A Time to Talk of Many Things

[Circe]

"Perhaps." Xiaolian replied, cognizant of the kind of chaos they were risking bringing onto themselves. But it was better than dealing with planar fish, Jinhai, and the storms that attracted them. It wasn't that she terribly disliked them, it was that she didn't think too terribly fondly of them either. Life had been relatively boring, mundane even, until recently. "I'll speak with the Warden next time I see her." Which likely meant first thing in the morning, and Xiaolian hoped that her timing was good. Because if the other had had a bad night, then it would be that much more difficult to convince her.

---

Luckily for both Xiaolian and Molly, Catherine had readily agreed. She was still exhausted from the solstice, but didn't dare risk another repeat come winter. "I think it's a wise decision.. given the all around strangeness of that day." She confirmed. "Since he is my responsibility, I'll pay for it. There is a jeweler in the central city that will take your order if I give you a copy of my script." It wouldn't take much to get the jeweler to agree either, especially when the paper came bearing the authority of a high ranking noble family's name and crest.

With the slip of paper signed and sealed by Lady McBride herself, Molly and Xiaolian set off for the fae realm on this new quest. Molly to obtain the bracelets designed for Tyrus and Xiaolian to seek aid in restoring her own magics.

[demikara]

Zander had agreed to pick them up and at the appointed time her arrived, and escorted them to the central city. Molly was dressed very differently than normal, looking for all the world like a fae working class woman for once. Though she was in her nicest dress. The silversmith was a nicer place than she usually went to, so it behooved her to not wear anything spattered with anything remotely farm like.

Zander stopped them, just outside the practice. "I'll wait in the pub down the street, Miss Boyuan. Molly, you know where you're going?"

"Yes Zander." It was said by rote, but Molly knew exactly were she was going. Here she didn't bother with her glamour, and she looked exotic and different and she knew it. "I'm just dropping off the order. It shouldn't take too long." It wasn't like it would be done right away. They would have to wait. "I'll come to the pub when I'm done."

[Circe]

Xiaolian had never been to the fae realm, but knew the general rules that governed most strange places; to not eat just anything, keep your mouth shut and ears open, and to never give anyone your name unless absolutely necessary. It wouldn't be too difficult to remember, many Guardians and Ratatoskr had had safety drilled into them since they were small.

"It is most appreciated Master Zander." She nodded offering a slight bow. This time she was the one who looked out of place dressed as a human. If she was to pass herself off as a Ratatoskr, then she at least needed to divest herself of some of the tell tale items. This included hiding the small tattoo on her forearm and leaving her pendant with Zhen, who couldn't understand that what sort of case she was working that would require that.

Xiaolian just hoped that this was at least an answer to why she had been stuck where she had been for so long.

[demikara]

"Of course." Zander agreed. He dug out a wallet and handed it over. "This should have enough to cover the cost. We'll exchange money another time." He smiled to her. "Believe it or not, there is a conversion rate." There was too, it was just linked more to the price of gold than anything else. "I have another wallet for the pub, so don't worry about spending what's in this one."

Molly grinned at Xiaolian. "Good luck." With that said, she took off to the silversmith and Zander smiled one last time and ambled down the street to the pub for a drink. She could handle herself, they were both quite convinced. She'd be fine and didn't need someone to hold her hand. Besides, she was a private person. Molly had no doubt she didn't want someone there to witness the conversation had.

[Circe]

Xiaolian stared at the wallet she had been handed, and had a distinct feeling of distrust. This wasn't how this was supposed to work, she would have more than willingly converted money if she had been warned ahead of time. It was at this point she felt out of her depth, and completely unprepared for what she had agreed to next.

Taking a deep breath, she set off down the street in a different direction to meet with the healer that both Molly and Zander had so eagerly rushed her into seeing. She had never known the fae to be terribly helpful or other Ratatoskr to help Guardians. Xiaolian was suspicious, and couldn't help but think something was going to go terribly wrong. But the sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could go home and tell Zhen what a crock of bullshit it all was.

Pushing open the door to the small shop, her senses were soon assaulted with the smell of magic and dried herbs. It wasn't an unpleasant smell, but still held an under current of something she didn't like.

[demikara]

A woman looked up from the counter when Xiaolian entered. She smiled politely. "You must be our three o'clock. There are wards to discourage non-patients from entering." They were meant to serve the Ratatoskr after all. "Let's get you to an examination room and I'll send the doctor in. This way." Quite convinced that Xiaolian would followed she led the way. There were only three rooms in the back, one the doctor's office, one a diagnostic lab, and one the examination room. "Wait here. He'll be along shortly."

The examination room was simple. A high bed with a stool to get on it and a chair to wait in, along with a stool for the doctor to sit in. There was a counter with a sink, small enough it only held a few things, and a cabinet above the sink. It wasn't long until the doctor arrived, given he essentially had to step across the hall. "I take it you're my patient. You may call me Dr. Matthews." It wasn't his name, but he used it for his practice. "Is there a name I can call you by?" He wasn't about to straight up ask for her name. That was rude.

[Circe]

Xiaolian squinted and blinked as her eyes adjusted from the light outside to inside. "Uh yes? I think so? At least that's the time they told me?" She muttered slightly confused. She was never like this, she was always self assured and at least somewhat confident in her decisions. This however didn't seem like a wise choice, and she hoped it didn't backfire on her.

Following the woman back towards the exam room, Xiaolian tried to dismiss any anxieties or concerns about what she was about to discuss.

"I am called Xiaolian." She replied easily enough from where she sat. It wasn't her true name, that was something that both Zhen and herself had agreed upon after taking up residency on the human plane. Names that were more normalized and mundane like kept them and others safe; after all there were at least a dozen of them on such a large plane. Especially given the recent resurgence in some of the old ways.

[demikara]

"It's a pleasure to meet you Xiaolian. Now you've been having problems with your magic? Can you describe them to me?" Dr. Matthews needed some information before he decided what tests to perform after all. She seemed otherwise healthy at least. Not overly flushed of palid, no excessive sweat. The problem being of course, he had no clue what her baseline stats were meant to be.

There was no point in trying to take them, so he didn't bother. "I'm sure we can get right down to whatever the problem is."

[Circe]

Xiaolian resisted the urge to squirm and fidget, this was a truly uncomfortable question to answer. She feared that the damage was irreversible, whatever it was, nothing had been the same since the program. "It's... well... accessing the tree and other magics seems to be near impossible. I could not get here on my own, someone had to help me." It was all so embarassing. She had grown up to be independent, self sufficient, and not need help.

"Well that's the thing.. I don't know if you can get right down to it. No one has been able to yet." Xiaolian added.

[demikara]

"I see. Well, I won't know if I can help until I try." He said and gave her a reassuring smile. He had been doing his job for centuries. He was certain he could at least pinpoint about where it went wrong. "I'm going to cast a spell that will allow me to see how your magic flows. After I do, I want you to try and access the tree. Just the beginning steps should be enough for me to see what's going on, or to at least get some idea."

He hummed to himself and cast the spell, focusing it on his eyes. "Go ahead and try." He watched her closely, watching how the magic flowed in her and around her, keeping an eye on how her magic moved, spacetime in particular.

[Circe]

Xiaolian sighed and shook her head, this felt like a fool's errand. But perhaps if she bit down and went through everything he asked, she would have her answers. Guardians and Ratatoskr accessed the tree similarly didn't they? At least that's what she thought. Xiaolian really didn't know what the difference between the two was, except that one had been given a different set of tasks than the other; similar but different.

"Alright..." She hesitated and tried to access the tree. Though try as she might, it was just out of reach and even if it had been seemed so weak and nearly a trickle. It was as if the magic had been taken from her, or at the very least blocked by something.

[demikara]

"Good. Now I want you to try and cast a spell. Any spell will do, but preferably something small that won't damage to examination room. A light spell, for instance." That would let him see what she meant by an inability to cast other spells. He kept his eyes on her. The initial attempt looked for all the world like she had a block put on her magic. There were ways to remove blocks, though he'd need a divination spell to find the right way. Assuming it could be removed of course, but he was a professional. If he couldn't remove it, he would escalate her case to someone who could.

There were more powerful specialists than him among the Ratatoskr after all.

[Circe]

"A... a light spell?" She asked uncertain. They hadn't taught her that, most of what she'd been taught had been very offensive spells. This wasn't going to end well, she could almost be certain of it. As her mind slowly ground through the imperial and otherwise rote spells required for the Guardians, she finally settled on a spell that seemed similar. It wouldn't damage anything, but would certainly be something she could cast from memory.

Mumbling under her breath, she tried to reach for the magic again before it slipped away. There was limited success, instead of a small light all that resulted were a few indigo and violet sparks. That was what had happened everytime she had tried outside of using precharged sigils or bribing Zhen to charge a few for her. The Solstice had had so much free magic, that even her weak ability was almost that of any normal Guardian.

[demikara]

"Alright. I've seen enough to see the problem." An easy enough case. "Sarah, could you please bring what I need for a divination spell." He called out the door. He then turned his attention back to Xiaolian. "The problem is simple enough. You have a block on your magic. I have seen it before, usually in people who over focus on one thing alone. It's perfectly cure-able in most cases, but yours is particularly strong. I'll have to divine how to fix it."

He smiled at her. "It's usually something simple, but it may require a ritual, instead of a spell. We'll have to schedule a time for the ritual, if one is needed."

[Circe]

Xiaolian raised an eyebrow, one particular thing? How was that supposed to be helpful, she didn't focus on any one particular thing; unless he meant the program. They had been extremely eager to see what someone with space and time magics could do to benefit them; admittedly it had done very little and things had been dissolved. But still, she could put two and two together and see that part of releasing her from the program had been to block further use of her magics. After all if they couldn't benefit from them, why should she? She was just collateral damage in the long run, and expendable.

"A block." She commented unamused. Served her right for getting mixed up with the Eastern Council, thinking she could help her own instead of helping them line their pockets with rare artifacts and forbidden knowledge. The idea of a ritual worried her, if only because it meant asking for more help to get back, and it possibly meant owing more favors to the fae; who she would very much like to avoid.