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WHICH, CRAFT, WITCH
XS !!6xEfm/rXmY7

Twitter: @XsQuestmistress
AskFM: https://ask.fm/XSQuestmistress

Previous thread: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2489463/
Character & Archived Threads: https://pastebin.com/EP5wUbjSSpellbook (in Progress): https://pastebin.com/q9WUkeBM
Archive: https://pastebin.com/iCGEYi3h

People of Note:
Lynnette: The over-tall volleyball player and gal-pal, BFF, wing-gal, etc.
Professor Tanner: Preternatural Biology Teacher.
Mrs. Finch: Head librarian at Berkeley.
Eddie: Rock hound and computer geek.
Adele: A young woman who once needed Caitrin's help.
Max: A werewolf with a problem.
Belinda: Max's problem - a werewolf who might be enchanted.
Rebecca: Hateful, stuck up, snobby bitch, Jack's sister.
Christina: Rebecca's flunky, hates and fears Kiora.
Valerie: One of Caitrin's friends, though she's usually trying to set her up on dates.
Shelby: A rather nice young man, friendly with Caitrin and Lynne.
Cam: Local and rather infamous artiste.
Paul: Wants to be a member of the Preternatural Investigative Team with the police.
Jack: Yummy would-be MMA star, potential dating material, Rebecca's brother.
Evian: Aos Sí who works at Saks Fifth Avenue, potential contact.
Cinnamon: A werewolf with a clue.
Breanne: Leader of a tribe of fairies (demifey) in the Westfield Center Mall.
Bettany: A minor psychic that shares preternatural biology class with Caitrin and Lynne.

>>2510082
>>[] No. No way, there's no freaking way you're ready for anything more than talking with Cinnamon.

>>2510082
>[x] ....exactly what are they thinking? Not that you don'rt have an idea, but you want to hear them fucking say it.

Then maybe probably
>[x] Okay, fine, but you guys are bringing the pizzas, and you'll need a bottle of red wine.
I question if one bottle is enough, though.

>>2510082
>[] Okay, fine, but you guys are bringing the pizzas, and you'll need a bottle of red wine.
What else were we gonna do Saturday, like was that the date with Jack?

>>2510127
Nothing. Sunday was your date with jack, Friday your dancing....whatever with Karen. You have Thursday afternoon free so far as well. Saturday you were planning on learning and trading info with Cinnamon.

>>2510130
Alright so there's a gap available, though did we already tell Cinnamon we wanted to do that on Saturday?

On a different note, Lynne is a very good friend indeed, if we're actually able to pull this off, Cinnamon will be lucky to have her.

>>2510145
Yes, you did inform Cinnamon.

>>2510127
>>2510082
>>2510130
>>2510166
So I dont know, maybe tell Lynne that and ask whether we and Cinnamon should reschedule doing that, while doing our best to kind of just skirt around what Lynne's planning until we have enough energy to think about it?

[X] Okay, fine, but you guys are bringing the pizzas, and you'll need a bottle of red wine.

A lot of stuff goes through your mind. Kiora leans over and then drops off of Lynne's shoulder to flit over to you; you automatically cross your arms and she settles onto them, looking up at you sleepily, though it's more a case of her reflecting the emotional drain you're suffering from than her bring tired.

"....Fine. But you guys are bringing the pizza, and I need a bottle of wine. Red, not anything else, and not too cheap." Lynne looks amused, but curious; the Cinnamon nods agreeably enough and Jack looks somewhat confused about the request for wine.

"I'll bring some beer too, along with the wine," Lynne volunteers. She knows the wine is not for drinking, but for a ritual of some sort though not which one.

"I'll pitch in for pizza," Cinnamon declares, and Jack volunteers to pick them up. He also writes down the basic orders, and looks a little surprised when Cinnamon hands him two twenties. "I'm going to eat one of those by myself. You'll probably want to pick up three."

Lynne's eyes widen. "Holy crap, how do you keep all that weight off?"

"Oh, a ten-kay calorie diet is the absolute minimum. All that energy for transformation has to come from somewhere. Though...." Her smile is all play and wickedness. "....you will never see any bodybuilder like a werewolf body builder."

"Uh, no comment," you reply, feeling your blush struggling to return. You have seen a sidhe warrior or two. Lynne looks at you curiously, and Jack grins, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, I've got work to do. Here's my card, Cinnamon. Thanks for everything." She nods agreeably and Lynne stands up, giving you a hug, though you have to slightly turn to protect your familiar. Well, not really but it's polite. Her wings are relatively fragile.

You head out and Kiora look up at you, still cradled in one arm. "I need to decompress, darling." she nods agreeably, and curls over onto her stomach. That leaves you with the afternoon to kill. Sort of.

[] See if you can find Karen. You need to talk to her too.
[] Learning more about the Luminous Arc. Shelby will know things. He knows lots of things.
[] Time to experiment with werewolf transformation ichor and work out some spells beforehand.
[] Write in?

>>2510190
>[] Learning more about the Luminous Arc. Shelby will know things. He knows lots of things.
That seems like it has the lowest potential to be frustrating or upsetting, while still feeling like we're making progress on doing things that need doing.

>>2510190
>[] Time to experiment with werewolf transformation ichor and work out some spells beforehand.

>>2510190
>[] See if you can find Karen. You need to talk to her too.

>>2510190
>[x] Time to experiment with werewolf transformation ichor and work out some spells beforehand.

>>2510190
>[] Time to experiment with werewolf transformation ichor and work out some spells beforehand.

[X] Time to experiment with werewolf transformation ichor and work out some spells beforehand.

When you arrive home, poor Kiora is actually ill and sleepy, the drive from campus not far but the stress of moving so far, so fast, in a vehicle made of steel and driven by a combustion engine too much. Laying her in one of your flowerbeds, you sprinkle water over said flowers and your pixie friend, washing the stress and restoring her connections with earth, wind, and water. True, she's more a being of earth and air, but the cleansing 'rain' helps anyways.

"Hey, darlin'," you dad calls as you step inside. He smiles and you go over and give the big man a hug. "What are you doing home so early?"

"Homework," you reply, which is technically the truth. "I'll be in the basement today, sorry. If there's any weird smells I'll air out the house."

His grimace is understandable; sometimes your potions don't smell all that pleasant, especially some of the more exotic ones. Werewolf transformation ichor is probably right up there in the exotic stuff. "Well, okay Cat, if you say so." You smile and give him another hug as he goes back to organizing the papers he was undoubtedly grading.

Slipping into the basement, you put the U-shaped swing hook over the locking mechanism. It's a nod to both safety and privacy; the door can be opened a little bit, but it requires a special tool to open from outside. In an emergency someone can get in to help you, but it would give you enough time to at least throw on a nightshirt or other clothing. You also open the small window sliding the screen open so Kiora can get in freely. She considers it slightly undignified, but it's easier than her opening the door.

Which she can do, if pressed. Her strength is amazing compared to her size.

You normally just use your room when making simple potions, but for experiments with spells and potions your not familiar with, you needed a larger space. While the dry storage in the basement is useful to your parents, you asked if they'd mind if you set up a 'lab' in the basement for your classes. That one of the classes is self taught is irrelevant, but Kiora pointed out that it's really hard to make a circle on a rug. Your own set of shelves holds dried flowers, twigs, leaves, jars of spices and various kinds of honey and extracts, another small set of the most essential of essential oils, and incense making materials. You also have charcoal disks for burning powders and a box of copal, the one incense most Catholics would be familiar with.

Taking out the out the vials of ichor, you lay out the six of them; three from human-to-wolf, and three from wolf-to-human. Though you're mostly speaking of forms, rather than species. Then your book of shadows of course, which you open to your potion making spells. Finally, you pull out your Preternatural Biology text, and open to the relevant pages on Lycanthropy.

[] Something to force one or the other transformation in a lycanthrope might be useful in this case.
[] You don't have blood, so you can't work on a vaccine, but perhaps a potion of transformation...?
[] You need something more potent. A Hex mixed with the Suffering Word to make transformation take longer and hurt more?
[] Write in?

>>2510258
>[] Something to force one or the other transformation in a lycanthrope might be useful in this case.

>>2510258
>[] Something to force one or the other transformation in a lycanthrope might be useful in this case.

>>2510258
>[] You don't have blood, so you can't work on a vaccine, but perhaps a potion of transformation...?
Mostly just curious as to what that would be.

Also, are lycanthropes just as strong in human form?

>>2510271
They are equally strong in human or wolf form - the main difference is largely in how they can utilize that strength.

>>2510258
>[x] Something to force one or the other transformation in a lycanthrope might be useful in this case.
To be honest, the other two worry me.

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[X] Something to force one or the other transformation in a lycanthrope might be useful in this case.

It doesn't take long to skim through the sadly minimal knowledge base of the book. Cinnamon herself told you more in class than the book does. Still, there are a few things that you learn which are helpful, and that's enough.

Setting out a small dish of honey and some artesian water for Kiora, you pull out a few jars from the shelves and a few test tubes, along with some of the more unusual salts and spices that you have. Some black walnuts still in shell, some yeast, pure water and some spirits, and a some eucalyptus and manzanita twigs and bark. Unfortunately you'll have to make it more of an essence than a potion, but the principle is the same.

Kiora wanders, or perhaps more accurately flutters in, and you smile up at her. "Feeling better, darling?" she nods, and then notices the honey; she makes a beeline for it and immediately starts hand-feeding herself the rich confection. Wild rose honey, darker and more floral than most and she shivers all over, her wings whispering softly. "Glad you like it," you tell her and she shudders again, licking her tiny fingers eagerly. Then you dive into your work, quickly losing yourself in the art of witchery.

Witchcraft is a very intimate, personal thing, yet there are similarities between practices that make it more easy to learn and use. Professor Tanner explained the major differences between the various magical arts and sciences in class. As you work, you muse on the differences carefully.

Wizardry is a matter of arcane lore, secrets, and knowledge. Two wizards can be of completely different minds of any given subject and both be right, or wrong, but knowledge and skill are what truly matter. Their skill and their understanding can be limited by their knowledge, and their knowledge might outstrip their skill and understanding; it is primarily a matter of what you know in the end. Naturally knowledge is power and guarded zealously, hence the distinct rarity or wizards.

Witchcraft, on the other hand, is more fundamental. Two witches from different covens can be of diametrically opposed philosophies and ideals, but they can work together and even assist one another because the fundamentals of witchcraft remain the same. The principles of sympathy, contagion, similarity, transmutation, and naming are very much the same no matter what you belief, but the key is just that: belief. In one's self, one's magic, one's skills, one's power, one's deities, belief powers just as much of a witches magic as magic itself does. Two witches working together can give one another strength by their belief and the shared understanding of the way their powers work. Shamanism was of a similar nature, a more intuitive form of either witchcraft or wizardry, perhaps a blending of both.

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Sorcerers are the most dangerous of all. Their power was granted by forces of darkness or evil, leaving them marked and bringing pain and suffering to those around them. Their magic was not their own, but channeled through them, the magic of ancient creatures or beings of unknown and dangerous mien who had agendas and worked their will through their mortal tools in many ways. Often deranged or even outright insane, sorcerers were a threat to most other people in one way or another.

Magicians are something else. Where study of secrets and lore and the natural world can support wizards and witches, the fae have an understanding of magic that goes beyond study. They all possess magic, in varied amounts, ans while they have had wizards and witches among their number, the true practitioners of magic among the fae are magicians. They do not study how to use magic or cast spells or summon creatures. They study magic itself, and their powers range from absurd to insane. A wizard would ward a home with litanies of magic and a charm object or two, perhaps a diagram and invocations of various spirits or ancient beings. A witch would make a circle and pray or chant, and mark various places with symbols, or light incense and fill the house with their will and desire, or any number of things. A sorcerer would conjure a guardian of some sort, or mark a place with his sigil, making it known that to tamper was to invite his wrath.

A magician could simply stand in the middle of the house and cover it with magic, bending the power to his will. It might not last, but it would be that simple.

So when you go to make a transformation potion, it is more a matter of intent and belief than actual tools and know-how. Your potion making spells describe the basics of what a potion is, what it means, and what the ideals behind one are. In this case, it is a matter of both sympathy and transmutation: ichor from a transformation as a base to incite a transformation in one who imbibes (or in this case, gets splashed with) it. Cinnamon's mention of how tiring and weakening it was is part of your reasoning that it might be helpful. Getting rid of someone's hands or removing their fangs could be beneficial to you as well as detrimental to them, depending on the situation.

Eucalyptus and manzanita, shedding their bark to reveal smooth fresh wood beneath; purified water transformed with yeast to distilled spirits; cinnamon, salt, sugar, and five-spice, changing flavors and altering chemistry, making something better or worse; and a drop of your own blood to infuse it with both human nature (so changeable) and your personal magical power. Kiora immediately looks up, her eyes bright and eager.

[] Greedy little thing, you may have a taste.
[] Later my love, later.
[] A trade....my blood for your gift with magical sight?
[] Write in?

>>2510317
>[] A trade....my blood for your gift with magical sight?
Seems fair, or at least not imbalanced enough to cause offense.

That exposition on varying kinds of magic was very interesting, so are there no true shamans left? Also do beings of light and/or good ever grant power?

>>2510317
>[] A trade....my blood for your gift with magical sight?

>>2510317
>[x] A trade....my blood for your gift with magical sight?
Maybe we can sweeten the deal with something more, don't want to offend our friend. Also I thought we already had her sight temporarily?

>>2510317
>[] A trade....my blood for your gift with magical sight?

>>2510318
Well, shamanism is a form of witchcraft by the very open ended nature of witches in general. Technically, with her dealigns in faerie matters, Caitrin is a shaman of sorts. But actual shaman and shamankha are rare, and much more complex than her simple understandings of them.

>>2510321
No, you can see in the dark due to the Cat's Paw's ritual. Gaining her ability to see magical auras and power is another matter entirely.

Cait offering her blood beforehand is an attempt to get ahead on the bargaining. kiora doesn't need the blood to grant Cait the power to see magic; if she deems it necessary she can do so of her own accord. Likewise, there's no need to bargain with blood, Cait can and has simply shared blood as a gift or as a reward.

On the other hand, a trade means openign oneself to all sorts of negotiations, and Kiora IS a faerie.

>>2510324
>tfw no 5e shaman yet

Come on wotc...

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[X] A trade....my blood for your gift with magical sight?

As the potions steep and Kiora watches your hand with a hungry gaze, you set your athame on the table and lean over, covering the tiny cut in the tip of your middle finger with your thumb. "A trade, perhaps, sweetheart? My blood, as much as you can drink, for the gift of your magical sight for a a day, a night, and a day?" That would cover you from now until midnight on Friday - an opportunity to see Karen in a new light so to speak, as well as giving you an edge in any other magical workings tonight.

Kiora's expression becomes shrewd. she slowly and rather sensually licks her fingers clean, and then trails them down her chest. "Grant me as much as I may drink, and do your best to convince Jack and Lynnette to become coven members, and I shall grant you the Sight for as long as they remain in the coven."

Startled you sit up. "That's....that's incredibly bold, and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do that. We barely know anything about Jack, and I don't want to tie Lynne here if she's got a lover in Northern California, Kiora." She gives you a knowing, secretive look. One that makes you immediately wary.

"You needn't form the bond with them, only do your best to convince them. It would not be hard, dear." If anything that just makes you more nervous. Her eyes get bright and she smiles up at you. "A single drop of your blood, and the evening with me, and I will grant you the Sight for as long as you live."

You stare at her. "And I thought your previous offer was bold! My virginity is worth more than that!"

She smiles archly and stands up slowly, her wings spread and lifting her arms. "And true love, by the God and Goddess true love? What price that?"

You stare at her and realize she's being completely serious.

>To Be Continued....

Thank you for reading and playing.

Negotiating with Kiora will contionue tomorrow night. You needn't worry about offending her, Caitrin knows better, but you can gain other powers or gifts from her, if you are willing - greater powers of glamour, a blessing upon you or someone you know, the ability to visit a true and powerful curse upon someone (either as a new spell or as a personal magic), or other things. Remember, Kioras won't fordce you into something, but she will drive for a bargain she gets something she wants out of it, and will not try to cheat or harm you (but causing you a little mischief, that's not out of the question).

It is also worth noting that Kiora receives whispers and hints from Danu (the Goddess), and will act on that agenda if she's of a mind to.

>>2510338
Thanks for running!

As expected of a fae, Kiora drives a hard bargain. Too hard. And that's just the surface level, not even regarding whatever layers are going on beneath.

>>2510341
>It is also worth noting that Kiora receives whispers and hints from Danu (the Goddess), and will act on that agenda if she's of a mind to.
That is very good to know, even if it is also a little concerning.

>>2510344
Well, so does Caitrin - that little voice she heard earlier?

>>2496780

Not her own.

>>2510350
That adds up, and seems like it could say a lot about some of the Goddess's values

For an example of a less dangerous sorceress, I present the antagonist of The End of the Aftermath, one Cassilda.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=the+end+of+the+aftermath

>>2510358
I mean, on some axes that's true, on others I feel like she's near the top of the chart.

Oh boy, but doesn't sleeping with her carry that "find true love" complication? I doubt that'd be convenient.

>>2510731
Oh wait nevermind, that is what she's offering. Bloody hell.

This should probably wait until the next round of updates but my mind leaks like a sieve. Some points.

>We don't know if Jack is even a good idea to join a coven. We aren't going to put our best effort into doing something we might not think should be done.

>Things are already going sideways because of true love, we can't bite off that much more mayhem right now. Having some less than perfect love for a while is fun too, anyway. The offer will always be tempting though.

>We understand, appreciate and expect that Kiora intends to cause us mischief. Smaller amounts of mischief are far more likely to have results right now.

>>2510822
Don't forget that Kiora might Cupid us to someone else.

>>2510992
That's the selling point, apparently.

>>2511730
>>2510992
Kiora doesn't choose the true love. It's apparently a destined thing, one she has zero control over.

>>2512438
Oh yeah I don't think we presumed that, but she's definitely helping pull the trigger.

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The Sight that Kiora possesses is not a psychic power or a mystical prediction ability. Kiora - all fae - can see magic, and they do so constantly, and not just magic, but spiritual beings, ghosts, presences, the marks magic makes, all of it. when Kiora grants you the ability to use that power of hers, shares it with you, it also places you under the protection that she has using it. Without that protection, sometimes magical forces notice being seen and attach themselves to you. Jinxes, bad luck, sudden, inexplicable urges to do wrong, little vicious thoughts....just as much human nature as not, but when it's not, sometimes it's something unseen influencing you.

Kiora is very much aware that any such bargains for power of that sort includes those protections, and that without them she's endangering your life, which is is expressly forbidden under the terms of your bargains as familiar and witch. However, there is another clause that is currently just as important: once begun, a bargain must be struck. This isn't faerie magic or a necessity; this was a clause she put into place herself, which means it is enforced by the magic of the original bargain. It does work both ways, so if she starts it, you have to come to some terms. You quickly figured out that you could get away with exchanging kisses or something equally innocuous, so it's not a dangerous or difficult thing to work around.

The difficulty here is she has something you may actually need, and that is the magical sight she has. The issue is that she's pressing for things you're pretty sure you don't really want to even think about trying just now. They're not bad things, per se, just difficult things, such as offering to sleep with you so that you can find your true love, or convincing you to actually try and convince Jack and Lynne to become members of a coven with you. You know Lynne would love to, but you hardly know Jack (aside from he's nice, handsome, a martial artist, funny, likes you, thinks you're cute and cool, and he's a romantic, aside from not getting along with his sister who hates your guts).

The thing is that Kiora tries to make sure she benefits in solemn way from these bargains, and even though taking your virginity and drinking as much of your blood as she can handle is a fair price for giving you the sight for as long as you live, you're pretty sure someone who can get sex whenever she wants it from just about anywhere she likes is making a bargain in her favor. Her 'curse' is a blessing to everyone else but her, and the mischief that would ensue if it turns out your true love is someone other than Jack doesn't even justify it - you have't known Jack long enough for it to become that kind of issue between you and him. If it is jack that might amuse her, but that's just a bit more weirdness than you think is possible even for you.

So you have no idea what she might get out of it, and that kind of scares you.

The other bargain she offered, trying to convince Jack and Lynne to form a coven with you doesn't seem to get her anything either, because there wouldn't be any embarrassment or turmoil in you from actually performing the rituals and rites needed to have Lynne and Jack as coven members. They're intimate and kind of like wedding vows, sure, but you're capable of coping with such things. Realizing Lynne was gay forced you to cope with that sort of thing pretty early on, and you're the better for it as far as you're concerned. So what would Kiora get from it?

[] Ask her what she'd get from those bargain. It can't hurt to do so, and she might even tell you. Might.
[] Counter offer: as much blood as she can drink and three glamour imbued kisses from her, and you gain the sight for three nights and days. Using glamour on you is fun for her, and you know you'll both regret it and enjoy it.
[] Two feedings from you, as much as she can, and you gain the sight for as many days between them. Your blood it too rich for her to have such a deep feeding more than a day apart. It would be enough time for you to use the sight with Karen at whatever club you go to.
[] Write in?

>>2514750
>[] Two feedings from you, as much as she can, and you gain the sight for as many days between them. Your blood it too rich for her to have such a deep feeding more than a day apart. It would be enough time for you to use the sight with Karen at whatever club you go to.

I'm not feeling adventurous and I don't wanna escalate our mounting problems so quickly into the quest.

>>2514750
>[] Ask her what she'd get from those bargain. It can't hurt to do so, and she might even tell you. Might.
Honestly what I'm worried about would be the possibility that Karen is our True Love, which would be an issue for several reasons.

>>2514750
>[x] Counter offer: as much blood as she can drink and three glamour imbued kisses from her, and you gain the sight for three nights and days. Using glamour on you is fun for her, and you know you'll both regret it and enjoy it.
>Trouble and temptations, you'll be more amenable to greater bargains another day. For now placate the demifey however we should to keep from hurting her feelings.
Offering these Big Things worries me. Turning down her game should be done gracefully.

>>2514791
On second thought, I'll vote with >>2514787 instead for choice of deal. I'm holding to the rest of my post though.

>>2514750
>[] Ask her what she'd get from those bargain. It can't hurt to do so, and she might even tell you. Might.

>>2514750
>So what would Kiora get from it?
Just a thought, her place in a new coven would benefit her somehow?

>>2514789
With counter offers I feel like the kiss one would be more fun, but considering the stress we're already under, I can understand the desire to play things safe.

Like worrying about Lynne moving to be with Cinnamon or Jack changing his mind when it's too late, and having to balance meeting our True Love with being on our most dangerous mission yet... I can understand why Caitrin would be very concerned with those things, considering how much Lynne's love situation threw her off.

>>2514842
With our luck the true love ends up being the werewolf we're trying to save. Trouble!

>>2514828
Is this a vote or a question? If the latter, Caitrin hasn't any idea, because while there would be more people around, she's still strictly Cait's familiar. A witch doesn't require one, but can have one by choice. that doesn't mean she can't do things of her own volition, as has been proven several times.

>>2514850
I intended that she would ponder it, and perhaps ask on the matter. As for the rest of voting I am also
>>2514791
>>2514801
(got back on my Wi-Fi since)

>>2514865
Got it.

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[X] Two feedings from you, as much as she can, and you gain the sight for as many days between them. Your blood is too rich for her to have such a deep feeding more than a day apart. It would be enough time for you to use the sight with Karen at whatever club you go to.
[X] Ask her what she'd get from those bargain. It can't hurt to do so, and she might even tell you. Might.

You pinch the bridge of your nose, her strange bargains and the questions of why she would push those peculiar ones starting to make your head throb after the heightened emotions of earlier. She only looks a very little bit contrite, and she stirs the remaining honey in her dish with two fingers and suckles on them as you ponder your response.

"I don't understand," you inform her and she pauses in her meal, looking at you curiously. "What do you get out of those bargains? It can't be simply companionship or a coven. A coven doesn't really do anything for you that I already can't, except maybe the sex thing, which is a no, by the way." She smirks at you. "Not that I didn't think about it for a moment, but I'll settle for looking on my own for a while."

She licks her fingers clean and then looks up at you. "Mayhap it is companionship I seek, but for thee rather than for me, my quiet little witch." The confused and doubtful look upon your face only makes her smile. "If you cannot see the benefits that more friends for you will being to me, that is understandable. You are young and should not be a lonely old hag just yet." Her expression becomes much more serious. "It is a valid thing to be concerned with, dear, that you become such a creature. Lone witches become strange."

"I can believe a certain amount of altruism," you cautiously admit, "but I have doubts." Her coy smile makes you lick your middle finger, and her eyes nearly do go green with envy. "See, those expressions, when you do things like that, that makes me worry." You lean back in your chair and consider. "Two feedings, as much as you can bear, no less than one day apart, and the sight from one feeding to the other."

"Oh ho, so it is the shapeshifter you seek to learn of." You look at her sidelong, but don't answer. A taste of her own medicine! Doesn't seem to bother her much. "Two feedings, three days apart, and a kiss with as much glamour as you can bear." She smiles sweetly at you. That would carry you to Sunday....you could probably beg or bargain for an extension at that point, because somehow you just know that the art show will be trouble. Cam's muse sounds like trouble and you haven't even seen them.

[] Accept, knowing you're probably going to be wound tight by the end of that kiss and probably going to have to do something about it.
[] Counter offer: The two feedings two days apart, and you'll bake tarts for Saturday.
[] ....ask her what she thinks would be worth taking your virginity.
[] Write in?

>>2514953
>[x] Accept, knowing you're probably going to be wound tight by the end of that kiss and probably going to have to do something about it.
>[x] ....ask her what she thinks would be worth taking your virginity.
Ohoho.

>>2514953
>[] Accept, knowing you're probably going to be wound tight by the end of that kiss and probably going to have to do something about it.
Even though she almost certainly has an ulterior motive, I do get Kiora wanting Caitrin to be surrounded by people who care for her, I'm just not really sure how to make that all work right now.

>>2514953
>[] Counter offer: The two feedings two days apart, and you'll bake tarts for Saturday.

>>2514953
>[] ....ask her what she thinks would be worth taking your virginity.

>>2514953
>[] Counter offer: The two feedings two days apart, and you'll bake tarts for Saturday.
I was two damn late

sigh

>>2515066
*too

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[X] Accept, knowing you're probably going to be wound tight by the end of that kiss and probably going to have to do something about it.
[X] ....ask her what she thinks would be worth taking your virginity.

"Done." She grins wickedly, and you know you're really in for it. Despite that it is a good bargain, and one you'll benefit from pretty well. You pick up your athame, and roll it around in your hands, the curves smooth and surprisingly warm. "What would be worth my virginity?" you ask her as you contemplate your finger and the very sharp knife you hold in the opposite hand.

She glances up at you and for a bit you think she's gone silent on you again. "If the opportunity to have true love and the sight for all your life are not enough for you, I fear I have very little beyond those to offer that you would find a better bargain." Rising to her feet (All the honey is gone. How does she do that?) the pixie walks to where you sit, contemplating how deep you're going to have to cut for this so that she drinks her fill easily while not actually injuring yourself. "I doubt you have much use for a sword once carried by the Aos Sí into battle, or a heart carved of ruby and diamond that beats like a living thing."

"I dunno, I could probably use the sword, but the gem sounds like bad news." She nods absently and you lower your hand to the desk, glancing at the infusions steeping steadily into the ichors you gathered from Cinnamon's transformation. She slides sensually into your hand, wrapping her arms around your middle finger and tracing the closed cut that is at the tip. It aches a little, but reopening it would be more painful than making a new cut. You suppress the urge to admire; your heart is beating too fast already. she looks up at you and smiles warmly, as you press the tip of your athame into your finger. There's no pain at first, but the blood flows instantly, and Kiora leans into your finger lover-like, and gently laps and suckles at the bright red that spills along your finger.

You can't help but blush, as she starts shiftiness and moving, your blood clearly far more potent than any alcohol or aphrodisiac; Her wings beat slowly as she drinks from the cut, her tiny lips brushing your finger. You shudder when she suckles a little, tongue dipping into that wet heat. It's almost three whole minutes before she lifts her head, gasping softly. Despite your deep blush, you manage to look composed. She looks up at you in a haze, her eyes bright and filled with pink and lavender glow. Her skin has that moonlight paleness you always associate with her desire or power. "Fair?"

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"More than." With a speedy flit, she darts up to your cheek and kisses it lightly. "The second part must happen later."

The hair stands up on the back of your neck and you turn, lashing out at the person trying to sneak up on you.

Your arm impacts Karen's hand, and you almost drop your athame, because it's like hitting iron. "She speaks," murmurs the olive skinned beauty.

[] She's not mute, if that's what you mean! Don't do that!
[] Twist your hand and give her a nick on the arm!
[] Relax and shake your head. You don't need to start off on the wrong foot here.
[] Write in?

>>2515092
>[] Relax and shake your head. You don't need to start off on the wrong foot here.
...Doesn't want us to truly see her, does she?

>>2515092
>[x] Relax and shake your head. You don't need to start off on the wrong foot here.
>Do you enjoy doing such entrances, or does propriety just not occur to you?

>>2515092
>[] She's not mute, if that's what you mean! Don't do that!

>>2515092
>[] She's not mute, if that's what you mean! Don't do that!
>[] Twist your hand and give her a nick on the arm!

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[X] Relax and shake your head. You don't need to start off on the wrong foot here.
[X] Write in? Does propriety even enter your head or do you just like scaring me in particular?

You take a deep breath and lower your hand, putting the very sharp knife away. "I know you said you like to scare me, but doesn't propriety even enter into the equation? What if my dad walked in?"

She gently runs her fingers along the rapidly darkening bruise where you struck her hand with the side of your arm. "I enjoy scaring you in particular. Your fear is very fresh, very vibrant. You do not scare easily. I enjoy that I can frighten you so well, even if it is only for a very short while." She settles onto one of the other stools and looks at you with those unnerving emerald eyes. "your father has returned to the school, or at least left this place. You have found yet another werewolf."

Kiora settles on your shoulder, watching Karen with suspicious eyes. You don't blame her and the goose-flesh creeping up your arms is not a really great sensation. When your eyes start to water, you blink several times, and then you are seeing things as Kiora does.

Magic is less colorful than most like to believe; it is usually an aura with a texture overlaid on top. The colors are often emotions attached to aura, which is why magic not having a color makes more sense to you. Kiora has told you before that each persons seems and feels magic differently. You see textures on auras of power. Kiora is all swirls and wisps, chaotic and dancing, whirling about her like an unseen wind, smooth and sharp edged. The potions are block things, the magic in chunks and pieces, still dissolving in the ichor and spirits and waters. Your athame is an exception: it is a dark thing, a null space, a void that glimmers hungrily even as it is smooth and sharp and bright. the silver and the iron mix poorly, which is probably why it leaves such terrible wounds.

Karen is like a thick, seething mass of magical force holding her body together. Layer upon layer upon layer of finely granulated magical sand, tons of it compacted into the shape of a woman. Or more like, compacting the substance of her body into the shape it has now. It's almost like she's the magic, not the body generating it. Unlike Kiora whose magic is integral to her existence, or you whose magic is a soft, ephemeral thing that infuses everything you touch and handle, Karen is the magic that motivated and moves the body she has. It's the opposite of everything you understand about supernatural and preternatural beings.

No wonder she bothers Kiora - she's more powerful than a sidhe magician, if all her effort wasn't spent holding together the mass of her 'flesh'.

"She's not mute. Kiora chooses not to speak for her own reasons. and don't scare me like that. I could have killed you."

Karen's emerald eyes glitter and she smiles. "You could not kill me, Caitrin."

[] ....that aside, did you have a place you wanted to take me tomorrow?
[] Lynne's coming dancing with us. She's my wingman.
[] What do you know about the luminous arc? It sounds like your kind of place.
[] Write in?

>>2515107
>[] ....that aside, did you have a place you wanted to take me tomorrow?
>[] Lynne's coming dancing with us. She's my wingman.

>>2515107
>[] What do you know about the luminous arc? It sounds like your kind of place.

>>2515108
>>2515107
...But yeah, looking at that description, I'm inclined to believe Karen when she says we can't kill her. Also I have even less of an idea of what she could be than I did before,

>>2515108
...I'm thinking I might retract the Lynne thing because the last time there was a three way tie it wasn't really ideal.

Wonder where everyone went?

>>2515107
>[] ....that aside, did you have a place you wanted to take me tomorrow?
>[] Lynne's coming dancing with us. She's my wingman.
>[] What do you know about the luminous arc? It sounds like your kind of place.

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[X] Write in? I'm not sure what I want.

You look at Karen with the Sight, and what you see frankly doesn't make any sense. "you might be right....but that doesn't mean I wouldn't feel bad for hurting you. I'm jumpy right now, all right? So stop scaring me for a little while."

"You should not be playing with werewolves. It will not end well for you." Karen's smile gives the creeps far more than Cinnamon's had, but more because it's the faint hint that she really doesn't want to end badly for you while trying to warn you off.

"I'm not playing, and it's a job. I have school, and my other studies are expensive sometimes. I'm getting paid a lot of money, Karen. Not everyone is made out of diamonds and magnetite." That earns you a soft, liquid chuckle. "Loup-garou. Why that name? It's another name for werewolf, but you're definitely not one of those...."

Karen looks very pleased with you, and smiles brightly, her emerald eyes narrowing in pleasure. She has laugh lines. She looks perfectly human, down to the pores in her skin. "Very good. Yes, that is what we were called by those people. It is a creature which haunts places, in the other, older meaning of the word 'haunt'."

"A feeding ground." She nods pleasantly. "You haunt places. Hunt places. Why werewolves and ghouls?" You don't bother with the vampires, there haven't been any such things that matched the term that even now they're mythical. You kind of wonder if they meant certain faerie, whom you do know drink blood. "What's so special about them? They're not magical like faeries or witches are...."

"Aren't they?" She looks over at the potions that are steeping. They've started to turn color, the blocky magic in them collapsing into thin tapestries of hooks, barbs and thorns. "Their magic is subtle, throughout their bodies, rarefied and distilled into very specific forms. It is not the raw power of your lovely companion, nor the potential power you possess. It is refined, perfected, delicate and subtle." The strange creature suddenly turns to you and leans close, making the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

"Now....what kind of prize shall you have earned, for guessing what it is that I am." There is a knock at the door above, and Kiora looks up, startled, and you no less so. Your dad was supposed to have been gone, your mother not due back for hours still. Karen glances up at the stairs leading to the cellar door in the house and grins....

>To Be Continued....

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Thank you for reading and playing....

>>2515173
Thanks for running! I like how Karen seems to be aiming for about as sinister and spooky as she can get without enterting antagonist territory.

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>>2515174
>>2515173
Also as thanks, have some high fashion

>>2515173
It's interesting to see how crone-like Cait is becoming. It's also sad that we made Kiora sad.