alderwitch
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"I was still a child when jazz dancers had their hey-day. Swing dancing was popular but my mother had me in ballet. I wasn't a professional dancer, not really, but I was a performer and it was expected that if you were going to perform that you'd be able to dance as well. If I tried anything en pointe these days, I'd probably break an ankle. Certainly a toe," With her eyes closed, Raina couldn't see Talya's face but the smile was in her voice, "Think more 'Dancing With the Stars', less 'Chicago' if you're trying to picture it. But, you know, not awful." Talya put her hands under Raina's arms, "Relax a little. Arms spread but not taunt. Its about knowing where you are in the space whether or not you're looking at the limb."
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"Well, it's more pee that the alleys smell like," Robin explained and then turned a small smile on Riley. Robin's affects were generally flatter than most, small smiles where other people laughed but her eyes were warm and affectionate. His embrace was welcome as Robin had felt jittery over taking even these two to the neighborhood that was her home. Perhaps more so than most of the others, if Robin was being entirely honest with herself. Fred and Riley's opinions had begun to matter to her so she couldn't just hide behind the wall of angry defiance that carried her through so many other social interactions. "I think I might have given Fred some concerns about the amount of times I get shot at on my weekends at home." She gave one wave of her hand towards the gas station, "People get the stuff that makes their cars run here and they sell junky snacks but there's no market for real food so some people get like, eggs and bread and stuff here as its closer than the real markets. They also sell, you know, cigarettes and that sort of thing." Robin lifted the thin, ratty t-shirt that she'd made into a make shift mask. "Are we going costumes and rooftops now or d'you want to get the ground floor tour first?"
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"See, you should have opened with that. Always open with that," Talya suggested, appreciative laughter in her tone. She gave a little shake of her head to move her hair out of her way so she could look at him with both blue eyes. It had to get aggravating having her hair constantly obscuring half her vision but Talya had clearly learned to work with it over the years. Her eyes twinkled merrily as she pointed out, "If you'd opened with that five years ago, history might have charted a very different sort of course. I may be very fond of some of my ensembles but I have always been willing to sacrifice material possessions when the incentive is high enough." Still chuckling, she stepped back to continue their way home, and its promise of warm showers and dinner. "You may consider me fully sold on continuing my education in the violent arts."
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As Huang's twisted obelisks shot from the ground, the remaining bounty hunters had only the time for panicked outrage at being captured by a group of teenagers. Hanging in their eldritch prisons, they gave their captors baleful looks but, for the moment, had been rendered harmless in their prisons while their leader remained quite unconscious on the ground. A cursory search revealed thus far, no more bounty hunters waiting in the woodwork, although it was unlikely this was the whole of their number. It was very likely that several potential hunting grounds had been staked out and similarly trapped. Either that, or this lot had been exceptionally lucky. The lingering stench of the cloud was fading as it dispersed over the area but the faint smell of the ingredients lingered in the air. Their teacher for the day remained trapped in the electric cage, her form flickering like the still of a bad horror movie - in and out of sync with this particular reality. To those of a mystical persuasion, it seemed clear that the device was able to generate a field that kept the heroine from connecting fully with any dimension. The technology on the bounty hunters was alien from their world - high tech, certainly, but not of a bent currently familiar in Prime, although it could have been alien in origin.
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"'Taming'?" Robin said with a dubious note in her voice but she trailed after the irresistible force that was Raina. She went to tuck her hands in her pants pockets before realizing that of course there were none. With a small scowl, she adjusted her hands to slip into the pockets of her jacket. Fortunately, Robin's pain tolerance was very high so the minor pinch of any plucking was unlikely to get a rise out of her, "Sure, okay. Whatever you want to do. Just don't poke me in the eye." Robin stood there as Raina checked the shades against her skintone. Robin had pretty skin, a soft brown that made her light eyes stand out already. Any additional dark makeup would probably only enhance that effect, "My eyebrows aren't wild animals."
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"Yoga is good, dancing - even without steps - is good. The more comfortable you are in knowing what your body will and won't do easily makes everything else a little more intuitive. Here, close your eyes and hold your hands out to the side, palms out," Talya suggested, demonstrating the pose briefly. "It's all about proprioception. It's critical when you start doing things like genuine acrobatics and that sort of thing but helpful even at this stage. Although, I have to say, dancing with steps is an awful lot of fun. Dancing was my background before I took on more adventurous activities. One of the few things I genuinely miss about the past. The rest of it is glamorized a great deal, but I do miss that."
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"You know how your father is, Huang. You challenge his authority and he's going to come down like a ton of bricks. Especially when you've caught him when he's running on adrenaline and instinct," Taylor pointed out, propping her hands on her hips with her weight canted to the side and heavy on one heel, "You're half human. Ish. Your father isn't, anymore. He can get very autocratic in his declarations. Pushing back harder isn't going to change his mind, you'll just end up with him leaping out of the shadows at odd times to enforce his decrees. You really don't want your father spending more time lurking in the corners of your dorm room to ensure your well being." She sighed, lifting one hand, "You're sixteen. I think," that was added with a small frown at her time displaced off spring, "Old enough to date but with some ground rules." She shook her head at her offspring, her sigh weary, "I swear, some days, you're too much your father's son." Reaching out, she smoothed his hair down in a gesture that was affectionately maternal before finally turning her attention to Set. "You're teenagers and things were clearly heading that direction. Good intentions are well and fine but it's part and parcel of the, ah, experience." Here, Talyor's words hiccuped and she hoped that her cheeks weren't flushing. She was supposed to have a good ten or twelve years before having to have these sorts of talks. "And it's very easy in the moment for things to get heated and carried away. You... you might not even actually notice if there were other things going on." She cleared her throat, "Anyway."
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"Too young, too damaged for antics, darling. In ten, fifteen years... who can say," Talya gave a shrug of her shoulders and crossed the room to find a place to set her shoes and jacket, "There are empty apartments upstairs we could chat in but they have less amenities than down here. I don't have my own rooms - I share theirs when I stay here. It's not that large a place." Talya glanced over her shoulder at his question. She offered a sigh in response as heartfelt as Dimitri's, "When everyone else died, I suppose. Age confers a certain gravitas that is probably not all that deserved in either of our cases. I suppose we could provide lists of all the things one probably ought not to do. It's a long list." Liquor in large enough quantities invariably turned Talya past fun well towards morose. Combine that with a veteran's memorial event and there was no surprise she began looking for maudlin music on the MP3 player and speakers. "Time will tell whether or not the advice was any good, Mitya. You did your best, what more can you do but try? What more can any of us do? Doesn't seem like enough though. Do you think if it had been others of our company 'blessed' with life quasi-eternal, that they would have done better?"
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Robin had taken Fred on the bus which let off right in front of the convenience store. Along the way, she'd pointed out pertinent landmarks of the city, giving a brief narration for any questions that she might have had. Although Robin's home turf was the Fens, she'd been born in the city and knew at least the path off of the bus lines fairly well. The area had grown steadily depressed as they moved from the more affluent areas towards the water and the Fens itself. "You just pull the cord when you want the bus to stop at the next place," Robin said in undertone as she did just that, giving the cord a firm tug. With a grunt of acknowledgement for the driver, Robin hustled Winifred off of the bus and into the gloomy parking lot. Swinging her backpack down off of one shoulder, she fished around in it for the 'costume' such as it was that she wore. Coming up with a pair of worn t-shirts, Robin pulled her jacket off her shoulders to tug the thin t-shirt on over the layer she was already wearing. On the breast of the grey t-shirt was a red bird in flight. As she shouldered her jacket back on, she waved, "Hey, Riley. Weren't waiting too long?"
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Robin's grey eyes darkened, although not with the fear that most sane people probably would have displayed. But then, Robin's sense of self preservation had already been a conversation point. She stood up from her bed and crossed over to Winifred's side to ease down next to her in companionable silence. The springs creaked slightly under Robin's weight with the bed shifting. Waiting until the breathing had slowed to a more measured pace, Robin finally broke the silence. "It doesn't real get better but it stops catching you off guard after a couple of weeks. Shifts from a sharp, startling pain into more of a dull ache." Robin offered, her voice very gentle, "It's sort of like... carrying a weight around. You've always got it with you but the muscles you use just sort of get used to the added burden. They always say that the talking makes it better but I haven't actually found that to be true." Robin blinked those sad, grey eyes once and offered, her voice still quiet, "Do you want me to get you some water?"
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"Flatterer," Talya stopped, tugging on his hand to pull him to a standstill as well. A small smile curved her lips upward and she leaned in to press a soft kiss against his mouth once he'd ground to a halt. "I am a world class thief, a competent spy and an experienced fighter. You are better with a weapon than I am and banter about my ego and its many fine qualities aside, I can admit that. If that's something that you'd like to share with me, I have little doubt I would benefit from the tutelage. I certainly will enjoy the experience regardless." Talya gave his hand another light squeeze, stepping back from him on silent feet as she slanted him a faint smile, "I understand what you mean. It's not unlike my desire to use deception to protect you lot with my lies. A lesson shared might spare me an ounce of pain down the line even if you can't be there." Her eyes twinkled then, her lips quirking upwards as she added, deflecting with a touch of humor from her own emotions, "These are going to be shirt-optional lessons, aren't they?"
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GIVEN SMARTY PILLS BY HGM Psyche Edits Raise both Int and Wis to 36 each [8PP]
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"I know what you mean," Talya said with bemusement, "But no. She's a young superheroine. A magic user, ironically." Talya's susceptibility to magic was a closely guarded secret but Dimitri knew both the origins of her immortality and had certainly seen the reaction when Talya didn't bob and weave fast enough to avoid an errant spell. She gave a little wave of her hand, "But I'm not helping with any of that, don't worry. I'm sticking to the punch-block-kick sort of skill set primarily so there is little fear that I'll end up roasted during a practice session gone wrong." Probably. "I'm taking her to Blackstone to visit her parents in the near future. I'm debating what sort of baked goods to bring my fan club. Any thoughts? Maybe olive-bread. No one actually likes olive bread do they?"
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Talya's lifted one shoulder in a lopsided shrug, unrepentant in her teasing, "My batons are a real weapon, thank you very much. I suspect that you might just want to show off. I might be in your arena for hand to hand but with an actual blade, you're in a league of your own. It is far more appealing to watch you trounce other people than to be on the receiving end. I'll land right on my ego," she added, the words dry. "Besides, I can't compress a sword down into its handle and strap it to my thigh under a ballgown. The weapon has its limitations and unlike some people, I have only what limited tools I manage to hide about my person to draw on. The question is, really, what do I get out of letting you school me with a blade?"
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"I'm good with people of all ages. That was, if you might remember, ever my role to play," Talya pointed out with a weary sort of truth to her words. Still, despite the lingering melancholy from earlier, her mouth curved in a faint smile. "I'm the charming spy, you're the ice monster, and almost anyone who might remember otherwise is so much dust." She reached out to catch a trail of frost on her fingertip from the last letter of his name, letting it turn to water droplets against her skin. "You're going to hurt yourself if you kick any higher, old man," Talya teased him, injecting levity back into her voice deliberately, "And it's a 'she'. I am teaching her many things but also violence, yes. Violence is a useful skill set. Eventually, though, I'm going to teach her how to pop locks open. At least the basics. Everyone should know the basics!"
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"Blunt force trauma rolls off the tongue the easiest though. It's the most fun to say. It's also the sort of damage that both Min and I do in general. Coincidence?" Talya parried back as she pointed out with a grin of her own. This time, Talya's grin was downright wicked as she delivered her double entendres, "But yes, I didn't mean to exclude the others. I am utterly aware of how fond you are of your sword, and personally, I am very fond of the way you wield it. Still, you have to admit that both the women in your life are prone to bludgeoning their opponents even when given the wide variety of methods at their respective disposal. You might be in touch with all the various sides of mayhem, but I think you might just have a 'type'." She laughed and turned her attention towards the path once more, her smile still mischievous, "It can always be both sweet and funny. I'm generally in favor of 'both' in almost all scenarios. Greedy, I suppose. I have certainly been accused of it in the past."
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Talya's heels clicked on the floor as she stepped in to follow Dimitri before pausing at the threshhold. Reaching out to steady herself against one wall, her palm flat against it as she balanced on one leg to start unbuckling her shoes. They were lovely, really, but stilettos were unkind to wooden floors. She fumbled with the buckle once before slipping it off and the other followed suit. Once she'd pulled them off, she padded after Dimitri on silent feet, her shoes dangling from crooked fingertips. "Upstairs? They have two little girls, under the age of four. I am winning Eden over with my ability to replicate an 'Elsa braid' in her hair slowly but surely," Talya provided as she turned to watch his reflection in the mirror. Gesturing upwards with one hand she added, "I find I actually enjoy the teaching. There's a teenager who comes for private lessons that I'm growing fond of as well. I may very well have finally gone soft in my dotage, Mitya."
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"It's a generally dreadful show," Talya agreed, as she tipped her chin up to meet Raina's gaze. "But, it does point out that height can be an asset really. I know it's hard to believe - people have gotten so much taller over the last century - but when I was a young woman, the average height for men was right around my height, actually. You can use it to your advantage. Peering at people imperiously works even better if you have the height advantage to it." She tapped one fingertip to her lips before adding, "You've done yoga before, clearly. Was it more of a mandatory thing or did you enjoy it? What about dancing?" Talya asked as she cycled through enjoyable activities that might get Raina more comfortable with her longer limbs. "As to the long hair, I imagine its a combination of practice, grace and occasionally braiding it out of the way."
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Talya's directions had them parking well away from the school. The racy sportscar was more suited towards the life that went with the high end apartment building than her West End activities so she never parked it in the same place and never close to the school. Walking wasn't exceptionally onerous, after all. When she stepped out of her car, she pulled a different jacket over the top of her blouse, modernizing the pencil skirt enough to distance it from the tailored retro style she favored in public appearances. As Talya's quick changes went, it was relatively minor on the spectrum of what Dimitri had seen before as far as Talya's efforts went. There was no wig and only very minor make up and clothing adjustments. He was well aware that there was probably no less than four or five very different disguises in the trunk of her car. She threaded her hand through Dimitri's parka covered arm, her Russian still flawless despite the definitely loose swing of her hips and the roll of her steps. She wasn't sober, but it would take a discerning eye to notice such things. Talya put on a very convincing facade of sobriety, aided by the fact that she could probably still scale the building in her heels and narrow skirt without missing a step. Fortunately, that wasn't necessary as she fished a key out of her pocket to unlock the closed door to the front of the dojo, "We ought stay down here. If the girls are asleep, I don't want to wake them." Talya said as she opened the door and then locked it behind them, "But, I can show you where I'm spending my time, nonetheless. You can tell me what you think of the very minor addition I made."
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"So I've seen, yes," Talya agreed with another one of her sidelong smiles. She wrinkled her nose at his use of her phrase, a gesture that Erik didn't often see in her usual aristocratic expressions, for good reason. Usually, she tried for an air of elegant aplomb and nose-scrunching didn't really fit that persona. "Why do I suddenly have a feeling that I am going to hear that slip of the tongue echoed back at me every time you feel I'm being recalcitrant?" The question was clearly rhetorical and she tipped her head against his shoulder. "It would be weird, except I'm fairly certain that your 'language of love' is blunt force trauma to potential threats. It's alright, clearly we are compatible in that arena," Talya's response was husky, laughter in her tone. "Misdirection has always been my first and best line of defense. So 'Natalya Browning' lives at her high-end apartment. 'Rebecca Danvers' owns a house in Hanover. I'd have crafted a full on additional persona to work at your dojo and share your bed but instead I have only the very thin veneer of 'Talya' who comes from Nebraska and enjoys knitting. It's a very paltry persona. It's not quite 'but she doesn't wear glasses. How would she see?' but its not all that much better. She doesn't even have an address, technically. It's very thin, you see? But, if you find it sexy, I'm sure I could enhance it into something passable..." She trailed off, her voice a mixture of suggestion and laughter.
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"If you can do it with your hair, then I've probably done it. Rag curls and pin curls both though my hair is naturally curly. It turns into a rather tangled mess if I go to sleep without doing something with it. Min, Erik's wife, has hair down past her ankles but she spends far less time fussing with it before bed than I do. Maybe a braid and then done," Talya offered, the words cheerful as she watched Raina run back and forth before stepping forward. "Hold on a moment. You've got natural balance and the heels aren't tripping you up at all. That's lovely. We'll be done early with the sprinting which I'm sure will make you pleased." She came over to stand next to Raina, and watched her for a moment, "Just had your last big growth spirt, hm? Ever watch that show... what's it called... America's Next Top Model? The one with all the fainting and the arguing and maybe sometimes half naked pictures?"
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"I know what you mean," Talya agreed with one of those rare, sweet smiles she reserved for more intimate moments. "It isn't so much that I mind talking. I've yet again leapt into something without overly much forethought. Well, that's not entirely true, I had nothing but time to think while getting drug hither and yon by a Danger. I'm all in, Erik Espadas, but I am woefully out of practice at 'genuine'. I know it's nothing more than an eyeblink to the lovely Min, but I have decades of practice weaving complex deceptions upon deceptions. Every time I volunteer a tidbit, it's punching right through any number of cover stories that are the primary protection I can give your family." She shrugged, shifting the pot a little higher on her hip with the gesture, "It's counter intuitive to the way my mind works to strip it away, even though I can intellectually recognize that it's somewhat necessary for any actual intimacy. I am rather lousy at it in practice and generally need prompting for what is reasonable to want to know. I don't mind the prompting. You're not going to hit a topic that turns me stone faced and full of brooding angst if that's what you're concerned about it. I save my maudlin for nights that involve drinking to excess." Talya added the last with a small grin.
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"One's coloration does limit the potential hair colors. Personally, I look dreadful as a redhead. Makes me look sallow." Talya agreed as she stepped back to give Raina enough room to practice once more. "Though, I prefer wigs to dye when its a short term arrangement. Any chemicals and the curl is much harder to straighten into more tame-able waves. Be grateful that you were born after 'crimping' as a fad. Now there was a truly atrocious style." Leaning her hip against the wall at the far end, she gave a brief beckoning wave, "No, not all afternoon. Just a bit in the low heels. I imagine you'd like to take both pairs home with you today so that's our goal. If we reach it early, well, less running for everyone and we'll move on to something more entertaining. Lady's choice, even. I'll let you choose between the options since today is an 'off' day in our schedule."
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"We can do that. You'll have to tell me what appeals more to you, chatting with those that are pleasant company but have dubious morals, or taunting the truly reprehensible ones. I know both in Blackstone, really," Talya offered, letting her hand fall away and keeping her tone carefully modulated between interested and not overwhelming the teenager. Too much and she might erode the very fragile trust she had started to build. Fortunately, Talya had both practice in this sort of thing as well as the time to not rush the matter. "I'll contact your school to arrange the matter. I knew your headmistress's father so while I can't say as we're on the best of terms, she's not a stranger either." She took one step back then, letting Raina reestablish her space and diverting her attention to the side to the younger girl a chance to reestablish her barriers. "They're allowed pictures, you know, in Blackstone. If you want to take a few of yourself, they'd probably enjoy having them. You'd best avoid any place markers of where you're staying as you can't trust that other inmates won't see them." Whether or not Raina's parents might also not be trusted with that information lurked in the back of Talya's thoughts but she kept it from her features or tone. She didn't know enough to judge that - yet, but she was very careful to not voice any of those particular reservations. It was possible, after all, that Raina's parents were both good parents and bad people. That wasn't actually impossible. Talya had just never been blessed with an optimistic world view.
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Talya fell quiet for a moment, watching his profile. When he finally spoke again, a small smile flickered across her features, "You'd have gotten on with my sister more than Daniel. He got unbearably stuffy later on. He was generally scandalized by my antics. I have a box full of letters in my garage full of consternated outrage spanning decades. Taking up with a married couple would have been utterly beyond the pall," Talya said with some bemusement. She leaned against Erik's side, squeezing his hand lightly, "It's alright, you know. Being the last one left is a little melancholy sometimes, but Agnes and Will died a long time ago and the other two had very long, full lives and left behind children, grandchildren. Great-grandchildren. That my immortal life is juxtaposed with their mortal ones doesn't lessen either. It's additive. Especially if you subscribe to the notion that no one truly dies while their memory lives on." Her shoulder bumped into his then, the gesture affectionate, "I have photographs, if you'd like to see them. I keep those sorts of things at my safe house in Hanover. Its where I keep the possessions that I don't want to have to discard if one of my residences is compromised."
