As Nikki, Llew, and Eirian were about to make their comments and protestations, the man stumbled into the clearing. At first Holly was dredging up her usual explanation as to why she was talking to herself. Then she caught the look of shock on the man's features, and she stopped, the same ex
pression probably mirrored on her own face. Cautiously she steps toward him, using a trick she used with dominant canines at the shelter she volunteered in to appear submissive and harmless.

"You... You see them? You can actually see them?" She takes a deep breath, eyes wide, a trace of joy starting to shine through. "No, you aren't crazy. And if you really see them, then I'm not either." It takes her a moment to realize that this little scene might require an explanation, and a moment longer to think of how to explain something that until now she'd thought was her own mind making up friends for her.

"Now, I'm probably going to sound as crazy as you're feeling, but what you're seeing are... Faeries." Quickly she raises a hand, precaution against any outburst he might try to make. "My name is Nicole, and until you came in just now I thought that these beings you see around me and all their kind were hallucinations. But the two of us can't possibly be having the same hallucination at the same time, so neither of us are crazy." During this whole shpeal Eirian and Lleweloth watch, silent. At the end of it Llew rises, trying his best to imitate Nicole's posture, and failing miserably.

"She speaks the truth. I am called Lleweloth, and this is my cousin, Eirian." The courtier courtsies, grinning. "Indeed. Until now, none of us have met one besides our darling Nikki who had the True Sight. That it to say, the ability to see... Us. Come, sit with us. You must be terrible frightened and confused."

   Garrett looked down at the young woman in front of him, still in shock. Still, she seemed sane, so maybe he was too. Ah well, at least the hallucinations seemed friendly. The golden one was still giving him an appraising look but she smiled at him now and sauntered forward. "And I am Faile. Welcome to our little party." He stepped backwards. Of the three she seemed, somehow, considering warrior guy over to the side, to be the scariest. He sidestepped around Faile and made his way over to the others. Faile was put off for a moment, then smirked and joined the others.

   Garrett took a seat on a convienient rock and looked expactantly at the others. "Would someone please explain to me how I'm not crazy? They really don't like crazy guys in the millitary, so I kinda need to know."

Now calmed a little, Nicole shrugged. "Well, I think it's pretty crazy, now that I know it isn't, but logic wins in this one. Yes, I find it insane that I'm telling you that there's a whole world of mythical creatures that live alongside of but apart from humanity. Still, it's more sane than me having hallucinated them my entire life, and just coincidentally meeting someone who happens to have the exact same form of schizophrenic dementia. So, i'm going to go with the much more pleasing thought that neither of us are crazy. We're just either extremely lucky, or extremely unlucky. Either way... Welcome."

Eirian hovered around Garret while Nicole spoke, eyes wide with a pleasant kind of joy. Her mental gears began moving unbound, and something about her train of thought appeared to be making her cousin quite nervous. He listened closely to Nikki's mini speech, nodding all the while.

"Though I am usually not one for logic, I believe Nicole has the right of it, sir. You have managed to convince her of her sanity, something that my cousin and I have not managed in eighteen years. I mustg say, though, that the two of you are quite an oddity. So far, in all my untold years you are the only two I have met who had the Sight." At this Eirian slapped his shoulder, barely a tap to his reckoning. "Come now. There was that adorable little peasant girl back when we where visiting the Vicking colony that is now Normandy, remember? And that little Gaelic boy, back in the 15th century. She had the Sight." In typical, scatter-brained Eirian fashion, she turned back to Garret. "You wouldn't happen to be of Norman French or Gaelic descent, would you?"

 Nonplussed, Garrett stammered, "Uh... no... not that I know of. There's a Cherokee princess somewhere in my family, I think..." Faile stepped into the momentary pause in the conversation.

   "You said you were in the millitary? Lew, Eri! This man is a warrior of his people. Maybe that explains a few things. And certainly it is good that our little Nicole has someone she can speak about us with when we cannot be here. You never did tell us your name, sir."

    "It's Garrett. I'm Garrett. And yes, I'm a member of the US Army. Tell me more about yourselves, please."

At Faile's words Eirian nodded, though Llew's look said, "She needs no one but us." He said nothing, choosing instead to sulk. Nicole decided to take the initiative and answer his quarry, smiling as sweetly as possible.

"My name is Nicole O'Danaan. I am Irish Gaelic from both of my parents, I've only just graduated high school today, I really love the color green, sometimes I wish I was a ginger, and my hobbies include medieval reenacting, horseback riding, poetry, and painting." She paused, thoughtfully quiet for a moment. "Oh, yeah. And in the reenactment society I'm in with my parents, I'm a fighter. Pretty good, too."

Llew grunted his approval, nodding. "She is, and I should know. I trained her." Heaving a sigh, he continued with his own introduction. "I am Lleweloth Ab Rhys, and I am a knight of the Seelie Court, though we do not add sir to our names just for being a fighter. I serve my liege, and pay homage to the White Queen. Pleasure to meet you, Garrett."

Eri's face lit up, realizing it must be her turn, and she dropped into a courtsy before speaking. "Lleweloth is my cousin, and I am Eirian and Brightglen, a noble of minor position but major influence, as Faile will tell you. My cousin forgot to mention that we are not the age we appear to be, for the Fae do not age past thirty until they're 15,000 years or so, and we don't really keep track of our age for that very reason." She leaned forward, as if to tell a secret. "There's a rumor going around that if you can't remember rightly enough to say you've reached that auspicious age, then you never shall look it. Also, we, as well as our lovely golden companion, are Sidhe, the ruling class of Faerie. Pleasure to make your aquaintance."

  Garrett stood and tried to decide if he should offer his hand to shake or not. The human girl would get it, but the others... The man looked like he was considering punching him and putting him out of him misery. The golden one, Faile, looked at him like he was a fascinateing bug, and the silvery one, Eirian, was probably someone he would have used old world courtesy for, if he hadn't been so afraid of being punched. Deciding against it, he simply made eye contact with everyone. Faile smiled at him and took a seat on the rock he had just vacated.

  "I guess I had better tell you more about myself. I'm Seargent Garrett Michaels, US Army, Infantry. I was just recently stationed here, and I'm waiting for my 21st birthday in a few months before I can take custody of my younger half sister, who's 15. I never thought much about mythology. Never had time to, what with sports and ROTC when I was young and now millitary life. Reckon I'm going to need to change that. I'm glad to meet you guys."

  "It's a wonderful idea!" Faile agreed, jumping up from her seat. "Oh, do let us! We haven't done anything like it in so long! And for such a good cause? Oh it would be grand!"

  Garrett stood looking stupidly at the three Fae. "Take... Melody? But, but, I'm quartered on base. I have no place for her to live. And there is all the paperwork I have to fill out and have approved by the government... How could it ever work? I would get caught for sure and be court marshalled and then how would I provide for Mel?"

ooc:// That, my dear, is a novel idea. Maybe their mother was tempted into the woods by a handsome Seelie knight, they had a brief tryst, and the night left. D: Maybe the handsome night is... LLEWELOTH!

Edit: I think I've found a picture of what his daughter might look like, if you're interested.

OOC: She's beautiful.

Name: Melody Michaels

Species: half human/half sidhe

Age: 15

Appearance: See picture above

Melody is kind of dreamy. She has spent most of her life reading fantasy novels, mostly about Celtic myths, and painting. Her only living that she knows is her older brother Garrett, whom she loves dearly. She is currently in a foster home, waiting untill Garrett comes of age to take custody of her.

  Faile spoke into the silence caused by Nikki's words. "Mayhaps it would be best if we met the girl first? That way we can judge wether she would be best served by this move or not." She looked around the circle for assent, stopping to gaze at Garrett last. "Would that be ameneable to you, Garrett?" For the first time Garrett felt something other than fear for the golden sidhe.

   "Yes. That would probably be the best thing to do. I know she has been dreaming of farie her whole life. She loves those crazy fantasy novels. But she lives 100 miles away! How would we get there?"

ooc:// First, did a drawing of Eirian on my tablet. It's not as pretty as the one I have up, but I thought I'd show it here out of vanity.