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

[make_opportunity]

Yet another reason he's good to have along for volunteer hours.

They're there until the junior medic says it's been four hours (by the time four hours have gone by they've been reassigned to another room in Convalescence, and then up the stairs to coordinate together on some people with musculoskeletal complaints). The receptionist signs Maurabel's volunteer work form, stamps it, and thanks her for coming.

The only person who has bothered to thank Earth, aside from Maurabel herself, was dubiously conscious at the time.

Back to university they go.

[pythbox]

On the way back, lacking anything substantial to bring up, Earth is quieter.

[make_opportunity]

Maurabel doesn't have much to say either, although as they approach the barracks, she says, "You've got eight and a half hours racked up now. Saving for another full weekend?"

[pythbox]

"We'll see," he says, smiling slightly.

[make_opportunity]

"Well, if you are, three weeks from now would be good, bit of a coursework lull, I can go visit my parents again."

[pythbox]

"Maybe I will."

[make_opportunity]

She makes sure his amulet is clear of extraneous instructions, and turns it in. "See you l-"

The door opens behind them. It's somebody Maurabel peripherally knows from some of her introductory permuting classes, but not to the point where she remembers his name.

He has the new Shadow following in heavily controlled lockstep.

He tosses Shadow's amulet to the minder, winks at her, and leaves.

[just_a_shadow]

Shadow looks at the floor and quietly walks into the room with the other elementals. His halo is as dense as can be; his features are only recognizable in silhouette, being otherwise cloaked in deep shadows.

[pythbox]

...Earth observes all this with concern.

[make_opportunity]

"Earth, do me a favor? I don't want to spook him, but I owe him forty-five minutes, and if all he wants is alone time I'll straight-up give him more than that, I can settle him in my room and go to the library and he can have all afternoon if it'll help. Can you find out if he wants me to?"

[pythbox]

He nods. "Of course," he says. "I'll see if he'll talk to me."

In he goes.

[make_opportunity]

Maurabel waits.

The amulet minder doesn't comment, just hangs up the returned amulets on their racks and gives her a look.

[pythbox]

A few minutes go by.

Earth comes out of the room again. "He says yes."

[make_opportunity]

Maurabel holds out her hand to the amulet minder.

The amulet minder hands her Shadow's amulet.

She blanks it of everything that isn't University minimum as soon as she has it.

"Thanks," she murmurs to Earth.

[pythbox]

"It's no trouble."

He smiles sadly and goes back into the room.

[just_a_shadow]

Moments later, Shadow emerges.

[make_opportunity]

Maurabel holds the door out of the building for him.

[just_a_shadow]

Out he goes. He remembers the way to her room, but he doesn't go ahead of her by more than a few steps. And he continues to look at the floor rather than at Maurabel or anything else.

[make_opportunity]

When they've been walking for a couple of minutes, she murmurs, "If you just want to sit by yourself that's fine. You can. If you - I don't know how to tell you that if and only if you want to talk to me then you can, without making it sound like I have opinions about whether you should, but if you can think of a way for me to have done that you could pretend I managed."

[just_a_shadow]

He glances at her with a flicker of a barely-visible smile.

[make_opportunity]

That is all she has to say. She opens the door to the building, leads him up the stairs, and lets him into her room.

[just_a_shadow]

He finds a corner of floor to sit on, and does that, tucking himself into the space between desk and wall.

[make_opportunity]

"I'll be back a little after dinnertime. You can eat the snacks in the drawer under the bed if you want, that's what they're for," she murmurs. "Uh, please don't break anything or try to get into the warded box in the closet." She swallows and pauses a moment in case he has any questions before she leaves him alone.

[just_a_shadow]

"Okay," he says quietly.

[make_opportunity]

"Okay. I'm sorry," she says helplessly, and she shuts the door and heads for the library.

She is pretty sure that guy was not using Shadow for any - "on label" purpose. The university is actually pretty good about cracking down on people who try to use the shared elementals in fighting rings or to do any chore details they've accumulated for disciplinary problems, but as long as it's not finals week and there isn't a desperate shortage of elementals to go around, there's negligible oversight otherwise. Just don't return them physically damaged or take five of them at once and you're golden.

A few hundred mage students, perfectly controllable basically humanoid creatures at their fingertips. Some of them, Maurabel doesn't know how many, add two and two and get as long as it's not finals week I can totally use 'em as sex toys.

She flops into an armchair at the library and writes until she can unclench her jaw.