Thread: Playing the Game [ Chai & Razgriz ]

RE Playing the Game Ariamella Razgriz Colorado Springs, CO Early-mid November He said 'amateur' and Stella stopped in her tracks, turning slowly and walking back to pop her head in the kitchen, only to see Ric with his back against the island and him shaking his head at her like she was stupid. No, he didn't mean it like that and she knew it he was simply someone with more knowledge in the arcane, but no one had ever told her she was wrong before. She was in fact going to start with the outside, more or less because that's how she was taught along with half the magical population that ever bothered to learn how to ward. The logic was to make the first line of defense the strongest, which for her were the wards that extended beyond the house and out into the forest. The young woman opened her mouth to object going down in the cellar, but paused and thought better of it, realizing that what Ric said made sense. The more she considered his words, the more apparent it became that by neglecting to fix the foundation, the house could easily be her own self-inflicted death trap if anyone, or anything, happened to slip through the outer shell of protection. Fine. The cellar it is, but I don't want to be seeing any of your tidbits, Stella conceded as she watched him sink through the floor, walking then to a door that opened to stairs leading down to the basement of her home. She could have pulled something similar and sunk through the floor, but she wasn't nearly as flashy with her magic as people liked to believe. Ric wasn't as bad as her dad, but he was definitely on his way to catching up if he kept this up. So there's this really cool thing called stairs, she said pointedly--though with a mild tone--to the figure surrounded by fire, the bluish tongues of flame flickering and lapping around his legs before fading away. A tiny smile tugged at her lips, and she stepped closer to the structure etched onto the stone. Just thought you should know, that way you can, y'know, use them next time. I mean, who knows where you'll be floating off to next? Upstairs, downstairs... His room... Her room. Oh god. Stella could only hope he had enough tact not to appear and disappear at random times in random places. The markings lit softly with the same blue-white glow that seemed to radiate off Ric's body as he chanted, giving Stella time to inspect the glyphs that filled the space between the two circles. She looked up at him in surprise the symbols were old, so old that she couldn't recall ever seeing them in any of the books that lined the library walls of the Durante estate. Symbology itself was considered a dead art in the modern magical community because it took so much knowledge of glyphs that all too often faded into obscurity as time went on. It was like a language all on its own, one that many people refused to learn. 'Normals' who wanted to start learning the arcane arts already balked at the thought of having to understand Latin, and even only a handful of those of magical blood fully grasped the language to which their power was tied. Stella was proficient, but it was impossible to master it at the age she was at. Why would anybody, regardless of whether they were of normal or magical lineage, want to add the complications of writing symbols on top of everything else? Nevertheless, his actions were definitely solid despite the old magic. Impressive even, she thought to herself as she looked around at the translucent building, cringing slightly as she caught sight of the handful of bras she had thrown on the floor of her room. They were the result of a frustrating early morning after her father called for an impromptu trip to Russia, somehow convinced that she needed to come along even though the whole thing had been his idea. But what made her cringe even more was hearing Ric explain what the fire meant had there really been this many cracks in her design? The flames appeared in various parts of the house, mainly in corners and windows, but she was still surprised to see the fire settling in places that she thought were well warded the fireplace, the skylight in one of the guest rooms upstairs, and the attic above the garage. There was one place void of any fire in or around it, and that was her room. At least she could take pride in that despite the visible pile of lacey undergarments. The young woman fit her hands into his gloved own after he said his piece, stepping within the circle to join him, and letting out a genuine laugh at his joke even though she couldn't exactly disagree with the statement. I don't want random sketch-ass women in my house, she said, grinning back at him. Not that I don't think you have good taste, but it's that you might not have any taste at all considering you came from Periculosis. How do you guys even... Actually, I don't want to know. But the cock-blocking thing probably isn't to you, is it? She relaxed her grip as she shifted her weight from one hip to another, somewhat grateful that Ric wasn't ridiculously tall to the point where she found it uncomfortable to do something as simple as join hands to perform a spell together. Most of the Durantes, her family on her father's side and the ones who had handled most of her magical instruction, were tall in spite of the Italian stereotype, with many of the males reaching at least 5'10, and the females reaching 5'6. Then there was Stella and her diminutive stature, no doubt a result from her mixed heritage. But even then, her mother wasn't that short of a woman, and Stella could only wonder where her 5'1 height came from. Obice antiquis, magicae tabellarius. Sit defluere vitae essentia. Dispergimini vitae mea essentia, she began reciting the first few lines, willing to work together with Ric even though she knew she told him that he would be doing all the work. Plenty of the things that came out of her mouth never mattered anyway she was full of shit half the time, and besides, she did actually care for the warding around her home. Immittere magicae intra tot veterrimos tomes. Sprevisti omnes preter me confido quam proxime. The blue hue of the warlock's magic shone more intensely through the ancient writing within the circle, bathing both participants in the warm lighting. As she repeated the words, Stella's own magic made itself evident within the circle as well, manifesting as a curious cream-yellow that danced and flickered along with the blue. Hoc est praeceptum meum. Reice occasionem eorum, qui volunt mihi mala! she finally ended the spell, looking up at Ric's face and into the vivid green eye that still glowed with power and depth upon finishing the recitation. The glow faded from the circle, and she let go of his hands as she felt a sudden decrease in energy, leaving her more physically and mentally fatigued than she was before. But letting go proved to be unwise when she swayed on the spot---perhaps doing this on an empty stomach after lack of sleep wasn't the greatest of ideas...? One of her hands reached up to grasp Ric's wrist to stabilize herself, and she gave a tired sigh after releasing him. Shit, you weren't kidding. Damn, haha. For some reason the moment was deserving of not one, but two expletives, although that was likely due to the fact that she was exhausted and hungry. It was a combination that could probably turn anyone from saint to a monster, really. Okay, so... What's next? Let's hurry this thing up. Stella moved her hands in a continuing circular motion while she yawned, then looking around to inspect the house around them. Two of the fires had gone out just by the simple act of tying their magic to the house, and most of the remaining fires had reduced in size. She made a mental note to ask exactly how to create this kind of particular warding magic, but right now she wanted to get done and eat something. Ric wasn't the only one who liked egg rolls.