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Bones
The Obrimos was passed out, naked, on top of the blankets of the guest room of the Direct Action. She was snoring of all things. It was quite loud, exhaustion obvious.
Vorpal
It's a bit late for breakfast, but the smell of cooking rises through the house occupied primarily by Direct Action. Nothing complicated; just potatoes, onions, some very basic spices and a little batter to bind and crisp up, but the SMELL. The latkes filled the house with absolutely amazing scents like hashbrowns pumped to 11.
Vorpal wasn't even IN the kitchen.
Shadows were her hands, managing the stove and the THOROUGHLY enchanted frying pan, dishing out some applesauce and sour cream.
She wasn't quite the natural host that Sigrun was, but she was doing her best, darn it.
Bones
The smell definitely drew her awake, with a grumble from her stomach. She was one of those impossible people though, a true morning person that sat up and stood without worry.
"Ooo, breakfast..." and she headed downstairs, still naked, expecting it to be Sigrun.
She did take polite looks back and forth around the decor and the like. Never quite investigating things magically but just always curious about it.
Vorpal
Vorpal's senses were... off the charts. She didn't talk about it often, but she got so much information from what she could pick up.
A creak from the guest room.
Gentle rasp of skin on skin, but zero rustling cloth.
A scent profile only faintly familiar.
Her razor-sharp wits put it all together for her. A naked guest wandering down towards the living areas, likely Tommy based on the familiar notes in the air.
A shadow rose in the last doorway separating from the living area, as her voice sounded. "I have zero issues at all with naked people wandering about, but lest the audience to your little exhibition mismatch your preferences, I feel obligated to point out that it is V out here and not any of the assorted others who you might be expecting.
In other words, exhibitionists beware~ proceed at your dignity's own risk." The shadow then melted away, having ensured only that there was no uninformed progression.
Bones
She paused and thought about Johnnie. V. Vorpal. So many names she knew already. And yet, she wanted to know more.
Cat and Mouse went through her mind again, and so she took a few steps forwards to the living area anyways.
"Oh, Hi Vee. Whatcha cooking?"
Vorpal
Johnnie, in all her unrepentant preparedness, is wearing her longcoat like a dressing gown, belted at the waist with what looks like one of Sigrun's handmade chemises beneath it. The dark-haired woman's eyes turned her way, swept up from the floor, settled on her eyes. Both taking in what there was to see and refusing to outright ogle. "Latkes, as it happens. Not that I need an excuse to make them, but it is Hannukah. Would you like some? I decided to make them myself so I wouldn't need to worry about some rapscallion poisoning one of my favorite treats." She stage-whispers that, in an attempt to defuse the seriousness of the truth with humor, but. Neither does she seem entirely un-serious. "Is the temperature comfortable? You can tell we're loaded, we actually use the thermostat."
Bones
"Temperature doesn't bother me," she said simply enough, " I could be like this on the north or south pole as easily as the Sahararra or Miami. Humidity, eh, there's other tricks for that too..." she mused a bit, but then gave V a look over, "oh. though since you're in one of the chemises, I'll be right back..." and headed upstairs to put the dress on... she did her best to give V ag ood view on her way upstairs.
Vorpal
"That's nice! There's some courts, like- most of everyone else's- that can just scorch the room or freeze it and they'd be perfectly fine in their birthday suits, but I have to, like. Start a storm to do the same. Awfully inconvenient," she laments, eyeing the departing Tommy.
She hears behind her, murmured. "Hate to see you leave..." But, apparently, loves to watch her go.
Bones
A few minutes later, she was back in her dress, hair magically as wavy and done as the other day. Today's...yesterday's... dress was a blue riffle number.
She bebopped on down to the living area, grabbing her heels by the couch to put on, and then did a little model walk for Vee, "how's it look? Not too bad for second day?"
Then she went to sit near Vee for the food.
Vorpal
Vee whistled appreciatively as she descends in her dress again, a few of the shadows clapping audibly as the latkes and accoutrements are dished out and set on the table, all of it without V needing to take one step out of her seat AT the table. "It looks wonderful, though the jury is still out on whether it's a quality of the dress or the model. I'll let you know when it's conclusive."
Bones
"Sounds like a closer examination for appraisal is needed. Thank you for the food," and she started to eat.
Granted, she wasn't a gristle grinder or anything, but Vee might be curious at just how fast the mage ate. Perhaps too much times at digs where it was about speed over savoring.
"I told Sigurn about the One Eyed Bird, by the way. They were not as upset as expected. I think because you said the name was banned. Thank you for that."
Vorpal
Vorpal laughed, a quick, sincere sound. "I think that's the most polite way anyone's ever asked me to ogle them in detail," she commented, grinning faintly. Her expressions were mild, but no less sincere for it.
Usually.
She ate, too, favoring apple sauce as a topping by far, though she was definitely savoring her food. No objections to Tommy's methods, though.
"Oh?" Nerves settle at the second comment. "Phew. Alright. I was worried she'd be upset hearing someone frame talking to that asshole as a positive. I'm glad that was avoided." Another latke plated up for her, and one for Tommy if her plate was clear. "I take it from all details that last night went particularly well?"
Bones
"I... well.. You could say that," her blush spread across her face again, "I... well. She and I connected. Strongly. And," she glanced at her phone, "she told Teagan about it too, and apparently there were high fives about it."
This pancake, she slowed down and ate it in a more civilized, savoring pace. She had to remember her manners first.
"This is very good. Is Cooking a hobby of yours, or a survival method only?"
Vorpal
"I do indeed think I shall say it that way, if it keeps your cheeks cherry red like that," Vorpal stated easily, taking another bite. "Mm. She's... wonderful. She and June are two of the most sincerely sweet people I have ever met in my life. I adore every single one of my family, but that's a special trait of theirs." Nom nom. "I'm delighted you got to experience that side of her."
"Oh, I'm not even that good at cooking. I cheated. The frying pan is literally magic right now," Jackie states simply before taking another delicate bite. "It's more an expression of affection than anything else. I'm not very good at acts of service, but some folx receive love best that way so I've found a few ways to passably express that way."
Bones
"Well, I thank you for using your kindness to share a love language with me. That is very sweet, yourself," her eyes swept over Johnnie again, "You know... this is good on me... I don't want to obsessively study the shadows right now. I'm just... I'm happy."
She took a drink of water after finishing off the second cake.
Vorpal
Jackie's lips curled mischievously. "I believe that is what's called an afterglow, Tommy dear."
"Sweet? Mmm. I dunno about that. It's a practical investment in the happiness of those nearby. There's a lot of terms I'd aim at myself, but I don't think I often get called sweet."
"But that contentment... is that unusual? Are you usually consumed by a devouring need for unceasing knowledge~?" Spoken with familiarity.
Bones
"Yes. Magi are driven to investigate and advance their knowledge. So many various versions of it for each Mage. One of mine is to dig into the other supernatural groups, honestly. I think that if we combine all of the ideas and magics, it might be possible to understand the actual start, the actual reason there's a Hedge, Gauntlet, Underworld, all of that... Why is there Twilight? Wolves don't seem to think it was always that way....
She took a deep breath and shook her head again, "Sorry, starting to ramble on it. It's a drive though... "
Vorpal
"Oh. Hm. So you really can't help yourselves, huh? That's an interesting detail. I'm pretty voracious, myself," she says, a shadow pulling up a thick, leatherbound tome layered with leaf-like embossings over to the table. She taps the book proudly. "This, miss Tommy, is the Book of Leaves. It doesn't have EVERY answer to the mystical questions of the world.
But it CAN have ANY answer."
Bones
SHe nodded to agree with Vorapl as she began. Then there was a magic book, and like Maui wanting his fish hook, Bones looked back and forth between the magical book and Vorpal, "Oh goodness. Really? How does it work?" her eyes twitched as if she wanted to do something but was being polite as well.
Vorpal
Vorpal rested a hand on the book and gently infused it with the magic of her own Wyrd. "Simple enough. You have to have a question you want an answer to- and then you open the book and find out if the answer is there today. Not perfectly reliable, and unfortunately less than ideal for an extended bit of research due to the shifting contents, but remarkably wonderful for trying to get specific answers."
Bones
That tickle to her senses was quite interesting, but still she resisted the temptation. The Obrimos reached out, just to touch the book and see what it felt like.
Vorpal
The book felt like a leather-bound book with fantastic embossings on the cover. Nothing more, nothing less.
Bones
"Nearly looks like my own book... Still amazing that such normal things can hold such extraordinary power. .. it just needs to be a mystical fact? What sort of things have you asked in the past?"
Vorpal
"All sorts of things. How to cut silver threads, for instance," Vorpal offers easily. "It didn't have much of an answer, but. Sometimes, you can find answers in other ways." Her voice gets a touch quiet. She doesn't elucidate. "But if it isn't a matter of natural sciences or mundane history or something, the answers COULD be there."
Bones
"Do you say a word or something, or can anyone use it? And may I look at it a little with my mage sense?"
Vorpal
"You could- but it might ruin the mystique if you do. Are you sure you want to?" She shook her head as well. "No, nothing special. Just- have a question in mind and flip through the pages and index like you would any other research material."
Bones
She touched it and then opened it to try and figure something out. Why not? And as she did so, her sight came up
Bones
She flipped through the pages and stopped on a specific page, looking down and reading it with a "Hmm."
Vorpal
"What information did you decide to hunt down?" Vorpal asks curiously. The page is titled Magi and Masquerades, and the page is clear enough- there are always tricks to penetrate magical methods of concealment, but their effectiveness is entirely based on how much magical power can be mustered to challenge the Changeling's power directly- and the complex nature of the deception itself requires more than a single tool to pry past its effects.
Bones
"Interesting. I see a little bit about twisting the threads too..." she tapped a spot, "Interesting. The one Arcana that I don't know at all yet."
Vorpal
"Arcana?" V asked simply. "Are those like schools of magic, or?"
Bones
"Yes. There are ten arcana that make up the Supernal Realm. Sometimes you have to combine them to do something..." a tilt of her head, "Huh. You're not Human... if you want, I could show you what it's like."
Vorpal
Curisoity shines CLEAR in Vorpal's eyes, but she very visibly takes a step back from the idea internally and holds a hand up. "I think I would prefer to wait to do so until I have someone who can help rewind things if they go worse than expected. I'd like to be adventurous, but the last time I slipped, I thought I was back There, and the person I was There is NOT a person I can afford to be here."
Bones
"Oh. Okay. Well, the offer is there, should you wish to try sometime," she reached over to touch Vorpal's hand, rather than the book, "I am more than willing to help share, perhaps more than some of my brethren would like, and definitely more than a certain group, and yet, it's part of my obsessions, so I get leeway."
Vorpal
"Believe me, the offer is appreciated," Vorpal insists, turning her hand to take Tommy's in those too-elegant, scar-circled fingers. "I would have absolutely no problem doing so if not for fears for my sanity. One challenge of bearing as potent a Story as I do- damage to one's Reality is... dramatic."
Bones
"I see. That's... fuck. I'm sorry to hear that you do that... all of you. THat's... " she looked down at Vee's hand and squeezed it, "...That's terrible, and I hope, that in time, I can be someone who can help you 'rewind things if they go worse.'"
Vorpal
Vorpal's eyes narrowed faintly in amusement. "Did I detect ungestured air quotes around that last bit? I wasn't at all being facetious, I know the Firebirds, and at least one of them can outright reverse the flow of time and wander back a few steps. I can do something similar, but my mind returns untouched, and I don't think that bodes well for my chances to undo sanity cracks that way." A moment of thought. "If Teagan figured out I was hurting fast enough, they could do it. I just can't rewind my own brain. Spirit? Soul, maybe. But I think it's brain, here."
"Still, it could be worse. From my understanding, you and yours struggle with arrogance unbalancing your sanity or something along those lines. I'd be shit as a Mage. Did I ever mention I thought I was a god for a while?"
Bones
"Oh... I can't completely do that, but I can go back a few moments. Can stop a fight before it starts, after it's done, kind of thing...." she shook her head, "But to do something that could help your head? No way.
A tilt of the head the other way, "Yeah.. Wisdom is what we call it. Using magic in a Wise way... and no, you haven't. "
Vorpal
"Well, that's just it. If we tried it, and I got hurt, you could bounce us back to before it happened and just- not," Vorpal explains. "And yes, for about a year or so, I think? I was convinced I was a God of the Hunt. I'm awesome, no doubt about that, but a deity? No, I think not. But my point is that was within the realm of my ego's ability to accept!"
Bones
"Interesting. Though is it really your ability to accept, if you're being changed into it?" she replied, "And yeah... I guess I could do the rewind if we needed to do it. Not too bad then... I've spent some time over there, learning some magic myself recently, that's related to time."
Another drink and then a tilt of her head to look at the God of the Hunt, "The Green Man?"
Vorpal
"Oh, heavens, no. Just a new one. Me. Vorpal, God of the Hunt. Apparently, the name got around. It's what Arcadia seems to know me by these days." She shivers a little. "Part of me wants to be proud they've HEARD of me recently enough to associate the name. The rest of me hates that they fixated on THAT instead of any other name they could use for me. I'm not him anymore. Or maybe I am, but he's not the same." She's not sure where to draw the line, but she's clearly confident the line's out there someplace.
"Don't feel obligated. I don't know the strains or costs your magic has on you. I'd very much hate to place demands on you or your resources."
She squeezed Tommy's hand, rolling her thumb across the back of her hand in a staggeringly smooth little movement that speaks worlds to the sort of impossible elegance Vorpal keeps under the surface. "Why don't you tell me a little about how last night went? I don't need details that would violate the specialness of what you and Sigrun shared, but I'd be lying if I said I Wasn't curious what you might be comfortable sharing."
Bones
"I've never been able to be a submissive, or restrained. There's a big part of me, that has to always be in control. I can, with a thought, create fire that can burn through... everything. I can point at any living thing and turn it to dust. The power of the universe, in the palm of my hands and all that.. The Wisdom we just mentioned. Sometimes I just want to not be in control. ... and well... you talked about being him?" her form, from one moment to the next, went from nerdy femme to nerdy masc. The clothes and nothing related to it, changed but everything physical changed.
"So... this is how I was born. This is how I lived the first twenty-eight years of my life."
Vorpal
The shift is surprising, but Vorpal takes it well, nodding slowly as she absorbs that revelation. "I did mention that, yes- Jack Drexel, though I use Jackie more often these days. Pleasure to meet this reflection of you, Bones! If I may- is this version less you than the one I met? I, personally, don't differentiate, but I also can't hotswap so freely. I need help for that, not that it's begrudged."
She smiles quietly. "And believe me, I understand the intoxicating wildness of knowing what you could do at any moment if you so pleased."
Bones
"I'm fluid. You'll see me like this a lot, sometimes I'll be femme. Sometimes I'll be asexual or agender or a non-binary sexuality... it really depends on my mood... " and as he spoke, their form shifted. This time into a feminine frame but masculine build. It happened again, this time with some talking in a strange magic language, while they took a drink from a flask from their bag.
Now she returned to her 'original' form, "One of the reasons that I tell you this, is because she was my first like this."
Vorpal
V listens closely, nodding, taking in the shared information, eyes widening at the last and laughing brightly. "I KNOW what that's like! It's SO TOTALLY different, isn't it? I felt like- uh- like Will Ferrell on that racing movie. I had NO idea what to do with my hands or any of the rest of me!" She leaned in, eyes twinkling bright. "What was it like for you?"
Bones
"Well... I didn't have to worry about how to use my hands... or my feet or anything... I was a bit tied up," she blushed deeply, "So... it was amazing...." she bounced back and forth in her seat, not used to talkign about this yet.
Vorpal
V's eyes swung downwards- towards the table, as if she could see through to the seat Bones was bouncing on, as if suspicious of its construction- and back up, still smirking. "I see. Noted for future reference~" She murmurs. "Did you enjoy having someone else at the helm of the proceedings, I take it~?"
Bones
"Well, I do enjoy it, yes. I do not, however, require it to enjoy myself. I also enjoy myself in any of my shapes...But yes... I really did enjoy it... yes," and tilted her head, "And no, I don't have a toy on the chair," she crossed her arms in a harumph.
Vorpal
"Noted as well~" Vorpal was very good at modulating her tone to be somewhere between outright sultry and teasing, and she didn't have an issue wielding that here as Bones shared more- right up until she laughed at the bratty little harumph. "Well, you can HARDLY blame me for wondering, Miss Mage~"
Bones
She harumphed again, fully a brat without realizing it in the moment.
Vorpal
"You keep pouting like it's not a realistic consideration. I happen to have it on very good authority that if a Mage wanted a toy of ANY variety to sprout out of their chair, or to emerge through a portal on top of it, all of that is entirely within the realm of possibility. Really, it would be dismissive of your talents to PRESUME you weren't enjoying yourself in a clever manner~" Vorpal bandied back at the little brat pouting in her seat.
Bones
"I cou... I woul... " she frowns, now thinking about how that would work, and realizing that yes, it was entirely possible, in a few manners. And sighed, "You are right."
Vorpal
Vorpal's smile just curled and curled, a sharp little thing cutting through her protests until she admitted it, and it softened as V nodded firmly. "Just so. Now- wherever did Sigrun take you off to? I heard you two leave, but not to where."
Bones
"Hlevangr & Sighall."
Vorpal
THAT surprised Vorpal fully. "TRULY?" She seemed to be trying to weigh the revelation for pitfalls she hadn't herself considered. "I'm surprised she took you into the Hedge. Perhaps it was safer taking you directly to her places?" V mused to herself. Then- "OH! So you've seen her, then??"
Bones
"Yes," she blushed, "And, during it, I Saw her too. I got to use my SIght to See the world there... it was phenomenal, she was phenomenal... yeah... it's why I asked your book the question that I did."
She tried her best to see what Vorpal thought with her outburst.
Bones
"I'm still here and safe and me. If that eases your concerns,' Tommy squeezed Vorpal's hand.
"I stayed in her longhouse and just looked out ... Is that okay?"
Vorpal
"I think so.
I HOPE so." Vorpal looks unsettled, takes a breath. Relaxes best she can. "The timing is fortunate. There is someone... truly unpleasant, but no less a slave than I was, currently on hiatus from tracking me down. But Sigrun knows he's not on the job just now so. It's fine. You being safe is the concern, after all." She squeezes back.
"What sid she look like? To the eyes of your magic?"
Bones
"I could see the Light woven in her coming out. The magical aura of heat, and so much more," pending discussion of course, "It was amazing."
She straightened her head and looked to Vorpal in her eyes, before speaking, this time with a calmness and steel in her voice, "Johnnie," using the name she heard the other Direct Action use, "I want you to hear me simply here. I look sweet and innocent, and I knwo I act it. But I've had to fight Werewolves, Spirits, Vampires, Anicent Ghosts, Zombies and so many more in my time as an Archaeologist of Atlantean Ruins.
"I appreciate your concern, but I will bring forth Heaven's and Hell's own fire to anyone that tries to take me, or those that are mine. For those for whom I care, I will burn this city to the ground if need be..."
Vorpal
Vorpal smiles, pleased to hear how lovely she found Sigrun even in such a view. The smile, though, cracks at the use of her name, her lips narrowing reflexively. For the moment, she holds Bones' gaze, though, listening. To every word shared. It's only when she finishes that she speaks again.
"Jackie. Vorpal. V. Not Johnnie. That's my old name, and there are exactly two people with permission to use it. Teagan, and June because neither of us can bear to tell her no." No anger, just firm insistence.
"And it isn't at all that I doubt your power, Bones. There are many things which may be fought, but the Hedge and the places beyond it are home to things which Cannot Be Fought. Violence is not a concept that can triumph against them. That is the world that I occupy, patrol, and protect, and while I have all the respect in the world for the amazing magicks that Magi can enact, I need you to trust me when I tell you some Fights Can't Be Fought. I am not doubting you to wonder how wise it is to take a Mage into the Hedge.
It's a respect for the power you bear, and a violent concern for the damage that could be done if a Keeper got sway over one."
Bones
She visibly winced, pulling back, "Sorry, Jackie. Jackie. Jackie..." she repeated to drill it into herself, and then listened to the rest, "Oh. Sorry. I just... you are all ... I mean, you melt like water in and out of the truck, or as you stride. Watching most of the .... motley?... that I met so far? You are all so far beyond what I'm used to without active direct magic. There are Awakened who can do such things, but its farther between them, I think," and she slunk back more into the chair, "And... you... well.. you are all very protective... and I love it... but I want you to also know that I can stand with you, if I need to do it."
Vorpal
A simple nod. "It's okay. It's Teagan's. From everyone else, the name feels like I'm being asked to be my old self, and- no. From Teagan, from June, it's different."
She lifts her eyebrows a little at the expression of wanting to be trusted to stand with them. "Bones... forgive me, but I think you misunderstand. My experience with the Magi suggests that the reach of your magic extends worlds beyond ours. There re very specific things I excel at- but to my understanding, True Magic extends so far beyond that in scope.
I don't think anyone is looking your way and thinking about you as a liability."
Bones
She nods, "I'm sorry. I'm not the best at talking sometimes, I get very worked up, and I pull back a lot," she kept a hand with Vorpal but physically pulled back otherwise, "I... I don't want to attack other supernatural beings, except in defense. I want to see what it's like if we all work together, share knowledge, find the Truth in each of our abilities... so ... if that means that I stand against Keepers, or Owl-Spirits, or Moonless wolves.... then I'll stand with my friends."
Vorpal
Jackie squeezed right back, letting her lean away if she liked. "If you wanted to attack others in general, I don't believe we would be very good friends. I like a challenge, and I need supernatural opponents to get a challenge, but I'm not the sort to pick fights unnecessarily. Most of the time it feels like punching down, and I've no desire to be a bully."
"Eugh. Owl Spirits. There is one specific owl spirit I am going to punch in the face next chance I get, and you are quite welcome to assist." A pause. "Can I ask what Moonless Wolves are? Is it a werewolf thing?"
Bones
She released her hand and instead came around to sit right next to Jackie to lean against them as they spoke, "Owl Spirits were a new one for me wehn you told Vincent about it..." that hand sought Vorpals now, "Yeah... When I was in Mexico, I ran afoul some werewolves in the Cartel... I found some good werewolves too... but its the ones with no moon that are the real monsters... luckily, I could heal some of it."
Vorpal
The hand was easily found, and others as well. Gentle ones, tucked against her side, ensuring her lean is stable. The pressure is technically in the shadows beneath her clothing, but none anywhere improper. "Yes, well. The assassination attempt was the first I'd met them, either. Next time, I'm going to chase them into the fucking Twilight and find out how those hollow spirit bones like what I've got on offer."
She thinks a moment. "I did get attacked by a couple werewolves once. They were pretty mean, but it worked out okay."
Bones
"I was not as experienced as I am now, with Spirit or other magics... but I was lucky I had my magic of magic to deal with things...I used some starfire to ruin their day..." her free hand lifted and held a small bit of flame, that went through not the usual colors of flame, but every color of gemstones from ruby red, emerald green, sapphire blue, and even diamond clear. After a moment it disappeared, "It took... I faced some fears after that, the next time I was out at a dig at night or something like that."
Vorpal
"Magic of Magic, you say..." Johnnie wonders, nodding a little. "I wish I could interact with magic so directly. I have some tricks, but nothing so pure as that." She pondered for a few moments, then stated quietly, "Perhaps such contracts could be forged..."
"Oh, dear. They left you worried of what might linger in the dark?"
Bones
"Yeah.. I threw my next ... I don't know how long, into going from knowing no spirit, to becoming a Disciple of the art. I didn't want to be ambushed again."
Vorpal
"Is that how they came after you? With spirits sent from Twilight?" Jackie asks, somehow seeming to rub her hip and waist and shoulder all at once.
Bones
"They came through the Shadow, into my lap, just about. Turns out I was studying in their spiritual locus," a shake of his head, "I just thought it was another place of power, and those usually have some fun things to study..."
Vorpal
"Ohhhhh. I see. We're lucky. Our Special Places are all technically on the other side. Not really a problem for us. But also a lot fewer allies that can come help if something breaks in."
Bones
"That is handy. We have to potentially ward ourselves against ghosts, spells, spirits, and physical attacks all. I couldn't imagine something getting through Sigrun's home easily."
Vorpal
"... mental assaults, emotional compulsions, nondirect temporal manipulations, direct temporal excision attempts..." Vorpal wanders through the list of things she knows supernatural fuckers can do to a person.
Bones
"Yep. I can defend against a lot of that stuff... and a magic shield can do a lot of things against my own kind... But should someone try to do some fancy needlework," remembering SIgrun's power the other night, "I don't know what I would do."
Vorpal
"Mmm. Hard to counter that, really, without extreme competence or similar benefits to counteract. The real scary things don't allow something as honorable as resistance. Sometimes someone just decides you miss out on the next week. Or freezes your clothing in time permanently and creates an everburning fire around you. There are... very awful fates that can be designed for those deserving enough."
Bones
She shivered and scooched closer to Vorpal at that, "Luckily, there are some things that I can do to help that... or at least make it my will versus theres... but watching you just...flow.... I imagine you could dance circles around me at my best."
Vorpal
"To be fair, I dance circles around pretty much everyone at their best. If I really apply myself... I go as far beyond immortal limits as immortal limits go beyond mortal limits. My blades make great axes look like bare hands. My coat makes plate armor look like paper mache. And unless you're fighting me naked, you've more or less already lost. Barring some truly impressive unweaving effects. I can turn spells that affect me back on their users, I can cheat death, I can stand in a crowd of foes and not only strike them as they fail to strike me but force them to strike each other." She takes a deep breath. "Changelings specialize. We are very good at doing specific things with astonishing efficiency. But we can't compare to the sheer breadth of the powers that Magi learn. It's the difference between optimizing a system and writing your own."
Bones
"You get it. You really get it," she leaned against her, "Thank you for being able to put up with my rambling and my curiosity, while also beign able to explain things so... perfectly."
Vorpal
"OH, stop. My ego is entirely too puffed as it is," V teases, pulling her in against her side. "You wouldn't know the arcane stuff is a new skill, would you? I didn't start studying witchcraft until I ran out of ways to cut things better." Pause. "Until I THOUGHT I ran out of ways to cut things better. Then I started studying magic. Ways to bend the elements. Command them. Control time. That's me in a nutshell. So the explaining well... I think it comes from being fresh to the scene enough not to presume knowledge on the part of others."
Bones
She leaned up to kiss V's jaw and then just resumed leaning against her, content in the moment.
Vorpal
Vorpal blinks at the kiss, then smiles faintly and leans in to return the gesture, lingering on her cheek before straightening. "Thank you~ that was lovely~" A moment or two. "Do you know any of the Firebirds?"
Bones
"I've met both FOx and Pavlichenov. The latter even helped me learn a new piece of time magic enough to put it in my soul itself."
Vorpal
Pavlichenkov? Tse Vasya? YA ne vpevnenyy, shcho koly-nebudʹ-" Vorpal stops and redirects back out of Ukrainian. "- if I Ever ever caught his special name. I should talk to him and see if he is comfortable with an audience during our next experiment."
Bones
"Whoa whoa whoa, I don't know Ukranian without a cheat," she held up her hands, "Yes. I don't always like to use the non-cloudy names unless I have to do. It's a safety thing, a loyalty thing, I guess. I know he uses his name in a lot of ways, or at least the name he calls upon himself... but I should take the chance to head home and clean up and maybe get some work done today. "
Bones
She popped up to her feet, gave V a kiss on the top of the head, and headed out at magical speeds.
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