Genie in a Bottle (PeterPan & TheKatsMeow)

[TheKatsMeow]

Name: "Jeanie"


Age: 204 human years


Background: Eh, a long story. Like 200 years long... Three wishes, different masters, that sort of thing.


Appearance:


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The Bottle:


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[PeterPan]

Name: Aerrow Marks


Age: 20


Bio: Comes from a wealthy family but he lives on his own, making his own name. He thinks his family is stuck up so he avoided them until he got the call that his grandfather died.


Personality: Slightly sarcastic and kind of a know it all but that is just a tough act half the time because of the way that he was raised. Other than that he is usually just a softy.


Looks:

Aerrow was walking around the empty mansion in a suit. He was getting ready for an auction to be started. He listened to his footsteps make tiny echos in the now empty place. He could remember when he was a child how he would run around in the place, or ride his bike. He always had an adventure when he was here. Even when he was a young teen he would come here whenever he got into fights with his parents and just needed to cool off. This place was his grandfathers, he was one of the only people who understood him. Everybody else in his family seemed stuck up and so absorbed in getting money. Not his grandfather though, it was like he understood the world. Which would make sense since Aerrow was convinced that his grandfather had visited every country.


He could even remember the day when his grandfather supported his decision and helped him make his first steps out into the world. Aerrow didn't want to become like his parents so he denied his inheritance and the family name and decided he would make a name of his own. He wouldn't accept their old money, if he was going to be rich it would be on his own merits. So his grandfather gave him enough money, as a loan, to last him three months at a cheap motel until he could get on his own feet. That was two years ago, now Aerrow stood here at 20, the empty house where his grandfather once lived. He had passed away a week ago. It was hard to believe that somebody who was so lively even for their age was gone. Sighing he started to walk towards the left wing where the auction would be held, his grandfather left everything to him.


Aerrow didn't want it though, so he let his relatives take what they wanted from the house and he was going to auction everything else off, giving the money to charity, there were people who needed the money more than him. He just wanted to get this over with, there were too many painful memories.


Eventually the auction ended, it seemed like a success, a lot of money was raised, but sadly not everything was sold. He was going through all the things that didn't sell at the auction, a grandfather clock, a painting, and whats this? A very interesting bottle was still in the didn't sell box. He remembered when he was young his grandfather told him that there was a genie in there that could grant his wishes. Aerrow always loved his stories. Well, he guessed he would take these items home, it wasn't too much and it would add character to his apartment. Feeling tired from the long day he decided that he would go back and send a truck to get the grandfather clock tomorrow.


When he arrived home he brought in the bottle and painting and set them down on his kitchen table. He just stared at them and tilted his head, looking at these just made him think of his grandfather. Looking at the items he noticed that the bottle looked dirty, like nobody cleaned it in years. It was weird, his grandfather was usually very stern on keeping everything clean. So at least to keep the spirit of his grandfather he walked over to it and using the sleeve of his suit he gave it a small rub, to clean off the dust.

 

[TheKatsMeow]

Jeanie sat cross-legged on her bed staring at the worn journal resting in her lap. The current page was almost covered in tally marks, written in black ink. Slowly, almost carefully, she added another line to the bunch. By her count, it had been nearly twenty years since she had last been let outside. This had certainly been one of the longer stretches of boredom. She had never been left alone for much more than ten years before. No, this was definitely the worst. With a sigh she pushed the book aside, standing and walking to the other side of the small room.


The last human who had mistakingly discovered her little home had been one of the nicest so called "masters" she had ever granted wishes to. Over the decades people began to always wish for the same things. Women, cars, money, paparazzi, to be famous, the list goes on. It disgusted her how selfish humans could be. The last one had done nothing of the sort. In fact, she was almost saddened to have to go when he made his last wish.


Just as she was about to reach for one of the many novels she had collected during her travels, the floor began to shake. There was a split second of panic as Jeanie quickly stepped away from the bookshelf before the familiar feeling of being summoned out of the bottle began to tingle over her skin. Her body slowly faded into a violet smoke wafting up and out of the bottle's neck, into the room. The haze seemed to settle in the air for a moment before the lights flickered and Jeanie reformed with a slight pop.


Looking up with a smile, Jeanie quickly brushed off the back of her dark jeans. The last time she had been out, she had attempted to match the current fashions. She hoped that the denim, grey sandals, and light purple sweater wouldn't draw attention in the current times.


"Hello! Pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm Jeanie." She promptly stuck her hand out, keeping her smile as she let her eyes travel around the unfamiliar room. "Would you mind telling me the date?"

 

[PeterPan]

Aerrow stared at the bottle as he looked at how cleaned it looked now. There, that was a lot better, he still didn't understand why it was so dirty though. It used to be one of his grandfathers favorite decorations so the fact that it was dirty didn't make sense. It was out of character for his grandfather. But he figured that had to do with his aging years, after all he did die at 97, Aerrow only hoped that he would be able to live that long, to make something of himself before he reached that age. But then things started to get weird, suddenly the bottle gave off a small vibration and then the room started to fill with smoke. Quickly placing the bottle on the table, Aerrow backed away from it with a concern look on his face. What the heck was going on? Was there some kind of chemical in there that started to react when he shook the bottle? No otherwise it would have went off in his car on the way home, so why was it acting so weird?


He was nearly standing in his living room now watching the smoke fill the kitchen then with a small pop the smoke disappeared and in it was a girl. She looked to be around her age but she acted like nothing just happened. She went on to introduce herself and ask what year it was. Running a hand through his hair he started to try to calm himself down. "You're hallucinating pal, you're just seeing things. You're becoming delirious with grief form the death of your grandfather. This isn't happening. You're going to go to sleep and in the morning everything is going to be fine..." He glanced at the girl once more and couldn't help but think that for a girl that was just a dream, she looked pretty solid. He slowly walked into the kitchen and outstretched a hand, giving a small poke to her arm.


After feeling that she was indeed a solid, living girl, he quickly withdrawn and walked away, this time both hands in his hair. "Oh god, she seems solid...." He closed his eyes and started to rub them. What was going on? Was he seriously losing it? He knew he took it hard when his grandfather died but this was a bit much. He was completely losing his mind. No, he wasn't losing his mind, he was a man of intellect. She must have broken in somehow. He turned around and looked at her. "Look, I don't know who you are but you need to leave my house before I call the cops! Since you didn't break or steal anything....yet... I'll let you go with a warning but you'll need to go now! I'm not in the mood to play games!" And walking to his front door he held it open for her to walk out. He concluded that she probably broke in from his patio door, even though he was on the eight floor...but that was the only explanation he could think of.

 

[TheKatsMeow]

Jeanie's smile faded into an extremely confused look as the stranger stepped closer, proceeding to poke her. She pulled her arm back quickly, watching him carefully. Though, the strangest part was when he threatened to call the authorities on her. This was by far not the typical reaction. Disbelief? Yes, of course. But never had she immediately been asked to leave. It was almost amusing.


With a raised eyebrow Jeanie crossed her arms and turned to fully face the door. "I'm sorry, I don't believe you understand. My name is Jeanie and I..." She paused and shook her head with a slight laugh. "Right, let me try to explain this from the beginning. The easiest way to do this is usually to establish what you already know." Jeanie leaned over and grabbed the bottle by its base.


"You most likely just recently came across the object, correct? And somehow you rubbed it. I don't know, wiped it off, polished it, brushed up against it, something simple like that. Then there was a sort of purple-ish fog and presto! I was here!" She smiled a bit wider and looked down towards the container, softly wiping off the remainder of the dust with the hem of her shirt.


"Now, my name is Jeanie and I, well, I am a genie. You know, with a G? I know, how ironic, ha ha very funny. It's the typical drill. You get three wishes. You cannot ask for more wishes, you get three and three only. A genie's self defense system is to twist words into something you'd probably rather not have so be careful what you wish for, we're magical beings not slaves. Once all of your wishes have been granted, I'll get sent right back in here and get out of your way." She spoke quickly and motioned towards the bottle in her hands. "Until then, I can't leave. Even if I wanted to." Jeanie added, nodding towards the door. "Now, who exactly are you?"

 

[PeterPan]

When she started to explain how she got there, he slowly started to close the door of his apartment. This wasn't making any sense, what she was describing wasn't possible. So then that proved it right, he was seeing things due to lack of sleep, and the death of his grandfather. When she almost rhetorically asked how he would have gotten a hold of the bottle, he knew that it wasn't meant for him to answer but he did anyways. "It was my grandfathers...he just passed and left it to me. I was only cleaning it because it was odd that something of his would be dirty. I didn't ask for wishes or a genie..." He stopped short, why was he going to argue with a figment of his imagination, that will only bring him to crazy town even faster.


When she finished talking he just rubbed his face with his hand and just stood there. Why him? He tried his best to be a good man, he didn't take the old money, he didn't become a snob. He tried to get an education and earn hi s own money instead of just inheriting it like his relatives. He tried do live life the right way, the way that people said they were supposed to but then yet here it is, happening to him. The only relative that he ever felt the slightest closeness to dies and then he loses his mind. Maybe the saying was correct, good guys do finish last. They finish last because they try so hard to do things the right way they lose their minds. Just great if he would have known this before...no. Wouldn't have mattered. He probably would have still made the same decision, if he had known he would lose his mind he would have found it better than to become a heartless snob that was always only looking to earn the extra money even though they already have enough.


"Well its a pleasure to meet you Jeanie...the genie." He sighed and shook his head. "I'm Aerrow and I'm going to bed...I'm obviously delirious and still don't know why I'm talking to a figment of my imagination...I need a shower." And walking right past the kitchen of his apartment he went into his bedroom to get ready for a shower. But upon seeing his bed, he just changed into his sleeping clothes and plopped right on his bed. He would shower right in the morning, maybe all he needed was sleep. "Why me..." He said and then rolled over. He was starting to wish he was 21, he could really have used a drink right now.

 

[TheKatsMeow]

At this point, Jeanie was beginning to become a little irritated. She had waited twenty years for someone that wasn't even going to attempt to make a wish. Well fine then, if that's how he wanted it. She wouldn't mind hanging around outside the bottle for longer than normal. Besides, if he was to just never make a wish, convinced that he was only seeing things, then she would never have to be locked away again. She nodded to herself. This human may be her ticket out.


Turning to take a look around Jeanie carefully set the bottle on the kitchen counter, admiring it for a moment before stepping into the living room. "Hmm... Certainly not the worst I've seen. I could get used to this." She smiled, skimming her hand along the furniture. Coming to a stop at the door of the bedroom she smiled and slid her hands in her pockets. "You know, you can sleep all you want but I'll still be here when you wake up. And I don't mean that in a creepy way, believe me. I don't really have a choice. So whenever you want to step out of denial, you let me know, alright? By all means, take your time."


With a soft laugh, she returned to the living room and sat down on the couch. She had encountered some pretty strange humans in the past but this one may turn out working just fine. He had mentioned getting the lamp from his grandfather. That was curious... Could he have been her previous master? That would certainly explain being kept out away for twenty years. Once you've used up your wishes you cannot summon the same genie again. This human very well could be his grandson. In fact, she could almost see the family resemblance if she thought about it. Well then, this human was beginning to gain more and more respect. Not only was he related to one of the nicest humans she had ever come in contact with, he had not started asking for money straight away. Then again, he did believe she was a figment of his imagination but he would come around eventually. Unfortunately, the sooner he believed the sooner he would make his wishes...and the sooner she would have to go.

 

[PeterPan]

Aerrow looked at her from his bed and rolled his eyes. Just great, not only was he losing his mind and started to image things, but it was also taunting him. He would have at least hope if he was going to talk to figments of his imagination that they would at least be kinder to him but then yet here she was, taunting him about how she wasn't going to leave. Cause that's what he needed when he was still in grief of a death. No, never mind, there was nothing that he could about it, so closing his eyes he allowed himself to reach a deep sleep.


That night in his dream, it was more a memory. I was a young boy, probably about six or seven. He had his hair slicked back and a nice little outfit on, a dress shirt and vest, with dress pants and black dress shoes. It was too dressed up for a boy his age but then again that was the way he was raised. He was running through his grandfathers mansion, which was so alive. There were maids cleaning and doing their job, laughing at him, telling him to slow down before he slip and fell. But ignoring them he kept running until he reached his grandfathers study, where he sat at a desk. While he was slowly making his way to his grandfather he looked at the shelves, which held objects that his grandfather collected from around the world. He found a strange looking bottle and went to go touch it, but before he could he was lifted up and way. He laughed until his grandfather sat him down in his lap at his chair.


"Oh don't touch that young Aerrow."


"Why not grandpa?" Aerrow said with his small kids voice.


"Cause that's a magic bottle and you're not old enough for the responsibilities yet, maybe one day but not today."


"How is that magic?"


"Well, there's a genie inside that bottle. A genie that can grant you 3 wishes, any wish that you desire!"


Aerrow laughed. "There's no such thing as genies grandpa!"


His grandfather laughed. "Maybe so. But if you had three wishes what would you wish for?"


"I would wish for a sandwich! I'm hungry... what would you wish for?"


His grandfather busted with laughter. "So innocent. And as for me? I already have all that I wanted...."


Then his grandfather started tickling him and then his dream faded.


Aerrow woke up with a frown on his face. He could still remember that day. It made him sad. So getting up he walked out of his room and went to go get a drink of water, he had such a long day yesterday. Upon walking out he noticed that that girl, Jeanie the genie, was still in his house. So it wasn't a figment of his imagination and his grandfather wasn't kidding when he said it was a magic lap. Ignoring her he went into the kitchen and got a drink or water and looked at his calender. He had one more day off from work because of the funeral, great. He went back into the front room and looked at her. "Look, I may not understand this whole wishes thing, but this is the thing, I don't want anything. I have everything that I could possibly need and the things that I do want to achieve, I want to achieve on my own merits and not because I made some wish to make it so." He took a drink of his water and sat it down on the table and then stood up. "Excuse me where are my manners, were you thirsty?" He asked her as he made his way back to the kitchen. Whether she would drink it or not he still got her a glass.


Back in the living room he ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "But I guess I do have a few questions. Did you work for my grandfather before this? And if you could really grant anything how come nobody has ever wished for world peace or to end world hunger? I find it hard to believe that if you did grant wishes for him that he wouldn't do something along those lines?" And he took a sip. His grandfather always complained about war and the starving, and always donated and did what he could to help out. But in the end he still didn't want any wishes, he didn't want that responsibility, no matter if his father did think he was old enough to handle it.

 

[TheKatsMeow]

Jeanie looked up as he finished his line of questions. During the night she had found a few scattered newspapers and magazines. As Aerrow had been speaking she had been laying on her stomach on the couch, still more concerned with the words on the page than the words coming out of his mouth. "Well, first of all, nobody has wished for world peace or to end world hunger or anything on that scale really because don't you think it would be a little odd if every starving person suddenly had a home and three meals a day? It would be quite a difficult thing to explain." She lazily flipped a page, turning her gaze back to the magazines. "Not to mention, humans are incredibly selfish. We give them three wishes, they want a mansion and a fast car and unlimited cash. It really does get boring. Your grandfather was a breath of fresh air. Finally one human that wasn't an idiot."


Jeanie paused, glancing up once again. "Although, you might make two." Her green eyes flicked back to the page in front of her before she continued in a calm, even tone. "If my memory serves me correctly, your grandfather's wishes were the best I've heard since the previous century. They all centered around his family, of course." Here, a slight smile slipped onto her face for a brief second before disappearing again. "If I had to choose a favorite human, it wouldn't be a hard decision."


With that, she flipped the magazine closed and sat up. "Now, as far as you not wanting your wishes, that's a very noble thing to say and all but... Let me run this past you again, just so we're clear here. You do understand that I cannot physically leave until I've granted you three wishes, correct? Not that I would argue with not having to go back..." The last sentence was said at a quieter volume, more to herself than to Aerrow. "So, you're a nice one. You have three wishes. Take all the time you need, I'll be here." Jeanie flashed a smile and crossed her legs, tilting her head back to look up at the ceiling.

 

[PeterPan]

When she went on to say that nobody has wished for that to end because not only it would be suspicious but also because humans were selfish, he couldn't help but agree. How long would be peace last before the rich got angry and accused the poor of stealing or something. It would probably be about a month until things reverted back into its normal cycle of hatred. It almost made him sad to think about it, he probably would have wished for those things so to think that it would have been a waste..well, it made him sad to think that he was part of that race of hatred and greed. But then came the subject of his grandfather. He felt pride in what she said about him, how he was probably one of the smartest humans she knew, how he was kind and her favorite. That definitely sounded like the old man, but then she talked of his wishes. She said how they were all about his family and that got him thinking.


Aerrow got a sad look on his face while he thought about it, he had to look away. When he was young he was very sick, he had never seen the outside world before. Ever since he was born he was in the hospital in intensive care, he had some kind of rare illness or birth defect that they all thought that he wouldn't live to see the day past his fourth birthday. and with the way things were going, it looked like it might have been sooner than that. He always had tubes tied up and entering around his body and he wasn't allowed to move around or go outside. He just had to be a good little boy and stay inside and die. He didn't know what death was, but he knew he wasn't going to be a grown up. He was too familiar with pain that he didn't know what it was like to be painless, he thought everybody lived like this. But then one day, miraculously he was cured. They didn't know how it happened since his case was so rare that they didn't have a cure or anything to help and all that they could do was wait for him to pass on. But one day he woke up and the disease was nowhere in sight and he was a perfectly healthy baby. He had just turned four, they kept him at the hospital for another year doing nothing but test, trying to figure out what had happened and if they could find a way to recreate it just in case somebody else were to catch it. But after awhile they gave up and just decided to call it a miracle and let him go.


At the age of five he entered into the outside world for the first time, and waiting for him was a man he recognized to have visited him a few times, it was his grandfather. Did he use his wish on him? It would make sense how he was suddenly cured.


He looked back at Jeanie when she went to explain that she physically couldn't leave until he made the three wishes. But he didn't have any wishes to make. But then he remembered his dream that he said. He smirked. "Well, I don't have the need nor desire to make wishes. I only want to make. When I was little, what I assumed to be your bottle, I almost rubbed it out of curiosity. Before I could do that my grandfather stopped me to tell me that a genie lived in there and that she could grant me any wish, anything I wanted. He said he already had what he wanted but asked me what I wanted. I told him one thing and one thing only, and I'll wish for that just for the memory of him." He sighed and wondered how dumb it would be for him to make this wish but it was for his grandfathers sake. "Anyways, I'll make it after I finished getting ready. I have errands to run today." Then getting up he got ready and when he was done he came back out.


Fully dressed and almost out the door he turned to make his wish. "My first wish will be for a sandwich. One of the best tasting sandwiches that a man can ever taste, that is all." And when he had his sandwich he left. Exiting his apartment he turned to a homeless man that always hung around his building. Smiling he handed the homeless man the sandwich. "Here you go Mr. Jamenson." And after the homeless man thanked him and called him a good soul he continued along his way.

 

[TheKatsMeow]

Jeanie almost laughed as he voiced his wish. A sandwich? It took her a moment to be sure whether he was kidding or not. "Alright then, a sandwich it is." She smiled and raised her right hand, lightly snapping her fingers once. The food appeared instantly. "One down, two to go." She had just looked away again as Aerrow started out the door. Jeanie stood up quickly, sliding her feet back into her sandals. She didn't want to be left alone, she'd just had practically twenty years of alone time.


She caught up with him just in time to witness him hand the sandwich to the so called, Mr. Jamenson. Crossing her arms, Jeanie raised an eyebrow with a smile and fell into step alongside Aerrow. "Well, you're just full of little surprises. Aren't you?" She watched his face carefully, pleasantly impressed with his less than typical chain of actions. "You know, I was really starting to give up on you guys. You know, humans. During the 60's and 70's things just took a real turn for the worse." She shook her head, turning her gaze to the landscape around her. "I guess I just tumbled into the one alright family this time." She laughed quietly. "Mind keeping me in it? You know, don't sell my bottle or anything after you've used up your wishes. Just kinda...stick it away for your kids or something?"


She asked the questions jokingly but she was only half kidding. Though she referred to the humans she'd met as selfish and annoying, she had also met her fair share of truly cruel humans. The things some people would do to get their hands on power... Just the thought made her shiver. It had been it's worst when she was brand new. Jeanie could remember a few very controlling and hateful masters in particular. She hurriedly tried to push the memories aside, not wanting to stir up old problems. Those people were long dead by now. Humans aged so much quicker than she did, it was almost a shame. Such short lives with so much time wasted.

 

[PeterPan]

When she said that he was full of surprises he just looked at her with an raised eyebrow. "How so?" He asked her, not thinking that he did anything out of the ordinary. But if what she said seemed to have been true, then it was understanding. If he had grown up in any other life style, if he wasn't pretty much raised by his grandfather and the awesome nannies that taught him well, what would he have wished for? If he was like anybody else in his family it probably would have been more money, more power in the family company. His families company was already the most richest and powerful company in the world, and they probably would have wished for more. He was very grateful that his grandfather said a man is nothing with out a name of his own and a good family. That no amount of money or power can make a person a man, that he had to be his own man. And Aerrow took that to heart.


When Jeanie said that she was almost giving up hope on humans and if he could keep her in the family he just looked at her with a small smirk. "Well, I'm sorry humans had disappointed you thus far, and sorry to be the barer of bad news, but you don't want to be passed down in this family." He waited at a corner and after crossing the street he turned. He was heading towards a postal office. "Besides my grandfather my family member are the type of people that you described. Selfish, greedy and hateful. Only looking for more power..." He stopped short though when she asked if he could just pass it along to his kids. He almost coughed. "Look I'm only 20, I don't want to think about kids right now...or for a while yet. And besides, kind of need to find a wife for that..." As he reached the postal office he was upset to see that it was closed due to some technical difficulties. Sighing he was going to walk away until he saw the newspaper stand. It was everywhere. The powerful owner of a very powerful company died and left everything to his grandson, who gave the money to charity. Names weren't revealed, good, he didn't want the people he knew start to look at him weird after they found out he was from money.


He looked at Jeanie and couldn't help but notice that some of her clothing were out of date. Just how long was she in there? Then he remembered what she said. A genie, once their clients wishes were up, couldn't be released by the same person. There were stuck in there until the next person rubbed the lamp. And if his grandfather was the last person to rub the lamp...it had to have been years since she was last out. "Did you need or want to do anything? Sight seeing? Shopping? Anything? You're kind of sticking out...and I'm sure it couldn't have been fun to have been stuck in the lamp." He said waiting for an answer.