At that, at the mention of Santa's name, Katherine stood there, fists clenched, mouth set in a very thin line. Then her lips trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes, and there was nothing to stop them from rolling down her cheeks.
It was silent and only lasted a moment before she wiped at her face.
"Yes. Of course." She cleared her throat, trying to pretend the previous thirty seconds didn't happen as she wiped at her eyes.
The little device finally flew back to her hand and she pressed a few little switches that caused a shimmering display filled with strange, arcane characters pop up.
"It looks as if you now have the same makeup as the rest of the myths of this world. That means eating is optional, you'll only need to sleep every few months or when injured, you won't age, and you'll heal quickly, your bodies constantly restoring you to the same state."
She looked up at them. "You might also find you have new powers and abilities. They'll get stronger if you manage to gather believers, exponentially stronger if you decide to take the Oath of the Guardians and truly become a Guardian. It involves more than Manny just choosing you. But I must warn you, taking the oath would come at a cost. Right now, you can survive with no believers, even if it means you can't interact with humans. As a Guardian, if you lost your believers, you would simply cease to exist. That's what would happen if the children were to stop believing in Jack and Bunny, for instance - and the others. The other catch is that the oath is for life - an eternal life - so there's risk it might bind you to this world and to the children here, making it impossible to change you back to your true forms and send you home without killing you."
She added, "You were chosen by Manny for a reason, though. You most likely have centers - that's what the Guardians call their focus. Jack's is fun, Bunny's is hope, North's is wonder, the Sandman's is dreams, the Tooth Fairy's is memories, and Anansi the spider is the Guardian of stories. These things are what they put into the world and what they protect in children and knowing that, playing to their strengths, gives them considerable power. That might still hold true of all of you if you manage to discover your centers, even if you don't take the Guardian oath and make the full conversion. It's worth a little self-reflection, I'd think."
She looked at a few more readings.
"I'm also seeing something that might be like...a tether, perhaps, tying you back to your worlds. There is a chance you may be snapped back home at random - and...and perhaps back here again. It'll take further research and investigation to make sure I'm reading this correctly, however, but it could possibly be used to send you home permanently..."
She pressed another button and countless shimmering runes and magical words suddenly sprang to life in front of her, unimaginably huge amounts of data.
"The rest...is going to need some time for analysis," she said flatly.
no subject
It was silent and only lasted a moment before she wiped at her face.
"Yes. Of course." She cleared her throat, trying to pretend the previous thirty seconds didn't happen as she wiped at her eyes.
The little device finally flew back to her hand and she pressed a few little switches that caused a shimmering display filled with strange, arcane characters pop up.
"It looks as if you now have the same makeup as the rest of the myths of this world. That means eating is optional, you'll only need to sleep every few months or when injured, you won't age, and you'll heal quickly, your bodies constantly restoring you to the same state."
She looked up at them. "You might also find you have new powers and abilities. They'll get stronger if you manage to gather believers, exponentially stronger if you decide to take the Oath of the Guardians and truly become a Guardian. It involves more than Manny just choosing you. But I must warn you, taking the oath would come at a cost. Right now, you can survive with no believers, even if it means you can't interact with humans. As a Guardian, if you lost your believers, you would simply cease to exist. That's what would happen if the children were to stop believing in Jack and Bunny, for instance - and the others. The other catch is that the oath is for life - an eternal life - so there's risk it might bind you to this world and to the children here, making it impossible to change you back to your true forms and send you home without killing you."
She added, "You were chosen by Manny for a reason, though. You most likely have centers - that's what the Guardians call their focus. Jack's is fun, Bunny's is hope, North's is wonder, the Sandman's is dreams, the Tooth Fairy's is memories, and Anansi the spider is the Guardian of stories. These things are what they put into the world and what they protect in children and knowing that, playing to their strengths, gives them considerable power. That might still hold true of all of you if you manage to discover your centers, even if you don't take the Guardian oath and make the full conversion. It's worth a little self-reflection, I'd think."
She looked at a few more readings.
"I'm also seeing something that might be like...a tether, perhaps, tying you back to your worlds. There is a chance you may be snapped back home at random - and...and perhaps back here again. It'll take further research and investigation to make sure I'm reading this correctly, however, but it could possibly be used to send you home permanently..."
She pressed another button and countless shimmering runes and magical words suddenly sprang to life in front of her, unimaginably huge amounts of data.
"The rest...is going to need some time for analysis," she said flatly.