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Post by demikara on Aug 29, 2020 15:52:48 GMT -6
"Thank you. I have a copy of the ward I'd like to use in my study. If you can draw it out, I can probably still power it. That way you don't have to." He could still use his magic after all, even if he'd have a hell of a time drawing runes out right now. Or doing anything really. He was trying to ignore that as much as possible. The mage would have to figure everything out.
"Would you like some coffee while you rest? I think I have decaf, given the hour." She may not want to stay up. Then again, she may not have a choice in staying up. It really depended on her duties. It was probably a good thing they needed less sleep. Though he was admittedly hoping sleep would fix what was wrong with him. Or maybe he'd wake up in a week and be able to see again.
Somehow, he suspected he'd need to see a specialist. That was going to be so much fun.
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Post by Circe on Aug 29, 2020 16:14:12 GMT -6
And there it was, the overeager relief that she had agreed to something combined with those two words, thank you. Catherine tried not to cringe, or express her distaste, and failed. Fortunately for her, Tyrus's blindness meant that it was missed.
It was something ingrained from childhood that was so hard to break, especially now that she found herself again practicing similar manners in a different court. Thank you was a contract to most fae, it meant an obligation, and for sometime it had meant the same to Catherine. But living among humans, even non-magical humans, meant that she had to tell herself it was different here. That they considered it basic manners, and things were ridiculously more simplistic; culturally and magically. Most of this world had lost it's sense of self as soon as it lost the rythm of the seasons or wheel of the year. Granted some groups still practiced the old ways, but they were few and far between.
"No. I think..." Catherine started to say and then reconsidered her thoughts. "Tea would be perfectly fine." Coffee sounded altogether too hot, rough, and hardly the thing that would soothe her mind as she regrouped herself for the next thing. Resetting the wards would be exhausting, but it would easily bleed off any lingering magic from the solstice she might be harboring. Which, given their current surroundings would be wise.
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Post by demikara on Aug 29, 2020 16:21:43 GMT -6
"Alright. Unless Lieutenant Boyuan is still here, I'm going to need to ride on the back of your ATV." His cheeks darkened. He had never had to actually do that and wasn't looking forward to it at all. But there wasn't a lot of choice. "We left mine behind. And I'm blind right now, so probably shouldn't drive." That would be a bit much to expect, he supposed, though he was fairly certain he could at least follow behind someone, even if he couldn't exactly see the terrain. Of course, not seeing the terrain was the dangerous part of the entire idea.
"But I do still know where everything is in the kitchen, at least, so I should be good to get the tea out and some glasses at least." Pouring it might be on the tricky side, but he could at least get it out and get ice in the cups. He was not going to get used to being blind any time soon.
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Post by littlekreen on Aug 29, 2020 16:28:00 GMT -6
Thin legs scuff through foliage with the dainty steps of four hooves. A cervine form moved through with unnatural silken fur that gleamed in metallic tones. An aftermath of purpose smashed together in the furious rapids of Catherine's raw fae power. Soft elegant muscle tone and poise of a moon deer made clear the forces of creation made the creature on a fitter anvil. Above the strong neck was nothing but a pale hole where a head ought be. It's magical form just close enough it might be the right creature but the life inside it entirely incorrect. A raw magic source wriggling in the dark just beyond exposed steel and bone vertebrae.
It hadn't a nose to smell them nor eyes to see but the neck alerted just the same along its task. Then quietly dropped its tail and continued on to a malformed plant just along the path. Head void positioned toward the object then loosed the honk of a rather familiar vehicle from the hole. A paroxysm of finned ectoplasmic shapes pour from the void creating and destroying in equal measure. A twitching dervish of biting mouths and silent gears embedded in their aetheric flesh. The patterns of the magical plant both burned and concreted as they balanced potentials.
As the quiet dervish settled the slimy sprites reversed course to pour back inside the deer. The plant was weaker, perhaps smaller in some ways, but it's magical pattern now had stability in ways of particular subtlety even to discerning eyes. The neck hole honked once more, the head raised, to continue about its way.
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Post by Circe on Aug 29, 2020 16:50:09 GMT -6
Xiaolian wasn't there, and had in fact gone to join Zhen in checking the perimeter wards. She had thought that perhaps it was best, given the circumstances, for Tyrus to not have an audience while he spoke with his sire.
"I..." Catherine began as she stared across the meadow at the strange creature. She couldn't recall having ever seen anything like it. 'The hell is that...' She thought to herself, careful of her own tattered shields. What exactly had she done while under the spell of the solstice? Her anxious mind jumping to all manner of conclusions at the thought of what might have happened while she had been incapacitated. The thought of her unintentionally causing harm to something or even unconciously conjuring something forth from the depths of her own mind made her feel sick.
No one person should have as much power or ability as she, and even now she hesitated to use it.
"She... I mean... I don't think she is." Catherine stammered, shaking her head and regaining composure. She couldn't sense the void that was generally a halmark of the lieutenant to most. It was a distinct absence that discouraged further investigation, and as such Catherine was generally inclined not to. "I think she left the ATV somewhere close by though." She ventured, eager to get away from the strange created meadow and it's equally strange creatures.
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Post by demikara on Aug 29, 2020 17:06:36 GMT -6
"What was that noise?" It sounded like a goose. He turned to face the noise then tried to take in what he was seeing. Magenta and yellow-orange swirled together and he could just make out the shape of it. Some sort of...blob? "Actually...I don't want to know. Whatever it is, I'll make Carter handle it in the morning." With supervision. So he wouldn't try and engineer his way out of it. Right now, he mostly wanted to go home and to have some tea himself, along with one of the butter cookies he kept secreted away for tough days like this one.
"Let's just go. I should have something to snack on as well. Today took it out of me." How the hell was he going to handle hunting every day when he couldn't see a damn thing. That wasn't something he was comfortable leaning on Carter for at all. For one, most humans didn't like bringing other humans around to be snacked on. Especially given it was rarely fully willing. "Can you lead the way? You're bright enough I should be able to follow, so long as I go slow." He didn't want to trip.
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Post by Circe on Aug 29, 2020 17:28:51 GMT -6
Catherine nodded and soon had them back to the confines of Tyrus's small but tidy and modest house. It had truly been and ordeal just to get back, there were strange things still lingering out there, drawn by the high concentrations of magic that had seeped into the land. Surely at least she would have the ability to function by morning to figure out just what needed to be done, but she suspected it would be a few days before any permanent wards could be erected.
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Post by demikara on Aug 29, 2020 17:42:27 GMT -6
Tyrus opened the front door and let her in, uncertain. She was actually the first guest to come into his house. It really was his private sanctuary. His own family hadn't been allowed in. Hopefully she'd find it okay. The mage walked in through the entryway and to the living room. "I'd say wait here, but under the circumstances. The kitchen is this way." The living room was tastefully done in greens, with two plush couches, one short, one long. There was a large TV, with a bookcase on either side, and the modern style side tables were laden with books and notebooks. One fiction novel was open on the couch, face down and pages spread.
The kitchen wasn't far. Just around the corner was a clean spacious kitchen with a breakfast nook with a small blond table, a few older books set up there, along with a binder and a few pencils. There was a toaster on the grey kitchen marble counters which set atop blond cabinets as well. The microwave hung above the stove, where a cast iron pan sat waiting to be used. The kitchen itself didn't look like it was used that much. Carefully, he made his way to the cabinet closest to the sink and opened it up, taking down two tall glasses. Carrying them over to the stainless steel fridge he opened the freezer and put ice in both cups, scooping it in and then put the cups on the counter.
He closed that side fo the fridge and opened the other. Most of the food there were either leftovers from Monmack's or simple food, easy to prepare or ready to eat already. He ran his hand along the door and found the handle of the pitcher, before picking it up and grabbing it with the other hand. He closed the door with his elbow and carefully placed the pitcher on the counter, taking care to make sure it wasn't too close to the edge.
"Could you pour? I don't think it's wise that I do so. I also have hot tea, if that's what you want, but it's pretty hot out so..." He had made an assumption. Hopefully it was the correct one. The mage moved, hand on the counter so he knew about where he was. He hit the corner and turned, then opened the cabinet in front of him. It took a bit of blind searching, but he pulled out a blue tin full of butter cookies bought from the store and set it on the counter. Then he frowned and bit his bottom lip. Plates. She probably wanted something to put the cookies on. Those were...
He moved to next to the fridge and opened up the cabinet, carefully pulling out two small plates, and carrying them over to the cookies. They were heavy clay plates, with a pattern of leaves surrounding the rim. "We can relax in the living room. You may have to mover some books, but it's fine."
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Post by Circe on Aug 29, 2020 17:59:52 GMT -6
It was not at all what she had been expecting, but then again neither of them really knew one another. Instead the majority of their interactions had been conducted at court, in her office in Dallas, or elsewhere besides even her own home. After the rise of the new Court, Catherine had quickly sold her previous condo and moved into a different one, whose address she had given to no one. It had been bitter and brutal work to set the wards herself, but it had been the only way to make sure they weren't compromised in any way.
Glancing surreptitiously at everything as she followed him through the house, she could tell from the kitchen alone that he spent little time at home. If he did it was only to sleep, shower, and grab a change of clothes.
"Are you certain? It's your house Tyrus, and frankly both of us are covered in dirt." Catherine replied pouring the tea into the glasses. One of them was covered more than the other, it looked like Tyrus had face planted into a puddle of mud at one point. It still astounded her that Xiaolian had gone as far as to do what she had done with Tyrus, but then again she had never gotten a good read on the other woman. It seemed like she spent most of her days going behind Molly and cleaning up messes.
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Post by demikara on Aug 29, 2020 18:07:03 GMT -6
"I have a vacuum. It'll be fine." He assured her, and accepted one of the glasses, both hands around it. He used a service for his rooms at the court, but here he did it himself. That may have to change shortly and he wasn't sure he liked it. He led the way back, carefully filling out and sitting on the shorter couch in one corner of it, and clearing a spot for his glass so it wasn't too close to the edge either. He'd have to be careful of that, given he couldn't see right now. There was enough latent magic in his home he could make out some things, but that was about it.
Oh, the cookies! He'd have to go back for them. Maybe later though. Right now he didn't want to risk bumping into anything just because he couldn't see. Maybe he should add some magic to his furniture at least, so he could make out the edges of it. That might work, and it bore thinking on first. It was also not something for tonight. Tonight he needed to call Carter to make sure the man knew to come over in the morning, instead of waiting for him at the office. Though maybe he should get him to bring Tyrus' laptop out as well. He couldn't see to do the work, but he had an email to send out.
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Post by Circe on Aug 29, 2020 18:19:47 GMT -6
Catherine had nearly been about to say something, and then thought the better of it. A vaccum wasn't quite what she had had in mind, more like actually bathing before anything else. But that posed the problem of a necessary change of clothing, which she hadn't exactly planned. Also judging by the state her home had been in when she'd left, likely not happening any time soon.
"If your sure..." She replied cautiously, as she gingerly moved aside a book entitled "Principles and Practices of Elemental Magics" and wondered just what sort of person wrote such books. She had an answer for what type of person bought them though, and it wasn't her. Most of her shelves were filled with practical things, and was hardly the repitoire of arcane literature.
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Post by demikara on Aug 29, 2020 18:27:07 GMT -6
It was largely academics who wrote and published the books and read them as well. They wrote largely for each other, with the occasional one being willing to simplify things down to a lower level for other people to understand. Tyrus had been brushing up on elemental magic as part of his solstice plans, which were sketched in a notebook next to her.
"I am. Dirt doesn't bother me, though I feel rather caked in it. You're probably in better shape than me at least." He couldn't exactly look and tell. "I'm sorry I don't have anything clean for you to change into. I suppose I have some sweatpants that might fit. One of my looser shirts might as well." Something to compensate for the fact that she had a chest and he did not. "I don't know about the state of your place. It sounded like you were having a rough time, on the phone."
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Post by Circe on Aug 29, 2020 18:44:56 GMT -6
Catherine shifted rather self consciously in her seat on the sofa across the room from Tyrus, acutely aware of the differences he had so indifferently pointed out. As a cop in their world, she tended to live in a wardrobe of whatever was clean and appropriate; it didn't matter if it was terribly fashionable or attractive; in fact it was mostly a range of gray and navy department store clearance suits. Her clothing for the court however had been just the opposite. Well fitted, expensive, and tailored; with careful selection of fabrics and coloring designed to best suit her. It still didn't mean she was comfortable with it, especially given her height and build. "Don't worry about it..." She mumbled eager to change the subject.
Looking down at the book she had so carefully put aside and thinking about these things, she noticed the notebook. Picking it up, she flipped through a few pages before setting it aside again, it was here that she could see how things had gotten the better of him. He had it appeared planned some rather large workings, and hadn't even been cognizant of the risk a solstice posed.
"And yes.. you do rather look like you rolled in the mud."
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Post by demikara on Aug 29, 2020 19:19:01 GMT -6
Tyrus grinned. "I guess part of tomorrow will be spent drying my hair then." It took ages. He didn't wash it every day because of that. Most days it stayed coiled up in a shower cap so it would stay dry. He had too much hair and it took entirely too long to dry on its own for him to wash is nightly. "It was an interesting day. Painful as hell though." He still ached. The tea helped a little at least. He took a sip, carefully wrapping both hands around the glass, nervous about dropping it.
It was ridiculous. He shouldn't be worried about that of all things. But without his sight he felt strangely fragile. Or perhaps as if everything he owned was fragile. Besides, if he dropped it and it broke, he'd be shit out of luck. He'd have to be more careful for awhile. "Boyuan slapped a paralyzation spell on me at one point. I got plenty of practice with telepathy."
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Post by Circe on Aug 29, 2020 19:50:38 GMT -6
"That is perhaps the biggest understatement I have heard out of you to date." Catherine remarked briefly. Between MCU and the Court, it was near impossible to keep the days, weeks, and months all straight. She was lucky anything got done in a reasonable amount of time, and more than likely solstice would only serve to aggravate it. Time was not something she often had the luxury of, and often hastily threw her own hair up into something resembling a bun with a few strategic clips and hair pins.
"Oh really? That is a handy spell..." She commented blithely, while making a mental note to look into such things further. Catherine could think of numerous uses for it, and not just restraining difficult or unwilling mages turned fledgling. "I'm surprised she tolerated you as long as she did, she barely tolerates Bronson." Catherine added
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