2012-09-09 Studies and Serpents

Zatanna had offered Rain training, and she wasn't kidding. The girl is sent a small charm, delivered by a dove from Zee's magic act, wherever she is. It has a little compass in it which leads Rain to a door in Metropolis, the Little Bohemia area, in a back alley. She is able to open it, which leads her into the grounds of Shadowcrest, in its own pocket dimension. A tiny globe of light zips up to greet her, bobbing in place, before it begins bouncing towards the steps up to the house proper. It's night here. It's always night here.

Rain is glad to learn! And ooh, a dove. Like an owl, but ... more dovelike, as it were. Rain will pet the dove, thank it and carefully make her way over, by foot and by broomstick as needed. Pigeons don't seem to be a hostile or armed as they are in other cities. It's a refreshing change! She is touched and in awe, thinking as she opens the door. There's a brief smile, waving to the ball and will follow it. This might seem odd to an outsider, but it seems to work. "Hi there." She'll at least politely greet the ball. Odd, but it works.

The little Will 'o the Wisp doesn't speak, but it pulses with a happy light as it takes her up the long staircase to the huge doors of the mansion. They open on their own, and the ball leads her inside, down the twists and turns of halls and staircases, until she's sure they've gone in circles. It finally stops at large double doors which are open, and then vanishes in a poof of light. Through the doors Rain can see an enormous library of staggering proportions.

Aw. Rain smiles faintly at it and follows along. She quietly regrets not doing well in PE, but seems to handle the stairs just fine. Circles seem important somehow, they're also nice in that no matter what, you end up at some place familiar eventually, right? It's still all a bit mind boggling. Between this and Lunch Loki Land, it's all way beyond her paygrade. Mom didn't let her into the Easy Bake Coven's secret treehouse, after all. Regardless, her thoughts are like rain in a city, chaotic and pinging off things. Maybe even annoying businessmen. She pauses as it vanishes and peers into the doors. Carefully, she knocks on the door frame before stepping in. So many books... her eyes go wide. "Hello..." And wow.

"Come in, Rain," comes Zatanna's voice from somewhere above. When Rain comes in she can spot Zatanna levitating about 10 stories up, perusing the spines of ancient looking books. "Glad you found your way here. Trip wasn't too rough I hope? I wasn't sure where the door would be when you got to it."

Rain smiles, and looks up. "Thank you," She bobs her head respectfully. "Not at all. Having a flying broomstick helps," She admits quietly. "I appreciate the invitation." For all of the humor, irony, and various cosmic forces that give Rain metaphorical wedgies, there's very much a polite serenity over her and her awkwardness. She slips off her hat and looks around. "And um, it wasn't too bad to find at all." Beam. "How are you?" She asks quietly.

"I'm doing great," Zee murmurs with a grin. She plucks a book off a shelf, adds it to a pile in the crook of her arm, and floats down to Rain. She hands the pile towards the girl. "This is your foundation reading. Flamel, Paracelsus, Nostradamus, da Vinci, Agrippa, Cagliostro, and Borrichius."

Rain smiles at that. "That's good," She nods. She watches quietly as Zee plucks a book out and floats down. There's a pause at the pile. Her eyes widen a bit. "Oh wow." Suddenly she feels a whole lot smaller than before. So much knowledge. She nods, "Okay." Beam. "I'll do my best... I should probably get a notebook and take notes as I go," She considers. It's not so much low self-esteem as she figures it's better to be safe, really. "I do have one odd question," She admits.

"Note taking is always a good idea," Zatanna agrees with a nod. She doesn't look quite as snazzy here on her home turf. In fact, she's in sweatpants and a sweatshirt with her hair in a ponytail. She looks kind of like a layabout. "What question is that?" she asks.

Rain doesn't seem to mind. When at home, anything goes, right? Right. Besides, getting made up to stay in one's own house seems... tiring. "Um. Do you know anything about Atlantis? This guy in a speedo popped out with a giant sea serpent and ... I was curious. Seemed like an okay guy, though. His sea serpent liked me. Sorta." She rubs the back of her head. "Well, I ran into him twice, actually..." She ticks off on her fingers. "He said something about being the Prince of Atlantis..."

"Which Atlantis? There's at least two, possibly three, plus Lemuria and that area the Blue live. There may be more I can't recall off the top of my head too," Zee replies. She frowns at the mention of the Speedo guy. "Well as long as he seems to be nice." She'll have to give the JLA a heads up on that.

"Um. Well. He's popped up near New York twice. I saw him fighting a golem at the docks, and the other time he came to the harbor by the statue of Liberty," She explains. "I think he said his name was Namor?" She is trying to think. "The sea serpent was chasing me around. I think he was in spandex at least once. ... it is remarkably hard to pay attention to detail when you're making a serpenty friend, I guess." ... Rain's definition of nice is an alarming indicator that she tends to figure most things that aren't actively trying to kill her are 'niceish'. She takes what she can gets. "He wanted to announce himself and introduce himself the second time, I guess. But the whole sea serpent thing freaked people out."

"Namor, got it. I'll let the JLA know and see what they come up with. One of our members is of the watery variety, as is one of the Titans. They might know something we don't." She arches a brow. "Was the sea serpent really friendly or was he friendly like that guy in the Oblivion who was eyeing you like you were a tasty steak?"

Hmm. Rain nods. "Thanks. I wasn't sure. And um, well. He said it ate mostly squid. I guess it was like how a dog sometimes playbites or chases you... Except bigger," Rain explains. "I don't think he was really trying to bite me, so much as just chase me around." It was deliberately missing, then. "I called him Snappy." Oh boy. "That was about it, really. I thought it was odd someone from Atlantis of all places... pops up outside New York," She considers it. "Then again, maybe I just... need to change how I look at it." Her awkward is slowly evolving, but she's still hesitant, putting out words like tentative steps across a bridge.

"Oooh-kay Hagrid," Zatanna comments idly. "Remind me to ask you what to name my latest bunny." She figures the girl will call it Krueger or Godzilla or Vorpal or something. She smiles at Rain then. "The world is a much bigger place than you realize, and it's just one of many, with several dimensions on top of that."

Or Monty! Rain grins a little at the idle comment. "Bunnies are pretty cute," She considers. She smiles back up after a moment and nods. "They mentioned that in some of my physics classes... mom even mentioned other realms and things like that, but it's different to see it happening I guess," She admits. Not to mention various alternate universes and things get whacky. Really whacky. Like wiggity whacky, even. She peers at the books, too. She seems to be in a slightly brighter mood. "I appreciate all of this. It was odd to hear someone from Atlantis was like, right there... and this place, too..." She looks thoughtful. "Should I start with any particular book, by the way?" She seems fine with either choosing herself or going with a suggested order.

"The books will let you know which order to read them in," Zatanna says mysteriously. Much as they'll return to Shadowcrest when summoned, they've been enchanted to make studying easier for a beginning mage. "As for other dimensions, you're in one at the moment. Shadowcrest is its own pocket dimension. It just always has a door to our plane of existence, which moves."

Rain ahs and nods. She believes it. She listens then, violet eyes on Zatanna as she speaks. "I see." Her eyes widen a bit at that. "That's neat." It's impressive, even if it's a little charm. At least, when one really sits and thinks about it. "And that makes sense," She adds again. "I appreciate it then," Beam. "Thank you. That was about the only big thing I had."

"Thank you for the information sharing, Rain. It really helps when magicians communicate and keep an eye on things," Zatanna notes approvingly. "If you go down the hall and take the second door on the left, you should get back to the way out." She smiles. Lesson over it would seem.

"No problem! I seem to find odd happenings a lot," Rain considers. She must be part Coyote or something because it's just not a week if she's not up to her neck in taser ants, sea serpents or some sort of trouble or mischief. She nods and peers over that way. Second door on the left, she makes a note and smiles. "Thank you." She'll wave and meander along that way. Fortunately, she's the sort of student who seems happy here or there as long as she's not underfoot and being a bother. And she has plenty to read now.