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 Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 8:48 pm
Weeks had passed since the impromptu lunch date between Demon and Reaper. She would have liked to come sooner, but several things had gotten in her way; an unexpected trip, a promise to keep with her second in command, and the daily rituals in between that were necessary to keep her cover. Eventually she had found the time to seek out the blue haired student, though it took her a while to actually do so. It had been fairly good luck to find her on the school grounds, over an open book as though she were trying to study.
For a moment she watched the girl from a distance, trying to judge her frame of mind based on her body language, but soon enough she did walk over, bare feet padding almost silently on the ground.
"Piper, right?" She asked rather suddenly, doing her best to sound casual about the whole thing. She had no ulterior motives. Nope. Not her.
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 10:04 am
At the time the ghoul approached her, Piper was grumpily tittering back at one of her...more eccentric summons. The Burrowing Owl in particular never seemed to stick to one element, and while the shifting display was pretty to watch, it was frustrating to fix. Technically it wasn't its fault she couldn't concentrate enough to give it a solid form, but she very much pretended it was.
"Come. On," she chided the bird as it hopped in her palm. The summon was a small, light-weight thing, currently flickering between fiery feathers and an icicle beak. "You stupid thing, it's not that hard."
"Coo-coo." It tilted its head at her with those Jackdamn big, innocent eyes.
"Don't you coo-coo me," Piper grumbled, almost able to replicate the noise. "C'mon, you were earth last time, what's different now?" Last time meaning when she was a first year, of course...
The owl suddenly swiveled its head around as someone drew near, eyes comically dilated. "Coo?"
Piper jerked her head up and not so subtly pressed her summon to her chest, covering its mouth. "Oh! M-Me? Uh, yeah?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 11:09 am
"Ah, sorry to bother you! I didn't realize you were practicing." The patchwork sounded apologetic, when in reality she was quite the opposite. After all, this only solidified her suspicions about the ghoul. The ones she had drawn when they had met, and she wore a different form. "My name is Amrita, and my friend Tajana mentioned you the other day…she thinks you could use my help." Black claws gestured towards the space beside Piper. "May I sit with you?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 12:28 pm
Piper was about to point out that maybe the zombie whatever needed to get her cataracts replaced then (despite the fact that glaring at a bird didn't quite constitute practice), but her eyes immediately widened she name dropped Tajana; it bore an uncanny resemblance to the owl peering at Amrita curiously. A sudden wave of surprise, embarrassment, and mild annoyance welled up within her. Piper didn't like being reminded that she needed help, but, well, she wasn't going to turn it away either... "Noyeahno it's okay!" the ghoul replied hastily, patting the spot. "I-I wasn't really getting anywhere anyway. Nice to meet you!" " Coo-cooooo!" the owl added, its icy beak starting to drip.
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 12:38 pm
"Sorry, I know it's sudden." Amrita apologized again, watching the emotions flash through the Reaper. "Figured it was better to get it out of the way early, right?" It was a near prattle, but one purposefully done. When she had permission, she moved and took the offered spot next to Piper, making herself comfortable by sitting with her knees bent and ankles crossed near her side.
"It's nice to meet you, too! My friend said you were a very lovely person. And who is this? Does it have a name?" She held her hands out, palms up as if inviting the summon to come to her, if it were capable.
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 1:03 pm
Lovely? A subtle flush touched her cheeks.
"Who, this idiot?" Piper gave her bird a distasteful look as she picked at her cloud of hair self-consciously. "I don't really give my summons names since they, like, change up or whatever. And they're not, like, real reaper familiars or anything." There was a subtle resentment behind the word.
The burrowing owl gazed intently at Amrita for a few moments before tentatively skittering towards her hands. Previously fiery feathers had since cooled and peeled away behind it as cinders, which Piper waved away with a scrunched face; its form was barely holding together now. "Hooo," it called softly. Now Amrita got to enjoy its dripping beak as it peered at up at her.
"They're more like spells," Piper added to clarify. "I can only do it for like a few minutes at a time. This one's about to finish up."
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 1:17 pm
"You sound disappointed." She commented idly, as if the resentment in Piper's voice hadn't been terribly obvious. "Were you hoping for a familiar?" The burrowing owl seemed to have decided to take her up on the offer, and she held her hands still as it skittered onto her palms. It wasn't a very stable summon, nor could it seem to decide what element it wanted to be, but the potential in it was clear. Especially now that she had it in her hands, and could feel the FEAR it was made from.
"I find magic fascinating. Creating something from near-nothing. Not everyone can do it, you know." Amrita cooed softly, not at all fazed by the fiery feathers or the cinder leave-offs. Not even the dripping beak. She nudged the owl until it rested in one palm, and used her now free hand to lightly pat it's burning head. It did burn a little, but it was a small price to pay. "Even for a Reaper, it takes talent."
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 7:26 pm
"Hoo, me?" She took on a smarmy sort of look and pat the strangely shaped jar she'd been sitting against. "I've got, like, a totally mega awesome jug-cannon weapon thing. I love owls, but birdbrain's got nothing on that." Maybe if she said that enough, it'd be true.
She had to say, though, she was surprised the ghoul wasn't even flinching at a little fire; weren't undead super afraid of that stuff? Maybe her guts were made of iron or something...
Unphased by her insults, the burrowing owl bobbed under each little pat, eyes comically going from round to pleasant crescents as it cooed its pleasure. The noise began to garble, however, as its beak eventually melted off and left a warped, cindery hold behind. It blinked as if surprised and then without warning collapsed into a heap of ash in Amrita's palm.
Rubbing at her head (a solid hour of this had given her a headache), Piper made a small dismissive motion with her wrist, and a puff of wind whisked the remnants away into nothingness. "Nah, it's nothin'," she added with a glum shrug. "All I can do is, like, little things like that. Sometimes better, if I'm lucky. That's watcha get when you a non-specificy reaper like me: jack of all trades but no mastery or whateva."
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 8:18 pm
Amrita's yellowing eye moved to look at the jar behind the ghoul, eyeballing it and registering it as a weapon, before drawing her gaze back to the Reaper herself. "I see," She mused, unsure if she were being honest, or simply trying to convince herself that she was. "I met a Reaper whose weapon ended up being a familiar, it's a neat little trick." She gave a start as the bird disintegrated in front of her, and once Piper magicked away the cinders, she dusted her hands clean of it.
"I find it better to be a jack-of-all than a master of none." Piper received another small smile, and the patchwork shrugged. "Having a wide knowledge base and range of skills is more beneficial than focusing on one. I feel you have more potential that way." Her hands, now free of the little bird, raised up to pull her braid over her shoulder.
"You talk down to yourself a lot, for someone with such vast potential. May I ask why?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 10:06 pm
Vast potential, unlike lovely, made her wrinkle her nose in disbelief. "Psh, I'm just sayin' the truth," Piper replied with another shrug, twirling a finger around a curl. "I've been here, like, two-ish years now," not counting her brief transfer back home, "and I'm not even a hob yet. Barely skidding by in classes too."
It felt weird talking to someone that, though a recommendation from Tajana, was still mostly a stranger. She twirled her hair more and averted her gaze for a moment, growing even more self-conscious.
"How'd your friend do that?" she eventually asked with a glance. "I thought we were stuck with whatever we got born with."
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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 12:22 pm
Marati was thoroughly enjoying the complete lack of confidence and defeat that radiated from this ghoul. It was so very promising to her. As Amrita, however, she couldn't show how pleased she was. Instead she schooled her features into an understanding look, pitying her for going through something so tough.
She almost laughed at the use of the word friend. Hel was not her friend. Hel was an ever-present thorn in her side, and a threat. Certainly not a friend. However, she did not correct Piper, and managed to keep her expression in check. Friend. Hel. Yes.
"Unfortunately, I'm not too sure on the details." She replied, regretfully. "But I know it can be done...and I know that you have to be a brave, stubborn, driven person to get it." She carefully omitted some of Hel's less desirable traits, such as being brash, and annoying, and relentless. At this point she was simply guessing, because she had no idea...but it certainly sounded right.
"I think you fit that description very well." Well, most of it, anyway. "And you know...everyone grows at their own rate, Piper. It took me well over three years to become a hob." A black claw reached out, and she gave the ghoul's shoulder a reassuring pat. "And longer still to realize and grasp my potential. All I needed to do was take a chance on someone who could see it within me...and I imagine the same is true for you, too." She was rather grateful to Amrita for taking that chance. In her opinion, it had been the best decision her host had ever made.
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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 1:03 pm
She shirked away at the touch, still unsure and downtrodden. Man, it was bad when she didn't put up the front she normally did. Although it was nice to hear someone had taken even longer... "So what're you sayin'?" Piper asked, turning her head to Amrita. "Like you wanna mentor me or somethin'? 'Cuz, uh...no offense, but I-D-K what you could teach me. Since you're a..." She gestured vaguely at the ghoul in general. "Not magic-y." But it would be clear to someone like the Black Queen that she was hoping for something anyway: a second chance, whatever form it took.
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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 1:38 pm
Claws retracted as the ghoul moved away from them, and she brought her hands back towards herself, folding them neatly on her lap. No offense had been taken, but it did put a small hitch in her plans, if the ghoul refused to let herself be touched. Well, patience was key, especially with the younger, more delicate ones.
"Something like that, yes." Mentor was a good word for it. Though she did suddenly recall that Alumni were allowed to do such a thing...perhaps that would be another venue to look into. Very promising. She chuckled in amusement as the other ghoul brought up some very valid points.
"I cannot teach you magic. I'm not a Reaper." She both corrected and agreed. "However, I have friends who are. They can help you with your magic, if you end up needing it. Meanwhile I~" A claw moved from her lap, fingers brushing delicately against her collarbone to indicate herself. "~ As an Undead, can teach you patience and perseverance." Two traits she was fairly decent at, considering her favourite tactic was to simply wait it out. "But more importantly, as a creature, and one who was once in your shoes and certainly understands feeling inadequate, I can promise to not give up on you, so long as you need me to." Her smile was honest; even as the Black Queen, she had once felt like an inadequate little shadow. Things change, and if you fight for it, they change for the better.
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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 1:49 pm
Piper sucked her lips in thoughtfully and dropped her gaze as she considered it. Then again, what was there to think about? Apparently someone saw potential in her, whatever that meant, and she did need more friends...as well as something to show for her time. No doubt Brenley, Ig, and Locke had all moved ahead since she disappeared. Her expression soured with guilt as she remembered she needed to find them again. Hopefully that wouldn't blowup in her face somehow. "Sounds cool...Okay," she said eventually, looking to Amrita again with a nod that made her hair sway. She pushed some locks behind her ear self-consciously again. "So what do I gotta do?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 7:28 pm
Amrita grinned with delight. Perfect.
"Well, first, if you have a skelephone number, you should tell me yours." The Patchwork reached into her dress and pulled forth her phone - it was not Amrita's phone, not really, but very few people would have known the difference. "And secondly, I want you to go and relax. If you're done with classes for the day, I want you to go do something you haven't done in a while, as long as it makes you happy. Got that? Happy." It was a strange request, and she knew it was, but she had other places to be tonight.
"Tomorrow, when you're done with classes, text me. We'll begin then."
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