Bawl. I know, it took me ages. The second one gave me trouble, and I'm still not sure I like it. Oh well- right around now you're going to start getting more answers than questions, which is. Inscrutable is mostly in Bert's point of view- which was a lot of fun, actually. Kudos for catching the references in Bert's- the end made it pretty obvious, methinks.
Disclaimer: I had a dream that I was backstage for the Mary Poppins play. Then I woke up. So yeah….not mine.

Mary and Bert raced across the rooftops wildly, leaping the distance between rooftops easily. Bert somehow managed to stay just ahead of her, his long legs giving him more reach than her legs hindered by her skirts. She pulled her skirt to the side and leaned forward, putting a little extra into the next jump so she landed with a little boost.

Bert glanced back at her, a cheeky smile splitting his face in two. "You comin, Mar?" he hollered, that perpetual grin on his face. Mary stuck out his tongue, fiercely glad no one was watching when she stumbled and bit her tongue painfully. She scrunched up her eyebrows and pulled up a bit of her power. She closed her eyes, snapped, and felt her heavy skirts lighten. When she opened her eyes, she was wearing trousers and a loose-fitting shirt. She rolled her shoulders and took a few more steps experimentally. Yes, this was much better.

Mary took off, catching up to Bert more easily now. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes and took a double-take, nearly smashing into a chimney. She stuck her tongue out at him once more, gave him a little wave, and hopped the gap between houses. Once across the gap, she slowed, waiting for him to catch up.

When he crossed, the grin was back on his face. "Nice trick," he told her. She shrugged, and he shook his head, looking her up and down. "Looks good on ya," he informed her, before his eyes widened and he blushed. Mary flushed scarlet at the comment.

"You don't look too bad, yourself." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, and she turned away, although her eyes kept straying in his direction.

He did look good- he looked happy. It was times like these that he reminded her of the child he could be, running and laughing without a care in the world. Bert caught her eyes and grinned.

"Y'know, Mary? Sometimes, I wonder wha' goes on in tha' 'ead of yers."

"I never explain anything, you know that." She mumbled awkwardly. He stepped closer, until he was only a few inches away. She could hear his breaths, still even after their little race.

"Well, maybe it's time t' change that."

Inscrutable. In all his life, Bert had only ever known two people that he could describe as inscrutable- unable of being analyzed. He was pretty good at figuring people out, he had decided one day. Not a master, like one person he knew- in fact, the other person he found inscrutable- but he had a well enough grasp on people that he could decipher the feelings behind their eyes, behind their smile, their simple words.

It had taken a long while, but he thought he was starting to make inroads on one of these previously-inscrutable people. They had known each other for years and years- they were best friends, maybe something more. He always felt happier when she was around-

But he wasn't going to get sidetracked by the way he always felt when she returned from her ventures across Europe, back to London, their home, how he almost felt as if he could fly whenever she was around, and-

He went off again- firmly back on task now. We were discussing this young woman's inscrutable-ness. Somehow, even though they had known each other for close to forever, Bert was still unable to comprehend some things about her.

He can't even keep up the mystique by pretending not to reveal who he's talking about- although doubtless you all have figured it out by now. Mary Poppins is-

No, he's not going to get off track again. Mary Poppins. Inscrutable. Right. Let's see… Bert has always been good at getting past the masks that people wear, and looking down to their true selves.

It's the eyes, maybe. You can always see a person's true feelings in their eyes. No matter how much you try to disguise it, there's something about your eyes that can't be hidden. Eyes are one of the first places he looks, if he thinks someone's lying to him. He can always see the truth there. It takes a special kind of person to be able to hide those kind of things, and they always end up giving themselves away somehow.

But then, maybe it's the way people smile, or the way they talk and move. It's the little things that tell the truth- he learned that from the other person that Bert finds inscrutable beyond his talents. You could look at their hat, their clothes, any little ordinary thing and find out all one needs to know. It's a curious trick, and Bert has applied it well in life.

Mary- he can't always get past her façade. It's not that she's aloof, or cold, or anything of the sort. She's just so- so different, sometimes, and he gets the feeling that he'll never come close to understanding her, but he can sure try.

There's some pieces of fact he's saved up over the time he's known her- just a few dozen pieces out of thousands of thousands, surely. But, try as he might, he can't get a clear picture of her. Here, he'll sort through some of it for you.

* He's younger than her- although he's not sure how old she is and doesn't really care. The boys threw him a party one time up on the rooftops, and Miss Poppins 'just happened' to be present. She said that it seemed like ages since she had been that young- although it might have just been implying that she's not as carefree anymore. Bert has considered it both ways.

*Mary's not from around here- it's a less obvious one, but if you listen closely, you can tell. Her ever-present British poise slips from time to time, slipping into an accent that Bert isn't sure he recognizes. He has spent a few enjoyable hours up on the rooftops getting her flustered enough to slip into this speech and just enjoying the show. It's only when he finds himself talking in a mixture of her accent and Cockney that she flushes and falls silent.

* She's more powerful than she lets on. It's noticeable sometimes, if you look real close- she'll put a little too much oomph into something and it'll go spinning out of control. She'll frown a little bit and shake her head, and whatever she did wrong will instantly be back in place. It doesn't happen often, but it shakes her. Power isn't something to be trifled with- not power like hers.

*She almost always tells the truth- Mary won't lie, not if she can't help it. Sometimes, her morals have to be stretched for the greater good, though. She won't do it often- only when she can't find another option. Let it go on the record that when Mary lies, she is a most gifted actress.

*Mary is an actress- let's go off the previous note, shall we? This might be part of Mary's whole facade- she always knows what to do to get what she needs. She can tuck away her emotions on will- and more importantly she can pull expressions and stories out of thin air. She's a gifted storyteller, and when she does decide to explain things, she makes them obviously simple to her audience. It's a treat watching her from day-to-day, keeping up her performance. However...

*Sometimes, Mary slips. Mary is practically perfect, but sometimes she falls short. Her mask slips, and he can catch a glimpse of who she might really be. Her eyes- those eyes, so cheery and bright, always with the sparkle of life- they're so...different. When she's not practically perfect, when Bert finds her up on the rooftops at three am, arms wrapped around her knees, back against the chimney, he can see through her charade, see the person behind the tricks and the no-nonsense attitude. Those glimpses draw him to her almost more than the person he sees every single day.

All these pieces don't mean anything- not alone, but put together they start to resemble something that might just be amazing. But Mary Poppins is impossible to understand completely- Bert sometimes thinks he knows everything he could know, only to be surprised the next moment. She's impossible to analyze, impossible to comprehend, even using the little tricks he picked up running the streets of London for the world's master of deduction.

Mary Poppins is inscrutable- Bert wouldn't have her any other way. But sometimes, he feels like calling on the house on Baker Street for just a few more lessons on how to find the truth.

Children. Mary Poppins is inexplicably drawn to children- that would seem obvious, from her past experiences as a nanny. She's good with them- she's definitely had enough practice. There's a certain type of magic around them that even Mary can't quite pull off- it's wonderful.

Maybe the reason Mary loves being around children is that she never truly had a London childhood of her own. She never roamed the streets, never flew a kite, never had all the toys that seem to surround children these days, never had any friends outside of her family. A tiny part of her envies her charges- they're so carefree, so innocent, so happy. It's something so easily to relate to yet so foreign, so completely out of her grasp that she somehow ended up with the closest thing to it.

Yet- another, larger part of her feels perfectly at home with children- they don't judge, they don't criticize, they're not yet exposed to the blackness and hate and disbelief of their older counterparts. Part of Mary's soul is forever suspended in this age, where the best thing to do is have fun, where violence is unthinkable. It's nice- although she'll never get the chance to be one of them, this is the closest she can get and maybe that's alright.

There's a reason Mary's drawn to them- it's a blessing, but more of a curse, truly. She can help these children, but she can never stay, never watch them grow. She'll glimpse them, later in their lives, but they don't remember her- they never do. It hurts- she'll be alive long past they grow old, but she'll remember them, while they're allowed to forget. Mary's never forgotten a face- also a blessing and a curse, actually.

Part of Mary always seems to get left behind whenever she leaves a household. She wants so bad to stay, sometimes- but she always has to move on. She's bound by her nature. She's always moving, always just skating over life, never getting the chance to just- stop. To grow, to laugh, to live.

Mary is always searching, always looking for the child who will set her free. Deep in her heart, she knows who he is, knows she'll find him eventually, has to find him, because he's here, somewhere. She watched, watched him stare at the skies while she stared down at the streets below, each wishing for something different. Once she finds him, she'll be free, to do what she wants, and then she'll be happy- at least, she thinks she will.

Because as time goes on, the image of the little boy starts to fade, her mission escapes her mind, she can be happy- until the wind tugs at her soul and sends her swirling away. Off she flies, away from the person who makes her feel like a child again, swirling farther away from the boy-now-man who will set her free.

Ooooh….I wonder what's going to happen next? Oh wait…I know…. :P

Again, kudos for catching the reference. I managed to combine two of my favorite things, which makes me all happy inside…

Next up… Explanations and X-tra special. Yeah, we're at X. Which means…we're getting to the end! But EXPLANATIONS next chapter…we might finally get to know something about Mary's past…???

Cocoa =D