Researching Oneself [End]

[Greenie]

"You must have inherited your thirst for knowing odd things from your father.." Mia said, only somewhat apprehensively as they strode into Corvistowne. He'd been amongst the Corvies before, but only once, and only briefly. He had nothing against them, but had no capability to understand their driven pursuit of strange and odd knowledge. Perhaps that was why he and Chris never talked shop... but anyways.

"Considering it's probably your fault I have these wings, you should try being more interested in why I have them." The teen retorted, his tail happily swishing back and forth as he surveyed the glorious new surroundings before him. Zether enjoyed new places and new things immensely, far more than his mother did, and he was looking forward to finding more about himself out, even if his silly mother could care less.

Politics, magic, drama, blah blah blah. New people! Information! He was in Corvistowne! His stupid Esterberry tutor could stuff it, this was way better than any library.

The pup had done his research and knew exactly where the famed geneticist Ophelia lived. Mia thought this was a tad stalkeresque of him, but had probably accidentally taught him how to do it, so didn't say anything about it. The two walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Mia hung back to a) let Zether have his moment and b) not immediately scare the shit out of whomever was inside with his interestingly mutated body.

[Vyn]

Ophe's ears swiveled back toward the door as the doorbell cut through the conversation she'd been having. It had been such a long time since Hatter had gotten the chance to stay for more than a few minutes and now they were being disrupted. The serpentine doe hissed under her breath but the Joker merely laughed and waved a hand dismissively.

"The more the merrier~" was all he offered as he rose from the chair, urging her along. Doorie was sprawled on his hat, whirring with a quiet content for the time being.

Ophe pulled ope the door and paused immediately as her gaze ran over the intriguing mixed region canine. ...What was that goo? Her once neutral expression instantly tweaked to one of subdued interest. "Why, hello. What brings you," she glanced back at Mia briefly to include hi in her statement, "to my home? Business?" They were both high ranking Spades, hopefully this was personal business if it was business at all. After all the drama in her Suit's Court she really didn't want to think about that anymore.

Hatter, meanwhile, leaned on the wall just out of the way where he could both see the guests and not be immediately noticed. It was Ophe's house, her spotlight, but he wouldn't tuck himself away and deny himself his great curiosity either.

[Greenie]

Zether brightened immediately when the door began to open. Someone was home, someone was home! He then cleared his throat and sat politely to await whomever was inside, but couldn't contain his very puppyesque grin. He bowed politely to whomever it was, then his tail began wiggling when he realized it was, indeed, the infamous Ophelia. He bowed to her, his mother behind him reminding him of his manners.

Mia discreetly watched the woman, much as Hatter was watching his son, and was pleasantly surprised to find her a 10. "Alas.." He muttered, almost inaudibly. A 10 of Spades in the boonies of Corvistowne, and his son managed to find her. Just his luck. He was about to have a pleasant afternoon trying not to think about her rank and how useful it could be... gooey wings, yes, gooey wings.

"Ma'am, I was wondering if you would possibly be interested in doing some research on my wings for me? They're partially genetic, I was born with them, but I'm very interested in learning how they came about.. as you see, my mother has nothing of the sort." The canine indicated his mother. Mia nodded with a quirk of his eyebrows, waiting for her to notice his.. other.. defining features. He may not have wings made of cold goo, but he had glass spirals all over his eyes and lacked pupils.. he was hardly ordinary himself.

"Ma'am, I heard from many people that you are the one to come to for research in genetics.. I can offer you any compensation you wish for... My mother is with the Court of Spades." Zether continued, giving her a winning smile.

Mia tried not to kick him for mentioning he was with the Courts. That was a good way to not get what you want, make the woman think he had an ulterior motive..

[Vyn]

What a well spoken boy, Ophelia mused to herself as she listened to him speak. Esterberry heritage, of course. With a hint of Kahmden, obviously, in his 'mother'... Who had enough strange mutations that Ophelia couldn't really be surprised that he himself had ectoplasmic wings of sorts.

But experiment made speculation far more intriguing.

And then the word "Court" was dropped and the doe's eyes darkened momentarily. Only now did her thoughts return to the black Q on the boy's mother's chest and briefly she felt a bristling up her spine. Father, was he behind this 'Visit'? Before Ophelia could say anything Hatter abruptly stepped up into the doorway and threw his arm around his friend, grinning widely.

"Who's your guests, Ophe? Will they be joining us inside for tea?" The Hatter cast a sidelong glance at the Doe and his gaze nearly made her shrink. Right, she was being paranoid...

"Ah! Yes, forgive my lack of manners. Why don't you both come in? We can discuss research and payment of services over tea and introductions, hmm?" Whether or not father was behind this didn't really matter, right?

[Greenie]

Zether was somewhat taken aback at her reaction to his comment about the Courts, though her interest in his wings had been quite palpable. Did she have something against the Courts? Her gaze had moved to mother's rank.. oh dear. Hopefully she wasn't one of those politic-haters mother had warned him about... though father never seemed to think it was a problem. Humph. Then again, all father was worried about was his books not dusting..

His attention was immediately drawn to the very brightly colored man that came up behind the nice lady, and, much to his disgrace, realized he was staring avidly at the man's hat. His bright, beautiful hat.

Mia was bemused at the look, but took it in good naturedly; he was known to inspire fear and laughing, but rarely anger. "That would be very nice, thank you." He put in, and gently tapped Zether in the rump to usher the boy in and stop his staring.

[Vyn]

Alright. Wonderful, mutations. This would be fun, even if there was a noble from the Court of Spades in her house. Business was business and it was very unlikely that he even knew her father. The old man had to be dead by now? Or at least ailing?

"Wonderful, make yourselves at home and I'll be back in just a moment."

To keep from making an idiot of herself, Ophelia focused entirely on getting back inside and preparing refreshments for the guests. Hatter would entertain them while she was fiddling, he loved entertaining.


As Ophelia disappeared into the kitchen, Hatter would leave 'mother' and son into the living room where the plush sofas were made to accommodate humans and animals -- thanks to the varied lot Ophelia lived in -- and everything was soft and worn. It was a stark contrast from what Ophelia usually supplied herself with, but Maxwell had pranced in and made everything quite comfy.

"Ophe will be with us shortly, in the mean time, why don't you introduce yourselves? I'm Hatter, a friend of Ophelia's."

[Greenie]

"Thank you very much!" Zether said excitedly, his tail wagging more than he could contain. He trotted into the room and quickly settled onto the most unobtrusive chair there, while Mia followed him and chose a seat next to his son.

Mia took in his surroundings as Ophelia left. It was almost a contrast.. some of the furniture was simple and useful and unfanciful, while the other half was comfortable, worn, and lived in. Something told him two people with two different styles lived in this particular home.

His gaze slid to the colorful man. Hatter? As in.. someone who wore hats? Odd name. "Dysthymia," He greeted in return, not bothering with his title, as his connection to the Court seemed to have bothered the woman already. "This is my son, Zether." Just because he hadn't in a while, Mia reached over and ran a hand through the boy's ectoplasm, just to feel the chill. The teen gave him a look, but didn't say anything.

[Vyn]

Hatter flopped back into a large armchair, folding his arms and making himself quite comfortable in the seat. "It's a pleasure to meet you both, Ophelia will agree when she is not stumbling through her own kitchen."

There was a clatter of plate against plate for a moment as Ophelia yelled back from the room in mention. "Don't you patronize me just because I don't spend every other hour making tea like you do!" The doe scoffed loud enough for anyone to hear and returned to making tea. Her large ears were good for something, like listening in on conversations she wasn't actually a part of.

Hatter smiled, inclining his head as if to say "ah, I told you so" and fell almost immediately into chuckles. She would always be a child in his eyes.

And then Doorie, with a mechanical crooning, was pawing at his legs to be brought up into the chair. "Oh yes! I nearly forgot to introduce you! This is Doorie! Doorie, say hello to Ophe's guests!" Doorie whirred eagerly and waved it's grasper tail in a hello. For now, Hatter mused, that was the best she could do.

[Greenie]

Dysthymia smiled slightly in response; having watched his own mother fumble through kitchens for years, it entertained him to see another woman do so. Zether was just excited to get some tea; he was very sick of traveling and wanted a break and some relaxation. If such a thing was possible here.

The pup grinned at Ophelia's response. It sounded just like his grandmama did when she was angry. And all of his aunts. And some of his cousins.. These people weren't related, were they? No, he didn't have any Corvie-cousins. He wasn't sure what Hatter was to compare.

The pair both eyed Doorie with interest, Zether with blatant enthusiasm, Mia with bemusement. Mechanical creations were rare in Spades, but Mia had seen a few in his lifetime; he nodded to the creature.

"Hello, Doorie!" Zether responded, his tail wagging as he watched her.

[Vyn]

Hatter always loved to see people enjoying his creations. Now was no different. Beaming to himself, he watched the pup's wagging tail as he greeted the mechanical wonder. Children were the best, innocent even when they did have an Esterberry brain larger than your average planet.

Doorie would hop around, as she'd been programmed to, and wiggled enthusiastically in play mimic. Probably the sweetest tove anyone would ever meet. Perfect obedience, of course, could do that.


At last Ophelia returned to the room, smiling awkwardly as she set the tray down on the coffee table. Homemaking was not her forte (and Hatter probably knew her kitchen better than she did), but she could still put together a decent pot of tea. The small brew on the tray radiated a warm, peppermint aroma that went well with the tea cakes she'd laid out -- Ophelia didn't like the sugary little things, but her children had when they were Zether's age so she hoped they'd satisfy her younger guest.

Hatter, of course, took two with his tea and munched on them cheerfully while Ophelia settled into business. "Well, to begin, I feel its only right to warn you that I'll need samples - a blood sample and a some of your ectoplasm. Other than that I only have a couple questions: Dysthymia, are you aware of any unusual circumstances surrounding your pregnancy? Such as foreign substances being introduced - unusual drinks? strange items? I've known some cards that have slipped their spouses potions to attempt to reveal unusual mutations like Zether's 'wings'. Lastly, are there any unusual mutations in your bloodline? Brothers or sisters with unusual or varied mutations?" Now the doe's attention turned to the strange glass protrusions surrounding the Kahmden and her brow arched slightly. "I'd also be very intrigued to hear the details behind your glass... ahh, additions?"