Accidental Crimes [M][DragonSong]

[Lowen Thorn]

He shrugged.

"Why not?" he asked simply. "It would be nice to put a name to the face. Or, well, voice."

Aspen let his guard down. He normally had no issues walking around on his own, even in an unfamiliar area, but he was too focused on talking to the mercenary and trying to convince her to give him her name - primarily as a start to maybe earn her trust, show him he's not such a bad guy - that he didn't sense the stump in the ground in front of him.

He fell quickly and hard, shouting a curse on the way down and muttering a curse after the landing.

[DragonSong]

Maka tried to shout a warning when she realized he was going to walk into the stump, but it came to late. Huffing out a short, sharp breath, she picked her way over to him and reached down to grasp his hand.

"Don't most blind folks use a cane or something to stop stuff like that from happening?" she muttered as he hauled him to his feet. Tactless? Sure. But she thought it was a valid question.

[Lowen Thorn]

Well that was certainly embarrassing. After she hoisted him back up, he dusted himself up and sighed bitterly. "Yep," was all he said. No use making excuses for himself.

"Anyway, like we were saying. We're going to be stuck with one another for a few days, why not at least know each other's names?"

[DragonSong]

"Because I don't want to be your friend, and I don't care what you call me," Maka replied shortly. once he seemed steady on his feet, she set off again.

This time, she let her staff hover out to her side, just a bit. If there was another sudden roadblock, she should be able to bring it up and stop him in his tracks before he tripped again.

[Lowen Thorn]

Trying to convince the necromancer of anything was like trying to convince a brick wall to transform itself to wood. She was hard-headed, rude, and couldn't be bothered. He frowned slightly at her response, but just kept walking.

He didn't know why he bothered.

"How long have you seen them?" he asked after some time. "All of your life?"

[DragonSong]

She almost tripped herself.

For several long moments, she debated not answering him at all. Then eventually she sighed, rolling her neck back and forth and glancing around as she did.

There she was. Still ten steps behind.

"Yes," she replied quietly. "I just...didn't always know what it was. They--they look like people, most of the time. I didn't realize."

[Lowen Thorn]

"Necromancy is one area that I really know nothing about," he said, continuing to walk with his cane, his companion, and perhaps his enemy. "The closest thing I have to help you is primal magic, and I am not sure if that is going to cut it."

He let the air settle between them before continuing. "There must be some teachings somewhere we can get our hands on. How much do you know about it? Can you use it to your advantage? Or is it just a curse for you?"

[DragonSong]

"I don't want to use it," she snapped back quickly, "I want to get rid of it. And I want to get rid of her."

She cast a quick glare over her shoulder at Elissa. Yup. Still there.

Swearing under her breath, she turned forward again and quickened her pace slightly. "What the hells did you even do last night? Nothing like that has ever happened to me before."

[Lowen Thorn]

"You wouldn't understand it," Aspen replied dryly. "That is to say, it's not easy to explain. I was using primal magic to try to rip the ghost's spirit from your body and well, looks like it backfired."

He stopped abruptly, peering over his shoulder to face his hallow eyes in her general direction. "And I understand you want to get rid of it. I understand you want to get rid of her. Don't you think learning more about your abilities would help you learn how to to get rid of them, or if anything control them? We have to start somewhere."

He turned back and continued walking with a slight sigh. "I want to help you. I really do. I know you don't like me, and that's fine. I know you think I'm just a murderer, just a criminal, and that's fine. I can't control what you think, but maybe I can help you control this. You're suffering, and I would at least like you to give me a chance to remedy that."

Banksy let out a soft vocal whine in agreement.

[DragonSong]

She snorted. "What do you think I was doing in your lecture, professor?" she muttered. "I was trying to learn how to control it. But like you said, this isn't exactly your area of expertise."

She laid a hand on his shoulder for a moment rather suddenly, holding him in place as she moved in front of him on the path. Then she snatched her hand back quickly and kept walking, not commenting on the move--or how she was now leading him around a shallow dip in the path.

"Once you get rid of the girl, I don't need your help anymore," she muttered. Her staff was held slanted at her side, just in front of his feet, ready to snap up and stop him if they ran into an obstacle he couldn't see.

[Lowen Thorn]

"But to be able go to help you learn how to control, I first need to learn more about it," he retorted, trusting her touch to keep him from wandering astray or falling again. "And if I were to get rid of the girl, then what? They'll never stop coming. You'll live with that for the rest of your life. Wouldn't you rather be done with it altogether?"

[DragonSong]

"Of course I would." Her voice was short and clipped. "But you've basically just told me that it'll be a long shot if you can even get rid of the girl. You expect me to believe you should just...rip the magic out of me entirely?"

"Why do you so hate who you are?"

Maka stiffened, her steps stuttered, but then she kept walking. Don't look around, just ignore her.

[Lowen Thorn]

Aspen's impatience was well hidden. "That's... not what I'm saying," he tried to explain. "Or better to say.. that's not what I'm trying to get at. I'm positive I can help you, but in order to do so, I need to better understand how necromancy works. If you can't tell me that, I need you take me someone who can, or somewhere where I can learn more about it."

[DragonSong]

Maka stopped walking. Her jaw was set and tense, eyes flaring as she rounded on him.

"I don't fucking know, alright? I don't know how any of this works! I've been seeing ghosts as long as I can remember and they never leave me alone! I had to leave my home and everything I ever knew because of this curse--if I knew literally anything I wouldn't be standing here talking to you right now!"

She stopped, panting, and rather abruptly came back to herself. She thought she caught a glimpse of Elissa's small smirk over his shoulder and gritted her teeth. "Just... Fuck. I don't care. Just walk. I'll get you to the next town over and then I'm gone, alright?"

Ghost bound to her own spirit be damned. She didn't want to deal with this anymore.

[Lowen Thorn]

Aspen's impatience was no longer well hidden. He stopped walking abruptly, foot planted firmly on the ground. "Okay. Listen."

The words had barely left his mouth before he whipped around, cane in hand, bringing the pointed in down on her. The intention was for her to block it, he could only hope she was as skilled as she believed she was.

[DragonSong]

Maka's eyes widened and she moved on instinct, bringing her staff up to halt his cane with a resounding CRACK!

"What the fuck?" she snarled at him, shoving forward both to push the cane away from her and throw him off balance.

[Lowen Thorn]

Aspen's smile was a challenge, and when she pushed him back he took another swing, purposely aiming for her staff.

The second collision sent a chill down his spine, and for the moment his face with pale, almost lifeless, and his eyes filled with color as if he were no longer blind. "Why do you so hate who you are?"

His voice was different, almost child-like, before it completely transformed to the voice of the little girl that haunted her. "Help me."

[DragonSong]

Her eyes widened and the bottom of her stomach dropped out. She staggered back, barely able to swing her staff up into a defensive position in front of her body.

"Stop it," she hissed--whether she was talking to Aspen or Elissa she didn't know. "Just stop it, stop!"

[Lowen Thorn]

The professor's head tilted curiously. There was something sinister about his smile and something evil in his eyes, which by all accounts shouldn't showcase any type of emotion. "Help me," was almost more of a command than a request. "Help m....agh!"

Eyes shut tight, he threw himself backward and landed on the ground behind him hard. His cane toppled and bounced on the ground out of reach, and Banks might a small yelp sound before running to cower behind the necromancer.

When he opened his eyes, nothing was there. Nothing out of the ordinary, that is. His head beat like the drum of a march, and he groaned slightly through a self-satisfied smile. "I thought that might work," he breathed.

[DragonSong]

"Thought what might work?!" Maka swung her staff down to aim the butt of it at the center of his forehead. A good strike should knock him out if he went weird again. "What the hell just happened?"