Managing Magic
6th of October 2006 A.D.
As you explain what you had seen Olivia listens in wide eyed silence. "My father
definitely does not know about any magic. He doesn't even believe in this stuff. Even I've tried to talk to him about it, he just trots out these studies about how I have 'imposter syndrome' I think it's called where I'm supposedly putting myself down because I think I don't deserve to be noticed, it's a mess. As for the rest of my family... we don't really get along that well."
Family trouble, it's always...
"Oh," she must have noticed the look on your face. "It's not anything bad, just hard to have a relationship with people who barely notice you're there most of the time, you know?"
Privately you still think that sounds sad, but it's really none of your business. The rest of the meeting is given over to explaining the Fourth and the Fifth Laws, not that Olivia does not know them of course, all the members of the Ordo Lebensis know the gist of the laws of magic, but if half of magic risks seriously infringing on them she is going to need a finer understanding of the matter.
"Do you want me to look at what,
who might have done this?" you ask in parting. "I'm pretty good at divination."
"Just you? Not Warden Dresden?"
"Harry's not..."
"Scary
to you," Olivia finishes. "Look I know you like him and he's good at his job, but people who get mixed up with get in trouble. I don't want that around my family trying to look for 'inhuman beings'."
"I've been around him and I'm probably..." you hesitate, not wanting to scare her away, but on the other hand if she's serious about fighting monsters she
aught to know. "I'm more scary than Harry. The things I can do, like back at Helen's, that's old, old magic that a lot of people are going to want a piece of."
For a long moment she is quiet, looking down the lane without seeing the people passing by. "You came to us on our terms, you helped. What does the Council do? They swoop in like they are the Illuminati in pointy hats, asking neither help nor permission. If you hadn't called us would he have done the same, or would Anna have found out from the rumor mill down at Mac's? Nothing against Mac but we should not have to find out the demon-vampires are in town from from a bar, even if it has a shinny sign up front. The community should have a say in how things are handled especially when we are in the line of fire. We have less of a claim to Warden Dresden's time than some guy who walks into his office and pays him to find his missing Billy Williams autographed baseball."
"The White Council
does pay him," you point out, though you do not add how much.
"But we are not paying wizard taxes are we?" Olivia stops, laughs sheepishly. "You really
must have dread powers from ages long past. Only way you could have gotten me around to arguing that I should be paying more taxes when I am already tens of thousands of dollars in the hole." At your curious, or maybe appealed look she just spits out 'student loans' like a curse.
But though it all you start to get the through-line of Olivia's reasoning. She had taken Anna's and Pauline's distrust of the Council further than either of them would, more than knowing when to duck and cover Olivia wants to be able to hit back to make her own safety and from the sounds of it she is not the only one among Chicago's minor talents who feels the same. There's the Alphas at the university the shen of Chinatown banding together. It is hard not to think of all the good they could do if someone could bring them all together and it is hard not to imagine yourself as that person.
As for the matter of Olivia's power she is fine with you discovering who had bound her powers with your 'weird magic'.
Do you use the Crown of Eyes to discover who bound Olivia's magic
[] [QUESTION] Yes
[] [QUESTION] No
***
Speaking of weird magic and its application, that evening you find Maria in the middle of what can only be deemed a cake emergency. Her catering company had canceled at the last moment because of flooding and no one would take an order for a wedding cake this last moment, at least not for any sane price. So you do the reasonable thing and offer to help.
"Are you sure...? Do you have cake magic? It's not fairy food right?"
The tone does not get any more confident when you start your preparations by pouring cooking oil in your head, but once you start to
move she's singing a different tune. Flour flies and eggs whip up a storm, mils is poured in perfect pearly arcs, sugar and almonds, chocolate and oranges, all are frozen backed and flambeed at just the right time. Granted the last tool did end in a silvery skull with the flames coming out the eye sockets, but by then Maria was not arguing. This would be the best darn wedding cake in the state if you have anything to say about it beside effusive thanks that make you feel a tad uncomfortable. It's not like it had been any great trouble on your part.
"I guess we can show the cake to Alex as proof of magic as well," she laughs seeing the thing tower in its full four feet tall chocolate-glazed glory. Her smile fades a little, worry shining though her warm brown eyes. "So maybe you can just fly around a little? That's the most obvious thing I guess..."
Do you have any suggestions for how to introduce to Maria's fiancee?
[] [REVEAL] Yes: Write in suggestions
[] [REVEAL] No, let her take the lead
OOC: Sometimes the lure of the Exalted is blatant and sometimes it is subtle, Molly does have max human leadership in addition to other high social stats. 
