The giant tangled mess known as the East Garden could be seen from the Rhecks’ apartment with ease, well the southern part at least. His back windows faced the cluster of trees, shrubs, and statues. He decided on this apartment solely on that fact. The garden reminded him of the forest of his home, all chaotic and dark. He had never treaded in either the garden or the wilds of his home, but he wanted to. He had heard ghost stories, something one would never here in Hox, about the haunting in the northern part of the East Garden; the stories had frightened him, but he was taught that fear was something that had to be judged accordingly. No one he knew had actually ever seen the ghost and if they did, it could easily be explained away. Rhecks didn’t have to tread near the northern part of the garden anyway; he could just spend time in the southern part of the twisted jungle known as the East Garden.

That is exactly what Rhecks did. He decided to bundle up and head out to the East Garden. He was just going to spend his time in the southern part and only for a bit. This irrational fear would have made his father very angry, but like most beings, he wasn’t afraid of the ghost, but not knowing if they existed or not.

Rhecks’ jet black overcoat matched perfectly with his hair. On the seventh he had decided to go to the barber down the street from his home and cut the mop on his head. It had been almost a year since his last haircut; it felt a bit odd, but right. He hadn’t cut the whole thing off, no; he decided to cut it about half of its original length. A hat would be needed now since his hair wouldn’t protect him from the deluge attacking Anaxas during Hamis. Rhecks picked out a faded black top hat to go along with his outfit, he looked quite slick.

The Entrance to the East Garden was more intimidating in person. Rhecks sleek black uniform showed no fear, but his face sure did. With an exhale and gulp, the Hoxian entered the garden with reluctance. He didn’t know why he wanted to see the garden, the only valid reason he could conjure up was intuitiveness. Rhecks, like most men in his family, had a passion for learning; many members of his family had found their deaths in libraries or studies, not on perilous adventures or in a duel for honor.

Rhecks’ inquisitive nature had brought him to the East Garden and now it was going to send him further into the recesses of Brunnhold learning.

Reggie’s outward appearance was that of her usual stoic indifference, but inside her constantly working mind, the language she was using would’ve easily sent any number of the social class into a state of unconsciousness. Half of the words she’d made up right there on the spot, and she gleaned a small measure of pride in the fact that she’d done so.

Her reasoning for such vulgar thoughts was the simple fact that Geraldine Devanshir – a flighty, fluff-headed woman who always wanted to be the first to discuss current gossip whenever Reggie returned from Vienda - had once again forgotten their plans for that day. ‘We’ll take a refreshing turn about the Garden,’ she said. ‘Weather seems to be clearing up; I’ll meet you there at ten,’ she said. Reggie let a sneer pass her lips. Well, it was jolly-well fifteen now, and the weather most certainly had not cleared up.

Confusticate the woman.

To top matters, it had started raining not long after Reggie had decided to simply walk back home and not wait for Geraldine any longer. Thank the gods at least I had the decency to carry along my umbrella, she thought with all honesty. Her burgundy gown would’ve suffered venomously from the damp, as well as the tiny matching derby hat crowned with a sprig of cream-colored baby’s breath. The incredibly fluffy stole draped across her shoulders (it had once been some sort of woodland creature, now dead for the sake of galdor fashion) was probably the only thing just shy of her walking boots that could stand a bit of wet now and then. The large umbrella she carried was doing well to keep any moistness off of the lady, in the meantime.

She’d never bothered with either of the gardens, particularly the East one. Even from her home in Peregrin, she’d always been able to make out its gross wildness peeking over its restraining boundaries, and found it an eyesore. Why the caretakers didn’t clear it up and make it presentable was beyond her, but since she didn’t bother with the city’s flora and fauna anyway, she didn’t let it bother her.

Just the same, a trickle of curiosity coursed through her mind as she began to near the garden. The entrance looked like something from one of the books she’d read in her youth: mysterious if not threatening somehow. Stuff like that had always thrilled her when she was young – now…

Whether or not she had ideas of going inside simply for the adventure of it, Reggie would never say, for she was distracted by the young man in the black top hat and overcoat who had just ventured inside with a rather dubious expression. It wasn’t any of Reggie’s business why a student of Brunnhold would be going into the East Garden alone, but she owed it to her profession of a leading socialite to know if there was any scandal afoot. So she hefted up her skirts with one hand and hurried over to the entrance, pausing with a sharp breath at the odd, piquant feeling the air seemed to be permeated with before thrusting her chin out bravely and heading into the thick of things.

…besides, she had nothing better to do at the moment.

The immenseness of the East Garden was unfathomable to Rhecks. He only saw what was right in front of him; he didn’t realize that there was a miniscule world going on right under his soles. Arachnids eating insects, insects gobbling down parasites; it was all very much like his home. If the bugs underneath were sentient, they probably would have celebrated a holiday, not unlike his own Spar Rhavat.

The snap of a twig had alerted Rhecks to the presence of the old socialite. She was too far back for him to sense her field; if he had specialized in some type of magic, he might have been able to sense it. Most Anaxi would have jumped back and run out of the garden without a second though, but most Anaxi didn’t have the upbringing Rhecks had. He didn’t turn around; he kept walking, acting like he didn’t even hear anything. Then he paused, he didn’t turn around to acknowledge the stranger, no, he decided to sniff a flower.

Without looking back, Rhecks said one thing. “Hello, there madame, I’m Rhecks Tzarki,” His sharp accent piercing the wind and rain. “May I ask why you are following me?”

(( sfsp ))

It wasn't Reggie's intention to be stealthy in any way - when she set her mind to something, she would do all but kill just to reach her goal. This instance was no different, but she stopped nevertheless at the sound of the young man's voice.



The classic eyebrow arched. It was a comical performance the student put on, but one of a pitying quality, like someone trying to bedeck a horse in finery to rival a purebred moa. "Don't try to be coy with someone who's mastered and perfected the art, boy - and that's Lady Chadot to you. As to why I am following--" Here, she made a show of looking around intently. "--first you must introduce me to your secret contact. Because honestly, what would a student be doing poking his nose into the East Garden if not meeting a...special someone?" She chose her demure, all-knowing smile for the punctuation on that sentence.

Wouldn't doubt if he didn't even know who I was in the first place, she thought condescendingly.

Secret contact? Did this woman of advance age actually think Rhecks was meeting some sort of confidential confident. This woman had obviously been reading, or skimming, through too many novels about political intrigue. Rhecks had never met a secret contact, ever. Rhecks rarely kept secrets, it wasn’t Hoxian. Most people of his kind told the truth to each other. Hoxians did not usually burst at something horrible, they might be hurt a little inside, but that’s it.

“I assure you, Lady Chadot, that I am not meeting anyone. I did not even come into this garden with an aim. I came here because it reminded me of the wilds outside my home.” Rhecks looked north, well, what he thought was north. “I come from Hox, in case you could not notice.” He gestured to his throat, which in itself was a gesture to his voice.

“I thought it would be a good idea to come here and reminisce.” He tilted his head slightly, trying to remember frolicking outside of his parent’s university with his sister. “I’m Rhecks Tzarki, Lady Chadot.” He stressed every sound, like he did with almost all people he met. “I’m a Teaching Assistant for the History department.”

“I don’t bother with whether or not someone is Hoxian, Bastian, or even Hessean, boy,” Reggie replied in a somewhat sullen tone. She was never fond of people who insisted on correcting her to her face in such a way, and when they were mere children, it was even more insulting. “The only thing I find important enough to notice about people is whether or not they come from an upstanding family.” She adjusted her sleeve cuffs nonchalantly. “And as for you, Master Tzarki, whether or not you’re an assistant in Brunnhold, I have never once heard of your family. So your own social standing is lost to me, but then, as I said, I’ve never heard of the Tzarki name, so therefore I have actually lost nothing.

“My reasoning for following you is merely for my own satisfaction. No one normally enters the East Garden simply to explore or, as you put it, be reminded of wildlife; I assumed, therefore, that you were either meeting someone in private, or whatever it is you young people do in secret. Though I am loath to know that, to be frank.”

She took a moment to look at her surroundings – the almost-oppressive foliage clustered all around her, silently menacing, silently watching. In that sudden moment, Regintrude Chadot felt a droplet of uneasiness splash into the pool of her calm, sending its ripples out to the very edges of her mind. I don’t know how this boy can even stand being in here for enjoyment. That sparked another thought in her mind – she considered herself a master of perception. This boy, however…she could not figure him out. And that intrigued her.

“If this place reminds you of home, my boy, then Hox is a far more unappealing place than I once thought,” she stated. “Does this all not seem to invade your aura? I am convinced these gardens are not safe, and I would suggest we remove ourselves to a more reliable area in order to continue this conversation in peace.” She eyed scathingly him over one shoulder as she turned towards the exit. “I am expecting a thorough description of Hox, as well.” Let’s see how smart this little waif is after all…