redjacketthief | Appointments

You try having the Malnosso screw with your world anchor and give you the memories of living and fighting alongside him one day. Seriously.

Shits kinda cool~

"... Seriously? Are you talking about back in April? Because they stuck me in the freaking Napoleonic Wars. And made me kind of a wuss."

Well. Blackstone did apparently maintain the suicidally chivalrous tendencies.

Lucky me.

"Point is, with all of the crap you live with on a day-to-day basis, how can wizards possibly be the step too far? Wizards are practically normal compared to some of the stuff here. The Hulk lives here, for crying out loud."

Hey, don't go dissing the Hulk--he and I are buddies now!

[Kinda. Shooting him at Third Party troops via trebuchet counts as friendship, right?]

I'm just saying that I've never met a real wizard that was still reasonable. When all you see is hacks in your world and a bunch of socially awkward people here, it doesn't make for good relations.]

"You're friends with the Hulk?"

... Moving right along, then.

"Anyway, look, what would I have to do to prove it to you? Conjure a fireball? Read your aura? Gimme a for-instance, I'll see what I can do with it."

...how about you pick? I have no idea what you can do.

"I don't know what you'll believe. I've had people see me spew fireballs from the end of a staff, and they told me I did it with a hidden flamethrower. Hell, even people I saved from vampires insist that I just shot a gang member hopped up on PCP.",

I thought about it for a moment. Fire was too likely to cause property damage, without my blasting rod. Soulgaze would probably get the point across, but was... kind of personal, and not in a good way. Force effects might hurt the guy.

Which left one option. I held out my arms in a suitably dramatic pose, and intoned-

"Ventas"

A light breeze began to blow down the hall, and as I poured my will and power into the spell, the breeze became stronger, until soon a rather impressive wind was rushing down the hall, and through the thief's open door. My hair whipped across my face, and I had to admit, I wished I had the duster on just for the badass visual.

I'm a man of relatively few thrills. Sue me.

I lowered my arms and allowed the spell, and the winds, to fade.

"Well, what are the ratings from the judges?"

Daisy can do the same with Filial Magic.

[It was Lupin's first thought, although he had to admit he was a little impressed by it. The coat was a bargaining chip now, and had value-he didn't want to lose it that quickly.]

Oh, hell's bells.

"I don't trust those Filial spirits. Remind me a little too much of the Fae for my tastes."

Hmm. Well, hell, I wasn't intimately acquainted with the varieties of magic the Filial taught, but I tried to remember what I'd read about them. The four classical elements- though air had been split into wind and electricity, which seemed odd- plus light, and healing.

"Alright. Well, let's see... got any blunt objects? I could show you a shield."

Not my preferred demonstration, but I was low on options. As long as he stuck to blunt instruments and I saw the blow coming, I should be able to deflect it even without my shield bracelet.

[Lupin doesn't know much about fae or filial spirits to know the difference, only that magic is magic and he doesn't understand. He eyes Harry carefully, curious, before pulling a long crowbar from a hiding place near the door and stepping through.

The door shuts behind him with a soft click, and he idly twirls the metal tool as a test of the space in the hall. He's grinning the entire time, honestly amused.]

Are you sure you can stand up to this? A crowbar's a crowbar.

I grinned at him. Anybody who keeps a crowbar by the door gets points from me.

"Yeah. And I'm a wizard."

I focused on drawing power, focusing it into my hands, shaping my will into the spell. After a couple of seconds, I looked at the thief again, still grinning.

"Batter up."

[Lupin's smile in return is sharp, a little giddy, He has no idea what it was that Harry just did, but anyone willing to take a crowbar barehanded deserves notice. He spreads his feet and adjusts his hands into a batter's stance.]

Aye aye!

[Swing!]

Edited 2012-06-06 22:50 (UTC)

"Riflettum!"

I spread out my hands in front of me and braced myself, and a hazy mist of swirling energies suddenly congealed into a transluscent partial sphere between them, catching the crowbar. There was a bright flash and a loud rush of magic discharge as sparks fell away from the shield I'd conjured, and then I let it drop.

"... Damn. I've gotten too used to the bracelet. Must half wasted half of that spell on all the light and noise."

...That was pretty cool though!

[Even though he had no idea what it was that he just saw, and was as willing to blame the Malnosso as sleep deprivation. He smile turns a touch childish as he leans on the crowbar as if it were a cane.]

It looked like something out of Street Fighter.

[Even if he had terrible luck at the game, it was still damn fun.]

"Never played it. But anyway, it's not the point."

Hmm. Well, hell. Here was a novel thought.

"What if I were to fix you a jacket with shielding charms on it?"

[Tempting thought--he was down one jacket, and desperately wanted it back, but still had reason to be wary of getting used to the accomodations in Luceti.]

I dunno man. Magic never really was my thing...

I stared at him. It might have been a little bit skeptical, that stare, but hey, I'm only human.

"You're going to turn down a bulletproof jacket because it's not your thing?"

I'm just worried that I'll get lazy and soft if I had it around. I travel pretty lightly, you know.

"... Alright, but if you get shot, don't say I didn't warn you."

I shrugged.

"Alright, if you don't like magic... what if I taught you a little trick to close out magical energies? Wouldn't work on just anything, but it might come in handy at some point."

I'm really good at not dying. Don't worry about it.

[It was that confidence that always drove him forward that kept his tone light and playful when he winked.]

...That little trick of yours sounds pretty handy. All you want is the jacket in return?

"Sure. Jacket for a magic trick. Jacket means a lot to me, I think I mentioned."

I held out a hand.

"Deal?"

[Lupin grasps the offered hand and grips it firmly.]

Deal.

I shook his hand, then began digging in my pocket for chalk.

"It's a pretty basic process. The important part is the will- the belief. It's like any other spell that way, even if it doesn't require magical talent to use."

I found the small lump in my pocket, then looked back at him, holding it up.

"Step one: Draw a circle. Can be anything, really. You could draw a groove in the sand, or use chalk- it's why I keep this on hand- or whatever. The closer to a perfect circle you get, the stronger the barrier you make."

As I spoke, I looked around for a good spot, but decided that the hallway was too likely to get traffic.

"... Got a surface you wouldn't mind getting chalk on in there?"

[Curious about what was going to happen now, Lupin opens the door and leads the tall man inside. He shoves the coffee table to the wall, kicks bottles out of the way, and makes an open gesture with his arms.]

Anywhere, really. The floor?

"Works for me."

I knelt in the center of the space he'd cleared for me and drew a circle around myself. It was freehand, but it was still pretty good. I've had lots of practice.

"You can also make permanent circles, painted or made of a thin band of metal, and you can even use circles that already exist- it's the shape that's important. As long as it's clearly visible, it'll work."

I carefully placed a beer bottle in the center of the circle, stepped out of the boundary, then fished in my pocket again.

"Step two- blood. Not a whole lot. A drop. Just enough to connect the construct with your life energy."

As I spoke, I pulled out a small pocket knife and handed it to him, still closed.

"The next bit is where the willpower comes in. What you have to do is will a barrier into being. Imagine an invisible force field coming from the boundary of the circle, if it helps. And you touch the blood to the circle, releasing that willpower along with the blood."

[Magic is magic. Lupin accepts the small knife with skepticism, not certain how a chalk circle and a drop of blood would work, but is curious enough to at least give it a try.]

So you're saying that I could use anything that's a circle. What about things like a disk, or a watch? [Because inquiring minds want to know.

He releases the blade with a practiced hand and briefly tests the edge with the tip of a callused fingeer. It was sharp, and had a respectable heft--it wasn't a toy used by boyscouts on camping trips.]

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