce's voice answer from the other end. "What up?" he asked.

At the moment, Rafi could scarcely say himself.

He cleared his throat, and responded to Deuce. “Rafi here, man.”

"Rafi," the gangster replied, his voice calmed and lazy. He sounded like he might be drunk. Or high. Or maybe both. "Me and da Loco Boy stopped by your tattoo place today. Where you at, 'cuz?"

“I was out to arrange my things with the city, and it took a little more time than I expected. How went your business?” he asked, and slowly began to walk after the feline, after he ensured that he locked the entrance of the shop.

"Shiiiiit," he sighed quietly. "Not too good, dogg. Lo got popped while we was up north," he explained, his voice still lazy and droning. "He's still up in Oaktown, in the hospital. Don't look too good for ole' boy. Me'n Sergio are cool, though. We was lookin' to hook up with you, maybe you wanna come out wit' us and party, know what I'm sayin'?"

“Oh, that not sounds good” Rafi put some solidarity into his voice, and he felt some, really, but he knew -they told him- that they’re going to do gang-fight… and he still didn’t like the weapons of any sort. 

"Yeah," he sighed. He imagined the thick, burly young man idly doodling on a piece of paper, maybe half-watching something on television, for the quality of his voice. He sound distracted. "It ain't, man." The answer flat, matter-of-fact. Like he had resigned himself to the thought and already--some part of him, anyway--moved on. It made him remember how they spoke of their friend in the wheelchair before. At the time, he'd thought it was them being callous and cruel. Now, he was beginning to realize that, for them, such things were simply a reality of life. An eventuality that, while unpalatable, probably awaited them all, at some unforeseen time and place. He found the thought profoundly sad.

“I hope he’ll make it” he said, ‘and I hope it will be enough for him to stop’ he thought, though he knew that it won’t be. As much he liked the strong ties between the gangmembers and the feeling of the standing together, as much he hated their violent style of life. This was a strange duality inside him, and that was why his sis acted as a defender in the phone.

"I dunno, dogg," he replied. "Dem doctors, 'cuz...they didn't sound too happy," he said. Once again, with that same flat, almost unemotional tone to his voice. "They got my boy a couple times," he added. "I don't even know where he got busted."

“He is unconscious then, I guess, and the docs don’t tell you any detail about his condition other than that?” he asked back. “Don’t you have any contact in that hospital to ask after and leak those infos under the desk?”

"Naw, dogg," he replied. "Sergio's from L.A. and I got my Oaktown license revoked a way back," he chuckled. Rafi was sure that there was a story there that he wasn't sharing but it seemed hardly the time to discuss it. In any case, it probably didn't matter, as knowing wouldn't change the answer. "They won't tell me nuthin' unless I can prove I'm his fams...and obviously, that ain't gonna happen anytime soon."

“Afterparty, huh?” he asked back slowly after, with a little restraint in his voice. “If there is some good music, I can join for a while, but tomorrow I have to be on top, I got some family-issues to fix.” He paused for a moment, looking around.

"Ah, it ain't nuthin', Rafi," he replied. "We was just gonna kick it down the way, feel me? I done got my Goose on already," he chuckled darkly, "and was gonna swing by da Loco's crib. I know a couple hoes that live not too far from his place, dogg. I was figurin' a bunch of us could go out by the Fall and get up to somethin', smoke some trees an' fuck around. Ain't nuthin' fancy, if you got business wit' your fams, man."

When he reached upstairs, he kicked his boots and socks off, and stretched himself, enjoying the warmth of the flat and the feeling of the wood under his feet.

As he reached the top of the stairs, Rafi saw Rasgar's tail lashing back and forth--the only bit of him that was visible through the bathroom door. Apparently, he'd determined that the small room was clear of any sort of intruders because, as Rafi wandered deeper into the upstairs, he emerged, trotting jauntily into its center, his padded footfalls silent on the carpeted floor. He seemed happy that Rafi had joined him.

“Where is the club, I mean, what is the address?” he asked, and patted the feline’s head.

"It ain't like that, man," he replied. "We got this place some of the Lordz sets go to chill, down at the bottom of the Fall. But like I said, whatever's cool with me, dogg. Anyhow, I thought I'd call you 'cause I said I would, once we got back. I didn't want you worryin' yoself 'bout us," he chuckled once again, in such a way that Rafi could tell that Deuce really didn't think he would actually do so. He was probably used to people not worrying about him, he considered.

Rafi chuckled but with little humor. “I used to worry about my friends, man. Though we just met yesterday, you were nice to me, and that always works on me. So why do you say so?” he asked on easy tone.

"You know how it is, Rafi," he replied. "I'm street, feel me, dogg? A brotha like me don' live forever. That's how the game is played." The way he said it, with a little resigned melancholy in his voice that he wasn't sure existed in the gangster's voice before. It was something that, even if for a little while, made him seem human and vulnerable. In a way, it was heartbreaking. "I 'preciate you sayin' that, dogg. You's definitely a cool muthafucka. But I wouldn't get too attached to me or any of the Playboy Style, 'cuz. We like shit at the swap meet, man--here today, gone tomorrow, know what I'm sayin'?"

“I get the point, D” nodded Rafi, a little sadder than before, but he didn’t let that leak through his voice. That wouldn’t lead anywhere. “Still, I’m here, and listening as I am such a guy. If not more, you’ll definitely got your tattoos.” He chuckled.

“You promised me a tour around the city anyway; however I’d skip the smoke and the drinks. I’m a man of health, sort of.” He added with a wry smile.

"A'ight, that's cool," he said. "Ain't like you in the gang anyhow. You can do what you want, whatever. Sound good, 'cuz?"

“ ’kay, bro. Thanks for understanding.”

Then he went to the kitchen, and fished a bowl from the cupboard, filled it with water, and placed it into the corner for Rasgar. After that Rafi looked into the fridge, while he held the phone with his shoulder. He silently wondered what can he give to the feline to eat… and the image of a litterbox in the size of a beachfront floated into his mind again… he sighed, and focused more on the phone, to chase the thought away for a while.

As he stood in front of the fridge, at the edge of his vision, Rasgar re-emerged, apparently deciding that whatever Rafi was doing was much more interesting than the bowl of water. He got up on his hind legs and rest his forepaws on the countertop next to the open white appliance, craning his neck so he could see what was inside. He eventually managed to get his head actually inside the fridge by ducking in the space between his torso and arm to do so. It was an awkward position, to say the least--for the both of them.

"You still there, dogg?" Deuce asked.

He hadn't realized he had been quiet for some time.

Rafi shook his head, and held down the cat’s neck with his elbow, playing a little with him. “Yeah, I’m here, just lookin’ for some food for my cat. It seems I forgot to buy cat-food at the Mall so today will be his lucky day.”

"Da's cool, man," he said. "You gonna hook 'im up with some Tender Vittles or some such shit?" he chuckled. "My lil' brother Antoine's got a dog, man, a real Pit Bull. Fuckin' thing eats more'n he does." The notion almost made Rafi laugh. If he could see Rasgar right now, he thought, the way he probably ate--that Pit Bull would seem like he had the appetite of a canary, by comparison.

“I was always a cat-fan, but dogs can be good companion, too, for someone who likes them.” He shrugged and tried to relay the move through the line with his intonation, too. “But all animals are fun to have at home, if you treat them well, and have your pocket deep enough to feed them.” I talk like if I know something, he thought then, and stroked the feline’s head with his elbow.

"Cats are easier to feed'n a dog, man," Deuce replied. "Just leave 'em some shit out, give 'em water an' they're happy. I used to fuck around with this girl named Louise, back in Frisco, had a cat. She always used to talk about how it was cool, 'cause it basically took care of itself, y'know? I guess cats don't need people like dogs do."

Once Deuce was done speaking, Rafi looked over at Rasgar, still up on his hind legs and under his arm, curiously poking his head inside the refrigerator.

Yeah, right. If he only knew....

He fished out some chicken-leg from the freezer, and put them to the countertop, next to the jaguar’s paws. The young artist glanced at the feline, and then at the legs, then put some more to them. “I hope you won’t eat me out from my property” he whispered into Rasgar’s ears, then took out some cold meat and butter for himself, too, and then shut the fridge. 

The phone was still on his ear, held by his shoulder.

Rasgar looked down at the chicken leg, began to sniff it carefully.

"So what up, dogg?" Deuce asked him. "You good to go, or what? I can pick you up, if you want."

Rafi nodded easily, but then noticed that Deuce can’t see that move, so he responded to the phone, too. “Thanx for the invitation, man, but today I’d like to omit it.” He sighed and went on. “Ya know, after moving, family members are always worrying and I have to arrange everything before they come.” He knew that it sounded like a weak excuse, but it was true. At least the half of it, he thought and remembered the joy in his sister’s voice at the end of their conversation. 

And he didn’t want to give off any note about Carm and his worries about her. It would have be a strange thing to ask about SHIELD from a gangsta. Or, maybe it would be a good source as probably he knows where their HQ is. He mused over the thought for a moment, but then let if slip from his mind.

"A'ight, man," Deuce replied. Judging by the tone of his voice, he didn't seem too put out by Rafi's deciding to skip the evening's festivities. "Da's cool. You want me ta call you if I hear anythin' 'bout Lo?" he asked.

“By all means! You can call me anytime you want - it is a very rare moment when my phone is turned off, but I’ll receive a note even then, so I won’t miss your call.” He knew that tomorrow prolly will be such a moment, if he’ll get any news about Carm, or about that strange German guy.

“But feel good yourselves without me anyway, ok?” he asked, but then extended the thought with another sentence. “And don’t get into too big trouble during that” he laughed easily.

The great jade jaguar looked back up into Rafi's eyes as if to silently ask: What d'you want me to do with this? A quizzical expression mirrored in his bright emerald eyes. He nudged the chicken leg with his paw, making the frozen bit of meat slide across the tile floor easily. The movement got his attention and he bat at it with his other paw, making it skitter even further. It was starting to look like it was turning into a game of chicken-leg soccer, Rasgar following it towards the wall past the fridge as he continued to bump it forward with paw and claw.

Maybe he liked his meat tenderized, he thought.

Rafi covered the mic of his phone with his palm, and glanced after at the jaguar. “Wait, pal. That should be defrosted first” he said first, and then tilted his head with a back-thought. “You want it raw and bloody or are you fastidious, and you want it cooked?” He desperately wanted that the feline answer him in way that he would understand, and narrowed his eyes with the effort as he studied Rasgar’s responses.

Rasgar stopped where he was, turning his emerald gaze over to Rafi's. The look on his face was ever inscrutable, full of the thousand secrets that every feline--whether housecat or jungle predator--kept to themselves. At first, he thought he would simply continue to stare at him in such a manner.

Rafi tilted his head and stared back while his mouth curled into a curious smile. He waited.

Then--the amazing happened.

Rasgar turned around and trotted over to the chicken leg, running right by it so that he could get at it from the other side. Then, as he'd done before, he batted at it with one of his massive forepaws, kicking it ahead of him, sending it skittering across the tile once again. He did it again and then one more time until the drumstick finally tapped the heel of Rafi's shoe, coming to rest right there.

The young meta nodded, as he thought that is the answer for his question. “Okay, you don’t like it frozen.” He wanted to say more, but then Rasgar acted like never before, so the words stopped in his throat as he eyed his companion with a raised eyebrow.

The green feline stopped chasing it. Instead, he trotted past it once more until he had reached a very specific portion of the countertop. Once there, he went up on his hind legs again, balancing himself up against the edge of its flat expanse and a precarious angle. Taking a moment to balance himself, Rafi watched as he reached out a forepaw and swiped at his microwave oven. The first batting motion hit the face of the keypad where you would program times and settings with a dull thump. Undaunted, he swiped once more--this time, landing the flat of his paw against the small bar that forced the front door of the appliance open with its leverage.

Rafi watched the door swing wide. For his part, Rasgar allowed himself to slide back down from where he'd rest, sitting patiently on the tile right in front of the microwave. He looked up at him with his soulful green eyes and his tail lashed expectantly behind him. His wide, flat green tongue took a moment to lick his thin kitty-lips.

He looked as if he were quite pleased with himself.

Rafi’s jaw dropped in his amazement. He shook his head, and grinned wide, then patted the jaguar’s head. “You are a very smart little bastard, are you?” he asked him. 

Rasgar nuzzled his head up against Rafi’s hand, as if to try and get still more sensation out of his petting. His green fur, short and soft, was warm and light as it brushed his skin. It was almost like he was trying to affectionately thank him for the compliment, though he knew it couldn’t possibly be so.

Or could it?
Rafi chuckled silently, and brushed his own face to the cat’s forehead, before he flicked away the feline’s head with his free palm.

The young artist then turned his attention back to the phone. “Naw, man, we’ll talk then later. Do a good party, and feel better!” said goodbye Rafi to the gangsta.

Rafi slid his phone back to its beltpack, as the conversation was over, and grabbed a plate for the legs. He built a neat tower from them, and then put it into the microwave. He activated the defrost function, and turned back to the feline. “We have to wait; it takes a few minutes until it would be eatable” he told to Rasgar, and went back to the stairs where he kicked off his boots.

Rasgar stared at the light from his position, watching the shadows of the food within the microwave as it spun on the turnstile within. He was being patient, but judging by the way he was licking his lips, Rafi knew that Officer Thompso--somehow--had been absolutely correct. He was hungry.

“You’ll get the food, buddy, don’t stare a hole to that micro” he teased the cat. Then he pulled a thoughtful face, and glanced at the feline. “If you are so sharp, my friend, then I have to show you some other thing as well, to make our lives easier and cleaner. Come” he waved and walked to the bathroom. 

Rasgar watched Rafi start out of the room but looked reluctant to walk away from the best television show on the air, playing itself out in the small frame on the front of the microwave. But, by the time he’d reached the door to the kitchen, the jaguar begrudgingly dragged himself away from the sight of the spinning chicken, following Rafi out of the room at a slow saunter.

“Look at it” he said and pointed at the toilet. He had a bit skepticism, but Rasgar proved his intelligence already, so why not, he thought. 

Rasgar sat patiently on his hind legs, his tail sweeping back and forth behind himself lazily. He had his head cocked slightly, as if he was confused. It made Rafi feel slightly foolish for taking the time to explain himself, but he continued on, anyway.

It wasn’t his best move, he knew, and this thought just became stronger and stronger, but if he started it, he will finish, he decided.

“This is for the dross. Not the floor, nor the carpet. And this is for to clear it from here” he pushed the lever and showed as the water flushed within the white porcelain. “You get it? This is a litterbox, it’s just works with water.”

At the sound of the flushing and the rush of the swirling water, Rasgar’s interest was sufficiently piqued. He trotted across the bathroom floor, directly up to the front of the toilet, and craned his head down in such a way that only his ears were visible above the rim of the bowl. Rafi watched him sniffing at the edge of it, trying to figure out, apparently, where all the water came from.

After the basin had emptied itself, he looked up at Rafi, green eyes locked with him and panting happily. What he was thinking at the moment was a complete mystery.
Rafi stared back without blinking, while tilted his head. Strange, like everything else during the day. He wished that if he could read the feline’s mind, like a telepath. 

He then shook his head and another thought came into his mind.

“Hm, and this will be your place to sleep, if the bed will be occupied” he said, and headed back into the room, where he opened one of the low-level storages door. He glanced into, and then retreated.

Rasgar followed him out of the bathroom, immediately making his way back for the kitchen at a brisk pace. When it became obvious that that wasn’t where Rafi intended to go, though, he changed his course to follow him again. A one-track mind, that cat, he thought with a little grin.

“Okay, it needs a little furnishing, but it’ll be nice, you know my taste.” Rafi smiled at the cat, and stroked his neck.

Rasgar craned his neck around the corner and looked inside the dark little compartment. He didn’t even bother going in to check it out.

He craned his head up to look back at him.

This time, Rafi was pretty sure he knew exactly what he was thinking.

“Don’t look at me with those puppy-eyes, pal. That will be your jungle, with time, full with plants and such things.” He smiled at the cat, and chuckled ‘coz of the look on his face.

“Or, if you’d like to sleep high, then we can build a platform under the roof, maybe.” He said, and looked up to measure the possibilities. 

“Some things will change in the future, I hope, but you can decide as ever” he nodded thoughtfully.

When Rafi had finished speaking, Rasgar walked past him, stepping across the carpet's landscape on his graceful, sure paws. He followed him with his eyes as he made directly for the bed, jumping up with a short spring onto its bottom. Once there, on the blanket Rafi kept folded up in expectation of many more cold nights to come, he laid down, curling up into a small spotted green ball. The whole time, he kept his eyes fixed on his master as if to say: no...this is my spot.

Rafi kept staring back, with a soft, but strong smile, which mirrored both his affection, and his dominance. It was like he was saying yes, that is your place… when we are alone, or only my sister is here. But if a green, lithe scorpion’ll come, the bed will be only ours. “Perhaps if we fall asleep, you can come over, but before…” he left the end of the sentence trail into the emptiness. He wanted to say more, to convince his most faithful friend about his feeling, but his thoughts were cut off.

He was only there for another second. Within the confines of the kitchen, the microwave finished its work, sounding a sharp ping as it did. In response to the noise, the jaguar's ears perked up and he sat up with a jolt, tearing off of his claimed spot like a verdant bolt of lightning. He galloped across the floor past him, taking a wide turn into the kitchen where Rafi hear the sound of claws trying to brake his charge on the slippery tile floor.

Over on his bed, the blanket had been tossed up against the wall in a heap, his made bed ruffled and disheveled as a result of Rasgar's mad dash for supper.

Rafi shook his head lightly, and his wry smile transformed into a happy grin. “Cats…” he said, as he slowly began to walk to the direction of the kitchen.

He was about to say something in response to him when he heard the knock.

Someone had come to the door downstairs.

The young artist immediately froze on his tracks, and turned his head to the stairs. Who could it be? He asked silently from himself, but then went to the top of the steps, and yelled down. “I’m coming, just a moment!” 

From the first floor of the flat, he heard nothing. It made him wonder if perhaps whoever had come hadn’t actually yet come in. Perhaps they were aware that it was someone’s home as well as a tattoo parlor and were considering him privacy? He hoped they wouldn’t get too cold while he made his way to the door; he decided to hurry as quickly as he could so they wouldn’t.

He then glanced at his feline companion, and threatened him playfully with his forefinger. “Don’t make any mess, until I return. You’ll get you feast, just a few minutes more.”

Rasgar continued to sit patiently on his hind legs, as proper and regal an attitude as befit the king of the jungle. He watched Rafi for a moment as he gave his instructions before turning back in the direction of the microwave, where he continued to look through the darkened glass of the appliance as eagerly as one might watch their favorite television show. If nothing else, Rafi thought, hurriedly leaving the room, it would keep him entertained, for the time being.

After that he jogged down, and casted his eyes at the door as soon as he was able to do it, as he tried to see who visited him at the beginning of the night.

In the inconsistent light created by the shadows in the parlor from the dying day and the light that still lingered outside, Rafi was unable to see little more than a silhouette from the foot of the stairwell as he clambered down their narrow path. As he crossed the room over towards the door, however, he realized that it was a woman, tall and slender, wearing a long winter coat and a rather extravagant hat. For the darkness, he could see little more than that. Outside, the snow was tumbling down all around her, swirling in the air for a moment and caught by the sodium lights that bracketed the street. In an imitation of The Fall, each gained its own tiny halo and was cast burning to melt someplace below the grey Heavens from which they plunged. In the way one is so familiar with those they know well that they can tell such things, he was immediately sure she was a stranger.

He didn’t really hoped that it would be Carm, but since she came into his mind while he argued a little with Rasgar over his future place; he felt a little emptiness in his heart that it wasn’t her. He tilted his head as he strode to the door, and glanced around in the dim parlor and at the street as much as he could see from the woman. He was a little more suspicious than he was at the morning, after all.

Rafi arrived at the door and could feel the cold radiating through the glass.

Behind a wayward lock of hair, the woman smiled fetchingly at him.

It was the darkest shade of green he had ever seen.

Green, he thought, again. This color seemed to follow him, at least his day today. The young artist unlocked the door, and opened it, stepping one back, to let the woman inside with a gesture with his arm. “Please, come in.” He hoped that she isn’t a vampire, as then he let her into his dominion with this polite gesture... Then he chased the thought away, and tried to clear his mind, this was too much cautiousness for him, and he hated to be unfriendly.

"Danke," she replied, with a slight nod. Immediately, Rafi was aware of her German accent, something that wrapped her voice like velvet, steeped it within itself like heavy red wine. She took a step over the threshold and into the parlor on tall, leather boots, their color such a dark green that they appeared black unless struck directly by a bright light. They tapped sharply across his floor when she walked.

German accent? he asked himself inside. What has this woman to do with that Keller or who was it at the City Hall? It can’t be just coincidence, he felt it deep within.

Rafi watched her remove her hat. It had no snow collected upon it at all, he noticed. She couldn't have been waiting outside terribly long, he considered.

A small note again, he has to train his senses, as it seems, this woman perfectly knew that he’ll be at home, and walked to his door only then, wherever did she wait before. But even Rasgar didn’t sense anything dangerous when they arrived home, so maybe they simply followed him unnoticed. Not if that would be better, he thought.

Once she was inside, he closed the door, and turned to his visitor, smiling warmly, but he held questions in his eyes. “How may I help you, mylady?” he asked, and sent a part of his consciousness to Rasgar meanwhile, to make him feel the urge to the stairs, where he could hide, and guard his master, if needed. 

Although he could hear nothing, he was somehow aware of movement on the floor above him, something silent but sure. He did not betray it with his eyes of facial expression in the slightest, but inside he smiled broadly. He was sure that, if there was any kind of trouble, Rasgar would be swift to interject himself within it.

That confidence allowed him to regard his visitor with a bit more of a relaxed eye, taking her in as she took a few steps deeper into his parlor. She was a tall woman, he thought, looking at her clearly now, in the dim light of the front room, perhaps fully six feet in height, if he had to guess. Still, it was hard for him to regard her features. She wore her hair, only slightly lighter than the tenebrous verdance of her boots and long and straight like perfectly-thin razor wire, in such a way that it obscured the right side of her face completely. To look at what she allowed the world to see of herself revealed a cold sort of beauty. She looked as if she were a fashion model at the height of her profession with high, aristocratic cheekbones and perfect skin, gently tanned. She might have a bit of Asian blood in her heritage, he thought.

The excessive use of that dark green reminded him a bit to Carm, and if he wouldn’t know about her a little, perhaps would make him think that they have some sort or kinship. He began to be even more curious about the woman, though he didn’t know how to ask it without being impolite. He decided to put his question later, and waited for the answer of the mysterious model first.

She slipped off her long coat as if she were disrobing for him, allowing it to roll off her shoulders as might a serpent, slithering from its skin. Carefully, she folded it in half before herself. "Do you have somewhere for this?" she asked him. And when she regarded him, a thin smile crossing her lips, coated with a gentle coat of the deepest green lipstick, her eyes held the colors of all springtime within them--a brilliant shade that was so striking that it actually rendered Rafi speechless for a moment before he found himself again.

Rafi raised an eyebrow, but nodded, and reached out for the coat. “Yes, here on the coat rack” he answered, and gestured with his other hand to the direction of the mentioned device.

She handed him her coat, something made of the softest woven down. Beneath it, she was wearing a dark dress, once again, something that could have easily been mistaken for black instead of green, were the light not proper. It fell down past the tops of her boots, but looked like it could have been slit at the sides. The way she moved made it hard to tell. Composed on one piece, it traversed up a slender waist and a taut, flat belly to a row of silver buckles that ran betwixt ample breasts.

The young artist took the few steps which distanced him from the rack, and then hung it up on it, before turned back to his guest. He regarded her with an appreciative look, as he tried to watch her as a whole, and not only the small, capturing details. She reminded him snake, a dangerous, waiting one, and though he liked some reptile, the snakes weren’t his favorites. However he had to admit that she has her beauty.

She looked around the parlor as if measuring it silently, appraising it with her eyes. She seemed vaguely amused.

Looking that she doesn’t really has the urge to tell him why she came; he decided to light up her a little. “My shop will be open on the next week, as you can see, its only half-ready yet.” He invited her in because of the weather, not to have a chit-chat over a tea.

"I know," she said simply. "Herr Keller told me this, but an hour ago. I am afraid that I found it quite impossible to restrain my enthusiasm to meet with you at last, der künstler, ja?" She smiled, something broad and thin as it crossed her face. It was something both beautiful and terrifying at once.

Rafi tilted his head, as he took an eased stance before her. “I appreciate these kind words, but I’d like to know who you are and why did you come here, to my yet-closed shop.” He said in a calm voice, though he wasn’t calm in a bit.

"I am Frau Kreuzotter," she said, extending her hand to him. In the delicate way that she did it, Rafi was unsure if he meant her to shake it or kiss the small ring that she wore upon her finger. Worn unlike a wedding ring, it was a bright gold that sparkled in the room's light. "I was she who sent Herr Keller to locate you." Then: "I see some bit of confusion in your eyes, Herr Künstler. You expected Mátuska Károly, perhaps?" she seemed vaguely delighted by the notion. "You would be disappointed, I am afraid. "There is no Mátuska Károly. At least, none such as Herr Keller knows. It is a name that I use to help ensure my anonymity to those whom I irregularly employ. An affectation that creates some confusion, I realize, but," she added, "it serves it's purpose well, ja?"

He shook the offered hand lightly before let it go, and nodded after the explanation. “You’re right, anonymity can be a good thing sometimes,” He responded, and continued the sentence in his mind, as I’d like to have my own, taking into account what the agent told me… But he smiled at the woman, and was as nice as before.

"In any case, you have my apologies. I fear I have you at somewhat of a disadvantage," she said. "You are curious as to the nature of my visit, I suppose, ja, Herr Künstler?"

She smiled again. And something deep within Rafi turned cold.

"Today, I have come for a tattoo."

“I see” he said, “Mr. Keller said that his employer searches for a special, exclusive tattoo, and she’d -you- like to honor it very graciously.” The word ‘today’ echoed in his mind, she must have something behind, he knew.

“Perhaps we can sit down there” he gestured to the newly bought rattan waiting seats, “and you can explain what sort of art would you like to receive.” Rafi grabbed an empty sketchpaper from the new counter and a pencil, too, as he wanted to take notes.

She seemed pleased by the suggestion. "You have my gratitude," she said, sauntering over to the proffered seating arrangement slowly. As Rafi followed her, he marveled at the odd grace with which she moved. There was something about it that reminded him of Carmilla's movement, really, though there was a smoothness implicit in her stride that once again brought to mind the sleek, subtle beauty of a snake's slithering. "I had hoped you would not turn me away, despite my unannounced arrival," she confessed, her Germanic accent falling on each word she spoke. I fear I am a woman of great impulse, Herr Künstler. I considered the terrible beauty you might burn across the landscape of my flesh and I was simply compelled to come. You see, I have to confess to have made it something of an obsession, Once I decided upon obtaining it, it had dominated my thoughts to the exclusion of all else. In a sense, since I was made aware of you and your particular skill, you have been the subject of much of my waking thought," she offered him a sly smile, beautiful, if somewhat chilling to behold.

Rafi almost snorted, but managed to get hold on it. It sounded like a scene from a romantic movie. Almost to much to bear.

"But I fear I confess too much, too soon," she continued. "Please do not let the outpouring of my innermost thoughts give you pause. I only wish to impress upon you how important this meeting is to me. And how greatly indebted to you I am for your allowing it, though unexpected it might be."

Rafi smiled and maybe blushed a little; it was hard to tell looking at his dark skin. The woman’s admiration definitely touched his pride, but something tickled inside him, perhaps a sixth sense, which kept the thought on the screen of his mind: be aware! 

“You’re to kind to me”, he said, looking wryly at the green-haired beauty. “May I ask you how you found me and my art?” he asked on a very curious voice, playing a bit naive and prideful artist, however he didn’t felt so. Yet, anyway. “I never advertised myself as of yet, and -forgive me- you don’t seem to me the woman, who is experienced on the street, with the gangs.” He lied, and he knew it, but he wanted to know how she gathered so many informations about him.

"Gangs?" she cocked an ultradark green brow curiously. "Oh no," she chuckled softly. "I have many individuals that I employ--such as Herr Keller--that enable me to enjoy my particular...interests," she explained. "For example, I have one such person in Helsinki whose sole purpose is to pursue Fabergé eggs, of which I am a great enthusiast and collector. As you may already know, Herr Keller is a very skilled hunter of talent, a singular knack that makes him a very valuable agent of mine. I commissioned him to locate me an individual that would be capable of enscribing a very special work of art upon my flesh. He found you," she explained, with some delight in her eyes of darkest green. "And so, we stand here today."

Rafi simply nodded, as the explanation sounded reasonable. He felt that something is still missing from it, but he decided that it would be rude, to cling even more to the question. Having no other choice he turned the conversation to the specifications of the tattoo.

“I have to tell you, that the time which is needed for the tattoo is depends on its size and its colorization, and sometimes it takes two or more meeting to complete a bigger picture.” He explained as they took their seats around the small table, Rafi sitting squarely to the woman, and placing the tools on the desk.

She sat down across from him, sliding gently onto the seat before allowing her lithe weight to settle upon it. She seemed to be eminently relaxed and at ease, full of some kind of inner confidence and lazy surety. Like she understood that, regardless of her being in his home, it was she that was the one in control of their environment, the same. Rafi had to admit that her way made it so, which made him even more ill-at-ease. "I am unconcerned with the amount of time such a piece will require," she replied, leaning back on the divan as if to lay claim to it with her posture. "I am a woman of great means, Herr Künstler. This allows me the luxury of not concerning myself with such things as time or expense, you see. If I please, I could remain within your parlor for months at a time, if that is what it required for you to etch a masterpiece of a scar upon my flesh," she smiled gently. "Things of true beauty, works or real art are precious and rare in our world, despite all of the charlatans about that would call themselves artists, ja? For such a thing to call my own, you might be surprised, the lengths I would be willing to go to," she offered him another thin smile.

“That won’t be necessary” replied Rafi a bit frightened. “I mean, to remain here for months. As I said, all depends on the complexity of the piece.”

She smiled softly. "This is good, then. The piece that I have in mind is very specific, and I have many references from which you may work, created for me by other artists," she explained. "I think that you will find that it is relatively simple, if singular in nature."

“You’re fortunate, if you can afford such things, to spend as much time as you want to get your wishes done.” He smiled, to dampen the edge of his words “and I’m fortunate as you chose me to help you to create the art for you.”

She smiled thinly, lazily. "We are both, fortunate, I think to have found one another. I find you to be a most agreeable man, Herr Künstler," she decided. "I have little doubt that, when the work is complete, I will be most satisfied with the masterpiece you will have rendered upon my flesh. And I promise you that you will find yourself equally pleased with your compensation. You will see, I think, that I believe very much in paying that with I think is commeasurate with the satisfaction I derive from that which I procure. Of course, this could make you a very rich man, at the end of our acquaintance," she said. "A very rich man, indeed."

The young artist reflected her faint smile with his own, and nodded. “We’ll see, madam” he said calmly.

He still had not seen but one half of her beautiful face had Rafi. Her hair, long and straight waves of the ever-blackest green hid that well from view. But the single green eye that she showed the world, breathtaking for its quality fixed him in her gaze. Intense for her calm, mad for her easy way.

No, he would not be surprised at all, he decided.

"What is it that we need to discuss before we begin?" she asked him.

He was sure that the woman, a dark and mysterious serpent in the flesh of a woman, would not be denied.

“I cannot say any prize or time, without knowing more things about the tattoo itself” said Rafi calmly, using his professional, bargaining voice. He sat back, and placed the sketchbook to his knees, and touched the pencil to the paper. “Can you describe your ideas, to help me explore your imagination deeper?” he looked at the cold beauty over the paper, reflecting her green gaze with his own black one.

"Of course," she nodded. And with the assertation, she dipped her hand casually to the hip of her form-fitting dress, reaching into a pocket that he hadn't noticed there before. Really, if he would have had to have guessed, he wouldn't have thought such a pocket would have even been possible in such an outfit. But nevertheless, she produced a thin PDA from within its slender confines. It was covered in what looked like a black snakeskin protective sheath.

Rafi raised an eyebrow as he watched the pocket and the device. It must be a special dress or she was able to shrink or teleport things, and the pocket didn’t contained nothing at all.

She drew a small stylus from the side of it and began to lesiurely tip its tip across the screen. "I have had many artists attempt to create an ideal reference from which you might work, over a period of five years," she explained. "My various agents were finally fortunate to have discovered a satisfactory talent in Luxor, Egypt who I felt was capable of capturing the image in a proper manner. The work you see was rendered in henna on the back of a young woman from Florence, Italy, with very nearly my exact physical dimensions."

“With henna? That is a good way to probe a tattoo, to see if you like it or not.” Replied Rafi, but then continued the thought. “And why didn’t you have him to ink up your skin, too, if he was able to create the image in a way which you liked?”

Frau Kreuzotter offered a wry, easy smile by way of response. "Once again, I fear you must forgive my particular eccentricities," she answered him. "It is of no small significance to me that my own skin be free of any type of mark or blemish, previous to the work on the actual tattoo. A personal foible, if you will; something of a Báthory complex," her smile drew slightly wider as she said it. "And so, I spared no expense, my agents quite literally interviewing hundreds of models until a suitable candidate was found. One who shared as precise a likeness to my own body's dimensions as possible, even to the detail of our skin tones. It was important enough to me that I invested a considerable sum of my personal fortune to ensure that you had the most comprehensive resource information available to you with which to work from--all the while while leaving my own flesh chaste and pure."

Rafi, though he was surprised a little, said nothing, cocked an eyebrow as he listened to the explanation, and the nodded. The woman made him feel threatened with every sentence and gesture she did. “An interesting approach, though if you have the wealth and assistants for it, totally understandable.”

She laughed gently, again, a merry little thing. "Until you begin my own transformation with your needle, of course. After which, I will shed my skin from that of a lowly worm--into a beautiful, majestic serpent."

Rafi looked up from his sketches and notes [snakes; scales; snake-teeth; cold, lifeless eyes...], and shook his head a little. “But you are beautiful, indeed” he said in a calm, reassuring tone, and he didn’t lie. He found her attracting, though there was something in her personality which shadowed the effect. “I like the majestic serpents, too. One of my favorites is a dragoness.”

"You are far too kind, I assure you, Herr Künstler," she favored him with her lovely smile, gentle and lazy. "And you are a very handsome man, indeed. Perhaps, when our work is complete, we may speak again on somewhat more...social terms," she said, her green eyes seeming to twinkle in the parlor's wan light. "We seem to be something of kindred souls, ja? You may find beauty in the dragon's wings and I within the asp's coils, but they are serpents alike, no?"

The thought seemed to delight her, with its odd symmetry.

Me and my big, very big mouth, thought Rafi suddenly, after he heard the cold beauty’s offer for a less business-like meeting. Maybe he blushed a little, too; it was hard to tell looking on his dark skin. “Perhaps we can find an adequate occasion to meet later, if the gods wants that too” nodded the young artist, but hoped that it won’t be too soon. And that Carm would be here, to protect him from this cold beauty’s personal intentions.

She tapped at the sceen one final time, then carefully turned the small oblong to face him, placing it in his hands like, perhaps, one of her precious Fabergé eggs. On its face was the gently tanned flesh of a young woman, graceful and supple. As Rafi regarded it, he decided that Frau Kreuzotter was a beautiful woman beneath her clothing, indeed, if her claim that the woman in the picture was her doppleganger, indeed.

As he turned his eyes to the screen, he pulled his artistic senses forth, to measure and feel the contents of the image. He wanted to be sure that it is a work for him. Someone might call it pride, or choosiness, but he was like all of the tattoo-artists he knew. He didn’t agree with any work, just which touched him somehow.

The tattoo that cut her flesh was unique, to say the least. It very nearly took up the entirety of her back, from the base of her neck to the end of her spine, from shoulder to shoulder in width. It consisted of a very large circle of equally-spaced characters that he could not confess to ever having seen before in his life, things that he could only characterize as runes, rather than letters. Within the massive circle, running the length of her backbone was a long serpent, a curving, majestic thing that wound and coiled its way up the landscape of her skin. Somehow, it seemed to blend itself into the runes in place, though they remained clear and visible. Much of the work seemed to have been done in an almost smudged sort of charcoal, lending it a bleak and strange ouvre.

To Rafi, to look at it, somehow, it simply felt...wrong. Like the picture held in it some sort of intrinsic, looming affront to nature itself. To stare into the eyes of the serpent made him feel vaguely ill, as if its digital likeness stared back into the depths of his soul. Coiling about it with its smooth, terrifying skin and claiming it as its own.

Frau Kreuzotter smiled thinly. The cold chill returned to the young artist's skin.

"It is beautiful, nein?" she said.

Rafi tried to answer, but he failed to say anything. He then forced himself to do it, so finally the sound came from his mouth. “It has something in it, indeed.” His mind raced as he was thinking how he could re-plan the image, to banish the wrongness from it. One thing was sure, from the first moment he eyed the image: he never shall use his new artifact to cut this into this woman’s flesh. It would be a great mistake; somehow he knew it deep inside.

She sighed by way of response, in the same way that a woman sighs when considering a lover. "Ja," she said, looking down at it herself. "The most beautiful thing in the world."

“If you say...” commented wryly Rafi, “on my part I hold that attribute to someone, not for a tattoo.”

“Taking that it is a drawing with henna, the artist who made, is a very talented one. If you can say his name and address to me later, perhaps I’ll visit him or her once...”

She nodded, gaining a bit of a wistful look to her breathtaking but icy features as she did so. "I would be more than happy to go so far as to have the artist brought to you to speak of his work himself, if it were possible," she explained. "Unfortunately, it is not. Herr al-Hajj met with an unfortunate accident only two weeks ago in Cairo. A terrible tragedy, indeed," she shook her head gently before looking up to meet Rafi's eyes. "The world has become something of a less beautiful place for the loss of his art."

The pencil stopped in Rafi’s hand, and he frowned. “He is dead?” he asked disbelieving the former note. “That is a very sad thing to hear.” His mind raced, he began to feel that maybe he isn’t as fortunate as the woman says, if she handles her former servants so. He was sure, that it wasn’t a simple accident, though he couldn’t explain the feeling. He tried to look at the snake in human form in front of him, But Rafi could not bring himself to do the same, avoiding the sharp green of her gaze.

Sharper than a serpent's tooth.

"It is," she agreed with him, her eye lingering on that which was his last, great work, on the small screen in her hand. "A tremendous loss, as I said. He was not only a very talented artist, but he, like yourself, was able to appreciate the beauty in the serpent. A rare and enlightened man. I saw to it that his family was aptly rewarded for his service to me, though I must admit, it seemed a rather hollow gesture."

“Those runes around the snake... are they meaning something special?” he asked to get some time to collect himself, and lifted his gaze back the visible eye of Ms. Kreuzotter.

"Ja," she nodded. "They are of the utmost importance to the work. They are a representation of ancient Babylonian cuneiform, if you are at all familiar with such things. It is absolutely essential that they are rendered precisely as they will be remit to you in the reference materials I will provide you with, should you agree to accept the commission," she said, her voice most serious indeed as she related the details to him.

The young artist nodded again, and wrote the note under the others. “I’m familiar with some runes, the most popular ones, which the guests used to ask for, but I’ll look after those, too, to do them as precise as possible.” He replied professionally, and then asked back. “You provide the materials? You mean the base of the ink?”

"I will provide everything that you require," she nodded gently. "The ink that I wish to have laid within my flesh is a very special sort, created from rather difficult to acquire substances. Too, any other expense that you request in the pusuit of the work will be accommodated without question. The only things that you will need to provide would be your own quill--and your prodigious talent, of course. I will see to the rest."

“I see” he smiled wanly at the woman, and noted this next to his other comments in the sketchbook. “Considering what you said to date, you want that picture exactly as it is on the screen. No additions, no corrections on the moves or the scales of the snake, perhaps little more lively eyes? It would be hard for me to skip these artistic challenges.” He asked with a wry smile, and a questioning look.

"Absolutely not," Frau Kreuzotter replied, in such a way that it left little question whatsoever that she was firmly resolute on the matter. "The piece must be rendered precisely as it is in the many reference materials I will provide you with. I understand the aesthetic of der künstler," she allowed, with perhaps some whimsy, "but this is not a matter of question. I have gone to great lengths to ensure that the image be rendered upon my flesh in a very exact manner...and so it must be."

Rafi sighed, and briefly rolled his eyes, then shrugged. “As you wish, but I had to say that I see some details which can be drawn better. Certainly if you want the image as it can be seen, then it will be so.” He was polite enough not to complain to much as the woman -in spite of her scariness- was the customer, after all.

Once again, he looked down at the image upon the screen. Somehow, it seemed to gaze back.

Like the Abyss, in its eyes, dark and endless.

Perhaps it was so, and the worm carried the Abyss within herself.

"But of course," she said, easing back into her gentle, relaxed mien, "I speak too soon. You have accepted nothing and I fear I may begin to bore you with my tale. You know that which is essential to the commission and understand both my commitment to ensuring that it is done in a very precise manner and that I will reward you very handsomely for my satisfaction."

"Now," she locked eyes with his, "there is only for you to accept."

The color of her green eyes, the sum of that of every slithering snake in the world.

Rafi paused for a moment, and then took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and meditated over the question for a few seconds. He really had no choice, at least how he saw his position now. If he rejects the offer, he could be hurt – just like the Egyptian artist. If he accepts, and then changes the piece, it would be the same effect. But if he creates the art, maybe he’ll give a hand for something terrible. The constant mentioning of the snakes and the changing made him thinking that it is truly a magic form, with an unknown effect.

He’ll need help to handle this problem, but not now. He had to accept, as then he’ll be able to do something against, not like if her moves to an artist who simply inks her up, and doesn’t think with the consequences... “I’m interested making your tattoo, so I’m accepting your offer.” He said and hoped that he won’t regret it.

She closed her eyes gently and turned the small PDA in her hand off simultaneously. A slow, satisfied smile crept across her features and the screen went to black. In some way, her expression bordered someplace between the religious and the sexual. "That is wonderful news indeed, Herr Künstler," she said, before opening her eyes again. They seemed, with his agreement, to have taken on a new sparkle, full of light and life. "You have made me a very happy woman and brought a lifelong dream to my threshold," she added. "You will forever have my gratitude."

Held in her eyes, captured by her cold beauty, it was something that he could imagine a man might have given their life for.

It was quite possible, he knew, that some had.

“I like the pleased clients, they make me happy with the smile on their faces after they see their completed tattoos” gestured Rafi the compliment away with a short wave. It was true, but somehow this woman’s forever gratitude seemed a grim thing. 

The look in her eye, so lovely and yet so cold, only sought to reinforce the notion. She said nothing at all in response to the comment, probably thinking her smile spoke for itself. The deadliest snakes in the wild, he considered, also slither silently before their bite.

Rafi looked at his notes, and then glanced back to to Ms. Kreuzotter. “I’ll need a print of that picture you showed me on that screen. Perhaps it’d be enough with the size of a normal A4 paper sheet.”

"It was my most fervent hope that you might accept my proposal," she replied with a nod, reaching into her hidden hip-pocket once more. In another motion, she produced what seemed like a business card from the infinitely-slender non-space. "And so, I must confess--at the risk of appearing presumptuous--to have taken the liberty of uploading the image to a remote computer, located within my home."

She handed him the card, on crisp, new white stock. "On this, you will find printed a unique identity and password, required to circumvent my rather expensive security. Those I employ to handle such affairs for me insist that such measures are quite essential in order to protect myself in this day and age. I must confess to be rather ignorant to such things, you see. As I mentioned, this is why I employ skilled individuals to advise me of such things," she chuckled gently. "Nevertheless, you will find all the information I have promised when you connect yourself to this network."

Rafi looked down at the small card as she handed it to him. On one side of it, he saw:

www.10.64.09.001.com
u: Künstler
p: @5<3N5!0N

Upon the other was printed the image of a serpent, in a style reserved for old artisans, carefully carving their masterworks on wooden blocks, to be transferred to paper by simple ink and pressure. The snake formed a perfect circle, at the end of which, it swallowed its own tail. Preserving an infinite loop.

The print was flawless. It might have been written by hand.

“Thank you” he replied as he flipped the small card between his fingers like a coin, and then placed it down to the table. He then looked into his notes, and continued his requests.

“The next thing I need, is the list of your special materials, as I’d like to look after them to be sure that they’ll provide the wished color and permanence, without any hindrance” explained further his requests Rafi. 

She nodded. "You will see these also detailed on the computer that you've been given access to," she said. "Try not to think me too eccentric when you see this list, hm?" she smiled thinly. "As I said, I am a woman of very...particular tastes."

“I see” nodded Rafi. “It seems, you truly thought about anything in advance” he smiled at Ms.Kreuzotter. “I have to ask one last question, though. Do you have any type of allergy to those components of the inks?”

"I do not," she replied, as if it was a matter of no small amount of pride to her. "You will see that many of the ingredients used in making the ink are quite toxic--deadly, perhaps--under normal circumstances. In these cases, I have spent many years ingesting small, but increasing amounts of these substances, until I stand before you now with an immunity to them. So you see, the process will be quite safe," she assured him, then adding with a wry smile, "but it is very kind of you to ask, nonetheless."

The young preserved his professional stance, and noted this information on the list, too. Toxic components and developed immunity, huh, he asked himself mentally. This woman is crazy, indeed, he thought, but was careful enough not to show this on his face or in his voice. “Okay, then I suspects that you had tested the needles and the other parts of the process with those materials, too.” He tilted his head, and glanced to her eye, summarizing the results of the inquiry.

She seemed delighted that he had thought to ask. "You presume correctly, Herr Künstler," she said, her slow, thin smile widening as she said it, like a lazy serpent in and of itself, creeping across her breathtaking features. "You are coming to understand my particular devotion to the piece, I see."

“Considering the size and the precision, it would take three or four meeting at least to make it whole. First the contours, then the details, and lastly the colors” he explained the procedure. “A few hours per day, to give time to the skin to heal up before we can move on. This usually takes one or two week between the meetings, but it depends on the person.”

She nodded. "I can assure you that I have waited a considerable amount of time to have gotten here, to your door, in the pursuit of making art of my flesh," she replied. "Though it brings me great pain to do so with each further passing moment I must wait, it remains within me to do so. How soon can we begin?" she asked, palming her PDA and sliding it back into the same non-space pocket she'd taken it from. Once again, at her hip, it seemed to disappear into nowhere. "I must know."

“We may begin at Wednesday, perhaps around 10 o’clock?” he asked the snake-lady.

She nodded gently, one more. "I will be here at that very moment--no earlier, nor later," she said, in a way that made it sound like a vow, more than a commitment. And with that, turned and began once again to her coat. "I have taken much of your precious time already, Herr Künstler," she continued. "And though I thank you both for hearing my request and accepting my commission, I must leave. Unfortunately, my presence is required elsewhere to attend to other matters of some import. I would expect that the same is true of you," she nodded.

Rafi closed his notes and stood up, taking a few step to the back of the new counter, and grabbed a sheet of paper, which he used for the patterns. “One last thing, if we’d like to start at Wednesday, I have to draw the pattern of this piece of art. For that, I need the size of your back, so may I ask you to hold your hair in front of you, and turn your back to me?” he asked the sleek beauty, while he strode back to her, an appropriate sized strip, and a pencil. 

She smiled, as if he had somehow flattered her. "Of course," she said, turning around slowly. He watched her reach back behind her head with a graceful movement of her long, elegant limbs, pulling her hair around in such a way that it fell over her right shoulder with a flourish. She did this on the same side on which it was parted; she revealed none of that hidden portion of her face. It was somehow a sensual gesture, despite the rather mundane request. He guessed she was capable of making nearly anything appear so.

Frau Kreuzotter's back was long and supple, her dress giving it the illusion of preternatural smoothness. With that, it was completely revealed for Rafi's inspection and pleasure.

“Beautiful indeed” he muttered under his breath, very silently, as he walked to the woman in front of him, and placed the paper on her back. Then he pulled some lines along her back, to outline or her basic size and form. Rafi did carefully all the lines, as the artist in him wanted to make a perfect work as ever. At the same time he tried to avoid touching her skin with his hand as he didn’t want to hold more contact with her than this work.

He let the strip roll up, and placed it on the table, next to the notes. “It was an honor to meet you, Ms. Kreuzotter. I hope your other businesses are goes as smooth as ours”, he said, and took her coat off the rack, and handed it to her gently.

Frau Kreuzotter picked up her coat and slithered into the warmth of it's confines.

"You are a very charming young man, Herr Gurney," she smiled gently. "I very much look forward to seeing you once again on Wednesday. To create beauty on my flesh with your quill and talent...and beauty within as we begin to know one another more deeply."

Rafi almost coughed in surprise hearing her comment about the deeper acquaintance. “It’ll be an honor to ink up your skin, Ms.Kreuzotter”, he bowed a little.

"Auf wiedersehen, Herr Künstler," she bade him.

And made for his door, her slow, easy serpent's smile undimmed for the cold.

Rafi politely opened the door of his parlor, and let her leave. “Good bye, miss.”