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Book's is one of the places Nevy can regularly be found - thus is the plight of the working medium. Today, they're once again behind the purchase desk, but their attention is glued to an old-looking leatherbound book so tightly they may as well have washed their hands with superglue. They hardly even notice when the door opens.
Kay comes in, wearing a pair of black slack, little black shoes and what looks suspiciously like one of Jay's shirt, unbuttoned and a white tanktop underneath. Their shoulders a little more square and their chest rather different than usual. The rest of their features remains unchanged. "Hey there, Nevy. What's up?" there's an almot giddy smile on Kay now.
They look irritated when they look up - an expression that dissolves when they see Kay. "Oh - hey! Looks like you're making some changes?" They close the book - though they keep a finger tucked inside as a bookmark.
"Yeah, I've been considering it for a while in my head. I was inspired by a few people to step into it." they point to their head, leaning against the counter and looking a little worried about Nevy for a moment. "Are you doing okay? Is this a bad time?"
"Congratulations! Should I switch out the pronouns I use for you?" They swing around the table to offer a hug and say, "I'm doing great! Just... you know. A book has wrapped its dread tendrils around my soul."
Kay gives Nevermore a rather strong hug, a little stronger than usual, but not by much. "Right now, it's a They and them situation. Another day might be she and her." a beat, accompanied by a carefree shrug. "I like the term genderfluid for it." They finally release the hug.
Nevy's grin broadens even further. "Welcome to the club!!!" They actually go in for a second hug. "I'm sure you've been doing research for yourself, but if you want, I've still got the links for some resources I can share about it, if you want."
They chuckle. "If only links to the best Etsy sites to get shirts about how Gender is a sometimes food, and stuff like that."
Kay accept the second hug and giggles a little bit too, but when this one is released, they quickly wipe at their eyes. "Thank you, I did do some research, but more information about it is always welcome." a beat. "Do you have any tissues? Getting into the club's kind of emotional." a little watery laugh. "Yeah that would be also good."
Nevy reaches into their purse and pulls out some tissues, handing them over. "Here. I'll email you a couple links later tonight." They think for a moment, then carefully unpin their she/they selectable pin. "Here - if you think it'll be helpful."
Kay blows their nose, wipes their scant few tears away and dispose of the tissue swiftly. "That's..." a pause. "Very kind of you, Nevy." a deeper breath. "Thank you, thank you so much." they toy with the indicator and set it to they and affix it to the lapel of the shirt they're wearing.
Nevy grins. "It's a good look for you! Call me anytime if you need something. You have my phone number, right?"
"I do!" Kay nods "What books did claim your soul?" they refer to the earlier part of the conversation, likely in an attempt to avoid finding further reason to cry in public.
Nevy chuckles. "It's a diary - from the 19th century, I think. The author was a medium, like me!"
"Interesting, how did you find said book?" Kay tilt their head to the side. "Did the author give it to you?" it's only minimally a joke, Kay knows its a very real possibility. "Oh and I prefer 'Kay' for a name when I'm in this er... gender mode? State?" a shrug.
Nevy nods. "All right!" They shake their head and chuckle. "No, it was in a box in back - one of the things we use for book donations, but the thing was dusty. I have no clue how long it was back there."
"Does it reveal anything interesting? About the author or the art of being a medium?" Kay asks. "Or scandalous stories about people's past?"
"SO MUCH," Nevy gushes. "The author was... so smart. They were curious, too, and they wrote down all the stuff they found. I swear, I've been learning almost as much just from reading this damn book as I learned in all my years as a medium before it. And..." They giggle. "The author? Was dating a ghost. Emma."
"That's a bit weird, but I could see it happening. Were they married when Emma was alive?" Kay asks, obviously enthused at the topic. Their eyes wide and clear with curiosity. "What did you learn from it specifically?"
Nevy shakes their head. "They met in Emma's graveyard when the author was going in to read some poetry." They shake their head. "Too much to list! There's stuff about ghostly powers, substances and circumstances that can protect people from them, theoretical notes about the nature of ghosts, ectoplasm, and the immaterial..." They shake their head again. "I'm telling you. This was a genius. And I'm not even done with it yet! It sounds like the author was trying to figure out ways to make Emma material at will - or to let them touch her while she was immaterial."
"Got to love having priorities." Kay nods. "Some ghost have that powers, you remember Lala? She can do that." a smile. "And yes, I did ask Lala for her pronouns. That was a very weird conversation." Kay smiles and shrug. "Let me know if the book speaks of the Underworld."
Nevy nods. "You were going to go visit there, weren't you? You never mentioned, did you want a hand with that?"
"And we did, actually go there, took quite a while. And it might be one of the reason I've been so receptive of ...well.." a look down on their body. "Changes. Also, the place is not like I imagined it. If I do another trip, I'll see if I can take you." she smiles
Nevy's expression is torn between disappointment and curiosity. "You already went?! And you let me babble on about this book? What was it like?! What happened?! SPILL!"
While the pair talk, the door chimes once as it opens, admitting a rather tall brown woman, dressed in a purple tanktop and pair of jeans. "Hey, Nevermore. Sibling. How've you two been?" She moves to drop a kiss on Kay's cheek, then.
"Hello!" Kay says, leaning to the cheek kiss and bumping their shoulder with Kotahi. "Been doing pretty good." and then gives a glance toward Nevermore. "We messed up in the first city by accidentally breaking one of their laws, got expelled from that portion." they enumerate. "Dodged a sheriff-run town and asked a raft-driving ghost to sing us something while it sailed us to our destination." another finger up. "And then went to see the tree and..." Kay shakes their head. "Well, that part is something I'd prefer somewhere private. It was a bit of a huge shock for me and the others too, I assume."
Nevy waves to Ripeka. "Hey! I've been great, except that Kay has been holding out on me. Such terrible abandonment, the Trust is gone..."
Oh, Nevermore. One of these days you'll find the lost dial so you can turn the dramaknob down below an 8.
"Yeah? About what?" Rīpeka asks, sounding curious as she glances at Nevermore. Then turns her attention back to Kay. "It was extremely impressive, yes," she agrees with the Moros.
"They also were very kind to me earlier about my little thing." Kay points to the she/they selectable pronoun pin on their lapel, which is obviously from Nevermore themself. "Yep, she was with us too." she grins.
"And please, this is probably the first time I stumble on you since being back, Nevermore. I was not trying to hide the trip from you." they play along with the drama a bit.
"About that!" Nevy says, thumbing to Kay while they answer Ripeka. "I could've come too! I don't need much luggage. Come on, a visit to the Underworld?!" They hiss the last word in hopes of avoiding people-could-overhear-us glares. "I'd sell my left kidney!"
Rīpeka's people-could-overhear-us glare is on the mild side, both because of the hiss and the fact she's not actually a Guardian. "We'll let you know next time, then," she mollifies the medium.
"Yeah I think we could use a little bit of privacy if we're getting into details like those." Kay says easily. "And yeah, with the first trip under my belt, a second visit is going to be much safer and simpler, at least, hopefully."
Nevy sighs, and nods. "All right - although, for the record, the owner left for the day when I got in, and you two are the only customers I've seen all evening."
"Better safe than sorry, though," Rīpeka points out. "I don't suppose you have a back room or anything we can talk in?"
"I think there's very specifically that." Kay says, looking vaguely toward the back where they met with Nevermore a bit before. A gentle smile on their lips.
Nevy looks thoughtful, then glances at the clock. "I could close up for my break." They do just that, putting up a "back in a bit" sign. "C'mon."
They lead the way through the confusing maze of bookshelves into a back room whose bare, chicken-wire-covered walls have been painted with a simple design of repeating roses. The table has a short black tablecloth on it. Nevy clicks on the radio on the wall shelf, then gestures inside. "Here we go. Nevy's not-a-cia-black-box-site privacy room."
Rīpeka chuckles at that. "If you were the CIA you'd find it rather hard to hold on to either of us if we didn't want you to, honestly." She moves to lean against the wall facing the door, then.
"Well, I'd be a little worried, at least. As to, when that happened." Kay explains with a little chuckle and a shrug. They sit at the nearest available seat, or lean against the wall. "Alright, where were we?"
Nevy rolls their eyes. "I'd be a horrible spook. They're supposed to be nondescript. I'm extremely descript." They chuckle. "The underworld. Or you two were, at least." They blep.
Rīpeka shrugs one shoulder. "We were there to do stuff, Nevermore, not just have fun." Beat. "Though getting to see that version of the Tree up close was pretty cool."
"The tree basically is bigger than like, a whole neighborhood in terms of circumference and I don't think it'd fit into the atmosphere if it grew that size here." Kay explains. "But to me, it's the meaning behind the size and scope of it that really touched me really deep."
Nevy looks thoughtful. "This is... the magic tree the Consilium and Assembly are dealing with? Kind of a World Tree situation, right?" They tap a finger on the table. "Is it tied to the connections the tree had with the others? If they took their connections with them when they died, I could see that kind of thing growing alongside them. There's way more dead than there are living, and the ratio's only growing every day."
"Plausible enough," Rīpeka nods. "The village we approached when we got there definitely knew that Kay and I were Children, which is evidence for that theory, too."
"But the tree was created by the Martyr." Kay says, leaning forward. "She created the tree in the Astral, in the real world, in the Mist, in the Shadow and possibly other places that I don't know about." they looks to both the others. "And she made sure the tree in the underworld could handle and provide for the ghost of her people, who couldn't possibly move on after everything was erased. The tree is a result of Imperial level magic, I've seen that. It's big on purpose, it's meant to shelter the ancestors and the dead of the children who can't move on."
Nevy nods slowly, smiling. "That's... really beautiful."
"There's a reason we call her the Martyr, though, Nevermore," Rīpeka says, voice quiet. "We might be trying to emulate her cultural practices, but that doesn't bring them back."
"I learned a lot, I even spoke to ..." A beat. "You know how I explained to you how I made Lala?" Kay turns to Nevermore. "An echo of me, but at the same time not entirely identical to me. Well, the Martyr did something similar in the Underworld and we spoke to the embodiment of the Underworld tree. We stayed behind to try and understand more of it." a deep breath.
Nevy frowns thoughtfully. "Another... manufactured ghost?"
"But with reflections in other planes, too, which I'm not sure an ordinary ghost would have."
"Yeah it's similar in that the practice is vaguely relatable, but the scope is just not something we could work, even gathered together. I don't know if we ever could ... make even one of the emanations." Kay explains and roll their shoulders. "It's frighteningly bigger than we are in every sense of the term."
Nevy nods. "It sounds... Scary. Imposing. But beautiful."
"All of the above, and more," Rīpeka nods. "I could turn into any number of animals, if I wanted, but pulling off something like that is as far beyond me as the powers we have are beyond my teenaged self."
"I did have a conversation with the Underworld emanation of the tree and she asked me to give hugs and love to the other emanations and to others. So I went to speak with Balm and hugged all of the sprogs." a little grin.
Nevy grins. "Hugs will be the salvation of humanity, I suspect." They consider Ripeka's words and chuckle. "Am I mean if I say I think the humbling is good for you guys?"
Rīpeka rolls her eyes, but chuckles as well. "Trust me, I'm well aware of how arrogant we can become, if we're not careful. There's a reason I never joined any of the Diamond orders, no matter how hard they tried to recruit me."
"And I'm the one who took the yelling for the ghost in the fridge saga, I think maybe humility isn't the thing I'm the most in need of right now." Kay says with an amused smile. "I think it's food, actually."
Nevy chuckles. "I can offer coffee? Or we can order something in, if you want takeout."
"Porque no los dos?" Rīpeka offers, grinning slightly.
She chuckle "I think maybe some thai? Would that work for everyone?"
Nevy grins. "I'm never gonna argue with some good Thai."
"Works for me, yeah," Rīpeka nods, pulling out her phone to place the order. "What do you two want?"
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