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Post by Puck on Feb 19, 2011 0:37:55 GMT -5
Puck trailed the end of an ancient raven feather over her cheek, tapping it occasionally against her chin or the tip of her nose. A few barbs had been broken off from the main feather, which were now enclosed in tiny crystal capsules. Protective amulets, which used the bits of feather from Maleficent's first familiar to turn aside the other faerie's magics.
She grinned. Maleficent would surely be expecting one such amulet to be made from the feather after Puck had stolen it. No one ever paused to consider that a mere barb from that feather could power hundreds of such amulets. The raven familiar had been one of Maleficent's first truly powerful works, and there had been a lot of magical juice used to create the poor creature. It was child's play to use the power still in the ancient feather to create protections against it.
Now, of course, she had to pick a few people for this new game and ensure that they received the amulets. She already had one such person in mind: Maxim Horvath, a sorcerer who had tried to bind her to his will nearly a century ago.
It was time for a little payback.
Subtly, of course.
Careful trawling of the papers had turned up the old sorcerer through his new sorcery classes, and further investigation had turned up the perfect cats-paw for Puck to employ: Horvath's own apprentice, Anna Stutler. Horvath would be much more likely to accept the bait if the idea came from Anna instead of Puck. So, Puck's next task was to drop a few tidbits of information to the girl. For that, she needed Owen.
It was as Owen that Puck tracked Anna Stutler to a coffee shop. The girl was easily distinguishable by her hair, with its tips dyed brilliant colors. Owen took a seat a few tables over from her, and with a flick of a beringed finger, made a glowing image of a pentacle appear in her open coffee cup.
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Post by Anna Stutler on Feb 19, 2011 0:54:05 GMT -5
It wasn't always easy, balancing life as a student, a fledgling sorceress, and a musician. It usually involved lots of all-night study sessions, energy potions, and the very occasional time twister spell. That was only good for gaining an additional 24 hours, and was only to be used under direct supervision of her master. But when exams rolled around, Horvath was usually amenable to letting her use it once. If she'd been good.
As it was, Anna was so preoccupied with the laptop in front of her that she almost missed the glowing symbol in her mocha. She banished it subtly, sliding a finger over the top of the cup as she raised it to take a sip. She instantly went on alert, eying over the half-filled cafe. A part of her was tempted to ignore it--those computer codes weren't going to write themselves--but she didn't. It could very well be Horvath with one of his little tests. Her master liked to keep her on her toes. And if it wasn't Horvath...well, all the more reason to be on her guard.
Her eyes landed on a very serious looking man a few table away. He was watching her, and inclined his head slightly when she made eye contact. Anna didn't see a cane, but that didn't mean anything. He did have a ring on one finger, and after probing lightly, Anna decided that it didn't feel like Horvath. She straightened in her chair, and used her foot to push out the one across from her. A small invitation. If this guy wanted to talk, then he could come to her and talk.
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Post by Puck on Feb 19, 2011 1:02:04 GMT -5
An invitation was an invitation, and Owen didn't need much of an excuse. He rose from his own table and joined the girl at hers.
"Please, forgive my intrusion," he said politely. For this one time, Puck would allow Owen to be more personable than his usual wooden self. This wasn't the time to be Xanatos's invisible, nearly mechanical personal assistant. "It is not often that I find a fellow sorcerer, especially in New York. My name is Owen."
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Post by Anna Stutler on Feb 19, 2011 1:10:04 GMT -5
Anna gave him a guarded look, putting an invisible shield between them and closing her laptop. "Anna. What do you want?"
In her experience, fellow sorcerers rarely approached each other for casual chitchat. She didn't know what this guy's game was, but she wasn't going to be taken off-guard.
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Post by Puck on Feb 19, 2011 1:43:43 GMT -5
He held up his hands, the long fingers spread wide in the universal gesture of 'look, I'm not holding a big murderous weapon'. "No need to be so guarded," he said, offering a polite smile. "I merely like to know who the sorcerers in my area are. It cuts down on confusion when you both go to exorcise the same ghost- you don't have to waste time trying to figure out who is on whose side. Have you been studying long?"
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Post by Anna Stutler on Feb 19, 2011 1:50:59 GMT -5
Anna crossed her arms and looked at him. "Long enough," she answered. This guy looked even less likely to be a sorcerer than her brother. Still, he'd already shown a token of power. She still wasn't buying his 'I just want to get to know you' schpiel. He might be playing nice in public--didn't mean she would trust him. Or that her shield was coming down until she figured out what was what.
"What about you?" she asked.
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Post by Puck on Feb 19, 2011 2:05:49 GMT -5
Owen gave a slight shrug. "Most of my life, actually," he replied. "I was taught by a fellow called Justin Morningway, over near Chicago."
Come to think of it, he owed old Morningway a prank or two. He had something of a penchant for trapping little faeries and Air spirits, something which Puck greatly disapproved of.
After appearing to hesitate for a second, Owen briefly brushed the girl's shield with a touch of magic, a sort of magical once-over that was roughly the equivalent of leaning in for a closer look. "Please, forgive me if I intrude but, who taught you? I don't believe I've seen that form of shield construction before."
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Post by Anna Stutler on Feb 19, 2011 2:12:49 GMT -5
Anna mulled it over a moment, then decided there was no harm in telling him. "Maxim Horvath," she said, fingering her own ring slightly. There was perhaps a small hint of pride in her voice. After all, Horvath was a legend, for many reasons. She was proud to be his apprentice. And if this strange man thought to cause her master any trouble, he would soon regret it.
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Post by Puck on Feb 19, 2011 2:20:13 GMT -5
"You were taught by Maxim Horvath?? Owen asked, letting surprise and no small amount of awe color his expression- the Puck idly noticed that his face was a little stiff. Perhaps he ought to have Owen emote more often- and he eyed the young woman with a new respect. "That is... very impressive. I didn't realize he still took students. Actually..."
Again he eyed Anna, but this time his expression was more thoughtful.
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Post by Anna Stutler on Feb 19, 2011 2:26:08 GMT -5
Really now, this was getting ridiculous. The man had obviously sought her out, and had some motivation for talking to her other than idle chitchat. Anna leaned forward a little, clasping her hands on the table. "Let's cut the crap, shall we?" she said, impatience coming through in no small measure. "Cause I have a butt load of homework to get to, and you're starting to get on my nerves. What do you really want to talk about, fancy pants? Cause I am so not buying this 'I just want to know other sorcerers' crap for a second."
How stupid did he think she was? It's not like the man was some fresh-faced kid. He certainly wasn't still an apprentice himself, and any full-fledged sorcerer wouldn't give themselves away to just shoot the breeze. Any self-respecting Morganian would want the element of surprise on their side, and any Merlinian worth their salt wouldn't be seeking out a Morganian to begin with. So what was this guy's deal?
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Post by Puck on Feb 19, 2011 2:32:45 GMT -5
Well, that was unexpected. This girl was very direct. Alright then, a good actor was always prepared to improvise. He could run with this.
"Would you have let me come within ten feet of you if I'd simply come up and said I owed a bit of a favor to your master and could point him towards a book I think he would be very interested in?" Owen asked, his voice very dry. Anna Stutler wasn't the only one who could play the blunt game. "My apologies for the charade, Miss Stutler, but quite often the more conversational approach works and I prefer to try that first."
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Post by Anna Stutler on Feb 19, 2011 2:38:16 GMT -5
Anna leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms again. There was a small grin on her face. "Maybe, but I'm a cards on the table kind of gal myself. So, what's this about a book?"
She would let the remark about the favor slide--Horvath would be able to confirm or deny that. Of course, it raised the question as to why Owen didn't just go to Horvath directly, instead of coming through Anna. Especially if this was to repay a debt.
She also let slide his use of her last name. It showed that he'd been doing research, or at least watching them. Anna had only introduced herself by her first name, and her last name wasn't visible on any of the school items she had with her. Still, at least she'd rattled him a little. That was good.
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Post by Puck on Feb 19, 2011 2:56:44 GMT -5
"Specifically, a grimoire- a spellbook." Owen leaned forward, steepling his long fingers, just as he'd seen Xanatos do a thousand times or more in meetings with business partners or criminals or underlings. "A grimoire that once belonged to a faerie named Maleficent. I understand that it was Maleficent's personal book, so it is bound to have all sorts of interesting spells and information written in it. I know Maxim Horvath is something of a collector of unique texts. He's rather infamous for it among Morganians."
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Post by Anna Stutler on Feb 19, 2011 13:53:54 GMT -5
She couldn't help but roll her eyes at him--she knew what a grimoire was, what kind of sorceress would she be otherwise--but he had her attention with the faerie business. Her boss wasn't fond of faeries, and the idea of having such a book would certainly be appealing to him.
Still, there were all sorts of nasty questions here. Anna was a big believer in 'if it looks too good to be true.' "Okay. Yeah, that sounds like a steal. Why offer it up to Horvath, instead of keeping it for yourself?"
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Post by Puck on Feb 19, 2011 14:04:25 GMT -5
Now he allowed a slight blush to stain his cheeks. "Maleficent is a very powerful faerie," he said. "The magics in her grimoire are probably going to be too strong for me to handle. Maxim Horvath, on the other hand, would be able to get more use out of it. And his dislike for the greater faeries is very well-known. He wouldn't allow such a spellbook to fall into Maleficent's hands again- and she is quite dangerous even without it."
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