Meet the Neighbors (IC)

[Raveled]

The streets of Freedom City were chill as November descended on the city. Cross' Roads was doing a brisk trade, as people stepped out of the chill just to warm their hands for a moment. Robin was glad of it; she'd been closed almost constantly for the last week, doing her part against the tide of undead, and with the current trade at least she wouldn't lose her lease on the space. At the same time, going toe-to-toe with a loa had been draining, and she wondered idly how to herd everyone out long enough for her to grab a catnap.

The door opened again and Robin turned to the new customer, forcing a smile on her face. "Greetings," she said. "Is there anything I can help you with, today?"

[Aoiroo]

Ms. Cynthia had just returned that evening on plane. Though the airports had been very busy the convienence of a private jet made it so that Etain did not have to wait long for her to get off, Mr. Franklin apparently had some business so it was in fact just a drop off leaving the two of them alone. Etain had not had a very pleasant past few days. She had helped a lot with identification and evacuation but the images of the foul magic still linged in her head, and Ms. Cynthia could see that she did not seem to well. Etain was tempted to go home and sleep but found that a bit hard lately because of how much what she had seen influenced her dreams, so Ms. Cynthia decided on alternative plan, a shopping day for the two of them.

It was late afternoon now, and both of them had several bags in each hand, most of which were just stuff from a crafts store Etain had picked out so she could make some winter outfits. It was apparently going to be really cold soon, and Ms. Cynthia had suggested it. Now it was less about shopping and more about browsing, which was a first for Etain in this part of the town and there were several interesting places with very interesting things set up. However, one almost instantly caught the corner of her eye and then completely filled her gaze,

"Ohh, that place looks very nice, can we go there?"

Ms. Cynthia smiled but that dropped as she examined the place, she didn't show it easily though, and instead looked at her watch,

"This whole time, we haven't eaten yet. Why don't I pick up some food at one of the chains down the road and meet at the front in a half hour, sound good?"

Etain nodded her away her attention still on the shop as she picked up her skirt and started to head towards it.

Opening the door, she heard a bell but her eyes didn't go upward as they did everywhere. This place wasn't like anywhere else she had seen in the city, even places like Claremont where she saw several people who also used magic. Magic seemed to be everywhere in this shop, it moved and covered every surface, and it did so in great variety. It took her a second, to register when someone had spoken, her eyes moved to that person who showed herself fully capable immediately of inhabiting such a place. She didn't know what to say exactly, it wasn't fae, but it was still familar, and the nostalgia brought a great comfort with it so much so that she spoke on instinct,

""

[Raveled]

Robin didn't miss a beat when her new customer started speaking in a dead language or at her odd phrasing. The smile on her face shaded into something more genuine, though, and she half-leaned on the glass-fronted counter top. "" She gave the other woman a sly sink. "" She stood upright, placing her hands at either end of the counter, silently inviting examination and comment.

The space inside the counter was divided into two levels by clear glass shelving. The largest item was on the bottom and occupied its level all alone. It was a bird skull, the bone yellowing slightly with age, and fully three feet in length. Other than its size, there wasn't anything remarkable about it. On the next level up were a few objects, each set off from the others.There was a deck of cards, unbound and loosely stacked, apparently entirely mundane; a smoother, black hand mirror in a steel setting; a small human skull, roughly made of unglazed ceramic; and a coil of white rope that might've been made from nylon, expect for the thread of silver woven in and out of the braid.

[Aoiroo]

The birds skull was interesting, as was the mirror but none were objects Etain would of wanted to look at for two long. The tarot cards might of been useful but she had no talent for divination. The rope however was rather interesting if only because of it's rarity,

""

<Well at least silver unicorn hair is>.

Looking up from the case she gave the woman a smile,

"I am Etain, and I am very new to the city. Also, I am very much interested in magic."

Reaching into her bag she didn't have many things that were magical that she kept on her, she didn't want to lose them afterall. Still she reached in and pulled out a plain white domino mask that seemed rather inconspicious,

"I am curious, what can you tell me about this?"

It was a rather simple test, she already knew the woman had magic, that it was very strong but it was fun to play such games on occasion. After all, the mask was very special and it always had a rather fun result if someone were to try it on.

[Raveled]

Robin examined the domino mask, leaning forward but pointedly not reaching for it. She opened her senses all the way, easily sifting out the energies of the mask from the ambient magic hanging in the air. She took a moment to ring up a customer, putting a baggie of polished stones and several differently colored candles in a paper bag and folding over the top. Returning her attention to Etain and the mask, she spoke. "It's of fairy make," she said. "I'd stake my reputation on that. It's got plenty of glamour hanging off it, but that's no surprise. Some of its power is directed inward, so at a guess I'd say it projects some kind of illusion, based on the wearer's thoughts or emotions." She cocked her head and shifted her gaze to Etain's eyes. "You aren't showing me a fey-made mood ring, are you?"

[Aoiroo]

She smiled quietly as she heard the explanation,

" 'mood ring'."

The last part was in English because she was not sure how it translated.

""

She maintained her smile as she glanced down at the mask.

[Raveled]

Robin eyed the mask, still not making a move towards it. "A fey-made mask that reaches into your mind? With all due respect, I'm going to pass." The sorceress resettled her feet and threw an eye around the tore. "So is there something special you're looking for? What I've got in stock is pretty basic, but if you give me some time I can get whatever you need."

[Aoiroo]

She frowned a little but shrugged and tucked the mask away in her purse. Glancing around the store as well she wandered around,

""

She glanced down at the stuff in the glass counter again, she looked at the mirror around it, but never directly into it's reflective surface. Then she went to the deck of cards again.

"

[Raveled]

Robin opened the back of the glass case and lifted the deck of cards gingerly, holding the stack by the side instead of squeezing them together. She put the deck on the counter and cut it roughly half-way, laying this stack upright so Etain could see the faces of the cards, not just the design on the back. Surprisingly, they weren't Tarot cards, just a normal deck of playing cards. "These belonged to Harry Houdini himself," the sorceress said, "and are entirely mundane. But they are memorabilia -- and," she added, "there are folks who think they can summon the magician, using these cards as a focus." She rolled her eyes, apparently not too concerned with the idea of aiding necromancy.

[Aoiroo]

She quinted quietly at the cards and saw they were rather dull in contrast to the hands holding them. When the store proprietor spoke and confirm her suspicions she turned her head quietly,

"

She started to look at the pictures on the cards, they didn't seem much different then a deck she found in the lounge at Mr. Franklyn's house.

[Raveled]

Robin gave her customer a side-long look, trying to determine if this was some sort of obtuse joke. It didn't seem that way. A normal human should've known about someone as famous as Harry Houdini. On the other hand, if she was some kind of supernatural creature, then she should've been caught by the shop's wards. There was a third option, of course; a human agent for supernatural powers. But Robin didn't think that this woman intended to do her harm. "Harry Houdini was a stage magician," she said. "He used slight of hand, mechanical tricks, and psychology. He was famous for it, actually, but as far as I know he didn't use any actual magic."

The sorceress reached back under the counter and brought out the poorly-shaped skull. It was formed from unglazed clay, and there wre still fingerprints and tooling marks on the surface, the signature of either a hurried crafter or an inexperienced one. "This might be more up your alley. It's a single-use item, intended to disrupt magical energy." She rolled the skull in her hand; it fit easily into the hollow of her palm. "Just throw it at the ground and it'll explode. It's designed to be almost fool-proof."

[Aoiroo]

""

Reaching into her bag she pulled out a small notebook and flipped it open to reveal several scribbles in Latin. She took a few seconds and wrote down the name trying to think how it would be spelled. Maybe she could ask Ms. Cynthia about it when they met for lunch.

Finishing her scribbling she glanced up to look at the skull and examined it rather closely. It had a very faint trace, something you had to look for to find, but it was there. It could probably be concealed behind cloth or worn as an ordeament if someone really needed to use it. The description give seemed to match what she saw except for the last part,

""

She let out a light laugh as she looked at the skull,

""

[Raveled]

Robin smiled at the aphorism and shrugged lightly. "Never discount a defense," she advised, "but if that doesn't interest you, maybe this will." She replaced the clay skull and the deck of cards in the display case, drawing out rope. The sorceress laid out about three feet of it on the counter, the last few inches threaded though a gold ring. "Fey rope," Robin called it, running her hand down the length of it. "Made from braided unicorn hair and silver wire. Tie someone up with this rope, and they cannot lie to you -- but caveat emptor." The sorceress put one hand on the gold loop and muttered low, liquid syllables, pulling at the rope to reveal more and more length. "Nearly a hundred feet of rope," she said, coiling the new length in her hands. "Interested?"

[Aoiroo]

"

She looked over the rope turning it in her hand,

""

She stopped for a few seconds before realizing the conversation was getting to familar.

""

[Raveled]

Robin's posture grew stiffer at Etain's words. She didn't like her stock being compared to the stuff that was foisted on tourists. "I know a gnome," she said. "Technically, this is the rope fairies use on their hunts. I don't suppose the truth-telling effect is too useful when dealing with other fairies, but when dealing with mortals it can be an edge." The sorceress touched the ring in a certain place and the rope retracted swiftly; before long it was the same length as Etain had seen it when she came in the store, and Robin put it back under the counter. She waved her hand, indicating the rest of the store. "I've plenty of texts on theory, and practical matters for beginners, if you'd rather. And all my reagents are top quality." She stressed those last two words perhaps more than she should have, but that 'tourist' jib stung.

[Aoiroo]

""

She glanced around the story quietly as the woman suggested books on magic theory,

""

[Raveled]

Robin shrugged with one shoulder. "A number of elementary texts are in Latin," she said. "Almost of all of the practical works are. Some lingering sentiment about it being the language of learning, I don't know." The sorceress waved her hand loosely, as if batting the notion out of the air. "It can be inconvenient, you know, especially if you don't have a teacher. I carry a full set of books for learning Latin in your spare time." She locked eyes with Etain, staring the other woman down. "It can be useful at times, though. Almost anyone who speaks Latin fluently is usually a serious magical practitioner."

[Aoiroo]

Etain didn't look away from the stare instead she held her smile and said,

""

She turned towards the deck of cards,

""

[Raveled]

Robin eyed Etain for a long moment, but she didn't sense any deception from the other woman. It was a risk, but in the middle of her wards she felt safe enough. The sorceress retrieved Houdini's cards and put them on the counter. She watched Etain's hands carefully, alert to any sleight of hand. "I hope this isn't just a card trick," she said. "It's going to take more than some stage magic to wow a sorceress like myself."

[Aoiroo]

Picking up the cards quietly she looked through them then quietly and slowly shuffled them like Mr. Franklin had showed her before. She then placed the cards on the table in a neat row,

""

She waited quietly for the store owner to oblige.

[Raveled]

Robin gave the cards a long hard look before selecting one and examining it closely. It was the 7 of hearts, and the design was floral and actually rather pretty. Te centerpiece was a circle of thorns with seven flowers coming off it, and the numbers in the corners had thorns coming off them.

The sorceress studied the card, fixing it in her mind before returning it to the deck. She watched Etain shuffle the cards, the woman's movements slower and more deliberate than Robin would've expected for someone doing a card trick. It was surprising to see someone put such concentration into such a mundane activity. Things started clicking together in Robin's dead: the easy fluency with a dead language, knowledge of magic -- or at least magical items -- and her unfamiliarity with historical icons all pointed to someone out of joint with human time. Etain could be an immortal, a time-traveler, or something not human. In any case, she merited closer watching.

[Aoiroo]

As she had the cards in her hand, she waited a second and then when Robin said jump she tried to do the thing where the card was flipped in the air. It worked, but half the deck went with it, half of them went down onto the upturned boat that seperated the two of them the other went down onto the sand under there feet.

""

Taking a step back to gather the cards she was careful not to wipe away any of the lightly moistened sand as she picked up the cards and set them into the deck. Setting the deck on the flat and dry upside of the boat she turned to Robin and gave her a shrug,

""

[Raveled]

Robin tried to keep a smile off her face and was mostly successful, save for a twitch at the corner of her mouth. "Very funny," she deadpanned. And very neatly done, too, with no incantations or hand motions that the sorceress detected. She pressed her hands against the sun-bleached ruin of the boat between them and told herself that she could feel cool glass against her hands, not sand-blasted wood. "Bring us back to my shop, please," she said. Just in case Etain didn't want to cooperate, the sorceress readied her power and prepared to disrupt the illusion herself.

[Aoiroo]

Etain didn't hold back the smile as she examined the light twitch,

""

The scene faded and they were in Robin's shop much more as Etain started to unshuffle the deck neatly with her gloved hands.

""

Arranging the deck then lightly stacking it so it was a neat little rectangle again she held and handed it over to the store owner.

""

[Raveled]

Robin hesitated for a moment, then extended her hand across the counter. "You already know part of it," she said. "My first name's Robin." She glanced over the store and quickly broke off the conversation to bag a customer's order. "Be careful with levitation spells," she advised the customer, "or you'll have holes in your ceiling." She turned back to Etain. "So where did you learn your craft, if you can say?"