Mmmm. "I think I'll go with Infinity Edge." The more you think about it, the more you like the name. It just seems to... fit. "Yeah, that sounds right." You reach over and rub Una's head. "Thanks." She leans into your hand a little like a cat. When you stop, you rest back into the seat, unsurprised when Una climbs over the sofa and drapes herself over your lap. You resume your headrubs absent-mindedly as you continue talking with Morgan. Most of it is just inconsequential things. What's your favourite food? Toad in the hole, whatever that is. When were you born? 03/02/1984. Things like that, you shared your own birthday and Una's, 7th of July and 15th March respectively.
Eventually your conversation turns back around to the Clocktower itself, while thinking about yourself as part of the Clocktower still makes the hairs on your neck rise, you've decided to firmly extend a wait and see approach. You don't think that they are going to screw you on this, but it's better to be sure that sorry, especially when something like Magic is involved. There were so many ways you could be getting screwed here that you just tried not to think about it.
Still, you decide to take advantage of the conversation being where it is to ask a couple more questions. "How long have you been working for the Clocktower anyway? It sounds like it's been always."
Morgan nods from her position, lying on the other sofa and letting her legs hand off of an arm. "Kinda? It feels like it's been forever, my parents are both Scouts so I just kinda assumed that I was a member until like, three years ago or so when I got officially inducted." She shifts down the sofa a little. "Well, I was being trained for the position since birth, it feels like. So not much really changed apart from me getting paid and getting sent on missions directly." She takes an awkward sip of her Tea lying down, it looks distinctly uncomfortable but she bends her neck to do it.
"Not that I really mind, being a Scout is pretty much my dream job and the benefits are amazing." She sighs comfortably when she rests her neck back. "Good money, excellent health service, travel the world, fight monsters, uncover secrets abound." She tilts her head to look at you out of the corner of her eye. "Make new friends." You bite your lip and glance away when she says that, when you look back, she looks a little disappointed but not really surprised. Honestly, she was the closest thing you'd ever had to a friend, but it still felt awkward to think of her as a friend.
Apparently you'd stopped petting Una, since she gives you a sleepy poke that gets you started again. Still, the quiet atmosphere is a little stifling now. Morgan helpfully changes the subject though, you are grateful that she is as good at reading social situations as she is. It makes this whole 'friendly conversation' thing so much easier when the other person understands what you are trying to say, even if you fuck up.
"Anyway, I was basically already a Scout but in name before. It didn't really impact my life at all." She sighs and sits up, apparently it wasn't that comfortable.
"What do you do when not Scouting then?" You were a little curious, she seemed to basically live her job. Which... wasn't bad if she enjoyed it, you suppose.
She hums as she takes a sip. "Not all that much? I mean, I exercise but that's mostly for the job. I like exploring but once again, on the job. I suppose I explore places when I'm not, but most of my free time is just chilling around base or training." She tilts her head as she thinks. "I suppose you could say that the places I get to visit count as vacations, so I get a lot of time off?" She huffs at herself. "I'm being a bit inarticulate here. I just enjoy my work, so most of my downtime is getting ready to enjoy more work."
You can understand that, you think. It makes sense to you anyway. Though, you've been taking up all of her 'free' time lately, doesn't she have anything she wants to do? "is it fine that I've been hoarding you to myself today then? Was there anything you wanted to do?"
She smiles at you and looks like she is going to say something else, but shakes her head and speaks. "Nah, I'd say spending time with you counts as relaxing, it's enjoyable." Stop being so likeable dammit, why are you being so nice? Apparently something of your thoughts show on your face, because she looks at you a little concerned. "Hey, you ok?"
Your lips move silently for a second before you press them together and close your eyes. Several seconds later you open them and try to give your best smile. "It's fine, I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me when I go wandering in a little bit." From the look on her face, you need to practice your smiles more.
She doesn't say anything as she stares at you for a minute, but eventually she dips her head slightly. "Yeah, that's fine. We go out wandering then I'll throw something on for dinner when we get back? I think I have something you'll like." You give her a nod, once again thankful for her silent acceptance of your whateverthefuckitwas and look down at your lap. Una was solidly asleep now and you would feel kind of bad to wake he up. Still, if you were going to go somewhere you needed to put her to sleep. Thankfully, you had a convenient bed all of your own right next door.
You gently carry her in your arms, her form not even waking slightly and place her onto your bed. Your Bed. That still sounds strange to you, but you place her down and watch as she latches onto your pillow and crushes it in a hug. You turn around to leave the room, Morgan standing in the doorway when you see the change. There is a new door in my room. You tense for a brief moment before you remember Morgan's words from yesterday, they were going to install a door for you. You take a quick peek out of it and find yourself in an area that you don't recognise. I'll probably just use Morgan's door, she said it was really close to the centre.
Still, you make your way back through, dropping off your hoodie as you go and locking all of the doors. You don't really need it and you were still a little hot from earlier, though you fix that with a quick application of your power. Apparently Morgan has similar thoughts to you, since she leaves hers behind too when you exit the door. "Do you think I could find out what my Affinities are?"
Morgan nods and points down the hallway, before leading you onwards. Your pace was a little faster than earlier, something Morgan noticed. "Eager to know?" You nod and she smiles. "Yeah, I was too when I was tested. Mind you, I was like six at the time." She leads you further down the corridors, not towards Karen's room but the lab? Guess Karen is busy or something? You give voice to your question to Morgan who just nods. "Yeah, Karen can do it, but she almost always has something to do. You can just walk in and she'll stop to chat with you, but it makes her put off her sleep until she gets her work done." She grimaces and speaks quietly to herself. "Too nice for her own good sometimes."
You stay silent at that, you don't really have anything to contribute and your opinion of her isn't exactly the same as hers. Still, it only takes a minute or so more before you make it to R&D, helpfully signed above their door. Morgan leads you through into a small waiting room, where someone notices you quickly. He walks over and greets Morgan rapidly, sending a look your way. Morgan smiles a little stiffly and starts speaking. "Hello Oliver, no, I'm just here for Cerys today. Affinity testing." The man's eyes move over to you and he stares at you a little threateningly, you feel your magic ripple slightly as you stare him down, making the hair on his arms stand on end. Morgan lets out a single tut and he jumps before walking away, a much more careful eye on you than before.
You look at Morgan incredulously, what the hell? She picks up on your silent words. "Sorry about that guy he's..." She purses her lips together and her eyebrows draw together into a small frown. "A little obsessed, to put it politely." She grimaces and she moved into the next room, well out of earshot. "I'd been hoping that he got over it while I was away." She sighs. "Don't worry about him, while he's valuable we have way too much important kept here to leave an unstable element floating around, he'll be dealt with."
"Creepy stalker not your type?"
She snorts. "No, he's just equipped entirely wrong. Let alone the whole 'creepy as fuck' thing he's got going." That... somewhat surprised you actually, you had just thought that she'd been having silly fun teasing you. Wait was she flirting with me earlier? She notices the blush you are trying to hide and cottons on immediately. Why do you have to be so fucking good at reading me! "Ah, it's not like that, honest!" She looks at you, having stopped outside a particular door. "I was just trying to get to you used to the whole 'Gaia fucked with your sexual preferences' thing." She shifts awkwardly on the spot as you stare at her and she mumbles to you. "I thought it would be easier for you if I let you notice it and deal with it sooner. So you could ask me questions while I'm here."
You continue staring at her, uncomfortable beyond description. You aren't really mad at her, but to be honest you felt like crawling into a corner and hiding, or just pretending this never happened. It was worse because she was attractive and you had so many fucking questions dammit. In the end you just shake your head a little and stay silent. She apparently reads whatever she does from your face, because she turns around without a word and opens the door. You hear her quietly mutter harshly to herself as she makes her way through. "Good job, you lasted an entire day. Some fucking help you are."
You don't have the chance to say anything as you make your way into the room, you put your thoughts out of mind for the minute and look around. The first thing you see is how neat everything is. Everything is stacked just so or it's organised in a sensible looking manner. It looks nothing like the mess you had expected. Sitting in the chair typing something onto a fancy looking computer is a well kept man. His hair is neatly trimmed and his beard is well kept, his clothes have no wrinkles or creases and his arms move with precision as he types. How the hell? You eventually just dismiss his immaculate appearance as some sort of magic, there was no way that anyone could actually look that ordered and perfect this late in the evening.
Morgan quietly makes her way over, before apparently shaking off her self-recrimination and greeting the man. "Hey James, I got someone here for Affinity testing." The man looks up quickly, but smoothly from where he was still typing and stands. He makes his way over to a corner of his office and grabs something before setting it down on the table next to you, he gives you a small nod before returning to his seat and typing again. You blink at his silent interaction but Morgan takes it in her stride and grabs the thing from the table.
Now you can get a better look at it, it's just a rock with some paper attached to it. Completely mundane and normal paper. Another dream ruined, should I start keeping count? You dismiss your internal snark as Morgan holds the rock to your hand. "This is an Affinity Tester. Easy to use, just put your hand on the rock and you'll have your results back in like thirty minutes." You blink at the length of time and grab a hold of it yourself, but Morgan keeps speaking. "It takes so long because it checks all of the Affinities we've ever found, ever. Like, in the last two thousand years." The number catches you completely off guard.
She takes it from your hand and puts it back on the table, starting towards the door. "We can just leave it here, James will send me an Email as to the results or we can come back to look at it ourselves later." You send the man-- James a look, but he completely ignores the two of you and continues typing away. Morgan just shakes her head and walks towards the door.
"He can hear us just fine, he just doesn't have anything to say. If he objected, he'd say something, he's like that." You follow her when she opens the door. You think about asking questions, but he gives off an Aura of 'I'm busy' that makes you reluctant. The two of you just stand in the corridor for a minute, still a little awkward after your earlier... discovery. You eventually just shake your head and sent Morgan a solid look, deciding to ignore what had happened earlier for now.
"Look, let's just... not? Right now I'm out of ideas, so... what do you want to do?" You just turn the last... two hours, a nearby clock states, over to her. You were going to be in bed by, ten, not much reason to stay up right now.
Morgan looks a little surprised at your sudden handing over of the reins as it were but she recovers admirably. "Well, ok then. Mmm" She scratches her arm as she thinks. "How about this? We'll go back to our room and grab some food. When we're done grab out hoodies and go to the surface? I know a good spot nearby, you can get a great view of the lights there." You slowly nod and stake the lead this time as you walk back. Morgan only has to correct your direction once, but you make it back fine.
You walk over to check on Una and find that she's frowning a little as she shifts in her sleep. You've only been gone twenty minutes or so, so that isn't good. Eventually, you decide to drape your hoodie around her shoulders, which she burrows into and settles down. That solved, you walk out of the room to find Morgan waiting for you. She spots your lack of hoodie, but doesn't comment beyond a raised eyebrow. She's already made a quick meal, it's just a bowl of weetabix each, but with some sugar it's pretty good.
When you are done, you quickly wash up your bowls and set out. She leads you back through the corridors, out a side door and a dizzying staircase, where you exit a door oustide.
The sudden breath of fresh air, and the rush of things in even your reduced sensing range makes you stagger for a second. You straighten up and look around. The sun is just setting over the horizon and lights are starting to turn on. There are people everywhere, so many people. Still, you follow close as Morgan leads you through the crowds, keeping a wary eye out around you. You glare off a shifty looking teenager, who shuffles off out of your sight, looking like he wants to be anywhere but right there.
Eventually, Morgan leads you through a fancy looking door and up a flight of stairs into an elevator. You exit it after a solid minute and walk along the fancy corridors until you come to the end. You had climbed four flights of stairs, but you hadn't realised how high the elevator had taken you. Here, was a balcony that overlooked the city, from all the way atop Big Ben itself. You both stood there in relative silence, watching the people come and go, until the sun finally slid over the horizon. The city darkened rapidly after then, but suddenly it was bright again, it seemed like every light in the city suddenly turned on again.
Your position let you see a good chunk of it, maybe three or four miles into the distance and you just watched the lights. So many lights, people, moving around, living their lives. Morgan eventually breaks the silence as you stand there, shoulder to shoulder. "Do you see it? All of the people happily going about their lives? Just doing whatever?" You nod slowly, gently extending your sense to catch the edge of the mass of heat. It was easier at night, but it was still overwhelming, thankfully not too badly. Morgan smiles as she leans forwards on the balcony. Couldn't people see us from here? You dismiss the thought as she stands there, probably some magic or something.
Still, you shift your gaze back to Morgan, seeing her backlit by the lights of the city. Light filtering through her hair. "Is this why you fight then? Your reason for being a Scout?" Morgan looks briefly surprised that you had guessed it, she probably had wanted to do some big enigmatic reveal. You feel a little bad for stealing her moment.
She chuckles as she shakes her head, moving her gaze back to the city. "You would be the sort of person to guess that, your not wrong though. It's part of why I fight and risk my life like I do, I imagine that I don't need to ask you why you are willing to do the same?" She smiles as you give her an amused look. She sighs as she turns her gaze back to you, distant lights reflecting off of her eyes, making them shine slightly. "Are you ready for this? Truly? It's going to be hard, you'll probably want to quit. Everything seems to be coming to a head, sooner or later it's gonna explode."
You turn to face her as you stare her down, a sharp smile growing on your face, more teeth than lip. "There is nothing that can stand between me and my sister. If I have to face the world down alone, I will." Your keep your gaze steady as she stares into your eyes. You almost expected that quiet flicker of her magic, to see if you are telling the truth, but she just smiles and leans back against the stone railing behind her.
She doesn't say anything, but you hear a quiet whisper of words under her breath. The two of you stand there, looking out over the night in silence for at least another hour. You feel the temperature around you drop low, low enough for Morgan to shiver slightly even through her hoodie. You give her a brief wave of warmth that makes her smile, but she eventually pushes herself off of the railing and stands properly. "We'd best be getting back now, we've been gone long enough and you're probably tired after the long day." You don't say anything, but you follow her back into the base and then back into your room. You bid her goodnight and move to the bed, Una still asleep but having shifted across the bed significantly.
You undress and slide in, letting her latch onto you, and fall asleep.
When you wake up in the morning, you poke Una off of you and make your way to the bath. Shortly you are cleaned and clothed, in your clothes this time, and you settle down to wait for Morgan to wake. It doesn't take her long, she pokes her head through in under an hour this time and she is carrying a piece of paper with her. When she spots you, she makes her way over and hands it to you. "Your timetable, for lessons. Samantha threw this together, still subject to change depending on availability of the sword teachers. I'll probably be with you most of the time, so that's not a problem."
You look down at the paper, Una peeking over your shoulder as she does the same.
Monday to Friday Mornings: Standard Education with Morgan
Monday to Friday Midday: Hand to Hand, Exercise and Shooting Practice with Morgan
Tuesday and Wednesday Afternoons: Sword Lessons with Jeanne
"How long would a lesson take?"
Morgan thinks a little. "Depends on how well you do, but let's just say... two hours at most? Hand to hand and exercise mmm." She thinks for a little bit more. "Four hours, two for exercise and a good session of Hand to Hand, another hour for shooting. Jeanne. Jeanne, where have I heard that name before..." She mumbles to herself for a little while before perking up. "Ah yeah! This French chick who swings around a great big greatsword. No clue how long that'll take you, two, maybe three hours?"
You feel a little awkward asking this, but you honestly hadn't been keeping track. "Morgan." You shore yourself up and she perks up at your reticence. "What day is it?" And her arm slips out from her her, making her nearly fall onto you before she catches herself with her feet.
She is laughing quietly to herself but she answers you. "It's the 17th, a Monday." The schedule was... packed, it didn't leave you with all that much free time honestly. "You free today again?" Morgan just nods as she settles down on your sofa, properly this time.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go check in with Karen in a little bit, want to come with?"
You the rest of the week free still, what do you do?
Morning...
[] Go with Morgan to visit Karen
[] Have breakfast
-[] In Morgan's rooms
-[] In The Pub
[] Visit the Library for...
-[] Write In...
[] Poke through your room some more
[]Write In...
