My Wish., Spotty & Jula

[Spotty]

Once upon a time, for every tale, every yarn spun must begin with that old and overused phrase. Cliched? Surely. But classic and absolutely necessary? ...most definitely.

Djinn. Genies. They were the creatures of legend and myth, nearly as cliched as the phrase that began such tales to which they were contained. But there happened to be one such creature, one pouting and miserable being that would have disagreed with such a fact. She did exist!

If, of course, existing was allowed to be applied to being stuffed in a smelly old lamp... hell, could this beaten and weathered, rusted old thing really even still claim to be a lamp? It was a wonder at all that the lid still remained firmly on the brass object. Once the piece had been treasured, hand painted and kept with treasures and wonders beyond the wildest dreams of any peasant. But just as the lamp had suffered from years of disuse and crept from memory and history... the temple surrounding had become decrepit and abandoned.

Who had been so foolish to leave such a priceless valuable as offering to the gods likely had no idea just what it was they had held within their grasp. Then again, it was likely the being who had left the trinket in exchange for a blessing from the gods was dead. And their children long dead. And..their children's children withered and old.

It wasn't fair or pretty being trapped this way!

The temple had once been a glorious sight, the pillars taller than any building, than any old tree. Some claimed not even the mountains in the north could compare to the magnificent design. Priests traveled from countries far away, making pilgrimages each year to keep the temple filled with riches, in good repair, and always welcoming to a tired wanderer or hungry beggar.

The building sat at the top of a great hill, overlooking the village below. The keeper of the temple was selected by the elders of the village, the most-abled bodied boy in each generation would be chosen to devote his life to worshipping the gods and protecting the temple from thieves and rogue knights looking to satisfy their greed. For centuries this process had been in place, the temple flourished, ample offerings made -- the old, broken lamp included -- but, as all things do, the prospering village and consequently its temple, began a spiraled downfall. From drought to famine, from war to disease, the villagers were forced to flee, and the temple abandoned.

Several times over the years the temple had been ransacked for riches. It wasn't before long that even the poorest of thieves gave up. Aside from broken idols, torn tapestry and drapes, and an old, dented and ugly lamp, the temple was empty.

Eventually the village would be restored to its glory, though in its later age, the village was known as the wealthy and merchant port of Hartlepool. The temple was forgotten, its broken and rotted walls grown over by foliage and trees, shielding it completely from the beings in the city below. The occasional child or the desperate may seek play or shelter within the sad building, but... for the most part, it was forgotten. And, the most unlikely place for a story to begin.

[Peer]

Jack darted through the forest, fleeing. He was at the wrong end of a hot pursuit, and his stolen items were weighing him down. He was thanking the heavens almighty that they hadn't brought dogs into this chase, as he would have abandoned his new-found riches to save himself, at that point. No, he did not like dogs. But that was a little beside the point.

For his age, Jack was tall and lean; Sixteen years, but for a kid, he was a bit overgrown. Maybe the term "Young Man" Would fit him better. He looked older. His shoulder-length red hair was tangling in the breeze behind him as he ran, full speed, the sun dancing off his freckles, but this was no time for enjoying the warm sunlight. He could still hear the horses pounding after him, gaining on him...

Running down the path was a lost cause. He'd be overcome soon enough if he kept with this strategy... so time for a new one!

He made a sharp, sudden turn off the path, and began booking it up the hill, taking a rout that looked very much like it'd be a pain in the ass for horses to follow after. It was the very reason he picked the path. Unfortunately, it would be a pain for him, too, but he was agile, or at least, he'd have liked to think. He was somewhat more cumbersome, at the moment, with a lovely golden pitcher, candlestick, and mirror (and a few pieces of jewelry) in a bag over his shoulder. So he'd have to find a hiding place, and fast, or else he'd be too tired to keep running...

What was that? A cave entrance? An old passage way? Well, whatever it was, Jack didn't think twice before diving in.

Safe! He darted into the deepest, darkest crevice he could find.

After some hiding, waiting, shifting, and getting prepared to stab whatever may have followed him, thirty minutes later, it became pretty obvious that nobody suspected he was here. Well, that was good! He managed to relax a bit, and only know his legs turned to rubber as his adrenaline left him. He flopped to the floor, chuckling giddily to himself occasionally, and regaining his breath. He should stay here the evening... it was getting too dark to return home anyway, and people may still be looking for him.

He moved to sit, but jumped when he realized that there was a stone right where he wanted to situate himself. In an impatient flare, he snatched the object, and considered throwing it. Eh, but what was this?... A lamp?

He carefully peered at it. Well! This was old... what a pity that other people didn't think of old artifacts as very valuable, or else he might be able to...

Well, maybe it was made of something valuable that could be melted down. He furrowed his brows and began to make himself comfortable as he tried to clear the dust off of it.

[Spotty]

The moment the dust was removed by touch, the bits of old oil and pigment exposed slightly, but... that was nothing compared to the quivering the old rusted metal began to emit. At first the movement caused a groan of protest from the ancient trinket, but it was not a handful of breaths before the lamp trembled and quaked, convulsing and quavered, almost as though a spontaneous pressure was being built up inside the ornament.

Then again...

It wasn't spontaneous pressure at all.

A multi-colored energy poured from the spout of the lamp, the lid rattling from the pressure and bits of energy seeping from the space between the lid and cracks in the lamp as well. Light flickered into existence as well and suddenly... an explosion from the the lamp caused the entire area to be illuminated by the green and yellow, blue and purple energy. In accompaniment with a shower of sparkles, no less.

The beams of energy began to collect in a cloud, hovering just before the unsuspecting Jack. The cloud began to shrink and fade, until finally... the cloud could be considered nothing more than a breath of... the odd energy. With a... sprinkle of sparkles this time, the cloud disappeared and a tiny woman floated in the air.

She was sitting with her legs tucked neatly beneath her person, while her arms rested to her sides as though she were...in deep meditation. The female was blonde, her hair pulled back in an intricate fashion, kept up with equally tiny decorations and the like. She wore loose fitting robes which fluttered and swept around her in flight. ...but she was no bigger than a sparrow.

Opening one of her eyes, the tiny she-creature revealed one of her dark brown eyes, regarding Jack in curiosity. Expression once calm, her mouth suddenly fell open. Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands, she opened both wide, gaping at Jack. "Dear gods! Are you a giant?!" Her voice was shouted, though it could be not much louder than a whisper in this small form.

Blinking again, she glanced around the area, realization dawning on her. "Mm..." A sheepish expression took up residence on her tanned features, "This is rather embarrassing..."

With a clap of her hands, a new explosion occurred, beams of purple and green, blue and yellow energy radiating from her person. When the brightness cleared, she stood before Jack, tilting her head to regard the boy with renewed curiosity.

"Hello!" This declaration was made cheerily.

ooc;;
Ysolt!

[Peer]

Throughout these theatrics, Jack had done a few things: Dropped the lamp, snatched up the lamp, cowered, blinked, relaxed, laughed, and then sat with a wide, wide grin on his face, in that order.

"No way," was his first greeting to her. "This is... this is fairly... Hahaha, unexpected, to say the least..." He shoved the lamp in his bag of goodies and then jumped to his feet, removing his cap with a bit of a flourish. "How rude of me, my dear! I am Jack La Ron. This was... this was most unexpected, to say the least, I can't imagine you'd be surprised if I say that, right?" He was grinning like a fool. "Are you what I think you are? do you have a name? Are you... I mean, that was..." Still with that silly smile, he seemed at a bit of a loss for words. "No, no, I won't jynx it, I'll assume you're ... something else. Is there anything I can do for you?" His eyes sparkled with anticipation, just waiting for a sign to confirm or deny his suspicion. He wasn't a dull lad; he knew about folklore, but that's all genies were supposed to be, as far as he was concerned. Folklore. Still, this fit the symptoms....

[Spotty]

Dear gods above, this child hadn't a clue, did he? Bah, it was no matter... she'd explain, that was... if she could get a word between his ramblings. His silly smile was well met with a grin of her own as she observed the boy, her Master with her shining, dark eyes.

The djinn cocked her head to a side as he offered his name and asked for her own. A kind gesture, one that she did appreciate immensely, not... all humanoid beings were quite so polite. In fact, she was very convinced she could count on her hand how many times she'd been called something other than "djinn!", "hey you, djinn!", or "HEY DJINN DON'T TOUCH TH-- -.-;". She rather preferred the ring of her name in comparison to the other three.

"Ysolt," she spoke the name with a bit of a grimace, finding the name odd from her own mouth. "As for what I am, well Jack La Ron, Sir!" She bowed in a majestic and dramatic manner, straightening with a wink, "It is more what you are, Master. A most lucky and fortunate young man," pursing her lips in consideration, she rested her cheek in her palm, "You are entitled three wishes, three wishes withonlytheslightestofstipulations, but--" she paused, glancing around the area with a small frown.

Leaning towards Jack, she lifted her hand as though to tell him a secret, "You might consider an upgrade and firing your interior decorator, I think you may have been ripped off." A conspiratorial wink and she clapped again, disappearing and reappearing at his side. "A djinn, Master." Ha! Take that folklore, she did exist.

[Peer]

TEEHEE

A little school-girlish squeal came from him, and he just looked like the most pleased mortal on earth at that moment. "Ohmigosh youjustcalledmemaster- ohmigoshthiscan'tbehappening!" with embarrased and disbelieving joy, he rubbed his face as if to wake himself up. "I'm going crazy here! Ysolt? Ysolt! A pleasure, a true pleasure, my sweet!"

"Master..." Giggle! "Really? I can't believe this... I can't believe this!" Another laugh. "Well, jeez, this should be easy... I don't want corrupt political power, I don't want the princess to fall in love with me, all I want are material possessions... should be easy enough! Don't you think? It makes sense that it'd be easy... Djinn, wow! HA!" He was still obviously giddy with the excitement of the discovery. "Extenuating stipulations? What kind?" he asked. "Master... " snicker.

He sombered after a moment, and furrowed his brows. "Oh wait... no, this ... er, sorry, I introduced myself... right? Er, I'm not your master," He said a bit awkwardly, with a sudden disheartening sigh. "I mean, I should really take you to Eleena. She's not necessarily MY master, but she is the head of the household, so she may as well be. ^^; It wouldn't do to have you bound to me, when she's the one who makes the decisions, you know..." He explained. "Oh, and, this certainly isn't my home, so I can take that off my wish list. But really, what kind of stipulations? That's never really a good thing... that sounds like it could be a loophole," he observed.

[Spotty]

Ysolt just barely managed to control her own chuckling in response to the enthusiastic child before her. It would do no good to have her first impression on this youth be marred by laughing at him. Goodness no! She'd never dream of such a thing.

Her lips were pursed once more, but this...out of necessity to keep her laughter at bay. She considered him as before, curiosity returning to her expression while her eyes twinkled with bemusement.

So as not to be confused herself, she decided to go with the most pressing of questions first. "Oh... stipulations..." she replied mildly, waving her hand in the air in a dismissive manner. Several sparkles slipped from her palm. "To protect my well being, you understand?" Lifting her index finger, she began to list her "stipulations", a finger following each added item to the list.

"I cannot change the past, I shall not bring anyone back to life. I do not possess the ability to force someone to fall in love with you, nor can I cure them from being smitten." Somehow, she doubted that would be an issue, "It is against the rules for me to mutilate, maul, wound, or murder anyone." She paused, allowing her hand back to her side, "I'm sure there's others, but... it's been so long."

In illustration, she moved her hand to her neck, massaging the flesh there with a grin. "But if you only seek material items, well... it's no matter anyway, right Sir?" Right.

[Peer]

He grinned. "That should be easy enough, all that you can't do, I can do mostly on my own, save for reviving people... He chuckled. "Well, I was going to camp here the night... I'm not gonna use any of my wishes without consulting Eleena first, I hope you don't mind. But really, a lovely young lady just popped out of a lamp and offered to give me anything I wanted... and here I thought that would be enough in itself... " He glanced around. "Er, would you like to take a seat somewhere? Where are you from? Can you tell me about yourself? How long has it been since you've spoken with anybody?" He asked curiously. "Ysolt.... How do Djinns even come to be?

"Maybe it would be easier if we left..." He chewed his lip. It was harder to be decisive when someone else was with him. "Do you have an opinion on the matter?"

"Oh, perhaps you can - Can you restore permanent bodily harm?" He asked. "My teammate, Sean, he was cut on his throat, you see-" He indicated a spot on his throat. "He cant' speak anymore... Can you heal that, maybe?"

[Spotty]

Her eyebrow quirked when he confessed that he was proficient in all the tasks she was forbidden to engage. Well, she only hoped he didn't feel inclined to show her... or worse, practice on her. Bew, she wasn't a fan of being target practice.

The djinn took a seat on a fallen piece of rafter, lips twitching slightly. "This will do, Mas--er, Jack." Gods, that was going to be strange. She shook her head in response to his rapidly posed questions, It was against the rules to speak of previous summonings, but... she didn't see the harm of telling him what she did know of herself. Which, admittedly, was not very much.

"I can tell you a bit about myself, but I hope you're not disappointed with the brevity." Another grin, "I cannot tell you how long I have been trapped in that lamp, but..." she eyed the object in question, frowning slightly, "It must have been a very long time, at least a handful of centuries, I think." She glanced up at the ceiling, regarding the worn and broken architecture.

"Djinn were created by very powerful mages, beings I am sure have been long outlived by now." No being was truly immortal, except the kind cursed to live within small rusted, oversized trinket.

She shook her head when he asked if she had an opinion. Another bizarre question, she thought.

"Sounds easy," Ysolt declared with yet another grin. Easy, so long as it was correcting an overgrowth of scar tissue or otherwise mending of the flesh. If he required that she... "undo" the incident, well... there were more stipulations to explain.

[Peer]

"You don't have an opinion on the matter?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow, to be sure that's what she was shaking her head to. By now, the thrill of the find was wearing off a bit, but goodness, this was still highly exciting. "All right... Well... I guess we can go then, I mean, I was planning on staying the evening, but I'd feel bad keeping this from Eleena for any amount of time. I guess you dont' need to pack up or anything... Wow... Well, would you rather walk, or not? I mean, if it's easier on you, you're welcome to do whatever about going back to your lamp, but I'd like to have some company, if I have a choice. Would you be okay with that? With walking with me? It's not too far..." He scooped up his bag of stolen items and smiled at her, then held out a hand to help her back up.

"Centuries? By gods, you wear well!" He teased and nudged her lightly with his elbow. "That's grand, I'd say. Lovelier than an elf!" He winked. "I'm somewhat difficult to disappoint, you'll find... " he giggled. "Man, I can't believe this.." he repeated. "A djinn... Gosh, that not must be very fun... I'm very much against slavery, you know. Where I'm from, all the citizens were practically slaves to the one Tyrant, Derkai. It was a rotten place. But you must be powerful... So what makes you inclined to serve then, my lady Ysolt? Theoretically, couldn't you smite your potential master, and cease to do whatever they wanted you to? I mean, you're bound to have more power than me, for instance, so what makes you bound?"

[Spotty]

Again the djinn shook her head, dark eyes glittering in amusement. His excitement easily overshadowed her own, which was exceedingly impressive, in her opinion. Typically she was the one to flail and chatter incessantly, so it was a welcome change to meet someone who didn't sulk or make several greedy glances at her. Did she mention she especially welcomed the latter?

"Then we should go to see your Eleena, Master!" Ysolt declared with a cheerful nod, "And I'd be happy to accompany you." She bowed to him with this reply, straightening in time to catch his new bout of animated speech.

Accepting his hand, she rose to her feet, turning her neck as though to stretch her sore muscles. She had, after all, been trapped in a tiny compartment for several centuries, if her words were truthful.

The compliment summoned a broad grin to her lips and she settled her chin in the palm of her hands, "Difficult to disappoint? After delivering such a lovely compliment?" Her lips twitched, "Perhaps the centuries didn't wear well at all!" She summoned a jeweled mirror in her free hand, regarding her reflection with scrutiny. "Hm..."

As he continued, she kept her nose buried in the mirror, righting a nonexistent fallen lock. When he was quiet, and watching her expectantly at that, Ysolt tossed the mirror into the air and it vanished. Now what was it that he had asked? Something about...her inclination to serve. Well, she was an object, much like the lamp he held in his grasp... so... rules of the universe, maybe? Somehow she doubted he would accept that explanation, so... she shrugged.

"It's a better job than some," she replied with a grin and wink, gesturing to the bag of stolen goods with her chin. Theoretically, she could not smite any master, potential, former, or current. She was bound by ancient spells and charms, and beyond that... she was a being of pure magic, which meant she wasn't really a being at all... simply an object that had taken on sentience, in a sense. Of course, this even sounded farfetched to her, but...she wasn't paid to be a deep thinker.

"I was created to fulfill wishes. It's not so bad as an arrangement as you would think, maybe...repetitive at times, but..." She shrugged again, "It's in the rules." Her answers may have been evasive, however, she hadn't a real answer herself... this was just, the way things were. Djinn served their masters. The sky was blue.

...the sky was still blue, right?

[Peer]

"So you don't really quite have free will but you kinda do but you don't care much about it because you do what you're supposed to?" Jack inquired. Once she was up, he held his arm out to her for her to take. He took note of the appearing and vanishing mirror with kind of a sparkling grin.

Jack, himself, was torn. It was very much as if he were a child who encountered a Candy store that belonged completely to him... but on the other hand, he wasn't a child, and it wasn't a candy store. He was an adult, and this was a young woman- or young looking, anyway - to whom he felt inclined to respect. Things might be different if the genie in question was, say, a dirty old man, by appearance, or a chipper lad, or anything that wasn't a sultry thing. He was more of a gentleman than to waste something like that.

"Eleena'll be pretty happy, I'm sure..." He paused. "Though maybe we shouldn't mention that you're a djinn," He pondered after a moment as he began to escort her out. "I mean, she's a girl, and women ... I don't know, don't like each other by nature, right? So she might..." He pondered. What might she do that he didn't want her to?

Well, see, Eleena wasn't a gentleman, like he was, so she'd see the djinn just for what she was... a wish-granter. Which wasn't necessarily bad. But Jack found that he wanted her to stick around longer. Maybe for dinner, or what have you. o.ò

"Are you hungry? Have you eaten?" Jack asked. Then, after a moment, "I ought to think of a good story, then, if I'm not going to call you a djinn..."

[Spotty]

Ysolt considered his first bit of speech, reiterating his words under her breath, and gesturing with her own hands to make sure he had gotten everything just right. When she reasoned that his logic made perfect sense, she rewarded him with a grin herself and bestowed upon him a "thumbs-up" sign.

When Jack began on this new tangent and his concern for his Eleena's reaction, she pursed her lips in consideration, placing her chin in her hand in thought. If Master willed it, she would have no quarrel with Eleena, especially not just because of their shared gender.

At the mention of hunger, the djinn shook her head slightly. Bah, she had no use for food!. Sleep was one of her favorite hobbies, when she was stuck within her lamp, of course, but food was not a necessity for sustenance. Magic kept her "living", as it were.

Playing a role and pretending to not be a djinn was insanely appealing and she shook out of excitement at his aloud pondering. "I could be lost and you have volunteered to show me the way!" Clapping her hands together, her billowy robes produced a cloud of white.

ooc;;
Sorry it took so long, I was away from my computer the better part of the last four days. ><;

[Peer]

"Oh interesting," Dylan said happily. "Well, all right then. ^^ Now, just to let you know, we live in a bit of a den of thieves. I mean, we ARE thieves, but we but on this nice little song and dance for all strangers, so that's what we'll be doing, don't be caught too off-guard. Sean'll probably make dinner, he's quite the cook."

He beamed. "And it definitely sounds like something I would do; I enjoy escorting damosels from one end of the forest to the next... ^^ It's a hike though." He exited the temple with her happily. "Do you like children? She has a kid, he's sweet, but he might be curious. Don't let on to him, because as lovely as he is, he's got something of a big mouth. But you know, that's how children are."

[Spotty]

Ysolt listened to his chattering with a bemused grin. She was going to enjoy his animated company, she was sure of it. The djinn was far from concerned by the threat of thieves or song and dance. In fact, she was looking forward to observing both.

"Well then, it sounds like we have a convincing story." With another grin, she headed out of the temple with Jack, pausing for a moment with her hand over her brow to allow her eyes to adjust to the change in light. Once satisfied that she wasn't blinded by the setting sun, she quickened her pace to match his.

Her eyes took in the area greedily, never mind most of the foliage was overgrown and wild, she was just thoroughly delighted to be outside of the lamp.

His question within his chattered speech was replied to with a nod. She hadn't much experience with children, but she supposed they were likable. The threat of a hike wasn't daunting at all and she looked forward to the sights the forest would provide. At least it wasn't the same rounded walls of her lamp... that was for sure.

"How old are you?" Ysolt questioned curiously, "And how long have you lived in this area?" It already appeared as though much had changed since her last Master, but... she was nearly shaking in anticipation for what the town would be like that Jack escorted her to.