>>43094432
>>[ ] Ask if she plans on staying here

>>43094432
>[ ] Talk about magic

>>43094432
>Talk about Moriarty. Best cat or Best Cat?

>>43094432
>[ ] Talk about magic

>>43094432
>[ ] Continue where you left off before dinner

>writing

"I probably should have asked this earlier, but it didn't really come to me" You say. "Can you actually go home right now?"

"Without facing severe punishment and a forced marriage with Harvey?" She asks. "No, probably not, and that's only if they let me in"
"Oh..." You say. You feel pretty bad about this, considering that you're at least part of the reason why her parents would be so mad. "You can stay here then. I don't think Kyla will be coming back here anytime soon, so the bed is yours if you want it"

Abigail smiles. "I think I'm fine with sleeping on the couch" She says.
"I sleep here" You say.
"I know" She replies, as she lays back and puts her head in your lap. When you look down, she sticks her tongue out at you.

"You know I probably won't have the energy to... you know..." You say.
"Don't worry about that. I'll try not to be a bother" She says. "But if you feel like you've got the energy..."

You run your fingers through her hair. "Gotcha" You say.

>[1/2]

You continue to stroke Abigail's hair as you talk. Unsurprisingly, it's quite soft, and the simple act seems to put you at ease.

"So how have your magic studies been going?" She asks.
"All right, I guess" You say. "I've pretty much gotten the basics down, but beyond that I need to find someone who knows about time magic if I want to learn more about that"

"How long have you been practicing again?" She asks.
"Since like... Thursday? No... Wednesday was the day Jess opened my pathways up, and then I took Thursday off. So it was Friday" You say.

"And you already have the basics down?" She asks.
"Yeah, but moving mana around my body, summoning objects stored in my pathways, and manipulating time is about all I can do" You say.
Abigail laughs. "I like how 'manipulating time' counts as basic for you" She says. "I've read about people who study time magic their entire lives and never manage to make use of it"

"Well, I guess it's just basic for me and Safi then" You say. "She definitely seems like the better mage of the 2 of us"
"She's definitely more comfortable using off-affinity magic than most, which puts her a few ranks higher than me" She says. "And I'm pretty good"
"At magic?" You ask.

Abigail nods, and holds up a hand. "I awoke when I was maybe 7, and I've practiced every day since" She says. You feel the humming in your ears, as the air around the room begins to move.

"I figured that you were good" You say. "The layman probably can't block an RPG with air"
Abigail smiles at your praise. "I'm not a bad fighter either, but don't test me on that. I definitely couldn't take you on" She says.

>[ ] Test her on that

>[ ] Ask if she can teach you about air magic

>[ ] Continue your conversation from before dinner

>[ ] Other

>>43095289
>[ ] Ask if she can teach you about air magic
I wouldn't mind sparring with her, but gotta retain energy for protecting Safi tonight.

>>43095289
>[ ] Continue your conversation from before dinner

>>43095289
>[ ] Ask if she can teach you about air magic

>>43095289
>[ ] Ask if she can teach you about air magic

>writing

>>43095289
>[ ] Test her on that
playfully, right?
then tired ourselves more

"So is there any sort of process to using off-affinity magic?" You ask. "Because the air magic looks handy"

"It's really much better for support, as I said before" She says. "As for learning off affinity... I'm not really sure where to start. I've never really tried beyond the simple body and mind stuff"

"So why is body and mind considered simple, aside from being the most common?" You ask.
"We all understand the body and mind, in principle" She says. The humming in your head raises in pitch, and her arm takes on that familiar faint green glow. "Body is simple because you don't have to manifest anything to make it work. You move the mana into an area, and it strengthens the cells in that area"

"What about mind?" You ask.
"Human minds are all similar enough to be at least compatible with each other" She says. "Mind controlling a normal human is an easy task, doing the same to... say..." She holds up Moriarty. "A cat, would be more difficult"

"Mew" Moriarty says.

Abigail puts Moriarty back down on her stomach, and continues petting him. "The only way to really control an animal is to either submerse yourself in it, which can be damaging; or-"

"Or find a familiar, which is an animal with a similar attitude to yours" You say.
"Right" She says. "You're pretty knowledgeable for someone who's only been an apprentice for a few days"
"Familiars were a topic of interest" You say.
"Why?" She asks.

You get Moriarty to hop off Abigail's stomach and climb up the back of the couch to where your hand is.
"Really?" She asks. "What are you, a witch with a black cat?"
"Better than a toad, though owls are pretty cool" You say.

Moriarty swats at your hand.

"But cats are still the coolest" You say, scratching Moriarty's head.

>[1/2]

"So how does one go about learning off-affinity magic?" You ask again, having been sidetracked by cats.
"You have a much better teacher for that" She says. "If I'm right about the way your bond works, you'll have an easier time learning from her than you ever will from me"

"Safi?" You ask.
Abigail nods.

You lean back and consider it. The rate of information transfer between the two of you is insane. It took no time at all to learn all of Harvey's tricks.

But that comes at a price: Safi gets to look in your head. She might not do it on purpose, but it could happen. Everything she learns will get sent straight to Harvey, which could end up biting you in the ass...

"If you're nervous about what I think you're nervous about, you can always wait until after Sunday" She says.
"I probably will" You reply. "How did you know?"

"Because you didn't automatically say yes" She says. "You're not the hardest guy in the world to read"
"Then it's a good thing I don't lie all that often" You say.
"It's for the best. You're embarrassingly transparent when you aren't telling the truth" She says. "But I can think of worse flaws"

"Me too" You say, as you reach into your pocket. You recall now that your cellphone's vibrate is dead...

2 messages and a missed call... the call and one of the messages are from Jess, the other message is from... Claire?

[Claire]>I'll be busy tomorrow, so we won't be able to talk. I'll come by on Thursday. Is that alright?
[Ms. Browning]>I'm at my apartment if you need me. Kyla and Ivan are still at the cafe. Not sure where the Smith went.

>[ ] Keep talking to Abigail

>[ ] Head over to see Jessica

>[ ] Call the cafe to see if Kyla's cooled down at all

>[ ] Other

Also, regarding Claire's message.

>Is it alright if she comes over to talk on Thursday? [Y/N]

>>43095970
>[ ] Keep talking to Abigail
Message Jess with a 'Thanks' though.

>Is it alright if she comes over to talk on Thursday? [Y/N]
Y and since she came up, ask Abby what the hell she thinks Claire is fighting for.

>>43095970
>[ ] Head over to see Jessica

>Is it alright if she comes over to talk on Thursday? [Y/N]

Y

>>43095970
>>[ ] Keep talking to Abigail
Y

>>43095970
>Keep talking to Abigail
>Y

>writing

You fire off a simple 'sure' to Claire. You feel like if you wrote anything more, then the text would end up being several pages long by the time you actually hit send. Better to leave that stuff for Thursday.

"What's up?" Abigail asks.
"Jessica's home, and Claire's going to be coming over here on Thursday" You say.
"Gonna have the talk with her?" She asks.

"I really wish I didn't have to..." You reply. "Any idea what her deal is?"
"Hmm... If I had to guess..." She says. "I'd say that her family decided for her. The Beaumonts are a mess. Chances are they've been raising Claire for this ever since the Coven ripped them apart"

"That was... 15 years ago?" You ask.
Abigail nods.
"Basically her entire life then..." You say. "Maybe I should have let Jess yell at her parents"
"I'm surprised that neither of them are involved. All I have is hearsay, but I've heard that they're no slouches" She says.

There are only a few reasons why they would involve their daughter and stay out of it themselves. None of them are good.

"Do you think you can convince her to come over to your side?" She asks.
"I hope so..." You say. "I really don't think I have it in me to..."

You stop. The idea of killing Claire sends a chill down your spine, and sets your stomach turning.

You can't kill her, but what if she won't come around?
As angry as you are at Kyla, you still want to put an end to the Blood Moon. If Claire won't step aside for you... then what?

>[1/2]

You're pulled from your train of thought by Abigail sitting up, turning around, and kissing you.

"It'll be fine" She says, as she gently strokes your chest. "If anyone can get that hard-headed little-... girl... to come around, it'd be you"
"Thanks... I guess" You say.

Abigail smiles, and lays her head on your shoulder. You check your watch. It's 10:00.

You have 2 hours before the Arena opens, and you'd like to spend as much time prepping as possible.

There are a few things you can do here, but in comparison to the warehouse your options here are limited. You could do some stretches, maybe try to get some practice in with the sword- hopefully without breaking anything.

Or you could ask Jess to swing you over to the warehouse for a bit. You have more practice space there, and maybe you could start getting accustomed to firearms and the like...

>[ ] Prep here

>[ ] Head to the warehouse (Bring Abigail? [Y/N])

>[ ] Other

>>43096374
Well tortures right out, claire gets off to pain and suffering. Shes so fucked up I bet she regularly plays dwarf fortress.

>>43096552
>[ ] Head to the warehouse (Bring Abigail? [Y/N])
Y

>>43096552
>[ ] Head to the warehouse (Bring Abigail? [Y/N])
Y

If Claire does try to attack Safi within this week though, you know who both we and Saif will choose.

>>43096552
>[ ] Head to the warehouse

Think of an outfit guys. I think Kyla is a bit too prissy at the moment to come up with one.

>>43096608
Claire is a sadist, she considers violence a sign of affection.

>writing

"I should probably start getting ready" You say, standing up slowly so as to not disturb Abigail too much.
"Where are you off to?" She asks.
"Next door. After that, hopefully the warehouse for some practice" You say. "Wanna come?"

"To the building that's rigged to explode?" She asks.
"Relax. I only told you that so I could be lazy and let you come to me" You say. "It's actually pretty safe"

Abigail doesn't look convinced.
"Look, if anything bad happens I'll do that slow time thing to protect you" You say. "If it worked on that monstrosity in the arena, it'll work on whatever Jess has in that place to make it go up"
"... Fine" She says. "Let's go"

Abigail gets up and starts getting ready, so put your shoes on and head out the door and take the 5 steps it takes to get to Jessica's. Then you give it a knock.

The door opens and you're met with a tired looking Jessica, her expression brightens quickly when she sees you. "Hey, how are you feeling?" She asks.
"Fine, I guess" You say. "Were you about to go to bed?"
She looks confused for a second. "Oh! Yeah, I guess I must look a little tired" She says. "I was grading. Fun stuff"

"I haven't missed any assignments have I?" You ask.
"No, it's for one of the other classes" She says. "What's up?"
"I was wondering if we could head over to the warehouse" You say.
"Oh! Sure. No problem" She says.
"Are you sure?" You ask.
"It beats the hell out of grading" She says. "I'll go get my stuff and let Sarah know that I'll be out, wait for me by the elevator"

Jessica disappears behind the door, so you do as she says.

>[1/2]

Jessica and Abigail both meet you at the elevator at the same time.

"Ready to go?" They both ask at once, then they both stop and look at the other.
"Is she coming?" Jessica asks.

"Yeah" You say, as you step into the elevator. "Is that a problem?"
"No, she's on the home team now" Jessica says. "Just don't touch anything. I don't want to lose any more damn swords"

Abigail looks confused.
"I accidentally absorbed one of her swords" You say.
"You have that kind of material in your warehouse?" Abigail asks.
"Not anymore" Jessica says, giving you a dirty look.

"I didn't mean to" You say. "And I did promise to make it up to you"
"You did" Jessica says. "But still. Try not to touch anything, both of you"

"Fine" You say.
"I know the rules" Abigail says. "Not the first mage's storehouse I've been to"
"I don't just store magical items there" Jessica says.

"I noticed" Abigail says. "Where in the hell did you get a bomb that size from?"

>[ ] Yeah, I was wondering that too...

>[ ] Tell her what Abigail told you about Claire

>[ ] Ask Jessica if she ever got that book on time magic back

>[ ] Talk about what the plan is once you get to the warehouse

>[ ] Other

File: Guardian.jpg (85 KB, 800x600)

85 KB JPG

>>43096641
Our format? Guardian.
We mend and defend.

>>43097092
>[ ] Yeah, I was wondering that too...
>[ ] Ask Jessica if she ever got that book on time magic back

Then
>[ ] Talk about what the plan is once you get to the warehouse
In the car on the way I guess.

>>43097092
>>[ ] Tell her what Abigail told you about Claire
>>[ ] Ask Jessica if she ever got that book on time magic back

>>43097092
>>[ ] Yeah, I was wondering that too...

>>43097092
>>43097122
Relevant; Jess doesn't even know her affinity.

But would we be Bob or Matrix?

>>43097103
>>43097175
Forgot to link post.

>writing

>>43097175
Can't remember much about that show other than the fact that the green guy was cool and the blue guy was lame.

>>43097103
Dude... If we can go through with our time travel wish...

ReBoot costume gets my vote.

File: Exposure.jpg (37 KB, 640x640)

37 KB JPG

>>43096641
V for Vendetta, maybe? We already have a similar mask.

Is Saif really in the mood to be playing dress up guys?

File: battlefary.jpg (101 KB, 774x820)

101 KB JPG

>>43097536
Yes.

"You know, I was wondering that too" You say. "I wasn't going to ask, but now that it's up in the air..."

Jessica rolls her eyes. "Old friend of mine works as a defense contractor now. She throws some stuff my way every now and again" She says. "A decent sized portion of the stuff in that warehouse came from her"

"She just gives you weapons?" Abigail asks.
"No, she sells them at a very hefty discount" Jessica says. "If somebody tries to give you free bombs, there's usually something wrong with them"

"You gave me all that stuff for free" You say.
"Not free" Jessica says. "I intend to tally it all up once this is all over with"
"Seriously?" You ask.
Jessica laughs. "No. The only thing I ask for in return for that is that you don't get yourself killed" She says.
"A bit late for that" Abigail says.

"I mean actually killed" She says.
Abigail nods.

"Speaking of things that kill me..." You say, in the strangest topic change you've ever made. You turn to Abigail. "Tell her what you told me... about Claire"

"What is it?" Jessica asks.
Abigail fills Jessica in on Claire's affinity, her possible wish, and the possibility that she was raised as a fighter.

By the time she's done explaining, you're all in Jessica's car. Jessica grips the steering wheel with white knuckles.

"Jessica, don't" You say. "Trust me, I know how you feel. But now is not the time"
"I know..." She says. "Let's get going. The sooner I'm out of this van, the sooner the urge to drive it through the Beaumont's front gate can pass..."

>[1/2]

File: watchmen_rorschach.jpg (48 KB, 312x500)

48 KB JPG

Simple, no nonsense, and the detective motif works, with all the scrambling in the dark.

After a short, but silent van ride, you arrive at the warehouse. Jessica unlocks the door and enters first, flipping a light switch as she walks in.

"Welcome to the cave" She says. "I'll be over there. Don't touch anything"

Jessica heads off to... the bar. Of course.
She really loves to drink, that woman...

"Wow" Abigail says. "Okay. Not like other Mages storehouses. Not at all"

You have 1 1/2 hours remaining.

>Choose 3

>Show Abigail around

>Sword practice

>Meditation/time practice

>See if Abigail will spar

>See if Jessica will spar

>Get some lessons on gun handling

>Magic practice

>other

>>43097699
>Get some lessons on gun handling
>Sword practice
>Meditation/time practice

>>43097699
>Time practice
>Magic Practice
>Sword practice

>>43097699
>Get some lessons on gun handling
>See if Abigail will spar
>Meditation/time practice

>writing

>>43097699
>Sword practice
>Meditation/time practice
>other
Lets get a game plan for Abigail, since shes dead set on being bait(which isnt going to happen) and we dont want her to get hurt.
maybe teach her to use a gun, should work well with the gravity and air.

>>43097699
>>43097738
This order

"Come on, I know where she's going" You say.

You and Abigail walk through the warehouse to the back, where the bar is. There you find Jessica, who is just about to pour herself a drink...

"Hang on" You say. "Before you do that..."

You summon the Archive, and then pull a handgun out of it.

"I'd like to know how to use this" You say.
"Woah! Holy shit, first of all-" She gently takes your hand, and positions your finger on the trigger's guard. "Finger. OFF the trigger. The only time you should be touching the trigger is when you intend to shoot something. Understood?"

"Yeah, alright... is it that important?" You ask.
"It absolutely is" She says. "Second rule: don't point it at something that you don't want to shoot"

"Doesn't that go without saying?" You ask.
"Not as much as you might think" She says. "Again, I'd rather avoid losing you to an accident because you whipped your gun out backwards and blew your own head off"

"I seriously doubt that that would ever happen" You say.
"The stupidity of the teenage boy would shock you" She says. "Come on, to the bouncy room we go"

"That room isn't just for explosives?" You ask.
"No. You probably didn't notice the targets painted on the walls" She says. "The walls absorb bullet impacts, so it makes a good firing range"
"Wow" You say. "That room is pretty handy"

Jessica smiles sadly. "You should have met the woman who made it" She says. "I mean, really met her. As a mage. Ms. Benson wasn't the best, but she was pretty damn close"

...

"But enough of that!" Jessica says, picking up her drink. She must've finished pouring while you weren't paying attention. "Let's go shoot things"

>[1/2]

After about a half an hour of practice, you're starting to get the hang of this. You aren't confident enough to use these as a go to, but at this point they'll work in a pinch.

Once you had gotten past the basics, you started to throw some time fuckery in as well.

You've discovered that you can get a substantially increased rate of fire by entering fast time to fire. The bullets leave the gun and lose connection to you, quickly returning to real time as a result.

But a bullet in real time is still a deadly projectile. This alone makes guns a worthwhile endeavor for you.

With that out of the way, you summoned your sword and started smacking the 'test dummy' around. Your experience with swordplay is hilariously lacking, but this sword moves naturally. It's almost like it knows how it wants to be wielded and where it wants to go, so using it is less about technique than it is about reacting to its needs.

Sure, your own skill is still important. But being able to feel what the right way to strike, the right way to set your feet, and the right way to guard, are all quite helpful.

At the moment you're sitting cross legged back in the bouncy room, your watch and your phone sitting on the floor in front of you.

With each breath in, you quicken time, and as you breath out you slow it down. It's a relaxing rhythm. One that makes it easy to focus on the task ahead.

You can hear Jessica and Abigail talking about something from over by the bar, but you can't quite make it out.

In front of you, your watch and your phone both hit 11:50...

The Puppeteer, the Keeper and the Witch all enter.

Then the Spy.
Then you.

>[2/3]

I think I get Judge's strategy: sit out as long as possible, and let the others kill each other; whoever's left can be damaged by the pistol.

>>43098433
He's also invisible and his partner the muse can remove all sound. Invisible people who you also can't hear. Fuck, that's pretty metal. A final fight if I ever saw one.

You stand up, put your watch back on, and keep watching your phone.

By 11:58, no one else has entered. Claire is holding to her word, and the other interlopers aren't coming in.

You turn and walk to the only door in the bouncy room, and wait there.

Tonight feels... different. Every other time you've gone into the arena, it's been to survive.

At first you went in to find allies.

Then you went in to protect your sister (Still a priority)

But tonight...

Tonight is not about survival. Tonight you are not the prey.

The thought sends a chill down your spine that turns your blood to ice. Sweat forms on your forehead.

For the first time, you're going into the arena for its purpose: to kill or be killed. You'll be going in with blood on your mind.

And you'll be leaving with blood on your hands.

When the clock strikes 1 tonight, one of you- either you or the Spy -will be dead.

The room is painted red with the light of the Blood Moon, even though there are no windows.

You think you get why it's called the Blood Moon now.

>Bonus modifiers!

>Saif still wants to protect his sister, but right now he has death on his mind, and a grim determination in his heart...
>+1 bonus to rolls involving Safi
>+3 bonus to rolls involving the Spy

That's all for tonight!

Next thread will hopefully be the last for this night, at which point I'll be breaking from BM to finish DW

As always I'll be sticking around for questions/suggestions, about current quests and the ones I spoke of in Tuesday's thread.

Ok guys. The spy tonight. Tomorrow we take Abigail and kill the Puppeteer. Protect Safi until Sunday. Kill Harvey and start phase 2. Henshin a go go baby

>>43098517
Both of your fantasy quests sound fun! Are you going to run two, like DW and BM?

>>43098584
Fuck no. I really regret starting BM while DW was still running. Once DW is finished, I'll stick to one quest at a time.

>>43098517
I REALLY wanted to see where Into the Aether
was going.

>>43098517
>>43098680
Ditto!