Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Dec 29, 2012 4:43:39 GMT -5
"O-oh.." For the first time, she sounded unsure of herself, more like the awkward teenager she'd portrayed herself as when she'd originally met Varnock, with perhaps less snobbish noobery about the antiques. It wasn't something she'd shared with someone who wasn't one of her 'victims' before. She hadn't mentioned it to R, either, for fear of some sort of punishment or worse, being cut off from living funds. As it was, she was enjoying a quiet distance from him, leeching slowly off of the fortune of someone who'd lived many lives. "Okay."
She shifted awkwardly where she stood, suddenly very interested in her shoes. They were nice, if a bit old fashioned, but she gripped her hands behind her back and focused on the matter at hand. She tried to go into it naturally, how it came about sometimes when she needed it, but she had an idea of how to use it. In her head, it was always like opening a box, or a door or something. It was like looking at herself in a mirror, only imagining her reflection as different... It was complicated. She didn't exactly do it for fun, usually, anyway.
It took an awkward minute of standing there in front of Varnock, but if she was successful, he would have seen her slowly change. It wasn't a noticable shift, really, unless you were really paying attention, and that was the beauty of it. No one paid attention.
She looked older, now, like a girl reaching womanhood, someone in her late teens or perhaps petite early twenties. She had a chest, one that filled the uniform-like outfit that she wore much better than her usual self, and slightly longer legs with tights to match. Her hair hung lower, but it was still the same straight darkness that she kept it. Her cheekbones were higher than before, but her eyes remained the same. The clothes weren't actually changed, of course, and neither was she; it was all in perception, not physical transfiguration. If Varnock tried hard enough he would probably see through it easily.
She resisted the urge to spread her arms and say something like 'ta-daaaa'. As it was, she was finding a leg of the table they were sitting on very interesting. If it wasn't what she thought it was, then nothing had happened, and that was just embarassing.
Post by varnock acerbi on Dec 29, 2012 4:53:45 GMT -5
He felt the tug on his mind as something tried to change his perception of Mildred. It appeared it was indeed her changing how she looked to people rather than pulling an illusion around herself. She wasn't as powerful as she could be though... All the same he had to devote a noticeable amount of attention to keeping his mind focused on fending off the illusion. He could simply put down some wards to assist if he truly needed to, but he wasn't trying to fight her off or hurt her. He didn't even have to stop himself from seeing the illusion really, but it was good mental training that he didn't often get a chance to preform.
He nodded suddenly and began to explain what he knew about her power. "It seems you have an Illusion based power that attempts to affect the mind of your target. I'm not seeing it as much as I could thanks to some of my own abilities, but I can definitely tell what it is now. If you want help making it stronger or able to affect more people I can easily help with that. Really the fact that I can counter it makes me a great partner to practice it with. We'll both benefit from it too."
He mumbled something about having a book that might help before going silent and getting a bit more of a blank look as he stared inwards to view his library. Sure enough he had a few on the subject at hand that would come in very handy. He pulled them from the air as one would pull a book from a shelf before placing each of them on the table and letting the pages flow to where they were needed.
All the while Ellen looked on. She hadn't been the target of Mildred's attempts so she didn't see much in the way of change, but with Varnock forcing her ability away it had slid slightly onto her and she had to say that the change was interesting. She longed for the day when Varnock became powerful enough for her to manifest a body of her own rather than the feline one she had now. She wasn't complaining per say, but she would enjoy a human body much more.
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Dec 29, 2012 5:14:34 GMT -5
Illusion based power. That made sense. She didn't actually feel herself change, after all. Sometimes, when she was doing it, if she looked at herself, she would see it too. This was a risk because once she started thinking about how weird it was, she felt like it stopped working. As it was, she even currently felt older. She resisted the urge to feel her body to make sure it was how it was supposed to be and now how it could have been, and she sat back down, letting herself relax. Or stop. Or whatever it was she was doing.
She couldn't help but smile, though, even if it was a little shaky. She still felt weird about it, and she kept hearing R.'s voice in her head, monotonously reciting the reasons why it was unnatural and bad, even for Vampires. She swallowed again, feeling out of place and new... Something she liked.
"That sounds great." She thought hard, for a moment. "I guess I'd like to be able to either show it to more people at once... or at least make it a little more different from me." She looked down at her hands now resting in her lap. "As it is I just look like an older sister version of myself." She tried not to stare as he was pulling books out of thin air. This would take a lot of getting used to.
"I'll... I don't know if you want me to pay you, or do other things for you, but..." A couple things flashed through her mind, but she ignored them. "I'm willing to do whatever."
Post by varnock acerbi on Dec 29, 2012 5:33:33 GMT -5
His mind flowed ever onwards as the pressure retreated from his mind and he let his own power tone down as his concentration on preventing his mind from being tampered with flow away as well. She had an interesting ability since it required no incantation or reagents to use. It affected people via their minds so people with abilities like his own or some form of resistance would counter her rather quickly... It should be easy enough to train her abilities by testing them on him. He would have to regulate things a bit of course, but otherwise it should be a learning experience for them both.
"A good goal for that kind of ability. I'm not sure how well I can help you train for more people at once, but I can certainly assist you in making the illusion look different." His eyes traced pages as they fluttered by faster than they should be able to be read before he stuck a finger in the way to stop them and spun the book around to be viewed. "This has a bit of theory on illusion and how it works within your own mind. It might help a bit to give this book a read later on. You can borrow it for as long as you need." He gave it a light push closer towards you.
As soon as the payment was brought up Varnock looked at Mildred with curious eyes as Ellen almost fell out of her chair laughing. Good god was he oblivious sometimes. Varnock spoke up after giving Ellen an odd glance for her strange behavior. "You don't need to pay me anything at all. This will benefit me just as much as you and I'm really quite happy to help. If you happen to come across anything I might find interesting though I would appreciate it if you thought of me upon finding it." Ellen finally recovered and sighed a bit. Her master was far to nice for his own good and much too oblivious.
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Dec 29, 2012 5:45:48 GMT -5
She felt warmed by his words, whether it was a compliment or not. She thought it was a good way to go, but to hear it from the mouth of someone who spent their time practicing this stuff, well, it made her feel better about herself. She was probably as confident as she could be in other regards, but with this, something she was so unsure of... Well, it made her feel almost human. It was nice, and it pleased her in a way that was new, refreshing.
She delicately pulled the book towards herself, knowing she would finish it in no time. Of course, to her, 'no time' was pretty much 'any time'. It was a perk of not having anything to do but also not being commited enough to, you know, get a job. Such was the life of the undead NEET. "Thank you very much. I'll take very good care of it."
She smiled politely, the quiet smile of someone who wasn't exactly sure why the people around her were laughing (or in this case, the cat).
"I really appreciate your kindness. I would be very happy to bring you anything I find."Within reason. She tacked on, silently. She licked her lips, which felt like they were on the drier side out of her nervousness. If he really was a human man, even with all the magic and cats and antiques, he was an odd one. She knew how the world often worked, especially when it came to favors. She knew she was getting away lightly with just bringing him a book or two in the future. "Sorry... This is all very new to me."
Post by varnock acerbi on Dec 29, 2012 6:03:58 GMT -5
He sat back with a small smile as she took the book. It felt good to pass on knowledge to others and he could tell that this training would pay off in all of the best ways. He had a new friend(?), a training partner, and a pupil all in one. Even Ellen liked her! It was definitely a good day in his book. "If it ends up helping you I can let you keep it for future use. I have a copy of it laying around somewhere I'm sure. I just need to sort through my books later."
Ellen was still grinning a bit. It seems she was the only one who had thought about it that way then. Looks like they were starting to rub off on her then. Of course she might have always been like this... She gave a mental shrug and focused back on the conversation as Varnock began to speak again.
"It is my pleasure to help someone learn. The prospect of new books is simply a lovely plus to an already perfect deal. But what are you sorry for? New things are the best to experience! It makes them an adventure! For someone who has lived a long time new things are few and far between and should be enjoy right?" He seemed rather enthusiastic about it all. Honestly Ellen couldn't blame him. It really was working in his favor, with or without him really trying to get an equally sided deal. She would have to mention that to him later...
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Dec 29, 2012 6:17:38 GMT -5
This guy was just too nice. Any other time, she would be distrustful, suspicious, or at least ready to trade something important, her body being one of them. But no, here this guy was, ready to give her the secrets of the universe in exchange for what? Practice? More books? He was a good guy, from what she could tell. It was nice to meet those.
"Thank you," she thanked him again. She couldn't help it. She grinned, a little bouncy in her seat. She couldn't deny that she was excited. She did like to learn, after all. Living for years and years and years would do that to you. It was exciting. Having a teacher was definitely a plus, one that wasn't, you know, a cranky old man. "I plan on enjoying this as much as I can." She confided, excited for what he could teach her. Even the book was exciting to have, even if it was temporarily. She was glad she'd stopped in to find her fake father an antique. This was why she loved New York. Anything could happen... whether you waited for it or you sought it out. This was good.
"Do you think that there are other things I could do, um.." She hesitated for a second, the M word on the edge of her tongue. "Like, magic wise?" Visions of her flying across the sky on a broomstick were quickly waved away. "Illusion wise?" She'd never really considered trying it on things other than her body before. It really was just sort of a reflex survival thing that she did. She shifted in her seat, both her physical self and her imagined illusion. She'd have to get used to these things in order to get better. Maybe there was an easier way to make it happen... she would have to ask him about that, whether tonight or some other time.
Post by varnock acerbi on Dec 30, 2012 4:30:58 GMT -5
He smiled inwardly as Mildred gave her own happy grin an small bounces in her seat. It felt pretty good to have made someone so happy. He hoped he could help her improve with his current knowledge base... He was sorry to say that Glamour wasn't exactly his forte. Maybe he would take that up after Assault and Scrying... He shook himself out of his random tangent and spoke again. "It is my pleasure to have someone to teach. It will be an enjoyable experience for us both I am sure."
When she brought up other abilities based in magic his face twisted into a thoughtful expression. He wasn't sure what her aptitude would be for what he did know, but he could surely try to teach her some of it. As for her illusions... Well he would help her try them on different things to improve that. Maybe he would learn a thing or two about illusions thanks to this? That would certainly be interesting. "I can certainly try to teach you some things about Warding Magic if you wish. Otherwise we would just have to explore your powers a bit to find out what you can do. As for the illusions... Well you have plenty of options there. Making them larger, more realistic, focusing them onto more people, focusing them onto people rather than yourself, blanket illusions, illusions on objects... The list goes on. I'm willing to offer my assistance in helping you advance though. Maybe I'll learn a thing or two about Glamour from it all?"
Ellen was already thinking what might be possible with Glamour magic. Maybe she could even learn some? She had been getting more and more powerful as time went on so some minor illusions might be within her ability as Varnock got stronger. Oh the possibilities once she managed to pull together enough magical energy to form a body!
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Dec 30, 2012 4:52:06 GMT -5
Ah, how nice it felt to have something to look forward to besides, you know, the apocalypse or whatever. Magic was an interesting thing, no, an interesting place, somewhere she knew she'd enjoy visiting. Plus, part of her felt some very simple, primal joy at doing something that R. looked down so much on. If only he knew... Then again, she didn't even want to think of him knowing. To tell the truth, she didn't want to think about him at all.
Warding, Glamour... All new vocabulary, stuff she'd have to learn, but for now, it was just happy noises in her ears. Doing more and more different stuff with her illusion-thingy that she could do didn't just sound fun, it sounded cool. She could like, cloak the planet... or something. At any rate, some gears began to turn in her head. She knew that the bond between her and her sire was something unlike any other, but maybe, just maybe, if she got good enough from it...
She felt her hands start to a little in her lap. She could hide and start over. Take some money and be a whole new person, somewhere with no Ordo Draculs or Vs or Rs or anything. She could go pretend to be real for a little, or something. Somewhere it was really overcast, or something. Twilight it up. Maybe she could fool the sun. Possibilities were endless, but immediately, a goal began to form in her head.
She could break her ties and start again.
"When would you like to, uh.." She hoped she wasn't being too forward. "Start?" She, herself, was ready to go at any time, but it was kind of sudden. Surely he wanted some time to gather resources or something, and plus, she had to read the book. Plus, he probably had to sleep, still. It was morning, for her, but he probably had other things to do as a proper citizen and store owner, and sleep was almost certainly one of them. "I'm free pretty much every night." She checked her nails again, self-conscious. "I'm very willing to come as early as possible so you don't lose sleep, but... I do have some limitations." An awkward smile with a flash of fang.
Post by varnock acerbi on Dec 30, 2012 5:06:11 GMT -5
Something caught Ellen's attention before the conversation moved on much further. Sure she was a lot more perceptive than Varnock most of the time, but this was small even for her. Mildred's eyes had flashed with an emotion she hadn't had time to recognize and she had twitched a bit in what she thought was realization... Ellen decided that she would keep an eye on things just in case. She didn't want to end up not trusting the vampiric girl next to her, but she couldn't help but worry.
Varnock was more occupied with working out how they would time this correctly so they got the maximum possible amount of time. So occupied he missed Ellen's entire train of thought. All the same he would have to mention his... other job. He gave an embarrassed smile and began to speak. "About that... I don't sleep very often you see. I never have. I feel it is a waste of time and my body has grown used to working off rather little sleep. People say it isn't good for me, but everyone says I'm in perfect health all the same. But to get to why I am telling you this I need to mention that I have a bit of a side job. I work for a group called the Agency that supplies Wakers with work when they need it. I do jobs for them that others can't handle. I act as a handler of information most days, but on occasion I am sent to... ah... Pacify, someone. These jobs often take place at night so working out a good time might be difficult. I can probably manage an hour or two at least each night after my store closes to the Sleeper population though."
Ellen shook her head a bit at how he tried to explain what he did for a bit of cash on the side and a way to test his abilities. "These are the adventures I mentioned." She said it with a bit of a dry tone and a barely held back laugh.
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Dec 30, 2012 5:19:41 GMT -5
She knew what he meant about sleep feeling like a waste of time. When she had been a simple girl who did simple work, she'd loved sleep. But now, well... It was something she did to make time go faster, half the time. There wasn't much else to do except surf the web lately. There were worlds of things on there, of course, but you could really only sit around and look at wikipedia and boobs for so long. She longed for a walk in the daylight without death, and envied her few brothers and sisters who could move in the sun. She often wished bitterly that R had left her with a better bloodline, but that was mostly her bitterness about it all.
Ah well. It couldn't be helped. Night time was more interesting anyway, right? Especially in a place like Manhattan. But anyway, on to the information she was receiving. Pacify... that could only mean a few things, and though Varnock was obviously not unattractive, she still couldn't imagine him "pacifying" someones like that. (What was with her, lately? Her thoughts drifted towards that more and more.) Did that mean he killed people? Or rather, others like her? He seemed like he would have warned her if he was a vampire hunter, after all.
"That all sounds very intriguing," she said, which wasn't at all a lie. "Those times would work for me!" Excitement. Moving forward. This was good. She finally had something to write on her new little cat calendar at home. "Thank you.. again." Her words trailed to mumbles at her last words, her gaze through lashes over the table, suddenly feeling sheepish. "For all of this."
Post by varnock acerbi on Dec 30, 2012 5:32:37 GMT -5
He could tell she was trying to figure out what he had meant when he explain what else he did for a living. He really didn't want to go into it and scare her though... He really had no problems with any race out there even if he was called upon to stop the few that began to rampage on occasion. Hopefully it wouldn't come up though. He doubted Ellen would let it rest since she so enjoyed those outings, but he could hope right?
He held in a sigh. Intriguing huh? Well that was one way to describe it for sure. He didn't much like how serious he acted on the job though. It didn't feel as natural as how he acted in his shop. He smiled again, it was a bit forced from his thoughts, and continued to wave off the thanks he was given. "Don't worry about it. It really is enough to have someone to keep Ellen from going stir crazy and someone kind to practice magic with. I might even be looking forward to it more than you are in fact." He doubted that last part considering how excited she had seemed, but it felt like the right thing to say for some reason.
Ellen held in any further comments on her masters part time work as she felt his worry flitting about in his mind. She hadn't expected that honestly. He never seemed to have a problem with it while on the job. However... She definitely had something to make the conversation more fun. She turned to Mildred and posed a question that would surely excite things. "Mildred I've always been curious about this, but how does a Vampire turn someone into a Vampire?" She made a glance at Varnock as she spoke as if to imply something.
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Dec 30, 2012 5:49:00 GMT -5
More than she was? She doubted that, though he did seem genuinely interested. She supposed it was exciting for him as well, as someone interested in learning and teaching and stuff. She'd attended more classes than she could care to remember, but really, there were none that she was as excited for as what they were talking about doing.
She blinked at Ellen's question. A blush rose to her cheeks... or should have.
"W-well, it's um.." She really ought to not let herself get so flustered, but it was something, you know... "When a vampire and a human love each other very much...." She stopped, and laughed, trying to ease her own tension. "I'm kidding." She waved her previous sentence away. "Bu-but, only partly." She cleared her throat, settling herself more carefully in her seat. "There are a variety of different ways that it... it could happen." Why did this feel so embarassing?
"I suppose the physical thing that happens is... a vampire who has fed off a human feeds their blood back to the human... o-or, you know, something like that." It sounded so much more poetic in her head, romantic. She was making it sound like a weird STD party. "It's classically called siring." Her explanation felt inadequate and dirty. Her thoughts went back to her own... 'event', and the feeling only got worse, and something that was like butterflies jittered in her stomach.
Post by varnock acerbi on Dec 30, 2012 7:17:05 GMT -5
Varnock looked at Ellen in confusion and slight amounts of surprise. He hadn't expected that, to say the least. He wouldn't deny that the stuttering Mildred was a tad cute though. She seemed rather embarrassed about the question for whatever reason. He didn't know it was so... intimate? He really wasn't sure how to describe it from what she was going on about. "And Siring means that the Vampire that turns you passes on some of their abilities? What do you mean by a variety of different ways that it could happen? I thought that there was only one way to turn someone." Ellen had sparked his curiosity with her question so it was only a matter of time before he started asking more and more.
Ellen had a rather proud look on her face. This was going to be an interesting turn to the conversation. Poor Mildred sounded like she should be red up to her ears though. She thought about toning it down a bit, but... well what fun would there be in that? "Is it as intimate as they make it in books and movies? They relate drinking blood to an orgasm though so who knows how right they are. Drinking blood isn't like that right?" She did her best to hold in a cat-like smile.
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Dec 30, 2012 22:44:44 GMT -5
"Well, I mean... It's the only physical way to happen, but I mean, the circumstances leading up to it can be different, like, they could have been lovers or friends or uh you know." Her words were a little rushed and very awkward. When Ellen said the word 'orgasm', her awkwardness only increased. How was she supposed to explain that? Still, fair was only fair, right? ...Right? She couldn't tell who was being taken advantage of here. She almost would have preferred physical favors of the dark sort over this line of questioning.
"Drinking blood isn't, exactly, uh.. like that, no." She bit the inside of her lip before she continued. "But having it drank from you, is very close." She avoided the thought of her own turning. "The bond between the two exchanging blood is usually very strong and... is very intimate, usually. There are times when it's not, when it's more political than anything else, but..." Anyway, back off the dirty stuff. "As for abilities, I believe it does... from what I've seen. I'm not too sure of it myself." Vampires weren't exactly the friendliest sort, even amongst their own.
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