"Take it the front door business with Fortuné and Glorifhun had gone out of your head Jo, and I don't think that I need to hear the rest, Jay," said Suzé. "No wonder you weren't all there when I popped in the next afternoon."
"It's alright; Tempera and I handled things," said Jay. "It's not every night that our Partner Consultant lets his - oppressive..."
"Speak for yourself whenever you come back from the latest parrot show," said Jo.
"At least the lights are closer," added Suzé.
"They're not the ones I'm bothered about," Jay replied.
"Eh?"
"That thing over to your left with the eyes."
Jo turned to his left, past Suzé and Jay. Past the gloom of the field; the paler trees beyond to a pair - or was it a mini-cluster - of lights further away.
"Didn't know that you could get among the stars," he began.
"Have you ever seen saffron stars shaped like arch windows," said Jay.
"You've just said it; they're windows," said Suzé, turning away. "Someone's left a light on. Or illuminations on the ground could give a reflection."
"It's watching me. Like an owl."
"Must be a giant-sized one if it can see you from up there. It's that tower on the hill with the fields, gallery and mores: Flora Hill or something like that. Visible from the far side of the grand playground if you ever decide to venture in."
"I don't like it."
"Looks quite dramatic in the daytime," said Jo, mind's-eye flicking back to the grand structure - complete with tower - that, with its mini-pinnacles, did look like a long-eared and tall-crested owl.
"Don't like this either," said Jay, looking past both Jo and Suzé.
"What in Ernstwell have you set eyes on now," Suzé said, coming to a halt. "If it's a flying pastel yellow dolphin, then you can explain that we haven't got any-"
The non-appearance of fish didn't need an explanation of its own as Jo tried to take in the vista or apparition to his right: a man or figure; in clothes as dark as his head and arms were light; positioned on the edge of the mass of trees that headed towards the unmistakable glow of the triple-headed park avenue lampstand
"What in Drimsey is he doing?" he whispered, even as the man began, or resumed, a slow outline of a circle with both arms. "There's a line of trees behind him."
"Don't think he's too concerned about that," said Suzé. "His eyes are closed."
"What?" Jo began, then had to blink as the noctur kicked in, finding the absence of reflected light from the section of face were open eyes should have been. "Someone or something could grab him."
"Like the parrakeets?" A chuckle fluttered from Suzé.
"Very funny," said Jay.
"Hang on," said Jo, rubbing his eyelids. No, it wasn't the 'thermagey' that amongst other things made the tree trunks look like sentient pillars with 'twinkles' going up and down them and the man look like a circle-making torch. "His arms are glowing."
"Just like your face is if I increase my thertivity," said Suzé. "It's the inner light that you're picking up as noctur reveals flesh to be the translucent housing it really is."
"Like the burning fox trotting across the field," said Jay, looking further ahead.
"Burning?" said Jo, eyes open. "More like a flare."
"Ulture outlines to be more exact," said Suzé. "You're too sharp: lower the frequencies."
"We're not medium-long radios," Jay sniffed. "This is new for us."
"All the more reason to come here more often."
Nevermind Jay coming in with a comeback. Jo had a tongue-tip with one of his own; complete with another stop. In its place swept in the unmistakable beat of a new track; from a point over to their left; replacing the comeback with a desire to tap both feet.
Yet, even as Joe turned and began to tap, his eyes caught sight of the man flowing into a series of sinuous - side-to-side movements; accompanied by forward punch and forward punch, slow kick and equally slow uppercut.
"Not the dance moves I had in mind," said Jay.
"Are you going to tell him?" said Jo.
"Maybe he gets faster if another type gets played," Suzé added. "He's doing a couple of leg-sweeps now."
"Or slower if it's iced-tea chill-out," said Jay, reaching into his pocket. "I've got a couple of calmers, let's see if that slows him down."
"Another night," Suzé said, striding forward
"You think I'm coming back here after the oddness I've encountered already?" said Jay, speeding up to draw level with Suzé and Jo. "I'd rather go back to the Void."
"Something else that can be arranged."
"No-please-" Jay began. "I've already been in there too many times. They know my shoe size."
"Because you told them the first time you went in," said Jo, speeding up after a pace-quickening Suzé. "It wasn't even on the questionnaire."
"Questionnaire? I thought it was a safety deposit form."
"Who's safety?" Suzé chuckled. "Yours or theirs?"
"Hil-larious."
Jo would have chuckled too, but for the pools or intervals of light further ahead. Ahead, up close, followed by in-the-midst as his feet connected with carriage surface. Pools of brightness that brought feet to his stop an aisle is too close. "Aargh, it's too much," he gasped.
"I did warn you to turn it down," an unseen Suzé replied.
"I'll need to sit down after this," said Jay from Jo's right. "It's like the safe all over again."
"You won't need to if you stay still and let your pupils respond. They should adjust of their own accord if you can't."
"I am trying... to stay still," Jo gasped through still closed lids. Even as the brightness began to shift. Not so much as in glare, but position. As it was shining up at him like sunlight reflecting on the water. Water in front. Water behind. Plus more stretching both left and right like a causeway or a curve-smashing canal. A canal-mirror whose light was dancing up the back of his shins.
"What is going on?" He said, stepping back and half opening an eye.
"Told you that your pupils would adjust," said Suzé from his left, feet concealed by the mirror surface.
"You're in water."
"Fountains in either direction. But I've not heard anything about a rill..."
"You're standing in it," Jo repeated. "We're standing in it," he added, eyes full moon open and seeing the orb pools from the avenue lamps glistening in the near-ankle deep water. "And Jay's-"
"Don't look so surprised," Jay replied from hands and knees as if he was using the stream as a liquid mirror. "You were very close to doing the same thing yourself."
"No, do look," said Suzé, stepping in front of Jo. "It's not a river, canal or elevated aqueduct. It's a road. An avenue. That might look a bit different as your usual vision made a comeback."
"It's moving," said Jo, ears picking up the gentle lap of flowing water. "This isn't right."
"None of it's right," said Jay. "What was I thinking."
"Save it for a debrief," Suzé replied, striding not toward the giant triple-headed lampstand that marked the way out of the avenue. But the warm glow in the opposite direction. Complete with those made by his, for the umpteenth time, jogging feet, and a second pair from the rear that had to belong to Jay.
Although any ripples were lost in the general flow that they were following under the avenue lights. Also towards the warm flow further ahead; that grew stronger with each step. And also crystallised into a sparking form.
"Fountain seems all ablaze," said Suzé, slowing as Jo caught up.
"Looks good," said Jo, taking in the giant-sized hybrid between a nautical-themed sculpture and a multi-layered and iced cake that happened to be the Pisces Fountain. "But I'm not sure if it had all the spotlights last time."
"I can't even remember if we came this way the last time," said Jay from the other side of Suzé.
"Must have bloked – I mean blocked – it out."
"Oh we did alright," said Suzé. "But we didn't have this before us."
Jo looked at Suzé then at the square. Or rather the open space that lay between them and the fountain. Every other time he had been in the park, the space was a round surface: a convergence point for seven different carriageways: including the one they had just reached the end of. There may have been one or two pools of water at the present spot due to a previous rain spell. But at no stage had the whole stretch been the equivalent of an open-air pool with water lapping at the steps of the saffron cafe.
"You can see it too?" he whispered.
"Must be overflowing," Suzé replied. "But the jets from the amphibians don't look out of the ordinary."
Frogs, newts. May have been toads. All Jo could see were the outline of golden fish-mouthed creatures on most of the Fountain layers save the very top. All releasing streams of sparkling water in bow-like arcs; with some making a multi-bow or arch above the great moon marble and gold twin fish; tails arched upwards like the figures that decorated the roofs of some of the buildings further north. But none at the rate that would have been classed as an unleashed jet.
"Well there's your water at any rate," Suzé said, walking forward.
"You're not going to-" said Jo.
"Something's just splashed by the café," said Jay, just as a lone 'cheep' like a single chat squirrel came from the path of flowing off to their right, and made him turn towards Jo.
"What... was that..?" said Jo.
"Wait for me," Jay called as he marched into the pool after a not-even knee-deep Suzé.