Eros Ex Inferni
Chapter 2: Interrogations (Redux)
Tags: Skimpy Outfits
EDIT
A.N.)- This chapter has been revised to be less SI-focused.
Things… tasted weird.
It was the main thought as I chewed the sandwich.
Not bad, but… weird… and different.
The meat had… layers of flavor that the basic meat and cheese shouldn't have had, a chewiness that wasn't chewiness, that was like the very air itself…
"Jacob…?"
"Mm?" I looked up at Aurora, finding her lavender eyes almost unable to meet my own across the cafeteria table. Still in that fetish-outfit passing as a school uniform, with so many other attractive women in similar around us. And here I was in pants, a long-sleeved shirt, my leather jacket over the back of the chair.
Aurora brushed her brilliantly colored hair behind her ear, "I-..." The gorgeous asianic woman trailed off, looking at the table.
I sighed, giving her a little kick under the table, "Words."
She huffed, "I was going to ask what you wanted to do now!"
"You say that like I know." I didn't
quite snap back at her, but it was a near thing, "I... Rory, I barely even know where I am, what the rules are. You're a witch?"
She cringed briefly, "A sorceress."
I gestured uselessly, "What's even the difference? I legitimately don't know. Is it a grade? Is it a metaphysical difference? I don't even know what I don't know! You've got extremely advanced tech, obviously, but also magic! I just…" I slumped into the seat, holding onto the sandwich with both hands, "... I don't know what to do next."
"Jacob… I…"
"Oi. You two are supposed to be big-brainy types right? Put those big brains to work an- Hey!" Imeúre batted away the napkin ball I'd tried to peg her with, scowling at me with rose-colored eyes, "What's that for?"
Despite my urge to snap at her, I restrained myself, "Ease up-"
Without any hesitation, the Hispanic-seeming Imeúre swatted me upside the head, "Then don't be pissy."
The noise I made was probably somewhere between a snarl and a growl, but the smaller woman was unphased, "This sucks. Yeah. Piss and moan once you figure out what you need to do."
"Not be here?" I snorted.
The school's cafeteria looked like some strange cross between cyberpunk and fantasy tavern or restaurant. Large wooden tables scattered about the large room, lanterns hanging from the ceiling beams, but a neon glow ringing each table and the bar along one of the walls. Dappled daylight streamed through the windows, patchy from the heavy cloud cover.
The scarlet-haired athlete slugged my shoulder, "Don't be an ass."
I threw up my hands, but kept a tight hold on my sandwich, "What do you want? What needs to be done? Like, now-ish? Do I need to set up where I'm going to sleep? How I'm going to eat? How am I going to sustain myself? Are there any rules I need to know-?"
Aurora's voice was soft but stronger than it had been, "Jacob."
The head of steam that I'd been building up sputtered out, and I slumped in the seat, "Sorry. Just… I don't know."
Rory's pale hand eased across the table, hesitating just before reaching mine. Half-considered thoughts, frustration, and more flashed through my head, but I turned my hand over, and her fingers found mine, squeezing my hand gently. "To go in order:" She murmured, "Sorceress is a grade of spellcaster based on the number Natures one has achieved First Circle Mastery in. You can share my dorm. I doubt any of the girls will seriously object. My scholarships will cover our food for a while, though we'll need to find a source of income to cover both of us in time. We'll go over what skills you have to see if there's anything you're well suited for, and we'll have to go through some tests to determine your Principle affinities."
"Oh god," I groaned, "I can fucking hear all the capital letters of the proper names I'm going to have to learn."
There were some snorts and giggles from around the table, several of the girls that I'd had so much fun with only a few hours ago had gathered around the table. The blonde and the brunette hadn't joined back up with Aurora and I when we'd left Etheria's office…? Tower? The black haired beauty, L-something, Jasmine, and Imeúre however had. The pink haired beauty had wrapped Aurora up in a tight hug when they'd met up with us at the base of the tower, holding her tight for a while before the dark haired one had suggested lunch. Everyone had gotten something or another, though Imeúre had already finished her small meal and was pacing beside us.
My… girlfriend? Fuckbudy? Tormenter? She snorted, shaking her head, "It's not that bad. Only if you try to learn everything all at once."
"I have twenty formative years of catching up to do." I countered with a look.
Planetos? Realms? Ascension Harmonics? Claiming? Principles? Natures? Witches? I didn't even know where to start...
"And clothes to lose," Imeúre noted, looking me over.
Unlike the few guys I'd seen so far, I didn't have assless chaps, wasn't shirtless, or any other number of skimpy, slutty, or outright sexual clothing types. The guys were just as bad as the ladies, but thankfully expanses of skin on guys didn't turn my brain off the way cleavage or a set of lady abs did. And I was pointedly
ignoring the (amazing) cleavage on display by Aurora, the underboob by Imeúre, or the fact that the pink-haired one had forgone a bra and gone with a particularly see-through version of the top. Jasmine, I think? God, I was bad with names.
I cringed, "I'd… rather not?"
"Why not?" Imeúre asked, legitimately confused as she indicated my jacket, "You're not hot in those things?"
It was warmer than Florida in the middle of winter… but that was
Florida in the middle of winter. It felt like sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit,
maybe seventy. This was comfortable jacket temp, let alone pants, the idea that I might be hot… let alone hot enough to go in the amount of clothing they had was… weird.
"... not really?" My mouth worked silently before I said, "Honestly, I'm not sure how
you're comfortable. You look super cold."
Imeúre looked down at her modest bust and tugged on the tiny sports bra that covered it, giving it a tug before her rose-colored eyes lifted back to me, "Why? I'm plenty covered. Heck, this is a
lot for me," the mocha-skinned woman grinned, "You should see my combat gear, now
that stuff is brief."
I coughed, images flashing in my head as heat surged to my cheeks. Images of this very woman from last night, absolutely nude.
Aurora spoke up, her hand squeezing mine hard as she shot a small glare at her friend, "Imy."
"Whaaat?" Imeúre asked.
"His planetos is a lot more conservative than ours," Aurora chided, her hand pulling from mine to point at her friend admonishingly, "You know that."
"Yeah," Imy waved a hand dismissively, "But they strip at home right?"
"Some," I admitted quietly, shifting in my chair, the mention of stripping bringing to mind what Aurora had done last night. No, not the time. "But not
that much. Your
uniforms are basically fetish-wear where… where I'm from."
Imeúre shook her head, "
Weird."
There wasn't a good response to that, not when I was still trying to figure out what to do. So I just stuffed my face with the sandwich–
"And where
are you from?"
I very nearly jumped, and several of the girls at the table
did at the sudden interruption from outside the group. I made an inquisitive and inarticulate noise given my mouth was full of the strangely tasting sandwich, and turned in my seat to look at the source of the male voice.
Okay, goddamn, now that's unfair.
I liked to think I looked reasonably good, but this guy was male model levels of hot, I couldn't have pegged his equivalent ethnicity any more any more than I could've Commander Shepard's, just generically hot and tanned skin, with a button-up shirt open down nearly to his naval, chiseled… everything, strong jaw, smooth skin, nice black clothes, and an overcoat and… that looked like a badge on his hip.
… also unfair.
Panic surged in my chest, but I did my best to keep a lid on it, "Ah, originally not here?"
He was decidedly unimpressed, not surprised but what did he expect?
"Sir Inquisitor!" The girls all straightened, but I couldn't see more of their body language from my position trying to meet the taller man's… golden gaze. Goddamn.
Oh, and Inquisitor. Of course. That sounded bad. Did that sound bad? It definitely sounded bad. The quiet din of the restaurant seemed to have faded or become hushed.
His golden eyes snapped to her bright purple ones, "Aurora Glacies, correct?"
"Yes." She'd stood from her seat, the chair nearly knocked over in her haste to greet the taller man, "Ser…?"
"Isao. I'm here about the incident earlier today." He said simply, his voice deep, strong jaw, clean shaven, the guy wouldn't have looked out of place on a runway or movie screen. His outfit was almost solid black, the only exception being a bright red plus sign on the left side of his shirt that wrapped around the entire thing. The only other splashes of color on the man were his choker with another red cross on it, and a pair of mismatched but understated earrings.
Despite trying not to flinch or cringe, my cheek twitched at his words. There was only one incident that he could be referring to, and from the way his eyes flicked, he hadn't missed it.
Aurora, still across the table from me, had stood, her tone praising even as her body language screamed wariness, "You are quite diligent in your pursuit."
"We seek justice throughout the entirety of the Observatory." Isao took a step closer to the table, close enough to the back of my chair that it was awkward to even look up at him.
"It's… rather admirable." Aurora said, her eyes locked on the Inquisitor as she inclined her head, "Though the school is capable of handling any complaints…?"
I made to shift so I could at least look at the man, but his large hand settled on my shoulder, arresting the motion. Heavy, Isao's grip was firm, but a glance up the length of his body told me that his golden eyes were on Aurora's. It was a power play, one that I didn't fully understand. "Otoshiko threaten the stability of the Observatory, especially one that has proven violent."
An angry response bubbled up within me, but I clenched my jaw so hard it hurt. Shut up. Don't talk. I don't know what's going on, not really. Don't lash out.
I could almost see the grinding of Aurora's teeth as she bit her tongue before speaking, "Ascension Harmonics' representative deliberately provoked us, and had our Otoshiko known about sanctioned duels and had the authority to do so, would have done that instead."
The Inquisitor's response was simple and piercing, "And yet, the Otoshiko did not."
"Given… that Ascension Harmonics refused to assist in the returning of the Otoshiko and their deliberate provocations, I decided to keep him with me until a solution could be found." Aurora said, her voice calm and controlled despite her hesitation, "Their conduct did not give me reason to believe they would treat him appropriately."
What? The...
flavor of the air had changed.
"While the school has earned the trust of the Templar Order in its handling of internal issues, this is about the complaints of Ascension Harmonics and the Otoshiko you brought with you." Isao's hand squeezed hard enough to make me cringe, and I could hear Aurora's sharp intake of breath even as the pink-haired Jaz made a small strangled sound. "You signed a waiver that any violations of Observatory Sanctity were your own and not the fault or responsibility of the company."
As he finished the statement something… changed? Aurora's body language subtly shifted, and there was a gleam to her eyes, I could feel the change in Isao's grip on my shoulder. A mistake? Aurora wasn't
smiling, but there was something there… "Yes, we did. A waiver that said the responsibility of all Otoshiko are mine and mine alone."
Yeah, a mistake. I could almost
feel the undercurrent, 'You can't take him from me.'
In spite of that, something about the flavor of the air changed, turning darker, "It would be within my remit to bring you in and confiscate your Otoshiko."
Rory didn't
flinch, but there was a little twitch in her cheek, "My family would be concerned–"
"The Glacies family are subject to the same laws as any other under the jurisdiction of the Templar Order," Isao said, not quite aggressively, but there was an edge to his tone.
"It's– I…" Aurora rocked briefly, but her lips pressed together, and she said the next bit like laying down her ace, "It'd interfere with my studies."
How the hell would that…? Isao's hand on my shoulder twitched. Something? The hell was she doing that was so important? His tone had changed, closer to the calm he'd had earlier, "Ascension Harmonics will demand recompense for the damages incurred."
Aurora's lips pressed into a thin line at that, "I understand, and will submit to the authority of an appropriate royal conclave when the time comes."
Isao's hand on my shoulder shifted slightly, and I could see him shaking his head in my peripheral vision, "A breach of the Observatory, the bringing of an Otoshiko, these are pan-Observatory offenses and not the purview of any single Planetos or Empire."
"The only reason that the Otoshiko is still here is because Ascension Harmonics refused to even
consider assisting in the resolution of the problem." Aurora countered, bristling, "Even when I offered to pay the exorbitant costs that would've been involved. While I'm without a doubt the cause of the incident, he is only
still here because of their deliberate lack of action."
"Be that as it may, their failures are their own, as are yours."
"Hey!" Imeúre snapped, having approached from the side, "I thought this was supposed to be an investigation not- some… ah…" She slowly trailed off, shifting in place awkwardly.
I still couldn't see him from this angle without craning my head in an awkward and obvious way, but he spoke with the same calm power, "There's significant evidence both in the Packet House and Ascension Harmonic's storefront. The crime was never in question. Only the sentence and character of those involved."
"You-!" Imeúre half raised her fists, a snarl on her face.
"Will
not be rendering judgment. It is not my job. But I will be making my report to the Chaplains for review." His hand tugged on my shoulder subtly as he shifted, and I found myself looking up at him, his
very golden eyes boring into my own, "Do you have anything to say, Otoshiko? I doubt your assault was any more legal on your planetos."
My mouth worked wordlessly for a long moment, and I couldn't hold his gaze for long… but with so little… so out of my league… Quietly, I admitted, "It isn'-...
wasn't." The silence hung in the room, the sounds of the kitchen echoing, as well as the hushed murmurs of the other women in the room… but at this table, it was deathly still. Softly, I said, "When you're begging for your life, and the only person that can help you is treating it like you're trying to return the wrong piece of candy…" I swallowed past the lump in my throat, "You make mistakes."
Once more, Inquisitor Isao was silent, his hand resting on my shoulder… but the flavor of the air had changed. I couldn't bring my gaze up, I couldn't bring myself to regret hurting the asshole receptionist, I
was ashamed of how I'd lost control and gone too far. And even without regrets, what I'd done wasn't
right. Isao's hand withdrew from my shoulder.
A soft noise drew my attention as his coat shifted before he reached past me to set something on the table with a clinking sound, "You'll need these." His hand drew away, revealing his choker and one of his earrings, "Turn it inside out. And
don't give me a reason to see you again."
Isao turned, beginning to walk away, but my mouth started working before I'd even thought it through, "Wait, what-?"
"You don't speak any Observatory languages, Otoshiko. You'll need translation magics." Golden eyes met mine again, "I doubt you will truly deserve the sentence that will be given. So stay out of trouble."
And with that, Isao turned and walked away, heading towards the door, the other girls in the room giving the tall, dark and handsome man a wide berth.
It was only once he was out of the building that one of us spoke.
"... the fuck just happened…?"
Actually, I think I said that.
"You almost got Templars dropped on our head is what happened!" Imeúre snapped, whirling on me, her eyes almost wild, she nearly threw up her hands as she began to pace again, "Fucking- there goes that-! What was I even thinking- just 'cause of some quality dicking-"
"I don't even know what that means in context!" I fired back, pointing the sandwich at her angrily.
"They're a pan-Observatory organization–" Aurora started to say.
I threw up my hands, only barely holding on to my sandwich, having nearly forgotten it in the… let's go with excitement. "What even is the Observatory?"
The quiet clink of a fork getting set down just a
tad aggressively on its plate was loud at the table in the ensuing awkward silence. The pale, dark-haired friend, the one with a lot of make-up and had been really dominant last night, had stopped eating her salad, name was an L-something, tersely saying, "Maybe one thing at a time would be better dear."
With a cringe, I looked down at the table, cradling my sandwich. "Sorry." My eyes ended up resting on the choker and necklace the... Inquisitor? Had left. An Inquisitor. Templars. What a mess...
Aurora nearly fell back into her chair, brow furrowed and blowing out an angry breath, covering her face with her hands as she murmured, "Fuck."
"What the shit is even that?" Imeúre snapped, throwing up her own hands, "All this 'You're in serious trouble' shit and he just…
gives him stuff?!" The smaller hispanic looking redhead paced like a caged predator by the edge of the table. "The hell kind of Inquisition is that?! What, does he have some sort of 'give me stuff' sign over his head or something?"
Jasmine coughed delicately, pausing in eating her steak, "Well… sort of? His virtlay is blank of icons after all, it's sort of like a child's…?" The rest of us at the table looked at her in confusion and surprise, causing the gorgeous woman to fiddle with her cutlery, "Ah… he also tones of sweetness… it's… sort of adorable? Maybe he, um, felt sympathy…?"
More proper names. Of course. Of fucking course. A little, strangled noise of frustration escaped my throat and I shoved the sandwich back into my mouth to keep from just, I didn't even know, saying something stupid?
"Or pity," Imeúre muttered, arms crossed.
"Imy." Aurora chastized the redhead–
"Rory," the dark-haired one, Lilian I think? She nearly slapped down her fork once again, interrupting the asianic Aurora, "Him being here is worse than if he'd
somehow gotten you pregnant!"
"And it's even worse for him!"
"If you insist on babying him, your life is basically over."
"Like his is? And it's not like we've been arrested."
"Oh? With how many fines they're likely to slap on you? You might as well have."
I didn't even know what to say, or do, or... anything. It took far too long to force down the frustration bubbling in my chest. Lashing out would help no one.
"And what am I supposed to do? Just leave him?"
"He's
otoshiko–"
"Because of us!"
The dark haired one frowned, "Aurora-"
"It's the right thing to do. It doesn't mean it'll be easy."
"You can't be a headmistress while caring for an otoshiko." Lilian countered, "You might not even be able to finish your degree with those fines."
Aurora's face soured, "I… it'll be rough. But it's our fault, it's our responsibility, it's our
duty. It's
doable. My scholarships won't cover it, no, and my family might not either, but we can make money. Etheria will be covering room and board, that means we only have to worry about getting an income."
Imeúre slowly nodded, "Yeah… yeah! There might not be a ton of stuff you can do yet without a guild certificate, but Explorator and Hunter stuff is always available! I mean, we'll have'ta repurchase your weapon or get you a new one or whatever, but we've got a good team for it already." There was a little grin on her face, "And I mean, I get it'll be a bit of a pain since you wouldn't bring one to a party, but we've got some good mystic artisans, we can make a better one!"
I blinked, "... wait, what? Weapon?" Aurora and Imeúre both paused at that, looking up at me, even the quiet pink-haired Jaz giving me a confused look. I glanced between the two of them in equal confusion, "... what?"
"Crap." Aurora actually paled slightly before scowling, impressive given her already monitor-glow skin-shade, "I hadn't even thought of that."
"What?" Came the sound from the rest of us at the table.
"No weapons," Rory said, her lavender eyes locked onto Imeúre's rose-colored ones.
Imy gave the bustier Aurora an incredulous look, almost laughing, "... wait,
seriously?"
"No monsters." Aurora explained, eyes darting about across the table, mind obviously racing as she muttered, "No reason for them."
"What-?!" Imy recoiled, "Really-? I thought they just-"
"Wait." I held up a hand, getting the attention of the pair, "Wait wait wait wait wait. Hold up. Monsters? As in a constant problem sort of monsters despite you guys clearly being advanced as hell?"
"Yes. Ki-beasts, thaum-beasts, and psi-beasts, you're
here so it's not a big deal but to make money without any certifications…" The woman that'd brought me into this mess bit her tongue, pinching the bridge of her nose as she let out a frustrated, angry noise, "Nnngggh."
I gesticulated uselessly in frustration and confusion, "Why the fuck are they a thing when you've got gunpowder?"
Imeúre rolled her eyes, "Some of them are bulletproof,
duh?"
I suddenly felt
very tired despite it probably only being like 10 or 11 in the morning, slumping in the chair and the sandwich settling in my lap, "... fuck."
The redheaded hispanic looked sheepish, "Ah… um… it's… not that bad…? I mean, I'm sure we can find something for you to do that isn't harvesting tokens from monsters!" She gave me a thumbs up with a clearly forced grin.
"Like that'll–" I started.
With a clack, the dark-haired friend nearly slapped down her cutlery, standing and grabbing her cleared plate. Aurora looked at her cautiously, "Lilian…?"
"I won't help with this."
Rory stood, "Wh- wait-"
"I can't support this, you throwing yourself into hunting over an otoshiko. I'll be there when you're done with this." And with that, she turned and walked away.
"Lilian-!" The gorgeous Aurora reached out for her, hesitating when the woman didn't turn around in her move to place her plate in the appropriate receptacle. By the time Lilian walked out of the door, Aurora had slumped back into her chair, staring after her friend.
Her eyes closed as the door to the cafeteria did, her lip quivering as she took a slow, shaky breath.
A mess of emotions boiled in me, anger, frustration, a sadistic satisfaction, and more that I couldn't identify… and yet I still reached with my leg to gently press my boot against her own shoes. Her breath hitched, and her lips twisted, dancing between a scowl and a smile. Jasmine wrapped her arms around Rory, and only a moment later Imeúre's hand joined the rest on Aurora's shoulder.
With a sound that could've been a sniffle, Aurora smiled, wiping her eyes with her knuckles. "Right. Samantha and Rylee?"
Jasmine laid her head on Aurora's shoulder, "Rylee would probably help, but she's in a cooking storm right now. Samantha… I'm not sure…"
Imeúre shifted awkwardly, "I don't think so. You know how traditional she is… and Otto here…"
Aurora chewed her lip briefly, taking a slow breath, softly saying, "Thank you." Another slow breath from her before she blew air between her lips almost like a horse, gathering herself up and finally opening her eyes, "Alright. Jacob."
"Mm?"
"Listen, everyone is taught how to use a weapon or weapon set to cover both close and ranged combat, most of us use Spell Primaries, though Imy uses a Psi-Primary, Spell Secondary– don't worry, I'll explain." She'd raised a hand, cutting off my cringe at the resurgence of terminology, "The supernatural works off of the Three Principles, Life, Thought, and Energy. Our first course of action is to figure out what you use best and double down on it. Imeúre, Jasmine, you two will know better who to test his qigong and psionic potential…?" The two of them shared a glance before nodding at her, "Can you please set up an appointment with those? I'll handle his thaumaturgical testing today and try to figure out how to crash course how our world works."
The pink haired bombshell cradled Aurora's head and placed a strong kiss to her friend's lips. I had to stuff the sandwich into my face in order to keep from coughing or making any other sound at seeing two such gorgeous and scantily clad women kiss, even with context. Jasmine broke away, a gentle smile on her face, "I'll ask around."
Aurora smiled back at her as if the supermodel had only given her a reassuring tight hug and not a full-on kiss, looking up at the shorter but standing Imeúre.
The hispanic looking redhead squeezed Rory's shoulder, and it almost felt like something else passed between them that I couldn't see, "You know my mom. I'll have to do some convincing."
"Thank you two. Again." She nodded and looked to me, "Jacob."
"Yeah…?"
"Listen, grab your sandwich. We've got
testing to do."
While I listened, picking up the sandwich and standing with her, I had to ask, "... should I be concerned that you sound
excited about that?"
"Maybe a little," Aurora said with an actual grin.
'Bitch.' I couldn't help but think affectionately as she led me out of the cafeteria/restaurant we'd stopped in on the island, dropping off our plates and silverware much like how Lilian did before heading out into the town itself. Imeúre and Jasmine parted ways from us only an instant later, each giving Aurora a quick kiss before heading off towards… I
think that's the direction of the bridge…? I'd been spaced out too heavily to keep track.
A light touch from Aurora's hand on my back drew my attention, "Ready?"
"No." I admittedly bluntly before indicating her with my sandwich, "Lead the way."
For just a moment, her smile was brittle, but she drew herself up and started to walk through the moderately crowded streets. And so I followed as she began to talk.
"Listen, all power flows from the sun. And all power strives towards it."
I followed after the asianic woman, trying very hard not to stare at all of the surprisingly attractive people we were passing. It reminded me of a large university or convention, with 'cosplay', elves, orcs, and more, people walking around with backpacks, briefcases, and books, like that orc in a super short pencil skirt, heels, and a midriff-baring suit jacket. Instead, I focused on the stupidly short skirt and accompanying full rear of Aurora.
… still turned my brain somewhat off, but at least I… think I still had 'permission' to look? It felt less creepy at very least. And less weird. More…
grounded. She was 'just' a super attractive woman that I'd had sex with.
… just. Right. Ugh.
"The supernatural operates on 3 Principles, which each have 3 Natures." She explained, ticking them off on her fingers, "The three Principles are Life, Mind, and Energy. The third one is the most contentious, as it's argued that it's Soul rather than Energy, while others think that Soul is actually a summation of all the Principles and–"
"Rory." I interrupted desperately, immediately recognizing the 'this is super interesting' rant starting to form, because
I'd done that so many times. In spite of my frustration, I couldn't help but find it adorable, "Please.
Simple."
She cringed briefly, "Right. Sorry." Gathering herself back up, she continued as she turned a corner in the little… town? Would it be called a college town? College island? Who knew? Was it more a university? It was something something for Archwitches after all… "The three forms of supernatural all utilize the two spiritual energies," she paused in our walk, turning to face me and holding up her hands, above one an extremely dark liquid condensed from thin air, a wobbling little sphere hovering as if in zero gravity. It was such a dark purple-red that it was almost black, and thick, almost like molasses. "Echo dollops." She raised the other hand, and a brilliant spark of light snapped into existence, hovering an inch over her palm, just the slightest hint of yellow at the edge of the white light, "And solar motes."
If there'd been any doubt in my mind about this being supernatural, that was long gone as she let both of those fade. There's sleight of hand, and then there's shit like that.
Something must've shown on my face, because Aurora smiled gently at me, gently touching my arm as she started to walk again, and I gamely stuffed my face with the sandwich. It still had that weird not-taste that I tried to ignore.
"The Nature of Life is to Cultivate, to Connect, and to Consume." Aurora continued as I followed along, "Its use is most commonly known as Qigong, and the abilities associated with it known as Feats. It utilizes dollops of ki to fuel its feats."
Wait, was that a
'virgin killer sweater'...? Stop it. Focus. Focus on what Aurora's saying.
Focus.
Completely ignoring the fact that I think that chick we'd just passed was completely topless. I think
I was getting more weird looks than the dude in a speedo and open button-up shirt we'd just passed… "The Nature of Energy is to Transform, to Harmonize, and to Bind. Its use is known as Spellcraft or Thaumaturgy, and the abilities associated with it are known as Spells or Wonders. It utilizes motes to fuel its spells."
"The Nature of the Mind is Expression, Insight, and Control. Its use is known as Psionics or Psychotronics, and the abilities associated with it are known as Siddhis. Different siddhis utilize dollops or motes in varying amounts, some only requiring one or the other."
"Is… is it a light and dark sort of thing?" I tried to ask an intelligent question, but it felt… weird…? Like, even as I asked it, it felt wrong, that and my brain was still fuzzy. Aurora gave me a strange look, mildly confused. I shrugged, it was half-assed anyways, "The dollop was dark…?"
She smiled slightly, shaking her head, "
All power flows from the sun. The Genus Solaris provides all the power for the Observatory. Dollops are, technically, an extremely refined form of motes, but in the way that uranium is the same protons, neutrons, and electrons as hydrogen." At my slow nod, she continued, "All power seeks to reach for the sun, but reaching greater heights with each Principle is different. Spellcraft is like building a tower. Qigong is like growing a tree. Psionics is like climbing a mountain."
That made me pause, and I had to just stuff my face again, down to near the last of the sandwich. That… huh…
"To reach higher in spellcraft, you have to have strong foundations, building upon what you had before. Shaping your soul into a form able to withstand the strain. If you don't, it will all come crumbling down, like shaking a house of cards. Trying to cast magic beyond your skill level risks your entire magical ability. Greater skill is like having built elevators in the tower or having reinforced the supports such that even intense winds can't bring it down." She tugged on her top absently, tongue sticking out in thought for just a moment before she nodded, "It's building spell programs hooked up to your soul that utilize the ambient mana and spirits for various tasks. It's the most like coding a program to use at a later time."
"Your specialty…" I trailed off, looking at her, remembering one of our first bits of conversation.
Aurora blushed, glancing away as she walked, brushing her hair back, "That's why I knew about that stuff, yes."
She gave her head a little toss, her hair waving as she did, "Regardless, listen. To reach higher in qigong takes time, effort, and care. You have to tend to and cultivate your ability, make sure basic necessities are taken care of, trim excess debris, and ensure rot doesn't set in. And in time, you will be able to climb the tree to amazing heights. While it's a struggle to reach higher, if you've cultivated your tree properly, you can make it easier to climb by having branches in key spots, or knots in appropriate places, or crooks where it's easy to rest. But you can't just change it on the fly, and you can't cultivate and care for it properly without climbing up and down the tree. It's building up your spiritual growth to interact with the immaterial realms directly. It-... there's not really a good coding metaphor that I know of… um…"
"It's okay." I said with a little smile, "I doubt I can do that anyways, what with the whole 'time' part." I'd intended that to be more… dark humor or something, but it came out forced. I cringed, "Sorry."
We finally stopped in front of a building, and Aurora paused to reach out towards me. I let her take my hand, enjoying the soft feel of her skin against mine– and she pulled my hand between her breasts-?!
I squeaked and nearly, and Rory almost snorted, shaking her head gently. She gave my hand a squeeze, even with it in the valley of her breasts, "It's alright. Both the bad joke and touching me."
"I-" I shrugged, trying to ignore the tightness in my pants. The building we'd come before was the same strange mish-mash of fantasy, medieval, and sci-fi. It had the same, exaggerated peak to its blue tile roof as the rest of the buildings on the island, standing at least five stories tall. A tower with a larger building around its base, the joking 'penis shape' of a building… which given what I'd been seeing might be intentional. A pair of pillars flanked the door on either side and unlike the city we'd arrived in, there weren't any blazing neon lights on the outside, just the same, muted, sky blue as most of the others here. I looked back to Aurora's lavender eyes, finding the asianic woman still smiling gently at me, and I muttered, "Sorry."
She brought my hand up and kissed my knuckles, "It's okay. Come on."
Still holding onto my hand, she reached out with her other hand to swipe it by one of the pillars, and the door opened inwards. Magic or tech…? She didn't have anything on her hands… But Aurora gently pulled me forward and
put my hand on her ass-?!
I bit down on any noise or reaction I might've had as the gorgeous woman started to talk again, "Spellcraft and qigong take some time to build up, but psionics, you 'just' have to try harder." I could almost hear the air quotes as she wrapped an arm around my waist, leaning against my side as she led me through a brief lobby. "You explore your abilities, reaching farther and learning more about what you have available to you, but you never run the risk of losing your powers."
The gorgeous woman paused in front of the receptionist, "I'm going to need an examination room."
I got a weird look from the receptionist, this one another woman with an extremely low cut top and… an actual pointed witches hat, if a small one. "Alright Aurora, room 104 should be open." She handed Aurora something… except… her hand was empty…?
And yet Aurora grabbed the thing, like one of those make-believe games…? Magic? I guess? Something at very least. Ask later,
focus, at least a bit. This stuff might… be the only thing I have for my… new life. "What's the catch?" I asked, more sourly than I'd intended, even though it was hard to maintain a serious level of anger when a gorgeous woman was pressed up against you and had put your hand onto her ass.
"Instead? You're risking your life." She said dryly.
I rolled my eyes,
there's the frustration again, "
Perfect."
Aurora's arm squeezed around my waist in what was meant to be comforting, and damn it, it at least mostly worked. I just stuffed what was left of the sandwich in my face as she continued, leading me through the halls. "If you go too far or too long, your body and mind will slowly be torn apart by the strain, much like how you can starve, or die from exposure or any other number of hazards while exploring an untamed mountain. You
have to return to baseline. Greater skill is like having better hiking equipment, knowing how to survive in the wilderness, and having more supplies. It's adjusting your perception of reality and hard-code hacking it."
That sounded complex as hell, honestly. I mean… what sort of setting had ki, mana, and psionics?
"Spellcraft can only reach slightly higher than one's immediate skill but is far more consistent and easy to do once you've established a skill as your own. It also has the most esoteric range of abilities and the most tricks." She actually sounded proud of that, not quite like she was preening, she seemed too professional for that, but she was definitely favoring her own… thing? Principle I think?
I'd barely even noticed the hallways and people we'd gone past, there were some people moving about, but it reminded me of walking around in a medical building in a university during classes. Some people in the halls in 'normal' outfits, but in genera–… wait, was that a
slutty nurse costume…?
"Qigong can reach out more, but it's a risky proposition, and use develops it to be easier. It's the simplest in practice, people rarely have more than three or four truly different feats they can perform. But their focus normally gives them greater raw power, and it is the most common method of reaching superhuman traits for mortals. Psychotronics, on the other hand, are a struggle every time you use them, but their upper limits are almost unknown and are often more versatile."
That'd been a slutty nurse costume. I don't even– What sort of mad world was this? Scrubs were in use for a reason–!
I yelped, Aurora having pinched my side with her hand around my waist. "Jacob."
"Sorry-!"
"I'm not going to wear that for this." She said simply, as if it was a big departure from her even briefer 'schoolgirl' uniform, "Those uniforms are for more invasive work."
"Literally the opposite of what I was thinking," I muttered. She gave me a strange look, and I shrugged, "Like… that seems super impractical…?"
Lavender eyes blinked before she winced, "Right, no magic."
"I do
not see how that follows."
Aurora shook her head, "That's… a more complex topic. And I'm trying to keep things simple."
"Simple's good." I agreed.
She waved her hand in front of the door we'd come up to, causing it to open.
"Well, in the most simple sense. You
cultivate your Qigong. You
build your Thaumaturgy. You
discover your Psionics."
Looking at a room that wouldn't have looked out of place in Star Wars or Star Trek set off "And what are we doing now…?"
"Nothing much."She said with a small smile, "Just some basic tests to determine your magical potential."
