Chapter Five #2
When Myro called a halt to the photos, the characters lined up as the photographers had arrived.
Images of gaming characters were taken, all the ladies and then all the guys and then the mixed grouping, and both genders for each character.
The other chaos mage was an alpha, so it was always funny when she stood next to Harcourt.
Win raised her head from her camera. “Can you float or hover or something?”
Mik looked up. “Harcourt? Manoeuvre twenty-two?”
He grinned and held his hand out. She sat on it, crossed her legs, and surrounded herself with energy. There was a hum in the air, and she put her hands on her knees and looked at the camera.
Win snapped away. “What are you thinking?”
“Choose your fighter.”
Win chuckled. “Can you stand up?”
Harcourt reached to help her, and she straightened while on his hand, went up on the toe of her boot, and stood in a meditative pose with one leg bent.
There was a tremendous cheer from the watchers, and Myro sighed. “We need to get to a panel on equal treatment in the games.”
Harcourt lifted her to get some momentum, and she bounced lightly to the floor, landing on her tiptoes.
Enthusiastic applause greeted her, and the characters lined up and followed Myro to the panel room.
The next few hours involved them going from panel to panel on equality in representation, useful costuming, and practical makeup for the on-the-go gamer.
Nyssa had panels set up the following day regarding programming and character design, but tonight was about why people liked the unrealistic dimensions of people who lived on the screen and fought tiny wars. Mik just went where she directed because that was what she had agreed to.
* * * *
Arwell and Dorn were walking through the convention, looking at the different gaming booths. Ryo and Morven were running escort, and tonight, they were all wearing their other faces.
A beta in a costume looked and waved. “Hey, Arwell.”
“Mik? I know I suggested it, but geez!”
A red djinn was standing with her. Mik made introductions. “Arwell, this is Nyssa and her ward, Dina. Dina, this is Arwell. She owns the company that owns the servers, which let the programs run uninterrupted.”
A child in red clothing from the game came forward. “Hello, ma’am.” She stood next to Nyssa and leaned against her.
Dorn stared. “Dina?”
She tensed and nodded. “Yes. Hey, Dorn.”
“Are you ready for the test on Monday?”
Dina bobbed her head, shutting down.
Dorn fidgeted as a bunch of adults watched, and then he smiled. “There they are! Arwell, can I go with the twins and Tamara?”
Arwell looked at Dina, but she was pressed to her guardian. “Sure. Just let me talk to Iris first. Please excuse me.”
Arwell went to where Iris was standing with her trio and a bunch of kids: a set of twins and what seemed to be a female alpha tween.
“Hey, Iris. Dorn wants to hang with your group. Are you ready for one more?”
Iris sighed. “They are self-propelling at this stage. Sure. Hey, is that Dina?”
Tamara’s head whipped around. “Where?”
Dorn frowned. “She’s just a nerd, Tam. Why do you pay attention to her?”
Tamara looked at him. “Because she needs it. Because despite the fact that she is super smart, she’s scared a lot of the time. She slows us down, but there is a lot of stuff going on that she can see that makes the world better. I am going to see if she wants to hang out.”
Iris said, “Tamara, wait until we clear that with Venka.”
Tamara fidgeted and waited while Iris sent a text.
Iris grinned. “Venka says gogogo.”
Tamara grinned. “I will see you later, guys.” She darted off.
Arwell looked to Dorn. “You good?”
“Yup. We may join Tamara later.”
“Be polite. Dina is shy. It is rough being an omega heading for puberty.” Arwell touched his cheek.
Dorn’s eyes got huge. “She’s an omega?”
“Not yet, but she will be.” Arwell smiled. “Have fun, and I will find you later.”
She watched Dorn join the twins with glances back toward where Dina and Tamara were talking quietly, as Nyssa and Mik were standing and talking.
“What the fuck?” Ymer was staring at the two women as well.
Arwell looked at him. “Problem?”
“Is that a woman in a red djinn costume?”
“Looks like it.”
“And is that a mage?”
“I don’t know. Is it?”
Oren and Brexel were staring. “That is a natural mage, not an elf or anything else.”
Brexel turned to Iris. “Can we speak with her?”
Iris looked at him and laughed. “Of course. Why wouldn’t you?”
Arwell smiled. “There are social formalities that we need to deal with now and then. Same with the earth-born djinn. We need to focus on keeping control of ourselves. I imagine Mik is constantly keeping herself together.”
Brexel blinked. “You know her?”
“Sure, she’s my therapist.”
She laughed at the shock that the three elves were displaying. Iris blinked. “She’s a therapist? Really? One of our guests still needs to work through a few things.”
Arwell smiled. “Ask if she will take on a new patient. She works with a lot of us and is really good at helping us deal with the duality, as well as power control. Right, if someone will keep an eye on the boys, we can go over, and I can introduce you.”
Iris snorted. “Slightly smaller gentlemen, we are going to go over there, and the guys are going to introduce themselves to the lady with the white-on-white eyes.”
Their little group moved to meet with the others, and Arwell watched Dorn’s face as he scowled at Dina. She knew that kind of repulsion, and it only existed in high school or in another situation.
The woman, Mik, smiled at them and looked between Dina and Dorn. “Ah, you have spotted it. Your people did try to bring them through together, but it doesn’t always work.”
Dorn frowned. “What?”
Dina looked at him. “We are siblings. Both taken from the other world.”
Nyssa stroked her hair, and Tamara moved toward her.
Dorn’s eyes widened. “What?”
Dina looked at him. “I am your sister. One year younger, but you were taken when you were two, and I was told about you when I was growing up. I only came here when I was six. They watched my kind more closely.”
Mik smiled. “Rhea got her out?”
Nyssa shook her head. “Ilia. I kept her as a ward because I didn’t know if we would find her sibling and if they wanted to be together.”
Dina pressed against her guardian and whispered, “I need to stay with you.”
Nyssa nodded. “Then you shall. Arwell, is he yours?”
Arwell nodded. “He is. Dorn is my ward for a similar reason. I never thought to look for a sibling.”
Dorn moved to her side. “Are you going to hand me over?”
“No, scooter. You are stuck with me, and if you want to stay, I will do the legal adoption.”
“Please. I want you to be my mom.”
“Then we will start that Monday morning.”
Nyssa looked down at Dina and winked. “Helen has our paperwork already.”
Arwell had to ask, “Who should I talk to?”
Nyssa asked, “He’s already a legal ward?”
“Yup.”
“No family listed.”
“You know that one.”
“Right. Then, it will be an extensive examination of his school, home, and health, and then the court will sign off on it. They just have to make sure that nothing has changed between your initial placement and now.” Nyssa closed her eyes and smiled.
“Contact Rhea. One of her mates is involved in family law.”
Arwell frowned. “You know her?”
“Nope, but I am in tune with those around me. My focus echoes like ripples in a pond. I see what can be and can act to change it.” Nyssa looked down. “I knew that we would find her family, but I didn’t know what form it would take. Dina is remarkably hard to find.”
Dina giggled.
Tamara looked stunned.
A female alpha walked up and snorted. “Don’t start, Tamara. You have plenty of time for that.”
The woman looked at Nyssa and then down at Dina. “Ah. I see. Hello, I am Venka. Tamara’s mother.”
Nyssa reached out her crimson hand, and Arwell laughed. “Yeah, Venka, that’s her actual skin tone, and those are the right ears.”
The alpha and djinn shook hands, and Nyssa smiled. “Whether they want to meet and speak to each other or not is up to the children. I have no objection to contact.”
Venka coughed into her hand when she got it back. “I offer my den’s home as a neutral meeting place. Lya will enjoy the company, and the guys will pelt you with questions.”
Tamara looked at Dina. “We have snakes. They aren’t loose, but if we ask, they will bring them out to play with.”
Dina smiled slightly. “I like snakes. They are smooth and bumpy at the same time.”
Tamara nodded and smiled. “Miss Nyssa, can we play one of the games?”
Nyssa sighed. “Wow. They just tear your heart out at any age. Right. Let’s go. To the Tiberia Games. At least I know they are safe.”
Venka walked with her. “How?”
“I work for them. I don’t usually go out dressed like this.”
Venka laughed, and then Arwell remembered. “Damn it. Venka’s a lawyer.”
Venka paused. “Yes?”
“How complicated is an adoption if you are already the legal guardian and the parents are not in the picture?”
Venka shrugged. “Not very. If you want to have coffee later, we can go over the paperwork.”
Nyssa chuckled and pulled an extra set out of a bag that suddenly appeared. She walked back and handed the paperwork to Arwell. “There you go. Get started.”
Arwell opened her mouth, and a pen appeared in her hand.
Iris spoke up. “Miss. The guys would like to speak with you.”
Mik looked at the three dark elves and grinned. “Yes?”
Ymer stared at her. “How are you... you?”
“Well, one night my parents got really close, and forty weeks later, I made my delightful appearance.”
“Who trained you?”
She shrugged. “Trial and error. Fortunately, it was mostly trial.”
Iris said, “You are a therapist?”
“Trauma counsellor. Yes.”
“I have some ladies living with me who are in need of therapy. They were in the school bus attack and are having problems with flashbacks.”
“Ah.” Mik flicked her fingers and handed her a business card. “Give me a call on Monday. I have an answering service for emergencies. They can always get a hold of me.”
“Thanks. There have been tense moments in the last few months. Finding someone who won’t freak out at the elfiness of them is important.”
Mik nodded. “Got it. I look all serious and studious when I am in a human seeming.”
“I think they will appreciate that.”
“Have them give me a call or call me yourself.”
“I will. Thanks. Can I ask...”
“Shoot.”
“What are you?”
“Oh, mage. Same as your fellas. They got formal training, and I get to wing it.” She waggled her eyebrows. “I practiced transformation on bugs. That was horrific until I learned how to craft a blade.”
Brexel spoke. “You can cast polymorph?”
“Sure. It was one of the first things I learned.” She looked at him.
Iris heard the shuddering breath from Brexel. He muttered, “Holy shit.”
The three mages were staring at Mik. Brexel looked around. “Can we go talk over coffee?”
“As long as you don’t mind little girls coming up to take pictures with me.”
Arwell watched them go, and she looked at Dorn. “Well, I suppose we should head over to the game testers. Maybe Nyssa can get us in or help us elbow our way to the front.” She glanced behind her at Ryo and Morven. “You can come along or go play with the boxing simulator.”
Ryo snorted. “We are coming along.”
“Right, well, tonight isn’t great for bonding with Dorn. You two are acting like a weird tail.”
Morven grinned. “We will try to do better.”
Arwell looked at him and shook her head, turning to follow the three boys, who were excited to be surrounded by all the images from all the games they played. The space was warm and noisy with the air conditioners and energy systems working overtime. Her alphas followed behind her.