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Feather of Fate [M] [DragonSong]

Started by Juno, January 27, 2016, 08:42:39 AM

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Juno

Penny stood before one of the many packed shelves in the study. There was something different about it that she had not sensed before. A particular nagging worked its way beneath her skin and she could only assume with the utmost enthusiasm that the sensation was one proving she was more in-tune with the magical energies of the volumes and artifacts that were housed there.

Fingertips ran along the exposed pages as she searched for the ones that might help her that day. Her task was fairly small, or so Kura had led her to believe: a rune of protection. The mage of more superior skill had always said that the foundations of runic magic were simple but there was still so much for her to absorb on the subject.

At least she was not charged with putting a spell over their entire home. A small patch of grass anywhere outside would suffice, she was sure, but retrieving the information was what she feared would take the longest.

Kura had never been particularly organized. Her books and scrolls were all equally likely to contain her personal notes on nearly any subject. If there was blank parchment she certainly would have it filled in short order. In recent years the elder mage had allowed the younger to organize things as she saw fit, but it still wasn't perfect when she hardly knew what to expect of most of them.

Among the seemingly endless rows upon the shelves were all manner of little artifacts and trinkets tucked into almost every spare space. All of it was not enough to contain the vast collection, though, and even more volumes were left stacked upon the floor and desk. Despite the organized chaos Penny was quite fond of the cramped study. It was the one place in the house that magic could truly be felt in its raw glory.

A great effort of shuffling papers finally yielded a few she thought looked promising. As she set them atop the desk to look over, though, she realized that there was something different tucked between a few of the pages near the bottom of the stack.

Thumbing through it revealed a small but rather perfectly formed feather. The coloring was a brilliant orange framed in a subtle gold. Carefully taking it into her hand Penny turned it over this way and that before running a curious finger along its length to smooth it against her palm.

It was far too small to be a proper quill, she determined, but why a normal feather might have been hidden there was a mystery to her. Setting it down gently she separated the stack she was working with to quickly skim the page it had been resting upon to see if there were any notes about it there.

DragonSong

A shiver went up Mal's spine, a feeling his father used to dub as a "goose walking over his grave". He frowned, shaking his head and trying to put the feeling from his mind.

Then it came again, more insistent, and he sat up straighter, looking around the taproom of the small inn where he was staying, a frown etched across his face. What the hell? The shiver seemed to have taken up permanent residence at the base of his spine, tickling and persistent. It almost felt like a- pull.

Grumbling in aggravation, he stood and tossed some coins onto the bar, giving the barkeep a distracted nod as he made for the door. He needed some fresh air, that was it.

Juno

Reading through there was no mention of the feather that she could see. Sitting down, puzzled, Penny picked it up once more to hold gingerly in her hand. Kura didn't keep things in the study if they weren't magical in some way so there just had to be more to it than a simple, stray feather.

Perhaps it was just something else disguised as a feather. Yes, that seemed plausible enough. Murmuring a few clumsy incantations to attempt to undo whatever magical bonds she suspected the peculiar object to be under Penny was inadvertently binding the unknown phoenix feather to herself instead. When nothing seemed to happen with it and the feather remained a feather she thought she'd gotten it wrong.

Frowning in thought the young mage decided she would leave it be so that she could ask her teacher about it when she returned from her outing. She had studying to do, after all, and with her mind made up she tucked the small feather into the pocket of her skirts for safekeeping. The last thing she needed was to lose it to the endless collection it had appeared from.

DragonSong

The tingling became a steady burn that spread from his spine through the rest of his body in a flash. Mal's eyes widened and he just had time to yelp, "What the hell?!" before the air around him suddenly shimmered as though in a heat haze and there was a flash of golden light.

The world twisted and warped around him and he cursed colorfully, staggering as his feet tried to find purchase on- the floor? But he'd been outside just a second ago.

Mal looked up, blinking as he tried to orient himself. His eyes widened when he realized his surroundings weren't the inn, as confusing as that would have been, but completely unfamiliar. A library of some sort? There were certainly a lot of books.

He still felt tingly and a buzzing sensation had engulfed every inch of his skin, though it was dying down some now. Wide eyed, he turned in a slow circle until he saw the girl. And that clinched it- he was totally lost.

"What. Just. Happened?"

Juno

As soon as she'd drawn her hand away to go back to her work a sudden flash of light had her startling and nearly toppling out of her chair. She stared, tense and wide-eyed as the light faded and a strange man stood where there had certainly been no one before.

Her heart raced as she rushed to stand to be even a little prepared to defend herself. She'd seen the flash, but who was he? Where had he come from? Why was he there? Somehow he seemed just as confused as she was.

"What do you mean 'what just happened?' Who are you? And what are you doing in here?" she demanded, looking about the desk before choosing her weapon and lifting one of the heftier books over her shoulder in warning, ready to bash him with it or throw it at him if he tried anything. For all she knew it was all a ruse and he was making some awful attempt at sneaking in to snatch their valuables.


DragonSong

"Who am I?" Mal repeated incredulously. "Who are you? And what the hell do you mean, what am I doing here? You're the one who brought me here, aren't you?"

He certainly hadn't been the one to create that- that- teleportation or whatever it was. Even if he'd wanted to, that particular trick was not in his arsenal.

He looked around again, eyeing the young woman warily. Was she planning on hitting him with that book? "Where am I? What's going on?" he demanded, starting to panic a bit.

Juno

"Brought you...here?" She lowered the book with a distance expression, a sudden thought of excitement seizing her as she put it back down altogether. "You mean you were in the feather?!" Penny practically squealed with excitement. She'd done it! She'd managed it after all!

Scurrying around the desk she shoved her hand into her pocket again to retrieve the tiny, lone feather and hold it up as a trophy. "I got you out of this, didn't I? How long have you been trapped inside?" She volleyed off her questions quickly, unable to stop the avalanche of rambling that would follow.

"I found this feather and it didn't seem like a normal one, exactly. Look, see the shimmering? It almost glows! So I thought that it might not actually be just a feather! It was a prison!" she declared proudly, already assuming she had the whole thing figured out as she stood there practically panting for breath. "And I- My magic got you out, didn't it?"

DragonSong

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa." Mal raised his hands and took a step back, eyes very round. "Slow down there. In the feather? You think I was-" His eyes flicked to the feather she held out.

And suddenly it clicked. Well, mostly.

Groaning, he dropped his head into his hands. "That's not a prison, genius. It's just a feather. A feather from a...very special kind of bird, but a feather." He held out his hand, twitching his fingers in a "give it here" gesture. "You didn't free me, you summoned me. And you still haven't answered my question- where the hell am I?"

Juno

She didn't understand, shouldn't he have been happy and thanking her and jumping for joy? Her face fell as he corrected her, her hopes of actually managing such a feat on her own completely dashed and rejected.

"A bird," Penny lamented. Never in her life had she been so disappointed by a measly feather. "How did I summon you? Was that all my magic?" she asked, eyes full of innocent hope once more as she looked up to him as though the strange man who had materialized before her had all the answers in the world.

The question of where was still ignored in her excitement, but she did not miss the way he'd gestured for the feather. Wary now that it was somehow the key to her potential she turned slightly as she quickly pulled it back away from the precarious position of her own outstretched hand. Tucking it back into her pocket she gave the spot a quick pat for safekeeping.

She would not be giving away something that had clearly been valuable to Kura and, now, was also valuable to herself.

DragonSong

Mal glared, biting back a growl as she withdrew the feather. Great, just great.

"Look, honestly, I'm not entirely sure how summonings work," he admitted in a huff, folding his arms over his chest. "As far as I know, you have to actually burn the feather. But seeing as that's obviously not what happened, sure- maybe it was your magic."

He tapped a foot and gave her a very dry look. "Now undo it. Send me back."

Juno

Maybe. Maybe was good. Maybe meant possible. It was enough for her to cling to.

His request had her wincing and taking a step back to cast anxious looks to the books around them. If only she could just will one with that information to jump out so she wouldn't be left to stand there with nothing to offer him. "Ah... About that," she started, uncertain how the stranger might take any additional bad news or lack or real answers from her.

"I don't know how?" Penny finally blurted out. "But wait for Kura! She might know how to do that... I think. She'll be back soon. Maybe..."

DragonSong

"You don't know how," Mal repeated, deadpan. "Of course you don't know how." Groaning, he dropped his head into his hands and bit down on a torrent of cursing. Inept mage who'd ruined his day or not, she was still a lady, and he didn't feel right swearing in front of her.

"Then can you at least tell me where the hell I am?"

Well. At least not swearing too badly.

"And who's this Kura?" he demanded, folding his arms over his chest with a glower. "For that matter, who are you?"

Juno

Penelope's eyes widened considerably as she flinched just a little for each of his questions. He was entitled to the information, sure, but he certainly was putting a lot of effort into being grumpy about it.

"Kura is my teacher," she announced proudly, trying to ignore the way he was glaring at her and how uncomfortable it was. It wasn't her fault he was there! Well, it was, but it wasn't a conscious effort to pluck him from wherever he'd been before he'd materialized in their library.

"I'm Penny. Well, Penelope, but Penny is easier. And... this is-" How exactly did she explain where he was? Did he know the country? The province? Was he even from the same world?! She gave a short hiss at that last thought and quickly tried to dash it. There was no reason to worry about such a thing, he obviously knew enough to speak the same language.

"This is Serendipity," she tried again, speaking slowly this time in case he was not familiar with it. "Our home is in the Tirial province. In the west. Where were you...summoned from, exactly? And what can we call you?"

DragonSong

"Serendipity?" His eyes widened a bit and he let out a low whistle. If it had been the girl's magic that summoned him after all, that was pretty impressive. "Figures I'd be dragged home again," he muttered with a low, dry chuckle. "I was in La'marri," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck absently.

Now that he was starting to calm down, he was feeling a little guilty about his temper. Didn't need to let her know that though. "Name's Mal," he muttered gruffly. "Malcolm Denan, actually. But just call me Mal." A little belatedly, he offered his hand.

Juno

"Really?" Penny's eyes were wide with wonder once more at the realization of what she'd done, or at least what she assumed she had done. Glancing down at the pocket with the feather she wondered what kind of magical bird could produce such a powerful object if it had not been her power alone.

"That's so far away." She winced, understanding his sudden demands and anger a little better. She was certain she would be scared out of her mind if she was suddenly moved such a distance.

Staring at his outstretched hand she slowly reached to tentatively grasp it and give a stunted little shake, the movement familiar in sight but not so much in practice. Kura was almost always the one to do anything worthy of one.

"Mal." It was a nice name, she thought, smiling a little as she settled a little. The once angry man was no longer a threat. In fact, he was a guest even if he wasn't there voluntarily. "Sorry for the trouble, Mal. I'm not sure how it...chose you, exactly," Penny admitted. "Do you have a bird? As a pet, maybe?"

DragonSong

Did he have a bird? The question made him huff a laugh. "Er, no. Not quite." He chuckled. Eyeing the young woman, he frowned a bit. Not an irritated expression, more thoughtful.

"Do you...really not know what that is?" he asked, nodding toward the pocket where she's stored the feather.

Juno

Her eyes flickered, studying him curiously for his laugh. What was funny? Was he someone who laughed when they were nervous? Glancing between the place she'd hidden the feather and him a few times she shrugged. "You said it was just a feather," she reminded him. "So it's...a feather?"

Penny was unfortunately clueless about what he was. Her education had not been spent studying a creature as rare as a phoenix, though she knew they existed. There were all sorts of explanations for the unusual coloring of his hair but she thought he looked fairly ordinary and well, human, aside from that.

DragonSong

Mal nodded slowly. "Well, it is that," he agreed. Then he let out a sharp breath- well, she'd already summoned him, what could it hurt to explain a little more. "It's a phoenix feather," he told her. "Now, normally, if you want to summon a phoenix, you burn the feather."

He offered a slightly sheepish smile. "Seems like in this case you didn't have to go that far." Then he frowned again. "Though I'm not exactly sure how this worked- I certainly don't remember giving away one of my feathers." He shrugged.

Juno

"Ahh." She listened to his explanation, not all that confused as she accepted it easily enough as truth. She did quirk a brow at his mention of it being his feather, though.

"So... You're a phoenix?" Penny smiled, looking at him with a new sort of appreciation. "And it's a special feather, right?" Surely it must be if he'd been summoned without it being destroyed in the process. A sudden, strange idea came to mind though and she latched onto it.

"Would a stolen feather have different, um, properties, then? Than one you give freely?" she guessed. Realizing her lack of hospitality, though, she stepped around him with a few excited gestures toward the door. Studying could wait until another time, surely Kura would understand the circumstances.

"Come, let's go sit," she offered, opening the door to lead him out and to the small table where all their meals were shared.

DragonSong

"Ah- I don't really know," he admitted. He'd never really given it much thought before. Following her to the table, he glanced around the new room curiously.

"A stolen feather might be different," he murmured, more to himself than her. "I just can't figure out how..." He trailed off, frowning. Shaking his head to put the thought from his mind, he took another look around the room.

"Nice place," he commented casually. "So this Kura person seems to be pretty well off... You got the feather from him, then?" If that was the case, he may need to have some words with Kura.

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