Aberrant: The Middle Children of History - Summer Soul, Winter Wind [Mature] (FIN)

[Courtney Adams]

The young nova watched the grey clouds scudding across the sky, the sun filtered to a pale shadow of it's full glory, and sighed a trifle mournfully. The wind blew hard up here on Inyan Kara, tossing his mane of dark golden hair wildly. He didn't suffer from the cold despite a state of mostly-undress. Clad only in a short linen wrap around his slender hips, the boy-man nevertheless was impervious to the physical chill surrounding him. Yet he still felt the cold in his soul, a sensation that was entirely unwelcome. The sun's light was distant and weak down here, and for the nova known as Phaethon, who had spent his life thus far in climates that never knew winter's touch, the experience was unnerving.

He sat on the edge of the ledge outside Ptesan-Wi's cave, his home for the last few months, with his bare feet dangling into empty air. He had spent a long time talking to his father's friend, telling her of Pangaea and his life there, letting her tell him of life here and her struggle to serve her people's interests. He had made ample use of her computer too, absorbing information on events and opinions that made up the sentient world he found himself inhabiting now. He was self-aware enough to realise that he had been understandably nervous after his father had pushed him from the nest of the paradise planet many lightyears away, and had merely jumped into a different nest here at Inyan Kara, settling into a comfortable routine with the lovely goddess that made the place her home. Now, however, his initial nervousness at facing a world he believed to be dangerous and unpredictable had faded, to be replaced with a yearning to experience.

Shining green eyes gazed at the horizon. Out there were people, human and nova. Out there were millions of hopes, dreams, fears and joys. Out there (somewhere) to the west was Los Angeles, where a girl who had made his heart thunder was waiting for him to pay a visit. A visit he now felt comfortable in making, considering himself to be as familiar with life in 21st century America as reading the OpNet could make him. Only way to really learn is to go and look he thought wryly to himself. He looked over his shoulder at the cave mouth, wondering how he could tell Ptesan-Wi of his restlessness. It wasn't as though she was a bad host. She and the Lakota had made the Sun King's child more than welcome, showing endless patience for his questions and curiousity. Now that winter was drawing in, however, the golden young man felt an itch to travel, to see more of the world. He figured that Ptesan-Wi wouldn't mind. Hadn't she mentioned travelling too? How to broach the subject...?

[Ptesan-Wi]

*You just did.*

The voice came from within Phaethon's own head somewhere, but the fall of footsteps behind him most assuredly came from his hostess.

*And it's not unexpected,* the inner voice added as Ptesan-Wi placed a hand softly on his shoulder. *There's an entire world out there, waiting for you to explore it, much larger than the world of my People and I.*

The Lakota goddess moved around to half-crouch, half-kneel beside him, a gentle smile gracing her silent lips. *I'm actually surprised you didn't set out before now. You should go out there to see the world. And her too, of course,* she added with a slight twinkle in her softly glowing azure eyes.

[Courtney Adams]

*Oops... I didn't know you were listening to that.* The young man blushed dark gold under his tan, smiling sheepishly as he realised that his not-entirely platonic thoughts about Infinity had been 'loud' enough for Ptesan-Wi to catch. Strangely, or perhaps not considering his upbringing, he felt no serious embarassment or outrage at having his thoughts read. He'd had similar thoughts about Ptesan-Wi over the last few months, as well as some of the other women around the reservation, and wondered curiously if the telepathic goddess had caught those as well.

Probably he decided with a mental shrug. Not having much of a concept of shame in such matters, his only real concern as to whether he had given offence without even knowing it. His deep green eyes met her softly glowing gaze.

"I'm glad you get it." He smiled at Ptesan-Wi. "Living here is great, peaceful and yet not as isolated as Pangaea. It's just that... Well... I feel the need for some chaos and excitement. Maybe I've been watching too much OpNet." He grinned mischievously, an expression joltingly similar to his father's yet different: tinged with an angelic sense of fun rather than knowing impishness.

[Ptesan-Wi]

Ptesan-Wi frowned at the young godling's comment about the OpNet. *A lot of time can be lost to the net, if you let it.* The words were kind compared to her actual thoughts about the vast communications web; as far as she was concerned, it was a poison - perhaps a necessary one, but a poison nonetheless. If any memories remained of a young girl gleefully surfing the net in a nice little suburban house, they were utterly buried beneath the intricate personality of Ptehehincalasanwin.

Regardless of the personality however, it wasn't in this woman's nature to dwell overly long on disdain. A gentle smile returned to her lips as she sent, *There is much out there to do and see. Indeed, before you came from your father's world, I had been considering just that. And I would be a poor excuse for a wakanwinyan if I did not go out and see what has become of the world after all these years.*

The heavy buffalo hide shifted behind her of its own accord, and from her primitive home a familiar leather and bentwood object floated serenely out over the snow to rest at Ptesan-Wi's feet. Two large leather satchels were already on it, and there was no mistaking the scent of her herbed flatbread wafting from one of them.

Stepping onto her "snowshoe", glowing with the softest of white light, the White Buffalo Calf Woman raise an eyebrow and asked, *Shall we see the world, son of my mentor?*

[Courtney Adams]

He laughed as he took in the satchels on the Lakota goddess's conveyance. "You were as ready to go as I was!" He smiled at her radiantly. "All right!"

Phaethon pushed off the outcropping as though he was a swimmer slipping off the side of a pool, dropping perhaps five feet before his flawless young body became wreathed in golden flames and bobbed upward again in easy defiance of gravity. The teenager's eyes sparkled at Ptesan-Wi, his grin was pure exuberance as he nearly danced in the air before her.

"Where are we going to first? Where did you want to visit?"

[Ptesan-Wi]

*I...* She hesitated, caught off-guard by the question. In truth, it had been so very long since Ptesan-Wi had ventured out for meaningful interaction with the world - indeed, before she had truly adopted the name Ptesan-Wi - that she was left momentarily without a point of reference.

There were options, to be sure. Many of them, in fact. So many as to be nearly impossible to pick through. But when one is a Wakanwinyan, indecision is simply not an option. And as she thought such, the answer came clearly to mind.

"Chicago," the young woman spoke out loud with all the confidence of a goddess. "I want to go to Chicago, and visit the Windy City Knights. In particular, I want to visit two very special people who tried to help me find myself when I first started to evolve."

With eyes glowing bright blue amid her gentle white glow, a smile both joyous and wistful broke across her face. "Let us go to Chicago!"

[Courtney Adams]

"Chicago it shall be, then." The dazzling warmth of Phaethon's smile washed over Ptesan-Wi. "My father told me a little of it, and the Windy City Knights. So which ones are we going to see?"

As he spoke the young man's form circled lazily over her head, pent-up energy and enthusiasm radiating from his half-naked form. The inherited godlike self-possession of his father was tempered by Phaethon's innate innocence, an unguarded sweetness that shone from every action and word. As Ptesan-Wi lifted herself higher into the air and started towards Chicago, Procyon's heir paced her with ease, his green eyes shining.

[Ptesan-Wi]

For her part, Ptesan-Wi simply rose into the air serenely upon her "snowshow", setting off toward the east and the far-off hustle and bustle of the Windy City.

As she came along side him, she said, "With luck, we will visit two of my old friends: Alchemist and Samhra. They understand me better than most.

*You see,* she continued with an inner voice in words only he could hear, *I am not a nova.*

[Courtney Adams]

*Not a nova?* Large eyes got wider as Phaethon turned to her, forgetting his restlessness at this revelation. Skepticism didn't occur to him: this was his father's friend, and she had no reason to lie to him. But he was intensely curious.

[Ptesan-Wi]

*Not a nova,* Ptesan-Wi agreed as they flew along, each in their own very different ways.

*Alchemist was the first to figure it out, though the signs were all there. You've noticed that I don't have a quantum signature, and that there's a subtle sort of static when our powers interact. The popular story is that it's some unique shielding I have. But it isn't. It's because I don't use quantum at all.*

*His thought,* she continued to send, *was that I used an opposite particle, an 'anti-quantum', for what I do. He dubbed me an anti-nova. But he was wrong.* The Lakota goddess floated along among the clouds of the December sky, wrapped tight in furs that she herself had hunted and tanned over the years.

*Then there was Samhra. She helped my mate through many trying times. And then, when she touched my mind, she thought she knew what I was. From the archives of the Utopia Project, she had read long-suppressed records of an earlier age, and a type of person called a mentalist who could do some of what I do, by means other than quantum.* Ptesan-Wi gave a faraway smile, remembering those heady days of discovery and adventure, of flying on her own across the mighty Atlantic, of mingling with the new gods at the Phoenix Room. The smile faded slightly, and she sent, *But she was wrong, too.*

There was a moment of mental silence, the only sound the high winds over the Dakotas. And for that moment, Ptesan-Wi seemed troubled, as though something from the past haunted her very soul. Then she held her head high once more. *No, it wasn't until later that I learned the truth. It came at a cost, but it came. I am a Wakanwinyan, Phaethon. I am Ptehehincalasanwin, the White Buffalo Calf Woman, returned to bring my People into the Fifth World. I am living spirit, and the source of my power is the breath of Wakan-Tanka. And now you know the truth.*

[Courtney Adams]

Phaethon's reaction was not immediate astonishment, but that is little credit to him. The young nova had been raised to believe that there are many versions of the deeper truths, and sentient instinct was to cling to the ones that made the most sense of the universe. He thought back to one of his father's lessons as he flew, remembering.

"Much of what we perceive as fact depends on who is doing the perceiving." Procyon's voice thrummed in his memory as vividly as the sights and sounds of the Dakotas rushing past below. They floated together at a walking pace above the silver leafed jungle of Pangaea's northern continent. The shining figure of his father was nearly too bright to look at directly, light streaming from the golden patterns that swirled endlessly in his skin. It was nearly time for the elder Terat's next Chrysalis: this would be one of the last lessons Phaethon had before leaving. "This is especially true of novas and humans. To some novas are gods, and they will treat you as such. To others novas are demons or idols of an immoral age. They will likewise treat you in keeping with their beliefs. The important thing to remember in this sea of conflicting ideals is what you perceive yourself to be. To those on Earth I have been a god. I have been a murderer. I have been a terrorist and I have been a mentor. The truth of these statements lies in my own perception of them." His father's hand rested on Phaethon's shoulder as he smiled. Phaethon smiled back, meeting the blue fire of his father's gaze. "When all around one is chaos, when everyone has their own ideas of what is right and what is wrong, sometimes the only choice we can make is to decide what is true for us. And in making that choice with courage and conviction, we make that truth real. Finding the truth of yourself is an act of self-development that many would deny you the right to. Cling to it, and be prepared to die before it is wrested from your hands."

Phaethon's eyes re-focused as he flew alongside Ptesan-Wi. He was laying on his side facing her in midair, head propped on his hand as though lounging on the furs back in the cave. Innate reflex had merely kept pace and distance with the Lakota goddess while the young nova's body had adopted the posture of contemplation.

*I understand.* He replied, his mental tone reflective as he smiled warmly at her. *Your People love you, Ptesan-Wi. It's easy to see why, too. You care for them and guide them, without smothering them. It must be a hard balance to strike at times.* He sighed and rolled over onto his back in the air, folding his hands behind his head as he drifted to fly under her conveyance. Dazzling eyes the verdant colour of sunlight through leaves gazed up at Ptesan-Wi from a warm expression that could melt stone.

*It must be nice to have that focus.* The young godling's youth manifested plainly in his mental tone now. It was wistful, and slightly mourning for the paradise he had been sent from. *I still don't know my own truth, Ptehehincalasanwin. I was content to just live on Pangaea, and I miss it still. But I do not know if I would go back there to live in solitude now.* He gestured with his hand and arm, an encompassing motion clearly indicating the world around him. *There is so much to see here, so many people to speak to, so much life to live. I feel like a thirsty man who didn't even know what water was, but now cannot do without it.*

[Ptesan-Wi]

Ptesan-Wi smiled at her young friend's thoughts. He was so eager, so much wanting to find himself and his way in a new world. And, she had to admit, he was untainted by Wasicu ways as even she could not claim to be. Phaethon was a nova of promise.

Promises need to be protected.

*One of the tribes of the People have a saying. "Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, Wisdom is of the future." We can search for all the mechanical workings of the world, Phaethon. We can split atoms and count the grains of sand on the beach. But will that make good bread taste better, or the wren's song sweeter? Will it help us to see beauty in the spring rains, or to befriend our brothers and sisters?

*Learn about the the world, yes. Find knowledge as you will. But be careful not to gather knowledge and call it wisdom. That is a path of an empty soul. I think you already understand this, from how you deal with people, but I want to make sure.*

[Courtney Adams]

He smiled up at Ptesan-Wi as he silently reassured her that he wouldn't fall into the trap she had outlined, then performed a lazy barrel-roll around her as they continued onwards, hands still folded behind his head as he did a complete circle around her, coming back to rest underneath her snowshoe. It was something that Ptesan-Wi had become accustomed to, his sense of playful restlessness. Even as he froliced mid-air, however, Phaethon was thinking about her words. He was silent as the landscape below them rushed past, his mind idling over the concept of knowledge and wisdom.

[Ptesan-Wi]

The miles passed by, hills and trees giving way to the vast farmlands of the northern plains, endless sweeps of field either sown with winter wheat or bare and waiting for the kiss of spring. They passed over towns, now and again; people on the street looked up in wonder at a sight not seen in nearly a decade: a living sun and an Indian goddess cutting slowly across the clear blue skies.

Gradually, the towns became cities, and the fields grew smaller. And after many hours, a great city and greater lake shone together in the afternoon sun. "Michi gami," Ptesan-Wi spoke aloud. "Lake Michigan in English. And that is Chicago."

[Courtney Adams]

He watched the gleaming pile of steel, concrete and glass with bright eyes as it sprawled out ahead of them, coming nearer with every moment. The place was at once alien and strangely compelling to the young nova.

It stretched for miles, taller buildings spearing the sky above the more squat, utilitarian constructions. And there, on the road paralleling their course, were vehicles, looking like strange metallic insects as they wound along the asphalt path laid out for them. On impulse, the handsome young nova swooped down to have a closer look, levelling out alongside a strange yellow oblong automobile (a school bus) that seemed crowded with humans roughly his age. He peered in at them from about ten feet away with a curious and friendly smile, wearing nothing more than his short black sarong and the golden flames of his aura.

The humans in the bus pressed up against the glass, pointing and calling. He felt their interest, their fascination, and he smiled dazzlingly, waving at them. Most returned the smile and wave, the females blowing kisses and cheering through the narrow windows. He laughed and blew kisses back, innocently enjoying the game and the adulation as only one raised to be a Marvel could. Every blown kiss, every smile or wave was a bestowed favour from them to him and back again. It was a heady brew for one raised in isolation from such things.

He drifted along the highway from point to point like a butterfly from flower to flower, staying clear of obstacles like road signs and oncoming traffic but peering in at the occupants of the vehicles and smiling infectiously, drinking in their awe and fascination as the butterfly sips nectar.

[Ptesan-Wi]

Watching him from higher above the streets, the young Lakota woman couldn't help but grin as she sailed along atop her wood-and-leather construct. His confidence and innocence were simply a marvelous combination, and her early concerns and fears as he dove toward the street - almost mother-like, she realized with a slight blush - were largely forgotten in the moment.

Ptesan-Wi was a Marvel in her own way, too, and the marks of such shone in her softly white glow as the city dwellers watched from their offices and apartments. It wasn't as though novas were exactly an uncommon sight in Chicago (it was, after all, home to the Windy City Knights) but most of those zipped along at the hurried pace of the city - or even faster, with important nova business of some sort or another. They generally didn't go on gentle sight-seeing flights down Michigan Avenue, or play was seemed an intricate game of friendly tag with traffic. And some with longer memories recalled the halcyon days of Procyon, or had heard and seen the reports of Ptesan-Wi; for them, this was almost bit of nostalgia for simpler times.

[Courtney Adams]

Fingers clattered on OpNet terminal keys, voices murmured along fiberoptic highways, and those with cameras and the presence of mind snapped pictures as Phaethon swooped and dove above the traffic, smiling at the onlookers clustered at the windows he passed as well as the people below. Above him soared Ptesan-Wi in stately beauty, and the association many made could be forgiven, considering the circumstances.

The word went out across the city, ripples that grew in speed the further they travelled. "Procyon is back." "Procyon is in Chicago." Contradicting reports also surfaced from keener eyed observers. "Not Procyon. Some other nova." "But with Ptesan-Wi!" The wrangling spread from forum to forum as posters pointed to some camera footage that was already going up to illustrate conflicting points of view.

By the time the two made it to the headquarters of the Windy City Knights, any chance of a low profile had been blown for Phaethon's first foray into human civilisation.

[Dawn OOC]

The gleaming structure of silver and glass was much as Ptesan-Wi remembered it. The tall building brought back so many memories, good and bad, and so many of them were tied to Wakinyan. It made her a little sad as the echoes of days gone by sounded in her mind.

But that was short-lived. The receptionist was new and the interior had been redone. Gone where the blues and yellows, which had been replaced with warmer colors. It had lost some of its distinctiveness, but it had gained warmth. The pretty receptionist smiled warmly at them and asked, "What can I do for you folks?"

[Ptesan-Wi]

Ptesan-Wi gave a warm smile as she stepped forward, the disk once more slung from her back. The colours may have changed, but the Windy City Knights were still friendly.

"I am Ptehehincalasanwin, though I was known here as Thoughtwave. Many years ago, your people helped my mate, the Wakinyan. And some helped me as well.

"I would like to speak with them once more. Please let Alchemist, Samhra and Sandcaster know that I am here, as is my friend Phaethon, son of Procyon."

[Dawn OOC]

The receptionist blinked at the names, her gaze becoming unsure. "I'm not sure who those people are," she said. "Just a moment...." She tapped at her computer for a moment, then smiled and said, "Oh, that explains it. They're former members. Would you like to talk to Tremor or Julii?"

[Courtney Adams]

He stopped just inside and glanced around the lobby area, curiousity evident in his shining gaze. So this was where the people his father had regarded so fondly lived. Lost in reverie for a moment, he realised Ptesan-Wi had stepped up to talk to the receptionist and hastened to follow. Arriving on the tail end of the conversation, he caught the gist readily enough and stayed quietly to one side as his companion did the talking, his sole contribution a radiant smile of greeting to the pretty girl behind the desk.

[Ptesan-Wi]

It's been almost a decade. What did you expect?

While she had been tending to the needs of her People, the world had moved on. A Nova-paced world, with change coming fast and hard and unwilling to wait for a reclusing Wakanwinyan to try to trust outsiders once more.

Warm smile faded into sadness. Whatever had happened, her old friends had not just moved on; they had been forgotten.

"In that case," she finally managed, "I would like to speak with whichever of those two - Tremor or Julii - has been here the longest." And maybe one will still remember the world that was.

[Dawn OOC]

After a short wait, the elevator doors opened and a woman stepped out. She was tall, graceful and very lovely. There was something indisputably elegant about her. Her hair was done in curls that were remiscent of a Grecian bust, while her clothing hinted at that. But her personal presence was the most striking thing about her - she caught the eye and held it.

"I am Julii," she said, extending a hand to each of them. "I am second in command and the media representative for the Windy City Knights. How may I help you?"

[Ptesan-Wi]

"I am Ptehehincalasanwin," the Lakota goddess began, offering the raised hand of Sioux tradition, "and I had come looking for old friends. Can you tell me what has become of Alchemist, who was once the mind of the Knights? Or of gentle Samhra? Or the wisdom of Sandcaster? I know the years have been long, but where are those who were the Knights when I was called Thoughtwave?"

[Courtney Adams]

As Ptesan-Wi explained to the impressive woman the reason for their visit, the Sun King's heir stepped forward to clasp hands, a ready smile gracing his lips. As the Lakota goddess fell silent, Phaethon added his own addendum.

"And I am Phaethon. A pleasure to meet you, Julii."

[Dawn OOC]

Julii gave Phaethon as slightly warmer smile than Ptesan-Wi, but it wasn't overly improper. "It is good to meet you," she told the handsome young sun-godling before turning to the less-pleasant business Ptesan-Wi had brought before her.

"They are no longer with the Knights," Julii said. "Samhra retains her retreat on her island, last I heard, and Sandcaster was killed in action in Idaho in 2022. Crushed," her voice went cold, "by a Terat who tried to force her to recant her beliefs. Alchemist went Terat a while ago." She spread her hands gracefully. "So you see, much has changed."

[Ptesan-Wi]

Ptesan-Wi was shocked and saddened by the revelations of Sandcaster's end. "I had heard that the more violent factions were gaining the upper hand, but..." She choked up for a moment before composing herself once more.

"I adhere to the philosophies and hopes of Teras," she said in a quiet voice, "but not the hatred and violence that so many have twisted it into. I am one of the early followers of the Third Way."

[Courtney Adams]

Phaethon's radiant expression dimmed as he heard the sobering news. He had heard of these people... and Sandcaster had been killed by a Terat for refusing to believe what he wanted? He placed a comforting hand on Ptesan-Wi's shoulder.

He gave Julii a tentative smile. "I have heard a lot of good about the Windy City Knights: that they are brave novas who stand for something noble. I am sorry our coming here has brought up saddening history." He looked around the lobby for a moment, then back at the woman in front of him. "Are any of the old Knights around? What about Sean McCline? Is he here?"

[Dawn OOC]

"Mr. McCline left a long time ago to pursue personal interests," Julii said. Her manner had become colder and more formal still, and the two of them could feel it, a little. Her displeasure had weight. "All of the Knights Ptesan-Wi would remember have left."

[Courtney Adams]

"I'm sorry." And he was. "We had not come here to stir up pain or cause ill-feeling." He bowed his head to the imposing woman in graceful apology. "Thank you for helping us, Julii."

He slid an arm around Ptesan-Wi's shoulders. "We will take our leave now. Good fortune to you and your house." He said formally, but with a small smile playing around his lips. No matter how sobering the news or stern the demeanour he was confronted with, the young man was plainly an innocent at heart. Not to mention having a cute smile. The woman behind the reception desk sighed heavily as she contemplated that profile under the tousled, wind-blown, but still gorgeous red-gold hair.

The two walked out of the Knight's building into the grey December sunshine shortly afterward.

"So..." Phaethon asked Ptesan-Wi, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze. "Where to next?"

[Ptesan-Wi]

The earlier exhuberance was gone, the excitement replaced by disappointment. Truth be told, it was hard to say what weighed on Ptesan-Wi more. The news of Sandcaster's death had come like a hammer-blow to the chest; that it had happened at the hands of one of the murderous fanatics who had co-opted the name of Teras - if perhaps little of its ideas - was a similar blow to her stomach.

The Lakota goddess shook her head sadly, and her recent efforts at genuine speech reverted to the comfort and safety of the mind. *To home,* she sent. *To Inyan Kara. There is nothing for me here. And if Julii speaks with truth - and I could hear the truth in her words - I will have to fly farther than I am prepared to find some small part of what I sought.*

With a wan smile, she looked up to Phaethon's glowing face. *So much like your father,* she thought/sent/pondered. *Always looking for the good in others, always looking for the world to be as bright as your aura.* She sighed, and looked off to the west, seeming to see past the metropolis around her to someplace far, far away. *Maybe you can find a part of that. Maybe even in California, where your friend makes her home.* The smile fell. *But I will return to my people. I had forgotten the outside world, and it seems that after all this time, it has forgotten me.*

[Courtney Adams]

December 4th, 2025

He had flown back to Inyan Kara with Ptesan-Wi, sharing in her grief as much as his young heart was able to. Having just come out of isolation himself, he found it hard to understand how anyone could choose it over living out there. But he felt her pain readily enough, and did not trouble her with attempts to shift her perspective. He accompanied her home and stayed the night, unwilling to abandon her callously.

With a shared kiss on the cheek with his somber friend, the sun godling had left Inyan Kara again the following morning, golden flames wreathing his body as he soared up higher and higher into the dawn sky. He left the atmosphere with the ease of one used to such acts before their tenth year of life and gazed down at the North American continent as the world turned slowly beneath him. He spotted the slender finger of land that was his objective and dove, angling towards California.

He increased speed as he dove, laughing with exuberance into the thin upper atmosphere as he plummeted earthwards as a streak of golden fire. Remembering a caution his father had instilled in him, Phaethon slowed his descent when he reached 10,000 feet and levelled out his dive some more, still streaking at close to 3 times the speed of sound. The land passed below him at a blur, and he saw night time deserts still sleeping below his glowing form now, he was outracing the sun. He performed a lazy corkscrew in the air, leaving a trail of his radiance behind in that pattern for an instant as he shot over a large town, then another. He was over California now, and he knew Los Angeles was along the western coast. That made things easier. He slowed his pace to sub-sonic speeds and dropped lower still, cruising at about 1000 ft.

He was in L.A. before breakfast time.

As he cruised over the city he marveled at it's size. Los Angeles sprawled beneath him for miles and miles. In fact, as he soared above the city's pre-dawn streets, it occurred to Phaethon that he didn't actually know where Infinity lived! He could hardly go down and just ask someone at random. There must be millions of people down there! He pondered that for a long moment, wondering what to do, his fiery aura flickering and dancing around his mostly-naked body. Finally he smiled radiantly enough to illuminate a large room and looked up at the dark sky. It was a perfect background for what he had in mind.

Roughly five minutes later, the astonished citizens of Los Angeles abroad at that hour were almost to a man looking up at the pre-dawn sky. Phones rang, local air traffic control ascertained that there was no risk to flights into LAX (there wasn't, as it happened. Phaethon was monitoring the planes flight paths), and a lot of people started to grin at the spectacle that now flickered and danced 5000 ft above the city. In images and letters measured in hundreds of feet, etched against the sky in golden flame that sparkled and shimmered, there was a breathtaking image of an exotic flower of a kind never seen on Earth, under which were the words:

Infinity. It's Phaethon. Where are you?

The origin of the sky-writing was obvious. Orbiting the words lazily in looping patterns was a blob of light trailing golden fire behind itself.

[z-Infinity]

After a moment, a form appeared on the top of a skyscraper near the glowing letters. Phaethon could see that it wasn't Infinity, but it was waving to him. A young man, perhaps his age, was waiting on the roof. He was vaguely familiar, with dark hair and eyes. He clearly wanted to speak with Phaethon.

[Courtney Adams]

Letting the sky-writing fall apart, dissipating into the dawn as a silent shower of gold, Phaethon arrowed down towards the solitary figure atop the skyscraper. As he drew nearer, the features of the young man became more apparent. But for the gender difference and a luminous beauty about him, the waiting nova was very reminiscent of Infinity. A family member the young Terat thought with a smile.

He brought himself to a stop at the edge of the building in front of the young man, hovering easily, a charming, friendly smile of greeting on his lips.

"Hi. Did Infinity send you?" his sea-green eyes sparkled with excitement and curiousity. He offered the other his hand. "I'm Phaethon. I'm kind of a friend of hers, I think. Well, she invited me here." Though his voice was enthusiastic, his face animated and open, the godling nevertheless didn't seem brainless or slow-witted. On the contrary, his eyes were clear and penetrating, dancing with unquenchable intelligence.

((OOC: Using First Impression - it tends to be reflexive with Phae unless he meets someone he really doesn't care for.))

[z-Infinity]

The young man nodded, smiling a little. "She is here, though in hiding," he said. "I am her brother, Potential. I must assess that you're no threat to her."

He was thin, but that seemed to be normal for him; he was young enough that he didn't have a lot of mass yet. But he might grow into that. "Please tell me where you met my sister, and where she told you she is from."

[Courtney Adams]

"In hiding?" a frown marred the happy-go-lucky expression. "Is she alright? In trouble?" Then Phaethon noticed the look of patient expectation in Potential's eye, and nodded. "Of course. Well, we met at a party on the beach in... the Bahamas, I think. I'm not sure because I'd never been there before. It was Elpeth's party. She introduced herself to me, we talked and... uh..." he blushed dark under his golden tan, and quickly changed the subject. "She said she was from everywhere. Raised moving around a lot."

[z-Infinity]

"Very well," Potential said, holding out his hand. "Please allow me to attempt to attune you so that I can take you to Infinity." He smiled a little. "Despite her dismay at how you decided to page her, she is most eager to see you."

Phaethon took the boy's hand without hesitation and felt the tell-tale tingle of a quantum signature. Then they were somewhere else, a nicely appointed apartment somewhere high in the sky. Infinity was sitting on a couch; she hopped up when she saw him. "Phaethon," she said, a slow smile spreading over her face. She was paler, as if she hadn't been outside much lately. She walked forward and offered him a hug.

Behind them, Potential quietly left the room, smiling at his sister's joy.

[Courtney Adams]

He returned Infinity's smile as he willingly hugged her. "How've you been? Potential said you were in hiding." He drew back, his arms still around her as he looked down, concern etched in every golden sparkle of his green eyes. "I'm sorry it took me so long to come and visit you. And I'm sorry you didn't like my message." A faint shy smile crept onto his angelic face. "It seemed like the best way to find you."

[z-Infinity]

"It'd be a great way to find me if I didn't have some Triad asshole gunning for me because I was helping the wrong people without knowing they were the wrong fuckin' people and because my mother killed his father once a long time ago," Infinity said. His hug was good, so good, warm with strong muscles flexing underneath his beautiful skin. When he pulled back, she kept the lightest of touches between their bodies, enjoying the contact. And he was still working that loincloth like there was no tomorrow.

"I figured that Ptesan-Wi would keep you in hiding for a bit longer," Infinity said, quirking an eyebrow at him. "Where is the Spirit Mother, anyway? Or did she let you go out alone?"

[Courtney Adams]

"Well, we talked a lot, and I saw how she lived amongst her people on the reservation. But then we started to travel together and went to Chicago. That was eye-opening. Inyan Kara for me was another Pangaea, a retreat away from the world. It's Ptesan-Wi's home, but it's not right for me." He smiled wider. "It was so interesting, going to Chicago and seeing humans there. They seemed to like me." He laughed and told her about the school bus. "They didn't seem at all hostile or suspicious like I've heard." He guided them both over to a couch and sat, one arm still around her waist as he relaxed.

"As for Ptesan-Wi... She found out that a lot of her old friends had disappeared, and that one was even dead. She was sad and went back to Inyan Kara. I saw her safely home, then came here." He smiled gently at Infinity, his eyes shimmering, his presence reassuring as he continued. "So, this Triad asshole. Does he have a name? And what are we going to do about him?"