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Post by demikara on Sept 8, 2020 19:04:21 GMT -6
He seemed upset. That was going to be interesting. "Which one's an idiot?" But she had picked out one word "Ah. He...knows?" He apparently knew about Ratatoskr and Guardians, if he knew what a jingling was. "You know if you don't run, jingling are bareable." They tended to chase anything that ran. And also anything metal. Molly wore very little metal by force of habit. She didn't wear any when she was doing her job as a ratatoskr. Jingling were hardly the only things that ate metal int he In Between.
They were just the most likely to swarm.
If he knew though, then this place was definitely safe. She'd probably end up coming here more often, if she liked the food at least. Assuming there was anything to eat. The man in charge had said they were closed after all. Was it possible Xiaolian could talk him into food regardless? That would be interesting to see. Then again, he had mentioned a ranch. And ranch plus idiot plus solstice..."What the hell did his princelyness do this time?"
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Post by Circe on Sept 8, 2020 19:23:10 GMT -6
"He not only knows, he got drafted to help yesterday." Xiaolian confirmed. Zhen was relatively capable, but as far as she was concerned still very green and inexperienced. The entire day had been one big narrowly avoided disaster, between Zhen constantly questioning everything and moping about sullenly because he'd been asked to help, it was a miracle anything had gotten done.
"Look I know it's late, but we're here now and I'm apologizing for yesterday." She apologized. He still looked less than thrilled, but his expression had softened slightly. "We square, okay?" At least she hoped they were, because if they weren't things couldn't possibly get any worse. "Square." Zhen nodded. "But only if you help with the Autumn Festival." He added with a smile, knowing his sister at least owed him that much after the Solstice. "Deal." Xiaolian agreed readily.
Motioning to the two to follow him towards the back, he paused for a moment and said something to the workers to the extent of they were good to go home now. After a time the pair found themselves seated at a small table in the kitchen, with a selection of items to eat, while Zhen managed the last few take out orders of the night.
"The little mage blinded himself after having insisted that he quarantine on his property." Xiaolian explained to Molly. "He seems to have miscalculated exactly what his sire's ties might do to his magic."
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Post by demikara on Sept 8, 2020 19:30:46 GMT -6
"Did he really?" That was going to be interesting. "At least it was on his property and not in the middle of downtown. Can you imagine what the jingling would do if they got downtown?" That would be a disaster of the sort she didn't want to think of. "Did he really expect his magic to stay the same? Because his sire is a beacon of magic." she picked at the food curious. It was good. She had no clue what she was eating, but it was good. And it was kind of interesting eating in the kitchen.
"Better you than me. The last time he lost control of his magic, we almost had several planar breaches." That fire had been a disaster. The court had failed to kill the man and promptly endangered everyone on the plane because of it. If some of the beings on the In Between got to this plane, the plane itself was toast. "He needs...breichledau babanod. I don't know the english word. The limit magic and are put on small children. Beginner Ratatoskr." she considered it curiously. "Baby bracelets, is the direct translation." But it wasn't exact. It didn't quite capture the meaning of the word.
How the hell was the mage going to manage being blind? He had a full time job to do and she was pretty certain paperwork meant you had to be able to read it.
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Post by Circe on Sept 8, 2020 19:43:20 GMT -6
"Apparently, and he's still on his sire's ass about control." Xiaolian shrugged. She didn't want to know what went through the man's mind, but it made little enough sense to her. "He says he'll have a plan come winter, but I doubt it." She added before picking up a bowl of rice and adding a heaping spoonful what looked like chili covered vegetables to it. "I don't disagree he needs that, but it's going to be hell getting that point across." Tyrus was as stubborn as they came, and was intent on running before he could even crawl. Catherine was largely hands off with him, prefering to let anything bite him in the ass first before offering assistance. More than likely she felt like she had nothing to even offer in such a situation; it was truly an unevenly matched pair as sire and fledgling.
"Better me than you? What sort of nonsense is that? I barely made it through the imperial rotes for that sort of problem." Xiaolian confided between mouthfuls of rice and other assorted items. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not exactly good at my job outside of MCU."
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Post by demikara on Sept 8, 2020 19:48:43 GMT -6
"At least you can do some of it. I'm trapped on this plane unless I'm escorted." Molly tried something that she was fairly certain had chicken in it. It was good. She was definitely coming here again, though preferably in the actually open hours. "I say we stick some on him. He's blind. He can't stop us." that would solve more problems than it wouldn't, as far as she was concerned. "I can ward them so he can't take them off." Which would be hilarious to watch him try. Molly grabbed a bowl of rice herself and added some vegetables on it that didn't look like they had any sort of chili on them. She wasn't a fan of spicy foods, and was not making a fool of herself in front of her partner for the millionth time.
She had to have some sort of dignity.
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Post by Circe on Sept 8, 2020 19:59:08 GMT -6
"I think we're both trapped, but in different ways." She suggested. "I can't leave this plane without escort either, and can't do most of the magics required for our wards." Xiaolian considered herself incredibly lucky to even manage novice level rotes and skills, and still at least be able to navigate a singular plane of travel.
Poking through her bowl with a pair of chopsticks, she considered Molly's suggestion. "I think it's a decent idea. I'll float it by La Principessa first however, she should at least be informed. No doubt she's had her own fill of his nonsense." Being called out to nullify and purify a ritual room was one of them for Xiaolian. Contrary to popular opinion, she did have things she did in her off time, even if they weren't widely talked about.
"He needs a sifu, but that's unlikely to happen. He... has training, but it seems that it's mostly self taught." Xiaolian didn't know if Tyrus had ever had a master, but she did know that he had had many students.
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Post by demikara on Sept 8, 2020 20:06:03 GMT -6
"I think he was home schooled. Tutors probably. But you never know what you're going to get with tutors." He was an idiot, and he did know a lot. But he completely lacked any common sense. "Zander, my master, is actually pretty strict. You should have heard the lecture I got for the whole breaking into the council thing." It had lasted a record two hours and she had felt like the dirt beneath his shoes after wards. "He is particularly fond of annoying punishments too. I've had to clean out the water trough by hand and then fill it back up with water the mundane way. The well is half a mile away, and the trough is..." Molly estimated, uncertain. "Fifty gallons? It took all day." It was one of many and she was glad it had just been the one. They had only had the one bucket at the well too. She had certainly learned where her master's limits were over the years.
Molly was cheerfully using a fork. She knew better than to even try and use chopsticks. That would definitely give Xiaolian ammunition.
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Post by Circe on Sept 9, 2020 13:24:04 GMT -6
"Tutors have their uses... but I suspect the ones hired for his royal pain in the ass were soon dispatched one way or another." Xiaolian ventured. The vampire courts were stange and vicious things, and in some ways full of nothing more than childish antics. But in other ways they were full of dangerous games created by bored immortals, with little more than time to waste and nothing better to do than come up with creative ways to kill other beings. "From what I've seen of that court, magic is a game to them. Granted it's something to be used and abused, but still a game." Which was why she had been so quick to render Tyrus insensitate during the solstice. He seemed to think it was just a hiccup, and nothing that couldn't be cured with time and more books.
"Our sifu encouraged chores as well, it's a common theme. If the body is tired, then the mind is not as prone to wandering to unsteady thoughts." Xiaolian knew she wasn't phrasing the last bit correctly, but she honestly couldn't remember the right way of saying it. "It would do the little prince some good to do be challenged, and I doubt that the Warden has the patience to do so these days."
Catherine had her hands full between keeping the Council happy, keeping Grigore at arms length the best she could, avoiding political disasters with her ex now Dallas county DA, and Cedar Ridge's constant mongering for war, it was amazing she could even function. Xiaolian was also amazed she hadn't made a run for the fae courts as well, knowing full well that no one who had not been invited reach her there.
"I'll ask around about the bracelets... it might take a few weeks to get the right stones and have the fae craft them. We need their silver if it's going to withstand his heavy handed magics."
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Post by demikara on Sept 9, 2020 13:34:54 GMT -6
"Monmack's is a decent supplier of stones locally." Molly pointed out. "They could probably find the right ones if we put in an order. And I can speak to a fae silversmith. There's not one in my village, but I can just go to the city." There would be one there, she was sure of it. It was a city after all. "I can do some ward work in the fae realm to get the money for it." It wouldn't be the first time she had supplemented her income with wards. But the fae realm used a different form of currency than this one. Usually the farm was more than enough, but this was a personal project.
She considered her options curiously. "The warden has some fae connections though. She may end up wanting to pay for it herself." Molly would help pay if only for the hilarity of seeing his face when they were put on, which she 100% wanted to be there for. "The healer I was talking about is in the city. I can go there when you go for your appointment."
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Post by Circe on Sept 9, 2020 15:38:30 GMT -6
"Some? Talk about stating the obvious there Bronson." Xiaolian snorted. Like most travelers of the tree, the two had both done their fair share of snooping about interesting residents they encountered. "As for the dwarf, I don't know if he'll supply anything once he finds out what it's for." Monmack and Tyrus seemed to have a relatively good relationship, even if it was just between a business and customer. "Besides, he doesn't really traffic in anything but agate from what I've seen."
Guardians were expected to have a sound and expansive knowledge of magics on the planes they had choosen to reside on. The current plane in particular happened to be at quite a nexus of various things, and the closest to that of the fae. At one time it had had an enormous amount of magic, but now it was largely gone. The gods had taken away what man could not be trusted with, especially after they saw the cruelty and abuse they subjected one another to with such gifts.
"The Warden may pay for it outright given the instability he's introduced to the courts and packs here." Xiaolian had had a front row seat to half of that, given the allegiance she'd ended up swearing to the court. For that alone she'd like to see Tyrus get reigned in. "But something will have to trigger it to get her to agree though. You know how cautious she is."
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Post by demikara on Sept 9, 2020 15:50:12 GMT -6
"Probably a good thing." Molly admitted. "Her being cautious has saved out butts a few times." It meant they didn't go in without adequate information, the majority of the time at least. "Though I'd argue Grigore taking over is a bigger part of the instability in the courts. The man doesn't even play lip service to respecting the packs, and we all know how they take that." Not well. An upset wolf was a dangerous wolf and they had to deal with that way too much as it was. The wolves had been on edge for awhile now, and with their alpha waiting bail, if he even got bail, they were more on edge than before.
"Wouldn't just dealing with the fall out from the solstice be enough to trigger it? Whatever he did hit us as far away as Dallas." It had been a big storm, and Molly wasn't aware there had been a second smaller epicenter from before the Warden left Dallas.
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Post by Circe on Sept 9, 2020 16:08:44 GMT -6
Xiaolian sighed as she picked up a steamed bun, and tore it in half considering it's contents before speaking again. "I know I'm supposed to be impartial or neutral.. but I'll be honest... the packs were becoming problematic. Rumor has it they tried to force someone to join a few years back, some pack member's girl friend." The details were limited as to what she knew, but it was still something that was talked about occasionally.
"Having O'Hara actually hunt me down to demand a meeting with the Warden says a lot to me. His days are numbered, but why or what I couldn't see." Xiaolian's specialty was technically listed as nullification magic, but at it's heart it was just as much wardbreaking as Molly, with a hefty side of divination to allow her to see all possiblities of each action. It came in handy when dealing with some of the more dangerous wards those in the Unseen liked to create.
"When things come from the North, it is generally reguarded as inauspicious and even unlucky... to deny the pack their whims may be wise if O'Hara's fortune is to be trusted."
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Post by demikara on Sept 9, 2020 16:14:26 GMT -6
"It's basically impossible to remain neutral when you live among them all." Molly pointed out. "Even if they're all so short lived, the intensity they live with is almost fascinating." It was insane, seeing how intensely some of them lived their lives. It was as if they were afraid of death itself. They didn't have all the time in the world to do things though, and she supposed that made the difference. Molly had centuries to do what she wanted to do. Humans rarely lasted even one century.
"I'm not surprised his days are numbered. The whole mask thing...they stank of desperation. Hopefully the next alpha will be less of a headache." O'Hara had been a pain in everyone's side, and having him gone was only a good thing. Of course, that depended on the werewolves getting a competent leader to follow him, but surely they had someone decent in their pack. She wasn't sure. She didn't pay too much attention to the packs.
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Post by Circe on Sept 9, 2020 16:23:55 GMT -6
"Impossible yes, but expected never the less." Xiaolian objected. Tradition was a pain, and it often did things no favors. "In some ways it's probably good that they're so short lived, their chaos is brief and soon over with. However... unless that mage adjusts to playing the long game... there will likely be more problems." She didn't know any other way of putting it. He almost refused to see where the problems where, even when they were staring him in the face.
"The mask did smell, I agree. If he makes bail, he's likely going to be dead before his court date." The pack would likely turn against him, it seemed that the mask had been a last ditch effort of an aging wolf to hold onto days long since passed. "Given the state of the pack, I doubt the new alpha will be any better either."
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Post by demikara on Sept 9, 2020 16:28:55 GMT -6
"Ha. Maybe you can use that to convince la principessa to go ahead with the baby bracelets. Until he adjusts, he has to wear them." It was an interesting suggestion, if nothing else, and Molly kind of hoped that the warden went for it. "And maybe they'll get an outside alpha. Either way, Dallas is all stirred up. It's not a surprise the solstice was rough." It would have been a bigger surprise if everything had gone smoothly. Molly shrugged, amused, and ate a dumpling.
"I like the food here. It's better than my usual chinese place." It tasted fresher. She could appreciate that. "Thanks for bringing me." They were probably going to dance around the need to see a specialist of some sort for awhile longer. But she'd set up the meeting and make sure an appointment was made. IT would go smoothly as far as she was concerned.
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