And above all, no wishing for more wishes

[consultmybooks]

Characters: Rupert Giles and YOU!
Open? Oh, yes.
Where: All around Schwanheim and the surrounding farmland
When: All day 2nd of Rebirth's Decline
What: Giles is stuck in a bottle. Giles would very much like to let out of the bottle. Giles will grant you a wish should you let him out of the bottle. And if you don't want a messed up poltergeist throwing furniture around, you should probably take him up on that.
Warnings: PG - Mayhem and chaos, but probably nothing much worse.
A bottle catches your eye, as you go about your business

It might be sitting on the dresser of your room, on a windowsill as you walk down the street, or just laying in the grass as though carelessly discarded. It seems, in all aspects, to be a perfectly ordinary bottle...except, well, you probably know by now that it's never a perfectly ordinary anything. For one thing, it seems to contain something, a swirling white mist that seems to move throughout the bottle like a living thing, trapped and testing the walls of its prisons. For another, well, for those who can sense it there's an undeniable spark of power about the bottle, a sense of magic, something that just makes it stand out. And for a third, it's just quite a nice bottle.

Maybe it was left here just for you to find. How else can you explain how it wound up here, just where you happened to look at this very instant, sitting just where it needed to catch your eye?

Go on, pick it up. It will fit nicely in your pocket (even if you don't currently have any pockets) and a bottle is a useful sort of thing to have around, isn't it?

Well, once it's empty. Maybe you should uncork it and shoo that strange mist out, first. Can't tell what it might do to whatever you put inside, otherwise.

Comments

[greatsquirrelhunter]

Hey! A bottle in the grass! Faolan flopped down next to it, breathing a bit heavy from running after squirrel. He picked up the bottle, turning it over to look at it from all angles.

[consultmybooks]

A bottle in the grass! A bottle in the grass filled with mist, of all things. Who would do a silly thing like filling a bottle with mist? That's a waste of a bottle.

As Faolan turns over the bottle, examining it, he might slowly become aware of a sensation, a feeling as though he's being watched intently.

That's not all, though. As he keeps a hold of the bottle, Faolan might begin to get the sense that here is a valuable thing he has found, something that could make him very happy indeed if he'll only make use of it.

[greatsquirrelhunter]

Well, he's to used to being watched by a bottle. He puts it carefully in the grass and lays down to watch it in turn. It's obviously a special bottle, since he feels like it can give him things. But what to do with it?

[consultmybooks]

Yes, something is definitely looking back. It's almost as though there's another person, laying in the grass on the other side of the bottle and watching him in turn.

Open it, Faolan. A stoppered bottle is useless. An open one has possibilities.

[greatsquirrelhunter]

If something is looking at him, Faolan wants to know what it is. Staying low to the ground and pulling his knife for protection, he unstoppers the bottle.

[consultmybooks]

There's a bright "flash" of white light the second that the stopper is undone, a light that will blot out Faolan's vision just long enough for the thing in the bottle to escape.

When the light fades, there is indeed someone laying in the grass on the other side of the bottle. He's not looking at Faolan anymore, however. Instead, he has his face turned into the grass and his arms over his head as he waits for his mind and senses to reorient themselves to being outside the bottle again.

"...good lord, my head."

[greatsquirrelhunter]

Oh hey! Faolan recognizes Giles! Recognizes with eyes! Well, no smell to recognize, so....

Hi, Giles! Faolan is wriggling and whining for attention.

[consultmybooks]

...what an odd noise. Giles looks up, trying to see whatever it is, and of course the first thing he sees is the boy.

"...Faolan? Um, are you all right?"

As far as he's concerned, people don't wriggle unless they're injured or ill, so he sounds sincerely concerned.

[greatsquirrelhunter]

Hooray! Attention for Faolan! He will not pounce, because that would be futile.

"Giles in a bottle? How fit?"

[consultmybooks]

You learn quick, Faolan. Doesn't mean it wouldn't be uncomfortable for them both.

"Depressingly easily, actually. It, um, it wasn't a matter of fitting, it was a matter of stopping me just, um, phasing back through again."

...great. Wonderful. Of all the people to let him out thus far, Faolan ranks just below Helios as someone Giles didn't want to see.

[greatsquirrelhunter]

"Oh. Why in it to start?"

[consultmybooks]

"Remember..." Giles glances thoughtfully at the sky. "Yesterday. It, it must have been yesterday. Anyway. Remember yesterday, when I mentioned about the witch, and her, um, her candy house?"

[greatsquirrelhunter]

"Yes. Did Giles get in trouble? Not metaphorical trouble?"

[consultmybooks]

Despite himself, at this, Giles can't help but laugh. It's a good feeling.

"Um, yes, actually. Literal trouble, rather than, um, metaphorical trouble."

Then, after a beat:

"Literal is, um, the opposite of metaphorical. When, when you say exactly what you mean."

[greatsquirrelhunter]

"Do you need help? Faolan is good at helping."

He kicks his feet in the air behind him, waiting for the answer and repeating the word 'literal' a few times to get used to it.

[consultmybooks]

"I know you are."

It's just that it's a trap, Faolan. It's a complete and utter trap.

But, almost as a warning to Giles and his hesitation, an almighty ripping sound can be heard nearby. A glance will be enough to see blades of grass ripping themselves out of the ground in great hunks, hard enough to tear the roots out as well. Giles seems to wilt just a bit at the sight.

Oh, fine.

"Is, um, is there anything you'd like, Faolan?"

[greatsquirrelhunter]

Faolan was briefly distracted by the grass carnage, but turned back to Giles when asked the question.

"Yes," he answered candidly. "Faolan wants to play, but Hawk is busy and don't know where Loki or Gretel are. Can Giles play?"

[consultmybooks]

Giles shakes his head, smiling in sympathy. "I'm afraid not, Faolan," he says. "Or, um, at least not very well. Remember?" Here he runs a hand under the ground and then back up. A benefit, of a sort, of utter intangibility.

He can still see the grass twisting itself up over Faolan's shoulder, however. And so Giles is forced to think. "Um...but, Faolan, i-if you're really in need of someone to play with, I can probably help you find someone."

[greatsquirrelhunter]

Faolan looked sad at that. Poor Giles.

"Poor Giles," he repeated out loud. "Must not be fun being like that. I wish you could play."

[consultmybooks]

Glingleingleingleingleingle.

A sound like the tinkling of fairy bells surrounds them. Giles looks around, startled, and then he winces in dismay. "Oh, dammit, you did..."

He makes to stand. "Faolan, um, I-I'm afraid I wasn't able to, to fully explain the situation, so if you'll just..."

...and then he stops.

Sensation isn't entirely unfamiliar to Giles, like this. When he's possessing someone, and a couple of people have given their permission thus far, then he can interact with the world, and feel things, albeit at a severely muted level unless he takes full control of the body.

But this is different. This is him, and his hands resting against the grass, and his weight, and his lungs and his heartbeat and and and and...

"Good lord..."

[greatsquirrelhunter]

It isn't every day that you get to watch someone become physical, and Faolan watched in awe. He wriggled closer, reaching out a hand. "Giles?"

[consultmybooks]

It isn't every day that you get to become physical. When Faolan reaches out, he'll be able to touch Giles' shoulder. There's really a person here, now.

Giles even starts slightly when Faolan touches him. But the physical contact brings him back to himself. So, sorry, kiddo, but you're getting a hug. Right now.

[greatsquirrelhunter]

Oh, a hug! Faolan wriggles happily, returning it.

[consultmybooks]

The kid is released after a few seconds, when Giles remembers to do so. And then Giles just...sits, and stares up at the sky, and thinks.

This is temporary. He knows it is. Not least because he can still feel himself "attached" to Faolan, and that's a power only a ghost should have. If he thinks about it, Giles is sure he'll notice other signs. But this is temporary.

...better make the best of it, then. He takes a breath, and nods.

"S-So. Um. W-What did you want to play?"

[greatsquirrelhunter]

Hmm. This requires some thought. Giles is old, so he probably can't play chase too well. And Hawk is the best to wrestle with, and again, Giles is old. So what to play?

"Giles can throw things for Faolan to chase? And we can roll in the grass!"

Rolling is fun! And so is fetch! Giles will have fun!