2020-02-03 - Wizardy Powers

From the outside, her trailer looks like so many others, albeit one very well cared for. The paint looks fresh, the siding and panels look new, even the little cement stoop looks freshly poured. The inside is even better, however. The living room loooks like an Egyptian desert with bronze colored carpet, sand-colored walls with hand-painted heiroglyphics and oasis windows. The theme continues with the preponderence of brightly colored cushions and bean bag chairs, the low tables, the throws. Clashing with style, the kitchen is all retro 50's with turquoise paint on the cabinets, black and white flooris, and a black and white backsplash, with hand-painted band logos across the cabinets. The hallway headed towards the bedroom is a swirling rainbow of color, even the carpet hasn't been spared that color.

Kass herself is busy scooping out ice cream into a pair of bowls, with a bottle of Maker's Mark on the counter next to two short glasses. She hums Don't Stop Believing as she moves around the kitchen, for once not dressed like her skin will catch fire if exposed to the air. Wearing an oversized tshirt that slips off one shoulder and a pair of girl cut boxer shorts with a pair of vorpal bunny slippers complete with fangs and fake blood trickle. Her bright red hair up in a loose ponytail.

From the outside, the trailer in fact looks quite a lot like the one nearby that Rhys mostly grew up in, and there's actually a small addition to the time it takes to make his Ominous Toppings Conglomerate influenced purchases, an extra minute or two, because he stops to quickly check in over there. Very quick, because the place is empty right now, and that only improves his mood for the moment.

There's a rhythmic knock on the door, and when it's opened -- well, assuming it's opened -- there's a Rhys there, with a small paper grocery bag in one arm and an open bottle of sprinkles in his other hand. He's dressed simply, suitable for having been probably just hanging around at home for a little -- jeans, a grey t-shirt with a crash between the Tardis and the DeLorean on it, a black leather jacket because it's frankly still cold as hell out here. Actually a sublayer might've been wise, but oh well. "I tried the trail," he says in greeting, "but I think I accidentally just made a whole lot of new crow friends. I didn't ask if they like ice cream too."

At the knock, Kass grins and tucks her spoon into the corner of her mouth as she heads over to answer the door. Pulled open, she greets him with that broad grin, teeth closed around the stem of the spoon as she meets him. The bowl of the spoon clicks against her teeth and she ushers him inside with a chuckle, shaking her head, "Well since they're eating the sprinkles trail, I guess you'll just have to stay here tonight and make your way back in the light of day." Letting the door sweep closed behind him, she heads back towards the kitchen, "Feel free to take your shoes off, get comfortable, pour some drinks. I just scooped out the ice cream.. you got double scoops of both!"

Picking up both bowls, she moves them over to join the bourbon and glasses before quickly putting the lids back onto the ice cream containers and throwing them back into the freezer. "So there's chinese food in the microwave if you want any, but I figure we're adults and we can have dessert first if we wanna, right?" Popping the spoon from her mouth, she drops it into the bowl closest to her, a clean spoon in the bowl closer to him. "I like your shirt. Though I'm betting TARDIS would flatten the poor Delorean."

"Oh no, cruel fate," Rhys says about as melodramatically as he can muster, "That I should be thus fettered, captive lo these many hours..." He follows her to the kitchen, not yet shedding the boots; he has a bag of Things to set down first. And the open sprinkles. "Wait, I think lo-these-many-time-periods has to be a time that already happened. Okay, captive hours yet untold, subject to all manner of ice cream and rare intoxicants, no company but yonder lovely maiden... actually, remind me to send the crows a gift basket."

The grin breaks free, and the bag disgorges onto the counter not only the first set of rainbow sprinkles but also a bottle of chocolate ones and one of the flat flower-shaped ones, a jar of maraschino cherries, caramel sauce, and a can of whipped cream. "Double scoops of both. You just want me to show off my wizardly powers again, don't you. It is a pretty good party trick. And we're absolutely allowed to eat dessert first. We can even eat it for breakfast and no one gets to stop us anymore. Possibly the best thing about being an adult." Which may or may not be the same as being grown up. Now that his hands are free, he could get around the boots, but they'll just have to wait until he's had a chance to find out what happens if he tries to steal a kiss. Shirt-commentary will too.

"One basket of roadkill and birdseed, got it." Kass laughs easily, certainly more at ease than she was that first date. Being at home helps, but more, his own easy and carefree attitude helps her to relax and have more fun. She leans onto the counter, her forearms resting on the edge as she leans forward, looking up at him with an engaging grin as he spills forth a veritable plethora of ice cream accessories, "Look at this magnificent feast of sweet condiments!! You've exceeded all expectations!" Her eyes widen as they dart from item to item, pausing briefly on the caramel and whipped cream. He can see the blush grow and spread across her cheeks even as she looks back to him with a smile, "This is a veritable sweet feast!"

Then he goes in for that surprise kiss and she's silenced for a few moments. It takes her a startled second before she returns it, but that moment passes in a heartbeat and she leans into it, letting him steal her lips, her attention... and he could probably get away with a little more, too. When it does end, that blush is still staining her cheeks, but she smiles at him and murmurs, "You taste good." Licking her lips, she clears her throat and flits a smile towards him, "Can I have more of that, too? That was good."

"And a really shiny foil bow," Rhys agrees with a brief laugh of his own. He gives an exaggerated little preen when he's informed he's exceeded expectations, shoulders a bit extra far back, chest out a bit to polish his knuckles against it, and the amusement in his expression only increases when he catches the eye-widening and arrival and flow of that blush. A brow lifts, augmenting a sidelong look, the smile dimmed down to something small and closed, which manages to amplify the teasing. Not a single word, though. Not for that.

It's not until after the kiss that he responds aloud to all her remarks in one: "Always aim to exceed expectations." She can in fact have more right now, though only a quick and fleeting thing this time. "You taste delicious. Chocolate ice-creamy." Appropriately enough. He steps away, though, and now actually does get around to divesting himself of the boots, and the jacket while he's at it. "You also," he notes, glancing up to her from the unlacing, "look adorable. Those slippers are awesome."

"I did just have some double chocolate chunk ice cream... so.. preview?" Kass flashes a brief grin before turning towards the counter to uncork the bottle of Maker's Mark and start pouring them some drinks. Laughing, she lifts a foot and waggles it at him, "A fellow slipper afficianado and myself traded slippers. He got my light up ducky slippers and I got his vorpal bunny slippers." She loosely re-corks the bottle and turns, watching him shamelessly as he divests himself of the outer layers. Opening up the sprinkles, the caramel sauce, the whipped cream, the cherries... she starts doctoring up the bowls with the extras.

Fishing around in the jar of cherries, she plops a few into each bowl then tosses one into her mouth and chews on it, "You know, a lot of people give the maraschino cherry shit.. but its probably my favorite cherry. Its super versatile, you know?" Kass caps the jar and the caramel sauce, moving to wash her hands. Drying them on a towel, she tosses it onto the counter and picks up one bowl and one glass, padding around the edge of the counter towards Rhys, smiling, "Dessert and a drink. Would you like music? A movie? Just talk?"

"You mean you don't just always taste that way now? ...eh, probably for the best. Chocolate, you can get too much of." Judging by the way the grin returns there, Rhys is 100% aware of how cheesy that ended up, and entirely pleased by it. This is just one of the services he provides. "I didn't even know there were slipper aficionados. Do you have meetings? What if someone just dabbles? 'cause I don't even have any slippers, but now I wish I did."

Straightening up, he points to the bowl and glass in her hands, "Are those mine?" Well, he is capable of taking like five steps and picking up the others himself. Theoretically! "See, I don't understand why anyone'd be down on the maraschino. They're tasty, they're festive, it's impossible to own a jar long enough for them to go bad, and they practically glow in the dark. What's not to like?" At her question, he glances toward the living room, then back. "That depends: what movies have we got, and have you ever buried someone in the foundations for talking through one?"

"Not always. I like to switch it up, keep you guessing. But I do try for sweet over sour," Kass offers with a brief grin flashed towards him, chuckling softly. His commentary about the slippers has her grinning once again even as she nods, "I have a thing for two things. Chuck Taylors, and slippers. I have collections of both. One of my favorite pair are my stompy werewolf slippers. I'm hoping to get the stompy Abominable Snowman for Christmas!"

Glancing down at both bowl and glass, she chuckles and gives a small nod, "They are. You're the guest, I'm supposed to be serving you. So.. go on. Sit down and let me serve you ice cream and bourbon." She winks at him and smiles briefly before his next comment. Laughing, she nods, "I couldn't agree more, I love them." Flicking a glance towards the living room, Kass looks back to Rhys and grins, "I've got Amazon Prime with Starz, HBO, and Cinemax.. and Netflix and Hulu. So there's plenty to pick from!" She pauses, then chuckles, "And I haven't yet. I like to talk during movies myself."

"Good, keep me on my toes. It's awesome for the calf muscles." Rhys extends a leg as if to show one off, like a woman hitchhiking in an old movie, though since he's wearing jeans and doesn't lean down to draw them up, it doesn't have quite the same effect. For a moment when she confirms those are his servings, he looks about to take them -- but far be it from him to deny her request! So he starts toward the living room instead, walking backward so that he's still facing her, and apparently has actually paid enough attention to the layout that he does not trip himself on a pillow along the way. Much cooler than the alternative! Which, to be fair, does look pretty likely at least once.

"So basically every movie ever made. That ought to narrow things down a bit," he says with a laugh. "Okay: old favourite or something neither of us have seen?" He reaches the spot he apparently wants, all cushiony with an actual view of the television, and drops down into it, getting comfortable and essaying to look even more comfortable than he actually is as he offers his hands to let her do the serving. "And what makes the slippers stompy? Just big and tall, or do they make a city-crushing sort of sound when you walk? ...Now I want Godzilla slippers that do that."

Kass laughs at his response, then lets out a wolf whistle when he extends that jeans-covered leg, as if it were Jessica Rabbit herself showing off gams. Then he's walking himself backwards into the living room, which certainly works to impress her! She blinks, then grins and offers, "You should add that to your list of wizardy powers. If I tried that, things would end up broken." Chuckling, she moves into the living room and hands him his bowl and glass with a smile.

Moving back to retrieve her own, she calls out, "I'm really pretty easy to please, but lets say... you pick the genre, I'll pick the title." Kass re-enters and makes her way over to the table, seating herself next to Rhys and flashing a grin, "That sound good?" At the question of the slippers, she chuckles. "I have those, too. The werewolf slippers make big ominous stomping through the woods sounds, and when you stop, there's a three second pause, then a wolf howl. The stompy Godzilla slippers do the same but with the Godzilla roar at the end."

The wolf-whistle gets a wink back as if he were Jessica Rabbit herself, though the truth is he can't hold 'sultry' for long. Not in this context, at least. But the grin's completely appropriate for, "Spatial awareness, my secret superpower. 'course you know now the next time I do that around you, I'm doomed to fall on my ass, right?"

And in the meantime, possibly to check out hers, at least as much as the oversized shirt allows, while she's heading for her own treats and he's setting his glass down to snag one of the cherries off is bowl. Okay, it's just barely plausibly deniable, but not as anything that doesn't involve watching her go. The cherry's eyed a moment, and he tilts his head back to toss it upward and-- actually successfully catch it in his mouth. There's a blink that looks frankly surprised it worked, or at least that it worked so well, before it settles into casually-pleased-with-himself for the duration of cherry-chewin'. Good work, me! "I'd want the Godzilla slippers to do the stomping on the city sounds, specifically. Buildings crunching and people running and screaming. But you're gonna have to show me those. And... okay, both some kind of giant monster movie and horror are kind of tempting right now, but let's go comedy. Horrific giant monster comedy not mandatory."

Kass says, "I could kiss it and make it better if you do?" Its called out over her shoulder as she collects her own bowl and glass. That butt looks good in soft denim, even with a thin layer of cotton draped across it. Did Kass catch him looking? She doesn't say anything, though she's smiling when she turns around.

Coming back towards him, she settles in to pluck up the cherry from her own bowl, popping it stem and all into her mouth. Chewing on the cherry, it almost seems like there's extra movement inside her mouth. The reason why becomes quickly apparent, the stem of the cherry poking out from between her lips, three neat little knots in the stem, waving at him before she sucks it back inside and chews it up along with a grin. "Dylan's the one that has those stompy Godzilla slippers. I have the stompy Godzilla roar slippers. If we wear them together, you'd never know there wasn't a Godzilla movie in the other room." She pauses, thinking briefly, then nods decisively, "Eight-Legged Freaks it is. Either that or Evolution." Both definitely fit the bill for giant monster comedy."

"How do you know I won't do it on purpose now?" Rhys asks, and the grin widens a little, "I mean, some people think it's not too bad as it is. You can make it better? This is sounding like a win-win, really." He has a sip of the bourbon before he digs into the ice cream properly, giving it a quietly approving little noise. Might even make for a moment or two of silence in there.

Kass gets a sidelong glance when she's doing that thing with her mouth -- it's a thing he's seen people do before, so he has a basic guess on what's going on, but the presentation still gets his eyebrows rising considerably. "You are officially the most accomplished person I have ever seen do that," sounds genuinely impressed. "I can do one, but it always looks drunk." He watches her eating it for a moment before he picks up another of the cherries on his and eyes it. Hmm. "So you both have stompy Godzilla slippers? Stereo city-smashing sounds like a good time." And so does Eight-Legged Freaks, apparently, 'cause he's pointing a 'that works' finger at her before she's even fully done saying it. No verbal answer, because it's time to see whether his cherry-stem skills have improved any since the last time he tried.

"I'll just have to take my chances, I guess," Kass shoots back with a grin, leaning in to bump her shoulder against his. "But seriously, if you ever get hurt.. call me. I'm trained. And... well, you'll see. The Forces is strong with this one." She shrugs and smiles towards him before digging into her own bowl and chasing it with a sip of bourbon. Oh yeah, that's good ice cream.

"So, uhm.. there was a story, or rumor, or.. well, it went around that you know.. if you could tie knots in cherry stems with your mouth that you were really good at, " she motions with her hands and shrugs, "other stuff. So the summer I turned thirteen, I bought so many cherries with my allowance, just training to tie knots in cherry stems. I wasn't even sure what that 'other stuff' was, I just knew it involved boys and I wanted to be good at it." She gives a nod to his question, grinning once more, "Yeah, its pretty baller. Sometimes he comes over and we compare new slippers. Or like.. we gifted each other slippers. He gave me his vorpal bunny slippers, I gave him my light up ducky slippers." She flips through to pull up Eight-Legged Freaks and turns it on with a happy smile, "I really like David Arquette."

Rhys returns the shoulder-bump, eyebrows lifting slightly at the mention of being trained. "In medical stuff? That's pretty impressive, I can just about remember the whole RICE thing and how to do the Heimlich manoeuvre." The mention of the Force earns her an overly-suspicious little look, and an arched brow. "Jedi or Sith? Just so I know how much to worry." Not that he does a very good job of looking worried at all. He has ice cream.

"Weeeee had also heard that rumour," he says, amused, "except mostly with 'other stuff' slightly better defined. Pretty sure you would've got our attention." Though of course, she had his already... and it's not exactly being ignored now, either. He glances off to the side into nowhere, eyes narrow and unfocused as he gives the tying a try. Takes most of the time she's answering before the stem pokes out and he lifts a hand to extract it and take a look at the result. Success! Just one knot, but, "Neater than last time I tried, anyway." He'll take it.

"Light-up ducky slippers sound pretty cute," he allows, "I feel like there's this whole slipper-related world I've somehow been walking by blindly all my life, now." He picks up another cherry by the stem, looking at it a moment, then turning to offer it to her. It jiggles slightly, the weight of the cherry more than the stem can fully support, as it's guided in the general direction of her mouth. "I haven't seen this one yet. But I approve of the title."

"Yeah, its.. its one of those things that I learned while I was Away." Kass offers with a shrug and a faint smile towards him. Her head cants at the suspicious look and she lets out a laugh, "Neither. I'm not big on politics or factions. I'm not trying to run the galaxy, just live in it. The Jedi and Sith were both broken. Good ideals, baaaaaaaaad execution. So I went factionless. Rogue. I'm a Free Agent of Force." She flashes a grin again and scoops up a bite of her ice cream.

"I mean, I found out what the 'other stuff' was pretty quickly. You can't be a teenager and NOT find out what it meant." She shrugs and glances at him sidelong, "I got the attention of the guy I wanted to get the attention of. Never got to show him the cherry stem trick, though." She takes a breath, then chuckles, "Til now, anyways." His success is met with applause as Kass grins, "Hey, its not easy! I took three whole months to teach myself how to do it and then I still kept at it after to get better!"

Nodding, she sips from her bourbon and glances towards the tv, "There totally is. You should really check it out sometime. Slippers are more than just comfy for your feet, there's so many fun ones out there." Looking over, she lets out a small laugh at the wight of the dangling cherry, but when its offered to her, she accepts it with a smile. Lips parting, tongue reaching out to curl around the juicy little fruit as she pulls towards her mouth, perhaps even nipping his fingers if he gets them too close!

"If 'Rogue Force' isn't already some kind of action movie, it really needs to be. 'Rogue Force Agent' sounds a little too-- actually, no, it sounds like an action movie too, just a badly translated one. Which I would probably also watch." Another bite of ice cream, and another glance, this one sidelong and teasing again, "Everyone likes a rogue."

Rhys's stem-tying is briefly interrupted by a stifled laugh, but it's not until after he's finished and bowed in place for her applause with a, "Thank you, thank you, don't forget to tip the veal," that he adds, "I did kinda figure probably that wasn't a long period of ignorance. But yeah, I guess you did, at that. Twice." A smaller grin, one that remains while he's watching her accept the cherry, and it widens with a quiet laugh when his fingers get nipped.

"Ow," he says, blatantly unwounded, "I need those. Now I'm going to have to call this gorgeous rogue medic I know to come kiss it better. I hope you're happy." The fingers stay close, with a little wiggle; right in kissing-better range, though that's technically also biting range. It might be a gamble! He'll risk it. Even if he hasn't seen the movie before, it doesn't drawn his attention away just yet. Maybe it needs to learn the stem trick.

"It would have to be like... 'Super Rogue Force Team Dynamite Go' and it would have to be a terribly dubbed sci-fi/action flick from Japan or China. And I would watch that all day long. With popcorn. Or cotton candy. Maybe both," Kass responds, her eyes on the tv until his last comment. Her gaze slides sidelong towards him, one corner of her mouth quirking up. "One of these days I'll have to show you just how 'rogue' I really am." She pauses, then adds, "Or not. You might become afraid of me and I don't want that. I like you too much for that."

She flashes a grin at him when he pretends to be injured by the nip of his fingers, flushing with pleasure at being called a 'gorgeous rogue medic'. Leaning in closer, she presses a kiss to his fingertips, then flicks the tip of her tongue across them as well, "Mmm, cherry flavored." She nips lightly once more, undoing the work she'd just done! Kass tilts forward and lets the knotted stem of that second cherry slip between her lips, poking out towards him, wiggling it a little bit and winking. "I love cherry flavor."

Rhys laughs. "I would also watch that. With popcorn. Or cotton candy. Probably both." Difficult not to let his eyebrows lift when she suggests not just demonstrating her specific rogue-ness, but that it might frighten him off... so he doesn't try to stop them. "I don't scare all that easy," may very well be true, but without having glimmer himself, surely he can't really know what might be available to be afraid of.

Still, just at the moment there are nicer things to think about, and certainly more distracting ones. That flush has him grinning again, and he watches as she 'treats' the fingers, with a not-entirely-convincing, "Hey!" when she nips them again. "You're going to start an infinite loop, doing that. And they'll run out of cherry flavour long before the heat death of the universe." Hand already being in more or less the right neighbourhood, it darts the necessary inch or two in to snag the end of the cherry stem and try to steal it, to get a good look at the knotting. A glance toward his ice cream, another sidelong one to her, and he trades that stem for another of the cherries, catching it gently between his teeth and leaning toward her with an excessively innocent look. Cherry flavour?

"Mmmm.. then maybe I'll show you tonight after all... we'll have to see how tired you are later on. It works best when you've gotten yourself good and sweaty and tired. Maybe we can do some hot yoga or calisthenics later..." Kass remarks with an 'innocent' smile aimed his direction, even winking at him. She leans in a little closer and bumps his shoulder with her own, whispering, "I'll try to make it fun."

Chuckling, she bobs her brows brows at him, "Or I'll move on to other cherry-flavored parts of you. Infinite loops are boring anyways. I like a guy that isn't afraid to take his time and enjoy himself.. and me.. but that's a bit longer than I want to spend doing any one thing." Her eyes follow his fingers and he's able to snatch the stem from her lips with no trouble. The knots are small, tight and concise along the stem, not the usual messy and loose loop that most people can manage. Chuckling as he sets a cherry between his teeth, she meets his gaze and grins, then leans in closer. Her lips cover his and her tongue slips between his teeth to curl around the fruit, tugging lightly on it. Will he let her have it or does he have something a little more fun in mind?

"It is very important to stay in shape," Rhys grants; faux-innocent is really getting a workout tonight. Possibly via hot yoga or calisthenics. But probably not. Hard not to grin at the bump and whisper, so again he doesn't bother trying. The tone, on the other hand, does a pretty good job of still faking earnest: "I have faith in you."

His brows lift in a 'see?' sort of way when she allows that infinity might be a bit much. "You really can have too much of a good thing. I vote we stick to entirely finite loops. But I dunno... think there are any other cherry-flavoured parts of me? You might have to do some investigation to find out. I might be hiding 'em. Could be dangerous, having it common knowledge you tasted like cherries..."

Is this in line with or contradiction to that cherry gambit? Weirdly enough, he doesn't particularly care about the logic right now. The cherry-containing grin spreads a little farther when she leans in to claim the fruit, and he doesn't relinquish it immediately. Just enough extra pressure applied that it doesn't come free, though much more and the structural integrity won't hold; it's the right spot, though, to let his tongue interfere with hers, hand coming up to slide into the hair at the base of her skull and draw her further in. He'll release the cherry after a fair handful of seconds, but releasing her's another question.

With his hand coming up to capture her, drawing her in closer, Kass gives in perhaps too easily, shifting forward more and more until she finds herself climbing into his lap completely. One thigh draped across his lap, one knee by his hip, the other leg trailing out behind her. A hand sliding up along his arm and across his shoulder until her fingers curl loosely around the back of his neck, the other resting against his chest, her fingers curling into the front of his shirt.

Her breathing picks up as she flip-flops between playing her tongue against his and trying to half-heartedly tug the cherry from his mouth. Even if it does come free, it will get tucked into her cheek as she lets out a soft moan and dives deeper into the mingling of their lips and tongues. She tangles and dances her tongue with his for long moments before breaking away with a breathless grin and a gleam in her eyes. "I'm definitely gonna be searching for more cherry-flavored parts... I might have to let my tongue lead the way..."

Kass gives a light tug on the collar of his shirt as she grins towards him, "Wanna see my wizardy powers?"

Really, is there a too easily? Rhys certainly doesn't seem to have any complaint. There's not a shred of protest against her gradual arrival in his lap. By the time she's actually ending up there, in fact, his other arm's sliding around her waist to encourage it, pulling her in, dipping to slip up beneath the hem of the shirt and wrap against warm skin instead. Yes, at that point he has to tilt his head upward to meet hers in that kiss; no, he really couldn't care less. Busy kissin', thanks.

She does come away one cherry richer, which is altogether an entirely satisfactory trade as far as he's concerned, and his breath's somewhat heightened too as he grins back to her. "There might be others. Somewhere. No hints, though. You'll have to do a really thorough exploration to be sure. No stone unturned, no goose unchased. Chase ungoosed? I dunno, probably kinda unchaste."

He leans in again, enough to nip playfully at her lower lip if it isn't evaded. "I definitely wanna see your wizardy powers. Think mine must be on the fritz today, 'cause I don't seem to be making this ice cream disappear. Yet. You might have to save us both."

"You're the only one with wizardy ice cream powers here, Rhys.. mine are... different." Kass offers up a small gasp at the nip to her lip, then grins at his choice of words. Holding his gaze, she lets that Glimmer flow through her, confident that it will be even more impressive since he can't actually feel it, letting it work along through the clothes they wear, unravelling seams in the blink of any eye to leave it all hanging on with a whisper and a prayer.

She's the first to move, shifting in closer, brushing her chest against his. And that's really all it takes, the domino effect rushing along as pieces of clothing slip and fall to the wayside, shedding them like a snake sheds skin, until they are wrapped together in a pile of fabric. Nude. "Tada," gets murmured against his lips as she strokes her tongue along his lower lip. "I think I want to start that search now. I've got a real big craving for some cherry flavored Rhys."

Still, there's a small part of her that feels compelled to ask, because this is a really big leap, "Unless you don't want me to?"

You know how they say 'be careful what you wish for'? To be fair, Rhys probably wasn't actually wishing for wizardly powers of a genuinely different level of, well, both 'wizard' and 'power' to his. They're just a joke, right? Silliness. And it's perfectly likely that he doesn't scare all that easily, too; the odds are reasonable that he may have had things to test that here and there over the last several years.

The thing is, though, that while they may not all have been 'normal' in the sense of 'everyday', they've all been normal in the sense of 'fully explained by science'. Normal in the sense of 'does not get your book shelved in sci-fi/fantasy'. Normal, not to put too fine a point on it, in the sense of 'not actually magic'. Maybe, later, he'd argue whether or not it qualifies as 'scared' nonetheless, but no one could convincingly argue against 'startled' or 'disconcerted'. 'Discombobulated', even.

He is, in fact, almost literally taken aback: a blink at that first feeling of unraveling, as though he can't quite place what feels like it's happening, is followed by a sharp yelp and sudden backward scramble when things start actually falling off. Of course, that only makes them shed faster and more easily. It's hard to be sure whether he's retreating from her, or just from what's happening, though the latter is a lot less effective either way. Either would be more effective if she weren't kind of sitting on his lap. It means he ends up mostly-sprawled, wide-eyed, and, with her on his legs, not actually that far away. Also, naked. "Holy fucking shit what--?! How did--?! Did that just--?! Did you--?! How--?! What the-- what-- I-- I liked that shirt!" Yup. That's the sentence that actually manages completion. And it's probably the least of his actual concerns right now. Good work, Rhys!

Maybe there had been the hope that because he grew up here, that because its Gray Harbor that he would be.. accepting? Inured against it? Whatever it was, one can actually see the light in her eyes and the playful expression on her face to crumble. Its like watching a tower fall in slow motion, first a brick here or there, then more, and finally the whole thing topples over until all that's left is a resigned sort of hurt expression. When he scrambles back, she shifts backwards as well, arms coming up to cross over her chest, rocking back until she's on her butt with her legs pulled up in front of her and her arms looped around them tightly. Her face hidden by her knees except for a pair of eyes that won't even look at him now.

She squeezes her arms tighter around her legs and flicks a glance towards his clothes.. which immediately mend themselves, as if they had never been unravelled in the first place. "...sorry.." comes the quiet response. And still she won't look at him. "Its just.. a thing I can do." She lifts a quick shrug and reaches an arm out to grab one of the throw blankets to wrap around herself. Just sitting there huddled under a cheap fleece throw and staring at the floor. Waiting for him to do.. or say.. something.

What? What? What just...? Rhys stares at Kass for a few seconds, and then at his clothes, which aren't torn after all, so maybe he imagined it? Except for where he isn't wearing them, and he's drunk nowhere near enough to have forgotten taking them off, so no, we are still in distinctly WTF territory here. Is it even more WTF now? Was it already so far out on the edge there's nowhere else to go? He looks from them to her and back several times, clearly trying to figure this puzzle out, and coming up against ???! every time.

"...okay," he says after maybe half a minute or so, though it likely feels like an eternity, "That is... as wizard powers go, that's a little more impressive than the ice cream thing." His gaze has settled on her again, and he's studying her like he still isn't sure what to make of this and maybe watching her will make things suddenly make sense. Though as yet, no such luck. A mind already fairly inclined to the rational, and the efforts of the Veil to mask these things from those without the powers, are not enough to explain it away immediately, not in this situation. Later, the memory will probably shift; for now it's too fresh and clear for any rationalization to take truly comfortable hold. But it's trying, all the same.

"That is..." he starts again, "...a really impressive magic trick." It has to be, right? Not the foggiest idea how it could've been accomplished, but here he is and there she is and there the clothes are and he's definitely sure he'd remember if they'd gotten there the usual way. The tearing and repairing part must have been some sort of illusion. "How'd you do that?" Does it help that it sounds like wonder rather than fear, or that he's pushed back up to more normal sitting, and doesn't seem about to either flee or attack?

"I've.. always been able to do it. Why do you think I got sent away for ten years? I wasn't.. crazy, my parents just didn't know what else to do with me," Kass shrugs shortly and continues to stare at the floor. That expression of resignation stays on her face as she lets out a heavy sigh and props her chin on her knees. "Its not the only thing I can do either. Just... one small piece." She flicks a glance at him. "I like your wizard powers better than mine. Yours are more fun and don't alienate people."

Squeezing her arms around her legs, Kass seems to have withdrawn completely inside herself and wearing more of a neutral mask now. None of the personality or emotion that she's displayed up to this point, just bland answers given in a tired voice. "As for how.. I just will it to happen. This town is different. Its really different. There's things here, people, that aren't normal. I'm one of them." Shaking her head, she adds, "There's a lot of bad shit in this town. Like cancer." Glancing up, she states, "By the way, I can cure cancer. So. If you ever end up with it..." She points to herself before wrapping the arm back around her leg and staring at the floor again.

"I wish I were like you. I wish I could just have talents and not.. this. I wish I could remember more of.. me." Kass glances back to him, her eyes wavering, "I barely have any memories left anymore. Its like I lose more of myself each week."

Not crazy, just thinks she can cure cancer. On the other hand... Rhys glances sidelong at the clothing on the floor. It has to be some kind of trick, right? This makes no sense. He's lived here almost all his life; he'd definitely notice if people were walking around doing actual magic. ...right? He's good at noticing things. And yet.

I can cure cancer.

He kind of wants that to be true.

"...can you cure other stuff?" It's a quiet question, asked almost in spite of himself. Probably not for himself, since if she's ever checked, she'll have noticed he's healthy as a horse. Pony. Some sort of appropriate equine. And for all that he genuinely wants the answer, he doesn't wait for it before adjusting position again. Hands and soles of feet against the floor, lifting and shifting him to ease in next to her again. He ends up in a similar position, arms around his knees, though more loosely wrapped. Not quite touching, but near enough that he can shift his weight to nudge her shoulder with his, "You have talents, though. I mean, other ones. Look at this place, right? ...what's messing with your memory?"

The silence drags out, she's expecting him to get up at any moment, dress, leave. Instead, he asks a question. Her head comes up and she looks at him for a long moment, perhaps trying to discern if he's being serious or not. Finally, she nods.

"Most anything, really. If I can't cure it completely, I can at least send it into remission. That means just flat out healing, too. So if you're hurt, call me. I can help," its murmured softly in response, her eyes moving, watching him shift and move around. She flinches when he approaches, then settles back down and glances sidelong at him. Her eyes move around the room and she gives a nod, "I like to paint, make things, sketch..." Clearing her throat, Kass drops her gaze, "I have other abilities too. Other.. um.. wizardy skills."

The question of her memory has her hunching up her shoulders and muttering, "Its complicated... has to do with where I've been the last ten years." She looks at him, "I can.. barely remember you. From before. I tried to regain what I lost and.. I lost even more."

Most anything? Most anything... Oh, there's a definite pull of some sort to that. His mouth opens slightly, then closes again, unspoken words hovering in his aura. Whatever it is needs more thought before it's going to emerge, perhaps.

Instead, there's a small nod. "Don't knock the art stuff. That kind of talent's not just lying around anywhere, you know? And you're bright. You were always bright. I remember, from before. There's talents in that too. Seems to be you've got those and this. ...whatever 'this' is." His tendency to accept and deal with the reality around him is still having trouble coming together with the subconscious urgings of the Veil to rationalize away what doesn't match the reality he otherwise knows; it's an unfamiliar kind of being off-balance. It puts a bare hint of reluctance in the curiosity of, "...other wizardy skills? Still not talking ice cream, huh?"

May also be part of why there's little pause before focusing on the other issue. "Is it a treatment side effect kind of thing? Maybe there's some sort of--" He breaks off as if more of it were registering, which perhaps it is, since he instead asks, "How did you try to regain it? And when?" Another small pause, though this one's followed by a small, crooked smile, and though it's not said as though he doubts the actual issue, "Y'know, it could just be I wasn't that memorable. I do like to think I gained a few levels of noteworthiness since you knew me last."