Line of Sight (IC)

[GranspearZX]

Magic isn't supposed to have this much math in it.

Comprehension wasn't exactly Marcus's strongest trait. Reading even the most basic of his mother's books on the subject of magic and rituals required him to actually buckle down and pay attention, and doing so during his free time was taking its toll on his social life. It didn't help that he was 'the new kid', and that only made him want to draw into his shell that much more. Still, as difficult as it was, it was still fascinating to know that this sort of thing even existed... despite the tragedy that accompanied the discovery of his magical heritage.

Still, he felt a little bit out of place. Sure, he was a big bigger and stronger than the average 16-year old, but it wasn't completely unheard of. Just the day before, he could have sworn he'd seen someone pass through a wall. It was amazing and incredibly weird, and it made him miss his non-existent home. On the other hand, it was an opportunity to move forward and become something more. Despite what his parents were, the prospect of becoming a hero in his own right was always at the forefront of his thoughts--if for no other reason than to find his mother and make her explain everything.

He hadn't realized that just the thought of anything besides the book in front of him had made him stare off into space; he could tell that it was getting him a few stares from other students passing through the quad. Marcus sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. This is gonna be a long, long day... I can already tell.

[Aoiroo]

It was good to get out of class. That was probably decidably the most normal thing about her and this school. It wasn't that she didn't like class, or didn't find some things interesting, but it was increasinly tedious as the days passed by. There were so many things she'd just prefer to be doing for a lot of the time they were in class. Sleeping came to mind, but there were also the books that she picked up at Cross Roads. The magic on this plane was very interesting, though she knew she probably couldn't preform it, some of the rituals were really quite pretty, like poetry. Nothing she had could summon anything dangerous as none of her texts were inherently evil or made with such an intent, she knew this well, intent was after all key when appealing to creatures of another plane.

Making her way out of the office building and through the quad she inevitably had her nose in one such book and didn't bother much to look where she was headed as she counted the steps. Moving quietly she would of missed him if not for a faint hint of his presense in her perifial vision. It took only a second but she noticed and stopped to look again. With a more thorough look she took a few seconds to think of her next course of action. It was rather interesting what she saw, it was sort of like Yasmin, except of course a bit less colorful. Given very few can compete with Yasmin in that department. Unlike Yasmin, he seemed to have a foci, which was similar to Corbins but still very much different. She couldn't see it through his clothing of course, but it seemed to be somewhere on the back, which seemed to be getting gradually closer. It wasn't long before she had noticed that she had in fact put down her book and walked almost the entire lengh of the quad to this person and was now only about a yard and a half from his very broad form examining his back. It was probably a rather peculiar scene, given people always found her peculiar, especially her means of dress.

Still there was some slight awkwardness of coming this close while sort of not realizing her own approach but it faded as she glanced over to the book set in his own hands. From her vantage point she could only see the bottom cover from her vantage point and could not make an effort to peer over the tall shoulder she instead decided on a direct approach,

"What is it that you are reading?"

[GranspearZX]

Marcus's book looked more like a journal than a textbook; it had no cover and the print was small. The only pictures in it were diagrams, lending even more incredulity to the idea that he might actually be reading it. Nonetheless, it had his full attention, so much so that he was muttering to himself even as Etain managed to sneak up on him. He was completely oblivious to what in particular she was staring at; he was largely ignorant of why he could do the things he could do, and her presence came across as general curiosity rather than focused specifically on the mark on his back.

When she spoke, it didn't startle him in the strictest sense of the word, but he visibly tensed, one hand curling around the book's edge in an almost defensive manner. He managed to stop himself from having a knee-jerk reaction, recalling what Mr. Summers had told him before--there was no need to feel threatened, not here. He took a deep breath and a steadying exhale, glancing over his shoulder as he set the book back in his lap. He blinked a few times at the way she was dressed--he hadn't seen anything quite like that outside sepia-toned photos in his history books.

"Oh... um... hi." He glanced at his book for a second, then back at her. Given what he'd seen over the past few days, magic seemed less and less strange; what would it hurt to tell her what it was? "It's a book that used to belong to my mom. Ritual magic, runes, alchemy... that sort of thing." Marcus could tell she was curious; he wasn't entirely sure how to interpret her interest. ...I'm probably thinking WAY too hard.

"I'm Marcus, by the way." He at least had enough manners to stand up, tucking the book under his left arm before offering her his right.

[Aoiroo]

He seemed startled by her approach, but probably only because he seemed so focus on the book he held in hand. She was glad that he did not jump up immediately, the simple difference of size might of knocked her off her if he had accidently knocked into her. Taking a step back she gave him a smile and a once over, he was rather broad and had a good bit of height on her, but not nearly as much so as Corbin. Her eyes drifted from him to the book he held at his side as he explained it's origin. Her smile held firm as he offered his hand and gave him a gloved one of her's in return which was rather dainty looking in his larger grip,

"I am Etain."

She gave it a short shake before letting go and turning back to the book,

"That is interesting, what language is it in?"

The book had a more muted aura, like it was more theory then active use. Maybe if she looked, she might find the spell that matches what he has on him. If anything, it would be interesting.

[GranspearZX]

Marcus was well aware of his size in relation to other people; he often didn't know his own strength when he wasn't paying attention. He couldn't help but give her a somewhat appraising look as she shook his hand; outwardly she seemed like a regular, if unusually dressed person. Most people didn't think twice about the fact that Marcus's Blades jersey looked a little bit too big. He had a VERY good reason for that, however. Clothes were expensive enough without his other form ripping them apart.

"It's in English, mostly. I haven't even tried to read the gibberish towards the back..." The thought had crossed his mind to let her have a look at it. It couldn't REALLY hurt anything, and despite his own secrets, he had to trust someone. That and he had to give her points for approaching him at all. Holding out the book, he shrugged, not at all worried about temporarily parting with it. "I take it you know a little bit more about this kinda stuff than I do..." It was a little embarrassing, admitting weakness like that, but it was true. All he knew about magic was that he was capable; his father had told him that much. Both their powers were magical in nature, though Marcus's were considerably tamer than Richard's. It scared him a little to think about what his father's form actually looked like back when he couldn't control it. Marcus , at least, was born with his.

[Aoiroo]

She noted the jersey size, but it was not an unusual trend, given there might of been other reasons based on his abilities. Looking at the book as he talked she was even more curious as he handed it too her. She flipped through if for a few minutes, it really was quite organized. The way it was written was things were more broken down into steps and principles about what it would accomplish then went into actual runes. Near the end there was her favorite part, the actual incantations in neat little latin writing.

"It is very nice, she must of spent lots of time on this."

Flipping back through the pages she moved to the runes until she find the one that resembled the bit of energy, she pointed at the page,

"Do you know what these are?"

[GranspearZX]

"Not a clue." He shook his head, frowning a bit. "My dad gave it to me before I came here. I guess I was supposed to get it on my next birthday or something, but... stuff happened." 'Stuff' like his house being raided by AEGIS. Just remembering that night threatened to send the heavy set teen backsliding into an irritable mood--not exactly the sort of first impression he wanted anyone to have of him. He sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck with his right hand. "But yeah, my mom was pretty well-versed in the stuff. I'm pretty sure the got a lot of that from other books; kinda nice to have it all in one. In fact, I think she made this."

He reached into his jersey and pulled the pendant out from beneath it. If nothing else, Marcus had never even considered taking it off--and surprisingly, it didn't choke him when he transformed. Not even Marcus was quite sure how that was possible, but that was part of the reason why he was searching through his mother's grimoire--so he could figure it out.

He tilted his head a bit, not entirely sure how to broach the subject of her accent. He'd never heard anything quite like it; he didn't grow up around anyone who spoke--or dressed--so formally. "...where are you from, by the way?" God, I hope that didn't sound rude...

[Aoiroo]

"It is a very nice gift."

Looking through the book a bit more as he talked, she more or less ignored any emotional response such questioning might of brought about. However, her eyes shifted almost instantly when he brought out the necklace. It was probably the only thing that could of immediately had her put down the book. Reaching out she cupped it gently in her hand and examined it quietly,

"Magnifica est."

It was a very finely crafted amulet which took the shape of a single very well thought out and powerful rune. It was, like the book a gift of great time, practice and persistance and the magic contained was steady and reliable so as not to fail at a moments notice. She could not say she knew anybody but highly skilled artisans that could make a match to the protection it gives.

Taking into account that she was holding it for a few seconds, or that she had slipped into her native tongue she didn't answer the question given to her immediately. In fact when she realized that there was a question, she needed to backtrace to remember what exactly was asked,

"Ohh, I am from a place like this city where there are lots of interesting people, though it is much more fickle in a lot of senses."

[GranspearZX]

"Uh..." Marcus blinked as she touched the amulet around his neck. Wow. No concept of personal space... Just her being that close made him uneasy. Still, he didn't immediately pull away, letting her examine it; clearly she was seeing something he wasn't. He had a suspicion that it wasn't just some random charm, and Etain had only further confirmed it. In fact, she seemed to know more about just on arbitrary examination than he did. He would've been lying to himself if he said it didn't make him just a little bit jealous.

"So, ah... does this place have a name?" He smiled faintly, reaching for the leather strap on his book and hauling it off the ground, slipping it over his shoulder. "Not that you don't have to say if you don't want to, I mean. Just curious." Marcus understood more than anyone the need to keep things to oneself sometimes... Nevertheless, he saw no immediate reason not to ask.

[Aoiroo]

"Yes, it has a name."

She was no longer gripping it but her eyes still lingered on the necklace before the moved up so that she may meet Marcus's gaze,

"I have been asked not to say anything so specific of it however, and there is nothing more specific to a form then a name."

Looking down at the book, she started to skip through back to the runes. Moving through it she found the page she was looking for and pointed at a picture of the rune that matched the necklace. She started to put her finger on the line as she read through the process and meanings quietly before she looked up and compared it for a few seconds. It was with this, she looked decided that she might want to ask,

"Do you know what runes are?"

[GranspearZX]

"...I see." Instantly, Marcus dropped the subject. It would've definitely been rude to press the issue any further, and he was never the nosy sort when it came to other peoples' business. He let her take the book again--it wasn't as if she was going to steal the thing, after all--and watched her flip through the pages like it was nothing. Just what was she seeing that he wasn't? Jealousy gave way to genuine curiosity, and if she could help him understand just what was going on, both within himself and with the magic was supposedly inherent to him, then what was the real harm? The pursuit of knowledge, especially when progress was being made, always had a profound effect on him. He smiled broadly as she searched and stopped on a specific page, and it faded a bit as she suddenly quizzed him.

"Ah... hm." He paused for a moment as it started to come back to him; it took him a moment to remember. "Runes are... well... the language of magic, I guess. Specific symbols that have a meaning or effect or... something like that." Marcus frowned at his own lack of articulation; he knew what they were but explaining it made him feel awkward. It was why he never asked questions or raised his hand in class--and probably why his grades looked so terrible in subjects he was struggling with. The answer itself sounded right, although it wasn't word-for-word what he'd read in the book.

Maybe I ought to find a ritual in there that'll make me smarter.

[Aoiroo]

She listened to response and found something a bit off. Thinking back, she let out a sigh,

"I am sorry, my English is weird. I did not mean all runes. Though you are right, they are language given power through meaning. They are also symbols so they can be used with only a single meaning instead of many like incantation."

Pulling up the page she pointed at a rune that matched the pendant on the end of his necklace,

"Do you know what this rune is?"

[GranspearZX]

Now that was a much easier question; he'd read enough on the rune he was actually wearing to know what it was for, inside and out. "Sure. The Shield rune. It's supposed to be pretty basic though. It's used to protect someone from harm. Physical or otherwise... It's not absolute, though." Marcus couldn't help but be a little bit impressed with himself. After all, this time last year he didn't even know magic existed... and then it turned out that both his parents were pretty well versed in it--his father a more physical type while his mother was... well, not.

Part of the page was, however, in Latin: more advanced applications of the Shield rune that referenced several other runes. It strung several runes together to create quite a few barrier-like effects. It went on for several pages, building on earlier references in the book about rituals and magic circle arrays to describe applications to protect and ward entire buildings--things far beyond Marcus's level of comprehension for the moment.

"I don't REALLY know how it works... I haven't tried it, and I don't really do anything to this to make it work. It just sort of happens on its own."

[Aoiroo]

"Yes, that is right because it is active always."

Closing the book she handed it back to him,

"It is interesting, it does not need a spell, or a motion. It just is protecting always, as for it being imperfect, it is not so imperfect as it is perfect for certian damage."

Without much of a word a small knife appeared in one of her hands. She didn't move very quickly she just took it and pushed it towards the amulet.

[GranspearZX]

"Whoa, hey!" He reared backward as he saw the knife--when the hell did she have time to pull out a knife--and he reached to grab her wrist. To say he was agitated was an understatement, and he had to actively fight his first instinct--to change forms. She pulled a knife out to test the amulet, he assumed... Still, it was a weird thing to do and he'd never known the amulet he was wearing to stop physical damage; he'd been in one or two situations where that would have certainly been nice. For a brief moment, his brown eyes brightened into a distinct, crimson hue before settling back to their normal pigmentation.

"Somethin' tells me that's not the way to test how magic works."

[Aoiroo]

The sudden movement surprised her, but what surprised her more was the flare up of the magic. Instinctively she tried to take a step back only finding herself unable to because of his grip on his arm. Her eyes were rather large as the flare seemed to be pushing to expand and let out a sigh of relief as it was pushed back down by the will of the owner. Looking at her hand, she glanced at the knife then the person and realized that the situation required an apology,

"I am sorry, sometimes I forget that many people cannot tell."

The knife faded from her hand quietly,

"It was not a knife so much as a construct of my magic. Against a real knife, the rune would not of protected, against a magical one it would of simply shattered it."

Looking at her wrist, she let out a breath,

"May I have my wrist back?"

[GranspearZX]

The rune had, in fact, expanded to repel the knife. It made him pause as she explained herself, and suddenly he felt incredibly stupid. He almost didn't realize he was still holding her, and the moment she said something he immediately let go, mortally embarrassed. "Oh god... Sorry, I didn't mean to... ah... crap."

He frowned as the knife faded away; magic really was a lot more than his fragile mind was prepared to deal with. His head was throbbing a little bit from having to hold back his transformative reaction, and he rubbed at his temples with the middle finger and thumb of his right hand. "I'm... really not used to his 'magic' stuff. I can barely tell what's real and what's not anymore. I don't even get how you made that appear out of nowhere."

[Aoiroo]

She rubbed her wrist quietly at the boy started to get flustered with himself, but she met him with a smile,

"It is not your fault, I would not of been doing my magic correctly if you could."

Closing her hand she opened it to reveal a small yellow bird that flew over and landed onto his shoulder. It rested there and chirped quietly it's weight full and suple and it's little claws digging into the shoulder of his shirt before flying back and landing on Etains hair and turning into a bud that bloomed and then died disappearing into nothing.

"My magic is very hard to distinguish because I have done much practice, it feels real certianly but it is not. It is very different from the magic you use and the magic in the book of your mother."

[GranspearZX]

Etain's magical demonstration had Marcus's full attention. It was surprisingly subtle, and he smiled a bit as the bird landed on his shoulder. It felt and looked pretty real, but she explained that it wasn't. "Well, there's really only one thing I can do magically, and even that's not perfect."

He wasn't even sure if he should show her his bear form. It wasn't some debilitating secret, but he wasn't exactly certain if that sort of display was appropriate at Claremont. It wouldn't have been the first time he'd seen someone using their powers out in the open, but if nothing else, Marcus Irons was a modest person. Mostly, anyway.

"My dad says it's a lot like his... very physical. No tossing fireballs or conjurin' wind gusts. That's more like my mom's thing... or so he says."

[Aoiroo]

He seemed a bit sheepish in the wake of her showing her own magic, but it did not surprise. She enjoyed using her magic, though she did not do so as often as she used to it was fun to create something to be seen and more so. When he spoke of his magic, it seemed he was a bit more awkward with it then she was with hers.

"Alternate forms are very physical, that is how it is different from my magic. Your magic, it is very interesting. Though if you want to learn more magic, you might want to learn Latin because lots of books use it."

Reaching into her bag she produced several of the more basic spell books she had been reading,

"There is a shop that is good for magic books. The owner is very helpful, and she has lots of artifacts like your pendant."

[GranspearZX]

"I guess it was silly to think that this would be easy. Just, y'know, wave my hands and make stuff happen..." He smiled nervously and nodded slowly. The whole conversation made him consider that he was, perhaps, trying to start a little bit too big. Learning Latin seemed like an excellent start. The idea of a magic shop that was more than just symbolic trinkets caught his attention as well...

There was also the off chance that she knew his mother. He wasn't really aware of how big or small the magical community was, and the thought of people finding out the exact circumstances behind his enrollment at Claremont scared him a little. It was one reason why he never took that pendant off--apparently, it was designed to keep people from reading his mind, as well as keeping him safe from more obvious magical effects. It was a risk he would have to take, however.

"I guess this shop would be a great place to start... where is it?"

[Aoiroo]

"Nothing is ever so easy when one just starts, and some mages can create with gestures, but it is a skill that requires great practice. I do not require such things for my magic, but that is because I focus heavily on one art, though it took a very long time to master as I have."

To be exact, by earth standards it was probably something like a century ago, though for her it was maybe nine, ten years. Not that she had the exact number,

"It is good that you have the book to help you too, it is very detailed."

When he inquired about Robin's shop, she had to take a second to think about it. She had done some mail order after her initial visit since Ms. Fowler seemed very reluctant to take her again,

"It is in the North area of the city. One moment."

She put the beginner books back and pulled a much larger book with a title that suggested it was only in Latin. Folded between one of it's pages was a piece of paper. Pulling the reciet out she quietly skimmed before seeing the address at the very bottom with the heading name Cross Roads and showing the paper to Marcus while pointing at it,

"Here, it is at this place."

[GranspearZX]

Good lord, how many books does she have?

The difference in experience was light night and day. Marcus, of course didn't know a thing about Etain apart from the fact that they were both students at Claremont, but he still felt as if he was a little bit behind. Ignorant of his magical heritage, he felt like it was someone's fault. Whose, however, was much more difficult to say. There was no use in blaming anyone though... all he could really do was move forward.

"Thanks," he replied with a smile, looking at the address. The place seemed more or less familiar. He'd been on the north end of town before. In fact, he seemed to be spending a lot of time there in recent weeks. Committing the address to memory, he adjusted the strap on his book, repositioning it on his shoulder. "I'll probably check it out tomorrow. In the mean time, I should probably get somethin' to eat; been at this all morning. You're... ah... welcome to tag along."

It occurred to him that he didn't have many--well, ANY--friends at Claremont. It seemed like an appropriate gesture, considering how much insight she'd given him.

[Aoiroo]

"Lunch then?"

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a brass pocket watch,

"It is about that time. Where would you like to go?"

She didn't have any class for a little while so, and she had already been to a couple of places that were near campus that she liked. Though that was mostly an effort to avoid the campus cafeteria. It probably had good food, but the amount of steel throughout the facility made her incredibly uncomfortable.

[GranspearZX]

"Cafeteria's probably closest," Marcus mused aloud, "but I've seen a couple of places near here I wouldn't mind goin' to."

He raised an eyebrow at the pocket watch, and his right hand grazed his pocket to make sure he had his phone. It wasn't as if anyone was going to call him, but it was nice to have, just in case. Brushing himself off, he started the walk off campus, stuffing his left hand into his pocket. "So... how long have you been here at Claremont?"

It occurred to him, even though he'd been invited to attend and his parents were miraculously able to afford his tuition, he didn't really know much about the school. He felt a little bit like he'd been dumped there--but it was still just a stop on his journey to find his mother and make her answer for everything.