#alexis constantine

@adventurepunks

It is almost dawn when John comes home. He shuts the door behind him and heaves a smoky sigh. What's left of the cigarette is stubbed in the ashtray by the console. John kicks his shoes off to shuffle into the house.

Everyone in the flat is asleep. He hangs his coat and tosses his tie into the wash, then opens the master bedroom door as gently as possible. Talia is lying there beneath the sheets. He smiles and leans in to give her forehead a kiss, then quietly slips into the bathroom.

When John emerges with a towel, he sees her alarm is about to go off. He taps it shut to let her sleep in some. Another kiss to her ear to tell her he'll take over for the day. He goes back out into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Fifteen minutes after, the twins' alarm rings. John wipes his hands on a tea towel and opens their door.

Jimi is groaning and complaining and covering his eyes with his pillow. After another two minutes of fussing, he rolls off the bed and drops his duck Runner on the floor. He brushes his teeth and elbows his sister if she tries to get any sink space from him.

John hurries them through their prep. He packs their lunches into their bags and knocks on Damian's door three times along the way back to the kitchen. The kettle boils with water for Talia's coffee.

He plates five sets of runny eggs and toast, three cups of milo and a bowl of sliced oranges, then points Jimi towards the sink to do the dishes, so that when Talia is awake, the kitchen is in ship shape.

John lights another cigarette just as the sound of newspaper slaps against their main door outside.

( @adventurepunks​ )

The afternoon sun was gentle today with soft rays flooding the little glade that Tim and Alexis found themselves in, or did this glade find itself in them?

It had been a while since they ventured from the House of Secrets out of respite, something well-earned since their time in the elemental plane of air. So as a treat, Tim beckoned Meehni to send them to a place of peace and quiet, a garden perhaps and that was exactly where She brought them. He had his easel set up and a picnic basket prepared, a gramophone too simply because radios were a little strange around Tim. John had mentioned it was probably the Arcane working up, preventing him from the use of mundane technology.

Yoyo was roosting amongst the treetops above, harassing a sparrow or two whilst they soaked up the natural outdoors. Tim liked the tranquility. He hadn’t realised how much he missed it till he stepped outside that one summery day, and a sip of warm rose tea did quite hit the spot.

Books of Magic: Gardens of Monet

Dr Occult, Conversations

( @adventurepunks​ )

“Alrite me darlin’, are we all packed ‘n ready ‘ta go?” John waited for Alexis by the kitchen table nursing a smoke and a cup of tea, having spent most of the morning making sure the rest of his little duckies were well-accounted for.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and Damian had just left for his computer class though he stepped out an hour earlier than usual, and John spotted Louise coming out two doors at the same time. He grinned and slipped his eldest a crumpled extra ten pounds just in case, and then checked Jimi’s sports bag to see if everything had been packed. Extra socks, field shoes, a juice box, a towel, first-aid kit, knee guards, a big bottle of water and a box of ham and cheese sandwiches though he was quite sure Chas would bring Jimi for chippy’s after. Football training had been increased to both Saturdays and Sundays now that Coach Barnaby mentioned that the FA would be sending a scout down soon. Now was a crucial time!

Just on time for the sound of Chas’ car horn echoed from downstairs. John glanced out of the kitchen window and yelled for Jimi.

“JIMI?! JIMI ME LAD! YEH UNCLE CHAS IS ‘ERE!” 

“ORHKAY ORHKAY I’M COMIN’ I AM!” Jimi yelled back and slammed his cupboard by accident and nearly tripped over his sister’s colouring book, yanking on his backpack, his socks, gave his sister a tug on her hair and then out the door he went.

“BYE DA BYE MA, BYE CECE, ‘AVE FUN! KICK SOME GNOME BOLLOCKS FER ME!”

John smiled and then winced when the main door went SLAM!

“JIMI! JIMI YEH WA’ERBOT’LE, YEH DAFT LAD!” John yelled but the boy was already down the stairs. Atch.

John snatched the bottle off the kitchen counter and pushed the kitchen windows wide open.

“JIMI! YEH BOT’LE!! NAH NAH NAH, STAY RITE DERE!” And John would lower the bottle from the kitchen window with a ten-foot pole he kept for some reason.

“CATCH IT. CATCH IT! KIN YEH CATCH IT?! LEFT A WEE BIT, LEFT!”

Old Mrs Slater on the second floor popped her head out of her window to look up and squint at the commotion.

“You alright, Johnny? Oh what is he up to now? Oh, hello Jimi dear, hello Chas dearie,” She waved at the boys on the ground floor alleyway.

“I’M GUNNA DROP IT! I’M DROPPIN’ IT!”

THUNK!

“FANKS DA!”

John grinned by the windowsill with an elbow out and cigarette between his teeth, waved to Chas who tipped his cap and then a yell from another neighbour had him cringe.

“CAN WE JUST HAVE A SPOT OF PEACE AROUND HERE, CHRIST!!”

( @adventurepunks​ )

“Alrite th’ lot o’ yeh, out, out out!” John shooed his brood with a dramatic swing of the front door. 

“Wrong shoes, Jimi, wear yeh crocs please aye. Crocs! Dun ferget yeh bag me darlin’. Dames? Lanterns, Dames!”

Just three hours ago they were all crammed together in their little kitchen in Camden, rolling dough and pressing paste into moulds to make snowskin mooncakes for the Moon Festival at Chiswick House Gardens. They left the place in a mess for poor Talia to clean up because they were running late and Jimi still had flour all over his nose!

“Atch, come ‘ere lad. Look at th’ state o’ yeh,” John grabbed his son and wiped that floury face up with his handkerchief, tutting and giving Alexis a pointed look because she was the one who was leaving flour prints everywhere, her brothers included!

“Alrite, is a bit o’ a crowd, yeh monkeys. Follow yeh big brovah ‘n if yeh git lost in th’ dark, wait fer me at th’ dragon lantern up front, alrite?”

There were families everywhere looking at the colourful lanterns on display and admiring the full moon whilst picnicking.

The weekend prior had been dedicated to making paper lanterns for the procession, and John was feeling about his pockets for his Zippo to light the candles for his kids, “Atch, where did I puts tha’ soddin’ fing...”

Aha!

“Dere, ‘ere we go, alrite. Alexis, where’s yeh lantern? JIMI DUN RUN! WALK!”

“Soz Da!” Said Jimi who was almost about to sprint off with his Snorlax lantern when Da yelled for him to slow down. Fine, fine but he marched on the spot because he couldn’t wait to run off and join the rest of the kids so that he could SHOW OFF.

“COR ‘URRY UP CECE, ‘URRY UP DAMES LOOK TH’ LINE IS GITTIN’ LONGER!”

“Patience, Jimi. Patience is a virtue-” John put his palm onto Jimi’s crown and pressed it down as if it were a large pause button just to keep the spritely boy there whilst he lit up their lanterns.

“Alrite, alrite. Dun lose sight o’ each ova please, or Da will be cross wif yeh.”

( @adventurepunks​ )

It had been a while since Jason deigned to step out of his quaint little shophouse in Gotham, having fancied a stroll on a crisp Saturday afternoon...which had him pause mid-stride along the lovely park as he patted down his breast pocket for the little note he wrote to himself.

The years had taken quite a toll on his memory and the old knight would find himself battling with it every other day. He squinted at his own handwriting in his hand and nodded with a sigh. Right, right, he was supposed to be in London right about now, for tea, with a not-so-dear friend...well, more like a too-familiar acquaintance, well, not quite that too.

Perhaps he should just file that away as...complicated. Yes, yes that would do quite nicely. 

So Jason strolled a little off the path towards the trees in the park and he’d find a pair that were growing so closely together that their canopies were touching and their roots too, thus creating a perimeter of sorts that was enough for him to summon a portal, an easy enough spell when one used to be Myrrdin’s understudy.

The first step took him through the In Between and the second he was out and in the alleyway just adjacent from a handsome flat in Camden town.

Seventh floor, it was the seventh floor, wasn’t it?

Well, the stench of cigarette smoke was familiar enough a cue as is, not to mention the vast amount of children’s shoes littered just outside the door. Jason shook his head a little and sighed. This man was going to smoke himself into an early grave. He knocked on the door three times.

“Door’s nah locked, come in,” Came John’s voice from inside.

“Aye, yeh early fer once, gudday Ser!” John greeted jovially from the kitchen when the main door opened to have Jason come walking in, cane and all.

“Sit where yeh likes, Jeopardy’s on in a smidge if yeh wants th’ tube. I’ve gots malt bikkies ‘n th’ jammy uns,” He was never one to fuss with tea but when Jason Blood remembered to visit, well, sometimes one would make a little effort.

“Nice weavah, innit? Nah much rain ‘ese days.”

( @adventurepunks​ )