Winter home. (Dar and Nornir)

Annie arrived that the rather large house that Jemmy had given her directions to, and stared up at it's doors.  Annie had most of her things packed up in a travel bag slung over her shoulders, but she couldn't fit everything in it.  Just what she needed most.  Kasha stood beside her in wolf form; also staring at the doors and taking a moment to pause and think about this.  Was he sure this was safe?  Annie looked to him and said, "Mayala ree?  Mayaten seen." which meant roughly, "Do we really need to worry about Jemmy?  I don't think think she'll hurt us.  Besides, I know you can protect if you need to."  Kasha felt like Annie was pretty trusting; and though he was glad she trusted him to take care of her, he wasn't sure if he could protect her from Jemmy or not if needed.  Jemmy was hard to predict, and they didn't know everything that she could do as far as powers.  Still...he decided for multiple reasons to let this go through.  

Annie looked back to the doors.  With Kasha's okay, she walked up to the doors and gave a good knock before taking a step back.  Kasha sat down next to Annie; eyes fixed on the door and keeping aware of the minds in the area.  They both watched and waited as they could feel someone come to the door to answer it.

Marleigh answered the door rather promptly. She was almost certain it was the guest they were expecting. Unannounced visitors rarely dropped by. Usually it would just be the mailman or paper boy and they came in the mornings. She opened the door to find a little girl who looked even younger than the form Jemmy assumed. Beside her was wolf, though it did not look like any wolf Marleigh had seen before. Still, the creature was quite behave and so she could only assume it was the little girl's companion. She smiled a kind smile. Now that they were here, it was important to make them feel welcome and at home.

"Good day, Ms. Annie. We have been expecting you. The princess is probably upstairs. Please allow me to take you bag for you."

She waited until the pair stepped inside the house before closing the door behind them.

"Let me show you to the living room. This way please."

"Is she here?"

Jemmy's voice was distant, but the sound of feet approaching quickly soon followed. Jemmy came sliding across the carpet on her bare feet to look down the stairs at her young friend. She beamed a smile before running down the stairs and giving Annie a big hug.

"I'm so glad you're here, and that you said yes. I'm so excited to have a roommate and a good friend. This is Marleigh, she's my maid, and she's really cool."

Jemmy gave another big smile. "We're going to have a lot of fun!"

Annie watched as a maid opened the door and nodded to her, taking off her bag to give to Marleigh sense she offered. "Thank you miss." The two of them read/felt Marleigh's mind. She seemed pretty nice to them. She and Kasha then started to follow her before stopping at the sound of Jemmy's voice. When she came withing view, Annie smiled and waved to her. "Hi Jemmy." Kasha looked to Jemmy with a neutral expression in both his actions and his mind, and watched as a pleasantly surprised Annie received a great big hug.

Annie was then introduced to Marleigh, and she and Kasha both looked to her. "Nice to meet you Marleigh." Annie said with a smile, holding on to Kasha's fur with one hand out of habit.

"Nice to meet you too Ms. Annie."

Marleigh was pleased to see that Jemmy was pleased. She would be keeping a close eye on the two from here on. She could not help but be curious about Jemmy's relationships. It was partly because of her nature as a maid wanting to know more about her master and partly because she was truly interested in seeing the kinds of people that would be friends with a Lord of Chaos. Her first impression of Annie was that she was a normal sweet little girl, perhaps possessing something a little special. Obviously wolf-like creatures did not normally follow little girls around. But she felt that it would be rude to pry. Annie was here as a guest and likely a long-time resident. Marleigh would have plenty of opportunities to get to know her better.

"I shall be taking your things up to the princess' room. Will that be alright princess?" She said, addressing her question to Jemmy.

"Or does Ms. Annie prefer her own room?" She continued, turning her attention back to Annie.

"In the meantime, please make yourselves comfortable in the living room. I'm sure you would like to catch up on things for a bit and perhaps plan today's activities. I shall return with tea and cake shortly."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. It's up to Annie, I guess." Jemmy didn't care too much if Annie had her own room or if they shared. Either option had good outcomes, and as long as Annie was living here, Jemmy would be happy.

After Annie had decided the rooming situation, Jemmy would give her a tour of the house. Jemmy didn't have a whole lot to say about each room. Annie had eyes, after all. She could see that the kitchen was the kitchen, and that the living room was the living room. What else was there to say?

"So yeah, I told this old guy that I wanted to live in his house, and he didn't want to live here anymore, so he's just letting me stay here. He's even giving me a bunch of money every month, so that Marleigh can keep the place in good shape."

Her words were technically all true, but they didn't tell the whole story. Jemmy had threatened to kill Mr. Hawthorne if he didn't let her stay there and provide the money. Under her new, self-imposed restrictions, Jemmy hadn't actually planned to kill Mr. Hawthorne had the plan not worked. At least, she wouldn't have done it 'with her own hands.' Still, for now it was best not to kill anyone.

She decided to change the subject before Annie could think about it too hard. "So, I told you I'm trying to be a good guy, but it's still my job to spread chaos to the world. So, my question to you is this: how do I spread chaos...for good?"

When Marleigh asked if Annie wanted her to share a room with Jemmy or to have her own, Annie thing for a bit.  She didn't know if it really mattered to her, though she she thought about she might want her own room.  She guessed it didn't bother her too terribly much, but being constantly aware of the mind of a lord of chaos, at least a little, was a bit....noisy.  She wasn't sure if being in the same room would make it hard to sleep or not. So for this reason she said, "I guess I'd like my own room."  This way Annie had a room reserved for herself, in a sense; and if she ever changed her mind she could always spend a night or two in Jemmy's room or move in later.  

Annie and Kasha then looked to Jemmy and listened as she told about how she got the house and a steady supply of money.  However they were able to sense that Jemmy was fabricating some kind of deception, and had either killed, threatened to kill, tortured, or blackmailed someone into getting the house and money.  But before she could think about it much or ask a question...Jemmy asked HER a question.  How does one spread chaos and do good at the same time?  

Annie and Kasha thought about that question...actually it was mostly Kasha.  He figured that chaos was, at least as far as he knew, pretty much only good for disrupting things and not good for aiding them.  He figured that Jemmy could very well spread chaos by disrupting crime organisations somehow, perhaps turn them against each other.  War was pretty chaotic...and a war between, say for example, two drug gangs would make trouble for them both.  Perhaps it wasn't the best way though...sense a lot of innocent people could get hurt in the crossfire.  But it was a general idea.  

As Annie and Kasha would follow Jemmy to the living room (assuming she went there) Annie said, "..Maybe you could cause the bad people trouble?"  She would have added on that, but Jemmy probably got all of it from reading Kasha's mind.

"As you wish. I had prepared a room beforehand in the event you preferred that option. I hope it will be to your liking."

Marleigh bowed before making her way upstairs to the room she had mentioned. She simply left the luggage on top of the bed without unpacking it. She did not want to invade the little girl's privacy. Marleigh would be ready to help though if she asked.

She then went down to the kitchen to brew a fresh pot of tea, the sweet aroma filling the air. While waiting, she took out the cake she had baked the night before and prepared two servings. It would be just about tea time soon.

Annie and Kasha didn't seem to think that Chaos was very beneficial to the world. Jemmy sighed. It was sad to see such a thing. They had lived under the oppressive regime of Order for so long that they had been indoctrinated by it. Annie suggested that Jemmy could cause trouble for bad guys. In Jemmy's mind, though, that only seemed to further the cause of Order.

"Maybe I could assassinate a corrupt politician," Jemmy said. She realized after she said it that Annie might not like that answer. It was hard to think of much else, though. War, death, and destruction were the easiest ways to spread mass Chaos. To some degree, all of those things were necessary.

"You know, I know the grim reaper," Jemmy said. "One of them, at least. He'd like to have you believe he's the only one. He's kind of a dork, but he can also be wise if he needs to be. He never wants anyone to die when it isn't their proper time, but everyone has to die eventually. If nobody ever died, believe it or not, the world would be a terrible place. Kasha should know that. It's like in the Lion King. It's all the circle of life." Jemmy stopped and looked Annie in the eye. "I know I look like a human, but I'm not. I'm a cosmic entity. It might sound weird, but I don't have the same moral restrictions as you. You might not understand it, and you might not like it, but just like the Grim Reaper, sometimes I have to break some stuff. Does that make me evil?"

Jemmy shrugged. "Probably. I'll let you decide. I don't really care. It's what I am, but I hope we can still be friends. You are very important to me, Annie."

The two girls made their way to the kitchen. Jemmy smelled the tea, saw the cake, and jumped in her chair. It was time for some serious snacks. Jemmy shoved the entire slice of cake in her mouth. It was so sweet! With her mouth still full, she looked at Marleigh and Annie. "I am open to suggestions, though. If this was your job, what would you do? How am I supposed to be good and chaotic at the same time?" She swallowed the cake and looked worried. "I really don't want Bow to hate me."

Annie looked to Marleigh as she spoke and bowed before leaving, and Annie said, "Thank you Marleigh." as she left.  Soon afterward, Jemmy said something about possibly assassinating a corrupt politician; something that certainly got Annie's attention as she blinked and looked over to the blond-haired girl.  She then started talking about how she knew the grim reaper and how he had a very unpleasant job...but SOMEONE had to do it.  When Jemmy said that she hoped she and Annie could still be friends, and said that Annie meant a lot to her, then finally asked for suggestions; it made Annie and Kasha think.

They thought back to the example of the corrupt politician.  The thought of anyone being deliberately killed did not settle with her very well at all.  She couldn't help but put herself in his place.  Maybe ruin his reputation...make it so he can never do anything corrupt again, but kill him?  Annie didn't like the idea of killing ANYONE for ANY reason other than to prevent them from killing others; and even then she would be reluctant.  A corrupt politician may do or have done some bad things...but that does mot make him evil.  It means he has made some mistakes and poor choices in his life.  It means he might have issues; but that alone does not make him deserving of death.  Perhaps exposure of his corruption.  That would cause all kinds of chaos.  The media and public would be furious to find out that a high ranking official was, say, stealing money when it was vitally needed elsewhere.  Annie and Kasha could imagine all kinds of chaos coming from that.  

Not knowing how to say all that easily, and knowing that Jemmy could read her mind to find all that out, she said; "I guess just find whatever you can...without killing people if you can help it.  You could try to expose the bad guys so that the good guys know who to fight maybe."  She knew it wasn't much...but she hoped it helped.

The tea was just about done, and right on cue, the two girls stepped into kitchen. Predictably, Jemmy went straight for the snacks even before Marleigh could pour the tea. Annie on the other hand looked like she had something on her mind. This of course piqued Marleigh's curiosity.

She did not have to wait long to find out. While devouring her slice of cake, Jemmy opened the question to Marleigh as well. Her first thought was understanding why such a query would bother someone like Annie. Reflective of her young age, it would have been challenging to be asked how one could be good and bad at the same time. Someday she would learn that life was mostly gray and that question was easier than it seemed.

The next point was actually figuring out the intentions behind the question. Jemmy's words ran through Marleigh's mind again. She wanted to know how to be chaotic and good. But that was immediately followed by a statement about not wanting to be hated by a certain Bow. Taking that into account, Marleigh thought that it was not really about being good. It was more about not being bad. In Marleigh's eyes, you could not truly hate someone for something they did not do.

"That does not seem to be too difficult a problem, Princess. In my opinion, the answer is simple: have fun." Marleigh replied as she poured the both of them a cup of tea.

"I have met a number of gods of pleasure and merrymaking. The parties they throw can get really wild and chaotic. But at the end of the day, everyone is happy. The aftermath can get messy though and naturally it was up to me to clean up."

"I suppose you are also looking for something that only you can do. Sadly I do not really have any idea yet of the extent of your powers and so I will not be able to give more concrete suggestions. But for me, the key is the pursuit of pleasure. Fun is fun because it is chaotic. Mortal lives would be rather dull if things always went as planned."

Jemmy listened to Annie's words, and to her thoughts. She frowned. All this talk of good vs evil was new to her. She had spent an eternity contemplating Order vs Chaos, and both of those crossed over most easily into the realm of evil, at least in Jemmy's way of thinking.

She felt that she was completely justified with killing people. They were just mortals, after all. What was the point of being capable of doing something if you weren't allowed to do it?

But then again, nobody could tell Jemmy what to do. Nobody could tell her to stop killing. She was only doing it to try to make Bow and Annie happy, because they were her friends.

Marleigh had an interesting idea. The maid suggested just having fun, a whole lot of fun, too much fun. Jemmy tilted her head and thought about it. She drank some tea to wash down the entire slice of cake. There were deities who threw some pretty wild parties. Jemmy wondered if she could compete with them, or even throw better parties than they could.

Jemmy put down her teacup. "I'll have to give it some thought. Right now, we should stop thinking about fun and actually start having some fun. Let's see, how about each of us gets to choose one fun thing to do. It can be anything; we have the cash. I pick bowling...with bumpers." Jemmy wasn't sure how people were able to bowl without bumpers. It was almost like they were aiming down the middle or something.

Annie looked up to Marleigh as she poured her and Jemmy a cup of tea each. Annie took hers when it was given to her, and listened as Marleigh gave her opinion and Jemmy changed the subject saying she would think about it. The topic now? Doing something fun. The question? What fun things to do, and each person got to pick one thing. After hearing Jemmy's pick Annie thought about what sounded fun to her right now. She thought about it...and thought back to the fact that she would now have her own room. Honestly, the thing she wanted to do most was check it out. She could imagine it had a nice, soft, warm bed...a luxury she had greatly missed. But she didn't think taking a nap would be something very fun at all for someone like Jemmy, and figured that suggesting it would be rather selfish. Instead she tried (with Kasha helping of course) to think of something they all might like.

...

Lets see now...what ideas? Annie sipped her tea and Kasha sat down beside her as she thought. Perhaps going to see a movie, or go for a car ride (she didn't care where too) or go get something to eat... Wait...that actually sounded fun; and would go good as something to do after bowling. "Could we go to a restaurant? Maybe a Denny's?" Kasha said that cheap fast food wasn't good for her, and if a restaurant was too fancy it could cause problems like not knowing what the foods are. So a Denny's or similar place sounded about perfect to her.

Jemmy announced that they each get to pick one thing to do for their little excursion. Marleigh thought about this and wondered if it was really okay. She could imagine her idea of fun was different from theirs. She almost wanted to offer her pick to either of the two as she would be perfectly fine with whatever they chose to do. But it was rare to have an opportunity where she could exercise a little selfishness. In the end she decided to pick an activity that she felt they could at least participate in.

"I would like to practice a few skills in my repertoire that have not seen much use lately. And since this seems to be the season for it, all the better. I was thinking of doing winter sports: skiing, boarding, skating and the like. I am just not so sure if there is a place nearby for it."

She could not recall if there was a mountain near the city tall enough for some skiing or boarding, but there ought to be skating rinks that operated even when it was not winter. Though a wide frozen pond or lake was good too.

Jemmy smiled. "Both of those sound great. Don't worry, Marleigh, there's a place like that pretty close to here." Jemmy walked up to a desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out about $1000 in cash. "This should be enough. Marleigh, pull the car around, please. We're going bowling!"

Mr. Hawthrone had owned two cars. One he had taken with him when he left, but the other one had stayed behind. Jemmy thought it was silly. It wasn't like the man could drive two cars at once. What was the point of that?

It was a very pretty car, though, she thought. She didn't know what kind of car it was, but it was red, and she liked red.

Jemmy looked at Kasha, wondering how well he would blend-in to the crowds. "Does Kasha have a travel-size? Or can she turn into a briefcase or something? Balloons are one thing, but a wolf/cat/whatever is going to scare some people. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. It's bound to cause some chaos."