"Niceness is my middle name," he said, holding his hand out as if to spell the words out in the air. "Jackrabbit Niceness Curnow."
"Jackrabbit Niceness Curnow. Wow." Avice raised her eyebrows, pulling at a loose stand of hair. "That's an interesting name."
"My parents were very creative," he responded pointedly. "Besides, we can't all have names like Avice Genevieve Antionette Rohesia."
He sat back, and considered Avice. His eyes were searching, and he pursed his lips. "How many syllables?"
"A place?" Jack put his hands to his head. "That's crazy. There's so many places in the world!" (Sorry, is the place in this world or is it on Earth? It's okay either way, I'm just genuinely trying to figure this out. )
"The exterior is an ivory tower, it dwarfs all but a few buildings in Edolier. The place practically exudes excessiveness. Inside, there's guards and all sorts of men of bad ilk. Schedules are enforced strictly, and any deviation from them can result in punishment. Not to mention the rumours I've heard, some of which even seem to add up."
(Her middle name is Church. Normally I would just answer your questions, but I can never be certain.) "Yes, but there are many of these places." Avice smiled.
(Ohhhhhhh. Now I get it. Sorry, I was totally overthinking it.) He frowned, staring at the ground. He drummed his fingers while he thought, and he cocked his head, trying to figure it out. "Spring? Strong? School?"
"Just give it up, Curnow. You're never going to get it." Avice bit her lip in thought. "It's kinda like School."
"There's a subterranean level that I know of. Key words being: 'know of.' I haven't even been down there, and I'm his son. According to old property tax records, the tower is situated right on top of a giant cistern. The rumors range from somewhat believable, such as it simply being a storage house for more shifty goods, to a bit far fetched, with the cistern being the meeting place of some secret cabal, to full blown madness." Cobiah stopped for a moment, and downed a glass of water. "If those were to be believed... Magnus Seatone is holding the mythical guardian of the oceans, the Azure Drake Krusius captive. I'm not saying I believe those stories but.... something's certainly fishy about my father."
"That's Jackrabbit Curnow to you," he said, jabbing his finger at Avice. He steepled his fingers and leaned then on the bridge of his nose. "It's kind of like 'school'? House, no. Store, no. Town Hall, no. What is it?" * * * Jade listened carefully, tracing the wood grain of the table as she thought. At Cobiah's last sentence, she cracked a smile. "Ha. Fishy. 'Cause, y'know. Water.... Ahem." She shook her head and returned her thoughts to the rumors that Cobiah spoke of. "In all seriousness though.. Cobiah, that's crazy. No one has ever gotten down there? Are you mother and father on good terms?"
"Do you really want to know?" Avice whispered, leaning in. "Alright, I'll tell you. But on one condition. You have to yell as loud as you can to the people below." She smirked, not expecting much.
He sighed, and leaned back in the bench, crossing his arms and squinting at Avice. "You are evil, Rohesia," he muttered shaking his head. "Anything I need to yell in particular?"
