Jace's Place
Dead Kell nods. "Alright. And yeah, don't want to have a third one of me running around."
Elemental Kell turns around to go back to her job application. "Fourth. There's still the normal one..."
"She doesn't count."
Printable View
Jace's Place
Dead Kell nods. "Alright. And yeah, don't want to have a third one of me running around."
Elemental Kell turns around to go back to her job application. "Fourth. There's still the normal one..."
"She doesn't count."
Hretka holds her closer, kissing her head softly. "Thank you, dear. That's all I ever need."Quote:
Originally Posted by firedaemon33
Jace's Place
Jace smiles.
"Yeah, but I'm sure you two will turn that around. Good luck, both of you." he says.
The Hidden Manor
Well, that's no problem then. Tep really isn't organizing the temporary stacks, and none of the stacks are very close together to avoid mix-ups. Once everything has been pulled off the shelf, the final subjects can be chosen, the final map can be drawn, and then they can start putting them on the shelves.
Certain nods, and gently kisses Hretka on the lips before saying, "Alright...I love you Hretka...A-And...I want to be with you as long as you want to be with me...So..." She takes a deep breath, and continues, "I think...I think I'm going to do it..."Quote:
Originally Posted by Beans
[Certain Home]Quote:
Originally Posted by firedaemon33
Hretka nods, rubbing her back. Alright. If that's what you think you should do, then I'll support you.
Certain swallows, then nods bravely and messages the demon in her brain, "Alright, you win...I wish I could cast spells without them exhausting me, or causing other negative effects on my person."
Veronica's Apartment
As simple as pancakes were to make, it usually ended up being one of the more complicated meals simply because of the varied tastes between her siblings. Heather didn't eat meat, but loved peanut butter and blueberries in her pancakes while Richard(the owlish one) loved lots of bacon in his. And ham. And just about any sort of meat really. Samuel was the weird one. He didn't like normal pancakes at all and preferred cornmeal mush instead. Not that Veronica complained about the varied tastes since she liked a little bit of everything.
Except pickles. F*** pickles. Cucumbers too.
As per her usual "Vacation Breakfast" routine, she let the various pancakes and meats and corn mush cook over low heat while she danced horribly to some low-volume disco music as the coffee brewed. it was one of the few habits she had allowed herself to pick up from her mother since it was a good bit of fun first thing in the morning. I'm a brick....house... She silently sings, mouthing the words along with the music as she dances before falling into a giggle-fit, forcing her to stop with a broad smile.
Then the air raid sirens begin to play over the radio, making her smile turn into a broad grin and causing her to race to her closet to grab a wide-brimmed purple hat with a leopard-print band around it to wear. It didn't match the strap top she wore nor her tights, but it was obvious what it was for when the sirens turned into a drum beat and she started dancing again, fingers touching the brim as she spun in place. "You dropped a bomb on me...baby..." She sings before spinning back to the food to make sure it doesn't burn, though she continues to dance and wriggle with the music. It was several minutes before she spun back around, ready to place plates on the table, only to be met with three expressions of horror, disgust, despair, and downright nausea.
"I'm scared." Heather whispers, her eyes covered by Richard's wings as she clutches her Spider-Moose tight to her chest.
"Oh come on. My dancing is not that bad."
"No. It's worse." Samuel points out with a visible shudder before he takes a seat at the table, followed shortly by the others.
"Fine. See if I ever cook again." Veronica taunts, sticking her tongue out at the others even as she places the plates down. She doesn't turn the music off, but she removes her hat before getting glasses of orange juice for everyone. "At least turn off the music so we can eat without gagging." "It's good music. It's cultured."
"It's cultured alright. Like bad milk."
Veronica rolled her eyes but still reaches out to turn off the music. "So, what should we do today? Anything you all want, I'm open." She says, reaching out to pour syrup for Heather and herself before chowing down, waiting for responses. "Pizza!" They shouted unanimously, all three grinning, causing Veronica to narrow her eyes in suspicion.
A united front. They're up to something. They must have discussed this after the Sitter left last night. Remember Veronica, discretion is the better part of valour. "Okay. Pizza for lunch, but what place?"
Their grins made Veronica groan. "Really? That place is expensive, guys. I'm not sure you all know how much..." The harpy stops trying to reason with them when she sees the pitiful looks on their faces. "Fiiiine...but in trade you have to clean up your rooms, take baths, and then clean the bathroom." Her wagging finger cuts their groans in half. "Nope. You guys want that place, you have to earn it. Deal?"
Despite the heavy sacrifice of effort they'd have to make, the three nod right away. I could have probably gotten them to do the entire apartment if they're this eager...dammit.
After breakfast the three scattered to clean quickly, leaving Veronica to the kitchen and dishes which she just popped into the washing machine to forget about until dinnertime. After an hour of hair, make-up, getting on new attire and redoing her hair, Veronica was ready to head out when Heather, all dressed up in a yellow summer dress walked into the bathroom, biting her lip and appearing thoughtful. "Sis? I figured out what I want to be when I grow up."
Veronica couldn't help but smile at the admission as she looked down at her reflection in the mirror. "Okay. What do you want to be?"
"I wanna be a witch." The little girl admits, hugging her Spider-Moose close to her chest. The older Harpy rose an eyebrow and frowned for a bit, thoughtful herself. There are worse things to be. Like a boom manager. "Alright, but on a couple conditions."
Heather's shoulders slumped at the word 'conditions'. Normally such things meant no. "Alright..."
"Two rules. First: No cursing your brothers or experimenting on them. Got it?" Veronica says, making the little Harpy snicker and nod. "And second..." She starts, turning around and narrowing her eyes as she looks at Heather closely for a few moments. "The hat. You have to have the big pointy black hat. It's traditional." She adds with a grin, earning a squeal of delight from Heather and a tight hug at her knees. "Let me look in the phonebook and we'll stop by a place to pick up some stuff for you to practice with." She promises before heading to do just that.
Forty minutes and a dozen calls later, Veronica was about ready to rip her feathers out. All the witches wanted either nothing to do with a little girl, or apprentices for ungodly high fees, and she'd tried three wizards and even a warlock.
Nothing.
Come on Veronica, don't let her down. It's the first thing she's grown excited about in a while. Try harder, damn it.
It was several pages later that she saw Sorcerers in the phone book and saw Jace's name listed, with his shop's address. Why am I surprised? Might be worth it. Have to head out anyway. "Alright, I think I found a place for us all to go while we wait for lunch time. Let's go."
Market Street
Ah, the bustling Inside market. The places, the people, the sounds, the colors...
The color Veronica is looking for is blue, of course. And it's partway there.
Jace's stand is one of the semi-permanent kind- it's a simple wooden "room" set up in the side of the road, with many more next to it, although he snagged the rare chance of being on a corner, resulting in one less neighbor. Sadly, although he does keep it nicely in shape the owner doesn't let Jace paint the facade blue since he's just renting it, so he had to settle for just the sign, which is Jace's signature shade save for the coppery letters spelling out His Dragon's Keeper. He never was entirely sure if he got the whole joke, but Zebes said people would. He was never sure what that meant.
The place is neat and tidy, with a few baubles and arcane-looking gizmos on display for the public, but for the most part everything seems to be sorted into compartments and containers for ease of finding things.
Veroinca can probably find it easily, because if she's listening she can probably hear Jace's voice. That and the sound of a harmonica.
"In a while now, I will feel better; I'll face the weather before me,
In a while now I'll erase the irony and buy back each word of my apology
All the uninvited tragedy stepped outside...
Ask yourself now where would you be without days like this,
When you finally collide with the moments you can't forget?
Now, he's not very loud, no louder than anyone else with a stereo on their counter to help pass the time. He's not being rude or anything, but familiar voices often cut through foreign ones.
Getting there finds him sitting with his back to the street at a bench he's set up, working on something blocked by his back, although the shimmering blue tendrils of his Power wrap around his hands as they move enough to see them. Zebes sits eyes-closed on a tall stool placed in front of the counter, playing his harmonica. It's normal sized despite some slight modifications by the way, so he has to sit it like a cello and move his head to actually play it.
So do I remind you of someone you never met, a lonely silhouette?
And do I remind you of, some place you wanna be, so far out of reach?
(Zebes pauses from his instrument to offer a Wo-o-oh!)
I wish you'd open up for me, 'cause I want to know you, Amaryllis...bloom..."
They'll probably have to make themselves known. There's a little sign next to an ordinary looking business push-bell which reads "If we're distracted, please ring bell or alert the dragon. "
Huh.
Jace's Shop
Veronica takes a small look around and smiles at the sign before heading to the counter, a brown paper bag in both hands and her siblings in tow. "Remember not to touch anything without knowing what it does." She warns her siblings before considering how she should get the attention of the pair. After a bit she smiles and reaches into the bag carefully, pulling out a small handful of coins of various metals. Copper, brass, bronze, aluminum, silver...even a few lead ones. With that in her small hand she turns it over and dumps them all onto the counter, assuming that the sound of tasty metal would get Zebes' attention. She didn't know what all he ate besides copper, but she figured he'd find something in that mess to eat.
Jace's Shop
Zebes stiffens and opens his eyes. He stares for a moment at Veronica as a grin slowly forms on his toothy (but still clean, he's not like those Green drakes who don't even brush their fangs that often) maw, resting his forepaws on the top of his vertical harmonica like it was a knight's sword.
He looks down at the coins, needing a second or two to process their purpose until he remembers what she'd been told. He smiles a bit. Truth be told metal was more along the lines of a supplement to his diet, it's not really his favorite thing, but it's the thought. He snags one of the pennies, probably one of the ones she wouldn't have seen much standing out about it. He gnaws on it a little, for show and because hey, why not?
"Golarion copper piece. Tastes like home. How can we help ya, folks?" he says cheerily as he puts his instrument and the tooth-marked coin under the counter. He gives only a twitch of his head but Jace settles down to humming. There's a mischievous look in his eye for that. Clearly he didn't tell his Boss who's at their window.
Jace's Shop
"There are a few things." Veronica admits. "But first I want to apologize, Zebes. To you and Jace both. What I said last night was over the line and I'm sorry." She says with a small sigh, not really willing to meet his eyes as she reaches up to scratch the back of her neck. "I was...emotional." Unreasonable too, coward."And unreasonable. I just couldn't handle what happened anymore."
Jace's Shop
Zebes idly scratches under his chin.
"You don't really need to apologize, you acted pretty understandably for the most part. Hm. And your siblings are cute. Speaking of!"
he springs down from the stool for a moment and comes back with the gray stone from before tucked in the grip of a claw.
"You left this on the table last night. Thought you might want it back." he says, placing it on the counter.
Meanwhile, there's a sound like a rope being pulled taught as Jace makes a sweeping gesture and the blue tendrils fade.
"And done!" he says, standing up, holding whatever it was in his hands. "Everything's all tied up and ready for-GAH! he turns around and practically jumps a foot in the air, miraculously keeping hold of the pendant in his hand. "H-hey Veronica how're you doing? Didn't expect to see you today." he says with a sheepish smile and a needle-filled glare at his familiar, who takes it all with the most innocent expression possible.
Jace's Shop
Veronica smiles and takes the small stone, slipping it into the brown bag before pulling out an egg carton and sliding it back. "You mentioned omelettes, so I figured I'd bring some eggs." She says before realizing the possible awkwardness of such a gift. "They aren't Harpy eggs!" She quickly rectifies. "Duck eggs. They're meatier than chicken and better tasting." She explains before giggling when Jace jumps in surprise.
"To be honest, neither did I." She admits with a small smile before sighing and bowing her head a bit. "As I was telling Zebes, I'm really sorry about last night. I shouldn't have left." She says, only to be cut off by Samuel behind her.
"So...you didn't bone him? I thought that's what you were heading out for." He asks, causing Veronica's face to flush as she stiffens up.
"What's 'bone' mean?"
"It mea-"
"It means nothing!" She shouts before spinning and glaring at her two brothers. "I swear if either of you explain it to her I will pluck every feather from your bodies and make a pillow!" She shouts, glaring at the two boys. "And I'll take everything away from whichever one of you doesn't say anything." She adds a bit softer, making the two boys look warily at one another as they shut up.
With that taken care of she turns around once more, taking a moment to brush her hair and feathers back down to look composed. She's still blushing though. "As I was trying to say, I'm really sorry. If you would like to, I kinda want to give it another chance. We're going to be heading out for pizza for lunch and I want to invite you both. If you can put up with my siblings that is."
Jace's Shop
"You probably didn't need to clarify; I wouldn't have thought you brought those, although good to know that's how it works."
Jace gives a bit of a sideways cough and the barest hint of a flush at the outburst. He stands there and waits through it though.
"That sounds fine. I can't imagine them being any less mature to the one I share a brain with." he says pleasantly, ignoring the glare from his familiar. Deja vu?
"Just give me a moment to close up shop."
he says, which really just involves putting three or four things into his satchel, hopping over the counter, and shutting the window-shutter. He has so many magic locks and such on the place he doesn't worry normal security.
"Off we go then?"
Jace's Shop
"Wait! Before we go, I have to ask. Do you have anything like a Beginner's Witch Kit? At least the hat? Heather decided she wanted to be one." Veronica points out as Heather beams at the pair. "Yup!"
Veronica smiles down at her sister before giving a slightly worried look at Jace. "Does she need some sort of magic aptitude or is it something anyone can learn?"
Jace's Stand
"Wizardry is something that most people can learn with a little bit of natural magic and the will and intelligence to figure it out. It's...not the easiest thing, but at the very least you're harpies, so there's virtually no way you don't have any natural magic. I've never seen any worlds with such folk that are devoid of magic in its citizens.
My sorcery runs entirely on natural Power, so I can't say for sure if she has any aptitude for it, although I could probably get a feel for a yes or no just from being around her and seeing if anything sort of...flows. It's hard to describe, sorry. Here.
He reaches over the counter and pulls a small oak wand, whittled bare of its bark so it's very light in color, about six inches long.
"This is a want that when used, produces a little ball of light. It's a spell that many mages learn before much else."
Well, they often learn Spark or Arcane Mark first, but he thinks those are dangerous tools for a six-year-old.
"And uh, here. Best I can do, assuming my old textbooks are a bit too complex for her.
I could probably sew up a passable hat; I have black cloth. But if you want it to look professional with a real brim and such there's a hatter's a block or two down and a costume place about five doors down from that. Probably a book store, too." he also hands Veronica a small pamphlet. It's in bright colors and is mostly intended for parents who suspect their children might have magical powers and a few beginner tips on breathing, focus, etc in order to tell for sure.
Jace's Shop
"I think we can handle the hat ourselves. Still, thank you so much, Jace. You didn't have to do this." Veronica says with a smile before darting in to try and give him a quick peck on the cheek, likely leaving a smear of pale purple lipstick. She's fast and hopefully he's unsuspecting.
Where her two brothers roll their eyes, Heather ignores them all, staring at the wand and frowning in intense concentration as she waves it around a little bit. Lightlightlightlightlight She thinks to herself and the wand, hoping that it's enough.
[Certain's Home?]Quote:
Originally Posted by firedaemon33
I win what mistress? The demon asks innocently. But your wish is my command.
First nothing visible will happen to Certain as the demon simply adjusts the mages body and magic so it won't get exhausted from casting. This is much simpler now that Certain's soul and body has been warped by it's magic. Now all she needed was the final touch and it's job would be finished.
So it's not until that's done that Certain's body and soul starts to warp and twist to accommodate her new demonic nature. First she starts growing all over but her bat wings and tail explodes in size becoming large enough to function. Her hair then turns completely prehensile and organic, getting tiny bars at the end of each hair which can cause poisonous stings. She can also at will get any hair style she wants as she has complete control of each strand of hair. It will likely be more painful to cut it though.
Her fingers grow longer and gains wicked claws which she can withdraw at will like a cat. The same thing happens with her feet which also gain more in size than the rest of her body and will appear more like an raptors than anything else. Her tongue will also grow longer and change shape so it looks like a snake's tongue along with much sharper teeth. Finally in a moment of agonizing pain her eyes will actually burn out of their sockets before the sockets turn into bone and eventually has flesh grown over them, making Certain completely eyeless and blind.
In exchange her supernatural senses are at such a peak that she has a form of magical sight instead. This has some benefits and disadvantages. First she can now basically "see" through walls and be able to sense everything with a soul around her, no matter how small and insignificant. She can also "see" magical enchantments and be able to tell exactly what they do. But she will be completely blind in a temple of a god which opposes her or in a anti-magic field where she won't be able to see anything.
But those are the physical changes, within her, the mages soul is completely gone and replaced by a krux which now serves as her substitute soul which powers all her abilities and her magic. Now she gains the ability to manipulate the souls she drains with soul drain and turn them into soul fire or soul shields to attack or defend herself against her enemies. But this also means her magic could be countered by holy rituals and magic performed persons of very strong faith who knows what they're doing.
How do you feel now mistress? The little voice in her head asks as the newly born demon has undergone her final change.
Jace's Shop
Jace is kissed on the cheek! He smiles at her, even while Zebes barks out a chuckle and he starts fishing into his pocket for a handkerchief to rub off the lipstick. Sheesh, and he didn't even show her the apology present. That'll be for later, then...
"It's the least I could do, Veronica. Don't worry about it.
Oh, try focusing on it and going slower, Heather. It won't work if you're too hasty with it." he says in a pretty appropriate tone for talking to kids. He then goes about finishing closing up shop.
Jace's Place
Heather nods before offering the wand back up to Veronica. "We'll fly on ahead so you can walk and show where we're going." She decides for herself with a sure nod and going to do so, brothers in tow. Veronica watches them go with a small smile before shaking her head. "I'm sorry about this, I know it's not ideal. I had planned on calling tomorrow instead but when she said she wanted to be a witch and no one else I talked to was the least bit helpful..." She says, not bothering to explain further and only giving a shrug. "If you want we can always reschedule."
Jace's Shop
Zebes hops onto Jace's shoulder as he puts his opposite arm on Veronica's shoulder reassuringly.
"Relax, Veronica. It's fine; they're just kids. I've been a teacher more than once, so it's not like I've never had to talk to one. We'll be fine with them around. Warning you though, your brothers probably won't let you live the whole dating thing down. I doubt the avian nature makes them any different than what I remember. And what I remember is them being awfully cheerful at making fun of the older sibling."
Kate's Apartment
A day to maybe two later...
Kate types on her computer. This was starting to get unbearable. She would be doing something, and then try to do it like how she did things on her old computer.
The other her's computer, that is.
She would look for a file she thought she had, but it wasn't there. It was on her old computer. She expected the sites to remember her log-ins, but that was on her old computer. She knew how to code something, but that was in the programming languages on her old computer, the antiquated ones. All the same, that meant that she had to change all her coding tricks over to the new coding languages, and that was taking longer than she thought it would.
Plus, she was following twice as many webcomics now. That was more of a time sink than she was expecting.
"Hey Kate! I called Eric and he's going to come over and we're going to do mind stuff for you!"
Kate looked up at her 'sister' (the idea had become odd once the initial joy wore off) in surprise. "Did you read my mind to determine now was the best time to drop this on me?"
"You've been alternating between three windows for the last five minutes. It's obvious."
[Kate's Apartment]
And not a minute later, there's a knock on the door. if one looks through the peep-hole, it's Eric, dressed in a comfortable set of clothing for this.
Kate's Apartment
Copi will open the door. "Hi Eric! Come on in!"
"I'm not sure about this..." Kate says. She's sitting on the couch. She looks tired.
"You had a dream weird enough to catapult you awake three times last night," Copi counters. "That is not normal! Ky never had catapult dreams!"
[Kate's Apartment]
Eric steps in, "That sounds bad. Why don't you fill me in on exactly what the dreams entailed?" He floats over to a chair to sit down.
[Certain's Home.]
Certain cries out, doubling over as her tail shoots out of her rear, and her wings unfurl, bursting her robe. Her hair, as it comes to life, begins to writhe and twist, and as her claws and talons grow, her nice, black boots and gloves break under the strain of the growth as well. She pulls herself up, just in time for her eyes to burn. She screams, subconsciously retracting her claws as she paws at her face, desperately trying to stop the pain, until, eventually, her eyes seal, and her new magical senses awaken. She then moans as her tongue snakes out of her changing mouth, and she says, "It feels...Good."
Kate's Apartment
"I don't want to talk about it," Kate says, she seems uncomfortable.
"I'm fairy certain it involved shapeshifting, it might have touched on her experiences with the local powerful beings, and may have involved the threat or act of mental alteration. Body language clues were very obvious right after she woke up." Copi chimes in.
Kate sighs. "Okay, fine. The first one was a lot of transformation. The second one was... about danger, I guess. The third one was about my mind. What's kind of odd is that none of them were nightmares. They didn't have that... scary feel to them, you know?"
[Kate's Apartment]
"They were just dreams, rememberances of places you've never been, people you've never met, and forms you've never had. it's always a bit odd when you have access to memories that aren't your own." Eric states, "i'm thinking we need to take a deeper examination, to understand the level of contamination. It's not necessarily a bad thing to ave these memories, but it's not a good thing, either, given how tired you are."
Kate's Apartment
"I lost about two hours of sleep last night," Kate admits, "And they were all very uncomfortable dreams. It was just... I don't put much credence into dream theory, but in this case there is definitely something wrong."
Copi nods. "If you're willing to receive help, we can give it."
[Kate's Apartment]
"Right. Copi and I discussed this, and we felt it may be most comfortable for you if Copi were to be the one inside your mind, while I watch from inside hers. That way it's only someone like her that's actively doing things, even if I'm giving advice and my opinions on the subject." Eric says, looking between the two women.