"Mothers always love their daughters, they just might not trust them. My foster mother told me that once. But let us back up a minute. You haven't been at this secret society thing very long have you?" Manon picked up a handful of squid bits and picked at them, one by one, "Did you know that Kagami Miyuki's parents don't know a single thing about her life as a mage? At least, zat is what I have watched on Stop Scrolling, Witches."
The cozy Frenchgirl patted Willow's thigh in a conciliatory gesture, and she smiled warmly, "You are too integrous. You do not like lying, but you are not lucky enough to have mage parents not to lie to. Thankfully, I do not have parents to lie to, I have never lasted under scrutiny."
Despite her sparky, plucky attitude, there was a sullen tenor to Manon's words. She took a moment to fight with her squid snack.
"This Ms. Brennan, she is your sponsor, non? I imagine, ze lies she told your mother were to mask the true purpose of your education. But!" Manon perked up, sitting up with the burst of energy, "I would gamble that she expected you to do something to help substantiate your story one day. Make your studies on the side focus on your cover. It does not need to be your life, but your mother just has to believe it is your life. It does not feel good to lie, but you would have to think of it as protecting your mother and yourself."
At that, the clown looked away, staring at the distant flashes of lightning out of the window, "Otherwise, your mother will take you away from ze magical world…"
Her head dipped a little lower on her knees.
"... or ze magical world will take your mother from you."
[The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
“Sometimes I feel more like my mother made me sign a contract when I was born,” a breathy chuckle marked Willow’s joke. “So, even if I don’t reveal to my folks that I’m magic, like with Miss Miyuki’s parents, at some point I’ll need to reveal that I’m not going to work in a museum with Mum. You said yourself, I ain’t an actor. No way I’d be able to bluff a doctorate. Forks, I don’t even know what I want to do ‘sides working on a farm and punching things. That’ll be a hard sell to Mum.”
“Far as Miss Brennan goes, she wanted me to be a Druid. Can only imagine her thoughts on me changing course. Seems to be an innate skill of mine, disappointing my mother figures.”
“Far as Miss Brennan goes, she wanted me to be a Druid. Can only imagine her thoughts on me changing course. Seems to be an innate skill of mine, disappointing my mother figures.”
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
"Ha," Manon seemed to laugh at that, not necessarily at Willow's lot in life, but rather the odd tragedy of it all. She looked back at her with a weary look in her eyes, "Then it may be best for you to be like your father, and discover something that might be worth your tuition, or a doctorate, at least. Or, scholarship? Rob a bank? Adopt a rich uncle maybe. All of ze above if you need to."
With a feline grace, she stretched and yawned, "At ze end of the day, she cannot take your magic away. You know, you should think about traveling for a while, go see Japan? It might help you to get you away from this sad Willow hanging over you."
At that, she uncoiled her hair from one of Willow's shirts.
"Now. Would you mind if I went to bed? On ze running is quite tiring. On pourrait penser que voler un alchimiste est facile."
With a feline grace, she stretched and yawned, "At ze end of the day, she cannot take your magic away. You know, you should think about traveling for a while, go see Japan? It might help you to get you away from this sad Willow hanging over you."
At that, she uncoiled her hair from one of Willow's shirts.
"Now. Would you mind if I went to bed? On ze running is quite tiring. On pourrait penser que voler un alchimiste est facile."
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
“Aye, I think I’d like to travel at some point. Take a page from Miss Smith’s book and drift for a while. That’d be for an Older Willow though. Right Now Willow has responsibilities she has to take care of at said Miss Smith’s ranch the day after next. Oh, yeah, if you crash here, you’ll have to deal with Three AM alarms on Sundays,” Willow mused as she hopped up off the lower bed. After, she went about her pre-bed routine with crisp efficiency. A careful eye could see that she was still burning metals. Her movements were precise, her steps were light, and even the way she brushed her teeth showed no wasted movements. Way she saw it, she had the Pewter in her system already, so she may as well use it. Once she had pajamad up, she killed the lights and swung nimbly up the frame of her lofted bed.
There she lay for a time, metal still in her system. Tin burning to give her a clear view of the dark room even between lightning strikes. The flashes were almost too bright, and the thunder almost too loud; but the ambient drum of the pouring rain was worth it. Pewter burned low, keeping her body limber even as she relaxed. Burning Steel and Iron, even though she only needed one of them on, Willow examined the ethereal blue lines extending from her chest towards the various bits of metal around her. Dropping Tin, the room fell into darkness once more, but the blue lines remained. Following her hand along one of the lines, she grabbed a vial near her headboard. The line moved as she brought it closer to her mouth, and then it disappeared as it poured into her mouth. She wasn’t sure why that was. Why she couldn’t see metals inside of people. It made sense, however, as it meant she couldn’t push or pull on people’s bodies directly. That’d just be macabre. And in the past, when Allomancers were more prevalent, it meant they couldn’t manipulate ingested metals. Perhaps it had been evolutionary? Did magic evolve?
These were enjoyable thought exercises for Willow, and helped her clear her head of the gloom she had been feeling. Focusing on the new metal reserve she had just drank, she burned it, and all of her other reserves vanished. Aluminum. The other material she couldn’t manipulate. Swallow something, or just hide it in a soda can, and that’s all it took to waylay half of her abilities. But those were thought exercises for a different day. Willow settled in to sleep.
There she lay for a time, metal still in her system. Tin burning to give her a clear view of the dark room even between lightning strikes. The flashes were almost too bright, and the thunder almost too loud; but the ambient drum of the pouring rain was worth it. Pewter burned low, keeping her body limber even as she relaxed. Burning Steel and Iron, even though she only needed one of them on, Willow examined the ethereal blue lines extending from her chest towards the various bits of metal around her. Dropping Tin, the room fell into darkness once more, but the blue lines remained. Following her hand along one of the lines, she grabbed a vial near her headboard. The line moved as she brought it closer to her mouth, and then it disappeared as it poured into her mouth. She wasn’t sure why that was. Why she couldn’t see metals inside of people. It made sense, however, as it meant she couldn’t push or pull on people’s bodies directly. That’d just be macabre. And in the past, when Allomancers were more prevalent, it meant they couldn’t manipulate ingested metals. Perhaps it had been evolutionary? Did magic evolve?
These were enjoyable thought exercises for Willow, and helped her clear her head of the gloom she had been feeling. Focusing on the new metal reserve she had just drank, she burned it, and all of her other reserves vanished. Aluminum. The other material she couldn’t manipulate. Swallow something, or just hide it in a soda can, and that’s all it took to waylay half of her abilities. But those were thought exercises for a different day. Willow settled in to sleep.
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
Morning announced itself to Willow and Manon's room as the sun filled the window with its rays. The sound of a flowing river ferried out the still silence with a chilly air that wafted through the fluttering curtains. It was cold today.
Mingling with the pleasant sound of flowing water, was a particularly noisy lump under the cover of Drysi's bed as it shifted about loudly. Manon seemed restless, but not eager to face the sunlight or the day.
That, and she seemed to have made a mess of her, and Drysi's, things in the night.
Mingling with the pleasant sound of flowing water, was a particularly noisy lump under the cover of Drysi's bed as it shifted about loudly. Manon seemed restless, but not eager to face the sunlight or the day.
That, and she seemed to have made a mess of her, and Drysi's, things in the night.
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
Rousing herself from the tailend of a peculiar dream that involved boxing with a gingerbread on Christmas, Willow huddled under her blankets a bit as she registered the chill in the air. It wasn’t that it was unpleasant, in fact she felt very cozy snuggled up under her covers while feeling the cool air on her face. Manon must have opened it again, and was that white noise the other girl had going? Willow didn’t particularly mind, but that would have been a nice heads up.
Reaching out from her blanket fortress, Willow began her morning routine by grabbing a vial from where she stored some of her extras; just Pewter in this one. Downing her morning shot of Pewter. Burning the metal low she immediately felt alert and awake, and the cold morning air felt comfortable. One part of Pewter that she hadn’t had much experience with was that it seemed to help her deal with a range of temperatures. Thankfully Pewter was pretty cheap, along with most of her base metals; so she had bought a couple pounds of Pewter with her allowance and had been toying around with the easiest ways to process it for ease of ingestion.
Sitting up, Willow surveyed the room, and scowled a bit as she saw the state of the other side of the room. Hopping out of bed she continued her routine by filling an electric kettle with water from a nearby jug for her morning tea.
“Hey Manon, want tea?” the Brit asked, her tone unamused.
Reaching out from her blanket fortress, Willow began her morning routine by grabbing a vial from where she stored some of her extras; just Pewter in this one. Downing her morning shot of Pewter. Burning the metal low she immediately felt alert and awake, and the cold morning air felt comfortable. One part of Pewter that she hadn’t had much experience with was that it seemed to help her deal with a range of temperatures. Thankfully Pewter was pretty cheap, along with most of her base metals; so she had bought a couple pounds of Pewter with her allowance and had been toying around with the easiest ways to process it for ease of ingestion.
Sitting up, Willow surveyed the room, and scowled a bit as she saw the state of the other side of the room. Hopping out of bed she continued her routine by filling an electric kettle with water from a nearby jug for her morning tea.
“Hey Manon, want tea?” the Brit asked, her tone unamused.
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
Less the words, and more the tone of Willow’s voice seemed to stop the shifting of the sheets. Willow would not like to admit it, but she inherited a good deal of her mother’s presence. Manon’s tail end shifted, and then it looked like she turned over, then her rump shifted strangely and inhumanly down to her feet.
Rattle. Manon made a wooden chittering noise, her strange, flexing shape under the sheets moving in a way that looked difficult even for her usual contorting.
Rattle. Manon made a wooden chittering noise, her strange, flexing shape under the sheets moving in a way that looked difficult even for her usual contorting.
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
Admittedly perplexed, Willow side eyed the other bed as she readied her tea; a fine Earl Grey. The electric kettle boiled, and poured the water in to begin steeping before turning her full attention back to Manon. Standing over the bed in confusion, she made to peak under the covers.
"What in the world are you doing under there?" the Brit asked.
"What in the world are you doing under there?" the Brit asked.
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
A pair of glowing amber eyes looked back at her in the dark under the covers. The next thing Willow saw was one of Manon’s running shoes fly right into her face.
Throwing back the blanket was a spriggan, draped in a hood of leaves and moss. It stood on top of a pile of Drysi’s and Manon’s things, where a good portion of the blanket was tucked under, as if to gather them in one large pile. In one of the spriggan’s hands was a manila folder with the letters B-84/M. LAFRAMBOISE stamped on it; in the other, was another shoe, which was also flung at Willow’s head.
Rattling madly, the Spriggan tumbled to the floor, dashing and leaping through the window.
Throwing back the blanket was a spriggan, draped in a hood of leaves and moss. It stood on top of a pile of Drysi’s and Manon’s things, where a good portion of the blanket was tucked under, as if to gather them in one large pile. In one of the spriggan’s hands was a manila folder with the letters B-84/M. LAFRAMBOISE stamped on it; in the other, was another shoe, which was also flung at Willow’s head.
Rattling madly, the Spriggan tumbled to the floor, dashing and leaping through the window.
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
The first shoe flew across the room as Willow’s Pewter burn helped her pull her head out of the way. Even with the metal’s boost to her mental acuity, the situation as a whole gave her pause as she tried to work through the utterly bizarre circumstance. The spriggan was searching Manon’s things? It seemingly had found its target as it gripped the folder Manon had brought. There was no way it could be working alone, likely left behind to search while its partisans had Manon. How had it happened? There was no way there was a struggle that Willow had slept through.
Time for thinking it through had come to an end however as the spriggan threw its cover back and launched another attack before fleeing. This shoe Willow had time to catch, but missed her attempt to catch the spriggan. As the sprite defenestrated, an almost feline glint came to Willow’s eyes. So it was going to be a chase. Moving quickly to her desk she grabbed a full vial of her eight primary metals, a pouch filled with metal coins attached to a carabiner, a pair of aviator sunglasses swiftly donned, and the newest addition to her arsenal; a small sports camera and a Y-shaped body harness. The coin pouch was clipped to the harness as Willow moved to the window. The vial of metal was uncorked and tipped back as she leapt through the opening. The harness was fastened in place as she began falling.
With Steel Will began to push on the various metal objects around the dorm exterior. As she scanned for the spriggan Willow also began burning Bronze. It was usually a headache to use when all the students were around. Once she improved she’d be able to focus on a singular magical signature while zoning out the white noise, but she wasn’t at that level yet. Different schools of magic had different beats to them. More confusing still, each school can have multiple beats as well. Mister Flynn for example had a baseline magical pulse. That pulse changed when he channeled fire, but it changed again when channeling different elements. How in the world anyone was supposed to keep them all separate was beyond her. Trying to track a spriggan though seemed like a good opportunity to practice with the Seeking metal. They were primal spirits, so even when they were actively using magic they would give off a notable pulse. Finding the signature, Willow began pursuit.
Time for thinking it through had come to an end however as the spriggan threw its cover back and launched another attack before fleeing. This shoe Willow had time to catch, but missed her attempt to catch the spriggan. As the sprite defenestrated, an almost feline glint came to Willow’s eyes. So it was going to be a chase. Moving quickly to her desk she grabbed a full vial of her eight primary metals, a pouch filled with metal coins attached to a carabiner, a pair of aviator sunglasses swiftly donned, and the newest addition to her arsenal; a small sports camera and a Y-shaped body harness. The coin pouch was clipped to the harness as Willow moved to the window. The vial of metal was uncorked and tipped back as she leapt through the opening. The harness was fastened in place as she began falling.
With Steel Will began to push on the various metal objects around the dorm exterior. As she scanned for the spriggan Willow also began burning Bronze. It was usually a headache to use when all the students were around. Once she improved she’d be able to focus on a singular magical signature while zoning out the white noise, but she wasn’t at that level yet. Different schools of magic had different beats to them. More confusing still, each school can have multiple beats as well. Mister Flynn for example had a baseline magical pulse. That pulse changed when he channeled fire, but it changed again when channeling different elements. How in the world anyone was supposed to keep them all separate was beyond her. Trying to track a spriggan though seemed like a good opportunity to practice with the Seeking metal. They were primal spirits, so even when they were actively using magic they would give off a notable pulse. Finding the signature, Willow began pursuit.