The Fountain

[Lyra ♫♪ Calnote]

After walking home from the beach (and Lyra getting an ice cream cone) she and Ethan walked on the school grounds and headed to the fountain. The fountain was lit and water continued to sprout out. Lyra licked the soft-serve chocolate-vanilla swirl and she stood on the edge of the fountain, walking around in a circle. "You should draw more stuff," Lyra suggested to Ethan.

[Ethan Hawke]

Ethan raised his eyebrows and shot her a curious look, "Oh? More stuff? What exactly do you expect me to do?" He chuckled a bit as he took out his sketchbook and pencil once more. "Hmm..." He observed his surroundings and then turned back to Lyra, "Am I allowed to... add certain things to the courtyard? I mean, I can get rid of it if it turns out it can't stay, but am I?"

[Lyra ♫♪ Calnote]

Lyra stopped walking and pivoted to look at Ethan, "I don't see why not," Lyra jumped off the edge and sat down. She was exited. "Make statues! Make um, bushes or something!" she tapped her feet on the ground.

[Ethan Hawke]

Ethan's eyes lit up and his mind was racing with possibilities. Without warning, a smirk grew and stretched his lips as the poised pen in hand began to draw like no tomorrow, flying across the page. Hedges began to creep from the ground.

At its birth it was a simple plant that broke the Earth's crust and soon it took the shape of mid-sized hedges encompassing the present, forming a rather large circle with breaks between-- may it be for entrance or escape. In sequence, ten, white poles shot upward from the breaking ground following the hedges in their circular pattern, cords springing from the tops and reaching out to it's brother pole across to caress and latch. Cords situated and poles at the end of their height, spherical lanterns emitting a soft light sprouted out from the taut lines.

Ethan looked up with a spark in his eyes, "This is great, I love being able to just express my powers so.. openly like this!" He looked over his new creations and smiled. "Just one more thing to add..." he said quietly to himself as he went back to his sketchbook.

[Lyra ♫♪ Calnote]

Lyra stood up and looked around as the scene began to change right before her eyes. Ethan wasn't a messy worker, that was for sure. She was speechless and didn't know where to move first to start. Lyra walked to the hedges and touched it. Real. "Ethan this," she shook her head, "never seen anything like it- this is... it's magic!" Her eyes lit up at the lanterns, oh how she loved lanterns. She looked back at his sketchbook, "one more thing?" Lyra thought the scene was pretty complete.

[Ethan Hawke]

He made the final stroke on his paper. "Yup, one last thing," Ethan said as he got up hastily and made sure that he and Lyra were away from the center.

The earth beneath them trembled as a beautiful, ornate fountain of three tiers emerged from the ground. Every tier decorated in a Rococo-esque manner, was made of shining marble. Its water? as clear and pure as could be. The water, now cascading from the upper levels, was liquid gold due to reflections of light from the lanterns. Shortly, fireflies flickered into existence as they danced about the fountain. The atmosphere was surreal and slightly ethereal as the soothing sound of the water filled the air.

Ethan gazed at the finished product and looked over to Lyra smiling, "Well, what do you think?"

[Lyra ♫♪ Calnote]

Lyra looked down, trying to hold her balance as the ground started to shake. She looked up and her hand immediately covered her mouth, captivated at what she saw. Lyra's eyes widen and she could not look at Ethan to show her praise, her direction was shown at the beautiful fountain that lay ahead. Lyra stumbled to the fountain. Ethan's power... it was definitely different, definitely a gift. She sat down on the smooth marble and her head turned to Ethan, "I think you have an amazing talent," Lyra said, dipping her hand in the cool water to test it out. "When did you first discover your powers?" Lyra asked, turning her direction back to him.

[Ethan Hawke]

Taking a seat next to her, Ethan smiled awkwardly, "This? This is nothing, I'm sure there are other people out there with more interesting powers than mine." He chuckled softly and then looked up in contemplation. "I was..." he started, "interning at a small architectural firm at the time. I used to be so fascinated with architecture and buildings before, that I wanted to become an architect myself! I just finished a major project I had been assigned when suddenly, the sketch was building itself up right from the paper. Full-scale."

Ethan scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "Needless to say, I was fired on the spot. I was a total noob at controlling where and when they would manifest, now I'm able to make my pieces form into reality without wasting the paper either, as you saw." He held up the paper he originally drew on, smiling, "Now I can keep what I've drawn without losing it when it becomes tangible."

[Lyra ♫♪ Calnote]

"No way!" Lyra was in disbelief, no wait,, yeah she could believe him. Ethan had talent, if he couldn't draw, if he couldn't design, he couldn't create all of this stuff. "Wow, a junior and you are already working at an architectural firm," she shook her head but smiled, bending forward and shook her head once again, "wow that's- that's amazing." He was so close to his dream, so close to something he wanted to do. The closest Lyra ever got to doing something she wanted to do was up on stage at the karaoke joint.

Lyra started to laugh after Ethan's anecdote... well it wasn't much of one but nonetheless it was a short story, but it was cute when he described himself as a "total noob." Lyra looked at the sketch book and did a funny hand moment to show her excitement and how impressed she was at Ethan's work. "Your power- it's different. You know, people can control elements," she snapped her finger, "like ooh, I snap and fire comes out, you know it just comes natural to them, it's there you Ethan, you actually have to work, draw it out, take time, practice drawing it's..." she couldn't describe it. Her hands laid flat to her side. "People will be impressed with you."

[Ethan Hawke]

Ethan's face tinged a light red at her compliments, "Uhm, well thanks. Thank you." He was smiling now; Ethan had never so much praise for a simple drawing. He stretched his arms out as though reaching for something and groaned. "Ah, so stiff after that." he said.

"So what do you want to do now?" he asked.

[Lyra ♫♪ Calnote]

"...That's what she said?" Lyra piped after Ethan's stiff comment. She grinned sheepishly and let out a giggle. She thought it was funny and it fit the situation rather well. Lyra stood up and stretched out her arms. "You've been with me the whole day, Ethan! You aren't sick of me?" Lyra stuck her tongue out, but with out her, where was Ethan to go? "Want some food? In N Out? Ice cre- oh wait I already had ice cream- um, walk?" Lyra shrugged.

[Ethan Hawke]

"Nah, you aren't that intolerable of a person," he retorted playfully as he laughed.

"I could really go for some In N Out right now. A double-double sounds great." Ethan added, a hungering tone lingering in his voice. He stood up excited for food, "Mind leading the way? I still don't actually know where most things are here, haha."

[Lyra ♫♪ Calnote]

"Double-double animal style," Lyra corrected him, then her stomach felt uneasy, "no. Maybe just a single animal-style," Lyra said, shaking her head. "I can't get animal-style fries. I like crispy fries, not soggy ones," Lyra said as she started to walk towards In-N-Out.

[Vergil von Wulf]

Vergil curiously skittered along the grounds and came across the most beautiful fountain he had ever seen. He approached the ornate piece of applied art and touched upon the chilled marble with a hand, relishing in the scent of the water. How wondrous.
He could already tell this would be one of his favorite places to nap. The sound of water hitting water making a gentle rushing sound, the sights, it was even enclosed by deep green hedges and lit gently from above. He wasted no time in sitting at the edge of the fountain to simply take it all in and relax.

[Vergil von Wulf]

Feeling very at peace with the world, Vergil stood and continued his exploration of the grounds. He felt a few of the cards in his deck give a shift, a happy one, and was pleased to know they were very content with the change of pace.