Is that... a way to see through illusion charms? You tattooed it on yourself?
[Most people she knew would use straight qi or a paper talisman... a tattoo seemed a little excessive, unless he expected to have to use that kind of spell a lot.
She watches his next offering with wide eyes, and even wider when she touches the fabric and tests it between her fingers.]
... You actually can go down to the molecular level? That's... super precise.
[She definitely can't do transfiguration on that level.
Of course, whatever spells he's wearing means no one is really paying attention to them, but by now the noise of the club and the throng of people are just a bother, plus she's starting to get hungry.]
Hey, Let's go somewhere else. Grab some food somewhere quieter.
Not just illusion magic, [ He said smugly. This, after all, was a spell of his own design - and one he would probably be chased down for if many people knew. Which was why he was immediately bragging about it to a girl he’d met twice. ] I can see almost all sources of magic, this way. Wards, protection spells, trap spells. It has to be super advanced to be able to go unseen with this.
[ And explained how he managed to get by so many of them. ]
Not quite molecular. It’s still the same material - it won’t change cotton to silk. But weave, colour, that sort of thing is easy enough.
[ He stood up at her suggestion, stretching like a cat. ]
Sure, sounds good to me. Someplace you got in mind?
[Her eyes widen again as he explain what the design actually does, and dart down to the tattoo himself and then back up.]
.... Should you really be showing me this? Do you know how many people would kill to get this hands on a spell like that? You're crazy!
[They've literally met twice and the first time was when he was breaking into her family's ancestral shrine and now he's showing her something that would put a target on his head three times over if anyone knew he had it?
Boys really are stupid. In some sort of way, because to tell the truth, if he put on his cloaking spell and left she wouldn't be able to catch him but still!
And she knows no one will be listening in, but it still doesn't feel comfortable talking about this here.]
Let's just find a place with good burgers. I'm hungry.
[And unlike most girls her age, dieting is not in her vocabulary. Maybe she's lucky in terms of metabolism - her brother does lament that she can't seem to bulk up or gain the muscle mass needed for the saber. So when she eats, she eats.
She goes to garb her coat at the entrance and slip out after waving good bye to a few people. Once outside, she sighs and looks up at the night sky, then quickly checks her phone before putting it back in her pocket.]
.... You're lucky I'm not as blade-happy as most of my family, I hope you know that. And that I know I don't even have enough qi to work something so complicated. If i were someone else, they might have already tried to cut off your arm.
[ He activates his cloaking spells and seems to disappear from her side, but when she’s back outside again he is suddenly right beside her, grinning. ]
I wouldn’t talk to anyone else in your family. And even if they took my arm, it wouldn’t do them any good. The enchantment would be broken and there’s a lot more to it than the design, so they wouldn’t be able to replicate it.
If you were ever going to cut off my arm, it would have been when you could just feed my corpse to your shrine and have me disappear off the face of the earth. I think I’m safe.
[Well he's not wrong, except that she could be hiding something or have been playing a long game.]
... I wouldn't have fed your corpse to the shrine, by the way. Then we would have one corpse too many and that would have tipped the balance.
And it's still incredibly intricate magic and you don't even really know me. I still think you're crazy. But whatever.
[She can understand the theory of what he showed her just fine. She wouldn't be able to perfectly replicate it, or even make it work with what she's working with, though. He must have a tremendous amount of power. Between that and the fact that he can maintain some level of cloaking almost at all times... yep, definitely way out of her league power wise.
And also....]
... I don't know how I should take the fact that even random strangers find me nonthreatening. Actually, probably as a compliment. I'd hate for anyone to think i can actually do stuff.
[She'll lead the way down a few streets, watching with interest how people barely seem to register he's here beyond a presence and smiling a bit to herself, because what he does with spell, she occasionally manages to do by just being herself. People frequently forget she is around, but someone like him has too much charisma and power to go unnoticed if he were to reveal himself. He's almost radiating, even with the cloaking.
She choose a smallish place, a mom and pop store that gives big portions and orders for the two of them - and pays too, handing the woman at the til her jade token. And once they're seated, she rests her chin on her hands.]
Did you really come to see me just to say hello and show me a few tricks that I really shouldn't have seen?
There’s a big deference between not being able to do anything and not being a threat to me in particular, [ He pointed out, sliding his hands into his pockets as they walked. ]
I don’t know. You just seemed like someone who it was worth showing it to. If that makes me crazy, then fine. What am I supposed to do when my illusion magic doesn’t impress!
[ He waited while she ordered their food, and slides into the chair opposite her, lounging ias he leaned over the table to grab a fry. ]
I thought we could be friends. [ He says it in the way a six year old might - cheerfully and without guile. ] Why, do you think I have some nefarious scheme afoot? [ He pops the fry in his mouth and then grins. ]
Honestly, I just didn’t have a place to crash tonight, so why not hang out for a few hours?
You can come to my place if you want to. I don't live at the family compound. I finally managed to convince my brother I needed my own place and some privacy. It's all guys over thee and it's frankly stifling at times. And it helps if I can show i can make it on my own a little.
[She's still expected to go back for her lessons and assemblies and anything related to the Clan, but at least she has her own space.]
You can stay for a few days if you really need a place to rest. I don't mind.
Yeah, I can tell I’m starting to annoy Jade again and she probably needs to get laid, but having a random guy on your couch tends to keep the ladies away. [ He said it easily and without any trace of shame, grabbing another fry. This was, perhaps, part of the reason he was so hard to find: he had no permanent address.
At the offer, he lit up. ]
Yeah? You sure? I can pay you back with a couple enchantments, if that’s okay. I can do just about anything you need, if you’ve got the components.
Yeah, it's fine. I live on my own anyway, and it's not like I have people randomly dropping by a lot.
[Not that the location is secret, her friends know where she lives, but she keeps it private.]
I don't need you to pay me back. Just meeting you and talking with you, that's... probably the most interesting thing that's happened to me lately. Too bad I won't be able to tell anyone.
[Because no one would even believe her.]
Finish your food first. We can buy some drinks on the way back.
... Okay. Well I have more food at home if you're still hungry later.
[She knows a few people like that. She's pretty sure Wei-xiong would forget to eat if his sister didn't remind him to.]
And it's fine, I don't need you to pay for me. I'm a big girl. Come on now, finish it and let's go.
[True to her word, she stops at small store for a pack of beer on the way back before leading the way to her home.
It's in a good part of town of course, in a nice but non-descript high rise. Her name is on the mailbox but also, for people who can see it, a hidden Nie Sect sigil. And once they get to her floor, the presence of protection wards will be more than apparent. And they're not just the kind you put up to trip when someone goes through. They block sound and appear designed to actually repel some lower level offensive spells like a shield.
She unlocks her door, throws the keys on the console in the entrance and calls out.]
Lights on!
[The lights in the living room come on as well as several small ambient lights in the corridors and one in the kitchen.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[Most people she knew would use straight qi or a paper talisman... a tattoo seemed a little excessive, unless he expected to have to use that kind of spell a lot.
She watches his next offering with wide eyes, and even wider when she touches the fabric and tests it between her fingers.]
... You actually can go down to the molecular level? That's... super precise.
[She definitely can't do transfiguration on that level.
Of course, whatever spells he's wearing means no one is really paying attention to them, but by now the noise of the club and the throng of people are just a bother, plus she's starting to get hungry.]
Hey, Let's go somewhere else. Grab some food somewhere quieter.
no subject
[ And explained how he managed to get by so many of them. ]
Not quite molecular. It’s still the same material - it won’t change cotton to silk. But weave, colour, that sort of thing is easy enough.
[ He stood up at her suggestion, stretching like a cat. ]
Sure, sounds good to me. Someplace you got in mind?
no subject
.... Should you really be showing me this? Do you know how many people would kill to get this hands on a spell like that? You're crazy!
[They've literally met twice and the first time was when he was breaking into her family's ancestral shrine and now he's showing her something that would put a target on his head three times over if anyone knew he had it?
Boys really are stupid. In some sort of way, because to tell the truth, if he put on his cloaking spell and left she wouldn't be able to catch him but still!
And she knows no one will be listening in, but it still doesn't feel comfortable talking about this here.]
Let's just find a place with good burgers. I'm hungry.
[And unlike most girls her age, dieting is not in her vocabulary. Maybe she's lucky in terms of metabolism - her brother does lament that she can't seem to bulk up or gain the muscle mass needed for the saber. So when she eats, she eats.
She goes to garb her coat at the entrance and slip out after waving good bye to a few people. Once outside, she sighs and looks up at the night sky, then quickly checks her phone before putting it back in her pocket.]
.... You're lucky I'm not as blade-happy as most of my family, I hope you know that. And that I know I don't even have enough qi to work something so complicated. If i were someone else, they might have already tried to cut off your arm.
no subject
I wouldn’t talk to anyone else in your family. And even if they took my arm, it wouldn’t do them any good. The enchantment would be broken and there’s a lot more to it than the design, so they wouldn’t be able to replicate it.
If you were ever going to cut off my arm, it would have been when you could just feed my corpse to your shrine and have me disappear off the face of the earth. I think I’m safe.
no subject
... I wouldn't have fed your corpse to the shrine, by the way. Then we would have one corpse too many and that would have tipped the balance.
And it's still incredibly intricate magic and you don't even really know me. I still think you're crazy. But whatever.
[She can understand the theory of what he showed her just fine. She wouldn't be able to perfectly replicate it, or even make it work with what she's working with, though. He must have a tremendous amount of power. Between that and the fact that he can maintain some level of cloaking almost at all times... yep, definitely way out of her league power wise.
And also....]
... I don't know how I should take the fact that even random strangers find me nonthreatening. Actually, probably as a compliment. I'd hate for anyone to think i can actually do stuff.
[She'll lead the way down a few streets, watching with interest how people barely seem to register he's here beyond a presence and smiling a bit to herself, because what he does with spell, she occasionally manages to do by just being herself. People frequently forget she is around, but someone like him has too much charisma and power to go unnoticed if he were to reveal himself. He's almost radiating, even with the cloaking.
She choose a smallish place, a mom and pop store that gives big portions and orders for the two of them - and pays too, handing the woman at the til her jade token. And once they're seated, she rests her chin on her hands.]
Did you really come to see me just to say hello and show me a few tricks that I really shouldn't have seen?
no subject
I don’t know. You just seemed like someone who it was worth showing it to. If that makes me crazy, then fine. What am I supposed to do when my illusion magic doesn’t impress!
[ He waited while she ordered their food, and slides into the chair opposite her, lounging ias he leaned over the table to grab a fry. ]
I thought we could be friends. [ He says it in the way a six year old might - cheerfully and without guile. ] Why, do you think I have some nefarious scheme afoot? [ He pops the fry in his mouth and then grins. ]
Honestly, I just didn’t have a place to crash tonight, so why not hang out for a few hours?
no subject
... You don't have anywhere to sleep?
[She ponders a moment.]
You can come to my place if you want to. I don't live at the family compound. I finally managed to convince my brother I needed my own place and some privacy. It's all guys over thee and it's frankly stifling at times. And it helps if I can show i can make it on my own a little.
[She's still expected to go back for her lessons and assemblies and anything related to the Clan, but at least she has her own space.]
You can stay for a few days if you really need a place to rest. I don't mind.
no subject
At the offer, he lit up. ]
Yeah? You sure? I can pay you back with a couple enchantments, if that’s okay. I can do just about anything you need, if you’ve got the components.
no subject
[Not that the location is secret, her friends know where she lives, but she keeps it private.]
I don't need you to pay me back. Just meeting you and talking with you, that's... probably the most interesting thing that's happened to me lately. Too bad I won't be able to tell anyone.
[Because no one would even believe her.]
Finish your food first. We can buy some drinks on the way back.
no subject
And that just sounds like we need to liven up your life a little, Huaisang.
[ He did as he was told, devouring his food quickly enough that it wasn’t clear when the last time he actually ate was.
He was pretty sure he’d eaten at least once today.
... Probably? ]
So we’re gonna have a bit of an afterparty, then? Sounds good to me. I can show you my flaming shots.
no subject
[She's not going to say no to free stuff, after all.
And she watches hi devour his burger with a slightly amused look.]
You don't have your own place... but you do have money to feed yourself, right?
no subject
[ He looks up at the question and then flushed a little, embarrassed. ]
Ah— yeah, of course. I can make money doing enchantments whenever I need to, really. I just, Ah, don’t have the best eating habits. I tend to forget.
[ He laughed. ]
Don’t worry, I’ll treat you next time.
no subject
[She knows a few people like that. She's pretty sure Wei-xiong would forget to eat if his sister didn't remind him to.]
And it's fine, I don't need you to pay for me. I'm a big girl. Come on now, finish it and let's go.
[True to her word, she stops at small store for a pack of beer on the way back before leading the way to her home.
It's in a good part of town of course, in a nice but non-descript high rise. Her name is on the mailbox but also, for people who can see it, a hidden Nie Sect sigil. And once they get to her floor, the presence of protection wards will be more than apparent. And they're not just the kind you put up to trip when someone goes through. They block sound and appear designed to actually repel some lower level offensive spells like a shield.
She unlocks her door, throws the keys on the console in the entrance and calls out.]
Lights on!
[The lights in the living room come on as well as several small ambient lights in the corridors and one in the kitchen.]
Leave your shoes here.