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Post by Jester on Jun 15, 2006 17:15:54 GMT -5
"Apparently you found your cotton candy," "Actually i didn't." he stretched one of it out to her "It tastes just like the real thing, but it's useless in spells. In a way, magic is like Chinese counterfeits." He admired the Chinese counterfeiters, they made a business out of illusions. Fools gold in the trustest sense. Well, technically his gold was fools gold in the truest sense, but there was no need to get literary. Unless you where in a library, which with all the books here he kinda was. Did bookstores count as libraries when it came to being literary? he was woken from his thought by a pleasant voice Let me get your bill, then. Unless you want anything else. "You know what, I'm kinda hungry. What's your favorite food? Chinese perhaps?" He held up his hand just as a small colorful Asian dragon slithered out from his sleeve, flying through the air and making small circles around Rhiannon before snuggling on her shoulder.
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Post by Gabriel Corvis on Jun 15, 2006 17:26:14 GMT -5
He looked at the floor as the dragon landed on the young girl's shoulder,he started muttering samarianunder his breath and the dragon disappeared in a cloud of rainbow coloured smoke, he lifted his head and smalltrickle of blood escaped from his nose, he whiped it away and looked at Jester "You might wanna behave yourself round her, she'spretty new to all this"
he took his hand away from hise nose, this often happened when he used spells, this was because he was someone who never really practiced his magic, the spellstook a harsher toll on body then that of someone who may have been practicing it for years, nose bleeds where a common occurance, occasionally it would be much worse.
After cleaning his nose up he turned away from Jester and waited to continue his transaction with Rihanna.
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Post by Rhiannon Shaw on Jun 15, 2006 17:48:40 GMT -5
"So, Rhiannon huh?" he smiled slightly and held out his hand "Name's Gabriel Corvis,don't let the dark vlothes fool ya, I'm on okay guy"
Rhiannon eyed Gabriel and promptly accepted his offered hand, shaking it. He had a firm grip and he was rather attractive. Which was reason enough for Rhiannon's face to color slightly. The problem of being from an Irish family was that your skin tended to be very pale, so any changes in coloring were immediately noticeable. Which could be rather embarrassing. She tried to shrug it off; it wasn't the first time she blushed in front of an attractive man and it wouldn't be the last.
She really was a lost case.
Finding that thought rather amusing, she seemed to regain her voice and offered the man a typical Rhiannon smile, a sunny thousand-watt show of straight, white teeth. "I'm sure you are. Or Siobhan wouldn't have offered you a discount." She turned her gaze to her other client. Strangely how the store, which had been pretty much empty all morning, was suddenly thriving.
"Actually i didn't." he stretched one of it out to her "It tastes just like the real thing, but it's useless in spells. In a way, magic is like Chinese counterfeits."
She hesitated only for a moment before taking a small portion of the cotton candy, which she promptly put to her mouth where it immediately melted away. She hadn't had one of these in a long while. When had she eaten cotton candy the last time? About five or six years ago, when she'd gone to a fair with two young cousins. She resolved there that it was time for another trip to the fair. She missed the Giant Wheel and the other rides. And the cotton candy as well. Highly caloric, made of nothing but sugar, but it tasted heavenly.
"Thank you," she said, and then continued almost absently, as she listened to Gabriel and Siobhan talking. "If you ask me, cotton candy is a waste on spells. Eating it is just so much better."
"Which reminds me, she wants you round for tea on Sunday" he said looking at her.
"That is an excellent idea," Siobhan said immediately. "I'll see if she won't mind me bringing Rhiannon to meet her. I've been wanting to introduce the two of them for years now but Rhia never stayed long in L.A. when she managed to drop by to visit me."
Rhiannon had heard a lot of things about this mysterious Madam O, but like Siobhan had said, she hadn't ever met the woman. When she came to L.A. to visit her grandmother, she usually only stayed for a weekend or barely a few days more. The opportunity had never presented itself.
"You know what, I'm kinda hungry. What's your favorite food? Chinese perhaps?"
Rhiannon looked startled at the question. "I like Chinese but..." And then she stopped speaking because suddenly there was a tiny dragon flying around her head and landing on her shoulder. More magick? Illusion? Something unknown. She didn't know and at the moment didn't much care. Rhiannon looked at the little dragon with visible fascination, a finger carefully reaching out to touch it and caress it between its scaly wings. The dragon seemed to enjoy it because it actually purred. Rhiannon's smile grew.
And then the dragon disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Oh," she exclaimed, more an exhalation of breath rather than a proper word, the smile fading away. She was not certain what to say.
"You might wanna behave yourself round her, she'spretty new to all this"
"Well, not *that* new," she answered, trying to go for testy but it came out very soft, almost inaudible. But then she brightened. "You'll have to tell me how you did that," she said to Jester. "I never tried conjuring a dragon before." Then her eyes caught Gabriel's swipe of his nose and she frowned a bit, concern on her face. She grabbed a box of tissue paper from under the counter and extended it to him. "Here. To clean up the blood. Are you alright?"
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Post by Gabriel Corvis on Jun 15, 2006 17:55:36 GMT -5
He took the tissue and nodded "Thanks, happens sometimes, no big deal" he cleaned up his nose a little better and threw the tissue in the trash, he put the money on the counter and took the book, as he lifted the book, he caught a glimpse of his watch "Crap" he said under his breath "Gotta go, metting someone for lunch" he nodded to Rihanna "Nice metting you, you take care now" as he left he looked back at Siobhan "Nice seein' ya again Siobhan, you rest them bones" he said with a smile and quickly disappeared out the door.
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Post by Jester on Jun 15, 2006 18:11:36 GMT -5
"If you ask me, cotton candy is a waste on spells. Eating it is just so much better."
"Magic gives you both. Just buy it for spells, and whenever you feel the need for that sugary goodness to grace your tongue..." She had a sexy tongue, so thin and pointy. He could imagine how that tongue would fee-BAD JESTER BAD JESTER, no thinking of R rated thoughts in front of old ladies. Old ladies could read your mind, he knew that. Or did he? Suddenly realizing he had stopped mid sentence he quickly grabbed the falling ball. "Well, you just snap your fingers!" Snapping his fingers to emphasize, a small flying trumpet showed up and blew a snazzy jazz tone before fading away.
"You might wanna behave yourself round her, she's pretty new to all this"
"Messing up my pretty dragon, how rude of him" A mischievous smirk crossed Jester's face. He had the chain for the dark pit bull of boringness.
"You'll have to tell me how you did that," "why i would love to. I could do it over...say, just tossing ideas here, not hinting at something here, no sire that's not my style, not at all, just a friendly suggestion, nothing more." Jester stopped his insane rambling and looked, if such a thing was possible for the mad clown, embarrassed. "Lunch?"
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Post by Rhiannon Shaw on Jun 15, 2006 18:44:53 GMT -5
"Nice meeting you too." Rhiannon watched as Gabriel quickly walked away and left the store, a feeling of disappointment momentarily taking hold of her before she gave herself a mental shake of the head.
"I surely will!" Siobhan said laughingly to the departing Gabriel. "Got me a youngling to carry the heavy stuff now," she added, looking at Rhiannon, a smile on her face. Then the smile faded a bit as she stared hard at Jester for a moment, again, as if studying him. Then she placed a hand on Rhia's shoulder and motioned to the backroom's door. "I'll be in the back. Call me if you need me."
With a last look at the remaining client, an warning edge to it, Siobhan left them alone. Rhiannon knew her grandmother wouldn't be far and would be paying attention to things in that way she had of knowing practically everything that happened in her store, even when she wasn't in the room. Siobhan had proved to be rather protective of Rhiannon. The big city held more danger than one might expect and it could take many different forms. Even -- or maybe, especially -- flamboyantly dressed ones.
"Why i would love to. I could do it over...say, just tossing ideas here, not hinting at something here, no sire that's not my style, not at all, just a friendly suggestion, nothing more." Jester stopped his insane rambling and looked, if such a thing was possible for the mad clown, embarrassed. "Lunch?"
Rhiannon started laughing as the strange-looking man started his halting but amusing ramble, but when he finished it, appearing slightly embarrassed, Rhiannon couldn't say a thing. She looked at him with a surprised expression on her face but no sound actually came out of her mouth. She managed to clear her throat.
"You're asking me on a date." It was supposed to come out as a question but ended up lacking the proper emphasis, so it sounded like a statement. She brushed a strand of hair from her face, a nervous habit she'd had since she was a child. It was not like she'd never been asked out for lunch or dinner or the movies. She knew men found her attractive but usually they ended up wanting to be friends with her. She had the kind of kind innocence to her that made her a great confident, but it tended to intimidate men a bit, made them feel as if they were doing something wrong if they thought of her in sexual terms.
She had a certain calm presence that was not seen in many people this time and age, but she'd never consider herself untouchable. Never really thought about that until all the boys she'd liked in school turned their eyes on other girls while still coming to her when they wanted to talk to someone who would understand them, without judgment. It was rather frustrating, really. It was not like she didn't entertain sinful thoughts like most people. But it seemed she just made a better friend than girlfriend to most of the guys she ended up meeting.
She looked at Jester and considered his invitation. He was a strange-looking one, no doubt about it. Funny, though. A bit hyperactive. Talkative. Different from her; she tended to be rather quiet most times. Could talk an earful when the subject interested her, but more often than not, she liked to listen. He was not the kind of man she'd consider dating. But it was just lunch. Not necessarily classified as a date and much less a commitment. And he'd showed her something she wanted to learn. So she took the plunge.
"I don't even know your name," she told him softly. "Can't go have lunch with a perfect stranger."
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Post by Jester on Jun 15, 2006 18:58:10 GMT -5
"I don't even know your name," she told him softly. "Can't go have lunch with a perfect stranger."
Jester flashed a massive grin, that almost seemed to go from ear to ear. "Jester, and i'm pretty sure you can guess why" He gestured to his clothes "It's because of my great sense of humor. Or possibly the clothes, but i like to think it's the jokes" Actually he liked to think it was that he could mock and jest with reality itself, mold it like taffy and munch at the corners.
He picked up the items and left a wad of cash on the table. Normally he would leave fools bills or just teleport out with what he wanted, but he could feel the enchantment in the shop. There was no chance he could get away. Well he could, but it would take all of his energy, and he couldn't do any fancy stuff. No point in magic if it doesn't look good.
"Chinese then?" He pulled out a hat from his ear, put it on his head and tipped it while making a bow with a extraordinary amount of arm swinging. "May i escort the lady out of this fine establishment and take her to dinner?" He offered her his arm while putting his hat on.
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Post by Rhiannon Shaw on Jun 16, 2006 6:15:26 GMT -5
The name fit extremely well, but she doubted his parents had named him that when he was born. Then again, stranger things had happened, and some people had a tendency to come up with the most ridiculous of names for their children. Rhiannon was quite glad for her name. Had always loved it. Welsh in origin, meaning "Great Queen", a Goddess of inspiration and the moon, and with a beautiful myth attached to it. The story of the goddess Rhiannon often reminded her of the healing power of humor, tears, and forgiveness; it had always brought comfort.
Rhiannon gathered the money he placed on the counter and secured it in the cash registrar, passing Jester a receipt of his purchases. The she watched as he extravagantly invited her along with him, hat (another trick, because there had been no hat moments before) and arm extended.
She smiled and leaned over the counter to speak almost conspiratorially. "Got to tell the boss first," she said, pointing to the backroom door. "Can't just waltz out of here or I might get fired." She winked at him, because by now he must have noticed that the store's owner was indeed Rhia's grandmother and would do no such thing, but Rhia needed to let Siobhan know where she was going. "Give me a minute?"
She found Siobhan busy going through one of those ancient books Rhiannon hadn't had the opportunity to explore yet. Her grandmother looked up at her with a weary expression, as if she already knew what Rhiannon was going to tell her.
"Siobhan, I'm going out for lunch. Won't take long."
"I don't like him," was her grandmother's reply. Definitely knew Rhiannon wasn't going alone, then. Nothing ever got past Siobhan on her 'turf', it seemed.
"I think he's funny," Rhiannon said with a shrug. "And I'm only going for lunch."
"There's something about him..."
"He's... different, yes." An euphemism if there ever was one.
"There is eccentric," her grandmother said sternly. "And then there is crazy with terrible fashion-sense." A pause. "I don't trust him."
"Siobhan, it's lunch not a life-long commitment," Rhiannon said softly. "And in broad daylight, with people around. It's not like I'm going to go into a dark alley with him." She shook her head and a gentle smile came to her lips. "The Lady watches over me."
Her grandmother stared at Rhiannon for a long moment. "Just in case She's occupied with other things, take that electrical thing..." Siobhan trailed off, uncertainly.
"Taser," Rhiannon supplied helpfully.
"Yes, that... take that with you. One never knows what one can find out there."
"Always do," Rhiannon reassured her grandmother and leaned over to kiss her wrinkled cheek. "I'm not defenseless, you know."
"But you're my granddaughter, and your safety is important to me. I worry. L.A. is more dangerous than you give it credit for."
"The world is a dangerous place, Siobhan. Always was, always will be. But you got to have faith. I'll be back in an hour or so. " With those parting words, she made her way out of the room and back to the store, where she gathered her coat and bag, and met Jester at the exit.
"Sorry. You know how bosses are. So, shall we?" And, against all those old rules of courtesy, opened the door for the man to pass first.
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Post by Jester on Jun 16, 2006 8:41:14 GMT -5
Jester wasn't a patient man. In fact, the very idea of patience was lost to him. Why wait for anything? Why not go and get it, do what you want and move on when it gets boring? So, forced to wait, his lack of patience caused him to wander around the store.
It was a nice store. It had alot of things, although most of them where spell books. He really really hated spell books. Always telling him how to do, not letting him do what he wanted. They where like parents. Or at least Jester suspected they where like parents, since he couldn't remember his own. He wasn't even sure he ever had parents. Perhaps he was brought by the stork? Or born out of cotton candy that was exposed to chaos energy? The cotton candy man. Had a nice ring to it.
he suddenly stopped as something caught it attention. It was a rather striking purple crystal. It stood out from the other crystals because it was expertly cut, it's surface perfectly smooth and it's edges straight and it had a extraordinary amount of clarity. Who was he trying to fool? It caught his attention because it was shiny. He picked it up, holding it up to the light coming from the store window, turning it slowly to study it. Then with a sudden "Wosh" a beam shoot out from it, hitting and instantly evaporating a entire row of books. "Oops" Jester, always thinking on his feet, quickly grabbed the ashes from the books. Had to hide them, had to hide them! where was a horse ass when you needed one?
Finally realizing that there was no horse hiding between Larias "encyclopedia arcana" and "Festers magic and meat: the ultimate guide on how to store those stinking steaks in a alternate dimension when the cops come to visit" Jester took drastic measures. He swallowed the ashes. Which quickly resulted in him coughing up half a dozen books. Apparently the spell was reversed with saliva. Wasting no time Jester quickly shoved them back into the shelf and tossed the crystal back where he found it, just in time too, since Rhiannon choose that exact time to walk back in.
"Sorry. You know how bosses are. So, shall we?" And, against all those old rules of courtesy, opened the door for the man to pass first. "That we shall" Skipping out of the door and pulling Rhiannon with him, they emerged onto the street "What does the graceful beauty desire this evening?" He asked with another courteous bow.
"And excuse me while i get changed" He grabbed the edge of his straight jacket and pulled it off, his entire ensemble following it as it disappeared into nothing. Underneath a purple suit and a black shirt had appeared, while his hair had turned a dark shade of green and the red shapes at his eyes had changed to a deep purple that matched the suit.
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Post by Rhiannon Shaw on Jun 16, 2006 12:14:30 GMT -5
"Well, you mentioned Chinese..." Rhiannon started, answering his question of what she'd like today, but then trailed off as she watched him suddenly change his clothes and even his appearance, as if it was nothing. One moment he'd been wearing that rather ridiculous straightjacket and the next he'd pulled it off (and it had just as suddenly disappeared, as if it had never existed beyond her imagination), revealing a rather glaringly purple suit. It actually favored him more than his previous outfit, but her grandmother's words revolved around her head, "crazy with terrible fashion-sense".
It wasn't that it had shocked her, to see him he do that. She'd been surprised, yes -- it wasn't everyday you saw someone change clothes in the middle of the street. What confused her the most was how loosely this man, Jester, seemed to use his magick, the flashy way it was manifested in. Without care. She considered this not judgmentally but with puzzlement, incomprehension, because it was something that was outside the way she understood things to work, the way she saw the world.
Magick had always come easily to Rhiannon. The women in her family had always had a deep connection to the magickal forces of nature. It had permeated whatever house Rhiannon had ever lived in, especially the family house in Ireland. Magick had always been part of Rhiannon. But it was not something she used lightly. Not something she used without respect, care and intention. Respect to the forces that allowed you to tap that power, from within and from without, respect for the Lady and the Lord, her son and consort.
In fact, she didn't use it as often as one might think, for someone who called herself a witch. It didn't make her inexperienced, no, because when she did magick, she was good at it. But it was not the most important aspect to her. She didn't go around using it to help her on household tasks or make things easier for her. She used it during rituals, on the Sabbats, on the dates most cherished and revered by witches. Used it to honor her Lady and the varied Gods of the pantheons Rhiannon prayed to. Used it when she deemed it necessary, as long as it harmed no one. Used it as a means to commune with the world around her and feel the gift she'd been given.
It was more spiritual than anything else, the way she did magick. No hocus pocus and with very little flash to it. Didn't mean she couldn't do flashy. But it just wasn't... well... her. But she'd never met all that many witches and practitioners of magick. Living in a small town in Massachusetts didn't preclude meeting many people with like-minded interests, even if you were only three hour ride away from Salem. She'd always practiced her magick alone, or among her family (cousins, aunts, mother, grandmother and even a few uncles -- because not only the women in the family dabbled in witchcraft), and they'd always shared the same respect for their power as Rhiannon herself had.
But maybe that was why it surprised her, confused her, the way this man used his magick. She had a way of doing things that appeared to be fundamentally different from his. She didn't know whether to be weary of him and the way he seemed so reckless with it, or to appreciate that there were people who looked at magick differently than she did. She couldn't judge how one used the power they had. It wasn't her place to do so. As long as they did not harm anyone.
Besides, it would be rather hypocritical of her if she didn't admit that the appearance of that little dragon had tickled her curious nature and her desire to learn something new, something that was, at first sight, completely superficial. But she'd always been fascinated by dragons, those creatures of great wisdom and strength and beauty.
"I think you're a bit overdressed for lunch now," she finally commented, eyeing him up and down. "It's Chinese, not the Ritz." She offered him a smile, to let him know she was joking. The she lightly bit her lip, an apologetic expression on her face. "I am a bit new to the city, so I'm not very familiar with the area. Can you recommend a good Chinese restaurant that's not too far away?"
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Post by Jester on Jun 16, 2006 12:43:57 GMT -5
"Well, i know this really nice place in Hong Kong. Has the best dumplings. And the views good" He liked Hong Kong today. It was a fun city, if you looked past the whole nasty semi dictatorship thing that was going on. But he didn't care about politics. No, Jester only cared about two things. Fun and Chaos. Although to Jester, those two things where pretty much the same. And teaching Rhian chaos thus was fun.
Wait, that was logic. He really didn't like Logic. It was a mean spiteful little toad of a cranky old man, always complaining about his magic and trying to mess it up. But Jester was a even meaner bastard. Although Logic tended to say he was just to stupid to realize he couldn't do what he did. But Jester just gave logic the finger and called him jealous because he couldn't do it. Then he did a spell and thus metaphysically kicked the old man in the balls and stole his crutch before using it to pole vault into Logics bedroom and having sex with Logics hot young wife.
Logic's wife was really hot, but not as hot as chaos. No, chaos was a real knockout. She had always been there for Jester, ever since he woke up in central park naked with nothing but a innate understanding about chaos, magic and chaos magic. And, for some reason, a deep well of knowledge on how to make three legged weasels do the hooky pookie using nothing but a ball of yarn and nose spray. Wonder if he could turn Junior into a weasel? Or perhaps a ottsel? And he could give him one of those world war two flyer caps. jester stopped. What was he thinking about? Turning Junior into a weasel? Had he gone mad? It was just so ridiculous. He couldn't turn him into a weasel. Junior should be a singing hamster.
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Post by Rhiannon Shaw on Jun 16, 2006 13:54:10 GMT -5
Rhiannon wondered if he was joking or not about Hong Kong, which was hard to tell with this man. He said everything with such a note of reckless amusement, with such a playful spark in his eyes, one wondered if he could be serious. Granted, he was funny. Had made her smile and laugh on more than one occasion since he'd stepped foot on her grandmother's shop, but it also made it doubly hard to determine if what he said was actually meant.
He was a strange one, no doubt about it.
"When I said not too far away, I was thinking more like the next few blocks," she said, shaking her head in a mix of amusement and gentle exasperation. "Maybe even in Chinatown. Haven't had the opportunity to visit it yet but if one wants Chinese, that's where one goes." She gave him a bright smile. "Shall we call a taxi?"
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Post by Jester on Jun 16, 2006 14:18:43 GMT -5
"Who needs cabs?" Jester didn't like cabs. they were yellow, like bananas on a black river of physics. Jester hated physics. It constantly grabbed his leg and yanked him down to earth, holding him down. Jester didn't like being held down, something which more then a few demons, vampires and the occasional sperm whale had discovered. Okay, perhaps not a sperm whale. But at least a big horse. Although not in a creepy illegal porn kind of way. Jester wasn't in to that. At least he didn't think he was. thinking about it didn't give him those pleasant tingling feelings he got when he thought about Rhiannon and her....well, better not think about that, the old lady might still be within mental eavesdropping range.
Which brought him back to his original point, vanishing in a spectacular fashion with the gorgeous women. With a quick move he grabbed Rhiannon and they disappeared in a explosion of fireworks and screeching Chinese crackers.
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Post by Rhiannon Shaw on Jun 16, 2006 17:58:00 GMT -5
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Stone
Bad Ass Demon Slayer
I remember
Posts: 276
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Post by Stone on Jun 18, 2006 9:58:14 GMT -5
Stone gently landed on the roof of the Moonshade, making sure that the street was clear before jumping down, using his wings to break the fall and spare the concrete.
He folded his wings around himself and opened the door, his huge talon making the handle look tiny in comparison . As he ducked under the door frame and stepped inside, his eyes quickly scanned for any customers. Finding the store empty he continued inside, glad for the high ceiling that saved him from hunching over or bumping his head.
The store sure had changed since his last visit 15 years ago. Then it had just been a few books and the occasional charm. Now it was stacked with countless rare tomes and a sizable collection of artifacts.
He called out with his deep rumbling voice "Hello? Siobhan?"
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