Realistic or Modern [Rachary] Feels Just Like Home [Loxx]

[apolla]

Name: Arianna Jamison
Age: 21
Height: 5'2

​

 

[Rachary]

Name: Damon Bowen
Age: something around 2000 years
Gender: male
Height: 6'3 ft
Hair color: dark brown/black
Eye color: green

 

[apolla]

Arianna

| Location: basement of her grandmothers house |
| With: no one |
| Mentions: no one (but eventually Rachary ) |

The drive to her grandparents property was unfamiliar, and that alone was enough to give Arianna anxiety. The girl wasn't usually one to step outside of her box, her comfort zone, but upon receiving the letter that her grandmother-- who she had no idea if she'd ever even met-- had left Ari her home in her will, she knew she couldn't just let it sit and rot. She didn't owe her grandparents anything, after all. She didn't know either of them. They'd never called, never written, never tried to get in touch with her at all. No, instead she'd been brought up by her crazy mother in a crummy apartment that was barely big enough for the two of them.

Without realizing it, her tiny fingers tightened their grip on the steering wheel and her jaw locked. The GPS spoke, telling her that it was recalculating the route. "What?" She snapped at the thing, tearing her eyes from the back country road to look at the device. Sure enough, it was in the process of recalculating, and she groaned. Of course. Thinking about her mother had made her miss the turn. "Damnit." Loosening her grip on the wheel, she let go completely with one hand to run her fingers through her long blonde hair, resting her elbow on the window and her cheek in her hand.

A spot approached where she could pop a u-turn, and she did so, keeping watch for the little dirt road that she'd missed the first time. She almost missed it again, spotting the gnarled tree beside the old road at the last second that the man at the convenience store had told her about. She'd stopped there for a drink and to fill up, and had asked him about her grandparents place. He'd cast her a confused look, but wiped it clean before she could mention it. He'd told her that she would probably miss the turn the first time, and sure enough, he'd been right.

"Jackass." She muttered, navigating her little Toyota down the dirt road slowly. After about a mile and a half, the large home came into view. For a split second, a feeling of deja vu overtook her, knocking into her like a load of bricks and almost making her throw up. She reached for the window and smashed her finger down on the button to roll it down, needing the fresh air. Gulping it in like a fish would with water after being dumped back into the ocean, she pressed on the gas a little harder than she meant to. The car jerked forward, and even though she yanked her foot back quickly, she heard the sickening crunch of something dragging on the underside of her hood.

"Not happening." Ari groaned, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel before sliding the gearshift into reverse, wincing noticeably as she backed off of the tree stump she'd hit. "Who put that there?" She glared at the thing before shifting back into drive, driving around it and up the rest of the driveway. Parking, she studied the house before her. It looked pretty run down already, and she couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not. On the one hand, if it was too bad inside she could just declare it a loss and move on. On the other hand, if it could be saved and cleaned she could do so and get the money from it.

With a sigh, she turned her car off and got out, slowly closing the car door behind her. Her petite frame started towards the impending house, reaching into her back pocket for the key she'd tucked there. Pulling out the brass item, she walked up the front steps, her breath blowing out tiny clouds in the cold. Wanting to get inside and find out if this place had heat quickly, she stuffed the key into the lock and twisted. It opened easily, and she crossed the threshold fast, shutting the door behind her with more force than necessary.

Locking the door as an afterthought, she turned to face the rest of the house, shivering slightly. It was warmer in here for some reason, but still not a furnace. Tugging her fur lined jacket tighter around her thin frame, she moved her knee high boot clad feet forward, not even really sure where to begin. Heat. She told herself again, nodding in response, before heading down the main hall.

Sometime later, once the ancient heating system was on and going strong, she'd shed her jacket. Everything seemed to be in place, however, imagine her surprise when she'd found her grandmothers shrine room. It was the basement, or what the basement used to be. Everything was covered in cobwebs; it didn't appear to have been disturbed for a long, long time.

There was a book in the center of the room. Upon opening it, she'd flipped a few pages before she recognized it as a spellbook. Her hand moved to the necklace around her neck; it was a pentacle, but it wasn't hers. She'd found it upstairs and, assuming it to be her grandmothers, had put it on wondering if it would make her feel any closer to the woman she barely remembered.

Lowering her hand, she flipped a few more pages. "Summoning spell." She murmured, pursing her lips as she scanned the rest of the page. It seemed simple enough. Glancing around, she found a container of candles, and decided to say fuck it. She lit them around her and the book, returning to the page, beginning to read the latin-looking words aloud.

code by RI.a

 

[Rachary]

Demon.
Minding that that word basically was a term to stand for such a vast variety of beings made its existence almost ridiculous- and practices that included not otherwise specified variations of demons incredibly dangerous and unpredictable.
the same ritual could summon a lesser demon, annoying little things that hid in the shadows and brought bad luck wherever their summoner went, to knights of hell who could destroy an entire continent by just the power of their will.
however there were some who knew how to modify and change their spells to summon a certain kind, along with a wide range of other side effects.

it was a complicated practice to modify a set spell and ritual in a way that would make it, and by far not every witch was clever or talented enough to do it, but there was one who had mastered it.

A pair of bright green eyes opened in the dim light and gained a look of confusion.
wait.
he knew that pentagram down there.
he knew that basement.
he knew it very well.
so this had to mean that his time as the protector of the witches heir had come...
They shared a long past. He had been her protector for many years before she had felt the end coming and let him go to live his own life for a while. but he had had to promise that he would pick up his old task again and protect her heir when her magical abilities would awaken. she had set it all up so the first spell she would do would be his summoning spell.
well then...

the black-haired young man shook his head, listening into the darkness beyond the reach of the candles that lit up his pentagram.
It was hard to see anything outside the magical circle, but he was pretty sure he could catch a glimpse at some blonde hair.
Damon growled silently for just a second, his eyes twinkling in the dim light that the pentagram below him was giving off.
the shackle around his left wrist, a simple, dark red leather wristband with a pendant just like the pentagram that was burned into the ground, was incredibly uncomfortable. but it was what bound him to his old master's heir, and so could only be destroyed by her- with a spell the old witch had taken to her grave.
"I swear...", he sighed, stretching his back for a moment.
"That witch..."

all of a sudden, the demon focused on the bit of his summoner he could make out in the darkness.
"Well then-"
With a shrug, he slowly stepped out of the pentagram and made a green flame appear on his palm to light up the darkness in front of him.
"Arianna", he said, his voice quite neutral as he studied her features.
"I have been waiting for you for a long time."

 

[apolla]

Arianna

| Location: basement of her grandmothers house |
| With: no one |
| Mentions: Damon ( Rachary ) |

At first, Arianna didn't think anything had happened. She stood there for a moment, the spell having just left her lips, eyes still on the page in front of her. "Well, that was a letdown." She muttered, reaching for the pages to flip to the next one. Truthfully, she shouldn't have expected much anyway, not from an old dusty book in a basement. Magic wasn't real anyway; her grandmother must have been an old kook. Still, Arianna couldn't help but wonder what her life might have been like if she'd been raised here instead.

A sound froze her hand mid-reach, and with just her eyes, she looked up. Though his features were shrouded in darkness, there was definitely someone there. A masculine someone, from what she could tell. Tall. Dangerous. The word flashed in her mind and her head jerked up, following her gaze as she took a few hurried steps backwards. "Who the hell are you?" She snapped, her voice shaking more than she'd like to admit.

He stepped forward, his face and voice calm as they came into focus. Her feet frozen to the floor, she stood there, mouth slightly agape as she realized she could see his face now. It wasn't the fact that she could see his face; it was how. Slowly, her eyes flicked towards the green flame in his hand. Not only was fire not supposed to be green, but wasn't it... wasn't it painful? "How are you...?" She started to ask, then realized she might have more pressing issues.

"Who are you?" She asked again, her voice steadier this time. Her gaze landed back on him as she attempted to swallow her fear, straightening to her full height-- which she couldn't help but notice was much shorter than him-- and crossing her arms. Pretending the fire didn't bother her in the slightest, she cleared her throat, waiting for him to answer.

code by RI.a

 

[Rachary]

Damon watched silently, his right eyebrow raised, just waiting for her to calm down.
He had to admit; she had a fire inside her, even though she probably wasn't even aware of it.
He however was; and he knew that this under fire was a sign for a lot of magical potential.
Emotions and memories played an important role in almost everything witches and wizards could do, after all.
She was much smaller than him, he noticed, but he knew better than to mess with an angry witch, especially as he didn't know what kind of person she was;
Lilium, her grandmother, had been a great witch and an amazing person, although she did have her secrets and dark spots. He had never blamed her though; after all, he probably was the worst of them all...

He smirked teasingly at the sound of Arianna's shaking voice.
Though, just a second later he found himself wondering why she seemed so shocked.
After all, she had performed the summoning, she had called him here, and with a grandmother like Lilium she for sure would know at least something about actual magic...right?
Wrong, he realized;
The way she was staring at the fire on his palm spoke more than a thousand words.
She was completely oblivious about the realness of magic and various magical creatures, wasn't she?
"A newbie...", He sighed, actually sounding kind of disappointed. He wasnt, however; he was just a little worried-
That she had no idea of magic itself probably meant that she also had no clue of the dangers it brought, all the hunters lurking around every corner and just waiting to capture and enslave another witch, and creatures like him... Not all of them were bound to protect someone, after all.

This would all be a lot more complicated than he had initially expected.

Sighing frustratedly, the demon focused his bright green gaze on Arianna again, a small, challenging smirk crossing his face.
"I'm Damon", he said simply. "Damon Bowen. I'm a half-demon. I used to be your grandmother's familiar and protector. And as I owe her, I am your familiar and protector now. I am here to teach you how to use your magical abilities, how to defend yourself from those who will try to get you and- to make sure you won't end up as a slave of some hunter."

The Don wasn't really a fan of dark, confined places like this basement though, so he headed for the stairs and climbed the first few steps.
"I'm starving... We should order pizza or something."

 

[apolla]

Arianna

| Location: basement of her grandmothers house |
| With: Damon |
| Mentions: Damon ( Rachary ) |

The stranger across from her remained silent, his stoic form barely flinching at her outburst. She didn't miss the teasing smirk that appeared on his lips at her question, though she thought it might have to do more with how she asked rather than what she asked. She'd never been good at hiding her emotions: fear, anger, surprise, joy. She wore them all on her sleeve, and now was no different.

Her eyes had slid back over to the flame in his hands, but when he spoke, they jumped back to him. A newbie? Is that what he'd said? What the hell was that supposed to mean? She heard the disappointment in his voice and couldn't help but feel a little deflated herself. What was it that she was supposed to know? What was she missing here? And how the hell was that fire not eating his hand alive?

The atmosphere in the room shifted as another smirk appeared on his lips. Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, the back of her mind wondering if she should prepare to run, she studied him. If he'd wanted to hurt her, he could easily do so. Despite the fact that she was closer to the stairs, she had no doubt he could catch up to her easily.

Uncomfortable with that thought, she tried to calm her nerves enough to be able to comprehend what he was saying. "You're a what?" She asked, her brain not able to keep up with how fast he was going. "My what? Protect me from who?" Blinking, she stiffened as he moved past her towards the stairs, turning with him as he passed and started up the steps.

"A pizza?"

A self proclaimed half demon wanted her to order them a pizza?

Almost absentmindedly, she followed him out of the basement. Once they hit the light of day, she found herself breathing easier, though she didn't take her eyes off of him. "You can tell me what you were really doing down there at anytime." She ventured, making sure to stay a few feet away from him. "I won't call the cops. Promise."

code by RI.a

 

[Rachary]

[[Heyy, just a heads up- work is pretty busy atm, but I'm working on my reply! Guess I'll have it up tomorrow evening c:]]

 

[Rachary]

[gosh, sorry it's been taking me so long. Retail's a bitch around Christmas X'3]

She didn't believe him. Yeah okay, that was an expectable reaction for someone who apparently had not the hint of an idea of who or what they actually were and what was going on out there.
It however didn't make it less of a Problem;
This girl had no clue of the dangers out there, she could maybe have a hunter among her own friend without knowing it.
She could mean danger for Damon and herself and it would take him quite some time and patience to teach her...
Not to mention that he wasn't the most patient of demons.

As soon as they were upstairs and out of the dim of the basement, Damon let the flame in his palm disappear and took his dear time to give his new apprentice an evaluating once-over, green eyes scanning her features. She had her grandmother's eyes, he noticed with a painful little stinging in his chest.
However, it have him some hope as well- if her personality would just remotely be like Lilium's, she had the potential to become a great witch.

Damon stilled completely when Arianna acted like he was a mere burglar.
His eyes narrowed just a fraction-
And the demon burst into roaring laughter.
It took him some time to calm down, and even then, he was still smirking in sheer amusement.
"What I was doing down there?", He chuckled. "I was waiting for you, Arianna. Because, you see, I used to be your grandmother's protector. I owe her, so I had to promise that I'd continue my job when you'd take over her legacy. If you excuse me now...I have to cast some protective Shields..."

And just like that, the black-haired guy turned his heel and headed into the middle of the room, where, with a few movements of his hands, an incredibly intricate, glowing shield of light appeared in the air in front of him. It grew, until it was big enough to cover the ground of the entire property and faded slowly.
"That", Damon explained dead seriously "was the Shield of Eleyson. It's a protective spell that hides magic within its borders from witch hunters. They can sense it like a smell in the air- and we don't want that. At least if you don't like to be enslaved and tortured."

Damon didn't waste any time and immediately headed for the living room as if he had lived in this house for all his life.
This guy was cool as a cucumber, and apparently completely immune to subtle hints- or he plainly didn't care.
"What now?", He called. "I thought we wanted to order pizza!"

 

[apolla]

Arianna

| Location: basement of her grandmothers house |
| With: Damon |
| Mentions: Damon ( Rachary ) |

((No problem! ^^))

Her promise was a lie, of course. Arianna planned on calling the cops as soon as she could. She had a feeling if she dove for her phone right now, however, he could easily overpower her and take the device. So she'd have to wait until she'd lulled him into a false sense of comfort, and then strike when he least expected it. Ignoring his roaming eyes, she crossed her arms over her chest, using them as if they were a protective shield over her entire body.

If there was one thing she hated, it's being laughed at. As he erupted into laughter, she tensed, her cheeks beginning to take on a slightly pink hue. Yet still she stood there, waiting for him to finish. Just as she decided to either stomp off or slap him clear across the face, his laughing fit died down, and he was able to speak again. "My grandmother's what?" She echoed, but her question was lost to him as he excused himself to cast some... protective shields...

She could do little more than watch as he turned on his heel to march to the middle of the room. At first, she thought him waving his arms was an attempt to distract her, and she found herself looking around for whatever it was she was supposed to miss. But then she caught sight, out of the corner of her eye, a glowing ball of light in front of him. It grew, and she felt it pass through her as it expanded to cover the entire house and property.

"What the hell was that?" She snapped, more out of fear than anger. It seemed he'd anticipated her question, explaining it was the Shield of... something. "Uhh, tortured?" She wrapped her arms around herself, taking a few steps back from him. He went on to head for the living room, more comfortable in this house than she was, like he'd been living here for a long time.

"What now? I thought we wanted to order pizza!"

Arianna blinked, then scowled as she followed him into the other room. "You realize," she began, trying to keep her voice steady. "That I don't believe a word you're saying, right?"

code by RI.a

 

[Rachary]

As Arianna would arrive in the living room, she'd find the previously so sarcastic and easygoing demon gone completely still and serious in 0.1 second.
He was standing in front of the fireplace, so close the flames should've burned him but didn't, his arms resting on the edge upon it, chin leaned on them while his green eyes lingered on an old photo of Lilium with actually something like pain written in them.
The most eye-catching thing however probably was the pair of deep black, feathered wings that had made it through the back of his shirt and were now limply hanging down his back.
He sighed deeply.
"Why, Lilly?", He mumbled silently "I could've saved you...I could've-" but straightened as soon as he noticed Arianna.
His gaze flicked between her and the photo, eyebrows slightly knitting together. She was a spitting image of her grandmother when she'd been that age, and that for sure didn't make it any easier for him.

"Look", he sighed tiredly "you don't have to like me. You don't even have to believe me. But I made a promise to her to protect you with my life. And that's what I will do. Because no matter what you do, threaten me with iron, shower me with holy water, love me, hate me, I won't let you go through what we went through."
There seemed to be much more to his words that he didn't say, but he didn't make any efforts to explain what he meant. This wasn't the right time.
However, maybe at least a bit of information would help her wrap hey mind around what was actually going on.

So, with a long sigh, Damon took a seat on the couch and massaged his temple with one index and and middle finger before he looked up at Arianna with a concerning mix of fear, hate and grief written in his bright green eyes.
"I wish Lily would've had the chance to prepare you for this and even though i revere and admire her with all my heart, the decision to protect you by cutting all ties is one I've always been questioning", he sighed. "You see, her original plan was to contact you on your twenty-first birthday and explain everything to you but... They found us. I'll be honest, I won't tell you everything that happened there, at least not now. All you need to know is that Lily saved my life two times... And gave her life for me back there. That's... Nothing to just move on from, especially not for someone like me, who's never experienced something like that in over two thousand years of living. But Lily wanted me to protect you, knowing that you, just like her, carry the gift of magic inside you. This gift makes you a Target for a vast variety of people and monsters."

Damon looked around the room for a while, his eyes catching the old photo of Lilium over and over before he got up from the couch and went to stand in front of Arianna, his gaze digging into hers.
"You don't believe a word I say. Understandable, as you've grown up oblivious to the truth about your heritage, but you can't afford staying in your little comfort box now. Because if you will, we will both die sooner or later. Please just work along for a moment, okay?"
He'd just show her a simple healing technique for the start, just to make her believe him.
He grabbed a paper knife from the nearby table and cut his palm, his black blood staining the small blade.
"Chill, I just wanna prove that I'm telling the truth", he said, taking her hand with his injured one as if they were shaking hands.
"Close your eyes. Focus on your happiest, most peaceful memory. Let it flow through your body, into your hand. You'll see, the cut will be gone."

 

[apolla]

Arianna

| Location: basement of her grandmothers house |
| With: Damon |
| Mentions: Damon ( Rachary ) |

His sudden change in demeanor didn't escape Arianna's notice, but with her attention on his magic trick, she didn't remember what she was going to say. She did open her mouth to say that he probably shouldn't stand that close to the fire, but as she slowly approached him, she noticed two things. The first-- the flames licked at the edges of his clothing, but didn't appear to be burning them or him in any way. She snapped her mouth shut, lifting her gaze to his own, and that's when she noticed the second.

The pain. There was pain in his eyes as he gazed upon the picture of a woman who Arianna had come to know as her grandmother. She slid her gaze over to the picture, studying the woman in it. A small part of her wished she'd known the woman. But then again, if she'd known about Arianna, why had she never come around? Why had she never found her?

Taking a few steps back, she planned on turning away, but froze when she saw the wings protruding from his back. They were beautiful; sleek with black feathers begging to be touched. She stood there, hypnotized by them, until he spoke again. Tearing her gaze away from the wings, she met his eyes with her own, still hugging herself. Iron? Holy water?

Love?

Had he and her grandmother...?

Not wanting to think about that, she took a few hasty steps away from him as he moved to seat himself on the couch as though he'd done so many times before. A few moments passed before he looked at her, her own uneasiness shining through in her gaze. Her brain buzzed with the information he shot at her-- her grandmother cutting off all ties; her giving up her life for him when she couldn't even make contact with Ari; 2000 years of living; magic...

It was all too much.

She shook her head. "I can't believe any of this." She spoke, her voice soft. In response, he stood up and came to stand in front of her, his eyes boring down into hers. Looking back, maybe she should have seen it coming, especially when he grabbed the knife. But she didn't. As he cut into his palm, she gasped loudly and jerked backwards, watching his blood pool up in his palm.

But then he grabbed her hand.

Never quite a germaphobe, but never one to just grab someone's bleeding extremity, she immediately tugged on her hand, trying to remove it from his grip. "Let go!" She shrieked, looking up at him with wide, frightful eyes. He didn't let go, and she realized she was stuck. "I don't have any peaceful memories." She snapped at him, giving her arm one last tug before giving up with an irritated sigh. "Fine!"

Racking her brain, she tried to come up with a peaceful memory from her childhood. A happy one. It took a few moments, but then his face popped into her mind. Her first friend, Brayden. From grade school. He'd been the first to share his cookies with Arianna, and she remembered that, even years later. As she thought about him, her posture relaxed, as did her grip on his hand.

At first, she didn't feel it. Fully prepared to tell him he was wrong, she opened her mouth to do so, and that's when she felt it. A small humming throughout her body, almost as if an electric current shot through her bloodstream. Starting from her heart, circulating through it and then racing through her arteries to her hands and feet.

But it got stranger.

She felt the current zooming through her body, but then it specifically concentrated in her hand. More specifically, the hand holding his. A warmth radiated from her hand, starting in the palm and spreading outward. But it didn't stop. It got hotter and hotter until she thought her skin would melt off. Wrenching her hand from his, she stumbled backwards, tripping over the couch and falling to the ground.

Slightly dazed and more than confused, all she could do was look up at him.

code by RI.a

 

[Rachary]

While Arianna was sitting there, clearly overwhelmed, Damon was busy thinking about something she had said before...
i don't have any peaceful memories!
How could that be?
As far as he could tell there had never been any witch hunters on her heels, not had she ever had to deal with learning to manage her own powers... Yet.
Then how could her life have been to make get day something like that?
Or had she just tried to make him let go?
She hasn't really seemed like it though...

The demon blinked a couple of times upon noticing that he was overthinking... Something he hadn't done anymore for a very long time.
He usually preferred not to think, bit when he did, he thought about everything at least ten times.
That resulted in him having quite a confusing personality, as he had a tendency to jump between sarcastic and unserious, cold and distant, sweet and caring and funny and adorable within seconds. Usually, that made him very good to adapt to any given situation... But occasionally also made him seem like a complete weirdo.

Heck he didn't like being like this either-
It wasn't like he had pleaded Lilium to make him Arianna's familiar and even though there was theoretically nothing that held him back from just turning his neck on her and leaving, he just couldn't.
Maybe it was because of his promise, maybe because Arianna looked so much like her...
Whatever it was, it was enough to make him stay, despite everything that was waiting for them. He'd have to teach her, protect her, sure hey how to use the power of her mind, runes, options...
It would be a lot of work.

As she was staring up at him so utterly helpless, Damon just sat down at well, holding up his hand.
The cut was gone, nothing but a small scar left.

If his wings would've worked, he would've tried to wrap one of them around her shoulders for comfort, like a fluffy blanket, but all they could do was hang from his shoulders limply.
And do he just sat, giving her some time to comprehend.

"Arianna?", He said silently after a while, leaning back against the side of an age-old armchair behind him while he reached into the chest pocket of his shirt to produce a folded letter.
The ring finger of his left hand beared a ring, made of silver, quite simple, but very old-looking, with an emerald adorning it's center.
"This was Lilium's ring", he said silently and held up his hand. "She gave it to me the day before she died, to remind me of my promise."
Damon stayed silent for a while to give Arianna some time to let it all sink in, before he continued.
"Think about it. I could leave this place and live the high life, but I'm still here. I've been waiting for you for almost a year. I'm not your enemy. In fact- I am the friend you never knew you have. You can trust me. Really."

Without another word he handed her the letter.

My dear Arianna,
I am truly sorry you had to learn about me like this, as, when you'll get this letter, I'll be long gone.
The young man who gave it to you, in case he missed to introduce himself, is named Damon. Though he might not seem like it, he is one of the most powerful witchmasters of our time and an apprentice of the great Merlin himself.
He might be a little rough around the edges, but you can trust him. He has a heart of gold, it's just been broken far too often.
He will teach you everything you need to know, for you, my dear, in fact are a witch. For people like us, the world is a dangerous place.
I've been hoping that staying away from you would be a good way to keep you safe, but now I realize how wrong I was.
They have found me, after all these years... And they want to find you, too.
I know all of this is very sudden and scary... I am so sorry. I should've never hidden the truth from you, and now it's too late.
Stay safe, my dear.
~ Grandma

"Are you okay...?", Damon asked silently, actually something like hienst concern written in his eyes.

 

[Rachary]

[[Heyy, you still there?^^"]]

 

[apolla]

Arianna

| Location: basement of her grandmothers house |
| With: Damon |
| Mentions: Damon ( Rachary ) |

((Yes, I'm here! ^^))

A small part of Arianna knew she was on the floor, but she couldn't bring herself to stand up. Damon seated himself on the couch she'd just tripped over, and even though he held up his hand right away, she couldn't bring herself to look at it right away. She didn't want to know what mysteries his hand held... But then again, curiosity killed the cat, and slowly her gaze slid over in that direction.

As soon as she saw that the cut was gone, her eyes widened and her breathing stopped. She sat there for a few moments longer before pushing herself forward, her eyes glued to the cut that no longer existed. "How...?" She whispered, looking back over at him. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes, squeezing them shut tightly. "I don't understand."

A few moments later, she heard him utter her name and her eyes reopened. She zeroed in on the letter and the ring, taking the thing when he handed it over to her. Slowly, she opened the envelope, sliding the letter out and unfolding it. A small part of her recognized the loopy script, but she wasn't sure from where.

Her eyes moved back and forth as she read the letter-- twice-- staring at the words as though they held all the answers. When he spoke again, she realized she'd been sitting there for a long while, just staring. Lowering the letter, she looked up at him, her lips parted as though she were going to speak but nothing came out.

Trying again, she closed her mouth and swallowed, shaking her head. "I don't know." She told him honestly, folding the letter back up and setting it and the envelope on the couch. Pushing herself off the floor, she stood, placing her hands on her hips as she looked around the room. "She said I can trust you." She finally spoke, peering down at Damon.

"What do we do now?"

code by RI.a

 

[Rachary]

Damon watched her reactions carefully, unsure how far he could take her tonight. If it had been for him he would've bombarded her with knowledge about protective spells and potions right away, but he didn't know how much more she could take in this short period of time since she had summoned him in the basement.
He couldn't afford making her feel stressed out insecure as magic required a calm and steadfast, unbreakable mind; acquiring the latter was one of the hardest tasks a Caster could face.
Even he was struggling with it still, after several centuries of training.

He remembered Lilium being a natural talent at that. She was so pigheaded she had mastered many incantations at first try. However, the most powerful ones had always been get greatest weakness, as they required the exact opposite- to let go.
But, everything at it's time.
Right now wasn't the right moment to think about Lilium; he needed to focus on Arianna's safety and getting her into shape.

He watched silently while she read the letter, scratching around on one of the many scars that lined up around his wrists, all the while planning his further steps on the long, arduous way they'd be going together.
He looked up from his wrists when Arianna said she didn't know if she was okay. He just tried to come up with some reassuring words for her when she got up and suddenly seemed all determined to get going.
Well that was a surprising development...
But this determination was a good starting point.

Damon got up as well and walked a few feet into the enormous room, kicking his shoes off, while some sort of energy seemed to be building up around him.
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes-
And all of a sudden green flames burst out of the floor to burn an intricate circle with seven different symbols into the floor. Damon was standing in the one in the middle, gaze focused on Arianna.

"This is the Merlin's circle", he explained. "It focuses your energy and increases it for as long as you stand within its borders. Helps you master new spells. It is where you will learn one of three parts of the Art. Step inside, you will leave everything else behind. Once you enter, there is no going back. And- take your shoes off. The rubber soles would block the flow of energy. Works like electricity."

 

[Rachary]

[um... Are you still interested in this rp?]