dark scrying

[make_opportunity]

Maurabel ignores her classmates, by and large. She most especially ignores them when she is on the path that leads to the elemental barracks, because on those occasions they are more likely than usual to laugh at her.

She has considered their arguments, insofar as they have any, and they're nonsense, so now she ignores them. As best she can, anyway.

The amulet-minder knows her, too, and doesn't stop her on her way in to ask what element she wants the way he would anyone else. She'll take an amulet on the way out, probably. (Usually.)

She lets herself in and starts scanning the population. She saw two Shadows out flying on her way in, which means unless nobody else has one checked out, the selection's going to be pretty thin. She can use another element if she needs to, though. She doesn't need to do dark scrying specifically for this project - in fact, she could work entirely out of her personal affinities, if they wouldn't give her the time of day - dark scrying just interests her and she doesn't have enough of her own Shadow affinity to pull it off alone.

She counts Shadows, assessing how much time it's going to cost her to get the willing help of whichever feels like working "cheapest" today - and she sees an unfamiliar face.

A nearby Water leans in the new Shadow's direction. Maurabel stands back politely, hands clasped behind her, and lets her talk to him.

"That's the weird one I told you about," Water whispers to Shadow. "The one who makes it all - transactional, has all these fussy rules for herself."

When Water appears to be done talking to Shadow, Maurabel takes a couple of steps forward.

"Hello, Shadow," she says gently. "I'm Maurabel. Looks like you're new. I'll leave you alone if you want me to but I would like to talk to you. Do you prefer to just be called Shadow and told apart from the others with your university checkout number, or do you have a name you like?"

Comments

[just_a_shadow]

"Sure."

[make_opportunity]

"Okay."

She checks him out, she walks him to her room.

[just_a_shadow]

He goes along. He doesn't say anything.

[make_opportunity]

Today she doesn't let the silence reign for the entire walk. Instead she says:

"How old are you? - You don't have to answer me."

[just_a_shadow]

"I'm not sure, anyway," he says, shrugging.

[make_opportunity]

They are all the way to her room before she says:

"If I get old - for a human, anyway - and nobody's figured out how to get us living longer or forever by then - I'm going to grab every amulet I can get my hands on, take them and all the elementals out to the middle of nowhere where there's nobody but me to get caught in the invariable subsequent destruction, and let them all go at once."

[just_a_shadow]

"Why?"

[make_opportunity]

"It seems like the most efficient thing to do if I'm staring inevitable death in the face anyway. Mind, I'm planning to work on the inevitable death thing. But if I don't get anywhere and I'm ninety..."

[just_a_shadow]

"Then you'll just... just so some of us could be free?" he says. "Even though they'd probably kill you?"

[make_opportunity]

"There's a reason I'm not planning to do it tomorrow afternoon. I don't have a deathwish. But I thought you might like to know."

[just_a_shadow]

"...yeah," he says.

[make_opportunity]

"It's on my mind because today I went to a lecture on the limits of Shine healing," she sighs. "Anyway. Scrying." She closes the shutters.

[just_a_shadow]

Shadow settles on the floor.

[make_opportunity]

"Ready?"

[just_a_shadow]

"Yes."

[make_opportunity]

Maurabel checks each of the shadow-warded boxes she is supposed to check. One of them was not done correctly and she can see some things in the top of the box. These she writes down. The others she marks as impenetrable.

"Thanks."

[just_a_shadow]

He smiles up at her; the shadows of his halo are sparse enough at the moment that the expression is clearly visible.

[make_opportunity]

"If you wanna tell me who used to have you - well, he probably won't have the same address, maybe be alive at all, by the time I'm ninety, but I could write it down in case he is and has terrible security."

[just_a_shadow]

"...He - does have terrible security," Shadow murmurs.

[make_opportunity]

She glances up to meet his eyes.

"Yeah?"

[just_a_shadow]

"And... I don't know his address, but I know where he lives," he says.

[make_opportunity]

"Where is it?" She flips to a different page in her notebook than the one containing scrying assignment notes.

[just_a_shadow]

He shakes his head. "No, I mean - I know the place, I remember it. I couldn't find it on a map, but I could go there. Or show you. He isn't warded against dark scrying or shadow-walking."

[make_opportunity]

"Does he," Maurabel asks slowly, "leave his amulets unattended someplace dark?"

[just_a_shadow]

"In a box in a room downstairs," he says. "When he's asleep. But I guess there'd just be Fire, now, unless he's caught someone else. That's what he does. He catches wild elementals."