Tools of Conquest [Goblin]

[Juno]

"That's true, she might not even bother to come out and see you," she agreed as she finally stepped onto the light semblance of a path that had been cleared to lead up to the front porch and door. "I find they're the same way with me, though," she remarked sadly. "Felines tend to not be a fan of my presence. It's such a shame, really. I adore them yet they want nothing to do with me," she shrugged with a sad chuckle.

"So strange, I think. Even Caydence seems to like other people much better than she likes me. I guess I'm just not popular with cats," she sighed, heading up to the front door and slipping inside. "How old are you anyway?" she wondered, trying to tune herself into his mind to listen for the real answer. "And just be honest."

[GoblinFae]

"How old am I?" he repeated dumbly, staring her wide-eyed. "Well um, I am," Benjamin trailed off, crossing his arms with his now tattered sleeves in front of his chest while his brows furrowed in thought. His mind was a whirl with openly complicated thoughts as he used his odd way of counting and remembering things to try and answer her question.

'The Whittler experiment was three years ago making the flask explosion about four months after. Franny irritated my mother on my birthday making the whole debacle a prior because my eyebrows had finally grown back in again. Ah, but then there was the delays on the goat's liver order, so what was that, another two weeks I think, making me...'

"Twenty-two. Yep, I'm twenty-two give or take a few weeks." The nobleman smiled proudly at having remembered his age and it not taking him too long to come to that conclusion. "And you? How old are you?"

[Juno]

As he stood there thinking she went around the main room lighting what lanterns and candles there were before making her way over to the hearth to get the fire started again. She was surprised at what she was hearing in the silence, mostly because it made no sense yet still managed to tell some story about him. She raised a brow at the idea of his own eyebrows needing to grow back and wondered what had happened to cause such a thing.

She was pretty sure he was being honest with the answer he gave, though he thought it unusual that a human would have to think so hard about their own age, but she hadn't expected him to ask the same of her in return, even if it was only fair. "Me? I recently turned three hundred thirty," she told him with a slight shrug and glance over her shoulder.

[GoblinFae]

Benjamin blinked several times in shock before licking his lips and trying to clear his throat. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that again? Did you just say you are three hundred and thirty years old?"

His mind was racing a mile a minute as he tried to do calculations of what this could mean. 'That many days is less than a year and she is far more matured than that but that many weeks is still too young about oh what is six and a half years? What could she possible be measuring time in if not years? Is she really that old? That's unbelievable! Why it might even be a scientific miracle! Alchemist across the lands will be fascinated by this discovery. Forget the fountain of youth or exliir of life, Benjamin Hase's got the woman that doesn't age. Ha! As if though, probably just some spell or anti-aging potion. Alas, the miracle of alchemy and other sciences at work!'

[Juno]

"Mmhm," she nodded, trying not to let on how amusing she found his thoughts on the matter. She found it strangely flattering, too, though it seemed he found it more interesting for the novelty of it. "Three hundred and thirty years.

"It isn't some potion or anything like that keeping me young... It actually isn't entirely uncommon. It's just how I am, how I've been for quite a while with very little changes," she tried to explain, though she had no idea how he'd receive it once what she thought was surprise wore off.

[GoblinFae]

'Ah so not a potion, must be a spell then. Magic certainly does work miracles, or at least would let the common man perceive them as such. Wonder how much she paid for that kind of thing. It's really a shame though. You would think someone as attractive as her would be secure enough to physically age along with their timeline. I mean you can't always steal the limelight from the younger generations. At least that's what Mother keeps telling me, not that you can really believe her on these things with all the potions she tries to down,' Benjamin mused.

"Is it by choice then? Or were you cursed, in the sense that someone forced this on you?"

[Juno]

Remina's expression quickly began to sour, her small victory already slipped from her grasp. Even if he thought her attractive it meant nothing if it was thought to be a product of cheating nature. Once the fire was bright enough she stepped away to blow out a few of the candles she'd lit before.

"I am cursed. My age and appearance have nothing to do with it, though," she tried to assure him as she got herself comfortably seated. "This is just how I was born and how I grew to be. It's just how my family is, I guess: My brother, my father, my mother. Why? Have you met someone cursed with youth before?" she wondered, smirking at the relatively good misfortune that might be for a human.

[GoblinFae]

Benjamin continued to stand awkwardly near the door where she had left him. "Well no actually but you never know. Witches are women first and everyone knows how fickle they can be," he told her with a shrug.

"Is youthfulness the only part of this family curse of yours or is there more to it?"

[Juno]

The witches or the women? I'm not sure I want to know, she thought, slightly bitter but wanting to let it slide for the sake of their mostly positively-progressing conversation. "There is more to it, but I'm sure someone like you might find it quite depressing," she shrugged. "Though my brother seems to have gotten the better luck of it, and much younger than I, too."

Gesturing as if to wave it off, she told him, "It's a complicated thing, but nothing harmful or anything to worry about. Life goes on and it's yet to have inhibited me. Are you going to sit down at all?"

[GoblinFae]

"What exactly are the details of the curse?" Benjamin persisted. "And thank you, I was waiting for you," he added, carefully seating himself in a chair opposite her. "I mean you call it a curse and yet you also say that it has no ill effects upon your person or that of any of your family. I wouldn't necessarily classify that as a curse. Sounds like more of an enchantment or a spell if you ask me."

[Juno]

Well, at least he has some manners, she thought, not even realizing that he had been waiting on her approval. "I assume it is a curse because that's what it has always been called. It's what I was born knowing. It's been a part of my family for hundreds of years.

"It actually...has the potential for ill effects," she told him, continuing with a sad chuckle, "My father and brother have been lucky, but I assume I've broken the family's record. Our curse requires we eventually find our match in life, our other half, our partner, a specific, special person. I don't remember exactly how it goes, but I believe it's our one shot at a partner for life. If that person doesn't want anything to do with me then I can't do anything about it," she shrugged. "I'm guessing it would be like being forced to watch your lover get over you and move on to someone else and live their life without you, though I've been told that my grandfather suffered terribly for the loss of my grandmother."

Remina gestured that it was something she remembered little of at the moment and was out of her hands anyway. "Do you study curses and magic, then?" she inquired, wondering why he wanted to know more in the first place.

[GoblinFae]

Benjamin leaned in close to listen, his eyes deeply focused on the woman before him as he listened intently. "Now that does sound more like a curse. I mean if I were to take a gander I would say that someone in your family broken some little witch's heart so that all of you must find that one perfect person for you. All of this is theoretical of course, you'll have to excuse me for classifying it so haphazardly if you will. Magic happens to be one of my interests, yes however it is not my expertise."

The nobleman did not apologize for the way he talked. Benjamin had no concept that what he had been saying could be considered even remotely offending. Social cues were certainly not his forte. While he understood all the niceties involved in human-to-human interactions, he failed miserably at knowing the right things to say and the right way to say them.

[Juno]

"Maybe so," she winced. "I never thought of why, really, but that very well could be it. Someone got their heart broken... But it must have been some powerful magic to last this long, don't you think?" Remina shook her head, pausing for a few moments to gather her thoughts and try to remember what they'd been leading towards with this now relatively calm conversation.

"Are you an apprentice mage, then? Or...what do you do?"

[GoblinFae]

"Perhaps the witch is still alive," he suggested with a shrug. "Many spells are known to hold their strength for as long as something or someone is still alive or intact. But who can say?" Benjamin leaned back in his chair and relaxed, feeling completely within his element now that he had been given an option to talk about his profession.

What he did not notice though was the calico feline making her way across the floor towards the back of his chair. "It is a common misconception however I, madam happen to be an Alchemist. Although I do have some minor dealings and dabblings in magic it is not my primary focus. Really its more of a hobby than anything else."

[Juno]

"Perhaps so," she thought aloud, leaning forward to rest her chin in the palm of a propped up arm. She wondered what she should do with him now that she realized he actually was an adult even with such a boyish stature. He would probably leave of his own accord come morning, but what of the jail? She certainly couldn't have him telling the whole city that he'd stayed in the house on the hill for the night, and with a criminal at that. That would definitely disrupt her privacy and she really didn't want to move or even temporarily displace herself because of his mouth.

While she did hear the soft footfalls of her feline friend, Remina ignored it. It was such a commonplace sound to her now that it didn't even occur that she might need to pay any mind to it. "An alchemist," she mused, saying the word slowly. "What do you do as an alchemist? Is that like an herbalist?" she asked sincerely.

[GoblinFae]

Benjamin winced. "Well, eh" he sighed and shook his head. "No not, not exactly. You see an herbalist deals solely with herbal remedies. I on the other hand deal with inventions and other things. I dabble in other fields such as herbology and magic but they are not my main focus with my work. Why? Is there something you possibly or in need of? I'm open for work."

Behind him, Caydence had hopped up onto the back of Benjamin's chair and was currently sitting there, staring down at his head, her tail flicking back and forth to just barely brush against his ears.

[Juno]

"Oh! I see," she nodded, though she wasn't entirely grasping what he was saying about the differences. "So... An alchemist does a little bit of everything, then?" she guessed.

"Could you...charm something small?" she wondered, having no idea if that was within the realm of his abilities but a bit interested in his offer. The cat's presence, while known, was of little consequence to her and she merely cast the slight movement she saw a welcoming glance. "A pendent, perhaps? I've an idea for something, actually, if you'd be willing to do it."

[GoblinFae]

He sat back in the chair, completely unaware of the feline presence behind him already deep in concentration. "I cannot speak for all Alchemists but I can say that it might be possible for me to make such a thing. It really depends on what you want this charm to do though. Often times when given a task that spans many disciplines I like to do a great deal of research and consult other field experts to ensure that I can offer the highest quality product to my customers. But, what is it that you want this charm to do?" he asked, batting away the tickling irritation that kept attacking his ear.

[Juno]

She nodded and wondered if he might be able to make such a thing even as she envisioned it herself. "I wouldn't mind if it took a lot of time," she assured him, though she had no proof or faith in his claim to ensure a high quality product. "I would want it to be a source of calm, if that makes sense. Perhaps a lulling ocean wave within glass. Is that maybe something you could make? To be honest I've never seen such a thing, so I don't know how much magic might be required to keep it going, but it would be a gift for someone," she explained.

[GoblinFae]

"A source of calm," he repeated, already frowning in thought. "I am afraid in order to do that though I would need to know the person it is meant for. What calms one human may enrage another, you see. May I inquire as to the personality and purpose of the recipient?"

Again he waved away at the incessant brushing that was going on at his ear, unaware of his new friend. "Is there a draft in here? You might want to get that fixed before it gets any colder. I'm sure being at this higher elevation means you get quite a bit of wind during the winter months. It would be such a tragedy if your house collapsed due to poor infrastructure you know."