Facing Temptation
18th of February 2007 A.D.
"I'm a friend of the Council, if a new one, you'll get to shoot guns I supplied at some point."
The kid, he's probably still a junior even if he got his bulk in early looks at you with a sudden gleam in his eye at the mention of the word 'guns'. "What kind?"
"Magic ray guns." You wait a beat, to let the fact you're serious sink in and then add. "You see the reason DARPA hasn't rolled out direct energy weapons is funnily enough the energy
cost. As all of you know magic has a thing or two to say on the subject of energy costs. Sure you get tired throwing a fireball, but you don't get 'produced a grease fire with nothing but my metabolism' tired." That gets a laugh not just from Terry, but some of the others who had been listening in, suddenly the very weird girl inside the talking train isn't so weird in how she relates to familiar problems, like working out how to do basic elemental evocations without knocking themselves out.
"So you're like a Spark?" A girl with hair so silvery-blonde it is either fey blood or a natural propensity for glamours who'd introduced herself as Mavis. "From Girl Genius? Knew those had to exist."
As it happens you don't know. The adventures of Agatha Heterodyne steampunk girl genius hadn't been on your radar before, but you do have to admit some of the stuff she's describing is... not
inaccurate, though you maintain a higher standard of safety and general common sense. Neither Tiffany nor Harry are around to argue the point so you're sticking to that.
But really the conversation brings up another memory, Karl and his serums up in Boston. He is limited by the scope of his talent, but if any of the kids here were to pick up a 'scientific mindset on magic' they might obtain results their elders never could have considered. More than simply the development of technology leaps in theoretical sciences now open new ways to visualize the world and so new ways to leverage their magic.
Before you can pursue the thought much further Porter comes to a stop at the Station and the doors sweep open to the welcoming homey smell of cookies.
"I made you some..." before the word 'snacks' had even left your mouth you are greeted with the sounds of what could best be described as a stampede of trainees in the direction of the plastic tables you'd piled high with the best cookies you could make given six hours and prep work.
To his credit Carlos does try to slow them down, but it's not like he can bounce them out of the door with wards so it's on they charge not slowing until all sixteen flavors of cookies had been sampled and enjoyed.
Maybe I did go a bit overboard there, you think momentarily.
Nah it's cookies.
"You know," comes the practiced drawl of Isabela's voice. "If this had been a
faerie's party you might owe them a maternity ward's worth of firstborns. You didn't wait to be invited to dine." The vampire is standing with one foot bent back against the wall wearing jean shorts a matching jacket and the kind of whimsically messy hair that makes you wonder if she had practiced where to place herself for best effect when Porter rolls into the station. An ice-cold come-hither ripples outwards from her drawing the attention of five of the boys and one of the girls... though truth be told it's hard to tell the difference between that and the normal 'cool girl' factor. "The Malvora would've just poisoned the cookies, but you know, that's the fucking Malvora for you."
"To whom do we have the honor of speaking?" Terry manages to collect himself to ask, looking very pleased with himself for remembering the proper way to do this.
"Isabela Syliga and just for that I'll give you a freebie, vampire, White Court." On the last words she lets the enchantment wane, leaving the people who had been snared to blink in confusion and just a hint of fear.
"And that is how we get you," she continues. "I'm using a revoltingly wide 'we' by the way for educational purposes, I do
not consider Man-Bat the Baby Drinker to be any kin of mine, but that is beside the point. A vampire's power is not like a wizard's spell. There is no preparation, no centering of the mind or gathering of magic. I just breathe in..." Some of the boys still look at her chest because of course they do. "And become a little more myself. Part of me
is a demon after all."
"So what we're not supposed to
notice?" One of the aforementioned boys asks grumpily.
"You are supposed to be able to notice the difference between 'hot girl' and 'vampire'," Carlos interjects bluntly, having helped organize this little demonstration. "The same way you can tell the difference between the sun and someone shinning a flashlight in your face."
"But she's still pretty though," Terry can't quite deliver that without looking at his shoes.
"And that's the other point of course, you do not need magic to do everything..." The old Warden aphorism comes to your lips naturally enough "And
neither does the other side."
"Why isn't she... on the other side I mean?" Mavis asks after a moment. "Why's she..." she turns around. "Why are you playing practice vampire?"
Truth be told you hadn't expected any of the trainees to be this blunt, though given that they are wizards and to be a wizard is to have more curiosity than sense, maybe you should have. She gives you a questioning look.
How much of Isabela's situation does she explain?
[] That she is a friend
[] That she's your vassal
[] That by her oath to you she never had to make her First Kill
[] Write in
OOC: Enjoy