Winter Resort (Group 2)

((Fair enough. I'm not going to argue with you anything :\))

Ciel followed with Ethtril in his arms. Suzume was rather quick, but Ciel was able to keep up with a bit of wind helping him. He hoped it wouldn't hit Ethril too hard since she was so averse to the cold. A chilly breeze probably wasn't something she needed. He was sure she'd be delighted once they were inside of a closed building.

(( we're all friends here ))

Ethril turned slightly so that her face was against Ciel's chest instead of getting hit by the cold air. Maybe if she spent more time in the cold weather she would get used to it faster, but for now she really wanted to be inside. It wasn't her fault that she'd grown up in a very hot desert with little to no snow.

They soon arrived inside, and Suzume went through the door straight opposite the entrance. The room within only had a single bed, upon which a girl who looked about six sat, looking at a closed book. She looked up as Suzume came in the room an smiled broadly.

'SUZUME!' she chimed happily as he walked over and picked her up, positioning her on his hip like one would a young toddler. She looked over at Ciel and Ehtril and blinked a few times, before nodding, 'Ciel Breidonson and Ethril the dragon, correct? Pleased to meet you! I'd shake your hand, but... I'm... What's the word, Suzume?'

'Paraplegic,' Suzume replied, his tone laced with sorrow.

Once they were inside Ethril felt Ciel gently set her down. Ethril brushed off her skirt and shook out her cloak. They followed Suzume into the room and Ethril tilted her head in surprise. "Yes I'm Ethril." she smiled warmly at the small girl. She wondered though what the world paraplegic meant. That was not a word Fascino had taught her. She could guess though that it meant something was wrong with the girl.

"What's your name?" Ethril asked as she took a few steps forward and knelt down so that she was eye to eye with the little girl.

Ciel was a bit confused. Last he checked, his people had a guard against mind-reading. There was no way she'd be able to decipher the garbled junk in his brain. Not unless she had some other psychic ability.

"Oui, that's my name, dear." He reached out to shake her tiny hand. "And you are?"

((Ethril, she's on Suzume's hip, so you'd be eye-level with her ^w^))

The girl shook her head, 'Can't shake, can't shake, sorry. They used to call me Knowledge but now they call me The Operative. I don't have a true name as such, but Suzume likes to call me Oppy.'

((Is she like.. a full quadriplegic? Can't use arms or legs?))

"Oppy it is then!" Ciel retracted his hand and smiled. He'd have liked to pat her head, but he didn't know her well enough. That would be quite rude. "So, if you don't like the cold, why are the two of you out here?"

(( I'm never good with imagining heights....))

Ethril tilted her head in confusion. Who would call a little girl 'Knowledge'? The word for knowledge in her own language was Oleerim. "Well it is nice to meet you Oppy." Ethril removed her cloak and slipped it into her enchanted bag. Now that she was inside she felt plenty warm. She looked around the room not knowing what to talk about. She knew how to watch and take care of children, not how to talk to them. She could tell stories, but Ethril wasn't sure what was acceptable in this world when meeting young children for the first time. Sistra would know what to do!.

((She can't move anything besides her head. So yeah, she is quadreplegic, but she still has arms and legs, just can't use them))

'Resorts are fun!' Oppy chimed, nodding, 'But in the winter, there's nothing to do bar stay inside, which isn't fun at all, but these places have indoor parts to them too and it's great fun to watch people having fun!'

'Oppy likes to see people excited and happy,' Suzume explained, 'She can go on some of the rides with me, and we watch the kids going on the ones she can't, and she can envision it and feel it as if it were real.'

Ethril smiled sadly at that. What would life be like if she could only move her head? Her wings pressed tighter against her back and she stopped wondering. She'd never be able to live if she couldn't fly. "Is...is there any way to heal you?" Ethril asked slowly. She didn't know much about what was wrong with the little girl, but she knew some healing magic. It was part of her light magic.

She could send a message back to Sistra to ask about any magic that could heal the girl, or she could even go to Fascino to see if he knew anything. Ethril always hated to see people in pain or unhappy, and if she could bring happiness to this little girl then there would be just a little more light in the world.

Oppy shook her head.

'They made me this way,' she commented, 'Suzume broke me out, but we don't think there's anything we can do to fix what they did.'

Ciel smiled, but he felt awful inside. Even if she could imagine, he still felt bad that she couldn't truly experience the things she watched others enjoy so fully. He wasn't so sure about Ethril's question, so he didn't press it.

"It's a good thing you still have fun then! Now, dear, if you don't mind my asking, how exactly did you know our names?" He thought that maybe he could guess, what with her saying she was called Knowledge and Operative, but he figured he should still ask. You should never make assumptions about people.

Ethril sat down on the floor while she thought about what she did know. She knew that movement was connected to brain functions; magic could affect the physical world but only if it could happen naturally. Magic could not perform miracles. If Oppy had once had the ability to use her arms and legs then maybe it was possible to give her that ability again. She would definitely need to consult Fascino and Sistra about this. Her knowledge was lacking.

Ethril looked up at Ciel when he asked his question. How did Oppy know their names? She hadn't thought much about it before.

Kitty had been watching Ciel and Ethril talk to the strangers. Her fluffy scarf was loosely hung around her neck, and her white coat fell down to her knees. Faux fur earmuff muffled their voices, but she could make out some thing about an 'oppy'. She leaned back against the log house, she assumed it was the gift shop, and stared as her breath seethed into the crisp air.

'I heard you,' Oppy replied, 'I heard you coming, I heard you get stuck, I heard you say your names. But then my book closed and I couldn't hear any more.'

"Oh wow.." Ciel crossed his arms in amazement. "That's quite a talent you've got there, Oppy!" He turned back to Suzume then. "A book lets her do all of that?" He didn't want the darker man to feel left out.

Ethril tilted her head at that. Was her book magic then, to let her hear all that? "That must be a really interesting book." Ethril said kindly and with a warm smile. She was still trying to think of a way to heal the girl, but for now she'd set that idea aside until she could speak with Fascino.

'More that she lets the book tell her what's going on in a location she chooses,' Suzume replied, 'We had to imbue the book with her power manually due to what they did to her, but still.'

"So Oppy wasn't always like this?" Ethril asked hopefully. Returning something to a person was easily done if you knew the right magic. Then again if there were complications then perhaps it still wouldn't be possible.

Ethril's tail twitched in irritation. How could someone do this to a child? It was barbaric and horrifying! A child was a precious gift to the world and should never be harmed. Maybe it was different for humans, but for dragons a child was to be protected and loved.

Ciel watched as he saw Ethril's tail start flicking. She was obviously very irritated. He decided to just keep his mouth shut for a moment and dig out his earmuffs for later.

Suzume shook his head, before looking down at the ground sadly.

'No, Suzume, don't go like this! They forced you! They hypnotised you! I heard them! The big screen hypnotised you and they forced you to do it! Don't get sad!' Oppy cried

"I'm sorry for bringing it up if it distress's you this much." Ethril said hurriedly. Obviously this was a touchy subject and she didn't want to upset anyone. Whatever had happened to Suzume and Oppy it must have been horrible. What had Suzume been forced to do, was he the one who hurt Oppy against his will?

Ethril set aside her questions and reached into her bag for the wool cloak. "Here, if you want to go outside you can use my extra cloak until you get your things." Ethril said with a smile.

'No no, it's okay,' Suzume replied, 'There's so much we keep to ourselves, but sometimes things show through.'

'All he's ever wanted is to be able to tell his tale and be understood,' Oppy commented, 'So he sometimes gets stressed when he has to keep a secret.'

Ethril nodded in understanding. She knew how it felt to keep her story bottled up inside for a long time. If it hasn't been for Ciel, she'd still be bottled up and hiding. "I know we just met, but if you want to talk then I'm willing to listen." Ethril looked up at Ciel to see if he was ok with listening too.

He'd finally managed to locate his muffs and happily placed them around his neck for later. He'd only been half listening, but he tried even harder to ignore the conversation when he heard Oppy get so stressed out. He didn't really know what Ethril was looking at him the way she was.

He just decided to nod since he'd seen her do it. Whatever it was, he was sure he wouldn't mind. He agreed with just about everything Ethril did, minus her view on cold weather of course.