#meet ace

The cousins stood on the university campus, a bit away from everyone else. Having just arrived, they were taking time to let everything settle. Both were clutching armloads of books, about to head to separate destinations. Both were Physical Kids, but after that they varied slightly. Sophia was to go with the Healers, Acelin with the Naturals. 

“ Everything here looks so..new.” Acelin commented under his breath to his cousin. “Even the people look new. No one has anything old. Why is that?”

Taking a look around them, Sophia understood what Acelin meant. The Dean had taken everything magical they had brought with them from France. Even their jewelry. Some of it had been family heirlooms, centuries of years old.

“ America is a new country, you know. In comparison to France. And they are obsessed with anything new.” Sophia replied back with a sigh. “ Listen, are you going to be alright? I’ve to head to the clinic, and you are going to the treehouse, right?” 

Ace nodded, giving Sophia’s shoulder a quick squeeze in support. “Good luck, cousin.” he offered quietly, giving her a smile as he headed off. 

Now alone, Sophia took a look around, trying to determine where the clinic was. Surely there was a sign, or a clue of some sort? Looking upward a little, the roof of a building caught her attention, and she started off in that direction. 

First week into the new job, and Ace felt like he had a good handle on his work. Xavier was a workaholic perfectionist who rarely slept, and as long as Ace made sure to think at least a step or two ahead of his boss, his job wasn’t bad at all. 

He was about to leave for the evening (even though he’d have his phone on and a car on standby just in case of a late night emergency) when he reviewed Xavier’s schedule with him for the night and the next morning til noon. This way, when Ace got in at seven, he could prepare the lawyer for his schedule for the rest of the day with enough room for last-minute adjustments. 

“ So for this evening, you have a dinner meeting with D’Ariano and partners at eight at Eleven Madison, followed by after dinner drinks with the team from Sweden on the pro bono case. You, of course are getting paid to advise them, the reason for this meeting at Pegu - they prefer herbal liquors to hard liquor, bear that in mind. Your suit is ready and waiting in the en suite.” 

Taking a breath, Ace flipped the page to the next day, and blinked. Xavier need to sleep sometime. Ace wondered if Xavier ever spent more than a few hours at home a week. As it was, Ace’s coffee consumption was bordering on the ridiculous. Even so, he continued.

“I’ll call at five-thirty to wake you, you have a six-thirty session with your trainer in house, and you asked me to remind you to tell him to add Pilates or some sort of band-stretches. Eight am I will meet you at Buvette to take notes for your meeting with the accountant. You are due in civil court at eleven am, two in the afternoon and after that you have the meeting with the DA to argue for a plea for Satislaw. White collar case. I will be here at 7am with your dry-cleaning and shoes to arrange outfits for your day, and you said you wanted to wear the grey-blue Armani for your meeting with the accountant.” 

Putting the old-fashioned Symthson diary back on his desk, he looked over at his boss, who appeared not to have listened to a word he’d just said. But he knew Xavier had heard it all. 

“ If there is nothing else..” Ace hinted gently, in an attempt to be told to go home. 

“ I need 70 yellow zinnias and irises, please. And one gardenia.” 

Ace had come into the shop a few times before. They had some rarer species that the warlock appreciated - he adored plants, talked to them and cared for them like children. There had been a few times he’d bought single flowers for dates, but that stopped since the dating stopped. 

Flowers by Hades was his favorite place to be, besides his own home. If he had to spend massive amounts of money to be here, so be it. While he waited, he could communicate with the plants, study his favorites. 

He had recently moved to a home instead of a loft, and he was creating a memory garden. The yellow zinnias and irises were to represent his and his cousin’s families who perished two centuries ago in France. 

The gardenia, if he was brave enough, he was going to leave behind for Persephone, the owner of the shop. Ace was too gun-shy to come out and ask for a date, so for now, he’d court him by sending him flowers. Well, buying them and leaving them behind on purpose. Clumsy but hopefully effective. 

Just before dawn. The time between times belonged to the warlock, and he treasured them. Coveted the silence of all except the waves crashing to the shore and the shrill cry of the gulls overhead. 

Ace’s feet were bare, the cuffs of his jeans and feet soaked with seawater and caked with sand. A shifting breeze flung his curls around wildly, but his fingers combed it back absently, a constant habit. 

If anyone was close enough to hear, it was as if he was having a conversation with the waves, that Ace was playing with them - he’d say something, a wave would try to trip him up, the warlock would laugh and pretend to charge into the water, and so on. His relationship to the sea - to all water - was as essential to him as air. 

A rock pile was just ahead, a perfect place to watch the sun and meditate. Climbing the rocks as he did often, he spied another figure on the beach, a few hundred feet from where he was. Dark, tousled hair, tall, pale hands and feet - and the instant recognition that came with being in the presence of another magic wielder. It didn’t matter what they called themselves - witch, warlock, or other- Ace knew the figure had magic and he watched from his perch on the rocks silently, to see what the other figure intended. 

Ace was standing behind his closed door, wide awake. There was someone on the other side, and their fright was bleeding through the crack under the door, a insidious mist that was visible, chilling the room like a blast of frigid air. 

Times were precarious for warlocks and witches now, and he only wondered how a fellow warlock knew to run here. Maybe Sophia had set up the trail of safe houses that could be used to get a witch or warlock out of the country, and his house was a waystation. 

No matter. Ace opened the door, and looking both ways to ensure the other hadn’t been seen, pulled them gently inside. “ Blessed be, you are safe here. Come inside, sit by the fire, you’re bleeding off fear.” he murmured softly, his voice lightly accented with a southern French accent. 

In moments, Ace had gathered blankets for the warlock, prepared a hearty meal with wine and water, built up the fire, and sat down nearby, leaving his guest to talk in their own time. 

It was a dare. As in the type undertaken when one is usually more than a bit intoxicated, and in the presence of a group of friends and not wanting to reveal some truth about themselves. 

Ace rarely found himself in this type of situation, but the revival of a Nordic plant once thought to be extinct (revived and thriving in the wild no less) demanded a celebration from the groups of warlocks with a botanical bent. Edelweiss cordial, kirsch, and all sorts of herbal and fruit derived alcohols flowed freely. 

Ace was partial to Calvados, apple brandy native to France. He was feeling great, relaxed, even laughing at some of the comments. 

“ Acelin. You’ve been too quiet, friend. Truth or dare?”  Kristian, a warlock from Norway offered. The others went quiet, waiting to see if they might get a juicy bit of gossip out of the reticent warlock. 

“ Dare.” Ace replied immediately.  Kristian gave Ace a considering stare, which the French warlock met easily. He was soft-spoken, gentle-natured, but very little frightened him. And certainly not a fellow warlock. 

“You are the only one among us with no familiar. I dare you to bind one to you now. In fact, we all do.” Kristian taunted, gesturing to all the others, who all murmured in agreement. 

Taking a last swallow from his bottle of brandy, Ace sighed as if this was all just a bother to get over with. The spell for a familiar wasn’t overly complicated. Closing his eyes, he made the appropriate hand motions, and chanted the incantation. 

And what appeared in the room after the light faded away was not at all something Ace would have ever expected, not in an eternity. It was about as tall as he was, with thick hair the color of sand, green eyes the color of silver ash leaves in summer, a downy coating of fur, hands and feet that looked like paws. 

It was a were-lion. And now it was his familiar.

@tylerxsun

Time between times - sunset. It was one of Ace’s favorite times of day, and in this time of year, the air was sweet and just perfect to spend time in the woods. He was barefoot, and he headed into the space he designated as his sacred space. It was in a stand of very old oak trees, and he had set up a small space near the oldest oak to leave his offerings and invocations. 

His offerings rested on an earthenware plate: a sugar cube, a tiny piece of silk, a light purple crystal, and a dab of wine. He began to sing-speak in Occitan, the oldest form of spoken French. 

“Blessed Mother send your Fair Ones

To guard over all that is mine

May my offering be pleasing 

To Thee and Thine

My heart is pure, my soul at peace 

I thank you, Blessed Mother, as your devoted son” 

1. WHAT IS YOUR NAME?  “Acelin Voclain”

2. WHAT IS YOUR REAL NAME? “The same, but friends call me Ace.”

3. DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU’RE CALLED THAT?  “Not really.”

4. ARE YOU SINGLE OR TAKEN?  " I’m in..attachments? Relationships? I hate labels, so..”

5. WHAT ARE YOUR POWERS AND ABILITIES?  "Bending natural elements to my needs, creating medicines, potions, and healing properties. I am also a botanist, and study plants, even though I am a nautral creator of storms. Long story.”

6. WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR EYES?  “ Gray”

7. HAVE YOU EVER DYED YOUR HAIR?  “ You might have to ask my cousin, I might have when I was younger and high on natural..plants.”

8. DO YOU HAVE ANY FAMILY MEMBERS?  " My cousin, Sophia.”

9. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS?  “No, but I think about it sometimes.”

10. TELL ME ABOUT SOMETHING YOU DON’T LIKE.  “ Injustice.”

11. DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES OR ACTIVITIES YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?  " I read, I study ancient languages and books, I tend to my plants and talk to them. It is really good for them. I also do yoga.”

12. HAVE YOU EVER HURT ANYONE BEFORE?  “Yes.”

13. HAVE YOU EVER… KILLED ANYONE?  “Yes.”

14. WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL ARE YOU? “Ah, I don’t think I understand. Could you ask the question in French, please?”

15. NAME YOUR WORST HABITS.  “ Shyness - many people think I’m snobbish because of it.”

16. DO YOU LOOK UP TO ANYONE?  “ My mother and grandmother. I miss them everyday, and pray for the repose of their souls.”

17. GAY, STRAIGHT, OR BISEXUAL?  “Gay.”

18. DO YOU GO TO SCHOOL?  “Yes, and enjoyed it a lot!”

19. DO YOU EVER WANT TO MARRY AND HAVE KIDS SOMEDAY?  “ I would love that, but I don’t know if that will happen for me.”

20. DO YOU HAVE ANY FANS?  “ Loyal clients and regular correspondents.” 

21. WHAT ARE YOU MOST AFRAID OF?  “Being lied to.”

22. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY WEAR?  “ Trousers, button-downs, different types of shoes. Occasionally a waist-coat or a blazer.”

23. DO YOU LOVE SOMEONE?  “ Not now.”

24. WHAT CLASS ARE YOU?   “ Class? Do you mean what am I? A warlock. A male witch?”

25. HOW MANY FRIENDS DO YOU HAVE?  “ Sophia, mostly.” 

26. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON PIE?  “Galette. Not pie.”

27. FAVORITE DRINK?  “ Either a latte or black tea, hot or iced. I love caffeine.”

[ yo. where did 28 go? ]

29. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE?  “The Foret.”

30. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SOMEONE?  “Not now.”

31. WHAT’S YOUR DICK SIZE?  “ That is a rather rude question. I can honestly say none of my lovers ever complained!”

32. WOULD YOU RATHER SWIM IN THE LAKE OR THE OCEAN?  “ The ocean. I love to play with the fish and dolphins.” 

33. WHAT’S YOUR ‘TYPE’?  “Of what? “

34. ANY FETISHES?  “ True love is my fetish.”

35. TOP OR BOTTOM? DOMINANT OR SUBMISSIVE?  “Switch, but prefer either equality or submission.”

36. CAMPING, OR INDOORS?  “Camping.”

37. ARE YOU WAITING FOR THIS INTERVIEW TO BE OVER?  “Yes, because you’re rather too interested in my love life..”