So life goes on

[bindsthedead]

WHO: Sabriel
WHERE: De Chima and everywhere else!
WHEN: Throughout February
WHAT: Sabriel lives her life and meets some people
WARNINGS: None yet!

Raskin Bobbins, De Chima

[Even wearing the shop's uniform, Sabriel looks slightly out of place as she scoops ice cream. She didn't need to take the job- not for the money at least, but while her work with RISE was what she wanted to do, it felt... not entirely right to just ignore what she'd been assigned.

So once a week, she ties on an apron and works in the shop. Her manager's intimidated by her, but she's managed to be conversational with some of her coworkers.

At least things aren't too busy. Winter really isn't the time for ice cream. Which is probably a good thing- it means a line isn't forming behind the man who's more interested in pestering Sabriel for an autograph than ordering ice cream, and while Sabriel's wearing a pleasant smile, she can feel her patience running out.]

Sir. That's enough- place an order, or leave.

[Sabriel's about to snap at the man when someone else enters the store, and she forces a polite smile back onto her face, pointedly ignoring the man in front of her.]

Welcome to Raskin-Bobbins!

De Chima Residence 007

[After the shock of the blackout, Sabriel's taking steps to be prepared next time. Some of it's fairly normal- carefully stored canned and preserved foods being brought into the basement, along with stacks of firewood. Then there's the first aid kits, and the backpacks filled with emergency supplies in the closet closest to the door.

Sabriel's been an imPort long enough to see such preparations as sensible, rather than paranoid. She doesn't know when something else will happen, or what it will be, but another incident is practically guaranteed. So she's hauling more boxes into the basement from her car as she turns to her housemates.]

There's just one one more box. Would you mind going and getting it for me?

De Chima, training

[There's a clearing in the woods that Sabriel likes to visit. The air is clear and crisp, the leaves crumpled and trampled by several weeks of sword practice, and several scorched and splintered trees show the results of practicing the more destructive aspects of Charter magic.

At the moment, Sabriel's surrounded by Charter marks that cast strange shadows on the trees. She's linking them together in intricate chains, then letting them unravel and fade back into the Charter- it's more of an exercise in meditation than a practice of spellcasting. Her sword and a backpack rest on a nearby tree trunk, but Sabriel is too immersed in the Charter to pay much attention to her surroundings.]

closed to jacksonian
[Sabriel's picked out one of the nicer restaurants in Maurtia Falls for this. She's wearing a suit rather than a dress, but this isn't a date- simply a thank you. She's fussing with her shirt cuffs as she waits outside for him, but doesn't seem particularly impatient.]

closed to hypnotherapy
[Magicman gets a hug as soon as he walks through the door. Sabriel's not always the most expressive person, but he's one of the people she's known here the longest.]

It's good to see you! [She's genuinely smiling as she leads him into the kitchen- it's clean and tidy, since neither Sabriel or Ulvida are prone to being slovenly.]

Do you want to get started? I should probably learn more recipes, since I'm not just cooking for one person anymore.

closed to grimreaping
[The restaurant Sabriel's picked for lunch isn't particularly fancy, but it's cozy. She's wearing a dark grey sweater, already seated at a table for two and reading a book while she waits- not impatiently, but eagerly. She's made friends here, but Kid is one of the few who truly understands her role and responsibilities as Abhorsen, and her connection to Death.

Which makes him the best person to discuss the supernatural implications of recent happenings. At least, that's what Sabriel tells herself.]

closed to classification

[De Chima 007 looks like relatively normal imPort housing. Neither Sabriel or her housemates aren't prone to being slobs, so the closest thing to 'strange' Locus might notice is that on close inspection, the occasional faint symbol drifts over the surface of the door and exterior wall before vanishing.

Locus will probably recognize Sabriel as soon as she opens the door, but she regards him with a look of polite incomprehension. She was expecting Felix to pick up Leon, and has never met Locus with his mask off.]

Can I help you? [He doesn't look like a solicitor. Perhaps he's from the government?]

Wildcard

[Have your own idea? Just post it, or pp me at sarahthesilent so we can work something out!]

Comments

[classification]

[ Far be it from Locus to question the company Felix keeps. He's kept questionable himself over the years—Felix included—so he has no proper room to judge anything. Except, of course, when Sabriel answers the door and it's a young woman and Locus can't stop the small sigh in time. There's a twitch of one brow as if his face means to morph into an expression of long-suffering, but he holds fast and keeps himself neutral.

Not that Felix knows who Locus met in that alley during the blackout, but there's a pinch of annoyance that Felix didn't tell him anyway. The only saving grace is she has no idea what he looks like and his voice sounds different without the modulation. ]

I'm here for Leon.

[ That sounds too authoritative. Locus clears his throat and tries again, softening the sharp edges of his tone and gestures toward himself. ]

Felix is busy and asked me to come instead.

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel frowns as she watches Locus's expression as she tries to figure out what it means. When he says he's there for Leon it gives her pause before he adds that Felix asked him to come.]

I see. Why don't you come inside? [Sabriel's initial look of skepticism softens a little. A lot of imPorts aren't that skilled in social niceties, after all. She beckons him to come inside and sit down. Leon's carrier and a bag full of everything else Felix had brought over are next to the couch. The only thing missing is Leon.]

Would you like anything to drink? Tea, coffee? [Sabriel gestures. She's a little curious about how he knows Felix- she doesn't know her student that well, but he doesn't seem much like Felix at all.]

[classification]

[ Well, she's hit the jackpot with an imPort who isn't great at social skills no matter what. He doesn't have the patience for it, which is ridiculous since he has loads of patience for other things. He'd like to say it's gotten better since he arrived here, but... it really kind of hasn't. He's still as unfriendly as ever and hasn't figured out how to soften his edges.

For a fleeting moment, Locus looks awkward, standing there taking up space and not really knowing how to relax. He sees Leon's things and wants nothing more than for the cat to mosey on in so he can leave and be on his way. But, he's trying. Trying is all he can do. She's a friend—of a sort?—to Felix. ]

No.

[ That would just encourage small talk and he's even worse at that than normal conversation. No one wants that. ]

Felix was vague on the details. [ As he tends to be when he's hiding something. ] How do you know him?

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel's father made sure she had a thorough education in etiquette, it's just that any veneer of normality she puts up is likely to start breaking down about fifteen minutes later, or sooner if she's asked about her world or her work.

Still, bluntness is something she can deal with after working with Armstrong for so long, even if she notices that moment when he looks awkward. She's about to turn on her heel to go track down Leon when he asks. Then she stops, looking at him more closely.]

Oh, he's my student. I'm teaching him Charter magic. [From her tone, she apparently considers this about as remarkable as teaching him how to play an instrument.] He's just starting out, but after the shortage of nurses during the blackout, I thought it would be best to teach people how to heal.

[classification]

[ And just like that, everything really kind of stops.

When Felix was being vague about what he was doing with Sabriel, Locus didn't really spend too much time thinking on it. Felix needs hobbies so Locus can be left alone with his for a while in peace and quiet. But this? This isn't something he would have even guessed at it being.

And that probably shows because he can't catch his surprise quick enough to mask it. HIs eyebrows raise high and he opens his mouth to say something but thinks better of it and closes it again, his lips tightening in the corners. Felix. Who didn't want to believe magic was even real. Is now taking lessons from a young woman.

Locus has heard a lot of crazy shit in his life, but this is pretty much top tier crazy. ]

What?

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel raises one eyebrow, then says it again.] I'm teaching him magic. [Maybe if she repeats it he'll understand. She taps the faint mark on her forehead- if he knows Felix, surely he'll recognize it as being the same as the mark that's recently appeared on his forehead- and traces out the Charter mark for light, letting it flare before flicking it up to rest on the ceiling, where it illuminates the area as brightly as an electric light would.

When she speaks, her tone is the same one she used as a prefect to explain things to underclassmen.]

I did offer fairly publicly over the network. Charter Magic is... not uncommon in my world, and doesn't require any inborn power to learn. And I'm being careful- I'm making sure he's not going to hurt himself in the process.

[classification]

[ He understands it. Sort of. He understands it in the way he understands the words she's saying but in the context he's still a little lost and confused. Just. What the fuck.

That mark on her forehead is familiar in the sense he's seen it on Felix, but Felix gave some bullshit excuse and Locus didn't push. That would've lead to a fight and that's just a battle Locus didn't feel like having because he didn't think it was anything to seriously push.

It appears he was wrong. Locus sighs and rubs his temple, his eyes closing briefly. Why is Felix keeping this secret? ]

No, it's not—

[ Abruptly he cuts himself off because it hits him then, what she says. Like it all just falls into place and makes sense. That fucking idiot. ]

I'm sure he wouldn't care if he did hurt himself. [ Locus wets his lips and drops his hand down to his side. ] Perhaps it is best if you don't let him know you told me.

[grimreaping]

[ Kid feels much the same about Sabriel, in regards to having someone who shares understanding of certain aspects that he finds hard to relate to many of his friends. Death is a touchy subject for many whether they've experienced it personally or by proxy, and for those who aren't from his world, they don't know the pains his father has taken to ease people's minds.

He's even managed to significantly change it up from his usual monochrome suit, which is actually an improvement. ]

Good afternoon.

[ He smiles at her, sliding into the seat across the table. ]

I hope I haven't kept you waiting.

[bindsthedead]

Not too long. [Sabriel looks up at him and smiles, motioning for him to sit down.]

It's good to see you again. I hope you weren't too busy after the blackout? I've been trying to help investigate, but there's nothing certain so far, just shadows. [Shadows that are probably cast by one source, she just needs to find it.]

[grimreaping]

Some changes to be made at the Watchtower... when it went offline, the mechanical accesses we had also stopped. Obviously that's not something we want to risk a repeat of.

Have you been investigating as part of RISE, or on your own?

[bindsthedead]

Technology's everwhere here, and it's always unreliable when you need it most. If you'd like me to set up some basic wards, I certainly wouldn't object.

On my own, although I've been keeping RISE informed. Armstrong's unlikely to leak too much back to the government unless it suits her purposes, and RISE's connections can be helpful when I need to ask for something.

[grimreaping]

[ Kid nods, almost more to himself than to Sabriel. ]

Actually, I did want to talk to you about RISE... something I'd prefer that you keep an eye on for me without involving Major Armstrong, preferably.

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel pauses, leaning back in her chair before leaning forward, speaking in a whisper.]

If you were almost anyone else, I'd probably refuse and ask why, but since it's you- what is it?

De Chima | Training | 11/02

[maestermind]

[Much about Seymour's physicality has changed with his arrival in this world. While he is in every way still an Unsent, he is also as mortal now as those whose lives have never been forfeit. It's a strange thing to consider, that he should have vulnerabilities in this world he did not possess in Spira, but here, he also has the promise of resurrection should he die.

In a way, that is as close to immortality as he has ever been...and it makes him wonder if anything else has changed for the worse or the better.

Since arriving, he's had very little opportunity to test his magic, and no opportunity whatsoever to summon. Neither seem a good fit to test near his home in Maurtia Falls, so he wanders until he finds himself in De Chima in a particularly dense woodland. It is in search of a well-hidden clearing that he happens upon Sabriel one evening, though perhaps the glow of her Charter magic helped guide him in her direction, as well.]

This is a pleasant surprise.

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel feels him before she sees him. It's like but unlike feeling some cold presence pressing at her spine- her Death-sense really doesn't translate into any of the other five senses, but it's as close as she can get. Her shoulders stiffen, and instantly dismisses the half-formed Charter spell, reaching back into the endless flow for three marks, and a spell of deadly simplicity. When she turns, her expression is fearless and deadly for the instant she doesn't recognize Seymour. When she does, the marks fall away, spiraling back into the Charter, and some of the tension leaks out of her posture.

If she hadn't been under the subtle influence of the perfume, she'd be far more alarmed. As it is, she's only a little on guard. She knows Seymour- spoken with him over the network, and he's a healer, who's helped others during the blackout.]

Seymour? Is that you?

[maestermind]

[The startled look in Sabriel's eyes as she beholds Seymour for the first time face-to-face isn't that of a scared doe, but a cornered Coeurl. How ready to pounce she seemed at first when he'd appeared so suddenly within the clearing along side her. Even now, with whatever magic she'd been ready to wield so abruptly dismissed, or perhaps the concentration to maintain it lost, she seems a sharp woman not to be trifled with.

It brings a smile to Seymour's face to see her so, to hear his name spoken with such familiarity.]

Lady Sabriel.

[His bow is without flaw, the flourish of his arms and lowering of his head absent of his usual ostentation.]

My apologies if I startled you, I was most intrigued by there being strange magic in these woods and thought to investigate its presence. Please, do not let my being here interrupt your practice.

[bindsthedead]

Maester. [Sabriel answers his formality with formality, but her tone is not without warmth as she bows in return, even more tension leaving her body.]

I sensed you before I saw you- and you are- Dead. And I was caught off guard. [It's not said with the same caution she'd normally use.]

[maestermind]

Unsent.

[His correction comes swiftly but gently. The dead in Spira are buried or burned, long gone and revisited only through the glow of the pyreflies on the Farplane. He is not one of them...a mere memory. He will not be reduced to that.

And it is so very strange...to feel that way, and yet feel none of the bitterness that usually accompanies such thoughts and feelings. Instead, clasping his hands behind him, he remains calm and attentive. And perhaps empathetic as well, for Sabriel, whose very purpose is to prevent those like him from reigning over the earth, has been led to believe up to now that he is as alive as she is.

He almost feels sorry for having misled her. No...he does feel sorry.]

I met with a most unfortunate accident back home...at the hands of those who had betrayed Yevon. Murdered in the very temple it was my duty oversee. I should have told you sooner, and yet...

[He shakes his head.]

What will you do?

[bindsthedead]

If I was in the Old Kingdom, my path would be clear, but here... It's less obvious. I do not have the power to force imPorts to truly die, and none of us can enter this world's realm of Death. So what I've chosen to do is bind them only if they prove a threat. [Although most of the time, Sabriel's... paranoid on that front. But right now, she feels inclined to be trusting]

But if you do not sustain yourself on the lives of others, or mean them any harm... then I will not do more than say that I am sorry you died. [And she means it.]

If it's not too intrusive a question- Were your murderers the ones who kept you from passing on?

Office times!

[magnitudes]

( Sarissa is a little earlier than she expected, satchel hanging from her side. She bolted part of the way over here, and the effect of her enhanced physiology feels less powerful than it used to - taking her heart longer to slow down, and her lungs feeling a little less good at the steady in and out. Nerves, probably.

She knocks on the door, 5'4" of quietness and solemnity, where months ago she'd been posting aggravating surveys about the Spice Girls and cult membership. Seems weird, really, and she shakes her head at some of her own antics. They were fun, sure, but even she knew she was professional tier obnoxious, a lot of the time.

And when it opens, she raises her hand in a very slight wave. ) Sarissa Theron. I'm here to see Sabriel?

[bindsthedead]

That's me. [The woman answering the door is tall, deathly pale, and can't be older than nineteen, wearing a suit and tie and a smile that's polite and professional but can't quite hide the concern in her eyes.. She motions for Sarissa to follow her down the hallway.]

I wish we could have met under better circumstances- but I did bring coffee!

[Sabriel's office is... not that cozy. The photographs of the Porter cities' skylines don't hide the starkness of the walls, and the rest of the decor is a bookshelf and a desk covered in notes, along with two mugs and a thermos flask. But there are two chairs, and they're both comfortable. Sabriel sits down in one, her posture not relaxing.]

Please, sit down.

[magnitudes]

Nice to meet you. I've got a knack for strange meetings, I think.

( There's a momentary pause as she steps into the office, taking a glance about the walls. Sabriel's young, and it takes her a little off guard. It's not that she doesn't realise that young people are capable - she did come clean to Jaime about Gabriel, in the end - but in her head it's still the case that kids should be protected, and probably people count as kids until they're at least twenty. She's also aware it's really annoying, so she's just... not going to touch that, at all. Instead she manages to muster up a smile, slight as it is, as she takes a seat. ) Thanks for seeing me. And the coffee, actually.

( Sarissa's posture isn't the usual lazy slouch she adopts on the network. More upright, more serious, and trying to maintain a careful control on her current inclination to hyper vigilance. Be calm, be steady. Be stone. ) Where would you like to start?

[bindsthedead]

Not an uncommon talent among imPorts, I've found. [Sabriel pours some coffee, fishing around in one of her desk drawers for packets of sugar and cream before finding a pen and some paper.]

At the beginning, I think. When you first met him, how did he present himself? And was there anything about him that seemed odd at the time, or seemed it ought to be suspicious in hindsight?

[magnitudes]

Okay.

( She smiles, and it's-- embarrassed and regretful, coupled with a pinch of her brow. )

I was-- Honestly l, the last couple years have been a "bad patch," ( she offers, a little chagrined. ) I'd gotten in a fight in some sleazy bar in Heropa. Must've been July, I think. I got enhanced strength but I don't use that in fights, so five against one and I wasn't doin' good. He helped me. Time seemed like he was a knight in shining armour, yeah? Fellow ImPort letting some electricity crackle just to break things up. ( She pauses and her gaze drops, and she spoons some sugar into the coffee, adds creamer as she figures out how to continue.)

He left. I was the one what followed, continued it. The electricity seems like overkill in retrospect, y'know? But fights are fights, people react and overreact, it's how they go. He was quiet, but I figured he was decent and I owed him one, so I followed him out and asked if he wanted a beer. Something... about him seemed lonely, I guess. ( She shakes her head, and though she doesn't say it, it's written in the motion itself - stupid. )

[bindsthedead]

Well, some of my friends can be overenthusiastic- I probably wouldn't have seen it as suspect at the time either. [Sabriel nods, writing down notes in an elegant, somewhat old-fashioned script. Her expression is guarded, but sympathetic.]

I take it you grew closer after that, before he killed you in November. Did he have any other friends or associates- imPorts or locals- that you knew of? Were there any other signs of something being wrong with him before that?.