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Galway Girl [Closed] - Printable Version

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RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - ambientmagic - 05-21-2017

"What? No. Angels aren't real," Evan snorted, slipping his oversized sweater back on gently, ruffling his already messy hair further. "I'm from the Pale Country. I was a member of the double court, but... I suppose you could say I'm on a sabbatical." Bridget was an Irish name. Surely that would be enough for her to go on, without him needing to--"invite"--the attention of any of his kin. She was a librarian, after all.

She'd shown more distress over his injuries than anyone had in... maybe ever. He felt a vague need to reassure her, even as he basked in her worry. People should worry about him, damn it. "I know the injuries are extensive, but they're not recent either, despite how they look. I've had a long time to adjust to them."

Evan gave her a sly look. "All my plants are medicinal," he added, nodding toward the pot Bree had objected to on the bookshelf.

Well, that was enough sharing. "My turn," he demanded. "Tell me about your curse. What is it? What was the original offense? What can you tell me about the specific phrasing? May I run some tests?" His eyes practically sparkled at the thought of a new puzzle to unravel.

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - SolitareLee - 05-21-2017

"They aren't?" Bree protested. She wasn't sure she believed him. "I always just assumed everything was real, somewhere." It had not steered her wrong, and had allowed her to quickly adjust to some of the weirdest things in Valesport. Like Jean. God only knew what Jean was. Actually, God might not even know.

She blinked a few times. Pale country...? It didn't actually sink in until he mentioned courts, then her eyes widened. Her face went through a whole adventure of emotions, her mouth trailing behind quickly. Shock: "What?" a bit of fear: "Holy shit." Then doubt, "Really?" followed by confusion: "But I thought fair folk were, uh..." then realization, before landing finally on vague sympathy. "Oh... Right... I guess the whole mystically beautiful and charming thing went with the wings." She winced. "That sucks."

Oh, then it was her turn. She flushed at the realization of what she'd need to do. She wouldn't need to strip as much as he had, but it felt worse. She cleared her throat awkwardly, but the flush only deepened as his line of questioning continued. "I don't know the phrasing or anything like that. Technically I was cursed while I was still in my mom..." She gestured vaguely at her stomach to imply the womb. "Our best guess is that it happened when she insulted some lady's dog. I found out myself through research that it was a witch's curse. It's, um..." She cleared her throat again, blushing brighter still, then, all nerves, pulled her hat off.

Underneath were two furry little triangle shaped ears sticking out from under messy curls. Still crimson, she coughed. "I, uh, turn into a dog." There was no need to tell him what kind of dog.

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - ambientmagic - 05-23-2017

Evan heard the insult about his charm, but it bounced off in the face of his interest.
He mentally put a pin in it to return to later, then turned back to the more pressing questions. What was this curse? It must be something horrifically complicated or debilitating for Miss Bridget to feel so embarrassed about it--mortification rolled off her in waves.

When she pulled off her hat and he saw her cute little ears he almost laughed. He just barely caught himself, guessing that if he stepped out of line here she'd bolt. Instead he settled for a wide smile. "I see! That's a fairly standard curse, nothing to be ashamed of. People get turned into animals all the time. The ears can be a little, hm, difficult at times, but it's common for those to stay even after the transformation is reversed. There was this fascinating theory an old colleague of mine had that the ears were the least vulnerable to spells due to--"

He cut himself off. "That's not important right now. This is a reoccurring spell? Is it connected to the lunar cycle, seasons...?" His mind whirled. Curses had never been of interest to him except tangentially. This was something new to study and research and experiment with! What an amazing opportunity, to see how alchemy and spellcraft could intersect and if one could supersede the other.

Evan's amazing opportunity looked ready to bolt. He bit back a sigh and tried to look reassuring. "I would be very interested in attempting to overcome your curse, if that's something you're interested in doing?"

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - SolitareLee - 05-23-2017

Bree did not seem at all comforted by the assurance that this sort of thing happened to people all the time. She was sure as hell the only one she ever knew to be cursed to turn into a five pound chorkie at night. And in any case, it was just... embarrassing. It was pre-programmed in her to be embarrassing, after a life time of pressure from her family.

She did not want to think about that right now, with ears out and bare and flattening against her head.

"It's, um, every night. Tied to the sun. Sun fully sets, I'm a dog. First rays of the sun, back to human. Cloud cover doesn't seem to effect it, or rain." She did not normally tell people the details. In fact, she told no one the details. Jean knew, but that was because he found out, not because she told him. But she was telling this obnoxious asshole now, because... well... what if he could help? She'd never tried asking a fae for help. Obviously! That reeked of dangerous. Her family was Irish, for fuck's sake. Even if they were Catholic Irish, some things were in the blood.

She couldn't imagine Evan being particularly dangerous though. She'd been shoving him around, violently, through most of their acquaintance. If he was going to do something nasty, he probably would have by now. Or he could have been biding his time, in a typical fae manner.

This was, perhaps, a bad idea.

"I mean... if it's safe?" she asked cautiously. "It's my general understanding that curses can get pretty pissy about you trying to break them or loophole them. I don't want to wind up like, double cursed or something. But..." But not turning into a dog every night would be a literal dream come true. Like. All the dreams. All of them.

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - ambientmagic - 05-24-2017

Evan waved a hand airily. "Curses are, by definition, made to be broken," he reassured her. "The conditions are difficult, yes, but they have to be possible or else the curse doesn't take. So all I need to do is do experiments to see if this curse has any of the common releases, most of which can be overcome with a little alchemy." Evan could hear himself going into lecture mode, but Miss Bridget seemed a bit more comfortable on theoretical grounds anyway.

"Even if we can't find out what your specific curse's loophole is, there's still modification that can be done to the original spell itself. That's usually spellcraft for a long term solution, which isn't my specialty, but it's pretty easy to overwhelm a spell for a shorter period of time via alchemy. I'm sure that after a bit of study it would be easy to create a potion that would alleviate your spell for, say, a night or two."

Evan sat forward in his chair. This was the tricky part. "Of course, magic is inherently built on the laws of equivalent exchange. I'm sure you're heard the stories. Nothing can be freely given or received. For every potion I make or spell I cast on your behalf, there will be a price. You're always free to say no to any price I set, but I may not always be free to negotiate. Do you understand?"

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - SolitareLee - 05-24-2017

Bree's eyes widened at the concept of a potion that would let her stay human overnight, her ears perking up and forwards briefly. Holy shit. The possibilities. Even if she couldn't break it altogether, even just being able to take like... a night off. She could go to social events. She could have them for emergencies, like the next time she was being chased by fucking werewolves.

"Um, well, I've studied it a bit myself, and gone to witches and stuff," she said, still looking intensely uncomfortable. She sat down in the ridiculous armchair, just so she wouldn't be standing, because she felt weirdly like she was in a principal's office all of the sudden. "We tried a few of the basics... We even tried to get my mom to love a dog, but she's terrified of them now," she sighed. "I'm not even convinced it's tied to her at all. At least I hope it's not. We've had a bunch of readings done and I'm the only one cursed, so I'll be pissed if she's the only one who can break it." She was in no goddamn hurry to try, that was for sure.

She shifted uncomfortably in the chair at the mention of a price. This was where things got dangerous. She was dealing with a faery, after all. But she was used to uncomfortable trades with supernatural creatures, at this point. "I don't, like, trust you. At all," she pointed out. It would have sounded ruder, normally, but she was still faint red and unable to make eye contact, ears lying flat. "It seems like it would be really easy for you to fuck with me, and also, it seems like exactly what would happen, because, you know, f--" She caught herself. "--fffair folk," she edited. Although she had no idea if that bit of legend was even slightly true. She tended to assume everything was. She'd rather look foolish than be dead. "And also, you, specifically, are an asshole," she added.

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - ambientmagic - 05-24-2017

Evan gasped in mock offense. "You don't trust me? I have never once lied to you, Miss Bridget, and I can promise you I never will. If you aren't willing to take a chance, you certainly are never going to break that curse of yours."

He turned back to his desk and picked up a leather-bound notebook, flipping it open and beginning to jot notes. "Now I've been more than generous with information in exchange for a look at your curse's effects firsthand. If you aren't comfortable with my taking the lead on this experiment, then you tell me: where do you want to go from here? Name your goal and I will state my price."

Most people, when dealing with magic, fell over themselves to do whatever he asked, if only so that they didn't have to worry about it anymore. Yet another way in which Miss Bridget was different. This very sense of novelty was part of why he was so talkative. The other part is that, for once, he may have found someone capable of keeping up. He watched her ears flick back and forth as he spoke, then still as she considered his proposal.

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - SolitareLee - 05-24-2017

"There is very little practical difference between someone who lies and someone who is deceptive," Bree said, eyes narrow and ears up and aggressive. "It is exhausting to deal with someone you have to corner into the truth, and only slightly better than dealing with someone who lies outright. And some people have had a very long time to learn how to manipulate words so well that it barely matters they can't speak outright falsehoods."

Bree was not a very forgiving or trusting person, by nature, and "Evan Jackson" had been nothing but annoying from the very beginning. Also, he had damaged her books, a frankly unforgivable offense.

"We should move forward cautiously," she said finally, after some consideration. She leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs. It was an imposing sort of stance that didn't match a girl in cargo mini-shorts and a punisher hoodie with no sleeves, that much was sure. But she wasn't doing it to intimidate; she was thinking. "Least of all because I don't trust you. Even if you had the best intentions, you could still fuck up horribly and I'd be the one stuck with the consequences, right? So. Caution. Let's start small... or smaller. What about that potion you mentioned? To temporarily put off the effects of the curse? Alchemy is your forte, right? Something like that should be comparatively simple, and if the effects are temporary, I have less to lose when drinking a strange potion handed to me by a... member of the gentry," she finished, only a bit awkwardly. She was going to have to find out if this dancing was necessary.

"What would we have to do to enable you to make it, what would you want in payment, and what do you think the payment of the potion itself would be?"

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - ambientmagic - 06-01-2017

Truthfully, it was probably for the best that Miss Bridget didn't trust him, less fun though it may be. Evan was spoiled, hanging around humans as much as he had been. Most of them trusted so easily. Few considered the consequences of doing so. He'd better word this as he would to one of his kin, building in the sort of guarantees and clauses he hadn't bothered with in decades.

"You say making a potion to alleviate the effects is comparatively simple, but it's still a highly complex bit of alchemy," Evan pointed out. "I can certainly do it, but it will take time and possibly a lot of experimentation. Let's define the parameters further. For this temporary abeyance, the longest we can hope for is to prolong your transformation for a single night. Anything more would be to invite trouble on a trial run, and anything less would likely not work, if the curse is tied to the sun."

"Are there any allergies I should be aware of? I may do a contact test for any of the more esoteric or volatile ingredients you may not have encountered before." Evan wondered how connected Miss Bridget's human self and dog self were. "I will likely need to do similar tests in your other form as well, just to be safe." Evan leaned forward, staring at Bree until he was sure she was focused on him. "I take what I do seriously. If I am to create an entirely new potion that is tailored specifically to your curse, I will do so to the best of my ability. However, I will need your honesty and cooperation as well. Any details you conceal are to your own detriment, after all. Not mine."

Satisfied his point was made, Evan straightened back up and started jotting notes in his journal again. "To start with, I'll need samples of your essence to experiment on to determine where to begin. A lock of hair would be excellent. A urine sample would be ideal. As I previously stated, getting similar samples from your cursed form is mandatory so I can compare the two. That will be plenty for me to go on, and once I learn what I can, I'll have an idea of anything else I need to make the potion."

"That is the making of the potion, or at least the start. Let's turn to your last question, which I believe is: what will the side effects of the potion be?" Evan looked to Bree and waited for her confirmation before continuing. "It's difficult to say without having designed the potion yet, knowing the ingredients and so forth. But, if your curse is of the type I've seen before, the potion will be designed to essentially trick the curse itself into thinking that it is day for your body when it is night. When that temporal confusion wears off, the whiplash will likely shift you into a dog for an extended period of time. Usually, this will be approximately equal, but I refuse to offer any sort of guarantee at this point, for reasons I'm sure you understand."

That answered two of her questions as fully as Evan thought she could understand, and gave him a bit of time to consider the pesky question in the middle.

"Was that everything, or did you have any other questions?"

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - SolitareLee - 06-04-2017

Bree listened extremely attentively as Evan spoke, knees crossed, elbows on the arm rests of the chair, fingers laced, eyes focused and ears up and forward in rapt attention. He wasn't talking overly quickly--or at least she had no difficulty keeping up--but the concepts were complex and heavy and only somewhat familiar to her.

"A night seems more than reasonable, if you think it safest," she agreed. She'd been expecting the trial stuff to be more like 15 minutes, but he was the expert here. Hopefully. He sure as hell sounded like one.

At the subject of allergies, her ears flicked back and down, her cheeks tinted red again. A visual reminder that she was a very young woman despite her confident positioning and relatively comfortable bartering with a damn fae. The embarrassment was silly, but reflexive. "Things that are toxic to dogs are also quite unhealthy for me," she admitted, not making eye contact. "Grapes, chocolate, onions, garlic. Other things, like caffeine and alcohol, I have to consume in limited amounts to avoid overwhelming my um... significantly smaller organs... when night hits. "Though they're not actually harmful to me in and of themselves. As for my dog form, it seems extra hardy for a f-" She paused, catching herself--she'd been about to say 'five pound dog.' Then gained a look of dawning horror as she realized this would obviously and definitely require him to see her as a dog. Like. Obviously? She'd just somehow assumed she could avoid it because she always had in the past. Til recently anyway.

Cheeks a flaming red, she cleared her throat. She'd cross that bridge when she came to it. "Again, not super comfortable with the level of trust this is requiring from me," she said. "I understand it on a practical level, but... I'm pretty sure you know how bad an idea 'give the nice and helpful pixie some of your hair' sounds to anyone with even the slightest knowledge of the sorts of people involved. I'm going to need your word you'll only use any 'essence samples...'" She paused, clearly thinking about her wording. "That I give you today or tomorrow," she amended. "For researching how to best and safely make this specific potion. And that you definitely will not keep any in any fashion after you're done using it for those specific research purposes, or give them to anyone else. I can always give you more later if you need it for other things." She almost shuddered at how creepy that sounded, in retrospect, but whatever, he was the one asking for her pee.

Human for a night, dog for a day. That seemed fair. Not ideal, but fair. There were times she could really use a night of humanity. Even if it meant a day of doggy-dom. And it could be a good way to find out if Evan Jackson was even slightly trustworthy.

"Alright," she said with a sigh. "This sounds relatively reasonable so far. Relatively." Relative to the fact she'd come here to beat library books out of a witch and was now bartering for magic potions from a faery. "We'll start with the samples, and then--I suppose--an observation period." She grimaced. "Which we should probably do at my apartment." Which was in Old Town and very close to Jean's house, so if he was trouble or tried to hurt her, she'd have the kind of backup you only got from selling your dignity and first kiss to a powerful immortal. "But I noticed you haven't mentioned what you want out of this," she added archly. "You might as well get it out of the way before we bother planning anything else." It was fairly likely he'd ask for something she wasn't willing to give. Jean never did, somehow, although he always asked for something she didn't want to give. But that wasn't hard. Before a week or so ago, she'd never wanted to give him anything other than a swift uppercut. She felt similarly about Evan.

Hopefully she wouldn't wind up needing to kiss him. Her poor dignity could only take so much. No, chances were he'd want something else... Something nefarious and fae-esque maybe.

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - ambientmagic - 06-07-2017

Ah, she was learning. Miss Bridget was so godsdamned young; age didn't really matter with most of his customers--they saw him as the guy with the really good weed or an invite to the best parties. But with a bright mind who actually cared about what he was doing...

Sighing, Evan bid goodbye to several interesting experiments he had been planning to start (and a trick or two he was considering playing). For now, playing by the rules would give him the best result. "I give my binding word that any sample you give me today will be destroyed within 24 hours, and that I will use it only for purposes clearly communicated to you. Are those terms fair?"

Well, playing mostly by the rules. Fae contracts were always much longer, but then, most fae were more creative than Evan was.

"As for what I want..." Evan tapped a finger against the side of his nose as he thought. "I would like a favor. Nothing major, nothing illegal, just a simple favor well within your skill set. Shouldn't take more than an hour of your time. It is only a trial run, as you said. Oh, and as for the observation period--I will, of course, need to stay with you for the duration of the potion's effects and aftereffects. You may choose the location, and I can cast a glamour to conceal any... side effects... without a problem, so we can go anywhere you like."

Evan leaned back in his chair again, playing casual. "Even somewhere public, if you don't trust me to be alone with you." She didn't seem to be scared of him, but humans were funny about their personal spaces. And besides, getting Miss Bridget to enjoy the night life was highly appealing.

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - SolitareLee - 06-08-2017

Bree listened carefully, eyes slightly narrowed, then--not realizing she was doing it--mouthed over the words as she repeated them in her head. Destroyed within 24 hours... Clearly communicated... Finally, she nodded. "That seems fair. I agree," she added, just in case it was... necessary? She was flying a little blind here. She'd have to do some reading on fae, but it was so hard to know what was accurate.

She supposed Jean could help, as loathe as she was to keep asking for his assistance.

As for his 'favor,' well... She leaned back in the chair again, almost casually, but the forward point of her ears betrayed her focus. "I don't know why you're being vague, Mr. Jackson. You can't possibly actually believe I'll agree without knowing what your un-major, un-illegal favor is. Our definition of major might be very different, and there are a lot of objectionable things that are both legal and within my skill set."

The rest was window dressing, compared to that vague 'favor,' frankly, although she wasn't super happy about the observation thing. It was reasonable, and so she couldn't really argue it. It would be stupid for her to try this sort of thing by herself, and also ruin part of the point. "We can figure out the where before I actually take anything," she said with a sigh. "I'm not particularly worried about being alone with you--" she gestured vaguely towards the closed door, as if to point out they were already alone together, and it had been because she came in to menace him in private. "But it would be a waste to spend an evening in if the potion seems to be working." The day after would almost certainly have to be spent in her apartment, however. She didn't trust herself to be a dog anywhere else, let alone for 24 hours. She should tell Jean she was doing this, too... Just in case she vanished, or something. With her mother officially finished giving a shit about her, apparently, he was now the only person that even might vaguely be willing to check in and make sure she hadn't been abducted by a fae.

God fucking damn, her life was depressing.

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - ambientmagic - 06-12-2017

Evan made a show of sighing theatrically, even though he knew she wouldn't have agreed to something so vague. "Here is the specific terms of your payment to me, then: I will give you an address in Southtown, across the river. You will go there, give the owner of the business my name, and he will give you a box to return to me. It's not a terrible neighborhood, there is nothing illegal in the box, and if you come to any physical harm then I will consider myself in debt to you. Would you like any more details?"

He would have to look into these "objectionable yet legal" things Miss Bridget could do at some point in the future. He jotted a note in the top corner of his research notes. As an afterthought, Evan swept the notes from his other experiments out of the front of his loose leaf notebook and stowed them in the top drawer of his desk. He'd have time to work on those experiments later; this was much more compelling. It required a tad more organization than his other bits and bobs.

Notebook sorted, he looked back up at Bree, stiff as a board in his armchair. She needed to loosen up, in Evan's opinion. He made a mental note about that too. "If you find those terms agreeable, then all I would need from you are essence samples, an appointment to observe your other self, and written permission to obtain samples then, since I assume you'll be unable to speak? And, of course, I'll give you that address."

As he spoke, he started stacking the requisite items on his desk from his desk drawers, filing cabinets, and other storage spaces. His address book he usually kept in his trunk, but he certainly wasn't going to open that with Miss Bridget here. He was fairly sure he'd distracted her from the missing library pages--no need to remind her. Instead he used a small summoning to have it appear in his drawer, along with a manila index card.

They joined the stack next to a modern urine sample cup, a small plastic baggie and a pair of scissors, a typed university release form that would hold up to magical if not mundane legal ruling, and his appointment book. His address book, appointment book, and research journal were all identical leather-bound volumes, but he'd never had any trouble telling the three apart.

Once everything was arranged to his satisfaction, he looked back up at Miss Bridget. "Have I forgotten anything? Have we an agreement?"

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - SolitareLee - 06-12-2017

Okay so that was a pretty shady favor. "I don't suppose you'll tell me what's in the box?" she asked with a sigh. Well, if it was nothing illegal, that was honestly enough for her. Objectionable and illegal were two very different things. She wouldn't really have minded running marijuana across town for him, since cops rarely bothered her and didn't have enough time to care for a little pot besides. Valesport had real problems. "As long as no one's come to harm to get whatever's in the box, I don't really care." She didn't want to ferry a human liver or some shit. Southtown was a long run, but mostly through Old Town, where she knew she'd be safe. It was, in fact, well within her capabilities. In fact, as a runner, it was practically her specialty.

Her embarrassment and indignation came back in full force, however, with the implication he'd be there to get her nighttime 'essence samples.' That was pee he was talking about; he was implying he'd be there to collect her pee, that was disgusting, oh god. "I can get the samples myself!" she exclaimed, bright crimson. "If I do it right before sunrise, I'll be able to close the container mys... I'm not talking about this with you!" She threw her hands in the air. "If you want fur, I guess you can collect that yourself," she grumbled. "Do you really have to do an observation period before I even try the potion?"

He was stacking things on his desk, listing very official things he'd need. It was doing nothing for her embarrassment, or her nerves. This was all looking so serious all of a sudden. Well, it had been serious as the grave the whole time, she supposed. This was a fae she was dealing with. But the reality of that was starting to really hit her. She felt the sudden desire to ask for a lawyer.

But there was no lawyer. There was no help. There never would be. There was just her; there was always just her.

She chewed on the inside of her lip nervously, eyeing the items stacked on Evan Jackson's desk. "Alright... I think," she said, sounding less certain than she might have liked. "I can give you my address. Don't show up there outside of an appointment," she added firmly. "That's part of the terms of me giving it to you, alright? I don't need the goddamn Lost Boys showing up on a random Tuesday night." She stood and walked over to his desk, putting her hands down on it to lean... to hide the little bit of shaking her arms were doing. Her ears were flattened backwards, betraying her nerves.

RE: Galway Girl [Closed] - ambientmagic - 06-14-2017

"I give you my word that no living creature has been harmed in the production of the packages's contents," Evan said drily. "I will further say that I doubt you would find the contents of the package objectionable, though I won't tell you what's in it, so that's an assumption on my part."

She was red again. Mortals were oddly modest about so many things, why was she embarrassed now? "I'm sure you can collect the sample yourself," he assured her. "That's not why I'm insisting on an observation period. I can see magic; that's how I saw your curse. I'd like to see if there's a change in the visible expression of your curse when you're in that cursed form."

Evan's reassurances weren't working. Miss Bridget was shaking a bit now; she put on a brave face, but Evan knew a facade when he saw one.

The things I do for alchemy, he mused as he reached into a side drawer. He slashed the pocketknife across the back of his wrist and let a drop of blood fall onto the large red stone holding down papers on his desk. Evan let his voice drop a little deeper, affecting a serious sort of monotone: "I swear that, while in my company, no harm will befall you that I am capable of preventing. Furthermore, I will not enter your abode without your explicit permission, from now into the future."

As he finished, he sent a tiny wisp of power into the stone, which caused the blood to flash into a satisfying puff of smoke. He wiped the pocketknife and his arm with an antiseptic wipe, tucking it away quickly, and looked up at Bree. "Will that satisfy you for now?"

It was all theatrics of course; the blood didn't make his promises any more binding than they already were. But mortals liked a bit of sparkle in their magic, and what was a few drops of blood if it meant they could move on from this tiresome dancing around.