ArchivedLogs:Flying Buttresses

Flying Buttresses
Frozen Flying Buttresses
Dramatis Personae Mallory, Thomas
In Absentia	2015-02-23 Chill conversation and terrible puns
Location <XS> Back Porch
The back patio is a restful place to sit and relax, in most weather. Ample seating comes in the form of umbrella'd deck chairs and a cushioned porch swing, and the neighboring gardens attract butterflies and hummingbirds to make the viewing pleasant. The hot tub is usually open for use, though in snowy weather the transition in and out is a shivery one! The evening is decidedly chilly, the temperature clinging desperately to the last vestiges of double digits, the the wind chill has completely ignored that and is approching uncomfortable levels. The sky is brilliantly clear, with the stars overhead twinkling against the inky blackness. The back porch has been at least somewhat cleared of snow, with a path to the hot tub the most devoid of snow. At least a few of the chairs and tables have been cleared off and have some room around them, mostly the ones nearest the doors that lead from the inside. It is incredibly cold outside - evidenced in the fact that Mallory has actually been forced into winter gear. Not particularly known for being bothered by the cold, she is now wearing a long black wool coat that has been tailored to fit her figure, paired with tight skinny jeans in a dark denim that hug her unusual legs. She is making her way out the back porch, a tray of cookies and a bright red thermos in her hands as she carefully picks her way towards the cleared table and chairs. Dressed in a woolen coat, a page boy hat and comfortable gloves, Thomas makes his way out carrying a tablet under one arm and a thermos of tea in the other hand. << And combine the glycol with the ceramic nanobeads >> the thought includes some mental geometries, at least up until his eyes notice the little steam clouds coming from the other figure on the porch. "Oh, hello there sister. Hadn't expected anyone quite out here this time of day." He smiles as he moves over to the other chair at her table, gesturing to it. << Mind if I join you? >> Mallory is just getting settled in to the chair, carefully shifting her tail so that it doesn't end up resting against the snow bank behind the chair, cradling her thermos of warm beverage in both hands. The mental bombardment of seemingly random chemical information that heralds her twin's arrival earns a chuckle, both aloud and mentally. Offering a welcoming gesture at the empty chair at the table, Mallory grins, "Brother of mine. Cannot say I expected to see anyone else out here, either. Figured it was a reasonably pleasant evening to enjoy the quiet." Sipping her tea, heavily sugared earl grey, as always, she settles in further << Sure. Have a seat, have a cookie. I'd offer tea, but you'd just sniffle and grump that it is what it is. >> Wiping a hand over the chair to make sure it wasn't damp or icey, Thomas settled into it. "You have bad taste in tea, what can I say," he smiles though to blunt the comment as he pours from his own thermos into the cap. << Darjeeling. >> Sniffing it with some aplomb, he takes a sip then acquires a cookie. "How've you been? I've been doing my best to clear my head from a lot of that..." he says with a gesture then shakes his head. "The snow has been vaguely amusing though. Somewhat throws off traveling, but thats probably good for the children. Less city, less trouble." He shrugs as he gnaws on the cookie, and washes it down with the tea with a sigh. << It's very pretty seeing it over the grounds. It looks like a painting, outside of where the children have played.>> "Bah," Mallory says with a lopsided grin at Thomas, "/I/ like my tea. Just means more for me." She sips pointed from her thermos, making a decidedly un-lady-like slurp that is only amplified by the emptiness of the ground. "Been well enough, I suppose. And can't say the snow exactly slows down travel /that/ much" she says, hiding a faint smirk behind more tea, a memory shared of soaring over the snowy landscape along side Aloke. The allusion to the shared dreams earns a wince, and she tries to blank her mind of the memories of the dreams which had, unnervingly enough, stopped entirely for her. She is mostly successful, though the fintest flutter of panic and confusion does come through their shared link. Closing her eyes tightly as she takes deep breath, Mallory lets it out in a steading sigh << Sorry. >> Opening her eyes again, Mallory looks out onto the largely pristine setting, smiling at the twinkling white glittery landscape, "It is. Winter wonderland, as it were. And even some of the places where the kids have been playing are rather amusing. Snowmen and castles and such. Adorable in their own way." Thomas sticks his tongue out at the slurping and shakes his head. "Yeah yeah. Some of us travel the old fashioned way," he replies, though he lets out a dark cloud of steam expressing his alternative method. << Blank slate. Empty whitness. Think of snow. >> comes his mind's reply to her panic. His own mind seems to have hardened like stone though, as if he is hiding things from her as much as himself. "Yes, the castles are pretty impressive. I think we have some cryokinetics to thank for that. A shame we'd melt it all, I don't think a snowball fight involving us would be pleasant." "Oh, poor you. Being able to travel by plane," Mallory says with a snort, her breath billowing out in a cloud of white steam, "Though I imagine travel by smoke would be terrifically boring and slow. Makes waiting through security lines seem like a breeze." Drumming her fingertips against the base of one curling horn, Mallory sighs heavily, staring blankly out at the glittering snow. << Right. I know. God knows I've gotten better at wiping that from my mind of late. Trying to forget all of that, >> she thinks, flatly, at her twin, a twinge of bitterness edging into her mental tone. "Good point. I imagine the cryokinetics cheat a bit. Pretty, though," she muses, glancing off at some of the snow castles off towards the front of the building, "Seems like a bad plan. Best case is a slush fight, worst case ends up hurling ice balls at each other. I don't particularly relish the bruises that would result from that," Mallory chuckles, swiping her fingers through the snow on the arm of her chair, making a neat little valley that quickly refrezes in the chill air. "There is that yes, except the airports canceled most of the flights." Thomas however doesn't particularly answer about traveling by smoke, again a blank mental wall in place. "Perhaps we should see if our boss would be willing to extricate it from our minds. Of course, then we'd have to be willing to have someone rummage through our heads." He shakes his head, as if he wasn't particularly liking that option. "Quite lovely. Perhaps though someone should show them actual castle architecture. I'm pretty sure that a flying buttress isn't supposed to have cheeks." He smiles there, accepting the terribly juvenile pun. Thomas replicates the feat of the snow swipe, liquifying the ice a tad bit rapidly. Mallory sips her tea, crinkling her nose at the reminder that the airports had closed out entirely, nodding, "Right. I imagine that makes things a bit difficult in general." The suggestion of permanently forgetting things earns a heavy sigh from Mallory, as she leans her head forward, fingers curled around a horn for support. "I don't think I want to forget it all," she says, quietly, after a long pause, her mind a very deliberate blank white slate, lest she let anything slip, "Nor do I particularly want to have someone routing about in my mind erasing things." Setting her thermos aside, she crosses an arm over her stomach, glaring out at the cold snow, her thoughts clouded and hidden away, her whispered mantra a touch sour, "Hasn't happened. Nothing says it will happen." The sudden immature pun earns an audible snort of laughter, catching Mallory off guard. Glancing over at her typically austere and serious brother, a smirk drawing the corner of her lips up as she eyes him. "Really, Thomas?" "Its tempting to forget it all. There is a lot I don't want to know, though knowing could prevent it." Thomas shakes his head and sips the cold tea and he frowns at the cup lid. He smiles broadly at the snort and laughter, taking a bite of cookie. << Yes really. I saw it earlier. It even had wings >> resharing the image of a snow castle in sunlight with the aforementioned glutes, he nods. "You think I would have come up with that? I've got far better taste than to go that route." "Maybe," is Mallory's only response, distant behind her mental barricade, reaching over to take her thermos in hand again, clutching the shining red tea-tank in both hands. Shaking her head, she forces the melancholy out of her mind and posture, looking over at Thomas and his proud smile. Laughing heartily at the shared mental image, Mallory sits back in the chair, shaking her head again. "Wow. Impressively done, but wow," she muses, giggling more, "Oh, I don't know. I'm fairly certain your 'better taste' can be just as pun-nishing as mine can be." Scooping up a tiny pinch of snow off the table, she flicks it at her brother before it melts from contact with her skin. Thomas rolls his eyes as he starts up to his feet. "I had come out to run some more simulations, but I don't think that will happen." He brushes the melty flakes off his coat and shakes his head. "Be well sister, remember a boarding school still has its classes, even on a snow day." He chuckles as he screws the cap back onto his thermos, and glances back out over the snow. "Its good to see you smiling again. I know it's been rough." << We just wont let that ever happen. >>