2013.08.01 - Groups of Wizards

Gotham is legendarily rainy, but Amy Winston's good sense of timing has provided her with a clear night sky. It's actually a trained skill, honed under the tutelage of hardened survival trainers who expected her to be dealing with magically inhospitable terrain. As far as Amy is concerned, that's still what she's dealing with here.
The lack of rain means more people are out. Magic is a helpful tool here--and everywhere, really. The docks are clear for whatever reason. Amy is consciously certain of that. Her yellow brick road trick wouldn't have brought her here, otherwise.
The magical construct underneath Amy's boots is actually amethyst-colored, but that's just aesthetics. It's a ghostly image overlayed on the ground, stretching off into the distance, hazily coming into view and disappearing but never really leaving the teen's sight. She is absently sipping coffee (major chain brand) because Gotham seemed like a coffee kind of place.
She's not sure she likes coffee. Gotham is still on her 'meh' list, so far.
Gotham. So gritty even the pigeons carry switch blades. Rain isn't quite so homeless anymore, but it feels strange NOT to drift along the streets, so she lets her habit take over a little now and then. She has an umbrella with her, as she visits the docks, a hot cocoa cup in hand with some Gotham coffee store stamped brand on the side. She hms, more used to the mundane end - she's only had magic a few years at most. A couple, really. She doesn't have anything active at the moment, looking here and there. She stands still, letting the waterfront air wash over her a moment. "Freaking zombies," Sigh. She sips the hot drink and pauses. Is that - there's an owlish blink at Amy. Granted, Rain can't hide her aura - no idea how, if one has magic senses.
Amy frowns down at her coffee, popping the top off to sniff at it. Maybe she should have put cream and sugar in it. Her mom had a dim view of people who did, but seriously, uck.
The teen turns the corner, arriving from a walkway between warehouses to a larger throughway for loading vehicles, just in time to hear Rain lament zombies. Amy stops, eyes wide. She looks from Rain down to the conjured road. It helpfully curves around the other girl before continuing on its way.
Thanks a lot, magical person-avoiding road. Great job.
"Uh," Amy starts. She lifts the coffee to her lips to buy time.
OK, magic road failed. Either Amy sucks at magic--possible--or this girl has some way of avoiding it. More likely, considering Amy met a talking cat man the other day.
"So, um, zombies? That's a little grim."
To be fair, straight coffee packs quite a punch. Something about putting hair on one's chest. Rain's not a teenager, though she might look upon her zombiefree days fondly. For now, she sips her drink and blinks at the road that moves around her. "Um. Thanks." She steps aside so it can straighten a bit. "That's pretty neat," She remarks. She looks to Amy, blinking. Rain seems awkward in the way only a massive nerd could be. "Um. Yeah, it is." She rubs the back of her head with a free hand. "Normally I wouldn't mention it, but a couple of weeks back... I'm sure you heard news of something attacking people on the dock or something?" How delightfully specific, Rain.
Amy makes no attempt to hide how carefully she's watching Rain's reaction. She doesn't have to maintain interest for too long; Rain obviously sees the road.
It straightens. Amy makes an annoyed noise and gestures with her free hand. It fades away with a few well placed sparkles.
"I didn't, actually," Amy says. "I'm not really from around here." The teen steps forward so she can speak in a more confidential tone. "Sorry if this is totally weird, but do you know an old guy named John Constantine? He's British and kind of a dick."
Rain looks around the road, as it disappears. Rain ahs. "I see. That's okay," She nods. There's a pause at her question. Rain - nods, furrowing her eyebrows. "Yeah, he's British and snarky enough to level a small town," She smiles weakly. "It was raining that night. I was there when he -" She hesitates. "I'm not sure of the precise word. Anyway, it's kind of a long one. Though, you're - definitely not giving me a malevolent vibe. He'll make fun of me even if I tell you, so! Er, where do you want to sit?"
Amy frowns and narrows her eyes. "Snarky's a really polite way of putting it. Small town's kind of an underestimate, too."
She packs the anger away with a long breath as Rain continues. It should be excitement, not anger, anyway. Officer Amethyst seems to have found her man. "Yeah, that sounds like him. I don't mind sitting here," she gestures toward a warehouse wall. The ground is mostly dry.
"I'm Amy, by the way." The teen brushes her dyed hair back over her ear. "Constantine owes me a favor. Is he, um... still alive?"
Rain rubs the back of her head. "I'm kinda used to that sort of thing, sorry." That, and she seems to be unusually easy going. Or spineless. Hard to say. Rain nods and will sit by the indicated spot. "Huh," She smiles a little, amused by the idea of Constantine owing someone. "That, I'm not sure of. It started that night when it was raining. Zombies, or something very similar started coming up. Constantine told everyone to get out of the water, and pushed me along with him. The undead - things started attacking people, pulling them out of cars, all that. We managed to save a few, though I noticed there was black goo. It formed a tentacle at least once, tried to swipe me. I got back to where Constantine had warded the place with salt and was fending off zombies." It's a bit hard for Rain to explain that she had pulled some people in to the warded area and been attacked by a black goo tentacle. "He wanted people out of the water. I'm not sure why. I am not familiar with this phenomenon. I asked, but he made fun of me." She pauses and sips her hot cocoa. "There was a Batman guy and umm... a younger British wizard," She recalls.
"Anyway, we manage to fend them off and some of the black goo reformed, and grabbed Constantine. There was sort of a poof and - gone."
Amy joins Rain on the ground, stretching her legs out on the asphalt. She sets the coffee down next to her and resolves to forget about its existence.
It's difficult for Amy to make something of the older woman. Notably, she didn't offer her name. Does that mean something, or is she just being awkward? Awkward people are nothing new to Amy. She's been friends with awkward people for most of her life. Magical people are different--some are awkward people are magical, but not all magical people are awkward. Constantine is not a good first impression for someone to get from Earth wizards.
"I've seen weirder," Amy mutters, staring ahead. She turns and waves her hands. "Not trying to outdo you or anything, just, I believe you. Trust me."
"So, did any of you figure out where he went? Did it seem magical?"
Oops. Her faux pas dawns on Rain. "Oh! Oh, sorry. I go by Rain. It's nice to meet you, Amy, even under the circumstance," It's more awkward and the whole being jarred by watching someone (even if he IS super snarky) getting poofed off. She goes quiet a moment. "I normally give better introductions," She looks sheepish. Then a pause. She blinks. She nods slowly. "That's okay. I've - Yeah." Deep breath. "It seemed hard to pin down. We were relieved we beat back the things I was going to find a nice, quiet spot and do some divination. It's one of the few things I'm pretty good at." She seems quieter about that. Gaining magic later in life has downsides. She's playing catch up. "Anyway, yeah, we were shocked the goo reformed into a hand and pulled him into the pool of goo. It got pulled into the cracks and vanished," She explains. "I mean, sure, he's - rough around the edges, but ... no one deserves that." She sips her hot drink. "I wish I had more for you." She does seem loathe to use her real name.
Amy smiles, amusement creeping into her voice. "It's okay. I normally don't meet people in warehouse complexes, but my life's been pretty screwed up for the past year."
Divination. Magic. It's good to have little questions answered by listening and waiting. It's the aristocratic way to attain information, as far as she's been told. Amy continues to listen, matching Rain's increasingly somber disposition.
"Would you tell me what you found out? With the divination, I mean." She sits up, turning to more fully look at the other woman. "I can help, Rain. I may not look like it, but I'm really good at this stuff."
The teen frowns, reaching up to fluff the purple streak in her otherwise black hair. "Okay, maybe I do look like it."
Rain doesn't seem to do much of this whole exposition thing. It's showing. "I see," She seems sympathetic to that. "Yeah, I understand that," She shrugs and smiles. "I don't mind." She looks to Amy. "And honestly, appearances might not mean much in the world of magic. I'm pretty scruffy as far as that goes." Only not-homeless for a couple of weeks. Rain is pretty - well. She lost out on mom's witch hotness genes. Woe. She looks over to Amaya and grins. "But purple is an awesome color, it's very magic related." She seems fond of it, anyway. "I just figured I'd use the full moon to do it. I feel a bit more magic and tingly then."
"Oh, you haven't done it yet," Amy realizes. She looks out into the distance, which happens to be a warehouse wall roughly thirty feet away. Her thoughtfulness only lasts a moment.
"Protection from witchcraft, right? But that's amethyst, not just purple." She taps her cheek, indicating her upward to her eye. "I noticed your eyes earlier. Me too."
Amy leaves her finger there as her gaze becomes unfocused again. Another moment, and then she looks up to the other woman. "Rain, do you want to do the divination right now? I can help you. I, well." The teen purses her lips. "I might be able to give you the power you need to perform the divination without the moon."
"..." Rain nods. "Sorry. And er, well. I AM a witch," She explains. To illustrate her point, she holds up a hand and a broomstick appears within it. She dismisses it. "And sort of." She looks over and smiles. "Yeah. It's a mark." Her eye color, anyway. She pauses. "I could. I know the younger wizard wanted to be here, but. I can just give up the update or track him down again to see if he's moving," Yes. "It's more a personal preference as far as the moon goes," She admits. Rain shrugs. "I - will finish this and guess we can find a quiet spot."
"And I'm Sailor Moon," Amy says, smiling slyly. The broomstick doesn't seem to surprise her at all.
The teen stands, brushing loose gravel and debris from her jeans and bomber jacket. "We can call him first. More people, the better, especially if Constantine's having trouble. He may be a jackass, but he really knows his magic."
Amy offers a hand to the witch, to help her up. "What do they call groups of wizards? A cabal? Or is it something dumb?"
Rain doubletakes. She laughs softly and smiles. "I liked that show," She replies wryly. She carefully takes the offered hand and stands, brushing off some of the gravel. "That sounds fine. I know one of the Batfolks here was interested," She replies. She pauses. "But yeah, I was pretty worried about something that could just grab Constantine like that. Though, he was kinda winded from fighting. Let's leave it at that I suspect the cigarettes do him no favors," She shakes her head. "Well, according to one person it's council, though another says war. Mom ran a coven, but that's witches," She remarks. She pauses. "I guess that can be kind of awkward."
Amy scoffs. "A war of wizards? That's soooo stupid. Council sounds too official."
"I think I like coven," the teen says. She turns away from Rain, raising her hands and tracing signs in the air. "I'd prefer to be called a sorceress, anyway. Wizard isn't really gender neutral. Too... beardy?"
Beneath her feet, the glimmering purple road swims up from the surface once again. It stretches off around a corner as Amy looks back over her shoulder to Rain. "My mom's all magical, too. Did yours teach you? Super awkward."
Rain just smiles faintly. "Well, I'm not really a wizard. But yeah. Coven's nice and gender neutral," She nods. Seems like a nice, groupy word. She doesn't look over as the teen races signs in the air. "Sorceress is a good term. And considering wizard really refers to guys, that would make sense." Pause. "In human species, anyway. I have to remember the universe is a vast place and human markers don't apply." She looks thoughtful at that.
There's a faint sadness and Rain nods. "I wasn't really supposed to end up magic, but yeah, she did. I think working freelance has its perks anyway." A smile at that.
Amy shoves her hands into her jacket pockets. "Yeah. Huge place. Looks kind of like a lava lamp, from what I've seen."
She frowns, but nearly imperceptibly. The change in Rain's tone gets her mind going. 'Mom's dead' is the obvious, if morbid, conclusion to leap to. Amy inclines her head toward the magical road. "Well, let's go do the world a favor and get Constantine back where he can be watched by responsible people."
Category:Log